Silk for jacket

I have completed the pin fitting of the By Hand London Victoria Blazer.  I cut out the pink and black raw silk fabric.  Boy does it ravel!  It is somewhat loosely woven, thus the raveling and you can see some sections of how loose it is.

I serge finished all seams and I think I will also apply a light weight black fusible to the body of this jacket to provide a little more support.

I have a lot of sewing plans in place in my mind for my upcoming holiday and vacay time.  I don't return to work until 2016!  That has a nice ring to it!!!! :-)

More later.

Back from Vacay

I had a lovely vacay at Myrtle Beach with a longtime friend from high school.  Weather was perfect and hot while there.  I believe all of my old age aches and pains disappeared while there.  I wore all of my new summer tops recently made and only wore two RTW tops while there.

I spent a whole lot of money on shoes-sandals- my favorite all time shoe that now that I don't live in Florida I get to wear about 4 months a year.  Photos to follow.

We did all the touristy things that all MB vacationers do except for the amusement rides and such; no shows either.  We shopped, drank and ate until we dropped or popped.

I failed to take a lot of photos though-duh!  Just a few which I will post later.

No fabric store visits, though I came close to a few stores, mostly home dec or quilting.  I have way more fabric than I need now so glad I left some for others.

Looking forward to getting back in the sewing room; next up culottes!

Finding my sewing mojo again!

With Christmas over and returning to a bit of normalcy, I found myself ready to sew again.  I have almost completed the black and camel skirt. It just needs hemming.  Photos and more to follow.

Friday was my last working day until Next Year!!!  I began my "New Year" holiday on Friday, taking my final vacation hours for the year and celebrating New Year's Day.  Will be doing as much sewing as possible.
My next project is the McCall's 6844 knit cardigan/jacket.  I have two fabrics I planned to use to make this.  Once is an off white-oatmeal-color knit boucle from Fabric Mart and the other one is a sweater knit from EOS.

Based on reviews many reviewers indicate that the pattern runs large.  I find most McCall's patterns to run large on me in the shoulder and upper chest area.  I have cut around the pattern pieces and will pin fit later today.

Off to the sewing room now!

Vaca and Holiday

Today is the start of my vacation and Thanksgiving holiday!!  Sewing, cooking, eating are the plans for the week with a mani and pedi thrown into the mix.

I have decided to make the "Alma" blouse.  Not sure which version yet but headed to the sewing room now to decide.  I really like the look of all versions, but what drew my attention to the pattern was the view with the collar; also my grandmother's name was Alma.

So off to the sewing room for the morning.  More later.

Sewing inbetween

All the Christmas shopping is done except for one item for DH and we will take care of that later today.  Call us crazy for going out into what I am sure is going to be a frantic holiday shopping scramble.  Fortunately it does not require going near a mall! 

This AM I have been cooking for dinner tonight and for family gathering tomorrow for Christmas.  So in between peeling, chopping, cutting, and cooking, I am now working on fitting a Vogue knit top for one of many that I plan to sew over the next few days of my holiday and vaca days. 

I am working on Vogue 8669 which has been in the stash for awhile.  I have so many to choose from and settled on this one because of the neckline and because I think it will work well with a skirt I completed recently and have not worn yet because I need some new black tops.

The knit fabric I am using is one of several that I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics over a year or so ago.  I plan to make the pink version of the top as I like 3/4 quarter or ballet length sleeves for fall/winter and transitioning into spring.  I really like them year round as my aging arms just look better in this style.

I hope everyone is enjoying their pre-Christmas time with family and friends.    Off to sew and cook.

Where did last week go and what's ahead

I hardly spent anytime during the past week in my sewing room.  Completing one wadder and one top last weekend was the last sewing I did.  Things were crazy at work with a colleague leaving to take a position in another state.  It was like a week of cramming for an upcoming exam.  There was a lot I needed to finalize with her before she left.

Next week-a stay/sewcation.  Yes.  This AM I spent time adjusting a pattern for another knit top/tunic.  It is a McCall's pattern.  I hope I did not flub up too much on the pattern adjustment.  I had to make a FBA of about 2 inches and I wanted to get rid of the resulting dart.  I followed a technique that Debbie Cook posted about and have used it several times.  But I think I may end up with an issue with this one. 

I plan to use a knit fabric that has been in my stash for several years to test it.  It is one that I was not overly crazy about after purchasing, thus if outcome is negative, I want be overly concerned about the loss of this particular fabric. 

I also downloaded the free pattern from Collette Patterns for a sleeveless top with front pleat.  I printed and pasted all the pages together and plan to trace this pattern for fitting and sewing also.

I also want to make a few more dresses.  I purchased these two Simplicity Patterns yesterday while out doing some shopping chores--Simplicity 2145 and Simplicity 2146.  I fell in love with red/black dress on this pattern and recently saw this dress on some TV program.  In black and cream.

Updates later.

Vacation

Today I start my vacation!  This time DH and I are actually going somewhere that will require overnight stay for several days- the beach!  Today is running around getting car cleaned, filled up and ready to pack.  I am getting a mani-pedicure this afternoon; got to have those hoofs and paws looking good!  Some last minute food supplies and we will be ready to go bright and early tomorrow AM!

Sewing is taking a back seat for several days.  The dress bodice is basically complete; I need to hem the dropped sleeves.  The skirt should be easy to attach, though there is a casing for elastic to be sewn before that is finalized.  I also need to find an appropriate belt buckle for the belt I am making to go with the dress.  I will have time when we come back to finish this dress to get some wear from it before summer slips into autumn.  I am trying to gear up to start some transitional sewing; I love summer even though it has been a hot one, so will hate to see it slip away.

What happened on the way to sewing

I started my vacation 1/2 day on Wednesday prior to Christmas. Again I had ambitious plans to do a lot of sewing. I am not doing very well with those plans. So far I have completed two skirts, that's it.

Christmas Day I woke up with a terrible case of vertigo and have suffered with it off and on since. Yesterday I went to the doctor and was given some medication to deal with the nausea and the dizziness. Let me say that I think I slept most of the day away after taking one pill. The doctor and I think I am suffering with a sinus infection though I have not had a cold/runny nose, etc. but there is tenderness in certain areas of my face that would lead one to believe that sinus issues are present, so taking an antibiotic for that.

Late evening, after eating some dinner, I felt awake enough to hem my skirt and lining. So the New Look skirt pattern is now complete. I like this skirt and can see making another one in the future. I have to share true confession-I really screwed up this skirt earlier on in the process for not clearly reading through the instructions. It is fixed now and will be wearable. I will post more on this later.

Time off!

I was surprised that I had not posted anything since last Sunday. I have not sewn anything during the week. I am thinking about it.

The good news is that I begin a few days of vacation and holiday time off. No major plans to travel anywhere but do have plans to sew. More later.

Monday sewing update

Blouse is progressing along. I ran into some fitting opportunities. I had high hopes of finishing the blouse yesterday. Making fitting adjustments and then DH having a dental emergency took taking me away from sewing for a period of time.



Fitting opportunities included:

1. Taking a deeper shoulder seam.


2. Adjusting darts in back by taking a deeper dart-I have a narrow back.


3. Making the vertical front darts deeper.


4. Taking a deeper side seam from under arm to waist.


5. Trimming the sleeve cap by 1/4 inch to allow for deeper shoulder seam.

I also had to redo one side of the invisible zipper as the center back pieces did not line up correctly after inserting the other side of the zipper. In the past I may have let this go, now I find it unacceptable.

My plans this AM are to finish the blouse, provided DH's dental situation does not require some of my time.

Anticipation!

Tomorrow is my last working day and then I am off for holiday and vacation!!!!!!

I do plan to do some sewing during the time off but gosh darn if I can decide what I want to sew. I am thinking dress, or skirt, no a jacket, no a blouse. I have a beautiful piece of metallic linen fabric that originally was going to be a jacket; now though I know it will not be sturdy enough to be a jacket it is more blouse weight. But what blouse?

I want to make another McCall's skirt with an interesting back flounce(s) or pleats. Can't decide on the fabric.

I know that once the work week ends and I can actually just walk into my sewing room and handle fabric and patterns, the inspiration will come. So I anticipate the moment when I can do just that.

Vacation and sewing

I am taking a vacation day today so my long holiday weekend continues. I am making progress on my Butterick dress. I am about ready to go to sewing room and resume sewing. I always like to drink coffee and catch up on emails/blogs/Flickr photos and Pattern Review. I am limiting my time however as staying at the computer definitely eats up the sewing time.

I plan to take photos of the McCall's dress today and will post photos here. I want to write a review for PR as well.

More later.

Vacation and Sewing

Our vacation, as most do, seem to speed along. Actually it has been a resting vacation for both DH and me. We like to ride our motorcycle when the weather is not too hot or too cold. Yesterday was one of those days where it was overcast and thus temperatures stayed comfortable. We rode to a restaurant called the Pink Cadillac which has a great 50's theme going on and of course a 1950's model Pink Cadillac sits on the property. It is located close to Lexington,VA home of VMI. It attracts a lot of tourists who are visiting the area. Some day I must take photos just like all the other tourist do. After eating lunch we rode up to Fairfield, VA on the back roads and listened to music as we rode. We returned home around 4:30 and I spent time in the sewing room.

This is what I am working on:

I am making View B but without the ruffle as I ran out of material. I really like this pattern, so far. It comes with B,C,D cup sizes. The instructions are good but I don't like how they have you attach the upper and low sections together so I am doing it my way. They have you sew the upper front and back together at shoulder and side seams. Then you sew the lower pieces together for the front and back. You then hem the lower edge and then attach to the upper pieces. I prefer and do sew the lower front pieces together and attach to the upper front pieces and do the same for the back. Then I sew the front unit to the back unit. This allows in my opinion better fitting opportunity or adjustments. You also have one continuous side seam.

The fabric I am using comes from my stash and is a lovely rayon fabric I purchased from Textile Studios several years ago-at least more than two years ago. It was a breeze to cut out and it sews great. I will take photos later. I actually have a complete bodice unit made and hemmed the blouse. This is done prior to attaching the front bands. I am following the instructions here at this point as I have not made a blouse that has a front button band in a couple of years. I have made pullover or back zipped blouses. So there maybe a better technique than this but this one seems to be easy enough to follow and under stand.

More later.

Yesterday and today vaca time

Yesterday was a shopping day for me. I traveled to Greensboro, NC to go to a fabric/sewing machine store called Sew Heavenly. It was a nice trip as I also made sideline trips to Four Seasons Mall and Friendly Avenue Shopping Center.

The trips to the mall resulted in my trying on several suits of which only one fit. Three of the four suits were of the same brand-Kasper. Kasper petite suits have always fit me well and until the past few years. I believe that they along with other brands no longer have a standard for the same size clothing. All suits were size 12 petite and all were pant suits. The one I purchased require no alterations. The other three would have required that the pants be taken up in the front which I don't do, but I have someone locally who does a great job on alterations and has done this for me before so I could have purchased them with that in mind. However the jackets on the other three were too tight. I found this annoying which always reminds that I sew and can make garments to fit. The only thing is I don't necessarily like to make pants and normally petite pants have always fit in length and two of three above would have required hemming. Either I am shrinking or pants are just longer due to style.

I also found a great pair of shoes to go with the blue jacket. They too were on sale and were an inexpensive brand to begin with. They were a wedge slingback in a blue patent that blended well with the jacket. On more serious business days I will wear a black pump. (Could not find a web shot of the suit to show.)

Besides being a pattern,fabric and shoe-aholic, I love cosmetics. Locally I can get Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique (I call them the big 3 and they are good products), but I love Chanel and Bobbi Brown and when I went to the Belk's at Friendly Center, I was in cosmetic heaven-there was Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, Laura Mercier, Origins and Mac plus the big three. I went there for Bobbi Brown's new fall collection in Mauve. I got a makeup session on the spot and of course walked out of there with more than I planned to buy. Those sales people spot me a mile away as do the shoe sales people. Hey it is my vacation!!!!!

At Sew Heavenly, I had hoped to find some fabric but I left without any. They have gorgeous fabric and cater to smocking and more of the Martha Pullen children fashions, yet they also have other wearable art type patterns as well as numerous purse patterns. They carry Husgavarna and I got to see the new sewing/embroidery machine released in mid June. Great looking machine with a huge sewing/embroidery/quilting bed. I am still making payments on my current machine that is only a little over 18 months old. I did buy some pre-wound bobbins, embroidery stabilizer and a skirt pattern. I also got some help with Pattern Master Boutique. So no sewing yesterday but a fun shopping day!

This AM I cut out the Butterick pattern after making several fitting adjustments to the pattern. That in itself can be time consuming part of the sewing journey. I then went to CURVES and now I am writing this while eating lunch. Off to the shower and then I have some ASG treasurer's work to do as tonight is our ASG meeting. Hopefully I will get my sewing machine and serger set up for sewing as tomorrow AM will be sewing time before I do the normal Friday grocery shopping but will get that done early.