Workin' on the Second Set

 ...because I feel really lame talking about the February wardrobe picks when it's halfway through May, lol.

But, we had ankle pants, a knit top, and a denim overshirt for February.   I had some pink chambray for the overshirt; I copied off the pattern and laid the fabric out and realized that I just wasn't going to be happy.  It was too red.  I wanted a true pink, not red mixed with white to look pink.  So I did one last check of what was online, found some lightweight pink cotton twill and ordered it.  But that meant the shirt was on hold.

So,  I waffled a bit on the ankle pants.  I thought about just using denim capris, but it didn't really fit the aesthetic.    I pulled up my pattern catalog (the whole reason I keep my Pattern Review membership, lol) and got reminded of a pattern I've been wanting to make for a while now...an Out of Print Vogue/ Marcie Tilton pattern for lantern-style pants, Vogue 8712.  I dug around and found some very lightweight rayon-blend denim, purchased something like 8 years ago to make a shirt. But it was a bit darker than I wanted, once it arrived, so it has been in a bin since.  The reviews indicated that a drapey fabric would be best for the pants so...bingo.  I had actually altered the pattern a couple of years ago but didn't get it made up and I had a jolly time trying to figure out what I'd done.  I finally pulled out a TNT  New Look pull on pants pattern to compare and convinced myself they would work.

I decided to make a cut-on waistband, so I raised the top edge, and then I reshaped the pockets a bit. With the side entry I kind of thought stuff would fall out, so I made them a little deeper and shaped them so they wouldn't be hung up in the sideseam quite as much.

So I cut out the pants Monday and Tuesday, and yesterday the pink twill arrived.

Ohmigoodness, it's PERFECT.  I ran it through the washer and dryer and got it about half cut out last night.  Finished cutting it a little bit ago; all that's left to cut is the interfacing.

But LOOK at that pink.  It's a dead match for the pink in the first set.

And I can't remember the last time I actually had something cut out the day after I got the fabric.  

Changes to that pattern...I turned the collar piece into the cut-the-upper-and-under-collar-at-once shape that Nancy Zieman and Louise Cutting advocate, and I pulled out my copy of David Page Coffin's Shirtmaking to get the placket for the sleeve; the pattern just had a continuous lap, which I thought would be truly awkward in the twill.  It's light enough for a shirt, but it's bulkier than I wanted to do something as fiddly as a continuous lap.  This will be my first go at DPC's placket technique, but I've done it before with other patterns so I think I can make it work.

I have some more cloth diapers to finish off before I change the thread in the serger but I think I'm going to have a really good start on the 'February' combo.  'March' will be easy...I can pretty much pull that from the closet.    

Still playing catch up...lol...

Got Caught...

 

We'd managed to avoid it all this time, but apparently mild covid is running rampant in our part of the country and...it caught us.

I honestly think it tagged onto the back end of my annual sinus infection, although I suppose it's possible it was masquerading as the sinus infection all along.  The antibiotic seemed to help for a few days, and then suddenly I had chest congestion and the test I took just to humor the doctor came up positive.

So, My Sweet Babboo, who also tested positive, and I are doing the remote thing.  He was actually supposed to return to his office for the first time since March of 2020 this week...but, nope, he got another week of doing rocket science from home.

According to the CDC guidelines, we should be good to venture back out into the world on Thursday, but I think I'm going to hang out around the house until the chest congestion clears up.  I have a subconscious urge to beat on my chest to knock the junk loose, lol, which I'm sure will look...inappropriate...in public.

But, that's ok.  I can do data base janitorial stuff from home as easily as I can do it in my office.  And it is easier to drink tea by the gallon at home.  Hashtag keep those fluids going...

Surely this will clear out before long.

And I pulled the picture from an archive and just realized...wow, that's from before the remodel project in 2015, lol.  That door is gone now...

Squeezing Pants on short yardage

 I mentioned that I had to piece the crotch point on the one-seam linen pants...thought I'd post a few pics.

The fabric wasn't quite wide enough for the full width of the pants, since they go from front crotch point to back crotch point.  I don't know if I could've wrangled a one-layer layout or not...maybe if I had turned the legs opposite each other?  But I was really rushed for time and I just didn't want to mess with trying. 

Much easier to

1) just let the back point run right off the selvedge and cut them out

It's only a little bit in this case; I've done bigger piecing in the past.

2) Just cut a chunk from the remnants, also along the selvedge,  then 

3) lay the little bit right sides together and serge the selvedge right off.  That keeps them on the same grainline.

4)Press the seam nice and flat, then 

5) lay the pattern back over the pants and cut the point out.

Lookit how much time and effort that saved...not to mention fabric, lol.

And...the results of the SWAP are in already, since, for whatever reason, I was the only person who actually finished and uploaded pictures. I feel rather odd about it...I really didn't go into it thinking there was a chance for me to win with a bunch of quick-to-sew garments (with the exception of the cardigan, lol).  I am guessing the pandemic-inspired lethargy hasn't quite let go of everyone yet.  It was just a good time for me to make 9 things.

But I am still WAY behind on the Start with a Scarf wardrobe; planning to do some work on the 'February' selections later this week. We have some traveling coming up again (gotta take the Flute Player's kitty down to her once they get moved into an apartment....THAT's going to be interesting)  but we have no actual dates for that yet. So I may get another weekend or two here, although I would HATE to put it off till Memorial Day.  We'll just have to go when they're ready.

So...I need to trace a pattern and put the pink thread back in the machines...

