Manteau #1

Inspired by a spot-on Christmas gift from my soon-to-be Son-in-Law

(a dozen silver and black antique buttons) and my upcoming trip to Iran, I made the first attempt at a
"Manteau", a covering for the upper body worn by many women in Iran. If you recall, this 
is my challenge:

This is my first attempt:

The pattern is B5822, a shortened and unlined View B.

I used a lovely, drapey tone-on-tone black rayon brocade...I've had it so long, I've forgotten where it came from! (photos have been lightened to show details)

I'm afraid I'll have to switch out the buttons for the trip to plain black, but these lovelies will go right back on when I return. The unlined rayon is quite cool to wear.

On another note, last week I had a meet-up with ReAnn Scott, who lives in Chicago. She was out to California for the birth of her first grandchild, and managed to fit in a brief trip to my part of the world.
We went out for a long and chatty lunch

(blurry iPhone photo) and then I shared my somewhat meagre brick and mortar fabric stores. We had a
great time...meetups are so much fun!

KAPPOGI!

And what is a Kappogi, you ask?

I grew up in Hawaii and loved the "mama-san" aprons worn by Japanese women; they seemed so attractive, while being practical at the same time. I've never understood those skimpy little aprons worn by a lot of women...they must not be as messy as I am when cooking!

I know, I know, in my last post I was all set to do a major cleaning of my studio, and I DID, for a day or so...but I had ordered, then lost, this pattern a year ago and when I finally unearthed it, I NEEDED to make one for myself...

I used quilting cottons that I had originally bought in my purse-making days and used the pattern as is

except for lengthening the sleeves. There is elastic in the wrists, so they can be pushed up out of the way when doing dishes.

It's a little late, considering my holiday cooking and cleaning is over, but it never hurts to have a cute
"costume" for every day!

close-up

Now, back to cleaning!

Alone at Last!

Eleven straight days of houseguests, dear family and their dear ones...it was wonderful and I am glad it's over! Given the quiet life Dave and I normally lead, this is a big change for us. As my friend Shams
said, Sewing Margy was replaced by Cooking/Housekeeping/Hostessing Margy!

Luckily, I had finished my version of V1116 OOP, AKA "Clown Pants"

 which I had originally made for my friend Joan more than a year ago; I had a very special party I wanted to wear them to and I came in just under the wire.

Here is a picture lightened considerably so you can see the details better:

I made them in a wonderful "Issey Miyake" type fabric from Marcy Tilton; I've had the fabric for a long time, waiting for the perfect project. It's  crinkled, silky-like, in woven black checks on a silvery-gray background. I wore them with my beloved Trippen boots and a close-fitting wrapped jersey top.
The look of these pants is quite "fabric-dependent"; the ones I made for Joan were out of a crisp nylon taffeta-like blend and look very different than my lighter-weight "swooshy" ones. It was a lovely party, a celebration of very dear friends' 50th wedding anniversary.

I am eager to start the New Year with a studio cleanup; I also use the space as "Gift-Wrapping
Central", so it's particularly in need of attention.

Happy New Year to you all...I hope 2013 will be a year of peace, creativity and lots of sewing time!

Happy Holidays!

From our house to yours, I hope your holidays are joyous, peaceful, and fulfilling. That's MicMac, a Maine Coon Cat, on my lap, and Paddywack, a Blue Roan English Cocker Spaniel on Dave's lap.

Running Around in Circles...

Embroidered Circles on silk, that is...

This is another version of M5529 OOP...I made one with a fuller peplum last summer.  Several people have asked to see a picture of the pattern envelope since it is no longer visible on the McCall's site.

This is in a black faux dupioni with embroidered silver circles on it from Hyena Productions. This is a very
quick-to-sew top; I added an obi-style belt to emphasize the waist.

I've already worn it for a dinner party and I'm sure I'll wear it again during the holidays.

A recent just-for-fun purchase from eBay was a pleated silver coat from babettesf...for obvious reasons, I call it
my Michelin Man coat...

I'm sure it will go to at least one party in the next few weeks!

I'm awaiting the arrival of my friend Carolyn who went to Puyallup with me last March; she's here for a few days on her way to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with family. We'll see what trouble we can get into while she's here...

My Million-Dollar Jacket

Well, maybe not MILLION...let's just say "very expen$ive" But worth it!

The pattern is V2607, designed many years ago by Guy Laroche, but to me, it will always be the
Cruella deVil jacket...

The fabric, a gorgeous abstract European brocade, was purchased for me OVER THE PHONE
by Shams, from Communing with Fabric, at Britex, in San Francisco. Check on her link to read her
trepidatious foray into a long-distance personal fabric shopping service. Suffice it to say, it's the most expensive yardage I've ever cut into, and I made not one, but TWO test jackets before I put this on my cutting table.

The first pattern was KS3738, seen here

it was ok, but wasn't really special enough for the fabric. So then I went pattern browsing, and found
this

which appealed to my geriatric/goth sense of fashion.  I made it up in a cotton home dec fabric to check the fit, and it was perfect. So...

I "happened" to find the perfect vintage buttons on Etsy, and had a beautiful hammered silk charmeuse in silver in my stash for the lining...

so I was in business. The jacket was completely interfaced, in some places doubled, and I had a little trouble with the coat-sized hooks and eyes called for, so I made some narrow black elastic loops and used my buttons instead. The finishing seemed to take days and days, and I did have a "deadline" for a party where this little number will be worn.

For those of you interested in the details, my pants are Eileen Fisher silk georgette, my magical shoes are Stuart Weitzman (not only beautiful but unbelievably comfortable)

and my earrings are 50's vintage Miriam Haskell...

I'm really excited about the jacket...I could even wear it with jeans, so it will hopefully not be a one-night-stand a la Cinderella!

Playing with Proportion

Remember this?

Well, it's been bugging me! So after I took photos of my new tunic and leggings (at the end of the post), I decided to play with the various pieces of this "Anti- Suit"; I like the pieces separately, and I needed to justify the price I paid!

I think the blouse was everyone's favorite, including mine...here it is open, with narrow pants. Much better! The only problem I have with it is that the collar, cuffs and front band should have been interfaced with some of Pam Erny's Shirt Crisp Interfacing. I always use this in my shirts...you need some crispness to make the collar and cuffs stand up.

Here it is, belted...another good look, again, with the narrow pants.

Next, the jacket...(lightened to show details...)

over polka-dot narrow pants...and the fuller pants

 with the top tied in the back, so it's not so big.
I feel much better, now, knowing that all three pieces will have a place in my wardrobe!

I made another M6607 out of a wonderful French double knit from Emma One Sock

and I also made FIVE pair of leggings/narrow pants...I started out with Christine Jonson's BaseWear One, but I don't like to wear my leggings quite so form fitting, so I fooled with the pattern several times, and finally measured my very favorite RTW pants, Eileen Fisher's Washable Stretch Crepe Ankle Pants (I'm wearing them above with the tunic) every four inches from hem to crotch, and made my own "Frankenpattern". I can cut them out and sew them in under an hour...YAY!

From the left...gray with silver pin dots, black and white polka dots, both cotton/lycra from eBay, and Marcy Tilton's black and gray "Rocket Man" rayon/lycra. Numbers 1 and 2 didn't make the cut!
Off to make a test jacket for my fancy Shams-bought brocade...

Several people have asked about the scarf/necklace I'm wearing in a few pictures...

It's raw edged striped knit strips...very lightweight and soft...wonderful for travel, too!