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Restingmotion

  • Stitcher’s Guild Announcement

    I am experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms…..The newly founded and beloved Stitcher’s Guild is experiencing a few problems.

    After floundering around aimlessly I found some information at SewingWorld and a wonderful e-mail from Kathryn which I will quote here:

    Artisan’s Square and Stitcher’s Guild has run into problems with its host. 
    In a nutshell, the host has pulled the plug on the forum because the membership exceeded 100 people.

    DragonLady
    is in negotiations with that host and is also searching for another
    host site to move us all to.  So sit tight and keep working on those
    sewing projects, so you’ll have a lot to post about when the site comes
    back up!
    Keep
    checking in here on this ‘blog or at SewingWorld  in the SW Feedback
    section, SW Refuge Announcement topic for further updates.

    Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that everythign is resolved soon.  I will keep you informed.

    This is one addiction I hope not to have to live without.

  • Akris Spring 2006, part 2

    You know, I never finished my notes on the Akris spring
    collection. You might not care, but this
    blog has become my journal of what I am thinking and working on, where I keep
    notes to go with the assorted odd photos I take, and although it may seem odd
    to keep my sewing journal here, it is better for me than the notebooks and bits
    of paper I have used in the past. Generally, I have never managed to keep a sewing inspiration notebook,
    except for the collage of pictures I keep each year. Those are useful. But if I want notes on something specific I
    want to do, I put it in whatever notebook I have at hand, or on my palm, or on
    a little scribbled up piece of paper. Then it gets thrown in a box, if I am lucky, or lost otherwise. I never managed to keep a serious journal
    because I never have it on hand when I want it, and then I somehow don’t manage
    to transcribe my scribbled notes to the journal when I get home. 

    The computer is usually accessible. The internet is accessible from anywhere,
    hence my new set of notes to myself.

    And on to Akris, or at least what I remember because six
    weeks after I started this I am already starting to forget.

    The second jacket I wanted to discuss has basically the same
    shape as the one showcased on February 21 but the fabric is different:

    Akrisstripe1

     

    This fabric is a smooth woven, fairly substantial, with some
    drape. The cut is much the same as the
    other jacket. Since February I have
    looked at Neue Mode patterns as well, and I think the basic shape of this
    jacket is closet to the original although any of the patterns mentioned would
    work.

    Nm23135v

    This jacket has interfacing at all the
    seams. Narrow, approximately 1” strips
    are fused at the stitching line and the seams are sewn down the middle of the
    interfacing. The edges are serged or
    overcast, folded under and topstitched.

    Akrisstripe2

     

    I am sure the hems are interfaced as well. The only other interfacing is sew-in at the
    shoulders. You can see it through the
    lining, along with the shoulder pads, in the photo below. Notice the lining, a light hymo, is simply
    pinked at the edge. I remain not particularly fond of the half lining.

    Akrisstripe3

    My final photo is of the trim detail at the
    collars. This is simply a narrow trim
    that is wrapped around the edge, where a slight ridge is formed by the
    thickness of the seam allowances inside. The trim is functional in that it hides that detail and highly
    decorative. The trim is truly wrapped,
    it is on both sides of the collar, and sewn in place. I think this little thing is what makes the
    jacket. In fact it is the way the trim
    is used and the interfaced seams that make this jacket seem interesting.

    Akrisstripe4

    Of course there is more:

    The next jacket is made out of a beefy silk matka in a
    deep rich hot pink.

    Akrispink1

    The photo doesn’t really do it justice. This jacket is longer, low hip length, and it
    is a pretty standard fitted princess seam jacket. The curve of the bottom is not something I
    think I am fond of, but then, that is why I like to make my own jackets. The matka is fused in front and the front of the jacket is
    lined. The back is unlined.

    The seaming detail is interesting. It is not what I expected it to be.

    Akrispink3

    It’s not done how you, or I at least, might have thought:

    Akrispink4_copy

     

    Although you really can’t see the detail here, the edges are
    serged. One seam allowance is sewn down,
    giving the jacket that faux-felled seam look. Very easy.

    I also really like the collar:

    Akrispink2

     

    As you see, these two jackets really aren’t all that
    complicated. It would not be that
    difficult to make something similar. The
    seam details ARE interesting. They
    remind me that I often tend to try to make things far more complicated than
    they need to be.

