progress report

Finished stitching on the brown corduroy pinafore this morning before work, (now halfway through the 6 piece winter wardrobe project) Wanted to make a slightly different choice than simple patch pockets, which are my default.

This Marimekko dress image has been in my inspiration files for a while now, and came to mind as a possibility. Do the asymmetrical pockets have just enough whimsy without being excessively weird? Certainly the fashion police did not write me up a ticket today while out and about.

this dress <------ inspired this pinafore ------>

Rather than use several contrasting fabrics, a simple edge binding of the pockets seemed to be a pleasing echo of the bias bound pinafore edges, and would add the least amount of thickness, given that the corduroy is a very thick pile, at four ribs/inch. The embellishment is just a bit more subtle. There is an incredible satisfaction in the process of sewing the pockets down , the transition from disparate elements into one useful garment, and as the pocket edges are topstitched, they visually meld into the pile of the corduroy. I am such a sewing geek!

≈ : ♥ : ≈

Open studio night, and my project this evening is to complete the setting for the cabochon that will grace the pelican enamel currently on the workbench. The great challenge is that the setting will be tube-set through the enamel, so as to not stress the cloisonné; the tube must be quartered, then those quartered bits will then become tabs to hold the setting firmly but gently to the enamel surface.

To be certain, this is definitely stress-creating for moi. The teardrop shaped bezel is tiny, and the bezel itself is made from delicate cloisonné wire. Cutting the four slits in the thin tubing which is already soldered to the bezel, without deforming the edges, was not easy. Each step needed careful thought, and 'twas an inspiration to cut a small piece of wood to the outline of the stone, thereby supporting the thin bezel while all this operating took place.

the tiny bezel


the first cut


the tubing, quartered

Remember, the entire bezel is only about 7mm x 4mm, and the tubing is 1½mm dia, which makes the tubing cuts about ½ mm thick. No coffee for this gal...