Hummingbirds Complete

The Hummingbird Sew Along is continuing on its steady pace, as I pop in now and then to check up on the goings on, and then make my green top and "orange"* skirt on my own. *the "orange" refers to the style of skirt on the pattern, a la "view B", and obvs not the actual color of skirt that I made.

Here ya go:

The top is super easy to make. Except when you choose a lovely, but soft and tissue-like jersey that was like sewing with kleenex. You can't see it in the picture, but my top stitching around the neck and sleeve bindings is terrible. I used my coverstitch machine, which I clearly need to practice with way more.

I hemmed the peplum, using my regular machine, replacing the regular needle plate with a straight stitch needle plate which helped immensely!

For the skirt, I had originally planned to use some blue twill from my stash. As I just washed it today, that obviously didn't happen. What did happen was that I was perusing my closet, came upon a dress that I made 2 years ago, but rarely wear because I hate the bodice. But I love the fabric, the floral border print you see above.

The dress:

The full skirt provided an ample amount of fabric, but I did need to cut upper front side piece from some saved scraps. Bonus... it was already hemmed!

And so this happened:

(I tucked the top in, so that you can see the skirt better.) I did fall smack in between the 40 and the 45, so I went, as advised, with the 45. When I did the try on, first pinning, then basting, I ended up with an 1-1/4" seam allowance (about 1-1/2" at the waist. I'll adjust my pattern pieces accordingly, keeping in mind that my twill has no stretch, and my hopefully soon to acquire black ponte knit might have a little more.

Oh, and I think I would like just a smidge more length when I make this version.

Twirl It, Baby!

What's the best part about a circle skirt? That's the twirling fabulosity, of course!! I finished my Pavlova skirt (position 1) Thursday, just in time to get to work (and wear the skirt). That means it's black, so don't get too excited about this reveal. Before I show you pictures though, how about a few details.

• Fabric is a black gabardine. A great fabric, nice and drapey, that feels lightweight, but does have some sponge-y thickness (this came into play making the "waistband")
• I was in a hurry, so the seam edges are serged.
• Hurrying continued, so the hem is the folded over twice, top stitched per the instructions in the pattern.
• The waistline stretched, and while it was wearable, kept slipping down during the workday.
• I fixed the above problem by stitching, at the waistline, a 1-1/4" wide elastic on the inside. I'll be wearing that skirt a lot!!

Now, the pictures... the pocket:

The skirt:

Looking professional (no, I can't wear the jacket at work, except to arrive. C'est la vie.):

The twirling (thanks, Ashley, for the great picture-taking!)

I've got the next Pavlova circle skirt cut out, and it's not black!! Hall.E.Lu.Jah! And I'm giving the wrap top another go, this time in a soft, thin, drapey jersey.

Pavlova Wrap Top #1... Finished!

I'm such a sucker for a sewing competition. It takes the sew along to the next level, really, and totally keeps me engaged. I've finished my first wrap top, and I have to admit... I'm a little disappointed. Not with the pattern, or even the sewing, or the fit. Steph warned us... a thicker sweater knit might not be suitable. That's essentially what I used.

It was in a free bundle from FabricMart Fabrics, so I'm not even 100% sure of its contents, but there IS something synthetic in it. The ribs are stiff, and didn't want to cooperate under the needle. But after reading about Steph's crinkle linen version, and how the ties in her woven top didn't stretch, and she tied it in the back, I think maybe MAYBE this one will work.

OK, enough disclaiming. No picture of me in it... just on the dress form (I don't call her anything, but perhaps she does need a name).

 Wrapped and tied in the back. For the record, I made the size 35 straight up (i.e., no alterations at all).

Tied in the back. See the size of that knot? It's a whopper. I swear this fabric didn't feel that thick in a single layer!

Tied in the front. It barely reaches on DF. On me, yeah, reaches even less. And it's really thick in the back (not pictured).

Bottom line... it's going to have to hang out in the magic closet for awhile. Lucky for it, we're approaching hot weather time, and it's more of a spring/fall thickness. Definitely not summer.

And, I'm hoping tomorrow to finish the skirt. No promises on that though.

It's Out of the Oven! Tiramisu -- Done!

That title should probably say, Tiramisu Version 1... done! Yes, I will make more (or at least one more in the very near future).

I've been following along with the sew along, and probably averaging 30 minutes a day, but just haven't managed to sew every day. You do what you have to do, right? Initially in the sew along, I was ahead of the game, but once the actually sewing commenced, I was a couple of days behind, and that proved to be beneficial, because I was prepared for some tweaking that I may have to do. As it turned out, I ended up having some major tweaking of that underbust seam, and spent about 2 hours Sunday morning getting it right. Well, almost right, but right enough that my next version will have a cleaned up pattern piece and should, fingers crossed, work right off the bat.

So. Pictures. With commentary beneath them. And at least a couple will be posted to the Tiramisu flickr group.

•  Black, but my work uniform color. A cotton knit from fabric.com
• It's a top. Duh. I had about a yard of this knit, so that's all I could get, and I'm fine with that. Some of y'all might call it a wearable muslin, but I hate that term so let's just go with version 1.
• I cut out the 35C with a 35 waist.
• Ended up raising the underbust seam of the bodice about an inch in the center to about 2 inches at the sides.
• The gathers worked better for me in the center. That was deliberate and not a mistake.
• I haven't done the actual checking, but the top of the midriff piece ended up cut at about the size 30, grading out to the 35 at the natural waist.

• ACK! I have red hair now! When did that happen? ;)
• After seeing these pictures I might go back to bangs.
• Oh, the top. There is one issue with the neck binding that is a mistake on my part. Will be rectified with the next version.
• Because I had to raise the underbust seam, I had to shorten the edge of the front sleeve. It worked, but in version 2, I'll shorten the back sleeve edge and lengthen the front to make them proportional again.
• It basically means that it feels a little weird in the armpit area, but doesn't look bad. Only I will know that.
• I'm debating on narrowing the midriff band about half an inch.
• Ultimately, I think it will work better as a dress. It definitely needs the weight of the skirt to pull the bodice into the proper place. Scroll down a bit for my solution.

• Back shot. Um, there will be a little tweaking. Yep, I do see the drooping of the top midriff seam.

• Ah, yes, the belt. This is how I'll wear it probably 100% of the time. And even though we have to wear all black at work, we're allowed to have a little fun with accessories.

Pre-Heating the Oven

The Tiramisu sew along has begun (see button in the sidebar for more info). Amazingly, I'm a little ahead of the game. I had the weekend off, so took that opportunity to do a little "pre-heating" as it were. It turns out, that was basically the instructions for Day 1 of the sew along. Good news for me, is that time-wise, Steph is many hours ahead of me in Australia, so this gives me the "class", essentially, the day before.

Of course, I've already broken some "rules". And by rules, I mean, that 1) I'm making a top, 2) out of shorter yardage, 3) I didn't use the cutting out guideline, 4) oops, I've already cut mine out, and 5) I'm not putting everything in a box. Actually, the box is a GREAT idea, and one I've used before, and will use again. It's just for this project, for me, it won't be necessary. Now, if I decide in the middle of this project, to start making my dress version, then, yep, into a box or a shopping bag the various pieces will go.

Anyway, my timer is about to ring and off I'll go to work, but here's a picture of the way I laid out and cut my fabric. While I flaunted the "rules" of the layout, note that I did pay strict attention to the way the pieces were laid out in relation to the stretch/grainline. That's one rule I'll NEVER break.

The Tiramisu Sew-Along

This time I mean it. I'm going to do this sew along. I got the pattern for Christmas, so that's a check. I have fabric. Check. The only question is do I have time. It's 30 minutes a day. Clearly I should (should is of course the operative word here) be able to handle it.

It starts Monday.

Happy New Year and the Sewing Room Hangover

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

With that out of the way, I do hope that you all had a wonderful December and were able to spend time with the friends and family you love. I was able to have 4 days in a row off of work, and those days happily coincided with Christmas and a visit with daughter Laura (plus entourage). I feel like I've been so lax in blogging that I must reintroduce you to my family... that is if I have any readers left.

no sewing happening here

Anyway. I've been reading with envy what I'll collectively call the sewing blogger's 2012 round-up. Truthfully, you have all made many MANY gorgeous things, and in the last quarter, I've pretty much made bupkiss, so I haven't had the gracious feelings of awe that perhaps I should.

