Vacation Sewing and Packing

Back in the spring Mr. Lucky proposed that we take a Rick Steves tour company https://www.ricksteves.com trip to Switzerland since my cousin had spoken so highly of her recent experience.  If he's willing to select and research it, then I'm good to go along.  In previous posts you've seen that we usually take outdoorsy, hiking/walking trips with maybe some city days before and after.  But this was going to be 12 days touring six cities in the three language (and food) regions so it's considered active but definitely more of a tour than we normally do.  I decided that meant that I needed to make some new garments for a somewhat coordinated but still small enough travel wardrobe.  I could pack the usual rtw travel blouses and pants that everyone else has, Travelsmith, Eddie Bauer, the standards, but I have enough of an ego that if I say sewing is my hobby then I should be wearing something to prove it.  
Let's start with the obvious basic black garments.and work from there.  
Black pants
I have black knit Style Arc Barb pants that can work as hiking pants or as evening with a tunic city pants. 

Barb pants by Style Arc get hydration in Zurich before a day up on Mount Pilatus

Add a second pair of black stretch denim jeans and there's a great base. 

Black skirt  White denim jacket
I already own a terrific rtw swirly mid-calf skirt in black slinky and this would be an opportunity to wear it for touring.  Imitating a great snoop shopping and sewing friend, @shoppingsleuth, (please, go to IG and follow her ideas) I decided that a cropped, deconstructed white denim jacket would be perfect for the skirt and that I could also wear the jacket with a black tank and those pants.  Now, I already have a rtw white denim jacket but I didn't want to cut it up in case I didn't like the look.  Enter my new shopping addiction...Poshmark.  For $12 I got the same brand jacket in a white stretch denim.  I cut off the collar, turned and edged it with narrow ribbon and cut the sleeves off to elbow length.  Eventually I want to embellish it around the neckline but I think it worked well just as it is.

Refashioned jacket with cut off sleeves and collar removed

Thanks, Michele, for a great idea

Dark wash denim jeans
No, I have not gotten on the make your own jeans bandwagon although I do love my pull on Jalie Elenore jeans pattern.  So I was packing dark denim rtw again and made a number of coordinating tops to wear in warm temps (Zurich hit 102F the week before we arrived!) or cool.  

White stretch jeans
Ok, this was totally unnecessary but I just love white jeans in the summer and all that dark is practical but sooooo dark.  I got a decent amount of wear out of this last minute decision and it kept my bottoms in rotation enough that I didn't have to do laundry in the two weeks.

So what did I actually sew, what else did I pack and how did they work in a small rolling suitcase?  Here they are:
Three very lightweight over blouse toppers with either a rtw or Margarita tank top underneath.  I only wore two of them when it was quite warm at the start of our trip and one of the hotels wasn't air-conditioned.  They roll up to the size of a cell phone so easy to stuff into a suitcase although probably not necessary.

This topper is my most pinned item since I first made them nine years ago..Chicos poncho knock off  This one works wonderfully with jeans since it has navy and black in that burnout polyester from Fabric Mart.

Again, an easy topper with a twist so I can cover my upper arms but wear a sleeveless tank.  Both sides of the fabric show...one is glittery navy that I think came from JoAnns and the other a tissue knit from Fabric Mart.  I thought I did a post about making one but can't find it at the moment. Tell me if you'd like directions.  

I am in love with waterfall jackets of all lengths and collar widths.  I made a sheer one from my very favorite Butterick 6244 and a border polyester fabric from Fabric Mart with a serger rolled edge.  Turquoise knit Margarita Tank top by LJ Designs, my go to tank.  

Butterick 6244

Then a knit version in a somewhat heavy ITY that needed a full facing.  The colors are perfect for denim and black but when wearing it, the extra weight of the large facing pulled it forward and I wasn't always happy with that.  I'll keep it for travel but not for regular at home wearing.

Butterick 6244

Butterick 6244

I'm grinning like a fool because we were ecstatic to reach the Lugano hotel where we got a whole pot of delicious coffee at breakfast.  Americans like us looove their morning coffee and a small cup isn't enough.  This was heaven.
There were some oldies that came along on the trip:
Vogue 8691 from three years ago

Yes, I found fabric stores and haberdashery departments just like a homing pigeon.
Vogue 8813 is a Marcy Tilton dress with great pockets and was perfect for market day and winery tour in Lausanne.

Vogue 8813

A Simplicity 3678 dress that I cut down into a tunic and thought I might discard at the end of the trip but it got several compliments so it came home with me:

Simplicity 3678

And last sewing picure,  a McCalls 6444 jacket, another oldie but goodie, in lightweight nubby cotton with lots of fringing.  Jeans and travel friendly.

McCalls 6444

Oh, that bandage you've noticed....thank you for not saying anything.  I was so cocky and full of myself as our trip started out.  The first three days we were on our own in Zurich.  Day one we arrived, dropped our luggage and used the Rick Steves guide book for a marvelous walking tour of the city.  Cure for jet lag...walk  8 miles in the sun.  Day two we headed on the train for a whole day excursion to beautiful Mount Pilatus.  Trains, gondolas, cog wheel train, boat ride, hiking...another almost 8 mile day.  
Ah, day three, head out to take scheduled e-bike tour of Zurich.  Electric bikes are the ones with heavy electric batteries that give you power assist.  Mr. Lucky and I were there early, the woman trying to help me said all the bikes are the same, I didn't want to be a pushy American but saw that there were smaller ones more my size but I went along with her (listen to your instincts, ladies) and yes, the bike took me down with its weight and size and I have a badly sprained ankle.  I still did the whole trip and it could have been soooo much worse.  I'll see the ankle dr. when he's back from his vacation on Monday but I can still sew so all is not lost. And sewing wise, here are my souvenirs:

Sewing friends, feel free to move on....travel voyouers, keep looking for a few of our many pictures.  

The Rick Steves tour was a master work of planning for organized time and free time.  He's a real believer in getting to know local people, stay at family owned hotels and dine at local restaurants and that made this quite special.  We had a walk with a local city guide in each town, a wonderful full time guide/manager, Fabian, who set up our visits to behind the scenes tours of a monastery, an exclusive chocolatier, an Alp cheese farm, mountain WWII fortress, local village music, a risotto cooking class, winery tour, Roman ruins and travel by coach, by train, by boat, by tram and gondolas.  We were initially concerned that it wouldn't be active enough for us but we averaged five miles a day...me limping along but I didn't miss any activity except maybe the optional tandem para-gliding.  We'll definitely take another trip with such a terrific organization some time in the future.  Now, back to my sewing room and all the fun projects I have in store for the rest of 2019.

Mr. Lucky and the fire gear inside one of the WWII mountain fortresses which held 200 men

In Engleberg there was a local band concert and a music group which did Swiss yodeling songs that were beautiful.

Bellinzona has three castles, built to guard this narrow pass

Daily cheese-making after the forty cows have grazed on the high hills

The hills were alive with Alp horn music, some it more melodious than others.

On Lake Geneva the steamer passes the Castle of Chillon

We learned that a famous Bollywood film had been filmed in and on top of the gorgeous Mount Titlis

Mr. Lucky, now retired ski patroller, gets a great look at the Alps.

Vogue 1440

I was hoping that I would be posting about this jacket, Vogue 1440, and two additional versions by now, six months after I made #1, but "if wishes were horses, beggars would ride" as one of my Scottish ancestors probably said frequently.  So without horses or delay, here's my first Vogue 1440, a Donna Karan pattern that is OOP but still sometimes available on eBay.  I started it last summer after tweaking my first mockup with help from Sarah Veblen and finished it to wear on a fall trip in France.

Vogue 1440, Donna Karan jacket at Galeries Lafayette in Paris

I love the curvy lines of the design but all that contrasting seaming on the original is too much for me.  I'm a tone on tone kind of gal and I like the subtle sophisticated but more casual take on the tweedy iconic Chanel jacket.  It feels sweater-y to wear and packed like a dream so what's not to love.

So how did I adapt the pattern for my style?  I eliminated the binding done for each of the jacket's seams....and there are many

I lengthened it 1 1/2 inches.  Not hard to do, just tedious to divide the correct pieces and stay on grain.  I also trimmed off 1 inch all the way around the exterior of the collar and front wide lapel/overlap.  When I looked online at the reviews of others I thought each time that there was too much fabric upfront which drooped and looked overwhelming.  That and the extra length on my body are probably the two best design decisions I made on this pattern and have made it into a TNT pattern for me. 

Next I had to decide how to highlight the outer edges of the fringed collar and front.  I thought about adding silk ribbon and ordered three colors but it was too distracting to me even hand basted in place.

I put my three options together and the clear winner was to use the selvedge.

L to R Fused silk ribbon, hand stitched silk ribbon, ordinary selvedge

I had lots of yardage of this fabric, a tweedy mostly cotton boucle that I have had for at least ten years (Fabric Mart, of course)...but even with more than three plus yards, there wasn't enough selvedge for double sided trim all along the jacket outside edges and at the sleeves.  So the beautiful selvedge was trimmed then fringed on both edges and applied to the outside that would be always visible and on the front edges both sides since they too are always moving and visible.

