Stitches and Seams

Keep Me in Your Prayers

2013-04-13T14:44:00.000-04:00

Remember the best job ever? Yeah, me too. Except it ended unexpectedly April 4, two days after returning from my staycation. I'm in severe emotional distress. And, if I don't find a new job in the next month, I'll be in severe financial distress too. And homeless. I'm genuinely clueless on this so there really aren't any more details either on-blog or off. I'm only posting this depressing news because I'm selfishly hoping for tons of cheer-me-up comments. At this point, I still want to throw up about every 5 minutes.

Quick Pic

2013-04-02T21:23:00.000-04:00

Does Dani think I'm nuts? (Don't answer that!)

I'm too tired (after a day a work, a stop at the store for some dinner items, cooking dinner, cleaning up, and then walking the dogs) to make it into the sewing room tonight to continue working on my dress tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe the weekend. I'll have to see how it goes.

But in the meantime, here's my new top and skirt as worn to the office today. You can see that one of the things I did NOT do while on vacation was get that long LONG overdue haircut. I'm a shaggy windblown mess. Partly because the weather is so nice right now that the car windows need to be down, but mostly because it's just too grown out. I thought I wanted to try longer hair again but every time I get to this point, I give up. I really think the shorter styles flatter me more, so I'll likely be calling for a hair appointment soon. Plus, who wants all this hair in Florida summer?

A Wild Hair

2013-04-01T22:58:00.001-04:00

Yeah, of course the mojo came back on the LAST DAY of my vacation, in the form of the Metropolitan Verano dress from Hot Patterns. It's a quick sew, made quicker by the shortcuts I used (more on that later), and although it's nearly done, it's not quite all the way finished. I still have sideseams and hems to stitch, but I'm not in a hurry because this fabric screams summer and I'm not yet ready to don the bright prints. Although with the weather we're having now, that feeling may only last another week ... and a tube of self-tanner for the fish underbelly legs. ;-)

I'm not happy with the neckline. I really need to remember this with Hot Patterns and do some slight redrafting before I cut fabric as I seem to usually have problems with their neckline widths and facings. The depth of the vee is OK here, but the facing wants to roll out. I'll probably end up topstitching it into submission and make a note to eliminate the facing altogether next time. (Hopefully topstitching will work and I won't have to eliminate the facing ... i.e., frog stitch ... this time.) I'll also draw the shoulder edges closer to the neck and have them meet in a more round shape rather than forming a "corner." I'm using a straight size 12 here, which really should not be too wide for me. And technically, it's not. It's just not shaped the way I prefer. But really, if that's the only thing I have to adjust, I'm not going to complain.

As for my shortcuts ...the line drawing below shows CF and CB seams. Totally not necessary as the seams are 100% straight up and down, so I eliminated them and saved myself some layout width and sewing time. Speaking of the cutting layout, the envelope calls for 2-3/4 yds of 60" wide knit. I had 2 yds of this print and ended up with enough scraps for a cami or a couple pairs of undies, which means I used far less than 2 yds for my size 12 pieces. I never believe cutting layouts and fabric recommendations for any pattern line so this doesn't bother me and I'm only noting it here for posterity.

Other "shortcuts" involve changing the construction order to make twisting the front come later so I could keep everything flat and easier to handle for the earlier steps.

There's only one review of this pattern on PR and both the reviewer and a commenter mention that the pattern runs big and the waist seam hits lower than expected. I think I've solved this by (1) cutting the straight 12 instead of morphing to 14 or 16 below the chest and (2) using a 1" seam allowance to join top and bottom pieces. I'll also be using that 1" seam allowance for an easier and faster elastic casing instead of following the instructions.

I haven't actually tried it on yet so all of this may be wishful thinking, but I didn't want to end my sewing time today on a bad note so I'll save that step for the next sewing session. Maybe tomorrow night if I'm not too exhausted after catching up at work.

Last Day

2013-04-01T12:41:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day of my vacation. I know I needed the time off because I haven't really done much of anything. All the best laid plans, etc., but what I did the most of was nothing. A signal to my body/soul that I needed time to just vegetate. I'd been going pretty much non-stop for a year and a half.

Alex started a new job today I helped him get with a printer we use regularly for my job. It's weird to be home while HE is at work. LOL I've been thinking about him all morning and can't wait to hear how it all went when he gets home.

On the sewing front, the mojo just hasn't been there. Oh well. That's just how it goes sometimes. I did manage to eek out a couple of things and rework some others, and there's still the rest of today and, who knows, I just might get a wild hair. ;-)

I made this top, shown last post, and then made this skirt morph between my beloved Magic Pencil and the Neue Mode.

Instead of being pegged inward, using the NM shape flares out the hem a little. I again incorporated slits into the flare and topstitched the side seams with a triple straight stitch. It's still a boring brown skirt, but it has a little more visual interest now. And I wear brown at the office like NYers wear black so it's nice to have YABS in a lighter shade of brown.

Here's the one pattern piece, after morphing the two patterns together. If you have the MP, you can see how easy it is to change up the shape a bit.

Next, I "fixed" this HP Butterfly top that I made to wear on my last birthday. I wore it that day and then never wore it again because it was just too low and I felt like the middle of my bra was on display. It wasn't really, but every time *I* looked down, I could almost see my navel.

Originally, the tie was only attached at the back neck. I slid it under the neckline stitching and stitched on top of the coverstitching to hold the tie bands in place, effectively raising the neckline two inches. I think this will get worn now because I do still really like the shape of the top on me.

Next, while straightening up my closet, I found this wrap top that I made a few years ago. I always liked the fabric, which is 3D/textural - the "print" is a print but it's also separate little pieces fused to a black background. But I was never really fond of the top on me. And since I made it when I weighed a lot more, it certainly wasn't doing me any favors now. I tried it on and completely by accident noticed that when untied, that half looked a lot like a waterfall cardi.

So, I snipped it apart where the inside wrap was sewn to the sideseam and then snipped off the ties. And, voila! A waterfall cardi that I like a lot better. Since the fabric is 3D, the raw edges where I snipped don't even show. I think this will actually get worn now, even through summer as my office is always on the chilly side. A/C does that to us Floridians. We freeze when it's not 80 degrees.

I also resewed a CB seam on a skirt that needed reinforcement above the walking vent and I want to hem a pair of black pants that have been waiting in my closet for a year. Yeah, I'm bad with repairs/mending. I have good intentions but never motivation to do these tasks that take 15 minutes. Pitiful.

Frankenpattern: KS2694-Otto0207-Walmart

2013-03-28T17:35:00.001-04:00

So, first things first. Here is the result of too many weekends spent car shopping. And the worst part? We both ended up buying from the first dealer we went to. lol Alex's is on the left - a blue/gray 2011 Mercury Milan. Mine is the other, a metallic gray 2013 Ford Focus hatchback.

This is the official Ford photo. It looks better than mine. (One would hope.) I like it. I don't love it yet. It wasn't my first choice but I needed to go with the Focus with the bigger rebate so I could pay off my previous car and not be upside down in it. I miss my old car. But it was time to let her go, since it was pushing 100K miles and I could "feel" things were starting to go. Don't misunderstand, it's definitely nice to have a new car and I do love the techno-geeky stuff inside. And I'm sure I will love the much-improved gas mileage.

So, on to sewing. Yes, there HAS been some sewing going on here. Not much, so this isn't really gonna be a true sewcation, but any sewing is more than I've done lately.

No, I did not make this top. I bought this one at Walmart a few weeks ago for $5. And I would wear it every stinkin' day if I could. I love it that much. So, all previous sewing plans went by the wayside (yes, I still have that humungous stack of Hot Patterns gathering dust now) as I decided I *had* to recreate it so I could have another one since Walmart only had this one print.

It's a crossover with an all-around empire seam. The front has fold-over facings. There is gathering on the crossovers below the bust and slight gathering center front on both top and bottom. Not so much that it screams maternity. Just enough that it flows over the middle-aged lumps nicely.

The back neckline has a self-fabric turned-down binding as a facing.

So I started digging through the pattern stash for an exact replica. Yeah, I didn't find one. Why is it with hundreds of patterns, we NEVER have the exact thing we want?

Kwik Sew 2694 was the closest.

I last made this almost TEN YEARS AGO. OMG time flies.(Speaking of which, Tuesday was the 1st anniversary of The Day Which Shall Not Be Mentioned. How can I be a year even older now? But it was a good day, spent in St. Augustine with my 3 sons. Yes, 3. My stepson is the one who lives in St. A. Tyler drove down for a long weekend with him. Alex went over Saturday and I joined them all on Tuesday.)

This is the photo from my 2004 review, in which I noted that the armholes were too low/wide. But the underbust seam was hitting at the right place so I thought this would be a good start for a morph. And guess what? I still have the tee so I could actually try it on again. I really don't know why I still have it since I don't think I've worn it since 2004. But sometimes the universe works these things out for you.

So I took out the KS pieces and laid them on my Ottobre TNT pieces and came up with new pieces. Mainly, it was using the Otto armholes/sleeves on the general shape of the KS front. Which I then slash/spread to create the underbust gathers like the Walmart top. I added a fold-on facing to the top section and some additional CF width to the bottom piece. None of this was scientific. I just eyeballed it all. I also decided the empire seam on the back did nothing and wouldn't show in a print anyway, so I just used the Otto back piece as-is, except for widening the shoulders inward toward the neck to match the front of the KS/Otto morph, which meant I re-traced that piece too.

And the finished result? Perfect! It fits JUST LIKE the Walmart top, which in this case, is a really good thing.

Here's a close-up of the gathering.

And the insides. Where, if you're paying attention, you can see that I "fixed" the wrap to be right over left, as it should be. The Walmart top actually crosses left over right. But I never even noticed that until today. Proving that we're a lot less picky about RTW than our own makes. Remember that!

Here's the back, sans empire seam. Which will never be missed, and saved a few steps in pattern morphing and construction.

I still need to coverstitch the hems. The bottom "hem" you see here is merely glued up and waiting for me to change threads on the CS machine, which I'll do after I post this so I can finish the top.

Next up, another morph. A skirt from a mix of the Magic Pencil and Neue Mode. I wear the black Neue Mode skirt ALL the time and it's time for YABS (yet another brown skirt). I won't count them if you won't. ;-)

I'm here

2013-03-23T11:07:00.002-04:00

No sewing since my last post. Work was busy, busy, busy. Life has been busy. And then throw in car shopping for not one, but TWO cars (me and Alex). I'm pooped!

As of last weekend Alex is set, but I'm still shopping and don't know if I'll end up with something new. It's such a pain in the butt and I'm losing motivation.

But I'm now on a staycation until April 2 and I'm hoping to turn it into a sewcation but first another trip to the car dealer today. Stay tuned ...

Ready for Takeoff!

2013-02-11T18:31:00.000-05:00

This top is a lot more flattering in person and in motion. It has movement which doesn't show in still pics. I like it and it's comfortable, and I received at least 10 unsolicitations/compliments on it today. So it's a hit with the coworkers too. I definitely feel a 2-piece dress coming on at some point soonish. I can't tell you how many times I lifted my arms today like in the first pic ... just feeling goofy with the bat wings. LOL

I changed my mind about the brown skirt and pulled out the black instead. No real reason, except I was feeling the black more this morning.

Carolyn asked what happened to my sewcation. It's been put on hold until after the first week in March due to work obligations but it's coming. I just need to pick my dates. Maybe my birthday week? I think I need to schedule a haircut during that time too cuz I'm looking very shaggy. Yikes.

SIHPC Make #1 (HP1142)

2013-02-10T19:05:00.002-05:00

The first make of my Self-Imposed Hot Patterns Challenge is done! Granted, it was the easiest out of the bunch, but I was just happy to get back into the sewing room. Work has been very busy, and I've gone into the office the last two Saturdays. And since last Sunday was the Superbowl, today was my first real opportunity for undivided stitching time.

This top is VERY batwing and VERY '80s, but I think I like it. I used to wear similar tops IN the '80s which means I'm OLD, but it will be fun to be on trend even if for a second time. I'm planning to wear it with a solid brown skirt tomorrow, but it will go with a black skirt (or pants) too. Actually, it will go with many solid colors.

As for the pattern -- it's pretty straightforward but it runs HUGE, so be forewarned. I was, since I read the reviews on Pattern Review, and I'll be sure to add my own review when I have a minute and a photo of me in it since those reviews definitely saved this trial version for me. I'm not sure what my current HP size is but I think I would've started with a 14 at neck and sized out to a 16 for hip. For this top, I traced and cut a straight 12. And it fits fine, including the hip/waist band, although it's still too wide in the neck so next time I will add to the shoulder at the neck edge to keep the bra straps covered. For this one, I'll be sewing in lingerie guards tonight while keeping an eye on Downton Abbey.

For this "muslin," I made a couple of small changes from the pattern instructions mostly as personal preference. First, I eliminated the center back seam and cut on the fold. There was absolutely no reason for a seam here, except to use the neckband method per the pattern -- which I also eliminated because I'd rather have a neckband sewn in the round than try to match/finish a CB neckband seam sewn as the back bodice seam. I coverstitched the binding seam allowance flat as you can mostly see in this blurry photo below.

I also eliminated the sleevebands since (1) the sleeves were going to be too long and (2) the size 12 sleevebands were going to have to be stretched beyond belief to fit the size 12 sleeve opening. If you DO decide to use bands to finish the sleeves, cut them a size or two up and/or pre-gather the sleeve opening before attaching to the band. Or, take the lazy way out like I did and just turn the edge under and coverstitch/stitch to create a casing for narrow elastic. Since the full sleeves blouse over the edge finish when worn, no one will see what method you choose anyway. ;-)

Here's the top lifted from falling over the hip/waist band to give an idea of how wide it is. I coverstitched here too.

I like this top, especially since I was fearing another sack could've easily resulted. I don't know if I could've stood another wadder. LOL It's a fast sew, which is also a plus for me right now.

I think it would make half of a fantastic 2-piece dress, with the Magic Pencil being the bottom half. I used to rock me some dropped waist dresses in the '80s (with the requisite linebacker shoulder pads!) and maybe I can again (sans the pads).

Self-Imposed Hot Patterns Challenge

2013-01-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I still haven't scheduled my sewcation, but it will have to be sometime after the first week of March as per the Big Boss because we have a LOT going on between now and then and apparently she can't live without me. ;-) And my official 1-year anniversary is in about 3 weeks so my review will be between now and then. I hope the can't-live-without-you feeling plays into that. (Read: raise!!) My unofficial anniverary is September 12 (when I started as a temp) so I will have been there almost 18 months by the time of my review. Time flies!

Update since I first wrote this: My review was today! It was glowing, and I received the highest raise percentage being given. It's not a huge number because of the current economy, but it's not terrible either so I'm good with it. The best part is my "hourly rate" goes up and with all the OT coming at me, that will make a significant difference.

Anyway, on the heels of my two/three wadders, I started going through my existing and soon-to-arrive Hot Patterns with the thought of actually using them, or re-using them in a new size. I pullIed out a lot that I want to make and will start before the actual sewcation. Who knows - I might actually be sick of this challenge by then, but I hope not because I really want to have these as finished garments in my closet.

Here's what's on the list, in no particular order except the first 4 are the new ones which I don't actually have possession of yet.

Depending on its arrival date, this will be the first or one of the first. I want this to work (waistband placement especially) so I will need to make an ugly muslin, especially since I don't really know what size I am with HP anymore. I think I want to make the dress to look like a blouse/skirt, so I need to assess the coordinating solids and prints available from the stash.

This may go toward the end of the list only because I see this as more summery. Of course, being Florida, summer will be here in just a minute.

This one will definitely need a muslin and the right fabric so I don't end up with a sack since I see it with a higher waist and more fitted than shown. I'm thinking laundered linen or rayon challis. We'll see.

