State of the Stash

So, some things are happening in the Anachronism household.
And that means boxing up EVERYTHING because shiny new jobs and big opportunities are on the horizon.  Our new house will mean a  bit of a different sewing room/studio configuration, and that's something to get excited about, but it's also something I have to be more intentional about.
My sewing space will be taking over half of our den- I think having the machine out where I can get to it and sew while enjoying family time is going to make a difference in my productivity.

It means I am re-doing my catalog, and streamlining.  
Stash totals are being completely re-counted, some UFOs are being abandoned.  Fabric isn't making it into the new system or into a box if it's not something I can see myself using.  A lot of polyester from days gone by is going away.

Now, I did the UFO list in the Spring, but I'm a little terrified about this update the fabric catalog, because that would be revealing how much fabric I bought(gulp) or forgot about(sheesh) in 2015/16 when I was working on the catalog to begin with.
But then I bought more fabric last week, and I remembered how much fabric I actually have used, and I decided maybe I should bite the bullet and maybe even give myself a little bit of encouragement- and an accurate place to begin from as I put my hands on every piece of fabric to put them in boxes and move them.

We've got 3 weeks till the truck comes, and I have projects to finish between now and then, and a good amount of house to pack up.  Wish me luck!

The Stash

Well, short of the stuff I've had since high school and just retrieved from my mom's attic, my stash is all counted up and cataloged.  It's a good feeling, even if the number is a little scary at... gulp... 317 yards.  Not counting Fat Quarters.  Or Scraps.  Or anything currently in progress.  But, I am happy to say there are some goals and plans, and I am officially sewing along this year as a Stashbuster.
In January, the goals were revolving around organizing stash and sewing space, and there were some great blogs written and posted about organizing.

So the other thing I am supposed to do for January is to make my goals and plans for the year.  I want to...

-Do the mending.  Simple things like buttons and hems have sat... and sat... and sat... in the WIP basket, and I want them to hang and be loved in the closet instead.  I want the mending basket to be empty when I switch clothes over for spring/summer, and again when I switch things back over for fall/winter.

-Keep the Progress in WIPs.  In the process of organizing my fabric and cataloging everything, I opened up a steamer trunk and a plastic tub... both of which contained half-started things.  Some of which were started in high school.  And I am proud to say I chucked 21 things, making them forever UFOs(UnFinished Objects) to get down to a manageable(ha!) 15 bags/pieces of clothing and 4 quilts... And I'm really good with the variety of these projects.  As I was tallying them up, I made a separate list of things that will take less than an hour.  I want to complete at least one of these a month, and finish 2 quilts this year.  

-Use yardage I have for a project, if at all possible.  If something old will work, why buy something new?

-Finish 3 things a month.  At least 1 WIP.  

So I, Rev. Sarah McBrown, promise to do my very best to meet these goals, and check in monthly as to my progress in these matters.

Oh! January finishes:
-mending a shirt
-a new wallet- will blog soon.
-cataloging the stash.  It took up a whole Saturday, and then some, so it counts.

Catalog

It's a beautiful labor of love, and how I spent a good chunk of my week last week.
9 tabs in a spreadsheet.
176 pieces.
223 yards.

We're going to ignore the fact that I have yet to count the linings or the interfacings or the net/tuelle/crinolines or the flannels and just marvel at all the pretty fabrics now.  They're lined up on a shelf where I can see them, wrapped around tiny bolts made from comic book boards.  It's been a 2 day process, but I think it'll be worth it if it means I can see my fabrics, I stop buying duplicates, and I want to sew more... which is what it's all about, right? If I can see my stash I can sew my stash.

This process is part of the complete re-organizing and un-cluttering of my sewing space in the guest room.  As I cataloged the fabrics, I folded them the width of the comic book boards, and stored winter fabrics that way until after we move.  Summer fabrics, knits, bag fabrics, and quilting cottons all went onto the shelf.  Decor fabrics were put away till it's time for curtains/slipcovers in our new house, folded in their own bin, and I have yet to find the solution for cuts of fabric under 1 yard(mostly quilty stuff) so it has its own bin, where everything is neatly folded and arranged vertically in rows so I can see it all.

Now I'm off to drool at fabrics and finish the rest of the room... Maybe I'll come up with some sort of grand reveal to do here on the blog.

SWAP 2015

Y'all, I really like this year's rules for SWAP... Sewing With A Plan. Given my new job in a business casual environment, my desire to do something creative and use some color after acres and hours of sewing white, I think I am going to dive in.  A capsule wardrobe fitting the SWAP model would go a long way toward giving me a cohesive work wardrobe, and as a young professional I need all the help I can get.

If you're unfamiliar with the SWAP format, here's a run down:

Stitcher's Guild specifies you must create the following in an 11-garment format:
5 tops
3 bottoms
3 "wildcard" items

For this year's focus and twist, one garment has to reversible, multifunctional, or upcycled... making something new out of something old(which is right up my alley!!!) You are allowed one garment finished before the start date of December 26, and one purchased garment.  Wild Cards may not be accessories.

The deadline is April 30.  I think I'm in!

5 tops:
grey oxford cloth tee in TNT pattern
blue swiss dot Jasmine tie blouse by Colette Patterns
woven white envelope shoulder tshirt(will riff on TNT)
1 knit top using Renfrew by Sewaholic Patterns
1 cowl neck knit top in royal blue (likely also Renfrew)

3 bottoms:
upcycled purple boucle skirt with shaping and black side panels added??
Purple herringbone wool skirt??
black TNT skirt, add a pocket
grey pencil skirt with pockets

3 Wild Cards
Grey sweater knit dress
Fuschia Sweater knit dress
cardigan/jacket tie-together TBD, probably already in my closet.

Cutting and basting

This is installment 2 of Throwback Thursdays... I am attempting to catch up the blog with all the sewing I've done and somehow missed blogging about, and I figured the best place to start was my wedding dress.  So without further ado...

Trying on the muslin over the petticoat and corselette was a really good feeling.  I finally felt like I really knew what the dress would look like! And it was so fluffy! And not at all what I imagined and everything I imagined. It was pretty great. And of course, I forgot to take a single picture.

So it was time to mark my fitting changes (running and stress had made all of my measurements smaller from the waist up... Not fun. :/) and when that was done, I got to rip the muslin apart, iron all the pieces, cut them down, mark the right sides with washi tape, and then lay them out on a silk sandwich that was 8 yards long. 

The makeup of the sandwich: habotai silk lining on the bottom, silk organza in the middle, and the gorgeous shantung silk on the top layer. I pinned the layers together using superfine, very sharp silk pins, and it took a few attempts, but I finally got all of the muslin pieces on the silk, on grain.  Small victories, and pretty scrap piles! Silk at the front, lining in the middle, organza at the back. I've found so many cool uses for the scraps.  To include the bias mentioned last week for the edge of the corselette... I also made enough for the shoulder straps, hanger straps, and more!

Then came the basting. I pinned pieces together 2 or three at a time, then stitched it all together with orange silk thread, just to make sure everything would lay smoothly and come together properly. Everything stayed pinned in its silk sandwich all put away till I was ready for it, and I went from front to back, adding godets in batches. It took many many hours, but it was a strange sort of calming, if that makes any sense. I just listened to podcasts, and stitched. It was meditative and prayerful and calming, and since the rest of wedding planning was really going crazy, I was so thankful for that. 

Once everything was basted together, it was kind of difficult to imagine turning my sewing machine loose on it.  It was one of those silly things that was half-paralyzing:  I was so close to finishing this dress, without a whole lot of time to spare, and I was TERRIFIED that using my sewing machine on it would somehow ruin it.  So it sat.  For 2 days.  And I turned my attention to other wedding-y things that were demanding, like flowers. And wine choices, and vendors... So I'll leave y'all here till next week.  

#SewMyStash2015

I'm gonna jump in, albeit a month late... I am committed, y'all.

I haven't sewn anything yet this year but plans are brewing and I have a whole weekend ahead of me.  It's so exciting. And to think it started with Instagram! Leasa of Project Leasa posted a photo and said it was gonna be the year of sewing all the fabric she'd been saving for something special, and used the hashtag #sewmystash2015 and got an amazing response.  It balooned.  She blogged about it,  and every 3 weeks or so she has posted a challenge.  No rules except the ones you set for yourself, lots of quilty inspiration, and a really amazing group of sewists gathering to cheer each other along! There's even a widget, and a list of blogs... It's all very exciting.

