I want to take this time to thank all the wonderful people in the sewing community who have inspired me to get back into the sewing fray. I started reading sewing blogs about a year ago; and while I was not sewing for myself, I still bought patterns, magazine, books, and fabric. Some day, I told myself, I'll be retired and I won't be able to afford to buy fabric so I'll sew then.
But the sewing blogs and the sewing professionals have so much to say and it is such a wonderful, vibrant, enthusiastic community that I couldn't just read any more, I wanted to sew. So, it was time to get busy and use that fabric I had stashed away and get into those patterns.
So, I want to thank everyone, there are so many; but a few deserve mention.
Sew Ruth - a very funny lady from Northern Ireland who makes me laugh and obviously enjoys life
Goodbye Valentino - Hello Needle and Thread - congratulations on being chosen for Mood Sewing Network
Sew Passionista by DIANA - I was very disappointed when I went to your blog and it said it was shut down. Thankfully, it was an error and we can continue to enjoy your blogs
Coco's Loft - another fun lady; loved your recent post on your hat. It looks great.
Sew Well - beautiful polka dot, striped dress for the contest; good luck.
And to the professionals:
Silhouette Patterns - Peggy Sagers. I have watched her pattern company grown over the last 12 years or so. She offers great designs and wonderful fabrics. She is so encouraging and uses her biweekly webcasts and buying trips to New York to encourage us all to do our best and not be afraid to try something new.
Cynthia Guffey - her sewing skills are impeccable. You have to see her work in person to truly appreciate her gift for sewing. She does wonderful things with shapes and lines. Unfortunately, her website is not as helpful as she is. Her DVD's, though, are worth every penny.
Farmhouse Fabrics - if you can't find it there, then it just doesn't exist.
Hot Patterns - Trudy is a lot of fun; she has a variety of videos on Youtube and for an independent pattern company that's only been in business for 7 years, she had developed a plethora of designs; something for everyone.
Vogue Fabrics - another fabric store; also offers a fabrics-by-mail club which mails out dozen of fabric samples about four times a year, if I remember correctly.
Style Arc Patterns - I have not purchased anything from this company yet, but I love the designs. There is a jean skirt which I think is calling to me.
Anyway, this past month, since I started on my quest to use of my fabric stash and blog about it, has been a happy, fun-filled time for me. There's just so much out there to explore - worldwide even - online classes, bloggers, webcasts, videos, and fabric and patterns by mail that's it sometimes hard to leave the computer and get to the sewing.
A big thank you to all. I love reading about what you are making and where you are obtaining your supplies. But, it's time for the Emmy's - more inspiration!
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
Rita
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Sewing Inspiration, part 1
So, we know from our own life experience that our world inspires us. Whether it be cooking or writing or painting or decorating or sewing, what we experience, see, feel, touch, etc. guides us in our creative endeavors. A beautiful piece of fabric, just by the way it drapes or feels against our skin, is the catalyst to a garment or outfit that makes us feel special, pretty, or powerful.
We've seen on Project Runway how the designers are taken to parts of New York to experience the vibrancy, history, or grittiness of the City to inspire their designs. Or they are taken to a museum or candy store from where they are to gain insight into what their creation will eventually become.
The same is true for us. I had been wanting to make a jacket. Something simple and quick that I could whip up in a variety of fabrics and just throw over a blouse and be out the door but still look somewhat presentable. I thought I had found such a pattern in Connie Crawford's design for Butterick 5053. Five easy pieces, front, back, sleeve, collar, and cuff. No darts, no linings, no facings, no muss, no fuss. So, I searched my fabric stash for the perfect fabric but was not moved by any of them.
A lingering, persistent cough drove me to the doctor's office. It was while I sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor that angels sung to me. My inspiration was right in front of me - literally.
Yes, that gaggy, hideous, pink paper gown they make you wear was my inspiration. I looked down, saw the bright pink color and said: "Hey, I have some fabric just like this at home." I had purchased a pink, satin back crepe de chine about five years ago at a Hancock Fabric store in Las Vegas. I don't know why I bought it. It looked pretty. But, like so many of my other fabrics, I never did anything with it -- until now.
This fabric will be perfect for that Connie Crawford pattern, I thought. It has a contrasting collar and cuff which could be the satiny side and the crepe de chine side would be the main garment. So when the meds finally kicked in, I set to work on the jacket. Maybe that was the problem, I was on medication and not thinking clearly. Because I hate this jacket!
