Sewers, ahoy!

Okay, mere stripes do not a marinière make, but Mr. C immediately made the French sailor connection when I first wore this top. It's probably the only striped garment I own. And it's not navy blue but a very deep purple, as are the cropped linen pants, the very last bit on the bolt in this dye lot, because another bolt that was supposed to be the same color was navy blue. I envisioned this very drape-y rayon/spandex knit with a cowl neckline, and I used an old OOP Vogue pattern 9771 to achieve it. The pattern is designed for wovens cut on the bias; I simply used the neckline with my T&T knit top body and it turned out well. I first tried it out with a piece of ancient cotton knit which was not drape-y enough for the cowl neck, but at least I knew that it would work for the striped fabric.   

The linen pants are an L-pocket Frankenpattern that I've been refining for years. Everything is almost perfect, but this time I thought I needed to make the waist a bit looser and overdid it. You can see the waistband protruding under the top because it's not fitting close enough to my body. So, I'm going to have to do a bit of alteration, which I absolutely hate, all that careful removing of thread and working with tiny trimmed seams. But it must be done. 

It's already September and it seems as if I've barely sewn anything this year. In January I made a basic knit top that really wasn't special enough to blog about. Next was a knit cardigan that I was still working on when it became too warm to wear it, and it's waiting for some finishing touches. In May I botched a linen dress, sad story, wrong usage for a beautiful piece of linen and on top of that, it was too tight, even though I'd made a muslin beforehand. Now finally, sewing success! I'm amazed at all those sewing bloggers out there who turn out piece after beautiful piece in quick succession.

The person who first suggested that I start a blog meant a sewing blog, but I knew that my limited output could never fill it. As it is, I've barely posted about anything this entire year. I've read various statistics about the brief lifespan of many blogs; I've discovered some delightful blogs just as they were coming to an end. But this one isn't at an end yet. I enjoy the opportunity to do a little writing and show off assorted projects, and I plan to continue. So, to everyone who stops by, thank you for the visit and come back soon.