New, New and New

Our lovely March vacation in southwest Florida ended two weeks ago and I still have not unpacked my sewing projects which is making me feel quite cranky today.  We had such a lovely holiday living quite simply in that adorable condo on the water and are now home planning a major renovation to the kitchen and family room that we had built 26+ years ago.  We are replacing and re-doing every decision we made back then. It will be wonderful when it is done....and will sell quickly should we start the next house hunt.  But just like an over abundant section of patterns and fabrics, sometimes the decisions can overwhelm me.  26 years ago we could afford two choices of cabinet knobs and today we have hundreds.  I am grateful for the years of equity in our house that let us do this but wow, I was also 26 years younger and with far fewer hobbies and interests.  A few more weeks of decision making then we will turn over to the capable hands of our calm, experienced contractor and I will enjoy sewing, gardening, and reading with a vengeance.  
Let me share today my last sewing project from that Florida holiday and a top that I made last spring which I never blogged about.  
I've had this tropical print fabric for years and I think it even traveled back and forth from our previously owned Florida condo and my southern sewing room. It might have come from the long defunct Winchester, Virginia Woolen Mill fabric store closing.  I couldn't commit to a pattern for it....sort of the same feeling I am having in the tile stores when looking at backsplash tiles.  But use it or lose it, Jane. 
I love the colors so decided to do a  simple kimono style over jacket using my TNT Tabula Rasa jacket pattern.  Along the neckband has the tiniest bit of flat piping using the reverse side of the fabric....virtually imperceptible in the picture. It was easy, breezy sewing on the condo deck at the end of March and a few hours later I had something new to wear to one of our last dinners out with friends.  Mr. Lucky had me try one of those artsy blogger poses....just glad I had my terrific Florida hairdresser do my color earlier that month.

Tabula Rasa jacket

vacation sewing studio

In the same bright print vein, here's Vogue 8691 that was finished last spring.  I wasn't sure how I felt about the pattern but it has grown on me and I see a few more fabric combos in my future.

Vogue 8691

Vogue 8691 ruffle and back dip

One of the interesting things about this home renovation does relate to the sewing blog experience.  Taking pictures can be a real hassle and I admire the far more diligent bloggers who do it relentlessly.  But the pictures do give me useful data that my eyes can easily miss when I look in the mirror at a new garment or at a computer generated kitchen plan.  When I am planning a more "serious" sewing project (not these easy uncomplicated ones I just showed you) I frequently enlarge a pattern's line drawings and start coloring in fabric and embellishment ideas.  Turns out I am having to do exactly the same thing for this kitchen/ family room project.  I am trying to decide where to stop and start backsplash tile, what fabric to use for the chairs that will replace the sofa, what mantel shelf color and proportion.  All of those....and many more....decisions work even better than contractor renderings when I take a photo of the space, trace the major outlines and then color in the options I am considering.  Just as slow going as on my next sewing project but I seldom regret the time in the end.
Well, enough about my current obsession.  One of the nicest things about being back in Baltimore is renewing my volunteer commitment with the Pets on Wheels organization.  This past week Lucky the rescue dog got to go to college for the first time.  We joined a few other volunteer dogs for a stress relief break at a local campus.  After two and a half hours of being adored, petted and snap-chatted, Lucky was exhausted but proud of himself.  
Here's hoping you have a sewing project or other commitment that makes you feel the same.

Volunteers Caper, Lucky and Zeus

Wow, I need a break, too.

Merry Christmas Then and Now

Merry Christmas from my screen to yours.  
Yes, this was the Christmas outfit that my mother made many decades ago when this was the photo for our family Christmas card.  I don't have a photo of me wearing my Christmas outfit for this year since we have had nothing but fog and rain for the last week....and much of that week Mr. Lucky and I spent sniffling and coughing with a nasty winter cold.  Here is is on my dress form....another Tabula Rasa jacket with Fabric Mart glittery fabrics and piping done with silk from a gift given by a dear friend many years ago.  

Tabula Rasa Jacket by Fit for Art Patterns

I am looking forward to feeling like myself by next week and have a great new boiled wool jacket to share.  Until then, happy wishes for a great holiday time.

Simplicity 1318, Tabula Rasa and a Tomato Recipe

After a few days of driving rains the ground is saturated and it is time to be weeding and pruning as early autumn is in the air.  After I clean up from that garden work, I have a few new things to wear at this lower humidity transitional time of year.   It is my second favorite season, when I can wear lightweight layers without sticky summer heat or freezing cold temps to limit my choices.  Here are some of the new items in my wardrobe.

