All Quiet.
24 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in What I do when I am NOT sewing.
My sewing machine has been quiet this past week since I have been busy doing my volunteer work.
I volunteer at the local museum in the Textile Department. I am currently putting together the next exhibit.
My favorite garment for this exhibit (so far!) is this dress:
What I think is neat is the tie on the neckline.
This garment is handmade (home sewn) and has a metal zipper in it, so it is quite old . . . well, perhaps not as old as some garments in the collection, but probably older than me.
I can image that it was a party dress sewn up for an evening under the stars. I think the woman who wore it must have been a brunette with upset hair with a tiny bow. She probably had a little green purse with a gold clasp where she carried her pink frost lipstick. Her date, in his dark suit with a crisp white shirt and a black tie, undoubtedly drove a convertible and tonight was their last starlit celebration for the summer.
So why the apron? You may be asking . . .
The upcoming exhibit is all about aprons so all the dress forms that I will be dressing will have aprons.
This apron looks just too pretty to use.
This is my rendition of a Quaker – the city was started as a Quaker Colony so I try – if possible – to always include something in the exhibits about the Quakers (a.k.a. Society of Friends).
Other aprons will also be on display too, and, in June, will be our annual Tea & Fashion Show, which also will be about aprons.
I spent yesterday ironing a stack of aprons and the handwork on some of them is just exquisite. I’ll share some pictures soon. I know the garments look a little wrinkled – I’ll steam them once I get the dress forms out into the gallery, it is too crowed to do that in the Textile Room.
It all seems overwhelming right now, but somehow I always end up getting it all done. If there is anything I learned from sewing is that a really good garment (like an exhibit) is not completed in one big step but rather many, many little tasks must be completed in sequence in order to get to done 
Am I blogging? Or bragging?
20 Feb 2012 6 Comments
I haven’t been the best ‘blogger’, in fact I have been pretty lousy at it. And, as, much as I would like a premier blog, I would much rather read other blogs than write my own.
I am more of a reader than a writer – okay that’s a DUH!
But also I come from the view point that it is not proper to brag about oneself or one’s accomplishments. I mean, I am sure I do brag about what I have done – don’t we all! But, talking about my latest sewing project, “Hey I made this!” to writing about it is different. Somehow writing about it and sending it out into cyberspace seems so much more permanent than me “yada yada yada” with some friends.
Ironically, it is other sewist’s blogs and their sewing accomplishments that I love to read and find inspirational – so this internal dialogue I have with myself: blog vs. brag conflict may rage around in my head with no resolution. As a result, my blog may languish in this sort of half way to being great to almost being forgetful.
But in the meantime, let me brag a little bit . . .
Vogue 8499 Marcy Tilton Wearable Art
I recently made these pants – View B. And, even though, I have several garments made that I haven’t blogged about I am writing about this project because I have pictures of me wearing the garment (where as the garments I don’t).
So anyway . . . the best part of choosing an ‘older’ pattern is that you can glean a lot of information from the reviews on PR. It’s like being the last one picked in PE – at the time, it seems so traumatic not being the first one picked or the first one to sew up a brand new pattern and getting lots of reviews, but actually I think it is better not being first.
Being picked last in PE was good because no one expected great things from me out there on the kickball field – Horray for mediocrity! Same with waiting for the newness of a pattern to pass. By waiting to make this, I was able to read through all the reviews on this pattern and learn from other sewist’s struggles. I discovered that these pants run large, extremely large. And that the waist band is wonky to construct. Also, I was disappointed to find that there are no finished measurements for any these three garments on the pattern pieces nor on the Guide Sheet – Are Vogue and Marcy Tilton trying to slip one by me?! Or are they just being mediocre?
Needless to say, I sewed up muslin in straight size 14. Wow! Jumbo size! I could fit another person in the pants with me. Of course, it would have to be a really handsome guy and since DH flatly refused to participate in such nonsense, I reworked the pants pattern and removed most of the ease for a simpler silhouette.
(Yes, first time I have posted a picture with my head not cropped out!)
The fabric is from JoAnn’s (I think?) I have put myself on a very restrictive ‘informal’ Fabric Fast and am getting down into the depths of my fabric closet. And, so I am not all too sure where I got this light weight denim from, but probably JoAnn’s.
I decided to topstitch the pants, which meant LOTS of topstitching thread, which for some strange reason I had in my stash. Well, after I completed the pants I realized that the topstitching thread is for another project that has been sitting undone for months (maybe years) now. My brother’s Leisure Suit. Oops! Now I’ve got to get more topstitching thread for that project.
Even though it looked like I had enough material for these pants – I didn’t. So I pieced the back panel down by the ankle. I topstitched the seam – just because I thought it would look neat.
The waistband instructions are a bit off beat but the waist band it actually very comfortable. But if you were making them I would pay close attention to that section or modify the waistband to a sew on casing instead.
Ultimately I like the pants, I think I would probably sew them again in some other fabric. They are comfortable (very important!) and stylish (unique) and actually pretty easy to sew up. And, best of all. I have a picture of me wearing them!
Fearless Sewing! I think not.
14 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in pattern review, patterns, Sewing, Sewing Failures
So my first attempt (in a very long time) at fearless sewing a.k.a not sewing up a muslin was somewhat a failure . . . not a totally failure, but not a great success.
I sewed For Vogue 8693.
I was in a hurry (Never good). I was tired (Even worse!) I wanted instant sewing gratification (Instant sewing – an oxymoron?!) So I decided to wing it and not make a muslin. Instead, I did some quick flat pattern measurements and decided that I needed size 12.
I also read through all the reviews on PR (which there are not many and none are very extensive).
However, I neglected to measure the width of the sleeve- Argh!
The sleeve is VERY narrow, so much so that I can really only wear this with a sleeveless T-shirt, camisole or a short sleeve T-shirt. Hey, I don’t think I have big, robust upper arms (maybe I do?) but this pattern definitely has very narrow sleeves.
Lesson learned? Make a muslin!
The little closure is pretty worthless, too. Yes, it looks great: it is a neat button, but I ended up sewing a snap in the jacket in order to keep it closed and have it hang well on me.
I knew going in that I didn’t enough fabric to match the plaids, so I matched the right and front, but put the sleeves on the crosswise (I think that’s what I did) so the sleeve hem would just be the selvedge.
I also, tried to put the back pieces on the bias but it didn’t work, so I ended up sewing this strip up the back.
I am hoping that anyone who sees it will think, ‘Wow! What a design feature’ and not ‘Gee! What an idiot! She didn’t even match the plaids.’
Especially on the flange.
No matchy- matchy.
Would I make this again? No. However, it is a nice light weight jacket, which I have worn several times since it hasn’t really gotten too cold here.
No fearless sewing for me. Fear the pattern! Make a muslin!
Where have I been?
04 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
So what do you do when your hard drive crashes?
Argh!
Sew. Of course!
I sewed three pairs of jeans. I had planned on participating in the Pattern Review Jean Contest, but now I have lost the enthusiasm for it. My jeans are really just pants: no rivets, no metallic fastener in the front – Sorry! forgot the proper name of that – and no metal zipper in the fly nor even a fly front, just a regular ole’ nylon zipper from JoAnn’s. But they are made from denim so I am calling them jeans. I really don’t feel like sewing up another pair for the contest even though I have two more pieces of denim yardage lurking in my fabric closet.
Besides jeans, I have also sewn five pairs of Yoga Pants.
Here are only three of them, the other ones are in the laundry basket. Why five pairs? Well, the Neighborhood Group that I host for the ASG is doin’ Yoga Pants so I have made them up in several different styles and besides, these pants are super comfortable and super easy to fit and sew – Yes! I sew them on my sewing machine . . . no serger required.
I haven’t reviewed either of these projects on Pattern Review – as of yet. I keep thinking I should and then I always find something else I would rather do – like sew.
I did go snow skiing (last month) in Mammoth although I don’t have any pictures to share (they were lost with the hard drive crash) but we did stop at Schat’s Bakery in Bishop and I loaded up on bread and cookies. Yummy!
