Just a quick catch-up post on some sewing I did over the Easter break. Another three items ticked off SWAP plan. Yay! Almost finished
Sewing in 2018: 1st Qtr progress
Wow, doesn’t time fly. The 1st of April and a quarter of the year already gone. I thought I’d take a quick look at my sewing goals for the year and see how I’m tracking. Continue reading “Sewing in 2018: 1st Qtr progress”
Butterick 5958: White linen jacket
I’ve had Butterick 5958 on my wishlist for ages. Finally got there! Continue reading “Butterick 5958: White linen jacket”
SWAP 2018: Pink shirt and grey jeans
Over the long weekend, I got a bit of time to work on my SWAP plan.
The first item is a cotton shirt sewn using Lekala 4002. It is an interesting design, with a side panel and an angled yoke that extends through onto the sleeves, with a faux bow for decoration. The fabric is a tightly woven cotton – the kind that a needle has trouble punching through. The colour is a delicate pink that can almost look white depending on what it is worn with. Continue reading “SWAP 2018: Pink shirt and grey jeans”
Weaving progress and Wall to Wall Festival
The weaving for my top is going well. I’m about half way through and it is looking really good so far. I’ve been chipping away at it, half an hour to an hour at a time. Just enjoying throwing the shuttle back and forth. Relaxing, almost mesmerizing.
Initially, I was having trouble with the lattice pattern ( 18 sequence pattern). For some reason I would treadle the second block incorrectly and not notice until I’d woven an inch or two. Lots of un-weaving or cutting threads out. I switched the treadle tie-up on treadles 2 & 5 so that I was treading the pattern picks for the first block all on the left treadles and the second block all on the right. Once done, I hardly made any mistakes. Just the occasional “forgetting where I’m up to” when DH asked a question. He got used to me starting the conversation with the pick number.. ” 8-left! Remember that. ” then on with the conversation, ending with ” did I say 8-left?” Continue reading “Weaving progress and Wall to Wall Festival”
SWAP 2018 progress update
Eeek, I can’t believe it is March already. Where does the time go? So far I have made four items on my SWAP plan.
The first two are the prints that I made up in December. One is a geometric print rayon that I made up using a slightly modified version of Lekala 4439 (review on PR). Deciding on the layout of the print actually took more time than it did to sew it, but it was worth it. I’ve worn this top quite a few times and really love it. The print has shades of grey, pink, black, indigo and bits of brown so it goes with a lot of things already in my wardrobe.
Warping Front-to-Back then Back-to-Front
I’ve had a very trying week warping up the loom for my huck lace top. But like most things, you learn so much when things go bad.
DIY kayak spray skirt
Today’s project is a replacement for the spray skirt for the TK1. The current skirt came with the kayak when I bought it some 20 years ago. It was second hand then and already a veteran of a few Murray Marathons. It has served it’s owners well but has now mostly delaminated and parts of the waist casing have split. Continue reading “DIY kayak spray skirt”
Unselfish sewing: Pants and Shirts
The last two weeks I’ve been sewing for DH. The original request was for a couple of polo shirts to wear will working in the paddocks. Quickly followed by a request for a “long sleeve woven, or two, no make that five. A couple of work pants…. jeans would be good. Oh yeah, remember that spay skirt for the kayak you promised?” And yesterday shorts were added to the list.
It is a rare occasion that he asks me to make something ( and then it is usually something complex and without a pattern) so I was quite (pleasantly) surprised by the growing list. As a bonus, he found fabrics in the stash that he liked and selected his patterns. Continue reading “Unselfish sewing: Pants and Shirts”
Sewing in 2018
Happy new year. Hope its a good one!
I must also confess that I’m not the best at sticking to my sewing plans. So many aspects of my day are the ‘have to do’ and my sewing is my ‘want to do’. But there are a few things I’d ‘like-to-do’ in 2018.
1. Reduce my fabric stash
This year I’ve bought a lot more fabric than I had planned or needed to and it is starting to overflow its allotted space. So my main goal for 2018 is to make some space. My plan of attack sounds simple, but in reality it will take a bit of willpower on my part
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- do a bit of culling – weed out the fabrics that are the wrong colour, wrong fibre, poor quality, wrong lifesyle. Basically, if I’m not going to use, rehome it in some way. I don’t like throwing things out so I’ll need to do this job when I’m feeling very low and I can be more ruthless.
- Get stuck into those ‘gunnawundae’ fabrics – I have some great fabrics that I love. I must get over feeling like my sewing isn’t good enough to do them justice. Surely the injustice is in leaving good fabric in a box, never to be worn.
- If I do buy fabric…. it needs to be for a) immediate use (there will always be new shiny fabrics) or b) bulk buy staples ( eg black cotton lycra or dyeables that will get used). Consider the “30 wears test” before making impulse buys. Think about the fabric quality, suitability and durability. Will this fit into my wardrobe? Will it last? Will I wear it to death? Is the print that complex to layout that I’ll be too chicken to use it?
- I’ll be participating in The 50 yard dash on Patternreview. The aim is to sew 50m (or y) over the course of the year. Should be a fun sew-along.
- Apply the same to my patterns.
2. Track my purchases and stick to a budget
I’ve never really needed to do this but I’m curious to know how much I do actually spend, where it goes and what gets used. I usually record the cost of fabrics, but not the notions, patterns, subscriptions, classes, books etc. I expect that I’m in for a bit of a surprise as to how much the ‘extras’ add up.
No weaving purchases unless for immediate use. I weave far too slowly to stash yarns that I’ll never get to use. Plus I still have a lifetime’s supply of rug yarn that I was gifted last year.
One of the things I need to review are my subscriptions – to magazines like Threads, Knipmode, Handwoven; but also web subscriptions. Do I really need all of them?
3. Specific projects
- Participate in SWAP 2018 I’m quite excited about my planned wardrobe(s) for this year and I really enjoy seeing how other people put their plans together. You can track my progress on this page.
- Work on my TNT patterns Which patterns do I keep going back to, or need to go back to? Adapt these to draft new patterns rather than purchasing new ones. Esp Big 4 patterns, so many of these look the same or with minor variations. I do need to work to regain my confidence in pant fitting. After the dramas with the pant sloper I’ve been put off sewing pants but it’s time I got over it. I had thought about doing a pattern audit/cull but we’ll see how we go.
- Sew a handwoven fabric. I’ve had this on my list since I got the loom. It is going to happen!!!!
- Tour de France sewing frenzy. I watched live stage of the TDF this year – mostly in the small hours of the morning – and got a lot of sewing done at the same time. It coincided with the pattern stash contest on PR, so it was very productive. I plan to sew along with the tour again. So for this year – possibly a French jacket, AC style garment, or winter wardrobe?
- More activewear – my general exercise and cycling gear are almost had it and need to be replace. My ankle has come a long way and is coping with cycling and starting to handle 1/2 day walks. Playing soccer with the dog or yoga is still dodgy but I plan on being a lot more active than in 2017.
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