I'm in love!

So ok, i'm a useless blogger.  :(

It's ok.

Anyway, I have lots to say, and no time to say it.  So i'll just leave this here. McCalls 6740.

I love this sooo much!  I love it so much that I went ahead and bought 13 yards of fabric to make this. Now all I need is the pattern. 

La Mia Boutique August 2009 Design 21

Just because someone at some point might be interested...

This is design 21 from the August 2009 La Mia Boutique.  I ran it through a translator, and it's not perfect.  But if it saves someone some time by not having to type all that stuff into a translator it might be usable to someone.  Also, I didn't attempt to clean it up.  What you see is what the translator gave me.

 APPOGGIO SUL TESSUTO

sovrapporre i due pannelli foulard aperti e appuntare le parti indicate mettendo la parte 1 con il centro davanti e il centro dietro sul contorno del pannello, come mostra schema, tagliare aggiungendo cm 1 per i margini di cucitura; aggiungere cm 1 per gli orli del contorno del dietro e davanti e tagliare al netto al semicerchio laterale del fondo del dietro e davanti.

SUPPORT THE FABRIC

superimpose the two panels open and scarf pin the parts indicated by placing the part 1 with the center front and center behind the edge of the panel, as shown in diagram, cut by adding1 cm for seam allowances and add 1 cm to the edges of theboundary behind and in front of the net and cut the semicircle side of the bottom of the back and front.

DAVANTI - rifinire il contorno superiore del dietro e davanti (scollo, scalfo e apertura centro dietro) con un orlino ripiegato e impunturato.

Sovrappore le due parti del dietro e davanti e cucire il centro davanti; rifinire i margini uniti con zig-zag, stirarli verso sinistra e rivoltare.

FRONT - finish the upper contour of the back and front (neck,armhole and center back opening) with a folded and stitched hem.

Superimpose the two sides of the front and back and sew thecenter front, finishing the edges together with a zig-zag, stretch them and turn left.

COULISSE

cucire le due parti della coulisse, come fatto per il davanti.

rifinire le estremita della coulisse con un orlino ripiego e impunturato. sovrapporre la coulisse al segno indicato sul favanti, rientrare i margini e cucirla ai lati con impuntura in costa, molleggiando il lato superiore tendendo quello inferiore, in modo da modellarlo alla forma indicata sul davanti.

inserire l'elastico nella coulisse, regolarlo sulla persona, si consigliano cm 31(33 - 35 - 37) e fissarlo al centro davanti con una cucitura; poi appuntare la estemita a quelle della coulisse, arricciando cosi il davanti e formando le coppe del seno.

piegare il vertice della coppe del seno sul rovescio, al tratteggio indicato, e ribatterlo nell'angolo, con sopraggitto a mano, formando il passaggio per il laccio della bretella.

COULISSE

sewing the two sides of the slide, as done for the front.

trim the ends of the drawstring with a parachute stitched hem.superimposing the mark indicated on the slide favanti, back and sew the edges to the sides with topstitching on edge, bouncing the top holding the bottom, so as to mold to the shape shown on the front.

inserting the elastic in the hem, adjust it to the person, we advisecm 31 (33 - 35 - 37) and fasten the center front with a seam, thenpin the drawstring to those of the extremities, so the front wrinklingand forming the breast cups .

fold the top of the cups on the underside of the breast, to hatchindicated, and type it in the corner, with a whip stitch by hand,forming the transition to the loop of the strap.

LACCI

piegare il laccio del dietro a meta e cucire il lato lungo; rivoltare e infilare un estremita del laccio del fermo metallico. inserire l'estremita sfilata de ogni laccio alla relativa estremita della coulisse, com elastico; quindi fissare tutti gli strati sul diritto del davanti, ripassando sull'impuntura del contorno.

preparare i lacci delle bretelle, come spiegato per quelli del dietro. infilare ciascun laccio nel ripiego del vertice della coppa del seno e poi infilare le estremita in un unico fermo metallico, formando cosi una bretella da allacciare allo scollo del dietro.

LACES

bend the strap of the back half and sew the long side, turn and slip a noose ends of the metal clip. enter the parade ends of eachstrap on the ends of the drawstring, elastic com, then fix all thelayers on the right of the front, going sull'impuntura contour.

prepare the laces of braces, as explained for those in the back.put each string in the top of the makeshift Cup and then thread the ends into a single metal clip, thus forming a strap to fasten to the back of the neck.

DIETRO

Piegare il dietro e davanti a meta e cucire il centro dietro, come spiegato per il davanti.

ORLI - Rifinire semicerchio laterale del fondo del dietro e davanti con punto cordoncino (fitto e basso zig-zag).

Rifinire il fondo del davanti e quello del dietro con un orlino ripiegato e impunturato.

BEHIND

Fold the rear and front half and sew the center back, as explained for the front.

HEMS - Finish semicircular side of the bottom of the back andfront with satin stitch (tight zig-zag and low).

Trim the bottom of the front and the back with a folded and stitchedhem.

Sewing Block, A Discovery...

OK, so maybe not a huge discovery.  More like pissing and moaning...anyway...

For the last few months I just haven't had it in me to sew much.   I've tried, oh how I've tried.  I have a few patterns cut out.  I have a few things traced.  I have a considerable amount of adjustments on one paper pattern. I have a pair of jeans and a purse cut that's just sitting there because I lost interest.  I made a few Barbie outfits the other day (Manly because I paid $23 for 6 hootchie looking outfits and I won't be doing that anymore.  But DD insists that she can't play with naked Barbies).  I made one big pregnant clown wadder.  Ugh!  I have the new MyImage here that I just fell in love with the second I saw it.  And I got two back issues of La Mia Boutique in the mail today.

There seems to be inspiration everywhere.  I can't get nothing finished.  Shit, I can't get nothing started.  Well, I take that back.  I also have a few UFOs hanging around.  Laughing at me...

I think I know why; I hate my stash!  For the last two weeks I've been in and out of my stash closet trying to find something that might be appropriate for whatever it is I feel like doing.  Turns out, among the big huge pile of crap, I have very little that I actually like.  Sure, the stuff I bought or was gifted in the last two years I really like, but I've also been sewing more of the newer stuff up, so the 'nicer' stuff doesn't seem to hang around as long.  What's eating me up I think is the 400 or so yards of crap I bought previous to the last two years is just getting in the way and I can't see past it.

I know I need to purge. But although I hate a lot of it, for some reason I can't bear to get rid of it.

My pattern stash is out of control too.  However, that doesn't seem to bother me as much.  Also, since I've been feeling really uneasy about the sheer amount of shit I have, I have managed to move all the patterns from my very cramped closet to out in the garage.  Hopefully this will at least give me a little more access to my fabric.  That is, if you don't count the tubs I have in one of my DDs closets that I can't get to when she's in her room sleeping.  :/

Sorry about the rant, I just needed to get that off my chest.

My Image Spring/Summer 2012

LOVE!  That's all I can say about this issue!  I wasn't aware how much I loved it until I got it in my hot little hands this afternoon.   As a matter of fact, I loved it so much, I also bought the kids issue.  Now that's love, because I don't really sew for my kids.

My Image Magazine

This has got to be the first time I have ever bought a pattern magazine and wanted to make most of what was in it.  Actually, I want to make everything in it except for the two pairs of pants.  I don't know where i'm even going to begin.  Might be M1212.

I'm just so happy to be excited about sewing again!

On a side note, if you know where I can get a copy of the August 2010 La Mia Boutique, leave a comment please. I've been looking high and low for this issue with no luck.

Drafting woes!

So, for the FNSI (and apparently the SNSI) I decided I was going to work on drafting my own pattern.  Heh?  All I can say is the back feels good, but i'm not quite sure where I went wrong otherwise...

Early on Friday, a friend of mine helped me take all my measurements.  According to the drafting book i'm using, I need about two dozen measurements.  My friend was through and we got some good measurements. However, I think we made a wrong turn somewhere when it came to establishing my waistline.  You see, my actual waist is right up under my boobs, so we determined that using a measurement around my belly button would be a lot more reasonable (Otherwise I get a back length measurement of something stupid like 10 inches).  Anyway, as you can see from my pic above, something went seriously wrong.  You will not be seeing the pics of me wearing my muslin.  The armholes are bigger than the sleeve, which is odd, to say the least.  However, it feels fairly comfortable in the back and shoulders, so I might actually have something to work with here.  I may revisit this in a day or two.  

Friday Night Sew In tonight

The Friday Night Sew In is tonight.  I'm not sure how much sewing is going to happen tonight, but I do hope to get some drafting done.  I bought the book Making Your Own Patterns from someone on PR.  A friend of mine helped me get some good measurements today, and i'm hoping to get to drafting my own pattern tonight.   The book looks like this is layed out in a pretty straight forward way, so i'm hoping not to have too many problems with it.  We'll see how it goes.  

You can sign up for the sew-in here.

Happy sewing all. 

Jalie Patterns

So, I did manage to actually SEW and FINISH something!  YAY me! lol

I finished Jalie 3132. It's one of their new top patterns that just came out.  I didn't use the nursing view, so I don't know how good it is.  However, I think the regular view is just great!  I think the front pocket is a touch too small, but that can be fixed if I make this again.

Now that that's done, i'm moving on to Jalie 3130.

I was able to get the pattern traced, the one adjustment I made to the armhole done and the pattern cut, all in one day.  So i'm making good time with this one.  I might actually get to cutting some fabric before the nigth is through.

FNSI The results.

I'll tell you, I have to give a lot of you ladies credit for the work some of you do.  You go to work all day, come home and take care of a family and then STILL crank out projects like crazy.  Me, I clean my kitchen so I can have a nice area to cut fabric with, and i'm pretty much finished.

I did somehow mange to get Jalie 3132 cut.  I even managed to get the kangaroo pocket finished.  Then I was done, it was time to clean up.  However, that's progress, and I might get the top done within the next week or so.

I do have to say to my credit though. I've pretty stressed the last few weeks, and that could explain the tiredness.   Hopefully that's going to clear up here real soon, and I can get back to sewing.  There are TONS of things I would like to get to.

Friday Night Sew In is Tonight

http://craftyvegasmom.blogspot.com/2011/10/friday-night-sew-in-signups-102111.html

The October FNSI is tonight.

I'll be working on Jalie 3132.  Which is one of just many great new Jalie patterns.  I traced the pattern last night while sort of watching Project Runway (what a SUCK season!).

That is all.

Happy sewing!

Colette Crepe -- FNSI

I can't remember if I signed up for the FNSI or not.  :(

Anyway...

This is why I get so damn frustrated.  I have a muslin of my Crepe finished.  Other than the fact that it's a size to small in the skirt (which I kinda knew it would be before I even cut it, I just didn't want to admit it) the dress fits perfectly.  EXCEPT for the back, which is like 4 sizes too big in the shoulders.  That kills me because i'm an 8 by my measurements (which is tiny as far as i'm concerned! lol )  I'm thinking I may need a 6 or even a 4 in the back shoulders only.  What sucks is that i'm probably going to have to retrace everything except for the front, which is like making a whole new dress.

I know a lot of you don't want to hear it since I know some of you make 14 muslins before you get a good fit.  I OTOH am not used to caring about fit, or i'm usually sewing with knits, so woven muslins are killing me.  I'm getting kind of good at figuring out what adjustments I may need for a big 4 patterns.  However, I have never used a Colette pattern before, and it seems as if their fit is WAY different.

Anyway, i'm going to bed.  Hopefully I will have something to share soon.

My latest fabric haul

This is my latest Fabric.com haul.  17 yards of 'bought on a whim' fabrics, and I have never been so pleased with an order.  I have a TON of stash.  But in one area i'm lacking is woven prints.  So, Fabric.com was having a 30% off sale, and I bought some woven prints.  Ok, and one solid and the two on the bottom left are knits.  But I got 4 cuts of woven prints.  It was all cheap too!  I got 17 yards of fabric and a Colette pattern (Ceylon) for $61. 

The down side is that this puts me over 100 yards in for the year, and it's only mid-July.  :(  I have been sewing a bit though.  I think i'm at 75 yards out already for the year, so i'm not doing too bad.  I just have to stop with the shopping sprees!  (Did I mention this was my second order from Fabric.com this month?  Oh, and that one small order from Fabric Mart...)

Two Colette Pattern giveaways!

For those of you who may not be followers of Colette Patterns on facebook, you should know that there are few blogs out there with Colette pattern giveaways.  And we all love giveaways, right?  YAY!

(I hope I win a Crepe pattern!)

Ahem!  Anyway, the first site is http://www.honeykennedy.com/.  They are giving away 3 patterns!  3 to the same person.  Thats liek a small treasure!

The second is bramblewoodfashion.blogspot.com.  Check out some of her site.  She has some cute things!

Good luck!

Jalie 2447

I have been on a bathing suit kick lately.  I think I own all the swim suit patterns in the Jalie and KwikSew lines.  This is Jalie 2447, made straight from the pattern with no alterations.  I had a few issues with finishing the neck tie and my clear elastic bottom edge on the tankini didn't go as well as I planned, but it's wearable.  Also, the fabric I used isn't very thick.  It was a nylon/lycra blend from Hancocks, but I think I could of went with something a bit heavier.  Good thing I placed a large order with fabric.com.  My fabrics should be here in a few days! lol

While I will admit, this suit isn't the greatest, as it's only my second attempt (I have bottoms I made from a KS pattern that I wear all the time.  Although my fabric choice was a bit questionable and they aren't holding up well). I can tell you that I don't think I will ever buy another bathing suit ever again.  Swimsuits are so easy to make.  Don't fear making one.  Give it a try!

Anyway, about that bottom edge on the tankini -- I was having a hard time just making a hem.  The fabric is thin and it just wanted to curl up so I had to use another method. 

Normally with knits I use Steam-A-Seam Lite to stabilize my knit seams.  I love this stuff.  If you struggle with knit seams, give this stuff a try!.  However, with the bathing suit, I didn't want to compromise any of the stretch, so the SAS was out. 

My second option was to use strips of wash away stabilizer.  This probably would have been a great idea except I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get the little strips to stay still so I could stitch the seam.  Apparently what you are supposed to do is use steam from the iron to 'melt' the stabilizer to the fabric.  I will keep that in mind for next time. 

I ended up calling my friend Melody for advise.  She suggested clear elastic.  So, what I ended up doing on this suit was stitching on clear elastic to the hem, then turning and top stitching with a wide zig-zag stitch.  I'm not so sure this was the best option either.  I think I stretched the elastic a little to much and the bottom kind of rides up a bit and feels weird. 

I think next with suit, I'm going to try a bit harder to get the wash away stabilizer to work.  Although, part of me says the elastic is a good idea too -- if I had not stretched it so much.  There will be other suits to try out other techniques, I'm sure. 

If  you haven't made your own suit yet, I highly recommend it! 

I'm so Dissappointed! *SOBS*

So, there is a new JoAnns in my area (it's 19 miles from my house.  That's "in the area" where I live).  I have not been to a JoAnns since I moved to North Carolina back in November because there just wasn't one near me.  The nearest one was 80 miles away in Winston-Salem.  So, imagine my excitment when I found out they were opening a new JAs in Moorsville, NC! I actually drove the 19 miles there before I even realized they were not open yet.  And just so see that it was actually there, the drive wasn't a disappointment. 

Then it happened.  I was actually able to get the the store while it was open.  I'm so disappointed!  First, there is the usual amout of fleece in the store.  When I lived in Michigan, I kind of understood the logic behind having so much fleece in the stores.  But this is NC, it's been 80 every day since mid-Feburary.  Now it's 90-100 and I doubt it's going to cool off until at least September.  Guess what they didn't have?  A single swimsuit print. Oh well, fabric.com here I come, I guess! Second, the store is tiny.  Once there, I realized the store wasn't one of their etc... stores, it was just a small fabric and craft store.  Which amazes me because this area is being built up so fast, that I can't imagine that the population can't support a superstore.  Maybe they have a bigger store slated for closer to Charlotte?  I can hope, right? lol

Oh well, I guess I can continue to hit the local Hancocks when I need notions, and then to continue to support my ever growing list of online retailors when I want a fabric fix.

La Mia Boutique Translations

All of a sudden I find myself really interested in teh LaMia Boutique patterns.  Unfortuanitly, I don't speak Italian.  So, as I translate some of the terms, i'll be putting them here.  As of now, this is a short list, but as I get more translated, i'll add them here.  However, due to time restraints and the fact that I lose interest quickly, this may be short list. If you have anythig you like to add, just leave it in the comments and i'll add it to the list.

COLORS
Arancione = Orange
Azzurro = Blue
Nero = Black
Rosa = Red
Verde = Green


SEWING TERMS
Altezza = Length
Arricciare = Gather
Confezione = Directions (Manufacture, dressmaking)
Davanti = Front
Dietre = Back
Centro Davanti intero Diritto Filo = Center right front
Scalfi = Arm holes
Spalla destra = Right shoulder
Spalla sinistra cucitura = left shoulder seam
tagliare l'elastico in due parti uguali di cm...  = Cut elastic into equal parts
tessuto doppio intero = Fold of fabric
occorrente = materials needed
Orlo = Hem
Piegare = Fold

What I did at the FNSI

I didn't have a whole lot of time for the FNSI, but what time I did have was actually productive.  First, I finished a little night gown for my littlest DD.  The night gown has been done for the most part for the last month.  Except it was a bit to short, so I needed to add a ruffle.  All I had was tiny scraps of fabric, so the ruffle didn't add much length, but an extra two inches is an extra two inches, I guess.  It took me a month to do that ruffle.  I feel so ashamed.  I used the tee-shirt pattern from Kwik Sews Sewing for Toddlers book. 

The second thing I was able to do was get started on this damn Jalie robe that's been laying around for at least 2 or 3 months.  When I started it, I didn't have enough fabric. So I had to order more from Fabric.com.  However, I was having a hard time trying to get a color match.  After three orders, I have given up trying to match the off white fabric that I have.  I'm just going to make the robe, then dye it purple, or something.  Anyway, I was able to get all the edges serged and get the robe half way assembled.  At this point, all it needs is the facing, sleeves and hems, then i'll be all done.  It's probably all of an hours worth of work.  Hopefully it won't take me a month to finish this because having this robe hang over my head is kind of starting to hinder progress for other things. 

So that was how I spent my FNSI time, hope yours was productive as well!

The Sack Series!

Well alrighty, here is dress three is what i'm calling my 'sack series'.

The first dress was from the June 2011 Burda.  Design 113:

The second dress is also from the June Burda issue:  Design 107:

Yes, I am aware that it looks like a prison uniform from the fro-fro womens facility, but it's linen and a billion degrees here.  You can't beat it!

Last but not least is Kwik Sew 3681:

I'm not entirely sure what's going on witht he silly look on my face, but it is what it is.  I like this dress.  It's especially cute witht he belt from the dress in the first pic.  (I didn't want to bug DH for more pics.  I got what I got and i'm happy about it! lol )  I might actually make this one agian. 

I'm sorry to say that now that I have a few new dresses that I can just toss on, it's time to move on (back) to something I really don't feel like doing.  The robe.  Ugh!  I need a robe so bad though, the one I have is falling apart.  I had started the robe a few months ago, but I didn't ahve enough fabric.  I had to order a few different pieces of fabric from Fabric.com.  I still can't find the right color.  I think what i'm just going to do is just dye it when i'm finished. 

Also...  I'm so damn excited I could pee!  They built a new JoAnns near(er) to me in Mooresville, NC!  This one is only about 20 miles away.  I can't wait to go there! 

June FNSI June 17th

Hey all!

Don't forget this months FNSI. 

You can sign up here http://craftyvegasmom.blogspot.com/2011/06/friday-night-sew-in-signups-for-61711.html

I have no idea what i'm going to be working on yet.  And last month I just totally forgot about the whole thing, so we'll see when the time comes. 

When the Cats Away...

...The mice will get sick, apparently!

My husband got a new job and had to fly to Seattle for two weeks for training.  I admit, I hate it when my husband leaves for more than a few hours.  But I decided that this time I was going to make the most of it.  I had big plans for sewing and doing fun things with the kids (Not to mention packing because we have to move by the first, but that's a whole other story. We are moving right next door.  Literally).

Anyway, since I had all these great plans, what happens?  I go ahead and get sick!  And I mean sick SICK.  I can't remember a time when I felt this bad.  I have a raging ear infection, sinus infection and a fever. I've lost three pounds in the last few days and i'm convinced that it's because of all the fluid loss from the nose blowing.  This has been going on for three days.  I am so sick that i've drank all of a half of bottle of Diet Pepsi in three days -- nomally I have an IV drip.

I am starting to feel a bit better though, so hopefully if I can just manage to get a good nigths sleep (I never sleep well when hubby is gone) i'll feel better and can get to the fun stuff.

Currently on the table is the dress on the cover of My Image magazine.  This is my second 'test' although I had plans on wearing this one.  I'm proud to say I have to take in the side seams, and that's what i'm working on now.  Hopefully i'll get that done for the Friday Night Sew In.  Which is this Friday, BTW.

What is it that i'm doing...?

Oh, yeah, procrastinating. That's it!

Years and years ago, my mother gave me a bathrobe for Christmas.  Well, the robe is starting to rapidly deteriorate.  There is almost nothing left holding the left shoulder seams together on the current robe i'm using.  I NEED a new one.  About 4 months ago I bought the Jalie robe pattern.  I made DD her robe and thought that I would knock one out for me.  Well, apparently it didn't happen that way because I still need a robe.   

I now realize that I hate utilility sewing.  I could probably sew this up, from trace, serge to finsh in about 2 to 3 hours.  Clearly i'm waiting on an invitation! lol  I WILL get to this tonight!

...Or tomorrow.

Also, don't forget about the PatternReview two week challenge.  I'm the manager for this one, and I would love to have you.  This time around the challenge is aprons.  Join us and have fun!

What is so hard about shipping?...

...And why do some places get a free pass?

Some of you may remember a few months ago me bitching that it was taking forever to get patterns that I ordered from SewingPatterns.com.  This seems to be a common isssue with them and the whole world seems to know it.  No one is suprised when someone makes a "where are my patterns?" thread on PR when it somes to SewingPatterns.com.

Well, now i'm having a simular issue with everyones beloved HotPatterns.  Last month I ordered a pattern from their Esty site.  Three emails later, i'm still waiting for the pattern. You know, just by reading their feedback and from some of the threads on PR, this seems to be an issue with HP too.  Why is it ok for HP to be all slow to ship, but not for SP.com?  I understand that the owners of HP seem to be really nice people, but is that a good enough excuse for shitty customer service?  And yes, I consider a month to mail goods shitty customer service.

I have only made one HP pattern (I have 5 of 6 in the stash) but I know that it took a while to get that pattern.  And when I finally did get it, it was drafted poorly (another gripe for another post).  I know i'm not the only one to ever have this issue with them.  But yet they seem to get away with it. I don't get it, why is it ok for HP, but not for SP.com.  And let's be realistic, if Fabric.com took longer than 4 days to ship, we would be all over that too.  So, why so much love for HP?

FNSI

Friday Night Sew In Sign-Up

The FNSI is tonight.  I'm not sure how much i'll get done because the in-laws should be in from Michigan.  But I have a skirt half done that I might be able to finish.  Wish me luck!  And enjoy your project!

The vintage pattern contest

So, as most of you probably already know, Pattern Review is having a vintage contest in May.  I have decided that i'm going to join in on this one, and I might actually make an attempt to win this time.  I have a few lovely patterns picked out, but I can't really decide for sure which one to use.

First up, and so far, my first choice is Anne Adams 1625.  The fabric I chose to go with it is from FashionistaFabrics.com.

My other three choices are:

Mail order 2684:

Mail Order 2827: Honestly, I just love this design. BUt like I said, I might be actually making an effort to win this thing, and I don't think this design has what it takes.

Mail Order 4792:  Another of my favorites, and I HAD the perfect fabric picked out for, but some sneeky ass stole it from me!! (It was listed on Etsy for like 15 hours.  Nothing ever sells on Esty in 15 hours!)

So, there are my choices.  There is a poll over there to the right.  If you have an opinion, go ahead and vote!

My Image M1106 Dress

Uh, yeah.  So I decided that I want to make M1106 from the spring/summer issue of My Image magazine. 

It's not really clear weither this design is made for knits or wovens, so I went ahead and made it in a woven.  Here are my observations: 

• *I* need to go up a size (or even two).  This could be due to the fact that i'm slightly delusional about what size I am to begin with. 
• Make a facing for the neckline cutout.  There is no way you're going to get a narrow hem in there.
• This dress is short.  I added 3 inches to the dress in the picture, and I didn't hem this version -- so, we're talking mini skirt here. 
• If you made this in a knit, you could probably get away with out the zipper.
• My Image instructions suck. 

Needless to say that even with the few problems I had, I think i'm going to try this again.  Either in a bigger size, or in a knit.  I bet this would be really cute if it wasn't so snug. 

FNSI results...

Well, there isn't a whole lot for me to post about the FNSI. 

I WAS able to get the fabric for my Butterick pattern cut out.  Unfortunately, I let my 6 year play with my machine every now and again, and she managed to make things get a little wonky this time around.  I spent my FNSI time being pissed off and trying to get things back into working order. 

The machine is back in working order, and I may have to consider giving her one of my other machines.  The problem is with that is that none of my other machines have a sped selector like my Kenmore does.  I'm a little afraid of letting her loose with a machine without a 'slow' setting.  :/

FNSI and the Mini Wardrobe...

The FNSI in is tonight. Sign up here.

Tonight i'll be working on Butterick 5351.  You kow why i'll be working on that instead of the mini wardrobe?  It's because i'm DONE with the mini wardrobe!  Ok, so i'm done sewing, but I don't have the reviews up yet.  That could be a huge problem for me since I hate doing reviews, and I have to take (what seems like) tons of pics.  Ugh.  Maybe I should be working on that tonight instead?

Stay At Home and Sew Saturday.

Since I have NO life, and I no longer go out on Saturday night anymore, I am going to have Stay At Home and Sew Saturday.  It's kind of like the Friday Night Sew-In (if you haven't signed up already, what are you waiting for, an invitation?), except you don't have to sign up, I don't have prizes, it will be on Saturday.  See, exactly like FNSI!

Anyway, tonight i'll be working on part of my mini-swap.  I'm going to be making NL 6648, view A. I am going to be making both my tops for the mini swap from this pattern.  I was going to make View A in a print and View D in a solid, but turns out I didn't have the solid fabric.  So, i'll be making 2 of View A, and both will be in a print. 

Fun, fun!

Mini wardrobe storyboard

So, this is my attempt at a story board. I think we can all agree that my storyboard making skills could use a lot of help.

In case you didn't know already, PatternReview.com is have a mini-wardrobe contest. In this contest, you will make 4 coordinating pieces to go with one existing piece. These 5 pieces must combine to make a total of 6 outfits.

This was one big pain in the ass for me. For some reason, it seemed as if I just couldn't get 4 pieces to come together. Yeah, that's right, I have 550 yards of fabric in my stash, and I can't find 4 pieces that go together. Sad, really. When I thought I was almost there, something would go wrong. One pattern I had cut wouldn't fit on my 60 inch wide fabric, even though the pattern was supposed to be cut on the fold! Clearly they didn't test their pattern before sending it to print.

Oh well, this is my attempt, and I'm sticking with it.

Good luck to all those that are participating!

The February Five...the Results!

So remember way back when, when I announced to all teh world that I was going to lose five pounds in February? Well, I managed, somehow, to do it.

I'm so amazed by this because to lose it, all I mostly did was jsut change my diet. At first I attempted to exercise, but it seems that I would be starving after my workout and couldn't get enough to eat. My reasoning is that it doesn't make any sense to workout to lose 200 calories only to consume 300 because you're over hungry. I'm not suggesting that all I do is sit on my butt in front of the TV all day, because I don't. I do move around, I just lost the weight without any formal exercise. Oh wait, I take that back, every third day or so I would do some kind of tummy floor exercise for 5 to 10 minutes.

I thin i'm going to try and lose 4 pounds in March. Why 4? becuase the thought of losing 5 pounds is far to much for me. I don't know why, it just is. Seriously.

Amazing!

In case you were wondering what that picture of a big pile of zippers is, it's most of my zipper stash.

While it's not the largest you have ever seen, it's certainly not the tiniest either. So, you know what amazes me? It amazes me that I NEVER have an appropriate zipper for my project. NEVER. So, ok, maybe twice i've had the right zipper, but usually i'm stuck running to the store OR (my favorite option) just using an invisable zip and hope that no one notices. I complain about this so much, that even my husband knows that I never have the right zipper.

Does this happen to anyone else? It can't just be me.

FNSI the *ahem* results...

Sometimes I amaze even myself with how little I can do before I just say forget it and move on. Last nigth I decided that I would work on a top pattern from the Ottobre woman 2 2010 issue. It's a very easy top. One that should have took me all of 30 minutes. So, do you think i'm supprised that it's not done? Don't be, because i'm not.

So, here's what happened. I think. I cut my pattern and fabric, sewed the side and shoulder seams, THEN I went against my better judgement and decided to finsh the top per the Ottobre directions. WHich is to baste clear eleastic to the armholes, then turn once and stitch with a double needle.

I don't understand this technique. It makes everything look so handmade. Now, don't get me wrong, sometimes the handmade look is ok, but this isn't one of those times. I tried to sew on the elastic, and all it did was bunch up my seam. So, I had to unpick it all, and that's where my sewjo went away. I'm going to try to get back to it tonight. And this time I won't waste my time on a technique I know I can't make work. Personally, I like facings or bands that are serged on.

I did get a bunch of tracing done yesterday afternoon, so the who day wasn't lost.

Friday Night Sew In is tonight

Don't forget, tonight is the FNSI!

If you haven't already signed up, what are you waiting for?

I'm going to be working from the 2/2010 issue of Ottobre Woman magazine. This is my first Ottobre woman magazine, and I just love this issue. I just got this issue 2 or 3 days ago, and I already have 3 things traced. There are a few otehr things I like as well. If I make 4 things from this issue, that will be a record for me. I don't think I have ever made 4 things from a Burda magazine.

Also, here is the new 2/2011 issue. Looks very promising. I decided to get a year sub to Ottobre woman when I bought the 2/2010 issue. I doubt i'll be disappointed.

Lena Modetrend Magazine

A few weeks ago, I was searching around eBay and came across Lena Modetrend for plus sizes.

I don't know much about this magazine, and there really isn't much info out there either. What I do know is that it's published by a German publisher, and that there is no regular publish date for this magazine. Apparently it's published 'whenever'. There is a good range of sizes in the magazine, so sizes all the way up to size 52. The magazine is in German only, and I can't find any helpful sites out there who have already translated the instructions. So, you'll probably have to already have a clue before you tackle anything in this magazine. Oh, and the pattern sheets? IMHO, just as bad, if not worse than BurdaStyle. There are only two colors on the sheets, black and red, and the patterns are bunched up good and tight on the sheets. Oh, and there isn't one page with all the line drawings on it. The line drawings are next to the instructions for that design.

I do have one pattern traced, but not sewn yet. I'll post when I get it done, but I have a few other things going on at the moment.

SewingPatterns.com

I don't usually complain much about places I shop. Of course, I don't get totally crappy service all that often either, so maybe that's why I don't complain much.

Well, not today! Today i'm going to complain about SewingPatterns.com. Last month, against my better judgement, I bought a few patterns from this site. They shipped one, and the other is on backorder. I have emailed this company 4 times, and all I got was one reply saying they would check into it. A simple "Hey, we will get that in stock about Feb. 15th" would have made me happy.

Needless to say, I opened a dispute with PayPal in an attempt to get my money back. I would ask them directly, but it's already clear that they don't reply to emails.

Reading over reviews and past threads about this company on PatternReview, this isn't a new thing for this company. They just don't give a shit, as far as I can tell. I have read from a few people that seem to think it's prefectly acceptable to wait 4 to 6 weeks for patterns. I don't think it is. Especially if the company is in the US and shipping to the US.

Their attitude seems to be "Yeah, we'll ship your patterns when we're good and damn ready. If you don't like it, though, becuase we're not going to answer any of your emails." They should put that in their FAQs or on their "About Us" page. Since that's the truth.

Long, whiney story short, i'll never order from them again.

The February Five

Just putting this out there...

I plan on losing 5 pounds in February. That may not seem like a lot to some of you, but I think it's an attainable goal.

I think that my be the problem for a lot of us, we set our goals to high, and then when we don't reach them fast enough we start to fail. For example, when someone proclaims "I want to lose 40 pounds!' Is that really attainable? After a few months, sure, but it's not going to happen overnight. And I think that leaves a whole lot of room for discouragement. So, my goal for the whole month of February is going to be 5 pounds. I think that's an attainable goal, don't you?

Trudy Jensen Patterns

One thing I don't normally have a problem doing is spending money on stuff that I don't need. However, I think 2011 might (might!) be a new year for me. So, ok, i've already bought a half dozen european pattern magazines I don't need, two Hot Patterns and a Jalie. OH! And lets not forget the Kayla Kennington pattern I didn't need, and probably won't make because if i'm reading the envelope correctly, this project takes 11 1/2 yards of fabric! Yuck!

So, here I find myself eyeballing these cute Trudy Jensen patterns. I really like the Wrap Coat:






and the Designer Denim Dress:















So, here I am actually contemplating NOT buying something. I'm not so sure how that's going to work out, but I think i'm going to wait a few days to see if I still want it as badly as I do now. I'll update you on Wednesday!

FNSI post...

I'm going to make my FNSI post now, just in case I can't get to it over the weekend.

I'm making Vogue 1051. Misses slim pants.

One of my biggest sewing 'fears' is welt pockets. Well, this pattern has welts. I have one front done so far, and I gotta say, it doesn't look bad. So ok, it's not great either, but at least it looks like a welt! lol Of course, I also have 3 more to do on this pair of pants too. There is a lot of room for error with 3 more pockets to go!

I would also like to mention that I am going to be using Sandra Betzinas easy, fly front zipper technique for the first time. It's looks far to easy to be true, but it's worth a shot!

Lena Modetrend Magazine

So, i'm trolling around eBay looking for someting, and I came across this! I have never seen this before, and there is next to nothing on the on the internet.

Naturally, I bought a copy. I mean really, there must be worse things I can spend $16 bucks on, right? (You're also welcome to see yestrdays post about my new found love of pattern stashing).

I'll post pics as soon as I get the magazine. It's coming from Germany though, so I could be a few days.

A girl's gotta stash something!

For the last few months I haven't been very interested in fabric buying. The more I think about about that, the more i'm starting to realize that it's ok to not buy everything I like. Don't get me wrong, i've bought about 8 or 9 yards already this year. But i've already sewn 4 of what i've bought, and i've sewn another 8 yards, for a total of 12 yards out already. These are promising numbers for me! Now if I can keep this momentum up, i'll be good.

HOWEVER, yes, you knew that was coming. I've always heard that usually when you drop one vice you pick up another. SO true! Now i'm buying patterns. This typically isn't an issue for me when they're the $1 JoAnn special. This isn't the case right now. So far this year i've already bought probably 20 big 4 patterns but i've also bought 2 Hot Patterns, one Jalie and one Kayla Kennington pattern. (Isn't it beautiful!?) These are pricey patterns. That wouldn't been an issue if I sewed (is that a word?) every pattern I bought, but chances are, the pattern is just going to wind up in my stash, never to be seen again.

I won't even mention the January La Mia Boutique i'm pinning for.

Now, I will say though, and this is mainly for my own personal record, I bought the Jalie and Kayla Kennington pattern today from Sewingpatterns.com. I really didn't want to because i've read so many bad things about their ship time, but the price of the KK pattern was $12 cheaper than anywhere else, and PR was out of the Jalie pattern until next month. Hopefully I won't have to wait long for the patterns. Beacuse, yanno, i'm in a big hurry to bury them in my stash!

Charlotte area sewing group

In case you are in the Charlotte, NC area, me and a few other ladies from PatternReview are getting a sewing group together. You can get more info here Charlotte area sewing thread on PR . Even if you're reading this long after it's been posted, feel free to join in.

This is not a formal group. We don't have any structure or planned group projects. Normally you would just bring whatever project and suppiles you need and then just enjoy the company. I'm finding that room space isn't cheap in Charlotte, so the cost of whereever we are is split among whoever shows up that day. We will probably meet on Saturdays about once a month, or so. The location will probably be in Denver or Huntersville.

The more you know! :)

January Friday Night Sew In

Friday Night Sew In for this month is January 21st.

I have lots of stuff to work on.

I have a pair of Vogue pants cut and ready to go. The only problem is they have welt pockets, and I FEAR welt pockets.

I also have the fabic for a 'skirt' to go around my sewing table. I need the skirt so I can hide all my crap under the table. After all, my sewing room is in the living room now. I'm a bit bummed that this fabric won't count fromt he stash contest on PR, but oh well, I need the skirt.

Tooth Fairy Pillow

I have a 6 year old that's going to lose a tooth any day now. Well, actually, I think it's pretty much all the way lost. Now all she has to do is pull it from the thin piece of skin that it's still attached to and THEN it will be lost.

If you have young children that are about to lost some teeth, an embroidery machine and an hour to spare, I really recommend this little pillow. He is sooo cute and really easy to make.

Here is a link to the design. Urban Threads Tooth Fairy Pillow

I don't know what you would call it...

...But I think it's a sewing room. Possably. I'm not feeling it.

This room is supposed to be my sewing room / kids playroom. I think the options are endless, I just don't know what to do with it. I feel bad about that too.

I think part of the problem is 1) It's the first room you see when you walk into the house. I don't mind having a few toys about, but I don't want a lot of clutter in that room. It needs to stay neat, and for some reason, I don't know how to do that. I'm not a hoarder by any means, but I have a tendancy to not 'see' clutter until it's out of hand. 2)We're a bit strapped for cash, so the $1500 armoire is out of the question. And so is the cute sewing desk and cabinet. *sigh* 3) Everything is this house is white! It's so steril. And since this is a short term rental, painting is out of the question.

Anyway, here are a few pics. I have a microwave stand with a tv on it. It's going into that room and i'll probably hook up the Wii on it. And i'm thinking about one of those big fat Ikea chairs. Maybe a small area rug, curtains and some kind of cabinet, and then maybe I can feel at home.

FNSI and Simpliciy 2374

Ok, i'm just come right out and say that I barely did much last nigth. What I DID do was watch clips of Bill Cosby standup on youtube.

Anyway, on with the show.

I got my My Image pattern cut (I traced it the day before). I did go out to the garage to find my fabric and I tore up the upstairs to find my rotary cutter blades. Other than than that, that was about all I did.

I'm blaming Bill Cosby for not getting anything done.

A few days ago, I finished up the first muslin on Simplicity 2374. Oh...the humanity. I don't normally make muslins, but I did this time. I'm glad I did, because this thing won't be seeing the light of day anytime soon.

Friday night sew in...

Oh gosh! I forgot all about it! Tonight is the Friday night sew-in.

Yesterday I got the first issue of My Image magazine. It's a cute little pattern magazine with 16 designs in it. The designs are cute and usable, and the pattern sheets are printed on nice paper. They look to be a lot easier to trace than Burda is too.

One thing though, and I know a few people won't like this because this magazine is new, and for some reason some people don't think a new company should get any criticism. BUT the instructions suck. Bad. I can't make heads or tails out of them. Don't get me wrong, they made an honest effort, but the translation is ridiculous. There designs aren't too out there though, so I can probably get away without them. We will see.

Simplicity 2374

Just going to try to keep myself honest here...

My next project is goign to be Simplicity 2374. View D, the long jumpsuit. (All of a sudden, I can't shamlessly steal pics from Simplicity's site)

Anyway, I plan on making this from a flowy blue streaky fabric that I got at JoAnns years ago. The only problem is THAT I CAN'T FIND IT!! There has got to be a missing bin of fabric here somewhere. I just can't find it.

On a side note: I think I may be broken. I have tried since I moved into the new house to buy fabric from fabric.com (Cause lord knows there isn't shit for fabric in the stores here!!). I just haven't been able to buy anything. Nothing is exciting me enough to spend the $35 to get free shipping. Something is CLEARLY wrong! lol

There has been sewing, and there will be more...

I've been in the new house for 3 weeks as of tomorrow. I've actually got a lot of sewing done.

No pics, sorry. Maybe next time.

I made tab curtains for Suzies room. They are pink and purple. I bought the fabric for curtains for her room in Michigan right before we moved. I'm glad I was able to use that fabric, and that it didn't manage to sit in my stash for the next 5 years.

I made two night gowns. One pink and one purple. This was fabric left over fromt he curtains. All told for the two gowns and the curtains, I usd up 13 yeards. Too bad it was broadcloth, so it hardly made a dent. Now if I could just sew up 13 yeards of fleece, I could empty out a bin.

I made an apron to clean in. Every shirt I have ever cleaned in gets bleach all over it. I'm hoping the apron will help a tiny bit.

I made a little cat house. Basically I cut a hole into a box and hot glued fabric onto the box. Then I made a pillow to go inside. Cats loved it for the first few days. Now they could care less. A little over two yards for those two projects.

I feel like there was a fifth project in there somewhere, I just can't remeber what it was.

Friday Night Sew In - the results

I'm in a hurry, so here is just a quick rundown of what I did.

I was able to cut two pairs of jammies.

I got one of them done. I was only able to get about half of the second pair done.

That's it for now. Gotta go work on getting a sewing group together.

Wee!

Friday Night Sew In December 10th

For those of you who may not know already, there are two scheduled FNSI's this month. The first is the 10th and the second is on the 17th. I plan on participating in both. I don't have any gifts planned, but I do have some garment projects planned for me. I need clothes badly, so now that i'm (basically) unemployed, I should make the best of it.

For those of you don't already know, I moved from the Detroit area to the Charlotte, NC area in November. I'm not sure how I feel about this anymore. At first I was all excited, but I think I was a bit delusional about the Charlotte area before I got here.

First, the weather has sucked since I got here. It's been 20 degress below average for the last ten days! It's almost as cold as it is in Michigan. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Second, can I just bitch about the fabric stores for a minute? I have two Hancocks in the area, and a place called MaryJo's. I have made a total of 5 vists to these 3 stores and I haven't purchaced a single yard of fabric. I'm not sure if it's because I just moved my whole stash half way across the country and I can no longer deny that I still need more stuff, or if it's just that i'm really not all that impressed with these stores. I really think it's the later, and yes, I know people are going to think i'm crazy because i'm not impressed with MJ's. Let me briefly tell you about MaryJo's. They have got a TON of stuff. It's a huge warehouse full of fabric, but unless you're a quilter or plannign home dec projects, most of the fashion fabric was just 'meh'. There was plenty of cottons, but what I was really looking for was some cool knits. I couldn't find anything decient. I can tell you, I won't be planning many trips there.

As for the Hancocks. Well, two dirty little stores with a crappy selection of fashion fabric. The one hancocks didn't even have any of the new patterns, and really at this point these patterns are not all that new. So it looks like it will be ClubBMV and Fabric.com for me. What a disappointment.

Oh well.

Project Runway, the finalie part 1

Project Runway is on! YAY!

Instead of watching, I'm here blogging! Boo!

DH is watching something, so I gotta wait my turn. I have a tv down here I could be watching on, but I refuse to sit through commercials. And the tv down here isn't a DVR box.

Anyway, GO MONDO!