Marfy 2009

The new Marfy catalog has been in my hand about 10 days
now, and it has provided many happy hours of fun and fantasy.  It has also
taken the full 10 days to get my Marfy order down to "manageable"
proportions.  You see, when I first get the catalog I love huge numbers of
patterns, and then as I look, I realize that many are but minor variations on
things I already have, or they really won't work for some reason or another.
 

 

 

It takes me a
few days to come down from that first flush of Marfy fever before I can look at
the catalog with a clear(er) eye.  The result of this study is that I have
narrowed my choices down to about 6 or perhaps 7 patterns, which really isn't
bad considering that this catalog is for the entire year and I am looking at
Fall patterns as well as Spring. It also doesn't hurt that I actually like most
of the "free" patterns that came with the price of the catalog, and
would have actually paid money for them….oh wait, I did.

 

In the end
this may be the only dress in my list (you will see what I mean later on).
 There were several interesting dresses with interesting details and
draping (see Liana's post) but which I liked more for the
abstract fact of their existence, knowing full well I would never wear the
resulting creation.

 

There are
also a few that appeal to a kind of wishful, "I always wished I could wear
that style" kind of mentality which is like sewing quicksand.  All of
those patterns were best ignored.

 

But I kept
coming back to this dress.  Although a high round neckline is not my best
feature, I think this one is low enough to show a bit of collar bone, and that
can always be adjusted anyway.  I just like the style and the detail and I
would actually wear this dress.  I am also intrigued by the cut-on sleeves
and the neckline draping.  To my mind, Vogue does cut on sleeves well, but
I would have trouble with them because of the neckline draping — vogue always
makes the patterns too full in the center front/upper chest area for me.
 I am intrigued to see how Marfy does this.  My recollection of Marfy
patterns, and it has been a few years since I actually made one, is that the
fit through the upper chest is smaller and better for me.

 
Liana also
posted about this jacket, which I fell in love with almost the instant I saw
it.  It doesn't hurt that I also have at least one piece of fabric
languishing in my stash that might be perfect for this jacket.  In fact I
might have two.

 

Oh dear two
fabrics waiting for this pattern.  This one is definitely a must buy.
 

 

I love the
gathers in the front along the front band, I love that the collar does not
close completely at the neck, allowing a little more of the neckline to show
without being too provocative, and I love that it is feminine but also kind of
sporty, at  least to my eye.

I keep on
following in Liana's footsteps, at least as far as my first couple of Marfy
selections are concerned because I am also seriously considering this coat,
although I was on the fence about it before Liana posted and still continue to
argue back and forth with myself.  I like the style, I have a fabric in
mind for it, another fabric which has been waiting for just the "right
pattern" and yet I still pause just a little bit.  I think I will get
it though.

 

I also spent
several days just looking at the blouses.  I am a sucker for blouses, and
although they came back briefly I think in many ways the knit top and the fine
sweater are much more a part of modern life.  And yet I can't help loving
blouses.  I think I need to make a few; after I have been collecting
blouse patterns for some time now, and I would certainly enjoy wearing them.

 

There were
several I was looking at but in the end decided that most of them were a little
bit too much for me with just a few too many frills.  

 

But I love
this one.  I could probably make it from another pattern and be perfectly
happy.  But I won't.  So I might a well buy it.  It is a shame
that the lace inset does not continue across the back, but that wouldn't really
be a hard piece to add.  

Another
pattern that I knew I had to have immediately, and which is still on the list
is this jacket, which was also shown on the back cover of the catalog.

 

It is the
shoulder and sleeve seam that attracts me.  It seems so "me",
vague as that may be, and I am also fascinated by fitting this.  It is an
area that is one of my most difficult areas to fit and this approach may well
offer some advantages.  

 

I am also
somewhat intrigued by the dress as well.  I have other dolman dress
patterns.  I might even have something I could adapt this from, but I am
intrigued by how Marfy fits this.  Again, the diagonal seams also add a
fitting opportunity that I might well find interesting to explore.

The dress
pattern would be a good base to explore some vague design ideas that are
flitting around in the back of my head.  As the price for inspiration and
education, it does not seem so bad.  The dress is that questionable 7th
pattern, that keeps popping in and out of my calculations.

#6 on the
list (I'm not counting the second dress yet, remember) is this fabulous
jeans-style jacket with its hourglass shaped seams.  There is a jacket
that will give heighten the illusion of a waist, enhancing the waist that is
not as trim as it once was.

Most
jean-style jackets are too short, or too boxy, and this is neither, but it is
not matronly either even with its longer length.  Or at least that is what
I want to tell myself.   The actuality on my far different proportions may
prove to be something else entirely.  But I am going to buy into the
illusion and buy this pattern.  I suspect that what will really make ti
work for me is to wear it with something softer on the bottom, a flirty skirt,
or softer pants, as it is usually that combination of soft and strict that
works best for me.  Still I see the potential.

 

But wait.

 

I have
another pattern on my list.  And this is how the pattern stash grows and
grows and grows.

 

 

This pattern
is vying with the coat for a place on the final order.

 

I do really
like this jacket, but it is not that different from jacket patterns I already
have.  And admittedly part of the appeal is the pocket, which I could do
myself on any other pattern. the cuff ban, and the collar, again all easily
copied on another pattern.

 

But why
reinvent the wheel?

 

Truthfully
the original six patterns were the ones listed above.  I have decided to
get the coat.  The dress with the diagonal inset piece is still on the
"maybe yes / maybe no" list, but I am leaning in toward it.  G
really likes it too.

 

And I had
eliminated this pattern, 1988, convincing myself that I didn't need it but
could use the illustration as inspiration but G really likes it a lot and
thinks I should just by the pattern and save myself the trouble.  Since he
found the pattern without my having to point it out to him, I am inclined to
follow his advice.  But then he doesn't truly comprehend the extent of my
pattern stash.  Perhaps it remains better that he never know.

 

So here is
the list.  I am not yet sure whether I am sending in an order for 6
patterns or am just going to go all the way and get 8.  I don't know why I
fret about it so much. When Marfy patterns were first available, I would get 8
patterns from just one season.

 

And some of
them are still waiting to be made.  Not that that worries me.  I have
to have the patterns available, because when I sew, it is the fabric that
always starts the process.  The fabric worms its way into my attention and
tells me what it wants to be.  Hopefully I have just the right pattern in
my collection.

 

I will
finalize my decision this week.  Now that I have narrowed the list down
this far, the only thing that will keep me from adding patterns back in is to
actually place the order.  I am less likely to place a second order than I
am to keep inflating the original order.  I will sit on this a couple of
days, but then the final decision must be made.