Travel wardrobe

I'm back from a great trip to Ukraine and Russia. The Russia part involved Moscow and St. Petersburg linked by cruising along waterways between the two cities. This involves the Volga River, many canals, and the two biggest lakes in Europe. How does this relate to sewing you may ask? I sewed most of my wardrobe, some specifically for this trip, and some already on hand. I was going to sew more including this top, which was under the needle of my machine on the eve of our departure, when I suddenly had to rush my DH to the emergency room. Such drama! He had fallen on our sidewalk (replacing a sprinkler at 8 pm the night before a trip without being packed.... dumb idea) and gashed the back of his head. 6 staples and we were home after 5 hours at 1:30 am. We kept telling the personal at the ER that we had to catch a plane in the morning so hurry up. Well, we didn't really say that. So that top did not get to go on the trip! (side bar: the doctor gave me a tool for removing the staples in 8 or 9 days in case we couldn't get to a doctor or clinic. Are you kidding me? I couldn't see going to a doctor in Moscow but on the other hand, me removing staples stuck in my husband's head? Fortunately, I found a nurse among our fellow travelers who was happy to help out. Trauma averted).

The basis for my wardrobe was this green ponte jacket for which I used Sewing Workshop's Onde Jacket. I wanted a longer jacket to cover my longer tops and one with handy pockets. It also needed to be loose enough to go over two or three layers and work under my Babette rain jacket. The Onde worked perfectly. With it I wore black ponte Marcy pants and skirt from Vogue 8697, purple ponte Marcy pants Vogue 8712, the purple ponte vest I made recently, a new Butterick 5679 top in a chartreuse animal print, Vogue 8582 Marcy top with high neck and long sleeves of black ribbed knit.

There were other things too but those were what I wore the most. Because it was chilly and damp I often layered a top, a thin black sweater wrapped across my front, the Onde jacket and my raincoat. A few times I even threw a black fleece shawl over that. Hard to imagine all those layers now that I am back home where it is still 90+ degrees.

Sierra's new doll, dress, and bloomers

I seemed to have dropped out of blogging, haven't I? But I have been sewing. Lots of things. After I return from yet another trip, leaving tomorrow for 3 weeks, I will try to catch up. But in the meantime here is the latest. My DGD needed a soft doll so one was found at Joann's for a mere $4.99. The doll has lovely red hair and shoes and socks but no clothing. Also Sierra needed new bloomers. So I made bloomers for her and a matching dress for dolly. No pattern needed for dolly. Just traced around her and made an aline shape with scoop neck big enough to get on and off. I wanted it to be similar to Sierra's recent dress and lined it with the same fabric. Both dresses can be turned inside out and they will match. The dolly's dress has velcro to close at the shoulders as buttons would be too tiny and too hard for a toddler to do. I also made a little sash for dolly with the bow stitched closed and a velcro spot to hold it on her body. Also easier for little hands to manage. Sierra seems very happy with her new dolly and bloomers.

I used McCall's 6370 for the pants. Very simple. However, if you use this pattern, watch out. The order of construction is not what I'm used to and I managed to get almost done before I realized I had sewn the waist elastic to the pants legs which were not sewn together. Dumb. My excuse.... I was in a big hurry. Lots of ripping out, doubling the construction time. So watch out for that.

Also the suggested elastic length for the leg is too small. They suggest the ankle circumference plus 1 inch. I did that and it was way too tight as the pants ride up the leg. I took out that elastic and put in a longer one that added another inch. Also I used a narrower elastic which didn't cinch up as much.

The wall hanging I made for her room has embroidered faces in the center of the pieced flowers. I chose this fabric because it also has flowers with faces. I thought she would enjoy noticing that little detail.