The trauma has eased enough for me to recount the jeans journey!

This shall evermore be "the saga of the cursed jeans" in my mind. Over the years, I've made several pair of jeans and despite all of the topstitching, don't find them difficult to make. Time consuming, yes. Difficult, no.

That is all in the past, however. I started on the Carlisle jeans by taping my pattern together just before the first of June, and got my muslin cut out, then left for California for a granddaughter's wedding for about 10 days. I foolishly thought I'd just hand baste the muslin together and get it fit before our return. That didn't happen at all.

We did have a glorious time in the LA area, with lots of good food, visits with family, and a little bit of sightseeing. Not nearly what I wanted to see, but driving was difficult at our ages, and my little dog decided if I was sitting, it was so she could be in my lap. She loves road trips, but does get a little bit clingy~

I had forgotten how bad my allergies are in California, and since we stayed at Venice Beach, the dampness really got my arthritis going wild. By the time we got back, I wasn't in much shape to sew. It took about a week and I got going. The muslin was good. Some minor alterations were made, but overall the best fit I've had out of the "envelope" in a long time. 

BUT...my expensive Bernina machine did not like the denim, and gave me fits. In addition, I had purchased Gutterman topstitching thread, and it just wasn't going to cooperate. I had three spools, and it shredded so much, probably an entire spool went into the trash in small pieces. That was despite trying jeans needles, and even microtex needles. I took the Bernina in for service and it didn't help at all just left me without the main machine for 2 weeks. 

I continued to bungle through. Tore out topstitching multiple times and this pattern calls for a LOT of topstitching. Finally got to the waistband, and the Bernina would not sew it. After the third time of having giant thread nests on the waistband, finally went back to my 20 year old +/- Pfaff and got it sewn on. In a fit of insanity, I thought the Bernina would do a better job on the buttonhole. NOT! First try I got about 3/8 inch along before the thread nests appeared. Long story short, the first waistband went on three times, and was removed three times. It was so bad the waistband got stuck in the feed dogs and by the time I got it loose, I realized that a major hole had developed. I recut the waistband, and sewed it on with the Pfaff, and made the buttonhole with that machine also. It did a better job on the denim. 

Meanwhile, without thinking about things, I had joined a local chapter of TOPS or "take off pounds sensibly." My goal is to drop all my excess baggage over the next year. Having the group support and the accountability works for me much better than being out here by myself. I know what to do, but doing it on my own, I get bored, and with no accountability, after a week or a month, just forget about it. However, I do need to be healthy enough to walk and enjoy the rest of my life. The weight was really starting to become an issue with my knees and ankles. I'm very happy to report it is doing what I need it to do and I'm enjoying making new friends and having a place to go once a week to socialize with ladies I'm becoming friends with. 

And back to the jeans. I finally had them where they needed to be. Not perfect, but good enough. I put them on to take pictures and they slid right down my body and puddled at my feet! Good news, bad news. The jeans were done, but I had lost enough weight they no longer were anywhere near fitting. And there is no way I was going to take them apart to alter them. I had a lightbulb moment! (Admittedly a dim lightbulb, but a lightbulb!) I washed them in hot water and a hot dryer thinking they might shrink up enough to fit. Well, they did shrink, but only in length, not width. 

They have now been relegated to the thrift store pile. I have my muslin and after a few palette cleansing tees, I think I'll get back to it and try again. I do have plenty of fabric to work with! 

They look like jeans, so hopefully someone who needs a pair finds them and loves them for a long time!

More later!

Style Arc Carlisle Jeans for Pattern Review June Jeans contest.

On June 1, I was looking at Pattern Review for the first time in a very long time, and saw  they are having a June Jeans contest. I've been wanting to make a pair of jeans for a very long time, and figured this was the encouragement I needed.  

Got on the internet and started looking for a woven jeans pattern, non-stretch, with a waistband at my actual waist. Finally found the Style Arc Carlisle jeans (thanks to the extensive list on the PR inspiration post,) which is exactly what I want. Pulled out some denim from stash, purchased from Mood in 2019, and figured I'd give it a go despite being away for the wedding for 10 days from the 4th to 14th. 

Don't know if I'll actually finish, but even if I go beyond June, having a well fitting pair of jeans will be awesome!  Pattern has been put together, quick initial muslin made, pattern alteratons done to back, and going to do one more muslin to be sure. We'll see! I also washed and dried the fabric on hot three times to eliminate future shrinkage. Hint from a former sewing guru. 

Taping pattern together

Muslin 1 front-Not bad, but too short.

Sorry about the writing on back thigh. Initial adjustments: I took out 1/4" at top of back yoke tapering to zero at seamline. Thenext adjustment was a knock knee adjustment to eliminate folds from hip downward. That consisted of a wedge adding about 5/8" to inseam at inner thigh, removing from outer seam. The method was found on line at Half Moon Atlier from a post in February of 2021 at https://www.halfmoonatelier.com/blogs/news/halfmoon-101-jeans-knock-knee-adjustments

#2 adjustment was to add a wedge about an inch above the back crotch seam at the center back tapering to zero at hip to give additional back length. This is an adjustment I picked up somewhere on correcting back crotch curves. I also added about 1 1/2" back in leg length because my initial length estimate was too short for me. 

I have the second muslin cut out but with temps over 105, my energy is minimal so I may wait to put it together in the morning, and do as residents of hot climates do elsewhere. That's nap!

More soon!

As Time Goes By--Long post!

 Can't believe times is speeding by at the rate it seems to be. While I haven't been blogging, I have been sewing. 

Firstly, I got not one, but two of the Pamela's Cap Sleeve shells done. First was in a chalk stripe from Blackbird Fabrics. It's still awaiting a decision whether to keep or revise. LOVE the fabric. This was my initial garment. I had shortened front and back at both the above the bust line, as well as below the bust. However, I didn't get the initial shortening above the bust just right, and wound up taking off the original sleeve binding and adding a "yoke" both front and back to remove an additional full inch. I used the neck facings on this one. Then I decided I wanted cuffs instead of the binding, and that's what I'm not sure about. I may remove them and go back to the sleeve binding. Not quite sure just yet. 

Second Pamela's is out of a lovely navy polka dot cotton. It's from stash, purchased 2/2/14 from what was originally Michael Levine, website https://lowpricefabric.com/ whose link now takes you to Fashon Fabrics Club.com. On this one, I got the above the bust shorten right, and bound the neck and armholes. I've worn it a few times already, and am thinking I need to tweak the neckline fit just a bit. Not positive just yet. I do like it very much and it fits into my blue capsule quite nicely. 

Then on to the wedding "dress." As per prior post, the Lekala dress was a no go. I must have initially ordered it in the covid weight loss period when I was about 15 pounds lighter than I am right now. Instead of trying to enlarge the body and reduce neck/shoulders, I moved on to the Simplicity Amazing Fit #2174.

I had thought to use View C with the sweetheart neckline and short sleeves. The muslin showed the shoulders so wide they were almost falling off my admittedly very narrow shoulders. When I narrowed the neck/shoulders to fit my body, the sweetheart neckline pretty much disappeared into a strange kind of dip at center front. So I switched it out to a square neckline. I made up a "wearable muslin" in a pretty geometric rayon challis from Minerva I'd purchased back in July of 2022. I altered the pattern to eliminate the waist seam and just be a dress that flares from the waistline to hem. Front doesn't look too bad, but I had a lot of work to get the back to fit properly. It's awaiting further adjustments at this time. Note to self: Pay attention to back width across upper back!

Wish I'd noticed the back width in the muslin. But I think this will make a great summer dress when I get that back adjusted! 

I was getting frustrated at this point, and thought I'd go with my typical skirt and blouse so I'd actually be able to finish something before the weding! I used the already fitted In House Patterns Lila blouse and the 6 gore skirt (free pattern!) from Lekala patterns. I switched out the sleeve to make a flutter sleeve, which worked great! Love the skirt, although I did get it a little large in the waist. Measuring 6 gores seems to be a problem for me. I'll need to go back and reduce each gore by about 1/8" to get it perfect. But that is on the back burner for now. It is definitely wearable as is. 

Hope your sewing is moving along nicely! More later,

One down, two to go, and maybe more.

 Well, I got my Lekala muslin done, and I don't know whether I measured wrong, or misunderstood their measurement charts, but I'm really disappointed. 

The muslin was too large in the shoulders, and girdle tight everywhere else. I may come back to it, but while my sewing room is STILL under construction, I'm doing a pallet cleanser. 

I purchased Pamela's Cap Sleeve Shell, which is a cute woven top. I did a quick muslin yesterday before work. There is a tiny bit of tweaking that needs to be done. I need to shorten the top above the bust line both front and back, and the pattern has markings for that alteration. I'll do that if I have time before work today and try on again. I'd also like to change the shoulder point slightly, and will be looking at alterations for a raglan sleeve today. The narrow shoulders saga once again. My search for cap sleeve adjustments didn't elicit any helpful information as yet. 

I think this pattern, like my TNT Pamela's Perfect Tee Shirt will become a staple in my closet and wardrobe. It fits my aesthetic quite well, fits our late Spring-Summer-Fall weather, and is easy and quick. 

I'm thinking for my "wedding" travel wardrobe, it's a bit more upscale than a tee shirt, and lends itself more to a "Grammy" vibe. Here's a picture of the line drawing pattern, not my muslin yet.

You can make either hip length or tunic length, and it comes with darted or plain fronts. Size range is limited to extra small to extra large, with High Bust measurements from X-Small at 31" to 33"  and X-Large from 43" to 45". I fit fine in the X-Large at this point. The PDF pattern does come with all sizes included, in letter or AO print files, and again, I had The Plotted Pattern print mine on the heavier paper. I am not a fan of pasting pattern sheets together, so the are my go-to if possible. If you would like more information: https://pamelaspatterns.com/products/123-cap-sleeve-shell

Wishing you a fabulous day!

And then there were sweatpants! And planning!

 Not a huge accomplishment, although a needed part of the wardrobe. I got them cut out, and then the sewing room went into husband disarray for what was supposed to be a day or so. Three weeks later, and a back injury requiring multiple visits to the chiropractor, I have been informed, he won't be back in there for another 2 weeks. AARGH! 

Before the mess started, I'd cut out a pair of sweatpants from some deep stash sweatshirt fabric. The kind with the nice, fleecey inside. I waited to get started thinking it'd be a couple of days until I could get into the sewing room. After a week, or so, I realized this is going to be anoyher of Dale's projects. Which involves a LOT of procrastination. I rearranged thing so I could get to the sewing machine and ironing board and did a little sewing in my spare time. 

He had told me recently, that I should always add pockets to my pants, so at the minimum I can carry my phone. He's attached to his, and it drives him slightly insane that I don't know where mine is half the time. I'm not one to want to be "on call" 24/7! Anyway, I went ahead and drafted a pocket, kind of a jeans style patch pocket for one side, Have to admit, I kinda like it. Place for dog poop bags at the minimum.👼

I used my heavily modified Burda 6613 pattern, and just added 2 1/2" at the top for a casing. The elastic is two scraps of 2 1/4" non-roll sewn together. As I mentioned, fabric is some nice, heavy sweatshirting fabric from deep stash. 

Moving forward, and I have semi-decided, maybe 80% that I want to use Lekala #2214 for the dress for the wedding. 

I really like the lines of the dress, and I had a similar style many years ago, that I felt made me look taller and more statuesque, which is great when you're only  5' 2" tall. It calls for chiffon sleeves and tie, but it will probably have short self-fabric sleeves and no tie. We'll see.

I bought the dress pattern which comes with both letter size and AO size patterns. Immediately sent the AO off to The Plotted Pattern for full size printing. I got the printed pattern Saturday, and yesterday after finishing the sweats, started getting it ready to make my muslin. I have to work in small increments, and with the sewing room torn up, I'm dancing around a lot of stuff to get things completed. I want to retrace the pattern, and will be adding seam allowances so I can do French seams throughout. 

If IRL this doesn't look like it does in my head, I have two other patterns I may be muslining to see what looks best. The other two are:

Butterick 6660

or Amazing Fit Simplicity 2174

I found this beautiful Viscose in an Instagram post by guthrie-ghani.co.uk and think it will be perfect. I fell in love with it immediately and even though it's in the UK, had to have it. It's wending it's way across the Atlantic and most of the US. Should be here sometime this week.

So I need to get moving. Hopefully, everyone's day is sew fabulous!

January Catch-up

 Despite big plans, January turned out a little light on sewing. 

As of January 5, I'm working for TurboTax. Love the company and the product. I had a very intense 2 weeks of training, which left me ga-ga at the end of the day, and went live as a full service tax expert January 23. I am doing general reviews and help, as well as actually preparing tax returns virtually. The taxes were no problem, although we have all 50 states which is new, but there is a lot of other software in use, most of which was new to me, and not basic programs. I'll still be learning the ins and outs of those probably throughout the year.

Because I'm working virtually, my top half needs to be professional, but downstairs is either jeans or sweatpants. I have pulled out my collared shirts, and thankfully, our dress code requirements are more relaxed than the prior company. Nice tee shirts are okay. 

I cut out a brown tee and somehow, (insert head scratch,) got the center front about 2" larger than it should have been. Got very frustrated, and set it aside for a while, while I was mulling a fix in the back of my head. Finally the light bulb lit. I pinned out the excess, and made an inside pleat at the front neck. Hooray! It worked perfectly, and the balance of the tee got finished on a Saturday when I wasn't working. It's a lovely cotton jersey purchased from Vogue Fabrics in September of 2021. As usual, it's my much altered Pamela's Perfect Tee shirt pattern. Added some flare at the front, from bust dart to hem, and about 1/2" at the side backs, armholes to hem. We had a good Christmas with lots of sweets! 

It fits well, the fabric is really nice to wear, and is in rotation already. 

It has been really cold and damp, and although the central heat runs, I'm having some adverse reactions to the weather, and my arthritis is acting up.

I have cut out a new pair of sweatpants because I realized all of mine are getting pretty old and threadbare, and one had developed a hole in the back seam due to the fabric being just worn out. 

Unfortunately, we're getting a new honeycomb blind in the sewing room, which takes a great deal of effort to install in a 1935 adobe building. Because of a lack of levels being used in construction, and old adobe exterior walls without interior drywall except for closets and such, Dale has had to add wood trim, and special bracing to install the interior mount blinds. There are currently ladders, partially completed wood trim and part of an added shelf above the window. I have been informed there is also some drywall repair that will be done at the same time to the window alcove. It should be done today, as it's my husband's afternoon off. Then a couple of pair of sweatpants, and off to more fun sewing.

I have a granddaughter getting married in June in the Los Angeles area, and there is mental planning going on for a travel wardrobe as well as a dress for the wedding. I'll share more as things come to fruitition. 

Happy sewing! More later, 

At Last!

Imagine the song "At Last..."

 It's FINALLY completed. Not perfect, but done. My first and probably only queen size homemade quilt.

Begun 5-24-2014 in a Jelly Roll Race class at the Quilted Heart in Vacaville, CA

Worked on intermittently throughout 2022

                    Long Arm quilted at ThreadBear in Las Cruces, NM March 2023

                    Finished at home in Las Cruces, NM 12/26/23.

Finally I can move on and get a few ideas in my head made into garments!

PJ Pants

 

Okay, they are done. Started late last winter out of some deep stash black flannel. Got one front cut out...had to cut single layer due to width of flannel versus pattern pieces. Put them aside for the baby quilt, then the face plant fall, which took a long time to recover from, and so on and so on. 

When I got back to them, I had to do a major clean and search of the sewing room to find the fabric, the initial front piece, etc. I'm still not able to stand and/or work for extended periods, so it took a while to get them cut out. By the time I was ready to sew, I was thinking I had used the flat front Loes Hinse Oxford pants pattern, so just went ahead with sewing. I left out the back darts since it was going onto an elastic waist, and it's pajamas. I rarely use pattern instructions since I've made more than a hundred pair of pants over the years. 

I wanted an elastic waist with drawstring, so measured around me and just put the waistband together. Wound up pinning and removing the waistband several times. Pants waist was so much bigger than the waistband!?! I hadn't stitched the back darts, so I stitched them in. Pinned again. Still way too much pants for the waistband. Set them aside and did some mending, ironing and other things.

When I took Don McCunn's pants pattern drafting class, I remember him saying for the best outcome, waistband should be about 1" smaller than the top of the pants. These were waaay off!

After much head scratching and procrastination, I realized I'd used Burda 6613 instead of the Oxford pants pattern. A while back, I'd added a wide front pleat to the Burda pattern, which added about 6" to the front pattern when both sides were included. Aha! Sewing in the pleats made it reasonable to ease the waistband onto my pants. 

So they are finally done, and I'm ready to move forward with some of the myriad garments swirlling around in my head. So onward!

Interesting Year

Not much sewing happening this year. Took a pretty serious fall in the Spring which took several months out of my year. It was just as I was getting towards the end of my Kayla class, and everything was set aside as I spent an inordinate amount of time at the Chiropractor's office and in bed with pain meds. I'm now on monthly maintenance visits with him.

I finally finished my first Kayla wearable muslin, which needed a bit more work. The upper chest area was too wide, and I think the neckline needs to come back up 1/4" in the front. The rayon challis is a little too soft and drapey for this style, and I realized that with aging, my colors have changed and I look very washed out in the tans/cream/beiges I have worn most of my life. I love this fabric and had been saving it for the perfect garment. It's from very old stash, I think mid 90's? SIGH. This is the first Kayla: 

Have the adjustments done and some chambray for the second one. It's in the "to be" pile along with several other items. 

I did a quick dress from the Kwik Sew for Toddlers for my great granddaughter, but found out she hates pulling tight necklines over head. She does love the dress though. The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics, and as soon as I saw it I knew it was for her. She loves bunnies, and her daddy calls her "bunny" as a nickname. 

I have the jelly roll quilt back from the long arm folks and it just needs the binding which will be done soon. Have a WIP of a pair of black flannel pj pants up next that needs to be completed as we are coming into cool and cold weatther.

I have just finished another outfit for my great granddaughter. I had enough of the bunny fabric left, and my granddaughter said it wouldn't be too much of one fabric if I did leggings and a tee. Again, it's from the very old Kwik Sew booklet, Sewing for Toddlers. I did the knit pants and used the tee shirt pattern with front yoke and turned it into a modified henley. The collar and arm inserts are navy mini rib knit. I think she'l love it. 

I've been tweaking my sewing room again, and trying to get more organized as we're moving out of the hot month and into my prime sewing times. Today the fan moves to storage until next spring. I have lots of new clothes ideas swirling in my head and hope to see many of them come to fruition. 

I'll try to be better about keeping up with the blog.

So Slow as to make snails look like movers and shakers.

Diabolical Jane completed and mailed off to forthcoming great-grandson, Beau. I love all the fabrics for their colors, ideas, and book references. Dr. Seuss, Hungry Caterpillar, monkeys playing sports, explorers, states, space exploration and on the back, endless planets. Hope it strikes imagnations of what the future can be.

Took me quite a while to get the quilting and binding completed due to injuries and other delays. Also in the middle was the In House Patterns eight week Fitting Essentials course, but overall it was a fun project to do. This year I actually was able to complete the course, albeit I took a few extra weeks. I do want to go back and watch all the lessons again as there are so many nuances to each person's body that it is a lot to take in, to put it mildly 

I have many Kayla blouses to make, shorts for the new season, and I want to put the fitting essentials course to work making bespoke shirts for my "not standard size" husband. I hope to start my first wearable Kayla today. 

Plus a few more quilts are in the works, with the queen size one just needing its binding, and another being made from jelly rolls that supposedly will turn out to be a barguello rainbow quilt. We'll see. The instructions aren't really "in depth."

Hope your sewing is progressing and giving you great joy!

 

Diabolical Jane top is done!

 Although I continue to fight cold symptoms, (going into my fourth week!) I did get the diabolical Jane quilt top completed. I'm quite pleased with how it looks. As per the instructor's suggestion, I have trimmed with an extra inch around the edges that will be removed once the quilting and backing have been completed. 

I await the fabric for the back and the batting, and as soon as that arrives I hope to get it finished quickly and off for the forthcoming little guy.

Here's where it stands right now:

I quite like it and it has everything from Dr. Seuss to the Hungry Caterpillar, zoo animals, travel themes, space themes, soccer, baseball, and more. Just right for a little one IMO.

Not much else done in the sewing room this week, but as always, more later!

First week of 2023

Well, I've been pondering, and although the cold I got in December is still lingering and giving me strange side effects, I did get a little done, which makes me happy.

I worked on the Diabolical Jane baby quilt, and have the first two quadrants complete. 

Flannel Board Layout

First Two Quadrants Completed

I did pull out my Kayla muslin and know there are issues with the back neck area. I have had an issue in the past where the back neck "rises" up too high and what I have done is just cut down from the center back of the neck whatever amount is needed to lie correctly arcing to zero at the shoulder point, and just redraw that area from the center back to the shoulder point. Not sure that is the "right" way to do it, but it has worked for me in the past. However, I am wondering if that will make my back yoke off grain, and I should split half way down the yoke and overlap the indicated amount to lower the neck area without effecting anything else. Will contemplate and see which approach I think will work. 

That's my sewing for the week. This week I have things to do getting ready for tax season, so I hope to do a bit of sewing in and around the work life.

More later,

HAPPY 2023 TO ALL!

I’ve been pondering my wishes and dreams for the last month. No resolutions, just wishes and dreams that are hopefully doable.

One of my decisions is that no longer would I work for a Company that does not respect their employees but would once again start my own company. That means January to April I will be, as a friend says, “the boss of my own time.” In reality, that means I will be able to spend time doing what I love, and better serving my tax clients.

Decision #2 is that in reality, approaching the grand age of 76, and being mostly stay at home, I do not need a large number of garments. To that end I won’t sew many this coming year, but hope to get some really good fitting ones.

I anticipate taking the In House Patterns course “Fitting Essentials” again and hopefully get farther than I did last year before imploding. My intention is also to redo my bodice sloper, and a well-fitting pants sloper using the top down, center out pants fitting approach. I would like to get a basic jacket sloper also, but that is farther down the list. It is also possible I will need to make another grandmother of the bride dress, but that one is awaiting actual dates.

I have very much enjoyed the quilting classes I have taken at our local quilting store, Thread Bear, and with Great Grandbabies arriving and household items aging out, I anticipate doing more quilting in the coming year.

Decision #3. I just picked up This Is Your Brain On Food by Uma Naidoo, MD from the library. I read a review that indicated not only the subtitled things, “An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More” that it may help stave off Alzheimer’s and/or Dementia in older adults. I do spend time on activities each day to “exercise” my brain, but I also have friends and acquaintances dealing with these difficult diseases and prefer not to put my loved ones through that. I have noticed some slow down, both physically and mentally over the past several years and want to alleviate as much as possible in whatever way I can. I anticipate making some changes, hopefully minor, to help with cognitive functions.

Add to that the universal wish to get healthier through exercise and we have all the intentions for the year.

I’m hoping all of us have our creative and personal wishes fulfilled in 2023. Hopefully this blog will be updated more often, and with beautiful items.

My first queen sized quilt!

 This one has been a long time coming. After my recent quilt class at Thread Bear in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I decided I really need to get all the WIP quilts out and complete them.

I took a Jelly Roll race class at A Quilted Heart in Vacaville, CA, January 5 of 2016. It looked like this at the end of the class:

Because I wanted a queen size quilt, I had purchased two more jelly rolls of the same fabrics, but I had no idea of how to use them to make it sufficiently large to go on my bed. After my recent class where we learned about putting things together, I went kind of hog wild. I wanted this one done, so just went for it, sewing strips together and cutting them apart, and then resewing them in random squares. 

As an aside and note to self, it would have been better to do some planning instead of my random  putting things together which made a kind of crazy quilt design. But, moving forward, lesson learned. For the last couple of weeks, my sewing time has been taken up with trying to get this to a large enough size for my bed. 

I finished up this morning, and it has gone to the magic man with the long arm quilter. I'm looking forward to having it completed, but he's quite backed up, so will be a while before I get it back. Then just bind the edges, and I've got a new quilt, after only seven years!

Here's the a portion of the finished quilt top:

Now I'll get back to garment sewing for a while, but we have a new great grandson on the way, so there will be quilting in betwixt and between. I think the quilting bug might have bitten me!

More soon, hopefully!

Can't believe it's mid September and fall is arriving soon.

 

Moving along slowly but surely...

Luckily for me, about mid July when I had a new great-grandchild about to be born, I found a beginning quilting class at my local quilting-yarn shop, Thread Bear. It was an eight week class, and it went from the very basics to a completed quilt suitable for a crib or wall hanging.

Since this child’s parents did not choose to know the sex before the birth, I went with a non-binary color scheme, and my central piece has adorable little hedgehogs. Ann helped me to select the additional fabrics imitating colors found in that fabric.

The child was born in early August, and the quilt got finished and shipped off about three weeks later. I enjoyed the class and camaraderie as well as having a very patient and helpful instructor, who took us from the basics to completion. If she was frustrated with any of us, she didn’t show it, which I am thankful for.

Here’s the quilt finished, washed, and ready for shipment.

 

I’m looking forward to our next quilting class, which will build on the skills we’ve learned, starting probably mid-October.

 In the meantime, I’m working on some tees and culottes for fall.

 More later,

 

Quick-ish wall hanging.

 My granddaughter, her husband, and great granddaughter got their permanent professorships, and purchased their first home.

Since my great granddaughter has a new bedroom, I made a quick-ish wall hanging for her. She's learning everything right now, loves books, and I figured you can't go wrong with Dr. Seuss. 

I got an alphabet wall panel, backed it with The Cat In The Hat fabric, and the border is hot air balloons from "Oh The Places You'll go!" It's certainly not perfect, but as her mom says, she's really little and loves it.

Sorry for the laundry in the background.

Now I'm working on another quilt from a class at the local quilt shop, Thread Bear, for our newest great granddaughter, born last week. The pattern is one designed by one of the owners, and I think it's going to be really cute. Since I didn't know whether it would be a girl or boy when I started, it's what they call "nonbinary."

More soon.

And so it goes…

 Well, the best laid plans. Hah!

 Based on a typical tax season, I was sure I’d be able to work through the In House Patterns Kayla fitting class this year. And then a perfect storm hit.

 The Company I had been working for decided to implement a new “Business Model,” with complete new software systems for everything from incoming telephone calls, appointment scheduling, to tax preparation, all Beta programs no less, being used on an insufficient band width to handle the load; and insufficient testing and tech support. We had software outages as much as it was up and running, sometimes with no notice, and no idea when or if it would be working again. In addition, we lost two of our most experienced preparers to health issues; another one died due to Covid; his (less experienced but still with a few years) spouse moved across the country due to his death; we got a semi-experienced preparer from another area of the country completely unfamiliar with our culture and unique set of circumstances, leaving us with two full time preparers instead of the usual four, and two part timers instead of the usual three. And to top it off, I’m a stress eater! So, my initial measurements came nowhere near close by the time I put my muslin together. Shoot!

 I still have all my work waiting to be readjusted and done and will be re-starting the process when my brain recovers enough to do in-depth calculations and fitting! Luckily, Alexandra leaves the information available forever for her students.

 After tax season ended, I was lucky enough to get to fly to California to meet my new Great Granddaughter, help celebrate her first birthday, be there for one of my other Granddaughter’s engagement and party, and relax with my oldest daughter’s family. It was lovely.

I have to admit, it took a good bit of time after I got home to get back into the sewing room. I set up several raised bed planters, have tomatoes coming in, and am learning rapidly that many plants will not survive in full sun in New Mexico. Most days it was 90 or above at our house in June, and it has continued in July with many days in the triple digits. Before next year I hope to get several shade trellis’s set up to shade the plants and me.

 I have returned to the sewing room for a few “quick and dirty” items which have become my summer six pack. I used my favorite colors of blue and red, and my now TNT patterns~ the In House Patterns Lila for three tops, two sleeveless where I bound the armholes with bias, and one with sleeves. I also took the Loes Hinse Oxford pants pattern, cut it into shorts, and made three pair of those with the hopes that by the end of the summer, I can shorten the waist elastic. We’ll see about that.

 

The heavy dark linen (a little hard to see on the right of the photo) for one pair of short is old stash and I used every bit and had to cut them cross grain to fit on my remnant.  The lovely flowered top is a viscose crepe from Sew Much Fabric purchased last August. The light blue is also old stash and is either linen or a linen rayon blend. It’s a much lighter weave and comfortable even when it’s scorching. The third outfit makes me smile because in my head I call it the “blue bird of happiness” outfit. It is a red background with blue flowers, blue and yellowish birds and yellowish green leaves. The fabric was purchased in March of 2010 from Denver Fabrics.com and looks like it was a bolt end because I got a 5 yard piece for $17.50. It’s a poplin shirting, 97% cotton and 3% lycra.

 I also found a lovely new shop in town that opened in May 2022 and was thankfully able to hold on during Covid. It’s called Thread Bear and is a quilting and yarn shop that offers lots of in store classes. I signed up for two. One was knitting socks. Unfortunately, I realized I don’t have the manual dexterity to use three, size 2 double ended needles, and so that was a bust. The other is a quilt class, which I am enjoying and is timely as another Great Grandbaby is due in a few weeks. The quilt won’t be done when it's born, but hopefully soon after. We’ll see.

 I’m also working on a Dr. Seuss themed alphabet wall hanging for the first Great Granddaughter. Their family has just purchased their first home, so it will adorn her new bedroom.

 Hope you're enjoying your summer and the scorching heat hasn't affected you adversely. More later!

 

Learning to actually fit patterns for anyone!

 You would think that for someone who has been sewing for over 55 years, a person would have the entire fitting process ingrained into their head. But that wouldn't necessarily be true.

As anyone who knows much about me is aware, my body changes on a regular basis with weight fluctuations, both small and large, and as I am learning all too well, body composition changes dramatically and regularly every year after the age of 60. Then to add to the mix, with the combination of age and surgeries to replace my knees, I've shrunk a few inches. And I always wanted to be taller, NOT shorter! All that has added to a real want and need to learn to fit multiple bodies.

To be absolutely honest, I have multiple fitting books from a vintage book by Vogue on fitting to many more recent ones with photos to help guide you to a solution for a specific issue, which may or may not cause additional issues.

To my absolute delight, I believe I have finally found an answer that will guide me to the answers, not just for my particular issue of the moment, but allow me to make garments that are custom fit to the wearer, whether it be me, or another person for whom I chose to make a garment. 

Once a year, Alexandra Morgan of In House Pattern Studio has an online class where with videos, worksheets, question and answer help, and a community of sewists who all have an intense ten week class that I was lucky enough to get enrolled into this year. 

Along with registration for the class, there is a pattern for a classic shirt, the Kayla, only available with the class registration, which is used to learn the fitting techniques and alterations. It comes in both a standard shirt pattern Via A, with a collar, collar stand, three quarter sleeve with cuff, and bust and waist darts. View B is an armhole princess seamed front with a yoke and back princess seams and a short sleeve, collar and collar stand.

I wasn't sure I could work the class into my schedule during my annual work period of January to April, aka tax season, but I am going to do my best to keep up with the class in my non-working hours. It has only been offered once each year, and I signed up for the waiting list last Spring, and made sure to register the first day registration was open so I didn't miss out! I am very interested in this class, vested in learning the fitting techniques for now and the future, and the vast extent of Alexandra's knowledge she is so willing to share, plus you do get lifetime access to the class once registered. 

If possible, I'll check in through the next few months and try to share my delight with the class.

Wishing you all a fabulous Spring!