New York Butterick 6083

I had my Literary Sewing Circle project idea fairly early on. But somehow I found myself sewing right up to my own deadline again! I had a couple of projects to finish before I could get started on this one, and I am also finding that my focus and level of concentration is way down, and my sewing is much slower than usual.

However! Here it is. I was inspired by the trips that both Lydia and Charley make to New York during the story. Lydia and Jean-Philippe travel to New York to see her brother and to visit Jean-Philippe's sick sergeant. Lydia describes Benjamin's house, and the wharf, and the surrounding streets as they travel to see the Joncourt's house where the sergeant is staying. Charley, meanwhile, goes to New York to have her art dealer cousin Wendy look at the painting of the Bellewether, the one that keeps mysteriously getting turned back out in her office. Charley finds modern New York busy with all its bustling streets, gardens and people. 

All this New York talk made me think of a fabric I thrifted about a year ago. It is actually a 100% cotton sheet, with a wonderful stylized New York print of the street grid and some extra special elements of New York living, like Central Park and Taxis, appearing as little yellow accents. This hit of yellow also makes me think of Lydia. 

I knew I wanted to make something structured, so that any sheet I use doesn't look too much like its source when done. So I decided on a shirtdress but waffled between many patterns for a while. I finally decided on this 1988 "Family Circle" Butterick 6083 that has a bit of easy wearing feel to it but also some structure. It also has a style feature of epaulets at the shoulders, which I feel gives a little nod to Jean-Philippe's military uniform also. 

There were a few issues with the pattern - they assume that the sizes they draft for are women with tiny waists, for one. I had to add 3 inches to the size 16 waistband in order to get it fitted to my waist. I only added 1/2" to the side seams of bodice and skirt, though. The pattern has two pleats on each side of centre, and also some ease stitching when attaching to the waistband. Because I had made my waistband larger, the easing was not necessary. 

The hardest part of this whole dress, for me, was the collar. I don't know why I couldn't seem to get it right. It was very frustrating indeed. It's still a little bumpier than I'd like and I might just pick it off and recut a new collar from the scraps of the sheet, since there's quite a bit left.

I got the basic adjustments right -- mainly height ones -- had to shorten the skirt by 2" and took 1.5" out of the bodice length split between two places. But I seemed to have one issue after another with my sewing; I had to unpick the collar at one side and readjust the angle of an epaulet, I had to unpick the waist seam after I realized I had sewn one pocket down facing backwards, and I had to redo the hem in one place after my lining got bunched up. All these issues came from the same problem of focus that I've been finding in short supply lately. But they were all fixable, and fortunately I paid close attention when installing my buttonholes and they all worked out perfectly on the first try. 

I happily found the most cheery yellow contrast buttons in my stash of the right size and number, and used those for front closures and epaulets. And of course I added in some side seam pockets!

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Because this is 100% cotton, to make it wearable without the skirt constantly sticking to itself, I added a grey lining to the skirt portion, as I have tons of grey bemberg in my stash. This makes the skirt feel a little fuller and allows it to hang freely and not get caught up around my knees.

As I always say, every dress needs a silver lining!

I enjoyed this light, satisfyingly happy ending book at this time of stress, and hope that everyone who participated in this round of the Literary Sewing Circle was able to enjoy as well. You can check out the link up post to see everyone's final projects.

Literary Sewing Circle: Finale & Project Link Up

Today is already our final day of the Literary Sewing Circle focusing on Susanna Kearsley's Bellewether! I hope you've had the chance to read the book, and both the first and second inspiration posts, and are getting lots of ideas for a project of your own.

The project linkup will be added to the bottom of this post: as soon as you are done your project, just pop a link to your post into the linkup and we will all be able to visit your blog/instagram etc. and explore your creation -- remember, it can be sewn, or knitted, crocheted, embroidered... any textile art that you practice.

Today's post also gives us the chance to talk about our reading experience a little more. If you haven't yet had a chance, check out our first discussion post for some specific questions and feedback from readers. Here are a few general things to think about and share here as well.


Did you enjoy this novel? Did you have a favourite character? Was there a theme which particularly resonated? What part of it stood out for you as your inspiration for your project? Was there anything you didn't like about this novel? Had you heard of it prior to this readalong? Were you aware of the 7 Years War before reading? Did you recognize any of the personalities in the story? What did you think of the mix of narratives? Do you like a pinch of the supernatural in your stories? Are you interested in reading any of Kearsley's other books now?

Here are some of my thoughts on this novel.

I read it first in 2018, when it was published. I loved it then, and I've really enjoyed rereading it and looking at it from a new perspective, while thinking about themes and sewing projects.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, there is so much I love about this book. I like Susanna Kearsley's writing in general; her style and themes are right up my alley as a reader. I enjoy a dual narrative story, and in this one, the connection being made both through family history and through Charley's work as a museum curator appealed to me. People who spend time working with the past seem likely to feel strong connections to it! I liked Charley as a character; with all of the sadness and trouble her family has seen, her vitality is still there. She is an intelligent worker, a caring aunt and daughter, a determined business person, and a good friend to her new acquaintances. I did question her romantic judgement quite a bit -- I might have even liked to see her romantic storyline downplayed a bit in relation to the overall story. And I also enjoyed reading about Lydia. She felt like a strong and complex character, one who fully inhabited her life. Her romance also felt more organic to me, and the storyline she was living was more uncertain and held more drama, to me.

I liked the complexity of relationships in the book, too. Though it seemed like there were a lot of players, it felt rich to me; often in romantic stories the leads seem isolated or living in a vacuum of sorts. In this story, family and all of its tangles played a large part in the plot and in the way both characters navigated their lives. This feels very real and served to highlight one of Kearsley's points in this story, that we are all connected and our actions have real effects on other people, personally and in a wider sense too.

The settings were also appealing to me. I was a history nerd as a kid -- I read many books about Colonial America, about settling the Canadian West, and about Champlain and Quebec (weird, I know) and I loved novels like The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare that were set in colonial New England. So I really connected with this setting. The era of Wolfe and Montcalm is so fascinating to me, and one of my favourite university classes during my history degree was one in which I examined the writings of Francis Parkman to uncover the literary techniques he used in his 'histories' of Montreal and Quebec. So I loved the descriptions of Quebec, the officers' uniforms, the differences between Quebec born soliders and France born ones, the status of Jean-Philippe's family, the plight of the Acadians, and all of those things. The descriptions of Lydia's New York and Charley's New York sparked some ideas too!

And I like a soupçon of the supernatural in my stories. The ghostly element in this one was very gentle and much more of a traditional ghost than in some others by Kearsley. I thought it added just that little bit of chill now and again, and the reveal at the end was charming rather than shocking. I liked the idea of a protective ghost! The way that Lydia and Jean-Philippe's legend had been passed down, like a game of telephone, was also intriguing; what does it say about history in general? What can we trust, what should we investigate further? And that applies to stories and rumours today too! So there was a lot I liked about this book, and a feel-good read that does not leave you ragged is sometimes just the thing. I hope you all found it a timely read also.

And now for my own project! I had many ideas I was mulling over, but I think I've decided on the one I'm going to make. I have a fabulous cotton with a New York themed print -- actually it's an IKEA sheet that I thrifted a while back. It's a neutral colour but has highlights of yellow on it which make me think of that splash of Lydia's yellow dress that brightened Jean-Philippe's miserable first day on his way to the Wilde farm. I am most likely going to make a shirtdress, as the fabric has a lot of body, so my inspiration is coming from the scenes in New York; the modern setting of Charley's era and the hint of Lydia coming through.

If you are currently making plans, please feel free to share them in the comments, too -- I'd love to see them. Or if you are posting about your thoughts on the book somewhere else, share that link also.

What project have you made, inspired by your reading of Bellewether? Share a link to your project post here! Links are open until May 1 so you have another 3 weeks of sewing time to finish and share.

Don't forget that any finished project shared by the deadline will be eligible for a draw for a free pattern either from Closet Case Patterns or Jalie! Get your projects in!

Literary Sewing Circle: Author Feature

Today's the day to talk about the author of our pick for this round of the #LiterarySewingCircle! Susanna Kearsley is an accomplished author of  13 novels; she's won a number of awards for her writing, including the 1993 Catherine Cookson Award for Mariana, a novel that is still very popular among her readers! In 2014, she received Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Paranormal Romance for The Firebird -- and many other reader's choice awards along the way, too.

Susanna is well known for her romantic stories that usually focus two timelines and some kind of connection between them, whether that is family history, psychological ties, or paranormal elements. And there is always a happy ever after. 

On her blog, she calls her work "women-in-jeopardy" novels, or, as I know them, Modern Gothics. I really love this genre, and so am thrilled to be able to share a bit about one of my favourite authors of this type of book. 

photo by Jacques du Toit

You can listen to a 2016 podcast over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books in which Susanna and her host talk a fair bit about Bellewether. Some of the aspects of the plot and Kearsley's general interests over all her writing are explored. It's quite fascinating!

If you are interested in historical fiction as a whole, there is a free Zoom webinar on historical fiction featuring Susanna Kearsley as one of the panelists, hosted by her publisher Sourcebooks, next Tuesday April 7. Check it out! 

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Susanna started out as a museum curator, and says that she has worked with textiles in that field. Here are a couple of things she has said about clothing and the past.

This familiarity with the importance of clothing in historical settings shows in the careful descriptions of clothing in her books. A couple of examples --

In The Firebird:

For one thing she was plainly dressed, but dressed with so much care I knew she’d taken pains to look her best. And although I was usually quite good at guessing ages, I had trouble guessing hers. She had to be at least a decade older than myself, so nearing forty at the least, but while her clothing and the way she held herself suggested she might be still older...

In A Desperate Fortune:

It was not her mother's face that she remembered, but the feel of her -- the soft warmth of her arms, the firmer softness of her silken bodice over stays, the ever-present tickle of the ruffled lace that edged her white chemise and brushed on Mary's cheek and upturned nose when she was snuggling on her mother's lap.


And of course, in Bellewether, we see Lydia in her yellow gown, and the wonderful uniforms of the two French officers. Charley herself speaks about working with textiles in her museum work, and knowing that the details of museum life are based in the author's own experience makes them richer and more reliable.


To find out more about Susanna Kearsley, check her out online.

Website 

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Literary Sewing Circle: Inspiration Post

It's time for another inspiration post, and this one will focus more on specific, sentence level inspiration that we can find in this book! (our last post looked more at the characters, if you missed it)

As I was reading, I was thinking about some of the imagery that stuck out for me, and also some of smaller characters and elements of the story.

If you look at it this way, there really are infinite directions you might go in with a project!

First, I'm looking at some of the places that this story takes place.

The obvious main setting is Long Island. That's where the Wilde House is and where most of both stories are set.

To reflect this setting, you could make the Long Island kids tee.

Of course, a larger focus on New York is possible, since both Charley and Lydia travel across the harbour to New York for their own reasons. There are various neighbourhoods in New York to work with

The Manhattan Peplum Dress by New Horizons could fit this setting well.

Or you might also like to try out the Brooklyn Knit Top from Style Arc 

The Soho Shorts & Skirt by Liesl & Co may also work! 

And Sam goes home to Rochester for Christmas, leaving Charley and Rachel snowbound in Millbank . This location definitely recalls the Rochester Dress by Maven Patterns for me.

Charley's family lives up in Toronto, so if you want to go that way, you could quickly make up a free pattern, the Toronto Tee by Rebecca Page

Then there are some pretty strong images to work with. One of these, at least for me, is the recurring image of Lydia in her bright yellow dress. The dress that immediately came to mind for me is the new and popular Vogue 1671. 

If you're inspired to make some costume related creations by the descriptions of Jean-Philippe or De Brassart's fine woolen uniforms, you could use the 1760s Frock Coat by Reconstructing History,  or even their entire Mid 18th Century Gentleman Package of patterns. 

Or of course you might go in the direction of using fabrics inspired by the book, maybe directly by the Bellewether itself.

Sailboats at Funky Monkey Fabrics

Liberty Sail at Fabric.com

Or perhaps you'll choose something more unexpected, inspired by Sam's beagle Bandit, or Don's dachshund.

Dachshund Scuba at Lindybob.co.uk

Or maybe Sam's occupation has you thinking of something in a different direction!

Alexander Henry "Heavy Equipment" print

Maybe you'll just let the idea of all those ocean voyages that the Bellewether makes down to the Caribbean influence your make. 

Tory Sevas on Spoonflower

Whatever you choose to make inspired by your reading, just share the idea or phrase that has sparked your plans. The linkup will go live in two weeks, and then there are 3 more weeks to make and post your project. I hope you are enjoying the reading and getting lots of ideas for your project already. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Book Talk

I am shifting around the scheduled posts a bit, so today's the day for some serious book talk! Our author feature will be posted a little later in the sewalong. How are you doing with the book? Have you started it yet? Finished it? Do you have any reactions you'd like to share? 

Here are a few questions to ponder today and for the next while -- whether you have begun reading, or you've only read blurbs & our interview so far and still have something to say, join in! Although there might be a few spoilers in the questions and discussion below so if you haven't got too far yet you might want to come back to this post.

I'll add some of my own thoughts and you can reply to them or add your own impressions. If you want to hear other takes on a part of the book that you are curious about, leave your own questions in the comments, too. I hope you are all enjoying it so far!

1. What was the first thing that drew you to this book? Was it the setting? The historical context?

I first picked up this book because I read everything by Susanna Kearsley as soon as it is available. But I was particularly interested in this one because of the time period of the past story. I studied North American history in university, and found the era of Wolfe & Montcalm fascinating, although I studied it mainly from the Canadian perspective and didn't think much about the American involvement. This story fleshes out that time period and I loved all the detail. 

2. There are multiple characters interacting both in the past and present storylines. Did you have any difficulty keeping them straight? Do you like this kind of read?

I love this kind of read, with tons of people involved and side characters who are fully developed, who give you a feeling that they have a full story of their own. I didn't have too much trouble following it, as I usually just go with a story like this and find that it sorts itself out in my head soon enough. The author helps here, though, by not giving characters similar names and by giving them all characteristics that differentiate them. I also like how the two stories are linked in the end. 

3. The romance element in both storylines is a slow build -- did you find it believable? Romantic enough for you?

I loved it! I liked Lydia and Jean-Philippe a little more; their romance felt a bit more true to the time period to have it slow and sedate. Charlie & Sam didn't seem to talk anything over though, they just suddenly became a couple. I can see them fitting well together but might have a liked a little more spark there. Charlie was too busy with everything else to have a grand romance, though! 

4. Both Sam and Jean-Philippe are the strong & silent type. The unappealing men, like Tyler or De Brassart, are both smooth talking charmers. Kearsley's type is clear -- do you also have an identifiable type? Do you agree with her characterizations?

I also prefer a quieter man with character and strength, so always find Kearsley's heroes appealing. The charmers are not so attractive to me. However, I did find that Tyler was very shallow (even perhaps a little one note), and wondered why the clever Charlie didn't see it as soon as everyone else in her life. Sometimes a charming man really is charming though, and can be a hero as well as a villain; perhaps some of Tyler or De Brassart's more redeeming qualities could have been shown as well.

5. Did you enjoy the ghostly elements of the story? Did you guess who the ghost was before it was revealed?

I love the ghostly elements of Kearsley's stories. This kind of slightly paranormal, slightly gothic romance story is one of my favourite kinds of read. This ghost was very homely and not very alarming, though I did not guess who it was before Kearsley revealed it in the end. It makes sense in the context, but wasn't what I'd expected. 

6. The legend of Lydia, her French officer, and the ghost that haunts the Wilde House grounds turns out to be wrong in several respects. Did you see the twists coming?

I really didn't, until close to the end. I was hoping that the tragic tale wouldn't be so tragic, and trusted that Kearsley would be able to find her happy ending. I love the legend though; it feels like something that people would tell about a historic house, and really liked how Charlie and the museum used it for their programming. I'd have definitely done the same as a museum director! I did like the legend as much as the real story of Lydia & Jean-Philippe. 

7. Is there a particular character that you found especially compelling? Any themes or symbols that really resonate with you?

I liked Lydia a lot -- she worked hard, was very efficient, brave, artistic, and had strength of character. And seemed willing to examine her own prejudices as necessary. I thought she was a good character to focus a story on. But I also found Violet very compelling. She seems like a person apart -- almost putting a face on during her parts of the story, but having a deep and complex life outside of this narrative that we can only glimpse. The modern day side characters are intriguing, too -- Frank's bluntness, Malaika's leadership, Charlie's fragile grandmother -- I found so many little bits to think about.

I found that on reading and rereading this one, the setting was very much part of the experience for me. I love the way that Long Island and New York are evoked both past and present, and would have also loved more on Quebec. I really do like the past era, though, and maybe that's another reason why I enjoyed this so much.

8. Is there anything specific  in the book that has sparked an idea for a project yet? Are you mulling over any ideas?

I think there are many, many directions to go in with a project. Past, present, imagery, characters, places, colours... a lot to work with! You could go with an historical recreation, or a modern reinvention, or something just lightly connected in some way. 

I am thinking about something inspired by New York, or maybe some of the imagery early on in the book. I have a great NY print that I might use, or perhaps just some bright yellow like Lydia's gown. There is also the fall imagery of apples and leaves that might appear somewhere...clearly I haven't quite decided! 

Literary Sewing Circle: Inspiration!

It's the first week of our Literary Sewing Circle Bellewether reading! Have you found a copy yet? Have you started reading? 

This week we'll be looking at some of the characters to inspire a project. This story has a wide cast of characters to draw from, and luckily for us, some of their names even match right up with patterns -- even some right from our sponsors! 

Let's start with the modern day main character, Charley (Charlotte).

Inspired by her you might want to make up the Charlie Caftan by Closet Case Patterns

Or, the Charlie Bomber by Jalie

You might even go for something a little more elaborate, and make up the Simple Sew Charlotte Dress -- it might be something Charley could wear when she's meeting donors, or speaking somewhere!

Charley's niece Rachel could be represented by the Rachel Top or Dress from Jalie -- the casual yet youthful feel of this pattern fits her university student lifestyle well. 

Sam is a hunky contractor. So, inspired by his daily wardrobe, you could sew for someone in your life using any of these Thread Theory manly designs. 

Thread Theory Jutland pants

Or you could even try the Sammie Work Apron by IThinkSew on Etsy! Looks handy for a handyman.

Charley's cousin Wendy is a sophisticated art dealer in the city. What might you make that is inspired by her? Perhaps this Wendy Dress by DG Patterns. Its sleek shoulder cut-outs and full skirt look chic and elegant, especially in a rich solid colour & photographed on a city sidewalk ;)

Or you might go with more of an Art Teacher Aesthetic, with this no-pattern dress by Wendy Ward!

And then there are the characters from the past. Lydia Wilde is our main character in 1759. Both the name and the era instantly suggest the Wilder Gown by Friday Pattern Company!

And mixing and matching the sweet Lydia Blouse by Salme with the full length view of the Lydia Skirt in the book Boundless Style by Kristiann Boos of Victory Patterns would also give a vintage modern feel.

Thinking of some of Lydia's housemates, there is also a Violet blouse at Colette, or a great casual Violet Dress at FibreMood.

There are many more characters to base your project on, both historical and contemporary. Are you thinking of something in this vein? Our next inspiration post will look at the book from another angle, so if these ideas don't resonate with you, just wait!