S.W.A.P. for a trip

I'm going on a 2 week trip to France in a warm month (i.e. soon) and all I'm taking is a 35 litre MEC backpack as carry-on (it's under travel packs called "the Shuttle" if the link doesn't work). I'm also allowed a purse type object and will take that too but most everything has to fit in the backpack. All winter long, when I walk everywhere because I don't ride my bike in the snow, I carry a smaller (about 25 litre) MEC book backpack (they don't have them any more I guess - I couldn't find the one I use on the site) so I prefer a backpack, am used to one and think they really work for carrying things. I carry groceries home nearly every day in it and sometimes have crammed as much as 10 kilos in there. Clothes and shoes won't weigh as much as bags of milk so I am not concerned about the weight in the pack on my trip. But now I am starting to consider what I should put in there. Of course, I can always wear five layers of clothing on the plane and kind of cheat a little that way. And I may buy an umbrella there. But we went for a bike trip for two weeks last August and carried everything in two panniers so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do this.

Of course, all this planning is making me think about coordinating clothes and how, while I certainly do have some (okay, lots), I would like to have some more that coordinate well.

I have been buying some new patterns lately and have been looking for "the perfect jacket". I still have not found that one yet but I have been wanting to make different variations on my standard jean jacket pattern that I love but admit that it is a little boxy. I found these two, unlined jacket patterns and got them with no particular fabric in mind. The Butterick 4741 is more of a jean-type jacket, with the pockets and bands and such. I am planning to make view D (the red one on the envelope) for the trip. The Vogue 8208 is sort of a safari jacket and I think I will make it in the long sleeves but I am not sure I need the belt.

I have been thinking about what main colour I should have on the trip and since I like bright colours and have bright colours, I am thinking I will go with a red/yellow combination. Red will include pink and orange too so it's all warm colours. Here are some existing skirts and jackets. I have a red and an orange jacket and three printed skirts in those tones. And I have a yellow and pink shirt. I put the beige corduroy outfit I made recently on the bed as a neutral.

Then I put away the print skirts and placed three solid colour skirts I have had for years with the same jackets and shirts. I think I like a few prints in with the mix - all those solids are too much.

My idea when I went shopping today was to get two pieces of complimentary twill - one in a print and one in a solid, in warm colours. Unfortunately, I couldn't find such things and so I ended up buying two solids. That yellow is warmer - not so green as in the photo, and the brown is a warm fawn colour. I plan on making the Butterick jean-type jacket in the yellow twill. It is too sheer (yellow is like that) to make a skirt unless I line it so I just got enough for a jacket. The brown twill has 3% Spandex and is thicker with a nice peached finish and I plan to make the safari jacket and an unlined skirt out of it.

So now I am really SWAP - Sewing With A Purpose. Head down and nose to the feed dogs and go. I am rehearsing the phrase: "Je l'ai cousu."