Is Home Sewing Collapsing? A bit of a rant...

 As if it wasn't bad enough that Hancock's fabrics collapsed in 2016, then Jo-Ann's  (who had previously gobbled up the Cloth World, World of Fabrics, and So-Fro Fabrics chains in the previous decades) failed under the ludicrous burden of the leveraged buyout back in 2010, in which the investors who purchased the company did not take on the debt themselves but pushed it onto JoAnn's -- something that, in my opinion. should be illegal; now the news comes that the conglomerate that owns ALL the major pattern companies...Vogue, Butterick, McCall's and Simplicity... has sold all assets to a liquidator. 

Oh, there are mail order options for patterns from independent companies...some of whom have quite good patterns...but the only sewing pattern tissue printer in the entire country is part of that liquidation and all of those indy folks who print patterns on tissue paper use that printing service.  Who knows what will happen to that equipment now.  And we do have online fabric vendors.  Michael's craft stores has supposedly purchased up a good bit of the Hancock's and JoAnn's IP and intends to expand their home sewing offerings but the whole situation seems ominous.  I don't know if I will ever be able to, in the midst of a project, run to a local store and pick up that thing I need to finish, be it thread, zippers or buttons.  

I have read a lot of the comments pertaining to these closures, many of which say something to the effect of 'Oh, (whatever company) just didn't keep up with the times, so the demise was inevitable.'

But that begs the question...why did (fabric stores, pattern companies) not keep up with the times?

Y'all, they were all done in by financial shenanigans.  One company bought out all (or almost all) the major competition, then itself was bought out by an investor group that cared only for profit and had no interest whatsoever in the  home sewing community.  The Big 4 were owned, and just sold by,  IG Design group, who is a leading manufacturer and distributor of stationery, crafts, party and gift products for goodness sake!  Home sewing enthusiasts got frustrated with the lack of quality and techniques offered by the blob organizations and began turning to independent pattern designers and online fabric sources.  Not to disparage those folks, some of whom have great service and products, but...had the local store resources retained their quality, the masses would not have turned to online vendors.  Home sewing is an intensely personal pursuit, and we ALL want quick access to items we can see and touch in person.  I know the main reason I buy sewing goods online is because I can't get them locally. 

Which sounds like a business opportunity...except the goods available to retailers have also been disappearing.  Almost all fabric is milled overseas now.  Remember when a visit to a local fabric store would have the choice of multiple color ways in various prints or designs?  That's been rare for a long, long time.  Home sewing offerings are now mostly manufacturing overruns, with patterned fabrics available in one choice of color scheme only.  

All of this makes it difficult for youngsters coming of age to pick up the sewing habit.  The resources just aren't there; not to mention the demise of home economics in the public schools.  Materials for theater groups/ costuming/ cosplay are also getting harder to find...and more expensive.  I used to costume entire church productions from the dollar table at the local Wal-Mart.  Now I hesitate to even call what shows up on the discount rack (just one small rack...not a piled high table) 'sewing fabric'.  It. Is. Dreck.  A biblical costume could be made for less than $15 twenty years ago; that same costume would be about $75 now.  That's hard on a shoestring budget.

I don't know what the answer is, but I do wish our financial institutions would not allow leveraged buyouts that enable investors to skim profits from a company and then dump the debt back into it. 

I think I will now go upstairs and sew something as my own personal protest, lol.

Thinking about taking up sewing?

 While I am still trying to find the time to get the buttonholes and buttons on that #omigoshthisistakingFOREVER pink twill shirt; I stumbled across an article on the interwebs that has struck a chord. Why Retail Clothes All Look the Same isn't the actual name of the article but it is the theme.   And it contains a link to a clip from The Devil Wears Prada, which is worth a watch, too.

I have long rebelled at the whole 'Colors of the Season' thing...the idea that someone in an office in Manhattan or Paris or London or Tokyo or wherever...has the power to pick what colors the world will wear for the next season/ year.  

It's why I have a ridiculous fabric stash, y'all.  Buy the fabric in the color you love whilst it's available, because in a couple of years you won't be able to find it.

But the idea of the style on repeat...that is one of the best reasons to take up fashion sewing. You don't want puffed sleeves?  You don't have to put them on the dress.  Even if that pattern shows them...just switch it for another one from another pattern.

We don't have to participate in the Fashion Great Chain of Being.

You can find a style that suits you and make it, in fresh fabrics, whenever you want.  It doesn't have to be On Trend to look good.  

Or maybe you like that style that you see, but hate the icky polyester fabric it's made of.

Same deal.  Find a similar pattern (or frankenpattern one from two or three, if necessary) and make it up in a nice silk or linen or cotton or whatever strikes your fancy.

There is SO MUCH information on the internet now...sewing websites like Pattern Review; YouTube videos by the score demonstrating basic skills....even not-so-basic skills.  (One of these days, thanks to YouTube tutorials,  I'm actually going to tackle pad stitching, lol).   A decent sewing machine is not terribly expensive...all you need is one that will do a nice straight stitch and sew a decent buttonhole.  If it will do those things, it will cover all the requirements.  A serger is nice but not necessary...certainly not in the beginning.  A good iron is a must.  

Start with a pull-on skirt; that's almost instant gratification and a good place to learn how to sew a straight seam.  Botch it up?   It's just practice...a learning curve.  Did you pick the wrong fabric for the pattern?  Like, it sticks out instead of swishing?  Or did you pick the wrong size?  You can't assume your ready-to-wear size is what you make in the pattern...heck, you can't even get the same size from one retailer to another in RTW anyway, so don't expect the patterns to be different.  Just measure yourself and the pattern before you cut anything and you should be able to make a fairly educated guess.  You may learn you like more or less room (aka 'ease') in a pattern than what is included.  Trial and error is your friend.  You will learn faster than you think, if you really want to.

Sewing frees you from the People in the Room Who Pick From The Stuff...and from the computer algorithms that are increasingly determining what shows up on the racks in stores and online.  

We don't have to follow their dictation.  We can sew.

Finally Finished...

And it ain't nothing to brag about, but it will be something I can throw on.

It's the Hot Patterns Fast and Fabulous LaStrada T...made from ONE YARD of ITY jersey:

I really didn't have enough fabric for the shirt, because I didn't have enough to match it up.  I didn't think it would show that much...ha ha and ha.  From the slight angle of the shirt on the hanger, the mismatch at the front is kinda not so obvious, which is encouraging; maybe if I keep moving no one will pick up on it, lol.

This is the second LaStrada I've made with a patterned fabric; the first time I didn't think at all about balancing the print and I was very sorry, because I *could* have made it look much nicer.  This one...I thought as long as I had the stripes even it would be ok.  Meh.  The teardrop shapes are not quite symmetric at the center front seam. It will bug me. 

Plus, this was the shirt that killed my serger.  It was almost dead anyway, but the pin that buried itself in the gathers finished it off.  I did take the new backup serger and  re-finish off the gathered back seam, which was AWFUL.  It helped a bit, but the distortion that happened from the dragging knife couldn't be completely atoned for.  Fortunately, 1) it really isn't horrible now, if you don't know and 2) it's in the back anyway and will likely be under a cardigan or other topper.  I will wear it and be glad for it, but it could have been better...had I had a smidge more fabric and cooperative equipment, lol.  And I thought it would be a quick project. 

But, you guys...this is just the SECOND garment I have made for myself this entire YEAR. 

That's seriously depressing. 

There are, um, reasons, I suppose.  The subpar serger being one of them; the complete and total disarray of all things sewing related in the house is another.  I'm not going into detail; but it's really detracting from my enjoyment of the craft.  And then there are all those masks...and I should make another batch; I've given away almost all of them that I made earlier.  I gained weight (didn't everyone?) while we were basically locked down in March and April; none of my patterns fit. (Back to walking and tracking calories on the Fitbit; the quarantine weight is almost gone.  This is going to be a long haul to get rid of the weight that had crept on before that; I hope I have the stamina to stick to it).

But probably the biggest issue is...I'm home almost all the time.  We had some folks at work develop the virus (my precautionary test came back negative) so after being back in the office for about six weeks we are now working from home again for at least the next week. While we did have services for the month of June, My Sweet Babboo and I still watched from home, since he has some immune system issues.  In any case...there's no choir, and that's likely not to change so long as we are in virus-avoidance mode. 

So I really don't have much demand for new clothes.  I have decided I'm going to work on straightening and sorting and...dare I say it...paring down some of the superfluous stash.  Maybe I'll make some...interesting...things that I haven't had time to make for a while. While I sew batches of masks.

If I'm really brave I will clean through the closet and do some weeding.  I might as well get rid of stuff I don't LOVE...things that were in the closet because that was a color we wore for choir and I never wear it any where else. 

Maybe I'll play around with some more of the capsule wardrobe planning tools, just for fun.  I really don't know from here. 

Maybe once my space is cleared and the recent fabric and pattern acquisitions are properly stored and I can breath again...inspiration will hit.

I can hope.

The trick is to stay off the fabric vendor sites.  I do want to support the businesses, but I honestly believe I could sew from my stash for like, from now on. 

Maybe I'll do a little sewing for my family.  Daughter number one...the Princess...is expecting grandson number one in November, and daughter number two has some gaps in her closet that I could perhaps fill.  I think they're both past the 'oh, no, not MOMS SEWING' stage, lol.

Feeling...sacreligious?

The first sewing publication I subscribed to was Sew News, back in the 80's, when it was a large format, newsprint deal.  Before long, I had discovered and subscribed to the Sewing Update Newsletter, the Serger Update Newsletter (anybody remember those?  I still have mine in binders...) and the creme-de-la-creme of sewing publications, Threads Magazine.  My first copy was issue number 37, from October 1991.

The Update Newsletters eventually closed down; I don't remember if I subscribed to the end or just until I decided I had to pick amongst the subscriptions.  Sew News changed formats...and dumbed down its content to the point that it was like reading a women's magazine that had crafty discussions.  I didn't save those, but I do have a folder full of articles that I cut out of them. I gave it another go a few years back when I won a subscription in an online contest, but I was disappointed to see it no longer was a monthly publication.  And, while the content had improved somewhat...it still seemed more basic than creative and it didn't really seem worth the expense.

But Threads has rolled on and on.  Not too long after I subscribed, (maybe a year?) they altered their focus a bit from all-things-fiberly to strictly sewing.  I missed the interesting articles on making buttons from polymer clay and felting wool into hats, but since I wasn't likely to really use that (although I do have some aging Fimo somewhere...) it wasn't tragic.

But today I got this in the mail:

I haven't renewed yet.  I'm dithering.

The content has dropped over the years; those first issues were over 100 pages; this potentially last one has 82.  The quality of info has kind of vacillated; it's better now than it has been.  The decline in the printed product is a reflection of the times more than anything else, I think.  I mean, we haven't had a daily newspaper in these parts in years...it's all online.

And, to be honest, that's my biggest beef.  I'm a print subscriber, but I have to fork over more dough if I want to see the online content they call 'Insider'.  Maybe it's just me wishing for a perfect world, but it seems to me that the print subscribers should have access to the online content.  I don't even click most Threads links I see on social media anymore...what's the point if it's likely to be 'Insider only'?

And...then there's the fact that I'm simply not sewing as much.  It just doesn't seem justifiable to keep up the subscription so I can flip through it, smile at the end page story and put it on the shelf.

Maybe 27 years' worth (that's 162 magazines, all stashed in custom slipcovers) is enough.  Maybe.

Or maybe I'll put a check in the  mail next week...lol.  Can I really pull that plug?  Do I really want to?  Do I have good reasons not to?

Hm, hm and hm.

If You Were a Contestant...The Fantasy American Sewing Bee

Ok, now that everyone's seen The Great British Sewing Bee all the way through, let's do a Fantasy Version.

It's really a fantasy version, because what American TV channel would host such a wholesome, feel-good show?  But let's assume HGTV or some other crafty channel is willing to take the risk.

And who wouldn't love a chance to be on the show?  Speaking for myself, I don't think my sewing would be up to that standard, but, because this is a fantasy, let's say I'm in.

The question is, who would I like to be in the sewing room with me?  Not because I can outsew them, or even come close...just because I would like to hang out and furtively watch them go even while I'm ripping out that fly zip for the 3rd time.

I'm gonna also assume that we can have 12 contestants because, well, we do everything bigger in the States. ;-)

So, in roughly alphabetical order, here are the eleven amateur American sewing enthusiasts that I would love to find in the room with me (and I'm sure there are other fabulous home sewers,  but these are the ones I know because they blog.) There are some other bloggers that I'd like to include, too, but since I know they've done a little sewing-related-work-for-income I'm not sure they'd qualify. I have included some Mood Sewing Network ladies; not sure about their amateur status, either, but, well, I'm not sure complementary fabric is counted as income so I'm gonna call it ok for my purposes.  :-)

1. Margy (somewhere I read that she pronounces that with a hard 'g' sound) of  A Fool For Fabric.  She sews from a deliberately limited palette of black, white, gray and red and has the most incredible wardrobe.  I don't know if I could ever manage such discipline myself, but she has beautiful garments that all coordinate and with her striking hair and signature sunglasses, she is very nearly a Style Icon for me.  She's also currently traveling in a internet-blackout country, so I don't know if she's even seen TGBSB to have a clue of what we're talking about.

2. Shams of Communing with Fabric.  She has such a playful approach to her sewing and is not hesitant to try something different.  I AM going to make a version of her Tablecloth Skirt one of these days; I just need to figure out how to put pockets in it. ;-).

3. Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic   If you've been around the sewing blogsphere any at all, you should be familiar with Carolyn and know why I've included her.  If you're not...go look at her blog and you'll see.

4.  Lori from Girls in the Garden.  Lori is a Midwest girl like me, although she still lives on the farm and I've moved away to a city lot in the South...the backgrounds of her photos always make me just a little homesick.  But she is a prolific and excellent seamstress, sewing for herself, her daughters and now her brand new grandson.

5. Sarah from Goodbye Valentino.  She started blogging in 2011, when she decided to give up expensive RTW and make her entire wardrobe for a year.  Her sewing skills advanced very quickly and she made some  really wonderful garments. Her enthusiasm for home sewing is contagious.

6. Kathryn of I Made This!  I 'knew' Kathyrn from sewing discussion boards before she started blogging; she is an amazing seamstress and generous with her knowledge; she is also currently one of the moderators (another is TGBSB champ Ann Rowley!) on Stitcher's Guild, where you will find her encouraging new folks regularly as 'fzxdoc'.

8. Cidell, who writes Miss Celie's Pants.  She's another one who's sewing skills have matured as she blogged and now she's one of the Mood Sewing Network bloggers making lovely things.  I especially love her subtitle... 'I sew, I cook, I travel. But, I do not clean.'  We are Kindred Spirits...except I don't get much travel time...

9. Angie, from Quality Time.  Teacher and Single Mom and lover of vintage styles, Angie not only sews beautifully but would be a hoot to hang out with.

10. Beth, from The Rusty Bobbin, was probably the first sewing blogger I followed. She has been through a lot since then, but still sews and still turns out fabulous garments.  Her fitting skills, honed through much work w/ home-sewing pattern making software, are among the best of the bloggers.

11.  Elaine, from The Selfish Seamstress , who could challenge us all to steel our nerve to turn down those requests for curtains, jeans hemming and garment mending from friends/acquaintances as we are stitching away.  She would, of course, be wearing a lovely garment that she made for herself during the time that she was NOT sewing for someone else.


Ok, I got to 11 before I got all the way through my blog roll, so I'll pick some alternates, just in case, you know, one of the 11 couldn't make the filming. ;-)

Alternate:  Linda of Danville Girl Sewing Diary.  Linda always has a project in the works, and she's always working on a project.  Lots of finished garments show up on her blog...as opposed to someone like me, who is just not able to get into the sewing room as much as I'd like.

Alternate: KID, from Kadiddlehopper.  She's a doctor...who also sews. Be handy  if someone in the sewing room accidentally ran a needle through a finger or had a rotary cutter mishap, eh? ;-)  Seriously, she makes clothes for herself and for her kids AND for  her hubby and does a great job.  No puzzling over how to put in a fly zipper here.


Alternate: Lindsay, who used to blog at Lidsay T Sews but gave it up some time ago.  Nevertheless, I'd love for her to be one of the folks in the room; her clothes were always fabulous and she KNOWS the NYC Garment District.

I just hope that by the time my fantasy show would become a reality, the producers would develop a cumulative points system rather than elimination, so that I could spend the entire run of the show with all the fabulous folks!

I know there are other excellent home sewing enthusiasts out there who would make marvelous contestants...who would you put on YOUR fantasy sewing bee? You can answer in the comments, or put it on your blog and link up in the comments.... have fun!

Thoughts on Middle Earth...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Sew Random

Once more, nothing to do with sewing...

