It's about exploring and sharing my creative adventures (mostly sewing these days) ~
~those activities that sometimes obsess, usually inspire, occasionally frustrate
~and always provide a delightful maze to wander through.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Starting a New Relationship (ReVisions Peony Vest)

This pattern has been winking at me from my stash for well over a year now, and finally, I winked back.  Actually, we're officially dating now.  I've been sewing a number of fairly ordinary pieces lately, and my creative juices were longing to come out & play, and Diane Ericson's ReVisions Peony Vest seemed like just the right playmate.  My play time in the sewing room has been rather limited lately (hence the lack of blogging, if anyone noticed), so a relatively simple vest, with a lot of room for creativity, seemed just the ticket!

This pattern only has a few reviews over at Pattern Review, & some were rather negative, but I was finding pictures of finished pieces elsewhere on the web that looked absotively inspiring!   And each one completely different from every other one!   I was seeing a LOT of room for playfulness.

After pulling a few fabrics that I thought I wanted, and going "nope....not this one....nor that one....nope...." all of a sudden the right combo practically jumped right on my cutting table.   A supple, salmon-colored pigskin & a yummy golden silk/cotton looked like a perfect pairing.   A rich, coppery silk for the lining.  And what's this?  A fruity, flowery silk charmeuse - one of the very few fabrics that somehow made it through all of my purges from my previous sewing life....this piece has to be over 20 years old!   Perfect.


I LOVE every one of these fabrics, & knew that there was going to be a lot of playing around with placement, & not a lot of room for mistakes & unpicking, so a muslin was definitely in order.

Did I say relatively simple?

Two (2) muslins later, I was finally ready to cut into my fashion fabric.

Two (2) more FULL evenings of laying out pattern pieces & cutting later, and I still haven't stitched a stitch!  Well...I did do a test piece, which only brought up more how-to-do-this questions....but still, every good, lasting relationship takes a little work, and I AM having fun!  Really, I am.

A total of 18 pattern pieces, plus a few yards of bias cutting (on slippery silk charmeuse, no less), with little tweaks & added darts & fitting alterations and....oh, yeah, doing it all late at night..... this may take awhile, so it's going to be one of those multiple blog posts items.

Lining, Side Pieces, yards of bias, & pigskin
That picture makes everything look so....non complex.   That took me two full evenings???   In my defense, I have learned to go uber-slowly when I'm sewing late at night.   We all know what can happen when you're tired and you start rushing....

And I interfaced the pigskin - it was so stretchy that I felt it needed some stability.   It's times like that when I think one of those large pressers might just be a good investment!   Also, this was the first time I tried making a continuous bias strip....maybe, now that I've done it once, it will actually save time the next time, but trying to figure out how to best do it (remember...late night sewing....) took for-friggin'-ever!

I did play around with a test piece - piping in the seams.   I will be doing this; but I'm not sure about the details yet:

All in all, I do believe there's hope for this relationship.  I really think I can make it work :)

How are your sewing relationships going for you these days?   Do you prefer the one-night stands?  Or do you savor the long-term ones, with their inherent ups and downs?




11 comments:

Peggy L said...

Great post:) I love your fabric combination and can't wait to see your finished vest. You are encouraging me to get back in my sewing room.

shams said...

JillyBe, this is an inspired collection of fabrics. You really go for it and I love it. I can't wait to see this unfold - it's going to be special.

And, yes, I did notice! :D

Witch Hazel said...

The colors and fabrics you have for this vest are so wonderful together! This will be a fun piece for sure. It's ok to take your time sewing. I'm one of those that prefers long relationships :). I don't think I've ever sewn something in one day, excluding things like a pot holder, lol.
Yeah, I like to daydream about the details, and spend as much time in the 'imagineering" process as actually making it.
An I hear you about taking your time cutting! I have also taken more than a day to cut out projects, so don't feel bad. It's good to take your time, be careful, and savor the process.

I look forward to seeing your finished vest! But no rush. :D

Andrea said...

Jilly, you have selected gorgeous fabrics for this project. They are screaming fall to me! It's going to be beautiful on you when it's finished - cant wait to see it.

Mary said...

I love the fabric combination you have put together. Take your time and just enjoy the process-I'm speaking to myself too :-) I'll try to log on in Mexico and see how you are doing..

Margy said...

Wow, Jilly, what an inspired combination of fabrics! It definitely says "fall". I'll be interested how it works out; I have several of Diane's patterns but have never used them. For some reason there are negative reviews here and there, so I'll be following your progress closely!

Martha said...

So beautiful and I especially love the piping you've chosen. It really highlights this autumnal fusion. I like one-night stands, but you've inspired me to take on something more long-term and enjoy the process. Here's to slow, savory sewing!

glorm said...

You may have a relationship going, but you are teasing us. LOL. I don't have a sewing relationship currently, but a knitting one.

How many times do we read from someone "I can't wait to see the finished project"? In this case it is so true.

Amy said...

What a beautiful post. I love long-term relationship projects. They end up a story all their own and even if they end up unfinished I've learned so much about myself and gained a lot more knowledge. Those fabrics are simply amazing--that pigskin color is just glorious!

Unknown said...

I think the joy of Diane's patterns lay in the playfulness of them. They are meant to be design as you go projects, so that you explore new options and discover new passions, whether its color combinations or embellishment choices.

I am working on her revision blouse at the moment and its been quite the courtship, I am not rushing anything. Like good wine it needs time:)

Jillybejoyful said...

What a delight to come here & see all these wonderful comments! Thank you everyone! It's great to read that you all agree with how wonderfully these fabrics work (play!) together - I love it when shopping my stash yields magic like that :)

Lynne your description of Diane's patterns is spot on - the instructions alone are a window to creative abundance. I found the same thing with the Lois Ericson pattern I did earlier this year (I think they're sisters?)