Sewing Along in Suisun City!

It's done!

2011-11-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

Okay. I'm a tad bit late with the post, but no one cares I'm sure! So I finished up Friday night late before the Fashion Show on Saturday, the fifth. It is okay. There are a few places I don't like that will be fixed before I make this the next time. I like the fit, I like the lines, but I'll take out the little pleats at the pocket before I do the next version. I also hate the way the hem is done, and I'll change that on the next version. The idea was to get a pattern that fit, and that was accomplished!

I had a wonderful time at the Fashion Show and got many compliments. It was nice to get a chance to see all of my sewing friends and chat and catch up! As a matter of fact, I got so excited about finishing this jacket, I started on the next one on Saturday night after I got home. I'm still working out the bugs on the Simplicity jacket, which I have modified beyond belief. I decided it needed to be lined, so drafted a lining for it, which set me back about a week.

At this point in time, it's almost complete. I have to install the shoulder pads, and then do the hems, buttonholes, and buttons, and it's done! It's a teal green linen-rayon blend from Joanns that was inexpensive, but I knew I had to have it when I saw it. I have several greenish cotton prints to make tops out of that will go with it quite well.

I'm really excited about sewing again. I have plans for so many garments swirling around in my brain that I expect I'll be sewing in all my spare time for the next several months at least! I am switching American Sewing Guild chapters from Santa Rosa to Walnut Creek due to the move. It will work out amazingly well for me I think as they do the monthly meetings on Saturdays during the day instead of Monday nights, and there is a Neighborhood Group in Suisun City that's about a mile or so from our house two nights a month. Woo Hoo! Fitting help and a way to meet new sewing friends. Very nice for me.

Well, here's the Fashion Show jacket:

I've joined in a SWAP (Sewing with a Plan) over at Artisan's Square site, so will be doing my next several garments on that blog. It's called Lynda's Sewing and SWAPs. Hope to see you there!

Summer Sewing Adventure Part 4

2011-10-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

In order to be able to go back and re-alter the alterations if needed, I trace the pattern off. In this instance, there are also several separate patterns for fashion fabric, interlining, lining, and interfacings. That's a lot of tracing and checking and re-checking to being sure the alterations carry through to all of the pieces!

With this project, I have learned something very interesting about myself. When I am uncertain about something, I have a tendency to procrastinate! I am telling myself it's my way of getting things settled in my head before I proceed, but that may not be absolutely true!

If you choose to make this jacket, you may want to note that the instructions with this pattern are less than ideal! I have been moving back and forth between View A, the hand tailored instructions, and View B, the fusible instructions, and at times have just pulled the pattern pieces out to experiment with them to figure out what the instructions intend to portray.

At the point where you have the basic shell completed, sans sleeves, they recommend you try it on to check the fit. Since I've learned over the years to have a picture taken of the front, back, and sides to look at fit, I had to wait until Dale was available during the day to take the pictures. I'm glad I didn't overlook this step! The additions I made to the hip area were a little too much. There was some excess that needed to be eliminated. Back to frog sewing… rip, rip, rip. And then I redid the side front and side back seams with the adjustments that we determined from pin fitting after the ripping.

At this stage, I've copied off the pieces needed for the lining, and am working on that step. Several of the pattern pieces tell you to "cut here for lining," but in reality, you need to make a separate pattern piece because several of those areas are slightly curved. Once the lining is complete, it will be down to just the collar, multiple facings, and the finishing.

After that, Fashion Show, here I come!

Pictures of the "first fitting" and the front piece with the markings.

Just Realized

2011-09-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

I never put up swatches of the fabrics so you could all drool and be jealous of my forthcoming beautiful jacket.
I finally got started and have the back put together.
Here are a few pictures as I'm fusing and marking:

Lining Fabric:

Jacket Fabric:

Fusing and marking:

My Excellent summer sewing adventure Part 3

2011-09-22T12:27:00.000-07:00

So I finally figured out I was afraid to cut into this beautiful fabric because I didn't want to ruin it. Duh! I've had it around for about 10 years plus waiting for the right project. This is it. Time to get moving. Even if my sewing isn't perfect, at least it will fit right, and I'll have the best fitting jacket I've ever owned.

So I started cutting and fusing today. I'm going very slowly and deliberately.
Part of perfect sewing is perfect marking. So I have taken each pattern piece, and punched out the dots with either my sewing hole punch, or a darning needle for the small holes. The diamond got cut out. All darts are marked. I'm trying to be as precise as possible. Then I am cutting out a piece, fusing it, then pinning the pattern back to the fused fabric and doing as precise of tailor's tacks as I can. This should be enormously helpful in getting pieces put together exactly right.

Onward and upward!

Finally! Back to Vogue 8333

2011-09-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Okay. Work got extremely busy, as happens when the interest rates drop. I've worked the last 14 or so days straight, so didn't get to sew. The sitting really bothers my knee so I'm wearing a brace most days and icing it at least a part of each day.

But I worked like crazy yesterday so got a half day off, and FINALLY I got to get started on my jacket. Finished up some alterations and figured out that I'm going to do fusible for my first one due to time constraints. I promised I'd have this ready to wear for our ASG Fashion Show in mid November. That means I need to get on the stick so I can do this carefully and follow directions well for a change. That means being deliberate and hopefully not having to do frog stitching. Rip it, rip it, rip it!

Today I realized I'm kind of scared to start this project. The fabric is a beautiful silk tweed, and I have a silk charmeuse for a lining. I really don't want to mess it up, but I figure I need to get moving, so here I go. If I do something not exactly right, no one will probably know but me. If some of my ASG friends see it, they will know because they've probably made similar mistakes! :P}}

So I'm starting on the back as there were fewer alterations and I can get that moving fairly quickly. The back always has a separate piece for the lining as it is done differently with an ease pleat at the top. This particular pattern calls for using the side back and the side piece for the lining and just cutting them shorter. I did make a separate piece for the lining for the side back and will probably continue making the separate pieces throughout the jacket parts just so I don't have to remember to cut them differently. The front and side front have very different pieces for lining, so the front lining needs alterations to match the front that I altered, and I'll copy the side front piece for the lining to be separate too. It's pretty different and would be easy to mess up.

Had to search for a while for my interfacing, but got super lucky. If you're doing the fusible jacket, she calls for fusing a lightweight knit interfacing to most of it. I found some old interfacing that is much better quality than you can buy most places now. It's from Handler Textiles, when they still had Stacy brand, and it's Fusi Knit. It was good quality stuff. I usually buy all of my interfacing from Pam Erny's web store https://www.fashionsewingsupply.com/, but I was out of the white knit, so was happy to find the Fusi Knit in my supplies. I have another box of interfacing somewhere, but that has yet to surface. So I have parts of the interfacing cut out and ready to go. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to cut out the matching jacket pieces so I can get moving forward to this project.

My Excellent summer sewing adventure Part 2

2011-09-03T08:26:00.001-07:00

Well, the summer got off to an interesting start. We had been looking at areas for our "pre-retirement" home for a while. We knew we wanted to be near water so we could launch our boat fairly quickly, and I knew it couldn't be in Sonoma County as I really like to breathe and the allergens here are more than I can handle. So in a quick fit of insanity, we found a house, packed, downsized by 1/3, and moved. During the process, I wrenched my knee, which turned out to be a pretty major sprain, and we're looking at about 12 weeks for full recovery, about 6 of which I've already completed. We still have way too much stuff crammed into our house, and tubs of fabrics and boxes and boxes of other things remain in the garage. I am periodically trying to find something, and realizing, "it's in a box in the garage." Unfortunately several of my helpers were not terrific about labeling, and just shoved anything that would fit into the same box. It's going to take a while!

Right now, I have sewing things in a couple of rooms and my garage. I don't think I realized how much I had acquired over the last ten years, but it is considerable. If you think about moving your sewing stash, sewing equipment, and all the rest, it can be a little daunting to say the least. At this point, I'm more or less set up and ready to sew. I get to start with the additional jacket alterations today, on a limited basis.

At the June meeting, as Billie Jane looked at my muslin, we knew there were sleeve issues as well as collar issues. The sleeves were split at the elbow because I also needed a bit at the elbow, two slashes made to the sleeve cap so it wouldn't be too much in one area, and additional width was added into both slits from the elbow to the sleeve cap. The collar adjustment was fairly straight forward with just removing some height due to my short neck. She finished those adjustments, stood back, and asked the group if there were any other adjustments needed that they could see. Lo and behold, there were some additional adjustments needed.

For my particular body, I had done a full bust adjustment adding 1/2" length to 1" in width as I'd learned in a class on a totally different subject. For the jacket, I needed a 1:1 ratio. So some length was added from the center front across to the side princess seam in a wedge. Billie Jane also noted that the lapels on the collar were gapping a little at the neckline~ more so on one side than the other due to a slight size difference. She indicated that I could pull it up with a tape along the roll line, or ideally, cut the lapel in a wedge, eliminating a slight amount from the outside edge in to the roll line of the lapel. Voila! The gapping was gone. I'll also need to shorten the sleeves quite a bit once the other alterations are completed. That will be done at home on my own. Due to my height, I have done a lot of shortening over the years!