Our first task was to post publicly a picture of our fabric stash, and here it is:

5 32 qt bins, 3 15 qt bins, and 2 of those dresser drawers. There's also a bigger a bigger bin full of WIP/UFOs, and these bins with projects in progress:

And the next task is not to catalog or sort or otherwise organize, but to MAKE SOMETHING. Y'all, I can get behind that one.  I have a rainy weekend and no on-calls on the horizon, so after spin class tonight I am going to cut some projects out and get to it.  Maybe even something with hearts.

Check out Leasa, and if you Instagram, follow that hashtag! You'll be inspired. 

Muslin: Round 2

I think this is the most fabric I've ever used in a single go.  I didn't believe it when I saw someone go through 2 bolts of muslin working on their wedding gown, but I can see how now.


I am really excited about how great this is looking and how well it is coming together. The draping was my biggest concern, because the entire dress is a Frankenpattern of sorts... Iteration 3 of the dress I found tucked away in the costume shop.  The original was ripped apart to have a second life as a pattern. It became Sunset, the red dress I ripped apart to use as a pattern when I realized its muslin was long gone. You see it above in the middle layer of the pattern sandwich, with muslin round one on top and length and a train added with mostly ignored guidance from Vogue 2788 on the bottom, augmented by newspaper.  It is crazy to think that the red piece is knee- length.  It's been a journey, friends.  But the finish line is in sight.


I spent 2 movies drafting the back, and another one drafting the front.  At that point, I started to cut, and we're looking at another movie and a half there.  Then there was the scary moment where I thought I didn't have enough fabric... because I ordered everything a month or so ago.  And so there was biting of nails until I laid everything out, and it was all gravy, but with 8 yards of 54" fabric, JUST barely. The laying out muslin pieces on pretty silk was all podcasts, but I think I listened to 3? So another hour?
I pinned all of my pieces in over the course of another 2 podcasts, but these were game shows and This American Life, so I think that's another almost 2 hours. They went together very quickly because of all the prep though, so just another hour and change.  Lake Woebegone and Ask Me Another.
This dress is a yardage monster, but I think it is worth every little bit.  It is also the most time I have spent on a single garment... If we add it up, to this point, that's 5.5 movies.  Let's just say they're each a little over 2 hours long. 2.25x5.5? 12.375... 12 hours and 20 minutes, ish.   Plus another 4.5 hours of podcasts.  And the pictures you're looking at are from a fitting session that was about an hour.  So... Let's round up and say 17 hours to that point.  Seventeen.

But it's worth it.
It is, after all, my wedding dress.

A couple of weeks ago, an awesome lady from work and I went to the inaugural meeting of the West Atlanta Modern Quilters Guild.  A good time was had by all, and my what a creative bunch of ladies!

What I loved about this crazy creative group of women was that there were an awesome variety: in ages, occupations, skill levels, styles, and personalities.  It's inspired me to get to sketching in a bit more detail for my first quilt, whose story is intimately entwined with my life.  Y'all, it's gonna be a heck of a first quilt... of indeterminate size and mostly made-up pattern.  It'll be crazy, and I can't wait.

But first! First.
The mug rug.  I'm gonna play wonky disappearing nine patch and see what happens.  Whatever happens, I SHALL have pictures!  But not today. Just a sketch today.

UFOs-no-more!

I am thinking that it’s closing in on time to talk about resolutions… I mean, the fervor of new years has passed, and it’s been a really good one so far, and my sewing mojo seems to be back in full force, and I have things to show as soon as I add buttons and hems and things.

And I have this stack of things that also just need buttons and hems and things.  Maybe a waistband and a lining here and there.  But really, there’s no reason for me not to encounter a closet re-vitalizing… not that I don’t have more than enough clothes.   But… you know, there ARE some old favorites would be good to have back in rotation.  And some dresses that would be great for church, or dancing, or both… It’s so exciting to think I could add all of these things to my wardrobe with little effort…

So why is it so hard to do it?

In the finishing of a top and a skirt, I am rarin’ to go on and sew more… Hopefully that’ll carry over to some more finished projects.  I'm gonna take a leaf out of Jenny's book and try to knock some of these things out.  

Hobbies, earn your keep!

Oy.

Y'all, I hate it when you look at costs.

How much do our hobbies cost us?  Now, before you click away because you don't wanna think about it, wait a second... Because I don't wanna talk about money, or personal finances...

I want to talk about space.  I want to talk about time.  I want to talk about effort, and what the cost of THOSE is.  Because many of us stash... I know I am guilty, and I am certainly dreading getting that counter with yards in and out up to date.
I live in a small city apartment, and that means the cost of storage is high.  And, while sewing does not have to use up much room, I am woefully lacking in the discipline required to do the thing where you buy the things for one project, finish it, and move onto the next one with very little left over and carried over to store- maybe a few basic notions and a scraps bin.
On the other hand, I'd really much rather have 5 bins of fabric and one bin of Christmas decor... Inspiration doesn't mean adorning my home for me, although I certainly love having my home feel like one.

I want to love this gift of creativity.  I want to grow into it, and for things to take shape out of those bins of supplies...  And I want to talk about it.

Lovely readers, if you still exist, I want you to hold me to embarking on a renewed relationship with my hobbies.  I want to show you silly cell phone pictures of earrings, tell you the stories of my creation, and share with you this part of my life.

Khaki time!

This is one of two khaki skirts in the works right now...
 One is in time out because it's misbehaving.
Before this one got there, there was already one in the same shade in my closet.  That one is about 6 years old at this point, and still in steady rotation, but has a much more summery feel.
The fabric is an embroidered cotton I bought from fabric.com about 3 years ago before my trip to Istanbul with the intentions of making a handkerchief hem, drawstring skirt.  Then, it sat in the UFO pile until a few months ago.  I already had one khaki skirt in progress, but something made me do this one anyway.

What else can I say? I love neutrals, and I was SO excited to declare this skirt no longer a UFO, AND not have to buy a single thing to finish a project...  It's a simple circle gone wrap skirt, with a contrast waistband facing and bias binding to finish the raw edges- attached the second time around with hand stitches for a little extra something, and a good project for all of the time in the car and in meetings this summer.  The closures, which were added after photos were taken, are a giant snap and another lovely button.  Since the trim is ivory and not white, it's working its way into fall with panache, and since it's a circle, it's quickly becoming a favorite for swing dancing.  Hooray!

Of Assembly Lines and Mojo

Incase there was any doubt in your mind, my mojo has indeed returned with a vengeance.  I want to sew again, and I want to sew LOTS.

 You know how sometimes you buy lots of yardage of something, and then decide you’ll use it for basics?

I did that… And then I came up with 2 different patterns(Butterick 5354 and Simplicity 2443)  using the pieces at the same time… So I condensed those to one cutting session.  SO lovely. 

And since I already had the patterns out I figured I’d cut out the other dress, (a lavender all-jersey Simplicity 2443) I was thinking of.  And that simple skirt, since I finally had lining fabric on hand... You know, less hauling around of all of those things you need when you work in multiple spaces…

So, all in all, I cut a top, 2 dresses, and a skirt.

It was the work of an evening. How awesome is that?? 

Maybe you've gone on a cutting rampage.  Tell me, how do you manage to pick one to sew up first?

2 weeks ago:

I have fallen off the wagon.

I haven’t sewn much- at all- in the month of May, even though my list of projects is long and full of fun, interesting things… A great supplement to my existing wardrobe full of fun, comfy things.  I kind of just wish I could sew it all and that I had the time and the motivation and the space to do that. 

I want to be productive in so many ways.  I want to start yoga and start running and doing core work and I’m having the trouble actually getting out and doing it all… Sigh.

 Finals are over.  It’s not high-stress anymore, and I so don’t have that excuse any longer. 

… And then, today, it was almost like a switch flipped and I magically have the energy to think about tackling some of the projects on the list… Getting them down to handwork for the 2-hour car ride I have Sunday. 

So, some modest (ha! ...But I do have mojo on my side) goals…

-cut two dresses out:  basically 2 versions of the same dress.  They have POCKETS. I can wear them at camp.  Need I say more?  And, one of these is a palate challenge garment.

-Assembly-line sew the dresses:  I can do both at once and make it work...just do more steps at once.  There’s a great post about this over on Whipstitch. 

-While I’m at it, I may assembly-line a skirt or 2 in there too... just use the same thread color and do side seams and waistbands and hems and things all at the same time...I just don’t seem to have enough good skirts(read: skirts with pockets) these days.

-Picnic blanket project… SO EXCITED about this… My sewing buddy T and I have been cooking this one up for a while now, and it’s happening!  SO excited.  If y'all like it, maybe we can cook up a tutorial and a pattern.  

Alright.  Happy day!

Wardrobe Wednesday: A 6PAC plan

Wardrobe Wednesday might be the place for this and it might not but let’s look together, shall we?

The Spring/Summer Queue originally, with edits in the indents:

Brown bike-able skirt… maybe knit, maybe a bubble.

Instead, I’m gonna do a grey/blue pleated skirt with pockets and a wide waistband. I’ll pull out that brown knit for a bubble this summer.

Scraps of the purple-white floral dress to a bike-able skirt

This might happen, but it isn't something I need for work.

Breezy white woven top

Another breezy top

Already in progress, and it’s grey and white paisley print and uses piping.  Look for a post upon completion. 

Rie Dress In the NON-MATERNITY version

If I can find some good lace, I may still make this one… but I have to see if the pattern would work with a woven.  I have a dotted Swiss in mind for this one, so I might get pretty picky here. 

Shirtdress- blue Oxford cloth

Might be a Summer dress… especially if I can work out the fit on M5801.  I think if I just assembly line the construction for this and for the Easter dress of yore I would have 2 awesome summer dresses that’ll go into the fall like a dream. 

Not on the list:

Alter vintage white eyelet dress- It was my mom's and she's passed it on, and I hope to wear it for Easter!

Finish brown-and-white pinstripe dress- will go into Summer really well, especially when more brown starts to play in the rest of my wardrobe.

A white knit tee

Wardrobe Wednesday: 6PAC, Attempt 2

Yes, I’m trying again… What can I say? I like the camaraderie and friendly spirit of the 6PAC groups at Stitchers Guild, and how the rules are a little more lax and there’s no sense of competition in the thing.  We all come out winners because we get to see, and ideally make, lovely garments. 

I think that these 6-PACs and these more manageable chunks have value, and I think naming and thinking of what works from season to season is important. As we work our way into Spring, I am thinking of and building on these wardrobe concepts with the lovely ladies in the Spring 6PAC group, even though I doubt I will ever fully commit to this way of wardrobe planning. I like my clothes too much to go down to as few of or as neutral of pieces as is recommended in this school of thought.

But… who doesn’t want for the things in their closet to play more nicely together?

And why not sew things for Spring that will be workhorses through the summer?

This is a Wardrobe Wednesday post because these 6-PACS are intended to make your whole closet play well together, and that’s something we all want to shoot for, and the thing that started out this whole series of Wardrobe Wednesday posts… This post speaks to that desire, and I think to why I started out on this whole journey to begin with. 

So, what’s the plan, you ask…

I could look at the queue… and I will.  But I think that list will be changing shortly to narrow colors and styles and look at what I’ve got...  You can see my colors over there.  I’ll let you know about more changes, and tell you more soon!

Christmas is a month away? WHAT?!

Gwen and the calendar (Can you believe it’s the middle of November??) got me thinking Christmas... And I AM making gifts.  There isn’t, in my humble opinion, a substitution for handmade things or carefully chosen things… and if I give gifts, I give these kinds of things.

Yes.  I have started.  I have necklaces and earrings for many of the ladies in my life.  The boys will get baked goods.  My baby brother is getting recipes and the supplies to make them and shirts that’ll fit his gangly arms… which I won’t be making.  Blankets galore for little ones and expecting parents.  Mom reads the blog so I don’t know that I’ll talk about her gift… I’m excited about it though. 

I am making one gift that's pretty huge... A quilt.  Pinterest knows about it.  The recipient knows about it and has agreed not to read about it... and chose the palate with 3 lovely fabrics, pictured, and added to it with shirts and other reclaimed fabric.  

I’ll be digging into the collection and looking at vintage fabrics- not all flat folds of fabric but upcycling too- to mix in.

Now YOU get to hold me accountable for it too.  Here's to finishing by Christmas, right?

“But Sarah…” you might be thinking, “You don’t quilt.”

