Chubby Sewcialist

I'm a chronically ill lady living in NYC. As many aspects of my life fell apart over the last several years of sickness (social, romantic, educational, work, etc) teaching myself to sew is one of the only things I've been able to excel at. It is also one of the only activities keeping me going, so I'd like to share my work as an offering of hope to my fellow Spoonies. You are still a capable person, and when you have the spoons please keep looking for new things you can be capable of!

[chubbysewcialist]

Evil, evil Mood Fabrics and their free swatches, argh. On the upside, of this bunch only the dark iris blue faille on the upper right is really tempting me. Colors are a bit off here bc I need to relearn lighting techniquue for photos at home. And this time I'll write it down :-P Darn branifog. The other swatches are nice too, tho I'm sad the chambray in the upper left isn't a solid black like I'd hoped for. Pretty sure I can resist the rest until this lot of sewing is over. This year's Sewcialist Resolution was to upgrade my winter warddrobe so I actually liked it again. 2019 might be "Fewer, Fancier" because by that point I'll have all of my basic sartoral infrastructure set, and can try my hand at a few luxury items made of nicer fabric.

[happypenguinart]

Sewing Cross Stitch Pattern

[whisperstims]

Platypus

[chubbysewcialist]

Swatches from fabric dot com, which will have to wait a few months because I now have plenty to work with. Might end up as corporate goth clothes, or larp costuming, or both ;-)

[chubbysewcialist]

Here's another older stash item. Dark green isn't something I wear that often anymore, but when this poly polplin turned up on fabric dot com for $2.28 per yard I thought it wouuld be good to pick up a small mountain of it for more pattern drafting, as I was running out of fail-linen by midwinter. Tho that whole project got derailed by the flareup, whups. Now I'm finally using some of this in my trouser drafting projects, pics to follow later. It frays a bit, but does just fine as practice fabric. Not having worked with poplin beffore, its not bad, will be interested in looking at poplin in other fiber blends in the future. Maybe for spring sewing?

[chubbysewcialist]

And this one here was an entirely frivolous purchase. It was a rough summer for me in medical stuff and spoons this year, and after watching a TMNT themed game on Twitch I got a bit nostalgic. Couldn't find the 80s series I watched when I a wee bebe nerd girl, but the 2012 series is on Hulu and exactly the kind of geeky fun show I like with *constant* nerdy references. And shot-for-shot homages to the movies I grew up on, and cross overs with the original cartoon.

Once hooked on the show, I got one of the usual fabric dot com spam emails about licensed fabric, took a look around, and found this fleece on clearance (probably bc this iteration of the show is over now *sadface*). I think it was less than $4 per yard, so not such a bad impulse buy. Meanwhile, spoonies always need some nice comfy pj's, so that’s where this is probably going. Not to mention I don’t think anyone mass produced TMNT clothes for girls when I was little. Tho I also got an 8-bit Tardis quilting kit at GenCon that didn't include backing fabric (whups) so having an extra blanket that's half Doctor Who and half TMNT would be fun too.

[chubbysewcialist]

Here's another stash item from Fabric dot com, ordered because they had it listed as heavyweight last year. As it turns out all of the black fabric is like a translucent knit pantyhose material. I forget what I intended to make out of it, but now it'll work nicely for a couple pairs of leggings, at least until it gets too cold to wear tights. And my recent order was lacking in purples.

Again, be wary when a "designer fabric" doesn't allow for swatching :-P It might be a trap.

[chubbysewcialist]

This is a silver velour or stretch velvet that I got from Sly Fox Fabrics *last* winter before that flareup started. It was going to be a cardigan, now I'm not sure if I'm going to use the commmercial pattern I was planning on, or draft my own, or just use my slopers to adjust the commercial pattern. Depends on how far I get with my drafting, I guess? But ultimately I don't want this sitting sad and unused in my stash again until *next* summer :P I still have a couple other UFOs outstanding from that SFF order. Will try to get to work on those before all the new stuff, bc the UFO box is pretty full.

[earwigcrisis-deactivated2020052]

Ok but this staggered stitch creates good bumpy textures, very stimmy

[rusalka-studio]

The Victorian Ladies’ Ornithology Society ✨

I drew four bird ladies a few months back and I loved them so much that I’ve turned the Raven into an embroidery piece!

You can buy your own or one of the other three Ladies on my Etsy store ❤️

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RusalkaStudio instagram: rusalkastudio

[chubbysewcialist]

Here's something that I've had my eye on for years now, but now that its on clearance it was both slightly discounted and likely my last chance to play with it. "Velveteen Twill Back" in "Sailor Blue", 100% cotton. I'm fairly sure this is meant to be upholstry fabric, but once again it's a nice stiff drape heavy fabric that will more likely stop me from freezing to death at work this winter. Most likely will be a skirt, but it may end up a blazer instead, not sure now. Kinda wish I'd ordered more, but this one was a bit more expensive than the other fabrics on my list, and I didn't want to mess up my budget. Maybe if there's still more in stock in a few months I can get some more.

[chubbysewcialist]

This one I'm a bit less enthused about, but another fabric sold out before I could order, and its still a heavier weight poly blend. "Telio Deedee Knit Jaquard" in navy. I dub thee future leggings. Not crazy about polka dots, but here its more of a texture than a contrast.

[chubbysewcialist]

Here's something a bit fancier - "Telio Shadow Flowers Jacquard Knit Print Metallic" in black and blue, a poly/spandex blend. After swatching I noticed this fabric wasn't as heavy as I'd expected, but I think I can get away with making a nice longsleeved top out of this for layering. I definitely have weird taste in florals, tho.

[chubbysewcialist]

This is some navy blue knit I ordered from fabric dot com for patternmaking practice. It was about $3 per yard, and had a stretch more similar to the knits I usually buy. But still in a color I'm more likely to wear, just in case wearable-muslins work out better than expected. Might also end up with some nice soft pj's. On the website its listed as "Soft Spun Poly Jersey Knit," another poly/lycra blend.

[chubbysewcialist]

This is the "Liverpool Double Knit Large Roses" poly blend in black, jade, and teal. This was going to be leggings, but I lucked out and got almost 3 yards from the end of the bolt. Thanks Fabric dot com :). It was also lighter than I expected (bad sewcialist didn't swatch first) so Ima turn it inti a skater dress instead, after I work on some more of those slopers.

[readymadebyrembrandt]

Audrey II (from Little Shop of Horrors)

[fudge-yeah-sewing]

Finished Project!

I saw this message on Tumblr a while back and decided to do it with my own tweaks! Surprisingly personal I enjoyed making it in my own way.

Cross stitch is in “Parrot” thread which is yellow, red and blue. Straight stitches are a lovely orange/cream thread.

On the right is the neurotransmitter dopamine, the one on the left is seratonin (which when lacking cause depression).

The top chemical is the active ingredient in the anti-depressant citalopram (which is the best AD for me).

I wrapped the Aida around a black piece of card which I cut to shape, then sewed it into place. I might reback it one day, but I like it for now!