Thursday Random

A few unrelated things tossed into a post...

The votes have been tallied and, for the first time, there was a tie for first place in the SWAP competition, with 2nd very close behind.  My collection scored somewhere below the top three, but that's really what I expected...theirs had months of planning and careful work putting together complex garments...mine was composed of knit garments thrown together in a couple of weeks.

But that's ok.  I'm glad the three ladies who won were recognized for their hard work, and I got a pile of new clothes that I'd been meaning to make for a LOONNGGG time but hadn't managed to clear the calendar and sew.  The SWAP contest provided me with the motivation to do something I needed to do.  And I wore my gray SWAP cardigan today and loved how comfy it was.

So, you know, a competition like that really isn't about winning...it's about getting inspired to sew.  I'm really glad I didn't just give up on it but pushed myself to do something I needed to do.


Debbie sent me her address a couple of days ago...the last of the 10 Year Giveaway packages went off in the US mail today.  So...the totals given away:  10 patterns, 5 books and 15 yards of fabric. (which I have added to the 'yards out' total).  Several of the ladies have replied that what I sent them was something they could particularly use, which just makes my day.   I will be honest and say that it wasn't easy to part with the goodies...but I knew that they could be put to better use than I was likely to do.  I'm hoping to see photos of finished projects sometime soon from the bloggers who won. ;-)

Season 4 of the Great British Sewing Bee is being broadcast...in Great Britain, and temporarily viewable on you-tube.  So far 3 episodes have aired, and already one contestant that I thought would be in the final has been sent home.  There has been discussion about the pretty obvious fact that the absolute best sewers in Britain were not selected for the show...in fact, I know of one blogger who's linked in my blogroll who auditioned and got quite far in the process but was not selected.  She has incredible sewing skills...ranging from leather jackets to Alabama Chanin' style hand stitched garments and she has at least been in the top three....maybe even won...more than one SWAP competition herself.  The general consensus on Stitcher's Guild was that she was too accomplished and would blow everyone else out of the water, which would not make for good TV.  So the folks on the show are not likely to be the best of Britain's home sewing community duking it out for the title.  But it's a cute pretense on which to hang some sewing entertainment, with a splash of inspiration and education thrown in.  On average, the folks are probably pretty close to my level, and it's fun to watch them handle the challenges in the no-time-for-a-boo-boo time frame.  I honestly don't think I'd do so well under those conditions....

...and the drapey cream top....workwear thirty-three...

The ribbed rayon cowl neck top  slightly modified Vogue 8669...the last of the SWAP pieces to be worn in public.

With the original Hippy Earth Mother skirt and my old skool CWC denim jacket.

Yeah.  Kinda retro hippy.  But really comfy.

It's all officially broken in now.  Back to our regular hit-or-miss blogging schedule... :-D

Workwear 32 and the black SWAP top

Yeah, it looks a little rumpled...And the collar is not arranged nicely...
But, y'all, I'd just helped The Flute Player move back home and we had about 15 minutes before we hopped back in the car for evening obligations.

So.  It is what it is.

And it is the Combo 1 top (Jalie 2682), black Lee jeans and a ten-years-plus old Silhouette Robin's Jacket; it was the first one I made from the pattern, before I whacked down the height of the shoulders for less Dynasty-looking shoulder pads.

This is a great black top.  Love, love the fabric; wish I could remember for sure where it came from. I have a bit more;  thinking of making a long cardi out of it.  If I have enough.

I think that's everything worn and photographed EXCEPT the cream cowl-neck shirt.

As the church offices are closed on Fridays, it'll be next week before I can get that last photo.

Workwear 31

The gray T from Pack 2 makes an appearance today...with the original altered Oxfords and my favorite Jalie Draped front cardi...the only one I've made w/the pleats turned to the outside as intended.  It was a boo-boo at first; I misread the directions.  But I honestly think they look better turned in.  Lots of vertical lines and no noticeable fluff.

