A Little of This, and a Little of That Makes a Jacket

This morning it was raining and quite dreary out. As I sat down to do my morning writing, I heard a cardinal singing his heart out. It made me smile. Regardless of his circumstances, he was going to sing and find joy in the day. A great lesson :)

What a joy it is to be sewing again! Last week, I drafted out a pattern for a new jacket, and....

HERE IT IS!!!  

 

I am so very pleased with how it turned out. The embossed fabric is actually sheer. I backed it with a piece of navy blue cotton velvet. The cotton velvet was a lucky resale shop find. 

The front of the jacket hangs straight, while the back drapes and hangs away from the body. I added a hood, just because I felt like it ;)

The jacket is lined in this fun pop of burnt orange.

Last summer, Becky of Trial Balloons sent me this beautiful piece of embroidered silk that included a bit of cutwork. Peeking through the cutwork was the burnt orange silk. I had just enough to do cuffs, and so the inspiration for the lining.   

I actually wore this dress last Christmas. I love the fabric, a lovely stretch velvet that glistens with an undertone of the burnt orange when I move. 

I just love how the dress and the jacket look together!

A little secret on the drafting of the jacket pattern...

I actually began with the free Chelsea Raglan Tee from fabrics-store.com. If you are interested, I can do a post on how I drafted the jacket.

I was asked about the zipper. I actually bought it at Joann's Fabrics. It's a navy blue zipper with navy blue metal teeth. They also had the fun zipper pull, sold separately. I could not have been more pleased! Sometimes Joann's pulls through for us when we are in a pinch!!!

Have a wonderful day, and may you find something that will make you sing :)

 Rhonda

A Wednesday Hello

Yesterday was a busy, busy day, a mammogram in the morning, followed by my aviation physical. Then, lots and lots of writing. Finally, off to see my niece in the evening about a project that she has been helping me with. I literally fell into bed last night!

Had a little time between dinner and heading out to do a little closet cleaning. Closet cleaning is one of those things that I kinda hate to do, at least when thinking about it. Always seems rather monumental. Then once I get started, it's like the best high ever! I will admit though that it's rather difficult to let go of things. But, I have come to a point that I can ask myself, "if I wear this, does it really represent how I want to present myself?" When I was growing up, clothes were kept until they were truly worn out, or I had out grown them. Even then, my mother would quite often turn pants into shorts to extend the life. T-shirts that had seen better days would be worn with pajama pants. That recycling spirit has remained with me, and I am grateful for it, but I have come to a point that sometimes it's just better to let something go. I once attended a play and realized that a piece I had given to a resale shop was being worn by the actress. I knew it was mine because of a small little tear near the hem. Not that all things given to a resale shop find a purpose, but that made me feel so very good about letting that piece go.

This Saturday, October 28, 2017, I will be speaking at the American Sewing Guild Luncheon and Fashion Show. My talk is on paper and I am in the process of memorizing it so that my delivery will be smooth. At least that is what I am aiming for :/ If I say so myself, it's a rather good speech ;) It's funny, heart warming, and thoughtful. I sent a copy to a friend of mine to critique. She read it to her husband, they both loved it. Nice :) I am going to ask someone to video the talk so that I can post it here on the blog and share it with all of you.   

Last Thursday I flew to Orlando to attend the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals annual conference. I chose to take the 2-day course on Illustrator and Photoshop. Whew, right over the top of my head! Actually, I learned more than I am giving myself credit for. One of the ladies in the class brought a wonderful book along with her that walks you step by step through projects on Illustrator. One of the other ladies told me about Photoshop Elements. I think that is a better place for me to begin as there is less to learn. 

I want to tell you about the lady who brought the Illustrator book to the class. Super interesting woman. Her business is Lightheart Gear and she makes tents and rain gear. Amazing! She has a blog which you can find HERE. The blog has lots of information on biking, hiking, and backpacking while biking. If you like to bike, hike, or both, I think you'll find her site to be quite interesting, and maybe even a little inspirational :) 

While I was away, I also learned a little something about myself. I have always known that I am quite shy. When I was a child, it would almost kill me to go anywhere where I would be left alone. I remember the car ride to church on Sunday mornings...my mother's speech would begin with, "now, you aren't going to cry when I take you to Sunday School, right?" I would agree, knowing full well that I would. Being the president of The American Opera Society of Chicago helped me so much. I had been the president of other organizations, but I was friends with the members, so the position wasn't so daunting. But with the American Opera Society, I had to conduct board meetings with powerful and influential women, and I had to be a gracious host at events. Neither of which was easy for me to do. Being quiet and observing is something that comes much more naturally for me. I think that is why I truly enjoy writing. 

I feel that when some who read the blog meet me, they think that I will be much more outgoing than I am in actuality. Please know that I am always thrilled to meet you, I'm just a little shy. 

Before I go, I thought I would share the fabric that I purchased while I was away. The first 2 pictures are a piece of a type of burnout velvet. Loved the colors!

This is a better picture of the piece. The background is very sheer. I think I may do a bias dress.

Found this gunmetal remnant. Someone asked what the fiber content is. I have no idea!  But it has a gorgeous drape. 

Then the piece to die for! It's actually a piece of navy blue fur. I just couldn't get my camera to pick up the true color. 

My friend Helen Haughey had Mendel Goldberg come from New York with her fabrics. There were SOOO many pieces that I would have liked to have had, but restraint won :)

Tomorrow, pants! Something rather fun, at least I think so :)

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda