Marry Christmas!

The rest of the year is filled with things that have to be done before January 1, so I'll see you all back here in 2019! Happy New Year!

FINALLY FINISHED!

Strangely, I started this blouse according to my journal on November 26. I'd had my daughter and three granddaughters to visit the weekend before, and I just got my sewing room (aka guest room) put back together. My GOAL was to make about 4 of these before the first of the year. Probably not going to happen though!

Due to multiple interruptions, classes, seminars, procrastination, and uncertainty, it finally got the buttons sewn on and the blouse finished yesterday morning. It was a second "muslin." from McCalls 6436. I'm pretty sure the first one was done in late February of 2013. Although I tried it on and it seemed to fit well, I really wanted to do a mock up to be sure I was really getting everything right before I started on the more expensive fabrics. The original was blogged in March of 2013. All of the alterations, and it was a big list are in that post.

I have decided on a few more minor tweaks, but it will work really well for a "professional work blouse."

The fabric is a very light weight printed cotton (I think it's a voile) purchased from fashionfabrics.com (they've been out of business for a while) a long time ago. It was on sale and listed as a "cotton lining" abstract print. I bought 3 yards and the total cost was $4.99. SCORE! It is an "eggshell" background with a "sea mist" grey, and taupe print. It's going to go with a lot of items in my wardrobe. The most exciting thing for me is that I've been looking at similar blouses in RTW and the prices for 100% cotton in my size are upwards of $69-$86!

Here's a hangar shot from this morning:

I did French seams throughout most of the interior. The shoulder seam, which was adjusted due to new information I found on fitting sleeves was done with a regular seam, a second stitching 1/4" away, and trimmed adjacent to the second stitching. 

This afternoon I started on my next wardrobe staple to be. It's a pair of black, tropical wool trousers for work. I'll be using the same TNT trouser pattern I have made most things out of in the last year. It's a great pattern, fits well, and looks great IMO.

Hope you are all done with your Christmas sewing and looking forward to celebrating with family and friends. 

I'm wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year filled with love, happiness, meaningful work, health, and peace!

More later!

A few Holiday gifts!

It’s Christmas!

I’ve been busy making a few gifts for friends. It’s always difficult when you have a diverse group of people to figure out what’s going to work.

My Aqua Aerobics group has several women that I wanted to gift a small item and had been searching my brain for something appropriate. I saw on Mary’s blog over at https://kf-biblioblog.blogspot.com/ that she had made mug warmers for her riding friends, and figured that was a great idea. I think most everyone drinks coffee, tea, or cocoa! So they are getting a Christmas mug and a mug warmer. I put together several, one of which is shown here:

My first time to applique, so it was an interesting project. I made 6" square out of two fabrics and added a 100% cotton batting to the interior. Sew all the way around the outside, leaving a hole for turning. Turn, press in the open edges, and topstitch. They are fairly quick and easy once you figure out what you're doing. These are certainly not perfect, but they are handmade. And I always remember our Hopi friends saying that all Pueblo peoples leave a slight imperfection in their works as a spirit door because only the Holy Ones can make something perfect. Frequently this will turn into an artistic signature for a particular artisan.

The other, much more intense gift is for my BFF. We all have tote bags we use for our towels, etc. when we go to the pool. I wanted to do something special for her. She’s very loving and giving and is always doing for others. I took a large “grocery tote” I had received from the local grocery coop that is a perfect size. I figured out how it was made, and copied the size for Lupe.

The outside is a fairly substantial denim, with the fish cut out of a piece of quilting cotton. I’d rough cut all the fish quite a few years ago. I think I was going to make a shower curtain with fish on it, but obviously, that never happened. After completing all the appliques, I sewed it together, and added the straps. I used a quilting cotton for the interior lining, and put a pocket for eyeglasses on one side piece and a pocket for a cell phone on the opposite side piece. Again, not perfect, but not bad.

I still have the blouse I was working on set out. It was set aside when I realized that Christmas is almost here! It just needs the sleeves installed, and the buttons and buttonholes. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of the week.

That’s all for now! Happy Sewing and Happy Holidays!

Pinstripe Pants! & A little back story.

Just another quick pair of slacks for my new work wardrobe. I purchased this wool in Sicily many years ago on my first venture out after my late husband passed away.

Within a month of hearing a terminal diagnosis, my company let us know they were going to "downsize and sell the business to a competitor. I was an outside salesperson and the other company did strictly telemarketing. So I had several major life changes within a very short six months.

In trying to decide what I wanted to do, I made lists of what I was going to do with my life. At that point, just a few months shy of my 50th birthday, I sat and though about what I'd always wanted to do and didn't have the time, money, or energy for. There were several items on my list, and one was that  I'd always wanted to go back to school and get some kind of degree. In order to determine if it was something that would work for me, I took an Italian language class. Towards the end of the semester, some of my classmates about my age were talking about a local club that had fabulous and relatively inexpensive group tours, and they had one coming up to Sicily. Ten days. I thought about it and waffled, and went back and forth.

