My goodness I can't believe how long it's been since I posted on my blog. So much has happened since the last post. I moved to a new town and have been happily sewing away. Still struggling with fit issues, but I may have come closer to a better than RTW fit!

Summer is in full swing here in NE Florida and it has been so hot and humid, it feels like you could melt when you step outside. That has inspired me to think about making some simple summer dresses I can just slip on and head out the door in. I have a few patterns to consider. Hopefully I'll have one or two fitted and sewn by the 4th of July!

I have a new hairstyle, having cut off about 18 inches of limp, stringy hair that was not flattering me in any way at all. My mom always had a saying that women over 40 should not have long hair. Since I am now over 50, I think it really applies now!

Here's the new 'do

It's a little longer now, this picture is a couple of months old, but the style is still there. I got new glasses too, but don't have a picture of that.

Well, this will help with my clean up and downsizing efforts. I have decided that my apartment is just too big and expensive, so I will be moving next month to a smaller, one bedroom apartment, and save $300 a month in rent! That means I will have to go lean and mean with my sewing junk...I will have a screened in patio that could double as a cutting room if need be, but I will have two large walk in closets, a linen closet and a broom closet. The down side is that I will give up my dedicated sewing room and my laundry room. I noticed that some people have their washer and dryer on the patio, but I would rather have room so the dog and cat can sit out and get some fresh air. There is a brand new laundry center next to the exercise room, so maybe I can work out while I'm doing my laundry....cheaper too, because right now I rent my washer and dryer.

On the sewing front, not much success. I had four days in a row to work on a few projects, but they did not turn out very well. As is usually the case, I had much better success the evening before I was to return to work! LOL. I'll keep on trying to work out these size/fit issues. At least I did have a few successes before this weekend, my Vogue dress in a gorgeous wine colored doubleknit and my vintage style outfit. I'll have to take some pics to post!

I finally did it! I sewed something! I spent quite abit of time on Friday and Saturday cleaning out the sewing room/walk in closet. I came away with 4 trash bags and two large moving boxes of bits and pieces. Traced patterns that I've lost interest in, muslins that didn't quite work out, fabric scraps and just plain junk, all went into the trash. I gathered all my thread into one ziploc bag, as well as a bag for zippers, one for buttons and one for various other fasteners. I put away all my cutting tools, rulers, marking pencils, chalks, etc., into plastic drawers next to the cutting table. I did not organize my fabric, but I did pull out all my interfacing and linings and folded them neatly on one shelf in the closet and marked each one as to what it was.

I have3 table tops, including my cutting table and before I started there was not one inch of space to work. Now my cutting table is clear, my sewing machine tables are workable again! I found a Hot Patterns pencil skirt that I had cut out of a light taupe doubleknit with a vintage shell to match.

I gathered up all my notions and sat down to sew, and by Saturday night I had a beautiful outfit that was done, save for the handsewing. I'll have to take some pics to post. The two piece outfit looks wonderful and better yet, it fits! I'll wear it tomorrow to a super important meeting, with a black shrunken jacket and some bold gold jewlery and my best black pumps. It looks wonderfully chic, yet corporate. Very distinctive, and I feel that I am ready to tackle another project.

This weekend will consist mostly of going through and organizing fabrics and patterns so I can see what I have. While looking for all my interfacing this weekend, I found fabric that I just forgot I had! Some of it is gorgeous and I was a little annoyed because we've had a cold snap here in Florida, and what did I find, but beautiful sweater knits what would have kept me warm! Oh well, there's always next winter.

Carolyn's ( http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/) post today on stashing really hit a cord with me. One that actually brought me to tears. I have been so overwhelmed by my stash, that I have practically stopped sewing! There's too much, I don't know what fabrics I have anymore, the patterns are literally stuffed in drawers and boxes and everywhere else in my sewing room. I have an entire room that I don't even like to go in anymore because it looks like a disaster. I spend so much time looking for things that I get discouraged and just go downstairs and watch TV. I can't find interfacing that I'm sure I bought, never mind all the other notions that I need, let alone trying to match a pattern with fabric!

Carolyn mentioned that she got rid of all those odd purchases and kept only what she loved. I think that is a good place for me to start. Both with the fabrics and the patterns. A lot of fabric I bought because it was on sale from Fabric.com or FabricMart, with no particular plan as to what it would end up being. There are a lot of pieces in 5-6 yard lengths that I will never use. I guess that's a good place to start.

I've also been on a fitting journey, and have patterns in all different size ranges. I think I might go through and cull those a bit too. My sewing tools and implements are also scattered through various drawers and bins throughout the room. This is a pretty large room we're talking about too, with a huge walk-in closet that is so packed I can barely get in it.

So, that's my stashing confession for today. I think the first thing I'll do when I get home is try to pull all the clothing and shoes out of this closet and put them into my bedroom closet and maybe tackle the pattern issue first. The fabric issue has to be dealt with on the weekend when I have a whole block of uninterrupted time to sort and toss.

Once I have everything organized and put away, I will promise myself only to buy fabrics that I absolutely love, that are the right color, work with my wardrobe and that are purchased with a specific purpose in mind.

Still no significant sewing to speak of, but I have come to several realizations...and please excuse me if i'm rambling a bit, but I do want to get it all down...

I have too much stuff. Too many books, too many patterns and way too much fabric. I got into the habit of buying sale fabric, even if it really wasn't the right color or weight, just because it was cheap, and I've been moving it from place to place. Some of it isn't even usable to do muslins.

Patterns, tons of them, and Burda WOF, and Knip Mode. A good quantity of them are not even close to the right size and would have to be graded up in order to use them. Am I really going to do that for patterns that are not vintage.

Vintage patterns - boxes, a good number are from the 1970's that I got as part of a collection I purchased off e-bay. Some of the patterns from the 50's and 60's are worth keeping, as well as recent vintage purchases. They are worth the effort to grade up or down as needed.

I recently came to the conclusion too, that I have been using the wrong size patterns. I have struggled with the concept of using a smaller size for the neck and shoulders and doing an FBA, but in reality, all I need is a size 18 with a 1/2 inch tuck for length, and a 3/8 inch wedge removed from both the front and back armseye. I think this is due to scoliosis.

I have also started doing what I did years ago, spreading out the pattern, taking a piece of chalk and drawing what I want right on the fabric. Cut and sew, and there it is! I made myself the cutest little T this weekend using just this method.

Now that I'm convinced I need to clear out a lot of the stuff, any ideas as to what I should do with it? I hate to throw away the patterns..something about not allowing anyone to have access to these gems in the future. They could be someone else's vintage treasure someday. Most of the fabric can be tossed. It's low quality, and I really am aiming for a better quality all the way around in my life....

Open to suggestions.

I can't believe that's it's been so long since I last posted. I have to confess that I have done absolutely no sewing to speak of. I have been playing around with some slopers, but there are no new outfits from my sewing room! I have a long weekend coming up, so maybe I can get to some of these gorgeous patterns that are just lying on my cutting table, calling my name!

My Sybil Connolly pattern arrived yesterday, and I am so excited! Even the little westkit styled blouse is underlined! I think that the care and detail that went into these garments is exquisite, and just the kind of quality I have been looking for. The little jacket is actually raglan sleeved, and the skirt has two zipper! One on each front seam. It is just darling.

To continue on my Vintage-for-today kick, here are some of the patterns I have purchased recently I have tried to choose patterns that I could sew right out of the envelope that will look appropriate for today. Later on, I'll share the alterations/grading that I figured out to make even my current patterns fit. Here are my purchases:









Isn't this the greatest shirtdress? I would look perfect in a print jersey!

The perfect little shell to wear under suits...

And here's the suit to wear it under!

There are more, but I just wanted to show you a few. Unfortunately, They won't get shipped until the beginning of September, as the vendor is on vacation! Oh well.

In the meantime I have traced off a blouse pattern and a dress pattern that I have to try to figure out the alterations. I have had some pretty good success, and I think that I'll use this method on my current patterns too.

I start with a size 12 and grade up to a 16 from mid-armseye down, and grade down to a 10 everywhere above mid-armseye except for the neck. Then I still have to do a FBA, but not as dramatically as I would with just a 12. The dress pattern I tried has a separate bodice and skirt, and I think it would actually make a great sloper! I've actually altered and cut out a blouse pattern from 1950 and have begun basting in interfacing and marking the fabric to sew. Maybe I'll have something to show in the next couple of days. Of course, there's unpacking and tidying up from Fay first...

I should just use vintage

I recently had this great idea that I only wanted to sew beautiful, couture quality clothing. I think that's kind of hard to do with a lot of the styles available today, but maybe, like Carolyn from http://sewingfantaticdiary.blogspot.com/ I could include some vintage details into my suits and dresses that I plan to sew for work. Then I got to thinking that maybe I could just make some of those original patterns in fabrics that would make them more modern and up to date, so that I could wear vintage, but not look like I was wearing a costume. I really need some corporate style work wear, and some fun casual stuff. (Summer lasts a long time here in Jacksonville!). Well,maybe I should use some of the many vintage patterns I've collected. I just won a Sybil Connolly pattern from the 60's that's got a great little jacket in just the right proportion for my short self. Here it is:

When I saw, it I realized that I probably had some great stash fabric that I could use, so the pattern came today, and thanks to Carolyn's link to this site:

Out of the Ashes: http://risingfeenix.com/homeI have now ordered several more patterns that are closer to my size to start with. Just some suits, blouses and a couple of dresses with gorgeous details. I'll post pics when they come. Well, I'm off to trace off the pattern and make my adjustments. Guess it's a great way to pass the time while I'm waiting for TS Fay to blow through!