First Make of 2025, First Studio Day and First Dinner Party

Even though I had several outside obligations in the past week, I was still able to sew up one new garment, a tunic version of one of my standards, Vogue 9330. I used a fleecy backed cotton blend knit I presume from Fabric Mart in the leopard print that was everywhere in the fall and in Europe on our Christmas trip. I'm never one to follow fashions but some how my procrastination with this fabric and current fashion trends just happened to meet up in the universe's space and time continuum. Since my other versions are far warmer, made with Polar Tec or warm wool knits, I made adjustments to keep this version cosier. I raised the neck and drafted a layered collar folding over in the front. I added a wide wrist cuff with 1 1/4 elastic inside since the original pattern sleeves are much too drafty for our current cold weather. What I love about this pattern is the side panels which extend on the side and under the arm. In my other versions I used the fabric underside for subtle contrast but the seams get lost in this print. Instead I put in side seam pockets using the excellent tutorial which Sew tessuti had just published on YouTube and IG reels. It was simpler to watch youtube in slow motion than to pull out a sewing book to tell me how to make the pocket. But I'm still clinging to my large sewing book library for comfort and inspiration. There's a band on the bottom now and I decided to gather it with some elastic and add a big bow because...well, because everything looks better with a big bow on it. So I think it also qualifies for the Janaury 2025 Make a Garment. Month challenge, Jazzy January. I was able to finish my tunic on Saturday becasue I had scheduled myself a "studio day." At least twice a month I send out an email invite and IG notice that I'll be home working in my sewing space and would love the company of any creative friends...who knit, sew, embroider, bead, whatever. And yesterday I had so much fun when long time friend, Rae Cumbie of Fit for Art patterns showed up to catch up. Rae and I hadnt'seen each other in person since before Covid but two weeks ago I went the book signing for Rae and Carrie Emerson's new book on Quilted jackets and we briefly reunited. It was held at Baltimore's Handcraft Happy Hour shop and was so impressed by another woman entrepreneuer, Jenni, creating a community of creative people. (Yes, that's her book on my sewing table) Rae just happened to come by when I had just cut out the first of several projects for my American Sewing Guild Northern Virginia winter sewing retreat in two weeks. I'm making a knit robe from her Tabula Rasa jacket pattern for our March Florida visit because I've enjoyed the rayon one I made so many years ago that it's looking tatty. And another project will be refashioning a lovely scalloped vintage mink collar to put on a sweather that will have more fabric and roving needle felting on it, another retreat project. I've learned over the decades not to bring anything too complicated so the three dozen of us can chat and laugh and enjoy each other's company without scrunching my forehaed in frustration trying to figure out complicated sewing instructions...although several of still roar with laughter at our frustration trying to follow Trudy of Hot Patterns demonstate the twisted fabric convolutions of the Grecian inspired Three Graces twist top. And why was I otherwise occupied this week? Well, every year for a few decades we have donated a dinner for my Towson Unitarian Universalist annual church auction. This year I offered "greatest hits" meaning the recipes that people wanted from me after those previous dinners. So although I knew all the recipes, it was a busy week of shopping and cooking for a four course meal and in my rush I usually forgot to take pictures. SO there are a few here and if you want the recipes let me know ans I'll post links. We have appetizers of cheese coins from Cooks Illustrated and a shrimp, mango avocado salsa served with tortilla chips, inspired by our ten years as snowbirds in FL when we offered a "Floribbean" dining experience. Then there's fish soup with garlicky rouillede on homemade bread and Belgian beer base beef carbonnade, a stew that's almost carmelized...recipes that I just had to find after we enjoyed them on a Belgium to Amsterdam boat and bike trip. The winner is always hot sticky toffee pudding for dessert from our much loved UK. But speaking of pictures, that's my biggest disappointment returning to Blogger. I can still easily download my pictures. But previously when I was writing my post I could insert pictures and wrap copy around them. Maybe because I'm an Apple gal, that ability seems to be lost. I'll get to the library computers one of these days and see if that capability exists on their PCs. So it's a big picture dump at the end, sorry for such poor formatting. And I am formatting paragraphs as I type and I see spacing but it's all one big ramble when this posts. Hmmm, maybe I'm not meant to return to blogging...or maybe I just need to revisit which platform I'm using and make a change to something like Wordpress. Low tech gal like me is annoyed but like my sewing, persistent.

2024 Favorite Books and a Good Start to 2025

Thank you to recent readers and commenting friends. It feels like I'm back amongst my familiar artsy peeps who enjoy talking about sewing and our creative experiences as much as doing it. And coming back to blog reading regularly is like settling in with a good book. So with that intro, here are my favorite books of 2025. I had to laugh at myself because, yes, I DO like the long form of so many things, books included. Several of these were quite lengthy but I enjoy diving into the whole alternative that they create for me. (I didn't even include the 40 plus hours I spent walking listening to Barbra Streisand's autobiography!) And if the first day of the year is how your year will go, then we're off to a good start at our house. Mr Lucky, Bingley and I headed out on a blustery afternoon to do a first day hike. I'm getting over the damn virus ( I think it was from our Christmas day visit to Longwood Gardens) so I didn't want to join the morning ranger walk. We just wandered the trails on our own and ended up at the Crystal Pier where a birder and photographer pointed out this adorable little sparrow sized bird...a snow bunting...who has made the long trip from the Arctic to the Chesapeake Bay. There's what I need more of in sewing endeavors, patience, persistence and determination. And it's a new bird on my meager Merlin bird list but does bring me to my word for 2025...new. Yes, I'm looking for some novelty in my sewing experiences this year. I have so many patterns but have kept to tried and true ones in recent years since a lot of the fit work is done. But this is my year to venture a little further. No numbers to challenge or frighten my, just some steady progress trying out some new to me patterns. This morning I cut out a Jalie jacket for an initial mock up. And the coming cold weeks here in Maryland are good for sewing something cozy. Here's hoping that your sewing is keeping you interested and curious.

Everything Old is New Again...and 2024 Favorite Sewing Projects

Oh how I have missed blogging. Instagram is now just too "insta" for me and although I'm a relatively frequent IG reader, less frequent commentator, it's just too too annoying. So I'm back to this tiny comfortable for me sewing, gardening, reading and traveling blog, basically for myself since I've always been a long form person...novels rather than short stories and series rather than movies. I won't bore anyone with life since my last post in April, 2020. If you're a friend, you know the details and if not then the details won't be that interesting since you too have had ups and downs over the last four plus years. But since I have always enjoyed the record keeping part of blogging, the end of th eyear provides a great time to post my sewing successes and disappointments this year. One thing I note is that I'm a repeat srwing person. When I get a pattern to fit then I'm going to make multiples. So let's start with a jacket I made three times this year,

This black and white Fabric Mart plaid boucle was perfect for a sudden April to trip to Paris and France when a generous friend invited 14 of us to use her house trade in central France for a week in exchange for chipping in for food, wine and cleaning expenses. I lengthened Simplicity 2858 to mid thigh and used the selvedge for trim and bias for pockets and sleeves. Then we had a madcap forty eight hours in NYC and I used a cotton print fabric that I'd saved for maybe fifteen years for the short version.

And the final version was in green plaid for a holiday trip to Paris, Starsbourg and London just a few weeks ago. My favorite souveniers are wearable items like the green plaid wool scarf that I found at Bon Marche, the oldest department store in Paris. Mr Lucky and I are so aware these days of how fragile our lives are and those of our dear friends and family. So we are taking time to wrap our selves in the warmth of relationships just like this scarf warps me in wonderful 2024 memories with him.

And I even repeat patterns for Mr Lucky, in this case Kwik Sew 3422, from a Liberty fabric that I found at Misan west a few years ago. He had just completed another week of driving the lanes of the Cotswolds for a week on the opposite side of the road with a stick shift on the reverse side of American cars and did it without a scratch...so the cars and trucks on this fabric always make us smile.

My favorite kimono topper is a copy from a Zara version and I made it three times this year with at least one more silk velvet one in mind:

Versatile Vogue 7832 is a Sandra Betzina bias dress that I have modified so many times in ten years. This year I focused on adding puffed sleeves for a few summer versions and I like the coastal grandma vibe...although I am neither a coastal dweller nor a grandmother. And yes, there will be more versions in 2025 since flowing summer dresses are cool and breezy and easy. And the peach silk nightgown version is from fabrric aging in my resource center for decades. When JoaAnn Fabrics wanted to go more upscale they were stocking some silks over 20 years ago. But that rebranding never really took and I bought silks for pennies on the dollar.

Final favorites is also my last project of 2024, Tessuti Sydney jacket in boiled wool Still figuring out the closure technique to use) and a hat/cloche from leftover wool jersey.

Create What You Love

Seven weeks ago I bought this magnetized pin holder when we were just starting our rental month in an adorable house in north Naples, FL.  At that time it seemed like it was an encouraging message to create the things you love.  More than a month later I think it means create the life and world that you love and that's something deeper, more thoughtful and more hopeful.

Eloquent people are writing about quarantine, politics, the anger, fear, sadness, empathy, caring, even the hidden gifts of isolation.  Me, I’m not so full of wisdom at a time like this.  Instead I'm going to share what's happening in my little corner of the world because a few non-sewing friends have asked about masks and many friends are sharing how they are managing social isolation and more ideas are always better.

The masks I've made and donated through local Domesticity Studio Domesticity Studio Baltimore Maryland per local hospital requests have followed a pattern put out by Red Poppy Red Poppy Mask tutorial (version C for hospitals) which I used because the hospital approved it.  But I made some slight variations for the ones I am now making in mini-assembly line.

Hospital donation pile

I struggled for a little while (my powers of concentration are definitely suffering) because I wanted a more streamlined system for making these en masse.  Here's my procedure...yours may differ, of course.

I batch cut out a dozen masks at a time and I use the men's version unless it is for a very small woman or child. For these giveaway masks I don't use elastic...hard to find and hard to wear all day.  Instead I cut 1 inch strips of knit fabric (sewers have knit fabric, non-sewers just cut up an old t-shirt...finally a use for all that wasteful fast fashion) pull the fabric to form a rounded cord.

Fabrics for this batch are cotton shirtings from last summer's enormous haul at Fabric Mart A S___load of Shirting  and cotton batik also from Fabric Mart, both tightly woven premium fabrics. And I have yards of knit fabric in my resource center at any given moment.  

I serge that center seam and the sides although they can be sewn just as easily.  Serging is just quicker and then Mr. Lucky is helpful since he cuts apart the chain stitched pieces.

Then it's back to the sewing machine to assemble.  Turn under the lining side seams for a finished edge. 

Sew the front and lining right sides together along the top ridge and bottom chin area. Trim the seams to be uneven for easy topstitching after turning.

Top of mask seam sewn, trimmed and top intersection trimmed.

Turn mask right side out.  Edgestitch the top seam and the bottom seam to hold the seams in place.  Sew a channel 3/8 along the top of the mask, about three inches on either side of the center seam.  This channel will hold a removable wire so you can seal the top of the mask closely along the bridge of your nose.

Front of mask with edgestitching along top and bottom and 3/8 " channel for wire

Now turn the side seams in by 1/2 inch and stitch down to form a channel for the ties.
You'll notice on the pattern picture above I added a 1/2 more width to the original pattern piece.  Must be my plump squirrel cheeks but I wanted everyone to have more face coverage all the way towards their ears.)

Mask with side seams stitched into 1/2 channel...and optional knit fabric to go in the pocket

Insert knit ties or elastic with a helpful safety pin.

I used two strands of thing floral wire...and only my PAPER scissors to cut the wire

Now learn how to use a face mask properly or you've defeated the purpose.  How to put on and remove a face mask

For sewing friends, this process is almost second nature and many of you are churning out one version of several that are requested.  I'm looking at a few other variations that I'll be making and using in the coming months.  Yes, I think masks will be the new fashion statement for quite awhile and I'm ok with that for your safety, my safety and the safety of all the people working to keep us healthy and fed and clean.  I'll post about those as I start to make more for our household and for friends but here are some links that I think are useful.  
Trend Patterns sew along and pattern
Neoprene mask...but please don't turn it inside out
Custom size masks at Free Sewing

I have worn my mask a few times when I've gone out for my almost daily three or four mile walk and was fairly happy with the result.  The nose wire let it fit my face closely enough that the mask moved when I breathed deeply which I have heard is a sign of a decent seal...note that I'm not a medical person nor do I play one on TV, just want to protect you and me in public places.

The mask did move with breathing and didn't fog my glasses on my walks

But I'm not able to sew these all day long.  It makes me too afraid and especially too angry.  So I did reach a point where I was ready to sew some things for myself.  These two projects were cut out and part of my Florida sewing plans.  Since we packed up early and left town weeks before our rental ran out, I had them ready to pick up and complete in Baltimore.  

Since April has been quite chilly, I appreciated having this Hatchi animal print fabric to make another Pamela's Pattern Draped Front Cardigan. Draped Front Cardigan  

I've had luck in the last year underlining several knits and did it again with this cardigan, underlining the front and back pieces with a thin maybe swimwear lining fabric from Fabric Mart.  I basted them together inside the seam allowances after cutting out both fabrics.  After stitching them as one, just serged to finish but that wasn't even necessary since knits don't ravel.

Hatchi knits are nice but since they are thin they can be a bit "sticky" and having to tug down on a top or cardigan all day is annoying.  The knit underlining just gave it wonderful body and drape and it skims over jeans and leggings.  

Pamela and I were on the same wavelength last year because she just wrote an article about that technique in the #206 December, 2019-January 2020 issue....doesn't that feel like a decade ago already. 

And then it was time to tackle something for the coming warm weather, another Burda 6809, this time in a silky all cotton Tori Richard fabric from Fabric Mart.  

Uneven mitered side hems

Vintage lace seam trim which I found while looking for elastic to use and donate to other mask makers

Why is this girl laughing in the midst of a global pandemic?  While Mr. Lucky was taking this shot and I was holding the mask I made for myself with this coordinated lining, he told me he thought it might have been the bikini bottom I would be wearing this summer.....big needed laughs from all of us, right?

And if you can stand more mask making humor, check this out...

Here's hoping that you are creating what you love.  No, I don't like creating masks but I do like creating what I see in my neighborhood, community, state and world...hope, helpfulness, persistence, compassion, determination, generosity.  Next time let's share how we are distracting ourselves when we can.