Sewing on the Edge with Barbara Emodi

Where flypaper thoughts will be landing in the future

2021-10-03T11:05:00.002-04:00

First of all thank you thank you.

I have been really touched by the comments posted here on the retirement of this blog and by the private messages I have also received.

I think both you and I will miss Flypaper thoughts the most.

For that reason I have decided that my new reader newsletter, you can sign up here at babsemodi.com will also, and always, include a Flypaper thoughts section.

This will make me happy. Flypaper thoughts is my real voice.

The reader newsletter will also contain info on my writing projects that right now include one non-fiction book How to be an Older Woman (obviously mostly humorous) which I hope to have ready by early winter, and a few shorter novellas to be released as part of anthologies while I work on larger projects.

I also plan on making free "prequels" available through the website.

On the fiction side here are three series I have in the works:

Valerie Rankin and the Seaside Sewists. Set in Gasper's Cove Nova Scotia based around a small sewing school.
A yet untitled series on a traveling bridal dressmaker who tours the southern US in an RV (now where do I come up with an idea like that?)
Also untitled series on an irresponsible grandmother who solves crimes with the help of her responsible grandchildren (the research team is heavily involved in the developmental stages of this one)

As these get closer to release dates I will be looking for a few folks to join me as either Beta readers (those who see the manuscript at the first draft stage and can offer corrections, suggestions and feedback) and ARC readers (those who are sent a copy about two weeks before publication date on the understanding that they post honest reviews).

And in the middle of this of course the sewing continues!

A retirement and redirection

2021-09-30T20:38:00.001-04:00

Hello my good sewing friends and friends of this blog.

After some deep thought I have decided to retire from this blog after a very interesting 13 years writing it. I thought it made sense to do this officially rather than just let it all fade away.

There are several reasons I have decided to do this.

The first of which is that when I wrote my last book I realized it was pretty much all I have to say about garment construction. I don't think there is another sewing book in me to write. Most of the techniques I use all the time I have described in my two books, over the years in the blog, or in the 40 plus newsletters I have written and sent out.

To be honest too I also no longer feel I can keep up with the pressure sometimes to stop and take pictures of the garments I sew. Some days this felt like an obligation in a very busy life I have with all my family, and I didn't want the blog to feel like that.

The second reason is that I have come to realize that the part of the blog I enjoyed the most was the writing part, Flypaper thoughts. That part seemed to be where I want to spend more time and where I want to grow.

Covid had an influence too of course. During this very strange year Daisy and I have sat in our chair at nights after my husband has gone to bed and I have started to write stories. You don't need to be a psychologist to figure out that at a time when I felt particularly cut off from family and places, I sort of invented a world I could go to instead. Local folks will recognize the idea behind Gasper's Cove and the Seaside Sewists.

One of my stories will be published in a limited availability cozy mystery anthology November 1.

I really enjoyed writing my story for this anthology. As a result I have decided to take a detour and do more fiction writing, specifically sewing cozy mysteries.

For those who aren't familiar with the term, cozy mysteries are just that, mysteries without sex or violence (I am not qualified to write about either of those topics) and often have a craft type theme.

I think at this stage in my life I am probably more interested in the sewing community, and that would be you, than I am in strictly sewing techniques.

I also have been working on a sort of Flypaper thoughts like book called "How to be an older woman" not of course because I have that figured out, but because I haven't.

I am not sure how this is all going to work out. Fiction is of course a funny thing and stories that I might enjoy writing may not be worth reading. That is a real possibility. It's going to take me some time to warm up for sure. We will see how this goes.

This is change in direction for me, a lighter one maybe (as opposed to the serious heavy content of this blog). It was suggested by an author I respect that it might be a good idea for me to come up with a pen name to distinguish the cozy type stuff from my other writing.

So I did that. The name I came up with is Babs Emodi. That should fool everyone who might think we are the same person. I have also set up a website for this venture called, you guessed it, Babsemodi.com There's a spot there to sign up for a reader newsletter in case you want to be updated on things I write.

My sewing activities will be documented from here on in on Instagram.

So I guess that's it for now, for here. One thing that is true about this stage of life is that it often involves letting go of some things to try something new.

I hope you understand.

It has been wonderful.

Thank you, thank you.

