Beat the Game

Had our teacher conference with DD this morning; in the course of our discussion I came up with an analogy for schoolwork for the kids...beating the game. Whether it's Game Boy or Game Cube or whatever, the object is to 'beat the game'...complete all the assignments and get to the finish. Some of the challenges are not so fun, and there are some that you just have to keep repeating in different places. They grumble, but they work through it so they can 'beat the game.'

So we've told the kids (younger DS, who also has faltered a bit in his schoolwork, is home sick today and got the revelation as well) to 'beat the game' in their schoolwork...complete the assignments; even the ones that aren't so much fun, or are a repeat of what they've done before. Sounds good to me...but only time will tell if the kids will rise to that challenge or not.

But it occurred to me that I have several areas of my life in which I need to 'beat the game' as well. 7 months after moving, we still have chaos and boxes in more places than I'd care to admit. I need to get focused and beat that game...

The Baptismal robes are still in the tote bag I brought them home in, two weeks ago. I need to beat that game...

And the healthy eating/exercising game...well, I need to get that one plugged into the system ;)

I don't get it

I have, through the sewing boards, discovered Project Runway. The whole design it- make it-show it process is very interesting. Now, we don't have cable at our house, so I've sort of been following the progress of the season via blogs and websites, which has introduced me to another world on the net...fashion blogs. I've become a Manolo the Shoeblogger reader, mostly because the Manolo, he can be unbelievably witty in his commentaries on the fashions and the peoples of the fashions. Not to mention the way of his communication, it is extremely contagious. But the Lisa of the Laree, she does not understand why anyone would pay such of the exhorbitant sums of the monies for the shoes...especially the 'superfantastic' shoes that require the real women with actual bones and tendons to have the feets of the Barbie dolls. :D

But mostly what has amazed me in reading about Fashion Week is the almost religious zeal that is associated with haute couture. It's just clothes. I can make clothes. Ok, so the fabrics are wonderful and the fit is terrific (well, by some standard) and the designs are unique (some of them so unique I can't for the life of me imagine real people wearing them)...but it's still just clothes. Clothes are to provide cover for the body, so that the world at large does not see that which should be reserved for only the most intimate companion (and I do believe some designers deliberately overlook that important function of clothing), provide warmth against the cold and protection from the sun, and, if clothing enhances the appearance of the one inside it, so much the better. But, in the end, a $3,000 blouse is still...a blouse.

Apparently, there are people who have $3,000 to spend on a blouse and they will buy the $3,000 blouse, just because it was designed by the Big Name and is what the Big Names more or less agree a blouse should be...for this season.

And that mystifies this daughter of frugal Midwest farmers....

The SRP (Stash Reduction Plan)

Monday afternoon I sat down and updated the stash data base. Here's the state of the stash union: 530.64 yards of fashion fabric. Gasp. Time to get to sewing on that.

So here's the plan: I will sew only from stash, EXCEPT for thing like choir attire, where I may need a specific color that is, believe it or not, not in the stash, such as khaki (which is to be worn from May - September). I will allow myself to purchase up to 1/2 the amount of fabric I have sewn. My goal is to get rid of two rubbermaid bins...I need to go check and see what's in a couple of them, so I have a rough idea of the yardage in two of those bins.

But, oh, is it hard to resist those Emma One Sock sales on lovely knits that would work for choir but aren't necessarily 'must haves'!

I'm trying hard to save my 'yardage purchase allotment' for the Atlanta Expo, but I'll go with a list of fabric that I need (black and khaki; maybe some olive green) and I will do my best not to make any impulse purchases...a necessary thing, seeing as I've only sewn up one piece of fabric from either of the last two Expo purchases in the past two years. :rolleyes:

But that'll change pretty soon, too. ;)

Blindsided

Gee, just when you think everything is settling down...I intended to write about the SWAP jacket, but right now my brain is full of parenting angst...

Youngest DD handed me her weekly-take-home-information folder on her way out the door this morning. "I did something bad and I'm sorry". I flipped open the folder and saw only a field trip permission form, not due for a few more days, and thought she was apologizing for not giving it to me last night (actually, I should've seen it Friday). She was running late and I just took it and said I'd sign it while she was at school.

Well, buried in the general info was a report that she had 1) not done her homework 2) not gotten a bad grade signed and 3) signed my name on her midterm report showing her bad grades. She has 1/2 hour detention this afternoon.


!!!!!

Somehow, the bottom has fallen out of her schoolwork this semester. I don't know what's going on; we need to find out.

!!!! again....

Plugged in

Here's the 'WHAT' in use..I apologize for the poor photo quality; I was not comfortable using the flash so the shutter speed was too slow for a sharp picture. But you get the idea...it worked!



Now I wait to see what, um, unusual garments might be required for the next Uplink service, which is in a little less than four weeks. Meantime, I need to get those baptismal robes done, and get back to the SWAP... ;)

Cut the Lining First

Got XYZ pretty much done yesterday; my reward was to cut out the grey wool flannel Oxford pants for my SWAP and, since I used the grey lining for the pockets, I went ahead and cut out the lining for the jacket. Haven't got the fashion fabric cut yet, but it's nice to know part of the unexciting cutting is done. I don't mind cutting out the actual garment...it's kind of exciting to be starting a new project...but cutting the pattern again for the lining and again for the interfacing does get a little tedious.

Last March, a number of Sewing World members had a bit of a gab session Friday night at the Atlanta Sewing Expo, and Peggy Sagers dropped in and hung out with us. At some point we were talking about what causes UFOs (UnFinished Objects); one of the things mentioned was that it was easy to get a jacket (or skirt or any other lined thing, for that matter) done to the lining, only to have it languish, waiting for the lining to be cut out and made. I heard myself say 'Cut the lining first.' Peggy looked at me and said, 'That's a good idea!' It makes sense to put the cart before the horse here, so to speak, because once that fashion fabric is cut, every one of us wants to get at sewing it...but if we'd cut out the, um, boring parts (lining and interfacing) first, once the fashion fabric itself is cut and marked, we can be off to the races and there won't be any thing to throw a 'stop' switch. All that 'project starting' energy is still there until the fabric itself is cut.

I don't always do it that way, but when I suspect I'll be impatient to get sewing, that's what I do ;)

Finding Time

There's a thread over on Pattern Review that asks the question "When do you find time to sew and post?" (Or something like that...I'm too lazy at the moment to open a new window and get the exact question). I had to laugh; my answer would be "The question's wrong...it should be 'When do you find time to clean house and do laundry and necessary account keeping?'"

Sigh. I need to find time to do all the above. The trouble is, there's no time to find. There's only time to allot, budget, parcel out. And I really need to hit some important household tasks, but I've got grey thread in the serger and three SWAP projects that require grey thread queued up ready to cut out...

Now we have the test of discipline: can I put my attention on the household tasks that need doing, or am I going to cave in and cut out? Or shall I do the reward thing...if/when I get XYZ done, then I can cut out the pants?

Yeah, that'll probably be the plan: Over breakfast, pick the three things that will be X, Y, and Z. Nothing will get done all the way, but something will get done on more things.

I think I need to start letting Flylady boss me around... ;)

Ready for Hook-Up

My fingers got sore sewing the connectors to the vest...or rather, sewing the neoprene around the connectors, so I took a break and snapped a photo:


I did get it finished and delivered last night; I put some gaffe tape over the logo, which persisted in being shiny even though it was covered with several applications of both black marker and spray paint...

But Dear Pastor was pleased with it! If I can get a photo of it on the platform, I'll post it... ;)

On A Serious Note: Remembering

Suddenly, I am ticked off at myself, so I'm doing a bonus post today. Earlier in the week, I decided that in today's I would make note of what day it is and remember....

But I got caught up in the here-and-now and forgot today was Feb 1.

Three years ago today, the sky over Tyler, Texas lit up with the disintegrating Columbia; it was especially personal as DH had worked much on that mission, being part of the Spacehab team at Boeing that integrated the payloads into the Spacehab Module. It was the first mission for the newly designed scientific double module, and DH had even gone to Houston for the mission, working overnights as an interface between the experiment designers and the CapCom, helping answer questions and such and listening in on all the communication between the astronauts and the CapCom. For someone who had worked in the space industry since graduating from college, it was a terrific experience. He finished up on Jan 30 and came home on the 31st, exhausted and exhilirated. Feb. 1st was devastating.

The Spacehab team is no more, divided and parceled out to other tasks. Lots of things to remember...but especially the seven folks who spent their last two weeks among the heavens: Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon, William McCool, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Kalpana (KP) Chawla. Remember their families, who I'm sure did not forget for even a moment that today is Feb. 1.

Losing my...connections?

Sunday, Worship Leader/Tech Guru person Pastor B gave me one of the connectors for the vest, so I could see what I was working with; the rest were in his office on the other end of the building, so I stopped by the church Monday and picked them up...more than I expected, in a zip lok bag. Came home and put the bag on the table,with the vest, went upstairs and got the one he gave me earlier (which was labled 'BAD') and added it to the bag; a quick count told me I had eight. That's cool; 4 on each side will look nice and balanced. I did some other things and came back to the vest a couple of times to look at the connectors and ruminate about how they should be hooked up, and discovered at one of those times that I had seven connectors, not eight. Weird...did I mismiscount them the first time or did I carry one off unbeknownst to my concious self? An email to Pastor B inquired of him how many he gave me, and I looked around some more yesterday for the possibly missing connector. I also spray painted the blue parts of the vest black...or at least, sort of black. (At least that was something I could do with my face and mouth shot full of Novacaine...talking was out of the question, I couldn't even talk to myself...)

Had a meeting last night at church and I saw Pastor B who said, yes, he had given me 8 connectors. He said he's got several more and if I need another I could just stop by and get one, which I may do today...but that really bugs me now. What did I do with the missing connector? And why don't I remember it? Must be one of those hormonal mental glitches... ;)

I'll probably get another, then turn the missing one back in when/if I find it.

And it was surprisingly difficult to make myself paint the vest...I suspect it's also going to be difficult to slice into the neoprene cover to insert the connectors.

Gang aft aglye

Yeah, yeah, the best-laid plans.... (I probably misspelled 'aglye'...it's that kind of day)
I had great ones yesterday, trouble is, I didn't have 42 hours in the day. I did get our budget nearly caught up; I think I'll finish it out today and we will be current for the first time in MONTHS, and I did get some experimenting done on that ski vest: Sharpie marker is not turning the blue part black, more of a midnight blue. So I'll have to pull out the spray paint and see what happens. If that doesn't get it black, I may have to just cover the thing with gaffe tape.

But I have an appointment with an endodontist in an hour and a half...don't know if I'm going to get much at all done today.

However, to cheer myself in the face of dental trauma, I discovered that sometime over the last few days I have somehow earned another 'star' on Pattern Review! That was a pleasant surprise!

Caught up to Cutting

I finished the skirt suit over the weekend (photos and reviews available at the 'My Reviews' link), so now my personal sewing is caught up to cutting out again.

But I have church sewing to do...two baptismal robes, and the funky vest for Pastor to wear Saturday. I did find a vest at Wal-Mart for less than 30 bucks...it's royal blue and black, so I've been asked to paint it black. The connectors are small and look like phone jacks; I'm still not sure how I'm going to put them onto/into the vest.

Anyway, I'm hoping to cut out the real SWAP jacket tonight and maybe the last pair of pants and a blouse. Sometime today, I need to at least get the necklines finished on those robes...and maybe run to Hobby Lobby for some spray paint?

Pattern Expectations

There's an interesting discussion of this over on Pattern Review:
Pattern Expectations Thread

This is running the gamut from what we *expect* from a pattern to what we'd *like* to see happen with patterns to why do we even do this in the first place? And why aren't the pattern companies listening?

I'll plagerize my posting just a little; here are my expectations and my wish list:

I expect a pattern to:
Look like the photo/illustration on the envelope when it's made. I don't want to find that, what was portrayed as a straight leg, actually is tapered.

Pieces should match...corresponding seams should be the same length, notches should match.

Printed finished garment measurements should be accurate. I don't expect the pattern to fit fresh out of the envelope...but I do expect to be able to do some math and some adjustments and make it fit.

Directions should be accurate, reasonable, and result in a garment that looks finished. (at least, if that's the style...if it's supposed to have raw edges, that's another thing).

I'd really like for a pattern to have:

clear markings on all pieces for full bust line, full hip, and waistline. The bust point should also be marked.

Streamlined construction techniques reflecting advances in sewing equipment and notions. Some of the independants do this, but the Big 4 seems to be stuck in a 1950's home ec class much of the time.

Reasonable standards for what makes a pattern Very Easy, Average, and Advanced in the ability to make it. Many pieces do not make a pattern advanced; nor does lack of fitting make a pattern easy. I think Heather Claus did a huge survey back when she still had Patternshowcase going as to what we home sewing folks believed was 'easy, average,difficult'...that data should be somewhere and should be used by someone to make some standards.

I won't go into the 'lose the redundant pieces' rant again...I already did that one here.

It would be nice for the size ranges to overlap a bit...6-8-10 in one size and 12-14-16 in another pinches someone like me, who is an 8 in the shoulders and a 14 in the hips....

Finally, I'd like the Big 4 to keep popular patterns around a while...the original twist top pattern was one that Simplicity put out, but somehow I missed it and by the time it was reviewed and I realized I wanted it, it was gone. I've picked up the Kwik Sew version, but I'm going to have to figure out how to turn the horizontal twist into a vertical twist to narrow the 'v' at the bottom and hopefully get a less revealing top. But I digress...my point is, that pattern would've sold a lot more if Simplicity had not been so quick to discontinue it. At least the independants tend to keep their patterns around for a while.

You want WHAT?

Well...we had some interesting things happen while sewing the baptismal robes yesterday. No, they're not done, but I think Miss M and I can finish them up at home w/o too much trouble; the worst (the zipper) is done in all of them.

Anyway, we were scheduled to use the fellowship hall. Got there, got everything (sewing machines, serger, ironing board/iron) all arranged on tables and plugged in, pulled out the first robe and turned on my sewing machine...no power. Tried the iron and the other sewing machine. Also no power. The lights were on, mind you, so it was the electrical outlets that weren't working. I carried my serger around the room, plugging into various outlets. We found two that had power, but they were well apart (Found out later that, due to some electrical work being done in the sanctuary, some of the circut breakers had been turned off).

So, we moved the whole process into the main entry hall, where all the outlets had power, and set up shop there. Started sewing an hour late. I'd sewn maybe one seam, when my cell phone rang; one of the church secretaries asking me to make something for our Pastor for our first Saturday night Uplink service (fellowship meal followed by a 90-minute produced service; a rally-type thing. Not your normal church service-- which is a week from tomorrow). As she described it, he wanted a fishing vest with computer cable plug-ins attached for a visual that he would use in his illustrated sermon. I agreed to purchase the vest and see what I could do; our worship leader, who is also the all-things-techie person on the staff, would pick up the necessary connection pieces. All I would do would be attach them to the vest. I was sort of thinking I'd stick the connection things in the pockets of the sewing vest,make a hole in the pocket and just screw the faceplates to the hookups right through the fabric over said hole; at least, that was what I was going to try.

One seam sewn later, Pastor walks through the hall. "Hey, someone's going to call you about Uplink." I commented that Ms. Secretary had already spoken to me and asked for clarification. Um, no, not a fishing vest...something high tech looking...with some thickness to it that the connector thingees can be put into.

Um, I'm confused here, but got the impression he was looking for a black life preserver. I'll go look at Wal-Mart.

Then, about 10 minutes later, Mr. Worship Leader and Tech Guru walks through the hall and Miss M asked him about the connectors. Yeah, he was planning to get them that day. You know he wants a high-tech looking vest, right?

Um, it sounded like a life preserver to us. One that buckles?

No, something techie...something that closes with velcro...in silver, maybe. You know-- those sharp ones.

Well, we're not boat people so I really don't know and I'm still confused. But on the way home it hit me what he wants...one of those snazzy Jet Ski vests. That makes sense.

Now all I have to do is 1)find one...where does one find Jet Ski vests in January? and 2) figure out how to attach computer cable connectors to it securely and 3)finish the two baptismal robes I brought home.

At least I'm glad they ran into us...otherwise I would've done up a fishing vest from Wal-Mart!

Saga of the Baptismal Robes

Back in ...oh, I dunno, 2002?...the church decided to start using baptismal robes. We modified a pattern for an African Caftan, ordered three large bolts of blue polyester crepe fabric, had a marathon cutting day and cut out about 20, stored the rest of the fabric, farmed them out amongst various sewing ladies and were set...for a while.

In November of 2004, a number of robes suddenly disappeared. Ivestigation showed that they disappeared after the October baptism service and the conjecture is that they were, um, thrown away. Seems the lady who usually oversees the robes was out of town, so she told the deacons who were assisting with the service to put the robes in a large garbage bag, and another lady would pick them up to wash them. Well, when our laundry volunteer went looking for the robes she couldn't find them and assumed someone else had taken them. Our deacons verified that they had put the wet robes in the plastic bag as instructed and last saw them outside the restroom door.

Now, if you were a janitorial type person, and you found a large, heavy trash bag tied up outside the bathroom, would YOU open it up to see what was in it? Apparently our janitors didn't, either.

We have since specified that the used robes should be left hanging in the bathrooms on their hangers.

Anyway, we pulled down the remnaning partial bolts of the fabric and cut out and made about 20 more robes.

Because of the Scrooge production, we didn't have our monthly baptism service in December, so January's service was quite large. Two days later I got a call...we need more baptismal robes, especially in the very large size. I knew we had a couple of chunks of the fabric left; I estimated enough for seven robes. After measuring it, I dropped my estimate to five.

When we cut them out last week, we discovered that the fabric was damaged along one selvage. Apparently, someone 'borrowed' the fabric and stapled it to something, then pulled it down. So we couldn't cut quite as efficiently as we otherwise might've.

We got three XL robes and one XXL that we just kind of cheated to make by moving the main garment pieces away from the cf/b after cutting the neckline.

So, Miss M and I are going to haul our machines and such to church this morning for another sewing fest...four baptismal robes. The last four, unless they get some more fabric. It'd probably be easier to sew them at home than to haul all the stuff down there, but this way they'll pretty much all get done in a day. Otherwise I'd be looking at them until the week before the next baptismal service.

But needing more robes, in this case, is a good thing... ;)

I'm Registered!

The Louise Cutting and Peggy Sagers classes won the toss ;). Actually, I decided to keep my lunch hours as long as I could on both days and Shirley Adams' class was at 1. Sometimes logistics makes the decisions. It's probably a good thing I had to leave early; if I had had the option of classes Friday night and Saturday I'd still be trying to pare down the options.

So my Expo schedule is definitely class-heavy, I won't have time to be unduly tempted on the vendor floor but maybe I can squeeze in a 'Hello!' to fellow Internet sewing buddies!

Expo Planning

The brochures are out and the agony of decision is full upon me. Miss A and I have our hotel reservations for the Atlanta Sewing Expo the second week of March and I'm trying to figure out which classes to sign up for. We will only be able to be there for Thursday and about half of Friday, so it limits the options. No matter; I found a class in every available time slot that I wanted to take. I've decided that I will register today...sometime...so I'm going to have to make a decision. I definetly want Cynthia Guffey's Signature Seam sample sewing class...that's Thursday evening and counts as three classes. Then there's Cynthias three-session fit series on Friday morning and early afternoon (we'll have to scoot straight out the door after that last class to be back in Huntsville by 7 for a conference). I also want to take the 'Each one, Teach One' class on Thursday afternoon; if I ever wanted to do a sewing related thing for income, I think teaching would be it. So, that's seven classes right there, so I'm bumped up to the nine-class option...Two more classes to pick. There's a Louise Cutting class Thursday morning, a Peggy Sagers class on Thursday afternoon, and Shirley Adams on Friday afternoon, between Cynthia's second and third fit classes. I can take two out of those three.

Maybe I'll just draw straws or something. ;)

Pattern Redundancy

There's been a bit of discussion here and there about wardrobing; how many of what kind of garments should be in Every Woman's Closet. But for a while I've been pondering a variation on that...how many pattern styles of what garments should I have in the cabinet? On the whole, how many skirt patterns do I *really* need? How many pants patterns? How many jacket patterns? You get the picture. There are a number of 'wardrobe' or 'ensemble' patterns that I have that have one outstanding feature -- usually the jacket-- and then a pair of ordinary pants or an unremarkable skirt, for which I have patterns out the ears. How many patterns of straight-leg back waist zip pants with a waistband do I need? Only one...or maybe even zero, since I don't like back zip pants. But because I like that jacket...and that jacket...and that jacket...I've got a bunch of back-zip pants and skirt patterns.

Nancy Erikson has an interesting concept with her Fashion Sewing Group patterns; she publishes basic patterns...a fitted jacket, a boxy jacket, a knit top and cardigan, a coat, a skirt and pleated pants (I'm forgetting something...)and then teaches how to alter these basics for various styles. She's published a couple of books, also printed some 'add on' patterns for the jacket, and frequently writes directions for modifying the patterns for different looks in the by-paid-subscription -only newsletter that she publishes every other month. So the sewing customer purchases and fits the basic pattern, then uses that as a basis for new styles, rather than buying and fitting another pattern.

It does have its appeal! I've got 4 of her patterns and have made up two so far (I still need to tweak the pants pattern a little), but I'm really not convinced it's less work to modify a pair of tapered, pleated pants with a waistband into a flat front straight leg contour-waist style than it is to fit a new straight-let, flat front contour-waist pattern, once fitting techniques are learned (and they have to be learned whichever way you go...unless both patterns would fit right out of the envelope). I hope to get at least one more of those patterns -- the fitted jacket -- made up and tweaked this spring. Right now, the holdup is that I *know* what I need to do to, say, a Vogue jacket to get it to fit but I haven't gone beyond generalities on what I will need to do to the FSG jacket. New pattern line, new fitting learning curve.... But I really believe that once I get over that hump, I'll use that jacket pattern quite a bit.

Anyway, I think the Big 4 could learn a little from Ms Erikson...think of the reduction of printing costs if they stopped reprinting the same basic blocks for all those coordinate patterns and just printed the pattern for the garment that was truly unique. I probably wouldn't buy fewer patterns...I'd still get the fabulous jacket for which I have no similar pattern...but I'd have less redundancy in the cabinet.

The SWAP Jacket

In the original Stitches Magazine article that started the whole SWAP fest, the print element was to be a top and blouse set, and in my first two SWAPS (I found the photos of those: SWAP 2004 and SWAP 2005)I followed the recommendations and did make matching skirts/tops. But I didn't wear them together...it felt too busy. However, for the SWAP contest that Timmel sponsors, participants are only required to have one print object in the set...and anything that has more than one color in it can count as the 'print'...so it can be a stripe, a plaid, a tweed, etc. This time, I'm opting to use a tweed jacket for my 'print' piece and the whole SWAP combo has fallen into place.
This is the 'Fall Sky Texture' originaly offered by Nancy Erikson in her Fashion Sewing Group newsletter for Sept. O5. It jumped at me then, but I had just embarked on what is turning out to be a long quest to slash the stash and I didn't get any. I kept going back to that swatch over and over again, though, and when I found out this fall that we are going to wear blue and grey for choir in February I decided that if that fabric was still singing to me a year later, I needed to get it. So I got two yards...enough for a short jacket. My test jacket in the black plaid is going together nicely; I don't think I'll have to tweak it too much before I cut into this.

The truth is, this fabric is great. The colors are subtle and it has played nicely with every blue and grey fabric I've pulled out of the stash. I've got more options than I need for fabric that coordinates with it...which is really cool. I'm gonna love it, I do believe.

But I've got to finish the other one first! The skirt is done; I'll take photos when I finish the jacket.

Trivial and Purely Petty Hair Rant

Ok, this is one of those days that I'm Bugged. I was doing some, um, self-analysis yesterday and decided that I have a problem, and my problem is that I don't Feel Pretty. And one of the main causes is my hair. I've fought with my hair all my life; it's very thick, sort of coarse and naturally wavy, bordering on curly. You could say frizzy, as the waves/curls are neither symmetric nor flattering. My solution several years ago was to just let it grow out; at least I could pull it back and put it in a bun/hair clip and be neat. It grew so long that a couple of years ago I got it cut and sent an 18" ponytail to Locks of Love. I loved the short hair; it was easy to keep neat, although I did have to keep going to get it cut every whipstitch. Then we started doing Scrooge at church, and for the past two years I've been cast as a guest at the Fezziwig's...which means I can't hide my hair under a bonnet. The first year I used copious amounts of gel and many hairpins to keep my hair appropriately pulled back into a hairpiece that wasn't appropriate but was the best I could do. I got it cut after the show, enjoyed the easy hair for a few months and then started letting it grow in the summer. Went through the Really Ugly stage in August-September, and by Christmas it was long enough that I only needed a moderate amount of gel and a handful of hairpins for the front bit of my hair to pull it back into the hairpiece. I was looking forward to getting it cut again after the show.

But it hit me: if I get it cut now, I'll have to go through the Really Ugly stage at the end of the summer all over again. It would be nice for it to be long enough to be able to just put my hair into the right style for the next year's show...but I've got to live with it between now and then. Right now it's shapeless and still too short in the front to pull up neatly. Bottom line: I have frumpy hair and there's not a whole lot I can do about it at the moment. So, I just need to loose the frumpy attitude...and maybe pick up some more small spring clips... and make some fantastic something that makes me forget the hair ;)

The Paralysis of Analysis

Don't we do it waaay too much? Overthink our projects? How many pieces of wonderful fabric have I got in my stash, waiting for the 'perfect' pattern? How many patterns have I got in my stash that have never been cut because I can't make up my mind which fabric to use? Wonderful stuff is not much good in a Rubbermaid bin or in a cabinet...it must be on the body to be appreciated by anyone other than the fabric petter or the pattern daydreamer herself.

I finished 2 months after the deadline in the first SWAP competition two years ago. I was also sewing up a slew of Bible costumes for the church Easter production at that time, but mostly I just kept waffling back and forth over which fabrics and which patterns to use. Couldn't make up my mind. Last year, the print dropped into my life and I used that to select fabrics, which more or less dictated the patterns. But more influential than that was the first Scrooge costume crunch. Very little time to do an almost overwhelming amount of sewing. The moment we arrived at a combination that worked, we were running with it. There simply wasn't time to second guess our decisions. That was great training for letting the gut instinct take charge. I had more of the same last fall; the main difference was that the first year, we were working with existing garments and changing/embellishing them and this year we were constructing costumes from scratch. But the decision process was much the same: look for what will work and go for it. The goal is to get something that looks reasonable and fits acceptably put together and onstage, not to get the most perfect garment possible.

So that's getting applied to SWAP competition planning. I tried to do a story board but, um, got bored. Once I knew what I wanted to do, drawing it out was taking up sewing time. I just made an Excel spreadsheet with the garments and patterns listed and columns to check off as different steps (pattern prep, fabric prep, cut out) were completed for each garment. That was enough to keep me on track. And I not allowing myself to look for the 'perfect' pattern for the fabric. I'm asking myself questions like 'What neckline will work for a top worn with this jacket? Do I want sleeves or no? Tailored or relaxed fit for this fabric?' Once that criteria is established, I look for only patterns that meet it. Any of those would work. Pull them out, look them over, let it simmer while I make things I've already decided on, then when it's time, pick up the one from among those options that appeals to me the most at that moment and cut it out...and don't look back. Ok, it may not be the absolute *perfect* choice...but it will work just fine.

Don't think too much...just sew. :D

Two more down

Finished two more of my SWAP tops yesterday, now the only cut out project is the black plaid skirt suit, which is technically not part of the SWAP, although the jacket is the test for the SWAP jacket, so that's why it's in the queue. I'm ambitiously hoping to have them done by the end of this week or the first part of next week.

So all I have left to do, other than the jacket, is three white/cream tops, one of which will be made from the fabric from Timmel that's still working it's way down from Canada, and a pair of pants.I'm waffling now on which pattern to use for those. Since I have the skirt morph, I don't have to make them from the altered New Look pattern. I really think the legs on that are wider than what I want for gray flannel, so I'm trying to decide between Loes Hinse's Oxford Pants and Nancy Erikson's Fashion Sewing Group Pants. The FSG pants will need to be altered; I haven't corrected the pattern since my first pair. But, that's something I really want to do, so that pattern is useful, so maybe this is the time to do it. I'll probably change my mind about 4 more times before I get the skirt suit done and can get back to SWAP sewing.

OOP to the Rescue

Today's topic: Picking the pattern from which to make the top that matches the blue morphed Gore Skirt. I had some criteria for it...number one, I had to be able to make it out of 1 3/8 yards of my fabric or less. Number two, it had to have a neckline that would work with the jewel neck of my Chanel-style jacket. I really debated that one, as I don't have a similar jacket in my stash (yet) to check collars against. I finally decided that 'no collar' would be the safest option at the moment. Finally, it had to work for a drapey fabric...therefore, it couldn't be too tailored. With that in mind, I headed to my pattern cabinent and started looking. I'd pulled out a couple of 'maybes' before I spotted this one:


The copyright on this pattern is 1993, which was when I had last made it. Actually, it was one of my earliest attempts at a pattern morph; I used it to try and knock off a wrap blouse w/cap sleeves...actually, just wide shoulders that approximated cap sleeves. I laid an extended-shoulder/cap sleeve pattern over it, traced it and made it. But it never really worked...the shoulder line was so wide that it bound up when I tried to move my arms. But looking at it during my pattern search, I decided it was time to try it again.

I still wanted a sleeveless top, since the armsceye was so low I didn't think it'd work under a jacket without a major overhaul to the sleeves/armsceye. But I was optimistic enough to just try it without the sleeves...just turned-and-stitched to finish the edge. Oh, and I've gained a little weight after 13 years and two more babies, so I added an inch at the side seams. I had to take 5/8" of that addition back out at the underarm/bust level, but it looks like it'll do. I've still got to put the ties on the inside and the snap on the overlap, but with any luck (and a willing photographer) I should have a review with a photo posted by the end of the day.

SWAP Progress, Part the First

I've got 4 out of 11 garments finished; thought I'd test Yahoo photos with a SWAP album. So here's the first four items:

SWAP Album

I've got two more tops cut out...and about 1/2 the skirt suit fused. Progress is good!

Curve musings

Still sort of mulling over fitting the crotch curve on pants...

So many instructors talk about crotch depth, crotch length, crotch width but for some reason very few mention crotch shape. The above photo is of two pants back patterns; the left one is the Sewing Workshop Plaza Pant, which fits me pretty well, and the one on the right is Loes Hinse's European Pant, which I have to work on. The Plaza pants are drafted for a rump in which the fullness is low, the Euros are drafted for a rump that has higher curves. No amount of length added anywhere to the Euros is going to make them fit like the Plazas...the Euros are going to have to be scooped (sort of like lowering the bust point).

But scooping removes fabric that is needed to fit the circumference of the low hip. So fabric must be added...not where the leg joins the body, because that doesn't add to the hip circumference of the pants. Fabric has gotta go on the outseam, cause that's the only place left to add so that the total hip circumference is the same. But the jodphur look is not one to pursue here, so the extra needs to be added all the way up to the waist...which means that much needs to be taken from the crotch seam, all the way up to the waist, so the pants don't end up way too big at the waist. But if I just trim evenly up that slanty back seam, then I've basically just moved the same crotch shape further into the pattern. Somehow, for the Euros to fit me, I've got to
1) rotate the dart that's in the back crotch seam (that slanty seam functions as a dart) so that that seam is on grain; that'll probably mean adding another back dart; at the very least it will mean enlarging the one that's there
2)scoop the back, taking it all the way up to the waist and
3) add the amount I removed back on to the side seam so I don't loose anything on the total hip circumference. I may also have to add a bit to the back crotch point, but we'll see.

Sounds complicated, doesn't it? Maybe after the SWAP is done I can try it out. I've always just sort of taken the 'try this' approach to fitting pants, without really thinking about what is happening to the pattern, and I've only had so-so results.
So now I've actually thought through the process (about time!). If I can make that curve on the Euros fit, I think I can fit anything... ;)

Good Intentions

Finally got the scanner to work; here's the plaid that is option one on the SWAP. One of those taupey looking threads really is pale pink...honest!

I will I will I will cut out the interfacing for that jacket and skirt today...and maybe go ahead and cut the rib knit tops from the fabric that is lying on my sewing machine table as well.


And finish the laundry and get the budget caught up and clean the kitchen and....

Skirt Inspiration

I saw the coolest skirt yesterday. It was a knit print, in colors I really couldn't wear, but the lines of it were very interesting. From the front, it was a basic, narrow single panel A-line, but the back panel had a horizontal seam 8 -10 inches up from the hem, and below the seam was an assymetric flounce (at least I think it was assymetric; I might be misremembering there), which draped below the front hemline.

Got all my morphing thoughts going; I may use the LH Gore Skirt pattern to approximate this for the morph requirement of this years SWAP...in the blue/black crossdye to go with Jacket 2. Actually, I have patterns that would be easier to morph into that style than the Gore, but since I've already made the Gore for the SWAP that's the one I'd have to morph.

I'll try and get some visuals...if the scanner ever decides to come off of 'GO'.

Almost started...

Spent last night cutting out the fashion fabric for the skirt and test jacket from the black/grey/white/pink plaid. I tried to scan in a fabric swatch, but the scanner has just sat for 20 minutes, blinking at me, with 'starting scan' in the little status window and I gave up. Maybe tomorrow. Anyway, I cut the lining out Monday evening, so all I have left is the interfacing. But, as it's a boucle weave so I think I will use the fusible as an underlining on both the jacket and the skirt...on the jacket for support, and on the skirt for stability. So I've basically got to cut the whole thing out one more time.

It was quite a challenge to cut out, as it's an uneven plaid and that's not something I have a great deal of experience working with. Actually, if the truth be told, I usually avoid uneven plaids whenever possible. Sandra Betzina included 'plaid placement lines' on the pattern, though, which helped tremendously in lining things up on the horizontal lines. I don't know if what I did will work for the vertical lines...or if anything will really work for those vertical lines...or not. I barely had enough fabric; in fact, I had to shorten the skirt flounce by 3" to get it all on the fabric. I don't think I'll mind that too much, though...the flounce looked a little overly long in the envelope photos anyway.

But today is another 'outside the house' day, so likely the continuation of the project will have to wait a little longer. Once I can start sewing, though, I think it will go pretty quickly.

"It Figures"

That's a direct quote from DH in his reply to an email I sent him at work yesterday...which was a reply to an email telling me that he'd learned at the men's leadership team planning meeting that our church was sponsoring a marriage conference. That's a good thing...it never hurts to spend a little time on the relationship.

The snag is that it's the same weekend as the Atlanta Sewing Expo, which I was eagerly anticipating.

Hmmmm...what to do, what to do. Miss A and I were planning to carpool over together; we'll have to see what works out.

Looking for Cutting Time

It almost seems to me that when I get a garment fully cut out, it's half finished. It seems to be such a trial to get a good chunk of time to cut, since I have to use our dining table to do it on, I either need to start soon enough to be done by mealtime or wait until after we've eaten. Cutting is not a 'do a little here and there' sort of job...ya gotta take over the space and you can't quit till you're done. So sometimes just waiting for cutting time holds up the whole sewing queue. Like now....

I've got three patterns ready to cut out...the skirt and jacket for the black plaid, and the Hot Patterns Cadeau top, which I'm going to make from very stretchy, very transparent, very pill-prone cream knit from the dollar a yard at Wal Mart, just to check the fit. I've noticed several tops in the last few days with ties at the bottom, much like the Cadeau, so that will be kinda fun to try out. I decided to cut a six through the shoulders and a ten at the hips; we'll see how that fits in the 'muslin' fabric before I try it in the black/white rayon/lycra stripe.

But I can't seem to get the stuff to the table to start cutting. I've got a major dental appointment this morning. Maybe tonight after dinner....

Sunday's Off

Ok, after running the blog for a couple of months or so, I've made an executive decision: I'm going to give myself Sundays off. It was very late afternoon before I could even get to the computer today, and I don't have any earth shaking sewing news to deliver, so I think I'll follow the example of one of my blogging inspirations, Rustybobbin and just not even stress over posting on Sundays.

Everybody needs family time, right? ;)

The SWAP is Semi-Set

I ordered my fabric Thursday from Timmel Fabrics, so I'm officially 'in' for the SWAP 2006 challenge. I ordered 3 meters (about 3 3/8 yds) of what looks to be a very nice shirt weight cream linen, which will be a blouse of some kind...at the moment, I'm thinking La Fred's Athena Blouse, but I may change my mind when I actually touch the linen. We'll see.

But the bulk of the SWAP is set...and I'm still not sure exactly which direction I will go. See, I have some gorgeoriffic blue/black/cream/grey tweed that I got last fall to make a jacket and, since our choir colors are blue and black for February, I need it by then to wear in the choir. But I haven't tested the pattern yet (Vogue 8043 from Sandra Betzina) even though I did try on samples at her seminar back in April and decided that a size C, with a little more ease added, would fit pretty well.

Anyway, the 'test' jacket...to see if my 'C with more ease' will work...is to be made in the black/grey/cream/pink plaid wool blend suiting that is in the sewing nook photos. Now, aside from the pink in the test fabric and the blue in the tweed, these fabrics have the same colors. So I have two options with the SWAP. For both options, I can use the black RPL pieces I made the last week in December, the cream linen, a cream silk jacquard I got from Vogue Fabrics at Expo '05, a grey rayon/lycra rib knit, a white rayon/lycra (finer) rib knit, and my morph piece will be to 'LH Europeanize' the New Look pattern I used for the black RPL; add darts and a zipper to the waistline...and possibly cuffs to the bottom of the legs...out of grey wool flannel. If I go with the test fabric, I can use an already-in-the-wardrobe perfect pink mock-t shell for the last top; if I go with the tweed I'll have to make a skirt and a blouse out of a black/blue rayon cross dye I got from Textile Fabrics a couple of years ago. But it's all do-able, and, except for the linen from Timmel, it's all from stash. Yippee!

So I guess I'll just see which jacket wants to be used before I go on. But I'll probably end up making all the pieces, anyway, just not sure which ones will get photographed for the 'SWAP'. It may just come down to how much time I have.

So That's Why They Moved 'Em

Back on November 8, I posted about the costumes disappearing from the back hall at church. No biggie, we found 'em pretty quick, and figured that some VIP must've been coming to the recording studio that is on that hall and so the costumes were, um, relocated so as not to give the impression that the studio was through the closet.

I think I found out who the VIP was...it's a good guess, anyway. The worship team at church is recording a studio worship CD and last night the choir went into the studio to do the background vocals for four of the songs. On at least one of them, Bob ('Butterfly Kisses') Carlilse had recorded some vocals. The time frame would've been right, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was the VIP for whom the costumes were moved.

And what a hoot! I'm singing background on a CD with Bob Carlisle! It was quite an interesting experience for this little back row alto to wear the headphones in the sound booth, let me tell you...

Posting Pictures

The time has come, the Walrus said, to talk of many things
Of ships and shoes and sealing wax, and whether pigs have wings...

and what to do about posting photos for pattern reviews.

Since I started posting reviews in '02, I used Photoworks to host my photos. Load them to an album, select one or more photos from the album to link to a review, email them to myself and post the link. It was a little awkward, but it worked. Then in fall of 04, Photoworks decided to revamp their whole site. My photos were hostage to the conversion for something like 6 - 8 months, and of course all the old links no longer worked. (I'm still in process of re-linking the old reviews...previous to Nov. 04...it's a long and tedious business). But now I cannot link a single photo to the review, I can only link 'albums'. Consequently, I have a BUNCH of albums with one photo in them; and I can't put a 'see this HERE' type link in any review. It's cramping my style. It doesn't work for me anymore.

So I decided that, with the new year, I'd look around and see if there are any more review-friendly photo hosting sites out there. Um, maybe I'd better rephrase that: I'm looking for FREE review-friendly photo hosting sites. I've got access to Yahoo, and I may end up with that, but I know Yahoo gets aggravating from time to time, too. I am a 'Friend of PR' and have an album there, but at the rate I sew I'd fill it up in no time flat so I'm sort of using it for the backup. I've probably got a week or so before I get the First Review of the Year done, so I need to make up my mind pretty quick.

So I'm soliciting opinions...anybody got a favorite free photo hosting site? :D

Back to Routine

School starts today; I guess it's time to take down the Christmas tree and other holiday decorations. The house is going to seem rather bare.

And I'm itching to start a new project in my nice, clean, orderely sewing nook ;) Unfortunately, today's schedule has me running hither, thither and yon so I'm not likely to accomplish much of anything at home. But the Next Project will be, I think, Sandra Betzina's Chanel-style jacket made from the wool blend lying on the sewing chair. Unless I change my mind.

Numbers don't lie...right?

Discouraged that I hadn't *quite* made fabric parity for last year and muttering to myself about doing better this year, I went over to my Excel spread sheets where I keep track of such things to start new sheets for '06. Suddenly, inspiration hit. It was August of '04 that I really began the effort to curb the accumulation (moving and seeing all the stash in one large pile...watching my family's reaction to the one large pile...no doubt had a part in that decision). So I went back to August 1, 2004 and looked at the numbers. Lo and behold, from Aug 1, 2004 -Dec 31, 2005 I had acquired 132.5 yards of fabric, but I had sewn up 134.375!

I'm winning!

January Priorities

I'm not done with the costumes yet...they need to be sorted (washable vs. dry clean) and sent off to the cleaners, then put away once they're all done. I'm hoping we can even get the cleaners to launder the washable stuff instead of hauling a load a week home and doing it; one of the church administrators told me that would be ok so I'm hopefull that once I get them sorted out it will be in the cleaner's hands for a while. Then I get to figure out how we're going to organize and store all of it, but I'll deal with that when I get to it.

Meantime, there's my own sewing space to deal with. It's a mess. So I'm going to try to postpone starting any new projects until I get all the stuff that got hauled off to church and brought back put away and some order restored out there. I'll give myself up to a week ;)

Then...well, I've got a couple of jacket patterns that I've been wanting for ages to get made up and tweaked to fit. January would be a good time to work on those, I think. Plus the annual SWAP competion sponsored by Timmel Fabrics and discussed on Sewing World is singing to me, too. I haven't made the required purchase from Timmel yet, but I've got a list of 'maybes'. I'm finding myself reluctant to make the First Purchase of the year before I've got a little stash used up. Oh, well, I have until the first of March to order. I could use the black knit things I made last week as part of the SWAP if I decide to dive in.

I'll get the sewing nook restored and see what is inspiring me at that moment.

Less than 10 yards...

Not quite Fabric Parity, but it'll do. I'm not going to sew today, so the 2005 totals will stand at 112.25 yards out and 121.5 yards in. I really wanted to get to within 10 yards, so I made 2 pairs of lounge pants from the Burda One Seam pattern yesterday...one from flannel and one from black sweat shirt fleece. I'd been intending to make them for ages and ages but other, more glamourous projects kept getting in the way. So I wasn't just trying to 'make something quick'...I was trying to 'make something quick that I actually need'.
For comparison, in 2004 I purchased 110.5 yards but only sewed 78.5, so I've improved considerably. My goal for 2006...actually sew more than I purchase. Wow, what a concept...

BTW, Happy New Year and a healthy and prosperous 2006 to everyone!

Got 'em Done!

All four pieces! I'm not going to re-review the top for DD...I don't think...I might change my mind. I did review the Today's Fit T, and I will review the other two pieces today. It was after midnight before I got access to the computer last night and I only managed to write one review before my head hit the keyboard.

Now I'm thinking about cranking out a couple of pairs of Burda One-Seams in flannel or fleece for lounge pants...just to bump the 'yards out' total a bit more. ;)

Striving for Fabric Parity

But I'm not going to make it this year. Close, though, I'll be very close. If I finish out the 4 knit garments I cut out on Tuesday I'll have moved 109.5 yards out this year while acquiring 121.5 yards. That's only 12 yards away from FP, and I have a ratio of out:in of right at 90%. It's much closer than I have been at any time since discovering I could buy fabric via the Internet. I guess I'm recovering!

So I am holding off on ordering SWAP fabric from Timmel Fabrics until after Jan 1. Maybe I'll hit Fabric Parity next year. ;)

Can I do the Cadeau?

Ok, so I've downloaded and printed the Cadeau T Shirt from Hot Patterns and actually thought I'd see about making it. It just so happens that I got a really cool black and white stripe rayon/lycra jersey from Louise Cutting at the ASG conference in Nashville last summer, and I envisioned actually making the top on the pattern art. So I taped together the front, back and sleeves and decided to compare them to the only other raglan T I've made lately, the Santa Monica T from Textile Studio. Whoa, mama! I used a Medium for the Santa Monica T, but as you can see in the photos, even the size 6 on the Cadeau is considerably bigger overall. Hm. I know the necklines are different, but that's not what I'm really looking at...the bust level, at the bottom of the sleeve-bodice seam, and the hips, and the width of the sleeves all look to be much bigger than I expected...since I should use a size 12 according to the size chart at HP.

Not cutting anything yet...I think I'll go re-read the Reviews again....

Patch Happy

Or maybe I should title this "Reclaiming Blue Jeans?" There was a HUGE pile of to-be-mended jeans monopolizing the sewing nook...not surprising, since I hadn't had time to do any sewing at home for ages. Younger DD can't seem to wear a pair of jeans without ripping the knees out...I had SIX pairs of jeans to patch for her. She even outgrew one pair while it was waiting to be mended. I also had a castaway pair of jeans for older DD that was a puchasing mistake laying around. So, yesterday I just sort of hung out in the laundry/sewing room and cleared the whole lot out. Mostly it was just straightforward patching, but for younger DD I did try to be creative, trimming the jeans in heart and star shapes on a couple of pairs and leaving edges to fray up in the wash...they'll look just like the RTW jeans I saw at Goody's and Burlington's when I was looking for a pair of jeans for her for Christmas. It took just a little longer, but they look very cool and she loved it. I guess that'll make up for letting her wear raggey pants for the last month. Every pair of jeans the child owned had holes in the knees.

Older DD's jeans were a different story; I ended up cutting off the top of them and using it as a yoke in a rather unique skirt...but since I already wrote it up, you can see the review and the picture here:
Salvage Jeans Skirt Reveiw

Today: budget work

Happy Boxing Day

Sometimes I think we Americans could do with a little lesson from other countries, who start their celebrations of Christmas on Dec. 24 and don't really stop until Epiphany. Instead of having to do *everything* on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, we could spread things out a bit. Actually, in years in which we traveled to family in Indiana, we spread the holiday out over at least a week, doing our own gift giving on New Year's Day. It runs really counter to the culture, though. It's hard to maintain the Christmas atmosphere when the neighbors have already hauled their dried up, tinsel-trailing trees to the curb for pickup. But our tree is still up and lit and will remain so until the kids go back to school...which is a couple of days before Twelfth Night. I can ignore the trees in the gutter, but back to school just can't be denied.

But, for the next 9 days, we'll be doing family time...which is really a great way to celebrate Christmas, anyway.

Merry Christmas!

To you and yours!

Christmas Eve Sewing

Not mine, my mother's. And not this year, but many years ago in a little house far away. I'll guess I was about 7 or 8, laying in bed awake long after bedtime. Crying into my pillow, in fact, because I *knew* Santa wouldn't come if anyone in the house was up and about, and my mother was sewing. And sewing and sewing. I'd doze off, then wake up to still hear the hum of the sewing machine. I listened for sleigh bells, afraid to hear them because, of course, Santa would pass us by since Mom was still up. When I finally did fall asleep for the night, at who knows what time (as a kid, I was sure it was Very Late, but it may only have been 10:15...who knows now?) the light was still on and the sewing machine was still going.

And to think I credited Santa for the handmade doll clothes I got the next day...

Catching up

Laundry, budget, housecleaning...

And I'm itching to sew! Christmas shopping for younger DD yesterday, I found some cool gauchos, but nothing in her size. So I drove home mentally adapting a pattern for them. You'd think I'd be sick of sewing at this point, but nooooo.

Unfortunately, you can only put off things like laundry, budget, houscleaning, for so long...and the older kids are expecting to bake cookies today...

Sigh. The sewing will have to wait.

"Talent" vs. "Skill"

Just a few thoughts that have been roaming around the last few weeks....
There have been a number of folks who have complimented the costuming, making remarks about me being a 'talented' seamstress. That's struck me as odd, because, according to my perception of 'talent', I am none of it. 'Talent' has always denoted to me a God-given ability, so that it is something that comes very naturally and needs only to be focused and directed in order to be remarkable. That's easy to see in something like art...there are people who have sufficient eye/hand coordination to draw a recognizable picture, while others (including me) can't even draw a straight line without a straight edge to help. I think sewing is the same...even as a 10-year-old kids in 4-H, there were a few who seemed to just naturally sew a straight seam, who could manipulate the fabric as desired without frustration, who could tell what fabric would work for a garment and what would not. I was not among those. As I grew up sewing, my seams wavered, my corners knotted, my fabrics were so cheap and ugly (well, it was the 70's) that my clothes screamed 'homemade'. I never noticed that the green-and-white poly doubleknit gingham with the daisy print superimposed on the checks, from which I made a skirt, pants, and bolero jacket that I wore for years, had no equivalent in any Ready-To-Wear. At least I was a pretty standard 8/10 in those days so fit wasn't an issue...but I would've been oblivious on that, too. I was a solid red-ribbon seamstress all the years I was in 4-H. Nothing remarkable.

But I did have one thing that I suppose was not common and that was an interest in making my own clothing. Frustrated with RTW prices, I just kept sewing, even though it was only so-so. It was the year I turned 30 (16 years ago, if you're keeping score) that I decided I needed to sharpen up my sewing skills. I actually went through a bit of a personal identity crisis...hey, I'm 30 YEARS OLD! I should be GROWN UP now!...that motivated me to do some personal growth reading. One of the books I read was Anne Ortlund's Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman. That book rocked my world and even though I've come to disagree with it in places over the years, it still ranks very high on the 'Words that changed my life' list. In the book, Anne wrote that everyone needs to have one thing that they are good at/knowlegeable about. Something they have highly developed. I decided I was going to study up and develop my sewing/fashion skills. So I subscribed to Sew News and began reading, learning, and trying more. That, my friends, is when I began to sew in earnest. Just 16 years ago. That's not talent, that's skill aquired through study and practice. Which is available to anyone who has the interest to pursue it.

Cleanup Time

That's all that's left...but boy, is there a bunch of cleanup! Not the least at home, where I don't think the sound of a vacuum cleaner has been heard since Thanksgiving. But I got the reviews all posted yesterday, before I forgot what I did, and if you click on 'My Reviewed Patterns' on the sidebar you'll see them...the five most recent reviews are all costumes.

And the Christmas packages are all going out in the mail this morning; yesterday was a shopping and wrapping marathon. Still not done, but at least what is left will not have to be mailed anywhere.

But the first order of business on today's agenda is grocery shopping...somehow that didn't get done very well in the last few weeks either and the larder is pretty bare.

And I'm already trying to decide which of my delayed personal sewing projects I'm going to tackle first. It would be so nice to get a few more yards on the 'yards out' total for the year. I'm so close to fabric parity...(current totals: 121.5 yards in/103 yards out...not including any costume sewing)

Whew

Very good run of the production! Estimates are that somewhere in the neighborhood of 4,500 folks saw the show (well, that's the audience count; I'm certain there were a large number of repeats from our home folks) and it was very well received. I don't have to worry about sorting the costumes for cleaning until after Christmas, for which I am VERY grateful.
Here's the link to the bulk of the output of Ye Olde Dresse Shoppe, but I have to say that I didn't make any single garment all by myself from start to finish...at least one of several different sewing ladies did at least a little on each piece. Miss A even made about 3/4 of my bertha for me while I was sewing the hooks on Belle 10's bodice. It truly was a team effort.

Scrooge 05 Sewing

Closed for the Season

We officially closed Ye Olde Dresse Shoppe yesterday; everything that's going to get done is done. I finished my costume at about 10:30 yesterday morning, so I got to wear it at both performances yesterday and the closing show tonight. I felt much more appropriately Victorian with the whole thing on! But, I'm not sure how to review it; the skirt is from last year's dress, with the front panel replaced. I used the front panel to make a new, separate bodice, and borrowed the bertha pattern from the Belle dress to make a bertha from the contrast fabric on the skirt. The new one fits and feels SO MUCH BETTER!

The Ink Wasn't Dry...

We finished Belle 10's dress at about 4:30 yesterday...a whole 2 1/2 hours before curtain. Miss A and I did a tag-team sewing frenzy; I'd put together one component while she did another; I'd put the two components together while she started the next, etc. Frantic but it worked. Belle 10 came in for her final fitting at about 1:30; I fit it on her w/o sleeves first, to make sure we didn't have tight sleeve issues like we did w/Belle 16, then put the sleeves on it and put it on her again. When she left at about 3:00 I started sewing on the hooks and eyes...and I dug a small hole in my finger w/the eye of the needle (have I mentioned anywhere that we are using some unnamed mystery lining fabric that seems to actively repel being punctured? We've had lots of fun sewing this stuff...but it'll be good and durable, you bet!). But she was ready to go on on time and the dress looked fabulous on her. And, while I was finishing up the hooks and eyes, Miss A made a goodly portion of the bertha for MY dress, which I still haven't worn on stage. Maybe today.

Wouldn't you know, while we remembered to take the digi cam, the batteries were dead and I still haven't got good photos of the finished product. We have two performances today...Belle 16 is in the matinee and Belle 10 is doing the evening show, so I WILL get photos of both girls. I did update my reviews of the Angel 2 robe and the Victorian Gentleman's jacket to include photos of the garments on the actual people, taken opening night; you can click on the 'My Reviews' link to find 'em.

BTW, today also happens to be older DD's 20th birthday. I don't think I'm any less tired today than I was 20 years ago.

Still Sewing....

Everyone is shocked to find that we are *still* not finished w/costumes...Belle 10 goes on tonight and her bodice is only partially assembled. We are putting what we learned on Belle 16 to work, though, and it's going together a bit faster. We're hoping to have it done to the back hooks and eyes by noon so we can try it on her to see where to place those items.

Yesterday, after a bit of discussion (and after I'd studied that photo I posted yesterday), we decided part of the reason Belle 16's dress fit so poorly was that the sleeves were too tight and she couldn't quite pull it up to where it should be. So we took the sleeves off, serged about 1/4" off the armsceye all the way around, took the overlapping bit of the oversleeves off and pulled some of the gathering thread loose to enlarge the armhole for her, and we cut (ouch!) the undersleeve net/lace band and up into the undersleeve a bit to open the band and closed it with about an inch of 3/8" elastic. It fit much better; I was able to overlap the top of the bodice (but not the bottom) about an inch more at the top. A couple of saftey pins and a good tug on the ribbon drawstring at the top and it fit her much better. Of course, I forgot the camera yesterday so you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)

However, the instructions require that the skirt and the bodice be connected w/hooks and eyes...that doesn't work really well on an elastic waistband. We tried, but I think we're just going to have to keep her together at the waist with safety pins.

My bodice is done to the bertha and waistband hooks; don't know if I'll be wearing it tonight or not. It would be nice, wouldn't it?

