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Thursday 31 May 2018

Charoal and teal plans

I have been wearing the 'suit' I made in my chocolate brown period and finding it ideal for work, so think I want to sew some more of these simple styles as my purchased work suits are currently too tight :-(
If I had 4 then I would be able to get dressed in the morning without too much thinking!

I dug out some charocal grey suiting with a fine teal stripe which I think would be great for the next one.

I used this in SWAP 2009 for a pair of trousers but there is plenty of it left so I can definitely get trousers and a cardigan jacket from the same fabric.
I will use New Look 6216 for the trousers and New Look 6735 for the cardigan jacket.
Once those are done I will see how the rest of the 6-PAC spins up around those pieces.

A top from this knit
And maybe a different top from this knit




And a blouse from this fabric
I do have the machines all threaded up in ivory though...... so switch or sew that is the question!

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Wearing the pinstripe suit


Today for work I wore the dark brown pinstripe trousers and cardigan jacket as a suit for work.
Very comfortable and practical.

I only included the trousers in the SWAP and had the jacket as an extra.




I really need to make some more of these comfortable suits, they look reasonably smart but are like secret PJs! 
(The fabric is a stretch suiting, the trousers have an elastic waist and the jacket is just a cardigan cut and fairly loose fitting, hence the comfort).

Tuesday 29 May 2018

SWAP 2018 - Winners

The results of the SWAP 2018 are out

2018 SWAP winners are:

3rd place:  Medea's Cocktail and Casual Chic

2nd place: Treefrog - What a Galah

1st place: Sew Ruthie Sews - Sew Ruthie Style 2018
My collection here

I was blown away to be the winner as my thoughts (and votes) had been for the others who placed to win, Treefrog actually wove her own fabric and then used it to make a top.

Monday 21 May 2018

New fabric purchases


Tecidos Zarco, three floors of fabrics, in a side road near the Cathedral in Funchal.
Top left brown woven, jacket for work.
Top right burgundy and ivory snake print jersey for a tee.
Bottom left a sheer self stripe fabric for a kimono style layering piece.
Bottom right, ivory and teal print for a jersey tee.
I also bought some invisible zips.
I had a lovely time going through the remnants in the bins.

I used my Sophisticated colour fan from Imogen Lamport and also checked the fabrics aginst my reflection in the mirror before purchasing.

Thursday 17 May 2018

More wardrobe sewing - SWAKOP at The sewing place

I've now started planning for the wardrobe contest at The sewing place.
https://thesewingplace.org.uk/index.php/topic,4257.0.html

This has slightly different rules to any of the other wardrobe contests I've done, but I could still find a way to make it work for me.
Here is my plan.
Theme stripes
Colours teal and black

Pod 1
Black ponte trousers
Teal and black stripe tee
Black and teal striped cardigan

Pod 2
Black pinstripe trousers
Black and teal print top
Black boucle cardigan jacket

Pod 3
Dark teal trousers
Dark teal top
Turquoise cardigan

Wild card
Dark grey raincoat
(Or may revisit the teal wool coat!)


Tuesday 15 May 2018

La Maison Victor - issue 3 2018

I bought La Maison Victor Issue 3 2018 in English in WH Smith's.

On the back it says "in this issue" and shows 12 patterns however inside there are only 8. I was a bit sad as I was interested in the Fez trousers. The other 3 missing patterns are children's ones, so not a big issue for me but could be annoying for a mum in a rush choosing from that back page!
Any idea the best way to make La Maison Victor aware of their mistake! (I think the English language people get a cut down version, and these didn't make the cut).

Edited to add. I sent them a message via facebook and they are going to make the 'missing' patterns available on their website somewhere.

Saturday 12 May 2018

SWAP Voting - now on

It is SWAP Voting time at Stitchers Guild.

If you are an existing member of Stitcher's Guild Reloaded whether paying or free you can vote.

Please take a look through each of the SWAP 2018 galleries located here:

http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?action=gallery;cat=10

Submit three votes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place by sending a private message within SG to the user account SWAP_Votes.  The account is shared by the admins so they'll be able to count the votes and inform us of the winner.

Voting can begin as of now and will end at midnight Arizona time (MST) on Sunday 27 May. 
There are 9 collections to choose from this year.

    Aussie28 "Last Minute Nellie" Collection

    Patricia's "Not Your Regular Pinstripe"

    warpjr's Coordinated SWAP

    Medea's Cocktail and Casual Chic

    Demented Fairy's 'More than the Sum of Its Parts' Mathematical SWAP

    Lillie T's Upcycled, Recycled Designer Collection

    Fabrickated's Laid back SWAP

    Sew Ruthie Style SWAP 2018

    What a Galah - Treefrog

As a reminder here are the rules we all worked to.

2018 Seasonal Designer Collection SWAP Rules

You are the Designer. Create a cohesive seasonal collection of eleven garments of your choice.

Concept
Consider designer collections like Eileen Fisher, Karen Kane, Kaliyana, Bryn Walker,  Eskandar, etc  and how they work with a few neutrals, add an accent color or two and some prints.  Multiple styles of pants, tops, jacket/cardigan, dresses, accessories, etc are made from the limited color/print palette. New seasons bring new items that work with some of the garments from prior seasons. Your goal is to create a collection that looks like it belongs together and that you can easily add new pieces to in the future.

This plan will work quite well with 3 pack or 4 core concepts but provides more flexibility. If you primarily make separates you could plan out your outfits using the Sudoku grid by including extra accessories and/or shoes to fill the gaps.  If you prefer mostly dresses or pinafores you’ll need some pieces to layer them with even if you are able to wear the garment as a stand alone.

Plan:
Choose two neutral colors
Add one accent color and two prints OR two accent colors and one print
Make at least three garments from each neutral color
Make at least one garment from each accent color
Make at least one garment from each print
Remaining two garments may be made from any one or combination of your neutrals, accent(s) and/or print(s)
Create multiple outfits of at least two garments that work for your personal style
Each garment must work with a minimum of two outfits

Optional Accessory: add one self-made accessory as a signature piece that works with at least two of  your outfits

Rules
Sewing begins on 26 December 2017 and ends 30 April 2018
One garment may be started on 1 November 2017 and completed prior to 26 December 2017
One garment may be completed prior to 1 November 2017
One RTW garment may be included
Garments knitted, crocheted or woven by you may be included (limit of two since we are a sewing site)
Garments such as poncho, cape or wrap must include at least two pattern pieces, be one of your knitted, crocheted or woven items or have stitch work done by you to be considered a garment (otherwise it’s an accessory)
Neutrals do not need to be the same fabric, however, they do need to work together  **

Prize
I will award a $25 gift certificate to EOS or another online fabric store to the winner

Guidelines (not required but recommended)
Use TNT patterns as much as possible
Limit the number of patterns used since Designer Collections include the same garments made in different colors/prints
Consider using some textured neutrals to add more interest especially if you are a print person
Consider including one trend item based on your chosen season

Terminolgy:

garment: an article of clothing: pants/trousers, skirt, dress, pinafore, cardigan, camisole, tunic, leggings, jacket, shorts, poncho, vest, cape, etc
accessory: an object that is not essential in itself but adds to the beauty, convenience or effectiveness of something else: scarf, jewelry, footwear, wrap, bag, belt, etc
print: a non-solid color such as geometric, novelty, floral, plaid, check, stripes, multi-colored hand dyed/batik, multi-colored brocade, polka dots, etc
neutral color: typically black, gray, navy, brown, cream/white/oatmeal but you are the designer so it’s your choice (denim blue, plum, teal, etc)
accent color:  a color that pops but still works with your neutrals such as golden yellow, safety orange, bright red, lime green, etc
stitch work: for the purpose of SWAP this means beading, adding trim, hand embroidery and/or Alabama Chanin type techniques

** Regarding neutrals:
Using 2-3 different fabrics in the same neutral color is fine however they do need to be roughly the same shade and work together.  While this is easy to do with typical neutrals such as black, navy or white it may be more difficult with other colors so plan carefully.

Fall 2017/Winter 2018 Trends

checks, neutral plaids
florals/garden prints
denim
silver/metallic, sparkles/glitter
red, gold
americana: folklore, patchwork
trench with a twist
feathers or fringe
black leather
polka dots

Spring 2018 Trends
yellow, lavender, orange
bold graphic prints
geometric cutouts
more denim
tassels, sequins
sheer fabric
matching or coordinating fanny pack/bum bag

Friday 4 May 2018

SWAP 2018 Photos













I love all the pieces!

Top and blouse

 wearing the print tee

and the wrap blouse

In both cases with purchased straight leg trousers.
Even better if I lose just a bit of weight.