Très Bon Babble

Christmas Highlights

2012-01-02T15:16:00.005-05:00

I didn't make very many Christmas gifts this year (darn those 24 hours days) but I did make an apron for my daughter Molly from the Emmeline pattern.

and polar fleece hats for Mark's grandkids.

Mark and I took a quick trip back to Delaware to surprise my mom on her birthday (Dec 26). It's been awhile since I've been back and it was quite fun to spend some time with my whole family. Because we flew into BWI, we detoured to show Mark the Inner Harbor and have lunch at the Rusty Skupper.

My family has hosted a Christmas party on the 26th for as long as I can remember. A long time ago, I introduced them to the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange and it's been an annual tradition ever since. They've even called me in some years that I wasn't able to attend to verify the "rules" of the game. LOL. A shot of all the gifts awaiting start of the game (my two sisters in law and my mom behind them).

I want to marry this fabric - J2794

2012-01-02T15:04:00.003-05:00

While at PR Anniversary in Austin weekend, April had a trunk show for her new business Fabricker and I bought some lovelies including this luscious silk/cotton/rayon knit. It feels so good against my skin! I turned it into another Jalie sweetheart neckline top (2794). I made one a few years ago and loved it but it was a bit snug then and since I've put on a few pounds since, I decided to go up a few letters for this one. I overestimated and it turned out way too big. I played around with it until I finally got the right fit and added long sleeves. I still love this pattern and would love to make a few more.

Two down from my marathon cutting session; Nine to go!

Glittery Cowl top - M6078 (revisited)

2012-01-02T14:56:00.004-05:00

I loved the polka dot version of McCalls 6078 I made last summer. I've worn it many times! I followed up with another version in an interlock knit that was a complete failure and concluded a lighter weight, drapier knit works best for this pattern. I picked up a very stretchy, lightweight sweater knit from TexStyles in November and knew the glitter threads would be perfect for a holiday top. Not sure if TexStyles has a website but you can find them on Facebook here.

I wore it several times over the holidays with this quilted shimmery jacket.

Finally - a review of my Mother of the Bride dress! (S2497)

2011-12-10T14:41:00.005-05:00

Took me awhile but I'm finally getting around to blogging / reviewing Simplicity 2497 - a Cynthia Rowley design that is nominated for top ten patterns in 2011. I made a muslin here and had to make a few tweaks to the bodice to make it fit. (Full review at Pattern Review if interested.) I made a bolero jacket to wear over it but didn't like it when it was done so I left it off. Forgive the wrinkles in the dress. The photo was taken at the end of the evening as you can tell by the wine-enhanced giant eyes!

Shoes are A. Marinelli Excess and came from Zappos. No longer available at Zappos but they may be available from other vendors. Not sure if you can tell in the photo but the back is silver and the front is a sheer, sparkly mesh; the medallion on top is made from a bunch of strands of silver beads. They are much nicer in person!

This is the cute little bag I carried, which I found at at T.J. Maxx! It is silver with a black lace overlay.

Overall, I'm happy with the dress. I've actually worn the outfit two other times since the wedding.

Christmas Appetizer

2011-12-10T14:31:00.004-05:00

My daughter and son in law are hosting their first Christmas party tonight and she asked me to make a couple appetizers. Veggie bars are always yummy and this variation is perfect for a Christmas party! It's a Pillsbury recipe found here.

What to do when you're missing your sewing machine...

2011-12-07T06:39:00.010-05:00

Mark and I spent the week after Thanksgiving at our home in Florida. We love our time down there because we truly get to relax. Even though I worked during the day and even visited a client, we still took advantage of the lovely weather for long walks every morning and had lots of fun time in the evenings. Once we retire we plan to spend our winters down here but for now, we take advantage of long weekends or weeks when we can make it work with our work / family schedules.

Ultimately, I intend to sew during our extended stays and we even had a Murphy-style bed built into the spare bedroom so when we don't have guests, it can be my sewing room. I came T H I S - C L O S E to purchasing a used machine last week to keep in Florida but I decided that due to our infrequent trips, it doesn't make sense right now.

