Seven Days of SWAP - Day Two

When I began my SWAP I had three colors in mind - black, white and red. The colors were chosen because they were basic but could provide a punch when placed together in the right combination. I knew that I wanted a red suit so I designed a dress and jacket outfit in red...just a simple corporate type outfit. However, I have to admit to being influenced by what other SWAPPers and sewists on the internet were doing. My little red outfit seemed to plain, it lacked verve. So what to do? I went with my strong suit ~ embellishment. For some time now, I have wanted to pintuck some fabric and then turn it into a garment. This seemed like a good opportunity for me to try this process out. I thought the pintucking detail would not only add dimension to a conventional garment but it would also give it a slimming effect.

By choosing to pintuck the fabric, the simple idea became an epic project. It took two weekends to get the fabric lengths pintucked, using two different sewing machines, eight bobbins of thread and 3/4 of a 10,000 yard spool of thread. And after making a few samples and starting to pintuck the first length, I realized that I liked the wrong side of the fabric better than the actual pintucked side!

Fabric:

100% worsted wool crepe from Timmel Fabrics - this was my qualifying purchase.

Pattern:

Butterick 5932 OOP - TNT - this pattern has a copyright date of 1988 on it. And if by chance you happen to own this pattern and notice that there isn't a knee length dress with short sleeves included in in the pattern, that's because years ago I made the empire waist, calf-length sleeveless dress. I made it several times - well actually I made a series of those dresses and I loved the pattern block. So I altered the pattern pieces to reflect the new look I wanted. From the altered pattern I have made the "new" dress out of linen, wool crepe, cotton pique and silk to name a few fabric types. I have made this dress for every season except winter because I just don't do dresses in the wintertime!

Construction Details:

1. Pintucking the fabric lengths was the most time consuming aspect of this project. The pintucking was done using a Schmetz twin needle size 4.0/8.0. I only made one adjustment to the tension on my sewing machine to tighten the stitching on the top and pull the pintucks a little tighter. This made the channel on the reverse side just a little deeper which was the effect I was aiming for.

2. Added a lining to the dress

3. Neckline on the dress was changed from a slight u-neck style to a slight v-neck style.

How I plan on wearing the dress:

1. Dress alone

2. Dress with black wool crepe felted jacket

3. Dress with sweater knit jacket

4. Dress with black Tamotsu dress

I have enough fabric left over to make a jacket and to add some of the pintucking detailing to it. I just need a minute for my ideas to perculate. Even though this piece is not the workhorse that the Tamotsu dress is, it does give the collection a much needed punch of color and it does fulfill the requirements needed for my "Corporate Chic" collection.

And that's day two...

The Seven Days of SWAP - "Day One"

Since I created a dress SWAP, I thought I would start the seven days with my favorite dress from the collection, "The black wool crepe Tamotsu dress - Vogue 2090 (OOP)." Gotcha didn't I? Bet you thought it would be the reversible dress - close but no cigar!


This piece is the keystone of my collection. It was the first piece that I put on my list when I was deciding what to make. This dress did go through a few variations before I settled on this one.

Fabric:
100% worsted wool crepe in black purchased from Fabric Mart's Sample Cut Club.

Pattern:
Vogue 2090 - View B. This pattern is OOP and a TNT favorite of mine. I know that someone recently purchased one from Ebay so the pattern is out there, if you are willing to look for it! This is a great shirt dress that has "the curve" already drawn into the pattern. It is easy to sew and the collar and stand apply quickly and neatly to the dress. The pattern cover describes the dress as semi-fitted, A-line dress, above ankle, has collar, collar band, shoulder pads, mock front bands and above elbow sleeves.

Notions:
A dozen buttons from M&J Trims

Construction Details:

• changed the sleeves from short elbow length to full length - I used the sleeves from the jacket pattern to do this because I figured the armhole dimensions would be drafted similarly for the jacket and the dress. This was a second use of the long sleeves - I used them in a jacket I drafted from the dress pattern last summer.


• shortened dress from ankle length to just below knee length


• added a lining to the dress


• dyed some lace and added to the hem of the lining


• embellishments: piping added to the collar, a satin foldover bias trim added to the sleeve hems.

How I plan on wearing it: I see this piece as not only a dress but also as a jacket. Here is a list of how I will wear this piece.

1. Dress alone
2. Dress with Sewing Workshop embellished tank
3. Dress and felted wool crepe jacket
4. Dress with Sewing Workshop tank and pants
5. Dress with gray reversible dress
6. Dress with lilac reversible dress
7. Dress with Dana Top and pants

Conclusion: This is a TNT (tried 'n true) pattern that I will make again. In my closet I presently have two out of linen (the tea dyed dress is one of these) and one out of a coppery silk duppioni. This latest is probably the most versatile version that I have made. It will be a hard working piece in my SWAP and will be "a great out of the closet and onto my body dress" for important days at work!

And that's Day One!

It is finished...

And I am definitely feeling the letdown...

I have been so anxious all week about the pictures for the SWAP contest (Sewing With A Plan), that now that I have finally selected and Photoshopped and Adobized five there is the letdown...My pictures have winged their way to Julie and of course, I think I should have sent some different shots or I am wondering if my write-up was succint enough but yet contained enough depth to get across my purpose in sewing the SWAP! Doubts, I have quite a few!

My next project is a suit - big surprise there right! And even though it doesn't feel like spring here in the Northeast and it doesn't look like it's coming anytime soon...I am going ahead with this outfit so I will be ready when spring finally does show up. I am using a TNT jacket pattern - Vogue 7944 and my TNT straight skirt pattern. Which I am going to admit that I now have in three different sizes! The version I was using last year is too big - how did that happen? So I am going back to the second version of this pattern (thank goodness I don't like throwing out patterns!) and will use it for the skirt. Both pieces will be lined and I am thinking of making a quickie little tank from some blue sandwashed silk crepe that I scored at JoMars years and years ago. I will work on that this weekend.

And finally Sunday I will begin sharing my "Seven Days of SWAP!" My 11 pieces really were created so that I could wear them for an entire week of work without repeating anything and for any occasion that might come up...several of what seems like the hundreds of shots that I took and rejected for the contest will be revealed at the time. I hope you will hang around and enjoy the show!

This is the part I hate...

The pictures...I hate taking them! This is one of the few times that I wish I had cute little petite clothes so I could just hang them up and take pictures...where the piece fits nicely into one picture and you can see all of the curves. It is just so much more appealing than when the piece hangs there in folds...and folds...and folds...totally losing the shape...*sigh*

So I am taking pictures at home and I am wearing my SWAP to work and the production guys are taking pictures too and hopefully I will come up with five pictures that magically transform me into a beautiful, thin woman wearing the awesome clothes that I have created! *LOL*

I have to share this story with you...I wore the black Tamoutso dress to work today with my favorite pointy toe black shoes with the 3" heels. I was standing in the kitchen and a co-worker walked by and then came back in to check to see who the new girl was...she said that I didn't look like myself! Ha! That was the black fabric erasing 10 lbs. *LOL* But the dress is a winner! I got compliments from everyone today on it, and quite a few "I can't believe you made it's"...so win, lose or draw...I have already won because these garments have given my wardrobe the corporate polish that I desired.

Here's a picture of the entire grouping....

And I know what I am going to make next - a jacket and skirt in a blue/white spring colored knit from Emmaonesock...then its American Girl doll clothes!

Congratulations to all those who started SWAP, those who didn't finish and to those who did finish and who now have eleven new pieces!

My Reversible Piece - Simplicity 4014

Each year Julie adds a different creative element to the SWAP challenge. This year's element is that one piece has to be reversible...it can be any one of the garments in the SWAP but you must be able to wear either side with the other pieces in your collection. As I said in a previous post, I really don't like reversible garments - just don't understand them! And because of this dislike, I almost did not participate in this year's SWAP.

So imagine my surprise when the reversible garment I made turns out to be pretty fantastic...well fantastic to me! *smile* In my original plan (which has changed quite a bit since it was originally created) the reversible piece was a wrap skirt that was going to be a black/white/red silk tweed on one side and a red silk broadcloth with a lace hem on the other.

However, as I started to sew the collection, I realized that I don't wear skirts in the middle of winter. It is just too darn cold and I am not really a boot wearer. Since this wardrobe is specifically designed for my new work environment, two pantsuits were a more practical choice than a suit with a skirt.

Now the challenge became what to make that would not only work with the other pieces I had already constructed but be something that I would actually wear. Being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until almost all of the collection was completed to figure this out. But boy am I glad that I waited.

I finally settled on a reversible dress - inspiration for this was described in a post a few days ago. My first idea was to use a TNT tank dress pattern and alter the hemline to have quite a bit of flare in it. Simplicity 4014 was laying in the pile of patterns that I had pulled for spring/summer sewing and it started "talking loudly" specifically because it contains a princess seam dress with the flare at the hem that I desired. The second requirement for this reversible piece was that it bring some color to the collection since the majority of pieces are black and white...color & print were definitely needed to ensure that the collection stayed true to my personality.

There were two polyester prints in my collection - that's what I went looking for Friday morning and what inspired the ode to my fabric closet - that I had purchased from H&M Fabrics on 35th Street in NYC. I am sorry to say that the store is now defunct...lost to the reconfiguration of office space that is now happening in the garment district. I loved H&M Fabrics because they had trendy, inexpensive pieces and the tag on these two pieces stated that I only paid a $1 a yard for them!

Now I read the pattern instructions throughly before cutting out the garment but frankly I found the wording and illustrations a little confusing ~ especially the sewing sequence. And since I was going to change some of the construction details anyway, I ditched the instructions and went my own way.

First a few of the changed construction details and then pics of the finished dress. Here is what I changed:

1. All seams are sewn 3/8" instead of the 5/8" the pattern recommends.

2. I omitted the back zipper in the dress choosing instead to lower the neckline so that I could pull the dress over my head.

3. I lowered the front & back neckline 5/8" and omitted the facings that were included in the pattern. Why did you need facings when the dress has a lining anyway?

4. I used a large full dart in the center front panel of the dress - I have a full high bust and find I need to use the biggest dart on a pattern not necessarily the one recommended for my dress size.

5. I cut the pattern pieces so that the shoulders were slim like tank top shoulders, that the dress would fit closely through the bustline and then fit loosely through the waist and hips. The first dress was constructed and then all changes were made to the second dress which was actually cut 1/4" larger all around than the first one.

6. The two dresses were basted together at the neckline and armholes. Then serged together. The satin binding was added last.

7. Both dresses are hemmed individually. I didn't want to lose the flow of the hem of the dresses by stitching the hems together.

Here is the both versions of the dress:

The first in the shades of purple print and the second one in shades of black & grey worn with the black wool crepe jacket.

I am finishing up the Dana Silhouettes top now...just in time to make the deadline!

And next week, I will post the "Seven Days of SWAP." These posts will be all about how these 11 pieces can take me through any work situation that may come up...so stay tuned!

My Fabric Collection

I went into my fabric closet this morning to look for a piece of fabric. I wanted to see how it would work with my completed SWAP pieces. But as I stood in the closet, I flashed back to a conversation that is taking place on Artisans Square/Stitchers Guild. Well, actually it is two conversations...

The first one is called A Legacy where "Karent" talks about her aunt's death and the sewing stash she left behind and how much it means to her to have inherited it. And the second one is called, Sewingroom video from YouTube. Both conversations end up discussing how sewers need to stash fabrics & notions and what happens to them once you have passed on. I am borrowing the last line of Karen's post from the YouTube folder, "My biggest regret is not that my aunt left so much stash behind, my regret is that I have not taken the time to enjoy mine as much as she did hers. That, however, is changing from this point forward!"

That sentiment really hit me this morning as I stood in my fabric closet...see it is filled with absolutely amazing fabrics. I have wonderful rayon knits in black & white prints, and colorful prints, like many that you would see on Gorgeous Things Fabrics site or Emmaonesock's site. I purchased these last season or before because they appealed to me and not because they were in fashion. I have linens in an array of colors because I like linen and color looks good on me. There are shelves and shelves of beautiful fabrics of all kinds, for every season arranged by color so it is like a kid walking into a candy store and wondering where to start eating.

And I sighed...a sigh of relief...a sigh of appreciation...a sigh of creative freedom because my fabric collection is within reach. Because at any moment I can open that door and realize my creative hopes and dreams and because it makes me happy. So today I am taking a page out of Karen's book and enjoying the wonderful fabric collection that I have assembled, just because it is there and just because it makes me happy.

You can see pictures of my joy here and here....

Winding up SWAP

Well work is done until next Tuesday morning...so I will immerse myself in the finishing details of my SWAP. Of course, since I have had four more days to think about my reversible piece I am already changing some of the details. Now you would think that since I only have three more days that I would just try to get it finished but noooooo I am off on some kinda trip trying to make it more wearable and to fit in better with my collection.

See this is why I left my reversible piece until last...I just don't like reversible garments! So I had to come up with an idea that would really float my boat ~ something that I would actually wear ~ not something that I made just to fill the contest's requirements. I did that last year and have never worn the garment that I made...so this year I am determined to make a totally relevant and wearable piece.

This dress from Monroe and Main (I must get every catalog under the sun!)

Became my inspiration for a reversible dress. This looked comfortable and like something I would actually wear. Of course this is just the jumping off point but it pointed me in a different direction, well different from what others were doing at Stitchers Guild - all good ideas but not what I wanted. Especially since I have invested so much time and effort into making my "collection" one that would work in my new corporate environment.

Tomorrow I will get up bright and early (well not as bright and early as I usually do - I am definitely sleeping in!) and start on the pattern work. I think I can get at least one of the dresses completed before Good Friday service tomorrow night. I will have all day Saturday to finish it up (while my Easter ham cooks!).

That leaves the top that was originally going to be a sleeveless Jalie turtleneck but I am tired of sewing winter clothes (even though it snowed today in NYC!). I have decided to make the Dana top from Peggy Sagers line, Silhouette Patterns.

Of course I have a twist for the top but nothing so extensive that I can't finish up my pieces by the 8th especially since I am doing sunrise service on Easter. I have gotten my confidence back and I know that I will be done by then! Will take photos on Monday the 9th, take them to work to Photoshop them and send them off to Julie at Timmel Fabrics!

Thank goodness because even though spring may have temporarily gone back into hiding here in the Northeast, I am so ready to sew spring!

M&J Comes Through

So this is what I bought....

Do they work for you? I found a great one that looked similar to this one but it had a ropey kinda gold circle...they were perfect...but they only had 5! So I went with the second choice... I think these should work well with the jacket button which is my primary concern. I don't want the buttons from the jacket and the dress to clash then you couldn't wear them together! BTW, the jacket button is in the center of the dress buttons.

Now here is the $24,000 question...did I work on the dress - Nooooo! I watched Dancing with the Stars instead...repeat after me...procrastation! I mean I really do still have time! *LOL*

I bought the buttons so quickly that when I got back uptown I still had 20 minutes left on my lunch break and since the subway station is right next to the Universal Magazine Store, I stopped in. Hoping against hope that the April Burda would be in the racks, but it wasn't. So I had to settle for the next best thing...another magazine. I found this one ~ "Q Magazine":

It is only published 4x a year but it had some kewl articles (a great one on Arnold Scassi), some beautiful advertisements and lots of eye candy (fashions). I love this magazine store. It seems like every magazine printed in the whole wide world is in here...that may not be true but it sure seems that way!

And finally on the way home when I should have been dreaming about finishing up my SWAP, I was dreaming about this:

Yeap, the patterns I want to use for my spring sewing! And I was mentally shopping my fabric collection and making a list of combinations...I am so ready to be done with SWAP and sew spring! *smile* Gonna go mess with the hem on my dress....

Button, Button who has a button?

I have a lot of buttons...I mean a lot of buttons. I use to work for a button manufacturer so I managed to accumulate quite a few buttons. So you would think that I would have a button that would work on my black wool crepe dress, but noooooo in my entire collection there isn't a button that works. The problem is that I want the button on the dress to work/coordinate with the button that is on the black wool crepe jacket. And I have nothing in my collection that fits the bill....

So I am at a standstill...I was making great progress, too. The red dress was altered to give me a slimmer appearance and then hemmed. Then I started the finishing detailing on the black dress - piping added to collar and the collar attached to the dress.

Satin trim added to the sleeves and several inches cut off the bottom of the dress.

Here is a headless shot of me in the dress without buttons:

Tomorrow I will hit up M&J Trims to see if I can find a coordinating button for the dress. And here is my SWAP so far:

Items completed:

• 2 Dresses completed
• 2 Pairs of lined pants completed
• 2 Jackets completed
• 1 Top completed and 1 top purchased

Left to finish:

• the reversible dress
• one more top
• the buttons & buttonholes and hem on the Tamotsou dress

I will be finished by the 8th....I will be finished by the 8th....I will be finished by the 8th - she says softly as she heads off to bed....

End of the Month Randomness

Well its the last day of March and I have just bits and pieces of thoughts....

1. SWAP News

SWAP is the predominant sewing thing on my mind because well its official end date is tomorrow, April 1st. Thankfully Julie of Timmel Fabrics has given us to April 15th to get pictures into her so I really have one more weekend besides this one to finish up. And I am going to need every minute of it! I will take my photos next weekend and then take them to work to PhotoShop them so that I can present the best five.

Actual sewing that remains is - the red dress needs to be hemmed (I never got to it last week!), the black dress needs buttons & buttonholes and to be hemmed, the reversible dress needs to be made - going to work on that this weekend and the Dana Silhouettes top needs to be made. All of this is doable this weekend and next and I will be done with SWAP!

I have to say that I will be glad to be finished....I have so much new Spring fabric waiting for me that I really want to sew which brings me to my next topic:

2. Fabric Accumulation

Fabric Mart and Metro Textiles really did me in this month! I got 44 yards of fabric from Fabric Mart - the wonderful pieces of linen and wool blends that I detailed earlier in the month and 12 yards of hot, trendy pieces from Metro Textiles. I also got a 2 yard knit piece from Gorgeous Things Fabrics (gotta support my friends!) and 2 yards of a black/white blend boucle from Fabric.com because I want to knock off this jacket from Barrie Pace:

3. Garment Totals
I just haven't thought about this because this month's sewing has been dedicated to SWAP sewing. My goal is just to get finished! *LOL* And move onto other things...preferably things that don't have to match with something else or the other 10 pieces...maybe just make a t-shirt because I can or a new skirt from a piece of fabric from my amazing fabric collection!

4. Last thoughts....
-Ann (Gorgeous Things) wrote about purchasing fabric and the fabric moratorium boards on a few of the sewing sites...I have been trying to reduce my fabric intake - only because I want to make a rather large furniture purchase - but I just have not been that successful...maybe because the siren song of fabric and its possibilities is just too sweet to my ears! Plus as you lay dying do you really think your last thought is going to be...man I bought too much fabric during my life! *LOL* So that just about sums up my position on THAT!

-Another one of those little brown envelopes have turned up from Fabric Mart, but I think I am going to escape without a major fabric purchase this month - just a couple yards of a black linen blend and only because I am too lazy to cart some home from the garment district...

-I purchased this pattern from Simplicity-4074 yesterday thanks to Patti, a good sewing friend. I have been searching for a knit wrap type dress ala DVF that would look good on my plus size body. I really don't want to look like a sausage with a string tied around my waist, like so many plus-size women that I have seen in NYC wearing this look. I think this pattern will solve my challenge. I can wear a trendy new style but still look sleek and slim! So that along with the eyelet trench will be my next projects...well after those AG doll clothes!


Have a good weekend and enjoy the sewing journey!

I have figured something out

Okay this is probably going to be a brief post without pictures because I just had a thought and wanted to share....and its probably something that nobody else cares about, but so what its my blog! *LOL*

I have been visiting blogs today and noticed that other people have lives - small children that require well you know all the things they require (I remember those times!), other hobbies - they knit or scrapbook or something, husbands (well he's been gone for some time now) and generally full lives...I work and I sew.

Mmmmm, maybe that's why I create so much stuff! *LOL* My attention is not diverted to other things...I mean I have children but they are teenagers who basically can fend for themselves and go their own way....and I have friends but their children are all grown now so we do grown up activities which don't seem to take as much time as activities with children....

So I sew...and when I am working I am thinking of ways to get home as quickly as possible so I can sew! See a one track mind! *LOL* I am heading back to SWAP land....more soon!

One down, two and 1/2 more to go

Switching to the Viking definitely helped with the pintucks and then a good cleaning of my regular (Janome 8000) sewing machine's bobbin case and it is back to purring like a baby....I still think I am going to take her in for a servicing but I don't think it's going to die before I finish SWAP - thank goodness!

I got the piece of fabric pintucked

and then decided that I liked the channeling effect better on the reverse side of the pintucks. So that is the side of the fabric that I used to create the dress.

The pintucking gave the fabric dimension and once the embellishment was completed the dress went together one, two, three. But then of course it should, it's a TNT pattern.

I am including a shot of me in the dress, well an off the cuff no fashion shoot shot and I hope you can see the ribbed effect all the pintucking gave the dress. It still needs a hem but I needed a break, will hem it before I go to bed. One more SWAP dress completed.

I have been dithering over the black wool crepe Tamotsu dress not because I don't want to finish it but because I really couldn't decide if I wanted the long sleeves on the dress as originally planned. I finally decided to go with a sleeveless version since I plan on wearing it under both of the SWAP jackets. I am going to keep the sleeves handy, just in case I change my mind next fall but right now it will be sleeveless.

This dress needs the collar added, a finishing treatment done to the armholes, buttons & buttonholes added and to be hemmed. And I am even reconsidering the length of the dress - I am thinking about making it knee-length instead of calf-length....decisions, decisions...I wonder if this is how the designers feel before they do a show in Bryant Park! *LOL*

I have one more dress finished, one almost finished (the half referred to in the title!), a top which I think will probably end up being the Silhouttes Dana top because I just can't imagine a turtleneck now and the reversible tank dress. I can see the finish line...I just hope I can keep sprinting towards it!

Staggering towards the finish line

The SWAP finish line that is....

Why is it that when you have a deadline everything seems to go wrong or you get these gradiose ideas which also causes everything to go wrong....

First - my sewing machine needs to go in the shop. It was making a knocking noise but sewing a straight stitch well enough and probably well enough for me to finish my SWAP pieces. But I got the great idea to embellish the red wool crepe so that my TNT short sleeve dress would have some umph...not heavy embellishment...just some double-needle pintucks. Okay, I admit that I am pintucking the entire piece of fabric but my machine should have held up through that....NOT!

Second - frustration set in last Sunday evening as I realized that an entire weekend was going to pass without me completing another garment on my SWAP and the deadline was looming. I was pretty moody at work on Monday because I would have much rather been at my sewing machine....

Third - inspiration from another source - Hotpatterns decides to put out a new collection. Now I have never purchased a Hotpatterns pattern - though the designs are inspiring I had been put off by the sewing challenges. However this pattern really started me thinking:

credits - www.hotpatterns.com

Then I make the mistake of informing my internet buddies that I "like" the pattern and the ideas start flowing hot and heavy. Does any of this idea sharing encourage me to continue my SWAP sewing....Noooooo! Instead I have to keep repeating over and over again that I still have SWAP sewing to do.


Fourth - a box of beautiful knit fabrics arrive from FabricMart, the weather is starting to turn warm and I am sewing fall items....need I say more!


So today I pulled out the old Viking, set it up and it is making pintucks like a whiz, and I am staggering towards the SWAP finish line.

Wish me luck! Because I still have SWAP sewing to do!

Sewing Inspiration

I usually spend Saturday mornings trolling the internet - visiting blogs, looking at online fashion spots, etc. I happen to love the Dana Buchman line. Have loved it for years but in my last job I really didn't need to wear the kind of clothing she sold but loved her line for color and style inspiration! Well what a difference a year makes...now this is "my" type of clothing for business attire again!

So you know I just about flipped this morning when I clicked in and saw her new spring collection and this trench:

Do I not have the perfect fabric (compliments of Kashi) to make this trench! Won't it just be fabu ~ yeah, I know I am overusing the word but it's my new word of the moment! Don't I have several trench patterns in my pattern stash that could become this amazing coat!

Now to contain my excitement, finish my SWAP, make those doll clothes and move onto Spring Sewing! Yes!!!!

SWAP News

There are 23 days left to SWAP according to Marji's blog and 16 days left according to Shannon's blog....but in my head there are four more weekends (including this one) to finish the last pieces of my "Corporate Chic" SWAP. Doing the dress SWAP has been considerably easier for me and really allowed me to just flow...

Last weekend I finished up the black/white plaid jumper - picture below.

So I still have two dresses - one of which will be reversible and one top left to make. I have already started one of the dresses, just need to be inspired to complete it. I definitely feel like I am going to finish the SWAP in plenty of time and even have enough time to do a photo shoot the way that I want. Last year I don't think that I properly displayed my garments or really gave a good description of how they worked in my wardrobe. These are definitely two areas I want to improve upon this year!

After I finish my SWAP - I am going to take a break from human clothes and make some clothes for my boss' daughter's American Girl doll. Her birthday is May 7th and I have planned a wardrobe of doll clothes for her 18" doll. I love sewing doll clothes especially since this is stress-free sewing. You plan, get creative & sew. The doll doesn't complain, doesn't worry about fit and I can usually make one or two outfits that just WOW! the little girl.

Finally two additional pictures - I posted about the Taginello purse that I bought from QVC last weekend...well it arrived and I have two shots of it for you Linda! The inside....


And the bag with the matching wallet...that was the part that really sold me. It is a little smaller than the huge tote I am presently lugging around but I notice that in the summer I carry less stuff so this should work out fine.

Gotta go to bed...as the sleet bangs against the window...it is the middle of March, right? I mean Spring really is next Tuesday...'cause it sure feels like winter here in NJ!

A Marfy Virgin

I have admired Marfy patterns for years....and for years I have faithfully purchased the catalogs from the newsstands in NYC - never thinking about purchasing a pattern - only using the catalogs for inspiration in my sewing.

However, there has been an explosion of Marfy pattern making on the sewing boards. All of it inspiring...all of it challenging...most of it intimidating! For several seasons I have had what I claimed was a legitimate reason not to accept the challenge of a Marfy pattern..."They don't come in my size." Now this is not to say Marfy doesn't make plus size patterns, but the really kewl patterns - like the one on the cover or in the first few pages of the catalogue - aren't in the plus size range. I like the detailing on the kewl skinny patterns, the slim fit, the play with color that is lacking in their plus size offerings. So I admired these patterns from the sidelines and just borrowed liberally from their amazing details for my own clothing.

Lately I have become enamoured with this Marfy pattern: F1313


I can just see this lovely dress made up in a pretty spring colored linen with some awesome RiRi zippers and then all of that pretty topstitching setting the dress off. I have drooled at this dress all over the internet - on blogs, at the Marfy website, at the Vogue Pattern website. I even wrote a blurb on Phyllis blog about how I loved the dress but it didn't come in a plus size. Over the weekend, as I was drooling over my catalogue yet again, and noticed something that I hadn't seen before...this pattern goes up to a size 54. I can work with that. I am sure I am going to have to do some alterations but I can work with this. So I took the plunge. I ordered the pattern from Vogue's pattern site. Usually when I order something from the internet I am anxiously awaiting the mailman. But mostly I just feel like a virgin on her wedding night, scared of the unknown, wondering if I can go through with it and yet eager to begin. So I will let you know when it arrives and I will walk you through my process.

But for now back to swapping....

It's Show and Tell Time!

I usually don't start sewing on Saturdays until late Saturday afternoon or evening. And this is a new thing for me because before I started this new job I would get up early on Saturday morning, read some sewing things and head off to sew. Because of my new, more all-encompassing job, I rarely read blogs at work and it has to be a really slow day for me to head over to Stitcher's Guild and read. Which means that now I get up early on Saturdays and spend hours catching up on all the sewing blogs, fabric sites and Stitchers' Guild. So I am really amazed when I hear or get comments like I produce quite a few garments so quickly...because in my mind I always think I could be producing so much more....But that is all an aside...what I am posting about today are the lovely fabrics that I copped from Kashi & Metro Textile.

First a group shot:

Next up ~ the black 'n white cotton with the embroidered edge. I know exactly what I am doing with this one...Sewing Workshop Mission Tank! It will look so great with all the black linen pieces that I already have in my wardrobe.

This silky cotton print will become - Simplicity 9693.

A cute button front top to appear under the ubiquitous black summer suit that I will need for corporate meetings.

Now this is what I traveled to Metro Textiles for ~ eyelets! The HOT, HOT, HOT! fabric for this spring/summer season. Ann described the brown eyelet to me at lunch and of course I drooled...right there at the table, thank God napkins were handy! I picked up these two which of course coordinate...there are so many possibilities jumping out at me every time I handle these!

This tweedy blue with gold embroidery just took my breath away...so Kashi wrapped it around my body and cut! This will become a skirt this weekend. It just can't linger around, it needs to be worn right away...and the weather is cooperating! The temperatures will be in the '50's and even the '60s by the middle of the week...skirt and dress weather, yes!

I have a little more sewing reading to do and to try to talk myself out of the *mumble-mumble* yards that I saw at Fashion Fabrics Club and want. Maybe I should stop clicking on those links in the emails.... But I might make it, well at least past the weekend, Thursday is pay day and the sale is on for two weeks....anyway the reason I made it past today is because I got this at QVC...I really like this line of bags...they work so well for all the things I need to cart daily to and from NYC and they have a classic kinda styling. I have two that I bought from a local handbag shop in NYC and can't believe that they are now on QVC.

Well I am off...gotta work on those two SWAP dresses that are so close to being finished that I can taste them...and this is a good dress wearing week so I am inspired to complete them! Never mind that the SWAP deadline is in 5 weeks!

Lunch with friends, $120 and my Metro Pass...

Today was an eventful day for me. I had lunch with two wonderful sewing women, Ann of Gorgeous Things and Mardel of Sewdistracted. They were in the city to fabric shop and graciously met me near my job on the Upper Westside for lunch. It was a fantastic hour of gabbing about fabric, sewing, fitting and fabric, sewing, fitting and blogs! The hour went by much too quickly for me and I hated parting from them especially knowing that they were headed for Metro Textiles! I was a block away from my job when I realized that I had forgotten to get a picture of us to memorialize the luncheon....*duh!*

Then I get back to work and I have an email from a sewing diva, Marybeth from The Stitchery. Marybeth had previously emailed me that she was coming to New York, but she did it under her government name. I kindly replied to her inquiries about meeting up...hey I will meet anyone for fabric shopping and the Ralph Rucci exhibit but we weren't able to synch our calendars. It wasn't until I was reading Marybeth's blog this weekend that I put two and two together and then I was really disappointed that we hadn't been able to get together!

The third thing was that once Ann & Mardel arrived at Metro Textiles, Ann called me about the goodies Kashi had. Now I know that a sistah said she wasn't buying anymore fabric for several fortnights. Well a sistah lied! Down and dirty lied! Ann starts going on about the goodies and I have Kashi set a few pieces aside. Then the man did the unthinkable...he waited for me to get off work and come by. Now if that isn't customer service I don't know what is??? So in the cab over...notice I didn't even take the subway...I tell myself that I will only buy the two pieces that he is holding and nothing more...yeah right! I walked out of Kashi's spot 30 minutes later with a big bag containing five pieces of amazing fabric and I left behind three pieces because I do need to be able to eat lunch until I get paid again!!!! This is what I got:

1.5 yards of black cotton with white polka dots that has an embroidered border

2 yards of a black/white floral cotton that is so silky to the touch

2 yards of a tweedy teal fabric with an embroidered edge (ready to be made into a skirt!)

4 yards of a chocolate brown cotton eyelet

4 yards of this amazing floral print that is also an eyelet in magentas and browns

We are not even going to discuss how many more yards of fabric this adds to my collection! We are just going to rejoice in the day....now how does that Mastercard commercial go:

Lunch with the girls - $40

Fabric from Metro Textiles - $120

Feeling unpacking the fabric and remembering the day - priceless!

And for the final part of my title, I am flashing my Metro Textiles Pass! Marybeth put a copy of Kashi's business card on her site so I am adding a copy of one to mine! And if you have one flash your Metro Pass!

The day was one of those memorable days ~ priceless, totally priceless!

I don't do it like the books say...

I don't know about you but I don't consider myself a sewing expert...a sewing enthusiast maybe...a fabricaholic definitely but a sewing expert....no way! To me sewing experts are, "The Sewing Divas" or Kathryn (fxzdoc on Stitchers Guild) or Liana (Sew Intriguing) or Ann Rowley on Stitchers Guild but not me. So when people ask for sewing advice I am a little leery about giving it. To me there are just sooo many others out there that do it better and IMHO should be giving advice.

I also think that I approach and solve sewing issues in non-traditional ways. Take for instance lining a sleeveless dress....conventional methods tell you to leave one of the shoulder seams open in the lining and turn the lining through that teeny tiny opening. Once the lining is turned you then press and handstitch the opening closed. I hate that method! Moving all of that fabric through that small opening and then wrestling it flat just drives me bananas.

So after several tries at doing that and wanting to tear my hair out I came up with my own method...this method is not on any pattern instruction sheet or in any sewing book but it works for me.

1. First I machine baste a 5/8" seam allowance on my armholes.

2. Then I press the 5/8" seam allowance down. I do this on both the dress and the lining.

3. Then I attach the lining to the dress at the neckline...clipping the seams and pressing the entire thing down...

4. Sometimes I edgestitch the inside of the lining seamline only and sometimes I edgestitch the neckline of the dress including the lining...sewing the entire front piece together.

5. Then I sew the side seams of the dress and the side seams of the lining separately.

6. Press the each set of seams open and turn the entire thing.

7. Next I take the pressed down armhole seams and give them one more press turning the lining seam allowance in just a little more.

8. Finally I edgestitch the armholes closed - sewing the lining and dress fabric together.

9. Press once more and I am done.

This is totally unconventional and works for me. I have been lining sleeveless dresses this way for so long that I forgot that its not traditional until today when I was working on a dress for my SWAP. And it got me to thinking....I can't be the only one who sews some part of the garment making process in my own manner.

So do you do have a sewing technique that isn't traditional? If so, what? Why did you deviate from the pattern instructions? And most importantly does it work for you? Tell me...I would really like to know that I am not alone in "personalizing" sewing techniques...

Finally here is a teaser picture of one of my SWAP dresses....

Talk to me people & enjoy the sewing journey!

An Ode to Fabric Mart

"Oh Fabric Mart! Oh Fabric Mart!

I love your wonderful fabrics....

You fill my closet with ease and flair

You fill my heart so I don't have a care...

Oh Fabric Mart, Oh Fabric Mart

I love your wonderful bargains!!!!!"

(sung to Oh Christmas Tree!)

Thank God its March because I ordered fabric Monday evening and it had arrived when I walked in from a very exhausting day! Suddenly all seemed right with the world and I didn't have a care...okay, I know you won't get that last statement if you are not a "true" fabricaholic! As previously posted I bought 38 yards of fabric because Fabric Mart was having the mother of all sales....

So this is what I got:

5 yards of a rayon/linen in treebark

4 yards of a red linen

4 yards of a dark pumpkin linen

4 yards of a cornflower blue linen

5 yards of a rayon/poly/lycra (RPL) blend in dark taupe

which just happens to match the 2.5 yards of dark taupe pinstripe super 100 wool that I got from Fikret Fabrics last Saturday ~ woo hoooo!

6 yards of a poly/wool blend in a dark blue/periwinkle pinstripe and

2 yards of a periwinkle wool gabardine which coordinates with the pinstripe fabric

4 yards of a poly/rayon black crepe that is heavy and textured,

and finally 4 yards of a dark gray wool jersey

38 yards for the grand price of $137.40...it is amazing how spending a little money on fabric makes my whole day so much brighter! Ahhhh the possibilities that can come out of this box...ahhhhh the joy and pain that can spring forth...ahhhhh the outfits! Yes, I am one happy go lucky fabricaholic tonight!

I was gonna close with no more fabric for me for a fortnight but after looking it up on dictionary.com, I realize that a fortnight is only 14 days!!!! So I guess no more fabric for me for several fortnights! But I'm kewl and it's okay 'cause I got dreams in a box today!