Make-over

 Made a coat dress at the beginning of January.  Didn't like it...like...intensely.  Even if I did address the fit issues, the big problem, for me, was that I did not like how the collar was constructed--unless it's a motorcycle jacket, I like my collar and lapels to be more connected than that.

I do have plans for a patchwork project that uses scraps of the fabric, but I didn't want to turn the whole thing into scraps, because I do like the fabric!  And I bought the buttons just for that project, which is something I almost never do (my stash is expansive, except, apparently, for ¾" black buttons.)  I let the coat dress hang on the closet door in here while I made the patchwork cat jacket, and considered my options.  "Skirt" was quickly considered and abandoned, because I realized I could make it into a jumper!

I'm not sure if I have properly conveyed just how much I like jumpers, because I know I haven't made very many of them over the years, but I do really like them, and have since the 1990s.  In fact, I had a copy of the pattern I used for this project--McCall's 7812--in the late '90s, and used it a few times.  I remembered it so fondly that I decided to re-acquire a copy a few years ago.

I finally cut the tissue for view A and here we are

It has a lot of issues, but, y'know what?  I'm wearing it right now, so it's definitely better than the coat dress incarnation.

Patchwork Cat Jacket

About eight years ago, I made a patchwork blanket based on a quilt block idea I had about ten years ago.  I based the block on 4½" fabric squares.  Early last month, I wondered if I could figure out a version of the block based on the square die sizes I have for my die cutter.

I did a little sketching and math and arrived at cutting the squares at 35mm, the squares that would be cut into half square triangles at 40mm, and the squares that would be cut into quarter square triangles at 45mm.  Because I am not 100% committed to Perfect, I cut those squares into halves and quarters with scissors, so things were...variable...but workable.

The day I posted the previous project (still not happy with that), I cut enough squares and triangles to do a test, and made this 

Success!

Then the tedium started, eventually getting to this

 

 Eventually.

The Ice Storm and Power Outages Have Made Surprisingly Little Impact

I am working on a sewing project, and I started it the day I published the previous post.  It's a little......detailed...

First Time Making a Pattern I've Had Since 1999

 ...or possibly early 2000.  It's Style 2494, and it has a 1994 copyright, but I'm pretty sure I got it when I worked at Joann from mid-1999 to early 2000

 

 Having finally made it, with enough time to develop my sewing skills so much more than what they were back then...  Well.  If I had made it immediately, I probably would have thought the problems were with my skills, and not with the pattern itself.

 

 Now, though, I know enough to be unhappy with the pattern itself.

Again to the Craft Thrift Store

On December 24, I checked the craft thrift store's Instagram, and saw that they had their e-gift cards on sale for half off.  I was recently reminded that I had some forgotten money in my PayPal, so I argued with myself for an hour or so before spending $50 to buy a $100 gift card for myself.

I trekked there the next Sunday, going by myself for the first time ever, so I could spend as long as I wanted, poking into every nook and cranny, and, most importantly, allowing myself the time to talk myself out of things, without feeling guilty about making anyone else have to wait for me.

The employees kept apologizing to shoppers, who were looking for specific things, about the store being a bit sparse, because they had recently had an "Everything $1" sale.  I was there for a "clearance items all $1 each" sale once, and I vowed never to go during one of their big sales again (too many people--it's not a large store.)

Me, though...I'm  happiest when I'm poking through the stuff other people didn't want, whether it's clearance stuff or donated stuff.  So!  Donated stuff left over after a clearance?  Fun!

Midnight Aubergine

I had a fabric in my stash, acquired long ago from...actually, I'm not sure.  It's likely it was the Walmart mill ends dollar table, sometime between 1995 and 2005, but it could have been a thrift find.  Maybe even the old Joann mill ends assortments--some source where fiber content would have been completely unknown.

I always assumed it was a petrochemical synthetic, or perhaps even acetate.  I was doing burn tests recently and decided to go ahead and torch a bit of this fabric to confirm.  It did not confirm!  The ash was fluffy soft and pale gray--rayon!

It's a relatively lightweight faille, and I think the texture was what was making me think it was...something that would melt when burned, and, therefore, something I did not necessarily want near my underarms.  Rayon, though?  I can tolerate a dress of that. 

Another Perhaps Ill-advised Diversion

I have cut pieces for another (simple) dress, but recently saw a post on the blog So, Zo covering the free Hyacinth bralette pattern from Ohhh Lulu.

Now, I am not, generally, looking for a...ah...soft bra. But.  I do have many odds and ends of knit fabrics, and, more pertinently, a small assortment of random bits of decorative elastics, which I very rarely use, and this seemed like a good opportunity to draw from that stash.

Also, sometimes, I get nasty headaches that make me think maybe I would be better off with everything being as soft as possible.  To date, worn out bras have served for that, but this will, perhaps, offer another option.

This pattern is very straightforward, with detailed instructions.   It probably took me longer to figure out which of my odd elastics to use for the pattern (and to pick some of them back off when I decided something else would work better) than it did to cut and assemble everything. 

 

The leopard print knit is from the same person who sent what I used for the seven slapdash sleep shirts, and the fold-over elastic is from a doll acquaintance. The white lace was salvaged from...something, and the black lace is from Deb's Lace (ordered for doll use; Deb's vast assortment of stretch laces have not interested me before...)  The white elastic is from Wawak, and the bra hardware was scavenged off of bras long-gone. 

The construction on this is rather slapdash, and I haven't even tried it on yet (it's cold!), but it was an interesting project to see if I could scrounge out of the stash.