Flypaper thoughts Sunday night

• Thinking tonight of my dad who died 20 years ago
• He filled my childhood with humour
• That lasts
• A lifetime - his and now mine
• Marking a mountain of assignments as summer 1 ends
• These are my rules
• Never spend more time giving feedback than a student did in writing the paper
• Take a break when you find yourself wanting to write "You're kidding."
• It is worth it you know
• Every once in a while you read something that is so smart and wise it takes your breath away
• Usually from someone who stayed quiet all term
• Once this is done I am in heavy sewing mode
• Shirts and a T shirt for sons
• Youngest is going off to work for six months in Texas
• Middle son's fabric just arrived on backorder
• Then we start the bridal sewing
• Three adult dresses and a formal skirt for family
• Four flower girls 
• Last, whatever I am wearing
• When I used to show my dad works in progress he always said the same thing
• "It would look better with sleeves"
• Or " Are you going to leave it with those threads hanging down on the bottom?"
• Worst was when you tried to impress on him how much money you saved
• And you asked him "How much do you think this cost?"
• "Five dollars" he would say, always five dollars
• He thought everything in the world should cost five dollars
• When we ate out he would price the ingredients
• "Why aren't we eating at home?" he would ask
• Heidi my middle granddaughter asked me who God was this week
• Knew I had to get this right but probably wouldn't
• "Sort of like a grandfather who takes care of everyone" I said
• "Papa Leo is God?" she said
• Poppa Leo is my husband
• You could do worse
• How long do you think all this sewing is going to take me?
• Factor in I am taking all kids to tennis and swimming lessons all summer
• Factor in I am still working until the end of August
• When my dad went out he would always bring me back a cherry blossom
• Those are hard to get these days
• Lump of chocolate with a candied cherry in it
• They always know when you sneak one in the car because the steering wheel is sticky
• I'm thinking two days a dress if I don't answer the phone
• Or check email
• Or cook
• Or eat cherry blossoms
• I am taking all fall right off to teach sewing classes and babysit
• Need to recharge 
• That will do it
• Then back only part time
• It is hard to mark and hold your breath
• My dad used to eat sandwiches late at night
• Made of buttered bread, brown sugar, and Spanish onions
• That man really knew how to enjoy himself
• You can't get food like that in a restaurant
• Not even for five dollars
• I have shirts I made him hanging in my closet
• Shirts are always worth making
• He was a chemistry teacher 
• You can see the holes he burnt in them
• Always was a bit sloppy
• But being funny made up for it
• As it does most things

Completion but not the sewing

I am settling in at home again after a weekend in Montreal and Ottawa. I have a sister in Ottawa and we drove up to Montreal on Saturday so I could speak at a memorial for my old and best friend Sue.

People say these things are good for closure and I don't like that word. I am never going to be closing any kind of door on her. But on a beautiful bright sunny day I felt and still feel a real sense of completion, which is different, and better. She was interned with the husband she lost 33 years ago, when we were all young and just married. Those were the pictures I saw all around me and somehow that day felt like the right thing.

We talked about how her house really did have an unfinished sewing project in each room and when her sister said to me Sue had gone into the hospital suddenly and the house showed she thought she would be back, I knew that was code to me that there were still sewing and knitting projects everywhere when they went into the house. 

I thought that was O.K. too. 

Better to always be a work in progress with works in progress. I actually think she got most pleasure out of the planning and starting than the finishing anyway and that's all that matters.

Men's shirts

In between other things the last week I managed to get some overdue shirt making done.

I have a thing going with the men around here that for birthdays and events if they pick out a fun fabric from Hawthorne Threads (best service anywhere) I will make up a shirt to specs.

Here is the one I made for my son in NYC including a picture I received from him this morning on him. Yes I know this is out of the package and needs an iron but my boys all went out into the world with good shirt ironing skills - you know I still can't get over what they pay other people to do for them in New York City, but everything you can you should know how to do yourself.

At least that's my world view.

Back to the shirt:

This was the pattern I used, my standard for this guy, although I am going to flatten the sleeve cap a bit next time to make it easier to set in, more shirt like and less blouse like:

I also made a shirt for my husband the family dinner cook, with a fabric pattern that suits him for obvious reasons:

I used a different pattern for him just to try it out, this one from Kwik Sew that as expected fit together very painlessly:

A couple of things about this pattern. First it is not as fitted as the photo might imply. Think more of the business shirts men where in the southern US, a looser fit, what some call a traditional fit as opposed to tapered.

That is exactly what is popular around here and I will be definitely be making this one again in some other tasteful fabric.

When I do though I will add to the seam allowances. This shirt is drafted with 1/4" s.a. which makes putting in the collar so much easier of course, but I really like to do more with the seams in a shirt than a serge and stitch - my only option here. Mostly I do french seams and top-stitch them down (looks the same as a flat felled but much easier) and I wish I had had the option to do that here.

Great free exercise app

A person needs some exercise.

If you don't do something you will end up having to learn new alterations. That's that.

I know this, but really am too busy to go to a gym I like something I can do at home with only the dogs watching.

