Popcorn But Not Wine* - Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan

Pattern: Helen's Closet Blackwood Cardigan (2017)

Pattern Description: Fitted cardigan with extra long sleeves with a close fit around the neck and shoulders. It has minimal excess in the front and is meant to be worn open. View B ends at the hips, View A extends to mid-thigh and has patch pockets at hand level.

Pattern Sizing: Two size options: B-cup for sizes 0-22, and D-cup for sizes 12-34. I cut my size, starting at the top with a B-cup size 14 moving out to an 18 for the waist and hips.

Did it look like the photo or drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, exactly.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The fit of this cardigan is extremely elegant and every version I've seen is gorgeous.

Fabric Used: 58" Sweater rib knit (50% Rayon, 30% Polyester, 20% Nylon) in Cream, Gutermann 100% polyester Sew-All thread in Eggshell, #22; and

 58" Ottoman rib knit (66% Cotton, 29% Polyester, 5% Spandex) in Root Beer, and Gutermann 100% polyester Sew-All thread in Chili Brown, #

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Choosing a pattern size was hard. My upper and lower half are different sizes, spanning across 2-sizes. However, with this pattern, it ranges four sizes from a D-cup size 12 to 18.

  

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, most definitely! I have another one in the queue but in a very different knit. This one was snug in the sleeves but I wonder if in a looser weave I should alter the pattern piece or not.

  

Conclusion: I absolutely love the finished garment. Though the sleeves are designed to be extra long I chose to shorten them. I took both cuffs off, removed an inch from the sleeves and half an inch from each cuff. I wear the cuffs folded half up so that shows how long they still are. This also helped loosen how tight they were at the wrist.

I also shout out about the fabric choice. I leave this cardigan at work where it's always cold. I could never have imagined how many times I arrive, add it to my daily outfit, and the color combination seems as if it was planned! I wish it didn't take so long to finish stuff because I need more of it! I may make a matching pencil skirt.

* Yes, A dated reference to the old tv show Scandal and Olivia Pope's wine cardigans.

Change is a New Bed

I'm long overdue to feel like an adult and buying my home finally did it. The realization that I got my finances to the point of making this possible is huge.

No more third-party sofas and no more decades-old mattresses.

The movers could either leave the decade-old mattress, box frame, and metal frame or fill the truck with more heavy stuff I couldn't lift myself. I chose to leave the bed behind because, duh. Also, I was planning on getting an uncomplicated platform bed after I moved and this helped me see that moving all of that and then needing to bring it all back down two flights was impractical. That was an excellent opportunity to order it since I could still sleep at the old house before delivery.

My research was checking all the "best (insert desired item) of 2024" articles and comparing the ones that won the "affordable" categories. The hands-down winner overall was always the $$ wooden Bed by Thuma and the more affordable lookalike Alexis from Zinus. The financial difference between the brands is around $500 for a queen-size bed and the Zinus bed was even cheaper when I purchased it through Amazon. 

Detailed instructions

Fully stocked and organized supplies

The lovely carved leg

Great protective packaging

My search for a mattress was similarly easy. I wanted an innerspring mattress similar to a ComfortCoil innerspring futon mattress by Gold Bond I owned years ago. Using my tried-and-true review search method (see above) I was led to the Allswell Luxe Hybrid sold by Walmart. A hybrid between spring coil and memory foam, I can confirm it's affordable, high quality, and comfortable. I have no complaints and a bonus is how fun it is to set it up! It is vacuum-packed and encased in multiple layers of plastic wrap. From the first cut of the packaging, the mattress starts to fight its captivity, audibly and physically expanding as you hurriedly try to cut through the packaging in time. It reached finished measurements quickly and over the next few achieved its final level of firmness.

The inflated mattress and my pale green walls

 

What excited me the most about my purchases is that unlike all the house rehab work at the old house and the setup at the new one I didn't have to schedule or wait around for delivery. Both frame and mattress come to your door, don't weigh that much, and can be assembled easily. As a bonus, Amazon gave me timed delivery alerts. Since I live close to work I could drive over, push the package over the threshold, and return to work. No stress! 

