MySaskLife

Sewing again

2010-03-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

Spring is struggling to arrive--darn that snow!--so there's too much of it to ride yet, so my thoughts have naturally turned to sewing. This year I became a "paid" member of Pattern Review
and I have boldly entered 3 contests: Handbag contest (now finished) Mini-Wardrobe (4 garments to make at least 4 distinctive outfits and a Stash Busting contest: The latter I have neglected badly.
Mt bag was made from a tapestry Western jacket in a Navajo weave and lined with stash fabric, so I stayed true to my mo of refashioning.. The Wardrobe entry will be entitled "Rockin' The Kasbah" and will be made entirely from my stash fabrics--pics to follow.
--I'm inviting everyone from patternreview.com over to my blog to view my struggles to create things.......

MEET CHAR

2010-02-07T12:41:00.001-08:00

This is "Classical Charmayne" a true "Dressage Horse"! I purchased her 2 years ago from my coach DJ Cairns, who raised, trained and showed her with great success. Char is attempting to "train" me--a hopeless cause! She is sassy, bossy and elegant, also quite patient and kind considering.
She is a Cadillac horse--Spook was more of a Mustang! She has a long neck and lovely sweeping stride. She is truly a Schoolmaster horse because if I don't get it right, she won't help me. I'm looking forward to a long summer of getting re-acquainted and brushing up on my riding skills.
It will be very different riding alone on my own place. I am also purchasing a 2-horse trailer, so I'm very excited about having complete freedom to get out and about and not having to depend on friends to go to shows and clinics.

ON THE FARM AT LAST !!

2010-02-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here we are at last on our own acreage : Our private world of 11.6 acres of yard and pasture, ponies, goats and dogs.
We made the move on August 29th, 2010. It was a long drawn out process-still moving a few things actually from town--.
We survived Christmas, -35 degrees, 12" snow dumps, and we are actually loving it all. Barn chores are time to spend together even though stinky. The dogs are marvellous companions. Days are long for me because I have a 35-minute commute but it is a lovely drive and the best way to have peace and quiet and meditate and plan projects. Also CBC Radio 2 is great company.
I'm posting catch-up pics of everybody, since I haven't blogged for a long time....New Equine friends and companions......two magnificent white beasts to protect and patrol the farmyard......a new precious princess in the house.
Since it's Winter, my thoughts are on creative sewing projects and design, of course. I became a paying Member of "Friends Of Pattern Review" this year and I have entered a sewing contest already--from Feb 1st to April 1st--stash-busting ! This I need, since the move, which entailed carrying huge tubs of yards and remnants from the past 20 years, has increased my awareness that I need to start reducing my inventory of yard goods!!

MADE IT TO THE FINISH !

2008-04-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

I feel so great!!--My SWAP sewing is finished, and my photos emailed in to Timmel Fabrics (the sponsor). I was so pleased with how wonderful the garments felt to wear--everything is so comfortable!
I want ot give a great big THANK-YOU to my best friend Cathy Nicholls, who helped me with fitting the muslins and was so encouraging, and to my d.h. Gerald for taking the photos with his fancy digital Nikon--he knows how to get the best angles.
Here is the composite photo of the wardrobe. Unfortunately, I had to substitute a purchsed white shirt at the last minute (from my own closet).--We were allowed one purchased garment, plus had the option of including two garments sewn prior to the start date.

SWAP 2008 Description

2008-04-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

SWAP 2008: "WISDOM AND VIRTUE"
The Title of my Swap is from a booklet of quotes I picked up from the Scrapbooking section in a craft store.
The exact quote was:
"Wisdom is knowing what to do next
Virtue is doing it"

At the same time I was fascinated by a series of vintage postcards that I "rediscovered" while cleaning out my china cabinet one day..one of which was a picture of a young girl in Ewardian dress, standing by a lake and obviously enamoured by a clean-cut young man leaning out of a canoe...and perhaps encountering a moral dilemma at the threshhold of womanhood!

SWAP CHALLENGES

My goal for this Swap was to make 2 outfits from the same pattern that would be completely different, yet complimentary. A Romance Theme in neutral linens and laces, an edgy, confidant punkish counterpart in tough strong dark denim.
The pieces are further embellished with quotes and photo images to illustrate the theme.

