Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all! And for those that are going out tonight to celebrate, please drive safely. As for me, I'll be doing this...

Hot Patterns, Where Are You?

I ordered 4 patterns from Hot Patterns during the Thanksgiving weekend buy one, get one free. They still aren't here. I'm so bummed. I'm ready to put out an APB. Patience must be a virtue because I'm having a hard time being patient. Hot Patterns, where are you?

Officially Frustrated With Retail

Okay, I admit it. I'm officially frustrated with retail. After having spent countless hours scouring the internet and trying on clothes in the stores either (a) I am the strangest shaped person alive or (b) retail is not going to meet my needs. I'm going to go with "b", retail is not going to meet my needs.

This year, I took off the day after Christmas. Usually I go ahead and work because the real markdowns tend to happen after New Years in Brandon. But I took a chance and went out this year. After spending countless hours at Macy's after Christmas sale and Penney's after Christmas sale, I ended up with shirts from Macy's. A blazer and purse from Ann Taylor Loft and one pair of pants that I found at Penney's. What the? It seems that every store carries bi-stretch pants and only bi-stretch pants this year. Well guess what retail? Stretch pants are not my friend. I don't care if you put a zipper in them or not, they don't work. Why? Because I'm shaped like a pear, that's why. I need pants that drape off of my hips, not cling to them. Period. And it doesn't matter what weight I'm at --- I don't do clingy! Especially not at work! And another thing -- what's up with making all dress slacks in low rise? Low rise isn't really my friend either. I'm a little old for that sort of thing, if you want to know the truth. I just want a pair of dress slacks, unlined, that sit at the natural waist and are made of a natural fiber. It's like looking for the holy grail. Oh and did I mention this? Some of us curvy girls have waists that are a true size (or two) smaller than their hips. Do the "curvy" pants meet this criteria? They do not! Every pair of pants I tried on had a huge gaping waist and quite frankly, I do not enjoy tearing apart new pants in order to make them fit. It makes more sense to make them from scratch. So, it seems, that is what I must do. Talk about an incentive for sewing in 2009!!

I was going to take the Handmade Pledge again, but I thought I would leave room for retail purchases. Seems I don't have to worry about that now - there's nothing for me in those stores. Nothing at all! So, I'll sign up at Wardrobe Refashion the next time around and go about my merry way -- making clothes out of natural fibers that fit!

Hmmmph.

Butterick 5078

I just realized that I never posted a "finished" photo of the cocktail party dress, which was a Maggy London pattern (Butterick 5078).
So, without further ado, the dress.
This is actually a wearable muslin. I underlined the entire dress (with the exception of the sleeves) with a gray tricot so I didn't have to wear a slip. The only problem I had was with the sleeves -- the fabric did not have the required stretch so the sleeves were too tight. As a fix, I removed the underlining and added a strip of fabric to the underarm part of the sleeve. I was definitely channeling Tim Gunn's famous line -- make it work -- and guess what? It worked!!
The next time around, I shouldn't have the sleeve problem because I will be using a stretch matte jersey. But for this occasion, I think that the dress did it's job. As for the shoes, I can't say the same. 5 hours in a 3-inch heel is no fun. I still can't look at them without sneering.
Happy sewing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Progress in the Workshop

Finally. Some progress on the Christmas gift front. I finished up a set of coasters,
Eyeglass holders,
Checkbook covers,


Coin purses
and Ipod cozies.
I bundled them all up, put them in my bag and took them to work. Why? Well, to mail to Very Mary... I had hoped to get them out sooner, but I fell behind schedule. Where did the time go? Suffice it to say, they did not go out in the mail yet. I left Very Mary's address at home. Hopefully, I can get them to her before Christmas in case she needs some last minute gifts, but if not, well, Very Mary, you can use them for gifties throughout the year perhaps?

I have a lot more sewing to do and a desire to take a nap. So, I'll sew a few seams and then go lay down.

Happy sewing.

The Cocktail Dresss

No, I didn't finish it. I changed my mind after doing a clothing survey, and decided to go with my bargain dress from Needless Markup. Not to worry, however, the cocktail dress will be making it's debut this weekend at my husband's Christmas party. The only thing it needs right now are sleeves and a hem. It's actually a nice dress. I can't wait for this holiday sewing season to end so I can make one at my leisure out of matte jersey. Until then...the sewing continues. Of course, my list is constantly being modified as I go along. I refuse to get stressed out about all of this this year. Refuse, I tell you! I don't even have Christmas decorations up yet. I'm just not there yet and it doesn't bother me one bit. I try to follow the liturgical calendar and the last time I checked (yesterday), it was the third Sunday of Advent. I know it to be true because our pastor was in a pink (he says rose) vestment. Gaudete Sunday. So, I still have time.

Now that I've avoided doing unpleasant sewing in small spaces, I must truly get to work. Happy sewing y'all.

A Cocktail Dress -- on a Wing and a Prayer

After careful consideration, I have decided that the taffeta day dress that I was planning to wear to my Christmas cocktail party at work, will not work for the occasion. No matter what the accessories, no matter what type of fabric, a 50's style day dress is still a day dress. So, now I find myself in a place that I've been many times before. The day before an event and I have fabric, a pattern and a limited amount of time to put together an outfit. This time, however, I'm keeping it simple. A simple dress pattern in a pseudo-dressy fabric. I found, in my stash, this knit fabric with sparkly shimmer. Perfect. I also found, in the fabric that I inherited from my grandmother, gray tricot. Perfect again. Next step -- cut out the dress and tricot and get to work.
Wish me luck.

More Gifts and an Invisible Thread Tip

I have a couple of gifts under my belt now (still need to do the hand sewing, but the machine work is done).

Books! I found some book fabric in my stash, so I decided to make up these fabric books for a 3-year old on my list. I know that I'm not supposed to work on gifts that stay local right now, but I just couldn't help myself. I just had to sew them up once I cut them out.
I was feeling lazy so I decided to try something new. Thread the bobbin with invisible thread and sew the middle seam rather than matching thread. It worked like a dream!
Now I will be the first person to admit that working with invisible thread is a chore. It tends to be quite unruly, comes off the spool in whatever fashion it desires and then, inevitably, tangles and breaks. But, I had an "aha" moment. I reached into my serger's tool box and reached for the netting. I doubled it so it would fit the spool and voila!
No more tangles!

Well, break's over. Back to work. Happy sewing!

Santa's Workshop is Officially Open

Yes, my workshop is officially open, but before I show you what I've been up to, I have to share this wonderful apron that I received from Julie for the Holiday Hostess Flirty Apron Swap. Ain't it grand? I just love it. The camera, of course, does not capture the beauty of this apron.
and look -- it's reversible! My favorite!!!
Check out the cool coordinating pocket!!
This apron will definitely be a part of my holiday wardrobe! Thanks Julie!!

Here's what's been going on in the workshop this past week.

Scarves in fun, funky colors and fun fabrics. This one is out of that whisker fabric. I'm not sure of the fabric family group for this particular fabric. This one will go to my one day daughter-in-law in Seattle.
And in novelty fleece, a lovely blue.
a great yellow,
and a minty green. The irony of the scarves is this. This fabric has been in my stash forever. My mom sent it (forever translates to one, perhaps 2 years) but I couldn't figure out what to do with the fabric. I mean it was a quarter yard, for crying out loud. So, in my cleaning frenzy last week, I put the fabric in the donation bags.

Well, during my cyber-Christmas shopping, I came across scarves. They had great, bright colors, interesting textures -- chenille, fleece, yarn, you name it. Then, the other day, when I was out in the garage, I glanced in one of the bags and viola!! Fashion forwards scarves were born. And the great thing about them -- they are light weight and toasty warm!
I also put together a gift set for my 7 year old goddaughter. We were in Disney, where hubby really wanted to get her a gift. You see, we have shopped there for her for years. But, I subtly reminded him that she is 7 and that there was nothing in that store that would entertain her. He was very sad to realize that she is a little lady now. So, I came home and made her something that I know she'll love -- a faux fur blanket and pillow set.

Now, this fabric has been in my stash for over a year and I finally decided to do something with it. So, a blanket. Let me tell you, this was not only hot work, but also messy. Not only was I covered in fake fur, but the floor was covered and so was the dog, who refused to get out of the way.
The back side of the blanket is a soft fleece, which I've had forever. I love this fabric and I think Julien is going to love the softness too. Since they live in Colorado, she will be able to put this to use. We decided this is a great laying on the floor blanket.

So, why is it 4 colors that really don't match? Not enough fabric? Well, yes and no. There was not enough of any one fabric to make a large enough blanket and I wanted to make a coordinated set, so the end result was patchwork.
And here's the complete set. A patchwork faux fur blanket and 4 fuzzy pillows. The round pillow is actually make from two fabrics, the side that you see and the yellow/pink combo, which is on the other side (I forgot to turn it over for the picture). It took an entire box of fiberfill to stuff the pillows, and even then, I was a bit short. Luckily, I had two bags of shredded foam (supposed to be used for Bootsy's bed) and added some to the blue pillow, in addition to fiber fill. I like that pillow the best. It is the softest.
I can honestly say that even though manipulating the fabric was a chore at time, it was a fun set to make. Right up until the point where I had to come the seam lines and fluff that fur. Ugh.

Well, I have a lot of sewing to do . This week, I'm concentrating on gifts that need to go out of town. In order to avoid temptation, I have taken the fabrics and patterns, for gifts that stay local out to the garage (out of sight, out of mind). And not only that. In order to keep the stress out of this exercise, I have decided to allow retail to help me with my Christmas party clothing needs, while sticking to Tim Gunn's 10 items that need to be in a closet list. My day dress should be arriving tomorrow (a great dress I got from Needless Markup (Neiman Marcus) when they had an additional 50% off clearance last week) in addition to my necklace (Ann Taylor clearance, plus 25% off). My shoes arrived two days ago (Ann Taylor Loft clearance, plus 25% off) (everything was free shipping -- and I didn't make a single purchase without checking the net for additional promotional codes). Yep, I've been busy. I spent the crazy shopping days at home on my computer signing up for sale alerts at the department stores (have to watch those pennies). While my purchases are for the most part boring -- just the basics and classic items right now, I have managed to get quality pieces for a fraction of the retail prices. Who knew?

Well, happy sewing y'all. I have really got to get back to work. Why did you let me prattle on so long?

More Muslins

Happy days are here again!

I've managed to complete two muslins.

The first is for a sweater jacket. I'd tell you the pattern number, but the pattern is actually buried under batting at the moment. Hopefully, I'll remember to do that when I actually make this pattern again. The fabric is a sweater knit that I got from Fabric.com. It's hard to tell the color, but the base color is a denim blue.
It is also very sheer, so I guess I'll have to start on my long sleeved knit shirts sooner than expected. The strange thing about this sweater is that it is very large on me in the shoulders. It's in the wash now -- I'm not sure if the problem is the result of me manipulating the fabric and using steam or if it's really too big. Once it comes out of the washer and dryer (tonight), I'll know for certain.
Her's how I really intend to wear it -- belted with an off white long knit shirt and trouser jeans. Heels too -- can't forget them.

I really do like this pattern, but as fate would have it, my second attempt (calf length) turned out to be a wadder. Go figure. So, after the holidays, I'm going to try it again, this time in a knit boucle -- something with some weight to it.

I also finished my first Christmas gift muslin -- an eyeglass case. The muslin is on the right. I didn't really care for the quilted look nor did I care for the trim. This is the only piping I have and it's far to elegant. Since I'm trying to keep it simple, making piping is out of the question. It only took me a little while to find the fix -- trim. I have tons of trim and I'm not afraid to use it!

I also switched to flannel for the lining. I think it's a much kinder fabric for glasses. Not that I don't trust the cotton, but softer is better for lenses. The pattern also calls for velcro, but I think not. I'm going to use snaps. Not that I have any in my stash, but I'll fix that this weekend.
So, goodbye for now. I have a lot more Japanese fabric and many more cases to make. Then it's on to checkbook covers.

Happy sewing.

A Month of Sundays

Well, well, well. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday (those of you who celebrate this holiday) .It has been a month of Sundays since my last post. Mostly due to vacations and holidays. I wish I could say I'm well rested, actually, I could have said that on Saturday. But on Sunday -- out the window. Why you say? Because I finally decided to do something about the miles and miles of fabric living in totes in my garage. So, 6 hours and 10 bags later, my load is much lighter. It's still in the garage -- waiting for me to arrange a pick up or drop off with the president of the local American Sewing Guild. 160 members strong. I think they can handle the load. And guess what? I still have a ton of fabric. Go figure.

Despite being exhausted, I thought I had better do a post. You see, I did do some sewing. In particular, the remaining swap projects are complete and have been mailed.

A reversible apron.

Pardon the mess in the back. It's the fabric for mom's Christmas jammies.
I do so love this fabric! I have it in green too!

Another apron, for the Flirty Apron swap. For this apron, I chose an usual fabric for aprons. The fabric (both fabrics) are actually stretch. I added some netting underneath to give it some body and interfaced the waistband with a knit interfacing.
The flash washes out the bling, so here's a close up. Believe it or not, I sewed on the sequins with invisible thread. What a chore! Next time, fishing line. The trim is a stretch gold lame. And wouldn't you know it -- once I started on the apron, I thought "these fabrics would be great for the holidays". Think I have any more fabric like this in my stash? Nope. As a matter of fact, I didn't even buy it. Mom sent it to me. I remember seeing it and going "what in the world am I supposed to make with this?" Voila! A flirty hostess apron!!
And I also finished the Christmas ornament and handmade card. You know I had to use fabric for the card....I just had too.
Last, but certainly not least, the apron for the Sassy Apron swap. Not only do I love the main fabric, but I really dig the trim. Once again ... say, this would make a great shirt. Only in this case, I have the same fabric in green. Badah booyah indeed.

And here is the reverse side. I decided to make on side Christmas and the other side, winter so that it can be worn until spring.

Who can resist ruffles on pockets?
Now that I've completed my swaps and have almost completed the Christmas themed surgical caps, I'm ready to go to work on the Christmas presents that need to go in the mail and also get mom's jammies done before she arrives on the 10th. Of course, next week I also need to work in a cocktail dress for my firm's Christmas cocktail party, then the following week, I need an outfit for my husband's Christmas party (last year, I was sewing right up until time to leave) and then a top for a home Christmas party. And, of course, more presents.

So, I'm going to try to keep it simple, let the fabric take center stage with my projects and try to leave myself enough time to finish projects. I have a gift list, so I plan on sticking with it. It's actually an attainable goal. Shocking!! As for me... sewing for myself will have to wait until after Christmas. Until then, I'll just make do. It's only for a little while. And then, in 2009, watch out! It's going to be the year of me!

Happy sewing.