But it's such a bright color (last April's choir blue)  that it kinda overrides the fluff.

I almost didn't post this;  I've been wearing the gray T since I made it and it's already shown up in several choir posts.  But, since I'm in a series...and, today being a 'visit the chiropractor' day stretchy comfy was the rule...why not.

It's Me-Made-May anyway, right? ;-)

Workwear 30

Same dark corner as yesterday.

Wildcard pack Helix pants, with Vogue 8691 (also made in the SWAP time frame, now that I think about it.  That's the first garment I finished this year) and the black cotton twill vest from Burda Style 05/2009 that has been a wardrobe workhouse since I made it ages ago...

And I've been making necklaces again; I've got a coral-and-gray one nearly done (it'll show up on choir posts, even thought gray is technically not in the mix I think it will work...) and last night I finished a knock-off of a necklace I'd seen (and nearly purchased) from a direct-sales company.  But the stated measurements in the catalog were just a hair shorter than I wanted, so I made my own.  It's convertable...I can wear it doubled, short, or single strand, looonng.   I want to put one more charm on it, but I gotta stop at Hobby Lobby to see if they've got what I have in mind...

Workwear 29

It's a dark picture, but it was the best of the set-the-timer-and-hop-in-front-of-the-camera selfies...

Today's SWAP wardrobe item to mix with old stuff is the New Look wool crepe jacket.  It actually fits very well...and shows  it, when I have pulled the sides in and draped the jacket just so.  But, like other kinda-sorta double breasted styled jackets, it tends to swing out and down and look like it's baggy. 

It actually took me a bit to figure out why it looked so boxy in some photos...that's why.  I hadn't pulled the sides in.

But, you know, it's ok.  It's wool, but it's an airy crepe and it's single layer so it actually works really well in an over air-conditioned world.
It's gonna get a lot of choir wear when we put gray back into the mix.

And it's playing well with my zig-zag cotton Jalie 2566 T and gray Lee jeans...which probably would look way more on trend if I'd've cuffed them a wee bit.

But, well, somedays you feel like a cuff and somedays you don't... ;-)

Workwear 28

But first, an update on the 10 year anniversary giveaway...

I went by the post office today and dropped off Marilyn's box and the 4 pattern consolation prizes :-).
That means everyone's prize is in the mail EXCEPT DEBBIE'S.  I still need Debbie to resend her mailing address to tig77LW at yahoo dotcom;  yahoo and I had a bad day about a week ago and the original email with your address apparently disappeared.

The tattersal wool plaid is in a box, waiting on an address.... :-)

But I had a delightful conversation with the mail clerk...who sews and asked for the blog address so she could stop by.  How cool is that? :-)

But...today's work-with-the wardrobe SWAP post...

The Pac B pants, with a mixed-texture T from the Old Version of Coldwater Creek and my turquoise wool gab Vogue 1100  jacket, which I love but seldom wear because it's hard to put with pants.  But I really like this combo; the top matches the button on the jacket and matches the stripes in the pants.


So...I have a new combo.  Win.

No work wear tomorrow...I'll be wearing utility black-and-white, as we're serving an appreciation luncheon for local social workers and others who work with children in foster care or crisis situations.  All church staff become wait staff for this event...which we've been doing for something like 10 years now.  Which is hard to believe... But it's cool to thank some folks who seldom get much appreciation.

Workwear 27

It's the Easy, Ageless, Cool rayon challis campshirt from the Combo Pack today...with a gray rayon knit Jalie 2566 and black RPL double knit Loes Hinse Oxfords.  I will probably wear the shirt as a topper as much or maybe even more than I will wear it as a shirt.  It's very, very loose and flowy...I love it in the rayon but I think it would be too oversized in a lofty cotton. Drapey fabric is a must! 


I  recruited The Actor to take the photo for me as soon as I got home from work today...the kitty was still in 'welcome home!' mode.  And there is a nice coating of cat hair below the knees of my pants now...lol...