I highly recommend both companies for convenience and quality.

How I Bought My Home

In my May 6 post, I showed you my inspirational photos. Well, below are the influences I read and viewed that motivated me and made it all possible.

The last few years have been stressful. It started with the pandemic, working from home, caring for my father and his diminishing health, his sudden cardiac episode that lead to a pacemaker, his recovery, and then his sudden death. I don't know what a stress-free life is. 

A year later in 2023, my sisters and I decided to sell the family home, where I had lived the last ten years. Theoretically, that was great, I could finally own a place where I could do what I wanted. But truthfully, that loaded on more stress because I would need to do both things around the same time. Luckily, I did not have to wait to sell before I could buy.

Two weeks before the pandemic, my part-time job became full-time, then our offices were closed, and the employees started working from home. I lived rent-free and my gas and meal costs were cut by more than half. I didn't change my way of life so that extra money was never touched. When I finally checked my account, my balance was over $20,000! I transferred that and regularly moved the extra money to my savings account. By the time we decided to sell the house I had received my portion of our inheritance and now had enough for a 20% down payment. That relieved some of the stress and gave me much-needed control over my future.

I started looking into "buying a first home" resources. The first two below were essential and truly helped me make solid decisions. You need to think about the home-buying process in practical terms. Observing my co-workers, I knew how quickly rents could rise and how I might find a great rental and in a few years be forced to move. So renting while waiting for the "perfect" place was not how I wanted to go. Even if I had to stretch to buy a place, I could have a set monthly mortgage and possibly refinance in the future and pay a smaller amount.

The purchase amount lenders qualify you for probably should not be your goal because their numbers reflect ideal situations. I was lucky to get something $20,000 below my qualification, resulting in a sustainable monthly payment because you never know what the future holds...knock on wood. 

Now, I didn't buy a lessor home, it has the style and uniqueness I wanted. I have friends and family nearby, my mechanic is around the corner as well as a grocery store, drugstore, and gas station within two blocks and work ten minutes away. What the place lacked for that money was any updated finishes, which luckily by buying a less expensive property I have the means to change. Not anything huge, but I can add new doorknobs, painted cabinets, rugs, new blinds/curtains, and maybe new ceiling fans and custom shelving down the line.

Resources:

Ric Edelman: His book, Truth About Money, is a good all-around guide to personal finances and uses plain language so it's highly understandable. As part of the author's company, Edelman Wealth Management Group, there is this valuable tool, a How Much Home Can I Afford? calculator that helped me calculate how much I wanted to pay.

New York Times: Is It Better To Rent or Buy? calculator. So detailed and the accompanying information is so good.

New York Times: The Hunt home-buying columns. The budgets were much higher than I was playing with, but these stories were still motivational. I applaud them for opening up the stories to non-New York locations.

Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home by Ann O’Connell and Ilona Bray. This one backs up its advice with legal know-how.

Alexandra Gater: Her series of videos on YouTube got me through the buying process and showed what I could do in a new place. Her makeovers focus on Toronto rental apartments but reminded me I didn't have to start with permanent changes. I'd been waiting decades to get my place so I could take some time and try out a few things first; like removable wallpaper (her go-to) and faux backsplash tiles.

Caroline Winkler: This Washington, DC interior designer I'm following on YouTube is a great contrast to Alexandra. Her mood is more my vibe, not so sunny and less gimmicky (no memes!). Her gateway videos are $0 makeovers where she uses what currently existed in the space. Definitely check out her Interior Design for Indecisive People video.

Emily Henderson: You may have already heard of her, she's a big deal. However, my interest was in the lower-scale makeovers that her staff undertook on their personal spaces. I saw concepts in those that I could see applying to a space of mine. I especially liked the colorful spaces of Jess, Caitlin, and especially Julie's bedroom.

Mortgage or Marriage*: This Netflix series first entertained me and then just annoyed me! Couples with a set budget (enough to cover a house down payment in Nashville, TN) are given the option of a dream wedding or house. The two hosts then compete to find a home or a wedding package that fits the couple's specifications. These plans include vendor discounts, freebies, or added home amenities to sway their decision. What annoyed me is that so many couples with concrete reasons why a house should be their priority, chose to spend the whole amount on a one-day event. Even after walking through an available property and declaring it perfect. As if accumulating another $20-$30,000 will be easy after they wed. I cheered every time someone chose a mortgage and hoped they were inspired by those $$ wedding ideas and scale them down to something they could afford.

Pinterest: What can I say, my entire design plan was created using this app. Among my boards, I have everything corralled; Possible Purchases, Home Projects, Painted Doors and Trim, Kitchen Cabinet Makeovers, and Paint Effects, all devoted to improving my home.

*So, why is this one of my influences? Like most "reality" TV it showed me the grass is NOT always greener, especially knowing this was all in 2019. They should have taken the house...

First Steps in Home Decor

My condominium has been stuck in the 1980s. That was fine because I didn't have to deal with any prior owner "upgrades" I disagreed with. I liked the majority of the wood trim and could live with the hollow core doors (with some future changes), but there were things I needed to change for it to feel like me:

The Goals

No wallpaper border in the primary bedroom - remove and repaint - DONE

No brass door knobs - change out to sleek matte black - PURCHASED

No half melamine/half wood cabinets - paint them a solid color

No bent vinyl blinds - either curtains or roller shades

No wooden bathroom accessories (including the toilet seat!) - change them out

No messy paint job on the loft stairs - use a straight edge, maybe a stencil

No patterned globe bulbs in the bathroom light fixture - frosted globes or ribbed glass

These are my marching orders. 

The Plan

 Primed

 Painted, part 1

• I plan to create a border of a different type. After painting the walls, (Behr Establish Mint in eggshell at 50%) to replicate my inspiration pic, I'll tape off the wall using the straight bottom edge of the border and paint the top 5 inches of the wall a crisp border of white paint. A fresh coat of white on the ceiling will wait until later.

• I immediately bought new matte black doorknobs with one of the Big Box home store gift cards from my realtor. (Kwikset Cove and Casey styles in matte black)

• I copied from the family home bathroom by using the same leftover paint for these bathroom cabinets (Behr Coco Malt in satin.)

• The blinds will stay until I decide what to do. If I got curtains now, they'll probably be white, but if I wait, maybe a color scheme or patterned fabric will come to me. I have found these green linen drapes that seem that they would work with the green of the sofa. The color is cilantro (which tastes like soap to me) but I won't hold that against them if they work.

• I am changing the wooden bathroom hardware using the same basic set we used in the family home en-suite bathroom (Lowes Project Source set in Seton) but in brushed nickel, not chrome, to match the sink faucet.

 

• I will use a straight edge and leftover door paint to clean up the black edge of the stair treads, but I might also try using a stencil on the risers.

• The floral etched globes came from Lowes. They do have them in a solid white and a clear ribbed glass version. I might change them one day, but for now, it is okay. Another option is spraying these bulbs solid white.

More to come later.

Design Inspiration for My First Home

I accumulated all of these images over the last six months. You see, I knew this is how I wanted to live. I needed to find a place that would allow me to fulfill that dream. I may not have the little bungalow of my childhood dreams, but I could do whatever I wanted within these walls. Goal: Create a bungalow in a two-story condo.

These images incorporate my love of green, my father's basket and bamboo collections, mid-century chairs and general vibe, natural wood tones, eclectic artwork, quirky details, and painted furniture.

Dream Green DIY

hannahbullivant.com

Cupcakes and Cashmere

Desire to Inspire

Domino magazine

My own room photo

Mystery image from the web

midcenturymaurer.com

www.beaninloveblog.com

www.beaninloveblog.com

Let's go!

My First Home - I Bought It!

Yes, I have bought my first home. If you've read my other blog, Shelter, you know that my dream home since childhood has been a 1930s two-story bungalow, but sometimes you have to adapt your dreams. My salary (as a single woman) and working location never matched that goal, and my priorities changed as I got older. Most importantly, since living alone in the family home since my father died, I realized how having a landscaped lawn would be a second job. That fact changed my mind about those dream flower beds and picket fences. There's also the fact that I'm not known as and have never been an "outdoors" person. At all. Therefore, I needed a place that required minimum yard maintenance. 

Enter the townhouse or condo options. Maximum interior decoration fun with less to no seasonal yard maintenance!

I still had a few requirements for my home. I wanted something unique, no high-rises, and I didn't want a typical boxy apartment layout. 

Or, lets say I didn't after I helped a friend and coworker move into her new condo/townhouse. Carrying boxes, I walked up two flights (ugh, more about them later) to an adorable two bedroom apartment with a LOFT! And the second smaller bedroom at the front had three separate windows positioned like a bay window that let in so much light. My first thought was "dedicated sewing space"! The rest of the unit included an angular main living space and skylights in the loft and over the kitchen, so there was even more light! Give me ALL your light!

This unit was something unique, with character. In Newport News, where I wanted to live to be nearer work, there weren't vintage building conversions like in Richmond, VA. I found a few in Norfolk but there was no way I would do that long commute with an undersea tunnel and its infamous delays! In my price range, most Newport News properties were vintage 1980s, i.e., not the best era for residential architecture. But this one, built in 1989, was different. All of the designs in this development were quite quirky. The larger units also had lofted spaces, but they were in the primary bedroom. I didn't understand that layout at all. I have communal plans for my loft.

But before I tell you about those plans, let's look at the raw product. 

 

In future posts, I'll write about the process that led me to get this place, exactly how I imagined it. I didn't officially use The Secret but...

Coming up: 

• Inspirations
• Internet resources
• Design plan 
• Projects
• Process

Oh, and by the way, while this was all going on, I was also the only sibling living in the family property while we were trying to get the home together to sell this summer. Well, that's a whole other story and a wholly different level of stressor. Whew!

Another Tried and True T-shirt - New Look 6402

Completed in 2022.

Pattern: New Look 6838 (from 2008, since reissued as New Look 6402)

Pattern Description: Knit tops with neckline/sleeve options and pull-on drawstring pants. View C.

Pattern Sizing: Size A (XS-XL) I cut a M (14-16) for the 40.5" bust and 37" waist finished garment measurements.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, very simple.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the wide neckline and the curved back seam which took care of the swayback situation.

Fabric Used: Ponteroma knit in Winter White for $3 per yard (orig. $15) from Hancock Fabrics liquidation sale.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: When I made this pattern the first time I had fitting issues and had to alter the paper pattern extensively. You may find that the top is drafted too long, the back pattern piece will be a full inch or so wider than the front, and the neckline is extremely wide and might need adjustment. When I use this pattern I now sew a larger seam allowance on the center back, I have added to the inner neckline on my pattern piece, and also eliminated 1.5" from the hem.

Noting that my other versions were now tight in the chest I created a faux full-bust-adjustment by adapting a technique from a favorite Kwik Sew pattern. The front piece is curved outward at the bust (adding more length/room there) and gathered to fit the back piece. Once worn, the bust fills out that excess fabric.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I can not recommend the pattern as is since I had to do a major reworking of the original pattern. However, the one great thing about this pattern is that the back pattern piece included a shaped center back seam which has addressed any swayback issues. I suggest looking for similar patterns in order to create the best fitted t-shirt block that your particular shape needs.

Conclusion: I am happy with the custom fit I achieved on this make. However, I am always on the lookout for a t-shirt pattern with less effort.