The end of an era jumper

On February 28, 2016April 21, 2016 By qplourdeIn Sewing Projects, Uncategorized6 Comments

Pattern: McCalls 2075 (vintage 1969)

Oh! Wouldn’t it have been great if I could have finished this right when Mad Men was ending! Of course that was last May, almost a year ago. As I watched the final season, I really wanted to make one of those vintage jumpers from the ’60’s. I think I even had this pattern already. But work ramped up and I never got around to it. My mom gave me some royal blue corduroy last fall and I thought, “This will be perfect for this.” But again things were busy at work and I only managed to cut it out. As the year ended I started buying the buttons and some of the other notions I would need. I started making the darts, but had to set it down as the holidays approached. Obligations and lack of time again. In January I began to chip away at it, step by step. But I couldn’t quite finish it until mid-February, especially with all that hand sewing.

But this is called the “End of an Era” jumper for another reason. A few weeks ago, I lost my job. I have gone through this a few times, but it’s still never an easy thing. Especially when it’s just due to some business deal that has nothing to do with you – some company buys another one and wants to clean house. And suddenly I went from being busy every Continue reading “The end of an era jumper” →

Waffle Knit: It’s not just for breakfast anymore

On February 20, 2016February 28, 2016 By qplourdeIn Sewing Projects, Uncategorized1 Comment

Pattern: Sewaholic Renfrew top

What do you do with mis-matched fabric?

I bought this fabric a while back because I really liked the waffle-like knit texture it had. It reminded me of one of my favorite winter shirts. One that now has a giant hole in it – probably from over-wear. However, when I brought the fabric up to the register, I noticed the colors were off. There was a whole section that was missing one of the colors. The fabric was so soft and perfect for a thermal shirt I wanted to make, that I negotiated a price reduction and bought it anyway. It would be at least be good to make as a muslin, right?

I was able to cut out the front and back out from the fully colored section, but I had to cut the arms out on the faded Continue reading “Waffle Knit: It’s not just for breakfast anymore” →

Sweater weather : Experimenting with sweater knits

On February 1, 2016February 28, 2016 By qplourdeIn Sewing Projects, Uncategorized3 Comments

Pattern: Butterick B5954, view B

I can’t remember if I officially made the announcement, but I did mention this on a previous post – I bought a serger! It was my Christmas present to myself….that I actually bought in October. It was expensive, but so very necessary. Finding a way to work on my mom’s just wasn’t working any more as I don’t live close enough to pop over for an hour or two. I did however decide to buy the exact same one as her, since I had gotten so used to it. And here it is – I feel like I need a name for it, but can’t think of anything clever. Sergey just sounds too much like Pee-wee’s Playhouse.