  • A spring thread

    You know spring is definitely in the air here.  The crocuses are out, the tulips are poking up their heads, and the sun is warm.  I spent the day in the garden, mostly pulling out dead things, cleaning out beds a bit, and thinking about plans. 

    Why is it that when I am already inundated with projects, I start thinking up new projects?  I want to revive the vegetable garden this year, and it has been several years since it was allowed to go to seed.  Much work will be involved in clearing out the native flora and I still have flower beds to build in the front yard that did not get done last year.  Everything is piled up in the house still, I am waiting for the masons to come back and there is much work to be done. 

    Still I sat there in the sunshine, looking at the empty vegetable garden, contemplating the raised beds, which are by the way falling apart, and, in my normal perverse way, I started thinking that if I have to rebuild the raised beds, I might as well redesign the garden so it is more attractive and will work better.  Admittedly this has been in the back of my mind for some time but before it was Waaaay back and now it has come to the forefront.  Do I have time to do this?  No.  Can I do this and get all the spring vegetables planted?  No.  Can I plant some areas now, and gradually work toward them?  Unlikely, but possible. 

    Will I actually get any of this accomplished this spring?  Who knows but probably not.

    I guess I am an all or nothing kind of girl.

    Because it is spring I have also been thnking of sewing.  I have been dreaming of sewing.  I am eager to resume sewing.  I have the machines back in the sewing room but I have not drilled the holes through the counter top so that I can plug them in.  There are three reasons for this:

    1.  If I plug in the machines I will not work my way through the 3 foot pile of desk work which must be done, including the sorting of income tax stuff before the accountant comes on Friday.

    2.  The demolition crew has been cutting and breaking up the concrete around the pool, which is attached to the foundation of the house.  I knew my house was not air-tight, but I did not anticipate the clouds of dust that fill the air and coat every surface. a dust mask is not adequate walking through the house, G’s old gas mask might work but I don’t think it functions anymore.  The sewing room is blocked off, doors closed, towels at door.  When I am not outside, breathing in fresh air, I am holed up in here working.  I was loathe to cut holes in the counter tops and create more dust in my only dust free zone.

    3.  I put a shelf back on the wall above the desk to hold all the stuff I need right now but haven’t yet figured how to store.  I saved the wall above the desk for last in my plan; its the area that accomodates all the things that didn’t work or fit in the original plan and I haven’t gotten to it yet.  BUT to get the hole saw on the drill I need more space than currently exists beween the desk and the shelf, so I have to take everything down.  Short sighted don’t you think?  Of course I could just leave all the cords hanging off the front of the desk.

    So I am playing with fabric and notions.

    The thread collection is back in its cabinet.  I think the threads look so pretty lined up in their drawers:

    Thread1

    Notice that although I can be neurotic about keeping things neatly in drawers, I do not sort the thread by color, just by type.   Those who have seen me stack the forks neatly on top of each other in the drawer might marvel at this.

    Thread2

    I buy the Mettler serger thread once a year as no one locally carries it.  My older babylock serger runs much more smoothly with Mettler and I prefer the way it looks on the seam.  I am pretty efficient at rethreading the old machine (the new one is self threading), but even so I can only contort myself under that machine so many times before all the blood rushes to my head and I get a little crazed.  Its pretty too; notice that it is sorted by color.

    Thread3

    And because "three’s a charm" and I know your are all sick of thread by now, here is one of the little drawers in the cabinet which forms Matilda’s legs.  Perfect for woolly nylon, which does not fit in my thread cabinet because the spools are too fat for the shallow drawers.

  • Knitters present, and a word about the past

    The spring Vogue Knitting and Knitters arrived on the same
    day last week, in fact the same day as the April Vogue and Bazaar as well. Given the cornucopia of browsing materials
    and the craziness of my current schedule, I managed to hide the two knitting magazines
    for a couple of days before settling down to peruse the offerings.

