Choices…Choices…Choices…..

So, I joined the June Capsule Contest over at Stitcher's Guild and I have been struggling to put together a workable capsule.  The problem is not that there is nothing I want to sew, more like there is so much that I want to sew but it is scattered all across the map in terms of styles and garments.  Many things don't work into a capsule that fits the required parameters, or is too complicated and will require several muslins or attempts at creating the perfect pattern, and I really am trying to make this as stress-free as possible.

I had three basic ideas in my head, involving three groups of fabrics (click on photos to enlarge in another window):

FIRST IDEA
  You might recognize three of these fabrics from my recent trip to Fishman's in  Chicago:

Clockwise from the upper left:
>blue duoppioni for a blouse
>blue/brown linen for pants and a jacket
>darker gray organza for a blouse
>Gray wool/silk fabric from Michaels (a while ago)

The problems with this plan are:

!. I haven't refined the pattern choices

2.None of them are TNT's (I know this much)

3. I think I would like the glen plaid in a pair of pants but fitting them will take a while due to issues in pants fit and wandering side seams I have in all pants.  My previously refined technique works for solids but not for plaids or stripes.  I have an idea that I am pretty sure will work, but I have not begun to test the technique so a contest might not be the best time.

SECOND IDEA

My second plan revolved around this printed linen/cotton blend fabric that I picked up from the sale table at JoAnn fabrics a couple of years ago.  It is a home dec fabric and therefore has its issues, but I absolutely love the print and the colors.  I want to make a casual jacket but once again I haven't picked out a pattern.  For this piece I suspect I am going to have think of a few likely choices, and then I am going to end up laying the pattern out on the fabric and figuring out which shape style I like best with the print.

Below the cotton are two pieces of silk matka which match the colors in the print perfectly.  The green will be a sleeveless shell of some sort.  I plan to use the red for a dress. 

I believe that the jacket fabric will work with all kinds of light colored chino and khaki-type summer pants or white, but obviously to form a capsule, I need at least one more piece and I haven't yet found the perfect coordinate.

Well, there is one possibility:

The middle piece of fabric in this photo is another silk matka, this one is a greenish gray and I think it works with both of my first two capsule plans.  It works well with the Michael's wool and although it doesn't match any of the colors in the JoAnn floral print, to my eye it seems complimentary.

Of course, if I use the gray-green, which capsule do I work with?  I am sure that I am going to make something with these groupings, but at the moment I am really having trouble focusing my attention on just what I am going to make.

So perhaps my best choice, for the June Capsule Contest, at least is to go with option number 3:

THIRD (AND MOST SUCCESSFUL) IDEA

Again, here are more of my Fishman's fabrics, as well as many of the fabrics that I had swatched for my trip to Chicago.  From the top Center:

>two pieces of pink/coral silk duoppioni for a blouse  
>yellow/gray/coral cotton/spandex print from Emma One Sock.  Jacket weight.
>light weight linen from Michael's. 
>light weight knit from Emma One Sock
>taupe silk/linen/nylon rainwear.

This grouping is coming together much better in my head at the moment. 

I know I want to make a skirt out of the Michael's linen.  The weave of the fabric says "pencil skirt" to me but the light weight and the fact that it is linen tells me I need something with a little more volume.  I have two or three patterns in mind which will work and I can narrow my choices from there.

I also have good ideas as to what top I want to make with the deep taupe floral knit from Emma One Sock.

I have plans for another skirt and a blouse which will work with these fabrics, but I don't have all the fabrics out yet and there is one fabric I need to order. The two tops would work with both of the skirts so that should not be a problem.  The skirt could be adapted from my basic pencil skirt pattern.  The blouse will have to be draped, but will hopefully not be too difficult.

I could also make a jacket using either the rainwear or the printed cotton.  I will make both jackets eventually, but I need to refine pattern choices, and I suppose I need to commit to which garments will be my contest entries. 

More as I refine my plans.