Getting Started on my Orchid Flannel Project + New Patterns!

Question: Is there really any difference between lilac, orchid, and lavender?  If so, what is it?

I started cutting into my organic flannel today and made decent progress on my project.  Can you guess what I'm sewing?







If you guessed evening gown, you'd be wrong.  It's going to be a mens shirt.  I hope to finish it over the weekend and then it's back to vinyl python.



This is the heaviest flannel I've ever sewn with, very similar to chamois, maybe identical.  I'm sewing this on my vintage Singer 201, and so far, so good.



Notice how well the thread matches the fabric.  We were instructed at FIT to buy thread that's one shade darker than the fabric color we want to match because it shows up lighter when you use it.   I wish I had known that when I started sewing shirts; in retrospect, my thread was often too light.



Meanwhile, I have received three new patterns in the mail!







I think I'll be making that Daisy Kingdom "wind shirt" (the first of the three) out of this coated fabric I picked up during the week -- we'll see.





And that's it.  Lots of sewing in the days ahead.

Happy Halloween, everybody!

Happiness Is a Sharp Pencil

I use pencils a lot when I sew.

I rarely notch with scissors anymore, preferring to mark notches with a pencil -- something I picked up from my menswear sewing class at FIT.

Sometimes I'll use a washable pencil made specifically for sewers, but a lot of the time I just use one of the many dozens of colored pencils I've accumulated over my lifetime.  I don't seem to be able to throw away colored pencils if they're more than an inch long.  Actually, that goes for most any pencil.  I love pencils.  They can't leak and ruin your shirt pocket or canvas briefcase.  And they last a long, long time.

But for decades, I've owned only cheap plastic portable sharpeners like the one below.  Perhaps you use one like this.





Half the time the tip breaks off before the pencil ever gets sharp, or one side sharpens and the other will still be covered with wood.

But no longer!

I was over at my Mom's yesterday and today (she had to have cataract surgery) and I got to take home the pencil sharpener I grew up with; my mother doesn't use it anymore.



I think my dad brought this sharpener home from work (my parents were teachers).  It wasn't new when we got it and I'm assuming he didn't just unscrew it from his classroom, or anybody else's, so I'm not sure how he came by it.   Since 1967 it was screwed onto a shelf in my brother's closet and, today, more than 45 years later, I unscrewed it. 

I brought it home and immediately installed it atop an old painted bookshelf in the bedroom.  I'm sure you've seen these sharpeners before, probably in school if you're about my age (or maybe any age).  As you can see, I'm not into polishing stuff.

Here's the inside.  Those grinding cylinders are called burrs, which I learned from Holly Gates' excellent blog, Tooling Up.  Those burrs essentially mill the pencil to incredible sharpness when you turn the crank.







The shavings land in the easily removable front section.



BEFORE:



AFTER:



I am so happy to have possession of my childhood pencil sharpener, readers.  Next trip, I'll have to grab my old Tonka trucks and board games (anyone want to play "Masterpiece"?)

Have a great day, everybody!

Calling All Redheads!

Friends, I have become a little obsessed of late with red hair.

Did you know....

• Only 1-2% of the human population has red hair naturally?
• In Medieval times, red hair was thought to be a mark of beastly sexual desire and moral degeneration? 
• On the first weekend in September in the Dutch city of Breda, Redhead Day is celebrated and redheads from across the globe swarm there?

Know which country has the highest number of born redheads?

If you guessed Scotland, you're right (13%)!

What I love about red hair is how you can create a wardrobe of colors to set it off.  I'm always marveling at how redheads are styled in old color photos.  How many of the ladies below can you name?

Yellow, I love a redhead in yellow.


 

Almost any shade of blue is striking on a redhead.







Red is also great for redheads -- who'd have thought?





And then there's green...





Perhaps my favorite color on a redhead is pink.





Some popular sewing bloggers are redheads.  Does she...or doesn't she?

 





These days, my favorite search on eBay is -- I know it sounds weird -- "used red wig."  This yields images that could give a grown man nightmares: proof that people will try to sell absolutely anything online. 

Clearly these are styled to move.

Listing states "needs some combing"  (!)

There are no words.

In closing, friends, three questions:

1) Are you now or have you ever been a redhead (natural or otherwise)?

2) If yes, did/do you take your hair color into account when planning your wardrobe?  Do you have a favorite contrast color?

3) Can anybody pull off red hair, or does my cousin Cathy a person need the right coloring?

Have a great day, everybody!

"We interrupt this Python" or Sidetracked by Organic Cotton Flannel

You know that old chestnut about women being afraid of snakes?  Well, I can't vouch for its accuracy or lack thereof, but I can say that, much to my surprise, every woman who has caught sight of my python jacket-in-progress has totally oohed and aahed over it -- my octogenarian mother included.

I feel a little guilty because, if truth be told, I'm not that into it.  It's just so...synthetic.

Perhaps the gods are listening, because last week I received an email from an online fabric store specializing in organic cotton, Organic Cotton Plus, offering me a few yards of the fabric of my choice in exchange for a review.  I said yes -- not just because I was up to my neck in a PITA petroleum-derived project, but also because if there's a good source of organic fabric out there, I'd like to help spread the word.

I love cotton flannel and when I saw the colors offered on the site (perfect for a "summer" like me) it took me exactly ten seconds to select my fabric.  A few days later, my package arrived.  Hello, gorgeous!



It even came shipped in a recycled "eco" mailer -- nice.





As soft as this flannel was when I received it, after I laundered and machine-dried it this morning (pics below) I wanted to wrap myself up in it and go back to bed.   It reminds me of a vintage chamois shirt I used to own from L.L. Bean -- the flannel is soft, sturdy and has marvelous loft.





Organic Cotton Plus is GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standards) certified.  You can read more about the environmental benefits of using organic cotton here.

I hope to have an organic cotton flannel sewing project to show you next week -- probably before my synthetic, fossil fuel-derived python jacket is finished.

I am not what you would call an environmentally-conscious fabric shopper.  I'm much more focused on organic food production than I am on fabric production, since I put food in my body and fabric just goes on it.  Perhaps it's time to pay closer attention.

Do any of you seek out organic sources of the fabric you need, if it's available?  If so, I hope you'll give Organic Cotton Plus a look.  (They're also a great source of hemp fabric and have a specific Made in the USA section).

Have a great day, everybody!

PS -- Are you a woman and afraid of snakes?