A Day Off for Sewing

Just a quickie post before I start my work day.

The holiday yesterday was semi-productive but I got a later start than I wanted to so I didn't get to finish my top. I did, however, finish two purses. I did most of the sewing over the past weekend and only put the finishing touches on the bag on the left. I've decided I'm going to stop making/selling the purses once I'm out of supplies (which is maybe 8-10 more purses). No sense in throwing the supply money away or keeping the stuff in the stash. I can deal with that plan.

After packing up the purses for shipping, I turned my attention to Kwik Sew 3915, View B (the pink top). I bought the pattern mainly for the other view, but you all know how fickle inspiration can be. I used my TNT resized-smaller Ottobre tee for comparison and ended up tracing the Ottobre base with the KS neckline and neckband. I'll do the same thing when I make View A.

I really wanted to have this finished to possibly wear today and had enough "steam" to keep going, but not enough time. It was already after midnight before I knew it and I do need my beauty sleep. ;-) So tonight, I'll insert the sleeves, sew up the sideseams, change threads on the CS machine, and do the hems. I'm leaving work early today for a dental check-up, which should put me home earlier too.

I'm a little wary of the solid color. I don't do many solid color tops and I'm hoping this cotton/lycra fabric doesn't show the bumps I don't want on display. But it perfectly matches the skirt I want to wear it with, so I'm forging ahead.

Parting Shot: Hands up — how many of you have done this too?

FNSI Complete, aka Let Me At My Sewing Room for ME

I almost finished this wallet last night for the Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) but I ran out of steam. I did finish it up this morning and it's all packed up for shipping, along with the purse I finished a couple of weeks ago.

I've got 5 more purse and/or wallet orders (and maybe another 1 or 2 on the way from a woman who was admiring my purse at the nail salon this morning and took down all my info), which is great. But whew, it takes away from sewing for ME ME ME. ;-) So while I have the next customer project cut out and ready to sew, I'm not going to start on it tomorrow. Instead, I will be starting my houndstooth skirt. I haven't yet decided on a pattern. I should be smart and stick to my TNT Burda but I'm getting a wee bit tired of it. I've got lots of back issues of Burda WOF (when it still was WOF), and I think I'll drag my binders of the line drawing inserts out tonight and see if anything strikes my fancy. Yes, that will mean tracing and a muslin and I may go running back to my TNT, but right now I feel that I need some variety and challenge around the production sewing.

Speaking of Burda WOF, now BS (hah!), I'm thinking of subscribing again. I'm SO tired of the boring patterns offered by the Big 3/4. I was shopping again today and saw lots of cute things that there should be patterns for and aren't. None of them are too complicated and I could probably come up with patterns but I just don't want to spend the time on it.It's so much more instantly gratifying to just buy the finished item. ;-)

Speaking of shopping, there will be a "poll" in a day or so, to get your opinions on my Christmas party selections. I was all over the board today between semi-casual and very glittery. Everything is red, though (I think), which is what I wanted to match up with the houndstooth skirt and my black patent heels. I also picked up a fake leather jacket for $29, marked down from 4x the price. I need to see some pics of me in it before I decide if it's staying, but it will probably have to be absolutely horrid to overcome the great price. I swear, I'm never shopping anywhere other than Beall's. I always find 20 things I want. And it's only a mile down the road, much closer than the mall and NOT in a mall. What's not to love?

Alex and I will be here by ourselves for Christmas and we've decided we're going to get up early and head to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure for the day (which is less than an hour away). I've promised him I will go on whatever rides he chooses. I had to have a moment of raw honesty and tell him that I actually like the rides, but wasn't enthusiastic (read embarrassed) when my butt didn't fit into the seats (how sad). Now that it will, I'll be a screaming idiot and loving every minute. I think it will be a fun mom/son day. He thinks I'm a rollercoaster wimp when it was just a fat rear end so I've got some convincing to do. I do love a challenge. ;-)

Parting Shot: Tyler thinks there's a job for Chili on his base. I think he just misses his dogs.

Homestretch

My purse is done and the customer's is nearly so. I just need to press it, do the final topstitching, and attach the straps. I've decided I either need to discontinue this purse or double the price. ;-) While I love my pattern and the final product, it's just too fiddly construction-wise to be enjoyable as a sewing-for-others project. Plus, I don't have real instructions written down so I have to reacquaint myself with the order of things each time I make it, which inevitably involves frog-stitching more than one time. That's why I made my purse first, so the screw-ups would be on it. The second purse has gone a lot faster.

Once the purse is done, I also have to make one OOO RAH wallet for this same customer. That won't take but an evening or two, which I am DETERMINED to knock out tomorrow night and Tuesday, so that I can sew for ME, ME, ME with every spare moment between then and my trip. I need long-sleeved tops and I want to make one cascade sweater from an Ottobre tee morph, plus the jeans. I may put the jeans last in the queue because I can survive on what I have. We're not going to be doing anything fancy, and I need warmer tops more.

For now, it's off to bed. Tomorrow, the "real" worker is back and Friday I moved to another desk. I'm feeling kind of sad and nervous. I'll be glad when tomorrow is over and I'm into my new routine at the office. I'm sure things will be fine, but the unknown is … well, unknown.

Just a few more days until my Fire gets here. In the meantime, I've moved to a smart phone and wasted an entire Saturday afternoon playing with that. Oops. ;-)

Weekend Production So Far

13 embroidered tees and/or sweats plus 1 denim shirt. At 30 minutes minimum per shirt to set up, embroider and trim jump stitches, you do the math. So GLAD that's done. My sister owes me. Big.

2 cammie purses cut out and ready to sew during the upcoming week. One is for hire. One is for me, a re-do of my first purse, since I've improved the construction, and also because I've used one of Tyler's actual retired cammi blouses this time. (Retired due to ugly an ink spot on one pocket which I cut around.) Since I'll be at his base again in 3 weeks, I want to have my New! and Improved! purse done for that trip.

Jalie 2921 cut out and ready to sew as soon as I'm off the computer. The print will be the top. The solid below is the sweater I bought last week. I want to wear these tomorrow with a black skirt, as my nod to Halloween — in color, if not in costume.

Also on the agenda — laundry, a bit of grocery shopping, maybe some closet reorganization tonight during the football game, and finding some black tights while I'm out this afternoon. If not, I'll just go with regular nude PH. 

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea

Spongebob Squarepants!!

Or, my muslin for Butterick 5678.

Moving along from the trainwreck that used to be my blog and email, after running errands much of the day, I finally got up to the sewing room to steal more patterns work on more office clothes. (Sorry, I just couldn't help that one.) This is my muslin for B5678, which is a multi-cup pattern. I wish *every* top pattern was a multi-cup pattern.

I measured myself (something I have to do now before each new item, since the measurements keep moving) and I'm definitely now squarely in a 16 for upper chest. I blended from the 16 to the 18 for waist and hip, and that was it. I still have to try out the sleeve, but even if that has to be adjusted, it ain't no big deal. And I need to shorten the back between shoulder and armpit due to super-erect posture, which is always a fit issue with woven button-front shirts, but that's also an easy fix.

Since this fits but is actually on the near side of snug, I will sew the sideseams with a little more ease. In the real fabric, of course. Spongebob is cool, but not very work appropriate — even on Fridays.

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A few last words on The Drama. First, thank you for your support. It's been a weird couple of days. And for those of you who are getting flamed on your blogs, I wish that wasn't happening.

Second, this person posted a photo which she purports proves copyright infringement. What it proves is that — OMG — we both "designed" a perfect 4.5" x 3.75" rectangle, as part of a pocket to hold credit cards which, strangely, are all the same size too. You can't see the details in her photo but if you could, it would show that another of my pattern pieces she claims is a duplicate of hers is actually NOT the same size. As I said earlier, she must be using some kind of ruler I've never seen. What her photo shows me is how different these pieces are and that when one is looking through the eyes of a green monster, one sees whatever they wish. I'm also wondering where's the comparison of my other 13 pieces to her other 4? Could it be that they are different? Hmmm.