Opening Night

Poor Belle was held together with prayer and saftey pins; one muslin clearly was not enough to properly fit the bodice on this style. Unfortunately, one muslin was all we had time for. It didn't help that the young lady portraying her had a nasty digestive virus two days ago and probably lost five pounds in the process. I will say, however, that the camera shows the loose fit much worse than the naked eye, and I'm told that, from stage, it looked great. We still have to finish the bodice for the second Belle, who is playing the role tomorrow. I think we can do it ;).

As soon as I get a moment (next week?) , I'll review all the patterns I haven't reviewed yet and add updated photos to the ones I have.

I was surprised at the crowd we had last night; the church was full. Standing in the back of the sanctuary (in my Plan B costume, I might add), waiting on the cue to move into place for the opening, I looked at the crowd and thought 'This is it'...and nealy bawled. I think I was just really tired, but to my amazement I was blinking back tears. I didn't have a tissue anywhere on me, so I couldn't cry. "No, Lisa...you're happy! You're a shopping, singing Townsperson! No crying!" Fortunately I pulled it together but it was a near thing. :rolleyes:

But it was worth it! We received many compliments on the show afterwards, and, most importantly, there were 15 people who made decisions concerning their relationship to Christ, which is why we do this whole thing in the first place.

That is NOT an Oncoming Train!

It really is the end of the tunnel! Show opens tonight, although we expect the audience to be comprised mostly of folks from our own church; the people from the community at large will be here Fri-Sun...or at least that's how it worked last year. Everyone was costumed for dress rehearsal except Belle 10 and me...neither of our bodices are done yet. We wore our skirts and knit tops; very interesting combo. Miss A stayed in the sewing room and worked on the bertha for Belle 16...it's just about finished now, she did a lovely job, so unless the hooks and eyes that close her top are totatlly wrong (and they may be; I've got to put it on her this morning to check) she's just about done. Belle 10's bodice is cut out only, but she doesn't play the part until Friday so we've got a bit of breathing room there. I've just got hooks/eyes and the bertha to do for mine...and I've still got to find a 'suitable' (read 'strapless') foundation ;)

I forgot the camera again and didn't get any photos last night, but I will get some sometime during the run of the show. And I went to bed at about 10:30 last night; much better than 1:30 or 2 am!

ZZZZZzzzzzzzz......

We (Miss M and I...it was Miss A's birthday, so I told her not to come back to sew after her hubby took her to dinner. I won't even dock her paycheck... ;) ) worked until 12:30 AM this morning, and just as we were leaving church I thought of something important that I had to do when I got home. But, when I got home I couldn't remember at all what it was. I put some laundry in to wash, got myself a snack, read a bit (An Excellent Mystery, the 11th Brother Cadfael book) and still had no idea. About 2:15 I gave up and went to bed.

I still don't know what it was. Sigh.

I've got an awfully lot to do today. Final dress rehearsal is tonight. If I'm awake enough to hold a camera, I'll try to take some photos. It did occur to me that I could likely do a fair amount of hand sewing backstage; that's good, we've got a bazillion hooks and eyes to sew on things.

Your Basic Dickens Skirt

These are the directions I wrote last year for sewing volunteers who were helping us make skirts, slightly condensed and updated to include the drawstring,which we found to be pretty much a necessity. I thoughty I'd share them here, as this is pretty much what we did for all the skirts (except the Belle skirt...that was an exception) we made, regardless of the pattern for the bodice. I probably should add that from now on we will also be incorporating inseam pockets, just in case someone wearing the skirt should need a microphone transmitter at any time. Sorry I don't have any photos of the process...maybe later.

Directions for Sewing a Big Pouffy Skirt

This skirt works great on stage for early Victorian (i.e., Dickens- era) productions. It is a pull-on elastic waist skirt and quite simple; I’ve included directions for adding a drawstring to the elastic waist (increases size flexibility), but you can just put the waistband seam in the back and skip all the references to the drawstring if you prefer.

Fabric required: First, determine the skirt length:

Skirt Length = Waistline-to-floor measurement, plus 5/8” seam allowance at waist, plus desired hem allowance. (note: if a full slip is worn under the skirt, it will pull the length up a bit)

Waistband width = 2 x elastic width + 2 x 5/8” seam allowances (1 ¼”)+ ¼” casing ease. I recommend using elastic that can be sewn through, as you will sew through it twice to create the casing for the drawstring.

*Important Note* - If the lady who will wear your skirt has a hip measurement that exceeds the width of the fabric you will need to cut another strip the width of your waistband and piece them to the desired measurement, so you would have to add a second waistband width to the needed length of the fabric.

For 45” fabric, the fabric required will be 4 x the skirt length + the waistband width. For instance, my skirt length is: 41” (waistline-to-floor) + 2" hem  + 5/8” = 43 5/8”, which is just slightly less than 1 ¼ yds; I’m planning to use 1 ½” wide elastic (note: I suggest hefty elastic; this will be a heavy skirt) so my waistband width will be 1 ½ x 2 + 1 ¼” (5/8” seam allowances along the length)+ ¼” (turn-of-the-cloth allowance) = 4 ½” = 1/8 yd. So my skirt would require 4x 1 1/4yds + 1/8 yd = 5 1/8 yds…but I’d buy 5 ½ yards, in case it shrinks a bit in pre-washing, and also to allow for crooked cutting at the fabric store. (I’ve had to cut of a lot of fabric to square edges in the past!). For 60” fabric, the same formula applies, but you only have to multiply the waist-to-floor measurement by 3. (note: this will yield a skirt that is approximately 176” – 180” at the bottom.)

Cutting out the skirt:
Straighten the edges of the fabric before cutting, so that you have an on-grain line to cut on. The best way…albeit tedious…to do this is to pull a crosswise thread completely out of the fabric and carefully cut along the resulting void in the fabric. Of course, if you have a plaid, you can just cut along one of the horizontal bars.
From one straight edge, measure off the distance required for the width of the waist band (in my example above, that would be 4 ½”) and cut straight across the grain, either by pulling another thread or using a rotary cutter and ruler.

Now, for 45” fabric, measure and cut four Skirt Lengths as determined above
For 60” fabric, you only need three Skirt Lengths

Cut the waistband length on the cross grain such that
Waistband Length = hip measurement + 2” (for hip ease)+ 1/1/4” (5/8” seam allowances). The Waistband width was determined by the elastic width.

*Important Note Repeated* - If the lady who will wear your skirt has a hip measurement that exceeds the width of the fabric you will need to cut another strip the width of your waistband and piece them to the desired measurement.  The finished waistband circumference should be no less than 1" larger than the hip measurement.

You’re done cutting.

Skirt Construction: (Note: these directions are for conventional machines; if you have a serger, you’re probably advanced enough to figure it out the serger techniques for yourself)

Seams: Simply lay the right sides of the fabric together and sew all the panels together along the long, selvedge edges. The seam allowance width here is not important…just make sure you use the same one for all the edges and you include all the selvedge (the coarser woven part of the edge of the fabric) in the seam allowance. ½” will probably be sufficient, but sometimes the printing doesn’t go all the way to the edge and you may have to use as much as a ¾” allowance so as not to have a white line along the seam. Press the seams open.
For the seam that closes the waistband, choose one edge to be the ‘wrong side’ of the waistband and make a mark 3/4” from this edge on the seam line. Now, fold the waistband in half lengthwise and make a mark at the exact middle of that edge. Make another mark 1/8” in from the middle mark, on the same half of the waistband as the first mark. The first mark and the third mark show where to leave the opening to insert the elastic. Put right sides together, and sew the waistband seam, leaving the area between the two marks unsewn (backstitch securely at the marks; this opening will get stressed when you put the elastic in). Press the seam open and, for less aggravation later, machine baste the seam allowances down (this will keep them out of the way when you’re putting the elastic through) Fold the waistband in half lengthwise, WRONG sides together, and baste it ½” from the raw edge.

Attaching the skirt to the waistband is probably the most patience-requiring step!
First, quarter mark the waistband…fold it in half, with the seam on one fold. This will be Center Front, so the drawstring is easily accesible to the wearer. The other fold is Center Back; put a pin there to mark it. Then, re-fold the band so that the Center Back mark is matched to the seam and put pins on each of the resulting folds. Now you have the waistband marked into four equal lengths.

If you’re using 45” fabric, you have four seams already marking the quarter divisions and you’ll be matching the seams to the marks you made on the waistband. If you’re using 60” fabric, though, you’ll have one seam on the center back and you’ll have to fold the fabric just like you did the waistband to get the other three marks. Note that the Center Front mark will be in the center of the panel opposite the seam chosen to be Center Back.

Using your favorite method for gathering large amounts of fabric, gather the skirt pieces to the waistband, matching the quarter marks. The side of the waistband WITHOUT the opening in the seam will be the right side, which you will match to the right side of the skirt. For the 4-panel skirt, match any seam to the seam on the waistband…for the three panel skirt, match the seam to the Center Front mark . (this will be much easier if you turn the skirt wrong side out and pin it so that the skirt is outside the waistband).

Now, DON’T FORGET to set your sewing machine tension and stitch length back to normal, and slowly stitch the skirt to the waistband on top of the 5/8” gathering stitch.. When you’re done, pull the skirt off of the machine and clip the threads and inspect the seam you just sewed for puckers or other sewing errors…if you find any (the most common will be that fabric that shouldn’t be in the seam got caught in it), carefully unpick those stitches, straighten the fabric and re-stitch it. Once everything is stitched down well, remove any basting that shows on the right side and, for security’s sake (this is going to be a heavy skirt) stitch the seam again, right on top of the first stitching. Then, to finish the edge of the seam, zig-zag stitch the raw edges together. Press the waistband up away from the skirt, press the seam toward the waistband.

