Happy Friday...

What's a little flooding when it's the beginning of the weekend? Water can't dampen my spirits when playtime beckons! Anyhow, I just wanted to let you all know that I will be reinventing the blog, doing something a little different, still talking about my grand passions, hats and stitching apparel. Sew (pun fully intended) stay tuned, and I'll be back back soon. Over and Out, Mary Beth

When I'm Feeling Deprived...

I feel like I haven't been to Vogue Fabrics in the looongest time. I wanted to the classroom Sunday afternoon and sew to my large heart's content. I've already forgotten what I did during that time (the past 72 hours have been action-packed but I'm certain I'll recall the events of Sunday, June 24 as soon as I upload this post). Then Monday night, when Vogue has its Free in-store demo, I had to go to condo board meeting. Oh, I could have blown it off but I had issues that needed to be addressed. I even thought of making my pilgrimage afterwards, then I was too tired. I thought, "There's always Thursday..." when the store is open until the heavenly hour of 9 p.m! Isn't that sheer bliss?

So I'm already thinking of doing a little fabric shopping tomorrow evening. I cannot wait. I think I last walked in the store's hallowed halls a week ago and I didn't buy an unblessed thing! Discipline. Now I need an invisible to finish a eyelet skirt, and of course, I must add to my stash. Or at least pet the textiles there. They need my caresses, my tender love. I honestly feel they perk up after my fingers have touched their surfaces, even though I swear the nap definitely looks a little limp if I don't buy a yard of two after I've made contact with the aforementioned object. It's kind of like when someone fawns overs a German Shepherd at animal shelter and doesn't adopt on the spot. You can only imagine how that poor canine feels!

It helps considerably that tomorrow is already leading into the Fourth of July weekend, when I will waste lots of time, particularly on the computer, avoiding any house-cleaning duties. I know I'll be knitting, because my hands can't be idle not for a moment. Sewing? Maybe. I've cut out enough projects to work on. It's just a matter of do I want to work in the isolation of the Klatt compound on the sewing machine or make meaningful contact with other Humans? Sometimes it's a bit much to spend too many solitary hours even if I'm stitching a beautiful piece of apparel. I don't feel that way about knitting or crocheting, which are usually done in the company of others, sometimes too many.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to use the Vogue classroom this Sunday due to a family function. I'm not sure when I will be able to enter my favorite room in the whole town of Evanston. Maybe Sunday, the 8th? I'm praying fervently nothing comes up just so I can spend time in a space surrounded by Vogue, Simplicity, Butterick and other pattern books. Now is that Heaven on Seven or what?

Skirtronics

I made up that word. I have no idea what it means. It just sounds nice, very techno. Kind of mod, like this skirt here. You will not believe this - (or maybe you will considering how much I spend at Vogue Fabrics) - but I made this skirt from a pattern abandoned in the classroom at the abovementioned store.

I was trying so very hard to make this fabric - a lightweight black batiste with matching diagonal ridges, and white rickrack and lace - into Simplicity 4179 (a retro-blouse with an adorable Peter Peter collar and drop-waist). I thought I could get a nifty chevron effect going with the trim at an angle. Alas, I could not get the lace bits to match up. But I wanted so badly to make something - since I rented the classroom for a whole $7.50 - I started digging in the classroom shelves to see if there was a skirt pattern that I could use. And there was! I think I might be Vogue or maybe it was McCalls. I don't know. But it was manna for this craftster lost in Sewing Limbo.

I figured this skirt would look best and very trendy if the trim was slanted like a blackslash symbol, rather than striving for a V (the chevron). So a very sweet Vogue Employee helped to lay out the pattern on the bias. I was very nervous about that part - I've never sewn anything on the bias. I figured left to my own devices that this sewing project would end up off-grain and -kilter and the whole kit-kaboodle would end up in the dumpster on my way out.

But I bravely cut the pattern as it was laid out (and the same employee helped me cut out an impromptu yoke). But I didn't start sewing until I was in the safety of my own home. I actually hung it in my closet to let it streeeetch for a couple of days. And then I sewed the sides, putting in my second invisible zipper (boy, do I splitting the coils with that invisible-zipper foot. What fun!). Then I put my Work of Art on my mannequin, to let the fibers do some Yoga, relax, do some more poses, and streeeetch some more.

Then after 48 hours or so, I spun my mannequin around lopping off the excess fabric so I'd have a beautiul and even hem. Just that alone made me less afraid of hems - I'd always been hesitant to do 'em because who's going to help Ms. Lonely Hearts chop out the extra stuff at the bottom when the Time comes? I don't have a maid, ghost or even a dog at hand to aid in the task. Then the sewing machine, with my assistance, stitched down the hem so it wouldn't go anywhere.

That done, I tacked down the yoke with an extra row of stitching at the waist and the Viking went to work once more. I even let the machine put on the hook and eye. I'm not fond of hand-sewing little gizmos.

Now I've got a favorite new skirt. It fits me fine. Well, it's actually loose now that I've lost 10 pounds. What do you think I'm going to do with the remnants? They're going be the waist, collar and sleeves for Simplicity 4179. I'm going to do the bodice in basic black batiste so I don't have to worry about the trim coordinating. Phew!

Drinking and Writing? Maybe. Sewing and drinking? No way.

I happened to wander into the The 3rd Annual Drinking & Writing Festival; "Write 'Til You Puke" yesterday at Hopleaf Bar, a Chicago hangout. I was looking for a little lunchtime Guinness after volunteering at a neighborhood festival.

So I sit down at the bar, and get my brew (which incidentally comes in a can straight from Ireland - most Guinness in the U.S., particularly the liquid that's on tap, originates in Cananda.) I'm sitting next to a woman who's wearing a nametag that says "Don't Try" upside down. I thought she was being silly, until I saw other people wearing the same name tag, right side up.

I had to find out more. Turns all these beer fans were in the pub for a Drinking and Writing Festival, celebrating the Life of Charles Bukowski, who I'd never heard of. They were going to sample different brews, listen to writers talk about ale and see a presentation of an award for Outstanding Achievement in Drinking & Writing to Chicago journalist Rick Kogan. The best part? A two-drink minimum writing contest.

That last part really intrigued me. I was almost ready to sign up, and I'd done half of my minimum already. I just love the idea of loosening up, and liberating a bunch of printed words on paper, even it turns out to be unpublishable gibberish. But...I'm on a diet. Not a strict one (I just ate some Doritos dipped in avocado.) I've lost seven pounds. I want to keep that weight off and lose even more heft. That competition, at fun as it sounds, would have done me in. I have to admit if I had a guy I really liked I probably would haved signed both of us up in a matter of half-nano-seconds. Then I thought....I have to wait another year for the festival (the drinking one, not the neighborhood version)? That's a long time to do something literary with a Rock Bottom or a Three Floyd's in your hand. I told the guy taking tickets at the door they needed do something at least once a month. He said I might have to do that.

Which got me thinking (rare, I know. My brain goes on a major vacation, particularly on summery Saturdays.). Drinking and wordsmithing, a hoot. What about a beer and sewing? Eh.
For one thing, there are some sharp objects in this hobby: scissors, sergers and seam rippers come to mind. One false slip and your project could be a history project. With scribbling words on paper, only the latter gets damaged. Besides, sewing is for the most part, a solitary journey. Imbibing along the way only magnifies the solitude (and sometimes your frustrations with the stitching at hand. ) If I'm going to quaff any alcohol, it's going to be after I turn the sewing machine off and I've angrily tossed my dress-in-progress in a corner. That's when I head to the refrigerator for a libation. Problem is I don't often keep alcohol in my house, so post-sewing drinking isn't an option. In that case, I just have a glass of ice water if it's hot, green tea if it's cold. What are your thoughts on sewing and beer (or wine)?