The 2022 Swap Photo Shoot

 Well, we can't exactly upload pics to the swap this year; the gallery broke, so I have to upload these things somewhere so I can link them to Stitcher's Guild.

So...here's the final thing, frizzy hair and all!  (I am SO overdue for a haircut....)

First up, the three 3-packs:

Three pack one:   The McCall's 6844 Cardigan, crafted from a poly/ rayon / elastic sweater knit.  It has a very textured surface and I had to be very careful sewing it.  But it is soft and warm to wear.  I picked this pattern because it had no closures, no binding and no facings; the most simple thing to make from such a persnikity fabric.  Next is a short sleeved Jalie 2566 T shirt, made from a substantial cotton / lycra jersey.  The pants are the allowed 'Previously made garment'....Sewing Workshop Helix Pants, with Loes Hinse Oxfort Pants pockets morphed on.    It's made from Telio's Jockey Ponte...a lovely nylon/rayon/ lycra blend that has nearly doubled in price in the last year or so.  As much as I like it...I may not be buying much more.  I probably made these about 5 years ago and they are wearing like iron.

Three Pack two:  The pink top is a  3/4 length sleeved Vogue 9057, made from a very soft cotton/lycra jersey.  It's paired up with a long sleeve Jalie 2566, made from the same piece of fabric as the short sleeved t. Had to do some creative cutting but I got them both out of two yards of fabric.  The pants are the allowed purchased garment...dark wash skinny jeans, purchased from Talbots maybe 4 or 5 years ago. 

Three Pack number three...from the same length of pink cotton/ lycra jersey, a cap sleeve Vogue 9057 (I frankenpatterned the cap sleeve from a Jalie pattern, I think.  It's been quite a while since I cobbled it up, lol) and a Pamela's Patterns Cool Cardigans: Drape front cardigan.  The pants are Stretch and Sew 704, 'Quick 'n Easy Pants and Shorts' (Copyright 1997).  They are no-side-seam pants with a sort of welt pocket. The pocket piece is used to face the opening, then flipped around and topstiched to the leg of the pants to create the pocket.  Well, I don't like pockets sewn to the face of the garment like that; you can't put anything in them without causing a lump on the garment.  So I altered up the pattern a bit and made double-welt pockets.  So I have a nice pocket bag to hold, say, my cell phone or keys or a kleenex or whatever with out it just lumping right up, lol.  The fabric is the heavy linen from Fabric-Store. Com...I think the color is 'cobalt'.  I washed and dried it three times to soften and shrink it before I cut it out.  I also had to piece the back crotch point but I'll write a separate post about that, lol.

Finally, the two 'wild card' garments:

Two more Jalie 2566 t's, made from a two -yard cut of very nice merino wool.  I'd been seeing lots of advertising on my social media feeds about the superiority of merino wool for t shirts so I thought I'd give it a go.   I got the fabric at a slight discount, but it was still pricy enough that I was a bit nervous about sewing it and wanted to get the maximum value out of it.  Creative cutting ...I got two t shirts with a handful of scraps left over.  Success.

Here's everything, with the scarf that is the inspiration for my wardrobe sewing this year:

I have...stuff...in the room, so I had to squeeze everything on one end of the closet to actually be able to get it all in one pic, lol.

And, you know, you gotta see the garments on the hoof, so here's the rest of my allowed twelve pics:

Now...off to see if I can actually get these to link to Stitcher's Guild...

Start with a Scarf 2022: The first addition

 Ok, so it's May 1 and I'm just now posting the January addition...which I just finished sewing last week.

All I can say is...life's been busy, lol, and I was also trying to finish the required garments for the annual Stitcher's Guild SWAP competition.  I actually finished the last garment for that on Saturday, and I was going to take the pictures to post for it and suddenly realized that one of my shirts was in the laundry.

Oopsie.

So, whilst that load is running through the machines I thought I'd just go ahead and post what I have for the first installment in the the 12 months series.

For a refresher, HERE'S what Janice selected for the six different wardrobes...and here's my interpretation thereof:

A 3/4 sleeve shaped hem T shirt from Vogue 9057, an out-of-print Marcy Tilton pattern.  The cardigan is Pamela's Patterns  Cool Cardigans: Drape-front Cardigan.  I might as well admit that they are from the same fabric, so they are a dead match.  I  *might* have also made a short sleeved t from the same chunk of fabric, which could possibly show up later on...

The earrings are from Novica and I have to say that the image, which I downloaded from the site, is a bit deceptive.  The set I got is translucently *barely* pink and stupid me, I didn't look at the listed dimensions.  They are, um, rather large.  The post is stout as well, so I'm wearing them around the house a bit to get adjusted to them before committing to wearing them a whole day.  They are statement earrings, no doubt, lol.  

Janice listed black leather goods for January, so I followed suit.  I'd been looking for an excuse to get a good cross-body bag, and I finally found one (on sale!) from Wilson's Leather online.  The boots are actually from my closet...they're the boots I bought for the 2019 SWAS wardrobe and they're still in pretty good shape.  The loafers are Rockport/Cobb Hill and I may have been a little overly cautious by ordering them in the extra- wide width.  At least I can wear them with nice thick merino wool socks, lol.  I will likely order a pair in blue later in the plan and if I do I will just get the plain ol' wide width.

So, dusting off my graphic arts skills (which could easily be brushed away with the dust, lol), here's the whole set at the moment.  

 I'll actually start wearing the new stuff once the SWAP pics have been procured.

Now, off to work on the February selections.  And study what has been posted for May...