The Opposite of Sewing

Readers, what is the opposite of sewing?  If you said, not sewing, you'd be wrong.  No, my friends, the opposite of sewing is unsewing.  I know, because I unsewed yesterday.  The rose-print gathered skirt of last week is but a memory, six yards of rose-print polished cotton now neatly folded and returned to my stash.



I don't recall who suggested it first, but thank you from the bottom of my seam ripper.  It took less than fifteen minutes and afterward I felt as light as thistle down.

OK, I checked: it was MPB reader "Birdmommy" who suggested I unsew (which she calls "ungather") the skirt.  She also suggested I donate the yardage... to her, I suppose.  Well I'm keeping it!

Seriously, though, thank you, Birdmommy!

Readers, you'll be happy to know that I have picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started all over again -- on something else.  As I may have mentioned, I'm now making Simplicity 4227, the early 50s cocktail dress with matching jacket and perhaps some soutache braid trim as suggested on the pattern envelope as soon as I figure out what that is.

 

If all goes well I will be done by the weekend and maybe I can corral Cathy into a photo shoot, weather permitting.  I've already ironed my pattern and you remember the fabric, which I'm now calling polyester shantung (sounds exotic..well, the last part anyway).



The fabric is bold, no doubt, but I think Cathy can pull it off; the dress itself is quite simple really. 

I think the problem with the rose-print dress, in retrospect, was that that skirt was too gathered.  The difference between Cathy's chest and waist is a mere six inches (five on a bad day); I don't think she can handle that volume even beneath a very tightly cinched belt.  How is she supposed to eat at parties?

Yesterday on Etsy I picked up this vintage Butterick pattern, similar to the Vogue but more sophisticated and without those raglan sleeves.  It had been listed only hours before but I found someone else selling the identical pattern in the same size at half the price.  It pays to do your homework.

As you can see, the skirt, while poofy, is much less voluminous than the dirndl-style skirt on the Vogue with its 18 yards (I exaggerate -- but just a little) of fabric.  Look how this skirt is designed: the front panel of the skirt and the bodice are one piece and it's not belted.  Interesting!

Anyway, we'll see what happens. If I do make Vogue 4018 again, I'll do it in a lightweight black lace, with the bodice (but not the sleeves) and skirt underlined.



In other news, Michael and I were walking the dogs yesterday afternoon when we happened upon this troubling tableau:

Honestly, readers, how does this happen?



I know Superman changed in phone booths but didn't he keep his underwear on?  I hope whatever the person in question changed into was better than the outfit she/he discarded.  Scenes like this are what give New York City a bad name.

Sometimes people leave donated bags of clothes in front of the Salvation Army on Sunday, when it's closed, and other people rifle through them on the street, or just grab the bags, take what they want, and toss the rest.  I'm hoping that's what happened here.

Friends, that's it.  I hope you're up to something fun this week and if you're not, well, check in regularly for a few giggles.

And speaking of giggles, I wanted to mention that the George W. Trippon videos I posted yesterday had been uploaded to YouTube by Pittsburgh-based quilter extraordinaire and filmmaker Shawn Quinlan, who has produced a documentary film about Trippon that he's currently entering in film festivals.  You can learn more about Shawn and his incredible free-motion quilts here.

Happy Monday, everybody!

In memoriam...

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New acquisitions + George W. Trippon

Readers, Sunday posts can tend to be idea dumps here at MPB.  Sometimes there are things I'd like to share but they don't warrant a post all their own -- or I lack the inspiration to create one.  Consider today's post an idea dump.  My mind has been unfocused of late.

As you can see above, the Vinyls have new clothes and, if you can believe it, there's more on the way.  People tend to sell Ken clothes on eBay in lots, and some lots are better than others.  Often they're poorly photographed and/or described by sellers, so you don't always know what you're getting.  I have been fortunate: so far I've gotten great stuff.  Of course, I don't care about a loose snap here (they can be tightened) or a frayed hem there (they can be trimmed).  I'm collecting these solely for our pleasure.

As you can see, the Mod boys (Brad, Grant, Brett, and Ben, though Ben's actually more contemporary) have new vintage outfits and the theme is denim.  Sadly, Ken and Allan will have to wait a bit longer for theirs but one of them is getting ice skates...or is it roller skates? 





 

I'm not a big fan of velvet jumpsuits but Ben looks pretty cute in his, don't you think?  As for Brett, he looks good in everything.



Meanwhile, at the flea market yesterday I picked up some vintage costume jewelry for Cathy.









Combined, I spent $8 and I know she's going to love all of it.  The locket is especially charming and won't it be sweet when she can put a photo of her special someone in it?  Let's visualize love in that girl's future; she has so much to offer the right person!

I know you're wondering how I can reconcile writing about decluttering on Saturday and new acquisitions on Sunday, but I figure that as long as the new things are smaller than the old things, I come out ahead.  And you'll be proud to know I passed over a gorgeous Singer 201 in a lovely Art Deco table being sold for less than I paid for my Featherweight.

Oh, good news!  The formerly-silent seller responded to me yesterday afternoon and assures me my machine should be delivered UPS tomorrow.  Here's hoping!

Finally, MPB reader Sam recently turned me on to sewing celebrity George W. Trippon.  Have you ever heard of him?  He was a professional dancer in the movies and then moved on to costume design and finally ended up with his own sewing show in the Seventies and early Eighties.  He died last December at a ripe old age and you can see video excerpts of some of his shows on You Tube.  He's quite campy but very entertaining and fun and he knows what he's talking about.  I'd watch him today, wouldn't you?







(Parenthetically, I just realized that my blog is much funnier if you read the whole thing in the voice of George W. Trippon.)

In closing, friends, whether you're decluttering or recluttering (let me guess which) I wish you all a happy and restful Sunday.

See you bright and early on the morrow, kids -- what are you sewing these days?

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In other news...

Friends, do you ever have rescue fantasies?  I do -- in fact, I'm having one right now.  I bring this up because yesterday, out of nowhere, I was rescued and let me tell you, readers, it felt wonderful.  (Don't let them tell you otherwise.)

Remember my beloved Singer 15-91, my go-to machine for everything until I decided on a whim that it needed to be rewired?  And then I couldn't get the hand wheel off because it felt cemented on?  Well MPB reader and all-around handy guy and native New Yorker Rain (as in, Singin' in the) offered to remove the hand wheel for me -- he owns about six 15-91's in his large and growing vintage sewing machine collection and he has successfully restored/is restoring all of them!



He arrived yesterday after lunch and in about a minute and a half had that hand wheel off.  Then he starting dismantling the machine itself.  It was thrilling!  He brought his own solvents, special screw drivers (the kind you use for guns), everything but paper towels.





The machine really will need to be rewired and Rain has offered to do it for me in exchange for a little sewing guidance so we're going to do a trade.  He even offered to help me restore -- if needed -- my Featherweight, which still hasn't arrived, btw, nor have I received any communication from the seller since the purchase eight days ago.  This is not good.

In other news...

Friends, I realized that some of my difficulty making a decision yesterday about the rose-print dress was related to my apartment being a total mess -- Cathy's shoes, hats, stole, still lying about everywhere nearly a week after the big event.  I could barely see my poor Vinyls amid all the detritus.  Something had to give; it was time for another round of decluttering.

Here are few items that didn't make the cut (i.e., adiós a vosotros), along with a few that I'm still not ready to part with.

It breaks my heart, but this vintage crochet wine bottle poodle has to go.  NOTE TO SELF: Avoid kitschy knit-knacks sold in thrift stores -- the fact that somebody else dumped them contains an important message.



I bought this vintage orange Braun hair dryer at the flea market because I liked the design; I don't have any hair to dry.  Alas, it has a European plug and I could never turn it on.  It has been sitting in a drawer for fifteen years!



I also have this classic Braun men's razor, though I have never shaved with it.  I love its Teutonic good looks and I'm not ready to part with it -- yet.



I bought this carrying case in 2001 for a camera I no longer own and I never use a camera case these days anyway.  It's well made but what am I saving it for?  It just sits.  It's hard for me to part with things I paid money for (as opposed to finding in the street).



Here are a few (more) things I'm not ready to part with, though I really should, I know, I know....

This old box of travel soaps, no doubt collected assiduously by some peripatetic newlywed fifty years ago.  The scent of Lux is still overpowering!











And these old autograph albums, seventy years old.  I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff and now when I see it at the flea market (it's always there) I run the other way.  Read them and weep for our collective lost innocence -- and penmanship skills.













In closing readers, I ask you: what kind of crap do you collect that your husband or wife, parent or friend, thinks you're nuts to hold on to but hold on to you must?

Do you consider things like the autograph albums and soaps pictured above priceless memorabilia or just so much dead weight and best tossed in the dumpster?

Any interest in a crochet poodle?

Have a great day everybody!

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Sewing and the (dreaded) UFO

Loyal readers, you know we don't talk about UFO's here on MPB very often.  (I'm an accentuate the positive type of guy.)   And I have only two "unfinished objects" to my name, sort of.

First, my cranberry corduroy jacket (ugh):



Second,  a black polyester crepe skirt for my mother (belch):



How about Michael's suit, you ask?  I think to qualify as a UFO you have to have cut into the fabric, don't you?

What happens to me -- and it doesn't happen often -- is that I either run out of steam, run out of interest, or both.

Friends, I fear my rose-print dress is veering toward UFO status, though I am trying -- trying -- not to let that happen.  But I'm experiencing strong resistance and the headwinds are formidable.



The first challenge is that I have to make a crinoline for it -- that's spooking me, though I have all the materials already: the tulle, the net, the ribbon, the lace, polyester fabric for the top, elastic for a waistband.  I even have a pattern.

The second issue is that I'm still not sure what color I want the bodice to be.  I blame you for that, and myself for asking your opinions.  Who knew you'd be so persuasive -- and so polarized?

Next, I've fallen out of love with the pattern (particularly the raglan-sleeved bodice) -- and the fabric.  I think it's all too girlish for Cathy.  I fear she'll end up looking like Miss Yvonne.

Finally, the so-called Comeback event came and went -- and in an old dress with some new accessories, go figure.  Now it's over and the momentum has vanished.

I do want to finish this project, and it doesn't even have to be that big a deal.  I could probably finish it in a day or two and I don't have to make the crinoline; I can purchase one.  I mean, I don't knit Cathy's pantyhose!

I'm a big believer in going where my energy is (following my bliss, as it were).   I hate the feeling of pushing uphill and it always works out better in the end to work on what I enjoy.

So yesterday I poked my head into the fabric store and I left with five yards of this:





 

It's some sort of poly sateen (?)  with a bold peony pattern.  It's lustrous and dramatic and the wrong side is arguably better than the right side:



At $2/yd., why not?  So I thought of revisiting this pattern from a while back, a formal cocktail dress with matching jacket.



I'd tried making this a year ago with the poly brocade-from-hell.  It was a nightmare to work with and I threw the whole thing out.



Like it or not, this project sounds more gratifying to me than that rose-print dress right now.

Of course, this would mean another UFO to my name.  Eek.

Friends, I ask you: what is your policy regarding UFO's?  Do you have a lot of them?  Where do you keep them?  Do they depress you to even think about?

Do you ever re-visit them at a later date and complete them?

If I do assign UFO status to the rose-print Comeback dress, should I schedule a re-visit now (in two weeks, say?) or just stick it in a box and forget about it?

Guidance, please!  (Motivational mantras especially appreciated.)

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