Choir Wardrobe 7/3/16

Well, a faulty light setting results in a kinda muted picture, but you can get the idea.

July colors are black, gray and hot pink. 

For some reason, I was suddenly seized with the need to sew up another new purchase and, at about 9 PM last night, I cut out the latest iteration of the Vogue 9057.  The changes on it so far were to use short sleeves and scoop out the neckline slightly...for this T, I folded 1 1/2" out of the length, and cut it out of some sparkly rayon/lurex/lycra jersey...and proceeded to sew it up.  Which, of course, meant I had to wear it today, even if it did mean  grayscale dressing with black Lee jeans and the black vest from the Burda 05/09 magazine.  Pink accessories brightened it up a little...

But I'm happy with the T.  It's  MUCH less sloppy than the longer length on the first two....whoda thought a teeny inch and a half would make such a difference?  This is really, really close to the relaxed fit T I'm looking for.  There's an unsewn dart in the armsceye, which creates a small pleat in the underarm area...but it's exactly  like a RTW T would fit so I'm not sure it's worth fiddling over.

The only other minor problem is that the neckline is really too curved for the width of the neckband; it buckles a bit in the front.  I need to either make the neckline a wider scoop ....more U ish and less V ish...or cut the neckband skinnier.  I think I  like the soft V shape, so a skinnier band will no doubt be the solution.

But those are minor tweaks.  I'm calling this a TNT and will probably make a bunch.

Workwear 33

So I had some fun.

The new tank dress, with an old denim jacket and black capri tights.

Outside of the comfort zone in one way...crazy comfy in another.

Had to wear the jacket, though...the only way I had pocketses.

Mayhap I shall find excuses to wear the dress a bit more often than I had expected....

One wearing note...I discovered that the shoulders really are set too wide for me, and the neckline kinda collapsed.  Not because it was stretched, but because the shoulders got pushed in due to it being drafted for wider shoulders than I have.  So a little tweaking is in order there, should I make it again.

The Fabric Won...

A tank dress it is.

Style Arc's Cruise Club Kim dress...I probably should've made it out of something cheap for the first go, but I compared the pattern to my McCall's 6559 maxi tank dress and decided a size 12 would probably be fine.  It's a knit dress...fitting is not that big a deal.

But I *assumed* the armhole/neckline bands were drafted correctly.  I think I'm going to take them off, shorten them a bit, and put them back on.  They're a little gappy.  Not bad...I could wear it as it is...but it could be better with a half hour's work.

Other than that, no real complaints.  It's just a long tank top, after all.  The construction order in the instructions is a little different than what I typically do...the neckband is inserted in the round, but the armhole bands are applied flat, before the side seams are sewn.  That's pretty much a matter of preference, but I think the end product looks nicer if they're inserted after the side seam...no awkward seams to deal with.

In a less stretchy knit I'd definitely want to size up everywhere but the shoulders.  By itself, it's not terribly flattering...but that's not the fault of the dress.  Under a topper, though, with the close fit somewhat camouflaged, it looks happy and cheerful.

I think once I tweak the binding bands, it'll do.

And I have nearly 1/2 a yard left for accents on some pieced Tilton top...lol...

Choir Wardrobe 6/26/16

Column dressing today!

Navy blue Sewing Workshop Plaza pants, in tropical wool,  Jalie 2566 T in rayon/lycra jersey and Jalie 2919 Pleated Front Cardi in a different rayon/lycra jersey, and a couple of random pieces of fushcia/hot pink fabric fashioned into oblong scarves (one has mylar dots...).

The reason I made the navy cardi is that I felt like the fabric was too sheerish for a T shirt, which was really what I intended to make (a replacement for the T I'm wearing, actually, as it is not a high-quality knit and is losing its shape somewhat).  But, making lemonade out of lemons, I decided to make the cardi instead...the sheerish-ness doesn't matter a whit in the top layer.

One of the best choices I've made in a while.  I've worn and worn that blue cardi, and it's only about 5 months old.

I'm actually glad it turned out too sheer for a T...

Something to mull...

My determination to sew what I buy has slipped a little...because a couple of my recent purchases were to replace basics that I'd sewn up from the stash (I always want to have some black ponte on hand, for instance). 

But, after finishing the SWAP I decided to treat myself  and caught a sale and three rayon/lycra blends have now been pre-washed and are ready to sew.

 The sparkly gray in the center will be a nice basic T to wear as a bottom layer for the choir wardrobe, but the other two...the black and white piece and the multicolor one, were roll ends that I splurged on.   

The black and white will definitely be a Tilton top...not sure which one yet.. but the colorful print (the photo doesn't do it justice...) has me stymied.  What it's telling me it wants to be is a knit tank dress, but I'm not sure how much rotation that could get in the wardrobe.  Maybe a swirly skirt...or maybe another Tilton top.

Hmmmm

Choir Wardrobe 6/19/16

June colors are hot pink, navy and gray.  The hot pink is a chiffon-over-knit top from Coldwater Creek on which I had to do a pinch of alteration;  navy blue rayon/lycra Jalie pleated front cardigan and the altered-up Oxford pants from this years SWAP wardrobe.

And a slightly shorter hairdo...which  not one person noticed today...lol.   Time for some cooler summer hair!

Choir Wardrobe 06 12 16

A trip to Indiana and back between Sundays...so nice to get a respite on the farm.  I should do it more often. ;-)

June's Choir Colors are Navy, Gray and Hot Pink. Today's choice was boot cut Levi's,  a hot pink rayon/lycra jersey Simplicity 2603 top, topped off by a poly burnout Sewing Workshop Plaza Jacket, which  annoyingly kept sliding around on my shoulders but garnered several compliments.  It's a fun thing to wear in theory, but, well, not too often. ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 6/5/17

 June colors:  Hot pink, gray and navy.  The jacket and the gray jeans are RTW (old skool Coldwater...and Lee), but the pink top is brand new.

I cut it out after supper last night and finished it whilst I waited for laundry to  run its course.

It's a modified Cutting Lines Designs 'My Heart's A-Flutter' shell, made from Brussels washer linen. 

This is the second top I've made from this pattern; I made some changes that I like and some that I need to tweak....I rotated the point of the dart downward a bit, and it is now throwing the dart bubble towards the, um, right place.  Happy.

I also lengthened the lower front/back piece 1 1/2".  The original top just feels a little short.  This feels better.  Another happy.

I changed the curve on the side seams..that is, I put a curve in it.  I morphed from a Medium + to a Large, and the first top looks a little, um, tent-y.   This one has a bump in the side now.  Maybe I don't need to go quite out to a size L.  More tweaking.

But the biggest tweak still needed is the finish for the neckline/armholes.  The original pattern has facings, but they're kind of narrow and want to flip up/out.  I thought I"d give bias bindings a try.

Well, I forgot to trim off the seam allowances for the wrap-around binding.  My bad.  But, it was probably a good thing I did, because I cut the bindings a bit short.  They probably wouldn't have fit if the the seam allowances were gone.  Anyway, the shoulders are kinda sloppy looking.  The neckline is ok...it does JUST barely go over my head.  And I probably could've used slightly narrower bindings.

But, overall, I like the top; the Brussels Washer Linen ( a rayon/linen blend that came from fabricdotcom) was very nice to sew and is very comfy to wear.

I think I will trace off another pattern and trim off the seamlines for binding, so I can have an easy option for binding or facings, as the mood strikes me.  And I will re-measure those edges to make sure I cut a correct length of bias next time.

Cause... I made it entirely in one evening (I confess... I kinda heard Claudia Winkleman in my head, 'Thirty minutes!  You have thirty minutes!'...only I heard that about 3 different times over an hour and a half.  The bias binding threw me back a bit...), so this is going to be worth tweaking more.

Meantime, this top is not bad, and it looks great under a jacket.  ; - )

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....

A cover for the round table...

One of the furnishings I wanted to put on the newly remodeled porch was a round patio table...because I figured that would be an inexpensive table...with a glass or metal top, and a tablecloth, to hide the fact that it was a patio table.

We found a suitable table at Costco...not perfect, because it had legs on the perimeter instead of a pedestal/ legs in the center...but for the price, it will do quite nicely until I find exactly what I wanted. 

My standard tablecloth fabric is cotton upholstery fabric...it's 54 ish inches wide, and it's treated to be stain repellent.

I looked and looked and found ONE fabric that looked suitable on fabricdotcom's website.

I was delighted when it came in...the colors in it are dead perfect for the sunroom.

But, the table is 50" in diameter.  1" waste on each side for the selvedge meant my fabric was only about 52" wide. 

I didn't want a long drop...I hate it when the tablecloth gets tangled up in my knees and gets pulled askew...but 1" on either side just wasn't going to be enough.

So I pieced the  sides, cut a 60" diameter circle and serged the edges.

The pieced seam looks like a crease in this photo...can you find it?  :-) 

I have the pattern well balanced on the cross grain, but when I put it on I realized it really was not possible to balance it well on the lengthwise grain.. it's asymmetric and directional, which I didn't perceive until I put it on the table.

But the colors are so perfect I'm not gong to let that bother me.  It works.

Choir Wardrobe 5/29/16

May wardrobe colors:  navy, tan and coral.

Cross-woven linen...hot pink and yellow...that reads coral, made up in Vogue 1055  - one of their Adri collection patterns.  I really, really like it and have another piece of fabirc - a silk/linen blend - that I intend to make up into this but I just have not been able to bring myself to face the button loops and 12 teeny mitered corners again.  One of these days I'll steel my nerve and do it.

Navy rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 2566 t, and, well, boot cut Levis.

Next month:  Navy, gray and...hot pink...

And, my kinda-sorta-weekly shout out to Debbie-who-won-the-fabric...please resend your address to tig77LW at yahoo;  I had a bit of a dust up with my inbox and the original email got deleted.  The fabric is in the box...waiting for the address... ;-)

...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

Choir Wardrobe 05 22 16

May colors are Navy, Coral and Tan.

The only actual me-made item here is the Jalie 2919 pleated cardi that I've been wearing in the coral months since, well, ages ago.  The T is a tan w/gold linen t that doesn't look nearly as yellow in real life as it looks in the photo.  RTW jeans and a scarf I found at the Hallmark shop.

The scarf, which also looks more yellowy than it really is, makes it work, I think.

It has been a very, very busy weekend.  I need another Saturday tomorrow...lol... ;-)

How many ways can I complicate something simple?

Erm,  the ten year celebration giveaway goofs have surfaced again.

Firstly,  I still need Debbie to resend her mailing address to tig77LW at yahoo dotcom, because I had one day in which slow response time apparently resulted in me deleting way more emails than I meant to and I lost several addresses.  The other ladies have all re-emailed, but I haven't heard from you yet. :-)

Secondly, I just got an email from one of the fabric winners thanking me for the extra pattern.  She was happy to have it, as she used to and then it disappeared.  So I'm tickled that I wrote her address on it...but that means one of the pattern winners did not get a pattern.

So if you were supposed to receive a pattern and didn't, PLEASE email me at the above address and let me know.  I've heard from one or two that they've received theirs, but I don't know who was supposed to receive the one that went to the person who was obviously supposed to have it. :-)

Thanks for your patience!  I'll get it straight yet...

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... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 5/15/16

May Colors...Navy, tan and coral.
I've got two shades of navy...lol.  The jacket is an old skool Coldwater purchase, in herringbone weave linen, that actually has pockets and is as comfy as all getout.  If I'd ironed it it probably would've hung better, but I made do with a quick steam.

Sigh.  I miss the old Coldwater...

The top is the re-dyed Simplicity 2603, and the pants are super dark navy tropical wool Sewing Workshop Plaza pants, slightly modified to reverse the direction of the front pleat so I could sneak in some pockets, which are weirdly in the very front but work to hold a kleenex when necessary. ;-)

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...

Choir Wardrobe 05/08/16

Choir wardrobe colors for May:  Coral, tan and navy.

The sole me-made garment today is the Sewing Workshop Thai coat, in a white-on-navy pindot that is so tiny it reads navy.  Which is good.

And it literally looks like I threw myself together, jumped in front of the camera, and took the photo...then ran back to what I was doing without even checking to see if things were hanging right.

Which is pretty much what I did.  It was a busy day. ;-).

Navy blue sleeveless cotton sweater shell from Lands' End,  some no-name bootcut jeans and a coral and tan scarf that I happened upon in, of all places, a Hallmark shop.

I had a couple of folks ask me if I was emulating Stevie Nicks today.

Works for  me.

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!!!

Egg On Face... A notice for the giveaway winners...

After focusing on finishing the SWAP, I finally sat down to match addresses with boxes.

And I found that about half of the addresses were, um, missing.

Despite the fact that I 'starred' them so I would NOT inadvertently delete them, it looks like I nonetheless inadvertently deleted some.

So...  could I get Amy Bailes,   Marilyn, Debbie and Kathleen to resend your mailing addresses to me?

I'm determined to get these things out in the mail within the next week!  Y'all probably thought I forgot...lol...

tig77LW at yahoo dotcom, if you need a reminder...

Thanks so much!!!  And...mea culpa... :-)

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....

And...the winners of the giveaway....

My goodies are allocated...I started with the most expensive piece of fabric and worked my way down to the one that was the clearance price... If you said you looked good in a color, you were in the drawing for that particular fabric.

3 yards of Navy Zegna silk suiting from Michael, a David Warren suit pattern from Butterick and a copy of Second Stitches goes to ....Marilyn!

4 yards of olive/tan/black tattersal tropical wool from Hancock's...back in the day, sigh....a 1940's retro reprint Simplicity pattern and Jane Conlon's Fine Embellishment Techniques goes to....Debbie!

3 yards of pink linen/rayon eyelet, which is one of the nicest pieces of fabric I've ever bought at a JoAnn's (I believe it came from Cool Springs, TN),  a 3 piece Butterick Wardrobe pattern and a copy of Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry  goes to ....Mary Deeter!

2 yards of cross-woven pinpoint cotton shirting from Gorgeous Fabrics, a Kwik Sew classic women's shirt pattern and a copy of Bottom/Chaney's Make it Your Own goes to ....Kathleen Conery!

And 2 1/4 yards of a sylized floral rayon challis in varying shades of olive-y green, gray, black and white,  that I *think* came from Fabric Mart but may have come from Fabric.com... along with a Vogue Basic Designs Shirt pattern and the Baker/Young classic Simply Serge Any Fabric  goes to....Amy Mayer!

And, the truth is, I only had 9 ladies enter the drawing.  So...for the rest of you (Amy Bailes, Susan V., Ann Marie and Amy in SC)...if you will send me your typical Big 4 pattern size, I'll pick a pattern from the stash and send it your way!

So, basically, everyone who entered needs to send her mailing address to tig77lw at yahoo dotcom, and I'll get the goodies out in the mail.


I hope you all enjoy your gifts...so glad you all participated!  And, once again, thanks to everyone who stops by Sew Random!

Now...back to the SWAP sewing...

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!

Workwear 25

I said I'd try to post a photo of the lacy vest I got from the Z flower retailer;  had to do the ol' set-the-timer-and-jump-in-front-of-the-camera routine again, but at least you can get an idea of what it looked like.

I had to secure a few long thread tails this morning before I could wear it.  I have to say, I have not been impressed with the quality of stuff from the Z folks.

But it was kinda fun to wear.  One of my co-workers said I was going retro today...and I replied that, since I never owned a lacy/macrame' vest back in the day, I could wear it today.  :-).

It's over modified Loes Hinse Oxford pants (I added the flare to the legs) and a long sleeved Jalie 2566 T shirt.

And I made a stop at Hobby Lobby on the way home from work and a lady asked me if I made my necklace, since I was buying jewelry goodies.  When I said I did, she asked if I sold them.

Maybe I should have asked her to make me an offer?  LOL.

Post number 1800 and the Postponed 10 year Blogiversary Celebration

Eighteen hundred blog posts.  Hard to believe.

That's, like, a book or something...

But it's been a fuzz over ten years.

I wanted to do a big 'reader appreciation' giveaway back in November, when the actual ten year blogiversary happened, but we were up to our endurance limit with a home remodel that had half the house barricaded and under construction, and the other half crammed jammed to the nearly non-navigable point with the contents of the rooms being rebuilt. I couldn't even begin to think about pulling stuff out of the stashes at that state...and  the celebration got postponed.  Somehow I thought it would be good to put it at the 1800 post mark.

I will admit, it took me longer to reach the 1800 posts than I thought it would, but that gave me time to pull some goodies to send  along.

I'm not going to detail them...but I'll say that each box has fabric w/ one of five different fibers (silk, linen, rayon, cotton and wool -- all wovens) a suitable pattern for the fabric and a book from the bookshelf.

Because I have more fabric and more patterns than I can expect to ever sew my way through,  and more books than I have time to appreciate, and something like 200 followers that I know of who have read the blog, commented on the blog, encouraged me, corrected me, and bailed me out over the past ten years.  Some of you I've met in real life; some are facebook friends, and some have enabled my fabric and stash accumulation.

So it's time for a little payback love for folks who have hung with me in the past few years.

Here's the deal: you have to be a follower of the blog.  Somewhere, somehow.

But I'm going to take your word for it...because I probably can't go check everywhere and make sure.

So...to enter the giveaway:

1) Leave a comment ON THIS POST.  In the past, I've pulled comments from all posts in the allotted time frame, but for this one, I'm just pulling off of this post.  Easier to keep track of. ;-)

2) In the comment,  leave your name,  how you follow the blog, how long you've been following the blog,  and whether you look best in blue, pink or olive green. :-)

3) If you feel motivated to comment on today's post but your fabric and pattern stashes are at the explosion point and you don't want to be included in the giveaway, just say so.  You don't have to enter to comment...but you have to comment to enter. :-)

4)  I'll do a random drawing in a week to pick the folks who will get the goodies.

And thanks to EVERYONE for your support of Sew Random through the years!

Choir Wardobe 4/10/16

April's Choir colors are black, gray and coral.

90% of my coral wardrobe pieces are still packed up in the spring/summer wardrobe...which I probably won't get  switched until next weekend.

But my coral Jalie Pleated cardigan was still in the closet, as was my grayscale striped silk jersey Vogue 8669 shell top.  Black jeans that I hoped would stay dark black longer.

The flatironed hair is still garnering compliments.  Probably back to curls tomorrow...

Next post will be a biggie...not sure when I'll get it up, other than before the next Choir post! ;-)

So...now what????

I had noticed a problem with photos...here and there, kinda randomly, photos were disappearing from the blog posts.  They ...just weren't there.

Then I clicked on a photo from one of my reviews...one that was linked to my  collection of review photos in Picasa.

And got a 'this page is missing' notice.

Odd.

Then I noticed that my entire album of review photos was missing.

Now that'll give you a sinking feeling.

Then I noticed a yellow box at the top.  'An important message from Picasa.  Click to learn more.' it read.

Well.  Here we go again.

After much thought and consideration, we’ve decided to retire Picasa over the coming months in order to focus entirely on a single photo service in Google Photos.

Yahoo photos went away.  Photoworks went away.  Now Picasa is going away.

But Picasa is the host site for all the Blogger photos.  What is going to happen to all of the photos linked to the blogs????  

Oy.  This makes my head hurt. 

And I still don't know what happened to the missing photos...