Color Wars

As I mentioned in my last post, in a few weeks I'll be filming a segment to be aired in a new sewing show, "It's Sew Easy."

About a week ago I opened my inbox to find  an e-mail offering me, as one of the presenters on the show, a choice of fabric from Vogue Fabrics to use for samples. Swe-e-et! Charge card-less shopping!  Stash building but no cash depleting.

Unfortunately, the perk came with a price. Because of an ordering snafu, the fabrics arrived Tuesday of this week, a mere two weeks before my leaving for Sew Expo; two weeks to sew 3 garments.

I started yesterday with the obligatory fabric fondling starting with a sweet pale yellow linen. After a trip to the washer and some quality time at the ironing board (this is linen, after all) I was ready to start.

I think you know by now that I think that when it comes to my sewing, I'm a compulsive planner. I believe in sewing muslins, doing trial stitch-outs of all embroidery designs and testing a variety of color combinations before embarking on a project. In my book, auditioning is the key to success. Try this and see how it looks. Try that and compare it to the first. I'm an experimenting kind of gal. One of my friends, who has the 'damn torpedoes, full speed ahead' philosophy goes in the opposite direction diving right in to seek instant gratification. Let's just say I've seen a few wadders in her house; pieces that don't fit, or items with color combinations just a little bit off.

However, feeling the pressure of time, this one time I decided to bypass the test stitch-out. The fabric was gorgeous, I've sewn these designs just short of a zillion times and and I was in a hurry, a real hurry. While my machine was busy stitching its little heart out I was packing the van to prepare to speak at a quilt guild. So sewing -wise, it was damn the torpedoes for me.

The Fabric: - an elegant  pale yellow pants weight linen from Vogue Fabrics.

The Pattern: -Vogue 8654, a fun little jacket (We'll have it on our website in a few days)

The Designs: Bugged from Bullard Designs (that's me, the Bullard of Bullard Designs)

Bugged Embroidery Designs
(This photo is from the back of a jacket which
is why you see the drape of the fabric)

Colors: Lilac and purple embroidery on the creamy yellow.  I have used this combination before and loved the look.

The color combination I planned to use.
Design shown is from the Zelda Designs.

So take it away. I started the machine stitching. Not willing to do the easy thing I slipped in a third color- a gold. That seemed like a no-brainer. Gold looks great with purple, gold looks great on creamy yellow.

I think you know where this is going.  The end product was not what I imagined.

Bugged Embroidery Designs 

So here it is. I still love the lavender against the lilac. What I don't like is the greenish- gold innards.

Hmm.. So now, time to check to see if I have enough fabric to continue with this pattern. If not - big plan B - choose a pattern that takes less fabric.

Back to the drawing board for a test.

  

My next try was spot on. Oddly enough, it’s what I first planned- lavender and purple on the pale yellow.

I love the look.  The embroidery is done, the pieces cut out and all put in a bag for my helpers to sew tomorrow. If all goes well I'll have pictures of the finished jacket by the end of next week.