sew the good stuff

in which our plucky heroine shares her plans...

this morning, our Sewing Nomads discussion touched on our sewing plans for 2026. I remembered how back in the days of SWAP, Boxing Day was the official day to "start your sewing machines", which might be why I was inspired to work on my new plaid flannel shirt yesterday.  I've no need for 13! new garments in my wardrobe, despite how many items are beginning to wear out, but a half dozen would be a good start to replace the all ones past refurbishment. (mending my clothing stops happening when the weave of the base fabric becomes too weak to hold stitches.

Not sure if it was CCL or I who first mentioned a winter 6PAC plan, but there was enthusiasm for the idea, as a way of cheering one another on, and before we were done, Turquoise had added an additional channel to our group Discord. My additional exhortation today was to "sew the good stuff". At my stage of life, it feels foolish to save the best fabrics for some future special occasion, and more satisfying to turn them into garments to enjoy wearing. So, this pretty plaid will become a shirt accented with what is probably Liberty lawn. I'm going to attempt one step past a 6PAC into a Lucky 7, with two pinafores, two pairs of long janes, a shirt, a blouse, and the interminable raincoat. With TNT patterns for all the basic garments, and only a few steps left to complete on the raincoat, it should be possible to finish all of these in the next few months.

** 6PAC = Six Piece Awesome Collection, the wintertime one is two inner layers, two outer layers, pants, and a coat
* SWAP = Sewing With A Plan, eleven garment sewing challenge from the late lamented Stitchers Guild, rules changed every year

(more useful information about the 6PAC concepts here on the Fabulous Dr E's Fabulous Blog)

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~ Tana lawn fabric ~

This lovely fabric, which feels and looks like Liberty Tana lawn, is going to be the accent fabric for my new flannel shirt, being used for the underside of the cuffs and collar, the lower portion of the tower placket, and for the bias binding around the neckline. I wish I knew who gave it to me, so I could thank them, as I've no memory of purchasing it myself!

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My Otterbox phone case is actually transparent on the not-screen side, and once I found out how to remove it again, I was able to measure out and cut a piece of fancy handmade and screen printed paper to fit in the clear space. A bit more fun than the basic black effect. This current season seems to be include (indulging in?) various small efforts to brighten everyday life. 

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December SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	2 pairs underwear	vegetable steamer legs	fridge science experiments
2	knitted shrew	shrew eyes	yard waste bin
3	1 pair undies	Gamma bucket lid	recycle bin
4	2 alphabeast  drawings	one page of the embroidery transfer	recycle bin
5	1 alphabeast  drawing	daypack mended	recycle bin
6	phone pouch	cleaned keyboard	x
7	transit pass case	undie waistband	x
8	x	Otterbox case	x
9	x	x	x

today's gratitudes -
- my Otterbox has a clear back, and today I figured out how to add a piece of decorative paper, so the mobile phone is not all black.
- the Havarti from Costco is tasty, with tiny crystals that crunch
- a multigenerational button box, even if no longer in the container I remember from childhood...

Time of Isolation - Day 2009