This one is available for download but I didn't feel like printing and taping and thought the $3 additional was a good tradeoff for NOT doing that. I'm thinking this will be a quick project so it may take a place near the top of the list. Plus it will be new-to-me and I'm a magpie with shiny, new things. ;-)

I made this before in a knit but it's HUGE now and only being kept so I can better gauge a current sizing. I also want to make this in a drapey woven this time. I don't think I have anything suitable in the stash, so I'll be on the lookout.

I also made this one before and again it's too big. But it fit great before so I'm hopeful it will be successful in a smaller size. I'm thinking white or another solid linen. I'll have to check the stash.

This may or may not get made since it's the old sizing (Glamour Girl) and the reviews are mixed. I need to pull out the pattern pieces and evaluate before deciding.

Can you believe I do not have one Sunshine Top in my current wardrobe? All of my previous makes of my favorite HP are too big. Since my weekend wardrobe is severely lacking, I think it's time to size it down.

I made this once before and a fabric disaster kept it from being wearable. Plus it was made in a bigger size back then so even if it was wearable then, it wouldn't be now. It was a popular pattern back when it was first released and, really, who doesn't need another wrap/faux wrap dress?

Thinking of this for weekends and casual Fridays in a summery knit.

Another weekend contender. I made this one before too, but never wore it because it was too big. My sister loves it though. I think it deserves another attempt.

I tried the red version way back when and it was a disaster. I don't think I'm going to revisit that one but the tie front version intrigues me. A shorter top than shown in the drawing, or longer as a dress. I will muslin this one for sure since it has sack potential.

Ambitious, no? Let's see how this goes, and no promises that new patterns won't distract me in the middle. But if I can make my way through even half of this list, I'll feel like I've accomplished my goal.

Strike Two

2013-01-27T15:37:00.001-05:00

Yeah. Two weekends of sewing. Two wadders.

To be honest, I didn't have high hopes for this shapeless shift style (V8805) working for me. I was just lured in by the colorblocking and thought I'd try something outside the wheelhouse. I really should've known better. I know me. I KNOW what works on my body, and shapeless shifts are not it.

To make matters worse, I also got a wild hair this morning and decided to line the thing. Or rather, partially line it. Because if by some chance it did work, it was going to be Velcro butt to the max and n aturally I wanted to avoid that. I also substituted a better green for the green that came in the mail the other day. I do like the color combo, but that doesn't help the shapelessness even a little bit.

I shouldn't have bothered.

I'm thinking I *may* go ahead and hem it and then shorten the sleeves and call it a summer house dress. But I've got to cut out the lining for that because this dress is WARM and HEAVY, neither of which are things you want for a Florida summer dress. But before I do that, I'm going to try a chain belt around my waist and see if that helps at all. Probably not, but I've got nothing more to lose at this point.

I think (hope?) the wadders done now, since bad things come in threes and even though I've called this one Strike Two, it's really Strike Three. Oh, what's the third you ask? Remember that skirt I made a couple of weeks ago from the leftover poly print from Joann's. That's the third. I can't go to the bathroom in the thing. It needs a back vent because the hem width is fine to step into getting dressed in the morning, but if you have to hike it up in the loo to do your business (which you do), expect to spend a good 5 minutes wrestling the thing back down. Sheesh.

On the plus side, this pattern is nicely drafted and *might* make a good tee but I'd want to rotate the bust dart out. And, frankly, at the moment that's the last thing on my list.

Nope

2013-01-26T12:22:00.000-05:00

It's going to the Goodwill pile.

It makes me look like a tree trunk. A wildly patterned tree trunk, but a tree trunk nonetheless.

Wadders happen.

Uh oh ...

2013-01-25T23:46:00.001-05:00

... how did this happen? ;-)

Mr. and Mrs. HotPatterns live/work about an hour south of me so I'm hoping the fruits of my ~~fall~~ leap off the wagon will be here by next weekend.

In the meantime, the dress from last post still sits. I haven't been back to the sewing room since last weekend to even look at it. But my knits for the colorblocked dress arrived and are prewashing as I type. I have to say I'm NOT happy with the color of the green since I was expecting a more lime than I received. It'll do and is probably a better winter color, but it's not one of my favorite greens. I hope I'm not about to make another Zillie squatter.

Off to bed so I can get up early and start cutting tissue and fabric.

Stopping Point

2013-01-21T22:50:00.005-05:00

I've nearly finished the dress (V8825) -- everything done except the hem -- but I'm stopping. I got to the point of trying it on and I wasn't loving it. It's a lot of dress. And the sash weighs a TON and doesn't want to stay in place at my waist so I'm going to have to come up with some sort of security/belt carriers.

Technically, it fits perfectly except the sleeves could be a smidgen shorter. When "researching," I noticed all the sleeves in the PR reviews were on the too-long side so I already shortened the pattern 1/2" before cutting out. I think another 1/2" would've been perfect. But I'm not sure if I'm even going to keep the sleeves. I love the *idea* of the bishop sleeves but in the print and on me and with the high-in-the-back neckline, I feel kind of swallowed up. (Plus it's that puffy time o'the month, which is NOT the time to be trying on new clothes. Argh. I thought turning 50 last year was supposed to put an end to that stuff. I mean, it's not like I'm contemplating any more babies. Oh the things we share on the blogs. LOL)

Now don't misunderstand, I think the dress *looks* great in the photo here and in person, and I do love me a print. But I think we've just spent too much time together today and we need a break from each other for the love to re-kindle. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. :-)

On the bright side, except for the previously-mentioned sleeve shortening, I made absolutely no alterations to the pattern. I cut the 16 for the upper half and morphed to the 18 at the hip, and that's it.

Back to work tomorrow. I'm not wearing anything new, but OMG ... LOVE!!. ... LOVE!! Mrs. Obama's "new clothes" today, didn't you?

McCall's 6397 #2 Finished and Stash Crash

2013-01-20T13:40:00.002-05:00

After spending all day yesterday doing absolutely NOTHING more than 10 feet from my bed (reading, napping, catching up on the DVR), I was wide awake at 6 am this morning. After last week, I needed to recharge the batteries. Thankfully, I still have 2 days of weekend left (and a nice paycheck coming soon). Although most of the rest of today will be spent watching football, I do plan to get into the sewing room in spurts to cut out the next pattern. More on that later.

Meanwhile, I did finally finish the dress. It had been collecting dust on Zillie for two weeks waiting for the sleeve bindings and hem, but it's now done. I will probably wear it as styled below, with this RTW blouse.When I do, I'll snap a pic of me in it.

The zipper everyone commented on is just a basic brass zipper with a "leftover" earring put through the pull. Without a jewelry ring to hold it place, it doesn't really work to actually pull the zipper without opening and coming out of the pull but it does stay in place and hang straight if it's not pulling the zipper. These used to be some of my favorite earrings until I lost one so I'm happy to be able to use the straggler for something more than making me growl when I see it in my jewelry dish.

Last post I was flip-flopping about a Style Arc pattern order when I didn't like the freebie o'the month. Well, the $34 shipping charge made me close the shopping cart immediately. Sorry Style Arc. I'm just not ready to plop down nearly $100 for 4 patterns. I know others love them but only a few of the styles interest me and even then, they are just not all that and a $34 shipping charge so I will continue to watch from the sidelines.

I noticed Vogue was on sale at the BMV website and I quenched my pattern lust with these. I ordered them Wednesday and they were here yesterday. Unbelievable speedy! If I had made it out to the mailbox before the day was nearly over, I might have even sewed yesterday but who wudda thunk they'd be here already?

Up next is the dress version of 8825 (lower left). After that, 8805 (bottom middle), with the fabrics below which will be arriving soon. I turned the screenshot upside down since this is how I plan to use them in the colorblocking.

Hopefully I'll be back before the work week starts again, and with something to show (and wear).

Tired Ramblings

2013-01-14T22:08:00.000-05:00

1. I'm tired.
2. Almost too tired to even write this.
3. The dress remains on Zillie waiting to be finished.
4. I thought I would get in some sewing time this past weekend but my time was instead spent working Saturday and then FINALLY clearing away Christmas, cleaning the house after, and vegging in front of every football game.
5. I worked a LOT last week (c'mon OT paycheck!) and stayed up too late last night which is why I'm tired today.
6. Wait 'til I spill the beans on that zipper so many of you commented on.
7. There are finally some Style Arc patterns I might be willing to plunk down the bucks to buy.
8. But I hate the freebie for this month.
9. So, to wait or not to wait?
10. I'm taking a week+ off in the next 2-3 weeks.
11. Exact dates yet to be determined while we are in semi-crisis mode.
12. Not really a crisis but I'm too tired to think of a better word.
13. The last of the firm's "founding fathers" passed away this past Friday and there's been a LOT to do in our department and all over the firm as we organize obituaries, memorials, and services.
14. My time off will be a staycation, and hopefully a mostly sewcation.
15. I'm hoping to get to the pile of things needing something from the sewing room.
16. Meaning, remakes or take-ins or tweaks.
17. And around those projects, some new ones.
18. I need to take a page from Carolyn's book and spend the next couple of weeks planning so I don't end up with analysis paralysis and nothing sewn.
19. Really looking forward to the upcoming long weekend.
20. Did I mention I'm tired?
21. And it's only Monday?
22. It feels like Thursday. ;-)
23. As soon as I make to 25 I'm putting on the PJs and climbing under the covers.
24. Tomorrow is payday, so that's something to look forward to.
25. And maybe I'll order those Style Arc patterns, freebie be damned, and hope they arrive by the time I'm staycationing.

Good night!

Rolling Along

2013-01-06T22:09:00.000-05:00

Is this a lovely sight ... seams all lined up as they should be.

I made a lot of progress on the dress today. None on the Christmas decorations though. You all are a BAD influence. ;-) All that's left is binding the armholes and the hem. I did try it on and I'm happy to report that it fits like it was made for me.

While working on the dress I was reminded again of something I keep meaning to talk about since it's a topic I don't see mentioned a whole lot on sewing blogs. Glass head pins. One of my favorite notions. A little expensive for pins but worth their price. I also have regular sewing pins (quilting pins, actually, because I like the extra long length) that I use when actually sewing but when I'm near the iron and have a need to keep something in place without burning my fingertips, I reach for these special pins I keep within reach of the iron.

In case you don't know why they're so great at the ironing board, it's because you can iron right over them. The glass heads resist the heat, unlike plastic-headed pins. Which means I can fold up a hem, stab pins into the board, and then press. On extra-fiddley fabric or curves or wiggly bits, I might pin proper so I can carry the fabric to the machine with the pins in place, but either way, it's great to let the pins do the holding while I press and literally save my skin.

Now it's time for season 3 of Downton Abbey. Is anyone else as happy as me that it's FINALLY back on?

Sewing Won

2013-01-05T23:14:00.002-05:00

But I'm betting you knew it would. ;-)

The invisible (magenta!) zip is in, the hem is complete, and the skirt is finished. I cut out a black lining and then decided not to use it. First, I wanted this done already so impatience won out, and second, I was thinking with the poly, it was just gonna be hot and static-y and my impatience didn't want to find out if that would be true. Since the lining is pretty much ready to go, I can always go back and add it if I change my mind. Or, I have a lining waiting for another skirt. The scrap around Zillie's neck is all that my friends Polly and Esther left me (BTW, P&E is not original, I think I stole that from Rachelle). I think I might serge a rolled edge and have a cowl/scarf, which I probably *won't* wear with the skirt.

Next up is another make of McCall's 6397.

I wore the first make all summer but it's definitely a summer dress and I've been missing it now that "winter" is here. If you were following along back then, you probably remember my disappointment at finding out too late that there's a drafting error in the pattern so that the pocket seam/waist dart on the skirt doesn't match up with the bust dart on the bodice in real life like shown on the envelope drawings. (I also notice that the human version on the envelope is the other view, the one without that seam. Hmm.) Other than that, I really liked this pattern and knew I'd make it again, after fixing that error.

It was actually a pretty quick fix. (So why, McCall's, didn't YOU do it?) I lined up the bust dart with the pocket seam and saw that all I had to do was re-cut it on the size 14 line. That's step 1.

Step 2 was to add onto the side piece (10) what was removed by recutting the seam above. Step 3, the last step, was to add onto the pocket bag (9) so it matched piece 10.

I knew I wanted to make this in a double-knit. The first make is a stretch woven and since it has about the same amount of stretch as a firm double-knit, I was fairly confident the fit would be similar. (Hope that confidence doesn't come back to bite me in the butt.)

I'm using this printed double-knit recently acquired from Fabric.com. I had ordered two colorways but only received this one because the other had sold out, darn it.

I auditioned some different thread colors for the topstitching and settled on the one at the bottom of this pic. It actually matches the light color in the fabric, but the lighting played tricks with the camera.

Here's where I am as of now. I'll get back into the sewing room tomorrow, but I also do want to tackle the Christmas crap ... er ... decorations ... too, so I'm not counting on a finished dress at the end of the day.

If this one works out like I think it will, I'm going to make another double-knit dress from McCall's 6394, probably similar to the bottom left view. You know I'll be checking those seams before I cut good fabric.

Now it's time for a chocolate martini ... which is chocolate-flavored vodka + creme de cacao + Godiva liquor, chilled in a shaker with ice and then drained. Yum! They were passing these out (in cute little martini shooter glasses) at my cousin's wedding last April and I've been hooked ever since. It took me a few experiments to come up with a mix that tasted like those, but even the trials tasted pretty darn good. Hic!

Random Friday Thoughts

2013-01-04T20:08:00.000-05:00

1. Put away Christmas stuff or sew?
2. Why do tires cost so freakin' much?
3. I hate Enterprise Car Rental for ripping off the Marine.
4. I *will* take it up the ladder for him if he can't work it out.
5. In public.
6. Put away Christmas stuff or sew?
7. Thinking of a sewcation for the end of January.
8. At least a stay home and veg-cation. ;-)
9. I actually ROLLED OVER 60 hrs of vacation from 2012.
10. I can barely remember the last time I had a job with paid vacation, and I'm sure I used up every square inch of it then.
11. Chocolate martini or put away Christmas stuff?
12. That one's not even a contest.
13. Supposed to rain all weekend.
14. The Marine was scraping ice this morning with a credit card in NC. Hah.
15. In his Service Bravos.
16. Have you heard about the Marines' new "non-casual Friday" rule?
17. I kinda think it rocks, being a non-casual Friday kind of person myself.
18. I haven't sewn pants in 2 years.
19. Maybe I need to revisit that.
20. I was hoping to lose 30 more lbs. but I've been stable for over a year so maybe that's not gonna happen.
21.Put away Christmas stuff or sew?
22. I still love my job, but why aren't weekends 5 days long EVERY week?
23. I think I want to make a ponte knit dress.
24. Wonder if there's anything suitable in the stash?
25. Put away Christmas stuff or sew?
26. But first I have to finish that spur of the moment print skirt.
27. And embroider tees for my brother-in-law.
28. Not really digging the idea of production embroidery.
29. Selfish sewing is more fun.
30. For me, anyway.

Simplicity 2474 and Magic Pencil Modeled

2013-01-02T20:19:00.000-05:00

Here I am after work, wearing my new top and skirt.

Note to self: Stand away from the lamp so it doesn't
look like a tumor growing out of my hip.

But I actually kept this black cardi on most of the day as the office runs cool.

The top definitely passed the wearability test and with just using 28" of fabric plus 1/2 pack of binding, I can see a few more of these in my future. Even from Joann's Polly & Esther collection. ;-)

Sewing in the New Year With Skirts

2013-01-01T22:56:00.003-05:00

I saw the New Year roll in but I wasn't enjoying chocolate martinis like I had planned. What I ate for dinner immediately started arguing with the stomach and made a reappearance shortly thereafter. Then it was nap time, up again at 10-ish, but still not ready for anything to replace dinner, including said martinis. Sigh. At least it wasn't a lasting bug and I'm perfectly fine today. The cocktails will keep until the weekend. But day-um, a special trip to the liquor store and the bottles remain sealed.

Today was lounge and sewing day, interrupted only by the unexpected need to have a new tire installed on my car after Alex hit a curb to avoid being t-boned by a reckless oncoming car. Did I mention that 2 weeks ago he backed up into a Mercedes? Also in my car. Fun times. I've been wanting a new car but now I'm not so sure. Dents in a new car are a lot harder to swallow. ;-)

So, back to the sewing ... it's a lot less expensive.

The purple Magic Pencil is finished. No new pics since it looks pretty much like the last shot. If I wear the outfit tomorrow, which is the current plan, I'll try to remember to snap a pic of me in it. With the new shoes. ;-)

After finishing that one, I pulled out Butterick 5566 simply because I'd already made a version of it once and wouldn't need to cut and alter tissue. But I didn't cut any of the official envelope views. Not enough fabric for anything more than a very basic pencil skirt. Instead I cut the plain front which is hidden under the draped gray and beige skirts, bottom left and right.

It's not done yet. I still need to install the invisible zip in the back, add the waist facings, and then hem it. I think I'm also going to line it so that will delay completion a little more. But none of that is difficult . Once I get back in the sewing room, it should go quickly. I just hope me getting back in there is quick too.

Happy New Year!

Simplicity 2474 in purple mosaic

2012-12-31T00:04:00.002-05:00

I sewed! I sewed! OK, you can get up off the floor now. :-)

This top is probably the last make of 2012 for me. Tomorrow is a half-day at work but it's also going to be Tyler's last day with us as he's taking off for St. Augustine to ring in the New Year with his big brother Michael, and then back to North Carolina and being a Marine the day after. We'll have dinner together before he leaves and then I think I'll be doing some toasting of my own and it's probably not a good idea to mix that with the sewing machines. The skirt is not actually sewn yet ... just the front pinned onto Zillie for photo loveliness purposes.

The pattern is Simplicity 2474, and the last thing I bought it for was this simple top. But a simple top is what I was after since the Joann's fabric bought yesterday is from their lovely (cough:cough) polyester collection and I did not want to fight slippery poly with fussy details. It will be a nice layering piece in the winter and then move into spring and summer nicely.

I bought 2 yds since I didn't have a pattern in mind until last night. This pattern calls for just under 2 yds. Even after adding 3 inches to the length at the hem, I only used 28 inches of those 2 yards. Which means there will be a matching skirt for a 2-piece "dress" sometime in the near future. Part of the fabric savings was that I used pre-made bias binding for the neck and sleeve facings, and part was pattern layout stupidity.

I made a quick muslin and decided a real FBA was in order and so made a 1/2" adjustment. I started with the 14 at the neckline, graded out to the 16 at upper bust, 18 at hips, and ended up adding an additional 3/8" at the hip sideseam. Thank you holiday treats at the office I didn't resist this year. Back on the wagon this week, that's for sure.

These two pieces are all there is if, like me, you don't use the 2 facing pieces. The pattern calls for a CF seam, for no discernible reason I could see. So I eliminated it, which also helped in the fabric stinginess. I kept the CB seam since it does have some shaping.

Here's a shot of the inside and the black bias used for the neckline facing. I think it would've been nigh on impossible to make self-fabric bias with the slippery poly. I'm glad I didn't even try.

The sleeves have a pleat at the hem, which you can sorta see here. You can also see the same bias used to finish the sleeve hems.

The top is simple but I like it. And since it is poly, it will be easy through the laundry. I think it will get a lot of wear since it goes with the purple and with black. And if I make that matching skirt, I'll even have a mini wardrobe capsule. I'm hoping to spend New Year's Day in the sewing room to finish up the purple skirt for a new outfit to wear to work on Wednesday and maybe I can hustle and get the print skirt done too before the fabric gets buried in the stash closet.

Back in the Saddle ... Kinda

2012-12-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year when all the cool bloggers seem to be doing 2012 In Review type posts. Dare I say I'm not a cool blogger? Or is it just because I'm just a lazy blogger? The truth is I can't be bothered to go back and look at the last year on the blog from this laptop (my home desktop is on the edge of dying and I'm not ready to spend bucks on a new one when I have all I need in that at work and the lappie is technically just fine). It's hard enough to type without hitting the stupid touchpad every other sentence. But I digress.

I know I sewed some things during the year cuz I've been wearing most of them to death. But there were some changes in my life in 2012 that seem to be closer to the front of my brain. Separating, moving, officially being hired at my dream job. Yeah, I'd say those were some major rollercoasters, but I'm on the other side and only see a cloud of dust in the rear view mirror. I'm having a ball. Life is good. :-)

Christmas week and beyond has been great. I actually got a wild hair and pulled out the decorations for the first time in years. It's amazing what being happy does for motivation to decorate with tacky Christmas stuff. ;-) Alex got in the mood too and strung lights all over the outside of the house. Which means we weren't the neighborhood Scrooges like I thought we'd be. Go us!

Tyler arrived 12/20, dumped his stuff, and started visiting all his friends. Mom who? ;-) That's OK, I was expecting it and I had to work through Friday anyway. He's been in/out over the last week but we've actually seen him a lot. We spent all day Christmas Eve car shopping and he did manage to come home with exactly what he wanted. Let's hope that this time he doesn't total it within a month. ;-)

Alex's gift to us was tickets to Blue Man Group at Universal for Christmas night, which was a blast and also means that I actually was at Universal Studios for two Christmases in a row since Alex and I spent all day there Christmas Day 2011. Who wudda thunk? Yes, Life Is Good.

Also from the Life Is Good Department, shopping today. For moi. I'm not gonna lie ... love those me-shopping days. But jeez Louise, remind me to NEVER go near the mall the weekend after Christmas. I knew enough to stay away BEFORE and did all my shopping on the lappie, but I thought I'd be safe by now. Hah. Joke was on me. But I had a DSW gift card just burning a hole and off I went. I seriously needed some new black heels and I'm happy to report success. And then some.

Pair #1:

Pair #2 (Please ignore the dirty stuff in the sink back there. I know I am.):

Pair #3 (totally impractical but so pretty. And comfy):

Uh ... my name is Debbie and it's been 10 hours since my last shoe purchase:

I'm almost embarrassed by this. Almost. And there's at least 30 pairs you can't see at the ends of those shelves and the floor to the right. Shoes and fabric. What can I say?

Also for me today ... another wild hair but this time at the nail salon. Aren't they cool? I've been inspired by nails on Pinterest lately and decided to just go for it today. Love them! (Hate the old lady hands.)

And speaking of fabric. A trip to Joann's today for purple thread also yielded this, which will become a top to go with the purple ponte Magic Pencil skirt I'll be making tomorrow when I actually get into the sewing room again and back in that saddle.

Yes, Life Is Good.

I'm not dead yet

2012-12-13T18:43:00.002-05:00

Fans of Monty Python's Holy Grail should get that post title. :-)

Just a drive-by posting to say I'm alive and well. Just really busy at work and life and my Scroogy self is looking forward to December 26.

My mom self is looking forward to December 20, when the Marine will be arriving for a couple of weeks. He came back from his first deployment last weekend, and truth be told, I think he's a little sad to have left Japan. He loved it there! Rumor is the next "trip" will be to a far less friendly place with a lot more sand. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. He *is* a Marine and they all want to go there.

Tomorrow is our ~~Christmas~~ holiday party at work. I didn't make anything new. I'll either wear exactly what I wore last year or I'll pair the jeweled top with the black Neue Mode skirt I made recently. It's been pretty warm this week.

Speaking of work, I received my first bonus in many, many years. I'm happy to report that it was performance-based, well ... more like performance-ENHANCED ... and I nearly fell on the floor when I saw the evidence in my bank account. Nice to have solid proof they like me as much as I like them. Such a GREAT place and wonderful people.

Not sure how much more sewing will be happening after I finish my sister's cardi this weekend, but stick around cuz you never know.

Not for me

2012-12-01T23:55:00.002-05:00

Today in the sewing room was not for me. Well, mostly.

First up, is another make of the cardi from Vogue 8546. This time for my sister for Christmas, on request after trying mine on last winter. I cut it out today and will sew it either tomorrow or during the week. It's a fast sew, if I remember correctly.

Here's mine from 2 years ago. Hers will be purple Sophia knit. I still wear mine since sizing isn't really an issue in this drapey style. I'm sure I could make it smaller and it would still fit about the same.

For me, I did manage to eek out one Magic Pencil from the leftover purple Sophia, so that's ready to be sewn.

The other Not-for-Me is this infinity scarf for the "white elephant" gift exchange at work on Tuesday.

The rules for our exchange are to spend no money, find something, anything you already own that you want to part with, and re-gift it. We did this last year too and it was pretty funny since you start by unwrapping one gift but it can be "stolen" along the way by the later unwrappers. I've had this fabric in my stash for years and these infinity scarves seem to be trendy right now so maybe it will be a winner. If not, less than an hour was spent making it (thanks to Dawn's tutorial here) and these 2 yards are now out of the stash and can stop mocking me.

Since I'm basically a Scrooge, this will probably be the extent of any holiday sewing or crafting.

In other news, both the shoes and the fabric I recently ordered arrived. The shoes went back since they weren't immediately comfortable. Sob. Half the fabric is also going back since I'm not thrilled with it. I have too large a stash to just keep what I don't love and I'd rather have the money back to buy what I do. But that still leaves a few cuts that I did like and tomorrow they'll be pre-washed and ready to go for whenever the mood hits.

Quick Model Shots

2012-11-26T18:38:00.003-05:00

I'm already in lounge clothes (OK, PJs) as I write this, but I did take some pics before the quick change after work. After 4-1/2 luxurious days off, staying up late and sleeping in, I'm a little pooped from my 6 AM wake-up call. But the day went fast and it was great to actually eat a healthy salad for lunch. I'm staying away from the dreaded scale but I'm sure I've added a couple lbs since last weekend.

Here's the whole outfit as I wore it all day long. Side note: No Nonsense tights - best ever! Finally a pair of hose that doesn't creep downward during the day and doesn't reach to my armpits when I put them on. Lots of colors on their website too ... some of which I'll be buying soon.

And since I think I'm supposed to be showcasing the blouse, here it is without the cardi.

Now to veg in front of the DVR and then football, and maybe indulge in yet another turkey sandwich.