Tag Archives: plans

October 12, 2010 · 4:14 pm

Les pantalons

 

The Ultimate Jeans?

 

Pants.

Or trousers, for those of you for whom the word “pants” conjures up visions of underthings. “Trousers” just seems like something my grandmother wears—probably polyester with  an elastic waist and permanent-press creases. Ah, the delights of our diverging language. (Side question—d’you think all this internet business will help bring the vernacular slang of the far-flung contingents of English speakers a little closer into alignment? For example, if it weren’t for the internet I might not know that a vest is also a waistcoat or a gilet, OR that it is also a tank-top or a camisole. Likewise the pants as trousers or pants as panties.)

Anyway… some of you have been around to witness the supposed triumphs of my great Jeans Quest. It hasn’t been completely easy, but it hasn’t been as brutally hard as many of the  pants-fitting struggles I’ve read about. I’ve followed the basic mantra, “when in doubt, take it in,” and mostly done alright. You have no idea the feeling of freedom and lightness this brings to me. It means that I can now, for the first time, have the perfect pair of jeans (barring my own technical limitations) on demand. All I need is some good, sturdy stretch denim. Buffalo Jeans, Silver, Pepe, Guess—all you expensive jeans companies that discontinue my favorite styles, or don’t make your inseams quite long enough, or just decide that this year EVERYTHING is going to come with holes in—can go jump in a lake. I’ll make my own jeans, thank you very much.

This is awesome.

But, it has awakened a thought in me. You see, in this world, having conquered the Denim, it occurs to me that there is something else out there. Yes, something that is…

Pants that aren’t jeans.

 

Pants that aren't jeans...

 

I know, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this as well. I have owned a few pairs over the years—the leather ones from the vintage store I bought in high school that never really fit (being high-waisted and made for someone with a 24″ waist… not something I had even when I was 17). The army surplus cargo pants, of course, which were my uniform for a while (they went with the shaved head and red plaid jacket…). The mens’ vinyl pants with the lacing all the way up the side… they are fun, but obviously for a very specific usage. Then there was that plain black pair of trousers I bought for that job interview back when I was finishing my Master’s. I didn’t like them, but I didn’t want to wear jeans to the interview, and felt a skirt (my usual go-to when denim is not quite stylish enough) would be too fussy and girly for a preperator’s position interview. This is a job that involves banging up rocks, not answering phones and typing up reports. I should note that the five or so people in the panel interviewing me were all wearing jeans ;). Anyway, I didn’t like them when I bought them, and never wore them again. But there is still that non-jean pants-shaped hole in my wardrobe. And now that I am sewing, perhaps I should be moving to address it.

But I’m still confused. What should pants that aren’t jeans look like? What colours are good? What fabrics? What kind of pockets? I’m a big fan of the patch pockets on jeans because my rather under-sized bottom needs all the ornament it can get. But I have a feeling these wouldn’t look right on… trousers. So what, then? Flap pockets? Welt pockets?

Then there’s the leg. I’m a big fan of tight and skinny in jeans—or at least, not flared. But this is also a very young look, and presumably not what I’m looking for in Grown-Up Pants. So what, then? Straight from thigh down? A subtle boot cut? These things run round and round in my head. And once I start moving away from the skinnies, I start to contemplate…

Pants that aren’t stretch.

I know, it boggles my mind, too. Discovering stretch denim, like low-rise jeans, was a major revolution in my life.

 

Pants that aren't stretch

 

My first pair of really awesome, low-rise, stretch-denim jeans (which I think I didn’t get until after Tyo was born, actually) was the moment when I went “Aha! This is my pant. THIS is the item of clothing I have been looking for since I was fourteen!”

But there are a few pairs of pants that aren’t stretch that have crept into my wardrobe over the years. The army cargos, of course, though I now only wear those for fieldwork. Most particularly, there’s a pair of “pseudo army pants,”—ultra-girlified low-rise camo pants with asymmetrical mini cargo-pockets, lots of studs, and a huge embroidery of snakes, skulls, and an eagle on one leg. The’re awesome, in a totally-casual, not-at-all-grown-up way… but the point is that they fit perfectly (and snugly!) in the hip/butt, and then extend seamlessly into a nice wide-leg pant. And they’re still comfy. If I had a fit like that in a less, ah, statement piece, it could really be versatile. As it is, I wear them about four times a year.

