What Happened to 2018?

I blinked. And now 2018 is gone. I am way behind on blogging. I completely skipped the month of December 2018.

As with any December, this one was super busy with travel to see grandkids in concerts and sports. That left time for just a little sewing. But I did sew. I always do.

Here's what happened in December, sewing-wise:

I made  a grand total of two pieces of clothing in December pour moi. And both were made using patterns from Fit for Art - the Eureka pants and a Tabula Rasa vest to match.

The pants are a dark brown, and like black, nearly impossible to capture in photos. It is a beautiful tropical weight with wonderful drape. I was sorely tempted to skip the lining because the wool feels so good. My better self prevailed and I lined them with a silk-cotton blend called Radiance. It's quite yummy.

Unlike previous lined pants, the lining does not hang free. I have always hated the way a free lining separates and shows when I cross my legs. Also a friend has been taking Susan Khalje's couture skirt class and showed an interesting hem on her skirt lining. It is very much like the lining on a classic lined jacket.

It's attached at the bottom but has plenty of slack for sitting. So far it is quite comfortable and the lining never shows.

Before adding the facing.

I omitted the waistband and faced it. I added a tab at the back to cover the zipper stop, an old Sandra Betzina trick that produced a pretty finish, I think.

Truth-be-told fitted pants are never as comfortable for me as elastic waist pull-ons (like Cutting Line Design one-seams). But I do love the look of slim trousers.

After finishing the pants I was anxious to make a matching vest with this pretty plaid wool. It was purchased as a remnant so I had one yard, 60 inches wide. That was plenty for a Tabula Rasa vest, particularly since I wanted a contrasting collar band.

I had enough of the brown wool to make the collar band out of that but decided it was too formal looking. Instead I used a remnant of linen in a deep brownish burnt orange. Actually this took more than one pass. My first pass used a remnant of fine wale corduroy. I added this sashiko to it.

It was fun to stitch and I like this picture of it but I did not like the look of it on the vest.

It looks  better in the picture than I remember it. I wore it once and removed it. With all that pretty plaid, I ultimately decided that I wanted less stitching on the collar band.

It's subtle and I like it.

For the lining I chose a piece of silk I dyed using black walnuts, folding it shibori-style. It's fun to open it up and see that.

I added a little paint with a Diane Ericson stencil

So that's how my selfish sewing finished in 2018.

As usual I made a few little Christmas gifts:

These are zipper pouches made for my DIL and GD. I silk-screened a red Eiffel tower to each. We have a special trip planned in 2019.

cotton flannel PJ pants

I had a special request from one grandson for PJ pants. I made a bag for his sunglasses out of the left overs.

This is the year of the unicorn for a granddaughter. As her grandfather tells her,

"Always be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn. Then be a unicorn."

These are intended to be PJ's and are made in a soft cotton knit.

That's pretty much all the sewing for 2018. I've become addicted to watercolor painting and so I haven't sewn as much. Here are some Christmas cards I had fun making.

I don't know how 2019 will shape up but it's sure to include both sewing and painting. How about you?