Lee K was right. ‘Tery’ means ‘polyester’ — not cotton. Things, truly get lost in translation, eh? The burn test said:
Fast burn, some char and some beading. The verdict? Wool and polyester. The question is, next time: Is it rude to do a burn test in the store?
Thanks to AJ, Lelah and June for the help on ‘Cheviot’!
And, yes. I totally used the new lighter 
I’m not a fan of random tchochkes. I have dreams nightmares of turning into an old woman with many cats and lots of porcelain ballerina figurines covered in dust. So, when I travel, it’s rare that I pick up souvenirs (unless it’s fabric)
This time, there was something I couldn’t resist.
At first I thought it was a business card case. Until I opened it up.
and realized it could do this….
So, yes. It’s a cigarette case, but I have just found my new party trick.
And, it can still hold my business cards.
The top two are wool and cotton blends (I haven’t burn tested yet). They were about $10 a meter, but started at $15 pre-bargaining.
The bottom is white shirting. I loved their wools because they are meant to work in summer. Which makes me think they are a perfect spring and fall weight.
Does anyone know why the fascination with labeling things ‘English thread’? Or what exactly ‘Tery’ or ‘Cheviot’ mean?
These three pieces of fabric were from a men’s clothing store. My purchase was so popular with my group that my boss went in and also bought some fabric for a rainy day.
I’m having he and his wife over for dinner soon. He tells me shirts are his specialty
The average salary in Egypt is about $40 a month. Here at the center, the women are taught to make straw bags and hats, weave tapestries and carpets and sew quilts, much of it done by hand.
The looms here were used to make rugs from old clothes
The quilts above and below was listed at 1,000 LEP, about $181 USD. Doesn’t the one above look like a painting?
It was really beautiful work and quite inspiring. The center was started with a micro loan and is run by the Luxor Governorate. They will eventually sell the products in Luxor and Cairo and return to profits to the women. This allows them to learn a new skill and earn a living.
I so badly wanted to take this one home with me for my mom. But, they told me it wasn’t finished correctly and weren’t set up to start selling yet.
Here they are making a tapestry / carpet on one of the looms
And man, is it cold back home!
An Egyptian American colleague who is also a professional tailor
While it was a very full and productive week away, I did manage to get out one night and make a teeny fabric purchase. And I have some inspiring fiberly posts from Egypt to show you (sneak peak below).
In the meantime, I’ve got to bleed my radiators and beat the jet lag!
I try and get photos of mailboxes from the places I’ve traveled. This one was snapped on my way home today.This is the second time I’ve made the BWOF Sherlock Holmes Dress, 9-2007-117. The first time was last October at Trena’s. This dress has been waiting for hemming several weeks. But, it’s been warm warm warm and I wasn’t feeling an all-wool dress. Until today when it dropped to 60 and I needed a dress to wear to tonight’s Aida production at the Lyric.
This is the 2008 version. I wear the other one just about once a week in the fall. This one is made from the leftover grey wool from the original dress and some fabric from the Carol Collection. With the plaid skirt and leather boots, I’m feeling a little naughty British school girl– and I like it.
I am pretty proud of the matching of the plaid. There is an odd bit just below the waist that looks not ideal but nothing I have to look at It’s remarkable how different a dress looks if you just change up the fabric.
I also added almost two inches below the bust for my low bust adjustment. I know skinny belts are in this year, but a friend brought this back from Italy for me last year and I still love it. This version is also fully lined. The original design calls for just lining the skirt.
And finally, here it is without the belt. I have forgotten in the last few years that red is my favorite color. And, I’m currently in love with big, bold plaids.
I finished the #117 dress from October 2008 last night and wore it to today’s morning wedding. Actually, Anna on the right is wearing a dress of mine that I bought two years ago and never wore. I sold it to her last week in a closet cleaning spree.
I don’t think the photo shows just how freaking cute this dress is. As you know, I think I was granted tree trunks for legs (thank you for all protestations otherwise). I was worried the extra fabric around my thighs would be no good, but I feel like a skinny girl in this dress!
I like BWOF’s way of creating motion by twisting the skirt of the dress. It is decidedly uncute without the belt though. And the circle by the right boob is just above the apex. Never been so pleased with having a low bust before
The zipper is needed in the back unless you cut the neckband with stretch. I interfaced my neckband because it was too floppy without. No swayback adjustment needed. I think the weight of the skirt pulls down the wrinkles.
The lining inside was white tricot from the summer visit to Panama. The outer fabric is from PR Weekend NYC 2007. It’s been marinating for about a year.
For the first time I used 1/4 inch hems and constructed most on my serger. This is honestly a five hour or less project. And, no hemming of the skirt. I still have about two more yards of this knit. I think a top of some sort will get made from it.
I’m not sure if bubble skirts are still in. I never had one when they were first around in middle school. But, I plan to rock this at work on Monday with tights and boots.
I’m going to a wedding tomorrow and of course have nothing to wear. I started this #117 bubble dress from the October 2008 BWOF this week
Ok, all I have done is the bodice. Which really should have been lined. But, that invisible zipper and neckband are in with a stretch stitch and I’m not taking it out. I have great confidence in tonight. The cop is on call, I bailed on Happy Hour. It’s just me and my machine.
It’s been a while but Trena and I are podcasting. We talk upcoming trips, current projects and the Aug. and Sept. editions of BWOF. Not October. I got mine Saturday and she’s still waiting on hers.
We are also finally on iTunes! So, please, go there and subscribe. And, um, write something nice about us. We have no reviews. We feel lonely.
Carolyn’s post about cleaning out her fall closet got me thinking about sewn garments no longer with me. Especially because my mom made a comment about the number of clothes I must have. I actually don’t have a large number of clothes because not everything I’ve made in the last year is still being worn.
Both versions of my beloved Hot Patterns Cosmopolitan dress had an early demise. The blue because I got MAC Studio Fix NW50 on the front of it and it never came out.
And my wonderful, never made better, hot-to-trot, go-to dress, not to be replicated, two-tone version accidentally got a hot water wash and stretched out beyond repair. Damn you slinky and your unpredictable stretching!!
It actually causes me physical pain and some nausea to talk about what happened to the two-tone version. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect color combo to try again. I need a chocolate matte jersey to go with the lavender I recently got.
The BWOF blouse below died because I used cheap and nasty interfacing so the facings were bubbly and gross after a few washes. Also, I should have washed and dried the blouse twice because it also shrank after those washings.
The BWOF dress below was always a touch small in the back. Twice I found myself repairing seams in the back shoulder. It was also too small in the bicep. And, bad button placement didn’t give me the support I needed in my bust. One more inch down and I’d still wear it But, I gave it to a B-cup friend from work who lurvs it.
Then there are the black seersucker pants which were awful on me. But, I can’t even bear to bring that photo up again
Sadly, I’ve, er, outgrown this jumper. It went to another woman in my office. It was so cute with a turtleneck underneath it!
Plus, Elaray made a great point in the comments last week when I lamented that I still needed more clothes, “We wear clothes everyday of our lives. We will always, always need more.”
And in that vein, back to the sewing room. But, only for two hours. The front yard needs tending and I’m at the point where I can’t see my bed again.
I am predictable about many things. If there are French fries on the menu, I will be ordering them. Given an option for a meal, I always vote for pizza or Mexican. I tend to perfer form over function. And, when it comes to clothing, give me some trenchy military details and I’m all over [...]
When I posted about my original red and camel version of Butterick 5522 back in January, Shirley commented that she had a similar dress in navy blue and lime green in the 70s. I LOVED the color combo idea and quickly bought two navy rayon double knits from FabricMart. Unfortunately, I couldn’t seem to get a hold of [...]
I apologize now for not being able to show this to you on either my persons or correctly on my dressform. Because the bust cups are lace, they were not exactly internet appropriate. At least not the kind of internet that is free. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get it on my dress form either [...]
I went for a run the other day in my red and grey Jalie multi sport skirt with attached knickers (think cheerleading bottoms) and am 90 percent sure the bottom of my butt cheeks were playing peekabo with the hem of my skirt. I was plodding along (I am ridiculously slow) and thinking my butt felt kind of cold [...]
Well, hello sailor! I am digging the World War II era vibe from this Burda 5-2009 #122 dress. It feels like I’ve just been cranking out projects lately. But, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I started this dress a little over three months ago back in November 2011. I thought it would [...]
Guys, I’m so busy these days between work (larger projects, running a Fellowship program) and extra curricular activities (election season). I don’t want to tell you I’m on a hiatus from blogging since I may have a whim (like now). But, I will be posting very little until the end of September. I can only [...]
I’m at least two projects or more from tackling my athletic wear (I sew by the color on the serger). But, thought you might be interested in a great resource on sewing athletic wear. I managed to purchase most of the Singer Sewing Reference Library in one fell swoop a couple years ago. One of [...]
You may have gathered from this blog that I have a love of all things international. Through much hard work and calculation, I have struck up a unique relationship with my counterpart in Japan. So unique, that when Trena went to Tokyo, my counterpart actually took her shopping — and we’ve never met! At anyrate, [...]
It’s been a crazy busy month on this side of the world. But, my reward came early! Remember when I bought the Singer 221 Featherweight? Well, one came without a case. The woman selling said her mom had the case and accessories and she’d let me know when she got it from her mom. Well, this [...]
This book was a delightful and generous gift from LindsayT who picked up on my love of the now defunct Cottage Living and Domino Magazine. I’ve always called my personal decorating style Urban Cottage and this book will easily help develop it. Country Living is also where my favorite bake-at-home cake recipe is from. Despite [...]