But I can't go a whole week without sewing! So over the last two trips, we've assembled a cutting station that allow me to at least cut out patterns while I'm down there so they are ready to be sewn when I get back home. We picked up a folding table and risers from the hardware store and purchased other supplies - cutting mat, rotary cutter, pins, chalk marker, tape measure, scissors. On this trip, I brought fabric and patterns and came home with 11 projects cut out! All are marked but a few require interfacing and / or linings (which I forgot to bring). I bought some 2 1/2 gallon Hefty zipper bags and they are perfect for storing the projects.

I have already finished one top, which I'll review later in the week. Here is a list of the projects:

1. Glittery knit sleeveless cowl top similar to this one;
Fabric: sweater knit with gold thread running through it, from TexStyles during PR Weekend in Austin
Pattern: M6078 view B
I finished this before work this morning to wear to a Christmas party on Saturday!

2. Wool Pants
Fabric: beige wool tricotine
Pattern: McCalls 5239, Palmer Pletsch pattern; custom fitted at pants fitting workshop in Austin

3. Black pencil skirt
Fabric: Stretch corduroy purchased at Banasch
Pattern: Simplicity 2451, View C, like this one

4. Knit LS cowl tunic
Fabric: Confetti print knit from The Common Thread that a bunch of the Austin ladies purchased
Pattern: Vogue 8634, similar to this one

5. Asymmetrical knit top
Fabric: purple jersey
Pattern: Kwik Sew 3790

6. Bolero style knit top
Fabric: Red jersey
Pattern: McCalls 6284, like this one

7. Shirred sleeve t-shirt
Fabric: gray jersey knit
Pattern: McCalls 6164, View A, like this one

8. Sweetheart Neck Top
Fabric: silk cotton rayon from Fabricker
Pattern: Jalie 2794

9. Flannel tie front shirt
Fabric: Black/white flannel with black flannel tie from stash
Pattern: Kwik Sew 3620

10. Shirred front blouse
Fabric: purple stretch cotton
Pattern: Vogue 8747, View C

11. Ruffle Front Blouse
Fabric: red stretch cotton
Pattern: McCalls 5522, (PR Best pattern in 2009)

I have to say... it is quite nice to be able to walk into my sewing room, pop open a project bag and immediately start sewing! I think I'm going to start on # 4 tonight - the confetti tunic.

Pattern Review 10-Year Anniversary in Austin

2011-11-22T11:19:00.008-05:00

Edited to add a link to Kyle's blog who captured all the events of the weekend so well!
Kyles' Blog: Vacuuming the Lawn

Saturday, November 19, 2011 was the tenth anniversary of Deepika's creation of Pattern Review. All of my fellow sewers know what a great resource the website has become but it has also greatly expanded the "Sisterhood" of sewists. Over the ten years, there have been many meetings and weekends across the world at which PR members gather to share their love of sewing. I attended my first one this past May in Chicago and knew I would attend subsequent events.

Deepika announced there would be events in various cities to celebrate the anniversary so I started reading about the various events to see if I could make any of them work. Cincinnati is woefully barren when it comes to sewing so I knew I would need to visit elsewhere. When I ended up scheduled for meetings in San Antonio the day before the Austin event, I decided to extend my stay and join the Texas group. I am so glad I did! It was a fantastic weekend with 40 members from all over Texas (Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, El Paso) and a few of us Texas wannabes including Kyle from NJ and Kellie from Illinois.

Leslie organized an amazing event and I think I speak for everyone when I say how much fun we all had. I was too busy having fun to take many photos but here are a few:

Betty, Kyle, Me, Leslie in front of the Aloft bar (where we may have spent just a bit of time)

Enjoying an afternoon coffee to re-energize before the evening events (the Bailey's in the coffee also helped.) Becki, Jennifer, Robyn, Leslie, Betty, Me & Kellie:

Leslie welcoming everyone to Common Threads with Jeannie (owner). A styling session by Thea Woods followed:

Mimosas and a sewing studio tour. Could a Sunday morning get any better?

Inside Juliette's studio:

Rehearsal Dinner Dress - V8742

2011-11-07T09:09:00.005-05:00

I finished up the Mother of the Bride ensemble and Junior Bridesmaid dresses (I'll post those soon) on Saturday so I decided I still had time to make a dress for the rehearsal dinner. I've loved this pattern (Vogue 8742) since it came out and decided to give it a shot with a lightweight teal sweater knit I had in my stash. I love how it turned out, although now that I see it, I wish I had made it an inch longer. I liked it yesterday in the mirror but in this morning's photos, I think it's a wee bit short.

