Ch-Ch-Changes...

The Pandemic has caused many changes in my life since March.

o I work exclusively from home now with no return date to the office in sight.

o I stopped getting dressed for a couple of weeks because it was difficult to deal with the quarantine.

o When I found my style again, I sewed some things that I won't be able to wear until 2021 when hopefully I will head back to the office...

o I learned that I like wearing those big full maxi dresses at home, so that's what I'm making and wearing.

o I realized that trying to work full-time in my sewing space wasn't happening and I needed more space to live in.

o I had a cancer scare in the midst of a pandemic which was considered elective surgery so I had to wait for things to reopen before I could be tested.

o I had surgery...found out I don't have cancer...just precancerous cells in my uterus...

o So my Dr. scheduled a hysterectomy for me this fall.

All of this caused me to look at how I was living my life and how I wanted to live it differently. At 61, I have more years behind me than in front of me and I NEED to enjoy the life I have NOW.

So I'm moving...

Yes, I rented an apartment about 10 minutes from where I'm presently living with a walk-in closet (Gawd how I've missed a walk-in closet) and a sewing loft. I'm coming out of the basement, y'all. I'm 5 minutes from one daughter and 15 minutes from the other. My home can be a hangout for my grandchildren which I want more than anything. But most importantly, I have more space to sew and create.

I move in September 1st so it means that I'm packing up the sewing cave during the next three weeks.  Posting will be scarcer here for a minute because PACKING THE WALLS OF FABRIC!  

My daughter and granddaughters helped me empty all of the fabric shelves and move the extra bins of fabric out of the sewing cave...

I packed the majority of my fabric in garbage bags because I'm not moving far and it's a whole lot easier to swing garbage bags than it is to tote boxes! I have NO idea how many bags are here...but it's a lot!

I will be back in a little bit and will definitely share pictures of the new sewing loft because I've bought all new furniture (except for a cutting table). It's also a much larger space!

...as always more later!

 

      

A New Title - Janome Maker!

I've been having conversations with Janome America for several months. As you know I am a loyal and faithful Janome sewing machine user. I've written several blog posts about them. I love the machines and their ease of use.  So I was thrilled when Janome America invited me to be a member of their Maker Team!

Now I don't know if you've read or heard about the resurgence of sewing in America due to how much time we're spending at home.  Not only have we started to cook more but we're also crafting, sewing and knitting since we're home a lot more. Because of that sewing machines in both beginner and more advanced models sold out in the early days of quarantine...and it took a minute for them to be restocked and for me to receive my new machine.

Y'all I did a jig yesterday when the UPS truck dropped off my new Janome 9450QCP sewing machine...even though I was in the midst of packing up my sewing cave...and since I'm packing we took it out to ooooohhhhh and aaaaahhhh over and then I packed my machine back into it's box.

A Few Pictures ~

Taking the Styrofoam out of the box!

Sitting on my current sewing table

Showing the pieces to the granddaughters

The grands sharing the pieces for the gram!

Holding the cover and the extension table

The 9450QCP also comes with a knee length, 3 different needle plates, 23 standard feet, plus an extra large foot pedal and separate thread cutter. This is the evolved version of my 8900QCP and I can't wait to explore the upgrades!

I really wanted to devote this post to my new Janome sewing machine and becoming a member of the Janome Maker Team.  My next blog post will discuss a few changes that are coming to my life...so stay tuned!

....as always more later!

Apples and Oranges and Lemons ~ Oh My!

My TNT version of the Myosotis dress has been my go to this summer. I've made them in chambray, stretch cotton, linen/cotton blend and shirting cotton and each one has been worn for zoom meetings and grocery store runs. Gawd has Covid totally affected everything!

I have nothing new to share with this one. I bought the fabric back in February during a Sewing Weekend at UrbanSewciety in Westfield, NJ, a local fabric store. We had a weekend of sewing with raffles. I won one of the prizes, a gift certificate, so I purchased two pieces of fabric with it.

I actually thought that I would have sewn the knit before the rayon print but Covid changed that. Anywhoo, I purchased 4 yards of this print because I knew it would make a fantastic Myosotis and it does. It's so stunning that I'm thinking about rambling through the collection to find more rayon fabric to make another one.

The buttons are made from 3/4" covered button shells. I used the lemons in the fabric to cover the buttons. I really wanted yellow buttons and didn't have a dozen in the button stash. But I own dozens of covered button shells so I made 12 of them. I love that they match the fabric perfectly.

That's all I have to share about construction or notions. So how about a lot of  pictures. Once I got my daughter involved in taking the photos, you know she glammed me up. Then since she was taking the pics, I got a lot of good ones making it harder to choose, so I decided not to.

Since it's the first week of August and I probably won't be going back to the office before January 2021, there will be more of these. To me it's the perfect dress to wear at home.

...as always more later!

A Bold Floral Maxi

It's hot here.  It's August and we've recently gone through several heat waves.  August in the Mid-Atlantic states mean heat, humidity and high temperatures. With that in mind, I made the Lafayette 148 V-Neck Maxidress again.

Now even though I'm working from home, I still get dressed for Zoom meetings and for trips to the grocery store.  Plus I'm a little more nonchalant and slouchy at home with easy to throw on pieces getting the most wear. This is why I repeated this maxidress. It's comfortable, easy to wear and perfect for the heat!

I went deepstash for this one. The floral rayon fabric is from GStreet Fabrics in Rockville, MD. It's about 9 years old and it's from the last time I went to a GStreet Fabrics. I think this was in the first incarnation of the store and while it had nice fabric, it was not like the original GStreet of old. It was part of a fabric road-trip with Shams & Peggy in April 2011.

This piece of fabric was on the expensive side for me at the time - $12-15 a yard. I bought 4 yards of it. The tag only had GStreet Fabrics on it and the yardage. I remember loving it so much I just couldn't leave it. Otherwise everything else from that trip was from the $2.97 tables.

I used the pattern pieces that I'd altered with the changes described in my original Lafayette 148 knock off post.

The notions for this version are:

24" white invisible zipper

Design Plus Bias Fusible Stay Tape

Self made bias binding

The things I changed on this make:

o Made bias tape from the fabric scraps to bind the armholes

o Added stay tape to keep the neckline stable

o Omitted the neckline facings and used the self made bias binding instead

o There are no pockets in this one either

How the way the fabric drapes and moves makes this a favorite look!

The best thing about sewing repeats is that it's just about the sewing. I don't have to worry about fit or if pattern pieces go together because they do. I've already made it!

These photos were taken by my daughter too. Normally she travels in a group but today only one 9 year old little girl came with her. Of course she got in on the pictures too...

I have a couple more pieces to share before the month is out so they will be coming to the blog soon.

...as always more later!

 

An Embroidered Sleeve Shirt

I don't normally sew shirts in the summer because it's too dayum hot to be wearing a lot of layers.  But work from home Carolyn, sits in air conditioning every day...plus the sewing cave is extra cold what with air conditioning and being underground.

Some days I grab a shirt and a pair of leggings to work in. The other day I had to run an errand during the middle of the day, so I grabbed the QVC Denim Shirt and my white denim leggings to wear. When I got home I wore them for the rest of the day and they were perfect for the Zoom meeting I had later that afternoon.

So when I saw this tunic on JJill, I knew I owned a piece of embroidered shirting to reproduce it.

Actually I only used the sleeve idea from the tunic, matching it with the pattern pieces I used on the QVC denim shirt. I wanted more of a shirt than a loose tunic. There are no construction changes for this one. 

The challenge was to use my fabric to it's best advantage to make the shirt I saw in my head. I've had this piece from Chic Fabrics for a minute (longer than a year but not more than two). I've pulled it out multiple times to use but the fabric and idea never worked well together. So back in the fabric collection it would go. Pattern placement was the key to making this shirt work.

Supply List ~

3 yards of embroidered striped shirting from Chic Fabrics

10 white buttons from Nancy's Notions in PA

Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller

20" of 1/4" elastic from the notions collection

The best thing about this supply list is that everything was already in the sewing cave. Yeah, I'm throwing in that justification for my overstuffed sewing cave every chance I can get! *LOL* Believe me I'm not complaining because all of this stuff was comforting and allowed me to sew when we were quarantined.

A Few Pictures ~

While this is a comfortable and easy shirt to wear, the polyester in it makes it more a three season shirt than four. I was definitely warm taking pictures outside today. However, it does fit perfectly in my shirt wardrobe and will be worn at home or when the weather cools a little.

I love how by just changing the pattern pieces from my TNT shirt pattern that I've got a really cute shirt to wear. This is how I like to sew. It's the perfect example of what I meant in my previous post.  Expect to see more of this type of sewing!

...as always more later!

 

So What's Next?

If you follow me over on Instagram, you know after the murder of George Floyd, I became active with the Black Makers Matter Group. I also wrote a blog post on the Sewcialist blog about how it feels to be a black maker in the sewing community. If you've followed me for any amount of time, you know I've been quite vocal over the years about how the pattern companies and sewing community treats black makers.

Along with BMM's boycott of JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby and Michaels, I'm also boycotting the Big 4 pattern companies. I've railed against them over the years for various reasons and after supporting them with my precious dollars for 50 years, I'm done. Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into another post railing against them. This is a post to say that I own hundreds of patterns from the 60s/70s through present day so I don't need to purchase another one. I'm no longer a customer.

I will use the patterns I already own because they're mine.  Also because the Big4 pattern companies don't celebrate you when you don't use the latest and greatest it's not like I'm encouraging you to spend money with them. Because of this my blog titles will no longer have pattern numbers in the titles. I know this will make them harder to search on Google but right now I don't care. I may change my mind on this later. I reserve the right to do so but for now no more pattern company names and numbers in the titles.

I will also no longer tag the Big 4 pattern company's name, numbers and/or names on my Instagram posts. Pattern numbers will be included in blog posts and even if they're still in the pattern catalog, I won't link to them.

My sewing going forward will emphasize what I already own. Fabric that is presently in the sewing cave, patterns that live here and the notions that I have. That's not to say I'm not going to add more notions or trim because sometimes I NEED something I don't have...can we say pink buttons! 

I will be sewing more interpretations or "inspired by" garments. I love making these garments, the challenge of figuring out how to use a pattern I presently own, matching it to a fabric in my collection and picking trims/notions to make the design work really ignites my passion to sew. I haven't done much of that recently because I was redetermining my style. However, I'm coming back around to that so there will be more garments like the QVC Denim Shirt and the Lafayette 148 Maxi Dress.

I have a notebook full of ideas and a ton of fabric (LOL!) so that's what's next in my sewing journey!

...as always more later!

A Stripey Linen Maxi Dress

I knew I was going to make a couple more versions of Simplicity 8888 when I made the first one.  However, I thought the next one would be a solid version but me being me I went with a stripe. Why? Because I wanted to manipulate the stripes on the bodice...

Fabric journeys enthrall me. I love how if you cut the fabric on the bias or the cross grain it gives the fabric and the final garment a totally different look. So I love taking those journeys...and that's what this dress is all about. I mean besides the comfort and ease of wearing factor the dress provides.

Supplies ~
o  3 yards of a striped linen purchased from Fabric Mart - from the collection purchased in the last five years

o  22" orange invisible zipper from the notions collection

o  Remnant of orange bias binding for the armholes

Construction Techniques ~
This dress is all about manipulating the stripes. I really wanted to make them meet at the center front and then chevron through the side front and back panels. Well it didn't exactly meet at the front seam but it does seem to work in a weird way.

I cut the center front, front and back sides on the bias.  The center back is cut on the straight grain. I didn't want to deal with putting a zipper into a wavy back.

However, in the pictures of the back of the dress, it seems as if those side back pieces are poufing out a bit as I move around. Honestly I don't care and no one but a sewist would probably notice but "truth in sewing" here, folks! *LOL* If I realized they hung that way I probably would have done something different during construction.

The other thing to note is because I used mostly bias pieces for the top and the waist seam is heavy (full of gathering) I added some twill tape to stabilize that seam. I didn't want it growing and causing the dress to hang funny.

The inseam pockets were omitted from this version, not enough fabric to cut them out. All of the fabric in the skirt seemed to make the side slits featured in the pattern unnecessary.

Otherwise the construction is the same as the original Simplicity dress.

A Few Pictures ~ 

This one seems fuller with the drapier fabric than the original one does. Even though I was contemplating a solid version, I'm packing this pattern away for now. Two journeys with this pattern seems enough. 

When I took these pictures this morning at 9:30am, it was already hot and humid outside. With the amount of fabric in this dress, as well as the weight of the fabric, this is NOT a hot & humid kinda day dress. But 100 degree days don't happen much in the spring or late summer so it will be perfect then. 

I made this dress back in late April/early May when I thought I would be going back to the office this summer. Because of that it hasn't been worn except for these pictures and it probably won't be until next spring. I'm wearing the throw on dresses, Katie tops, Myosotis dresses and wide legged pants that work with my stay at home style since I won't be going back to NYC until the fall.

I've been pulling fabric to match with maxi dress patterns. Although I'm falling back on a couple of TNT patterns for my next two maxi dresses. I finally broke down and bought a 6 yard piece of fabric and just like I thought, I'd moved on by the time it arrived. Since I'm home there hasn't been a lot of fabric purchasing going on BUT a lot of digging in the fabric collection.

My sewjo is back. I'm sewing so more garments soon!


...as always more later!

Long V-Neck Maxi Dress

I follow Lafayette 148 on Instagram and this picture appeared in their feed. It immediately checked off all of my new work from home wardrobe requirements. It's loose-fitting, flowy, easy to wear and maxi length...wfh gold! 

On the days when I don't have any Zoom meetings, I just want to throw on something long and flowy to work in while sitting in front of my computer.  

If we go back to our offices in NYC, it will be in the fall. I won't need summer clothing at all. So I'm adjusting what I'm sewing again. May I state one more time - I don't really like wearing pants. I wear jeans in the winter because I don't want to be cold but if I lived in a more temperate climate, I would wear dresses and skirts ALL.THE.TIME!

To get this look I started with New Look 6340 which I've made several times. One of the things I want to do during this season is reuse some of the patterns that have been successful for me. I know we tend to be one time pattern users in the sewing community but I love a good TNT pattern. I just won't discuss my thoughts on how the one-use practice is pushed upon us by the Big 4.

Now my previous versions all used a different neckline. But luckily for me, there is a v-neck option in the pattern...so the only pattern alterations I needed to make were for length.

Okay I added a little more space to the side seams for more drama...

This maxi is made using a piece of mid-weight polyester print purchased from Fabric Mart back in the 1990's for $1 a yard. It means that this deep stash piece is about 30 years old. Also, I bought this in three colors. I gave two pieces away and this is the only one that remained in the collection. Guess it was time for it to be used!

I added an invisible zipper to the back of the dress to make it easier to step into it instead of pulling it over my head. A strip of interfacing was added to the back seams to stabilize the fabric before inserting the zipper. There is also navy blue piping added to the neckline of the dress...needed to bind that busy print off a little. The side seam pockets were also omitted.

Since this is a wearable muslin, I pressed, turned under and stitched the underarms. For my next version I will use bias binding to finish the armholes. 

A Few Pictures ~

As I said this is a wearable muslin because I needed to work a few construction and pattern alterations out. 

For my next version ~

o  I will lower the underarm seam. I traced the wrong seam line when making this version.

o  Remove some of the width of the dress below the hipline to the hemline so the pattern pieces will fit easily onto a piece of fabric without having to do a wedge insert. What I did to make the hemline work on this version.

o  A 1/2" will be added to the upper center back to give it a little more room.

o  1/4" was added to the front below the v-neckline. The bodice while wearable is tight.

o  Also removed 2" from the hemline because it was way too long.  

I would like to make 2-3 more of these because I love the comfort factor. This dress will work well in my present work from home wardrobe. If you have a copy of this pattern in your stash, I highly encourage you to pull it out and use it! 

...as always more later

  

Pink Posey Maxi Dress

Originally I purchased this shirting fabric to make a shirt.  However, when moving fabric around earlier this spring, I touched it. It really felt like it would work for my new comfortable work from home maxis which is quickly morphing into the seems like I'm never going back to work maxis.  It's a Riley & Co print I purchased from from the alt-right supposedly Christian craft store, back in the days when I shopped there.

I knew I had three yards of it just didn't realize it was so narrow especially after it was washed and dried. Which meant that I had to jump through hoops to make this pattern work. 

Supplies ~

3 yards cotton shirting

1/2 yard white cotton batiste from the collection

12 3/4" pink buttons purchased from Amazon
Pink gingham bias binding

Construction ~

This maxi was made exactly like the blue & white rayon one I made last summer.  So there are no new construction techniques. Since I've made it eightyhundred times, it went together quickly. The only difference is that it's shorter than my normal maxi dresses and that's because I ran out of fabric. I thought I would hate it but it's been perfectly fine. I may remember the length for future versions.

Unbelievably I had no pink buttons in the button stash!  If I was working in NYC, it wouldn't have been a problem...but making this during the pandemic proved challenging. So I turned to Amazon because the other online button sources were giving ship times of 3-4 weeks. I'm patient but NOT that patient!

As an aside, I now have way tooo many pink buttons. Besides the assortments I purchased from Amazon, a friend came through and now I have a really DEEP assortment of pink shirt buttons.

A Few Pictures ~

I keep saying that I'm going to let the pattern rest and then I turn around and make another dress. So I'm not going to say it again. I'm sure I will stumble upon another piece of fabric begging to become one and I will oblige it. Especially since this dress has become my summer wardrobe staple!

One more thing ~ 

I took these pictures myself and they're just okay. I'm not taking "glamour" shots because that's not really my life right now and I can't muster up the energy. Also, my "no wear" rule before I take pictures has gone completely out the window. This dress has been worn several times and even outside of my house before I finally got around to taking pictures of it.

Everything seems so different now. What once was important seems to lack some of it's vitality. I did manage to take pictures of one other dress (though there are still two in the backlog) and my sewjo has returned. I'm trying to find some comfort in sewing while adjusting to my new normal. 

...as always more later!