Stitch Sew Shop

In Praise of a Crafty Long Weekend

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!

Inspiration black bag with completed new bag

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?

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?

July 2019: Reflective Revisited

It’s July, and still the longest days of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere, that is), there is still a ton of daylight. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking about all things reflective!

I recently stumbled cross two reflective things in unexpected places: LeSportsac and Target! Who knew that LeSportsac would even make a reflective bag?!?! I was looking at their Fifi Lapin collaboration (a fashionable bunny, be still my heart!) and somehow came across the reflective bags. Reflective AND on sale, I ordered a cross body bag with no hesitation. Yes, I passed up the bunny bags for the reflective one. Thank goodness – the color I ordered is now sold out. Flat, with two front zippers, short handles on top, but with a long strap, this bag is surprisingly spacious. I was able to fit my water bottle in it with no problems the day we went kayaking. There are still other bags in this collection available, but don’t wait too long! I might buy all the rest.My Target find is admittedly pretty random, especially for someone who has short hair. By the time scrunchies came on the scene in the late 80s, my long hair was already long gone, so not only did I never like them, I never had the need. Apparently scrunchies are enjoying a renaissance, as many sewists are making them with fabric scraps. Again, not something I’ve paid any attention to – until I walked past a display of *reflective* ones in Target the other day!!! And yes, I bought one. I figure it will be a great bracelet. And maybe I’ll get another so I can wear them as wrist ruffles. There are also some to be found on Etsy, like this listing for a totally reflective one.

Another favorite place for reflective scrunchies, as well as other fun accessories, is Reflective Society. I’ve mentioned this company before, because I’ve ordered some of the buttons before. I’m currently in love with the tassel earrings and absolutely adore the little pom-pom pair. The knit reflective scrunchie seems like a good fall piece, if you are looking for one. I haven’t been doing much reflective sewing lately, but I’m gearing up for a big project. I have some luscious wool from Dashing Tweeds that will eventually become a jacket. I just ordered the lining fabric for it. I’ve been *obsessed* with this Moonglow Mystery by Abigal Halpin for Spoonflower print for years, and decided that it would be the perfect lining for the jacket. I ordered two yards of it in satin, and it feels wonderful and the print is nice and sharp. I’m taking a workshop in a few weeks at Stitch Sew Shop in a few weeks that will help us fit any pattern we want. I will definitely want a muslin for this jacket, with all these expensive fabrics, so this seems like the best way to get the best fit. Hopefully Taylor McVay of Blueprints for Sewing has a lot of patience for me, as this isn’t a quick and easy pattern. (Of course this could all go terribly wrong – I hope I can squeeze these pattern pieces out of the tweed I have; I haven’t laid it all out yet….)

So there are a few summer reflective accessories for you, if you want to add something small to your collection while I work on something big. Tell me, did you wear scrunchies in the 80s? Will you wear them this time around?

Competing Hobbies, Different Tribes

One evening last week I braved our Metro system to go to an event at Stitch Sew Shop, a fairly new sewing store in Old Town Alexandria totally geared towards people who want make their own clothing. The event was an opportunity to meet Lisa Comfort, the sewing genius behind London company Sew Over It. Lisa’s goal with her shop is to teach as many people to sew as possible, and the store offers classes, patterns, online classes, and I believe has expanded to other cities. Her patterns have both a modern and a vintage feel. There were maybe a dozen other women who had traveled from all over the DC region (Tyson’s, Bethesda) to see Lisa and to talk sewing. Our conversation ranged from the fall of good fabric stores to why dressmaking seems more popular in the UK to how do we teach our husbands to be better photographers?! I bought some fabric and a pattern, and returned home feeling a bit euphoric.

Lisa Comfort and one of her patterns, in Stitch Sew Shop in Alexandria, VA

Wonderful new fabric, too!

The evening got me thinking about the different hobbies and interests I have, and the different tribes therein. There is the bicycling world, the sewing world, and now, the bunny world. I’ve been in the bike world for several years know, admittedly on the periphery, and my interactions with the sewing world has been primarily online. And I’ve just dipped a toe in the rabbit world since adopting Gaston a month ago. And I’ve discovered something interesting.

The sewing world seems to be the most supportive and accepting. I think this is because it is the only one of these hobbies where there truly is no wrong way to do things. That’s what makes it so great – everyone’s personality and creativity is celebrated by all of us. Through blogs, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, I have found a group of people who are creative, who constantly strive to try new things, and who cheer on each other, even if the project isn’t their style. No “you shouldn’t put *those* sleeves into *that* bodice,” or “That fabric isn’t suitable for that outfit.” Nope, we are all exploring with what we love, and everyone is okay with that.

Not everyone would make (or wear!) a skirt like this, but my sewing community on Instagram loved it!

In the bicycling world, I still observe a lot of “you are doing it wrong!” attitudes, many “You aren’t doing that *my* way, therefore it’s wrong,” articles and commentary. Okay, there are some things that you shouldn’t do, like biking the wrong way in a one-way bike lane. But I hear stories from new (or not so new) cyclists about how they were treated by others on bikes, and it makes me sad that we can’t support each other’s choices. Why have some of us in the bicycle community still not learned that biking slow/short distances/old bikes/upright bikes/in street clothing/cautiously/casually is still GOOD biking? Yelling at a new rider or buzzing too close to pass them is *not* how to encourage them to keep them biking. Daily I am grateful, though, for the conscientious, supportive bike people I know. Without them, I would have left long ago.

My bicycle is an extension of my style – it expresses who I am.

I’m learning that bunny ownership is probably similar to parenthood – lots of people think they know best and want to make sure you know their way is best. And there are legitimately some things that you can do incorrectly with a rabbit including feeding it the wrong things (not enough hay. never enough hay), bad cages, and so on. Luckily I not only have past experience, I have a trusted source. But I also know enough to keep this group at arm’s length. Too many negative experiences in the bike world to want to get too close to this group.

This is a very relaxed and happy rabbit – we must be doing something right!

As we interact with others who have similar interests and hobbies, I hope we can all remember to take a breath and not jump down their throats for doing whatever it is in a different manner (assuming it’s safe and legal, etc.). Really, it’s okay to be different. It’s what makes us all interesting people.