Friday, October 31, 2008

Front opening Vogue Dress

Dress stays open below last snap. Need to incorporate Sandra Betzina's walking ease.

VogueDressSideview


VogueDressSideview
Originally uploaded by Danvillegirl
Side view of me wearing the recently completed Vogue Dress. This was at the end of the day so forgive the disheveled hair. I like the dress BUT there are some wearing factor issues that should I make this again I will change. More about that later.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Fused and marked


Fused and marked
Originally uploaded by Danvillegirl
This is the front piece also fused and serged. The blue marking is for the center front. As I posted below, it was much easier to and safer to make pattern marks after the piece was fused.

Fused&marked2


Fused&marked2
Originally uploaded by Danvillegirl
This is the back piece and after fusing and serging I was able to mark the pleat and notch markings onto the fused piece. I normally snip notches but not with this fabric.

Fused and serged


Fused and serged
Originally uploaded by Danvillegirl
Here is the front piece of the jacket. It has been fused and serged to stablize this fabric. It truly unravels as you look at it. I

I was asked if this fabric contains a chenille weave. I don't think so. It truly has an usual look to it and is much prettier than I can capture in the photos I take. I remember that it is a rayon blend and perhaps the blend is a little wool.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I'm Back

Wow, this computer situation has been a pain. I got my computer back yesterday after being in service since Thursday. I finally got it up and running and beginning the reinstall of sooooooo many programs! I had backed up a lot of things, but I missed some. I am sick about some of this.

Yesterday I took a sick leave day as I scheduled three doctors appointments. I have been having problems with my left knee so I met with Orthopedists. X-rays reveal healthy knees. At this point I am being treated for "Runner's Knee" with an anti-inflammatory pill, ice pack on knee for 20 minutes and some exercises with restrictions on some knee exercises I do at CURVES. If in six weeks still pain, then MRI. Next visit was mammogram-what a fun time that was. Last visit was ob-gyn annual check up. So I call this my head to toe doctor day!

By not having a computer all weekend, I started on the Butterick jacket and made great progress. I took some photos along the way. I hope to post those a little later this week This is a very easy little jacket to make. The difficulty with the one I am making is the fabric.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Quick Comment

Well computer is down again! Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Same problem as last week so back to CC for diagnostic checkup. On the bright side instead of sitting at computer last night and this AM prior to work, I spent productive time in the sewing room!

Just had a minute to post something from work before shutting down for the day. So I may be away from blogging, looking at fabrics, reading other blogs and pattern review and answering emails for a few more days. Just think of all the things I will get caught up on when computer is back and just think of all the sewing I can complete with my free time.

Later.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Sewing in bits and pieces

Last night was our agency's Annual Awards Banquet. Arriving home after 9 pm. No sewing or going anywhere near the room.

Tonight however I did spend some brief time continuing to work on my Butterick jacket pattern. As I mentioned previously, the fabric I am using is rather easy to ravel, just looking at it can cause a thread to fall off. I cut out fusible tricot interfacing that I will fuse to the fabric pieces before serging. I was unable to do any more after that as dinner was expected----food is overrated.

Tomorrow another small bit of time hopefully can be devoted to the actual fusing.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sewing plan was accomplished


Well I got the blouse pattern cut out. I am using fabric from my stash that I acquired from JoAnn fabrics perhaps three years ago. I wanted to use this as a wearable "muslin" before cutting into my really good fabric. This is a polyester, microfiber of some sort.




I also cut out the Butterick jacket pattern. I found some marking errors with this pattern when pin fitting it. I am making view C and this has pleats at the yoke front and back. When I pinned the pleats for the front pattern I used the numbers for the size to pin the pleat. When I pinned the front yoke to the front bottom it did not line up correctly. After unpinning, I looked at the marking for the pleats and found they had mislabled the pleats. If you follow the pleat marking you find that you cannot go by the number marking but the pleat marking itself. So if you are planning on making this, you may want to make a note to check your pattern. I decided to lengthened the jacket by one inch. It is a shrunken jacket style but I liked the length of it when I pin fitted it but that length was before turning up the hem, thus the decision to lengthened.

The fabric I am using is very ravelly so I will be using lightweight fusible on all pieces to help stablize the fabric and will serge all edges also. Here is a shot of the pattern laid out on the fabric prior to my cutting it.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Lace two designs combined

Here is a close up of a combined design.

One of my ideas is to replicate the Prada Lace Clutch bag. I also saw a great McCall's tunic pattern with lace shoulders and upper sleeves.

Lace in machine


Lace in machine
Originally uploaded by Danvillegirl
I realized that I had not posted about my lace embroidery project. I think that was because my computer went on the blink. I am creating lace using an embroidery card and my Designer SE. The great thing is that I can also use these embroidered lace designs with my Janome 300 E embroidery machine while I sew with the SE.

Saturday Morning-10/18/08

It's early Saturday, house is quiet, I'm on my first cup of coffee.

I have been to the Burda site looking at previews of Nov. BWOF, clicking on patterns, responding to some emails from my cyber sewing friends. Given the week I have just completed, this feels like bliss!

Computer locked up on me earlier this week after upgrading my Norton Antivirus and getting all the Windows update. I could operate in Safe Mode, but when going back to "Normal", darn thing was locked up tighter than tight. So unplug, load it up and take it to CC the next day for them to check it out. This caused computer withdrawal syndrome. Thankfully it was not a major issue and got it back the same day. I then have to remember what goes where in putting all back together.

Work has been hectic. We are an agency that must go through an accreditation review every three years and Monday the reviewers arrive. So the last minute, get everything together syndrome kicked into high gear and yesterday the office was a buzz. Since I worked late most evenings last week, I left work at the appointed 4:30 official closing time. Did the grocery shopping with DH's assistance, had pizza and then returned home to spend time in sewing room.

The room looked and still somewhat looks like a hurricane aftermath. I had two embroidery projects going on, pattern fitting project and a dress with snaps that for the life of me I have had difficulty getting the darn snaps to line up.

One project is now complete. The snaps are finally on the dress and hopefully I will take some photos of me wearing it. I need to find the right belt to wear with it or some sort of scarf if I don't wear a belt, it just needs something. Fit is good and I like the dress but it is just not complete.

This weekend my sewing plans are to cut out the McCall's blouse pattern, finish pin fitting Butterick jacket pattern and cut that fabric, and pin fit the McCall's dress pattern. Meanwhile I will continue my lace embroidery project.

Time for second cup of jo' and off to CURVES to reduce my stress!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I love Holidays!

We get two floating holidays a year where I work. Yesterday was one of those holidays!

I had made an appointment 6 months ago with my doctor for checkup and of course I made it for yesterday at 8:00, so no sleeping in for this girl. Worked out just fine in the end. Unfortunately I have to go to an orthopedist regarding a knee problem I have; we think it is torn cartilage.

After doctor visit, I went to Panera Bread for a latte and cinnamon roll. Then stopped at grocery store for a few items and then home to sew. I did not get a lot of actual sewing done but I did work on fitting several patterns while I ran my embroidery machine. I don't embroider as much as I use to and yesterday I found that I missed that.

Go here and here to see what I was working on. While that was embroidering, I pin fitted and adjusted this pattern.


It is an OOP pattern that I bought on eBay several months ago. I love the look of it and most particularly the front tie. I am going to make the sleeveless version.





The front and back pieces are full pieces and will be cut on the bias. I needed to make a one inch FBA, so I had to adjust the pattern this way. I added 1/2 inch on each side to get the one inch. I used a combination of FFRP and Linda Maynard's technique to make this adjustment. I have not sewn a bias garment in ages so this will seem like a new sewing technique for me.
I also started the fitting process for the McCall's dress and the Butterick jacket pattern also.
All in all I felt my day was pretty productive.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Upcoming Projects






I purchased this McCall's pattern recently during one of their sales. The fabric is one that I have had for several years now. Acquired from Vogue Fabrics. I am not sure of the fabric content; it drapes well yet has some body, not like linen or silk dupioni. I have pulled this fabric each fall season and have not found the right pattern. I think this one will be the right one. I plan on making View A but may go with the cowl neckline. The pattern only calls for the bodice to be lined but I plan to line the skirt as well as the fabric is not that opaque.


