A Humongeos Error of Unknown Origin

Ok, the topstitching was a pain in the patootie since I'm using a contrast thread so it needs to be darn near perfect.  I don't know how many times I pulled the topstitching off of those shoulder seams, only to have them still not be balanced perfectly.  I finally achieved 'good enough' and moved on to the collar.

It wasn't until I came to the computer and pulled up pictures of the pattern and other reviews to check the collar that I realized that only the sleeve side of those seams was supposed to be topstitched.  So I took out the topstitching on the body side; that alleviated much of the 'not quite symmetric' problem I was having.  But the collar is covering that up, so it doesn't show at all in the 'WIP' photograph.

The collar, however, was beyond such simple fixes. Look at it carefully, then look at the pattern on Vogues's site. Do you notice the difference?  The collar is supposed to come all the way to the front edge of the jacket!  Mine is a good 3 3/4 inches short.  On both sides. That's 7 1/2 inches total (can I scream?  Just a little??)  Now, if you look at the reviews for this pattern, you'll  see that everyone else's collar comes to the front edge as well.  This is obviously an error on my part. 

But, not being able to find the pattern, I can't even begin to figure out what the problem is.

My guess is that I made bustline alterations (low, full) and somehow altered the neckline without realizing it.  I don't remember making alterations, but I can't figure out ANY way I could've generated such a whopping big error without having done that.  I don't believe it was caused by stretching of the neckline; only the sleeves weren't stabilized by something right at the start, and the error is consistent between the jacket and the facing/lining, which I wouldn't expect if they had stretched out of shape.  It must be an error in the (presumably altered) pattern that I used to cut the jacket.

Of course, no one I meet when wearing the jacket is going to look at it and exclaim, 'Oh, my goodness!  Why isn't that collar where it's supposed to be?'  (unless, of course, said person happens to have read the blog...).  It just looks like that's the way the collar was supposed to be; it'll be our little secret that it's wrong.

Sigh. I *really* liked the collar as drawn on the envelope and sewn by everyone else in the world but me.

I really, really hope that pattern turns up.  I want to know what happened here.

'Flying Blind' Jacket Progress

I have finished the lining of the jacket; it's ready to be attached to the shell when it's ready.  The next step is attaching the cuffs to the sleeves; first I need to fell stitch the cuffs into a circle, just to make sure they line up properly.  I don't know if the directions were to finish the cuffs, then hand stitch them, or do a funky clip to the seamline to sew the very bottom part of that seam by machine...I still can't find the pattern and guide.

So far, I think the only thing I have messed up is that I assumed the seam allowance on the pocket welts was 3/8"; however, once I got the welts actually pinned to the jacket it appears it was supposed to be 5/8"; my welts went a bit past the dots.  But that's pretty minor.


















For the lining, I used a silk/cotton panel print that I ordered from an online vendor, thinking I could use it for a scarf.  However, the fabric was much too substantial to be a scarf and it sat around for a while while I wondered what on earth I'd do with it.

As I recall, it somehow ended up lying next to the turquoise wool and I noticed that they went together rather well.   So I decided to use it for the body lining.  The back pleat is still basted shut.

The sleeve lining is Ambiance.

I *might* actually finish this in time for the Easter services; so far, I haven't heard anything about costume sewing...

Lookit, it's a PRESENT!

My friend, Gail, is an artist who specializes in scarves and banners.  Some time ago, she created a Facebook page for her studio and offered a little premium for the first few folks who 'liked' it.

I was fortunate enough to stumble onto it that very day...and I 'liked' it before I even read the offer for a hand painted silk scarf.  I mean, Gail is my friend and she does beautiful work that has been included in juried shows...what's not to like? 

I actually forgot about the scarf.

So you can imagine how tickled I was to get a package in the mail yesterday containing this exquisite silk chiffon scarf.

I sent her a message to let her know it had arrived and I loved it, and I had to ask about the processes.  She said it had been hand painted, then silk screened w/a discharge agent.  The phrase on the scarf is from Song of Songs 2:11 & 12:  See!  The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come...

I've heard rumors that fuschia will be one of the choir wardrobe colors again this summer; if that turns out to be true you'll likely see me wearing this... and I'll be singing... ;-)

Goin' to the Queue...

