February Projects

I always like to see photos of garments photograped on a "real body" Here are photos of me wearing my recent projects.:

I still hope to finish at least one more top before the month is over.

Here's a picture of me with our dinner guests last week - Alice and Margaret. Alice is 98 years old and Margaret is 93 years old. Wow! They look good and sharp as a tack mentally!

Finishing is Fun!

After my poor garment completion rate last month, I finally focused on finishing some projects. It feels great. I'm proud of my discipline because I had a good case of Spring fever (still do, to tell you the truth). While I'm sewing on dark colors, I'm dreaming of white, brights, and light flowing fabric. The weather has been awesome - sunshine and not too hot. I did work in the yard Saturday and spent Sunday afternoon playing with grandchildren in the park. I still managed to get some garments finished. They are pretty much basic, wear-often type of clothes. Here are my results:

This skirt is Vogue 8455, View B, made from suede microfiber. The skirt is a mock wrap, straight skirt, mid-knee length. It was quick and easy to make. Actually, it would have been easier if I had used lighter weight fabric. I like the angled pleats but I eliminated them from the underskirt. This fabric was hard to press and the pleats on the underskirt would have been impossible - plus I don't need all that extra bulk in the tummy area. Hummm.....noticed looking at the photo that I still have some pressing to do at the waistband. (Photos can be helpful to show details that I miss!) The only other adjustment I made was to shorten the skirt 1 inch. While I like the skirt, I doubt that I'll make it again. I have a bunch of skirt patterns that I want to make.

This cardigan is V1058, view B, made from cotton sweater knit. This is my first attempt at sweater knit and found it, surprisely, easy to sew. The cardigan is another easy-to-sew pattern. I like the way the inside is finished. Actually, the only problem I had in construction was mixing up the right side and the wrong side. Before I sewed the side seam, they looked similar in the design and the fabric. Here's a picture of the wrong side:

While I definitely will wear the cardigan, I'm not crazy about it and doubt that I'll sew it again. I much prefer the standard classic cardigan sweater.

I think everyone who sews knits has made the Jalie 2806 top. My version is in cotton interlock with the gathered foldover neckline. I love everything about it and will make it many times with different sleeves. I also want to try the ruched front. I made this top in a couple of hours. (At my turtle pace sewing, that's a quick sew project.) I shortened the shoulders and reduced the length of the hem line and sleeves. Otherwise, I made it per the pattern. This is my first Jalie pattern. I found the instructions easy to follow and even brushed up on my French which is written next to the English.

Now, I want to spend all day in my sewing room. I sure wish that I had a house elf to do my chores!!

Working on the Basics

Time seems to move so slow in February and, then, it flies away. I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. We've had company for several days and there were all these odd things that required attention. Anyway, I have been able to work in some sewing. I am really bored with my winter wardrobe, but I know much of that is just the time of year. It's been cold (in the twenties - really coooold for Florida) and dreary in the "Sunshine State". I keep wanting to start working on a new project - working on my piping skills, making a jacket, making a coat, making a pair of jeans. I know that I have to finish my basic wardrobe first even though discipline is not a lot of fun. I'm a "mood sewer" which means have a lot of projects going at once. I know that I have to stick with items in my plan regardless. Somehow, I have lost the instructions for the pair of pants that I have in process. I don't need them except for the fly zipper. I've made fly zippers a couple of times, but still have to follow the instructions step by step. I guess I'll have to use one of those sewing books in my library. *sigh* Right now, my sewing machine is at the Bernina Dealer for her annual maintenance (3 months late). I get so sad looking at my empty sewing table! I do have several garments close to finish and one that I actually completed.

Here's the one garment that I did finish in January:

The pattern is B4347 and the fabric is a polyester knit. I really like this blouse. It fits well, is very comfortable, and fairly easy to sew.

Well, that's my pitiful completion for January. February should be much more productive since there are a number of garments that I have started and several that are in that "almost done" stage. I just have to dig in my heals and get that basic wardrobe finished.

Awards

Thank you soooo much Angelia for nominating me for theKreativ Blogger award. The rules of this award are as follows:
1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.

I would like to pass this award to the following 7 other bloggers whose names I haven't seen listed yet and definitely deserve this award:

1. Gaylen at GMarie
2. Alicia at AliciaJeanae
3. Shawna at Whatwouldyoudowith25hourdays?
4. Shannon at FrogsinaBucket
5. Emily at ALittleSewingStudioonTrowbridgeSt
6. Marji at FiberArtsAfloat
7. Adrienne at RealLife:Live&Unscripted

There are many, many other excellent sewing blogs out there. Some of them I haven't discovered yet. I read the post from Carolyn who broke the rules of the Kreativ Blogger award and nominated everyone who read her blog and has their own blog. She said that we all could display the award and state that the nomination was from her. Carolyn really understands that feeling of anticipation as the awards are posted. So, I decided to create my own award. My award is the Hug Award. This award does not have anything to post on a blog because it is just a very special feeling that is sent through cyberspace. It can be passed on to someone else, but there is no rule that requires it. This award is not only for excellent blogging and excellent sewing skills. This award is for understanding and encouraging the newbies in blogging/sewing and making them feel special. So, Carolyn is the first recepient. Thanks for being there in blogland, Carolyn.

