Re-Visiting Abandoned Projects

For a variety of reasons, which I may discuss later, this blog has been languishing. I’ve arrived at a place where I’m ready to pick it back up, again.  And to start this off, I'm going to take a look at some other projects that deserve to be re-visited.

Inspired by my excellent friend Emma, who blogs at What Would Jane Sew, I’m going to post photos of my many, many unfinished projects, as a way of getting things back on track. I’m going to split these into categories, to keep from getting overwhelmed.  I'm also going to write about knitting at another time, to keep this from getting overwhelming.

Quilts

A lap-sized quilt, that I believe is entirely quilted.  I think I just need to deal with the binding, and give it a good washing.

Another lap-sized quilt.  I need to examine my quilting on this one.  I am not actually sure I like the pattern I sewed.  I either have to sew a lot more, or pick out some of my stitching and call it done.  After that, I need to figure out the binding.

A flannel plaid quilt I started when Robb and I lived in Baltimore, which was more than fifteen years ago.  I was interested in the patterns created by combining plaids that I had harvested from used flannel shirts.  This was a bit of an experimental quilt, and I never really figured out how to expand the composition.  I think it might work better if I could find some plain flannel, to contrast with the riot of plaid.  I've got a pile of flannel shirts that I've been dragging around, with the intention of chopping them apart and using their fabric for the quilt.  I was really, really broke when I started this project.  I had more time than money, so the idea of harvesting fabric from second-hand shirts made sense.

(I need to take a photo of this project.)

This one makes me really sad.  I bought this fabric on the trip Robb and I made to Hawaii.  When Robb broke his back, I set it aside.  The problem is that I'd gotten the idea to use masking tape of mark my stitching lines (do not do this -- ever -- it's a terrible idea) and after sitting in a bag for a a year or two, the adhesive from the tape transferred to the fabric. I have never found a way of removing the adhesive residue.  I should try a few more solvents, and if they don't work, I should throw this in the trash.  This one is really hard for me emotionally, because it symbolizes all the travel Robb and I are no longer able to do, and also the things I've ruined due to my own neglect.  It's a huge bag of negative emotions that haunts my closet.

A strange bit of assemblage that I sewed when I was an intern scenic artist.  (I did not sew the cross stitch.  It came from a thrift-shop, once upon a time.) . At the time, I was living in a double-wide trailer with a dozen other interns, no internet, no cellphone, no car, and no access to a library.  I was  in a tiny town that was home to the theater where I worked, a private airport, a very fancy hotel, and a lot of very, very, very fancy private homes.  I went for a lot of long walks, taught myself about Connecticut wildflowers, picked a lot of black raspberries, and baked them into pies.  And I sewed this weird thing, because I needed something to do.  It was all very 19th Century. A well-educated young woman sewing decorative nonsense together, to ward off loneliness.  If I make this into a pillow, it will be destroyed.  I don't know what to do with this.  There's at least one more unresolved project from this time in my life.

Another scrap fabric project, also dating back to our days in Baltimore.  I don't know what this wants to be.  I'm not even sure I like any of the colors.

Mending

I'm not even sure If I can still fit into this 1940s cocktail dress.  One of the studs has fallen off, and I need to move one from an inconspicuous spot to make up for the loss.

The buttons on this dress originally had rhinestone centers, which have all fallen out.  I need to replace these buttons.  I also need to repair the seam that attaches one of the sleeves to the body of the dress.

I need to secure the dangling fringe in this 1940s suit jacket.

The stitching on the back of the neck of this shirt is a sort of chain-stitch, and it has pulled out.  I need to re-sew it.

This Edwardian shirtwaist has a button that needs to be moved slightly.  It gaps a bit at the moment.

Clothes I've Made

The skirt I pair the Edwardian shirtwaist with needs to have a closure sewn on the waistband. Currently, I'm holding the skirt closed with a safety pin.  This outfit needs a sash, as well.  The blouse should be worn tucked in.

I sewed this dress from a 1940s pattern.  It still needs a belt.  I made shoulder pads, but I'm not sure where they are.  I'm pretty sure that there's still a bit of the hem that's unfinished.

This blouse needs one more buttonhole.  I sewed one on badly, picked it out, and need to re-sew it.  For some reason, I'm not confident about sewing buttonholes.  I also need to sew on the actual buttons.  This is the first button-down shirt I'd ever made, and I want to wear it.

There's a tiny flaw on the center back of this blouse that needs to be re-stitched.  We will not comment on my Resting Bitch Face.

This dress needs something, but I'm not sure what.  Maybe a belt?  Maybe a gallon of gasoline and a match?  It's horribly frumpy, and I don't know how to fix it.

Weaving

This has been sitting on my loom for over a year.  I just need to finish it.  I'm not actually sure I know where my notes are for this pattern.

I tried to repair the weaving on these rugs, which I bought from Amish weavers  back in New York.  This was not a success.  If I had access to a loom, I'd seriously consider re-weaving these rugs.  I don't know what to do with these.  I don't want to throw them in the trash.

I need to sew this onto a backing, so that I can wear it as a scarf.  It's a bit to itchy to wear without a lining.

I'm sure that this is just the top layer of what I like to call the Pile of Denial.  But really, this is more than enough unresolved projects to occupy my mind for the moment.