BUSY, BUSY...

I've spent A LOT of time in my studio lately...I'm listening to "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, short-listed for both the Man Booker and National Book Award for Fiction. It is a long, long, sad and dark book...but the writing is so
luminous, and I love the characters so much that I am hooked. I have come to love listening to Audible Books while I'm sewing; it encourages me to do a lot more hand sewing (good). When I come to a tricky bit in my sewing, I turn the book off, then start up again when I am ready. (I don't multi-task very well)

My first item was part of an ongoing attempt to find a very high scrunch turtleneck that doesn't collapse. I'll post about that later (it's pretty, and I'll wear it, but the neck isn't what I'm looking for).

Then, I made long OOP V8192, as a vest; I learned why there are only two reviews of this pattern on Pattern Review, both somewhat negative.

So, I was well-warned. I love the collar and decided to try it anyway. The main problem is that, in order to hang properly, I needed to add SIX sets of snaps to the interior. The top is essentially a double breasted vest without the necessary "buttons".

Here it is in my studio, as I figure out where to place the double-welt pockets.

And here it is, on me (with background of emerging wisteria) The fabric is a 
wonderful rayon-blend two-sided crinkle woven from Marcy Tilton which I love.

I like it, although I'm not sure it was worth all the bother...it's lightweight and drapey, perfect for my climate.

 

Next, as I was rummaging around in my studio, I found an almost completed knit top which I had totally forgotten about. It's B5954, adjusted somewhat to take advantage of a paneled knit with a border from Emma One Sock. So I added a neck finish, hemmed the sleeves and bottom, and voila!

A women's group I've belonged to for more than 30 years had a meeting this month in the studio of Seyburn Zorthian. We have two paintings of hers which I've written about before.

I've known Seyburn for a long time, but I was still fascinated by her telling us of the history of her painting...

and I found a new painting to love...

As a parting shot, check out my new polka-dot cat eye specs!

I'm heading over to Patti's site, Not Dead Yet Style, to join the Visible Women. Come  see what we've been up to!

TTYL

ADDITIONS TO MY FALL WARDROBE...

Despite being temporarily slowed down by a traveling cold, I've been productive in the studio and online, adding to my fall wardrobe.

In an interesting and mostly successful trifecta, I combined V8929, V1034 (OOP) and my custom pant pattern by Lynda Maynard, and made a pair of jeans in a beautiful red/black denim from Silhouette Patterns.

I need to change the waistband to a contoured one and take a few tucks in the back leg, but I'm pretty pleased with them. I am pairing then here with a TNT
B5954, a tunic in a pretty paisley in red, gray and black from Fabric.com.

I made the same tunic (can you tell I like it?) in a cozy sweater knit with polkadots from Marcy Tilton, this time without the cowl collar and with a contrasting neck binding.

Paddywack approves...AND matches!

I couldn't resist a long sweater jacket from Orvis in a black and gray houndstooth...

And, a fun, funky short pullover taffeta vest with a wire collar from Sun Kim,
a division of Comfy.

So, that's what I've been up to! I'm off to Artistry in Fashion next weekend, to

see old friends and meet up with new ones, and, just maybe, do a little shopping...

TTYL

YET ANOTHER CATCHUP...

Well, I meant to post before this; I needed a good week to recover from all the socializing in Oregon, then I went to the Bay Area for a quick trip (see 
Sham's Post for details and pictures), then I spent almost a full week doing a major clean "out and up" of my studio and then had a wonderful weekend visit from DD Maggie...we celebrated her May Birthday, Mothers' Day and my June Birthday all at once. FUN! And... she got behind the camera to do a photoshoot on all my new clothes, both sewn and RTW. It's so much more fun to do that with someone, rather than using a remote control! After we finished on Sunday late morning, we went out for a lovely leisurely brunch at Petros' in Los Olivos...

On to the clothes...

I made this top  and these pants for my trip to Oregon...

The fabrics are both from Girl Charlee, a black, red and gray sweater knit, and a gray stretch denim.  And to go with them, I made this wonderful red raincoat
V 9070 in a juicy red rainwear with a little metallic thread in it, both fabric and pattern from Marcy Tilton.

Of course, we had wonderful sunny weather in Oregon, but the coat is fun to wear anyway.

Also, before I left, I made these wide-legged pants in a silky crepe (black and white, of course!) I can't remember which pattern I used, but they are very cool and comfortable.

While  shopping in Portland, I found this little sleeveless tunic

and this one, with sleeves...

Later on in the week, I went to Cannon Beach with my friend Willie, and we
found these lightweight rayon pants:

To round out my summer wardrobe, I found this wonderful Vince Camuto poncho

and this breezy Chico's top, bought with my now-canceled Indian trip in mind...

 And, to finally come to the end of this endless post, here are pictures of Maggie, Dave and me celebrating my birthday a few days early...

A big thanks to Maggie for taking so many of these pictures and making the weekend SO. MUCH. FUN!

TTYL...

P.S....I'm heading over to the "Hat Attack" at the lovely Judith's Style Crone blog...come see all of us in our head gear!

OF POP-UP TRAILERS AND NEW CLOTHES...

I didn't know till now what a pop-up trailer was...DD and DSIL were gifted one
for their wedding a year ago. They just took a two week road trip and traveled up and down the California coast pulling the trailer. They arrived at our house on Friday and left today.

This is the trailer un-popped... and here are some pictures of them setting it up yesterday so we could see what it becomes..

It's a two-person job, and Maggie and David have it down to a science...

Here it is half-way up....

And here it is being inspected by DH...

It was fun to see them and hear about their adventures.

Earlier this year, I bought a RTW vest with very interesting pleating...

except I bought mine in a pretty cool-toned taupe...and of course, I had nothing to wear it with...

So....I had recently bought this wonderful hand-dyed shibori dotted black cotton
from Marcy Tilton and decided to use my TNT shirt pattern B5526 to make a long shirt

I added a stand-up ruffled collar, as I have done before, and top-stitched the shirt in a contrast thread for a change...

and, what do you know, I found another taupe and black fabric in my stash, also

from Marcy, many years ago, and made another B5954 to go with the vest.

Well, I have NOT covered the last of our trip in Bergen, nor have I mentioned the very fun time I had at Artistry in Fashion several weeks ago... so more to

come...

TTYL