Weekend Review: Sew Over It

Sew Over It / Barbara Emodi
c2023
68 p.

I read this quick e-short this week when I discovered it on Hoopla thanks to my library. It's part of the Gasper's Cove mysteries by Barbara Emodi, also known to many of us as a sewist and sewing book writer. Her sewing cozies are pretty fun, so I quickly checked this one out. 

This is kind of a prequel to the whole series, a short mystery (involving the murder of a sewing machine rep) that still satisfies, while it introduces us to Valerie Rankin and her world. In this book you meet all the characters who will make up the series, and get a feel for the town and Valerie's position as a recent returnee. 

It's a little clunky in parts -- for example, Valerie's dog's name changes suddenly halfway in -- but it's a fun intro to the series. I found that in this story, the sewing puns and sewing content are in peak form, with comments that made me laugh out loud. I really enjoyed this, after having read the first two in the series. I'm falling behind, with book 6 coming out in October. I'll have to find book 3 and get busy!

 

Literary Sewing Circle: Author Feature!

Today is the day we get to learn more about our author! Riel Nason is a Canadian author and textile artist/quilter.  She writes for both adults and children.  She is best known for her debut novel, The Town That Drowned,  which won the Commonwealth Book Prize for Canada and Europe among other awards, and her bestselling picture book series starring The Little Ghost Quilt. She lives in Quispamsis, New Brunswick. Nason is also a textile artist (quilter) and has had several exhibits of her original work as well as writing two nonfiction books on the topic.

We are so fortunate that Riel was available and willing to give us an interview on her writing for our Literary Sewing Circle! 

1. Welcome, Riel, and thank you for taking the time to do this interview for the Literary Sewing Circle! 

Thanks for having me here!

2. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to write All the Things We Leave Behind? What was the genesis of this story? The setting of All the Things We Leave Behind is so strong; readers can feel the forest (and its animal residents) and the river almost as characters themselves. Why did you choose this setting, and also the decade of the 70s, for this story? 

This novel was the follow-up after my debut The Town That Drowned. I knew I wanted to write another story set in the same New Brunswick region, with the fictionalized main event of TTTD now ten years in the past. (The event was the permanent flooding of the St. John River Valley due to the building of a hydro-electric dam, which completely changed the landscape of the area.)  In ATTWLB the story is largely centered at a roadside antique shop with an endless forest behind it, which characters find many reasons to visit. I love the forest and I grew up in rural NB with a forest as my backyard.  But as lovely as the forest can be, it can also be very dangerous.

3. Violet's voice is compelling as the main character and narrator, and her close relationship with her brother Bliss while he struggles is a strong thread of this story. Her parents are absent for much of the book, leaving her to manage on her own, but despite this, the theme of family and connection is so important to the book. How did you balance all of these elements?

I really can't put much description as to how I figure out what to emphasize where/when or what a story needs at any point.  I certainly have a huge awareness of how it is all coming together though.  When it comes to characters I am constantly thinking about the subtle combination of what would really, truly happen in this situation, with what needs to happen to advance the plot.  I often hear other authors say something like "I just create the characters and follow along to record all the surprising things they do." That is very, very far from what happens for me.

4. How did you decide to include the hard topics that you explore in this story? There is a thread of loss that runs through this book, from the Boneyard to the Vaughn estate to the reflections on the lost town of Haventon from your first novel. But there is also light, and connection, and just daily life that keeps going on. Do you find it difficult to fold this all in together? I'm wondering, because I felt it was so effective throughout the book.  

I think I'll answer about the "hard topics" here, a big one of which is mental illness. The character of Bliss really struggles in the novel.  As an author I write fiction, but fiction still has to be "true" -- in that there are some big topics that you don't want to guess at, or kind of try to figure out as you go. Mental illness can be just too devastating and overwhelming and perhaps impossible for a person to understand when looking from the  outside-in rather than the inside-out. So anyway, I have OCD and have had it for most of my life.  As an author I follow the write-what-you-know path. I am absolutely not the character of Bliss, but I do have a proper lens to look at him through.

5. As someone who is involved in sewing and textile arts yourself, do you see a connection between the making involved in textiles and in writing? Do they inform one another for you? If so, how?  

They are both creative pursuits that involve elements of fun and frustration for me.  But I definitely use the backspace key and delete things more than I use my seam ripper.  As to one informing the other, it's fun to put "quilting" into my stories. In my middle-grade novel Waiting Under Water one character is a textile artist/quilter.  And it was especially fun to turn a quilt into a main character in my picture book The Little Ghost Who Was A Quilt.

6. I know that like the readers in the Literary Sewing Circle, you are also a sewist, particularly in your work with quilting. What are some of your favourite creations, and where can people find out more about your creative pursuits?  

My favourites are always changing.  But lately I've had a lot of fun making small bags and other small accessories.  I sometimes post things I'm making/have made on Instagram @rielnason

7. Are you working on anything else that you'd like to share right now?

My next book comes out in August. It is the second in The Little Ghost Quilt series called The Little Ghost Quilt's Winter Surprise. Then the third in the series should be out late next year.

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I hope you are enjoying All the Things We Leave Behind so far! Please leave any thoughts on your reading or this interview here. You can also find more about Riel at her Instagram.

A Visit to the Thrift Stores!

This weekend was a relaxing one, but of course I had to spend some of it thrifting! We went to our favourite thrift, but also travelled a bit further to a few others in a nearby town. I ended up finding a bunch of fun things. 

I found some fabric - while I'm trying to reduce my fabric intake, I couldn't resist these. All in my colours and all on the 75% off tag sale. So 7 metres came home with me. 

Magenta: textured synthetic -- Rayon floral
Green linen blend

At another shop, I scored with some great 80s patterns. All from someone named Eileen (her name was written on the front of many of them). I ended up choosing 10 patterns from Eileen's stash, 9 of which are uncut. The ones she didn't get to, I will now try to make in her honour. We were obviously the same size and with the same tastes - thanks Eileen! 

And I finished off my discoveries with these two books by Jennie Rayment. I have her first book, Tucks, Textures & Pleats, which I enjoyed, and have been looking for book two for ages. I found it today, but also found book three, which I didn't even know existed. She is quite hilarious and eccentric, but her books also have some great ideas for fabric manipulation in them. I'm enjoying skimming through them already. 

I didn't do much sewing this weekend, unfortunately - it was in my plans but I only got to about half of what I wanted to do. This thrifting trip wasn't really planned but it was a fun sewing-related outing so I'm calling it even :) 

Literary Sewing Circle: Book Talk!

 

Today's the day for some beginning book talk! How are you doing with the book? Have you started it yet? Finished it? Finding it slower or easy to get through? Do you have any reactions you'd like to share? 

Here are a few questions to ponder today and for the next while -- whether you have begun reading, or you've only read blurbs & author interviews so far and still have something to say, join in! Although there might be a few spoilers in the questions and discussion below so if you haven't got too far yet you might want to come back to this post.

I'll add some of my own thoughts and you can reply to them or add your own impressions. If you want to hear other takes on a part of the book that you are curious about, leave your own questions in the comments, too. We'll be having another book discussion on the last post of this round if you would like to add more thorough comments there, after we've all finished it. 

1. If you decided to pick up this book and read it for this round, why? Was it the description or just the challenge that caught you first?

I've wanted to share this book for a while, but it was out of print for a while so I couldn't - when I saw that the ebook was in print again I thought it was a good time to choose this title. I've always liked Riel Nason's writing style and this is my favourite of her novels, perhaps because of the textile elements, the antique store, or the compelling family story. I hope that if you've been reading along, her story has caught you as well. 

2. Are you at all familiar with the setting of this book, either geographical or the decade she's chosen? If so, does this add anything to the read for you?

