Ench By Sew-38: Tartans and Plaids

Direct Download - Click on this link OR Click on this link in iTunes 

Myrna Loy begarbed in plaid - "The Thin Man"

At this time of year, I particularly love to sew plaids. No matter what other plans new pooch, Jasper, has for me, I’ve also got plans - for some seasonal sewing, with some of my favorite plaid fabrics. OK, maybe with our dear new pooch-kid it will go extra slow, but I’m determined to get one or two plaid garments going over the next few months

BTW if you know anybody looking for the perfect pooch, I’d highly recommend the  group where we found Jasper.
 They’re called Tiramisou Dog Rescue and they foster dogs all over – even in other countries.
 Administrator Lou (tiramisudogrescue@gmail.com )  was really great about reading my list of needs for the right dog for us  and suggesting dogs for me to check out. (Those needs included not hassling our ancient little blind dog, not chasing kitties, and being super affectionate – all of which she found for us in Jasper).
https://www.facebook.com/tiramisudogrescue
tiramisudogrescue@gmail.com

In this month’s show

* Primero (First): Tartans and Plaids – What’s the difference?

* Entonces (Then): Tartans – Who’s got the rights to wear them? A Famous Historical Myth

Delightful Historical Fiction - DIANA GABALDON Time Travel Adventures- A Wonderful fast paced historical series, for plaid-loving romantics. Claire travels unexpectedly back to the time of the Jacobite rising in the highlands of Scotland and finds a place for herself that suits her even better than her life in post war Britain. Meeting a gentle, handsome and funny over six foot highland Scot doesn't hurt.


* Y Tambien (And Also):   A Visit to the Edinburgh Tartan Weaving Mill – recorded on my trip to the U.K. early this last summer
* Pensamiientos Finales (Final Thoughts): Why I love plaid

NEXT MONTH – Technicos for - Tartan and Plaid Matching - It's not only about how you lay out your pattern

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Web Resources: https://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/plaid-and-tartan/

Sewing Basket Overload!

I was buried under my sewing basket.

• So many in-progress projects to finish.
Shall I list them? Would that make a difference?

• So many new and improving skills I'm working on. Another list?

• So many tee shirts, pants and purses that I could zip through quickly, if I didn't have a life: work, school, family, hiking, and reading novels.
All of them are equally important, eh?

Oh wait, it supposed to be fun. That's why I sew!

Guess I'll just wear that red plaid dress I made a few years back to that special event this week, and put the self-imposed deadlines on hold.

My only plan for the future, is to keep the enchantment in my sewing.

My October Sewing Basket

Last month I posted the list of sewing I hoped to get done during September. I normally only keep this list on my iPhone, but it was fun sharing it.

Herein....

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

2) What I got done in September.

1) What I'm planning to sew in October

- Finish the basic much needed camisole I worked so hard on in September. See notes below.

- A new pair of pants, either light weight denim or beige twill - I've got 3 yards of each. I'll be using the same patterns I used for The Lady Wears Shorts, which I've got fitting pretty well. I'm taking a "Pants Construction" class at Cañada this month, and the project is due by the end of the month. Well, that will keep me on schedule!

- Trace, tissue fit and toile a Vogue blouse pattern. I'd like to say get it sewn too, but given time.... I'll be happy to just get going on this project.

- Start in on the next project for my main sewing class at Cañada - elastic waist linen pants

- I'd love to get at least one tee done, either one of my new Hot Patterns or another of the Stretch and Sew 333 tees I sewed for class in September, but that is a bit too much blue skying.

2) What I got done in September
I didn't get absolutely everything done, but - I'm happy!

My September goals included:

         - One pair of green shorts. Done!

          - A cloche style cap, like the one I now wear almost everyday (It needs break and a bath!) . Refer back to "Chewing a Bun with Tuppence" (an earlier posting)Done!

Please check out both shorts and cap in this earlier posting.


           - One test pair of unmentionable nether garments! Done! NO PHOTO, they aren't very cute, but I learned good basic techniques in my Sewing Lingerie  class.
          
 - A mostly sewn buttercup purse (See my "Do You Like Butter?" posting) Done!
I've really been enjoying carrying this purse for the last couple of weeks. Isn't it cute?

I also completed the first project for my sewing class at Cañada, a Kwik Sew #333 tee shirt. No photo yet, but I'll post it. Of course I spent a lot of time on it because I was working on technique - not my usual sew and go mode. I included an embellishment I'd been meaning to try. I'll post more about that shirt soon - hopefully with a photo.

          - A beige lingerie type camisole to go under a very pretty sheer, burnt-knit, dressy yellow tee shirt I finished recently. (No, I can't take a photo of me in it because it would only look appropriate in the kind of establishment I don't patronize! You probably drive by them too.) Believe me, Ineed a camisole under that tee. Still in progress....

Man alive... This camisole has been a lot more work than I expected. I was pushing hard to get it done this evening, but I made a study committment  for my independent study work (apps development) to always put a minimum chunk of work in every day, and I like to keep those promises to myself. I should have that camisole ready pretty durn soon. It's crucial for wearing under that sheer yellow tee I made a month or two back, and I plan to sew one or two more sheer tees out of a couple of pieces of stretch lace I bought from fabric.com. So I really need that girl done. I picked up a couple of techniques while taking the Lingerie class that came in handy. They included: neck edges for v-necks, the baby hem, and plaited straps out of spaghetti straps (see the Jan Bones Lingerie book). I also drafted the pattern for the camp using the Jan Bones book. It was my first experience drafting from scratch. The front worked pretty well, but I made some errors in the back. Fixing and accomodating those errors added a good chunk of time to the project.

More time was eaten up because I made the cami  out of beige 2-way stretch knit (swimwear/dancewear type stuff). The regular presser foot grabbed the fabric a lot. also I was using a ballpoint needle, which I thought meant knits, but I guess it didn't. Finally, I switched to a needle that actually said "stretch", switched my presser foot to my 'teflon foot' and things went much more smoothly.