Letting Go

We all have orphans in our closet. Well maybe some people do not. But I do. There is a reason I keep these orphans.

In this case, it is a sentimental reason. Shortly before my mother died, I went to live with her. She had liver cancer and was living independently but on hospice.

She loved to shop for clothes and beautiful fabric. And she seemed to enjoy encouraging my pursuit of same. Plus she taught me great patience while teaching me to sew.

Soon after I arrived at her home, I told her she needed a new pick-me-up ensemble. She agreed but was unable to go anywhere by that time. So I shopped for her.

I found this pretty ensemble at one of her fave dress shops. It included a shell, a casual shirt jacket, and pull-on pants. Some pieces were in turquoise, others in royal blue, all washed linen.

She looked lovely in it. I think she wore it once. I took it home with me.

A few years later I decided to cut it up and make something to wear in her honor. I used the Sewing Workshop Ikina jacket and barely had enough. You can see lots of piecing with bias piping here:

Each spring I pull it out again and attempt to make something that matches it. In the above picture you can see my first attempt for Spring 2015. A shell from CLD and a pull-on skirt from the left-over linen. It is not me. And the match is not quite right either.

So I decided I needed something that would blend, rather than trying to match the two colors in the jacket:

The fabric is cotton batik from a quilt store; the pattern is Cutting Line Designs Simplify Your Life view A. It was a blast to make. I always enjoy the CLD patterns, especially my first time through one.

When I finished it, I thought it might work to just wear it with jeans and toss the jacket over it all.

The more it hung from my dress form, the more I knew. This is a PJ top.

I pulled out a piece of rayon challis I had dyed years ago and made some Japanese Field pants with it. And now I have PJs I rather like:

Fun new PJs are a good thing. The colors are cheerful. It should be comfy. And I need a pick-me-up right now.

But I'm not letting go of that jacket.