Valentine Pink Jacket

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

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Pink is pretty far down on my list of colors for apparel and even home décor, so my having actually sewn a pink jacket seems like the perfect topic for a Valentine's Day post.

This soft denim is a very pale pink with gray (or beige, depending on the light) embroidery.

It was originally intended for jeans, but having decided that I prefer darker colors on my lower half, the fabric stayed folded on the shelf until I opened up the Craftsy course Sew Better, Sew Faster. It's a project and technique course in which "garment industry secrets" are applied to sewing this Islander pattern for a modern jean jacket.

I'd actually signed up for the industry secrets, not for the jacket pattern, since the pattern photos did not look very flattering, but rather quite boxy and floppy. Still, I figured that following the instructor through the making of the jacket was the best way to learn these coveted secrets.

I will start by saying that although the course did not change my sewing life, there was one clever method of turning the garment to apply a yoke facing that I am quite delighted with. Other than that, most of the "secrets" are things that anyone who has been sewing for some time will pick up automatically. For example, in the garment industry they don't pin pieces together before stitching. I think we all know that already, and I would be surprised if there is anyone, who has been sewing for a few years, who still pins every seam together. Another example of a garment industry practice is order of construction: sewing all the seams, whether for the body, sleeve, collar, before topstitching, rather than sewing and topstitching each one in turn. Doesn't this seem rather obvious?

As expected, the jacket pattern was no great revelation either. For a pattern with front and back princess seams, and three (yes! three!) sleeve seams, I would expect a more fitted shape, but maybe it is meant to provide a blank canvas for people to fit to their own figures.

Surprisingly, I like it. It is boxy and floppy, but it is supposed to be casual so I don't mind the looseness and droopy shoulders so much.

The fabric is still a favorite and after scouring four fabric stores, I finally found buttons that I think are perfect.

It has some nice details, like the rounded collar and cuffs.

Even though I was disappointed in the course, I think this was a win overall, with a cute, casual jacket and an interesting yoke application that I can use on shirts as well. I would say this particular course is good for intermediate-beginners, that is, you know how to use your machine and have made some garments, but you haven't been sewing for so long that nothing is "secret" any longer. I will be watching the course again (one of the great things about Craftsy) to see if I missed any other gems.

Have you taken any Craftsy courses recently? Or other online classes? Did they meet your expectations?

Katrina

Colors

I did not decorate for the holidays this year, but I didn't have to go too far to see the traditional bright colors of the season.

The garden is full of bright red, green, and gold.

faded gold grape leaves (and two little dogs behind them)



this Euphorbia turns red at the tips when temperatures drop



exuberantly red berries of the Pyracantha

three golden grapefruit weighing down their tiny tree

Best wishes to all for a happy and colorful New Year!

Katrina

Things I Forgot to Mention

I can’t believe I forgot to mention the two most important things in January: my birthday, and National Pie Day! Both dates came and went last week. In honor of these significant events, here is something that is neither a pie nor a traditional birthday cake:

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

 

This is what I requested for my birthday dessert. Delicious!

 

From Southern Living, Sept 2012

The original recipe suggests caramel sauce poured over the top, but that was too much for me!
 

I liked the crunchy streusel and the sweet apples without any added caramel.

 

Did you celebrate National Pie Day (January 23rd)?

Katrina

Coming Up Roses

In order to quell my impatience over my clumsy hand (still can’t work scissors), I’ve been making plans for the gifts I wasn’t able to finish in time for Christmas. One of them was a special order: a pink rose pillow.

The pillow part is fairly straightforward, mostly a question of size and shape. But the rose aspect is so complex, so multifaceted!


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Will the rose (or roses) be printed, painted, embroidered, appliqued, quilted, or three-dimensional made of fabric petals, gathered ribbons, felt, or some as yet unknown type of design?


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I got so many ideas I had to start tracking them on Pinterest.  

 

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fabrics on fabric.com

 

 

So far I’ve experimented with a couple of ideas, and already learned a few lessons! (Hint: check your fabric content before embroidering, as cotton-lycra does not work well for this. LOL)

Katrina

Happy New Year

Isn’t this unusual?

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I have seen a lot of these old cards with birds and flowers, children, beautiful ladies, clocks and calendars, even Pierrot clowns, but never one with a cracker! The image is from Karen’s Whimsy, another great source for a wide variety of digital images.

 

Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Katrina

Since I Have Nothing New…

I guess I must have a pretty good life if the worst thing that’s happened to me is being unable to sew for the past two weeks. I injured my hand slightly during one of my gardening frenzies, but it didn’t heal well, so I ended up with a painful, red, balloon-shaped paw that kept me busy with trips to the Urgent Care facility, constantly changing bandages, and the biggest, yuckiest antibiotic pills ever invented.

Fortunately the pain is gone, but I can’t quite bend my fingers yet, so sewing is still off the activity menu for a week or two at least. Frustration!

