Sunday, March 31, 2013

Fragile beauty in the time of chaos

I mentioned in my last post that the last few weeks have been rough. My house has been in utter chaos - chief cause being a bathroom remodel. And unfortunately, I'm one of those people that cannot function in utter chaos. I just shut down. (I'm a pretty messy person, I function just fine in normal messiness.)

Chaos in the bathroom...
Chaos through the rest of the house.
As a result, my sewing has been a combination of scattered, unproductive and unfocused. I've started many simultaneous new projects - a sure way of creating multiple UFOs.

And the finished tile and bathtub. (I did take out the painters tape at some point.)
Still, everything must come to an end, even chaos. The bathroom is now done, and my house is slowly getting tidy. And there are even finished projects to show off.


This fabric is pretty special. It used to be my mother's favorite sari. All through my teenage years, I've watched her reach for this sari. However, time and multiple washes took its toll, and a couple of years ago, this sari fell apart - the silk ripped, my mother cried, and I cackled evilly and stole the fabric. (Ok, fine, that was a bit wicked. But - in my defense, see this post.)

Since this fabric was well loved and treasured, I was anxious to use it well. However, it's really, really fragile, and I needed a pattern that had no zippers, no button holes, nothing that would at all stress the fabric in any way whatsoever. Enter Simplicity 2192.

Ahem. It's all very pretty, but really, the fabric tore as I was serging the shoulders, so I ended up not serging any other seams. It also would randomly fall apart on me, so I've ironed interfacing to minimize the damage in about a dozen spots on the inside. This is not a top that is long of the world.

(Also, I dare not wear a jacket over it, for fear of tearing it while taking the jacket off. Let's just say this is a pretty impractical make.)

Still, I do like the pattern, and will make it again.

And hey - outside photos! Spring has sprung here, hopefully. I've tempted fate by turning off my heater. We'll see. It's been a long winter. (And as you can see, I still haven't put away the snow shovel.)


4 comments:

Kay said...

Did you do the bathroom remodelling yourself?? :o

Good idea to give new life to the torn sari!!

Reethi said...

@Kay - oh no, I don't have those kinds of skills. I had a contractor!

Claire S. said...

Great job on the bath Reethi, it looks wonderful !

With all those memories of your Mom's sari, I'm sure you'll enjoy the top for however long you have it.

We didn't get to Gerrard St this past weekend but fabric shopping DID happen - did you know you have a Len's Mills near you ?

Jean C. said...

Oh my gosh.... how can you be tempted like that every day? So cute what you and your brother did. My kids could do that with some of my fabric and I probably never would notice! Of course, I don't wear my fabric all the time either... (at least the stuff in my stash!)
I wouldn't push my luck with the turning off the heater; we had snow last night... (not a lot,but some) and it got somewhat colder again last night. Just in the 30's. It figures... my bulbs are all bloomed!
Jean C.