Saturday, May 26, 2007

First Day of my Sewing Vaca

Y'know how you wake up on the first day of vacation - stretch and smile because you realize that you have a number of days ahead of you that aren't filled with schedules and plans? That was me this morning! I woke up with a smile on my face knowing that I won't have to set my alarm clock for the next week and that I can do whatever I want!

So now that it is afternoon, the washing machine is going with cotton pieces that need to be prewashed before sewing...and you don't know what a struggle that was! I really just wanted to plop the fabric down onto the cutting table and cut, however, I knew that I would regret that the very first time I spilled something down the front of one of my lovely new dresses. While I wait for the washer and dryer to finish their cycles, I thought I would share a prelude of what is circling around in my brain.

This will definitely be a week of sewing dresses...that is what is really popping inspirationally for me right now. The new Simplicity patterns have moved dresses to the forefront of my brain! So first up, I will show you what I was working on when my sewing machine went kaput:



This is a free dress made from my TNT dress pattern. All from leftover scraps from other projects. The circle linen print is from last year as is the black linen rayon. This dress was inspired by a magazine ad and the rest is history. I still have to decide on a neck and armhole finish ~ the dress will be sleeveless. It coordinates with the short sleeve circle print jacket that I made last year. You can see the jacket here in my "Fashion Shots" post. So the moral here is to hold onto large fabric scraps - you just never know when they can become something else wonderful!


As I posted yesterday, I received my first order from SewMamaSew and this piece is just stuck in a loop in my head. So after this is prewashed, I am going to work on it first. It will be a sleeveless dress and the top in the photo will be the jacket for the dress. I am using a version of my TNT pattern along with a piece of a Peggy Sagers pattern to make the dress I am envisioning. And that's all folks, no more clues...you will just have to wait and see what emerges from my sewing machine.

Speaking of that, my baby is home! I went and picked her up last night. She was ready and the store was open until 9 p.m. - so my friend and I carried her home. She is set up and ready to be used. I am soooooo thrilled!



Linda - just for you a picture of the fabrics that I am using for Simplicity 3477. This will be second in the sewing cue. As you can see I am not straying far from the version shown on Simplicity's website because it works for me but I do have ideas for additional versions of this pattern. I so love that in a pattern ~ that it can be used to make a wardrobe of outfits with ~ making the time you spend on fitting the pattern so worth the effort! And I am sooooo happy that you ordered from Kristin. I plan on visiting her again and acquiring more but I have to thank Linda of "Whatever is on My Mind Today" for pointing her out to me!



And finally, here is a pic of the "epic project" for the sewing vaca. This is the blue/white tweedy knit (from EOS) that I referenced in an earlier post. It will be a suit and I am doing a Ralph Rucci inspired embellishment to it. Again, you will have to wait and see but I can't wait to work on this! Just gotta get those other projects that are jumping up and down like little puppies in my mind finished first!

Okay that is my update for today...I got a large glass of Mountain Dew...TBS is playing some really good movies (gotta sew with the TV - who else would keep me company?) and it is getting near time to fire up the iron and press out those cottons!
Update you tomorrow! Ohmygosh - that made me think of that Beyonce song, "Upgrade You" and now I can't get the tune out of my head!!!!

11 comments:

  1. How nice to see the blue tweedy knit that will play host to the blue lining I saw you buy. I hope you enjoy every precious minute of your vacation. (DH finally went into the backyard, so I was able to uncrate the Kashi fabric goodies stashed in the car and start bringing them inside. I am so evil.....)

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  2. I can feel your excitement from this side of the world!!

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  3. Cheering you on from the sidelines!!!!!!

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  4. A tiny bias binding in black around the neck and armholes is a great way to finish the dress.
    Enjoy your sewing week.

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  5. Els ~ great minds think alike! That was my first thought for the dress. Thanks for confirming it for me!

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  6. There's a magnet on my fridge and it reminds me of you and your sewing vacation. It says "A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it." A sewing vacation is pure luxury. Enjoy!

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  7. My mouth is watering over you fabric choices. Oh, this is going to be such a fun week to read your blog!

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  8. Exciting start to the sewing vacation! It will be fun to see what you accomplish this week.

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  9. Carolyn,
    Have a great week of sewing. I am soooo jealous. Your polka dot jacket in that sexy photo of you is soo cute. And I got my order from Sew, Mama, Sew today. The fabric and the packaging was just sooo beautiful. I will definitely be ordering from her again.

    I love your fabric choice for the dress. Thanks for posting the photos. I didn't stray from the look in the pattern envelope either. It worked for me because I am just nuts over black and white. I have bought more black and white fabric this season and have yet to make it up. Your vacation is inspiring me to get it started with this dress! I'll check on you every day to see your gorgeous creations.

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  10. Enjoy your vacation... and looking forward to your projects. I actually took off a couple of days.. in the hopes of getting some sewing done. I'm working on New Look Pattern 6569 - a flaired skirt using brown cotton & printed organza as an overlay and actually stumped by the yoke part... ugghhh.

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  11. my, my, my. where have I been? (OK I never posted here, but I seriously used to lurk your blog until I lost my bookmarks in my PC crash) How awesome to have a sewing vacation and what great start! Seems we have a lot of the same patterns, and I have been stumped on some fabric choices - yours are great- & classy. I love the SWAP combo, the b&w combos. Thanks for introducing me to sewmamasew.com. Plus I feel totally honored that you mentioned my little blog! off to catch up/lurk some more old posts...

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