I hate jewel necks

I had a slow day at work, so I took the afternoon off and had the house to myself!  Should I do a whirlwind housecleaning?  or finish my almost instant gratification top? 

I made a few more alternations when I was halfway through the sewing.  I decided to open up the armscye a bit, since I felt like my upper arms were being strangled.  I also decided that I preferred a side zip to a back one, so I added a hook-and-eye closure to the back neck and put in a vintage zip on the right side.  Much nicer!  I'm also divided about the jewel neck:  on the one hand, it looks good and is period-appropriate; on the other hand, I hate the feel on the throat....  ben, faut suffrir pour être belle....

 This tutorial was a very helpful reminder of how to sew a railroad zipper; I've only sewn invisible zips for the last little while, but I actually thought this type would go better with the period pattern.

(almost) Instant gratification Xmas top

Since we are going to be away for much of December, (travelling to visit both families), I won't be able to do any sewing.  I also don't have a lot of time this week because I'm trying to finish testing a yeast-based assay that has been kicking my a** for months!  So....I need some instant sewing gratification.  This little overblouse should be just the thing:   

I know I posted before that I would probably never use this pattern because I had to grade it up.  The fact is, I'm two sizes smaller in the bust than in the waist and hip, so I only had to add a meager 12mm to each side seam. 

 I got this pinecone fabric on Etsy a while ago, but not because it looked Christmas-y.  In fact, I didn't think of Christmas at all when I saw it; it reminded me of textbook illustrations from a schoolbook I had back in the '70s that had probably been published in the '50s.  You know, one of those three-colour illustrations depicting The Coniferous Forest (or something like that; probably something to do with the unlimited resources of the Dominion or some such crap).

(I knew that drafting tool from my engineering school days would someday come in handy!)

There were some stains that had to be avoided in the pattern layout...the Etsy seller had pointed them out, so I knew I would need to ignore the recommended pattern layout instructions anyway. 

I also added about 7cm to the bottom, since I like a slightly longer top.  This should be complete in a couple of days, barring any disasters at home or in the lab! 

Now that I look at the pattern layout, there appears to be enough left over to make a little extra something... Would it be completely unforgiveable to make a matching top or skirt for my little girl?  Or is that so matante that I should forget it?

A linguistic curiosity

I have two reference books that I use for sewing:  one french and one english.  I just discovered this distinction between the two languages when it comes to seams:

(French seam in english; english seam in french.  Hmmmm.)

Persistence pays off

I started this blog with a horror story.....oh the horror of vintage patterns being used as wrapping paper....

But there has been a happy turn to the story:  Now that I've cornered every volunteer at the shop, they all know they should save the patterns for the crazy lady who still makes her own clothes.  Every week or so I stop by and there is a nice little box waiting for me.  Any fugly ones get thrown back in the pile, destined to wrap someone's tea set, while the beauties come home to live with me!

Women's:

 Kids'

 Costumes

And my faves: 

The red blouse with the stand-up collar?  Yes please!

I know this is maternity, but I think it could work anyway.

Saving this one to make for the spring

Very nice, but needs to be graded up.  IOW, I'll probably never get around to it...