The second challenge is my pledge to "Wardrobe Refashion":
I will to buy only handmade and recycled clothing for a period of 6 months- starting in January.. My only purchase has been the linen from Timmel fabrics-a requirement to participate in the Swap, and which I had ordered prior to being accepted by Wardrobe Refashion.

THE PIECES

Wardrobe Pattern: Butterick B4932:--fitted lined jacket with peplum, bias -cut skirt, pants with waistband and front zipper.

1). Jacket: B4932
Constructed with recycled novelty denim in various textures and
weaves,overdyed dark green.
2). 6-gored skirt: Burda 7926 view C
Dyed recycled denim with appliques and artwork patches, raw
seams.
3). Unlined shirt-jacket: B4932
Made from Aeterna Linen, natural-from Timmel fabrics: I used
narrow facings to keep the garment light and breathable. Frog
closures.
4). Bias-cut skirt: B4932
Aeterna linen with vintage linen doily applique.
5). Pants: B4932
Patchwork and "fishscale"construction, using a variety of
recycled fabrics accented with taffeta and organza scraps.
6). Sleeveless shell #1: Self-drafted.
Thrifted cotton rib knit with crotcheted appliques.
7). Sleeveless shell #2: Self-drafted.
Thrifted cotton rib knit -two-tone with ribbon accent.
8). *Previously started before Swap 2008:
Wrap skirt: Self-drafted.
Vintage floral tablecloth from garage sale with thrifted skirt
piece added.
9). Sleeveless sheath dress: McCalls 2401 View F.
Heavy Missoni-type novelty knit-from stash.
10).Wrap blouse: Butterick B6768 (Out of Print).
I used 4 thrifted stretch cotton striped shirts and cut and
pieced the fabrics.
11).*Purchased piece:
Thrifted "L.A. Seatcovers" linen top-used to embellish with
photo transfers, lace, appliques to illustrate Swap theme.

***********************************************************
Since the Swap deadline is April 11th, I will be frantically
sewing and may not have much time to post photos untilthen.
--Good luck to all fellow Swappers--Happy sewing !!--M.

ROMANCE Linen and lace outfit

2008-03-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hi again! I am posting the results of my last two weeks of sewing...I was despairing of finishing the Swap by the deadline (April 11th)..but now I think I may actually make it! I have almost finished a bias-cut linen skirt with appliques from a vintage linen and crotcheted doily. Since I cut the jacket from the same linen-and had only purchased 3m-I had to make a join in the skirt diagonally across the front (quite tricky!). The doily pieces are sewn on diagonally, but are not symmentrical. The join and the hem seams have beeen left frayed and raw. The skirt has an interesting texture. By contrast, the shirt-jacket is very simple and clean finished. I did not put in the full facings because I thought it would make the linen too stiff, so I cut simple narrow facings for the top of the jacket and the peplum. Although my original plan was to make the jacket with heavy lace embellishment, I somehow don't want to spoil the pristine look-plus, I can't argue with my friend, it is more versatile this way.
--I'm also working on my textured dyed denim jacket and skirt--getting inspired and excited!--Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow---I'm really on a roll!!---M.

SWAP SEWING FINALLY

2008-02-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

--Back again after a weekend of making muslins and starting my second garment: McCalls 2401 is a classic sheath dress with variations in neckline. I chose View F' the sleeveless version to make up in the Missoni-like highly textured knit from my stash. I decided that since it has a very wide stripe, I would use the fabric horizontally (I know, I know... horizontal stripes add width..but in this case I think it will be balanced out by the lower hemline!).--First: a confession: in cutting out I laid out my fabric carefully and ensured the stripes matched on the sideseams...only to doscover I HAD FORGOTTEN TO FOLD THE DART ON THE FRONT FIRST !! OH, Ugh !!--So I had to take extra time to slide up the Back to match the stripes, then carefully slit and take up a narrow seam in the top back ( the green stripe)to match the side seams and compensate for the bust darts. Then I had to re-mark the long back darts proportionately...luckily the fabric is heavily textured, so the seams look more "decorative" than strange..but what a lesson to learn!!
The companion piece to the dress will be a simple cardigan made of a shell-pink cotton rib knit, using leftover scraps of the novelty knit for the front bands. I purchased Butterick 4740 for this simple garment. Itt has loads of potential for wovens.
--I also have a working muslin ready for my Wrap Front Blouse..
---At this point I would like to thank my very good friend/ fellow seamstress Cathy for all her help with pinning and fitting--Cathy without you I would have real problems getting a good fit on my "tops". I will pay it back by cleaning out goat pens!!!

WARDROBE REFASHION/ SWEATER TO SKIRT

2008-02-10T16:24:00.001-08:00

Here's my latest project, inspired by reading my great books...a Sweater Refashion.
Here's what I did yesterday. I was amazed how quickly the project went, and I'm sure next time I will
be more sure of myself..I was hoping I wouldn't wreck the sweater because I love it so much..on the other hand, I bought it at the V.V. for $5.98., so it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I had ruined it--and you know, with ReFashioning, there's always another creative use for failed projects!
Here are the steps...
. In this technique, the sweater basically gets turned upside-down, so the neckline becomes the hemline, and the ribbed bottom edge becomes the waistband---clever, hey--I wish I'd been the creative soul who thought of this!
1. I pinned a rough line from the bottom of the neckband to each shoulder, front and back (note: I kept the back line higher than the front, because I wanted the skirt to hang a bit lower at the back.
2.--then machine-sewed with a small running stitch to prevent fraying.....
3. I cut BELOW this line from shoulder to shoulder in a slight curve (this is the hemline).
4. Then hung the sweater upside down to see how much sleeve lenth to leave on--the sleeve becomes a ruffle on the sides of the hem..--then chopped off the sleeve.
5. Then cut from shoulder down the top of the sleeve, opening it right up (this is where it got a bit
scarey!).
6. I thought about the best way to stabilise the hem, since my knit was rather stretchy, and decided to use some red lace hem binding along the inside edge. I sewed both edges to the inside of the hem using a small running stitch, and mitred the corners when necessary...since I managed to fing a pretty good match for thread, the seamlines blend in quite well.
7. Now for the waistband. I tried on the skirt inside out and pinned the sides in fron the waistband, tapering down the side seams like a dart. I basted this before sewing the final seam.
8. It was still a bit baggy. My sweater has an eyelet pattern, so I snipped into the eyelet and threaded a ribbon tie through.--looks pretty good!
9. I may add godets to the side openings because the edges look a bit rough..probably some pieces of red lining or red lace I have in my scrap bin....
--Tomorrow I will try it on and post a pic of the finished project.
---TTFN----Marg.l

WARDROBE REFASHION...........

2008-02-09T22:29:00.000-08:00

I have started posting on the Wardrobe Refashion site..I signed up for SIX MONTHS....i.e. I pledged to not buy any clothing from retail for six months..to thrift and refashion as much as possible..quite tough I think but I have been "in training" since early December! The more I research and read up on ReFashion..the more inspired and excited I get. Excellent books on ReFashion I have picked up....
1. RECONSTRUCTING CLOTHES FOR DUMMIES---Miranda Caroligne Burns:
Took me from trepidation to tearing into sweaters to refashion into skirts..so easy and so fab!
2.ALTER NATION----Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill:'
carries the theme into altering wovens..on with learning to slash and be fearless!
3. SUBVERSIVE SEAMSTER----Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng, Melissa Rannels:
Lots of great tips and techniques like adding shirt collars onto knit tops...thing I would never have thought possible....
My first Refashion happened before Christmas..I was DETERMINED to not buy anything new/retail for the annual dance...so I went to my local S.A. and found 1. a teen girls red plaid kilt, and 2. a homemade black crushed velour skirt--obviosly a project "gone wrong"--the total was $6.50.....I took them home and started fiddling around with the kilt. I'm obviously Not the same size as a Teen 14..so I unbuckled the kilt, swung it round so the opening was centre front, and took off the side buckle and moved the strap to the front. I then took asome cheapie black ruffled lace and sewed it from the centre of the waist down in a cascade on eother side. I wore the crushed velour skirt under it. I added a thrifted and altered black velour v-necked top, fishnet hose, and black suede shoes with gold buckles..and a punky/Goth chain necklace...At the dance I received many compliments on my "outfit"--proving you really don't have to spend big bucks to look and feel great!!

SWAP EVOLUTION FEBRUARY

2008-01-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

Still not happy with actual patterns for my Swap.. but a clear concept emerging. I am actually pretty excited already. The theme will be Punky Romantic Vintage. The green overdyed denim will be raw finished with a boudoir look. The linen I have ordered from Julie will be made into a delicate blouse, the matching skirt will incorporate the linen with pieces of a pretty vintage tablecloth with red and pink flowers. The zigzag sweater knit will be a cardi-type jacket with a matching flared skirt. I am making a ruffled cami top out of white striped shirting, and a crossover shirt out of a variety of pastel striped shirts from my thrifting. I also have a dolman sleeved kimono top in sage green rib knit and a couple of feminine tanks from a variety of pink knits. I plan to make a pair of capris out of some decorating fabric.---I am proud to announce that MOST of the fabric came out of my stash!!
--When I first started out I thought I had nothing really to use! IN fact, the only stuff so far purchased "new" is the linen from Julie!--So, anything is possible with a bit of imagination!

NEW PROJECTS/ GREAT THRIFTING/ SWAP

2008-01-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful sunny Sunday today !!----Sky so blue, snow melting......In Saskatchewan, we count every warm day as a blessing because it could plunge to -35F at any time!

SWAP PROJECTS
--- . Back to subject at hand..... Denim is dyed ready to cut, but I am hesitant to work with wovens due to weight fluctuation which can be blamed on Christmas celebrating..(at least the chocolates and baking are gone now)....So I am going to concentrate on working on my knit pieces in the month of January.
My first Swap piece is using sage green tubular rib knit thrifted from VV this weekend---2.5m. fabric for $3.99. I t is the kind of knit I find very confortable in the Summer. Pattern used is Simplicity 4020 View E, a Kimono style that is very flattering. I am cutting a straight size 20 and will see how much fitting I have to do. I may have to shorten the sleeves because they are very full and the knit is heavy,
I also found some white woven for skirt panels and a striped stretch cotton shirt to add to my pieces for a wrap shirt. Some crotcheted doilies will be great for embellishments.
----I had so much fun thrifting in Regina.!

WARDROBE REFASHION
I am also working on my apron project featuring the Canada geese. The bib and ties have been lined with pieces cut from a thrifted Calvin Klein gingham shirt. --I'm still very happy with this project.
Also still working out problems with the man's flannel workshirt refashioned skirt. I made the the "skirt" part by cutting up an old pair of navy knit narrow leg pants and cutting off at knee length.
I am stuck creatively on this project right now.

BACK TO WORK/ SWAP PROGRESS

2008-01-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post before turning in for the night...Today was the first day back at work, so not much sewing done. So far resisting the tempation of Fabricland's super-duper New Years' sale! This evening I dyed some pieces of denim--some old dresses and some chunks of jeans and some textured pieces..used 2 box of Sunshine Yellow and I of Dark Green and set the washer on Hot...to my delight it has turned out the EXACT colour I was hoping for! I shall use the plainer pieces for the gored skirt and the fancier ones in different tones and textures for the intricate pieces on the top. I may even use some lace on the jacket.--I'm starting to get excited about this project now!
I am going thrifting to the Sally A in my lunch break tomorrow for more "inspiration".
Over the last 2 days I have been busy making a bibbed apron out of a cute but badly fitted cotton shirt. I am using most of the fabric ie. used the sleeves for the ties, etc. I will post a pic once it is done. I want to find a mans' shirt possibly green pinstripe-for lining the bib and the straps.
.....My DH bought me a Sony Cybershot digital camera for Christmas--I was so excitied about all the pics I can post..unfortunately my computer is having issues and I can't get the USB port to work yet...so I am having to load my pics on a disc. Hubby just installed a disc drive (I had previously told him I didn't need such a thing..but, who knew?!!) , so I have to learn how to operate it!

SWAP FABRICS

2007-12-30T10:18:00.000-08:00

Today I should be able to manage to post some downloaded pics of my thrifted and stash fabrics for the Swap. I am going out to buy some Rit dye and will dye some beige linen from my stash. I look forward to this because linen always dyes so beautifully and the colours are so subtle.. I anticipate some kind of mossy green will result. The cotton pieces are going to be panels in a skirt I think, or some sort of graphic configuration.

PRAIRIEGIRL WINTERWEAR

I am also working on a Winter line of clothing mainly denim, corduroy and plaid flannel shirting.
D-Squared promoted the iconic Canadian winter attire world-wide a few seasons ago i.e. the plaid flannel overshirts we all wear out in the barn, and fur hats with earflaps (a la Elmer Fudd).--I have been working on a wearable line that typifies the Prairie Winter lifestyle and pioneer history. I am creating some under-skirts with ruffles made of plaid flannel shirts, to be worn either alone in the house, or as underskirts under denim amd corduroy.--Wearing a nice "Winter" type of skirt out in December or January is quite daunting, because the wind here is an icy blast and just tights and long boots over a mid-lenth skirt is just too drafty!! I will post when I have a completed garment.
--I was hoping to upload some pics of Christmases when the girls were little, but the program can't seem to configure them--I wil have to let my Internet guru take a look!--Cheers--M.

MORE ON THE SWAP

2007-12-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

Well, today I got up all prepared to post my pattern images..then I went out to pick up the patterns I had selected.....but much to my dismay, the 2 New Look patterns--including my main "Wardrobe" foundation pattern--are not available in Canada! So I have chosen Burda 7926, which is very similar, but has no knit tops.. I haven't sewn a Burda since 1989-when I was asked to make 3 nightmare bridesmaid dresses-in peach satin. The satin had to be manipulated into 3 gathered lengths with handkerchief hems--and there were no seam allowances on the pattern.---Needless to say it put me off Burda for a long while. This pattern looks very nice though. I have contacted Julie to order Aeterna linen to make a jacket and some of the skirt panels. Now I have to get busy and make a muslin of the jacket, and Rit dye some denim and some extra linen in my stash.
Thanks to my first visitor "A Little Sewing On the Side"--for your kind and encouraging comments. -Jeremy is a 4-yr-old half Boer goat---he really looks like Rudolph, without the red nose! . He is a neutered goat, and just a pet, but in kidding season he plays "Uncle" to the baby boys. My other goats (not yet pictured) are Angora girls-hence my url.-- Mr Spook is actually 21 years old--but don't tell him that, he has no idea! He is the barnyard boss. He has been out to Brandon, Manitoba for his first ever dressage shows in 2006 and 2007. If he continues to be healthy and fit we will be competing again this summer. He shows off pretty well in the ring, and the Brandon folks can't believe he is 21!-- I love him to death.--Just to get things straight, I actually live in town, but board my animals with my best friend Cathy who raises champion Boer goats for breeding (not eating). We ride and show together and have a lot of adventures. She also is a very competent seamstress, and taught me to be more disciplined (i.e. plackets on sleeves and pointy collars and --ugh!! (shudder) zippers! She has also taught me to knit and crotchet in the last few years. I have boxes and boxes of mohair from my goats all ready to do exciting things with. For Christmas my DH bought me an Ashford spinning wheel...so many projects...where to start!!----M.

FIRST POST

2007-12-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

Hi! This is my first ever post on my new blogsite! I will be posting pics as soon as I can download them from my camera. I will be using this site primarily to chronicle my sewing and fibre arts projects.
Happy Holidays to all!
TIMMEL SWAP 2008.
After much deliberation I have decided on New Look 6609. This is a pattern for wovens. I will supplement this with pieces from New Look 6628, a similar design but for stretch knits, and Simplicity 4193, also for knits, but with a long seater coat with front ruffle. I may use some of the pattern pieces in a very unorthodox way! For colour and fabric selection, I am using primarily recycled fabrics..i.e. thrifted and vintage pieces cut apart and recut to pattern. My colour scheme was inspied by a little tank I picked up at VV, with a Miami Beach type feel...very joyful and happy......made me think of the 80's with all that white cotton with paint swirls we loved so much!. The complimentary colours will be green and violet. My neutral will be white. Sunshine yellow and hot pink will be for colour punch accents..
I plan to use some of my stash of bluejean pieces and overdye them green. From this I will make the woven jacket and 6-panel skirt to match. From the stretch knit patterns I will make a cardigan or kimono style top as a more relaxed alternative to the jean jacket. I plan to use vintage linens for other pieces. I will probably purchase some linen from Julie at Timmel to round out the Swap.--I may be planning as i go, since I have made a firm commitment to use recycled fabrics fo everything else, and alas, it is not "garage sale season", so the selection at thrift shops in my area is quite limited.--Ironically, I don't have much to go with my "Inspiration" theme in my stash!!
--I will post pics of my Storyboard as soon as I get caught up--I am technologically impaired!--M.