Progress, a Wadder and a Hong Kong Vest

This week has seen some true ups and downs in my sewing room.  I began the long and arduous task of cleaning out and reorganizing that was truly necessary.  I am making good progress but really needed to do some creative work for my sanity.  So often, I clean up enough to start another project and it goes downhill from there.  This time I promised myself that I would take a break and then get back to the task at hand.  Only, the project I started was a big bust.  A true trashcan wadder.  To try and salvage the day I turned to my mending box which I had unearthed in my cleaning frenzy.  Now, this might not sound like the most fun job on my list but it was gratifying.  Several things needed nothing more than a button and ironing.  A few needed only ironing.  So I was able to feel like I accomplished something and can now get back to the cleaning at hand.

Since my defunct project was going to be my featured garment for this week, I’ve headed back into my closet and pulled out a vest I made a number of years ago.  The pattern is The Sewing Workshop’s Hong Kong Vest.  The fabric has an interesting history.  My husband’s family spent many years living in Japan.  This navy and white cotton fabric, called Yukata, was brought back by my mother-in-law who gave it to me.  The 14” wide fabric comes in a roll with many, many meters; I can’t read the Japanese script but I am guessing at least 20 yards of fabric, enough to make dozens of these vests.  And I've got about 6 rolls of different prints.  The lapel on the vest is hand stitched with variegated cotton thread in a sashiko stitch pattern, further playing on the Asian-inspired theme of the garment.

Tomorrow is my children’s last day of the school year and for the next several months my time will be far less my own than usual.  I am still optimistic that I will get a wee bit of time in my sewing studio each week so watch and see what I come up with next.  I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend.

Bag of the Week 45

Asian Portfolio

I started this portfolio during a class at The Sewing Expo at the end of September.  All supplies and the instructions were provided, and I felt lucky that the fabrics selected were so lovely and to my liking.  The first step was to embroider a crane on dark brown velveteen; this piece became the back panel. 

Next, I strip pieced the various printed cottons to make the body of the bag.  The flap’s Courthouse Steps design was pieced from leftover strips and more of the velveteen.  The three elements were sewn together and the entire piece interfaced with iron on interfacing.  Next came a layer of canvas that was basted to the wrong side of the resulting panel.  The side seams were sewn and the bottom corners boxed.  A lining was added and the raw edges bound with a bias strip.  The scariest part was cutting the hole for the grommet; I proceeded with baby steps, gradually increasing the size of the cut hole until it was right.  I found it helpful to stitch around the opening before cutting to ensure the three layers could be cut as one unit.  The strap, which is edged with a serged wave stitch, was attached last.

I really love this bag and think it is very reflective of my style and taste.  I plan to use it to carry books and notepads to my various sewing events and meetings.  It can also hold a laptop.  I had enough scraps left over to create another little bag which I featured a few weeks ago.  All in all, a nice class with a beautiful finished product.

Bag of the Week 41

Asian Coin Purse

The other night I went out to a workshop.  I wanted to take a smaller purse than my usual big, clunky one so I transfered some necessities from the latter to the former.  Each time I do this I think:  I sure wish I had a little coin purse to put these things in.  It seems very haphazard to stick a credit card, drivers license and some bills randomly into a bag.  So, needing a bag to post this week, I headed to my studio to make myself something that would suit the bill. 

I recently took a class where I started a beautiful Asian style portfolio (hopefully I will finish it this year and post it as a BOTW) and I had some scraps left from the piecing I did for that project.  I added some extra strips, cut the resulting piece into two rectangles (about 6" x 5.25") and free-motion quilted them onto a foundation of muslin.  I have always admitted I am a pretty lousy free-motion stitcher but I persevere, believing that the only way I will get better is with some practice (I'm not there yet).  The coin purse has a zipper at the top and is lined with more cotton fabric.

Now I have the perfect little coin purse to keep my loose items neatly organized in my purse.  This took very little time (certainly less than an hour) and I used up some leftovers in the meantime -- bonus!