Do I resolve to change that? Well, I do want to make a few things, and I did get a Tiramisu for Christmas, so look for that sooner rather than later. Steph is hosting a sewalong starting next week, and I might just attempt it! She calls it 30 minutes a day, and c'mon... surely I can manage that!

I would like to blog a bit more, because I do enjoy that, but my topics may not be as sewing related as in the past. Having worked in the bridal industry for 3-1/2 months now, I have formed a few opinions, and might just share a few of them with you. And, in lieu of actual sewing, perhaps a little indulgent fantasy sewing.

My Etsy shop is still open, and I just celebrated my 600th sale, so do drop in now and then. I have some "new" patterns that have yet to be listed, so look for some fresh merchandise appearing soon. You can keep up with the latest in that little Etsy Mini in the side bar on the right.

Finally... and just in the nick of time. Yes. There is still time. There really is. You know you want to shop there. Denise, aka The Blue Gardenia, is having her End of the Year sale, and it ends TOMORROW NIGHT PEOPLE! Click HERE to shop for your favorites and get a great deal. Hurry before they're all gone!

Catching Up

Well, who knew it was going to be such an adjustment to working full-time? My hat is off to all sewing bloggers who hold down a full-time job and manage to also be prolific sewists! I'm exhausted after working 8 hours, and on my days off (which are not the weekend, but mid-week) I'm catching up on everything else but sewing. Like sleep, laundry, grocery shopping, ... you get the idea. Now that Roland is the stay at home spouse, we're in negotiations for a new division of duties, though, so fingers crossed that will all go smoothly. I think with a little hand holding, he'll even figure out what you do in a kitchen. And, truthfully, probably be even better at cooking than I am (which is a low bar, by the way).

With that out of the way, do you remember the saga of my new kitchen window seats? Way back when, the project stalled after I had made their muslin covers. There was fabric to choose, blah, blah, blah. I'm happy to report that I have one of them covered! And have started on the other, with kind of a plan to make 3 cushions into one. We'll see if it works. And the fabric? Nothing that I showed you at all. You see, with the window seat being primarily a dog perch, we decided on a faux leather from fabric.com that can just be wiped off. Voila!

Excuse the bad photo. It's kind of a coppery color, and really looks good with the painting on the wall (which you can't see). We're still waiting for the table to be delivered, so, well, that's all I have to say about that.

I've got some black knit from my stash ready to be whipped up into a renfrew, and though I have probably lost my mind, I'm going to attempt to do the Thurlow sew along hosted by Lauren of Lladybird fame. Click on the badge in the sidebar and you'll go right to the details. This will be a good excuse to get a great pair of trousers. I'm sorry to say that they will be ... black. As will a couple skirts I have in the queue. Do not come here for gorgeous prints. Well, at least not at the moment.

Oh, almost forgot! The lovely Denise at the Blue Gardenia featured me recently (well, back in September) in her "sew to dress" feature, along with an adorable McCall's pattern, perfect for my new shop girl persona. Please go take a look if you missed it previously.

I've missed my sewing and blogging friends, and will attempt to post now and then, but trust that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but am simply to tired to even type. And if you need a bridesmaid dress or mother of the bride dress and, the horrors, aren't making it yourself (hee hee), drop in and see me at Bridals by Lori in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Yes, it's the bridal salon in Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. I'm not on TV, though, so don't get all excited. Should that happen, believe me, I'll let y'all know!!

Also, I'm still reading your blogs... just can't comment as often because sometimes its just a quick read on my phone. Trust me, you all rock at all your projects!!

Finished: The Ruby Slip

Check another challenge off the list! Yesterday, I finished the ruby slip that I started with Sherry's sew along way back in December! But the holidays happened, and then I had to send my serger off to the repair guy, and then, and then... you all know how that works.


The slip is actually a quick sew, and once I sat down to it, I think it was done in about an hour.


