Use Your Linen Closet As A Stash!

I've been wanting to make a basic white blouse for awhile, but as usual I just hadn't gotten around to it. In keeping with my normal proclivity to make summer stuff during winter, and winter stuff during summer, I felt I just had to make a sleeveless white shirt that I could wear during the hottest of days. I've only made one blouse in my sewing career, and that was this one, about two years ago. I really like this one; in cooler weather, I wear it with a red cardigan. I picked the fabric up at a LQS a couple of years ago, and I also made a skirt from the same fabric, so when I wear them together, it's like a two piece dress. Here's the pattern I used, McCalls 2094:

The fact that I have only used this pattern once is pretty unusual since I like to make patterns over and over again (if they work). I made this in a size 12, straight up, and I love the loose way it fits.

The problem with making the white shirt was that I wanted exactly the right fabric. The hand of the fabric is paramount, as the feel of it is as important, if not more so, than the look. I didn't wanted to order any fabric online because you really can't tell what white fabric is like, and of course, you can't feel it. I also couldn't find anything locally. I was starting to regret not buying some of the Italian cottons I saw at the Philadelphia Quilt Expo from the vendor that sold me the cashmere/mink fabric.

The fabric I really wanted to use was pinpoint cotton. It's my favorite and I love it so much that I sleep on it:

I found this sheet in the linen closet and you can see that it is for a double size bed. I haven't had a double size bed in my house since 2004, so I can only imagine that I saved the flat and fitted sheet simply because I loved the fabric. I must have figured I would eventually do something with it.

The fitted sheet wouldn't do; it was so worn out that it was shredded in places. But the flat sheet, which sees less wear, was perfect. It had been washed hundreds of times and was as soft as you could have wished. And it was free!

I'm not as thrilled with the look of the blouse as I am with the feel. It feels great. But the softness makes it look rumpled, and it wrinkles if you so much as look at it. Here's a close up of the side detail:

I have a feeling this will be a Saturday blouse - one of those cool shirts I put on in the summer on a Saturday morning that I will love when it is 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity. I won't care that it isn't crisp looking and wrinkle free. It will be comfortable!

Parting Shot: It snowed in Cotton Creek, AL today! Here is Daddy in all his craziness standing in the beginning of the snowfall about seven in the morning. Without shoes, of course:

Tunic or Dress?

Ye old yardstick this morning registered six inches of snow. And I found shoveling six inches of snow infinitely easier than shoveling a foot a week ago. So I was able to venture forth, after much tire spinning, to Joyce's where I found this on sale at 30% off. It's "Yen Rose" by Alexander Henry fabrics and the photos don't do the cheerful red color justice:

It begged to come home with me. I thought perhaps it would make a good dress from The Liverpool Tunic pattern. I orginally bought some forties inspired fabric to make the short dress with elbow length sleeves, but I'm drawn to this fabric even more. But I can't decide whether to use this fabric to make another tunic, or to make the short dress version. On the one hand, I can start wearing the tunic sooner, as the dress would have to wait until spring weather. On the other hand, I could wear the dress for more months of the year. But it would make an awfully cute tunic, though. I can't decide. Feel free to comment, and it will help me figure out what I really want to do. : )

I spent my snowy weekend finishing a shirt which I'll show you later this week when my photographer is available. And I started my first real knitting project. I'll photograph that when there is enough knitted to get excited about.

Parting shot: This is an all-to-familar scene on my back deck this winter.

My New Favorite Skirt

One of the things on my to-do list was to make a skirt this winter from the cashmere/mink fabric I bought at the Philadelphia Quilt Expo last fall. I procrastinated on this project for two reasons: marking darts on black wool (even as wonderful as this piece of fabric) is a PITA, and I was going to line it in silk, which also takes more time. But this fabric's wonderfulness is in how it feels. I wish this blog had touch-a-vision, because I have never worked with a more luxurious piece of fabric in my life. Or a more expensive. I saved the receipt and I can tell you I paid $ 88 for a single yard of this fabric. But I finally got it done and photographed this week:

These photos weren't taken until the end of the day, so of course the skirt is wrinkled a bit. It was glorious wearing it though. I've never felt a softer bit of wool, ever.

