While having lunch on Saturday, we were trying to remember how our MinneSEWta group began. I'm almost certain it began in the Regional Communities section of PR in mid-2014. Some time ago, we settled on getting together the first Saturday of every month. This way, if you can make it, great! If you can't, that's okay too...maybe another month :)
Normally, we hang out and chat about sewing (or not!). Over time, there's sort of a core group that has developed but really, ANYONE is welcome - there's no cliquey thing happening here.
Sometimes we get together and have a sewing day. Sometimes, we take field trips. I'm not sure who came up with the fantastic idea to visit Ginny's but I'm glad they did!
Ginny's (
website ) has existed in downtown Rochester, near Mayo, for decades! (check out
THIS write up in the Rochester blog) She is truly a gem and if you have the opportunity to stop in - be sure to do so! She knows that store like the back of her hand and when I tell you that the
fine fabrics part is accurate?? It is
A C C U R A T E! Name it, and you can find it! From $300/yd cashmere coating to $9/yd cotton voile, it's there.
She doesn't sell online but if you call her and let her know what you're looking for, she will swatch fabrics for you.
Rochester is about 90 miles southeast of me and it was a pleasant drive down Saturday morning. Downtown Rochester is really pretty and had it not been so cold Saturday, I probably would have wandered around a bit.
My stash OVERFLOWS so I took some time on Friday night to come up with a short list of things I
could shop for. I did not however, set a budget. BIG mistake :-p Oh, did I mention there was a 20% off sale that day? OY!
Suiting for pants, Ponte for pants, knit for leggings, plaid shirting, "bright red w/print" woven for a dress. So, what did I buy? :-D
Not pictured: Navy ponte for pants - yay! I could not get a photo of the ponte that wasn't washed out and weird but really...it's navy ponte. It's completely opaque, midweight, and drapes really well. I took pics of bolt ends and didn't get the full composition of this one but, it's a Telio ponte and I captured "65% rayon" so it seems like it may be their Jockey ponte. The composition is listed as 65% rayon, 30% nylon, 5% spandex. That sounds in line with how this fabric behaved.
Next up, knit for leggings - yay! I wanted something slightly heavier than a run of the mill cotton lycra knit. I plan on using V9210, which I made before in an inappropriate fabric. It was a ponte that was much too soft/drapey for a legging-style slim pant. This fabric is 85% poly, 10% rayon and 5% lycra and is black with a sparkly finish, but it isn't textured. It has a nice weight to it and is opaque.
There was a silk twill in red with a black abstract print that I totally swooned over. I may buy that fabric in the future. But, I have 8 cuts of silk in stash that has been collected over the past 2 years and until I sew up a couple of those, I'm not allowing myself to buy more silk (blouseweights). And at $38/yd, I knew I'd talk myself out of sewing it.
This 50/50 cotton/rayon voile is SO nice. It drapes amazingly well yet is completely stable. I'm going to make a shirtdress for sure. Initially, I was going to go with a Vogue with pleats but it came out of the dryer slightly more wrinkled than I'd like a pleated skirt to be. I wouldn't want to spend a ton of time ironing it before wearing it. I bought 3 yards and wish I'd gotten more! It feels amazing and was priced at $9/yd. Total steal.
Next up was a crepe that I just couldn't pass up. I love any sort of black background + bright/light print so I was sold. The label said it was poly but the label didn't contain everything (e.g., it says polye). If this is 100% polyester, it's the most amazing polyester I've ever seen. I think it's a blend. THE DRAPE! OMG. It's beautiful. It's already cut out and halfway to being a dress from Burda 9/2018. Like, the entire front of the dress is constructed :-p If I had thought ahead a bit, I'd have gotten 3 yards instead of 2.5. I would have loved to let this fabric sing in something with lots of pleats or gathers, it drapes so well. I was able to find something with a little tie at the neck that's cut on the bias, and the skirt has a center front pleat.
This beautiful piece of fabric! SWOON! Another sewer found it in the remnant area and it is just gorgeous!! Three of us swarmed over there but when Ginny unrolled it, it was only 1 7/8 yard. As we were all checking out, S. had fell in love with a beautiful, bright silk print and it was pricey and she offered up this crepe to me and I JUMPED on it! :-D I just love the colors and I plan to use it for McCall's 7976. I think it's a year-round color/print for me (navy background) and I want a garment that can transition.
So, I was done! I'd gotten fabric for 3 of 5 specific things on my list...and had still stuck with 5 pieces of fabric.
Then I found this 20" piece of power mesh (beige) in the remnant bin for $6. The remnants were half off and so, SCORE! $3 for a hefty piece. I recently bought the Watson bra, no chance to try it out yet, but I wanted something pretty and sheer to make a set. This stretch mesh (I know it's not swiss dot but can't think of what this is called!) was just the ticket. I bought a full yard so that next spring, I can make a pretty top or dress with a sheer yoke :)
Shopping for fabric really recharged the mojo! When the mojo goes, I can't help but try to figure out why. This time, I realized it's because I've had a lot of fails or quasi-fails in a row.
Since sewing my awesome and beautiful blazer (which I'm going to finish SOON) in mid September, and taking way more time off from sewing than I thought I'd need after surgery, I've sewn:
*Cardigan and skirt from Minerva Crafts ponte. The fabric is too thick for the cardigan and I'm not sure the skirt is really my style though it's cute!! And the fabric works with the skirt pattern.
*M7812 yellow top. I love this top. LOVE. But the fabric. Between this and visiting Ginny's, I think I've decided that jersey knits are something I have to buy in person. I got the yellow fabric from Metro Textiles and it just isn't good and the top won't last long.
*Style Arc Sandra Jeans - I stole these pics off my IG stories :) They fit fine, I like this pattern for the most part. I drafted a curved waistband and these are still gaping. Boooo! I'm to do the elastic trick (a strip inserted and stitched down from left back belt loop to right) and otherwise, they're fine, but it was a disappointment.
*Vogue 9026 - GRRRRRRR. I spent a lot of money to get this fabric and this pattern was not what I wanted. There is a view with no band but it uses the same back pattern piece (that wraps around the front) and it has more of a sweatshirt fit than anything. It's huge and billowy in back and for now, it's in the naughty box and I've moved on for now.
Burda 9/2018 #113 WIP:
