Me-Made-May 2019, Make 9: Wide Leg Pants

As I post this make, we are having yet another rain storm…listen to that thunder! So obviously these photos were taken on what was actually a delightfully, warm Memorial Day Weekend by my daughter Tess. Hey btw the backyard grass (no filter!)  looks pretty good John and JJ!

This season, I’ve been trying to create an updated take on a “Palazzo Pant.” Based on Simplicity 8134, with a couple modifications, I am over the moon with these! I made a muslin first as the fabric for the pants is a very special one that I purchased while attending the March 2019 weekend of “Jeans Intensive Workshop” at The Workroom Social.  Jennifer of TWS has a highly curated collection of fabrics, indie patterns and notions in-house shop for students. J’adore this palm frond pattern on cotton/rayon. The Palazzo Pant is defined as a wide leg pant that flares out from the waist. I needed to shorten the crotch length, take out a bit of the fullness from the waist to hip and added on-seam pockets where you stitch the pocket bag to the front leg piece. I learned this technique when making The Bondi Dress from Tessuti Fabrics. Love them! And comfy…I will be wearing these pants a lot this Spring and Summer!

In this photo you can see the outline of the pocket stitching.

My clever and cheeky photographer felt we needed a “Captain Morgan (as in the Spiced Rum) sans barrel” pose to properly show off the wide leg, so ta-da!

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Me-Made-May 2019: Make 8 Workshop Attire!

Back in February, my dear friend Nicolisa West and I hosted one of our “The Spirited Stitch” workshops. Attendees enjoy a relaxing day beginning or extending their slow stitching practice, that’s my piece, and a group guided meditation facilitated by Nicolisa who is a both a nurse and a healer! Also this day, our workshop was photographed by the incredibly talented Jen O’Connor for a feature in the magazine “Where Women Create- Mindful Studios.” Today is the launch day for this special issue!

I love the pullover dress worn for this event. I have made it a couple times before in suiting weight linen. It is my favorite type of garment to wear when teaching a workshop! The dress is artsy, comfy and has great deep side panel pockets. Many modifications, armhole, neckline, have been made in each version but the original pattern is McCalls 6739.

The fabric is a stunner: a crisp, vintage indigo-dyed silk/cotton brocade! I bought it last year from East Coast Trimming in NYC. Its just been waiting in my stash for the right time and project. The fit is just roomy enough to wear a close fitting t-shirt underneath.

It was bitter cold on the day of our shoot! We even had a brief snow shower!. Here is a pic of my co-teaching partner (far right) Nicolisa, our photographer supreme (center) Jen and myself posing with some workshop samples.

Here’s the lovely cover of the magazine, which had its “National newsstand on-sale date” today! Photo credit here to daughter Tess! You can find it at Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods and Joann Fabrics! I am so grateful to all who generously contributed to making this an incredible experience and opportunity for me! You can click here for more information on this special edition and for all the other gorgeous periodicals under the” Where Women Create” umbrella!

Me-Made-May 2019: Almost Summer!

Finally in Southern CT, we have gotten into a string of lovely weather…so much so that it feels more like summer than spring today! A perfect day to sport this new “Me-Made”! Based on Simplicity 8640, I made and altered two muslins before cutting into my fabric. In the end, the  silhouette of the dress version is a mash up of the patterns Views A and C along with my own modifications. I opened up the neckline, armhole, tapered the sides and changed the shape of the pockets. Although I really did love the look and vibe of View A, voluminous and artsy, my chosen fabric looked and felt too bulky to keep the original look.

My fabric, a cotton blend double knit from Joann’s, is from my stash. It really felt perfect for this dress. There’s just a wee bit of stretch and of course it’s blue! Here’s a swatch shot. Hard to tell from this pic but its an all over floral which didn’t look interrupted despite the pattern’s V-shaped seams in the front panels.

I’d love to give the original pattern’s View A a go someday perhaps in linen.

Happy Memorial Day everyone. Blessings and gratitude go out to all those who have and continue to serve in and support all branches of our country’s military, as well as their devoted families and friends. Thank you for your service and patriotism.

Thanks to JJ for taking these pics by the marina at our town’s Jennings Beach!

Me-Made-May 2019: Make 6, Linen Top

This sweet top is based off Simplicity R10130. I decided to make the top version before committing to the dress length. I love the drape at the neck with the tie that is attached from the wrong side and just lays over the front.

 The linen/silk blend is from Gray Lines Linen in NYC. Definitely will make the dress version!

Photo taken by Tessa at the beautiful CT landmark, The Phelps Hatheway House in Suffield, CT.

Me-Made-May 2019: Makes 4 & 5: Knits

Guess what?! The sun came out today and the temperatures got up to a toasty 69’…the warm breeze felt lovely and welcomed. This post reflects the season’s cool and easy feeling of cotton knit dressing. The jersey knit, from my stash, was purchased last year from Joann’s. I loved the color story of red, orange and latte blooms on warm cerulean blue, so much I bought 4 yards! The maxi dress pictured above is my go-to for loungewear. Over the years I have made at least dozen of these dresses, an adaptation of McCalls M6102 View D. Pattern alterations include adding 4 inches to the length and opening up the neck and armhole to afford greater ease and wearability.

With the extra yardage, I modified The Lark Tee, by Grainline Studio, into a tank top. In addition I changed the shape of the bottom to a rounded high low. I just know this top will get a lot of play this Spring and Summer alone or layered under a cardi or denim jacket.

