Now that I've finished my coat, I'm in extreme project-planning mode. And it's a problem: I can't seem to stop daydreaming about all the lovely fabrics and patterns I have stockpiled. I actually couldn't get to sleep last night as I was obsessing about it! (Please tell me that I'm not the only one who's ever lost sleep in a delirium of pencil skirt and secretary blouse fantasies.)I've been putting the finishing touches on Vogue 8615, the pattern with which I've been demonstrating tissue-fitting. I'm making it in a lovely wine-colored silk shantung that makes the most delightful rustling sound when I walk. (Sneak peek above! Excuse the wrinkles please. Lesson learned: shantung is tricky to press!) But I wasn't even midway through that project before I was obsessing about the ones to come.
I think all this scattered-mindedness might be the result of working so long and diligently on just one project. That was great and all, but now I want some instant gratification. And lots of it, please! Preferably, in the form of a whole new wardrobe of office separates.
I'm going with the theory that I just need to get this out of my system, maybe make a few easy blouses and skirts. For instance! Check out this "teen" skirt pattern I just snagged:
Isn't the suspender version on the left incredible? Can't you just see it in something black and stretchy? Maybe paired with a bow-tied blouse? Don't try to convince me that a 30-year-old woman shouldn't be wearing suspender skirts that were marketed to teenagers sixty years ago. I won't listen!Also, a lovely reader named Lee Ann sent me this blouse pattern and I'm dying to make it. Don't you love the cowl action?
And another lovely reader, Sarah, sent me this one. (You guys are so sweet to me!) Check out the awesome high-waisted skirt.
Okay, I better stop or I'll be here all day.
But don't think I've forgotten the Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing project! (As you may recall, I took a little break once I reached the half way point.) In truth, I've also been scheming about old VoNBBS quite a bit. I think I've come up with a good way to shake it up . . . details to come!
Oh, I so understand what you're saying about working hard with one project, and then dying for something easy and instant enjoyment! That's why I never seem to manage to stick to one project at the time. The pencilskirt in the last pattern looks great! And so does the picture of the dress!
ReplyDeleteEvery waking moment...I'm scheming, planning and dreaming about what to sew!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Carolyn - every waking moment. Some of the sleeping ones, too! We all feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm lying in bed with my boyfriend and getting ready to to sleep, he asks me what I'm thinking of (poor chap clearly wants some attention). The answer is "Dresses". Not much changes when I wake up, I just pick it up where I left it. When I walk to school and take a bus. I think of collars and sleeves, bow-shaped drapes and high corset-like belts, I think of soft velvet in deep blue or black, a crispy silky cotton flowery perfection, of grey wool of top quality that will make the dress have it's own shape and all the billion interesting cuts that will just make the outfit.
ReplyDeleteAnd when I'm too frustrated I go through my archives of photographs that is covering most of the 50's, 60's and 00's.
Oh no, you are SO not alone!
I know the feelng!
ReplyDeleteYesterday I could not sleep because plans of how to emulate a coat I saw on the Anthropologie site which looks just like a 18th century redincote with a twist. Cue deciding what fabrics to use, what collar works best, etc etc. :)
In case anyone is curious, here is the beastie, not so exactly 20th century vintage look, more like 18th century :)
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=910303&navAction=jump&search=true&parentid=SEARCH_RESULTS
What everyone else said. What's particularly difficult for me is that the shelves of my approx 1,000yds of fabric stand just behind my computer, so that while I'm trying to work on my thesis I keep getting distracted - for some reason.
ReplyDeleteThe suspender skirt is FANTASTIC! I think you should make it next!
ooo, pretty dress. Question: what is the difference between shantung and dupioni?
ReplyDeleteWell, until recently all my sewing dreams were about quilts ... hadn't made much in clothing for myself since I was about 30 :-) But a former colleague gave me her amazing fabric stash earlier this month, so now I'm dreaming of wool pants with coordinating jackets, sheath dresses, capris and summer shirts, and a scallop-front suit from a 1940s pattern I picked up on Etsy. My dining room table is covered with swedish tracing paper and my house is getting dusty, lol!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you'd going through! After my mad-sewing before Thanksgiving, I have been in limbo: first because I didn't have time, now because I can't decide on what to start next! lol. I think I've finally pinned myself down to make a late 30s playsuit/skirt from some pretty floral rayon I have in my stash, and a pair of 30s slacks. But I'm having serious Sewing ADD right now: everything is appealing to me and I have been spending too much time mulling over this or that when it catches my fancy. haha! Not to mention I too have been dreaming about projects! Last night it was the 30s playsuit (the third time in a week... guess that is a sign from the sewing gods I need to make it?! rofl). ;)
ReplyDeleteAnyway... *ahem* I'll stop rambling. I love all the patterns you posted; especially that pencil skirt with the suspenders! (That's another style that is one my wishlist right now! ;) I think you'd look fab, Gertie. It's sassy and cute--you pull off both beautifully. Can't wait to see the shantung dress you're whipping up too--the fabric is making me drool!
♥ Casey
blog | elegantmusings.com
Oh, it's so true. I'm totally with you on the office separates - I think it's a reaction to the party-dress sewing that we all engage in over the festive period. Suddenly you're sick of silk taffeta and complicated dresses with pleats and side zippers and you can't stop thinking about wool dresses and cotton or silk-mix shirts. I just bought some patterns in this line from ZipZapKap and one of them is actually really similar to your suspender skirt (I would call it a pinafore). http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=24212484
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely going to make mine, and you should definitely make yours. It's fabulous - the high waist is very now, but the straps make it funky and a vintage shirt will make it vintage classy. I have a real thing for pinafores - somehow I feel extra secure in them, as if nothing bad can happen to me because I've got straps and a bib as well as a skirt. Is this just me or has anyone else experienced that?
Oh, I'm constantly obsessing about things like that in bed at night - what choice of fabric with what pattern, though at the moment, it's silk scarves... Last night, it was over a counterfeit being sold as the real thing on eBay, with some poor unsuspecting soul bidding £99 ($160) on something you can buy from China for about $50... I was getting really annoyed, in bed in the dark, when really all I wanted was to sleep...
ReplyDeleteIt's very comforting to hear that I'm not the only one!
Looking forward to you doing that top skirt pattern, Gertie, as it's one I have on my list. And your new dress project looks gorgeous, as always!
I can sew relate. I have lost lots of sleep dreaming of future sewing projects.
ReplyDeleteI would only try to convince you that a 30-year-old woman should indeed be wearing suspender skirts that were marketed to teenagers sixty years ago! They would look so cute on you!
ReplyDeleteOooooooh, love the inspiring patterns. The blouses (esp. the cowl-neck) are making me drool! They'll look great with your amazing coat.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that there are too many fun patterns to sew, and too many beautiful fabrics to sew in. Last night, as I was getting ready to finish my first skirt since high school, I was already on to which separate to follow up with, so I love that your post coincided. I'm sticking with patterns in my stash for now, but I love the cowl neck and the high waisted skirts! Those will probably be adds as soon as I'm done with some sheath dresses and jackets and vests and pants...
ReplyDeleteGood to see the next set of things coming after a big undertaking like the coat. I'm excited because I know you'll go flying through projects again and sew far more things than I could imagine!
Yup, lost sleep last night, too, thinking of sewing projects I really want to tackle. Unfortunately, my semester is ending and since I've got six upcoming semester-finals, I've forbidden myself to start anything until they're over...
ReplyDeleteThe suspender-skirt is awesome, though - I've half a mind to find a pattern for myself and start on it once finals are over!
Obviously you and I are not alone, Gertie, in our sewing/designing obsession. I lose sleep constantly. Last night I was working out the waist for a dress I'm making by combining pieces of 2 vintage sweaters. The night before it was trying to decide which dress is next on the docket. The night before that was thinking about how to make a vintage bathing suit out of recycled clothing....
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you do next. Whatever you make is always lovely, well crafted, and inspiring!
I completely understand about the feverish sewing dreams - the other day, I thought so much about all the things I wanted to do, that I couldn't go to sleep at all, my heart was beating so much, almost out of worry! I utterly adore that cowl top pattern, I've been searching for one like it for ages but there doesn't seem to be anything in contemporary patterns available :( does anyone know of one? I think I too could use some quick projects!
ReplyDeleteI didn't get a chance to comment on your coat post, so I'd like to say here that it's STUNNING.
i'm moving at the end of the month, so most of my sewing stuff is packed up. prior to packing, my apartment was WAY too cold to be puttering around on the sewing machine (no heat, one of the reasons i'm moving). i've missed sewing! i just bought a bunch of great vintage patterns and a nice piece of dupioni silk, so i'm dying to get started again :)
ReplyDeleteSee, this is the problem... fab patterns + gorgeous stash = insomnia, and no one ever warns you about that!!
ReplyDeleteSomething I did before the holidays, was draw up little pictures of me wearing the patterns I either owned, or wanted to own, and matched it with different fabrics I had from the stash. It was like a visual build-a-wardrobe, and was really helpful to me to see it all laid out and see what I really wanted, and what was a bit of a fantasy (like do I really need yet another black shirt?? Jersey skirt??) etc etc.
Plus it was fun doing all that designing and I actually got a half decent sleep that night. ;)
I'm always in planning mode too. When I get overwhelmed with it and/or I can't focus on what's in front of me, I make myself do two things. I can't change the needle or the thread in my machine until project X is completed which gives me some motivation to git er done. The other thing I do is write out a project queue on an index card. I can only write out as many projects on the queue as I can fit on that index card. This works out to just the right amount to dream about, but not so much that it's overwhelming. As I finish those projects (which I allow myself to complete in any order), I cross them off with a big obnoxious pen. Very satisfying. :)
ReplyDeleteI so know about scheming! I have two huge projects and two small ones all ready for me to work on and I keep buying more fabric to make more things! I need to get one done for my daughter's birthday (Feb 2nd!) I am making her a bed set and only have the fitted sheet done. I tend to get so excited about my next project that I have a hard time finishing the project I am working on!
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I too think about my projects all the time, I get so excited that I can't sleep and my sewing room is a few steps away. It is so tempting to get up and just pull an all-nighter, but that 6:30 wake-up call comes way too fast and I have to resist the urge.
ReplyDeletei obsess too! i write lists and have a book filled with sketches for patterns i want to draft.
ReplyDeletex
I'm with you, Gertie! I've lain awake many a night dreaming about patterns and fabrics; making up outfits, sewing in my head...
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I'm not the only one - LOL.
I am drooling over your gorgeous new patterns. Love the second one with the cowl - sensational!
I like planning before falling asleep... It's soothing. I can let go of any stress from the day, lose myself in patterns, textures and coordinating fabrics. Sometimes I run up against a brick wall in my sewing, I think about those conundrums before sleep as well. Often just before I nod off or the second I wake up I'll have an epiphany.
ReplyDeleteI'm into sewing dresses right now, I burnt out on wardrobe separates last fall with the PR contest... Dresses cotton, dresses silk, graphic print dresses, shimmery blue wiggle dresses. Piping, lace trimmed skirt linings and side zips all over the place. Le swoon. And also some linen shirts for the Man.
Your dress is beautiful. I watched your vlog on tissue fitting and it looks like your dress is completed. Great job. Yes, you are not alone...generations of us have been obsessed about fabric, patterns and what to make when, how and now!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, scheming all the time!
ReplyDeleteI particularly covet that high-waisted skirt in the last pattern, but I would LOVE to see that suspender skirt made up! And of course little cowl-necked blouses are indispensable. Oh, and I'm still drooling over that skirt (I think it was a suit but I remember the skirt especially) from Blue Gardenia!
OMG the dress you are making?! I cannot wait to see it!
ReplyDeleteI echo all the other commenters - I am constantly thinking about what I'm working on or what I'd like to sew. Some nights I can't fall asleep because of it! I feel so much better that I'm not alone. Fun post.