Sewing

Celebrating Six Months of Newness

We have officially now lived in Rhode Island six months! I can’t believe it’s been six months, and I can’t believe it’s *only* been six months. It’s hard to remember what our lives were like prior to living in southern New England (or before coronavirus, for that matter). I guess that means we feel really comfortable here.

Yep, it’s winter in Southern New England!

I had all these blog posts planned, to share our experiences in this new city of Providence. But now I am going to attempt to squeeze in some highlights, and hopefully get back to blogging a bit more regularly.

I was commuting to the office twice a week for a while in September – November, although now we are back to WFH 100% of the time. I was enjoying my short bike rides to and from the train station, especially after we put reflective bar tape on my bike! I also finally bought Bar Mitts, and just in time for some chilly commuting mornings!

A farmers’ market, Farm Fresh RI, opened walking distance to our apartment, so we went every weekend until the holidays. Many Rhode Island gifts were purchased there, and at the Providence Flea, which is in the same warehouse on Sunday. Across the street is The Industrious Spirit Co., which makes vodka and a lovely gin. On Saturdays, they hosted local food truck The Burgundians Coffee & Waffles . There’s no better way to start a weekend than waffles and a hot apple cider and gin drink, trust me!

A glass blowing studio, Gather Glass, is also walking distance to our apartment! I’ve always loved blown glass, and jumped at the opportunity to take classes. So far I have made two glasses, but have plans for more….

The ocean is SOOOOO close! Forty-five minutes to an hour, whaaat?! So we’ve gone to the ocean a few times, but there are dozens of other places for us to explore in 2021 – state parks, nature reserves, historic landmarks, botanical gardens, and and and….

I got a haircut! Okay, technically I got two, but the first one was a trim at a local salon. The second one cut off all the length and bulk that’s accumulated since lockdown. So happy to get rid of that!

Here’s a sample of some of my sewing this fall:

And here’s my official sewing plans for 2021. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more where this comes from. I made about 30 garments (and 100 cloth face masks) in 2020, so nine goals is only a third of what I expect I’ll do this year.

While we have said good-bye to 2020, a year that I think was a struggle for everyone, and we look ahead to 2021, I think we can all agree that maybe we should temper our expectations of this year. Nonetheless, living in Rhode Island has a lot of blessings, and I hope to share them more regularly with you. Is there anything you are especially interested in? Bike infrastructure in Providence (that’s on my list for spring)? Ocean anything?! The food scene here in Providence? An update on all my sewing? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

Stay-at-Home Celebrating

Like so many others, I recently celebrated a birthday from the isolation of my own home. But I wasn’t alone – between Skype, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and Zoom, I saw more friends and family than I have in birthdays past. Add on delivery brunch and cupcakes and a special beer mailed from Dortmund, Germany, and it was a lovely day!

Many of my Taurus and April/May birthday friends have all vowed to celebrate at a later date, when we are allowed to, and feel safe about, meet in person, in groups, again. I don’t know, I may opt for another Zoom party. In our new lives (no, not when we “return” to “normal,” as life will clearly not ever be normal again), video connections will be easier, more comfortable, the new normal. What previously seemed like a momentous thing is now a quick click of a mouse or tap on an app. I remember being horrified at the thought of being able to see someone on the other line, back in the day when video phone calls were first “a thing of the future.” I didn’t want someone seeing that I was ironing while I talked to them – now it’s no big deal. Think about it – how many conference calls do pets and children wander through? What’s a few shirts ironed between friends?

Livin’ the Zoom Life

Speaking of shirts, I hustled to finish a new shirt before May 1. May is the sewists’ holiday – Me Made May. I wanted to get my new citrus shirt done to kick off the month, and I did – and I love it! The collar turned out perfectly, I found these perfect little round orange buttons, and I just love love love the print. It makes me happy, and don’t we all need happy things right now?!

Other things I’ve been celebrating includes: Star Wars Day/May the Fourth; my “new” 1973 Raleigh bicycle; and allllll the spring flowers in vibrant, brilliant bloom. I need hot pink pants, clearly.

