I've been sewing!!!

After a particularly awful day of appointments, on Monday, a friend and I rewarded ourselves with a trip to Hart's Fabric. And while they are not a wonderful place to work – yes, I've worked there – they are an amazing (!) place to visit shop. And shop I did. I'll show pics of the fabrics/patterns I bought further in this entry.

And the reason for my shopping spree: my anniversary is in September – year number FIVE!! -- and for the past couple of years,husband and I have been trying to plan a trip up north into Oregon and Washington to visit friends and family. We've failed. Every year. Mostly because of husband not being able to get time off work right after summer. Well, with a new job imminent for him -- keeping fingers crossed (edit: he just received the job offer!) – he may actually be able to get the time off this fall, and we are starting to plan our much-delayed road trip.

Because it will be up North and the weather is if-y in the dead of summer, I decided to plan and sew a nice new fall wardrobe for colder weather. So, it will probably end up being my winter wardrobe at home. Plus, possibly a fancy-ish 'out-fit' for Holiday parties and such. I decided I am going to need stuff that packs easily, and is rather versatile design-wise. So, for the first time in my life – adult, or otherwise – I am actually planning a wardrobe. And really making some decisions based on not just “what-I-like” but based in “what-will-work” for my life-style and fashion sense. What a concept! It only took me 10 years of sewing for myself to figure this out!

This will also figure perfectly into my goal of branching out from quilting cottons for garments this year. I have been talking about this for a number of months now, so it's time to jump in. Not that there is anything wrong with quilting cottons. I just believe for garments they tend to lead to a very “home-sewn” look. They do not drape well, and to me, can seem rather juvenile at times. And I'm ready to up the quality of my sewing skills, and the quality of the finished garments.

I will also be making my husband two shirts and attempting to draft and sew him a Pea-Coat, as an anniversary present and for the trip.  See, my husband is 6'6" tall.  He is also very lanky and slim.  He has, what I lovingly refer to as Monkey Arms -- and he will heretofore be referred to as Monkey Boy.  So, trying to find a coat to fit this man is nearly impossible!  Either they fit in the arms, and are *WAY* to big in the torso, or they fit in the torso, but the arms are 3/4 length sleeves.  Which, by the way, is not really an attractive look on men.   Therefore, a custom coat.  Which I've never really done.  So, yeah...I'm a tad bit apprehensive about this challenge.  But there's pretty much no one else I'd rather sew for.   I have already begun the muslin for the shirt and have also already taken down his measurements for the sloper I will need for the coat. I have a pattern for the shirts, thank goodness! I have never actually attempted making a “dress-shirt” of any sort, so this is proving quite challenging.

I particularly don't like raw edges in my garments – I think they look weird and become messy when washed – so I am having issues with the instructions for this shirt at the moment. The inside of the pocket has raw edges. And I do not like this at all. So, I am trying to figure out a way to eliminate them completely. This attempt has resulted in three failed pockets. It is not looking good for getting these done in time. Do RTW (ready to wear) garments have raw edges in their pockets as well? I am honestly not sure. I'll have to do some research in my husbands closet. 
 

Okay, now it's picture time. This first one is the coat pattern I'll be working on for myself for our fall trip up North. 

I will be making the pink version on the envelope.  And while the picture doesn't really do this fabric justice, it truly is gorgeous, and quite soft.  I don't have a lining picked out yet, because I can't quite figure out if I want to go super subtle or something shockingly bright and pretty inside. I also don't want to necessarily spend more on the lining than I spent on the outer fabric. Which I bought for a sweet $16.99/yard. It may seem a bit pricey to some, but it's a great (!) quality fabric, 100% wool, and imported. So, I splurged. 

All the lining fabric I've been finding, though is nearly $30/yard. Which is completely ridiculous! There is also the slight issue that I will NOT use acetate lining – or anything else of artificial content –for anything! (insert link to first post). Plus, I LOVE the idea of a super pretty – and surprising – lining on the inside of a coat/jacket. Especially if the outer fabric is somewhat subdued, as this one is. I was going to make this out of this fabric (insert link to pic of plaid fabric), but I decided that this one just doesn't work with what I generally wear. It's a gorgeous fabric, it's just not really me as far as a jacket goes. So, I think I'll make a bag or two out of it, instead. 

Alright, that's it for now.  Back to the work at hand.  :)

~happy sewing, everyone!
 

... and in related news!

My sewing room -- I tried calling it a 'studio' but it just doesn't work for me -- is pretty much finished being re-created, and I am *loving* it so very much. Pictures to come...next post perhaps?  I am not in there nearly as often as I'd like to be, and there are still a few things I need to organize -- like my pattern stash! -- but every time I even walk by the room, I'm drawn to it.  It even smells good -- kinda like scorched ironing board cover (oops!).  Although I believe scorching is just a bit of a right of passage for new ironing board covers.  And this one is 'kinda' new, in terms of amount of usage.  And I LOVE it.

So, I need to organize my pattern stash.  I really really do.  See, I've recently lost quite a few inches (read: dropped three pants sizes) and I have a LOT of patterns that just do not have the smaller sizes in them (10, 12, 14).  I refuse to throw them away, though.  That just seems extremely wasteful to me.  It would be much better to find a new home for them.  Soooo, to this end, I believe I will be having a sale.  Most of these patterns are larger sizes (16+), and some have been cut in to at this point.  But I do *not* enjoy grading patterns at all, so there's no chance I'll do this. 

Over the next few days weeks, I will be taking pictures of my 'soon-to-be-homeless' patterns, and placing said images on my blog.  Any suggestions about pricing?  I have an Etsy shoppe, but most of these patterns are *not* vintage in any sense of this mis-used word.  So, I'll have to do it this way.  And I would rather burn my entire fabric stash in a fire than use eBay.  Sorry, bad memories and all.

Like I've said, some of these patterns have been cut into, so those I may just give-away at this point.  Some are also possibly discontinued at this point, as well.  We'll see.  I might be able to get a couple yards of fabric for some of them.  Which, by the way, would suit me just fine.  I'll even do a trade!  Patterns for fabric, anyone??

Alright, need to go starting taking pictures.  Check back in the next few weeks for patterns-for-sale-pictures! 



~j.b.

Rigorously Honest ... most days

Whew!  What a month.  Good, bad, or indifferent, life can certainly run away with me sometimes.  I don't necessarily believe this is a good thing all the time, though.  And again, good, bad, or indifferent, things may get some closure today.  At least I'm hoping so.

Wanted to say 'Thank You' to my lovely followers who commented on my last post.  Every bit of advice is much appreciated.  And I agree completely with the sentiment of 'Rigorously Honest as Necessary' when it comes to...well, life in general.  So, to this end, I believe a few personal details for those who don't *actually* know me, and for those who do, you lovelies already most likely know what's going on in my life, anyway.  So, there you go.  Expect a sewing related post later this morning, or this afternoon.  Thank you for your patience, my lovelies...

~j.b.

Questions for the followers...

I believe this is when we in blog-land need to begin to decide exactly *how* much personal information really gets to be shared with readers.  Granted, I only have three followers -- is it okay that I celebrate this??  I am just not sure how comfortable I am 1) Sharing lots of personal information and 2) Not being honest about my life in terms of my creativity goes.  Shall we put it to a vote, maybe?  All three of you chime on in?  That of course requires you to *magically* know I've finally have a new post AND comment on said new post.  We'll give a shot, and I'll write more when I've figured this query out.  Hopefully it won't take *quite* so long this time!

~happy sewing!

p.s.  I actually have a sew date today, and will hopefully actually have something sewing related to post later today or tomorrow.  Yay!