End of January 2020 Update

I've been sewing, planning and making a list of new projects to sew. My Sewjo is back and asserting itself in a good way! However, I feel more like sewing than modeling (getting dressed, doing my hair & makeup) and taking pictures. So I'm riding this sewing wave for now.

I have been working on things ~

1. The Style Arc Mildred jumpsuit is finished and I love it!  It had to hang a few days but it's definitely grown on me. I have lots to share about it and will when I have pictures of me in it.

2. Last year I started working on a Wardrobe that I came no where near completing for a variety of reasons. But I won't be deterred, I'm back to working on a similar wardrobe this year including some of the pieces from the original one. While I know most of it won't be worn outside any time soon I don't care. I'm sewing for the joy and because I own all of the fabric & notions, so why not make them?

3. Which brings me to what I'm presently finishing up ~ a denim patchwork jacket from Simplicity 8687. I cut this jacket out last March as part of my wardrobe plan - The Statement Jacket - but never got to it. Well I've taken my time sewing it, thoroughly enjoying working on it.

Next up will be four winterized Myosotis dresses. Imma be honest. I rarely wear pants in the house, preferring a long dress with some socks under it. My current Myosotis versions worked fine until the weather dropped below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Now my legs are chilly unless I add some leggings underneath them. However, the two long ponte pullover dresses I own provide a little more warmth so I want some winterized Myosotis.  Here are the fabrics I'm using...

These will get cut out and I will start working on the black & white print this weekend.

Finally the fabric buying hate has passed. There has been sufficient time between unpacking my fabric collection...losing my memory of how much there was...to now wanting some new pieces. This purchase is spring forward looking because it's like 10 degrees F here and a significant snow fall is predicted between Sunday night and Monday.  Why wouldn't I purchase spring fabrics?! LOL!

These are all from fabric dot com.  I also bought this Fair Isle Knit from Stylemaker Fabrics to make a new Cashmerette Tobin top...

I will be cutting this out this weekend also. In essence I'm making a new cut pile.

In full transparency, I also purchased some knit panels from Marcy Tilton but I'm still waiting for those to arrive. Most importantly I am still deleting most fabric emails. Because on good days I do remember how much is upstairs and that I should be sewing with what I have instead of just storing it.

I promise the day is coming soon where I will be ready to take photos in my finished garments...I'm just not there yet.  However, I did want to do a check-in to let you know the Winter Sewing Room is working perfectly for me.  That I am sewing and enjoying the process and that my sewjo is back baby!

...as always more later!

 

I Made Another Change...

I know, I know.  Y'all are wondering why I'm STILL not sewing!  Hey I feel the same way...so much so it's affecting my mood! But my amazingly wonderful sewing room feels like a sauna when I'm up there for more than an hour or two.

(Photo from recent blog post)

Y'all I've tried everything but an air conditioning unit which I can't do because 

1. I rent

2. The amazing windows are on the far side of the loft, as in the living room, and the windows don't open. Plus I think I signed something in my lease about not having air conditioning units in my windows.

o I bought fans both to clip onto my sewing machine table and a large floor version, plus the upright fan I already owned.

o I closed the heating vent over my sewing machines to stop the heat from flowing onto my head.

None of this worked. I mean the fans cooled the room down for a few hours but after awhile I had a sweaty sheen covering me. Also, the best time to work in the room was morning/early afternoon.  After 4pm all bets were off.  Which is fine when I have a group of days off but doesn't really fit my sewing style since I sew in the evenings and later at night.

I began to dread heading up the stairs to my dream sewing room. Because I knew I would end up feeling like a turkey baking in the oven before Christmas dinner. YET my sewing desire was strong...so strong it was starting to choke me.  I put it off by crocheting on my last blanket, reading a couple of books and immersing myself in Bridgerton.  

However, my sewing desire would not be denied so I gave up and moved some things to my dining room.  My dining room which had previously been a junk space because there were bins of fabric that needed a home and I hadn't decided what to do with them prior to my surgery.

Moved my 9450 downstairs and left the 8900 upstairs

The dining room is much smaller than my sewing loft, probably half the size, so I settled with the cutting table against the wall.  Better to cut than not to cut at all!

The bins were moved upstairs to replace my cutting table and will be moved to my storage unit before I head back upstairs for spring, summer and fall sewing. This allows me to sew and work a little. In reality I mostly work from home on my laptop on a tray from the sofa and in front of my TV...but I can blog and surf the internet if I don't want to be on the sofa in the livingroom.

Now all of my supplies ~ zippers, buttons, threads and trims will remain upstairs.  It's easy enough to go upstairs and pull items I need for projects. All cutting, ironing/pressing and sewing will happen in the Winter Sewing Room. These are the first pictures taken of the space. A video tour of the finished room for now, is on my IG page.

And now that I'm not sweating to death to sew...I've finally started cutting out the Mildred Jumpsuit.

Right now my plan is to head back to the Sewing Loft when I turn the heat off in late March/April. Beyond that I have no idea what I'm doing. But then we have no idea what the world is going to look like since the pandemic is still raging and here in the US only 3% of the population has been vaccinated so far. I think I'm going to be home alone for quite a bit longer.

