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I am trying to get a start on the SWAP - without getting the entire concept down in black and white yet.
I have a wonderful piece of Silk Charmeuse that I bought at Rosen and Chaddick in New York City last year. It is a geometric abstract pattern, in shades of ivory, brown and lime green.
I like lime green in small doses, and this one has just the right amount. It told me that it wants to become a blouse. Now it doesn’t want to be stuffy, but it can’t be too fun either! I also have leftover silk charmeuse in brown that I want to use for facings and such.
I looked at these four patterns. I have them in my stash so I am determined to use one of them. They are, in order of appearance, Butterick 4985
McCall’s 5471
Vogue 7903
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And style 105 from Burda 1/07

I like the McCalls pattern, but it is most definitely not the pattern to use for this fabric. I must remind myself to get some crisp white to use for this design!

I looked at the Vogue pattern next. While I really like this one too, I think that I want a front band. Yes I know that it would be easy to draft, but I wanted to look further.

The Butterick version is also out. Too much choppy, choppy for the fabric methinks. I love the sleeves though!

I wandered though Pattern Review to see what blouse patterns had been sewn up lately. I found the Burda WOF during my search and really like it. It has a front band, has darts back and front, and a collar with a band. I am not sure about the yoke in the back, but I can always eliminate that.

So Burda WOF it is. I will cut it out tonight, while waiting on the dozen or so trick or treaters we will see.
HAppy Halloween!
A parting shot of our girls on a Halloween night long ago..

What a wonderful Wedding Weekend! I am wayyyy too tired to give you a complete rundown right now, but suffice to say I would not have changed a thing! Apart from the weather that is - darn sky was full of rain and wind all day!
A few teaser photos to appease you all!
I made Kate, Flowergirl Chloe and myself stoles in case it was cold - and it was. Here are Katelyn’s and Chloe’s
I decided that no bridesmaid is complete without a monogrammed handbag…

Kate!!!
and her girls
With Scott
Mike and I - so joyous!

Katelyn was gorgeous, the ceremony was beautiful, I got (mostly) through my speech without crying and the dance floor was PACKED all night. What else could you ask for!!
We had 70 guests for brunch today, and they were all still on a high from the festivities. Back to reality tomorrow though!

I am in the process of slapping myself on the hand! One wedding is not over yet, and I am busy looking for ideas for the next dress! AND as Erica will be sure point out to me- the dress is not even my choice!

But in case Erica wants to know MY favourites…here they are

I stayed up till 3:30 last night finishing up 5 handbags for bridesmaids -Yay me!

I don’t want to be a bore with wedding sewing details! However, lately, most of what I have been creating is wedding related. Most of that is out of the way, or at least the light at the end of the tunnel is visible(!) so I can now start to think about my next sewing projects.
I have to admit that I have never done a SWAP (Sewing With A Plan). The bulk of my sewing has been either A. I WANT that, as in a cool jacket or fabric I fall in love with, or B, I NEED that- a dress for a wedding for instance. Looking through my closet lately though, I realize that with a full closet -I don’t have a THING to wear! With that in mind, priority number one after wedding is to put together a collection of clothing that go well together, and -and what? “Fashion forward” well yes. “cuting edge”? well yes. I can call it my “Fall Line”!!
One thing I do have to keep in the front of my mind is that my lifestyle, while busy is certainly not 5th Avenue, even though my taste runs that way! I will have to make sure there is a good mix. Another decision that I made is that most of the fabric must come from my stash. I have an embarassing amount of wonderful cuts that need to be seen made up into fabulishious outfits. There would be no harm in augmenting with New York City purchases in two weeks though!
I was toying with the idea of entering the Timmel Swap but their timeline is not condusive to mine. If I get finished in time, I could always create a “Spring Line” for it!
So this is how far I am. Please don’t let Katelyn know that I have been working on this instead of writing a Mother of the Bride speech, or finishing handbags or the bustle of the W. Dress!
I have changed my original grey and teal colour scheme with a brown, green and blue one. It’s what I seem to have in my stash. No fabric swatches yet- give me time! You can see from the fabric description what they are and where they came from though.
And to end, here is a vintage photo of our beautiful bride to be!

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