However after the big fix-up I was given a list of exercises I was not supposed to do if I were going to avoid another hoist up of the insides (TMI but this is just between us).


In trying to reconcile all of this I found a fantastic free app that is both pelvic floor safe but also really effective.

It covers all the basis, including stretches which are important, and has three levels.

I need to stress however that although these are safe exercises for folks like me that is mainly because a lot of them are done on the exercise ball but are also serious and suitable for the general population.

I have this loaded onto my iPad, the one I dropped and now is held together with Scotch tape to the embarrassment of my children (it still works, so what's the big deal? Your mother has no need to be cool). The workouts are simple and show you a quick video of each exercise if you want before you do it. There is also a clock you watch to tell you when you have done enough.

At any rate this is worth sharing, really a first class and simple way to avoid the need to learn more alterations.

The link for the app is here.

Link for Madeleine top

Here is that link to the Stylearc top.

FYI it is essentially a top with a pleat in it at the waist and a band that goes over it and is inserted into the side seam,s

A green outfit

I posted a shot of myself sitting down in this outfit a while ago. 

It has taken me some time to slow down my photographer enough to get pictures when he is home. The husband has been busy replacing ornamental shrubs with raised bed vegetable gardens and pouring me a patio. All I want for outdoor landscaping/furniture is a good heavy picnic table and need somewhere to put it on.

I have pretty basic tastes and to my mind you can't beat a good picnic table. 

You can eat outside on it, sew on it, and if like me you are going to be taking care of grandchildren 2-3 days a week, it works well for lunches and you can hang the baby seat off it so the baby can eat outside with you too.

My husband like projects, particularly ones that allow him to destroy/rip out something first, in this case the bushes at the front of the house. Even better if he can rope an acquaintance to come over with some heavy machinery to do it. Nothing that man likes better than heavy machine marks all over the front lawn.

But of course all of has cut into his photography time.

We fixed that this morning with me standing on a bed in the guest room because on a grey wet day that room seemed to be collecting most of the natural light.

I usually don't wear this colour but I had some of this ponte downstairs and figured why not? I intended it to be a wearable muslin but now think I will wear it to the rehearsal dinner for my son's wedding. This kind of nice surprise with a new pattern rarely happens does it?

The top pattern was this one, good for folks with cylinder shaped bodies as it implies more shape than there might actually be:

Stylearc's Madeliene

The skirt is my TNT knit pencil from Pamela's Patterns. I sewed tricot to the side seams of each piece for body (left the hems free and unfinished):

And finally here is me in the result, if I look a little wonky you have to remember I was standing on a bouncy bed when these shots were taken:

And finally here is a shot of the happiest, wildest little dog in Canada. Our little Daisy at one brief moment when she wasn't tearing around the yard:

Now off to do some shirt-making today, don't think the rain is letting up.

Flypaper thoughts Sunday afternoon version

• Regrouping
• Ex son's girlfriend is settled and it's all for the best
• Good news is that the fabric that I had for her dresses works for my step-daughter
• I am practical like that
• So is she
• Beginning to think that sewing is my core activity
• Might as well come out about that
• Have organized a convoy to head to DC for the wedding in September
• Four people under 5 in two cars and five adults
• We will rotate those who cry
• Wonder who will be first
• The men think we can drive right through in two days
• That's a lot of I spy
• Change your needle when you are making shirts just before the buttonholes
• Will save you from skipped stitches in the zig-zags
• Bumper load of blossoms on the crab apple tree this year
• Hope that means a bumper crop of apples for crab apple jelly
• I have names on my waiting list for it
• I am stopping at Cracker Barrel for chicken and dumplings en route or I will cry
• When you interface a collar and band interface them both with something lighter
• That way all pieces that are going to attach to each other will be the same size
• And behave the same way
• No force fits
• My sister and niece are coming here for two weeks and we are going to sew their wedding dresses
• My husband will be away so we will take over the whole house
• I will get my sister to cook
• Nice Greek food conducive to creativity
• Miss Daisy is full of beans
• "That's a feisty little one" says the man on a walk
• Can that dog run
• And smile
• I want to take a picture but all I get is small black streak blurred on a bunch of grass
• Her message is don't be giving up
• There might actually be an act two
• Or somewhere to go home to after all
• Rhubarb jam is almost as good as crab apple jelly
• Got it growing in the front yard
• Took out the bushes underneath the front window and put in two raised vegetables gardens
• That is where the sun is
• Like why not?
• So far the mailman is impressed
• Going to come by after work and take measurements so he can do it at home
• Who says we don't need door-to-door delivery
• Next month we are moving to community boxes
• Can't have a conversation with that
• The shirt for my son will be done this week and then doing one for my husband
• Considering pattern idea #913 for myself for the wedding
• Then I have to think of shoes
• What do you think of those ladies who were barred from Cannes because they were wearing flats?
• Heels that kill your feet are part of the dress code
• I mean honestly
• Put those officials in 4" stilettos for the board meeting
• Best cure for insomnia is a dull book
• If you need some titles I have a few without punctuation
• Is a sleeve board really useful?
• One thing I don't have
• Back to marking