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Me-Made-May Post 2-Jeans!

Making my first pair of custom fit jeans has been on my sewing bucket list for a while and this past March I finally did it! I have been following The Workroom Social‘s class offerings for a couple years and when I saw that Lauren Taylor was returning in 2019 to teach the “Jeans Making Intensive” I was all in. Lauren, aka Lladybird, is a wonder: she is a sewist’s sewist! Lauren is an incredibly talented and knowledgeable sewer. She is uber patient, has a great sense of humor and just an all around excellent person. My experience in her class and at TWS was all I had hoped it would be. The pattern was TWS’s own Claryville. It’s a mid-rise, straight leg jean. Sorry for the dark exposure above!  I wish I had kept track of all the rainy, dreary days we have had this year. Good natural lighting has been posed a challenging, technical photographic struggle for us! Anyway, I love the fit of these jeans: they are close to the body but not at all restrictive. We used a lovely Japanese indigo washed denim with 2% stretch that was part of the class kit you can opt to purchase.

I’m over the moon with my end result! Under Lauren and Jennifer’s tutelage, I am now more confident with installing a fly front zip and making bar tacks. The fit was spot on! Hopefully this summer when I have a little more time in the studio, I’d love to make another pair! I whole heartedly encourage you to consider taking a class at TWS. The owner, Jennifer Wiese is a most generous and welcoming hostess and knowledgeable sewist. She has worked exhaustively fine tuning the Claryville pattern into a great fitting and looking jean for all sizes and shapes. And she is committed to providing each attendee with the best sewing experience. Shout out to JJ for shooting the pics on this post!

Me-Made-May 2019: Makes 1 & 2

When I look back at this photo taken on a blustery April day, I can at least say it was bright and sunny! Spring season this year though, has been the soggiest and rainiest on record. Yikes! I was however toasty warm in my hand knit cowl. I was lucky to scoop up a couple skeins of this novelty yarn back in November 2018 at the Loop London Pop Up Shop in NYC.  The yarn is a super chunky weight by “Bibi by Borgo de Pazzi.” The pattern, by @gatherknits is a easy K1 Row, P1 Row. For sure, yarn is the true star. It’s a wool, acrylic and cotton blend with slubs and tiny clumps of color and texture! The colorway pictured is 66Purple. I loved it so much I knit one up in the 88Forest for my daughter.

In this shot, I briefly shed (just for this pic for ya’ll!) my outer layer to show off this cute tunic top. The pattern is based on the tank dress view “D” of McCalls 6886 that I cut down and modified. The stretchy, drapey fabric, an Italian jersey knit from Mood NYC, is a leftover cut from my stash. It is a perfect piece for dressing in layers and it’s been a go to garment for me this Spring.

Here’s to hoping the sun makes an appearance tomorrow, at present it’s 52′ and yes, raining! Thanks dear  “T” for taking these pics.

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Coming Soon: Me-Made-May 2019

Hello friends! It’s coming upon that time of year for “Me-Made-May 2019.”

I’m alway so excited about this annual global challenge for sewists and to share my makes with you all. This year I have pledged to post 10 new makes during the month of May. In my posts, I’ll also share my fabric and notions resources as well as to highlight lessons and techniques I’ve learned in the process.

To learn more about Me-Made-May 2019, click here.

See you soon!

Wow, Spring 2019 is finally here!

 

Hello my friends, it sure has been a while since I have posted a blog. But fear not, it has not been for a lack of creativity or production. Quite the contrary!

Since Fall 2018 a dear friend of mine and myself have been co-teaching “The Spirited Stitch Workshops.” Every couple of months we would gather with a lovely group of talented creatives and share a day of slow stitching and meditation. The result has brought us such satisfaction and excitement. Soon we will be able to share some pretty exciting news about our workshops being featured in the upcoming issue of a well-known and respected industry periodical!

Also I am working on more stitching samples for an international art retreat coming in 2020. More on that event in the coming months as well!

So, I’m so sorry to lead you and then leave you in suspense! In the meantime, I have signed up for the annual international sewing Me-Made-May 2019 challenge. Have you heard of it? I have enjoyed participating in it for the last several years. It’s a great motivator! For more information, click here.

This week we were on Spring Break and I had the pleasure of spending a couple days in NYC; sharing meals with family and friends and fabric shopping in the Garment District! Wowsa, I got so many gorgeous pieces of solid and printed cotton and linen. I can’t wait to get all that fabric prewashed and onto my cutting table! Naturally I ran into the legendary canine and feline shop celebs: “Swatch” at Mood NYC and “Ric and “Rack” at Dayton Trimming!

 

Wishing all my dear creatives a wonderful Easter and Passover holiday. Enjoy the Spring weather and I look forward to sharing and updating you all soon!

Be inspired!

Make & Give 2018, Day 25: Busy hands, full heart!

And here we are, dear making and giving friends, it’s Day 25 of my annual 25 Days of Make & Give! The above photo shows one small space of making from just one afternoon. As you can well imagine, there have been sewing, stitching, and embellishing sessions a plenty the last few months! What I always do know, and I don’t use the word ‘always’ often, is that when my hands are busy making for others my heart is always full! I am hoping that it is the same experience for you.

I thank all those who have taken the time to follow, read and comment on my holiday posts. It is my intent to share my ideas, makes and gives in order to encourage creative inspiration within and beyond my community of makers.

My wishes to all are for a very Merry Christmas and a New Year that is filled with good health, happiness and making!