Wednesday, October 16, 2013

More Tees, More Travel

Can you ever make too many Ultimate T-Shirts? I think not.

Not when there are still variations to be tried. And they are so great for travel.

This year has involved way more travel than I'm used to - Texas, Washington state, Oregon, South Carolina, Italy (blog posting soon) and finally (maybe) New Hampshire. Tees are so easy to pack and easy to wear. Not so easy to wash (those rayon knits take forever to dry) but packability and wearabilty trump washability. Oh, and they layer beautifully.

Now I do enjoy making a shirt with men's wear styling. Love those interesting details and comfortable cotton shirting fabrics, but I just unpacked one and it looks awful. Not so for the Ultimate T-Shirts packed in the suitcase underneath everything else. They actually look pretty good.

Thank you, Katherine and Marcy, for re-introducing me to T-shirts. I think when I'm back home I'll listen/watch your Ultimate T-Shirt class again while sewing. Maybe on another T-shirt or two.

Here are two I just finished:

Vogue 8793 made with a digitally printed rayon knit from Marcy Tilton

Vogue 8793 made with another pairing of rayon fabrics from Marcy Tilton
Finished a Katherine Tilton (Butterick 5891) vest just in time for the current trip, as well. I like it as a summer top but I adore it as a fall vest.


This one is made from a ponte knit, also purchased from Marcy Tilton. It's a double cloth, brown on one side and black on the other, a medium weight knit. When I finished, it was decidedly a yawner. Or maybe just a sleeper. I added a little black sashiko to highlight the pretty lines of the design. And I've started wearing it. But it needs something more. Maybe some Alabama-Chanin-reverse-applique with the black side. I don't want to go too far because then it becomes unwearable.

That is one of my current personal challenges. When does wearable art become unwearable? I know when it's not artful. You know, you can just see that something else is needed. The trick is knowing when to stop.

Perhaps food for thought, or something for a future post.

7 comments:

  1. Your work is quirky and really suit you. I like the way you use your clothes for artistic expression and give each article a life of its own.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cute tshirts and the vest is cool too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh, i'm so happy - i seriously ogled the fabric in your first tee but decided to pass (too colorful for my newtral style heart). However, lordy what a gorgeous print - so i'm thrilled to see you snapped some up and have truly done it justice. Yay!

    yep, nothing beats a tee for travel and even day to day layering, bopping around, picking up off the floor/sleeping in and wearing the next day - what?!?!?! i never do that!!! ;) i always enjoy your clothing, have fun!!! and thank you. steph

    ReplyDelete
  4. These garments are all so colorful, yet totally wearable. I had thought of making Katherine's sleeveless top into a vest. Yours looks great. The embroidery does help it. I have the same fabric in the purple colorway, and haven't yet decided what to make with it. Some sort of jacket, I think.
    Keep up the great sewing, and welcome to the world of t-shirts. One can never have enough!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am inspired to pull out my knits and sew some tees after seeing yours. Really pretty

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely selection! But can't wait to hear about Italy! New Hampshire should be lovely this time of year, but you may be a bit beyond peak leaf peeping depending on where in the state you are headed to.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wonderful!! ...and the vest is the just right, simple counterpoint. Fun to see your creative spirit blooming so brightly.
    Marcy

    ReplyDelete