Why I am counting the days until I leave for Florida

Here is a shot of my youngest and his friend that was published of them both on their way out.

A picture says a thousand words:

Barbara's useful SWAP part five

And here it is the last blouse of this cycle from the same pattern. I love it and will wear it a lot. I am taking life less and less seriously as I go on and appear to be dressing for that reality.

There are no technical notes left to add here, except to say I have abandoned fusible interfacing yet again. 

I am just more comfortable with a good sew-in. I pin the interfacing to one wrong side of my two collar pieces and stitch the collar. Then I go back and trim the interfacing right close to the stitching line. This is easy and gives a combination of a soft roll and a crisp collar I like. Sometimes I find the fusible is crisp but doesn't roll.

You will be delighted to know I have only one more top to do in my SWAP and then I will have six, and can move on to bottoms. You will be even more delighted to know I won't be using this pattern again. I am moving on to one knit top.

I must say I am really enjoying this SWAP.

For the first time in the few times I have started one of these I am actually aiming to sew clothes I will wear, and not trying to meet anyone else's standards or some construction of a fashionable wardrobe formula.

This blouse looks like one of my days.

There is something else I will try to explain.

A few times lately I have been asked why I don't get to every sewing guild meeting, blog more often, and do a better job of it. Sign on for more committees and fewer students. Return to old jobs.

Last month I went back with my mother to the street I grew up on when I was a kid. 

It made me think of who that kid was. Central to the whole thing was I was always making things. At one point I even ran a sweat shop out of our garage making doll clothes that I sold to all the little kids until a group of mothers shut me down. Something to do with the Labour Standards Code I think. I also used to borrow every how-to book in the local library, even about things I was never, as a 12 year old, going to actually do, like weave my own rugs or raise sheep for wool. As a matter of fact when we moved away from that town when I was 15 the local librarian gave me a life-time library card since I was such a devoted patron, which I think was a pretty decent thing to do considering I never returned a book on time once in my entire borrowing career.

So there is a point with this.

Making things is who I am, despite the life detours. I have to keep the space open to do that and to be that.  This means making sure I am doing things that I want to, and not meeting anyone else's expectations. I have a very busy job where I am doing that a lot of the week.

That, I realize, is why this SWAP is working for me. And don't expect to see any wonderful photoshoots or styling when it is done. This actually is me styling and well my photos are done by a guy who still, and always will, say things like "do you want your head in or out?" "how about your arms?"

So there is some streamlining going on around here. The fun sewing stays and so does this blog.

Just one woman enjoying herself and counting the winter days until the end of term and I head off for my two months in Florida (praise distance teaching).

Thank you for stopping by.

Barbara's useful SWAP part four

Well I am fully back at work, and back in deep. This is certainly going to affect my sewing time.

But not entirely.

Here is a third version of the Jane shirt, this time as per pattern with the yoke and the 3/4 split sleeve, in one of my big city prints. Although I am beginning to wonder if I am going to end up looking like Kramer, I admit I love it. Maybe, no undoubtedly, my inner Kramer is larger than I thought.

Having made this before there was only one small change I made. The split sleeve is made by simply leaving about 3" of the sleeve seam open and I knew the wrong side would show a bit. As a result I added to the hem so it was 1 1/2" wide, and before I even sewed the sleeve seam I finished the raw edges of the fabric with my narrow hem foot. It thought this made a very easy sleeve treatment look a little neater and you know we only do top quality work in this location, assuming you define top and quality pretty loosely:

Now back to work, my job I mean.

I am pretty pleased with the realization that I have now four of my six SWAP tops done, of course four of the final total will be from the same pattern but with such different fabric choices I don't think that matters. And if it does don't tell me.

Barbara's Useful SWAP part three

Some of you may remember my great success with Indygo Junction's London Jacket a while ago.

Since I am so in love with that pattern I do what I usually do when I find a winner and emailed the company with a link to my review. As the result of that exchange Indygo offered to send me a copy of the next pattern I reviewed to give away to my blog readers, on the agreement that my review would be exactly what I thought.

That pattern, and the next in my SWAP tops, is this one:

It is sort of zany (that's what I am calling it) and I completely, absolutely am crazy about it. This really is a well-drafted but simple pull-over top and just made for large bold prints - something I love but always have a hard time figuring out how to use.

Here is my version, on the quiet dummy until my whole SWAP is done and I do a photoshoot or what passes for one of those around here.

Now you might think this is pretty wild, but if you have ever met me in person you would know this is my personality - for better or worse. This is the only kind of floral I can wear:

On a hanger. This way you can see the pleat. After I made the pleat and hemmed the top I went back into the inside and edge-stitched close to the fold of each side of this box pleat, right down over the hem too, to help the pleat keep its shape as this is a cotton. The tunic view has you actually edge-stitch the pleat from the outside to set the pleat. 

You are supposed to notice I matched the print on the patch pockets. Really I had no choice with a print this obvious.

Crooked placement on a dress form. Oh well. Still a great top.

Having matched one pocket I had to do the other one. The skill level is amazing.

I am very taken with this pattern. How often do you get something that really is this easy to sew, a cotton around the house top even, that has some style? I think I look wonderful in it with slim pants or my Magic Straight skirt.

