Dealing with the "F" Word

I'm speaking here of failure ...in the last few weeks, I've had a few SPECTACULAR fails. It's not that it never happens to me, oh yes, it does...but to have three-in-a-row involving beloved fabrics has been a little daunting.

First, I sewed this pattern KS3764,

 

in this fabric

a heart-quickening red ponte from Emma One Sock, with more of my beloved

black and white striped zippers .

Should've been a piece of cake, right?  Wrong. Due to years of sewing over-sized clothing for myself, I added 4 inches to the length...DUH! Motorcycle jackets are SUPPOSED to be short...it looked terrible, and due to the construction methods called for, I didn't see it on myself till it was almost finished. I was heartbroken.

But, I had enough fabric to recut the fronts, I could take the 4 inches off the back, and the sleeves were good to go. Then I had an awful time putting the zippers in. The pattern called for a woven, and I was using a very slippery, stretchy knit. I tried it THREE times, used a ton of Wonder Tape, and finally GAVE UP.

Then...I have a couple of cherished pieces of hand-woven ikat I bought in Thailand several years ago, from the weaver herself.

Isn't it beautiful? Well, in trying to knock off this jacket from Yasuko Kurisaka

I foolishly did NOT make a muslin and cut into my beautiful fabric. FAIL....

So I bundled both projects into a bag and put them out of my sight in detention.

Very shaky for the self-confidence...

I soothed myself by going through my closet and getting rid of all the things that don't fit me...I gave about 40 tee shirts to my housekeeper, and four large garden bags full of goodies, which I took down to my daughter when I went to visit her for the weekend. She was pleased, I was pleased, win-win!

And of course, a trip to the big city (Los Angeles) would not be complete without a little fabric therapy...

From F&S Fabrics, which was my local fabric store in the 60's and 70's, I came home with these:

a red and white cotton ikat, a black with white pinstripe cotton, a crushed nylon taffeta, and a stretch cotton polka dot.

Then, a new find for me, 3 blocks away from my daughter's house, Fabric Planet

(they also have a large warehouse/store in downtown LA), great fabrics and spectacular trims.

a wonderful quality rayon, reversible from dark to light, MORE polka dots, this time a knit, a knit which looks almost like an ikat, also good on both sides, and a silver/black brocade that had my name on it.

Black, white, red and silver...what a surprise!