Saturday and shirts

It has been a busy, busy week. 


First week of classes and 140 students to educate this term. Turns out one of the other programs made my first year class a required, found this out when I saw my wait list, and I had to scramble.


Very happy and excited to see my students though - I really love teaching. I won't be touching down until December and my job is to hold it together until then.


On the home front my husband is tearing apart the kitchen this weekend. I have to wander around with pots trying to figure out where to put things.


So I really needed a straightforward sewing project. I decided to go for a cotton shirt, and this one:

If my spouse goes off to the hardware store enough I should be able to get it mostly done today.


I am pretty excited about this project because I have finally developed a shirt collar application that suits my random style. I can sew carefully if I have to, but since sewing is my Zoloft, I don't like it to be too stressful.


I really am not dispositionally a precision person. This is why I am so content spending my work time with young people making them laugh and maybe enjoy thinking and am not say a property lawyer, or an accountant, or other adult occupations.


So I am developing what I am going to call the "Incompetent sewer's shirt collar" instructions. So far my collar is going  together quite well in those snippets of time between when I hear the car drive out of the driveway and when I hear it drive back in.


Which is what I detect now. 


More later, got to go and pick up a pile of pots.

Am I painting by number?

A couple of things have me thinking. 


First of all, and maybe folks were being polite, the comments other people made here and on Pattern Review about that red vest were more favorable than the ones I made. I am trying to expand my style edges and it feels weird. I am thinking that my after work and maybe some of my work wardrobe needs to be more arty. Like a lot of women I am trying to negotiate a maturing style that is not trying-to-hard-to-look-trendy and therefore aging, or is what I would call given-up T shirt and jeans basics. Arty style if done right seems to hit that sweet spot, which I am still trying to locate.


Then a few days ago my sister Nancy, who is tremendously creative, called and told me to go out and buy this magazine:

Now I am not a wearable art person. I am sure I am not the only one who made one of those serged, wearable art vests in the 90s that seemed like such a good idea in sewing class, but made her feel like a dingbat when she wore it (once) out in non-sewing company.  Some things we should just keep among ourselves. And I am not really a re-purposer. Yes, I also made a vest once out of men's ties too,


But I have to wonder if, like so many sewers of my generation, if I am stuck in pattern following execution and not doing enough with my creative brain. Accuracy and fit do not equate directly with self-expression. And really in this world do we get enough chances to do that?


There is some interesting work in this magazine. 


Yes, I would work on some technique - why would anyone use white thread to sew in a zipper in purple fabric? And please would someone give these girls an iron, but there is an idea here to consider and I am doing that.


Take a look at these projects and tell me what you think:

Sweater strips serged to bottom of a cardigan

The old felted sweater trick with some needle felting, interesting skirt I thought.

A lace top with tulle and decorations added as you can see, not a bad upgrade of the LBD for those occasions when everyone at the event is wearing a LBD

OK this is really clever, how smart is that strap/belt?

And me, signing off now, to go teach and try to open some young minds, and reminding myself to do the same with my own.

Butterick 5680 not exactly as illustrated

O.K. summer is overish. I have red leaves on my trees and I have had my last outdoor swim of the season.

I am dragging my mind to where I last left it.


At the end of last winter I decided I needed more warm vests.


And since I knew it would take me three years to knit a vest. at least, I have been looking for sewing patterns. Hopefully not dopey vests but something to keep my core warm in the dog walking, walking to work, side of my life. You know how sometimes you need a little something.


Like a little pie before bed, or a little chocolate to perk you up, or a vest to make that jacket or coat just a little warmer - but without sleeve bulk.


So in the last of many BMV orders (does Simplicity know how it is missing out?) I ordered this, Butterick 5680:

I am a sucker for a shawl collar and thought if the vest worked out I would try it in a longer version in the cardigan. 


I used a sort of fleece-like sweater knit as specified and made it in a medium (12-14) even though I am more a 16-18. 


Now to recap the bust for a 12 is 34" and the bust for a 14 is 36". The picture above of this vest has it sort of meet in the front.


Well folks this is what I ended up with:

Yup, a vest that measures 60" from front to front across the bust.

Now of course some of this is absorbed in the shawl collar, and of course you need ease, particularly if you are using a heavier fleece. But I figured I could have strapped two Wire-haired Fox terriers to my torso and this thing would still meet in the middle.


I know because I measured Mr. Rascal and doubled it.


This may be fine if you ever plan on doing that, but it's still something most of us won't do too often.


Don't take this as a criticism as much as a reality check and information you might want before you cut.


And it's not all bad. 


I mean if you wanted to put in buttons you would have lots of room to do it. Here is what this vest looks like, in all its generosity as is:

This is another of my what are you waiting for, take the picture shots

I made a small gaposis dart from the middle of the front arm aimed at my bust, and although I interfaced the collar as was suggested, I am not sure that would be necessary with a thicker fleece or even with this one. I was ad libbing the dart, should have made it shorter, and need to take a light iron to the hem. I see in this shot that there is a hem ripple on one side. Must be the light or the fact I threw it together just before I went off to visit my mother-in-law.

In the end I am not so much displeased with this vest as I was surprised by it. It is likely I will wear it, since I made it for warmth, wrapped around with a pin, like this, and it will do that job:

One more day before the first day of school and I hope to get at least something else started before I lose my sewing days, weekends excepted.

Jacket and now suit of Vogue 1264

First my quick projects.


