Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I’m Supposed To Be Doing Something…

…but I’m doing something else instead. Yeah, does that problem ever haunt you? It does me. I start feeling anxious because I’m not forcing myself to do what needs to be done. Instead I’m lollygagging around doing exactly what I want to do! You’d think I’d either quit with the guilt already or do something about it. But no. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. Hopefully before it’s too late.

Gee, that confession was rather generic, wasn’t it? Likely because it fits far too many situations for me lately. I did manage to get my guild talk slides all done. This here Bluet, the naughty netbook computer, connected to the digital projector ok and hopefully won’t forget how to do it on Thursday. I have samples and examples but I still have to sort out a few seeds to share. I also have a couple of baby weld plants I can pot up. There’s two madder pots and 3 groupings of 4 Japanese indigo plants ready to go as well. I’m hoping somebody will adopt my spares especially since these plants aren’t that easy to source.

If anyone has been following this blog for a number of years, you’ve already seen most of the info that will be in my talk on Backyard Dyes. I’ve just consolidated the photos and added the important points which I hope I can fill out off the cuff. Can’t say I’m any kind of master gardener or anything but I do know my eensy plot of land and my climate pretty well. Some things do very well and other things struggle with the acid clay soil and the lack of consistent sunshine. I’m sure urban farming is as much a crapshoot as commercial farming can be but on a much smaller scale. Luckily I don’t have my livelihood on the line, eh? Anyhoo, I don’t think I’m going to be able to concentrate on much else until after Thursday’s guild meeting.

That said, I also finished my jacket-vest-thing! And I’m quite pleased with it too.

Marcy Tilton Vogue 8709 Vest

Completed:  April 15, 2013

Pattern:  Vogue 8709, View B, without sleeves.

Materials:  Cotton/linen blend, medium indigo blue, 2 yards (41” wide). Used it all, only tiny bits left. Scraps of lightweight vintage cotton print for Hong Kong bias binding. 4 tagua nut buttons, dyed (by me) in indigo.

Mods:  Added 3” to the length of the peplum, moved the bust dart down 1” (should have been more), adjusted for sloped shoulders, added bias binding to armholes instead of sleeves, finished interior seams with Hong Kong binding, fringed one piece of the collar instead of using selvedge.

Comments:  The fabrics for this vest were dug out of deep stash. The red cotton print is probably 40 years old! The blue cotton/linen is a little faded in some areas and I tried to leave most of that on the inside. I don’t really mind though. It’s nice to finally use it up!

I definitely should have added at the back for high rounded shoulders which would have made the armholes fit better. Also the bias strips for the bindings should have been wider than 3/4”. Why do I always cheat myself on this? I do like how the interior is completely finished off with a hit of red floral. I only had 4 buttons but that looks just fine.

This garment was really not that easy to sew. It took quite a lot of concentration and fiddling to make the odd pieces fit together. The results were worth it though: a fun and funky vest that’s very comfortable to wear and looks great with quite a few other pieces in my wardrobe. I think it’s going to be worn a lot, especially before the weather warms up too much. I may make another version some time with sleeves and the alternate collar (View A).

Sorry for the photos on Debbie Double. The colour is actually a somewhat darker blue that the camera couldn’t catch. It looks better on me but I am too lazy to get the spouse to take modeled photos for me. So, I guess I’ll never be That Kind of Blogger. You know, the ones with the fabulous photo shoots where they look amazing and the backgrounds are perfectly coordinated? That’s not me at all. You’ll have to live with it. I do. Heh.

In other crafty news, whenever I have a few moments and the light is right in my study I’ve been plugging away on the Orange Aeolian Shawl. I’m getting there – only part of the last chart to go – but of course the rows keep getting longer. And longer. And longer. Slow but pleasant going. The suri alpaca yarn is quite fuzzy and gets more so with handling. It’s very soft though, like baby mohair. Since I’m going to have nearly half of it left when I’m done this shawl, I’m going to have to think of something else for the other half.

Well, the weather is lovely and sunny today but not particularly warm. I really should be out in the garden getting the veggie beds ready to transplant the babies currently in the greenhouse. Quick, run, before a new item wants to get sewn or knitted or something.

3 comments:

pao said...

ooo, it looks very cool. At first I thought the red trim was on the outside! That's some very fancy finishing. I've been getting more into taking care of the inside of my garments lately.
Anyway I know that feeling, I just don't like to think about it. ha.

Anonymous said...

--good luck on the guild show tonight, I'll be thinking of you -- well maybe not thinking at all! and I hope the machine works etc. wish we could share the seedlings.

Louisa said...

Thanks for the good wishes, Jean! Must have worked because the talk went fine. Hope yours did too!