At the beginning of this year I decided to write at least one "Question of the Day" post every month. The point of these posts was to start a conversation amongst my fellow sewists. Some of the posts generated quite a few comments and conversation, some were a little controversial - even though that wasn't my intent, and some were just fun! So for the end of year, I thought I would do a recap of the Question of the Day posts. These are the conversations that were shared this year: January ~ "Are you a sewing technician or a creative fiber artist?" February ~ "Are you the sewist you want to be?" March ~ "Are you a thread changer?" April ~ "Sewing Machine Maintenance - Do you or don't you?" May ~ "Is your garment free?" June ~ "An Inside Shot?" July ~ "Do you Google?" August ~ "Linings" September ~ "Tell me about your tools?" October ~ "Can we talk about our pattern collections?" November ~ "Can we talk about sewing for our lifestyles?" I really enjoyed these posts and hope that you did too. The conversations were interesting and I learned quite a few things. I haven't posted a question for December and I'm not sure that when I return to blogging that I will feature this again. In the meantime, I will be in the sewing cave, spending quality time with my fabric and sewing machines, sewing for my pleasure...hopefully we'll share sewing stories again soon.
...or the garments of 2014 that just didn't turn out as I imagined they would or that wore horribly even though they photographed well. Now with that as a sub-title, let's just get to it. I don't have five misses only three so here they are ~ First up is The Optical Illusion Dress ~
A comment left on this post about the fit at the back of my dresses made me look for an alternate solution to this problem. Ultimately ending up in me using the four back piece method for future dresses but that's not the reason that this dress is making the miss list. I've worn the dress twice and the bias pieces on the side are starting to bag out...even though I tried to protect this from happening...it happened anyway. This one is going in the donation bag - not worth altering - not worth keeping. The Side to Side Border Print Dress ~
I've made it a policy to share the good, the bad and the ugly in my sewing here on the blog. I shared this dress and even it wore it out in public because there were some details about the dress that I really liked. However, the execution didn't work out exactly as I planned it...specifically carrying the border print all the way around the dress. My first thought was to see if there was some way to save the dress for next season. However, with the weight loss, I need to move on. Although I will use the exposed zipper on the front for a future garment - it was a really cool element - this one will also hit the donation bag. The Pieced Four Gore Skirt ~
Why did I think I would wear two totally different patterns together? Seriously? This skirt is not something that I would wear to work, so why did I sew it? I think I really just didn't want the polka dot linen to hit the scrap basket and reside there for forever. Since separates are my friends now, I'm not adding it to the donation pile. I think I'm just going to remove the printed layer on the bottom and add a black layer which will make it work wearable. I think because I sewed a lot of basics at the beginning of the year, I have fewer misses. Also sewing less...adds to that too. I won't have too many more posts between now and the end of the year...and to be honest, I will probably be taking a blogging break from DSF starting at the end of the year. So enjoy the last couple of posts...and I'll see you when I see you!
Well we're rolling up on the end of the year and the look backs are starting. I will be on vacation at the end of the year and will be looking forward and not back so I decided to do my reviews early this year. Last year I did a Top 5 Hits of 2013 but not a Top 5 Misses...however, this year I will do both. This post contains the Top 5 Hits...but first a little back story. I started this year sewing a lot of basics. I've sewn so many pieces and felt that the basics were underrepresented in my closet, so January and February's sewing was all about "The Basics." I also sewed less this year than in years past. I'm sure for a variety of reasons but mostly because I already own so much. With all of the backstory now told, let me present my Top 5 Hits for 2014 in chronological order. Number One ~ The Painted Wool Herringbone Dress
This one made the list for two reasons - it's made from my TNT dress pattern and from a treasured piece of fabric that I've had for years. I also really like the leather strips on the side. I will be altering this one for the smaller me because it was really warm and comfortable to wear last winter. Number Two ~ The Vogue 8995 Dress
Making this dress was a labor of love and such a fulfilling sew. I had a vision of what I wanted the dress to look like and I brought it to fruition. Miles and miles of white piping gave this dress the definition that makes it so distinctive. I'm hoping that since it was a snug fit last spring that it will still be wearable next. We shall see. Number Three ~ #fatquarterchallengedress
I thought that this challenge would break me. I really wasn't sure that I would be able to make the fat quarters given to me work. Especially since I added the bit about the dress had to be able to be worn to work - pressure anyone? So, the fact that the dress was finished, able to be worn, and complimented on when I wore it was a definite win...making it worthy to be on this list! Number Four ~ is a tie! Butterick 5821 - the Summer Version
I love linen and the combination of solid white linen and black polka dot linen made it perfect for work. It was also one of the first dresses that I used the new four piece back pieces on so the back fit was on point. I love how it gently fell over my curves and removed the "ill-fitting" pool of fabric in the back. Y'all know that I was neither here nor there on that but popular opinion is that it should be gone. I'm really thinking about a winter version of this dress but I have to see if I have time to get to it. The Tri-Color Ponte Dress ~
This is one of my new, closer-fitting dresses because of my weight loss. This "interpretation" is based upon a St. John dress that I found online and loved. I chose a bright color as the basis of my interpretation because I own way too many black pieces of clothing and I wanted something vibrant and fresh. I've lost a few more pounds since this picture was taken but I'm sure it will work next spring. The final piece is not a dress but McCalls 6844 - The Cardigan.
This is the first of many cardigans from this pattern. Initially I was wary that since there isn't a closure on the front that it would be difficult to wear but this sailed through my workday...so definitely will be making more. I already have an idea for a dress and jacket combo using the peplum version...now to get it out of my head and into my closet. This is my list. Mostly dresses but hey that's mostly what I sew. To review any of my other makes from 2014 - you can see them all in the tab marked "2014 Projects" at the top of the blog. Can't wait to see what others put on their lists... ...as always more later!
Fabric Mart is the devil I tell you! The devil! Not only did I get a boatload of suitings when they were 50% off, but I went back again and bought two more pieces when the entire website was 50% for the Friday after Thanksgiving sales. So do you wanna see what I got?!
Another 32 yards of fabric to add to the already overflowing fabric collection in the sewing cave! But oh the joys of opening those packages!
Seriously though I'm in awe of the fact that a lot of my fabric has been arriving looking like the above. No more worries about the rain. I did, however, end up cutting a piece of the fabric getting this open. So we'll see how that goes when I finally get around to sewing it. On another note, Christmas sewing has begun here and will be the thing for awhile. I bought my granddaughter an American Girl Bitty Baby so there is a wardrobe to be sewn using McCalls 7066:
I'm going through the scrap collection, pulling things out and planning an amazing wardrobe for the baby doll and my precious granddaughter. Just an update on what's happening around here... ...as always more later!
