Cardigan Closures

 Some summer sweaters are n the agenda but I've been pondering the closures. You know, how to keep them from being too Boring.

While at my parent's a few weeks ago, I saw these sweaters on the back of a magazine. They are part of a collection by Alison Sheri, a Canadian designer.

 I'll have to ponder the idea but I do have tons of buttons. I'm sure to come up with something.

From Stash to WIP

A few hours using the boardroom tables at AssentWorks has given me enough to do for a couple of weeks at home. 

The '70s are Growing on Me

 I took a trip to my favourite MCC the other day and found boxes of patterns. Someone must have done a huge purge; I've never seen so many there before.

The ones I picked up were from the seventies, an era I have never been too keen on.

These patterns tho' showed promise. The ones immediately below are all un-cut, except the one with the tape. That one has seen considerable use.

Some of these are not my size, but I am hoping to be able to grade the shirts up a bit. I really like the raglan sleeved one and I would like to make it a wool knit (stop thinking about winter -we've barely had spring yet!).

 These two I an unsure about but picked them up anyway. I fascinated and dismayed at the same time.

I also picked up some buttons and snaps but I have no idea where I set them down so I can't photograph them. All in all, a worthwhile trip!

Several Skirts

There hasn't been much sewing in the last couple of days; we've been doing some extensive yard work but I did sew three skirts earlier in the month when it looked as if spring would never arrive.

First up is the Hollyburn skirt in brown corduroy (and a view of my hallway in desparate need of spring cleaning. Ah well, if spring isn't coming, why should I clean?!?)

I made the middle length skirt, but next time I will make the shortest version since I ended up shortening this one quite a bit. I will also make the waistband a little narrower. That short-waisted business again. Erf.

This skirt is from Schnittvision (if you visit the link, you'll have to scroll down until you find the green skirt. I could not 'capture' the skirt on its own). I quite liked the idea of using the striped corduroy in the yoke running perpendicular to the main part of the skirt.

As Schnittvision patterns are downloadable to your measurements, they fit quite well. Happily I can wing it without the instructions because I do not read German that well. And while the Geek is German, she has never sewn so she doesn't understand what it is the instructions are trying to say.

The third skirt is in a rust-coloured corduroy (I was tired of wearing my wool skirts, not because they were wool but because they signified winter! to my winter-weary mind) like the others are.

I found the pattern in a thrift store and while it looks familiar, there is no brand name that I could see on the envelope.

Taking inspriation from other creative individuals on the net, I lined the waistbanc with a coordinating print. Having those numbers handy may help me with my math at some point.

I have another (corduroy) skirt cut out, and another couple planned, but thankfully the weather has warmed up, so I can move on to some other fabrics that say 'spring', (or even better, 'summer')!

A Cape for a Small Superhero

My youngest nephew, N4, turned two on May 9.
All the kids received capes when they turned two, with the exception of N1, who received his when he was three.
N4 was as unimpressed as N1 (who drop kicked the cape across the floor, not realizing the magical powers it contained) and he screamed to have it removed from his person. Had his cousins been present and along with his sister been wearing their capes, it would have been a different story entirely.

The family crest is an exclamation mark. I made an executive  decision in that regard; no one else needed to be consulted.

And because N4 is named for a Norse god, the cape needed appropriate viking lining.

My sisters have promised me pictures of the kids in action; if not, I'll have to arrange a photo shoot.

My Mother's Patterns

 I snooped through my mother's pattern collection when I was at home for the weekend. These are some of the ones that caught my eye.

(I'm sorry for the sideways shots, I never know which way my phone is going to orient these things.)

 She used to make all her own clothes, and the ones my sisters and I wore as well.

 I'd love to make some of these outfits but there is a slight problems.

When my mom was using these patterns, she was 5'2" and weighed under 100 pounds. I take after my Scandinavian father's family; I was that size when I was 12. (~sigh~)

Out of the Darkness

 My sewing room is very cold in the winter. I can deal with that; I put on a couple of sweaters and a toque and even turn on my little space heater if necessay.
Now that it is spring I haven't been able to deal with the dark. Here, in the winter, it is dark when I leave for work in the morning and dark when I come home. The only time I see daylight is on the weekend and I don't want to be in my sewing room with its one tiny window.
Last weekend, when the Geek wasn't home, I moved my stuff into the living room.

We don't use the living room much, so first I had to get her veneer stash off the coffee table.

 

 Those veneers are gorgeous! I was temporarily sidetracked reading the labels on the back of each piece to find out what kind of wood they are.

And once I was in a brighter space, I finished the EvaDress trousers I cut out when I visited my parents in February.
I made these before, and made the adjustments I'd considered then, such as narrowing the waistband to about half of the original. I am extremely short-waisted; the bottom of my ribs sit only 2.5 cm above the very top of my hip bone.

I'm not terribly sure how I well I like these. Perhaps it is the way I have photographed them (I am a self-conscious model), but I think they make me look stumpy. And the back view looks...interesting. I may have to work on that. I will also have to lengthen them a bit. That's what happens when you measure the length from a pair of pants that, you realize later, are also too short.
I am thrilled tho, since winter seems so very, very reluctant to leave us, to have some pants to wear to work. I am tired of being a woolen onion.

And what of the first pair I made? They have been turned into a pair of shorts.