What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Proper Comportment

Sweater: Beeswax pattern, knit by yours truly
Skirt: Brooklyn pattern, sewn by yours truly
Tights: unknown
Boots: Aquaitalia

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Perfect Purple

Shirt: Etro
Skirt: Seamwork's Brooklyn, sewn by yours truly
Tights: Wolford
Boots: Aquaitalia

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: The Owls Have It!

Sweater: Owls by Kate Davies, knit by yours truly
Skirt: Brooklyn (from Seamwork magazine), sewn by yours truly
Tights: Simply Vera
Boots: Aquaitalia

Back at It in May!

Oh, the ambitions of April! My three goals had been to finish all three WIPs (Anna vest, Kate Davies cardigan, and the ladyfriend's sweater), sell the two bikes we have in the shed, and make a plan for all the things I want to make this year and particularly this summer.

Hmm, how did it go? Well, I finished this -

It's the Brae Cove tunic, which is a Squam KAL. There was some endless knitting, on size 4 needles no less, but I couldn't be happier with the result. The length is perfect; I can wear it as a dress or over something, and I used yarn from my stash to make it. It's the beginning of May, which means Me Made May, and this is how I chose to start it. This is also my second finished item from my Make Nine list.

Here are the updates on April's goals - sad but true:
I fixed the Anna vest issue and now have to stitch it together, so I didn't finish it.
The Kate Davies cardigan remains unfinished.
The ladyfriend's sweater is one sleeve shy of being sewn together. My new goal for that is to finish it before we go to Nova Scotia.

So while I finished one WIP, it wasn't on the list. I also started another sweater. What can I say? I'm incorrigable.

One of the bikes has been taken; the other still needs to go up on Kijiji.

My making plan? Well, I've been working on it, but not on paper, so let's do that here!

I'm already deep into my Afghani Nomad Dress. I'm hoping that will be done Wednesday or Thursday.

I'd originally wanted to make one of the three possible pants for Fringe Association's Summer of Basics challenge, but Needlework, my local fabric store, is running a class on the Lander pant this month so I decided to take that opportunity. I'll be making these in white canvans. Whoo-hoo!

June will be for the Liv cardigan; I'll be picking up the yarn in early June and starting it while at Squam, which is what I tried last year, but then I realized I didn't have enough yarn. Looking forward to adding this cardigan to my wardrobe. It is one of my Summer of Basics projects.

One of my issues with the Summer of Making is that I'll be in Nova Scotia for most of it. I have a sewing machine there, but not necessarily all my tools. That said, I think I will try to make Paxson. I actually bought fabric for it last year, but then they revised the pattern, and then well, I went onto other things.

And because the pieces made for the Summer of Basics are meant to fill a hole in one's wardrobe (I know, how could there be a hole in a wardrobe of my size?), I'm making the decision right here and now to make Pants No. 1 as well. Paxson and Pants No. 1 will be July/August projects.

That brings me up to 7 of my Make Nine. I'll work on Azami (8) over the summer; it feels like a good cottage knit, and then I'll make Erica (9) in the fall. Of course I have other things I plan to make as well, but this is the core.

So, what are my May goals?

1. Project to Finish (WIP): I need to finish a Frank Lloyd Wright cross stitch.

2. Fix/Remake/or Let Go: Time to revisit the floor lamp.

3. Get Started On: My veggie garden.

Hope the weather in your area is good; we're having some beautiful days right now.

My Make Nine Challenge

I think I caught sight of this on Instagram, but it was Cal Patch's post that set the blaze to the spark. The fact that I've already planned on making most of these items this year anyway made it even easier to throw my hat into the ring (it's good that I own a lot of hats!). Also, I'll inevitably participate in the Summer of Basics (should there be one this year), which will account for three of my "make nine." Let me also acknowledge that there are a couple items about which I'm uncertain - not uncertain about whether I want to make them, but uncertain as to whether I can actually complete them within the year. Yeah, those kinds of projects.

But let's start with what's been settled.

1). Sew Liberated Schoolhouse Tunic

This pattern has been on my radar for years, but I kept second-guessing myself. A discount and an encouragement to post images of yours by March 19th (yikes! thought I had more time!) was enough for me to pull the trigger. I already have fabric for it.

2). The Brae Cove Tunic

I'm running the Squam KAL, but this one has its own KAL, in which I'm participating. Thankfully I'm almost done with my Squam knit, and the deadline for completion isn't until May 19th. As you may recall, I've found yarn during my yarnventory for this.

3). The Erica Dress

This is a pattern from Seamwork magazine, to which I subscribe. I like the idea of an easy and sophisticated wrap dress, and I found some matte midnight blue jersey from Mood fabrics. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to make any of the modifications. No deadline for this baby.

4). The Liv Cardigan

I started this cardigan last year with wool reclaimed from another project; however, I discovered I didn't have enough yarn so it was tabled. I've ordered yarn for this (no judgements!), and this will be one of my Summer of Basics makes. Believe it or not, I'm knitting it in black. I think this will fill the black cardigan gap nicely.

5). The Afghani Nomad Dress

I was inspired (years ago already) by Alicia Paulson's version and have collected a variety of Liberty of London fabrics to make my own version.

6). Pants: here's one where I haven't settled on which ones I'm going to commit to, and they range from challenging to pretty easy. I think what will tip the scales is which pair will fill the greatest gap.

The contenders are -

The Morgan Boyfriend Jeans

The Lander Pant

and

100 Acts of Sewing: Pants No. 1

 I'll make all of these at some point, but after I do a little homework (Seamwork's Design Your Wardrobe course), I hope to have a clearer picture of what I need. These will also be part of the Summer of Basics.

7). Azami

I've had this pattern and the yarn (the actual yarn it called for even) for awhile, and I feel like it's time to get 'er done. Mine will not be pink but a nice spring green.

Okay this is where things get vague -

I have the yarn and the pattern for Charley, but it's a lot of work. Like a lot, and I'm afraid I won't be able to finish it within the year.

I also have started on the Maggie dress from Alabama Chanin, but again, lots of work because of all the hand-stitching.

This is the tunic version; I'm making the dress version

And finally, I have two Merchant & Mills dresses in mind. The Trapeze, which I've made in two versions already, and The Rugby, which I haven't.
My Trapeze:

The Rugby:

There's the possibility of shifting commitments, but regardless of the list, there will be other makes as well. There always are. These, however, feel like they could be pivotal players in my wardrobe, and as such are deserving of special attention.

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: Purple is the New Neutral

Sweater:  Owls pattern by Kate Davies, knit by yours truly
Skirt:  Brooklyn pattern from Seamwork magazine, made by yours truly
Tights:  Hue
Boots: Aquaitalia

What I'm Wearing to Teach Today: I Knew These Colours Would Look Great Together!

Sweater:  Self-drafted patter,n knit by yours truly
Skirt:  Brooklyn skirt from Seamwork magazine, sewn by yours truly
Tights:  Hue
Boots: La Canadienne

Wardrobe Thoughts & Plans

So for 2016, I've taken the make/mend/thrift pledge, which means no buying new clothes.  I don't really feel like I purchase a lot of new clothing each year, but I probably buy more than I'm aware of, and my mother likes to buy me clothes (this may be harder for her than it will be for me).

I've been inspired by my own desire to make more of my clothing, the purge (as it has now come to be known in my mind - kinda biblical and still ongoing), things like Slow Fashion October and MeMadeMay, as well as Karen Templar of Fringe Association who has been blogging about crafting her own wardrobe and encouraging participation in slow fashion.

I wish I could sketch like Karen, but that is not part of my skillset at the moment.  So I've got some images and ideas to share here and will endeavour to continue to do so during this process (and forever - I'm nothing if not ambitious).

I tried to take a good look at my closet.  It really is an eclectic mix of styles and functions, but it suits me.  It also makes it hard to think in terms of key pieces, since I don't expect everything to be able to go together.  However, I have come up with some items that I think will pull a lot together.

Slow Fashion October*

Checking in with Instagram (because, no, I don't check it everyday), I found out about Slow Fashion October.  This fills me with both excitement and dread.  Excitement because I'm really trying to up the ante of me-made-clothes in my closet, and dread because the last thing I need right now is another freakin' project.  And I can't resist.

In the meantime, I thought it'd be a good time to share Seamwork magazine from Colette Patterns with you.  Each month Seamwork features two patterns that are designed to take you 3 hours or less to complete, helping you (me) get the handmade wardrobe we fantasize about.  (See how I took "you" and "me" and made it "we"? - That's called crafty, and grammar - hah!)  In all honesty I have yet to make one of the patterns (subscribers get two pattern credits a month for $6), mostly because school has started and Shake-n-Make has a show opening on Tuesday (yes, I'll write a post about that in the next day or so), which requires my attention.  But having a stash of patterns that won't take me a weekend (or more) to make and could result in wardrobe staples is inspiring.

And because I'm a glutton for (self) punishment, I'm considering implementing a "Finish One/Start One" project to spur me to go back to not only sewing or knitting WIPs** but to stories I've started and left hanging.  But rather than make it some kind of goal, which often leads to a sense of failure, I'm working toward satisfaction.  I'm not going to kill myself trying to crank out projects or stories because I said I would; I'm going to work on projects with an eye to satisfying my need to create.  We'll have to see what comes out of that.

Happy October!

*Sometimes I think I need a tattoo that says "Better late than never" because, yes, it's October 2nd
** Work-in-Progress plural, and yes, grammatically it should be WsIP, but it's not.