A few observations:

• The collar in cut on the bias and not interfaced. I made the shorter version somewhat lengthened in this top and a single layer collar. If I did it again I would use the collar version for the tunic when is doubled and folded over.
• The neckline is very early 60's and wide. Take advantage of the four raglan seams and the seam down the top of the sleeve to fine-tune this opening a bit. Baste first, try it on, and then commit.

I will definitely be making more of these (could be lengthened to a dress too) and the first person who emails me directly with a name and address can have a copy of this pattern sent out to her.

After two hits I am going to go back and look at a few more of patterns from this company - as a garment sewer I had never considered their line for someone who is not a quilter, which just goes to show, well something I am sure.

More than anything I am pleased to sew something so easy that doesn't compromise drafting quality.

Now onto cutting out the next few tops for my SWAP before I go back to work full-time.

Barbara's Useful SWAP part two

The second blouse I have made from the Jane over-shirt from StyleArc is this one with my Liberty cotton lawn:

There is not a lot to add about the construction, except that I added the split cuff treatment from the StyleArc Sasha shirt to finish the 3/4 sleeves. I have sort of given up totally on full length sleeves. My hands are always busy and the sleeves are always rolled up so it makes sense to just start out that way.

Also I never use any kind of back neck facing on a blouse. Those are just nuisance units in my opinion that never quite fit, always flip up, and look lumpy from the outside since they are usually interfaced. I even find a bound seam a little bulky.

This seems to me to be a big price to pay to finish the little bit of back neck seamline. So even though I try to do quality work every where else I always just serge this seam. I made this decision when I saw that the first shirt I did this on, a 20 year old camp shirt that I put on every summer and my family always says "Mom when are you going to stop wearing that shirt?", has a serged back neck seam and has aged better than I have.

I also find that serge finishing this curved seam keeps in some flexibility that doesn't fight the roll of the collar, which is good.

My other comment on this blouse is that the fabric is terrific. You don't get much real cotton lawn anymore - this quality stuff is much different from just cheap thin fabric - and I am astounded by the fact this blouse neither wrinkles or weighs much at all.

I did some scientific testing holding the blouse in one hand and various other objects in the other and my calculation is this blouse weighs about the same as a 1000 m spool of Gutermann thread. 

This would make an ideal travel piece for hot weather, you could pack it in a change purse, and would be perfect say if you were going on safari and needed something you could rinse in a camp sink and wear the next morning. 

Since I am unlikely to be going on safari this term I note it would also work well for trips to the garment district and meals in the East Village that leave the kinds of exotic stains you know you have to rinse out right away before they set.

Which is a lead in to my next top. 

I am really happy about this one which I am calling my Zany top for obvious reasons and because I am well past needing what looks like a maternity top.

The problem is I used a blue washable marker to mark the pocket placements and it didn't really come out. So of course I went on the www this morning and armed myself with all possible hints:

And it looks like the vinegar may have done the trick.

My husband once pointed out that 110% of all household hints involve either vinegar or baking soda which is true.

I am hopeful I can get this top done before next year.

While I sew I am going to be doing some thinking. 

Plans for next year (again person mentioned above says I don't really plan as much as scheme, which is actually fairly perceptive) and what to write about to respond to some much appreciated blog award nominations.

I have to write things no one knows about me and since I  a) am not that complicated b) think I have said it all here, I will have to think what those things are. Unless you have some questions I can answer.

Now off to hold this top front to the light at the window and see if I have to move onto rubbing alcohol and dishwasher detergent.

Pattern correction

Donna has pointed out I made a mistake when I referred to the blouse pattern as Annie, in fact it is Jane (knew it was a basic name) and here is the link.

Barbara's Useful SWAP part one

For those of you who aren't following these things I am joining in this year's Stitcher's Guild Sewing With a Plan venture - doing the 11 units - six tops, four bottoms and a jacket.

With it being dark and gloomy outside, and cold, with a storm coming in tonight I decided to start off with a bright pink linen shirt.

Nothing in my SWAP is exciting - this is entirely an exercise in wearable clothes for ordinary day wear.

I used a version of the Annie StyleArc blouse, eliminating the yokes as I was short on fabric and for the same reason making short sleeves. What I like most about this pattern is the nice collar/neckline. Also as a gesture to speed sewing, and the less fitted look of the new blouses this coming season (based on the new patterns and more significantly what I am noticing on the Spring collections on Style.com), this is pretty basic and boxy.

Because it was such an easy project I decided to do some wing needle stitching around the collar and sleeve hems.

This is a super easy treatment that works very well in linen. 

Basically all you need is the most simple of reverse action "stretch" stitches (one in which the needle goes in the hole more than once doing that annoying super slow stitching thing) or an "heirloom" decorative stitch that operates the same way on your machine. The stitch I used on my Pfaff looks like a line of small vertical crosses.

On the hem of the blouse I used a plain needle and a reverse action straight stitch and made my buttonholes with the cross-stitch stretch version.

All this minimally fancy stitching was done with a rayon thread, because, well, I found some when I was cleaning out my sewing room on the floor. 

I have decided to just do mostly dressmaker dummy shots of my SWAP garments until I am finished. As opposed to the regular live dummy shots.

Here is the finished blouse and the details:

Now onto the next blouse. Same pattern, my Liberty fabric. A few more days off and I am going to indulge myself as much as I can in staying cozy and sewing before the deluge hits me work.