All this is without stepping into the slippery territory of “rise”. I abandoned high-rise jeans as soon as I could, partly because they never fit my figure (I have a big waist relative to my tiny bottom/no hips), and partly because at that point in my life it was pretty much my mission to show off as much abdomen as the weather would allow. Fashion and age have pushed me away from the crop-top, bare-belly look, but I’ve clung to the low-rise. They look right. They feel right. I just can’t let go of that long-ago “aha” moment. Sewing may let me fit high-rise pants to my own (lack of) shape, but it can’t remove my obsession with waist-rolls or the fact that I don’t have that teeny-tiny cinched-in waist. I know plenty of people have their own hate-on for the low rise, with plenty of good reason. I’ll just say that for me, with my body, it works. Will I explore beyond it? maybe I will. We’ll see. I gotta tell you it scares the pants of me.

Also, I need to find some red stretch twill. I saw some awesome red pants on TV the other night—red jeans with white lacing on the inside thighs. SO fun. I’ve been thinking I need red pants… (not in that practical ‘this would be a really useful addition to my wardrobe’ kind of way. More in the OMG that’s so awesome and fun kind of way.)

So what do you think? What are you looking for in the perfect pair of pants? How do you step it up a notch beyond jeans? What on earth should pants that aren’t jeans look like?

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October 6, 2010 · 8:38 pm

Quick and simple

Bambi and Madeleine

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions on where to go next :). All the ideas were good. Since I’m about to be off to a conference for most of next week, I figured quick and simple was the way to go for now—I’ll tackle some new skillz and stuff when I get back.

So today I printed out and pieced together the Colette free pattern Madeleine bloomers, of which there are many cute versions inhabiting the internet (The Sew Convert’s being particularly recent and cute). I was hoping to make them out of the last of the black cotton, to go with my Bambi nightie—they seem like they’d make a nice bottom for that piece. However, there was even less fabric left than I had thought—not even enough for the teensiest pair of bloomers ever. So I had to search around a bit. I haven’t got the world’s largest stash, and not much of it is lightweight fabrics for summery sleepwear. Well, there is the chiffon, but I have about as much desire to sleep in that as I do to sew it. 😛

But, there was the remains of the crinkle cotton voile. The four metres of this fabric I bought back in July (?) have already successfully produced my husband’s shirt and the 70s sundress, but there was just enough left to squeeze out another Bambi and a Madeleine. Although I’m a little worried my straps may not end up long enough. Seriously, there isn’t a piece left as big as a washcloth :). Anyway, I shan’t have time to stitch them tonight, but maybe tomorrow. I widened the back of the Bambi by a couple of inches, we shall see if that makes it a little easier to wriggle into, or if it just ends up being floppy.

Bookemon & Ebichu label on the yellow sundress

And, I spent a little more time playing with labels. The kids were distinctly unimpressed by my labels—they wanted ones that had their names on. I thought about it, and eventually came up with these. I went through and picked every cute and cool-looking font on the computer (I have a lot of fonts), in a variety of colours. They say “Bookemon & Ebichu”, which are (two of) my husband’s nicknames for the girls. We’re not overly into Pokemon, so I’m not sure why, but there they are. I’ve already attached two, and need to stitch on some more.

Speaking of which, I guess I could finish putting labels

Bookemon & Ebichu label on the Little A-Line

into the other stuff I’ve made. I only have my labels on two or three things so far 🙂

And, just for fun, here’s the whole page:

Aren't they cute?

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October 1, 2010 · 8:13 am

Self-Stitched September: Lessons?

Self-Stitched September 24

Looking back

It seems obligatory to do a post on the things learnt from Self-Stitched September, the impact it has had on me, especially since I hadn’t done the Me-Made-May challenge. So here goes.

The Good:

  • I had enough pieces to get me through. I’ve been trying hard to focus on practical sewing this time around, and aside from the odd venture into pouffy-skirt territory, I’ve been pretty successful. A big thank-you to everyone who pushed me towards a “full” commitment. It’s good to stretch ourselves a little.
  • It pushed me to get more creative with my outfits—layering Lydias and JJs or the Danielle Dress over jeans, even finding ways to style my Kasia skirt—which I still have issues with.
  • it pushed me to “step it up” with my photos to reduce the boredom of photographing repeat outfits. Though my photo-quality is still pretty spotty, I think.
  • it pushed me to make use of borderline pieces that I probably wouldn’t get much use out of otherwise—like my first black Lydia with the wonky shoulders, or my ex-capri Jalie Jeans, which fit fine but have some construction, ah, idiosyncrasies.
  • it clarifies a lot of things about what I like to wear.

The Bad:

  • Boring! Although I had enough pieces to get through (without doing laundry every other day), it gets old rotating the same two pairs of pants and the same few shirts, especially when weather necessitated layering or omitting the more summery items. I didn’t get a lot of use out of my cowl-neck tops due to the weather, and I got mighty bored of my variations on JJ and Lydia (especially layered together).
  • I wish I had a few more “relief” pieces (like the Danielle dress pictured) for spicing it up when the staples get old. I’m really lusting after a mid-length mermaid skirt like Big in Japan’s or LouTracey’s. The Kasia fits this ‘hole’ but a) I don’t really like it with any of my self-stitched tops, and b) I find the whole pencil-skirt thing a big constricting for everyday wear. I like to walk fast and take stairs two at a time, which is not good for pencil skirts.
  • DAILY photos! Tiring, boring. Probably the repetitive garments wouldn’t’ve bothered me quite as much if I hadn’t been photographing them. (I know, this is also part of “the good” because it pushed me to get more creative with my photos)
  • I never did find my blue tank top. It’s been MIA all month!

The Odd:

I don’t think my husband or children even noticed that I eschewed all RTW (except jackets, sweaters, and sleepwear… and undies) for the month. I guess this is partly because I was wearing a fair amount before (one piece a day through August and much of July), but still. Way to go, family! Also, it felt really weird to grab a non-self-stitched pair of jeans this morning.

The wardrobe:

Here’s a link to my Self-Stitched Flickr set. I didn’t manage pics every day, but more than not. You can tell which days I was inspired and having fun and which days were just “bleh let’s get this over with”, can’t you?

So on the whole, I’m glad I did it. I really like the feeling of wearing my own items, even if I don’t like being restricted to just them. It would be fun at some point in the future to have a fully me-made wardrobe, although I don’t think I’m going to exclude the possibility of buying stuff as needed. I hope I didn’t bore you all to tears with the outfit posts—I tried to have a bit of something else in there, even on days when little or no sewing was done.

The Way Forward:

I still need to finish my winter coat, and of course proceed with the Lady Grey. I’m still toying with the idea of turning the muslin (assuming I can get the front working) into a real, light-weight coat. I won’t be able to do the “final” version until I can get fabric, which hopefully will be sometime in October (I have a 50%-off coupon for up to 5m of fabric at Fabricland that expires at the end of October, but funds remain tight in the Tanit-Isis household). I have the lining! Tyo will also need a winter coat at some point this fall, so I need to decide whether to buy or try to make her one. I’m thinking I should hold off on making her one until I’ve tested whether mine will end up being warm enough, which of course means after the winter, which means buying one in the meantime. I’d also like more cardi-wrap-type garments, but again that requires buying substantial amounts of not-cheap fabric.

And, in the purely fun and frilly side of sewing (that oh-so-seductive side I’m trying to avoid), I now have all the materials I should need for a tiered petticoat, and also I’m considering sacrificing some of this red fabric to a retro circle skirt to go over said petticoat. How fun? Plus I still need some madeleine bloomers to go under the pouffy skirt (see above), and maybe some more nighties. I may resort to some of these just because I can use fabric I already have, instead of having to buy more.

So that’s where I am as of this morning, happy to have risen to the challenge but also glad it’s over. My wardrobe is going to feel so massive and well-rounded now… 😉

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September 27, 2010 · 2:38 pm

Premature blogging

Grey suiting (left); purpe plaid knit (right)

If I waited until bedtime, I might actually have something to show for myself. As is… not really. But since I’m home, kids not in school, and guys fixing the driveway making it a bit hard to concentrate, I’m going to pretend I’m justified in wasting some time blogging now :).

Syo and I popped into Fabricland this morning (in her lovely new dress). I wanted to pick up more twill tape and clear elastic. I walked out with four metres of this suiting to make my Lady Grey muslin, a metre of that purple knit with diagonal tartan print, and another metre of a garish poly-lycra knit for Syo to replace the play-value of the fabric that got made into a dress yesterday. For $2/m, I was willing to indulge her. For that matter, the purple was $2.50, and the suiting was only $6/m (clearance from $18). It kinda chokes me spending money on fabric for a muslin, but I wanted something heavier than old bedsheets from Value Village (and old curtains from Value Village would have cost about as much as the suiting :P). Anyway, it’s actually kind of nice, even with that odd super-imposed criss-cross pattern… maybe I’ll feel driven to try and make a wearable muslin after all. We’ll see.

Here’s a question—the purple knit is obviously destined for some kind of top. What kind do you think? Another straight-up Lydia? A cowl neck? I’d love to do another Manequim cowl with sleeves but I can’t quite wrap my mind around adding sleeves to that weird armhole. I’m really not feeling making anything with short sleeves right now ;). The reverse of the fabric is all the lighter-purple colour, which would make a nice contrast binding, I think.

I also bought buttons for the coat.

Bought buttons.

I’m feeling guilty about this because I know just last week I took Tasia up on her super-sweet offer of mailing me some buttons, and they are on their way already. I’m sorry, Tasia! I promise I’ll find a good use for yours, too! But I really liked these ones, and the notions are all 50% off right now, anyway…

Actually, there were a LOT of really nice buttons I’d never noticed before—mostly metal ones, however, and I was looking for something black. I like these because they’re sturdy, black, classic, but have an interesting pattern to them if you look close. All of which may or may not show up in the photographs 😛

In Self-Stitched September news, the weather is divine but the morning was still chilly. Also, the leaves started falling yesterday.

Self-Stitched September 27

Leaf fan. Not as impressive as the idea was in my head.

Top: Quick Cowl Top from Burdastyle.com, and the ubiquitous Cardi-wrap (I need one of these in black or ivory—something a little more neutral than red. Not that I don’t dig the red, but there’s certain wardrobe items it doesn’t go with.)

Bottom: the Jaie 2908 capris again. You bet I’m gonna get as much wear as I can out of these this week.

Self-Stitched September 27

Communing with autumn

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September 14, 2010 · 9:05 pm

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat

More edgy photography by Tyo... if you tilt your head right you can see a few under-arm wrinkles left.

How I wonder where I’m at?

Hrrrmm. Working on this coat definitely does not produce the kind of instant satisfaction sewing a Lydia or a cardi-wrap does. But, I have conquered the sleeves of doom. Or, at least, we’ve fought each other to a standstill, an uneasy cease-fire marred only by occasional skirmishes as I tug futilely at the remaining wrinkles under the sleeve. It’s not perfect, but considering my limitations in the no-dressform department and my idiotic abandonment of the idea of using pieces from the same pattern that actually match… well, I can’t really complain. It took many rounds of pinning, basting, and ultimately a felt-tip marker, but they’re in.

Oh crap. Now I have to do that all over again with the lining.

MOVING ON…

I tackled that touchy subject, the shoulder-pad. Now, my original pattern called for 1/2 shoulder pads. Can we say 80s, anyone? I generally

Believe it or not, this is the inside of my coat (sleeve to the bottom). The blobby half-circle thing is the shoulder pad, the white thing is the sleeve head.

don’t think my shoulders need much additional breadth, plus I’m pretty sure I removed most of that ease when I petite’d the jacket bodice, but I figured I’d give some thin pads a try. I took two layers of my coat fabric, cut into half-circles and zig-zagged along one edge, with a smaller half-circle inserted between to give it a bit more substance. And, y’know, it really does smooth out the look of the shoulder. I also did my own improvised sleeve-heads, which I may even have inserted properly, and they seem to help, too, with giving a nice, smooth line to the shoulder. So I may be half-ass, but I’m only a half-ass half-ass. Or something. For some reason in the picture above one side looks pointier than the other, which is certainly possible but I don’t really see it in the real coat so I’m going to hope it’s an artefacte of the monster’s photography.

Anyway, here’s the front view:

Gee, I look short. That's kind of amazing, actually.