Since I have nothing new to share, at the risk of making the year-end sewing round-up another dreaded tradition, I’m going to post a few of my favorite sewn things from 2012.

[click on any photo to see larger or,

click on the caption to go to the original post]

 

Orange-Striped Jeans


 

Sailor Pants





Blouse - remake of a dress

Wrap Top - ITY

 

Blue Velvet Skirt

Cactus Skirt

 

Plaid Chenille Coat

40s Blouse & 80s Skirt



40s Dress - Button Print

40s Dress - Floral Print

Shirt dress - Cherry Print


Thank you for sticking with me through 2012 – it was fun! I wish you all a very healthy, safe and happy next year!

Katrina

Happy Holidays

Happy Winter Holidays, whichever ones you choose to celebrate!

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Stay safe and healthy, and enjoy yourself!

Katrina

It's a Race to the Finish

I used to be that annoying person who finished Christmas shopping in October and sent out cards in November.

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Then I’d have December free to bake cookies and decorate every room in the house.

Not any more! I’m a last-minute, under-pressure person now. I just looked at last year's December posts and realized I'm running even further behind than I was then.

I waited about a week too long to get my little Christmas tree, and there was a huge rainstorm that we had to wait out (yes! In the desert!). Finally we rushed out between downpours, but we now have a very wet and muddy tree.

Cards - sent!

I just sent out the cards, finally, even though they’ve been ready for more than a month.

 Chefs’ gifts - sewn!

I powered through some of the gift sewing this weekend, but for some of the other gifts, I don’t even have the fabric yet! 

Now, I want to bake cookies…

How are your holiday preparations going?

Katrina

200th Post: I've Made Some Mistakes

Okay, time is flying by way too fast now.

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Last week I was just getting used to the fact that it was December already, and now another whole week has gone by.

I’m rushing around trying to finish all the things that need to be done every year – doctor and dentist appointments, car and dog registrations, income tax and property tax, insurance payments, yardwork, home repairs, etc.

All of which means that I’m not getting around to the holiday stuff! I still haven’t sent out my cards. I still haven’t sewn up the Christmas gifts. I haven’t gotten a Christmas tree yet, although my box of ornaments is sitting conspicuously in the middle of the living room floor.

Now I see that I’m on my 200^th blog post already! Somehow I’ve been doing this for more than a year. How did that happen?

In honor of my 200^th post and in gratitude for you all putting up with my ramblings for this long, I think we should now look back and…

Laugh at my mistakes!

Yep, I know some of my blog entries have inspired an eyeroll or two, but believe me, there were some things that even I thought were bad.  Here are a few photos of projects that didn’t make it into the blog for GOOD REASON!

Plum Pleather Purse

This "ostrich" vinyl was awful to start with: cheap-looking, thin, easily scarred, and already crinkled and torn from shipping. Why did I bother trying to make a bag? It was supposed to be a practice run (a muslin, I suppose) for the pattern, but I put so much effort into it and it looked so ugly that it resulted in a strong vote against the pattern.

Lace Bumblebee

Some things you just don’t realize until you see the photo. This black and ivory lace was pretty but too formal for me, so I wanted to make it more casual by underlining it with a bright cotton. In hindsight, yellow is certainly the worst choice I could have made. Also, I guess it was temporary insanity that made me think a floor-length straight skirt was the way to go casual.

Scrappy Jacket



I do love rayon. I love the old, heavy rayon that had some texture and drape to it, and I even love the modern, thin challis that they sell these days. I have bags and bags of rayon scraps from all my projects and once in a while I think I should do something with them. Where I went wrong with that thinking was in the vertical stripes. For one thing, it’s rayon! Almost impossible to sew a straight seam, much less multiple, parallel seams.

But the bigger problem is that the alternating colors that looked so pretty laid out on the table ended up looking more like a referee’s jersey on the jacket. Why didn’t I make a simple quilt top? That would have been so nice!

More photos next time: nice subjects, but they never got posted because they didn’t quite fit anywhere.

Katrina

The Other November Holiday

What holiday? It’s Arizona Leafy Greens Week, of course!

 

You didn’t know?

Neither did I. In fact, I missed it - it was two weeks ago.

 

Leafy greens

This year the state celebrated its third annual Leafy Greens Week. From a press release: 

“In recognition of the bountiful harvest generated by Arizona’s abundant lettuce industry, Governor Jan Brewer has proclaimed Nov. 11-17, Arizona Leafy Greens Week.”

Leafy greens migrant worker (upper right)

All this excitement is due to the fact that Arizona provides 90 percent of the country’s greens during the months of November through March. The category “leafy greens” includes many different types of lettuce, cabbage, chard, kale, and spinach. During the summer months, California takes over as the primary producer for the country.

More leafy greens

Our garden is a miniature reflection of this reality: we supply 90% of our own greens (and reds and oranges, sometimes purples) during the winter, and become completely dependent on imports in the summer.

 

 

So we’ll celebrate our leafy greens every day that we can!

Katrina