Diana Trout's blog

Paper and a Book

Playing with the lovelies

An orchestra of pattern

Pulling you in on one path and out an unexpected route.

And these from the Paper Source

To make this

A photo of the lovebirds to be added on the cover

Shaped Like Cat

It is a sock day today. Yesterday, my dear Teddy was taken to to the vets and left for a time. He is returned home now in fine shape. It was a harrowing afternoon and evening for all of us. In my morning sewing class, a house shape fluttered down from the cutting. And then later, with Teddy home, a vaguely cat like shape wandered onto the stitch.

Vaguely shaped is appropriate as so much in our lives transcend their physical shape as they distort to hold their own personalities and the feelings that we fill them with. 

Simple Modern Sewing, Japanese Sewing

And my wedding outfit is finished!

Whew. Ultimately, I'm really happy with it and there would have been no pleasing me at the stores. I'm far to fussy and then far too cheap. 

Here's the deal as I see it on making garments from Japanese patterns. Remember that I am a very beginner garment maker. Maybe not anymore but sewing from these patterns was way above my pay grade. 

*** If you have no interest in this sewing stuff, skip down past the numbered paragraphs. 

Japanese bodies are different from American and European bodies.  And guess what!!! There is no standards in sizing! Isn't that so cool? Break out the hard stuff.

So, say you are an American sized large, you will need to:

1. Find the pattern pieces you need among the stacked patterns.

2. Use a highlighter to trace around the pattern. Take a nap.

3. Trace again onto paper. I used gridded interfacing (and I guess, but haven't tried, the Swedish Sewable Pattern paper would be good). 

4. Figure out how to enlarge the patterns and do so. This is initially pretty danged tricky and I wouldn't suggest have a glass of wine while you're at it. Though you may need one afterwards. You really need to measure the armholes in particular and the dart placement. You may recall my recent post Cockeyed. Check the length as well. I'm average height but needed to add length to everything. I have to tell you here that it is very fun to make up those patterns, all those little arrows and dashed lines. I have a black felt tip marker and it is awesome to write on that interfacing. Small pleasures.

5. Cut out your traced pattern.

6. Lay out your pattern pieces and add in the seam allowances! If you are smart you will retrace the enlarged pattern with the seam allowances. But I keep forgetting. I've added pockets to dresses, pants and skirts. What's the point of no pockets?

7. Make a muslin first before you cut into some really gorgeous fabric. Or make it with some less expensive fabric from the sales. 

8. Sew as usual. The Japanese sewing books are very short on explicit instruction. If you are a beginner, I really suggest sewing lessons or getting someone knowledgeable to help. You'll save on booze and you'll learn all sorts of nifty things like what "ease" means. 

I really love almost every single garment in Simple Modern Sewing (review here). So far I'm made a peasant-y kind of blouse (2x's), the little jacket for my dress - at the top of the post -  is the same pattern pieces. Now that's pretty good stuff. I've made a simple gathered skirt and the dress which can be worn as a jumper.

I'm making another top that I'm pretty excited about which uses the same pattern pieces (lengthened) as a dress. You can really use a ton of creativity putting these pieces together with different fabrics for different seasons. You could add bits of fabric and embroidery and wear clothing that reflects your own sense of style.

Most important, I'm learning about my body. Learning to accept it, love it and clothe it with enthusiasm and some originality. My husband remarked that I looked really happy in my new clothes and my son asked me how I felt wearing them. That's what I'm talking about. It seems that middle aged women are invisible in the fashion world. That is not cool. 

This stuff takes time. It's been a sabbatical of sorts and well worth it.

How do you feel about your clothing? There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about fast fashion. Buying a lot of cheap clothes and then more. Throw away society. We all do this. It's quick and convenient. I just want to give myself this gift now. 

Clutch of Purses, Part 2

I'm thinking synchronized swimming at the moment. I love to do that! I make everyone do it with me. It's what friends are for. And the wild rumpus comes to a close here with the clutch of purses. 

The Bride's bag, above, got a bit of extra gee gaw. The MOB's purse below is still under consideration. Fussy, aren't I? I love the design but am not sure it will go with my dress in its present incarnation. Aren't I a barrel of fun. Don't you wish you lived next door?

 

OK, Here's some information if any of you want to make these. And who doesn't love a clutch. I got two patterns (for the sake of obsessive research). And plus, I got totally burned when I tried to make one of these a few years ago using a PurlBee pattern. Hah. My confidence level was not high.

Lisa Lam's website, U-Handbag, is absolutely top-notch as are her frames and tutorials. Ships from UK. I have a mild obsession with purses so I bought her book.

Over on Etsy, While Baby Naps, has all of the materials including patterns. I used her pattern and frames to make these clutch bags. There is another source on called something like American Purse Co. The directions were exactly the same as WBN.

The other super important thing is the Gutterman's glue which WBN carries. Hard to come by in the US. This stuff is serious and the only glue I'd use (I tried a couple). WBN's pattern is pretty wordy. There are a couple of tricky parts to making these bags, though. It would be a lot easier to learn in a class. 

So at the end of the day, once you get the swing of making these bags they go quickly. Make your first couple of bags with cheap muslin, lined front and back according to instructions and make sure that it will fit neatly into the frame. Take a deep breath before gluing things in. It takes a steady hand and is a bit unruly.  

I would love to make a purse using a quilty, stitchy, wild thang look. Not right now. Yo Yo's, buttons, scraps of fabric and a bit of embroidery could all be used as embellishments. Any kind of pin would be very nice - hit the thrift shops or flea markets.

This was a good project. I made these bags for the women in the bridal party as their bridemaid gift. Liberty of London fabric is a treat to look at and handle. It makes the bags really special. I made a few more for other special peeps at the wedding. It's a special time and I want to acknowledge all of the good women in Bess's life. She is blessed with a baker's dozen :) and so am I. 

Cockeyed

Just another DIY wedding post. I've been learning so many things this past week!!!

For instance, after purchasing impatiens and vinca for the terracotta pots for the dinner tables at the reception, a friend told me Downy Mildew (DM) has been annihiliting impatiens since it was carried up the eastern seaboard from Florida. The Impatiens Killer hitched a ride with Hurricane Sandy.  So, yes, maybe I've been watching too much Fringe but DM could be zombie aliens from another universe. Except it traveled over water.

Aunties came to help plant the pots. You are the best! 

I am happily putting my dress together. Sewing along, my machine and I hum like happy idiots. I find the sleeves not fitting in the armholes. Seam rip and hum. Examine the pattern. Whistle while I work. More sleeves in the trash. Back to the fabric store (picking up New Guinea impatiens along the way and no longer whistling). I wisely go to muslin for the sleeve. I begin to wonder if "ease" isn't a Rastafarian way to say insert the sleeve into the armhole: "Just ease dose sleeve in, mon." 

 A google search later confirms that ease is not just a verb but rather a nerb. Ease being a technique AND  verb (noun+verb=nerb). 

Try on the dress again just to be sure it really doesn't fit, when I notice that the darts are - shall we say -  cockeyed. And then everything begins to look cockeyed to me. 

Cockeyed

Which reminded me of a long-ago beach conversation with my sister
in which we addressed the issue of cockeyed
(being in our bathing suits)
 much to the eternal humiliation of my daughter 
who finally, wisely, went for a swim.

So it is back to the drawing board for me, as I struggle to retain my sense of humor and keep in mind all of the things I'm learning. (!!!!)

PS: Happy Birthday, nearly-wed, much humiliated Daughter. The moment you were born is etched in my mind forever. This post is dedicated to you and your wild stories.  xo Mom

Monkey Mind II

I'm sure that I have a prior post entitled Monkey Mind and since I was born in the year of the monkey, it could be the 3rd time. I've ignored all of the Blogging for Dummies tips and given my post a stupid title. Again.

Not only do I have absolutely nothing to say but something inside of me is urgently whispering that you probably don't want to hear about the trazillion ideas, fleeting thoughts, whims, plans, ephermeral images (ad nauseum) that are flitting through my head these days. 

which door?

For instance, (just one, I swear) nearly-weds and I went to the craft store to find teeny frames for the table numbers for the wedding. Nevermind the fact that we had decided months ago that the tables won't have numbers, they'll have COLORS!!!!! Somehow we managed to arrive back home with no frames but lovely little birdhouses that we painted. I still don't know where the table numbers are going. Apparently we do need them because our colors are very complicated (eg.: grayed purple with a touch of gold) and someone may be color-blind.

*****SIGH****. 

I can't seem to let a single whim go these days. 

A bit of fun

There are at least 14 pieces of stitching that I'm working on. I need at least two (or three) complete for a deadline.

I am writing in the morning pages again. Spilling, as they say.

And so it goes. It may be spotty over here for the next month. My mind is full. Here's where I want to be:

Empty Head, Full Heart

I love you guys! You are all awesome. And PS? Typepad is making some mysterious changes.  My responses to your comments are sometimes going into my spam folder over there. Whatever that means. Off to chase my own tail. Posted in Unruly Posts category because I've whimsically decided to put it there. 

One of those days

Stacks

If I sewed and glued all of these pieces of paper together, how big would the resulting paper be? 

From the Graphic Arts room at MoMA

Well, here's one that I finished

The Moon

Manhatten: watercolor, heavily crayoned and scratched through, silver paint.

Living with Stitch

I'm pondering the difference between the process of creating stitched pieces and working with media on paper. There are no quick gestural strokes with stitch. It is a process of making design choices and then stitching. While the stitch is happening there are small strokes and dawning ideas. Wandering, meandering. 

And time to ponder. Jude Hill called it "ripening" recently. 

There is a deep intimacy with stitch as you handle the fabric, the threads. The needle is the only tool between you and the piece you are working on. There are no fast ways (with hand stitch) and there are no tricks. Simple ages-old techniques that you only need to be reminded of and instinct.

A constant touching, feeling. I'm sure to need a break from all of this pondering and get back to the action-oriented random acts of journaling and art making. Perhaps tomorrow. Taming the Critic is up tomorrow. 

Domestic Surprise

There is much to be said about aprons. 

Icons of blissful domesticity or suppressed women. I used these old icons as curtains. 

After Fast

Stitch this to that and let the sun shine on it

The almost-not-there

And the murmur-soft of old cloth

Rummaging in the scraps. Listening to the whispers.

A nasty little tummy virus struck late Thursday night, receded Saturday and recurred. Today is slow.