Vogue 8597: Green Wool Jersey Top

I finally had a little time in my sewing room this week. The show I’m co-directing at the theater (Best Christmas Pageant Ever) opened last Friday night so I’ve had some time to breath. I’m happy to say that the show is going great! It has been an interesting experience to be on the other side of the foot-lights this time. I think we did a fabulous job casting this show and I couldn’t be prouder of how great the cast and crew are doing.

Back to the sewing. About a month ago I opened one of the many sale emails I get from Fabric.com and for some reason went to check out the sale items. I picked up 2 yds of this dark green wool jersey and some bright turquoise ITY. I’ve been in need of some warm tops to wear to work. I discovered that many of the tops I made later this summer and early fall have wide open necklines. That is a problem on two counts; one, some of them are too revealing and two, my neck gets cold! I’ve knit so many little shawls and scarves one would think I’d have an entire wardrobe of neck-warmers and I do in a way but I find shawls too fiddly for work. I cut a lot of fabric with rotary cutters, all I need is for my shawl to fall off at just the wrong moment and get cut in half by my speedy rotary slicing.

Enter Vogue 8597. I don’t remember when I bought this pattern, probably last spring sometime. Things I liked about this pattern:

• Raglan sleeves: easier to sew and comfortable range of motion.
• High cowl neck: doesn’t droop down too low and offer a boob flash when I bend over and covers the back of my neck.
• Optional tunic length: I chose the longer length in this version because I had enough fabric and I thought it would be warmer. I discovered that it would be very easy to add a few more inches and make a nice dress with this pattern and a similar fabric.

I made the size 20 and sewed it straight from the pattern with no alterations. It fits just about perfect. I love when that happens! I’ve worn it twice now, once to the girls’ holiday concert and once to work. It was perfect! It was comfortable, kept my neck warm, wasn’t too hot for when I was moving around at work, cowl didn’t gap or shift or need any fussing with all day. This is a case of perfect match of fabric to pattern. The jersey is 100% merino wool so I will have to be sure I don’t accidentally throw it in the regular laundry. Yesterday I paired it with my perfect fitting Mimosa pants and felt like a million bucks.

Today I’m taking Em to get her braces removed! Then I have sewing for other people to get started. Did someone also mention that Christmas was coming soon? Maybe I’ll get started on preparing for that too…

Win some. Lose some.

I got most of another outfit made this week. I purchased this fabric back in April when I made a trip into the city with my sister to Vogue and Fishman’s Fabrics I knew all along I wanted to make a Chanel style jacket out of the paisley brocade and slacks out of the wool twill. I also purchased a plum wool challis for a blouse but I’m still trying to decide what pattern or style I want to use that for to complete the outfit.

The Pants: Winning!

I used what I think now has become my tried-and-true pants pattern: Project Sewing Workshop Mimosa Pants. This time I made the XL instead of the XXL and the fit was perfect, even though my measurements would indicate that I needed the XXL. But the last time I made them they needed 1 inch plus seam allowances and were still quite roomy on me. This time I was using a wool/lycra blend and knew that they would stretch so I could go more fitted. This is still a really loose fit style with very wide straight legs. The construction of this pattern is so fast and easy. No pockets, invisible zipper in the side seam and a very simple faced waistband. I considered lining this pair because the last ones were a little scratchy but I didn’t really have a lining fabric that matched so I decided to just go for it without the lining. I hope as winter progresses I won’t regret this. These are definitely a winner. I will get a lot of wear out of them for work and any time I want to look pulled together and still be comfortable. I now feel confident enough with this pattern and sizing that I’m going to splurge on some of the Mark Jacobs wool we have at work to make some more versions of this in other colors.

The Jacket: Fail

I loved this fabric from the moment I saw it. I kept it safely tucked away on my stash shelf all summer waiting to take my time and make a perfect jacket for cold days at work. I haven’t made a lined jacket in decades. I thought I had sufficiently conquered all my fitting demons and was ready for the challenge. I plunged in with all my presser feet and went for it. Over all the construction and look of the jacket is fine. It is a wearable garment. But it doesn’t fit as well as I’d like. I used Kwik Sew 3258 View A without the zipper. I made the Large because judging from the pattern measurements the XL would be too big across the shoulders. Wrong! I also made the mistake of not reading my instructions close enough and I cut on the front line for the view with the zipper, thus eliminating about 2” along the center front. It under no circumstances will meet at the bottom across my high-waist/hips. It barely meets across my boobs. Once it was fully lined the shoulders and underarms feel tight. If I lost 10-15” it would probably be fine but I don’t see that happening this fall. (Plus then my perfect new pants would be too big!) I didn’t decide to bag my lining until the last minute so it isn’t as perfect as I’d like it to be, just some minor construction details that I screwed up. I lined it with a bright purple Ambience lining that I thought would be fun but now I realize that if it shows at all it is really garish and looks horrible with the plum challis that I have planned for the blouse. Overall it wasn’t a total loss. It is still a wearable garment, just not as comfortable and well-fitted as I’d like. I also learned (or relearned) a number of things that I can use the next time I want to make this jacket. I’m still not giving up on my Chanel dreams. Next time I’m going to go with a more traditional tweed or boucle. I saw one at Joann’s that I loved the colors but know that the fabric is cheap acrylic. It might serve as a good guinea pig fabric to get the sizing on this pattern down better. Oh, but I cut my pattern instead of tracing. I ALWAYS trace my patterns, but I was cocky and said to myself, “I got this” and cut away. Good thing I have at least two other versions of the Chanel jacket in my pattern stash! I’m also not heartbroken over the “waste” of well loved fabric. Now that I have it sewn up into a jacket I see the drapery/upholstery look it has and I’m not sure I love it as much as I did when I bought it. I love the colors but it may just be a little too “Grandma’s Parlor”. What do you think?

