CYNTHIA GUFFEY, REST IN PEACE

I was very sad to learn today that Cynthia Guffey passed away in January.  The Worcester Sew and Quilt Expo is taking place in September and I searched Cynthia's name to see if she was teaching at it.  I came across her obituary instead.  She was only 67 years old.

I had the chance to take classes with her on two separate occasions.  She was a magnificent dressmaker, a wonderful teacher, and one of the funniest people I've met, in a very charming, southern way.  She wrote many patterns for elegant jackets, dresses, and skirts.  I made one of her jackets years ago and it was a work of love -- lots of handstitching, a lining that was whipstitched in by hand.  Everything fit together like a puzzle and the result is one of the pieces I'm most proud of, although not the best picture. I love the detail in the belt that slides through a slit in the band.  Those were the kinds of details she was known for.

Cynthia also wrote a number of sewing books, small paperback books, written by hand, with illustrations by her.  She didn't own a serger; she was a believer in hand overcasting, understitching by hand, and all those lovely couture techniques. 

I am sorry not to study with her again, but very grateful that I had the opportunity.  She was one of a kind!

Taking Stock or How Did I Get All This Stuff??

Warning - no pictures! :(

This week I made up a pattern I have been wanting to try as a wearable muslin, using up some fabric that I had to have, but that has been sitting for several years.  I finished the top, hated it, chucked both it and the pattern, with no hard feelings.

But what it made me realize is that I have so many patterns, and so much fabric, and I become so distracted in my sewing, that I find I have lost focus.  I don't know how many others out there share my frustration.  Part of the problem, I know, is that I taught an Open Sew for seven years at a local shop, where I was really the only garment teacher and most of the patterns, fabric, and notions, were non-garment related. But I got distracted! Beautiful fabric and patterns came in daily, and I thought I might like to do a wall hanging, make a quilt, try to force quilting cotton into an acceptable garment!

What really happened is that I stopped sewing what I love, bought too much stuff, and lost myself. Now, it wasn't all bad at all! I met some very creative people. And, I did do some creative things, as you can see if you scroll back and see a wall quilt, a baby quilt, some home dec projects,etc.

That, or course, wasn't the only problem. While trying to clean out my sewing space, I counted close to 12 Style Ark patterns I have never made! They were the new kid on the block and, as usual, I had to have the patterns. Same with Cynthia Guffey. Same with Sewing Workshop. Did I make any of them? One Cynthia Guffey jacket that was so satisfying to make and so beautiful, but that is it.

I don't know if I am the only one out there who gets so distracted by looking at what everyone else does, that I spend my time buying and not doing!  One other thing holding me back, and I am probably not alone, is the pounds that have crept on, and the promise that I will sew when I lose the weight.  Not happening - either the weight loss, or the sewing.

I am trying to recommit, to discover why I want to sew. The fabric, the style, the fit, none of which can be found in the local TJ Maxx! 

So, as we prepare to head to Florida, where I prefer short skirts and tops that skim them, I aim for two skirts, and three tops.  Nothing complicated! But, beautiful fabric that I won't have if I buy disposable clothing for my trip.

I will keep you posted.  If any of you have run into similar roadblocks where you have let yourself be buried, and have come out alive, please share!

Slan

Tula Pink and Tone Finnanger in the Guest Room

With three grandchildren under the age of 3 it was time to make the guest room seriously more fun.  Only the three year old is old enough for the bed; the others are still sleeping in the crib, which is also in this room.  I am a huge fan of the fuschia, aquas, lime green, orange, and other combinations that Tula Pink puts together. Not all of the fabric strips are Tula, but many are.  The quilt is simple strips of varying widths, sewn together, with a coordinating border and binding.

 

The quilting is simple straight lines, stitched approximately 1/2 inch apart.  I simply used the edge of my walking foot. I was able to make corrections in the ditch where the strips met, if needed, to keep the lines fairly straight.  I like the clean, contemporary look of it.  And, since I don't do a lot of quilting, straight line quilting is my fall back.

Of course, once the quilt was done, we needed some funky pillows! The bird design is Ethnic Birds from Hatched In Africa, one of my favorite sources for interesting embroidery designs. 

 And, the animals are African Jewels, also from Hatched in Africa.

 
And, of course, you need friends. Tilda and Monkey are both from the Tone Finanger books.  I've made Tilda a number of times for other people, but this is the first time I've made her for myself! And, the ballet skirt on Miss Monkey is netting from one of my daughter's ballet costumes from oh, way too many years ago! Fun fact to share with her little three year old!  We need some baby boy things, so I think a snake may have to be my next project. 

Slan

SEW SERENDIPITY SKIRTS

Sew Serendipity, by Kay Whitt, is a unique book with full multi-size patterns of simple skirts, dresses, and jackets, in contemporary styles.  Because there is so much packed in one book, newbies may find markings and directions a little on the limited side.  But, it is a refreshing change of pace from single use patterns.

I made the skirt above and ended up with a nicely finished and well fitting skirt.  I used two fabrics and incorporated pleats on the pocket and hem done with the ruffler attachment to my machine (which acts much more like a pleater than a ruffler.  The materials guideline for the skirt is below, as is my skirt.  The wrinkling is simply a result of how I've placed it for taking the photo and is not there when the skirt is worn. I did add a lining, not included in the directions. This is where a newbie may run into trouble, but inserting a lining into an A-line skirt can be found easily enough.  Connie Long's book on linings is a fabulous resource for putting linings into anything!

The second skirt I made is shown below, along with the materials guideline.  I made this one with multiple home dec fabrics.  Because of the weight of the fabric I needed no lining on this one.  

 

All in all, fairly well drafted and a fun change of pace! Unfortunately I've yet to find something to match both of them.  It is amazing how difficult it can be to find the exact taupe and cream and how badly an unmatched one looks.  May have to go with something completely different for a color..

Slan

Bento Tee by Liesl & Co, My Woven Tee

I'm not generally a fan of instant download patterns.  I just find the effort to print, tape, and draw off on a more usable pattern paper to be more effort than I can get excited about.  The exception is very small patterns for my grandchildren which require very little paper.

But the Bento Tee by Liesl & Company was either a free download at one time, or it just caught my eye.  I honestly don't remember, but somehow it ended up on my sewing table!.  I don't find the picture on the pattern to be flattering (for me), but I had seen it in other versions and liked it a lot. So don't let the picture discourage you.

It is a Tee, so obviously is meant to be sewn with knits.  But I did my test piece as a woven, cutting a Medium, and flaring it a bit toward to bottom to give me a bit more room.  I made it in a cotton from my stash, purchased a long time a go at Delectable Mountain Cloth in Brattleboro, VT.  The shirt has a short sleeve with cuff option or long sleeve.  I chose the latter, but shortened them to my favorite three/quarter summer length.  It fit perfectly, going over my head easily, even though it was a woven.  The sleeve is dropped which made it comfortable and non-binding. 

I think it's an attractive pattern.  The bottom is constructed so it has two small pockets as a detail in the front.   I liked it on enough so that I think I will make it up in a lightweight sweater material, also from my stash.  I hope it is as successful!

Slan

Laura Heine Fabric Collage

One of the mediums I experimented with when I was 'off the rail' was fabric collage.  Laura Heine has some absolutely stunning collage patterns.  Two of them are shown below.  Basically, the 'pattern' differs in each of the projects.  For the dress form below, you are given the outline of a basic dress form, including the base, and from there you let your imagination run rampant.  I knew that I wanted my dress to have a lot of structure and for the various dress parts to be distinct, rather than simply a lot of random flowers running together.

To that end, I chose two very large blooms and foliage for a well-defined bodice followed by a corset-like structure for the waist, accented by a 'flower' belt buckle.  All pieces are adhered to the base fabric with 'steam-a-seam 2.'

Moving on to the skirt, I again went back to the very showy flowers to create a peplum, and kept the skirt flowers pretty uniform but then set the skirt off with a very stylized 'hem' of violets.  The 'dress' lies on a base fabric and the next step will be to form a quilt sandwich with batting and a backing fabric and to decide how to go about quilting to show off the 'dress' to its best advantage. 

I'm not sure when I'll get back to completing the project, but will keep you posted.  

What I have finished is the Laura Heine "Chirp" pattern below.  For this pattern, she makes recommendations on how to cut and piece the various background fabrics.  She then provides drawings of the bird cages which you can copy onto your base fabric. A light board makes this part much easier.  Finally, she provides the bird drawings for you to cut out of fabric and place onto the background (again with steam-a-seam 2.  All fabric choices are yours as well as any embellishments.  I've done my 'cages' in a variety of ink, and stitching (some by machine and some by hand).  For my birds, I've used a variety of fabrics, buttons, and other embellishments.  I've added in other elements such as the butterflies for some variety and some machine quilting as well.

Once I was happy with my 'collage', I made a quilt sandwich of top, batting, and backing and quilted with a walking foot and straight lines spaced about 1/2 inch apart.  When making my quilt sandwich I used a fusible batting which I fused onto my backing material.  I then used a 'spray baste' to attach my top saving me from having to do any pinning while I quilted.  I started quilting from the center and alternated left and right from that spot. 

 

The finished collage is hanging happily in my daughter's dining room!

Off The Rail

My, it has been such a long time since I have blogged about anything at all!   I'm not sure why or exactly when I stopped.  Life got busy and took many twists and turns.  We sold our long time home and moved to a condo (with truly wonderful sewing space!); our daughter got married; my mother was ill and passed away; we had our first grandchild; and we are now expecting our second!  So, life just got in the way.  I have recently left my part time job in a sewing studio and feel I can focus a little more on the kind of sewing I want to do, without being distracted by every new and exciting project or notion that comes into the shop! 

But, in the meantime, I have been doing some projects that are very out of my comfort zone.  The first was this sweet baby quilt for our expected grandson.  I remember being in a class with Cynthia Guffey once where she said that those of us who sew garments should not quilt.  She meant absolutely nothing bad about quilting, but simply that there are so many quilters out there who would be delighted to quilt for us but that garment sewers were fewer and further between.  I do agree, but I wanted to try my hand at it anyway!

The fabric is a Hushabye Hollow Jelly Roll by Lydia Nelson for Moda.  The pattern is a variation of an Off The Rail (which is sort of where I feel I've been, so how appropriate!!)  I quilted it myself using a walking foot and curved, organic lines very close together.  I actually liked this part of the project much better than the piecing.  There is a wonderful book called Walk by Jacquie Gering which goes into great detail on how to achieve beautiful designs with lines and a lot of practice. 

I definitely don't see myself becoming a quilter, but I enjoyed the experience which was truly a surprise to me!