Tuesday, May 12, 2009

How Shirley Adams Saved My SWAP...


Now that the SWAP photos have been posted, I can feel free to talk about my garments.  Great procrastinator that I am, I left lots of the sewing to be finished at the very end of the SWAP deadline.  The last week of the SWAP, Shirley Adams was coming to Buffalo for two days and I was signed up for both days!  The first day was a trunk show of hundreds of garments...wow, what inspiration.  Day two was the origami top class in the morning and a purse class in the afternoon.  The fabric I took from my stash for the origami top just happened to coordinate with my SWAP pieces.  I wasn't sure I would like the top, but I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to take a class from a sewing expert like Shirley Adams!  I loved the top when it was done (I added the bottom tucked hems to the top and sleeves) and it saved my SWAP because it replaced a top that I had completed and hated and I hadn't wasted a day away from my sewing machine!

The top is made from 6 squares of fabrics.  Two of the squares are cut on the diagonal and the pieces sewn together.  Because of the way the pieces are sewn the top hangs on the diagonal. The instructions are in Shirley's Sewing Connection book #17.  You can also take a look at the new issue of Threads magazine (July) for a top and jacket that are made similarly with two squares of fabric.

If you ever get a chance to see Shirley Adams at a seminar, or take a class with her, don't miss it.  She is a sewing inspiration!!

2 comments:

kbenco said...

However, your top is 300x more pretty and well fitting than the ones in Threads

Eileensews said...

The top is beautiful. This is my first time visiting your blog.