So much happening!

So much has been going on in the studio the past couple weeks.  I've gotten on the post holiday declutter/re-org bandwagon in my sewing space. I've reclaimed the area from under the stairway. It was a catchall with everything from joint compound to Christmas decorations underneath filling its two large shelves. 95% of that is gone to better homes and it is nearly all sewing now. My patterns have been culled and re-org'd and my ancient pattern boxes, still functional, have spiffy new graphics to cover up the messy old lists of what was inside. That info no longer applied with all of the purging been done over the 30 years I have owned these boxes. They have served me very well, still holding together strongly despite being stuffed to the gills at times. This is my very un-complicated, highly functional method of organizing my patterns. I sort by type. Period.  Why would I sort by company if I really want to just look for a pants pattern or spend time enjoying  blouse designs? I want to make that top again. Was it a McCalls or a new Look?  Why would I remove envelopes, corral them into binders, put the guts into separate manila foldsers which still need to be organized in some fashion and then require a two part brain maneuver to find anything?  I can see the day I can no longer search for a pattern and someone finds all those binders and do you really think they would go looking for manila envelopes to match them up to?  Why would I take valuable sewing time to imput data into my phone and look at tiny thumbnails when all I have to do is walk over and grab a box? The simplicity here is what works for me, so easy to find and browse.  Whatever works for you is fine, too. Oh, I have tried those other systems. 

I am doing this big clean up now and also hope to paint and tape sheet rock and do some major decorating later so this is a big project. My  sewing may slow down for a bit but I will take you along the journey. My next move is to do my layout on graph paper and finalize that.  

This is the re-do of threads and BTY trims. The left lazy susan is all my serger threads. Right is all my 100% cotton threads.  The blue cutlery tray holds all my fine weight threads. Underneath, on the sides and around the back  are all my general sewing threads, organized by color in clear plastic thread totes you can't see.  In the big red tote is my large collection , fills the tub, of Paternayan wool embroidery yarns. I use those a lot in repairs and mending.  The two boxes in the middle are solid oak, weigh a ton and have lovely DMC logos on top under the spinners. They are very vintage and part of my legacy from my dear sewing friend,  Ima, who I have mentioned here many times. The spinning baskets were made by my Amish friend in NY, love them. 

I decided to take my interfacings and similar and move them from a big trash bucket to these lovely baskets, again, made by my dear Amish friend in NY. Don't they look lovely? They help hide the water tank for now. I plan to get some wicker screens to help that eyesore later. 

There is lots more to do here, lots.  Hubs is on board and being very very helpful. We will move the cutting table and do a bunch of work and he is excited. It won't happen overnight. Goal is to get this done before garden time. Fingers crossed!!!

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Did you know Joann fabrics is now carrying 100% cotton lawn? I live near a "super" Joann. It is very clean and well managed and has , not all, but some knowledgeable staff. Remember I live in quilt, not sewing country. Anyhoo, I went in a couple weeks ago to pick up a pattern and low and behold this lovely cotton lawn was in with their "premium cottons" . I figure there were about 80 bolts including about 20 solids. Some of the prints reminded me of Nani Iro designs which I am sure was intentional. The quality is impressive, so extremely soft and lovely, beautiful colors and co-ordinates. I bought enough to make a lovely blouse for next spring when I get to it. I know this isn't in all stores but if you get a lot of "premium cottons" in your big JAs, you may be seeing this.  They were all set apart but with the premium cottons and a great price, I thought. Gorgeous. 

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And what is this winged thing she doth seweth? You tell me! I am so frustrated with this pattern but I will get into that when I go do the review. I had to walk away and that is why I went full bore on the re-org. See those two wings. They were stitched together at the back seam as directed to make a shawl collar. Guess what? They are four and a half inches short of making it around the back neckline. All dots and marks match.  No pieces missing. She screams and curses! I did get back to it and made it match with the addition of an interfaced  bias piece where needed. More later. I can't walk away from a Pendleton wool jacket. 

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Another great find for the sewing room I would highly recommend. It will literally "glow" you away. 