Since Turquoise/aqua is one of the colors for next month's choir wardrobe, I  pulled the  Vogue 1100 jacket out of the queue box. I'd cut the fabric, the lining and the interfacing and bagged it all up in a zip-lok bag sometime last summer, before we started the porch remodel.

For some unfathomable reason, I did NOT put the pattern in the bag with the  fabric. 

Now I can't find it.  I've looked in all the places I would expect it to be, but all the stuff got shuffled but good when we cleaned the porch off and, well, it's apparently been put in some unexpected place.

So, I'm rather flying blind on this.  But I'm determined to finish it before the volunteer sewing kicks in.  If it looks good when I'm done, I may very likely wear it for Easter.  We'll see.

Meantime, I did something I don't do often and browsed my bookmarked fashion blogs.  Normally I'm just shaking my head over what folks wear (or what designers send down the runway!) but I was completely smitten with  this Jacket I spotted on The Sartorialist.  I don't think my drafting skills are up to that...but I want to recreate that in the worst way.  Fabulous!!

WHERE is that Waistline??

A bit of Friday fun...this is a page scanned from a catalog I recently received from one of my favorite RTW vendors.

You'll likely have to click on the photo to see this, but the britches in this photo are all listed has having waistlines that sit 'slightly above the waist' (top left) or 'at the waist' (other three).

Just for grins, I ran it through Paint and drew a line where the natural waistline actually occurs on the models .  Actually, I think I botched the top ones a bit; there's really not enough trunk showing to tell where the narrow spot is. I really think the natural waist on the upper left one is just above the waistline of the pants. But you get the idea.

So, has the waistline officially moved to the high hip now?

...and Here We Go...

The volunteer sewing front has been very quiet of late.

The calm before the storm, y'all.

A week or so ago our children's pastors asked me to lead the production of a number of costume pieces for our children's summer theme. As in, a small something for each kid participating.

In the little Baptist church we were in for something like 20 years back in the day 'something for each kid' would not be an issue.  But we have hundreds of kids in our children's ministry each week.  This is going to be a pretty major task.  Now, all of those kids won't come to the camp/day camp events that will be part of the whole 'Chronicles of the Kingdom' theme, but, well, we'll have enough to keep us hopping.  And they need them by sometime in May.

We're planning a sew-a-thon for the Thur-Fri-Sat after Easter.  The request for sewing volunteers is going in the church bulletin this week.  If we don't finish that weekend, we may schedule another or...we may just divvy the stuff up and sew it at home.  We'll have to see how it goes.

Then, yesterday I got a text from The Flute Player, saying that the Tech Theater teacher wanted to know if I would head up the costuming for the swiftly upcoming production (as in, the show opens  April 19) of To Kill a Mockingbird.  She has one volunteer who has promised to sew/alter/obtain all the ladies' costumes, and there are a number of folks who are willing to help...could I just be the One in Charge?

I didn't exactly say 'No', but I did indicate that I didn't think I could head up two major costuming efforts at the same time.  I'm willing to help, but I need to be doing it NOW, 'cause once April 12 gets here I'm committed to making little knight/squire/medieval outfits.

And I have a pile of things cut out that I really, really need in my wardrobe that I haven't had time to sew up yet.  Obviously, something has got to give.

I'm betting that something is sleep.  Housework went out the door ages ago...

Still, I have a comp time reserve.  I suppose if I need to, and if the urgent things are done, I *might* be able to take a few days off.  We'll see.

Taking a deep breath. Or two.

Choir Wardrobe 2012 03-18-12

Well, after a week of backing up and reloading, we're approaching normal computer capabilities again.  There's still a few things that aren't back, but hopefully I can be a little more active again.

I still haven't found the green for this month...I'd call it a 'bright jade green'; some other folks have called it 'seafoam'.  Maybe if I'd shop at the pricey department stores I'd have better luck, but I just haven't been able to do it.  No matter; we have folks wearing everything from mossy green to almost blue turquoise.  So my muted green scarf..from Target?  Maybe? works well enough.