Simplicity 1318

Yes, I got interested in the kimono jacket look this summer and am adding a few light and medium weight ones to my wardrobe.  

This one is made from a lightweight silk which I am fairly sure came from Jomar in Pennsylvania which must mean that it is at least ten years old.  It was easy sewing using silk since it pressed nicely which made turning the curved banded edge on the neckline a little easier.  My friend who made her first one from a polyester said that was a bear to do.

Curved faced band on the back edge

I lengthened the front band by 1" and will probably raise the back curve by about two inches on the next one.  I have a rayon one planned and I also think it would sew up nicely in a wool jersey for the winter.

Tabula Rasa jacket from Fit for Art patterns

This next kimono-like jacket is another version of the Tabula Rasa,   Tabula Rasa jacket  lengthened ten inches, using the "summer sleeve" variation which is basically shorter and a little wider below the bicep curve.  I made it up in a very light, almost sheer poly from Joann's that has also been aging for years in my stash.  It was so sheer that I had to be careful with my iron or it would want to melt.  

I like how it goes nicely with a pair of jeans and makes me look dressed but not fussy.  I narrowed the front band by one half of its original width and did a rolled edge on the hems of the sleeve and the jacket.  I'm a size 10 or 12 for most RTW.  I sew up a size small in this pattern, use the front with bust darts and the slightly flared side panel.  I like the loose fitting ("art teacher" style I heard used dismissively by a runway commentator but one I embrace) design and am wearing it with a very used original Burda 2004 twist top....which I need to remake.  That's what I love about sewing.  No mourning when things wear out, just make another one!

I have a friend coming to visit this week so it is time to file away some of those new patterns sitting on the guest room bed then look at the food supply.  I am going to make one of my favorite end of summer treats, this astonishing tomato crostata recipe.  I recommend these two sewing patterns and also trying this recipe with the last of those summer red tomatoes.  

Tomato Crostata

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST

• 125 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 cup), more for rolling out dough
• 75 grams fine cornmeal (about 1/2 cup)
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter(1 stick plus 2 tablespoons), cut into small cubes
• 35 grams grated extra-sharp Cheddar (about 1/2 cup)

FOR THE FILLING

• 1 ½ pounds different-colored tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick (or halved if cherry or grape tomatoes)
• 1 teaspoon kosher sea salt, plus a pinch
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ bunch fresh thyme sprigs, plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 65 grams extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 cup)
•  Black pepper, to taste
• 1 large egg
•  Flaky sea salt, like Maldon

• 
  

  Nutritional Information

PREPARATION

1. Make the crust: In a food processor, briefly pulse together flour, cornmeal and salt. Add butter and cheese and pulse until mixture forms chickpea-size pieces (3 to 5 one-second pulses). Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 6 tablespoons, pulsing occasionally until mixture is just moist enough to hold together. Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic and flatten into a disk. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, line a rimmed baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels. Spread out tomato slices in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and let sit for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. 
3. In a skillet over medium heat, combine vinegar, honey and thyme sprigs and bring to a simmer; let simmer 2 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Wipe out skillet, then add olive oil and garlic. Cook garlic for 2 to 3 minutes, or until garlic is golden and caramelized. Remove garlic and finely chop. Reserve garlic oil.
4. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Gently roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness, dusting with flour if dough is sticking. Transfer dough to baking sheet and return to fridge for another 20 minutes.
5. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Pat tomatoes dry with paper towels. Brush tomatoes with honey mixture (reserve the thyme sprigs). Leaving a 3-inch border, distribute cheese, garlic and half the chopped thyme leaves on center of crust. Add black pepper to taste, then layer tomatoes in an overlapping pattern, maintaining the 3-inch border. Drizzle garlic oil over tomatoes, sprinkle with remaining thyme leaves and lay the reserved whole thyme sprigs on top. Gently fold crust up around tomatoes, making a 2-inch border. 
6. In a small bowl, whisk egg and 1 teaspoon water. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash over crust and sprinkle top of crostata with flaky salt. Bake for about 35 minutes, until pastry is deeply golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sewing Retreats Past and Future

Wow, this summer I realized that I have three sewing retreats scheduled within six months.  How much fun can one girl stand?  Whenever I mention to non-sewing friends how exciting it is to attend a sewing retreat, they look at me with barely disguised horror.  "You pack up your sewing machine?" they ask as though it were an immovable object permanently installed in my sewing room.  "Do you all have to work on the same project?" they ask in fear that there's a stern taskmaster leading us in mindless factory-like procedures.  Ah, little do they know that a sewing retreat is an oasis of friendship and creativity, a break from your daily to do lists and a great excuse to be absent from the virtual world.  
In mid-August I attended the first of those three retreats and here's what I worked on while I was enjoying the company of my special friends.  In addition to sewing, I also got time to do some snoop shopping at the Leesburg, VA upscale outlet mall (oh those gorgeous seam edges on Ellie Tahari jackets and tops!) and a summer afternoon walk along the Washing and Old Dominion Rail Trail and then dine out each evening.  Perfection!!
The results, some utility sewing....a new outdoor fabric bag for a folding table....you can imagine that yourself...and then two new garments from my "resource center" fabrics.  

This is my latest Tabula Rasa jacket.Fit for Art Tabula Rasa Jacket  (previous post with my alteration and sizing remarks Jane's Tabula Rasa jacket re-do)  The fabrics are a burnout black silk velvet from Fabric Mart, the black, white and pink paisley bordered rayon challis from Peggy Sagers many moons ago, a scrap of black lace from when Fabric Mart was selling those short cuts of designer samples and a pale pink burnout silk velvet that is barely visible as the front panel piping and as the under layer to the back black lace.

Tabula Rasa jacket with swing side panel

I lengthened the standard jacket pieces by an inch and used the side swing panel, also lengthened one inch.  I used the larger wider sleeve version but ended up narrowing it by 1 1/2 inches.  I don't have construction pics to show since I did this at the retreat and was forcing myself "off the grid" that weekend.  

But I will share that my sewing friends were the ones who came up with the suggestion to put the pale pink burnout silk under the black lace.  I initially chose a gorgeous four ply deep almost fuchsia pink for the under layer but it was too bold and just wrong. 

Burnout silk velvet inside the jacket back

Black lace overlay

Thanks to their great advice I love, love, love this new jacket.  Again, I think it is boho enough to be fun without making me look like I am wearing a colorful circus tent.  My only regret is that I cut the flat piping on the cross grain and I wish I had cut it on the bias.  it is only 1/4" in the finished seam but it slightly annoys me that it wants to stand up at my neck curve.  And yes, I have YARDS of it left so it wasn't like it was a necessity.  

No biggie, just a note for next time.  And there will be plenty of next times for this pattern.  Fall and winter are approaching and this is the casual kind of jacket that I love using for layering when it gets chilly and down right cold.
The second successful retreat garment is this new TNT T shirt pattern, Vogue 8699, 

Vogue 8699

Vogue 8699 is one of the Easy Vogue patterns but one that does have different bust sizing.  I made the turtleneck/cowl version as is last winter but never liked the collar.  It was a little of this and a little of that and couldn't make a commitment.  I removed the collar and surprise, I really like the depth of the remaining scoop neck.  

I had used size 14 with the D cup front for the neck and shoulders and bust line, although I did remove some excess fabric above and below my bust line then transitioned to a size 16+ by the tummy and hip area.  This version is from Fabric Mart, a very lightweight buttermilk type of poly.  It is clammy in humid weather but it works well to test the pattern as a very wearable mock up.  I decided to finish it with a thin woven binding cut from a scrap of brown textured silk kimono fabric, source unremembered.  

This is now my TNT T shirt pattern.  The shoulder princess seam allows for nice fit tweaking.  I plan to use it as the base pattern for a number of those clever Marcy and Katherine Tilton patterns.  I don't want to refit a new knit top when I have one that I have refined already.  Necklines and hemlines and side panels can be changed a lot more quickly than I can re-fit a new knit pattern.  So I was thrilled at the retreat, not so much for the looks of this one but because I could see so many good things happening this fall and winter when I use it as a good base.

One last photo and many thanks for your kind remarks about Lucky's new volunteer job and my return to blogging.  I have lots of blogs to catch up with and look forward to seeing more details about your latest projects.  Happy sewing to all.

Tabula Rasa Jacket into Bathrobe

I am not really a fashion follower but sometimes fashion trends creep into my consciousness and I find myself up to date without even realizing it. (This happens about as often as a full moon total eclipse.)  So I noticed that one of my June sewing projects is actually very au courant per this New York Times article on the kimono resurgence this summer Kimonos Shift from Runways to Music Festivals

Tabula Rasa Jacket from Fit for Art Patterns....as a bathrobe

Yes, I'm fashionable just because I re-visited the Tabula Rasa jacket pattern from Fit for Art Patterns recently. Fit for Art Patterns I am fortunate enough to be friends and neighbors with Rae Cumbie and she had asked several sewing friends, amateur and professionals to help test the pattern and directions for her newest version, a tunic, t-shirt and blouse based on the same design lines. The new pattern and a terrific trunk show will be debuting in a few weeks at the national American Sewing Guild meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.  I won't be there this year but I encourage anyone who is attending to check out the latest version.  Rae is an artist with fabric and also understands how we want casual, comfortable designs with a flair.  
So after the test sewing day I was inspired to head home and work on another version of the Tabula Rasa jacket, this time lengthened so that I can wear it as a summer lightweight bathrobe.  I have had yards and yards of this Asian inspired design fabric which I think is a mid-weight rayon.  My camp shirt days are gone with the '90s but I love the feel of this fabric and the designs.  I lengthened the jacket pattern 15 inches, used the flared side panel and the original sleeve shortened to 3/4 length.  With some fitting advice from Rae I raised the back neckline and added shoulder darts so I could keep the fabric on the fold for center back.  I sewed a size S with the C/D front which has two small side darts in the woven version. 

The square armhole with almost invisible small side seam darts in the jacket body

I added flat piping from some denim tencel in my resource center and a belt trim with the same tencel.  I love it.  It is heavy enough that I can sit outside on our deck early on summer mornings without feeling overly exposed to the elements.  And gosh, if I attend on of those trendy summer music festivals in the Hamptons or Berkshires I guess I could also wear it as a kimono jacket.  And Mr. Lucky likes the print tremendously so won't he be surprised to see a Kwik Sew shirt for him in the future.  
Watch this space for some more woven and then knit versions coming this summer.  That test sewing day really helped restart some of my sewing mojo.
On a more personal note, I've been putting off writing this blog post for sad (not tragic, just sad) reasons of my own.  My blog is an informal way to communicate with my family members around the country and one my most loyal readers was my dear aunt and godmother who died just a month ago at age 84.  Mags lead a wonderful life and her death was not painful nor sudden, just sad for those of us mourning.  My aunt was an inspiration to me from an early age and I have so many wonderful memories.  She was truly a feminist who had it all....just didn't have it all at the same time.  She attended college and graduate school and taught abroad before marrying and starting a family.  She and my uncle had five children and they put together the most wonderful tributes to her at the funeral service. My two remaining uncles, aunts and cousins from all the families flew in for a joyous celebration. She was a woman of faith, humility and humor.  She was an avid reader and we often compared books over the phone or on my visits.  She had an amazing memory for all the people she had ever met and was always making connections and linkages.  On a cruise about twelve years ago she met Judy Barlup and was so pleased to tell her that she had a niece who loved to sew and wanted to know if perhaps we had ever met.  Sewing, however, was a foreign language to her and my cousins recall great family get togethers which always included outsiders that she would invite so they wouldn't be alone....but didn't include homemade cookies because she was just too busy.  She had an intellectual curiosity and open mind all her life.  When I left the church that I had been raised in, she wasn't critical, just wanted to know more about the quirky new to her religion that I had chosen....and wanted to make sure that my selected religion and I were involved in charitable activities and causes.  She wasn't afraid of the computer and kept up with grandchildren that way as well as read my blog and Facebook postings.  I miss her terribly already but am happy to have had so many great times with her.  Just wanted to share some fun pictures from the past:

My aunt's eigth grade graduation along with my mother looking snazzy...in the Bronx, NY

My aunt and godmother.  I don't seem to be enjoying the moment as much as she is.

With her first car.  Mags was definitely a modern woman.

Here's hoping you have happy memories of an important person in your life.

Tabula Rasa Jacket #2 and Other TNT Projects

Hello, lovely patient readers, lurkers and the mildly curious.  Some sewing going on here but my own blog reading or writing has fallen by the wayside in the last two weeks.  No dramatic reasons, good or bad, just too many other lovely distractions.  So here I am to play catch up and share a few projects from February.

First up is this outfit from the Fit for Art Patterns Tabula Rasa Jacket.  I made a lined tweed tone on tone version back in August Tabula Rasa Jacket #1 and this is my entirely different one suitable for FL evenings.  

Stitched wrong sides together then rolled hem edged

Thanks to my enormous collection of lightweight silks, stashed from numerous JoMar and Fabric Mart Pennsylvania trips over the last 10 or 12 years, I have plans for several more of these easy to sew jackets.  This one was made to go with black pants and also this black twist top dress which is merely the Jalie twist top Jalie 2788  lengthened and sleeveless.  The fabric is a corded slinky like fabric from Fabric Mart.  Wonderful travel dress and I am sure I will wear it frequently.  
This lightweight jacket is easy to wear although without shoulder pads my low right shoulder (which seems to be sinking lower ever year) does make the right side droop.  I'm too lazy and not vain enough to make separate right and left pattern pieces for this jacket and I figure my vivacious personality and sparkling conversation will distract you, right?  Or maybe the bold fabric combinations will blind you until I leave the scene.

