Injuries by Embroidery

So, funny story. I woke up one night in late July with excruciating pain radiating down my neck and shoulder into my fingers. Pain that barely responded to medication, exercise, or anything else. I tried chiropractic massage and adjustments, acupuncture, physical therapy, round-the-clock meds, and it only just took the edge off. Suffice to say: age 46 was off to a bang-up start.

I spent almost all of August in a haze of pain and medication and not sleeping.  My fingers went numb and I had pins and needles in my arm off and on, plus a lot of pain under my arm where the shoulder muscles come together.  

I did see an orthopedist during that time and he prescribed steroids for a week, which helped the first couple of days, but not much after. Had imaging done and: (*cue the trumpet*) I have torn my rotator cuff and pinched the nerve in my C7 vertabrae.

The tear is relatively small, so the doc wanted to start with a cortisone shot in my shoulder, which did help some.  I saw the neck person two weeks ago and she wants me to get a shot in my neck for the pinched nerve (pray for me!) as well as additional imaging.  I’ve had herniated discs in my neck for a long time, but it looks like perhaps the herniation has gotten worse.  

Here’s the funny part. I think I aggravated the whole thing with the embroidery project I finished recently. I did think initially I caused the injury that way, but that is ridiculous. Injury by embroidery! While things are better overall, and I’m on less pain meds overall, I still have to be careful.

My neck shot is in a week, as is the additional neck imaging, so I’m not out of the woods yet, but I still have costumes to alter for the fall play at my kids’s school, so I’m pacing myself with the sewing.

All that said, I’m quite pleased with how this blouse came out, pain not withstanding! I adapted a hoop embroidery pattern I found on Etsy, so it wasn’t too difficult. Sulky Stick-and-Stitch is easy to use, although I did baste it on again, since the piece was so large and I knew I would be carrying it around for a while.

It definitely makes me like this blouse more, and while I need to make some small fit alterations to it because I made it when I was much bigger than I am currently, I will be happy to wear it now!  

Apros of nothing: I do love lantana and mine are finally flowering again!

Outside In

Another inevitability, I suppose.  I wore the inside-out Coco dress a couple of times, but the fleecy texture was wearing badly and just looked odd.  Frankly, I felt really frumpy in the dress, and I was always cold in it.  So I decided to unpick the seams and sew it the right side out and hope for the best.  

I do like it quite a bit more with the right side out, and the color isn't as bad next to my face as I feared. It is also considerably warmer with the fleecy side in (who'd have thunk? Ha).

I love it with this oversize sweater that I thrifted in February.  It maybe isn't the most flattering thing I own, but it is a wool-cotton mix, and so warm without being stuffy.  I feel great in it.  It goes extremely well with a plaid flannel slip dress I found on a random rack at Target last month.  (Although what fashion genius thought a flannel slip dress was a fantastic sartorial choice, I'll never know.  It is an okay under much heavier layer for spring, but far too thin and short for winter.  But it is teal plaid and doesn't bind my middle, so whatever).

But back to this Coco. The shade of pinky-clay means that the color pairs well with burgundy, something I wasn't expecting. It looks nice with my Boneyard scarf (still going strong!) and my L'Enveloppe (which got a lot of wear this year in particular).

 

Not much to add here, since I made no cutting changes, just re-constructed the thing.  It is still pieced to the hilt, but not bad for a yard and a half.  

There was maybe a 5" square of fabric left at the end.  The sleeves are still slightly too long, so I end up folding the cuff, but that's okay.  The majority of my RTW tops and dresses have sleeves that are too long anyway.  In any case, a better make than the original, and I'm definitely happier with it.

I put more pansies in my garden this week, and am enjoying seeing what volunteers are springing up from last year (looks like I missed a couple of daffodils when I pulled bulbs last summer--oh happy day!)  I put in some bare root dafs, plus tulip bulbs that I'm hoping will grow even though my timing is way off.  As in previous years, I don't really have a plan in mind; I'm just sticking stuff in the ground and seeing what happens.  I think I'll probably do more ornamentals this year, as I think it is just too hot on our back patio for much food to grow, but I'll probably change my mind again in a month or so.

The raspberry cane that hasn't fruited yet is sending out new leaves, and I'm hoping that this will be the year for berries on that one.  (Some raspberries will only fruit on second year canes...I cut this one off at the soil level the first year, not realizing that.)  

Unfortunately, I think the little raspberry plant I got from a friend last summer that did fruit may not this year. I probably should have cut that one off sooner, as it isn't doing anything, so I cut it off now. It might yet come back. 

The cabbage and brussels sprouts that didn't bother to mature last fall are now looking quite healthy, so perhaps I'll still get a small harvest out of it.

Winter embrace

Flannel is a beautifully warm and cozy cold weather fabric.  It lacks the warmth of wool (unless the flannel in question is wool, but that is a rare beast in the wild).  In cotton, however, flannel is a close second.  Oddly, most of the ready-to-wear garments in flannel are pajamas or made in plaid (or both!) so it can also be a challenge to match fabric to day wear pattern.  Never stopped me before, so I figured I might as well just march into the unknown.

I mentioned that I accidentally picked up a couple skirt lengths of cotton flannel at Joann when I visited my parents at the end of November.  (Honestly!  I went in for thread and sewing needles.  But when the perfect shade of green in cotton flannel is on sale, well...)

I dare you to walk by that fabric and not swoon at the perfection of the shade.

I'm usually a one or two-trick pony when it comes to sewing for myself.  I find something I like and make a lot of versions of it.  What can I say?  I likes what I likes.  (Although I'm getting into sewing undergarments and seeing the value of trying different patterns).

So it goes with my Free Range skirt hack.  It's funny--this skirt comes out differently every time I make it, depending on the fiber substrate.  In Brussels linen or silky noil, it has a swish and drape to it that more structured fabrics don't have, but each fabric type I've tried, I appreciate different aspects of the finished garment, to say nothing of the comfortable waistband!

It's a thing to realize I've been squishing myself into hard waistbands all these years when I could have been enjoying style and comfort.  It's not that the hard waistband skirts don't fit right--they do--but my waist changes a LOT during the day (thank you, gastroparesis).  What feels great in the morning often doesn't by suppertime or has rolled in unflattering ways due to my exceptionally short waist.  It's nice to feel good in my clothes all day long.  

So, not much to note about this skirt but for two things.  The three panel construction means there are several places to let out or take in, depending on the type of fit I'm looking for, and the 5/8" seam allowance means there is plenty of room to change the fit.  In drapey fabrics, a straight size 12, with all the seams sewn at 5/8" is perfect.  In more structured fabrics, I'm finding a bit more finesse is needed. 

Take one.

I originally sewed this one exactly like the Brussels linen and silky noil, but when I wore it, it felt and looked too tight across the hips.  Sausage-like even.  (See pics with pink sweater).  

The waist and sweep were fine, however, so I decided to curve out the seam allowance on the back seam of the side panel and the center back from 5/8" at the waist to about 3/8" and then curve back in to 5/8" at the hem.

Smiling with irony because I can't take a normal stride!

Worked a treat!  I'm totally happy with the fit now, and find it exceeding comfortable and cozy. 

 

I've also found that doing the waistband construction like the Elemental skirt doesn't exactly work, especially in heavier fabrics.  After some trial and error, my preferred method of attaching the elastic is to sew the waistband facing at the stated 5/8" seam allowance, then divide the waistband into quarters with pins, sew the elastic into a circle, divide into quarters, and attach to the edge of the seam allowance with a wide zig-zag.  The first time I tried it, I ended up with visible stitching on the facing inside, but I've fixed that so it doesn't show at all once the facing is attached at the bottom.

Making this skirt also informed how I approached some skirts I've yet to share here, but will as I'm able.  My kids are on winter break now, so my time is not my own at the moment.  Hopefully I won't get too backlogged!

That was inevitable...

You all knew this was going to happen, right?  That I couldn't leave it alone?  That I would fix the plaid matching on the sides of my flannel skirt?

Right.  I went (by myself!) to visit my parents over the Thanksgiving weekend.  It was the first time I've been away from my children for more than 24 hours, so that was kind of strange, but it was super fun and great to hang out with my family for 2 days without my kids, so there's that.  My sisters and I sang a couple of songs for my dad on Sunday night--not too badly for scant practice beforehand!  I'll spare you the video.  😉

The trip was SO worth the major hives I have on my face, scalp, and neck from the N95 mask I wore the whole time (probably some undisclosed latex).  I took the flannel skirt along and wore it but the misaligned sides really bugged me, and I figured it wouldn't take that much to fix it.  

