Handcrafted

May and early June have been so wonderfully busy here at the Lucky homestead that I just didn't want to sit down and blog...although I keep writing many entries in my head.  Now it's time to catch up because I do appreciate having a record of my sewing projects and progress....or lack of it.  (and that jingle from an Almond Joy and Mounds commercial of thirty years ago, "sometime you feel like a (blogging) nut, sometimes you don't...has been annoying me enough to make me sit and type.)
In the middle of May I got to participate in a fashion show run by a friend from my church.  A supplier brought in racks of clothes and tables of accessories which a dozen of us modeled and which were then for sale with 10% of the proceeds going to her charity.  These were NY wholesale trendy, inexpensive items, clothing which I could rather easily make myself and would normally not tempt me whatsoever.  But I had to buy this unlined cotton jacket for one very cool detail. 
Here's the jacket....sorry for the distracting print, it was the only one of its kind.  It's an attached faux shawl collar, very similar to an OOP Simplicity jacket pattern that I use.  And this one is a double layer collar, with the top layer about one inch narrower than the bottom collar.  That's pretty cool detail in a lightweight fabric but why did I go ahead and spend $35 for this jacket when I could have easily enough made one of my own?

Here's why....I wanted to bring it home and figure out what's in this thin edging on both of those collars.  Turns out that there's something like wire edge-stiched onto the collar so that you can crinkle it or stand it up and it keeps its shape.  My pictures can't fully illustrate this neat little detail (one that I saw on a similar jacket in Naples this season for five times the price of this one.)  

Something wire-like in the "channels on the collar edges

The collars can stand up and stay up, together or on their own.

See the pinched, crimped edge which keeps its shape?

One of my friends has been sleuthing out this interior edge item and has told me that Lyla Messenger was selling this type of product in two thicknesses at a recent sewing expo.  It's not yet on her website but I'll be tracking it down at the ASG expo in August.  More sleuthing, then sewing, to be done.
So there I am, at the fashion show, sitting at a table with some women from church and they are making the usual remarks about sewing....."oh I use to sew until.....oh, do you do alterations?....oh, it's to hard to find good fabric...."  I get on my soapbox...."Oh, no, there are still good fabric places if you know where to go.....I am too slow and too expensive to do anyone's alterations except my own....really, just get some fitting help for a few basic garments and then have some fun again."  I look around the room and point to a woman's back and say, "Now look, isn't that a gorgeous jacket........wait  minute, no, it can't be....it is....oh my gosh, there's a sewing goddess right here in the same room with us."  My church friends wonder what I am so excited about, but you, my dear sewing readers, you too would have been excited if that gorgeous jacket just happened to belong to (and be sewn by) the inimitable Susan Khalje. Susan Khalje 

Yes, the couture sewing empress herself was there and we got to laugh and enjoy seeing one another again.  I had taken Susan's hand stitching class followed by her gorgeous trunk show a few years ago at the Fort Myers Sewing Guild program.  She's funny, sweet, encouraging and a delight.....and even let a friend snap her picture.  She doesn't know it yet but I'm also her classroom helper at one of the ASG conference classes in August.  A fun fashion day and even there sewing was my greatest priority.
But sewing isn't the only handcraft that I got to enjoy in May.  Last year we got some lovely new neighbors and this spring they invited us out on this wonderful handbuilt wooden sailboat, made by a craftsman from Maryland's Eastern Shore.  Wow, it's beauty and the day was just as gorgeous.

And here are pictures of my 8th grade classmates enjoying handcrafted ice cream from the local candy and ice cream store in my hometown in northern New Jersey.  We get together for a reunion lunch each year and this time a dozen of us laughed and reminisced the afternoon away.  

Didn't want you to miss that I am wearing my Elle pants from Style Arc in this shot.

Last on the handcrafted theme, let me share a fascinating book which also made me appreciate Tiffany lamps and windows in a whole new way.  I heartily recommend:

Susan Vreeland did a great deal of research and has written a historical novel about the contributions of Clara Driscoll, the forward thinking artist behind the famous Tiffany lampshades and who ran the women's division at his studios.  Last summer I took a beginner's mosaics class and I loved the colors of even the simplest glass tiles.  Reading this book reminded me of how we sewists rave about the colors and depth of fabric details with the same passion as these artisans.   Thoroughly enjoyable and engrossing.
There it is, a little bit of May in a nutshell....an almond nutshell after all.