While this was a tried and true pattern, I did a few things simply because this fabric deserved it. First, I finished the waist facing edge with a strip of silk, Hong Kong style. Normally, when I am making a summer version of the skirt I just serge the waist facing edge or use the overlock stitch on my sewing machine. But I wanted this to look nicer. Here is the waist facing after I attached the strip of silk but before I sewed it to the waist:

To do this, I cut my strip of silk on the straight grain one inch wide. I attached it to the front of the facing with a quarter inch seam, wrapped it to the back, and then stitched in the ditch on the front of the facing, thus catching the silk wrapped in the back. Here is a shot of the facing on the back:

I briefly thought about cutting my silk strips on the bias, but I'm glad I didn't. This silk was slippery enough without adding bias to it.

Next, I gave the hemline the same seam allowance treatment. Here is the hem:

Next, I actually took the time to make 2 pattern pieces for the lining. The only tissue paper I had was some birthday paper with color dots, but it worked:

The only thing different about the lining pattern pieces from the garment pattern pieces is that I eliminated the 1 1/4 inch hem at the bottom, and I only marked the top legs of the darts. I don't sew the darts in my linings - I just make tucks in the lining where the darts in the garment are located.

By the way, the lining fabric is some fabulous silk VickiW gave me when she was cleaning out her garment fabric stash a couple of years ago. There was a goodly amount of it, and I am still using it for my skirts!

I handstiched the hem to the silk lining and in this photo you can see how it looks:

Here's a shot of the inside front of the skirt which shows you the lining and the facings. I didn't sew the edge of the waist facing to the lining and I probably won't.

Here's the back:

Dealing with linings like this that aren't free hanging are always more fiddly. You want to make sure the silk lining doesn't sag, but you don't want it too tight or it will make the skirt hang wonky. And then you have to unsew the hem, adjust the lining more loosely, and then hem again. I had to do this once in the front, but otherwise it hemmed up just fine. Because of this, I'm leaving the waist facing alone - it looks fine and it fits fine. No reason to mess with it!

Usually when I make this skirt from cotton I can get it done in 3 hours, and that includes cutting out. This version took about 7 to 8 hours. Extra work, but I know I will love wearing it, which is why most of us love to sew - you get the fine quality fabric in the color and style you want!

Parting Shot: Here we go again. The forecast is for 8 to 12 inches of snow this weekend. This is what it looks outside my back window:

Do I really live in the South? Hope you are staying warm!

Big Snow! (Again)

We had a snow storm yesterday, and I waited until nine o'clock this morning to start shoveling the drive as it had then warmed up to a balmy 14 degrees F. This is what greeted me as the garage door opened:

I shoveled in stages; after I got half the driveway done, I stopped and listened. It was unbelievably quiet and I was surprised by that. I expected to hear kids outside playing in the snow, or at least hear dogs romping around in it. Nothing. Nada. I walked out of the neighborhood until I reached the main four lane road, and I stood in the middle of it for nearly five minutes and not a single car came by. It was quieter than a Sunday morning; quieter than Christmas morning, even.

I walked around the neighborhood and took some photos, but not many because I felt as if I couldn't do the beauty justice; I would never be able to capture it as it was. I met some feral cats. I finally met a man with an empty leash looking for his dog who had uncharacteristically run away in the snow, and I thought, "Smart dog." He was the only one enjoying the snowy morning the way it should be celebrated. I'm glad I got the chance to stand in the middle of it and listen.

Parting Shot: To shovel in 14 degrees I wore my fleece jammy pants under my kilt. I wore an icelandic sweater Eileen knitted for me several years ago, and a knitted cap I got in Unst year before last. At this point, my neighbors aren't the least bit surprised by anything I wear. : )

Big Snow!

We've gotten so much snow that our neighborhood snowplow guy is using a CAT bulldozer to clear the streets!

My back deck: Of course, this means that my flight to Cotton Creek, Alabama has been SO cancelled. I won't get home until late, late tomorrow, at best. I would estimate that 10 to 12 inches have fallen so far, with about 6 more forecast for today and tonight. But I am happy for this "rest" day, although I don't know how much rest will be involved. If I want to leave the house tomorrow, there is going to have to be a heap of shoveling of the drive.

I haven't decided whether there will be sewing today, or what kind: work on bindings or start something new?? Don't know, but I love having the time on hand to decide!

Parting Shot: My neighbor is getting the jump on the shoveling. Think I could talk him to coming over to my house????

Snow!

We go all winter with no snow, and then we get ten inches in March! This is what my deck looked like yesterday afternoon:

And this is what it looked like this morning:

A really great snow day; unfortunately, I still had to go to work. Instead of sewing, I spent the morning shoveling (and part of this afternoon):

I'm reduced to entering and leaving my house through the garage door because this is what my doorway looks like:

It's a beautiful snow; very powdery but clingy at the same time. Here is a tree in the neighborhood:
Some streets are less plowed than others!

Hope everyone had a great snow day and everyone is safe!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was a good sewing weekend; I got most of Saturday and a couple of hours today working in the sewing studio, i.e. the dining room/living room. It was particularly fun using some of the haul from the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. First up, I was able to complete two more blocks on the DWRQ:


What was kind of fun was that I got to meet John Flynn at the Quilt Show and I told him about the black/white/red version I was doing and that it was my first. He was very encouraging and told me to keep at it and it would all come together. I'm hoping he is right. One of the things I bought at the Quilt Show was this rotating cutting mat which has made cutting the fabrics with John's templates much easier. I had resisted buying the rotating mat at my LQS, but it was so much on sale at the Quilt Show, I couldn't resist:

One thing I finally "got" about the DWRQ blocks is that there are two blocks, a block "A" and a block "B". The difference is whether you put the black corner block on top as you begin, or whether you use the red. It has taken me a few tries to get this, but I now have 8 blocks, 5 are "A"s and 3 are "B". Next weekend I'll make two more "B"s and I'll be all caught up.

The other thing I bought at the Quilt Show was this great cotton canvas whose design was inspired by antique Japanese fabrics. Vicki and Anne bought the entire fat quarter collection, but I bought a few yards of this fabric only:

And I made a skirt, from my TNT (tried-and-true) skirt pattern, McCall's 3341, view D:

I decided to made the seam allowance 1/2 inch instead of 5/8 inch to see if it would fit better, but the 1/2 inch seam allowances have made it a bit big (thank God!), but this isn't a problem - it just sits lower down on the hips, and the extra looseness will probably be appreciated come about July when it is 95 degrees. Which is hard to imagine now since it is snowing and the wind is blowing at about 25 mph.

And finally, I got the binding done for Tammy's Asian Strip Gift Quilt - hope to get that sewn on this week!

I'm hoping for lots of snow tonight so maybe work will have a delayed opening! A snow day/sewing day would be great:

And here is the Parting Shot: the beginning of the snow. There is about 3 inches out there now!

This is what a miracle looks like

When I flew home from Boston, Mass today, not only did Tammy's husband, Glen, pick me up from the airport, but Tammy cleaned my house. When I left on Friday, the kitchen sink pictured above was full of dirty dishes. Why? Because I have been so busy at work the last two weeks that I haven't had time to empty the dishwasher.

So not only did Glen take a couple of hours out of his day (and leave work) to pick me up at the airport, but Tammy cleaned my kitchen and straightened up the living room. This miracle is amazing. Especially because last week Jennifer at Conversion Diary told everyone about a special friend of hers who came over and cleaned her house. And in the comments section of Jennifer's blog I wrote "How can this miracle happen at my house?" And lo, and behold, it occurred! This a spontanteous gift from Tammy because I am pretty sure Tammy doesn't read Jennifer's blog, much less the comments section.

How do you get friends like these?? Where do you buy them? I don't know. They are clearly a gift from God.

More on the trip, and the quilting, later. But here is the Parting Shot: Snow in New England. Really beautiful: