Thank Goodness for Publicly Funded Health Care

This is NOT a political post. It's only my personal experience of Publicly Funded Health Care in Ontario, Canada.

I have always believed in Publicly Funded Health Care. It has been part of the core Canadian Identity for a long time.  In 1947, the Saskatchewan Government, led by leader Tommy Douglas, introduced the first provincial hospital insurance program In Canada. There were many oppositions to a national publicly funded health care program: doctors, medical associations, insurance companies, big business, etc. But many fought to do the right thing, including the government.

Before I was ill, I have heard many news reports about how the Public Health Care money was being misused. I'm sure with such a behemoth system, misuse of funds and mistakes are unavoidable. Of course the parts that are not working need to fixed. But it didn't shake my believe in the concept of Publicly Funded Health Care.

Now that I am ill, I saw first hand how important publicly funded health care for all is. At my regional hospital where I stayed, all the specialists, doctors, nurses, therapists were hard working, dedicated and showed enormous compassion and kindness to me. All the intricate co-ordinations, consultations within and outside the hospital on the fly, medication dispensing, carefully tailored treatments, etc, were done with such ease and expediency. And when I was being discharged, all the necessary specialists were assembled to plan my discharge. A lot of phone calls, paperwork and arrangements were all made on my behalf, just so that I would have everything I would need when I get home. And when I got home, there were nurses who visit me daily to check my health. An occupational therapist came to check that my home is set up correctly for a patient to be as comfortable and as independent as possible. And then there are others who deliver supplemental oxygen, loaned me walkers, hospital beds, etc. All these are done at no cost to me, other than the taxes I have been paying.

And I'm just a regular Ontario citizen. I'm not rich or famous or in high power. The regional health centre I went to does this for everyone who comes to their door - whoever they are, even if they are not paying taxes. And they charge them nothing neither.

I'm also aware that there are others in Ontario that are not as lucky as me. There are not enough health services available in rural areas, First Nations regions, etc. It is not easy to distribute services to remote areas but we need to figure out something to help those areas. I'm interested in starting my research on this to understand these issues.

Plaid Oscar de la Renta Dress - the plan

The plaid dress I was salivating about yesterday doesn't seem too difficult to master. It looks to me that it's a standard princess seamed top above the waist. Then below the waist one side is an a-line skirt and the other is a larger overlapping bias pieces. A row of bias self-fabric fringe adorn the collar, while some of the edges of the skirt are frayed.

I have this McCall pattern in my stash already for the top part of the dress:

source: McCall's pattern

I'm pretty sure I can figure the bottom out with muslin and trial and error.

Plaid dress inspiration - Oscar de la Renta

See! It didn't take me long to salivate on a dress I want to make later!

I came across this OSCAR DE LA RENTA Asymmetric Fringed Checked Cotton-Blend Tweed Midi Dress while surfing. I love plaid and love these asymmetric things:

source: FarFetch.com

source: net-a-porter.com

The good thing about making this dress is that one doesn't really match the plaid (because I'm lazy and because I hate wasting fabric when having to match the pattern). But where would one go with this dress? It's not really for the office (too on-trend to be taken seriously). And it's too casual for a special occasion. Perhaps I could make the asymmetric skirt less flappy so that it can be for daily use?

Long time No Blog

I haven't blog for a very long time.

That's because I have been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.

I have never smoked in my life. I didn't drink alcohol. I never did recreational drugs. I ate organic foods and exercised moderately.

So it's just bad luck I guess.

I have 2 kids under 10 years old. Of course I'm fighting this cancer. I have to.

I went through1 round of Chemotherapy and that was more painful than I had expected.

2 more rounds of Chemos are planned. I feel more prepared mentally this time. Also, my doctor talked about Targeted Radiotherapy in the future.

I have been so touched and humbled by friends and family who sprung to help me and my kids without hesitation. I feel like I haven't been a good enough friend to them before my illness.

So for the near future, I won't be doing any sewing or crafting or refashioning. But I may still blog about things I want to make later when my health improves.

And I'll be reading the blogs of my sewists to see what they have been creating!

1950s polka dot circle skirt and Happy Holidays!

I wanted to sew something for myself in December but as usual - Decembers are crazy busy months! Nonetheless, I sewed something for my daughter. Her school's Christmas concert was a 1950's themed performance. I had to make a costume for her that fit the theme. So I just quickly bought some off cut black/white polka dot quilting cotton from my local fabric store. I cut out a simple circle skirt. Then I rummaged through my stash and found some white cotton remnant fabric. I had just enough to make a petticoat. All were sewn together quickly onto a thick black elastic waist band.

I used the same polka dot fabric and tied my daugher's hair into a pony tail. She was really happy with it:

I don't think I'll have time to sew anything else before Dec 31. So I'll be able to do my review of my top 10 sewing projects this year!

Happy Holidays everyone!! Stay safe and merry!

Nov MAGAM completed! A Reversible Faux Fur Vest

My health is getting better which means More Sewing! The November theme for MAGAM (Make a Garment a Month) group is 'November Needs'. I know my closet well and I know I don't NEED anything else. However, when I looked into my fabric stash, I realized there are a few winter cozy items that I would like to wear this winter.

I thrifted a piece of purple reversible faux shearling in my local thrift store a couple of years ago. I had bit more than 1 metre of it. I love wearing faux fur in the winter. It's cozy and warm and stylish too. My mom-in-law already gifted me a black faux fur vest and a beige faux fur vest years ago. I wore them both frequently in the winter. So an addition of another faux fur vest sounds like a good idea.

I drafted my own vest pattern and started cutting. The fluff was everywhere and I had to wear a face mask during the vest construction. It all came together very quickly. I used lapped seams so that the reversible vest seams looked tidy. I sewed a small zig-zag stitch all the way around all the raw edges to prevent the fur fluff from eroding.

And this is how the reversible vest looks on me:

It's a bit thick and boxy but oh so warm and cozy! I think it will look good with jeans too. And I busted some more stash! Yay!

After the Lung infection --- Back to sewing!

I have been away from blogging and sewing......because I got a lung infection! I'm still coughing but much recovered. So there was no blogging or sewing for a good few weeks.

I entered the Pattern Review Plaid Fabric contest before the infection. So it had been a mad dash to finish my plaid project in the last couple of days. I chose this very big patterned plaid boucle tweed coating fabric that has been in my stash for a long time:

This fabric has silver threads weaved throughout (difficult to see in this picture). I have used this fabric before to make a pair of cushions that I gave as x'mas gifts. I didn't want to make a coat with this as the Canadian winters are too harsh for such a loose weave coat. So I rummaged through my pattern stash and decided on this:

It seems odd at first glance to use a pattern destined for summery fabrics to make this obviously winter garment. I have never used this pattern before but I thought the simple pull-on, a-line shape would suit my body well. I have made other pull-on a-line dresses before and I wore them frequently.

I chose to make the knee length, 3/4 sleeve version of this dress, omitting the stand collar. I didn't do a muslin but compared the pattern pieces with a tried-and-true pattern to assess the fit. I did my usual short waist and short height adjustment. Fortunately the fit was fine.

The loose weave fabric was not easy to work with. There was terrible fraying, warping, which made matching the plaid pattern a little difficult. The dress has a front chest dart so I concentrated on matching the plaid from the bottom hem to just below the chest dart.

I wanted to 'jazz' up the dress a little with interesting trim. I auditioned various trim and found a bias red poly-cotton trim and cut out some remnant houndstooth plaid in my stash.

I added the red trim first with the frayed houndstooth trim on top. I applied this trim at the bottom hem and the sleeves:

I considered added external pockets to the dress but I think the bright contrasting trims are enough in terms of embellishment. The dress is actually quite warm but heavier to wear than regular dresses. I'll need to test-wear it this week to see how practically it is.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the risks I took in making this dress: 1) using a coating fabrics for a dress; 2) using a summery dress pattern for a heavier winter dress; 3) using a bright red trim with another plaid as trim; and 4) using a big bold print on my short boxy body. Also I busted some serious fabric stash too!

Here is how it looks on me and the plaid matches on the side:

So what do you think? Do you think the trendy plaid is workable for short boxy shaped women?

My review of this pattern is on PatternReview.

I have joined the Plaid Fabric Contest on PatternReview!

I have joined the Plaid Fabric Contest on PatternReview! I was looking into my stash and saw loads of unused plaid fabrics which are perfect for Autumn/Winter garments and accessories. This contest came at the right time! This will also be my MAGAM (Make a Garment A month) project for October.

Here are some inspirations I have collected on Pinterest:

I'm obviously leaning towards a plaid dress! I think these are all very interesting and I'll have a hard time figuring out what to make. What do you think/

MAGAM Sept project - Pink tweed jacket finished

My Sept MAGAM Pink Tweed jacket is finished! I only have 1 metre of this wool material so I had to be very careful what pattern/design I use. I decided early on that I would make a cap sleeve jacket because:

1. A long sleeve wool jacket would be very hot to wear, even in winter.
2. I don't have enough fabric to make a long sleeve jacket.

Initially I wanted to use one of my tried and true jacket pattern: Simplicity 8850 or Simplicity 1688.

However, after some further 'digging' into my pattern stash, I decided to use Simplicity 2730 View C (the cap sleeve jacket):

I had made a muslin of that jacket in size 14 a year ago but didn't actually progress any further. This time I added little pockets cut on a bias with a selvage trim, a full lining, and added 2 back waist darts. I used a little black beaded brooch as closure for now. I'm still searching for the ultimate beaded button. Or I will make one myself. In any case, for now, this is the result:

And this is how I will be wearing it in the Fall/Winter this year:

I think the cap sleeves and the short length of the jacket made my upper body more boxy and wide. However, I'm wearing it anyway! Next time I would make this jacket a little longer to reduce the boxiness. Also, I may tailor the waist a bit more to fit my body better.

The pattern review for this jacket is at PatternReview.com.

MAGAM Project Plan: Magenta Wool Tweed jacket

The temperature here has dropped significantly. The morning temperatures are in the low teens Celsius. I guess Fall/Autumn is fast approaching!

Fall/Autumn is my favourite sewing season. I love sewing with tweeds, wools, sweater fabrics, etc. I love layering, sewing jackets, winter accessories (hats, scarves, etc). And most important of all, I have lots of tweeds and wool fabrics already in my fabric stash!

This amazing Magenta wool tweed remnant was found at the clearance table at my local fabric store. It is precisely 1 metre in length. It's really thick and cozy and I would love to make a jacket with it. However, I'm not sure 1 metre is enough to make a jacket. I need to look at my pattern stash and do some design changes to use this lovely but scarce material.

I have made a few jackets with the tried and true patterns in my stash. I'm wondering which one I should use for with this fabric:

So what do you think? Which tried and true pattern should I use for this wool magenta tweed jacket?

Pantone Colour Trends Fall/Autumn 2017

I don't usually put much emphasis on the Pantone Colour Trends each season. I am pretty sure what colours I like and most importantly, I have a huge stash of fabrics in my home that I have to use, regardless of whether the colours are fashionable or not! However it's always interesting to see the Colour forecast to see what they have come up with each season. For Fall/Autumn 2017 they have 2 palettes: one of New York and one for London:

Fall 2017 New York Palette

Fall 2017 London Palette

After taken a quick look at the colours of my fabric stash, I think I have Navy Peony, Flame Scarlet, Tawny Port, Neutral Grey, Shaded Spruce and Autumn Maple. So I guess I do have trendy colours after all! Now I just have to figure out what to make. Time to look through my Pattern Stash......

Self-drafted Craft Show Apron

I have been so busy the last 2 months! The kids are off school so I have been like the drill sergeant for the kids: forcing them to do homework to keep up with what they had learned the previous year, making sure that they get physical activities outside, field trips to museums and nature, entertainment, playdates with their friends, out of town trips, etc. On top of all that, I launched my Handmade Accessories online business in late June. It had been such a steep learning curve in everything. I just had a booth at a local farmer's market last weekend and that was a great learning experience as well.

And soon the kids will be going back to school. Yay! They have actually been asking to go back to school as they miss their friends and the school routines very much. I can't wait for my life to get back to a normal routine as well.

One of the things I sewed for myself in preparation for the craft show is this Craft Show apron. I studied the blogs of other craft sellers and one of the things many thought was useful was a toolbelt-like apron. So I looked into my fabrics scraps and made this:

This apron was made with by refashioning a thrifted denim skirt. I drafted the pattern by placing the necessary tools onto the paper pattern and outlining the pockets for them. The zipper pocket contained the cash, and the various front pockets are for my phone, scissors, scotch tape, measuring tape, square reader, pen, etc. I was so happy to have made that because it was so useful during the farmer's market gig. I can see this being adapted easily to a gardening apron too!