Babs

Flypaper thoughts back home version

2021-09-10T20:44:00.001-04:00

Arrived home a day ago
Wonderful, wonderful trip to see my family in California
A year and a half way too long
Berkeley
Do you have vanilla ice cream?
No
Do you have chocolate ice cream?
No
Well then
What do you recommend?
Our cardamon is very popular
Good reason
Stonemountain and Daughter was closed to the public
I did walk down though and stare through the open door
While they filled orders
Including mine
Saved so much money
Because I couldn't get close enough to hear
The bolts calling my name
Practised my Spanish on the men on the corners waiting for work
So polite they were
Except I don't speak Spanish
Although that is what I am doing
In my first undergraduate university course in 40 years
Yup back to school
Try getting a exemption/credit
Just because it is a course you also once taught
In that very same institution
Admin offices haven't changed in these decades
Nope
But I could appeal
Like a person who has waited 40 years to go back to school
Has time for that?
But guess who's getting an A
If it kills us all
As it probably will
Started this week
Sharpened my pencils
Pro tip
Not necessary for online learning
Almost three-year-olds are amazing
Best afternoons in a long time
Sitting in semi-dark rooms telling stories
To someone in a very small bed
What's the rest Babsie what's the rest
It's nice to be back in the nap time story business
By popular demand
For someone who says
But it was a very nice racoon wasn't it?
This grandmother gig
Has a lot to commend it
Kind of nice to be the person sitting in the backseat
After all those years trying to get it right
Up front
Then you realize maybe you did
At least parts that really mattered
And now you can sit back there and say
Whatever you want is fine with me
And discuss silly stuff with the compatriot in the car seat
Nu nu head is an underused concept
I am pretty sure I have met some
They now work in Admissions
Airline travel
Not that good at it
Too shy to ask the poor person
Pushing a cart full of old cups up and down the aisle
How to fix the movie thing
I accidentally turned it to Hebrew
And the help menu is in Hebrew too
When you are a person just trying to expand your Spanish beyond
Loud Holas yelled by someone in a crooked hat and a mask pushing a stroller
With a person in it asking if you really know where you are going
So I am not quite up to learning Hebrew
At the moment
At least not before we land
It seems to me that being an airline attendant
Now is like being a monitor on a school bus
Of junior high kids who don't care if you tell their mother
And about that glamorous
For Canadians
It is worth going to California
Just to taste the way the food tastes before
It is picked unripe and put on a truck for six weeks
Next time I am taking my canning equipment
So you have anything to declare?
How about forty lids and rings
And a pair of forceps
Suitable for lifting jars from boiling water
Or difficult deliveries
As required
What I wouldn't do for a few Meyer lemons
Here in Nova Scotia
Do you know folks there let fruit fall from trees and just let it sit there?
Which reminds me
Here at home the crabapples are ready
Meyer lemons they are not
But very popular among folks
Who are the kind
Who appreciate this
And rhubarb jam
Which you cannot buy anywhere
But every grandmother of a different generation made
On toast in the morning while you watch the birds in the backyard
And are glad you have a grandmother like that
To be so old now that I remember what the Depression did
To women like that
Half a pancake wrapped up and saved in the fridge
Buttons cut off and saved in a jar and passed on like an inheritance
Salads with home made mayonnaise
And radishes, always the radishes
Quilts made with the cut off and saved tops of hand knit men's socks
Like sleeping under a sidewalk those were
To have come from that
To cardamon ice cream
Is quite a journey
Quite a tale

Quick request

2021-09-10T19:31:00.004-04:00

I have many pattern reviews to do and some flypaper thoughts to share. But before I start those I have one request to put out there. For those of you who have bought my new book online, can you leave an honest review on the site where you made that purchase?

My community team, all those who came through and helped this project launch during a pandemic, and I would appreciate it.

Also browsers should have an accurate idea about how this book may or may not be useful to them.

That's it.

Now back to the real business.

Oasis dress from Sinclair patterns

2021-08-29T23:51:00.004-04:00

Continuing with my catch up reviews of various patterns (I am working up to my reviews of the new Jalies next) here is one of the Oasis knit dress from Sinclair patterns.

I am always on the lookout for easy to wear knit dresses and I thought the asymmetrical waist on this one looked interesting. To be truthful I was sorry to see empire waistlines fade out of fashion. I am long waisted and they suit me by redressing that balance.

Apart from pinning all the pleats in place, this is an extremely fast and easy pattern. Both the neckline and cap sleeves are finished with bands.

I made my own version in bamboo knit from Watertower textiles, an excellent source for quality bamboo knits, one of my favourite fabrics.

Here are two shots that give slightly different views of the dress.

It's very comfortable to wear and was particularly popular with my husband and oldest granddaughter for some reason. It probably would have looked more elegant if I hadn't been wearing clogs, but it is another of the house dress editions I guess.

Stylearc Iris dress

2021-08-25T14:21:00.006-04:00

As my Instagram followers would know, I am currently in Berkeley California visiting my family there. I was cut off from travel to see them for over a year and a half. Being here is like water to a plant. I hadn't realized just how much not seeing my kids was taking out of me until I got here.

I am doing a lot of childcare right now, which thrills me, to bridge a period between a nanny and the start of nursery school.

Because my daughter-in-law does a truly amazing job of running her household, despite two high pressure careers in this family, I have some time to myself during naps. No one needs me to cook and clean around here, although I do the nightly after dinner clean up which I quite enjoy.

My daughter-in-law is one of my best friends. She is just about the nicest, most thoughtful, person I know. Since my celiac diagnosis I was a bit worried about travelling - I really get sick if exposed to gluten but I also don't want to be that person who is fussy. When I arrived here the kitchen was all geared up. Maddie, who has a master's in food from NYU plus a food safety certification, was way ahead of me in knowing what to eat and how to handle cooking, without any fuss, which is important to me. So being here has been so easy for me. I am lucky.

Now back to the naps.

It has been very busy back at home lately so these few hours of time in the afternoon here are giving me a chance to catch up on some blog posts.

Today I want to talk about Stylearc's Iris dress.

Measurements are always interesting. The usual bust-waist-hip are measurements of the soft parts of a body and don't account much for frame. What that frame looks like varies a lot in the blocks different designers use.

Over time I have come to realize that although Stylearc fits me perfectly when it comes to pants, which are located on my largest parts of my body, I have more trouble with the upper body fit. I find that tops and dresses in Stylearc are just too big for my small boned shoulders, arms and neck. As a result I am wary. I usually pay a lot of attention to the finished pattern measurements, as much actually as the attention I pay to the body measurements in the Stylearc size chart when I choose a size.

I also am starting to make a beta version of each pattern that I think has the potential to be a style I might make over and over again when I sew Stylearc.

Which brings us to the Iris dress.

I decided this summer that given my home based and children heavy lifestyle (I have been taking care of my three grandchildren in Halifax three days a week this summer) I could do with what my mother and her friends used to call "house dresses."

Basically a house dress is one unit dressing for people who are short of time and need something sturdy and washable. My house dresses just go on over my head when I am running late, and the world is just lucky I am not going to go through the day in my housecoat.

With this criterion I thought the Iris dress would be perfect. Deep pockets and no closures; neck and armholes bound and a machine hem. I also thought the slight cocoon shape would give me some room to move in case in the middle of my day I decided to say clean the bathtub or chase somebody around the back yard.

Here it is:

For my first version I used some mid weight dark denim I picked up somewhere. For binding I used some striped poplin left over from a shirt project.

I made this first version sized according to my measurements, a size 10, which actually is a shade smaller than my actual bust.

Here it is:

As you can see the neckline slides around my chicken shoulders and the armhole is a bit looser than I like.

That said, despite these issues I still have been wearing this dress around the house - it is sort of a functional apron like garment for me. Practical if not glamorous.

But I knew that if I made it again I would have to go a size down at top.

So that's what I did next.

I cut out a size 8 (which was over 2" smaller in the bust measurement than I actually am) and graded it back out to the 10 at the hips. This time I used a better fabric, a lovely rayon print from Blackbird:

This version has given me the fit I think the pattern makers intended. I think the simple shape really suits the large scale of the print.

Now I am not suggesting here that all Stylearc patterns "run big" as we say in sewing urban myth land. If you had more meat on your bones around the neck and shoulders than I do then this pattern, as sized, would probably work just fine for you.

What I am saying though is that it always pays to consider your bones when you think sizing. And sometimes a small change in sizing choice can make a huge difference.

Kitt knit dress from Stylearc

2021-08-23T00:21:00.002-04:00

A while ago I posted that I am revisiting some of Stylearc's simple shapes and I am overdue in my posts about them.

So here we go.

Right now I am in Berkeley visiting my son, daughter-in-law and youngest grandchild after a very, very long time. I will be here for another two weeks.

This visit is overdue thanks to Covid and I am refilling my well.

We are busy of course with an almost three-year-old but I am able in the evenings to catch up a bit.

So let's start with Stylearc's Kitt dress. This pattern was a freebie a while ago and so I acquired it. Getting ready for my trip I decided I needed some knit dresses. Of course as usual my sewing ambitions were bigger than my sewing time so the simplicity of this pattern made it a sensible sew.

Here is the pattern illustration:

Ironically I made this dress out of fabric I ordered in from the marvellous Stonemountain and Daughter here is Berkeley. For some reason their shipping to Canada is super, super fast - whenever I make an order from them it arrives with in the week if not in a few days.

Not much to say about the construction of this little number obviously. The V neck is essentially one of those ones that is a knit band same as a T shirt with a little dart at centre front to make the miter.

Due to fabric shortage, I squeezed this out of what I had I actually also used knit bands to finish the sleeves. Honestly this whole project could not have been easier.

So here it is - an extremely simple dress and one I feel is perfect for a strong print.

I will be making more of these - why wouldn't I?

The Jensen shirt on one of my favourite models

2021-08-02T10:07:00.004-04:00

The son who has recently moved to Texas was back this weekend for a wedding. That gave me a chance to hand over the linen Jensen shirt to him and to snap a picture when we went out for breakfast.

He's tall and lean like we all are so the only alteration I made to the XL version was to add two inches in body length. I also made sure to pre-wash and pre-shrink the linen because I know that chances of this shirt being ironed, unless I am there to visit, are not incredibly high. Just see how wrinkled it got from sitting for an hour in a restaurant. Got to roll with it.

The linen was from Blackbird Fabrics which once again delivered top quality. As I think I did too when I gave birth to this guy.

I'll be making him more of these for sure.

