Four Months In!

I recently read a book that had a number of exercises to help the reader be much more focused on their surroundings. One of the exercises asked the reader to choose a specific car color, and not something common like black, but rather something like salmon. What I found interesting is that once I was focusing on that particular color, a color that I thought I would not see, it just seemed to pop out of no where. It was such a wonderful exercise, and it showed me that if I focus, I see so much more. 

The word focus would sum up quite well what I am learning through this process of wearing a garment that I've made for 1 year. At this point, I am 4 months into the challenge. My goal is to wear a garment that I've made for 1 year ending on July 1, 2021. I actually began on June 22nd just to give myself a little practice run. I have missed, I think, 3 days, for which I am not going to beat myself up over. I did miss a day this past week. I had a household project that I wanted to accomplish. What I thought would take a few hours took most of the day. Once I finished, all I wanted to do was put on a pair of sweatpants and call it a day (BTW, I did put on a top too!!! ;) 

This post begins with October 7th. 

I made this skirt quite a while ago. One of our former exchange students left behind a sweatshirt. I wore it for a while as a sweatshirt, but it ended up with stains on the front. I just could bear to throw it out. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to play with it and see what I could do. I began by cutting the sleeves off, and then turned it upside down, so the bottom of the sweatshirt is at my waist. I took scraps and made the flowers which covered up the stains. 

 

I kept the tag and sewed it on the back. Nautica might not appreciate this publicity! 

I now have a skirt that reminds me of a very special student whom I feel is more like a child of my own. 

The top I am wearing is from my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday series. It's a little wacky, but it really is just a rectangle. You can find the instructions HERE. The leggings are the Avery Leggings from Helen's Closet. Such a lovely pattern. 

This turned out to be a very eventful day. I went hiking, and of course took Berkley along. Not long before this picture was taken, I had sat down on a rock to have a picture taken. Berkley saw something and took off like a shot. All I saw was his little butt as he disappeared into the wilderness. He was gone for a good 10 minutes. Oh my, the thoughts that went through my head. The worst was the thought of having to leave the mountain without him, something that would have been almost impossible for me to do. But, the little bugger came back. If you look closely at the picture below, you'll see the leash securely in my hand. I was not about to let go of him!

I'm wearing a pair of cargo pants that I made with a Molly Tee from Pattern Union. The cargo pants were made from an out of print pattern. But you can see my post about these pants HERE. Just the perfect pants for hiking. 

Although the picture is a little fuzzy, you can see how happy I am to have this crazy little guy back in my arms. BTW, I am wearing a cap that I knitted. It's a Nicky Epstein design. I can't remember which book it came from. 

The skirt I am wearing is another piece from my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday Series. It's just 3 rectangles. 

I call it the Sweeping Rectangles Skirt as the 2 rectangles that are along the bottom of the skirt sweep around the top rectangle. Super easy to do. You can find the instructions HERE. The top I am wearing is another Helen's Closet pattern. It's the Elliot Sweater and Tee that has been modified a bit.     

On Sunday, October 11th, we had snow! I so love snow. It was one of those days when something super easy and warm was what I wanted to wear.

So, I pulled out my leggings and cardigan. The leggings are the Loveland Leggings from Sew News, and the cardigan is the Blackwood Cardigan from Helen's Closet. My turtleneck is a purchased piece.  

I felt that I looked a little like Robin Hood in this outfit ;) The skirt I am wearing is nothing more than 2 rectangles, another piece I did for my Fabulous Free Pattern Friday Series. It actually doubles as a top as well. You can find the post HERE. The top is from Friday Pattern Company and it's the Adrienne Blouse. I have fallen in love with this pattern. It's easy to make, and I just love how it sits on the shoulders, as well as the sleeve. Such a lovely piece.    

I made this Pepernoot Jacket from Waffle Patterns for a Sew News sew along. I modified it a bit, leaving off the hood, and doing patch pockets rather than the zippered pockets. This is a garment that will most likely be in my possession until the day I die! I love it that much :) 

I paired the jacket with a self-drafted pencil skirt, and yet another Molly Tee from Pattern Union. Here's an instance where being a little more focused taught me something. At some point during the day, the thought went through my mind, "I so love wearing a pencil skirt and t-shirt."   

In this photo I was showcasing the tights that I made. Sadly, this pattern is not available, but I am working on a pair of self-drafted tights. More on those soon. 

The dress I am wearing is from Pattern Union. She has this great dress pattern that only has 1 seam down the center back, the Sumekko Dress. How much easier can it get?!! I added the flanges at the sleeves, just to give the dress the hint of a sleeve. I paired it with a washable wool tee that I made using Londa's Terrific 'T' Knit Top. This is another t-shirt pattern that I really love. It has a number of neckline options and sleeve lengths. 

I so love making tights as I can have the freedom of choosing such fun fabrics. These were made with a stretch velvet. I paired the tights with a great sweatshirt pattern from Naughty Bobbins Patterns, the La Megeve Pullover. There will be more of these in my wardrobe!

This is a pattern where money was well spent since I have now made 3!!! With this dress, I made a change in the sleeve, giving it a long sleeve, kind of a modified Bishop Sleeve. This if Vogue 9237. This brings me up to October 16th.

Here are the other 2 versions that I made. The orange linen dress is straight off the pattern. The sleeves on the gray dress were modified. I have plans to make 1 more. I want to do a sheer dress with a slip. I think that will be fun.

Although the project of wearing a garment that I've made takes a lot of attention, I think it's one of the best things that I have done for myself in quite a while. There have been other benefits that I did not expect, like just taking better care of myself, even something as simple as making sure I moisturize my body everyday. Who would have thought?!!

One thing that is lacking in my wardrobe is sweatpants and sweatshirts for the winter. I'm on the lookout for some cute patterns. If by chance you have some suggestions, by all means, let me know!

Have a wonderful day, and be sure to wear your me made garments!

 Rhonda

Pepernoot Fashion Show

Since I shared my finished hoodless Pepernoot jacket with you, it has become my favorite go to piece. The weather has been rather cool in Chicago, so this version has been perfect. 

You may remember the sew along I did for Sew News. Whenever I wear this jacket, I get sooo many compliments. It really is cute, but the fabric pills, so I may get one more season out of it, but that's it. Really disappointed. But, it opens the door for something new, always a silver lining :) BTW, the fabric came from the home dec department at Joann Fabrics. It may still be available, so stay away! 

I really love the big, bold, flower power jacket. Also a home dec fabric, but it has worn beautifully. Not from Joann's. The hood was lined in velvet and it feels to good when pulled over my head.

The hoodless horseman ;)

So easy to wear. Over the weekend, I paired it with my Ginger jeans. The skirt is my planes, trains and boat fabric. Sadly, I didn't have enough of the lining fabric to make a blouse. But, I think I like a white top better anyway.

When I originally showed you the finished jacket, I mentioned that I did not put the zippers in the pockets. The pockets function well with the zippers and without. So another nice option :)

And my crazy, fun lining.

Be sure to visit the Waffle Patterns website. I think the world of Yuki, the designer. I have been so very pleased with all of her patterns that I have made, and she is super sweet on top of it all.

I have had a number of people ask about the shoes I am wearing. I have fallen in love with Jambu shoes. I purchased a pair of sandals last summer and wore them with just about everything. This was a new this year style and I thought they were so cute. I have gone between the pair I bought last year and this pair all summer long. You would think I only own 2 pairs of shoes!!! They are no longer available on the Jambu website, but you can find them in black leather or suede HERE, and other colors HERE on Amazon. 

Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda

Can a Jacket Cry?

I won't include everyone, as I would like to believe that there's someone out there who finishes every project that they begin. But, I think there are many of us that for whatever reason, have garments that languish unfinished, in a drawer, hanging in the closet, or folded up on our work table. They need buttons, maybe a hem, usually just some little something that never seems to get accomplished. While truth be told, I have many, there's one in particular that has almost seemed to cry out, "PA-LEEASE finish me!" 

If you've followed the blog for a while, you may remember the Pepernoot Sew Along I did on the Sew News blog. Cute, cute coat from Waffle Patterns.  

The jacket on the left, I made for the Sew News magazine. The coat on the right was made during the sew along. I absolutely love those great big hippy flowers :)

During the sew along, I mentioned that the coat could easily be made without the hood. Some one asked it I would elaborate, so I decided to make up a spring/fall version without the hood. Coat/lining cut and ready to go.

The last time I left you, I am very ashamed to say, was May 20, 2016. I truly hold my head in shame :( 
The coat was basically finished, I wanted to adjust the tabs. The pockets needed to be added, and the hems finished. 

The zipper and lining were both in, so just little finishing jobs left.

   
Here, on August 31, 2017, I am very happy to say that the coat is FINALLY finished! 

I decided to try a different application for the pockets. Rather than inserting the zippers, I lined and top stitched around the pockets .

Placed them on the jacket and then top stitched them in place.

An opening was left to insert the hand.

And I made a bar tack at the lower edge of the opening to reinforce the pocket.

The hems are in, and I am all set! Finally!!!

I recently came across this fun little piece of fabric. Love the whimsical planes, trains, and boats. I'm making a little pencil skirt to wear with my jacket. 

