Sunday, April 13, 2008

A Couple of Tops

Saturday morning dawned bright and early and I woke up ready to sew. And I knew just what I wanted to make...

See two weeks ago I had a horrible, horrible week - from Monday through Friday there wasn't one day that something in my personal life didn't go wrong...don't ask, I ain't gonna tell you! *smile* However, I did share with a good friend what was going on and a few days later this arrived in the mail!


It was the perfect gift to lift my spirits! And I had to wait until this weekend to use it! There was just enough fabric for it to become this twinset (worn with the skirt from the Easter Suit).


The pattern is my TNT Burda Cardigan along with the Sewing Workshop Mission Tank. The cardigan is made from the ribbed knit and the tank from a smoother knit. The smoother knit was also used for the sleeve bands and the neck/front bands for the cardigan.

Some 2-hole mother of pearl buttons from the collection were added to the front to finish it off. The buttonholes were a little difficult to make on this fabric. My sewing machine just wanted to eat the knit, but I pinned a little lightweight pattern paper to the back of the band. No more problems, the buttonholes sewed up great. I also made thread shanks for the buttons since they were flat 2-hole buttons. I know that this is a very simple technique but this time it worked wonderfully for each button that I sewed on.


I have fallen in love with the bowtied version of the Sewing Workshop Top. It works perfectly in my corporate work environment and it makes up quickly. So quickly that I also made another one this evening.

I used this rayon knit from Fabric.com:



It was the deal of the day last weekend so I picked up a couple of yards because I thought it would make an interesting twinset. I do have the coordinating cardigan cut out (with a few differences from the white one) and will finish that up next weekend. However the top works well as a single piece in my wardrobe right now.

So that's what I did this weekend what did you do?

And congratulations to all of you who have finished your SWAP garments! I can't wait to see the unveiling and what has been created!!!!


32 comments:

  1. What a great gift! Your twin set looks great! I didn't do much of anything this weekend which was great. NO sewing! LOL. I will make up for that tomorrow though lol
    Hope you have a great week!

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  2. Nice twinset and I really like that Fabric.com knit - pretty cool!

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  3. What a sweet friend. Great twinset and the fabric for the second one is great. I made 2 tops for me, one for dd#3 and cut out another for me.

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  4. Nice twinset, l like the ribbed knit especially, and that pattern for the bowtie is really lovely.

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  5. Isn't it great to have nice friends who feed your fabric addiction! Be careful though, sharing your troubles with too many friends could cause a landslide in your house.

    Great pieces, must look at that SW pattern.

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  6. I'm glad you are feeling better and finally got some hardcore time at your machine. I'm like both, but I'm really feeling your rayon knit :)

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  7. I'm sorry to hear that you had some troubles - I hope it's all cleared up. I love you new pieces - very nice basics!

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  8. Sewing friends are the best! I love that twinset. I hope this week runs better for you. I haven't been in my sewing room in a week but I'm at a quilting show this week so all is good.

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  9. Great new pieces! I esp. love the ivory twinset, and that tie neckline!

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  10. Great twinset! And I love the rayon print!

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  11. Wow, those pieces are great. If a person didn't know better, they'd think that set was RTW. Looks like you've found a creative outlet for all that negative energy.

    I hope you have a better week!

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  12. I just saw that rayon print at Fabric.com and almost picked it up. It looks fabulous made into your top!

    I'm sorry to hear that you had such a horrible week recently - I hope things have picked up.

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  13. OOOO, I am loving that twin set - especially with the bow. What did I do over the weekend? I made a pair if bicycling knickers with all sorts of pockets on the outside(I am doing a long ride in Maryland at the end of this month and I am NOT a spandex shorts person!!), cord lock adjusters, etc., using a Burda wof pattern and some very light weight tech fabric.

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  14. Beautiful! Love the twinset with the green skirt. and you know, you might get me into some of those TNT indy patterns yet. ;)
    And you beat me on qty this weekend - I only finished two.
    Hope your week goes better this week. {{hugs}}

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  15. What a great twinset! You make the nicest things - love that rayon print. Hope this week is great and full of sunshine and rainbows! :)

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  16. Lovely twin set and really diggin’ the rayon knit. My weekend was spent making a wrap dress. Do you have any tips on hemming knits?

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  17. ooh I love that yellow blouse! It just looks so cool and summery... effortlessly chic!

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  18. Beautiful twinset! I love the fabrics you used and you have such a nice friend to send you something to cheer you up!

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  19. love your twinset! I need to learn how to make a knit cardigan. The bands always scare me, LOL.

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  20. Nice! I love both fabrics. I know all about bad days. (:(:Here's:):)some happy vibes to get you through this week & beyond!

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  21. That bow-tie makes the twin set extra special. I love how the two sweater fabric coordinate with different textures. I guess I'm not the only one who thinks you're special. I'm sorry your week was so bad. I hope this one is much, much better.

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  22. What a thoughtful friend :)
    You choose the right garment to make with the fabric,it looks great! Have a nice week :)

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  24. Sorry - right comment, wrong post! :-/

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  25. Wow, what a beautiful twin set. Hope it marks the beginning of a less stressful period in your life.

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  26. Carolyn, you don't know me, but I read your blog regularly. I was given the E for Excellent award, and felt that I needed to give it to you for all of your inspirational sewing! (And for raising three beautiful daughters. I have three also, and without their brothers to "keep them in line", I'd be nuts by now). If you have already gotten this award, I'm sorry to duplicate, but, as evidenced by all of your comments, I'm not the only one who thinks you are Excellent!

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  27. I am envious! Great things you made this weekend. I did not do ANY sewing last weekend and it doesn't look like any is coming any time soon. I did get pix taken for swap though, so I guess that counts for something.

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  28. Beautiful! It looks very stylish (the set) and it is a great basic. I'm in love with bow ties too. Such a pretty addition to a basic knit top

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  29. A friend who sends fabric as a pick-me-up is a friend who truly understands you :) And you certainly put that fabric to good use!

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  30. You and I have been on the same sewing wavelenght-tanks/cardigans. I am familiar with this fabric!!! as I commented on it at Flickr. Glad you got it, what a nice gift and a nice friend.

    I like your second top also. I can understand horrible weeks, glad that one is over for you.,

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  31. Not bad, two wonderful and beautiful tops in one weekend! As for my weekend, well I got *ahem* upset, because my iron fell down into the floor and the tip was badly damaged... Nothing would be worst than that except breaking my sewing machine. So I had a little forced break from sewing... Then, on Monday, I discovered that the iron could be fixed but it would be away for at least two weeks... And I bought a new iron, what else could I do?! It's better than the previous one and I also got a king size pressing table so all my anger was smoothed into satisfaction, lol!

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  32. LOVE that news print top. It's perfect for that design.

    Charity

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