Pattern: Vogue 8742

Close up of shirring:

"Rear" View. Literally. :-)

I used hot pink bias tape for the neckline to add a little fun.

There are more details of the construction and pattern at PR.

Note: I have no idea why the hangar says Bill Gilson! LOL. Nobody I know!

Vogue 1250 - Version 2

2011-10-25T11:29:00.005-04:00

No need to do a review on this one as it's been reviewed to death at PR but add me to the list of people who adore this pattern! This is my second version of this dress (first one here) and I suspect it might not be my last! Fabric is a slinky knit from my stash and pattern is Vogue 1250.

I made this to wear to my daughter's bachelorette weekend in Nashville, TN. On the second night, the bride wore a white dress and the rest of us wore black (see below for group shot sans me who was taking the photo). Initially my accessories included the leopard platform pumps and a CUTE silver/leopard belt (close up shown below) but I had to ditch the shoes. I wore them for a bit in the hotel and knew I wouldn't last long in them so I traded for my back-up pair of black flats. And thank goodness I did because we were out that night until 3:00 am! Oh... the pink necklace and bracelet were not part of the outfit - they were bachelorette party accessories! (More bachelorette weekend pictures on Facebook.)

Missoni-ish Fabric - Pattern Suggestions?

2011-10-20T10:08:00.005-04:00

To be honest, I don't love the classic Missoni zig zag look. I know... I know... it's the hottest thing out there right now but it never really set me on fire. But I walked into Banasch's Fabric the other day to shop their penny sale (buy 2, get 1 for a penny) and this fabric was right by the front door. I stopped and fondled it and moved on. After going back to it 3 times, I realized that I must really like the look. LOL. So I bought a couple yards to make a knit dress. After looking through my stash, I didn't find a specific pattern that I love so I'm requesting suggestions for pattern ideas! I want it to be a fall dress so I prefer sleeves but most sleeveless patterns can be adapted.

Vogue 1250 - Version 1

2011-10-20T09:55:00.006-04:00

When Vogue 1250 came out, it didn't interest me in the least. I thought the dress was not the slightest bit flattering on the model. Doesn't the dress look baggy in an unattractive way in the following image?

But apparently, my opinion was in the minority and versions of the dress started popping up all over the Blogosphere and Pattern Review. And the versions were CUTE!! And SEXY!! Most people also described that the dress was quick and true to size. So let's see.... knit dress.... cowl neck.... cute.... quick... true to size... many of my favorite pattern characteristics!

The pattern languished all summer but the need for a quick dress arose when I was packing for Jackson Hole last month. I needed something cute and casual for a cocktail reception. So I pulled out a lightweight interlock from my stash and pulled together the above dress in about an hour and a half, including cutting. It's comfy and casual and I was thrilled with how it turned out.

I finished Version 2 this morning and will post about it next week. I used a black slinky knit for this one and I'll wear it to my daughter's bachelorette party this weekend. She is wearing a white dress and the rest of us will be in black.

Wedding Shower

2011-10-06T14:03:00.006-04:00

My daughter's wedding shower was last Sunday and it was great fun! I prepared the food and tried out some new recipes. I wish I hadn't been so frazzled at the start - I forgot to take photos of the food. The complete menu and links to the recipes where applicable:

Sparkling Sangria

Cranberry / pineapple juice (frozen berries )

Chutney Cashew Baked Brie with baguette slices

Cranberry Apple Brie with baguette slices (A Pampered Chef recipe)

Shrimp Cocktail dip with buttery cracker dippers (my own recipe)

Individual Greek Salads – My daughter's high school friend is the Caitlin behind Cooking with Caitlin. Her website has lots of great recipes!

Two types of sliders:

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Pork tenderloin with Aioli & Roast turkey "Bobbies" (dressing & cranberry on top) (My recipes)

Olivada Pasta Salad

Italian Pasta Salad (my recipe)

Fruit salad

Cupcakes and Cookies from Bonbonnerie

We ordered a "prototype" of her bouquet as the centerpiece:

Her guests were incredibly generous!!! She received so many fantastic things. And I must admit I got a lot of pleasure out of watching her open the gifts I made!

