Blogging break

First of all, thank you so much for the wonderful compliments on my jacket! I may consider sewing another one, after all...

Second, just a short note to say I'm off on vacation. As far as spending two and a half weeks with two little ones (DH is only coming for a couple of days) at freezing temperatures by the stormy North Sea counts as a vacation! We're doing this for the third time, hoping that the rough climate and clean air help DD with her frequent lung infections, as they're supposed to.

Anyway, I'm taking my sewing machine again, and although I don't have many or ambitious plans, if my mojo decides to return, I'm armed and ready! I will not have any internet connection there, which is just as well since an internet fast does me good from time to time, and it makes me look forward to all the great things you are going to show on your blogs when I return.

Happy sewing!

Jacket Burda 9/2007 no. 105

I made DH take pictures of the jacket on me, which is a good thing, because seeing the pictures I like it even more, and am more likely to forgive and forget all the hard work that went into it!

(Details. The pocket lining peeks out and needs to be tacked on!)

I don't have the heart for a full recap, including the back stay (sewing book: "Cut the back stay according to the back stay pattern." Me: "???), but I put quite a bit of tailoring in it, and I think it shows. From the front, I absolutely love it; the back, although it feels like it fits, doesn't look quite as good, but I'll take it as is and keep this filed away for the next time: Take a picture of the back during the fitting process.

(Back: with buttons open at left, buttons closed at right.)

Another lesson learned: Towards the end of such an involved project, take steps to avoid sewing ennui (which steps, I'll have to figure out yet!)

All in all, it looks like I imagined it would, goes well with the rest of my wardrobe, and will hopefully get lots of wear!

Have a great Sunday, everyone.

SWALP patterns and jacket progress

My mojo has, resolutions notwithstanding, been lost for quite some time. Whether this is due to sewing in gray and navy since December, the slight seasonal blues that always strikes right after Christmas, or DD's not having been well since December... I'm dragging my (sewing machine) feet.

See this?

Looks like a finished jacket, doesn't it? And it IS finished, except for the tiniest amount of handsewing. And it fits. And I like it. So why do I have to force myself to do a little bit of hem sewing every evening, instead of rushing to get it done?

I had visions of showing the finished garment beautifully styled and shot, on me instead of the hanger one of these days. Maybe that will happen. Maybe I'll need to sew something bright pink before that, to get myself out of this funk.

(Thankfully, DS has wished for a Winnie the Pooh costume for carnival. Sewing all that bright yellow and red ought to set me right, don't you think?)

Instead of swinging the shears and needles, I have been organizing my pattern magazines by copying all the pattern overview pages in my Burda and Ottobre magazines and putting them in a ring binder. Happy hours have been (and will be) spent leafing through these while putting my feet up and nursing a hot cup of tea!

So, without actually making progress, I feel like getting on with my SWALP by circling possible patterns. The thicker olive green wool knit might become one of these:

The patterned rayon knit may become one of these:

And finally, the skirt to complement the jacket, not from the same herringbone wool, but a heathered dark gray woven:

(As a side note, I considered making up a quiz "guess the year these BURDA patterns are from". Some are quite obviously dated, but some not, I think.)

Obviously, I have my favorites, but I'm not decided yet. Which do you think would fit well with my SWALP?

SWALP Continues

I am, as always, in awe of real, grown-up SWAP sewers. As mentioned before, SWAP isn't going to happen for sewing-ADD-addled me anytime soon, but Sewing With A Little Plan continues.

To make the most my resolutions, I used today's 30 minutes of sewing (resolution no. 3) to work on the jacket lining, and to think about how to get the most use out of the jacket once it's finished. I pulled out my winter fabrics, laid them against the half-finished jacket, and chose two fabrics for matching tops, and a dark gray wool for a matching bottom (more mix-and-match garments, resolution no. 4).

Left to right:

The light green olive knit is wool. In winter I like to layer my sweater knits over classic woven shirts, so I might look for a pattern that enables this.

The green-gray patterned fabric is a thin jersey knit, rayon lycra I'd guess. I should be able to find a pattern for that. I love surplice looks, so it might be something like that.

The bottom weight will likely become a skirt. I'll have to look for a pattern/style that goes with the distinctive lines of the jacket. A pencil skirt would be a safe choice, but I'd like a bit of flare. I photocopied all my Burda pattern overviews of the last ten years or so, and will take a good long look at those!

That should be doable before winter ends, don't you think? I also pulled out the red-and-gray plaid fabric that didn't make it into a jacket (yet). A plaid dress would match the herringbone jacket very well, but how often would I wear it? And wouldn't it enforce my solitary garment sewing tendencies? So, it's on to the separates first. Once the jacket is finished. I'm optimistic.

Parting shot:


DH gave me a miniature porcelain bell with sewing motifs for Christmas. Yes, I like my kitsch. Especially sewing-related!

Resolutions

Well, I am a bit late, but since I almost never make New Year's resolutions (lots of March 20th... June 2nd... anyday resolutions, though!), this is as good as ever. No pictures, since my laptop died after Christmas (too much marzipan?), but I hope this will be rectified soon.

I read a lot of sewer's resolutions, and was equally impressed and overwhelmed. I know that if I resolved to sew more, or more complex garments, sewing would start feeling like a chore, and since I purposely took it up again to take my mind off some stressful situations, that would be counter-productive indeed .

