If you are the sort of person who has a closet full of stuff that you don’t wear and the feeling that you don’t have anything to wear, then this is for you. Please watch the video – it’s 5-6 minutes long. keep an open mind (don’t get all bound up with the rack, table and shoe display, ok?).
Now, a really good exercise is to take out a piece of paper and analyze what the stylist is doing here, so you might want to watch the video again. And this time, boil it down. (more…)
Something which, even after 35 years plus of gardening together, the DH and I are still fine tuning is the issue of where to put stuff to grow, keeping in mind the path of the sun versus the orientation of our garden beds. In the picture above, taken this morning at about 11:30, you see your dear Aunty, standing outside (in the rather windy 16 degrees F, I might add – the things I do for you guys..) in one of the garden beds, in the snow, holding up a door. (more…)
Readers who visit regularly will note that your Aunt Toby doesn’t do sewing pattern reviews often. I’m not sure why I don’t but when I come upon a pattern that did not cause me fits in terms of fitting or sewing, I feel I have to pass along the good news. I figure that if a) I don’t have to make huge changes in something in order for it to fit my admittedly older, plumper body with a big bust and an expanding waistline, and b) it comes out reasonably flattering, then it’s a keeper.
This, ladies, is a keeper. I made the long sleeved version and I have to say that I will make this several more times. It is a very nice blouse with some pretty details and is actually quite easy:
1) It doesn’t have a zillion buttons in the front. Hurray! It had one button at the back of the neck and buttons at the cuffs. They also want you to put in a zipper in the side seam but believe me, you can just eliminate that.
2) It has some extra breathing room in the front, achieved with that gathered bit at the neck line. Since I have a very large bust, I actually gave myself a little bit more room by pulling the center line slightly away from the center fold and then I made the tucks at the waistline slightly larger. Could not have been easier.
Things I will change for next time:
1) The sleeve cap. If you look at the artwork, the sleeve looks as if there are no tucks or gathers whatsoever at the top of the sleeve. There is actually no way not to end up with a gathered top to the sleeve, which I did not like, so to put a big tuck at the center top of the sleeve. The next time, I will re-draw the sleeve cap to bring down that height somewhat. No gathers for me.
2) The shoulder. This is actually set up for shoulder pads (it is a fashion of the 1940s after all), which with my narrow shoulders, actually is a good thing but in this case is just a little bit too wide. The next time, I’ll take those shoulder edges in by about 3/8″ and I think that will do better. One small note – I realize that when I put on the blouse, I did not fasten the button at the back of the neck. The blouse really does button up reasonably close to the neck, as in the photo on the front of the pattern.
If you have been following along with this, you know that what I’ve got at this point is basically a put together, lined vest. It’s sort of baggy and saggy but it IS put together. And frankly, this is a place in the making of things (I should trademark that or something) where I think people who are either scared of sewing clothing back off and stick whatever they’ve done back in the bag (to magically turn into the notorious UFO – the unfinished object), or they muddle through and end up with something they hate and which glares at them and they end up feeling unsuccessful and THEN they throw it back into the bag.
The end result is the same: Someone who probably would have enjoyed making clothing but who is now convinced that they can’t or that everything they touch turns to …well, we all know what they think it turns into. And that person either never sews anything again, feels bad, or the only thing they sew again (if they sew anything) is home dec or something like that. (more…)
So, if you have been following this (if not, go to Vest 1-A), what I have at this point is a back and two fronts of vest fabric sewn together at the shoulders and the fake pocket flaps sewn onto the front. I also have sewn the back and two fronts, which were cut out of lining fabric, together at the shoulders also. At this point, we are now entering (cue scary music) “The Tricky Part”. If you need to go make a cup of tea and go lie down for a bit with a cold cloth on your forehead, please do so now. It really is ok. (more…)
Now, I know there are all sorts of beginning sewing curricula out there. Some people start with an apron; others go straight for a knit tee-shirt. I have really strong feelings about starting folks on crafts – I don’t like to start people with stuff that they are not going to use. My very first project in home ec in the 7th grade was the most horrible pull-over-your-head blouse ever. It fit no one; no one wanted to wear them either and I’m going to bet all sorts of money that every single one of those that got made ended up in the trash or in a bag stuffed at the back of the closet. When I learned how to knit, the very nice lady who taught me said, “What do you want to make?” I told her mittens and that’s what I got to make. Challenging, yes – but I wore them. How many of those eyelash scarves do you think got worn? How many beginning knitters ever got beyond the scarves?
But a vest – everyone likes vests. (more…)
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