The Apron:

The Stockings & Christmas Ornament:

The Cookbook - made her cry!

We had a lot of fun but it was fun to relax with my family when it was all over!

Five weeks to go!

Finishing Touches on the Christmas Stockings

2011-09-28T08:41:00.008-04:00

I finished knitting Christmas stockings for my daughter and her fiancé in July but I still wanted to add their names somehow. I ruled out knitting the name but considered embroidering or sewing something. After mulling it over awhile, I decided to do some sort of hanging name label. I originally pictured oval but ended up with a rectangle. This is what I came up with:

Sewing Details:
I embroidered their names on some white cotton. I basted ribbons, sewed the top to an interfaced white cotton back and turned right side out. After pressing, I basted the opening closed and then I used my Bernina to do a decorative stitch around the edges to simulate hand applique. (Click on the photo to zoom in and see the detail.) To attach to the stocking, I simply pulled the ends of the ribbons through the stocking (back to front) and tied with a bell.

The stockings will be given along with a "First Christmas Together" ornament (stamped copper) that I purchased from an Etsy vendor (Charms of Faith). It hasn't arrived yet (hopefully today!) but the seller sent me the following photo.

My new favorite gadget

2011-09-27T12:15:00.003-04:00

I found the most awesome tool for us bloggers! It's called a Gorillapod - it's a mini bendable tripod that can grip almost any surface. I saw the "contraption" (dontcha love that word?!) in photos on Kyle's blog and googled until I figured out what it was called. It's sold by many vendors but I purchased mine for only $14 with free shipping from Amazon. It comes in a lot of colors (red, blue, yellow, green, grey) but I bought the adorable pink one shown above.

I've already used it a few times to take photos of myself and also a few of my fiancé and me when we were on vacation recently. Handy when you don't have a spare body close by to take a photo!

If you like to take photos of yourself modeling your creations, I highly recommend!

Family Cookbook

2011-09-27T11:36:00.004-04:00

Fortunately, my family ignores the fact that I have a blog so I can post about family presents and they'll never see!

I mentioned in the previous apron post that I made a family cookbook. I've had the idea to do this for a long, long time but could never decide how to go about it. I considered one of the compilation style cookbooks with the plastic or wire comb binding that many publishers offered but I wanted to include photos and generally speaking, photos aren't an option. I thought a better way to go was with a photobook offered by various vendors (Snapfish, Shutterfly, Picaboo, etc.) Here is what I came up with (I took photos of the cookbook and created a collage with Picasa):

You can click on the photo and enlarge it several times if you want to see details.

If you're interested in the details of how to make one, continue reading! Otherwise, click to the next blog.

The books can get rather pricey - the version I purchased starts at $25 for 20 pages but in July, Snapfish came out with a buy one get TWO free deal. After shipping and tax, the total was $40 for 3 ($13 each). I want to make 9 to give to various family members but the offer was limited to 3. However, lo and behold, they offered the deal again two weeks ago so I bought 3 more! Hopefully, they'll have the deal again before the holidays so I can get the final 3.

It took some time to pull together but part of that was learning Snapfish's editing process. Everything that will be uploaded must be a jpg file. There may be a better way to do it but I started with a Word document for each recipe, printed to pdf and then used an online service to convert from pdf to jpg.

Snapfish has tons of page layouts - anything from one large jpg file per page to 12 or more jpg files. Some layouts have text boxes. So I varied the pages and figured out how to fit approx 25 recipes on the pages along with family photos, food photos plus a cover page and dedication page. Originally, I tried to crop the jpg's to fit the photo box but realized that is not necessary - it works better to do the cropping in Snapfish. Now that the book is a saved project, I can order more from Snapfish whenever I want.

I love all the options available. Different cover styles (I picked my favorite color in a linen cover); different "themes" for the pages (again purple!) and of course all the page layouts, photo sizes, fonts, etc.

It was a fun project and I'm happy with the results. I hope my daughter likes her cooking themed present! I'm finishing up another project for her tonight that I'll post about later in the week.

