brought to you by the letter W

in which our plucky heroine whinges about weather, and notices wardrobe progress...

Today was rather a lost day, because sudden heat wave. Tuesday the high was 61F, while Wednesday it leapt up to 85F. Unfortunately when I headed out to do errands in the morning, I forgot that the transit system is rather bollixed up because repairs were happening this month, and ended up caught out in the heat and sun for much longer than is good for this girl... got home feeling quite ill and even a tepid shower didn't revive me.

much of my planned efforts for the day will be rescheduled for tomorrow, with most activities indoors (sewing and metalwork and prepping other sewing projects), along with a visit from my pal Drusa, who likes hanging out here while she also works on her sewing.

That said, I am quite pleased that I will actually be finishing up my final SWAP 2017 garment, a pair of brown jersey petticoat pants. I carved the cintamani design on a 2"sq linoleum block last year. Once the painted fabric sits for 24 hours, it can be heat set for permanence, and I can finish up the sewing...

It seems that I just might make it to a finished SWAP this year, for the first time in several years. Each garment that I have completed is in very active rotation - while some were a bit challenging to construct, they are all successful additions to the daily wardrobe. Indeed, I am already thinking about what necessary further sewing, both modern and SCA, will be needed in the months to come.

I want to work out the fitting issues with the Tabula Rasa jacket/blouse pattern so I will have another TNT pattern to use. I have long wanted a pattern to make a woven, button front garment, and struggled unsuccessfully with various methods to get things to fit. Maybe this time will be different.

My 2017 SWAP* list:

1. upper: dress, turquoise shot cotton
2. upper: knit top, black/cream marl hem
3. upper: knit top, dk grey/lt blue stripe hemp
4. upper: peplum top, black/multicolor print cotton
   (previously sewn)
5. lower: cropped knit petticoat pants, black knit (RTW)
6. lower: cropped knit petticoat pants, grey jersey
7. lower: cropped knit petticoat pants, brown jersey
   ...(currently in process)
8. over: pinafore, brown twill (early bird)
9. over: pinafore, grey corduroy
10. over: pinafore, dark indigo denim
11. over: pinafore, black/cream wool

I made all these clothes using three patterns - one TNT for the two knit tops, one TNT for the dress, the pinafores and the peplum top, and one new TNT made by copying the RTW cropped petticoat pants and making two more pairs of the same pattern.

* guidelines for 2017 "Sewing With A Plan", an annual online sewing challenge, are here on Stitchers Guild