The Mahogany Stylist: Jamaica

Showing posts with label Jamaica. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Simplicity Summer Jumpsuit - S1114

Hi!

Boy, I have been so lazy to blog or even get on the computer. This post was semi-already two weeks ago. It is another vacation outfit.

I'm going to try to get back into the habit of posting and reading blogs (fingers crossed).

Anyway..,

Here is my review on Simplicity 1114:

At the forest preserve here my home.

Pattern Description: Misses' easy dress and jumpsuits which features mini dress with halter ties, wide leg jumpsuit with thick straps, and slim jumpsuit in two length with v-neckline in front and back. All views include convenient side pockets. I used View C.

Pattern Sizing: XXS to XXL; I used size medium adding a little more width along the bust area of the bodice.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it did except for the straps. I changed the design of them.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very, very simple to make. I didn't need them, but at a glance, they look pretty easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I wanted to try one of the new summer jumpsuit patterns, and I wanted something quick and easy to sew for vacation. This fit the bill. I was a little concern about how it would look on top. In retrospect, I did not need to add any width to the bodice. I could have narrower the entire jumpsuit for a slightly closer fit.

I see someone on the path.


Eyes Closed, Grr!

Fabric Used: I purchased this challis print from Hancock. It is soft and floating, great for a vacation outfit. Before sewing, I preshrunk the fabric and gave it a good steamy press. The print was crooked. This was a challenge when it came to trying to line-up the print. I think I was at least able to get the print straight cross the pattern pieces, but I didn't have enough fabric to match the print front and back. Next time, I will be careful when selecting a print of the type from the fabric store.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: There were only a few small changes:

For the straps, I cut six bias strips about 2" wide and 18" long to make six narrow straps to braid into to straps.
Added 4" to the length of the pant.
Excluded the pockets and belt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I think I will try this again. Next time taking out some of the width. And yes, I do recommend it to others. Jumpsuits are on trend. You can even add elastic to the hem of the pant leg. All of the views of this pattern are great for easy, breezy vacation clothes. This pattern can be made by all level sewists.

Conclusion: This is an quick and easy pattern to sew that does not require lots of fit adjustments for the average person.

Parting Shot: Me in Jamaica. We stop so I could at least get a picture or two before going to the Raggae concert at the Rui Negril Pavillion.

Happy Sewing!
C

Friday, July 10, 2015

Jamaica! Jamaica!

I love vacationing in Jamaica! The Rui Negril is the best. This year we were celebrating Anita's Birthday. It was a big one. Wink, wink.

All white party for the birthday celebration

Anyway, it was a great time to enjoy family and friends on the beach with a glass of rum punch, sunglasses, and a less than classic fiction novel. It was great. One of the many great things about vacationing in Jamaica is the Rui Negril Resort (all inclusive). No worries about food, drink, or entertainment. There are three great restaurants on the property (reservations only) and the huge family banquet restaurant. There is also daily jerk chicken meals on the beach from 12:00 to 2:00pm, two pool bars available to serve your favorite tropical drinks, and in every room there is a personal bar stocked with rum, soda, and water.

My meal at the steak house

Jerk Chicken Pit

Fruit bar in the main dining area

Every night at the pavilion there is a show or band performance for your pleasure. The entertainment team is spectacular, always engaging and hosting the beach and pool side activities. Then at night, they are the main event or the prelude to the musical attraction. The wait staff is impeccable. Always smiling and ready to serve. Some looked so young. One day I asked one of the young ladies her age. She looked no more than 16; her response was 22 years old. She had just completed her college education in food services.

If you are there for a week, you can count on a "white" beach party full of games, music and, of course, Appleton Jamaican Rum. It does not stop there, the resort also has shops, game rooms, a small casino and day spa. (I had to make a stop at the spa to get a manicure.) So you never have to leave the premises. But, if you are the adventurous type and want to take advantage of an excursion or two, there are agents in the lobby to help you plan your adventure. Also, on the beach you can make some water excursions at Water Sports.

This time around, I wanted to see the interior of the island. I wanted learn more about the culture and the people who live and breathe Jamaica. Tourism is the number industry and aluminum the second.

I took a tour with Chukka, the company that handles the excursions. This was a tour by jeep, which traveled through some historical areas of Jamaica. Along the way, I learned a little about the slave trade and revolt. I saw plantations where they produced rum and plantation houses that were burned down by slaves trying to escape to freedom. Surprisingly, slavery on the island ended (1838) long before the emancipation in America.

