Light in the Tunnel

Lately, Birdie has been asking to help me in the kitchen; making meals, mostly, but she is getting pretty proficient at making the daily lunches for school as well.  It's good to channel all her excess energy in ways that contribute to the household, but it is a great help to me that she is finally old enough to be actually helpful in the kitchen.  (As I write this, she is cutting up cooked chicken breasts for me and is eager to help me put the rest of dinner together--is this even my life?!?)  There is still plenty of hard, but it is nice to have some bright spots here and there.

In sewing news, I continue on my Remy-Elemental train.  I think I cracked the sizing on the Elemental in the Kaufman French terry, which has enough spandex to bounce.  Again, I had a bit of a struggle with my vanity, as the 14 should fit without messing with seam allowances, and it does, in a fabric that has the pattern-required amount of stretch and recovery.  

In fact, a 12 is a better fit in that sort of fabric.  But the Kaufman French terry has way less stretch, so I'm essentially cutting a 16.  And again, my vanity struggle is totally ridiculous and ungrounded in reality, but there it is.  

But adding 1/2" and using 3/8" seam allowances results in a really nicely fitting and comfortable skirt in this substrate (and yes, I realize that means I'm essentially only adding 1/4", but in sewing, sometimes small changes make a big difference to fit; I am always surprised by this).  

The little bit of ease also relieves some of the stuffiness of the fabric in the heat, so I was able to wear this skirt on Friday when the high was 93 and the humidity was north of 70%.  I was so happy with the improved fit that I unpicked my entire spruce one yesterday so that I can add some fabric on the side seams to get closer to that fit, as the green one is just this side of too tight for my fit preference.  I have just enough fabric left to put in a kind of racing stripe to add some ease.  Hopefully it will look purposeful.  

I also made a linen Remy out of Biking Red linen from fabrics-store.com.  I made a color-blocked Emerald out of it last year, and really like the shade.  I had a bit left over from my Emerald, and bought another yard, which was a good thing, as I made a cutting error and had to piece one of the sleeves a bit.

 

I can get a 3/4 sleeve Remy out of a yard of 58-60" wide fabric, but it has to be cut quite particularly to work, and I was tired that day.  The piecing isn't noticeable, however, and I was grateful I had enough left from last year to make it all work out!  

I might move the button up just slightly, as the edges aren't quite even, but I like the slight contrast of this Art Deco-era button from my stash.  

The color contrast between the Biking Red linen and the Woodrose French terry isn't quite as much as between the English Rose linen and Biking Red, but I still like it--call it #dresslikeacrayon.  Ha!

I have one more Remy planned that I think I'll save for September when it is still hot but I'm over my summer clothes.