Back from the Mountains...

...and trying to figure out how to get the dozen or so pitiful cell phone pictures off the cell phone and onto my computer (It's a very old, very basic flip phone).

The battery on my actual camera died before we even got to our destination and I'd forgotten to bring the charger. Lesson learned.

Actually, we went to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg with the leaders from our girls and boys ministries at church for a getaway. We had a fabulous time and did things as a group that I don't think I'd ever have tried on my own.

For the sake of not tripping internet searches, there is a famous female country western singer/actress who's made quite a brand for herself in the entertainment industry that I'm going to refer to as 'Polly'. Her name, face, and trademark are all over that part of the country.

I'm not dissing her; she's been very successful at what she does and I applaud her business savvy. And there are some very worthwhile charities that benefit from her business savvy. So more power to her.

Anyway, we did spend some time at some of Polly's entertainment ventures...namely, the theme park and the horse show dinner theater.

The amusement park was very nice; we'd been there before, years and years ago, and been very impressed with the artist/craftsman areas and with the eagle sanctuary. Plus, My Sweet Baboo is quite a steam engine enthusiast, and there are a couple of historic steam engines that pull the 5 mile excursion train. So we enjoyed our day at the park.

The horse show dinner theater...different strokes for different folks, I guess. A number of our friends who have been say it's really good, and most of the folks in our group agreed. I must be a rarity in that I kinda don't find food eaten in a barn with animals moving about and...well, doing what animals do...all that appetizing, even if it is roasted game hens and cream of vegetable soup and other yummy stuff. But I'd barely eaten all day, and we saw the late show, so I was HONGRAY. I tried to ignore the fragrance in the air and ate anyway (in all fairness, a number of folks in our group expressed surprise that they hadn't noticed the, um, fragrance. I had a headcold...and I noticed it. It wasn't strong, but it was there).

I'm not really comfortable in large crowds, either, and the show looked to be sold out, or close to it, so there was a CROWD to manage. In a weird way, it was fascinating to see how they marshaled everyone about and then served up the food from buckets and huge pans. And the folks there are really good at squeezing the dollars out of the audience! (yes, we bought the photos because the only way to get the nice picture of the entire group was to purchase the whole $20 package. But perhaps the photos of MSB and I that were also in the package will be enough incentive for me to get serious about the weight loss thing...).

But I will say this about the show...the animals were amazing to watch, and the costumes were really fabulous. Especially the ones that lit up. The costumers are obviously very talented and very busy, with 2 - 3 shows a day. So I'm glad I've seen it...once... ;)

MY high point (that's a pun...) of the trip was our spur-of-the-moment decision to accompany the group that went up to Clingman's Dome. We *barely* had enough time to make the trip, but 8 or 9 of us in two vehicles wound our way 20 miles into the park and up to the parking lot at the Dome. I wandered around drinking in the amazing views, and then pointed to a paved path heading past the gift shop.

'Where does that go?' I asked MSB.
'That goes up to the observation tower,' he replied, just as I spotted the sign that said the tower was .5 miles up the path.

'Well, let's go!' I said, 'It's only half a mile! We can do that!'

Um, what I didn't process in my glance at the path was that it was about a 30 - 45 degree slope for that whole half mile. We started off at a good clip, then slowed and slowed and finally sat down a bit a couple of times to catch our breath. But we made it to the top and climbed the observation tower for the incredible 360 degree views. Wow wow and wow. We took some cell phone pictures then quickly went back down to the parking lot, where the rest of our group was rather anxiously waiting for us to return (we had dinner reservations to make).

One of the pastors had purchased Clingman's Dome patches for us, saying we'd earned them...LOL.

I wish I'd had time just to sit and look out over those mountains for a while...they were beautiful.

You don't want to hear about the incredible bumper-to-bumper traffic we had leaving at noon yesterday so I won't mention it. ;-)

All in all, it was a great trip and I enjoyed hanging out with our co-workers in the ministries very much. I'd like to take a trip again sometime, when we actually have time to stay until we're ready to come home.

Wherein the Stash Begins to Resemble the Great Salt Lake

as in...it comes in but it doesn't flow out.

I'm trying reeeeaaaly hard not to buy fabric since my sewing time has dropped so dramatically, but sometimes, well, it happens.

Two more pieces from Fabric Mart:



The fabric I couldn't pass up was the black and white... I had a bold black and white checked jacket that bit the dust a long time ago and left a so-far unfilled gap in my wardrobe. I thought this cotton blend suiting would make a good replacement...finally.

And the blue...well, fabric needs a travelling buddy, so this got the nod as the description said that it would make a good tunic, and I have a Simplicity tunic pattern that I love and have been hankering to make again. But when I got it, it turned out to be lighter and not as drapey as the tunic needs.

No matter; I need a Dress That Fits Now...and I think this is PERFECT for a sheath dress that I can wear to weddings and other fancy events. The generous cutting team at Fabric Mart even sent a bit extra, so I think I can get a jacket out of it too.

But...I have a beef w/ the packing team at FM. This is the second time that I've gotten a package that was packed so tightly that I actually snipped my fabric while opening the box. The first time, it was just interfacing, so it wasn't a big deal.

But this time I had to put a safety pin in the yardage on the black and white check so I can avoid the snipped place when I cut out the coat. Grumble grumble...

I need to be wary of bulging boxes in the future...

To Ruffle or Not to Ruffle?

I had a really big 'Duh!' moment a few weeks ago...

At some sale in times past, I picked up McCall's 5522; I liked the lines on it.

I've pulled it out a time or two and thought about giving it a go, but the thought of altering it gave me the shudders. Then, after I finished up my Labor Day projects I picked it up and suddenly noticed something that I'm sure I knew when I bought it but had completely forgotten: It's got different pieces for B/C/D cup sizes.

Duh.

Suddenly, the whole alteration thing got much simpler and I began tracing the pattern and altering for my non-standard measurements.

About 10 minutes at a go. I've been working on this ONE pattern since Labor Day. And I'm ALMOST done cutting it out of some black-and-white striped shirting.

If I decide to put the ruffles on it, that is.

I cut out the ruffle pattern pieces and marked them to be cut on the bias; I thought that would look cool with the stripes.

But as I was cutting the main body of the shirt out, I suddenly got cold feet about the ruffles. Would they make it look to costumey? I didn't cut 'em.

Now, however, I'm swinging back the other way...ruffles are IN, they're different from other stuff in my wardrobe, My Sweet Baboo likes ruffles...what to do, what to do...

I think I'll cut 'em out for now; I've got some a couple of other things I want to cut out today and tomorrow before I head for the sewing room, so I've got a question for all my loyal bloggy buddies...

What do you think? Would the ruffles be Too Much?




Oh, and here's part of the reason I've been so slow at this:

Worth a Look: BBC Sewing/Fashion library

In a post buried in a discussion of Austin and Santino's traveling sewing show (which I've never seen...no cable, you know...), I came across an interesting link to a BBC archive of What We Wore, which seems to be a collection of shows related to fashion produced by the BBC since the early years of television.

I thought it would be a good research source for costuming and bookmarked it.

Then I looked around a bit and watched a show from 1982; it was the first in a series on sewing a wardrobe in a weekend, and had, as its basis, a wardrobe pattern collection designed by Caroline Charles that was published in a book, with the patterns in an envelope in the back of the book (Very similar in format to Sandra Betzina's 'No Time to Sew', if you recall that book/pattern set).

Show 1 introduces the program and the designer, and shows a bit of the design development process, and a montage of garments made from the resulting patterns. Then we return to the studio to watch the presenter (Ann Ladbury)begin construction of the first garment: a skirt. She discusses selecting a size from the multi-sized pattern (she apparently assumes everyone already knows what size to cut, there's no discussion of measuring anything to determine the 'correct size'), then demonstrates cutting and marking the pattern (she used a technique to mark the darts that I'd never seen before...interesting) and creating the lining for the skirt.

I totally didn't have time today to watch it, but I did anyway...as much for the delight of listening to the lovely English accents as anything else...

Random quote from the show: "If you've gone to all the trouble to sort out the correct size, you don't want to spoil it with inaccurate stitching." - Ann Ladbury.

Amen, sister!

If You Send a Seamstress into the Fabric Store...

...she's going to want to have a look 'round to see if there's any good stuff on sale...


Actually, this represents a double haul; I had to go to BOTH Hancock's in town today; the one on my end of town was completely out of Wonder Tape, and we're having a sewing day at church tomorrow to see how much more we can get done on the Unfinished Baptismal Robes. There were not enough robes to go 'round at the last baptism service, and another lady volunteered to help sew them, so Miss A and I and our new friend Miss T are going to head to church in the morning and set up shop and see how much we can get done. I *think* there are 4 that are done to the sleeves; which means we've only got to do zippers and necklines on 6. But I can't do zippers without Wonder Tape, so...when I found that Hancock's South didn't have any, I altered my errand route to include a run out to Hancock's West. Fortunately, they had some.

But, at Hancock's South I picked up 10 yards of muslin (so I can work on the Trench Coat and the Dressy Dress patterns) and the official Hancock's coupon calendar. Oh, and some buttons, which are not pictured 'cos I already put 'em away.

Then, at Hancock's West, I grabbed the current issue of Vogue Patterns (because, you know, The Selfish Seamstress has an article there-in, and we gotta support the blogging sisterhood!) and the final bit of a ridiculously loud rayon challis print off of the clearance table....just so I have something to grab if I ever get invited to a luau. It was less than $4; it'll work.

However, I think the thing I'm most excited about is the muslin, which doesn't affect my 'fabric in' tally since I'm actually considering it a notion (That's my story and I'm sticking to it). I can really do some work on those two projects now! Er, well, after the baptism robes are done, anyway...

So...What Would YOU Wear?

I smiled today when I read Gertie's Post in which she meets Tim Gunn...wearing one of her own creations, which he inspected and complimented highly.

A home sewing enthusiasts dream come true! Her post was filled with exclamation points.

But, I wondered...what if I were going to an event at which a fashion industry celebrity was going to be mixing about with the attendees? What would I wear?

Sudden Flashback to October, 1992: Sandra Betzina was doing a Saturday seminar for one of the local (now gone...sniff, sniff) indy fabric stores and I attended. I don't remember my thought processes for what I wore, but I do remember what it was: black pants, white shirt, red knit tie (remember wearing menswear styled ties?), a black-and-white bias-cut pinstripe vest and a black and white plaid long, straight-cut, 90's linebacker-shoulder-pads jacket. I *think* I wore the jacket because I had a problem with the lapels curling and I wanted to ask her about it...but the mix of stripes and plaids was an inspiration that hit literally as I was dressing that morning. I'd made all of the outfit except the button-down blouse and the tie.

At some point during the post-seminar sale at the store, I managed to ask Sandra about the curling points on the lapels (she suggested I interface all the pieces -- something the pattern didn't require and I didn't routinely do back then), then looked at what I was wearing and said, 'This looks good together. You have a good sense of style.'

I was in a pretty exclamation-point using frame of mind myself after that. ;)

In 4 of the 5 years I went to the Sewing Expo in Atlanta, I tried to wear garments made from the patterns of the designers at the Expo; that's fun to do.

But...dressing to meet folks who are in the home sewing industry is different than dressing to meet someone who is in the fashion/style industry...what would I wear? I'd be in trouble now, because my wardrobe is currently lacking and I have so far not managed to get to the sewing table long enough to do anything about it.

So, my just-for-fun question for any of my dear readers still with me...if you were going to hobnob with a fashion industry icon, what would you wear...and how would you decide?

(Or, if you HAVE...what did you wear and how did you decide?)

Just because I'm curious. ;)

Where'd I Put My Brain This Week?

About a month ago, I ordered some smashing silk charmeuse, with the intention of making another smoke ring scarf:


Despite the fact that I'm going down for the third time on housework, I thought I'd cut the scarf OUT today and have it ready to sew when I get a few minutes. I'll be quick -- whiz whack w/the rotary cutter; zoom zoom on the sewing machine and a pinch of hand sewing and TA-DA! A fantabulous scarf!

Only...I could. Not. Find. My. Pattern.

I finally resigned myself to redoing the pattern and I pulled out that old issue of Threads (half hoping I'd find the pattern stuck there-in, but no luck) and my tracing paper, then realized I'd used up all my available time today.

So I guess I'll have to start w/redrafting the pattern...tomorrow.

An Ethical Question

Let's say...

You are a person who sews a lot (for most folks reading this, that's not much of a stretch).

You've made clothes before with, um, poor print placement, so perhaps you are a little more aware of such things than the average bear.

Now, let's say you happen to be somewhere with a friend. The friend is wearing a very cute top with a swirly print...but one of the printed swirls is, you notice with your hyper-awareness of such things, um, rather poorly placed.

And let's throw into the mix that said friend is not having a particularly good day.

So...do you say anything? Or just be embarrassed for her?

What would YOU do if it were YOU? ;)

NL 6407, Take 2

Yeah, it's another bathroom mirror self portrait; and I didn't notice the streaks on the mirror until I uploaded the photo...you KNOW it's Monday...


Aside from the fact that I haven't yet allowed for the last year's weight gain in the pattern, I'm thinking this is getting close to TNT status.

After the first try, I altered the front a bit, doing a FBA and raising the top of the button band back to where it should have been. Then I scooped out the sides of the neckline so that it was wider at the shoulders and moved the front edges in towards the center a bit. Then I measured the resulting neckline and adjusted the collar and band to fit the new neckline.

I've got a neckline that looks much closer to the front of the envelope now; I may not have needed to move the front edges in. But I think I'll leave them.

I do need to go back and check the collar/collar band; I think in all my slashing and spreading I got it slightly out of whack; one side doesn't quiiiiitte match the neckline. But you gotta look really close to see it.

However, I think the collar is longer/deeper than pictured on the drawings on the envelope; I haven't decided if I'm going to try to adjust that any or not. Maybe. And, if I really want the top to fit the body I have now, I should add some width in both the front and back. And that's so long as I've got a goodly amount of stretch in the fabric; in a non-stretch, well....

Harrumph.

But I have some nice black cotton/lycra poplin in the wings, so the next iteration will be black; then I may try a long sleeved version.

How do I keep up now?

I just found out that Bloglines, my beloved feed collector, is shutting down at the end of the month. Ask.com has decided that it's not economically feasible to maintain Bloglines when their primary focus is answering questions.

Geeminy, I wish they'd thought about that when they acquired Bloglines back in '05. Why buy up a business if you're just going to shut it down?

So, now I need to go looking for another RSS aggregator. Bloglines very nicely provided detailed directions on how to save all the links for transport to a new aggregator, but, alas, did not offer any suggestions as to which aggregator to use.

I can't just 'follow' on Blogger...I still have the old template version, which I've tweaked to my satisfaction, and to be able to 'follow', I have to convert to layouts.

I tried the layouts when I first started my other blog, but quickly found that it didn't work so well for me for some reason, so I converted that one over to the template, too. Converting to layouts would be a MAJOR overhaul. So following isn't an option. (which really stinks when so many folks limit their cool contest/giveaways to folks who 'follow' them....just sayin'.... ;) )

Anyway, my whole blogroll is based on my bloglines subscription list; that may really mess that up, too.

Can you tell I'm a little ticked? Just a little?

Anyway, does anyone have a good aggregator they can recommend? I need one in 3 weeks...

The Stripe SIH

I decided that, since it *had* been a year in progress, that I'd wear the StarsINHeaven tunic today.

Sorry for the pitiful bathroom-mirror self-portrait, but, well, ya do what ya gotta do.

I bought the linen at Textile Fabrics Annual Big Sale last July (as in, 2009). I love the colors in it, but the stripes run crosswise. Interesting. I cut the 'upper sleeve' on the cross grain, so that there's some variation happening. I've got stripes on running crosswise, lengthwise and diagonally...whew! ;)

It's gonna wrinkle like crazy, and it doesn't drape at all, but for all that it's a very comfy summer-feeling top.

Which is good, because even though we're officially past Labor Day, it's still gonna be 90 something degrees Fahrenheit today...

A year in the works...

I finished up two tops today! First up was the teal New Look top that I cut out last week; all I had to do today was put on buttons and buttonholes. I'm a little happier w/this top than I was with the first iteration on that pattern, but I've still got some tweaks to do 'next time'. But it's getting very close to TNT status.

After I hung that one in the closet, I pulled out a zip-lock bag that had been sitting in the corner shelf since last fall and sewed up the stripey linen Stars In Heaven tunic that was cut out and in the bag. I'm not sure how this is going to wear...I *love* the SIH tunic that I made a few years back from some soft, drapey rayon/linen blend fabric. This one is 100% linen, and it's rather wirey. It is a different top.

But when I updated my 'WIP' spreadsheet, I discovered that it had been exactly a year...I cut that top out on 9/5/09.

Feels good to mark that one 'done! ;)

I'll try to get photos the first time I wear 'em.

Sad News

I was grieved to read today of the death of Fred Bloebaum. Fred had been battling cancer for a number of months; I'd been following her story sporadically on Care Pages; I'll confess, I was annoyed that I had to log in to the site to read it and I tended to only check in once a week or so.

So I missed the post last week that said it had been determined that the cancer was no longer responding to any therapy, so they had ceased treatment and called in hospice. I thought Fred was more or less holding her own; I was shocked to hear that she had died.

I actually was privileged to meet Fred at the Atlanta Sewing Expo a few years back; she was delightful and charming and gracious. Her battle was bravely fought; the sewing world has lost another gem this year.

I think I shall make something from one of my LaFred patterns soon...

Coming to Grips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Babysteps... ;)

Reality Check

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

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

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

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

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

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

Myra's Idea...

Myra had a thought provoking post today about sewing those things that have been lingering and waiting.

I have several such things...pretty silks, lovely wools...all waiting to be made into something. But, for one reason or another, they have languished.

Her idea (if you click on her name that link'll take you to her post and you'll get it in full) is to bag up 12 projects that have been languishing and, once a month, pull out one at random and make it up.

I don't know if I can quite do that; most of my languishing projects are big deals. I have one that's been bagged for about 3 years...a trench coat. I really don't know if I could make it in a month or not. In a month with no other deadlines, maybe, but somehow I always seem to have to sew something with a deadline that pushes everything else back.

But, you know, I think I'm gonna try a variation on that. Maybe not one a month, but I'll start that coat in September, and, when it's done, I'll start another. Something that's been saved will get made.

Myra, thanks for the inspiration!

The 'Instant' Cardigan

When I found out that we were going to wear teal in choir, I ordered some rayon blend knit from Gorgeous Things...which she cut very generously. I made Simplicity 3624, but I had a goodly chunk left, so I cut out the Jalie 965 tank top, with the intention of making a twin set. But, before I could get the cardigan cut out, I chanced across Lori's Blog Post featuring Jalie 2919 and thought, 'Oh, yeah, I have that pattern!' So...bingo!
Traced it Friday morning, cut it out Friday afternoon, and sewed both it and the tank top on Friday evening.

Wore the tank top last night; today I put the cardi with the brown rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 965 tank and straight legged Lees.

I've got one more weekend w/teal for choir...and I have one piece of woven cotton/lycra shirting. We'll see if that gets put together in time to wear it... ;)

The 11th 965 Tank Top

Since I posted about the TNT tank tops yesterday, I thought I'd share this because it is the newest version...in the tealish rayon/lycra blend jersey. The choir colors for this month are teal, white, brown and/or mustard yellow w/blue jeans, so I've teamed it up with a poly chiffon scarf I got for Christmas a few years back, and a linen shirt from Land's End that I've had for...I dunno...7 or 8 years at least.

With Lee bootcut jeans. Of course. ;)

I actually got three garments out of that piece of fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics; I'm planning to wear the third one tomorrow! So stay tuned.

Lovin' a TNT*

(*Tried N True pattern)
I've been fighting an ongoing battle to keep the links in my reviews active; Photoworks has changed their formats two or three times in the past 6 years, and every format change breaks all existing links. Then Yahoo photos went away, so all of those photos had to be relocated and relinked. Then, there's a limit to how many photos I can post on Flickr; so at some point I have to move photos to archives at Photoworks so I can add new photos to Flickr...I'm tellin' ya, it is never ending. I've got about 3 different levels of broken links on those old reviews, but I'm s-l-o-w-l-y updating them. I'm just hoping to get them all relinked before someone changes something again.

But, in the process, I'm updating some pictures, too. The link for the Jalie 965 review has been broken for ever so long, but it was only the photo of the original tank top. I wanted to post photos of all the tops I've made off that pattern, just to show how truly useful it is.

But I couldn't seem to have them all out of the laundry at the same time.

Finally, today, I just grabbed all the clean ones, hung up the ones that were in the hamper, and didn't worry about the ones that are somewhere in process and took a picture:



I know there are at least two missing from this picture... the original cream one, and the gray one, and I just cut out a teal one last night. Plus there's the orange-and-white stripe one I made for The Flute Player.

So, at the moment, to the best of my remembering, I've made 10 of these tops (edited because I apparently can't count...). Mostly I wear them as bottom layers, but in the heat of the summer they're fine as tank tops.

But...Jalie has discontinued the pattern, which is truly sad.

There may be a few left in stock at Patternreview...I've gotten recently OOP Jalie patterns from there a time or two. I hope Jalie reissues the tank with another pattern in the future; it's one of my absolute can't-live-without TNT's...

Made it!!!

Whew.

Review to follow... ;)