The Next Thing...

Now that I've discussed, at length, All Things Conference, it's about time to get back to my regular life. At least until the long weekend in New Jersey in August...

I traced and cut out the pattern for another Pure and Simple Shell. The first one was too small so I've sized up and will work on another muslin (hopefully) this weekend. My fingers are crossed, as I'm wanting something that's easy to make that I can wear with suits and jackets until the weather turns. Around here, that can be as late as late November/early December.

ASG Conference Wrap Up

Just a few last thoughts I haven't posted about before:

The Sewing Hall of Fame inductee was Connie Crawford. She has done a lot for sewing in general and sewing for plus sizes in particular.

Martha Pullen gave the keynote speech. She's a good storyteller and had everyone laughing so hard. Pretty hard core religious, but in a good way, know what I mean? Everyone attending that lunch also received an issue of her magazine.

Silhouettes Patterns will be selling its patterns through some Hancock Fabrics locations. I suspect this is a test program that will be rolled out nationally if they sell well.

A follow up on the community service project. Over 5000 pillowcases were contributed to the local Ronald McDonald House, and several chapters made pillowcases for their local Ronald McDonald Houses too. We had estimated 3000.

Next year's conference is in Atlanta, and the 2011 conference is in LA!

The guy from Martelli should send an audition video to Billy Mays' company. Really. He would be an excellent successor. I couldn't believe his schtik for selling cutting mats and rotary cutters.

I have a new respect for models after walking the runway for the Sewing Workshop in black wooden platform sandals whose rubber soles fell off after a day in the car. I tell you, wood soles and metal runways do not play well together. I didn't fall, but I came close.

I think I've wrung as much as possible out of the 2009 conference, so I'm putting it to bed. If there are specific questions, I will be happy to post Q and A, but other than that I'm done.

ASG Conference Classes

I took several classes, but I've learned since my first Conference not to take a class for each and every time they're available. You'll run yourself ragged, and it's information overload.

This time, I took the following:

• Louise Cutting, "Cutting It Apart": This one was an optional class that took all day Thursday. We made a bunch of samples under Louise's direction. Awesome class!! I think I learned a lot about Louise's approach to sewing, things that can be applied to other patterns as well.
  


• Louise Cutting, "Cutting and Pasting": This one was a short class that was more oriented specifically towards Louise's pattern line vs. techniques. I enjoyed this class because she talked about ways to play around with each pattern to develop unique looks.
  


• Susan Lazear, "Domino Design": Susan is a bit of a sleeper, in that she isn't a big hype sewing "personality." On the other hand, she does teach college level classes in fashion design, so she does know what she's talking about from a technical standpoint. The Domino theory is "to begin with one fabric, and as you add a piece to the wardrobe, you introduce a new fabric to the mix. As each subsequent fabric is added, a new fabric is introduced and and an existing fabric is dropped. This is the domino effect." OK, so I'm not going to apply this to each and every item I buy/make. But it was an interesting approach to wardrobing, so I'll give her that.
  


• Susan Lazear, "Armholes and Sleeves: Solving the Mystery": Sleeves are usually a mystery to most sewists. Susan provided a lot of detail on how a sleeve is developed, where bust shaping is incorporated into the sleeve, and finetuning of various sleeves and armholes.
  


• Mary Ray, "Designs in Details" Mary is a contributing editor to Threads Magazine and was formerly on staff. Beautiful sample garments, but she had to fight the skinny/deep layout of the room. The details were beautiful, but I wish she'd had some slides to give close up views.
  


• Jacque Goldsmith, "Adapting Vintage Patterns": Jacque is a younger sewing professional who has worked in the industrial and home sewing aspects of the clothing industry. Fearless about working with all kind of vintage patterns. I enjoyed the class and look forward to working with some of the vintage and vintage-reproduction patterns I have.
  


• Fred Bloebaum, "What's New With Knits": Fred is very organized and always provides an outline of her talks. Plus loads of samples that she passes around the room so you can experience what she's talking about. Look forward to seeing knits in unusual fibers for the foreseeable future. Anything that can be spun will be knitted.
  