Not a lot to say about it. It's been awhile, but I think I cut the size 12 and didn't make any alterations. Next time (and there will be a next time) I'll make the back a little bit narrower and put the straps a little closer together in the back and that will help with the fall off the shoulder issue. Oh, almost forgot... Sherry had 2 lengths in her pattern, and I created a 3rd that was somewhere between her 2. It hits right above my knee. Sshhhh, don't tell Sherry, but I just eyeballed it when I was tracing the pattern. Oh, sure, I did go back and do a quick measure to make sure it was right.


The little pink flower thing you'll see. Yeah, I think I'll take that off and just put on a little ribbon bow.

Finished: The Sewaholic Minoru Jacket

Yep, I "participated" in the Sewaholic Minoru jacket sew along. And by participated, I mean that I made my Minoru jacket at the same time that the sew along was happening. Only a lot quicker. And this is not a criticism of the sew along, but more of an issue of when I could actually sit down and sew.




Never mind that, though, and let's just get on with seeing the pictures and some observations. First, my fabric is a raincoating from Gorgeous Fabrics, and the lining is from fabric.com. With that out of the way, here ya go complete with observations:

• this is definitely not a beginner pattern. With the sew along, advanced begginer. Without it, intermediate at least.
• my semi-plasticky raincoating frayed a lot.
• if you look closely, you will see that the hem doesn't line up in the center front.

• I cut the size 12, and only made one alteration
• I shortened the sleeves by 2-1/2" inches!
• my cuffs look a little weird. I think that's more of a fabric issue.

• I love the collar with the zipper and hidden hood.
• did you read about my fraying fabric?
• I should have lined the hood, even with the finishing of the seam.
• it is quite possible to iron this raincoating fabric, even without a press cloth. From the line going horizontally across my butt, it appears that I missed a spot.

• I didn't add the inside pocket because with all the coats I've ever owned with inside pockets, I've never used them.
• I think I used the wrong side of the lining as the right side. It was hard to tell. Oops.
• my inside hem looks, well, pretty bad. Did you read about the uneven hem meeting in the front? All related.

• I did put outside pockets in the side seams. I can't have a coat without them.
• I put them a little bit too low.
• Can you tell that I'm actually wearing it in the rain?

• though entirely functional, I look dumb with the hood up, and this is the best pic I have of it being worn. None from the front.
• I love the length.

Conclusion: it's a great jacket pattern! I particularly like it in this lightweight version. If I were to make it with a bulkier fabric/lining, I would go up a size, and then make a better adjustment to the back length so it didn't get too bunchy.

Minoru Sew Along

I'm doing it! The sew along. Really, you can tell because I've got the badge over there. You can't tell by the actual work I've done on it, but I have all the supplies. The fabric, the zipper, the lining, the elastic.


I'm going to show it to you in just a minute. But first, I'm gonna show off my new facebook badge "Like" thingie over there. To the right and down just a little. Just in case you missed it when you're reading the fascinating prose and seeing the awesome pictures. ;)


It's gonna be a raincoat.

Raincoating from Gorgeous Fabrics, lining from fabric.com, separating zipper from Sew True Supplies.

Sewing? What sewing?

It seems that I haven't been doing any sewing lately, but that's not entirely true. I have made some progress on my Ruby Slip (click the badge in the sidebar for more info). Slow progress. Like perhaps, I have turned on my machine for 10 minutes on a couple of days.


Still, the skirt part is cut on the bias, and it has to hang, right? I'm loving my lace bodice part. My lace wasn't quite wide enough, but realized that the only piece affected was the bodice side, so I used Chris' method, and just added a little bit. You'd have to get really close to be able to tell.


Today, I was going to hem the skirt, after I serged the side seams. I changed the thread to gray, and have finally come to the conclusion that I need to get my serger serviced. The tension discs for one of the needle threads just will not hold the thread, and that makes everything go wonky.


Perhaps that will force me to cut out a new blouse project, and fix the zipper on Kyle's jacket this weekend.

Some Random Projects

In my last post, I mentioned that up next would be a skirt, but that's not true. First, I had totally forgotten about the Ruby Slip sew along (see the badge over there with the gorgeous slip?)... I have actually started on it, too. The pattern pieces are traced, and it turns out my lace is too narrow. Sherry will be posting some instructions on dealing with that, so I'm waiting for that. In the meantime, I cut out the skirt, sort of using her instructions.

No fancy pattern weights for me, just some heavy books. Sherry recommends tracing around the pieces, drawn on heavier paper (mine are on regular tracing paper), with chalk. I used *ahem* a fine line sharpie. Whatever works!

Good results!

Next, instead of the skirt (which is temporarily being put on hold until after the new year), I'm working on a 1953 Simplicity blouse, and decided to make a muslin. The blouse pattern:

I want to make the 3/4 length sleeve, and I hope my amount of fabric will cooperate. Bust 36 is my size, but I am not wasp-ish of waist, so a bit of alteration was in order. It has darts and tucks, which I could have just eliminated, but I think it give a nice silhouette, so I just did some slashing and spreading. I'll show you some pictures of the tissue in a future post. I did make a muslin, and I had lowered the bust dart (do you see it in the drawing just under the armpit?), but lowered it too much.

By about an inch. Ugh... so I sort of fixed it in the muslin on the other side, but definitely fixed it on the tissue.

Harder to see in this picture, but trust me, it is better. Finally, I made a sway back adjustment, by "scientifically" sewing a huge tuck across the back (and then translating it to the tissue, adding length back in on the hemline).

Finally, I finished a knitting project... I think I'll show you that on Thursday. I went to the CVS pharmacy Minute Clinic today, and it turns out I have an ear infection, and a sinus infection. Yay for antibiotics. I have to summon up some energy because most of my presents are unwrapped, and the tree still is naked!


I hope all your holiday preparations are going well! And Happy Hanukkah to any of my Jewish readers!

Crescent Skirt Zipper Insertion (with lining)

I'll be the first to admit it, I had trouble with my zipper with crescent skirt #1. I'm embracing the imperfection the resulted, and yeah... "I meant to do it that way!" But it was with eager anticipation for the sew along to get to this step, so I could have some visual aids, and I think I know where I went wrong. Nevertheless, I'm going slow, and definitely "sewing along."

Like yesterday, for those of you that are adding a lining, I thought I'd give you your own visual aids of the lining with zipper. The instructions are no different, so I'll just point you to Tasia's post for today (Crescent Sew Along #20) for the words.

And for the visual aids (aka, pictures):

Ready to sew side 1. Note that my center back seam has NOT been sewn yet.

Turn your lining inside out to prepare for side 2.

After sewing (I swear I rotated this picture when I edited it, and for the life of me it won't stay rotated), inside view. I have now gone ahead and sewn the center back seam up to the bottom of the zipper. If need be, I'm a whiz at ripping out stitches.

Right side out view. Can you see that the bottom of the facing doesn't line up? I'm reasonably certain that my daughter won't ever wear her skirt inside out, so I can live with it.

Hope these pics help!

Crescent Skirt Lining

First, for those inquiring minds, the red floral fabric is rayon shirting purchased from my usual go-to online source, fabric.com. It comes in several colorways, and right now is on sale for $2.99 a yard, so don't delay! Clicking on the link should take you right to that fabric.

The Crescent skirt lining. I'm not a "oh, I have to line everything" girl, but for this version of the skirt I'm using a voile, and it is a bit sheer, and decided to line it for practice as well. You youngsters may not remember this, but we all used to just wear slips. Anyway, Tasia gives a good description on how to line, but I have a couple of pictures.

You eliminate the pocket for the lining, and she devotes an entire post to the technicalities of how to do such a thing. I'm lazy, and this is how I did it:

 

I folded the pocket on the fold line, slipped it into place under the front skirt piece, pinned it all down and whacked away. Notice that I folded up the hem allowance because you want the lining to be shorter than the skirt (duh).

Otherwise, I pretty much followed her steps. I serged my seam allowances, and serged the edges of the center back. I only sewed up about 4" at the bottom of the center back because I haven't yet decided which blue zipper I'm going to use and they are different sizes. I did go ahead and hem my lining because I find it easier to do it without lots of extra stuff in the way.

This is how it should look at this point in your sewing:

The Galloping Horse Theory, and other Catching Up

Whew! I'm back from 10 days in Texas staying with my mom, and helping her deal with a bloody $#@%!@%# mess of crazy. Apologies if I've offended anyone, but this is one time when, if you knew the whole story, you'd totally understand. At least I hope you would. Anyway, I'll spare you the horridness, and get on to some of the better parts of the trip.

First highlight was meeting an online Etsy friend, Wendy, of Sweetwater Gifts. My mom and I made our way out to Allen, TX where Wendy was participating in a craft show for our first meeting. I knew her right away, and even got a chance to meet her hubby who was cheerfully helping her sell her beautiful jewelry. Well, cheerfully might not be totally accurate.

(Note to self... make a cuter denim skirt.)

A couple of days later, we met up on a toasty morning at the Dallas Arboretum, for a stroll through the gardens before a delicious lunch on the terrace. Thanks, Wendy! I'm including this picture because she looks adorable, but. (Yes, I have neck issues, but my therapy dollars are being spent on more pressing problems, lol.)

I also traveled with my mom and sister down to College Station to pack up my niece's freshman dorm room, and carry all her (*&^*(&  belongings down 3 flights of stairs in 96 deg. heat with oven like wind blowing strongly. No pictures of that lovely sweatiness. We did eat at Cracker Barrel... my sister's first time, and she pretty much cleaned her plate.

I won't talk about the Mexican food I ate that was the potential reason for a 24 hour miserable stomach thing that cramped more than my style.

Let's see. Oh, yeah, I started a sweater. This is how far I've gotten:

Hmmm, well, hard to tell what it looks like, but it's knitted from the top down and I'm almost to the armpits.

I also had an afternoon with an newish old friend (an amazing woman I've known since 1995 or so), and lunch with an oldish old friend (another amazing woman who was my best friend from my earliest memories until 4th or 5th grade when we drifted to other cliques. We reconnected about 2-1/2 years ago, and it's all water under the bridge.)

Meet Gibson.

He's my mom's dog, and will jump up on your lap when you're not looking.

I had intended to work on Laura's crescent skirt to keep up with the sew along, and thankfully Tasia is moving at a snail's pace. Not a criticism, but really a relief. I'm right on schedule. I had taken all the cut out pieces, and did work on it a bit, but remember that unfortunate stomach thing. That pretty much ruled out sewing. One of my favorite parts of this skirt is the waistband, and with the fabric I've chosen, I tried very hard to get it to have some matching. I think it looks pretty good.

Oh! Look at my dog's new bed... perfect size, and filled with soft comfy "blankets".

Yes, a bin of fabric.

The galloping horse? My mom taught me this saying that quilter's have to help them not obsess over little mistakes:

If you can't see it from a galloping horse, ignore it.

Wise words, indeed!

Getting Ready

The queue is long, June is coming, and I'm heading out of town for 10 days! Do I have any "me made" shorts? No. Do I have a "me made" beach coverup for our June vacation? No. I'm 100% sure I'm not making my own swim suit. At least not this time around. And I'm "participating" in the jeans sew along. Well, the denim is pre-washed, and measurements have been taken.

This week has been all about the prep work. I have 3(!) things cut out, and interfacing has been fused for all 3. Somehow, even using a press cloth, I ended up with:

My iron seemed coated with stickiness,and you can even see some threads glued on. Yikes. But it only took a couple minutes, and look:

So, what do I have cut out? Two things for Laura... a crescent skirt, and a cute button front dress from a 70s vintage pattern. And a top for me. Look at the pile:

And doesn't Laura look cute in her muslin? I haven't seen pics yet of her in the skirt, but she says it's perfect. Yay for that.

I'm completely caught up with the crescent sew along. Exactly caught up even (never mind that I've already finished one... I'm doing this one with the group). I think I'll pack up the skirt and finish making it at my mom's.   I'll post these next pictures in the flickr group, and Laura please chime in. Rick rack, or no rick rack. I have it on the pocket area right now, but I'm thinking of it for on the waistband, just on the curved seams.

Whew! That's it. I'm out of the house most of tomorrow, so no sewing... just packing.