At this point I don't even remember what the details were for the 2008 Stitcher's Guild SWAP, but today I attached the very last button! Woohoo!!
I only had enough energy to take pictures of the garments today. (Not even enough energy to iron the blouses lol!) As soon as I can, I'll show the outfits. I was actually very close to finishing on time. Believe it or not, it was not the jacket that prevented me from finishing - that was all done (except for hand work, which I consider done ;)) a month before the contest ended. My final obstacle was the purple "silky" blouse. Originally it was to be ivory silk charmeuse but I didn't have as much as I thought in my stash and then I found this purple that matched the pants perfectly. As much as I'm not a fan of this poly fabric (from JoAnn's) I knew it would be easier to sew than charmeuse. Anyway the pattern for this was gathered sleeves, gathered cuffs (from this blouse pattern), and a bow. I just didn't have the energy to tackle that when all the other bloggers were sewing for spring! Well, the blouse is done now and I love it - especially the sleeves.
It wasn't until today when I pulled all the garments together that I realized I really love how all the pieces can work together. I'll put together more details when I show the outfits, but here are some bullet-points, FYI.
- I've worn the purple pants almost as often as the black pants. Seriously, who looks in their closet and says, "I need a pair of purple pants to make it complete."? Well, I didn't. The fabric is actually a hand-me-down wool crepe that my mom gave me after it sat in her stash forever. I now agree with Carolyn that this fabric is fantastic for pants, especially a wide leg!
- The biggest disappointment is the pair of dark gray pants that go with the jacket. From the knee up they look and feel awful! I see myself wearing them exactly once, just to show off the suit. I've been searching the web to find this fabric for a different pair of pants - no luck. It's wool denim. Anybody else seen it?? I bought it locally at a store that I only visit about twice a year.
- The jacket pattern called for all pieces to be interfaced. I really went back and forth about this because the fabric was quite firm to begin with. I decided to follow the pattern...unfortunately, NOT before I purchased my interfacing from Pam. The interfacing started to bubble long before the hand work was finished.
- After I realized I wasn't going to meet the deadline my jacket just sat and sat and sat on my dress form. When I finally took it off, it had smoushed all the shoulder and bust padding on the form!
- I also made turtlenecks in black, purple, and medium gray - my standard winter comfort garment.
Thanks for all the well-wishes for my daughter. She's adapting well - when she wants to!
That's all for now. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday!
Comments