I think I have the answer!!!

On blog after sewing blog, it is being discussed. And have you noticed, days go by on some blogs where there are no entries at all ~ we are simply not sewing. At first, I thought it was just me and the computer problems that I am still having! But no, it is affecting quite a few people. I have noticed that even on Patternreview, there are just not as many reviews being written.

So what is it? What has caused a slow down in sewing production? Why is everyone out doing just about anything else but sewing? I mean the fabric sites are doing their best to tempt us ~ I am receiving email after email of great fabric sales. Even my beloved Fabric Mart is having a 20% off the entire website sale and I haven't ordered one yard of fabric! Can you believe?! Brother sewing machines is offering a rebate on some of their newest sewing machines and still no sewing!

So what is happening? I have heard and read a number of factors but it hit me when I was reading yet another entry about getting your sewing mojo back on Sharon's blog - Sharon Sews. It is something that hasn't been discussed or even whispered about...and I think this is truly the answer. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that this is the answer....

ssshhhhh ~ I don't want them to know that I am telling you because it might cause an even bigger revolt ~ but I think, yes, I am pretty sure that.........

Our sewing machines are on strike! Yep I bet that's it. And I think they (the sewing machines) are emitting some kind of cloudless, vaporless odor that is affecting our ability to sew! C'mon think about it...all of us, all of a sudden being unable to sew? C'mon how common is that? How often does that happen? And now with the advent of blogs, digital cameras and great internet sewing boards, we are all actually compelled and inspired to create! Thus spending way more quality time with our sewing machines! I betcha they called a secret strike and as soon as they all get a good rest ~ suddenly we will all get the urge to sew again!

Think about it...don't just sit there laughing your hindparts off at me...again another trick of the sewing machine's machinations...why aren't we sewing? Before we were all making some pretty awesome garments! Have we stopped buying fabric, or patterns, or talking about sewing? Nooooo! We have just stopped using our machines! I am telling you they are on strike! And in a few weeks when they are all well rested...the urge to use them will come back! Watch! I will be proven right.

And until then, I think I am going into my sewing area and speaking nicely to my sewing machine. I think I am going to make a peace offering to it and remind it of how important it is to me. Even come up with some kind of offering, maybe a new foot that it needs to do its job better! Something, anything to let it know how important it is in my life! And then I am going to sit back and wait...

I bet if you do the same, the sewing machine strike will be over in no time! And we will all be back to creating those wonderful garments that inspire and encourage each other to create. Think about it! And if you believe there could be just an iota of truth to what I have said, go and hug your sewing machine today. Remind it of what an important function it plays in your life and watch...soon the sewing will start again!

We plan, God laughs

or something like that! Interesting way to start an entry right? But I am having a week! I don't know about anyone else but I seem to be incapable of sewing under pressure!!! This week I needed a garment immediately and made quickly in a very short time frame and I was just unable to produce it! Has that happened to anyone else?

I am okay if I have time to plan something out. I am even okay if I have time to take a day off and get something completed. But working full time and caring for my family does not leave alot of time for "emergency" sewing. And I faltered this week. So what did I need ~ a "real" business suit...a matchy matchy jacket and skirt combo that is worn for really important meetings or interview type situations. I started out well, I mean I had two evenings. I even left work early on the second day to get some quality sewing time in...but as the title states, we plan and God laughs.

Not only did I not leave the city at the time I planned (2 hours later which greatly affected my ability to get home quickly) but then traffic was bad. I was tired from a particularly emotionally draining week and my feet had started to swell. Yeah, I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be working near a sewing machine. But see, I needed the suit. I had to have that particular type of garment and I just don't know how to find this in a retail store anymore after years of creating what I need.

Plus I already had it cut out. It just needed to be sewn together. But have you ever noticed that when you are sewing under pressure the steps needed to complete something seem infinite as compared to when you are sewing for pleasure and you seem to just fly through the steps! Yeah, that's how my sewing was Thursday evening ~ like walking through heavy duty mud in too big combat boots. And you know what happened right? At 12:45 a.m. I admitted defeat and then I cried as I combed through my wardrobe trying to come up with an appropriate solution! How can a woman with as many pieces of clothing as I own have this problem? How did I never think to make a "matchy-matchy" suit and have it waiting in the back of my closet?

Well, I ended up wearing the brown suit featured in the post, "Snapshots from a Journey" and it worked out okay. I attended the meeting, was actually very professionally dressed and didn't see too many of the "matchy-matchy" suits that are just not in my lifestyle anymore. But it got me to thinking about sewing under pressure and why I can't do it?

Can you? Are you able to turn out a "quality" garment sewn in one or two evenings under pressure? Are you able to complete all of the steps necessary to have a wearable, finished garment or do you take shortcuts? And in taking shortcuts does some of the quality go missing in your garment?

My jacket is still hanging in my bedroom waiting for the necessary pieces to finish it. Which I will do this weekend...because besides learning that God laughs at our plans...I also learned that I have a hole in my closet that needs to be filled. So not only will I finish this outfit but I see a new black "matchy-matchy" suit in my future. And I also learned something new about myself, actually re-learned it...I don't sew well under pressure!

My sewing teacher

Today I watched an episode of Dateline NBC. It was called the "Education of Miss Graves." I don't know if they will repeat it but I do know that it touched me deeply and made me reflect on teachers that had influenced me.

Of course, you know it was my sewing teacher. I had the same sewing teacher all through high school ~ Mrs. Kenealy. I could already sew by the time I reached high school. I had been sewing since I was 11. But Mrs. Kenealy made me feel that my sewing talent was special ~ not just something that everyone else could do. And Mrs. Kenealy taught me that I could make anything ~ absolutely anything!

First, let me tell you a few things about Mrs. Kenealy...she was an older lady and had been teaching for over 30 years. She had bright white hair, a kindly smile and a real enthusiasm for sewing. She understood those who really wanted to sew and be in her class and those who were just using it as a way to get an "easy" grade to buff their GPA. But mostly she enjoyed sewing...when we were just working at the sewing machines on our garments and not learning a new technique, she sewed right along with us! I remember her making her grandchildren garments. I remember her making skirts and blouses that she would wear to school the very next day! But what I remember the most was that she thought I was special and had talent!

High school can be difficult for a lanky girl with long, nappy hair and no breasts....well not really developed ones...and a really strict mother who wouldn't let you date or go to parties. Add into that someone who is really intelligent and who doesn't have to work too hard at schoolwork and you get the picture. So to be told that you have a talent by someone who wasn't teaching a "smart" class meant the world to me!

So I just want to take this opportunity to thank my high school sewing teacher ~ Mrs. Kenealy ~ who let me skip gym in her class to sew...who encouraged me to try new things and looked the other way when my insecurities got the better of me...and who every day told me what a wonderful seamstress I was!

I had two wonderful women encourage my sewing - my grandmother who taught me and Mrs. Kenealy who encouraged me to keep it as a lifelong hobby! So do you have a favorite sewing teacher? And who was it? Your grandmother, your mother, your sister, your friend? Tell me, I would love to know and pay tribute to these wonderful people who brought such a wonderful gift into your life!

Fall Fever

Yeap, I have fall fever! But its not what you think...I mean I want to go outside and play. I don't want to be inside. I have no desire to hear the quiet hum of my sewing machine as it sews through an awesome piece of fabric. Instead I want to hear the wind rustling through the leaves as they gently fall to the ground. I want to be inspired by the beauty of nature in the changing colors of the leaves. I want to experience the first brisk breeze which makes me dream of turtlenecks. I have fall fever!

So since all I want to do is run outside and play, I am going to detail my sewing list here as a living testament to what I should be doing! Maybe it will encourage me to sew...or then again maybe not! *smile*


Here goes...these are the next four projects that I would like to construct:

1. "A Brown & Green Affair"
Fabric:
Brown lace from Lucy's with green/brown squiggle silk print from Fabric Mart
Garments:
*TNT 4 gore skirt from brown lace with green silk as the lining
*Vogue 8118 blouse from green silk print
*Burda blouse pattern used as a cardigan from the brown lace

2. "The Lady in Red Dress"
Fabric:
Red Sueded Silk from Trebor Couture (which use to be a huge fabric store on 40th Street and has been out of business for about 5 or 6 years now) This is definitely stash fabric.
Garments:
*Vogue 8118 blouse
*TNT straight skirt lined

3. "The Well Dressed Professional Woman"
Fabric:
Tan lightweight tropical wool from Fabric Mart & beige/black lace print in rayon/lycra knit from Ebad Fabrics in NYC
Garments:
*Lined pants
*Burda Cardigan with black lace trim in front band and black satin ribbon ties
*V-neck Simplicity top
*Sleeveless lined dress from TNT pattern

4. "Advant garde in NYC"
Fabric:
Cotton scenic print from Wal-Mart with chocolate moleskin accents and brown sueded silk from Fabric Mart
Garments:
*Calf length elastic waist straight skirt with moleskin hem and back bands.
*Sueded silk blouse and matching SW Mission Top ~ haven't decided on the blouse pattern yet.

Now if I can get motivated enough to spend some time at my sewing machine, I could turn out a couple of great outfits...true testiments to my sewing abilities. Okay, that last comment was written to encourage just me! Every once in a while you have to pat yourself on the back ~ y'know.

So that's my list. That's the direction that I am headed in. I don't really think I am moving in a very fashion forward direction. Just using the colors of the season but, and this is a very important but, these garments definitely fit into my lifestyle which makes them very wearable.

But truly, I just want to go out and play, y'know!

I am soooo frustrated!

Back in cave man days when we just sewed in isolated bliss, I didn't care whether or not I used or had a home computer. I didn't own a digital camera and I sewed for my own personal pleasure and for the oooohhhhs and aaaaahhhs of my significant other and the people who I came in contact with me daily!

So why am I so frustrated....because I can't show you the new top that I just made from the rayon scarf border print! And it is really, really, cute, and I did such a good job using the border print in the design of the shirt! I know this because I got quite a few compliments on it when I wore it!

Because I can't share with you the new fabric combination that is making my heart sing! The fabric combination that I found in my fabric closet! It was just sitting there waiting for me to add one piece plus another piece and get *wonza wonderful!* Because I have such great pictures on my digital camera that I can't get off the said computer! *wahhahahha!*

Now see this is just crazy?! I sewed just fine before I had a digital camera and went on the sewing boards. I was very happy with the oooohhhs and aaaahhhs of my fellow co-workers. I was happy when a stranger complimented me in the street. Now, *hanging head in shame* now I need the adoration of the masses to feel special! What is wrong with me!?! See I have now become a member of that "computer generation." I like sharing my creations with people from different countries and continents. I like hearing what others have to say about my ideas. I like the fact that you (the peoples) can appreciate my obsession and my possessions. I love the idea that you like the things that I saw in a flat piece of fabric and made into a three dimensional garment. I like that I really, really do! *said in my best Sally Field voice*

So what is the problem! H*ll if I know. Something about the software that is loaded is not talking to the ethernet card and so it in turn is making the internet connection falter! All I know is that I have a home computer that the operating system has been wiped clean because my wonderful teenage daughters managed to infect it with 404 - do you hear that - 404 viruses! Which reproduced, configurated and generally killed my computer. So I am coming to you via my work laptop which of course, I can not load my digital camera software to! So I got pictures and no way to share. Can we say F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E-D!!!!!!!

I think I should make a date with each and every one of you. You can meet me in front of the Project Runway window at Macy's and I can change clothes for you and model my newest creations. Then you could rush home and write heartwarming and complimentary things on my blog. Making the people who weren't able to meet us in NYC, pea green with envy. OR.....

I could get a grip. Realize that my computer woes are coming to an end shortly. And that I can post the pictures and tell my stories then....

In the meantime, I am just so FRUSTRATED!!!!!

I'm a fabric girl

On one of the sewing sites, Stitchers Guild, my avatar is a shot of several pieces of fabric that I used for a SWAP. I think this picture depicts the essence of my creative nature.

Since my computer was and still is ill, I spent one day last weekend reorganizing my fabric closet. Well let a true fabricaholic spend time with her fabric collection and a couple of emotions will emerge:

• happiness - because the collection brings you such joy and some pieces are treasured "old" friends.
• astonishment - because no matter how much you think you know what's in your collection, there is always more there than you remember!
• inspiration - just being amongst such a wide variety of color, print, texture and fabrications definitely inspires you to want to create something really special.
• and finally resolve - to stop adding new friends and to make some wonderful creations with the friends that are presently in your collection.

However, fabric can inspire me to create all on its own. Fabric triggers something in my creative psyche that catapults me into another creative dimension that a design idea alone doesn't quite do!

So I have pulled a few pieces from my fabric closet that I hadn't thought of recently. Then I mixed them with some other pieces in ways that I hadn't thought of before. Finally, I let them visit with each other for a few days. Occasionally, I would walk by and touch them. Sometimes I would just nod to them in passing but slowly and surely the fabric combinations were telling me what they wanted to become. And I came to the realization that as much as I study design and silhouttes, when I "play" with fabric combinations...when I really "listen" to what my fabric is saying, that is when I end up with my most spectacular garments!

Because.....I'm a fabric girl!

Sewing Interrruptus!

Sorry for the interruption but my home computer has come down with a bad case of the "computer virus!" *Gawd* save me from teenagers! Anyway, the computer doctor is coming this weekend so my computer should be cured soon! And I will be back talking about and sharing my sewing adventures!

You can always count on a skirt

You can always count on a skirt to help lift you out of the depths of sewing stagnation! And what's so great about this is that a skirt allows you to have a new garment that should fit well into your existing wardrobe, with the least amount of effort, especially if you are using a TNT pattern!

So I am back! I finished two skirts this weekend. One from the blue twill referenced in my "Randomness" post and the other from this really wild linen blend that I found in my fabric closet. Both of these skirts come from fabrics from the collection so that also makes them extra special. I mean besides the fact that I am actually sewing! Yes, the world has tilted back onto its axis and things are right again in my world! *LOL*

To the skirts:

The first one is from a blue rayon twill that I purchased from where else, Fabric Mart, several years ago. I bought this fabric because I had wanted to make a coat that I saw advertised in the September 2004 issue of W. The fabric looked similar to the coat fabric on the website but when it arrived it was considerably thinner. At first I thought about trying to beef the fabric up with some batting and then add a lining to it but it was one of those thoughts that never went anywhere, so the fabric languished in the fabric closet. Now the amazing thing about this fabric is the color - bright and beautiful and the price - 99 cents a yard. I bought three yards and I probably only used 1.5 yards for this skirt. The rest will go back into the fabric closet for another day!

I couldn't leave well enough alone and added small pearl beads to the center of the flowers. It gives it a different look and I really like it. A TNT pattern in a pretty fabric with an unusual twist.

The second skirt was made from a wild linen blend from fabric.com that was purchased over five years ago and probably longer because the tag that was on the fabric says it was from "Phoenix Textiles" and its been some time since fabric.com was called that!

When it fell on my head (yes the closet is just tooo stuffed!) while I was looking for something else, I realized that a skirt from this fabric would be hot. So, out of the closet, onto the table and wahlah! A great new skirt. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this fabric because I have four yards of it! Four yards...can you imagine!!!

But it was only $2.65 a yard and hopefully it was an order filler! C'mon you guys know all about order fillers....those pieces that are marginal but you buy because you need to hit a magic number to make the right amount to receive a discount, or to make the shipping and handling charge worth it! I know, I am not the only one who does this! *LOL*

So with two wonderful new skirts under my belt and two great new outfits to wear to work this week, I can work on something a little harder. So I have already cut out and just waiting to be sewn is Vogue 8118 - View B - the top with the tie.

I got the idea to try this one from Debra H. on Patternreview. She did a review of it a couple of weeks ago and I really liked the top. So it is cut out from this funky rayon border scarf print that I found at H&M Fabrics on 35th Street in NYC, for the grand price of $1 per panel! If it works and makes the really kewl top I hope for it will be worth it! And if it doesn't work and ends up just as a muslin for a new pattern I am trying then that's alright too because it was only $4 for the piece.

Pics of the fabric is below and more pics can be found in my Yahoo Photo Album.

So those are my weekend sewing adventures and I'm back! Yes!

Thread Notes

I think garment sewers break into two catagories when it comes to thread. We either collect basic colors and use them in all of our projects or we are obsessed with owning thread in every color under the sun and must change it for each and every project.

I know that there are people who are perfectly happy using shades of gray, black or white in their sergers when working on garments. I guess they believe that it is something that is not seen from the outside so it is not really necessary to change the thread or have the thread match every project exactly.

Then there are people like me...who are obsessive about the color of thread they are using in a project. Not only must the thread match, and only if necessary, coordinate with the base fabric but the serger thread must match too! Not only does this require more purchasing and storage solutions but it also means that before I can start any project I must find just the right thread color. Now how does this work with my "Just sew it!" philosophy, you ask? Well, it means that I buy a lot of thread! *LOL*

I am constantly on the lookout for thread and thread bargains. Let me assure you right now that I am not looking for cheap thread ~ my machines would turn their noses up at me and laugh if I tried to thread them with cheap thread ~ no, I mean great bargains on quality thread. And I have alot of it. I have to! I have to be ready to sew anything whenever I want to! And I absolutely abhor having to stop working on a project to pick up thread or a notion that I don't have in my collection.

That is one of the reasons why I plan so much. Planning affords me the opportunity to gather the necessary thread & notion choices ~ if not presently in my collection ~ and have the goods ready and at my disposal when I am ready to create.

So what brings up this topic today? The sewing gods are once again smiling on me and I am sewing. Please let's just stop here for a moment of reverence for the sewing gods

...one mississippi (pause)

...two mississippi (pause)

...okay enough of that ~ back to the regularly scheduled sewing thoughts, and I have done the unthinkable. I didn't change my serger thread for the skirt I am making. I am too afraid that if I stop, I won't start again. And I hate to change serger thread! Ssshhh that was a secret! So for my bright blue printed skirt, the seams will be serged with black thread and stitched with black thread. Ah, the heresy of it, but there it is! And my reasoning ~ the skirt is lined and you will never see the thread.

So I guess sometimes I break my own rules too?! *LOL*
BTW, which are you? Are you or aren't you thread obsessed?

I would like you to meet

Hi, I would like you to meet Lulu. Lulu came to me about three years ago. I was looking for a used dressform and a friend of mine had one that she sold to me inexpensively. I had wanted a dressform for a while and after seeing how people were using them on the internet to show the beautiful garments they had made, I really wanted one.

I had to journey to pick Lulu up because she was living in a barn out of state. Lulu is from "The Uniquely You family" ~ the plus size branch. She had been residing out of state with several of her cousins from the Dressform Family but she had never been put to use. Since I was willing to take her "as she was" she seemed willing to take me too.

I spent a weekend getting to know her intimately. As in all of my measurements were taken and a moulange (well practically) of my body was performed on her cover. We were merged in a fitting ceremony and attempted to become one.

See, Lulu is still better endowed in some areas than I am and less endowed in others. I don't think I am as broad shouldered as she is and I know that she doesn't have my *ass*ets! No matter how we tried to pad her, it just wasn't getting as bouncy as I am...if you know what I mean! And then there is the matter of her bodacious bosum. It is a little pointer than mine and even with a nippleotomy and a good bra, she still doesn't quite resemble me in that area. A close second but not a perfect match.

So after the minor plastic surgery and a long awkward journey home...I mean she wouldn't fit in the trunk so she had to ride between some children in the backseat of the car. So we did get a few strange looks at the gas station but that is neither here nor there....Lulu came home. And for a while I tried to photograph garments on Lulu, and fit things on Lulu but Lulu is soooo still! I couldn't really see how garments flowed or how they reacted when I sat down or walked. So I noticed that over time Lulu became more of a holder of my latest fiber inspiration standing in the corner than an actual wearer of my newly made creations.

Then we moved. Now I am not quite sure that the movers knew what to make of Lulu. I mean once upon a time there was a Lulu in almost every household but when movers are amazed that you have over 50 boxes labeled "fabric" and for the "sewing area" I just knew they didn't get Lulu. I really knew it when after putting those same fabric boxes into their designated fabric closet - unopened - I happened upon Lulu buried behind those boxes shoeless. Okay, without her stand. I looked everywhere for her stand pieces, even calling the moving company but no stand. So that is why Lulu now leans in a corner of my sewing area. And why I had to take her picture on a rolling chair.

I have an idea to get Lulu standing tall again but I guess I just haven't gotten around to it because she is doing such a good job holding up the corner in my sewing area. Maybe while I wait for inspiration to strike me again, I should give Lulu a chance. Or then since she is not complaining and has obviously learned to live a very full life with her disability, maybe I should just enjoy her as she is....

Randomness

These are just some random thoughts I have been having during the day about my sewing and what I want to do. So I thought I would record them here:

~ I want to use my new Simplicity patterns, not just store them but actually make garments from them!

4014 - This one has a wing collar jacket with a matching dress that has princess seams and a flared bottom.

4093 - Raglan sleeve jacket with a v-neck dress and tank, pants and skirt (first thought to make it up in a blue double knit.


4050 - a Duro dress with princess seams and kimono sleeves - Khaliah Ali pattern

~ Topstitching ideas from the new Liz Claiborne ad - maybe flip the facings back onto the front of the jacket - maybe use this for the jacket in S4014

~ to try sewing a complete wardrobe from one wardrobe pattern, again S4093 comes to mind. I mean I keep buying these wardrobe patterns shouldn't I use them as they were intended at least once!

~ I hate lapped zippers - why???? I also hate zippers in side seams. Why would you just invest all of that time and effort in a garment and have it open at an inappropriate time!???

~ maybe I shouldn't sew from a list this season. Maybe I should be a little more sponteneous or maybe not! *LOL*

~ I want to make a pledge to myself not to purchase any more fabric from Fabric Mart for the next three months. I mean a box of fabric a month from them for the last eight months is a bit much isn't it?

~ Why can't there be another sewing show on TV like Sew Perfect was? I miss the daily inspiration.

~ I need to finish my "Cashmere Dreams" pieces and the maroon/navy twinset from last winter.

~ I need to buy a three subject notebook for Fall/Winter 2006-2007. All this online blogging has caused me to not keep a Spring/Summer journal. I need a piece of paper filled with ideas... one section to list ideas to sew; one section to tape inspirational pictures in; and the last section to make lists and keep fabric swatches. Because won't these be living testimonials to my art when I no longer exist? Won't my daughters treasure these later?

Possible Future Sewing Ideas:

• a two piece dress and cardigan from the Eggplant knit from EOS using the my TNT burda cardigan and a burda t-shirt dress
• a blue rayon twill from FM for a bias flare skirt to coordinate with the rust colored silk blouse in my closet
• pink wool embroidered edge fabric for a flare skirt with a lining
• print cotton twill fabric panel for a skirt with brown moleskin for accents and a vest.

Welcome to my randomness....

I got nothing...

I got nothing and I am as dry as a bone...well creatively that is! And I am annoyed! I hate when I have down periods and don't want to sew. Especially since sewing is the one thing that defines me without involving someone else. Yes, I am someone's mother, friend, significant other, daughter, etc. but sewing defines just me. It identifies me as a creative person, talented, gifted, artistic, and no I am not bragging, just stating a fact. A fact that too many of us shy away from but that is a topic for another day!

I just hate when the sewing inspiration lays dormant and I have to struggle through the black and white world without my sewing colored goggles on!

I got nothing. I am mad and struggling!

Next!

Before and After

There are certain times of the year when the seasons just seem to overlap. When you really should be wearing and sewing clothing for the season you are presently in but the lure of the next season has truly started to worm itself into your brain. It happens to me every year at two major junctions ~ winter into spring and summer into fall. I guess everything just changes so dramatically at the end of those seasons (winter and summer) that you naturally start looking out over the horizon to see what's next.

It doesn't help that RTW manufacturers, designers, stores, catalogues and magazines are all moving you in that direction by teasing you with the next season's offerings. And since I am such a huge consumer of fashion magazines and catalogues, my mind has already moved away from summer sewing and into fall sewing. On the one hand this is a good thing. I am getting a jump on my fall wardrobe by looking at and planning what new trends to incorporate into my fall/winter wardrobe. I am starting to go through my fall wardrobe and carefully examine the garments from last season. When you aren't wearing the garments every day, I think you have a much more objective eye about what you did and did not wear last winter and what needs to be auf'd!

You can also look objectively at what needs to be repaired, what didn't work for you and needs to be donated and what has just become outdated. Which brings me to the title of this post, "Before and After." Every season I sew several trendy garments ~ something that is highlighted in the fashion mags as the "it" garment. And inevitably, a year or two later the garment is now "out!" Sometimes the garment is donated to one of the charities seeking used clothing, sometimes the garment is stripped of all usable parts especially if the fabric is damaged or stained and the remaining piece thrown away. And sometimes, when I get really lucky, the piece can be altered, giving it a new life. So therefore, my sewing was not in vain.

This season that happened with two skirts that I made two years ago. I really liked wearing these skirts and they worked well in my fall wardrobe. So here are their befores:

The first fall skirt:

My "before" version of the Casual Corner Skirt with the ruffled hem.

The "after" version ~ which is a more classic and seasonless skirt.

The second fall skirt:

My "before" version of the Fringed Skirt.

And my "after" version of the same black plaid skirt ~ which makes it "trendy" for Fall 2006!

More pictures of "Before and Afters" can be seen in my Yahoo Photo Album.

I have to admit that this did satisfy some of my initial enthusiasm to sew "Fall Garments" and I can now go back and work on that blue silk crepe dress that I cut out prior to vacation. But even those pieces are transitional pieces ~ late summer into early fall.

So I guess I really am turning away from Summer sewing and heading into Fall. I know I can't be alone in this journey so how many of you have begun to think & plan Fall sewing?

I Can't Believe It!

I'm back from vacation and I have to show you this picture:

What is this? What am I trying to show you? That I went on vacation and this is all I bought home sewing related...2.5 yards of a tapestry, 1 yard of a print, a Simplicity pattern and two tracing wheels...somehow after the teenager used them they mysteriously returned to my sewing area broken. But that is a post for another day!

So I haven't sewn in like 11 days and I only bring home 3.5 yards of fabric! What is going on here!?! I mean I had a list of fabric stores in the area, I had money, and I had transportation and somehow I only managed to pick these few things up in the local Wal-mart! Something is definitely wrong with this picture!

So that is my sad vacation tale. I go back to work on Monday and I have to catch up on my sewing and finish up my Burda Six!

BTW, it's good to be home!

A Vacation Break

Last night I cleaned up my sewing area....I put away some fabric that had been laying around. I put away sewing tools and organized several patterns that I was using in my last outfits. See I am going on vacation! Yeah, really going away this time and I need to spend the next few evenings doing some things to prepare my family to leave. So this will be my last blog entry for about a week and a half! But before I left I wanted to show you how far I got on the Burda Six!


I am opening with a picture of the button and the bead detailing. There was a conversation on Sewing World a few months ago about how to make the thread tails look better on the back of buttons. There were many suggestions given but the one I liked best came from Kathryn ~ where she suggested putting a small bead on the back of the button to hide the threads. This is becoming a signature piece for me now. On this jacket, I only put one single blue bead at the collar area because I never button my jacket up that far. And I have always worried about those "nasty" thread tails showing ~ this solves the problem and looks so kewl at the same time! That is what I like so much about the conversations at Sewing World (at the time) and now Artisans Square. It helps me to refine my sewing ~ adding those last little details that take my sewing to the next level!


Here is a picture of the jacket! I am especially proud of the buttons on the jacket because not only are they covered buttons but they also have an added gold rim to the button. I love that I made these custom buttons for this jacket. They look nothing like you would see in the store!


Here is how I wore the outfit today to work. Got a lot of compliments and it was great to wear this outfit on one of the hottest days of the year. It was well over 90 degrees and the jacket, top & city shorts were great in the office and outside, I just removed the jacket and had a cute outfit to walk to the bus stop.

This version is with a RTW tank top. I was surprised at how good it looks all together and I love the pants. The transitional wool has a bit of lycra stretch in it so I used a wider leg pants pattern when I cut the pants out because the fabric was very drapey. The pants feel great on and I think they look okay too!


The final version and I am going to pack this one to take with me on vacation ~ is the jacket, top and skirt. This will make a great outfit to wear to church service one day during the week. Cool and comfortable yet classic! Now that is my idea of a good outfit. If you want to see my Yahoo photo album with more pictures, just click on the highlighted link!

The blue silk crepe dress is all cut out and sitting on my cutting table waiting for me to come back from vacation and finish it up! I had enough time to complete it yesterday but started watching movies with my family and was having such a good time that I let it go! It will be here waiting for me when I come back from vacation and it is always nice to have a garment already cut out and the machines threaded just waiting to be used. It makes getting back into the sewing swing of things so easy!

Well that's it! My last sewing adventure for awhile! I have a list of fabric stores in the area that we are traveling to so I will let you know if anything follows me home! *smile*

Have a good week! Happy sewing and enjoy the journey! Peace!

Stash Diving

Or as a subtitle, "Mining my fabric collection for gold!" And I struck pay dirt! I found a lightweight nutmeg wool ticotine that I purchased at Jomars like ages ago! As you can see from the picture below ~ it works really well with the two main fabrics.

I think it will work really well with the blue silk crepe piece too!

So this is just an update. I will not need to venture into the garment district the week before leaving for vacation. I won't have to stand in the fabric store adding and subtracting and hoping that I am not taking away too much money from the vacation fund because I found a few other pieces that I just had to have and would add so much to the collection! *smile* Nope ~ I have found a suitable piece in my fabric collection.

And today, my fabric collection is like gold! I have found a piece that has been aging for years that will work perfectly with some recently purchased fabrics. Also while I was on my hands and knees pulling pieces from the bottom shelf of the closet, I found two other pieces that will work well with my "All the Leaves Are Brown" Fall SWAP! Yeap, a fabric collection is well worth the time and effort ~ well at least in my case!

So I am off to sew now! I will add a pair of pants from the wool and this will really make these pieces transition from summer to late summer and into early fall! Yeah, it's a good day in the fabric closet!

The Burda Six ~ so far...

Just thought I would give an update on how I am doing with "The Burda Six!" This concept is based upon 6 or 7 garments made in complimentary fabrics that can work as a mini wardrobe. I started with Burda's concept and came up with my own plan to make a jacket, a dress, 2 tank tops, a skirt and a pair of pants.

I was using a beige rayon/linen blend for the jacket and pants to have a basic pantsuit that could be dressed up or down using various tops in my wardrobe besides the ones that were part of the Burda Six. My first obstacle was that I did not have as much fabric as I thought I had ~ the pants became city shorts. Then even though I thought I had correctly measured the shoulder seam, I had to take the sleeves out and put them back in. Luckily, I had only hand basted them in! This is my personal "slow down and enjoy the journey" effort. Any sleeves that have to be put into a jacket or top without a flat application, must be hand basted in. This allows me to check how the sleeve looks in the garment, how it hangs, where the jacket falls on my shoulder without a major effort of getting the sleeve out if there is something I don't like!

The tank top was made using the SW Mission Tank out of the beige/blue swirly print rayon/linen blend. This is a favorite TNT pattern of mine that I have lengthened, changed the neckline on and even constructed it in a knit fabric although the pattern is designed to be used with wovens.


The TNT skirt with some extra flare in the panels was also made from the beige/blue swirly print rayon/linen blend. Using TNT patterns made this fast and easy sewing. Also its summer sewing so there are no linings, no hand stitched hems ~ machine stitched only, so the sewing is pretty quick!


I now have three of the six pieces completed. The jacket needs the shoulder pads covered and sewn in, a hem and buttons and buttonholes. But I feel like I am in the home stretch for finishing it. I still have to make the dress from McCalls 3197. View A ~ the sleeveless one with the ruffled hem. And another tank top from the blue silk crepe using this tank top pattern ~ another TNT.

I think I need to add a chocolate brown linen skirt or pair of pants. The garments just seem like they need one more bright pop of color. However, I don't have a chocolate brown linen in my fabric collection and I am a little loathe to go out looking for some. Who knows what might follow me home from the garment district!!!! Just one more shot of the wearing possibilities!

See how the brown necklace gives it that added pop of color! Yes, I definitely need a couple yards of brown linen to play off the print, the light solid beige and the silky blue. It will add the "finishing touch" to my version of the Burda Six! Will let you know what I find? And if only the chocolate brown fabric makes it home with me! *smile*

Finishing Up Summer Sewing

Even though I took most of yesterday to dream and pull fall fabrics, I still have a list of garments that I want to finish for this summer season. The list has been edited from my overly ambitious one that couldn't possibly be done before next January, to a slightly more manageable one that I can finish and still wear by the end of September.

The first set of garments on my list is "The Burda Six":

The Burda Six is a reference to the Burda World of Fashion magazines. Y'know how lately every monthly issue highlights a group of 6 or 7 pieces that are made to work together? Well I have some great rayon/linen blend pieces that I thought would make an interesting Burda Six. So my pieces are made from 4 yards of a tan rayon/linen from FFC; 5 yds of a tan & shades of blue swirly print in rayon/linen also from FFC and 4 yds of a light blue silk crepe from Jomars in Philadelphia.

Using the Burda Six as a model, I am making:
~ an unlined jacket and a pair of city shorts (Vogue 8264) out of the tan rayon/linen,
~ a tank top and short flare skirt from TNT patterns from the printed rayon/linen
~ and a dress & tank using McCalls 3173 out of the blue silk crepe.

"Six pieces to make up a mix and match wardrobe."

Here is a picture of the jacket so far.

I still have a lot of work to do to it. Especially since I added binding to all the exposed seams in the garment and made piping for the collar. This is definitely not qualifying as a fast and easy jacket. I have close ups below of the jacket and the details inside the jacket.

Close up of the piped collar and back seam!

Close up of the collar stand and back seam

And as always, I will keep you updated on the progress of "The Burda Six!"

All The Leaves Are Brown

...and the sky is gray!" are the opening lines to "California Dreamin' " a song by the Mamas and the Papas! But it is also a great title for a Fall SWAP!

I have been thinking alot about fall sewing. I am sure that is because the fall RTW catalogues and magazines are starting to hit my mailbox and fall fashions are popping up everywhere! So to assauge my desire for all things fall, I started searching my fabric closet for shades of brown fabrics.

Ahhhh ~ true confession time! I have three full shelves of brown fabrics in all shades of brown and in an amazing array of fabrications. It was actually a little difficult to come up with several fabrics that worked together but after a little pulling and tugging (to get them out of the packed shelves), a little mixing and matching and a whole lotta "I can't believe I have this!" I came up with two sets of fabrics that I want to use to start my fall sewing. Yeap, two sets! I know, I know I have issues but I will pledge allegiance to the "no more buying fabric gods" at another date, okay!!!

The first set of fabrics consist of deeper shades of browns and a little tan for contrast. The interesting thing to me is that none of these fabrics were purchased at the same time and several of them came from opposite coasts of the USA.

The first batch of brown fabrics consist of:

• a caramel brown polyester knit from Fabrix Fabrics in San Francisco, CA
• a brown/black paisley moleskin from Walmarts from Cape Cod, MA - purchased while I was on vacation one summer.
• shades of brown wool challis paisley that has been in the collection since I was 21!
• chocolate brown wool pique from Textile Studio
• a crumpled pattern brown stretch velour from Spandex House, NYC garment district
• a deep brown crocheted knit from Jomars in Philadelphia, PA
• a brown/tan/black silk/wool blend glen plaid from Fabric.com
• and finally a smooth brown sweater knit from Emmaonesock

And of course I have a myriad of garment ideas floating through my mind to construct! No solid decisions yet. I just know that this fabric combination will work great for fall sewing.

The second combination is a smaller list and is not really a SWAP sewing experience, just some fabrics that go together and will make wonderful pieces.

They are:

• a mahagony brown wool flannel that has been aging for years in my collection. This 6 yard piece was purchased from Felsen Fabrics in NYC. Felsen has been out of business for at least five years maybe more! But I do remember that this was one of my first major fabric purchases from 40th Street.
• a cranberry waffle knit that is just part of the collection
• a rust/brown/black floral printed corduroy from Fabric Mart
• a rust wool/blend sweater knit from Casual Elegance

The Mahagony Brown Pieces and a shot of all the fabrics together! Boy did this leave a big hole on a shelf in my fabric closet! And I vow not to fill it until these pieces are actually garments! *smile*

So all I have to do now is get through the last of my summer sewing and I will be ready for fall sewing! I love my fabric closet ~ I really, really do! And all the little white tags on the fabric ~ why to tell me what it is, where I purchased it and how much yardage I have!

Fashion Shots

The hardest part of sewing for me is photographing the finished product! I want you to see what I saw when I was dreaming of the garment and then making it. Sometimes I am successful ~ sometimes I am not! Most times after I have finished constructing a garment, I just don't feel like putting on my game face and taking pictures of my creations. I bought Lulu (my dressform) so that I could show my garments like Kathryn does but that worked for only a few pictures. I still think I look best in my clothes.

So today ~ weeks after I finished these garments, I am finally ready for my photo shoot. Thanks to my trusty daughter who loves fashion as much as I do and is a great beginning sewer and fabric collector ~ I have fashion shots!



On the right,
Me with Attitude!
Wearing a handkerchief linen jacket and one of my spring sewing skirts! Made the linen jacket several years ago and it's been a staple in my wardrobe ever since.

On the left,
wearing part of the new "Prada Dreamsicle SWAP"!





Of course I am always searching for the skinny shot! Y'know the one that makes my bodacious body not look quite so bodicious! *LOL*

My Queen Latifah pose!

Chillin' Summer Style!

Yeap ~ This is me, everyday!

So I've shared a little of what I look like in the clothes that I made recently! Hope I didn't bore ya!