The Blouse: Undecided

You can see the challis I have for a blouse draped over Minerva in the top picture. It is a woven so all of my new favorite knit top patterns are out of the running. I think with this jacket style it needs to have a fairly plain and high neck-line. Or should I try a flounce or bow? I see the “pussy bow” blouse is coming back in a big way. Would that take me straight to Golden Girls territory? Maybe I just get a plain black crew neck or turtle neck and use the plum challis for something else.

For now I think I’ll see if I still have a nice black turtleneck in my closet and hope for cold weather some day this week so I can wear this new outfit to work. Unless of course I decide I just can’t live with the jacket the way it is and go in and open up the back seam a little to add some more wearing ease. I really should. I could probably even do it without having to removed the lining. Hmmmm, thoughts to ponder.

Next Up: Magical Sewing

Because I just don’t have enough to do this month, I find myself somehow in charge of making Wench Costumes for this year’s Madrigal Dinner. My daughter is participating this year and there wasn’t a dress in her size. Weeks had passed since the fitting and she hadn’t heard any more about anyone getting her measurements, etc. Being the good Mom that I am I contacted the director and asked if I could make her dress. But I had to get the materials, patterns, etc. very soon because of my busy schedule this fall. This was 2 or 3 weeks ago. Of course the patterns and measly bag of fabric was just dropped off tonight. When I contacted the Moms in charge of course they assumed I could make dresses for all the girls that didn’t have a dress to fit them in the left overs from previous years. Ha! (Or they were going to call one of the “local sewing stores” and see if anyone there wanted to do it for pay. Ummm, that would be me!) Now I get the patterns and they are all just one size and I have to “size it up” for the girls who didn’t fit into the pre-existing dresses and there is no way enough fabric for all the skirts and vests that need made. Great. Had I known I would be pretty much redrafting patterns anyway I would’ve just drafted my own to Sarah’s measurements a week ago.  Whatever, nothing gained by bitching about it now, just get to work and get it done. Good thing I’m fast and have all those magical bluebirds and mice hanging around just waiting to help me. Bibbity-Bobbity-BOO!

And the winner is…

Us! Erin and I won the Best Couple Costume at the  party last night. They did turn out great if I say so myself. I’m so proud of them that I entered two online sewing/costume contests this morning. One on SewingPatternReview.com and another on Craftster.org.

		Halloween 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The cleverness and creativity displayed by everyone was pretty amazing. My two favorites were Cathy as Tippy Hedren in The Birds and Linda as a Tea Bag (there is an inside joke here that I just can’t explain. You have to know Linda and her funny story!) The inside jokes among our group of friends were well represented in costume form. As well as the metaphors (Law Suit, NBA Lockout) and plays on words (Purple Mountains Majesty). One of the (many) great things about hanging out with theater people is that we take our costumes pretty seriously and we tend to get into total character. Even the non-actors among us got into it. Steve passed out many shots of “Tiger Blood” (Hot Damn) and was heard saying, “WINNING!” all night long. I don’t have a picture of little Johnny dressed as Charlie Brown but he took it all the way by telling us repeatedly that all he got was a rock and he even had the Charlie Brown shirt on under his ghost costume so he could stay in costume even when he wasn’t in costume.

What time is it??? Adventure Time!!!

Emma got home from school and we got right to work on her costume. We already had the Finn Hat from an earlier Adventure Time sewing session together. She just made longer ears and put wire inside them to make them stand up and be more pose-able. I found the sweater at Old Navy today but it was long and roomy, more of a “boyfriend sweater” style. So I fired up the serger and took it in and took about 6 inches off the bottom. The skirt is just some cotton interlock from Joann sewn in a tube with a little waist shaping. Then I serged some wide elastic around the waist, turned it under and cover-stitched it down. The hem is just turned and cover-stitched.

The back pack is just wool/acrylic felt sewn into a pouch shape with the bottom corners gussetted. The flat is a piece of craft felt with the bottom corners rounded off and sewn onto the back of the pouch. Straps are 4.5” wide pieces of both colors of felt sewn together then folded into thirds and top stitched. The tops of the straps were attached with the flap and the bottoms were sewn along the bottom of the bag. All she needs now is a pink sword.

She’s 14 and in High School now. I keep thinking “this is the last year she’ll want me to do this stuff for her.” But then we finish something like this and she says, “I love it. I’m never taking it off.” Just like she did when she was 2.

 

 

 

 

I love that she is so free spirited and willing to be silly and have fun. Because I certainly have fun being silly and creative with her.

Now to go find some Tiger Blood and a cigar for my long lost Sheen brother…

That Time of the Year

My favorite time of the year is coming to an end. From September 23 (our anniversary) to Halloween has all the things I love. The heat and humidity of summer are over. The girls have gotten into the swing of their new school year. The colors of the sky (October Blue Sky may be my favorite color after purple), the leaves, and all the late season flowers. Also in there (October 2nd) is my oldest daughter’s birthday. She turned 18 this year. I “wrote” a few posts about this landmark event in my head but never made it to the keyboard with any clarity to record them here.