Life is slow in Jamaica. People build houses on government land and can buy that property (land) if they have the money. I saw many, many construction sites where new homes where being built. As people have money to build, the construction of the home continues. But when there is no money, all construction stops. So you see a lot of unfinished homes that look like they've been abandoned.

Many of the people live in the smallest quarters I have ever seen. Some places are only a little larger than my bathroom. Incredible. The towns are busy with people conducting business and personal trade. The children are all uniformed. In high school they learn to speak French and Spanish. The people of Jamaica have their own language, handed down from slavery. It is called Patois, which is a combination of many languages including old English, Spanish, Portuguese, and some African languages. It was developed by the slaves as their own personal means of communication.

All over the country you will see goats in the fields and on the sides of the road. Goats are everywhere! There is other livestock: chicken, cows, and horses.

We stopped on a hill overlooking Montego Bay. There I saw planes land, cruise ships docked, and mountains where escaped slaves would run for freedom. Then Richard, our trusty guide showed us how they tracked run away slaves. There is a certain vegetation that grows in grassy areas. It responds to touch the same as a Venus fly trap. It stays closed for about five minutes. This behavior would allow slave catchers to track and find runaway slaves. Then, we were shown a huge cotton wood tree. This is the type of tree slaves were hanged. This part of the tour was very disheartening. Jamaica is a small island surrounded by water compared to the USA. How far could a slave run before being caught?

Richard tried to teach a little Jamaican slang. It was so funny listening to him speak/teach.

trashy and ready - means pretty woman dressed to the nine. Looking good.
fluffy diva (mama) - big woman weighting over 200 pounds. Big is good in Jamaica.
bumper - (behind or butt)

Jamaica got her independent in 1962. Richard says that independence is not always good. Many UK companies left Jamaica, which took away commerce and affected the government policies.

Bob Marley changed things. His popularity spanned the globe. His message and music touch people from all walks of life. Bob Marley died at 39 of cancer. He did not believe in cutting his hair or removing any body parts and tissue.

The final leg of the tour was the falls. We went to the beautiful, deadly rain forest. I thought those mosquitoes and spiders were going to eat me ALIVE! Before leaving the resort, I applied repellent. Then before entering the forest, another application. The insects laughed at me. By the time I got to the falls, I had over 20 bites. Richard's solution: get in the falls. The water will cool your body and rinse the sweat off. It did and the biting stopped. But none of the Jamaican people were getting bit. I needed their repellent. GRRRR!

After the cool dip at the falls, we went to a outdoor eatery, where they served cool drinks, delicious jerk chicken, peas and rice with corn fritters. I needed a bottle of Benadryl to go! Despite my uncomfortable state, I enjoyed the tour. Richard stopped at one more location, where snails were a plenty, feasting on algae. The trip back to the resort was quite. Everyone had had a full day of excitement.

Back to my lazy days on the beach and at the pool to sip on the best rum punch, while reading. Life is beautiful visiting Jamaica!

Parting shot: Me and Richard overlooking Montego Bay. Richard shared his photo pose, always pointing up. This is to acknowledge God, the creator of all things. This is a form of praise and thanks. I like that.

Happy Sewing!
Cennetta

Monday, April 7, 2014

Vacay Wardrobe Reviews Continue with McCall 6841 and Butterick 5893

Hello,

Today's post is another vacation outfit. I wanted the colors to be bright and festive. Tangerine, marine blue, tomato read, earthy brown and tan are all color in my pallet.

All of my pattern choices were quick and easy partly because of the limited time I had to make the wardrobe. I also wanted to make things that traveled well. I did not want to worry about pressing clothes before I could wear them. So several pieces wear made of knit fabrics.

So let me tell you about my second vacation outfit: Draped top refashioned into a draped cardigan M6841 and elasticized pants B5893.

McCall 6841 in review:

Pattern Description: MISSES' TOPS: Loose-fitting, pullover tops that have draped front, and back collar. Wrong side may show. A: self-lined back and very narrow hem for front hemline. B and C: front pleated drape and narrow hem.
I started off with making view B.

Pattern Sizing: SX - XXL. I used size M.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? No. After I completed the top, I didn't like how it looked on me. I remembered Audrey's review on this top and followed her lead of refashioning it.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. No difficulty or confusion with the instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the drape and hoped it would work with my body type. I didn't have any dislikes until after I tried it on. It didn't look the way I had hoped.

Fabric Used: Polyester jersey from my local Hancock.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Absolutely no alterations to address fit issues. I sewed it straight out of the envelope. In the end I cut the drape down the center front. Then finished the center front edge the same as the neckline. So instead of a draped neck top I ended up with a waterfall cardigan.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably will not sew it again. I have so many other patterns to sew. I do recommend it to others. I like how this top/cardigan is constructed. The back is double, which creates some body and weight to the garment. The seam finishing for the armhole requires binding of the same fabric. These are nice touches to the top/cardigan.

Conclusion: This is a nice addition to my vacation wardrobe. I can also incorporate it into my summer weekend gear pairing it with a t-shirt dress or with a tank top and slim pants. Perfect for the weekend.

Butterick 5893 in review:

Pattern Description: MISSES' SHORTS AND PANTS: Loose-fitting shorts or pants with elasticized waistband, pocket variations and narrow hem. A and B: straight-legged, cut on crosswise grain. C: side slits. C and D: flared. I made view B.

Pattern Sizing: XS to XXL. I used size medium with modifications.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
No, only because of the changes I made to the pants. I wanted elasticized legs too.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I really didn't use them. I constructed the pants much like you would construct pajama pants with elastic at the waist and used the same technique for the leg.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that this pattern was easy and I could get a quick pair of pants out of it in less than two hours.

Fabric Used: I purchased a colorful polyester print from my local Hancock store. It was a perfect match for the draped top/cardigan that I made to go with it. The fabric was light and airy, so I wouldn't be too hot and the pants would help keep the mosquitoes away from my legs.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I only made a few changes:

lengthened them by 4 inches
tapered the width of the legs a bit.
added elastic to the hem

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, This pattern could double for pajama pants and could be used as originally designed.

Conclusion: Quick and easy is what I was going for and this pattern was perfect. The pattern sews up very quickly. It's a great pattern for beginners and you can use it to create some funky colorful vacation pants as I did.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Vacationing in Jamaica 2014

Last month I went to Jamaica to celebrate my sister's birthday! It was a very much needed escape from the daily grind and the painfully cold winter of 2014. This was the first time in a very long time that I scheduled two solid weeks for vacation. I hesitated because of the unfinished business of the upgrade, but it was best that I step away from it all to rejuvenate and relax. The first few days, I dedicated to making a few things to take on vacation. Nothing fancy; really simply pieces in bright colors, perfect for beautiful Jamaica. Believe it or not, this time of year wasn't extremely hot. I think the average temp was around 85/90 degrees. It was splendid compared to the brutally cold winds of Chi-town.

We lodged at the Riu Negril Resort and Hotel. It was an all inclusive vacation package which is great if you don't want to worry about planning where to eat, play, drink or be entertained. Everything was in walking distance. The hotel and resort layout was open. Not many doors to go through to get to festivities. Your room, disco and the gift shops were the only places where you had turn a knob to gain entrance. The grounds also included a theater, casino, cyber room, a pool bar (among many bars), an ocean side jerk chicken bar-b-Que pit, and several restaurants (buffet and reservation required). The only excursion was a trip to Rick's Cafe by way of the "Wild Thing". This little trip included all you can drink, dancing until you were tired, snorkeling at the reef, swimming at the "caves", and jumping from the cliff at Rick's Cafe. No pressure, do what you feel kind of trip.

It's been a very long time since my last visit to Jamaica. It seemed a little more developed than 26 years ago, but, I could see there was still great disparity among the people. We did not travel to Kingston, which I understand is the most poverty stricken part of the Island. The country's coastal regions are all about tourism. Many of the beaches are privately owned by hotels and are not accessible to Jamaican citizens. The people we met were very hospitable and always wore a smile. I returned home saying, "How are you today, My Lady? I hope you enjoyed your vacation in Jamaica." All the way home I was singing Third World's hit "Try Jah Love" and Bob Marley's, "One Love". Both songs are favorites of mine and I was able to hear both while in Jamaica.

Was I ready to come home? NO! I could have stayed at least three more days, but... home we came. So, this vacation post, I'll share a few pictures of Jamaica. I was enjoying the beautiful Island instead of snapping pictures all day.