The Sewing Spot

Mini Bow Tucks Bags

2012-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

In my efforts to make my sewing room neater and more efficient, I felt compelled to deal with my piles. It's amazing what does pile up in my sewing room: mending, fabric acquisitions, UFO's, patterns, odds and ends....

Here's one pile:

It's sitting on a sunny window seat hence the bright spot. One pair of slacks which needs a zipper repair and 2 mini-bow tucks bags, cut out and ready to assemble.

So, rather than sew up the top that I started cutting out in January, I opted to deal with my pile. Most of the other piles are gone or shoved into a closet so at least I have the appearance of orderliness. These Mini Bow Tucks bags were originally intended as Christmas gifts, but due to lack of recipient enthusiasm I lost sewing enthusiasm and decided I didn't feel like making anything for anybody any more. haha I've made a couple of these bags before (here and here) and they are relatively quick and very easy to put together (except for the quilting part--just my opinion, but I hate that part!).

I used a double button, layering a smaller red button on top of the large navy blue button since it matched better than anything else I had....

The above version is sewn per the pattern instructions for the handle length which is really short. The next one, I made longer handles which does distort the proportions but fits better over the shoulder.

And, finally one tip about these bags. Instead of using the tag board or cardboard stuff they suggest for inserting into the bottom to keep the structure, I use plastic needlepoint canvas and cut it to size. It's washable by hand and easy to cut and insert. A fellow ASG member told me about that and it was a great suggestion!

Now, while I don't feel like giving these bags away as gifts, I will probably donate them to our ASG fundraiser in November. We're having a silent auction of handmade items. Seems like a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping!

The Craftsy Class

2012-03-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

I signed up for my first www.craftsy.com class after hearing about them from a friend. I hadn't heard much at all about Craftsy, but I have to say that I'm really lovin' it! I am taking Susan Khalje's class, The Couture Dress. At the national ASG conference in Atlanta in 2012, I took Susan's Little Black Dress class. I thoroughly enjoyed that and learned quite a bit. This is similar, but has lots more detail. Plus, one huge advantage is being able to view the videos as often as you want and take notes online while you're watching it. It's the greatest, neatest thing! You can also ask questions and Susan responds quickly (a day or less). It's interactive so that others can chime in with questions and answers of their own. For an online class format, it is wonderful. So much better in terms of format than any other online format that I've taken.

Optimally, I should be sewing along with the videos, but one of the super nice things about these classes is that I can work at my own pace and the videos and q&a are always available to me! If I need to stop working on this and want to pick back up in five years or so, I can do that and it's all still available to me! How great is that? Anyway, there is one pattern that you get with the class fee which I will use for my dress. Susan also makes four other suggestions for patterns. I have a fellow ASG member who has opted to use one of the other four.

Here's the pattern that you get with your fee, mailed to you from Vogue. Mine came really fast!

Class pattern

An alternative class pattern suggestion

Altogether, there are 3 of us locally who are taking this class and we hope to work together to keep us motivated and help each other with fitting! There's also the fun factor of getting together with sewing friends!

After signing up for this class and watching a video segment or two, Kenneth King had a class appear, Jean-ius!, so I bought that one, too. Besides, Craftsy sent me a half off offer for signing up for my first class. How could I resist? It's a great deal, plus I can start this one later...after I make my couture dress!

I still have another project that I'm working on and haven't really delved into this one yet, so more later!

Another Intermission

2012-03-04T14:30:00.000-05:00

As we did last year, we made another batch of tie dyed t-shirts for our family's annual trip to Walt Disney World. This year, we tied our own shirts except for the hidden Mickeys on these (last year, dh did it all). My dh is good at them, so he put one or more on each shirt. Oldest dd got one mailed to her while we were gone as a surprise.

After last year's faded dye look, I emailed Dharma Trading and asked about handling tie dye in a front loading washing machine. They answered that the only thing to do differently would be to do a brief soak in very hot water in the sink using Synthrapol, then washing in the machine per the directions on a very long cycle. Well, I guess I really wanted to NOT have the faded look again so I must've used a lot more dye in the dye soak. These are really dark and unless the tied places were super tight, the dye bled through. Needless to say, dh wins the prize in tying tightly...and irritatingly. He had his wrapped around 2 PVC pipes which I don't even want to think about because let's just say that I had dye all over the kitchen with that set up!

Here they are:

From top left: oldest dd, dh, youngest dd
Bottom: ds, mine--it had some embroidery on it which didn't dye but looks kinda neat that way.

For those who don't know and are interested, you can read more about hidden Mickeys here.

Girls' Pj's

2012-02-29T09:55:00.000-05:00

I know, it's all I seem to sew! I made these before oldest dd went back to college so I didn't get any pictures of her pj bottoms. (Oldest dd made the Dean's List in her first semester at college! Always exciting, but especially so when you have homeschooled--it's really nice to know that you actually taught something and the student actually learned something!)

There was enough for a cropped pair for youngest dd to have some to match so here are hers:

Shiny satin pj fabric with cotton backing. Yes, it's the Little Mermaid!

Youngest dd's pj bottoms with purchased t-shirt.

Jeans

2012-02-02T21:54:00.000-05:00

I finally made my first pair of jeans! I started them earlier in the fall, made great progress--only the waistband, belt loops, and hemming were left--then the holidays hit. They finally got finished last month and I finally got pictures taken this month...!

I used J. Sterns Designs jeans pattern because I had taken her jeans muslin class at the ASG conference in Atlanta 2010.

Who knew that the Compensation Plate for sewing buttonholes on the Bernina machines actually worked? If I remember correctly, even my dealer had her doubts and told me to return it if I didn't like it when I bought it. I had gotten it orginally to help sew buttonholes on lightweight smocked dresses--those buttonholes at the top and bottom can be very difficult if you have lots of intersecting layers (collar, piping, gathering, etc) so I hoped it would help keep the buttonhole even. It didn't. At all. So I learned to do buttonholes manually on my machine.

Oddly, making a manual buttonhole on jeans wasn't working (and believe me, I first tried a regular buttonhole and I was NOT enjoying being friends with my seam ripper....!). So, in a last ditch effort, I thought of this gadget. Would you believe it worked beautifully???? It helped feed the bulky fabric evenly and gave a very nice buttonhole!

See? It really is a nice buttonhole despite being redone (and ripped out) multiple times!

I think designing the back pocket stitching is the most fun thing to do when sewing jeans! I decided to make a cypher (a weird way to do your monogram) using my initials. At first, I planned to make the pocket flap, but as the project neared completion I opted to not include that. Impatience factor!

Mrs. Green Jeans. Okay, joking aside, I didn't want to use my nice, regular denim for my first pair so I bought this teal colored cheapy denim from Joann's. Sadly, cheapy is the right word for it as I don't think it will hold up well. It definitely seems to stretch out of shape quickly despite having no lycra.

Pockets! It's also fun to choose the fabric for that! Really, the topstitching doesn't show up at all on my real jeans, this is bright and shiny due to the flash.

Well, since it's my first pair, I'm not unhappy with them but I'm also not thrilled. First, I made the waist way too tall--I didn't want those stupid low-rise jeans things which just look horrible on nearly everyone except young girls with really flat tummies! Just sayin'. Unfortunately, I misjudged how tall even though it seemed just right when I basted and tried them on. Oh well, that's an easy fix for the next pair.

They are also a bit large throughout, which Jennifer had mentioned I might want to take in the seams by a bit and on the next pair I will. The only other thing is the crotch sits low. It starts fine but slips down moments after putting them on. I think this is due to the waist being super loose (I need a belt) and just being a bit big in general throughout the hips. You would think that basting and trying them on would help pinpoint these issues so they could be corrected before you get them all sewn, but either basting didn't help me or I was just too excited to finally be sewing on these to notice :) haha!

This color doesn't go with *anything* in my wardrobe except plain white. Boring. So I bought a print at Joann's to make a top, which I have not gotten much of a chance to work on yet. Besides, I still owe you pictures of the girls' pj's and my other project: The Annual Tie Dye!

Sewing Room Organization and Mini Tour

2012-01-21T21:30:00.000-05:00

Blogging can be random, right? Here and now I should be posting about my jeans that I completed two weeks ago and the pajama pants that I sewed for the girls a week or so ago. But, no. Here I am ready to talk sewing room organization. Go figure.

I guess the Picture Problem is one excuse. I hate the whole picture thing--thinking about doing them (oh yeah! I should have taken a picture of that--notice that past tense thing); uploading them; editing them; putting them on blogger and then writing about them at the proper place and time--all of that stuff makes me slow. And apparently it makes me random because I have the pictures for the ongoing sewing room organization but not any pictures of finished jeans or pj's!

As I said, sewing room organization is an ongoing project and over the last six months I have made considerable progress. I still have a long way to go as in I could actually put things away after I get them out and am done with them. Still working on that one! I do it when I cook, so why not when I sew?

The next thing that brought this post forward, was a conversation with a fellow ASG member. We were marveling, gawking, drooling and just plain envying another member's sewing space. It's bright, cheerful, colorful, organized, quirky, clever, innovative and just plain ol' fun (and enviable!). She's happy to show it off, even with people having to go through her front door and upstairs. And why can't I have that, too? Well, I guess that would mean not only a clean, neat home but also one that has some style and decent flooring and such (I think that means no fur--we have A LOT of fur). Some of the main rooms are like that; certainly not all of them. One day! But in the meantime, the sewing room is getting some of the attention that it needs so I can enjoy the space (and be more productive???).

Anyway, here's the UGLY part. This is part of why I'm not really happy with my sewing space.

Ugly paneling. Very Ugly Paneling. Extremely Mega Ugly Paneling. Not only is it this lovely, but it is textured, too!!!! That means my fabric catches on it!

The Extremely Mega Ugly Paneling in action with sewing supplies propped up.

Now, in order to combat that particular problem in a time long, long ago, we conceived a solution that would minimize construction and pain. And it was this:

Corks! Wine corks! Lots of 'em. They are cut in half to minimize how far they extend into the room. And, NO, we did not drink all the wine to get the corks!

Yes! Practical, functional, not un-beautiful, fun, innovative, clever...and slow. It is smooth and doesn't catch my fabric which is another benefit. And I can use it like a bulletin board. Eventually. When it extends to cover more wall space that will be a nifty use for it.

Well, in the meantime, I have been gradually working on other areas of the sewing room to make it more organized and more user-friendly. First, my dh installed a hanging rod so that I can hang up ongoing and future projects on it. I really like that it helps get the piles off the other surfaces in the room.

Not the most beautiful in the world, but highly functional. It sits over the youngest dd's sewing/work/play table, which dh made many years ago as a school table for the older kids when we began homeschooling.

Next, dh really outdid himself with this shelf project! I love, love these!

Look at those wine corks along the edges! One day it will look totally perfect with my walls!

The shelves were made to hold ironing supplies. I'm still deciding what to put on them, but it's really nice to have a place that is not the floor or the ironing board for starch, water bottles, and pressing tools!

Those corks really, really look a ton better in real life! Here, they look *almost* as ugly as that paneling, but it ain't so!

Won't that wall look terrific when it has all its corks on it?

My sewing space is kind of awkward with lots of doors. I really love the things that have been added to help with space organization and need to continue to work on that so that my workroom can be a place that I like to show off! Perhaps that's my 2012 resolution!

Christmas Gifts Received

2012-01-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

I received several wonderful handmade items and craft books for Christmas this year and I thought I'd share them with you. As you can tell from the bookmarks, I've already picked out some projects to make from the books!

First up:

Amy Butler's Style Stitches

The Beader's Bible by Dorothy Wood
My newest want-to-do hobby!

Simple Glass Beading by Dorothy Wood

Now, to the handmade items! First, is a make-up bag my stepmother made. She even used some of that fusible vinyl on it so it would stay nice and be easy to clean! Isn't it pretty with all the embroidery on it?

Next, are some bobby pins that oldest dear daughter beaded and gave to me. They look really nice when I wear my hair up in a French twist, which I do frequently!

I thought that this scarf was very interesting. One of my husband's co-workers made it and gave it to me. It's quite simple, but very clever. All it has are multiple types of yarn knotted together intermittently--no knitting, no crocheting! The various yarns are simply lined up together and about every 12" they are knotted together.

Finally, this wasn't really a Christmas gift, but a very nice beginning to the holidays. At the beginning of November, my local American Sewing Guild chapter held a drawing for a gift basket for all of the Shop Hop participants who went to all the shops. Guess who won????! Yes! It is truly a terrific basket, filled with donations from the various shops who were in the hop. It also included three very, very generous gift cards to sewing stores!!!!!!! I was SO surprised and pleased.

Christmas Gifts 2011

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to you all! I got quite a bit of sewing done before Christmas to give away as gifts. I had a few purses that I wanted to make, but I didn't get them done. Too much going on, including illness #6, no it must be #5 because I think I have #6 right now. I've never had so many cold, cough, and congestion type things in one single fall and winter. It's become a joke.

I'm sorry to say that not only have I not blogged in forever and a day, I haven't even read a single blog in well over a month! I've missed both, so it's good to (sorta) be back at it. It might be slow going still, since I am really not joking about being sick so much.

This year, I made pillowcases and mailed them the week of Thanksgiving:

All were made as pairs, so 2 of each type. A very underwhelming reception by the recipients, except for the pair that went to friends. No more Christmas crunch sewing for me! Bah humbug!

I had gotten a freebie tissue holder set to sew, so I made it up and gave it away. Really easy and very cute!

I made a tote bag for my ds's Spanish teacher. Wish I had taken the picture after I had sewn on the buttoms as they were perfect for the fabric! This tote pattern is a freebie from a local shop and titled, "The 30-Minute Tote Bag". I'll tell you now, it takes longer than 30 minutes!

Lastly, I made a table runner as a birthday gift. It's called "The 10-Minute Table Runner" with good reason--that title is very accurate!

Before the holidays, I started on a pair of jeans. They were set aside to work on the Christmas gifts, but they will be the first thing I finish this new year! All that's left is the waistband, belt loops, and hemming. More on those later.

Swimwear

2011-11-05T19:52:00.000-04:00

At our last Sewing Guild meeting, a member brought a complete package for making a swimsuit for a little girl to our Ways and Means Table. She showed it to me first since she knew I've made a couple of swimsuits. And, look! It has everything to make a swimsuit! There's even a pattern, Kwik Sew 2884, in it. It has all the elastic, lining fabric and the fashion fabric which won happy approval from youngest dd.

While I won't work on this until next year, I was really pleased and excited to get this. I was even happier that youngest dd loved the fabric!

Gadget

2011-10-30T15:55:00.000-04:00

I finally broke down and ordered this rotary arm gadget for my Olfa rotary cuttern. It's called a Removable Rotary Arm Guide and I first saw it on a blog post by Sew-4-Fun. I cannot find her post where she used it, but I did bookmark her answer to my question about it. I had never seen anything like it in my area and since her post, I've really kept my eyes open for it. I had found and bookmarked it at an internet store, but figured I had all the time in the world to buy it or get it as a gift. Fortunately, I noticed that it was going to be a discontinued item and since it's been more than a year since I learned about this wondrous gadget, I figured I'd best be buying it.

Isn't it neat when you learn on the internet from other sewists? I can really see that this will be useful for patterns that don't include seam allowances or where I want to add more to an existing seam allowance on a pattern--what a time saver! I can't wait to try this new tool out! I bought 2 of them, just in case!

Biscornu

2011-10-27T15:54:00.000-04:00

Biscornu means irregular shape. In this case, it is a pincushion with 8 sides made to demonstrate all the fun stitches you can make on your machine using its decorative features along with a variety of needles like a wing needle. My youngest dd made this one during a sewing guild sew in earlier this year and I finally got it sewn together for her. It is rather awkward to do that which is why I did it for her. She had the best time sewing the decorative stitches and it was an excellent way for her to become very comfortable with threading and unthreading her machine. She knew how, of course, but when you have to thread and rethread many, many times in a couple of hours it becomes almost automatic!

She loved stuffing her pincushion! I got a perfectly sized stuffing freebie during our guild's shop hop this year.

Finished! She chose the strawberry button for the center.

Bras

2011-10-17T17:00:00.000-04:00

Long time, no posting! I have been sewing quite a bit, off and on, between the kids' activities and a very long illness. Some of the things I'm sewing will have to be shared later, like after the holidays! I am doing an extremely poor job of focusing on sewing for myself which was supposed to be my resolution for this year. However, I have enjoyed the gifts I've sewn for Christmas, but will wait to post them until after the recipients have gotten them so as not to spoil things!

As the post titles says, I have been sewing bras. I sewed up 2 of them which were leftovers from my bra workshop class at last year's American Sewing Guild conference.

2 sets of bras all cut out and ready to sew.

Bra cups pinned and ready to sew. Unfortunately, I found all the pinning awkward and annoying, so I undid it all and hand basted instead. I will do this for future ones!

Bra strap with one edge scalloped. These are time consuming to make!

2 completed bras!

I have a few more bra kits that I can sew and hope to work on those soon. They are more fun and colorful, too. Bra sewing is a rather tedious endeavor to tell the truth, but the comfort and fit can't be beat by any that you can buy!

Simplicity 5364--Cinderella Pajamas

2011-09-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

Before oldest dd went away to college (go Hokies!), the girls decided they wanted matching pj's. Off to Joann's we went and they chose a pretty Cinderella print. Oldest dd only wanted shorts for hers and purchased a plain white t-shirt to go with them. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of her before she left. She sewed her shorts herself and I even let her use my serger after her fiasco with the swim suit and the serger. I think she really likes the serger.

However, I do have pictures of her little sister modeling her completed pj set. The original deal was that she would sew up her own pajamas, but when it came time to do this she did not want to. I used Simplicity 5364 (oop) for the bottoms for both sets, but I made up my own pattern for this top. I used a basic yoke pattern and a large gathered rectangle of fabric for the rest with the armholes cut out and bound.

Pardon the wrinkles. We aren't big on ironing our pajamas!

For closure, I did a simple button up the back just because this child loves her bedtime stories so there is always someone to assist her with getting on her jammies.

I seem to sew a lot of pj's. And I have more pj bottoms to sew. Not to be left out of the Joann's expedition, the guys chose some fabric so they could have some summer ones, too. Sadly, the summer is pretty much all gone, but we'll see if I can't get them done soon so they can get a little wear out of them or they will be ready for next year!

Simplicity 2516 (skirt)--complete!

2011-09-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Today's sewing went smoothly which was a surprise. I fixed the lining issue where I inserted the zipper by resewing the seam so that it faces to the inside. It isn't as nice as the rest of it, but no one else will know. Since the lining is slippery and frays some, I thought I would try Steam A Seam to hold the hem in place. That stuff works well, but sure is annoying to place and get to stay put. After all that on both the lining and fashion fabric, I didn't feel like stitching the hem, too. So, I have a "cheat" hem! But, I think it looks fine and I can always change my mind and go back and stitch it later!

Here's the finished skirt:

And, since writing this post I've worn the skirt a few times. I really like it! I've even looked through the stash to see what other fabric I could use to make it again, but nothing struck me. Oh well. I do not want to buy more fabric and have another project staring at me so I will just enjoy this skirt for now.

Tonight was the due date for our Ugly Fabric Challenge. I did not win anything :( The ladies who did win were very creative and it was a lot of fun to see what everyone sewed and who got my ugly fabric. This skirt was a win for my wardrobe though, so I'm happy :)

Simplicity 2516 (skirt) Day 4

2011-08-31T16:12:00.000-04:00

Today was the day to start stitching everything together. Sewing all the seams together was time consuming. At first, I thought I would sew them using a straight stitch and then serge finish the edges, because of how slippery the fabric was. However, I wasn't happy with how the serger stitching looked when I ran samples, so I figured I would just leave the edges raw. That's kind of different for me since I typically finish each and every seam!

This was a super easy skirt to sew except for one thing--I planned to put in an invisible zipper and forgot to plan for that! Oops. And, once I realized my error, I still didn't think it through so that I unpicked the entire seam for both the lining and the skirt. I guess it was the lining that really caused the issue--for some reason, I thought I could stitch the zipper to both the skirt and the lining at the same time. By the time I realized that it would be a problem, I had finished the waist and there was no way I was going to redo all that mess.

So, I decided to sleep on it and do a faux hem on the skirt saving the lining for the last day.

So, for today I got everything completed about the skirt except for the zipper problem and hemming the lining.

Again, sorry for the lack of pictures.

Simplicity 2519 (skirt) Day 3

2011-08-30T17:05:00.000-04:00

Well, since I had marked on my delightful rick rack where the waist measurement for me should be, I was able to figure out that all I needed to do was sew my seams at the waist using a 1/2" seam allowance and taper it back out to 5/8". Alternatively, I could've simply added an 1/8" to the pattern pieces at the waist, but I opted to do the first instead. I could've also prevented all those steps by simply comparing my measurements to the pattern measurements--it seemed beyond me at the time and like I really needed to try something on for fit instead.

Today, all I got done was cutting out the fashion fabric and the lining. Since both were slippery and very mobile, I cut them all as single layers and it was quite time consuming! Although there are only 2 pattern pieces, you have to cut 4 pieces from 1 of them and 2 out of the other. 6 cuts for the fashion fabric and 6 for the lining.

No pictures to share at all! Sorry!

This was actually a pretty good day's work!

Simplicity 2516 (skirt) Day 2

2011-08-29T15:00:00.002-04:00

Day 2 saw me sewing up the muslin and trying it on. I stabilized the waist using large rick rack because I seem to be all out of anything else remotely useful to stabilize something like this. It was way too big at the waist because of my supersize addition on Day 1, but I just pinched that out and made a mark as to where it fit best.

The day moved on and that was as far as I got. It really wasn't too bad considering the skirt has a lot of seams.

Simplicity 2516 (skirt) Day 1

2011-08-28T15:00:00.003-04:00

In an effort to figure out when and why I'm more productive and perhaps to show myself that I am actually productive with my sewing, I thought I'd try blogging about the daily progress on this pattern. I apologize in advance for any boredom you might experience. It's really to help me understand how in the world I can be excited thinking about a project, but feel reluctant to do anything to begin the project...or finish the project. I do actually finish a lot of projects, but it frequently seems that it takes me forever to do that.

The background on this particular project is that our local sewing guild is doing an ugly fabric challenge contest like last year. People who wanted to participate brought 1 yard or more of usable fabric in a brown bag to our May meeting and we swapped them. Our challenge was to sew it up into something more beautiful. I got fabric I thought was pretty, but not something I would've bought to sew. I think it's a polyester georgette and it said "skirt" to me.

So I chose Simplicity 2516--which was easy. I enjoy perusing pattern books and looking online at the pattern companies. It was a bit hard to choose just one, but since I had gotten almost 2 yards of this fabric, it gave me more options. I wanted something kinda drapey and this pattern looks like it has it although it isn't cut on the bias but on the straight grain with flairs at the bottom. I can't wait to see how this translates in real life with this fabric.

View B. No second layer.

Of course, I have procrastinated about starting the project. Here it is August, I got my fabric in early May, and the project is due on Thursday (today is Sunday). I've had opportunities to work on it before, but haven't felt like it at all. I have no idea why since I think it will make a cute skirt that I would wear.

On to the blog project: What did I get done today?

First, I took my serger to my local sewing machine store to check it for the bottom of the needle that dd broke when she was "helping" serge her swimsuit. They didn't find anything and I guess it was silly to worry about it. In any event, I needed some new serger needles!

Then, I cut out the pattern tissue and compared it to my measurements. The waist looks too small, but the hip should be fine.

I pressed the tissue flat. My eyes fell on some giveaway fabric that is really, really thin but has reasonable drape and I thought aha! Muslin! So I cut it out as a muslin with extra fabric in the waist area tapering to below the hip (I wasn't feeling very scientific about it at all). No pics on how this muslin fit because this fabric is totally see through!

Assessing the project, there are only 2 pattern pieces....and I'm not doing an overlay, just a lining. So it should be relatively easy, right? Not a lot of progress, but it's a start.

McCall 3566 Swim Suit

2011-08-15T12:01:00.001-04:00

I'm here to tell you the best kept sewing secret--making a swim suit is EASY! It's also about the only way that I know that you can save money when you sew your own versus purchasing one. One caveat about the process is that it helps a lot to have the wearer available to try it on during the sewing process so you can make sure elastic and straps are cut suitably. It really saves a lot of time and trouble to have that.

I used McCall 3566 for oldest dd which I had found earlier this year for $0.50 at our local Joann's store when it was closing to reopen as new and improved (I think we all have doubts about that now it has happened and while it is much improved it has become extremely crafty!). I only used one of the two swimsuit fabrics that I found not long after buying the pattern. Time and energy ran short and, wow, mom is not a miracle worker! Did I mention that it helps a lot to try the suit on frequently to make adjustments? And, that when it isn't tried on, the seam ripper is your friend? I am also tired of hearing the word "retro" in relation to this suit! Dd could've chosen a different view or opted to make modifications so I wouldn't have to keep hearing this is retro!

I made Views C and F.

This stuff is super bright!

Sewing lingerie and knits made sewing a swimsuit pretty easy. I also used the book Sewing With Knits by Connie Long as a reference. She has excellent information on what stitches and settings to use both for the serger and the sewing machine. I used a combination of the two since I am too lazy to set up my serger for a cover stitch after sewing the seams together. You even end up with a finished product that looks like a bought suit!

I used the serger on a 4-thread setting for the seams of the suits and the white lining. They are fully lined so I suppose twice the work, but I think it looks funny to only have the fronts lined. I don't think the pattern called for much lining, but I confess I didn't read the pattern. After serging the seams, I treated the lining and swim fabric as one whole piece and sewing machine basted all the raw edges prior to attaching elastic to them to prevent slippage. Then I zigzagged the elastic to the edge stretching the elastic to fit for all areas except the leg openings. I had stitched the elastic into a circle and marked it into 4 even parts prior to stitching again except for the leg openings. The leg openings are done differently without any elastic stretching along the front and all of the elastic stretched for the back to accomodate bending and movement. Makes sense. After securing the elastic, I folded the elastic to the inside and topstitched it down using a twin needle. They're pretty much done at that point.

For the youngest dd, I didn't have a pattern. I took two of her present suits and traced them out on Swedish tracing paper (great stuff!), added seam allowances and some guessing which resulted in a pretty good prototype. I viewed this hot pink swim fabric as experimental anyway. I had to redo the bottoms because they were way too snug. Ready to wear little girl swimsuits have always had issues on my girls--the bottoms are too big and the tops always fall off or slide around too much. If I bought a smaller size, then length was a problem. So when I traced out her suits, I took the one that I thought fit best and shrank it some although in the case of the bottoms I got carried away or maybe I forgot to accomodate for a bigger seam allowance versus elastic allowance on the leg openings. The top needed to be made somewhat smaller only at the top. The only problem that I had with her top was that it fit perfectly at home. It also fit perfectly at the beach until she went down to the water and started playing. The straps needed to be shorted by probably 2" because they didn't stay on her shoulders at all. Irritating. She was a good and patient child, trying on the suit multiple times for fitting so it was too bad that this was a problem. On the plus side, because I had made the top smaller around her chest, it stayed up so the straps weren't entirely necessary!

Matching sisters!

Back view.

All in all, this was a quick and easy project even with having to draft my own pattern for the youngest dd's suit. I think I will definitely sew more swim suits, especially for the youngest because she is so willing to try them on for fit!

The Glisson Collection

2011-08-07T12:51:00.003-04:00

A little known clothing and textile collection exists at Virginia Tech (of all places! Who knew??). It's called the Oris Glisson Costume and Textiles Collection. I ran across it in my capacity of 2nd Vice President of Programs for our local sewing guild. An act of desperation on my part because sometimes it is really hard to find interesting programs. Or any programs. As it turned out, this didn't become a program but became a field trip instead since they don't take the collection any where.

So that non-locals know, Virginia Tech is a large university in Blacksburg, Virginia. I suppose besides its football program, it is most famous for the very dreadful shooting that occurred there a few years ago. It is also very well known for its engineering school, which probably explains why this collection is relegated to obscurity.

Anyway, not knowing what to expect, we were all totally awed by what we saw when we walked in the classroom. There was a wide array of clothing and accessories displayed in the front and they all had information cards with them. I think that is what makes this collection unique--it's all about the story. The collection began because of a class that Oris Glisson taught dealing with different time periods and what people wore. So her students would go home on Thanksgiving break or spring break and talk about what they were learning. Well, someone at home would remember that Great Aunt Nellie wore an outfit just like that when she got married and next thing you know, they'd rummage in the attic and bring back to Tech that garment along with its story of who wore it, when and why. Sometimes they even brought pictures of the garment on their great grandmother or whoever. How neat is that?

And, since it's not like anyone needs to keep clothing from 50 or 100 years ago in the attic, the garments would be left at Virginia Tech to be used as samples of clothing from the various time periods. The collection just kept growing and growing until its present size of around 5,000 items. You can read more about it here. The collection itself is in storage but some garments are on display on the lower level of Wallace Hall.

Here are some pictures I took of some of the things we got to see on our field trip:

An overview of part of the collection we saw. Obviously, we only saw a very small fraction of it!

Lots of pintucks! Neat details.

Dress made of netting.

Back view of dress--it's easier to see the netting and that it's underlined in beige.

Okay, there were prettier dresses in the collection, but I liked this one.

Suit--it's hard to see the skirt.

The dress that can stand on its own! How funny is that? This is when interfacing became a big thing and this dress has some heavy duty interfacing in it!

It's hard to see but the back of this dress has a zipper underneath and then another layer with a slit opening and I think a button closure at the top. Neat design feature because you would expect to see skin because of the way the outer layer was done, but instead you get to see more of the dress fabric!

Man's bathrobe.

I cannot remember the name for this exactly but it was worn when the bustle was big and the bust needed to protrude too, hence the gathers in front to make that happen.

Man's beaver top hat.

Lots of men's top hats...and you can see their information cards.

Our presenter was rather pleased at having ladies who sew see the collection because we would all exclaim about pintucks, hems, fabrics and other construction details.

Now, the sad part. The collection has gotten so big and some of it is deteriorating so Tech will have to decide (eventually) what to do with it--a museum of its own, donating it to a museum....Who knows? But, I think that they should have at least one Threads magazine article about it, don't you? Or something similar--with all the stories surrounding the collection, it might make an interesting book.

Mini Bow Tucks Purse Gift

2011-08-01T12:56:00.000-04:00

Here's my second Mini Bow Tucks Purse. I made this as a gift to the kids' piano teacher. She has her graduating students do a solo piano recital and this is what we gave her. Oldest dd did a great job and even did a duet with her db!

I didn't make any changes other than to embroider the piano teacher's name on it. Next time, I think I'd like to experiment with the inside by adding some zippered compartments to make them more like a Baggallini. I love those bags...but they sure don't come in loads of pretty fabrics!

Cottonwood Quilt Shop

2011-07-28T08:49:00.000-04:00

On a small excursion to the Cottonwood Quilt Shop in Charlottesville, VA, I found the cutest little scissors! They came in different types and the handles were so pretty it was hard to resist! Very inexpensive (less than $5) and perfect to carry around to snip threads when doing hand sewing or embroidery.

Cottonwood was full of interesting fabrics and patterns...and not just quilting stuff (I have decided I don't like quilting at all....but I do love the fabrics!). They had some of The Sewing Workshop kits with a pattern and fabric--very expensive if you have never seen these. That was rather an anomaly in a quilting store, but very nice to have the variety. Their other pattern selections were very interesting with some neat purse ones. I also found their toweling fabric interesting, but the only thing I bought was the scissors. They were having a big fabric sale, too but I resisted because I don't want to keep adding to the stash!!!

Machine Embroidered Diploma

2011-07-22T19:59:00.008-04:00

Yes. Really. You can embroider your child's diploma, paint one, make it a collage, you name it...when you homeschool in the U.S. I think virtually everyone still does paper, but hey, homeschooling is very individualized and so is this diploma that I made for dd's high school graduation. It seemed to suit her and it's fun and different. Well, maybe not fun since I was aiming for something rather formal looking within the confines of my embroidery machine. I don't have the software to manipulate fonts and all that so I was limited in what I could do. But, I think it turned out well--here it is:

As a work in progress...Hooping. Yuck!

We didn't have to name our homeschool. It does seem silly after all, but somehow or other it became the Academy on the Hill. We didn't have a graduation ceremony either. Our family went out for a special dinner at a very nice local restaurant. Dd's younger siblings each made her a card and after all of her parents' hard work over the years (we've homeschooled since kindergarten), she got a diploma and lots of special memories over the years (I hope). Her brother has put in a request for a diploma made from wood...Thank goodness that isn't MY challenge because I would fail that one! I do feel sorry for dh having to come up with that in a few years!

Cord Cover

2011-07-15T15:53:00.002-04:00

I know that making an electrical cord cover to hide all the ugly wires isn't that exciting. But, it's something I sewed. Best of all, it must've worked because no one has noticed it! I made this for our freshly painted living room to hide all the wires from the speakers that my dh hung. The old radio is really only a shell. My dh gutted it years ago to hide all the stereo equipment.

Draperies

2011-07-08T16:52:00.002-04:00

It seems like a long time ago now, but back in May I showed the fabric for my dining room draperies. It was a learning experience for me since I've never made draperies before! It involves a LOT of hand sewing. But, I think they turned out pretty well! They are super heavy since the fabric is really upholstery fabric and I lined and interlined them. They should provide some good insulation during the winter for sure.

I didn't have a pattern, but used several books for guidance and directions. Because of the interlining, lining and all the hand sewing making draperies is really a lot like dress making even down to the final fitting! Kinda strange to think of that!

I was really pleased with them! Here they are:

I had someone else cover the cornice boards and while they look good on the right side, the back is really sloppy. I think I'll attempt them myself if I ever want cornice boards again. And, yes, the dining room is painted BLACK! Above the chair rail has a coat of gold glaze sponged on to pick up the gold in the draperies compliments of my stepmother! She did a great job with it. Very hard room to photograph though because it's so dark.

I was lucky enough to find 2 coordinating fabrics for my drapery fabric and you can see 1 of them on the chair seat beside the window. I had someone else do these, too, and like the cornice boards, I will be doing any future chair seats myself! I think the pattern on this chair should've been rotated 90 degrees. Oh well, no one knows but me, right?

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T21:30:00.001-04:00

Where have I been? At home sewing a lot! Apparently, I have an inverse relationship between writing a blog about sewing and actually sewing. The more I sew, the less I write and the less I sew, the more I write. Since I'm writing now, that seems to suggest that I am not sewing although that is not true. I also haven't seemed to read or comment much on other people's blogs lately. I'm going to work harder on that! I know I like to get comments so I assume everyone else does, too. Blogger does seem to behave strangely when you haven't posted a comment on other blogs in awhile. It keeps having me log in over and over again and I still show up as anonymous! It doesn't happen for all blogs, but it definitely is a painful problem for some.

Sewing has been very purpose driven of late and I've sewn gifts, home dec (I seem to be very slow about this), done some machine embroidery, and made a top for me (which wasn't purpose driven). Our lives have been a flurry of activity: graduation, room makeover, replacement deck, and solo senior piano recital with lots of guests. I took last week off to recover--well, aside from all the appointments that were on the calendar and not feeling well at all for a day or two.

I have been feeling a burden of guilt or conscience to update the blog so consider this the ice breaking post and look for sewing updates soon!

Dining Room Draperies

2011-05-06T17:55:00.001-04:00

For those who don't like home dec sewing, skip this post! I've been working hard on lots of home dec--not just draperies, but painting and choosing furniture (which is surely the easy and fun part!). And, no, I haven't been working on the dining room for all this, but rather some languishing fabric for the dining room. I guess it needed to age in the stash for awhile, yes? Home dec fabric does take up a LOT of room though!

Here's the fabric for the dining room draperies:

Rich red chenille with gold and some black highlights

The back! Yes, it's reversible.

So there are the yards and yards of fabric I mentioned a few posts ago. I hope to have some pictures of the finished draperies hanging up quite soon!

Last Year's Blanket Project

2011-04-29T19:00:00.000-04:00

I wrote some posts last year about our local sewing guild's community service project. We made blankets for the infants, children and teens at our local hospital. I thought it was worth posting about the project again because it keeps continuing! The sewing community has got to be one of the most generous groups of people out there. If you read the link above, we did exceed our goal of 500 blankets several months ago and like I said, that number has continued to grow into this year--we are at 599 now! This project didn't even begin until June 2010 so it hasn't even been a year yet. One member brought 49 blankets to me this week (and that doesn't count all the others that she did prior to this).

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but blankets take up a LOT of space! I'm sure you understand that as soon as I get them, they go straight to the hospital.

Sewists are amazing!

Embellishments

2011-04-26T16:30:00.001-04:00

I sent some blog pages of ideas from other people to dd the oldest a few months ago of t-shirt upgrades. She took a plain t-shirt and added some embroidered stems with DMC floss, silk ribbon petals and Swarovski hot fix crystals. It was a quick project that she did freehand and I think it really turned out very well. I particularly like the colors, although I had a very hard time getting the whole shirt photographed (a recurring theme). I think the pale aqua shirt did not contrast enough with the white background to allow for focusing. The close up shot shows it much better.

Easter Dress Pictorial

2011-04-24T06:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter everyone! I didn't do Easter outfits for anyone this year, but I thought it would be fun to photograph (apparently very poorly!) some of the things I've made for past Easters. Sorry again about the poor photography. Anyway, this is an entirely random pull and doesn't include everything. It does include things I've made for both dd's and only 1 thing for ds. I assure you I made more than that for him, I just didn't see them when I was doing this! And, after he got older, he wore his father's (very vintage!) bow ties. Cute--no pics of that. Here you go!

Brother/sister outfits with silk ribbon embroidery based on an old Sew Beautiful magazine. Girl's dress is smocked (and pleated all by hand because of the gingham!) and really could've used some tatting or lace around the collar. I didn't have any and couldn't afford to buy any either!

Detail view of the silk ribbon embroidery insert on ds's romper.

Basic Yoke Dress with smocking, hand embroidery on collar and sleeve, with tatting around collar, sleeve, and tuck at the hem.

Detail view of the embroidery and smocking.

This really didn't photograph well at all! It was also WAYYYY out of my comfort zone to do a loud, bold floral. I didn't have much fabric at all and it had a flaw in it so I had to be creative, hence the eyelet around the bottom, sleeve, and neck. The smocking about killed me as it is layered and I reduced the usual number of threads down to 2 strands (I think??). That smocking plate was pulled rather sorta, kinda, in a way from an old issue of Sew Beautiful magazine.

Bishop dress in ivory Imperial batiste using a smocking plate from Original Designs in Smocking by Jenny Bradford that mil gave me many years ago. I have used that book more than any other source for smocking plates!

Bishop dress from last year. I think this is smocked with an Ellen McCarn design.

I loved this dress! It was featured in Sew Beautiful magazine several years ago. I think there's was blue. Anyway, I bought the fabric and laces while at a Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion and saw their sample dress. It's made from silk dupioni and heavy cotton laces attached together to make the bodice. It's hard to see the 'ribbon' along the waist here--this pic is really bad!

Detail view of front of dress.

Back of dress. It is closed by snaps which you then cut out motifs from the ribbon and sew on top so it covers up your stitching lines. I thought that was a neat feature.

Basic Square Yoke Dress made in a very soft, barely pink corduroy. Smocked in an equally pale pink with irridescent beads which was yet another plate from the Jenny Bradford book

I think you can see the beads better here!

End of pictorial! Happy Easter!

Mini Bow Tucks Bag Questions

2011-04-23T16:59:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd answer the questions I received about the Mini Bow Tucks Bag in my last post. Thank you for posting comments!

First, from Homemade Pineapple Marshmallows who asked, "Did your sweet daughter ever finish up hers?"

No, the dd has not finished hers yet. She has mentioned finishing it. Does that count?

Next, from kbenco, "Do the ties at each end hold the folded bag ends together? It looks to be a clever design. I hope you get lots of use from it, they look very complicated to sew. "

Here's a better picture of how the tie ends work:

Untied and unfolded. You can see how the opposite side is folded in.

All tied!

So, yes, they do hold the folded ends together. It wasn't very hard to sew at all.

Thanks again for the questions!

Mini Bow Tucks Purse

2011-04-15T14:56:00.000-04:00

I've dropped out of the sewing world! No, not really. I have yards of fabric to show, but for now here's a small project that I completed recently:

Min Bow Tucks Pattern

Outside of completed bag, using fabrics purchased from a local quilt shop last year

Inside of bag and all the pockets!

These bags have been the 'thing' to make with our local sewing guild members. I think I'm probably the last person in the guild to have made one! I like having a custom handbag to carry but I this one needs some adjustments for the next time I make one. The handles need to be longer and some of the inside pockets need either a zipper or velcro closure to prevent everything from falling out when the bag tips over!

Now, back to my other project: painting!

Les Fabriques and Swimsuit Fabric

2011-02-26T07:49:00.001-05:00

Would you believe (I couldn't!) that I found swimsuit fabric not long after finding the swimsuit pattern in my last post? I was fortunate enough to travel to Charlottesville, VA, recently to Les Fabriques. A great fabric store which specializes in fashion sewing fabrics although they do carry quite a variety, including some for kids and some quilting cottons. There were some very nifty handbag patterns created by a local lady. They also have a LOT of classes, even quite a few for kids.