While I've never been to New Brunswick, I feel like this setting is a familiar Canadian one. I grew up in Saskatchewan where there were also rivers and forests and small communities, also in the 70s, and it feels similar to Violet's experiences in some ways. I loved the rich descriptions of the landscape and the mood evoked, with the sense of time both in the landscapes and in the human items that are always "left behind". 

3. There is a mix of beauty and darkness in this story, with the narrative revealing only glimpses at a time. Did you like this, or find it effective? Did you think the outcome of the book was hopeful or not?

I remember being surprised by the storyline and some of the secrets which were slowly revealed when I read this first. But I also felt all the developments were embedded in the story and nothing felt out of place when it was revealed. It was more like something else being uncovered, that existed all along. I liked the way Violet's recollections moved from more traumatic moments into moments of beauty and comfort, to keep the story on an even footing. I did like the ending and thought it was developed believably. 

4. Is there a particular character that you've enjoyed so far? Any particular themes that stand out for you?

I really like Violet, I think she is an interesting mix of youthful and mature - maybe because of her responsibilities in her family. Her relationship with Jill, her best friend, was also interesting to me, as Jill felt more naive or immature in ways, and yet she was the one getting ready to jump into a marriage. I liked that subtle observation of social conventions through their friendship. And the themes of memory and loss permeate the book in so many ways, including how Violet's narrative moves between recollections and the present. But I really appreciated the way that antiques, both in store and in terms of the Vaughn estate, play a role in representing memory and past generations as well -- maybe because I thrift so much, I felt this concept strongly. And of course, the quilting elements were very appealing too!

5.  Is there anything specific  in the book that has sparked an idea for a project yet? Are you mulling over any ideas?

I have many ideas, some shared in the last post, and some more conceptually inspired, by some images in the book as well. The next inspiration post will be sharing ideas based on concepts like imagery, quotes, the mood of the book, so stay tuned for that. I have looked through my fabric stash and two particular fabrics have jumped out at me as suitable for some of my ideas so I may go from there... 

Has anything leapt to the top of your project list in your initial reading? Let us know if so! If not, let it percolate, and check out our next inspo post for more ideas. 

Cover Designs! #38: The Wonders

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's pick is The Wonders by Elena Medel.

Summary from publisher:

The Wonders follows Maria and Alicia through the streets of Madrid, from job to job and apartment to apartment, as they search for meaning and stability in a precarious world and unknowingly trace each other’s footfalls across time.

Maria moved to the city in 1969, leaving her daughter with her family but hoping to save enough to take care of her one day. She worked as a housekeeper, then a caregiver, and later a cleaner, and somehow she was always taking care of someone else. Two generations later, in 2018, Alicia was working at the snack shop in Madrid’s Atocha train station when it overflowed with protestors and strikers. All women—and so many of them—protesting what? Alicia wasn’t entirely sure. She couldn’t have known that Maria was among them. Alicia didn’t have time for marches; she was just trying to hang on until the end of her shift, when she might meet someone to take her away for a few hours, to make her forget.

Readers will fall in love with Maria and Alicia, whose stories finally converge in the chaos of the protests, the weight of the years of silence hanging thickly in the air between them. The Wonders brings half a century of the feminist movement to life, and launches an inimitable new voice in fiction.

While we only see the cover dress from the back, this long sleeved shift dress should be pretty easy to replicate. It's the fabric that might be tricky! 

You might want to try the free Shayla shift dress from Tiana's Closet. We don't know what the front of this cover dress looks like, so it just might be the casual V-neck of the Shayla. This pattern also has a sweet button detail on the sleeve for that something extra.

Or you might prefer the Ultimate Shift Dress by Sew Over It, even if there is a bit of a difference -- the SOI shift has a back opening at the neckline, unlike our cover image. But it's close! 

Or if you wanted to try copying this in a knit, the Jalie Nicole might be just the one! The centre line drawing has just the same silhouette. 

Of course, to really get the look of this, a cityscape panel print would be the best fit. I couldn't find any quite like this one, but there are a number of city prints on Spoonflower that would be fun to try out, and the good thing about that is that you could go with woven or knit, whichever you preferred. Here are a few ideas! 

Urban Tapestry Abstract Cityscape by Paula Bagy

City Blocks by boldtvillemayor

City Big by j9design

Shades of Blue City by SweetCoolVibes

While none of these fabrics are exactly like the cover image, the city imagery could carry the theme over into a potential real life make! And if you're fortunate enough to find a panel print, a shift dress is always a great choice to make the most of it, no matter what the design. 

Cover Designs! #37: Dear Mrs. Bird

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's pick is Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce.

Summary from the Publisher

London 1940, bombs are falling. Emmy Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent seem suddenly achievable. But the job turns out to be typist to the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.

Mrs Bird is very clear: Any letters containing Unpleasantness—must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant letters from women who are lonely, may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men and found themselves in trouble, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write letters back to the women of all ages who have spilled out their troubles.

This retro inspired outfit could be put together fairly quickly - you could use the Astoria Sweater pattern by Seamwork to sew up a knit top; you'd just have to shorten the sleeve to get this look! It even has a nice ribbing at the bottom to copy this cover image really closely. 

The skirt is a crisp A-line and could be replicated with the Liesl & Co. Garibaldi Skirt, in the mid-length view. This is an easy sew and a great fit for big prints like the cover image, since there are no front or back seams to worry about! 

Finish up your look with a nice pair of pumps and some fun upcycled typewriter themed jewellery!  

Enjoy this charming story with its vintage flair and make yourself a bright vintage inspired outfit to wear while reading! 

Cover Designs! #36: No one is Coming to Save Us

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's pick is No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts. 

Summary from the Publisher: 

JJ Ferguson has returned home to Pinewood, North Carolina to build his dream home and to woo his high school sweetheart, Ava. But he finds that the people he once knew and loved have changed, just as he has. Ava is now married, and wants a baby more than anything. The decline of the town’s once-thriving furniture industry has made Ava’s husband Henry grow distant and frustrated. Ava’s mother Sylvia has put her own life on hold as she caters to and meddles with those around her, trying to fill the void left by her absent son. And Don, Sylvia’s undeserving but charming husband, just won’t stop hanging around.

JJ’s newfound wealth forces everyone to consider what more they want and deserve from life than what they already have—and how they might go about getting it. Can they shape their lives to align with their wishes rather than their realities? Or are they resigned to the rhythms of the particular lives they lead? No One Is Coming to Save Us is a revelatory debut from an insightful voice that combines a universally resonant story with an intimate glimpse into the hearts of one family.

This beautiful summer outfit on the cover of this dress could be reproduced with a few pattern ideas. The first one I thought of was the Know Me 2040 by Brittany J. Jones. It has slightly wider straps and a skirt that's a bit fuller, but it's close. 

Or the Claudia dress by Tessuti might work -- it has the lower, angled bodice of the cover image and skinny straps too. It has a straight skirt, and even has pockets!

You might even choose a similar fabric, like this black and white floral from Fabrics & Fabrics

If you want to accessorize like the lovely woman on the cover, you can use the new Closet Core Sunhat pattern -- it's free, has a sewalong video, and looks very similar to our cover image! 

You could even make a bag to match, the Classic Handbag by Mrs H is similar though not quite so square. Still, make it in black and it would be close.

Any of these ideas combined could get you close to the elegant summer outfit on the cover of this book. Perfect for summer reading. 

Literary Sewing Circle: Author Feature!

 

Today's the day to talk about the author of our pick for this round of the #LiterarySewingCircle! Connie Willis is a multiple award winning author of speculative fiction. She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards, including Hugos for every book in the Oxford Time Travel series. She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).

She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her family.

By Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0

Her interests in her fiction lie in exploring the unusual - from time travel to telepathy to alien visitations! There is also a strong element of humour, especially snappy dialogue and ridiculous mishaps, influenced by classic screwball comedies. 

To find out more about her influences, favourite reading and most recommended movies, you can read a recent interview with her by the LA Public Library. It focuses on her most recent book, The Road to Roswell (which features alien abductions and more) but ranges widely, and even gives a hint at another Time Travel book in the works. 

What is her connection with making and sewing? Well, for one thing her husband Courtney is an accomplished quilter, and Willis has written an account of their trip to Quilt Town, USA (aka Hamilton, Missouri) It's an entertaining story, especially her description of trying to explain the fact that it's her husband who's the quilter.  

Another aspect of her work that I find fascinating is how she uses clothing and fashion as a character building device. When our historians are going out to a new assignment, they look closely at the clothing and hairstyles and all important accessories that will make them fit in -- we notice people around us, and consider them part of our society, partly because of how they look and the small details of daily life that reveal someone who is the same as the rest of us. 

As Ned takes his first trip back to the Victorian era, he's carefully dressed in a striped blazer, flannels, and a boater. And of course appropriate facial hair. And Verity can't be sent too far out of bounds when she gets lost in translation, because of the Victorian gown she is wearing - the Net doesn't want her going too far afield, so as not to cause any disruptions to the space time continuum by appearing vastly out of place in her current garments. 

In Willis' most recent book, The Road to Roswell, the main character tries on a ghastly lime green bridesmaid dress early in the book which she has to wear for lengthy periods -- the alien in the story has a conniption when she changes into something else because it thinks her clothing is her actual self. Really interesting to think about how clothing "makes the man", so to speak. 

Although Willis doesn't speak much about making, sewing or fashion directly, I think her interest in it shows in many of her books, and enlarges our perceptions of her characters. Her vast mental library of references to other literature, to films and history, also includes the fashion of everyday life. I hope if you read more of her work after this book, you will find this as well! 

Cover Designs!: #35 Look At Me

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's pick is Look At Me, a book by an English author, Sarah Duguid.

Summary from the publisher:

Lizzy lives with her father, Julian, and her brother, Ig, in North London. Two years ago her mother died, leaving in a trail a family bereft by her absence and a house still filled with her things: for Margaret was lively, beautiful, fun, loving; she kept the family together. So Lizzy thinks. Then, one day, Lizzy finds a letter from a stranger to her father, and discovers he has another child. Lizzy invites her into their world in an act of outraged defiance. Almost immediately, she realises her mistake.

Look at Me is a deft exploration of family, grief, and the delicate balance between moving forward and not quite being able to leave someone behind. It is an acute portrayal of how familial upheaval can cause misunderstanding and madness, damaging those you love most.

There are quite a few lookalike patterns for this dual cover dress. First up is Butterick 5181. View A looks perfect, even with a waistband, but I think it may be OOP now. 

If you can't find this one, you could try the more recent Butterick 6759, which also has a similar waist yoke to the cover design, although this pattern has buttons down the front of the skirt. You could adapt that though! 

If neither of these Big 4 patterns floats your boat, there are a few Indies that might work as well! You could try the V-Neck Dress from DG Patterns which is quite similar -- but it offers a knit option while the cover design really says woven to me. 

Or you could use the V-Neck Dress woven pattern from Tailorpatterns on Etsy. It might also capture the shape of our cover design dresses. It's one of many classic designs from this pattern shop. 

As to the fabric choice, well, it's going to be a surface design assignment for you, or an opportunity for some creative piecing! Fabric paint, applique, scrap piecing or a lucky Spoonflower find might suit you if you want an exact copy of either one. I see some pattern hacking in the cards if you want to make your own version, in either colourway. Have fun if you do give this a try! 

Cover Designs!: #34 Last Christmas in Paris

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well. Today's pick is a seasonal one: Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. 

Summary from the publisher: 

August 1914. England is at war. As Evie Elliott watches her brother, Will, and his best friend, Thomas Harding, depart for the front, she believes—as everyone does—that it will be over by Christmas, when the trio plan to celebrate the holiday among the romantic cafes of Paris.

But as history tells us, it all happened so differently…

Evie and Thomas experience a very different war. Frustrated by life as a privileged young lady, Evie longs to play a greater part in the conflict—but how?—and as Thomas struggles with the unimaginable realities of war he also faces personal battles back home where War Office regulations on press reporting cause trouble at his father’s newspaper business. Through their letters, Evie and Thomas share their greatest hopes and fears—and grow ever fonder from afar. Can love flourish amid the horror of the First World War, or will fate intervene?

Christmas 1968. With failing health, Thomas returns to Paris—a cherished packet of letters in hand—determined to lay to rest the ghosts of his past. But one final letter is waiting for him…

The startling red of the coat on the cover of this book calls out for a copy! There are a few options to make a classic coat like this. You might start with Vogue 9367. Even though you can't see the front of the cover image, you might want a coat with some interesting detail on the front, like this Vogue pattern has. The back looks nearly identical to the cover image, if you use View C for length.

You might also try the Closet Core Siena Maker Jacket. It would just need to be lengthened a bit from its above-knee option to replicate the look of this coat quite well. 

Or, you could try the free Hydrus coat from Mood Sewciety. While this pattern was created with cosplay in mind, it's quite a nice coat, with the perfect silhouette to copy this cover design. 

While you're at Mood you could check out their red wool blends, like this cashmere/wool coating

Or for something a little more fiery red, you could use this mohair wool coating from King Textiles. 

Whichever pattern or fabric you might choose, coat making could be a fun winter project accompanied by listening to this book in audio format. 

Cover Designs!: #33 When We Were Young

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well. Today's book, When We Were Young by Jaclyn Goldis, gives us that last glimpse of summer!

Summary from the publisher:

Three generations of women come together in this page-turning debut full of family secrets, heart-wrenching drama, and the promise of second chances.

Corfu, 1942 : To sixteen-year-old Sarah Batis, the Nazis are a distant danger—of far greater threat is the opposing needs of her heart and her people. Tradition demands that Sarah marry a Jewish man. Only Sarah has fallen in love with a fisherman outside their community. And when the Nazis invade, Sarah must watch from afar as her family is taken away. . .

Corfu, 2004 : Sarah's daughter, Bea, has built a happy life with a steadfast husband and two independent daughters. Their summers on the Greek island with the Winn family appear idyllic, especially the love that blossoms between Bea's daughter Joey and Leo Winn. But there is a secret threatening their beach paradise.

Florida, 2019 : Joey is only days away from marrying the nice Jewish man her family adores. The arrival of Leo, Joey's first love, sends her reeling. Even after fifteen years, the attraction between them burns bright—but Leo isn't looking for a happy reunion. He's there to reveal why he really broke up with her during their last summer together.

Weddings have a way of bringing out the best—and worst—in those you love the most. And as the revelations of her family flood to the surface, what Joey learns will either bring them closer together . . . or tear them apart forever.

This simple sundress has a couple of notable features. First, those straps look like they are made with ribbon rather than self fabric - easily adapted in this pattern suggestions. Also, there is perhaps a waistband, or maybe it's a belt. You pick!  

The first suggestion to copy this cover design is the Avid Seamstress Sun Dress. It has the silhouette and a back similar to the cover dress, although the skirt is slightly fuller here. If you changed the straps to a ribbon, you could get a close match!

For another option that is similar, although with the small difference of an elastic back waistband, try the Wide Strap Maxi Dress created by Elbe Textiles for Peppermint Magazine. It's slightly lower in the back and longer as well, but has that light summery vibe. 

And to top it off you can make yourself a Cote D'Azure sun hat by ShannonMac Designs. Just add a black ribbon and you're set. Enjoy the rest of your summer!