I unpicked the sides and the waist facing and realigned it on the darker stripes (it's not perfectly symmetrical color-wise, but it is visually lined up, which is what I was going for).  I decided to cut a bemberg facing to reduce bulk on the waistline, and while I did accomplish that, I'm still undecided about whether I like it.  

Anyway, it didn't take that long to unpick and re-sew, and I only lost about an inch of depth on the pockets (which were deep to start with).  The skirt is slightly shorter, but I also kept the 1.5" hem, so if I wanted it longer, I could make the hem shallower.  All in all, a good fix!

Doocot Refresh

Sometime in the late summer, I decided I wanted to refresh my blue Doocot.  I wear it quite a bit, but I find that the plainness of it is a little boring, and the bright scarf I love to wear with it makes me feel stuffy and hot these days.  I've had the idea to embroider on sweaters for a while and wanted to give it a go on this one. 

My first attempt at embroidery was on a magazine submission, using a thrifted grey sweater.  I used embroidery floss on that iteration since the sweater was a finer gauge, but I knew I wanted to use yarn on the Doocot.  Which left me to dither about designs.  Because there are a LOT of options.  I was a bit paralyzed by the choices, and also unsure how to do a design transfer onto a sweater.  (I know I could have used my tried and true tissue method, but some preliminary fiddling had shown me that it doesn't work as well with the blunt yarn needle).  

In the end, I just winged it, freehanding the stitches until I had something I liked.  I did pull out a lot of the stitches as I went, because it took me a bit to figure out how to get the yarn to look the way I wanted it to on the sweater fabric, but I'm quite pleased with the result.  The palette was the result of seeing these balls of yarn next to each other and realizing how well they would look on the sweater.   I might add some additional embroidery on the cuffs and hem, but for now, this is a nice amount. 

For reference, the yarns are: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes Worsted in Hollyberry & Papaya Heather, Malabrigo Arroyo in Sunset, Quince and Co. Chickadee in Cypress, and Wool of the Andes DK in Dove.

Beets

Remember the Platonic ideal of a summer skirt?  Turns out it wasn't Platonic or ideal.  I did wear it a bit this summer, but I felt the fit was off--like it was too big or something. I think it is because I sewed the ban-rol elastic in the back at tension rather than straight across, which keeps it stretched out but retains elasticity, if that makes sense.  For those wanting to use ban-rol elastic, if you stitch across the lines while pulling it taught with the fabric, you will have to cut the elastic significantly shorter to account for the held stretch.

 I was also disappointed that the waistband started sagging after the first wearing and creased right in the middle, despite my using Ban-rol to interface.  I think it was the fiber substrate, which has rayon in it, but still.  The skirt ended up feeling sloppy and like a last resort item in my closet this summer. 

That said, I still love the fabric and find it a useful part of my closet.  Particularly after finding the black pepper skirt such a great addition this fall.  I put it away with my summer clothes, but in the "not sure I'm keeping this" part of the bin.  I wanted to figure out a way to make that skirt work.  I had done French seams throughout and wanted to salvage a nice make somehow. 

My constantly changing waist measurement means that an elastic waist is my friend these days, so I decided the best way to rescue the thing was to convert it to a fully elastic waist, ala the Free Range skirt or my embroidered Everyday skirt hack. In order to deal with the bulk from the yoked pockets, I made the seam allowance for the waistband facing a small as possible, and pressed rigorously before applying the elastic, again using the Elemental skirt application method.  The pocket openings are slightly small, but I don't mind as they are still usable.

I also decided that I wanted to use up that beet colored linen to make another dropped shoulder top, since they are so useful to me right now.  The least little bit of humidity in the air and I'm sweating profusely (thank you, hot flashes), and my stripey knit cotton shirts are not robust enough to hold up to that kind of abuse.  So I'm wearing these loose linen shirts on repeat right now.  

Through careful cutting, I was able to get this shirt and another Free Range skirt out.  Three garments/three yards of fabric--not bad!  I've yet to sew the skirt, but it is on my list; Juliana's Therapeutic Sewing for Stress Relief program is going strong.  Cotton flannel is on deck after I get through the linen pile.  

 

But back to the beet linen.  There aren't any useable scraps left except as piecework, although I'm very inspired by Rae's patchwork Cleo.  I've had in mind to make a crazy quilt from my scraps (and I may still do that!) but I'd try a more structured scrappy skirt like that. 

(Rae's post on fall outfits was also inspiring to me; maybe I'll post something like that as well!)  I wore these two outfits over the weekend, for what it is worth, although the yellow scarf only lasted through Liturgy on Sunday morning.  I did despair that actual fall weather was going to be a tease for the rest of my life, but these past two days have been delightful.  I might even put on a sweater today--imagine that!

Free Range

I'm mostly a skirts and dresses gal, but every now and again, I find myself wanting to wear pants.  And am not able to find anything that fits my proportions properly.  I have one pair of skinny jeans with a flat waistband that is just okay, but the fit in the seat still leaves a lot to be desired.  Since this is my year of Sew House 7, I figured I might as well give the Free Range Slacks a whirl.  I'm trying new things, and since the Remy was basically designed for the Free Range Slacks, I figured, why not?

Trying it out on My Body Model

After stalking the Instagram hashtag for a few weeks, and dithering about which view to make, I finally decided to go with the straight leg version, as I was kind of crushing on the silhouette, even though I know it isn't my best look.  Then I dithered a while about the fabric, before going with the Brussels Washer Linen Yarn Dye in black.  Again, not a color I would normally gravitate toward, but I saw another blogger with similiar coloring to mine make the pants in that substrate/color and thought it read nicely on her. 

Straight leg with Remy Raglan

The sewing was relatively straight forward, and like all my Sew House 7 makes so far, I find Peggy always has some clever construction bit that I've never done before.  This pattern was no different, as the yoked pocket is constructed without a facing, which greatly reduces bulk in the front, a nice feature on a pant with an elasticized waist.  I also liked that there were a lot of seam lines to make adjustments if need be (although in truth, I needed no modifications except for length).

I made a straight size 12 (I was between a 12 and 14 on the size chart, but a look at the finished measurements convinced me that I was better off sizing down).  I ended up with a 2" hem instead of the 1" specified, and possibly could have gone another 1/2" or so, but cropped pants are so tricky!

The waistband construction is to make a casing with waistband facing and insert the elastic, but I like the Elemental Skirt elastic application because it prevents the elastic from bunching or rolling around, so I did that instead, and then sewed down the edge of the casing as instructed.  I originally tried turning the edge under as with the Elemental skirt, but it looked weird on this pattern.  

The fit is superb, I have plenty of room in the seat, the rise is great, and I felt really great in these pants, for about three wears.  In my quest for skirt unicorns, I had wondered about converting this pattern to a skirt, and had done so with some wonderful silky noil. 

You'll notice that I shortened the 3/4 sleeves on my Sphinx Remy to short sleeves.  I figured I'd get more wear out of it in the summer, when I actually wanted to wear it, but was too hot in anything but short sleeves.  I did the same to my white one and am reasonably pleased with the results.

After wearing the noil skirt several times (stay tuned for pics), I decided I would be happier if the pants were turned into a skirt.  It didn't hurt that the weather stayed gross well into October and I found the pants slightly stuffy, which was not my intention for this make.  

I'm not sure I got the length quite right, but it is just below the knee, and similar in silhouette to the purple skirt from last week.  It's not my favorite thing, but I'll wear it.  I don't know if converting the pants was the right thing, but I'm also not sure that I would have continued to wear them, so it's hard to say.  Maybe just call me Meg?  Perhaps the slim leg option might be a better silhouette for me, as evidenced by my playing around on My Body Model:

But maybe I just need to embrace the fact that I don't enjoy wearing pants all that much.  On the upside, I do really like this pattern as a skirt (another unicorn!), and I will use the clever yoked pocket application in other contexts too, so nothing is wasted.

The top is a true Frankenpattern in handkerchief linen, part of Juliana's Sewing to Keep Breathing campaign.*   I used the Sorrel dress bodice for the shoulders and the Portrait blouse for the waist shaping and length, the Coco dress for the boat neckline, and the Carson dress for the sleeve.  And I got it out of a yard.  The color is amazingly rich.  I plan to make a robin-egg blue one today.

  

*On a personal note.  Things are pretty tough right now.  My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer last week, having never smoked a day in his life, and is in hospital on a lot of oxygen.  They are trying to get him stable and move him to the oncology unit to map the tumor and give a round of radiation so that he can maybe go home in a week or so.  Through Divine Providence, he's at one of the best hospitals in the world, and I'm grateful for all the ways that we see God's hand in this, but it is also agonizing.  Please continue to lift us up.