Workwear 26: Workin' the SWAP Wardrobe...

Not exactly Me-Made-May, but I decided that I'm going to try to wear pieces from the SWAP for the next couple of weeks, and, if I can, get photos of those pieces working with the existing wardrobe.

So today's first piece is the topical wool Oxford Pants from Pack A.  SO COMFORTABLE!!  I put it with my pinky-lavender My Heart's A-Flutter shell from Cutting Line Designs,  my denim jacket (from Coldwater Creek, back in the day...) and a silk scarf from Talbot's.

I have become a huge fan of tropical wool.  I need to sew up more from the stash...

The SWAP photo shoot...

...such as it is.  We are allowed, I think, 15 photos, but I really didn't have that much patience and I didn't want to impose on My Sweet Babboo any more than necessary.

All but 2 garments were in two pictures; I woulda had to repeat a pair of pants to get that second photo of the gray T shirt and gray knit cardi.

But I think there are enough photos to get the idea.

If  I did the math right, I could have 49 unique outfits from this combo, given that I can use the camp shirt as a 3rd layer over the knit shirts.

Anyway ...here's the whole wardrobe:

I wasn't happy with the light on the composite and tried various things to make them all look the same. But I just couldn't get them there...

And a smattering of combos.  For some reason the gray jacket didn't want to play nice today.  I think if I make it again (and I probably will) I will narrow the shoulders a bit.  Or maybe I just need to pull the shoulder pads out after all.  But it honestly looks much better in the mirror.

...and a reminder to my giveaway winners, Debbie and Marilyn...Yahoo has been squirrelly and ate some of my emails.  Including the ones with your addresses.  Could you resend to tig77LW at yahoo dotcom?  Thanks!!!

Choir Wardrobe 0501 and the Purple dress...

As I said yesterday, the irony of making a gray-and-black SWAP, basically for choir (we've worn gray and black for the basics for the last 6 months) is that...the day after I finish, we remove gray and black from the lineup for summer.

May's colors are Navy, Tan and Coral.

But I have a bit of that already in the closet, so we're good.  It's just not new.
Coral rayon blend jersey Jalie 2919 Pleated Cardigan, with a bit of modification in the sleeve and back;   a RTW guipure lace tank over a navy blue rayon jersey Jalie 965 Cami/Tank top, with Tencel twill Loes Hinse Oxford pants that, in one of my tweaking iterations, came out with wider legs than standard.

 And, we have a special event at church tonight that really leans towards a bit dressier attire than is typical, so I decided to pull out the new Toni Designer Dress from the SWAP. 
(I may yet change my mind and chicken out, as I haven't really gotten the photos I want for the SWAP set...and I'm just a little apprehensive about doing something to damage it before I get the photos...)

But, I need photos for a review of the pattern, too, and these are probably good enough for it.  

My Sweet Babboo just shook his head when he first saw it; The Flute Player did photography duty for the dress and she was fine with it until I pulled out the corners.

But, based on the fact that 4 out of 5 of the patterns that I got in the batch from Amazon has pockets, I'm thinking that the designers at SA totally get the pocket codependency that I live with.


  The dress is rayon challis, and so very, very lightweight.  It will be a dream to wear in the heat of summer, but it's a little damp and airish tonight, so I'm also risking the new cardigan...which does tone down the oddity of the dress.

Somewhat.

Love me some fun and funky stuff...when I can...

2016 SWAP Wardrobe DONE!

...with about 7 hours to spare...lol.

All eleven garments have been completely constructed since 1/1/16;  all but 1 of them have been completed since 4/14/16.  That was the day I almost threw in the towel, since I didn't have much accomplished from my original centered-around-a-denim-jacket plan.

But I had a flash of insight about the original SWAP goal...sew a quick wardrobe of useful coordinates from Tried-N-True patterns.  So I reworked the plan for Quick, Proven and Useful.

Actually, it's all stuff that I've been meaning to make, in one way or another, for quite some time.   The Style Arc dress was a venture into the unknown, but the purple challis had been earmarked for a dress; I just couldn't decide on the pattern. Since I was in the safe zone...I'd finished 10 garments...I decided to have some fun with the last one.

But here are some preliminary photos:


Pack A - Black:  McCall's 6844 Cardigan, from very nice RPL double knit; Jalie 2682 V-neck top from a rayon/lycra blend fairly beefy knit; Loes Hinse Oxford Pants (modified w/ fly zip from her Europeans) from a gray/taupe pinstripe tropical wool.

Pack B - Gray - New Look 6272 drape front jacket, modified for single-layer front, from gray wool crepe I won in a blog giveaway from Rhonda Buss about 3 year ago;  Loes Hinse Oxford pants, modified for a boot cut line, from stretch RPL woven suiting; cream stripe on gray, and a dark gray modal/lycra Jalie 2566 T.  I wanted a lighter shade of gray, but all the silvery gray knits I had looked purpley against the gray of the pants and the jacket, so I went with charcoal.

 Wild Card Pack - Pamela's Patterns Cool Cardigans Drape Front jacket in 4-way stretch rayon jersey, heathery gray, Vogue 8669 cowl neck shell (modified for a faced cowl) from rayon/lycra cream rib knit;  Sewing Workshop Helix Pant from a beefy black denim-look ponte knit.

Combo pack:  Louise Cuttings Easy, Ageless Cool campshirt in rayon challis and, as the sole pop of color in the wardrobe, just for fun, Style Arc's Toni Designer dress, also in rayon challis.




The pop of color could've been about anything; and, in all honesty, it WILL be ...I will wear the gray and black duds for choir until they fall apart (the drape front Pamela's Pattern is actually replacing TWO gray knit cardis that have holes in them...).  The camp shirt can also go over tank tops and t's for a top layer.

(note: all 11 garments are in the picture above and again in the picture below)

I'll have to do some better styling for the actual contest submission photos...although I'm not terribly good at styling...but at least you can see how it will work!

And...how ironic...May's choir colors are coral, navy and tan. No black or gray this month!

Done enough!

Three SWAP garments are in the closet, and have already been photographed in a Choir Wardrobe photo at some point.

Today, I cut out and sewed the white cowl top (still have a thread or two to trim, I see...) and I did the hand work on the pants and camp shirt.

Which brings me to a total of NINE SWAP wardrobe garments completed this year!  All but one of those were finished since I decided to go for it last Thursday.

So I've got enough done to qualify as a completed SWAP...if I don't get the final two garments finished by this time next week, I can pull two 'previously made' garments from the closet.

But I'm going to try to finish those last two.  Just because.

I'm excited.

(PS...if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, here's a bit of an explanation)

Home Stretch

I may actually finish this.

Did the jacket today...from cutting to finish.  It was a bit of a risk, as I hadn't made it up before, but it's a loose enough style that I figured it didn't have to fit to a T.  And it's actually pretty good.  It needs a good press/steam, and the pants behind it still need hemming, but I'm getting close.

I have 3 garments that just need hand work...hems, buttons...and I have 3 more that need to be made.  But, since the rules allow for two previously made garments that work with the new wardrobe, I really only need one more...and I have a nice cream fabric for a quick cowl neck shell top.  After that, if I can't get two more knit tops made, I can pull something...anything, really, as the SWAP is basic gray and black and cream...from the 'I made this for choir'  wardrobe and put it with the new pieces.

I am going to wear these clothes to shreds....

Choir Wardrobe 4 17 and almost half a SWAP...

NEW STUFF!
 :-D

Well, mostly new stuff.  And the new stuff is not reviewed yet....I did another view on that McCall's cardigan 6844, made in a pretty substantial black RPL (or maybe PRL) ponte.  I made some Oxford pants from this fabric SEVERAL years ago; this is the last of that piece.  It's really, really nice and has held up well on the pants so I expect the same from the cardigan.

