The Cancer Train

For those who have been following along this past month or so, you'll know that my dad was diagnosed with cancer in mid-October.  He has stage four lymphoma, and there is a fist-size tumor wrapped around his bronchial tubes in one lung, cutting off his air on that side.  After spending a month in the hospital at Mayo (a Providential occurrence if ever there was one), he was finally discharged last week.  He's completed one round of chemotherapy and is due to start the next one today.  We are so grateful for the excellent medical team around him and for all the support and care we've all received.  

The first round of chemo started the process of breaking up the tumor, and he is off continuous oxygen now, although he remains extremely thin and weak.  My mom has been staying at a nearby hotel this whole time, and they are there together now while he completes this next round and stays for a few days to make sure there are no complications as there were last time.  

They hope to return home to Missouri at the end of this week.  He will have a total of six rounds, spaced roughly three weeks apart, and while he plans to return to Mayo for the next round of chemo in December, barring the weather, his medical team will continue to direct his care from afar, another great blessing.

My dad is semi-retired from a 45 year career as a pharmacist, and was working per diem at the psychiatric hospital where was he had been head of pharmacy when all this happened.  It is unclear whether he will be able to resume part time work any time soon, and there are substantial medical bills that will come due in the coming months.  My sister set up a GoFundMe account for my parents; I know these are difficult financial times for everyone, and the holidays are approaching, but we'd be most grateful for any assistance.  

And as long as I'm talking about my dad, I should show the shirt and quilt I made for his birthday in September.  He is often hot in the summertime, and I fixed a lightweight camp-style shirt he loves when I visited in July, but the fabric was really on its last legs.  And more importantly, my mother does not like the pattern on the shirt.

I decided to make him another shirt in the same style, out of handkerchief weight linen in a lovely pale minty green (called Meadow on the fabrics-store.com website).  I used Simplicity 9157 for the pattern, and found it mostly fine.  The packet I was able to find started at size 44, which was slightly bigger than I needed, so I graded to a 42, but otherwise made no changes.  (Although my dad has lost so much weight in the past month and a half, I'll probably need to alter it for him before next summer).  

My only complaint about the pattern is that the back of the collar is finished a little bit less neatly than I would have liked.  I've made this type of collar before, and there is more than one way to finish the edges.  

This one has you tack the front facings to the shoulder seams, and turn the inside edge of the back collar under and stitch in the ditch to secure. I tried to draft a back collar facing instead, but it just didn't lay nicely, so I gave up and finished according to the packet directions.  

I did flat-felled seams throughout, to mimic ready-to-wear, and used up the last little bit of lightweight fusible interfacing I had on hand for the button bands.  I had to piece the fusing significantly to make it work, but I was on a deadline and didn't have time to wait for additional interfacing to arrive.  

The buttons are vintage from my stash, and were the ones that looked the best.  I like the contrast.

The quilt is just a simple panel quilt with a fishing theme, done in free-hand stitching on my machine.  I noticed a note from my gram in the manual about using the darning foot/setting for free hand quilting, which I never would have thought to do, so thank you Grandma!  (I have her machine, and the manual is full of her notes and stitch swatches--so handy!)  

It was the first time I used that feature on my machine, so I was trying to learn control with the stitching, but the end result looks like tangled fishing line, which I quite like, and fits the theme.  More importantly, my dad liked it, and that is what counts!

Gofundme here.

Moar beets

I guess I should log this linen skirt before the weather makes it seem totally weird to post.  I bought three yards of this color linen back in August, when I was buying for one of my sewing school students and my dad's birthday shirt (also need to blog that!)  The shipping from fabrics-store.com is high enough that it is worth making a substantial order.  It happened that all three colors coordinated quite well!

Beet appears to have been a limited run color, as I hadn't seen it before and not since. It is similar to Tawny Port or Wild Cherry; to be precise, it is exactly the color of beet juice.  The photos don't do the color justice--it is saturated and interestingly tonal, depending on the light.  It's not quite purple or red but somewhere in between.  Three yards was more than enough for a dress, although I dithered a long while about what to make.

I had initially bought it to make a 3/4 sleeve Terrace dress, but after making the Redwood one, decided I didn't want another in my wardrobe. So it sat. Once I got into the whirl of trying new patterns, I made up the Peppermint wrap top, cutting carefully to preserve yardage as much as possible.

 

The wrap top is fine, but it isn't something I want to wear regularly.  I've been wearing my drop-shoulder linen tops so much, it seemed like a good idea to make another one out of the remaining yardage.  After carefully cutting out the top, I realized I could eke out a Free Range Skirt hack as well, so I carefully cut out the skirt from the rest.  

I shortened the skirt by about 4" from the lengthen/shorten line to make the yardage work, and only had to piece a little bit of the waistband facing, so I consider it a great use of three yards! 

While I'm at it, I took some detail pictures of the gusset on this shirt, as it is the first one I made intending to add the gusset from the start.  

This is the underside of the sleeve, and you can see the triangular piece inserted there.  The gusset is actually a diamond shape, although you can use an oval petal type shape too.  The main thing is to figure out how much room you need in the underarm and cut a corresponding size.  On this one, I cut them 6" long by 3" wide.

I'm still working out how to finish these as neatly as possible.  I sew them in on a 1/4" seam and then zig-zag the edges, which is fine.  I've been doing French seams on these shirts, but it is difficult to make it work on the gusset part.  I'll figure it out eventually; I did do French seams on one of the shifts I made, including the gusset, but it was kind of dumb luck that it turned out well.

This is what it looks like from the outside when you pull the sleeve straight up.  The gusset can also be pieced down the middle if fabric is short.  

I wasn't planning to wear these together, but I actually love them as a two-piece dress.  I had hoped my spruce noil Remy and matching Free Range skirt would go together similarly well, but I think I need to shorten the skirt to knee length before I will be completely happy with it.  I don't think ensemble this counts for #dresslikeacrayon, though.  Still working on that one!

Shoulder Season

Top (L-R): Cypress sweater/Free Range skirt; rtw cotton sweater/Zwei Leben II denim skirt/Chinook scarf; Garnet Boneyard scarf/Arctic drop shoulder linen shirt/Free Range skirt; Bottom (L-R): Cypress sweater/Chinook scarf/blue terry Elemental skirt; Beet linen drop shoulder shirt/Beet Free Range skirt (unblogged); Evendoon sweater/Hunter terry Elemental skirt

Rae recently did a fall outfits post, and I thought it might be fun to do the same.  I like seeing older makes on other sewists, and seeing how they put outfits together from new and old pieces, so the following is a series of outfits I wore in the past month or so.  It should be said that the weather has been all over the place this fall.  

Top (L-R): Spruce Carbeth/Marigold linen skirt; Teal knit Coco top/Chinook scarf/Free Range skirt; Dawn linen drop shoulder top/Free Range skirt; Bottom (L-R): Pine Remy Raglan/Rust cord skirt; Seafoam Remy Raglan (unblogged)/Oregano cord skirt/rtw plaid wrap; Pine Remy Raglan/Mustard cord skirt

It was early October before I could even think about tights, and then there was a week of sweater weather in the middle of the month, followed by milder temps again.  Mostly we are into legit fall weather, although the temps are supposed to continue to drop (thank the Lord) this coming week. 

The new linen drop shoulder tops have gotten a lot of wear, as they don't make me sweat and don't have to be tucked in so I get air movement underneath.  Ditto the Free Range skirt hack, and my newly elasticated Rose skirt hack which are my new favorite skirts.  I used the last bit of teal knit from the dress I made this summer to make a 3/4 sleeve Coco top that I intend to replicate.

