Sew Terri

Blog Suspended

2012-01-23T15:35:00.000-05:00

Loes Hinse Zipper Jacket 9 years later

2011-12-26T13:27:00.000-05:00

These photos were taken using different cameras. I wore this jacket today with the very same tropical wool/lycra slacks I paired the jacket with in 2003.

Feb 2003 - Jacket and Donna Karan slacks

Same jacket & slacks Dec 26, 2011

A silver and black eShrug

2011-12-25T13:51:00.001-05:00

Here's another eShrug I sewed as a gift. I've made a number of these for friends and as gifts.

This one is out of the same novelty silver/black stretch lace in an animal print I used to make this Loes Hinse cardigan summer before last. I think it looks nice with my new Tango pencil skirt and a charcoal pullover with a black chiffon edge at the bottom. As Loes says, wear one "talking fabric" and this is the talking one. It's a tasteful animal print that will perk up lots of outfits.

Styling Holiday Separates

2011-12-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

The holidays are here - what to wear to different places and events? I've never made or bought anything special to wear just for holiday dressing. It has to work for more than just a certain time of year or event. So, based on where I'm going, and the weather, I put together appropriate looks with what I already have, adding accessories, a little sparkle and a faux fur or real fur wrap and hat if necessary.

I don't dress like a circus performer during the year, so why should I dress like a Christmas tree during the holidays? I just don't understand that mentality but then each to their own. I don't (and never did) wear flashy, cleavage revealing, butt hugging outfits. Donna Karan is 64 and Vera Wang is 63. Carolina Herrera is 73. Each of those women look fabulous and dress elegantly whatever the occasion. They don't wear tight or circus. Those are the style icons I respect in terms of how they've dressed as they age, and still maintain a unique style. So here's what I put together for holiday ensembles:

This deep periwinkle blue (Pantone 17-3932) $1,095 viscose (rayon) jersey dress was from Vera Wang's spring/summer collection and was featured in the June Allure magazine.

Deep periwinkle is one of the recommended colors for my palette in Leatrice Eiseman's personal Style guide for Pantone, More Alive with Color.

Many of the colors Vera Wang uses in her collections are in my palette. So when I saw one of her dresses in the same color rayon jersey tucked/manipulated and paired with strips of bias georgette in her spring collection for Kohl's I bought it. Another great detail is a wide black grosgrain sash that pulls underneath the back and gathers the waist slightly at the front side. I also bought a rayon jersey cap sleeve tunic with the same fabric manipulation detail. Both of these just skim the body and look elegant.

For holiday dressing, I paired this color with silver gray or midnight blue, and accessorized with a cord type necklace with rows of sparkly rhinestones dangling as fringe. The little dark purple velvet bag with faux tortoise chain is a Donna Karan I found years ago at my step son's resale boutique in Bethesda. That's the eShrug in a silver/metallic synthetic knit and an Eileen Fisher loosely woven asymmetric sweater /shrug in a midnight blue. The tunic is over ponte knit skinny pants but I can also wear it with a pair of narrow black silk velvet pants I've had for years.

The two dark periwinkle jersey is an elegant and unique color. Each of these will be great to wear again next spring/summer. I'm working on a 3/4 length sweater coat and a long sleeve eShrug using the chunky knit (a fabric used by Eileen Fisher) on the right in the photo below. Those can be worn with these two pieces and others I already have. This photo is the best for the color and shows the fun necklace.

Merry Christmas and my best wishes for happy and stylish holidays!

How I Wear the Shapes Three Fold Vest

2011-12-23T12:30:00.001-05:00

I made this Three Fold Vest from the Shapes pattern line in November 2008. It's a cozy variegated knit with some mohair in it.

Our weather this week has been balmy for this time of year with temps in the 60's but lots of clouds, fog, mist and rain off and on. Most of the time you couldn't even see the mountains.

Today is sunny and in the 50's so I pulled out the Shapes vest for layering over a black rayon turtleneck and dark charcoal stretch wool pants by Jil Sander. I paid $98 for these in a high end consignment store in Chicago during a stop-over trying to make my way back to Washington the week of 9/11. That may sound like a lot of money but I imagine that was 1/7 the price of them new and I've worn them many times since. Besides, that's just about what a year of Burda Style costs now and that's $90 a pattern even if you only make one. Some never make anything.... I'm not renewing my subscription since they've gotten so cheap by doubling up the lines on the pattern sheets. These are a German size 38 which is a US size 6, a good incentive to stay fit and watch my weight.

Here are some "action" shots of how I wore it today. I couldn't do this a few months ago.

Refashioning -- some Loes Hinse pieces

2011-12-22T14:09:00.004-05:00

It's a busy time of year and I've been going through things based on how and whether I wear some of them. A couple of years ago I sewed two pair of pants (LH Oxfords and CLD One-Seam) and a Biarritz jacket out of a lightweight green tweed blend from Fabric Mart. I never got around to choosing or putting buttons on the jacket, and didn't wear it because something just wasn't right. I sewed on small metal clasps but they were too heavy. So I looked it over and put it on to figure out how to save it.

It's a great little cardigan jacket that I probably will never wear buttoned up anyway. I decided to put pockets over the front vertical darts to make it a bit more Ch@nel looking, to give it a bit more weight and make it hang better. So that's what I did. Here it is worn with an interesting leather belt I found at the Tanner outlet store for Doncaster in Black Mountain, NC and a knit dress in a color that coordinates well. Most of my belts are Doncaster that they have made in Italy for them. They're great buys if you get a chance to go into any of their stores.

To wear it closed I'd just use a brooche or pin like this

I had a charcoal gray, elastic waist wool jersey skirt that was way too long and had no style. I made it about the same time I sewed a sheath dress from a Vogue Wardrobe pattern in the same Calvin Klein knit, but I never wore the skirt. I had one remnant of fabric left that I cut three panels from, and I took the skirt apart to cut out the remaining number of panels for a straight, knee length Loes Hinse Tango skirt -- basically a pencil skirt. Perfect style for me and so current. Now I will enjoy wearing this easy fitting, stylish skirt that goes with lots of tops and layers! It works with a Loes Hinse Sweater Coat (photo link shows it with the same knit dress that I'm wearing with the tweed Biarritz jacket) since it has shades of gray in it. Click on photos to enlarge. More on my Flickr photos.

..... with the Bergman jacket I sewed last spring out of novelty meshes that looks completely different worn over these fall/winter coordinates.

Here it is with a pink/charcoal georgette top and the lace jacket from Anthropologie in a very "Biarritz" style

With a dark periwinkly blue rayon knit tunic and the eShrug

Postscript

I wanted to give those of you who care an update on what's going on with my health and medical situation. I am doing well and making good progress as my nerves continue to heal. As most know, I ended the three months of plasmapheresis in October before having the catheter removed at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. I am still on an immune suppressant, and will be for several months. I cooked and catered our son's holiday party for his business last weekend, something that I would not have been able to do a month ago. I'm much stronger, but still have weakness and sensory numbness in my feet and my knee reflexes have not returned. I can't stand on my toes, walk fast, or run. I return to Johns Hopkins in late March for a check-up and evaluation. It's been a tough year but there is now light at the end of the tunnel. I'm hoping to be able to go to some sewing events next year. I just have to be careful not to be around sick people who have colds and the flu. This may preclude flying during the season for those.

A JUNK Store that just happens to sell fabric is coming to my town

2011-12-04T10:42:00.001-05:00

Early in November my DH and I were in the shopping center where the Books A Million Store had closed earlier in the year. I saw a sign on the front of empty space that a JoAnn Fabrics store would be opening in that space. The Asheville Citizen Times newspaper reported it in the business section.

Why would I want or need another big box chain store that sells cheesy cheap fabric from China with a reputation (read the many reviews/comments posted on the internet) for paying their employees a pittance - no wonder you don't even have to know how to sew to work there, and for lousy customer service? To me it's no different than WalMart (where I also don't shop) coming in causing local businesses to close because they can't compete with the cheap prices. I haven't shopped at a JoAnn Fabrics store in probably a dozen years except to get some Christmas ribbon while in Florida visiting my sister and mother. Quality products, great customer service, and business ethics mean more to me than a big store filled with stuff.

What gives a town like Asheville it's charm are all the local businesses, old and new, who have great products and great customer service! Asheville has two enduring, independent fashion fabric stores (as opposed to the quilt shops that dot the area). The House of Fabrics on Merrimon Avenue has been in business for many years under the same family. The owner sews all her own clothes and so do the staff. Customer service is exceptional, everyone is friendly and are expert seamstresses. They sell Viking machines and fine quality, beautifully coordinated fashion fabrics at a reasonable cost. The other local fabric store, Waechter's, is an Asheville institution that goes back to the Vanderbilts. It has changed owners several times since.

We also have a Hancocks Fabric chain store here that is a real fabric/notions store vs a junk craft store that happens to sell some fabric. The ladies who work there are very knowledgable, know how to sew and are friendly, always remembering who you are, even if you don't go there often. I buy notions, buttons and thread and some patterns there because the quality of most of their fabrics is not what I want to spend my time and effort sewing.

I'm getting out more these days, and wear my designs everywhere I go around town. When women find out that I made them, I am always asked if I bought the fabric from Waechter's. I respond yes or no depending on where I got the fabric of what I am wearing. I belong to local women's organizations and shop/eat exclusively at local businesses where we know the owners, their families and employees. I don't start the conversation, but many, whose families have lived here for generations, have told me that since the change in ownership they didn't feel welcome after going in and spending big bucks for fabrics or buttons (compared to other stores) so they haven't gone back. After getting the cold shoulder myself too many times, despite being a great customer, I haven't been back to that store in over a year. I don't go where I'm not wanted, brick and morter or web based, and I don't spend my money at any business where my patronage is not appreciated and me and my friends are not respected. That they never cared what was going on with me health-wise, nor ever inquired about why or how I was doing after so many months speaks volumes.

For fine fabrics I shop independent fabric businesses all over the country via the internet or at sewing expos and events. I spend my money on quality I know I can trust from businesses who treat me well and appreciate my patronage. For fine Italian fabrics I depend on Michael's Fabrics in Baltimore who sends me swatches and actually cares about how I'm doing health-wise. Since I have to go to Johns Hopkins periodically, I try to stop in and shop in person. Given the one local fabric store's attitude toward me over the past few years, and their inflated prices, why should I go out of my way to buy fabric from them when I can buy the same pattern/color/fabric and many more coordinates from other independent fabric sellers like Fabric Mart in PA for much less? I have been a customer of Fabric Mart since I lived in MD. They sell high quality products at reasonable prices and treat me well. As a result I have bought many lovely, quality fabrics from them.

Bottom line, I don't intend to patronize this JoAnn Fabrics store because I don't need to and don't care to. Their reputation, the bait and switch advertising, and all their coupon baloney turns me off. Their wages are cheap, their fabric is cheap and their prices for notions are inflated so you think you are getting a "deal" when they play the game of discounting them when only you have a coupon or sale flyer. I'll continue to go to Hancocks, and shop the Asheville House of Fabrics and my TNT internet fabric sellers that meet all my sewing needs.

Holiday Fashion Sewing

2011-11-29T16:41:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone - Here's the view from my sewing room I shot after I finished up with the eShrug in a sparkly knit by Juicy Couture from G Street Fabrics. It's the beginning of the first snowfall in the lower elevations.

After finishing this project, I got dressed to go out, and we went out for a late lunch at a favorite restaurant in west Asheville, Nona Mia Italian soul food. We've been customers, and friends since they first opened on Patten Avenue, but in August they moved to a wonderful, larger venue off Haywood Road. Try them when you come to Asheville. They also have the most fabulous and authentic gelato. They make their own bread and sausage, serve local grass fed meat and they don't take reservations.

Afterward we went to visit our son's photography and photo lab business on Biltmore Avenue just south of the I40 Winston Pulliam bridge overpass. It was in the high 30's, snowing and sleeting but no accumulation since the ground and roads are warm from the 60 degree days we've been having until today. I didn't wear anything I've sewn but it was a very good day to wear my black Revillon bat-wing mink jacket and hat.

Here is the eShrug in the light gray with silver knit that I made. This is the kind of fabric and garment that you can dress up or down. Click on the photos to see the larger photo with the detail. I also bought this same knit in copper/brown and black on black colors. I'm making these for Christmas gifts. I know my nieces will love getting and wearing one of these. It takes about an hour to cut and sew one of these up. Just the shoulder seams, setting in the sleeves and a little trimming of the seam allowances. No finishing required on hems or seam allowances because knits don't ravel. Besides if Eileen Fisher and Eskandar and Lanvin can do it and charge hundreds and thousands of dollars, what are we worried about?
I posted some other ways to style this one on my Flickr photos.

I'm sending this sweater coat to my sister in TX. She's going to love it but her two college age daughters may try to borrow it LOL. I added a large snap to be able to close it like the Anthropologie knit jacket. To have some design fun and stabilize, since the knit is very stretchy, I cut out two squares of the double knit, pinked the edges and sandwiched the sweater knit between them and edge stitched before sewing the snap on.

The male snap is sewn behind the vertical plaid band that stabilized that portion of the garment. Here are a couple of photos.

Looking back and looking ahead

2011-11-25T19:11:00.001-05:00

I got a Thanksgiving card from my sister in Texas whose house burned to the ground in the pre-dawn hours last April and they lost everything. It was miraculous that both she and her husband and their dog got out and survived with no lasting injuries. Our mother, who was being cared for just down the road, died in March and I was not able to travel to visit her since becoming disabled myself last fall.

She writes, "This has been a tough year for all of us but especially for you! We have a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful that you are going to be okay and that we are alive. Next year will be better."

Yes I am thankful for all those things and more. We are both fighters for the right things, and always will be.

Looking forward, I intend to continue to sew and create interesting things, and will blog about it. My thanks to all of you who have made my life and my mental state better over the past year by leaving comments, writing me messages and even phoning me. Sadly, the internet has become a playground for individuals hiding behind a false personae who use it to play games like spoiled children. I've decided not to let people like that bother me, and to keep my blog public.

I want to share with you what my special friend from Canada sent me today. She is one who has helped me through some tough times.

What Is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
     and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
    and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave this world a better place whether
     by a healthy child, a garden patch
     or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier
     because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
                               Ralph Waldo Emerson

November Collection Continued - the San Diego swing jacket

2011-11-22T22:46:00.001-05:00

Here's a peak at what I've been working on. I finished this yesterday. It looks great with the pinstripe silk and some other silver gray pieces I have. If you've looked at some of the Chanel collections over the past few years, this is a variation, as is the knit boucle jacket. Chanel is rarely the little jacket anymore, although those are always there in one form or another. I'm happy to say that I am getting stronger and am just as head strong. When I wasn't strong, I still persevered to do what I wanted to do, that I was physically capable of. It might have taken longer, but I did it. I know that helped me mentally as well as physically. Now I want to do everything I couldn't do before. I had other things to do today but did some cutting out. Today I walked into our local market without my cane! I felt like Rocky standing at the top of those stairs.

If you've followed my sewing, you know that I like to take advantage of the fabric and use simple but different styles. Never use cheap fabric -- not worth your time.

Here are some details of this jacket:

The San Diego jacket pattern has two piece sleeves that I did a faux flat fell seam and used a multiple step zig zag to secure all the seams at the neckline. I eliminated the sleeve hems and pinked the edges before applying the bands that are secured in the seams.
sleeves are bracelet length which is an elegant look and best for layering.
The length is 22 or 23" and the hem is pinked and unfinished with the band sewn inside.
The boucle looks the same on both sides - I marked one side and used that as the outside.
The bands of the wool double knit are also pinked and topstitched 1/4" from each edge.
I put contrast bands at the inside collar (no facing - only one layer of the jacket) and the inside hem, then on the outside of the sleeves.

I'm working on other coordinates and added vertical bands to the boucle knit jacket (open and closed photos below) but don't like them on this one. It's easy to get carried away and junk things up. I like simple so the fringe at the front edges is enough.

I used this braided frog clasp as the closure for this jacket. I bought some nice closures from Couture Fabrics of Alexandria before they closed. This is one, and the plaid wool boucle came from there as well. I was a very good customer and even taught classes for them when my schedule permitted.

November Coordinates - black and silver gray

2011-11-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

So what have I been working on this past week? A collection of coordinates, of course. I'm working on another blouse in the pinstripe gray silk using the Miyake 2332 pattern. That blouse will layer beautifully under some of the soft jackets I'm planning. I thought about using the Miyake pattern or even the Sewing Workshop San Diego jacket pattern for a jacket from this wool doublt knit (shown below with the plaid accent band) but that pattern requires a lot more fabric than I have.

But I do have enough of it to make an altered version of Vogue 8430. I worked on the prototype for it today. The wool double knit has very little stretch whereas the knit boucle is pretty stretchy. The wool plaid boucle is perfect for a TSW San Diego jacket using bands of the wool double knit with the smaller scroll/paisley motif as contrast. I think the silk pinstripe will be interesting to wear under either jacket, and I have many other tops that will work with these. I would wear either black or charcoal gray slacks or a skirt with these. Nothing boring about outfits with these as the talking piece!

Wool double knit with plaid accents

Here's my work in progress prototype of altered Vogue 8430 in a stretchy salt and pepper boucle knit - I know it's got some wool in it, and definitely lycra. This came from the PA Fabric Outlet when it was in Baltimore. They used to get some amazing cuts from manufacturers, many from Italy. I applied strips of my gray and black wool boucle plaid to the neckline and the sleeves, keeping it interesting but simple. I put the selvedge of the plaid at the neckline so the fringe peaks out from the other side.

Here are some detail shots of the knit jacket. I think my prototype looks a lot like the jackets you might find in downtown Asheville art to wear stores for several hundred dollars.

On the bottom left is a photo of the Anthropologie sweater jacket that that served as my inspiraton for these. I wore it a lot last winter. I may add the vertical bands to the fronts of my stretch boucle jacket tomorrow. They provide stability as well as a design element.

To get the same look as the Anthropologie sweater jacket, I would put a tie inside and into the right side seam, and a large snap that closes that jacket. Otherwise, worn open, it looks the same as the gray knit boucle.

I was going to post the alterations when I finish the jacket tomorrow, but wanted to respond to Martha's questions:

I cut a size medium - this pattern has no hems at any of the edges
I added four inches in length
I removed 1 3/8" from the sleeve bottom
I folded the front pieces on the first view B felting line - that decreased the width of, and straightened the front edge that I place on the selvedge
I used 5/8" seam allowances and pressed them open.

Here are some details about the construction:

All trim and knit edges are left raw in the Anthropologie jacket and this one. The bottom will roll to the outside just like the expensive Eileen Fisher and Eskandar knits are cut to do. It will not ravel. Hey if Lanvin can do it and charge thousands, so can you and I.
Sleeves: it's easier, and neater to put two strips of 1/4" steam a seam down the edges of the trim, line it up with the edge, press it to adhere, then topstitch before you sew up the sleeve seam. The trim will be caught in the seam -- then press the seam allowanced open and topstitch over to secure the trim nicely.

The neckline trim was done the same way AFTER the shoulder seams (stabilized at the back) were stitched, pressed open and topstitched along the funnel collar per the instructions

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BTW I appreciate your comments and am happy to answer questions. If something I do inspires you, please give me credit.

Miyake Blouse from OOP Vogue 2332

2011-11-13T18:24:00.001-05:00

Today I cut out and finished this Miyake Blouse in a fine Italian shirting I bought from Louise Cutting at an Expo. It's all white with a narrow woven stripe. My pattern is a size 10 with a finished bust and hip (straight down) measurement of 47". The pattern is not for sale.

I used many of the fine sewing techniques from Louise's patterns and technique DVDs since these patterns don't go into detail about finishing every seam and fine sewing techniques. I didn't alter or change anything but eliminated the tabs and buttons. I used steam-a-seam on the cuffs.

I think it looks very elegant and is comfortable. I'm wearing it with a pair of Easy, Ageless and Cool pants out of a linen/metallic blend. It layers nicely under many types of jackets. I wore it shopping at Neiman Marcus in Charlotte, NC yesterday and got many complements from both shoppers and the staff. The shirting is the finest and looks it! I'm going to sew up another one in the gray pinstripe silk I used for the A Cute Angle blouse.

Weekly Sewing Recap

2011-11-12T19:10:00.001-05:00

I have had a busy week. In the sewing department, I sewed up an interesting black and metallic Monaco Shell (Textile Studio patterns) out of a heavily textured stretch brocade knit I bought as a remnant a few years ago. I like the TS Monaco shells because of the interesting neckline and you can make one out of a piece of knit that is the length of the pattern. I can cut out and sew one up in about an hour too. I always put a little tag at the back so I put it on correctly. I even had some of the stretchy knit left over to make some cowls.

I've got this old OOP Vogue Miyake pattern on the cutting table ready to cut out in this white shirting with a woven vertical stripe. This blouse is sewn shut, tucked and opens above the horizontal stitch line. I figure I need to make up some of these timeless patterns.

Next is an Of the Moment tweed knit jacket in my version of several fall Akris Punto jackets that you can see on the Saks website. I took one look at the shapes, the fronts and how their unfaced lapels flop over and fold back, and said -- they're all versons of Louise Cutting's Of The Moment jacket pattern that I've sewn in everything from fleecy knit to tapestry to soft cashmere since the pattern came out in 2008.

Akris Punto wool jacket

Akris Punto nappa leather jacket

Akris Punto tweed jacket

Saks tells you the length of the jackets and how tall the models are. For reference, my cashmere OTM jacket below is 23.5 inches long and it only took me a couple of hours to sew it up the night before heading to the Atlanta expo the next day. Check my OTM Flickr set for the long one in a tapestry fabric, and others.

I'm using the tweedy knit shown below. It's chunky looking, but not thick, as you can see from the edge of the tweed fabric in the photo. I'm going to experiment with cutting the neckline facings and the front fold over hems from one of these soft faux leathers that will 1) contrast with the tweed and look really neat and 2) softly hold the tweed knit shape at the neckline and bind the edge at the same time. I think I'll make this one 29" long like the Akris wool jacket. It's interesting how the gray knit back of my faux black lambskin looks the same as that of the Akris nappa leather jacket that you can see in the photos. There are numerous views of these open and closed with more details in the photos on the Saks site at the links under the photos.

Black/white tweed knit and faux leathers

Chanel and Moschino for November DAR Meeting

2011-11-08T16:39:00.000-05:00

Today was the monthly meeting of the Edward Buncombe Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution. It was a pretty sunny fall day and I am now strong enough to walk in and around the huge First Baptist Church in Asheville, and stand for periods of time to preside over the meeting. We had a great turnout, delicious lunch, and a great speaker, Mr. Lee Pantas, artist, illustrator and author of the 4th Edition of The Ultimate Guide to Asheville & the Western North Carolina Mountains. The chapter registrar obtained permission from Mr. Pantas to use his illustration of the Vance Homestead for the cover of our 2011-12 Chapter Yearbook. He has been commissioned to do drawings of homes in the Asheville area and is known for his drawings of historical and familiar sites in western North Carolina that are for sale as prints or notecards. On Thursday I'm going to another luncheon meeting of another historical/genealogical organization, and I'm looking forward to it.

I wore this off-white Chanel suit from spring 2000 that I bought that year with a Monaco Shell sleeveless top from the Textile Studio pattern. The Chanel jacket looks pretty ordinary in the photos but it has lots of seaming you can't see, cut-on bias sleeves and gussets under the arms with unique gray/silver modern buttons. The skirt has 9 vertical seams. I've worn them together and separately for many occassions, and they wear like iron and fit great. I thought about wearing this Moschino pink/cream tweed coat that is very Chanel in detail over the skirt, but it is heavier than the weather called for, so I wore the lightweight wool boucle jacket instead. The Moschino Coat is beautiful but is so heavy that I'm considering shortening it to a 3/4 or jacket length to get more wear out of it. It would be easy to do -- just need to re-do the facings and edgings. Comments? Suggestions on the length after seeing it on me? Click on photos below to enlarge.

The coat is from the higher end Moschino line vs Cheap and Chic line (the only thing cheap about that line is the name). Both lines are always very innovative and interesting in design and details. I missed out on a similar Moschino coat at Saks the year it came out because it sold out. It was gray/black tweed with a black and multi silk edging and facing and I was hoping to find one on sale. I found this pink/white/gray one on eBay a couple years later for less than 10% of the original price ($2,715). I love gray and pink and cream together. The facings and trim edging are printed silk georgette. The buttons are narrow wool braid wrapped around a metal form. There are more detail photos on the Moschino Coat Flickr Set. Great ideas and inspiration for similar styles you can sew.

Sophisticated Color Blocking

2011-11-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

Color blocking is tricky. I've seen some really cheesy color blocking, and most I wouldn't wear if they paid me to. Today I got an e-mail notice of a sale at Kate Spade online of some sophisticated examples of color blocking that I just had to share.

The new designer for Kate Spade loves to update the 60's classic silhouettes. Most of her apparel is very elegant and wearable by women of several generations. I've tried on and inspected them in the Charlotte store and the only problem I've had is with some of the fabrics -- not all, but just a few. A couple of years ago she had a fabulous black and white 3/4 length winter coat with a hot pink lining, but the fabric was cotton, Yikes! Who in their right mind wears a cotton coat in the winter unless you live in Florida or southern California. Maybe that's why it was in the Charlotte store. OK enough of that.

Back to the color blocking that I thought was very elegant. I like this jacket and may apply this to a somewhat longer jacket like the Cutting Line Designs Pure & Simple Jacket pattern I've made a couple of, moving the horizontal seam above the bust and leaving the rest unseamed.

Kate Spade Colorblock Dahlia Jacket

This dress (what we called the tent dress silhouette in the 60's) also has sophisticated colorblocking. I was thinking of making another Tosca Dress by The Sewing Workshop and adding a band at the hemline.

Kate Spade Abbie Shift Dress

A TSW eShrug as a Vest in faux shearling

2011-11-01T18:53:00.002-04:00

After I sewed my husband's vest out of the faux shearling that made a huge mess in my sewing room, before I vacuumed up the mess, I decided to cut out an eShrug out of the remainder and make a vest. I still have almost a yard left and some scraps.

I like the way the eShrug neckline hugs your neck so this should be a warm vest. I used my huge 12" shears to cut it out. The only seams are those curved shoulder seams that I sewed wrong sides together and then trimmed. I cut out the armholes about a seam allowance at the top and scooped out about 2" at the bottom using a french curve to draw and chalk the line. I then topstitched over the lines and cut just outside them. To keep the fuzzies at bay, I edgestitched 1/4" all around the edges.

Two interesting and functional vests -- not bad for an afternoon's work before the sun set! After I finished this vest, I got an e-mail from Neiman Marcus about the Vince coordinates being on sale and saw this Vince Shearling Drape Vest that looked just like it. I used a quality faux shearling that cost $35 a yard and this took barely a yard to make with no sleeves. That's the Cutting Line Designs 2X4 top I made into a sweater dress earlier this fall under the vest on the mannequin. I'm wearing The Sewing Workshop 8th Avenue Skirt with a stretch velvet Loes Hinse Bianca top in the photos of me. The Bianca has a deep hem that looks like a band in the photos.

A Manly Faux Shearling Vest

2011-11-01T15:47:00.001-04:00

It's November already and I decided to make the guy who worries about me and has taken care of me all these months one of his favorite things -- a vest. He likes the fleece vests I've sewn for him from the pattern in the first Polarfleece Pizzazz book that Great Copy patterns published in 1995 with lots of basic pullover tops, this vest, hats, gloves and scarves. He didn't like that high collar on the fleece vests so I shortened it to about and inch and a half. He didn't want any collar on this one but wanted pockets and liked the fuzzy side showing. BTW that fuzzy stuff is all over my sewing room and me and him. I have enough of this left to make an eShrug - two shoulder seams and no zipper, then I'll clean up my sewing room.

It took me only a couple hours to cut out the front and back, overlap the 1/4" seam allowances on shoulders and side seams - edge stitched and then top stitched with a 4.0 stitch length. I just edge stittched all around. He wears a size small in that vest. Pretty easy sewing. He's very happy with his latest vest.

Why Should You Snoop Shop?

2011-10-31T17:49:00.000-04:00

Before I begin, I need to clarify that I don't sew or dress to look like I just walked out of WalMart, a sports store or Goodwill, so why would I want to sew or emulate what is sold there? That may sound snooty to some, but I know my style and appreciate quality and taste, so I don't waste my time inspecting or sewing things that aren't unique and elegant. As such, the only snoop shopping I'm interested in is at high end stores, boutiques, or consignment shops.

Every serious fashion sewer should snoop shop the high end stores from time to time to check out the fabrics, the styles, the details and the techniques used by the different designers and labels. I notice that a lot of women have stereotypes about which fabrics to use for certain styles. I hate stiff and heavy fabrics and they are rarely used in good ready to wear. Don't use cheap poly home dec or cotton quilting fabrics - leave them for people who sew pillows and quilts, and kids clothes. Open your mind to be inspired by good fabrics and the details, if only how a button is used, so you can incorporate them into your sewing. I look at details but also look at overall trends, especially in lines that Neiman Marcus calls "Modern Mix" and designers who are minimalists. This includes lines like Donna Karan, Elie Tahari, Theory, Vince, Lafayette 148 and others. Many web sites allow one to zoom into details, but you can't touch, feel, look inside or try it on.

The high end store clearance stores are the best places to snoop shop, try on and explore what's new and interesting. I've actually seen designer pieces from current collections in those centers marked down for some reason. There you can try on the garments without feeling any pressure, and even afford to buy that great piece with details you love that probably costs a lot less than it would for you to sew plus where would you ever find the fabric? Try on things you never thought you might wear - take chances. Take your digital camera and take photos of details (turn the flash off) and of you in that mirror that doesn't lie. Download and study them when you get home - you might be surprised. If you are over 40, don't even think about shopping the junior department or make anything that girls who shop the junior department would wear. Take a tape measure and a notebook to sketch and write down measurements and details or you'll forget the smorgasbord of ideas you found on that visit.

The hotel we stay when we go to Baltimore for my Johns Hopkins visits is near the airport and near the big Arundel Mills shopping center. Before now I had neither the energy nor the ability to go there, but last week I felt good enough to be able to walk in and spend an hour or so looking around the Neiman Marcus Last Call. So what did I see?

An elegant Lafayette 148 short swing jacket with wide, cut-on sleeves in a curly gray boucle. It had a jewel neckline and big snap closures. The jacket was unlined but the facings on the front and hems were lining fabric to minimize bulk. Seams were bound with the same lining fabric. This was a simple jacket that one could easily layer.

On the NM website, I saw this current Lafayette jacket in a textured cotton/silk blend with a shape and sleeve similar to Louise Cutting's new A Cute Angle jacket pattern. Here are two photos of the Cameron Jacket on the Lafayette 148 website that gave me ideas of fabrics and how to style and wear this type of jacket. Note that the lapels of this RTW jacket are finished like Louise's Of the Moment jacket and have the interesting large button closure. I saw lots of big buttons and big snap closures in my snoop shopping.

A Cute Angle Jacket

Of the Moment Jacket in soft woven cashmere

I took notes about seeing lots of soft textured fabrics like matelasse. One very high end designer dress was not lined but the fabric was completely fused with soft interfacing and then finished with satin stitch/serged roll edges at the interesting neckline and edges.

I examined a 3/4 length coat by Tahari with a cream/black/gray brushstroke design woven into a textured rayon/wool woven in gradations from less to more at the lower edge. It also had a simple jewel neckline and closed with large snaps - no buttons. That coat shape reminded me of Louise Cutting's Pure and Simple Coat pattern with the collar left off. If you've gone to one of the recent Expos, a workshop or a trunk show, you probably saw the Pure & Simple coat where she overlapped the pattern pieces to eliminate the horizontal seams on the front and back, and left the collar off - same shape and look as the Tahari. Make the coat the length that flatters you! I know my style and am drawn to simple and elegant designs that show off fine fabrics and coordinate with simple shapes. See how the jackets above work with slacks, a dress or the top and faux wrap silk/wool paisley skirt the model is wearing with great statement accessories.

October in Asheville: Pretty leaves and sewing

2011-10-21T13:57:00.010-04:00

This year's leaf season was short and lasted only about a week. It wasn't until early last week that the leaves just began to turn. Most of the trees on the hills at the lower elevations were still green with a little bit of color. Then the colors changed dramatically within days, and a week later they had all turned. The higher elevations had 20 degree nights and snow in early October and what's called Rime Ice. Rime ice is what forms at low temperatures when the clouds and moisture envelope the mountains. Here's a link to a series of photos of rime Ice taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway just yesterday published in the Asheville Citizen Times. Rime ice freezes layer upon layer inside tunnels, closing that tunnel at Craggy Gardens, closing the parkway in several places until it melts in late spring. A ranger told us that the ice becomes so thick it closes up the tunnels to vehicles. The hole left in the tunnels is barely large enough for a park ranger to crawl through. Rime ice also coats roads, decks and rails and structures at high elevations. That's why the old timers never lived up there. See how the people are dressed in the ACT photos. Who wants to live hanging off the side of a mountain in the clouds and extreme temperatures? The fools pay $millions for views and expensive homes but can't even see their decks most of the year because of the clouds and mist, and that's when it isn't raining or snowing.

Many of the environmentally destructive high mountain developments around here are in foreclosure. Across the valley from my house, I can see the trees and vegetation quickly growing back on the north side of that mountain. Soon they will cover the ugly road cuts that were blasted for the Tiger Woods golf course that I doubt will ever be built. Unfortunately we still have to look at those ugly billboards that say it's coming soon - LMAO.

Here in the lower elevations the temperatures are pleasant and the sun is shining as those clouds hang up on the mountains. On my way to physical therapy Wed, I took some photos of the leaves changing - low to high elevations, and you can see the clouds hanging over the mountains to the north and along the Tennessee border where the rime ice has already formed. There are more photos of the pretty trees, leaves and mountains on this Fall 2011 Flickr Set.

Photo of mountains to the north of Asheville from Fairview Road
Wed, October 19

This dogwood has almost dropped all its leaves.
That's a corduroy dress from OOP Vogue Miayke 1257

October Sewing

Stella Top from the Sewing Workshop pattern

The Sewing Workshop Stella top

Today I wore the Stella Top that I sewed up yesterday from The Sewing Workshop's latest pattern in this soft sweater knit I bought from SewKeysE's booth at the Atlanta Expo. The snakey print is a bit wild for me, but the colors are perfect and I think it works for this style. I used their fusible knit tape in black to stabilize the entire neckline and shoulder seams. I sewed a size small with no other alterations except I cut off the 2" sleeve hem and made my sleeves bracelet length. I also doubled the cowl by cutting it on the fold/crossgrain. If you're using a knit you don't have to cut on the bias, but here's a photo of what the pattern looks like with the hemline on the bias fold of a woven fabric. I sewed up the back seam and turned it wrong sides together then stitched it to the neckline as one piece and finished the seams. This eliminates the cowl hem and I have done this for many inserted cowl necklines like the dress I wore last week made from an OOP Miyake Vogue pattern. I used my Babylock coverstitch for the hems. More photos on the Stella & Luna Flickr Set.

A Cute Angle pattern by Cutting Line Designs

Earlier in the month I sewed up the latest pattern by Louise Cuttings, that she calls "A Cute Angle". I sewed two of the tops, one sleeveless with bias facings, and the jacket. I'm thinking of using the gray pinstripe silk for a Stella Top. More photos on this A Cute Angle Flickr Set.

Sleeveless ACA top with jacket work in progress

Oh, and here's a link to a fun video of how the French encourage exercise and burning calories - Enjoy - the French ladies did!

My Interpretation of a designer original

2011-09-27T18:41:00.004-04:00

All of my sewing is interpretation - of what looks good and appropriate on me, for my lifestyle and for my coloring, body and age. I look at trends and styles and get inspired to make something my own. That's what I did with my interpretation of this Fendi spring/summer dress that I wrote about the sewing and planning in yesterday's blog post.

Many aspects of the dress reminded me of the design elements of The Sewing Workshop's Now Shirt so all I did was re-interpret them. The only change I made from yesterday's post was to stitch the back pleat to the waistline. I think my dress is elegant and preppy with a twist. I enjoy shirtdresses and will wear this one often. You'll see me wearing this one in Florida next month for sure!

I went to the hospital this morning for my bi-weekly plasmapheresis treatment so I'm too tired to put this on for a quick photo - maybe tomorrow.

Shirtdress stripes with a white collar? How About a Sewing Workshop Now Shirtdress?

2011-09-26T12:07:00.005-04:00

I just love the striped looks in the Fendi spring 2012 collection. I don't care for the apron looks or some of the other funky looks, but the stripes and bands and ribbons of fabric as design elements are amazing. I also like the crisp linen looks with contrast collars and bands at the hemline of the skirts and dresses. If you're looking for some design inspiration, take a look: Fendi Spring 2012 RTW on NY Magazine . I really like the neat preppy look with a twist going on here. Both these looks reminded me of the many variations myself and others have done using the Sewing Workshop's Now Shirt Pattern. I like the two looks in the photos below --- the first one is a shirtdress look and the second one look could be achieved by layering two Now Shirts - one as a blouse and the other a jacket.

I've made the Now Shirt as jackets and shirts but not yet as a shirtdress. So I got to work yesterday, and pulled out this blue and white stripe shirting and a piece of white Swiss cotton that would make a nice collar. I'm sewing this up today so will be posting photos soon. I know this is spring sewing but I just had to play with this look, and I'm sure the weather in Florida next month will be perfect to wear it when I go to Louise Cutting and Linda Lee's workshop in Winter Park.

I printed out a large photo of the dress, and drew a placket look about 12" down. The placket below that will sewn together leaving a small pleat like the Fendi dress. That gives me an opening to put the dress on, plus the lower portion won't pull open as it would if I put buttons all the way down the front. As shown in the photo of the fabrics, I'll finish and encase the edges of the sleeves and hem by sewing on bands with the stripes horizontally about the same width as this dress.

Click on photos to enlarge

This morning, before cutting out this dress, I called Linda Lee at The Sewing Workshop to ask her opinion on widening the shirt pattern at the bottom. My final length of the dress portion without the horizontal band is 35" and the width would be 44" straight down. She suggested adding the back pleat of the Zen Shirt pattern that adds 4" and possibly add side godets if I wanted the look of the original. I had already worked out a soft front pleat that would be open below the front button placket so that adds another 3 + inches. I figured that would be enough and I didn't want more going on at the sides.

I'm almost finished with the dress except for finishing the buttonholes and the bands. The Now Shirt is completely finished with French seams so no serger is needed. Lots of planning and pressing but all the numbers added up and it's looking good. Here are some photos of where I left it. I think it looks great. After I put it on to check the fit, I may stitch the back pleat down farther. More photos on Flickr.

Cool Weather is Here

2011-09-17T19:42:00.001-04:00

And I slept with two down comforters on last night and the heat on. It's been in the 50's and only 50 last night but my body isn't used to the cool weather just yet.

Anyway I finished the 2X4 dress today. This is view C with the wide cowl. I just serge finished the raw edges with a combination of dark brown and black serger threads that just blended in. I don't know what the fiber content is but in pressing it I could tell it's not acrylic (which I hate). It may be a wool blend. Whatever it is, it's a soft and easy fitting dress to wear with tights and vests. I'll get working on the Three Fold Vest tomorrow.

Arm-warmer prototype and Shapes Three Fold Vest

2011-09-16T16:37:00.008-04:00

Today I did some planning, measuring and worked on some layouts. I worked on a 2X4 tunic lengthened into a dress (view C with the wide cowl neck) out of this expresso brown ribbed knit. I also made some arm-warmers after seeing the slouchy Donna Karan ribbed cashmere knit ones. I think these will look great with that Eileen Fisher cardigan. This is a soft ribbed knit so I measured the width of my arm, used differential feed to serge the knit into a tube then turned the lower finger portion under, flat-locked, stitched between thumb and fingers. That's a separate tube of ribbing with clear elastic serged onto the seam. I may make these a single tube and longer but here is the prototype:

Ribbed knit from Casual Elegance Fabrics

I've sewn the Shapes Three Fold Vest twice - one in a black linen open weave and one in a variegated knit. There's an Eskandar Cross-Over Wrap Jacket in his fall collection ($1,250 + tax) in the catalog and on the Neiman Marcus website that inspired me of what to make with this tweed (probably Linton) in gorgeous fall colors that I bought from Tanner in Rutherfordton, NC when they used to sell the left-over fabrics the sample garments were made from. The fabric they purchase for the clothes was always top drawer and they got the tweeds specially woven by Linton in the UK.

Click on photos for original sizes and detail

The soft, drapey fabric Eskandar used for the cross-over jacket is a blend of wool/mohair/angora/nylon/silk, and I'm sure my fabric is a blend as well. This tweed is so beautiful on both sides that I didn't want to make anything structured or fuse it.

I draped a width/length of fabric over my shoulders to determine the length of where I want it to fall over my my arms and the length. When I compared that to the Shapes pattern, it looks like this jacket is the Shapes size 3 finished. If I add the allowance for the fold over finished edges, that will be perfect on me as a jacket. I want to use the substantial weight silk jersey for a simple long sleeve dress with a cowl neck - perhaps the CLD 2x4 tunic top lengthened. I'll use the gold silk crepe to line and face the back triangle insert. I think the jacket will be a fun new garment and I'll get lots of wear out of it with all those colors.

I also experimented to see if I like the selvedges turned to the outside on the fronts of the jacket. I've done this before with fabric with interesting selvedges where both sides either look the same (like this one) or provide nice contrast. I haven't decided what to do yet

I Can Dance!

2011-09-13T19:32:00.007-04:00

Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I don't do well in the mornings but I am much better in the afternoon and evening. I attended the first DAR meeting of the season this morning but felt too weak to stand at the podium and preside. My board did all the work last summer on programs and yearbook and finances so the vice regent was prepared to take over. We had a great turnout and I was so happy just to be there and enjoy the meeting, the members and the installation of a new member.

This afternoon Mr. Technoid was busy with cables connecting his latest Mac Mini to the big screen TV (monitor) and his Carver speakers controlling it with his iPhone, organizing and playing all his itunes music. So I waltzed in on Frank Sinatra and danced -- yes, I danced without any trouble. What joy in being able to do these things that I had just about lost hope of being able to do again.

Forget everything else because I can dance now! I didn't know I could until I just spontaneously did it. I cried for joy and sent my doctor a message that he needs to increase my score again. Thanks for all your love and hopes and prayers and for good medicine and great doctors who truly care about making people well.

Click on the link and enjoy: I Hope You Dance

Updated One-Seam Pants & Question re EF Cashmere Cardigan

2011-09-11T19:30:00.016-04:00

Monday Update: This morning I finished the straight leg version of Louise Cutting's revised One-Seam Pant. I used the Frixion heat erasible pens to mark dots along the stitching lines for accuracy before inserting the elastic. When you steam the elastic and the casing the ink comes right out.

I definitely think I need a haircut LOL! My stylist/photographer told me to use the cane since the rock stairs are right behind me and that worried him.

For this initial pair of pants, based on my measurements I traced the XS, but I sliced it down the grain line and added 1/2" because I thought I needed a bit more ease, based on the ease in my favorite pair. Lesson learned -- Didn't need to do that. For this revised pattern, I should cut the XS as is and use the ease Louise recommends for body measurements. I also think I marked my waist too high and went up to the size small based on that crotch measurement, which I didn't need to do.

I used a 100% rayon from the Vera Wang Lavender line of fabrics that Fabric.com sold a year or so ago. Lesson learned: Make sure your elastic is tight enough for the weight of your fabric. I could have cut the elastic shorter for these pants.

Here's a photo of the fabric - it does have some cross-grain stretch. I did not wash this prior to sewing. I'll wash a sample and see how it behaves -- if I added too much ease, washing in cool water might adjust it, otherwise I'll just dry-clean it. Sunday I got as far as inserting the elastic after hemming but I was tired and didn't want to make mistakes sewing the straight lines on the casing so I stopped for the day.

Vera Lavender salt & pepper rayon suiting

Styling an Eileen Fisher cardigan wrap

I found this gorgeous Eileen Fisher cashmere cardigan on e-Bay last summer. I paid less than $50 for it and couldn't believe the heavy multiple ply cashmere when I got it. I sure didn't realize how wide and heavy the collar was -- it's 10 1/4 inches . The cardigan is 31" long and will be very toasty this fall/winter.

When I put it on, I wasn't sure if I liked it the way it was. I've thought about removing the wide collar and replacing it with a narrower complementary tweed or faux fur collar, or nothing at all. The amazing collar is wide and long enough to make an infinity scarf/cowl and some armwarmers (fingerless gloves) out of it.

I've styled the collar folded under, belted and then a bit asymmetric folded over the belt. Here are some photos - click to enlarge for detail.

I would love an infinity cowl and the armwarmers out of that cashmere, (check out the $350 cashmere ones in Donna Karan's Casual Luxe collection at Neiman Marcus that inspired me) but my inclination is to leave it alone and wear/style it in some interesting ways. I'm still going to have to make those accessories with some ribbed knit I have in the stash. I think some expresso brown ribbed armwarmers and an infinity cowl would look great with this. What do you think?

Standing by myself with no aids!

2011-09-10T14:18:00.007-04:00

Unless you've been through the neurological hell that I've been dealing with for the last year, you have no idea what a big deal this is. It's such a big deal that I had DH take some photos since today is a nice day and all the clouds are gone. I even slipped these ballet flat shoes on my feet without using my hands! That means the nerves and muscles in my feet are improving. When going out, I still use a cane to keep from tripping and hurting myself, but this is progress!

Proudly standing by myself!
(click on photos to enlarge)

The temps are low 70's here so I put on these tencel Loes Hinse European pants and a silk jersey tank made from her Tank Dress and Tops pattern and a light sweater by Vera Wang for Kohl's that I bought last summer. Vera is so creative, and I enjoy many of her Kohl's pieces that have the design moxie of her high end lines at affordable prices. This is is a printed cotton/rayon knit with a couple of cotton batiste ruffles left raw around the neck, a sweater that doubles as an accessory.

Getting Stronger and Getting it Together

2011-09-07T15:12:00.002-04:00

Hi Everybody! Sorry for not keeping the blog up to date. I do have some good news. I had a checkup at Johns Hopkins Medical Center last Tuesday - approximately a month after getting the catheter put in and beginning the plasmapheresis 3 X a week, and the doctor pronounced my improvement since as, "Truly Remarkable!" I can now walk without wobbling, stand without holding onto something for as long as I want to, do standing knee bends, and carry a heavy object from one room to another. I have the strength back in my fingers. In July I had trouble squeezing a tube of toothpaste or a finger nail clippers.

I'm working with a great physical therapist in Asheville who is trained to help people like me with neurological issues. DH is instructed to get my Pilates machine out of the garage and put it back together. I'm down to plasmapheresis twice a week. I am also on an immune suppressant drug that people who have organ transplants take so I will continue on that once I stop the plasmapheresis. The key is to keep my body from attacking the nerves and nerve coverings so they can heal and regenerate.

I've signed up for Louise Cutting and Linda Lee's October sewing workshop in Winter Park with my doctor's blessing. I just have to avoid sick people and kids this fall because my immune system is suppressed.

Armani Blend - top is the right side of fabric

While in Baltimore last Tuesday I bought some fabric at Michael's Fabrics. Here is the Armani blend I bought for an Of The Moment jacket and a shell. I cut a swatch from the uneven end and soaked it in Eucalan when I washed a silk jersey top. I did not agitate and let it dry naturally. You can see shrinkage in the size of the grid design that confirms dry clean only for this fabric.

I'm really looking forward to doing more things and getting closer to "normal". I've got the new One-Seam pant pattern pressed and ready to trace and am looking forward to Louise Cutting's new pattern, A Cute Angle, that Holly posted photos of on her Flickr photo set . Here's the illustration.

I have so many ideas for fall that I want to implement, but need to pace myself. I get e-mails from Kate Spade New York. I recommend looking at their apparel for the many interesting details that you can add to many patterns or do, like their Trompe L'Oeil Valerie Jacket. I can't link the photos here because of the zoom feature. Make a white or off-white By Popular Demand jacket - no pockets, no buttons (use snaps) and get one of those Pebeo Setaskrib Fabric Markers and draw away, heat set and wear the most interesting jacket that nobody else has! Here's a video by Blick Art on Youtube showing how to use the fabric markers. Most companies that sell fabric painting dyes sell the markers.

Of course Kate Spade styling and accesories are always exceptional. I thought the collar on their new Cherie Coat was really special. Zoom in to see the detail. It's basically a rectangle that they pleated at the front with a fold-over tab. It would be easy to add that collar to Louise's Pure and Simple Coat or any round neck coat, jacket or shirt.

Status

2011-08-12T12:10:00.003-04:00

In case anybody cares I'm still alive but going through a difficult time. I haven't been doing any sewing or posting about it.

Friday afternoon update-- Thank you for all your concerns and caring comments. It's so nice to hear from those who have met me and those who only know me from my sewing. I just got off the phone with my sister who gave me a pep talk. Earlier my doctor from Johns Hopkins called and we discussed everything that's going on and how I feel. He's very optimistic and wants me to feel better about it.

Gail D, you said it best, that the aggressive treatment is knocking the stuff out of me. Basically the plasmapheresis is removing my blood plasma with all my antibodies. I'm tired and lackadaisical. The doctor is encouraged that I am making small progress, able to stand up straight without aid or wobbling for several minutes, able to move/bend my toes and even bend at the knee and come back up without wobbling or falling over. He said that anything that is forward is good progress, and he wanted me to be excited about that. As for the numbness in my lower legs and feet - like wearing a very tight sock, he said that would take longer to heal. They intended the treatment to be aggressive. Since the treatment I get tomorrow will be the end of the third week, and he has all my labs, the team will meet early next week to decide how long I keep the catheter in and how many more treatments before I go back to see them on the 30th. They will probably have the doctors here remove the catheter before I go back.

He said my recovery is going to take a long time. I told him I really need to be able to get back to cooking since my husband is such a bad cook, and I don't know how long I can endure the frozen entrees (he just got back from the grocery store with more LOL, but he brought me some chocolate). So like everything else I've been though since this began, I'll endure the treatments, feel good about these baby steps and be hopeful for what tomorrow brings. It could be worse so I need to pick myself up and look forward.

Thanks again for your encouragement that makes me feel better. I really need to get on with some sewing to feel productive again.

Next week

2011-07-21T14:57:00.002-04:00

We'll be traveling to Baltimore so I can be hospitalized (admitted) to begin plasmapheresis early next week. Not sure how long they will keep me for observation, how many treatments I'll get there or when I'll be back. I will be able to continue the treatments on an outpatient basis locally. Then I go back the end of August.

In the meantime, stay cool, do what you love, keep being inspired by all things beautiful, be good to yourself and love one another.

More Fall Planning -- Add a Fendi ruffle

2011-07-19T22:11:00.006-04:00

I only subscribe to three fashion magazines - Allure, Harpers Bazaar and Burda Style. I like Allure because when they do fashion the styles are closer to what I would really wear, and not the crazy over the top styles and artsy photo shoots like W and Vogue. The August Allure arrived in today's mail. In their article, How to be Stylish (and businesslike) they featured the Fendi dress in the second photo with this interesting ruffle on the front as an accessory instead of jewelry.

Fendi Ruffle detail - NY Magazine Fashion

To get a better look at it I went to the Fall 2011 Fendi RTW Collection on the NY Magazine site and saw that Karl L put those ruffles on blouses and dresses - 9 outfits in the collection. So I wanted a better look, Googled and found that the Honestly..... WTF site already picked up on this ruffle/frill last March when Erica posted a DIY for the Fendi Frill there. That site is a super inspiration site that I just found, so thanks to Erica for the fabulous step by step how-to because it was love at first site for me as well. I'm going to make one or several, especially to be able to add onto a dress like this one. Note that this ruffle will look and behave differently in different fabrics. The fabric of the one above is obviously a tightly woven wool and the DIY example was made in a wool felt. The one on the dress in the Allure Magazine photo (page 118) is quite drapey/floppy as is the one on the silky blouse worn under the vest.

photo from NY Magazine Fashion

I'm thinking the ruffle would be a stylish and warm scarf insert worn under a winter coat or jacket, or on a blouse worn under a plain vest like the Burda Style vest I blogged about yesterday. Here's the Fendi fur vest with the ruffled blouse but seriously this vest would make me look like a caveman.

photo from NY Magazine Fashion

August Burda Style - Always a Favorite Issue

2011-07-18T17:20:00.009-04:00

This year's is no exception. Since my issue should arrive next week, I googled and found a preview on Katherine's blog in London, UK where she linked to the Burda Russian language site with all the styles and patterns. Why can't I find it easily anymore?

Well I'm loving so many of the simple, elegant and easy to sew styles that I don't know where to begin. The dresses with the interesting necklines are very stylish and wearable with details you can easily add to your favorite dress silhouette. For example, I added a soft bias collar like that of pattern #123 to one of my Loes Hinse Princess Tank Dresses a couple of years ago.

So here are my favorites. First, there is this easy raglan sleeve shrug/jacket for knits that I'm definitely going to make.

Pattern 117C

Pattern 117D

I love to layer and the right vest kicks up your style tremendously, whether over pants, a skirt or a simple dress. Vests are sleeveless jackets and I love how 3/4 length and longer jackets lengthen and slim. So that's why this vest is my favorite. It has simple lines and will be a great addition to anyone's fall wardrobe.

Vest pattern 133

I'm a sucker for swing jackets and adding pleats at the back of patterns, so the swing trench jacket (#124A) caught my eye. Unfortunately the model photo doesn't show off the garment very well. I like the simplicity of this classic cape that they updated with these big patch pockets.

Cape pattern #113

You know how I love cap sleeve dresses and cowl necklines, so how about this really simple dress that combines the two!

Dress pattern #116

Another TSW Quincy Jacket

2011-07-13T10:18:00.002-04:00

Hope you don't get bored by my multiple garments from one pattern but it's just faster and easier for me these days for many reasons. Here's the second one I sewed yesterday using a synthetic boucle I bought from Peggy Sagers. I guess this counts for fall sewing too since it's too hot to wear this anytime soon.

Here's the link to the Sewing Workshop Blog with their versions and link to the pattern if you aren't familiar with it.

The new Quincy Jacket from The Sewing Workshop

2011-07-11T15:09:00.009-04:00

Zipped up

Zipper Open

I just had to add the new Sewing Workshop Quincy jacket to the mix. I have a jacket by a US designer that is similar in shape, so I just had to put aside my fall cutting of the Pure and Simple separates I wrote about and sew up one of these. I had a couple of pieces of fabric that were left over remnants that really worked well together so I said "Why not?", measured my other jacket and settled on the size medium, cutting the length at the largest size that added about 3/4". This Quincy jacket hem is 1" just turned up and blind-hem stitch. I'm the queen of blind hems. I shortened the sleeves and added a 1 1/4" hem allowance. To secure the facings I used Steam-A-Seam.

I would typically sew an XS in an older TSW pattern, but the new patterns are not as oversized and medium had the ease I wanted for this swing jacket style. You can see that the shoulder seam is nicely positioned. I like the fit and eliminated the pleat that is not necessary at all - suggest you baste it in to see how it affects the fit. then decide if you want it. At first I thought the sleeve was a bit wide for my arms, but looking at the photos, I think I will leave them as is - besides it's easier to roll the sleeves up as I typically do.

The muted blues and brown colors in the japanese cotton allow me to coordinate the neutral jacket with lots of things I already have like these aqua/brown cross-dye linen Ikina pants and the CLD ABO top in a fine cotton brown/aqua cross-dye that I like to wear with the pants. There are lots of in progress photos and others in the TSW Quincy Pattern Flickr Set. I want to try the narrow pant on this pattern, but doubt I will put the optional loop/button on to get that drapey look at the side. But.... I may change my mind.

The style is elegant, and I intend to wear this jacket often!

One piece of fabric on the cutting table for fall is this gorgeous mauve cashmere blend I bought from Michael's Fabrics when I was in Baltimore mid June. I had a short swing jacket in mind when I bought it, not knowing about this jacket pattern at the time. I plan to eliminate the zipper and will wear this over long sleeve tops and sweaters so I won't change the sleeve width.

Cashmere blend from Piacenza 1733, a very high end mill in Italy

Moving on to Fall Sewing

2011-07-02T10:20:00.001-04:00

Many thanks to all for the nice comments on the posts about my warm weather dresses. I particularly wanted to get the fit and length right for the cap sleeve dress from the Pure and Simple pattern so I can use this tonal silk fabric to make a dress and coat for fall from the same pattern. I started sewing spring and summer when it was snowing and freezing last January so I would have it to wear when warm weather finally arrived. The fall trunk shows are coming out on the store websites, in magazines and in the stores I look at the trunk shows and the collections to see what works with my style, fabrics I love, and the pattern lines I like to work with.

Two of my favorite contemporary lines for inspiration are Vince and Theory. The Vince Fall Trunk Show and the Theory Fall Trunk show are up on Neiman Marcus' site, and I'm psyched by some of the pieces. I'm into simple, easy and elegant and I found these pieces that fit all those criteria, not coincidentally the same criteria for the patterns and silhouettes I sew. So here's a preview of my upcoming projects, the fabrics and patterns.

Here is a versatile pullover by Theory at Neiman Marcus in a dark expresso brown knit. The turtleneck and sort batwing sleeves are trimmed in ribbed knit. They describe it as a loose, boxy fit with a mid-thigh length. How easy will this be able to do using view B, the tabard in Louise Cutting's Of the Moment pattern, laying the pattern center front on the fold, then using the neckline template and collar for the 2x4 pattern view with the standing collar. I alaready have just the fabric -- a nice ribbed knit in the same color.

Theory pullover from Neiman Marcus

Ribbed knit from Casual Elegance Fabrics

Continuing with the Of the Moment pattern, how about another easy one from Vince? Here is a single layer chunky knit coat with leather trim at the edges. Wow, here's some Italian charcoal wool knit boucle with a fleece hand and a quality faux leather that could pass for lambskin. Add a loop and a button at the side seam. How hard is this going to be!

Vince Leather Trim Coat Neiman Marcus

My fabrics

And another from the Vince, fall trunk show. How about this simple and elegant hooded drape coat?

Vince Hooded Drape coat at Neiman Marcus

I can make a similar style in luxurious alpaca lengthening this Burda Style pattern from the November 2007 issue. I used the same pattern to make this hooded jacket last March in yellow french terry to get the fit just right.

Burda Style 11-2007 #126

Fine alpaca boucle from Michael's Fabrics, Baltimore

More dresses from top patterns

2011-06-27T17:03:00.001-04:00

Another dress from the Ebb Blouse pattern

Yesterday I finished this shirt dress in an Italian cotton shirting from Michael's Fabrics in Baltimore. I bought this fabric when we visited him earlier this month. This dress is an inch longer than the linen one - same length as the ponte knit dress I sewed from the same pattern.

Detail of fabric and buttons

A dress from the Pure and Simple shell pattern

Cap sleeve dresses and tops are the go-to style for me and a lot of other women of a certain age. The cap sleeve covers your arm, and imparts a sophistication you don't get with sleeveless. My favorite cap sleeve patterns include the Loes Hinse Princess Tank and Dress, the OOP McCalls 5701 dress and the shell from Louise Cutting's Pure and Simple pattern.

I cut out and sewed up this chic casual cap sleeve sheath using the shell from the Pure and Simple Coat and Shell pattern. I really like the shell so I wondered how it would work as a dress under the coat since I planned an ensemble for this fall using some interesting silk fabric from Calvin Klein workrooms.

A Shirt Dress from the Ebb Blouse pattern

2011-06-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

I've been wanting to cut out and sew this dress all spring.   Neutrals are all over the place and I love shirt dresses.

I can still hardly squeeze a tube of toothpaste but I got out my best dressmakers scissors that are very sharp and, using the pattern I had traced when I last made the dress in pattern ease, I pinned it and carefully cut it out. This blouse/dress requires a lot of fine sewing and I used my various presser feet to get the accuracy.   I have hardly any feeling in my feet or lower legs and I can't feel the floor, but I have a tiny bit of muscle control left in my feet or I wouldn't be able to walk at all. This enables me to use the foot pedals since they are very sensitive.

Due to the lack of sensation in my fingers, I didn't do so well on the buttons because I am not very good with pins and needles - lots of dropping, sticking myself and difficulty pushing them through fabric. It's also hard for me to feel the edges of the fabric and hold them together at the machine so I made a few mistakes and had to do some ripping, but no major slips that could result in a wadder. But -- I'm not letting that stop me from sewing! You'll hear no excuses or whining from me.

Those are Teva Tirra sandals that I found at a local store about a month ago.    I have them in black and beige leather.   The great thing about them is that they have 3 Velcro straps that I can adjust to keep the shoes on my feet. They are very comfortable, especially for people with plantar faschia issues.    I can't stand very long without cushioning before I am in pain under my heels.

Shirt tail hem is slightly curved

This is the 5th time I've sewn a version of this pattern because the silhouette is so flattering, and the details aso stylish. I sewed this one using a linen blend with some crinkles in it. It's a ravelly fabric but this dress is completely finished inside and out. I bought a dusty pink/gray Italian shirting from Michael's Fabrics while in Baltimore that I intend to sew up in another one of these.

Finished vents at sleeve and dress hems

I'm Back and a neat hooded jacket sewn last spring

2011-06-18T10:41:00.004-04:00

Hi everybody.    Back from Johns Hopkins Medical Center where I spent an entire day last week undergoing tests and examinations in their Neurology Department.    I referred myself to JH in May since I was told by local doctor the end of March that I did not need to be seen again until the end of July.   JH told me that the reason I was seen so soon is the seriousness of my condition given that the GBS was active again and quickly destroying my nerves.   Without going into details, they performed much more extensive and sophisticated tests than I have had during my 11 month battle with GBS.   I only had to be there that one day.    After all the tests results are in, they will convene a board of highly experienced specialists who will discuss my case, and determine a plan and course of treatment to make me well since this is reversible with the right treatment and timely intervention. This will take a few weeks, then they will contact me. They want to make it easiest for me, so depending on what they recommend, they said that I may be able to get the treatments at facilities in Asheville rather than driving up there.     I feel like I have stabilized for the time being, so unless I get worse quickly, I wait.

Visited Michael's Fabrics

My husband and I stayed in the Johns Hopkins University area, north of the medical complex.   The evening before we left, we visited Michael at Michael's Fabrics, an easy drive north on Falls Road.     We had a nice visit and I bought some of the new Italian fabrics he had just received.    More on those later.

Hooded Jacket from November 2007 Burda Style Magazine

I wanted to share this interesting hooded jacket I sewed up last spring in french terry as a wearable muslin to test Burda Style #126 from the November 2007 issue. After reading reviews on Pattern Review, I was intrigued by the one piece pattern, excluding the sleeves.    I looked through my Burda Magazines but was missing this issue.    My friend in Massachusetts, Denise M, kindly located it and had the friend she gave it to send/loan it to me.    That was during a time that I was not doing well but, pacing myself and taking my time, I traced it and sewed up a size I thought would work - hard to determine the fit with a one-piece pattern like this.   The photo in the magazine article showed it as semi-fitted, so I used size 42 for my test since I wanted to wear this over sweaters.   The 42 is way too big, especially in the shoulders, but gave me the info I needed to determine the correct size.

Shoulder seam runs under the hood across the back

I pressed it out yesterday and gave it to my son's girlfriend to give to her mother. Here are some photos. The jacket front is not asymmetrical but looks that way hanging on a size six mannequin.

Altering the Poppy Vest by The Sewing Workshop

2011-06-10T19:37:00.010-04:00

I made this Poppy Vest in the spring of 2008 out of a pale yellow linen. I didn't wear it much because the exaggerated yellow tail in the back made me feel like a duck.

So, thinking about the pieces I wanted to sew out of the black and white checked rayon knit that looks so good with yellow, I thought, "What about altering this vest to make a sleeveless swing jacket to wear with those?" The back of the vest is entirely on the bias so I went to work. When I don't wear something, it either goes to the thrift store or the consignment store, depending on what the consignment store will take. I had nothing to lose, so I cut the tail off my ducky vest, measured and pinned it up on my form, The bias in the back makes it swing out nicely. The asymmetry and bias was a challenge, but I'm not deterred by challenges in sewing or what life hands out. Here are photos of it pinned up. The bias hung out over the years, so that wasn't a problem. After I got it looking fairly symmetrical, I pressed and trimmed the hem,

Here is what it looks like now, hem trimmed, top-stitched and pressed after I put the vest in the laundry today. I'm happy with how it looks, and will be getting a lot more wear out of it with my black and white coordinates. I also replaced the button with a pale yellow one. Before I started, I called The Sewing Workshop to see if they had any suggestions for doing this. In my conversation with Kathy, coincidentally she said they were playing around with this pattern, doing exactly what I did, except using knits to make this vest. You don't even have to finish the hem... Hmmmm.....

Striped knit dress from Anthropologie

A Simple Dress but what's with the pattern ink?

2011-06-05T23:08:00.016-04:00

Hi everyone. I'm feeling confident that I am regaining my strength and the neuropathy in my hands isn't as bad. Interested in a simple style and checking out the "new" patterns. I ordered the new Loes Hinse Studio Cap Sleeve Dress and Top pattern from Casual Elegance with a piece of aqua/black rayon slub knit. I received the pattern and fabric Friday. I like sewing rayon knits because they're easier for me to cut out, they feel good and breathe, and hold a press.

Front and side with CF dart only

I bought this black and white rayon/lycra knit with big checks from Fabric.com.   It's probably the lightest weight fabric I would use or recommend for this dress.   The design is abstract twist on a classic and I knew it would be easy for me to use the checks as grain lines to test the pattern.   I did not pre-wash but will wash this test dress to see how it behaves.

This afternoon I decided to take the pattern out, press and trace a couple of sizes since the ease was not provided. This is a heavy white paper with black ink.    The minute I set my dry iron on the paper, the heat lifted the ink off the paper and onto my iron -- YIKES!    I started at the front neckline and it was so smudged I could hardly read the lines so I stopped.   I cleaned my iron off and tried again using a piece of tissue paper between the pattern and the iron. This time the ink came off on the tissue paper. That was it. I couldn't press it at all and was left with a smudged pattern on heavily creased paper. The deep creases and smudged lines gave me additional challenges to those I already have, with my hands being the way they are in, in terms of tracing the lines accurately using my pattern ease tracing medium.     You can see photos of what I'm talking about on my Flickr set for this pattern.

My technical husband said the ink was clearly not heat set, and that it must have been printed on a drum printer.    I'm wondering if Loes told the printer that women are going to heat press the printed pattern. It's ridiculous to pay $20 plus shipping for a pattern that the ink comes off on your iron and then you have to fudge the lines.   Has anyone else had this problem with these "new" patterns?    I think I should call CE tomorrow and tell Sharon what happened.

*Update: I left a message on the CE phone line and received this response by e-mail that attests to Casual Elegance excellent customer service:

The heavy paper patterns are not intended to be pressed. It is not like the thin tissue paper. Loes always suggests copying the pattern so you don't lose the original as a reference - especially when tweaking a pattern. We have found that most experienced sewers do that. The new patterns can be flattened enough to copy. I have traced copies of all of the new patterns and have had no problem. I work with a ruler in my hand (what Loes does) when copying which helps keep the paper flat as well as tracing a more accurate line. I also use weights along the edges to keep the paper flat. We have sold a TON of these new heavy paper pattern. We have had some people request to get the 'old' patterns in the heavy paper form!

Sharon

If your pattern is too damaged to use, let me know. I will send another one complimentary.

I responded last evening:

Thanks for the response Sharon.

I always measure the pattern pieces to compare to the fit of similar garments, then trace that size using Pattern Ease Pellon tracing medium, preserving the original since I might need another size, or to do a tweak. Due to the deep creases in the folds, I really had no alternative but to press those areas, never thinking the ink would come off. Recommend you put a sticker with a notice on the pattern explicitly saying "Do NOT Press" this paper.

In this case the pattern was damaged with the lines blurred and smudged because most of the ink came off on the iron (dry of course) that I used to press it . It's difficult to distinguish the different size lines now so I would appreciate the replacement that you offered, and that I will try to smooth out rather than press.

Terri

The pattern ease was not posted. Since the ads, newsletters and women who sewed a version of it said these new patterns are more fitted (vs the model photos) I traced the size medium as best I could discern from the remaining lines, and cut out the dress front and back. I stabilized the shoulder seams with fusible knit stay tape and pressed them over my ham since the shoulders and cap sleeve is curved. I serged the side seams together before stitching the seams. I did this for two reasons -- first the serger acts as an even feed foot, keeping the two layers of the rayon jersey together; and 2) I could try the dress on and determine the width of the seam allowance I should use since this is my wearable muslin. It was clear that I should have cut a size small so I sewed a larger seam allowance and then serged the excess off. The dart in the dress center front is an interesting design element, but more needed to be taken in. Note that the three photos above are with just the small dart at CF.

To take in the excess ease, I used the checks as a design element and sewed up a tuck in the center. I used 1/2" Steam-a-Seam lite on the neckline (also acts as a stabilizer) and fused the hem with it - no top-stitching needed. Love that stuff! I stitched the armholes from the inside using the 2x2mm zig zag. Even with the larger seam allowances and adding the tuck at the front there is still too much ease for me. Well I thought I was tracing the medium..... definitely next go around, I'll start with size small.

Fall Trends - You probably already have the pieces in your closet!

2011-06-04T18:25:00.005-04:00

Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are already sending out the e-mails about fall trends and trunk shows. The spring/summer designers are all marked down. It's always fun to take a look at the silhouettes and styling to see how this "new" season compares to current independent patterns and the pieces in my closet. Seeing what Oscar or the others put together gives you a new "eye" for combinations you might not have considered. Love the fall colors and textures. For example, from Neiman Marcus, here is his Dip-Dyed Embroidered Jacket, Cardigan & Leather Full Skirt from Oscar de la Renta's pre-fall 2011 collection ($7,070 plus tax)

Here's Oscar doing the same skirt in a blue/cream scribble plaid with the same short cardigan jacket/twinset look ($3,530 plus tax).

So what do I have to knock off these looks? I bought this light beige cotton/linen/silk skirt by contemporary designer, Robert Rodriguez from, a TNT eBay seller few years ago. Take a look at his modern, clever designs for for ideas and inspiration to add to your sewing. His skirt is the same shape, length - same panels, same channel top stitching on the ties and the hem silhouette as these two Oscar skirts. I have a camel lambskin pencil skirt in that looks great with many tops and jackets in fall and winter. Oscar also paired the short cardigan with high waisted pants ($3,530) -- got it covered. In my closet is this cotton sweater by Vera Wang for Kohl's that I bought because I liked the neutral splatter effect. This coffee brown rayon jersey tank with a sheer insert and embellishment at the neck was the same season as the cotton cardigan, and has the look of the Oscar $2000 top. I enjoy wearing them with a lot of things, including this Shapes Nine Lives Vest/top/jacket, and it looks like his styling under the cardigan. So here's me wearing "the look" interpreted for spring/summer that, as I recall, cost under $60 for all 3 pieces. Same tops work with a number of my slacks. Who's copying whom? In fashion what comes around, goes around, especially classic shapes and colors.

Check out my new shades

I love the waistline of this skirt

What I cooked today: Today is a beautiful day with a nice breeze. I opened my kitchen window and door for a cross breeze to take the heat out. Every room in this old granite stone house has windows on two walls for that purpose. I like making impossible pies. I don't use Bisquick any more but any all purpose baking mix will work. The ingredients depend on what you have on hand - lots of combinations. Today I made my version of a a healthy quiche that makes its own crust.

Terri's BLT impossible pie recipe:

Place the following in a large pyrex pie plate lightly greased with olive oil:

(quantities, salt and fat content are your choice)

quality turkey bacon cooked and broken into pieces (I use Applegate brand)
ripe tomatoes cut into slices to cover bottom
low fat swiss cheese thinly sliced and cut into ribbons – (about half cup)
one cup chopped fresh spinach (if you don't use the creamed spinach below

Blend the following ingredients in a blender for two minutes and pour over the above:

½ cup all purpose baking mix (can also use a gluten free mix)

1 serving (approx one cup) defrosted Tabatchnik frozen creamed spinach (this is the lettuce part and this brand has onions and seasonings in it)

1 cup milk (2 cups when using chopped spinach)

4 large eggs

your favorite seasonings and salt/pepper if desired

* if you like the taste of mayonnaise, add about 1/3 cup to the blender mixture

Note: whatever you use in the blender, you need two cups liquid with the 4 eggs - lower amt of milk when adding mayonnaise

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 55 minutes. Note: I turn the temp up to 375 and cover for the last ten minutes when these have a lot of liquid like the tomatoes. It's done when a knife inserted comes out clean. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting, It's even pretty to look at. Enjoy a slice!

End of week accomplishments

2011-06-03T11:57:00.010-04:00

Everything is early here in western NC. It's the tail end for local blueberries and I eat all I can in pancakes, salads and just plain. I also grow herbs and wanted a recipe for a blueberry sage sauce. I found this recipe for a

Wild Blueberry, Balsamic and Sage Sauce Reduction

You can read it and my review with modifications on the Food Network site (link above). It was easy to prepare.   The fresh sage and blueberries with the balsamic vinegar is an amazing combination and really goes well with roast pork or on pork chops. It's great on beef as well. You can adjust the fat (olive oil and tablespoon of butter to finish) and salt content as well.    Also your house smells divine.   My mailman had to come in for a taste this afternoon after I told him about it.

Finished the stretch lace Pure and Simple top in an hour or so this afternoon. I should have picked another fabric to play with because the chunky black knit embroidery on this fabric actually ravels. No wonder it was hard to cut - I need an image for gnashing teeth here.    Hint to self -- no more cheap fabric, even if your DH likes it at an Expo.    No this did not come from Louise's booth.

I fused some light interfacing on the shoulders and sewed/serged them; then fused bias tape to the edges of the armholes. That's as far as I got yesterday evening.   I only fused the bias knit tape to the armholes that you can see here. This afternoon I serged the neckline and hem edges and used a 2 x 2 mm zig zag to top-stitch down the 5/8" seam allowances from the inside, being careful not to stretch them out.

I used differential feed to serge and draw up the curved hem edges prior to turning over and top-stitching. Here's a photo of the hem that curves at the sides.   I used the same sewing sequence as the pattern instructions, just omitted the facings. I used a straight stitch to sew up the side seams.

Making this gave me an opportunity to test this type of fabric in this pattern and also see where I was and what I could do at the machine. The zig zag top-stitching worked out well and didn't require the precision of straight stitching that I'm not so good doing right now. I think it turned out quite nice.   I've got black pants on that show through but the photo shows that it fits and drapes nicely. More photos on Flickr.

While up in the sewing chamber I could hear Joe the tree frog croaking outside my window. We had lots of toads and many frog species on our wooded property in MD. Our house was at the top of a hill and we had a big pond at the bottom that you passed driving up the hill to the house. In the spring you could hear a symphony of frog calls down there. Some nights I would walk down with a flashlight to see who all was there. If I found a huge bullfrog -- we had them the size of the old black telephones, so we called them telephone frogs, I would shine the flashlight in their eyes, catch them with a net, then take them down the road to a creek the next day. This was our bullfrog relocation program because those guys will eat anyone bigger than they are, i.e. other frogs. I also had a snapping turtle relocation program but that is another story. Tree frogs like to hide in trees during the day but at night they sit on the edge of ponds/water and call for mates. We had a bridge across the narrow part of the MD pond and I use to find many of them sitting on the bridge calling. They have such big voices for their size. I've heard this one in the gutters and trees during the day and then on the edge of our small fish pond, on the side where my sewing room windows open, at night. Frogs are our friends.

I was looking at The Sewing Workshop's web site. They have really done a nice job of updating their site. I enjoy seeing what's new on the blog and the facebook page that they update frequently now. I read on TSW facebook page that a new pattern is due out in a couple weeks! I found some really nice photos taken during the October sewing retreat in Orlando and at Louise Cutting's house on the facebook page. I've never been to one of those events, or to Louise's home where she entertains the participants, but when I recover, I intend to sign up for one. Check out the photo of Louise's garage where she sells the fabrics. Here's a nice photo of Linda Lee and Louise Cutting and their assistants, Kathy and Sandy on Louise's deck.

Hot weather dresses

2011-06-02T11:04:00.007-04:00

We're having our first wave of hot weather here. I like to wear dresses on warm days. Here are three favorite silhouettes:

Very Easy Vogue 8486 Dress - This is a well designed pattern with pleats secured by well engineered facings to hold them in place. The pleats fall softly open up for an elegant look with the benefit of wearing ease created by the open pleats. If you don't do sleeveless, this pattern includes a view with sleeves, which I've also sewn. It's a very flattering style and you'll notice that Vogue has kept this pattern in the inventory for that reason. I made this colorful one a year ago from a poly buttermilk and have had women come up to me and try to buy it! The style is great for all ages. I shortened it last week and gave it to my son's girlfriend who looks darling in it and loved the style -- and she's only 20!

Vogue Pattern photo

McCalls 5701 Dress (now OOP) If you have this pattern and haven't sewn it, what are you waiting for? This is a knockoff of a Kors classic dress that is so flattering. The shape, the structure, the cap sleeve, the back yoke and soft pleats make this a winner. It has great wearing ease like the Vogue pattern. No wrinkles when you stand up from sitting! It is both stylish and comfortable and looks great under jackets. More photos on Flickr.

McCalls pattern photo

Striped cotton voile dress by Maeve from Anthropologie I tried this dress on at the Charlotte NC store early spring of 2010 and decided to buy it. This dress has an amazing shape and is lined in soft cotton batiste. Soft pleats give it the same comfortable ease as the dresses above. I've gotten my money out of this one. Note the way they used the stripes in the design. Even the bottom bias band has a tuck at the top that creates more interest and the neck band is twisted bias. At the shoulder, there is a ribbon/snap to hold your bra straps in place. These photos were taken May 2010 in Black Mountain NC. I wore an orange cotton swimsuit bra and orange wedges. I like orange and gray together so it didn't matter if the straps showed.

I'm trying

2011-06-01T17:43:00.001-04:00

Today I had every good intention of cutting out a dress using my already lengthened version of Louise Cutting's Ebb and Flow blouse pattern. The hard work is done because I have all my master patterns traced on pattern ease, rolled up/ and ready to go. My hands and fingers were doing well all the way into April when I cut and sewed all the black/white knits. The spinal tap in early April confirmed the elevated protein for the GBS and it was active. It goes fast and this time did more damage to the nerves in my hands than last fall. I'm finishing up a prednisone taper to suppress my immune system, but the damage is done. I can still type, but now it's harder to squeeze things together (less strength in finger muscles) like scissors and the sensory feeling you need when dealing with layers of things is poor.

I planned a couple of cap sleeve knit tops using the Pure and Simple top pattern. Using this fairly cheap piece of stretch lace from a vendor at the Atlanta Expo, I cut one out to see what I could do, and how accurate I could be. I cut it on the stretch/cross grain and kept the curved hem. I intend to just serge the edges and use some fusible knit tape for stabilizing at the neckline and armholes, turn under and top stitch - no facings.

For this, I probably should use a rotary cutter but that has risks of cutting with my current lack of strength and coordination. I folded out the dart and used my big heavy tailor shears. It was very difficult for me.

I will stabilize the shoulders and sew it up this evening when it cools off. After that experience, I'm hesitant to mess up this nice crinkled linen pinstripe fabric for the Ebb Dress. I may experiment some more with another pair of good scissors.

I posted one of my online snoop shopping finds on the sewing board Cutting Line Designs topic. I usually copy a couple of photos, the measurements ( if available) and put it into a text file that I print out and file with my patterns. Here's a blue gauze fabric I plan on using for a summer version of this drawstring cardigan using the tabard (view B) in the Of the Moment pattern.

Here's another interesting idea for a jacket from a vintage Geoffrey Beene I saw on eBay a while back -- Might as well copy the best! Here he used an abstract textured/embroidered silk fabric and lined it to the edges with a coordinating stripe, enclosing them with bias black silk with tiny stars on it. Lovely, simple as it gets, and another idea for the Of the Moment jacket above - curve the lapel point and omit the hems and facings -- that's it for pattern changes. Click on photos to enlarge or go to Flickr.

Adventures with cowl neck tops

2011-05-29T14:00:00.002-04:00

One of my daily exercises is to go upstairs to my closet (small room next door to the sewing room) to pick out something to wear. It's good for me to go up and down the stairs several times a day. DH hung upper and lower rods along the walls so I have coordinates hanging in order by color group with coordinating colors next to each other. That way all I have to do is look around and pull the pieces. Just spending a little time with the changing of the seasons and the weather shows me what have, what I wear and what I don't, or won't and what I might want to sew to fit into the mix. Shoes are a different story since I can't wear slides or heels right now. I keep the faith that I will be able to wear them again. I don't have so many shoes that I need a separate Emelda Marcos room for them. I store them in a couple open wire stacking cubes from Target I bought years ago. You stack them and the shoes with wide heels sit on the shelf while the ones with heels are stuck in the square holes in the wire. Very easy to see what you have.

Yesterday I wore this cotton lawn tunic top with a big cowl neck from Anthropologie. Those are some heavy linen crop pants I've had for years. It took some effort for me to raise my foot like this, and keep it up, but I did it!

I tried the tunic on during one of my snoop shopping trips to the store. I do that to see what works for my age and body, and what doesn't. It was an intriguing style with details I thought I'd like to copy, so when this went on half price sale I ordered it. The interesting thing about the cowl is that it is not cut on the bias and is about a foot high. The cowl is actually the top of the armhole and can be worn spread out over the shoulder. I liked the shape, the pockets and the outside casing with a drawstring to draw the waist in. It's fun and versatile. I wore this black eyelet NOW shirt jacket from the Sewing Workshop pattern over it for dinner on the patio last evening.

Black eyelet SW Now Shirt

CLD Pure & Simple top modified

Today will be in the 80's here and I was feeling like wearing cool orange and white.   So I pulled out this cowl neck top I sewed last year by modifying the Cutting Line Designs Pure and Simple top pattern.    Note the nice cap sleeve on this pattern.   It fits great and after looking at these photos, thought what a super easy dress! Just trace/split the pattern and add inches along the lengthen/shorten pattern line - connect the lines with a French Curve.

I'm wearing it over a pair of Louise Cutting One-Seam Pants I sewed from a textured rayon herringbone fabric I bought from her at an Expo.

I love wearing orange with neutrals as well.   If you have a pink/peachy complexion like me grab some flattering bronzed coral lipcolor and wear warm oranges and corals that are very flattering around your face

This photo shows how putting a coral jacket over the light orange/white top bumps up the orange.   That is an unlined lightweight stretch Ultrasuede jacket by Doncaster from their 2002 or 03 spring collection. I loved the color and the classic lines and neutral horn buttons that allow the jacket to coordinate nicely with beige and tan pieces.   I also bought a pair of great fitting pants from the same collection in the same color stretch Ultrasuede fabric

Another Birthday and Thanks to all for your good wishes!

2011-05-26T19:01:00.004-04:00

Thank you Betsy for the birthday wishes. I've always been honest about my age and what I really look like. I got a call from Denise and my sister and a friend I used to work with in Northern VA and lots of e-mails. We met our son and his GF for a nice birthday dinner yesterday evening. Thanks to all of you for your sweet wishes and insightful comments. Hoping all of you have a safe and enjoyable memorial day weekend with friends and family.

Today was warm and DH had an appointment for a minor ailment in the afternoon, so we had lunch before and then while I waited for him, I spent the time at a high end consignment store in the same shopping center south of town. TDF Stella McCartney, Prada, Lilith, Armani apparel, shoes, handbags .. all the good stuff. I had an interesting conversation with Leslie, who had worked for a high end apparel line in NYC before marrying into an Asheville family, and moving here. It's so much fun talking to someone with good taste who understands fabrics, quality and construction details. I wore this cotton Tosca Dress I made in January with a black jersey camisole underneath. She loved it and it was perfect for the day. I'm still wearing it this evening.

The Ballerina hybrid musk roses are blooming

I've learned that you have to take control of your own health and future because nobody else will. Our attitude, faith and hope is most important in dealing with whatever we are struggling with. I will get through this. If any of you get the Good Housekeeping Magazine, there's an interview with Michael J. Fox in the June issue. He talks about his family and dealing with Parkinson's. That interview was so inspirational to me and really hit home. When such things happen your priorities change or alter. Some people already have their priorities straight but others ..... Stuff is just stuff, it's people who matter and how we behave and support one another. This statement he made (top of page 2) really hit home:

MJF: One of the great things about Parkinson's, in a superficial way, is it relieved me of vanity. I don't worry about what I look like, because it's literally out of my hands. But on a deeper level, it gives you a real humility, because you have to deal every day with the fact that you compromise, to a certain extent...so then you explore what that compromise is and "How am I compromised?" And for everything I can't do, I find that there's another ability that's been developed or another avenue that I've gone down.

I never considered myself a vain person. Actually I was always too busy to be vain. I could be dressed, put on a little make-up and be out the door in 15 minutes. I always had a tight schedule when I worked so I planned and could pull together mix and match business appropriate coordinates that were ready to just fold into a suitcase to go anywhere from Japan to Panama to some AFB in the middle of the country. With as little effort as possible I made it a point to look nice when going out, and I still do.

The difference today is that with these neurological problems everything takes longer to do and you get tired faster. One of the reasons I got my hair cut short was that I just wanted to be able to wash and go without the need to style, even though that only took five minutes just to put a round brush through to smooth and style. I try to remember to put a little powder on so I'm not so shiny but eye make-up -- who cares, besides some of it irritates my eyes after only a couple of hours. So here's what 59 year old me wore last Sunday (I'm hanging onto my walker that you can't see - uh oh there's that vanity LOL). This outfit is from a couple of the designers who teamed up with Target. I took both easy pack and care pieces on our trip to Italy back in September 2008. The dress is cotton/modal with bias stripes meeting in center front and center back seams with a contrast band at the bottom. The versatile cotton eyelet duster was actually marketed as a bathing suit cover-up and has snap tape to close. I like to wear it as a layering piece and roll up the sleeves depending on the weather. Both of these styles would be easy to copy using basic patterns. The duster is basically the Sewing Workshop Now Shirt without the collar. The dress has a tiny cap sleeve and is the same in the back with a higher neckline.

Towards the end of May update

2011-05-24T17:45:00.006-04:00

My last major sewing project was the Burda cardigan in April. The bad news is that I have been deteriorating and am not doing well. The good news is that I will be traveling to Johns Hopkins medical center in June. I only got the call from JH yesterday morning so I had to hurry up and make reservations to stay somewhere in downtown Baltimore. I found that many of the hotels are booked up already.

Michael and Sherri Bearman of Michael's Fabrics in Baltimore are two of the loveliest people I know. I've known them for years since living in Charles Co MD for many years before moving to the Asheville NC area. I remember talking on the phone to Michael the week their son Phillip was born. With them you are a person not a credit card number.

Sherri and Michael have been aware of my health situation. Since I will be traveling to Baltimore I called and told Sherri what was going on - she was delighted that I got into JH, then hearing about the hotels and logistics, she offered to check to see of they could help in locating/recommending a hotel perhaps where they are located. They don't care if I buy anything or even if I'm well enough to come by, they just care about me and those are the people who will get my enduring business forever.

Over these past months of medical hell, wonderful people like the Bearmans in Baltimore, other sewing professionals around the country, and many caring individuals who read this blog and a sewing board have commented/written or called or sent notes to check on me. Incredibly, I have had absolutely no support from any of the sewing community here in Asheville - none of the people at a certain local fabric store where I was a great customer for years, nor anyone who lives in the area has ever contacted me - actually it's just the opposite, I've been shunned.

I also got an e-mail response from Sharon Lyon of Casual Elegance Fabrics last week. My reason for writing was that with their emphasis on cap sleeves I was thinking about sewing an updated French Country Dress.   I have the pattern and was looking for some fabric advice.    Since reading the latest newsletter, I was thinking linen but she said that she "really didn't think linen would be a good choice for that dress, although a really light weight linen/blend would be a possibility.    Since there are just a couple of tucks on both sides on front and back, a heavy fabric would not do well with the tucks.   A stable knit, as long as it wasn't heavy, would work great. I really like that dress. One summer, a few years back, I lived in that dress!"    I think the design is really interesting, especially how Loes maintains the structure using the pockets.     I would make it knee length since the length in the pattern photos look frumpy looking on me.    I also attached a photo of the Bergman Jacket tweak (previous blog post) with how I used the mesh from CE.   Sharon wrote that she almost forgot about my fabric question since her attention went to the photo of the jacket that she loved.    How nice of her to say that.

So what about sewing?   With all my problems I had to do something Monday to see where I was in all this so I cut out a simple cowl neck tops - same pattern I used in the black and tan coordinates I sewed for my sister last summer.   This time I used the same black and white dot/stripe knit I've made the tops/cardigans from. It's so easy to make. I left the hem raw and did pretty well in terms of stitching down the seam allowance on the neckline and armholes.    I made it for my son's GF who got the Sewing Workshop eShrug in the same knit and the lace one. I gave it to her yesterday and she was thrilled. I'm going to lengthen the pattern and do a knit dress. Won't that be a great look!

And so it goes. To think about not being able to do the things I enjoy the most is devastating. I wish I had the sensory capability to do more sewing, not because I have to, but because I enjoy it. I have plenty to wear and I still give a lot of my things away. Fortunately I sew coordinating groups and new pieces that coordinate with others so that I have many choices when I walk into my closet, no matter the weather.   Unfortunately that black and tan group of coordinates I sewed and sent to my sister in Texas last summer went up in flames with everything else in April, and I have not been able to be as productive as I was last summer to replace them.     My plans are to stick with the simple designs like the Shapes patterns.    I'm thinking a Shapes Four Good Measure top in a sheer fabric. Louise Cutting and Linda Lee were way ahead of the fashion game when they published that line a couple of years ago. The Four Good Measure silhouette is everywhere from Neiman Marcus to Anthropologie and more this spring.

I got to wear my Bergman Jacket "tweak" today

2011-05-10T15:44:00.005-04:00

So here's me actually wearing the jacket. There was a breeze blowing my hair in all directions, but who cares. I feel that clothes have to be seen on the person they were made for, otherwise it's no different than staring at garments carefully pinned and arranged on a mannequin in a store window.

Today I got dressed up for the monthly DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meeting. I missed the April meeting because of the medical procedures. The weather has not been warm enough here to wear a mesh jacket like this, but today's forecast was upward of 80 so I pulled out the dotted mesh Bergman jacket I created and wrote about in February and paired it with this ten+ year old silk swing skirt from Loes Hinse's skirt pattern , and a v-neck stretch 4-ply silk crepe sleeveless top. Neutrals never go out of style, and I enjoyed wearing this comfortable outfit today. I bought the beige splotched cream embossed silk made for Valentino by Ratti, the famous Italian silk company, while shopping at their store in Como Italy in 1999. I plan on getting lots of mileage from this cardigan jacket too.

No Sewing yet but I feel like I'm making progress

2011-05-09T15:18:00.001-04:00

I feel like I am stronger. I can walk across a room without the aid of a walker or cane now. No changes in the demyelinated nerves yet, but that takes a lot longer. I just haven't gotten any worse. I've been upstairs to the sewing room but I was too tired yesterday to begin a new project having not slept well the night before.

Since the weather has warmed, I am wearing many of the outfits I made last spring and summer. We had lunch on Saturday in Waynesville with our son's GF's mother and grandmother. I wore the Easy Ageless and Cool pants with the By Popular Demand jacket and an ABO top out of silk noil. Interesting that the silk noil pilled against the inside of the stretch sateen cotton of the jacket. Today was even warmer and I wore these metallic linen Easy, Ageless and Cool pants with a purchased rayon jersey tank top and the beige stretch pique Pure and Simple jacket. The difference between the photos taken on Saturday and today is that I am standing up by myself - big stuff for me.

A drive up along the Blue Ridge Parkway

2011-05-05T22:14:00.005-04:00

I did some sewing yesterday evening - first time since I made the Burda cardigan I posted about. My hands were deteriorating rapidly prior to getting the IVIG and I hadn't realized how much they had changed for the worse until then.    I did manage to sew some black snap tape onto this By Popular Demand jacket I'm sending my sister in TX.    If I hadn't gotten the IVIG intervention, I probably would not be walking right now and would be in a hospital.     Thanks to each and all for taking the time to write me lovely notes and comments here and on the sewing board.    Your encouragement means so much.

Today we decided to burn up a little of the nearly $4 a gallon gas and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway from the entrance near the VA Hospital in Asheville on Route 70, starting at the Folk Art Center, to where you exit at Route 8o south toward Marion NC.    It's not a long drive - less than 25 miles, but you are at some of the highest elevations on the Parkway, and it's good for me to get out. It has been a cool spring and even cooler up on the high elevations where weather, temperatures and winds are extreme compared to where we live in the valley above the Swannanoa River flood plain around 2,300 feet elevation.    For example, last night temperatures at elevations above 4,000 feet were 28 degrees with a dew point of 29 and wind gusts of 15 mph.   That's downright miserable. To contrast, down here the lowest temp outside my north facing kitchen window last night was 48 and no wind.   The parkway is closed during the winter because of all the snow and because the tunnels actually freeze nearly shut.    The mists and humidity freezes in layers and the rangers told us that a man can barely crawl through the hole that remains.

I took a number of photos and posted them on the Blue Ridge Parkway Flickr Set.     You will find the icicles on both north and south rock faces in May interesting.    Our rhododendrons are already blooming down here but the native ones up there won't bloom until mid-June.   I photographed a wild turkey looking for one of the girls.    Those are the first photos in the set and he is beautiful and quite camouflaged. You can see the Burnett Reservoir that is high up in the mountain north of our house. That is where Asheville gets its water.    I would link some photos here but am having trouble doing that right now.     You can see why they call it the Blue Ridge Parkway because the haze makes the mountain ridges look blue.   Enjoy the trip!

Yellow Roses and a Versatile top

2011-05-03T17:57:00.006-04:00

Some have asked about my flowers.   Even though I can't do any real gardening yet, my perennial plants and gardens are doing very well as you can see in the Spring 2011 Gardens Flickr Set.    These are Golden Shower climbing roses growing near the front steps.   Today was perfect weather to wear this lengthened cotton shirt I made in March from the Relax a Little pattern over this RPL ponte knit skirt by Vera Wang for Kohl's.   I only paid $20 for it with a discount.    When I can get such style ad quality for a great price, I buy it instead of trying to figure out how to make it.   If I want to make myself another, not only do I have a great skirt, but also a pattern. I have received so many kind messages about my health and other peoples' behavior. This one pretty much sums them all up:

I can only imagine the trauma, stress and worry that you and your family have been through over the past months. I have also been angered that you have had to endure bad behaviour from others at a time when you already have more than enough to cope with. I therefore appreciate very, very much that you are able to rise above this pettiness and continue to share your style and wisdom with those of us who truly value your input into our lives - both through your blog and through this site.

Because of those good and decent people, I've opened the blog back up to public view.   Thank you for your confidence and understanding of my situation. I felt like I was going to die the week after the IVIG therapy. Now I'm a bit stronger, but it's still going to be a long journey back. I'm starting physical therapy again, but until the nerves recover, I cannot rebuild the muscle and have to be very careful not to do more damage than good. There will continue to be many days where I need help and assurance to move forward.

Sewing as Therapy: A Burda Style Cardigan

2011-04-17T17:10:00.005-04:00

Some may be thinking, "does she really have anything wrong with her, because she sews so much?" Well the answer is that sewing is good mental and physical therapy for me. Sewing has always been a stress reliever, especially with the high stress jobs/projects I had before I retired. So every day that I can, my husband gets me up to the sewing room and I do the best I can, repeating the motions I've done for so long. Today's project was Burda Style 7349, a cardigan jacket.

I saw this cotton "Tulum" knit cardigan in the Peruvian Connection's spring catalog ($159) that inspired me to try this pattern. There are many variations of cardigans like this by Eileen Fisher and others. I wanted to play with the dots and stripes again so I cut this out yesterday afternoon. Styles like this enable lots of creativity and still look stylish. This afternoon I sewed it up. Here are some photos and there are more on the Burda Style Patterns Flickr Set. I may pull out some ribbed knit from the stash and make another.

The pattern calls for you to cut 4 of the front top pieces and self face, but I eliminated that. It also calls for a bias band to finish the back. To stabilize around the neck so I used 3/8" fusible bias tape at the neck and about 9" down the front. I also cut bias knit strips, pressed them in half and sandwiched the entire neckline between them for both a design element and to further stabilize. I used Steam-a-Seam on both the front and back of the bias for that, and left the edges of the trim and the bottom raw. This needs shoulder pads to look nice. The sleeves are blind hemmed.

A Loes Hinse Bianca Top

2011-04-15T19:43:00.004-04:00

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes and continued prayers. Your comments mean a lot to me and I need all the help I can get. I hope the good Lord, who has looked over me and mine all these years, has other business left for me to do.

I enjoyed possibilities of the double black and white cotton knit (from MyVogueFabrics swatch service) that I used for the Sewing Workshop eShrug, so I decided to cut out (did that earlier in the week) and sew a Loes Hinse Bianca top (she calls it a sweater) using the striped side on the bias for the neckline and hem.

Sewing is a tactile endeavor, so when the feeling in the fingers can't discern the correct side for fusible interfacing, you have to punt. So here's what I did when I applied some soft fusible to the shoulder seams. I used some left over pattern paper that I keep around and sandwiched the fusible and the fabric between it and pressed. If I applied the wrong side to the fabric, the fusible would stick to the paper and not the iron, and this also protects your ironing board cover. Turns out my guesses were good on both shoulders. Perhaps this trick will help you keep the sticky off your iron and ironing board as well! More about this on the Bianca Flickr Set.

Fusible applied to shoulder -- I just cut off the excess


Fabric/fusible sandwiched between paper

The Bianca pattern neckline is too high and tight for my tastes, so I cut one inch out of the neckline. The new neckline measured 23" at the seam-line, so I cut the bias 20 inches to lay flat like this. I doubled it, and then sewed/serged/ and then stitched in the ditch the outside, using Marcy Tilton's instructions in her Easy Guide to Sewing Tops & T-Shirts (Taunton Press) page 92. I made the 3/4 inch sleeve version and just did a blind hem. This top is boxy but the sleeve is fitted.

For the hem, I cut the garment with the wide hem allowance, then applied a doubled raw bias band of the knit around the bottom. So this Bianca top is longer than one that has the wide hem.

Oh yeah I made some mistakes because of these fingers but ripped them out and happily continued. I'm just happy I can still stand/sit/press and use the presser feet -- going through all the motions required to make a garment.

The Bad News, the Good News and a Lesson

2011-04-14T13:26:00.005-04:00

My neurologist was very concerned that I was losing ground and actually getting worse when he saw me the end of last month, so he ordered the spinal tap that was done last Tuesday.   The tests on the spinal fluid confirmed that the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is chronic, and again ruled out other bad things - good news.    I can hardly walk now and the deterioration in my hands and fingers is making it more difficult to type and do things using my hands.

I wish I could start this week, but beginning Monday for four hours a day, five days in a row I will be hooked up to intravenous high dose immunoglobin therapy.    I sure have had my share of misery these past several months. This has a lot of side effects so it isn't going to be fun or easy, but I hope this treatment enables me to finally kick this thing.

The Lesson: Another example of the callous behavior I've endured since I came down with all this

Just what kind of person makes fun of, and actually celebrates the health problems of someone who extended their house and hospitality to them?

This e-mail message came from a person I met and befriended a few years ago on an internet sewing board. It was sent soon after the onset of the baffling, undiagnosed neurological problems that I described online. At the time I was in very bad shape. Receiving this shocked me since I had not heard from that person in almost a year.   I discussed it with my family, and a week later I responded with some pointed questions. Was it meant to be sent to me, or did they accidentally add my name to the reply list? Either way, I told her that to say things like this about me was cruel and insensitive.   Given that the individual obviously never had any class, I never got a response, apology - nothing. I'm not sure of the identity of others involved in this messaging, but I have a pretty good idea.

From:     xxxxx
    Subject:     i bad
    Date:     September 7, 2010 10:01:55 PM EDT
    To:     Terri K

does this mean she not able to run around with that damn hand heald vacum cleaner when people are trying to watch TV this could be a good thing

A couple of months later the same individual merrily joined the party to disparage me, and trash my reputation on the same internet sewing (?) board. The bullies had lots of "fun" with that. Any excuse is a good excuse. Doesn't take much to ignite narcissistic bullies, no matter their age, especially in an online forum.

The lesson and a word of caution -- Don't think you ever really "know" people who post on internet boards or social media. Many of the attention seekers who play in those internet playgrounds have behavioral issues, and and are NOT always people you want to be "friends" with. Think twice about inviting them into your house or life, no matter how witty, intellectual, caring or sweet an image they project online. And if you think you have better friends on the internet than "in real life" - Wow ! you're definitely spending too much time online and need to get a real life.

Another eShrug

2011-04-04T21:47:00.006-04:00

This time in a double face cotton knit I ordered from the Vogue Fabrics by Mail swatch service last summer. The woven in design has dots on one side and stripes on the other. I styled my own "Anthropologie" type shrug, making french seams for the shoulders and sleeves, leaving the hem edges raw and doing a Linda Lee edge finish on the sleeve hems. This is one of the edge finishes for knits she demonstrates at workshops and is on her Runway Finishes for Cool Edges DVD that she did with Nancy Zieman that I bought.

These easy sewing projects help me deal with all that is going on these days. I'm sending this one to my sister in TX who carried my mother's ashes to her home town on the northwestern Kansas prairie this past weekend. Her funeral was today. I was unable to go and have to get a spinal tap tomorrow at the hospital. Wish me luck.

Click on photos for detail

With all the buzz about shrugs this spring, just what is a "shrug" anyway? I always thought a shrug was a knit that was worn around the shoulders, but looking it up, the definition of shrug (clothes - noun) is "a short cardigan for women". So for more inspiration and ideas, I posted photos of a couple other interesting cardigans on the eShrug Flickr Set.

These "draped cardigans" by Eileen Fisher are shrugs too. I could use my eShrug pattern, lengthen the sleeves, and knock off any of these for a fraction of the price.

Draped Cardigan in Precious Metal

Cascading Jacket in Striped Linen Gauze

Drape-Front Cardigan in Precious Metal Rib

Interpreting a designer shirt-dress

2011-04-02T12:56:00.009-04:00

I love simple but interesting styles and lines. I consider myself a minimalist in terms of styling, and apply my KISS (keep it simple stupid) principles to keep things in balance on my small frame.

AKRIS is an elegant and high priced designer line. The Swiss company's garments have simple, yet creative lines, cut from the finest fabrics, using top quality construction. I love to snoop shop AKRIS details. I actually saw the first garment in the Spring/Summer collection, the light gray double face wool lapel dress at Neiman Marcus Last Call when I was in Atlanta for the Sewing Expo in March. It was beautifully designed and made. Due to the double face fabric it was very heavy. I figured it must have been from a trunk show or a return or it wouldn't have been there. This spring the company has been showing this shirt-dress in many advertisements. Here's the shirt-dress on the Saks website that includes a video.

I looked at the garment and thought - the line looks so much like one of my favorite blouses, the Ebb blouse. I liked the look and fit of it so much that I sewed 3 different blouses and also lengthened it into a dress.    The style, like the AKRIS one, is so flattering in terms of fit.    I bought that gorgeous Caroline Rose linen fabric from Louise Cutting with the intent of an elegant tunic style.   The AKRIS dress has cut-on sleeves, but I think a separate sleeve is more flattering.   I was concerned about breaking up the design, but Louise said it wouldn't matter.

My health and doctor's appointments prevented me from playing around with the design last week -- so today, imagine my delight when Linda Lee posted on the Sewing Workshop Blog that they tweaked the TNT San Diego pattern to create a tunic like this, and included a free download of the instructions on how to change the pattern! San Diego Tunic Blog Post That's what I'm working on this weekend.

Monday April 4 UPDATE on this project -- Yesterday morning I worked on creating the new pattern using size XS and the medium length for me. I kept the two piece sleeve and altered it to a 14" length.   The back diagram was easy to understand as is the front left pattern diagram.

I got confused about the right front -- is the 12.5" an increase of a seam allowance (5/8") added onto the original pattern line? Or is it added to 5 1/2" from the foldline as shown on the left front diagram?

Then I wondered how I was supposed to sew the fronts together and then where to top-stitch after hemming.   Is there top-stitching along the CF where the pleat is formed. It looks like they stitched    horizontally where the pin in the mini folded mode is, but it's hard to tell.    What kind of hem finish is recommended?   I didn't want to end up with a wadder and thought, "if I'm confused, then many others may be too".   So I stopped and sent an e-mail to The Sewing Workshop asking the above questions.     The project is on hold until I hear from them.

An eShrug out of novelty lace - experimenting with techniques

Before I move on to a new project, I want to post about the eShrug I sewed using this novelty lace. It's actually a tulle with the motifs embroidered on. On this one, I played around, experimenting with seams and edge finishes. I cut off the stretchy selvedge and trimmed up the scalloping before I sewed the pieces together. This novelty lace may have been designed for lingerie because the selvedge wanted to draw up the fabric. I used a 3-thread serged seam for the shoulders, serged one sleeve in and then used a small zig-zag then trimmed the seam allowance. From the outside there is no perceivable difference. This fabric doesn't ravel so either work fine, except with the neuropathy in my hands, the zig-zag using a free arm is easier to handle. I cut the notches into the lace since clips are too hard to see - that worked great. I used a rolled edge 3-thread edge with a long stitch length to finish the fronts and neck edges. More photos and the process on the eShrug Flickr Set.

The Sewing Workshop eShrug

2011-03-21T20:39:00.005-04:00

Talk about fast, fun and functional -- I got the eShrug pattern download this afternoon, printed, sections put together using a paper cutter and a glue stick, traced onto Pellon pattern ease, figured out the fabric/layout, cut out, sewed four seams and voila! Done before the sun set. It looks great over a blouse, a top and even this Tosca Dress. Sewing is great therapy for me but I was just too tired to pose for photos this evening. Today was a beautiful and warm spring day so perhaps we can do that tomorrow when the sun is shining again.

eShrug over CLD Ebb Blouse (L) CLD Relax a Little shirt belted over SW Tosca Dress (R)

I left the edges raw and they curl nicely

Worn over another Tosca Dress

Sleeveless Jackets?

2011-03-21T20:29:00.003-04:00

How many of these do you have in your wardrobe?   I really hadn't thought about it until I watched this fashion video by Jess Cartner-Morley, the UK Guardian's fashion editor. How to dress: Sleeveless jackets - video

I posted about restyling the jacket with the huge sleeves into a sleeveless jacket in February.   I wore it as a layering piece to keep warm at the Atlanta Sewing Expo the second day and got many complements on it.

The Guardian video got me thinking -- my Relax a Little tops are not waistcoats or vests, but sleeveless jackets. Here's my latest one belted over the Sewing Workshop Tosca Dress I made in January.

By Jess Cartner-Morley's definition, the Of the Moment tabard is also a sleeveless jacket.   This is a sheer linen and a longer jacket gives the illusion of height.

Still a classic, I made this sleeveless jacket many years ago from the OOP Shermane Fouche pattern and it still looks current styled the right way.

Latest version of the Relax a Little Top

2011-03-18T20:43:00.006-04:00

Here is the one I worked on today sans buttonholes/buttons that I will put on tomorrow. The difference between this one and my first Relax a Little top is that it is 6" longer and I used the larger pockets and placed them lower on the blouse. This one is in a woven black/white pima cotton shirting that looks gray. I love it belted. The fabric under the top is the sheer viscose abstract that I bought from Louise at the Atlanta Expo. I also bought the coordinate in linen. You can see the fabric detail in the photos below.

I enjoy the journey of fine garment construction and sewing. When I'm finished I have a unique garment of the quality that women pay hundreds of dollars for at high end stores. I visited the Neiman Marcus Last Call store while I was in Atlanta last week. The manager recognized me from my last visit, and complemented me on my outfit. When I told her I sewed everything I was wearing, she said she thought I was wearing a top designer label - nice! Today I finished construction of a lovely sleeveless shirt with a yoke using the Relax a Little pattern by Louise Cutting. I worked on this top for two days. The inspiration for my latest top was Louise's shirt (photo below) sewn in a fine black Tasmanian wool that she had at the Atlanta Expo. She said she cut the shirt 6" longer so that it could be worn belted if she chose to.

I have enjoyed all of the possibilities of this lightweight wool/silk plaid shirt I made when the pattern was first issued, so I knew that I had to make a longer one.

Here is a photo of my technique for even top-stitching using a Shurtape masking tape on my machine. This also shows you the detail of the black and white fabric.

Here is the Viking left edge top stitching foot, designed for Viking by Louise when she was a Viking dealer in Florida, that I use to edge-stitch the collar band. I believe that Louise Cutting's patterns are drafted to achieve the most perfect collars. The markings and comprehensive pattern instructions enable you to easily achieve perfection. It's not fast sewing, and I sure make lots of mistakes because of the neuropathy in my fingers. That's why I have the lit magnifying glass attached to the table beside my sewing machine so I can rip out the threads and sew it right. But perfection never is fast.

A Ch@nel Jacket Look Using a Loes Hinse Blouse pattern

2011-03-14T18:43:00.008-04:00

Click on photos to enlarge

I don't like UFOs, so today I finished this fun and interesting jacket that I made using the Bergman Blouse pattern and some ideas from Chanel RTW that I started and wrote about in February.

Hem is mesh from Casual Elegant cut into strips

I used a combination of steam-a-seam 1/4" and stitching to apply the mesh strips and hem the bottom piece. I eased up the band around the neckline since the mesh is flat, then stitched at the edge of the sparkly bands. This makes it stand up at the neckline which I think is pretty. There are many possibilities to wearing this, including putting a black camellia pin at the neckline where it ties. I can leave the front bands hanging, tie them or stitch them up. Here are some of the ways to style and wear this look that are never boring. Larger photos and other views on the Bergman Blouse and modifications Flickr Set.

With a sporty plaid skirt and 4-ply silk tank

Atlanta Expo Report

2011-03-12T18:27:00.008-05:00


Sample garments - (L) Relax a Little top (R) new Discover Something Novel vest over 2x4 top

We drove the 3 hours to the Gwinnett Center - Duluth GA exit on Wednesday afternoon in the fog and rain.   I could see the French Broad River way over its banks from I26.   Lots of rain and then clouds, high winds and cold temps in Atlanta.   It was in the 40's and the wind made it a lot colder.   Thursday was chilly, cloudy and very windy - no fun and the need to layer, layer, layer.   I took lots of layering pieces just like I wear in the Asheville NC area. My husband and I spent about two hours on the expo floor both Thursday and Friday.   Although the sun came out on Friday, it was still windy and chilly.   I usually like to do some snoop shopping as well at Discover Mills so I spent an hour at Neiman Marcus Last Call on Thursday evening.   Nothing really interesting there to report on this trip.   We returned home from the expo yesterday, leaving at 3 pm prior to the Atlanta Friday outbound traffic.

We got to the expo around noon each day, trying to avoid long lines.   I walked around a bit and spent most of my time at or near Louise's booth to meet friends, check out and photograph the great sample garments with many variations of her patterns, and fabrics, or sat down in the back of the fashion show/presentation area. Always the restless one, DH did his tour of the expo and brought me back reports of what he thought was interesting.

Louise knows what fashion sewers want and had a great selection of fabrics as promised. She always brings many pieces that appeal to my fashion sense.    I selected a couple of truly exquisite coordinates from Caroline Rose in a large abstract animal print in linen and matching sheer viscose to the left of the black eyelet in photo.    The butter color in the fabric matches my new Discover Something Novel pants too!

Here's the link to the Flickr Set of photos taken at Louise Cutting's booth at the 2011 Atlanta Expo showing all the exquisite fabrics, sample garments and people. Here are some highlights -

Cream Pure and Simple coat with no collar. Pattern pieces were taped together to cut in one single piece - no pockets


Louise with 3 variations of the Anything But Ordinary Jacket

I enjoyed getting out and greeting the friends I've met over the years at the Expos, mostly at Louise's booth. Thanks to all you classy ladies who took the time to talk to me.

On my way to the Expo with my Discover Something Novel Pants and Vest

2011-03-09T13:19:00.007-05:00

We're packing up to drive down to Atlanta this rainy day. I finished the vest yesterday but with my DAR meeting and then physical therapy in the afternoon, I was just too tired and it was too dark to take photos. I hope to see some of my friends at the Gwinnett Center tomorrow. Please stop and say hello if you see me on the Expo floor with my husband and my walker.

I haven't sewn a pair of pants since last summer so this pair from Louise Cutting's newest pattern were the first. I compared the fit of the Easy Ageless Cool pant that I sewed four pair of, and used the size small with 1" removed. They have approx 4 inches of ease which is what I like. Louise's pant draft definitely has the elegant fit without the excessive amount of ease that shouts "clown pants". Better to see the garments on a real person vs the hanger.

I chose a stretch silk seersucker from Michaels Fabrics in a neutral tan for the pant. It has a nice hand for this sort of pant. BTW, this is the same fabric I used for a tunic from Louise's Stars in Heaven pattern. It took me one day's session to check the fit, prepare the pattern and cut the pants out, so then I sewed them up the next day. It's hard for me to stand at my cutting table for the time it takes to lay out and cut a pattern, so I have to break it up. The numbness from the destroyed nerves in my legs, and lack of muscle control in my feet makes it difficult, but not impossible to control the foot pedals of the machines. The only problem I had was being able to feel the elastic in the casing so it wasn't twisted, and be able to pull it through since I have problems with sensation and don't have a lot of strength in my fingers. I can do it, but it just takes me longer than it used to these days. In the photo above, my hand is on my bookcase for support, not just the pose.

I used a cotton fabric with a brushstroke for the vest, using both grains of the fabric and motifs. Since the lower bands and collar are rectangles, I just measured, clipped and tore the fabric pieces for those. I then decided the placement of the backs and the front sections, and cut them out. Doing it that way made for very little fabric thrown away, and tearing is easier for me than cutting.

When he took the photos, my husband paid these two new pieces the ultimate complement, saying they look very "Saks Fifth Avenue".

More photos on the Discover Something Novel Flickr Set.

Bergman Jacket almost finished

2011-02-26T19:38:00.005-05:00

I got some ideas from this Chanel jacket with strips of fabric applied and left hanging all over. A bit too much going on for my Bergman jacket, but I liked a couple of the details - the strips at the neckline left hanging so that they could be loosely tied if you wanted to, and the Maltese Cross type medallions - like little packages at the front opening made from the fabric strips. What great ideas to customize your own creations!

Here are some photos from the jacket in progress to include me wearing the jacket with a camisole after I finished and pressed the cardiganized front and neck edges to show the fit prior to applying the trim. There are more photos of the trim details on the Flickr set.


Jacket in progress - experimenting with placement of mesh strips and medallions

I then applied the trim using 1/4" Steam a Seam strips on the back of each of the two sparkly stripes on this mesh fabric. I'm still playing with the placement of the neck and front strips and how I want the medallions to look. They could be removable, using snaps. The mesh doesn't ravel so I could just cut the strips diagonally like ribbon and leave them hanging.

Note that trim is upside down here showing the SaS

Mesh at hem with edge folded over and secured with SaS

Why I shouldn't sew at night

2011-02-24T20:20:00.003-05:00

I worked on my holey Bergman jacket yesterday evening, sewing on the black mesh trim onto the black holey fabric. I put the bottom trim piece on first, serging right sides together to the bottom of the jacket, then turning and topstitching it down. Somehow I got one front edge folded over so the bottom trim piece ended up too short. Then I didn't like how the stitching looked on the one sleeve I applied the trim to. I've got good fluorescent lighting but black on black is hard. So I spent the rest of the evening ripping it all out. As I was ripping tiny stitches and serging from two open fabrics that I didn't want to make more holes in (that took me 5 X longer than sewing it on), it hit me that I should do this in daylight - Duh! and use the Steam-S-Seam light first to make sure it's where I want it to be, then fuse and stitch it down. I didn't get any sewing done today because I slept too late. That was because I had trouble sleeping with those night splints on my feet/legs and woke up around 4 AM from dreams that I was being tortured. So I had DH remove them and finally got some sleep. They're really beneficial in what they do, but it's like wearing ski boots to bed and takes serious getting used to.

I had physical therapy early afternoon and went along for the ride while DH did some other errands today so it was dark when we got home. Tomorrow is another day!

I'm working on some directions to knock off some Eileen Fisher layering pieces I found at that consignment store I got the jacket I turned into a vest. Will post when I work out the details.

Dear Readers

2011-02-23T13:55:00.010-05:00

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and nice comments about my jacket in progress and the other sewing projects I've blogged about.   Because of the finger neuropathy its a bigger effort for me to type (took me four times to get bigger correct LOL).   To answer the question, the posters were too cowardly to post using their real identities. Before retiring I was responsible for the acquisition process and management of all the contracts/contractors supporting the largest federal cybercrime center, so I know a thing or two about people with behavioral issues masquerading under fabricated identities on the internet!    You think you "know" someone online? Not when they use a fake or ancient doctored photo and embellish their persona to get attention, because if it's not about them, they aren't interested.    The best thing for me to do is laugh about it and not get frustrated and quit.   Reading all of your encouragement has boosted my mental state to continue blogging, and not look back.    The only crying I have done over these long months has not been in self pity, but out of frustration, like when I fell again yesterday. This rare neurological craziness is something I have to bear, and hope this has made me a stronger person.   Life is unpredictable - just look at the many lives snuffed out in seconds from terrible earthquakes - the latest in New Zealand.   Every day is a present, so do something with it as long as you can.    So on to fashion and sewing!

Sewing Expos - Puyallup, WA fairgrounds and Atlanta, GA
I was on ReAnn's list to meet her group from Wilmington, NC there.   It was something I thought I would be able to do by the time the date rolled around, and it gave me something to look forward to. But when I talked to one of my therapists about it a month ago she had concerns that I wouldn't be able to deal with the airport concourses and the fair grounds. I called others who had been there and they verified her concerns.    So with regret, I canceled out.    I hope all of you who are traveling there have a wonderful time and that the weather is great for your trips.     I do have reservations at a hotel near the Gwinnett Center for the Atlanta Expo from March 9 (Wed night), checking out Saturday. DH will be along and I'll have my walker.   So when you see a not so old lady shuffling along with a walker, that's me.      Hope to see many sewing friends there.

Go to this link for the Brunello Cucinelli Collections

The last time I was at Neiman Marcus I saw this amazing collection from an Italian group I was not familiar with.   Roy said that it was the first time they had received this one in Charlotte.    The company is a model of a symbiotic employer/employee relationship. The clothes been called "sporty chic" and amazing is all I could say as I looked the pieces over. Take a look at the details on the downloadable collections from their website (link above) and see what patterns you have to make your own versions. The music is pretty too!   The Spring 2011 collection is up on the Italian site, and selected pieces on the Neiman Marcus site.   I think it may have inspired some of the casual pieces in the March Burda Style pattern magazine. I was intrigued by this Elastic-Neck Double-Layer Dress, similar in shape to the Sewing Workshop Tosca dress in cotton broadcloth with a band in a contrast color right where the hem starts to angle in(5-6" wide).    If you were to shorten the neckline collar band a bit and insert elastic to draw the fabric up, you'd have it.    A "slip" was attached at the hem with a knit top portion that peeked out of the armholes. The slip was attached asymmetrically so that gave the hemline its twist. I've requested some swatches from Michael's Fabrics neutral cottons and linens to play with. Here's my drawing of it from memory before it was posted on the website.   The lines at the top indicate the gathering from the elastic in the band. I can't write very well right now either..

Cap Sleeve Dresses

In the Casual Elegance/Loes Hinse newsletter called "The Look", Loes is offering a new cap sleeve dress and top pattern. I enjoy the Princess Tank Dress pattern with lots of seams and a cap sleeve so I may not order the new one. Coincidentally I received an e-mail from Shop Onion today featuring their cap sleeve dress and some other patterns. Burda Style also has had one with tucks issued last spring, 7517, with four reviews on Pattern Review.

Holey Moley - My jacket from the Bergman Blouse pattern

2011-02-22T16:19:00.008-05:00

I've sewn up several cardigan jackets using this pattern. The first thing I did with the pattern was to make it into a cardigan in 2008. I sent photos of what I did to Casual Elegance but never got an acknowledgment. For almost a year, in periodic newsletters, CE and LH have been tempting women with new jackets and changes to existing patterns. Lyn of Lyn's Stuff blogged about a Princess Jacket she sewed up last fall at one of the Loes Hinse seminars. After I commented, she confirmed that it was "derived" from the Bergman pattern. Then in the last newsletter, Loes provided a "tweak" of the Bergman blouse as a cardigan jacket with a deeper front and a 6" tucked hem.

While I was in Charlotte recently, the Neiman Marcus Chanel Manager showed me the Spring/Summer 2011 Look book and details of the garments and fabrics. The first three ensembles and the jacket in the show are made of a fabric with laser cut holes backed with a mesh. He told me he was getting advance orders, even at the $8,000 and up prices. I'm going to the trunk show next week and thought -- I can make my own holey jacket. I had a piece of holey mesh fabric from Marcy Tilton that I only got a yard of -- turns out there was 38" and voila, I had enough for a Bergman jacket that I already had fitted and ready to go. I sewed and closely serge finished all the seams, then I got out some mesh fabric I bought just for trims and played with the edge finishes with the jacket on this mannequin that I can pin to. I used a piece with several rows for the hem and tucked it up. I'll apply that and then stitch one row of the trim along the front and neckline. I've played with a single row of trim on the sleeve or a wider one of two rows. You can see larger photos and details on the Bergman Flickr set. I think it looks amazing. Stay tuned for the finished version and more of what I'm sewing for spring!

Update on my condition and this blog:

I'm still not doing so well with my feet and hands but I make an effort to go upstairs and sew and plan every day now. I can't feel anything with my feet so I tripped on the iron cord today, but got right back up and finished what I was doing. I am having difficulty with my feet because the nerves have been gone for six months now, so the muscles controlling the toes have no nerves and don't work. The feet are the first to go and the last to come back. My husband says that everything he has read says the soonest people start getting better is 8 months and much longer for everything to be back to normal since nerves grow back so slowly. It may be up to two years before I'm back to normal. I have to wear a support on each foot/leg at night to keep the calf muscles from tightening up while I sleep. There is a custom graphite foot/calf brace on order that should be here next week that I have to wear inside my shoe to keep my right foot up. I have to be really careful not to fall again because the pain and swelling kept me from doing the physical therapy that I have to do. I am working very hard to strengthen the leg and ankle muscles that can be strengthened so I can stand up without falling over. It's like a stroke patient re-learning to do things. My toes drag ( don't stay up by themselves) and that causes me to fall if I'm not very careful to tell them to stay up, and lift my feet while walking. I got some compression socks that help the swelling in my right foot/ankle from the falls. Even the swelling and sprains heal slower in my case. I use a walker in the house.

My hands are also affected so I can't type one word without making mistakes. You don't see this since I correct the mistakes. It's also hard to use pins and sew/control the foot pedals, so all this has been very hard on me, and I try not to get depressed. I still can't believe the cruel and ignorant behavior of some women toward me, even those who took advantage of my hospitality and generosity. Because of the continued hatred and ugliness (bullies never give up) in comments left here that I did not post, I am considering making access to my blog by invitation only. It's pretty sad that in my condition I would have to do this because of people like that.

My Valentines Present

2011-02-14T13:05:00.007-05:00

This is an ensemble from the Chanel 2011 Resort collection that my husband, who has excellent taste, ordered for me after seeing it at Neiman Marcus in Charlotte. The jacket is silk organza embroidered with gold paillettes over a delicate tulle underlining trimmed with the same tweed as the skirt. I just loved the warm colors (hard to find in any of their recent collections) and that it can be dressy or casually elegant, depending on how I style it. My vintage bracelet works so well with this. I can wear the jacket over a black dress for evening or a gold 4 ply silk dress or any of the colors in the tweed. It was gorgeous over a gold crepe Escada jumpsuit with palazzo pants.

2/22/11 Update: It was such a sweet gesture, but after thinking it over, I made my husband return the ensemble. It's going to be a long, long time before I can stand up in any type of heel, which is necessary to properly carry this style off. Right now, it makes more sense to invest the cost and more in my son's new business.

Spring 2011 - Layers and a Jacket Restyling Project

2011-02-13T16:54:00.006-05:00

Last week was fashion week in NYC, I like to look at the collections and watch the videos of the trends to see what designers, the stylists and fashionistas are up to. QVC has been doing their version of runway to real way during fashion week. So just for fun, I checked out the website and the videos of "the looks". Worn by a model in a video for a cardigan there were the new pants shape similar to Louise Cutting's new pattern below, styled with a zebra print infinity scarf. I love how this lady is wearing that pant shape with a TDF Matthew Ames cocoon coat.

Street style in NYC last week from Huffington Post Style

I'm seeing lots of light weight rain or topper jackets like the In The Trenches jacket with a drawstring and that great back yoke with the pleat. If you have that pattern, cut it longer to end below your butt - around 30" for me and add the cargo pockets with a flap from the One-Seam Pant Pattern on each side below the waist. Put a zipper in it and patch pockets with a zipper and you'll have a topper jacket that you'll wear with everything like this cotton/nylon blend Vera Wang jacket with an inside drawstring from her Spring Collection for Kohl's. I tried it on in the store and measured it -- the fit for each size is the same as the ITT jacket.

A week ago a friend and I had lunch together and spent the better part of an afternoon in a high end consignment store trying on lots of things. The store just happened to have most of their inventory selling for $5 to $10 max. Even if it was too big, as most things are on me these days, if it was a great fabric/design and needed minor alterations, I could deal with that. My friend used to design clothing for her own brand until she sold it. So there were two fabric and fashion divas in hog heaven. I came out with 7 items, including 4 Eileen Fisher pieces ( that need no alterations) and a beautifully fitted cardigan jacket a la Chanel in silk velvet faux Persian lamb edged with double bias georgette all along the edges. I gave that to my son's GF because she looked so cute in it.

I found this jacket that is obviously high end based on the fabric and construction details. It's a crinkle twill, probably silk/linen; unlined but finished nicely. Today I took off one sleeve and put it on to see what I needed to take in. I've lost a lot of weight so everything hangs on me now but the shoulder seams and the princess seams will be easy to take in. I'm wearing the last pair of Easy Ageless and Cool pants I made last year, a Loes Hinse Boatneck top with the jacket. After looking at it, I think I'll just leave the sleeves off and wear it sleeveless. I love the little mitered vent in the back seam and the pockets that hang below the hem.

I'm going to see how Louise finished the armholes on her new vest pattern.    I've certainly got enough fabric to make a narrow facing using the sleeves.

   I've decided to use the same fabric and buttons I used for these pants for the restyled sleeveless jacket since it coordinates with so many things.

Monday Update -- I didn't take in any of the seams after pressing it and trying it on with a few different tops.   First I stabilized the armholes with 3/8" bias fusible cotton tape, then stitched a bias band with the same width seam allowance, under-stitched, pressed and then top stitched the facings down. Here's the stabilized armhole and then the finished bias facing, and me trying it on in my sewing room.    It's a pretty gold color with a nice sheen.

More important than sewing -- Repeal the PATRIOT Act!

2011-02-10T16:39:00.002-05:00

Saturday Update -- Congress did exactly what I predicted Friday night. Our "leaders" who spew their rhetoric about repressive leaders who don't represent their people in countries like Egypt coddle and give away money without restrictions to greedy big banks, investment houses and businesses who lied, gambled and just plain mis-managed the businesses. If you mis-managed your business you'd be shit out of luck. Try to get a small business loan these days. And how about those big fees banks get to collect? What are they doing with that money? Is everyone in your family duly employed based on their eduction and qualifications? Are they getting huge bonuses? Probably not unless they're a CEO or in the banking, investment or medical business. GM just announced that they are giving out huge bonuses after taking a taxpayer bailout at the same time they are moving production to China, Mexico and Korea. And the beat goes on.

On a positive note, Congress voted NOT to renew the PATRIOT Act Tuesday night. On a negative note, why did my representative, Heath Shuler (D-NC), vote yes to extend that legally questionable and constitutionally suspect Act? And how predictable that just one day after the House of Representatives voted down extending provisions of the Patriot Act, the gang was on message, including the Director of National Intelligence and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano both warning that the terror threat is "the most heightened since 9/11"! Watch this video discussing the original bill introduced in 2001 that was NEVER read or debated on the floor of the house. I doubt any of the individuals voting YEA to extend it Tuesday night even read the entire Act.

PATRIOT Act or Bill of Rights...you can't have both.   The Michael Chertoff-drafted PATRIOT Act was originally sold as a temporary emergency measure and was supposed to expire ( now he's making BIG money off it selling body scanners to TSA).    Bush signed it and Obama, who has broken many campaign promises, continues to urge Congress to renew the same Patriot Act that in 2003 he branded "shoddy and dangerous" and pledged to dump it! Some change we can believe in! Unfortunately, unless Americans get mad as hell and tell the White House and their Representatives in Congress to stop this madness, the measure is now expected to return to the House floor for a regular vote that would require a simple majority to pass.   If House members vote then as they did Tuesday, the extension will pass easily.    Don't let this happen. This time it must be REPEALED!

Whatever your politics, why would anyone support a law that strips Americans of our rights under the Bill of Rights and effectively has created a police state turning all Americans into suspects without the need for evidence, judge-issued warrants and other elements of the rule of law?    Neither this law, nor our wars for profit and support for corrupt "leaders" in Afghanistan and all over the middle east have made us "safer".   Yes there are bad guys here and everywhere, but we don't need he PATRIOT Act to legally track and investigate, arrest, charge and prosecute them.

The New Yorker Magazine just published this article about how Karzai's relatives, other high ranking govt officials and friends looted the Bank of Kabul that pays the soldiers who the US/NATO has been trying to train for the past 9 years -- So is the US going bail out that bank out so the Afghan Army can be paid? Did you know that the current US policy being carried out in Afghanistan by Gen. David Petraeu is based on paying off and playing with bad guys on both sides and the middle. But under the PATRIOT Act, just questioning those wars and corruption, or TSA's methods at the airport can make you a suspect.

Anyone can search using Google to connect the dots to find the facts. Most people associate Bush/Cheney with it, but did you know that the PATRIOT Act is based on an anti-terrorism bill that Joe Biden drafted after the Oklahoma City bombing?   Biden brags that he is the author of the Patriot Act.    In 1995, months before the Oklahoma City bombing took place, Biden introduced another bill called the Omnibus Counter-terrorism Act of 1995.   It previewed the 2001 Patriot Act by allowing secret evidence to be used in prosecutions, expanding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and wiretap laws, creating a new federal crime of "terrorism" that could be invoked based on political beliefs, permitting the U.S. military to be used in civilian law enforcement, and allowing permanent detection of non-U.S. citizens without judicial review. The Center for National Security Studies said the bill would erode "constitutional and statutory due process protections" and would "authorize the Justice Department to pick and choose crimes to investigate and prosecute based on political beliefs and associations."

Biden himself draws parallels between his 1995 bill and its 2001 cousin. "I drafted a terrorism bill after the Oklahoma City bombing. And the bill Attorney General John Ashcroft sent up was my bill," he said when the Patriot Act was being debated, according to the New Republic, which described him as "the Democratic Party's de facto spokesman on the war against terrorism."    The law that Bill Clinton eventually signed in 1996, referred to by civil libertarians as a "Riechstag fire", was a death knell to the Bill of Rights and was designed to grant sweeping powers to the executive branch. Included in the 1996 bill and the PATRIOT Act provisions was a much broader wiretapping authority for law enforcement with less judicial oversight, access to personal and financial records without a warrant. Most of all included in the bill are sweeping powers granted to the President to designate certain groups as "terrorist" organizations, to seize the assets of said groups and their supporters, and to imprison U.S citizens and deport aliens supporting such groups, aliens being denied due process under the law.

It was bad then and it's bad now.   Here's a great video from the Rutherford Institute, one of the nation's premier civil liberties organizations, discussing the PATRIOT Act.   Also recommend their paper entitled The Rise of the American Police State

Sweater coats, layering and an idea for a Spring top

2011-02-04T11:48:00.008-05:00

I could have subtitled this post as "Getting around is a bitch but I'm doing it"! I've had a pretty busy week for my crippled self, coupled with sore ligaments and a still healing skinned knee -- you can see the bandage through my tights. Yesterday was a trip to the dentist for cleaning, and then the monthly luncheon and meeting of the Asheville United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter as a guest/prospective member. The meetings are now held at the ABCCM Veterans Culinary School that caters lunch. Lunch was their version of chicken cordon bleu with a delicious dijon sauce, julienned vegetables and chocolate creme brulee for dessert - no need to make dinner last night! Most of the members are also members of the local DAR chapters, many in my chapter. DH drove me and kept my friend Elizabeth's husband company. We were their guests. I wore this wool knit Loes Hinse sweater coat that goes with so many things over a wool crepe knit cardigan over a lightweight black turtleneck, tights and a stretch ponte knit skirt. I always get complements on that sweater coat. It was a good day for layering since it was around freezing even with the sun shining. Those are my trusty Aerosoles boots.

I got an e-mail today from Neiman Marcus about the spring trend for stripes that I already wrote about. I love playing with stripes of any kind so I wanted to share this idea. Here's a very classy but really expensive top by Fendi ( $1,085) that inspires me to play with some of that ruffled knit fabric like Martha Myers used for her SW Olive tops. To do this, all you need is enough to put horizontally on the front of a plain knit top that you make or even buy. Or, if you have some quality grosgrain or petersham ribbon around, wash it first to soften it up, and then using a high quality fabric paint like Pebeo Setacolor, paint the edges and apply it in strips as they did here, making a bow on the first row. You don't have to be neat with the paint because they weren't! Voila, you have a knock-off of a thousand dollar + top.