Still no pictures as my cell phone takes crap pictures and I can't find my actual camera, nine months after our move. But I have been sewing quite a lot. Our move to Florida meant lots of linen and cotton, and the area I live in calls for shorts/shirt combos no matter where you go. So I took my serger down to be serviced and have used it for several outfits. But my neighbor, a professional seamstress, broke her serger and I have loaned her mine. Since fall is "officially" here (90 degrees today) I have to assume knits will be back at some point and I don't need a serger for that.

Henry had emergency surgery over a month ago. Like almost all men, he has whined ever since as if he lost both legs. We're dancers, and a lot of my sewing is directed to clothes I can wear to dances, as there are two or three every week here. But of course we have been absolutely nowhere for the last six weeks or so except I coax him out to the grocery store occasionally. However!  There's a big dance coming up in November for which I am cutting out a floor length gown as we speak. Ironically, I gave away all my formal gowns before we left Atlanta. I was convinced that moving to such a leisurely retirement town I would have no use for such a garment. I was wrong, so that's now my focus...

Style Arc

Still working on trying to get pictures onto my computer. My son and grandkids are coming in a couple of weeks...after that I might be a little more literate with tech (maybe).

Meanwhile, I've made a couple of things using old standby Style Arc patterns and new patterns from the same source. With my usual lack of attention I ordered three new Style Arc patterns through Amazon without double checking the sizes. So I got two of them in large sizes. Too lazy to return them, I decided I know enough to grade them down. So far, not bad:

The Rosie top was mistakenly ordered in size 18-30 (I wear 10-12, lol). But I cut it at the smallest offered and then sewed HUGE seams. Next muslin will be tweaked a little and photos soon, I promise. Here's the work in progress with my poor cell phone skills.

Meanwhile, I also got my serger serviced and after years of non-use, I have promised myself I will  master it. Now that I live in Florida, I need lots of cotton and linen clothes, so serged seams are a must.  Speaking of Florida, here's a cell phone shot of a golf cart ride I took yesterday, near my home.  

Goodness, what a hiatus!  It's been almost two years and of course life has intervened in my interest in a sewing blog of any kind. I have sold my house, moved to Florida, and started a while new life -which necessitates a whole new wardrobe. Hence the startup of my old blog.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures since in the move I lost my camera, I'm sure it's around somewhere. I might try to use my phone, but don't think it will take very good pictures. That's all right since my sewing hasn't improved much either!  Mostly I'm making shorts and tops. Being a sewer, you just know that has to be more interesting than "just" a pair of shorts and top.  So far I've made a couple of outfits using Style Arc's "Daisy" tunic, shortened to wear with Bermuda length shorts.

I've also lengthened it to dress length. That one I made in polyester and quickly realized polyester is no longer part of my life here in Florida, but the practice was worth it and I'll sew it again in linen. It's a great pattern, no zippers, buttons or closures. The shoulders and bust darts are perfect for my body structure. Thanks, Chloe!

Back for just a moment...

Occasionally, just for fun, I revisit my blog just to get to the list of other sewing blogs that I love to read.  And yes, I have been sewing this past year, but somehow it was "meh" to blog about it.  My son was remarried last November, and the run up in sewing hysteria reached such a summit that I lost all interest for awhile.  The wedding turned out perfect, of course, and I was happy with most of the outfits I made for it.  I was determined to make every single outfit I wore for each of the five events that the wedding comprised...yes, it was a first time bride :).

My other obsession has been renovating my house, a long term interest which actually was a source of income for me during my single parent days.  I have to assume that creative is creative, and most sewers like to either decorate or otherwise attend to their homes.  I probably go a little (make that a lot) further than most, however, as it is my distinct pleasure to tear out walls.  My most recent wall tear-down was in the kitchen.  Here's the before:

And here's the "after".  More to come, of course. It will be under construction until it goes on the market.  Some things never change.

Thoughts for the new kitchen

A Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List

The Virtue of Stash

I wear turtlenecks.  A lot.  Some sartorial decisions are set in one's teens, I guess.  I've been told I should not wear turtlenecks (thanks, Cynthia Guffey!) because I don't have a swan-like neck, but I ignore advice and continue to wear them.  Usually I buy RTW, but lately I am reluctant to spent over $50 on a basic black turtleneck shirt.  So I went stash diving and made myself not only a black, but a red turtleneck and have plans for a couple in white.  No pictures, of course, how boring is a basic turtleneck shirt?  But really all this is for a reason.  I am ducking hemming my son's white jacket.  Well, my old cat is sequestered in the sewing room and she wants up in my lap so of course her needs come first....

Scuba knit outfit completed

As part of the Make A Garment A Month group  I was pushed to photograph this before the end of January, even though I had finished it about a week earlier.  Do you sew things you have no place to wear?  I took the opportunity to wear this to a sewing club meeting.  A little overdressed, but hey, I wore something I sewed myself.  I think, considering the unusual fabric, I made a pretty good choice in patterns.  But I would like to think of something really different to use the approximately one yard I have left.  Sleeves?  Skirt hem?  Ideas are welcome!

A Little Late for Christmas, but

A friend gave me this picture yesterday, it's Henry and I at one of the Christmas dances.  I'm wearing my Style Arc "Diana" skirt with TNT top, out of Fabric Mart embellished slinky.  It danced very nicely!  Henry says I look ten feet tall in this picture.  I think he's just being grumpy because he is actually 8 inches taller than I am....

The weather, blah blah blah, the weather....

Weather in the Atlanta area is always a conversation starter.  I mean, isn't it everywhere?  But here, it's one of those places where you can say "just wait 15 minutes and it'll change".  Well, maybe not 15 minutes, but a couple of days, for sure.  Last week it was gloomy, rainy, cold.  Today it's in the 60's and I had a glorious morning playing tennis.  All this is leading up to blogging about my jacket.  It's not particularly new, but I never blogged about it before and my current garment is taking up loads of my time, so I wanted to assure myself that I have, indeed, finished something, even if it's in the remote past (well, a couple of months remote, anyway).  So here's the jacket:

which I was wearing over a sweater and indoors yesterday, while today I was in my shirtsleeves.  I'm kind of proud of the jacket because a) I like the fabric, which hearkens back to my New Mexico roots; and b) I drafted it myself.  And, I forgot, c) it's the perfect weight to wear over a sweater indoors.  

I also like how I finished the sleeves, very typical of how I often sew:  I didn't finish them at all.  So there.

Projects Everywhere

So next month I'm going to be visiting my son as he recovers from a knee operation.  When I was there over Christmas, he trustingly presented me with a white dinner jacket to alter.  Hahahahaha.  But in a fit of semi-consciousness I agreed to at least take the hem up 8 inches, I absolutely hate to see men in jackets nearly to their knees.  I was in the midst of this delicate project (what, no chocolate?) when I suddenly, in the middle of the night, realized I am the speaker at my sewing club on "One Pattern, Many Looks" and I needed a really smashing look to wear as I stood up before my peers and presented one circle skirt/tee top combo after another.

I had purchased, some time ago, an absolutely stunning laser cut scuba knit from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I had no idea what to do with it, but my busy little subconscious put my two dilemmas together and came up with my TNT pattern using this knit.  Of course since my talk is before I  travel to my son's, it must come first.  So the jacket hangs, unfinished and staring me in the eye while I struggle for  the first time to layer two knits together.  Not as easy as I had envisioned it!  The darts were hard to mark in the very holey fabric of the scuba, so I eyeballed them...not a good idea, as the underlying darts don't match up.  I am, as usual, consoling myself that if anyone gets close enough to notice this, they are just asking for a poke in the eye.

The forlorn jacket

crazy scuba knit on the cutting table

The underlying knit is called "liquid silver".  Of course those darts match up, exactly.  What's wrong with your eyes?

2014 Roundup

I decided to succumb to the urge to refresh my memory of the hits and misses of 2014.  Some things are best forgotten!  But sometimes it's a good thing to remind yourself that you did accomplish some pretty good stuff during the year.  I might not be the greatest seamstress in the world---or even the neighborhood!  But I have improved and it doesn't hurt to remember that.

So, the best of the year:

I have to say I've worn this over and over, in fact I wore it today.  I play tennis all year round and this is very comfortable when it's about 40F.  Following closely upon this warmup suit are two others that I made, which work well for various temperatures.  I'm proud to be the owner of unique tennis clothing that my fellow teammates admire.

You might notice a theme here.  Once I like a pattern, it gets made over and over.  For example, another hobby of mine is dancing:

and then there's the everyday looks:

This last one may be a miss.  We'll see if I wear it this spring.  And then, a couple of misses (there were more, but I don't want to be reminded).

But perhaps it's good to revisit that bold cotton prints, as much as I love them, don't do anything for me.  All in all I made 18 garments in 2014, which I consider a respectable number!  ETA:  I just found Crafting A Rainbow's blog about posting your "top 5" and I'll link to that, even though I think I did the "top 7".  I never was good at following instructions...

Wearing the lace top

I decided that a hanger shot was not enough to remember my mistakes on this first muslin, so decided to wear it today to our weekly dance.  The side view shows my problem with the lace stretching.  How to know if lace is "stretchy" or not?  I guess it's good that I have four more cuts of lace to experiment on.  And how hard would it be to open the envelope of my Vogue pattern to read the directions?  Duh.

Doesn't look too bad with this stance, but:

after wearing it awhile I have a real problem.

First Muslin in Lace

This is just a hanger shot of my first lace top.  I used my TNT pattern for knits, which worked well as this lace is stretch, and just sort of winged it with the attached lining.   The long sleeves are hanging so closely to the bodice in the picture that the top looks more boxy than it really is, but it's still not body conscious enough.  And I'm going to have a problem with the neckline.  For this one I just handsewed a scrap of JoAnn's lace trim around the edge. I do have a "muslin lace" available which has a distinct design, and I will try to figure out how to incorporate that around the neckline and the hem.  The expensive lace I purchased has appliqued flowers with hand beading, and I am sure I can cut those out to arrange around the neckline.  The question would then be: too much?  Meanwhile I am also shortening a formal men's jacket.  Believe me I would not do this for anyone else but my son.  And it's white, so I am terrified I will get makeup or something on it.  Oh, well, what's sewing without a little terror?

Periwinkle Scuba Knit

Here's yet another of my CJ tee/Style Arc Diana skirt combos that I use for dancing.  Hey, I see these same people at least 40 times a year and I like the style, what can I say?  I got a lot of compliments on the color and I added the crystal applique, so it looks a little different...

This makes 17 garments in 2014.

Wrapping up 2014

I wore my latest make last night to a Christmas dance and, though I like it, I am reflecting that the more I sew the more critical I become.  I'm sure that's par for the course, but good to know I'm improving.  I made a total of 16 garments in 2014, and while that's a respectable number, it's not that many for someone who is retired and loves to sew.  A couple of warm up suits for tennis were a little challenging and I made a sweater for the first time, as well as a couple of unstructured jackets.  All in all, a good addition to my wardrobe.  So without further ado, I present my latest dance dress:

which is much more sparkly in real life.  It's a combination I've used before:  the Christine Jonson tee top and the Style Arc Diana skirt.    The skirt is perfect for dancing:

as it is very swirly.  The other good news is, we met a new couple on the dance floor last night.  The backstory here is that I love West Coast Swing, but we are virtually the only couple doing it.  Imagine our surprise when the band announced a special request for "Mustang Sally" (the ultimate West Coast dance) and it turned out a couple, recently moved here from Nebraska of all places, also love the dance.  Instant friendship!

A short trip and a score

I'm visiting my son and grandkids for a long weekend and had the opportunity to spend a long time in A Fabric Place in Baltimore.  Yes, I finally scored THE lace for the dress I will make for the wedding: pictures later.  This lace was imported from France and very expensive, so I'm glad I have the Fabric Mart laces arriving for me to practice on.  This will be the most expensive stuff  I've ever cut into so I want to feel confident when I brandish my scissors!

Naturally the weather has been miserable all weekend long, though thankfully the rain did not start until I was pulling into my son's driveway and I think it will be gone for my drive home.  I hate to drive in the rain for 12 hours, which is the time it takes me.

Despite the rain, today we ventured into town to see my grandson present a talk on how he and his team developed a website as a charitable endeavor.  There were about six teams of young people who chose various good causes to develop websites for.  My grandson's team came in second place, but while his website did not win first place, I think he did the best presentation.  He was clearly the most confident speaker, did not stumble or hesitate over his speech, and could be heard clearly.  Very proud grandmother!

and at only fourteen it's pretty clear that he's going to go places.

Lace Trials

Fabric Mart had a 50% off sale today so I ordered several different cuts of lace...we'll see how they sew up and how the colors look on me.

Update on the Mother of the Groom dress...

Wah, wah...the bride's mother is wearing a pantsuit.  What to do?  I think it's going to be full press court for the church, bride, and bridesmaids.  My son will not be wearing a tuxedo, though...any advice appreciated!

Mother of the Groom

I'm collecting ideas for dresses to wear to my son's upcoming wedding next year.  Love V1428, but have no idea where to find such beautiful lace...

Boring Sewing but fun plans

Since I returned from my successful, and fun, sewing retreat I have been doing a little sewing...very little, and boring at that.  At the retreat I made one complete outfit consisting of a swing cardigan, a turtleneck top, and a pair of pants.  After I came home I finished a pair of black pants that I had started there, and now have some repairs for Henry's work pants and stuff like that.  However, since Gorgeous Fabrics had a sale yesterday I broke my fabric fast and have some neat stuff planned.  I really indulged in the sale because I needed silk organza for a first run at my mother-of-the-groom outfit I will need next year, but more on that later.  Browsing, my eye was caught by this laser cut scuba knit:

I've been wanting to try out scuba knit, which I understand is a little heavier than ponte.  At the time I ordered it I had no idea what to make with it and only ordered one yard.  I supposed I would use it in an underlined bodice front.  Since there will be no possibility of matching it I will have to color block.  Today, browsing blogs, I found a reference to Vogue 9026:

But until the fabric comes in, I have plenty of time to plan.