To Stitch or Pitch?

Should I write more about sewing and less about hats?
	Yes.
	No.
	Write mostly about sewing with hats thrown in once in a while.
	More about hats, and less about stitching!
	None of the above.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

That is the question. I'm writing lots about hats these days, but not getting a whole lot of responses. So I'm wondering if it's the topic. Not many people wear hats these days, perhaps it's far more interesting talk about lingerie, dresses, or even socks. People, particularly those who want to be well-covered, wear these items of apparel. But hats? Lots of folk could take or leave 'em. Most do the latter.
When I started this site, I thought I'd write lots about sewing, but I didn't want to get caught up in the technical how-tos because I figure that's for another site. I was eager to discuss more of the existential elements of stitching. Funnies stories, outright tales, and interesting adventures on way to finishing a particular project or abandoning it after birth...but not quite leaving it on the steps of a nearby church. My latest unfinished apparel is hanging out on the vintage French metal daybed in my office (that would be Vogue 7898). It's actually slumped on a pillow like a dead woman, her arms hanging over the headboard, awaiting resurrection. I forgot about a Vogue Fabrics plastic bag, filled with a half-done warm mohair knit sweater coat, forgotten when it got warm. Oops. There's also the Banana Republic bag with hat pattern pieces that have been sitting untended for at least 24 months, sitting on my bedroom rug.
But I digress. So when I started this weblog, I thought I would wax not so poetically about my passion for sewing, but that was hard in a way because it's not my only hobby. I crochet, knit, and I'm aching to try hairpin lace. Then I started writing about hats, because, well, they're a constant in my life. I've got hatboxes in my closet and I wear something on top of my noggin nearly every day, so that seemed like a natural. Super-easy to find something profound about five times a week. It seemed different that the umpteen sewing-related blogs out there. Plus I figured maybe guys might like the topic....I meet many who love to see women wearing chapeaux, and some even don fedora at times.
But my frequent hat posts haven't elicited much response. Do I smell? I promise I bath and wash my hair regularly. I can't have bad breath - I floss once and brush my teeth at least twice daily much to my periodontist's delight. I also wear Angel by Thierry Mugler. But if I stink, just let me know. I can take it. I wear deodorant also, Secret's Vanilla sparkle.
So post your thoughts if you're so inclined, vote in my poll if you care (or dare). And if you don't anything that's fine by me. I'm going to visit eBay this evening, probably check out the current listings for 1950s issues of Vogue Knitting, particularly those with knitted dresses. I don't know why, particularly since it's getting warm out there to elicit those 17-year locusts here in my neighborhood and I don't want to knit anything that has a finer gauge than my tights.

How About
Them Vikings?

I saw this vintage Singer Sewing Machine sign at a Westport, Ireland shop. In case you can't read it too well, it says, "Sewing Machine Orders Taken Here." It isn't readily apparent, but this advertisement must date back at least to the 1930s if the image on it (a woman with her hair up in a bun, wearing a Victorian shirtwaist, and a long skirt, hunched over a treadle sewing machine) and the font (it appears to be one popular during the Depression) are any indication. When I saw the metal shingle I had to wonder if this shop (Moran & Co.) still took in machines for repairs, since the wealth of wellies in the window just didn't make me want to dig up my grandma's Singer out of my storage unit more than 3,500 miles away.
So I went inside the pencil-thin doorway to ask the proprieter if he fixed up sewing machines. This 60ish gentleman, skinny enough to squeeze through his 4-feet wide entryway, said, "yes." Did a lot of women still sew today? Yes. In fact, he said "yes" to everything I asked. Could you fix up a Viking Husqvarna 730? You know the answer. I'd actually be leery of bringing my treasured baby to this store, never mind the logistics of transporting this object overseas. This shop was such a throwback to the Victorian era with its wavy glass 11-feet tall storefront windows, that I'd really would be amazed if this man would be up for the task of fixing a computerized machine. I think I'd be better off buying the boots or the pale pink Crocs on dispaly and sending my machine to Vogue Fabrics (not that it's broken, for heaven's sake). After I visited Moran & Co. I searched for a yarn shop to get help on my knitting. I found O'Brien (not a pub) which sells mostly home decor fabrics, curtains, some sewing utensils such as scissors and Gutterman's thread. There was even a corner for yarns, some acrylics and wool, but not nearly the plethora of fiber I'm used to seeing even in the tiniest American yarn shop.
The owner, with that ink black hair that so many Irish women seem to have, was able to help me a little. But she didn't have time to correct the more than 100 stitches on my knitting needles that needed some tender loving care (I'm making a skirt), so I was back to square 1: return to the good ole U.S.A. for assistance on this project, which seems to be taking far, far longer than I expected.
Upon my return, what do I get in my email box? Coupons from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I don't know if there's anything remotely like Jo-Ann in Europe, but after the two shops I saw in Ireland it really made me appreciate the abundance of fabric and patterns in Jo-Ann and Hancocks Fabrics. Now that's something I really could have said a prayer of thanks for at the Adoration Chapel my mother and I visited last night (!!) in Ennis. As it was, I just daydreamed about my next Guinness while my mom did the hard work. I think I she borrowed a rosary hanging on a pew to do her duty.
For those of you who've been to Europe, what do you think of knitting and fabric shops there?

Nabbed
Finally!

Anytime I get ready for a trip, I somehow gravitate to the fabric store. I can't really explain it. There's just this instinctive need to acquire more textiles before I vacate the premises for a while. It's not like I'm going to be sewing while I'm away. Perhaps I'm prepping my home for my eventual return to the sewing machine, lining my nest if you will for when I must come back to Chicago. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics on Saturday to take advantage of the $3.99 Vogue Patterns sale (I finally managed to get the above set of hat instructions on sale. Hurrah!). Even at Jo-Ann's, I was buying a concentric-patterned chartreuse, turquoise and brown fleece for inexpensive airplane blankets. Now that I'm leaving tomorrow night and I'm packing I have this incredible urge to go to Vogue Fabrics. I nearly went there tonight but I decided I needed to go to the grocery store instead. Even so, I'm already making plans to go there tomorrow before I dash off to the airport in the afternoon. I'm thinking of getting this Italian eyelet that I swear I've been seeing everywhere. If I don't do it before I take to the skies, this particular cotton might be gone when I return, and I know I will be devastated beyond imagination if that turns out to be the case. (Actually, I'll be kicking myself, but I seem to be end up with sore buttocks when I do that. Kicking yourself is a little difficult if you think about it. I'm certain I'll fall on the floor multiple times trying.) So on My To-Do List, somewhere after copying my passport is...going to Vogue. It'll be a mad dash, I swear. No lingering around the remmant tables. I know exactly what I'm doing. In fact, you could likely blindfold me and I'll be able to pick out the fabric. It's the second row of shelves, third one up as you enter the Silk Room. (Isn't that a lovely name for a particular place in a shop? But I have to tell you there's a lot of more than just silks in this department). I'll grab the bolt, head to the cash register. I know how much yardage I'm getting. Credit card? Here you go, Gabby, Kate or whoever else is manning the cutting table. Sign receipt. I'll be out of the store faster than Spiderman with Mary Jane in tow. Except you'll see me running down Main Street with eyelet in hand, moving so fast, some people might think I'm a ghost from the one of the sunken ships off of Lake Michigan. I might get arrested, not for indecent exposure, but scarying the living daylights out of the local residents. Then I won't be able to board my plane with my mother (!!!) to go to Galway, Ireland where I'll be attending this conference. where I'm certain I'll be daydreaming during one of the lectures about the next pattern I'll tackle when I'm back in the Midwest. How often do you think about sewing when you're doing something work-related?