Yes, all those hours drawing the right pattern size, cutting, sewing, ripping, pinning, basting and I ended up with something that fits well, looks nice, but in which I do not feel pretty at all. In its defense, I have to say, it fits perfectly. But here's my problem. Everything I wanted in a pattern, no darts, no linings, no facings -- well, I've come to learn they are an essential part of a pattern. Since there were no darts, there was a lot of easing. The easing along the center front was not too much of a problem. It was along the back neck edge that I had issues. It seemed as though it took forever to get the easing into the collar. After the fact, I realize I should have put in darts. The darts would have taken considerably less time than all the attempts it took to ease the back neck edge into the collar. (Hello, darts are a good thing.) And when the front opens for whatever reason, like walking, you can see the seam where the collar and the front are attached -- and it's right there in the center front. Note to self: finish the inside seam allowances. (Oh yeah, more work.) So dealing with all the problems that come with taking shortcuts added more time to the garment construction, not less.
So, while I do not fault my inspiration - the exam room gown - I do fault myself. Sewing requires patience. And if you are going to take shortcuts, you are going to get a garment that looks like you took shortcuts. I'm sure that Connie Crawford's patterns are just fine for some people. And I have several more of hers that I may try. But, I will work through them in my head or on paper first, thinking of the consequences if I don't have a facing with which to work or darts for shaping. And I will not be taking any more shortcuts! They are just not worth the time. And I probably won't try to sew while taking medicine either.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
Rita
We've seen on Project Runway how the designers are taken to parts of New York to experience the vibrancy, history, or grittiness of the City to inspire their designs. Or they are taken to a museum or candy store from where they are to gain insight into what their creation will eventually become.
The same is true for us. I had been wanting to make a jacket. Something simple and quick that I could whip up in a variety of fabrics and just throw over a blouse and be out the door but still look somewhat presentable. I thought I had found such a pattern in Connie Crawford's design for Butterick 5053. Five easy pieces, front, back, sleeve, collar, and cuff. No darts, no linings, no facings, no muss, no fuss. So, I searched my fabric stash for the perfect fabric but was not moved by any of them.
A lingering, persistent cough drove me to the doctor's office. It was while I sat in the exam room waiting for the doctor that angels sung to me. My inspiration was right in front of me - literally.
Yes, that gaggy, hideous, pink paper gown they make you wear was my inspiration. I looked down, saw the bright pink color and said: "Hey, I have some fabric just like this at home." I had purchased a pink, satin back crepe de chine about five years ago at a Hancock Fabric store in Las Vegas. I don't know why I bought it. It looked pretty. But, like so many of my other fabrics, I never did anything with it -- until now.
This fabric will be perfect for that Connie Crawford pattern, I thought. It has a contrasting collar and cuff which could be the satiny side and the crepe de chine side would be the main garment. So when the meds finally kicked in, I set to work on the jacket. Maybe that was the problem, I was on medication and not thinking clearly. Because I hate this jacket!
Yes, all those hours drawing the right pattern size, cutting, sewing, ripping, pinning, basting and I ended up with something that fits well, looks nice, but in which I do not feel pretty at all. In its defense, I have to say, it fits perfectly. But here's my problem. Everything I wanted in a pattern, no darts, no linings, no facings -- well, I've come to learn they are an essential part of a pattern. Since there were no darts, there was a lot of easing. The easing along the center front was not too much of a problem. It was along the back neck edge that I had issues. It seemed as though it took forever to get the easing into the collar. After the fact, I realize I should have put in darts. The darts would have taken considerably less time than all the attempts it took to ease the back neck edge into the collar. (Hello, darts are a good thing.) And when the front opens for whatever reason, like walking, you can see the seam where the collar and the front are attached -- and it's right there in the center front. Note to self: finish the inside seam allowances. (Oh yeah, more work.) So dealing with all the problems that come with taking shortcuts added more time to the garment construction, not less.
So, while I do not fault my inspiration - the exam room gown - I do fault myself. Sewing requires patience. And if you are going to take shortcuts, you are going to get a garment that looks like you took shortcuts. I'm sure that Connie Crawford's patterns are just fine for some people. And I have several more of hers that I may try. But, I will work through them in my head or on paper first, thinking of the consequences if I don't have a facing with which to work or darts for shaping. And I will not be taking any more shortcuts! They are just not worth the time. And I probably won't try to sew while taking medicine either.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
Rita
Sunday, September 9, 2012
"Everything old is new again."
So, I've working on this tunic top. Another 10-year old Butterick pattern. I'm a little disappointed in two things. First, the neck opening is a little small. Getting my head through the neck opening reminded me of coming through the birth canal ... "I see hair." "Yes, the head is crowning." Pop! "It's a girl." Now, that's an exaggeration. I didn't have to tug or pull or have my husband yank on my head with salad tongs but I think a slightly larger opening will be more comfortable. So, I'm going to rework that neck opening and make it a little longer. Also, the facing is a little bit too small for my liking. I would prefer a larger facing so that it will lay flatter on the inside. My second problem is with the tucks. They hit me at the fullest part of my chest. I feel as though they call attention to an area that gets enough attention on its own. So, I'm going to decrease the length of the tucks and see if I like that better, maybe eliminate them altogether.
As I was discussing my sewing blog with one of my sons, he said to me: "So, you are going to make yourself some new clothes that are already a decade old and out of style. And not just a decade, but from a previous millennium." Ouch! That got me thinking and looking. First, I don't care; I just want to be comfortable. Second, this remark came from a member of a generation that thinks bedazzling flip flops is haute couture. Third, some styles just never get old.
To prove my point I found some photos from old home catalogs which show that everything old is new again.
First up, color blocking. Quite the rage this fall. As it was back in 1979 and 1980.
And this styling from "Simplicity Today" Summer 1981 (magazine on the left) looks like she could fit right in today. She's wearing a strapless top, wide belt, and full skirt. Full skirts must be okay since the woman on the right is photographed in "Sewing Today's Vogue Patterns", June/July 2012.
As I was discussing my sewing blog with one of my sons, he said to me: "So, you are going to make yourself some new clothes that are already a decade old and out of style. And not just a decade, but from a previous millennium." Ouch! That got me thinking and looking. First, I don't care; I just want to be comfortable. Second, this remark came from a member of a generation that thinks bedazzling flip flops is haute couture. Third, some styles just never get old.
To prove my point I found some photos from old home catalogs which show that everything old is new again.
First up, color blocking. Quite the rage this fall. As it was back in 1979 and 1980.
These patterns are from "Butterick Sewing World" Winter/Holiday 1979 and "Simplicity Today" Summer 1980. Color blocking.
I found these wrap style dresses in "Butterick Sewing World" Summer 1981 (magazine on the left), "Sewing Today's Vogue Patterns" December 2011/January 2012 (top two photos in the magazine on the right), and "Threads" Magazine #163 (bottom photo from magazine under the Vogue magazine). Reminds me of my wrap-style vest from two blogs ago made from a ten-year old pattern.
This one was a real surprise. Both made with red pinstripe fabric. The one on the left is from "Butterick Sewing World" Spring 1981 and the one on the right from "Sewing Today's Vogue Patterns" April/May 2012.
So I think I'm safe wearing my new, ten-year vest and the tunic top. And I have been on the fence about what to do with these thirty-year old magazines. I've decided to keep them and let my sons deal with them when I'm dead.
Hey, September is National Sewing Month.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate it.
Rita
Friday, August 31, 2012
Thanks to Janie's Sewing Corner...
I finished the first project I've made for myself in over a decade. And I have Janie's Sewing Corner to thank for that. Visit her website at www.janie'ssewingcorner.com. Janie's is this wonderful independent fabric store in Cleveland. She has some of the most beautiful fashion fabrics you could possibly want -- wools, silks, and satins. Beautiful, rich fabrics the likes of which you will not find at Joann's. (Not that there's anything wrong with Joann's. All fabric stores are good!) Janie has one room devoted to fabrics and notions and another room for lessons, seminars, speakers. She has hosted Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns, Kenneth King, Jan Bones, and Lois Cutting, to name a few. She gives lessons and takes the time to talk and help. If you are within the sound of an irate Indians' fan who does not understand what happened to the team over the last month or a fearful football fanatic who fears the new Browns owner will move the team to another city, then you should check out Janie's. I doubt you will be disappointed.
I went to Janie's to buy some interfacing. The vest I was going to make required the front two panels be interfaced. I always had trouble buying interfacing. My garments seemed to be able to stand on their own, literally. I knew I was not marrying the fabric and interfacing properly. I had been watching Peggy Sagers' webcasts and wanted to try something different in interfacing as she had discussed interfacings in one of her webcasts and I new Janie would have it. Of course, even though my goal is to eliminate the fabrics in my stash, I had to look at what she had to offer. I mean, come on, it's a fabric store, right?
I had been struggling with finding just the right fabric to use to make the vest. Nothing was popping for me. I was afraid I was going to settle on something from the stash just to get this first project out of the way. Until ... TA DA... there it was. A beautiful teal, tone-on-tone glen plaid. Holy cow, it was beautiful. And immediately I thought of the fabric I had in my stash for the lining. Suddenly it all came together. Do I dare buy more fabric? I needed a sign that I was supposed to get this fabric. Come on, Lord. Just a little hint.
Janie to Rita: "You know, fabric is 40% off."
Do I hear angels singing?
Rita to Janie: "I don't know how much I need. I'll take 3 yards."
I was excited driving home. It had been so long since I made something for myself. I had a floral polyester which I had bought from Vogue Fabrics many, many years ago when they were in Cleveland at a sewing expo. It will be perfect for the lining. The pattern is a Butterick from about ten years ago.
The finished product. (Sun from behind streaming through the window makes for a lousy picture. Colors appear washed out.) My friend at work loved it. She told me I should consider wearing it inside out because the lining was so beautiful. I like it just the way it is.
I love wearing this best with a white shirt and black pants. I'm thinking a white turtle neck for the winter will be great, also. Next project is also an old Butterick pattern. I like the tucks in this top. I have a white and blue pinstripe in mind. Hey, two fabrics from the stash gone. And Sew the Fabric Goes.
Another picture which better reflects the vest's true colors.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate it.
Rita
I went to Janie's to buy some interfacing. The vest I was going to make required the front two panels be interfaced. I always had trouble buying interfacing. My garments seemed to be able to stand on their own, literally. I knew I was not marrying the fabric and interfacing properly. I had been watching Peggy Sagers' webcasts and wanted to try something different in interfacing as she had discussed interfacings in one of her webcasts and I new Janie would have it. Of course, even though my goal is to eliminate the fabrics in my stash, I had to look at what she had to offer. I mean, come on, it's a fabric store, right?
I had been struggling with finding just the right fabric to use to make the vest. Nothing was popping for me. I was afraid I was going to settle on something from the stash just to get this first project out of the way. Until ... TA DA... there it was. A beautiful teal, tone-on-tone glen plaid. Holy cow, it was beautiful. And immediately I thought of the fabric I had in my stash for the lining. Suddenly it all came together. Do I dare buy more fabric? I needed a sign that I was supposed to get this fabric. Come on, Lord. Just a little hint.
Janie to Rita: "You know, fabric is 40% off."
Do I hear angels singing?
Rita to Janie: "I don't know how much I need. I'll take 3 yards."
I was excited driving home. It had been so long since I made something for myself. I had a floral polyester which I had bought from Vogue Fabrics many, many years ago when they were in Cleveland at a sewing expo. It will be perfect for the lining. The pattern is a Butterick from about ten years ago.
The finished product. (Sun from behind streaming through the window makes for a lousy picture. Colors appear washed out.) My friend at work loved it. She told me I should consider wearing it inside out because the lining was so beautiful. I like it just the way it is.
I love wearing this best with a white shirt and black pants. I'm thinking a white turtle neck for the winter will be great, also. Next project is also an old Butterick pattern. I like the tucks in this top. I have a white and blue pinstripe in mind. Hey, two fabrics from the stash gone. And Sew the Fabric Goes.
Another picture which better reflects the vest's true colors.
Rita
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Taking that first step
So, I have been enjoying all the wonderfully entertaining sewing blogs that I have been reading for the last eight months and decided to jump into the fray and to blog about my sewing life. I love to sew and shop for fabric, thread, and notions. I love sewing machines, the way they look, the way they sound, just everything about them. As a young wife and mother about 100 years ago, I sewed everything -- clothes, curtains, costumes, gifts. The thought of buying something when you could make it was foreign to me. Then I got this crazy idea of going to law school. Sewing became just a fond memory as I made my way through torts, contracts, legal writing, and then pursuing a career. However, I continued to buy patterns and fabric and stored my stash away for "some day".
With the arrival of grandchildren, my interest in sewing peeked again. After all I finally had a little girl in my life for whom I could sew all sorts of beautiful dresses. Work kept getting in the way but that didn't stop me. I continued to buy because, no really, I was going to sew again. One day, the patient husband said: "I see a lot of stuff going up [to the sewing room] but I never see anything coming down." The nerve of him. What's he talking about? Then I decided to take stock. Yikes!!! I was out of control.
Inspired by some of the fantastic sewing bloggers out there (Sew Ruth, Goodbye Valentino, Hello Needle and Thread; Coco's Loft to name just a few -- and I do mean just a few), I have decided to test my creative juices and get back into sewing on a regular basis. A comment from Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns struck me during one of her biweekly on-air tutorials. She said that as teenagers we would buy a pattern and fabric and make up the outfit. No stash, no waiting for some other time. That got me thinking. I've been buying patterns and fabric for the day when I have time to sew (really, that's like waiting for the right time to have a baby -- there is no right time, you just do it.) I've been waiting to lose weight so that I look great in that blue glen plaid I bought. Or I've been waiting to hone my skills before cutting into that gorgeous red wool; I'm just not skilled enough yet. Well, keep waiting, Sister. But you are not getting any younger, or any skinnier, or sharpening your skills by just reading blogs and waiting for some day. So, make the garment, wear it, and love it.
So, I've sorting and organizing and can't believe what I discovered. DECADES of home catalogs! Anyone remember these? I have them from the later 70's through today. Just kept subscribing and buying and taking them upstairs.
With the arrival of grandchildren, my interest in sewing peeked again. After all I finally had a little girl in my life for whom I could sew all sorts of beautiful dresses. Work kept getting in the way but that didn't stop me. I continued to buy because, no really, I was going to sew again. One day, the patient husband said: "I see a lot of stuff going up [to the sewing room] but I never see anything coming down." The nerve of him. What's he talking about? Then I decided to take stock. Yikes!!! I was out of control.
Inspired by some of the fantastic sewing bloggers out there (Sew Ruth, Goodbye Valentino, Hello Needle and Thread; Coco's Loft to name just a few -- and I do mean just a few), I have decided to test my creative juices and get back into sewing on a regular basis. A comment from Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns struck me during one of her biweekly on-air tutorials. She said that as teenagers we would buy a pattern and fabric and make up the outfit. No stash, no waiting for some other time. That got me thinking. I've been buying patterns and fabric for the day when I have time to sew (really, that's like waiting for the right time to have a baby -- there is no right time, you just do it.) I've been waiting to lose weight so that I look great in that blue glen plaid I bought. Or I've been waiting to hone my skills before cutting into that gorgeous red wool; I'm just not skilled enough yet. Well, keep waiting, Sister. But you are not getting any younger, or any skinnier, or sharpening your skills by just reading blogs and waiting for some day. So, make the garment, wear it, and love it.
So, I've sorting and organizing and can't believe what I discovered. DECADES of home catalogs! Anyone remember these? I have them from the later 70's through today. Just kept subscribing and buying and taking them upstairs.
What about those heels on Jaclyn Smith? That's from 1978. I guess we women have always loved the stiletto heels. So much easier to catch the crook in the stiletto heel, right, Charlie?
Marlo Thomas with a line of sewing patterns? In what world did Marlo Thomas sew? I find it hard to believe she ever picked up a needle and thread and threw together an outfit while waiting for Phil to come home for dinner. If I'm wrong, I'll apologize. But there she is, nonetheless.
Look at Marie Osmond. What a cutie! Of course, I had to buy her patterns back in the day. I was in my 20's, they would work for me. After all, if I bought the patterns, I would look just like Marie, yes?
So, I'm having a hard time parting with these magazines. I haven't as yet and will NOT get rid of the Threads Magazines or Vogue Pattern Magazines. And of course, Butterick, McCall's, and Simplicity do not publish any more. So, they'll just go back for now and I'll decide at a later date. What do you think?
As for fabric, I have it in drawers, in closets, in boxes, and I even bought 5' PCV pipe to roll my more expensive fabrics on only to learn later on that you should not stand them on end but roll them and then lay the rolls down.
So, my blog will document my journey through the pattern and fabric stash. After all, let's face it, if I die with this much in the stash, the kids will just put in the trash and I'll never rest in my grave if I thought that would be its fate. So I have my first project, a Butterick pattern that is about 10 years old. The floral fabric for the lining is from the stash but the fashion fabric, well, I had to buy that new. ACK! Will I never learn. Finished product to be posted soon.
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