A couple of weeks ago we went to visit our daughter. We have the code to open the garage and walk right in. When we opened the door is was like walking onto another planet. I had never been in a room so bright. It was like being on the beach in the Caribbean at high noon. What was going on? The light was pure, clear and white, like the daylight bulbs that I use in my sewing space but so much whiter and brighter. You had to see this to believe it. She told us she got them at Home Depot. A couple days ago we were there and the lights  were there and on sale for buy one, get one free and we did. We put one in the garage and one in my sewing space. Just amazing. I will have to take pics but haven't had the chance. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these LED lights. You can adjust the fins to direct the light. At first you will not be able to look at them but after a small bit you won't even know the lights are there. But the room, you just won't believe.....brightest, purest light I have ever seen. Yes, they are ugly, but dang, they are great. The "after" picture on the box is accurate.  Happy sewing.......................Bunny

Vogue 9338, Embellished

 

Hello, lovelies! Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a Happy New Year to you all!  Our blog will start the festivities with these bright little bits of hand dyed wool. Some, the perfect squares, were purchased at my local wonderful quilt shop. The more vari-colored smaller pieces were dyed by me. They were part of a larger piece and I just cut them for this project. I spent the entire afternoon yesterday, playing with their shapes and placement, such fun!

And that gingham check? That lightweight will be the covering the Hong Kong seams in this next project.  It is a jacket, Vogue 9338, View A. It is an unlined jacket with no closures and 3/4 pleated full sleeves. These pleated sleeves are different from those of the plaid shacket in the last post, however, as you will see later. While this jacket is unlined, I am going to "semi-underline" it, my invented word. What does that mean? Well, I cut all the pieces out needed for an underlined jacket. Basically, that means the  fashion fabric and lining were cut out exactly alike and will be layed on top of each other and treated as one. However, this jacket will have some embellishment going on and I don't want that to go thru the lining layer or show.  So I will do the embellishment to the fashion fabric, a Pendleton wool (beautiful)first, and then cover it with the underlining. --------------  In the meantime, I got this bright idea that since I was going to hide the embellishment mess, I might as well hide the darts, so I did the darts, front and back as well. So, once the embellishment and darts are all done, I will lay the lining on top of the bodice pieces and proceed as if I am underlining the garment.  I will have Hong Kong seams throughout.  I always try to do all my HK seams  before construction really starts. I will baste the lining pieces to the garment pieces after the embellishment is done. Then I will do the HK seams and after that start putting together the jacket. Whew,,,,, I think the gingham will work well. It's lightweight and contrasts nicely with the black jacket and bright hand dyeds. I've been thinking about this jacket for quite some time, something to throw on for warmth, not too fussy, and fun looking. I wanted something I could wear with jeans or  a snow skirt and tights. I love that it has no closures.  Fingers crossed!

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I pray good health and joy for you all  as we go thru this season of hope and love. May your days be merry and bright and I look forward to sharing with all of you  the joy of sewing next year. Happy Sewing............Bunny

I made a shacket, Simplicity 9646, and didn't know it!

 

Love this!

My blouse turned into a shacket and I have no problems with that. As a matter of fact, I am loving my shacket as does hubs. It is cuddly, warm and so very colorful on a cold, dreary winter's day. This project exceeded expectations and took longer than I expected but was worth all the effort. I know I will get much wear out of this and am tempted to start another but there is much in the queue! Here is the very long and interesting story of this Plaid and Puffy Shirt. 

Pattern:

This is Simplicity 9646, one of their latest designs. It is a classic  design, buttons up the front, Peter Pan collar,  dropped shoulders, and BIG puffy sleeves with cuff bands.  I fell in love with the sleeve of similar size but different construction from Simplicity 9641. It was big and for a dropped shoulder as well but the fullness was controlled by large pleats. The under arm seam even had pleats in the seam giving an illusion of even more fullness. I transferred the sleeve from 9641 to 9646 and wrote about that in my last post and you can read about that challenge HERE. 

The underarm sleeve seam. 

This blouse has a folded on facing. I am not a big fan of this type of facing but went with it. I might change that next time. It calls for no interfacing. I found it floppy without and went back and interfaced it before going further with the neckline or buttons. Do that if you make it. I would also interface both sides of the collar band as well. 

The pattern also calls for a wrist band cuff with elastic inside. I made instead a wider wrist band cuff with no elastic as you can see above and  as in the 9641 sleeve. I like that better. 

There are optional darts and I chose to just add them to the front. This skews the plaid a bit but it is what it is. 

Fit:

I used the smallest size, an 8,  still too big. I removed 1 1/2 inches width from the boxy bodice, all the way down and also reduced the length of the shoulder drop by 3/8ths of an inch. All dropped shoulders have a bit of "box" depending on how much they drop. I am comfortable with this look given the type of garment this is. I wish this were made in a smaller size like other Big Four. This size 8 is meant for a 31 1/2 in. bust. Just what is going on here? Last check mine was 37 so that will tell you about the ease to prepare for here. Definitely flat pattern measure before cutting if you make this. 

Fabric:

This lovely plaid is 100% cotton. It is from the Plaiditudes line from Joann Fabrics. I've sewn with it before and been very happy with the results, and over time as well. This is yarn dyed so the pattern is exactly the same on both sides. HOWEVER, after I got it laid out on my table, all ready to cut, only then did I realize it was an uneven plaid, all the more challenging to match. 

When you center an uneven plaid you do not get the same plaid on each side. You need to choose a prominent bar and work with that. For me it was the dark green blue you see in the center above. I think I made it work as best possible. 

There was no way to get my collar to match in the front and also match at center back with the center back bar down the bodice. I tried everything. Except--------------this fabric is yarn dyed. The back is exactly like the front of the fabric. I cut a new collar of two pieces for the top collar. It has a seam across the center back. You can't see it but it is there on the collar above. One side of the collar came from the "right" side of the fabric and the other side came from the "wrong" side of the fabric. They are exactly alike and I got a perfect match at center front and centre back. It was the only way and a fine way. 

Yay!  I did the same for the collar band.  Now, for the sleeves, I did the standard copout, cut them on the bias. I think it worked out well. 

Another fabric I needed and used was for the Hong Kong seams. Alls seams in this garment are finished in this manner. I hadn't decided yet what I was going to use to cover the seams, but I usually go with a chiffon or light cotton. It was the day before Thanksgiving and I was in Joanns and everything Thanksgiving was marked down 70%. I saw this panel, was traveling and having no entertaining in our own home, and decided it was perfection for covering my HK seams. It was. It's a hoot, don't you think? 

The colors were gorgeous, perfect for my needs and for a few dollars, it jumped into my cart. 

I think they came out nicely! That  panel was bias cut all the way to Christmas!

Construction: 

I will start with the sleeves as they were the most demanding. Again, most of their issues are discussed in the last post, the one before this one. 

The sleeves have big pleats in the wrist area connecting to the cuff bands. They also have pleats on each side of the seam that is the underarm sleeve seam.  Lastly, more pleats control the fullness at the dropped shoulder. 

    My sleeves were cut on the bias which definitely helps them billow, so pretty. 

On to the collar and collar band. If you look close here you can see how I triple zigzagged my understitching to provide the needed structure on this soft blanket-y fabric. It worked. 

I did make a collar band template to use as I did on my last pattern with a collar band. I find it really helps. Also, this pattern specifies everything with a 3/8th inch seam on the collar and collar band. Yay for that, Big Four!! About time!

Again, a closer look will show the Hong Kong seams and the bound edge of the hem on the left. It is hand catch stitched to the bodice.  If you click on the photos they'll enlarge and you can see the deets better. 

These buttonholes were a really fun challenge. For some time now, just for the heck of it, I've wanted to try David Page Coffin's method of making machine buttonholes totally by machine with nothing but a zigzag stitch, no computer, no attachments./....just you and the zigzag. I spent an entire afternoon with his book, "Shirtmaking" and his method and made scads of samples on this flannel until I felt I had it. These are the results. It was so easy and guaranteed results, even on that nasty, bumpy button hole up at the top of the collar band.  What I liked best about his method was the way I could control the negative space between the two bars of satin stitch. My Pfaff makes those bars very close. There may be a way to alter that but I have yet to figure it out. 

In Conclusion:

I really enjoyed the challenges this top presented. It started with hacking one pattern sleeve onto another pattern's bodice and went thru plaid matching,  reducing sizing, seam finishes,  new buttonhole sewing methods and maybe more. It certainly took a while. I know I will get a lot of use out of this "shacket" and I credit that to the great fabrics I used. I love their beauty, each of them and know their quality from previous experience so know this was a worthwhile endeavor. Let's tick one more item off of my winter plan list. It's now on to undies!!!

Simplicity 9641 - What sleeves!

 

Let's set the playing field here. I am making Simplicity 9646, a basic blouse with dropped shoulders, collar with stand and the big billowy sleeves you see popping up all over in fashion. Those sleeves are lovely but I didn't want them on my blouse. I wanted the far more interesting, a bit less voluminous sleeves on Simplicity 9641. I am doing a separate post for these sleeves because first of all they are so interesting to make and secondly, anyone making 9641 needs to know about these sleeves first. They will never find the info needed in a pattern with another number! They definitely deserve their own post.

I fell hard for the fabric I am using here.  It was a heavy yarn dyed plaid flannel. Its colors  seduced me amid the bolt lineup. I bought right away. I got home and   decided on my pattern. That took a while as I wanted the side pleated sleeves but not their bodice.  Eventually I got it all to work with two separate patterns. I thought.  I started planning my plaid layout. How did I not notice it was an uneven plaid? I couldn't let  that stop me.  I'll make it work and I think I did in the end. My first solution was to cut the sleeves on the bias. Back to the store for more fabric. New bolt on the rack, it's running out of the store! Now to making one sleeve fit into the other pattern's armscye.

The above photo might work better if you blow it up. The pleated sleeve is nearly a perfect square, the better to confuse you if you are cutting  and pleating a bias plaid, my pretties! The purple arrows at the top indicate the original 9641 armscye curve.  The red arrows show the new curve, that of the 9646 armscye/sleeve curve. The top centers actually matched nicely, difference being one was pleated and one was gathered.  You can see how this turned into a near square once my alteration was done. Pleats are all marked in on the new tissue. 

I will give a few tips now if you are going to sew these sleeves on anything. 

* Buy an even plaid if you plan to make this sleeve and cut it on the bias. It will save  you a lot of misery. 

*Immediately,  before moving your fabric from your tissue pattern, apply a piece of tape on the right side with an arrow pointing to the top of the sleeve. It is very easy to get confused with this shape once the tissue is removed and the fabric has shifted around. I did the first sleeve sideways with the side pleats at the top. Oh, the shame! This is just as important if it is an allover print.

* Cut these sleeves one layer at a time. The next tip will show why. Cut them fabric right side up, flipping the tissue, important. 

* Don't move anything away from the tissue with that first sleeve except pins. With the  square shape of the piece it is easy to mark the wrong side. Just slide the fabric over. Get  your ruler and marker and line up the ruler with the pleats and mark. 

* It is very helpful to distinguish the pleats with two  different colored markers or two different lines. I used short lines for the perforated pleat lines and long marker lines for the solid pleat lines. This will help a lot. Trust me. 

* Go to the machine and baste it in. Remember to keep an eye on that tape and that arrow pointing to the top. Replace the fabric on the tissue. 

* With the fabric back on the tissue, start folding from the bottom up as the arrows direct. Finish one side and move to the next. Baste and continue. You should end up with a circular sort of pile as in the pic at the very top. Mark all your other dots and you are good to go with the rest of your garment. 

* Be careful of the top center pleats on the sleeve cap. It is boxed and the remaining pleats extend outward on each side, not one way. It is very easy to miss.  I blew that one too, as I did it last and all the others were one way pleats, Oy................

I am excited to finish this blouse. It will be a great winter addition to my wardrobe. I've done Hong Kong seams and did them in some really cool fabric as you will see. The entire project has been a lot of fun. I just seemed to be genetically tuned to taking something simple and complicating it. I enjoy doing that but it can be risky. We shall see how it goes......................Happy Sewing,   Bunny

The Pattern Choices We Make

So many patterns, so little time! On my last big purge of patterns, when we were talking about moving out of our last home, I purged over 400 patterns. Do I miss any of them? No. I managed to keep what I wanted. Just recently, as I've been stuck in a less active mode post surgery, I've been perusing my patterns once again. I find I am buying far less these days. I think I am buying more wisely and more specifically. Gone are the days of pattern hoarding just because they are cute or wonderful. Admittedly, my grandchildren are grown and I am out of that "buying for the future" stage. I do wish I had bought more Daisy Kingdoms at that time and I do wish I had bought every Issey Miyake pattern I every laid eyes on.  Treasures both, and quite valuable today! 

This one I have and so can you for a mere 140.00 on Etsy!

Going thru my current pattern stash of a far smaller amount than I used to have, I really came across only one that I will donate. That surprised me. I expected to pass on more than that. I have culled my resources to what seems to be a nicely working commodity. In going thru my boxes things became rather evident and I thought I'd share some thoughts with you, in particular about patterns worth seeking and keeping. 

Vogue 9305 used to make this collaged top. Check out the link to the pattern. 

Classics  

These are the patterns I make over and over. They tend to be of very simple lines, easy to construct and easy to play with creatively. Important is that I am satisfied with the fit which is usually worked out with a muslin on the first go round and may be tweaked upon each further iteration, as weight comes and goes. These are the patterns that have the torn and turned edges on the pattern evenvelopes from all of their use. I eventually make oak tag or vellum copies  of them as they get so worn from cutting and that works out really well. Examples of this are my Picasso pants, the Eureka top, the Button front skirt, the formerly McCalls and now Butterick work shirt and Vogue 9305 which I like to use for Collage.  

Well known and loved sewist and blogger, Carolyn N. of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic,  is a terrific practitioner of this method of wardrobing her sewing. Her myriad versions of the Myosotis Dress are enough to make your head spin with wonder and delight. I wonder how many she has actually made. She has other Classics as well that she develops over time into garments that ebb and flow with her fitting, work and lifestyle needs and changes. If you don't follow her blog to see all her sewing you must. Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. 

One Garment, Multiple Versions

If you can latch on to a couple of these, one in pants, one in tops, you will need little else when it comes to patterns. These are wonderful. These are the patterns like  Simplicity 8922    that give you one garment, perhaps a pair of  drawstring pants, but with multiple looks.  

There are four really unique hem band treatments on these pants or you can also just lengthen the leg portion of the pant for a great straight leg pant. I just finished a wonderful ponte pair, my first pair of rayon ponte pants and I love them. I've made them in a viscose as well and plan to make a leopard pair for the holidays. I've even used these  to make pants liners.  

Memory  and Milestone Patterns

These are the patterns that one day, when your kids clear out your "stuff", they will find them and be triggered into a wonderful memory. It could be their wedding gown, their first formal, the silly Halloween costume you made when they were seven, or the funny hunting hat you made their dad. He looked silly in it but wore it anyway.  You can't throw those out. I would suggest you make a little note about those and tuck it inside for the eventual new owner or just interested other who decides to take a look inside your memory pattern. It could make their day and bring some warmth to their heart. You  can't purge these just yet, at least I can't. 

Simplicity 2153, the one that won the Threads Fall Jacket challenge and got me a great new Juki serger. 

There are also the patterns that, as Paul Anka so beautifully sang, light the corners of our lives. Your first woolen winter coat that you tailored to a tee with such pride. Maybe it's a Chanel jacket, one you learned in class from a reknown teacher and that you spent over a hundred hours on. Perhaps it was the first beautifully fitted, body snugging knit dress that so previously intimidated you. Could it be the first time you made a REAL bag, hardware, zips and all? Or was it your turn at hat making and the special pattern with all versions and views on it?  

These can also be those great, challenging designer patterns from Vogue, maybe your first one. My first was my wedding gown. Wish I had that one! These are all milestone patterns, patterns that taught you valuable new skills that would bump you up levels of sewing knowledge.  I have those and keep them out of sentimentality and a love of our craft. They remind me of where I came from and how far I've come. What was a milestone pattern in the early years pays dues to what is a milestone decades later. I keep them to keep my sewing feet grounded and to mark the sewing journey I've been on. 