    Aside from always reading Perri Klass’s article, the
    Knitters really did not have much to offer. I have decided that I do not need to save all my back issues of Knitters
    and they have been removed from the sewing/fiber room and set aside to be
    either weeded of patterns and discarded, sold, or given away. It was a hard decision but I have been faced
    with too many things in my room and they have become a yoke around my
    neck. It is not that there are not
    sweaters I would knit, more that I am feeling oppressed by the amount of STUFF
    I have accumulated over the years, and I need to reduce the clutter down to
    that which I truly love. Knitters did
    not make the cut even though I was rather fond of the magazine during the 5 or
    so years that Nancy Thomas was the editor. I think it has become much less interesting under its new editorship. The one good thing is that I have noticed
    very few drop shoulder sweaters since Rick Mondragon became editor, which
    doesn’t surprise me having taken a class he taught many years ago about how to
    convert any sweater pattern to a set in sleeve, or at least modified drop
    shoulder, and the less than flattering comments he made about the ubiquity of drop-shouldered sweaters.

    There were some nice basic sweaters in the mix, many
    knittable, wearable, perfectly nice sweaters. There were a couple of sweaters that I liked except that the big ugly
    three letter word cropped up; you know the one, BUT… Do I need to elucidate
    further? I like the sweater but I think
    the yarn is crap and the sweater is designed for this multi-colored yarn and
    doing it in something else will require calculation and math. I like another sweater but the neckline is
    too wide and the collar is too floppy, the sweater needs more shaping too,
    especially in a cotton yarn. .. I could go on but will refrain.

    Still, there were a couple of sweaters that I would knit,
    including this one:

    K82crosscountry

     

    Cross Country is a nice basic casual shape that I would wear
    a lot. It has set in sleeves and some
    shaping. I like the nice wide ribbing
    and the zipper front. I like the slight shaping at the waist. I also admit that part of what attracts me to the sweater is the color
    combination in which it shown. I really
    like these colors; the body in a color I love and can wear next to my face
    combined with colors that I also love but which are not really so flattering
    for me. I am always looking for way to
    combine colors in ways that make favorite unwearable colors fit into the
    wardrobe. I have a fair number of basic garments in these ginger and paprika
    colors that I am always blending in with my lavenders, violets, and blues.

    Cablehoodie

     

    This cable and lace hoodie from Elizabeth Lavold has also
    caught my interest, although not as strongly as the cardigan (but what can say
    that is at least partly a color thing).  This is a drop shoulder sweater,
    not my usual favorite but there are some designs for which it is entirely
    appropriate. Looking at the positioning
    of the cables however, I could probably adapt this for a little more shaping
    through the armscye, which I might like even better, although looking at the
    schematic, this does not look particularly broad through the shoulders, so it
    might work just fine as it is. One thing
    I do like about Elizabeth Lavold’s patterns, at least the ones I have made, is
    that they are usually fairly narrow through the neck opening, something I
    prefer, as far too many knitting patterns are too wide through the neck for
    me. Even as her sizes go up, the neck
    stays pretty close fitting and small. 

    The cardigan is a wear everywhere kind of garment and the
    hoodie, for me at least, is the kind of sweater I would wear to snuggle up on
    the deck, by the pool, in the yard, or on the beach on a slightly coolish day. I see myself in the early morning traipsing
    around the garden looking at my flowers, cup of coffee in hand in this sweater.
    Gee, that image alone is enough to get me to knit this sweater.

     

  • Green

    Greenwall

    Its always spring in the new sewing/fiber room!

  • Spring

    At least there are some signs of spring:

    Green_001

    My head knows it is spring, and I am thinking more about spring sewing than I am the fall/winter projects that I never got around to making.  But I am cold, cold to the bone, and I can’t get all excited about actually making the sprnig clothes about which I dream. I waver between wanting spring and wanting to sew something warm.

    By the time I get everything moved, the point may be moot and there may be more than those lonely irises peeking their heads up from the ground.

  • Late to bed and early to rise…No that’s backward isn’t it?

    There has not always been a lot of knitting going on here.  Several other items have taken up my time and hands.  Last night however I was determined to finish the body of Rogue so I could start the sleeves soon.  It is not that I am ready to be done with this project, because I love knitting it, but more that I am feeling an urge to get on with it, to feel the wool in my hands again, to just sit and enjoy the stitches.

    I did finish the knitting of the hood and got started with the grafting:

    Rogue2

    It went well, but I was tired.  I kept losing my chain of thought.  "Did I take one or both stitches off the needle?"  I would ask.  Recount.  Repeat process.  This leads to very slow work and grafting, although really not that difficult does require a modicum of attention. 

    At 1:30 I called it quits and crawled peacefully under the covers, snuggling myself under the down comforter.  We call this Spring?

    At 5:00 AM I bolted awake, dreaming of painting and grafting, filled with an urge to finish one step or part of somethng.  The birds weren’t even up yet.  This was not part of the plan.

  • SW Refuge

    Hi, I’ve been asked by my friends at Sewing World to post the following message concerning a contingency plan should Sewing World fail.  I know that Sewing World has become a very important part of my life, and when it is not up or I cannot access it, I feel a little frazzled and paranoid, driven by a mad urge to keep checking and checking until it comes back.

    So if you love Sewing World, here is a copy of a message posted on the Sharing and Inpsiration folder. 

    Dear Sewing World Friend,

    Kathryn (fzxdoc) and I have been among the ever-widening circle of
    Sewing World’s users who are worried that it seems to be teetering ever
    closer to the brink of disappearance. I don’t know how familiar you are
    with the history of SW, but we have been concerned that there is an
    increasing likelihood that SW will just grind to a halt. Threads can
    now only go 1/3 of their former length, they disappear without warning,
    many features, such as Search, no longer work at all, and many of us
    have gotten the dreaded white screen more and more often.

    Since we have come to cherish SW and the Sharing, Inspiration and
    Project Photos (SIPP) thread especially, we put our heads together to
    come up with somewhere to go in case of a crash or just a continuing
    spiral down. As you know, we looked at the PatternReview and FabricMart
    boards as well as exploring some other avenues.

    We are very pleased that a SW poster called DragonLady has come to
    our rescue! Perhaps you remember her from SW; she did not post on SIPP.
    During one of the flurries of posts on the Feedback topic (which is
    supposed to get action by Scott and Krista) people were lamenting the
    many problems besetting SW. She has run and runs several boards, and
    explained a little about why SW was unstable, etc. and offered to do or
    help do an upgrade on the SW board. No response from those in charge
    and nothing happened.

    DragonLady has now put up a board we can use if needed and anytime, actually. For the time being, SWRefuge.
    (The name will probably change eventually, and suggestions are being
    solicited on the site.) Kathryn and I have been helping to test it, and
    we like what we see. It has wonderful, modern features, and we hope you
    will like it.

    We hope you will bookmark this site’s address, and check it out at
    your leisure. There will also be links to the SWRefuge site on the
    sidebars of Liana, Mardel, and Carolyn’s blogs, in case you need the
    address later, and so that everyone can move seamlessly to the new site
    should it become necessary.

    We hope you will not think that we have been precipitate, or that
    we or DragonLady are trying to usurp SW. It is simply our wish not to
    lose all of our wonderful friends and relationships that have been
    forged on SIPP that has galvanized us to take action.

    I hope you will register at the new board.

    Here is the link: 
    http://wickenburgarea.com/sw/index.php

    A link has also been placed on my sidebar, where it will remain in case of emergency.

     

  • Progress??

    There is no visible progress on Rogue.  I have been knitting late at night when I am mentally and physically exhausted.  One knows one should not be knitting when says to one self "these instructions are strange, there should be more decreases for the hood to curve over the top of the head", but instead of doing the intelligent thing and looking at the directions, one knits on, oblivious to the fact that  reality is about to come crashing down.

    Rip I did.  I am near the end of the hood.  Hood completion and grafting tomorrow or Monday.  Then sleeves.  Since the weather can’t seem to decide if it is spring or winter, there may be hope that I will wear this yet; if not it will greet me next fall.

    In the meantime I will show you a sampling of the new storage area:

    Yarnstash

  • Interfacing Part 2

    A couple of days ago I discussed the fusible interfacings I
    have been using along with some ideas as to how things might be changing in the
    future. The second drawer of my
    file-cabinet contains the sew-in interfacings, my subject for today’s post.

    I know that I have probably more interfacing than a lot of
    people. This really doesn’t bother me,
    but the amount of fusibles will be reduced as I work through the various
    samples purchased. Still, I really don’t
    mind using sew-in interfacing and there is quite a bit in the second file
    drawer, more than I had initially realized.

    Silk Organza: I usually keep a variety on hand, especially
    in peach, which seems to work well under most things, and off-white or
    white. I usually get these from Thai
    Silks. I also keep silk organza in other
    colors, when I find those I like or think I might use. Sometimes a color is necessary if I think
    there may be show through and besides silk organza can make lovely blouses and
    nice accents on other garments. Right now I have deep green and a couple of
    shades of purple, besides the basics.

    Cotton Batiste: Also makes a nice soft underlining for
    certain garments and can add a little gentle support where fusibles will not
    work. I can’t find 100% cotton batiste around
    me so I buy it when I see it; I might have a couple of different weights on
    hand. Since this fabric also makes
    lovely lightweight summer tops and blouses, I keep colors in stock as well,
    especially when I can find the deeper colors I prefer to wear.

    Hair Canvas or Hymo: Stocked in various weights and almost always
    used in jackets and tailored garments, at least a little piece somewhere. I can’t seem to wean myself away from hair
    canvas and move to completely fused garment. Hair canvas has changed a great deal over the years. The stuff of old was stiff and often contained
    horse hair. G remembers stiff jackets
    from his childhood with horsehair interfacings that would occasionally poke him
    through the wool of the jacket.  Today,
    the ones called Hair Canvas today are stiffer and often a large part polyester
    instead of horse hair. I tend to use the
    Hymo or Hymo Hair Canvas products. Now
    most of them are at least partly rayon. I try to find blends with a high degree of goat hair or wool mixed with the
    rayon and I have several types from several sources, some is fairly stiff, some
    fairly soft. I adore the premium hymo
    from Greenberg and Hammer called EURO, which is 42% wool,  because it is firm yet soft with good drape
    but I also tend to keep a few pieces of their other products, such as LT-030 which is 30% cotton, 34% hair and
    is quite firm for those times I need serious support in a garment. I also use MD-021 and the hymo called BLACK,
    which is black. The hymo I recently
    purchased from THE SEWING PLACE   is a middle weight, between the Euro and the
    LT-030. I haven’t used it yet, but I
    think it may prove useful. 

    Years ago I also used a good bit of Cotton
    Organdy    . It was great for
    plackets and collars in lightweight cotton and handkerchief linen blouses as
    well as other lightweight garments. I would also use it to interface button or
    buttonhole bands in crisp tops.  I would
    get it at a store in the garment district that sold only imported Swiss
    cottons, long since closed. It was
    available in several colors. Now I can
    only find white and usually have to purchase it from an heirloom sewing
    store. I like organdy because it is
    firmer than organza or batiste yet still light and semi-sheer. As I fashions
    have gotten softer, I tend to use organza more than organdy, but I still keep a
    small bit around.

    Baby Flannel: I started using this many years ago, when I
    first read Sandra Betzina’s POWER SEWING, the original version. She used it to underline jackets, especially
    jackets made from lightweight silk fabrics. Remember those silk crepe-de-chine and sueded silk jackets of the late
    1980’s and early 1990’s? I loved
    those. I used the flannel to underline
    some of them but eventually, as I noticed that in designer jackets the entire
    body of the silk might be fused, I moved on to using fusing my silks to
    permanently underline them and “beef up” the fabric. Sometimes the baby flannel is the perfect
    thing though and I still use it, it can also be great for underlining a jacket
    or coat where the fabric is not quite heavy enough. 

    Wool Felt, Lambswool, and Mohair: I keep small bits of these for use in
    sleeve heads or occasionally other places. Pure versions of these are increasingly hard to find but the blends
    aren’t nearly as versatile for use in garment construction. Sometimes they are purchased. Some of my mohair consists of scraps from
    garments or sweaters which I have felted. I don’t usually need large pieces so scraps suffice.

    I have a couple of pieces of Coutil
    which I purchased as an understructure for corset or bustier-like bodices when
    I was sewing more evening gowns. It was
    also useful in those wide, waist cinching belts that were popular for a few
    years, as well as the boned, corset based blouses, when I wanted something more
    structured. I considered using it to
    actually try to make a corset last year when I was having increasing problems
    standing up straight due to pain or just plain old crookedness in my back. I might still consider this but at the moment
    regular Pilates seems to be helping and the crooked days are fewer.

    I also have pieces of several products that are sold as
    sew-in interfacings, such as VeriShape which is used to stiffen collar stands,
    flex weave, and a few others. I am not
    particularly consistent in my use of them, but there have been times I have
    been very happy to have them on hand.

    Oddly enough I may be coming full circle. Originally, when I started sewing, I
    exclusively used sew in interfacings and had trouble with fusibles. Then I moved away from sew-in interfacing and
    fused almost everything. Now I use both
    and have found myself appreciating their different qualities.