And the back view:

Coat back. I look less short, for some reason.

And this is the inside where the pocket is hanging out (Tyo figured you needed to see this. I’m mostly including it because it’s the closest we got to photographing my clothing today—the

Coat inside, and today's outfit.

Manequim cowl top and the black Jalie jeans again. I believe I’m wearing them both in this original picture, anyway, which is much more flattering than anything I can pull of today. I won’t lie, I came close to cracking and putting on RTW jeans today… but I gritted my teeth and got another day’s wear out of the black jalies. The nice thing about this overly-stretchy fabric-store denim is it doesn’t bag out as badly at the knees as the RTW does, which is usually my cue to change my pants. The ex-capris are washed now and assuming they’re dry by tomorrow I’ll be back in them. Isn’t this exciting?!?)

Ok, the hubby is whining that I’m not spending time (aka watching TV) with him, so I’d better go bum around support my marriage. Tomorrow… lining sleeves! And interlining.

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September 13, 2010 · 8:50 pm

This would be infinitely easier…

Sleeve pinned---almost looking good.

… if I had a dress-form.

I speak, of course, of trying to get the sleeves set in my winter coat. I got the rest of the lining cut out and mostly assembled, so all I need to do at this point is set the sleeves, construct the interlining, and then put the whole thing together.

Setting the sleeves is a problem.

This is because the sleeve I chose to use is not the sleeve which came with the pattern.

Typically when you do this, you choose a sleeve from a pattern that has worked well for you in the past, and then you copy the armscye from that

And straight... still some wrinkling on the inside.

pattern as well.

However, I didn’t actually have a sleeve from a jacket pattern that I liked. All I knew was that I wanted a two-piece sleeve and I didn’t like the sleeve that came with the pattern (which was one piece and designed for a puffed sleeve-head.)

So, I’m using the sleeve from this coat. Yeah, the one that I had all the trouble with. And there was no way I was copying the armscye that went with it.

I’m stupid that way. The armscye length was actually perfect (I measured), but I thought I should enlarge the sleeve a bit and cut the head extra-generous so I would have some wiggle room.

And, y’know, I think it can work. I’ve had it pinned into a reasonably functional position (on me) about five times in the last two hours.

I just can’t get it off to baste it without the pins popping. And I don’t think I can really baste it while I’m wearing it.

I was hoping to make a paper-tape dress form on the weekend, to address this very problem, but that didn’t happen (see the post about Sunday). And it probably won’t happen next weekend, as the hubby works. Unless I can conscript the children… I’ve already had to fight to keep them out of my precious paper tape. We’ll see how desperate I get.

I really, really, really would like to get this coat finished. It’s frickin’ cold here right now and the only coat I have is a very stylish, beautifully-draping raglan-sleeve dress coat I got at Value Village about twelve years ago. It’s been sitting mostly in my closet since then, probably for the same reason it was at Value Village in the first place: it has no buttons.

Yes, function was definitely secondary to form when that coat was designed. This is a bit of a pain, although it works pretty well with my new cardi-wrap if I throw one side of the wrap over my shoulder before I put on the coat. Just like having a big red scarf.

Oh, I guess there is the fur coat from my grandmother and the mink-trimmed coat from my sister-in-law, but a) that’s a bit dressy even for me and b) I don’t really need to be assaulted by PETAns on my way to work.

And speaking of the crappy weather, here’s my outfit today:

Self-Stitched September Day 13

Self-Stitched September Day 13

Top: Simplicity cardi-wrap, Lydia top; Bottom: Kasia skirt.


or

Self-Stitched September Day 13

Taken through the patio door so I didn't have to set the tripod up out in the rain.

Well, I think that’s all I have time for tonight. Wish me better luck with my sleeve-setting tomorrow!

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September 9, 2010 · 9:48 am

All Emo’d up an nowhere to go…

Why so serious?

So yesterday I wrote, and bummed around, and wrote, and did some laundry, and wrote, and wished I was sewing, and wrote some more. Basically I was a good little scholar. What I didn’t do was get motivated to do anything like fix my hair, put on makeup, and take pictures. Anyway, I was wearing the same thing as today, only without the long-sleeved Lydia underneath (it was in the laundry. I better hurry up and make a dozen or so more of these…). We are definitely getting into repeats territory here, folks, and with the weather being crummy I can’t even spice up my photos out-of-doors. Also finding sewing time in the afternoon/evening now that the kids are back in school is getting HARD. It’s like I put them to bed, make lunches for the next day, and all of a sudden it’s time to go to bed myself. Also last night we played Dragon Age: Origins (Witch Hunt), which was technically my birthday present so I couldn’t really ditch to go sew.

Self-Stitched Sept. 9

Contemplating the rain...

But here’s me for today, anyway. The weather has gone craptacular the last couple of days (not that it’s been good for over a week at this point, though no snow yet thankfully), so today’s photos are a reflection of my state of mind. I guess I should really be wearing the black jeans to complete the outfit, but I think all y’all get the idea.

Blue fabric for the Ten Year Old, yellow for the Seven Year Old.

Just to prove that I am still at least thinking about sewing, here’s some fabrics the kids picked out on the weekend. Well, Syo* picked them out, Tyo was home sick, and I’m not sure she’s thrilled about the sparkly blue remnant Tyo picked, but she’s stuck with it. Syo’s yellow is slated to become one of these sundresses (nothing like sewing seasonally, I tell ya), and Tyo wants the top from this outfit. Yes, that is a page from Patrones. No,

Patrones Kids' issue... Tyo* wants this outfit. The whole thing.

I haven’t found a local source for these… this was a another “gift” from Her Selfishness**—two whole, kids-only issues of Patrones magazine. To be fair, the kids have only earmarked about half the patterns for me to make. And I do better muddling through the instructions in Spanish than I would in most other languages (I don’t speak Spanish other than what you pick up from Dora the Explorer, but I do have a bit of French)

And on that note, I had best get back to my work. Thanks again for all the birthday wishes, and also the help from the people who commented on the Lydia fit issues.

Self-Stitched Sept. 9

Now... back to work!

*I’ve decided to knock off Beangirl and start calling my kids Syo (the seven-year-old) and Tyo (the ten year old). It’s not quite as cool as her T-Bo and T-Lo (The Big One and The Little One) but I’m getting tired of writing out “the seven year old” every time. This will work okay until next summer when they turn eight and eleven and are suddenly both ‘Eyo’. Meh.

**Doubtless a calculated attempt to distract my from my own selfish sewing… children’s clothes are no threat to her sewing supremacy, after all.

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August 30, 2010 · 7:34 am

One last thing…

Of course, the week that the Selfish Seamstress links to me would be the week that I get next to no sewing done. Sorry, folks, we had company and my sewing machine hasn’t been unbanished from the basement yet. Soon, though.

The days are dwindling. I’m not ready for September for so many reasons (the least of which is my 30th birthday :P). I’m not sick of summer! I need at least a couple of weeks of solidly brutal heat to prepare me for the winter to come. Even though the winters here are fairly pansy-ass compared to what I grew up with, they still bite. I am not mentally equipt for moderate climates. Instead, what we got was a weekend that didn’t get above 20 C the whole time. Yesterday and today won’t get above 15. Brutal!

Anyway, I feel like there’s just time to plan for one last garment before September really begins (I will obviously attempt to keep sewing in September, but it’s going to be limited, and probably focused on my winter coat). So what should it be?

My problem is that what I want to do is fabric shop. I am sick of my (admittedly limited) stash, with the exception of a few pieces that I have garments in mind that I’m not ready for yet. There are all kinds of (comparatively… it is Fabricland, after all) glorious sweater-weight knits at Fabricland that are tempting me, not to mention coating (for the Lady Grey of course). I want to play around with my Lydia pattern more, too, and I don’t have any knits for that. I’d really like some killer denim; I have enough for one more black pair, which is all right, but I’d really prefer a dark indigo wash. Not that there was anything like that at Fabricland last time I checked, mind you. And while you’d think I’d be able to justify some birthday splurging, the always-tight budget is even tighter than usual (still recovering from the summer splurges, and September is always a pricey month with the kids’ school starting). We’ll see. I also need to order the Lady Grey pattern, and if I’m going to do that I might as well order the Ceylon at the same time, right? (I think I’ve talked myself out of Beignet… if I decide I can’t live without it I’ll make up a regular pencil-skirt with a button front instead.)