The pants are probably (at the moment, anyway), the most expensive garment in the plan.  It's another exceptional doubleknit; it's kinda tweedy and actually looks a lot like denim.  I got it from Nancy Erikson at the one-and-only time the sewing Expo stopped in Indianapolis, back in 2014.  It was a dream to sew; I actually used the pattern I meant to use when I bought it...Sewing Workshop's Helix pant, although I've modified it somewhat.  One of these days' I'll write a review and tell what I did; but I'm very happy with them.  The only fly in the ointment is that I should have used stouter elastic; with anything at all in the pockets (that I added) the pants kinda drift downward.  But that's definitely a TNT for knit pants now. The trick is finding a suitable knit...

The top has a STORY.

It was the first top I made from Simplicity 2603 (I've made something like 7 or 8 so far...) and it was originally a rather bright coral...  (original 2011 photo)------>


However, there was a laundry mishap shortly after I made it and the attempt to reverse the purple splotching, most of the color was stripped and it was left a weird yellow...with odd orange thread.

I stuffed it in a drawer, where it sat for about a week shy of FIVE YEARS.  Friday I decided it was time to DO SOMETHING about that top.

I pulled out some Rit dye... fuchsia powder and tangerine liquid...and mixed up a batch of dye, guessing (it looked purple in the mixing bucket...) and ran it through.  As you can see, it's considerably more muted than the original, but still within the coral bandwidth, so...it worked.

Am I ever glad to have that out of the junk drawer and back in the closet, although it needs a pinch of mending; it's worn fuzzy at the point where I clipped the CF notch on the band/top.  Guess the 30 minutes of agitation in the dye bath was a bit much.  I'll put a little beading or some lace or something on it cover it up.    But it's good enough for stage wear and, as we're going to be wearing coral both this month (with black and gray for neutrals) AND next month (with navy and tan for neutrals), I can use a little extra coral in the closet.

As of last night, I've made 5 garments for the SWAP plan since I left work on Thursday night, being's how the office is closed on Fridays.  I have a little finish work to do on two...hems and closures...but the other three are completed.

If I can keep going at this rate, I might just make it...

Oh yeah.  There's still a couple of days left in the 10 Year blogiversary giveaway, if you missed the post with the details...

Half a day...

Thought I'd spend the whole day yesterday whaling away at the SWAP list BUT...

It's going to be in the 80's next week.  Time to switch the fall/winter duds for the spring/summer wardrobe.

We're wearing coral in choir this month and next month.  I have a top that was coral when I made it...um, several years ago.  A laundry mishap resulted in all the color being bleached out of it.  Well, most all the color.  It was left a kind of buff yellow w/ orange topstitiching.  Been meaning to give it a go through a Rit dye bath to see if I could, um, re-coral it; it's just been in a wad in a drawer in the sewing cave.  So, yesterday the bug bit and I re-dyed it using a guesstimation combination of powder fuschia and liquid tangerine.  It actually came out a nice dusky coral color...but the extended agitation caused a wear point in the center front (where the notches were for matching).  It's not going to show from the choir platform, but I know it's there. I may add a bit of lace or beading or something to cover it...but not this week. ;-)

And I had already skipped two weeks on posting my weekly dig-into-original-language Bible study over on the other blog.

So, with one thing and another, it was about 2 PM before I even really got upstairs to start cutting.

I cut pants and one knit top; then found that the pattern that I intended to use for the camp shirt was not traced.  Yeah, I  know, TNT and all, but it's a loose fitting shirt from an indy designer I've used before, so I'm going to brave it.  It was the pattern I wanted.  So I traced it off, then I sewed up the knit top (Jalie 2682, in a rather beefy, super soft modal/lycra knit).  Which completes the A 3-Pack, except for the handwork on the pants.

So...gonna cut some more today.  And sew.  And we'll see what happens.

As I posted on Stitcher's Guild, even if I don't meet the SWAP requirements by two weeks from today, I will at least have pushed myself to sew some basics that I've been needed really badly for a while now.  And that's a good thing.

Besides, it's kinda fun to see if I can do it.

I dunno when I'll get pictures...but I'll post some when I get a chance.

Two down...almost

I sat down last night whilst eating reheated pizza for supper and went over the SWAP plan that I made in January.  I crossed out all the potentially time consuming items (my much needed black denim jacket is going back into the 'make this soon!' list...still don't have a TNT pattern that I want to use for it) and added things I knew I could make quickly, all in the (mostly) black-and-gray family.

Then I hit the two In Progress items and finished the black doubleknit McCall's 6844 (non-pepblum view) cardigan and took the tropical wool pinstripe Oxford pants to the hand work; they just need a trouser hook-and-eye and hemming.

I have about 3 garments I'm going to cut out today, and I'm going to try to get at least one finished before bed tonight...

Think I'll start by putting a fresh blade in the rotary cutter... :-D

Puchyer Head Down and SEW!

Haven't done that in AGES..

But, we're coming up on the end of April.

Which is the sewing deadline for the 2016 Stitcher's Guild SWAP 'contest' (I'm not aware of any prizes for it this year...it's just for the fun of it).

Now, I've sewn about...two...maybe...garments that are compatible with my SWAP plan.  I was about to write it off.

But...then I recollected the original idea of SWAP:

Pick TNT patterns, and QUICKLY sew up an 11-piece collection that coordinates.  Bingo.  Instant wardrobe.

I've got two weekends ahead of me.  Next weekend has some busy to it...Sunday will be an 'I'll be at church all day long' kinda deal...but this weekend is blissfully uncommitted.

I'm gonna give it a run.  Just to see.  How fast can I sew?

Taking a deep breath...GO!

Looking Ahead...

The Really Big Leadership Conference that has consumed my life since Christmas is in the books; it was awesome and inspiring and, I hope, life-changing...assuming I can implement and stick to the changes I see I need. 

But, life is always about pushing forward...two steps on, one step back,  two more forward, hold your ground, another half step forward, fall back a bit...try again...

Anyway, I've actually cut out two tops today, which I hope to get sewn up on the the next two days (MLK JR Day and an extra off day to breathe after the conference) and, along with the cutting, I actually sat down and made a plan for the 2016 Stitchers Guild SWAP contest.

This year's rules call for packs, or pods, or groups, or whatever you want to call them, and, as I am in DESPERATE need of some updated basics, that's what I'm focusing on.

Pack A - Black:


Black tropical wool pinstripe Loes Hinse Oxford pants
Black rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 2682 sleeveless V-neck
Black Denim jacket, pattern still TBD


Pack B - Gray

Gray chalk stripe RPL Loes Hinse Oxford pants
Gray wool crepe jacket - pattern TBD
Gray silk shell - pattern TBD


Pack C - Combo

Black 'denim' doubleknit Sewing Workshop Helix pants
Cream silk blouse (cut out ages ago but never touched)

Wildcards:
Black wool/lycra Jalie Classic Trousers
Turquoise silk jacquard shell - pattern TBD
Fuschia silk shell - pattern TBD


Heavy on the basics, which you'll recognize as major players in the choir wardrobe, with a pop or two of colors that frequently show up in the rotation.

My pants patterns need a little tweeking for fitting the current version of me, and, while I'm close on a TNT shell pattern, I'm not *quite* there yet.  And I'm STILL trying to figure out the denim jacket pattern.

But at least I have a direction.  Still no definite word on possible Easter costuming needs, so I'm going to plan like I have time to sew clothes. 

Of course, the tops I cut out today won't fit in the swap plans...being prints, they won't work with the striped pants (I don't think, anyway.  It might work once they're done but I'm not going to count on it).

But.  It's time to refresh the wardrobe.