Choir Wardrobe 6/19

I finished a bit of the sewing in the queue, but not as much as I wanted. I had enough fabric left from the purple bamboo knit that I was able to cut out a shell and cardi from Loes Hinse's sweater set...although I had to make elbow-length sleeves for the cardi.

So, for Saturday night, I wore the gray Jalie Jeans jacket, the just-finished Loes Hinse Sweater Set shell top, the improv scarf from last week, and the Lee bootcuts.

After church last night, I finished up the cardi, but I have to confess...I made a HORRID boo-boo on the cutting; won't go into details(extreme inexcusable carelessness, not an honest mistake), but the upshot was that I cut the back about 1 1/2" narrower than it should've been at the bottom edge, tapering up to size just under the armsceye. I cut a set of small godets from the scraps left (there wasn't much...I really had to scrimp to get the shell-and-cardi in the first place...evidenced by the elbow-length sleeves...), but haven't tried to put them in yet. I didn't add buttons to the cardi; just left it open. It ain't gonna button anyway...




Anyway, I wore the whole sweater set today, along with the knit Coldwater Creek boot cuts (love those jeans!!! LOVE THEM!!) and my ancient silver silk scarf.

I should finish the Madison Avenue dress tomorrow...all it needs is the turn-and-stitch on the armholes and the hem...still trying to decide if I want to open the side seams on the cardi and put those little godets in...

...and the rest of the June acquisition...

Sigh.

The fabric that prompted the order is the gray woven on the right; it was listed as poly/lycra blend stretch charmeuse...and I have a wool/lycra blend fabric for which I am in search of a suitable lining. So I got 3 yards, thinking I could probably use some basic gray stretch charmeuse on a couple of other projects as well.

Ahem. This most definitely is NOT charmeuse, which should be very lightweight, highly drapeable satiny fabric. This is satiny, alright, but as you can see from the curve of the folds, it it HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY. Not at all suitable for lining...although it might make a killer sheath dress.

Sigh. I'll guess I'll figure out something.

The Trendy Knits were still on sale, so I got another chunk of orangey print for another knit dress for the Flute Player, and a yard of the gray/fuschia circles for another Simplicity 2603 top. Soon. ;-).

The Hazards of a Coupon...and a Mystery...

Confession: I ordered fabric last week from Fabric Mart. Again. Those trendy knits are awfully hard to resist...that box should arrive tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm crazy about this whole 'Fed Ex to USPS' thing; seems like it'd be more efficient to just Fed Ex it to me, instead of Fed Exing it to the Postal Service in Atlanta to then mail to me. Specially when you consider...

That, a day or two after ordering from Fabric Mart, I poked around on Fabric.com's site. I really wasn't shopping; I'd already bought fabric this month. But, I put some stuff in the cart anyway...then shook myself and closed the window.

A day or two later, I got an email from Fabric.com to the effect of 'We noticed you placed items in your shopping cart but haven't purchased them yet...don't miss those fabrics you liked...here's a 15% coupon code to use in the next week.'

Gulp. Four rayon/modal jerseys from Fabric.com arrived today. Via UPS, two days after I placed the order (Incidentally, I placed the FM order on 6/9...nope, not sure about this whole Smartpost thing)

Anyway. Pictures.

Just basic solid rayon/lycra knits. The white was a little towards gray; I think I'm gonna use it to make capri leggings for the Flute Player to wear under skirts and dresses.
The pink will be a quick top; not sure what pattern I'll use. Maybe the Simplicity 2603 again; maybe I'll break out of that pattern and do something else.
The gray is almost identical to the gray knit I saw on several Coldwater Creek knit cardigans. I don' t know if I'll get to it before we're done w/gray in choir or not, though. Those three knits were all on sale already; with the added coupon code they were less than $4/yd.

The blue is interesting. That was actually the fabric that prompted the order, as we're wearing Navy Blue again in August and I felt really short on Navy when we wore it in April. It was not marked down like the others, and it had a very interesting detail:

Those pleats run the length of the goods, although right about in the middle there's a spot where it looks like the fabric twisted a bit and the creases went whopper jawed. They appear to be permanently set, but I'll wash it and see.

If they are permanently set, I'm wondering why.

Is it a malfunction of the process somewhere that caused the fabric to crease up?

Is it something requested by a RTW manufacturer? So those pleats can be cut off and turned into ties or bindings or something?

Anyone know?

ETA after pre-washing...the fold lines went away in the wash. The mystery has evaporated; I suppose it was just some end processing error in winding the fabric on the bolt or some such thing...

Why sew?

I think this has been percolating around in the subconscious nooks and crannies of my mind for a while, and while skimming through one of the sewing boards tonight a thread titled 'Why do you sew?' caught my eye.

I was skimming, so I didn't dig into it, but I suddenly thought, 'So I am not at the mercy of the fashion industry.'

I may save some money, now that the initial investments are pretty much paid off, but that really isn't my main motivation.

I want to be able to sew a 20-year out of style blouse if I want to.

I want to be able to make a new garment in a color that suits me...whether or not Pantone likes it.

I want to be able to have clothes fit the way I want them to, not the way a bottom-line conscious off-shore garment manufacturer believes is good enough.

I want to be reasonably sure the buttons won't fall off the first time I wear the garment.

Basically, I want to dress myself...not be reliant on someone else to do it.

So, how 'bout you? Any one else sew primarily because you want to be your own fashion boss? ;)

Choir Wardrobe 06/12

So, once again, we're wearing purple, fuschia and silver/gray for choir this month. Saturday, I grabbed my fuschia jersey Simplicity 4076 scoop-neck t, and tossed on a purple/pink/silver sparkle/ lotsa other colors fringed scarf I found at Hancock's, of all places, several months ago. After I got home with it, I discovered it was twice as wide as I'd thought and was kinda aggravated at myself for not buying about three of them; I could've cut them in half, sewn them together lengthwise and added an elastic waist and had a very funky boho skirt. But, well, I didn't think about it at the opportune moment so it will just adorn my neck. ;) It's all teamed up with the Lee bootcut jeans.



Since I finished the gray jeans jacket, I thought I'd better wear it today. It's over a purple cotton/lycra jersey Vogue 8323 surplice top, which is FINE for wearing under jackets but just not secure enough for me to be completely at ease about wearing it solo. I wanted something to feminine up the tough denim, and after church last last night I happened to remember that I have some fuschia chiffon (which smells like polyester but behaves like silk) in the stash. It's 62" wide, so I just tore a 3/8 yard piece off the end and finished up the edges, then tied knots in the end and draped it around my collar. Looks kinda goofy in the picture, but it looked ok in the mirror.



I've actually got on NEW JEANS in the picture. I've hit a couple of sales at Coldwater Creek in the past month and picked up some new RTW items (I'm SURE you'll be seeing at least some of them in the very near future...). Anyway, this week's sale was a 50% off all merchandise, and I needed some good, DARK blue jeans. So, along with a blue linen jacket and a chiffony pink top, I grabbed a pair of CW's knit jeans, just to try 'em out. I may be ruined for regular jeans now...the clerk told me they were super comfortable, and she wasn't joking. We'll see how they hold up; if I ruin them with snags in a hurry I won't be as thrilled, but right now I'm loving them. I have a feeling they will be FREQUENTLY featured on the Choir wardrobe...

It's a little freeing to let myself buy some things instead of making them. And, given that the gray denim jacket cost 43 bucks and change to make, purchasing a well-fitting denim jacket for 40 or 50 dollars (US :-) ) doesn't seem like such a bad deal...when I can find it.

Gray Denim DONE!

Glory, Glory Hallelujah...

Pardon the crummy bathroom mirror self-portraiture; I literally sewed on the last button, threw the jacket on and snapped the pictures. I'll get better pictures in the Choir Wardrobe shots we'll take sometime this weekend, and I'll post those with the soon-to-come review of the pattern. Silver gray is a color this month, so this jacket may well get worn at least once for each of the next three weekends.



I'm not over-the-top happy with it, but it'll do. It looks homemade...I think MOSTLY because the fabric was really too thick/heavy for the pattern, and it was very nearly too thick/heavy for my sewing machine. I probably used my clapper more on this project than I'd used it in the past two years, and I feel like I've finished a wrestling match.

Anyway, I'm gonna get the review written, and work on some easy stuff for just a bit ;)

Whatever Happened to...

Several years ago, one of my favored fabric sources, Timmel Fabrics, the original SWAP competition sponsor, closed. I still have pieces in the stash from Timmel, and when I sorted the stash recently I thought about Timmel's owner, Julie Culshaw, who closed her fabric business to pursue other things in her life. I hadn't heard anything about her, and I wondered how she was doing.

Well, last night in perusing through Stitcher's Guild, I came across a post by Julie...and in that post was a link to her blog. She's apparently fairly active on SG; I just have been sporadic enough that I hadn't happened to see any of her posts until last night.

Now I'm smiling just a bit; it's good to see she's well.

Doncha just love the internet? (at least, sometimes, anyway? :))

Choir Wardrobe 06/5

New Month, new colors...for June, our colors are fuschia, dark purple and silver/gray.

So, Saturday night I wore the hot-off-the-machines Kwik Sew 2948 mock T top, my Jalie Jalie 2566 gray jersey cardigan, and the Coldwater Creek bootcuts.



Sunday

My eyes were too itchy for my contacts today for some reason...anyway, I've got the Lee bootcuts again with a puple jersey Jalie 965 tank top under a fuschia jersey Simplicity 4076 scoop-neck t.


Gonna try to get the denim jacket done for next weekend; it's gonna be a busy week... we'll see...

Clipping the 'Wings'

I used to have a sleeveless mock-T top from Lands' End that I wore and wore and wore and was part of the choir wardrobe when fuschia was required. However, last year it obtained a stain that wouldn't come out and it had to be retired.

So I thought I'd replace it, since I had about a yard of fuschia cotton interlock left over from the PJ pants I'd made earlier in the year.

However, it had no Lycra content and, being an interlock knit, isn't as stretchy as the jerseys I've been sewing with. I couldn't count on the stretch of the fabric to let me fudge on fitting.

So, I pulled out my old Kwik Sew 2948 twinset pattern. I'd made various modifications to the mock-T on that pattern...snugging up the armhole, correcting the collar...but the last top I made from that pattern was snug, and that was 10 pounds ago. But I thought I could just add a bit of width and do a FBA and I'd be good.

So, I added a bit of width and did an FBA...and ended up with hugely gaping armholes:



What to do, what to do...

I had a fix that I'd used on a knit top years ago to pull in a gaping neckline; in all this time, it hasn't failed, so I thought I'd see if I could get it to work again.

First, thread up a darning needle with a goodly length of wooly nylon in the closest color match available:




Secure it well to one end of the gaping portion of the garment. Then, using the needle as a bodkin, carefully pull the wooly nylon through the turned-under portion of the edge finish to the opposite seam.

Let the thread relax, so that it's a 1:1 ratio, then pull extra out. (Since I had such bad gapping, I pulled about 2" more thread out). Again, secure it well w/several small backstitches, then knot it off, bury the end and clip.



The result isn't perfect, as you can see, but it's wearable now.
I'll do some more work on that pattern before I try it again.

...And I didn't get a picutre

I finished version 2 of the Madison Avenue dress for the Flute Player and got her to try it on. She's happy with it; I think it's still snug through the lower torso and hips. So if/when I make her another one, I'll bump up the size below the ribcage again.

To Recap: I originally cut an XXS, shortened 6" and grading out to an XS in the back at the hip line. This was Quite Snug. With a lining to help smooth things, it was Barely Wearable.

So, I added 3/8" to the side seams and tried again.

Better through the bust and upper back, but still snug on the bottom half.

Guess I should've started w/a XXS in the shoulders, and graded out to a S in the front and a M in the back.

What can I say? She's growing like nobody's business right now. What I measure today will no doubt be too small next month.

Still, she likes the dress pattern a lot, so I'm sure I'll make more. Sooner or later, I'll hit it dead on. ;-)

Unfortunately, I didn' think about getting a picture until she'd already changed out. Oh, well, it'll look better when she brushes her hair and adds a slip anyway...

So, after supper tonight the Actor and I sat down and he totally cleaned my clock in Mario Party 7: Neon Heights. Even the computer characters beat me...very sad....BUT there is a lot of time between turns on that board, so I did get the offending sleeve removed from my gray denim jacket. So I'll be back on that very shortly.

Sewing Gadgets vs. Sewing Tools.

When I was at Hancock's on Monday, virtually every one of the sales staff was aggressively hawking a gizmo that dispenses straight pins. I'd seen it in the sale flyer and snorted at it just a bit. But they were flying out of the store; I saw SEVERAL ladies with them in their carts or under their arms (It's on sale! Plus you get today's 10 percent discount! I love mine...I have two!).

It was all I could do not to laugh out loud when the sales pitches were thrown my way. Really? I mean, really?

Now, there are kinda oddball tools that I use and love...my wooden clapper, my collar/point turner, my buttonhole chisel, Wonder Tape...but these gadgety things just make me shake my head.

I shook my head similarly when the bobbin winder gadgets came out and had no problem resisting the sales pitches on those, either, but a well-meaning soul in my family saw those and thought 'Lisa sews! I bet she'd LOVE one of those!' and gave me the Dritz model for Christmas a few years back, which I dutifully unboxed and tried out, hoping for the sake of the person who gave it to me that it turned out to be a wonderful little tool.

Alas, it was not so. Despite the package labeling, I had to pull the thread out of the machine, same as I do with the on-machine bobbin winder, as it didn't pull the thread through the machine (foot up...yes, the tension was released!) at all. Then the stand-alone model filled the bobbin at break neck speed, with 80% of the thread on the bottom half of the bobbin. It was Not Useable. Not only did it not work any better/easier than the bobbin winder on the machine, it didn't come at all close to working as well. Gadget.

Bless her heart. She tried.

Now, I know there are folks who love their little bobbin winders. But I'll be honest...I don't get it.

I like my little magnetic pin grabbers (I have 3). I know some folks don't, because of the contagion of magnetism, but I can pretty much toss pins in its direction and they'll land on it, or I can wave it over a handful I've dropped or pulled out on the ironing board and it grabs 'em. I don't have a computerized machine, so I don't have to worry about the magnet. They're pretty cheap, compared to the Automatic Pin Dispenser..and I got it on a half price notions sale. Plus, it only takes up about 9 square inches on my sewing table, unlike the pin dispenser, which looked roughly the size of a loaf of Arnold's Whole Wheat bread and would be totally In My Way.

So, really, I'm just hoping no one decides I need a monster pin spitter for Christmas this year.... ;-)

Lovin' that Simplicity Top...

So, after I cut out the Flute Player's new dress, I had roughly 7/8 of a yard left.

And I still had the Simplicity 2603 pattern sitting out.

So I quickly cut out one of what was left and stitched it up pronto.


And, guess what... it is a close enough match to the salmony Jalie 2919 (scroll down a bit) cardigan that I made for choir last month that I could wear them both to work today.




I'm tellin' you what, that's a great little top pattern... short on yardage needed, quick to make up, and it covers a multitude of sins... ;)

BTW, that's vintage mid-80's jewelry going on there...a painted balsa wood necklace and plastic door knocker earrings! Fun!

Nothin' like a sale...

It seems a little frivolous to post sale acquisitions on a day dedicated to the remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom that we enjoy today, so I'll post this disclaimer that, even as I was shopping, I did hold gratitude for those who serve our country in the military and their families who sacrifice so much so they may. God bless you all.

But...Memorial Day sales are a fact of life, and I'd not be honest if I said I wasn't glad to be able to take advantage of them...even if it was only a trip to Hancock's with a pattern list in hand.

I picked up two pieces of decorator fabric for tablecloths...I've discovered that they pre-treat that stuff w/stain resistance, so it's PERFECT fabric for tablecloths! And it was under $3 /yard; I didn't take pictures of the fabric but I'll post pictures when I get the edges serged and they're turned into tablecloths. ;)

And I picked up a few patterns... once again, I'm not linking, because the burgers are coming off the grill momentarily and I've got to get back to fixing dinner...

I've always got my eyes open for likely costume pieces when the patterns are a buck apiece...they may not get used, or I may use only a detail, but at some point I'll be glad I picked them up.

Oh...there's the oven timer! Baked beans are done...have a wonderful Memorial Day, everyone! ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 5/29: the Token Yellow Top

So, after I hung the jacket up on the rack to wait on the inspiring frog song ('Rip-it, Rip-it'), I pulled out the yellow rayon blend jersey that came in the same box as the gray denim and decided to get it out of the stash. Yellow is not my color, but yellow has been a color of the month four or five times in the past couple of years and I decided to bite the bullet and get some yellow for a shirt...it was only 3.98 for a yard, and a yard is all I got.

I used the sandpaper on my Ped Egg to scrape off the blue fuzzies that resulted from someone throwing my load of pre-wash into the dryer with blue flannel sheets. It didn't work perfectly, but it was definitely Good Enough.

Then I cut out and sewed up another Simplicity 2603 shell top.



