planning for SWAP 2013

in which our plucky heroine thinks out loud, and sets down initial ideas for the next sixmonth of sewing, entailing Winter 6PAC, SWAP 2013, and random other stitchery - knittery goodness...

This years SWAP is kind of a teeter-totter, two smaller sets connected with a linking garment. My current intention is to make the two sets be somewhat different colorways, with coordinating accent colors. Unsurprisingly, my chosen colors are black & grey (accented with brown), and indigo & brown (accented with black). This will give me more clothing that will play nicely with what is already in my closet, which is ever my goal, to simply be able to get dressed with whatever suits the day, in clothing that is comfortable, durable, and interestingly creative.

For Winter 6PAC I shall probably not do the entire six pieces, since I have no intention of sewing a coat in the middle of all else this winter, but will choose my pre-SWAP projects to either complement, possibly be the allowed one pre-made garment, or be "wearable muslins". The grey corduroy vest is intended as a wearable muslin, just in case I decide that a jacket will make a good link piece

So... black and grey, accented with brown

• top - black and multiple grey t-shirt, TNT pattern, Nikki McClure crow, modified neckline to add Katherine Tilton collar
• top - black floral blouse, La Fred Athena pattern, Alexander Henry cotton lawn "Trios" in black
• bottom - ur-jumper in black textured wool ticked in lighter off-white, pattern has been graded up to current size, still needs to be muslined and fit...
• bottom - pants in heavy black cotton, possibly underlined, Vogue 8499 
• dress - grey stripey flannel, still needs pockets and hem bands etc, (this might be the pre-made component if needs be)

and... indigo and brown, accented with black

• top - brown TNT jersey knit, in the Alabama Chanin style, black paint, blue stitching, possible allover pattern?
• top - brown linen popover tunic, TNT pattern, trimmed in indigo and black
• dress (or top) - TeagardenT combined with Shams "tablecloth skirt", blue cotton jersey, possibly stenciled?
• bottom - pinafore, TNT pattern, dark indigo, not sure yet on details or fabric, might be linen, might be denim
• bottom -  overall-jumper, TNT pattern, brown brushed twill, edgebound in blue/black bias

What to do for the linking garment is kind of eluding me at the moment, these are my ideas so far, (the biggest question being what would I actually wear):

• knitted sweater in multicolors of stripes, in all my colors (Philosophers Wool style) I have lots of single skeins of yarn that used together would be suitable, not sure if I could knit an entire sweater in six months... maybe...
• black melton wool jacket based on the modified KwikSew 2895. I'd want to draft a lining pattern to make it more wearable.
• cotton velvet jacket - also based on the KwikSew pattern... whilst looking at the Ikea website, I noticed this printed cotton velvet, which appears to be in exactly my colors! It would certainly make a suitable linking garment, and would be a challenge to work with. 
• multicolor striped scarf, based on "Roundabout". When I saw this in a yarn advert in my inbox this morning, it occurred to me that a slightly less overwhelming bit of knitting would also fulfill the requirement, maybe... maybe not... scarf might be an accessory, actually, but I wanted to make a note of the idea here, for future reference

Friday fragments

in which our plucky heroine seems rather sewing-obsessed for the nonce...

So, my intention is to make a vest with a bit of a peplum, using Kwik-Sew 2895, for the "Refashion/Repurpose" contest on PatternReview. The contest runs for only two weeks, but their contests have prizes, and this one offers the Threads Archive DVD to the winner... I have had this pattern for years; while I actually did five consecutive mock-ups to get it to fit properly, that was in 2005, and I am rather a bit larger in circumference now. The jacket made then still is in good condition, the upholstery denim has held up quite well over the last seven years, but it is a little too snug. It will be necessary to add a bit to the sides, and create the lower "skirting" and add lower pockets. I am thinking of something that looks somewhere between a shooting vest and a frock coat silhouette. If this works out, I also intend to make a lined jacket with the newly adapted pattern, in wool, for the cool damp weather to come. This one, however will be re-fashioned from the old grey corduroy curtains, in keeping with the refashion/repurpose theme, and trimmed with the directional plush fabric from the grey TeagardenT that hangs in the closet unworn...

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AMOG day two - I am incredibly grateful for the internet, and the ability to access it at home. Our plucky heroine can connect to folks and information all round the world whilst sitting in the living room at Acorn Cottage. This is a huge and delightful thing, what I often call "the reference library that never sleeps" (though losing one of my favorite message boards earlier this week did make clear how fragile this access actually is). But, nonetheless, for now it is another of the great blessings in my life, allowing contact with friends and family near and faraway,  access to multiple answers to varied questions, and a way to reach out to people not yet or maybe never met in body, but still friends in the electronical world.

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Finally managed to see Brave, as it was at the St Johns Pub last night; I quite enjoyed the film. Was definitely worth the $3, though there were several points where technical difficulties with the "projector" made it necessary to stop the movie and adjust either the sound or the scrolling. It was a very un-Disney kind of Disney film, with almost no jarring musicality or horrific cutesipation, and there were a few gratuitously beautiful scenes that made up for it.

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Whooo Hooo! 2013 SWAP* rules are out today:

Each collection is either 3 tops and two bottoms, or 2 tops, 1 bottom, and 1 dress, which all form a cohesive group. The 11th garment should be a jacket or other piece that coordinates with both collections, both in style and color.

The actual sewing doesn't start till 26 Dec, but there is rather a lot of planning and online talk beforehand, plus the challenge allow for one pre-sewn garment as well as one purchased or previously completed. These are much simpler challenge rules than in some previous years, in part since the lead-up this year was complicated by the server that hosts Stitchers Guild failed not once but twice in the last week, and the site was offline for several days.

* Sewing With A Plan

stitchery update + AMOG

How did our plucky heroine do with the current online sewing challenges? Hmmm not great, but not too bad...
Make and mend -

• Make two crafts from scrap fabric, (hat, pot holders, table runner, etc.).  I did this, made a pot holder, and made silk organza rose brooches that are in use as hat decorations
• Rework one garment. - Don't think that the small bits used to create the decorative trouser cuffs count, this one is a fail, so I didn't complete the challenge - no prize for our plucky heroine!
• Make two wearable items not meant for day wear (i.e. : jim jams, robe, slip, etc.). I figure that my new SCA steppe nomad clothes fit this requirement, and the underdress and trousers can be worn as nightclothes
• Embellish one item (i.e. faggoting, pin tucking, embroidery, etc). When making the trousers for my SCA clothing, I embroidered the join between the cuffs and the pants
• Make one item (in addition or one of the items above) for someone else. I made, and gave to my my pal Dayna, one of the purple organza rose brooches

This news just in, New Vintage Lady is extending the MnM challenge, so I just might be able to try for the prize after all... (don't touch that dial, boys and girls)

Autumn 6PAC -

revised Autumn 6PAC

dk neutral overlayer - dk neutral bottom - dk neutral top - alt neutral overlayer - alt neutral top - color link top -

- brown twill pinafore - brown twill overalls - brown t-shirt - black pinafore - black t-shirt - blue/black/brown t-shirt

Not bad for three months of sewing - especially if factored in there was the new SCA clothing, which involved hand stenciling my own fabric. Obviously I still really need new pinafores and overalls, particularly as winter is on the way.

Frosting Fortnight - What I discovered is that there is not a lot of frosting in my wardrobe, not really a surprise. (as long as my SCA clothes don't count as frosting) I really only need one set of warm weather dress clothing and one set of cool weather dress clothing, since the life I lead doesn't really have much call for suchlike.

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Well now it is the beginning of another sewing quarter, and I will be starting my Winter 6PAC and hopefully DragonLady will soon post the rules for the 2013 SWAP. In addition, I am going to enter this PatternReview contest, with a garment that will be part of 6PAC, maybe SWAP, and that also deals with a tiny bit of useless frosting - the grey TeagardenT that never gets worn, since the fabric being astonishingly directional, has a tendency to drag off any sweater or jacket worn over it.

Plan is to make a new "jeans-jacket" vest, resized to fit my current shape, and using the old grey corduroy curtains from my bedroom, trimmed with the directional floral velvet from the frosting Teagarden T. This will be a useful overlayer for cooler weather, and will work with many of my now and future pinafore dresses.

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Winter 6PAC - (6PAC ="six pieces, amazing clothing")

provisional Winter 6PAC

dk neutral coat - dk neutral bottom - dk neutral top - dk neutral layer - alt color top - alt color layer -

- ? - ? overalls - ? dress - ? pinafore - grey t-shirt - grey corduroy vest

I know, this doesn't have a lot any of the suggested "bright color", but our plucky heroine prefers to have her clothing be subtle. Brightly colored jewelry is fun, though, particularly lampwork beads, or cloisonne enamel...

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What I do wish for, and am not finding in my fabric stash, is three yard lengths of dark indigo and black denim, corduroy, or heavy twill - fabrics suitable for making trousers and overalls. I have a few black pinafore dresses, but would really like a dark indigo one, and some overalls and/or trousers. There are plenty of tops in my dresser and closet, but not a lot of basic outer layers (pinafores and overalls)and those are the garments that get worn most often and worn out most quickly, so need to be made of durable stuff. The challenge is to find durable stuff that is also nice to wear...

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AMOG is short for A Month Of Gratitude. Now mind, I make a practice every day of being grateful, that kind of daily count-yr-blessings is part of what keeps this girl sane and happy, is part of what reminds me that every day above ground is a good day. But after reading over at Surviving the Suburbs about the idea of dedicating this month to particularly that, I decided to share something each post that I am particularly grateful for...

While Wendy is grateful today for hot showers, I shall take that idea one step back and remember how grateful I am for running water.  Girl lived in Idaho, out in the woods, and the only water that whole time was brought in from the tap at the local store, miles away, and sledged down the long driveway, the same one I saw a mountain lion on that one time, sledged in in five gallon white buckets. I got really good at being frugal with water that winter. Having water that just comes out of the tap, clean and ready to drink, is a blessing.