Choir Wardrobe 11 27 16

Oy.  The Helix pants look even baggier in today's photo than they did in last week's...honest, it's not that bad in the mirror.  Maybe they needed a hitch up or something...

But, since today was the last day for mustard/garnet/black, I figured I'd go ahead and wear the mustard pants.  After all, I may not wear them again until mustard shows up on the the wardrobe list...lol.


But I opted to just go with black...every time I see the yellow and red together it makes me think of a circus.  So I pulled out a black rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 2566 t shirt and the black doubleknit McCall's 6844 cardi (still no review...) from this year's SWAP.

And a Talbot's scarf with a heart print that served for the 'garnet red'.  Sort of.

On a different thought...
Fall was late this year...it was hot and dry and most of the trees seemed to turn brown early.  But the trees in the yards around us...probably as a virtue of being watered a bit...did finally turn fallish and were probably peak color last week.  I was struck by how the color of the leaves looked so vibrant against the brilliant blue sky and just had to snap some photos after a walk yesterday morning...and I thought I'd just share a couple of the images with folks who might appreciate it.

SO hard to believe Thanksgiving is behind us and we're heading into the Advent season!  I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful commemoration of the feast of Thanksgiving!  I've got at least a couple more turkey meals on the menu next week...:-)

Choir Wardrobe 11 20 16

November's colors are black, garnet red and spicy mustard.

Spicy mustard being a color that should really never, ever be anywhere near my face, I tried to find a pair of mustard denim jeans a few weeks ago, but, alas, no luck.  However, I did find some very, very nice Telio doublknit (the kind with nylon instead of polyester in the mix) in a passable mustard color and  made up the Sewing Workshop Helix pants, slightly modified to include pockets (borrowed from Loes Hinse's Oxford pants...).  They really and truly do not look nearly as baggy in the mirror as they look in the photo; not sure why, unless it's because the tail on the  Vogue 8305 cardigan is obscuring the leg line.  The RTW sweater looks much more puple/pinky on my monitor; it's really a very nice cranberry..., er, garnet red.

I really liked sewing with the nylon/rayon/lycra doubleknit.  I may have to order more in something that doesn't look so, um, Ronald-McDonald-ish.

But I will have something, at least, to wear when mustard yellow/dark gold pops up in the choir color list.  The pants feel so nice, I may actually wear them a bit more.

Maybe.

Choir Wardrobe 11 13 16

November choir colors are garnet red, spicy mustard and black.    Just couldn't bring myself to wear the yellow overtop again this week, so it's red and black for me....pinstripe Loes Hinse Oxford pants, morphed into boot cuts,  the aging Vogue 8305 Cardi-Wrap, and what may be the swan song of  my red silk charmeuse Simplicity 2750 shell top, as  I happened to look down about  halfway through the morning and realize that the center front has shredded at the neckline seam.  Fortunately, it was not terribly obvious from any distance, but it made me sad.  I'm not sure it's salvageable; gonna have to have a close look at it later.

But I will have plenty of opportunity to mend it...if it can be mended.  I went on a cutting spree this weekend and cut out  a skirt, a cardigan, a shell top and a pair of pants, and all of it but the pants is garnet red (the shell top is actually the rest of that same piece of silk).  So I will have the right thread loaded up...

That's the last cutting I'll do for a while; I need to clean up the spare room/cutting station as it needs to be converted from Sewing to Gift Wrapping for the next few weeks. I'm about half done w/my Christmas shopping...and the Princess's birthday (she's gonna be 31...unbelievable...) is in the mix...so I need to close down the cutting room for a while.  I've plenty of stuff cut out to keep me busy...should I actually find time to sew.  Maybe I can 20-minutes-a-day myself into something finished by next weekend... ;-)

In other news, the week is up on the Blogiversary Giveaway.  I actually only had TWO ladies who did not tell me they already had that specific pattern (or enough patterns) so the drawing was simple...I wrote the entries on a couple of pieces of paper, folded them identically, threw them in a small box and shook it well, then about half an hour later came back and dumped one little folded note out.  Mary Deeter, you have won the pattern!  I know I had your address earlier, but I apparently deleted all those emails (again! LOL), so if you'll send me your address (tig77LW at yahoodotcom) I'll get that out in the mail for you.  Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave an encouraging note!  I know I'm not as active round here as I used to be...or as active as I'd like to be...so it makes me feel all warm fuzzy to know that there are still folks following along.

There's been an incredible amount of tension and emotion running through the online communities of late; I'd just like to take a minute and say that I fully recognize I have many ladies who stop by here who would disagree with me on many topics.  I try hard to be who I am without offering offense to those of you who would not agree.  But in these stressful days...I just want you all to know that I appreciate each of you.  You are all gifted in your own way, and you are important.  Thank you for letting me share my wacky wardrobe with you all!  Hugs for everyone... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 11 06 16

November choir wardrobe colors are garnet red, spicy mustard and black.

I literally put this on as kind of a ketchup-and-mustard joke.  Or a Ringling Brothers reference...red shoes and all.

But...to my utter astonishment, this got more compliments than anything I've worn for a long time... Maybe it was just an 'Omigosh what IS THAT' reaction.

The bottom layer is the red SHE dress I bought at the women's conference this year ; there was one other lady in the choir who wore one so it was probably good that I camouflaged mine somewhat.  Over it is the not-quite-brown-enough-for-spicy-mustard icky knit Vogue 9057 tankie top that I am not overly fond of and my much-worn Burda Style vest that I don't even need to link anymore because you see it almost every week.

On the bottom, modified La Fred Daphne pants in a stretch cotton twill.  And yes, it was a pain to have to hike up the dress/tunic to get into the pockets, but whacha gonna do?

It was goofy and whimsical and kinda hokey, but it was what I had at the moment. November is typically burgundy, and there were some folks in something very close to burgundy, but all my burgundy is too dark/purple-y to work for garnet red.

I do have a piece of rather stout doubleknit that I overdyed some time ago from an orangey-red to something near cranberry that I think can pass for garnet red but it is, of course, laid out on the cutting table whilst I try and figure out the best plan for it.  And I've ordered some doubleknit from fabric dot com in a brownish mustard color for a pair of Helix pants...so I can put the yellow as far away from my face as possible.

In other news, the 2017 Stitcher's Guild SWAP Rules have now been posted.  Lots and lots of flexibility this year...so long as you don't use more than 8 distinct patterns.  The Last Minute SWAP wardrobe I did this spring was one pattern over the limit, but otherwise it would have met the requirements.  I really would like to participate this year; we'll see how the schedule looks once we get past the Really Big Conference in January and I have some breathing room.

And, while everyone has probably already seen the post in which I offered up what I thought would be a desirable Adri pattern for a giveaway, just in case you haven't and you are one of the apparently few folks who didn't stash that pattern already,  leave a comment for me there and I'll put your name in the hat!

Eleven Years...and counting...

It was eleven years ago today that I logged on to share the journey of costuming 'The Gospel According to Scrooge'...and just kept going.

The sewing and blogging time have dramatically dropped in the time since then, but I love that I can still share sewing challenges and successes and the occasional Big Project.

I thought, 'Eleven years deserves a little celebration'...so I went to my pattern cabinet and pulled out a pattern to share.

It had to be one that was at least a little desirable, and, while this may be going into the wrong season, I think I found one.

Copyright 2007, here's a Vogue Adri wardrobe that ranges from size 6 to 14:

I have an Adri wardrobe pattern that's very similar to this; I really don't need two...at least, not at my current production level.  If someone is looking for a SWAP wardrobe pattern...to finish next spring and wear all summer...this might be a good choice.

So if you're interested in winning...and I'll send it anywhere...just leave a comment and let me know!  And if you've never commented before, say hi and let us know where you're from and how long you've been reading!  I'll draw a winner next weekend (Nov. 12)

Thanks for hanging with me for eleven years!  It's been fun!