It's Been Awhile...

How has it been three months since I last posted here?  I didn't even realize it had been that long.  I've had so much going on!  It was a busy spring for sure - two of my kids got married within three weeks of each other,  I ended up with Covid in between the weddings and then some sort of stomach thing that lasted a whole miserable two months and then the end of school madness.   I will say that this year was probably the hardest and most stressful of my career to date.  I'm not sure why - it felt like it should have been easier than the two years previous, but whatever the case I'm so thankful it's done and hopefully next fall is a lot better!

But here I am.  Feeling so much better and we're into week three of summer break, so I'm caught up on much needed rest and feeling more relaxed than I have in months.  Summertime and the living is easy.  I've been working away in my garden, reading books that have been on my to read list for far too long, floating in the pool and getting some sewing and knitting in too.

I'm going to do a catch up post of some of the things I was working on in the months of my blogging hiatus - I sewed my dresses for both weddings and the ties for my husband and little guys (Ok, they're not little anymore - one is already a full fledged teenager and taller than me.  How did that happen?)  and I did a pattern test for Itch to Stitch* in between the weddings that I'm realizing I never shared here, along with a few other sewing projects and I picked up my knitting needles again!!  I'm so incredibly slow at knitting now, but I'm enjoying it, so that's what counts!

So, speaking of pattern testing, I recently finished another one and it's just been released today!  This is the Soller Top and Dress from Itch to Stitch and oh my goodness it was love at first sight!  The Soller features gathers at the front shoulders (achieved so simply with elastic!), a v-neck binding and grown on sleeves that are also finished with binding.  

I made the top version for testing and loved it so much I literally snipped the threads, tried it on and cut out a dress version and was wearing the dress by that afternoon.  So this is also a super speedy, quick fix kind of garment.  I need new tees in my wardrobe because most of mine are getting tattered and worn from so much use, and I'm trying to decide how many Soller tees would be an appropriate number.  

I made my tee out of an unmarked jersey remnant I picked up for a few dollars a couple of years ago at my local Fabricland.  I think it likely has some rayon or bamboo in it because it is super soft and has a drape to it.  I really, really hope I pre-washed my fabric - I usually do before I put it on the shelf, but I had a horrifying moment of thought after I cut it all out that I may not have.  Please oh please don't shrink! It's perfect the way it is!  I'm being super precious about how I care for it, because I don't want to ruin it.

The dress is just as good.  I've reached for it so many times this week already! It's just so comfy and easy to wear.  

This one is made out of The Fabric Snob's "boyfriend" wash jersey and it definitely has been pre-washed so this is a easy throw in the wash without a second thought kind of garment.  Which is a darn good thing given I practically have been living in it right now.  It's been so hot and humid the last little while it's been the perfect thing to throw on and go about my day. 

I want to talk about the yardage for a moment too.  After sewing some garments recently that took a whole lot of yardage (mother of the bride and mother of the groom dresses I'm looking at you...) it was so nice to be able to whip out a top or dress out of a small amount of fabric.  A top in my size 18 takes .8m  and the dress 1.2m!

If you want to get sewing a Soller for yourself, head on over to the Itch to Stitch site.  It's on sale for the release week too!

I'll pop back in soon again to tell you about the Lemont top that I tested and then forgot to tell you about here (although it was over on my Instagram and I did post about it in the ITS facebook group, so you may already have seen both I made.  I'll have to fill you in on the details of my wedding sewing too!

The Reynolds Top

Here we are the middle of summer and it's finally a rainy day - we've had such a hot dry summer here in the prairies, so it's very welcome.  It also means that I have some time to sit down and write a blog post that I had actually intended to write at the beginning of July instead of August.  However, since I've left it so long, I now have another project to add in here. Procrastination at it's finest.  Ha ha!

One month ago today, I turned 50 years old.  Leading up to my birthday, I decided that a 50th birthday was an occasion that definitely was deserving of a special new dress, even if my plans for my birthday included nothing more than sticking around home for the day other than a short hike at our favourite spot to take our dog Jasper for an off leash walk.  

When Helen's Closet released the Reynolds Dress and Top pattern I snapped it up the minute it was released, printed it off and assembled the PDF the same day.  I had my fabric cut out by the next day. And my dress was sewn and hanging up waiting well in advance of my birthday.  It took quite a lot of restraint to not wear it before hand, but what is the point of a special birthday dress if you're not going to wait until your birthday to wear it?

I love this pattern so much!!  It's quick and easy to sew which is my favourite thing these days!  It's a simple design so it lets your fabric really shine as the star of the show.  As with all of the Helen's Closet patterns the instructions are well thought out and include all sorts of helpful tips throughout.  The attention to small details is there as well with mitred corners on the side slits of the dress and the option of doing flat felled seams.  I sewed up a straight size 18 D with absolutely no changes to the pattern at all.

I knew exactly what fabric I was going to use on it too, without any hesitation.  In fact, I had my fabric picked out of my stash from the minute Helen had said on the patreon podcast that she would be releasing it soon. I had my eye on this large scale floral linen at Fabricland for over a year!  When it came out, I fell in love with it, but it was just too expensive to justify buying.  Every time I saw it in the store I was tempted to buy it, but even when it was discounted it still wasn't justifiable.  Then earlier this spring I was wandering through the clearance section of the store just having a browse about and suddenly I spied the bolt of fabric marked down to 70%!  Hello!  That's a completely justifiable purchase in my books!  I couldn't believe my luck.  I bought it and tucked it away in my stash waiting for the perfect pattern to come along. 

I was thrilled with how my dress turned out!  The Reynolds is great to showcase the large scale print, and it's so comfortable to wear.   I wore it, as planned, all day.  I even swanned about Tourond Creek in my hikers and dress when we took Jasper for his walk that day.  It was quite a look, I'm sure.  Ha ha!

I kept thinking that a Reynolds Top would be a great addition to my wardrobe too.  I have a couple pairs of cropped Itch to Stitch Samara Pants* that I made a few summers ago.  One pair I pair with a modified Crystal Cove Cami as a faux jumpsuit, but the other pair I really have nothing to go with so they continually just sit in on the hanger unworn.  I had bought some linen last summer with the intention of making a Ashton top out of it, but never got around to it, and thought that it might work out nicely as a Reynolds, so I sewed it up on Monday morning in about an hour and a half.  (Had I not had to change serger thread, ran out of bobbin thread and broken a needle it would have been even quicker).  

The only difference from the pattern was that I lengthened it because I'm not one for wearing cropped tops at all.  Otherwise, like the dress, I made no modifications.  I'm really happy with how it turned out too.  Don't mind the wrinkles.  I ironed it, then sat down for a bit in it before taking the photos and well, it's linen.  You've just got to embrace the fact it wrinkles if you so much as look at it.  

While I'd made my top originally thinking solely of having something to wear with my purple and blue Samaras, I was pretty excited to realize that it would go with my other pair as well.  It's nice to have a different look for them than just my faux jumpsuit one! Win! Win!

Now I'm wondering how many Reynolds are too many Reynolds?  I have some more fabric that would be perfectly suited to a top and I've got some cotton that I'm thinking might be cute in a shorter version of the dress... decisions, decisions...