Bunny shirt

What to sew? - I asked a few days ago. Well, my daughter's
growing out of her long-sleeves, together with wanting something "Easter-ly" but not feeling up to a big dress project, together with feeling creative and wanting to play with my fabrics, decided for me.

Now I'm not a sewer who can fit and trace a pattern, cut out pattern and fabric, and sew a shirt in one evening, not without some serious loss of sleep.

I can, however, lay a sort of fitting shirt on some fabric, cut around it, decorate it with some freehand design, sew it up and have a well-fitting t-shirt. Strange, that.

This has me on a roll now, I've very slapdashly re-fitted an old girl's dress-pattern, and am right now decorating and sewing it up. Also very fast and easy.

Maybe it just took this long for Carolyn's TNT message (http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/2009/01/would-you-please-tnt-with-me.html) to really sink in. I always
thought I'd be bored by sewing up the same pattern again and again. Instead I find that having a stash and a TNT really brings together the creative process (which I love and which really motivates me) and the execution/sewing, which I sometimes find a bit tedious.

Also, isn't it neat how reflecting on one's sewing through blogging helps to realize where one's fun and motivation really lie?

Ottobre skirt pictures

Finally! Skirt's done, internet's back on. The facts:


Pattern: Ottobre Woman 2-2009, skirt 9.
I cut a size 38, which is really my waist measurement, figuring my hips didn't count because of the diagonal folds. I found the folds dragging outwards, which irritated me so much that I ripped it apart and let out the seam allowances, which I always cut rather generously. Good thing I hadn't found a silk fabric; the tiny needle holes that this left me with would have been a real disappointment. In polyester and with this busy pattern, I don't really care.
The diagonal folds still drag outwards a bit; maybe that's just what they do as you can see here, laid out flat on the floor.



In my quest to become a better sewer I made french seams on the fashion fabric and the lining (cream rayon lining fabric).
Other than my slapdash measuring, the skirt sewed up and fits as it should. I cut it about three inches longer than the pattern called for, finding the below-knee-length more flattering than Ottobre's above-knee-length. I usually cut as long as my fabric piece allows and leave the decision on the length for last, just as I don't make muslins, but cut generous seam allowances and then baste or pin-fit.

My favorite hanger for pictures. It says: "Have it cleaned. Dirt eats." (Away at fabric, I suppose.)

What to sew?

Sorry, no pictures of the skirt. Yet.
To keep my mojo flowing, I ought to start another project right away.
As you might know, no project is too humble for me, and I rather like sewing up some home dec/tote bags/etc. to have the gratification of working with nice, colorful fabric. Easter is coming soon, we're visiting my brother's family and a cousin, so I might make up some quick hostess gifts, and use up some of my quilting fabric stash.
On the other hand, I'm so inspired by the wonderful clothes being sewn by all those other bloggers, the skirt went together really well, so I might just go with the flow and continue on my spring/summer wardrobe.
Lastly, I might compromise and sew my daughter an Easter outfit - colorful and not too complicated.
How do you decide what's next? Plan or whim?

Ottobre Woman 2-2009 skirt 9

Sew. I've been sewing.
Not blogging, mind you, because our fast wireless internet connection is broken. Fixing it is going to take 1-2 weeks, for different reasons, one of them I'm sure being that we Germans love our paperwork. And taking the long route anywhere. I feel a rant coming on, but I have to be strong, since I'm posting at the office and don't want to draw this out.
Funny thing about Ottobre. I lo-o-o-o-o-ve their children's pattern magazine. Just looking at it makes me happy. So many patterns. Such pretty clothes.
It's different with the women's issues. I really appreciate their touch of reality, showing real woman instead of impossible models, looking pretty and confident. But the patterns? So few. And the clothes? So boring. Really? It's actually the entertainment factor that's missing. Looking at the line drawings, I could sew up half of the patterns and they'd fit my closet perfectly. Also, a very good mixture of basics and fashion. I guess I'm more accustomed to high fashion shoots than I'd admit!
The skirt:
I'd seen this kind of skirt, with the diagonal folds in front, in a fashion magazine, and immediately wanted one. Now this is quite untypical of me, I usually ponder a project for weeks, but I had bought the polyester print satin (see the post below) on a whim, seen the new Ottobre a couple of days later, and got started. Due to my motto of "slow and sure" this was last week, and now I only have to finish attaching the waistband, button and buttonhole, and the hem, leaving the decision on the most flattering length for last. Ottobre has you finish the hems while assembling the upper skirt and then the lining. It doesn't make sense to me.
Pictures of the finished garment to come sooner or later. I'll try to upload through our ultra-slow internet connection at home, so wish me luck!

What I've been doing instead of sewing

Still, no sewing. Now I'm not the world's most productive sewer, but I had high hopes that Lindsay's promise of higher turnout to have something to blog about would hold true. Then came carnival. And in between schlepping bags of candy and running after the biking kids at full speed, my shoulder gave out. My right shoulder. Of course I'm right handed. So I'm sitting here gnawing at my Burdas, waiting for full mobility to return.

To improve the mood, what's an injured sewer to do? Right on. Buy fabric. I am, however, impressed with my own restraint at buying just three pieces. Which is down to my detailed sighting of summer stash before. And my detailed plan which pieces, at the very most and luckiest, I might sew.

The restraint is also due to a phenomenon I experience as well when buying RTW. I never, truly NEVER have found nice clothes when I went shopping with a plan, or an occasion, in mind, because I have too clear a picture in my head of the shape, the fabric, the color, the style. And I'm not even hard to fit. So I learned - in RTW - to buy whenever something strikes my fancy, needed or not, because that's the only way I get clothes on my back (that and sewing, of course!).

Well, sewing is supposed to solve this problem, right? Wrong. I'd like to add a jacket to my summer sewing plan, and I have a cotton twill fabric, little or no stretch, in a particular shade of olive green in mind. I've been to three fabric stores in town, and endless ones on the internet, still no luck. It appears the greens of the moment are light green, dark greens, grey greens. Do I sound obsessed? I just can't erase this color from my mind. The solution? Possibly even more serious stash building, so next time I have everything I might need right there!

See what a hurt shoulder can do? Dream up the most convincing reasons to go shopping.

Summer stash

Having been home with my sick DD for the last few days, I've had plenty of time to contemplate my summer wardrobe. Ironically, I intended to go fabric shopping this week, which my daughter's illness prevented me from doing. So I shopped the stash. Surprise(?)! For almost every project I have in mind (that doesn't mean I'll get to it), I have the fabric right here.

For starters: Top/blouse fabrics.

The top linen print has been bought for a Duro-style top, BWOF 07/3 No. 103. I really ought to make this since I already meant to last year, and still love the fabric and the pattern.
The print bastiste, 2nd from top, might look good as a little drawstring blouse, BWOF 07/3 no. 107 or 108, another pattern I loved at first sight.
The rest are knit fabrics that I'm not quite decided on. The rust colored one might become the knot top from BWOF 07/5, no. 111, but I' not sure this style looks good on anyone over the age of 25... I also like the henley top from this year's January BWOF, no. 125.
Since I'm not sure how much sewing I'll get done, I'm not going to worry about using up all the stash!

Second, the bottoms.

The top one, a loosely woven linen, might become a wide skirt, maybe the wrap skirt no. 122 from BWOF 08/6.
The bottom is a really gorgeous linen-structure (probably not linen material, it is very supple and has some stretch) in brown shot through with yellow/gold. I'd like to make some cropped pants, hoping they'll not make my legs look too short. I'm considering BWOF02/5 no. 116A. I remember how I loved that issue. Suddenly a lot of the styles look so dated. When did that happen?
The middle ones could be for long shorts, maybe from Burda EF summer 2006. One's a stretch poplin, one's a linen structure, probably rayon material (I hope it's not all polyester).

Last, my treasure.
I bought this pure linen fabric, with a batic background and a floral print, to make a summer coat. Then again, how often do I wear a summer coat, especially one that's this pretty (have I said I love this fabric?)? Maybe a jacket? I like February BWOF's jacket no. 102. But I would have to cut up all the pretty flowers; as you can see below, the're almost 35 cm (about one foot) long.

Also, I have 2 meters of this fabric and would hate to "waste" it by choosing a style that doesn't use it all up. A less tailored jacket in this flowery fabric - might look dowdy, I'm afraid.
A dress could be wonderful, but I'm rather pale, and this fabric has all that cream color base. All right in a jacket that I could wear something bright underneath, but in a dress?

Help! I need a stylist!

German sewers - like mother, like daughter

Handmade (Gay) asked if all German mothers sew their children's carnival costumes. Not at all. Most costumes are store-bought, and you can indeed buy them everywhere: the grocery store, ALDI, department stores, toy stores... And there is at least one huge specialty shop in Cologne that has every costume, uniform, and all the props imaginable.
Judging from the online sewing community and the very lively fabric markets, it may seem as if a lot of people sew, but I personally only know (of) a couple who do. One of these is a cousin of mine who, along with me, sort of continues our family's tradition.
When my mother and her four sisters were little, they had no money for clothes, but my grandma sewed them matching dresses for all major occasions (sewing at night when the family was asleep). Later, all but one sister sewed and made each other suits and dresses. My mother told me recently that the one sister who didn't sew was the most fastidious; everything had to be sewn "just so"!
When I was little, my mother sometimes made holiday dresses for me, and she sewed for my grandma who by then had shrunk a bit, with a rounded back, and therefore couldn't wear RTW. When I got older, I started to sew a little, but also started "ordering clothes" from my mother, so much better than trying to find RTW that has the right styles and colors.
When I was a teenager and about to go on a foreign exchange year in the USA, she sewed me a small wardrobe, a couple of shirts, very short shorts (that I wasn't allowed to wear at an American high school, of course!), and a shiny brocade skirt for dress-up. In hindsight this was an unusually high number of home-sewn garments; maybe she wanted to send as much of her with her almost 16-year-old daughter as she could!
These days, I hear the usual "You know you could buy something like this very cheaply, don't you?", but she also takes a lively interest in everything I make and sometimes even sits with me and helps me put the finishing touches on a garment.
We also share one sewing machine. She always had a treadle machine with zig zag stitching as the most sophisticated feature. About fifteen years ago my dad gifted her an electric machine. When I wished for one as well, she offered to let me have it; I only have to give it back for a day now and then when she has new curtains or so; other than home dec she hasn't done any sewing in a long time.
And it's only the internet sewing community that's made me realize that a 15 yo non-brand sewing machine isn't the height of technical sophistication!