Sunday, July 10, 2011

Oops … I Did It Again


Yep. More fabric. Curse you Fabric.com. I was just browsing (I swear!) on Fabric.com and noticed new ITY knits since the last time I looked. I am powerless over a good knit print and before I knew it, I had $169+ worth of fabric sitting in my cart. But instead of pulling the trigger, I took a breath and walked away. And wouldn't you know, Fabric.com also noticed I had abandoned my cart and quickly emailed me a 15% off discount code to tempt me back. It worked.

I really love ITY knits lately. First, they are a dependable order. What I mean by that is that I always know what I'm getting with them, unlike, say, rayon knits which can be hit or miss — and are usually miss. Second, the best prints seem to be ITY and you all know I love me a crazy print. But the strongest reason I'm loving on the ITYs is because they are very easy to sew/fit and are actually quite comfortable for me to wear. I know, polyester right? But I wore an ITY something (either dress or top) every day while I was away and most days I was outside a good deal of time. I sweated, yes, but not because of the polyester. It was HOT. You would be sweating buck nekked. ;-) But what I didn't do was stay wet and soggy. The ITY knits do breathe and they stay dry since moisture (a pretty word for sweat) quickly evaporates.

In other sewing room news, I'm making progress on my planned weekend projects. The embroidering of the RTW shirts is done. Here's the tees and polos for my BIL:


And the "special edition" for my sister …


… which has been properly blinged. Hey, if Elizabeth can make up verbs, so can I, right? ;-) I added some hot-fix crystals to the wheels of the truck and car and a line underneath it all, plus one yellow crystal for the truck's flashing light. Cute, yes? Lisa will love it. I think she got the sparklie thing from me in my younger days, when as my kid sister she used to adore and worship me. Ahem. ;-) But really, I used to wear a lot of flash. Now I'm old and boring. I think I should change that. Well, the boring part anyway. Can't do much about the old.


Speaking of embroidery, why is it that as soon as you walk away for just a minute, the thread jams? I diligently sat in front of the machine the entire time during the first four stitch-outs and they all were smooth sailing without a hiccup. Then I started the fifth and last and decided I wanted a drink so I left the machine stitching and went downstairs to the kitchen to grab some water. Yep, you guessed it. When I got back upstairs, the thread had jammed, the stitching had stopped, and I had part of a "G" to clean up and stitch again. Arghh.

After the embroidery was done, I cut out Lisa's birthday top and it's ready to sew this morning as soon as I switch serger and coverstitch threads. I decided on the Hot Patterns Sunshine Top, with a few minor alterations that I made while cutting. The "hand-me-down" tops I brought her were both sleeveless, but I know she has bigger arms than I do so I widened the sleeve and armhole a little bit. I also made it longer for her long torso and I added a little more tummy and booty room since hers are bigger than mine. Good thing she doesn't read this or she'd KILL me for saying that.

19 comments:

  1. I looked at those knits on fabric.com and they are very pretty. But it was easy for me to close out the page because I've got quite a bit and prefer wovens...weird right? :)

    Love the embroidery...I'm sure your sister and BIL will appreciate those shirts so much!

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  2. I don't think my husband believes the "just browsing" bit anymore ... although he peeks into FabricMart boxes and Hancock bags to see if there's anything he likes! As long as I make him at least one short sleeved button up this summer, I am good. LOL

    As for the needle jamming the instant you walk away from the embroidery machine ... Murphy's Law governs much more than just army operations! That has to be the single most reliable "rule" in machine embroidery.

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  3. I LOVE the bling on the tow truck logo! So cute!

    I enjoyed your recent travelogue posts very much, too.

    Good haul...er...browse on Fabric.com. Hmmmm...have we discovered a shopping strategy, fill up the cart then step away?
    ;-)

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  4. I keep wanting to order from Fabric.com, but then I remind myself I should shop from my stash first. Thanks to living relatively close to L.A.'s Fabric District, I have a pretty impressive fabric closet as it is.

    I really need to buy more stretch wovens though. I'm terrible about putting fabric on my "need" list because I want to make a specific pattern, and then just forgetting all about it.

    As far as I am concerned, Murphy's Law governs all things involving mechanics -- including sewing machines.

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  5. Great fabric haul and nice embroidery! Hmmm...I should stay away from fabric.com, but... I love those "crazy" fabric designs. Yes, embroidery machines just know when you walk away (like dogs and children) and get into mischief.

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  6. I love your blog, and have lurked for a couple years now, but I just had to pop in and say that I have just gotten some of the same knits you ordered! I'm excited to see what you do with them--maybe it will give some new ideas!

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  7. oops! that was supposed to be "give *me* some new ideas!"

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  8. I don't know why they don't tell one in the machine instruction book to not get out of the chair or arm's reach of the stop button that the machine knows and will do something weird if you do even if it never has malfunctioned before and you will pay. I like the bling in the logo also. They should love those.
    I can't look at fabric.com -haven't sewed except for alterations in quite a while and dh would probably have me committed if the fabric starts rolling in. Debbie do you always buy the same amount to stash or buy for a certain pattern? If so how much do you find to be a good stash cut for a knit top of some sort? mssewcrazy

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  9. I haven't looked....yet. I so agree about ITY knits, the best idea since whatever. But I will resist looking, today.
    Your embroidery looks terrific, also. How nice of you to think of that.

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  10. I think embroidery machines have minimal souls that know when you're gone. I prefer the seperate embroidery machine so that I can be present at all times but busy with something besides cleaning the room.

    FWIW polyester quality is all over the place. I've not sworn off poly, I'm just reluctant to buy it on line. But I did buy me some of those ITY knits at Fabric.com and I'm gonna get more too!

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  11. Ugh, posts like these make me wish the shipping wasn't so high for online fabric purchasing!

    PS...those shirts are such a thoughtful gift!

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  12. Hi Debbie, I have a shopping cart sitting at Fabric.com, too... I just saw a couple of days ago that they have a code from having 30,000 fans on facebook. It's FB30 and it's good until the 15th and is good for 30 percent off!! If you just placed your order, you might be able to call and get that discount. Or, you could place another order... ;-)

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  13. I am with you on the ITY knits, I really like sewing with them and wearing them. Nice job on all the embroidery, too.

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  14. Such great fabrics! I am waiting for my order to get here from fabric.com, but I didn't order a single knit, only wovens. I hope that the UPS man comes when no one else is home though, lol. :]

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  15. I was on Fabric.com the other day and then got sidetracked. I need to go back! Love the embroidery. Your loved ones are very lucky to have you. I've been thinking about getting an embroidery machine. If I may ask, what kind of EM do you have and if you had to do it again, would you get the same one?

    Donna

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  16. Donna, I have a Viking Designer 1, which I bought new when it was Viking's top of the line machine. I didn't buy it for the embroidery features, but for the sewing features. I still love it very much, so, yes, I would buy it again. The embroidery is an added bonus, and definitely contributed to the overall cost of the machine, but I really have never used it to its full potential, although I do like being able to embroider when the mood strikes — like the recent shirts for my sister and BIL.

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  17. HI Debbie,

    it looks like a great fabric haul--did you get the black and off-white bubbles fabric? I tried ordering it a few weeks ago and I was mis-sent the in-correct fabric. And then it was mis-sent again (i'm working with them), but I'm wondering if they actually have it in stock. I'm just gathering information and not throwing stones...

    Rose in SV

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  18. Hi Rose - yes, I did actually get that b/w print and I like it. Good luck getting yours.

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  19. Thank you for the follow-up! I look forward to see your future projects! Rose in SV

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