Just like that six months have passed...

It's the last day of June and so the first six months of 2019 is officially in the books. I didn't do a recap of May's sewing because it primarily consisted of The Event Sewing. Since I was neck deep in it, I passed knowing the info could be put into this post.

So this is a recap post of the last six months...

First: Items Made ~
4 Dover Jackets
5 Cashmerette Pembroke Tunics
4 Shirts from my TNT pattern
2 Vests (one TNT & one Sew Your View)
1 Cardigan
1 Cashmerette Holyoke Skirt
1 pair of wide legged pants from TNT pattern
2 McCalls 7858 fancy dresses for the granddaughters
1 Myosotis Dress for the Event
1 Midi Dress from Vogue 9371 (to be blogged)
1 Dover Maxidress (to be blogged)
Total:  23

Refashions:
The Roscoe Top
The Blk/White Rayon Skirt

Wadders:
Gray Ponte Simplicity Vest

23 makes and 2 refashions just not counting that wadder. LOL!  Not bad for the first six months!

Fabric Totals ~
Fabric accumulation is always a challenge for me since I LOVE it sooooooo much! I knew I was going to blow my totals up in June because - Sew Camp!!! I thought that the fabric I purchased in May would have been used for the Event dresses. However, I bought some that I ended up not using so that increased my unused totals...anyway here are the totals by month.

May Totals:
In - 30.5 yards 
Out - 17 yards

June Totals:
In - 74.75 yards 
(This was a combination of birthday fabric buys and Sew Camp purchases)
Out - 19 yards

YTD In:   246 yards
YTD Out: 180.5 yards

At the mid-point of the year I have 65.5 more yards in than out.  So much for that balancing act in April! However, I still have to do my yearly donation to the high school and I know I won't be purchasing fabric in July & August. I'd like to make it all the way through to the end of September but I will see.

I'm pretty fabric satisfied right now and just want to sew all the things. My wardrobe is changing again due to weight, health, and age situations. I will be doing a clothing donation at the end of the summer when I know what I wore and didn't wear this year. 

My sewing list for the rest of the summer is calling my name. We will see what fabrics actually make it from flat fold and into my closet!  

Next up on the blog is the Dover Maxidress. Spoiler Alert: I love it and will hopefully make another before the summer is over!

...as always more later!  

A Spring Brocade Dover Jacket

I honestly thought I wouldn't be making another Dover Jacket until summer when I would be trying a Dover Dress.  However, this fabric I purchased from Metro Textiles had different ideas! I also thought that by June I wouldn't be able to wear it out and about but we shot these photos in mid-June on a 70 degree day. It was just fine.

Supplies ~
3 panels of border print brocade from Metro Textiles
Tie fabric for bias binding
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller
5 - 7/8" Covered buttons from stash for jacket buttons

Construction ~
The only difference between this jacket and all my others is that I decided to bind the jacket edges using a Hong Kong finish. I need to insert a why here?  Because I did not seriously consider how many seams there are in this jacket and how much time it would take if I was going to bind them all.

Of course once I started I HAD to bind all the seams. That decision added HOURS to the construction of the jacket...seriously HOURS! So between the pattern matching and the bias binding, I "coutured" a very easy jacket. 

Neck deep in I also decided to use covered buttons for the jacket. Which meant I didn't have to dig through the stash to find a button that coordinated or end up hitting the Garment District to find one that worked. Using the flip side of the brocade fabric meant I ended up with a covered button that matched my fabric. It was a good decision because I love how the buttons look when the jacket is closed.

(laying the covered buttons on the jacket front

color is off - picture below is so much better!)

A few photos of the jacket ~

Okay this isn't the most attractive shot but I loved

 how the wind caught the jacket and showed the fabric's pattern

This is a "fancy" jacket to wear over jeans but with our touch and go weather, I should get a few wears in before the hot weather comes. I will use this pattern again as a jacket come fall because I wear a lot of layers in the winter.

...as always more later!

Sew Camp Summer 2019

I know y'all must be tired of reading about my Sew Camp adventures BUT y'all these are some of the best sewing weekends.  Not only do I get to go to Fabric Mart's brick n mortar store, I get to spend time with sewists who love this artform as much as I do.

With that introduction, I'm giving an overview of my five days at the Carriage Corner Sew Camp but this post IS picture heavy.  Suffice it to say that I had a good time and that I bought a lot of fabric (not as much as last time but enough).  Suffice it to say that the conversation was poppin' and not all about politics.  Suffice it to say that there were sewing techniques shared and some pattern fitting done...mostly though it was a sewfantastic time!

Camp was five days and we arrive on Thursday afternoon, set up & sew. 

Cennetta showing what she brought to sew

Arleen & Barbara arrived Wednesday afternoon so they were full on 

sewing when I arrived on Thursday afternoon! 

The sewing set up!

On Friday we travelled to Fabric Mart by van since there were 9 campers and it allowed us to all go together. I will say that we blew in, took control and shopped until we dropped!

Barbara in the van on the way to Fabric Mart

At the check out table at Fabric Mart

Shar from Sharbozz joined us at Fabric Mart

Andrea with all of her bags

Gaylen sharing what she bought

400 yards were purchased by the crew and I only purchased 34 yards

After lunch we headed back to the B&B and had a fabric show and tell. Cause y'all there were some interesting bundles purchased! Since I shipped my fabric home, it was not part of the show and tell. It was, however, waiting for me when I got home.

Here is what I purchased... 

5 yds each of black & blue ltwt denim, 5 yds black midweight 3ply silk

4 yds of lt. blue & dk blue sandwashed silk, 3 yds linen/cotton blend floral print

4 yds blue/black/white stripe cotton shirting & 5 yds black floral linen/cotton blend print   

After the show, we sewed the evening away. I went to bed around 1am and there was still a crew sewing. 

Saturday after another delicious B&B breakfast we headed to the quilt store ~ Zooks in particular ~ by way of A&E Candies and the Cupcake Shop. 

Checking the rows and rows of amazing cotton prints

Cennetta deliberating

LaQuana trying to convince us to purchase a batik

We met a fellow Sewist (Samswife2) who follows our blogs

Here's my haul from Zooks...

3 of the prints are 4 yds purchased for shirts or shirtdresses

& the last gingham is a 2 yd gauze that Bonnie and I shared.

It was a great walk there and back after which we headed back to our sewing machines. We had dinner out and then more sewing. I went to my room after dinner to call my family, change my clothes and I fell asleep...waking up at 12:45am.  I could hear the crew still downstairs so I headed down.  Ended up sewing to 5am, turning the lights off about 90 mins before the morning crew started in.

Cennetta sharing a technique

More technique sharing

Gaylen getting the best shot!

Sunday was more of the same. Breakfast then sewing until we couldn't sew anymore. Though I did call it a night around 1am.

Monday after breakfast we decided to take pictures of everyone's garments, who hadn't left already, because the lawn at the B&B is so well landscaped. Those who left early had theirs taken on Sunday afternoon.  Below is a composite of SOME of the garments that were photographed. There was some serious sewing going on at this Sew Camp! 34 garments completed in total!!!

A group shot after pictures on Monday afternoon

I took four garments to make but started with my two most challenging pieces and ended up with 2 finished garments...ALL done...nothing to complete when I got home! I was happy with that since I really wanted the experience. 

So this is what I made...

Detailed blog posts about their construction will be coming soon.

I highly recommend getting on Gaylen's email list for Sew Camp. Besides all of the shopping and interaction, the ability to sew uninterrupted for hours without having to clean or cook makes this a fun, relaxing and very productive time.

There is a 3 day Sew Camp in September and while Gaylen already has some sign ups, I know there is some availability if you're interested. Mostly though get on the mailing list because she usually opens registration about three months before Camp starts.

...as always more later!

A Pair of Border Print Wide Legged Pants

I've been seeing wide legged border print pants on line at some of the RTW sites I visit...and I lodged the look in the back of my mind. When I received this rayon border print from StyleMaker Fabrics, bought with no garment in mind just because it was pretty, these pants came to mind when I unpacked the fabric.

I made a pair of wide legged pants in 2017 using my TNT pants pattern.  At the time to get the wider legs I wanted I added the extra width by free handing it.  This time I decided I wanted to be more specific about adding the space so I used the pants legs from Simplicity 8389.  

After laying the two pieces together I realized that they would not give me the extra room I wanted so I ended up adding more to the sides by free handing anyway.

Those were the only changes I made to my TNT pattern construction. I know there are several patterns for sale now that you can purchase to make wide legged pants. I'm just hard pressed to refit a new pattern when I know mine works with a few changes.

A few pictures ~

Wearing this with my black Concord t-shirt which I wore with

my first pair of wide legged pants I made 

I plan to add a couple more pairs of wide leg pants to my wardrobe this summer. Because I want easy to wear, comfortable, looks that are age appropriate and simple to throw on in the mornings.

I'm headed to Sew Camp tomorrow so my next posts will be about Sew Camp and traveling to my fabric Disney World - FABRIC MART! I.Can't.Wait!!!

...as always more later!

Cashmerette's Holyoke Skirt

Y'all when Jenny sent the email out to test this garment I jumped on it!  For two reasons - one I want a great new sundress and two I've been longing for a longer length button front skirt.

Pattern Description:
View A - Maxi length dress, princess seamed bodice and skirt, elastic back waist, bra-friendly straps
View B - Maxi length, princess seam seamed skirt, elastic back waist

This is my test version but there are two more skirts laid out on the cutting table waiting to be made.

However, let me back up and talk about making this skirt...this skirt that will become a staple in my wardrobe...

Supplies ~
Midweight stripe denim from Chic Fabrics
10 1/2" gold buttons from button notion collection - deep stash
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller

Construction ~
I briefly read the instructions and then went for it. BUT and let me stress this, I chose a midweight denim where every other picture I've seen of this skirt has been from a flowy rayon type of fabric. Can we say going my own way yet again! *LOL*

Oh wait, I just read the back of the pattern again and it does say that you can use firmer fabrics for a more structured result.  Okay I'm not cray-cray! *LOL* Also, I know how well loved pockets are in the sewing community but I'm still on the fence about inseam pockets so I left them out of this version.

The other thing to note is that I had some challenges with inserting the elastic in the back casing but I'm chalking that up to operator error. Cause it's one of the features of this skirt I love the most. I machine stitched my hem adding two rows of stitching to give it some firmness...and it was done!

This skirt is an easy sew and a wonderful spring/summer/fall addition to your wardrobe.

So some pictures ~

Conclusion ~
A good pattern to me is one where I see a bunch of possibilities for future sews. This one had my creative sewing brain working in overdrive. Expect to see more of these skirts and maybe a maxi dress or two. 

If you're a Cashmerette fan and haven't picked up this pattern yet (either paper or PDF version - I LOVE saying that!) please run don't walk and order a copy.  You won't be sorry!

...as always more later!

A Palate Cleanser

I made this dress in 2016 when I'd just changed jobs and lost 35lbs. I was really into maxi dresses because I couldn't wear them at my previous job. I was also still trying to get used to the fact that I could wear jeans to work. It was a culture shock to go from totally professional dressing to wearing whatever I felt like...so I gently slid into the whatever I want...meaning that I was a little overdressed my first year at the job.

When making this dress even though I'd washed both fabrics separately before I used them, I'd never washed the two together.  This is what happened when I washed them as the maxi dress...

At first I thought I would be able to shout or bleach out the stains so it sat waiting for me to do that. It sat for over a year. Sometime earlier this spring I started to think I should just take it apart and make a maxi skirt. I finally did that.

It was easy to rip apart as I watched TV. In the meantime, I've added another one of these maxi dresses in these fabrications to my "To Sew" list. Hopefully that match will fare better.

To make this a maxi skirt ~ 
- I added the skirt portion to a 2" wide black elastic cut a couple inches shorter than my waistline
- I purposely did not iron the skirt before pinning it to the elastic. 
- Since the top was already gathered, it made it easier to pin the gathered fabric to the elastic.
- I added one line of stitching at 5/8" and then again at 1/4" to secure it.
- Because it was already hemmed, once the elastic was attached, the skirt was done.

A few pictures ~

It only took a couple of hours to add a new skirt to my closet. This summer I'm concentrating on adding more maxi skirts, maxi dresses and wide legged pants to my wardrobe. I've accumulated so many maxi dress patterns over the years that I'd like to challenge myself by actually sewing a few of them!

...as always more later!




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