A Summer Recap

After I posted my last finished version of B5147, Kathryn (I Made This!) suggested that I do a recap of my summer sewing.  Since I made such a big deal of the 17 weekends available to sew between May 1st and September 1st, it did seem appropriate to do a review.

So here goes ~ first I want to talk about sewing meet-ups.  Summer always brings alot of visitors to NYC and thankfully I get to meet most of them.  Sigrid ~ I'm still upset that I wasn't able to meet you when you came to NYC. 

I attended two PR fabric shopping extravangzas.  The first one in Philly and the other just last Saturday in NYC.

I met some AMAZING bloggers:  Allison, Eugenia, Opal, Sheila, Omega, and Alethia for fabric lunches.

and I sewed...quite a bit by the numbers I've tallied...

Dresses - 12

Vanilla Silk Twill
The Museum Inspired Dress
Lemonade Dress (Navy Silk Twill)
Architectural Dress
Floral Linen Dress
Red Stripe Silk Dress
Faux Pocket TNT Dress
Chevron Front TNT Dress
Liberty of London Sheath Dress
Vogue 9220 Tie Dress
Blue/White Floral B5147 Dress
Black & Pink Borderprint B5147 Dress

Cardigans:

2 from silk jerseys purchased from Elliott Berman

Skirts:
3 easy to sew straight skirts

Pants:
One pair of black linen pants

...which equals a total of 18 finished garments ~ or 3.5 work week's worth of clothing.  One more than the number of summer weekends and that doesn't include the two dresses still in progress, as well as, the wadder, Vogue 9666.   So I guess I had a very sewy summer! *LOL*  I really should like plane rides more but truly sewing centers me.  It calms me and smoothes out the rough edges especially since this was a really busy summer season at my job. It was great to be able to create on the weekends to counterbalance the stress of my job.

I promise, I'm not counting down the weekends to the end of the year.  That seems to much like rushing my life along...*LOL*  But I am looking forward to my "September Sewcation" and to whatever sewing adventures await me for the rest of the year.

...as always, more later!

Butterick 5147 - Again

I know y'all must be thinking this is the pattern that just won't die...go away already, right?  *LOL*  Well, it's not that easy for it to ease into the sewing sunset because I want this pattern to be one of my go-to, make any time in almost any fabrication, TNTs.  To do that I must make it a couple of times to work out the challenges...

...and I'm almost there.  I like this version in terms of fit better than the first one...but I still need to do a tweak or two and then it will be perfect.  So you want to see this version right, well here it is:

Some stats:
Fabric:
2.25 yds of a cotton/lycra border print from Fabric Mart

Notions:
20" invisible zipper
3 yards of black bias binding (Faye thanks for noticing that!)

Construction:
1.  This dress is unlined.  So I used the black bias binding to finish the neckline and armhole edges again.

2.  I did adjust the pattern front and back by taking a tuck in the neckline and I do think it sits a little better on my body.

3.  I also raised the underarm seam 1/2"...as well as tapering the side seam to contour to my body's shape.

4.  I cut off 1.25" inches of the flare from the hem of the dress tapering to .25" near the top of the hipline.

Those were the changes that were bothering me the most on the last version, and now after making and wearing this one for a minute, I have just one more alteration to do to the pattern and I think I will be okay with the fit.  I do plan on making this dress one more time for early fall using another one of my border prints and finally lining it...and then I will move onto other things, I promise!  *LOL*

This dress turned out so well that I will even share a dreaded back view with you.

Now I know you are wondering what happened to the black linen dress, well here is where it stands right now. 

The shell is constructed and waiting for the lining.  I can't decide whether I should topstitch it as I originally planned, or just let it be a plain black sheath dress that will be a good basis for an array of cardigans and jackets...more on that later!

This is dress number 16...with dress number 17 hanging waiting to be completed.  I'm thinking that maybe I need to concentrate on making something else during my sewing vacay...but what?  BTW, I have 10 days of work before my sewing vacay begins and I...can't...wait!

...as always, more later!

Saturday Morning Diary Bits...

...or a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

First, there were two questions in the last two weeks of postings:

Amber asked,
"Did you underline your liberty sheath dress or just line it?"

I just lined it.  I wanted it light and airy with a little movement.  I don't think underlining in either cotton batiste or silk organza would have given the dress the lightness I was looking for.  And after wearing it for 10+ hours at work, there were a few wrinkles but nothing really major.  It was just a great dress...so thanks for all of the wonderful compliments on it.  It elicited quite a few from work too!

BTW, the other big compliment getter at work was the Vogue tie dress.  I was a little surprised because I've worn a version of the dress before, but I guess a good basic black-type dress is more appealing to that crowd.  Anyway, Kathryn, I'm sure I will be making another version of it because it is a pleasure to wear this dress.

Lori asked,
"Are you counting the days until your sewcation?"

No...not yet!  I do know it's three weeks away which seems shorter than saying 21 days! *LOL*  I still have a lot of August to live yet before I start dreaming about a week off from work!

So even though most of the Fall fashion magazines are starting to show up on the newsstands (but not in my mailbox yet!) I'm still thinking summer.  It's still so darn hot and summer-like that the thought of wools and heavier garments just make me even hotter!  *LOL*  So there will be a few more summer garments coming out of the sewing machine before I begin to even think about pre-fall garments.  I think I will need a few crisp mornings before I catch fall fever.

I just realized that between July 1st and last weekend that I've made 11 garments ~ 7 dresses, 3 skirts and a pair of pants.  No wonder I feel no pressing need to sew this weekend!  However, I probably will make my version of the B5147 dress since the suggested complete by date was yesterday and I had planned to make it this weekend.  Just need to figure out which border print to use for it.

True Confession Time ~ 
I bought fabric from the Fabric Mart sale...three times!  Yeah, I know.  The first box contained pieces that I was dreaming about for quite some time...and the second box had another colorway of a piece that I bought for myself but this piece is for my youngest daughter ~ who never asks me to sew for her!  So I bought it and will be making her a maxidress.  The box also contained a great Prada floral silk charmeuse.  Then the third box happened because Fabric Mart upped the ante.  If you buy $35 worth of fabric, everything is 25% off instead of 20% off - this sale lasts until Monday, August 16th btw!

Oh and the serger hasn't arrived yet.  I'm getting it in September.  I just can't wait though!  Once the new serger comes the sewing machine overhaul will be complete.  I will have a new to me, Janome 6600, the Brother back up sewing machine and the new serger.  This should last me for the next 10 years...til right around retirement time!

Next...I'm obsessed...with this dress:

Brenda (Kyra Sedgwick) wore it on last week's episode of The Closer.  I want a wardrobe of them in all different colors!  And of course, it's something I can make using my TNT dress pattern and the jacket from B5147.  I took quite a few shots of it (watched the episode on my computer to get them all). I caught all of the topstitching details, as well as, the bound buttonholes on the jacket for use in my version.  If I make the jacket the right length, I think I can also make a pair of pants and a skirt to go with the dress and jacket to get a little work wardrobe going. 

Well that's it for this morning...I'm off to pick out fabric for the Butterick dress. 

...as always, more later!

The Architectural Dress - Part IV

The dress is finished except for the hem because several times today I noticed that the bias center piece has grown as its hung waiting for the next step to be completed.  So I've decided to let it hang for at least 24 hours to make sure that the bias piece has grown as much as possible.  Then I think I'm going to go in and reinforce the front seams with stay tape...and finally hem it.

However, this dress has been a journey and not always a pleasant one.  Am I upset or sad that I made the journey?  No.  Did I learn a thing or two from the journey?  Yes.  One of the main things that I learned is that no matter how much you plan, no matter how many times you go through the construction steps in your head, something is ALWAYS going to come up that you didn't think about or plan for so you should be prepared for it and have the ability to move past it! *LOL*

First some stats:

Fabric:
4 yards of 100% linen from fabric.com
2 yards of china silk for the lining

Notions:
1 22" invisible zipper
3 yards of nude lace
5 yards of rayon tape
1 large blue button (from Fabric Mart)

Instead of a whole lot of words...because you know the main design on the dress front is the pleats...I'm gonna share some pics.  But first, my dress front is different from the inspiration photo.  One because I think I was just too frazzled from a day of making pleats, so my pleats ending up not chevroning in the front of the dress.  And second I added a pleat and a button at the neckline...it's my touch added after I tried the dress on...definitely making it my own.

after making the pleats, I thread traced the pattern pieces

and then cut around the thread tracings for the front panels

front pieces cut out waiting to be

assembled to the side dress front pieces

close up of the pleated front pieces sewn to the side front pieces

Notice that the pieced piece is just sewn on the bias and not chevroned

dress lining made from china silk

close up of the lace added to the hem

The lining feels like a wonderful piece of lingerie added to the dress.

Close up of the pleat and button added to the front of the dress

I will have more construction details and a picture of me wearing the dress once the hemline has settled.  I'm not at all upset that the dress isn't wearable tomorrow.  I would rather the hem "cure" than hem it and wear it...only to have to re-hem it again.  I do feel as if I accomplished my goal of making the dress this weekend.  I don't think that I made an exact copy of the inspiration photo, though I was aiming too.  But in actuality, it is very rare when my own creative impulses don't kick in and I end up adding something to the inspiration garment to make it uniquely me.

It's Monday night and I don't feel frustrated...I feel calm and ready to face my work week because my creative side has been challenged, nourished and refreshed.

...as always, more later!

Architectural Dress Update

Thank you to everyone who left a comment on the last post.  However, the post was intended only for me.  I needed to write out my fears/challenges/hurts so that I could leave them behind and move forward in the process of making the dress...writing about them allowed me to get past them. 

I deliberately picked this weekend to make the dress because I knew how much time it would take for me to complete the dress...and that being said I've completed the front of the dress and am presently putting the invisible zipper into the back...moving on to the lining next.

The dress will be completed this afternoon...I'm through the tunnel and onto the other side.  I'm in the bright sunshine of Sewing Land and I'm happy once again.

I will have photos of the process and the finished dress to share later...

The Tunnel

I feel like I'm in the middle of a tunnel...so far in that I can't see behind me and it makes no sense to go back...but not close enough to the end of the tunnel to see the light at the end of it to continue to move forward.

That's how this dress is affecting me mentally.  It also doesn't help my confidence to read about pleating boards and pleating feet.  I wonder why didn't I think of these notions during all of my planning and my confidence is further shaken.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to make this dress...and I feel like I've totally bitten off more than I can chew.  Since I have a limited amount of time, I like to actually complete a garment during my weekends.  These creative weekends give me the fuel to face my regular workdays, a.k.a. my job, which gives me the opportunity to live a certain lifestyle but my weekends allow me to breathe.  Y'know what I mean?

This is the reason why I don't attempt these complicated and heavily involved projects often.  They eat at my soul, hog up my time, time I don't really have to spend on them, and I end up not enjoying the journey.   Believe me if I had unlimited time (i.e. retirement, long layoff, win the lottery, etc.) I could really experiment with my sewing artistry but trying to cram it into weekends, just frustrates me.  I know that I've shown glimpses of the levels that I could take my sewing to, but time truly constrains my ability to do so.  However, I do have a need to create so usually I try to work it into the time that I have...which is why my frustration is so great right now.

I don't know if this dress will work.  I don't know if I've made the right choices.  I just don't know.  So I'm going to wait until this evening and see how far I get...see if I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.  If I can, I will try to finish the dress.  If I can't, then I'm moving on to some other garments I have on my list. Hopefully at least one piece will emerge wearable from my sewing machine this weekend...

...I can always hope, right?

I'm in pleat h*ll

...or I've finally gotten around to working on "The Architectural Dress."

Do you remember this post..."A Few Things I want for Spring?"  In that post there was a picture of a Calvin Klein pleated front dress...and I got the bright idea that I wanted one for myself.  Being plus sized I knew Calvin wasn't making one in my size, so I would just have to help him out, right?! 

I carefully gathered up my materials, purchasing a linen that wasn't far from the original dress' color. 

Mentally, I've gone over how I would put the dress together...refining the steps as I thought about it again and again.  Many nights I fell asleep thinking about those pleats and this weekend since I have three days off, and knew it would be a process, decided the time was right to make this dress come to life.

Now I find myself in pleat hell...seriously, this is hard!  I know what I want to do and where I want to go but it is taking quite a bit of time to get there.  So here's where I am now...making pleats...hoping and praying that this is going to come together...

...more from the pleat factory, later...

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

So instead of throwing things, crying and setting fire to the pattern in my kitchen....I immediately kicked into Plan B.  See I knew that I had enough fabric left to recut a front pattern from my TNT dress pattern so I did.  I did a pivot and slide to add some to the waistline and flare the skirt out a little  ~ cut that sucker out and now may I present to you a v-neckline, a-line version of my TNT dress pattern.

This is a whispering piece, not a shouting piece...like my last dress. 

I lined the dress and added piping to the neckline.  The dress has my signature lace on the lining hem and the armholes are bound with black bias binding. It has a 20" invisible zipper in the back. 

It will be a workhorse in my professional work wardrobe...cause I can always use a navy blue silk dress...the Vogue 9666 pattern will be given a quiet burial...tossed into the garbage.  It does not deserve a large ceremonial affair since the promise of the pattern envelope never materialized.

Next up are the black linen pants.  They are a wardrobe necessity...and then I will figure out what I'm going to make during the 4th of July weekend.  I have a barbecue to attend (don't we all here in the States?) but most of my time will be my own...since the SO has to work.

...as always, more later...

Uncle!

Since a picture is worth a thousand words...

NEXT!

One more try

This navy blue sueded silk faille:

(purchased at JoMars during PR Philly Weekend)

and this pattern:

will become my second attempt at creating this dress.  Now I know all of you who love to make a muslin are asking why don't I just muslin it first, but what would be the fun in that?!  I've made the alterations to the pattern. I've cut the fabric out.  I've figured out how to add a lining and a different type of embellishment that will give this dress a totally different look from the first one.  However, on this version I will baste the dress together first to check for fit before adding any of the special touches...if it works I'll move on.  If it doesn't then I will let it go.

I have more fabric and patterns but not a lot more time before summer runs out and since there are many more garments clamoring to be made before summer's end...it will be time to move on!  NEXT!  *LOL*  

So this is what I will be doing this weekend.  What about you, what are you up to?

...and as always, more later!

Museum Inspired

This knit dress is inspired by one I saw at The Metropolitian of Art Museum's exhibit, "American Woman Fashioning A National Identity" which I saw friday evening with some friends.  The piece that inspired me was in the first segment of the exhibit called, "Heiresses".  It was a pink Worth dress that is just briefly shown in the You Tube video on the museum's site.  The feature that caught my attention on this dress was the feathery flower-like embroidery that was on the skirt and the train.

Coming home friday evening, that piece played over and over in my head.  So much so that I started to run through my fabric collection to see if I had something on hand that might "work" with what I saw.  Then I remembered a knit piece that was two floral panels that I'd purchased from Fabric Mart earlier this year...bought to make something for vacation...but stored away when we decided not to do an island but instead go to Vegas.

This morning while mulling things over I thought it would be interesting to use my TNT dress pattern as the basis of this dress.  I've never used it for a stretchy knit fabric but thought it would be an interesting combination if handled properly.

So here's the finished dress:

Some stats:

Fabric:
2 panels of 60" polyester knit from Fabric Mart
2 yards of tricot beige lining from fabric.com

Notions:
1 - 9" black invisible zipper
stay tape
fusible knit interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply

Cutting Techniques:
The success of this dress is based upon the placement of the design since it's so prominent.  Normally this dress is cut on the fold...but for this instance I used a center front seam believing that it would help me manipulate the design better. 

I also changed the neckline ~ making it a v-neckline instead of the u-neck that the dress usually has.  This was also inspired by my trip uptown to the museum.  I took the bus up Madison Avenue and spent the trip looking at all of the goods displayed in the designer store windows.  There are alot of v-necklines being shown...so this is reflected in the neckline choice for this dress.

The other consideration that needed to be made during the cutting process were the white bands in the fabric separating the panels, I did not want them to interfere with the look of the dress.  So while I incorporated the white band into the front of the dress to carry the design across the front, it was omitted in the back pieces for more of a dramatic & slimming effect.

Construction Techniques:
Since I was working with a knit, I had to determine how I would handle the seams.  I really wanted them to lay flat without bulk so I opted to finish the fabric edges by serging them in their flat state and then stitch the dress together on the sewing machine.

I also opted to put a lining in this dress...well you know how I feel about unlined knit dresses on plus size women so this dress is lined with a tricot lining fabric that I've used in my last two knit dresses.

There is a 9" invisible zipper in this dress.  I wasn't sure how stretchy the dress would be once it was lined and I thought that adding a small zipper to give me a bigger opening for my head wasn't a bad thing! *LOL*  So I used a lightweight knit fusible interfacing cut 1" wide and 1" longer than the zipper (1" wide x 10" long).


This was done to stabilize the zipper opening and made the insertion of the invisible zipper a breeze.

I also added the darts that are in the original dress pattern.  To insure that the darts didn't stretch out, I used stay tape when sewing them down.  This will guarantee that the darts don't grow in any direction and affect the fit of the dress.  It also means that the top of the dress conforms to my body and gives me a great fit.

The last piece that makes this dress a success is the lining.  It was applied to the neckline of the dress and flipped inside.  At one point I thought about applying stay tape to the neckline when sewing the lining and the fashion fabric together.  However, after handling the lining, I decided that adding stay tape would be overkill...the lining would be enough to stabilize it.  I made sure to double stitch the neckline and carefully clip the seamline in that area.

The armholes have the lining and the fashion fabric serged together and  turned under then machine stitched down.  Add a machine stitched hem (that does have a little stitch witchery in it for stability) and the dress is done.

The great thing about this dress is that it can be worn with several of the cardigans in my wardrobe as well as a couple of cute little jackets. 

Next up is the Vogue 9666 dress which I've cut out...but this knit dress got pushed in front of it because I was just so excited to see if I could make the idea work.  I'm thinking it's working just fine!

As an aside, as you are seeing/reading my blog now...this is how it will stay!  I'm loving this new background...I can see the design just fine on my netbook, my iTouch and of course my freestanding home computer.  Plus I've had a few friends test drive the text color and size of the print and all can read it.

...as always, more later!

A Trio of Cardigans

I spend alot of time in manufactured air ~ aka air conditioning...and it's always blowing way colder than I like.  In fact, most women who ride the bus with me either carry a pashima shawl or a lightweight jacket in their totes to cover up with because it is so cold.

So when I saw the silk jerseys at Elliott Berman, they reminded me of the ltwt little cardigans that I've been seeing all over the internet this summer and lusting after...because I always need something on my arms to keep me warm during the summer.

For these I used my TNT cardigan pattern - Burda 8869 - to make two more versions.  Now even though these are basically the same fabrication, adding the dye & printing on the fabric definitely changed the hand of it.  What do I mean?  The bright floral was a stretchier piece of fabric than the black/grey/white version and I didn't realize it until after the pattern pieces had been cut out and I was assembling them.  So I made slight adjustments in how I handled them. 

Otherwise the construction is the same as always.

~stitch on the sewing machine and then finish the seam on the serger
~reinforce the shoulder seam with tape
~insert the sleeves in a flat insertion instead of in the round
~use stitch witchery for the hems and then stitch down

The only modification I made to these were for length...they are a little shorter than the navy blue cotton one.

1.  A floral garden
This one is pictured on Lulu with no buttons.  I have some picked out just haven't decided whether or not I'm going to add them.

2.  Black/white & gray all over
This cardigan is a little tighter fitting because the fabric doesn't seem to have as much stretch

and I added black mother of pearl buttons to the front.

3.  The blue cotton lace cardigan from the SWAP
I noticed in the comments that someone asked about it.  Yes, it was made so quickly during the final days of the SWAP that I didn't blog about it.  I just didn't have time!

For this version, I omitted the bands and added the navy blue piping that appears at the neckline of the beaded dress to tie the two pieces together.  I did not add any additional inches to the front or back piece because I knew that I was going to use the vintage pin as the closure.  So the two front pieces only had to meet, not overlap.

This cardigan has a center back seam where the first two do not.  Sometimes I make it with the center back seam and sometimes I don't.  I purposely didn't with the first two because I didn't want to break up the pattern on the fabric.  Even though it's made from lace it's actually heavier in weight than the first two cardis.

These are the first of the basic pieces that I'm adding to my wardrobe after The Great Closet Clean-Out.  I've pulled the fabric for the black linen pants and for a navy blue straight skirt.  There wasn't enough of the navy blue fabric for pants and I'm not sure its suitable for pants...and right now I just don't want to purchase any more.  I know what you are thinking...but I did say, right now! *LOL*

...as always, more later!

p.s.  Go Celtics!  Go Celtics!  3-2 Wahooooooo!!

A Closet Tale

A couple of weeks ago I said that I was going to clean out the closet by boxing up the winter stuff and moving it to another location.  At the time it seemed like a good idea...but I do live in an apartment with limited closet space.  Even though it really does have good closet space, I'm maxing it out by using the largest one as my fabric closet.  So my overstuffed closet sat.

This afternoon when I went to hang up the clothing I wore to work this week, as well as put away the laundry, I decided enough was enough.  I mercilessly went through the closet and removed anything that hadn't been worn in a year, was too tight, too faded or just out of style.  This is the result:

These bags of clothing will be donated to the Salvation Army this week, along with some baby stuff from The Little Prince.  After that exercise, there is more space in the closet...not alot...but enough so that I can add a few new garments, as well as, a few more hangers to hold those new pieces.  I'm also thinking that I need to hang some things a little differently, i.e. those hangers that hold multiple skirts and pants.  I see a trip to Wal-Mart is in my future...

I also found a skirt that was way too long and cut it off so it appears more on trend.  This will make an appearance in my work wardrobe this week:

And I found a dress that I made years ago, never hemmed and never wore.  I will put it on with a cute little white sweater and although bright it will be perfect for a Friday outfit!

I also realized that I have a few holes in my closet...how can that be with all the clothes I make, right?  But my black linen pants, alongwith my natural linen pants are worn and need to be replaced.  I also think that I need a pair of navy blue linen pants to match that awesome navy cotton cardigan that I made for my SWAP. I believe that I can find all of these fabrics in my collection.  Although I need some basic colored sheath dresses, too.  I have loads of pretty floral and print dresses but very few solid colored or tweedy colored work dresses.  These will also need to go on my sewing list.

Finally, the black/white Vogue 9666 dress has been haunting me.  I won't fix that one, I just believe it is beyond repairing, however, I have to make it again.  I've pulled some fabric candidates and will work on altering the pattern yet again to make another dress this weekend. *sigh*  I just can't let this pattern get the best of me!

...as always, more later!

Week 5 of 17 - Part 3

Well the air conditioning was finally fixed this morning and I've been in air conditioned splendor all day.  However, to hedge my bets I took a trip to Wal-Marts for fans.  How is it that I never leave that place without 18 more things than I came in for?!  Does this happen to anyone else? *LOL*

Lunch with my mom and daughter...plants placed on the balcony...several of the 18 things I didn't go to Wal-Marts for...and it was boiling by the time we got home!  Thankfully the air conditioning was working but I was pooped.  A late night, an early morning and too much heat meant I needed a nap!

So I finished the dress up later this evening.  Here is a headless shot...just didn't feel like hair and make-up:

Some stats:

Fabric:
black/white doubleknit print from Fabric Mart
white ponte knit from fabric.com

Notions:
20" invisible zipper
4 yards of black satin piping

Construction:
1.  Additional space was added to the abdomen and hip area by slicing through the center front line on the front pattern piece and spreading 1/2" (in the abdomen area) to 5" at the hemline.  This was also done to the left side front piece since it is secured to the dress at the side seams.

2.  1/2" was added to the center back of the dress piece.

3.  Sleeve pattern was altered to accomodate my bodacious biceps and lengthened from the original cap sleeve.  One sleeve was cut from the black/white print and one from the white ponte knit.

Sewing Changes:
*I added piping which is not included in the original design.  But since I used two different fabrics, I felt I needed something to define and tie the two fabrics together.

*The dress pattern is shorter than I like so I ended up serging the hem and leaving it.  You can barely tell that the hem is unfinished.

*The pattern instructs you to use bias binding to finish off the front edges of the dress.  I used a roll of unfolded bias tape that I had on-hand.  I encased the piping by folding the bias binding around it.  All of the bias binding was then hand stitched down.