Of course it all wraps up with my favorite holiday, Halloween. It might be the actress in me that loves the costumes and make believe of it all. Or maybe it is the latent Pagan that feels like this is really the dawn of the New Year. Whatever it is I love all of it. This year is no exception. I’ve been making costumes for myself and my friend for our annual party. Three guess who we are going as, and the first two don’t count. Unless of course you’ve never watched any old classic television. I’ll  have photos of us in our costumes after Sunday’s party. These were pretty simple to construct. I used McCalls 5052 for the tops, adding the dark grey cuffs. The skirts and aprons are just simple rectangles, elastic waists in the skirts. The chefs hats (hard to see in this photo) were the most fun, and impressive, parts to make. I just cut large circles, gathered and attached them to wide, interfaced bands with velcro in the back. I kind of wanted to make my husband dress as “Poppin’ Fresh” the Pillsbury Dough Boy just so I could make another one!

 

I also popped the embroidery module on my machine and stitched up these fun kitchen towels. The designs are from Urban Threads.  If you are looking for some unique and modern embroidery designs this is the place for you. Just check out this: The Clockwork Natura Gown – Embroidery & Handmade Fashion That just makes me want to lose 50# and run away to a Ren Faire.

Now I need to finish this up and get a few last minute things put together for the youngest daughter. She decided at the last minute that she needs a costume. She wants to be “Fiona from Adventure Time”. If you have never caught an episode of this crazy cartoon I suggest you make yourself a cocktail and enjoy the weirdness. The main characters are “Jake and Finn” but there is one episode where they are their female counterpoints, Fiona and Cake. It is really too weird to explain further. Just watch it.

Happy Sewing and Joyous Halloween.

Little Apples COMING SOON!

Little Apples VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Little Apples by Aneela Hoey

Little apples is all about what happens in the fall, the kids are playing in the park with their scarves flapping in the wind and singing rhyming songs, round and round they go, just like the seasons. The little apples are falling off the trees and spied by a tortoise who has momentarily peeked out from under his shell and decided to take a stroll. The leaves are swirling around on the wind, providing a brilliantly coloured backdrop to all the goings on, the beauty of fall is definitely here!

Business has been pretty good at my little ol’ Etsy Shop recently which as enabled me to order some new fabric. I saw this new line featured on a few fabric blogs and knew it was the one I wanted to add. I’m really limiting my new fabric purchases to ones that I think will be hot sellers and judging by how “Sherbet Pips” flew off the virtual shelves all over the internet I’m hoping I have a winner here. It arrived today and I plan on getting it listed tomorrow or Wednesday. It will be listed by the yard in my shop but as usual, if you need larger cuts just send me a convo on etsy and I’ll set up a reserved listing just for you! (If you are local, shoot me off an email and we can arrange a personal drug deal fabric shopping day.)

Kwik Sew 3658–Missoni Dress

You get a headless full-body photo this time because my photographer was in a hurry to get to Homecoming last night and her friends were about to arrive and she didn't want to be seen taking photos of her Mom. She also deleted the pictures of herself and her friends from my SD card before I could transfer them to my computer. So I guess you'll just have to hope you are cool enough to be her Facebook friend and can see them there. Emma went to a friend's to get ready for the dance so I didn't see her in her full ensemble and will have to rely on her friend's mom to send me some eventually.

Anyway, I did get my Missoni knock off dress done. Like the shirt from this pattern, it took longer to trace the pattern and convert my serger to cover-stitch than it did to make the whole thing. Speaking of Missoni did you see this? Missoni for Target rain boots hit eBay for $31,000 Why do I have a feeling she is heavy into Beanie Babies too? Can't knock a girl for trying though I guess.

<b>Pattern Description: </b>
Fitted pull-over dress and top have V-neckline and draped collar. Front extends forming collar and facing.
<b>Pattern Sizing:</b>
Large graded out to XL at hips.
<b>Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?</b>
Yes
<b>Were the instructions easy to follow?</b>
Very easy.
<b>What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?</b>
I made this pattern before in the top version and loved it. I like the ease of construction most of all. It goes together fast and perfectly every time.
<b>Fabric Used:</b>
Polyester ITY in a Missoni inspired print. Purchased at Sew Generously, St. Charles, IL
Loved this fabric because thanks to Target Missoni is all the rage right now and I love that the busy-ness of the print hides my figure flaws. Plus it is super comfortable.
<b>Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:</b>
The only change I made was to grade out to the XL at the hips. With KS 1/4" seams I didn't want to take the chance that it would be too tight across my stomach. I also lengthened it about 1.5" As you can see on the pattern envelope, it is designed to hit just above the knee. I didn't think that would be the most flattering length on me and I didn't want it too short to make it difficult to wear to work.
<b>Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?</b>
Absolutely. I know for sure that this will be a TNT pattern for the top view and I'm really happy with the way the dress turned out so I'm sure it will get made again too.
<b>Conclusion: </b>
Easily one of my favorite dresses to wear right now. I wore it last night to usher at the theater and to a cast party afterward. I got compliments on it and it was comfortable to wear all night. I'm thinking that I will pair it with my black boots for winter.

Closely Knit

I haven’t done any new sewing this week. I did get a little machine embroidery project done that I’ll post at a later time. It still needs a little tweaking. I also had a minor alteration project for Emma’s freshman Homecoming dress. Again, pictures will be posted soon. Her complete ensemble is ADORABLE!

I have been planning my next projects but of course a quick trip to Joann’s for last minute supplies for the alteration project led to unplanned purchases and new ideas. First off, the best time of year is coming; Halloween! My friend and I are going as a “couple” costume this year. I’m going to keep it a bit of a secret for now but I did pick up a bolt (yes, BOLT!) of cheap fabric for these costumes. I will have to get to these very soon.  On a trip down the clearance sale aisle I spotted a bolt of $5/yd. ITY knit that I had eyed on a previous trip. I wasn’t sure about the pattern/color but because it had caught my attention twice now I figured that it was definitely sending me a message. I took it to the cutting table and asked for 3 yds. After she measured and cut it she gave me the exciting news that it was actually $2.50/yard. WINNING! Add to that that the pink costume fabric was also $2.50/yard I was having a very good day.

This is the fabric. What do you think? Is it retro-funky cute or horribly old-fashioned and frumpy? The young girl at the cutting table (mid-20s is my guess at her age) thought it was retro-cute and I agree. I’m not completely sure about the color but at least it isn’t orange! I also picked up Butterick 5030 on the $.99 sale and thought I’d use this fabric as my muslin. Now I’m not so sure. I thought it was designed for knits and was a mock-wrap dress but it isn’t. I think I had it confused with another pattern I had looked at earlier. Do I really want to attempt yet another wrap dress? Not really. So far I’ve only been marginally happy with the ones I’ve made and I may just be over it now. I do think this fabric calls for something retro styled however. I’m visualizing DVF inspired dress with a collar. For now it goes up on the shelf and marinates for a while because I have other things to work on now.

The fabric on the left is what is on the table for today. (Dang! It’s already 2:00 and I haven’t gotten started!) This ITY knit is from work. Another of the fabulous apparel fabrics we got in recently. It is obviously a Missoni knock-off and with the recent Missoni collection at Target, very much on trend right now. I’m going to make the Kwik Sew 3658 dress out of it. I just made the top and liked the way it fit and it was fast and easy to construct. I also chose this pattern because of its simple styling. This busy pattern fabric needs to be in something simple. I’m thinking of adding a black belt to break it up a little but I’ll see after it is done and decide what looks best. I’m also hoping the busy-ness of the fabric will help camouflage my body issues. (That and the help of Spanxx of course.)

 

In the top picture you may also notice a red ITY and a purple knit (might be ponte, don’t remember, just know it is a bit heavier than ITY). Those two have been brought to the cutting table and then moved back to the shelf a couple times each over the past few months. The purple is definitely going to be Vogue 8593. I’ve seen reviewed on Pattern Review and a couple blogs and really like the dress. I think it will be a nice classy dress for fall and winter. But I have a few concerns. One is the constant fear that it will be too tight across my belly and be unflattering. The second is that it might be too dressy for my lifestyle. Not that I have no need for a dressy dress. But just not often. I could wear it to work but it might be too much. So for now, back on the shelf it goes. The red ITY was originally intended to become the Kwik Sew dress above and if I like the print one, it still might be. Or it might become another “Perfect Knit Dress.” I’m sure some Gallery stalking at Pattern Review will bring up other possibilities. I love the color, one of my favorites to wear, so it has to become something soon.

So that’s what I am, should be working on right now. If I stay focused and don’t jinx myself by mentioning that I’ve gotten really good at switching my serger back and forth from over-lock to cover-stitch I might be able to get a dress made before dinner tonight. Did I mention that one of my co-workers calls me the “Chinese Take-out Seamstress”? I’m fast, good and give some people a headache. (She didn’t say the headache part, she’s too nice!)  Also when I finish one garment, in an hour I’m ready to start another one.

Zai Jian (That’s good-bye in Chinese, I think, if not, blame YahooAnswers)

Kwik Sew 3658 (top) & 3003 (skirt)

I’m ready for back to school. Too bad I have no class! LOL

But seriously what says fall more than a cute plaid skirt with a top to match? So easy and quick to make too.

I’ll start with the top: I bought this pattern during the Fabric.com sale this spring with the intention of making the dress version. Now that I’ve seen myself in the top version I’m reconsidering that idea. I don’t think a big expanse of clingy knit across my most troublesome area is a good idea, even with the miracle of Spanxx. But as a top I love it. I have an almost identical top in a heavier purple interlock that I bought somewhere in the last couple of years (how’s that for specifics) and when I saw this pattern I thought, hey I can make that. So I did.

The pattern couldn’t me simpler, three pieces, no interfacing. I sewed all but one seam on the serger and hemmed it with a narrow coverstitch. Overall a couple hours work. Now that I have the pattern traced, next time it will be about 20 minutes faster. I swear if I cut out internet breaks I could make it in 45 minutes.

Now for the skirt: Even easier. I made this entire thing in about an hour or less last night before dinner. It is a basic bias-cut, elastic waist, pull-on skirt. I cut the front piece, flipped it over and matched up the plaids and cut the back. Then all I had to do was seam the sides (4-thread overlock), finish the top and bottom edges, put in the elastic and top stitch the casing down and hem. I did cut about 2” off the bottom before hemming to get the length I liked. The fabric is some “suiting” fabric (don’t you love how specific they are at Joann’s?) I picked up on sale and it has some stretch to it. I was going to make a more tapered pencil silhouette with it but decided for quick and easy. I think this A-line is flattering on me and I love comfortable, easy to wear clothes with a bit of style, I think this outfit fits that bill perfectly.

I bought these basic black pumps yesterday at DSW. They are a good heel height for work and they have a lot of cushioning in the foot to make them easy to wear all day. And as you can see, they show off the new ink very nicely. I think when the weather gets cold, my black leather boots will also look good with this outfit. 

Tattoo You

Happy Labor Day!

It’s been a pretty low key day around here. Got up early, fed the neighbor’s cats for them while they are on vacation and came home a made a dress.

This particular dress is nothing all that exciting. I pick up the fabric (polyester ITY) in Grand Rapids last spring. Bought it with the intentions of making McCall’s 5974. I had attempted this Perfect Knit Dress before but didn’t have enough fabric to make the ties so I made the scoop neck version and was less than happy with it.

I also discovered in a rather “well duh!” moment that the basis of this dress is pretty much the same as the tunic (McCalls 6120) that I’ve so far made two of and loved. This led me to start to wonder if I really wanted the ties at the waist after all. But I had the material and decided, “what the hell” and put them on. I like them. Also the skirt on the dress is pleated and it isn’t in the tunic. In the future I make modify the dress to be more like the tunic and eliminate the waist pleats.

Okay now for the interesting part of this post. You see it was in the mid-50s this morning when I got out of bed. Fall is definitely right around the corner. I was inspired to come up here and sew some plaid skirts and turtlenecks. But you see, last night I did something kind of awesome. Something I’ve been thinking about doing for a few years now and it inspired me to grab this black and grey swirly print instead.

Some of my friends took me to get my first tattoo. I’ve wanted one for years but after Shadow, then Heidi died I knew for sure that I wanted a tribute tattoo, But I didn’t want big ol’ portraits of my dead dogs on  my back or something. I wanted something pretty and delicate and something that I could add to in the future when the inevitable happens with Maizey and Castiel. If you look closely there are three tiny pawprints incorporated into the design. One is red, for Heidi. One purple, for Sophie. One Black, for Shadow. There is room to add more paws as needed.

I had been warned that foot tattoos in particular were quite painful. I’ve been asked numerous times already how bad it really hurt. I’m sure most of you won’t believe this but it really wasn’t all that bad. Sure there were moments that I had to remember to breath but overall it was nothing. Does this mean I’d be up for a total, full color back piece? No. Not because of the pain, because I’d get bored out of my mind sitting still for that long.

On the way home after it was done (I won’t bore you with the LONG dramatic story of how the entire evening went) and my friend was driving us back to my house I was still kind of quiet and in a weird place. He kept asking me what was wrong, I think he was worried that I already regretted it. I explained that I wasn’t the same woman who had left my house with him and our other two friends a few hours earlier. I was now a middle aged woman with a fucking foot tattoo! But seriously, this is kind of life changing. Not only is it literally permanent, it does change who I am in a very slight but very real way.

Do you have tattoos (I know MANY of my friends who read my blog do) and did getting them change you or how you perceived yourself? How? I know that having a visible to the world tattoo changes how others perceive you, I’m just waiting anxiously for the first day I work this week, do you perceive people with tattoos differently? Of course there is a difference between a tasteful foot tattoo and a prison neck tattoo right? Tell me your tattoo stories, here in comments (not on facebook comments, not all my readers are my facebook friends and I want everyone to participate in the conversation.)

Kwik Sew 3258 (skirt) & 3784 (Top)

I finally got another outfit completed, sort of, the skirt needs a little reworking but it is serviceable for now.

We got this Anna Maria Horner Voile (skirt) fabric into the store in the spring and I loved it immediately and knew that I wanted a skirt out of it. But I didn’t have anything to match with it and hadn’t come across the right fabric for a top. That is until we got in a great selection of tencel knits a couple  months ago. The dusky lavender was perfect.

I bought the KS3258 pattern during a Fabric.com sale earlier this summer. I have a couple RTW skirts in my closet with roughly this silhouette that I really like and I’ve had a Chanel-style jacket swimming around in my head for quite a long time. I’m not sure now that the gored construction was right for this fabric. I did my best to line up the motifs but I don’t like how they meet up at the waist. I probably should’ve gone with my initial idea and just made a simple straight pull-on elastic waist skirt. But if I wear the shirt un-tucked and cover the part I don’t like, it is pretty. The pattern calls for interfaced facings and a zipper. I didn’t have enough fabric for the facings and the RTW skirt I have like this just has grosgrain ribbon facing at the waist. I like this so I tried it on this skirt. It worked nicely but the waist is too big because I once again had a fat-girl-sizing-panic and worried that it wouldn’t fit and sewed the back seams at 3/8” instead of 5/8” in addition to cutting the XL instead of the L size. So now the waist is about 3” too big. Matilda has more junk in her trunk than I do so on her it sits differently, on me it is too big in the waist and just right in the hips, I really need a fitting mannequin that closer reflects my size. The hips fit fine so I may just have to do some minor adjusting. One idea is to remove the grosgrain facing and the zipper and put in fold over elastic as originally planned. That would be fussy (I hate ripping stitches, especially on something as delicate as this) but probably the best. The other idea is to re-stitch the back seams deeper and then reapply the grosgrain. Or I could take off the grosgrain, shorten it and then ease the skirt edges to the ribbon at the proper circumference. No matter what I choose, it will be a pain in the butt, but over all probably worth it because as it is now the skirt sits really low on my hips and if I do manage to lose even a minimal amount of weight, it will be in danger of falling off. I loved this fabric for so long that I really must remedy this skirt someday. I’m not sure when that day will be because even though we are enjoying (?) a very warm Labor Day weekend right now, I know the weather will be cooling off soon and this outfit just won’t be season appropriate for much longer. Maybe I’ll stick it in my closet for a few months and pull it back out for Easter and re-do it then.

The T-shirt Pattern 3784, is a success however. Again I took inspiration from RTW items that I already own and know that I like. I did kind of Frankenstein the pattern views together to get the look I wanted. I wanted the flounced neckline but I wanted sleeves, but short sleeves. Not a hard thing to do. The sleeveless version has a slightly different armhole so I used the body and sleeve pieces from view A, shortened the sleeves and added the flounce from View B. I left the edges of the flounce raw because this knit doesn’t ravel or curl when cut on the bias or in a circle such as this. One of my co-workers was experimenting with it at the store and found that it didn’t hold a rolled hem very well plus I didn’t want the added bulk along the edge of a serged rolled hem. I don’t have problems with the narrow facings flipping out, they are under-stitched and top-stitched under the flounce, but I don have some problems with the flounce flipping in. I also like the depth of the V-neck, not too low, not too high and no gaposis. I’m sure I will be pulling this pattern out again for more shirts of varying sleeve lengths.

I did wear this to work this week and my boss and co-workers had nice things to say. I’m really trying to add more wardrobe pieces made from patterns and fabrics that we sell to help promote fashion sewing to our customers. It’s a hard sell in the deeply entrenched quilting world that I live in here in the Midwest but I know there are more kindred spirits out there!

On another only slightly related note. I did spend some time this week updating and organizing my Etsy shop. I had ordered some Moda It’s A Hoot fabric this summer and never got around to listing it in my shop. While working on that I noticed a number of other fabrics missing from my store and got those relisted. Whenever I do this it generates a nice little burst of activity and sales. Always good! So if you have been looking for It’s a Hoot  or Tula Pink Hushabye fabrics I suggest you get over there quick and get them while they last because some of them are getting low already. There are also some older but still great looking and high quality Moda and Freespirit fabrics at great prices, some barely over what I paid for them wholesale!

American Girls

A week ago today the girls went back to school. They are both in high school now, a freshman and a senior. To say it has been bittersweet for me would be an understatement. They are both so bright, creative, smart and beautiful it makes my heart explode with rainbows, glitter and unicorns. They are also growing up and the end is in sight which makes my heart implode with Smiths songs, pond scum and larva.

I was never one of those mothers that wanted to keep her kids little forever. Quite frankly, when they were able to feed themselves, sleep through the night (and now day), poop in a toilet and yes, even drive, I was very happy. I’m nothing if not a little lazy. I’ve always seen my job as a mother as that of preparing them to be independent, doesn’t mean I have to like it when it inevitably happens. It is also inevitable that there will be regrets. Looking back and wishing I had done things differently. Worrying that at times we are too close and at other times wishing we were more connected. Goes with the territory I guess.

There is also something else that happens in a mother/daughter relationship that rarely gets talked about, the breaking apart. I’ve asked many of my friends who have already gone through it if it happened to them and some have said yes and others no. But I think it is pretty common. What happens is that your daughter, when faced with burgeoning independence, goes all crazy and hurtful toward you. It happens. It has happened to me a couple times over the past few months. It is similar to the “I hate you” tantrums that happen during early adolescence, but for me it is deeper and more painful. This isn’t a big explosion of angry words, no, typically it is only a well placed put down, dismissive look or biting retort that ends up with me hiding in the bathroom wiping away tears and her going on as if nothing ever happened.  It signals that she is trying to find a way to breakaway and by hurting my feelings in some way it will be easier. Because she knows me in a way pretty much no one else does, she can cut to the quick much easier. But like the many summer thunderstorms we’ve had this year it passes as soon as it strikes, often leaving some kind of mess in its wake.

Vogue 2532: Basic Pants

In the never ending attempt to make enough wardrobe pieces so that I can always have a “made by me” outfit to wear to work, I added these simple black linen cropped pants to the line up. The linen is also from work so I’m adding to the challenge to use as many fabrics from work as possible so I can be a walking, talking promotion for our fashion fabrics.

I made this pattern before and wasn’t pleased at all with the results. There were a number of reasons why it didn’t work before. For one I made a size too big and used stretchy fabric, the combination made them saggy and unflattering. The pockets added to the weird fit in the front and I eliminated them this time.

 

I almost used McCall’s 5239 for these because I like the fit on those and the pockets go in nicely without sagging and gapping at the side seams. But they have a narrower leg than I wanted for these so I went with the Vogue pattern. I could’ve combined the two patterns but I was being lazy.

Overall I am happy with the results. The fit is better than the shorts I made previously, I went down a size. I did have to taper off to a 3/8” seam allowance at the sides just to be sure they wouldn’t be too small. Next time I will add a bit to the sides unless I’m using something with some stretch. I’m hoping these will soften with wear and laundering. I don’t intend to iron and starch them to keep them crisp, I want soft linen pants.

The best part about these two pieces is that I made them both in ONE day. I even took my daughters to doctor’s appointments today and still had time to make an outfit. Add in my usual internet distractions and that I got caught up on last week’s “So You Think You Can Dance?” and I’d say this outfit was low on the time commitment scale. WINNING!

McCall’s 6120: Knit Top & Tunic

Same shirt, different day.

I made the navy polyester tunic version last week, I just hadn’t switched my machine back over to coverstitch to finish the hems so it sat waiting to be finished. Today I made the black Tencel short-sleeved version (and the linen pants but that is another post!)

I put up a complete review on Sewing Pattern Review of both versions. Needless to say, I love this pattern! It sews up so fast, especially since I can use the serger for almost all of it. The slowest thing about it is converting my machine back and forth from over-lock to cover-stitch.

We finally received the fashion fabrics at the store last week. I was so excited! There is a collection of the soft Tencel knits in a nice selection of colors. I’m planning to buy some of every color (Except the orange!) the make shirts. This pattern may get pulled out a few more times for them. There is also a ITY print that is pretty wild and fun that would make a cute tunic in this pattern.

McCalls 5591: Pleated Skirt

I finished this skirt this afternoon. It should’ve been done a week ago but we lost power for two days last week and I just didn’t have time to get back to it when the power was finally restored.

I really wanted to love this pattern. I really did. But I don’t. I’m not even sure that a different view, different fabric or slightly larger size would help. I just have to accept that this silhouette isn’t right for me. I wanted something summery and comfortable for work and casual. You know, my usual search for an alternative to shorts in the summer. I do love this fabric. I found it at Joann on sale a few weeks ago. It has a very “Liberty of London” look to it. The colors are fun.

I had no issues with the pattern overall. The way the instructions for the box pleats was written was a little weird but I managed. I also had a bit of a problem with the zipper but that was user error and not the fault of the pattern. I ended up having to take the first zip out and put in a new one because I broke the first one. My second attempt was rushed, annoyed and less than perfect. Oh well.

I will probably still wear this skirt, but maybe not as much as I had thought. When it is 90+ degrees outside with 100% humidity, sometimes you just want cool and as cute as possible and you don’t care if it is the most sophisticated and polished look in the universe. It is seriously more flattering on me than the shorts I made last month! That’s not saying much I know but I’ll take what I can get.

Camping without the tent

Or any of the fun. You may or may not of heard about the fast but wide spread storm that hit the Chicago land area Monday morning. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t, seems like a lot of people missed it. Unless of course you were like us, one of the 800,000+ ComEd customers in the area that lost power and didn’t (or haven’t as the case may be) get it back for over 48 hours. As luck would have it, and it seems this is my lot in life, Steve is once again out of town during the “big one”. I’ve learned to handle emergencies and the bullshit that accompanies them pretty well. He’s missed so many of them I’m not sure that I probably don’t do better alone at this point. I can’t imagine him rolling with no internet, no phones, no air conditioning in 90 degree heat, no water, no tv and no inside cooking for two days and smelly, spoiling food and defrosting freezers. On the other hand we may have been living the Life of Riley at a hotel by 8pm Monday if he’d been here. Who knows.

Funny thing is, if you are sitting in the hot dark with a dwindling smart phone battery, it is everything. But just blocks away the world is going on as if nothing ever happened. When we got news that our power would take days instead of hours to restore I figured the rest of the world was out too. By Tuesday late morning we were given Thursday at midnight as our restore time. That was then that I contacted my boss to see if they had power, yep, they never lost it and didn’t realize that I had been sitting in the dark for over a day. Steve said there was nothing on the national news. I then put the call out over Facebook for help. A friend stepped forward to offer freezer space, another friend invited us over to use his wifi, cook us dinner and let us enjoy a few hours of air conditioned comfort and flushable toilets. Oh and I finally took advantage of that gym membership I pay for every month but never use by going in and showering there Tuesday afternoon.

But we made it through and it wasn’t that bad. It was inconvenient and annoying but survivable. Last night when we returned from my friends’ house and we saw some houses along the way with lights our hopes lifted. But then we turned down our street and they were dashed, the only lights were the little, weak, pitiful solar lights lining flower beds and driveways. Emma and I found our flashlights and headlamps and made our way to bed. I sat up reading my newly recharged Kindle by book light. Then all of a sudden the unmistakable sound of refrigerators clicking on and lights flickering to life! Emma let out a whoop from upstairs and I jumped up to start turning off lights and appliances that had inadvertently gotten turned on over the past two days. Then I went and rinsed out the sink and ran the dishwasher before heading to sleep under a much appreciated ceiling fan.

Today was spent cleaning, vacuuming, doing laundry and running errands, all the things I had planned to do Monday and Tuesday. The weather turned beautiful at about 10:00 last night so today the windows and drapes have been open to let in the cooler, fresher air.  I always think that I can’t appreciate my Dyson vacuum and washer/dryer any more until I can’t use it.  It’s funny how dependent we’ve gotten on modern conveniences. Back during the Y2K brouhaha I smugly thought that with my farm background and camping experience that I’d be able to weather anything that may come. Maybe if I was prepared, but when it literally slams you out of nowhere it is a different story. In all honesty, I’m really not all that prepared to go all Amish. First and foremost, I need a treadle sewing machine.

