Art for Me!

Some of you may recall I got back to sewing last August to deal with stress, and the fact that the kids are growing up and starting to move on. Well, life has continued to be stressful of late, so I am sewing as fast as I can. :)

Then today I had SUCH a treat! My dear friend, Renée, dropped by and we finally exchanged Christmas gifts! You might recall the clothing that I made for her. I gave her clothes, but she gave me ART! The most gorgeous art! For me! :)

First, she gave me a to-die-for pincushion/thread holder that she made. Did I mention that she is the felting queen? I did a bit of felting years ago, learning about the same time that she was learning. Felting never became something I excelled – I lacked the artistic knack – though I remember one year, at San Francisco State, I gave a class in how to make felted eggs with little chickens peeping out. The process of felting exacerbated my tendinitis – just looking at her work can make my hands tired. :) But Renée took it many levels further and beyond!

Here is it!!! Look at those mushroom pins! I heart this pincushion and it will have pride of place by the chofa with the Ott light. :)

Then, she gave me a book called Shibori Knits. It has some incredibly beautiful projects. I experimented with shibori years ago, back when I was into quilting. The idea of performing that technique on a knit is fascinating.

Finally, she made me the most gorgeous nuno-felted scarf! Nuno is the process of felting wool fiber onto silk. Can you believe this scarf? It is so soft to the touch and the colors are amazing. I can't wait for a cold day to wear it!!!

Renée does not sell her work, but wow, she sure could. I feel so lucky to know her and to be on the receiving end of some of her art!!! Just hanging with her is the best method I know of de-stressing. :)

Vogue 1018 - Sandra Betzina Skirt (#3)

This Sandra Betzina skirt is one of the first patterns I sewed last August when I returned to sewing. It has been one of my favorite patterns this year. I made it twice, both from printed fabrics, and I have worn both many times: the first skirt, from a lightweight Japanese striped woven, and the second skirt, from a sheer cotton plaid.

A DF (dear friend) admired both versions of the skirt, so I decided to make it for her for Christmas. She is taller than I am, so I had to size it up a bit. Previously, I modified the pattern by omitting the zipper and converting the skirt to an elastic waist with a rectangular yoke. I added the length to the top of the skirt, rather than at the bottom or by lengthening the yoke. She loves black (who doesn't?), and I wanted to make it in a knit. The pattern recommends lightweight jersey, so specially I ordered a lightweight wool jersey blend from Gorgeous Fabrics.

I liked the puckered effect of the tucks in the jersey. However the knit tends to stick to itself – I hope this won't make it difficult to wear. I lined the skirt with a lightweight sheer fabric – I thought it might flow better. (Originally I was going to leave it unlined so as not to add to the weight.)

Side One (there's no real front or back)

Other side

Detail of puckered texture

I still plan to make this again for myself, also in black. I think three versions of this skirt in my wardrobe should be sufficient, even for me. :)

Self Drafted -- Tank Top w/ Diagonal Seam (Flax)

The version I made. I inserted a greeting card into the in-seam pocket to show its placement.

Original garment

Several weeks ago a DF (dear friend) asked me to create a pattern from a go-to top from her wardrobe. Made by Flax, it's a 100% linen sleeveless v-neck, a-line tank with a diagonal seam, front and back. Cut on the bias, it has a pocket inserted in the front diagonal seam. (I inserted a greeting card in the pocket so you can see its placement.)

It's a wonderful top for layering and she'd worn it so much it was starting to develop holes. This doesn't really matter too much if you are using it as a layering piece, but she wanted more tops like this in different fabrics. While it might look like a pretty straightforward top to copy, it was actually pretty fiddly. (And by "fiddly", I mean "pain in the butt." :) ) The bias coupled with the stress on the original garment, plus the diagonal seams made it fairly tricky. It requires four pattern pieces, not counting the binding on the diagonal seams, because the front and back armholes and neck openings are shaped slightly differently.

I decided to make it up for her as a Christmas gift. She had expressed an interest in experimenting with new fabrics, so I sewed it up in a lightweight black rayon-lycra interlock. Because it was a knit, I cut it on the straight of grain and omitted the binding on the diagonal seams.

Hopefully it will work for her. (I hope she is not reading today, because we haven't yet exchanged our gifts.) This version has a very different drape than the original linen top, but will still work as a layering piece. Meanwhile, I just might have to make one of these for myself. :)

Christmas Booty

I finally took a photo of the wonderful Christmas booty from my kids. (I only exchange gifts with my kids and one close friend.)

I think I did pretty well!!! DD1 went onto Amazon and ordered me three of Sandra Betzina's books. Yay, reading for those nights I have insomnia! Then she went to Britex and picked out two pairs of gorgeous purse handles. I have been wanting to make a purse or two, and now I need to find a design and some fabulous fabric. :)

DD2 knew I liked Threads magazine, so she bought me a two-year subscription. I love how she presented it, though. She took one of her gaming magazines, superimposed a (handmade) Threads banner, and then modified the photo with a silver sharpie. She put yarn and knitting needles in his hands where he had been holding weaponry (I like to knit too, but haven't been doing much lately) and she added a talk bubble that says, "I just learned how to do the backstitch." LOL

Then a friend on Stitcher's Guild was de-stashing her patterns and I bought a number of Sewing Workshop and La Fred patterns from her. I was planning to get them from her later, but as a Christmas surprise, she shipped them to me in time for Christmas. Such booty for shams!

Finally, when I had an opportunity to get the Threads DVD (almost all articles from issues 1 to 146) at the discounted price of $77, I jumped at the chance. I picked up the DVD on Christmas day, so it felt like a Christmas present! Yay, more reading for those nights with insomnia!! I haven't cracked it open yet.

What a great Christmas. ;)

Self Drafted -- T-shirt with Chains

A few weeks before Christmas, a project leapt into my mind, fully formed. It just appeared out of nowhere. This must be what it was like for J.K. Rowling when Harry Potter jumped into her mind while riding the commuter train that fateful day. Except my idea wasn't nearly as original, take 10 years to execute, or make me the richest woman in Britain. ;)

Back in September, I had been shopping in Bloomingdales with DD1, when I saw a top in the expensive, boutique department on the top floor. It was black and was printed, or silk screened, with long necklaces. Then, over the necklace print a few actual chains were attached. DD1 loved it, but with a very high price tag (approx. $100 for a t-shirt) neither one of us wanted to pay for it. I forgot about it (or so I thought).

Fast forward to early November, when I was shopping at the discount fabric store and my favorite sales lady had on a black t-shirt with chains on it. The chains (if I recall correctly) were attached in a bandoleer style, so some went from the left shoulder to the right hip and others started from the right shoulder and crossed to the left hip. It was very edgy and very cute and I realized that she had sewn it because I recognized some of the chains from their discount wall. I confirmed she made it, and complimented it, but forgot about it (or so I thought).

Fast forward to three weeks before Christmas, when an idea popped into my head to make a top along these lines for DD1. Don't know why I didn't think of it before, except that I don't generally think of sewing for anyone but me. :)

I went to the fabric store and bought a handful of jewelry off their discount wall. These were really cheap necklaces and bracelets, and I selected only very lightweight pieces (heavy chains would pull too much on the garment). Most of these peices featured flowers, or butterflies, or similar "uncool" charms, but I knew I could cannibalize them. I was mostly after the chains, after all. Some were $.25 each, some were $.50 and a couple were $1.99. So, for a few dollars, I bought a nice assortment.

The raw materials. A pile of jewelry from the discount fabric store.

I had the t-shirt fabric at home – a wonderful, buttery cotton jersey with lycra and a 4-way stretch. I used the Burda twist knot top pattern in a size 34, except I cut the front in one piece, omitting the front knot detailing. (I did this because I am cheap, lazy, and it was a pattern that I knew would fit DD1.) I had to cut it on the cross grain because this pattern is cut as a single piece from wrist to wrist and, even in a 60" wide fabric, it was not wide enough. I quickly sewed it up. (Being a dolman pattern, there are only four seams to deal with.)

Then the fun began. I dug my jewelry tools out from the garage (from the days that I made wire-wrapped jewelry) and I started to cannibalize the pieces I had purchased. I removed rhinestones, and loud flower charms. I pieced together chains, and added a few of the less cutesy charms back. I liked the back of one charm better than the front, so I turned it around. I wanted a variety of chains, some with little adornments – I wanted it to look like she had thrown on several necklaces. This was so much fun and reminded me how much I enjoy making jewelry. :)

I auditioned it on the top and lived with it awhile...

Auditioning the chains

After living with it for 24 hours, I decided it was good to go. I sewed the necklaces onto a small square of the fabric and created a sandwich with a second rectangle. I tried to snug the ends of the chains to be fairly close to each other.

At first I was going to leave the top with raw edges (and told myself it was edgier that way), but in the end I did hem the sleeves, and the bottom, and I finished the neck with a strip of the fabric. I figured the top would last longer that way.

I sewed the ends of the necklaces to a scrap of fabric and then created a "sandwich" with another scrap. I let it pucker as I stitched the sandwich together – I liked the effect. I opened the shoulder seam and inserted the scrap in and hand stitched it together.

The end result:

I figured if DD1 doesn't want long sleeves, we can lop them to whatever length she wants, all the way to sleeveless.

After I finished the top, I wandered over to the Bloomingdales website. They had given me the idea, after all. If the link doesn't work, go to bloomingdales.com and then go to Womens and Tees, I was surprised out how many t-shirt styles they had featuring chains. If you page through the 10 pages of tees, you will see a variety. In fact, seeing those tops reminded me that the top DD1 liked originally was a BCBGMaxAzria design. (For me, I like that fringed necklace top on page 5!)

I then went to the Urban Outfitters website and found more tops with chains. I guess this top is right on-point, fashion-wise.

And if you are wondering why I am posting it now, before Christmas, it's because DD1 never, ever looks at my blog. DD2 looks at it now and again, but DD1 never. :)