Since I admitted to seeing The Hobbit last night,  I thought I'd have a little literary discussion and post my reaction.  (disclaimer:  I do not pretend to be a high-falutin' movie critic.  This is not intended to be any kind of formal review.  Just my thoughts. YMMV.)

I am a huge Tolkien fan; I think I've read the Middle Earth saga through every other year since I graduated from high school.  Which was a pretty long time ago, so I've read them a LOT.   My reaction to the LOTR movies lost momentum as the series progressed; I was pleasantly surprised by Fellowship, understanding the need to consolidate characters/events to get the movie to a manageable size.  I was disappointed in Towers, because the editing began to include the characters themselves...their motivations and attitudes were different than what Tolkien wrote.  Whole scenes were created, drama inserted, where they did not exist.  Now it was not a matter of consolidating an epic book into a movie; it became a question of the director's version of the story over the author's.  The trend not only continued but increased through Return of the King; in many places the characters were scarcely recognizable as Tolkien's. I left that movie angry...to have had such a great opportunity to tell Tolkien's story and then not tell it seemed beyond wasteful to me.

So it was with some trepidation that I went to see The Hobbit.  I couldn't miss it; you understand.  But I was afraid I would be disappointed; that I would not see Tolkien's story but someone's interpretation of how Tolkien should've told his story. 

By and large, though, it was ok.  New Zealand absolutely matches my mental pictures of Middle Earth, and it was delightful to look at the scenery.  Bilbo was supposed to be 50 when he left on his adventure, and he looked it (although his birthday-party characterization in the beginning, the Bilbo of the opening of The Fellowship, hardly warrants Gandalf's remark that 'You haven't aged a day.'). Frodo was still too young, (he was supposed to be 33 when Bilbo disappears) but the dwarves...with the exception of Thorin...and Balin...all seemed right.  Thorin is much too young and good looking...and much too likeable.  The exceedingly proud Thorin of Tolkien's world would NEVER have embraced Bilbo.  It will make the ultimate ending even more tragic, I'm afraid.  Balin, IMHO,  is a bit too elderly and scholarly.  If he were not to be the Dwarf that leads the next attempt to reclaim Moria, beside whose tomb the Fellowship will first encounter the orcs there-in, he would be fine, but...I'm not seeing in his character the fire that would fuel such an endeavor.   He is an entirely wise and likeable fellow; just not quite as I envisioned him.

The only other comment I would have is that the whole lot of them are extremely sturdy, Bilbo included.  There's an awfully lot of serious falling and knocking about that seems to do nothing more than shake them up a bit.  Stretches the believability  just a hair that anyone...even a stocky son of earth dwarf...could endure such without breaking a bone here or there....

The subplot about the council w/Galadriel et al  and the dealings w/the Necromancer is actually alluded to in The Hobbit; Gandalf's affairs about which he tells the dwarves next to nothing.  I am not surprised that it would be expanded in the movie; the timeline appendix in The Return of the King has obviously been studied, even if it has been somewhat amended.

All in all, it's definitely worth seeing and I wouldn't mind going again while it's still on big screens.  And it's kind of fun to speculate where the breaks in the movies will come...I expected the first one to end w/the party catching their breath w/ Beorn; didn't miss that by much.    I'm guessing the next movie will end with the death of Smaug, leaving the third movie to begin with the battle at Dol Gildur so that Gandalf is finished with that business and the narrative can follow him back to the Elvish camp in time to see Bilbo arrive with his solution to the stalemate.  We shall see.

Which brings me back around to...if we could stretch The Hobbit into three movies, could we not have taken time to tell The Lord of the Rings trilogy properly?  Sigh....

Hopefully I will sew something one of these days and talk about THAT for a change... ;-)

Print Phobia

I have had to constantly remind myself all day today that I didn't have time to sew a dress.  Oh, I did, but I had other stuff that needed doing and I couldn't do both.

So, as I did the other stuff, which included driving around and sitting around waiting on appointments and such, I spent a good bit of mental time puzzling over my lack of decision making skills.  And I think I figured out my problem...or at least a good chunk of it.

The fabrics that I have pulled to turn into dresses are prints.  Lovely prints.  And I realized that I am afraid to turn a print into a dress...afraid it will have placement problems, look too girlish for my, ahem, current life stage, just afraid that it will look home made, as a dress that is beautifully constructed out of a poorly chosen print tends to do.

I will make a top from a print.  I will make a skirt from a print.  But making a dress from a print is, for some reason, now outside of my comfort zone.

Meantime, it is somewhat ironic that the dress I will be taking to wear to the festivities is a print (Textile Studio's Madison Avenue dress, which is unfortunately a bit snugger now that it was when I made it and wrote the review.  I will be packing shapewear). And it works for the pattern.

One of the fabrics is a stretch woven...a rayon-and-lycra blend.  It stretches as much as a knit; it's as drapey as a knit; I'm thinking I should just treat it as though it were a knit...just add a zipper and go on.  Maybe.

But these are summery fabrics, and when I get back from the wedding I'll be ready to start sewing September choir clothes.  In fact, I must...I have nothing mauve or dusty pink in the closet at the moment.  So the summer fabrics are going to get packed back up into the stash for another season.

Maybe by then I will have worked through my phobia.

My turn...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Sew Random

Shannon went first.

She bravely posted what has been stewing around in my head for a while now.

So I'll say it...I am unhealthily overweight (trying to be PC here). 

I've talked about it a bit from time to time; the frustration with the hormonal shift and the accompanying weight gain. If you've been reading the blog for any time...and taking note of the photos I've been posting...the weight gain has been pretty obvious.  Like Shannon, I've found that clothes that I made that I love don't fit.  And I've also lost the desire to make pretty new things, despite an urgent need for clothes that do fit.   I'd like to participate in the Stitcher's Guild SWAP this year, but I don't want to spend time making a wardrobe to fit the body I currently have.  And its not because I just don't want to deal with it; it's because if I want to feel good and be healthy I have to make changes now, which means (hopefully) my shape will start changing and...what size should I make?  I just don't know.  I'm still thinking.  And I know everyone else is sewing already... ;-)

Anyway, I have learned that I really can't eat sugar and grains.  Unfortunately, I have a sweet tooth and love baked goods and pasta.  When I was younger, I pretty much got away with it.  But no more.  Habits must change. 

I'm not looking for an eating plan to lose weight; I know this is a lifestyle issue. And I know what I need to do.

Now, it just so happens that we have a time of fasting and prayer every year in the month of January through church.  That's really not news; you know my practice in years past has been to stay off the internet during the fast.  And, by and large, that will happen again this year; my fasting will include media (I'm gonna have a gazillion updates in Google reader when I come back), with one exception.

I am going to be blogging my way through it at my other blog, Beer Lahai Roi; I explained it in more detail here.

The fast really isn't about losing weight, although typically I would lose a little.  But it will be about breaking habits and patterns and, well, other things.  If you're interested you are welcome to read along; if you're not, I'll be back  when it's over.   

Now, this is not meant to be any kind of a religious shill.  I'm not after looking all spiritual.  But this is  a very large part of who I am and I can't always keep that side of myself locked away on the faith blog.  This is one place where it will spill over, because I won't be blogging on Sew Random (or visiting other blogs or the sewing boards or even Facebook...).  And the reason I am going to be gone so long is because Things. Must. Change.  And it's more than just my weight.

So,  I will be focusing other things for the next sixish weeks, starting next Monday.  Meantime, I do have some other posts to put up.  I'm not putting up the shutters just yet. ;-)

Why sew?

I think this has been percolating around in the subconscious nooks and crannies of my mind for a while, and while skimming through one of the sewing boards tonight a thread titled 'Why do you sew?' caught my eye.

I was skimming, so I didn't dig into it, but I suddenly thought, 'So I am not at the mercy of the fashion industry.'

I may save some money, now that the initial investments are pretty much paid off, but that really isn't my main motivation.

I want to be able to sew a 20-year out of style blouse if I want to.

I want to be able to make a new garment in a color that suits me...whether or not Pantone likes it.

I want to be able to have clothes fit the way I want them to, not the way a bottom-line conscious off-shore garment manufacturer believes is good enough.

I want to be reasonably sure the buttons won't fall off the first time I wear the garment.

Basically, I want to dress myself...not be reliant on someone else to do it.

So, how 'bout you? Any one else sew primarily because you want to be your own fashion boss? ;)

Coming to Grips

I'm in a position I'm rarely in...

I've had several events (mostly weddings) this summer to which I've had nothing to wear. Oh, I made do with something, but it didn't fit well and I wasn't happy about my appearance.

Which was ok, really, at the weddings, since we were but minor guests, but at my 30th anniversary dinner I wanted to be happy about the way I looked and, well, I wasn't.

It's been The Year. Y'know, the one in which you wait from month to month to see if all the hormonal shifting has really more or less finished.

By the time The Year was officially up, I found I'd gained 10 pounds.
Part of the trouble is that most of this year I've been dealing with some pretty aggravating, mobility-limiting back/sciatic nerve pain. A recent MRI finally pinpointed the problem: a flattened/bulging spinal disc at L4-L5. I now have an appointment with the spine guy at the local orthopedic group to see what HE can do. The chiropractor has helped considerably, but it still is very prone to getting aggravated.

And, unfortunately, spending even moderate amounts of time standing at my cutting table is one of the things that super-aggravates it.

Part of me has been in denial...I've never really been heavy or overweight, and I just don't want to deal with it. But after seeing the photos from our anniversary celebration, I've got to deal with it.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about losing weight; I really do need to lose about 25 pounds for my health (things like blood pressure and cholesterol levels have also suffered during The Year). And, I honestly think my back might be better if I were a little more fit. So, if the spine doctor clears me, I'm going to start seeing a trainer at the fitness center which is in partnership with the orthopedic clinic. I know I need some exercise...but I want to proceed carefully so I don't aggravate anything.

So...meantime, I have no nice dressy clothes. I already have one project that I've promised myself I'd get cracking on this month -- the long-delayed trench coat. But I'm gonna promise myself one other thing, too: a garment that I can wear to a wedding or other dressy event that fits the body I have now. If I lose weight I'll kiss it goodbye, but I'm tired of squeezing into things that are too tight and feeling like a stuffed sausage all night.

So...that's my goal. Actually, I like the idea of making a jacket, a dress and a couple of pairs of trousers all that fit now....but I don't want to over goal.

Because my back hurts when I spend too much time at the cutting/pattern drafting stage.

Babysteps... ;)

Reality Check

Every once in a while, I need a reminder that I really am not being unreasonable with my inclination to sew all my clothes.

A couple days ago, I had 20 minutes to spend at the local upscale mall (which is on the other side of town from me) and I slipped into my favorite ladies shop to check out the sale. In 20 minutes, I found three knit tops that fit well, two pairs of earrings and a jewelry cleaner (necessary to bump my pre-tax total up to $100 so I could use the 25% off coupon)...all on sale.

So, I thought...if I can find things that fit for close to what I could sew them for, maybe I should use my time more productively. Hmm.

But, today I found myself in the Nice Department Store closer to my neighborhood. I had a little time, so I checked out their sales.

Found a couple of tops and a dress to try on; the woven top (size M - that's the size I bought from the other store) was so small it wouldn't close, the knit top (also a size M) fit fairly well but had a boat neck that gaped, and the dress (a 14) fit nicely through the waist and hips but was hugely too big through the back and shoulders and had gaping armholes. I put it all back...and came home with plans to sew.

