A Much Better Fit

I knocked out Version 2.0 of the See & Sew raglan cowl yesterday:

This one is two sizes smaller than the one I originally made and is the correct size for me. It fits loosely without being tent-like. I am dithering about the cowl; it probably does need to be cut on the bias, but I still wouldn’t use allover interfacing. I would use knit stay tape only on the edges of the cowl to help stabilize them. This smaller size does also need the back pleat, which I left in. I am adding this pattern to the “tried and true” pile, although the next couple of iterations probably will have long sleeves. I could also do a faced neckline instead of the cowl.

As nicely as this fits, however, I still cannot wear orange of any kind. Also, the placement of those two pink flowers on the bodice was a total accident, LOL.

I did a bit of research on color palettes. My mother, aunts, cousins, and I all did our “colors” back in the 80s when that was popular. I was identified as a Winter, in stark contrast to everyone else in my family. Now the seasons have been broken into subcategories. “Winter” encompasses three groups depending on whether one’s coloring is “cooler” or “warmer.” I can’t quite tell which subcategory I fall into, although I suspect cooler. Wardrobe advice remains the same: Avoid muddy earth tones, oranges, yellows, and faint pastels in favor of jewel tones and saturated colors.

That has been an ongoing battle for decades.

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I may have to do most of my fabric shopping online or when I am in Seattle. Interestingly, the first episode of Season Two of the Whipstitch Podcast was on how to shop for fabric. The show notes include links to some new-to-me retailers, like Emma One Sock. Oh, my.

We’ve had a couple of days of cooler weather and I am more inclined to start making some fall and winter tops. I really need to do a purge of my closet, but the prospect of having clothing that fits in colors that are flattering makes me giddy with excitement.

*********************************

We have houseguests for a few days. My cousin Lynnette, who was two years older than me, died suddenly when she was 35 and left a husband and four kids under the age of eight. Lynnette’s oldest daughter and her husband are using us as a home base while they visit Glacier and do some hiking. They arrived yesterday. After they head back to Cleveland next week, I need to work on some serger class prep. I have three new serger classes scheduled in September and they happen right after I get back from another cousin’s wedding in Seattle. (I have a big family with lots of cousins.) I need to have everything ready to go before I leave for the wedding. We also have our Mountain Brook Homestead Foundation Fall pie social on September 10, and a candidate for our interim pastor position is visiting that weekend. I decided against participating in the Mountain Brook Craft Co-Op sale at the end of September because so much else is going on. I also don’t have a lot of inventory as I spent most of my sewing time this year on serger classes and clothing.

If I get through September in one piece, I’m going to Ritzville, WA, for the Mennonite Country Auction on the first Saturday in October. I am planning to stay for the quilt auction this year. I’ve always had to miss it to get back to play at church on Sunday. And I’ve got four serger classes already on the schedule in October.

The tomatoes are rolling in. I am putting the ones we don’t eat immediately into the freezer for sauce- and salsa-making later. I made a gooseberry crisp for the husband and put two gallon bags of gooseberries in the freezer for this winter. They are such a labor-intensive fruit because the stems and blossom ends have to be cut off, but the husband’s Grandma Milly used to make gooseberry pies for him and I know he likes them.

Today, it’s canning carrots. I have ten pounds to clean, cut up, and process. I’ll be in the kitchen if anybody needs me.