Sew Distracted

What I did in Summer Camp

There is precious little to show for my time at camp, but what is there is "cherce".

Pattern:  Simplicity 4186, the same pattern I used for the maroon cotton skirt in August. View D.

Fabric:  Green, pink, and wine wool challis

Lining:  Dark green bemberg rayon

The skirt is meant to sit about an inch below the waist.  This one actually sits about 3 inches below my waist because I forgot that I had lost weight since I made the previous iteration and therefore failed to cut a size smaller.  It still looks nice.

Although I did lengthen the cotton skirt made in August, I did not lengthen the pattern for this skirt.  I wanted this skirt to be shorter than the cotton skirt, about mid-knee, as I have seen several soft pleated skirts in stores and magazines this fall, mostly shown at about knee length.  Although I love a paisley skirt, I felt a longer length would look dowdy and dated.  Hopefully this length, worn with a jacket will look elegant but also fresh. 

Since I used a hem facing (see trim discussion below) the skirt is still longer than specified in the pattern.  The pattern is cut for a 22" skirt; mine is 23".

To make fringed hem, I cut a hem facing piece using the bottom of the skirt pattern.  Then I cut two strips of fabric the same length as the width of the bottom of the skirt.  I seamed the strips together and inserted them between the skirt and hem facing when it was attached.  Then I simply fringed the insert piece.   The facing piece adds weight to the skirt and helps it hang well and also means that the fringe does not need to be permanent.  I can remove the inset piece at any time.

Since this skirt sits on the hip I also felt it would be best not to have a waistband.

First I attached the lining at the invisible zipper.

Then I sewed the lining to the skirt at the waist and pressed it well. 

Next I sewed the washed, and shaped petersham to the seam allowance at the waist, being careful to position the top edge of the petersham so that it would be located just at the turn of the fabric when the skirt was turned right side out.  This kept the seam from being too bulky but still provides stability at the waist.  I think it looks neat and simple.  The paisley is so busy that the finish almost disappears.

After grading and pressing the seams, I made two rows of stitching around the top of the stitch to hold everything in place.  I think it looks very simple  If you click on the photos they should enlarge and you might be able to discern the stitches on the paisley.

The invisible zipper looks clean and finished.  I could have sewn it a little closer and more neatly, but since I tend to err on the side of sewing my invisible zips too close to the zipper teeth, I tried to be cautious here.  Even with a stabilized zipper seam, the challis was fairly ravelly and I was of no mind to deal with ripping out zippers.

And finally, here I am in my finished skirt:

I don't yet know how it will look with a jacket as none of the jackets I thought would go with it fit.  Apparently I have not lost weight in quite the same distribution as I put it on.  I do have fabric for a jacket, and I suppose I will have to move that further up in the sewing queue, but that can wait for another post.

"I ride an old Paint"

Shortly after she graduated from college I gave Miriam my old sewing machine.  She thought she might do a little sewing:  curtains, pillows, perhaps even a skrit eventually.  She hasn't been bitten by the sewing bug but she still has the machine and has used it for a few home dec and craft projects.  When there was a little bit of sewing to be done, the old machine and I found an opportunity to become re-acquainted.

The sewing was simple,  a few flannel squares to be hemmed for the baby.  A simple square shade for the master bathroom window.  The machine runs well even though it was a little sluggish and chuggy at first.

A good cleaning and oiling and solved that problem and now she runs like a dream.  It was so nice to take the cover off and oil the parts.  It had been so long....

I had forgotten what it was like to have to oil a completely mechanical machine with moving parts everywhere.  The new machines want a drop of oil in one or two places.  This machine wants you to take the top off, the head plate off, the bottom off, and oil pretty much every moving part.  It was a lovely way to spend  a rainy Saturday.  And speaking of rainy Saturdays, since there is nothing electronic in this sewing machine, we had no problems sewing away while the thunder and lightening roared around us.

I hadn't really though about the old Kenmore since Miriam moved to Tennessee and I used her to make curtains for Miriam's first apartment.  That was probably the last time she was oiled, 5 years ago I think.  I had forgotten how reliable she is, how smoothly she sews, how nice to have in a pinch. 

My parents gave her to me about a year after I graduated from College, I think it was 1981, when I had a job and needed work clothes on a pretty tight budget.  At first I used my room-mate Tracy's machine.  It pretty much only sewed medium weight cotton or wool and balked at everything else.  I mostly made skirts and simple tops back then.  When I got the kenmore I grew more adventurous, trying polyester and silk blouses, pants, and eventually my first jacket. Although I had learned to sew in high school I was not really a willing pupil, not until I was on my own earning my own money and I realized what a boon being able to sew would be for my wardrobe.

Now I have fancier machines, but some part of me still misses the old Kenmore.  This is a machine I can actually take the cover off and undertand.

We interrupt this program

The challis skirt is done.

A muslin has been made of the simplicity jacket.  The black and white fabric has been cut and marked but not interfaced.  The charmeuse lining has not yet been cut.

Thursday night I get to say hi to my new grandson!

Happy sewing!

Off To Camp

Here I am at 5:00 on a Monday morning, sitting in the airport waiting to fly to San Francisco for my sewing camp with Sandra Betzina. I have a cup of great coffee in my hand, perhaps a good omen that. When I cleared security and arrived at the coffee stand the manager had just made a pot of french press coffee for himself that he was unable to pawn off on any of the customers.  I jumped at the chance being a lover of strong black coffee and I feel this is a lucky start to the morning. 

Normally I would be in  San Francisco by now, but September started off with a bang and I had an obligation Sunday evening from which I could not wriggle myself free.  Besides with all that was going on construction wise, having Saturday to pack was a blessing.

And don't you want to know what I packed to work on?  Looking at the stash and pulling out potential projects, although something I dread getting started on, is a wonderful way for me to get into "camp mode" and prepare for the exciting creative week ahead.  I have things I planned on bringing and a few things that just kind of fell into my hands as if they were saying "make me".

And so, what did I pack?

The green, pink and purple swirly fabric in the background is a very lightweight wool challis that I am going to make into a skirt, Simplicity4186 , the same pattern I used for the Maroon cotton skirt  I made in early august.  The skirt will be just below the knee and I am considering inserting a small piece of fringed self-fabric at the hemline.  Then when I tire of it, I can remove it.  I have a beautiful wool tween that will be made into a jacket that coordinates with this, and I definitely need coordinates in my wardrobe but I already have things that go with this fabric in my closet so I did not bring the jacket fabric with me.

Next I brought this black and white check fabric from Fabric Mart  in the spring  and as you see from all the things piled up with it, there are several options going on here:

I originally planned to make a skirt, inspired by  Carolyn's January 23rd Post, perhaps a little more subtle, with the slit on the side and a smaller or no bow.  Although I never made it in the spring, the skirt is still on my mind and there are enough frilly feminine touches around that I believe I can still wear it. 

But I accidentally ordered twice as much yardage as I needed for the skirt and when I saw this Simplicity pattern:

I knew I had to try it.  I don't believe I have enough fabric for both, but I might.  So I am going to make a muslin of the jacket.  There are various options for linings shown in the photo.

But now they are boarding my flight and I must go.

More later.

September Already

Here it is September already and I have little to show for my summer.  For those of you who have stuck by  me during my hiatus from sewing, I am very grateful for your continued loyalty.  Goodness knows there have been precious few projects here and little inspiration. 

But September will be different.  I itch to sew.  I need to sew.  Next week I will be in San Francisco for sewing camp and that will be my big kick-off back to sewing, although I am truthfully hoping to get a little sewing time before I leave as well.  Sometimes I seem to need a little distance.  More likely I need to give myself permission to walk away from whatever else is going on and just sew.

But that does not completely account for my absence.  I called this blog Sew Distracted in order to write about how sewing distracts me from the various stresses and tasks of life, but also to write about how my far too many interests distract me from sewing. 

Distractions are always present. This is the price of being interested in too many things, the price of being too scattered in my attentions, the cost of a continued lack of focus. But I hope there is a cohesiveness somewhere if only I can find it; perhaps then I will also have found my voice as concerns this blog.

Lately it seems the distractions have been legion:

Here I am next to the cleomes in the overgrown flower bed that is blocked by the temporarily located spa, dumpster, gravel pile and a ton of construction debris.  The cleome have grown quite tall, determined to be seen over all the obstacles to their viewing.  I am 5'9" for comparison.

And of course the wealth of summer produce has kept me happily occupied for hours in the kitchen.  Shopping the farm stands, planning menus, cooking.... all this pleasantly occupies hours of each day.  I'm not complaining here either.  I will miss this in the dead of winter when there is no decent vegetable to be found.  Of course I will have more sewing time then as well.

And the construction crews are back.  Even though I am not doing the work, there seems to be an endless variety of things to be done, people to talk to, little tasks to be undertaken.  And then there is the time spent following the progress, watching one's house be transformed.  That is distractin enough.

But a little fiberly progress has been made:

I finally cut out all the pieces for the nursery room set.  How many weeks ago did I wash this fabric and set it aside?  There is no point in counting the days.  What is done is done.  It took me bits and pieces of two days to get this far:  Saturday and Sunday.  Nothing further has been accomplished since, at least not on the sewing front.