Finally I decided I wanted to go. I called to sign up and found out I was on a waiting list. I figured that if I were meant to go, I'd be cleared, if not, the Universe was telling me to stay home.
It turned out I had about 10 days from clearing the waiting list to departure. I did some quick sewing, and some packing, and off I went. It was glorious! So far as I remember, it was October of 1998. I loved being back in school, and I loved the trip. In my youth I worked as a travel agent for about 10 years, and it brought back all the longing for travel and to see the world. The weather was great, and I was enthralled with the depth of knowledge and history the guides were able to impart. Overall very successful!

Moving on, while there I decided I needed to buy some Italian wool as my "souvenir" of the trip. . I had a friend go with me and we wandered through the market until we found the correct shop. In my first year halting Italian, I was able to let him know what I wanted. It has been in stash for so long, and I wasn't sure which piece of wool was which until I got it out and was doing the prep prior to cutting, I use Eucalan soap, soak the wool for about 30 minutes in cold water with the Eucalan, and then hang to dry. When I got ready to press, I found this on the selvage:

Winner! A few days later, these were ready for my first meeting at work on Monday:

So now I'm on to a muslin for a new blouse. I hope to get several long sleeved, woven, business like blouses made during the month of December, and maybe a couple more pair of slacks. We'll see how it goes!

P.S. The last post omitted most of the verbiage! It did say Happy Thanksgiving. So I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving day.

iT'S TURKEY DAY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wishing all my blog friends a lovely thanksgiving with lots of food, friends, relatives, fun and love!

I'll be back soon with some more sewing projects.

Work pants

Feels a bit strange to be making a work wardrobe again, but I'm having fun and enjoying the fact that I'll be meeting lots of new folks and making money at the same time! AND best of all, it's only for a few months, so the rest of the year, we're hoping to get to play explorers when we have a long weekend.

My knees are improving and I notice odd things at odd times. I'm far ahead of my friend that had both knees replaced a few months before I did my stem cell therapy, so it's encouraging. I did see somewhere on a site that a woman who had hers done indicated it was about a year before she felt back to her "before" status. In that case, I'm only half way through and am pleased with my progress. It is odd though that I am having to "relearn" how to walk correctly. After 10 years +/- of knee problems, I had adapted my stance and my way of walking. Now I'm working back to normal and frequently get odd leg cramps because of the change. I am hoping it will eventually get me back the 1 1/2" inches that I've shrunk, but at the ripe old age of almost 72, I'm not holding my breath.

Anyhow, I spent my odd minutes here and there last week working on another core piece. These are a quick pair of slacks out of a grey stretch cotton. I'm pretty sure it's a piece I got from Gorgeous Fabrics back in May of 2016. Unfortunately, I copied the photo off the website, but didn't attach a swatch when it got here. I used the same Burda TNT pattern I've been using for almost everything that covers my lower half.

I do have some black linen for the next pair of slacks, and probably will also make a pair of black tropical weight wool ones too.

I also pulled out a very old Burda pattern...from before they added seam allowances! I looked but it doesn't have a copyright date on it, so not sure, but the wide shoulders appear to be maybe from the 80's? Fairly bad picture but my scanner isn't working so I'm having to use pictures from the Internet.

I had originally cut this back when I was a size 14 or European size 40, so I had to use the pieces from view A, the green one. I had made a lot of these tops back in the day to wear under a suit jacket, and I figured if I can adapt it to my current size using my Suzy Furrer block it should work. Plus it is super easy and quick to do. I have the pattern copied off with my adjustments and will be playing with that in the next day or so. If it works, a nice rayon challis will work well for my future plans.

Well, more later! Hope your sewing endeavors are going well!

Dia de los Muertos shirt

Just a quick post today to document that I actually made a shirt for my sweet husband.

Back in 2013 he had a quadruple bypass and ever since has been saying he came back from the dead. Quite some time ago he requested a shirt out of Dia de los Muertos fabric to wear on Halloween as well as to commemorate the life giving surgery. Long story, but the first one was done with a commercial pattern and did not fit AT ALL.

If you're unfamiliar with the Holiday and want to know more about it, here's a link to the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

I went ahead and did a pattern draft for him, and it mellowed in the pattern drawer for several years as every time I'd offer to make it up, his response was he didn't want to take me away from what I wanted to do. Well, things changed this year.

Shortly after I started my tax classes, he said he wanted the shirt for this year. He's driving a school bus and many of the drivers were special things for Halloween. In and around my classes and homework (about 35 or 40 hours a week) I put together a shirt using the parts I found. Unfortunately, it's not perfect, and I've made some notes on changes for the next shirt I'll make him. But bottom line is he loved it, wore it, got lots of compliments at work.

So without further ado:

It's a bit wrinkled after a day of having a seat belt attached, but it didn't wrinkle as much as I anticipated being 100% cotton. I've got a few ideas for some more shirts, perhaps for Christmas in and around making clothing for my new work life.

There are a pair of grey pinstripe trousers almost cut out and ready to go, so I'll be off to work on them.

Hoping your sewing is going marvelously and you're enjoying your processes! More later!

Jalie Rose...The first of many!

A Jalie Rose!

I’m enamored of this pattern for sure. I have been looking for a pattern for a woven, sleeveless shirt with a collar and collar stand for quite a long time. Finding a pattern that works with my curves is difficult to say the least. Jalie won the gold cup! The pattern went together well, and it may be the nicest shirt collar I've seen in a long time! 