So...every once in a while I can find something nice, and I can get it. But mostly...if I want clothes that fit...it's gotta come out of the sewing nook.

Slow and Steady...

Even if I only trace off half of a pattern piece a day, the pattern will eventually get traced...

I did swing by the Dollar-fifty table at the Good Wal-Mart earlier in the week and grabbed 4 yards of some kind of poly-blend suiting to make a muslin of the jacket. I'm gonna hold off on tracing the lining pieces until after I fit the jacket...especially since the lining pieces are pretty much drafted from the shell pieces. I'll get the shell pieces altered up first, then I'll do the lining.

But. Sigh. That puts my fabric in at over 86 yards...and my fabric out is still in the 20's. Unbelievable. Between working and costuming, I just haven't had as much time as I'm accustomed to to sew. Unless I get a MAJOR sewing focus going this fall, I am not going to finish the year anywhere close to parity. But that is unlikely, with the afore-mentioned costuming looming ahead.

So I'm dropping my 'Parity Plan' of giving away twice the overage. It's just not feasible this year...I'm just gonna do the best I can and then re-think the whole thing. Whatever I sew this year may be my benchmark for next year...if I only sew 35 yards, then that's what I'll limit myself to buying next year.

Who knew a little part-time job would sap the sewing time so much? But -- it is precisely the sewing time that turned into time at work. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Just gotta change my paradigm.

It's just me, isn't it?

Fanning myself with whatever's handy. Nobody else seems to feel the heat.

But I could put up with that; what's distressing me the most is that I'm trying to deny what else is happening.

I'm finding myself reluctant to commit my nice fabrics to clothes that fit because...I don't want to fit the body that, um, has been growing on me in the last six months or so.

Hormones? Um, probably. And I'm frustrated by the low back problems that have so far this year kept me from doing any kind of real exercise program to whittle my middle.

I don't even recognize myself in the mirror or in photos. Clothes that I loved last year look really bad this year. And, while I know the concept of 'fit the body you have,' I am not at all motivated to do that. This is not the body I want.

I'm not really looking for sympathy; I'm just publicly acknowledging something that I have not really been wanting to admit to myself...that part of my low personal sewing production this year may be due to a dissatisfaction with what I'm working with here at least as much (maybe more) than it is due to an abundance of volunteer sewing projects. The volunteer stuff has just been an easy way to avoid facing the truth.

So that's my Friday confession. I feel better now.

Beyond the Directions

Gwen asked a question on today's Friday Confession post that I found I couldn't properly answer within the confines of a reasonable comment, so I'm posting it here today:

When sewing, do you stick pretty faithfully to the instructions or are you quick to throw them out the window and follow your own path? If the later, were you always this way, or did you slowly grow into it as you gained experience? And does the way you approach sewing mirror the way you approach other things in life?

I used to be a completely by-the-pattern-guide kind of seamstress. I mean, I have been taught well to Follow the Directions. I remember sewing disasters and near-disasters, and the only comment I could make was 'Well, that's the way it SAID to do it!' Doing something different never crossed my mind.

Sometime in the Mid '80's I wanted to duplicate a detail from a pair of Liz Claiborne pants that I had purchased at a ridiculous clearance price and loved...the zipper was in the pocket. No ugly topstitching to worry about, no added bulk to the tummy area. I thought it was a great idea. The problem was, I could *not* find a pattern to show me how to do it.

Oh, I found some patterns that had the opening in the pocket, but it was just a finished-off edge. A little drafty, and I more than once put a Kleenex in my pocket and saw it fall out of my pantleg a few minutes later. But that was all I could find instructions for. I made do.

It wasn't until around 2002 that it occurred to me that it didn't matter if I did the zipper 'right' or not...it's in the pocket! No one will see it! So, I devised a method of inserting the zipper in the pocket...and even used a zipper that didn't match the fabric, just because it was what I had on hand.

I had an epiphany with that project...I really *could* do things my own way! Why do things like the patterns say? The objective is NOT to Follow the Directions, but to have a nice-fitting, nice-looking garment in the end. Now, I use the Pattern Guide as a general idea of how to put a garment together...but I may or may not do it as instructed. If I know a better way, you better believe I will do it that way.

I hadn't thought about that as an approach to life in general...but you know, I probably do look for ways to do things better, adapt instructions to fit my particular 'skill set' (isn't that a great term? I just heard it applied to my abilities last week...). Most of the time, it's a good thing, but every once in a while I go too far out on that limb and have to scramble back to safe ground (and usually make some apologies on the way).

All in all, though, it was an esteem boost to realize that I had enough knowledge and skill to do something on my own...and that gave me enough confidence to try some things I would never have tried. So, unless we're dealing with an Absolute Authority, I will adapt and modify 'bout anything if it looks like a better way.

Unexpected....

One of our pastors at church needs a costume for a para-church ministry by the end of February. He needs to be a 'pioneer parson', for want of a better description. We were supposed to meet and talk about it today, but we didn't manage to catch each other. Hopefully we'll talk about it later this week. He'll need a couple of jackets and some knee-breeches; he thinks he has a suitable shirt already. He's going to provide the fabric and perhaps even make part of the gear himself.

These folks pour a lot into ministry with kids; my youngest two are part of the children's church ministry team and work along with them; they've learned a *lot* and I'm happy to get the chance to bless the pastors. Just as long as I can squeeze it in before Easter program (there have been changes made to that plan...I should find out next week if we're going to do a Big Production or not) costuming and High School Musical costuming begins...which will be soon.