I will leave all the crap comments on yesterday's post because I think they speak volumes about the authors, but now I'm done. Any further anonymous or thinly disguised slanderous comments against me — and especially my family — will be deleted.

Ooo Rah Wallet Review & Giveaway

I'm writing this the night before so I haven't seen Melanie's post or review yet, but hop on over to The Crafty Cupboard and we'll look together. Thanks Melanie! I can't wait to see your wallet.

Then come back here and leave a comment if you'd like to be entered to win a FREE copy of the Ooo Rah Wallet Pattern and the fabric needed to make the wallet shown in the lower right of the pic below (2 Fat Quarters and 1 Fat Eighth).

I'll be drawing the random-number generated winner next Friday night (September 23, 2011). Anyone anywhere in the world can enter.

Edit: I'm home now and I've seen Melanie's adorable wallet and wonderful review! Thanks so much Melanie. :-)

Speaking of Friday night … don't forget to sign up for the September Friday Night Sew-In and then lock yourself in your sewing room tomorrow night and sew, sew, sew! I'm hoping to make another skirt. At the very least, I'm going to clean up the disaster that currently resides where my sewing room used to be. Click the FNSI graphic below to open up the sign-up page.

A Smaller Butterick 4818

I was productive today. I sewed a jacket and dusted and vacuumed my entire house (even in the sewing room!). Guess which was more fun? Sorry about the headless shot, but I'm looking like I'm home alone for the weekend, which I am. And I vacuumed. ;-)

I purposely took in the sideseams a scootch more than what I pinched on the other jacket yesterday so this one would be a little tight, with the plan that I will shrink into it fairly soon. Until then, I'll just wear it open or break out the Spanx. Speaking of which (wearing open, not Spanx) — I had such a brain fade earlier. I thought I was done with the jacket after sewing the hems. Until I realized that I hadn't even thought about buttons and buttonholes. Oops. My sewing mind must still be on purses.

One of the pairings for the jacket will be with this dress. I went to one of the other Walmarts in town (we have 3, and that doesn't even include the Walmarts 10-20 miles away) and found a few more things in my colors. It's hard to see in this pic, but the dress is a crossover bodice (which will have to be re-tacked higher), with soft diagonal gathers and a flounce where the gathers meet the side. I wish there was a pattern for this one, and no! I'm not going to cut it apart. But I thought about it.

The dress really has 3/4 sleeves, but I'm going to cut them off and hem them to short since I live in perpetual summer, both locale and personal. ;-)

It's time for me to do some surgery on Zillie because my clothes don't hang on her even close to how they hang on me. I think her girls are at the wrong level and maybe even bigger than mine now. Unless I'm fooling myself and my clothes actually DO look this bad on me. Hah.

* * * * *

And now shameless plug time — Did you see Kay's review of my wallet pattern on Pattern Review? That is SO cool, to actually have a pattern being reviewed instead of vice versa. And Kay was very kind (whew!). Plus, hop over to her blog if you haven't already and read more about at her gorgeous leather wallet. I'm so impressed! Thanks for testing and sharing, Kay! And thank you to everyone who has bought the pattern!

Purse and Work Outfit Dilemma (Photo Heavy)

The special order cammie purse is done! Yay! Every single bit of the cammie fabric came from the blouse that was sent, and almost every single bit of the blouse was used. I couldn't "cheat" and use my flat MARPAT fabric for straps since the cammie I received was pretty faded and my new fabric is … well … new. I like the way pieced straps look because you get characteristics of the original cammie that way, but they take at least twice as long to make and allowimg room for them on the cammie blouse makes the pattern layout more of a brain twister. This style for a cammie purse is definitely the most labor-intensive. On the others, I learned my lesson and made them simpler from the get-go.

I had a major brain fade yesterday when inserting the zipper. It's done 100% by machine, because ya'll KNOW how I hate hand sewing (especially in purses). It has been many months since I made my same-pattern purse. Do you think I took notes on how I did the zipper? If you guessed Hell No!, you would be correct. This means I made a couple of wrong passes with the machine which had to be frogged. But once I walked away for a while, the solution came to me. And it was so obvious (after the fact), that it was almost irritating. lol But I did take notes this time, in case I actually do make up an official pattern for this.

This one is almost exactly like mine, except for the last names, lining, and better interfacings. I used fusible fleece on all the outside pieces, except the two strips right next to the zipper. For those, I used Decor Bond which made them sturdy but not too bulky next to the zipper teeth. I trimmed the fleece so it would be caught in the seams, but only by a hair. This worked great to keep seam allowance bulk down. I also used the fusible fleece in the straps, except I did not apply it at the ends, again to keep the bulk down where I needed to fold the strap over and attach it to the purse or itself, around the hardware.

The main features I couldn't find in any commercial pattern (big guys or little ones) was (1) the center divider pocket in the middle, which is not as wide as the outside so it "cinches in" the sides of the purse, and (2) the outside zipper strips which are curved and part of the purse body, and sewn entirely by machine, of course.

With the improved interfacing, this purse is more rigid so hopefully the feet will actually do something on this one. ;-)

* * * * *

Moving ahead to my wardrobe dilemma …

I'm not complaining on the reason, but with the continuing weight loss I really do not have much to wear to an office. I have my 2 interview suits and a couple of dresses, none of which mixes/matches. Everything else is too big. Yes, I can sew some things but (1) not enough in a short time and (2) I really don't want to, because it's not going to fit for very long and I need to re-do pretty much all of my pattern alterations. TNTs are a thing of the past for now. Wah!

I think I will make one or two Vogue 1250s in a print, and one or two unstructured jacket/cardi somethings to coordinate with them, plus a simple and plain top or two. I think I can do at least 3 out of those in a week. (The "week" deadline is if I get the job — I still don't know yet.) In the meantime, I will need to shop so I can fill in with RTW. But I am going to limit myself to really inexpensive stuff, since again, I don't plan on it fitting for long so I don't want to waste money needlessly.

Let's start the mega-photo section of this post, shall we? Pardon goofy eyes, dorky smiles, bare feet, mismatched prints, blurry focus and dirty mirrors. I was going for quantity and basic shapes. Also pardon my rambling thoughts. None of this is very organized.

After my interview yesterday, I came home and changed and  headed out to Walmart for some household stuff and while there, I browsed the clothes and pulled some to try on. I had lots of success fit-wise, and in sizes that pleased me immensely. Yay! But everything is black, black, black. Or gray. Boo! I hate those colors on me. Especially near my face.

This is in the Walmart fitting room, taken with my cell phone. Even crappier quality than usual, which I would've thought wasn't possible. ;-) The basic shapes are good (I have a similar cowl pattern, which I'll get to below), although the top is tucked up because it's too long. But that solid black is just not me. And even if YOU think it's OK, I don't, so I'll never wear it. Ask my mother. I'm stubborn that way and have been since I was 4 or 5 and she wanted  me to wear stuff I hated. Guess who won? ;-)

This one is too boobalicious, I know. But it was the ONLY top in earth tones, except it was a size 10!! I tried it on just for kicks, though, and, amazingly, it's actually not too far off from fitting. There is an underbust seam, which hits me under the bust. What a concept. This means either I'm loosing boob or the Walmart "designers" (I *had* to put quotes on that idea) use more ease these days. Probably both.

I didn't buy anything in the pics above, but I did buy this skirt below which is the same style as the skirt above but what looks black is actually brown. Yay for brown! The top is my unfinished McCall's some-number. It's way too big, but I can take it in, hem it, and add some sleeves easily. Fixing it up is on the agenda.

But white is too stark next to the skirt, so I want to make a short-sleeved jacket/cardi-something from this putty-colored doubleknit I've got slung over my shoulder.

Here are the three fabrics together. The skirt print has a putty color in it which is more evident IRL vs. the pics.

I also bought these pants.

In two sizes, because I couldn't decide which one would be better. The 18 fits but is a little loose. The 16 fits but is a little tight, but only about 5-6 lbs worth of tight — which should be gone in a couple weeks. I decided I'd do some mirror shots to help me decide because while I wouldn't care about keeping both money-wise, since they're only $20 a pair, I really don't want to hem the same pants twice in month, you know?? And I don't love black anyway. I've pretty much decided I'm keeping the 16s.

Those are the 18s above, with a belt that is riding way too high. It's hard to hold a too-big shirt in at the back and balance a belt and camera shutter button all at the same time, while trying to smile pretty and not blink. Imagine the top fitting better, and with sleeves.

In other words, NOT like this. lol

Still wearing the 18s here, with a shirt I thought might work. Until I tried it on. Don't let this shot fool you …

… it really looks like this:

More grabbing of excess fabric in the back, just to get an idea of shape. I *know* the jacket doesn't go with the pants.

This one kind of bums me out. I loved this jacket and the fabric even more. Maybe one day I can alter it down. For now, it's unwearable.

This pic below is the pants in 16 and a top that fits better, although it's really too low and my bra straps show if I don't pull it up like I did for this pic. Maybe some Hollywood Stay Tape will let me get by for a while longer.

And here's something that hasn't been seen in public in YEARS — a side-view pic of me. As you can see, the belly is still there in plenty of form. So is my butt. ;-) But it sure is nice to see a lot less of both.

Finally, what I'm really wearing today. Which I can also wear to an office if I trade flip-flops for real shoes. I want to make a short-sleeved brown cardi to finish this look and others. I will take in the sideseams and CB seam of this dress (and its sister) for as long as I can. It kind of needs it again now. Sigh.

I'm hoping to hit up the cheapos: Target, Kohl's, JC Penney and Sears (some or all, depends on what I find) this weekend. It's a scary thought, though, because I'm now fitting into so many more things and I may have a hard time leaving things at the store. On second thought, I should probably skip the stores and chain myself to my sewing machine. Unfortunately, one of the benefits/curses of losing weight is that I actually like shopping for clothes again.

Parting Shot:

"Planking," on a tree knocked down by Hurricane Irene. Can you see the clenched fists, like he's standing at attention? ;-) By the way, one year ago today Tyler left for boot camp.

Sunday Miscellany

First, thank you all for the wonderful response to my wallet pattern! I can't wait to see what everyone makes — you *will* be sharing, right??

(In case you missed yesterday's post, the wallet pattern you've been watching come together over the last few weeks is now available in my Etsy shop, and the link is at the top of the left sidebar.)

Speaking of wallets … one of my testers, Beth, has blogged about her testing experience here. I think hers turned out very cute! (Especially for a test and a beginner's first-go at wallets!) Love the purple check! She did run into a snag with fabric choice which you can read about on her blog and which was my fault since the first version of the instructions wasn't specific about recommended fabrics and the prototypes I was showing on my blog used cammie fabric. (But, surprisingly, cammie fabric actually isn't thick at all.) The instructions are updated and I have a feeling Beth will be making another since they're quite addicting.

Here's what my finished and stuffed-full wallet looks like from the side:

In other cammie news … I've been working on a Marine cammie purse order and was all set to finish it tonight, except — I ran out of thread. And Joann's closed an hour ago. ARgghhhhh!

This one is a "special order" from a man who is buying it as a surprise for his wife. (Hmmm ... I hope she doesn't read my blog!!) They have one son who is an active Marine and another in boot camp. He sent a "retired" cammie blouse from the active Marine and since both were baseball players, a lining fabric to reflect that was requested.

I think this fabric is perfect — baseball and patriotic!

It's killing me that I can't finish it tonight, but I guess I'll "sacrifice" and catch up with my DVR and just chill.

In the meantime, here's a pic of what I'm wearing today. Remember when I mentioned a while back that I was buying the Walmart capris in my current size and then a pair in one and two sizes smaller? As of yesterday, I'm in the one size smaller now. My top  is belted and bloused because it's also really too big. Without as much tummy sticking out, it hangs way too far down. Yes, I should re-hem it. And maybe I will. ;-)

Parting Shot: The Marines at Cherry Point survived Hurricane Irene without major incident. They lost power for a while and Tyler reported a soaked and dirty area rug in his 3rd floor barracks room. Yes, *third* floor, but apparently the strong winds pushed the rain under the door and they had a mini flood. But far worse than all of that was this "horrible experience" …

Click to enlarge