The sewing nerves are beginning to unknot... ;)

And, as this was the last Sunday for this month's colors of gray, black and yellow (the choir didn't sing last night; we had guest worship leaders for that service), I wore it with my black rayon jersey Vogue 8305 cardi wrap, an aging silver scarf and the trusty ol' Lee bootcuts:



So, now I have something I never thought I'd own...a yellow top.
Actually, this is almost a fine gauge sweater knit and it pills like crazy; I think this is gonna be a drip-dry garment, just to see if I can avoid that mess...

Time for a Break

The Jeans Jacket has been a sore test of patience. The fabric is a quite thick and sturdy denim, and it is really right at the edges of the capability of my machine. I've taken out at least a bit of the topstitching somewhere on each topstitched piece, I believe...some two or three times...because of wobbles or thread nests or other issues.

I've finally gotten to the sleeves; got one in nicely, serged the seam and pressed it well, then put the other in.

And was quite dismayed to see how the sleeve seams related to the back yoke.


At least I didn't topstitch that first sleeve or trim the seam allowance when I serged it.

But I think it's time for a break and a couple of quick knit projects. My sewing nerves need to unknot a bit before I go back to the jacket....

Attendants' Dresses

I believe the Princess has now settled on what will be the bridesmaids' dress:
Simplicity 2362, the black halter-neck version.

It will be in a silver gray fabric, yet to be determined.

I've been trying to get her to let me order the fabric online, but she wants to see it live and in person before she commits. But she works for an organization that has been HIGHLY involved in the tornado relief efforts, so her shopping availability has been somewhat curtailed. I'm hoping to get a chance to go to Sir's Fabrics, but, while that can be a gold mine of goodies if you're just looking for bargains to add to the stash, if you're looking for something quite specific,it can be a nice drive up and back and that's it.

One of the online fabric vendors has a yummy-looking silvery gray silk/cotton poplin that may be nice for this dress...but I'm not holding out great hope of convincing her to go with it. I *might* be able to order a swatch, but I fear that by the time the swatch gets here and she makes up her mind there won't be enough left for 5 dresses.

I'm a little bummed; she has two bridesmaids who live out of state, and one of them was just back in town for a little over a week for a visit. I did get her measurements, but if we'd've planned better and had the fabric, I could've measured her on the front end of her trip and had the dress ready for try-on before she headed back to Boston.

Oh, well...

Whack-A-Seam

I'm looking forward to a long weekend with (hopefully) a few moments for sewing and blogging.

I've got some pictures stored up for future posts, but can't seem to get time to write 'em up.

Meantime, I'm nickle-and-diming my way through the Jalie jeans jacket; it's been on my ironing board now for several days waiting on me to sew the sleeve seams so I can switch thread for the next batch of topstitiching.


I have real concerns about whether or not my little New Home will power through the bulk of the inset seams/pocket/pocket facing/ pocket flap/etc on the front yoke seam and have been pounding it with the clapper when I find myself in the vicinity.

I definitely will have some comments about the processes on this jacket when I get it finished and reviewed. ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 5/21-22

This month's colors: Gray, Black and Yellow, w/blue jeans



Saturday night I let my hair do its natural frizz and pulled it back in a comb dating from...1991? Throwback Big Hair. Along with the Jalie 695 tank top and the Jalie 2566 cardigan from my gray rayon/lycra jersey double twinset. It's teamed up with a cheap yellow pleated scarf from Wal-Mart and straight-leg Lee jeans.



Sunday was dark-wash boot cut Lees again, and the sleeveless Vogue 7604 from the '06 SWAP and my black poly crepe Textile Studios Florence Jacket, which fit better 20 pounds ago, highlighting my need to do some sewing or weight loss or both.

I had to leave Frisco in the photo, just because the whole reflection of the glowing eyes looks so...eerie... ;-)

No Sewing Week

The Actor has graduated. We are greatly, um, relieved.

He had a 3.4 GPA w/an advanced diploma. I wonder what he would've had if he had not had any zeros/deductions for late work in the past 4 years?

His future is still very fluid...personally, I think he needs to let his maturity level catch up to his age before he tackles something like college, where zeros and late work are fatal errors. He may do the internship program at church (formerly Master's Commission)...we'll see.

He did get a taste of community theater this spring, with a handful of small roles in Hamlet. Here he is dressed as Osric, showing another outing for my Ruffled Pirate Shirt:

I think I need to make a Pirate Shirt for every member of the family...I've found that they are coming in very handy... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe Returns

So, yeah, these are not the best photos...but I'm giving up waiting until I take good pictures.
We have services on Saturday night AND Sunday now; we've split the choir so that we rotate who is supposed to be there which day, in an effort to avoid burnout. ;)
But, since our kids volunteer in children's ministries we end up being at church for all 4 services most weekends. So we're usually in choir both Saturday and Sunday.

We happened to be *scheduled* to sing Saturday night...but it just so happened Saturday was a day to get hitched; we had three weddings amongst our membership. We attended the one that was latest in the day, at another venue, and skipped the reception because we were on Saturday's schedule and suspicioned that the choir would be a little skimpy. Turned out that suspicion was well-founded; I switched parts so that My Sweet Baboo and I comprised the tenor section. My throat still feels a little sore today...

We changed at church from wedding-appropriate clothes to the 'bluejeans and...' that is our typical choir attire now.

All of that is to explain why the photo from Saturday, taken after we got home Saturday night, looks a little frizzy-headed. ;-)



Anyway. This month, we are wearing black, gray and yellow, with jeans. I'm wearing Lee bootcut jeans, even if the bootcut flare doesn't show up in photographs, in both pictures. Saturday, I paired the jeans with the Christine Jonson Basewear 2 top and the Jalie cardigan of The Double Twinset, made from the most marvelous of rayon/lycra jerseys from Gorgeous Fabrics. I have not seen its like anywhere else. (Note to Ann: if you EVER get any more of this stuff in any other colors, please let me know!!! I want some!!)

On Sunday, I wore my latest completion...Simplicity 2603, from gray sparkly jersey knit from one of last month's additions to the stash and one of my old faithfuls, my black rayon-blend herringbone suiting Bistro Jacket

And some yellow plastic jewelry, to add the third color.

;-)

Almost post

I'll confess, I kinda miss posting the choir outfits each week...so much so, that I've about decided to start it again, only w/a new name (Choir Wardrobe, maybe?). My Sweet Baboo actually took a photo of what I wore today...three, actually...but he's gotten a bit out of practice on his fashion photography and they weren't postable.

1) I didn't have the movement wrinkles smoothed (minor problem) and
2) We did the photography AFTER church and AFTER I sat through a 3+ hour production of Hamlet by a local community theater group (which was EXCELLENT, btw) and AFTER I'd had a day's worth of humidity working on frizzing my hair...which was pulled back when I left the house this morning but had apparently frizzed out of its bindings all day such that I had a fuzzy halo thing going on in all three photos.

Fail.

So...maybe I'll wash today's outfit and try it again next week. ;)

Even in a blackout, the stash grows...

This is from Fabric Mart's Easter Egg Sale...y'know, the one that started at 20% and incremented its way up to 30% as you bought more.

I really struggled with that. Had the cart filled up to the 30% line more than once, then went back and culled it down. This is what I decided I couldn't live without.

It arrived a week ago, while the power was still out. Couldn't even prewash it. (note: I did that today...)


One of their Trendy Jersey knits...for the Flute Player, actually. I plan to remake that orange Madison Avenue dress a size bigger so it doesn't fit quite so snugly. I also got some of the Trendy Stretch Rayon...the fuschia/purple watercolor floral. I'm thinking this is going to be a Kwik Sew 3521. We'll see.

The purple is one of their bamboo jerseys. Oh. What. Yumminess! I've got about 3.5 yds; I'm actually toying with the idea of making a Madison Avenue dress for ME, with a matching Jalie cardigan...if I do that, I'll make 3/4 length sleeves.

But right now I'm cutting out jackets. I finished the sparkly Simplicity 2603 top, which I'm planning to wear for choir tomorrow, and am progressing to the gray denim Jalie Jeans jacket (whilst I have gray thread on the machines, you know). But I've also cut a turquoise light weight wool gabardine jacket from Vogue 1100; I've got the fabric and the lining cut; all I have left is the interfacing and that one'll be in the queue. I expect us to wear turquoise for choir sometime this summer; we've worn it for the past 2 or 3 years...maybe this time I'll be ready ;)

Checking In

It has been a week.

I posted the details on the faith blog, but for those who don't want to click through...we were without power for several days, and off the Internet until today, but we had no damage or injuries to our household.

I feel frivolous to say that I used the power outage to cut out the bazillion pieces to the Jalie Jeans Jacket, out of some gray denim. I have a Vogue jacket on the cutting table now, and have made a good start on it.

But with the power back on we're playing catch up and I don't know when I'll actually get to sew. Maybe a wee bit at a time for while.

I also finished sorting my fabric and got the bins organized back in the attic where they belong. So I pretty much have my living room back.

But there are so many who don't have a living room at all anymore I almost feel guilty saying that.

I think it'll be awhile before we're back to what passes for normal.

Laundry Mishap

So, while doing laundry today, I pulled the load of reds/pinks/purples out of the dryer and found that two of my newest tops had random purple splotches on them. The (inside-out) floral top had already been relegated to pajama status, but the coral top was supposed to be a key part of my choir wardrobe for this very worship-intense weekend.

I was dumbfounded. What could've caused this problem? After much deliberation, and after determining there wasn't a crayon or pen or some such thing in the machines, I realized that the culprit was probably this cheap rayon print from Hancock's:


I got it to make a dress for the Flute Player, and threw it in with the pinks/reds/purples for a pre-shrink before cutting. It never occurred to me that it might run in a cold water wash.

So, since the tops were pretty much ruined at this point anyway, I ran them through a wash cycle w/a packet of Carbona 'run remover'. The PJ top did well; there's still some very slight purple spots, but they kind of disappear in the print. It'll be ok.



All the purple spots came out of the coral top, though. Unfortunately, so did most of the dye. The fabric wrapped around the hanger is the remnant of the piece I cut it from.

Sigh. The thread is still the original color; it looks red now.

There *might* be enough on that remnant piece to make a new top. And, maybe I can throw the faded one into a batch of Rit dye and turn it back into a wearable color.

But I don't think either one is going to happen in time to wear the shirt this weekend....

Too Lazy to Link

I had to pick up a blue zipper from Hancock's today, and I discovered that Simplicity patterns were on sale for a dollar each (limit 10). Needless to say, I made sure I took advantage of that! However, I'm too lazy to link up a bunch of patterns tonight, so I'm cheating with a group shot...


Since I've been lamenting the lack of dresses in my summer wardrobe,6 out of the 7 patterns I purchased were dresses.

In all fairness, a couple of these will likely be made for for one of the Daughters; I'm thinking the Cynthia Rowley might be good for the Flute Player, and 2362 is on the short list for possible bridesmaids dresses. But, when they're a buck apiece...it's not a huge splurge.

As for me, I'm delighted to see some of the 'fit n flare' styles returning; I have two or three pieces of rayon crepe in the stash that have been there since the LAST time these styles were popular back in the '90's. Got 'em to to use with a pattern that looked terribly dated to me before I got them made up. So they've just been sitting the the bins. Now they *might* just see the light of day... ;)

And I *might* get around to actually trying one of my growing collection of Amazing Fit patterns.

Not that I haven't been doing a wee bit of sewing; I'm sitting here wearing the newest addition to the wardrobe, some deep fuschia Burda No-Side-Seam knit pants, which are pared up with the pink flowered Burda top I made in January. Wouldn't be caught dead in this outfit outside of my front door, but for lounging jammies on a coolish April evening...perfect....

But, those were unbelievably quick to sew up; projects that need more time are languishing. I'm feeling all inspired to sew (who wouldn't, after a New Pattern haul like that?)...just need time!!

...Some Assembly Required

I bought two tops, a jeans jacket and a knit dress from Fabric.com.


You do see them there, right?

I've figured out that's pretty much how I purchase fabric...I see something, and instead of seeing work to do, I see the finished garment. More or less, anyway.

Trouble is, after the purchase arrives, I still need to do some work.

I don't mind doing it, but time is something I seem to be short of now. Specially since I'm trying to get back into my regular activity levels and I'm finding that many, many things are backed up and behind.

But we're wearing gray in choir this month and next month; I've been mulling over a gray denim jacket for awhile and when I saw this on the fabric.com site, well, I couldn't pass it up. The gray knit on the far left has a bit of silver sparkle to it and will work for multiple months, too...it'll be another Simplicity 2603 shell top. I bought the yellow because I decided I could stand to have one yellow top (yes, yellow is the other color next month). I thought I'd make just a little Jalie 965 tank, for layering, but it's a very soft, almost sweatery knit. Too bulky for a bottom layer, I think. Plus, a pre-wash laundry mishap after the picture was taken left it pilled up with lint from blue flannel sheets (*I* wasn't the one who put them in the dryer together...) I'm going to see if I can get it de-pilled before I confront the guilty party. If I can get it de-fuzzed, I'm thinking that it might work better as a Loes Hinse Sweater Set Shell. *If* I can get it de-fuzzed...

The print is a yummy rayon/lycra print; it's going to be a knit dress. I'm trying to get some dresses into my wardrobe; I have been too frustrated at not having a dress I can put on at odd times. So I've picked up some knit dress patterns recently...this will be one.

All soon, I hope. ;-)

The (almost) Instant Dress

I guess it was 1) the hurry we were in and 2) the low light in the foyer, but this picture didn't get focused very well. sigh.

We had a wedding to attend today and The Flute Player had NOTHING suitable for a wedding to wear. I flip flopped ideas until I ran out of time...then I decided I'd just whip up a little knit dress for her.

Cinderella's mice would've done a MUCH better job than I did, but she had to wear it so I more or less shut my eyes and off we went.
The main problem was that I just didn't realize how much she'd grown since the last time I sewed for her, and I traced a too-small pattern. It doesn't show in the photos, but the dress really is Quite Snug. Wearable...but barely.

This is Textile Studio's Madison Avenue Dress shortened by 6". I traced a size XXS, going up a size in the back from the waist down. As I said, it's snug. One size up all around would probably have been perfect.

It's made from 11-oz rayon/lycra jersey that I purchased from an online vendor for choir this month, but it turned out to be just a bit brighter orange than I thought...no matter, I knew I'd get something from it since orange is the Flute Player's favorite color.

But that 11-oz jersey is very lightweight; I'd even call it semi-sheer. I pulled out some beige lining knit and lined it.

I need to go back and tack the lining/facings better...when I have time. It's pretty slapdashed at the moment. I had to topstitch the armholes and the neckline to keep the lining/facings from rolling out; had I had more time I'd've tweaked my procedures a bit and maybe had a nicer finish. But...I think it's as good as any RTW dress would be at that price point...$16, including the lining.

At least she likes the dress. She's funny...she really doesn't like dresses that are even approaching a short length, so the length on this is just about perfect for her.

I expect I'll make this one again.

Adding Salmon

I don't show a single finished project for March...but the truth is, I had 4 garments done to hems/buttons as of 3/31. The white twill blouse is still waiting on buttons, but I threaded up my sewing machine w/a double needle and finished the three salmon knit pieces on Friday and Saturday: a pattern I'd not yet made, an old favorite and a little creative play with a pattern I've made before.

The new pattern is the shell top from Simplicity 2603



It's a little big; that's my fault for not checking the pattern sizing. I seem to have *assumed* a Medium was 12 - 14...and it's a 14 - 16. I can't believe I didn't check it, but, well, those things happen. So, yeah,it's a little big. But it's a drapey top to be worn under a jacket or cardigan anyway; I think I can get away with it for now. I'll trim it down a bit for the next iteration.

Next up is one of my favorite knit top pattens, Jalie 2682.

I dropped that empire seamline about half an inch and I think it's a little better. Both of those pieces were made from some extra-wide rayon jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Finally, I have a Jalie 2919 cardigan that I played with just a bit, from a slightly beefier rayon/lycra blend from Fabric Mart.


We have a handful of folks who sing backup on microphones in front of the regular choir folks; one very chic young lady has a knit cardigan with a little bit of a godet in the back and she has stood in front of me two or three time wearing that cardi. I was intrigued by the godet and decided to give it a try.


So I traced a new back piece, and added a seam allowance (and, while I was at it, a hint of shaping in the upper back) and a nice little fishtail at the bottom for a little swingy godet in the back.

And, since I was playing anyway, I borrowed the button tab from my other current project, Louise Cutting's OOP Town and Country Camp Shirt and lengthened it a bit; I also shortened the sleeve and widened it at the bottom just a pinch to get the cool little buttoned-up-sleeve.

Two other ladies on the worship team today had on knit cardigans with the same little sleeve detail. I was shocked at my trendiness. ;-)



So I've had a fairly productive April already... ;)

Checkin' In

I have graduated from a big ugly white gauzy Serious Injury type bandage to a largish but much less alarming band-aid on my left index finger; however it's still awkward to use.

Nonetheless, I've managed to get a wee bit of creating done; I'm gonna *try* to go back to choir this month, even though my voice is noticeably weak. Hopefully that will resolve with some singing.

But, we have a new color for choir...salmon...and since I owned pretty much nothing in that color I hit a couple of fabric sales and made a couple of sleeveless tops and a cardigan. Not quite perfectly, mostly due to the basically useless finger, but certainly serviceable.

I hope to manage to get some pictures taken and posted shortly . ;-)

But, I did a little out of the box creating this week, too.

A friend of the Actor's asked him to escort her to her Prom; as it is the high school for which we're actually zoned, most of his middle school friends (which includes his date) will be there. So he should have a good time.

But he is clueless about the etiquette of such things and neglected to order her a corsage.

She said she preferred silk flowers to real ones, so we headed to Hobby Lobby and I looked around for silk tea roses.

They had some lovely, life-like looking roses, but none in the specified hot pink.

The hot pink ones were neither lovely nor life-like; I decided we'd go for something rather steam punkish.

I got a wrist corsage base, a bunch of cheap pink roses, and some black tulle. I had black feathers at home from a previous project.

Now, I am totally clueless about the proper way to construct a corsage. I just snipped 3 flowers from the bunch, discovered I could NOT remove any of the ugly plastic without losing the flowers shape altogether, grabbed the black net and a needle and thread and went to work, pretty much making it up as I went (the high school musical costuming experience pays off):

It turned out better than I expected. The Actor's Date told me she really liked it...but he'd told her I made it, so it's possible she was just being polite. I just hope it doesn't fall apart before the night is over. I had to put it in a ziplock bag to keep the cat from eating it...she likes feathers...

But it does suit her dress.


Ive actually got a Parting Shot...a true statement on the difference between guys and gals...the Actor less than one hour from walking out the door for the big event:

Owie

The Actor got into the car at the bus stop last night announcing that we needed to do a little shopping run because he needed a mask for drama today. I'd ended up at work for about 7 hours yesterday and I was completely worn out, so I told him we'd just have to make do with something from home. There are a few masks around, so he could satisfy his requirement without the exertion of a trip to a store.

He wasn't crazy about the options and, well, one thing led to another and ended up with me deconstructing an orange Lands' End polo that had resided in the sewing room since he'd ripped it beyond repair a couple of years ago; the plan was to make a hasty 'orange ninja mask'.

However, in my haste to get it thrown together I apparently had my left index finger hanging ever-so-slightly over the edge of the ruler as I zipped along it with the rotary cutter. Thanks to my sewing buddy, Miss A, who made a run to the Atlanta Sewing Expo while she was in the area visiting family, I had a nice new blade in the Ergo cutter.

There's now about a quarter inch divot missing from the side of my finger.


My Sweet Baboo bandaged me up, making use of the paper tape I normally reserve for pattern alterations.

Makes typing and sewing rather difficult. I guess I'm gonna be sat down to rest one way or another.

I did manage to get him a mask of sorts put together; not sure if it's exactly what the teacher has in mind or not. It's not very high quality, for obvious reasons, and I didn't get a picture last night.

He did, however, say that he intended to use it if it passes muster...since it cost so much. ;-)

Playing in the Stash

There is fabric ALL over my living room.

In some ways, it's depressing...so much nice stuff; I want to sew it all up...immediately.

Of course, I can't, that's why I'm trying to get it sorted and stored as efficiently as possible; so it's not 'out of sight, out of mind'. I'm swatching and cataloging and even purging a little bit...if I touch it and think, 'Ick!' it's going out...

Some things are not really 'ick', but aren't wonderful either and they're being put aside to use as muslin.

I found spongey-feeling black fabric that was listed as being from the dollar table at Wal-Mart; when I originally bought it back in '03, I wasn't nearly as fabric savvy as I am now and I put down that it was 'Poly? Blend?'

Turns out to be wool gab that went through the washer and dryer. The house reeked all evening last night from the burn test.

I look at the pile of juvenile-appropriate fabric and wonder - should I give it away? Or save it for grandkids? Odds are...it gets saved...

I've found a couple of spots of moth damage. I gotta find a better way to store the woolens.

I'm almost through all the bins; the tough part's gonna be figuring out the best way to get it arranged and labeled so I can find it.

I need to make a strategy so that this stuff gets sewn. I really don't like accumulating fabric; when I buy fabric, I've got at least a seed of a dream of something that's going to come from it.

Time to see some of those dreams actually come to pass.

Here we go again

I wanted to check fit on a couple of jackets to compare with my latest muslin...I thought the quickest way to do that would be to just look at the photos with the reviews.

So I went to one of them and clicked and...the Photoworks link was broken. Again.

Sigh. I clicked through and started to look for it, when suddenly a phase that had flashed by on the home page registered.

'Photoworks is closing. But we've found a great place for your photos!'

(*Beats head on desk. No! No! No!...*)

They have a transfer to Shutterfly all set up and ready to go; I had to create a Shutterfly account and then hit transfer. The photos won't be available for a couple of days whilst the transfer is taking place.

But the issue is...I've got to relink all those photos. Again.

Sigh.

One more shipment...

I have received the last of the fabric orders...and the next one will be wedding-related! Period! I'm cutting myself off 'til then...

The only reason I succumbed to this shipment from Fashion Fabrics club is that, included in the recent 50% off sale was a dark fuschia knit that I thought would be perfect for jammie pants to go with that pink flowered T shirt I made in January. And, of course, no fabric can travel alone, so...


I ended up with 4 pieces of fabric. The khaki was described as a fine line twill; it's actually a cotton/lycra stretch sateen. Very nice. It's a staple item...khaki will get used, sooner or later.

The other two pieces are tropical weight woolens. I know some people say wool and summer in the South are not compatible, but the tropical woolens are no heavier than cotton and they're much nicer than polyester. I *love* tropical wool...particularly when so many places (including my office) are air conditioned to the point of refrigeration (we recorded a temp of 63 degrees in the office last summer...). So, I bought these pieces for pants; but I got almost a whole yard more of the grey glen plaid than I ordered, so I might be thinking about maybe making a sheath dress. We'll see. The hand/drape on it is nothing short of FABULOUS. The black one has shadow striping with some very faint blue threads. Yum.

The quality on all these pieces is very, very nice. I know Fashion Fabrics Club gets some bad press but, by and large, everything I've ordered from them has been really lovely, and at rock-bottom prices. I got this exactly a week after I placed the order, which really isn't even remarkably slow.

Sigh. Now I'm wondering if my level of sewing inspiration is at all compatible with my actual need to put my feet up and rest...

Biting off more than I can chew...

Or, 'Whatever Made Me Think This Was Restful?'

For those who are joining us late, I'm spending as much time as possible at home, supposedly resting up and recovering from mononucleosis.

However, I don't feel particularly ill. I just have no stamina, and an annoying low-level sore throat.

I'd be better off if I were miserably sick. At least I wouldn't be tempted to work beyond my strength level.

But.

Now, I have been puttering about in the sewing room. As in, the last day I sat down at the machine late last week, I sewed the continuous lap on a sleeve. I didn't press it over and topstitch it down, I just sewed it on. That was all I could manage.

But my recent fabric acquisitions have been filling up all the available space in the sewing nook. It has been a while since I swatched and cataloged and put away...so I thought, Hey, that's just sitting at the table with some scissors and index cards; I can do that without expending too much energy!

So, little by little I pulled fabric out of the cabinet that I have down there. I pulled fabric out of boxes that were making it difficult to access the ironing board. I *didn't* get the fabric in box on the sun porch where my cutting table is...I'm still under the delusion hopeful that I can get something made from it soon.

Turns out it's been something like THREE YEARS since I last cataloged my fabric. I was slack-jawed when I saw the pile that I have:















I'm astonished and chagrined that I have so much fabric piled up...and now I had to do something with it.

Now, when we moved into this house I claimed the near end of the attic over the garage as my fabric storage area. I had everything arranged neatly, and I could find stuff.

But about 2 years ago, we re-roofed the house and My Sweet Baboo installed a skylight over my sewing nook...and the reflective tube passed through the eave space behind my fabric storage. He moved all my fabric stuff to other areas of the attic so he could access the eaves, and after the skylight was installed, well, things didn't get put back in any kind of order, and all kinds of other stuff was mixed in with my stash. It was depressing.

So, I had the bright idea that, since I have all this new stuff that needs to be organized in with the old stuff, AND the attic needs a good cleaning anyway, the guys in the family could bring the stash bins downstairs, I can slowly file away all my new stuff and give everything a good shaking out. AND, whilst all that is out of the attic, there's room to do some cleaning/purging of stuff up there to make room for, well, stuff that actually needs to be up there that isn't (just an aside...oh, to have a basement...).

Anyway. They brought the stash bins downstairs last night. I'd forgotten how much stuff was there...



Obviously, some of the mixed-in stuff got brought down, too, but not much. This is about 25 years of fabric accumulation....maybe more, actually, as a bit is from my Grandmother's stash.

Aside from the emotional impact of seeing all these dreams and hoped for projects, which is probably another post, whatever made me think I could do this while I'm recuperating from mono?

But it DOES need to be done.

Sigh. I think I'm going to be looking at that pile in the living room for waaaayyyy longer than I'd like.

Cringing Just a Little

So the Princess has agreed to 'let' me make the bridesmaid's dresses, since she was afraid that Her Dress wouldn't look right if I made it.

Really, that's ok, because I would hate for the girls to have to fork over bucks for a 'bridesmaid's dress' that ain't worth it.

However.

The dress The Princess has chosen is Simplicity 2692, view D, for the bridesmaid's and the same dress, minus the shoulder tie, for her maid of honor.

The Reviews for the one-shoulder version are less than complimentary, by and large.

I'm looking at it and thinking 'Blousy drapey off the shoulder bodice...hm...I wonder what is supporting the top edge of the bare-shouldered version?'

And most of the reviews stated that it ran big.

So...I think I have an idea. I told the Princess if she would get herself some fabric, I'd make a version of the dress for *her*, just to see how it works up.

If it's as beastly to make work as I expect, we may compromise. ;)

Think-Think-Think

My 3rd box of the year from Gorgeous Fabrics arrived yesterday; buying fabric over the internet is always a bit of a guess-what. And, as I've admitted before, this mono stuff has made me just a little denser than normal, so for some reason when I read the description of the blue jersey I pictured something a little different. Anyway, here's the photos:
















(I didn't even notice the white thread on the black cotton/lycra jersey; I was focused on trying to get the blue rayon/lyrca jersey to come out right...) The natural light in the sun porch really washed these out; they're NOT faded in the least. I tried taking a closeup of the blue...that turned out to be a better representation of it.



Anyway, when I read 'It has a sheen to it that looks like silk jersey.', I pictured the silk jerseys ...few and far between they have been,too!...that I've seen, and thought I'd have a matte-type jersey with the barest hint of silky shimmer.

Um, this is a shiney fabric. It's very, very drapey; it behaves very much like slinky, although it isn't.

Now, mind you, the description fits the fabric; I just didn't read it right.

It's still gorgeous, still a marvelous rich fabric, but I don't think it will suit Vogue 1027. Or maybe it's just not matching the picture I had in my head.

In any case, I'm back to the drawing board on this one. I need a dress from it, fairly soon, and I'm not sure what will suit.

Oh, it is just the teensiest bit sheer; I've got some black knit lining that I'll likely line it with, regardless of the pattern.

So...think, think, think....