Vogue 8486 (for me)

I'm cheating a little because I actually made this dress about three weeks ago but I didn't get around to blogging about it.



I first saw this pattern made up in Vogue Patterns magazine in the June/July 2008 issue. I talked my self out of it because it was one of those patterns that you know would look better on a tall, willowy ,slim woman. You know you are not tall and slim, at least not since hitting fifty eleven years ago.Then , the same pattern is featured in the April/May 2009 issue and you still love it!

Well,I tried to talk myself out of it but I just had to make this dress.So here it is in a mini geometric cotton knit.It looks really nice on Antoinette ,my dress form.



I love the pleated detail at the scooped neckline.
.


It needed no zipper, just a loop and a button .



The whole thing, from cutting out to finishing the hem, took three hours!
Here it is on almost short, and not quite slim, little old me!



Now when you're 61, and you haven't exercised in a couple of months, you don't have the arms that look good in sleeveless. What do you do? You add a little cardigan and you're good to go!



I've already worn this little dress three times in three weeks! Do I like it? Yes I do. It's a keeper!

See more pics here!

Now, I'd like to know.At what age do you think a woman should stop wearing sleeveless?

A Sundress for Tamara

I've been making this same sundress for my daughter since 1995!!.



Last summer I told her I was retiring the pattern and we'd have to find her a new favorite.

Well, as I was leafing through the Vogue patterns catalogue at work one day during my lunch break, I came upon this.I was astounded to see that the dress was exactly like the very old Butterick that my daughter has always loved, but of course in a shorter version. So I made her this.



The fabric is a border print cotton with payettes sewed onto the design and I only had 1.2 meters because it was a remnant piece that I picked up at Fabricville.



In spite of the limited yardage, I still managed to get both a dress and a little shrug out of it. It wasn't easy.I faced the bodice with cotton voile.



For the shrug I used Butterick4396 and had to conform it to the fabric I had left.I had to not only split the sleevee but separate them and rejoin them with fabric strips. I think this added a fun design element and Tamara liked it.





Even though Tamara was home for over a week, I couldn't persuade her to have a photo taken. You see, we've had three weeks of bad hair weather! LOL! She is on her way back to Ottawa as I write this .
We did manage to go to Fabricville together and she chose some patterns and fabrics that she liked. I'll wait for the 3/1 sale to buy a few pieces for her. Stay tuned for this dress in the near future.

Feeling Better About My Stash

I just had to respond to the comments about my last post.

Thank you Gail ,Kim, Linda ,Vicki ,Carolyn ,Betsy ,Adrianna ,Gwen ,Chris ,Julia, Karinna,Ivalyn,The Sewing Loft and Knitmachinequeen. You've made me feel less greedy and more normal.

It's so very true what Linda T said about fabric being our entertainment. And Linda, about needing counselling, my DH thinks I should start a fabricsaholic group.Mmmm!Think that might work?

Now my fabrics are pretty well all very economical because as some of you already know, I work at Fabricville and get very good buys on everything I take home.By the way, as I was cleaning up the other day it occurred to me that I could find only two pieces that I had before I started working there five years ago. Now that tells you doesn't it that I used to be more controlled in buying fabric.


Most of you don't think that having a large stash is a problem. I think the problem with me is that not only do I have too much fabric,but I have too many shoes ,too many watches, too many handbags,too much jewellery,too many coats,etc.

Having said that, I see myself more clearly now. Not only is sewing my hobby and my passion,but so is fashion! Oh my! Not only am I a Sew Passionista! I'm also a Fashion Passionista.But then, that would make me a Fashionista wouldn't it? Surely I'm to old for that and I should know better.LOL

I'm sure there will be many more posts on this topic on many other blogs but I at least do feel better.There's this gorgeous yellow cotton jacquard that I've been trying to resist at Fabricville and I work tomorrow....!

Happy Sewing !

My Stash! Oh My!

I spent all of yesterday cleaning my sewing room and reorganizing my stash. I brought out the summer fabrics and put in the winter stuff. ( By out I mean on the shelves in the room and by in I mean on the shelves in the closet of the sewing room)





The above pictures show only part of my extensive stash. the rest is in various under-the-bed containers and on shelving in other parts of the house.

Now I know there are frequent discussions about stash in the sewing blog world. Some sewers feel that one can never have too big a stash while others don't condone the stash that is, well, shall I say uncontrolled.

Mine is absolutely out of control to the point of nausea. I mean I sometimes can't sleep wondering and worrying over what I'll ever do with all that fabric. And what if I die suddenly? Will my stash find a good home?

Now you probably think that I've made a resolution to not buy any more fabric, right?
Wrong! But I have a new rule. It's this: I can't buy a fabric unless I know exactly what it will become and when it will become!

So there. The problem is solved as far as limiting the growth of my stash.Now what to do about decreasing the stash as it stands now?

That brings me to another problem. Too many clothes! Sewing from my stash shouldn't be too hard but I'm running out of hangers!Now I hear some of you thinking

"Why don't you give away some of your clothes to Goodwill?"

I've already done that many times and already have the next bag half full. I still can't wear all the clothes that are left in my closets.

And someone else is saying

"Sew for your family"

I do sew for my daughter but I don't always get feedback and I often wonder if I'm just wasting my time or does she really wear the things I make for her.My grand-daughter is 12 and she suggested that I could make her pretty tops and capris so you can bet they are in the works.

But, let's face it. I could go on and on and who am I trying to kid. I'll always be happiest sewing for myself because my creations are my babies and I love almost all of them. No one appreciates them as well as me.

Ok.I feel better now. I think I'll go start on Jessie's top which I'm making with the leftovers from my DD's last dress.

Is there anyone else out there who is feeling overwhelmed or greedy or maybe a little nauseous over too much something? I'd love to hear from you if there is.

A Whole Lot of Sewing

I haven't been blogging but I have been sewing up a storm.

I've been putting a lot of thought into what pieces I really wear out of all the things I make.The answer is SPORTSWEAR. I love making and wearing casual suits.As well,I love dresses and in the summertime I wear sundresses a lot when it's hot.Last year I made three new sundresses so this year I want to make a couple of skirts which I also wear quite often at this time of year.

I had a whole lot of this navy and white pin-cord cotton and I decided to make a Sportswear Mini Swap.

I used these patterns and made three pieces.



The Vogue Designer pattern ,I admit,was a stretch for me as far as the style.I also knew that it probably wasn't right for my 5'4.5" chesty shape ,but I just loved it and had to make it.

The New Look pant pattern is a TNT and the same one I used for these. the New Look skirt is OOP and I thought perfect for varying the lay of the stripes.

I started with the pants and they were a joy to make. When I tried to top-stitch , the result looked like a series of crooked skipped stitches I guess because the stripes are so mini.Not to be deterred, I decided to use a zigzag stitch. After a bit of experimenting, I ended up feeding two threads into a 90/14 universal needle and a 2.5 wide and 2.5 long stitch.I really like the result.

I trimmed both the pockets and the hem with navy grosgrain ribbon. I wasn't sure about the hem but when I asked for my DH's opinion ,he said he liked it at the hem so I did but am not sure I like it.



The shirt I'm wearing with my cropped pants in this photo is a linen version of a Sandra Betzina shirt which she fitted for me at her workshop



Next up was the Vogue jacket.



I cut out a size 12 and added an inch to each side but didn't need it. I did my usual FBA and followed the instructions and had no problems. Again I used a zigzag top-stitch but I limited it to just a few places.The sleeve cuffs are really weird in this pattern but I resisted the urge to change them to a more ordinary look. I may change them yet. I'll wear it a few times before I decide.

I love big buttons and this jacket was a perfect chance to use them. These buttons are an inch and a quarter and I just couldn't bring myself to make the buttonholes. Instead I used snaps and just sewed the buttons to the right side of the jacket.






Since I want to wear this as much as possible into the summer months, I decided to line the jacket with cotton voile so it would be cooler. It isn't an ideal lining for a jacket as it's not slippery, but it's too late to turn back now.



I've made this skirt before in the longer length in a red striped stretch denim. I can't show it because my daughter has it in Ottawa.Anyway, I pictured an A-line skirt for this fabric and I also think I'll wear it more than I would a straight or pencil skirt in the casual life that I live.I lined it with a rayon lining mainly because I didn't have any voile left.



I'm showing my less-than-perfect invisible zipper here ( Carolyn if your reading this you are not alone). I've been using invisible zippers for a few years and I have this thing that if it's not completely invisible after two tries, I just leave it alone.



Here I am looking rather bedraggled (I just got my hair cut today and it's kind of flat)in my new sportswear.







If you want to see more, look here.

Gratitude of Attitude Award

Thank you to Ann of Ann's Fashion Studio
for sending me this award.

I have an attitude of gratitude because I have a very happy marriage and my husband and I are both healthy; my children and grandchildren are all healthy; as a retired teacher ,I have a great pension and the time to do whatever I like when I like;I have really good friends and my cup is full to the brim.In short I'm perfectly satisfied with my life!

I'm just leaving to go pick up my grandchildren for the weekend (another thing I'm grateful for) so I don't have time to pay this forward but I will as soon as I can.

Have a great weekend all and I hope you have time to sew!

My Daughter's Birthday Dress

June 7th is my daughter's birthday. It's one of those Big O birthdays. She's going to Las Vegas with her dad and some friends for the big day. We'll celebrate with a party when she comes home for a visit at the end of June.
I just went to the Post office to send her dress off and I just hope she gets it on time.
Tamara really loves knit dresses so we came up with View E of this pattern.



Neither one of us likes cap sleeves so I ended up making three versions before I came up with this length.





View E had a twisted band detail and I tried it in both plain black and with the self fabric. I wish I had thought of taking a picture. In any case ,it didn't do a thing for this dress. We decided I would go for simple and just leave the midriff plain.



The fabric is a poly/lycra and only took about two metres to make.The skirt had no back seam and the midriff isn't faced. That bothered me a bit and I almost decided to line it but then I thought the dress would be a lot cooler to wear if I just left it out.

This is a really easy pattern to make up,well if you don't make three versions of the sleeve that is. I would recommend it as a good project for those of you who would like to try working with knits but are a little leary.

I decided to post this project today because My DD doesn't check my blog out the way she use to so she probably won't see this and she'll still get a surprise when she opens her package.So here is the dress.

Final Pictures of Swap

Although I've already added a link to my post on the right side of my blog (I know there's probably a name for that part of a blog but...) I thought I'd post composites of my final choices.I just realized that at some point after taking these photos I changed the burgundy printed lycra top for the yellow geometric print top. Whoops!



Here ignore the burgundy print top at left.



On either end are my two extra pieces, the jacket to my little black suit
on the left and my bburgundy felted wool jacket. on the right.



Swap was a great experience and I'm glad to have participated and to have seen it through.

There has been an unexpected benefit as well. It has made me think about how much I really do wear (or in some cases don't wear ) what I make. It has made me realize that I want to concentrate on making special items from now on or at least to sew only garments that I'll be sure to enjoy.

I've added a section on the sidebar,if that's the right term,called

A Few of my Favorite Things.

The items you will see there are the clothes that I love and wear often. You can click on any one and see a few more shots of each piece.

I'd love to see others do this as well. I'd really be interested in seeing your favorite things.

One UFO Finished...Adri V2976

Just a quick post on this one.A couple of years ago, I bought this black and white herringbone (yes, herringbone again) linen and I made culottes. They didn't fit well and I just cast them aside and decided to make the jacket from this pattern:



Well, I started it but it was late August and I decided to leave it for spring (2008). Here it is spring 2009 and I decided it had to be done before I can go on to a new project. My new thing is to alternate one new garment with a UFO. So this is what Adri 2976 looks like.
The culottes have now morphed into wide legged cropped pants, by the way.






The fit isn't great (the jacket is snug across the bust ) and if my daughter likes it , she can have it. But,Tamara be forewarned that this is linen and although I washed and dried the fabric three times in hot water and hot dryer respectively a la Sandra Betzina, it is still quite wrinkly.



More pics here.

Adri Times Two

Does anyone else have this pattern?

I made this jacket last spring as a store display. I made it out of metallic linen and I loved it.



It is a great pattern for top-stitching and as you know, I love to top-stitch!



I also made the tank but out of a light cotton.



The pants are made from linen , They're cropped and I used an old favorite TNT.



Of course being linen, the outfit is very wrinkly but I love it anyway!



Now back to the present.The minute I had finished my Swap, I cut out and made this version of the same Adri jacket.




The fabric is a two-sided denim so what could be better? The collar and lapels have
only one layer and you turn the seam allowances to the outside. I used two spools of polyester thread for the top-stitching. I threaded one of my extra machines with the green thread and that made it very convenient.
Also, I wanted buttonholes instead of the loops, so I added an inch to both. front pieces at the centre line.

For the pants, I used this Pattern.

I had used this pattern for my grey Swap jeans and I knew they were a little big. I used View B and since I thought this style could stand to be a little roomier, I just cut the size C with no alterations and they fit perfectly!.



The back pockets were another Top-stitching Opp.The colour in this photo is terrible though.



I used the contrast side for the sides and the label is to cover up an"oops".



This is the kind of outfit that I love to wear and that will fit very well into my lifestyle.My husband and I are going to Vancouver next week and I'll be taking this with me.




More photos here.

Now on to a UFO, another Adri Pattern.

A Little Black Suit and Swap is Finished

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! I can take the black thread off my sewing machine! I'm done! Presenting my little black suit:





I used Vogue8543 for both the jacket and the skirt(which I've already posted about here)


I changed the back of the jacket. I made a mock-up and I didn't like the peplum so I just elongated the upper back pieces and I like it much better this way.




The fabric is RPL and I find it difficult to press without a shine ,so instead of pressing the seams open, I top-stitched each side of the seam with buttonhole twist.I threaded a second machine with this thread so I could use it as needed.As you know, I love to top-stitch so this was fun.




I lined the jacket with the same polyester satin as I used for the blouse.





For this blouse I used a combo of two patterns .For the body I used Burda 3087 and for the tie and sleeves, Vogue 2912 and I shortened the sleeves to elbow length.







The blouse is my last top for Swap and the jacket is an "extra"

My Salute to the trends, A Geometric Top

It's been a while since I posted because I haven't been feeling well. I haven't even felt like sewing. Now my husband would say "You know she's sick if she doesn't feel like sewing".

In any case I have finished my Swap. However I'm still working on an "exra" piece . But I can post on this top View C:



I love this geometric print. It's 100% polyester and only took two hours to make.

The only changes I made to the original design was to pleat instead of gather the neckline both front and back as well as the sleeves at the shoulder and the neckband does not tie at the back as in the pattern. I could see no advantage to that.







The sleeves are elasticized at the elbow and the hem is double needled.I finished the seams on the serger and used a .5 width and 1.5 long zigzag stitch to sew the entire garment.




I'm going to use it as part of my Swap. The black and yellow will go well with my grey and black bottoms. Also , it will add a punch of colour and transition into spring. I'm so ready for warmer weather and brighter clothes.

My Swap is Almost Complete.

One more top, a shirt , and I'll be finished but I am also working on a black jacket that,together with my black Swap skirt will be part of a little black suit.It will be another extra.

In any case here is another version of Butterick 3030 this time in a slightly stretchy embroidered polyester.



I shaped the sides a bit at the waistline and added bust darts to get a better fit.I find that I can wear this one with or without a hipslung belt which is a look that I love.Oh and I also made it about 5" shorter than the pattern.A long tunic isn't flattering on my 5'4" and not exactly slim body.

I sewed the facings to the outside of the neckline and the cuffs. I used a plain matte satin which didn't want to cooperate so to get a nice neat edge where the topstitching is ,I used organza to face the facing.



Here you see the cuff sewn to the inside of the sleeve and the organza sewn to the edge of the cuff.




The cuff is pressed to the outside of the sleeve.






After pinning, I basted the cuff in place then topstitched.





Because it's white, I can wear this one to work so it fits in very well with the Swap rules.
So Voila! I'm wearing it here with my black skirt.

Vogue 8421 or Oh My But Those Sleeves are Puffy

I've been wanting to make a blouse with puffy sleeves for a while now but I knew that at my age I had to limit the amount of pouf.Well,I really liked this pattern View A



and it was time for me to make a store display (for Fabricville). The spring summer fabrics have been pouring into the store and I chose a silk cotton striped jacquard in bright red because we have to wear red, black or white tops for work.Therefore this piece fits in very well with the rules of Swap.

I decided to use the bias for the front and back side pieces



I interfaced the collar and the front with silk organza and lined the whole thing with cotton voile of the same red colour. So essentially I had to make the blouse twice and then sew it together. I closed the unfinished section at the back hem with Steam-a-Seam (I love Steam-a-Seam)



The pattern was well drafted.I had no trouble with it.I made my usual FBA alteration and added one inch fit insurance at the side seams. It was a good thing because for this pattern I needed most of that inch at the bust in spite of my FBA.
As for the curved pieces, I stay stitched the front and back sections and clipped the seam every 3/4 " or so and this allowed the curved pieces to fit in very nicely.



The sleeves were made in two parts:the puffy outer layer and a liner.(I forgot to take a picture). I suspected that the end result would be too extreme for me but I went ahead and finished it so I could take it to work the next day. I have to leave it on display for two months before I can bring it home so I'll alter the sleeves when that time comes.

I really like the lay of the collar but it doesn't look good opened as it is in View A of the pattern.



My husband wasn't home to take a picture (it's probably just as well.It was too funny) so here it is on Bertha.




A few more photos here.

My Swap Jacket

I've been absent from the blogging scene because I wanted to concentrate on finishing my Swap . Well I didn't exactly finish, but I did complete my jacket and a matching skirt.
I decided to keep a time log and calculated that I spent a total of more than 30 hours including six hours of hand sewing on this jacket. I enjoyed the process very much but I have to admit that I don't want to make another coat of any kind any time soon.

For the jacket I used this OOP pattern that I included in my original Swap plan. ( My Swap looks nothing like that plan).



For the skirt I used this Mc'Calls pattern:



I used this same pattern for my daughter's skirt at Christmas time and made the same changes so I won't say much about it. If you want you can look here to see how I altered the style of the pattern.

For both pieces, I used a black and grey herringbone wool. I lined the jacket with a Kasha lining and the skirt with a poly satin (because I forgot to pick up some burgundy Bemberg and didn't want to wait until I got some) . I thought I would tie the two linings together by using the printed satin for the piping on the jacket facing .

Now back to the jacket.I made my usual FBA and added one inch at the side seams but didn't need it. I sloped the shoulders and took off a half inch from the shoulder width. I made some changes to the originalstyle by adding about five inches to the length (I added the length at the waist (1") at the hip (3") and at the bottom (1").




I also added welt pockets. On the original there were only flaps but no pockets.







The design details on my jacket are all centred on leather- the collar, the pocket flaps,the cuff piping, the bound buttonholes and the covered buttons.All of the leather came from that $10.00 leather skirt I bought from Value Villageand which I also used on these pants.














So here it is with the pencil skirt. I wore the suit today to church and got a lot of compliments. It really is an ideal outfit for church.





For more pics and construction details, look here .

A Warm and Toasty Extra Piece for my Swap

This sweater jacket came to be quite by accident.

Last winter ,I bought a nice soft 100% wool sweater knit thinking I wool make View C of the . Marci Tilton T-Shirt pattern. I decided to prewash my wool in cold water on gentle cycle. Well ,I was completely shocked to find that my beautiful knit had metamorphosed into about half its size and at least three times its thickness.This was to my way of thinking probably a perfect example of felted wool.

I had this pattern and immediately decided that my felted wool would be perfect for View B.And Voila! So it became!



I only had 1.25 meters to achieve this garment so it was a real challenge. I managed by using a poly-fleece of close to the same colour for the under collar and the facings.In this photo you can see the under collar. It blends quite well with the wool ,so It turned out OK.



I decided not to change the pattern this time. I didn't add anything at all. I used loops as the pattern required but only put in three instesd of four. And I had these pretty flower buttons in my collection and they did the trick.



I finished the seams in two different ways. For the side seams, I top-stitched on either side and trimmed off the excess. For the facings, I used a Hongkong finish . I added a wide bias strip to the back hem to make it even with the facings.I left the sleeves for now. They are very thick with the pleats and all so I didn't want to tackle them.



This Jacket can also be worn as a sweater around the house. I'm always cold and I'm wearing it right now as a matter of fact.It will be great with my Swap jeans, or any jeans. I can wear it with my Swap skirt for a dressier look.I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this piece.

For now it's an extra piece. If something should happen that I couldn't finish my Swap jacket ( which I've been working on for a couple of weeks now), then this could serve as the jacket for my Swap.

>

My Second Award and Paying it Forward.

Thank you to Ann and Claire who sent me this Sisterhood Award. I really appreciate this because that is exactly what we all are isn't it? Sisters who love to sew. It's as simple as that really.

The rules of this award are:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post .
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

So I'm paying it forward to the following :

Animat ofSew Fit
Karen of Kbenco's Projects
Eva of Morzel
Belinda of Sew-4-Fun
Julia of Julia's Sewing Blog
Linda of Seams Well
Elizabeth of Bits and Pieces
Nancy of Encue
Cenetta of The Mahogany Stylist
Ruthie of Ruthie K Sews

Swap Comtinues ... Garments 8 & 9

Well, I've been away from cyberspace for a week now, but I'm ready to get back to my sewing and my blogging. Thank you to everyone for your condolences. It was very much appreciated.We are all glad that the past week is behind us.

I have two new garments to show you and I really had fun with these pieces! The pants are an out-of-print New Look pattern (6251 ) that I absolutely love. I've made them three times before in size 12 without any alterations, in the cropped version and each time the fit was as near to perfect as I've ever gotten in a pant.



For this pair, I used the full length version. The fabric is a lovely soft charcoal heather wool flannel.The pockets and back welt are in black leather which I got from a leather skirt that I bought for $10.00 from a store we have in Eastern Canada called Value Village. I lined the pockets and added a wool band to the top as well as a really neat burnished silver shank button .



.



I've decided that I don't wear my dress pants all that much and I wanted to make a more casual wool pant. I think this style does the trick.They are long enough for a higher heel as well as a flat.



This top started out as mock-up #2 of Butterick 3030 View B



which I've been wanting to try for a long time.The first mock-up will be a night shirt because it was really big. I had cut the size medium. For this one I cut half way between medium and small. The fit is good.

The fabric is from my stash and is a tye-dyed poly cotton lycra blend and the colours are a rich wine with charcoal and black.The finish is almost suede-like and is a substantial weight.

I really like the result so I decided to use it for my Swap. (By the way, I made the top 3 " shorter).I couldn't just leave it plain and I've been wanting to use these large black grommets on something so I tried a sample and saw that they weren't too thick . But where to place them? Well the neckline was the obvious place



and I repeated them on the sleeve cuffs. I miscalculated how low to put them on the neckline and if I had to do it again ,I'd place them a half inch lower but they look OK I guess.

I should also say that I added the grommets before sewing in the facings or else they would have been a little scratchy.





This top is a very good match to my three bottoms. It's casual with the jeans, but I think it will be dressy enough to wear with the black skirt, especially with a belt.

A Sad Weekend

I can't manage my weekly post today.It's been a very sad time for our family this week. On Friday morning ,my hairstylist and dear friend Jerry died very unexpectedly after having been diagnosed with lung and liver cancer only two weeks ago. He was the longest survivor Of HIV and Aids in Canada.

That night my step children's mother Denise, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer only three months ago, passed away peacefully. She was a wonderful person who loved life to the fullest and her boys and her husband were her life.My heart aches for those dear people who have to go on without her.

President Obama is Here

Oh my goodness!. Mr. Obama is visiting my country and I'm so excited to see him in our nation's capital! I've been watching for two hours and saw him when he arrived on Parliament Hill graciously excuse himself from the Prime Minister in order to go wave at the people who had gathered to get a peek at him.

What a guy! His smile lights up the space he occupies and he has truly reawakened my appreciation for America and Americans.

I'm afraid to miss anything so I've got to get back to the TV.

No sewing going on here today!