A Bit of Shopping

I am truly and well back into the sewing thing, as evidenced by my recent shopping sprees. Yes, I have two cabinets (plus some bins in the garage) full of fabric. Does that stop me from adding to the collection? Nope. I feel I'm preaching to the choir.

In the top row below are ITY knits purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics. The solid black will become a top of some sort. The b/w print a top and skirt. And the coral/white dots likely another top and skirt. The bottom row are all rayon challis purchased from Fabric Mart. They are bit thinner than I was expecting, but they will still work for tops and dresses. They are being prewashed as I type. I hope to stay away from further fabric purchases since I really have more than enough and I actually WANT to sew some of the stash so I can finally wear it. But I had to dip my toe in a little bit to get the sewjo into high gear. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I also went on a bit of a PDF pattern buying bender. I now own the Chalk & Notch Fringe, the Itch to Stitch Nittany, and the Love Notions Saltwhistle. I will print them when I'm in the office next week, because free office printing is one of the perks of actually going into the office.

The Fringe will be first up in the woven category but not until I've sewn another knit top currently in the works (see below). I will definitely have to muslin this one and I'm sure I'll be adding length to the skirt and straightening the shirt tail hem. 

The Nittany below has neckline pleats which are impossible to see in this print. There's also an option for a keyhole in the middle of the pleats. Not sure which option I'll try, but this will be another I'll have to muslin.

And finally the Saltwhistle, which was on a $5 Friday sale. I'm not in love with the scallops, especially as tiers, but I do like the square neckline. I'll likely make a dress version with short sleeves. I'm sure I'll need a muslin for this one too. At least in Swedish Tracing Paper if not fabric.

The biggest purchase is a sister for my Designer 1. But by "big" I mean a mere fraction of what I paid new for my original D1. I paid nearly $5K for my original about 20 years ago. (Gah, How has it been that long??!) I paid $170 on Ebay for its sister. Sister seems to work very well, but it does have a couple of issues that will need to be fixed at the local repair shop. 

First, the thread cover broke off in shipping. Well, one of the hinges holding it in place. (My original D1 with the thread cover flipped up is on the right, the "new" one is on the left.) Second, the auto thread cutter "thingie" is completely missing so it doesn't cut the bobbin thread. This missing piece wasn't mentioned in the listing and the seller has not responded to any of my inquiries, so Boo on that. But the machine itself seems to work well otherwise so I'm going to keep it anyway and just get those things fixed and still feel I got a good deal. I can snip threads with scissors until then.

You're probably wondering why I bought a SECOND machine exactly like my original? Well, the truth is that while I ADORE my D1, it has some things that need fixing too and I've been just limping along for YEARS instead of bringing it in for repairs. I just haven't wanted to be without it while it's in the shop. Yes, I haven't actually been sewing for the last couple of years so I could have EASILY been without it (and I do have other "vintage" machines), but sewing and machines were not top of mind. Now that they are again, I just decided I must have a comparable backup. And well, just because. :-) I thought $170 was a reasonable backup price, not that I don't think my original was worth every penny I paid because it was/is and I still love it.

It's going to be a shock to be sewing with a working reverse, a light over the needle, and a fix button that I don't have to trick into working by re-selecting my stitch every time I want to end a seam. Yes, I have been sewing without a reverse for years. How ridiculous pitiful lazy is that? 

So my plan is to bring my original D1 into the shop next weekend and keep its sister at home to sew. Then I'll switch them when my baby is ready. I also might want to look at some new machines. Ahem. I never did spend that Pandemic relief money so who knows? 

Currently on the cutting table is another Niagara top. My last one was one of the last things I made a couple of years ago before the sewjo went MIA. I still love/wear it and want another. Stay tuned.

Basic

You can't get more basic than this. Sorry for the snoozer but I will actually get a lot of wear out of this, if my current basic black knit skirt is any indication. This is the old formerly black skirt (right) next to the new one (left). Yeah, I was overdue, wouldn't you agree?

I copied pretty much everything from the old skirt, including the slit. The only thing I didn't have on hand was 2" wide elastic. So I adjusted the top edge and used some of my 50-yard roll of 1-1/2" elastic from Wawak. I also didn't make a separate elastic casing. I was boring myself with this project and just wanted to be done already so I just serged, turned, and coverstitched it down.

Note to self: If you leave your coverstitch machine sitting for 2 years, it would probably be a good idea to dust off the harp before dragging your new black skirt across it. That's the wrong side of the hem/slit edge. Yuck. The harp is clean now though. LOL!

Next up is this b/w dotty woven fabric. It was the other piece that had been sitting on my dryer for 2 years with the fabric I recently made into a Rhapsody. I'm forcing myself to use it before I venture into my stash. It's been so long that I don't even remember where I bought it. (Funny story - I was digging through a bin of miscellaneous sewing stuff that had been sitting in the other room. I found bits and pieces of masks and mask makings, some Wonder Clips I forgot I bought, and a brand new, tags still attached, pair of knit joggers that I also forgot about — the "TNT" Old Navy RTW that I've been living in around home. I'm sure I bought them as a backup since I love all my others so much. I don't even need them yet since the others are still in excellent condition. I'm usually NOT scatterbrained like this, but this is definitely an indication of how weird the last 3+ years have been.)

I'm going to be giving the Love Notions Melody Dolman a try. I don't think I'll be wearing it tied up, but never say never. I'm hoping to get the pattern taped together tomorrow. And maybe some pictures up on the walls in the sewing room. It's so … blank in there.

If this top works out, it will be something else I can wear to the office. Or around the house. Speaking of the office, we just moved to a new building a few weeks ago (I think I mentioned that already in another recent post) which means I've lost my trusty work bathroom selfies mirror. A moment of silence, please. The new building, not my firm, owns the bathroom spaces, so I don't think anything will be improving there. I also don't have a true full-length mirror in my house so it looks like I'll be shopping for one of those soon. 

Have a great weekend! I hope to be checking in again soon with progress on the Melody.

Laundry Day Tee. Or Not.

Yes, I'm actually posting twice in the same month. I'll wait while you get off the floor.

So apparently one of the best ways to kickstart a missing sewjo is to write a blog post about how little desire you have to sew. And in a similar vein, when in that same blogpost you lament about not liking any fabric choices you've seen lately … well, you know where that's going. Yep. A few yards may have jumped into my shopping cart during Fabricmart's latest Pyramid sale. And then possibly a few more a week later during the Knits sale.

That's all good news. But I am not without hiccups and speed bumps in this story.

Let's begin.

First, last year I had bought a crap-ton of patterns during one of the BMV all-brands sales. My order arrived. I ooohed. I ahhed. I made plans. I bought fabric. I dreamed. I put the patterns … well, that's just it. I have NO IDEA where I put those patterns (or a few others) and I've been looking for them on/off for MONTHS. My house is not big. I'm fairly organized. I cannot solve this mystery. I give up. I've decided I'll repurchase some of them during the next BMV all-brand sale. (And then I'll find the missing stack.)

So I moved on for the time being. While I may not have been sewing myself these past months, I still have been reading sewing blogs and websites and checking into Facebook sewing/pattern groups regularly. I've seen more than a few Love Notions Laundry Day Tees made up and modeled, with lots of raving about the pattern. Being the lemming that I am, or maybe because it was free when you join the LN Facebook group, I downloaded the PDF and printed it last week, with plans to use some of the newly acquired Fabricmart yardage.

Yesterday, I got the pattern out to tape the sheets together, which I did. I know it's free and all, but I wasn't extremely impressed, starting with the fact the PDF is supposed to be "trimless." This means you don't need to slice off unprinted page margins to accurately join the pages into one cohesive layout. I found I still needed to trim. Not a big deal. I'm used to it. I'm not ready to blame Love Notions on this yet because I haven't double-checked my printer settings (and I'm not sure I will spend time to do so), but do be warned in case it's a legit problem.

What really bugged me was the pattern itself. See below.

First, the front and back aren't separate pieces. If you're away from your printer when you realize this and can't print a quick duplicate, it means you have to trace or tape the jigsaw puzzle back together. It also means you're going to be ticked off. I absolutely do not see the point in this (the print layout, not the being ticked off). Well, OK, there is a slight point if you're printing to a commercial print house's large format printer and paying by the sheet, but even then, give us the option of more sheets with the other half of the damn pattern so we can decide for ourselves which pages to print.

Next, it should be obvious that if the front and back pieces are identical,  except for necklines, there's a good chance it won't fit a curvy body. Pretty sure my front and back aren't anywhere close to identical. I won't even talk about the sleeve being cut on the fold. Guess it's a good thing after all that I didn't do all that "extra" printing. ;-) I'm not truly knocking this pattern because (1) I haven't actually sewn it and (2) it does get lots of love and I have seen some very nice finished tees. But I did conclude it wasn't for me and the symmetrical drafting makes me hesitant to try a paid-for LN pattern.

Side note on the LDT - Does anyone understand what the heck is meant by this? It totally does not make sense.

I decided what I was really after was the overall trapeze shape of the LDT and looked for my Cashmerette Concord pattern to just do that simple hack. Apparently my paper version of the Concord is with the other missing patterns mentioned above. Grrr, that MIA list just keeps getting longer. But I knew I also had a PDF version (from testing) that was already trimmed and ready to tape, and I was able to locate that one. Except … I was missing at least 6 of the pages. Six pages that would fall right across the bodice. I have no idea how that happened. Apparently, I'm getting old and senile. Missing patterns. Missing pattern pages. Missing brain.

Instead of giving up, I reached for my so very trusty TNT, the Ottobre Woman tee from the 02/2007 issue (cover below) and added the flare and length of the LDT.

And then I cut it out of this, with enough left for a matching skirt cuz I love me some 2-piece dresses. Yes, I know it's only a skirt and a top. I just like saying 2-piece dress. It sounds fancier. Humor me. :-)

And then I was done "sewing" for the day.

I've made a deal with myself to spend at least 15 minutes a weekday on this until it's done. I think I'll stick with it because I'm excited about the print placement for this one and want to see it finished. If I had started with the Ottobre, I'd be done by now. I hope I learned that lesson.

Ahhh Goodbye Long Weekend I Have Loved You So

I can't believe I have to go back to work in the morning. Well, it's a good thing ... past unemployment, etc., but I was really REALLY enjoying the paid time off. Something I haven't had for almost a year. I hope all of my American readers had a great Thanksgiving! It was very low-key here, just Alex and me, but we cooked (and ate) like we were expecting another dozen. I'm really craving a salad so the leftovers will be set aside tonight and maybe only come out one more time tomorrow before they are tossed. (Don't worry ... Alex has already made sure that not much is being tossed.)

I didn't sew a whole lot over the last four days, but I did what us sewistas do when we're not sewing ... BUY FABRIC. Hahaha. I went to Hancock's yesterday for thread on sale, a couple of invisible zips also on sale, and to see if they still had any of the gray pinstripe left at $3.99/yd. Yes, yes, and yes. Although the fabric initially wasn't coming up as on sale, but the clerk did honor the sign above the bolt, so yay. I left the store spending less than $25, which I count as a win. The pinstripes may be pants soon. Or it may be a blatant copy of Carolyn's latest dress.

I wasn't nearly so thrifty online last night where nearly $100 worth of knits fell into my Fabric.com shopping basket.

And I just spent my CSC / Smuggler's Daughter winnings to take advantage of the "notwalmart" discount code before it expires tonight. A cool fabric was calling my name (below left). I have no idea what to make with it, but I want it nonetheless. I may have been channeling my inner Shams. I'm hoping it speaks to me when I have it in my hands. Another piece may have jumped in the cart too.

And this from the woman who never used to wear black. Hmmm. The times they are a changin'.

The sewing I did do this weekend is still embargoed. I've been testing yet again. I promise ... this is not turning into a pattern testing blog. At first, I was only going to look over the pattern itself and the instructions since X and I both thought the pattern wasn't really my style. However, I don't really have a style, per se, since I tend to just buy/make/wear what I like and what I think looks good on me with maybe only one eye toward "fashionable," and the more I looked at the pattern, the more I decided I did want to at least try it. All I can share before it's released (which will be soon I'm told) is a little sneaky peek.

Yeah,that helps a lot, doesn't it? But since I did manage to get outside for some pics today, when I can share them, they won't be of the usual crappy variety. Ahem. Still, I am not a model and I seriously had to delete about 10 for every 1 I kept. I'm much better at the au naturale bathroom mirror shots.

Not sure how much sewing is going to happen during the week, but I hope at least some since my upcoming Saturday afternoon is already booked with a trip to nowhere on my boss' boat. It's called "The Holiday Death Cruise to Nowhere (with boxed wine)" to give you some idea of the warped senses of humor in my work group. I'm proud? to say I fit right in. Alex is invited too but I'm not sure yet if he really wants to go. Might be kind of boring for him. But still, a boat ride around Tampa Bay can't be all bad even if you're 22 stuck with a bunch of oldies. ;-)

Have a great week!

I caved

First fabric order in about 6 months. I couldn't control the shaking any longer.

Now to check out some shoes ... ;-)





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Burda 8623: Finished

This skirt is done. Zillie has a crooked stance so the pockets look uneven, but I measured (after my first set of pics the other day) and they are truly evenly placed down from the waistband. One reason I like this skirt pattern is the partial elastic waistband. The front and back are flat; the elastic is inserted at the sides. It's nice to have a woven skirt which fits comfortably throughout the day without giving in to a fully elasticated waistband and additional bulk. 

I lined the skirt with some cocoa colored rayon lining fabric, cut cross-grain so I could lazily incorporate the selvedge as the hem, which ends right above the back kick pleat. You know me and handsewing (blech), so the lining is fully machine-sewn around the invisible zip. This is easy to do if you (a) leave attaching the waistband for last and (b) sew the lower CB seam of the lining *after* attaching the upper sections to the seam allowances around the zipper.You can see that I (cough:cough) carefully matched my serger thread to the lining. ;-)

Up next is this fabric, for a top to wear with the skirt. It's a crinkled poly from Gorgeous Fabrics bought in March. I fell in love with the colors and the print. So me.

The pattern is much older than the fabric. I don't know exactly how long it's been in my stash, but there are reviews of it dating back to 2002 if that's any indication. I've picked the circled view, with the flounce.

I have a little concern that the fabric *may* not be drapey enough so even though I've already altered the pattern to incorporate an FBA/bust dart, I'm still deciding whether to actually cut. You can see in the line drawing below that the sleeve is cut on. I just winged the upper slash for the FBA, keeping the shape and size of the sleeve with some creative "smushing."

I think I may go ahead and make a quick and ugly muslin and see how a decidedly non-drapey muslin fabric works.

I have an interview tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed for me. While the previous interview place narrowed their choice to between me and another candidate, they ultimately went with not-me. Which is probably for the best in the long run, because while I did really like the place and the people, it was the longer commute of the location which was the minus I referred to earlier. It probably wouldn't have been a deal-breaker, but now I don't have to make the decision. Everything happens for a reason, right?

McCall's 6397 #2 Finished and Stash Crash

After spending all day yesterday doing absolutely NOTHING more than 10 feet from my bed (reading, napping, catching up on the DVR), I was wide awake at 6 am this morning. After last week, I needed to recharge the batteries. Thankfully, I still have 2 days of weekend left (and a nice paycheck coming soon). Although most of the rest of today will be spent watching football,  I do plan to get into the sewing room in spurts to cut out the next pattern. More on that later.

Meanwhile, I did finally finish the dress. It had been collecting dust on Zillie for two weeks waiting for the sleeve bindings and hem, but it's now done. I will probably wear it as styled below, with this RTW blouse.When I do, I'll snap a pic of me in it.

The zipper everyone commented on is just a basic brass zipper with a "leftover" earring put through the pull. Without a jewelry ring to hold it place, it doesn't really work to actually pull the zipper without opening and coming out of the pull but it does stay in place and hang straight if it's not pulling the zipper. These used to be some of my favorite earrings until I lost one so I'm happy to be able to use the straggler for something more than making me growl when I see it in my jewelry dish.

Last post I was flip-flopping about a Style Arc pattern order when I didn't like the freebie o'the month. Well, the $34 shipping charge made me close the shopping cart immediately. Sorry Style Arc. I'm just not ready to plop down nearly $100 for 4 patterns. I know others love them but only a few of the styles interest me and even then, they are just not all that and a $34 shipping charge so I will continue to watch from the sidelines.

I noticed Vogue was on sale at the BMV website and I quenched my pattern lust with these. I ordered them Wednesday and they were here yesterday. Unbelievable speedy! If I had made it out to the mailbox before the day was nearly over, I might have even sewed yesterday but who wudda thunk they'd be here already?

Up next is the dress version of 8825 (lower left). After that, 8805 (bottom middle), with the fabrics below which will be arriving soon. I turned the screenshot upside down since this is how I plan to use them in the colorblocking.

Hopefully I'll be back before the work week starts again, and with something to show (and wear).

Back in the Saddle ... Kinda

It's that time of year when all the cool bloggers seem to be doing 2012 In Review type posts. Dare I say I'm not a cool blogger? Or is it just because I'm just a lazy blogger? The truth is I can't be bothered to go back and look at the last year on the blog from this laptop (my home desktop is on the edge of dying and I'm not ready to spend bucks on a new one when I have all I need in that at work and the lappie is technically just fine). It's hard enough to type without hitting the stupid touchpad every other sentence. But I digress.

I know I sewed some things during the year cuz I've been wearing most of them to death. But there were some changes in my life in 2012 that seem to be closer to the front of my brain. Separating, moving, officially being hired at my dream job. Yeah, I'd say those were some major rollercoasters, but I'm on the other side and only see a cloud of dust in the rear view mirror. I'm having a ball. Life is good. :-)

Christmas week and beyond has been great. I actually got a wild hair and pulled out the decorations for the first time in years. It's amazing what being happy does for motivation to decorate with tacky Christmas stuff. ;-) Alex got in the mood too and strung lights all over the outside of the house. Which means we weren't the neighborhood Scrooges like I thought we'd be. Go us!

Tyler arrived 12/20, dumped his stuff, and started visiting all his friends. Mom who? ;-) That's OK, I was expecting it and I had to work through Friday anyway. He's been in/out over the last week but we've actually seen him a lot. We spent all day Christmas Eve car shopping and he did manage to come home with exactly what he wanted. Let's hope that this time he doesn't total it within a month. ;-)

Alex's gift to us was tickets to Blue Man Group at Universal for Christmas night, which was a blast and also means that I actually was at Universal Studios for two Christmases in a row since Alex and I spent all day there Christmas Day 2011. Who wudda thunk? Yes, Life Is Good.

Also from the Life Is Good Department, shopping today. For moi. I'm not gonna lie ... love those me-shopping days. But jeez Louise, remind me to NEVER go near the mall the weekend after Christmas. I knew enough to stay away BEFORE and did all my shopping on the lappie, but I thought I'd be safe by now. Hah. Joke was on me. But I had a DSW gift card just burning a hole and off I went. I seriously needed some new black heels and I'm happy to report success. And then some.

Pair #1:

Pair #2 (Please ignore the dirty stuff in the sink back there. I know I am.):

Pair #3 (totally impractical but so pretty. And comfy):

Uh ... my name is Debbie and it's been 10 hours since my last shoe purchase:

I'm almost embarrassed by this. Almost. And there's at least 30 pairs you can't see at the ends of those shelves and the floor to the right. Shoes and fabric. What can I say?

Also for me today ... another wild hair but this time at the nail salon. Aren't they cool? I've been inspired by nails on Pinterest lately and decided to just go for it today. Love them! (Hate the old lady hands.)

And speaking of fabric. A trip to Joann's today for purple thread also yielded this, which will become a top to go with the purple ponte Magic Pencil skirt I'll be making tomorrow when I actually get into the sewing room again and back in that saddle.

Yes, Life Is Good.

Butterick 5615 Muslin

Next up is Butterick 5615. I'm making View D, with the long sleeves. Coincidentally, mine will be white too. I really NEED a white blouse.

But first, a muslin. This will not be a fast sew, but I have a short work week coming up followed by a long weekend so I'll have some time to devote to a slower project. I want this to turn out well which means I will have to keep reminding myself that it's not a race since I do tend to be an impatient soul in the sewing room.

The muslin is not bad, but a muslin was definitely needed since there will be some tweaks required. I started with the 16 at neck/armholes, grading outward to the 20 by the hips. The only other adjustment so far was to square the shoulders before cutting out the pattern.

I read the PR reviews for this pattern and no one (not neven Belinda!) mentioned an FBA. There's no sewn bust dart in the pattern but obviously bust room is built into the waist/tie/gather area because I definitely do not need an FBA with this pattern. Nice.

What I DO need to adjust are (1) widen the sleeve bicep - not a surprise since I cut a smaller sleeve than I should've per the size I used in an attempt to eliminate bogus sleeve cap ease. That no cap ease part worked, but now I need a little more bicep ease instead. (2) erect back adjustment, which is a usual adjustment for me in a woven blouse and why most RTW blouses drive me crazy. You can sort of see the back neck folding at my shoulders, which is the indication I need this adjustment in a pattern. And (3) to lengthen the upper bodice above the peplum so the tie hits me lower, and to lengthen the top overall since I think it's a bit too short (it's unhemmed here). The best adjustment will be for me to add about 3/4" above the peplum and also add another 1/2" TO the peplum. This will be one of those times I will be reminding myself it's not a race and to not take the faster way of just adding above the the peplum.

None of these adjustments are difficult but they will take some time and I'm not up for them tonight. I might not be tomorrow either since I have to enter the grocery store with the hoards to get our Turkey Day fixn's. Alex and I are invited to his friend's family gathering but Alex still wants his own turkey, etc. at home for later.On a slightly sad note, this will be Tyler's first Thanksgiving away from family.

Speaking of shopping ... I started my morning with a little fabric shopping. And by "a little," I mean this:

I plead temporary insanity.

A Little Shopping

Today was Walmart day. You know how I love me some cheap crap from that place. Remember these shoes I recently bought?

Well, I just love them. So today, I bought them in brown too. AND another duplicate pair in black because, well, they're WALMART shoes and they won't last and I've been wearing the heck out of the first pair. Now I can delay the inevitable a little longer.

I also bought this dress. Seventeen bucks. I'm loving dresses for work, especially now that I've let the pantyhose go bye-bye. It takes me 4 minutes to get dressed in the morning. Not counting the shower, hair, and make-up, of course. ;-)

The last interesting bits from the Walmart run this morning are a new bracelet and ring. Excuse the wrinkled old lady hand. Good god, when did THAT happen? Tonight is the first of what will be at least monthly girls' nights out with a few single friends from work. We're going to go see Magic Mike (because who cares about plot when you have half-nekkid men on the screen, and one of them is Matthew Mc - hi Belinda!!). Did you know it's set in Tampa? That will be an extra fun bonus, although I've heard they've taken liberties with location accuracy. Then we're going for dinner and drinks. I'm wearing the new jumper/dress and the new "jewels." But probably flat shoes to keep things more casual, although I may cave for the brown shoes above. And next weekend my sister will be here sans hubby and there will be more going out on the town. Yay, I *have* a life after all.

After Walmart, I fell off the fabric wagon and got these ITY lovelies from Fabric.com. I'm in a brights mood and most of what's in my stash is earth tones. These WILL get sewn up before they become part of the stash. We still have MONTHS of summer to go, so once they're made into dresses, they will get plenty of wear.

Parting Shot: These goodies arrived from Japan from the Marine.The chocolates were melty, but still tasted fine. Oops. Did I just admit to eating them? All at once? ;-) Alex has taken over the beverages. I wish I could send him (Tyler, not Alex) on a Japanese sewing book/notions trip but I wouldn't know where/what.