   

Fabric Exercise

I spent most of yesterday, the second rainy day of the week, re-organizing, or as I frequently call it, "curating," my fabric collection.  I have bins of fabric that returned north in those relocubes.  Now I face the task of deciding what to keep, what to donate, what to sell and where to put it all.  It is truly a process, not a one time event, to get this done and I am working to keep my serenity.  I do enjoy just fondling and "petting" my fabric when I reorganize it.  I cherish the colors, the textures and the potential for each piece.  It's also interesting to see how a dozen years of serious sewing effort has lead me to particular styles and wardrobe needs.  I'll be sharing some of the lessons all this year as the project continues.  Meanwhile there are two large bags of fabric heading to next week's project of sewing professional looking skirts for low-income women interviewing for jobs.  And there are two large boxes so far heading for future sewing guild "free tables."

On Monday, the first rainy day, I took on combining the clothes from the FL condo clean out with my wardrobe here in Baltimore.  I took out all the "bottoms"....jeans, pants, capris, shorts, leggings, and skirts.  Each one I tried on to see: does it fit? (I've lost weight this year so some things were just too big and not worth altering), was it flattering? (that nixed all but two pairs of capri pants since I have skirts that are cool and much more flattering for summer wear) did I wear it in the last two years?  Turns out I have more LL Bean outdoor pants to wear than I really need.  Three large bags and a half dozen suits and jackets on hangers left today for the Junior League resale shop.  

Here's one lesson so far.  A dozen or more years ago I thought I would be sewing a lot of art to wear items, particularly jackets.  I know several wonderfully talented fabric artists in this area....Stephanie Goddard, Rae Cumbie, Nancy Schreiber....and have enjoyed classes with them tremendously.  Turns out "artsy" is their style, but not mine, in any serious way.  Nonetheless I purchased fabrics over the past years to make pieced, elaborate jackets...and of course, have either never made them or else don't regularly wear those that I have sewn.  That's where today's sewing project started its life in my house.  

Hand painted59"  panel from Mekong River Textiles

I bought this lovely hand painted raw linen or silk panel from the equally lovely Susan McCauley  Mekong River Textiles with the idea that it would be pieced onto some artsy jacket.  Not going to happen in my lifetime it seems.  Instead I get to enjoy the beauty of it as a runner on my dining room table.   I basted it onto a piece of cotton flannel then bound it with a silk-cotton blend from Fabric Mart.  I'll hand sew the binding on the back while visiting with sewing friends in the next two days.  Hooray, space cleared in my stuffed fabric closets and I'll be enjoying this fabric instead of feeling guilty for having purchased it and not used it.

A better life as a dining room table runner in progress

Clever idea I saw to manage your binding while stitching it to the edge

It was a gorgeous, sunny day today and before dinner Mr. Lucky and I took another drive to see those magnificent Sherwood Gardens.  It's been 12 days since our last visit and new beds of tulips have blossomed and while the cherry trees are almost done with their display, the azaleas are just coming out in all their glory.  

Aren't those tulips glorious near this bright orange hydrant?

Look, raw edged tulips, just like some of my jacket trims!!

 Some of you thought at first that these glorious gardens might be in my backyard.  No, my green thumb efforts are far more modest although quite a bit of work for the two of us each spring and fall.  Our latest project was planting a River Birch tree cluster in the backyard last week in honor of Earth Day and Arbor Day.  You can just make it out to the right center of the back lawn area.

New River Birch cluster 

Next sewing project will be something more in my own fashion and style.  I hope you too are sewing something that you will enjoy and appreciate.

