Work and Play

I've been out in the studio altering a pattern for myself. It's been a while since I sewed myself any clothes, but I've decided to make an effort to get back into the habit. The main sticking point is that I am far from a standard size. Of course that doesn't make shopping for ready-to-wear clothes much fun either.

I've already made my confessions about the department that needs the most support. Apart from that you could say I'm an apple shape--if you can picture an apple with a bumpy top half! I've been losing a little bit of weight lately--by design--and although my measurements have gone down, the proportions have stayed exactly the same. So I may as well get used to altering patterns. It's a challenge that's here to stay.

This week's goal is a nicely fitted pair of basic slacks. I 'm using a multi-size pattern--picking and choosing between three different sizes and tweaking the darts a little gets me close. Once I've reached a stable weight in my healthy range I might even draft myself some basics from scratch. For now I do the work of altering.

As a reward for my work, I brought this back inside.

It's a brooch to dress up my basic black coat which gets constant use in these wintry days. I'd glued the bead and pin to the feathers, left them on the bench to set and forgotten about them. Now it's mine to test and enjoy. 

Black Sack

On the subject of shrinkage . . . I've been gently losing weight for a few months now. Today I tackled the inevitable mountain of alterations and repairs that builds up even with only one person to cater for here. It's a good way to get to know my new sewing machine with lots of little tasks: different stitches and fabrics. I bought this top early in autumn thinking it would be a staple. I was so sure that I bought two. However it's spent more time in the alterations pile than it ever spent in my active wardrobe. My gentle weight loss has turned it into a black sack.

I like my tops to be simple, but somewhat fitted in the bust. I find it's the best way of dealing with my generous figure. This top featured a nice set in sleeve and a bust dart in a crinkly stretch knit. Add some interesting seam details and it was a good choice for me. Since it had so many aspects that I liked I committed myself to altering it rather than discarding it when I found it was no longer a good fit. I've changed my mind.

If you look carefully at  the not-so-good pic above you should detect a pin on the shoulder seam. That pin marks where the point of my shoulder now falls. It's nearly half of the shoulder seam. That's how much fabric I would need to take out to make the shoulder fit nicely again. I'd need to take a similar amount out of the side seam at the underarm. Doing so would almost obliterate the bust dart. I may as well make an entirely new top for myself. That way at least I'd have a pattern I can use if I like the result. Two black tops are about to make their way out of my house. Next stop, the Opp Shop.

Sewing is Easy

I'm going to a party on Saturday. Well, it feels like a  party to me anyway. My local fabric store is hosting a Charity Sewing Day--scroll down to the bottom of the page for the details. Rebecca, one of their staff, is preparing for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Not only is she training to ride 200 kilometers in two days, but she's also aiming to raise more than $3000 to benefit the Peter Mac Cancer Centre.  The Charity Sewing Day is a fundraiser and we will be making quilts for children with cancer. So it's a double support day, really. Bec has asked for 10 inch blocks for these quilts. That's not a size I often use, so I googled and found this block. I thought it would be nice and easy to make, and a good way to feature a special fabric. My next thought was to try it out and maybe start making a few blocks in advance. If all goes well it would be nice to put together enough for a quilt top.




















It's a while since I did much quilting at home. I went out to the studio and looked at the quilting corner. There was a pile of fabrics spilling out of boxes and onto the floor. I started sorting. I did enough sorting to find a feature fabric and to gain access to my cutting table. Then I had to do more sorting to find matching fabrics. I decided to use some of my hand-dyed cottons. They needed ironing. I did that. Next I figured out the instructions and worked out what I needed to cut. After cutting came stitching. That was the easy part. Then a bit of pressing; some more cutting and some more stitching. I'm happy with the result. If my calculations are correct I have enough fabric for 40 blocks. That's more than enough for a quilt top. Now all the hard work is done. Sewing tomorrow should be easy.

Today's Bargain

I couldn't resist this bargain today. Old zippers on clearance for 5 cents each. I bought ten.

They're for my beginner sewing students. At that price they can practice using the zipper foot without any worries.

Sewing Again?

I go through phases in sewing clothes for myself. Lately I've been in a slack phase, but maybe that's about to change. I've been slowly sorting the boxes of stuff that are cluttering the studio. These include fabrics which I have bought at various times and with varying degrees of thought. Here's one:

I'm guessing it was an impulse buy. It had a note pinned to it, "summer top for me". As soon as I started evaluating it I came up against a few challenges. The instant appeal is the lightweight cotton--ideal for a summer top--except with the all over broderie anglaise it's full of holes and therefore see through. It also has a border design--that cute little scalloped edge. To make the most of it I would need to cut the pattern pieces at right angles to the straight grain. I think that's ok. The fabric is so heavily embroidered that it's going to be nice and stable anyway. As for being see through. I'll try lining the top front section. Lining the entire garment would defeat the purpose.

Yesterday I got as far as buying a matching piece of poplin and washing the fabric. Next I need to choose a pattern. I'll see how that goes.

Blue Blocks

Tidying up the Studio is high on the to-do list. I got started on that task yesterday afternoon. After a little while I felt I should reward myself with a sewing project. As a bonus it would use up one of the piles of fabrics which I had sorted but not put away. Here's the result so far.

It's going to be a doona cover--continental quilt cover for those of you who speak a different form of English--so I've used the overlocker to put the pieces together. Now I need to press those seams and put the strips together. I found a big enough piece of hand-dyed cotton to use for the back. I'll admit, it's a funny way of tidying up, but if I can get the job finished I'll be two steps ahead of where I was.

Beading Brightness

I managed to clear my big table yesterday! Blast of trumpets, please! Not only did I clear it, but I put all the things that were on it into at least semi-reasonable alternative locations ie I didn't just shove everything in a box out of desperation. After that it wasn't that hard to tidy up a few more things around the room and give the floor a bit of a sweep. Whoo Hoo! It's amazing how helpful an impending visit is to galvanise me into action. In reality, it was no easier to clear the table yesterday than it would have been on any other Saturday this year, except that my friend L was coming over to sew and I'd promised her some table space. As it turned out, most of the sewing happened in my sewing room--there is a certain logic there--and the sewing room hadn't received any tidying attention, but it was ok.

What to do with a large clear table? Well, as it turns out, L brought along a few jewelry items needing attention, and there's a possibility of my teaching a jewelry making class at one of the (other) local Neighbourhood Houses. So out came the beading boxes and tools. Here are some bracelets I made yesterday--the camera hasn't really picked up the sparkle factor, unfortunately--and a mermaid brooch from way back that was in the bottom of a box: I've been asked to show a small variety of my work to the House Manager, so this is a start. Most of my beading efforts end up as gifts and most of what I make for myself is in a narrow range of styles, since I make to suit my own taste. So I'm going to go nuts for a few days and just make some different things. I'm looking forward to it. Then I'll reclaim my big table again.

R.I.P.

This is the sort of sewing I usually avoid: I'd call this a RIP--normally it would mean the end of a garment's life; without even the dignity of a decent burial. But these shorts belong to a good friend, whose budget doesn't stretch very far. Somehow I agreed to see what I can do . . .

There's no fabric missing, but the tear goes just across the edge of the pocket. I'll need to reinforce it as well as pulling the torn edges together. I'd initially thought I'd ladder stitch it by hand to start with, but now I'm not sure if I can face that. I think I'll try iron-on-interfacing and machine zig-zag, with a patch underneath. It won't be a work of art, but the shorts will be wearable for the rest of this season . . . and in today's fashion world, it might even be seen as a design feature.

Puppy Love

OK, so they're way past being puppies--they are definitely middle aged dogs. But I found this fabric irresistable:

My task for this morning is to turn it into doggy bean bag covers. It will be just right for their favourite spot in the sun. I'm planning to make two--one in the wash, one in use--and hopefully I'll be able to keep them looking somewhat civilised--the bean bag covers, that is.