Anyway, I found not one but two swimsuit fabrics that the girls liked (isn't sending a picture using your phone very useful?). They were even on clearance! I figured that I would have to wait until more spring/summer fabrics came out. I remember that http://www.fabric.com/ had some beautiful swimsuit fabric last year, so I had been waiting to see what they would have this year.

I need to find a girl's swimsuit pattern I like and get it before I start on this. I also need to check my supplies and make sure I have elastic for this project, but I think it will be fun and one of the few ways to save money when you sew! Here's what I found:

The top fabric is the real fabric and I got the solid to use as an accent. This was my favorite!

Really bright PINK! This was youngest dd's pick because she is on a pink kick right now. I don't think the girls realized how very bright it is based on the picture I sent to them. Oh well! I still think it will make a cute suit.

McCall 3566
Here's the pattern I'll probably use for oldest dd.

More on other sewing later. I've been hard at work on a project which I'll share later.

Sewing Patterns

2011-02-24T16:18:00.001-05:00

Who can resist buying patterns for $0.50 each? Even when they are majorily crammed into the pattern drawers? Despite the fact that there are hoards of empty drawers so they could be spread out just a little more?

Our local Joann's is closing and relocating into a bigger space later this year so they have stopped getting new patterns and are clearing out all their old ones. The rest of the store is very picked over and so are the patterns, but I still managed to get quite a few!

Men's Patterns:

Butterick 3101

McCall 2149

I wish I'd looked more carefully at the line drawings for these since neither one of them has a back yoke.

Patterns for the girls:

McCAll 3586

We seriously considered making oldest dd a swimsuit (and, of course, a matching one for the youngest!) last year because http://www.fabric.com/ had some beautiful swimsuit fabric AND it's probably one of the few ways you can save money when you sew. Just in case they have it again, we will be prepared!

McCall 5573

I thought this just looked like a cute girl's pattern for summer. And for fifty cents, who could pass it up?

Patterns for me:

McCall 2874
I liked the short bias cut skirt, the jackets and the slim trousers.

McCall 3830

I needed/wanted a basic skirt pattern and I think this one will do very well!

McCall 5050
A peasant top--not sure about this one, but it looks cool for summer!

McCall 5138
Looks like a nice classic blouse.

McCall 5859
I liked the short sleeved jacket on this!

McCall 5879
A comfortable summer dress using the wide strap options?

McCall 5974
Obsessed with wrap dresses!

McCall 6031
A LOT shorter and this might make a cute knit top!

McCall 6032
Nice neck line details and a possible comfy knit summer dress?

McCall MP308
Not sure entirely why I got this, but I did like the jacket at the lower right corner!

Vogue 7906
You can never have too many blouse patterns!

Intermission and a Little Bit of Sewing

2011-02-17T17:14:00.006-05:00

We had a small family intermission. Here's a peek at a small project our family worked on prior to our annual family vacation to Walt Disney World:

In the sink and ready for the big reveal!

My shirt - back

My shirt - front

DH Shirt

Youngest DD's shirt

Oldest DD's shirt

DS's shirt

Notice all the clever hidden Mickey Mouse outlines on the shirts. That was DH's work--he tied them all and was able to get the Mickeys on them all in various places. I thought they were neat! We have a front loading washing machine and I don't think the dye is as crisp as I used to get when we had a top loading machine.

The only sewing involved was shortening the top I bought for oldest dd. It was nearly dress length! Her comment once I'd rehemmed it was that hem looked just like it did before--well, yeah!

Many thanks to the input on my last post. I have definitely decided to make the pique into the Butterick pattern. I've been working on that since we got home. We have some changes for youngest dd, but more on that later!

Here I thought that blogger had made it easier to upload photos only to realize that it all looks wacky when you preview it! I sure hope I have it fixed or this is going to look strange! Sorry!

Thoughts on Spring Sewing and a Question

2011-01-14T17:00:00.001-05:00

I realize that most sewists in the northern hemisphere are focused on cold weather sewing right now. For some odd reason my mind had an image of this fabric from my stash pop up (and it wasn't wrinkled when I thought of it, but I guess that's what stashing in an antique trunk does):

My sincere apologies for the way this thing photographed! It is a bright pink pique with white daisies embroidered on it. I originally bought it to make youngest dd a dress, but realized that I bought a lot. Mother/daughter dresses???

For dd:

I just recently made this pattern into a Christmas dress for her. Super quick and easy. I think the short sleeved version with a white ribbon at the bodice and skirt seam would work for this pique.

For me there are 2 choices:

Butterick 5455, a Maggy London dress, that lists pique as a suggested fabric! View A with white piping? Or just plain as in View B?

I made this dress last summer. It's McCall 6123 and all altered and ready to be used.

But should I? Would this pique look terrible made up for an adult? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Check this out...

2011-01-11T18:03:00.000-05:00

I have a friend who is celebrating her first anniversary of blogging with a giveaway! And her blog name, Homemade Pineapple Marshmallows, is too cute, don't you think? She has a really nifty clutch and notecards that she's giving away. I hope you stop by her blog and look over her projects--she's a fairly new sewist and has done some wonderful things over the past year.

Notebook Cover

2011-01-11T11:11:00.002-05:00

My first project for 2011 is complete! I cut this out in the fall, but wasn't able to go to the ASG neighborhood group meeting where this was demonstrated and sewn. The notebook cover is quick and easy, designed to fit a standard sized 8 1/2" X 11" spiral notebook. I didn't take a picture of the inside. It has a little pocket for pens and such. It would make a great gift, which is probably what I'll do with this one.

The only 2011 sewing goal this project met was stash usage since the cover won't be for me--but that's okay. It's a good feeling to get something done.

Many thanks for the very kind recent comments on the blog and via email! I appreciate it!

Cute PJ Patterns

2011-01-05T09:22:00.002-05:00

I started browsing the new patterns and saw some cute pj patterns...for me! I really need some new ones. I don't think these will get bought or sewn any time soon (our Joann's is depleting inventory since it's moving soon so I'm not sure how their pattern stock is), but it's fun to look!

Butterick 4406:

Not sure about the high neck on it although I like the look of it.

A Connie Crawford pattern, Butterick 5434:

This looks like something you would feel comfortable wearing to answer the door!

Butterick 5571:

This looks very versatile to me, except for the robe. I can just imagine trying to cook all those wavy drapes that are down the front of it one morning!

McCall 6249:

I like the versatility of this one, too.

And zero Simplicity patterns because I hate looking at patterns on their web site!

2011 Sewing Goals

2011-01-01T13:00:00.007-05:00

Okay, I'll be brave and list my sewing goals for the new year. A little scary since I truly don't to jinx myself into getting none of them done by writing about them!

The list is really rather short since I don't have specific patterns or fabrics I want to sew. Well, that isn't entirely true! First, I want to use up fabrics I already have. Second, I want to see for me!!! That includes not just clothing, but home dec, too. The home dec stash takes up a lot of space and we really need draperies.

That really is a short list so I should be able to do something on it! Kinda wimpy, don't you think?

2010 Sewing Synopsis

2010-12-31T23:45:00.001-05:00

I've noticed that many bloggers give a summary of their year's sewing. Since this blog is supposed to be both an encouragement to me as well as a log of what I've done, I thought I'd do that, too.

For me, I think this has been a more prolific sewing year than sometimes. I've made 1 dress for oldest dd, 2 for youngest dd, and 3 for myself; a shirt for ds, 2 bias tops (love these!), pj bottoms galore, various and assorted cupcake pincushions, a couple of purses without a pattern, Christmas tree skirt, placemats, a few muslins (good thing for those since one was definitely a wadder!), a bra, and one pair of panties. Yes, that's pretty good.

Did I have favorites? Oh yes. Definitely. I LOVE my purple silk dupionni dress. I really like the floral dress--it is comfortable and cool. The bra--wow. So comfortable that more need to be a priority. Prettier ones though. Beige is boring! haha. I also love the Christmas dress for youngest dd.

Did I have non-favorites? After all the time and effort, it is hard to say that I hate them, but yes. I HATED this Vogue dress! It looks like I was wearing a sack (I don't think I ever posted a picture of me wearing this one.). And the elastic at the top! ICK! Many others made it and loved it. Oh well. I may recycle the fabric for this one. Surely I should be able to squeeze out a short sleeved or sleeveless top.

So, that is that! For the most part, I sewed successes. Plus, I learned quite a bit about fitting and zippers. Many thanks for all the tutorials other sewists have put on their blogs--such a help to learn about techniques or get reassurance.

Christmas Dress 2010

2010-12-30T11:19:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I forgot to add a link so you could see what a Mini Bow Tucks bag is. Shannon, of the blog MushyWear, kindly drew my attention to that so I went back and added the link. These purses are so much the rage in our area that I forgot that not everyone knows what they are! Even so, I have not made one yet, I just have the pattern ;)

Posts have been few and far between this month. I feel like a pharmacy--we have had so much illness I think all I've done is dispense medicines.

However, I did get the youngest dd's Christmas dress, McCall's 9534, which is out of print, completed.

You must pardon the pose and the tights! Apparently, she learned the pose from a fashion designer game. The tights were such a struggle to get on the right way this morning to wear with another dress there was no way she was changing them for the picture!

This dress really needed something to break up the plain white corduroy and the holly embroidery on the fabric. Once I had sewn the bodice to the skirt, I thought it looked a lot more like a nightgown than a dress! So I added the green sash and the beads to break up the white. I think it was pretty successful, don't you?

Here is the bead work in progress. Tiger tape was quite useful to mark the spacing for the beads!

The only things I changed were lengthening the skirt and omitting the facings. I bought some red Christmas fabric and made bias binding for the neckline, sleeves and hem. Since I used corduroy, I serged all the edges.

Super easy dress to make, except when you decide to add beads!

Sundays Are Hobby Days

2010-12-07T17:00:00.003-05:00

Not that long ago, we used to regularly spend our free time on Sundays engaged in hobbies. Sadly, we had gotten out of the habit and except for church, it was pretty much a day like any other. It's such a nice change of pace, a breather during the week, whatever you want to call it.

It also gives me a reason to make myself go sew. (Well, when everyone else doesn't decide to sew and hog the sewing room. sigh.)

This Sunday, oldest dd decided that she needed to sew. Here she is cutting out a Mini Bow Tucks purse:

I think she was amazed at how long it took her to cut it out which meant that she ran out of time to do any sewing on it. The blue, green and white fabric she chose is really pretty. I hope she gets it sewn soon because I think she will love it! It sure will look a lot better than the store bought ones that she has.

I have a couple of sets of fabric to make my own purse, maybe that will be my project for next Sunday!

Another PJ Set and a Proud Daughter!

2010-11-29T11:56:00.000-05:00

My youngest dd finished her pajama pants! I bought a plain, white t-shirt and she used some embroidery floss to weave through the picot edge at the top of the shirt to dress it up a little. I had her do the front only so the neck opening would still stretch! I'm not sure you can see the pink floss around the neck, but oh well! It's there!

Here she is:

I think she's very proud of her accomplishment! Since she's so young, we've tried to have very short sessions. I did any pressing like turning up the hem and making the casing for the elastic. Putting the elastic in the casing turned out to be difficult since the seams were pressed open, so I did that for her, too. But, otherwise she did all the work! She got a lot of practice maintaining the seam width while sewing and she got to use her 1/4" foot a bit.

PJ set complete!

2010-11-15T05:34:00.001-05:00

Okay, here is one set of completed pj's! The t-shirt is purchased and I added these bows that I had in the stash to the shirt and the pants. The white eyelet at the bottom of the pants is also stash since youngest dd is taller than I estimated. The pink polka dot fabric was a knit from my To Get Rid Of Pile at sewing guild (which obviously never happened) until it caught my eye for pj's!

The only exciting thing about construction for these is that I serged the waist elastic to the edge of the fabric, then turned it under and topstitched. It looks more RTW that way and it should keep the elastic from turning and twisting like it does when you make a casing.

Based on the squeals I heard, these are a hit!

Where Have I Been??

2010-11-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers,

Thank you to the people who still take the time to check this blog for posts! I appreciate it and the comments on my last post. Thank you!

When I started this blog, I wanted it as a record of what I sewed and as an incentive to sew more. Well, I have definitely accomplished the first but not so much the second! I'm sorry for the long break (saying that to myself, too!). That includes all the sewing blogs that I have not read--I've missed doing that!

Have I accomplished anything in the sewing world? Not a great deal personally, but rather a lot as a facilitator. Several months ago, our local sewing guild began a local community sewing project which I posted about here and here . I'm happy to report that we surpassed our goal of 500 blankets for the babies and children at our local hospital! That was really cool--and I think we will continue to get more. Those blankets have at various moments taken over my sewing room which thankfully didn't matter much due to the lack of sewing!

My youngest dd has sewed a small amount on her flannel pj bottoms. I finished one pair of knit pj bottoms and started on another pair. Not very exciting, but it is something. I'll see about posting pictures next post--which will be soon!

Future plans are to go slowly and finish sewing the last pair of pj pants. Then, it will be on to youngest dd's Christmas dress and binding the edges of the Christmas tree skirt. So much for the pink wool and the Dalmatian dress. My sewing room also needs some cleaning up partly due to all the blankets and partly due to grabbing and running then not putting things away! Oops!

So, what have I been doing since I haven't been sewing? The usual things that most people w/ kids do and some extras--some fun and some not so much. The girls participated in a fashion show (neat because the lady sews all the wedding and bridesmaids dresses herself--and designs them), toured a couple of colleges, watched lots of Lego robotics stuff, finished soccer season (yippee!), and gotten new stair treads (great now, not so great during the process since they can't be used for a day each time they get a coat of polyurethane!). Plus the very time consuming process of having temper tantrums so my dd and dh would work on dd's transcript stuff and my own diligent work (or not very diligent at times) on course descriptions to supplement the transcript. haha. Just proofreading all that is quite a bit of work....and left my eyes too tired to even think about reading sewing blogs so you know it was bad!

Onto the relaxing holidays! (Did I really say that??? Did I really mean that? NO.)

Sorry for the lack of pictures!

Some Placemats

2010-10-31T12:00:00.003-04:00

Life has been so busy lately (I know no one knows anything about such things, right?! haha!), that these are all that I've gotten sewn and only because it was a guild sew-in!

A top view of them on the table so you get the fresh flowers, too! I made black napkins with serged edges using glow-in-the-dark thread!

Pajamas Detour

2010-09-29T08:45:00.002-04:00

In this post about the Shop Hop, I mentioned buying some Beatrix Potter print flannel for youngest dd to make her first pair of pj pants. She's been sick and I thought it was a good time for me to cut them out so when she felt better they'd be ready to go! One thing led to another and I got out this pj pant and t-shirt (purchased) w/ an applique to compare sizes before I cut out the Beatrix Potter flannel:

Please notice (and feel free to rave about) the matching stripes. I hardly had any fabric (under a yard) to make these since it came out of the remnant bin at Joann's at dd's prompting. And, of course, the stripes HAD to match! Anyway, that was a project from January but still a good gauge to see if I needed to lengthen the pattern (I did!) or go up to the next size (I didn't).

Cut out and awaiting youngest dd's sewing...

While I had the pattern out, my glance fell to the stuff I was going to toss on the ASG sale table at our next meeting and then I'm dragging out a couple of other pieces for more pj's. So much for clearing out! Quick and easy projects though and the pj's are needed. This Simplicity pattern is getting a workout!

And, might I add, I now understand why everyone is complaining about blogger and pictures! This is a pain!

What's Next?

2010-09-19T12:33:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking really hard about my sewing queue. My needs and wants for myself are pretty straightforward. I need fall and winter tops and perhaps a dress or skirt. I want to make jeans, bras and panties. The wants will probably come before the needs for the odd reason that I want to make sure that I retain all the sewing information I got during ASG conference before I forget it all! Plus, I have the jeans muslin all prepared which saves some time and planning. I will need some bras soon, so I guess putting them higher in the queue isn't a bad thing.

Some other sewing that I ought to do is for the youngest dd. She needs fall and winter dresses and I have 3 pieces of fabric that need to be sewn for her. First, this Dalmatian smocking insert is ready to go (I won't discuss how long that's been ready!). This will make a great transition type dress from the hot to the cooler days. I've already posted pics of this, but here's one again:

Next, I have this really lovely piece of pink wool that I bought during last winter:

It was a kit type thing from http://www.sewitup.com/. I didn't feel like buying another pattern, so I'll use McCall 9534 which is OOP. The fabric is just wonderful feeling!I have some Bemburg lining for the inside so it will be soft against dd's skin! This should carry her through the winter.

And finally, a piece of corduroy for a Christmas dress. This one bothers me because I can't decide how I'd like it to be made. It has holly embroidered on it although it almost looks like a string of Christmas tree lights from this picture! At first, I'd thought about smocking an insert for it, but since the corduroy is white I don't want to use a white insert. So I think I'll make it easy on myself and just aim for a simple dress using the same McCall 9534 as for the pink wool one! It will look different with some green ribbon and red highlights which I can play with depending on what I find at the store.

Quite a number of years ago now, I used this same McCall pattern to make my oldest dd a dress. It has got to be the best multi-purpose dress I ever made! I used red polar fleece and its first purpose was for her to be a strawberry for Halloween. I used some long straight stitches on the front of the dress itself in a gold silk ribbon, just like those markings on the outside of strawberries! I attached some cheap, slippery, red lining fabric the entire length of the underarm so that when she held out her arms, it made the entire dress strawberry shaped! Some fabric paint for the gold markings on that carried on the markings appropriately. Then, to top it off, I made a red polar fleece hat with the green strawberry 'cap' on top. The silk ribbon was quick and easy to take out and since I had basted the underarm 'strawberry' on, that was quick to remove so she had a plain red winter dress!

The next year, she wanted to be a cardinal. Out came that red dress and I stitched giant red feathers onto it. Again, quick and easy to remove. Some red facepaint applied in a feathery fashion and a little yellow beak completed that look.

Wish I had some pictures to show you! I was thinking about when I had used that McCall pattern and then I remembered that it was for this multi-purpose dress so long ago!

Christmas Tree Skirt Complete!

2010-09-16T17:00:00.003-04:00

Well, the tree skirt is done! It needs to be taken to the quilter for assembling the layers and quilting them. I'll need to cut a hole for the tree and bind the edges when I get it back. Most people who participated in the sew-in for this projected left it whole because they hated to cut into it! I agree; it's pretty as is, but I do really want a tree skirt so I think I'll cut into mine when I get it back.

It's a great feeling to have finished something! It's a little wavy looking since I pinned it to the curtain to take the picture.

Here it is flat and folded in quarters:

Here ends my chapter (maybe it should my book!) in quilting!

Shop Hop

2010-09-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

I did my first ever Shop Hop over the weekend! Some very hard working ASG members put it together with 8 local shops ranging from home dec to sewing machines to quilting stores. It was fun to go to each store to see what they'd put together for the Hop. It was also fun to run into guild members at the stores. I know I really enjoyed all of it!

I bought 2 sets of fabrics for a placemat sew-in later this month, which are being processed in the washer :) One set is for Halloween, including some solid black to make napkins using glow in the dark thread on the edges! I bought a few patterns which I might either give away as gifts or sew up as gifts. I liked the tie pattern, shown on the left. It looked quick and easy. The middle Kwik Sew pattern looked like a good basic pattern. And the organizer on the right is something we can all use!

Here are some freebies given out by a couple of shops. The pattern on the left is for a Christmas tree skirt and the pumpkin fabric is a fat quarter.

I also bought yarn for the older kids to knit while we're reading aloud. I got a brown slightly fuzzy yarn for ds and a lavender silky soft bamboo blend for dd.

The youngest dd chose some Beatrix Potter flannel to make herself some pj bottoms. I think this will be a great project for her if I do the cutting out and pressing for her. This stuff shrank a LOT in the wash so I'm running it through again and hoping that we'll still have enough :(

Only one store had a make it and take it project. Who knew that a project could be sewn to completion in less than what? 3 minutes? Of course, the fabric was pre-cut, but still. It's a card holder made using the serger...and the strap across the front is elastic covered in heavy rayon thread using the serger (this was already done for us). I haven't pushed the corners out all the way yet!

Outside.

Inside.

Very Little Sewing...

2010-09-08T12:42:00.002-04:00

....as you can plainly see! I did take my Christmas Tree Skirt and got quite a bit done on it although it isn't finished yet.

It's nearly done, but sadly we've gotten caught up in school! Never again will we take a summer off--it is too hard to get started and it feels like there's no more time left over for me to sew!!! After watching youngest dd on the beach, it might be time to start sewing swimsuits. Getting them to stay on or up all the way seems impossible for store bought ones. Next year!

Youngest DD Sewing Update

2010-08-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

Youngest dd has progressed from sewing on paper without thread to sewing on muslin single layers to pinned double layers, removing the pins before she gets to them. She has been a steady worker and it has been just amazing at how quickly she's learned! Here she is working on a flannel bag for some of her little toys:

Stitching the seams.

Turning the bag right side out.

Kwik Sew 2100 or Unmentionables

2010-08-21T05:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I did it! I made my first ever pair of panties and I used up one kit I bought at conference! A good feeling all the way around. And, you know what? The panties actually look like regular store bought ones--I know, you'd think that would be obvious, but sometimes sewing can look not store bought and downright homemade.

I used Kwik Sew 2100 and made a size 6 in a bikini. That means that I'll be able to squeeze another pair of panties from the kit fabric, but I will need to purchase some more elastic. Here they are:

Just a quick run down on the sewing of these. I used the sewing machine and not the serger, practising using some of the stretch stitches on the machine. It seems like you can use pretty much whatever makes you happy and get good results.

As to the fit and all that, well, when I held them up I thought they looked huge! But once I completed the sewing, they looked a lot better and fit perfectly! Except for (you knew that had to be part of it!) the front leg and the back. I think the front leg opening needs to be raised--it looks funny when it's on me. The front waist and back waist of the panty are very different heights--the front sits perfectly for a bikini, but the back is really, really high. That would be perfect for a higher waisted panty, but not so much for these. And it just looks lopsided with the back so high and the front so low. I'll have to see about adjusting the pattern in my next pair. All in all, I'm really pleased with them! A quick and easy project for sure and one that I look forward to trying again...except for one problem. While I have 2 more undies kits, finding more will be a problem!

Purchases

2010-08-18T07:44:00.007-04:00

The temptation to go hog wild buying goodies at the ASG Conference Exhibit Hall was stopped with difficulty! I managed to come home with a small assortment of fabrics and a few tools.

First up, the fabrics:

From left to right, light blue cotton and silk (I think) blend, navy jacquard acetate slinky knit, aqua cotton oxford, blue and white cotton plaid, burgandy and silver cotton stripe.

Here's a closer pic of the slinky knit and cotton/silk(?) fabrics. I don't usually enjoy synthetics as much, but I loved the navy with the jacquard (not sure if that's the right term) pattern on this fabric. I got a little over 2 yards so it will be perfect for either a shirt or possibly a dress. The stripe is destined to be a blouse for me. I loved the little bit of shine the stripes had on the light blue.

I loved these two because I think both sides of the fabric are interesting and will sew up well using the wrong sides for details, like that blouse that was on the most recent issue of Threads magazine. Can you see how the checks on the blue look different depending on which side is up? And on the burgandy, the stripe is shiny on one side and matte on the other.

Finally, I have been looking at garment bags and just wanted something simple. I saw this and thought it looked easy and I loved the fabric! Wouldn't you know it? I got back home and went to one of our local shops and they had the same fabric! I don't think they had it before conference though or surely I would've noticed it??? Oh well! They didn't have the pattern though!

As for tools, I bought a pattern notcher, Japanese hand sewing needles (rather a big assortment and very expensive), a silicone thimble (I am thimble resistant so thought it was worth a try), a point presser, and a tracing wheel and paper. Nothing too exciting there, but they were things I can't find around here.

Any regrets? Only one--there was a piece of nifty silk in cool colors with a wide striped pattern with lots of details on it. Beautiful, very expensive, and I couldn't decide what to make if I bought it! So it stayed. Perhaps I should've bought it just to look at it!

Only one other thing comes to mind--while the exhibit hall was fantastic, I really want a one stop shopping source where I can find not just fashion fabrics, but the stuff that coordinates with them like linings and the little details that would add to the finished look of a garment (trims, neat zippers, etc). Perhaps a trip to New York needs to be put on the ol' wish list? Maybe one day...

Thanks to everyone who has commented on the ASG Conference posts. It was fabulous! I had great teachers with hands on activities (I am the type to get bored very quickly in a lecture only situation). I've come back home energized and inspired!

The American Sewing Guild Conference Day 4

2010-08-16T15:53:00.003-04:00

Finally, the last day! The time was both slow and fast at the conference. My last day was my only partial day class, a four hour morning class. I came out with a nearly completed bias blouse! I loved it! Here it is finished:

I had enough fabric left over to do this for the youngest dd:

I know, it loses something hanging on my hand!

Who knew that you could achieve such a great looking top in such a short time and without a pattern? I bought a kit from the instructor, Julianne Bramson, with the most fabulous rayon batik fabric. As you can see, it worked wonderfully for this project! Julianne specializes in bias clothing and has several patterns. You can check out her website, Fashion in Harmony, to see her patterns and fabrics. I wish I had a store close by that carried such great draping fabric!

Julianne had lots of samples of bias garments in class. She also taught how to modify the neckline and add a couple of different sleeve styles. So easy and such great results!

Next up, I'll be brave and show you some of the things I bought while at conference. In the meantime, I'm working hard on cleaning up my sewing space and rearranging it, too! Gotta have room for all the ideas running around in my head, plus I need to have space for the new purchases! Really, it's more like I've reached my clutter limit and can't take it any more!

The American Sewing Guild Conference Day 3

2010-08-15T14:15:00.000-04:00

My Saturday class turned out to be so relaxing! Who knew learning couture techniques to complete a little black dress would be like that? I had Susan Khalje and our class title was (obviously!) 'The Little Black Dress'. My readers already know from this post that I put all the stress and worry into the class beforehand because I wanted a perfect pattern! Really rather silly in some ways, but not so much in others.

Anyway, before class most of us had to see Susan to be fitted in our muslins that we'd made before the conference. She marks the adjustments on the muslin and then you take it off to save for class. She had two students who had not been fitted before so we got to watch that process in class. Interestingly, they were two of the more difficult ones with a lot of adjustments so that Susan had them incorporate those adjustments and try the muslins on again later for more fitting. It was a neat process to watch plus fun to see the patterns that others chose.

After watching the fittings, we worked on marking our changes to our own muslins on both sides and then making friends with our seam rippers to take them apart. The muslins are now our patterns and ready to go! Pretty neat.

Next, we worked on various hand stitches and talked about their usages. We also got to see samples of Susan's work--fun all by itself. It was cool to recognize various garments that I'd seen in Threads magazine. I am looking forward to trying a handpicked zipper--really easy, great control, and a potential decorative factor as well. I did mine on some very dark navy linen fabric with white thread, so I don't think a photo of it would show up very well except for the white stitches! But wouldn't that make a neat sailor type garment--dark navy with white thread topstitching?

Here are a couple of photos of a sample we made of fabric "sandwiches", fashion fabric, underlining, and lining:

This shows the prick stitck, used to keep the lining secure, and the fell stitch, done to join the lining to the fashion fabric and underlining at the neckline.

This shows the underlining basted to the fashion fabric and a catch stitch used as a hem.

We spent quite a bit of time talking about fabric layers and how you can achieve different effects based on what you use as an underlining. In the sample photos above, I used silk dupioni for the fashion fabric, silk organza for the underlining, and silk crepe de chine as the lining.

Playing with fabric and doing those handstitches is fun and relaxing!

The American Sewing Guild Conference Day 2

2010-08-14T18:30:00.000-04:00

My next class which was on Friday was a Jeans Muslin Workshop, another all day class, with Jennifer Stern Haseman of J. Stern Designs. Another wonderful day! I was the first one finished--not sure how that happened, but that's okay! It gave me time to shop in the exhibit hall where I went straight to Jennifer's booth to buy denim for my first pair of jeans. I'm still running it through the wash (she recommends 5 washings to get the dye out and allow it to finish its shrinking) but hope this will be a completed project soon so I can enjoy them this fall.

Here's the denim along with a Swarovski jean button--sorry, that is very hard to see in the photo!

Here's Jennifer's pattern for the jeans:

One of the first things we did was to take our hip measurements and then try on the jeans muslins that she had available in ALL sizes. She helped each of us individually look the muslins over and record changes. She had some wonderful handouts with step by step directions leading you through the changes, plus pointing out any other patterns pieces that would need adjusting if you changed one area. Very helpful. She had her muslin and I think these worksheets packaged to sell as kits at the conference.

Anyway, the muslins needed to be a snugger fit than the jeans will be--gotta say, I'm sure it works, but those muslins sure look awful and terribly unflattering on! Let no sag or bump go unnoticed and yes, I will spare you a picture of me (or anyone else!) in the jeans muslins! Here it is flat though:

Front

Back. The little rectangles of extra muslin are there to cover up my name which I wrote all over the muslin. Sure did not want to get my custom muslin confused with anyone else's!

Let's see if I can remember the adjustments we made:

-shorten the legs above the knee

-raise the waist 3"-4" (I'm not wearing low rise jeans!)

-add some room to the back because the side seam was pulling forward

-redraw the crotch curve (she automatically assumes that everyone needs to do this)

-add 1/4" to see seams for ease

In addition to her terrific directions and help in class, she has a blog J. Stern Designs blog that has additional information. Jennifer, just like all the other instructors at the conference, was very generous about telling people to email her with questions. She also had a khaki pants pattern that looked interesting and this really great looking blouse pattern with a peplum--those are so flattering on me. However, I figured I had more than enough fun stuff to keep me busy for awhile!

The American Sewing Guild Conference

2010-08-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

If you ever have the chance to go to the ASG conference, then go! I highly recommend it. I've been working on getting back to real life which is so hard because I want to go sew. sigh. I didn't take any pictures while I was there, but do have some of the things I worked on. I took four classes: Bra Making, Jeans Muslin Workshop, The Little Black Dress, and a Bias Top. The first three were all day classes, roughly from 8 to 5, with an hour lunch break. The last one was a half day class from 8 to 12.

First up, bra making with Anne St. Clair of Needle Nook Fabrics in Kansas. Each student needed to go in the night before to try on bra samples and be fitted in the correct size. That night, Anne and her wonderful staff cut out ALL of our patterns for us, including any adjustments Anne thought were necessary. When we went in the next morning, we got a little overview and general information about the process. We also got to see what fun you can have if you make your own bra--matching bra, shirt, and panties! How great is that??!

Our bras were plain Janes made in either beige or black. We cut out our fabrics and got to work. I gotta say that this class is pretty intense and busy, but there's plenty of help along the way. Seating is assigned so that you're sitting with other women who need similar adjustments. Anne, Janet and Grace continuously circulated around the room helping and teaching in small groups as each step came up. It was great! I came out with a finished bra, plus enough fabric and supplies to make two more.

Anne considers the first bra to be a wearable test muslin so you can wear it some to be sure that it feels comfortable and fits properly. I wore mine one day and it felt great, so I think I'm ready to enjoy some of the fun bra kits I bought! I would've worn it more, but let me just say that the machines for this class were just AWFUL. They are ASG owned machines which were used last year for this class (and didn't work great then either). I sewed on them the following two days, too. They were fine on the muslin and other fabrics but completely rotten on the stretchy silky bra knits. The stitching across the cup seam looked rather pointy, not a beautiful look under many tops! I had a sweater that worked fine as a test run, so I could at least give my new bra a try. Just great! I love it!

Since this has gotten so long, I think I will break the classes up into separate posts, so look for the other three classes later! Here are some pics:

This shows the bra making supplies on the left, the book by Anne St. Clair (provided for class use, optional to purchase which I did), and my pattern pieces.

Finished bra! I have extra padding in the right side to compensate for being a little lopsided. The kids always preferred nursing on the left....sigh.

I bought 3 matching bra and panty kits, plus a panty pattern. From the left, a light blue cotton knit, raspberry metallic cotton knit, and a shiny stretch on the right. Can't wait to get into these!

Simplicity 5364

2010-08-12T22:00:00.003-04:00

Today marks the due date for the Ugly Fabric Challenge issued by our local chapter of the American Sewing Guild. I originally posted about this in May here: Various and Assorted Catching Up. It seems like a long, long time ago now! Of course, I put it off until the last minute. Bad me. Once I adjusted to the color of the fabric, I knew it would be perfect for the guys in my life! They look good in browns so 2 pairs of pajamas pants it was! I used Simplicity 5364. All of one pattern piece required. Super easy, just matching the plaid took a bit of time, during the cutting out. Sewing was a breeze using the walking foot on my machine! It used up most of the fabric, too. Good feeling!

The only thing to note is that I put in elastic in the bottom of ds's pants so his can be longer since he keeps growing! Otherwise, no changes at all.

A brown or black t-shirt and this project is ready for the cold weather!

There were some really terrific projects tonight. People were very creative with their ugly fabrics!

DH Sewing Update

2010-08-04T19:13:00.002-04:00

I had hinted in earlier posts about dh's sewing projects, but haven't followed through on his completed projects. He went from this:

To this:

FOUR dogs beds, yes! Out of all that stuffing (that was photographed after stuffing one bed). The cut outs on the top are the fashion fabric covers for the beds.

To this:

Edited to add the pictures of the completed beds! Sorry, I forgot to put them in before posting!

And, finally, something completely different! Here's the apron made from some lovely cotton batik purchased at a local quilt shop. He modified the pattern, Simplicity 2824, to make it more substantial at the top by adding a backing/lining. Here's the final result:

Preparing for ASG Conference Class 'The Little Black Dress'

2010-07-31T10:24:00.000-04:00

Deadlines. It's a word I personally don't use much any more since I haven't worked outside the home in a long time. But, wow, this year is certainly a year for LOTS of deadlines and no matter how hard I try to stay on top of things, it still leaves me feeling slightly frantic (or should that be frenetic?).

One of those deadlines that's upcoming is preparing for the American Sewing Guild Conference! Very exciting since I'm sure I won't be going again any time soon. I chose mostly full day classes since I'd really like to expand my horizons and try things I've never done before...like jeans and bras. Blessedly, those classes have easy prep--show up with a few items for the most part.

The only class that has quite a bit of prep beforehand is The Little Black Dress with Susan Khalje. I'm really ~~anxious~~ excited about it! We had to choose a pattern for our dress--which I think has been the absolute hardest part! Pattern selection is usually kinda fun--all fantasy and imagination--which probably explains why I have more patterns than finished products from them! But choosing THE pattern for a LBD--well. I guess it's because I want it to be perfect since I know I will have Susan's help getting the muslin to fit just right and it will be a never again repeated opportunity.

So after much agonizing and pouring through the various pattern companies' websites plus the suggestions that Susan sent for patterns, I chose this Butterick 5459:

That would be View C, the middle picture, not the coat views! I wanted something classic, with a seam at the waist (so I might look like I have a waist), with the waist seam above the waist (so it might actually appear to be smaller), and some darts or princess seams for shaping, but nothing too complicated because then it runs the risk of being trendy. I also liked Butterick 5396 for all the same reasons I chose B5459, but it came down to a neckline thing--round neck or v-neck? Although, B5396 does have those nice princess seams in front and back...see? Who knows? I might still change my mind! Once my muslin is cut out and basted together, that will be IT! No more going back and forth since that muslin has to go to Atlanta with me!

See? Pattern agonizing is a ton of work. I'm not generally a waffle-y type of person, but this has been a major piece of indecision for me! Silly!

Even more silly since I know I'll have plenty of help--I've gotten wonderful, helpful emails from Susan (how does she have time?) about our prep for the class. And what I learn in fitting this dress, no matter which one it is, I can carry over to future dresses.

The Merry Christmas Tree Skirt

2010-07-30T21:55:00.001-04:00

I signed up for a one day sew-in class with our sewing guild. I've always wanted a Christmas tree skirt and I figured that having an all day class would help get one completed. Years and years ago, I started a candlewicked one. Remember that? Ecru on ecru, using pretty simple stuff like muslin for the fabric. Anyway, that's sat around as a work in progress but never completed. It's even survived a dog's gnawing.

A local lady designed the pattern you see above and instructed the class. I was a little worried at first since I've NEVER quilted or pieced anything! (Well, a little crazy patch for a pillow and that floral bag, does that count?) I went to one of our local quilt shops and got this:

I was truly thankful for the help I received in choosing the fabrics--who knew it was so complicated for quilting? Movement, no movement, sparkle, no sparkle (that one was easy! a little sparkle is good), thinking about pattern repeats and how it will look when cut....and the list could go on.

Class day came and it was great! (Minus the feeling of urgency for these other sewing project deadlines that are looming over my head! But once I started that evaporated quickly.) The instructor circulated around the room and I didn't have a bit of trouble with all those log cabin squares. I got 4 of the ivory/green combo totally completed:

And got the rest started. Those need to wait for some other project deadlines to be completed first, but I think it will be easy to pick up and start working again. I hope to be done by Christmas, too! Wouldn't that be great? Plus I got a name of a local lady who quilts these for $35! Seems like a bargain to me and I'll be paying someone else to do that part for sure!

The Purple Plum Scraps

2010-07-27T10:56:00.006-04:00

I left you last with a teaser picture of some of the remaining Purple Plum fabric. First, I made Simplicity 9958, a simple pair of boxer shorts for dh. They were quick and easy for the most part. I had to be careful because of the silk dupioni fabric--all that fraying! I didn't like the way the crotch seam came together which was a combination of the fabric, trying to make sure all the edges were finished to prevent fraying, and the fly opening transition into the CB seam. I've heard that Jalie and Kwik Sew have some good boxer shorts patterns, so next time I will try and locate one of those!

Next, my teaser picture showed the Purple Plum fabric being reworked to make a purse! I mostly made it up as I went along, but had googled free purse patterns and loosely followed Make a Pleated Pouch Bag by Threads Magazine. It's mostly a rectangle of fabric with the side seams sewn and boxed. I lined it which took care of finishing the top, added the ruffled which has raw edges, and added a snap inside of it.

That left me with next to nothing of the lovely Purple Plum fabric! Nice feeling. While I was on a roll making purses, I thought the floral dress made using McCall's 6123 needed a matching bag, too. So I made another one, but quilted it! I've never quilted anything before and I guess seeing so much quilted stuff around has rubbed off on me. haha On the small floral, I followed a white line stopping at each flower hoping that the flowers would stand out a little bit. I hardly had any of the large floral left, so I knew I couldn't use it as my main fabric. It didn't lend itself very well to my geometric, straightline quilting, so instead I tried to pick out white spaces in the flowers and along some of the greenery to quilt. I think the effect is rather dainty. If I'd had more time, a few beads would've been lovely on the large floral, too. No pattern, just sewed the side seams, boxed the bottom and thought it all out as I went along--took a little thought on how to attach the cover but it seemed to work!

A Teaser Picture

2010-07-24T12:01:00.003-04:00

Here's a teaser picture of a work in progress:

Not sure how well you can see it, but it has 3 sets of 3 pintucks and some swirly stitches from my sewing machine on each side of the pintuck groupings. More later on!

The Purple Plum -- Simplicity 2497

2010-07-23T14:00:00.000-04:00

It's done, it's done! And I'm excited beyond words about how well it turned out. I'm sure you've seen Simplicity 2497 on other blogs--I know it caught my eye.

The pattern was pretty easy--except for that darn ruffle! I went to extremes and did all the machine basting and handbasted it to the dress, then machine stitched it on. It meant I had a ton of basting to pick out, but I didn't want to worry about those ruffles shifting while machine stitching it onto the dress. There's nothing more annoying than having ruffle wrinkles! When I make it again (and I think I will! I can see it as the long version in red for Christmas!), I will pull out my ruffler foot and figure out the gathering ratio rather than going through all that machine basting. I'll confess I've used that ruffler foot a lot lately--I gathered the bottom of the top as well as the skirt on this dress. The ruffler was handy on McCall 6123, too. It provides nice stability, no gathers shifting up and down the gathering thread which I like.

Now that you've waded through that paragraph, here's the dress!

I don't think the camera does it justice. Plus I think it's picked up wrinkles where there aren't any--or maybe it's a poor pressing job. Anyway, it really is like a Purple Plum--it has that plum color about it but because of the mauve warp, it also has a little bit of the mauve highlight that plums have. Hence, I named it! haha! Some of the other bloggers named theirs, too. Kinda fun, don't you think? I had some fabric left, but you'll have to wait until a later post to see what became of it.

Alterations:

-Forward shoulder adjustment
-Slight round back adjustment (dart at shoulder seam)
-Dart at bust (the armhole was gaping and this seemed to fix it!)

Now, onto the real work! Give me a simple project and I do believe I know how to make extra work out of it!

Other pattern changes:

-FULLY lined!
-Topstitched neckline prior to putting on ruffle

That's right, I went nuts and fully lined the thing. That slowed me down quite a bit, but I was a little lazy and used my wavy rotary cutter on the seams to prevent fraying. The silk dupioni had all seams serged due to its fraying capabilities! That was the very first step after cutting it out. Anyway, it feels wonderful to have the Ambiance rayon lining against my skin so I think it was worthwhile.

No construction photos since I was a woman on a mission! Don't you love special occasions?

McCall's 6123 Completed!

2010-07-17T07:00:00.056-04:00

I am way behind in posting, but since it's mostly due to sewing that's a good thing! Here's the McCall 6123 made in quilting cottons:

I love it! It's a little brighter than I normally wear, but it's very cool and light feeling. Here are the alterations I made:

-added 5/8" to CF bodice as a full bust adjustment
-darts in the back bodice pieces in the waist since there was way too much fabric
-forward should adjustment

I think that's it on fit adjustments. They were pretty easy and now I am finally feeling like I know what I need to do to make a pattern fit me. Having said that, there was still room to take in the side seams, either a lot or a little depending on the wearing ease I wanted, particularly right under the arms. I've left it as is for the present because I don't want a form fitting dress for the hot summer! I might go back later and take in the side seam under the arm because that is big which you can see a little in the picture.

Other pattern changes:

-contrast strips sewn on differently
-bottom small floral for the back was cut as one piece, rather than with a center seam
-used flat construction rather than in the round
-fully lined in cotton batiste

For the contrast strips, the pattern direction you to press up 3/8" on one long side, then sew the other unfinished long side into the seam, topstitch and edgestitch. I hate measuring such long strips and burning my fingers while pressing them up. I'm not too keen on all that topstitching and edgestitching either, so I changed that part. Instead I checked the finished width on the contrast, doubled it, and added seam allowances and cut them out. Then I folded narrow sides in half, pressed them and stitched the raw edges directly into the seams, leaving the folded edge free like this:

I'm using the stick to hold up the folded edge here so you can see that it's not stitched down. Doubling the contrast adds a little more bulk to the seams, but I serged them all and they seem fine. Plus the trade off in a little bulk versus all that measuring, pressing and topstitching was worth it! I did topstitch above the contrast to anchor the serged seam which I'm not sure you can see well in the picture.
Now, for a little surprise! So my heirloom sewing skills wouldn't get rusty, I added this to the bottom of the lining:

It's a Swiss embroidery with entredeux on either side, attached on one side to the cotton batiste and to some French cotton lace on the other. Kinda fun and like a pretty slip underneath, isn't it?

I am very pleased w/ the dress--no hemming, either on the dress itself (the green contrast took care of that) or the lining (the mini fancy band). I've always dreaded zippers but had to install an invisible zipper for the first time last year. It wasn't as bad as I thought and now I think I love them! The internet really helps a lot! I looked up invisible zippers and am so grateful for the tutorials I've found in various places. I even got the back of this dress all matched up at the waist, using a technique I read about in a fairly recent Threads magazine issue:

And if you'll look below the waist, you'll see that I matched the pattern of the center back seam of the large floral all the way down to the small floral band at the bottom! The small floral band at the bottom was cut as one piece, rather than two. Not sure why now, but it made sense when I did it.

I have more projects to show, but that will have to wait until another time!

It came!

2010-07-06T17:00:00.001-04:00

Well, I am so excited that the fabrics I ordered for the Simplicity 2497 dress came AND that they're beautiful! Living in an area devoid of fabric shopping, except for quilt shops and Joann's, makes mail order the way to go...sorta. I mean, you really don't know what you're getting until you get it or want to buy a swatch (or get the swatch and the sale is over or get the swatch and the fabric is sold out!).

Anyway, I ordered from Vogue Fabrics this time. I seem to be trying out as many places as possible. I bought silk dupioni. It's called 'Risk' which is totally unhelpful. The web site says it is "...Woven with a mauve warp & a denim-blue weft." The picture looked good and it was a choice between this and another purpley looking one whose coordinating Ambiance lining seemed to be out of stock or an aqua (one of my favorite colors, but maybe a little too light and bright for evening wear--who am I kidding? It would not matter since I just ordered a deep lavender/periwinkle!)

I think this is darker in real life, but I really like it! yippee! And it is so much heavier than what I was seeing at Joann's. I almost broke down and bought one of their limited selection of silk dupioni--white, black, reddish, or brown. Glad I didn't. This is so much nicer and I have some nice Ambiance lining to coordinate.

I needed some rayon for one of the classes at the sewing guild's national conference, so I bought this:

I think it's darker than the picture, too. Even better though, I love it! I only need a little bit of it for the class and I can see a blouse or casual shirt using the rest of it. Good weight and very soft! $2.99/yard which made it even better!

The quest for fabric for Simplicity 2497 is over, so I had best finish up the floral A-line dress, McCall 6123, so I can get busy on that great silk!

McCall's 6123

2010-07-03T16:00:00.002-04:00

While I'm waiting for the fabric for Simplicity 2497, I decided to go on and start McCall's 6123. I already had the fashion fabric for it:

Pardon the wrinkles, that's the next step! The picture doesn't have the colors quite right either. These are quilting cottons from one of our local quilt shops, about the only fabric shopping left in my area besides Joann's. I'm making View D, the dress in the center right. Here's the pattern:

I decided to tissue fit this one. Pretty straightforward adjustments: adding 1/2" to the center front when it's cut on the fold rather than a FBA (per the pattern since the center is gathered), a dart in each side of the back bodice at the waist (there was a ton of fabric back there!), and a slight straightening of the CB curve in the bodice. That last was causing the neckline to gap slightly away from the back of my neck and since I don't usually need a high round back adjustment, this should work. That center back seam was really curved. I didn't need a forward shoulder adjustment though according to the tissue fit and once I basted the seams and tried it on, yes, I did need that. So, I'll try and adjust that as much as possible w/ the seam allowance I have. In any event, it will fit a lot better than RTW! Adding that extra 1/2" to the CF and with all those gathers looks like an extra boob...I'm hoping the weight of the skirt plus lining the bodice will help that since it's certainly very undesirable!

Small Update

2010-07-01T19:26:00.000-04:00

First, our local sewing guild's blanket community service project, has resulted in almost 200 hundred completed blankets, with another bunch cut out and ready to finish so we're nearly halfway to the goal of 500. Here are some finished blankets from the sew-in:

I think youngest dd takes pretty good pictures considering her age and that she had never taken a picture before! She came and helped, doing odds and ends like picking up scraps from cutting and folding completed blankets. Oldest dd helped as well, working mostly at cutting out blankets--lots of them. She also got to use a serger for the first time! Fun!

DH has enjoyed the new sewing machine and has already completed an apron for himself on it. I'll have to get a picture of him wearing it. He's also stitched up a dog bed, but still needs to do the cover for it. One of us had to do something with the enormous bag of stuffing we bought!

And there was MORE! This is after stuffing one rather large dog bed! It's really soft and fluffy, not like regular polyfill. We should get a few more dogs beds out of it, don't you think? This picture really doesn't do the bag size justice!

Dress #2, but not Plan B

2010-06-21T08:28:00.000-04:00

I've been hard at work over the weekend on my second dress muslin. It struck my eye as soon as I saw other bloggers making it up. It was a little bit different because of the neck ruffle and I loved the fabric that everyone used--silk dupionni! I don't really know why I love the stuff, but I do. It can be aggravating to work on because it ravels like crazy, but I love the crispness, the slubs and the colors! The first time I used it was a long time ago to make ds's christening gown. How many opportunities do you get to really dress up a son? That was my only one so he got a really long silk dupioni gown with quite a bit of hand embroidery using silk floss which was wonderful, too!

But, I digress. It will be no surprise that I'm using the Simplicity 2497 Cynthia Rowley pattern for my second dress. The fabric for it hasn't been ordered yet. After my last pattern flop, I wanted to make sure I liked this pattern!

I really wanted to make 2 dressy dresses for the occasional special occasion so I'm relieved at least one of my choices worked. Finding a replacement for Vogue 7642 (out of print) has proved challenging though. There were a few other Vogue patterns that I liked, but probably not enough to rush out and buy them and make them up. Besides, most of them seem to have millions of pattern pieces and I just don't feel like fiddling with that many pieces! Some of the Marfy patterns look interesting, but they are expensive! It's hard to justify that much money for something I'll make only once. Here are a couple of the Vogue patterns I like, but since they have lots of pieces I'll pass on them.

Vogue 1152 and Vogue 1157

Besides, I think those are for the younger set! Another eye-catching option was this one:

Vogue 1162

The neckline and shoulders really make this dress, don't you think? But while I could find the dress fabric, finding a matching fabric for the contrast flower thingys would be tough.

Not nearly as eye catching, but very pretty, were these two:

Vogue 1182

Vogue 1108

Patterns from the other major pattern companies didn't strike my eye either. The small independent pattern companies seem to do mostly casual wear, which makes sense. And, so far, my new Burda Style magazine has left me unimpressed and uninspired. I've only gotten one issue so far, so maybe there's still hope. In the meantime, I'm still looking for Plan B so I can use all that wonderful silk crepe I bought!

"Make Your Own Dress Patterns"

2010-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Fascinating book. It's by Adele P. Margolis. I'm not entirely sure why I bought it--I think I read about it somewhere (a blog? It must've been) and thought I'd give it a try. It has lots of detailed sketches and tons of inspiration. Even though it was published in the mid 1980's, you can really see lots of current trends in the book. Nothing new was not old first? Looking through it fits (haha) into my thoughts of working on a sloper bodice for myself. That won't happen any time soon given the queue of projects waiting to be worked on. Still working on my muslin for my current project, but it's fun to have mini-breaks and read a little in a sewing book.

Let' see if I can find a picture of the book cover:

Vogue 7642 muslin

2010-06-16T12:41:00.001-04:00

Ick. The muslin is done, tried on and photographed. And it's icky. Don't you like my highly technical term? Here it is:

Maybe it's just me, but it's hard to get pictures where I want them in blogger. Anyway, ignoring the really ugly fabric combo and the fit issues, it looks like I have a padded upper torso in the front. Not flattering at all. And my fashion fabric is thicker than my muslin which is only going to exacerbate the look. The fit issues I think I could handle. First, there's a big flappy gap of fabric around the armhole which can best be seen in the back view. It also looks like a bit of a swayback adjustment is needed. The whole thing looks like it needs to be hiked up a couple of inches which is most noticeable around the waist. The side view is the most flattering and that isn't saying a whole lot. sigh.

During construction, I like to read through or skim directions and follow (or not). I had to actually read these carefully to figure out construction on the whole front. It did come together just fine, but I think the directions omitted some things like snipping to dots in order to do corners and some other finagling they had you do with attaching the lining.

I guess I should've known as I sewed along that the front was going to be bulky even if I used some lighter weight fabric as contrast it's still 4 layers... And then it just looks awful on me. A good thing for muslins, right? Now for Plan B. If only I had one...

I'll have to pull a Winnie the Pooh and put on my thinking cap on a Plan B using my nice silk crepe. In the meantime, I have a second dress I'd already planned to make. It's gotten great reviews about its ease of construction and flattering fit. More on that later.

Edited to add: Even dh said very carefully, "It makes you look...broad."

Vogue 7642

2010-06-15T12:01:00.003-04:00

Here's the next project! A muslin is in the works...I just hope it does work! Adjustments will be pretty difficult given the pattern pieces, so we'll see how many changes need to be made. The front collars (not the one around the back of the neck) is all one piece with the front which makes for a very odd looking pattern piece. Vogue 7642 is an out of print pattern, so I wasn't able to look at other people's experiences with it.

I'm in love with the fabric I bought for it, too. I bought some luscious silk crepe from NY Fashion Center Fabrics. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes. Where else can you find such a nice silk, plus coordinating lining? I'll confess as I've moved my thinking to sewing for myself (or oldest dd), I want to be able to have access to not just nice fabrics, but also coordinated linings, buttons, zippers, etc. Being able to see and touch what I buy is important but impossible given our location--ah, the envy for those who live in fabric shopping havens!

As a side note, I am delighted to be able to use up some very old stash for the muslin--a challis of unknown content from Piece Goods! That's old! Remember those fabric stores?!

And, if this test muslin doesn't work, there's always Plan B! (Whatever that is....let's hope it doesn't come to that!)

Vintage Sewing Feet

2010-06-14T14:00:00.005-04:00

Who hasn't been delving in closets and drawers to see what vintage sewing machine feet they have after Threads magazine's latest issue #149? That article on vintage feet is great! I have an old Singer sewing machine that was my grandmother's. These are the feet that she had. It seems like I have the edge stitcher and the adjustable hemmer. The big foot in the middle back looks a lot like my ruffler for my Bernina, but definitely isn't a tucker--what a shame! The foot on the right is for attaching bias trim. In the very back, I think I stuck a zipper foot.

Perhaps some day, I'll get out that ol' Singer (which I had cleaned awhile back!) and give 'em a try!

What's Up

2010-06-13T18:28:00.000-04:00

Despite the lack of sewing blogging, I have been doing some sewing! I made the new Irby pattern by Sara Norris:

I know it's too big, but I like to aim for the future just in case time runs out and I don't finish in time for the current season. You can find the pattern here: Sara Norris Ltd.

I also made a big effort to clean up the ol' sewing room. It still needs more, but more projects call! Plus I added this new little addition:

Okay, it's really a shared machine for youngest dd and dh...and myself so I can tote something lighter to the occasional class. Can you believe dh can sew? It's been awhile for him, but the cord and accelerator (I know it isn't called that, but who doesn't think of it that way?) needed a bag so he whipped this up today:

Isn't it cute? Polar fleece on sale at Joann's, just bought today!

And, finally, the Leaning Tower:

I'm in charge of a charitable sewing project for our local chapter of ASG. We're going to make baby/children blankets for patients at the hospital. This is just some of the fabric we've had donated. Our goal is 500 blankets! Can we do it? Yes, we can! We've already had 35 completed blankets donated. The project runs through the end of the year. I think we've got a good shot at meeting (or exceeding!) the goal. People are very generous--and it's amazing what you can do with small pieces of flannel or fleece.

Dalmatian Data

2010-05-31T05:31:00.001-04:00

It must be time to talk about the Dalmatians. The real ones, I mean, not the smocked ones! They are a large part of our lives (but please don't make them a part of yours until you really and truly know all there is to know about them--they aren't for everyone despite how cute the movies make them look.). We've had a Dalmatian(s) for a whole lotta years. Our first one was a true classic and exhibited all the traits of the breed--major extrovert, clown, good with kids, dedicated to the whole family, and just generally a real gem. She took her "job" seriously and let any and everyone know that she was there (a good thing when you're home alone!). In case you missed what I mean, she barked and meant it! Or everyone thought she meant something by it because she could look fierce but wasn't. She loved everyone (except one person and I don't think he has turned out well. She was a good judge of character!).

And in case you wondered why I named the blog as I did, you can probably figure it out now...plus they are ALWAYS under my feet when I sew! Here's a spot!

What a Day

2010-05-28T10:22:00.000-04:00

Due to various and assorted Real Life Stuff, sewing certainly hasn't been happening at the rate I'd like. So, today I thought I'd finish priming the foyer w/ help from ds. That certainly did not go as I'd like either. Paint, paint everywhere but NOT on the walls!!!!!!!!!! arrrggghh! We're still recovering and recuperating from that fiasco and it's not even mid-morning yet. sigh.

Ds was helping w/ some brush work and he chose working near the ceiling. Doing a good job, too. And he's plenty old enough to be doing a good job though I don't think he's done much brush work. Anyway, first he steps in wet paint (just don't ask!) and has zero idea why he then needs to remove his shoes. Okay, all cleaned up and back at it. Then, oops, pain all down the air return register...this is primer and WHITE....the air register is brown and the wood floor around it is brown, too. (And, yes, before you ask, we were using drop cloths, but due to a brain malfunction he did not cover the air return????) Okay, clean up again. I can live with that, but NOT why do we need to make sure the white paint is cleaned up out of the air vent and off the grate?????? Hello in there???!!! Is this a boy thing???

Well, he feels really bad about all the paint mess. I just feel frustrated! (And am truly enjoying the extra kitchen cleaning he did to make me feel better while I took a shower.) How can it not be obvious that you can't or shouldn't leave the white paint all over those little open rectangles on the air vent? It's not like we can go to the hardware store and get another since it's an older home and the sizes have changed--I think. They are certainly flimsier and with all the traffic in that area that wouldn't work well either. And we're sure as heck not going to replace the duct work!!!! But, we're all cleaned up now and I think we're done with painting for the day. How about some sewing instead?

Various and Assorted Catching Up

2010-05-18T16:37:00.000-04:00

I have several pictures this time. First, let me apoligize for the poor picture quality. I seem to take better pictures using ds's camera, but I know he is tired of having me ask to use it all the time. Dh generously loaned me his, but the user obviously needs more practice:( Sorry! Here goes!

My son finally finished his scarf he began this winter! He would've been finished much sooner if I could've found my crochet hooks. Where did they go??? Here it is--didn't he do a great job?

Here is Vogue 1091 all completed! Well, not quite. I took this before hemming. I'll see about posting some construction info later this week.

And here are some challenges. sigh. Really, what was I thinking when I decided an Ugly Fabric Challenge for our sewing guild would be fun??? Here is my challenging fabric:

And here is what my dd got:

Overall, I think I can deal with mine (and am secretly glad I didn't get something shiny and shifty!). I got 3 yards of a very fluffy flannel that's 60" wide. Our challenge results have to be completed by our August meeting. The colors are definitely not me, but they would work up well for the guys in the family. Matching shirts? Pj bottoms? Those are my first thoughts and this flannel is just so soft and fluffy after washing I think I'll have to do one of those for sure! Plus, there's a lot of fabric so I want to use it up! I still can't believe how soft and fluffy it is! I wonder where you'd find more?

Final on the Cupcakes

2010-05-17T16:23:00.001-04:00

I promise not to bore you (or me) with any more cupcakes. Here are all the ones I've made for the class I'm teaching. Three of them I embellished with beads. Sorry for the poor picture quality. Dd beaded a flower for the pink topped one and I added some individual beads to highlight the confetti on top. The dark brown and teal cupcake has some gold beads to highlight the metallic flowers, but I only did a little as decoration since I also want to be able to use it and not worry about where I put the pins! The lavender cupcake has a pink beaded swirl which is supposed to mimic the candy that's on the fabric.

I almost forgot to add that they have 3 fillings: sand (2 of them have this), crushed walnut shells, and emery. The emery one is the heaviest and the walnut shells are the lightest!

Planning and Vogue 1091

2010-05-14T13:27:00.000-04:00

I have actually finished Vogue 1091! No pics yet though. My camera and I don't seem to get along of late and borrowing one can be a challenge. Perhaps this weekend I can do photos. I knew this dress would be loose fitting, but not as loose fitting as it turned out! Wow. The love is just not happening. It will be cool for summer--great for throwing on after a day at the beach or something like that. Maybe I'll put even a little beach-type embroidery on one side of the bottom. The elastic at the top on both the back and front pulls away from my body a little bit, too. sigh. Well, a cool beach dress is fine and not a lot invested in it since I'm still experimenting and learning about knits!

However! The Little Hunting Creek blog had a post last week about menu planning and sewing planning. What an aha! moment for me. Coincidentally, I was preparing my own menus for the upcoming seven days when I read this post. It is exactly how I do my planning for meals and it made perfect sense that I should be planning my sewing that way as well. I guess since I have not sewn for myself in years I had not thought about planning my sewing to fulfill needs and wardrobe gaps.

I have several little girl garments to work on for now, but I think you'll be reading more about my plans for my sewing for me! I have some serious fabric gaps since I am mostly stocked with fabric more suitable for children's wear. Pattern choices seem to be okay, but I'll definitely need to look them over and decide if they will help wardrobe planning. It sounds like the closet needs to be tackled and cleaned out first! Lists to be made, cleaning to be done! This might be fun!

Yet Another Project

2010-05-04T22:04:00.001-04:00

Yes, another project! No, I can't seem to finish them....but they will get there eventually. First, I wanted to post about a big project that is exciting, but nerve wracking, too. Oldest dd is taking the AP Calculus exam (BC for those who know there are 2 versions!) tomorrow. We're so proud of her just for taking the exam and at such a young age (I'm sure there are younger, but most kids are seniors). I know she will do her very best, is well prepared, and can't wait for it to be over and done!

In other news, I heard from Burda Style about my subscription. They do handle it a little oddly via their website and from the comments I've gotten about it (thank you!) I should've gone through Sew Baby or Amazon. Oh well, that's okay, this works too! I heard from their distributor(??) in the States via email to tell me I would get a sample of the magazine followed by a bill.

Some small bits of sewing being done on Vogue 1091 which is all I've had time to do. A seam or two each day and it will be done...eventually! Now if only I had the correct size of elastic...

And here's a teaser picture of yet another project I've begun:

Well, durn! The lighting on this picture is just awful. I'll have to try again and post it later! Sorry!

Edited to add picture:

A Real Cupcake

2010-05-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

Real ones! Much better than sewn ones! Yum. Caramel Cupcakes with Butterscotch Frosting. Fine Cooking magazine (used to be my favorite-not so much any more).

Obviously, sewing time has been short but I've found time to make these! I did get a sleeve seam sewn today so that's something!

Burda Style

2010-05-02T12:19:00.000-04:00

Finally, after reading about how much everyone loves Burda, I decided to subscribe! A nice treat...but how much is it??? I went to the web site and figured that that would come up somewhere along the way, but no. I can't find it on their web site anywhere! Can anyone help me out on that? I know it depends on the exchange rate. Thanks!

Vogue 1091--progress

2010-04-27T14:54:00.001-04:00

I was excited to get my dress cut out yesterday and unexcited that I'm having a Serger Threading Challenge. haha Well, I hope a little break will solve that and then I can start stitching!

Cupcake Pincushions Prep for Class

2010-04-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

Here's an assortment waiting to be stitched up and filled. The pink topped one is awaiting its filling. It just got a little makeup with some beads which I have not photographed yet. My camera is doing seriously weird things--the view screen will show waves of color. Wacking it a few times seems to help, but now other color is not photographing well particulary white.

I have cut out extra pieces so that I can demonstrate as the class progresses. I'm also making 3 to fill with 3 different fillings so I can try them out. The lavendar one above is already done and has crushed walnut shells. The pink one I will fill with sand and I will fill one of the brown ones with emery since it is really dark colored. Sorry, the brown fabrics have not photographed well. They're actually rather pretty and have some gold metallic which is attractive with the greeny color.

Up next will be some photos of the other two finished cupcakes and hopefully some progress on the knit dress a few posts back!

Snoop Shopping

2010-04-22T08:16:00.001-04:00

Perhaps I should say 'Idea Shopping' rather than 'Snoop Shopping' because somehow the latter sounds illegal to me at the moment. Anyway, in shopping at our local mall, I went into the Ann Taylor Loft store and immediately saw a couple of dresses that I liked. I tried them on and still really liked them, or should I say the idea of them!

Wish I could get these pics the same size, but I can't! Anyway, I just liked the wrap dress a lot. It's made out of a lightweight cotton and was more flattering that I thought it'd be--except for the gaping neckline when I tried it on! So, yes, I need to look for a pattern like this! The next dress was a super soft knit and I loved the navy color and the bling at the neckline. That was probably my favorite of the two. The back was deeply scooped and had a wide grosgrain ribbon tie. Kinda neat and different but not very practical if you want to wear a bra!

When I started blogging, I wanted to mostly be able to see what I'd planned and what I'd done. I know I always have more ideas running around in my head than I'll ever have time to make. I also thought this might be good stash control:) However, I've had some other good insights from this. First, wait until your brain is awake before typing so you can spell! haha! Second, most of the blogs I enjoy reading are about the clothes the blogger sews for herself--the fitting, the frustration, the happiness, and the success. So I think I need to work more in that direction and see what happens! I like to sew for the kids, but since I got into smocking many years ago, I have a tendency to want to decorate everything in some way with some form of embroidery! That takes me forever sometimes, but at least if I'm sewing for myself I won't have outgrown it by the time it's finished! The final insight is to stop making little stuff! In many ways, it is nice to complete a project in a short amount of time. But the flip side to it is that it does not necessarily fulfill a need either to create or to wear!

That's it for the morning philosophy!

Back to Sewing

2010-04-20T07:52:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else subscribe to swatch services? I've gotten swatches from Gorgeous Fabrics, Emmaonesock, and Sawyer Brook (and, no, this isn't an ad! No affiliation, etc.). It is exciting to be able to see the real fabrics rather than the view on the computer screen...and to be able to touch them! It is equally exciting to have other choices available rather than the rapidly deteriorating big box fabric/craft store. I won't even go into what dh calls it! But he is right--it is a scary place.

Anyway, I have been enjoying getting regular swatches via Sawyer Brook (sure beats the bills and junk you usually get in the mail). The most recent mailing has some very appealing fabrics and I think I might finally spend some of my Christmas money! Loved the turquoise grouping--a floral or two and this neat woven silk with a ribbed texture. Don't know what I'd do with any of it, but it's fun to look and plan!

Now, back to cupcakes! I have to sew more Cupcake Pincushions as samples for the class next month.

The Award Passed On...

2010-04-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, here goes! I enjoy reading LOTS of blogs. I haven't been blogging for very long but I can say that it is hard to choose! I think I will do what Julia (see previous post) did for me--pass it on to others who don't have many followers present because they are new(ish) bloggers. I know I *love* getting comments (and followers! Thank you for reading and participating.) But, I also blog primarily as a record and memory of my work. I keep hoping I'm more prolific than I am! haha! Onto the award and in no particular order:

Cindi's sewing--Great blog, dedicated sewist! Interesting assortment of projects!

made by meli88a--Lots of variety and besides, who doesn't want to make her own jeans??!

little el--Fluchtasche. Gotta love it! Read the blog to find out what 'fluchtasche' means!

MushyWear--Ah! To just be there! Sewing by salt water...and such lovely things, for kids and self!

SlipStitches--Great ideas recently for recycling/repurposing clothes!

Thank you for feeding my sewing passion! I hope you like getting this award and will pass it on to 5 other bloggers! Here it is! The Premio Amigo Artisano Award!

An Award!

2010-04-19T13:13:00.000-04:00

I got this last week, but have not had time to post it!

Julie, from http://juliassewsweetandspecial.blogspot.com/ gave it to me! Thanks so much! I will have to post some pictures soon of my smocking since she so generously mentioned it. I haven't done that much of it to post on the blog yet, so I will pull out some dresses from the past.

Now I am supposed to pass it along to 5 other bloggers. Remember, I'm still new at the blogging thing--can I just choose anyone at all? Or are there rules about that? Don't want to offend anyone! So as soon as someone can help me out with my question, I'll be happy to pass the award along! Thanks!

Idea on Knit Dress

2010-04-14T12:13:00.000-04:00

I am waiting on the knit fabric that I bought yesterday to dry...and I'm going to wash it yet another time or two and let it air dry to make sure it won't shrink! I think my new t-shirt shrank a little and I'd prewashed, line dried it. Oh well, it did look cute w/ a white tank undernearth which is how I planned to wear it anyway!

It is dangerous to make me wait too long since I was all ready to go on the Vogue 1091 pattern. I get ideas! First, I checked out all the reviews and blogs to see what other people said (did I mention I also over-research, too?). Then I got to thinking... Several people had commented that it needed a print and I bought a solid. I'm not a print kinda gal except on occasion, plus there weren't any at all at the store yesterday that were likeable:( One thing that I really liked about the pattern was the gathering at the top and then I thought it reminds me of pencil pleated draperies or smocking! Perhaps I will try to do a little smocking like you would do on a drapery or just even sew a bead on top of each of the gathers to draw them up more distinctly almost like smocking a beaded dress, but not having the embroidery show just a small bead. That would involve a little extra work (like measuring and getting that gathering to be even once the elastic is in), but give some simple, interesting detail. What do you think? I might not have explained well, but I'd love to hear any thoughts on that!