Our weather dude informed us this morning that this weekend will be the coldest weather we have had in a decade & that we should expect another 6-12” of lake effect snow. There was even talk of blizzard like conditions & having emergency provisions on hand. Really? Good lord did we move into Little House on the Prairie* or something? I am used to having hurricane supplies after spending 23 years growing up in south Florida but I guess it never really occurred to me that I would need to do the same here in MI. Huh. Guess I will be hitting the store on the way home for some more water & stuffs.
So with that lovely forecast for the weekend my plan is to stay home & sew. I will be working on that dress for the wedding to get the darn thing finished already so I can move on to something else.
So with that “something else” still undefined I would like to share what the pattern companies are serving up for their Spring 2007 collections. I have to say on a whole I was very unimpressed. I was just asking to my mom last night why can’t these US pattern companies get on the ball & offer styles that are not a) completely out of date or b) just another variation of the 10 other variations of the same thing, again! Geez!
With that said my favorite so far are the new Simplicity & New Look patterns. Not that they haven’t offered up some serious Fug as well.
I just thought that a few of theirs were either different or close enough to a RTW ** item that I saw.
Here are my observations ***.
I liked this New Look dress & this one too, especially the halter top style.
These other New Look patterns might be worth a closer look:
Tunic Top – 6677 & Blouses – 6678
Now on to the new Simplicity patterns.
I think that this top is probably my favorite out of all the new patterns.
That is because it is very similar to these Anthropology tops.
There are two new Built By Wedny patterns, One for a dress/mini dress/top & one for pants/capris/shorts. I am not sure how I feel about the dress/top yet, but I will probably get the pants patteern.
There is a Sew Stylish Collection (#3867) which I think must be linked to the new magazine that Threads is putting out, Sew Stylish. (go figure). That top is pretty cute.
Another Tunic pattern, but this one I think is a little different & could be changed up to copy some RTW styles, but I could be wrong.
I mostly likely will not buy these dresses but I thought they were kind of fun.
Retro 60's & this one.
Butterick hasn't put out anything new yet.
McCalls spring collection is pretty much hideous. The only one that I even looked at twice was this for the sewing/craft room, but I think that I could make those without buying the pattern.
So lets love on to Vogue. Vogue is usually too stuffy or fluffy for my tastes or life style. I like to look at them but rarely buy any. I did like these two & might think about buying them if I happen to catch them on sale.
It's a shame that the jacket & pants pattern doesn't also include the pattern for the top they show with tht outfit. It's pretty cute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* I am a huge fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s work. If you all you know about her is from the TV show I highly recommend reading her books based on her real life.
**Come on don’t you just love old time expressions like that? Ever wondered who these Dickens were & what they did to have such a saying? Hmmmmmm.
** *RTW - Ready to wear
*** *to be taken with a grain of salt for sure.
7 comments:
I've perused all the pattern companies (Big 4) and am disappointed too. Especially since the media has been touting the dress is the item for 2007. Suppose that's good -- leaves more $$ for fabric!
- Judi
More snow!!! We lucked out - the weatherman was wrong and we didn't get a lick of snow today (doing the happy dance). I hope your power stays on so you can sew!
I'm with you on the pattern opinions. I kind of like the Built by Wendy pants pattern - especially the shorts view.
I love the Anna Sui pattern! I haven't tried Vogue in forever but now that I'm a little experiences I might give that one a go. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Laura Ingalls Wilder. My aunt and uncle bought me the books when I was probably 6 or 7ish and I have been fascinated with her and her life ever since:)
I'm soooo wanting to to make some clothes for spring.
I'm so invested in quilting for the moment, that after I use up better than half of my fabric, of which I have tonnage, I will begin to make clothes again. I know you don't really save money, unless you are comparing it to couture or designer labels, but, I really like the process of making things with my hands.
It pleases me that, I guess, thanks to Project Runway, there is renewed interest in sewing. I've been sewing for 35 years-the last 25 have been largely quilting years, but, I like it all.
I can't wait to start making spring stuff, but I'm digging in my own pattern stash. Nothing really interests me at the moment. Having said that, I did just order that prarie dress from Favorite Things!
I also love Laura Ingalls Wilder, have read her books countless times since I was young and also read her biography. Hated the TV show, though. I don't know if you have ever heard of Maud Hart Lovelace, who also wrote of her childhood in the early 1900's (in Minnesota). She wrote young children's books through her wedding, as did Wilder. Lovelace's husband was Delos Lovelace, who wrote the original "King Kong".
Where have I been? Missed this blog. I love that "easy" simplicity top pattern. I must take notes and see if we have them.
Well that's it, I'm off to Spotlight on the weekend to look thru pattern books. So long since I've done that. Then to pick fabric, oh my god that will take hours.
Post a Comment