New Project

Last night I traced out a new pattern.  It is a pattern I had been obsessing about all week.  It was not part of my plan.  But more about that later.

In order to make space on the cutting table I had to tackle that pile of pattern tissue and UFO's that I had been avoiding.  There were piles of pattern drafts for things made last winter (I am talking February 2008 here), and various stages of muslins and what-not for various patterns and projects I no longer remember.  

As you can see from the photo above some of them even got wet in the interval; don't ask me how that happened.

All these bits of pattern paper have been sorted; some have been filed and others are now neatly stacked and stored in the UFO pile, a pile I have every intention of finishing up.  

So why am I tracing a new pattern when I have all these unfinished patterns and muslins just waiting for my attention? Because I was looking at a piece of fabric and it said something to me.  I think it wants to be this Marfy jacket, one of the free patterns in the new 2009 Marfy catalog.  I actually don't know that it will work, and it is more than I originally wanted to tackle as I worked my way back into sewing. But the idea would just not leave my head.  All this despite the fact that there is another coat I really want to be sewing and really want to move from its position as "fabric space hog" into the coat closet.

But there is no denying inspiration.

So I traced out the pattern.    It helped that I had organized the cutting table and actually had a roll of table paper right there at the ready for tracing.  

I had hoped also to get started on the muslin yesterday, but got started a little later than planned so that didn't happen. I had intended to sort out the paperwork for our taxes, just to see what was missing so I could track it down, but once I had everything out I figured I might as well put it all together, and add everything up.  Now most of the work on the taxes is done, except for a couple of 1099s, so in the long run I am ahead.

It probably won't happen tonight either.  We are having cocktail hour before dinner tonight, which makes pattern alteration and muslin cutting a questionable enterprise.

But that is one of the advantages of retirement.  Who says happy hour has to be on Friday?  Monday is so much more decadent, don't you think?

I think this project will take me a while.  I am sure there will be days when I want simpler things, when I don't want to struggle with fitting a muslin. Even after I get the muslin fitted I have to figure out if it will work in the desired fabric (I'm not telling yet).  I wasn't planning on a tailored project and yet I am a firm believer in making what you love and this project has been on my mind.  There will be many days when I want nothing more than to tackle one of those UFOs. There is no rush after all.  

Comments

[Liana]

I can't wait to see how your jacket comes out! I love that pattern and I can see why it's calling to you. The hair is great, too!

[Valerie]

Hope this comment works.

I love your new hair. It makes you look so much younger.