It’s a true statement, friends.  But… I dunno.  Something tells me that although this quilt is my first solo attempt, it will not be the last one, and will be a good way to sew more than I have been.  You can probably guess there hasn’t been much sewing happening… and you know, my mood relates to it.  I was soooo crabby yesterday it wasn’t funny, and while there were many factors, I think one of ‘em is a lacking in flexing my creative muscles. 

So I will flex them in the coming weeks... I've already started.  Some straight lines.  Lots of alterations are on the docket, and more are no longer on the docket... It's kinda nice.

I am well aware that a large part of me really wants to create too, though… and I will.  The quilt is a part of that, and so are some really great dresses and skirts.

Whipstitch Fabrics

Online, Whipstitch Fabrics is home of Sewing Buddies and many other great forums.  And some amazing classes and tutorials.  And a creative and ever-changing blog.  A great Etsy store. 

But, as I am an Atlantan of sorts, I finally made it to the brick-and-mortar store, friends!  And boy, am I glad I did, even though it’s waaaay after I mean to.  It’s so great.  I can’t wait to have an excuse to go back, and boy, do they give you plenty of excuses…

Great quilting fabrics and good clean lines… 

Pretty baskets of half-yard cuts and fat quarters. 

Great spools of antique ribbon that will be a great pair of headbands…

Open space they share with everyone when they aren't teaching their awesome classes.

And the light... Oh, the natural light.  

I didn't take pictures of the store, just the great stuff I got from it... A definite foul on my part.  But it won't be the last time I'm there.  More eventually!

Fall and Projects

When real life hits, escaping to the land of ribbon and lace and fabric, glorious fabric, will often make everything better.

Well, I'm counting on it.  Reality bites every so often, and now is one of those times.  So, to keep my sanity and update my fall wardrobe, I'll be sewing along with a 6-piece wardrobe!

They have top and bottom suggestions, but I see some dresses happening in addition to some staples.

I've updated the queue.

The projects, in order of "appearance":

swirly 10-gore (maybe partial circle or kickpleats instead) skirt in brown floaty rayon from stash... possibly with the bow from the Lunch Date skirt I want to make.  

herringbone vest from stash

herringbone pencil skirt from stash

denim half-sleeve jacket from stash that I started last year and apparently didn't blog about

red swishy dress from stash

green knit top from stash

Notice a common thread? 

Yup.  I'm on a fabric diet.  It's time to use what I have and finish up old things too... It's all this crazy organizing.  I want to be a good steward of what I have, and that means using it, not it sitting on a shelf.  Plans from old SWAPS are turning into this cluster of things I will wear.  Yay!

Getting to it

Home Dec sewing really isn’t as bad as I thought it would be… lots of getting things ready and measurements before I sew a bunch of straight lines.  The hardest part?  Getting to it.  I washed dishes to avoid it this afternoon.  Seriously.  And if you know me in real life, you know how much I ABHOR dishes. 

But you know what?  I bit the bullet.  Sitting cut out and pinned are the covers for both nightstands.  The old pillow covers have been dismantled, leaving me with 2 forms and piping, plus more of an idea as to how the construction is supposed to work.  Fabrics are chosen.  The last bit of piping is tracked down, measurements are taken… Crazy how simple it becomes when you stop griping and just do it.  Knock it out!  It’s been SO simple, friends.  I didn't have to go out and buy anything new, and I can't wait to see what my bed looks like.   I now wish I’d done it sooner, like a lot of things we put off and put off.

I should probably get back to it… This could be the return of Finish-it Friday!

Luxembourg!

So one of my dancing friends has decided we need a "code-word" for every time I have something home-made on while dancing... And the word he decided on is Luxembourg.

So today, what with my last-minute-ness, I've got to finish this dress for a Luxembourg night. I'm using the pink baby rib knit from December so yay for stash consumption. It's along the same lines of the infinity dress, but not really. Same twirly skirt from the brown dress, and a 4" waistband, and a free-form cut-to-fit front and back, which really has to have pictures on the body... It's halter-ish with a fun crossover in the back instead of ties- makes it more dance-able.

So. Here's to finishing so I can show you guys pictures. On my body for a change!

Also, a quandary. Can anyone think of a place where I could order bra strap carriers online? I've discovered a lack of patience for sitting and sewing itty-bitty snaps to ribbon...