Book Launch Day!

It's the official launch day for Crafting the Resistance! I'm getting ready for our launch party, which is on Friday, since, you know, Tuesday night isn't the best time for a party. Megan, at Knit and Bolt, had a great idea for the samples from the book - so I'm labeling them all with their page number.

I hope to see you all Friday!

Crafting the Resistance

Those of you who follow me on social media already know this, but just in case you missed it, I have a new (co-authored) book scheduled to come out in August. It's called Crafting the Resistance.

Like many of you, I was a little bit consumed at the end of last year. When the chance came to do something, I grabbed it with both hands. I hope that, in a small way, my work will help other people resist, insist, persist, and enlist.

This work is very personal for me for many reasons. Here's one that I hope will resonate - Heather and I wanted to use many different skill sets to make the book as open as possible to all kinds of crafters. 

Craft books that cross lines from knitting to crochet to sewing and beyond don't always hit it off with crafters. There's a risk of not pleasing anyone as you attempt to reach everyone. It's a bit of a gamble, but I hope it works! 

Crafting the Resistance includes projects that use sewing, hot-iron transfer, knitting, stenciling, needle felting, wet felting, very basic quilting, and (a very little bit of) crochet.

The book is available for pre-order now and is set to release in August. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood. 

Black and Watercolor Dress

I picked up Simplicity 3775 (oop) at Goodwill a little while ago. To my pleasant surprise, it had 93 reviews on PatternReview.com, so I knew it was pretty good! The pattern I bought was already cut out - but for my size! Yay! I chose to do a sleeveless version with no overlay on the midriff and the surplice front.

A trip to SR Harris yielded a fantastic panel-print knit: black with what I'm calling a "watercolor" in jeweltones. I cut it with the colors on the bottom of the skirt and on the bodice. It's a very soft, somewhat thin fabric, so I doubled up layers on the bodice.

Post-workout hair, sorry.

I love it! The color is smashing and the fabric feels very luxurious. The fit is ok. It fits great everywhere except for at the bust. The front bodice could be a little longer. Live and learn!

Lots of reviewers said the dress was kind of short on them. I'm 5'3", and it hit exactly at my knee. That would make it pretty short on a lot of people.

I Made A Tshirt!

It's a little funky, but it's all mine!

The pattern is from this Craftsy class, but I couldn't have done it without also watching Linda Lee's Craftsy class. It's a little big on me, so it might end up just being workout/sleep top, but I'm still pretty excited!

(BTW, every single Craftsy class is on sale for just $19.99 or less, but this is NOT a Bl*ck Fr*day post. That is an affiliate link, though, just so you know.)

Sometimes You Rip, Sometimes You Sew

Here's one of the many things knitting taught me that also applies to sewing and life.

When you don't like what you're getting, and you can do it over, just do it over. 

Otherwise the bad job you did on that seam/gauge swatch/email will haunt you for as long as you care to think about or use the thing. 

The Story of My Sewing Machine

Kind of a bad photo. Sorry!

I bought my sewing machine at a thrift shop in Traverse City, MI, around 2004, when I lived there. I've always loved thrift shops, and this one is especially awesome, since it benefits the Women's Resource Center.

It was kind of an impulse buy and kind of not. My clothes, bedsheets and I had just endured 2 years of bad washing machines during graduate school, so I had a few things that I loved that really just needed a little mending. If I recall, this Singer 328k cost about $25 (maybe less?), which was cheaper than buying 3 new sets of sheets and less emotional than saying goodbye to my favorite skirt. I kind of hope that everyone else has those few really special clothes that they love to wear and mourn when they, well, wear out!

At the time, I told my dad about buying a sewing machine and he said, "Lara, you must be careful to stay on your budget." He has no memory of this, but the singsong way he said "budget" cracked me up, so I remember. 

I couldn't get the tension knob to work correctly, so I did have it tuned up. The repair guy said that if I took care of it, it would last another 40 years, since it's all metal gears and a rubber belt, inside. 

I checked books out of the library on mending and proceeded to mend my sheets so well that I still use those sets. I also checked out books on garment construction and was promptly scared off by things like interfacing. For some reason, choosing/ using interfacing scared me to death. My friend who sews tried to tell me that not EVERY project has Scary Interfacing, but I didn't believe her. 

So, for the past 11 years, I've moved this machine with me to three houses and only used it for mending. About 4 months ago, I was talking with an editor at work and she told me that you can sew t-shirts and other knit fabrics on a regular sewing machine without a serger. I said, really? Even my loud little antique machine? She said, of course! The last time sewing knitwear was really popular, about 30 years ago, no one had sergers at home. We all just did it with a small zigzag stitch. 

...and I saw the awesome dress Annie Modesitt made herself as a copy of a dress she already had. (I can't find it on her blog, maybe I just saw it on Facebook?) So, now I knew that it was possible to make my favorite kinds of clothes and also make new versions of my favorite clothes? These are skills that I really want to have. 

Next thing you know, I was signing up for sewing classes like this one on Craftsy and it was off to the races! I really enjoy the feeling of learning something new to me. I call my little old Singer Madame Chanteuse, because that's French and I'm apparently obsessed with all things French. She was made in Scotland in 1965. If you have one and don't have a manual, you can download it for free here. 

I keep finding new and exciting ways to make her not work properly (presser foot not down, needle in backwards, needle not in all the way, foot not screwed on tight enough, threaded wrong, sloppy bobbin, wrong needle, another wrong needle, presser foot pressure too low, presser foot pressure too high, messing too much with the bobbin tension, no thread on the bobbin, not oiled/cleaned so that she squeaks like the Tin Man). 

So far, she has always forgiven me. Eventually.

Skirt!

The fabric was so thin that I had to line it. I cut the lining out sideways, so it kind of puckers on my tummy, but I tend to wear my shirts untucked, anyway! I love it!

Copy of My Favorite Light Jacket

I think I did pretty well! I love the color. It's just a touch big - next time I'll make it smaller.