I have Inauguration Fever

I know you think I have been home the last few days diligently working on my next outfit...ummmm, no! Shaking head, no...not at all! My televisions (yes that's more than one!) have been tuned to CNN as I've watched the pre-inauguration events.

Yesterday, I spent most of my day watching President-Elect Obama's train ride from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. The coverage started at 10:00 am and ended at 7:00 pm...I think I took a break to eat, make a phone call or two, cause I could read blogs from my Touch in front of the TV set! I watched from the first speech in Philly until the new First Family boarded the new Presidential Limo for the trip back to Blair House.

This morning, I got up later than usual and watched David Axelrod on George Stephanolous show, then I moved over to CNN and watched the lead-up to the pre-inauguration concert at The Lincoln Memorial...now after singing along and listening to the President-Elect and the Vice-President Elect speak...I'm taking a break...and I've realized that I haven't touched my fabric or really thought about sewing once today!

However, I've read some of your comments and there were a few questions, so how about I answer them!

Lisa H asked, "What do you consider a "quick suit"?"

The answer to that is sometimes I'm delirious! *LOL* I think I can sew something faster than I actually can...and when I pull out a new piece of fabric I'm so full of hope that I believe I can make anything quickly...yeah right! So the answer is there is no such thing as a quick suit!

Sheila asked, "Are you treating the fabric before sewing?

Hopefully I answered all of your questions in my Making of a Suit - Chapter One post. If you have any additional questions, please ask!

AllisonC asked, "How organised you are to get 5 perfect outfits ready at the beginning of the week - did you make all those items?"

The brown 2pc twinset, the black suede duster and the vanilla sleeveless turtleneck are all RTW. Everything else was made by me. And I think I've posted about this before but I hate having to get up at 5:30am...so to sleep an extra 15 minutes, if my clothing is already picked out (and sometimes accessories too) I can sleep the extra time and still make it out the door by 6:20 am.

Mel asked, "Your work sounds very "mysteriously corporate".

Yes, I do work in a very corporate climate in a financial institution and that's about all I'm gonna share about that! *smile*

Marjie asked, "Do you have a bobbin winder?"

Yes, I do and I love it! It has really made making bobbins a timesaver but I still like to have them all made before I start a project instead of having to stop in the middle of sewing to wind another one!

Deb asked, "Please share with us just how you know the sleeve cap is not right. Does it have odd wrinkles, stand upward, or feel uncomfortable?"

The sleeve cap on the UFO jacket has a lot of pleats in the top of the sleeve cap to make it fit into the armhole. I ripped those sleeves out 3x and reinserted them and after the third try cried uncle. I know you can't see them well in the posed shots, so I've included an upclose and personal shot because...I have no shame! *LOL* No seriously, so you can see what is bothering me. I guess I could have just wadded up the project and let it go...but I'm not a "perfectionist" at all! I'm more of a "realistic" kinda sewist and if this was the best that I could do on this outfit, well this was the best! Learn from it and move on!!!

Linda asked, "Do you line all your jackets? Completely? And if not, how do you finish the seam allowances?"

No...I don't line every jacket. Some of my summer jackets have no lining in them at all and I've usually bound the seams with seam binding. I also have a jacket or two with a half-lining, the back and the sleeves were lined. The back to avoid velcro butt (y'know when the lining hangs up on your behind) and the sleeves to ease the jacket on and off my arms.

Jean asked a question about the piping on my new suit, " Hmmm, you don't have enough to do both do you?"

I have to tell you until I read your comment I hadn't thought about it...but it has been permeating my thoughts lately and I'm actually going to make a sample and try it out! So thank you for the suggestion!!!

NancyK asked this question and I know that Lori asked a similar question in another post, "Do you only use pre-made piping, and if so, where are you buying it? How much do you usually buy? If I already have a project in mind, I measure, but you mention having it in your stash."

I predominately purchase piping from Daytona Trimmings in NYC. I can get piping in any color, several different fabrications and if I'm feeling really adventurous I peruse the home dec findings. Basic colors like black, beige and white are ALWAYS purchased in 10 yard pieces...I like having it on hand. Fashion colors are usually purchased in 5 yard pieces unless I plan on using alot of piping like in the Butterick 5194 jacket. I think I bought 15 yards of piping for that one!

That particular green piping was bought with 5 yards of velvet green ribbon and 5 yards of a sheer green ribbon in the same shade to be used for some project that has never seen the light of day. Thanks to the wonderful comments left here, the piping will probably find life in this new suit! Now this is not to say that I don't and haven't made piping in the past...I have! But it is usually from the fabric that I'm using or it's because I just couldn't find something that matched or coordinated at Daytona. On rare occasions I have purchased piping from M&J but it is not very often at all.

I also wanted to thank everyone who has left a comment on the last two "Ramblings" posts. Thanks for taking the time to talk back to me and for leaving such thoughtful comments!

More later!

p.s. Sorry about that Eagle fans guess your guys are going home this week like mine did last week! And no, I'm not a graceful loser! *LOL*