Screaming For Dear Life Helps

Hello, dear readers. Just wanted to let you know that I survived leaving my firstborn, daughter Annie, at college this week so she can begin her college career and life away from home. We set her up in her dorm room, met her roommate, and then said good-byes that were quick and heartfelt. Got in the car and drove to a theme park on the way home, where David, our 15-year-old son, and I rode "aggressive-thrill"-rated roller coasters while Bob waited on benches for us.

Now I am not a roller coaster person in the least--in fact I HATE roller coasters--but David really wanted to ride them for the bragging rights, so in my weakened state I agreed to go with him. And you know what? Screaming for dear life as you're being twisted and turned and dangled upside down sure takes your mind off the fact that your beloved daughter has left the nest. Think about scheduling some intensive roller coaster riding on the return trip if you're depositing your kid at college in the future. Sure beats sobbing in the car the whole way home.

Gotta run.... I told Annie and her roommate I'd sew some curtains for their dorm room. One of these days I will return to me sewing. Have a great weekend!

Two Preppy Pieces for My College Girl

Piece #1: A preppy windbreaker. When you ask any of the well-trained student tour guides at Annie's college what's the thing they dislike most about the college, they all hesitate for a timed beat and then reply "Oh, it gets pretty windy here sometimes, but other than that I can't think of anything I don't like about it." So I made her a windbreaker.

My baby girl leaves for college in just a few days, and I guess I'm dealing with it fairly well, though my eyes are getting a little watery as I write this. Annie has been preparing Bob and me for her departure all summer long—she's never at home except to sleep. Still, we're all a little on edge right now, and I am vividly remembering the days before I left for college: I was nervous and scared and anything my parents or sisters said or did set me off yelling or crying. Annie is a cool cucumber kind of girl, but I can sense that she's feeling jittery.

But we'll all be okay. Move-in Day at her college will go just fine, and our little family will adjust. And there are always fall clothes to be made….

Windbreaker sewing details:

• I used a vintage Vogue pattern (isn't 2001 a little recent to be considered vintage?) that I bought online from Lanetz Living. UPDATE: The pattern is Vogue 2659 Five Easy Pieces from 2002.
  

• I added in-seam side pockets because how can you have a windreaker without pockets? I also sewed an interior pocket for Annie's Blackberry. I made the sleeves longer so they could be turned up and show the lining.
  

• The fabric is a water-resistant, medium-weight cotton I bought for $2 or $1 a yard from a FabricMart closeout (online). I loved working with this fabric and am so happy I bought enough to make a pea coat from the BurdaStyle 01/09 issue for me.

• The lining is a medium-weight cotton plaid I bought at Mood. It has enough substance to it to make this windbreaker perfect to wear while watching a football game on a chilly fall Saturday afternoon. (Annie is sorely lacking in the outerwear department, having mostly relied on sweatshirt hoodies to keep her warm in high school.)

• I installed a plastic separating sport zipper so that the teeth are exposed. This has become my new favorite way to install sportswear zippers, because it's so easy: Turn under the seam allowance, press, then pin so the folded edge meets the outside edge of the zipper teeth. Stitch, one side at a time, using a zipper foot so you can sew right at the point where the folded edge meets the zipper edge.

• This jacket looks like an adult version of the Ralph Lauren windbreakers I used to dress David in when he was little. But Annie likes it.
  

Piece #2: Flannel dorm pants in Annie's college colors. She already wore these pants for TV-watching with the boyfriend, so that means they were a big winner. Because everyone knows you gotta look cute for the BF.

I sewed these flannel pants in an evening using a basic pajama trousers pattern that I bought for $2.99. The only change I made was to have the waistband fall at the hip rather than the waist, and to use elastic that was two inches wide. It looks like the ribbon is what's keeping the pants up but that was purely a decorative touch: I stitched two pieces of ribbon on top of the front elastic and then pulled the ends through two buttonholes I made at the center front and tied them in a square knot. I bought the flannel online from Flannelworld and it is the softest, most luxurious flannel I have ever worked with. No comparison with the flannel you buy at the big box stores. (Note: Annie's pose in the photo makes it look like the crotch is too low but it's actually not.)

