October Wrap-up & November plans

l sewed something this month! Haha! I was going to try to work on this jacket from 6/2018 that I started some time ago but, Oops. It doesn't fit right now. 

But I also ordered fabric this month. FM had discounted shipping and that is so hard for me to resist! LOL!

I really liked the DKNY jersey, found the double knit and swooned, then saw the interlock (V1835) and that plaid rayon shirting was $1.99/yd. I ordered 5 yards with the plan to make some nice, traditional pajamas. But it washed up BEAUTIFULLY and I may use it for a dress, and stash the rest. 

Then, they had their $2, $3, $4 sale soon after and I found some really great pieces of fabric (18.5 yards for $56?! Rayon blend knits, viscose and rayon wovens? SCORE. 

When I washed up the first fabric order, I brought the metallic double knit up and said, I'm about to make a cardigan. I was so excited! I spent so much time Thursday night combing the pattern stash, looking for the right thing. However, my hand was really bothering me. I don't know about you, but cutting the pattern tissue/paper is such a tedious part of the job and for some reason, tests my fine motor skills much more so than cutting the fabric. So I knew I had to choose something I'd made before. 

I don't know how many versions of M6844 I've made over the years (at least 5), but I knew it was it! I made pattern adjustments Friday night and sewed it Saturday and Sunday. I'm really excited about this one. The base is a medium toned grey and the lurex threads allows it to take on the color of so many other colors! Grey, deeper shades of purple, coral, blush, and of course white, off white, black, etc. 

I will get pics this week and get it blogged. YAY!

as of Saturday afternoon, it's since finished

So that's 1 5/8 yards sewn for October! woot woot! 

I'd also like to use another pattern that's been sewn before, the In-House Patterns Belle bow blouse, to do my version if this Tahari top. I like that the Belle has an extended shoulder line. I really loved the cotton voile version I made way back when, I think the print just wasn't a good fit for my wardrobe. I later made a version in white rayon challis that just wasn't right...I don't think I had the skills to work with a solid challis at that time. :)

It's getting cold in the tundra y'all. I saw this simple little "snood" on Lafyette 148's website for $348. WHEW! It is cashmere, but it it's a 14.5" square! It's a tiny square!! So I'm going to decide on a tuck stitch pattern that I like on the machine, and knit one up.  

I had to buy a new coat this weekend so why not make a new scarf? It's not like I own 20 scarves and cowls already...haha!

Wardrobe Planning and Random Thoughts

The mojo is still absent, but I have been trying to figure out if there's anything I want to sew or need to add to my wardrobe. 

There are a couple of patterns that I'm interested in sewing, and I did add to the stash during the recent $.99 Simplicity sale at JoAnn:

New Look 6698, S9385, 9373, 9375, 9376, 9326, 9275, 9372

And while I'm really excited to sew both the skirt in 9375 and a couple of the shrugs in 9372, that still didn't get the sewing mojo going. 

I also sorted through nearly the whole stash because I donated a bunch of fabric (4 plastic Mood bags full!) to our High School theater program. My son would be offended, he says they don't deserve anything> LOL!!!!!

So I couldn't rev the mojo in the normal way, next up was assessing if there were wardrobe holes. I still had all of my summer clothes and shoes out and had to go through the work of pulling out the fall goods. Every time I make the switch, I analyze both sets of clothing. As the spring/summer clothes are going away, I am deciding what to keep, donate, or toss...and the same with the fall/winter clothes coming out of storage. I took note of my favorite garments and realized a color story was happening!

Now, I'm not going to do any color theory or anything because...I know me and I'm just not going to do it :-p But there was a definite pattern. 

• Black, Navy, Grey, Olive, Camel, White
• Blush, Wine, Plum
• Chartreuse, teal, slate blue
• Black & white stripes and prints

a representative sample

I think I'm going to work mostly within this color palette and see how that works for me! I am also going to try to avoid buying new clothes. I have added several garments, and they all work, but I want to really thoughtfully add to my existing wardrobe. Especially with the schedule I'm maintaining right now. 

Another part of the process is NOT including anything in my closet that I cannot currently fit. I have mentioned before but, I have never really had body image issues and am having a hard time right now. Not necessarily with the weight gain (I've been over 200 lbs before) but with how I feel about my body right now. Blergh. So it's really important not to bring clothing in that's going to hang there and be pointless. 

This orange jacket has been in the wardrobe for awhile - I got it from J. Crew 5 years ago, it's linen, and I love the color. It's clearly too small right now but I think the length is wrong now too! It's funny how trends change and we end up being shaped by them, whether we intend to or not. 

In a nutshell, I would really like:

a deep red pair of pants (maybe ponte for now)

a skirt in one of the deeper shades of red (wine/brick red - it'd be great if I could find leather!!)

a chartreuse cardigan (I have the fabric for this)

a deep magenta shrug (I have the fabric for this)

slim black pants (I bought a pair last year but can't fit them right now)

1 or 2 heavier knit dresses (I have a charcoal ponte in the stash)

On the non-sewing front, I'm coming down from a high of daily grandkid visits for a whole week! Swoon! The kids have some business to tend to but my daughter and the babies were here while my son in law was taking care of some things and I was happy to help out and get alllllll the baby snuggles!

He's almost 2 months old now! 

He was born a little early but I think he's all caught up now :)

And, Nana's house has not been kid-proofed so it was a free-for-all! Just keep him safe! LOL!!!!