Top Wardrobe for M

So far, I have two TNT patterns for tops for M that I can just cut out and sew without any fitting.  I use features of both patterns to fit new patterns.  The first success was New Look 6027.  Many of the New Look patterns have a shaped back seam that keeps these tops from looking too loose.  I often transfer the back curve of 6027 to other patterns.  I have made lots of these and am still playing around with the pattern.

My second success was NL 6871.  The back of this one lacks a seam, so I added one using the previous pattern as a guide for shaping.

Now M would like a top with a scoop neckline and gathers.  I hunted around in the pattern drawers and found this:

This pattern should be easy to alter, but I need to find some lightweight cottons with good drape.  Or some knits.

No Sewing Today

Right now there are three sweaters in the works on the knitting machine and on the couch, so no sewing has been done so far this week.  Still some playing around with Polyvore, though.  Here are two new outfits I dreamed up.

I must have been I was hungry when I made this one.  It reminds me of my mom’s old molcajete that was made out of volcanic rock.  We used to help her make the salsa by mashing the garlic in it, but after many years the stone started to wear out from use and would deposit stone fragments in the salsa.  I wish I still had it as a momento, but I think they threw it out after that.  Look at the embroidery on that blouse!  This is a San Antonio blouse and the embroidery is usually done in a shiny thread.  If you would like to see many pretty examples of Mexican clothing, go to this link:  http://www.elinterior.com/clothing_womens.html.

This bright tunic top reminded me of the Mercado in San Antonio, Texas.  Whenever we went there to visit the oldest daughter in college, we would be sure to stop by this wonderful, brightly-colored marketplace downtown.

The garden is coming along slowly this year because of the busy tax season and because we are not spring chickens anymore so it takes longer to dig everything up.  So far I have the cucumbers, tomatoes, and some peppers planted.  Most of the rest of the plants are still little in their flats, but the winter squash are big enough to set out.  The dead-looking wisps in the front flat are the resurrection lily starts that die back after some spring growth.

My cucumbers!  About 40 plants (including about three winter squash for the fun of it) are packed into a small space.  I get those great drip hoses from WalMart.  They are made of some nylon-type fabric and last much better than the plastic or rubber drip hoses.

So that’s what’s going on this week.  Perhaps I will go in and sew a seam or two to jumpstart the mojo.

Mexican Blouse Wardrobe Ideas

My daughter got me started on Polyvore, and not only is it fun, but I think it helps develop your fashion sense.  It is showing me that I have more fashion sense than I thought I had, though my daughters might disagree.  Since I like Mexican peasant blouses, I decided to make a few outfits using these blouses.

Blouse – elinterior.com;  shoes – remixvintageshoes.com;  bag – Dolce & Gabbana;  pants – L.L. Bean

I just love the shoes from Re-mix , and maybe I can save up enough money someday to get some.  The purse is great, but at $2,170 is out of my league, though a crocheted tote bag in cotton would look just as good and would take the price down to about $20.

Blouse – elinterior.com;  shoes – remixvintageshoes.com;  hat and pants – L.L. Bean;  bag – net-a-porter.com.

This striped tote bag costs over $200, but again, crochet can be your friend.

Now some sad news:  this top, one of my daughter’s favorites (I sewed it for her last year) met an untimely end in a department store when my daughter was picking up a bottle of nail polish to purchase.  The top had not been put back on securely, apparently, and when she picked the bottle up by the cap, the bottle fell from the cap, splashing this poor top all down the front.  Of course, nail polish stains are the worst, so the top is now out of commission permanently.  She tells me that the store admitted it was their fault right away and will make restitution, because not only her blouse but her shoes were hit, too.  Fashion disasters can happen to the best of us.

