Crazy Dog Lady for Sure

I finished my entry for the Crazy Dog Lady Challenge, and I must say I'm pretty pleased with the results.

As a reminder, my inspiration dog is my Great Pyrenees, Zoe.

And this is a close-up of my fabric, a very soft and well-behaved cotton from Cotton and Steel. I'm suspecting this might really be a coyote rather than a dog, but the resemblance is remarkable, don't you think?

We adopted Zoe three years ago from Great Pyrenees Rescue of Northern California. When we got her they thought she was about 3 years old, so we figure she's about 6 now. She's just the sweetest dog you would ever want to know. To her, a stranger is just a friend she hasn't met yet. She works with me doing pet assisted therapy. Twice a month we visit a nursing home with Furry Friends. Zoe also heads to the public library once a month, so that kids can practice their reading with her. She's a totally non-critical audience. That's a program called Tales to Tails. This weekend we'll be visiting the library up at the Santa Cruz campus of the University of California, so that stressed-out students studying for their finals can mellow out by cuddling a big, white fur ball. That program is called Pause for Paws.

The blue isn't really as dark as it looks here

I decided to use one of my favorite patterns for this challenge - the Edith blouse from Maria Denmark. I thought the vintage style of the blouse would be a good match for the slightly retro-style fabric, and it's certainly an easy top to wear.

Front view

The blouse has darts front and back to give it a nice shape.

Back view

And the cut-on sleeves just cover your shoulders.

Better idea of the color

Here's a picture on Mini Me, to give you a better idea of the color. The background is a very soft blue-grey, livened up by green cacti, pink jack rabbits and, of course, Great Pyrenees.

I had what I thought were the perfect buttons. I got them at an antique mall in Illinois when we did our road trip to Chicago last summer. I think they look like little full moons, just the thing for a while dog (or coyote) to be howling to on a Spring night.

She's very good at giving kisses

Stashbusting and Fasting in 2015

As you can see from my sidebar, I've signed up for both the Stashbusting Sewalong and the RTW Fast in 2015. Here's my formal hat-in-the-ring pledge:

 "I, NancyD, commit to using 15 pieces of stash fabric in 2015. Further, I pledge to refrain from purchasing RTW in 2015 (excepting socks and underwear, but I'll try to make that too).

Made from some dotty cotton I got 4 years ago in Shelton, WA

As proof of my good intentions, here's my first stashusting project, a Maria Denmark Edith blouse.

I've done some thinking about stash as I considered jumping into the pool this year. There's no doubt I have stash that needs dealing with, but I believe that stash can be a good thing.

When you're a sewist, especially a sewist with a busy life, you need to have your tools and materials ready and waiting when you manage to carve out that hour or two to indulge your passion. I love having a selection of pre-washed fabrics, multiple colors of thread, elastics, zippers and buttons all set when inspiration strikes. 

Now, you can't go hog wild with stash, or you end up with fabric leaking out of all your closets and drawers and you can't find those two yards of turquoise ITY knit when you need them. I'm close to that point, but quantity isn't really my problem.

For me, it's a question of balancing the stash. 

I probably have three times as many knits as I do wovens. When I first took up sewing again 10 years ago, good knits were rare on the ground. I developed a habit of buying a couple yards whenever I saw a knit I liked. The result is, I have a TON of knits. Part of my strategy for 2015 will be to find a variety of patterns so that I don't end up with 20 versions of the same tee (though I'll always love a good Renfrew).

My other problem involves those scary fabrics acquired earlier in my sewing cycle. Some of them are scary-good, like my pretty blue wool, earmarked for a jacket. Some of them are scary-bad, like my chiffon-y bits bought at cut-rate fabric emporiums. My strategy here will be to just hunker down and use them. What's the worst that can happen? As The Man points out, they aren't doing me any good wadded up in the fabric closet.

I won't pledge not to buy fabric, because I'm participating in Goodbye Valentino's RTW Fast again this year. I need to retire some of my trousers, which means sewing replacements, which means buying some fabric, on account of I don't have any pants-worthy fabrics in stash.

I had a great time with the fast in 2014. I totally went the whole year without buying any ready to wear clothing. Except one vintage beaded jacket  - it fit me and it was $30 bucks. How could I say no? Not buying RTW meant that if I needed (or, OK, wanted) some wardrobe item, I had to figure out how to make it myself. I sewed some things I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to manage, including running gear (!!) and a bra (!!! - the Watson, still to be blogged).

Plus, I'm going to the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA in February. How can I not allow for the possibility that I'll buy a yard or two of some delicious fabric on that trip? My friend, Jessica, and I are taking the train so we can bring an extra suitcase. Just in case.

Maria Denmark Edith Blouse

I've had so much fun with the free Kirsten Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark that I knew I wanted to try another of her patterns. So here's my version of her Edith Blouse.

 

Edith is a shapely little blouse, with a bit of a retro feel. There are bust darts and fisheye darts (or are they french darts?) in both back and front,  and the side seams are curved to allow you to showcase that hourglass silouette. That's if you have an hourglass silouette. As a brick, I don't display this blouse as it deserves, but I do like it a lot!

 

Can you tell there's a little shaping in the back there?



I used a remnant of a nice, substantial cotton that I got at Bolt while we were visiting Portland in August. I had just enough for the blouse, so it must have been meant to be.

I test drove Edith at the Santa Cruz County Fair a couple of weeks ago and it wore very nicely. It was a warm, end of summer day. The little kimono sleeves kept my shoulders out of the sun but I was cool and comfortable while eating fresh churned ice cream and roasted corn on the cob. I was tempted to put it through it's paces on the mechanical bull, but there were too may little kids in line ahead of me.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.