Tuesday, January 6, 2015

November MAGAM skirt ..then nothing

I finished my third Rachel Comey skirt Vogue 1247 towards the end of November, then ground to a halt. My mojo packed her bags, said "hooroo" (that's aussie for goodbye) and vanished out the door. I had made the skirt for Christmas so felt no urgency to chase after her, instead choosing to mess around in my sewing room doing precious little.

I kept postponing my photo session and when I finally put the skirt on I discovered to my horror that I had added a little fluff around my high hip/waist and the skirt was now a bit tight. I sucked everything in and took the pics then hoping to shed the fluff between the beginning of December and Christmas I put it aside and on Christmas morning put it on. Nope, no better. 11.30 am found me sitting in my undies at the sewing machine letting the side seams out from the waist to the hip seam, turning what had been 1.5cm seams into 6mm seams. It took only a matter of minutes and I could breathe again, literally as well as figuratively speaking.

I wore the skirt on Christmas Day with a black top. The green one is tucked up around my waist for photography purposes.
The fabric was another remnant from Spotlight. As I had only 1 metre and the print is directional I had a lot of fun fitting the pattern onto the fabric. I did a lot of clever folding and made it fit with only a few scraps left over.

 It is a quite firm cotton with bunches of cherries or similar and looks quite festive, I think. It fits comfortably now and coped with Roast Turkey, Plum Pudding etc.

 The New Year sees me with a navy and white wide striped top cut out and waiting to be sewn, but after that I'm not sure where to go.

An old pattern from 1975 I'm making the blue top on the right.
I have made a garment every month since mid 2013 when I joined Sarah Liz's Style the Stash Sew-a-long followed by the Make A Garment A Month Challenge in 2014 and my wardrobe is bulging at the seams. :) Apart from shopping trips and a fortnightly visit to the library my clothing needs are more of the retired lady of the house variety and I have an abundance of those. I have whittled down my stash to a few cold weather pieces and a dress or top length or two but I don't need anything more at the moment and I would be sewing them just for the sake of using up the fabric.

Now that MAGAM has moved across to Facebook I think I may take a break from a firm commitment and just make something when I really want to. I have a lot of quilting stash so perhaps I'll piece another quilt top. Or maybe I'll buy some real fabric and make something special for our next cruise in April. Meanwhile the navy and white top is calling me so I will finish it and see where we go from there.

Happy New Year to all and may your sewing always be a joy.
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9 comments:

  1. Hana January 6, 2015 at 7:32 AM

    That's a great save and glad that you can wear your pretty skirt without feeling stuffy :)

    Happy New Year and I look forward to see your 2015 garments.

    P.S : The Navy and white wide stripe top sound exciting, I hope you will be finished it before April :)

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    1. KathySJanuary 14, 2015 at 3:06 AM

      Thank you, Hana. The top is almost completed.

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  2. Barbara JJanuary 6, 2015 at 8:12 AM

    Such happy fabric and can read "holidays" or simply "cheerful". You'll get plenty of use out of it.

    I can relate to the feeling that your wardrobe is more than adequate for your lifestyle. I am also in the retired lady demographic. But one garment a month is only 12 things and completing them won't bulge the closet TOO much! Maybe it's time to make a few undergarments or gardening/exercising clothes. I do have some granddaughters to sew for, so that's helpful in using up stash and feeding the creativity bug.

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    1. KathySJanuary 14, 2015 at 3:08 AM

      Thank you, Barbara. I have decided to get rid of some of the wardrobe surplus to make room for more new stuff. :)

      Delete
  3. Sarah LizJanuary 6, 2015 at 2:49 PM

    Oh dear, that mid waist problem area - we have a similar figure type, Kathy - I always make my garments roomy, because a few grams difference goes straight to this area. I often use elastic at the back too, and never overfit garments.

    Like you, I have no need for new clothes, but sewing is my hobby, and stress relief. Occasionally a few go to the op-shop- but many stay as samples so I can refer back to them to see how I solve problems.

    Join us when you can, and feel free to be part of the group, and comment when you wish to.

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    1. KathySJanuary 14, 2015 at 3:16 AM

      Thanks for the encouragement, Sarah Liz. Some of the so-called wearable muslins I made have never been worn so I will look on them as samples and remove them from my wardrobe to make space for more creations.

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  4. BeaJayJanuary 8, 2015 at 11:37 AM

    Your work with your skirt paid off. It is great fabric for Christmas. How exciting to be going on a cruise. Why not whip up a nice top or two for that.

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  5. KathySJanuary 14, 2015 at 3:19 AM

    Thanks BeaJay.

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  6. LisaJanuary 29, 2015 at 12:39 PM

    I love your version!! Glad to hear you were able to alter it to wear comfortably. I think I've been putting off making mine because I've put on a few pounds and keep thinking I'll lose them and don't want to re-fit..... but realize if I don't make it now, it'll probably never be made! Thank you so much for your suggestions.

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