Scrap Busting Part 3 / Accommoder Les Restes Vol 3

Je suis vraiment désolée, Shaun Le Mouton a mangé ma couronne de Noël.

(J'ai utilisé des restes de polaire, un bout de fausse fourrure façon mouton et un reste de fibre de rembourrage que j'avais en stock. La pile de restes continue de s'amenuiser.)

I'm sorry to report that Shaun The Sheep ate my Christmas wreath!

(In use were leftover polar fleece, fake sheepskin and leftover polyester filling. The scrap pile is getting smaller.)

Scrap Busting Part 2 / Accommoder Les Restes Vol 2

We interrupt the current coat program to bring you furry bits!

I'm making some funky fake fur mittens for the school's annual Christmas sale and am lining them with leftover fabric. I got the original idea from Couture Stuff and expanded on it. The scraps pile is getting smaller.

Methinks little girls will love them. Actually, I might keep a pair as I find them like way cool!

Nous interrompons le programme du manteau en cours pour vous présenter un morceau de fourrure!

Je fabrique de jolies mitaines en fausse fourrure pour le Marché de Noël de l'école et je fais la doublure avec des restes. L'idée originale vient de chez Couture Stuff, l'amélioration est de moi. La pile de reste de tissu s'amenuise.

Je pense que les petites filles vont aimer ça. D'ailleurs je vais peut-être m'en garder une paire parce qu'elles sont trop top stylées!

Pause

Je suis triste.
Comme je disais sur le blog de Tasia l'autre jour quand elle a soulevé la question : 
"J'essaie de me rappeler qu'ils n'ont toujours pas inventé de robots qui cousent. Je n'achète pas beaucoup, mais quand je le fais, j'essaie de me rappeler que quelqu'un (probablement une femme), quelque part, essayant de nourrir et de loger sa famille, peut-être envoyer ses enfants à l'école, s'est penché sur sa machine et a cousu. J'ai beaucoup de respect pour ça."
Cet incendie aurait pu être évité si l'humain avait la capacité d'apprendre de l'expérience de ses congénères.
Ça me brise le coeur.

I'm heartbroken.

As I was commenting on Tasia's blog the other day when she raised the question : 

"I like to remind myself that they have yet to invent sewing robots. I don’t buy a lot but when I do, I know someone (probably a woman sic) somewhere, trying to feed and shelter family, maybe send the kids to school, sat behind the machine and sewed. I have utmost respect for that."

This factory fire could have been avoided and this is further proof that humans cannot and have not learned form the experience of others. 

This saddens me to no end.

Meet Michèle

Meet Michèle.

Michèle and I met at the cash register of one of the local fabric haunt, our conversation quickly spread into the parking lot. Michèle used to work at Courrège in Pau and then she moved here to work for Gérard Darel before production moved elsewhere. Michèle was a production manager. Michèle agreed to share some of her vast knowledge with me. I mentally bowed and kissed her feet.

On Monday afternoon, I brought all of my bits and piece to her place and we poured over them. She instructed me to ditch almost all the interlining I had planned, she drew new ones, she told me how and where to reduce the seam allowances, gave me some bating for the sleeve head, told me to have the coat pressed by a professional before inserting the lining and much more, which I'm just hoping I'll remember because it's invaluable.

I spent most of yesterday redoing what I had done and with all this red and white, it looks like I'm making a Santa outfit. 'Tis the season.

The main lesson learned here is that tailoring a coat is not like tailoring a jacket. With wool this thick, had I played by the books, I would have ended up wearing a piece of cardboard. Lesson learned.

Merci beaucoup Michèle!