How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Part 1

Yes, it's time for the "how I spent my summer vacation" post....which could also be called "why I haven't blogged for more than an entire season of the year."  When we last spoke, I was sewing and packing for a trip to England and Scotland.  I'm going to share what I made, what I packed, what we did and what fabric souvenirs came home with me.   
Please feel free to leave the room whenever you like.  You see, I remember being much younger and my parents bringing out the slide projector and screen to show vacation pictures to perhaps unwitting friends and neighbors.  Now, thanks to the virtual anonymity of the internet I won't know if you clicked on this page and read all of the post or if you left in a nanosecond...and thanks to some eventual maturity on my part I won't mind if you leave quickly but I will be happy if you stay and join in the fun.
Mr. Lucky and I were last seen heading out to England and Scotland for another walking holiday.  I watch the weather patterns obsessively in the previous weeks and watched it go from cold and dreary to gloriously sunny, real Royal Wedding weather.  
Here are the outfits and sewing projects that I completed in time for the trip...and one that got left behind.  Layers are an important part of my travel wardrobe so first up was a Margarita Tank Top by Lyla Messenger, a staple in my wardrobe. Margarita Tank Top I wanted to use some navy stretch lace and auditioned several knit under layers.  White was too bright, navy was too dark and the lace detail was lost.  

Margarita Tank Top by LJ Designs

I ended up using an almost cornflower blue/purple which worked well with a solid navy cardigan and with this navy striped cardigan.

The selvedge had little pleat like the lace so I used it to finish the neckline.

Ok, that was one new garment ready for the suitcase.  Next up was a simple white lace shell from my TNT t shirt pattern, boring but oh so useful.

Pamela's Patterns Perfect T as a tank top

Now let's make a third layer that will go with that lace top.  I have had this tropical silk print (Fabric Mart, of course) in my resource center for years and the kimono pattern, Simplicity 1318 1318 is so classic that it is still in the catalog.  

Simplicity 1318 kimono jacket

And now something else new for the black cardigan that is a staple in traveling...a blue, black and white silk bias top sewn using a shorter version of a Sandra Betzina bias dress pattern that I love for summer. original post about Vogue 7823 bias dress 

Vogue 7823 as a sleeveless top

And then I decided to sew up one more blue and white item for that travel scheme.  I bought this oh so beautiful gingham print cotton lace-like fabric at a Fabric Mart fabric store buyout in the spring.  And I have my trusty boho tunic pattern ready and waiting, New Look 6110, now OOP unfortunately.  It was fussy sewing since the fabric is so lightweight and full of holes.  Used a Linda Lee suggestion and sewed with tissue paper underneath most of the seams and then tore it gently afterwards.  

I love, love the result but decided at the last minute not to pack it.  The fabric is just too fragile to stand up to much wear and tear so it's saved for special casual occasions but not for packing and unpacking.  And yes, it does need a white or flesh toned camisole top underneath it.

New Look 6110

So those are the me made items that went into my suitcase.  The next two posts will be about our time in London, the South Downs and the Highlands of Scotland.  And yes, sewing friends, fabric will be purchased.
Here's hoping you too are reminiscing about your enjoyable summer days and planning your fall sewing projects. 

Back to School, Back to Sewing, Back to Blogging

In my little corner of the world children returned to school this week, there's a hint of autumn in the air and I am finally sitting down to post some sewing updates.  My summer has been filled with many miles of travel and lots of  fun activities and I have even squeezed in some sewing.  Let's start with the biggest event, our trip to England and Wales during the last two weeks of June.  It was fairly easy to find plenty of clothing combinations to select in my existing  wardrobe so I only stitched up a new Tabula Rasa knit tunic Fit for Art Knit Tunic  top to wear with black Style Arc Elle pants.  It is a border ITY print from Fabric Mart and I played with it a bit to get the layout I liked.  

Tabula Rasa Knit Tunic

Of course, since this pattern is so easy to sew up in about an hour, I made a Baltimore summer version for the far warmer temps and wore it to get my hair cut and colored before leaving on our trip:

I did sew up a simple infinity scarf to pull together a few pieces of previously sewn brown and black separates and also two versions of this Sholdit scarf that I had seen in a travel magazine. Sholdit on Amazon   I wanted an inconspicuous way to carry my passport and credit cards when we went out for the evening in London.  This worked out nicely although I would not really use it on a regular basis for something as big as an American passport, a little clumsy at your neckline.  (If anyone is interested, I will post a picture tutorial.)