Vogue 8088, Not My Usual Style

Most of you reading this little blog are already entrenched in the sewing/blogging world.  But I have a few personal friends who don't spend months, weeks, days hours combing blogworld and Pinterest for exciting creations, inspiration and sewing gossip.  This post starts out with an entreaty to them to enjoy The Great British Sewing Bee on youtube.  I won't give away any secrets except to say I LOVED watching the four hour long episodes.
Episode One
Episode Two
Episode Three
Great British Sewing Bee Finale 
Yes, it has some of the contrived drama of all reality shows but I so enjoyed seeing amateur sewers get public appreciation and respect.  Many other bloggers have had wiser things to say about these shows and the contestants and judges.  I simply enjoyed sitting with a glass of wine after a day of errands, yardwork, chores and dog care while indulging in a combination of my two of my favorite things....sewing and visiting England again, even if only vicariously.
I've been an Anglophile since I was a wee child.  The first storybook I recall was a Little Owl Book "Candles for the Queen."  My very first visit to Great Britain took place in 1972 when I was backpacking through Europe with Frommer's $5 A Day Guide leading me.  It's been a love affair ever since and this show just let me indulge on a more personal level.  I as impressed by the courage it took to sign up to sew in front of cameras and judges in a limited time.  Heck, I hate showing all of you readers the rear end of a pair of pants I've sewn.  This wasn't for a Project Runway of Fashion Star chance at money and fame, just an opportunity to show honed sewing skills.  I was touched by the contestants, their families and was happy to the point of tears at the final result.  But they were all winners to give it a go and I look forward to the next series.

But enough about watching sewing, how about getting some done here on the other side of the pond.   I am finally posting a picture of this latest creation from my sewing room.  It was too cold over the last week to go outside and pose with a thin silk organza jacket.  But the weekend was warmer and I've gotten a snapshot of the final result.

Vogue 8088

The fabric is an embroidered and painted silk organza from Fabric Mart.  The pattern is one of Marcy Tilton's, what I would consider an artsy style, quite different from my usual classic tailoring or sportswear  outdoorsy look.  When I attended the Artistry in Fashion show at Canada College in California last year, I felt a little underdressed compared to the more creative types all around me.  So here's the most out-of-the fashion-box style that I like on me.  
I cut a size Small and then took 1/2" off the shoulders to narrow them further.  I am rather satisfied with the result except that I might narrow the pattern back so that it doesn't swing out so dramatically.  I feel a little like a superhero ready to leap in the air with a mini cape waving behind.

sort of caped crusader

  Marcy's directions for finishing the seams are as lovely as those in a Sewing Workshop pattern.  French side seams and a two inch band with mitered corners are sophisticated touches.  I used a Linda Lee technique of a cardboard template (just a cut up am marked file folder.)  In this case the template is 2" wide with a one inch mark down the center.  I pressed the jacket edges with the template, then turned them again along the first fold and used a narrow zig zag to stitch down the outer edges.

Make the first fold with a cardstock template for accuracy.

Double folded edge and mitered corner

The square corner collar neck area is also finished cleanly on the inside which also reinforces that weak square corner area and is the final detail to make this one layer jacket as nice inside as outside.

Inside square collar and shoulder seam, trimmed and hand stitched

Outside collar and shoulder

As always, I am late to discover this pattern.  I just saw last week that the creative and generous (remember my giveaway win this winter?) JillyB has sewn several of these while I was playing with my one simple one.  Jillybejoyful jackets 
I too would like to make some other versions but next I'm moving on to something new.  Yup, I'm continuing this short journey out of my fashion comfort zone.  There's a new mock up pattern in my sewing room and later this week I'll get some fitting help from some of my sewing pals.  How about you, are you in or out of your comfort zone this week?

McCalls 6444

McCalls 6444

I am taking a break from a new sewing project to post this picture of McCalls 6444, a very simple waterfall jacket that I stitched up last week.  This is such an easy pattern and I didn't even bother to finish the edges, just left them raw.  
I am auditioning this outfit for a May visit with my 8th grade classmates, an annual event that I cherish.  I wore it to lunch with some friends this week and got several compliments.  I do like the color on me, the style is casual but accessorized nicely (thank you Chico's) but I think the proportion might be a little too long, even with my height.  I'm wearing it with straight leg jeans but I think I might need skinny leg jeans to pull off the full oversized flowing fabric look and maybe a belt under the jacket to suggest that I still have a waist.  

Right now sewing has taken a back seat to heavy duty work in the yard and flowerbeds. But I made sure to take some spring pictures since I am awestruck by how beautiful spring is.  We haven't been here in the Mid Atlantic for early April in at least seven or eight years.  On one hand I am exhausted by the amount of perennial dividing and transplanting we are doing in our many flowerbeds.  But on the other hand it is a joy to see each day unfold with new buds and sprouts then blossoms and leaves appearing.   Yesterday afternoon we took the dogs and visited the gorgeous Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore, a springtime treasure.  Sherwood Gardens 80000 tulip neighborhood display  Here's what their flower beds look like at the start of their most glorious season.

Glad to be taking a break from our yardwork

Some modest tulips on display in our own garden

Lots of weeding to locate these Siberian iris around last summer's new fencing

In addition to heavy lifting in the garden, I've been doing heavy lifting in my reading for the last week.  I've enjoyed the first of Ken Follett's new trilogy:

It's an epic historical novel of five families from Europe and the US and how the characters are caught up in the events of the time.  This first book covers the period before, during and immediately after World War I.  A large book in size and scope but very readable.  It was disheartening, however, to understand that the very same political battles are being fought today, almost one hundred years later.  I do recommend it and will tackle the second one later this year.
Now it's time to tackle that new sewing project, a Marcy Tilton jacket, something that's a departure from my usual fashion style.  Let's give it a shot and see what we think.....

Sewing, Moving, Reading

My sewing mojo is back.  And we are back in Baltimore.  But now I have to make the time to sew up the projects and ideas spinning in my head.  And I also want to sit down and luxuriate in a binge of international sewing television by watching the Youtube versions of "The Great British Sewing Bee."  That could get me started on a rant about cable television....the one where I say hey, I'm glad to pay for what I DO watch and get rid of the several hundred channels that I DON"T watch if you would only give me that choice!!!  Off that soapbox and onward to a quick update on the last month of life, some sewing, more moving, lots of reading, plenty of gardening and a beautiful springtime.
I'll start with the latest sewing project which was to stitch up three pairs of Style Arc Elle pants that I had cut out in early winter....two black knit ones and one dark olive green pair.  I'll just show you one and you can imagine the others.  

Elle pants, one of three pairs in April

What a fabric roundabout trip for this fabric.  It's a sport knit with tennis rackets woven into it for some tone on tone texture.  I bought it at Walmart the second year that we were in our Florida condo, nine years ago.  I originally made a pair of Burda bootcut pants that were comfy and attractive for sportswear.  Now the styles have changed, our living situation has changed and now here's more of that fabric in narrow legged sport pants.  No more of this fabric left so I guess no more moves, right?

That's all the sewing news at present so you can stop reading and move onto another sewing blog, won't hurt my feelings.  For those of you curious about our recent move north, here are more details

When you last saw us, Mr. Lucky and I had sold our condo to a delightful couple and had to find temporary housing for a few more weeks of Florida sunshine.  We started out at the very pet-friendly Red Roof Inn which has re-done its rooms and is an inexpensive way to travel the US with pets in tow.   

Red Roof Inn pet friendly-room

But even this nice room can get cramped after five days so one of our kind, generous dogpark friends invited us to stay at her home for the next five days.  We had a wonderful visit, caught up with several other local friends who we wanted to spend time with before heading north and eventually bid a sad farewell to our morning group of humans and animals.

Some of our morning compatriots, two-legged and four....

We're going to miss them....

We sold our condo furnished but did bring home our personal items, some replacement kitchenwares (I wanted the new food processor from FL to replace the inherited one in Baltimore) and all of my sewing books, patterns, fabric, notions, and machines.  We used a wonderful company, ABF, with "relocubes."  We did our own packing and then the company brings a forklift and moves the cubes onto a truck that headed north.  A few days after we arrived in Baltimore we called them to deliver them to our driveway.  

Two "relocubes"

The first one was stuffed to the ceiling with boxes but the second one had our bikes and unpacked items lashed amongst the packages.

Yes, that's a padded dressform on top of plastic boxes of fabric and patterns in cube #2

We put all the boxes from the two cubes into our basement and now we face the slow and tedious task of emptying them.  No major hurry so I am giving myself until Christmas to work through the perhaps 60 boxes.  I'll be deciding which of my machines and supplies to keep and then hold a sewing sell-off of the rest.  The hardest part is combining clothing from the two places.  I have lost about ten pounds this year so that's making it slightly easier to send too big clothing to charity.  We've already donated two cardboard wardrobes and about 20 empty boxes on freecycle so we are making progress although it's not easy to see when there's so much "stuff" downstairs.  

Since we were living as nomads for a few weeks, I did get a lot of reading done and thought I'd share my most recent finds.  

Loved, loved, loved this one.  I've not generally been a historical novel person but in the past year that's a genre I have enjoyed tremendously.  This one is a beautifully written story that gave me insights into some famous personages, Anne Morrow Lindbergh and her husband, Charles.  I enjoy reading others' reviews more than writing one so here's what many Amazon readers have to say about it  Amazon reviews

My Baltimore book group had selected this title for the April discussion so I checked it out of the Collier County library while we still in Florida and read it on the week long trip north.  Again, I absolutely loved it.  I found it funny, touching and wise and enjoyed it so much that I read it twice in preparation for our get together.  The story of a mild mannered, retired British man who walks for hundreds of miles to see a former colleague who is in hospice did not sound promising.  But I was so moved by this book and the beautiful writing.  Once again, here are the reviews, if you are interested:  Amazon reader reviews

Last one was just fun and enjoyable and reminder of the great bonds between humans and their dogs.  

Now it's time to get out into the yard and do some more weeding, perennial dividing, planting and mulching.  It's been terrific to be here in April when we can really make headway in our many flowerbeds. But wow, we are feeling it every evening when we gingerly lower ourselves onto the sofa to relax, watch tv....and fall asleep shortly thereafter.  So my sewing projects are currently only in my head....but are becoming closer to reality with each passing day.  Hope your sewing projects are more "real" and fulfilling for you. 

What I Sewed for a Real Estate Closing

It's been a few happy, hectic weeks, dear readers and friends.  Our real estate listing went up in mid-Feb. with lovely pictures and we immediately started getting lots of showings and many follow up visits and buying type questions.  The first open house was held the following weekend and we got a good offer and were happy to be able to sell quickly and not have to return back to FL after the end of season for moving and/or closing.  So this past Tuesday we had the walk through and went to closing.  I though I'd share the latest version of McCalls 6201 that I had finished sewing the previous week.  

McCalls 6201

Last time you'll see me or the sweet dogs with this background and I hope the new owners, a charming couple that we met the day, have even more than the ten fun years we did in Florida as snowbirds. 
Will we miss being snowbirds?  Of course.  But life's circumstances change and we have to roll with the punches or make ourselves crazy in the process.  I think solving sewing problems are good small ways to learn how to think creatively around a challenge, try something totally new or outlandish on occasion or sometimes call it quits and move on to the next project.  
I've met so many wonderful friends in Florida and as one of them joked last night, we might even see each other more and keep in closer contact now that we're far apart.  We can so easily be distracted by daily mundane chores and errands that we procrastinate and forget to fit in the things that real matter, friends, family and experiences with them.  

Now it's time to pack our personal items in pods, ship them for a week or two of storage and drive north, making visits along the way.  I'm looking forward to being in Baltimore for early spring and watching each day's unfolding.  We'll stow the boxes in our basement and then I have the headache challenge opportunity of slowly unpacking and weeding out the desirable from the undesirable.  Goodwill, craigslist and my sewing guild giveway table will all be benefiting in the months to come.  

Closing one period and now starting a new one.

More TNT Sewing for Relaxation

It's such a joy to have a hobby that provides a creative distraction and some bright new clothes.  In the last two weeks I've been stitching up a few of these previously cut out sewing projects.  I stashed them earlier this winter when I knew my cutting table would leave so I could stage the sewing room as a combo bedroom and office/craft space.  So nothing new or complicated this past month.....which is good because I'm definitely distracted.  But I do have a few new items in my wardrobe and some nice time focusing on fabric and clothing rather than just real estate.  

Another pair of Elle pants from Style Arc

Another Pamela's Patterns Magic Pencil Skirt

I've also been doing a lot of enjoyable reading.   These are sweet, heart warming books with kind, thoughtful people seeking to share their talents, skills and care with others.  Just what I need right about now.

Well, maybe just some crazy New Jersey sexy fun for diversion as well:

Finally, what makes all of the real estate uncertainty bearable are my wonderful family and friends who are so kind, funny, supportive and thoroughly amusing.  Here are some of the activities that we've been sharing that lift my spirits.   

We've been to the theater with friends and I was captivated by the play Time Stands Still.  Two years ago it played on Broadway with Laura Linney and I was thrilled that it came to our wonderful Florida Rep Theater in Fort Myers.  It's not a comfortable play....dealing with the lives of two war journalists home after nine years covering the mid-east conflicts.  But there are moments of laughter amidst the suffering and I found it very healing personally.  

I've also had a wonderful girls night out in the midst of the real estate listing process, a brief but fun visit with a cousin and his wife and a great visit to the east coast of Florida where I took these pics at the Morikami Japanese Gardens and Museum  Morikami

  

Thank you, Amy, for a wonderful day.