Happy New Year!

 Hello all of you readers. I am wishing you all an amazing, fruitful, joyful 2026!

In many ways my 2025 was tough, in many ways it was wonderful. Due to many factors, not much sewing was done. I'm hoping to revise that in 2026. 

I'll be 79 in a few weeks, and that has revised a lot of my physical components that I never would have suspected. There are multiple items that affect my sewing due to body changes that were unexpected. I have some arthritis in my hands that makes things difficult frequently, and I was not thrilled to hear from my doctor that I have osteoporosis and had a 9% bone loss from 2024 to 2025. It would have been nice if in the 1980's when I started on thyroid meds they had mentioned (if they even knew) that thyroid meds cause bone loss. I could have done some mitigation throughout the last 45 years, and it would have made a difference. Oh well, hindsight. 

My body has changed pretty dramatically, with my right shoulder lower than the other by almost 1/2", and the left shoulder point has moved forward some. I also have some curvature of my upper back. In addition, since I moved here to Las Cruces and mostly retired, I have lost, depending on the day, 50 pounds. I still have about 50 to lose to get back to my Weight Watchers goal when I was a leader, but it is coming off, albeit slowly. 

So I am setting some intentions for 2026. Not resolutions, because those are easily forgotten. But intentions IMO, help to move things forward.

Once again, I will be working seasonally for Turbotax. I've done the online full service tax preparation with them for the last two years, and in addition to thinking they are the most wonderful company I've worked for in the 52 years I've been working, I enjoy the work, the interactions and connections with the clients, and also it's nice to have some extra income. Beefing up our savings is high on my list. 

And the best good news is that we are going to have a new great grandchild in 2026. They'll be born the 2nd of June, and we have been invited to come visit for a week afterwards. To that end, I have joined an online pilates class that will help me with balance and strength. Adding that to my indoor bicycle, and my healthier eating is going to make a huge difference I believe. The little weight bearing exercises included in the Pilates will also increase bone density. It's gonna be a great year!

My oldest great granddaughter has found Barbies and is enamoured with them. For Christmas I sent her some store bought clothes, and was appalled at the quality. I have since downloaded many Barbie patterns, got some tiny notions, and expect to use up some scraps making Barbie clothes. She'll be 5 in April, and I find her delightful. She's been reading since she was 2, and is a MUCH better texter than I am. She also loves jokes, so I text her jokes, as well as sending frequent missives. I bought a huge box of note cards when I found out she loved getting mail, and try to send her a card at least a couple of times a month. We're going to be thrilled to see her along with her new sibling this summer. 

My recent good news includes the fact that I have found a local person who is an accomplished sewer, designer, and can help me with fitting. She's close to my age, and really understands the issues that arise as we age. She lost 50 pounds last year and is still moving forward with that as she got some alarming news from her physician. Due to a fluke, I found her online. A friend and I had taken a weaving class, that was very enjoyable, and I was thinking I wanted to learn to make jewelery. In reality, I don't think I can with my hands, but I was looking around for a class. 

Jewell came up. She does a bit of everything. She teaches sewing, weaving, spinning, jewlery making, belly dancing, knitting, boot boogie, eastern drumming, a stretch and balance class, and was doing a Sashiko class, as well as a Shibori dying class. Anyway, long story short, I sent her a text asking if she would be interested in helping me to fit a sloper. Got a text back and we made an appointment. She was very surprised to even find someone here who knew what a sloper is, let alone was looking for fitting help with one. I had drafted a top with the Bodice drafting class from In House Patterns, but was having a horrible time with the fitting of the back, shoulders, neck, and upper chest. It just wasn't working for me. 

We had a long, about 2 hour conversation. I like her very much, and found we have a lot in common. She has the Wolf form pattern blocks, and I am using one to make a new torso and sleeve sloper, that we're meeting to get it fitted to my unique and asymmetrical body on the 8th. Once I get the whole upper area of shoulders, back, sleeves, and above the bust fitting, I'll be on my way with my sewing. I anticipate making several garments in 2026. I also have a new Don McCunn draft for my pants, and will be using that to get some new sweat pants and pajama pants sewn up in the next few weeks. 

I'm sure there are many more items I want to share, but that's good for now. Have a wonderful 2026 my friends!

Better, but no cigar!

 Well, I decided I really like the aqua check seersucker, so thought I'd make another version from a different pattern that was closer to my body size and shape. I figured out that I purchased about 7 1/2  yards of this fabric from Hancocks Fabric in Vallejo in 2016 as it was going out of business. It's a beautiful fabric. 

I used version 2 (out of 3) of my Kayla Pattern from the In House Patterns Fitting Essentials program. This has a date of March of 2023. I never did get it fit right, got frustrated and moved on. I had something like 28 adjustments made to the pattern, and it still wasn't right. The fit in the neck and shoulders is good. There are several areas I did adjust on this version and more I need to for my current body. 

The bust dart is too high. The back has several issues including flaring out quite a bit at the hem, and I have folds from my right shoulder blade to my hip, as well as "bunching" for lack of a better word at the base of the back armholes. I also reduced the sleeve 1" in diameter at the hemline.

I'm having issues with the back of my bodices, due in part I think to my right shoulder being 1/2" lower than the left. My body seems to be getting more and more asymetrical by the week. Additionally, my weight varies as much as five pounds from week to week. Being old is not for the weak! 😉

Front

Back

Today I am starting the Whole 30 program. I am generally having extreme joint pain, bloating, insomnia, intestinal disturbances, and a few other fun issues. I have been trying to find a way to solve the joint pain, and get off all the large doses of acetaminophen. I dislike taken medications very much, but I do have to function. I'm hoping that as my research indicates, a change in my food choices will help with the arthritis pain. Whole 30 is an elimanation diet, and at the end of 30 days, you start adding back foods that were eliminated and paying very close attention to how specific foods effect your personal physiology. 

As time goes along, I'm still trying to get some sewing done. I have started tracing the Love Notions Metra Blazer with the hopes of some nicer looking warmish "sweat jackets" for winter. We'll see how it goes. 

The first one will be out of a burgundy cotton sweatshirt fleece purchased from Pico Textiles on February 6th, 2023. I'm going to do the shawl collar as I like the look a bit better, and it will look more as a jacket than a sweatshirt when I'm doing my Turbo Tax video calls. People only see the top of my body, so it's just how it looks on video. I'm working starting in December this year, and the predictions are for a very cold winter, and so I'm expecting to have several months of cold weather before it gets to shirt sleeves weather. 

Wish me luck!

Disappointing Outcome

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Altough to be fair, at this age, I have quite a few issues that prevent me sewing much. 

I've lost a few pounds and am needing to get moving forward with some additional projects. To that end, and also to meet some local garment sewers, I took a class at a local quilt shop in sewing a shirt. Basic class. Unfortunately, the pattern used was New Look 6197. I had requested a copy of the pattern pre class to alter the size a bit, for my various physical changes, but my request was either forgotten, or they didn't receive the pattern in time. As a result I was in class trying to grade up an unfamiliar to me brand of pattern without sufficient data or the appropriate tools.

I got the pattern to the wearable stage, but am unhappy with the fit, and the look on my body. It's so strange to have something that "looks fine" but feels ungainly and ill fitting after working so long on things. Thankfully, I used an old stash fabric that I'm okay with as a give away. It's an aqua plaid seersucker, and for whatever reasons I bought more than 5 yards. Probably an end cut with that being a sale piece. 

I will use this fabric again for a shirt as I really like the fabric and it's perfect for Las Cruces summer wear. 

We've finally got a good year for monsoons, and we've had a good bit of rain here. Thankfully in our neighborhood not much flooding. We do have some "ponds" in the lower lying parts of our yard, but they have been soaking into the drought parched ground usually fairly quickly. And several towns nearby including Ruidoso, Vado, and near NMSU in southern Las Cruces all had flooding. 

This is only the second year since I moved here in 2017 that we have had the "normal monsoon season." The national weather service notes the official monsoon season runs June 15 to September 30. When Dale got here, he was told they generally start on the 4th of July ruining barbecue party plans and running through the summer. Since 2000, Las Cruces has experienced significant drought conditions. It's nice that the atmosphere is feeding our soil again this year. 

I am working through Alexandra Morgan's Basic Bodice class. I purchased it in 2021, and never got around to working through it. With the changes of a 78 1/2 year old body, it's time to get it set so I can actually make garments that fit again. Due to medications and age, I am having some bone loss and now have the beginnings of a dowagers hump in addition to the narrow, forward, sloping shoulders and large arms. In addition, I'm SLOWLY losing weight so I want to get closer to a good fit and know what I need to do for my personal fitting. The front looks close, but the back measurements were not accurate, so I have remeasured and am in the process of muslin #2 with hopefully more accurate measurements. We'll see today how that goes. 

The intention for today is to get the muslin pressed, with pictures taken and have a good look at fit. I do think there are still some issues with the back, but that's going to have to be a point by point alteration. We'll see.

Hope your sewing is satisfying! More later. 

Second of three & New Project

Here's the next tee. Same Pamela's Perfect tee pattern with 3/4 sleeves, TNT pattern, slightly smaller. 

Fabric is from Sew Much Fabric, marked as Scarlet/Sand/Sky Blue Abstract Viscose Jersey Knit. Purchased 8/8/23, so relatively new. Another just wonderful fabric that will go with pretty much everything I own. 

Started 10/30/24 with distractions completed 11/25/24. I've gone back to my dated (20 year old?) Pfaff as it does what I want when I want it to.

Due to an unexpected upcoming nust attend Christmas Party, next up is a jacket from Butterick #5719. I have made it before and think the fit is okay. I'll use the long sleeves, shorter version, probably without pockets. 

Fabric is from Stash. Purchased on sale from Vogue Fabrics 6/30/20. Still relatively new. I have 2 1/2 yards at 56" wide. 

Description: Undulating hues of indigo and winter white create the visual texture in this fantastic cotton suiting. It has a silver thread lurex woven through for a little sparkle. I think I have royal blue bemberg somewhere I can use for lining.

Wish me luck!

PSA Beware!

Be aware--If you are still naive enough to use PayPal they will allow scammers with your email and address to steal money from you.

All of my information was in a data breach by AT&T in March of this year. It included my full Name, SSN, date of birth, address, email, password, etc. I have been dealing with fraud since them on multiple fronts, including them stealing from my savings account, false charges, changing log ins, passwords, and recovery information on multiple accounts, and most distressing, changing the auto deposit on my social security check.
There were six charges in one day on my PayPal account amounting to almost $610. I have never made that many charges in one day in over 20 years of using PayPal. I disputed the charges and their response was that since I had used that email and address on other charges they were valid. Duh! Required information for PayPal.
After that, I disputed with Citicard which was my default payment method as I thought that protected me from fraud. Wrong. Citicard bought their bullshit and I got a charge for something called Mint Mobile.
Both accounts are now closed. Don't take a chance.
One of the charges at least came from someone at Sewing Parts Online in Dickenson, Tennessee, because the woman who tried a recurring monthly charge to my account used a delivery tracking number from them.
Be aware. Elder abuse and theft is being aided and abetted by PayPal and Citibank!

The US election this week was the cherry on top!😡

Some fun tees

Pallet cleanser after the jeans trauma! A quick TNT tee shirt for fall-winter. It’s my ever present much modified and used Pamela’s Perfect Tee shirt with the crew neck and ¾ sleeves. No new modifications. Machine stitched, then serged all seams, bound the neck. Machine sewn hems. 

Fabric is a lovely Organic Cotton Jersey in royal blue with yellow, gray, white and black named “Midnight in Paris” purchased in May 2023 from Gorgeous Fabrics. It did roll like crazy and even heavy starch didn’t help. It feels wonderful, irons like a dream, and looks gorgeous in my opinion.

 I think it’s going to get a lot of usage!

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,