Yellow Top,  2012 – 2013

Baby Plants

Just when I got started planting the seeds, we had a week of really hot weather.  It was almost 100 yesterday but has cooled off some today.  When the weather is scorching, which isn’t uncommon for a few days in the spring, it is easy for the little seedlings to dry up and die.  Most of mine survived, but I did search around for a shade cloth to throw over the little greenhouse thingy for future hot days.  I like to calculate how much money I save starting plants from seed.  For example, today I potted up 47 cucumber plants.  When they get a little bigger in a week or two, they will be the same size as the $2.99 ones in 4″ pots at the nursery.  They would cost over $140 if I bought them.  I already have the pots, so for about $3 worth of potting soil and $3 worth of cucumber seeds, the little bit of work I do is worth a lot.  The picture below shows my cucumbers, some winter squash, and the first peppers to sprout.

Here are a few views inside the little greenhouse:

The picture above are my green onions.  I don’t have much luck with bulb onions, and they are cheap to buy, so I stick with green ones.  It is really handy to always have green onions in the garden.  The picture below shows some winter squash babies, some sweet peas (flowers) and some lettuce.

I buy the flats and inserts at a nursery in Sebastopol where they are very inexpensive.  We save them from year to year in big plastic garbage cans which also hold all the pots, hoses, shade cloths, and some other stuff.   I have always liked babies, and baby plants are no exception.

Today, I was grocery shopping when I saw that the store was selling fresh herbs.  They were called ‘Living Herbs’ and came with roots wedged into a little plastic container.  The thyme was thick and healthy looking, so I bought two of them (they were only $1.99 a package) and opened them up to find that many little thyme plants were included in the bunch.  When I got them home, I divided them up and potted them.  It will be interesting to see if they grow, because that was about a fourth of the cost of buying a thyme plant from the nursery, and starting thyme from seed is a very long process.

Tucks and Lace

When I get a pattern to fit, I use it many times with design and trim variations.  Here are a few pictures of ideas that I have been saving, mostly involving tucks which are an inexpensive, fun to sew, and interesting design element.This yoke has many large tucks.  My usual method is to create a piece of fabric with a tucked surface and then lay the pattern on it and cut it out.

I saw this shirt in a store while I was out shopping and then found a picture of it online.  It has many narrow tucks that are sewn down in opposite directions to form a pattern.  This would be easy and looks really intricate.  You’d also make a piece of tucked fabric larger than your pattern piece and then cut it out.Same idea, but the tucks are slanted.This is an effective way to use a little bit of lace.Sewing lace motifs around a neckline, but you could also use embroidery.

I still have four or five lengths of fabric to make into tops for M, so I’d better head over to the cutting table.

Mustard Cotton Blossoms

I’m on a roll this week!  Three tops sewn, and I think this one is my favorite.

New Look 6871 is the gift that keeps on giving.  So easy to sew, with no zippers, buttons, or fancy construction.

Not sure what I will sew next, but I am about to go look through the patterns.

Another Cotton Top

The last New Look 6871 I sewed was in July of last year.  Every time I make one of these I am impressed with the drafting.  Of course, I did redraft the back myself, using the back seamline of New Look 6027, but it just really goes together fast and fits great.  It looks great on everyone from a skinny petite to a plus size.   This one is from the mustard, gray and cream print that looks like a computer printout or a mosaic.  M has a gray sweater cardigan that will look good with this, and if I am remembering right, she has a nice yellow necklace, too.  Not one hand stitch was done on this, hallelujah.

I am always pleased with how nicely the armholes fit in this pattern.

I had cut this out a few days ago, but I didn’t start sewing it until this morning.  I sewed off and on and finished it up by 2:00 in the afternoon.  So a quick sew, even with all the topstitching I did, bias binding, understitching, lined yoke, etc.  This should be a very useful top in M’s wardrobe since with layering and accessories it can go to the office, but it can be very casual, too.  Of course, this top looks fabulous in striking prints (like the yellow and black I made last time), but this more quiet print still looks great in person though not so much in a photo.

Some people only use a pattern one time and are then on to the next one.  When I have been successful getting a pattern to fit well, I like to use it many times.  The fabric you use will change the appearance of the garment so much that no one will notice, and you can also use trims and embroidery.