Just a basic top, but at a length I don't have to tuck in to look nice.  Short-waisted people of the world represent!  I used Tilly and the Buttons' Coco dress and cut it at the lengthen/shorten line, which seems about right.  I cut a size 5 for the top, although I grade to a 6 at the bottom for a dress.  I faced the neckline, cuffs, and hem with 1" wide fabric strips, which I like, but I might try a simple turn under on a future iteration.  The seam allowances are generous, and I could possibly use a smidge more room across the chest and back, so I'll probably sew the side seams at 1/2" next time.

 

My yellow Chinook scarf gets a lot of wear around this time of year, and the yellow goes with a lot of my clothes by virtue of being one of those strange neutrals.  It is a linen-cotton blend, so the perfect fiber/weight for this time of year.  

 

I do have more trouble wearing scarves since I started having hot flashes--anything close around my neck can bring them on--but I'm learning to wear an interesting necklace under the scarf so that when I inevitably have to ditch it, I still look like I put together an intentional outfit. 

Katie Kortman does a lot of color challenges and one time she challenged analogous color combos (colors that are next to each other on the color wheel).  I've always wanted to try it, but couldn't quite pull off the right combination until I hit upon this one.  I really like the Cypress with the Elemental and the pop of yellow from the scarf.   I'd like to crack a monochrome combo as well (otherwise known as #dresslikeacrayon) but still haven't found the right combination. 

On to flannels!

The One Yard Dress

This summer I made a dress out of a yard of fabric.  That covered all my bits.  

Lemme 'splain.  

 

 

Remember when I bought that telio cotton knit fabric and the hand of the fabric out of the package was icky, but changed dramatically with washing?  I had bought two yards in different colorways, intending Elemental skirts, but when the fabric was so gross against my fingers, I called to return it.  The gal said she would refund my money but they didn't want the fabric back.  I felt kind of weird about it, but she was adamant about it, so I thought, well maybe something will present itself. 

After washing it, I thought I could use it after all, so I made one of the yards into the rhubarb Elemental skirt as planned, and have worn that skirt a lot.  But the dark green color was a bit of a quandry.  I already had the French terry Elemental skirt for cooler temps, and by the time I decided to use the fabric, summer was well advanced and I didn't need another skirt.  So I decided to have a go at making a Coco dress out of it. The whole whopping one yard.  A 60" wide yard, but still. 

Coco is a versatile and nifty pattern, but until this make, I hadn't cracked the sizing or proportions on my frame, so I was hoping to figure it out; if nothing else, it would be a toile. Obviously, I had to do cut-on sleeves or it wouldn't work, but I used the Emerald dress as a guide for the top, rounding the neckline. 

I used absolutely every bit of length to get the dress to 37" long, which is right on the edge of an acceptable length for me, but I figured it would do with tights.  I had to piece the binding significantly, but got the whole dress out of the yard!

I had in mind to wear it with tights, boots, and this purple-ish cardigan once the weather cooled, but I did try it with Birks in the summer a couple times.  Unfortunately, even though the knit isn't very thick, the spandex content just made me sweat in dress form.  So I put it away for the fall and happily stomped around in my Blunnies and tights the day I wore this.  (I felt like a better version of my mid-'90s high school self).

 

The plaid wrap barely lasted the way home, and I ditched the sweater after I got home, but at least it was cool enough that morning for the whole ensemble!

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!

Trio

It's almost November and I'm still catching up on posting projects from September and early October, so forgive the out of season photos.  It was hurricane hot and humid here until like last week and I was beginning to think I was never going to be able to wear a sweater again.  But thank the Lord, the heat and humidity seem to have finally passed, with morning lows in the 40s and 50s and highs in the 60s.  My kind of weather.  My kids remarked this morning that Alaska would be a good place for me.  Indeed.

 

On a more prosaic note, I tripped getting onto the city bus this morning, and totally wiped out in front of everyone on the bus and behind me in line--a wonderful and humiliating start to my day.  My left arm aches and I can tell my ribs will be sore later, so I think my plans for today might need to include a down shift.  I probably need one of those wristbands you get in the hospital that says "FALL RISK."  Think that would help?  Ha!

I would probably mind less if I hadn't had a fall at church two weeks ago that similarly damaged my right side.  (The fall was one of those weird accidents--someone's coat slid onto the floor as I was going by, it caught on my shoe, and I went down hard).  I sort of feel like I've been through the wars about now. 

Anyway.  I thought I'd post about three projects at once to save time.  The first is the Free Range skirt hack I mentioned in the last couple of posts.  I used the same silky noil from yesterday's Remy Raglan.  The hack is basically to straighten the line from the top of the thigh to the middle of the calf by removing the crotch curve.  There are plenty of tutorials out there on how to do this (I think Helen's Closet has the best one), but it's a pretty easy change. 

The Free Range Slacks are constructed with three pieces--front, back, and sides.  I cut the crotch curves out of the front and back, and kept the side panel the same since it has straight side seams.  I did shorten all the pieces to the lengthen/shorten line closest to the bottom of the pattern, and while I like the length on this version, in the future, I would probably take it up to just below the knee as with the pants I hacked after the fact.

#SewnShownSeated

One note: it would be easy to overlook that the grainline on the back piece isn't straight to the side of the pattern, so if you make these either as pants or as a skirt, be mindful of that.  Otherwise, I made these according to spec.  The noil was a little tricky on the pocket facing, as the fabric wants to sag a bit, and I had to be extra mindful about not letting the fabric hang off the edge of my table while sewing.  If I sew on future make in this substrate, I'd probably interface the edge.  The pockets aren't super useful as a result of this feature, but I can at least put a housekey in my pocket, so that is something.  

Next is the top.  I had an almost usable scrap of the Meadow linen left after making my dad's shirt for his birthday (which I have yet to post...so much behind).  I decided to piece together a simple top and hope for the best, since I liked the color and was trying to use up things.  I used the Sorrel bodice as my base, and lengthened the back and front by 2".  I had to piece a corner of the back shoulder and the 2" add on the back hem, but otherwise, it was pretty easy and the piecing isn't too noticeable.  The linen is handkerchief weight, so it was a nice top in the disgusting weather of September.

And lastly, a wrap top!  I mentioned previously that I've been crushing on 18th century silhouettes again, and thinking about how to work them into my closet in a more modern way.  One of my ideas was a wrapped bodice, but I ran out of steam when I tried to draft it myself. 

Something like this.  I especially liked the little tie closures along the edge.

My main issue with wrap tops generally is that they are never drafted for small busts and gape badly when they fit in the arms and shoulders.  Nonetheless, I decided to look at wrap top patterns and stumbled on the free Peppermint Magazine wrap top, which has over 1,000 posts on the IG hashtag.    

That said, the Peppermint wrap top is generally well liked, and folks say the overlap and coverage are good, and the drafting well done.  The sizing held me up, as it is VERY generously sized.  My measurements put me solidly in the D size, but it seemed like most people sized down at least one or two sizes, and I couldn't decide whether to do a C or a B.  I found one IG post with someone who also sized in the D range and sized down to a B and was happy.  So that's what I went with, and used the beet colored linen I bought in August.

The B fits quite well, the coverage is good, and my only beef is that I could use slightly more arm motion in the sleeves, but I could always add a gusset in later if I want to.  The fit is good in the shoulders and otherwise, and I do have pretty good range of motion, but I think a very small gusset would make it perfect. 

I tried to make a dolman sleeve version last week out of a yard of linen, but it was an utter catastrophe, such that I cannot even rescue the thing--and trust me, I tried.  I hate it when things go that badly, but given the amount of new patterns I've tried this fall,  I suppose one fail isn't too bad. 

 

It is fun to have a wrap top in my closet--I'm find it is nice to have a variety of options right now, given how much my internal temperature swings around throughout the day, and am glad I tried a new pattern and silhouette.

#reallife