The Irksome Case of the Unfinished Objects

Friends, I was a strange child. This probably does not come as a shock to you. Among other things (a persistent belief that I was Nancy Drew, an affinity for dresses sporting cartoon animals, and a true talent for, let's call it, storytelling), I was a big believer in the anthropomorphic fallacy. In my daft little blond head, everything had feelings - stuffed animals, mashed potatoes, flowers. For years, I separated my M&Ms by color, eating the most populous first, until the poor, unloved tan ones were in equal numbers with the rest. It seemed like the fair thing to do. You know, so one color wouldn't feel slighted.

This ties in to sewing, I promise. Even though I now realize candy doesn't have feelings, inanimate objects still have the power to guilt trip me. Take unfinished sewing objects, for example. They drive me crazy. They sit in their little boxes, imploring me to finish them. (Example: I have time, don't it? I was able to make two of the same Lisette dress, for Heaven's sake! Can't I spare old friends a little attention too? Why don't I love them any more?!) For this reason alone, I tend to not accumulate many UFOs. Until now.

At present moment, there are two such projects on my sewing table. They're making me seize up with guilt, every time I even think about starting a new project. Also, they're just plain cute. They deserve to be completed, damn it! So, these are my next two items to conquer.

Unfinished Object #1: Colette Macaron
Raison d'Abandon: Last thing cut out, before deciding to move.

Poor, poor Macaron. There's nothing the matter with her, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Late September was not a good time to be cut out in my household. In a matter of weeks, La Danielson Famile decided to buy a new house, sell the old homestead, and move. As the eldest daughter, I was enlisted to help with this venture...and did not touch my sewing machine for another four months. What's worse, in those months I lost not only Macaron's instruction booklet, but her back midriff piece, as well.

It was all too tempting to move on to other projects, rather than invent directions from scratch. Now that I have more months of sewing under my belt, I feel up to the task. Also, I just reordered the damn pattern. I'm going to trace the midriff piece, but at least I have directions!

Also, this shell fabric is just too wonderful to be cast off on the UFO pile, don't you think? The contrast is just a plain white pique from Hancock, but the shell is an amazing Italian designer pique I picked up from Satin Moon Fabrics in San Francisco. Everyone talks about Britex in SF, but Satin Moon is my absolute favorite fabric store in the city. Possibly in the world. It's a tight, tiny shop in the Richmond District run by two sisters who adore high quality apparel fabric. There are bolts and bolts of Liberty, Swiss cottons, and other wildly interesting fabrics. I actually ended up buying this pique in two different colorways - this bright mix of blues and corals, as well as a more autumnal palette of yellows, browns, and oranges. I have 4 yards of both, so this isn't the last time we'll be seeing this fabric!

Unfinished Object #2: Colette Crepe
Raison d'Abandon: Arrival of Lisette patterns in my mailbox.

Sigh. This one is more of a confessional. You recall that divine Crepe dress I had planned and started for my spring palette? Yeah, I never actually finished it. There's no good excuse for this. I had only the hemming and one or two other little things to do to the dress, but the day I'd planned to do them was the same day the Lisette patterns finally came in the mail.

Y'all know how I feel about the Lisette patterns. I couldn't not rip into them instantly and start sewing. My willpower isn't that strong. That left poor little Crepe shivering in a cardboard UFO box, unloved and unfinished. Which is silly, considering she really is pretty cute. I ended up using some white Swiss dot (the same I used on my Market Blouse, actually) for the bodice, instead of the planned pique. It was a great last minute change, especially considering that summer seems to have arrived early.

So, those are the two projects I plan on reviving from the dead. Do you have any UFOs laying about? Do you feel guilty about them or are you able to put them behind you and move on to brighter projects?

Musings: Colette Crepe

Later this afternoon, I'm diving in to my second Colette Patterns adventure - the Crepe dress. This was one of those revisions to my spring palette, added in because my Simplicity patterns haven't arrived yet, so I needed something else pretty to sew. With all the Crepes that have shown up on blogs and forums, after Gertie's Crepe sew-a-long, ideas for this dress have been spinning around in my brain for weeks.

Even better, Colette just released new pictures of the Crepe -made up in plain white with a turquoise sash and also white with turquoise polka dots. Both dresses prompted a hunt for comparable fabrics. Luckily, I already had a wonderful white pique waiting around, as well as a medium-weight shirting in coral (one of my palette colors!). I could just knock off the Colette inspiration piece completely, making up a white dress with a coral sash, but I've decided to try something a little different. I'm making the bodice up in the pique, but the sash and skirt in the coral shirting. I tried to find evidence of someone else doing the same thing, but it looks like I might be the first. So, fingers crossed that it turns out well!

As far as changes go, I'm not making any. Instead, I'm treating this as a very wearable muslin. With Colette's modern sizing and accommodation toward higher cup sizes, I don't foresee any real fitting problems with this dress. If it works out, I have a pale yellow and white floral in line for this pattern next. If there are any little niggling fit issues, I'll address them for the second time around.

Have you made the Crepe dress yet? Were you part of that fantastic sew-a-long? I'd love to hear about your experiences with this pattern and any suggestions you may have!