Sewphisticate's sewing meme

Ok, I've never filled out a meme before, so I thought it would be fun!

1. Are you the type of stitcher who works on one project start to finish, or do you work several different projects at once?

 

Several.  I don’t have the attention span to work on just one!  When I get sick of one, I can turn to another.

2. How do you decide which projects to begin? Need? Whim? Herd mentality?

Everyday clothes are motivated mostly by need, costumes generally by looking at pretty pictures in books and such and the desire to have a new pretty thing.

3. What are the sorts of things that will cause you to hurl said project(s) into the corner and consign them to the pit of Hades?

Lumpy trimmings, linings that aren’t the same size as the outer fabric, fit that sucks so much I have no idea how to fix it (this includes getting to muslin mock-up #5 or so and still having no improvement), running into a fitting problem that would require me to pick out tons of stitching to fix, general crappy-stupid-looking-ness.

4. Once consigned to Hades, will you ever return to the d*mned project and complete?

Based on my past experience, it has about a 50% chance, but the wait is pretty long.  The other 50% probably got hacked up with the rotary cutter in a fit of rage and hence have no chance of returning, but sometimes the concept get reincarnated!

5. What about those projects you complete, and then decide you hate for whatever reason (doesn’t fit, don’t really like how it looks on you, etc.) How do you dispose of them?

They usually sit in the closet for a few months/years until I can feel okay about giving them away, chucking them, or trying to re-make/salvage them.

6. When disposing of old costumes, do you pick off the good bits (the nice lace, the vintage buttons, etc.) to use on future projects, or does the dress move on to the great wardrobe in the sky more or less intact?

It depends on the condition of the piece altogether.  If it still has a little life left in it, I’ll try to give it away whole, if not, the buttons, boning, and such get salvaged and often the cloth gets ripped into rags to clean my house with.

7. Of course imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but have you ever gone anywhere (including to various Web pages) and found a gown that looks suspiciously like one that you created?

I wish!  I don’t think most of my work is good enough to copy, nor do I really broadcast it enough to be seen by many.

8. Have you ever lifted design elements from the gowns of other costumers? (Let me be specific: Not vintage garments, not film costuming, but gowns created by costumers you have come across, either at events, cons, or on the Web.)

I don’t think so, but maybe subconsciously.

9. If you could pay someone to do one hated task involved in sewing, it would be…

Ironing fabric after I’ve pre-washed it.  Yuck.  Other than that, I really enjoy all the parts of the process, even if I enjoy some less than others.

10. What are you working on now?

 

A modern suit in summer-weight black wool, a wall quilt with koi-fish appliqués, costumes for my Irish ceili dance group, several random craft projects to enter in the MN state fair, an embroidered dragonfly for a pillow, and a set of pocket hoops.