The lining I used for the jacket was found at an antique store. Believe it or not, an antique store can be a great fabric resource. If I'm not mistaken, there were about 5 yards and it looks like there will be enough to line a skirt and make a little blouse. I am going to be one patriotic looking sight ;)

While our languishing projects can't actually cry, we can, like all the times I have gone to get dressed and said, "if only I had that coat finished." Well, now it's finished and I can't wait for the temps to fall just enough to begin pulling it on.

Hope I've inspired you to grab an old project and get it done!  

The Hoodless Pepernoot Coat From Waffle Patterns

I had great fun doing the sew along for the Waffle Patterns Pepernoot Coat. While working on the coat, I found the pattern to be quite versatile. Below you see Yuki's version which has the faux fur band on the hood and the quilted lining. A great coat for super coat weather.

As you know, the coat on the left was made for the magazine and the coat on the right was done for the sew along. Although both have a hood, they look quite different. Of course the fabric alone is going to set them apart. 

Just in case you missed the post I did with me in the coats, here's a follow up picture. I've just about worn out the squiggle coat. It has really become my go to jacket on cool days. I think that most people would not realize that the two coats came from the same pattern.

During the sew along,I mentioned that the coat could be made without the hood. I was asked to do a tutorial on how to do this. The changes that need to be made to the pattern in order to delete the hood were posted HERE. I decided that I would like to have a hoodless version. Below is my almost finished coat.

For quite some time, I have wanted a denim jacket in my wardrobe, so I thought this would be a nice opportunity to make one up. 

If you would like to do a hoodless version,  remember that the zipper will stop below the neckline rather than run up into the hood, so you can get by with a little shorter zipper than called for in the pattern.

As I showed you in the previous post, the placket will need to be shortened and it too will stop below the neckline.

I decided to do a lot of top stitching. 

I even edge stitched the darts with my top stitching thread. Please excuse my washed out pictures.

Another shot of the top stitching detail on the shoulder.

And finally, the lining. A rather patriotic coat ;)

The coat has yet to be pressed, but this at least this gives you an idea of how it sits on the neckline. Without the hood, it's not a coat for cooler days, although a turtleneck sweater or a scarf could be worn with the coat and either of those options would give it a little more flexibility.

I think this is going to be fun version to wear with jeans and skirts alike. Now off to finish the coat!

You can check out all of Yuki's innovative patterns HERE.

Happy Friday :) 

A Little This And That On Thursday/Chicago Marathon and The Pepernoot Coat

What in the world does the Chicago Marathon have to do with the Waffle Pattern Pepernoot Coat??? Absolutely nothing :)

Last fall, I decided that I would like to do the Chicago Marathon this year, and do it not only for myself, but for a charity that I am very passionate about. Fortunately, the Chicago Marathon is not an invitation only event like the Boston Marathon, but you do have to apply and this year the guidelines were a little more complicated. Since I have never done the marathon, and I did not want to do the marathon on behalf of one of their designated charities, I had to apply and then be put into a lottery. Well, if you've ever purchased a lottery ticket, you know how often you actually win...not that often. But I kept my fingers crossed, and this morning, this was in my inbox...

Rhonda Buss:

Congratulations, you have received an entry into the 2016 Chicago Marathon.

I am still beaming! I will do a post in the near future and tell you a little more about my decision and the charity. 

Now for the Pepernoot Coat. 

When I did my post for the sew along, I made a comment about how the jacket could be made without the hood and turned into a spring jacket. I was asked if I would explain more in depth as to how to delete the hood. I decided that it would be fun to have this coat for the spring in denim, so rather than just explain, I am making another coat minus the hood.

I love to look for fabric in antique shops. The bold red, white and blue print came from one of my fabric antique malls in Racine, Wisconsin. Sometimes I'm lucky, sometimes not, but I always enjoy having a look around. So my new spring coat will be made in denim and lined in the red, white and blue print. Rather fun I think :) 

There is really only 1 alteration to the pattern that will need to be made and that is the front band. In the picture of the coat below, you can see that the front band extends into the hood.

Below, I am pointing at the notch that corresponds with the neckline seam.

Simply fold the pattern piece back at the notch.

Now cut out the front band, BUT BE SURE TO ADD SEAM ALLOWANCE TO THE FOLDED EDGE. If you don't, the band will not be long enough.

My lining and coat are all cut and ready to go. I just need to decide if I want red zippers or denim zippers. Such decisions ;)

Although this is not a part of the official sew along, I wanted to do this just to cover the extra possibility of the pattern. Once mine is made, you can then decide whether this may be an option for you as well. 
Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda