Do you ever get the sense that you cannot work fast enough? That ideas are flowing but your hands cannot keep up with the ideas? Frankly, I always feel this way, and it’s no fun. This summer seemed filled with obligations (fun) and too many doctor appointments and medical tests (no fun). At some point I got quite annoyed with all the time I was missing from creating.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve felt better about what I’ve managed to accomplish over the past almost-three months. I know it’s not a good attitude to have– judging myself on output, but it does seem like a good attitude to be happy with the things I’ve tried that have stretched my skills. I have wanted to be a better ‘sewist’ for years. You can’t get better at anything without putting in the time to practice. With so many weaving projects calling to me, sweaters to knit. braids to make to enhance other projects, it’s really hard to make to time to sew. But I did it, and the skills were hard to learn. Really, I haven’t mastered them yet, but I also did manage to make some things that are moderately successful. Just don’t look too closely!
I made two fitted shirts! The first was a pattern from Modern Sewing Company. I bought the workshop rather than just the pattern to make a “Classic Shirt.” The workshop included several videos, and learning to add a bust dart to a plain front was the best instruction I’ve ever had on this skill. I’ve tried a few in the past, but since this was a video I just watched/paused/executed over and over. The blouse fits well. The challenges, after the darts, were the collar stand, the cuff plackets, and the cuffs. All done pretty well–not perfect.
Then I made a second shirt. This time no cuffs and no collar stand. It did have front darts, and two small darts in the back of the neck. What drew me to make this pattern was the Peter Pan collar. I just love them!–there is something so feminine and innocently sweet about them. The pattern is from Wardrobe by Me. The downside was that all the inside seams are serged rather than beautifully finished with French seams as the previous shirt was. Oh well. I love the shirt and the fabric I finally used that I bought years ago in a wonderful French fabric shop in Fort de France, Martinique. In both cases it is kind of a downer to have to print so many pages of pattern pieces and tape them together. That process takes a full day for me.
Then I also tried my hand at this pattern for a tunic or dress. It’s called the “Sunset Shift,” by Studio M. I saw this made up in this very fabric at a quilt shop near me, and I thought it was adorable!–summery and happy. That is not at all how I feel wearing it. It probably will never leave the house. Maybe I should have made it a bit longer? At any rate, it was a good experience to once again make something that fits, even though I don’t care for how I look in it! That is three successful sewing projects in a row, which has never happened for me before.
I have also had a weaving project going this summer. I saw it last winter on Jane Stafford’s website, and it’s called “linen Swedish canvas weave shawl.” It uses 40/2 linen which I ordered as a kit for this project. I even ordered the color that the shawl is shown in on the website–lavender. It was an easy project to warp and dress the loom and to weave! Being me, I could not fathom making the second shawl exactly like the first. I went diving into my linen stash and found a cone of blended silk and linen in a handpainted colorway of blue and natural. This yarn has slubs in it, likely from where the silk did not completely blend with the linen. It made a very different looking shawl, and is suprisingly stiffer than the all linen shawl. I love them both. I will keep one and gift the other–but which one will I keep??
And then there is knitting, and there are handbags! I’ve got two sweaters going at the moment. Neither is finished although one is getting close. It’s Kate Davies’ “Yorlin” cardigan. I think I’ll be wearing it as soon as the weather changes at home in New England. I am currently working on it in Sardinia, where Bob and I have returned to Pandora to sail for late summer and early fall. The other sweater came as an impulse purchase when I visited Harrisville Designs in mid-August. It’s called the Carlina pullover and it’s made with two colors of Harrisville Shetland. We had a tour of the spinning facility, a lovely lunch across the street at the general store, and a fun time shopping at Harrisville Designs. “We” are a tapestry group I am involved with, and we had a weaving retreat together and added the trip to Harrisville as part of our retreat. It was a marvelous week, and I have some new ideas about tapestry weaving. There is a stunning tapestry by James Kohler that hangs in the shop at HD. It’s been so long since I’ve been there I hadn’t seen this work before.
I have a bit to say about making (and loving) handbags and totebags, which i’ll save for another post! I am finishing this post from Sardinia, although I started it at home before I left. As you might imagine, if I’m traveling again it means I’m gathering again, both material goods and ideas. Hopefully my new treasures will become projects that will bring me a lot of enjoyment. I’ll stop here with a photo of the wonderful Sardinian fabrics that are always at the Tuesday Market in Bosa.
