Simplicity 2443 – Part III

This pattern calls for ribbon to be used for the front tie closures. As an exercise in futility I went to JoAnn’s this morning to see, if by chance, they had twill tape that would match. Hahahaha (snort). So, I decided to cut 2″ wide strips of self-fabric on the bias. That worked well but then I had to decide how to finish the ends. Normally, I would either tie a knot or use a cord end or bead. A cord end was out of the question because, with eight ties, that’s a lot of extra weight on one side of a lightweight jacket.

I experimented with knots with raw edges exposed or tucked in and decided it would just be too much. The last option was to tuck in the ends and hand sew them shut. It took awhile but I think it was worth the effort.

I’m going to leave the bodice on the dressform while I begin working on the sleeves. I still have to decide what to do with those welts.

House update: Tile, tile, tile. We are breaking up the 18×18 tiles with 4×4 tumbled marble. Jim says otherwise it ends up looking like a mausoleum (which wouldn’t be nice). I LOVE it and can’t wait to take a shower in here.

Simplicity 2443 – Part II

I just returned from spending the weekend in Dunellon. We were supposed to go up on Valentine’s Day weekend but had to cancel because of the accident. We enjoyed a lovely belated Valentine’s Day dinner with Bryan’s parents on Saturday night and then headed home late yesterday morning.

My asthma is in high gear today so I’ve stayed home but that isn’t preventing me from doing a little sewing. The steam from my iron is good for me, don’t you think?

This is a very easy jacket, really. However, extra care must be taken with all of the details on the front. Namely, making sure that everything matches and lines up properly. A trick I learned from Marta Alto years ago is to lay the fronts on top of each other. This is a foolproof way to make sure everything lines up.

Since this jacket is unlined and linen is so ravelly, I decided to use flat-felled seams whenever possible. The bonus is that flat-felled seams provide nice structure and support to the garment.

I’m pleased with the way the fronts look with the exception of that funky little welt doohickey between the pockets. Honestly, I’m not sure if I want to remove it altogether or replace it with something else.

House update: The first – and most important – row of tiles has gone in. Tomorrow the real work begins.

I have to express my frustration with my mortgage company. When you have a lot of damage to your home, the mortgage company is listed as one of the payees on all checks so they have to sign off before anyone can get paid. And they seem to love taking their sweet time about it! And, to make matters worse, they somehow expect me to make 90% of the repairs with 20% of the money. If I could figure out a way to do that I’d be in high demand on the public speaking circuit, wouldn’t I?

Simplicity 2443

I’m moving on to this adorable little jacket from Cynthia Rowley. It’s unlined and just the thing to wear over a tank this summer. Plus it has lots of little pieces that’ll be perfect to work on in small blocks of time.

Notice the Year of the Jacket ticker in the sidebar. 12 jackets? I hope I can do it!

I am going to work with this beautiful Ellen Tracy linen that I bought at Cynthia’s Fine Fabrics a few years ago.

DAILY (oh, how I love that!) HOUSE PROGRESS:

The plasterer is applying the skim coat as we speak.

The tile chipper has been going all day in my bathroom. Getting this terra cotta tile out has proven to be pretty difficult (how great that I don’t have to do it!) but the demo should be finished tomorrow so the tile man can start on Monday. I want to add another cubby to the shower over the weekend and get a plumber out to do the preliminary work for new faucets.

The window company was also out this morning to measure for the new French doors. You know, I was very apprehensive about letting someone else manage this project for me but now I am so glad I did because things are moving along like clockwork!

Another McCall’s 5984 – Final

It’s been a pretty stressful week and I was glad to have something to work on to take my mind off of everything else. Although at times it was not easy to concentrate with all the noise!

The only thing I still have to take care of are the closures. I didn’t get around to calling Pacific Trimming about snaps and then Els suggested I try buttons. I’ll play around with that tomorrow.

As I mentioned before, I eliminated the inverted pleat at the back. This not only cut down on sewing time but also gives this jacket a different look from the first one. If you do this, don’t forget to add an ease pleat to your lining.

Ordinarily, I would catchstitch the upper and under collar seams together from the inside but this boucle hides stitches so well that I was able to ditch-stitch from the right side.

Again, I added a hanging chain. I wasted so much time yesterday looking for the leftover chain from the first jacket. I remember putting it away but don’t remember where. Last night I finally went back to Michael’s and bought more.

The hole in my house has finally been repaired – yay! Concrete block was laid in the center of the hole and is flanked by rebar-reinforced poured concrete columns. I just love the little funnels attached to the top of the plywood forms.

It looks really good from the inside.

I decided not to redo the cedar closet. It was something that my ex wanted and it will feel nice to have one less bit of him in the house. I need to start looking at closets to get some idea of what to do in here.

I had no trouble picking out new tile. I wanted Travertine but also wanted something really durable and low maintenance. I was thrilled to find this porcelain tile that looks like natural stone so I can have the look without worrying about staining and periodic resealing. I propped it against my tumbled Travertine backsplash and I think it looks amazingly realistic.

My cat Ricki has been completely stressed out since work began on Monday and has been hiding under one bed or another. Kanga, the lady of the house, has been totally pissed off. She just lays on the sofa and tries to put voodoo curses on the workers.

Winnie Whiskers, OTOH, was completely undisturbed by the noise and commotion. She’s so ladylike, isn’t she?

Tomorrow I have to shop for faucets and moldings. I’m thinking of upgrading all of my door casings in the bathroom so I’ll need to get that done before tiling begins.