I did receive some small relief last night in the form of some last-minute hand-me-downs from the Selfish Seamstress. I can see one of the fabrics becoming another JJ. (Because, y’know, I really need another one of those). But I still want sweater knit! I want long sleeves!

Now to reclaim my machine. I have a scheme to set it up on the computer desk, which would be an improvement over the kitchen table where it’s been lurking all summer, and the Monster (aka the 10-year-old) needs to finish her bag… but first I have to do a ton of running around. With no car today, I might add. Argh.

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August 13, 2010 · 11:09 am

My first Burda Magazine!

My First Burda (Magazine)! (I'm not manic. Really. I'm not. Ok maybe a little.)

Last night a little bird took me to a newsstand in town that actually carries BurdaStyle magazine. For the low, low price of $10 Canadian, I am now the proud owner of the August issue! (And then I got home late and had to go to bed without reading it!)

On the upside, it has lots of cute little jacket patterns that call for about 1.5 m of fabric (the same amount I have of my grey herringbone). On the downside, most of these seem to be in petite sizes. Now, I have a shortish body so I might actually be able to pull off a petite bodice (might)… but how much am I going to have to lengthen the arms? Although some of them look pretty long already…

Cute petite jacket. Are the go-go-gadget arms really long enough?

There’s also this really cute kids jacket my oldest daughter would totally rock:

Totally seeing my 10-year-old in this.

I can’t say any of the pants are especially appealing to me, although they’re probably good basics (and I am still in the market for basic patterns). There are several cute skirts, but we all know how often I wear skirts. There are a few cute tops, but a lot of them are big, floaty blousy things that look lovely on the models and I would feel like a whale in.

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August 10, 2010 · 9:17 am

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So we got home late last night, and now I’m lying here with a house full of 10 days’ worth of vacation junk (plus all the stuff the kids came home with… I send them out with two suitcases and they come back with two suitcases, three backpacks, and about 6 grocery bags full of stuff (plus one big garbage bag of clothes). WTF?? I think it is time for a wardrobe prune for the little girls.) and all I want to do is SEW. Fortunately for the state of my house, I don’t quite know what I want to sew, but my fingers are definitely itching. Probably another pair of jeans would be the best start. Though the Kasia skirt Seemane suggested sounds fun. I’m just not convinced I’m actually likely to wear a pencil skirt (or if one would even look good on me) and I’m still trying to build wearables for Self-Stitched September. On the other hand, I think the new plaid I picked up would make really nice contrast pockets (although maybe not with the striped denim… maybe the sparkly denim from the girls’ jean jackets would work for that?… oh, the angst of fabric selection!). On consideration, the grey herringbone wool is too heavy for anything but a coat. It’s really heavy. Heavier than the stuff I bought for my winter coat project. What kind of a coat can you make with about 1.5m of fashion fabric? (Probably why it was at Value Village in the first place, no?) . I’d love something like this,

I love this jacket! Unfortunateley, I have no pattern like it.

but I have a feeling it’s too heavy for the sleeves to drape nicely even if they were cut on the bias. And I have nothing like a pattern for it. A short-sleeved coat would be a possibility, but I don’t really like the look (also the pointlessness) of them. I like a cropped or bolero jacket with long sleeves much better (but back to the pattern issue). Apparently I’d rather have a cold tummy than cold arms.

On the Wearability Report, I lost a rivet off my black jeans. 😦 Although this bothers me less than if I’d lost the rivet on RTW, since I can just replace it, it’s still irritating. They’ve been washed about 4 times now (5 by the end of today) and are generally holding up pretty well, though the knees are (inevitably) fading. The hubby’s white voile shirt is holding up well to its numerous washings, as it gets a lot of wear. The fabric is so thin, though, that I imagine I’ll be making a new one sooner than I think. Several of the pretty pearl snaps have popped off the girls’ jean jackets, too (all in places where the fabric was really too thick for them, though, like the cuffs). I like the heavy-duty snaps much better, at least for jackets, and they’re easier to set, too.

In other news, I foresee lots of swayback alteration practice for any fitted clothing for my older daughter. That baby got back.

Wow, that was a lot of babbling for not a lot of sewing. Ok, off to clean my house!

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