2013 - a new year and a new attempt

Did not do too well last year.  Only had six posts but did make it to August sewing something in every week even if it was just mending.  Then life interfered in the guise of a building project.  Youngest brother came home and said, "If I buy some rental property, will you manage it?"  Of course I said yes.  Saying yes turned into a much bigger project than either of us had planned.

Said house was found and purchased and big sister started in on the face lift and promptly found -  termites!  We didn't find just a few termites, we found lots, termite damage that is.  Although building is way more fun than sewing, I do like a bit of balance and sewing was really taking a back seat.  I will say this, from Aug to the end of Dec I made three blouses and two skirts so all was not lost.  I just was not very consistent about sitting my butt down in front of the sewing machine on at least a weekly basis.  We spent Thanksgiving weekend jacking up the roof and rebuilding, not to mention every other spare day available.  But the light is on an the end of the tunnel.  Today, the drywall men came in to tape and texture.  Yesterday they hung rock.

So here I go on another attempt to produce something every week.  The first week of the year found me knocking off a visor organizer for the work truck.  The RAV4, the family run-around car and the spouse's truck both had L.L. Bean visor organizers suitable for copying and copy I did.  The work truck now has a visor organizer complete with pen and pencil, notebook for mileage and gas and sleeve for registration and insurance papers.  It cost nothing since it was made from scraps and other odds and ends.

The project for this week has been pillowcases.  Yeah, I know, booooring.  But the current crop of pillowcases in the linen closet has seen better days and JoAnn's has such wonderful bargains.  The local JoAnn's is moving up the street two blocks and is selling everything in the store!  Whee!  Like I need more fabric for the stash but I gave in and added to the pile.  So far I've made two and have some ideas for trim for the next set, out of a fetching fish print.  Time to learn how to operate the camera and import some pictures.

One more for the circular file

The last outfit, the one I said I was going to keep is already gone.  The off white sleeveless top went through the washer again and this time could not be rescued.  I cut the buttons off and trashed it.  The too baggy shorts got folded and put in the "give away" bag.  On the other hand, the tan print skirt and top have been worn several times and have survived both the washer and dryer and need no pressing.  The top, however, is too long when worn outside the skirt.  Good for around the house but not for out and about.

Under the weather a bit so spent Wednesday copying TNT tissue patterns onto oaktag and staying indoors.  The offspring was ill with a stomach virus so my unease may have been sympatheic psychosomatic or may have been a touch of what he had.  This morning he is much improved and back to normal teenage boy food consumption and so am I, although not the same level of food consumption.  Definitely not.

Indulged in some retail therapy at Fabrics That Go and came home with two yards of a tan/cream cowboy boot print in cotton.  That will make another  top to try out the shortened version of the sleeveless top.  And I pulled a rayon tropical shirt print out of the stash to make another short sleeve shirt.  The camp shirt row in the closet is wearing thin after three shirts went into the trash recently when they failed the "pull" test.  That's where a suspect shirt gets yanked and pulled on over the shoulder blades.  If it rips or tears, it goes into the trash.  If it survives, it goes into the wash.  I have been known to wear a favorite denim shirt until it was so threadbare it split during wearing, thus the "pull" test. 

The Ranger was cleaning culverts over the weekend and stained up a pair of shorts.  The khaki twill intended for the jacket for the 5 Piece Summer Wardrobe has now been cut out as two pair of Land's End knock-off shorts.  Last summer I disassembled a worn out pair of his and copied them in oaktag.  Then I reverse engineered them and learned how to make welt pockets and front slash pockets.  The disassembled pair and the pattern all reside on a pattern hook in the sewing lab waiting for another go 'round.  I will use leftovers from the cowboy print top to make the pocket bags and for the waistband lining.  No need to change the thread on the machine or serger.  Tonight is "Mystery" so some sewing therapy is in order.

Half and half

The baggy shorts and sleeveless top went for a spin in the washer today.  The shorts came through okay but the top needed ironing to be wearable.  Not exactly what you want in a casual summer outfit.  It would seem the fabric shrunk during the preshrinking phase, stretched out again when ironed prior to the cutting out and then shrunk again when washed and dried.  But ironing did make it wearable again so it will remain in the wardrobe.  It just will not make regular appearances.

Funny, I used to iron all my shirts too, even the denim workshirts.  That got old.  There are better things to do than ironing a shirt that is going to get dirty and grubby.  Now the only clothing that gets ironed is that worn to church or out in public when I'm trying to dress nice.  

Four down, one to go on the five piece summer wardrobe

Wore the tan print skirt and top last week and then ran them through the wash over the weekend.  The shirt and skirt were nice and cool to wear so they will stay in the wardrobe.  They also came out of the laundry with very little wrinkling, a definite plus since I don't iron "around the house" clothes.

Tweaked the pattern for the top by shortening the bust darts and lowering the bust point.  Trimmed an inch off the length and a good half inch off the lower side seams.  Cut it out in off white cotton and made it up along with the loose shorts.  And boy are the shorts loose!  More like a split skirt than shorts.  Got the length wrong and had to hack off the 2" hem and then rehem.  I'm wearing them now and will give them a while in the wardrobe to see if they are keepers.

Moderate success

Finished up the top to go with the skirt finished over the weekend.  Moderate success.  The top is a loose, sleeveless shell, upper thigh length with bust darts, and buttons up the front. 

I cut a medium on top and a large in the hip area.  The high round upper back adjustment fits nicely but the bust darts need to be lowered and shortened.  Patterns are cut for a B cup and I'm pretty flat, especially in a sports bra, which is the normal everyday wear for me.  On the next go-round the waist will get a bit of tweaking and maybe an inch plus taken off the hip area. 

The skirt/top combination - meh.  Don't really like the looks but pairing the top with a pair of pajama shorts or compression shorts is much nicer.  So next up is to try out the shorts pattern and see where that needs tweaking.  I may be able to salvage the skirt and turn it into shorts if I have enough scraps left to add the crotch extensions.

Is it even possible?

So now I've got a sewing blog, and the title assumes I'm going to sew something every week.  Fifty two weeks in a year, that's fifty two items.  Is it even possible, especially the way I sew, to do an item a week, or the equivalent since some weeks produce mutiples and other none.  Looked in the closet last night and made a list of all the things sewn since the first of the year.  Here they are as follows, but not necessarily in order sewn:

2 items - Tan stripe long sleeve, long pant pajama set, piped details   
3 items - Marbled tan print pajama set, short sleeve shirt, shorts, long pants
1 item  - Tan stripe short sleeve night shirt 
2 items - Black six panel cycling shorts, 1 padded, 1 not
1 item  - Black cowboy boot print camp shirt with yoke and open collar (made for Rodeo Week in Feb)
1 item  - Black yoga pants (made for Pilates class, too small, already donated)
1 item  - Charcoal ponte roma knit yoga pants to replace above, pattern needs very minor tweaks
1 item  - Palmer and Pletsch OOP blouse in spring green print (made for Easter)
1 item  - Off white cotton skirt (also made for Easter)
2 items - Light green pajama set, short sleeves, short pants
1 item  - Palmer and Pletsch princess jean jacket in camoflage green print
1 item  - KWIK sew nightgown from KS Lingerie book - a wadder, already trashed
1 item  - Maroon fleece pants for DS, too big but they fit the Ranger

Eighteen items and we are currently in the nineteenth week of the year, so yes, it is possible.

Next question is, do I really want to set myself up for that?  Maybe, since I have the Sewing Step-By-Step Summer Outfits patterns all traced off and adjusted just sitting on the table ready to go; two different fabrics for the tops, skirt and pants; and a possible for the light jacket.  And I'm wanting to sew.

We'll see.  No promises though.  How's that for weasel words!

First Post

After reading lots of sewing blogs I decided to start one of my own, mainly for documentation purposes and to get me comfortable with posting pictures of my projects.