SWAP 2009

Bummer. I just caught some key or other on the keyboard & wiped the reams I've just typed. Note to self: Use "save" more often.

So from the top again. This years SWAP has been posted on Stitchers Guild. The catch this time? The clothes have to fit our current weight & lifestyle! Ha, I'm in the middle of a weight loss kick so I plan to concentrate on tops this side of Xmas & bottoms after. I should be around my target weight by then & I intend to stay there this time.
I took a serious look through my wardrobe. Good job I cleared some of it out last week! Anyhow, I now have some idea of what I'm going to need to replace a) what I've thrown out & b) what I'm going to slim out of.
Tops: 1 each navy, raspberry & cream long sleeve tees. And these are baggy on me now.
Jackets: I have no less than 3 although 1 is more summer than winter. And they're all black! Oh I do possess a brown tweedy one as well! Actually I just realised I have a black duster coat too!
Trousers: 1 black, 1 tiny black/cream check that I can wear now, 1 bottle green & 1 tiny brown/black check that I will shrink into. 2 pairs of denim jeans. I'm ignoring the baggy cargo pants & sweat pants.
Blouses: Lots of white & white/black variations & about 3 black. A lilac 3/4 sleeve that isn't the greatest fit but looks good on me anyway. All the blouses I tend to wear with the black & black/white check trousers. A heavier weight raspberry shirt that I tend to wear as a lightweight jacket.
Dresses: A black linen mix sleeveless sheath, a tiny brown/black check sleeveless sheath & a wool blend navy sleeveless sheath! Thes only get worn on occasions!
Skirts: 1 red trimmed with black lace at the hem & no tops to wear with it as I threw them last week! A black suit skirt from my daughter that goes with the jacket she gave me. It's a tad too small right now but will be OK soon! I don't really do skirts as I can't find any comfy shoes that suit skirts as well as my feet. If I do find any I'll be making skirts again.

So that's what I've got & this is the lifestyle:
Get up & pull on jeans & tee, fleece jacket / waterproof, cycle or walk & occasionally car to work via school drop off. Once a week smarter look to go to French class after work.
Teach one evening a week so smarter look. When not teaching, go to pub with the Anorak & meet friends, smarter casual look.
I've already decided not to make outerwear as up here requires good waterproofs & I haven't got the time to make a decent job of that type of garment.

So what do I need?
Long sleeve tees for starters. Trousers & jeans for after the weight loss stabilises, including black. Another jacket but not in black! Tweed maybe with flecks of red, purple & green?? So this leads into colours too. Obviously black plays a large 'ish' part in the existing wardrobe & as I can't afford to replace everything it will have to remain so I need to plan around the existing jackets as well. I'm ruling out a fleece jacket at the moment although another would be useful but I couldn't necessarily make it work with the smarter trousers, although I do have a Vogue pattern that would be nice. I'm in danger of digressing here & rebuilding the entire wardrobe!

The stash has some raspberry & navy cotton jersey, also a black with purple fleck wool knit. Long sleeve tees come to mind, maybe a wrap top as well. A white self striped cotton for a blouse. Some pieces of the tiny black/white check that made trousers may be enough for a jeans style jacket, but then it wouldn't go that well with the brown/black check trousers. I'm thinking maybe a black denim for jeans rather than blue as well.

First thoughts are black trousers & black jeans, then the existing blouses will work with them. Also as I'm not going to make them until January I have time to find a fabric & colour that will work with whatever the jacket ends up in. I think a jeans style jacket might be useful, or maybe the Vogue Divine Details jacket pattern I've got. Would it work in tweed? I don't know. I quite fancy a raspberry red jacket too. Decisions decisions. Actually it's really going to evolve around whatever I can get in the finish!

The navy cotton jersey in the stash isn't going to get used for this SWAP as it isn't going to fit in but I will make it up anyway before the start to refine the self drafted pattern I will use. Neither is the black knit as I don't see it going with a red jacket but it will go with a tweedy look so again I may use it! The raspberry jersey will make it into the SWAP if I have enough as I love the colour & it works with several other colours as well.

So off the top of my head.

Jacket in a raspberry or maybe a bottle green colour or grey (?) tweed with flecks of colour in it.

Tops in raspberry, poss purple flecked black knit, cream, something with bottle green in it, maybe a pattern of some sort.

Blouses, 1 in white self stripe ( a girl can never have enough white shirts -right?) & maybe another in a print with raspberry & or bottle green in it.

Trousers - black, black denim, maybe a grey pinstripe & maybe a tweed so the potential tweed jacket forms a suit? See? I'm deviating from the main part of my casual lifestyle into smarter casual!! Perhaps I should make a second pair of jeans in a slightly different style or a pair of fine needlecord. I do need clothes to cycle to work in.

There what a lot of decisions to make & thoughts to dwell on. One thing I have decided however. Two in fact. I am going to be asking for accessories, i.e. gloves, pashminas, costume jewellery in the accent colours of raspberry & bottle green as presents from my loved ones this Christmas. Secondly I am going to do a mood board first with pictures from fashion magazines as I have loads of them that I used in my first lessons as inspiration for my students. I'm hopefully going to inspire myself!

Time Flies

Or so it seems. I'm not sure I've done very much but don't seem to have found enough time to blog. I have however got my sewing mojo back. At least when I get the opportunity to sew! I have committed myself to the June Capsule challenge over at Stitchers Guild
It is still at the planning stage but I should be able to manage one of my two ideas. Plan A,
Hooked on pink, is a capsule to wear on my fishing trips instead of boring old camo & just to annoy the anorak. I need to find some pink camo fabric for a waistcoat though & probably buy a baseball cap in pink camo. And I've some pattern drafting to do.
Summer Holiday is plan B, pinks & purples & beige pants.
I discovered I already have some tops that will go with either the jacket in the pink, or the trousers, in beige, although not necessarily both at once! Had I realised this I might not have bought the pink & blue batik but I do like it. The beauty of this colour choice is that I can make more capsules of clothes that will fit in with some of these colours & thus expand the options so I'll never be able say I've nothing to wear!!!! Black for example will go with the pink as a pair of trousers or capris or something, even a skirt, & black in a jacket will go with the beige pants, and both will go with the tops. Then I'll have a black base to add other colours to & expand the options. Or navy instead of black - another classic combination. You see sewing with a plan does work. SWAP. (Look at how it works when done right, scroll down the page for fantastic wardrobing skills.) Just split into smaller bite size pieces, hopefully easy enough to stick with, seeing as I didn't get going with the official SWAP.

Boots, boots and jackets.

I went mad on Thursday on my one days leave. I should have gone to Birmingham to the Sewing for Pleasure show but couldn't get a cheap rail ticket so decided to spend my hard earned money locally instead. I have a decent pair of walking boots now & a good waterproof jacket. Both essentials up here & pretty useful in Suffolk too I imagine if the wind blows infrom the sea. However the anorak says I'm not to go fishing in the jacket it will frighten the fish! It's pink you see. Not bright pink but still pink! And in the sale as were the boots.
Today I went back into town with Joe & bought him some bigger boots & a coat ready for the hols & his school field trip in May. The Mountain Warehouse are having a relocation sale so I made the most of it!!! I was even organised enough beforehand to get a beef casserole in the oven which we had with fried polenta (that's a first - never tried it before). The left over stew wasn't enough for another serving so I added some more liquid & blitzed it with the blender to serve up as gravy next time we have beef of some description.
http://laurasewingroom.blogspot.com/ Here's a blog of a lady who's taste & style I love. I just wish I had the time and space to create such lovely clothes.
Friday I spent the morning at a "masterclass" for teachers of sewing related crafts. It was very useful. Not sure how I managed to get invited as I haven't even heard if I passed my teaching certificate yet but I'm not complaining. I even got a claim form for expenses! Anyway I fired off a few emails last night to see if I can get in with the local adult education centres.
Sunday will be quiet. I hope. Maybe the Joe & I will go walking in our new boots with the dogs. Joe likes woods so I'll get the maps out & see where we can go.