My Completely and Totally Non-Sewing Weekend

I meant to sew. Really, I did.

I did get quite a bit of work done on the workroom renovation this past weekend. I'm beginning to feel pressure to finish before it gets cool outside and I end up painting with the windows shut. A while back, I ripped out an existing (but non-functioning) closet and decided to put a countertop in the alcove that would hold a couple of my sewing machines. I could also put a shelf or two overhead, and this would be much more practical than a closet that I couldn't use.

So the closet was gone, and then I put a whole bunch of rubble into the alcove and pretended it wasn't there.

Friday night, it really started to bug me, so Saturday I went to the hardware store and got all the bolts I would need to attach the supports to the wall to hold the countertop. I've never done wall anchors of that magnitude before, so I got twice as many as I needed, plus a tube of heavy duty construction adhesive, and I spent part of Saturday drilling large holes into my walls and attaching bolts and 2x4s and generally covering myself in gray adhesive that still hasn't come off.
On the plus side, I can hang my body weight on the supports and they don't move. On the minus, maybe putting in 15 of them was a little excessive. But whatever, they're up.

I measured, and measured again, and went downstairs and marked my countertop (a 28" wide solid core door from the local home store). Now I'll let Mario get all manly and cut it with the circular saw, and once I get the alcove painted and patch the ceiling drywall, I can install the countertop and the underneath supports and actually have a much better functioning area. Where maybe some sewing WILL get done.

Sunday was a wash as far as accomplishing anything at home - we hit a porch sale in the morning, and then in the afternoon took the train up to visit my elderly aunt, who wanted to talk about her living situation. She's not comfortable on her own anymore, but she's doesn't want to go into a home. She found an independent living situation connected with a nursing home where she could have a small apartment, but some meals and housecleaning and laundry provided by the building. I wasn't for the idea at first, but the more I listened to her, the more I realized it's probably the best solution - she's lonely, more than anything, and afraid of living on her own, and this would force her to interact with people but she'd still have her own space to retreat to when it got to be too much. I could stop worrying about her being on her own, because there would be people to check on her.

Her main concern is that she might use up what money she has and not have any left to leave me. I tried to convince her that my uncle didn't work all those years to put money aside to take care of me. He was 20 years older than her and knew she'd be on her own someday, and he wanted her to be safe and comfortable. So hopefully she's going to do what he wanted and take care of herself.

Not saying if there's anything left over, I wouldn't be grateful, but I've managed to support myself since I was 18, I think I've got the hang of it by now.

Dinner and a Movie

It rained yesterday, cold, gray dreary rain. All I wanted all day was to come home to my nice (hopefully) dry house and not have to go out again.

So when Mario emailed me mid-afternoon and said we were going out for dinner and then to the movies, I grumbled a bit. I went, but I grumbled -mainly because he said he'd already gotten the tickets and I like knowing what I'm going to beforehand.

Except.

He got tickets to the 7:25 showing of The September Issue.

Because it was such a gray, dreary day that he thought I needed perking up.

I have many thoughts on the movie, but first and foremost is that I enjoyed it more - far more - than I enjoyed the real September issue this year.

Second, I would like to see the world through Grace Coddington's eyes. And I wouldn't mind having her red hair, either.

Almost there . . .

All I have left is to make buttonholes, sew on buttons and finish my debate with myself over whether or not I want some visible topstitching on this jacket, and if so, by machine or by hand.

And ironing. Lots and lots of ironing.

This jacket didn't turn out to be quite the jacket I had in mind. I've mostly made Ottobre bottoms before but I've done a few tops, and their sizing is consistent with BWOF; in other words, I'm a 38. So I traced this pattern in 38, and added seam allowances. Just standard size ones, nothing generous.

I shoulda made a muslin.

It fits, don't get me wrong. It fits quite well, but it's not the fit I was expecting. It's a very fitted fit, if you know what I mean. The kind of fit that gets a tank top underneath.

For those considering making this top, unless you've got little skinny stick arms (the kind I envy but will never have), do yourself a favor and cut a size larger on the armholes and sleeves, because these babies are SNUG. But on the plus side, it's a two piece sleeve, so they are well cut and attractively snug.

The same can be said for the entire jacket. The back is princess seamed, which always helps me get a good fit. The front has bust darts and contour darts to the waist seam, and then the peplum is attached. I was a little iffy about the peplum, but it lays very nicely and doesn't add any bulk to my personal peplum.

There are several things I really like about this pattern, and a few things I would change.

I really like the way the collar is drafted. The upper collar is two pieces (collar and stand) while the under collar is one piece (collar with cut-on stand). It works very well, though I think I should have used a heavier interfacing just to give it a bit more shape. (One of my minor dislikes is how large the collar is; if I make it again, I just won't add any seam allowances to the three sides).

On the not-so-plus side, I would draft a separate facing for this jacket instead of using the cut-on facing. Cut-on facings are fine for unlined jackets, but I prefer to construct my shell and my linings separately, and then bag the lining all together. I couldn't do that because I couldn't sew the shoulder seams of the lining, since part of the shoulder seam was contained in that front facing that had to then be sewn to the partial lining before the rest of the lining was constructed. Besides, I like the firmer edge you get with having a facing seam.

I did skip actually inserting real pockets under the pocket flaps. I hadn't planned on them from the beginning - they get inserted right beneath the waist seam and to me it just had the potential of adding bulk there that I didn't need, and pockets I probably wouldn't use anyway. I also cut the back piece on the fold instead of with a center back seam, but that was because I forgot to mark CB and instead marked CBF on the pattern piece. Oops. Well, same difference.

Other than having to construct it slightly differently than I like, and other than having it fit slightly differently than I'd intended, I'm pretty happy with this jacket. I wanted to make a lined jacket as a warmup before I start in on the remake of Mario's jacket, and this has got me back into the right frame of mind.

If I make this jacket again, and I probably will, since overall it was a good experience, I'll make the collar a bit smaller. I'll also cut the sleeves and armholes up a size, and add a skooch more room to the back, since I think part of the snugness is more of a broad back issue than a big boob issue (which is at least a change). I may also leave off the pleats in the back of the peplum - they were cute, but a little too distinctive to do more than once.

Now I want to go off and practice a few more buttonholes before I slide my jacket under the vintage buttonholer and let it go to town.

Weekend Sewing

There's not a lot of it happening, but I have high hopes for tomorrow.

I got out of work early on Friday and headed down to 4th Street to see if I could score any more of the leather I had used on Mario's jacket (thinking I could recycle the pocket flaps if I could just get enough leather for even the upper collar), but they didn't have any more.

However, PA Fabric Outlet did have the toasty-brown herringbone shown here, which is very slowly being turned into the cute little peplum jacket from the new issue of Ottobre. Hmmm, fabric purchased and cut within a day, used for a magazine that's all of 3 days old. That's got to be a record. It's actually a poly blend, though it doesn't look or feel it, and from the little work I've done with it so far, it steams as well as the real thing.

My other purchase was something I definitely didn't need, and which will also be sewn up pretty soon, I think. Jack B's is a fabric store that I've never had much time for, because from outside and just inside, it looks like they sell mostly home dec. Except there are good garment fabrics hidden in random corners, and if you ask, they probably have what you're looking for. Kisha and I went in and she said, "Do you have any boiled wool?" and they did - in black. Gorgeous, drapy stuff that we both had to have.

Saturday was business as usual - farmer's market, gym and thrift store. They were having half price clothing, so I found a few goodies that wanted to come home with me and be refashioned into something else. More about them later.

I traced off the Ottobre jacket in between a sting in the garden and cleaning the kitchen, and I got the fabric cut on Saturday night.

Today was mandatory family cookout, which was good except it seriously cut into what I'd rather have done this weekend. And now I'm full and uncomfortable and all I managed to get done before we left today was interfacing. I tried to sew tonight, but I was too tired to get much done - I just sewed the darts in the jacket and pinned the main pieces together to try on. I love Ottobre - they fit almost without alterations.

As promised, a few buttonhole samples. Regular and keyhole done on 2 layers of pinstripe with fairly substantial interfacing, and keyhole buttonhole done on a scrap of mid-weight leather. Each buttonhole was gone over twice, to add more definition.

Did I mention that I love this thing? I can't wait for the next shirt.
So tomorrow is it. The end of my long (non) sewing weekend. I'm hoping I can sneak a few hours in the workroom in the afternoon - either to sew or to work on the renovation. It's been bugging me that I haven't worked on it lately.

August: Month End Review

Let's face it, August did not start off with great promise. Not only was my first project of the month a complete and total wadder, it wasn't even for me. Therefore, someone else was following along with the project and anticipating being able to wear the jacket, which made its untimely demise even more tragic. And frustrating.

But enough about that. If that project taught me nothing else, it was to beware when I know exactly what I'm doing, because I just might not. And I bought fabric to replace the lost fabric, and it's even nicer, and I'm going to start it next. I think.

To recover from the wadder, I made myself another version of BWOF's cutaway shoulder blouse, this time in white. I only have one other white blouse in my wardrobe and I don't like it very much, so this has gotten worn a few times already.

I also used up another piece of my Liberty fabric in the Simplicity 5204 blouse, and I do plan to make a matching skirt, but haven't gotten there yet, because of Burdastyle and their lovely Fatina dress. I made two of those, and they're possibly my favorite projects for a while.

The Vogue jacket that is meant to go over the Fatina dress was NOT a favorite project, but it serves its intended purpose, so I'm okay with it.

Last but certainly not least, last night I finished another pair of Ottobre jeans, this time in black denim. These turned out the best yet. I'm really pleased. I wanted a pair of black jeans for our upcoming vacation, of which more later.

Since I was too lazy to unthread the machine, I put together a pencil skirt with the leftover pinstripe, but that's a September project.

So a strong finish from a bad start - 7 projects, 13.5 yards. Of course I also went to NY and to Jomar this month, but I think I sewed more than I bought, so hopefully stash didn't get any bigger.

It must be Love

So tonight I finally got some uninterrupted time in the workroom with my new baby.

After I took her apart, cleaned her out, dusted, oiled, re-threaded and figured out how the hell to wind the mutant bobbins (they're clear plastic, wide, thin and screw apart so you can actually lift the thread out in a roll; weird), I tried out the Singer buttonholer.

This baby has so earned its shipping and handling. I was thinking because it's such a nice old heavy machine, I'd try it for other things, but no, it's just going to be a dedicated buttonholer. I tried out the regular and keyhole buttonholes tonight, and they came out beautifully. You can sew several layers one on top of the other, so you end up with a very textured buttonhole that isn't lumpy at all.

We're going to spend a lot more time together this weekend; photos to follow.

Playing Catch Up

Working on my black Ottobre jeans tonight, hoping to get them finished so I can add them to August's totals - and because I want to get on to the next project.

I was reminded today that I never added a pattern review for Simplicity 2724, so that's here. Much as I loved this dress when I finished it, it's just too humid in Philadelphia in summer to wear a snug-fitting totally lined dress. I would have melted, and the dress would not have been the better for it. Today the weather was in the 70s, and the dress finally came out of the closet.

Last time I posted about this one, I was still mulling over the hem length. Obviously I decided on a length, and then I hand-hemmed it, thinking that a hand sewn hem would show less on the RPL. Hah! I spent the entire day smoothing the hem, and I picked it out and ran it through the coverstitch when I got home. If I'm going to have a visible hem, it's going to look like a design element, damn it.

Also, a picture of me wearing the second, plaid version of the Fatina dress. I really like this one, and I'm still mulling over another version. I'm also mulling over another version of S 2724, with the narrow skirt this time, in black, with (yet another) print top.

But next up, hopefully, is the remake of Mario's jacket. I found a great houndstooth wool last time I was in NYC, and I found out yesterday that the drycleaner under my building actually has no problem steaming/ pressing/ shrinking fabric - and only charged me $5 for three yards of wool.