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What have you been doing to celebrate life’s small and large moments? I hope you have something bright, happy, and wild to keep your spirits up!

Keeping Up With Current Changes

It’s been a month since I last wrote a blog post and my goodness doesn’t it seem like a lifetime ago?! Everything has changed in the last 4-5 weeks. COVID-19 rules the world, and with so much uncertainty about the future, staying home and staying safe truly is the way to get through the next weeks and months. But, as humans do, we’ve adapted in these emergency scenarios, and are getting through it with the same resourcefulness, determination, and compassion that we’ve used to get through other crises. It’s not always pretty but its happening.

For The Mechanic and I, life goes on more or less the same, with some obvious and not-so-obvious changes.

Still working from home. My new coworkers are the bunnies and I still take way too many pictures of them during my work day.
My weekends now consist of making fabric masks for friends and family who request them. Lately, cities and states around the US are recommending individuals wear masks if they are out, especially to grocery stores and on public transit, for those who still need it.
I’m trying really hard to get *some* exercise every day but it’s not always working. But the changes I *do not* want to see after this is over are the ones happening to my waistline so the comfort food needs to go. Maybe I’ll be healthier once this is over! #goals
Speaking of goals, I have to change up my Cheese-Chocolate-Champagne goals. Some of them aren’t relevant anymore, such as biking to work twice a week.
I feel better when I wear real shoes to “work.” Don’t ask me why, I just do. It feels more official. Even more than wearing makeup.
I’m saving a ton of money by not eating out and not running to Target every day from work. I had no idea how much I was really spending doing that, ulp. On the other hand, my online ordering seems to increased….
We are eating at home more but also trying to support our favorite locally-owned restaurants. Picking food up to go doesn’t have the same feel but it’s a welcome break from our admittedly uninspired home cooking and frozen meals.

There’s one really big change though – I started a new job! Yep, nothing like a pandemic to not only change jobs, but to one that is located in a different state. Of course, when I started the process, coronavirus was barely on our radar, and my main worry was apartment hunting in a new city. That’s a worry I’ve put off for a while. First things first. Speaking of first, on my first day of my new job, even though I was still at home, I dressed up, put on makeup, aforementioned real shoes, and decorated my standing desk. It made it feel more official. Of course, one week in and I’m well into the new job and super busy, and I may have given up again on the makeup….

I’m sure your lives have changed as well. We know we are fortunate, and think all the time of those who have lost jobs, are newly essential at their now-high risk jobs (grocery store staff and anyone working with the public), medical staff everywhere, and are also attempting to teach their children at the same time. I hope when we come out of this, the changes we see as a society recognize the value of those who perform the services we truly can’t live without.

TinLizzie-ing in a Time of Coronavirus

We are well into social distancing and lockdowns and stores closing, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Mechanic and I are both teleworking, which suits me – my desk is right next to the bunnies’ pen, so I get to watch them All. The. Time. Few things make me as happy as watching them snuggle together and play – also, two of them squeak-snore, how adorable is that?!??!?

Being a naturally anxious person who worries about everything, the uncertainty of our current state of affairs is hard to suppress. Luckily, there are distractions beyond the bunnies, namely, sewing, biking, and Spring flowers.

Hooray for warm weather biking! This cotton lawn shirt was lightweight and comfy, just as I’d hoped it would be!

When you inadvertently dress like your Galaxy’s Edge reusable bag….

Speaking of Star Wars (which we weren’t really but whatever), this Star Wars print cotton I ordered on clearance from Joann Fabrics arrived yesterday – if only all telework days could include fabric deliveries!

My telework days don’t really give me much more time to sew, so I am looking forward to staying home this weekend to finish this shirt I started last weekend. It looks like my bunnies! I’m trying a new shirt pattern with this one, and yes, it will have white reflective piping on it. Stay tuned! I’m playing a telework game of sorts with myself – I am going to wear each of my print shirts every day until I’ve worn them all. Most of them I’ve made myself but not all. I feel like I don’t wear them enough, which is silly, since I love them, so now is my time! I’m calling them my telework uniform. Soon the bunny shirt will be in the mix too.

