September 2021 – The G. G. Files

I know, I know. I promised that my next post would be about fabric shopping for the fall and winter sewing in Montreal. And that’s coming next, but I had to stop for a moment after returning from Montreal to catch my breath and realize that today is launch day for my newest book.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that my passions are fashion design, sewing and writing. I’ve been a writer for over thirty years, and recently, I’ve been inspired by my other two passions. That’s how The Year I Made 12 Dresses began. And when that book launched, I thought I was finished with the character Charlotte (Charlie) Hudson, who spent a year clearing out her late mother’s house, learning her mother’s secrets and discovering a love of sewing―12 dresses, to be specific.

Well, I thought I was finished with Charlie, but she wasn’t finished with me. She kept talking in my head until I wrote the prequel―her mother, Kat’s story. So, Kat’s Kosmic Blues began in 1965 and followed Kat from small-town Canada to Toronto, then to New York to study fashion design at the Parsons School. But if you read that book, you’ll know that Kat learned a crucial lesson: If you want to make god laugh, tell her your plans. Charlie learned so much more about her mother.

Now there’s Frannie, Charlie’s great-grandmother.

In The Year I Made 12 Dresses, Charlie thought she’d learned all about her late mother until she discovered that there was much more to her mother, Kat Hudson, than she could ever have imagined. Could there be any more family secrets? Charlie thinks not until she discovers her great-grandmother, Frannie Phillips’s stash of eight couture dresses and a grainy photograph that seems to suggest that Frannie survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Just when Charlie thinks there can be no more skeletons in her family’s closet, she is drawn into Frannie’s incredible life.

So, there are eight couture dresses, Frannie’s passion for becoming a dressmaker, her upper-class British parents who disapprove and a rebellious streak that seems to know no bounds. Well, here’s a bit more. If you love fashion and sewing, I think this might be the next book to put on your reading list!

Of course, if you’re really keen to read it, you can find it on your favourite online bookseller’s site.

Here’s the Amazon link to get you started!

THE INSCRUTABLE LIFE OF FRANNIE PHILLIPS

Fall is upon us―at least according to the calendar. But if I were to judge it from our weather, I’d have to say that summer is hanging gon. All the better to give me more time to complete planning and produce some additions to my fall and winter wardrobe.

Since I last wrote, I’ve been in the throes of preparation for launching my new book, so I have not had as much time as I’d like to contemplate sewing. But that’s getting “sewn up” so I can get back to wardrobe issues.

I’ve given a lot of thought to the planning and have developed a mood board (as I mentioned I might do) based on the ideas I mentioned in my last post.

I’m inspired by Olivia’s at-home wardrobe in Scandal, as I mentioned in my last post. This style plays so well into that high-end comfort I’m going for. I’ve made two fabric purchases so far: one for the Simplicity 8601 top that I made before in rayon for summer wear. I also bought the French terry you see on the mood board for the Vogue top. It’s a simple top, but it has an interesting zipper detail. I’ve purchased a duvet zipper that I’ll have to shorten to make it work for this one.

I’ve also been enjoying the live Instagram feed that Freda’s here in Toronto does twice a week, showcasing their wide-ranging selection of medium to high-end wardrobe pieces. I think I’ll buy the rayon blouse instead of making it.

My current issue is that I have yet to choose fabrics for the pieces I want to make. But I think I may have that covered.

Today, my husband and I travel to Montréal, where I will be combing the fabric district on St. Hubert street to see what I can find. I’ve never shopped for fabrics in Montreal before, but I know they still have some semblance of a garment district (nothing like it used to be, sadly), and I’ve done a bit of research. I’ll report back!

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to our first long-distance post-COVID travel (if five hours on the train can be considered long-distance. We usually drive, but have decided on a new adventure since we haven’t been on a train for over a decade!).

Next post: what I find in Montreal!