Moved

My last post was to let you know that we were in the process of moving. We physically moved on Nov 30. I had to finish cleaning up the house we moved from so the seller could move forward with selling the house. I also was unpacking boxes at the new home. DH was cutting up the boxes to take to recycle center.

Let me say that this was very stressful with constantly going back and forth. The Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year holidays were very low key and the focus continued on setting up the new home. 

Then I had to deal with Omnicron which thankfully was more like having a cold but the fatigue and backache were brutal. Of course, my DH got it next. Thankfully we both had our vaccine shots plus booster which proved to be, I think, the reason for the mildness of this virus version.

I am still unpacking my office/sewing room. This has proved to be more challenging as this room is smaller than my previous room. It has taught me that I really have held on to too much "stuff" that can and has been eliminated. Yet I still have more.

On top of this my Husgavarna Designer 1 bit the dust. Prior to the move, when I would go to turn on the machine, it would flicker. I then would shut it off and then turn it back on and it worked. Last week this solution proved ineffective. The cost of having it repaired was more than I wanted to deal with. I decided that the bells and whistles on this machine were more than I ever used and decided to downsize. 

I remember when I purchased the Designer 1 it was close to $5k which seemed rather high and I could afford it as I was still working. Checking the prices of top-of-line machines today was an eye-opener. Way too much for my retirement living.

I have found a machine that is affordable and I read many reviews with most being very positive. I will take about my new machine in another post soon.

I will close this post with pics of my move-in room with all the clutter.  I have made more progress and will post that in the near future.

Moving

 I am in the process of moving! Zero time to sew! Hopefully back in December.

Oh No!

 Yesterday, I spent most of the day working on my second Laundry Day Tee. I was applying the neckband and things went wonky from there. I realized that my stitches were not sewing at the length I had set. The neckband itself was behaving poorly.

When I go through with this, it was a hot mess. One thing I hate is removing neckbands in some knit fabrics as there is a disaster waiting to happen. Because the stitch length was not correct, it was a bear to remove the stitches and of course, I ended up with holes in the front bodice.

I finally was able to get the neckband off, but it was a hot mess. I am going to try to save the neckline. I have enough fabric left over to make a cowl neck hoping this will salvage the top. I am sick to my stomach because to me this is a gorgeous fabric, the quality and the colors.

I have had some issues with my machine recently; when I turn it on lights flicker and does not startup. I have unplugged it and then plugged it back in, it then works.  I am not sure if this is an electrical issue or something is about to crash with the machine.  I purchased it new in 2015 and had it serviced once for some updates.

Even with this situation, it is nice to be sewing again!

Back to the sewing room!

 I made it back to my sewing room! Slowly I have been reprinting, taping, and tracing another Laundry Day pattern. This one will not be a tunic as I wanted to make the shirt length with this one.

I made adjustments that are my usual now:

• Upper round back adjustment of 5/8 inches
• Swayback adjustment of 3/4 inches-this was what I ended up doing with the first one
• One inch FBA
• 5/8 forward shoulder adjustment
• Shortened length by 1 inch

Today I cut out the fabric and took a few pics to post my current progress.

FBA -1 inch

I used Maria Denmark's version of FBA without adding a dart. I used this on my first one and worked well. Here is a link if interested.

Fabric cut

Sneak Peek of the Fabric Layout

Next step thread the sewing and serger machines!

More soon!

Laundry Day 2

 I decided that I will make another Laundry Day top. With fitting adjustments made with this first version

I decided that it was time to make another one. This one is rather full from the waist down so I will go with a smaller size in that area. I will not use a cowl neck;  I plan to sew a scoop neckline. I will use the same sleeve length, thinking this can transition into fall weather when it arrives.

The fabric I plan to use is this one I purchased from SoSewEnglish (SSE).

The colors look somewhat faded in this photo. They are crisper colors IRL.

Gone sewing, more later!

Updates September 12.

 I have put aside the Simplicity pattern mentioned in my last post. I am just not feeling it. The fabric is just not right for this pattern. Every time I walked into my sewing room, I just could not bring myself to work on it. I always felt I should finish what I started sewing; and when I do this, I get to the point where I am hating the project, get it completed and I don't like the end product.

Life is just too short for me to continue down that path. I may go back to it and may not. I really need a different fabric for this to be successful.

So I am reviewing patterns that I have been wanting to sew plus looking at some new indie patterns recently purchased.

Not sure what it will be and have decided on two fabrics that I will use.

I recently purchased two patterns from Something Delightful both McCalls. I also purchased a New Look pattern at Hobby Lobby.

McCall's patterns are 7808 and 8097. For 7808 I am more interested in View D &E; for 8097 I plan to make View B. New Look 6511 is for tops and I was wanting to make View C with View B sleeves or stay with sleeveless.  This may end up being made next spring. This pattern appears to be OOP but available on eBay and may still be at Hobby Lobby.

I also purchased a pastel pink/gray fabric from So Sew English. Pastel fabrics don't normally interest me but I was drawn to this fabric. I like SSE fabrics, they are of good quality, shipping is somewhat slow but worth it for the quality. This was going to be a layered dress, though I may change my mind.

That's it for now.

Actually sewing!

 Today, I decided to work on Simplicity 8416. I had started on this a few weeks ago.  We then took some travel time to see family and friends. Since returning I have been working on the clutter in the sewing room and purging patterns to sell on eBay. Those that don't sell after a few listings go to charity.

I have made some headway on cleaning. I wanted to sew and thus I began again to work on this shirt. This too will help with getting clutter on top of the cutting table put away or used.

I needed to take a break after sewing for a while. I took time to snap a few shots and thought I would post work in progress. The challis fabric is from Sly Fox Fabrics and the pattern I purchased on eBay.

I am making View A

Front and back attached to the yoke

Yoke inside. I used the burrito method makes for a very clean finished yoke.

The front piece has an added dart and the front closure area has been basted. I cut the interfacing for the collar and collar stand and will fuse those next.

More later!

This and That-August 4

 I see I have not posted anything since July 10-bad blogger.

I have started my Simplicity shirt but have not made much progress. My sewjo comes and goes. All fitting adjustments have been made; sewn the bust darts. Started working on one of the front button plackets.

Spent time visiting family and friends in my hometown of Danville, VA, and just returned on August 1.  We stayed with a longtime friend and were able to visit with my sister-in-law. It was a good visit with her as she lost her husband in December to Covid. We were unable to go to the funeral. This is our first trip since December 2019. Planning more as the year progresses.

I must and need to work on my sewing room. There is too much clutter that is sewing and non-sewing related laying around the room. This is adding to my lowered sewjo as well.  I just have too much for less room.

More later!

Thanks for your help!

 I appreciate your comments for assistance. A suggestion from Sue allowed me to find a source for parts for my Designer SE. I was able to purchase a presser foot shaft at a very reasonable price.

My Designer SE has had a good life and I want it to continue to sew for a few more years.  The price of new machines is for me sky high. They are truly exceptional looking machines with a few more bells and whistles that would be helpful. 

Once again, thank you for your support.

HELP! Seeking part(s)

 Hoping someone can help me with my Designer SE sewing machine.

When sewing the other day, I realized that a screw was very loose, which helps the presser foot holder stay attached. ( Not very technical term).

You can see in this picture where it is located.

I looked on eBay and Amazon. I tried the Husqvarna.com site as well and was unable to pull up any information for the Designer SE.

I am asking for help in finding the screw and/or the white presser foot shaft.  Everything is sewing okay but concerned that I have to put the screw back in, but it does not tighten at all.  Perhaps you know of a source or perhaps use a different term to search. I have not yet searched Wawa Sewing Supplies but do not think they sell parts. 

Appreciate your suggestions for sources you may have.

THANKS!

Wearing Simplicity 9273

 I finally had an opportunity to wear the S9273 posted previously.  The pictures were taken after wearing.  A black top with black shorts does not photograph well.  Here is the back view; and you can see the sleeve pleats a little better in this picture.

 

I liked the comfortable feeling of this top. I still struggle with fitting issues with many Simplicity patterns. I went with 12 for the upper chest, shoulders, and neckline. Tapering to 14 from bust to hip.

I made several fitting adjustments prior to cutting out the fabric and during the sewing/fitting phase. My usual 5/8 forward shoulder adjustment, 5/8 high back adjustment, 5/8 swayback adjustment, and 1inch FBA. I did not sew the resulting dart.

The black fabric had both vertical and horizontal stretch. I ended up raising the shoulder seam for the front shoulder midway of shoulder to top of arm area by an extra 1/4 inch;  The vertical fabric stretch made the underarm area too long. Next time with this and probably other Simplicity patterns, I will need to make a 3/8 upper chest vertical tuck to the pattern to get a better fit in the underarm area.

I decided to cut the neckband on the bias to add interest using the striped fabric. 

I decided to use the striped fabric for the neckband and sleeve as my previous fabric choice was too heavy for the black crepe knit. Unfortunately, the pleated sleeve does not show the pleats as much as I wanted. The drawing of the pleated sleeve view makes one think the pleats will be rather full. The striped fabric has some heft to it but not enough to make the pleats fuller and noticeable.

The fabrics were purchased from Fabric Mart, The black striped fabric was purchased a few years ago and has been used in many projects with enough fabric still left for another project. The black knit was purchased this year.

I will sew this pattern again, having three views gives a nice variety to sew.