Flypaper thoughts first of August version

2021-08-01T08:13:00.001-04:00

You are kidding
August 1st?
After a year of everything going too slow
This came on too fast
However in two weeks I will be seeing my kids in the US
About time, about time
We all need more hellos and fewer goodbyes
I have spent the last month
Sewing for everyone
Treading water at the bottom of water slides
Saying you can do it you can do it
Having dinners with the table full after a long, long pause
Remembering my recipes for crowds
Hearing about heat waves everywhere else
While I think I feel fall in the air here
And writing
Few projects there
This year has taught more than all the meditation apps
In the world could
About the present moment
And it's gifts being all you've got
The rest is not in our hands
Which is a good thing
Our hands are busy enough
I am a meditation drop out
Tried and tried but failed
And it's supposed to be the answer to everything
Let those thoughts float by like clouds
And let them go
But what if those thoughts are these
When did I last take the dog out to pee
What if I dried those herbs in the Intsapot
When was the last time I watered the herbs
How many buttons do I need for that shirt
Seven or eight
I wish I was in NYC
I get the best buttons there
I need some shell buttons
The ones that look plain on the front but like pearly shells
On the side you can't see
That's quality
How many buttons would I have to buy
To justify a trip to NYC
What am I saying
Who needs to justify button buying
However at the moment it is just one shirt
My neighbour's son has been transferred to Moscow
She thought he was coming home
When my boys where little
Her husband cut off the pickets to the fence
That separate our yards
He was worried either his boys or mine
Would impale themselves
When they went over that fence
As they did 8,000 times a day
Playing games
That involved the older boys inventing
Elaborate challenges for the younger ones
For admission into some club
Where only older boys got to do the fun stuff
But the younger guys never figured out
Since they were too busy running around the block five times
As instructed
Well now they are in Calgary, Edmonton, Berkeley, Austin and Moscow
And we have a different fence
The grapes are out in the vine around my window
I can hear the raccoons running across the roof at night
Not light on their feet
My neighbour across the street told me that he saw 4-5 of them up there one night
My big laugh of the week
Was some poor soul trying to sell door-to-door security systems
Ha I already have one
She's called Mrs. Smith
Also across the street
One foot in the front door and the phone rings
You left the trunk open on the car
You dropped a mitt on the driveway
She does the day shift
Barry does the night shift
That's why he's on top of the raccoon situation
No I don't need an app for that
Not sure I need an app for much
Sorry about that
Sewing is my meditation
And after I sew sometimes I am rewarded with a look like this
On a face like this
Beats clouds

Wardrobe by me patterns

2021-07-26T08:26:00.002-04:00

I love patterns and buy a fair number of them but am fairly cautious about new Indie lines. I like to make one pattern in a new to me company to test the fit and construction before I buy any more from them.

In the last month I have made two Wardrobe by me patterns, both men's shirts.

The first one was the going away shirt I made for my son a couple of posts ago from this pattern:

The second shirt was from this pattern, it's a linen shirt he will pick up when he is home from Texas this coming weekend for a wedding. He wanted it collarless so I just used the band and left off the collar:

I am very, very pleased with both these patterns. I sew a lot of shirts for my adult sons and I always struggle with finding a pattern that gives close to RTW fit. Too many of the shirt patterns I have tried are too boxy and sort of look dated to me.

These two patterns for a more casual shirt, totally nailed it. The draft was wider at the shoulders than the hips, which helped with the boxy problem, and the pieces just glided together exactly. Zero struggle to put in the sleeves, attach the collar or band to the neckline etc. - all the pieces just fit so well. The results definitely don't have that made by mom look, although of course they were.

This good experience makes me wonder about exploring this line further. I have my eye on this pattern at the moment:

Has anyone else made any of these patterns? What are your experiences?

An interview with Create Whimsy

2021-07-24T15:21:00.000-04:00

Last week I did another interview for the Create Whimsy website. They asked me to talk about my new book, coming out next month, and so I did that.

For those of you who might be interested in the backstory on that book here's the link.

Stylearc and family sewing

2021-07-23T17:49:00.005-04:00

When Stylearc patterns first hit the scene I just about lost my mind. Up till then I had relied, with increasingly sporadic results, on the Big 4, most often Vogue.

At that time it was becoming obvious to me that the fashion universe Vogue was inhabiting was its own space, with things that they had decided were fashionable, but outside their world weren't.

Equally, and for concern to me as a sewist who really loves construction cleverness, was that the drafting at Vogue no longer seemed particularly good, and the instructions were pretty archaic.

In that environment, and from that perspective, Stylearc was just what I was looking for -RTW sizing, current styles and in some cases interesting construction techniques, although only cryptically explained.

And the pants fit.

Fit right out of the envelope and without any alterations necessary. Who could believe that such a thing was possible?

So I bought Stylearc patterns a lot.

Many of the early ones I collected in that period were even hand-drawn on nice tracing paper with hand-lettering. Probably going to be some sort of collector's items one day, but at the time patterns like this made me feel very strongly a personal connection to the folks who drafted them.

However over time styles changed. I found more and more of Stylearc's offerings were sort of shapeless. Loose fit, particularly around my scrawny shoulders, has never looked that good on me. For the same reason I never felt I could wear anything from the Sewing Workshop - those patterns always made me feel like a flag pole draped in a flag.

But then the next change was probably in me.

Maybe Covid sealed the deal but just being comfortable became a very large priority. Some of the new Stylearcs started to look pretty good to me.

So I jumped back in and it has been going very well.

The first thing I made were some Kew pants for one of my sisters. She has a hard time getting pants for her small waist, wider hips so I decided to make her some. We used a blue linen.

First here is the pattern:

And here they are on my sister, in a video she texted me, with a note to ignore her hair. She has been a long lockdown in Ontario and couldn't get a hair appointment until next month.

She's pretty happy with these, and so am I so the next pair will be for me!

Finally I also made my grandson a housecoat as one of his birthday presents this week. One of my other sisters is staying with me while we wait for her daughter to give birth to her first child (the niece who lived with me for three years while she was in nursing school) and when we were out doing some thrift store shopping I picked up this nice polar fleece piece for $6.00

It just spoke "cozy housecoat for a little boy" to me so that's what I made with it.

Honestly it's great when they are at this unfussy age and anything you do is just what they wanted:

This is sort of my life. I am spending more than half the week this summer taking care of my three grandchildren here, and August 15 I am headed to Berkeley to see my youngest grandchild there.

Right now my sister and brother-in-law are staying in the semi apartment in our basement, so they are close to my niece who lives two streets over. You know the niece who is engaged (Covid delayed weddings) to my son-in-law's nephew.

Welcome to Nova Scotia.

There are more than enough folks to sew for around here. These include me and I will be sharing more of those makes soon.

Flypaper thoughts: random version

2021-06-27T08:08:00.004-04:00

The weirdness in the air is continuing
Has anyone else noticed that strange things are coming out of the blue these days
The man across the street, self-described as a young 75
Has taken to courtly escorting another neighbour
Someone who works shifts
Down the long hill towards her workplace
He gets up at 6:00 am to do this
Like he was going to be walking down that hill this time anyway
And he is always weeding on his lawn the time she walks by at night
Who needs TV I ask you?
When the pandemic has made the stories of the neighbourhood
More interesting than anything anyone could make up
A few months ago my youngest son moved home to here, after working in the US for a few years
The actual morning after he arrived and he talked about his plans to be home
He got a great job offer back in Texas
You would understand
That the morning of the day I would drive him to the airport in the evening
I got up at 5:00 am and made him a shirt and linen pants
To wear in Austin and a heat we don't have here

For a while now I have felt a compulsion to sew
To get something out that was in
Does sewing do that for you?
I just knew I had to get sewing
Of course most of the things I have made
Have been for other people
I never remember to ask for pictures
Tomorrow it will be a seersucker nightgown for one girl
Pants for my sister
Tops for my husband
A housecoat for my daughter
And a couple of dresses for me
I have decided that with the way my life is going
It has to be packable
So that's interesting
The linens are being washed and dried
Is an instapot better than a slow cooker?
From the point of view of sewing not cooking
I am threatening to make myself a two piece this year
Again the kids will pretend to not recognize me if I do
And clothes for someone to wear to junior high
That's a hard age to dress
Girls seem to be offered only the too revealing or nothing
Going to be interesting to figure this one out
Nova Scotia is unbelievably beautiful in summer
Just spectacular
Always hard to believe the recovery that comes after the icebox winter
I think I sew my own springs
To be illustrated as we go

Flypaper thoughts: unusual times edition

2021-05-27T09:55:00.002-04:00

I think we can establish that things have been weird these days
Like the moon is stuck in some weird phase
You know the kind that makes the inmates jumpy
In a full moon
But stuck there
How about you?
This last few months
My youngest son moved back here after years away
And the day after he was finished quarantine
He got an excellent job offer back in Texas
So off he goes again
Probably for the long term
The switch that was on, has been switched back
So I have a question
Where is the closest good fabric store for a person in Austin Texas?
Last few times I was there I could only find Joanns
Although Hill County Weavers is excellent for knitting
I need to develop more contacts there
Daisy also developed some worrying red rashes on her belly
Near where her cancer was removed earlier this year
Well false alarm
Seems the cat, who adores her
Has been trying to nurse
The vet thought this was very funny
Knowing about the stuck moon I was not surprised
Since it appears all bets are off these days
Speaking of which
I decided to apply to university
To do another undergrad
Seems students over 65 don't pay tuition
When I heard that I was off
So many interests I didn't pursue
First time out
Getting my transcripts forwarded was hilarious
"Can you give me the post code of your address when you lived here?"
Canada didn't yet use postcodes when I was that age
"OK then what was your student email address?"
Listen kiddo I graduated before they invented the internet
Big pause
I am thinking
Spanish, because of being really positive about that Texas thing
Animal behaviour
Clearly there is a lot to learn about there
Creative writing
Well there is this blog
Comparative religions
Substantial knowledge gaps there
Women and Aging
Surely I have the pre-reqs for that?
And I am sewing and sewing
With family all over the place now
I am setting up Pinterest boards
They post ideas and I post fabrics
When you have taste like mine
It makes more sense to sew by demand
Than by surprise
I have seen a few surprised looks in my time
My niece nailed it
"Just make it in a colour you would never wear"
Good taste is not always CHEERFUL
Hence the Pinterest boards
Currently working on mother and daughter outfits for my DIL and granddaughter in California
That was by request
If the vaccination schedule goes as planned
I will be free to go to Berkeley to see those guys
For three weeks
Mid August to early September
So so excited about that
Revising my wardrobe to be more packable
We are also planning a month in Florida in November
And Texas state parks in February
I need to link up with sewing people
One of my decisions in the year and a half I have spent
In the striped chair, the comfortable one, with Daisy
Is to be as social as I can
Got to appreciate your people
My neighbourhood has kept me going
Everyone is doing the same thing
Out in the yards
Or walking the dogs
Talking and talking
I had no idea so many interesting
Good hearted people
Lived five blocks from me
Confucius was right
In the midst of every crisis
There is an opportunity
Making sure I don't miss it

David Page Coffin

2021-05-15T21:21:00.002-04:00

I have had to let the news of David's passing sit for a bit before I could write about him.

David was a good friend of mine. We knew a lot about each other and I could tell many stories. But it seems to me that so much of that is personal now.

I got to know David when I first wrote for Threads and he was my editor. He was a wonderful editor, the best that magazine ever had.

One day, about 20 years ago, he called me. "I've just read the Shipping News and I am going to come and visit you."

Now of course that book was written about Newfoundland and a long way from my little house in Halifax but he came anyway. I moved one kid out of a bedroom and sent him into the bunk bed with his brother, and David stayed very happily in a boy's room and slept in a narrow single bed.

