Falltastic

Sew, this won't be as much as a sewing blog as a reflection of where I'm at.  My husband is hard at work at painting and moving furniture to create me a sewing area in our dining room so I won't have to hide in the bedroom to sew.  He is my biggest supporter.  I am going to convert a "shrank" we brought from Germany into a sewing storage area and an old pine table as my sewing station.  This will make my bedroom back into a bedroom and not the sewing area.  My room that would be a sewing area is now my prodigal son who has returned home after a divorce and while he finishes school.  I don't begrudge him being there, but he does take up space. 

I love the fact that my husband supports my efforts.  I finished a pair of pants today (a muslin) McCall's 6361 to see if the pant pattern will work for a lovely wool I have.  The one thing I don't like about the pants is that they are slightly tapered which is horrid on my figure which is very much curvy hourglass. My husband helped me alter them so the pants didn't look so clown-like.   I altered them on the sides so the the pants were more straight leg.   I made the pants out of a heavy navy poplin, so they will get use.

Tomorrow is my last night of the first college course I've taken in years.  I've done well, but tomorrow is a group presentation in which the only group working on it is me.  I made a powerpoint presentation because,except for one member who gave me a brlliant definition, the others were just not there.  I feel good about my participation and I've never done an on-line class before, so this was a lot of learning. 

I have staff training tomorrow and then college, so busy busy day.  I love my job, but feel I little overwhelmed.  I will end this blog now, Sew, not much to say, but this is a busy week.  I have to watch New Jersey Housewives to get my fix.  Ciao for now....

Fall into Sewing

Sew, I tried very hard to make that Vogue pattern to work, but even my husband said it was horrendous.  It didn't fit better after I adjusted the shoulders, the sleeves.  I admit, I chucked it into the trash...I hate waste but really, it was not going to work and if I held onto it, it would be calling me to finish it.  I hate not finishing a project, but oh, well.

What did work is that I have been doing some fall sewing.  I made a lovely cowled sweater.  I used Butterick 5388 and the only modification I made was to add an additional tuck in the front because the sweater knit was stretchy and the neck was too loose.  I also got busy making a lined vest and skirt. (The sweater is an RTW I scored at Marshall's last winter.  I thought it looked nice together.

To add to that sewing frenzy, today I whipped out McCall's6116, a cordoroy shirt dress.  Sorry about the blurry image, but wanted you to get the whole effect.  Sew, now I have some lovely wools to make some new trousers, and skirts that I need for work.  I can't ever find good wool pants in my price range (cheap), and that don't need much alterations, so I'm going to make my own.  I will make a muslin first to make sure they fit.

Sew, that's what I've been up to. Squirrels are busy putting away their nuts.  I'm busy squirreling away some lovely winter clothes.  Sew much better than shopping...

Back to the Future

Sew, I spent the day making the Vogue pattern V8728 which is a remake of a 1946 dress.  I thought it would work well on me because I have an hour glass shape and usually anything fitted on top with a full skirt works well. 

This was odd.  The top was too big and the skirt is more full than I'm used to.  It's probably because I used a heavier fabric but I wanted something to transition into the fall.  I'm going to have to take the shoulders up about an inch so that the neckline doesn't sit oddly, wide and ugly.  The sleeves were also a little too pronounced so I will take them in alot to sit closer to the pattern picture.  On the plus side, I got this lovely striped seersucker for less than $3.00 a yard because it had a bad smell and no one would buy it.  I washed it, smell gone (it smelled like it had been in storage a long time).  The fabric is a heavier seersucker than you usually see in the store, so I think it is an older fabric.

On the pattern, the neckline is wide rounded but it leaves too much to spaced.  So by tucking up the shoulders it changes the pattern a bit, but I like it better.

This week I bought some fabulous fabrics for some lined trousers, a fabulous Donna Karan jacket, and a vest and skirt.  All ready for the fall.

I also signed up for weightwatchers with a plan to drop the weight I've put on since recovering from ankle surgery.  I just want to drop 25 lbs....not much,  but seems like a lot from where I'm looking.

So that's my life this week.  Tonight finish up college work and back to work tomorrow.  This was a fun weekend.  I was in a zombie apocolypse video shoot yesterday for a staff appreciation day next month, and I spent the day in our library mascot uniform.  Sot though this weekend was short because I worked, it was fun.

Denim Days

I must confess, I didn't manage to sew 30 minutes a day,  I'm lucky if I sewed at all last week.  Going back to school and working, and taking care of my family/dogs is about all I can handle.  I was very happy to have Labor Day weekend to sew. 

Sew, I thought I'd try sewing with denim.  I chose a heavy stretch denim with a particularly nice stripe to it  and McCall's 6361 Palmer Pletsch pants and skirt pattern.  I made the skirt because I didn't want to make any mistakes making a pant and being disappointed.  The skirt was easy to put together.  I don't have the patience to do all the fittings the pattern recommends, but it was almost exactly right; I only took the waist in a bit.  I used a beautifulI flowery fabric for the waistband lining and the pockets, kind of like my little secret.   One note to consider that I wish I had known.  According to Burda, I didn't have to use a denim needle with a stretch denim.  Good to know but I didn't really have any problems.

A side note-today the weather was sew beautifull; the high this morning in the 60's. Instead of sewing, I took my dogs for a walk in the fields.  Until today, I\tt's just been too hot to enjoy the outdoors except very early in the morning.  The coolness is something we haven't seen in several months.  I am so tired of the heat and glad for fall.

But I do want to make a couple of summer dresses with a jacket to transition to fall using a Lisette pattern (2209) that I admire.   I actually thought the patterns were for younger women, but I've seen some reviews by women my age and thought I could get away with it. 

Well, I need to get to cutting a pattern out.  The part of sewing I dislike the most.  My spouse did buy me a dressmaker's form for my birthday and that makes me feel more like a seamstress.  Sew, see you soon.

Pink and Perky

Sew (so) I had my first day of college class last night after umpteen years of not going.  It is wierd seeing so many young people in one place.  Thank God that my degree program is for adults returning to school, so most of my classmates are close to my age. 

I wore my new dress to work today and got a lot of compliments.  I don't usually wear pink, but everyone thought it was very classy.  My husband gave me the best compliment.  He thought I'd bought the dress!  He said is was as good as store bought.  Course you and I know that "store bought" is not all that well made, but I know what he meant.

Today, a woman asked me who was my seamstress...I took great pride in saying it was me!  Here is a lousy picture (my husband is not a good photographer) and a closeup of the fabric.  I used McCall's 5882.  It's the second time I have made it and love the pattern.  It's quick and easy.  I like the combination of mixing fabrics.  For this dress I used a patterned eyelet that had flicks of silver mixed on the flower pattern.  The main part of the dress was a striped seersucker.  They really complimented each other don't you think?

Sew, that was it!  A great day.  Tonight, with my goal of doing at least 30 minutes of sewing a night, I am going to cut out a skirt in denim with a new pattern.  I'll keep you posted!

Dog Days of Summer

So since the last post, I've been working to get myself back in the saddle of dressmaking.  I've made it a personal goal to make at least one thing a week and I've accomplished that.  As I read somewhere, I try to do at least 30 minutes each evening.  I keep my sewing machine ready and waiting and I can watch my shows.  I've never been one to just watch tv-I often read a book or cross stitch because it seems idle just watching tv.

Sew (so) what have I been working on?  I've really enjoyed making McCall's M5882, which is a sweet little summer dress that works really well with some of those fabulous quilting cottons.  I made two dresses with quilting cotton and they came out beautifully.  I'll post pictures later. 

I also made a cute wrap skirt and attempted to make a pretty little top, but somehow the measurements were much smaller than it says.  The blouse is more tight fitting and bunching in the back.  I'm sure it's my fabric choice. 

I am always trying to guess fabric choices.  Cottons are fairly simple, but then I'm not sure what works with what.  I try to follow the suggestions on patterns, but they aren't always that clear.  I would love to sew with some print jersey, but it's hard to find here in Oklahoma.  If you are quilter, there are lots of selections.  Dressmakers have to look harder.  But we did just get a new JoAnn's and my selection has expanded.  I guess people don't sew much here because the stores are full of polyester and lots of plain jersey, but I love a good print.

Tomorrow I start back to university which is a long time coming.  I'm hoping that I can get more respect from peers by doing so...

Anyway this weekend, I made up a top for my OU daughter, she wanted a rust colored linen with crochet trim.  The style was peasanty.  Well, it's finished but looks costumey, not what she imagined I'm sure.  It feels too stiff and doesn't drape.  I think a rayon would have been nicer, so I will keep looking for a soft rayon in the same colore.  Again, I'll post pictures for the blog tomorrow.

So that's all for now.  I'll post the photos and keep on sewing.  Now that I'm kind of hooked again. 

Finished Summer Dress

I finally finished my summer dress! I used Simplicity 2249 which is a very easy pattern to sew.  I made two changes, instead of facings, I lined the dress because I used a very thin dotted swiss.  And I took in the waist a bit.  Everything else was the same.  I chose a lovely fabric and it came out great.