I put together a quick muslin and determined that other than adding a 1” strip through the back yoke to make up for my gravity affected shoulder posture. I did also shorten it by 3” as I’m only 5’2” tall, and their fit is designed for 5’6”. I may add back another inch, but not sure of that. I didn’t need any other alterations! What a thrill.

For my first of hopefully many to come, I used a luscious cotton lawn from the stash. Depending on your color sense, it’s in a creamy white and either turquoise,  aqua, light teal, or mint green, but I love it and it will go well in my wardrobe with multiple items. I took my time, and made sure it all went together well, even doing hand basting to be sure I had things right. It'd been a long time since I did a woven shirt collar. 

I’m not sure where the fabric came from or when, but perhaps in 2013 when I was putting together the fabrics for the teal collection, perhaps not. I had purchased 2.75 yards, and it’s 58” wide, so I have a nice remnant for who knows what.

For the collar and under-collar, I used a fusible tricot from Fashion Sewing Supply, and the buttons were in a bag of various shirt buttons from the stash, possibly also purchased from Fashion Sewing Supply. They are awesome!

Without further ado...

Completed 09-19-2018.

This morning I cut out the A-Line skirt from the teal blue denim remnant that I used for the pants back in February. This will work with some of my core items for tax season along with many items for the Spring and Summer. 

I hope to have more to show later in the week!

Happy sewing!

Definitely moving into Autumn around here

Happy week! I finished both swimsuits and they're going to fit in nicely with my exercise classes. As I said in last week's missive, the Berry fabric was from Fashion Fabrics Club (online) and the elastics and linings are from Sew Sassy. The bust cups haven't arrived yet, but are anticipated tomorrow. I'm pleased with both, and overall they fit well.

From old stash fabric, and Jalie 3350 Swimsuit pattern

From Fashion Fabrics Club fabric and Jalie 3350 Pattern

I finished my sloper and am quite pleased with it. I don't know that I've ever had one that fits quite this well, so that's huge in my book. I've already got it lined up to check fit on my Jalie Rose that was taped together and traced off last night. I'm hoping to get it cut out and started this afternoon. 

I did get the job I interviewed for, so I spent a good bit of time this week using some tools from Nancy Nix-Rice and the Vivienne Files to do wardrobe planning. I haven't worked in an office with multiple other people for many years, so I do want to look smart while fitting in, but remain true to my aesthetic and still be comfortable. In this area, everything is "business casual" so I went through the closet, looking at what I have, and what I need to fit in. A few items will need to be altered, and a few items are on the "to make" list, but overall I'm in good shape. I ONLY purchased about 5 yards of a rayon print from Fashion Fabrics Club, (on sale!) in an ocean/teal and the rest is already owned, and a lot is already made and ready to go. I used Vivienne's latest four by five grid to put together a "wardrobe plan." Without further ado...

Column 1 or Cluster 1 includes a royal blue linen unlined jacket, which is currently being altered to get the shoulders correct. A navy short sleeved tee; a navy long sleeved tee to be made; I actually have 3 pair of navy slacks; and a navy denim skirt. 

Column 2 or Cluster 2 has a teal blue (both items the same fabric) cardigan and short sleeved tee, previously blogged; a cream and teal paisley tee and teal and camel floral tee, both previously blogged, and a teal blue denim skirt, color IRL closer to the top photo. 

Cluster 3 Aztec print sweater from 2015 with red; teal; grey and black print; red short sleeved tee; a cream/red/black and grey linen blouse that will be made soon; and tropical wool slacks in both charcoal and light grey. 

Cluster 4 A RTW teal and royal blue heavy knee length sweater; the ocean/teal rayon shirt and skirt to be made; a RTW red cardigan gift from Hubby; and a pair of black wool and/or linen slacks to be made. 

There are other jackets that will work with the plan also and once this is put together, I'll probably start a new cluster with browns, tans, and the like. 

I'm pushing the pedal to the medal as I start tax classes the 24th of this month, which will take up 3 mornings a week with at least 9 hours a week of homework along with my Aqua Aerobics classes. Those will run until November 9, and then I have about 3 days of tax updates for the new laws put in place for 2018 returns. After that, I'll have some downtime until January 2, when I go into real work mode. 

I'm excited about the job, about the wardrobe, and also about having some extra income. I'm eyeballing a Baby Lock cover stitch machine for my "reward" for all my hard work. So in my book, it's a win-win-win!

I hope your autumn plans are working out well also! More later! 

Happy Holiday! And this week's projects

For all my friends in the US, it's Labor Day. Hope your day is lovely and you have time for food, family, and whatever makes your heart full. For those not in the US, Labor Day is a public holiday designed to honor the American labor movement and the contributions made by workers to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. (Wikipedia)

As a child, in my hometown, it was always the day before the first day of school, so we attempted to grab every last bit of summer we could. As an adult, it was always a three day weekend that allowed one tiny last minute weekend getaway or celebration before we headed into the fall season with no breaks until Thanksgiving. At the current time, I think most schools around here start in around mid-August, this year the 13th, so those kids are enjoying a three day weekend.

In my family on Labor Day, my dad would barbecue, we'd have potato salad, macaroni salad, fresh watermelon and sliced tomatoes from our neighbor's garden, and sometimes, if we were lucky, some home churned ice cream. Today I have a rack of baby back ribs that will go into the crock-pot while I spend the day sewing. Sides will be a bit more healthy and less caloric.

I finally have my moulage set and ready to move on into making it into a sloper, so that's on the list for this week. After the first 1 1/2" sway back adjustment, I had to do an additional 5/8" tuck on both the upper and lower back at the waist seam tapering to nothing at the side seam. Now it looks just about perfect.

I'll be moving on with getting some things made with my sloper to check fit as soon as I've got that together. I do still have to take the sleeve class and get a sleeve that fits into my bodice and still works with my bodacious biceps! But first I'll be making up the Jalie Rose into a sleeveless shirt. Around this area, it can work on it's own, and then under a lightweight jacket or cardigan for at least a couple of months yet.

I'm also finishing up two swimsuits that I started earlier in the week. One from a very old Rose Marie Reed stash fabric, blues, aquas, light purple, and similar colors, possibly purchased in the 90's when Stretch and Sew would bring their fabrics to town once every few months and another in a relative new fabric from FashionFabricsClub.com purchased in March in purple, turquoise, and berry. I hope to have them done today. Still need to put the darker one together, and sew the elastic around the armholes/back and legs to the lighter one. I've used the new Jalie 3350 pattern for these, and I think they will be great for my Aqua Aerobics. 

For both of these, I've used the front from View A and the back from View B. I did enlarge the straps as the directions call for 3/8" elastic with the fabric wrapper over it, and for a larger woman, a 3/4" elastic works much better, especially in a class where we're jumping and running, and really moving around a lot. While I won't be strutting my stuff in public at the current time, they're going to work perfectly for the intended use. I've been trying to work out a custom bust cup that will fit my body, and think I may have an idea that will work. These have a double cup ling so you can install "removable cups." I did buy a couple of pair of molded Wacoal cups yesterday that should be here this week. We'll see if I'm going to need to use them in the future or if my idea works well.

Although I've purchased several Jalie patterns over the years, I hadn't actually sewn any up until now. I have a friend who had purchased one of their patterns and was quite pleased. It was her first PDF, and having the ability to only print the size you want, was an eyeopener. It made an awful lot of sense to do that! I'll be using more of them in the future for sure! 

Since August is done, I'm checking in on my Sewing to do list for the last three months. I did amazingly well IMO. I have the Suzy Furrer bodice class almost completed, with the bodice fitting now. Hooray! The next few lessons are how to convert the moulage into your sloper, and truing it up, transferring to tag board, and some design options. I will have to carefully follow the instruction to change the moulage into the sloper, but the rest I have done in pattern classes before, so nothing earth shattering for me. I got the two pair of shorts completed, finished the first quilt and made another for the new grandson. Made some receiving blankets, and a baby shirt, and am working on swimsuits. No lingerie got started this month, but that's on the horizon I believe. I figured the swimsuits were more urgent as the ones I've been wearing the last year and a half are getting pretty sad and worn looking. 

September-October-November goals will be to complete the sloper on tag, make the Jalie Rose, perhaps get the McCalls 7575 shirt muslined and fitted, along with a couple of pair of long pants for winter. 

I also made a decision that in order to avoid any dementia or Alzheimer's I need to exercise my brain more, and along those lines decided to sign up to complete taxes for next year, which includes taking a 60 hour tax class. I signed up, took their assessment test, and passed, so have an interview tomorrow for the job. Because I passed both their initial assessment tests, I'll be starting as a tax specialist versus the initial tax assistant. It's a step up on the ladder, and comes with a slight edge. 

The tax class starts the 24th of this month, and will be three mornings a week until mid November. There will definitely be homework also, so that along with my Aqua Aerobics classes and whatever sewing I can squeeze in should keep me busy over the next few months. I'm looking forward to it! AND, if I decide it makes sense I'll use some of my earnings for a stand alone cover stitch machine. We'll see. I believer there is a dealer here in town that sells the Babylock, and if so, I'll be checking them out. 

So that's my week in review. I'd better get busy on my next week. Wishing you all a sew special week!

Lovely thoughts and what I'm working on.

One of the things I do when I"m not sewing or doing aqua aerobics or cooking. I read. A LOT.

I read this the other night in the current cozy mystery book and loved it. Yes. a real book with pages that turn and everything!

"Imagine, if you will, the horror that engulfs a modern family when they realize they cannot charge their electronic devices. Their mobiles, tablets, laptops, and desktops are useless! Panic sets in. Without a screen to watch or keys to tap, all harmony is at an end. The ties that bind are on the verge of snapping when someone recalls a dim and distant memory of...the original virtual-reality device! A wondrous device that will allow them to go anywhere at any time with anyone they choose. A device powered by the imagination, a device gravity cannot shatter, a device that decays organically, leaving no toxic sludge behind to poison our precious planet!"A Book!

Hug your librarian and read a real book...it'll make you happy or smarter, or just take you to another place!

In sewing news, I did the first alterations on the moulage #2, but my sway back adjustment of 1 1/2" was not quite enough. I need to do another and try again this week. Other than that, it's looking pretty good IMO.

I'm also working on a new swimsuit with a pattern from Jalie. This may be my first make with Jalie patterns, although I do have several I've bought over the years. The new Jalie Rose shirt is waiting to be muslined and completed too.

I hope to have something to show soon. More later.

Quick update of the last ten days...

I got the second baby quilt made in a short amount of time. I'm liking that this one was quick and is still cute, and I'm really happy with the fact that I'm learning how to do these nice mitered corners that are good on both sides. This one isn't perfect yet, but it's not bad if I say so myself!

The front is cut out of 8 1/2 " squares, making them 8" after sewing. It's approximately 40" X 50" which is just about right for crib size. I just alternated the "very hungry caterpillar abstract dots" fabric with "sock monkey sports" pieces I had auditioned for the binding on the first quilt. If I'd been paying more attention it would be more symmetrical but Dale keeps reminding me that in the "olden days" the Navajo always made some mistakes in their rugs so they could prove they were handmade! 

The back is a one piece fabric that has jungle images all over it in primary colors on a white background. 

I'm also working on some baby clothes, and my friend Lupe who is learning to sew had an idea for a tote for swimming that we worked on Wednesday. I don't have any pictures yet, but will get some before too long. 

More later!

Midweek Update

I'm rather on a roll right now, and excited about it. I look up at my June-July-August "to do" list posted above both my sewing machine and my computer, and I see that I've partially completed Item #1, just waiting on the zipper to get the initial bodice fitted so I can get the critique and whatever minor adjustments need to be done. My sewing friend indicated that she thinks it fits well when she was here last Saturday, so we'll see once I'm able to actually get the zipper in and try it on zipped up the back.

Item #2 is to sew 2 or more pair of shorts. These are both from my now TNT Burda pattern. The bronze stretch cotton ones were shown a few posts back, and yesterday I finished the navy linen shorts. Nothing new other than I did a decorative stitch along the top of the pockets for some tone-on-tone interest. They've been finished, pressed, and are in the closet ready for wearing.

So here they are in all their glory:

The third item was to finish A.J.'s quilt. Which was done and shown a few posts back. He's got it now, and I heard an adorable tape of him saying, "I love it, it's beautiful!" Warmed my heart no end!

The fourth item is a general category of Baby Clothes. I have the knitted blanket underway and a patchwork quilt underway as shown in the previous post, and I've pulled out of the stash some baby themed cotton knits and cotton flannel for a few onesies and a few receiving blankets. I don't think you can have too many of either of those.

So I'm excited to be moving ahead with my listed projects and hopefully am going to exceed my self assigned tasks for the quarter. Hooray!

Now to get the September-October-November project sewing to do list put together. More later!

Moving Right Along

It was a very long week, but I was able to distract myself a bit with my projects. Thank goodness.

I'd been doing reasonably well with all of my goals, but a health scare, thankfully nothing, did me in for a little over a week. Add in some fairly healthy family drama, and instead of hanging tough, I blew it. That eliminated 3 weeks weight loss and added another .8 pounds, darn it. Despite doing everything I could to contain the stress, I am nothing if not a stress eater. Between comfort foods and ice cream, it wasn't my finest goal action week.

As far as the goal of the Suzy Furrer custom bodice, I ordered three 30" long zippers from zipper stop, so I will have a couple on hand moving forward. But because I want to have the zipper installed to better critique the back of the moulage, I'm waiting on any further work until those are here.

Since I hadn't knitted anything for about 30 years or more, and wasn't sure what I was doing, the initial blanket turned out to be a mess and in a fit of pique, I tore the whole thing out. That one is going to be saved until I have done more knitting and am better able to concentrate and follow a pattern. It was pretty complicated for a novice (again) knitter.

But, I am moving forward rather quickly on a new knitted baby blanket. One of my friends who goes to a knitting club told me about free patterns on various yarn websites, and talked about a shawl that some of the ladies have made that is a great re-entry project. I found a super easy pattern on the Lion Brand yarn website. It was free, and it's all just knitting! Hooray. You start with a cast on of only five stitches and add one stitch each row until you have 99 stitches, and start to decrease one stitch every row until you're back to 5 stitches. It took me some mulling to figure out how that was going to wind up in a 30" square blanket. Then a light bulb went off...duh! You're starting at a corner.

I didn't have the proper yarn or the right size needles, but I went barreling forward as is my wont. I actually like the blanket a lot! The yarn is kind of a chenille type and the needles used are a size 15 instead of the 13 called for in the pattern. I decided if it turned out crap, it could be a trial piece, but it's not. Since it's so easy, I purchased the right size needles and the right yarn to make another. This one is kind of lacy, so will be good for a summer baby, but with the correct needles and yarn, it's going to be much heavier, and will be perfect for a Christmas gift. The pattern is http://www.lionbrand.com/knitting-pattern-cuddle-tight-baby-blanket-3.html

Here's a preview about half done...

That wasn't quite enough to distract me, so I also decided this baby needs it's own quilt. I did a very easy and quick patchwork using 8" squares. It went VERY quickly, and it's now clipped together with the batting and backing ready for me to start doing the quilting. Here's a preview:

I used some fabrics I'd purchased for the other quilt to audition for the bindings, and added in a "caterpillar" fabric to get a quilt approximately 40" X 50". The backing fabric is a jungle themed with a white background, so they can have primary colors or a little less bright. I'm hoping to get both the knitted blanket and this one completed this week. 

My friend was over for another couple of sewing lessons this week and when she heard I was knitting a blanket, (she also wants to learn how to knit) the second day together, she brought some yarn and needles given to her by her granddaughter. She picked up crochet in nothing flat, so I expect starting with an easy knitting project she'll surpass my skills in no time. She not only learns how to knit but how to knit left handed just by watching! She is bright and quick and learns a lot each time we're together. She's now got a pair of shorts and two tees completed. She doesn't have my OCD, but is doing fine for initial projects. I'm trying hard not to make her tear everything out that is less than perfect, as I don't want to discourage her forward progress. Next up will be a simple-ish sleeveless A-line dress from an Octobre magazine. It should go quite quickly once we get the pattern traced off. 

We also decided that we need to do a Hatha Yoga class together in addition to the Aqua Aerobics, so we've got our initial foray planned for next Friday. My pain is gone from the knees, but the muscles have atrophied after 10 years of not walking correctly, so I'm thinking the yoga will help get them stretched out. I figure it's never too late for yoga! I do know my practices will take a lot more effort and my progress will go much more slowly at 71 than they did at 35! But always moving forward is the way to go IMO. 

So my week was a lot of reading, knitting, and sewing, with some visiting and teaching added in. Thoroughly enjoyable! 

The goals for next week are to finally finish my navy linen shorts, finish up the knitted blanket, finish the quilt, and start on some baby clothes. We'll see how it goes! 

Hope you're enjoying your summer! More later...

Back to the drawing board

I have to say I'm loving Suzy Furrer's Craftsy class. I sure wish I'd done this a while back! She is an excellent teacher, and if you have a less than typical body and are interested in getting clothes that fit you, plus you're willing to take the plunge into drafting your own patterns instead of spending thousands of dollars on patterns that don't work, I can't recommend her classes highly enough. You will wind up with couture garment fit to go along with your bespoke clothing!

The bodice was done Friday and I got Dale to help me by pinning it together and taking some photos for me. I'm going to show the front only!

Have to say skin tight on a chubby body isn't all that attractive! The front isn't bad other than the waistline is a bit low, which puts everything below it off. I re-measured and it's at least an inch too low in the front. That will solve some of the issues I think. There are some other measuring issues that need to be addressed and then I'll redo the moulage draft and redo the muslin moulage. I was expecting this, so I'm not upset that it will take me more than one to get it right. 

Dale did fairly well measuring me, but there are some obvious places where he missed the mark besides the front waistline. The back armholes go in way too far, and the back waist is lower than the front; it appears to my eye to be about 2 or 2 1/2 inches below my waistline, which means the upper back is fine, but about an inch or two above where the waistline SHOULD BE, it starts to wrinkle up, and about the middle of the high hip, the back seam doesn't come together. 

When I rechecked as well as I could on my own, it appears he has the high hip and low hip measurements about an inch and a half below where they actually fall on my body. That's an issue for sure. 

Before I make up the next muslin, I'll be getting a 30" long zipper so I can put that in and zip it up to have an easier time figuring out where things should go. Although if I get my measurements in the right places, it may be that I don't need one quite that long. Oh, well. IMO, longer is better as far as zippers go!

So moving forward on multiple projects. I have a quick and easy baby blanket in the process of being knitted; I'm starting on a baby quilt with really big squares; :-) and still have one pair of navy linen shorts partially done, and another pair in a navy twill ready to start cutting out.  

Then there is the Jalie Rose pattern to put together and muslin, and a few more items I'd like to get done over the next five weeks or so. 

Wish me luck, and I'll be back with more soon!

Bodice Underway!

As part of my June-July-August sewing to do list, my #1 desire was to complete the Suzy Furrer Patternmaking Basics: The Bodice Sloper.

I REALLY want to have a current made-to-measure sloper (or toile for my international friends,) drafted to my measurements. Not a tweaked "one size fits all" but a made-to-measure that actually fits my shoulders and shoulder slope, my bust line, my back, my armholes, arms, and all the rest.

Well, I'm very pleased to report it's underway. This week all week, my sewing time has been devoted to watching the lessons on Craftsy, following through with each lesson, and as of today, I have completed Lesson 6, and am starting on Lesson 7.

The first six lessons include how to measure, and the drafting of the moulage, plus cutting the completed draft into a "princess seamed" garment, cutting it out, and sewing it together. I have the first draft of the front and back completed, and at this point in time, it is cut out and ready to be sewn out of muslin for the first fitting. As my body is so very far off the "typical" fitting model, I expect there will be more than one draft before I've gotten the moulage completed.

Here are the fronts and backs (back slightly visible behind the front) as per the original draft. There are a lot of steps in each draft, with the front having something like 52 measured points with lines all over the page. You start with a Capital A, and go through the alphabet with capital letters, then lower case letters at each point, and end up either at lower case y or z. Towards the end, it gets kind of confusing. At the end, you cut it apart, and as you can see from the photo, I used a heavy duty Sharpie to mark the lines to cut so I wouldn't be confused. There is also some waist shaping, not marked on this draft that gets cut apart so you have two upper bodice and two lower bodice pieces for the front and for the back.

It's taken me most of the week in my spare moments here and there to get this far. Today I'll be cutting out the muslin for this first draft and putting it together for the first fitting. 

More later!

Bronze Shorts completed

My latest pair of shorts is done.  And picture is included.

I used a Steven Alan Medal Bronze Stretch Japanese Cotton purchased from Mood. on June 20 of this year specifically for these shorts. https://www.moodfabrics.com/steven-alan-medal-bronze-stretch-japanese-cotton-twill-304437

It's a lovely fabric that sews and presses quite well. I used the same Burda #6613 pattern that has now become my TNT, but again made patch pockets versus the typical pockets for further alterations as my body eliminates excesses. I also attached each waistband to the corresponding individual shorts pieces so I can alter at seams without having to do a lot of ripping. The waistband is drafted as four pieces with four additional facing pieces, so each front and each back has its own individual waistband piece with facing.

I SHOULD be able to just undo the waist facing seams for a couple of inches beyond each seam line, take them in, then reattach the waist band.

I started cutting these out in my spare time on July 7. I completed them this morning, July 15. Due to a question from a friend, I've been trying to keep track of the amount of time it takes me to sew these from start to finish. I've been sewing in increments as small as 12 minutes up to increments as large as an  hour and 15 minutes. A couple of the time frames may be off by a few minutes as I'm not really used to tracking my sewing time. It took me just under 5 hours from cutting to attaching the hook and eye. Not bad, but that included a fair amount of ripping and re-sewing due to ridiculous amateur mistakes on my part. I figure I have about an hour or more of "frog stitching" included. 

I have the next fabric, a dark navy stretch cotton twill from the same order in the washing machine right now.

I am now going into the Sewing Room to begin the draft on the bodice from the Suzy Furrer Craftsy Class. Wish me luck!

He doesn't represent the majority of Americans!

I'm watching the appalling news of the most recent trip to Europe of the Donald. I can't call him the President, because he is so far from presidential it would be laughable if it wasn't so horrific!

I just want to say to the rest of the world that he does not represent the majority of United States Citizens. He's so embarrassing and such a blow hard! His favorite pejorative of "fake news" just means he doesn't want what he said or did to be reported. Statistics show he lies on average 6.5 times A DAY!

He's trying to take away our First Amendment rights. He has in the past insisted that reporters and others should be fired for not agreeing with him! For those of you not aware of them, the First Amendment to the US constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. 

No one I know agrees with him, his views, his elitism, his xenophobic sentiments, his racism, his bigotry, his objectification and disdain for women, his anti-feminine ideas, and most of the rest of the baloney that comes out of his mouth! 

I am afraid that he is ruining the United States reputation with the entire rest of the world. This puppet of Putin is so narrow minded and seems to most of us to be attempting to destroy the United States, and all of the rest of the free world. He finds dictators and authoritarian regimes to be "really great." He finds true democracies to be lacking. We can only assume that Putin is blackmailing him.

I find his ghastly habit of bad mouthing women in power behind their backs and then contradicting what he said to their faces ludicrous.

All of the rest of the world, please accept my apologies for this buffoon!

Don't want to be political, but cannot avoid apologizing for this man, his ideas, his lies, and his actions. Please spread the word that the vast majority of the US Citizens do not agree and are ashamed and disconcerted by this man.

I'll be back to sewing in my next post!

It's finally done!

Hooray!

With a little prodding from an upcoming move of my Granddaughter and Great-Grandson to Australia, I finally got back on the horse and finished this quilt. It had been sitting since February 2017 and all it needed was a binding. Since I wasn't sure how to do that, I put it aside and procrastinated.

With help from a tutorial sent by a quilter friend; several books I own; plus several You Tube videos, I finally figured out the proper way to add a quilt binding, and got it done. Today it is going in the mail to Denver instead of me having to pay the postage to Australia. The grandson-in-law is in the US Air Force and is stationed in Alice Springs. Should be exciting for them, and hopefully they'll take advantage of exploring a new country and area. I've done a bit of Google Research on Alice Springs and it sure does look different from Denver where they've been living the last several years, including all of Great Grandson's life!

Great grandson should have a really interesting accent when they get back. Dad is Texan with the typical drawl; Mom has been an Air Force brat, raised in Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, and Colorado, but doesn't have a discernible accent to my California ears. He's now talking with no discernible accent, but the combination of Texas, Colorado, and Australia should be really interesting! How does y'all sound in Australian? LOL

Without further ado...

 Front of quilt

Back of quilt.

I used a package of 2 1/2" strips called a Jelly Roll to make the quilt.

Back in 2014, when I was still in California, I went to a Jelly Roll Race class. You take approximately 40 to 45 precut coordinating strips that are bought in said Jelly Roll and just start sewing. You sew them end to end, mitering the pieces together. When you have them all sewn into one huge strip, you cut it in half, then sew the two halves together. Repeat until you have them all sewn.

It makes a piece big enough for a baby quilt with some left over. The batting I used was about 45" by 60" and I trimmed it a bit. I just sewed the quilt, batting and backing together along the lines of the strips. Then the binding was sewn in a very long strip that would go all the way around the quilt with about a six inch tail at each corner for mitering. It was cut 2 1/2" wide, folded and pressed in half. I machine stitched it to the front in a 3/8" seam allowance, turned it to the back, and hand stitched it all around. The quilt isn't perfect, but for the first one I've ever made, it's not bad at all! The next one I do will have a wider seam allowance on the binding so it can be machine stitched instead of hand sewn. That part took forever!

This is the first thing checked off my June-July=August sewing to do list. Hooray!

Onward and upward!

At what point do we outgrow our relationships?

Although this is really a sewing blog, it is also a place where I share my thoughts and feelings about things, although infrequently. Right now, I feel the need to share something weighing heavily on my mind. If you have thoughts, feelings, or ideas, please feel free to comment.

I am trying to determine when it is time to walk away from a friendship, a relationship, even a family relationship? 

Why is it that so many people in our lives play games? Why can’t we all be real and just be who we are? Why can’t we make our opinions known without the fear of being condemned because we believe differently than someone else? Why does what we believe to be a discussion turn have to turn into a confrontation with someone being right and someone else being wrong?

Lately, I frequently find myself doing something I don’t want to do to fulfill someone else’s expectations and not disappoint others. I am trying to remember once again the power to say no. I don’t like feeling obligated, and am generally shy and introverted, so I am often wanting to spend time alone instead of with others. I need alone time to feed my soul, unlike extroverts who need to be around others.

 I’ve been contemplating this for about a month now, and I keep remembering the poem that goes…People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

I found the following on a blog and I’m trying to figure out what is working and not working in my life. I’m feeling overwhelmed and like I just want to go back to my former preferences of being alone most of the time and not interacting with others except by choice.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.  They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  They may seem like a godsend, and they are.  They are there for the reason you need them to be.  Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes they walk away.  Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.  What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.  They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.  They may teach you something you have never done.  They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  Believe it!  It is real!  But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.  Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.  It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. – Author Unknown

How do you select friends, and as an adult do you find it difficult or easy? Do you consider many people friends? Do you consider casual acquaintances or do you only consider those people friends who you enjoy doing things with? Have you lived in the same town all or most of your life and your friends have been with you from childhood? Have you moved to a new location and had to start over? How and where did you meet compatible people?

How important is it that you and your friends agree about things and have a lot of things in common? Do you have one friend who shares one activity or interest, and another friend for another interest and so on? If you’re a more or less introvert, what causes you to chose a specific person as a friend or do you fall into a friendship by having someone else continue to pursue you and then allowing it to happen?

Do you believe you need to have shared values and beliefs to be friends? How about wanting to do the same things?

The majority of my friends over the last ten plus years are women I have met in sewing classes and we had that connection. Some I have other connections with like Phyllis, who is another avid mystery reader, and with whom I share book suggestions and thoughts. She will actually write a critique of the books she reads, which I find wonderful to read, but impossible to do. I can tell you when I like something but can’t give a synopsis of the books I read. My mind doesn’t work like that. Although I’ve always been an avid reader, book reports were absolutely torture. At the same time, she loves going to clubs and learning new things like embroidery club, knitting club, etc.

Another friend, Barbara, and I have shared a love of sewing, travel, the real estate industry, energy work, life plans, goal setting, and motivational beliefs as well as many spiritual beliefs. We have taken a lot of classes together over the years. We are at different life stages now and I am finding we’re not connecting at the same levels as before, but that shared history is there. And I really like her outgoing personality.

My new friends are people who live near me. We are part of a group that does Aqua Exercise several times a week. The friendships have grown over more than a year. But currently, with one exception, we don’t spend a lot of time together outside the pool. I am teaching one of my friends to sew, and another is also a gardener, so we do have that in common.

I find it difficult to understand how anyone can be interested in watching sports on TV. I find it incredibly boring. I don’t know the people, and don’t much care about what’s going on. I generally don’t know who is playing in the World Series or even the Super Bowl. I don’t even watch the Olympics. Don’t want to watch them and don’t understand the hoopla surrounding them, although I do get that for a lot of people, it’s a huge deal they find imperative--- and they wouldn’t not watch.

I’m not into organized religion, and again, know that for many it is very much something that is important and takes up a lot of their time, including for some it being a very big part of their social life. I find it interesting intellectually to see that, but don’t find it something I would ever be involved with. I’m not sure what they get out of their devotions. We do our own thing spiritually but consider that to be a private practice, and don’t generally even share it unless asked specifically.

I don’t want to police anyone else’s lifestyle or life choices. I personally don’t find it any of my business or anyone else’s’ whether you are gay, straight, or somewhere in between. None of my business what you eat, what you wear, or what you believe, although I do find it incredibly sad that so many people in this world look at others as inferior or dangerous when they are just different, and don’t take the time to love and understand them.

Overall, I find people very interesting and like to find out what makes them tick. It may be that they intrigue me for the long haul, or it may be that I find out who they are and don’t need any further interaction. Then the conundrum is to figure out a way to tactfully withdraw without hurting anyone’s feelings.

All of this is going through my mind as I’m hand stitching the binding on a baby quilt. I’ve got decisions to make, and think I know the answers.