Two more versions of Vogue 1261 in some sweater knit I had kicking around the place. I folded under and cover hemmed the collar, serged the rest of it up as you would normally (although you really need to set in the sleeves to make these work), and left the hem raw but with a row of cover-hemmed stitching:

I will get a lot of wear out of these and also the pants of 1264 which you have seen before and are still as comfortable.


Now on to the jacket. 


Here are assorted shots which give you an idea what this pattern looks like on someone who is about 40 pounds heavier than the model, and loving it.

Now I this is what I have to say about this jacket.


First off, the all the whole thing sort of depends on those front panels lining up. I did a FBA and I am glad I did. The only closure is a giant hook and eye at the neck and if I hadn't allowed for my waist etc. and bust it would have all spread in a really apparent way.


These are the hooks and eyes I used:

They were fine but you really have to bend in the hook a bit so it stays closed.


This went together without incident, probably because I left out the pockets, which I admit would have been nice, but I just didn't have a welt pocket in pleather kind of week. Things were busy enough.


The woven sewn-in interfacing suggested is necessary as the pleather, which stretches, really needs the stability and the grain.


All in all an interesting pattern and right past the boundaries of my usual look.


An outfit like this has it's uses though. 


I think it would be perfect for those meetings when I have to call in a kid and say "It seems you plagiarized." Yes, this is definitely an outfit for the plagiarism police. A badge would probably go nicely as an accessory. 


Finally, here is a shot of the characters who thought we were going out the front door for a drive to the park, I did take them later of course.

Clothes matter

This came in just now from my son in London. Enjoy:

Report from out of controlsville

I will be posting the final pictures of that Vogue 1264 jacket tomorrow. Looks fine, but maybe it needs pockets.


More or less nuts around here.


Itemize:


Up for nearly two nights now. Once because of going to bed late and getting up early yesterday because I had too many projects on the brain and back-to-school looming next week.


Up most of last night down at the hospital with my daughter who has about 5 weeks left to go with her second pregnancy. She has the stomach flu so bad we had to take her in for IV Gravol and a couple litres of fluid. My son-in-law stayed home with Miss Scarlett. I sat in the room at the maternity hospital and knit. She is somewhat better today but not much so we might go back for more fluids. She's a nurse herself and pretty matter of fact about all of this. She is off work because of a tough later pregnancy anyway so we are sort of hanging on this last month.


On the home front you might remember that my husband most unexpectedly disabled the downstairs bathroom (actually the toilet is now sitting in the middle of the floor in another room) and ripped out the laundry room last weekend. This happened the week before I go back to a course overload (for those who don't teach think of this as three months of overtime) and a busy fall.


Well, anyway.


I live in a 50 year old house with the original kitchen complete with the dings of raising a bunch of kids in it. My spouse and I have been sort of thinking of a new kitchen in a vague sort of way. We saw a model kitchen in one spot and had our names written down as potential customers.


Two days ago we got a call saying that the store was going to change the display kitchens and if we would remove the existing one for them they would give it to us for 50%.  My husband said yes, so now we have an entire kitchen to gut, stuff like flooring to figure out etc.


One problem.


This beautiful complete kitchen is 1 1/2" too long for our space. After much problem-solving discussions  we figured out if we got a new fridge, that was slightly narrower, it would all work.


So new fridge. Not too newsy.

 But this is the thing.


I already have three fridges and one chest freezer. Have I mentioned that my spouse is food obsessed and there is cooking and family eating going on around here non stop? I have a 36" wide fridge in my kitchen that holds my milk and home made dog food, and all my condiments (love to can and love spicy food). There is also another 36" fridge in my husband's office down the hall (see above) for other stuff, and a back-up in the basement, and freezer. We need the space. When my old friend came for dinner the other week my husband cooked lobsters the size of Mr. Rascal and that sort of thing takes up room and happens often.


And now we decide we need another fridge. 


There are moments like these when I realize, I am probably nuts. I live in a little modest house with family pictures, three fridges, and a life time supply of fabric. I don't have beautiful furniture or a spotless, well-ordered home. Most of my life is what are we going to eat (and I wonder why the weight isn't going away), what am I going to sew, and who is coming over. That's it. The rest is pretty vague.


What are you going to do?


Well tomorrow I am going to start a quick and easy top and hide out in my sewing room and hope the rest of it blows over.


Make sense?

McCalls thoughts

I am cheered as always to see new patterns come out, Vogue can't be far behind, but haven't exactly had my socks knocked off by this latest McCalls batch.

Here are my thoughts:

This dress is interesting in that the garment shot shows a wider skirt than the line drawings, and the pleats explain that. If the bodice wasn't so boring I might have considered it.

Is that a centered zipper I see in this double-knit dress? You are kidding. This definitely would have an invisible zipper in RTW and there is not a zipper application harder to do than a centered zipper. The sample makers shouldn't put in details they wouldn't see in real clothes or wear themselves.

If you live where I live any jacket with a nice warm neck catches your eye. I think it would be possible to get creative with this pattern and I just might do that. But tell me where were their heads when they put a cozy neck on a jacket and then made it an unlined garment. Warm neck, cold body? The pattern companies seem to be in love with unlined jackets which to my mind are a contradiction in terms, plus those jackets stick and never hang right. 

This one caught my eye as wearable and sort of interesting but there is no bust shaping and a FBA would be too much trouble to add in such a simple dress.

I don't really need this pattern but thought this had potential for sewers who wanted a slim knit pant without going to leggings extremes and you have to love that natural waistband. I will look to see other sewers working on this one and may change mind about not needing it.

So overall I probably won't make an order for any of these, but might throw the jacket into the basket if Vogue delivers and I do my usual first-sale-possible purchases.

Tell me did I miss anything?