Sorry to take so long replying Karen. Stuff got in the way. When SWAPs first began, the rules were quite rigid. Over time, they've started to soften and take different shapes. I like the types of garments I can make with this particular one and that the organizer is not looking for matchy-matchy as much as she wants to see a focus on skill and on garments that look like they belong in the same closet. To that end...
... I bought the catalogue to make a collage of the types of styles that appeal to me. Much like the assignments in Studio Makeover or Self Expressions, I will randomly pull out pictures, arrange them in a manner pleasing to me, and "read" the results. It's about allowing my fashion voice to come forward. I also like to look at the technical drawings to see the details more clearly without the influence of the modeled fabrics. I'll post more info when I have it.
You also asked when I ship the pieces off for my exhibit. It's mid January 2010 and it's in Kamloops so luckily I don't have to ship them, just drive them downtown and hand them to the curator. I believe he's coming for a studio visit next week. I'm looking forward to showing him the pieces.
Louise wrote - I am working away getting things ready for my Open Studio on Saturday. I've decided that after that I am going to take some time to re-evaluate what I can realistically accomplish while taking care of my health and well being while I establish my business.
How was the Open Studio? I thought about you a few times and hoped it was going well. Your plan to re-evaluate is SO IMPORTANT otherwise, we can end up pushing full steam ahead in the wrong direction. Be sure to listen to that still small voice and that clench of the gut. They have so much to tell us if we're open to hear.
Lee wrote - I was reading last night that vitamins can contain wheat and gluten. Better check the labels to make sure!
Thanks for caring Lee. The Kirkland brand at Costco has a whole list of what they do not contain so I've been able to get the Vitamin C and Calcium Plus in large and less expensive quantities from them. I also got a digestive enzyme, different brand name, that says no starches on it which is not necessarily gluten free. I emailed and they replied saying as far as they knew, it was gluten free but couldn't guarantee ingredients bought from another source. Hmm... but I'm doing okay with it so it must be. Otherwise, the Jamieson brand also lists if it's gluten free. I bought the essential fatty acids and the aciphidophilus from them. Going good.
Cassy wrote - WOW! The picture of your closet has really shifted something in me.
EXCITING! Please share where you go with that. There is - as always - a balance between too much and too little however, unless we create room for something new, it cannot flow into our lives. I hope the major purge goes well for you. Be picky. If' it's not amazing, move it along especially if you've had it for so long. AND... remember that fabric can be cut up and re-used in other fashion sewing or textile art pieces and that buttons, appliques, trims, and so on are re-cycleable. Since they're also expensive, that's a good idea. Try to think beyond the obvious.
Marji wrote - What a fabulous jacket.... I'm happy to see you entering SWAP and look forward to seeing your plans.
Thanks. It did fit, looks great, and I like it. Thanks also for the welcome to SWAP at Stitcher's Guild. I'm looking forward to meeting more people and to the challenge.
Yesterday afternoon, I started on a Simplicity 2756 blouse from the Project Runway series. I'm making the second little drawing from the left on the bottom. It has a yoke, mandarin collar, and bubble sleeves. You can see the (slightly blurry) technical drawing below.
The pattern has eleven inches of bust ease. That's a LOT especially for someone who has been wearing knit and fitted clothing for years. I slashed the yoke in strategic places and created half inch tucks to evenly remove some of the gathers which will remove some of the ease.
As you get more and more sewing experience, you'll begin to know where to follow and where to avoid the instructions and how to change them to work for you. For this blouse, the instructions said to sew the underarm and side seam and then to match them up and sew the sleeve seam to the body of the garment. I ignored that.
I wanted to leave the side available for fitting so instead of following the instructions, I sewed the raglan sleeves to the front and back of garment creating a circle. You can see them below without the back joined yet. This method leaves the underarm and side seams free. They can later be sewn in one continuous movement and taken in if necessary before the bubble is sewn on.
To make the button loops, the instructions say to cut one of piece 16, fold it right sides together, sew a scant 1/4" seam pulling the (bias) fabric as you stitch. That is virtually impossible to do easily and accurately. Instead, I took a square of fabric, folded it on the bias, sewed the seam, trimmed, and turned it to make the loops. Faster. Easier. Much.
Any time that you can use the flat construction method, do. It is much easier and therefore far more accurate to sew with the garment as flat as possible then to sew with pieces in circles. Typically my last seam on a blouse is the underam seam and on a skirt or pants, it's the side seams.
Here is the instruction for the yoke. See that tiny little seam they want you to sew at the bottom. Forever after that will get in your way and decrease accuracy and later, you'll need to sew on the yoke facing and match up a similar seam. FUSSY. I ignored that step until later instead creating the yoke flat and adding the collar and buttons before joining.
I've mentioned before how much I like tailor's chalk. It makes it simple to mark and measure. See that line 1/4" in from the edge? It's marking how far into the seam allowance I am going to place the ends of the loops. This was the second time sewing the loops on. The first time, they weren't big enough for any decent sized button.
After I'd sewn the loops in place and mostly finished the yoke, I had to undo the seam and redo it. You could call that a mistake. I just call it part of the flow of sewing. I'd rather undo and redo and do a good job than make do and fudge on something as prominent as buttons. It was worth it.
I'm making a black blouse. My eyesight just isn't good enough to see black on black which makes it darn near impossible for me to stitch, clip, trim, hand sew, or pick out without accidentally cutting a hole in the fabric. NOT what I want to do so... to make it easy on myself... I use black thread in the needle and a dark grey in the bobbin. If you do this, make sure you change the bobbin color for any top stitching or buttonholes.
Here is the yoke with mandarin collar, button loops, and buttons. Only now - after it's almost complete - will I match up the bottom front edges and slip stitched them together. When the body of the garment is added, it will re-enforce that hand stitched seam.
And this is the yoke finished. I'm quite pleased with how the blouse looks so far. I have no idea what the fibre content of this fabric is but it's black with an embossed design and stitches and presses like a dream. It's a dressier fabric but not slippery. There's a bit of roughness to the fibre that catches so it's not always sliding around or hard to pin. LOVE that. I bought it for $2.00 a meter in the discount section. If all goes well, I'll have enough to make a second garment as well and I have some more in pink.
The blouse is to go with the skirt I altered earlier in the week. It's got black and dusty pink streaks in it. Even if I'd had a dusty pink that went with, that's not a color that looks good on me so black was really the only choice. That said, I realized I have a lot of dark and bottom weight fabrics in my stash. If and when I buy more fabric, I'll need to keep that in mind and buy brighter colors with a focus on upper garment fabrics.
I'm going to sew for a while this morning and then go shopping for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We LOVE doing this. We're doing four shoeboxes - two for boys and two for girls - this year. If you've never participated in something like this, it's great fun and a wonderful way to help a child. When our kids were younger, we went shopping together. Now, they just nag me to make sure we get it done and look at what I bought while it's going in the boxes.
Howard and I just sponsored two more children in Guatemala. Victor who is seventeen and Evelyn who is fifteen. We've asked to sponsor two little girls who will be school age as Victor and Evelyn finish. They are Ronny's sisters. Ronny is my son Kyle's child. I think it is Tony Campolo who is quoted as saying "the least you can do is sponsor a child". Our little is their amazing.
Each child receives so much for only $34.00 per month. You can read about it on this website with Impact Ministries - a ministry worth looking into. It's the mission that Howard and Kyle worked with in March this year when they went to Guatemal for two weeks. One thing we really appreciate about this ministry is that all the money goes to the children through the school programs and we don't get a bunch of "junk" mail from them like we did with another organization.
AND... a challenge. If you live in a cold climate and you knit, consider knitting an easy ribbed cap (or more than one) and giving it away. These caps are the perfect way to use up left over bits of yarn and to help someone in need. If you click on the link, you'll find some great instructions. Be creative giving them away. Wander along main street or through a park and leave them on benches. Not all together. One at a time so that different people get them. We did that last year with some afghans and it was so fun to imagine someone finding that gift, needing it, and enjoying it. If you want, include a coffee card. A hat, a warm drink, an annonymous hug. It would mean a lot.
Have a FABULOUS weekend. Talk Monday - Myrna
Grateful - the character to be generous
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