should you wear a garden on your body?

Last night, I came straight home from work and went to my closet to attack the Seasonal Transfer Project. I’ve been putting it off for weeks, picking clothes to wear out of bins as the weather has been transforming the past few weeks. It always gets me thinking about what’s in my closet, what I like to wear and what I should donate or sell. It gets me thinking about the trends versus the classics and what’s appropriate for my age and wisdom.

Can you wear florals if you're over fifty?

Fabulous over Forty recently had an article that addresses whether or not we should wear our gardens on our bodies.
Florals are trending BIG this Spring, and I gotta admit, I am loving it. I am such a print girl, and if it’s floral, I love it even more. But what I’m really loving lately is the way florals are being done. Big, bold, abstract, on pants and jackets and in the most unexpected ways. So of course, it prompted me to take a look at my fabric stash to see what florals were there and what I could do with them.

Some of my thoughts about florals for someone my age?

1. I am thinking that I need to ground these floral prints of mine a little further by adding more solids to my wardrobe…solid jackets, tops, cardigans, etc.

2. I also think it’s key not to over-accessorize. A floral print on a lady shouts enough “hey look at me” without blinging it up too much. Let the focus be the floral.

3. I’m currently working on my fav jacket pattern in a stretch denim floral. What I like about this floral is that it’s placed with lots of background between the print. I think this is a nice way to work the floral if you are a woman of wisdom. It’s not babyish, it’s not too distracting, and it has that negative space to ground it.

4. Oh, and another thing? We can always do florals on accessories in a very appropriate way. I’ve been wanting to make a foldover clutch and was playing around with the idea of doing one in a floral. That would be fun.

photo courtesy http://bestsoylatte.blogspot.com/2011/05/blog-love.html

J Crew

http://www.loveitsomuch.com/stores/vintage-floral-clutch-1333006024,1502.html/full

5. And finally, if it will be floral or ANYTHING we wear, let it fit well and stick to a classic shape. There is nothing that can make a floral garment go from fabulous to frumpy more than ill fit….no mumus allowed!

Are you sewing florals this Spring? And how?

a lady named Bernice

On Saturday, I had the good pleasure of meeting a lady named Bernice. She is 95 years old and I was able to visit for over an hour while JR checked on some concerns she had with her house. Her little house was built by her husband 72 years ago. It’s chock full of wonderful collectables and family heirlooms...and has not changed in 72 years other than some electrical and plumbing conversions. She lives there with her cat.

Bernice was a stay at home mom to her two sons, who regretfully have passed on. She shared how much she delighted in being their mother and making a home for her family. They had a good life, even though they didn't have everything. They had what they needed and more, which was enough. She was and is frugal, wise, creative and resourceful. She had to be. At her kitchen table which she received as a gift in 1940, when “they made things really well,” she shared many stories which demonstrated pride in her family and the role that she played. And yet she was humble. She said she could claim no credit since God designed her to do exactly what she did.

Bernice, at 95, lost both of her sons within the last 5 years and it was with tears in her eyes that she told me how much she missed her boys. To her, they were not aging men in their sixties with health complications. They had successful careers and wonderful families, but they were her boys. Imagine being 95 years old and outliving your children! To Bernice, she said, “it’s just not natural.” No doubt she always saw them through maternal eyes, even though at some point, they were taking care of her.

I was so happy to spend time with her. It was confirmation to me that a mother’s role is significant….through time and age and death. And that love, care and protection of our children transcends time, age and death.


There has been no greater blessing in my life than to be given the role of mother. It’s been the easiest and hardest, the most complicated and most simple thing I’ve done.

Happy Mother's Day.

Groovin....

Are you getting your sewing groove on?

   Thanks from my blog buddy Elizabeth...what a fun surprise in my email today!  (source unknown)

sewing to the extremes

One of the ways that I manage to get a little extra something to feed my sewing beast is to do alterations and sewing for others. I am always astounded by the number of people that have not learned how to shorten a hem, take in a seam or mend a split . I thought these were pretty basic skills that we all learned at home or at least in home ec.!  Ah, but it is easier to throw things away and buy fast fashion, isn’t it? Even when I’m thrifting, I find some of the most wonderful garments that simply need the buttons replaced or a lining repaired.

So, just this week, I had three jobs to do. And I was a little amused by the extremes.

I started the week by finishing a prom dress alteration. This dress needed some additional room in the bodice, and of course, there were absolutely no seam allowances with which to fiddle. Again, fast fashion, serged seams. I love a challenge.

I removed the zipper from the waist up, re-shaped the back opening while adding satin cord loops.
The loops were sandwiched between layers of twill tape and then sewn in the seam as one piece.
Some extra stabilizing in the way of heavy interfacing was added to the back opening as well.

And what we have is a re-styled gown, and a happy, happy girl.

I finished my week with another job that required sewing patches on a leather vest. Yes, the second in command at my Agency is a Harley ridin' itty bitty blonde who put her trust in me to get the patches on right so that she doesn’t get kicked out of her motorcycle club.

I got some heavy duty thread, leather needles and put my vintage Kenmore to work.

And what we have is a happy motorcycle mama boss.

So, leather and patches, frilly and girly. It’s been a fun sewing week!
I think that means that this weekend I get to sew for myself!

Please remember to vote for your favorite Pantone Color Contest entry over at Pattern Review. There are lots and lots of beautiful garments !

Laurel, version two : the Pantone dress!

I am in love with this Colette Laurel pattern.

This time around, I was inspired by a J Crew shift and then this vintage shift:

photo courtesy Red Velvet Shoe Vintage

For this version, I decided to use a cotton sateen from Elliot Berman Textiles. While I love the sheen of the finish, I don't know that I'd describe it as a sateen. It's very lightweight, almost like a voile. It has a beautiful silky drape and the colors were exactly what I was looking for to enter this version into the Pantone Color Contest at Pattern Review.

While it's hard to capture the true colors with a camera, trust me, this print has the perfect  Nectarine, Poppy Red, Tender Shoots and African Violet. Just that combination sounds delicious, doesn't it? Now, the other thing that REALLY attracted me to this fabric is how I could bring it back to black, which I wear a lot of.
There is something bold about the black added to this palette of floral colors just anchors it all together.

This delicate fabric required a lining. I chose a red bemberg rayon ( love, love, love) which slinks and silks right along with the dress fabric.

I used french seams to finish the dress, and did hand sewn hems. I tried a new finish on the arms scythe, which I learned from a couture sewing book. I chose this method since I did not line my sleeves, which  left the raw edges of the seams exposed.

The sleeve seam is trimmed down to  a 1/4 inch, leaving the dress portion of the arm scythe as the full 5/8/" seam. (ha! do you use your jeans as a pincushion, too?)

The 5/8" dress fabric is then folded around the 1/4" trimmed sleeve fabric and hand sewn in place to cover the entire seam. it creates a nice delicate finish without having to fiddle with bias binding.

And finally, ( I know, Lori,  that this was not your favorite option according to your text last night!) I added a delicate beading trim to the neckline.I think it gives it  just a bit of sassiness without detracting from the print.

So, here's my dress!

 And I am in love with this online sewing community. After making my first Laurel, and having some concerns with it shifting toward my back, some of you gave some me  suggestions about how to resolve that.

It made sense to me that the shoulder seams should be shifted forward, so that's exactly what I did. By about a 1/2 inch.

It didn't make as much sense to me the physics behind raising the back neckline. But I trusted you all and I did just that. Raised the back neckline by almost 2 " and lowered the front neckline about an inch.
Doing both of these adjustments worked like magic on the fit.

And with the coat?

I could wear both of these pieces a hundred different ways.

Now, is this the most flattering style for me? Probably not, but I have to admit I am crazy about the ease of this dress for summer. I can't imagine it getting any breezier for work or weekends.

Please check out the gallery of participant entries at Pattern Review Pantone Color Contest and choose your favorite starting May 3rd!

Burda 7072. The Poppy Red Coat

I'm trying to think of the last time I had a red coat. Ah, yes....it wasn't that long ago.  A big marshmallowy  puffy down coat from Eddie Bauer. Which I wore just this past winter to Wine About Winter with Kate. It was the first time I had it on in a loooonnnnggg time. And I realized that no matter how warm the coat is, it was unflattering as anything. So that night, I  left Wine About Winter, went straight to Bon Ton and bought a black down coat which was much more flattering should you really have to wear a puffy down coat.

I love red coats. And the fact is, when I got the wool using Rhonda's gift card, I knew exactly that I wanted to make a red coat. Well, here it is, well past winter, and I finally made my red coat. Burda 7072.

I just love this coat!  And, as I said in my previous post, I enjoyed making every bit of it.

I made no modifications other than the bound buttonholes.

The pattern is really unusual in the way that it all pieces together. There is a side panel and under arm panel that are stitched together and then joined to the upper sleeves and sides. Interesting and somewhat challenging construction.  But I just love how pretty all those seams come together.

I made view B. The shorter version.  My coat is lined with lavender bemberg rayon.

My one frustration, if any,  is that the lining was drafted short for the coat. I originally wanted to make the longer sleeves, but I ended up having to shorten them because the lining was just not long enough as cut. The body of the coat lining is fine, but could have used an extra 1/2 inch or so in length.

Because this is a medium weight wool coat, I will get lots of use over three seasons. The length is perfect with jeans, a skirt or a dress. And the retro styling is fab. u. lous! SO cool!

So there it is. My Poppy Red coat is being entered in the Pattern Review Pantone Spring Color Contest, along with a Laurel shift dress.

I'll be sharing more photos of my coat worn with that wonderful dress in the next day or so! 

 Remember to go to cast your votes for your favorite entry starting May 3rd!

Red is for Rhonda

My best friend’s name is Rhonda. She loves me even though she pretty much knows every bit of me…she has seen me embarrass myself, she has hugged me through the ugly cry, and she knows my secrets. She has prayed with me and for me, she encourages me, and she is an incredible listener. Rhonda is the absolute opposite of me in so many ways, which makes me admire and desire her thoughtful, gracious and sensible ways. She knows me. Which is why, I’m sure, as a Christmas gift, she gave me a gift card for fabric. When I saw the poppy red wool, there was no question in my mind that it would become a coat…a coat in Rhonda’s favorite color. I think of her every time I work on it, and I will remember her every time I wear it.  Three yards of poppy red wool, an idea for a retro style coat, the discovery of Burda 7072 and a Pantone Color Contest on Pattern Review and the lightbulb went on.

So my adventure is underway and even though I’ve been inching along on this coat, I have really enjoyed sewing it every step of the way.

I’ve enjoyed constructing the confluence of seams that make up the underarm and side panels …. marking, pinning, pressing.

I’ve enjoyed doing the buttonholes…I decided on three bound buttonholes, which, when completed, came together pretty flawlessly.

I've enjoyed shaping that collar, trimming the seams, basting it in place, and appreciating how this simple coat needed the perfect simple collar.

I have even enjoyed lining my coat, and making the magic of a bagged lining happen.
(The lining is African Violet….another Pantone Spring 2013 color choice)

The buttons are covered…like plump little poppy red tomatoes.

The companion to this coat will be a shift dress… a riotous mix of Poppy Red, African Violet, Tender Shoots and Dusk Blue and Nectarine…how much fun will that be?

Oh, the interfacing? I had to really work the interfacing, since I had so little left from my last Fashion Sewing Supply order. Actually, this little pile is all that’s left now. Time to call Pam…she really does have the best interfacing.

So even though the temperatures are climbing into the sixties, I am still excited about sewing my coat. And maybe even wearing it on some chilly mornings and evenings. After all, it’s still Spring in these parts.

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