sunday snippets of SWAP progress

...in which our plucky heroine transforms a dress into a pinafore...

Combining the rectangular constructed bodice and the gored skirt didn't work out, so I recut the bodice into a pinafore top... this ended up with the stenciled design forming a nice border along the vee neckline. My initial concept of multiple bands of trim on the hemline seemed too "fussy", so just the black corduroy bias edgebinding. Having transformed the dress into a pinafore will necessitate changing my SWAP plans, as the color balance is shifted. I am glad I didn't waste the entire dresslength of fabric though.

This unintended pinafore works with some of the clothing I already have, that I made several years ago, so I could technically say that I now have a complete 3PAC: brown/black pinafore (bottom) black polkadot dress (2010) (dress) and black floral peplum blouse (2013) (top). If I end up with enough time at the end, I can fill these spaces (dress + top) with additional newly sewn garments, but just in case my sewing remains so slow, it is good to have this option

I also learned a clever trick for getting the binding to lay nicely flat around an inside corner, by sewing a sort of tiny sideways diamond shaped dart. Solving this particular difficulty will come in very useful, since my preferred edge treatment is self-made bias binding. Am wondering about putting together a workshop on edge binding, and if there would be any interest in that...

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January SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	sekrit santa gift	iPod speakers	bag to Goodwill
2	two felt mice	-	bag to Goodwill
3	heraldic enamel	-	-
4	Laurel pendant	-	-
5	black/brown pinafore	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

SWAP sewing progress

in which our plucky heroine makes further progress on a new dress...

A quick notebook sketch done whilst riding the bus today, of the design concept for the black/brown linen dress. Sort of a Gudrun Sjoden lagenlook style, quite loosely cut; rectangular construction for the bodice in combination with my favorite gored skirt and capacious pockets. Managed to get it all cut out of the yardage I had on hand, by dint of some clever piecing...

It seemed advantageous to take the time to add a little stencilled motif to the pieced panels, which has the advantage of making a virtue of necessity. Also it is eversomuch easier to stencil on small pieces of fabric. (and, stenciling is a comparatively fast way to add surface design interest, compared to embroidery or applique) This will add a focal point just outside my shoulders, as well as adding some additional black accent to the brown/black cross dyed linen blend fabric. The stencils I cut for the kosode project earlier this year are continuing to be very useful.

progress on ALL THE THINGS

in which our plucky heroine ramps up her handicraft efforts on at least some of ALL THE THINGS

Beginning on the 2016 SWAP online sewing challenge, I'm almost done cutting out the first dress. I found some cross dyed black/brown cotton linen blend, which will work perfectly for one of the two garments in the "Colorway A + B" section of this year's plan. My original idea was to simply use this fabric and edgebind it in black. While I normally discard selvedges, one side of the fabric had this taupe fringe and blue edging. I will be adding this as part of the hemline decoration, along with the black edge binding...

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Years and years ago (back in the 80’s) I made wooly socks for my whole family to wear like slippers. New England had cold winters then. My folks are currently in the middle of decluttering (just like I am), and the socks I had made for my Dad turned up and were sent back to me for refurbishing. I decided that instead of simply re-doing the bottom half of the socks, I’d instead try out the Duffers Revisited pattern, make some hopefully dense felted slippers, attach the top half of the original socks to them to create slipper socks, and then sew non-slip to the bottoms.

The "Duffers" knitting pattern does go really fast, as I’m about 3/4 the way through after only two days of spare time random knitting. A bit worried about the felting part though, since the washer here is a front loader.

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Another holiday needlebook commission, this one based on trillium flowers. I love making custom sewing box treats, particularly needle books and pin cushions...

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the initial sketch, and the finished needle book
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"wintery mix"... doesn't that sound like something you could buy in the bulk bins at the grocery store? or from a candy shop?... Why is it then falling from the sky instead??

later Sunday, our "wintery mix" turns to actual snow...


Boneclaw Mother and Nanny Og, in the first snow since they were born.
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My dear friend SR in the dress that I decorated with reverse applique (Alabama Chanin style). The project took months of my spare time, but I will say that the results really suit her. And fortunately the weather had been cooperatively (and uncharacteristically) dry for a few days, so she was able to have another friend take and send me this picture

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December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	reverse applique RTW dress	salad table planted	-
6	Elizabethan shift	squirrelproofing	-
7	trillium needlebook	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

unboxing

in which our plucky heroine celebrates by unpackaging gifts and beginning the 2016 SWAP sewing challenge...

Sekrit Santa sent me some intricate and unusual embroidered trim all the way from Turkmenistan! Guess I'll be making some new garb (when my schedule has some slack later in 2016) to properly display it;  it should look quite splendid on a new undergown to be worn with my Persian coat, which has many of the same colors in the stenciled patterning. I've been mulling over improving that set of garb, and hoping to find suitable fabrics as I continue decluttering my workroom. This new gift just adds another bit of incentive...

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Boxing Day is also the start of sewing of the 2016 SWAP sewing challenge. I've been enjoying the planning process, looking at both the contents of my closet and fabric stash, to choose what to sew in the next four months. The two garments I wear the most often in wintertime are dresses and long sleeve knit tops. Those are what is needed in my wardrobe currently. I know that some folks sew SWAP for the warmer weather we will have at the end of the challenge, but I really need clothing for now, not for late springtime. Hence a second revision: comprising five dresses, three pinafores, two knit tops and a rain capelet...

3 pieces color A - black

• DRESS - black/grey/blue striped cotton
• BOTTOM - black vertical pique pinafore*
• LAYER - dark grey plaid rain capelet

3 pieces color B - brown

• DRESS - brown/turquoise shot cotton
• BOTTOM  - brown pinafore, edgebound in black
• TOP - brown cotton knit turtleneck

Combo A + B (black + brown); both dresses edgebound in black

• DRESS - black/brown chambray linen
• DRESS - indigo tonal stripe linen, trimmed with brown chambray linen & indigo lace

3 pieces wildcard colors - indigo+

• DRESS - indigo pinstripe cotton
• BOTTOM - dark indigo pinafore
• TOP - pale blue/dark grey stripe hemp knit turtleneck

* I may substitute an additional dress for this pinafore, if I have time, since this is my one "already sewn" item, made in 2012

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Have been hunting for ages for a Scandinavian style tine box at an affordable price, with the idea that it could be both an "in the house" sewing box, and at "at events" handwork project box... When this one turned up on Etsy for $35, I took several months to decide that it was worth indulging myself, and since it didn't get snapped up by another shopper, my birthday present to myself it became!

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December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	shed door rings	bag to Goodwill
3	Elizabethan shirt	garlic planted	-
4	party cookery	flowerbulbs planted	-
5	reverse applique RTW dress	salad table planted	-
6	Elizabethan shift	squirrelproofing	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

a tiny helper

in which our plucky heroine shares a favorite helper...

This is an easier adaptation of a useful sewing tool I have made in the past. Instead of making large tags with glue and fabric, this time I simply used fusible web to attach small pieces of chosen potential fabric for my 2016 SWAP to leftover index cards. Then, trim the pieces to a consistent size, punch holes, and they can all be stored on a key ring, leaving them handy to carry with when fabric shopping (or when shopping for RTW). When not in use they can be stored on a pinboard or hook in the sewing area.

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December SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	charter painted	plinth casters	bag to Goodwill
2	fabrics keyring	-	-
3	-	-	-
4	-	-	-
5	-	-	-
6	-	-	-
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

SWAP 2016

Last week DragonLady posted the rules and guidelines for SWAP 2016. Sewing With A Plan is an annual online challenge with many participants worldwide and no actual prizes other than personal accomplishment, and ideally results in a set of eleven garments that work together. Since my own wardrobe has been in need of refurbishment for the last few years, our plucky heroine intends to actually participate, rather than simply enjoy the planning phase, which admittedly is my favorite part (though having a functional wardrobe is also a great and useful pleasure)

Today I pulled some likely suspects of fabric from my stash, and a few that I thought were good choices were sent back to the shelves, while I found some others that would be better coordinates with my chosen bottoms (aka pinafores). The color differences are subtle, but for example my already cut out but not sewn denim jacquard is actually a brighter blue than I prefer to wear with the chosen dress fabrics, and what I thought was grey chambray is actually a pale cool blue.  I switched the denim jacquard with a random wale black corduroy (because I can never have too many black pinafores), and the grey chambray for a soft grey-blue ikat.

left column: top - dark grey plaid Goretex for rain capelet, middle - already sewn indigo/black Alabama Chanin style long sleeve knit top, bottom - pale blue/dark grey stripe hemp knit for turtleneck long sleeve knit top

middle column: five fabrics for dresses - two tone indigo stripe linen, soft grey-blue ikat cotton, black/cream stripe cotton*, indigo pinstripe cotton/linen, black/grey/blue stripe cotton

right column: fabrics for pinafores - dark indigo denim, brown brushed twill, black random wale corduroy

I may overdye the black/cream stripe fabric and the denim jacquard that didn't make the final plan with some chocolate brown dye, which will help them better coordinate with my wardrobe, and also overdye some of the various cotton lace pieces I have, to use them as trim... I prefer lower contrast and less vivid colors in my clothing, as my personal coloration is also low contrast - really bright colors and high contrast leave me looking and feeling washed out.

To summarise the rules: "The first group of three all works together. The second group of three all works together. The two pieces works with both the first and the second group. The 3 wildcards should work with and/or coordinate with some of the above, but don't have to work with everything." Because my everyday dresses are what is the most in need of refurbishment, I have chosen options from the various groupings that all have at least one or more dress in the group, and my "bottom" layers are all new pinafores, to replace the ones that are also starting to wear out.

my revised tentative plan:

• DRESS - grey/black/blue striped cotton
• BOTTOM - dark indigo pinafore
• LAYER - dark grey plaid rain capelet

• DRESS - indigo pinstripe
• BOTTOM  - brown pinafore, edgebound in black
• TOP - indigo/black knit top
            (Alabama Chanin style, already made)

• DRESS - two-tone indigo linen
• DRESS - cream/black stripe cotton
               (overdye either brown or medium indigo)

• DRESS - grey/blue ikat cotton
• BOTTOM - black random wale corduroy pinafore
• TOP - pale blue/dark grey stripe hemp knit turtleneck

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November SMART goals

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	11 jars salsa verde	Mom slippers	2 Goodwill bags
2	10 jars grapefruit marmalade	Barb necklaces	big CPU
3	-	-	small CPU
4	-	-	2 random hard drives
5	-	-	4 more Goodwill bags
6	-	-	old foam pad
7	-	-	-
8	-	-	-
9	-	-	-
10	-	-	-
11	-	-	-
12	-	-	-

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