Simplicity 2364

TNT patterns are always fun to sew and wear in a few days.  While Mr. Lucky was up north I made two more Pamela's Patterns Magic Pencil skirts and one of these delightful Simplicity 2364 tops,2364 review my first here in my Florida wardrobe.  

Magic Pencil Skirt from Pamela's Patterns

Now that Mr. Lucky and I are back together in the same state....yes, in Florida and in the same happy state of being...I'll have my chief photographer back as well.  He's such a help around the condo that I'll have more time to sew, than you very much.  (Aside:  I bow in awe to those of you who work outside the home, raise children, care for declining family members AND who sew, take and post pics and blog about it all....) This Tabula Rasa Jacket and Simplicity top were both projects that I started at the sewing retreat in late January.  I have one more to complete, a lovely tweedy jacket, that remains unfinished.  But also only half way finished is my latest reading project, Drums of Autumn ,fourth in a series by Diana Gabaldon.  Almost nine hundred pages and worth every page.  We celebrated my birthday yesterday rather quietly (in the midst of a week of social events otherwise.)  Rode our bikes to the new Trader Joe's in the afternoon then I made a salad that we took to the beach with wine and bread and our books for sunset.  So grateful for time and health and the ability to appreciate our many blessings.  These long distance, virtual sewing friendships are among those blessings to here's a toast to all of us connecting around the world.

New Pattern Company, New Jacket,

Despite trees down all around us, our home escaped unscathed from last night's Hurricane Irene.  A little damp corner in the basement, a few power surges and short outages but we've been happy to have full power and the eventual sunshine after the storm.

Today turned out to be a "summer snow day."  The hurricane's rain and high winds happened mostly after midnight and it was merely blowing heavily when daylight broke.  With so many activities already cancelled and our full power available, it was the perfect opportunity to head to my sewing room and finish this project.

Let me introduce my new jacket, the earthquake and hurricane week version, from a new pattern company, Fit for Art Patterns.  This is their first pattern, the Tabula Rasa Jacket, available for sale in two sizes on their website.  Fit for Art Patterns

Upfront disclaimer:  I've known Rae Cumbie for about 10 years when I met her in a wearable art group.  I've always admired her eye for combining fabric and textures and she was voted Baltimore's Best Tailor some years back.  When she decided to work with her partner, Carrie Emerson, on designing a pattern for weavers, quilters and other fabric artists, she allowed me to be a tester for this pattern.  Back in February she sent me a newly drafted pattern so that I (along with others in her groups) could make a mock up and test the directions.   Now the pattern has been printed along with a 16 page booklet of design, fit and sewing instructions.  Jacket sewing weather is resuming here in MD and it was time for me to make my first version of this jacket.

I've blogged before that I generally have avoided many typical art to wear or  artistic design patterns because I find them too oversized and shapeless.  I especially dislike dropped shoulders on garments.  Since Rae knows fashion sewing, and her audience, she knows that many of her potential customers would look better with bust darts and shoulder lines.  So this pattern has an A/B bust front with one dart in the square armhole and a C/D bust front with two darts...that's the one I used.  There's a square armhole and therefore no traditional set in sleeve but the jacket is designed with a shoulder seam.

I used five different fabrics in this jacket but I kept it very tone on tone.  They are all silks or silk blends from Fabric Mart that I collected over the years.  The lining is a rayon from Fabric Mart as well.  I did a very subtle flat piping on that shoulder seam to make it stand out a bit more.

I think you can see all five fabrics here as well as the two bust darts.  I used snaps and some faux Chinese coin buttons from my collection for a closure.

I did add shoulder pads to my jacket and a small interior pocket.  I'm rather pleased with the fabric combination and overall look of the jacket but I will reduce the front width by about 1/2 inch on each side, add more shaping to the side seams and add some length for my next version.  Yes, a next version.  On their website photo gallery Rae and Carrie are positively inspiring with the many versions of this jacket.  It's unlikely I'll ever do a quilting cotton one, just not my style, but I like the shear fabric ones and also am considering a double knit one for winter as well as an ikat fabric one.   Hope you enjoy looking at their website.    It's been a fun project for me and a lovely way to spend such an intersting week.  

No earthquake pictures from Thursday but here's how things looked on our block earlier today: