Happy Holidays!

To my family and friends--best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Packing up my sewing room to move, so I'm sewing via blogs and magazines. I'll be back one of these days!,,

Quick Post--Not Sewing

Just to keep this blog in the cybersphere I'll add a short update.  This blog started out as a way for me to document what I'd been sewing...not much this month.  We had a great family memorial for my dad this past weekend in CA and followed up with a long lunch at the Cannery Restaurant in Newport Beach.  Lots of laughter and stories...some sad, mostly fun memories of my dad's long life.  I was surprised at how exhausted that left me.  But, we came home this morning and after the laundry and our daily walk, I hope to get a few projects off of the sewing table. 

I'm doing some embroidery designs on t shirts for my DDIL.  She is running a relay marathon and I'm doing some silly designs on shirts for her team.

I want to finish the third pair of  Bilbao pants that I almost finished at the Loes Hinse seminar.  I did finish my Mallorca jacket and will post photos of that soon.  I made 3 t shirts, and only one remains.  Totally user error.  I did not pretreat fabrics or even test a sample swatch of fabric.  I am WAY too old for crop tops/belly shirts.  So, although I cut all three from the same pattern, only one is really fully wearable.  One is OK under a jacket after I let out the hem, and one went in the trash. 

Tonight DH and DS are going to the UNLV basketball game and I'm watching the 3 kidlets.  Then, back to work in the morning.  I am subbing again--at a delightful elementary school. Being an assistant principal is so much more enjoyable than being the principal!   This job is done before the winter break and then I'm taking a long break :>)

Hope to share some sewing and/or photos soon!

Loes Hinse Seminar

Having a wonderful time--wish you were here! What fun to sew with a group of like-minded ladies who share their talents freely with no hint of one upmanship! I love Loes's patterns because they are so versatile and they fit me with little or no alteration. That never happens for me with any other line. I've seen many iterations of patterns using a wide variety of fabrics--so many clever ideas to immitate in the future!

I'll share some photos when I get home, but I've made a couple of pairs of the narrow version of the Bilboa pant, a Mallorca jacket and a few perfect tee t shirts. Tomorrow is the final day and I'm hoping to cut out a Biarritz jacket/cardigan. We will see if I get that done. Seems I've messed up my lower back by sitting on the bed. Go figure! Not even an exciting story to tell. I'm hoping it returns itself to normal by morning. Not whining, just explaining that I may not get as many garments sewn as I hoped to/usually do.

Loes's boutique has many lovely items, as usual! I was drawn to jackets made from vintage fabrics, tops using stretch lace with interesting selvages used at the hemline, unique necklaces and scarves...so many pretties!

I hope sleep comes soon and that I wake up ready to sew!

ABO Vest

 Please excuse the phone photos, but I'll never get a picture up if I don't use my phone!  I know the vest is a bit wrinkly, but I want to post these and then get on to something else :-)

I liked both of the motifs--the dots on light and the multicolored stripes.  So--I made sure that the dots were prominent on the front and the stripes dominate the back.  I like to wear it with the collar folded back a bit and the shirt underneath unbuttoned at the collar.  I did not put buttons on the vest.

Today I traced the new pattern in a size small and will make a few muslin/wearable? garments to try out the sizing.  The ABO jacket and vest are XSM, but I think that is too small for the new A Cute Angle tops.

We are going back to CA too--I'm going to Palm Springs for 4 days with my best friends.  Some of us met in grade school, but we have all been good buddies since high school.  No husbands allowed.  We meet every few years for a long weekend and just enjoy the fellowship, love, laughs, and tears.  Then I have a couple of days of rest and will take off to attend my annual Loes Hinse seminar.  That should provide some new pictures to share!

Sewing and Other Stuff

I have done a little sewing--made my vest from ABO out of Japanese cotton.  Love it!  I will take a photo when I am home and have my trusty camera available.  Or, maybe DH will take a photo if I wear it while we are away. 

I worked, I went to see my DGS perform and earn his 2nd degree black belt in combined martial arts.  He is amazing--won best tester of his class of 8.  he broke the studio record for several physical activities.  He is amazing.  He is 12 years old.  I am truly in awe of his dedication and drive.  We don't need to mention his skills as a wake boarder, skier, student, etc.  How lucky is he that his older sister is just as unique in her own areas.  Oh yeah, this may be a blatant example of Grandma bias, but that's what Grandmas do!!!

Now I'm deeply engrossed in a more somber activity--settling my dad's estate.  Hopefully, things will go smoothly at the broker tomorrow and the several banks can be visited and accounts closed.  I am armed with death certificates, a tough hide, and a wonderful husband.  DH has been my rock for the past 43 years, but never more so at the times of family sorrow. 

I'll be back to sewing in a week or two.  All of this stuff has meant time in the car.  Hours and hours of time in the car.  I'm not a whiner by nature, but my back has been whining at me.  This too shall pass.  Be back soon with some fun projects!  I'm looking forward to going to Loes's seminar at the end of the month--I'll certainly have some new goodies to share after that!

ABO Italian linen shirt

Finally finished! I used my arsenal of machines yesterday to finish the details of my linen shirt.

My newly aquired Singer 201A made some awesome buttonholes.

My Babylock Ellisimo made sewing on buttons a breeze.

I used my Bernina 1130 to finish stitching down the back facing.

This piece is an adaptation that Louise shared at the ASG convention. It makes the collar insertion so much easier and the wide facing allows for a label or even embroidered personalization. Louise also said it mimics RTW trends. Anyway, it is a clean finish and easier to do. That's a winner in my book!

DH chose the buttons and I like his choice! 

Now on to make some coordinating pants from some lovely brown linen I also got from Louise at ASG.

Sad

My dad has been on hospice care for over two years. Today he passed away. My dad was 95 last June. He was an electrical engineer, graduate of UC Berkeley in 1938. He was a Professional Engineer, PE, and worked in the aerospace industry. He was born and raised in Anaheim, CA. He and his brother were avid bodysurfers, favoring Corona del Mar and San Clemente. He married my mom in 1943 in Cambridge, MA while attending Harvard for Army Air Corps training in radar technology. He later served in England and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. He had a successful career and retired in 1974. Travel and community activities kept him busy. He had declined markedly in the past few years and was not able to participate in his life. He hated that. We'll miss you, Dad.