Literary Sewing Circle: The Excitement Wrap Up!

 

Today is already our final day of the Literary Sewing Circle focusing on CJ Wray's The Excitements!

I hope you've had the chance to read the book, and both the first and second inspiration posts, and are getting lots of ideas for a project of your own.

This is our final and roundup post. Share links to your projects here: as soon as you are done your project, just pop a link to your post into the comments and we will all be able to visit your blog/instagram etc. and explore your creation -- remember, it can be sewn, or knitted, crocheted, embroidered... any textile art that you practice. Or you can just tag me, @sewmelwyk on IG and use #LiterarySewingCircle as a hashtag.

We've discovered more about the author and this book in the author feature post. If that sparks any comments, please share those, too! 

My thoughts on this book are that it was a fun romp -- an enjoyable adventure. There's a lot happening with the timeline switches, and at times more details could have been given to flesh out the characters a little more. But I still really enjoyed the three main characters a lot -- Penny, Josephine, and their relationship with Archie was the core of the story for me. 

I also found the lighthearted silliness of parts a good balance to the more serious issues of wartime events. The jewel heist subplot and the side characters involved there could be its own book; there were a lot of characters and threads here to follow. That's where Wray's next book, Bad Influence, comes in I guess! 

Here are a few questions for you to ponder as you share your own final thoughts: 

How did you feel the sibling relationship was portrayed? Did you think any of the side characters were particularly important to your experience of this novel? How did the setting and the description of the various locations affect your opinions of the book? Was there any moment that felt especially engaging for you? 

Please share your thoughts on the book, its themes, characters, or anything you noted about it -- either in the comments here or on our first Book Talk post, or on your own blog with a link to your longer thoughts in the comments so we can find it. I love to talk about the experience of reading so feel free to comment no matter when you're reading this post; if you've read this I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Also please share a link to your project in the comments -- if that doesn't work for you, please email me or tag me on IG so that I can see and share your project. Thanks so much for reading and sewing along! 

You have two more weeks, until Nov 13, to share your project, if you want to be included in the round up post & have a chance to win one of our prizes from our sponsors, Victory Patterns & How to Do Fashion.

 

Tracing a new Queue

This week I organized some of my Burda magazines into a queue for tracing. There are a LOT of patterns that I'd like to make, since I have at least ten years of issues, not counting the vintage 90s ones! 

These are the patterns that I've gotten ready to trace, after matching most of them up with stash fabric so I can only trace the ones that I'll likely make soon. I can only spend so much time tracing before I've had enough, so have to prioritize ;) 

The one I am most wanting to make soon is one of this year's "celebrity patterns". Each issue this year has a design based on someone famous. The one inspired by Princess Kate (124-06-2026) is the one that caught my eye first. This top especially -- it will be perfect in a bengaline I just picked up. If I have enough fabric I may make a matching skirt, but otherwise a plain black skirt might be nice.

There is also a skirt suit inspired by Princess Di in another issue (124-04-2026), and that spectacular 80s outfit is next on my list. I'm not sure which fabric I'll use for these pieces but I love the silhouette.

There is a knit top from an old issue that I have wanted to make for years (since I first got this issue) so I will trace it out, and am thinking of upcycling an old knit dress for this one. (109-06-2021)

And there is a blouse (105-10-2021) I've also been wanting to make since this issue came out, that I think will work really well with this gorgeous cotton I thrifted a while back. 

Then there are a handful of pieces that I think would be nice additions to a fall/winter wardrobe, but haven't selected any fabrics for yet, so they are further down in the queue. 

First, this cute skirt with a drawstring hem from this year (105-08-2026) They used taffeta, I'd choose something else but it will need some body.

Then there is this interesting sweater (111-06-2021) that wraps around the neck and/or body - I have a lightweight knit print somewhere in my stash that might work, if I have enough of it. 

And finally, another "celebrity" outfit from this year's series, a dress and jacket inspired by Tippi Hedren in The Birds (123-10-2026). I'm mostly interested in the dress here, there are some nice details that intrigue me, including the back walking slit -- it incorporates a pleat and seems like an interesting construction. If I get this far in my list I will be amazed ;) But it's fun to prep and to dream. 

Note: I have signed up to be part of the Burda Ambassador program. This means that I may earn a tiny commission if you purchase one of the patterns through a link that I may share in my regular posts. 

Weekend Review: Stitched

 

Stitched / Eli McCann
Salt Lake City, UT: Torrey House Press, c2026.
280 p.

I picked up this book at my library after hearing quite a bit of chatter about it. So I was looking forward to it -- it's the story of a small quilting group that needs new members so end up inviting two gay men without any quilting experience to join them. And the connections between the ladies and these two men start to develop. 

It sounds good -- the author's mother was in a quilt group, and he says that's what he based a lot of the story on. I did like the mix of characters and could see that this story had a lot of potential. There's a small quilt group, I won't call it a guild because it's a handful of women who meet weekly to maybe sew a bit. There's a big biannual quilt competition coming up and they want to run up a viable entry to show off their skills. But with a couple of longtime members no longer able to participate they aren't sure they will be able to manage it. Enter Byron and Rob -- who I would have thought would add something to the groups since they don't have any quilting skills. But even Rob's design skills are not used in the creation of their competition quilt. 

There is also a strong rivalry with a nearby quilt group, who usually win competitions. There is some lead up to potential drama there, but it fizzles out without much to-do. 

I really wanted to like this! But. In execution there were many flaws, for me. The female characters often feel stereotypical, except for a couple of them. The premise to the story also had many holes that were easily seen. While I was reading I didn't mind too much but once I finished and was thinking about it, there was a lot that didn't really make sense to me. 

The women are often bickering and not committed to quilting -- this is not like any quilters I know. And their group meets weekly. Weekly! Who does that? Also, their competition quilt is described as they develop plans, and it is godawful. I don't need to see it to know that it would be a dog's breakfast. How a quilt shop owner could approve this as part of her group's entry, I will never know. 

Anyhow, lots of people on Goodreads love it, and if you read it without expecting too much maybe you will too. I think there are many novels out there by actual quilters who have a better grasp on what quilting is all about.

The cover is gorgeous and I'm happy they used an image of an actual quilt, and attributed it properly. There were some funny moments in the sttory, but overall I found this underwhelming, with bland writing, and the promise of the story of two gay men lighting up a bunch of quilters was never quite reached. Not my thing, sadly. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Inspiration!

 

It's time for more inspiration for our sewing projects drawn from The Excitements! This week I'll be looking at some of the places, clothing and imagery mentioned in the book to spark some ideas for our own sewing. 

Starting with some of the important places in the book, we could find projects that match up nicely. We might start with a set from one of our sponsors, How To Do Fashion -- we could choose the Paris Dress to reflect one of the primary settings. 

And top it off with the London jacket to reflect the other! 

Another setting is the Scottish estate of the Williamson sisters' grandmother. You might want to be loosely inspired by this and make the Edinburgh Bag by Greyfriars & Grace. 

More casually, we might be inspired by the Canadian character near the end who is from Halifax, and try out the Halifax Hoodie by Hey June Handmade.

If we want to move down to more specific places, we might be inspired by South Kensington, the area that Penny & Josephine live in. You could try the Liesl & Co Kensington Knit skirt for a quick nod to this location.

Or you might be more inspired by Chelsea, where Penny & Connor get married & hold their reception at the arts club. You could try the Chelsea Blouse by Maison Fauve, in that case. 

Or maybe it's the specific store that opens the book, Peter Jones, that sparks your interest. You could make the Great Jones Jacket by Sewing & The City to reflect this locale - maybe in a fabric showing off a café theme - or even an elephant theme?

Speaking of elephants, let's move on to some ideas that are inspired by images in the book. How about that crystal elephant that Penny finds at Peter Jones? 

You could try the I AM Crystal overall dress

Maybe made in an elephant print like this Starry Elephant from Becks Fabric

Or maybe it's Penny's series of dachsunds that catch your fancy. You could make any pattern using a dachsund print fabric - there are so many out there, like this batch at Spoonflower. 

Or you might even make your own little stuffed dachsund friend, using a pattern such as this one by Burda! 

Gems and jewellery are a big part of the story. An emerald and diamond ring with a ballerina setting (or is it peridot?) plays a big role, but in the Samuel family safe, there are also sapphires mentioned. Any of these might be the start of your project idea. 

You could try the Emerald dress by Made by Rae

Or the Emerald Shirtdress by StyleArc

Ohh Lulu has a Peridot bralette if you want to try some lingerie, maybe in a pale green

You might try a va-va-voom style with the Sapphire Dress by Sew Confident

Or, go a little more low-key with the Sapphire Sweater by Simple Life Pattern Company

The origami inspired Diamond Dress by Wasteless Kiwi might be a really cool project to take on 

Or, if you want something simpler, try the Diamond Hem Trousers by StyleFalcon 

The many references to jewels could even just be reflected in your fabric choice - a green, blue, sparkly/gold solid, or even a print. This vintage Mary Englebreit fabric would be ideal! 

Perhaps the sisters' habit of communicating in Morse Code is what catches your attention and to shake it up a bit, you'll try to make this easy Morse Code quilt, a free pattern at MyFavoriteQuiltStore 

But it could be the fine art of Defendu which inspires you! You could make the Jupe Défendue by Atelier Brunette -- after all, Archie's skills in Defendu really stand out in Paris. Make it in a silver coated fabric in a nod to the Matchbox defense, if you like...

Or the champagne that they all sip while they are at the auction house soiree in Paris might make you choose the Champagne Fields dress by Matchy Matchy Sewing Club.

There are also quite a few mentions of clothing in the book. Penny and Josephine (despite the cover art) prefer somber pantsuits for special occasions. Penny is partial to mahogany, while Josephine wears navy. You can find many lovely patterns for full trouser suits, such as the Mackenzie blazer and pant by Style Arc -- though I'm not sure the sisters would like to wear something that uses Davina's name! 

So you might try another kind of suit, like the striking Victoria suit by Burda Style. 

Arlene, on the other hand, loves bright colours and fashion design. But for her Paris trip, she makes herself a long burgundy gown for the soiree -- which sadly, she never gets a chance to wear. Maybe you'll make one yourself in tribute to her, and wear it somewhere swish! You might try using the retro Butterick 7036, an 80's does 40s style (the slinkiest view E of course)

Or just something that reflects a 40s style like these choices from Lady Marlowe.

You might be inspired by the 40s sections to make something influenced by wartime style. Butterick 6282 is clearly inspired by uniform style, and if the FANY or WREN uniforms spark your interest, this might be a good jumping off point for you. 

Or if you just want to make something simple after all, you could try a knitted beret. As Penny says, so many ladies wear them... You can find a free pattern for a classic knitted version at Purl Soho, or a sewn one by YesYou2CanSew on Etsy, if you want to make your own. 

Knitted

Sewn

I hope that you've had fun reading and pondering your project so far. Next week's wrap up post will let us talk more about the book and share our links to projects in the comments. If you have any questions about projects or are just excited to share your ideas, please do so in the comments here! 

Library Tee into Shift Dress

I had some upcycling fun this week! My library recently created a collection of library swag, and we all got to choose a t-shirt to start things off. Well, I don't really wear t-shirts, so I thought about it, and ordered a 2XL long sleeved version of our in-house design (made by a coworker - our library has a long history with squirrels, if you're wondering lol) It was quite large! 

But thankfully with a bit of restyling I was able to achieve my vision for a fun shift style dress! 

I unpicked the sleeves and took down the hem, and then took a dart from the underarm to hip level (there are no side seams to work with here so I had to be careful not to create a dimple at the dart point). I find an 8" opening a good one for a sleeve, so started my wide dart there and tapered to a natural angle, about 11" down. 

Then I measured the widest and longest rectangle I could get from the sleeve -- it turned out to be about 5.5" by 18". I was able to cut four, and then stitched them together to create the ruffle for the bottom. The hardest part of this whole project was gathering the ruffle -- it's not perfect but it's good enough! 

Because it was so big, the shoulder seam was naturally dropped, so I just folded under and stitched to finish it. And the same on the hem. I actually really like it! And it is really comfy. 

I styled it with some of my black and white accessories -- it's not so punk to match everything, but I liked this ensemble. The jacket has pockets, since the only flaw with this project is that I was unable to add pockets (no side seams after all). 

The ruffle gives this just enough length to be wearable to my standards. I carefully steamed out the original hem so you can't really see the crease or stitchlines anymore, and I'm glad I did because that extra inch does the work here. This was an enjoyable project, and now I have something I'm comfortable wearing if we all have to show up in our tees on the same day in future 😄