I won, I won!

Sew Mama Sew coordinated a Giveaway event in which bloggers participated by offering a handmade prize to be won. There were HUNDREDS of blogs participating with unbelievably generous prizes! I entered many of them and when I checked my email this morning, was thrilled to find out I was a winner!

I was the winner of an adorable leather / cotton wristlet (see it here!) created by Gabrielle of Tiny Apartment Crafts. I can't wait to see which version come to live with me. Thanks again, Gabrielle. I'm glad I found your blog and look forward to seeing new creations from you!

Butterick 5523 - Two Toned Dress

12/9//2010 Edited to add a modeled dress.Next up on my Sewcation was a dress. For some reason, cowl necklines are calling out to me lately. I picked up this pattern, Butterick 5523,

during a 99 cent sale and then tried to find the right fabric. There are two beautiful versions at Pattern Review that looked fantastic. They were both done in a single color but I still like the two-toned version shown on the pattern envelope. When I saw this two sided knit fabric in Hancock's, I thought it would be perfect. It's a heavier, stable knit. I think it is considered a ponte knit.




This pattern was quite an easy sew. Sizing was good except the sleeves ended up too short. I wanted long sleeves but the cut edge ended just at my wrist - i.e. no room to hem. I really didn't want a 3-quarter length sleeve so I came up with the idea of using the contrast color to make a cuff. I love how it turned out. The other two reviews mentioned the length of the dress was short so I added 2" to mine. Turned out the length would have been just fine for me and I ended up with a 3.5" hem. I could have shortened it but I thought the weight of the hem would be good for this heavier knit. I love the pleat in the sleeve. I actually sewed down the sleeve pleat as well as the pleats in the skirt. I just like that look better. I also opted to gather the back rather than do the pleats as both reviewers said they didn't care for the pleats in the back. The "cowl" is more structured than a typically floppy cowl due to the weight of the fabric but I think it makes the dress look more professional (i.e. business professional.)

I'm happy with my new dress and plan to debut it at a meeting on Thursday.

JoAnn Fabrics is evil - Forgive my Rant

I am so annoyed!!! I received an email from JoAnn Fabrics at 1:30 am yesterday inviting me to a "One Day Only Web Exclusive Sale + FREE shipping - No Minimum Purchase". I have been wanting to replace my cutting mats and lo and behold they had three different versions of self-healing mats in the size I needed (24" x 36") and they were all 50% off! Hallelujah! Those suckers are expensive so I was quite excited.

I spent a little time comparing the different mats and finally made my selection. But shoot, my first choice was backordered with no rainchecks offered during this one-day sale. Oh well, "no worries," I thought and I selected option # 2. Hmmm, it was also backordered with no rain checks. So I cautiously selected option # 3. YUP! You guessed it. Also backordered. Un-freakin-believable.

But being a glutton for punishment, I thought, "what the heck, I'll replenish my rotary blades and pick up some other supplies during this good sale." But alas, nine of the twelve items I selected (all on sale) were backordered. I was quite pissed and fired off a nasty email.

I never received a response but this morning I did receive emails that indicated four of the backordered items were back in stock including two of the three mats that I mentioned. Free shipping was still available on orders over $35 so I thought, no harm. I'll go ahead and order the items and still not pay shipping. You know where I'm headed, right? ALL the items that miraculously became available just hours after the one-day sale were now full price.

I will still take advantage of JoAnn's 99 cent pattern sales, which I presume is a loss leader for them but I am DONE buying other sewing and craft supplies from them. Their fabric is horrendous, customer service is atrocious and craft selection is abysmal. I try to buy from independent vendors anyway (I am the QUEEN of online purchases) but this just sealed the deal for me.

JoAnn Fabric, you should be ashamed of such evil business practices, especially this time of year!

(FYI, I found the evil Santa photo here. It captured my thoughts about JF perfectly!)

McCalls 5857 shorts

I read a review on someone's blog a year or so ago that this pattern (McCalls 5857) is a great basic. And after making two pair this weekend, I have to agree! Somehow, my shorts and pants are all a little ...ahem.... snug these days. And I'm getting a little tired of leaving them unhooked under my t-shirt (Come on... don't pretend like you've never done that!!!) With another trip to Florida planned for right after Christmas, I decided I needed some basic shorts.

I used some stretch twill from my stash and a couple zippers from a huge assortment I purchased off ebay a few years ago. I never thought I would be able to use bright colored 6" zippers - who knew?!! I ended up with a cuffed pair in tan and a hemmed pair in olive. I plan to also make a brown and black pair and I'll have a great set in basic colors.

I am very pleased with this pattern. I'm embarrassed to admit that I have never made a lapped zipper until now. I tried one time years ago and couldn't get it. The instructions in this pattern were so clear cut, I'm disappointed I never tried again until now. I see some new pants in my future!

Finally.... A Sewcation!!!

I am always so envious to read on blogs or Facebook when someone ends up with a free weekend to sew to their heart's content. This was one of those weekends when the stars aligned...

• Harley Dude was out of town
• No kid commitments
• No social commitments
• No work overflow
• Home from work early on Friday

So, guess what I did? Yup, I threw on the sweatpants and took on lots and lots of sewing, some cooking and a little home spruce-up, too. Here are the results:

1. Sewing Projects: sewed 2 pair shorts, one scrunchie scarf (will be soliciting opinions on this in a subsequent post), a dress, and a tunic top; hemmed two pair pants and a skirt; cut out another top; and pre-shrank 6 pieces of wool (more about that in another post). I'll review projects over the next few days.
   
2. Cooking: Honey Garlic Chicken (adapted from this), Turkey Breast with cranberry onion sauce (crockpot), coffee cake (Krusteaz mix - OMG AWESOME!), Honey BBQ meatloaf (email me if you want the recipe - I've been making this for 15 years and it's fantastic.)
3. Home: Painted walls and trim in guest room (and by the way, THIS is the best thing invented since sliced bread. Cuts the time to paint doors, baseboards by a fraction!)

Finally, Christmas... Although I didn't do any shopping this weekend, somehow I'm about 75% done. Lots of online purchases plus a daughter who LOVES to shop who has picked up a bunch of stuff for me. My favorite present so far is a woven blanket for my parents that I had made at Snapfish that incorporates some family photos . See below for a comparison between the original photo and the blanket. I was AMAZED at how well it turned out! (Excuse the wonky display of the blanket; no one was home so I improvised with the pantry door.) And Snapfish has had some great 25% and 30% off deals so if you're interested, I highly recommend them. Oh... the blanket arrived 3 business days after ordering!

It was so wonderful to not leave my house the entire weekend. Monday is going to be especially hard this week!

Pajama Party

I love homemade jammies! Over the last month or two, I have made a few sets. First up, is the bathrobe for Florida (McCall's 5534) that I have reworked three times now. I settled on plain long sleeves (after trying ruffled sleeves and cuffed sleeves) and I think I finally have it right! Fabric is a stretch terry from JoAnn's.

I made up a little pair of shorts with the leftover terry fabric and paired it with an Old Navy t-shirt (hard to beat $5 t-shirts and tanks for pajama tops!) for summer jammies.

This set has flannel pants and a knit top made from Simplicity 4706. Can you tell I photographed them after I wore them?! (Made from stash fabric.)

Finally, I made a pair of knit pants* out of a great tie dye fabric from Fabric.com and paired it with a tank from Simplicity 4076. I was using up the leftover turquoise knit and didn't have enough for sleeves so I made it a tank and edged the neckline and sleeves with picot edged lingerie elastic. I purchased the trim from Sew Sassy and can't recommend them enough for lingerie supplies. Quality of products is excellent, selection is good, prices are great and shipping was very fast - I received my order in less than a week.


Why all these pajamas are turquoise is a mystery to me. Although I love the color, I didn't set out to do all turquoise! LOL.

* Ok, I confess, what you are seeing in the photo is leftover fabric not the actual knit pants. I was too lazy to go upstairs and get the pants when I was taking pictures.

McCall's 6164

I am in serious need of some new tops and have admired various versions of McCall's 6164 so I whipped one up for myself. It was a very quick project and the sleeve construction is very clever. I made View A and would like to also try View D and maybe E or F.

