Close But No Cigar...Yet!

 

I have had a pile of fabrics with accompanying patterns queued up on my cutting table all summer.  They are all ready for me to make into a new Key West-ish wardrobe.  I have decided that my 'mud colored' closet just won't cut it in Florida so I have been collecting some other colors to try out.  I'm not sure I have moved significantly away from the mud, but I have added some hints of turquoise and coral and a dash or two of pink and yellow.  OK, baby steps!  I am really liking them but the problem is they just sit there.  I think I am so worried that with the virus hanging about we won't actually get to go to KW this fall.  If I make a bunch of new things to wear it will be even more disappointing if we end up in Michigan.  So I keep shying away from the pile.  Maybe next week....

In the meantime, in another part of the sewing room...I actually have made a few things!  These are definitely going to stay in the muddy Michigan closet!

There is a wearable art artist in Oakland who makes lovely, elegant garments using salvaged kimono fabrics and other Japanese textiles.  I have lusted after her work for literally years!  They are simple T-shaped tops made by patchworking the kimono scraps together.  To look at them you would think they wouldn't be that difficult to make.  But they have been deceivingly elusive.  I'm not sure if it's the fabric, the pattern shapes, the proportions....but some how I have not gotten there in my attempts.

Here are some of the pieces that have been inspiring my forays...

(You can see more of Susan Eastman's work HERE)

 As I said, deceptively simple!  

Here is a top that I made when Rhonda from "Rhonda's Creative Life" and I did several posts together last summer.  Rhonda had sent me several kimono pieces to work with and I immediately thought of the Susan Eastman tops that I had been wanting to try.

I knew it was going to be for Rhonda and she is lovely in blues.  I can definitely say that it was "inspired" by the Eastman tops, but it isn't quite there.

More attempts...

A few years ago I had a funky brown linen tunic that I wasn't wearing anymore, but still loved the soft, worn fabric.  I decided it might work as a skirt and a top...

I don't have a picture of the original tunic, but it looked something like this...

It had a high waist seam and a "breast pocket," which hung rather low even for me.😉 I cut through the seam and ended up with a "skirt" and a very short "top."

I finished the skirt with a simple drawstring and I have worn it often.  The top was a conundrum.  Too short on its own, big wide sleeves, I did like the V-neckline...I collected some scraps to add to it and ended up shoving them all into a "project bag" for another day.

When I came across them last week I again thought about the Eastman tops.  Another go...

The top is still a bit short, but when I put a band around the hem to add some length, it only made it stick out like I was in a hula hoop!  For now it will just be a bit short.  If I wear it with the skirt it blends enough to make it OK.  

Still not quite...

Round 3!

I had a small pile of Japanese scraps that my husband had brought back with him from a business trip eons ago.  I also had a pile of men's suiting sample swatches that my sister-in-law had sent even more eons ago.  I thought they would have the right Eastman 'vibe.'  I also had a few scrap of a bark cloth that I thought would work...the suiting samples ended up determining the size of the patches since they were all cut to the same size.   I mixed them all together...and...it started to look like a top.

I kept fussing and piecing and finally called it 'done.'  I had to scratch my head a bit on the neckline.  The suiting piece that ended up at the center front had a very definite windowpane check.  Because of the way it was cut, the center of the top did not match up with the windowpane pattern.  I just couldn't ignore.  A scooped or V-neckline would really point out the 'almost but no cigar' placement of the design.  I ended up creating an asymmetrical scoop, which I think works OK.

 

I feel like I am almost there...

I think my next go should probably be with some Key West colors!  We'll see.  Maybe it's time to dig into the KW pile?!

Note:  The stenciled leaf pieces in the brown linen top were done when I went to a Diane Ericson, Design Outside the Lines workshop several years ago.  It is a bit eerie and I didn't know it at the time, but as I was working on this project, Ashland, OR, where Diane lives, was being engulfed in a wildfire.  Diane actually lost her home and workshop in the fire.  It makes me incredibly sad that Diane has lost everything.  She has been such a huge inspiration for me and so many others in the sewing community.  She has always been unbelievably generous with her talent and her spirit.  I am holding a gentle space in my heart for Diane right now and wearing my "leaf" shirt makes me feel closer.  There is a GoFundMe effort underway to help Diane through this tragedy.  It is amazing to see the sewing community rally.  

https://gf.me/u/yxm4mm

In the Merry Month of "MeMadeMay"

For several years now I have been curious about the May tradition among sewist called "MeMadeMay."   I haven't participated, (it requires advanced skills, like taking selfies!), but I do like the idea of encouraging more garment making.  And it's fun to see how other people are creating and wearing their own wardrobes.

I figured it wouldn't be such a big deal since I make and wear most of my clothing.  I decided I would try it.  Now, I didn't actually post anything anywhere...by 'try it,' I mean that I wore something everyday in May that I had created, and took a selfie to document my progress.   I really didn't think it would be difficult, but it surprised me in several ways.

Here's what I learned in the Merry Month of May!

1.  I am not very good at 'selfie!'
This was not a new discovery.  One of my thoughts about participating in MeMadeMay was that maybe it would help me practice taking selfies and I'd get better at it.  Not so much, as demonstrated by my 31 tries. (and these are the BEST tries!!!! 😝)

2.  Can you say "mud colors?"

After seeing these pictures all together there is no doubt that I have a mud colored palette.  Again, this is not new information, but it was so striking to see it all in one go.  Even looking in my closet really didn't have the same impact.  Not sure how these guys got in there?

3.  May was way too wet and cold!!!!!

Each day I kept thinking that I would be able to get into some of my summery pieces, but then the mercury would plummet and I'd reach for the sweaters and long pants!  By the last few days I did get to wear a few of my lighter weight things, but even then, I was taking off my sweaters to take the pictures and then putting them right back on again!

4.  Pants!  Who knew?

I have made way more of my pants than I realized.  I was quite surprised by how many times the MeMade part of my outfit was the bottoms.  

5.  Not just sewing needles...

I have some favorite knitted pieces.  I have been knitting more in the last several years and have gotten to the point that I will actually wear some of my hand knit pieces out of the house!  One sweater in particular was just the right weight for this blustery May.

6.  I do love me some linen!

Yes I do!  Any weight, bottoms and tops, plain and fancy....if it's linen I'm all in.

7.  ✌

"V" necks seem to be my neckline of choice.  

8.  Accessorize!

There were a few days that the only thing I had made were my accessories.  

Finally....it was tougher than I expected.  So much of what I have in my closet I have made, I was really surprised that I had to think about what to wear each day.  There was one day that I realized that I hadn't worn anything that I created until I got ready for bed...yes, I had made my PJ pants! Whew!

I'm really glad that I tried it.  I do think it has helped me hone in a bit on what I really wear and what types of garments are practical for my life.  There are lots of things that I like to make...but not all of them find their way into my wearing rotation.  I think I might try this again in the fall to see what my wintery preferences are.  It's not necessarily what I thought it would be.

So...what did I wear on the first of June????  My niece got married that day, so party clothes of course! (and that's my handsome son in his party duds!  what fun!) ....and, yes, I did make both my skirt and my top!  Score!

Easing into Fall

I've been laying low for the past few weeks trying to get my strength back frollowing my bout with pneumonia 😟 before we head out again for another adventure.  This time we are heading to England and renting a houseboat on the Thames River.  We have been assured that it will be easy and even with no boating experience we should do just fine.  I'm imagining an episode of Gilligan's Island!!!!  We'll see!  

While I was trying not to do very much I had some quiet days in my sewing room.  I'm not advocating a major illness, but it was a bit of a silver lining to have time to sew.  I thought I would share a quick post before I head out...

I have been eyeing a piece of decorator linen at my local Hobby Lobby.  I would check it out whenever I went in, trying to decide if it would soften up enough to make a dress.  Last week all the decorator fabrics were on sale (30% off!!! Yeah!) So I bought a couple of yards to see what would happen.  The first time in the washer and dryer a bit of the sizing washed out, a couple more rounds and it softened up really nicely and got that wonderful linen rumpled feel that I adore.

Since I had just spent a month honing my T-shirt pattern with Rhonda, I kept the ball rolling and used my favorite woven T pattern as the starting point.  When I decided that I wanted to add the collar, I measured the neckline and then measured the only piece of fabric I had left, and...it was meant to be.  It was exactly the right size, I didn't even cut it!  

Here's my first fall feeling project...I'm looking forward to a few more when I get back at the end of the month!

Bon Voyage!

Week Four: A T for All!

WOW!  What a whirlwind August has been!  Not only trying to keep up with the flurry of T-shirt projects, but life took off on a bit of a tear as well!

Since the beginning of the month  I have enjoyed an "Outstanding in the Field" dinner at a fruit farm in southwest Michigan...(you can read more about this amazing event HERE.)

...Traveled to Eastern Washington State to join my nephew's wedding celebration, which took place in the small community of Mazama, that was surrounded by wildfires!  Everything was enveloped in an eerie cloud of smoke and ash.  Quite dramatic...

...Spent a short day and a half in Seattle, which was also experiencing smokey air, so we opted for the Pike Place Market and the Chihuly Gardens rather than the Space needle...

    

...went to Chicago to pick up my sister-in--law who is visiting from Italy and took in a performance of Hamilton...

...AND...contracted pneumonia, just in case I wasn't convinced that I needed to slow it down a bit!!!!

Fortunately, because I knew I had a packed up schedule at the end of the month, I worked on my final T-shirt project before the pneumonia part of the program kicked in. (and kicked my butt!)  So I do have some things to share for our final week of the woven T challenge.

A few observations about the Woven T project before I share my final week's work... Each week I have had literally dozens of ideas rolling around in my head and scribbled on scraps of paper.  I had trouble narrowing down to just one or two.  It was great!!!!  I had been in the "idea doldrums" for most of the summer so having the challenge has been a true jump start.  A boost in creative energy is always a good thing, I'm sure it will carry me right into fall sewing projects.

Rhonda's gift box of fabric was such a treat and catalyst.  It also elicited a reaction that was a total and wonderful surprise.  Each of the gifted fabrics held emotions and memories and price tags and possible projects....but not for me!  They came to me totally unencumbered!  When I pull a fabric from my own stash it comes with all the years of baggage that it has been collecting while waiting patiently for me to decide.  Often these attachments make it difficult to actually use a piece of fabric.  "It was sooo expensive...it was going to be for a wedding in 2002...my grandma gave it to me...and on, and on...."  But, the fabrics that came to me from Rhonda had no little voices whispering to me, they came as pure potential.  I could cut and stitch with abandon!  It was incredibly freeing and fun!  It made me realize how many pieces I have that could get passed along and be freed of their emotional chains and become a catalyst for someone else.  Hmmmmmm...

Thank you Rhonda for all the amazing fabrics, the reintroduction to raglan sleeves and your generous spirit.  It has been such a fun month and seeing your creations continues to inspire new possibilities.

So, on to week four, with abandon!...a "T-for-all!"  We decided we would each do whatever took our fancy for our last week.  😳  Cue the dozens of ideas!

One of the ideas that was inspired by the raglan sleeve pattern was to 'outline' all the seams.

I love using my bias binding foot because it makes a small (3/8") tidy bound edge that can actually be used for seaming.  I also had a tea towel with black and white bikes on it that had been a contender for week 1.  I toyed with adding other colors, but in the end stuck with a black and white theme. 

   

To use the binding foot, I cut 1" bias strips of black cotton that were fed through the bias binding foot along with the "edge" getting the binding.  I put the wrong-sides of the pattern pieces together and bound them together so the black binding was on the outside of my garment.  The foot folds and stitches the binding all at one time.  It's pretty slick!

   

The tricky part is figuring out which seams to do first so that all the joins get covered in binding.

  

I extended the pattern to make a T-shirt dress (since I have 3 new shirts already this month!) and added some pockets.



It's cute, it fits...and, maybe it's because I'm recovering from pneumonia, but it feels a lot like a hospital gown!  We'll see....I think it was better in my head than on the dress form.

Number two idea was way more successful in my book!  Again, the starting point was a tea towel.  A gorgeous tea towel that Rhonda had made from one of her paintings.   It was included in my fun gift box.  I apologize for the miserable color in the pictures, it was difficult to photograph, just imagine the palest of greens and vibrant purples!

I realized that I have been lusting after a Susan Eastman style T all summer and hadn't actually made one for myself.  Rhonda's painting, Susan's style...




The towel needed to be extended and the fabric had quite a bit of body, so I decided to slice it up and add linen strips to soften the hand and create the extra yardage needed for a shirt.  The purple fabric is actually over-dyed kimono fabric (echo week 2), the hand dyed colors are just perfect with the painting on the towel.

I was worried about just chopping into the towel so I made a photo copy and cut that up to try out my idea before whacking into Rhonda's lovely towel.

   

The striped result makes me think of seeing a flower garden through a picket fence.

And finally, when my sister-in-law saw the blue cotton lawn print that was also part of the infamous gift box, she loved it!  She had asked if I would be able to make her a dress like one she has that is getting a bit worn.  She continues wearing it because it is made of very light weight cotton and is perfect for sweltering late summer days.  The blue print was just the type of fabric she had been looking for...so we whipped it up!  It will definitely be comfortable when the temperatures hit 90 this week!

I used the Chelsea Raglan pattern again with selvedge edges on the sleeves and a facing at the neckline topstitched to the outside.  It's so light and easy, I may need to have one for myself.















My final 'tea recipe' is one that I learned from a friend who practices and teaches ayruvedic yoga methodologies.  Whenever things get a little too crazy this simple warm drink soothes and calms me inside and out.  This week as I have been struggling to regain my strength and rebalance after my mega-dose of antibiotics, it has been the perfect remedy.


Juice a lemon or a lime, it ends up being about 1/4 cup of juice.  Add the juice to about 2 cups of hot water along with several slices of fresh ginger.  Let it cool slightly before adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey, finally add a very small pinch of coconut oil.  Namaste! 🙏