Now, cut the elastic so it is about three inches smaller than your HONEST waist measurement (it needs to fit snugly to support the weight of the skirt) NOTE:  If you're using very firm elastic w/ less than 1:1 stretch ratio, cut it a little larger..up to no more than 1/2" larger than the actual waist measurement, so that it's just slightly smaller than the waist after closing the circle.

Using a large safety pin or bodkin, thread the elastic through the casing, being careful not to twist it. When it’s through (again, make sure it’s not twisted) overlap the ends ¾” – 1” and sew them together, using a crossed box for security (sew a box over the overlapping portion of the elastic, then sew from one corner to the opposite corner, along the edge to the adjacent corner, and cross back to the opposite corner again). Stretch the waistband to pull the elastic completely inside. To make the drawstring casing, lengthen the stitch length and topstitch about 3/8” from the top edge all the way around the waistband, stretching the elastic to fit as you go. Repeat this step at about 3/8” above the waistband seam. This just keeps the drawstring from slipping around to the top of the waistband, which is uncomfortable and unattractive. Using a pin or a bodkin, thread the drawstring (cord, twill tape or ribbon) through the waistband. Remove basting stitches at the opening.

Now all you have left is the hem! First, zig-zag along the whole lower edge of the skirt to keep it from raveling (a better finish would be to press it under ½” and stitch it, but I’ll admit that would be tedious. Go for it if you feel patient) Put the skirt on over the pouffy slip with the shoes on you plan to wear, and have a sewing buddy (or just someone who’s around the house) pin mark the skirt ½” above the floor. Remove the skirt and measure the edge to the pin…that’s the hem you need. Press up the hem all the way around; you can fuse it down w/fusible webbing, or straight stitch it on the machine…that’s up to you. Fusible DOES come undone after a while...

Now, breath a sigh of relief…your skirt’s done!

Which Dwarf Am I?

Miss M and I worked until 12:45 AM Friday/Saturday to get what costumes were ready (and it was most of them...Belle is the only really noteable tardy) and pulled to the dressing areas at the other end of the building. She is a crossing guard with the city safety division and had to work the Rocket City Marathon yesterday; I was at Wal-Mart at 7 AM buying Febreze to spray the costumes down after rehearsal. But I was so busy tending costume issues that I didn't get dressed at all and went through my scenes in my street clothes. There are a few notes to deal with...a couple of skirts (including Belle's) need to be shortened about 2 inches, and Angel Two needs to have the side seams of her cloak opened from the shoulder to the waist so she can put her arms outside of it (I shoulda thought of it). And here's a note for future reference: every garment we make from now on will have a pocket in it that we can stick a microphone tranmitter in. Live and learn.

But I spent most of the day wondering if I were Sleepy, Grumpy or Dopey...or all three...

Next dress rehearsal Tuesday...Show opens Wendesday. I'll post some photos when I get a chance to take them.

Dress Rehearsal Tomorrow

Ack!
Gotta make at least one Belle bodice today; I got the girls into the muslins yesterday and saw what adjustments needed to be made; brought the patterns home after rehearsal last night and made the changes, so they're ready to cut when I get in this morning. Both of the girls needed extra length in the side and back; I think that's a pattern draft issue. But Miss A will be in and I do believe we'll tag team the construction somewhat. Belle 16 will wear the skirt/bodice tomorrow; I do have a backup dress for Belle 10, who doesn't play the part until Friday night's show. So we have a week on hers. Oh...and the Ruffle that Doesn't End has to be shortened 2". I'll have one of the extra helper ladies (I'm expecting at least one today) pin it up for me...then I'll cheat and run it through the Kenmore with the blind hem stitch.

To quote Ann Steeves, "This is costuming, not couture!"

You won't believe how many times I have told myself that this week. ;)

WIP - Belle's skirt

Still needs the rest of the poufs -- basically oversized fabric yo-yos -- at the top of the swoops. Fitting today (I hope!). If the bodice muslins basically fit I think I might actually make it by Saturday...

Making Haste Slowly

I'm determined to do it right so it doesn't come apart...but it's taking a lot of time. Dress rehearsal Saturday; I'm really going to have to push it to get both Belle bodices done. And that doesn't include the dustmen or the Angel of Christmas Yet to Come or the oddball trim/mend projects that are yet to be finished. But the skirt is done to the waistband and a wee bit of trim. It's gorgeous and it weighs a ton. Well, maybe not a ton...but I'm guessing it's a good 8 pounds!

At least both Miss M and Miss A have secured time off from work for the remainder of the week, so they are planning to come in and work. We'll get as much done as we can.

And I sat up till ??? this AM putting the Christmas letters in envelopes and putting the address labels on them. Christmas isn't waiting on me to get done, either.

Somebody Stop the Clock....

I commented to one of the set builders last night that, if this were last week, I'd consider myself to be in pretty good shape regarding the costumes. Unfortunately, it's not last week and I'm feeling rather behind. I got all the trim on the Belle skirt last night...omigosh, the fabric/lace combo is wonderfully Christmassy...but the skirt still isn't finished. I did manage to get the patterns for the bodices altered while I sat at home with ailing DD, so that was good, but her fever came back up last night so she will not be going to school today either. Somehow today I must get the skirt finished and bodice muslins cut and basted up so I can try them on the girls.

The show opens a week from tomorrow. I am taking deep breaths and praying a lot...

Lose One Turn

I had truly hoped to have the skirt portion of the Belle skirt finished and the muslins of the bodices ready for the girls to try on, but things were running slower than I'd hoped over the weekend. I did go in to church yesterday late afternoon -evening and got the big ruffle on the underskirt...it was all ready to put on and it still took THREE HOURS to gather that puppy and get it sewn down. So I was planning to go in early today and work hard.

Younger DD caught me this morning. "Mom, I don't feel good." She has a stomach-ache and a low grade fever (I think...I haven't found where we put the thermometers after the move. She feels a little warm.) So much for spending the day at church. I may leave her by herself at home just long enough for me to run down and get the bodice patterns and the measurement book; mayhap I can get the patterns altered and the muslins made at home.

Of course, I do expect stay at church Very Late tonight. Maybe I'll grab a nap sometime today...

Dem Bones

Finished putting the boning in my bodice last night; boy, is that stuff contrary! I used the pre-cased boning for it and tried to apply it with the curve of the boning following the body curves, but the stuff is twisting around inside the casing and rolling up. I guess it'll be held on tightly enough that the boning will be forced to conform to the curves underneath, but it is frustrating.

After I purchased this stuff, I read Kenneth King's article in a 10-year-old issue of Threads in which he recommends using Rigilene and 'stitching in the ditch' of the seams right through it. So I'm trying that for the Belle bodices...but perhaps I should suspend a weight from the ceiling using the currently rolled-up Rigilene to straighten it out a little? :p

The 'Twice Turned' Gown

Had a bit of email discussion regarding Dickens' description of Mrs Cratchit's dress as 'twice turned'. My grandmother (1905-1986) talked about turning her dresses when she was young, but she meant that when the front got dirty she put the dress on backwards so it looked clean again. That's not what Mrs Cratchit did! What 'turning' the dress referred to was the frugal practice of reversing the fabric so that shiny, beginning to wear down places or stains were turned to the inside. Of course, this meant that the dress was 1)carefully, completely unsewn 2) possibly sponged, but at least pressed out well, and 3)hand sewn completely back together with the reverse side of the fabric out. Talk about an extreme makeover! As Shannon Gifford mentioned in an email about this practice, it does imply that Victorian ladies had access to fabric of a much higher, sturdier quality than what we'd find at our local chain stores, for sure. It also implies that the fabric used was not a print, as it had to have looked roughly the same on both sides.

But it does explain why she stuck the ribbons all over her dress; probably to hide the spots that motivated her to turn the dress the FIRST time. With that in mind, I probably should've stuck a couple of ribbons on her elbows...that would've been one of the first places to wear out. I don't suppose anyone in the audience will think of that, though... ;)

Quite a foreign concept to our throw-away society, isn't it? Although my backwards-dress wearing grandmother, who used to repeat, "Use it up, wear it out. If it doesn't do, do without," would heartily approve.

Brave in Ribbons

"Cratchit's wife [was] dressed out but poorly in a twice-turned gown, but brave in ribbons, which are cheap and make a goodly show for sixpence."

Here are the before and after shots of Caroline Cratchit's dress; it was originally in one of the boxes that came from Florida. The collar is actually printed stretch lace; I had it draped differently for about 2 weeks before I went in Wednesday and changed it all up. The actress bought a small hoop slip to wear...not period, but when she spent a chunk of her own money, what can be said? I don't think the hoop'll be all that noticeable...I hope ;).

I should finish up Grandma Cratchit's dress today; I'm going to try to make a pelerine to go on it, which should be a good trick as I've only seen one or two pictures on the web of such a piece. It'll be my best guess approximation.

Tailed Coat

Hooray! The Saga of the Tailed Jacket finally moves to the next chapter...Sometime Sewing Gentleman Fellow Castmember will receive it today to finish. He's got to sew down the lining in the sleeves and at the back, add the buttons, tack the collar points down and remove the basting in the tail pleats. I can move on to my bodice now...when I'm not sewing at church, of course.