It's matched  up with my Coldwater Creek knit bootcut jeans, an old  navy blue Evan Piccone poly/rayon jacket on which I nearly botched up the sleeves when I tried to shorten them.  They roll funny and feel weird, but, well, no more than I wear the jacket I put up with it.  Maybe someday I'll make a replacement with sleeves the correct length to begin with.  The sparkly gray knit on the Simplicity 2603 top is a hair darker than the designated gray for this month, but it will be perfect for next month and, under the lights, it all kinda blends anyway.

Next week I'll be tending to other church duties, so I won't be in choir, which means I'm done needing the green now. Whew.  Next month is medium gray, butter yellow and aqua, so I should be pretty much set...or I would be if I could get to my sewing room!  The vest that I began cutting...what, 2 weeks ago?...is still laid out on the cutting table.

If I could get caught up at work, I'd take a week off to sew.  Maybe after Easter... ;-)

And I thought I could do the SWAP competition this year.  Ha ha and ha.

Choir Wardrobe 2012 -catching up

Since I still had last week's photo in the camera, I decided to just talk about both weeks today.

Our March colors are silver gray, navy blue, and a weird bright bluey-green that defies my ability to name it.  Or to find it; I've ordered a couple of different knits  that looked close on the monitor from online vendors, only to find that one was way too dark and the other was way too yellow.  So, so far, I'm  batting .000 for the green, which is very pretty and fresh but, wow, I can't find it.

Last week I wore an ancient Kwik Sew 2948 twinset, which was my true introduction to successful knit sewing (if I counted right, it was the 16th review I did, back in '02).  The knit was an amazing high - quality navy blue cotton/lycra that I got from Fashion Fabrics club and wish I could find the likes of it now.  It would fit better if I were 10 pounds smaller, but, well, I'm making do. ;-).  The scarf is a little too grayish, but I'm fudging it anyway. I got it last fall at (I think) Target, just because I liked the color.   I can't remember for sure which jeans I wore; I think they were a pair of Lee bootcuts.


Today I *am* wearing Lee bootcuts, along with a sleeveless navy cotton interlock mock t that I bought about a hundred years ago from Lands' End, under my gray rayon/lycra Jalie 2919 pleated cardigan (slightly modified).  You can barely see the green glass bead necklace that I put on to provide the third color...it's not the right shade of green, either, but it's small and under the lights I thought it would be ok.

I actually cut out about 5 knit tops Friday; two navy, one gray and two aqua (one of April's colors...I'm thinking ahead!)  I have the remnant of the gray satin I used for the recent wadder jacket laid out on the table with my Burda 05-09-108 vest anchored down for imminent cutting, and I have suddenly remembered a piece of green linen that has been in my stash for simply ages that *might* do that may turn into a shirt sometime soon.  Just because it's aggravating me not to have complete options. ;-) 

And, with the computer still limping along at a reduced rate, I seem to have just a wee bit more time for sewing...

Bullet Points

Borrowing from Debbie tonight...

1. I didn't get my choir wardrobe post up this week
2. During lunch on Sunday, the Flute Player suddenly remembered that she had four essays due on Monday
3. Four.  Essays.
4.  She had written maybe one and a half.
5. So she was on the computer until, like, Midnight.
6. I went to bed at 10.
7. I logged on after supper on Monday to put up the choir post.
8. Late.
9. I scrolled through Google Reader first.
10. While I was there, we got hit with a nasty cyber thingy.
11. I didn't click anything...honest...
12 My Sweet Babboo has managed to get it all off.
13. We think.
14. We HOPE.
15. But everything is hidden.
16. All my shortcuts have disappeared.
17. We think everything important is still here, though.
18. We HOPE.
19.  Why do people do that stuff?
20. Isn't there something productive that all that creativity could be used for?
21. I haven't sewn anything since the Wadder.
22. Even though I really need some choir stuff this month.
23. But it doesn't matter if I repeat Sunday since I didn't get the picture posted.
24.Maybe I'll have a little sewing time on Friday.
25. I hope.

Choir Wardrobe 02-26-12

Well, I got No Sewing done this week at all; been a busy week at work (the training session I led on Thursday seemed to go well, however, so it was a profitable week).

So...more old stuff for the last Sunday of silver/black/purple.  Lee bootcut jeans and the silver silk scarf again, this time worn with the botched-up Loes Hinse Sweater Set that I made from bamboo/lycra knit last summer.  Mostly I don't mention the wacky boo-boo I made cutting the back and no one notices the slant to the side seams... ;-)

Bailing

For two out of the last three years, I've made The Flute Player's fancy dress for the kids' ministries service awards dinner at church.  In '09, it was The Pink Dress, which I totally threw together in about a day; in '10, it was the Masquerade Dress, which just about cleaned my clock and took every available second to finish.  Last year, the banquet was the same weekend as the Drama Magnet's production of Romeo and Juliet, so they didn't get to go the banquet.

This year, the quick dress pattern that I wanted to make needed alterations and style changes to make her happy; I didn't have fabric in the stash (imagine that!  The theme is 'black and white'- no fancy black fabric that I was willing to sacrifice for a dress of few wearings) suitable for other options, and I have something going on every day this week after work.

The dinner is Friday.  I just could NOT get my sewing/creating anointing flowing for a critical deadline.

So I bailed; we took advantage of the school/work holiday to drop by the mall and, after merely two or three armloads of  black and black/white dresses we found one that she really, really liked that wasn't all strapless and short.

It was on clearance; with tax it came to just a little under $70.

She's happy and I'm relieved.  It was worth it.

Choir Wardrobe 02 19 12

...and she admits defeat.

I had hoped to wear my new LH Milano jacket today, but last night as I was wrestling with the sleeves I realized it was a wadder, would never be anything but a wadder and the sooner I admitted that to myself and tossed it the less stress would be in my life.

Now, if you've been around Sew Random for any length of time, you know that I absolutely HATE wadders.  I've been known to disassemble, recut, and reassemble a garment to salvage it.   At the very least, I will finish it off and drop it in the Salvation Army donation bag.

But there was no salvaging this fiasco.

It began with fabric choice.  I had ordered stretch poly charmeuse from an on-line vendor, thinking I could use it as a lining.

What I got was a HEAVY stretch satin. Very polyestery at that.  So I decided I'd just us it for trim or for muslins or some such thing.  IOW,  I wasn't crazy about the fabric but just didn't want to hassle with complaining about it.  Early this year, I realized that it IS a color we're wearing a lot for choir (silver gray) so I decided I'd just whip up one of Loes' quick little jackets from it.  No big deal.

I picked the Milano jacket; I'd made it before from poly/lycra moleskin with moderate success, but wanted to see if I could tweak it a bit.

Why I didn't go back and read my notes and look hard at that first jacket I'll never know.

I did a FBA on it, which had the result of making the jacket boxy.  My bad.

I tried to rework the armceyes a bit but was too chicken and didn't go far enough.  I also failed to compare the final sleeve cap seam length to the armsceye seam length.  I had something like 2 inches of extra ease in that sleeve cap.  I thought I'd messed it up, until I pulled out the moleskin jacket and saw the telltale wavers around the sleeve cap; I believe there is just too much ease there to begin with.  After I set in the first sleeve (I first tried pleating in the extra...there is NO easing that heavy satin!) and saw that the armsceye was cutting into the front too much  with something wierd going on in the back, I took it out and whacked away at the armsceye, lowering it and cutting it deeper in the front.  Then I whacked away at the sleeve cap, shortening it and sloping the back more into the cap, as most of the extra ease was in the front.  After I'd chopped enough to get rid of the extra ease, I set it in again and looked at it hard.  It was better, but there was still some weird pleating going on at the back, and the funky little lapel thingy would NOT stay folded flat; the facing kept pulling away.  A button/buttonhole might fix some of that, but I remembered that I'd actually tacked down the lapel on the first jacket to try and get it to stay put...but given the extreme body of this piece, I wasn't sure it would work.

And it was boxy and unflattering.  Not something I would enjoy wearing.

So into the trash bin it went, and I'm trying to decide if the pattern should go with it.  I didn't ding it too badly in the review after the first iteration, so I'm thinking it was just an extreme mismatch of pattern and fabric that made the fiasco.  A natural, spongey, ease-able fabric would no doubt work much better.  But IF I try it again somewhere down the road, you can bet I will give special attention to the armsceye/sleeve cap before I ever put scissors to the fabric (which, I just noticed, I mentioned in the first review.  Yeesh.).

So...where does that leave us?  Wearing old stuff...

February colors are silver, purple and black with jeans, so I ended up wearing my boot-cut Lee jeans, a Cold Water Creek black sweater shell and an ancient silver silk scarf, along with one of my favorite jackets that will fit better once I loose about 10 more pounds...Textile Studios Florence Jacket , which dates from early 2003 and is made from an unbelievably gorgeous textured purple boucle and lined with silk charmeuse. 

Definitely one of my favorite things to wear in the winter time. ;-)

40 Days Later...

A lot can happen in 40 days.

You can, for instance, take advantage of the time off from blogging to give the blog a new look.  I've been meaning to update the template for a long time, but the last time I ventured into the layout builder I had problems getting it to cooperate so I gave up and reverted to the old template.  Apparently Blogger has updated things since then; I found it to be just a little contrary and with patience and persistence  I was able to add all the sidebar stuff I wanted to add.

The background picture is from 2006.  My sewing room hasn't been that clean since the Silver Lame Shirt Sewing Marathon of 2007.  It's pitiful now.  Maybe someday I'll clean it out and rearrange it and take another picture and not shrink it, like I had with the '06 photo, which is why it is tiled. (Now all the feedburner readers will click through to see what in the world I'm talking about, right? ;-))

OR...you could make an  unplanned trip to the Emergency Room and embark on a weeks-long journey to figure out what happened.  Final verdict:  Superior V*entricular T*achycardia, and  a six-month round of meds to see if that will control the problem.  The meds seem to be helping...so long as I remember to take them.

OR...the fix up project to the sun room could turn into an unbelievable series of uncovered bad construction and the resulting consequences and drain all the resources  allotted for the entire project before it's half done.  Who knows how long it will be before the room is actually useful again...

AND...40 days of highly restrictive eating does,usually anyway, result in some weight loss, so the sewing project started at the beginning was too big before the end.  The Tribeca shirt has been bagged up; I will trim it down at some point and have another go at it.  The Milano Jacket, being less fitted, is going to be ok, I think.  It just needs the sleeves inserted and a button /button hole to be on the 'completed' list.

The sewing I did accomplish was a royal blue Burda 9/10 funnel neck top.  Wore it for choir, but didn't manage to get a photo.  Maybe this week...


And, The Flute Player had a birthday party to attend.  One that had a video-game theme; all attendees were encouraged to come as video characters.  She set her heart on Wind Waker Z*elda...with an ocarina.  Despite all my protests that she did Not. Have. Time., she forged ahead. Using fabric from the stash (mostly, anyway), and paint and craft foam and styrofoam balls drilled through, she came up with a plan.  And I sewed 90% of the skirt, taken from OOP McCall's 3296.   We have some disagreement about the success of the hot pink vest-thingy; I think it should've been made from something fairly stiff, but, well, given our time constraints it was Definitely Good Enough.  Especially since there were no prizes or other rewards for the effort. Happy teen daughter has to be reward enough....and she was VERY happy.  ;-)

Now to go figure out what I'm going to do with the 862 blog posts that have accumulated in Google Reader while I was gone...

Choir Wardrobe 0108

My Sweet Baboo being out of town on business, The Actor was forced into the role of Fashion Photographer.  Hence the slightly odd perspective that somehow seems to make me look like I'm leaning into the camera.

Anyway, for the second Sunday of January, in which the colors for choir are black, royal blue and silver gray,  I'm wearing the CWC knit bootcut jeans with  my first go at Loes Hinse's  Milano Jacket, made from royal blue poly moleskin knit, the salvaged silver rayon Vogue 7604 blouse and a scarf made from a teeny remnant of fabric left after I made a scarf to give away.  It's really too small for good scarf, but the colors in it were too pretty to throw away.

I did manage to get the Tribeca shirt cut out, but I didn't get the weird curvy darts marked (gotta find my tracing paper for that; tailor's tacks just are not sufficient).  I intended to make the Burday Style 09-2010 Funnel neck top that so many folks have made as well, but I was dismayed to find that I actually *hadn't* traced the pattern like I thought.  So I spent what would otherwise have been my cut and construct time tracing the pattern, adding the seam allowances, then removing 7" of length from the sleeves as I didn't realize how very scrunched they were intended to be.  I finished with the pattern about midnight last night and called. it. a day.  It'll have to get cut and sewn another time.

So, I'm going to be on hiatus for the next 6ish weeks, but if I make anything new during that time I'll be sure to take photos and post it when I get back.  Happy January, everyone!

New Year - new projects...

I actually did a couple of sewing-related things yesterday...

Firstly, I pulled out my pattern for The Sewing Workshop's Tribeca Shirt.  I've made it twice; once in a burgundy/gray poly/rayonish brocade that I bought for a song at Sir's Fabrics; once from green silk duppioni from Hancock's that I bought for a bit more than a song and has proven to be only slightly more sturdy than paper towels.

I didn't make any changes in the pattern between the two, but the green one just never fit nearly as well as the burgundy one; it has serious problems with armsceye binding that, for who know what reason, is not as noticeable on the other top.

But, at the moment, both tops are too little.

So I decided it might be worth a quick adjustment; I need to adjust the shoulder/armsceye anyway, so it won't be too much trouble to add a bit onto the side seams that I can remove later.  And I have a sizable remnant left from my MOB dress that should do nicely and be wearable for choir this month.

In my 'quick adjustment' I
- did a 3/8" square shoulder adjustment
-moved the armsceye up and in to remove 3/4" length from the shoulder seam, which raised the underarm about an inch (but has not changed the overall length of the armsceye)
-lowered the bust darts/points an inch
-did a slight FBA
-added 5/8" to the back side seams.

I'm hoping to get it cut out today, but I have a huge amount of end-of-year home office work to crank out, so if I get it cut out I'll consider myself fortunate.

The other sewing related thing I did was to look up the Project Runway All Stars site and watch the first episode. We don't have cable; I've seen very few PR episodes through the seasons.  So it was interesting to finally see the folks whose names I've seen on the boards and such, and I was amazed by what folks made from $100 worth of 99 cent store finds and even more amazed by the creativity under pressure.  They had, what, about 12 hours in the workroom to do that?  Bless.

I should stop complaining about my lack of sewing time...

2011 Stats

Wow.  If I needed evidence there is a shift happening in my life, this would certainly be the telling of it:

Fabric In: 148.375 yds

Fabric Out: 56.375 yds

Last fabric purchase:11/30/11

Garments made for me: 25

Garments made for other people in my family: 7

Home Dec items: 2

'Donations': 1

Muslins: 2

Things made for friends: 1

Miscellaneous Church-Related Sewing:

Team Effort: 5 baptismal robes 

I barely sewed one third of the fabric I purchased, which happens to be the highest yearly fabric acquisition since 2007  --  nearly twice what I bought in 2010 -- coupled with my lowest cumulative production since I started tracking this stuff back in '03.

Not sure why I felt so compelled to purchase so much fabric when I wasn't sewing that much; I don't know if I haven't really gotten my brain around the fact that my available sewing time has cut dramatically with the part time job (which I've been on for 3 years now; it's about time my subconscious got a clue) or if I was just caught up in dreaming.  Still, 74% of my sewing was from new purchases, so I did work at sewing what was coming in.  I just had way more coming in than I could keep up with.

And, part of the issue was, of course, the weight thing that made fitting a challenge.  TNTs suddenly weren't very True any more, and I didn't have time available to redraft and retest.

Hence the large number of knit garments in last years 'finished' list.

So...what about the new year?
In my heart, I know I can NOT purchase fabric at the rate I was buying last year.  And if my sewing doesn't increase, I really don't need to purchase any fabric for the next 24 months.


Can I just say...not realistic? as she laughs just a little hysterically...

So, I made a deal with myself.  I will allow myself to purchase up to the amount I sewed *this* year, providing I *need* the fabric made up immediately.


Oh, that will be hard.  But, in all honesty, I have a large stash of VERY lovely fabric.  Aside from something unforseen (such as a new color for church choir), I should be able to sew pretty much from stash.


And make some pretty things.  Especially knits...at least for the first few months.  Who knows...I may yet figure out a SWAP wardrobe...

My turn...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Sew Random

Shannon went first.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Choir Wardrobe 010112

Happy New Year!

I'm continuing the Choir Wardrobe posts for the New Year, although I will be taking a bit of a blogging break very soon (more on that another day).  Our colors for January are royal blue, black and silver gray;  we stayed up to greet the new year last night so I'm a little less than perky today. 

This is the Lee boot cut jeans with my silver rayon Jalie 2919 Pleated Cardigan, over  a blue acetate slinky sleeveless, cowl-less Loes Hinse's Cowl Top.  This will be the last time you'll see this particular top; literally as I was walking out the door I glanced down and saw 4 or 5 teeniny pinkish spots on the front of the top where apparently a bleaching agent of some sort had splashed it sometime in the past.    I didn't have time to change before we left, but it was retired from the wardrobe when I got home.

Fortunately, I have 3 yards or so of royal blue bamboo jersey from last year's buying frenzy (I'll update the sidebar totals and talk about last year's accomplishments later this week), so I can replace it...if I can just find time to get to the sewing machine... ;-)

The Last Project of 2011

Alas, I finished at the end of the month and so it will not be worn for choir this year.  But it will get worn nonetheless.

The Mock T is from Jalie's Twin Set (2566).  I made it sleeveless, and the armhole needs some tweaking to be perfectly gap free as a sleeveless top, but since it will be worn under a topper virtually all the time I can live with it.  I'll work on it before I try it sleeveless again. 

This is my 4th Jalie Pleated Cardigan (2919)...and would you believe that, as I put the pattern away yesterday, I noticed for the first time that those tucks should be on the OUTSIDE of the garment?  In my head, they should be inside, and I never even looked at the directions to see that my head wasn't in agreement with the Jalie designers. But...even knowing they should be outside, I think I prefer them inside.  At least on fabric as bulky as this (it's a poly/rayon/lycra jersey).  They would stand away from the garment a bit and add visual weight, I think.  If I were using a very thin, limp fabric...well, maybe I'll do it right someday.

However, this is my second major alteration to the pattern.  I worked the armsecye/sleeve head over a bit, moving the sleeve cap up and into the shoulder so that it sits more on my shoulder instead of down my arm, and I moved the shoulder seam forward at the shoulder point, adjusting the curve on the sleeve pattern as well, so now the back sleeve cap is longer and shallower than the front sleeve cap and the ease has been reduced in the sleeve so it's pretty close to a 1:1 ratio with the armsceye.

(Just realizes I should've taken photos of my changes.  I'll try and remember to do that next time I pull the pattern out). But the big change was a style change in the back:

I added a seam at the waist, and made a gore for the lower back, lengthening it at the center.  It might be a teeny bit more flattering if the back waist seam curved down as well, but it's not bad. 

I really wanted full length sleeves, but I was literally ONE INCH short on having enough fabric to squeeze that full length sleeve on.  So I went with the tabbed 3/4 length that I used on my last two versions.

So, how many pleated cardigans can my wardrobe hold??  We'll see...

A Goofy Shirt for the Artist

The only other bit of holiday sewing I did this year was what amounts to a joke.  I saw a sweatshirt in a catalog that was customizable with "(NAME) The Man. The Myth. The Legend." as the graphic.  For 42 bucks plus shipping.

I immediately knew that my older son had to have such a shirt.  If you knew him, you'd know why.

However, I wasn't going to spend such a sum for what was essentially a gag gift.

Fortunately, I had some long-stashed white cotton french terry fleece in the bins and a long out-of-print Palmer/Pletsch  multi-sized sweat shirt pattern ready to use.  Light fabric transfer paper from Hobby Lobby and my minimal graphic arts skills were all that I needed to come up with a truly memorable Christmas gift.

After all, not many presents generate a reaction like this:

So here's the shirt, with his name in Icelandic.  I may never actually see it on him: