Progress, a Wadder and a Hong Kong Vest

This week has seen some true ups and downs in my sewing room.  I began the long and arduous task of cleaning out and reorganizing that was truly necessary.  I am making good progress but really needed to do some creative work for my sanity.  So often, I clean up enough to start another project and it goes downhill from there.  This time I promised myself that I would take a break and then get back to the task at hand.  Only, the project I started was a big bust.  A true trashcan wadder.  To try and salvage the day I turned to my mending box which I had unearthed in my cleaning frenzy.  Now, this might not sound like the most fun job on my list but it was gratifying.  Several things needed nothing more than a button and ironing.  A few needed only ironing.  So I was able to feel like I accomplished something and can now get back to the cleaning at hand.

Since my defunct project was going to be my featured garment for this week, I’ve headed back into my closet and pulled out a vest I made a number of years ago.  The pattern is The Sewing Workshop’s Hong Kong Vest.  The fabric has an interesting history.  My husband’s family spent many years living in Japan.  This navy and white cotton fabric, called Yukata, was brought back by my mother-in-law who gave it to me.  The 14” wide fabric comes in a roll with many, many meters; I can’t read the Japanese script but I am guessing at least 20 yards of fabric, enough to make dozens of these vests.  And I've got about 6 rolls of different prints.  The lapel on the vest is hand stitched with variegated cotton thread in a sashiko stitch pattern, further playing on the Asian-inspired theme of the garment.

Tomorrow is my children’s last day of the school year and for the next several months my time will be far less my own than usual.  I am still optimistic that I will get a wee bit of time in my sewing studio each week so watch and see what I come up with next.  I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend.