Had Enough Of These Tank Tops?

Saturday's shopping trip was a bust. I went to Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada which is about a 45 minute drive from where we live. What a nightmare. I couldn't find a thing. Hubby was fortunate and managed to find a couple of pairs of trousers, some shorts and a couple of shirts to take on our holiday trip. Hubby was NOT in a shopping mood and cut our trip short after only a couple of hours. He promised me he would bring me back Sunday to resume my shopping.

Sunday, today, was another weary day. I spent four exhausting hours in the mall but at least I managed to find a few items of clothing. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. I spotted a few tops that I really liked, but when I tried them on, they weren't working for me. Much too low cut with too much exposed cleavage. Or the dart was too low. Or there was gaping at the armscye. Or too tight at the waist and hips. All the more inspiration for sewing my own.

Anyway, here's another one of the tank tops, the last for a while.

Before we leave on Wednesday, I'm sure I have time to sew one more top (no, not another tank top). I did most of the preparation this morning and will be at it early tomorrow morning.

I think I am finally starting to get a bit excited about our trip.

Red Linen

I got up around 5:00 this morning, then decided it was far too early for any sane person to be awake and went back to bed. After 2 minutes I realized I wouldn't be able to sleep so instead I went into my studio and starting cutting out another quick and easy top. I have the neck and armscye facings done. Now I just need to make the front bust darts, sew back and front together, add the facings and hem

Pictured above is the red floral cotton that I'm using for this project. It has a linen look to it. This is another fabric that has been in my stash for at least ten years.

I'm in for a day of heavy duty shopping for my big trip. If I'm not too exhausted, I will try and do a little more sewing this evening and maybe model the new top for you tomorrow.

Boot Tank Top

I finally made the tank top out of the "boot" cotton fabric. It is so cool, meaning it feels comfortable in this heat. I'm not sure about the other kind of "cool", but I like it, I gotta wear it and that's what counts.

I did intend to sew brown piping around the neckline and armscye but didn't do so because I didn't think the piping I bought was a good match with the fabric. And in all honesty, the second reason for not doing it was because I would have had to hand baste it in place and I just wanted to get the thing done quickly.

The black floral top I made a couple of days ago was on the snug side so I decided to increase the pattern by 2 inches at the bust and the hips using my favourite Nancy Zieman pivot and slide method. I love that woman!

The check background of this fabric looks really retro. I am thinking 30s or 40s. Of course, the construction boots detract from that look. It really should have flowers or birds or fruit or something like that.

Before I put this pattern away, I think I'll make another couple of these tops and then move on to something else.

A word about the background in the photo. That is the door to my studio, custom built by my very good friend, master carpenter and artist, the late Mike Drane. What you see are holes drilled in the door. I remember the winter's day he and I were freezing in his workshop, cutting out paper circles and laying them out in various configurations to see which way looked the best. This door was the last thing that Mike made for me.

I am grateful that my house is filled with Mike's handiwork to always remind me of him. Mike and I shared a love of music, especially opera, and had many wonderful discussions about music. He was twenty years older than me. I often asked him if he would adopt me. Although he's been gone two years now, I still find it hard to accept.

Black Floral Top

The new tank top is finished and here I am modelling it. This is not my first go at this pattern. What I want to know is why the fit is tighter on the new top than on the previous one. My guess is that this fabric has a much tighter weave and not as much stretch.

The beautiful cotton print has a bit of a sheen. It has been in my stash for over ten years. I have enough left over for another top or a skirt.

Today I'm going do start another one, this time, using the boot fabric. The neck and armscye will be trimmed with piping which I hope I can figure out without too much trouble.

The "chick pea inspector" came (see yesterday's post) and has taken the evidence back to the lab. I'm not sure what can be accomplished by doing that but he did say that someone from the company will call me and most likely they'll give me some gift certificates for all my trouble. If that happens, I will use the certificates to buy lentils. By the way, for my Canadian readers, the company in question is Unico and I do applaud them for responding to my complaint. They make some very good products which I will continue to buy.

New Greeting Card

A 1950s Skirt Pattern

My wonderful brother-in-law G, laboured for 4 hours yesterday trying to solve the mystery of hooking up our scanner to our multi-computer network. I never felt any urgency to have a working scanner but recently it has become important to have one. We are leaving for our trip in about 2 weeks and I suddenly find myself having to complete a very large, time sensitive project for my husband's business. For this I need a scanner.

I did my first test scan this morning. I needed a colourful image so I grabbed one of my vintage sewing patterns, pictured above. Then I thought, since I have "millions" of vintage patterns, why not start putting some of my favourites up on my blog. So now I have a second, very good reason to have a working scanner.

McCalls 3338 was copyrighted in 1955. The pattern is printed and uncut and in mint condition. The original price was 45 cents.

It's a very basic, simple pattern. Here's what I love about it:
-the cover art (they had great graphic illustrators in the 50s)
-the length of the skirt (suits me as I am no spring chicken and the less you see of my legs, the better)
-looks good with flats or heels (this boiler can only do flats these days)
-this can be a summer or winter skirt (cotton or wool)
-the waist and hip can be easily altered to fit (in case you don't have the 26-inch waist and the 35-inch hip that the pattern calls for)
-of all the skirt patterns, this is the one I would take with me to a desert island
-makes me think of Katharine Hepburn in "Desk Set" or "Summertime" (in this fantasy, you would need to have a 26-inch waist)

Stay tuned for more great pattern images in the future.

A Post For May

Today is the last day of May. I thought I had better post something to my blog lest I should lose my readers.

First, I have to show you a most beautiful Icicle Doll made by Dot of Dot's Life and Art, the creator of the Dotee Doll. I am happy to say I had a very small hand in this lovely creation. Dot set the silvery blue face I made for her in the most wonderful complimentary fabrics and embellished it with her exquisite beadwork. I just love it. I want to thank Dot for allowing me to use her photo.

In my previous post, a whole month ago, I had hoped to share my boot fabric tank top in a "few days". Well, I'm afraid to say that didn't happen - yet. I simply am not motivated to sew summer clothes when the weather is still too cold. Nor am I motivated to model them for you when my skin is still too pale. But today is looking promising. Finally, my kind of weather has arrived. It's warm and it's humid. Most everyone I know hates the humidity, but me and my skin embrace it. So let me try it again and say that I hope to be able to model the top for you in a few days. (Fingers crossed).

My efforts towards weight loss are paying off. Of course I wish the number on the scale was lower but I cannot deny that I am making progress and that last years' summer clothes are fitting me better than they were a month ago.

There are only 18 days left before I leave for my European trip and now I must pull out all the stops to make sure my clothes fit nicely. Provided I don't give in to rich foods on my vacation, I should be able to shape up further with all the walking and sight seeing. The good thing is that for the 10 days that we'll be in Scotland, we will be based in a bed and breakfast with a full kitchen. That way I will have better control over our meals. I don't want to have to rely on too many restaurant meals not only because of the expense, but because restaurants mostly serve you too much fat, sugar and salt. I haven't a clue what to expect in the way of food in Estonia, but hopefully I will be able to muddle through the 6 days without doing too much damage.

In case it sounds as if I obsess about food, I should mention that for personal health reasons, I eat a diet devoid of animal products and added fat. Mostly just whole grains, beans, fruits and vegetables with the odd departure. Vacations can be hazardous to my health if I stray too far for too long (which is what happened to me last year. I became ill and it took me a month of extremely strict diet and rest to recover).

And now, before it starts to rain here, I must go outside and soak up some of that lovely humidity.