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My sewing machine is getting a tune-up and I need to take a break from sewing and blogging to recharge my batteries and get Annie off to college. I hope you all are having a wonderful summer and thanks for being such dear readers. Back soon!

Bargain Shopping for Fabrics in the Garment District: There's More Than One Store in Town

If you know where to look, you can find plenty of places in the garment district that sell quality fabric at bargain prices. Truemart Fabrics, for example, is a favorite of FIT students on a budget.

As much as I love stores like Mood Fabrics and Elliott Berman Fabrics for their selection and quality, I appreciate a bargain just as much as the next person. Sometimes a fabric that's $5 a yard will do just fine, thank you. Fortunately, there are many stores in the garment district that have very decent fabrics for under $10 a yard, and often for much less.

But I have the impression that many sewists think there is only one store in the garment district—a certain small store on W. 37th Street—that sells fabric at these prices. Not so, people! Do not think this is the only place for bargain shopping or that you've missed out because it was closed when you shopped here on the weekend. Many stores on W. 39th carry the same fabrics this store does, at similar prices, and are open on the weekends. If you're looking for knits, don't forget there's Spandex House. If you're looking for basic cottons, silks, denims and other natural fibers, try AK Fabrics. If you want bargains on designer fabrics, check out Paron's Annex.

Recently I discovered Truemart Fabrics on Seventh Street and W. 25th. It reminded me of the store on W. 37th in that it has a wide variety of fabrics, low prices, and is also family-owned and operated. I picked up a Liberty of London-like cotton print that I had hoped to sew into a blouse this summer but never got around to it. I've also bought silk lining fabric here, very reasonably priced. Stop in and chances are you'll be able to help an FIT student pick out fabrics for his or her class projects.

Now don't you feel better knowing you have more options in the area for wallet-friendly fabric?

An interior shot of Truemart Fabrics. Lots of bolts to pick through and you never know what you might turn up. Since it's close to FIT you could combine a visit to the FIT Museum with a stop here.

Truemart Fabrics
261 Seventh Ave (at W. 25th)
212-924-1332
Hours: Mon - Thur 11:30 am - 7 pm; Fri 11:30 am - 4 pm;
Sat closed; Sun 11:30 am - 6 pm

Rites of Passage: The Awful Summer Job

Looking for a boring summer job? Dads can be an excellent source.

Before school ended in June, we told our daughter Annie she had to get a job this summer to earn some money for college. We gave her suggestions of places to look; she stalled, hoping we'd forget about it and let her spend the summer sitting on the sofa watching reality TV. So Bob found her a job at an office and she's been miserably bored there for a few weeks now, coming home with tales of standing at the photocopier for two hours straight and having nothing to do for large chunks of time.

Of course I had to tell her about the summer job I had when I was 18. My father found this job for me too, as a collections agent for a major consumer credit company. All day long I called people and asked them when we could expect payments on their refrigerators, washing machines and other appliances. This was back in the days before Caller ID, so I actually spoke to people. And they hated hearing from me. I was hung up on or called names fifty percent of the time. My coworkers were all much older than me and resented that my father had a connection to their boss. The one bonding moment with my colleagues occurred when an employee in the office building we worked in killed himself by jumping from the eighth floor. We all went upstairs to the top floor to view his sprawled body below. (No, I don't know what possessed me to look, but the image wasn't as gross as you'd think it would be. Not that I'm advocating racing to look at the next jumper you hear about, but just so you know.) And that was my first summer job.

What about you, dear readers? What was your most boring or awful summer job? Or maybe you were lucky and had a really great summer job once? Do tell.

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On the sewing front: Have I told you lately how much I hate sewing home dec? I just finished making four jumbo pillow covers for Annie's dorm room and I cursed every minute of it. I'm thinking my poor son David is going to get sent off to college with the same bed stuff I've packed for his sleepaway camp all these years, like it or not. (Not that he'd actually care that much. That's what's so great about boys.) If I don't post much in August it's because I am not doing sewing of any consequence or I'm just being boring as I get ready to send my firstborn off to college at the end of the month. But you guys keep sewing the great things you're making and help me get inspired for fall, okay?