Charity Sewing, Sewing for Others and Gardening for Me

I've done some sewing for people and pets in need and always like getting together with my sewing guild to work on charity projects.  Right now the ASG national project is sewing turtle pillows for Paul Newman's kids camps.  But I was especially touched when I heard about the charity sewing work done at Sharp Hospice in San Diego.  It's definitely a large undertaking but it could also be an idea for a small project for someone you know yourself.  Basically the volunteers sew a teddy bear from the garment of a loved one who has died.  There's a procedure with a standard bear format and then a questionnaire about how the family would or wouldn't like it personalized.  The hospice website has a wonderful journal of a volunteer who started sewing these bears.  Not surprisingly, she had some small struggles assembling the first ones.  (They do provide sewing demonstrations at the volunteer training since sewing skills might be a little rusty.)  Her completed bears make a loving connection with the person who has died and a simple way to keep a memory alive.  Sharp Hospice sewing volunteer journal  


Want to try one yourself?  Here's one of the many free bear patterns on the web.
How Joyful blog entry with bear pattern and instructions

Yesterday was a perfect day in the Lucky casa.  Mr. Lucky and I spent the breezy, warm, low humidity morning weeding, spreading compost and mulch and admiring our hard work.  I got to sew in the afternoon, finish a light summer book, Minding Frankee by Maeve Binchy, walk the dogs, do some more de-clutttering in the basement and enjoyed a terrific grilled salmon, roasted potato and coleslaw dinner, all made by Mr. Lucky last night.  A glass of wine on the deck watching fireflies and it was a simply delightful June day that I didn't want to see end.  But as one of my favorite sermons at church reminded me, this too shall pass.  Fortunately, it didn't pass without me appreciating its beauty and peacefulness.  So here are some backyard pictures to remind me of this day when life is not so easy:

Herbs in pots with tomatoes behind

The famous compost, black gold, bins behind the shed

June and July mean daylilies

How I propagate new hydrangeas.  Place a brick on a low lying branch to let it root to the ground.  Next spring, cut the connecting stem from the mother plant, transplant and water frequently.  Voila!

Astilbe starting to bloom, a variegated lace cap hydrangea just finishing and one of those four year old volunteer hydrangeas in the background

Our garden shed, once an indoor roller skating rink for the first owner when he was an amateur roller skating champ in the 40s.  Now half its original size.

Pots are in bloom all over the yard and deck....but will have to cut back those annuals in a week or two since they are getting leggy.

We are spending good times with several different friends over the holiday weekend.  4th of July is my absolutely favorite holiday...a parade, picnic and fireworks, all in honor of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Here's hoping you have a happy weekend as well no matter where in the world you live.

Happy to be Avoiding Sewing

Should I admit this....I didn't want to sew.  You see, our front porch swing, purchased from Nags Head Hammocks on vacation with friends about 20+ years ago, seemed to need a brand new seat.  The macrame roping had gotten terribly mildewed so one of my summer projects was to buy outdoor fabric while Mr. Lucky refinished the frame.  Ugh, home dec sewing, necessary but boooooring.  Mr. Lucky took the seat apart and checked online to see about a new cover.  Whoa, turns out you can wash that seat!  He carefully undid the macrame from the frame and linked it together with plastic ties.  Put it in the front load washer while I was out of town and it came out sparkling white.   He completed the wood refinishing and hung it two days ago.  Looks like new....and I didn't have to sew a thing.  Don't tell him but I have another Kwik Sew shirt in the works to say thanks for saving me from that project.

Last night was my second visit to a local book group meeting in one of library branches.   I thoroughly enjoyed this late life romance taking place amidst a small village in England.  It's a first novel and perhaps a bit overly dramatic at the end but a good take on the conflicts of age versus youth and the new generation, tradition versus progressive values and immigrant assimilation versus cultural loyalty.  Major Pettigrew did just that, he grew through unexpectedly falling in love with the Pakistani village shopkeeper, Mrs. Ali.  Good discussion, interesting perspectives and a fun way to spend a summer evening.

New Rules

Source: Fabric Mart and Burkholder Fabrics

Sometimes Bill Maher's "New Rules" TV segment gets me laughing so hard I almost...(fill in the blank.)   My influence on the world is much smaller.  The only place I get to make the rules is in my sewing studio.  I love being the Queen of my sewing studio...although I wouldn't mind some serfs to do the clean up work.  As the Queen, I get to make the rules.  New rule:  what comes in, must go out.  That means for every piece of fabric I buy, one must leave, either in the form of clothing, a muslin or a donation/sale.  Based on that "new rule" I have to divest myself of ten pieces of fabric from last weeks' shopping.  Yup, done.  One new muslin, seven pieces in the giveaway pile so far.  (More on that in a later post.)

You see, I went to Fabric Mart, in person.  Yes, I know, I was supposed to only stop by briefly when I was visiting my dear friend for a few days.  And I did stop for a few minutes on my second day in the neighborhood.  I kept to my Fabric Mart commitment and only bought two pieces: a stretch poly in navy satin light enough for sheath dress lining and a stretch poly nylon for the same purpose....and only $.50 a yard.  I was able to keep that commitment because I had just been to the most amazing quilting fabric store....Burkholder Fabrics.  Yikes, I had never seen such a collection on one place.  I'm not a quilter but I love quilt stores wth their lovely colors, designs and amazing notions.  Burkholder      Yelp review with pics of Burkholder fabrics  I did buy two batiks to make two table runners for our dining room with a very simple design:  

However.... the second night in town I opened my email and saw that those FM rayon knits were on the half price sale.  I had just made a muslin of the Pamela's Patterns Cool Cardigan Draped Front jacket while I was visiting my friend and loved how it turned out.  That's my excuse reason for returning to FM on Friday, visiting with Sharon, Sandy and Chris and buying five knits and a silk cotton blend.  Now they're all washed and ready to join the sewing line up.  


I had a delightful visit with my dearest girlfriend.  We attended her very fun book group evening where we discussed "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese, my favorite book of 2010.  Besides fabric shopping we sewed together, talked up a storm, visited a terrific Pennsylvania diner and ooohed and ahhhed over Lucky who came along for the ride.  Now I'm way behind on blog reading and commenting but filled with happy memories.


Postscript:  For those of you not in the US, Bill Maher is a writer, comic, social satirist and political libertarian with a late night show on cable TV.  I'm probably to the right of Bill Maher politically and find he can go from wonderfully insightful to snarky rather quickly, but he does make me laugh out loud when he skewers the left and the right and all our human craziness.  So if you are not familiar with him, here's a link to his latest "New Rules" show segment.  You may not wish to read this if you are easily offended.
Bill Maher May 17, 2011 New Rules

Knock Offs with a Little Culture on the Side

Finished the handsewn bow and ruffle for this latest Pamela's Patterns T shirt, this time with the V neck front.  I was inspired by this Kate Spade top
Kate Spade inspiration top
I'm not sure how the inspiration shirt fabric is attached to the the front.  I did handstitching which is visible on this soft knit.  If that bothers me too much I might go and some beads in those areas for some bling later.... but most likely I'll wear it as is.

My knit is a very soft cotton poly blend from Fabric Mart which was probably destined to be a nightgown or perhaps a robe.  But I loved the shell pink color and thought it would be appropriate for this ruffle look.   It is a little clingy for a knit top but so very comfy.

Auditioning the bow and streamers on the dressform

Since I'm explaining my knock offs, here's one for Lucky the rescue dog.  We've started training classes on Saturday mornings and this is his Dollar Store hack collar.  It's a design based on martingale collars which slip over your dog's head and let you correct the dog then release the tension.  The generic ones have a collar release to size it for your dog but Lucky's is custom fit for him.  I used a $1 leash that I cut up following a very old martingale that belonged to Sam.

Martingale dog collar inspiration:
Martingale collar

Last week was also a week of culture in our house.  We saw this wonderful play at the Olney Theater.  I don't have a musical bone in my body (but I am a great audience) so I was wondering how I would respond to a play based upon a string quartet losing one member and gaining another.  Fascinating play.  We are all part of groups, at work, in our families, and we all influence....and annoy....one another so the topics covered are quite universal.  Thoroughly enjoyable evening especially since it started with dinner across the street at the ever popular Olney Alehouse.  My brother and his then girlfriend introduced me to it maybe twenty years ago and I've enjoyed the opportunity to dine there whenever I'm in that neck of the woods.  Back then it was my first time trying their lemon tahini salad dressing and it's still a winner.


My next cultural event was a limited  select movie theater  showing of an HD filmed version of Steven Sondheim's musical, Company.   An amazing cast....Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Steven Colbert (yes, that Steven Colbert) Martha Plimpton, Christina Hendricks, to name about half of them.  A girlfriend and I had a night out and were blown away.  We felt just like we were in Lincoln Center watching the performance...from the very best seats.  I could never have afforded tickets to this limited 4 show engagement but got to see it just a few miles from home, how cool is that?

Company by Steven Sondheim movie trailer

Burda 7618 In Process

You seldom see me posting pictures of myself wearing the several muslins that I may make up on the way to a finished final garment.  First of all, it's already a challenge to get Mr. Lucky and me in the same place along with some daylight time, a camera and the latest sewing creation.  I must figure out a tripod location one of these days.  Secondly, hey, it's the Internet and I get to edit these pics, after all.  It's tough enough to look at myself without make up and with sweaty hair after my daily walk....why would I want to share that with the world?  But OK, for you, gentle readers, I will make an exception.


This is my latest entry for my next JAM project.  No one has reviewed this envelope pattern but I do recall that it was first seen in BWOF a few years ago.  Does anyone know which BWOF issue?   

My other sewing related news this week is a result of the latest Joann's Firefly sale.  I went in looking for the new Butterick bust cup size patterns and since those were already sold out, I consoled myself with this dress....and with the 50% off coupon and this book.  I bet most of the instructions for most of the flowers in this book are somewhere on the Internet...but now they're conveniently in one place for me.

Speaking of flowers, the day lilies are starting their blooming season, right on time for the last day of school here.   I'm always reminded of the wonderful start of the seemingly endless summers of my childhood when I see two sights in nature...these day lilies which my father had growing in our yard and this berry.

I don't know its real name...I called it a mulberry when I was young.  My best friend and I would stop at a tree (they grow on trees, not shrubs) on our way home from school and enjoy eating the ones we could reach.  This year their taste is quite bittersweet.  My friend and I lost touch after she dropped out of college with me after her freshman year.  We hadn't seen each other in 40 years but I've thought of her every school end when I taste those berries and recall 12 summers  of our friendship.  She never returned a call in the last 10 years and last fall she died tragically and terribly of the addictions that had destroyed her young potential and her life.  I only hope that those laughing, happy children I saw yesterday have longer, happier lives than she did.

Good T-Shirt and Good Sewing Teachers

Here's the first completed Pamela's Patterns Perfect T Shirt that I wore out to lunch this week.  I came out of the workshop with an almost perfect fitting T but had to make a few minor changes.  I lengthened the size Small to the Medium length, I added a center back seam with a swayback adjustment of about 1" total and widen the bicep of the sleeve 3/8".   


I like the fit but I did not like this knit fabric.  I bought it on my recent NYC visit at Metro textile but it's very thin and wants to grow as I wear it.  Shoulders and hem are stabilized per Pam's instructions but the knit itself is just thin and very stretchy.  Overall, however, I'm very pleased with the basic pattern and have plenty of ideas for future knit tops in my wardrobe.   

My center back seam adjusted for that back curve

Pamela's workshop was such an enjoyable experience.  While I was adjusting this pattern I was thinking back over all the sewing classes I have taken over the last almost 20 years and evaluating those many instructors.   I did not have good home ec experiences with my 9th grade sewing teacher....I'm sure some of that was my fault and some of it hers.   When I returned to the world of fashion sewing I was inspired by Sandra Betzina's Sew Perfect cable HGTV show.  But mostly I was inspired by her personal fashion sense and her good will towards all.  She didn't insist on one right way and she was creating fashionable, chic garments that fit her lifestyle.  Both of those elements, attitude towards students and a personal fashion sense are important to me in a sewing instructor.  I've taken classes from a well known instructor who had that fashion sense and always wore beautiful garments that she had created herself....but she was snobbish, judgmental, petty and unkind to people without her taste or supposed social standing.   Sorry, I just can't support those values no matter how nice you look or what a great fashion resource you are.  I've also seen both of those things violated by a  few instructors.  Perhaps they had great sewing skills and techniques but their classroom outfits were so unflattering, unfashionable and dowdy that I couldn't whip up the enthusiasm to enjoy the class.  Perhaps shallow on my part but I have plenty of alternative instructors out there.  And then there's at least one instructor who I can recall, another industry expert, who appalled my by talking demeaningly about former students and other  sewing industry participants.  Hey, you can impress me with your superior knowledge by showing me how well it works on real women, not by talking down the techniques of others!  


So who does inspire me?  Well, I'm adding Pamela Leggett of Pamela's Patterns to a long list....Sandra Betzina, Shirley Adams, Susan Khalje, Judy Barlup, Sarah Veblen, Rae Cumbie, Patti Palmer and Marta Alto, Linda Lee, Stephanie Corina Goddard, Nancy Zieman, Marcy Tilton, David Coffin and the late Fred Bloebaum, Shannon Gifford and Roberta Carr.   
What does it take to inspire you in a sewing class?  Is it strictly the topic or technique?  How does the teacher's style and attitude affect your learning?

Lining a Stretch Woven Sheath

My how this week is flying by.  I was intending to quickly sew up two more of my summer sheath dresses then move on to the new Pamela's T-shirt pattern.  Somehow, the rest of life got in the way and I'm only half way there.  So let me share where that is....
My new love, McCalls # 6201     This pink one is two weeks old and what I'm wearing today to run errands.  Unlined and quick in a Fabric Mart woven stretch fabric.

The blue one is the first of two for this week.

It's lightweight cotton lycra blend from FabricMart.  This was probably meant to be blouse weight fabric but I'm loving the stretch wovens for this sleeveless sheath.  So I knew I wanted to line it (not underline it, because I like the little "give" for this dress.)   I have some stretch silk chiffon, another FabricMart stash building purchase, and cut out an exact copy of the sheath then narrowly zig zag stitched it to the facings I have cut and interfaced.  Both fabrics have slightly different stretch factors so I didn't attach them at the bottom of the facing.  The lining worked perfectly.  It gave the fashion fabric a little more "ooomph" to stand as a dress but didn't sacrifice the stretch factor that I'm liking for a casual summer dress.

I also wanted to share two great resources for making this dress easily and nicely finished.  Nancy's PR tip with great pictures is how I sew a lined sleeveless dress.  Thank you,  Nancy, for doing the photo explanation for me:-)

Nancywin PR tip                         Nancy's Picasweb tutorial

The Sewing Lawyer shows how to understitch the facings in her beautiful sheath dress.
The Sewing Lawyer blog: understitching entry

This is a step not usually mentioned in pattern directions but makes such a difference in the finished outcome.  I use a narrow zig zag to understitch the neckline of my sheaths but I hand understitch my armhole area.  I have some sharp narrow turns in that underarm section and combined with a stretch woven that can move quite a bit, I find hand stitching gives more control.

Another cotton lycra blend with that stretch silk chiffon lining.  Not hemmed yet.

These dresses are definitely casual summer dresses that won't last too many years, what with weather and laundry and such  But I have two more planned before I'm willing to calling it quits for this pattern this season.

So what about that T shirt plan?  I did get my minor pattern changes this week and did cut it out.  That's it so far.  If you want to see how nicely this T shirt fits, check out Julie's blog entry and her great result:
Julie's finished T from Pamela's Perfect T shirt pattern

Temps the last few days in Baltimore have been record breaking scorchers.  I'll have to give in early this summer and put that light blocking window air conditioner into the sewing room window if I want any relief there.  We had a four hour power outage on Wednesday evening, starting at 7:30 pm.  At first we could sit on the deck and fan ourselves in the stifling heat but when it got totally dark around 9:30 it made me humble enough to be grateful for just electricity for a fan, never mind AC.   Thank you BGE!

Lining a Stretch Woven Sheath

My how this week is flying by.  I was intending to quickly sew up two more of my summer sheath dresses then move on to the new Pamela's T-shirt pattern.  Somehow, the rest of life got in the way and I'm only half way there.  So let me share where that is....
My new love, McCalls # 6201     This pink one is two weeks old and what I'm wearing today to run errands.  Unlined and quick in a Fabric Mart woven stretch fabric.

The blue one is the first of two for this week.

It's lightweight cotton lycra blend from FabricMart.  This was probably meant to be blouse weight fabric but I'm loving the stretch wovens for this sleeveless sheath.  So I knew I wanted to line it (not underline it, because I like the little "give" for this dress.)   I have some stretch silk chiffon, another FabricMart stash building purchase, and cut out an exact copy of the sheath then narrowly zig zag stitched it to the facings I have cut and interfaced.  Both fabrics have slightly different stretch factors so I didn't attach them at the bottom of the facing.  The lining worked perfectly.  It gave the fashion fabric a little more "ooomph" to stand as a dress but didn't sacrifice the stretch factor that I'm liking for a casual summer dress.

I also wanted to share two great resources for making this dress easily and nicely finished.  Nancy's PR tip with great pictures is how I sew a lined sleeveless dress.  Thank you,  Nancy, for doing the photo explanation for me:-)

Nancywin PR tip                         Nancy's Picasweb tutorial

The Sewing Lawyer shows how to understitch the facings in her beautiful sheath dress.
The Sewing Lawyer blog: understitching entry

This is a step not usually mentioned in pattern directions but makes such a difference in the finished outcome.  I use a narrow zig zag to understitch the neckline of my sheaths but I hand understitch my armhole area.  I have some sharp narrow turns in that underarm section and combined with a stretch woven that can move quite a bit, I find hand stitching gives more control.

Another cotton lycra blend with that stretch silk chiffon lining.  Not hemmed yet.

These dresses are definitely casual summer dresses that won't last too many years, what with weather and laundry and such  But I have two more planned before I'm willing to calling it quits for this pattern this season.

So what about that T shirt plan?  I did get my minor pattern changes this week and did cut it out.  That's it so far.  If you want to see how nicely this T shirt fits, check out Julie's blog entry and her great result:
Julie's finished T from Pamela's Perfect T shirt pattern

Temps the last few days in Baltimore have been record breaking scorchers.  I'll have to give in early this summer and put that light blocking window air conditioner into the sewing room window if I want any relief there.  We had a four hour power outage on Wednesday evening, starting at 7:30 pm.  At first we could sit on the deck and fan ourselves in the stifling heat but when it got totally dark around 9:30 it made me humble enough to be grateful for just electricity for a fan, never mind AC.   Thank you BGE!

Pamela's Patterns T Shirt Workshop

As you may have noticed by now, I love getting together with my sewing girlfriends....for any reason, sewing related or not.  So when the Northern Virginia chapter of ASG put together a trunk show evening followed by a full day sewing workshop, I was going to attend.   The presenter was to be Pamela Leggett of Pamela's Patterns.  Pamela's Patterns   I had seen her article in this month's Threads magazine but had only glanced at it.  I knew she had a pattern for remaking oversized T shirts into more flattering, feminine ones but I will gladly admit that I was not overly excited about constructing a T shirt yesterday.  I mean, a T shirt?  There are so many other patterns out there calling to me.  How interesting or informative could this be?  OK, once again my preconceptions take me to the wrong place.  Wow, great workshop, terrific patterns and I'm thrilled with everything about the event.   I don't have a finished product to show you yet but I'm going to be cranking out a number of these items in the upcoming weeks.
What did I like about this T shirt pattern?   Hooray, Pamela has done the work for us.  She's put those common adjustments into the pattern so I don't have to mess with making them on the paper pattern at home (the chore I dislike the most.)  There's already a forward shoulder, a darted front option, a widen sleeve bicep, some "essence of waist" shaping and some hip room.  She measured us at the high bust (and a tip, do this snugly) and selected a pattern size for us and advised us to make a petite adjustment if needed (most of us did) which was already marked on the pattern and advised us to use either the plain or darted front (again, most of us needed the darted front.)  She had excellent advice about sewing a side dart in knitted fabric, one of my personal challenges, great pressing tips and by the end of the day everyone had a fitted, but not over-fitted, feminine flattering T without the usual excess underarm fabric or droopy shoulders.  I don't have finished pictures since I'm going to do a center back seam for my swayback and a little tweak for that lower right shoulder adjustment but will do a full pattern review soon.  In the meantime, nothing but pictures of people learning, sewing and having a fun, productive day.  If I'm going to spend a full glorious day in June indoors, then this was the best way to spend it.

Pamela shows us the T shirts and all their variations

Her trunk show

Not a T shirt but a pattern for a stretch woven or stable knit pencil skirt....I had to have this pattern, too.

And I had to have this pattern for a tank top just like my favorite Chicos tanks

What I've Been Sewing, Reading and Eating

"We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave, the temperature's rising..."  If you're of a certain age or older you might be hearing Marilyn Monroe crooning those words while doing a samba across the stage....or you might hear me whining about the sudden heat wave here.  Our Maryland house is more than 60 years old, plaster and lath and has poor insulation with temperature extremes.  My sewing room feels like the tropics this week.  I have a window air conditioner but I hate installing it in the spring since it blocks half of what little natural light I get in that room.  Slower than usual sewing means knits.  I wanted two sleeveless exercise tops so I pulled out Simplicity 2603 and sewed up three new items, two exercise tops and one sweater knit cardi that will be my JAM #5. 
Simplicity 2603 has almost 100 reviews on Patternreview with good reason.  I think it's adaptable to all seasons and many styles.  My sleeveless versions take a yard or less and  don't even have a finished hem.  I like having a loose fitting but not tentlike top when the weather is this steamy.   The black and fuchsia print is a lovely design but the fabric was snaggy and a PITA to sew.  I can see why it was on the G Street sample table and doubt that it would pass for garment production.  The blue purple is leftover Fabric Mart Vera Wang knit, terrific to sew and wear.

I've adjusted the cardi in S 2603 to make the neckline and front edges narrower and shorter so that the drape of the fabric is not overwhelming.  It's a poly sweater knit from Hancock's closing in Florida a few years ago.  I sewed up one of these knits and couldn't believe how hot it was despite the open weave.  Gave a bunch of them away but I love the colors of this green one.  But I won't even consider modeling it for pictures.  I'll wear it when the weather turns chilly in the fall with a twist tip in olive green and jeans.

Since my sewing room has been so hot, I have been doing more reading than usual each day.  Here's what's on my nightstand:

This is the third of the Outlander series and I'm hooked.  Historical novels with intrigue, history and culture and passionate romance.  perfect summer steamy reading.  This one is more than 800 pages.  Reminds me of the summer I was 17 and read Gone with the Wind in a few late evenings after working each day.

If you like reading Anne Lamott then Kate Braestrup is an author you would most likely enjoy as well.  Her first book, Here If You Need Me is about her life as a community chaplain for the Maine Forest Service and recent young widow.  Funny, tender, caring, she's the person I would like to have by my side through life's most difficult moments.

 I've been listening to this one in my sewing room.  It's my book group selection for tonight.   Joseph Priestley was an astonishing scientist, religious thinker, politician and friend of all our Founding Fathers in the US.  One of the most remarkable things he discovered, although he didn't even understand the full scope of it, is the astonishing connection between animal and plant life....the ecosystem which supports our lives.  His home experiments noticed that a plant left in a vacuum still lived for days and days while a living animal did not survive for more than a few moments.  Fascinating story although I would recommend reading it in hard copy rather than listening to it since it is technical in many parts.

 And lastly, I was cooking up a storm last week.  Each year our church has an auction and we try to offer an activity to share among members who have the winning bid.  For the past few years we've been offering a "Floribbean dinner" with a menu that is a little spicy, a little Southern and lots of fun.  Saturday we had six guests and here's the menu:
Drinks and appetizers on the deck:  ice tea, homemade sangria, beer, wine, cheese coins, shrimp, mango, avocado appetizer with chips.
Dinner inside is Cuban pork roast,  rice, bean and corn cold salad, tossed green tropical salad, bread & butter, followed by Key Lime Pie for dessert.  These are recipes from our beloved Cooks Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen cookbooks and website...except for the great appetizer recipe which I've linked for you.

appetizers waiting to go outside

The most requested recipe of the evening:
mango-avocado-and-shrimp-appetizer recipe

Ok, let's close with a sing along and samba along for the day...