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Back in the days BB
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
The inklings from BB (before blog) are still out there somewhere, but they are very hard to access. I'm working to get them all moved into the new blog tool so that I can search them.
It's amazing how often I want to go back and see how I did some particular bit of a project that I *know* I wrote about in painstaking detail. With the old html pages, there's no easy way to find such gems. :-p With these blog pages, searching is super simple.
Before I started journaling about sewing on-line, I kept it in those old composition books. (You know the black and white ones?) It's impossible to find anything in those. I finally lost the last one I was working on.
One of these days I'll find it again, and giggle over how I did things 'way back in 1993... <gg>
Taupe shawl keeps growing
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
The lady at the LYS called yesterday to say that my copy of Iris Schreier's Modular Knits was in. I simply *love* the Sheer One Piece Shawl that Iris has in the book, so that will be on my needles soon.
I'm a one-project woman, though. I can't start any more knitting until I finish my current shawl. It's moving along rapidly--I've been able knit a skein in about 4-5 days. I just started the third skein of the shawl, so I should be done and ready to block by the weekend.
My tactic of putting the row of lace holes between the non-matching skeins looks okay. You can tell that there is a color difference. Since the holes are there, it looks like a design feature rather than strictly a boo-boo.
If I spend every bit of idle time knitting, I'll have a new shawl (or two!) to wear by the time the weather allows it.
Pink "Buttermilk" knit
Monday, August 29, 2005
The plan came together! You've gotta be happy when that happens. Because I was a bit under the weather with a summer cold or something, I didn't leave the house on Saturday. It was prime time for working on the buttermilk knit.
Although the color does little for me, I got a lot of compliments on the finished dress when I wore it on Sunday. The fabric has too little contrast and reads "Thousand Island Dressing" from a few yards away--as does my skin. I think what people liked was the flowing nature of the dress, rather than how flattering it was to my coloring.
Despite that, I *am* pleased with the way the dress turned out.
The weight of the knit, though slight, caused the waistline to pull downward, so I employed the elastic trick from my copycat tops to support the skirt. I cut a length of elastic to fit my waistline loosely, and sewed the ends to make a circle. Then I attached the back half to the waist seam of the dress and left the front half free. This pulls in the back and allows the front of the dress to hang smoothly.
To introduce some contrast around the neck, I used some darker threads in the serger and edged the neck binding before I applied it to the garment. After I attached it to the inside of the garment, I folded the finished edge over to the right side and topstitched it down.
From the scraps of this fabric, I've already made two pairs of Jalie panties, the bikini version. I've got enough left to make two pairs of the boycut. This stuff makes *nice* panties.
Knit, knit, knit.
Friday, August 26, 2005
My taupe shawl is coming along. I wish it was done today so that I could wear it to work with this sleeveless dress. Although it's sweltering outside, it's chilly in the air conditioning.
This pattern is by Margaret Heathman, an author many times over and teacher. I got it last year when I took a beginner's lace class at my (fabulous) LYS.
She said I wasn't a beginner.
I knew that, of course, but when you are self-taught, you need to study with a master to develop your confidence. And I got this great shawl pattern!
This taupe yarn will work much better in my wardrobe than the blue yarns that I am usually drawn to. The shawl takes at least two skeins, and I have five, but no three with the same dye lot. When I get to the end of this first skein, I'll be able to tell if I need that third skein.
My plan is to use the odd skein in the center back with a row of yarn overs on each side to disguise the different dye lot.
New knit dress in the works
Thursday, August 25, 2005
During a brief break the other day browsing the Pam Howard topic at Sewing World, I got a severe *need* for a skirt similar to Pam's "Flirt Skirt". Drafting it was simple, 32 inches long with a 16 in godet. I took that into PE and joined half the godet to the back of the skirt.
Thinking of a matching top, I got out the draft for my holy grail Tee and tried to think of something to spice that up. (You've gotta amuse yourself somehow!) I decided to join the two into a dress, something like this:
It's printed, and I've even gone so far as to select some fabric (from stash, of course).
It's an Emma One Sock buttermilk that I got a year or two ago. It will need a contrast near my face, maybe some embroidery or something. The finished dress will look really nice with the taupe shawl I'm knitting.
Poncho Pizzazz
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
I don't think I've mentioned the poncho that we started week before last at ASG neighborhood group. It's almost done, but as I have nothing to wear underneath it, and no prospects, I haven't finished it yet.
We used Sandra Betzina's Poncho Pizazz handout, but this is dead easy. You fold your fabric into a square and seam one side. After that, all you have to do is cut a neck opening and hem it. I plan to couch some eyelash yarn along the edge of this to finish the hem. I actually mitered one of the corners, but I'll undo that.
Underneath, it needs a sheath in one of the blues.
Sewing Blahs
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
One of my coworkers always says "I can't think about that right now!" That's how I feel about sewing clothing.
It's too hot to even wear clothes, much less sew them.
Even hanging out at my favorite haunts, like Pattern Review and Sewing World, hasn't inspired me. Last night at the Publix, I *did* actually pick up a copy of Lucky to look at the fashions. I even put it in my cart until I realized that my checking account was squeakin'.
So there's hope.
Besides it being too hot, I have enough summer things. I pulled 12 (yes, twelve) pairs of pants off the laundry room rack the other day, when I absolutely could not find two items to put together in my closet. (There were still 5 pairs of pants in there, but none appealed.)
If the first colored leaf would fall in my yard, I could start to think about sewing for fall. I looked in the direction of the bin where my cool-weather clothing is stored just yesterday. Maybe if I would actually open it and see where my winter wardrobe holes are, that would do the trick.
Chair seats
Monday, August 22, 2005
Fiber adventures were few and far between this weekend. I did knit a bit, but had little time for anything else.
Saturday was ASG CAB meeting most of the day. I stopped by our wonderful LYS on the way home to inquire about the new Modular Knits book. They had it on order and put my name down to call when it came in. I bought a skein of Shepherd's Sport for another scarf.
Since I couldn't let the weekend go by without accomplishing *anything*, I stapled the last two chair seats between church and church on Sunday.
If you want an easy project that makes a big difference in your decor, I can recommend recovering your old chair seats. I simply got some upholstery batting,stretched it over the existing chair seats, then stapled some upholstery fabric over all. Finally a bit of Scotchgard sprayed on, and there you have it! (Of course there's a little more to it than that, but specific instructions are everywhere and it is almost that simple.)
Maria's unders, part II
Friday, August 19, 2005
My first try at Maria's chemise didn't work out as well as I would like. It's shaped okay, but the fabric is too hefty. This is a quilter's cotton, and it needs to be batiste. I think it's a bit roomy in the bodice area, too, even when it's drawn up to the right size. I'll try again later.
Her drawers, OTOH, turned out fine in the quilter's cotton. You can't see it, but I used one of my Bernina's "fancy" stitches to decorate the hems. I got out a narrow cotton lace to put there, but it seemed out of place on that heavy cotton.
Finished Multidirectional scarf
Thursday, August 18, 2005
All finished, and it only took 1 skein! I'll return the other one. No need to have cheapo acrylic hanging around when I've got so much nice yarn languishing in the stash!
Maria Gets some unders
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Maria has informed me that she wants a Regency-style costume. Ever since I started on her hair--it was to be upswept and a bit messy, I thought she needed to be dressed like those paintings of Josephine. Apparently that's Regency.
As best I can tell, she needs
- stockings
- optional divided drawers (I'm sorry, but Maria's drawers will be joined. No dollie of mine is going crotchless.)
- chemise
- possibly a corset, although Maria has a nice firm physique with no need of support anywhere
- empire style dress
- slippers
This is gonna be fun. Last night I made her stockings from the Judy Ward class pattern. They are cut from the seldom-used cardigan that I made to take to Hawaii last year. It's a cotton pointelle knit, which made nice dollie stockings. They are cute, and roll down a bit at the top, just like stockings would.
I'll also be able to use the Judy Ward pattern for her shoes and pantaloons. Her dress will be a creamy color with some lavendar print on it, and the overdress will be a purple print. I've got a cotton for the chemise, but I may go back and get something thinner. We'll see.
There are plenty of websites for Regency information. The ones I liked best were:
- Jessamyn's Regency Costume Companion, a wonderful source. It's very well-organized as well as inspirational.
- Sense and Sensibility patterns has a wealth of Regency inspiration and instructions. It isn't always easy to find the gems of knowledge, but there's a lot of good stuff there.
MD Scarf
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The scarf is moving right along. I've got just over six of the triangles knitted now. The pattern specifies eight, I believe, but I'll probably go on to 9 or 10 before I stop. This is a nice wide scarf, so IMO it needs some length.
Since it's so easy to knit, I'm taking it everywhere and knitting a few stitches here and there. DH drives to work, so I can get about half a triangle done on the way. I have to drive myself today, so I won't get much done. :-(
It *is* in the car, so I may get to knit a few stitches today--only when I'm parked, of course. (No! That *couldn't* have been me knitting at the traffic light.)
I've got several other projects in the works now, so my sewing for self is temporarily stalled. My Maria dolly has announced that she wants a Regency outfit, so I'm researching that--I'll tell you what I decide tomorrow. Also, I've finally got rolling on recovering our breakfast area chair seats. You can see Maria with hair (!) and the chair seats on the WIP list in the gallery.
Multidirectional Scarf
Monday, August 15, 2005
The knitting bug is nibbling away on my psyche. I knew it would soon. It usually starts around August, when I start thinking of cooler weather. (Well, I think of cooler weather year round but you know what I mean!)
This time, I've joined a Yahoo! group called Mulitdirectional where you get, in exchange for your intro, a scarf pattern. When I was down south last week, I decided to start on it. Of course their LYS (local yarn shop) is Wal*Mart, so my yarn choices were very limited and my needle choices even more so. I finally wound up with some nasty plastic Red Heart and some size 8, 14(!) inch straight needles, which are *always* my tool of last resort.
I started knitting on the 14" needles and while I enjoyed knitting the easy pattern, I hated the resulting scarf. Once home, I ripped it all, and started over with a size 9, circular needle. I still hate the feel of the yarn, but these are *definitely* my colors!
I think I'll take it to every fabric shop I go to in the future. If it doesn't match the plastic scarf, it doesn't go to my house!
When I get some better yarn, I plan to use this scarf to teach myself to knit backwards. This plastic stuff doesn't forgive wobbly tension, so I dare not practice on it. That was a problem with the first try, since I hadn't knitted in several months, my tension was loose at first. Now that I've hit my stride again, it's going fine.
Paring down stash
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
SABLE-Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy
Reading about someone else's stash-reduction yesterday got me to thinking about my own stash. I wondered how much stash I had actually sewn this year. I have added to it, unfortunately I haven't kept up with that at all.
In any case, it was pretty easy to go back and estimate how much yardage I had used on each project and come up with 55 yards so far this year. I made it easier on myself by incorporating it into my project database, and letting the 'puter keep up with it all. (I added it to the Gallery, if you want to take a peek.)
I'm headed out of town for a few days... See you next week. Happy Sewing!
Tips for Better Pockets
Monday, August 08, 2005
I've always enjoyed pockets on my clothing. When I was making my Princess Pants, I decided after fitting that I would put some slanted trouser-style pockets on the front of them. Since these were an after-thought, they are an example of how *not* to do pockets. To make better pockets, try these tips:
- Stabilizer makes for nicer pockets. These pockets openings gape. At minimum, interface the openings before sewing the pocket facing to the front of the pants
- Better still, applique a bit of fashion fabric onto a very stable pocketing and used that instead of the fashion fabric. Men's pants pockets are made this way and stand up to a lot of use without gaping at all.
- Minimize show-through by making the pocket bags from a flesh-toned pocketing.
Princess for a day
Friday, August 05, 2005
They aren't done yet, but I'm so happy with them I just had to show you now!
What's so great about 'em? Well, I've never worn capris because of my scrawny ankles and the fact that I can never find cute affordable summer shoes to fit my narrow feet. I've always loved culottes and gauchos, though, despite the shoe problem. These are sort of a cross between the two. They are close to being capris, but the legs are based on the "straight leg" pmb draft, so they are nice and roomy--over 23 inches at the hem.
I love the little slit on the front of the leg. (I was copying Neue Mode 22836.)
One problem turned to advantage: with the new update to PMB, the waist on these things was over 3 inches too big. I decided to fix it by employing Rowena's magic elastic waistband technique, and I love it!
For best effect, the pant's waist should be 2 inches larger than necessary. You install the waistband to fit the top of the pants leaving both ends unfinished, and the overlap end twice as long as needed. Next, thread the elastic through the waistband and anchor it to the overlap end. Pull the underlap end of the elastic so that the overlap end pulls inside itself. Pull far enough that the overlap has no elastic inside to hamper buttonhole making. Topstitch across the end of the overlap so that further pulling will not affect this end.
Continue pulling on the underlap end of the elastic until you get it a good length. The designer of this method suggests wearing the garment with the elastic pinned in place for 20 minutes to be sure it's right. (That's what I was doing in the photos.) Once you are satisfied with the length, stitch it securely to the underlap side.
You can finish the end as desired. It's the underlap side, so it doesn't have too be perfectly neat.
There are a few other things that I want to write about these, but it'll have to wait.
I sew therefore I am.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
When my BIL turned 40, I made a big joke of buying some plaid shorts and a wildly mismatched shirt. I made labels for them that said "Boomer Beachwear".
I remembered those gifts when I opened up my email and found a link to this AARP article about fashions for ladies over 35. The link, not from AARP, said "Boomer Fashion". I take issue with that, since women who are only 35 are *not* baby boomers, and, at 35 most things are still in their proper place given any attention to diet and exercise at all.
(OK, if you've extenuating circumstances, such as having given birth by c-section to 3 or more children, you may say that last statement is something of an exaggeration. I've only my own experience to go by. So.)
Being somewhere past 35, and a real boomer, albeit at the very end of the range, I appreciate being someone's marketing target. Not that I've seen any evidence of it around here--I shall continue to sew.
I sew therefore I am...
- possessor of a fully-stocked closet
- not scantily clad when I should be covered
- confident that my seams are secure
- well dressed for any occasion, given enough notice
- not victim of anybody's marketing!
Summertime Shirt
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
A couple of years ago I bought this bright purse print to make the Sprout a sheath. I thought it was great and that she should really go for it.
"Uh, no." (That translates to "Are you crazy, that's hideous!" for those of you who don't have teenage daughters.)
So it has languished in-stash until last week when I decided to use it for a measurement muslin. On the new PMB forum, Trish posted some driving-ease suggestions that I wanted to try. They involved some widening and lengthening of various measurements, which I had not tried before. In the end I decided not to use those measurements again, but I did get a summer-y camp shirt out of my efforts.
It needs a pair of white linen cropped pants to go with it for summer's last gasp. The Sprout helped me decide on a good length, and I've drafted some princess pants, similar to Neue Mode 22836.
I'll have her liking this fabric yet!
Window Dressing
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
When I was working out how to make my bathroom window shade, I consulted several resources. They all seemed to do it differently.
My Singer Sewing for the Home book had wonderful, detailed instructions, as usual. Unfortunately my eyes glazed over by the time I got to the fourth step. Those large rectangular lengths of fabric combined with math tend to do that to me.
I put the book aside and consulted my drawing of the shade they had at Mia Madonna. (You *do* carry a notebook in your purse for that purpose, right?) It looked simple--so simple in fact that I almost just winged it.
(I'm glad that I decided to keep looking, though, because my version would have been stationary.)
In the end, my shade can be raised and lowered easily, and was a combination of several methods. The sheer fabric is hobbled to the flat lining and drapes down nicely. I did not use any pre-made tapes, just attached the rings to the "hobbling" tucks with the zig-zag on my sewing machine. The lady at JoAnn's tried to sell me some labor-saving tape, but I replied "I've got a plan, *please* don't confuse me!" She completely understood.
It would have been a project of only a few hours but for my sheer fabric. Since I did not want to put a hem in the polyester sheer, I decided to use the entire width of it. My window, if you recall, was 53 inches wide. The lining was 54 inches wide--perfect after turning under the edges and hemming. The sheer was a dress fabric, 60 inches wide.
First, I marked the stitching lines on both the sheer and the lining. The hobbled effect required me to mark the lines on the lining 10 inches apart, and the lines on the sheer 20 inches apart. Then, I ran a line of basting on each of the sheer's marked lines and gathered them to match the width of the lining. Finally I pinned the layers together matching the marked lines and sewed the two fabrics together with a tuck on the back side. This gave me both a place to sew my ring and hobbled the outer fabric to the lining.
If you're interested in making your own shade, you might want to check out these web resources:
- Wright's directions featuring their products
- Denver Fabric's directions
- HGTV's directions with a video, which was by far the most helpful to me. This was straightforward and convinced me the I could do it!
DH likes the bathroom shade and is encouraging me to put some on other windows in our house since most of the blinds have seen better days. Next time I'll use two well-behaved cottons, and maybe I'll get some of that tape. :-)
Hobbled Roman Shade
Monday, August 01, 2005
Last Friday night, DH and I were dining downtown at a restaurant called Mia Madonna. We got there early and were able to enjoy a leisurely meal watching people pass by. We were seated at a window, and when I tired of looking *out* the window, I looked *at* the window.
The hobbled shades they had there were lovely. They were constructed of a sheer olive fabric with woven stripes. They were exactly what I wanted in my bathroom!
When we moved in our house 10 years ago, we put up mini blinds on all the windows. Some of those blinds were eventually covered with other window treatments, but never the one in the upstairs bathroom. I suppose it was because it was such a large one--53"x57".
The huge window is over an equally huge tub, and I never could decided what to do with it. (Why on earth do you put a window, especially a non-functional one, over a bathtub??? Why the house needed that bathtub is another question. We'd have been much happier with more closet space!)
Sometime over the years, we put a couple of those flimsy beach towels over the mini-blinds to be sure that no one looking up from the ground would see between the slats. While this served the purpose, the towels were hardly decorative.
(If yore bathroom curtain is a Winston cup souvenir towel, you *might* be a red neck... sigh...)
Though the blinds impeded my using the inside mount that I would have prefered, DH and I agree that the window dressing looks much better now.
Now the bathroom wants to be painted. |-{