A new effort with a new pattern

I am feeling the need to get back into my sewing room. For whatever reasons, this tax season is the most challenging of the 20 years I've spent doing taxes. I am only working 20 hours a day, scheduled 5 hours a day over 4 days, with the daily hours often extending until a client is finished, but by the time my day is over I'm wrung out. I need the release of my creative activities. 

Since I now have a sloper that fits very well, this morning I intend to take this princess seamed sloper pattern and draft a side darted pattern from it. Then I can use that to help with alterations on purchased patterns. Due to the changes in my body, depending on the actual design I use, there will probably be both left and right side patterns for both front and back. 

The woman I found, Jewell, did a great job on fitting me, but the right to left differences were startling to me. On my right side, both front and back, she pinned out a shoulder princess seam from top to bottom, removing width all the way down. On the left side, the front is similar to the right, but with a different shoulder. On the back left, the shoulder dart was increased slightly, but then no intake was taken from the should dart to the waist where there is a fisheye dart, and then from the waist down the dart was overriden with an increase down to the hip. This is the best fitting sloper I've had since I worked with Ginny and Lyra at Santa Rosa Junior College back in the late 90's and early 2000's. 

In the back of my head is a project that will be rather extensive, and probably wait until summer. I want to use my sloper to draft a basic jacket pattern than can be adapted to either blazer, bomber jacket, or other types as I decide. Many years ago when I taped sewing programs from the television, I adored Shirley Adams series, The Sewing Connection, and she could take one pattern and turn it into multiple looks easily and with some minor pattern work. I have almost all of her booklets from those series and she is truly inspirational no matter what type of textile work you do. The videos are now on You Tube but the quality of the videos isn't as good as the shows were in real life.

But, for now, I'm concentrating on a few small items. I've seen the Friday Pattern Company's Patina Blouse in several iterations over on Instagram, and I'm taken with the look and want at least one, maybe several. I did buy the pattern and although, I'm not loving the picture on the front, I love the looks of it. Here's the line drawings:

I think it looks polished and new, and yet at the same time that collar is reminiscent of vintage clothing. 

I'm also doing some sewing for a forthcoming Great Granddaughter who needs a custom quilt, for her arrival in June. I'm also sewing for a small person and her Barbie doll. Her birthday is in April, so that is as much a priority as anything when my sewing time is limited.

I'm hoping to be doing more sewing this year, and posting more frequently! Here's to a lovely 2025.

A little sewing in my

 I'm back to work, and tax season has hit with a vengeance this year. I'm not sure whether Turbo Tax has a great ad campaign, or people are anticipating huge refunds due to the hype, but from the starting gate, this year has been fast and furious. 

I'm only working 20 hours a week, but at my age, when it's so busy, that is more than enough. At the end of a 5 hour shift, I'm exhausted. Luckily, with remote work and telecommuting, I only have to look good on the parts of me that show on the monitor. That means nice tops, and sweats on the bottom. Even though we're not where people are getting snow counted in feet, it has been unusually cold. So sweats are my best bet for sitting all day.

Since I've lost enough weight since last year, AND my sweats are getting worn out, I've redrafted my Don McCunn pants pattern and am in the process of replacing worn out pants. First pair was a burgundy pair with fabric bought from Pico Textiles February 6, 2023. It's only taken 3 years to use it! LOL

Then my Great Granddaughter's birthday is coming up, and because she's all about leggings, which IMO are quick and easy if you have appropriate measurements, I got her Dad to take some measurements for me, and I have a trial pair made from the free Sweet Red Poppy Leggings pattern, and a remnant of cotton knit purchased from Black Bird Fabrics in July of 23. Like most of us, she's multiple sizes, so bespoke garments are the best choice. 

And finally since I had leftovers from the remnant, and she's really into Barbies, I thought it would be fun to make a matching pair of leggings for Barbie. I got an "I love you so very much darling" text when she found out that was happening! Made my day for sure. This not quite 5 year old texts much better than I do!

So without further ado,  three pair of pants...

Just want to add that the tiny pair for Barbie took the longest to make and was the most frustrating! I do have arthritis in my hands as well as some nerve damage, and today I realized that I have some impaired hand mobility that really affects the use of the fine muscles used for sewing tiny items. I'm hoping that as I do more of this, along with knitting and making a quilt for an upcoming Great Granddaughter, I'll be able to recover some function. 

We'll see. I did turn 79 a few weeks ago, and I'm noticing more things than I have in previous years. Luckily, all the things I'm doing is keeping my cognitive functioning in pretty good shape, but physical deterioration is apparent. I did sign up for an online Pilates class with My Pilates Time out of New Zealand, and when I do the classes, I do notice better balance and strength. Just need to do more physical activities every day!

I finally found a textile guru and sewing teacher locally to help me fit a torso sloper, and it's been very enlightening. My body right now is almost like God found two people that looked kinda like me, cut them in half and stuck the two different sides together. From this  point on in my evolution, I'll be making separate right and left bodice pieces so that they fit me correctly. 

Next on my agenda is a couple more pair of sweat pants, a couple pair of flannel pajama pants, and then on to blouses. Keeping my fingers crossed everything goes well from now on!

More soon I hope!