Driving Down That Good Intentions Paved Road

I really thought I'd be back earlier in the week to show my finished dress, but I ran into a speed bump on that road. More on it in a bit.

As many of you guessed, the dress I'm making is indeed the Hot Patterns Uptown Downtown.

As soon as I post this, I'm going to close comments on the last post and tomorrow announce a winner for this Hot Patterns dress (below), the Classix Nouveau Primavera. I ended up with two, one I bought and one which was gifted. So I'm paying forward the gifted copy, which is uncut, but the envelope has been opened and the little flap on the back with fabric details is smudged. But you can get that info from the HP website.

So back to my current make ... The pattern goes together like a dream, but I cut and sewed the longest length for the bodice section and as soon as I sewed the seam, zigzagged a casing in the seam allowance, and threaded my elastic through, I decided it's too long and needs to be shortened. Yeah, I should've basted, and my (over)confidence did me in. The thought of ripping all that out of the fine rayon knit put the brakes on the project for these past weekday nights. But I've now been staring at it for DAYS (and wishing I could just wear the darn thing already) and I've decided I can lose the tiny bit of skirt length from the top after all so I'll just cut the zigzags away and then do a proper frog on the main joining seam. All of this will be done while plopped in front of the tube tonight and hopefully by the time I announce the giveaway winner tomorrow, I'll also finally have a finished dress to share.

And speaking of Hot Patterns ... OMG ... after getting Trudy's teases on my phone for the last couple of days, I've just tonight seen the updated Pussycat. And. I. Want. This blouse is so me. I will definitely be saving my pennies for this one.

Guess Your Best (Giveaway), a Tip, and a Peek at the Sewing Room

Above is currently what's up in the sewing room. I expect to finish it tonight, or mostly finish, but I need to take a break and get to the grocery store. I thought I'd post a sneak peak while I'm out and make a little "contest"/giveaway. I have a duplicate all-sizes (different) dress pattern from the same indie company as I'm currently sewing. So, if you guess what dress pattern (yes, dress) the above is, your name will be entered into the giveaway draw, winner to be announced next Saturday. I'll mail the pattern anywhere, so this is open to everyone. Once I post the finished dress and identify the pattern (tomorrow evening at the earliest), the contest will close.

I spent some time yesterday organizing the sewing room a little more. I still have a LONG way to go! One of the things that was bugging me the most was not having my thread organized and handy so I got my thread racks hung and loaded. This reminded me of a little tip I picked up somewhere years and years ago, and I thought I'd share it here for anyone who hasn't heard it before.

You'd think with FOUR thread racks, I wouldn't run out of space. Hah! While there are some empty spots at the moment, that's only because I haven't replaced some used up spools yet. Usually, it's bursting with spools.

To make more space, get thee some plastic straws. Cut them about 4" long and slice/cut them lengthwise. This slice lets the straw curl tighter to fit into the spool hole easier. Slide the straw onto a spoke on your rack and double or triple your storage-per-spoke, depending on spool height. Obviously, there are no strict rules here and you cut your straws to whatever length works best for you.

Finally, here's a little peek into the "new" space. It's pretty tight in here even if it looks roomier than it is. The fabric is mess. Some rolled, some flat. All just stuck willy-nilly wherever in the cubbies. I thought I wanted it rolled, but have decided against that. The thought of getting it all organized makes my head hurt so I'm just dealing with it as is for now. There's also still more fabric in bins/boxes in various places throughout the house. It's a mess.

Speaking of hanging stuff, have any of you used the Command hooks and/or Velcro-ish hanger thingies? Those things ROCK ... as long as everything doesn't come crashing down in a couple of months. ;-)

Dogs and a Dress

Finally a post, and some sewing.

We took the dogs to the dog beach on Davis Island today. We've been a few times in the last month since it's only a few miles away, and it's free. ;-)

That speck in the middle of the pic is Dani taking a dip.

Chili saying howdy in "dogspeak."

And trotting along to find more butts to sniff.

And that's the extent of the useable dog beach pics. It was way too bright to see my shots on the camera screen so most were blurs or shadows. But we all had a great time, photographic evidence notwithstanding.

Yesterday, I dug out a spot in the disaster that is my sewing room. I've still got fabric and other crap from the move everywhere. Plus my sewing table won't make the turn into the room so it now has a spot on the back porch, disassembled, until I chuck it. Once I have a steady income again, I'm going to have to buy a foldable cutting table, like the one I used to have. And a big clothes rack. OMG. No closet space. Urgh. And no space for my ironing board so it's living in the hallway just outside the sewing room door.

Anyway ... at the long-term temp job I've been working until something permanent happens, I've seen some ladies my general age and build rocking some shift dresses. Which is a style I like in theory, just usually not on me. But I noticed their dresses were synthenic drapey knits and the wheels started turning. And then stopped on some stashed ITY and Vogue 8805, which I made before from interlock and which was so ugly and unflattering, I tossed it before ever finishing. But I held onto the pattern. I hardly ever toss a pattern even if it has taken a walk to Wadderville. I suppose when I run low on pattern cabinet space, I might rethink that but until then ...

I'm glad I gave it another go because I think I have a winner, even if I'm a bit late to the colorblocking party. The print hides lumps, the ITY skims me and shows shape instead of a sack silhouette, and the third fabric gives an unexpected accent and pop of color in all that brown. Pardon the beach hair and red face. Oh, the sacrifices I make in the name of blogging. ;-)

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And the back view ... which really is straight but hanging crooked for this pic. Of course. Keeping it real here at Stitches and Seams. :-)

I scooped the neckline lower than the original pattern, eliminated the keyhole back opening, and then  trimmed off the seam allowances and bound it with a 3/8"-A binder on my coverstitcher.

Blurry close-up of third fabric inset.

And one more gratuitous shot.

And that was my weekend. How was yours?

Also, I know lots of pics, links, etc. are broken/missing throughout the blog and I'll work on it as money and time permit.

Boxed In But Alive

The bad news? This is what every room looks like right now. Guess which one this is?

The good news? This is the view out my front door ... the river is one block away.

The move was horrible. It took three days because two of Alex's "friends" backed out (long story, but suffice it to say neither Alex nor I want to see those creeps ever again). Thankfully, Tyler came down to help and one of Alex's real friends (we've known him since they were both 4 years old) busted his rear end for us. Plus, the truck broke down on the last trip while we were all in separate locations and we didn't have A/C here at the "new" place until this past Thursday. Luckily the temps had dropped after our second day here and we didn't really need A/C until this weekend.

But the real kicker? I found out the Friday before our move (2 weeks ago) that I didn't have a job to come back to. Yep, unemployed again. I'm not heartbroken. I don't want to go into detail online but nothing ever made sense there and this is no big shock either. Whatever. I've made up my mind to be more zen about the whole no-job thing this time around and believe that everything happens for a reason. I need this time off anyway to unpack. ;-)

I did end up in the house I showed last post. Alex and I both really like the location. The house has warts, but we'll get used to them and/or get them fixed eventually. I can't really bombard my landlord all at once or I may end up on the street and I can't afford any more major life changes at the moment. ;-)

The neighborhood is a mix of old bungalows, many of them renovated beautifully, multi-million dollar mansions on the water a block away, and everything in between.Once I'm employed again, I'm going to have fun exploring the area. There's a lot to see and do.

Moving On

There has been no sewing in these parts for far too long but it's past time for me to check in lest you all forget about me. :-)

I've been busy looking for and at possibilities for a new home. I think I've found it in the house above. That's a Google maps pic and not me sitting out front. It's not definite yet, and I hope this posting doesn't jinx anything. But if it does, then it wasn't meant to be anyway.

The house is in Tampa proper. It takes me 9 minutes leaving my office at 5 PM to get there. It has an extra bedroom (or two) for a sewing room. The bedrooms are nice and big. The closets are not. Understandably since it's 100 years old. It's quirky and not a cookie-cutter. Which is a big change for me. But it's time for me to leave the suburbs and I love where this house is located.

Even if this isn't the house, I'm still going to be spending the new few weeks tossing, packing, and moving to somewhere, so I'll continue to be very light here.

Does anyone need a dining room set? A treadle? TONS of unused fabric? ;-)