2012 Summer 6PAC Seasonal Collection Sewalong (May-July)

[fzxdoc]

What a great 6-PAC, Coco! You've made such a nice, versatile collection--and so pretty as well. Congrats!

Kathryn

[Soupdragon]

Wow Coco! Fabulous 6PAC and already planning Autumn! I stand in awe

[redside]

I love seeing these finished collections (and also the unfinished ones).  It shows what a great idea six-pack planning is.  And when you can build on your work from one season to the next--by the end you will have a SWAP through a more organic method.

[andib]

Coco, really nice wardrobe. It looks really nice on you too!

[Karendee]

Coco, your 6 pk. is perfect in every way. You will love  wearing all the combos.

Indigotiger, I'm delighted that you found the black jeans. I know you have wanted a pr. for some time.

Karendee

[RuthieK]

Coco its a fantastic 6PAC and looks so wearable, a proper mix'n'match collection.
I am quite jealous and would've liked to have sewn it myself.

I'd planned cream and brown too but it somehow never quite materialised!

[Breath of Spring]

Coco - really nice and fits you perfectly! I enjoy seeing everyone's creations even tho I didn't participate after all. Am busy planning my fall one though!

Great job!

[Lynnelle]

As of about 30 minutes and a glass of wine ago, my summer 6PAC is officially tanked.  I anxiously cut into fabric that I *really, really* liked after not finding the pattern pieces that had a now-realized and necessary adjustment.  This would have been the fourth completed item in my plan but now I don't even want to finish it.  I am devastated and working on glass number two.

On with Fall... 

[Debbie S]

Lynnelle
My sympathy is with you although I did not get past the planning stage.  Our family dog was lost and we spent three days searching.  After I had cried until I could cry no more my DH found him 10 miles from home, dehydrated, thin, and with numerous wounds.  I gave up the 6 pac and spent days to weeks nursing him back to health.  TIME WELL SPENT as he is playful again.  Hopefully I will enter a fall 6 pak

Deb

[blue mooney]

Lynelle, I hope you can salvage part of your nice fabric and recut, use for trim, or something. I am with you on not wanting to finish something that isn't going to be right, just to finish it. Don't let the setback get you down for long; it happens to all of us.

Debbie S, so glad you got your dog back and that he is recovering! Family members, including dogs, come first.

[luz clara]

Lynelle sometimes stuff just doesn't work out. What that happens to me w/fabric that is special I put it all in a zip lock bag and wait. Sooner or later I either move it along to another person or harvest the fabric. I just made a tank top from harvested fabric from a skirt-that-did-not-work-out (it didn't work out three years ago, so it's been waiting awhile). I hope you can recycle it.

Debbie S I am so glad your dog story has a happy ending. We lost one of our dogs three years ago when we were out of town. I raised an all-points alert and even paid for one of those services (it's called Find Fido) that called every listed phone number w/in a mile of our house. I didn't think I could cry any more either, I was so heart broken. After three days she was discovered down in a canyon and the neighbors who found her let us know, and asked how they could capture her to bring her home! Her favorite food it peanut butter, and that is how they lured her in. Another neighbor took her to the vet and she was fine, just scratched up, thirsty and hungry. We have such wonderful neighbors!! Pets will just break your heart, won't they. Glad to know you have been reunited and he is back to playing!

[luz clara]

I made some clothes and I'm going to start posting them. The theme for my 6-PAC is "Will this garment go with black pants, black skirt, and my new green Arcopedia shoes?"  The secondary practical theme is "Will this dry overnight while I am traveling?"

Here's the first piece, a "peasant" blouse made from a hyper-stretchy mesh I got at a "coupon" shop in Paris for cheap. I've had it in my fabric closet for about four years and I decided to use Vogue 8581, a flowy top for a stretch fabric. I wanted something light (it is very light) and not too see-through (it's not bad). This pattern has A LOT of gathers. The gathering ended up taking a very long time for such a simple top, but I love the bands. Much better than running elastic through the neckline!

(PS The stuff in the top of the photo is a wire sculpture of a cat with big claws and a mouse).


IMG_0211 copy by Grey Paws, on Flickr

[luz clara]

I made one dress twice, something I don't do very often. But I had a few yards of some pre-ruffled fabric and I was curious to experiment with it. I used Vogue 1210, the Sandra Betzina dress with a squared side seam, but I left off the sleeves and extended the shoulder to make a cap sleeve.

I cut out the pre-ruffled stuff and THEN thought to look for tutorials about it on-line. There are lots. And I'd have been wiser to read them before I cut. But there you go, live and learn.  I love the colors in the fabric but I'm not one for horizontal stripes, and I knew before I made the dress that it was going to be my fall/winter hang around the house dress. The fabric is quite warm, although it's pretty light. I think it's the bird feather effect, all those tiny air pockets hidden in amongst the ruffles. My grey kitty likes it too.


IMG_0214 copy by Grey Paws, on Flickr

Once I saw that an odd shaped dress would be comfortable for me (my first intentionally odd shaped dress ever) I made it in a lycra/polyester blend from Yardage Town. It's a little heavier than the ruffles - I think lycra must be a heavy fiber, it always feels that way - and it's dots in my favorite color (corals) and black. And it goes well w/my green shoes!! The cat lost interest and took off. This dress is very comfortable and it moves nicely when I walk. I think it would be a comfy airplane dress for a long haul plane ride over the ocean or North Pole, and if it doesn't dry overnight it would surely dry in two nights!


IMG_0219 copy by Grey Paws, on Flickr

Luz Clara

[Susan in Saint John]

luz clara

I love that you're doing your plan around your shoes!

[joycep]

So do I - and they ARE awesome shoes 

That "dotty" dress looks fabulous on you. Especially when accessorized with your smile!

[shams]

Nice dresses, Luz Clara!  And those shoes.... sweet. 

[Coco]

I like your dresses and also the peasant blouse. Those colours really suit you very well - are these your staple colours?

[Karendee]

Luz Clara, you did a great job on your two dresses, blouse and new shoes. Wonderful selections.

Karendee

[sewenticing]

Luz Clara all 3 pieces are great, but the third dress looks fabulous on you.

[PurpleIvy]

luz clara

I love that you're doing your plan around your shoes!

It makes total sense to me, as shoes are almost the hardest thing to find and be happy with, as I have very wide feet. I'm already looking to next summer, when I am travelling to North America and wanting to travel with minimum manageable wardrobe for maximum shopping space for my return! Shoes weigh such a lot! At least it's not winter and I'm needing boots.

I'm hoping to travel with no more than three pairs of footwear. Do you think this is possible for three weeks-ish? I'll be in Vancouver visiting my auntie and in Portland for a Palmer Pletsch course.  I don't think I need anything ultra dressy. Just comfortable everyday footwear.

[blue mooney]

Three very nice pieces! I'm another one partial to the spotty dress and the nifty shoes. Luz Clara, you are always on the go. Love it.

Purple Ivy, I think 3 pairs, worn in rotation, is ideal for travel & lots of walking. My feet really feel better when they have a change of shoes each day.

[kbenco]

Coco, your 6pac looks terrific, what a versatile set of garments.

Luz Clara, how nice to see photos of your fun and useful pieces, they look very comfortable for travel. You find such great fabric.

Karen

[lessalt]

Luz Clara,
Cute blouse and the dresses are very special I think. Also, please tell me what kind of shoes those are?

[luz clara]

thanks to you all!

Lessalt, the shoes are Arcopedico, from Portugal. The leather is very soft but the soles are nice and sturdy. Best of all they don't weigh a lot. I have troubled feet that complain at the least bit of discomfort. And I just had to get orthotics made, to keep them from getting worse. Arcopedicos have removable insoles and my orthotics, which are wide as my feet are, fit well. They have shoes in many cute styles and my favorite colors, the nice green and a kind of pumpkin orange (sometimes trimmed in green). I got them at footsmart.com, which looks like it might be an orthopedic store but is really a shoe store for maximum comfort.

Coco - yes coral and its sisters and olive green and its sisters are my favorite colors. They are my (ahem) neutrals.

PurpleIvy, I think three pairs of shoes would work well. You will be visiting my old stomping grounds, and in summer it can be very rainy and wet. So you can let one pair dry out while you wear one of the others! I agree. Shoes are a bane. I spend a lot of my time plotting, planning, examining, and buying/returning shoes. It's ridiculous but I have invested pain and $$ on medical business for my feet and I do not tolerate hurty feet any more. My top favorite shoes for walking are Lowa shoes, but they are a hiking boot company and their low cut shoes show their hiking boot heritage. Still, they are the most sturdy and comfortable walking shoes I have ever had. Long ago they used to have leopard print as a color option. No more, alas. . .

There are two good sites for shoe reviews: www.barkingdogshoes.com and podiatryshoereview.blogspot.com/

Thank you again for appreciating my dress and my lovely green shoes!!

Luz Clara

[Soupdragon]

Well done to Luz Clara and everyone else who has posted such wonderful garments here.

I'm afraid that I am also going to be someone who is unable to finish the 6PAC. The jacket below is my garment 2 and will be the last I can sew for myself for a little while - so no chance of finishing another 4 garments by 31st July. The jacket is self drafted, and made in cotton twill. More information on my blog.


6PAC - jacket by The Material Lady, on Flickr

[Susan in Saint John]

I'm hoping to travel with no more than three pairs of footwear. Do you think this is possible for three weeks-ish? I'll be in Vancouver visiting my auntie and in Portland for a Palmer Pletsch course.  I don't think I need anything ultra dressy. Just comfortable everyday footwear.

When I travel for 3 weeks, I take 2 pairs of comfortable daytime shoes [no athletic shoes/sneakers/runners]--the sort of thing that luz clara modelled.  Then if we'll be on a cruise ship or somewhere that we'll be going out for dinner [sort of place DH will be wearing a suit] I'll take a pair of dressier shoes.  I generally don't take something for rain but Vancouver and Portland could be wet.  I hope you'll report back on your Palmer Pletsch course and do have fun!

Of course, if you're a shoe lover like I am, you might come home with an additional pair.  In this case however as Portland is known for its fabric shopping that extra weight in your suitcase may be fabric.

[Karendee]

Purple Ivy,

I think three pair of shoes will be plenty for a three week trip. You might even be able to get by with two pr.

luzClara, thanks for the introduction to some new shoe brand. I, too, have searched for fairly cute comfort shoes. I was a little dismayed that none of the brands I looked had carried size 12m . I did not en every selection so I will check again. This is the problem I encounter with shoes of any kind. That size is readily available in many nice brands but none that you showed. I will continue my endless search. Thanks.

Karendee

[luz clara]

Oh the work involved in finding decent civilized not-ugly shoes! Have you looked at designershoes.com? It's in the US and I've had pretty good luck with them. They carry a range of sizes and widths that I haven't seen at other places. But of course for brands that simply do not make W width or sizes above 10 or 10.5. . .  that's when I consider constructing my very own shoes or finding a shoemaker!

Luz Clara

[Susan in Saint John]

We're perhaps getting a bit off topic here but what's a wardrobe without shoes?  I discovered Hotter Shoes when I was in Canterbury in the spring.  As well as a UK web site, they have a US one. http://www.hottershoes.com/

[Zalin]

Coco, what a great 6-Pak. It's nice to see how it all comes together and all your options. Just wonderful!

[Lynnelle]

I just wanted to say thanks to all for the comments.  I got over the fabric debacle rather quickly.  To say that I was devastated maybe was a bit much; after all, it is only fabric! 

I will start my fall 6PAC soon - assuming the suggested guidelines are still the same as before.

L

[boppingbeth]

Bwahhahaha.  I actually sat down and sewed for this 6 pack, although it is more of a mix and match than expected. 

Two two piece dresses, which work with everything else I own:





Three dresses:





I also sewed a black swing sweater, which I haven't reviewed yet, but I've worn twice, and a black top that matches the tops in the two piece dresses.  I need to add a pair of pants and skirt in the same fabric, but that will totally be easy to do this week. 

[Em]

Luz Clara--You picked great prints and styles--all very trendy, but not over the edge! Everything looks so flattering on you!!! You did a great job!! Sure beats RTW, doesn't it??!!

Boppingbeth--What a versatile wardrobe!!! Two piece dresses are the bomb!!! They're dresses and separates!!! Your new wardrobe looks so pretty! Can't wait to see the things you're sewing this week!

As for me, I'm finishing up my 6 pak--I finished 2 tops and a skirt over the past couple of days, but still have the dress to go--not sure if I'm going to be able to finish it. I used a topper that I made before this, so I'll either end up with a 5 pak or a 4 pak. I'll post pics as soon as I have time.

[Sergerqueen]

Bopping Beth- Love your dresses, can you tell us what patterns you used?

[ejvc]

Lovely 6-Pac Beth -- although, let's see, it's already at 7 and you have two more pieces!  You are very productive!