Oh Look! A Vest!

This vest was self drafted.  The fabric is from Marcy Tilton.  It's one of the pieces I got up at the Sewing Expo in Puyallup especially for this vest.  It worked out really well.  It's a ribbed cotton knit. I like the weight and drape.

And, as I was saying last post, it has the right kind of print for me.  Nothing that draws the eye away from the lines of the vest but not a solid either.  This is the kind of print I'll be looking for in the future.

I have no idea why these two photos came out looking so different.  I took them at the same time, in the same light.  

I'm in the process of making the second vest.  I've cut the collar down a bit.  This first collar wasn't interfaced...bad on me....so it flops down.  Actually, it's not that bad.  If it stood up it would bug me anyway.

I love the free-hanging pocket.  It doesn't really show from this photo but it's only attached from the top.

I'm off to the studio for my Sunday church service...Prairie Home Companion!

This And That

It's been a busy couple of months and not much sewing to show for it.  But I do have some catch-up pics to share.

I continue to be drawn toward making jewelry.  I seem to have so many ideas popping out of my imagination I want to do them all at once.  I'm still experimenting, not ready for prime time exactly but wearable...sort of.

Here's a goofy one I made on a rainy afternoon.  Wore it that night to a local Indian restaurant and the waiter said, "Did you make that!"....do you think that's code for, "You need to go back to the drawing board?"  Does it need more pins so it looks even more outrageous than it already does?

I made it using my grandmother's stash of safety pins plus a few extra.

This one is all new pins.  It's not exactly what I wanted, it's a bit skimpy and skewed but so comfortable.

And then there's my grandmother and mother's button collection.  I vow to use those suckers and find a way so it doesn't look like 'loving hands at home'.  I'm somewhat averse to button jewelry but I do see lots on Pinterest that look good so I'll soldier on.  

The buttons are mostly vintage pressed plastic.  I used a 1/16" black elastic I got from Wawak.  One of my sewing pals, Kay, used it on a beautiful necklace she made so I bought a roll.  Very cool stuff.

This tunic was taken from a garment I bought in New Zealand many years ago.  I like the length; I can wear it with leggings.  The fabric was purchased in Nashville.  I fall in love with prints sometimes then get home and wonder how in the heck to use them.  I'm going to try and curtail that tendency from now on since I don't think prints look that great on me.  Smaller prints, sure.  

Another detour into large prints, I can't help myself.  I have to learn the difference between liking the print and wanting to wear it!

Here's are two details using some scraps.

This is my first time making a Cutting Lines pattern.  This one is Light and Shadow.  I made the small and it's still a bit big.  Does this tendency run in all of their patterns?

I do love this and I'll make it again.  This one is a heavy grey ponte.  It hangs beautifully and is super comfortable.

And now for my latest idea.  I was listening to an NPR segment about the US opening more travel to Cuba.  Of course, it's for visiting relatives, giving concerts, teaching and that kind of thing.  The minute I heard teaching it dawned on me that Cuban women could really use classes on making clothes using recycled clothes!  

I learned, while studying with a clothes designer in New Zealand, that people on islands have to recycle far more than those of us on the mainland.  That CERTAINLY would apply to Cuba! Those people have so little.  They might be delighted to have their young women learn this fun and profitable skill.

I'm just starting to research.  If anyone has any information that might help me in this endeavor can you let me know?  This is a long term, maybe long shot idea.  But who knows?

That's all for now.  I'm just about done with a new...vest.