Even without concrete resolutions/goals, last year I sewed much, much more than I ever had or than I'd expected. So, here's my first resolution:

1. Keep at about the same level of productivity.

Last year I sewed a lot for my children, and I'm starting to question whether that is the best use of my time and energy. Yes, I absolutely enjoy the creative freedom and cuteness factor in sewing kids' stuff. But, without counting, I'm pretty sure I made much more for them than for me. Which wouldn't be so bad, but they grow out of it so fast, and I don't. So here's resolution the 2nd:

2. Limit sewing children's stuff, ideally to one outfit per kid per season, or special occasion wear.

I am plodding on with the jacket, excruciatingly slow, since I haven't quite gotten into my usual daily/weekly rhythm again. Usually, I reserve at least one morning a week while the kids are in Kindergarten, about four or five hours, for sewing. At night, I'm often too tired/can't be bothered to pull out my sewing stuff/takes too long until the kids are truly asleep, so I sew only one or two nights a week. When my one morning of sewing gets eaten up by other stuff, like this week, I hardly sew at all, fall out of the rhythm, forget where I was at, get intimidated by starting up again. I hope to solve this by implementing this resolution (shamelessly stolen from Summerset, no less):

3. 30 minutes of sewing a day, on most days.

Unlike the children's stuff I sew, my garments often stand alone, either by type (dresses), or because I sewed a color/pattern I loved without looking at the rest of my wardrobe too much. Don't get me wrong, they're usually wearable, but not as mix-and-match as the rest of my wardrobe. So, to get the most out of my sewing I make this resolution (actually I made it sometime late last year, which is why I'm sewing the jacket from gray fabric!):

4. Sew more mix-and-match garments, either by sewing neutral colors, and/or simpler patterns, and/or several garments planned as a wardrobe.

So here we are. January 7th and my resolutions are complete. I wish you all a year of happy and successful sewing!

Holiday Sewing and a Happy New Year!

Hello everybody!

The holidays are behind us, but the decorations are still up, and I am only slowly coming to... Although I have been sewing (more than I thought, now I'm counting), the sewing machine has been mostly off the dining room table for quite some time now, and I am ready for sanity (sewing time!) to return.

Everything on my holiday sewing list has been checked off, thanks to my cousin who was our houseguest at Christmas and babysat the children a lot, and due to my letting the jacket take a back seat (the shell is finished; I "just" need to install buttonholes and lining).

First on my list was another Ottobre girls' tunic ( for the others, see here) for my best friend's daughter. My, I love that pattern! I tried to sew under cover, because I knew what would (and did) happen if DD saw the pink-and-red-rose fabric: she'd want one for herself.

Then, what better time to decide DS could use a new holiday outfit than December 22nd? The waistcoat and pants were finished on the 23rd, I'm proud to report.

And DS was really happy; no forcing dressing up on him, oh no. He grabbed his shirt, his bow tie, and the new clothes, and dressed up like a gentleman!

A few details: Both garments are made from a very fine corduroy, almost like velvet. The pants are fully lined in red-and-white gingham cotton, and the waistcoat in a dark blue poly lining (for the back, I also used the lining fabric.). For the pants, I used the Ottobre Pirate Jeans pattern I made these 3/4 summer jeans from. I cut on the back yoke and the waistband, essentially reducing four pattern parts to two parts. I used the back pocket pattern, but self-drafted (read: haphazardly cut out) a pocket with flap and velcro closing for the front. The waistcoat is an Ottobre pattern (6/2007 no. 20) as well. To save time, I left off the facings and fully lined it to the edges. I also just sewed on a strip of fabric in the back, instead of the traditional fastening with two fabric strips and D-rings. To finish it off, I used three maritime iron-on patches (boats and lighthouse). Fast and easy!

Third on my list was last year's Christmas dress UFO. I took a good long look at it, decided it could use a new zipper installation but I had nowhere near the time for it, so I finished the half-installed zipper, hemmed the lining, cleaned up the seams allowances, and - voila!?

Then I tried it on and found it a bit too wide, but didn't remember that at all... This was probably why I didn't finish it last year; I've gained a bit since then so the dress is alright now, but it would have been too loose last year. Funny, the things one remembers (or not). The pattern, which I omitted last time, is BWOF 11/2007 no. 107.

After the festitivities, there was another one - DD turned four! This couldn't pass without something homesewn, so I cranked out a tutu without a pattern. I'm not in love with it and I don't have a photo, but DD wears it, so that's that. I will say this much for children's costume sewing: The most worn garments (by far) I made last year are the witch and the angel costume. The children have a dressing-up box and take these out every couple of days.

We had a Christmas witch and a tree decorating angel this year:

Tonight is New Year's eve, and then we'll be done with parties for a while. I'm really itching to get back to normal now. Karen said it best, and I hope she doesn't mind me quoting her: I really, really like to stay home and make things!

I think I'll pass the sewing recap, but it was a very productive year for me, and blogging and your lovely comments made it so enjoyable. I wish all sewers and all readers a happy, healthy New Year with lots of sewing time!

Blogging Break (And: Happy Holidays!)

I have been sewing some, but my time and energy are directed elsewhere:



So forgive my absence, and enjoy the season, whether you have as much baking, crafting and family time as I do, or maybe just a whole lotta time to sew. Happy Christmas!