Dorothy Sayers, a Skirt, and Saint Anne

This is a sewing related post, I promise! There is something nice about not being forced to read theology anymore, yet happily doing so anyway. I believe it is divine assurance that, despite everything I feel right now, I am right where I need to be in terms of vocation. I am aware that this vocation may change, expand, and will hopefully develop more fully, but I am starting off well. My latest kick post-NT Wright has been Dorothy Sayers. I have had her book Letters to a Diminished Church for quite some time now and am just finally getting to it. I love it. She captures many of my own intuitions far more eloquently and succinctly than I can currently manage, and I am learning a great deal from her. Her creative spirit inspires me to be even more creative. It sounds incredibly silly, but there are times when I am sewing that I feel as though I am taking part in creation itself. Weird, but true.

Tea in hand, book on the sideboard, and fabric before me, I made yet another skirt. This one is courtesy of Pinterest via this blog. I will admit, the instructions are a bit confusing due to arithmetic and I being sworn enemies, but I lucked out and am almost her same measurements. Huzzah! It is darling and I love the color of the fabric (the mid-priced broadcloth from JoAnn. Nothing fancy.) It is actually a Tiffany blue, but it looks much more pale in the photos than in real life. The last one is closest, but still a bit off. If I make it again, the waist will need some adjusting as it is quite "gaping," but otherwise, I am pleased with it.

And now: something rather nifty. A few years ago, I purchased some Byzantine icons from the Greek Orthodox church to be used for Taizé. One of them, I thought, was the Theotokos- Mary and Jesus, but it turned out it was Mary and Anna (Mary's mother). I didn't realize this until a few weeks later and left that one off to the side during the services for fear of being called "Romish." (These were pre-HPUMC days. I am not sure anyone in Cox would have become flustered.) I just learned today that Anna, or Saint Anne, is the patron saint of seamstresses. That is pretty spiffy.

Penciled in

.

Life is too short not to make fun skirts, so I decided to do just that today. Additionally, the fact that I have succumbed to wearing pants all too often has weighed heavily on my mind as of late, as has my poor, neglected sewing machine. Poor Lydi; Credo and other silliness has separated us for far too long.


Adoration for my household appliance aside, I have a favorite pencil skirt that came as part of a suit. I rarely wear the jacket, but I find myself constantly reaching for the skirt to pair with other tops. It is the perfect, conservative length and doesn't "cling" as many pencils do (skirts that is, though I do seem to always have Dixon Ticonderogas on me for some strange reason). So in a bout of insanity and wishful thinking, I decided to replicate it.



I had a ghastly long explanation as to how I made the muslin mock-up/pattern, but then I thought to myself "No one wants to read that." That's the short version. Anywho, here are some pictures if you really want to know what I did:

And that is pretty much how I did it. (What you don't see- I lined it with white muslin and reinforced the waist with interfacing. Other than that, it's fairly self-explanatory. Oh, and the back piece was cut in two so that I could sew in a zipper.) It was a rather simple undertaking for my first drafting project, but I am thrilled with the result, so thrilled I may need a few more of these. I hope to do more in the future with drafting. It is very satisfying making something that you have truly designed yourself. (Well, if it turns out right... ;-D)

Another front shot. Would you believe this
took less than a yard of fabric?

Side; I hope to figure out how to add an
overlapped slit in the back, but I decided
to forego that this time around.

Sewing Space

Lydia the 301 in her new environment. :-)

Living in a one-bedroom apartment as a woman who sews and is involved in all sorts of craftiness is rough. One day, I will have a dedicated space, but for now, I am utilizing my tiny coat closet and the little area around the 301 cabinet. For a while I played the "pretend this is just a weird table placed in an awkward spot in the living room" game with the 301, but I have now decided to fully embrace its sewing-awesomeness and create a space where I am inspired to sew. Whee! Here is how it all happened:

Artwork: free, printed from the interwebs on cream card stock
(The quote is one by Dorothy Sayers- one of my favorite authors. The background is scrapbook paper.)

Frames were purchased for a dollar each at Goodwill then painted and lightly sanded for that distressed look.

Ah, Dorothy Sayers.

Letters: A tutorial

Materials- cardboard letters of your choice (these were $.99 at the craft store, but you can cut your own from cardboard); an old sewing pattern, scissors, Mod Podge, and a paintbrush.

I don't think I'll be missing this one...

Step one: Take the desired pattern and cut it into strips. This was the way I chose to do it, but I suppose that you could lay an entire piece over the letter and cut around it.

Step 2: Apply the Mod Podge to the letter and then apply the pattern. This is pretty easy- the tissue consistency of the paper makes it very easy to smooth out and move around curves. Just be careful not to tear the paper.

Step 3: Apply a topcoat if desired. I chose not to.

And ta-daaa! You have some swanky letters that cost you less than $7! And you used up a pattern that you may have never sewn. Doubly splendid!

Cutting strips allows you to pull areas of interest from the pattern
(e.g. grainlines, notches, etc.)