January and February are two of my favorite months – not because of the weather (brrr) but because we get two long weekends. That means extra time for sewing! And I had a very productive Martin Luther King Day weekend.
First up on the craftiness list was completing my long-planned Epcot Spaceship Earth tunic. I bought this fabric from Marcy Tilton’s website in early summer last year, knowing that I would be going to Disney World in February 2020. It’s the perfect fabric to wear something *Disney* without wearing something DISNEY. I’ll be wearing plenty that screams Disney, but this is a tunic I know I’ll be able to wear in the office once the weather warms up. It’s a nice soft, lightweight fabric, maybe a lawn, but I’m not sure what the criteria for that might be. I not only cut the collar upside down though, and didn’t have enough fabric to recut it, but I didn’t like how stiff it was – why do I even bother interfacing collars when I know I won’t like it?!??! Despite venting to my Instagram friends and getting a ton of positive feedback on the collar, I decided to forego the collar and just left the band. And you know, I think I will really like it that way. The pattern is Style Arc’s Lennie over-shirt, and it was the first time I’d tried a Style Arc pattern. Good thing I know how to construct a shirt, because the first step in the instructions was to attach the collar. Uh, no. Despite this and some other pattern hinkiness, I really love the way this shirt came out and can see making it again.
Style Arc Lennie Overshirt
Minnie ears to coordinate with the Spaceship Earth tunic
Speaking of pattern hinkiness (wait, is this even a word? How else do you describe something that didn’t work the way it was supposed to because the instructions were weird/hard to understand/etc.?), I also completed the long-planned Sew Sweetness Dot Dot Dash bag. I have been wanting to “improve” the crossbody bag I like the most, one I have been carrying for a few years now. It has some front pockets I don’t care for, it doesn’t have a back outside pocket, I wish it had a key chain lanyard, and the double side pockets are useless to me. So I took the foundation of the small Dot Dot Dash bag and added a zipped back pocket, reflective pockets on the ends, simple pockets on the inside, and a key lanyard. I did not taper the top as the pattern suggests, and I didn’t make the carrying strap, but used cotton webbing instead. I knew I’d hate myself if I tried to turn a long skinny vinyl strap! Along the way, I managed to put the lining in backwards, so the small pockets I intended to be on the back are actually on the front (where the official and nice zippered pocket is). And somehow I managed to stitch the strap on backwards, so the hardware is in the front when I wear it how I prefer. Don’t even get me started on the top zipper installation; whew I really screwed that up!!! But you know what? I don’t really care – not too much anyway. I love the bag and will use it alot. I am already plotting another, improved, version though!
Sew Sweetness Dot Dot Dash bag in silver glitter vinyl with reflective pockets
Looking forward to road-testing my new bag!
The third crafty thing I did this weekend was take part in Old Town Alexandria’s Makers Mile weekend. For $30, I got a totebag and did a craft at the five participating shops. We also got free hot chocolate at Nicecream, plus a free dessert at Augie’s Beer Garden. My friend and I stitched up little fabric trays at Stitch Sew Shop, stitched fluff onto a wooden sheep using merino yarn at Fibre Space, crafted magnets at Penny Post, hand painted little wooden signs at AR Workshop, and mixed our own custom bath salts at Red Barn Mercantile. I also bought a pom pom maker, a button extender measurement tool, a “Hop to It” notepad, eraser and BitchStix chapstick, and a few pins. The day started off snowy and ended in rain, so not the best day to be out wandering, but crafting keeps one warm, right? It was fun and I look forward to next year’s!
Maker’s Mile tote bag and loot
Now that I have a few projects crossed off my long-term list, I can turn my focus (for a while) to my reflective tweed jacket. It’s been waiting since August for me to get through some other, easier, things. But I think now is the time! I can make little bits of progress here and there while I wait for February’s long weekend, when I’ll have more dedicated time to sew. In the meantime, I need to focus on my Cheese-Chocolate-Champagne goals and get some other things done! What sort of things do you do on your long winter weekends?
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