Only one more England/Wales sewing project in this post so you can skip the mini-travel report that follows without hurting my feelings.  Just skim down and you'll see the sewing projects inspired by this summer trip.
Mr. Lucky and I had an exhilarating, exciting, simply wonderful holiday. We started with three action packed days in London.  We stayed near Hyde Park so loved walking through the Park to get everywhere since people watching is so much of the fun of traveling.  I first visited London in 1972 while I was back packing around Europe with girlfriends right at this same time of year so it was nostalgic  to feel how much things are the same and yet intriguing to notice the differences.  We loved the Victoria and Albert exhibits on clothing (seeing some fashions that would have been in the shops those four decades ago, of course)

Victoria and Albert Clothing through the years....and a theme for my recent sewing

and Shoe: Pleasure and Pain Shoes....especially since one of the first things I consider in packing is my shoe choice.
The World War I exhibit at the Imperial War Museum was engrossing and saddening.  Wars seem to be declared by the old but fought by the young, so very tragic.  It took far longer to view than we anticipated but I made sure I also saw the Fashion on the Ration exhibit about how ingenious people were with their clothing allowances during the war years.  I remember some older generation remarks about the re-fashioning part of the British Sewing Bee being a reminder of the hardship of those days so it may seem merely interesting and clever now but was probably demoralizing for many people at the time. 

Burda Twist top dress in black slinky and silk organza Vogue 8088

Each day we bought discount tickets for the the theater and saw three shows in our three London nights.  Monday night was the the marvelous Kristen Scott Thomas in "The Audience."  The Audience I had just watched the American Tony theatre awards go to Helen Mirren and Richard McCabe for their Broadway version so was thrilled we could see it in London.  Fantastic play that kept us engaged and discussing it over drinks afterward.  The following night we went in an entirely different direction back to America and "The Book of Mormon." Book of Mormon OMG we laughed and laughed and then laughed some more.  The last night we went for nostalgia and saw "Jersey Boys" which was light and fun and full of baby boomers like us....and maybe even some other former "Jersey girls" in the audience.  
In between we rode bikes in the Park one morning, 

had a tea in the afternoon, 

did some window shopping, including the famous Selfridge windows since we love the TV series, 

and had a great time back in a city we love. 

 Heather and Kathy, thank you so much for your tips for our trip.  We could not fit in the Dennis Severs house because of their slightly unusual schedule and location but we certainly wanted to see it after reading the reviews.  And the McQueen exhibit must have been wonderful but no luck with last minute tickets on our limited schedule.
It was hard for us to leave London but we caught the train that took us to Bangor, Wales for an overnight before heading to the village of Beddelgert and our week with HF Holidays hiking in Snowdonia.  Magic.  Yes, that's the word for this beautiful corner of the earth.  Green and dramatic and and striking and full of history and stories.  There were 24 of us and each day we could decide to take an easy, moderate or difficult hike.  Yikes, you Brits are mountain goats!  We were with experienced "Ramblers" and these were definitely challenging hikes for me but it was worth it to reach the tops of those peaks and see the views.  In five days of hiking, I did 8,200 ft. of ascents and 37 miles and Mr. Lucky did 10, 200 ft and 39 miles.  We have done six other group hiking trips in the last 17 years with other companies and this was definitely the most challenging but oh so exhilarating.  Here are a few of the happy moments:

After saying good-byes to our guides and travel companions we headed to the Shrewsbury area to visit with friends we had met seventeen years ago....and last visited 14 years ago when the footpaths in England were closed due to foot and mouth disease.  It was wonderful to see them in person, take a day trip in the area and to enjoy the village pub each evening.  I'm including this picture because I am wearing a travel souvenir, a kimono like  lightweight long jacket that I bought in London at Top Shop while we were strolling up Oxford Street.  

Lynn and I have tea in the garden in my new kimono jacket.

Back in my sewing room

I loved the print terribly and splurged on the garment even though it is about the simplest thing in the world to make.  But the fabric is just wonderful and I would rather have it for a souvenir than some little tchokte gathering dust.  And it turns out that I love the look.  I'm wearing the skinny jeans fashion some of these days but that means I need tunic tops and longer jackets in my wardrobe.  So yes, this long travelogue does end with a sewing project.  I decided to copy that simple kimono design and proportion and made myself two more kimono jackets that I have worn a few places this summer.  The first one is a handkerchief linen from Fabric Mart that I considered for a home dec project but seemed a good scale for this jacket/duster length.  

The second one is a rayon blend from Fabric Mart that seems to resemble a 50s bark cloth pattern.

I still like the TopShop one the most but it's a new fashion look for me and one that I am pursuing with some other versions in my next posts.  
Until then, I hope August is closing out as nicely in your part of the world and your sewing projects are making happy memories for you too.  And since school days are here, I thought you might enjoy this fun song that I think of at the end of summer: