Still Bastin'

I remember spending nearly a whole day basting/sewing/removing the basting from the narrow bias binding of the first Robin's Jacket I made. With the second one, I used some faux suede binding that was slightly wider and fuse-basted it.

But I really like the look of that narrow bias, so on the blue jacket I'm back to hand basting.

But I don't want to re-create the creaking agony in the base of my neck, so I've been doing it in small spurts.

Four more buttons were sewn on the silk shirt while waiting my turn on the electronic game I played with the kids last night. To my amazement (and The Actor's disgust), I actually won...

But I think I am going to shelve my projects and get a pants pattern tested for The Flute Player today. She needs pants that fit in the worst way and, since she's two sizes smaller in her waist than in her hips, I'm not gonna find RTW that works.

Sigh. Those projects will get finished...one of these days.

Choir Sunday 08 #30

This Month's Colors: Burnt Orange, Tan or Brown w/Blue jeans
(I stood on the back row, in front of the 'O')

I didn't know I'd be wearing my late-finished browns so soon!








Jacket: McCall's 5191, from the stretch denim eyelet I got from Muna Couture in Nashville in July of '07.

Top: Jalie 2682, from brown yummy rayon/lycra jersey purchased at Textile Fabric's 50% off sale this past July.

The jeans are Lees...'Medium' length, but I have to wear them with my 2 1/4" heeled boots.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to continue getting photos of the whole choir; we are going to three services (yes, three services: 8:00, 9:30 and 11:15) starting next week, and the choir will not be warming up/rehearsing on the stage. I'll be watching the rest of this month to see when it looks like will be the best opportunity...

Progress Report...queue busting...

I went to Hancock's yesterday and got buttons for the white shirt (and that's all I got! Really!), so I can proceed with the buttonholes when I'm ready to switch thread in the SM.

The Actor's drama class is supporting a local community theater group's production of 'Frog and Toad' this week; I found out at the last minute that there was a public performance last night (mostly, this has been performed during the school day for early elementary school groups). We had choir practice last night, too, on the same end of town as the school (they are using the auditorium there). So I bagged up my silk shirt and buttons and the notions necessary and planned to head over to the school and sit in the lobby for an hour or so after choir was over rather than drive home and back. Wouldn't you know the show ended at 8:45, and the tech kids were released shortly after so I didn't have as much time as I expected. But I did get 6 out of 14 buttons sewed on.

The blue jacket is ready for the sleeves to be installed. Then the last construction step is the very tedious application of very narrow bias trim around all the edges (Well, hammering on the snaps is a quick detail). Which means I'm about half done. I still need to cover a pair of shoulder pads for the jacket, too.

One of these days I'm going to have a bodacious amount of yardage to add to the 'out' total ;)

Up Next...

Since I couldn't make up my mind what to do, and I had one more royal blue project in the queue and blue thread still on the serger, I decided to work on my blue flannel Silhouette Patterns Robin's Jacket whilst I pondered my next move.

And The Flute Player came in yesterday lamenting that she seems to have misplaced some blue jeans; she had only one pair of long pants to wear to school this week.

Y'know, I have a fair stash of corduroy that came from my Grandmother; I think I should probably turn some of that into britches for her.

So I took some measurements; I'll be working on a pattern for her over the next week or so and hope to have some wearable pants for her soon.

If I time my multi-tasking right, they'll be ready to sew when I'm done with the blue thread. ;)

Nothin' in September

According to my sewing records, I didn't complete a single garment in the entire month of September.

I have to go all the way back to December of '04 to find a month in which I didn't complete any personal sewing...and we were frantically costuming our first presentation of The Gospel According to Scrooge, so I *was* sewing at a fast and furious pace.

No, I recollect that I *did* sew my own costume for that show during December of '04; it's just not recorded. So I have to go back farther...to September of '04, which was right after we moved into a temporary rental property and I didn't get any sewing space set up for a few weeks.

But this month I had no costume sewing or house moving to blame. Just my own disorganization. And that's, um, embarrassing. I did a little (very little) mending and altering, but that really doesn't account for the whole month.

If I had realized yesterday that I'd have a goose egg for yards out in September, I'd've ditched the budget work I did in the afternoon and sewn buttons on that silk shirt. ;)

I pledge to get back to my sewing self this month... ;)

ETA: On reviewing my September posts, I find I did do a bit of costume work ... how could I have forgotten the Amazing Technicolor Truly Awful Bog Coat of Many Colors?

But that just took a day. So no real excuse there.

Waiting on buttons...

Ha! I found my cuffs! Turns out all I had done to them was fuse on the interfacing; so when I found the little rectangles of fabric on the floor under a box of patterns waiting to be filed, my first thought was 'Hey...is this the same fabric? I wonder if I could make new cuffs from this...' Then I noticed the interfacing and did the happy dance. So the Kwik Sew blouse is done to buttons/buttonholes.

Only I don't have any buttons in the stash that work. It needs something a little bigger than a standard shirt button, which is what I'd planned to use. A trip to Hancock's is in order. Yikes.

And the silk blouse is also done to the buttons. I have the buttonholes in and slit, so all I have to do now is sew on, um, 14 buttons and it's done.

Whew.

So, now I'm trying to decided what's up next...

More queue sewing, long put off winter outerwear projects, much needed pants for The Flute Player, or a quick gratification project?

Decisions, decisions, decisions....

A Blog Award!

I know these awards have been making the rounds, but it still surprises me to be nominated by Ann of Gorgeous Things She is one of my sewing inspirations (not to mention suppliers, since she began her mail order fabric business, Gorgeous Fabrics) So I'm really honored that she'd pick my blog for this! Especially considering other fabulous folks she nominated (Me? In the same list with Paco?).

Anyway, like all blog awards, they have, um, rules.

The first ones are easy... post the award images and a link to the person who gave it to you.

Usually, the rules then skip to nominating others and notifying them, but there's a catch here; there's a request to list '6 of your most important values and 6 negative points you condemn.'. (Who writes these things, anyway?) It looks like there's a lot of leeway for interpretation here...is this six values I consider key to myself, or six values I consider important in others? Does it really matter which way I interpret it?

Well, I'm going to list six things about myself that I think are foundational to who I am, and six things I wish I could improve upon. I don't know if that meets the requirements or not, but it seems fair and in the spirit of the award, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it. NOTE: These are in No Particular Order.

1) I'm a tightwad. I really hate to spend money on frivolous things; I justify my fabric purchases by telling myself it really is cheaper in the long run. And, sometimes I'm right...like the time I had an urgent need for a denim jacket, and made one from denim (purchased on sale several years earlier) in the stash...the only new outlay of cash was about $5 for buttons.

2) I'm a Pentecostal-style evangelic Christian. That conjures up a lot of weird images for some folks, I know, but it's the truth. My life values all come from my faith...and I can't separate that out from who I am. It probably comes through on the blog, although I know there are many folks with different beliefs who stop by here and I try very hard not to offend anyone, I cannot go back on what I believe because someone else disagrees or does not understand. That's part of the reason I started the second blog...so I could discuss that side of my life without freaking the people who come by for sewing stories.

3)I try to be really honest at all times.

4) I love tradition...things all tied up around special events like weddings and holidays.

5) I am very loyal

6) I'm determined to make things work...why I have so few wadders... ;)


Now, 6 things about myself that I'd like to improve:

1) organization organization organization! I'd count that as three but that wouldn't be fair.

2) I have distinct packrat tenancies. I wish I could get rid of useless stuff easier than I do.

3) I hate confrontation. Some things need confronting.

4) I wish I could keep up with sending birthday cards and such in a timely fashion. Maybe that comes under #1, but I don't like it that folks may think I have forgotten them...that's not true.

5) I hate calling folks on the telephone. I'm not sure why, but I do. Again, people think I don't care, and that makes me sad.

6) I also have an unpleasant tendency to speak before I have completely considered how that might sound to the other person...let's just say I get misunderstood a lot and end up offending folks when I didn't mean to. It sounds reasonable in my head...but then, no one else is in my head and they didn't hear the background music, I guess.


Ok...now for my own nominations. These folks are supposed to do what I just did, but I'm not going to fuss if they don't. This is all about sharing the love, anyway, right?

The Rules say to nominate 6 - 10 people; I'm not sure how many I'll end up with.

I'm going to limit myself to blogs that I have recently discovered: if I just found them, it might be that some others might enjoy finding them, too!

Bubblegum for Breakfast. I've seen Birgitte's work on Pattern Review...she has an amazing eye for design and construction. Go be inspired!

From the Stash. Gry designs and sews wonderful things in Denmark.

The Princess Seam. Adriana posts as 'Eli' on Pattern review and does some truly amazing things. She calls herself an 'intermediate' level sewing enthusiast, but I think you'll agree that her garments are well above that level.

After the Dress. Gwen blogged her way through constructing a friends wedding dress, then started ATD to chronicle her sewing for herself. She has an interesting structure...on Fridays, she 'confesses' something, and then on the following Thursday does a little synopsis of the replies she received. Sort of an informal poll; it's kinda fun!

Amands's Adventures in Sewing. Amanda has been doing some pattern reviews of some really sharp things; have a look!

Ok, now I'm going to break with my sewing buds for my last one and nominate a blog that is not about sewing. It's about faith in the real world...

Bring the Rain. This is a real-life, real-time story of one mother's walk through extraordinarily difficult events. Angie is married to Todd Smith of the Christian band Selah, but that really isn't a major part of the story. How she and her family are walking out their circumstances is the story. Go to the first post and read the story from the bottom up. Have a box of kleenex handy.


Um, let's see...the last of The Rules says that I now have to leave a comment on the above blogs so they know they're nominated. So...I'm off!

Choir Sundays '08 #29

This Month's colors: Hot Pink, charcoal grey or black w/jeans

Top: Brown Paper Patterns Basic Shell, made from the remnants of the fabric left from the top I wore last week...printed cotton/lycra from Cutting Corners at a past Atlanta Expo. I think I decided this morning that I need to scoop out the front neckline of this pattern the next time I make it...it'll fit better and be more flattering, too.

Jacket: Same Ol' Vogue 8045 jacket, from fairly hefty denim.

The jeans are my long-legged Lees...again w/boots. I need some shoes w/heels that aren't sandals...

Literary Indulgence

No, I'm not writing today...I'm reading.

There is sometimes a downside to fostering avid reading amongst one's offspring.

Someone gave The Actor Eragon for Christmas several years ago; he read it and pronounced it marvelous...I read it and laughed all the way through at the blatant use of ideas, themes, even names from classic science fiction/fantasy. It became kind of a challenge to identify what elements were borrowed from Star Wars,The Lord of the Rings, The Dragonriders of Pern, The Earthsea Trilogy , etc. The Actor purchased the second book of the trilogy...excuse me, series...when it came out and read it in a hurry, then wanted me to read it. We've discussed various plot possibilities while he waited with baited breath for the third book (now NOT the last book), which was released over the weekend. He raced through it in a couple of days, crowed with glory that he had correctly predicted some plot developments, and urged me to read it because he wanted to discuss it. However, as these things go, I was too busy to do any reading yesterday. The Flute Player nabbed it the moment she came in from school, though, and began reading.

The Actor hopped in the car when I picked him up from his bus stop last night, the question coming before he had his seat belt fastened. "So, Mom, how much did you read?" and his face fell when I said I had not touched the book all day. Then he noticed his sister was reading it.

And, yes, I had to intervene on her behalf to get him to grudgingly agree to let her read it when I wasn't. We agreed that she can't take it to school, so I sat down and read today...instead of sewing, which was my intention. Hopefully I've gotten far enough that he can talk about some of the things that are stirring around in his thoughts.

The sacrifices parents make for their kids. (lol)

I think it would probably have been a fairly good book with some true editing. As it is, I'm finding myself fretting over the excesses and fighting the urge to just skim through it. Even The Actor commented on the true cheesieness of it in places. I don't often roll my eyes when reading fiction and that's happened several times here.

Maybe I'll get some sewing done when The Flute Player gets home and grabs the book.

Testing my Resolve

Got another sale email today...this one from Fashion Fabrics Club. There are a lot of folks who, um, don't care for FFC, but I have to confess that they're responsible for a LARGE percentage of my fabric stash. Occasionally I've gotten something that didn't live up to my expectations, but usually the fabric from them has been very nice. And cheap. Now they're doing a big sale, with lots of fabrics deeply discounted, and, um, I'm not buying, I'm not buying I'm not buying....

This isn't a 'no purchase 'till parity' deal (although I'm farther behind parity than I'd really like to be at this point) it's a 'I gotta conserve the cash' deal.

And I don't know when that particular qualifier will lift. Maybe by the end of the year...maybe not.

Sigh. I gotta go delete that email.

Note: if I don't get some sewing done soon, I'll find myself talking politics, which I refuse to do on my blogs. I've mentally declared my blogs to be 'politics free zones', and I'm not gonna go there.

So I really, really need to do some sewing.... :D

Not Fun Sewing

I hate it when sewing becomes a chore instead of a delight. It happens from time to time. Usually, it's stuff w/a deadline, so I can kind of grit my teeth and plow my way through it, but right now, the only deadline I have is 'when this is done I can start sewing from fresh inspiration again!'

Ya'll the only sewing I did yesterday was pull out the silk Chopin Blouse and set about figuring out how to cut a replacement lower back piece, seeing as how I apparently threw the original one out.

The remnant of fabric I've got is about 2 1/2" too short to cut one. So I'm going to have to make this fit, then retro-trim the front to match. The pattern piece is currently lying on the fabric remnant on the cutting table. That's as far as I got.

And the blouse has not been going together well from the git-go. I sewed the collar on the wrong side of the blouse. The shirred bias cuffs/collar refused to shirr in a straight line. I lost the back.

Sigh. Working on it is not fun anymore. But my conscious will not let me cut anything new until I finish it.

Not to mention the white Kwik-sew blouse, which is done to the (still AWOL) cuffs. I know I made them; there's a blog post to that effect to shore up my rather shaky memory of it. So those cuffs should be...somewhere.

And Fabric Mart has four ply black silk crepe on sale for $10/yard! I've been looking for affordable 4-ply silk crepe...in black...for years.

But, my budget is COMPLETELY depleted. I deleted the email real quick before my fiscal responsibility flew out the window. The budget tightening has got to start being Real Serious.

All of which contributes to a lack of sewing fun.

So...I need to pull myself together and Finish That Blouse, Find Those Cuffs, and get Inspired by the Stash.

Deep breath, now...it'll be ok... ;)

"Following'

Blogger's instituted what looks like a new feed collector...their 'following' options. Apparently, you can 'follow' a number of blogs...even put a widget on your blog so that folks can 'follow' along with the blogs you're 'following.'

I'm not sure I'm ready to dump Bloglines for it, though. It would be nice to have the widget there, but I've got something like 100 blogs I subscribe too...it would be a real mess on the sidebar. I even took the list off and put it in a post so that all that is in the sidebar now is a link to the post. Bloglines generates the list in the post from the blogs I've subscribed to; I don't have to think about it. It's accessible, but it's not cluttering up the sidebar (I may have to do something similar with the archive files one of these days).

Plus, if I want to display the 'following' widget, I'd have to convert to layouts. Now, I'm using the classic 'template' version. I tried the layout version w/my other blog when I first set it up, but I had all kinds of problems getting the layout to allow me to insert new links and I finally gave up and converted it over to classic like this one.