Let them eat Red Velvet Cake

I confess I am not much of a cook. It’s just not my thing. But I do enjoy baking on occasion. I used to do it a lot more than I have lately. There was a time when my rhubarb pies brought all the boys to the bake sale.

Yesterday was Emma’s 14th birthday and she was having a party. We took her out for breakfast and stopped at one of those hipster cupcake shops and they had a display full of red velvet cupcakes (at $3 each! Ouch.) She decided she’d really just like a nice Red Velvet cake instead. While at the grocery store picking up other party food I quickly used my phone to  Google a recipe and picked up the few ingredients I needed. Steve thought I should just grab a box mix and call it good. But I wanted to do something special. And really making a cake from scratch isn’t all that more difficult than using a mix and the results are so much better. I did have to make a second trip to the store because I didn’t have red food coloring at home like I thought I did and I decided that a nice cake deserved better cake pans than the old rusty ones we were giving over 20 years ago for wedding gifts so I picked up 3 new heavy duty non-stick 9” pans.

I used a recipe from the Food Network website: Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cake I can’t praise this recipe enough. It is moist, delicious and really, really RED! Some RVC I’ve seen turn out more reddish brown than a true red. I made a modified cream cheese frosting using 1/3 low fat cream cheese because that is what I had on hand. It was tasty and delicious and not too soft. All of Emma’s guests loved it and I was positive I would find an empty cake stand this morning when I got up but they did leave a few pieces. I had one for breakfast and it was just as good 12 hours later as it was fresh.

Butterick 5451

Misses’ top, tunic and dress: Semi-fitted, wrapped sleeveless top A, tunic B, and A-lined dress C have collar, attached tie ends and narrow hems. I made View A, size 18.

Pattern Sizing:
FF (16-18-20-22) I made 18.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Likes: The wide portrait collar adds a nice feature to a basic wrap pattern. I also like that the front is a full wrap and isn't too low cut. The straps are nice and long and leave enough for a nice bow.
Dislikes: None really.
Fabric Used:
Momo by Moda quilting cotton. I wanted to try the shirt length in this pattern before committing to the quantity of fabric needed for the dress length. Even at the short length it takes a lot of fabric because of the size of the collar. I had this fabric in my inventory and I liked the color.  (My daughter doesn't like it because I used this fabric to make her a pencil case last fall and now that is what she associates it with! LOL)
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
None. The only slight alteration I made was to pull the inside edge of the bodice up about a 1/2" at the shoulders to try to circumvent any gaposis.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I like the pattern and do want to make the dress. I just need to find the right fabric.
Conclusion:
Cute wrap pattern. Pretty easy to sew. Takes a lot more fabric than you think it will because of the size of the collar and the flair of the peplum. I had to piece my fabric for one of the front "skirt" pieces because I was just a bit shy of enough to cut it whole.

Bridge over troubled water

I don’t know what is going on around here but we seem to have the worst luck with water. We’ve put in a new well that has been nothing but a pain in the butt. Seems like just when we start taking indoor plumbing for granted something goes wrong. A month ago we realized that our water softener wasn’t working as intended. This led to getting part of our softener replaced.

Then on Saturday (mid holiday weekend!) I had friends over for pool time and food. I went to flush the good stuff and, nothing. Crap. (No pun intended) Steve was out of town visiting family. I called him. Then I called the well company. I got instructions for resetting the well pump. That worked for about 24 hours. Then it didn’t.

Monday, July 4th, the well guy comes over to try to fix it. It doesn’t work. More crap. He pulls the well. Looks like the pump was either hit by lightning (not out of the realm of possibility) or damaged by an earthquake. I choose to go with the earthquake, makes for a better story.

In order to pull and replace the pump we have to dig up or cut down half of my perennials. Most notably, the daisies and bee balm that just started blooming. The huge clump of pampas grass was also a victim. To top it all off, because we have no water and it has been hot and dry, the rest of the garden and potted plants are really suffering. Piss.

In order to make lemonade out of lemons when I had to cut all my beautiful summery daisies I decided to make a huge bouquet.

It’s not the most elegant bouquet but it is very summery. I love that the daisies and bee balm both bloom on the 4th of July. I think they look like fireworks.

Summer time and the living is easy

Summer is in full swing at the Land of the Shiny Island.

    We’ve had some weird weather here in the middle west. A very wet and mild spring and early summer. But we’ve been lucky the past few weeks. But Saturday was a typical July day. I woke up to all the doors and windows to the porch steamed up because of the humidity vs. air conditioning. Looking out my bedroom door to the pool I encountered this adorable wild child. She was just strolling along casual-like munching on weeds. She didn’t mind when I opened the door to take her picture. This explains why most mornings when I blurry-eyed open the door to let the dogs out they tear off barking their fool heads off.

 

 

Sunday was a beautiful morning. I love having fresh flowers in the house but I haven’t been as successful growing them as I used to be. The cool weather and lots of rain has been good for not only the mosquitos. So many of the flowers were finally reaching their peak.

Hydrangeas are some of my favorites.

 

 

 

The daisies and snapdragons are just getting going.

A bouquet next to the commode always screams “Klass”!

 

 

Who doesn’t love roses? These are from the two new rose bushes I planted around Mother’s Day in the new bed behind the new screened porch. They are David Austin English Roses.