Because I Said Sew

Whirlwind of Shimmys

2011-03-07T20:56:00.003-05:00

I have been sewing like a madwoman, trying to complete a belly dance costume by the show date of March 26th.

I will write more details on the costume after the show, but in the meantime, here are a few in progress shots....

The bra, complete. It looks better on me. My dress form has a tragically small chest, a deficiency I do not suffer from. :-)

The belt, in progress

The skirt is the same black velvet as the bra, with heavy scatter beading at the bottom phasing into light beading at the top. I actually finished one version, but then realized that I cut the skirt so the velvet nap was not in the "pretty" direction. So after 40+ hours of work on it, I decided to chuck it and start over. I am keeping the old pieces intact in case I run out of time, but have recut and started beading a new skirt. Which is insane, because no one would ever notice the "mistake" if I didn't point it out, but it was bugging me so there it is.

Speaking of which...back to beading!!! :-)

Stop and sew the roses

2011-01-21T11:10:00.001-05:00

I am no stranger to making fabric flowers. I have made them to put in my hair (back when I had enough hair to do this) and also to put on vintage style hats like this one (my very favorite hat that I have ever made)

But this is the first time I have made hip flowers! :-) I am recreating the flowers from the necklace in black velvet to put on the belt of my belly dance costume. And here is the result.

These are pretty much the same kind of flowers I used to make for my hair, only on a bigger scale. I liked them for my hair because they had were light-weight, had dimension, and didn't get all wilty and floppy when I sweat through them.

Here is how you go about doing it
(Diet Coke in picture above is optional, but highly recommended).

First, draw a flower and cut out a petal pattern. Then cut out a billion flower petals (or however many you need) in something that has some shape. I used stiffened felt here because I had it on hand, but you can also use denim or canvas or heavy interfacing. I have even used those funky foamie sheets in the past. The color doesn't matter because you will be covering them.

Grab some sort of wire stuff. I used 22 gauge beading wire, but have used pipe cleaners and floral wire in the past. Basically you want something stiff enough to hold its shape, but not so stiff that it isn't a bit malleable. Sew the wire stuff around the edges of the petal.

Cut a piece of your fabric slighly bigger than your petal. Since my velvet is stretchy, I didn't need a piece much bigger than the petal; you might need a bit more leeway if your fabric has no stretch or cut it on the bias. Run a gathering stitch around the edge of the fabric. Before you pop the fabric on the petal, bend the petal into the approximate shape you want. You can make some adjusting later, but if you cover it while it is flat, it won't be as smooth later on.

Once all your petals are all covered and pretty, cut a circle of fabric/felt/interfacing that is smaller than your finished flower. You can then attach all the flowers at the center point. Be careful to keep your stitches near the center so they won't show around the edges of whatever center pretty you put on your flower. Depending on what look you want, you can sew partway up your petals, but make sure your stitches can't be seen in the front. This is the underside of my flower after all the petals were stitched onto the center circle.

Adjust the bendyness of your petals until it is all purty. Then attach a button or a sparkle or another fancy of your choice in the center to cover the stitches there.

Voila!!

EXPERT TIP:
The more cats you manage to pile on your lap while you are working, the better your flowers will turn out. :-D

A belly tale

2011-01-19T08:59:00.006-05:00

Once upon a time, way back in June 2010, there was a girl who was in a show with a bunch of other girls. She made a bunch of make-up bags for the other girls with their names on them, because it made her happy to do so.

And she made a big bag, a make-up bag, and a cookie kit for the teacher, because that is how she rolls.

And they all lived happily ever after, shimmying into the sunset.

The end.

The Plan, it changes

2011-01-17T14:50:00.005-05:00

So I had a plan for my belly dance costume. The shape of it was kinda vintage 40s inspired, a bra and belt set with a long trumpet skirt.

Here is a VERY rough sketch of what I was thinking (I can't draw for crap)

Black velvet with silver accents; the plan for the bra/belt decoration was a very cool geometric art deco design. I even started making some of the beaded appliques for the belt portion.

And then I visited my parents and my mother was going through her jewelry and I saw this necklace...

I had to steal...er....borrow it from her. And am now basing the costume on it. It is hard to see in the photo, but it has gorgeous mother of pearl stones. Still keeping the shape of the old plan, but the decoration is all changing to a more organic flower based design. And I have this pinkish shimmery fabric in the stash that I have had for 10+ years that goes perfectly with the mother of pearl that I think I will use as the base of the belt and then use the black velvet for the flowers on top of that. The skirt and the bra will still be black velvet.

I am building the flowers and gathering supplies. I will post a bit later on how I am doing the flowers, after I actually finish one and make sure it is actually going to work!

I am also beading the entire skirt with heavier scatter beading at the bottom with it transitioning to less beading at the top. There will probably be about 30 hours or so of beading in the skirt alone, based on what I have done so far. My lunch hours are being well spent these days!

I'm Not Dead Yet.

2011-01-11T09:38:00.009-05:00

Yes readers, I am still alive. If there are any of you left to read this! I took a long unannounced break from blogging, but not from sewing. I plan on posting some updates on what I worked on during my six-month hiatus as well as my current project.

Currently, I am working on a belly dance costume for an upcoming show in March. It consists of a long trumpet skirt, a belt, and a bra, all based in black stretch velvet and all heavily decorated. I haven't settled on the final design for the bra and belt yet, but based on the beading I have done so far on the skirt, it will be about 20+ hours worth of beading for the skirt alone. My lunch hours will be very full for the foreseeable future. :-)

Until I get pictures of the belly costume, here is a picture of the last project I spoke about before disappearing, the belly dance show cover-up/caftan.

I ended up going with a plain blue linen blend and embroidered peacock embellishments on panels with sparkle organza and silver trim. In some places I cutout the feathers and left them hole-y, in others I did some reverse applique and added beads. Turned out ok and it worked fine for the show last June, although I am already wanting something else....

Collar Trim with close-up views

Sleeve trim

Hem Trim with close-up view

That's a whole lot of look?

2010-05-19T23:44:00.015-04:00

Making a cover-up for in between belly dancing shows. Planning on using this pattern from Decades of Style.

I am really struggling with the fabric choice though. It is for belly dance purposes, so I definitely don't want something too plain. But I am only 5 foot nothing and with too bold a fabric, that would definitely be too much look for my short round body.

These are some fabrics I am considering, conveniently on sale at Gorgeous Fabrics....

1.2.
3.4.
5.6.
7.8.
9.10.
11.12.
13.14.

Any favorites? Or other recommendations? Or would all of these overwhelm me and I should just go with a solid of some sort?

Ack! And Shimmy!

ETA: Hmmm. The more I look, the more the subtlety of 13 and 14 appeal. Hmmmm. But then again, subtle not exactly the belly dancing way. :-D

More ETA: Now I may also be considering a pattern like the one below....

Shimmying, try again later

2010-04-21T09:36:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the long blog silences. I have had so little time to sew lately and even less time to blog.

Along with my usual swing dancing madness (including one of DC's big dance weekends DCLX earlier this month), I have added belly dancing to the mix. I actually joined a performance troupe last month and have been crazy busy with twice a week rehearsals, preparing for a show on June 5. Plus I have become kinda the default leader of the group because I remember choreography easily, so I have spent even MORE time helping out my fellow dancers who are falling behind a bit.

On top of all that, I am on a major weight loss binge. I am down 15 lbs from my highest weight, and 10 lbs since the beginning of March. Nothing like knowing you are gonna be shimmying half naked on a stage in a few months to kick the motivation into gear. :-) Anywho, it is hard to sew with my rapidly changing body because almost as soon as I finish something, it doesn't fit anymore!

But fear not! I have some scathingly brilliant ideas in the vintage arena that I will be jumping into full force in June.

Patience until then grasshoppers. I promise I will return and hope you will still be here checking in when I do!

Christmas quilts and tags

2010-03-25T10:27:00.010-04:00

Yes, still blogging about gifts I gave for Christmas in March. That is because it was the most recent sewing I have done. Mojo = DEAD

For my mom and mother in law...

With gifty luggage tags....

And one for the Niece...

Because she likes pugs...

Slowly emerging from the doldrums

2010-02-19T14:23:00.012-05:00

Christmas sewing killed my mojo. It is only recently that I have seen a glimmer of it returning. But in the meantime, here are a few photos of the gift madness.

My army of Gingermen ornaments, ready to take over the world.

Gingerbread cookie kits, with cookie mix, cookie cutter, ornaments, and bag

Hot chocolate kit, with mix and bag

Holiday collar (as modeled by a horse, because I don't have a dog!!)

And that doesn't even include the quilts and gift tags. I will do those next week. Shew!!

Pants!

2010-01-15T10:29:00.003-05:00

So after all my Christmas gift making madness (more posts on those later after I fully recover. ha!), I feel the need to go back to my sewing roots and make a garment.

I am in the middle of a weight loss adventure, and while I just cinch in my work pants with a belt for now, that doesn't work for the more active use that my dancing clothes get. After a few near wardrobe malfunctions on the dance floor (note to self, ALWAYS wear nice undies dancing, even under pants. Just in case.) So I need to make a few pairs of pants in my current size to get me through until I settle down at my "forever weight" and start making visions of gorgousness that I will wear everyday because they will fit me forever. As I ride my unicorn off into the sunset. :-)

I decided to try out the Hot Patterns 1091 Wong Singh Jones Marrakesh Drawstring Pants and I am currently searching for The Perfect Fabric--although I find it difficult to buy fabrics on-line when drape is a major factor in your results and this pattern definitely qualifies. I don't want to resort to Joann's, but I may have to in order to be able to feel my way to the right drape.

If any of y'all have any suggestions for a particular .com fabric you have run across that would work for this one, please throw them my way. I do need to be able to dance (and sweat!!) in them so it has to be fairly easy care fabric. And since these are "temporary" pants, I don't want to spend gobs of cash.

Poor Customer Service

2009-12-17T14:22:00.005-05:00

I just had a very negative shopping experience with Sewing Machine Outlet, http://www.sewingmachineoutlet.com/.

I ordered an insert for my sewing table. It was (and still is as of right now) listed on the website for $50.00. A week passes. I get a message from them asking me to call about my order.

When I call, they tell me they have the wrong price listed on the website, that it is actually 65 dollars and it needs some sort of special shipping that would make the final total around 85 bucks.

No thank you.

And as of this moment, the price is still listed on the website as $50.

So now, a week after I figured it was already on its way, I need to find another place that sells them or make one myself.

ETA: They said they would cancel order and refund my money, but no sign of that so far.

Holiday Robot

2009-12-10T15:08:00.002-05:00

I got a hand-me-down wreath from my mom. And, well....it wasn't very attractive.

I decided what it needed was a Holiday Robot. Holding a present.

I have no explanation for this, but once the idea got in my head it had to be done....

The good, the bad, the ugly.

2009-12-07T14:34:00.002-05:00

That thought I had several months ago about making presents for everyone this year...That was a good one.

That thought I had last week that I had plenty of time to do them still...That was a bad one.

The next two weeks...I can't start thinking about how ugly it is gonna be because then I will never start.

Dancing Goodness

2009-11-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

I don't usually watch So You Think You Can Dance, but this week, they are having Lindy Hop. Yay!!

Not only that, but the song they are using was recorded by the band (the Boilermakers) that played my wedding!!

And the choreographer is Carla Heiney, who used to be a DC local and I took classes with her back in the day.

Small world!!!

All Hands...er...Paws On Deck

2009-11-12T08:08:00.002-05:00

Quick, Mommy is making a quilt! She needs our help! Fred, you stand off to the side and be ready to jump in when she gets it all smooth and needs extra hands. George, you go head butt her and keep it up the entire time she is on the floor--she will appreciate your moral support. I will sit here on the quilt and hold it down for her. Ready....GO!

Thank you, furkids. I couldn't do it without you I am sure.

Hello Random

2009-11-10T09:52:00.004-05:00

Working on bits and pieces of this and that. So here is an update on some random projects I have been working on.

Costumes for Miss Adams Morgan Pageant, a drag queen show here in D.C. I made several outfits for one of the contestants, but stupidly only took one picture the whole time I was there. DOH! I'm the short one. :-P

I made my hat, loosely based on one of the Vintage Vogue hat patterns. My dress is the Decades of Style Button dress. I also made her dress, which was a mash up of draping and several different patterns. I wish I had a picture of the looooong skirt that also went with this dress. It had yards and yards and yards of ruffles trimming it. How much do I love my automatic ruffling foot--A LOT!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a little Dancing Buddha embroidered doorstop that I finished just in time for it to be too cold to open the doors. Yay Me!

And finally, now that it is getting dark so early, I needed some reflective patches to wear when I run at night. Aliens and robots make me happy. I think I will make a squirrel too.

Cats and Sewing

2009-11-06T12:18:00.001-05:00

So it seems that cats and sewing often go together. At least from the pictures of all the sewing "helper" cats that I see on various blogs. And my question for all you people is.....how do you do it?

My kitties are banned from the sewing room because I imagine all sorts of craft dangers for them (ribbons and threads and pins, oh my!). Which makes for difficult times because when I am in there they sit outside the door and cry and stick their little arms under the door and generally make me feel like a schmoo for depriving them of Mommy (apparently Daddy is a poor substitute, particularly for our orange cat).

So for those who allow kitties and crafts to exist in the same space, do your kitties get into craft trouble? Am I being overprotective of my little fur-lets? Do I underestimate their intelligence by thinking they will immediately nomnomnom every dangerous item as soon as they are allowed access?

Just wondering....

I love me a Twirly Skirt.

2009-10-26T11:53:00.003-04:00

Saturday Night Dance Outfit Action Pics
-Jalie 2794, sweetheart top, one of my favorites. black with red trim
-Jalie 2681, twirly skirt, awesome for dancing. red with black trim

Dance Weekend

2009-10-25T10:56:00.002-04:00

October 16-19 was Jammin on the James, an all weekend swing dancing event in Richmond. I had ambitious plans for making new clothes for all the dances....but those plans had to be dramatically scaled back because I ran out of time (as usual!). I ended up wearing the following:

Friday Night Dance
-Jalie 2806, flame fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics (Jalie 2910 was the original plan, but it was a HUGE unrecoverable disaster, much to my great disappointment. This was my first Jalie failure and I am so very sad about it.)
-purchased pants

Friday Late Night Dance
-embroidered shirts (pics to come)
-purchased pants

Saturday Night Dance
-Jalie 2794, sweetheart top, one of my favorites. black with red trim
-Jalie 2681, twirly skirt, awesome for dancing. red with black trim

Saturday Late Night Dance
-embroidered shirts (pics to come)
-purchased pants

I was too busy dancing to take pictures, but I am going to try to dig some up in the next few weeks. Below is a picture of my Friday Night outfit, in action.

Workshops all day, dances all night. I help The Husband run the late night dances, which means we stay to the bitter end (usually around 4 - 5 am). Exhausting, but completely fun.

Now I am working on the Decades of Style button dress and a matching hat to wear for Halloween, a pair of vintage pants for a local dancer, and a number of costumes for a friend of mine to wear in a drag queen pageant this weekend (which I am attending). SHEW!

One Year Ago Today

2009-10-12T12:12:00.001-04:00

Fall 2009 Quilt Festival

2009-10-09T09:30:00.006-04:00

I am so excited to participate in Park City Girl's Fall 2009 Quilt Festival. I remember when she had the first one back in spring, I had just started quilting and I got so much inspiration from all the quilts posted. And now the quilting obsession has far surpassed my garment sewing, much to my chagrin.

But for my entry, I am going to post again about the Wedding Present quilt.

Front

Back

I made this quilt as a wedding present for a friend of mine and The Husbands. It was the biggest quilt I had made at this point and I was a little intimidated. I had the bride make a choice from 3-4 fabric collections which she liked best, without telling her what I was making. She choose the Joel Dewberry Deer Valley collection, which I thought she would love (and I know is a favorite of many out there), but honestly it doesn't rock my world. So I wanted to make sure and use ALL the scraps because I knew they would languish in my scrap barrel forever unused if I didn't.

So the back is very pieced with lots of the scraps left over from the quilt. I also added this embroidered panel to the center back as a sort of gift tag.

The quilting was a little scary as it was much bigger than I had ever tried to do free motion on my machine. But I took it slow and took lots and lots of breaks and only had to unpick boo-boos a couple times. :-)

But after all of this piecing, I STILL had scraps. So I made a tote bag as gift wrapping.

After I made it, it tended to gape open unattractively, so I made a few little birdie ornaments and pinned them in to weight it closed.

After all this, I had a lovely quilt with wrapping, and zero scraps left over. And the bride loved it. Yay, Happy Ending!

Updates

2009-09-29T11:12:00.001-04:00

Well, as far as the sewing plan for my upcoming dance weekend...all I have done is a twirly skirt. YIKES! I have moved the fabrics and patterns for all the pieces around my sewing room multiple times, but never actually cut or sew. Time to get hopping.

In the meantime, I made this Halloween quilt as a present for my nephew. He LOVES Halloween.

And I made this kitty bed for a friend with a new kitten. With a matching fishy toy

Vintage Pants

2009-09-11T10:46:00.007-04:00

So a while back I was jabbing about a pair of men's vintage pants that I was making for a local dancer, but I never showed any pictures of them. That is because I didn't take any. DOH!

But here they are in action. The couple that starts dancing second at around 1:45 is Bobby White and Carla Heiney (she is wearing a red dress). I made Bobby's pants. :-)

They placed second in the competition. I am not saying my pants had anything to do with that. But I am not saying they didn't either.... Ok, they didn't. Dammit. If I could make magic pants like that I would totally make them for MYSELF!

Bobby is an absolute sweetheart of a guy and a dancer, and I am taking a few private lessons from him in exchange for the sewing. I swear half of the D.C. swing dancing scene (and beyond) owes or has given me lessons in exchange for sewing (for any dancers out there familiar with The Jam Cellar, ask me sometime why I "own" it. Ha!). Nina...Jeff...Frida...Bobby...Meg....the list continues.

Bobby (and his gal Kate, who came over to me while I was dancing last week and stage whispered, Those pants are AWESOME!) must have liked them, because he asked me to make two other pairs, exactly like the ones I made. Being the crankypants about fit that I am though, I see a few problems with the pants in the video, so Pair Number Two will be even better (I hope).

ETA: The dance they are doing is called Balboa and it is kinda a form of swing dancing. I do Balboa and I also do Lindy Hop.

It is also worth noting that the above clip is the finals from a Jack and Jill contest--Jack and Jill competition is where you are randomly assigned rotating partners and have no idea who you will end up dancing with, although most J & Js are broken down by level so you are dancing with someone at approximately the same skill level. So Carla is from California and Bobby is a local here in DC, so while they know each other (the dance world is like that, particularly the upper levels), it isn't like they dance regularly. Everything you see in that clip is lead/follow, no choreography. J & J competitions are much closer to regular social dancing than some of the other competitions.

Fabric Search, HELP!

2009-09-10T15:33:00.003-04:00

I am doing another alphabet book with a name with "y". Y stands for yarn, but I can't seem to find any "yarn" themed fabric. Or rather I found this one:

http://www.jandofabrics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=sew00029

but ACK!!! OUT OF STOCK!

If you know of another source for this fabric or know of any other "yarn" themed fabric, please let me know!!

Right now I am, in desperation, thinking of just going with sheep fabric with the very tentative connection to yarn. And that sucks.

EDITED TO ADD:

HOLD THE PRESSES!!!! I just found the most magnificent thing EVER! A Fabric database. Yes, that is right. I typed in "yarn" and had half a dozen results. EMERGENCY AVERTED!

SHEW!!!

The fabric search database, which I would totally marry: http://www.quiltshops.com/

Something for Me

2009-09-10T10:30:00.001-04:00

October brings one of my favorite dance events of the year, Jammin on the James. It is a weekend of workshops and all night dancing in Richmond that happens every October--last year The Husband and I ended our honeymoon there! I like it because since it is Richmond, it tends to be more laid back and less rock-star filled than D.C. events, but since it is so close to D.C., they get rockstar caliber teachers and just enough rockstar drop-ins to make it fun, not intimidating. I am good friends with the folks that organize it, I am friends with two of the four teachers and have a passing acquaintance with the other two, I know a good portion of the dancers that generally show up; just all the stuff that makes a dance good for me.

I am trying to recapture my dance mojo, and I thought one way to do it was to create a fun new dance wardrobe for Jammin, despite the fact that I am generally not sewing clothes for myself until I lose weight. This is the plan for the dances; for the workshops I am just planning to wear yoga pants and some of the 10000000000000 dance event tshirts that I have.

Friday Night
-red twirly skirt, Jalie 2681
-black knit top with red accents, Jalie 2910.
-red grannie undies (in case of extreme skirt twirlage), Jalie 2568.

Friday Late Night
-pants, Hot Patterns Karate Pants (OOP)
-embroidered/appliqued tees, designs TBD

Saturday night
-1930s style button dress, purple and black fabric from stash,Decades of Style 3007 .
-some kind of groovy hair doodad, TBD

Saturday Late Night
-pants,Hot Patterns 1084 Dragon Beauty Cargo Pants
-embroidered/appliqued tees, designs TBD

Sunday Afternoon Dance
-Ha! Like I will have the time for more! But if I do, maybe another twirly skirt or something.

I will post status updates as I get things done. This is going to be fun!

What I Wrapped, Part 2

2009-09-09T08:44:00.007-04:00

Sassy and Sweet embroidered onesies

Toddler Backpack. Modeled by a horse because that is the closest thing I have to a toddler in my house (the cats don't make very good models...)

Teeny Tiny Baby Shoes

And a Quilt!!

What I was wrapping, part 1

2009-09-04T09:34:00.011-04:00

So what was in the Awesome Baby Stuff bag? All kinds of things! Starting with these two soft ABC name books.

One for Big Brother Nate:

And one for new baby Callie:

Also in the bag were a quilt, some onesies, little booties, and a toddler backpack. Pics of those later, but I have to get back to sewing because I have ANOTHER baby shower tomorrow and I need to finish up the gifts. And hopefully do a more conventional wrapping job. :-D

How to Wrap a Present

2009-09-03T07:56:00.003-04:00

In one easy step.

Materials Required:
-Inappropriate Bag
-Sharpie

Instructions:
Pretty self explanatory

Before

After

Oh yes, I did. Because I am classy like that.

Pink Ladybugs

2009-08-28T09:03:00.005-04:00

A friend asked me to make a girly baby quilt as a gift for her cousin. She came to me and told me the they had chosen pink ladybugs as the theme for their nursery, but she didn't expect me to find pink ladybug fabric so we could just coordinate the colors. HA! Little did she know, there is fabric featuring EVERYTHING and on every theme (It seems to me at least. Granted, some of it is UGLY fabric, but I don't think I have ever searched on a particular theme for fabric and not found SOMETHING). Not only did I find pink ladybugs, I found several different lines of fabric that featured them (Holy Bug Fabric Batman!)! I eventually chose the Ballerina Belles line from Avlyn which I think is out of print now.

I am unreasonably pleased with and proud of that applique I did in the corner. I made it with soft yummy felt and embroidered the little antennae. I kept petting it and taking it out to look at it before I delivered it. My preeeeciiiousssss.....

I am not usually much into the girly pinkness, but I have to admit, I fell more in love with this one the further I progressed with it. I had a hard time giving it up! However, my friend did sent me some very cute pictures of the recipient baby lounging around on it joyfully (which I won't post cause I don't post pictures of other people's kids without specific permission), so that makes it a little easier to swallow.

Very Productive, just not here...

2009-08-27T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have been sewing TONS in the last month, but you wouldn't know it from my blog! Two reasons--I have been working on deadline for a lot of my projects, which means I actually have to buckle down and work on them rather than leisurely toodling around my blog. And second, a lot of them have been gifts and I didn't want to post here until they were sent and received.

I have some project updates coming up, but in the meantime, here is a super quicky embroidered shoe bag I made for a dancer friend of mine. Just in time for H. P. Lovecraft's Birthday!

Wedding present quilt

2009-07-30T13:40:00.007-04:00

Here is the quilt I had the yellow quandry about. As you can see, I did end up taking out the yellow bits--although I agree with the commenters that it gave it a kinda groovy vibe. But since it was a wedding gift and the recipient choose the fabric line, I decided I shouldn't stray from those colors.

Front of quilt

Back of quilt

Embroidered patch on back.

I had some scraps left over and decided to make a coordinating quilted tote bag to "wrap" it in.

And once the bag was made, it kept gaping open so I made these two little love birdies to weight it closed--appropriate for a wedding gift I thought!

The ribbons are just pinned into the bag, so they can remove them and use them as ornaments or whatever they like.

I am not girly

2009-07-23T08:28:00.005-04:00

I particpated in a quilatlong over at Old Red Barn Co and ended up with a bunch of girly squares, enough to make two lap quilts or one ginormous quilts. I decided to make two smaller ones. Here is the general layout for both:

I got one top sewn together but haven't put together the other top or made any efforts in that direction. And haven't put together a back or batting for either of them.

And honestly, I may not ever bother. Cause....I just don't like it. I used the Paula Prass Flights of Fancy fabric line (as that increased my number of entries in the giveaway that I didn't win :-P). While there is NOTHING wrong with the fabric, it really isn't my style. It was probably good for me to do something outside my comfort zone, but since I don't really care for the result and don't have anyone particular to gift these to, they may stay in the UFO pile for a long long time.
There are too many projects that do inspire me, that the ones that end up only so so don't ever get finished unless I am making them for someone else and feel obligated to do so. I suppose I could finish them and give them to my sisters, but then I would have to come up with something to make for my brother and mom and niece and nephew and the whole rest of the world.

Ah well.

Bella does not approve.

Truck quilt, completed!

2009-07-20T07:55:00.005-04:00

Sorry for the long silence. I had a week off from work and have been actually sewing a lot, which means no time wasted on the computer. I had a heck of a time catching up with my blog reader when I finally logged on!

But here is one thing I finished in my sewing frenzy--a quilt for a toddler who loves trucks and cars.

Front of quilt

On the black sashing I quilted yellow lines so it looked a bit like roads. Then I did straight lines going in various directions on the blocks

Close up of Dump Truck Applique

Toddler's initials embroidered on.

Back of quilt

Used up the spare fabric from the front in a stoplight formation.

I believe this quilt was a birthday present he received this past weekend (his grandmother asked me to make it). I hope he liked it!

Poor use of stash

2009-07-02T11:10:00.004-04:00

So I am making a quilt from the Joel Dewberry Deer Valley collection. I came up a few fabrics short and added a few yellow bits from my stash (the gal I am making it for said her favorite colors are orange, green, yellow, and white).

I was taking these picture to help me decide what sashing to use (I sometimes find it easier to see in photos than in real life), and the more I look at the blocks, the less I am liking the yellow. I think this was a boo-boo and I should have just stuck to fabrics within the collection.

These are the days seam rippers were made for. I brought the blocks to work and plan to spend my lunch hour unpicking the blocks with yellow.

Back to the drawing board.

Too much sewing to blog

2009-07-02T09:24:00.005-04:00

I have been doing a ton of sewing but too busy to take pics and blog. I did manage to snap these shirts before they were given away to various peeps.

And a quick shot of what I am working on now....I love painters tape!

Squirrel! Woof!

2009-06-19T08:52:00.004-04:00

My sister was kind enough to do my hair for my wedding, and in return I offered to do some sewing for her.

Her choice.....a custom collar for her dog with squirrels on it!

I machine embroidered the tiny little squirrels and stitched it up for her. It was surprisingly easy to do once I disassembled a cheap collar to figure out how it was put together.

And I have to admit.....it turned out pretty cute.

Here it is modeled on my stuffed horse (the cats wouldn't stand still for it!).

Other shots

I want MORE MORE MORE

2009-06-18T11:40:00.007-04:00

The Husband is stated that he is absolutely and completely UNAVAILABLE to look at any more of my &$#^%*#$^ fabric swatches.

You are welcome to do the same....

But if not, here are some lovely choices from Thai Silks. I am diggin on the polka dots....but not sure how I feel about navy. The second polkadot is even on sale....but I am not sure my slobby clumsy self can be trusted with the light colors....

ETA: By the way, for you local folks, if you see a gal wandering around G Street Saturday morning with a green shoe in her hand, that will be me. I am still gonna head over there and see what I can see before any final decisions are made. It is just so hard to do things on line when color is an issue.....and maybe I will get lucky at the G-ollyThatIsExpensive Street.

Fabrics....ARGH!

2009-06-17T09:14:00.008-04:00

Thank you all for the suggestions. I am liking the idea of the black/white print with green trim, and I am betting that will be easier to find than the purple. But if I trip over a suitable purple print, I am still open to the idea.

The fabric stores are killing me....there is this one, a silk/rayon blend, how perfect would it be!!!!!

But....OUT OF STOCK! BASTARDS!

Then there is this one....

But it is all cotton, not suitable to the dress.

I have also found these guys....

I kinda dig that first one, but not sure if the colors would be right in person and it might be hard to find a trim fabric that would match. And I am kinda hoping to NOT use a sheer....mostly out of laziness.

I just got a G Street coupon, so perhaps I will wander that way this weekend.

The search continues.....

ETA: Have I been smoking the pink fabric crack pipe too much? would a pink with green trim be freaky-deaky? Cause I am grooving on these fabrics a litttle bit....

ETA again: Some more options....I rather like the first one, but it might be too bright for a wedding and just too wacky with the shoes.

There was a reason I bought those patterns in the first place....

2009-06-16T09:25:00.003-04:00

I did an amazing thing. I actually looked through the patterns I already own and choose something from the pattern stash for the upcoming wedding. SHOCKER! I am using OOP Vogue 2784.

I don't think I have suitable fabric in the stash, so I still need to go shopping. I have it in my head that I want to wear these shoes, but I ALWAYS am trying to match these shoes and haven't managed successfully yet....

Is a purple dress with lime green accents too much, too out there? Probably....

Open to suggestions for fabrics. I tromped around Joann's but am too cranky about fabric quality to have much luck there anymore. I went to G Street but am WAY too cheap to buy most of their stuff.

Another Fake Post

2009-06-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

I swear I will actually do a real post with real content soon.

But in the meantime, I am tearing out my hair trying to make a decision on what to wear to a wedding.

It is a summer wedding, at 5:00 with dinner and drinks and dancing to follow. No further info than that. I assume that means cocktail dressy? I guess? I am so horrible at this kind of thing, and it is a friend of the Husband's so it isn't like I can just call the bride and ask what is appropriate.

I know I want to make something. Likely something vintage-y but not TOO vintage because that can look costumey. Maybe. Or not. ARGH!

So far the patterns I have considered have been too casual or too not-able-to-wear-a-regular-bra-which-is-non-negotiable. Or just boring. Or maybe not so flattering on my plump hourglass shape.

Open to suggestions if there are any out there. Or a swift kick in the patootie, which is prolly what I need even more. :-D

I must be saving my luck for something good...

2009-06-09T13:22:00.004-04:00

I have entered a billion or so giveaways in the last month (between Sew Mama Sew and the launch of Sewn) and won....Nothing!

I can only hope that I am saving all my luck up for something even more fantastic--although some of those giveaways were pretty freaking swell! :-P

Not much sewing to report at the moment, as I had my last egg donation surgery on Sunday and am still recovering. I am consistently a particularly high yield donor, which they say makes the recovery more painful. Sigh. But, it also means that they are able to split my eggs between three women, making the costs less for them and making it so I help out even more couples with each cycle, so that is a good thing.

I do have several sewing projects in the works, including an owl bag, two baby quilts on commission, and a pair of vintage style pants for Bobby White, an absolutely awesome national swing dance champion. I will be reporting back on all of them soon.

Plus with this upcoming weekend being Second Saturday (traditionally The Husband and I go down to his hometown Richmond for a dance there on second Saturdays), I would really like a new dress to wear. I may be getting a little too ambitious with that though. But if anyone has tried a knit dress pattern that is flattering to an hourglass shape and is super easy to fit and make, I am all ears. :-) Of course, I may be too ambitious in thinking I will be up to dancing at all this weekend, let alone making a new dress!

In the meantime, I will be here on the couch drugged up on painkillers with two of the three kitties serving as purring heating pads on my ovaries! With The Husband spoiling me and bringing me lunch and setting up movies for me to watch and tucking me in. Life is Good.

Shoe bags

2009-06-05T09:40:00.005-04:00

Dancers need shoe bags. So I made a couple for some of my swing dancing friends

The monkey bag.

The robot bag. I love this fabric.

Just stitched up a rectangle and threw some ribbon in the top for ties. Easy peasy.

Of course, I never seem to get around to making one for myself, no matter how easy it is. Sigh.

Bummer

2009-06-03T16:02:00.002-04:00

Aw man.

All ready to start the quilt and I find a fabric I like better. But too late now. If I ever make another little boy quilt, this fabric is so happening. It is called Traffic Jam and is a Windham Fabric design by Allison Jane Smith. Sigh.

Works in Progress

2009-06-03T08:45:00.007-04:00

Since the dragon bag isn't working as my daily bag, I am making a new bag, using the Carry All bag from Nicole Mallalieu. I figure a bag named "Carry All" should be good to...well...carry all my crap.

I am going to applique an owl on it, because I have a thing with owls lately. I have over a dozen owl fabrics, but they are all quilting cottons and I want to use a more substantial canvas for my every day bag. Here is the owl pattern and my pile of fabrics that I plan to use laid roughly in owl shape to see how it will look.

I am set on the body fabric, but the rest of them I am not sure about....

Another work in progress is a toddler quilt. Cars and trucks is the theme, and this is the quick sketch I made for it. (Lame sketch I know, but I use Paint to do it as that is what I have available. I am sure there is a better way.) I am going to do yellow lines down the black sashing so it looks like roads.

The focus fabric is Dig It by Michael Miller.

The fabrics for this one are all washed up and ready to cut. I think this one is going to be really cute.

Animal Party

2009-06-02T10:22:00.005-04:00

Another Baby quilt, done!

Giraffe Close Up

All tied up, ready to go!

I really like this one. I like the bright colors and I love the Animal Party fabric. So much that I couldn't bear to just meander quilt over it like I did the rest of the quilt. So in those squares, I loosely quilted in circles around all the animal circles.

I also made this card to send with the quilt to its recipient.

I hope they like it!!

Dragon Bag

2009-05-29T09:28:00.005-04:00

Front of bag, fussy cut for maximum dragon showing

Back of bag. I didn't have enough fabric to put a full dragon on the back, so I did a patch pocket of a dragon face. Handy for my metro card!

Well, I have used the bag for a week or two, and it just isn't good for me. It is really pretty and if I didn't haul so much crap around all the time, I would love it. But I really need something bigger for my daily bag. I need to fit my lunch, purse junk, and a book for the metro and this just ain't cutting it.

I made it from Nicole Mallalieu's Sling bag pattern. Her pattern instructions are really super, and I love how she gives lots of design options for you to personalize your bag. I would absolutely recommend the pattern.

I am not sure whether to keep this one as an occasional bag or give it away to someone who will use it more. I love this fabric and I don't have much more of it....

Does Pink Stink?

2009-05-22T09:06:00.001-04:00

I am not a pink person. I have nothing against pink people, it is just not a color I gravitate towards. But I wanted to make a girly baby quilt for a friend who is about to have her first girl.

But I am not sure how I feel about it. Here are the blocks laid out.

Is it just my pink bias, or is this not very attractive? Hmmm.

Meow Mix

2009-05-21T15:20:00.003-04:00

Someone asked me if the cats actually use the Cat Mat I made for them. This is a valid question, given that my cats have some attitude about mommy made presents.

The answer...

Yes.

Upcoming is a new purse that looks nice but isn't as functional as I want so I might give it away. And TWO more baby quilts that I am in the middle of that I may need some advice on from all y'all stitchy folks out there. Photos and such to be posted soon.

Twin Boy Giraffe Quilts

2009-05-15T10:18:00.007-04:00

Baby quilts are done! Good thing too because the shower was today. Nothing like last minute sewing. I finished the binding on the first one during my lunch hour at work yesterday and the second one last night around 8pm. My shoulders and hands are kinda achy though--from now on I will plan other projects as breaks between quilts.

But enough talking, here are the pics. Sorry that I couldnt do natural light, but by the time I finished them it was dark!!

Green sashing

Blue sashing

Giraffes!

Both quilts together with soft cuddly backs showing

Folded close-up. You can see the quilting better on this one.

All tied up, ready to go!

One thing I learned about myself is that I need to watch myself as I tend to get smaller and smaller and tighter and tighter with the quilting as I go on. I do the same thing with knitting. I think it has to do with my natural personality, which is somewhat like Cameron in Ferris Beuller. Coal + My Ass = Diamond. Ha!!

So productive I don't even know what to do with myself

2009-05-12T10:38:00.005-04:00

A very productive weekend for me! First, I made a quick Jalie top to wear to our usual Second Saturday swing dance in Richmond. Fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics, of course.

I had a few problems with it, mostly of my own creation. I tried to do a FBA, forgetting that I usually don’t need to with Jalie knit shirts. But after fiddling with it for a while, it was pronounced Good Enough and worn happily to the dance. I like the style and it was pretty easy to put together. I am sure I will do another one and not try to “fix” it and then it will turn out splendidly. All I see are fitting issues, but I got many compliments on it at the dance, so perhaps to the non-sewing eye it looked fine.

Most of the sewing was quilting stuff. I am still in progress on the Giraffe Baby quilts. The tops are done now, and I spent the weekend practicing free motion quilting. Here was my very first attempt.

Not perfect, but not too shabby for a first try. But I wanted a bunch more practice before I quilted on the Baby quilts, particularly since they are a gift. I decided to make a very small little quilt to put on the cat’s window seat, a Cat Mat. I figured the cats wouldn’t care if the quilting was a little wonky! 

I whipped together this quilt top and quilted it as my second practice piece.

Much better! Still not perfection, but good enough to start on the Baby quilts. I set it aside to do the binding later.

I actually finished the quilting on one of the Baby quilts and started the binding. There are a few boo-boos, but I don’t think they are noticeable and I really feel like I am getting the hang of free-motion quilting on my machine. But all of these projects are very small, so doing the Mod quilt will still be an adventure. I will try to have pictures of the finished quilt top tomorrow, but no promises as I am meeting with Vintage Pants dude again tonight to go over some changes he wants in the pants.

Busy Busy Busy!!!

Parting shot: The children are enjoying the end of rain and the opening of the house.

The Good, The Bad, and the Hopefully NOT Ugly

2009-05-05T09:18:00.004-04:00

After such a fabulous experience at the Artful Quilter, I was looking forward to a trip to another local quilting shop in Fairfax to grab a few more fabrics for the baby quilts I am making. Sadly, my experience there was quite the opposite.

First, the Quilt Patch is in an old Victorian house, which means that unlike the friendly open spaces in The Artful Quilter, the fabric is jam-packed into 3-4 tiny tiny rooms. But they do have a lot of fabric, and I could get past that if it weren't for the rest of the atmosphere problems I had there. Although I will say they need some better signage, because I wandered around for 15 minutes trying to figure out what was what and left still not sure about their organization method.

And the wandering brings me to the main problem. At the Artful Quilter, I was greeted when I came in the door, offered friendly advice, and given a lot of personal attention even to the point of the gal staying past closing to help me. She asked questions and when she learned I was a novice quilter, had all kinds of advice and tips. When I came back a week later, she remembered me and my project, and honestly seemed as excited about my progress and my quilt as I am. If it is an act, it is a damned good one.

At the Quilt Patch, no one said hello as I came in, although I did get what appeared to be a somewhat icy stare. I wandered for a time, with no one offering to help. Finally when I passed for the third time one of the sales people who was cutting fat quarters, she asked if there was anything I needed. I finally did get one small piece of fabric cut and then got the heck out of there.

I am not sure if it was because I am not one of their "regulars" or because I am quite a bit younger than the rest of the folks there, or maybe the purple and blue stripes in my hair. But I felt decidedly UNwelcome at the Quilt Patch, and I will not be going back. Next time I have some gaps that I can't fill with the stock at the Artful Quilter, I will go to G Street (which I try to avoid because I always spend too much money there) or buy online.

I am on a real quilting kick now, but I am willing to bet if my first stop had been the Quilt Patch, I never would have gotten the fabrics and started the first quilt, let alone making and plotting several more.

Speaking of the several more.....I got the top done for one of the baby quilts. I am making coordinating but not identical quilts for a work friend of The Husband who is having twin boys. Here is the completed quilt top, with a felt giraffe applique just laying on top of it for now. Hopefully I will start the actual quilting this week.

I am using the same animal print as a focus for the second one as well, only with blue sashing, as you can see in this photo of the second quilt in progress.

I also got a muslin done for the vintage pants I am making for a fellow dancer. We are doing a fitting tonight and I will take pictures. These pants have a lot of really fun details.

I am officially re-mojo-ed. :-)

So many toddlers, so little time

2009-05-01T09:49:00.005-04:00

Been quilting up a storm and I am almost done with the Mod Sampler quilt top. I finally get my fancy machine Sven back from the spa today....so no more excuses about starting the actual quilting part of the quilt.

And of course, my scatterhead has started new quilts before the first one is finished. But this time it actually makes sense. The Husband and I between us have about a billion friends having babies in the next few months, so I am making several small baby quilts. These will be easier to machine quilt than the big lap quilt, so good to do them first for the practice. I'll take some photos of the fabrics and progress this weekend, but I think they will be really cute. Children's quilt fabric has come a long way from the cutesy stuff it used to be. Now you can get cute AND funky. YEAH! There was even some robot fabric that I had to buy for myself. :-)

Speaking of cute and funky, more toddler shirts, made several more for the many many toddlers of my acquaintance. Cause everybody wants some...I want some too! (sorry, Cusack flashback. it happens.)

I like what I did with the hippo--took off the bird, resized, and reversed so there is a momma and a baby. Designs, of course, from Urban Threads.

Before I do the quilting this weekend, I need to work on a commission piece. There is a REALLY good lead in our local swing community who wants some vintage style pants. He has a pattern that a tailor made him long ago, but no one to make the pants. It has been really interesting to work from someone else's hand-drafted pattern and it is a fun project. Plus I get paid with some private dance lessons, which is great!

The Mod Squad, starring me and Bruce the Avenger

2009-04-27T07:43:00.005-04:00

The quilt is progressing nicely. It is so very relaxing to piece. And I have to say, all of the advice and instructions included in the Mod Sampler quilt-along totally rock. I feel like my rotary cutting and my piecing skills increased just by reading them, let alone following them!

The fabrics I am using (Just for you BeeBee!). The colors are prettier in real life, relaxing blues and greens and aquas.

Work in progress. I love the organizing cards that Oh Fransson recommended in the quiltalong...all those little pieces would be really hard to sort out otherwise. I am about three quarters done with the blocks. I plan to pick out the sashing on Thursday and maybe finish the top this weekend.

My new best friend.

Makes it soooo much easier to square up finished blocks when I just have to center this little fellow on it and cut around rather than measuring from the center out on each side.

The fancy machine is in the shop, so I have been doing this on the industrial, Bruce.....and what a pleasure it is! I am still a little askaird of him, but putting together this quilt has meant some quality time spent with Bruce the Avenger (I am not sure what he is avenging.....poor stitch quality perhaps?), and I am slowly getting used to him. And he makes such pretty pretty stitches and is so smmooooooooth. I think I love him.

When I get the fancy machine back, I will do the scary part of this project...free motion quilting. ACK!

Parting shot: Seriously Fred, how does that even begin to be comfortable? He slept this way for several hours.

Oh me, I shiver and I shake

2009-04-24T09:37:00.000-04:00

I am cold. ALL the time. I keep blankets in various places in the house to wrap up. Last weekend we had some houseguests and before they came I was running through the house gathering up the blankets and hiding them in the hall closet because they are all old yuck things I have had since college.

It occured to me at this point that what I need is a pretty lap quilt that I can just leave in the living room even when someone stops by and not be embarrassed.

Then I saw a quiltalong on Oh Fransson's blog. The actual quiltalong is over, but she kindly provides awesome instructions for each step, so I am going to do it.

I have made a few quilts in the past, but this is the first one I have really been excited about making. I think because my sewing skill level is now at a point where I think there is a chance of it not being total crap in the end. I am even going to try to do free motion quilting on my machine. Ack! I would have fingers crossed for luck, but it is kinda hard to sew that way!!

I went last night to a local quilt shop and picked out all my fabrics. BTW, the name of the joint is The Artful Quilter and they couldn't have been nicer. The gal that worked there spent a lot of time and effort helping me pick out fabrics, even staying past closing. She said not to worry about it, this was fun for her. I will definitely be going back there. Plus it is about 10 minutes from my house and next door to a fabulous pizza place. :-)

I never thought I would be a quilter, but honestly after several recent sewing disappointments I need a break from sewing clothes. I thought this would be a good way to keep the sewing mojo going until I am ready to jump back in the garment pool.

Torso

2009-04-22T07:46:00.003-04:00

So the duct tape double I made last summer is no longer very close to my measurements. I decided to throw it out, but on the way to the trash out back, I got distracted and set it down for a moment.

Hours later, a cry of "Holy Crap!" emerged from the kitchen. Apparently it is a little disconcerting to walk into a room and find a torso in the middle of the floor....

Mostly because of The Husband nagging me to get rid of it, I decided to delay throwing her out. She is currently sitting in a chair at our dining room table (we almost never eat in there). I think she goes nicely with the room's gray decor--The Husband just thinks it is weird. :-)

Flashback Friday: Ye Olde Butterick Dress

2009-04-17T10:11:00.003-04:00

Like seemingly everyone else who makes vintage clothes, I once made the Butterick "Walk Away" dress. I made it probably 8 or 9 years ago and used the original vintage pattern number 6015. I amazingly got this pattern in a huge lot of vintage patterns I bought off ebay for a dollar (shipping included!).

Jumping Jack Frogs, I was SKINNY then!

The back/over piece is black silk, bound with black silk bias strips. The front/underpiece is a black tapestry with a dark pink design woven in. The buttons (hard to see in the photo) are covered in the tapestry fabric, which I recall caused lots of cursing and stabbing.

This dress was made to coordinate with a suit I made for the fellow I was dating/dancing with at the time; the suit was black with very thin hot pink pin stripes. We entered a vintage costume contest and only won second place which cheesed me off because the winning entry was someone who bought a original vintage dress for about a billion dollars and I MADE mine along with a durned vintage suit for my partner. Lookng back now, the dress that won was gorgeous and totally deserved it. I guess. Maybe.

I must say, although I think it has been over done, I do love this pattern. No side seams, the front wraps and hooks in the back, while the back wraps and hooks in the front. And it was certainly terribly flattering to my hourglass figure.

My new weight loss goal....fit into this dress again. Without a Corset of Death. :-)

Brains.....BRAIIIINSSSSS

2009-04-16T08:52:00.007-04:00

So what do you bring as a hostess gift to a Zombie Party?

Well, we were all out of brains, so I decided to make some zombie potholders! Because really, who couldn't use another potholder (even zombies use them, I am sure).

The embroidery is from Urban Threads. Although that bunny was originally holding a carrot. I used my digitizing software to alter it into a bloody arm. Because I don't think there are vegetarian zombies. I could be wrong.

After I made them, I wanted to wrap them nicely....so I made a little pouch and put another bunny on it. I love how his little teeth hang over the flap.

2009-04-08T10:17:00.003-04:00

Six weeks into 12 week workout program (ChaLean Extreme in case you were wondering).

I can bicep curl 10 pounds more than I could the first week.

Pounds lost: ZERO!!!

My clothes fit.....exactly the same.

Not exactly the results I was hoping for.

Sigh.

Starting much stricter eating program this week. As well as adding in extra cardio workouts.

I am on day three and I would kill for a chocolate chip cookie right now. And have no cheat meals until the weekend.

My name is now officially Ravenous Crankypants. Meet ya at Krispy Kreme.

Urban Threads is made of awesome!

2009-04-01T08:48:00.011-04:00

I have an embroidery machine that I rarely use. Partially because I am lazy, but also because a lot of designs out there are kinda country cutesy style. Now I don't have a problem with that style, but it really doesn't suit me.

And there are also a lot of poor quality embroidery designs out there--stitches that are too dense or not dense enough, outlines that are a little off, etc. So even if you find something fun, it is either outrageously expensive, or not worth the few bucks you spend on it.

Just when I thought there was no hope besides digitizing designs myself (which I can do but really am too lazy for that), Urban Threads saves the day! Her designs are modern and funky and include things like zombies and robots and monsters (oh my!). I bought a few to try out on some shirts for a friend's toddler, and I couldn't' be happier with them.

She has lots of fun project tutorials and a fanged stuffed bunny as a studio assistant. I desperately covet her boingy curl hair.

I had a question about their designs and they wrote me back within an hour or two. Fabulous customer service!

No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Parting Shot: I just rediscovered this one of The Husband and Bella as a kitten on the camera. She is SUCH a Daddy's Girl

Blech

2009-03-26T07:57:00.002-04:00

Is there any kind of sewing that is more blah-fully soulsucking than doing alterations? Ugh. That is all I have been doing lately. Granted, they are on vintage clothes which makes it SLIGHTLY more interesting. But they aren't MY vintage clothes, so that makes it even worse.

But, it is a bit of extra cash which is never a bad thing.

Hopefully since the weekend weather is going to be so yuck, I will spend lots of time in the sewing room and not be bitter about it. And maybe even make something for me! I desperately covet a new spiffy lunch bag.

Parting shot, because this post is too sploogy without at least a bit of kitty cuteness: George and Fred, lounging.

I win I win!

2009-03-19T15:15:00.004-04:00

I win second choice sucky prize from BeeBee for knowing about her butt. I have never encountered her butt personally, but that is the magic of the interwebs, having knowledge of butts that you otherwise might never know.

And I would like to award HER a prize for the blog entry using the word "suck" the most times. And yes, the prize will suck. I want to award her the Ugliest Fabric I Can Find for Under 10 Bucks.

Feel free to give suggestions if you know of anything particularly vile.

p.s. Yes, it has been a very long week and I am more than usually loopy.

Hot Patterns Almost Success

2009-03-17T09:39:00.004-04:00

So I made the Hot Patterns Kimono dress to wear for The Husband's birthday....and he didn't like it! So I ended up wearing something else to the big dance. He very diplomatically said that it was a pretty dress, but maybe didn't show off my fabulousness quite as much as other things I have in my closet. I tend to agree. He also said it looks like a bathrobe, which I think is not the case.

Plus after I made it, I realized it is not a practical dress to wear swing dancing. I would be fiddling with that belt all night and it doesn't wrap quite enough for it to not expose all my goodies when I spin on the floor.

It is a pretty dress and I like the idea of it. But on me it doesn't quite work. Some of that is the fit--I should have done a FBA--, but some of that is also that there are very few things that I think are flattering to my current figure.

Fortunately, my current figure is changing for the better. Down 8 pounds (only 40 more to go, ha!) so far on the new workout/food plans, so yay! Maybe I will make this one again once I reach the goal weight. Or alter this one to fit, since I love the fabric combo.

Pattern Review

Pattern Description: An exotic twist on the classic wrap dress, this deliciously flattering style is designed for drapey, fluid knits like silk(y) jersey, rayon or lightweight cotton knits. Fitted wrap Dress has a shoulder-princess seamed bodice with V-neck front wrap and an optional button fastening, neatly hidden by the waist ties. Dress has 3/4 length sleeves and a below-knee length quarter-circle wrap skirt, and features contrast neckband and wide, extra-long waist ties. This great Dress is sure to become a staple of your HotPatterns wardrobe-it’s your go-to style for dressy daywear, or a low-key evening outfit. Try it with knee-high boots, a slouchy bag and a pashmina for a daytime diva look, or add your favorite heels and an exotic clutch for an easy after-5 ensemble.

Fabric Used: Scraps from the Jalie dress, originally from Gorgeous Fabrics.

How were the instructions? Fine. Like most Hot Patterns, they are skimpy if you are used to the Big Four, but more than enough for a somewhat experienced seamstress.

Construction Notes: When I did the ties, I thought they were ridiculously long. But once everything was put together, I liked being able to double wrap it. I did do the optional buttons, but it felt pretty secure for a wrap dress even without them. If I wasn't so full in the bust (and thus paranoid about wardrobe malfunctions) I doubt I would have bothered.

The dress was just the right length on me, so if you are even beginning to approach normal height, you would probably want to add a bit to be on the safe side.

Likes/Dislikes: I like the style. I didn't like the way it looked on my teapot body. This is an ongoing theme for me, so I am beginning to blame my self-image issues WAY more than the patterns.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I would recommend it as it is a wrap dress that is different enough from the million other wrap dresses to stand out a bit. Plus it is a pretty easy sew and came together pretty quickly.

Conclusion: This is the closest I have come to a success with Hot Patterns. That said, it will probably languish in my closet for a while unworn until I alter it to fit a slimmer me or I give up on it and give it away.

ETA: Yes, my hair has blue streaks in it. And yes, it is intentional.

I love this

2009-03-13T18:55:00.004-04:00

I can't remember where I originally saw this many moons ago, but I just watched it again and loved it, again. :-)

Pattern For Smartness

Gee whiz, I sure would like that Know How Look.

All I need is a Gigantic Pattern that comes to life and talks to me. In rhyme. And helps me fit things. Yeah.

Holy Bat Ties!

2009-03-12T07:48:00.003-04:00

I have been merrily rolling along on the Hot Patterns Kimono dress, which so far is going very well.

I was pressing the waist ties, when suddenly I realized how very very long they were. I took a picture as proof....

That is me (in my Mickey Mouse pjs, yeah!) standing on my very tippy toes holding up one of the waist ties as high as I could. Granted, I am slightly above hobbit height, but STILL, those are some Seriously Long Ties. And these aren't even as long as the pattern called for because I ran out of fabric and had to shorten them a good 6-10 inches!!

And if your recognize that fabric, yes I am using the scraps from the Jalie dress I made for a coworker. Thrifty and environmentally responsible, yay!

But not for me

2009-03-09T10:17:00.005-04:00

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately, but not for me. Alterations and other commission work. Including this diaper bag that I whipped up this weekend.

I experimented with my usual diaper bag pattern and added a zipper closure on top by request. It turned out pretty spiffy. I love the fabric and now have lots of scraps that I think will become a bag for me!

This weekend is The Husband's birthday (he is a pi baby!) and we are going to a dance down in Richmond. So hopefully I will have a new dress made for me by then. I am making the Hot Patterns Kimono Wrap Dress and I really hope it turns out. Sadly, I have not always had the best of luck with Hot Patterns, but I love their styles so much that I keep buying and keep trying. I have it all cut out ready to sew.....but sewing for others sometimes kills my mojo, so I have a backup dress in the closet just in case I don't get to it. Or in case it turns out to be a hot mess.

And before I forget (again!), big thanks to Amy and Ann for the Sisterhood Award nominiations! Yay!

ARGH!

2009-02-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Had dentist appointment this morning, so drove car to metro.

Parked at metro.

Took bus home. Car still at metro.

ARGH!!!

Husband annoyed at having to drive me to metro to get car.

I do not blame him.

If you have seen my mind, will you please tell it to scoot along home? I could use it.

I'm a Little Teapot

2009-02-18T14:45:00.005-05:00

Trying to break free from my Knit Shirt Frenzy, I decided to do something a little different. I wanted to bring some funk into the wardrobe, so the skirt from Vogue 8561 seemed to fit the bill.

And here is what I ended up with (sorry for the lousy dress form pics. The fabric is hard to photograph and my dress form is WAY smaller than me).....

Pattern Review

Pattern Description from Vogue: Skirt has asymmetrical seams, patch pocket and flap, back-lapped zipper, back darts, contoured waistband and topstitching.

Fabric Used: Bargain cotton twill from Joann's. It has a subtle stripe which I thought would show off the fun bias bits of the skirt but would not drive me crazy with trying to match the stripes at every seam. I did the topstitching in red, mostly because I had it handy.

How were the instructions? Um, I guess they would have been ok if the pattern itself had actually been right. See below.

Construction Notes: When I was putting this bad boy together, I kept running into all sorts of problems. None of the pieces really seemed to match up as they should. I double checked the pattern pieces, the instructions, my sanity level, etc, but it was still not working. I wondered if the bias pieces just stretched out freaky-like but they hadn't seemed to when I compared them to the original pattern pieces. Eventually I just gave up and forced it to fit together any which way I could.

Of course, AFTER I finished the skirt, I found this post by Sew What that said the pattern was all wackadoodle and that Vogue was going to reprint it. So I am sane after all (HA! At least as far as this skirt is concerned!).

I did like the way the instructions did the pocket. It had you cut out an oaktag version of the finished pocket pattern, then sandwich the fabric between the oaktag and a larger piece of tissue paper. Then by tightening the tissue paper around the oaktag and pressing the fabric through the tissue, it makes the fabric have a really nice sharp pocket outline . The actual instructions say this better. I was skeptical, but I tried it and durn it if I didn't have a perfect pocket as a result.

Likes/Dislikes: I like the design of the skirt. I do. However, this wasn't really a good choice for me and my body type. I am short and stout (hence the name of this post) which does not make for flattering lines when I wear long skirts. But it really is super cute, so I wore it anyways. I love the pocket detail, although I would put that buttonhole a little lower if I were to do it again.

Would you do it again? Would you recommend it? I have no need for two funky skirts that are not so flattering to my short stubby self. But for anyone without my figure issues, I would absolutely recommend it.

Conclusion: A cute pattern that might have been easy to put together if Vogue hadn't screwed up the pattern. Fun topstiching. Fun (though not entirely practical) pocket.

Happy Valentine's Day to Me-a little present for me from me

2009-02-17T10:57:00.002-05:00

I admit, as much as I love to browse Etsy, I rarely buy.

But when I saw these little pendants made from scrabble tiles (!!), I had to do it.

Especially the owl one, because I have been strangely obsessed with owls lately. And of course, then I had to get him a friend so he wouldn't be lonely.

These are even cuter in person....if that is even POSSIBLE. :-)

If you want one for yourself, get thee over to Home Studio's Etsy Site and indulge. But hurry before I buy them out. Ha!

Flashback Friday, WAAAYYY Back. a.k.a. I'm a MAN, baby!!

2009-02-13T10:41:00.004-05:00

Back in the good old days of December 2005, I was invited to a 12th Night party by a group of historical costuming friends whom I had only known via the interwebs. So I had a month to make an outfit to impress a group of people who knew what they were doing, all of whom had likely been working on their costumes for months and months and months.

No problem....yeaaaah.

I decide to go in drag as an 18th centuray man because all womens outfits for almost any period involved undergarments that I just didn't have time to make. Plus I had fabrics and patterns on hand (don't ask me why I had 18th century mens clothing patterns in my stash because I have no earthly idea).

The frockcoat and breeches I did in a grey cotton velvet that I had bought for an Elizabethan gown that I never got around to making. The waistcoat I did in a mulberry satin scrap that I don't even remember what I bought for it.

And what does a girl do when making an outfit in a hurry to make it look impressive..... embroider the CRAP out of it and hope no one notices the fitting and construction mistakes underneath the loud decorations. :-)

Here are some pics of me at the event.

The coat is totally unlined and the facings are safety pinned on the inside. The waistcoat armholes are also completely unfinished, not even bound, just zigzag-ed on the raw edges to keep them from fraying. I was not going to take that frock coat off, so I only finished what you could see. I totally forgot to make a shirt to wear under the waistcoat, so that is an old dress shirt that I forced to work, again hoping the Power of Embroidery would be distracting enough that no one would notice.

Details:

Breeches
I started out using a pattern by Pegree of Williamsburg which was HORRIBLE. I ended up scraping that version and using a pattern by J.P. Ryan instead (Yes, I not only had 18th century breeches patterns, but had several of them from different designers. No, I don't know why.). Every J. P. Ryan pattern I have worked with has been a delight to use. I recommend them.
To save time I made a bunch of alterations, so the finished product was not much like the pattern. I left out the pockets and the back gusset, and took out a lot of the fullness in the seat. The top of the pants are not even finished, just pinned together where it should button closed. Again, since it wasn't going to show, I didn't finish it. I did covered buttons in the grey velvet and used old purse buckles for the knee straps.

Frockcoat
Another J.P.Ryan pattern. I machine embroidered little designs (that matched the waistcoat designs) with yellow and gold metallic threads on grey velvet scraps and covered all the buttons. I used gold braid trim to outline all the buttonholes and the pocket flaps.

Waistcoat
I used a pattern from Rocking Horse Farms. The embroidery I did by machine, and used my new fangled "design" software for the first time to create the total embroidery design. I took a couple basic flower designs that came with the machine and doubled them, flipped them, repeated them, changed the colors, etc to fill the space. I used more gold braid trim to outline the pocket flaps and the edges of the waistcoat, and then used one of the decorative stitches already on my machine in metallic gold thread in between the braiding. Again, the buttons were embroidered and then covered to match the waistcoat.

All in all, an impressive outfit if you don't look too close. I made a grand entrance and I had a great time at the party and, once I got a little comfortable with the folks there (it was my first time meeting ANY of them in person!), we all had a little giggle as I opened the coat and revealed just how sloppy it really was.

I actually USE all these machines

2009-02-12T10:06:00.004-05:00

I do love Jalie patterns. Here is a dress that I made for a co-worker using Jalie 2793. The fabric, of course, is from Gorgeous Fabrics.

It was soooo simple to make this tunic into a dress....just add on some length and voila! It turned out so cute I may need to make one for me.

I used the coverstitch machine for the first time on this dress to hem it and I am in LOVE! How did I ever work without one?!?!? I made a couple other dresses for co-workers, but didn't get shots of them before they left me.

On the cutting table right now is a new skirt, Vogue 8561. It is very different for me as I am usually not into the Marcy Tilton patterns, but this one is just funky enough without being too funky. I like long skirts, even though I really am too short to wear them.

So far it is going....ok. A bunch of the notches are not matching up, but I am not sure if that is the pattern, the fact that so many pieces are on the bias and are getting out of whack before I sew them, or just me being a blockhead. But I am forcing it to go together without notch matching and it seems to be working so far... I hope to finish it tonight and hopefully post pictures this weekend.

A Little Tour

2009-02-06T09:05:00.008-05:00

Now that I have two new machines, I am in a bit of a chaos situation in the sewing room shifting things around and making room.

I thought I would publicly embarrass myself with some "before" pictures in order to inspire me to clean up and post gorgeous "after" pictures. :-)

To begin the tour of my space, here is the always closed door. Very often there are little kitty arms under the door. Behind the curtain is the closet (doors removed) full of shelves with my stash. That one mirror is actually a three fold-out mirror that I LOVE as The Husband is not very helpful at looking at the backs of my projects and finding mistakes. There in the corner is my masking tape me sitting on a stool.

Moving clockwise, here is my adjustable dress form and another ginormous mirror that I got for free at the dump. :-) Some vintage dresses that I am altering for a fellow swing dancer are hanging there begging me to finally do them. In the bottom of the mirror, you can see two large containers of knits, all from Gorgeous Fabrics all rolled and waiting for me to make room in the closet for them. I am trying to reorg my stash by rolling it and taking swatches and creating index cards, but it is a slooooooow process.

Around the room, we see the corner with my computer, an inspiration board, and bookshelves full of tailoring/fashion books and my old art history textbooks for research and inspiration. Those plastic drawers you can see a bit under the table hold all my patterns. I have two three drawer sets and they are filled to capacity. Yeah, maybe I need to do some weeding there...... On the wire shelves there are boxes of projects in progress and bits and pieces of supplies. Somewhere on that table is probably where the coverstitch machine is going to live, but I need to make room for him first!

The back wall with a huge window that I keep open in nice weather as it has a very nice view of my garden. Right under the window is a bench with shelves where I store threads and some other supplies (you can see some threads there on the left) Three machines visible in this shot: in the foreground is Sven, my Viking Designer SE; midground is The Beast, which is the Juki industrial's temporary name; and on the right is Heidi, my Huskylock Serger.

The shelves in this shot are all fabrics that I pulled from the stash, matched up with a pattern, but never got around to actually doing anything about it. I need to go through these and reintegrate most of them into the stash. There are some plastic tubs with zippers and elastics and such. And of course a TV to watch House and girly costuming movies.

And finally, the cutting/ironing table. On the table is the newest addition to the sewing family, the coverstitch machine, waiting for me to find him a home. Above are shelves with silly stuff (Yay Tim Gunn! Yay Chococat!) and a bunch of stabilizers for embroidery. Under the table are bolts with linings and all weights of interfacing. And of course, the closet full of stash on the right, which I will not show in its before state, because I do have SOME pride. :-)

And that ends our tour for the day! Hope you enjoyed it and I hope it lights a fire under my bum to make me organize it!

I did it.

2009-02-02T10:36:00.003-05:00

The coverstitch is on its way to me now.

But I didn't buy it for ME. No no no!

When Laura commented that it was my responsibily to buy one to rescue the economy, I humbly agreed to do my part.

Thank you Laura for the excuse...er...I mean for reminding me of the opportunity to create work for the UPS man and the folks at the sewing shop and who knows how many others I may have helped with my selfless purchase!

;-D

Meanwhile, the industrial is all hooked up and scaring me. I stitched on it a little but it is making a noise that I am not sure is normal or not. Kinda a computer-y beepy noise when I start sewing. So I stopped using it until I can investigate further.

2009-01-30T09:00:00.003-05:00

Dear Brother 2340CV Coverstitch,

You are only 300 dollars and offer free shipping. How can I resist you?

But I must!

Tell me, do you take generic feet or will I pay a billion dollars to get the binders and other fun things that will make me love you forever?

It is the end of the month and time to pay bills. Perhaps on Sunday we shall see if there is enough left over for you.

We may speak again.

Hopefully yours soon,

Brooke

No, no, no.....Yes? NO!

2009-01-29T15:09:00.004-05:00

I don't need a coverstitch machine.

Really, I don't.

My current serger actually even does a coverstitch. I have several specialty feet for this function. I am just too lazy to ever switch it over.

So I really really don't need a coverstitch machine.

No!

But....maybe I do. Do I?

NO! NO! NO!

Have I convinced any one else? Cause it isn't working on me. :-P

An Oldie, but a Goodie (the Fish Cat Bed

2009-01-28T11:53:00.005-05:00

I ran across these pictures of my kitty Joe (who passed away in July 2007) and his fishy bed that I made him many years ago—that, of course, all the current kitties just ignore. But Joe Kitty LOVED his fishy bed, so I thought I would post about it.

The pattern was on sale. And I am insane.
Those were the two main forces driving the making of the Fishy Bed for my cat. This project ended up being one of the most horrifying things I have ever taken on. I even sewed through my finger at one point and still have the scar.

Here is Joe Kitty, satisfied with the end result.

The Materials:
Pattern = Simplicity 9004.
Outside fabrics = various cotton prints.
Lining and lips = snuggly blue fleece.
Polyester foam sheets give it the shape.
Eyes = ping pong balls cut in half and a sharpie marker
A little bit of catnip sprinkled in throughout!

The Process:
I used a walking foot and tear away paper when feeding through the machine. This project would have been much easier with a Teflon foot (which I now have!) because the foot really wanted to grab on to the foam...but, live and learn.

About halfway through the project, I became too angry with my machine to keep using it (this was before I upgraded to my current fancypants machine), and ended up sewing a lot of the seams by hand, especially those where four layers of foam plus four layers of fabric all smooshed together. With a project this small, it worked out ok.

Although I hated this project while it was in process, the end result was so cute (and well loved!) that I can’t regret doing it.

Plus it gave me a lot of gumption to take on new things afterwards. “Zoot suits, wedding dresses, groom suit, hats? No problem, can’t be worse than the cat bed.”

A New Baby!

2009-01-25T15:45:00.004-05:00

Not the human kind! The sewing kind!

Yesterday I (and The Husband) went to pick up the newest addition to the sewing room, an industrial sewing machine! It is a used Juki DDL 5500 with automatic back-tacking and thread snippers.

I bought it from Robin and I couldn't be more excited. Robin and her husband are just the nicest folks you could ever hope to meet. They both took so much time to figure out how to get the durned thing in the van and showing us all the bits and pieces of the machine, even taking pictures of things before disassembling for transport and emailing them to me. I swear if there had been any room left in the minivan I borrowed from my friend, I totally would have packed them up and taken them home too! :-)

One snafu in the whole deal. Here is the machine in its current state...or perhaps I should say states.

Machine, on the floor in the sewing room

Table, resting in the entryway downstairs (with Fred inspecting it)

Yeah, we got the table this far and my back gave out. Obviously I need more time at those core muscle classes at the gym! And you see those stairs behind the table...it needs to go UP those. So for now the table sits in our entryway, and the machine is safe from kitty paws in my sewing room, until our friend can come over tomorrow and help The Husband with it up the stairs.

I can't wait!!!!!

WANT WANT WANT

2009-01-23T12:01:00.003-05:00

New Hot Patterns Wong Singh Jones Tokyo Joe Top

You will be mine. Oh yes, you will be mine.

p.s. still on bed rest from surgery last week, so nothing more than pattern lust to share. sigh.

Ow

2009-01-18T18:03:00.003-05:00

I haven't gotten out of bed since Friday. Ow. Lots of eggs means lots of pain.

Have orange kitty Fred here, who is suffering very little after his eye surgery--a little face puffiness, but nothing that has stopped him from wrestling with his brother and sister.

Am hoping to get up tomorrow and do a bit of sewing. I must enjoy my long weekend somehow. I have a lovely new bag planned, as my old one is looking a little ragged around the edges. Also must get diaper bag made for delivery on Wednesday to one of The Husband's co-workers. Does sewing count as operating heavy machinery? Cause I am not supposed to do that on Vicodin. :-)

I get Monday and Tuesday off--yay to my company for not making us commute into the city for inaugural insanity. Will avoid going out Tuesday at all costs. Hopefully it will all be back to normal on Wednesday and the metro will be functioning normally again.

I'm the Staypuff Marshmallow Girl

2009-01-14T15:14:00.003-05:00

Ooof. I am donating eggs again this Friday (round number 5) and am feeling very very puffy. I am so full of eggs I am about to cluck. The last day or two before retrieval is always kinda miserable. It doesn't HURT, but it is just uncomfortable to be so very aware of your ovaries.

I have gotten some sewing done, including a new Jalie top that I love, but refuse to have my picture taken while I am in a state of puff. So pictures next week.

In the meantime I have been cleaning out the sewing room to make room for my Big Surprise. If I am lucky, perhaps it will arrive this weekend. Cleaning the sewing room is like a treasure hunt. I am finding all kinds of supplies and fabrics that I have no recollection of buying. Which tells me I need to STOP buying until I get a handle on what I have. Sigh.

Poor orange cat Fred is getting surgery on Friday as well, on his eyes. We will convelese together. Nothing like a living purring heating pad to make you feel better post-surgery! :-)

Close Encounters of the In Real Life Kind

2009-01-08T10:58:00.001-05:00

So over the past two months, I have had two Real Life vs. Blog encounters.

About a month ago I was at a dance when a young lady came up to me and asked if I had gotten married recently. I told her I had, and assumed she was a follow that The Husband knew that I hadn't met. This happens fairly regularly as The Husband goes dancing much more often than I do and has a wider circle of dance friends, plus I often don't meet the follows at a dance so I know a lot more leads. But this was not the case. She wasn't a dancer (this was her first night trying it) and said she recognized me from my wedding photos on my photographer's blog. She said my wedding looked like so much fun that she and her friends decided to try swing dancing. What a compliment!

Then yesterday I was in a yoga class during my lunch hour and I thought I recognized a girl in the class but couldn't really remember where I knew her from so I didn't say anything. Then later that night as I was reading my usual sewing blogs, there she was!! It was her! How weird is that. I mean, I knew she was local to this area, but DC isn't exactly a small town. Sadly the class kinda sucked...well, the teacher seemed very sincere, but it totally wasn't my style so I won't be going back and accidentally encounter her again (and maybe even think of something non-stalkerish to say).

I have run into this brand of weirdness as well when I try to describe my blog people "relationships" to my real life friends.

"I have this friend in Boston who runs an on-line fabric store...well, she isn't exactly my friend cause I haven't ever actually met her...but I know more about her than I do some of my co-workers that I see every day....but anyway she is totally great and I would put my faith in any fabric that she sells in her shop....because I know her....well I don't really KNOW her, but....."

:-)

The Mojo Rollercoaster Continues

2009-01-07T10:38:00.006-05:00

I tried making a new Jalie top that was such a disaster I didn't even hem it to give to Goodwill. Straight to the trash. Sigh.

But then I made a bag that turned out super cute.

One of the ladies at The Husband's office asked me to make it for her after she saw the cuteness of the Secret Santa treats. She had pictures of a bag she liked and I basically made up the pattern to get the shape she wanted. She choose these fabrics from my stash. It isn't my style, but it turned out nice and she loved it.

This weekend I am determined to make some item of clothing for myself that I don't hate. Anything. I think I am going to make another of the Jalie sweetheart tops to get me out of the hate cycle. It is such a distinctive style that I don't want to make TOO many of them, but I do love it and I think it might be just what I need to bring back the love. Plus it is something that I can have in time to wear dancing on Saturday night!

I may be getting a surprise this weekend.....A sewing related surprise....but I am not going to post about it until it is actually in my hot little hands. Ha!

Parting shot: You know it is cold when the boys consent to cuddle with new girl.

I know better, but why don't I DO better....

2008-12-29T10:55:00.001-05:00

I have so much fabric and so many patterns. I keep buying more. I rarely sew these days, though I often go into the sewing room to flip through the patterns and pet the fabric.

I am severely unsatisfied with my current body. And therefore refuse to use any of my fabric to make anything for this body. Both because I don't want to "waste" good fabric on something that will hopefully be much too big sometime soon in the future. And because I don't want to "reward" this body with something nice that it doesn't deserve (not to mention the disappointment I feel when I do make something and it doesn't magically transform me into gorgeousness by virtue of the fact that supposedly it fits better than store stuff. Although fitting has become its own challenge as I am increasingly dissatisfied with my ability in that regard. But that is a whole other post).

Both of these ideas are utterly ridiculous. I know this. I do.

And yet, the fabric pile grows and the machine is only used for making bags and gifts for others.

I am my own worst enemy.

Achoo!

2008-12-26T06:08:00.003-05:00

I will post again when I can breathe again.

Sigh.

Santa always brings me a nasty cold.

And worse, I did a killer abs workout the day before Snot-fest 2009 started and so every time I sneeze.....OUCH OMG OUCH OUCH OUCH!

Sigh again.

Return of the Mojo

2008-12-19T09:36:00.010-05:00

I spent last night in the sewing room making little simple things for the holidays, and I think I have gotten over my slump. Which is why I don't have pictures of the horrible Hot Patterns top--I didn't want to kill the momentum, so that will have to wait until this weekend.

The Husband's office does the whole Secret Santa thing and he asked me to make a few things for his person. He bought a bunch of little bath items and I made this Box Bag for him to "wrap" them. I found this bag on Stacy Sews and, like her, I can see myself making a bajillion of them because they are so easy and so cute. Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, so my bag is only loosely based on that pattern. I changed the way it is put together and the dimensions....ok, so only the shape is vaguely the same. But that was my inspiration. :-)

I started out making the Noriko Handbag, available free from Lazy Girl Designs and it is SUPER cute, but The Husband ended up buying more bath things than he thought and they didn't all fit in this bag, so I get to keep it!

Being the nut that he is, The Husband can't just leave the gifts on her desk, but is sending his person on a treasure hunt through the office. He got a little cheap pirate hat at the dollar store and made a map and left clues all over the office. I thought that she needed a companion for her journey. So I made this "parrot" for him to leave on her desk with the first clue. The pattern is free from Spool Sewing and again is super easy--only two pieces--and a great way to use up those little scraps that I can't bear to throw away! I made a little birdie pirate eye patch, but forgot to take a picture of it. And sorry for the poor quality of the pictures I do have.

The Mojo is back! I think... And a good thing too because I have several knit dresses to make this weekend for the ladies in the office (nothing like a few commissions to get some extra holiday cash)!

Parting shot: I forget how little Bella still is until I see her asleep next to one of the boys. Here she is with Fred. She is so feisty that she seems much bigger when she is awake!

Someone stole my mojo

2008-12-16T11:18:00.005-05:00

Sad days here in the BISS sewing room. Everything I have tried to make lately has been quickly put in the rag bag. Yesterday's failure was Hot Patterns Tie Me Down Top.

I am not sure if I cut the wrong size or I just didn't put it together properly or if it is just not a style suited to me. It is tremendously unflattering. And if that weren't bad enough, it has a very homemade look--and NOT in a good way.

I will post pictures later this week....if I can stand to put it on and look at myself again. What a waste of fun fabric. If it was just the wrong size, I might try to salvage it. But the homemadey lack of craftsmanship---I think it is a lost cause and will end up in the next Goodwill bag.

In happier news, tonight I am going dancing (although I had hoped to wear my new top...waaaaah!) and tomorrow is the office holidays party. So good times ahead. Just not sewing times. Sigh.

Now I just need to find a happy project to get me out of my sewing slump.

On the 13th day of Christmas

2008-12-08T11:45:00.006-05:00

We all decorated with

13 FELT MONKEY FACES!

My company gives each floor of the office 100 bucks to use as they like to decorate or donate and then there is a judging with prizes. Our floor decided to use our money to buy lots of socks to decorate our tree (and then donate to a locale shelter)....somehow that turned into sock monkeys as our "theme". And somehow I volunteered to make felt monkey face hangings for everyone's workspace. They were very simple actually, just felt shapes glued on more felt. And then I used my embroidery machine to put everyone's name on their monkey.

I also brought in sock monkeys I made years ago to place throughout the office. :-)

And brought in items from my personal monkey collection, including socks, t-shirts, and a bag I made. It is kinda scary that I have this much monkey stuff just lying around (and I really didn't think I "collected" monkeys....)

The purse is pretty awesome. I made it using Lazy Girl's Miranda pattern. Very quick and easy to do, and her instructions books are amazing with full descriptions and color photos of every step. I highly recommend her patterns for a beginner, just because her instructions are so detailed.

And the end result is....I won the office decorating contest! Woo-hoo! I am off to spend my Barnes and Noble gift card (and what an appropriate prize for the librarian!)

Parting shot....
The boys are teaching Bella all about her duties to protect the house from squirrels. Of course, this is hard to do through the glass door. I swear that squirrel laughed at them and twitched his tail Nyah Nyah Nyah at them.....

My affair with Jalie

2008-11-25T11:18:00.004-05:00

Oh Jalie knit top patterns
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.

I love your twist top pattern,
Which shows off my chest without showing my chest

I love your sweetheart pattern,
Which fits me so nice right out of the package,

And now, I love your Empire Waist Tunic.

Sorry I only have pics of this top "in action" so to speak. I made this top straight out of the envelope, using yet ANOTHER fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics. This fabrics was a little wild and very pink for me, so I choose this pattern with the big black bands to calm it down a little

It fits nicely standing still, but when I am dancing, the black band under the bust does ride up a bit. So when I make it again (and I WILL!!) I will probably lengthen the bodice pieces a bit so the band fits right against my underbust area. I like the tie in the back which makes it ever so slightly adjustable. It would be so easy to lengthen this one into a dress as well.

Four stars!!

p.s. My apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning and all her fans

New addition to the family

2008-11-21T14:07:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the blog silence since the wedding, but here is my excuse...

A new kitty baby!! Her name is Bella, and she is even uglier in person. :-) She is so ugly she is almost cute. And she is VERY affectionate. She is four months old and after a few trying weeks has settled in nicely with our two boy cats.

Despite the sad mew mew mews outside my sewing room (no kitties allowed!), I have done a little sewing and this weekend hope to get the pics off the camera to post about it. I continue to be in love with Jalie shirt patterns and am going to give Hot Pattern pants a whirl in the near future.

Oops I did it again!

2008-11-04T10:38:00.008-05:00

And like dear Ms. Spears, I never should have done it the first time.

Halloween 2008. Looking much like the failed attempt of Halloween 2007 only in different colors and with a very cool hat.

Once again, I wore my Sunburst Cocoon Coat from Folkware (that I am now retiring in order to make the newly released Poirot coat!!!). Once again, I made the Decades of Style zig zag dress and once again, through NO FAULT of the pattern but entirely because I am not suited to 1920s styles and not talented enough to make it look good anyways, I looked not so great in it.

The one favorable addition this year was the hat. I got the pattern from the Vintage Pattern Lending Library and it is called the 1920 Paris Cloche Hat. The VPLL was great to work with and I highly recommend them. The pattern was typical for a vintage pattern--not a lot of instruction, but not hard to figure out if you have some basic sewing skills in your arsenal. I really dig the hat.

Oh yes, and the other bright spot in this tragedy were my shoes. They are from Remix Vintage and I love them. :-)

Another addition this year was a punkin that I carved in an Art Deco style to thematically match my costume. It also did not turn out as gorgeous as it appeared in my head.

Next year, NO 1920s!!!! No matter how perfect my hair is!! NO NO NO!!! Maybe Elizabethan or Victorian. Or even if I insist on being more practical, something from the 1940s or 50s.

If I mention the 1920s again, you all have my permission to slap me into sense.

Bad Me, No cookie!

2008-10-30T07:54:00.003-04:00

The more I look at my wedding pics, the more boo-boos I see on the dresses. Sigh. I wish now I had taken (or had really) the time and cash to have that private fitting session with the professional. Neither dress really fit me as nicely as it could. And when better to do that than for my wedding dress!

Part of the problem was is that I kept thinking I was going to lose weight so was "saving" the fitting until I was my Final Size. And I did lose 15 pounds, but nothing in the two months before the wedding, so I had plenty of time.

Sigh.

Both The Husband (!) and I are doing the extreme hardcore exercise series P90X (the one on all the infomercials) and are hoping to get to our slim and trim figures that we had back when we met. And maybe next year we will dress up in cool (vintage!) clothes and hire our wedding photographer to do a day in the city with us. That way we have those picture to drool over too. And hopefully not find fault with.

Ignore my ramblings. Just post-wedding blues maybe.

More Wedding Madness

2008-10-27T10:20:00.008-04:00

I took a few more pics yesterday with a friend of the ceremony dress, since I wore it so little at the wedding.

You can see here, I went with the embroidered buttons. And now looking at it I wonder if the red ones would have been better. And holy cow, why didn't someone tell me it wrinkled so badly in back. Although folks tell me that it didn't look that wrinkled during the actual ceremony. Hmmm. But this shows the train nicely.

Photo by Rosemary

Studio shot of me and Trey.

Photo by Rosemary

Looking at all the wedding photos for pictures that show's Trey's suit, I realize how very bride focused weddings are. Not that I am complaining. But here are a few that show Trey's suit in part at least. As you can see, the time constraints bit me in the butt and it became a two piece rather than a three piece suit. I finished the jacket about midnight the night before the wedding, so there was no way I was going to try to do a vest then. I made the jacket, pants, and the tie.

Photos by Rosemary

I will try to convince Trey to do a few sewing room photos to show some of the construction details. I think he is getting tired of being a groom/model though. :-)

Save me from me.

2008-10-24T12:54:00.003-04:00

ARGH!

Why am I so drawn to the 1920s when the clothes from that era are completely wrong for me? Short round hourglass girls should look away from the 1920s.

Halloween looms next week. I have the cute 1920s bob haircut. My fingers are itching to make a cute 1920s outfit to go with it.

NO! I MUST NOT! I tried to do this last year and although the coat was fabulous, the Decades of Style ZigZag dress (through NO fault of the pattern, which is wonderful) did not look so good on me.

Oh Eva Dress, why must you issue this pattern in multisize, to tempt me into fashion disaster once again.

I hate you.

I love you.

Sigh.

p.s. Yes, there will be more wedding clothes posts. Many pictures of the suit and both dresses are to come. Patience, grasshoppers.

I'm Married!!!

2008-10-20T09:28:00.001-04:00

Here is a slideshow sneak peak of my wedding photos from my wedding photographer....

Wedding Slideshow

I have LOTS to catch up on, but since this is the first day back at work from the honeymoon, no time to blog now. But I will be giving all the nitty-gritty in the upcoming week, never fear. :-)

Practicality wins

2008-10-09T09:03:00.007-04:00

So as much as I would have loved a gorgeously hand-sewn hem on my reception dress, the fullness of the skirt beat me over the head with the impracticallity of doing that with so much to do and so little time. So I cheated and just did a rolled hem on my serger.

Does it look fabulous and is it what I wanted/dreamed of? No.

Is it passable and unnoticeable to 99 percent of the people that will see it? Yes.

Sometimes you just have to go with what is easy.

So the reception dress is almost done. I brought it to work today to do the finishing details, so hopefully it will be done when I get home and just need a good pressing. Work proceeds on the suit, but I have so little time left it might just be a two piece rather than a three piece.

But in the meantime, I am soothing myself with these pictures of the Cutest Cake Topper EVER!! Yes I made it. Yes those are tiny replicas of us and the cats in clay, dressed in real live scraps of fabric. The little paw prints represent my kitty Joe who passed away last year. The kitty poses represent the personalities of the kitties (George is saying Mommy Mommy look at me while Fred goes straight for the cake) while the humans are in a swing dance pose that even ended up vaguely heart shaped. AWWWWWWWWW.

Yes, I am a crazy person. :-) I will try to get better pictures, including ones that show the kitty faces because they turned out really cute.

I won't be naked!!

2008-10-03T11:15:00.005-04:00

Ceremony dress is DONE!!! YAYYYYYYY!!! *Krazy Kermit Arm Dance*

OK, almost done. I somehow only ended up with 19 covered buttons instead of 20 and no little baby snaps for the lingerie straps, so technically I have to cover and sew on one button and two little snaps.

But close enough!! I will be dropping it off with my friend on Monday so she can finish the beading and will give it back to me on Saturday (one day before the wedding!).

The reception dress is baby steps from finishing. Just armhole finishing and hemming--although with that super full skirt, it takes a loooooong time to hem because I do it by hand. But still, absolutely do-able. I would love to have time to add some sparkle, just a bit of beading inside those great box pleats, but I don't think I will. I also have to finish up the petticoat to wear under this one, but it is about halfway done.

Unfortunately, I have to go up to Philadelphia this weekend for work, so I won't be able to stitch on it until Monday when I return. But it is funny, more than half of my suitcase is filled with portable sewing tasks that I can do in the hotel in the evenings. I brought all of the suit fabric and interfacing for The Boy's jacket and hope to have it all cut out this weekend--his pants are finished, but I still have the jacket, vest and tie to make for his suit. I also packed my shoes and some fabric to cover them.

A lot of work ahead, but at least neither of us will be naked at the wedding anymore! Much to the relief of all involved. :-) I won't have internet access again until Monday, but I will post pics of everything then.

Button, Button, Who's got the Button

2008-10-01T10:00:00.008-04:00

As promised, here are some pics of the ceremony dress in progress with the two button options. I only had a few buttons done---in the final look the buttons will go all the way up the back. Ok, so the red ones are just scraps of fabric cut in circles, but it gives you the idea.

Sunburst

Red

I like the red more than I thought I would, but am still a bit torn over which to do. Plain ivory ones just disappeared into the fabric, so those are definitely out of the running. But I like both of these and am still open to suggestions. I need to get hopping on a decision though.

ETA: There will be 20 buttons going from the point of the red train up to the neckline of the dress.

A separate issue.....anyone out there know how to make the train keep that pretty pretty circle shape even as I walk down the aisle in it? The beaded edging definitely helps some, but it does collapse a bit as I walk.

AAAHHHHH!!!! Less than two weeks!!!

Getting Better....

2008-09-27T19:01:00.004-04:00

Here are the latest pics of the reception dress. With a regular bra and a bit of fiddling around the bust area, the fit was instantly better. I also cut some of the excess fabric out from under the arms. As you can see, the fit is MUCH better than before.

There are still some wrinkles that I can't seem to fix. Releasing the side seams didn't help at all. Maybe take more off the back underarm? I don't know if adding a bit of boning would help? Or if this is as good as it gets? I am a bit of a perfectionist, so I would love the fit to be PERFECT, but I think this is at least livable.

Looking for my Inner Tim Gunn

2008-09-27T00:17:00.009-04:00

So when I first started working on my dress design, I keep hearing Tim Gunn in my head, telling me to edit my look. Thus the conglomeration of every idea I ever had for a wedding smooshed into one dress eventually got edited down to what I think is a pretty classy design.

But this one detail I am working on now, I am not sure if Tim would exclaim "Fabulous" or tell me I have "too much look".

I am so inspired by the gorgeous beading detail my friend is doing on my train. She started with the beaded edging I loved so much from Summerset's Midnight Garden outfit. Then she did a sort of sunburst pattern with bugle and seed beads, and now she is doing some scatter beading in several shades of red in the panels.

I loved the sunburst idea and it really went along with the art deco-ish feel I have for the wedding in general. So I thought I would introduce the idea in the covered buttons I am doing all down the back to the point where the red train starts.

I have really struggled with the buttons. Red ones were too harsh against the ivory. Ivory ones I thought might look a little plain against the magnificence of the train. So I embroidered a sunburst pattern in red on some buttons and came up with this.

Of course these aren't attached to the back of the dress yet, just laid down on some ivory fabric to see how it would look. But now I am not sure if this is too much or if this makes the look. If these enhance the train idea or distract from it (I am getting the train back this weekend, so maybe once I see them together that will tell me). I asked my Tim Gunn, but he ain't talking.

At least the train looks good.....

2008-09-19T00:03:00.008-04:00

The reception dress is now mostly put together. And of course now I am seeing all kinds of problems.

Here are some pics as is. The facings are not in and the red bit at the top is just tucked in so I could see how it would look. The side pleats in the skirt are also not pressed. I am planning on hemming it just below the knee. And I will eventually have a petticoat to wear under it as well.

I obviously need to do a bit more pressing of the princess seams, but what is really bad is all those wrinkles/pulling all over the bodice, especially on the back. I am wondering what I did wrong, as the muslin did not do this. Maybe a waist stay would help some, keep the heavy skirts from dragging down the bodice so much? Any other suggestions out there? Particularly any thoughts on how to fix it WITHOUT starting over?

Sigh. One step forward, two steps back.

As far as the ceremony dress, here is a picture of the ginormous red train, inside and out. This is based on the back pieces of the Truly Victorian Fantail Skirt pattern, although I lengthened it a bit. The white strip on the inside is where the ties will be inserted to gather it in the back.

I dropped it off last weekend with a fellow costuming buddy who very kindly offered to do some beading on it as her wedding gift to me. I can't wait to see the results! Now I just need a dress to attach it to......

Parting shot:
Fred has been getting all the attention lately, so I thought I would shine the spotlight on his brother George for once. George is missing his friend and consequently is very wild and crazy playful. Here he is in one of his rare moments of rest.

Orange Cat for Sale

2008-09-18T08:36:00.004-04:00

Ok, Fred isn't really for sale. But ARGH!!!!

I pranced home from work last night, confident in the knowledge that this was The Night--the night I would actually finish one of my wedding dresses, thus taking some of the pressure off and preventing me from breaking out in stress hives.

Only to find Fred had taken off his cast. AGAIN!!! The vet is a bit at a loss with what to do. They wrapped him up again and this time we have him wearing one of those soft cones so he can't chew or lick on it. But she said it didn't really look like he had chewed much on the two he took off, so the cone might not help. And he only does it during the day when he is shut up and alone, so we have no idea how he is doing it.

If he does it again, I will have to start taking him to "day care", which is another name for dropping him off at the vet every morning for day boarding. Which will be EXPENSIVE. But not as expensive as surgery for his foot if he rebreaks it.

Fred! Gimme a break! Take off the cast as much as you want AFTER the wedding, but for now, let momma sew!