So, no widget for me.

But it is kind of neat to log on to the dashboard and see some smiling faces of folks who will see my posts. So I guess it's a good thing.

(Yes, I have no substantial sewing to report and I'm grasping at straws for content. But I thought I'd explain why the 'following' widget won't be showing up on my sidebar...).

Hopefully I can talk sewing tomorrow. ;)

Groovin' with the Ugly Bog COMC

For the curious (and determined), there is a video clip of the UBCOMC up on our church website. It's at the tail end of the 'weekly announcements' video, so you have to click on the 'video announcements' in the upper right hand corner and wait patiently through all the happenings of the week and upcoming events. But, if you're determined to see it, you will see the UBCOMC worn on our hip Joseph, dancing with a sheaf of wheat.

And you can't even tell that it's Truly Ugly... ;)

The whole series of little videos, which will be used as 'sermon spice,' should be a real hoot.

Choir Sundays '08 #28

This month's colors: Hot pink with black or charcoal grey and blue jeans

Shirt: Kwik Sew 3027, from a printed cotton/lycra shirting purchased from Louise Cutting at the '06 (I think) Atlanta Sewing Expo. (I've recently seen this same fabric at Textile Fabrics in Nashville...).

Lee straight legged jeans; wildly audacious (for me, anyway) belt from Target and, as the temps were not projected to go above 79 today, my boots.

Bring on fall... ;)

Publishing Changes

No, I'm not going to Wordpress or anything like that; I'm a girl of simple needs and the good ol' low tech Blogger and ubiquitous Scribe template work just fine for me.

I've just decided to take Saturdays off.

Part of the 'see what stress I can remove from life' program. I haven't talked a lot about it here, but it's been a major theme over at my other blog. Here, I'll just say life has been waaayyy too busy for the past ?? months and I'm trying to pare down and pull in just a bit for a while to avoid overdoing to the point of being overdone.

Besides, taking Saturdays off will give me more time to sew... ;)

Ahead of the Curve?

I've been seeing a lot of posts on the boards and such about sewing with lace; I thought for a moment about rummaging around for some lace to get on board with it (that sidetracked sanguine trying to assert itself over my recent determination to work on the queue) when I remembered something: I've already sewn some lace garments...

The first was the Fashion Sewing Group 1964 skirt; I made this in 2005...and worn it only once or twice.

The second was last year; the modified Loes Hinse City Dress Bodice, which I have yet to wear.

I love both pieces...they're unique and, apparently, to my surprise, very stylish right now.

But...a SAHM just doesn't have much opportunity for wearing dressy lace garments!

I gotta watch for a chance to put those on in the next couple of months....

News from the Dollar Table

I happened to catch the department manager working at my favorite Wal-Mart dollar table last week when I was looking for cheap multicolor fabric and we had a bit of a chat. I told her that I always come there for costuming and rarely leave without finding something that would work.

She responded that she has three different fabric sources that she works with, and she orders from them (I think) weekly, to keep her table stocked w/different styles of fabric.

Both of us lamented Wal-Mart's growing lack of support for home creativity; she said it has affect more than just the fabric department; said they also no longer carry DMC embroidery floss as an example of the whole cut back in that area. What was the notions wall a few years ago has been reduced to a cabinet. The zipper stock is about 1/3 of what it used to be; there is a corresponding limited thread selection. She said that their fabric department has so far missed the real cutbacks, but she is afraid that its coming.

I commented that she should open her own discount fabric shop if WM shuts theirs down. She looked at me and kind of grinned.

"You know, several people have said that. I just might."

Oh! Joy! Perhaps it *won't* go away!

I pointed out that she already had the contacts and sources...if Wal-Mart closes down, that will be a lot of folks in our area who will need a place to pick up what they'd been getting there.

"Well, we'll see," she commented. "I've got a few ideas...it might work."

There's hope....

Queue Busting

I've pulled out the pink jacket fabric, the lining, the pattern, the tracing paper...and I just don't have the oomph to make it. We have two Sundays left in September; I could push it through but my heart's not in it.

To my surprise, what I *want* to do more than anything else is sew the stuff in the queue. Most of those projects have been in the WIP pile for a year or better; it's getting depressing. I can't enjoy cutting new stuff until I clean that out.

So, even if I wear the same pink stuff I've already worn this month, I'm giving myself permission to go back and finish. I'm putting the pink jacket stuff away for now.

After I've cleaned the queue, I won't have that 'unfinished work!' song playing in my head and I can have some fun with something new!

So, back to the half done Kwik Sew white blouse which is still missing the (sewn) cuffs. They gotta be there someplace.

Picking Up My Teeth

(Note for folks not familiar w/American idioms: "I dropped my teeth" is an idiom meaning I was profoundly surprised).

There's been a little discussion over at PatternReview about designating some awards for contributors. Nominations have been accepted for the past month or so in several categories, and today the nominees were posted for voting (note: you may have to be a signed-in member of PR to view that page; I'm not sure).

I was flabbergasted to see my picture in the list.

I haven't been terribly active in PR this year and I really didn't expect to be nominated for anything. But, I suppose if I were going to be nominated for anything, 'thinking outside the box' makes sense.

It's a huge honor to be nominated; I'm...I'm...I'm typing and erasing a whole bunch of goofy sounding stuff here. The other nominees in the list are all fabulous at what they do; I'm pretty much speechless to be in that list with them.

And it's going to be really, really difficult to vote on one per category.

At least I've got all month to think about it.

Lost My Rhythm...

Conferences tend to do that...several days of intense, out-of-the-normal-schedule focus leaves it just a little difficult to pop right back into the routine.

It's especially difficult if 'routine' is not a strong suit...which it isn't for this little sewing blogger.

Mondays are a volunteer day, anyway, so I've been gone a bit. Did a bit of laundry. Strung a couple of necklaces that I could wear w/hot pink tops. Sewed a wee bit on the white shirt.

And I went to the stash bins and pulled the pink rayon/linen and the matching lining. I may just take the plunge and cut that jacket out this week.

If I can find the rhythm...

Choir Sundays '08 #27

This Month's Colors: Hot Pink or Black or Charcoal Grey w/jeans


Jacket: My old favorite Vogue 8045 denim jacket. My photographer failed to notice that the collar was slightly flipped...

Top: Printed silk charmeuse Modified Loes Hinse City Dress Shell. The flower is kind of a mix of red and hot pink...it was close enough.

Gloria Vanderbilt 'Mom' jeans this time. After a fabulous but exhausting conference, I wasn't up to wearing the heels required by my boot-cuts... ;)

Whose Pants?

The Actor came downstairs this morning dressed considerably nicer than his usual school attire...he had on a white polo shirt and a pair of drapey black dress pants.

I asked him what the occasion was; turns out part of his grade in his Business Tech class is to dress appropriately for an office on specified days...the first of which is today.

"I like these pants!" he said, "They're really comfortable."

But...I looked again at those pants. The dress pants that I bought him last spring were khaki and blue cotton twill... I couldn't think of any pants his brother might've handed down to him that would drape like those. And, they looked a little too long. His shirt tail was out, so I couldn't see the top of them.

Finally, I gave up. "Come over here!" I wanted a closer look at that fabric.

I couldn't believe it. Herringbone weave black rayon/polyester.
They were my Loes Hinse Oxford/European Morph, seen in this photo from last fall (and several other Choir Sunday Posts). He said they were just hanging in his closet.

I'm thinking he picked them up from the laundry room by accident some time ago. Since we've been wearing jeans for choir, I haven't missed them.

Anyway, he wanted to know if he could wear them! My pants! No way, Jose'!!!

Then, he wanted to know where I'd gotten them. Well, THAT'S kind of a dumb question...

Now he wants me to make him some dress pants from a similar fabric.

I guess he really liked them.

Oh...he wore his blue twill pants to school today.

Publication notice: Our women's conference at church is this weekend; as I'll be conferencing from dawn 'till long past dusk both tomorrow and Saturday, I don't plan to try to post, too. I'll catch up next week.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Ugly Bog Coat

The ol' Ugly Bog was a hit at the videotaping last night. Thank the good Lord.

The taping was very interesting...and costuming it was a bit of a challenge, since they were doing it against a green-screen so they could add the scenery later. That meant that no one could have a costume that was any shade of green (I was told the splashes of jade green in the UBCOMC would be manageable). At first, I thought, ok, no problem, but when I began to pull costumes for Joseph's eleven brothers I found something out: We've used an awfully lot of green fabric of one shade or another in our costuming! We were rather scraping to get everyone in something...but, since the shots were all pretty tight, it was ok if some of the costumes were way short; the jeans underneath won't show in the finished product.

Ah, the benefits of video vs. live on stage....

But the '70's twist' made it an absolute hoot to watch. We, of course, made no real attempt to be any kind of really authentic...for instance, the Egyptian baker wore a calico apron. We had some Afro wigs, a shaggy rock star wig, glue-on mustaches, side burns and, um, chest hair. And the 'mood music' that was playing while the taping was progressing was 'Dreamweaver'...which is going to be used in bits and pieces as Joseph's liet motif in the finished video. It just so happens that that song was the theme song for my Senior Prom many years ago...I was having flash back goosebumps all night long.

I got all the costumes put back together and reorganized after they were finished, but I didn't feel like making six trips up to the attic to carry it all up last night; I've got to run a couple of errands today anyway, so I'll run by church and carry the costumes and the rack back up sometime this morning.

Ugly Bog

Is it just me, or does this look like it needs a snap tape closure and labeled as a 'duster dress'?

It's not enough that the print is garish...this has to be some of the most off-grain fabric I've ever worked with. Nothing I could do would get it to hang straight.

I self-lined it, hoping some weight would help...but it's so off kilter I had problems getting the two layers to cooperate; I still need to re-do the bottom a bit. The outer layer bubbles on one side; the inner layer bubbles on the other.

And it was supposed to be a quick garment...

Oh, well, the video clip shot of this should only be about 10 seconds long; I'm not going to sweat it too much more.

Time Out

Hold that personal sewing for a day or so...

Breaking news is that Pastor will soon be preaching a sermon series about Joseph, and we are going to be shooting some video to use in his sermon in very small clips.

The costumes are to be 'Biblical with a 70's twist'.

But, having virtually no budget, we're going to have to Make Do with what's upstairs.

With one teeny exception...we have no 'Coat of Many Colors'.

If I'd've had time, I'd've tie-dyed something. Unfortunately, the first taping...the one that needs the COMC, is tomorrow night.

So, I hit the dollar table at my favorite Wal-Mart (and had a very interesting discussion with the department manager; likely another post this week if I don't get any other news-worthy sewing-related stuff done) and found ONE wildly-printed fabric. It really is a great mish mash of color, but it's voile (or voilish...it's dollar fabric: basically just Real Thin). It'd be too flimsy for stage; however, since it's for a very, very short video clip, I think it'll work.

So...it's another Bog Coat in the works!

Choir Sundays '08 #26

This Month's colors: Deep Hot Pink or charcoal grey or black w/blue jeans. The stage has been kind of redesigned; the choir is on new risers (with lights!) in the middle of the stage, with the band split on either side. It's different...

The only thing I'm wearing that I made is the Jacket; it's the McCall's 5191, from printed cotton/lycra sateen. I misread the fabric description when I purchased the fabric from Fabric Mart two years ago; consequently it wasn't what I was expecting (my fault totally). So I changed my mind two or three times before I finally used it as the test for the Palmer/Pletsch jeans jacket. It turned out cuter than I expected, and I was, um, tickled pink (couldn't resist!)that the pink in it is this month's choir pink. I was even more tickled that it was a dead match for that absolutely ancient Lands' End sleelveless mock-t-neck.
Need I even mention the Lee jeans anymore? ;)

Oh, I just noticed that this post starts the second year for Choir Sundays! My first Choir Sundays post was 9-2-07. Hard to believe I've been doing this for a year...even harder to believe that I wore something I made every Sunday I was in choir during the past year! I wasn't sure I could do it, but I did!

And, I guess since I'm in the habit of doing this, I'll keep it up for a while longer, anyway...

Trying to make a plan

It's too bad the SWAP competition (now being hosted by Stitcher's Guild, since the retirement of Julie Culshaw and the closing of Timmel Fabrics) isn't gearing up to start soon; I could really get into planning a SWAP wardrobe right now.

And I'll probably be doing too much costuming to commit to it at the start of the year. Oh, well.

But I am trying to get a direction on what I'm going to do. Part of that requires some real assessment of what I *need*.

I need some white shirts, really bad. I have one that was well started before I had to start sewing Piratey things, and I pulled it out today to see how far I can get. Then I discovered that the cuffs (I'm pretty sure I made the cuffs!) are AWOL. I *could* cut more, but I'd really rather just find the ones I did in...May?

I really, really, really need to clean that sewing nook!

Hancock's still had the buttons that I'd originally purchased to put on my pink silk/linen/rayon floppy weave suiting, so I grabbed a couple more cards, which means the Vogue 1040 is a real possibility. I like that jacket a lot; I'm going to trace/alter it as soon as I get a chance and see if I'm still as interested in it...whatever I need to do, I need to cut the pink jacket out no later than a week from Monday if I hope to finish it by the end of the month. I've also got some pink double-faced satin in the stash that I believe I'm going to see if I can turn into a top from a Burda WOF pattern; I've got the pattern traced but I want to pin-fit it before I proceed any further. I've only got a pinch over a yard, so I don't even know if it'll work or not.

That'll be the only pink things I try to make for this month; there's too much else that needs doing and, to be honest, I'm not sure whether I'm going to put them into the queue or not.

The Flute Player (DD the Second) and I both need black pants; so that's going to have to be in the queue soon. It looks like the choir will be wearing jeans through October; I need to do a couple of muslins and get some that are right.

And I've still got my trench coat project in the wings...and there are those things in the queue from earlier...


I really need to Make A Plan....I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'....

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Confession time.
I'm almost at mental gridlock again. Normally, we're really busy sewing costumes for various church folks at this time of year, but we had a light load of requested costumes and, wonder of wonders, I'm finished (all but some new Angel costumes that were totally my idea and really have no particular deadline at the moment). Now, I actually have some time to do some serious personal sewing, which is something I really haven't had since February (First, Pippin, then the Pirate Costume Project, then a busy traveling summer, then the annual fall sewing blitz).

Now, with some actual time...I'm having a hard time getting my plan down to do something productive.

I've still got a bunch of stuff in the queue to finish up...both from this year and last.

I've got the opportunity to make and wear some of my stashed hot pink fabric

I've got some lovely new things that have arrived over the past few months that I'm dying to get turned into clothes (some of those things are actually real wardrobe needs, too)

What to do, what to do?

In all honesty, I should probably start by cleaning the sewing nook. I got it about half organized before the Pirate Project started, but it quickly disintegrated again, since things weren't really in place when I started.

Sigh. No fun, that....

Thinkin' Pink

Next month's choir colors are deep hot pink and charcoal grey or black w/blue jeans (yeah, blue jeans one more month...). I've probably got enough stuff in the closet that I could squeak by without making anything new.

But I have two or three pieces of fabric in the stash that have just been languishing because I've been busy sewing stuff in the colors I needed.

So I'd really like to take the opportunity to make them up.

One is a piece of silk/linen/rayon blend suiting that came from Emma One Sock SEVERAL years ago. My intention was to replace a one-button blazer jacket that hadn't really fit since baby three (who is now 15). But the fabric is very loosely woven and floppy. I don't think I want to beat it into a tailored out blazer. But I do have the Fashion Sewing Group jacket muslined, tweaked and ready for fashion fabric. And the folks on Stitcher's Guild are doing a sew along on that pattern that I've been following whilst doing the most recent round of Church costuming...I'd sort of like to join along.

But there are a couple of other patterns I'm looking at, as well. One is Loes Hines' Milano Jacket, but my fabric would have to be fully interfaced (that floppy loose weave...) and I think it will therefore need a lining, which of course is not a feature of any Loes Hinse pattern. Vogue 1040 is also on the short list...I'd leave off the fringy trim and I'd need to get different buttons than the ones I have currently intended for that fabric (I don't have enough...but maybe Hancock's still has some). And I have made enough Vogue patterns that I pretty well know what my alterations need to be. But there's one more that's caught my eye...the Burda World of Fashion September issue, which arrived Tuesday, has a nice jacket, number 129, that I definitely want to make at some point, and it's very similar to the Milano...only it does have at least a nod to putting in a lining in the directions.

So, I've got some decisions to make...and pretty soon. It'd be nice to finish it in time to wear in September, and if I've got to start w/a muslin (which I'd need to do for the Burda jacket), I need to get on it.

Maybe I'll just go ahead and trace and muslin the BWOF jacket while I make up my mind?

Fabric In...

Is there anyone who managed to resist all the Labor Day sales that were flying around the 'net?

I succumbed to one...because I really, truly needed some black cotton/lycra bottomweight fabric for pants, and Gorgeous Fabrics had a really nice black cotton/lycra sateen available. Plus, she had some silk/lycra charmeuse for sale...in the color I needed for choir last Easter (the top I made was merely ok...cheap fabric purchased just because it was the Right Color. Now I can make a pretty replacement from silk/lycra!). And there was one 'I can't resist this while I'm already paying shipping!' fabric...the knit Ann used to make this top. I'm a sucker for nice rayon/lycra knits...and, with a black-and-white theme, that'll get used in choir, too.

Sigh. The 'yards in' total is creeping upward; time to do some stash-busting sewing...

Finishing a UFO

Two years ago, we were swamped w/costuming for our Easter production at church. A number of costumes had disappeared, so we asked any choir members who could to bring in fabric for us to make them their own costumes. However, we hadn't planned on doing a huge batch of new Roman Soldier costumes as well. The costume fabric came in...and there were a few that were just not acceptable. A pair of sisters brought in very large, loud prints that I had to send back to them. One brought in replacement fabric; I managed to find a costume in the church attic storage for the other. One lady just brought in something the clerk at Wal-Mart had told her would be a great color for her.

It turned out to be swimsuit lining. Totally transparent.

She told me to keep it, as she had no use for it, and we found her a costume upstairs. But I hated that she'd purchased something so...wrong.

One day, it occurred to me that I could use swimsuit lining to line mesh tops or skirts...anyway, I went to the dollar table at Wal-Mart and found some other fabric that would go with the pieces she'd brought in for the head drapes...at least, sort of...and traded.

We cut her costume out of the new fabric last August, but we had so many costumes to make for the children's church that I didn't get to it.

Yesterday, I pulled it out of the bag and sewed it up.

Won't Miss K be surprised when I give it to her at choir practice Thursday night?

Pattern Count

Note to self: Don't take a list of patterns with you to a fabric store when a sale is in progress if you don't want to come home with a bag full of patterns...

But...Vogues were 3.99 and Simplicity was 1.99, limit ten each. I even bought some patterns that I'd been on the fence about for a while...

First, the Simplicities. I hadn't caught a Simplicity sale in a while.

I wanted a good basic pants pattern for DD the Younger; she's growing so fast I'm having trouble keeping her ankles covered. Simplicity 4839 looked like a good basic to me; now to get it fitted for her and made up before she outgrows the alterations. ;)

I got a couple of patterns that I thought DD the Elder might be interested in...she says she can't envision them made up, so she doesn't know if she'll like them or not. She was intrigued by the whole 'be your own fashion designer' page in the Project Runway pattern envelopes, though, so we'll see if she plays with it. And, ya never know, I might opt to make one of these for myself:

Simplicity 2927
Simplicity 2848

I got a PR pattern for me, too...Simplicity 2807. I love the ribbon trimmed blouse and will be on the lookout for suitable material. But, I ask you, why would anyone put a picture of a skirt cut off-grain on the front of the envelope? Doesn't that just scream 'home ec class!!!' Perhaps it's the print on the fabric that's off, but all the same, it looks bad at the waistline...

Then, there are the Threads Collection patterns:

Your basic shirtdress: Simplicity 2996. I would make a self-fabric belt w/buckle rather than the kinda dumpy sash, but doesn't that brown eyelet look kewl?

Your basic pants: Simplicity 4366. Wide legs, boot cut, tapered, capris...a whole wardrobe of pants in one envelope. Definitely worth the fitting work!

And a coat: Simplicity 3562 I have the best intentions of making a great coat...someday....

I also got 4 Vogues, but these are mostly patterns I've been waffling about for a while, and decided that at $4 each, I could get 'em:

Vogue 7693. A (faux) wrap dress for woven fabrics...and it has that high-in-the-back V neckline that I've decided is so flattering to wear.

Today's Fit 1058 I'm not wild about the cardi, although it could be nice in the right fabric. I decided a good darted sleeveless knit top pattern was worth 4 bucks. Once tweaked, that could easily see a lot of use.

Vogue 8299 Cropped jackets. Shoulder princess seams...I could fudge it out into a longer jacket if I decide crop is over. I like the asymmetric collar, too; that might get morphed onto some other things.

Finally, one for the wild side: Koos Van den Akker 2971. Dunno if I'll ever make it (although I do like the wrap top), but it's a worthy collectible, no?

I wonder if I made one pattern a week for the rest of my life if I'd get through the whole collection... ;)

Choir Sundays '08 #25

Did she finish it, or did she not?





Answer: she did!

This month's colors: blue jeans w/gold, purple or chocolate brown

I'm wearing my *other* Lee jeans...these require the highest heels I own. Surprisingly, I'm finding it easier to wear heels now than I ever expected; maybe I'm finally getting used to them again. I'm still at a 2 3/4" limit, though, and I don't expect to get higher than that. But that's something for someone who owned nothing higher than 1" for years....

Anyway, I finished the jacket! It's McCall's 5191 from the embroidered stretch eyelet denim. And it's a good thing I skipped the interfacing; this jacket can nearly stand on its own as it is.

The top is Jalie 2682, made from the lovely chocolate brown rayon/Lycra jersey that came home with me from Textile Studio's July sale this year. Incidentally, the other top from that piece of fabric...the one that I cut out in DD's size instead of mine...has been passed along to DD and she has worn it already. It fits *her* well!

Looks like I'll make it....

All I need to do to the eyelet jacket now is insert the (finished) sleeves and add buttons and buttonholes (or decorative snaps?). My goal is to wear it tomorrow with the recently finished brown Jalie 2862, so I've got to make a Hancock's run later today...I don't think I've got any buttons in the stash that really will suit. So I'll take the jacket along and see what I can find.

It's a dangerous trip; Vogues and Simplicity are both on sale this weekend. Cover me, I'm going in... ;)


Seriously, though, speaking of cover, please cover the Gulf coast in your prayers... Gustav is looking pretty mean.

Making Eyelet Progress

So, yeah, I recut both the left front and the left side front. Summerset was right...it would've bugged me even if no one else noticed it.

Once that little task was covered, I started sewing...and got all the pieces assembled I could before I had to change thread in the sewing machine for the contrast top stitching. Now, I have finished that first round of top stitching and I'm ready to put some more pieces together.

One thing that held me up on the jacket was trying to decide what to do about interfacing. I didn't want to use any, because I didn't want it showing through the eyelet holes.

Y'know what I decided? All that embroidery acts as a stabilizer in and of itself... so I decided to skip it altogether.

I think it'll be okay. ;)

Off to an Inauspicious Start....

I absolutely did not catch this when I cut the jacket out.

The two edges of the embroidery were not done the same.

And I cut both the front and the side front with one edge along the edge of the embroidery, not realizing that the embroidery on the bottom layer didn't come all the way to the seam line.

The left front will be be on the underlap, so I may use the one I've already cut, but I'm going to have to cut another left side front. There's an obvious discontinuity at the seam line where the embroidery *should* be.

Oh, I'll probably cut another left front as well, since I've got to re-do it anyway. At least I've got enough fabric.

Maybe I'll still have enough to cut a couple of vest fronts. Sigh.

Grumble, grumble, grumble....

Jeans frustration

Why can't there be stylish jeans that fit?

I have some jeans that fit pretty well...but they're 'Mom jeans' with straight legs. Ok for mom stuff, but if I want to look the least bit uptown there needs to be a little length and a little flare on 'em.

Those Lee jeans I've been wearing in the choir Sunday posts look ok, but the truth is they don't fit around the waist very well.

They're cut below the waist, and after tugging them up repeatedly I finally did a little experiment Sunday and discovered what I suspected was true...I could actually get them off without touching the zipper or button. A belt cinched up enough to make them feel secure wrinkled up the waistband to the uncomfortable point.

I pulled out my Hot Patterns jeans pattern (Plain and simple flare legs? I can't remember without looking...) and put it in the 'work on this' box and wondered where I would get something to muslin them with.

Lo and behold, my friend Miss K was clearing out some old stash fabric and she had a number of yards to donate...either to me or to the costume stash at church; she said she didn't care what I did with it. Wouldn't you know, there was a 2.5 yard chunk of denim in that? The rest of the fabric went to the church storeroom (not all of it is suitable for costumes, but I didn't have time to sort though it Monday), but that denim came home with me.

After I run it through the laundry a couple of times to pre-shrink it, I'll give those HP jeans a try.

Hopefully I will get something that will both stay up and look sharp...

Delays, delays...

(That's supposed to evoke a recollection of Marvin the Martian trying to recover his Space Modulator from Bugs Bunny...)

I thought I'd have a good start on that denim eyelet jacket by now.

Do you know I haven't even managed to change the thread on the sewing machine yet?

So many little things piling up...and I have some more errands to run yet today, on a day when I expected to stay home and sew.

If only I could add water to some instant Martians and set them to doing the chores/errands/tending interruptions for me.

(Apologies to those not familiar with the animation work of Warner Brothers and Chuck Jones...)

While I was cutting....

That 'while I'm at it...' paradigm can so easily get me into trouble.

It's responsible for more patterns coming home with me, more fabric slipping into the shopping cart (literal and online), more projects getting started...

In short, that's a quick way to bite off more than I can chew.

But I limited myself to only one 'while I'm at it' job when the cutting table/mats were out...

I have a nice piece of printed slinky that I bought at the Atlanta Expo last year that I've been holding on to, waiting for, you know, the 'perfect pattern'.

Butterick 5185 struck me as being the 'perfect pattern', but the reviews for it were rather cautionary. Sure enough, when I looked at the pattern pieces, I could see that the front horizontal seam, instead of being at the waistline as drawn on the envelope, is actually placed an inch or so above the waistline.

That would drive me bananas.

So, I pulled out my cheap contrary slinky fabric from the dollar table at Wal-Mart to make up a 'muslin'...which I *might* wear, if it turns out nicely, but won't worry about if it needs to be slashed or otherwise damaged to fine tune fit...in order to try it out.

I added 1" between the armsceye and the seamline on both sides of the front; that'll make it longer than the back but Debra H. suggested cutting the front a little longer anyway in case one needs to tweak the front drape so it hangs better. We'll see how it turns out.

When I get to it. ;)

Choir Sundays '08 #24

A two-picture day. Our pastor and the whole worship team were invited to do the service at a church in the next city down the road this evening.

Anyway, for this morning's service, we are still wearing jeans w/either gold, brown or purple tops. I wore the new brown Vogue 2975 top, the familiar denim Vogue 8045 jacket, and Lee bootcut jeans.












For the evening service, we were to wear black and white w/our jeans, so I pulled out the black poly herringbone weaveLoes Hinse Bistro Jacket, and my black and white stripe rayon/lycra sleeveless, cowless Loes Hinse Cowl top. Same jeans! We only had about 40 minutes after the morning's second service to eat lunch, change clothes, and head out in order to be at the other church in time to do setup and sound checks (it's about an hour and a half away).

Hence the late post...it's been a long day!

(but worth it! ;) )

Eyelet is Committed

Ain't it always the case? I spent a bunch of time hunting that pattern, and then when I found it I decided not to use it.

I had it all spread out on the cutting table, ready to trace, and decided I just didn't want to invest all the time to tweak and fit a new pattern...especially as I hadn't made one of Cynthia's patterns yet and I would be starting from scratch as to what alterations I would need for it.

Plus, I realized I wanted a really good basic design that would be wearable for years; the pattern I was looking at had an asymmetric front...hmm.

So I went upstairs and pulled out the jacket I really had originally intended as the test jacket for this fabric...McCall's 5191, put it on and looked it over really well. And realized that that jacket fit really well, it was relatively easy to make... and it was Ready to Go.

So I pulled out the eyelet denim that has been waiting for over a year to become a nice little jacket and began the cutting process. With a little determination (and, hopefully, no serious distractions!) I can get that made in time to wear next Sunday, while denim and brown are still the designated colors for choir... ;)

Oh wheeerrrreee is my pattern?

I've been looking for two days for my Cynthia Guffey jeans jacket pattern. It's not where I saw it last, and I know I had it set aside to trace at one point early in the summer.

I suspect one of my kids, in a 'let's help mom and clean things up' moment stuck it somewhere to get it out of sight.

Boy, is it.

Back to hunting...

Update 12:21 pm...not the kids fault. It had fallen face down and somehow got a basket of fabric stash moved over on it...imagine that... ;)

The Bog Coat Jesus Costume

Eight years ago (Issue # 87, dated March 2000), Threads magazine published an article by Susan B. Allen about the 'Bog Coat' -- a garment named because it had been found on the preserved, ancient body of a man who fell into a peat bog some 1600 or so years ago. She showed several variations, and a schematic for cutting and directions for making one.

I always thought it would be a fabulous garment for a Biblical-era costume, and I finally got around to trying it.

Our Master's Commission Program requested a costume to be used by whoever would be portraying 'Jesus doing ministry' (as opposed to 'Jesus glorified'). There's a long story behind why it was requested, but the upshot was that they wanted something in linen.

So I scrounged the internet and fabric stores, and found some really nice stuff on sale from Michael last spring...a shirt weight cream color and a horizontal blue stripe (which was blended w/hemp). The shirt weight, once I had it in my hand, struck me as being a bit too lightweight for a robe, so I kept my eyes open and found some nice midweight linen on sale when I stopped at JoAnn's while passing through Nashville. And, it just so happened that that linen was a dead match for one of the stripes in the blue, so...we have a match. I used my favorite Bible Costume pattern, McCall's 2339 for the robe, but pulled out issue no. 87 and made a Bog Coat for the cloak.



I managed to get DS to model it for me; he kinda liked it. Our usual over-coat is a sleeveless vest; he liked the sleeves on the overcoat.

I did modify the coat somewhat...the article says to cut the neckline in a u-shape, basically the depth of the sleeves, then seam the sleeves w/the seam on the outside and put a band over it.

Instead,I cut the neckline a little deeper than the fold on the sleeves (so there'd actually be room for the back of the neck), and I cut it in a teardrop shape, so that the coat front would meet in the CF.
This is my really rough representation of the cutting changes. It's not to scale, but you can see the difference in the neckline...the original is on the left, and my modification is on the right.

And I made a facing for the neckline, since this costume is going to get MUCH abuse in its lifetime, I wanted it as sturdy as possible. And, since I wanted the coat to *appear* to be seamless, I put the seam on the wrong side of the coat and serge-finished it.

The only tricky bit (besides measuring!)is the corner where the sleeve joins the body; that's sewing a right angle to a straight line. I actually chose the wrong spot to match the stripe; it's a little off on the coat body, but it matches perfectly...on the sleeve, which no one will see.

I intended for the front of the coat to be the selvedge, but somehow I mismeasured how far to cut the sleeve into the fabric. I ended up with the coat front extending all the way to the edge of the facing. So the front edge of the coat has been turned under and machine blindstitched down.

I fringed the bottom instead of hemming it.

Now, this is not a dead ringer for the costume that I was supposed to be copying; I couldn't find the right colors of linen for that. And I realize it may be a bit out of the 'customary and familiar' Jesus costume...in other words, the decision making folks in HMC haven't seen it yet and they may not like it. So, I pieced together a more conventional shoulder drape from the leftover, which DS also modeled for me:
When he put it on, he commented, 'Oh, this is the traditional Jesus look!'.

Well, I'm don't think Jesus had earrings...but, whatever...
Between you and me, I kinda expect to see the drape on stage more than the coat. We are creatures of habit.

Long Day...

I sewed, I cleaned up and moved out of the sewing room, I put up posters in my classroom, I cooked dinner, I argued with the computer, I taught class...

I'm tired!

I hope to get a photo posted tomorrow of some of the sewing I finished today...but first I have to sweettalk DS into being my model...

Cross your fingers for me. ;)

Looking for minutes

I managed to get the Vogue 2975 top hemmed Sunday and put in the closet (the review is up...), but I haven't had 20 minutes to switch to the double needle and hem the knit tops that are waiting their turn. Something every night....

But, tomorrow is the last day to sew at church, so my time should be a little less stressed!

We'll see how much I can get finished today.

Costume Maintenance Day -- 12?

I went in and finished cutting out all the stuff I had and decided I could spend the rest of today and the last two days sewing...and discovered that I didn't have spools of any of the thread I needed! I managed to do a bit of serging, and ran out the last of the thread I had that would work...and knocked off early to do some work on my girl's Wednesday night classes and make a trip to Wal-Mart for more thread.

Of course, I had to check out the dollar table, since I'm in need of fabric suitable for muslining my next denim jacket, and I found a nice white mid-weight cotton/lycra twill that will do nicely.

$4 for a possibly wearable white denim jacket is just alright... ;)

A Quick Getaway

No choir post today... My Sweet Baboo and I ran away for the weekend to celebrate our 28th Wedding anniversary! Our waitress snapped this for us as we were finishing dinner last night at the Guntersville State Park Lodge. That's my Burda May 08 #104 dress, what you can see of it, anyway. My Sweet Baboo says it's his favorite of the three dresses I made this spring, and the hostess who seated us complimented it, too, so it was a good choice!

We've had a lovely little escape...back to the Real World now. ;)

Costume Maintenance Day 10: Piece by Piece

Wednesday night I brought my serger home, thinking, "We're cutting now, I won't need this"

And then discovered that, due to narrow fabric issues, I'm going to have to piece sleeves on at least three of the garments I'm cutting out. I managed to piece one set, using the sewing machine and a zig-zag, but the others I definitely want to serge.

So the serger is going back in today.

On the home sewing front, I finished my Vogue 2975 top to the hem last night...after a grumbling half hour of ripping because I twisted the shoulder on one side when I sewed the side front to the front...and I didn't notice it until I tried to sew the side seam. So I had to unpick the horizontal topstitching, the pleat on that side (because the offending seam is enclosed in that pleat) and the side front seam to fix it. Grumble Grumble.

But it's ready for a narrow hem. Dunno if I'll get to it today or not...

Costume Maintenance Day Nine -- We're Cuttin'

Miss M and I finished all the items that I'd pulled to mend and returned the rack and the costumes to the attic yesterday; today we switch gears and start cutting out what garments we have. I'd estimate we've got a couple of days' worth of cutting to do, but I do expect a few more sets of fabric to come in for HMC Bible costumes. If we run out of cutting to do before Wednesday (which is when we have to clean out so the room is available for the resumption of the class that meets in there on Wednesday nights), we'll start sewing on what we've got.

I had a brainstorm...I had a blue pull-on cloak w/sleeves that needed hemming. It had a rather low-ish v neck into a center front seam, and I had Miss M rip out the seam in the front so that it was a regular cloak. Then, when I sat down to hem it up, it occurred to me that I could pull the sleeves off of it, finish off the edges, add a couple of tassels to the corners and then I wouldn't have to make a blue tasseled vest from scratch to replace one that had gone missing from one of our priest/Levite/Pharisee costumes. Took about an hour...and it's done.

Which is good, because there was no blue fabric anywhere in the stash (yeah, there's a small one at church...donations and leftovers, mostly), and I was going to have to seek out blue fabric on the dollar table at Wal-Mart. Now I don't have to!

Progress is good. :D

Costume Maintenance: Day 9- Eyes on the Goal

I'm off for what I *hope* is the last day of mending, although several items have surprised me in that, when I began to work on the issue I noted needing repair, I found that I had to do some serious un-sewing in various places to get it truly repaired, so I'm not going to say that I absolutely will finish today.

But it is possible.

Once the mending is done, we start cutting New Stuff. I have some Angel costumes to make, Huntsville Master's Commission wants their own costume for 'Jesus on Earth' (there is a long story there...just leave it that I'm quite happy to sew them one of their very own), I have one costume for a choir person to make, and so far one new Masters' student has brought fabric in. So it's not overwhelming at this point.

We have to be out of our room in a week; I really hope we don't get inundated with costumes to cut on Monday!

I Goofed

...when I was cutting out my Simplicity 4076 scoop neck top. Originally, I'd made the top for my DD and I traced the pattern in her size. When I made it for myself I just made some add-on pieces for the pattern to take the sizing up from hers to mine, instead of tracing and altering a whole new pattern.


Well, when I cut out my nice brown rayon jersey version of the top, I forgot to use the add-ons.

Rats.

Oh, well, DD will have a nice new top...

Choir Sundays '08 #23

This month's colors: blue jeans w/purple, gold or brown

The jeans are same ol' Lee bootcuts, but the top is new. It's Sandra Betzina's fauxlero top, Vogue 2980. The fabric is a fine gauge purple sweater knit, supposedly a rayon/lycra blend but I have my doubts about that. It's very soft and doesn't have a lot of recovery. But it's been in the stash waiting for the right pattern for probably 5 years now, so it's about time it got used! I *do* have a black lace trimmed knit cami under it...just for my own peace of mind ;).

New Iron

It's been over two months since my good iron died, and I was getting tired of the continual dribble from the old iron that it had replaced. I had a 20% off any one item coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and a little time in between events yesterday, so I hit the store to check out irons.

And, despite my trepidation at getting another Rowenta (which is what the old drippy iron is), I came home with a Rowenta Focus.

It was the soleplate that got me. All those teeniny steam holes...it's different from any other iron I've seen.

I'll give it a couple months and let you know how it works. ;)

Costume Maintenance: Day 6 - No Hot Glue, Please!

This is one of the capes that came in the donated Dickens costumes. That green satin trim has been looped around the hanger to keep it up off the floor since the garments came back from the dry cleaners after our last performance of 'The Gospel According To Scrooge' (if you're keeping track, that would be 2 1/2 years ago. As a side note, everyone that came into the sewing room while I was repairing it looked at it and said, 'Oh, are we doing Scrooge again this year?' and were rather disappointed when I said I was just mending it because it needed doing...we're not doing Scrooge).
Anyway.

The trim had been hot glued on. When it went to the cleaners, the solvents loosened the glue enough that almost all the trim peeled off. But...the glue itself just got softened up, and in the process the edges of the cape flipped back up and the glue re-adhered the edge to other places. I managed to pull most of it loose again, but this little spot (look about 4" ahead of where the trim is being applied) was such a narrow piece that I couldn't get a good grip on it, and it was stuck really, really well. There was no pulling it apart. So I sighed and put the trim over it...hopefully, it won't show much from stage.

And all that trim had to be hand sewn. The glue bead was now a hard, rubbery lumpy line all along the bottom of the cape. Totally beyond the capability of a home machine to handle. So I used a needle and thread and got it back into place.

Now, hot glue is a timesaver I know, but please, if your costumes are going to be used for more than one production...find another way to attach things.

I'm just trying to help you out.

:D

Brave or Silly?

I posted a quote from an old journal in my other blog about 2 weeks ago...just before I got asked to write the skit that five brave MPact sponsors did during the award service last night.

The quote was 'God puts a premium on foolishness.'

That was actually a quote from a speaker at a conference, and I'm not sure I have the proper context, but it sure got me prepared for the foolishness that we were involved in last night.

And, yes, the 'sponges' actually look like slabs of swiss cheese...but they didn't cost anything, so we were good. The point was too many folks go to church and sit on their...sponges...soaking in teaching and worship week after week instead of actually participating in the ministry.



It *seemed* to go over well. At least folks laughed. ;)

First Day '08: for Grandma

No, I am NOT ready for summer to be over! But...it's the first day nonetheless. The Actor begins his Sophomore year, and The Flute Player heads into 7th grade (and she's wearing her Jalie 2682 top, I might add!)

Me, I'm off to church to see if the glue is gonna hold those two foam layers together. If it doesn't...it's duct tape time....

Costume Maintenance '08 Day 3: Spongey Sewing

I had a little, um, unorthodox costuming to do today.

Tomorrow night is the girls' ministry advancement ceremony, and all of the girls will be recognized for the work they've done over the past year, and we will promote them to the new class (club) for next year.

However, since we are chronically and woefully short of dedicated workers, there is a skit to be presented to rather humorously challenge folks to get involved in ministry.

I'm not going into it, except to say that I had to come up with some way to get, um, fanny-sized sponges. They're not padding...they're to obviously be sponges applied to the sitting portion of the anatomy.

I hunted around for large, say, automotive or boat sponges, or even large decorative painting sponges and had no luck. But I did find several sheets of 1" thick foam in the costume area of the attic. After doing a little investigative work to discover who the foam actually belonged to, I got permission to use some of it.

So I cut 18" x 10" rectangles, paired them up, cut holes in the top layer (and a few holes along the edges of both layers) and glued them together. I left them on the table, weighted down with whatever I could find. Actually, they look a little more like large slabs of Swiss cheese than sponges, but I'm hoping that, with the proper introduction, folks will see them as sponges.

And yes, I'm going to be one of the ladies w/the sponge taped to my backside.

The advancement service is actually going to be on the live webcast tomorrow starting at 7 PM central (click on the 'My Church' link on the sidebar), if you want to see me make a fool of myself. ;)

Costume Maintenance '08 Day 2: Bang!

My backup Kenmore sewing machine has a carrying case.

That is, it has a base that screws onto the bottom of the machine, and a plastic cover that latches w/plastic tabs on the side. My Sweet Baboo has warned me of the folly of actually carrying the machine by the handle on the top of the cover, with just those flimsy latches holding the machine to the cover. But, I figured as long as I was careful, it was ok.

You know what happened, don't you?

Halfway from the Caravan to the door at church, the bottom came off. The machine hit the pavement, and pieces went flying. Fortunately, this is a METAL machine, so I scooped up the popped covers and the bobbins and the whatnot that came out of the accessory box that was inside and managed to get everything back together.

One thread guide was bent and easily fixed, and the filament in the light bulb apparently broke. But other than that, it seems to be functioning well...if a little sluggish.

Sigh. I'll just have to watch it for further signs of injury...and I think I'll run it in to the shop for a check up when we're done at church.

Choir Sundays 08 # 22

I realized I didn't get a choir photo in July, but that's ok since we're wearing the same colors for August.... ;)

This month's colors: Purple, gold or brown w/blue jeans


The fellow in the front center didn't spill anything on his shirt; that's the shadows of the microphones! I took this photo early in practice; we had several more who came in a bit late, so we ended up with a fuller looking choir than this.


Me, I did a repeat:
Jacket: Purple poly/rayon boucle Loes Hinse's Retro Jacket. I've got on a dark brown silk modified Loes Hinse's City Dress; the bodice has been tweaked into a shell top.

And long-on-me ('regular length') Lee jeans.

Frog Stitchin'

(Y'know: 'rip it...rip it...')
I have cut out a total of 5 tops this week, 2 purple tops and three brown ones, for choir wear this month. Thought they'd be quick to throw together.

I paused on my Kwik Sew white shirt, changed the thread in the machines and forge ahead into Vogue 8323. The link is to the review for the scoop-neck version, which I've made and like a lot (once the neckline was raised a tad). This time, I decided to try the surplice view. I had some rather beefy cotton/lycra knit that I thought would hold the shape of the neckline well, and I whipped it up fairly quickly.

And tried it on, and found that the back of the neckline hit the middle of my skull. I reread the other reviews for the top, and didn't really notice that anyone else had encountered this problem, but it appeared that the other ladies who had made this view were using drapey fabric that kind of collapsed, so perhaps it didn't matter.

It wasn't wearable as it was. I could make it feel a bit better by folding the back neck down a bit and rolling the folded edge to the inside, but it was already a double layer of fabric and, as I said, this was beefy stuff, so...I took. it. apart.

Cut 2" off the height of the back, and whacked 2" off the sides of the 'wrap' pieces so they'd more or less match, and sewed it back together.

It's still high in the back, and there's a wrinkle across the base of my neck, but it's at least semi-wearable.

I think.

Anyway, it's done to the hems, which need a double needle, so I'm moving on to my other purple knit top (Sandra Betzina's faux-lero top) and I'll double needle 'em both at the same time.

So much for speedy sewing...

Playing Hookie

I had the best intentions...really I did.

I had to take DD to school and turn in all those forms (any one else tempted to write in big red letters "See last year's information!!!" ?), pay her fees and get her schedule and locker assignment. The notice said it would be from 10:15 - 11:45, so I thought we would walk through a set of tables to pay, sign, etc, and as long as we did it in that window we were good. I'd hit the school at 10:15, do the parent thing, and then run home and collect my gear and be at church around 12 or shortly after. My good intentions.

Wrong. We paid our fees, had a (large) group meeting with the principal, where we watched a video of 'hall highlights' from last year, then got a couple of information sessions in which the slight change in the school schedule was explained and the new, no-nonsense and strictly enforced cell phone policy was explained (twice). Then we were able to get her locker assignment and schedule. I was there from 10:15 until 11:45.

DD is going to a birthday party tonight...so we had to go procure a gift to take, and, as it's been at least two days since my last trip to the grocery store, we were out of bread and running low on milk, so we had a grocery stop on the way home.

By the time I cooked lunch and we finished eating, it was almost 3.

Not really worth a trip to church to work an hour and a half or so.

Oh, well, I guess I needed a bit of extra time at home anyway....