So today starts the alterations. I'm going to have to be deliberate in doing my alterations as there are separate patterns for fashion fabric, interlining, lining, and interfacings. That's going to be a lot of alterations before I get done. I will have to rest a bit throughout the day as the Physical Therapist indicated that I shouldn't stand for extended periods of time. I'll let you know how it goes!

Guess I need to change the name now!

2011-08-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

Well, lots has happened in the last few months. Not much sewing, but lots of other things. We're in our "pre-retirement" home now. Moved to Suisun City with an 18 month lease to be sure we're where we want to be before we go ahead and actually buy a place. Don't need any more mistakes at this point in our lives for sure!

Today I'm finally starting my super new jacket. I got to be the "model" for a fitting class at ASG in June and our instructor got my sleeves and collar adjusted on my muslin to fit my own unique shape and body. And then she did a few more things also to make the fit of the entire jacket even better. As of now, I need to incorporate her changes into my pattern and then I'm off.

Have a beautiful blue and green silk tweed, and I found a fantastic silk charmeuse lining that matches wonderfully. This weekend I hope to start cutting out and tailoring my new jacket. I'll try to keep you posted!

Didn't realize it had been so long.

2011-06-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'll catch up with prom dress and the other jacket, plus interim project progress later.

I'm very excited at this point. If you've been periodically checking in, you know that my quest for this year was jackets. I LOVE jackets. They add a bit of polish to every outfit and also hide all the lumps and bumps.

I've been thinking a lot about why I don't use the gorgeous fabrics I have and love the clothes I'm in. I finally figured out that I didn't think it was okay to have beautiful clothes because I'm not at my perfect weight and size. And also because I have not yet perfected my patterns to the point I think I have the perfect fit.

Hello! Light bulb goes off. In reality, I think every woman, no matter, her size, her weight, or her age, should have beautiful clothes that fit her perfectly so she can feel beautiful every single day.

Our American Sewing Guild has many talented members, one of whom, Billie Jane Blankinship, has taught sewing at the High School, 4-H, and college level for many, many years. A few years ago she retired, but has more knowledge about fitting various bodies in her little finger than I may ever have in my head.

As Education Chairman of our Guild, she gets to pick what we do at our monthly meetings, whether it's a speaker, or a demonstration. Due to popular demand, throughout this year, she's doing fitting demonstrations. Her first demo was in March, and was how to do bodice adjustments. My friend Phyllis was the model for that and I learned a great deal. Not the least of which is if you wear over a B cup, you need to select your pattern size by your chest measurement (above the bust) instead of your full bust measurement, and then make a full bust adjustment. That way your shoulders, neck, and upper chest fit your body with fewer adjustments. That was a huge eye opener.

So our June meeting was on sleeves and collars. For me those two items are my biggest hassle areas, so the instant I heard she would be doing them, I volunteered to be the model. I gave Billie Jane several patterns to determine which would most closely approximate the adjustments she wanted to show. Last night, I got my wish.

To start off, we decided on a Vogue by Claire Schaeffer jacket pattern, #8333. She is a phenomenon in the world of sewing, and has written several books, magazine articles, and is one of the top educators in high end fashion sewing.

Billie Jane asked me to make a muslin and do my adjustments to the body by the time of the meeting. Of course, I got busy, and had to do my muslin over the weekend. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I copied, altered, and made my muslin. Last night was the big reveal and the demo. Dale and I thought overall the muslin looked pretty good other than the sleeves and collar. I know my very amply biceps never fit into a sleeve properly, so I always have to adjust them, and haven't ever been really happy with the results. I have about half a dozen fit books, and I've tried all the various types of adjustments, but they're never just right. And now my upper back/neck area has changed a lot and collars are another problem. I have learned a fix that works for me, but again, they aren't exactly right.

So the sleeve. She cut the sleeve slightly below the elbow after determining I needed
additional room not only in the upper arm, but also in the elbow area. She slashed the front of the sleeve about an inch on either side of the center grain line, and added a piece about 3/4" into each slash from the top of the sleeve cap to the lower slash. She also decided that for me, it would be good to add between 1/4" and 1/2" extension to the shoulder to better balance the sleeve and make the sleeve hang better. A while later, she also mentioned to me that I would probably find the sleeve more comfortable if I dropped the armhole about 1/4" on both the body of the jacket and the sleeve. As these alterations were happening, my fellow Guild members were nodding and grinning with each change. Seems so easy, but 20 plus years of fighting sleeves and never getting it quite right were fixed in a manner of about 15 minutes. :P}} The sleeves will also have to be shortened, but that will come with the second muslin.

Next she moved on to the collar. Somehow over the years, my neck has gotten shorter~ very short! Frequently necklines on tops creep up into my hair, and especially collars are just not comfortable. This particular jacket has a collar stand as well as a collar. The fix was so easy! She just pinned out 1/2" along the roll line of the collar starting slightly in front of the shoulder seam. Fantastic! That one took about 5 minutes!

So then I think we're done, but I had asked her to fix anything else she thought needed adjustments. And of course, she pinned me together, stood back and then went to work again. As most women are aware, to a greater or lesser degree, one breast is larger than the other. My left one is the larger one, so the lapel over the right side had a little gap. In order to correct the gap, she slashed the lapel and pinned in a slight little dart that took care of the gap. She also highly recommends doing a piece of stay tape along the roll line 1/2" shorter than the distance of the roll, and easing the jacket to the tape. That way it snugs it right in to your chest and eliminates that gap most of us have in jacket lapels.

Then she stood back and looked. Pinned me back together and asked the group if they saw anything else. Several women mentioned that there were wrinkles below the bust line. Billie Jane stood back, looked, and grabbed her scissors. She had already mentioned that although I did the full bust adjustment, she thought I needed a bit more than I'd added, so I need to up the ante in that area. But the wrinkles below the bust line were due to not adding enough length when I added the width. She slashed from the center of the jacket right below the bust point across to the princess seam adding a wedge of about 1" at the jacket front tapering to nothing at the princess seam.

By the time she finished all of the adjustments, everyone was smiling and nodding.

So now the real adventure begins. This particular jacket is a full on tailored jacket. She has instructions for both hand tailoring with pad stitching and the whole shebang, or you can do it with fusibles, but that won't be the choice this time. Since with all the jackets I've made over the years, I have never made a fully tailored jacket, that's going to happen finally. I'll have my perfectly fitted tailored jacket.

Over the next little while, I'll be tailoring a jacket. I'm going to use a gorgeous silk tweed fabric with a wild silk charmeuse lining, and you get to watch it happen.

After work tonight, I'll start with the adjustments to my pattern, then will do a new muslin to be sure everything is just right. In the meantime, I'm gathering my supplies together to get this wonderful fun new garment underway. I expect there will be several other garments being made in the interim, but this is the main goal.

Look for a new post soon!

Working, working

2011-04-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

So the first official fitting resulted in a negativo on the current design. We didn't like the way it fit, and Allison decided it looked too much like a baby doll dress which she doesn't like. So the next version is going to be a bodice to the waist with a flared skirt. Re did the bodice on Saturday and I have come to the conclusion that the Vogue bodice wasn't drafted with a human figure in mind~ unless it's a line backer with a triple D cup size. So I have scrapped their dress altogether while keeping the basic idea. I'm using a bra body, adapting the cups to have ruching at the center seam, and then attaching that to a form fitted bodice to the waist. The skirt will be eased at the waistline, so it is nice and doesn't add bulk, and then have fullness at the hem.

I'm heading off now to finish up the bra top draft, make the skirt and skirt lining, and then will be redoing a muslin for the bra top and bodice, so Allison can drop by tonight for that fitting. If I have time, I'll finish up the bolero too.

First draft muslin-REJECTED- pictures here. I'm also thinking she needs to find time to go to the tanning booths before Prom! LOL

Okay.. the push is on!

2011-04-16T18:26:00.001-07:00

With a few time outs for a jacket for me, then an instant gratification tee shirt, I started making Sara a dress for her birthday. It turned out amazing, fit perfectly, and she looked fabulous. The dress was a combination of both our ideas, so it was her style in her colors, with a little flair. All of my girls are VERY picky about colors, styles, and prints, so needed to check in with her before wasting my time.

She wanted a dress that was fitted to the waist and then flared out a bit at the hem line. I found a nice grey-taupe linen-rayon blend at Joanns that I thought would be great for the skirt. Then found what I thought was a gorgeous kind of op-art-geometric print grey background with some muted splashes of color that matched perfectly. Both the lady at the cutting table and I thought it was beautiful, and I bought enough so that if Sara didn't like it, I could make a blouse for myself. When I showed it to Sara, she thought it was too bright. As I was scratching my head, I said, let's go look in your closet so I can see what you like... amazingly enough, she has stripes and polka dots, and that is the extend of anything resembling a print. Now that I am thinking about it, I guess when you're 16, you generally want to fit in. Anyway, as I was perusing her closet it struck me that I had a Calvin Klein seersucker in a linen and greyish-taupe print in my stash. Got home, and it matched perfectly~as if it had been bought together, and not a couple of years apart at two very different fabric stores.

I took a bodice from a really old Burda pattern..publishing date I think was 1988?, altered it to fit her, and drafted an A line skirt to go with it. She wanted the stripes to go across the bodice, and after I recovered from my horror, her mom reminded me that when you're skinny and tall, you can wear horizontal stripes! So she has a sleeveless dress, round neck, horizontal stripes on the bodice, and a solid A line skirt. I took it over Thursday night so she could wear it Friday on her birthday if she wanted to. She loved the dress, and said she received more compliments than she'd ever got on anything she'd every worn, AND her friends she told I'd made it were amazed that it wasn't from the store. Good feelings on that one! Pictures will follow as soon as Cathy gets around to sending to me.

So now the push is on to get Allison's prom dress done. I'm making a modified version of Vogue pattern #8360 that has morphed into something the Vogue people wouldn't recognize, and a short bolero jacket to go over the top. The jacket is McCalls #6245, and it isn't being changed much at all. I'm using the cap sleeve with a small collar, and the only changes other than alterations for fit are that I'm adding some silk organza as interfacing to the fronts and the collar. They don't call for any at all, and I think it needs a little more structure. Oh, and I'm adding a button instead of the hook and eye they call for. I have a black and gold sequened fabric~ neither of us liked the sequins, but the back is perfect, that will have a black lining, and a gold ball button at the neckline with a piece of black rattail as a loop instead of a buttonhole.

I've been having trouble using the pattern for the bodice for her. For some unknown reason, when I used her measurements, it was huge. The second one, I took way down to what I thought would fit. That was too small around. We'll do our third fitting of the dress muslin in about 15 mintues, and once that's done, I'll be running full out to complete it so it will be done for prom. Pictures will be forthcoming as I go along.

Here is the dress, dress and jacket, and the fabric, lining, and pattern for the jacket, as well as the pattern covers.

Contemplating STYLE

2011-03-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just had a little bit of an "ah ha" moment.

Dale and I had been talking about Allison's college acceptances this week, and when I said I didn't think she'd fit in that well in Santa Cruz, he said "why not, she dresses the part." Set me to thinking a little about the way we dress versus who we are. Then this morning in my email, I got my Brenda Kinsel [bkinsel@brendakinsel.com] newsletter, and she's talking about knowing your personal style before you go shopping to avoid those purchases of "loved it in the store, but it's not me."

Her suggestion is to pick something that you love, and describe it in detail, using descriptive words. Then either write down what you've said, or have someone else write it down as you describe it. Look at the descriptors and decide whether or not that describes how you think of yourself, and if that is your style. Voila, you will know what type of garments you should be purchasing to maintain your personal style, which will always make you feel good about how you look and what you're wearing.

So now I'm sitting here thinking about what I own, and what I love, and the two don't match up very well. I don't have much in my closet right now that I love because I think I am mostly dressing either to 1. cover my body, or 2. hide the weight. So I never feel all that great. Need to do this exercise with a lot of thoughtfulness to determine what it is I love and what it says about what I should be sewing instead of what I am sewing.

As I'm thinking about garments I have loved dearly, two spring to mind. One a wild tropical print silk shirt that always made me feel fabulous. It was in dark forest-ey colors of browns, greens, and had some purple tropical flowers that were about the size of my palm. Although I didn't wear it when I needed to feel professional, whenever I put it on, I was happy. Second was another floral print shirt that I wore as a light weight jacket. So obviously floral is my style. Need to determine what that says about me and where I go from there! :P}}

Just got a call from Nicole. She's home for the weekend, and is coming over for a visit, so I need to move my day forward! Off to the showers!

Time flies

2011-03-20T09:33:00.001-07:00

Busy week again. I love having the work, hate that it takes all of my personal time away.

I did get to put together one of the jacket muslins for Allison's prom outfit. She came by and tried it on yesterday (spring break!) and liked it, so that's good. Although the dress may be morphing into something totally different. She's decided that seniors wear short dresses and not gowns, but will talk to her friends and see what they are all wearing. Sara brought me a dress she bought at a thrift store to hem for her, so that needs to be done too. She's very much liking vintage clothing circa 50's to 60's and it suits her long, lanky frame quite well.

Today will give me a little time to work on some other projects besides the prom gown. Today is Sunday and I've decided that other than doing bills and paperwork, the day is mine. Dale is now working super long hours in Stockton, so will pretty much sleep all day. Last week started at 2:30 am on Monday as he had to be in Stockton by 7, and ended about 9:30 Friday night. We did get to take a ride yesterday out to one of my jobs to verify position of well and septic tank, then had lunch, but that's pretty much it for him on a weekend like this. He'll be getting up at 2:30 am again tomorrow, so is planning to sleep most of today to be ready for tomorrow.

I have french bread rising and a pork roast in a slow oven so he'll have food for a couple of days. We've been doing this for a couple of weeks and it seems to be working pretty well. I cook a big meal on Sunday with plenty of left overs and make bread, then he'll take a couple of days worth of food in a cooler so he doesn't have to eat at Denny's for three meals a day for a week. Seems like he's feeling a bit better and has lost a few pounds, so I guess it's better for him too. Do need to run out to Whole Foods and get something to go with the pork roast for dinner. For him, probably roasted potatoes, for me, maybe the same, or maybe polenta, which I love. Then I'm make a cabbage-carrot-apple slaw and we should be good for several days. :P}}

I also need to figure out what I'm doing for Sara for her birthday. Perhaps just a pair of sweat pants, but perhaps a dress. Need to see what I have that would be suitable.

Fun day for me, so I better get moving!

Moving right along

2011-03-12T17:48:00.000-08:00

Hooray. Got the sweatsuit done and it looks kinda cute if I do say so myself. I'm not good in black near my face, but I think the royal blue balances it out. I'm glad that's done and I can move on to more fun things. Pictures will follow!

Which brings up the next major project. I had decided that I wanted to do a prom dress for Allison. Junior prom she wore Nicole's dress from a prior prom, and she is like 5'1" and Nicole is like 5'7"... she looked beautiful but I figured she needed one of her own. I just happened to find some hammered gold silk on one of the web sites clearance items, so got that, and have several options here to make a jacket to go over the dress for dinner, etc. I've been toying with my ideas for several months, and VOILA... just like that it's time to get out of my head and start DOING!

Prom is April 30, and I want to be sure everything is exactly right. BUT of course, I'm adapting a pattern I found, and I had just organized everything into bags with pattern, fabric, etc., and Martha, our German Shorthair found the pattern for the dress and ate half of it. For whatever reason, way beyond my comprehension, she loves eating paper, and tissue paper is like the prize. So now I have to go find another copy of the pattern in her size, a Vogue that costs $15!

I've given her several jacket options, but she needs to pick one, and can't visualize the way it will look so I'm going to do a musline for each. That way I can check size at the same time she's seeing what it will look like. Now all I need is a bit of time to make this happen! LOL

So tomorrow I think I'm sewing all day. This morning I got the first jacket muslin cut out, and then had to head to a continuing education class. That took the rest of the day. Tomorrow I hope to put this one together and get the next one cut out. We'll see how things go!

Pictures will come soon, I promise!

A little behind myself

2011-03-09T17:11:00.001-08:00

Haven't been doing much blogging lately looks like. But I have been getting in a minor amount of sewing here and there.

Cathy took me and the girls to the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco for a birthday present surprise, but we had to wait a bit because everyone was sick off and on and trading around. I'm pretty sure either one or both of us posted pictures on Facebook. It was truly a wonderful day.

Moving right along, my February outfit got done, but I don't have pictures yet. After the last one Dale took, I'll be asking someone else to take my photos for my blog in the future. I don't like looking twice as huge as I already am!

So anyway, the February outfit was a black jacket (Version 3 of the pattern) and pants out of a twill from Joanns. Won't use that type of fabric anymore as it was awful to work with, and it was off grain and I never did get it totally right. The jacket is getting close. I forgot that I need to add extra length to the front sections for the fleshy mounds in addition to the width. So next try will add about an inch in length to the center front, and narrow down to nothing at the side seam. I also added a little too much to the width, so need to take the next one in a bit, and will add about 1/4" at the shoulders for shoulder pads. I need those to balance out the rest of me even if they are little ones with current styles. I also did a tee in a pattern of reds, black, grey, magenta, pink, and brown that will go with tons of stuff. I have some other black and various blue prints to make up too, but those are waiting for now. Version 4 of the jacket is coming soon!

Right now I'm playing with something I haven't done in a long time. This may be my March outfit if I don't get anything done before the month is up. I need some sweatshirts and thought I could sew up a few quickly with sweat pants to match. Then maybe if I have a cute outfit, I'll feel more like walking every day...ROFLOL! So this sweatshirt is a vintage Kwik Sew Pattern 2133... judging from the date on the back, if my Roman Numerals are correct, it's from 1991. Hmmm... a 20 year old pattern I'm still using. What does that say about me? Or maybe that sweatshirts just don't change THAT much! It's a raglan sleeve pattern which is what I wanted for this sweatshirt.

I had some royal blue sweatshirt fabric I bought for exactly this purpose. But evidently I didn't buy matching ribbing, or I used it for something else, because I don't have it anywhere I can find it. So I figured I'd just use black ribbing. But then I want it to look like it was planned, and not used just because I didn't have the blue, even though that's the reason. So I've been letting this stew in the back of my brain for several days, and VOILA! I thought about doing some decorative flat locking across the front of the sweatshirt in black, and doing a stripe of black down the legs. Easy to do, and it'll look a little more polished and like it's a design feature instead of an error.

So off to put my sweatshirt together and get the stripes cut for the legs of the pants. I'm a happy camper now!

Hopefully pictures of both outfits before the week is over!

February Flowered Top:

Sometimes God Just Whacks You When You're Not Paying Attention!

2011-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Okay. To be honest, I haven't been in such a good mood. All the turmoil in the world, the hatred, the fighting, the economic woes, the housing industry, and all the rest was really beginning to get me down.
And one of my best clients had just changed processors and owed me bank from November that I needed to pay bills. And Dale's been really sick. Got a major case of tonsilitis. ASKED to go to the Doctor... and he hadn't been without force in all the time I've know him. And I haven't had much time to sew, and it's been rainy, and, and, and,...

So this last week, God just whacked me. He wanted me to remember how beautiful this world is and all the wonders that I get to see every day and just take for granted.

Monday started out with a little (BIG!) sigh. The week was going to be a bear with busy, busy, busy, long days, hard properties to find comparables for. #1 was a partially completed 5,000+ square foot house in Sonoma on 16.5 acres with a granny unit, a tennis court, and a 12.5 acre almost vineyard. Tuesday was a condo nearby. Wenedsday was a 300 acre property in Geyeserville, which the lady told me was 45 minutes from Highway 101 and had to send me a map and detailed directions to get there. Needless to say, 300 acre properties don't sell every week around here. The fourth property of the week was a house half way between Napa and Sonoma. Not much property, not much house, but on one of the busiest highways in the area, and surrounded by vineyard.

BUT... the sun came out, it's been absolutely beautiful, weather in the 70's and that always makes me glad to be alive. So I have over 500 miles driven this week, and this is some of what I have to show for it.

Enjoy the pictures!

No sewing this week

2011-01-18T19:27:00.000-08:00

Continuing education. Computer problems. EEK. Chiropractor visit.

Want to sew. Will figure it out soon!

First Tee Shirt done

2011-01-16T17:21:00.000-08:00

Okay. I had a very productive day, and although I would have rather had three or four done, one is good. I haven't had time to sew for a long time, and running back and forth finding things that got put away for Christmas takes more time than anticipated.
So this is my first shirt of the year 2011. More on the drawing board, so watch for them!
My SWAP for 2011 is blues, browns, greys, and black. So this shirt is perfect as it will go with everything!
Good day!

Hmmm, not the best picture ever, but Dale was sitting down. Oh, well. First project done and ready to wear this week!

Two weeks into the new year

2011-01-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

So, I've been working on things. Lots of things. Unfortunately, I have to do 56 hours of continuing education every four years for my license renewal. Need to send in renewal in the next two months, and SURPRISE! I realize that I have a total of 11 hours completed. So guess what I'm going to be doing the next couple of months! LOL

I started my first online class and am about half way through with the 5 hour class. Most of my CE will be online, but I'm doing a live class in San Rafael this week on Wednesday. I will leave home around 10:00 am and get back around 9:00 pm... long day! I think Dale will be in Stockton, so I'm going to have to get the girls to come by and feed the dogs and let them out, etc. on Wednesday. The rest will be fit in around work and sewing time.

I decided to give myself two weeks to get things together before I started on my new year. It was needed and it helped a lot. I did get thrown another sidestep this week though. We have everything ready to go on buying our house except one letter I need to write. Call NACA to schedule our appointment, and WHAM! They have lost all of their mortgage consultants except one, have a 400 loan backup, and won't even put us on a waiting list to meet with someone. The woman who answered the phone said call back in April... I almost started to cry, but then figured there's a reason for everything. I guess I will need a little more time to get ready for the move. Hope the house I have my eye on is still there... I am visualizing getting the house I want for the price I want to pay... It works! I saw an article on a woman who won the Lotto doing exactly that... so my visualization is smaller than hers, so doable! LOL

Got the serger back on Monday, but didn't have time to do anything with it. Dale was home all week with no work, so it takes me a lot longer to get anything done. I did get my jacket sewn together and realized it must have been cut out before September because it will mostly fit my 25 pounds ago body, not the one I have now. So yesterday I spent the day re-drafting for version 2, adding to the body and the sleeve width, and shortening the sleeves A LOT! I know my arms are about 1" shorter than would be average for my height, but I had to shorten the sleeves a total of about 3 1/2"! Any tall people, look to Simplicity... the sleeves should fit without alterations...

I needed some instant gratification sewing this weekend also. So last night after doing the jacket draft, I pulled out my favorite tee shirt pattern, Pamela's Perfect Tee, and redrafted it to current measurements. This morning got it cut out and have the first one just about half done already. Maybe will do two or three today before I tackle the jacket again.

I always have issues about making things for the current body, and want to "save" all my fabulous fabrics for the body I want instead of the one I have. Luckily, last night I was wandering around the sewing blogs, and found a woman who has it all together. Her blog is called Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. She's a large woman who makes what looks like an outfit a week and loves her clothes, and herself because she always looks great. She inspired me! I'm moving forward with my clothes for now...

Along that line, I've moved closer to my goal. I'm 2/3 of the way there, which is fabulous! THANK YOU GINGER for helping me decide how to succeed. To that end, I've been more conscious of what's going into my mouth, I'm doing more cooking of great tasting low cal foods, and enjoying my dinner for a change. That's all good. Anyone interested, Cooking Light this month has twenty five low cal chicken recipes that mostly sound fabulous!

Pictures to come of the new tees.

As the Psyche turns

2011-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year. The beginning was a little dicey, but I'm starting to move through it. Mom passed on December 28 with a memorial service on New Year's Day. Odd start to the year in some ways, but in others very timely and significant.

In the Tarot the Death Card means new beginnings. Yes, the Death card can signal a death in the right circumstances but the Death card is far more likely to signal transformation, passage, change.

The Death card speaks of a major conclusion in an area of our lives. Often when this card shows up in a reading it means the querent has had, or will have a change that is monumental - an ending of circumstances that were dragging on for far too long and the only way to make a clean break is to have a sharp ending. The key point to remember here is that where there is an ending, there is also a beginning.

The Death card also exposes us to all of the serendipity in our lives. Everyone has heard the old adage "the only thing you can count on is death and taxes." The quote left out one other inevitable occurrence: Change. We can always count on change. Life is in constant motion and this is the irony of the Death card. Death is never the end - it is simply a motion in a different direction.

So as I end my 63rd year on this planet, I am thinking about change, beginnings of my new life, and the ending of an old one. With mourning my mother, my ADHD has kicked in mightily and I find that over the last few weeks, I have been moving from one thing to another without really accomplishing much. With recognition and acknowledgement of this, I decided yesterday to stop that and start my new life.

With age may come wisdom! ROFLOL I have vowed not to make resolutions to be broken but to set goals that I can work towards and that will evolve with my life circumstances.

Goal #1 ~ I want to update my look and my clothes.

I have a friend at American Sewing Guild who makes a resolution every year to make a new outfit for every monthly meeting. At the current time, I have taken her challenge and will work towards that goal. I completed a nice pair of tropical weight trousers and am looking around for the balance of the outfit. Due to this month's other challenges, it will probably be a tee shirt or two. Although my serger is in the shop getting a much needed tune up so that will have to be done later in the week. I can get the patterns drafted and cut out so it will be a matter of an hour or so to finish.

Then I have a muslin for a jacket cut out that has been sitting around for months while I went in other directions. I think I cut it out back in September, but with work and my textiles class, there just wasn't really any time for sewing except emergency items. I have started putting the muslin together, and anticipate that will be ready for fitting pretty soon. Hopefully by tomorrow, but I do have lots of other things to get done today. I'm hoping to use it for a basic block once I get it put together because it's a very good standard pattern.

Goal #2 is to get healthy. I love Ginger's idea of her goal being to lose 3 pounds by such and such a date. Nothing further, just a readily reachable goal that will be easily achieved, keep you motivated and can be met and then move forward. It’s amazing, liberating, motivating, and when after a few days you see you've already achieved half your goal, what a rush! The goal is to walk every day and meditate every day. Not quite as readily achievable but we're doing pretty well.

Goal #3 is to clean and purge the house. I figure I've got about 120 days until we move to our new retirement home in Rio Vista. So if I work on the house an hour a day between now and then, cleaning, purging all the things we don't want and/or need, and get things packed and organized and labeled as I go, it will be an easy move for a change with no frustration about not having things done. Such a deal!
Because no one knows where Rio Vista is, here's a map.

If you can see the little #1 in about the center of the map, that's Rio Vista. We'll start our process pretty soon and anticipate being in our new house by the end of April or so. We're excited. Everywhere in town is within about 5 miles of a boat dock, so we can have the boat in the yard and be in the water quickly. Retirement is looking better and better even though it's a few years out. :P}}

We have concluded that Rio Vista is about the best place for retirement we can find right now. Should get me out of ALLERGY capital of the world Sonoma County, so maybe I can breathe better. We'll be able to get a decent sized house for an amount we can afford, and it's very central, almost equidistant from Sacramento, San Francisco, and Santa Rosa, plus pretty close to Stockton where Dale has been working the last few years. That will mean he gets to come home at night instead of staying in a Motel in Stockton and eating his meals at Dennys. Should be a win-win situation!

I think that's all for today. I've got to get going on my task list for the day!