Monday Musings

A collection of random thoughts on sewing, clothing, and other fiber-related thoughts.

I have been sorting through the fabric collection and in one box, hidden among the neatly folded fabric I found a small stash of ribbons and trims.  Now currently I keep ribbon separately, in a drawer under my file cabinet, but this was not always the case.

I had almost forgotten this beautiful deep maroon trim.  It is darker than it appears in the photo and very long.  I also only have a short piece, not a full yard, about 32 inches total.  I have no idea what I thought I would do with it, but I do recall I fished it out of a remnant box and paid about $1 for it.  Looking at it this weekend all I could think of would be ends on a scarf.  I could use doubled silk chiffon or georgette and put the trim on the ends, or perhaps I could knit something out of a fine silk yarn if I can find the right color, perhaps  a simple stitch with just a bit of a lacy pattern just a little bit above where the trim is attached.

I found this in the same box.  I have much more of this, at least 4 or 5 yards.  I have no idea what I planned to do with it, but there are far more possibilities.  I don’t think this will be used this summer.  Although it looks heavy with the embroidery, the background fabric is actually a very lightweight cotton, almost like a fine batiste or voile.  There were a few other ribbons and trims as well, not as inspiring individually, but perfect for some project or another.  They have all been added to the trim drawer, which reminds me that I have piled a few things in there lately without organizing them, so it is time to do that again soon.

I was at JoAnn Fabrics last week looking for some patterns on sale and I picked up this newest issue of Quilting Arts Magazine.  Now I don’t quilt, and really have had no interest in quilting, but I love this magazine.  I have an ever expanding collection although I only buy them when I happen to see one.  I love the ideas and it always makes me think about sewing and art and fiber in new ways.

I curled up with this magazine one afternoon this weekend and passed a happy hour or two just perusing the pages and dreaming.  If anything will ever get me interested in non-garment sewing, this magazine might do it.  And if it doesn’t that is OK too because I love the way it inspires me to think differently and look at things differently.

Perhaps I should just get a subscription because I get so much pleasure just from reading each issue.  I suppose there is a place for inspiration even if never directly leads to practical applications.

I didn’t make this skirt.  I bought it at Sears last summer when I suddenly lost a lot of weight and needed something to wear in a hurry. It was early July and already on sale.  I paid something like $10.00.

I actually have worn it more this summer than I did last summer, even though I suppose it was last summer’s trend.  Although I still get compliments every time I wear it.  I needed to sew the hook and eye back on this weekend.  Why do commercial closures always come off?

Anyway mending the skirt made me think about summer skirts and seasonal clothes.  This is definitely a trendy item.  But I still love it.  I would love to find prints like this to sew up, but I never quite manage to do so.   I have, on occasion, thought of cutting up my grandmother’s old printed tablecloths, but the fabric is heavier, and I somehow can’t convince myself that I wouldn’t just look like I was wearing an old tablecloth.  I like vintage to some extent but I can’t pull off full-on-vintage it is just not my style. And although I have a friend who could make a skirt from a tablecloth and look fabulous I don’t have confidence that I could pull that off.

But the skirt does make me think of seasonal styles and prints and fabrics and remind me of some of the lovely things I bought at Metro Textiles earlier this spring, with great plans to make them up.  What I really need to do is take some time and pull out a few pieces that I think must be made this summer and make them up.

And while I am thinking of current styles and fabric and design inspirations, I am also behind on my cut and past activities, making collages of my magazine style clippings.  I managed to look through the ever expanding box of clippings and put together two more pages using just a fraction of the inspirations I have saved from the last couple of months:

I don’t know why I can’t manage the same kind of time and attention to detail and layout that I give to these very personal collages and apply it to our photo albums, which are woefully behind.