Sewing when I really should be doing other stuff
It’s been quite awhile since my last post, but I have been keeping busy sewing! The school year has started again and with it the traditional hustle and bustle, so I’ve had less time to post about sewing. I’m actually not teaching this quarter — how fortunate am I! — but with writing, presentations, and family life, my schedule nevertheless gets a little packed.
Continue reading “Various dresses, tops, and a skirt!”
This is a new silhouette for me: the Seamwork Tacara dress, which is voluminous and cocoon-shaped, with raglan (I think?) sleeves and big pockets. (My mother-in-law was kind enough to buy me a Seamwork membership, which I’ve enjoyed.) I really like the versions I’ve seen on other people, but I don’t know. Looking at pictures, it’s not…my ideal version of myself. I think perhaps it could use some hemming. I also decided to make the 18 because it was the smallest size in the larger size range (which I had to print separately), but I wonder if the 16 might be a better fit.
Continue reading “Chartreuse Seamwork Tacara”
Hot off the sewing machine! This is my second Cashmerette Holyoke dress. (I love my first version.) I really like this pattern: the dress is swishy, cool, and perfect for summer. The lack of fasteners (the buttons are a lie!) make it easy to pull on, and the elastic in the back waistband make it super comfortable. Oh, and big pockets! It’s easy and comfortable enough for an everyday dress, but I think it would also be appropriate to wear at a wedding or outdoor party, should I ever attend one.
Continue reading “Flowery rayon Holyoke dress”
Happy 2021! And good riddance to 2020. I can’t say that the calendar change has eradicated our stress or household chaos, but we’re getting through it. I’ve been wondering lately whether any resources will be available, post-pandemic, to get kids re-socialized. If my own household and my friends’ are any indication, a lot of kids have really regressed socially, while acquiring a range of anxiety-related disorders. We are doing everything — everything — we can to maintain my kids’ mental health, but there are real limits to what one individual can do amidst structural collapse.
Continue reading “A gold Zadie, an amazing pattern cabinet makeover, and kids’ stuff”
I made pants! My very first pair. These are Cashmerette’s Calder pants, in rust-colored linen from Fabric.com. I’ve had that pattern printed for awhile, thinking it would be a good one for a first foray into pants-making, and finally took the plunge.
Continue reading “Red Calder pants (+ another Fiore and tanks)”
I guess I’m on a little bit of a Cashmerette kick, huh? They had a sale awhile back and I’ve been appreciating their high-quality basics drafted for curvy people such as myself.
Continue reading “Rivermont and Holyoke dresses”
I’m sorry to say that we’re still on firm lockdown here in L.A. In fact, things are quite a bit worse than my last post; California made the patently absurd decision to start opening up a few weeks ago, and as a result, infection rates have skyrocketed. My family was expecting this—anyone, including the governor, county supervisors, and mayor, should have been—so we’ve been prepared, but it is terrifying to watch the devastation unfolding around us. We’re back at the level of lockdown we were in May, not even permitting ourselves to go to the grocery store, and it’s tremendously frustrating. Dora’s school will almost certainly be online in the fall, and UCLA announced an all-online plan some months ago.
Continue reading “Sway and Rivermont dresses, plus kids’ clothes”
Quarantine continues here in LA! Things are very tentatively starting to open back up, but we have no plans to break quarantine as long as rates of hospitalization and death remain as high as they are. We are all doing OK sometimes and not-so-OK at others. Fortunately, we’re able to support each other when necessary, and we’re all doing our best to keep our heads above water.
I’ve been on a bit of a sewing tear lately. It’s been a really welcome distraction, and gives me something to think about when everything else seems so bleak.
Continue reading “A slightly troublesome Fiore skirt, plus project plans”
My last post covered about half the things I made from January through April, and here I’ll share the things I made after the crucial date of Feb. 27, when my son was born and the world teetered into chaos (unrelated, although kind of not).
Before that, though, I’ve been meaning to share two small but exciting (to me!) improvements to my sewing life!
Continue reading “Various plague-time projects (part 2)”
Well. A few things have happened since mid-January. What a strange few months it’s been. We have, of course, been cloistered at home, in our case for a full month as of yesterday. Honestly, on a day-to-day basis, it hasn’t been as bad as I might have feared; my partner and I are both fortunate to have jobs that make it possible for us to work from home (although I’m actually on maternity leave), and my daughter has borne up to the isolation with amazing good humor.
Continue reading “Various plague-time projects (part 1)”