I Need a New Pair of Pants – So I Took the Plunge!!!

I love wide leg pants, always have/forever – even when they are not in style! Sigh! So when the wide-legged window opened I jumped through and stitched up a pair with Vogue 8131 using a lightweight men’s suiting in a grey Glen plaid. The fabric is a great color and weight. I have, and will continue to, get a lot of wear out of these slacks!

I like the finished product – they fit well with nearly zero adjustments to the pattern, are WIDE, and have a unique element at the cuff. My only issue is that they have a HIGH waist and WIDE waistband – which are both totally acceptable design elements but you need to be a size (-)1 to pull off that look! Otherwise I love these slacks!

The fabric was great to work with and the plaids lined up beautifully

High waist and wide waistband!

I love the BIG DEEP cuff detailing!

The Longest Gestation Coat in the History of Sewing.....

Last November (I cannot believe it was that long ago!) I posted a desperate appeal to my fellow sewists to help me shake a seemingly terminal case of sewist's block (Rescue Me From A Bad Case of Designer’s Block!). I finally finished the garment THIS September and have worn it all season long. The design/pattern (Vogue 1064) that Alisa suggested was spot on and I have gotten a lot of compliments on the garment - primarily because of the FABULOUS needle-felted wool from Mood Fabrics in NYC!

Good things really do come to those who wait (or are REALLY late)!!!!!

Lining details

You Da Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

The most important woman in my life turns 86 today! WOOOOO HOOOO!!

Alas, what do you give a woman who has everything? Faced with that reality and a pledge to try to make as many gifts as possible this year (and beyond) I headed into my sewing room to think! And sitting there on top of one of my many " stacks of stuff" was a beautiful hank of hand-dyed and handspun wool that my mom had gifted to me last summer after she and my niece, E, visited the artisan's farm and studio! Voile - the makings of a heartfully-made gift! Hope you enjoy the pillow, Mom - I loved making it for you!!!!

Mom (showing off her daughter's latest creation), Edie Rokus (another incredible woman - - the one who taught me to sew), and me during a visit to Edie's house in Virginia!

The gift - a knitted panel made from hand-dyed and spun wool backed with a beautiful violet/blue and gold iridescent velvet - yummy.

The wool and tools!

The blocked square panel.

I interfaced the wool panel to reduce stretching and wear-and-tear.

Attaching the velvet backing. I love, love, love velvet but it is sometimes pesky to work with!

All finished and ready to be packed up for the trip south with XXOO!!!

I'm a Katharine and I am so HAPPY

I am procrastinating before I get started on my long overdue Guild challenge garment so I took Gorgeous Things Ann's suggestion and took this two question quiz to check my "icon alignment"....

Looks like I know where my wardrobe is headed - just when I thought it was going to be a Michelle Obama dress year!!!!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Katharine!

You are a Katharine -- "I am happy and open to new things"

Katharines are energetic, lively, and optimistic. They want to contribute to the world.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Give me companionship, affection, and freedom.
• * Engage with me in stimulating conversation and laughter.
• * Appreciate my grand visions and listen to my stories.
• * Don't try to change my style. Accept me the way I am.
• * Be responsible for youself. I dislike clingy or needy people.
• * Don't tell me what to do.

What I Like About Being a Katharine

• * being optimistic and not letting life's troubles get me down
• * being spontaneous and free-spirited
• * being outspoken and outrageous. It's part of the fun.
• * being generous and trying to make the world a better place
• * having the guts to take risks and to try exciting adventures
• * having such varied interests and abilities

What's Hard About Being a Katharine

• * not having enough time to do all the things I want
• * not completing things I start
• * not being able to profit from the benefits that come from specializing; not making a commitment to a career
• * having a tendency to be ungrounded; getting lost in plans or fantasies
• * feeling confined when I'm in a one-to-one relationship

Katharines as Children Often

• * are action oriented and adventuresome
• * drum up excitement
• * prefer being with other children to being alone
• * finesse their way around adults
• * dream of the freedom they'll have when they grow up

Katharines as Parents

• * are often enthusiastic and generous
• * want their children to be exposed to many adventures in life
• * may be too busy with their own activities to be attentive

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

The Inaugural Dress

OH - BAMA!!!

Well, I think it's fitting that my first post, after a VERY long drought, is to celebrate the Inauguration!

I don't have much time to write as we are headed to the concert (with 750,00 of our closest friends!) but I wanted to share the dress (although my spouse continues to call it a costume!) that I made for J & J's "unofficial inaugural gala"!

I re-fashioned it from a XXXL commemorative T-shirt - using some dupioni silk that I had in my fabric stash for the yoke and sleeves. McCall's pattern - M5576 was my base pattern and tweaked it as I worked!

A great way to start an historic weekend!!!



YES WE CAN!!!

Matt's Gift!

This year I drew my nephew Matt's name for the Christmas exchange. Good fortune, for certain. Matt was staying in Eagles Mere with my parents when Mom had her surgery this fall so I got to spend alot of time with Matt - knitting and talking about how to refashion and reuse all kinds of things - including wool sweaters! Matt is a great guy but he does have one rather unique behavior - he sleeps on the floor - - with no matt (no pun intended) -- only on a wool blanket -- that's it!

So I knew that on Christmas eve Matt would unwrap a refashioned, felted wool sweater blanket. So here are the photos of my gift to Matt. I am pretty certain that he loves it as the blanket travels with him everywhere and is between him and the hard wooden floor every night! I HEART MATT!

Piles and piles of old, used, moth-eaten wool sweaters. Some donated from friends, some my old beloved friends, and some that Matt gave me! Washed in a pillow case in hot water and dried either in the dryer or on the clothes line.

Sixty 9 X 9 inch squares were cut from the body and sleeves of about 20 felted sweaters.



The most tedious task was deciding the positioning of the squares - my type A personality came back to haunt me! Like it really matters - right? Wrong (you other type A's get it, right?). I backed the quilt with a soft blue velour. So cozy!

....and what is Lauren doing with her cousin's gift??? Her time in Nica has made her a fair weather bird!

Merry Christmas to all and to Matt a good night!

XXOO

I Knit....

...and I like!

I picked up the needles and yarn while Mom was recuperating from surgery. I was terrible at first. How do you tell the difference between a knit and purl? How do you pick up a dropped stitch? And I had alot of them! So I decided that the first 4 projects would be felted! Oh what a forgiving craft! So I knitted and felted a hat and three bags!
The hat was my first project - thanks to the ladies in the Danville, Pa knitting circle who shared their love of knitting, their expertise, and their stories with me while I worried about my mom!

I am first and foremost a sewist so getting to line the bags was icing on the cake!! Here with a great grey windowpane Dupioni silk.


And these two with batiks...


And then my BS (beloved spouse) asked if I could knit him "old school" golf club covers for Christmas! Gawd - like I can say no? No - to a Christmas present? No - implying I can't do it? Hell, No!!! So, after a long month of starts and stops, misses and groans.....

FORE!!!!!!
A giant Rastafarian pom pom!

A labor of love! Old school! He was very forgiving!

DC Threads is Launched!!

I have been VERY tardy in my posting - - but I actually have an excellent excuse...

DC Threads launched this month! Check it out, come to the Sewing Lounge and Stitch for Change!!

More personal posts will come in due time!!

Peace,
Laura

My Other Passion - Reckless Abandon Dancing

Those of you who really know me appreciate (and tolerate) my love of dancing! Not the elegant, graceful dancing of "dancers" but my "reckless abandon" approach to interacting with music! Flip on Van Morrison, Todd Rundgren, Bruce, Madonna (old Madonna, that is), the Talking Heads, the B 52's, the Stones, or the Fine Young Cannibals and there is no telling what will happen.

So, I share with you this video clip. I am not certain why - but I sorta "welled up" (in a wonderful way) as I watched this guy dance his way to, and through, people's hearts and smiles!! How great would it be to be this guy??? I hope he realizes how incredibly fortunate he is to have seen all those wonderful places and, also, to have shared the gift of "reckless abandon dancing" with them!!!

Peace!