Ruffled Christmas Trees

I saw the most adorable project on Lori's blog last week. Original directions were from a new-to-me blog called Shanty2Chic (she makes CUTE STUFF!) I decided to make a couple sets for hostess gifts. I even splurged for the ruffler attachment for my Bernina; $100! (ouch) but I've been wanting it for a long time. Hopefully, I'll get more use out of it than these 6 trees. I had the fabric in my stash - someone gifted me a huge box of Christmas fabrics years ago (I'm sad that I don't remember who it was). Here are the two sets:

Fabric measurements:
Each strip is 1 1/2" x 45" (i.e. the width of the fabric)
Large tree took 8 strips, or 1/3 yard
Medium tree took 6 strips or 1/4 yard
Small tree took 4 strips or just under 1/4 yard

For the base, I used a wooden candle holder glued to a circle base (for stability) that were both painted a cream color. Instead of the finial at the top, I used wooden star shapes that I painted with a shimmery gold paint.

Other than the annoying hot glue blister on my thumb (5 days later and it's still here), this was a fun project that turned out cute!

Fast and Slow Projects

11/8/10 Edited to add - I just looked up the post regarding the muslin I made for this coat and it was THREE years ago, not two. LOL. I cringe at the photo of me. Even though I would like to lose some weight now, that picture of me was when I was going through my divorce. I had lost a lot of weight - not a good diet, let me tell ya!



I finished two items this weekend. My slow item is a coat that I planned on making two years ago for a sew-along. In autumn 2008, I purchased the fabric, joined the sewalong blog, read the tips in the blog, and that was it. In autumn 2009, I cut the coat out, interfaced all the pieces and let it sit in a basket. In late winter 2010, I sewed it all together. All I had left to do was hand sew the lining and make the buttonholes. Why I waited so long I'm not sure except that I was sick of looking at it and didn't think I would wear it much. Plus winter was almost over. Well, I finished it this weekend and now it's ready to go, although I suspect I will redo the closure. I was hesitant to make buttonholes in the multiple layers of thick fabric so I tried the ole fake buttons with snaps. I don't like it. I may try to find a local tailor / seamstress who has an industrial machine that I can pay to make the buttonholes.

The pattern is Vogue 8346, View B. Fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics. It's one of her flannel coatings, similar to this although that's not the same color as mine. I lined it with a brown / pink polka dot poly lining purchased from JoAnn's.

My fast project (3-4 hours over the past week) is a cowl to wear with the coat. I had a pretty skein of yarn (di Ve Teseo, wool/microfiber) that wasn't long enough for a scarf so I opted for a cowl. The pattern is simply a 2x2 basketweave with 3 buttonholes at the end. The photo on the right shows the cowl flat although the colors are off. The colors are true in the photo on the left. I didn't bother to block it because it will be all scrunched up on my neck so it looks a little wonky when it lays flat.

What was I thinking?

Why did I think a double row of ruffles on the sleeve of a bathrobe was a good idea? Not to mention heavy terry cloth. Thank goodness for scissors! Otherwise, I would have been dragging those sleeves through my coffee every morning. I added cuffs instead. As you can see, my daughter's dog Cooper likes it this way much better!

The fabric is a stretch terry I found at JoAnn's last summer and thought it would be perfect for a summer robe. The photos don't do it justice. It's a gorgeous turquoise with big tropical flowers on it. I used McCall's 5534 and it worked well, all except the sleeve ruffles. When I was cutting it out, I happened across some white terry in my stash and thought it would add a nice contrast. The pattern didn't call for the pocket ruffle but I thought it made the pocket stand out a little better. And the white stretch terry made perfect cuffs! I also took some width out of the bottom of the sleeves.

How perfect that my hair looks like I just rolled out of bed! Don't tell anyone the photo was taken at 7:00 pm! On a no-makeup day!

Summer is long gone so I'm taking it to Florida instead.

My lucky day!

Through my friend Gaylen (the dishes-collector!) posted about her friend, Chan who was generously hosting a contest, offering the most adorable plates from Pampered Chef. So I was THRILLED to receive an email from Chan notifying me that I had won!! Woo hoo!!

I love all kinds of dishes and housewares! I can't wait to get the dishes!

Thank you so much, Chan!!!

Cruise Dresses

I just returned from seven blissfully relaxing days cruising in the Eastern Caribbean. I was able to knock out three dresses for the trip. I finished the last one the night before we left. I don't have all the photos from the cruise to show the modeled photos so I'm including some on the dress form.

Dress 1 - Butterick 5351
Fabric - quilting batik
Leaving the Port of Miami




Dress 2 - Butterick 5491
Fabric: Lycra knit - don't remember where I got this one



Dress 3 - Vogue 8612
Fabric: Black/Gray Leopard Silk Charmeuse from Fashion Fabrics, lining also from FF

Bye Bye Bloglines

I use Bloglines for my blog feeds and learned over the weekend they will be shutting down on October 1. Can someone recommend a different service for me to use?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks, Marlena and Lori. I just moved my subscriptions to Google Reader.

Christmas Stocking

I love love love old fashion knit Christmas stockings. I have wanted to make coordinated stockings for my kids for a few years but the project has never made it to the top of the queue. Now that they are ready to be out on their own, I've decided to wait until they get married and make a set of stockings for each of them and their spouse.

In the meantime, to fulfill my urge to knit a Christmas stocking, I decided to make a set for the guy and me, probably for the Florida house. So what do I do? I pick THE-HARDEST-PATTERN-IN-THE-WORLD. Holy cow! I've done cables and aran patterns in the past but never in such a high concentration. EVERY ROW is different! I started his stocking in July and this is as far as I've gotten. This is definitely not bus-knitting so I have to sneak in time when I'm not around him. I purchased the yarn for mine at the same time as his. Mine will have a cranberry red heel and toe instead of green... IF I ever get to it!

Pattern is from a book called Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit (Edited by Elaine Lipson) and the specific pattern is called Hugs and Kisses Aran Stocking (for the X-O pattern shown on the left in the photo. I am using Cascade 220.

Fabric Clearance Sales

It's that time of year when many of the online fabric sources are trying to reduce their inventory and I felt obligated to help. Somehow, I ended up purchasing 16 different fabrics (36 yards) from Fabric.com and FabricMart.com. After discounts, the total spent was $142, or approx $4 per yard. Overall, I am pleased with them although a couple of the Fabric.com pieces are flimsier than I would have liked. Here's a photo of the loot with descriptions below.


Fabric on left, top to bottom:

1. Chocolate Brown Poly Lycra Sweater Knit 57" Wide (FabricMart.com)
2. Cotton Blend Jersey Knit Dandelion Yellow (Fabric.com)
3. Cotton Jersey Knit Spiro Burst Yellow/Turquoise/White (Fabric.com)
4. Polyester Blend Strawberry Colored Plaid 60" Wide (FabricMart.com)
5. Cotton Jersey Knit Argyle Fuchsia/White (Fabric.com)
6. Slub Rayon Jersey Knit Mauvlous (Fabric.com)
7. Slub Rayon Jersey Knit Ivory (Fabric.com)
8. Matte Jersey Knit Floral White/ Lavender/Red (Fabric.com)

Fabric on right, top to bottom:

1. Square waffle weave black cherry ivory 56" Wide (FabricMart.com)
2. Cherry rib knit 44" Wide (FabricMart.com)
3. Spring suiting Maggy London white black yellow 60" Wide (FabricMart.com)
4. Black And Yellow Wool Cotton Silk Boucle 56" Wide (FabricMart.com)
5. Rayon Cotton Jacquard Weave Green 57" Wide (FabricMart.com)
6. Polyester twill abstract irregular petal shapes 44" Wide (FabricMart.com)
7. Sweater knit Navy 48" Wide (FabricMart.com)
8. Ponte Knit royal blue 60" Wide (FabricMart.com)

Butterick 5382

Here is another project I finished back in March.
I'm starting to sound like a Michelle Obama groupie but this dress was also inspired by one of her dresses pictured here. This dress is almost identical to Vogue 8593 except this one has a seam under the bust and the Vogue does not. Thank goodness I had both patterns because I needed the Vogue instructions as described below.

Pattern Description: Straight Fitted Dresses have front pleats, raised waist seam and back zipper. Three sleeve lengths.

Pattern Sizing: 8-22. I made a 12 tapering to a 10 on top. Although the 10 fit through the bust, I felt the armholes were a little tight. not sure if the 12 would have made a difference.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, right down to the color.

Were the instructions easy to follow? All the other reviews said the pleats were a breeze but I could not get the center pleat right after several tries. I decided to look at the Vogue directions and those directions busted through my brain block by giving a diagram to illustrate the center pleat. Perfect! Closeup of pleats:

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Very flattering design. As I mentioned, I had trouble with the pleat instructions. I also cut the first front bodice out wrong. It's directional and I had the pattern piece the wrong way. I considered changing the direction of the center pleat but after I basted and pressed it several times, it was looking beat up so I cut out a new front bodice piece.

Fabric Used: I used a stable knit (double knit?) that I purchased a year or two ago from an online fabric source. Can't remember who!!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Probably don't need another dress like this but I thought it might make a cute top if I can find a lighter weight fabric that can stand up to the pleats.

Conclusion: This was supposed to be my "power dress" to wear at a conference presentation. But alas.... the airlines lost my bag and I didn't get it in time to wear. I subsequently debuted it at a client meeting and received some nice feedback.

Pattern Suggestions?

I saw this photo online this morning and really love the top. Specifically, I love the shoulder / sleeve treatment. I would love to find a pattern that mimics this sleeve. I am not a fan of one shoulder tops and would turn it into a two shoulder top. Anyone seen anything similar? Or know who made this top?

Craigslist

Well, I took my first ride on the Craigslist train today and I am utterly exhausted. I listed a car for sale at several hundred less than Blue Book Value because I wanted to get rid of it fast. Like today. I've received 35 emails (ummm, maybe price was TOO low?) and spent the good part of the day answering phone calls, emails, arranging meetings for people who didn't show up.

But this was the best: Guy Number 1 offered me cash, sight unseen. "Please, ma'am, the engine blew in my car yesterday and if I don't buy a car tonight or I'm going to lose my job tomorrow." I will bring cash at 5:00 today. Meanwhile, Guy Number 2 drives over and looks at the car in my driveway. Offers me cash without driving it. (Apparently, he knows about cars and was able to check under the hood and get a good feel for the car without actually driving it.) I explain that I feel obligated to sell to Guy Number 1 because he called first and he's desperate. I call Guy Number 1 to make sure he's still coming (with cash) and he can't stop thanking me for saving his job. Guy Number 2 is a good sport and says if it doesn't work out with Guy Number 1, call him.

You know how this is going to end, right?

Guy Number 1 doesn't show and won't answer his phone.
Guy Number 2, who I shall now call Guy On A Car Buying Mission, had already bought another car.

Sigh... Let's start over again tomorrow.

S3678 & S2608

I made a knit dress a couple years ago that I just loved and always intended to make another. Instead, I decided to make a knit top from the same pattern - Simplicity 3678. Love love love this pattern. This pattern is a joy to sew. Not sure where the fabric came from; I've had it for a few years. Here is a shot of the top:


I have it paired with a knit skirt from Simplicity 2608 (view D). The skirt is a very fun design with some ruching at the top and a foldover waistband. Of course, you can't see it with the top hanging over so here is a better view.


The entire ensemble. (Wow, do I look tired!)


And now, I'm ready to start my day!

Another peasant top & an injured car

I found this sheer gauzy fabric with a border print and really liked it. I thought it would make a great peasant style top. I was going to make McCalls 5931 but after reading reviews, I realized I would have to make some alterations and I was too lazy to do so. I decided instead to re-make an oldie - McCalls 5050 (oop), that I made for the first time in 2007.

Although it turned out ok and I've worn it a few times, it's not the most flattering top. My daughter thinks I should have made a smaller size, that the excess fabric is making me look bigger than I am. I don't like how the arm attaches to the bodice. When I lift my arm, I feel constrained. Not sure if this is something I can change or if it's part of the pattern. Regardless, it's not intended to be a long term member of my wardrobe. I'll probably wear it a few more times this summer and retire it.

One of these days I will try M 5931 as I think the fit would be better.

Next up is a sundress out of some beautiful batik fabric.

In other "Ain't life grand" moments.... My daughter's car was maimed by a flying tire last week. This is the second time in 18 months her car was damaged while parked. A Dodge Ram pickup truck lost its wheel and the tire flew back and smashed into her parked car. Fortunately, a truck can't go with only 3 wheels (go figure!) so while it was stopped awaiting a tow, the police came and took a report. Turns out the offending truck was uninsured and the drivers were minors. The parents are making them pay but who knows how long that will take! Fortunately, my insurance is handling as a no-fault claim but we may be out the deductible if the crashers don't pay. This week, we are playing musical cars to get to work while her car is being fixed.

Whoa!! Just got the call from the dealership. $3,057 to fix! Infiniti parts are ridiculous!

Ant Apron

How cute is this apron?! A year or two ago, I received a surprise package in the mail from Allison. She is so thoughtful and has sent me some of the cutest presents! When I opened this package, it turned out Allison's MOM had purchased an apron kit for me - she's a fellow sewer. So sweet!!!! I put it in my fabric closet and recently came across it as I organized the closet. I thought it would be a fun middle-of-the-summer project! It came with muslin to line it but I subbed a blue cotton that I had in my stash. I can't wait to wear it this weekend when I'm grilling. Thanks again, Mom!

NL6829

Here's another top I recently finished. It's New Look 6829 done in a lightweight woven cotton blend , originally purchased from JoAnn's. The skirt is cut on the bias and I added a tiny snap to keep the neckline from gapping too much. It was an easy sew. More details at Pattern Review, if interested.

M6028

7/27/2010 - Edited to add additional photo of dress. (hair flipping is due to scurrying to beat the camera timer!)

Ok, first of all, I turned on comment moderation due to the number of random Asian comments I was getting. For some reason, I thought I would get an email when I received comments but I was wrong. So for those of you who commented on my last post, Thanks you so much! And I'm sorry it took me so long to "approve" the comments.

My blogging will continue to be intermittent. I love having a blog as it connects me with so many nice people and keeps a great record of my projects but my schedule has been too full to keep up with it as much as I like. I have lots of projects to blog about but it will take me some time to get to them all.

I'll start with a dress I finished a couple weeks ago. I needed a dress to wear to a funeral. My dear friend Jen had gifted me some lovely black linen a year or two ago and I thought it would be perfect for a summer dress. I used a silk lining purchased a few years ago from Fabric Mart when they had some Anna Sui silks for only $4.99 a yard (see the black stripe with fuchsia flowers in lower right corner.) I chose McCalls 6028 and decided to embellish it with some purchased trim. I considered black on black but decided it was TOO understated and went with an ivory trim. It gave me the look I wanted - sedate enough for a funeral but not so somber that I can't also wear it to work or for other occasions. On the hangar, it doesn't appear to have much shape but it really does accentuate the waistline. I thought it might be inappropriate to ask someone at the funeral to take a photo of me so the hangar photo will have to do!

A local yarn store, Lambikins, branched out into fabrics a year or so ago but unfortunately, due to unforeseen personal circumstances, the owner has decided to discontinue the fabrics and return to a yarn only store. I was lucky enough to purchase some gorgeous batiks at 40% off. I plan to use them to make a dress or two, some jammie pants and maybe a top depending on how much I can squeeze out of it.

Pattern Giveaway

I ended up with two copies of the same pattern - McCalls 5931. If anyone is interested in this pattern, I'm happy to send it to the first commenter (no charge - but within continental US only). It's the smaller size combination - 4-6-8-10-12

Edited: Judi, please email me your contact information. bonnie_crocker [at] yahoo [dot] com

Valentine Sweater

My friends, Jen & Allison, and I decided right after Christmas that we all wanted to make sweaters. And in our competitive way, we quickly decided that a competition was in order. We decided to use the same yarn, Sublime Yarns angora Merino (pink for me, purple for them) but we each chose a different pattern. Mine was the Vine Yolk Cardigan designed by Ysolda Teague. Here is a photo of the finished sweater (excuse the hair; contrary to how it looks, I did not just roll out of bed in this photo!)

The goal was for all of us to finish by Valentine's Day but whoever got done first won a prize from the other two. Speedy Jen was the winner, completing hers in early February. I finished mine a week or so ago, just in time to wear to dinner with Allison in San Francisco!

We dined at The Boulevard and we all agreed it was a fantastic restaurant - food was terrific and the building was beautifully designed and decorated. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city.

It was so great to see Allison again! I wish we lived closer to each other!!