One Year Later ...

I was reminded by a dear friend today that it has been over a year since I last sat and shared my projects with the world (so to speak). To me, it seems like so much longer. I wish I could say that I have been madly sewing away and that my wardrobe is overflowing with completed projects that are absolutely divine!

The reason? I wish I could say that I was just too busy but that is not the reason. The past has seen me burn midnight oil many a time as that was the only time avail to me to sew. The truth is that I just didn't want to do it. I had such great hopes for a classy working wardrobe and had invested in some excellent quality fabrics to accomplish that goal. I had the patterns and the storyboard ready to go. Then the work dress code changed, making everything irrelevant. I could not justify sewing up clothes that would not be worn. My logic was, if I sewed them up and kept the work outs going, then I woudl have to spend all that time altering so why not just wait until I needed them and fit them once.

As you may remember from my last post, I work at a women's gym as the Club Administrator. Up until this point last year, I was wearing trousers and nice shoes with a semi fitted yellow cotton blouse (OK, by the time I was done with it, it was tailored to fit me and was not too shabby all things considered!). I had images of pinstriped shirtdresses, tailored pants and jackets, maybe even a vest for winter warmth. Then the new policy came in. The polo shirts are made of a dry fit type fabric in a red with lots of piece work and angles and white accents. I am still supposed to wear dress pants with it and then finish it off with quality sneakers to give the "casual recreational professionsl image". Let me say right up front .... the prospect of wearing sneakers with a pair of trousers made of an Armani wool does not sit well with me! So, all those nice plans went out the window and all that fabric (Armani included) are in stasis. Yes, I have spent the past year basically sulking.

For all the sewing I have done, it took a lot of mental preparation for me to start such a collection of tailored, professional looking clothes. I started with a tailored blazer in a class at my friend, Darrell's. It hangs unfinished (yes, Darrell, it is not finished) in the shop. I initially stopped as the fit changed when I lost weight and then was bulking up in muscle across my back. That affected my sleeve and back fit and then, well, I gave up. Why bother when it would never be worn at work? More sulking ...

Don't despair, though, all is not lost! I started sewing again last month. I made myself a promise that for every UFO I finish, I get to sew something new. First off the table? I finished a knit version of a DKNY knotted top that I have made in the past. This time, instead of leaving the bottom of the bodice open and just overlapped, I changed the pattern somewhat to allow me to stich the CF seam up to the under bustline seam. I shortened the sleeve as it was originally a fall project and then left off the collar and neck band. This lightened the look a bit as well as allowed me to finish it more quickly. One down!

We had a heat wave that had me wishing for summer dresses, so I pulled out a poly knit in a Pucci style print and threw together a semi-self drafted wrap dress. I started with a wrap top that I had made quite a few years ago and then changhed the shape a bit and lengthened it into a dress. I don't yet have the button for the side, so as a temporary measure I have added a wrap belt in a coord colour due to not having enough scraps for a belt. I am not happy with the way the solid belt cuts my silhouette in half (this depsite the fact that I situated the belt as an empire level tie) so I will have to see about finding just the right button for the closure. This is where I discovered that the dress form needs adjusting ... it fit nice and decently on the form, but on me it was a little lower than I liked. So, out came the power dry stash and I threw together a fast tank to go underneath it. I was very lucky to have PD that matched the lighter colour in the print for the time being anyway ...

We had a plumber in to replace the faucet outside in the back of the house last week. When the plumber looked in the ceiling to shut off the water he discovered that the piped were swollen and looked like it had one time almost burst due to freezing. Considering we shut the water off each winter, it had to pre-date our purchase. The Pilot did the only thing he could do ... protect my machines as the pipe was directly over my sewing table!!!! "Move the tables and replace the pipe!" he says. ME? I would have have looked at the tables and said "let it burst, then I can get new machines LOL!" So, now the room is a mess again as we have to put it back together and do some heavy vaccuuming before I sew in there again.


I have to give a very big cyber hug to the dear friend who e-mailed me a sewing intervention today. Knowing I work on deadlines each day and that I thrive on external challenges, this is the gauntlet he threw down:

You have 7 days to make an update to your blog
You have 14 days to make yourself a simple skirt or top
You have 30 days to make yourself a dress.

Well, task one is almost complete. I will say it is done when I have taken and posted pics of the top and dress. As for the project two weeks form now, I saw a top at Mass this week that I am mulling over in my head ... I think I would love to knock it off. It had saddle shoulder lines to it, but the sleeve was more like a very heavily ruched shaped band that went over the shoulder. It was not a full sleeve, but had shaping to it to follow the line of the shoulder. I have an old WOF pattern that I can start with ... but my version has band at the underbust level and maybe a crossover upper bodice. Of course, I will also have to finish a UFO before I can start cutting the top. So, it looks like the bamboo cord jacket will be ready for fall after all! It was originally going to be the rhinestone Riri, but I think I am going to rip the rainbow Riri out of the jacket's original muslin and use that instead. While I am sewing that, I can decide on the fabric for the top. Will it be bamboo knit or a Sophia knit? Both are in the stash ... Blue, green or teal? Burgundy is too dark yet for this time of year, I think.

What say you all?