Dreams of Spring

It's sooooo cold here. I'm sure that most you won't think that 52 degrees is that cold, but we do have heavy wind. The wind chill counts, right? We are expecting a hard freeze tonight and tomorrow night. I've been out in this dreadful weather covering plants, flowers, and herbs. The good news is I have flowers all year but it is a bit of work to protect them during our cold days. Please remember that I was outside in 80 degree weather on Sunday so this is quite a drop in temperature!

It's definitely time to think of Spring. That always improves my spirits. With each new issue of Vogue Pattern Magazine, I pick my 3 favorite new patterns. Sometimes I make them and sometimes I don't. These are my picks for Spring 2009:

V1092 I love this skirt, don't care much for the top.

V1087 I love this dress. It's the perfect LWD for my Spring/Summer Florida lifestyle. The only negative (that I can see now) is the advanced fitting and sewing skills required to make it. I'll see how my sewing goes. I'd like to take on the challenge of making it.

V1099 The jacket definitely will go on my Spring sewing list, not so sure about the pants.

The Blouse Saga Continued

The three weeks that I designated to work on sleeve fitting turned into six weeks. In the process, I have stuck myself with pins a thousand times (got my ear once really well), used 1/2 a bolt of muslin, a roll of pattern paper, 6 rolls of tape and 2 sharpies. I kid you not - that's not much of an exageration. This weekend DH was away at a conferance so I planned a blouse fitting marathon. I almost got the 2 muslins finished after doing a detailed study of my arms. Isn't that exciting? Actually, I did do my weight lifting-toning tape once. The only incentive I need is taking a close look at me. One of the blouse muslins fit perfectly -- no wrinkles (well, maybe one or two), the sleeves were smooth and fit my arms. Sooo--I quickly went for my sharpie which was 6 inches away - wanted to mark those seams right away. The only problem was that I couldn't move. Actually, I created a pin orgie. Pins were flying everywhere as I tried to move my arms. My "Armor Blouse Fitting" was lost forever. I came to the conclusion that I fitted it too tight. Ha! I did some smart thinking there. Unfortunately, I lost so many pins that I couldn't just ease the seams looser. I was back to the drawing board. I had to zigzag more fabric on the sleeve muslin and start fitting again. By the time DH came home Sunday afternoon, I had it. There was no more working on blouse muslins. I didn't sleep well Sunday night which is unusual for me. I kept trying to figure out where I went wrong. Monday was a new day. I started by really looking at those arms of mine. I have such skinny arms that it never occured to me that I might have large biceps. I guess all those swimming laps did something. The very top of my arm is pretty big in proportion to the rest of the arm. I finished both muslins on Monday. I finally accepted that they are as good as I can get them right now. I'm sure that I'll continue to consider the sleeve/bodice fit issue for the rest of the year. We'll just see how those blouses look in real fabric. I'm tired of sewing ugly muslin fabric. Enough is enough! Actually, I did pull out a jacket pattern with a two piece sleeve. I'll be trying that in the near future, but not right away. I've started sewing one of the blouses and hope to have it finished this week.

During one of my breaks, I read Shannon's post about learning and perfecting a new skill every year. That post got me to thinking. Shannon is restudying calculus this year. I'm not going to do that - never took calculus and never wanted to take it. I do have a whole laundry list of things that I would like to learn. My sewing skills goals will remain top priority, but I'd like to do something else to add some variety. There are periods of time when I just get burned out with sewing. Right now, my choices for 2009 are learning Adobe Photoshop Elements, Knitting, and Zumba. I'll make a decision after at least one blouse is done.

This weekend I did pull out the skirt that I cut out earlier. I sewed a bit on it - just had to work with some real fabric. This fabric is sueded microfiber. I thought that it would be hard to sew, but was pleasantly surprised. Ironing is impossible because the iron leaves marks even with a press cloth and low heat. I sure am glad that I tested it first. Often, I forget that step. I have to hold the iron above the fabric, steam it and finger press. I didn't get very far but I'm happy with the way the pleats fall. They are on an angle so I had some concern about the microfiber fabric. Please ignore my sloppy tailor tacks. I can be accurate with tailor tack markings but don't have the patience to do them neatly.

Here's a picture of one of my sleeve muslins. There are a couple of things that I learned that are so helpful to me in fitting. The first I learned from Marji I mark the center and horizontal lines and, then sew over them with a basting stitch. It only takes seconds to do and I easily can see if the garment is hanging straight. The second I read in a magazine somewhere. I put a couple of round sticky dots (from office supply stores) on the wrong side of the fabric. I put more than one because sometimes the dots fall off. That way I don't have to think a lot about the right and wrong side and avoid sewing a right side to a wrong side. Ask me how I know about that possibility!

I'm off to sew some blouse seams. Yea!!

Bloggers are Terrific!

Thanks to all of you who gave me suggestions for my animal print fabric. All of them are great with many ideas that I would never have considered. I plan to use several of them in the future. Meanwhile, I am still plodding away at my blouse muslins. The three weeks that I planned to work on sleeve fitting has turned into 6 weeks. I'm still not done, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I've fitted the bodices for the princess seam blouse and the side-dart blouse. The left sleeve is done for the princess seam blouse. The right sleeve is giving me a bit of a challenge. I'm so assymetrical that I have to fit both sides - double the fun (lol). During breaks, I've cut out a skirt, a knit top, and am close to finishing another knit top. This fitting process is so tedious that I have to stop and get back to it in an hour or two - sometimes the next day! Hopefully, this will all be worth it although I'm sure that I'll be tweaking the fit for some time. Anyway, I should have some things to show soon!