if it's a Liz, it's a classic

While working on my new blouse, I reached the point where I needed to do buttonholes, which means switching feet, changing the stitch length, etc. I almost walked right back out of the sewing room, because making buttonholes just isn't my favorite thing to do. But, no, I made myself sit back down, and started to get out my buttonhole foot.
Then, I paused. I looked up at this shirt, this shirt that only needs the hem, and buttons and buttonholes. This shirt that has been hanging in my sewing room, almost finished, for about 20 years.

No kidding. I was making it for a class in college. (Did I mention? I majored in Clothing & Textiles.) It's a lovely blouse, very nice fabric (well, it probably didn't cost me much, but it looks nice), good pattern. And I've let it sit there, part of my sewing room landscape, unfinished, for a couple of decades.

I did french seams on that shirt.

So, instead of changing feet, I pulled the shirt off the hanger and did the hem. Not over-proud of how that looks, but this is meant to be tucked in, so whatever. After 20 years, I was suddenly in a hurry to get-her-done.

Then, I marked the buttonholes. This blouse has french cuffs, so each cuff has four buttonholes, but no buttons. I'll need cuff links. (I have some, from another blouse.) I do my usual, start at the bottom and work my way up, in case my first (couple of) buttonholes are less-than-perfect. Which they are. For some reason, I chose not to use interfacing in the placket. No idea why. So it puckers. It doesn't pucker on the cuffs or the collar. There are two buttons on the neckband (it's a two-piece collar).

When was the last time you bought a shirt, or even saw one, with two buttons right up on the tippy-top? (Or such crooked buttonholes? Whatever. Like you'd notice.)

I don't have the buttons. I need 12 little 3/8" plain shirt buttons, and I only have two.

So the real finish will have to wait until I've been to the fabric store. But we're close.

I stare at the pattern, thinking how very classic this blouse is, how timeless. How small (it's a size 12, which in patterns fits someone with a 34" bust, a measurement I left behind about 8" ago).

And then I see it, down in the lower left,

Liz Claiborne

Well, that explains it, then. I've never met a Liz I didn't like.