Readers, Yesterday I finished a really nifty pattern I’ve wanted to make for years, and it is living up to my expectations. This is a new favorite pattern that seems destined to become an old favorite pattern. Here’s the description from the back of the envelope: Double-breasted waistcoat with or without lower sections and patch […]
Testing for Doneness
Readers, When is a sewing project done? Is it when I’ve made the last stitch? Pulled out the last tailor tack? Given it a final press? Cleared my worktables and vacuumed up the trimmings? Modeled the garment and written about it for the blog? When I’ve worn it once? Hung it in the closet? When […]
Cheap But Not Cheerful
Readers, It was a cheap and cheerful fabric of unlisted fiber content that I picked up at S.R. Harris Fabric Outlet a few years ago that was sitting in my stash waiting for a summer project. It was a perky blouse pattern from 1950 that looked easy enough to fit and a match for the […]
Making the Best of It
Readers, A longtime reader of this blog wrote me recently, “Getting Things Sewn is all about making things happen, not just letting things happen.” I let out a big sigh. Oh, I know she meant to be complimentary. But if I swivel 90 degrees in my office chair here in the planning corner, I can […]
It’s In the Cards
Readers, Sitting in my planning corner a few minutes ago I was pondering what to write in today’s post. I reached over to the 4-inch thick stack of index cards, on which I started scribbling ideas for Getting Things Sewn over a year ago, for a writing prompt. Then it struck me that that fat […]
Project: Advance 5455 (1950), blouse
Readers, It sure feels good to be back in my freshly painted and much better organized sewing space with the pegboard back up on the wall, where I can see my tools. I missed this place! When I uploaded the top photo to the media library of this blog, my caption was shortened from “sewing […]
Before, During, After, and Next: The Planning Corner
Readers, Tuesday Jack finished painting the east end of the sewing space. He so wanted me to have my space back that after dinner he rolled on the second coat. It dried overnight, and Wednesday morning we moved as much back into the space as we could. It’s probably fair to say that organizing and […]