Showing posts with label Sew Kansas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sew Kansas. Show all posts

Sew Kansas 2016 Part II

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Day 2 of this year's Sew Kansas involved some actual sewing on my part.

My Valencia pants are clearly too long. More tweaking needed. I'm wearing it with a Zona sample from TSW collection. It has been lengthened and sewn in several different denims. I really like the styling on the Zona and would not have thought about lengthening it into a jacket. 
It is interesting to see how different people manage the time. Some people sew constantly. One friend made 3 pairs of pants, 2 tops and then she cut out a jacket. I like to wander some, make notes, take pictures, and sew a little.



My approach generated one pair of Valencia pants and a lot of inspiration/information. The fabric is a cross-dyed gray linen. It's that signature flat front found in the Plaza, Urban and Trio pants. The Valencia is the most basic of those four pants patterns. Not much to show for 3 days, eh?

I'm back home and I still need to tweak the length a bit.

But I had fun trying things on and taking pictures to extend the inspiration/information plunge once home.

This is an example of something that was fun to try on. This is a sample of the Tosca dress. It does not do much for me. Good to know.


One of my favorite activities at Sew Kansas is exploration of their basement. They store *vintage* Sewing Workshop garments here.



There are an assortment of details in these older garments that are always appealing to me.


Inventor Shirt

Joplin Pullover


San Diego jacket


Mix It shirt as a vest
And here is a gorgeous version of the Tremont jacket by Karen Tornow. The chunks of color on the front panel, sleeves and elsewhere are a single layer of fabric. All fabrics are boiled wool. This means there is no need to finish the edges, reducing bulk. These colors are full of cheer.


Please note that except for the boring gray pants in the first picture, these are samples from the Sewing Workshop, NOT my work. But I can dream.


Sew Kansas 2016 Part I

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I am just about to depart Topeka for home, having completed a 3 day workshop, Sew Kansas, followed by a one day seminar on the Alabama Chanin lifestyle and techniques.

Tops: MixIt shirt, Future shirt pattern, Plaza vest, Barcelona top, Siena top (below), Tremont Jacket
This is the second Sew Kansas for me - the first was in 2015.  Sew Kansas is a 3 day workshop taught by Linda Lee of The Sewing Workshop. It takes place in her shop in Topeka KS.

This is a version of the San Diego jacket, an older TSW pattern.



Good lighting. Great company. Fun times. Delicious food as needed. Individual help. And wonderful master classes taught by Linda Lee several times a day. Each of us chose what and when to work on sewing projects.

Here is the vintage San Diego on me.
Linda Lee is an experienced and accomplished interior designer and it certainly shows in the design and layout of her shop. One large room contains the classroom studio with Bernina sewing machines, samples of each current pattern in multiple sizes, the patterns, notions, fabrics and work stations for each of the 4 employees. It seems like a lot for one room, but it is arranged artfully and efficiently.


And here is a new version of the San Diego. Cool, eh?
Monique, one of the students, modeled her new San Diego. It is still being tweaked but will also include a cute tunic version. Can you see the interesting hem line?
It is always exciting to see what is in the works. I like the older version of the San Diego but I cannot wait for the new version to come out.