Selvedge edge trimmed to 21/2 inches at top, then threads removed and trimmed down to 1 1/2 inches for application

On the underneath of the bottom hem I simply used 1 1/2 inch bias strips to make the inside finish.  On the sleeves I used the pulled threads then pinched three of them together and zig zag stitched over them onto narrow bias strips making a unique but totally coordinating strip to trim the sleeves.

The body and sleeve pieces on this version are underlined in silk organza to give them support. Again, some reviewers commented that unsupported boucle felt like wearing a towel so the silk organza was a good decision.  I put coat hooks and eyes at the front so I can wear it closed although I seldom do.   

I'm pinning out 1/2 the full length of the middle front 

But as happy I am with this jacket, it didn't look exactly like the black and white version on the pattern illustration.  As I examined it further I realized that the original jacket really doesn't meet at some center front point but the pattern that Vogue produced...and I used for my fitting, clearly had a center front line.  So I decided to adjust the pattern for the next versions first by pinning out 1/2 inch on each front from the hem all the way to the shoulder.  When I tried on the mock up with that adjustment I was much happier with the open look of the front.  But those pictures will have to wait since I haven't made the next ones.  

Two more versions are cut out already.  One is a pink, peach and fuchsia tweed that I am half way finished sewing for spring.  Same selvedge idea but either a flared or 3/4 sleeve to make it a little "breezy."  One of my sewing groups has an afternoon tea and it will be perfect for early May in Maryland. The other is a boiled wool version inspired by one that Sigrid did with this pattern, again using its basic bones and making it fit her life and style. vogue 1440 sigrid sews

   

Mr. Lucky and I are in our "go go" years right now and so this jacket and one of the dresses in my previous post made it to the walking trip we took in Provence last fall.  I am just now catching up on my blogging because I do like having a record of our adventures, even if I'm late in posting them.  I will share a little sewing project that I used to avoid any problem with pick pocketing.  I'm not fond of travel belts and the like and saw a gentleman on youtube selling his cotton pockets that he sewed inside his pants.  I took that idea and made little portable pockets for Mr. Lucky and me.  Lightweight nylon fabric with a zipper and rather than sew them inside our pants we just used two safety pins.  We could carry our passports and credit cards easily and safely and just kept some cash in our pockets or my purse each day.  

travel pocket to pin inside pant waistband

This was our ninth active holiday trip with a group in 21 years.  We started back then with a Burgundy France walking trip for our tenth anniversary and it was marvelous, exceeding my every expectation....and trust me, I'm a picky, frugal consumer.  Because we are mono-lingual, we need a group to travel in the country in France so we returned to The Wayfarers for this trip. 

Mr. Lucky and I started with four days on our own in the city of Avignon and had a fantastic time.  We loved walking the narrow lanes of this ancient home of nine popes during troubled times in Italy in the 14th century.  The Popes' Palace was spectacular, inside and out since we were there for the last weekend of a magical evening light/slide show on the exterior walls.

Pont d'Avignon 

We took a wine tour and had rose tastings (much more enjoyable than my eighties memories of Sutter Home White Zinfandel) and the delicious Rhone Valley Chateauneuf du Pape wines.

We did a Van Gogh tour 

and of course we ate 

Vogue 8813 dress

and ate

Mr Lucky before his morning coffee

and enjoying fondue in Paris in the evening

After the Avignon days we joined up with the 12 other people for our walking tour of the perched villages in the Luberon area of Provence.  The walks were long and beautiful, 11-13 miles per day for six days.  Our guide, Hubert, was informative and encouraging, an international business professor in our age range and so fluent in English that we blushed at our own native language sloppiness.  The accommodations were luxurious every evening, almost over the top from anything we've done in the past.  The food was also luxurious and even included a stay and meal at Edouard Loubet's hotel and two Michelin star restaurant in Lourmarin.

But this splurge 21st anniversary trip revealed something to me.  I'm much more a plain Jane, bistro food plus enthusiastic, curious travel companions kind of gal.  Our fellow walkers were polite and casually friendly but it was the least fun or enthusiastic group we have ever been with.  Much more a quasi-sophisticated, blasé tone for the majority of them and disappointing in that aspect. Usually we have met some delightful people with whom we have kept in touch, sometimes for many years.  Not this time.  Of course Mr. Lucky and I enjoyed ourselves and will continue active trips like these but will do so in more modest and adventurous environs.      

But for our travel album, here are some of the highlights:

One of my favorite meals, lunch of fresh stuffed simmered veggies

It was boar hunting season and we saw their evidence on the trails but never saw one in person...until this guy

So au revoir and thanks for reading this far.  Next post, much more sewing, I promise.