He was the kind of person who spoke to children as if they were adults. My three kids really enjoyed having him here. He just fit right into family life. We talked about everything.

Over the years David and I kept in touch and saw each other in person when we could at various sewing shows.

We used to write each other about our schemes and plans and sometimes our worries. He was the kind of friend who if he read that something was bothering you in an email would just phone you up to discuss right away rather than write back.

He had of course the most wonderful voice.

What I want to tell you about David Page Coffin is this.

He was the most genuinely authentic person I have ever met. He was exactly who he was, author, sewer, musician and painter, and there was not one thing about him that was not original and authentic.

He was the real deal, absolutely the real deal.

I also think it is important to understand that everything he did was motivated by his generosity to other people. He always had time for you. He truly respected everyone he talked to. All his writing and teaching were motivated, I feel, not simply by a love of the craft but by a love for people. There is a big difference there.

DPC wanted to share useful things he figured out in case someone found it helpful. His work was entirely original and self-discovered, accurate and true, and he wanted to share it.

Over the last few days I have re-read some of our emails. The last one I sent, at the end of February, was never answered.

I am just so sad. I have lost someone I really understood and someone who really understood me.

You just can't replace a friend like that.

Don't fall over, I am back

2021-05-15T09:35:00.006-04:00

Hi folks.

Yes I know this space has been quiet but I am getting back in the groove.

The last month or so has been very busy. I am back teaching two online courses for the university this summer, and after having been away from it for a while now, that has meant re building the courses.

I have also been doing the proofs for my next book, Stressfree sewing solutions, due out in August. That book was my pandemic project.

I have also just released a second video in my knits series, this one on more advanced techniques, including an easy way to do a foolproof polo knit type placket that I worked up lately. I am pretty pleased with how easy this technique is. I will be interested in some feedback on it.

And of course I have been sewing.

I made a couple of skirts for my sister who has major cabin fever in Ontario, three pairs of maternity pants and two dresses for my niece, sweatshirts for my son-in-law, and a few things for myself.

I did a guest post on the Fabricville blog on sewing with bamboo, and you can read that here.

Here, randomly, are some pictures of what I made for myself this last month:

A golf shirt made with my new method and a skort from Jalie

The free apron pattern from Tessuti. I made three of these. Note follow the instructions for the top part of the bib where the straps attach. Like all of Tessuti's patterns although they look simple there are usually a few twists in construction that are a bit original but work out well. This one was my first and, being a know it all, I didn't follow the instructions and as a result the strap attachment is subpar. The next two versions were much better.

And finally here is a blouse I made from an Ottobre magazine and the Jalie Renee pants. I did a FBA on this blouse but think I want to go in and cut it again in a larger size anyway for more back room, although this is certainly wearable. I also think I need to do a straight shoulder adjustment, because that's exactly what I have, so the collar lies a little better. To be continued. It was time I revised a TNT shirt pattern or two.

So that's my update.

I have a bunch of more family sewing I want to do, plus some more things for myself for spring/summer.

Hopefully I will be able to travel to San Franscico in August for three weeks to see my kids there. It has been well over a year since I have seen them and it's killing me.

Talk soon.

Sewing when that's all you can do

2021-04-02T18:16:00.003-04:00

This last week my oldest son, the one who lives with his family in Berkeley, had a birthday.

I really wanted to make him something special. In my mind it became really important to send something in the mail that came from the house he grew up in, a house that remembers him.

He had mentioned once he liked summer pyjamas. So I made him some from a vintage men's pattern, out of seersucker with piping. It seemed to me to be very California dad of a certain era, and being a dad is my son's very best thing. I also wanted to make these using only vintage techniques. My serger was not used in this project. All seams are either French seams or bound. I also bound the back of the neck and around the fly pieces on the inside. I was real careful with this project.

I haven't seen Nat or his family in over a year. Last March I was just about to go and spend a few days with my granddaughter while her parents went away. That trip got cancelled at the last minute, theirs and mine. That's bothered me all year.

I don't have the words to describe how much I miss this guy. That's my own baby I can't get to.

But I can still sew something for him. And because he is my son, and grew up with all this sewing going on around, he knew exactly what pictures to take. When he emailed me a thank you he sent detail shots of the parts that were the most work.

He'd knows.

That's my kid.

Flypaper thoughts illustrated version

2021-03-28T17:11:00.003-04:00

Since last we spoke I was on March Break duty
Running my crack highly structured childcare operation
As illustrated
My main qualification for this facility is that their mother and uncles turned out great
The assumption being that the same child raising principles are still in effect
Not so sure about that
When I raised the originals
I was under the impression
That there was a right and a wrong way to do things
And I should try real hard to do the right thing
There was no pop (soda) in my house
TV was limited to PBS at 30 minutes a day
As you might have figured out by now
That supervisor has retired
Which is just fine with the current crew
In addition to being a day camp
I have been making maternity clothes for my niece
Best to get those done before the baby arrives
I have made a series of pants with the excellent free maternity waistband from P4P whacked onto them
And a made up dress from a T shirt pattern and some pleating

Other news
My husband has taken up stained glass
Pretty nice stuff he is making
Interesting to see that collecting glass is not unlike collecting fabric
I think the downsizing, move into a condo trend will not find much traction here
It's good to have a hobby
Or in my spouse's case 43
Guy I used to work with
Somewhat intimidating at the office
Is spending a lot of time posting on FB
About the culture of crows
I had no idea
About him
Or about crows
The cat continues to be entertaining
Bit like living with a flying squirrel
One who has figured out that if you flip over glasses of water
With your paw you can drink whatever hits the floor
But what can I say to Daisy's best friend?
They have wrestling sessions every night after dinner
And then lie down and groom each other
The cat works on Daisy's legs
And Daisy grooms the top of the cat's head
What is going on in those small minds?
My husband and the cat are in love with each other
She taps her paw on his beard
"Like being touched by the hand of God" my husband said
Basically not something I would have anticipated he would ever say
After all these years
But then again this is our first cat
I also finished a dress for my niece
Not illustrated as it is a birthday surprise
Then I am wide open to sew for myself
I am considering
Concentrating on things I don't need
It seems these days are occupied enough with seriousness
Not my area to be adding to that
Read instructions this week
That told you to sew a hook and eye to close the back of a T-shirt with a knit band
What is going on McCalls?
You all sitting in there with T-shirts with hooks and eyes on them?
Good things about the pandemic
I got my sewing room reorganized and fixed up
Putting my money where my heart is
I have read a lot
Even self help books people recommended
Most of them are short
Which when you are improving yourself is helpful
Transitions by Bridges makes sense
So does Marcus Aurelius
Who sure put up with a lot
Running that Roman Empire was no piece of cake
I am appreciating every one I know who has common sense
Turns out that's all that matters
Knew that before
But now I know that it's the only thing that matters
Trouble is it is something you have to be born with
Seems real hard to add later
No matter how other people try
Or how many books with big letters on the cover
You read
My grandmother had a sister Hilda
Very pretty
Used to go over there and talk to her budgie while she
Over wound my hair on perm rods
Nicest lady
Never heard her described as anyone other than as
"That Hilda has no sense when it comes to men"
The husband I knew walked around all day with a coffee cup in his hand
Awful cheerful man
There actually are people who have to be told to come in out of the rain
It is quite possible
That this is time to know when to come in out of the rain
Time to sit out an inning
Not time to read the end of the book before you get there
We'll get there and it will be fine
In the meantime enjoy the sewing room
The crows
And the feel of a tiny paw on your face
Don't want to miss that one
Just in case

A quick video on the blind hem foot

2021-02-28T15:30:00.004-05:00

Yup still at it. The husband and I are sort of housebound this winter and doing these little videos is keeping us out of trouble.

A quick little video on the narrow hem foot

2021-02-23T08:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks to those who sensibly asked me to use contrasting thread in these short videos.

Made a big difference. This is another one of my favourite feet.

Flypaper thoughts Mars edition

2021-02-22T13:30:00.001-05:00

First
An apology to all those astronauts who read this blog
But those who know me well
Know that the one thing I have little time for is outer space
First
I hate heights
Second
And confined spaces
So the thought of being that many thousands and thousands of miles out there in the dark
In something without windows...
And besides the concept of fresh air is irrelevant
Is past my own personal edges of where common sense is effective
Also
Who in their right mind
Thinks that the world we are to take care of
Is in such a state that
Anyone can say
Done! Now let's go find somewhere else to fix up
Maybe the search for intelligent life would be worthwhile
Here
On top of outerspace
I have run out of the good interfacing
Which is serious enough to have set me off about Mars
I am sure you are with me on this
Remember when fusible interfacing looked like a picnic table tablecloth?
That some one had dotted with Lepages white glue
And once fused these glue dots seeped through to make dark spots in the fabric
Which now also had the malleability of the paper plates you set out on that picnic table cloth?
Fortunately those days are gone, in most cases
But fusible interfacing survivors can still be found
Wandering around Joanns, Fabricville, and Spotlight
Numb with the PTSD of it all
However a good woven fusible
And a good knit fusible (let's hear it for Sewer's Dream if you can order it)
Are a different story altogether
And something you miss enough to get mad at the solar system
When you thought you had tons and you don't
I'm thinking these days
It's time to actively seek out the bright spots
Closer to home
For me it was the decision to make sure as many as I can
Get a chance to find out sewing is fun
So I had the kids and some friends over to sew yesterday
Lower the presser foot
Lower the presser foot they said to each other
I now no longer need to wonder where I am going to store that big bag of stuffing in my new sewing room
Everyone made pillows
Multiple pillows
Go forward and go backward at the beginning and end of the sewing part
Don't worry, said the 11 year-old
It gets easier with experience
Yes it does
Yes it does
And so grounding

Another Covid moment

2021-02-17T20:06:00.005-05:00

This afternoon one of my sisters, the only one who still lives in the same city as my mom, posted this picture to the family WhatsApp.

It's a picture of the bear my mom has on her bed.

This bear has been tucked away forever but has made a reappearance during my mother's nearly year long isolation in her house.

Now my mom is about as sharp, tough, and resilient as they come. She says that if the pandemic doesn't end soon she doesn't know what she will get up to next. Still the sight of this little bear, now 93 and the one my mother had as a baby, has really touched me. Note the nose darned by my grandmother, who I never met, who died when my mother was a girl.

The thing about the bear is that my mom recently knit her a new sweater. She says she is going to work on a new skirt next so the bear "looks respectable."

Now I don't know what is getting to me more. The knitting new clothes or the thought that this little bear has made a reappearance after all these years to be a comfort.

A quick little video on my favourite foot

2021-02-16T19:17:00.001-05:00

I have been using my edge stitch foot a lot lately. As a result I decided to do a quick video for folks who might not yet realize the power of this little accessory. I figure new sewists in particular would really benefit from this foot in their sewing toolbox.

The stages of learning sewing translated

2021-02-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

I had an extremely interesting hair cut yesterday. My stylist was pretty sharp. She did my hair on a Saturday because she has gone back to school during the week.

Because of her current learning we talked about the stages of taking on something new when you have been doing something else for a long time. This is a pretty interesting process to consider.

She talked to me about a classic model of learning, and in particular the first stage, unconscious incompetence.

I thought about our conversation all weekend. These ideas bumped up against other conversations I have been having on the issue of confidence among sewists. I have observed that older sewists are often tentative with their sewing. When I first mentioned this in my monthly newsletter I had many emails from readers who shared the ambitious projects they jumped into when they were younger, and how they now procrastinate with many purchases of patterns and fabric, nervous about actually executing any of these projects.

By contrast I equally see some social media sewists who are quick to jump into expert status with very little actual sewing experience, and in doing so sometimes do not give the best advice to new and returning sewists.

So if you are willing to indulge me I would like to interpret the chart below from a sewing perspective:

I think there is something to think about here and also, I hope some comfort for those on the getting to learn to sew better continuum.

Unconscious incompetence- This happens at the beginning of learning a new skill, I think a hands-on skill in particular. You know the feeling when you look at someone else's work or watch them sew and think "I could never do that." You can, at your worst moments, even think that you will never be good at this. I think this feeling is particularly prevalent about those of us who were raised in a family where aptitudes were considered something you were born with and pretty set for life. You know "she's the athletic one" or "I am no good at crafts/sewing". A lot of people get discouraged or give up or panic at this stage of learning. The learning curve once you begin to see what is involved in sewing, just seems too overwhelming.

Conscious incompetence: This is the stage when folks become students. They buy courses, books, read blogs, Google everything. Some people even stall at this stage and become more students of sewing than sewists. I think this is the stage where the paralysis of confidence can kick in. Sometimes this can be manifest in muslin fittings of many iterations - almost as if the sewist feels she needs to perfect before she sews. A pretty interesting stage. Practice is the key activity here and leads directly to the next stage.

Unconscious competence: As a sewing teacher I see this one a lot - sewists who are more able than they give themselves credit for. These are the people who make me want to chant like my grandchildren do when I am on the trampoline in the backyard "Do it, Do it, Just Do it." Practice at this stage I think is where practice is no longer as much about learning as it is transferring the skills to muscle memory - you begin to acquire a repertoire of things you can do in your sleep - if you give yourself credit for this or not.

Conscious competence: This stage is pretty obvious - you can do it and you rely on those skills. Only practice and pushing through the previous three stages gets you here.

However I personally think this is the most dangerous stage. This is when you think you know it all, or are so confident in your skills, that you can close the book on learning. This is me who jumps right into a new pattern and doesn't read the instructions because, well you know, I am so smart. But of course lots of the time I am not. How many mistakes have I made because I didn't read the instructions? I am not going to tell you.

It seems to me that deciding you don't need to learn anything new is even more tricky than not knowing what you don't know yet. In systems theory any system that is closed, doesn't allow in new information (which of course means you have to embark on travelling through the first three stages of learning again) is system doomed to atrophy.

And who wants to let their sewing go there?

So what do you think? Does this make any sense to you? What of your own observations would you add?

2021-02-10T20:53:00.005-05:00

This is just a short one. Appropriately.

I would like to report a miracle. Seems to me that is always worth doing.

As long time readers of my blog will know my old girl Daisy was a much abused puppy mill mom when we got her.

She was full of tapeworms, had never had her feet outside a cage, never been fed from a bowl. For months she threw up every time we fed her. I remember the first time she stood on grass. Her eye sight is bad in one eye, maybe from a blow to her head the vet said. She lost most of her teeth.

She is a wonderful little dog, though, absolutely the best. So loving so bonded to me. But she has her scars. She still starts at loud noises, and gets upset if a man raises his arms.

Daisy missed a lot in her life.

She has never played with toys at all. Once my mom sent her some small stuffed animals. Daisy went frantic. She ran around possessed trying to hide them in the backyard. If she saw anyone looking to where she hid those stuffed animals she would move them to a new hiding spot. In Daisy's mind were these her long ago lost puppies?

Who will ever know.

Then, in her late middle age we got this cat. This crazy confident happy little cat. My son's dog ignores the cat, and Daisy has seemed bewildered by her. I have had my moments when I even wondered if adding a cat to this dog household was a mistake.

But the cat hasn't cared. For some reason she has decided she loves Daisy. She gets in the dog bed with her and purrs when Daisy walks by. She shimmies underneath Daisy's body and delicately grooms her legs.

And lately they have started to fool around, duck and dodge, nudge each other. At first the cat was just being a nuisance but then Daisy started to respond. She has started to go looking for the cat for some gentle wrestling every now and then.

But tonight for the first time Daisy went and got a tiny ball and batted it to the cat. Who batted it back. For a good ten minutes they rolled that ball back and forth to each other.

Then I saw it.

This crazy barn rescue little cat has given Daisy what no one else ever could.

The ability to play, to be the puppy she never was.

I don't know about you, but in these times, this small miracle meant a lot to me.