Meantime, I was surprised today to be rather obliquely asked if I were possibly interested in a paid costuming position with a local organization. My offhand reaction was 'No way would I do that!' The type of costuming is not really my expertise, and I know there are some *very* demanding time periods associated with the job, some which would conflict with other events I would want to be involved in (i.e., the church Dickens Christmas production, when/if we do that again). BUT -- it could be a very educational opportunity, and any income at the moment would be welcome. So I didn't answer right away, but agreed to consider it/pray over it at least a bit.

In all honesty, it was a very low-key inquiry, and someone else who is already involved with and volunteering with the organization would be more suited and may already be in consideration, but it was an attention getter.

Truth be told, I think I would need to volunteer with the group for a while before I could even begin to consider being a chief at all. And there is no room on my plate for any more volunteer anything.

But...we'll see...

The Sewing Backstory

Lindsay asked What's Your Sewing Backstory? yesterday, so I thought that was worth a post...'specially since I'm having problems getting to my cutting board this week. ;)

She's got a poll up, too, on which we can indicate who our sewing teachers/influences were. I checked two...'Mother' and 'Self-Taught'. Mom got me started by explaining what I had to do to make an apron, a plaid skirt and a dress, in that order, for my first three years of 4-H. After that, I could read a pattern guide and I was pretty much off on my own. I made the dress for the first day of 8th grade and sewed a good deal for my wardrobe after that. I could buy poly crepe double knit really cheap at the local Ben Franklin (back in that day it was more like a Wal-Mart than a Hobby Lobby) and sew and sew.

When I was in 10th grade I caught the 'wardrobe' notion, and, with a goodly length of blue crepe poly doubleknit and a coordinating blue-and-white poly doubleknit, I made what was very nearly a SWAP wardrobe:

1 Blue crepe jacket (um, with short, puffy sleeves and large rounded lapels...it *was* 1974) (note to self: look around on the vintage pattern sites and see if you can find this jacket)

1 Blue 4-gore skirt

1 Blue/white houndstooth 4-gore skirt

1 Blue/white back-zip straight leg pants

1 reversible vest: Blue crepe on one side and the blue/white houndstooth on the other.

I added two rib knit turtleneck bodysuits from the JC Penny catalog...one in white, one in navy...and considered myself pretty snazzy.

It's probably a good thing I lived in rural Indiana, where fashion was something people did Somewhere Else.

I had a bit of a pause the year I went off to college and the first six months or so after I got married, because I didn't have access to a sewing machine. But the first Christmas My Sweet Baboo and I were married, I received a check from my mom and dad and promptly used it to purchase a basic Kenmore sewing machine.

And I've never really stopped sewing; puttering along at the 4-H red-ribbon-level for years and dealing w/fit issues as they arrived (see The Evolution of Fit for that story...). It wasn't until I turned 30 that I really started to consider improving my technique.

I had kind of an identity crisis that year, thinking I needed to be, um, 'grown up' but not feeling like I was (Not sure I am now, for that matter, but that's another topic altogether). In my pursuit of a responsible adult mindset, I read several books, including Anne Ortlund's Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman. I did have some attitude changes as a result of reading that, but one of the things she said is that everyone needs to have some area of expertise...and she challenged her reader to pick one area and pursue it.

The area I picked was sewing and I subscribed to Sew News magazine...which led to a Threads subscription and a Fashion Fabrics Club membership (which was the beginnings of my stash)...which led, when we got online, to discovering independent patterns at now-long-gone Patternshowcase.com, which led to Patternreview.com...and writing reviews for PR has *forced* me to improve my techniques, both in construction and fitting, because, hey, people who sew are looking at those photos!

And, because I had been working on fitting and construction, when a need arose to make costumes for church I volunteered to help out and now I'm the *ahem* 'chief costume curator'.

But there was a couple of times when I almost gave it up. One was due to lack of space to sew; I don't know if I would've quit altogether or just put things away until I had a space, but, well, desperation leads to unique solutions and I moved the sewing to the garage and was glad to have some dedicated space that was out of sight. But the other time was an almost sell it/give it away moment.

I'll try to describe what it was; I don't know if everyone will understand or not.

After The Flute Player was born, I was sewing a lot. The magazine articles were inspiring me to not just sew clothes I needed, but to do some artistic exploration as well, and it was taking up a lot of time. I began to feel guilty about all the time I was spending on sewing, wondering if it could be spent in a way that would be more of a benefit spiritually in my life and in the lives of others. An old religious notion that if you enjoy something, it's selfish to do it much. It took a personal revelation for me to understand that God gives joy, not takes it and I saw that I didn't have to give up my sewing.

Five or six years later, as I was sewing furiously for yet another church drama production, it hit me that if I had given up sewing back when I was having the guilt trip, I would not have been able to serve in that manner. Food for thought... ;)

Choir Sundays 08 #12...and the 'Pause' button

First, The Choir Sunday: It's a new month...

This month's colors: Black w/either purple or lavender










Jacket: Textile Studios Florence Jacket, from textured wool crepe

Top: Christine Jonson Basewear 2 sleeveless turtleneck, from a black/purple/lavender rayon/lycra print jersey;

Pants: Black wool gabardine Loes Hinse Oxford Pants

And...the Pause Button....

For some time now, I've been feeling rather restless with the time consumed by the internet. I spend too much time checking and rechecking for comments, opinions, looking for sewing inspiration...nothing bad, you understand, but seriously out of balance. I've been confronted again with a question of priority this morning and I realize the time has come for me to take a bit of an Internet hiatus. Oh, I'll still check email, but I'm going to be taking a break from the blogs and boards for a little while. Time to do a little refocusing.

I'm not sure how long I'll be gone (maybe the rest of the month?) or what might change when I come back, but I don't want my cyber friends worrying...this is not a bad thing. It's a growth thing.

If you need to get in touch, you can reach me at tig77lw 'at' yahoo dotcom.

Thanks to all of you who have traveled with me on this journey so far...I value your friendship very much.

The Plot of Pippin

DS the Younger brought home his script a few weeks ago and I read it; you can read a summary HERE. That's not the Lee Lyric site, which hasn't been updated for ages; someone did a site just for this year.

Do you know...it's the story of The Preacher from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes? Who tries all sorts of things looking for significance and meaning in life, and then finally concludes that it is best to enjoy the life one has, the wife one loves, and to do one's work well. (Well, The Preacher adds 'fear God and keep his commandments', which is not mentioned in Pippin...but then, in that quasi-medieval setting, hypocritical church leaders imposed legalistic religion on the folk who had no other means of learning faith, so Pippin only found the emptiness of religion when he went to the local church for significance.)

Now, I don't know if the play was intentionally modeled after The Preacher or not, but the resemblance is striking. And the lesson...that it is better to be simple and happy than to destroy oneself looking for greatness...is not a bad thing for young people to consider. Or older folks, either.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to actually seeing the production!

Choir Sundays - 2008 #2

This month's colors: Royal blue and black


Dress (yes! I finished! Details tomorrow) Sewing Workshop Cityscapes Dress from royal blue stretch velvet

A Disclaimer Just to Satisfy my Conscience After a particularly moving service (actually, two of them) this morning, it feels very superficial to be writing about what I wore. So I'm just mentioning...just in case someone reading this doesn't know...that there is a lot more to life and church than sewing and clothes. However, because this is a *sewing* blog, that's what gets reported on here. I'm actually considering starting a second blog to talk about Life Issues and Bible Study Lessons and things of Deep and Eternal value...but I'm not sure I've got time to really do it right. Maybe someday. Meantime, I'll just throw in an occasional musing about The Bigger Picture into this blog, which is really about just one little life facet, not the whole gem. ;)

We now resume our regularly scheduled program already in progress... :D

Lessons from '07

Ah! All that's left of the holidays now is a little down time, a little (snort!) cleanup, a not-so-little Discover bill and some memories. So it's time to glean from last year's lessons and move forward.

Here's what I accomplished last year:
Fabric In: 157.93 yds
Fabric Out: 159.458 yds
Garments made for me: 52
Garments made for other people in my family: 17
Home Dec items: 2 tablecloths, 1 set flannel waterbed sheets
Accessories: Weekender tote bag
'Donations': 1
Things made for friends: 7 Weekender Bags, 1 Tamari Apron
Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:
4 Ladies Bible Costumes
3 Guys Bible Costumes
Green panne Medieval Dress
5 altar blankets
red drape for interpretive dance
6 tasseled stoles
4 swaggy-pennant drapes
Team Effort:
12 soldier tunics/shorts/capes, 4 soldier 'armor' tabbards
15 ladies' Bible costumes
2 priestly Bible costumes
12 guys' Bible costumes
6 kids' Bible costumes


For the third year in a row, I told myself at the start of the year I would make parity (sew at least as much fabric yardage as I purchase). In 2005, I was less than 10 yards from parity, but in 2006 I really didn't discipline myself and I ended up almost 34 yards over. That shocked me into deciding I *would* really stay on it in 2007, and I did pretty well until one fateful day in May when we went up to Sir's Fabrics in Fayetteville, Tn. Sir's is a fabric outlet, and they'd recently purchased all the inventory of an unnamed store in New York's Garment District, and I bought almost 50 yards of fabric.

In years past, I'd've written off parity at that point and just tried to be very disciplined in my buying for the rest of the year, but not this year. This year, I wanted to prove to myself that I *could* be disciplined enough to sew as much as I bought. So I went on a fabric fast and, as soon as I had a chunk of time available (it was the last two weeks in July before I got the chance), I lined up a number of projects and cut fabric until I had enough cut out to get back to parity. Then I started sewing. The only fabric I bought from that point until I got back to the balance point was a chunk of extra-wide flannel, which became waterbed sheets very quickly.

I sewed as fast and as efficiently as I could, sorting the queue into like colors so I could sew as much as possible without changing thread. And I had some wardrobe needs arise (ok, one or two were simply for my mental health) that I added to the queue, so that, even though I made parity, I still have a few things left from that cutting spree that are not sewn. At times, I chafed at the restrictions...it wasn't always my idea of fun. By and large, I was sewing with my inexpensive (yeah, some of it was cheap, too) fabric, not the Nice Stuff. But it was kind of encouraging to see the garments take shape and get crossed off the list...and I did make some things that had been on the 'someday' list. However, it took a lot longer to get back to parity than I expected when I was throwing fabric into the cart back in May.

I learned a lot about myself and my fabric addiction buying. Most importantly, I learned that I tend to buy to satisfy my imagination, not my wardrobe needs. That's not smart in any case, whether one is sewing or just buying RTW. So my number one behavior change will be to purchase fabric that reflects what I really wear, not just fabric that will make a smashing (whatever). I also need to let my buying reflect my sewing capacity. 10 - 12 yards at a time, to take advantage of a special opportunity (the sewing expo, road trips, unbelievable sales, etc) is not unreasonable from any perspective; I can sew that in a month or two. But I can't do three 12 yard purchases in six weeks' time. I need to plan what I'm purchasing so I can take advantage of those opportunities without overwhelming my actual ability to sew it.

And I need to shop the stash. Which means I need to Let Go of yesterday's visions. Fabrics that I purchased to make a specific garment which didn't get made when the inspiration was on me need to be released from that vision so that they can become inspirations for new visions. I think that is going to be the most fun/rewarding part of this whole revelation: I get to be inspired by some beautiful fabrics all over again.

And that, in a nutshell is my direction for 2008.