Another shot of the dress:

I won't be wearing this dress this week...we have some pretty important meetings and I need to look banking professional...so I won't know how it will wear.  However, even with my alterations the dress is close-fitting...alot more close-fitting than I normally wear my clothing.  Because of that, I don't know if I will actually use this pattern again...although, it is a different type of dress than I normally make.

All constructions pics, can be seen in my Flicker Album.

I'm disappointed that I didn't get to sew more or all of what I had actually planned.  Which is funny because this time I thought I planned conservatively...only 2 garments instead of the 4 I would normally have thought I could make.  But it is one more finished garment in the closet and available to wear to work...so I'm grateful!

...as always, more later!

Week 5 of 17 - Part 2

...or UGGG!  As I've come to think of this weekend...

Okay, this is as far as I got before the air conditioning in my apartment went out yet AGAIN!

And while the Super came and worked on it one more time this afternoon, the central air conditioning blew cold air for about 2 hours and then the temperature managed to ease its way back up into the 80s in the apartment so all sewing ceased.  I'm getting ready to go out now...and the super probably won't be back until tomorrow morning but to say that I'm annoyed is an understatement.

I know that the two dresses I planned on creating will not make it out of my sewing machine this weekend...and that was a major part of my weekend fun...so for the sake of my date tonight I'm trying not to let this ruin the weekend...but between you and me...*sigh*...the weekend is ruined because I just don't do well in extreme temperatures...

...more later...

Week 5 of 17

This is a three-day holiday weekend here in the U.S. so I hope to spend some quality time with my sewing machine and spit out a few new pieces for work next week.  But before I get to my current project, I would like to ask you a question.  My mom stopped by this afternoon and while discussing my sewing asked me how many dresses I made last year.  Since I wrote a year end post about it, I knew immediately how many I'd made...proudly I said 21. Then she replied, that's alot of dresses...you wouldn't have bought that many.  Why do you have so many clothes?

This really threw me...and I said something like well I like to sew and it's how I spend my time...and it's more about the creation than the wearing (liar, liar, pants on fire!) and she just nodded and changed the subject.  So I thought I would throw it out there to you all...Do you think 21 dresses is too much?  And do you think we as sewists, sew way more clothing than we would naturally buy?  See how a parent can totally mess up your sewing groove! (*LOL*)

NEXT....

This is hopefully the first of the two projects that I have planned for this weekend:

The pattern is Vogue 9666 which has a copyright date of 1997 and recently arrived from Lanetz Living.  When I saw it on the site, immediately I saw a myriad of possibilities for the shorter length dress, so I had to have it!

Fabric is from Fabric Mart and fabric.com.  The lightweight black/white doubleknit print is from Fabric Mart and purchased recently during the fabric buying frenzy.  The lightweight white ponte knit is from fabric.com and was bought to go with the print.

I've made all the adjustments to the pattern...even though I'm starting with a size 22 pattern.  Geeze, does anyone make garments straight from the pattern envelope?  I mean I know that most everyone has to make some kind of alteration ~ FBA, length, something, but sometimes the slicing and dicing can get to you, y'know!  Anyway, since this dress is being made from a doubleknit, I'm not lining it.  If this one works (not just fits but passes the wearability test), I will be making a couple more versions...hopefully one using one of the border prints that I recently purchased.

The pattern is altered and the fabric is cut out.  I will start working on the dress' construction since I have no plans for tomorrow (during the day), I'm going to hang out for awhile tonight and see how far I can get!

...as always more later!

Two of 17 - Part 2

I did find some time this afternoon to start working on a dress.  I couldn't decide whether or not to go with a basic version of my TNT or start on a dress from a 1970s pattern.  Basic won out...probably because I was on the Talbots site looking around and I realized that a great basic dress would work with so much in my closet.  Also, I really like how the nude/beige wool crepe dress from my SWAP works in my wardrobe, so I decided I needed another one for spring/summer.

Here's a quick peek as it's not finished yet:

And this is what will be up next (unless something awesome follows me home next weekend). 

Next weekend I will be in Philly for PR Weekend but I did take the following Monday off too so that I would be able to at least turn on my sewing machine and make a few stitches before heading back to work.  Gotta have some quality time with my sewing machine or I get cranky! *LOL*

Finally, this is one of the reasons I'm so thankful to be a Mother this year:

...as always, more later!