I can make it through several weeks with all these shirts! (and clearly I don’t really need to make more…..)

How I telework – do you have a telework style?

I’m thankful that my company has the ability to let us work from home. So many small businesses and my friends in the theater community are suffering from loss of employment and revenue. I don’t want to talk too much about my work when they are losing out. I wish I could support all the small businesses I love, but I can’t afford to. I just hope they make it out in the end, whenever that comes.

My wine sippy cup from small business Stonemountain and Daughters Fabrics arrived just in time!

Luckily, it’s spring, and trees and plants are in bloom, and the grass and leaves are returning. I’ve been trying to walk at least once a day, but I’m aiming for twice. I need to be more disciplined about getting some exercise! Just seeing all the green things brings a bit of peace and comfort. We’ll get through this. We’ll return to normal, regardless of what that looks like a year from now.

Lightly Bounding Through Disney World

Disney bounding is a subculture, or maybe side culture, of cosplay, or dressing up in costume. But it’s a bit different, because adults are not allowed to dress up in costume the way kids are. So “Disney bounding” is a way to dress like your favorite Disney character without actually being in costume. Thanks to Kay, the woman who started it, and her *amazing* Instagram account, for unleashing an extra fun way to enjoy the Disney parks.

I don’t know what the exact rules for Disney bounding are, so I’m not 100% sure my outfits count, hence “lightly bounding” through Disney World. Not in your face, my subtle nods to some of my favorite characters made me happy, even if no one else noticed. (Actually, several people noticed my Maleficent skirt, but more on that later.) I began and ended with some of my more subtle outfits, two different shirts I made in the last several years, inspired by previous trips. In between, my outfits were a bit more obvious, but sadly, because the weather got really cold the last few days we were there, I was so bundled up, no one really got to see my favorite Star Wars shirt! Anyway, here’s a review:

Super Subtle:

Dinosaurs! I wore my Liberty of London dinosaurs shirt the first day, because I had lunch at the T-Rex Restaurant in Disney Springs. It was hard to get a photo, so sorry about the bad selfie. I haven’t outgrown dinosaurs!

My dino shirt in front of a dino in a truck!

Jungle Cruise! The last day, another travel day, I wore my Jungle Cruise shirt, yes, inspired by the ride of the same name. Again, it was cold, so I layered with my tangerine orange cardigan, to which I’d stitched a pale blue Disney “D.” Those who know will realize that it’s the Disneyland “D,” not the Disney World “D,” but I haven’t found the later in a patch. (I wore my jacket and scarf over all of this, to be honest – a high of 60*F in Orlando is chilly!).

The ceramic plates on the wall make a nice background for my Jungle Cruise shirt and bright sweater!

Less Subtle:

Spaceship Earth: At least, I think this one was more obvious. I really love the design of this classic EPCOT ride, so this Marcy Tilton fabric jumped out at me when I saw it last summer. The added bonus is that this is a shirt I can wear to work or anywhere, without it screaming “DISNEY!” What do you think – subtle or not so subtle?

Standing in front of Spaceship Earth in my Spaceship Earth top

Finding Nemo: I mean, this IS Finding Nemo fabric – can’t you see Nemo, Marlin, and Dory? But it’s a cute stripe of sorts, and one that can be worn at any waterside location. I took it to Bermuda the last time we went – hey, there are tons of fish there!

Finding Nemo print skirt with my bright cardigan and rose gold Minnie Ears

Also coordinated my Bikie Girl Bloomers under this skirt for some modesty climbing in and out of rides.

Fishes, next to fishes in Animal Kingdom!

Star Wars: I had several Star Wars themed garments with me on this trip. The Millennium Falcon top I made using the Sew Liberated Esme Top pattern (if I make it again, I can size down for sure). It was fairly subtle but hey, the Millennium Falcon and R2D2 are clearly visible – if you look closely.

Standing in front of the Millennium Falcon! <squee!!!> The necklace is supposed to be similar to the one Princess Leia wore at the end of the first movie, during the award ceremony.

Closer look at the print….

Although the first two days we were in the parks were hot, in the 80s, the last two barely peaked past 60*. So my fabulous Star Wars Hey June Lane Raglan tee was only briefly ever visible. I stripped off the layers to get this photo, then hastily added back my extra long sleeve shirt, my Leia jacket, and my supernova print scarf.

Star Wars print tee, silver holographic Minnie Ears, and droids in pieces – perfect!

Gorgeous Art Nouveau styling of my Princess Leia jacket, bought two years ago.

Princess Leia is my favorite Disney princess!

Not at All Subtle

Maleficent: My most obvious and more remarked upon outfit was the Maleficent skirt I made shortly before the trip. It was made specifically for the Villains After Party at the Magic Kingdom. I’m not normally a huge Disney Villains fan but I had to have something thematic – er, bounding! And this was the perfect way to test the skirt pattern. Several women complimented me on it, one wearing a scarf of the same fabric! Several wanted to know where I’d gotten the fabric, so I turned them onto fabric shopping on Etsy. Because the party started at 10pm and ended at 1am, and we were in the park until well after that, and the temperature floated down into the 40s (eek!), I wore tights, another pair of coordinated Bikie Girl Bloomers, a tee shirt, a turtleneck, a cardigan, my scarf, then purchased a Haunted Mansion hoody – and I was still cold! But it was worth it, 100%!

Showing off my Bikie Girl Bloomers! That’s almost villainous, right?

Accessories

I added some accessories to what I’d taken with me. But first, let me just shout the praises of the Minnie ear holder – such a brilliant accessory that made the trip. Those ears aren’t all-day-long comfortable, just so you know! I was able to move it between bags, and always had a place for those ears.

I bought this amazing droid/R2D2 fully reflective baseball cap in Galaxy’s Edge – it’s like they made it just for me!!!

Reflective droid baseball cap, standing in line at Oga’s Cantina in Galaxy’s Edge

Clan of R2D2?

I also got my “name” embroidered on a Mickey hat! I mean, why not, right?!

TinLizzie Mickey Ears

I also bought shoelace charms, no doubt intended for kids’ shoes. But the tea cup and clock face from It’s a Small World are two of my (admittedly many) favorite Disney designs. And hey, they are the same color as my Dansko sneakers! So now my shoes *and* my socks show my love of sewing for some lightly bounding Disney #memade outfits.

Sewing themed socks, Disney themed shoes!

What do you think? Subtle or not-so-subtle? Have you ever done Disney bounding? What are your thoughts on thematic dressing (not Disney related)? Do you think I’m crazy…? Don’t tell me if you do, haha!

Maybe I’m Overdoing the Disney Planning….

Not long now before a long-planned trip to Disney World with some girlfriends! I’m super excited, and have been madly planning and sewing for months now. So with apologies to my bike-y reflective fashion followers (and perhaps many more of you), here’s what I’ve been sewing for my trip.

In my last post, I shared my Spaceship Earth tunic. Spaceship Earth is not only one of my favorite rides, but the iconic feature of EPCOT. I’m really looking forward to wearing this not only because I love it and enjoy its subtle nod to the ride, but it’s not quite cotton lawn tunic weather here in Northern Virginia, and I haven’t gotten to wear it yet!

Style Arc Lennie Overshirt

I just made this fun Maleficent skirt to wear to the Villains After Hours party the last night we are there. I’m not normally one for the Disney villains but if I’m going to their party, I feel like I should dress respectfully, amirite? I had planned on downloading a skirt pattern from an independent company but they are on vacation and it wasn’t available. So I dug around in my pattern box and found this McCalls out of print pleated skirt pattern I bought ages ago. This is the perfect opportunity to test the pattern – if I don’t like it, I’m probably not going to wear a Maleficent skirt often, so it won’t matter if I don’t like it!

McCalls 7253 skirt pattern

Turns out, I love the pattern! And I love the skirt. The pleats are flattering and create the skirt fullness I love without making my hips look *huge*. I added some flame stitching, in homage to Maleficent (no dragon stitch on my machine, alas). Next time I will add pockets, since the pattern doesn’t call for them. Cause there is definitely going to be a next time for this pattern! Speaking of digging around in my stash – despite planning on wearing jeans with the tops I have made, I realized the weather might be too warm for jeans, and I might need shorts. Expect I don’t love the shorts I own. So I pulled out a knit skirt pattern that I have made multiple times for a friend but never for me, then discovered a big enough piece of navy blue knit fabric to squeeze out the pattern pieces. And voila! A new skirt that will actually be perfect for many, many casual occasions, even if I don’t wear it at Disney World.

I’ve also bought a few things for the trip that I probably could make on my own but didn’t want to work out with limited time. These clear vinyl zip bags are perfect for zipping (as it were) through the security lines on the way into the parks. I ordered one each from two different Etsy sellers, both of whom have fun options. But I really love the Mary Blair style of the one first one, and the calm parks scenes of the second one. I may be sorry I bought the smaller sizes; I have such a hard time packing light!

Clear vinyl pouch by Amy’s Small World/Etsy

Clear vinyl pouch by CYFCreations/Etsy

Another clever Disney trip thing I ordered from Etsy is this fun turquoise glitter Minnie Ear holder. The carabiner makes it easy to clip to any bag, purse, or belt loop, and the Mickey snap fastens easily around the headband’s bow. I should now, I tried all four of my ears on this! It also means I can take a smaller bag into the parks with me, since I won’t need to worry about fitting the ears into a bag when I opt not to wear them (they do squeeze my skull after a while!).

Minnie Ear Holder holding my silver Minnie ears on my #memade silver glitter purse

Going further down the Etsy-Disney rabbit hole, I found these *adorable* Hidden Mickey rose pins, and ordered a mystery pack. These will be so cute pinned to my tops or jackets!

Don’t worry, I will share my outfits with me in them after I get back (or you can follow along on my Instagram account)! Sewing projects never look the same on a hanger as they do on a body, so I do apologize for the lame photos.

MeMade Disney sewing – some subtle prints, some not-so-subtle prints!

Of course, once this trip is over, I need to start thinking about sewing for the next trip.! I’m all about the planning, haha! The Mechanic and I are going to Costa Rica with his family this spring, and although I don’t have much planned for that, I do have two garments that I want to make before we go. I’ll *try* not to over-plan that trip the way I clearly have this one though….

Really, I need to clear my table – literally and figuratively – to FINALLY make my reflective tweed jacket. That is a big project and I need to clear my head so I can really focus on that. I’m not good at slow sewing, but really want to do a good job on this.

Just because Cinderella’s mice friends made her a ballgown quickly doesn’t mean I need to make a tweed jacket quickly! Although if my fairy godmother would like to come along behind me to clean it up, that would be okay too : )

Cheese, Chocolate, and Champagne Goals for 2020

It’s a new year, and a new decade, and it seems like *everyone* has been busy posting goals and resolutions and predictions for both the year and the decade. But it seems to me like rather than “New Year, New You” resolutions, everyone really sees the new date on the calendar as the opportunity to return to their pre-holiday season selves. “Eat healthier!” – we were all doing that before Halloween. “Work out more!” – even the best intentions somehow fall aside during the last few weeks of the year. So rather than set resolutions, I’m simply going to return to where I was before the holidays.

But let’s be honest – it gets tiring after a while, the same ole, same ole. The Mechanic and I were discussing goal setting, and how really, there are BIG goals and little goals, and they should be categorized differently. He objected to my Bronze-Silver-Gold level goals idea, so I suggested Cheese-Chocolate-Champagne instead. This sounds much more fun, doesn’t it?!

The Cheese goals are the smaller ones, like “Doing 15 minutes of yoga four days in a row,” or “Biking to work RT once a week.” And yes, that means I earn cheese for achieving these goals. The Chocolate goals are a bit bigger, like “Biking to work four times a week (or RT twice – I’m splitting my bike commutes with the bus these days),” or “Blogging once a week.” Champagne goals are, as you might now guess, The Big Goals. I’ve included in this category “Not buying any fabric in a month” as well as “Not buying any clothing in a month.” Ad yes, I am creating a big ole giant spreadsheet to track all this.