...as always more later!

The Changeover has happened

Is it just me or does it seem as if more sewists are sewing with Indie Patterns?  Is this another off shoot of 2020 and how it's changed our lifestyles?  I know I've written about this topic before, quite a few times actually, but especially here. And some of the makes I've made recently and like most are made from an Indie Pattern.

Fifteen versions of the Deer & Doe Myosotis Dress

I've noticed that on Instagram there are way more Indie Patterns shared, at least in the sewists I follow, than Big 4. When Indie Patterns first showed up they had a casual lifestyle feel to them that didn't reflect my own life. As I've changed jobs and now due to a pandemic live at home for everything, my own wardrobe needs have changed. Needs that are being met more by the Indie Pattern designers than the Big 4.

Some days I even wonder if the Big 4 are going to survive?  There are now quite a few Indie Patterns for fat girls by fat girl designers AND quite a few of the Indie Pattern designers have sized their patterns up to larger sizes, 30+. Then there was that whole fiasco with the McCalls printing plant being shut down due to hackers which stopped EVERYONE from printing patterns!

Indie Patterns and PDF printing that seemed as if it would never be the mainstream seems to be all anyone talks about and uses now. I've even bought and had some PDF patterns printed and shipped to me.

So this is the first Question of the Day for 2021?  Have you noticed a change in your wardrobe due to the pandemic?  And if so, are you filling the need with items you're sewing from RTW, Big4 or Indie Patterns?

My sewing is changing too. This is what's on my cutting table right now...

Talk back to me!  Let me know how you ended your sewing in 2020 and how you're moving into 2021?

Also, thank you to everyone who responded to my last couple of posts! I know I've been posting erratically and so appreciate that y'all keep showing up!

...as always more later!

2020 - What a Year it's Been!

I haven't deliberately been avoiding my blog...I just haven't been sewing. As you know there were circumstances - moving, surgery.  Then I just didn't feel right yet. Here are a few updates...

The Sewing Loft ~

I thought it was because I hadn't been sewing in it but I realized a few things were missing.  So I dug out my old TV and DVD player and hooked them up. I realized that I did NEED a TV and images in my sewing room. That ended up changing when my daughter bought me a smart TV for Christmas to go in my sewing loft.

Honestly I love it! I can binge watch series I like from one of the apps or even watch live TV on some of the national stations...again downloading their apps.

I spent a couple days sewing up there after the weather turned very cold...and I learned that my HVAC system puts out an inordinate amount of heat.  Now I know why there were vents on the side of the HVAC closet! It took some purchasing but I ended up with three fans that cool the loft off considerably, as well as, closing the heating vent over my sewing area.  Will need to remember to open it back up wide once summer arrives.

After those changes were made, I spent five days in the loft making my first project for Janome. Will share that once it appears on the Janome blog. The loft is now a place where I will be spending quite a bit of my time going forward.

Fabric Update ~

After packing, moving and unpacking my fabric collection I vowed not to purchase any more fabric. Do you know someone actually called me a liar on Instagram? Interesting huh? Well I can say that no major fabric purchases have occurred since July 2020.

My final fabric in and out totals for 2020 are:  

In 100 yards/Out 192 yards

Almost double out than in which makes me happy. BTW, I have no plans for purchasing a whole lot of fabric now. After touching EVERY piece I own plus some that I found in bins in the garage, there isn't a type of fabric that I like to sew with that I don't already own. Unpacking all that fabric gave me fabric fatigue. I even delete fabric emails without looking at them now.

Moving and Surgery ~

As I was reflecting over the year, I realized that I basically stopped garment sewing in late July. I mean I've made some simple kitchen and bathroom curtains...and I even finished a UFO (refer to my last post). But the kind of involved sewing I love came to a dead stop when I moved.

I've also had two major surgeries this year. I bounced back quicker from the first one in July. Honestly, this last one is taking a little longer since I still get tired easily. So my last quarter output has been very little. I picked up my crochet hook and made four blankets - see them here (flip through this one) and here.

Due to all of the change in my life and the world because of Covid, I haven't really felt like reflecting on 2020.  I'm glad that it's gone and I'm ready to move on. Now I know that things are probably going to get a lot worse before they get better especially since Covid is on the rise in quite a few countries including the US. I also believe that there was a "before" and an "after" Covid. I no longer think that things will "go back to normal." We have new normals now.

However, after spending serious time in my Sewing Loft for the last five days, my sewing desire has come back with a vengeance. I have some new patterns, a lot of fabric and a need to create. And because I know live at home for everything, we're not expected to go back to the office until late Spring/early Summer or until more Americans receive the vaccines, I have a new idea of clothing to make. Garments I've been interested in but didn't work in my lifestyle which no longer matters because I'm home! LOL!

I will get the buttons & buttonholes on The Dover Jacket so it will be coming to the blog soon. I plan on sewing some more this weekend and that will be coming soon too...especially since I've found a place in the apartment where I can take a few pictures.

Anyway, all of that to say I'm finally back...like really back...and will be blogging more often in 2021.

 

Happy New Year!!!

...and as always more later!