Out-of-Print fleece patterns from Mom

Now I have finally gotten to the sewing-related gifts from Mom.  Here it is 95F outside ... and I am pulling out fleece patterns Mom gave me.  Oh, and the piece of plaid fleece that I gifted Mom with back in December - it came back home with me as Mom has finally decided what she wants made from it!  And it isn't one of these patterns:

OOP fleece patterns from Mom

If you can hear in the back of your mind the old Sesame Street ditty "One of these things is not like the others ... One of these things just doesn't belong ..." then you've probably noticed one of these patterns sticks out like a sore thumb, and probably isn't intended for this kind of fleece!  Actually, both patterns in the top row get a closer mention from me, for different reasons.

NL 6790: what year(s)?  S7123 is almost as old as I am!

First, the New Look 6790 ... I cannot find a copyright date on the envelope or in the instructions ... and can't find run dates for it when Googling.  It's been out of print long enough for NL to reissue the number though.  It looks close in age to the McCall's 4222 in style, which does have a copyright date of 2003.  Can anyone confirm this?  Or correct?

Now, for the "sore thumb" in this batch ... a 1975 Simplicity 7123 mens/unisex poncho/coat ... sans envelope. Several of the mid-1970s patterns in Mom's boxes are missing their envelopes, so I sincerely doubt these will be sought-after collectibles.  Even though the pattern tissue looks like it has never been unfolded.  For those of y'all 70s-era vintage fans ... hold your fire.  I have no intentions of cutting this pattern tissue.  It probably wouldn't survive actual use.  However, I definitely want to trace it off and use one of my Shetland wools to actually make this pattern!  Seriously, this one is a neato-looking coat.  Is this old enough to be considered "vintage"?

Oh, I may be asking for more help as I sort through the rest of the small box of patterns:

box of Mom's old patterns

There's a couple more without envelopes in there, along with more men's wear patterns.  Just for the record, Mom would have been happy to give me even more patterns than this, but given my weakness for the 99c pattern sales, I didn't want to take more than I feel I will want to sew up.

The unpacking of the Indiana loot continues ... and the thought briefly crossed my mind today if I will get things organized enough to get back to actual sewing!

Unexpected sewing gift for Mom

This is above and beyond the bag of scraps I would have snuck into Mom's house (and conveniently "forgot" to take back with me).  For the record, Mom not only liked the cotton scraps I brought her, but also wants the purple cotton flannel scraps I forgot to stuff into the bag as well.

After having little sister try on my denim Victorian corset in the morning ... and having her want one of her own (that should have been my warning) ... I migrated over to Mom's house to spend the night there.  I had Mom try the denim Victorian on as well, and despite it not being fitted to her body shape she decided it wasn't uncomfortable (big warning sign) like she had thought up to that point.  Part of the try-on for both was showing them how to get in and out of it.

The next morning, Mom asked about the waist corset and how it was different from the overbust.  I figured the easiest way to explain would be to let her try on the waist corset ... it didn't come back off Mom until after two hours of sorting through the old boxes, and the main reason Mom took it off after that was because we worked up a sweat and she wanted to let it dry.  At this point, I had already told her it was now hers.  She put it back on for pics later in the afternoon:

Mom in M4861 front (I rolled the front)

Mom insisted a side view be included to show how the curve up fits

M4861 from the back, showing why we call it a pretty backbrace

The number one reason this is now Mom's backbrace?  It fits her better.  What I had thought was just sloppy patterning is actually a fitting issue: Mom has a longer back waist length than I do, by almost two inches, and the M4861 does not slide up or down on her at all ... even after two hours of rooting through old boxes and lifting.  Mom also declared it is more comfortable than the backbrace she got from her chiropractor ... not to mention it looks better.

Given all this, how could I have NOT gifted it to her?  Like the tops I gifted to little sis, this waist corset fit Mom perfectly.  I'm just glad the denim Victorian didn't fit either one well ... after all, I did spend ten days fitting it to ME!  However, the denim corset inspired Mom to look through Jill Salen's Corsets book with me, and she wants a "Pretty Housemaid" one (page 58) because it is lighter boned to allow more movement as it was marketed to working women in the 1890s.

Some special dishes

My mom has a sense of humor.  Sometimes it's a little on the strange side (and this is coming from ME!) but sometimes it is just too appropriate. After listening to me grump about how well my sewn clothes fit my sister, and the new pattern alterations I need to try in my quest for a nice-fitting top ... Mom went into her cupboard and pulled out this coffee mug:

"I'm having a fit!" coffee mug

She then said it needs to be mine for upcoming pattern work ... not only cute, but all too fitting.  Yes, the pun is intended.

While rummaging through old boxes in her pole barn, I found these:

Blue glass Avon dishes set (almost)

Mom bought these back in the 80s for my "hope chest" from Avon back when she and I sold it.  At least I think it was the late 80s.  I'd have to google to be sure ... but Mom has already warned me these are highly sought collectibles now, so if we can't locate the other two water goblets, it may cost me a pretty penny to re-complete my set of six.  I have six plates, six bowls ... and four goblets.  This is the only set of dishes that wasn't handed down, or bought at a garage sale or Big Lots.  It's also very beautiful, and the shade of blue you see at the bottom of the goblet stems and in the stack of bowls is the glass's actual color.  I haven't seen these since 1997, and thought they had been lost in one of my too-many moves.  Instead, they were tucked away in a mismarked box and not a single piece has so much as a chip or crack.

Color me happy, in that lovely shade of blue glass.

Clothing gifts for sister

These were the planned fabric gifts for sister described before the trip, and as expected they fit her perfectly.

Little sister in green tunic S2371

I probably should have let her have it back in October when she visited and tried it on.  That is a genuine happy smile - sis loves the fabric and the decorative stitching on this, and will probably wear it to rags.

Sis in S2705 jacket and top

Sis in S2705 top

Once again, perfect fit.  It should be interesting to hear if she learns how to get wrinkles out of the linen/cotton blend fabric I used for these two pieces.  She says she doesn't even own an iron, so I suggested hanging them up in the bathroom during nice hot showers after pulling them out of the dryer still warm.  They're both good colors on her.

The difference between sister wearing these, and me wearing them, is night and day on fit ... and has triggered an almost obsession-like desire for me to get the pattern alterations down to make myself a top that fits this nicely.  I want, I want, I WANT!  No top has fit me like this since I was a sophomore in high school and hit that "out" growth spurt and got both hips and bust ...

Couch-surfing at sister's house for the trip was an interesting experience ... because her golden retriever thought it was wonderful to have people in the living room in the (*EARLY!*) morning.  He didn't jump onto the hide-away bed with us, but it's been a while since I've woken up to dog breath.

When I showed my mom the pictures on the camera of sister in the clothes I originally made for me, even she commented that my sister is making out like a bandit on my sewing, practically getting a new wardrobe just with this visit ... not to mention sister's request list.  Along with the tunic sister asked for in the fall, she also wants a twirly skirt to wear for her ballroom dancing lessons ... and after I let her try on my denim Victorian ... sister wants a corset of her own.  She's even picked out a specific pattern from Jill Salen's Corsets book, which she had sent to me as my Christmas gift.  Sis wants the "Large blue jean corset, 1890-1900" on page 66.

Mom wants ... well, that's a whole 'nother post.  Let me just give a word of warning to those of y'all who are making corsets: Don't let family try them on!  Unless you want to have your to-sew list grow ... Mom and Sis will no longer ask how I can stand to wear them, or remark how uncomfortable they look anymore.  Figuring out when they can come down to be fitted will be an interesting challenge.

Zero dark stupid

It's "zero-dark-stupid" as we used to say in the army ... approximately 0430-ish ... and we just rolled in after deciding to drive all night rather than fight the holiday weekend traffic tomorrow ... err, later today.  I'll have lots to blog about over the next week, as I have pics from gifts that now reside in Indiana, and will be taking pics of gifts that came home with me, along with being reunited with things from years ago.

We'll be getting some sleep shortly, but I thought a blog post might be more polite than a phone call home to announce our safe return at this hour.