Another Summer Outfit

July 8, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

I haven’t been sewing too many outfits lately… besides working on my photo greeting cards, I’ve also been working on a UFO that has sat around for way too long. I’ll reveal it soon – but for now I am keeping it under wraps for reasons I’ll reveal later.

Anywhoo – I wanted to share an outfit I made back in March/April with fabric I picked up from the Sewing Expo. This is the Emmie top, with bonus sleeve modification, from Seamwork Patterns. I love this top so much! I ‘believe’ the fabric is a voile from Art Gallery Fabrics and was purchased at the Pacific Fabric booth (if I remember correctly). It’s my color and has these tiny little olives on it – it practically called my name as I passed by!

I love the little details – such as the hook and eye; and since I didn’t have access to cording I made my own by braiding strips of fabric.

This top reminds me of a prairie style top of the 70s with the bell sleeves and open neck – I’m really happy with the way it turned out!

The pants are from an old McCall pattern that I modified to add pockets. The fabric is a linen fabric also bought at the Pacific Fabrics booth – primarily because it matched the top fabric. Since this is the 3rd or 4th time I’ve used this pattern the pants went together fairly fast. The modifications include the pockets and elastic waist, front and seat adjustments.

Stay Safe my Friends!

Stay Home or Not

May 17, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

That’s right… the Stay Home/Stay Safe order has been ‘relaxed’ a bit here in Washington. There are still some things you can’t do… such as gather in groups or get a hair cut. But we have started on the path to reopening and I guess that’s a good thing. Personally, my life has not changed too much: I’m still working from home, getting my groceries delivered, and staying mostly isolated. For Mother’s Day I did treat myself to trip to one of the local plant nurseries (with a mask and practicing social distancing). I went for a hanging basket …. and found an Olive tree!

I was thrilled when I found it since Olive trees have special meaning to me as my Grandfather was from Kalamata, Greece… where they grow … you guessed it… (the best) Kalamata olives (in the world). Olive trees are also known as the “Tree of Life” probably because they can live hundreds of years (approx 500) – with the oldest one believed to be over 2,000 years old. (located on the Greek island of Crete) And now I have my own, which makes my heart smile every time I look at her. (of course I named her “Olive”)

As for sewing – I’ve been doing plenty of that. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that I’ve been sewing some undergarments (bras), which have turned out so pretty!

However, this week I want to show off this double layered skirt from Seamwork. This is the Everly skirt made with a crepe fabric that I picked up from JoAnns. Actually, I picked the fabric up to make a the first Almada robe for my trip to Greece last year. I had more than enough fabric left over so I made this skirt to match!

Putting this together was difficult for me… mainly because I don’t always read directions. When I realized I screwed up it was promptly tossed in the “I’ll finish it later” pile. Nine months later I pulled it out and mustered the patience needed to finish it. Actually, it turned out better than I anticipated and I’ll be adding it to my skirt rotation this summer!

Stay Safe!

In the Kitchen · sewing

Quarantine and Me: Week 8

May 3, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

Hello and welcome to week 8 of the quarantine! Last week the Governor of Washington extended the Stay Home/Stay Safe order till the end of May. I have mixed emotions about it. I want people to be safe and for us to get to the other side of this pandemic with minimal casualties, but I’m also aware of the real consequences of people being out of work and unable to provide for their families. My hope is that once we are on the other side that things will change and the playing field will level out a little more (healthcare for all, living wages etc., etc.)

The highlight of my week was when I picked up my CSA box – the farmers had brought in extra boxes of apples, pears, asparagus and flowers – all for the taking! I grabbed a few extra apples and pears, and my CSA had a bunch of rhubarb, so I spent three days making Apple Butter, Rhubarb/Blueberry/Lemon jam, and Ginger/Pear jam.

Making jam is probably one of my favorite things to do – and having good jam on my toast can set the tone for the whole day!! This was the first time I tried my hand at these recipes, and I’m happy to report that they all turned out great! Especially the Ginger Pear Jam – I couldn’t get it too ‘jell’ up, but it got close enough. I’ve been eating toast with goat cheese and ginger pear jam for breakfast all week!

Onto sewing news: I made this Kimono style robe for my Florida trip. I set out to sew a curated wardrobe for that trip and this piece was part of it. I had the fabric in my stash for at least a year and decided to use it instead of buying more in my aqua/orange/gray theme for my curated pieces.

The pattern is the “Almada” robe from Seamworks Patterns. I made a similar one when I went to Greece last year and it was perfect for a swimsuit cover, or over a t-shirt when going to dinner – it was a very versatile piece for traveling. My sister really liked it and I ended up giving it to her when our trip was over. You can read more about the pants here.

As always – stay safe my friends.

Projects · sewing

Quarantine and Me: Week 1

March 15, 2020 SewtropolisLeave a comment

I hope everyone is surviving the quarantine … I know I am loving the excuse to stay in and sew! Though, I did walk to the post office to drop off a letter and found these reminders to vote along the way. Love that there are people in the world who do this.

Back to sewing: I’m trying something new – instead of sewing the next shiny thing that catches my attention, I’m trying to plan my wardrobe!

I started out on Pinterest and pinned outfits that I thought would be nice to have for the summer. I pinned a ton of maxi skirts, t-shirts, and loose fitting pants. I then went through my patterns and pulled ones that matched (or were close enough) to the items I pinned.

All this was done prior to the Sewing Expo a couple of weeks ago, so I had a good idea of the types of fabric I was looking for which was really nice going in with a plan! I’ve been using Trello to keep all my outfits (patterns/fabrics) organized as I go along.

First item up:

This pattern is the Clarke from Seamworks, and the fabric is from JoAnns. I lengthened the top a couple of inches and cut it on the bias to get more drape. It’s still a little shorter than I’d like, and looks this side of a maternity top – but I don’t completely hate it. I may make another one before the summer is out.

In the meantime, stay safe my friends!

Athena · Projects · Uncategorized

The Oslo Sweater and Possibilities

November 4, 2016November 4, 2016 SewtropolisLeave a comment

I’ve been obsessed with finding patterns by indie clothing designers mainly because I want to see ‘what else’ is out there besides what the big patterns companies are offering. I stumbled upon Seamwork magazine and fell in love! They have a great online magazine, and if you subscribe, you get to choose 2 of their free patterns every month. Sign me up!!!

The first pattern I downloaded was the Oslo sweater pattern. To be honest once I downloaded it I was not looking forward to printing it off and taping all the sheets of paper together. So I thought I would take it to Kinkos to see if they could print it off on a larger printer (hoping that it wouldn’t cost a fortune) and lo and behold they had a printer on the floor – that I could use anytime – no special skills required … and didn’t cost an arm and a leg!!! I’m probably way behind the times here, but what a great surprise!! It opens up a world of e-pattern possibilities for me!!!

For fabric, I chose a gray wool blend sweater knit from Pacific Fabrics – it was a little on the spendy side, but I thought the Oslo would be simple enough that I couldn’t screw it up too bad – so I splurged!

I have absolutely no room in Athena to cut out patterns, so I loaded up 3-4 other patterns that I’ve been meaning to cut out and headed over to the KOA’s day room to use the big tables they have set up.

Side note – they keep the day room locked because the kids like to go in and trash the place. I had to ask them to unlock it for me and they made it clear that there were to be no kids in the room without their parents. No sooner did the KOA guy leave when I looked up and there were 3 little heads poking around the corner to see if the room was empty! And then 2 more kids would poke their head in, then 3 more, etc. etc. A few would walk in to see what I was doing, but for the most part they just hovered like vultures waiting for me to leave. Ahhh kids! Gotta love em!

Anyway, back to the Oslo! I ended up being able to use my serger on the whole thing and because of that it took me about an hour to finish it! It was SO simple! I’m glad I splurged on the fabric, it turned out nice enough to wear to work. (which is where I took the pictures – sorry they are so aweful) Had I bought a cheaper fabric it may have just ended up a ‘weekend wear.’

Next time I make it though I may try to make it a little longer. I find that it sits right at the widest part of my hips – which is not flattering for me at all!

Another option may be to add patch pockets to the front – and maybe a closure since I kinda like wearing it closed. I’d have to make it in a heavier weight fabric though if I were to do either of those, but I like this pattern because of all the possibilities – I like possibilities!

I like how the sleeves are done, I can either wear them rolled up, or down if I need them to be a little longer – again possibilities.

So that was one of my sewing project for the week! I also worked on Athena, I took out one side of the overhead storage in the back, which gives me more room to add a closet! No more fold lines in all my clothes – Yay! It has really opened up the back area! It doesn’t feel so cramped and now I’m thinking once I move out I’ll make that area the lounge area and put in a entertainment center…. the possibilities are endless, and I like possibilities.