Updates and My New Distraction

Right now, I’ve got so many projects going at the same time – it’s amazing how busy I can keep myself without even having a current TV/movie job!

I’m still working on inventory for my Etsy shop (I promise it’s almost open!), but I have to admit, I’m a little scared to push the “go button”. Building items, taking photos, and writing about them is the easy part! There seems to be so much general setup to do – especially stuff like writing a good shop policy so that customers don’t take advantage of me like some have in the past. And then there is learning to deal with actual shipping… I also find it a bit difficult to sew for an “unknown” person since I usually work directly with someone else (designer or client) on every project.

This week I’ve been trying to choose fabric for my version of the Ladies’ Wrap (#0291) for The 1912 Project. I received the pattern a few weeks back, but I have a new Little Distraction that has been demanding most my attention (more about that in a minute).

Titanic era Ladies’ Wrap

I requested the wrap pattern because it looked like it would be quick & undemanding, easily fit a variety of sizes without alterations, and I think the oriental influence of the design made me subconsciously liken it to a Jedi outfit – which speaks to the geek in me. Retro and slightly geeky. How could I not like it?

A page from one of my favorite books in my personal library (Dressing the Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars) shows the similarities between the wrap style and a Jedi:

I might make another wrap in colors & fabrics similar to a Jedi.

I started by digging though my fabric stash looking for something interesting to use for the wrap. I had many great options I really loved but not enough yardage of any of them. Drat.

But then I remembered I had a roll of fabric that someone once gave me while cleaning out their closet. (I have no idea what it was originally purchased to make, but I always accept interesting fabrics when they are free!) The fabric is a continuous brocade with a black background and metallic threads woven into flowers & leaves in peacock shades of blue, turquoise, green, gold, and silver.

You can see the wrong-side of the continuous brocade fabric on the roll at the top of the photo.

As always, I read the directions that were including with the pattern and then promptly decided to do it a different way – my typical take-a-simple-project-and-make-it-more-complicated-than-it-needs-to-be mode of operation. Curse my engineering brain!

I may have actually made a few construction details easier, but I have to carefully plan the order of steps. The end result is going to be super cool (if I do say so myself) and I will share the instructions once I have the wrap made. =)

I had the perfect turquoise fabric to coordinate with the metallic brocade fabric, but alas, I didn’t have quite enough.

I really like the texture & sheen of this fabric – too bad I don’t have just a little bit more!

So I went hunting for something else in the same shade of bright turquoise with a decent weight (almost everything I found was paper thin!), and ended up with some matte satin from Walmart (of all places!). It doesn’t have the same interesting texture, but it’s almost the same shade of bright turquoise as the fabric I wanted to use! And it was a suitable weight and only about $14 for the amount I needed. Not bad.

Swatch of original choice on matte satin fabric I bought.

So here’s a photo of all the fabrics I plan to use for this project:

And that “little distraction” I mentioned? Well, I’ll let this picture speak for itself:

Wensley

We got a puppy! (Isn’t he adorable??) He’s a Jack Russell Terrier (or Jack Russell Terror, as my husband likes to say) and he is nearly 5 months old & almost full size. It’s such a huge change going from an elderly, well-trained JRT to a teething puppy, but Wensley is going to be a wonderful dog once he matures a little more and I can trust him to stay out of trouble.

I still miss my old dog but it’s so nice to have a companion during the day again. =)

Related posts:

Mock-up Fitting of a Titanic Era Pattern