Not buying any fabric in a month might seem a bit radical to you, especially knowing how much I love to sew. But I have such a long list of lingering projects that I want to finish, and need to finish, before starting anything else. The other reason for this goal is the fabric buying spreadsheet I started in June. I was curious to track when I was buying fabric, and from where, since I couldn’t keep it straight. Then I noticed that not only was I spending a ton of money on fabric (not even expensive fabric!), I wasn’t making the planned garments as fast as I was planning.

And really…. I don’t *need* any more clothing. Well, I always need pants. I can’t seem to find pants I like, #memade or store bought. But I have plenty of shirts and sweaters and skirts and things. So anything I make now is just for fun, “frosting,” if you will. Of course, this is why I sew, because it’s fun, but this past year, I was really trying to focus on things I need to have a more complete #memade wardrobe. I don’t think I’ll ever achieve a 100% #memade wardrobe but it is SUCH a satisfying feeling on the days it does happen.

That being said… I have several trips in the first half of 2020, which means sewing for them. Doesn’t everyone do vacation sewing?! First up – a girls’ trip to Disney World; then a trip to Costa Rica with my husband’s family; then a trip to Germany with my mom and aunt in August. Naturally I have sewing plans for each of them! A glitter vinyl crossbody bag, a Spaceship Earth-inspired tunic, and a Maleficent skirt for Disney World; a shirt and skirt for Costa Rica (from some of the fabric I bought in West Virginia); and most likely pants for Germany. I’m not making any plans for that trip for a while, though!

So circling back to my goals – finishing up these projects are definitely Champagne goals! Thank goodness for some long weekends in January and February to crank out some easy projects. Of course, there are many more goals on my list for this year, but I feel like setting them out this way, with things I enjoy as the rewards, will make it much more fun. Have you made goals, set resolutions, or ignored the whole “new year” thing?

Wrapping Up November (Where Has the Year Gone?!)

Anyone else mourning the speed with which this year has flown? I guess it happens every year, but I still think that somehow, some year, it will be relaxed and I’ll be able to let it unfold slowly. But no – and now we are weeks away from 2020!!!

Things that have been keeping me busy this month so far – Sewing, friends, and bunnies. And sometimes a combination of those, like the day a friend and I took a bunny yoga class, a fundraiser for one of the local rabbit rescue groups. Not often you take a yoga class where the instructor keeps say, “Just watch for bunnies before you _____!”

First, to catch you up on October sewing: I finally finished my Zodiac mesh top! I appliqued the Taurus image onto the back – I am a Taurus, so why not show it off! Besides, I hated to not use as much of the gorgeous fabric as possible. I also made a skirt, McCalls 7891 – it’s probably too long but I won’t shorten it until the warm weather returns. The reflective piping and heavy drape of the fabric makes me soooo happy! I like this skirt pattern a lot and have a ton of plans to use it again.

I also bought some fabric on our West Virginia trip! Fayetteville, WV has a Ben Franklin Crafts store, so *of course* we had to go in. Some of the fabric was so cheap! I bought four yards of this blue fern/leaf cotton because it was $2/yard! I think it will be a dress eventually but who knows. The green batik will be another McCalls 7981 skirt (probably without reflective details, ha), and the turquoise butterfly print will be a fun summer shirt of some sort. Doesn’t fabric make the best souvenir?! I’ll always remember how amazing that trip was when I wear something made from these fabrics. Most of my November sewing has been Christmas presents sewing, so I can’t share photos right now. But I did squeeze in a super easy and highly satisfying Hey June Handmade Lane raglan tee out of this adorable (but most likely licensed…..) Star Wars print I found on Etsy. If you remember, the pattern and the purple knit I bought at Fancy Tiger Crafts in Denver, CO earlier this year – yet another souvenir of a great trip! And part of my wardrobe for a 2020 trip with some girlfriends to Disney World (90 days but who’s counting?!?!). In other crafty but not sewing news, I took a class to learn the basics of spinning! My long-term goal is to be able to use Sullivan’s angora fluff to make yarn. The class was at Fibre Space, in Old Town Alexandria, and the class was taught by Maiah, who spins lovely lovely things. #goals I’m still not interested in knitting, but the idea of spinning and dyeing yarn is rather appealing. I just have to get much, much, *much* better at it! Our fluffsters have been taking up much of our time (#parenting lol) because they are not getting along as well as they should, so we’ve taken drastic bunny bonding measures. Basically this means going on car rides, because yes, you do sort of scare them into being friends. They are mostly friends, but occasionally, poor little Gaston (the oldest at 6 years old but the smallest at 3lbs) freaks out and runs from Sullivan. He’s totally falling for Henrietta though, and likes to snuggle with her. Awww…. SO worth the work! The remainder of the year will include more sewing (of course!), more bunnies, lots of holiday cheer with friends and family, squeezing in bike commuting when it’s not freezing cold, and making plans for 2020. What do you have planned for the rest of 2019?

Sew Long, August!

AKA – what the hell happened to this summer?!?!

August was super busy, as you may have guessed from the total lack of any blog post. So I’m going to see if I can summarize everything in a singular post – here we go!

Work Conference in NYC

A work conference took me up to New York at the beginning of August, so I ran through some of my sewing shops and bought a minimal amount of notions and a maximum amount of reflective piping. I had a good time at the conference, and as always, it was great to see colleagues from around the country.

“Make It Fit” Workshop at Stitch Sew Shop

The weekend after I got back from the conference, I took a 2.5 day workshop at Stitch Sew Shop, in Old Town Alexandria. The “Make It Fit” title meant that the eight of us in the class had plenty of one-on-one time with guest instructor Taylor of Blueprints for Sewing. I made two muslins of the jacket I eventually will make out of my lovely reflective tweed from Dashing Tweeds, and now feel confident in the fit. I need to clear my sewing “schedule” a bit first so I have time to focus on this Big Project. The workshop was a ton of fun, and I hope to take more workshops in the future.

Fun workshop gift with purchased “Put Your Foot Down” pin

Special treat on the last day!

The first muslin, with alterations showing

The second muslin – doesn’t look like much but it is!

Actual Sewing!

I managed to make a dress and a pair of pants in August. The dress was a quickie Terrace Dress by Liesel and Co., out of this delicious Windham Field Day Bloom Sycamore cotton print that I obsessed over the entire workshop weekend at Stitch Sew Shop. One of the women working there had made a lovely shirt out of the lawn, which they were out of, so I made due with the quilting cotton. I really love the way this dress turned out and see wearing it alot, even through the colder months.

I also made another pair of wide-legged trousers out of this Art Deco-ish Charley Harper “Skimmerscape” barkcloth. An Instagram sewist suggested I make pants out of this fabric and she was right, they are fab-u-lous! I can also see getting a lot of use out of these in the coming months, because I can fit thermal underwear under these and won’t feel like a stuffed sausage. ; ) Biking in Dresses!

I’ve done a teeny bit of biking lately but it’s been dreadfully hot, and I just couldn’t bring myself to voluntarily add to the sweat. I noticed that the biking I have done has been in dresses – there’s something wonderful about biking in a dress. It feels so much more freeing and fun than anything else.

Reflective Meet Up!

A definite highlight this month was getting to meet a social media friend *in person*! But Iris isn’t *just* a social media friend – she’s the designer and owner of Reflective Society, creating lovely, imaginative, and simply wonderful reflective accessories. We spent hours talking about All Things Reflective, life, the crafting world, and why we love reflective things so much. She knows about so many more reflective products than I do, and gets to spend way more of her waking hours thinking about reflectiveness, and I love her work. She even made me a lovely set of lace-covered reflective buttons! I can’t wait to pick a pattern to use them. Textile Museum

Almost the last thing I did in August was become a member of the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Then I was able to take the Members’ Tour of the new textile exhibit, “Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt.” The textiles predominately date from the 4-7th centuries, and the details and fine work is just stunning. It’s amazing that they have lasted as long as they have, and we have a very intimate look into every day life of that time period. Even a small wooden toy horse was shown along side some of the home furnishings.

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Looking Ahead

The advent of September suddenly makes me feel like I need to start planning for the holidays! But first, I am taking a workshop on shibori fabric dyeing, have some big sewing projects to complete, we are doing a road trip through West Virginia in October, and I have some biking to do. Ideally I’ll blog more often, but I know how life is, and have to confess that probably won’t happen. You can always follow my adventures in between blog posts on my Instagram account.

What do you have planned for the fall? How do you manage the lead up to the holidays? Who else is planning to sew gifts for family and friends?

Sewing June 2019: N + 1

In the bicycling world, there is a long-standing joke about N+1 when it comes to bicycles – once you have one, you need another, and then another, and then another. Look at The Mechanic and I – we have six bikes between the two of us! (One may or may not be in the bedroom, although neither of us are bothered by that. I know some spouses might be.) I suppose it is the same for any hobby. When I got my first tattoo I was told it’s addictive, and it kinda is – I do want another one…

My camera can’t capture the gorgeousness of this Iced Peach Floral Japanese Lyocell Cotton from Marcy Tilton so check out the website for better photos –> https://marcytilton.com/collections/woven/products/iced-peach-floral-japanese-lyocell-woven

But I hadn’t really put sewing into that perspective until this past weekend, when I shared photos on Instagram of some fabric I spontaneously ordered. It’s *gorgeous* fabric, but in a colorway I don’t really have any other clothing in. The fabric is intended for a blouse, so I’ll need either pants or a skirt to go with it. Or both. And then I need to see if any of the pants or skirt patterns I already own works with the fabric I need to get, the style of the blouse I plan to make, and anything else that might happen to go with this gorgeous fabric. So it totally made sense when one of my IG sewing friends commented “If you give a sewist some fabric, she’ll have to make some pants to go with it,” referencing the popular children’s’ book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. And then I realized – N+1. Fabric = more patterns = more fabric = more patterns, etc.

I’ve been trying really hard not to acquire more fabric and patterns, because I’m really anxious to make the fabric and patterns I have. But I feel like it’s too late to finish my summer sewing, and maybe I should move onto fall plans. Of course, I know that it will stay warm well into October, so there is plenty of time to get my warm weather garments made! But cold weather clothes take longer, so I feel like I need to get started now! Now, now now!!! N + 1 = more fabric and more patterns.

The irony is, The Mechanic and I are both not only pretty happy with the bikes we have, we are considering getting rid of some. I mean, it’s been a few years since I’ve dusted off my mountain bike – is there any point in keeping it?! We are planning a West Virginia road trip in October, though, so I guess I will decide after that. But is it worth keeping a bike for a maybe once a year opportunity? I don’t know, is it worth buying fabric that I may or may not every have time to sew up?

I have been sewing up a storm this month, unlike my bike habits. I’m especially proud of the New Look 6262 dress I made from an IKEA duvet cover, and the Vogue 9302 pants, made from IKEA curtains. The dress doesn’t fit great but it feels lovely, the cotton/lyocell fabric is silky and lightweight, and perfect for the upcoming hot weather. The pants are a wearable muslin for wide leg pants that I want to make for the colder months, something I can line with flannel, and/or fit thermal underwear underneath. And hey, tropical print pants! The shift dress is a nice basic, and the infinity scarf will be so great with many things.

Shift Dress, New Look 6095

New Look 6262, made from an IKEA duvet cover

Vogue 9302, made from IKEA curtains

Infinity scarf, made double gauze

Double gauze infinity scarf

I also ordered new sewing labels, yay! I have 100 – how long do you think they will last? I can’t believe I’ve already used 100 labels, frankly, so we’ll see what happens with these! Oh dear – do 100 labels mean N = 100??!