This is another fabric I acquired from a shop in Tampa, FL that was going out of business in the late '90's. It is rather ravelly and I have a limited amount of the fabric. It goes well with the dress fabric mentioned above. It too is a fabric I pull every fall but have yet to make it up. I am planning on making a jacket from this Butterick pattern. I was going to make a Simplicity jacket, the one that is on the cover of the Sewing Stylish magazine for fall. I did not have enough of it however.



Sunday, October 12, 2008

Carolyn's Brand Loyalty Question

If you click on the title above, it should link you to Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic blog. Carolyn is what I call a "deep thinker" and many of her posts asks the reader a thought provoking question. One of the reasons I like to read her blog.


Yesterday she posed the question about fabric store brand loyalty-not only brick and mortar stores but online as well. I think that I have online brand loyalty as I seem to buy fabrics from specific online stores on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes I buy more from one site than another based on their current offerings.

I did enjoy shopping Hancock's fabric brick and mortar store until they closed ours. I suppose I should look at their online offerings more frequently but their website just does not feel appealing to me.

Depending on where I have lived, Jo Ann's was a key store for me in some areas. I personally think that not all Jo Ann's are equal. Meaning some had better fabric selections for fashion sewists versus my local one that seems to appeal to quilters and other crafting hobby's. Sometimes I get lucky when I visit our local store but not often. We did have two Jo Ann's in town, one 10 minutes from my home. That one was closed and thus I have to travel to the other side of town which is only 20 to 25 minutes away. Yet I really never know what to expect when I visit that store. It always looks so empty and I always expect to hear that they will be closing just because it is not well stocked. I never shop online with Jo Ann's.

For me I do have brand loyalty to several online sites. The reason is that they offer quality fabrics at good prices. Since I shop with them frequently I have saved them as favorite bookmarks on my Google homepage. Makes it very easy to click and go there. Included in this list are:
  • EmmaOneSock
  • Gorgeous Fabrics
  • Fabric Mart
  • Fabric.com
  • Fashionista Fabrics
  • Vogue Fabrics
  • Fashion Fabric Club

I have not purchased from some of the above in recent months. Only because I have not seen any fabric that I could not live without. There are numerous other fabric sites that I visit and purchase from, though sporadically.

I think my answer is I do have brand loyalty to numerous online sites as my shopping experience has been good, available fabric choices are normally very good, prices are good and most of all service is excellent.

I will always be on the lookout for new fabric sources online and if found and if I try them they will have to live up to those above to make my list.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Deliveries

Well I did not do any sewing today! The weather was gorgeous today-low 70's. DH and I decided to go motorcycle riding and it was a perfect day for that. We then went to Outback for dinner.




Upon returning home, I checked the mailbox and found two more patterns I ordered from BMV. These are Butterick patterns and they had a sale earlier this week. So did Vogue and yes I ordered three patterns from them.



Here are the two Butterick patterns I ordered.

This is a dress for knit fabric-either Double Knit or Ponte Knit. Yesterday I received my fabric order from Fabric.com and part of the order included two yards of Ponte Knit in Navy. Not sure if that is enough to make either dress, but will check that out tomorrow.




This skirt pattern I ordered after seeing Erica B's gorgeous skirt she made using this pattern. A great looking skirt and I decided I needed to make this one also.













I have one more snap to sew on the dress that is taking way too long to complete. Once that is done I plan to decide which of numerous projects I have going on in my head to start on tomorrow. Good thing for me is that Monday is a holiday so sewing is the plan for the day.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Wearing what I have made this week

So far this week I have worn garments that I have made. Unfortunately my camera and I are not working well together so I will have to show you shots of the items when I made them.

On Monday, I wore a black pant suit (RTW) with a blouse that I made that I truly love to wear. It is a Vintage pattern from Eva Dress Patterns. The colors are a little more vivid than in the photo and it always goes so well with black.

Yesterday I wore a dress and jacket that I made. The dress is a Vogue pattern and the jacket is from McCalls.

Today I wore this Vogue 8323 top with a RTW skirt that I just purchased while in Hagerstown at the Prime Outlet mall. Several reviews for this knit top at Pattern Review are a mixture of like and dislike for the top. The cowl neck on this was long in length and I reduced it some. The scoop neck top included with this pattern is one that I made also. I had pretty decent experience with the pattern.

Not sure what I will wear tomorrow. The weather continues to be cool one day and warm the next.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Thank you for the nomination!

Thank you to Jackie, who came out of lurkdom to comment on a recent blog post, nominated me for the Premio-2008 award. Thank you. I am truly flattered. Jackie's blog is called "Jackie's Sewing". According to Jackie's post, I am to post the award on my blog and tell who nominated me. That's done.


Next I am to select 6 to 10 bloggers to whom I would like to give this award to. So many have been nominated so I will try to come up with 6 new ones. Here goes:
  • 2BSewing-she is also lives in Virginia
  • Elaray-her blog is Another Creation, a person who I will one day meet in Charlottesville, VA
  • Phatchick Designs-believe me she is not "phat" and she makes lovely garments
  • Krystal-aka Pirouette, blog is called Krustallos
  • Dana-her blog is Lean Mean Sewing Machine
  • Adrienne-her blog is Real Life: Live and Unscripted
Paste these rules on your blog. -Done
Write 6 of your most important values:
-Honest
-Ethical
-Loyal
-Compassionate
-Respectful of others
-Gratitude
6 negative points you condemn:
-Duplicity
-Unethical behavior
-Betrayal
-Irresponsible
-Disrespectful
-Untruthful

Inform the recipients by leaving a comment on their blog.

Fabric purchase yesterday

In reading emails yesterday, I read one from Fabric.com about a sale that ended at midnight (11:59). They had (have) a great assortment of new knits that I found irresistible. So I made a purchase of only 2 of the designer knits and a purchase of ponte knit which I want to try. I keep seeing gorgeous items in the Talbot's catalogues made from ponte knit. Hopefully this one that I bought will be of the same quality. It was a navy blue.


Here's what I purchased. I obviously was in a blue mood. The quality of the last knits I purchased was great. Of course, I still have a few of those waiting for me to sew up as well.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Blog Reading and Colds

I just about finished the dress. I have two more snaps to sew. I just felt miserable and decided to rest. That led to a nap that was longer than 1/2 hour.

I decided that since I did not feel like sewing that I would read blogs. One of the first I read-"2BeSewing", she too is suffering with a bad cold. So bad that she could not attend the sewing expo class she had signed up for. Now I know that she must really be sick. The next one I read also spoke about not sewing/not blogging due to virus.

Must be the season for colds and viruses. They certainly do make one miserable.

I have lots of sewing ideas going on in my head. Hopefully I will be feeling more like sewing in the next few days. I want to put these ideas into action.

I wish all who have a cold or virus that you all feel better soon.

Progress with dress

Yesterday I did not do any sewing. I had to do the ususal Friday night shopping Saturday afternoon. I also just did not feel like sewing. Colds can kick butt. DH took me out to dinner so I did not have to cook. Yeah!

This AM I felt much better and after reading a few reviews at Pattern Review, I went into my sewing room and began the final steps of completing my dress. It is now hemmed and the front is topstitched. The final thing to do is sew on the snaps. I hate hand sewing but I am following the instructions for this dress and it calls for snaps, so snaps it will be. I really don't want buttons as it would distort the look I want.

I will do those this afternoon and then begin to think about what project next. I have several going through my mind. More later.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

I'm back and glad to be home!

I am back from Hagerstown. Business wise trip went okay. Personal side of the trip, I caught a terrible head cold. Yesterday driving back was tough with having to cough, blow my nose and trying to not let the medicine interfer with driving. I did not attend any meetings on Friday. I could not stand the idea of sitting in a room with a lot of people with me coughing and sniffing. Thankfully the session was not necessarily geared toward the work I do for my company. So I hit the road early and was back in town by 2 pm.

This morning I have been catching up on emails as the wireless and ethernet connection in my room did not work well at all. I should just say it did not work as the wireless signal was always poor and attempt to connect to the Internet were never successful.

I am off to take a shower as I have to do some grocery shopping as DH as to go to Danville to take care of family "stuff". Any sewing I wanted to do is postponed another day. Hopefully I will feel like finishing my dress tomorrow. Call me a "medicine head" right now!

August Sewing Simplicity 7295

 I am not doing well as a blogger. I have been working on this project since July 30. Today, I finally finished it. It has been a stop-and-g...