Stash Reshuffled

At the last meeting of my local Garment Guild before the summer break we had a pattern & fabric swap. This necessitated a rummage through my pattern stash to see what I could weed out!

Sorting...

As it turns out, there were only 34 I was willing to part with at the moment 😉

I did get a good look at everything again, however, which is always useful. And it also reminded me that I didn't really need to pick up many more at the swap. But it didn't mean I completely held back! 

I picked up a small piece of striped knit, some lining, & a few patterns. The Folkwear ones were given to me directly by another member of the Guild who knows about my Vyshyvanka project. How thoughtful! I hope to use some of these before too long.

It's great to be able to share sewing supplies with other enthusiasts who you know will enjoy them. Swaps are a great time!

Swaps & Plans!

I had two guild meetings this month that were the last of the season - one for my local Garment Guild and the other for the quilt club I belong to even though I don't really make traditional quilts ;)

Both meetings were swap meets. We were able to bring fabric, patterns or notions and take something new home instead. I was restraining myself - my goal lately is to reduce my stash, not add to it! Still, having taken 35 m. to give away, I felt okay about bringing home 4 m. from the first night and 5 from the next. 

At the Garment Guild swap, I only took two pieces:

First, this soft double sided knit. I'm thinking either a cardi or a dolman sleeve 80s tee. Depends on which pattern fits!

And then I claimed this stretch cotton sateen; I have nearly exactly the same print in a rayon! This might be destined for a slouchy blazer. 

The next night, at the quilt guild, I wasn't planning on taking anything. But I found this length of narrow cotton and was challenged to make a garment from it ;) I'm thinking this Simplicity 8014 shirt dress, in view C or D with minimal seamlines.

Pen for scale

Finally, I took one small piece of cotton because the print was perfect for backing a small space-themed wall quilt I'm currently working on. I'll have lots left for other quilt backs as needed, too. 

So I am pleased with what I brought home. I like all of the fabrics a lot and have plans for them. That's the kind of stash building I want to do. 

Holiday Gatherings for the Garment Guild

It's getting to be that festive season, and my local sewing group, the Stratford Garment Guild, had our holiday Zoom party today. It's lots of fun to get together with other sewing friends and talk all things patterns and sewing. To make it a little festive we also played a few virtual party games. 

The first one was a little game of Sewing Have You Ever -- the Naughty & Nice version! I had fun putting these lists together and discovering just how Naughty or Nice our members are ;) 

I thought you might have fun with this too, so here it is so you can play along...how Naughty or Nice were you out of 10 this year (or ever??)

Naughty

1. Sewed Over Pins
2. Used Fabric Scissors for something that was not fabric
3. Sewed through your finger
4. Lost a pattern piece in the middle of making something
5. Had a rotary cutter accident
6. Forgot to add seam allowances
7. Cut a hole in your project while trimming seams
8. Made something but never wore it
9. Bought the same pattern twice...by accident
10. Have more than 5 projects in your UFO pile

Nice

1. Sewed a gift for someone else
2. Taught someone to sew
3. Used your scraps to make something new
4. Used recycled/upcycled fabric or thread
5. Sewed something that fit you perfectly
6. Have used more than 5 specialty feet for your machine
7. Mended/refashioned something in your wardrobe instead of getting rid of it
8. Tackled a hard project that intimidated you at first
9. Added pockets to a pattern that didn't have any
10. Made a whole project without using one swear word

If you play along, let us know your score in the comments so we can commiserate and celebrate!

A Summer Sewalong Project

My local Garment Guild is one of my favourite groups of people :) We have a lot of fun and have kept our Guild going over the last year via Zoom meetings. We've had some great guests and speakers, and have kept in touch with each other. I really enjoy it. 

But of course we don't meet over the summer, so this summer I suggested a sewalong so that we could all keep sewing together while apart ;) 

Our library systems in this area subscribe to CreativeBug, so with our library cards we can all log in and follow along with tons of classes. Our summer sewalong follows all the pattern drafting courses run by Cal Patch -- there are 10 sessions which works out perfectly for us to do one a week until the end of the summer! 

This week we started with drafting our own Boxy Top. It's a great intro to the process for people who have never used measurements to draft out a simple pattern for yourself before. It's fairly straightforward, but there is a lot of potential in such a basic patterns, some of which are shared in the class -- colour blocking, dividing it into panels, adding pockets etc. I think this would be a fun project to experiment with and see what you could do with it. 

I drafted mine out but second guessed the arm depth and shortened it by about 3/8" since I am short between bust and shoulder. However, I should have trusted the numbers because my first sewn sample is a bit too grabby into my armpit area. I've added the 3/8" back onto the pattern and will try again. 

I used some linen from my stash (yay, using up big chunks of leftovers!) and left the hem raw since the selvage is a pretty line of shimmery thread. I am thinking about maybe embroidering a motif along the neckline to spark it up a little. 

The fit is great (except for the armhole boo boo, which is still wearable though not perfect) and I really liked the simple process. 

It was fun to see what others had done with this project, and now we are all looking forward to week two -- drafting a simple pair of wide leg pants. At least I hope it will be simple! Maybe I'll finally have a pair of pants that fits. I am hoping to learn more about basic pant drafting so that I'll understand patterns and alterations better. I hardly ever wear pants so haven't really made many, and those I've tried have been rather disastrous. Onward and upward. 

Links for the Fashionable Sewist

I've been busy with some holiday sewing so no projects to share this week -- that would spoil the surprise for any of my gift recipients reading this! 

So I thought I'd share some fun links to interesting things I've been watching lately. 

My local Garment Guild is meeting virtually this year, and this month we were really honoured to have the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, join us on our Zoom meeting. She's not only an amazingly accomplished woman and a government official, she loves to sew. It was great talking to her and hearing some of her stories, and seeing some of her favourite fabrics! 

There was a news spot on her a couple of years ago, and I think it shows her passion for sewing clearly. Hope you enjoy it too. 

And just this morning I saw that The Queen's Gambit is now the most watched Netflix scripted show ever. I can see why; it was so good. The storyline, characters, acting, and the set design and costuming were all excellent! Readers here will likely be as interested in the wonderful costuming as much as I was, so be sure to check out this interview with the costume designer Gabriele Binder about her inspiration and intent with the costuming.

Here are two of my favourites among the many spectacular period outfits.

Then check out this amazing virtual exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum featuring closeups of the costuming from both The Queen's Gambit and The Crown. Warning: you'll be there a while!

Hopefully I'll be back with some projects soon. If you're also busy with your holiday sewing...good luck :)

Thrilled to Announce: the Stratford Garment Guild!

I'm thrilled to announce the creation of the new Stratford Garment Guild! Inspired by the Ottawa Garment Guild (and guided by them with some set-up information, thanks guys!) and by the Atlantic Sewing Guild, I decided that our community also needed an in-person garment sewing group.

With a handful of other local enthusiasts I went ahead and held a planning meeting and we are now pleased to announce that the Stratford Garment Guild is live and will be meeting regularly starting in September of 2019, in Stratford. More information to come as we add content to our social media accounts and website.

But for now, if you are in the Stratford, Ontario area and want to keep up on what's happening, follow us on Instagram or on Facebook.

See you in September!