Patterns can mark the corners of our lives. Keep them as they touch your heart. Discard those that don't. Don't hesitate to put notes on or in them. Let the next owner know how this pattern affectd your life and maybe will theirs. Collect them to honor your favorite designers. It's always OK to collect special things and gifted designers deserve our honor. Enjoy your patterns and happy sewing............Bunny

The  Stella Weekender from Swoon Sewing bag patterns. 

Hat Binging!

 I love making hats. I just finished 3 berets that I will share with you. I was discussing hat making, before starting, with my husband and he asked me to make him a beret. so that was my goal. I needed a pattern as I wanted his to look like a real beret, his request. In our fifth decade of marriage he confessed he wanted a beret all of his life, so sweet.  I had to find just the right pattern.  I decided to be a guinea pig and when I found the right pattern make him his dream hat. He loves it but refuses to model, BTW. 

In my blogpost about winter sewing plans, here, reader Laurinda kindly shared a link to an easy to make beret in her comment. Above you see the results which are comfy, and warm. There is a short comfortable band. It is made up in a leftover piece of anti pill fleece from  Joanns. Thanks, Laurinda. I recommend this pattern. Here is a pic of the back. 

Next effort was a bit more challenging. I broke out my two totes of  felted wool sweaters, I buy thrifted wool sweaters when I see them, particularly if they are colorful or have great texture. I throw them in the washer and dryer and then they go in the totes only to be pulled out later for some creative folly. This gray beret, again with Laurinda's suggested pattern. was from a lovely crew neck that I actually wore for a couple years . It had nice cables down the front. 

It is SOOOO warm. You can see it is different from the blue one. Since it was well felted I could leave the edges raw. I chose not to turn the band in and this left me with a nice wide band that beautifully covers my ears. They stay so nice and toasty warm in this hat. Love it. Beret on the back, band on the front! 

Well,  the evening of this hat making effort, hubs and I sat down with a beer to discuss. We watched youtube and decided to look up berets. There is a LOT on berets there. This is where we found two awesome videos that made a difference for me in the quality of my berets. Both required making a pattern. I chose to follow closely and learn the methods of couture milliner and clothing designer, Gilbert Muniz with a tweak from the video by DIY Brown Girls and I will explain why. Muniz is a gifted designer and excellent teacher and I feel like I have taken a college level course with him on beret making. I spent two afternoons with my Ipad, oak tag, rulers and other tools just making the pattern. Real pattern making from zero to get the perfect sized hat, custom made and it did fit my husband beautifully. On one of the final steps I chose to use the Brown Girls method. Muniz's hat is exquisitely tailored and in the  end I wanted something just a tad more relaxed looking and it all worked out the way we wanted in the end. 

I apologize. Most of these photos are very highly altered for contrast so you don't pick up the true beauty of the hat/fabric. Hubs's hat is made from a piece of black Pendleton wool that just glows. I've mentioned before that until just a few years ago, Pendleton had a factory nearby so it is not unusual to find pieces at yard sales and this where this piece came from. Gorgeous fabric perfectly meant for this purpose. 

Muniz has two videos for berets. The first is to make the pattern and the second is on construction, both very involved and detailed. You will see the hands of an expert. He teaches design at a college level as well. Plan for some uninterrupted time to make your pattern. 

One of the first things you will learn in making your pattern is that a true beret is not a circle but an oval as you can see above in hub's hat. You will draft that oval.

This highly corrected photo shows the beautiful curve of the edge and the topstitching  on the connection between the "tip" (that's what the top is called and the band. 

There are two side seams in the band which you see above with its raw edge below. I topstitched each side of the connection . I cut another full band, Brown Girl tweek, and stitched that to the bottom edge you see here. . That will be graded, understitched, my idea, and turned to the inside. I  will also ditchstitch the two bands together at the two side seams for about an inch starting a half inch above the edge. 

In this photo above you see all that in the extra full size band. This now met the connecting seam of the tip/band which I carefully pressed open with steam and press cloth. I was careful pressing this beautiful fabric, using techniques of applying moisture to just the seams as in tailoring. No ironing on the right side. The tip seam allowance and the second band seam allowance met at the edge carefully and were then "blanket stitched" on the machine for a finish. 

On the outside I ditchstitched in the two side seams to fully secure the bands together and prevent rolling out.  I used a 1.5 stitch length and it is invisible. I stopped a half inch before the edge to not effect that curve.  

I chose to line the tip. I cut a piece of lining from the stash and fused a layer of Fusi Knit, black, to it. This was then basted to the tip, first by hand and then by machine. I wanted to prevent any stretching on this bias circle. With the way I ran the band like the Brown Girls video did and lining the top, every thing is finished nicely inside. I chose not to add the little bit of fabric in the center coming out of the top as hubs did not want that. It is called the "stalk". 

I want to thank Gilbert Muniz, his website "Stitching Vulture" and videos, DIY Brown Girls youtube videos,  Laurinda for sending me down this challenging and rewarding rabbit hole,  the Annekata blog for her post on berets that got me started and your patience at making it this far in my hat post and journey. I've always loved hats so you know there will be more to come. I have to go search my  totes of sweaters again!

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A couple of posts back we spoke of my plans for winter sewing. Well I am really kicking it. I can check off some hats which were on my list, check off  two pair of pants which I haven't shown yet but will. They are not too exciting but I will pair with tops. I am now in process of working out a top for that rainbow plaid. Whew, the challenges of plaids! My sleeves will be bias just to take that out of the equation. But centering the front with buttons, back and then sides, yikes! Not sure I can make it all work. I am going to hit it again in a few minutes with a clear head. Frankly, I love these challenges. Finally completed and gifted my daughter her portrait and she loved it. More winter sewing to come. I think after this may be undies. They are making themselves a priority.  Happy sewing and since it is now snowing around here, may you be enjoying your winter  and holiday stitching. Are you making gifts, party dresses? Love to hear about it...........Bunny

Major project finally done!

 

  

This took forever but only because I worked on it in between everything else I was sewing. I finally decided to get on it and not quit till I finished it for my daughter's fiftieeth birthday. Now I am the first to admit that Van Gogh, I am not. Therefore I am calling this more of a caricature, than a portrait but it does definitely capture her essence, her gorgeous red tresses, her fair Irish skin, her executive demeanor and her  kind heart. She likes it. I gave it to her with a sincere caveat. She does not have to hang it anywhere. I really mean that.  I had the joy of making it, of thinking about her and the 50 years I've been blessed with her in our lives. Thoughts of her and our love were in every stitch and whether she chose to hang it or not was not the point at all. I didn't need that. I just wanted my creativity to honor what I see.  She got my message. 

 What the first photo doesn't show are all the tiny strips of fabric making up this bit of art.  So many strips and pieces and so many stitches. There are zigzags, straight stitches and even hand stitches. 

It was an interesting process or at least one I tried to follow but eventually found I got better results just following my own instincts. In the end I just did my  own thing and wished I had from the beginning. As in all things creative, we know what to do better the next time and I already have a next time planned. It will be a pic of one of my grandsons. 

I hope you like it but more so, just appreciate the fact that you know what kind of work goes into something like this , no matter the result. 

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Monday Mending

This week's Monday Mending was an LL Bean sweat shirt my youngest daughter gave me a while back as a gift. It started out as a classic hoodie with a large cowl collar that pulled over the head for coverage.  I wore it a couple of times and it needed a wash. I really liked it.  I didn't look at the label when I washed it and it went thru a hot water, wash and dry with hub's jeans. It was far too snug to be comfortable after that. Lesson learned. I didn't have the heart to pass it on , plus, I really liked it and put it aside for at least a year. This week, as  I was going thru my ribbon stash, ingenuity hit. 

I decided to cut this cowl style hoodie up center front from the hem to the end of the cowl.  The hood was very deep.   Now it was split right up the middle! I had enough ribbon to trim off the edges at center front and add enough width to make it comfortable again. I don't need a hood for something I will just use as a throw on around the house so I decided to change it into a soft cuddly collar. I pinned the front edges together and then with the excess, I made pleats, equally spaced apart and mirrored from the center back. I topstitched that all into place over the original collar stitching and we were done! I really like this little throw on and so does my daughter. Looks great with my lighter well worn jeans and a maroon turtleneck. 

Happy Sewing, whatever form it may take, from mending to caricatures and all the garments you can squeeze in between!.....Bunny