ASG Conference: Insiders' Tour of Santa Fe

I'm a little hesitant to make yet another blog post showing "stuff" that I got. Yes, I'm feeling a bit guilty because I did go off the deep end during the Conference. On the other hand, I can afford it, it brings me joy, and I will use these things in the furtherance of my sewing skills. I expect that things will even out, and I will step away from the credit card machine for a while.

At any rate, shopping isn't all I did on this tour.

There were things to see and do as well. After taking the buses from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, the first item on our agenda was a tour of the Santa Fe Opera, with our docent David. Even if you're not into opera, it's a cool place to see. It was founded in the 1950s with the goal of giving American opera singers an opportunity to learn and perform new roles in a setting that allowed ample time to rehearse and prepare each production. The Santa Fe Opera is a highly regarded opera festival that takes place in July and August of each year. Its mission is to present productions meeting the highest artistic standards in a repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works.

In addition to the theater, we got to see the scenery, prop and costume shops. And the piece de resistance: costume storage! Up until that point, we were unable to take pictures because people were busy working on the next opening but the costume meister gave us a special opportunity to touch and photograph the costumes. Apparently this is not something that normally happens on the tour. Here are some pictures from that portion of our visit:



The smiling redhead in the green shirt is the costume meister. Thank you!!


We also had lunch there. The opera is located on the site of a former dude ranch and some of the original buildings are still there, near the cafe where we ate. Here are some photos of the pool area and plants around the cafe.



I wish I could make my xeriscape look so good!

Next, our bus went to Fred Bloebaum's home for a Trunk Show. Fred is the creative force behind the La Fred pattern line. Somehow we managed to get an entire busload of sewing ladies into the house for some shopping (after my preamble you knew there'd be shopping, right?).


In addition to her pattern line and some fabrics, there were vintage buttons by Sarah Lee Chavez and jewelry by Terry Wrobel. Here's what I got:


Our next stop was the Museum of International Folk Art. Our docent was the delightful Toby, a tiny little lady who was able to express much knowlege and delight throughout our tour. We visited two galleries: the first had the textiles of SW China's minority people and second had the shadow puppet theaters of Indonesia. I previously visited the museum in the fall, and it's one of my favorite activities in Santa Fe.

Our last stop was Santa Fe Plaza for more shopping. By this time I was about done in, and we didn't have a lot of time. I did get a very inexpensive tiered black skirt at a little "hole in the wall" Guatemalan shop. It cost all of $20. It needs a little work to remove a dopey ruffle at the bottom, but it'll be a fun piece for the summer. It has unruffled tiers of bias cotton, the edge of each tier left raw. I didn't take a picture of this; it's black and the details don't show well.

I also got a little sewing inpiration from Fred. After almost of week of wearing only her own line, she wanted to wear something different. So she sewed up an interesting green linen skirt that was based on one owned by a friend. LJ Designs has a very similar pattern, the Asymmetrical Skirt, which I hope I still own. It will look great in a solid; all of the previous ones I've made were in prints.

ASG Conference Vendors: Patterns

I bought patterns, too. ASG is always a good opportunity to buy patterns because the vendors have samples and you can actually see what they will look like when made up.

I took two classes with Louise Cutting this year, including a full day of learning techniques and making samples. So I guess you could say that I drank the Koolaid; after experiencing the techniques I wanted to try the patterns they came from.

Left to right: Heading for Adventure, Stars in Heaven, and In the Trenches.


I also picked up a book of adaptations to the One Seam Pants. No I don't have this pattern, but I do have a pants patten with no side seams that I can morph onto. I also got a simple belt pattern from Louise, which is basically a contoured obi. I've seen pictures of this on, and it really looks good.


The Sewing Workshop typically introduces a pattern at ASG. This year it was MixIt, a set of tops. The tank is the same as the Mission tank from several years ago. Apparently it was a real sleeper. The shirt is a tweaked remake of the Elle. It has been modified for a closer fit, bracelet length sleeves and a smaller collar. I don't recognize the cap sleeve top, so that's a new one.




Shapes is a joint project of Louise Cutting an Linda Lee, after they discovered they both liked the same type of garments and finishes. These are the Eleven Eleven Skirt and the Six Sense Skirt.

ASG Conference Vendors: Miscellaneous

More items purchased from vendors at the Conference:


4 hanks of hand dyed ribbons and stone donuts for jewelry. From Bohemian Element in Washington.


Raggy cat pincushion. I can't help it, I like kitty things. From Cat Brysch Studio in Magdelena, NM.


Fabric flower pin from Stitch in Time in Texas. This booth had lots of Asian silks as well as a few accessories like this one.

ASG Conference Vendors: Buttons and Fabrics

Face it, one of the reasons people go to conferences is to acquire interesting items. Sewers being an acquistive bunch, there was plenty of activity in the vendor area. And when your local shopping choices are limited, well, ya know...

Without further ado, here's the first group of acquisitions:

These lovely cobalt ceramic buttons were at a booth occupied by two lovely potters from Waco, Texas, MudButtons and Barbara Francis Pottery. I hope they made some good contacts, as they were nice ladies who had some nice items for sale. Hopefully I'll have some links later as they're not on the vendor list.


More ceramic buttons, these are from South Africa. Courtesy of Londa's Creative Threads.

Rayon from LJ Designs, which is one of two sewing businesses owned by Lyla Messinger. The other one is The Sewing Place. We had a nice time catching up with our lives. Years ago, I helped Lyla with her booth at a sewing expo that used to come here.

These two came from Louis Cutting's Cutting Corners. Unfortunately, Louise no longer has a physical store but she continues to bring high quality fabrics to shows. the black geometric is rayon, and the fuschia and orange floral is silky feeling Swiss cotton voile.

These pieces came from Marcy Tilton. The botanical print is cotton/rayon blend with a wonderful soft hand, and the green is ponte knit that I bought for some of Marcy's pants. I also got to try on Marcy's new Vogue jacket, which was absolutely beautiful.


The Sewing Workshop sells fabrics, in case you didn't know. Linda Lee has a wonderful eye for fabrics, and I find her selections difficult to resist. The first is Donna Karan wool and silk; the second is Swiss embroidered linen (hmmm, another orange and fuschia color scheme); blue linen with a woven stripe; green linen with a woven herringbone.

Linda has begun a new program in coordination with Bernina that went over very well at the conference. Called Project Sewing Workshop, they are kits with lengths of fabric and TSW patterns all packaged in a nice heavy gauge plastic zipper bag. This will enable Bernina dealers to carrya variety of garment fabrics without a large investment in bolts. Look for this to be rolled out nationally in the near future. This was the first consumer show and it was a feeding frenzy at the Sewing Workshop booth. I think she was very happy with the response!

There's more, but I'll continue with the rest later since this is already a long post,

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Q and A

Duchesse asked if I planned to wash my Ikina jacket:

I always machine prewash and dry any yardage that comes into my house, so I know this linen will hold up to the washing machine. In addition, the jacket I'm making is an unstructured style, so there are no internal structural parts to be ruined by water. So yes, I'll be washing it, albeit occasionally and on the gentle cycle. I'll probably hang to dry though.

Terri K wanted to know how I liked the fit of my Trio Pants:

I've worn them 3 times now and they're wearable, but I think I'll be making some tweaks on the next pair. I made a straight medium and I think a small would have been better. The crotch is about 1" lower than I'd like and I'd like to remove about 1.25" of ease. DF commented that they make me look a little zaftig. For once, he did not volunteer his opinion and only made the comment after I mentioned there was too much fabric. Dear Boy is learning.

Easy enough to try again. The next ones will not have the pockets so they will be easier to test. Although not related to fit, black is not really workable for me. These aren't "corporate" enough for work and wearing them at home is problematic with a white cat.

BTW, it seems like we have similar tastes!

gwensews asked if I lengthened the Ikina Jacket.

No, it's almost straight out of the envelope. The only changes were to cut the neck and shoulder areas Small and armscye through torso in Medium.

Thanks to everyone for all the compliments!! In my opinion, the Ikina was successful because it had drape. It fits like a sweater even though it's made of woven. I also sized down in the neck/shoulder area to fine tune the fit. I liked the basic jacket style and will probably work with it some more in the future.

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Trio Pants

The Trio Pants in action on the upper level of the Albuquerque Convention Center. Gotta love that sun!

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Ikina Jacket and Plaza Pants

I wore these pieces yesterday, and got one of my friends to get a quick photo of me wearing them. The tank is one I got from Coldwater Creek last year and the pin came from one of the vendors at the Conference.

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Mimosa Top

So much for finishing in one day. Instead, I moseyed along with this one, a little bit each night. I finally got over my buttonhole phobia and finally finished this project by making a couple. Really. As of Thursday night, the closures were all that were left to finish for this top. It's ridiculous that I let such a minor thing hold me back. But now it's done! It's a bit of a stretch colorwise, but I figured an occasional spot of color could still fit into a black and cream collection.

True, this one is a little bit of stunt dressing. However, it was made for the ASG Conference and if you can't stunt dress at a convention, where can you? I actually think the print may be subtle enough that I can wear it here in Albuquerque without irony later on. Elsewhere, maybe not. I wore it on Friday:

Speaking of the Conference, I've spent a ton of money on some fabulous pieces of fabric that I love. And patterns! The Sewing Workshop has introduced a new collection of tops, which I had to buy. Also some of the Shapes patterns, which are a collaboration of Louise Cutting and Linda Lee of the Sewing Workshop. Needless to say, it's been pretty hectic around here but I'll post more about the Conference once I've had a chance to catch my breath.

About Pictures...

Duchesse asked whether there will be pictures of me in action in any of the garments. Well yes, I hope so! I'm a little technologically challenged at the moment, having neither photographer or skill with photographing myself. I will throw myself at the mercy of other attendees and hope to get some pictures at the Conference.

And of course, DF will be moving in next month so he can photograph me once he's here all the time.

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Trio Pants

Nothing like working down to the wire, is there? The Conference starts tonight for me. I woke up way early Tuesday morning due to hot flashes (I know, TMI!), so I decided to sew instead of tossing and turning until the alarm went off. Sometimes there's just no point in trying to go back to sleep.

I made pretty good progress before having to get ready for work, making the pockets and basting them to the side panels. Then much more sewing after work. This morning, all that was left was casing and elastic, which I made quick work of. The pants were covered with thread and fur when it was all said and done, the downside of having a white cat that likes to hang out with me in the sewing room. So they've also been laundered.

Once again, not difficult, but precision is needed. This is a theme with all of the Sewing Workshop's patterns. Precision is helped by good marking. I'm finding that poking the fabric with an awl is a simple yet effective way to make all those markings needed. I think I learned about this years ago at a Margaret Islander class in Las Cruces, but haven't used it until now. It comes from the garment industry, like many of her techniques. Just because you don't use information right away doesn't mean it isn't useful. Someday it may rise to the surface and work perfectly.

The pattern has techniques for button closures and for zippers on those big cargo-style pockets. I used neither, substituting Velcro rectangles. I see this treatment a lot in technical RTW like Columbia, REI, etc., so I thought it was appropriate. Even the military has gone to Velcro! Other ideas include anorak snaps (the kind that use the plier-like tool) or even large sew on snaps.

The fabric is 100% linen from JoAnn's, of all places. See, not everything they sell is embellished. I bought this piece 2 years ago in July 2007.

Surprisingly the details showed up better than expected, even though these pants are black! I guess that's what 5 pm summer sun and flash photography will get you.

I'm still muddling along with the Mimosa Top. It's practically done but I need to psych myself up for the buttonholes. I'm not thrilled with the buttonholes produced by any of my machines at present. The one I know the best, a Brother, isn't playing nice, and I haven't made enough buttonholes with either the Bernina or the Janome Gem to feel proficient. But it will make an appearance soon, I promise!

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Ikina Jacket

I started on the Ikina Jacket Saturday afternoon. Wow, it sure goes together quickly. A couple of hours and I assembled the jacket bodice (including hems), attached the sleeves, and prepared the bias front band for recutting. And I still managed plenty of time to hang out and relax (although I totally forgot to make a dish for my church's monthly breakfast for the homeless. Oops--I'll need to bring two next time).

Sunday, I completed the sleeves and attached the facings and front band. It was all machine sewing to this point. The sleeves and facings require some precision in sewing but aren't hard. The last part of making the jacket required some hand sewing to attach the remaining edges. You probably could figure out a way to do this by machine as well, but I actually enjoyed the hand sewing. I felt that it gave me more control and results in a softer finish to the seam.

Today I finished the second facing, and with that, I'm all done!


Here are some close ups of the fabrics I've been using. I realized after posting the Plaza Pants that the mini windowpane check mystery fabric wasn't showing up well at all. So here's that one:


It's some kind of suiting, perhaps a rayon blend of some kind. I got it at the 2003 Albuquerque ASG chapter's silent auction.

The band of the Mimosa Top and bodice of the Ikina Jacket are made of this linen that came from JoAnn's in 2002:


The band and facings of the Ikina Jacket are made of this rayon/poly gauze from the Fashion Fabric Club, circa 1999:


So you see, there's a reason to assemble a stash. Eventually you'll be able to combine fabrics.

On a tangent, my neighbor's nephew visited for a couple of weeks and spent a lot of his time working on my neglected front and back yards. There's still more to do, but that's going to require heavier equipment than we wanted to deal with. The next step will be removing stumps and re-rocking those parts of the property that are looking thin. I'll be hiring a professional crew for that.

Seasonal weather has finally arrived! Hot as blazes and dry. It looks like it will remain that way throughout the conference.

TSW Black and Cream Collection: Plaza Pants

I finished these Plaza Pants late Saturday night/Sunday morning.

The Mimosa Top is well underway. The cotton I chose this time is so much easier than the silk/cotton suiting I used for the first one. Hopefully I will make a lot of progress tonight, and maybe even finish!

TSW Black and Cream Collection

DF left this morning, so I started working on my black and cream group in earnest today. So far, the following garments are all cut out, marked, and ready to sew:

• Mimosa Top. You saw the chile print cotton already, albeit blurred. The bands are black linen with cream threads woven across the weft.
  
• Ikina Jacket. I used the linen I used for the Mimosa top for the body of the jacket and a black and cream plaid rayon/poly for the bands.
• Plaza Pants. Black and cream mini windowpane check.
• Trio Pants. Solid black linen.

I've made the Mimosa Top and and Plaza Pants before, so construction should go quickly. The Ikina Jacket is new for me, but the instructions look straightforward and simple (famous last words, I know!). The Trio Pants are another design that I haven't tried before, so I have my fingers crossed on that one.

I have some additional fabrics I'd like to make up. There's a cute devore linen that I'd like to make into another Now Shirt. There's also a black and cream pinstripe linen that would make a great pair of pants, I just don't know what style yet.

Skeleton Crew, Rebellion, and Wardrobe Planning

So much for bankers' hours...new rules. If the Federal holiday falls on a Saturday, we don't close the previous day as we used to. Fortunately, we still get time off, just not for the holiday. As a result, I'm cleaning my office because my customers are businesses and have closed for a long weekend. It's probably busy at the branches though. There are 4 of us here this morning, and there will be 3 in the afternoon. Normally, we have 7-8 in the department itself, plus the other groups that we share our floor with.

I'm being a little rebellious today, wearing my latest Plaza Pants with a Cynthia Steffe twinset and Carlos Santana mules. Sounds pretty conservative but I'm breaking the "no bare legs" rule. Yes, we are a panty hose wearing company. Usually I'm ok with with wearing them because I'm pale, but sometimes you just need to break out a little.

I'll be on my own for the weekend. DF is on his way to New Jersey on Saturday morning for a family funeral and won't be back until Tuesday. So I'm planning to work on my black and cream TSW outfits for the ASG Conference.

I'm also hedging a little in case my reach again exceeds my grasp, and I don't accomplish as much sewing as I'd like. So I'm thinking of items already in my closet that will give that Sewing Workshop look without necessarily being an entire ensemble. I think sometimes people get overwhelmed with this line because they feel they must dress head to toe like the pattern envelope. It can become costumey. Not that these patterns are costumes--but sometimes, hmmm, they can be a little over the top, particularly if it's a departure from the wearer's usual look. Hard to say what I mean by this without sounding like I'm giving offense to the wearer or Linda Lee. That's not my intention at all, I hope you understand. Personally I see the pieces as separates instead of ensembles, which means that these items can mix in with RTW and other sewn garments without a problem. Sometimes it's the better approach.