Shower Gift - Emmeline Apron

2011-09-22T18:23:00.001-04:00

I made a cookbook via Snapfish to give to my daughter at her shower next week. I used favorite family recipes and included lots of photos of not just the food but also photos of the family members who like the recipes.

I decided to also make an apron to go with it. Ages ago, I spotted the following apron on a site called Aprons Boutique only it had hot pink/white polka dot trim instead of red. I LOVED the color / pattern combination.

I had always planned on making something similar for myself but other projects always trumped it. I know my daughter will love the color combo so I made the above apron for her instead. (Plus, if she doesn't like it / wear it, I will steal it back from her!) I really wanted to use striped fabric but couldn't find a woven black/white at JoAnns or Hancocks so I opted for the stripe-like print on one side and a black/white paisley on the other. I don't like the bow trim on the neck strap so I am removing that.

I used the Emmeline Apron pattern that it completely reversible. I used it once before for a Valentine-themed version for my friend Jen but never posted a photo of it. I didn't realize until I was writing this entry that I had used a black/white paisley for that version, too. I guess I like that pattern! Here is the Valentine version:

Wedding Shower Dress - M6243

2011-09-19T09:41:00.006-04:00

My daughter's wedding shower is in a couple weeks so I decided to make something new to wear. I picked McCalls 6243, view C and made it from a ponteroma knit from Hancock's (zinnia is the name of the color and I love it!) I added some black piping for zip and love how it turned out. The pattern calls for an exposed zipper in the back. I didn't want that look so I planned on inserting a side zipper instead. Well, after I basted it together for the first fit, I realized I didn't need a zipper at all so I omitted it.

This is one of those pieces of clothing that I love when I look in the mirror but when I see the photo of me, I don't love so much. (Does that happen to anyone else?) I'm choosing to ignore the photo and continue believing this looks good. LOL. Any time I take a photo with an uphill angle, it's bad news.

About the pattern - LOVED it! Couldn't be easier, especially with the zipper omitted! View C without piping trim should probably take less than an hour to sew. The only thing that takes any time is the narrow hems at the sleeves and neck. It took me considerably longer but that's because I kept screwing up the piping - I had to baste three times but I blame the wine I was drinking at the time. :-)

Love, love the ponteroma fabric from Hancocks. Although the bridesmaids are hosting, the shower is at my house and I'm doing the food so this dress will be nice and comfy to wear while I'm scurrying around getting food / drinks ready.

Mother of the Bride "muslin"

2011-09-19T09:19:00.007-04:00

My daughter is getting married on 11/11/11. Because I will have nothing else to do, I decided to make the MOB dress (seemed like a good idea six months ago, now.... not so much, but I digress.)

I have always loved the Cynthia Rowley design in Simplicity 2497, View C. Simple but figure flattering and the oversized ruffle is fun and a little different.

Close up of neck ruffle.

I made the muslin from some cheapy poly from JoAnn's. The bodice was too large so I had to take in the shoulders and the side seams a bit. I'm still not 100% comfortable with how the bodice is fitting but I'm going to play around with some more samples to get the perfect fit. I like the fit at hips and waist although I might take in half an inch or so.

Feedback requested: what do you think about the length? I definitely don't want a gown length and I usually prefer a hem that hits just above the knee. Does it look ok for this dress?

My final version will be made from the purple stretch taffeta shown below, purchased at Rainbow Fabrics in Chicago. I will also be trying out a little bolero style jacket to wear over top.

SKIRT-A-PALOOZA!!!

2011-08-02T08:22:00.000-04:00

8/2/11 Edited to add that voting is now open for the contest so if you're a PR Member and you like my entry, I'd love to receive your vote!!

Voting is here. My entry is:
Simplicity: 2258 misses skirts and pants
submitted by: Bonnie D [Read Review]
Date: 7/31/11

As I may have ever-so-briefly mentioned in a previous post or two (cough, cough), I got hooked on the idea of the One Pattern, Many Looks contest at Pattern Review. I loved the Simplicity skirt pattern and since skirts are my "go-to" piece of clothing to wear, I thought this would be a perfect idea.

Unfortunately, I didn't find this contest until mid July and it had a contest expiration date of 7/31/11. But heck, skirts are relatively quick, right? I decided to enter but was worried about being able to finish since I was out of town for most of the month.

I took advantage of every morning and evening and eeked out the final skirt this afternoon. I did a review of each one in previous blog posts and at PR so I won't do that again but I had SUCH FUN with this. It appeals to my planning side and it was fun to work within the fabrics I had.

Voting will open in the next few days. In the meantime, here is my review of all four.

Skirt # 4 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

2011-07-31T18:29:00.000-04:00

And finally, I present Version 4 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. This is my "Date Night" version as I plan to wear it for an evening out my fiancé.

Fabric is a rayon challis from FabricMart. It is still available for only $2.50 a yard. I lined it to give it a little more substance.

I'll follow this post up with a composite post that shows the four looks together.

Skirt # 3 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

2011-07-31T18:20:00.000-04:00

Here is Version 3 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. Version 3 is called "Client Ready" as this skirt is definitely suitable to wear to client meetings.

Fabric is a wool blend purchased from Hancock Fabrics. I added a lining to this one because I can wear it in the autumn with tights and lined skirts are much better over tights. Otherwise, the skirt sticks to the tights when you walk and eventually the skirt inches it's way up your thighs!

For this one, I only basted on the ties as I am contemplating making the ties detachable so I can wear it with tops that are either tucked in or left out. If I tried to leave a shirt untucked over the bow, it would look lumpy!

Here is what it would look like without the ties:

Skirt # 2 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

2011-07-28T08:03:00.003-04:00

I finished Version 2 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. This is my "Saturday Morning Farmers Market" version. This will be a perfect outfit to wear on those hot mornings when I'm out running errands.

Only change between this one and my earlier "Business Casual" version is I did not shorten the ties on this one because I wanted a bow with the ties. Oh and I made it 1/2"-1" shorter. Fabric is a beefy cotton interlock that I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics (more here). Perfect weight for this skirt and I plan to make a pair of shorts out of the remaining fabric.

I can also wear it to my office although not with just a cami on top - we dress very casually in our office but not THAT casually! (Although honestly, I work with all guys and I swear I could show up in my pajamas and no one would notice.)

Versions 3 & 4 are both half done and I expect to finish them tonight.

Ho Ho Ho, Christmas in July!

2011-07-27T06:36:00.004-04:00

My oldest daughter is getting married in November and I made this set of stockings for her and her fiancé. I plan to gift them at her wedding shower. The pattern is from a Knit Simple magazine (Holiday 2009). It's a simple pattern but I LOVE the finished look. Thinking ahead to when they have kids, a blue/white or pink/white stripe might be fun!

Knitting details can be found on my Ravelry page.

Bella Mittens - Finally finished!

2011-07-25T07:36:00.003-04:00

I finally finished the second Bella mitten yesterday. I started these cute mittens back in December. Got one finished quickly but I moved on to something else before I could get the second one done (this is why I'm not a sock knitter!) This pattern was designed to replicate the mittens worn by Kristin Stewart as Bella in the first Twilight movie:

I used some yarn I've had in my stash forever. I think I purchased it at a Fiberge sale when they were still in Terrace Park. It's a super bulky called Blizzard, made by Reynolds (65% Alpaca,

35% Acrylic). The yarn was simply too fat to force into this pattern. In addition to being so bulky, the yarn splits quite a bit so when it came time to do a "knit 3 tog", it was a physical challenge! But the finished mittens are comfy and pretty so I'm glad I persevered. More details at Ravelry. Although the original Bellas have a long cuff, halfway up the arm, I decided to go with the shorter cuff after reading reviews in which people mentioned it was difficult to get the long cuff ones on with a coat.

Here's my artsy Twilight shot. Hee hee.

Skirt # 1 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

2011-07-24T13:26:00.007-04:00

I finished the above skirt about a week ago for what (hopefully) will be one of the skirts included in my entry for the PR contest - One Pattern, Many Looks. To summarize the rules, you must use the same view of a pattern to create multiple looks. I'm using this CUTE skirt pattern from Simplicity (2258, View C).

The skirt above is made from a black on white, toile-ish looking twill with a touch of stretch. I purchased it in Chicago (I think from Rainbow Fabrics but not positive.) I really love how it turned out. The only change I made was to lengthen it by about 3" and I added a little corded piping (purchased from Rainbow) to the pockets. I shortened the ties by an inch or so because I don't intend to tie a bow on this one.

I wore the above outfit to a conference I attended earlier this week (casual dress code for this conference.) In fact, I'm going to call this one my "Business Casual" version.

I've been away for the last week at the conference and then to our home in Bonita Springs for a "working" vacation (so happy to be able to work from anywhere for my job). Since the contest closes in a week, I brought fabrics with me and cut the other versions out yesterday so I can hit the sewing machine as soon as I get home tomorrow night. I am not going to have much sewing time but the skirt didn't take much more than an hour to sew so I hope to eek out enough time this week to sew the other three.

From left to right, the fabrics are a heather gray beefy interlock, a black/fuschia rayon challis, and a wool blend with a subtle herringbone stripe. I plan to line the 2nd and 3rd options. In my mind, these four skirts will be appropriate for just about any occasion, from running errands to date night to work meeting.

Summer skirt - M4783

2011-07-11T08:02:00.010-04:00

I just love red and black together. I was browsing Gorgeous Fabric a week or 2 ago and several red/black prints kept calling my name. How cute are the swatches below (linked to GF if you click on them):

There was one more that looked like the one below but it wasn't a burnout:

I decided I liked that last one best and put 2 yards in my shopping cart. While I was pulling together the rest of my order, I was also messaging with Eve on Facebook. And wouldn't ya know it... while I was chatting, some other sewer purchased the fabric I wanted, leaving only 1 yard left. Phooey!! I wanted to make a flowy skirt and knew a yard wasn't enough but I decided to purchase it anyway and figured I would just make a fitted, pencil skirt instead.

The next day, I was thinking about it some more and you know how the shopping psyche works... Even if you're not madly in love with something you're considering purchasing, once someone else tries to buy it, that item is YOURS and YOURS ALONE and you have to have it! So I emailed Ann at GF and said, if by chance there is more than 1 yard left, I'll take all you have. And when my order arrived a few days later, there was almost TWO yards of the fabric. Woo hoo! Thanks, Ann!

So I made this over the weekend (note the squinty eyes = rough Monday morning):

The pattern is McCalls 4783 (oop). I first made this pattern (shown below) back in 2006 when I first returned to sewing.

[Side note: Lori, I cracked up when I saw your version on PR this morning. Even before we "knew" each other, we were twin sewing!!]

Sundress - V8574

2011-07-08T08:33:00.006-04:00

I started this dress a few weeks ago but put it aside to work on a few other things. I finished the hand sewing on the way in to work today and I'm really pleased with the results! I'm heading to Florida in a couple weeks and it will be a nice dress to wear out for dinner.

As I mentioned in this post, the fabric is a lightweight rayon and was purchased from Vogue Fabrics in Chicago during PR Weekend. Lee (Elaray) found it first and I bought some when she was done.

The pattern is Vogue 8574 and I highly recommend it! The fit was perfect. I didn't need to tweak anything which is unusual for me.

I snuck some photos in my office but I haven't pressed the hem nor cleaned up some of the loose threads. And forgive the bra straps. Obviously, I would wear a different bra but I was anxious to take a picture. LOL

More details as PR, if interested.

Halter Maxi - Simplicity 3503

2011-07-05T13:49:00.006-04:00

Lots of chatter in sewing land recently about knit maxi dresses. Several of my FB friends have finished versions or are discussing versions but then I saw this beautiful version and decided I needed one for myself. Besides, I'm still in poison ivy-recovery mode and my legs look pretty disgusting (bruised and scabbed and full of welts) so I wanted a little more coverage. I purchased this black/hot pink border print from Fabric.com a few months ago and paired it with Simplicity 3503 (a Best Pattern of 2009 at PR). I only had 2 yards, which was not quite enough for the whole dress due to the positioning of the fabric but even if I had enough, I think I still would have incorporated the solid black to break up the busy print.

I have to agree with everyone that this is terrific pattern. Very nice details including the back elastic. Other reviewers commented that the pattern runs large. I found it ran just a teeny big larger than what I'm used to in knits.

New recipe on Food blog

2011-06-27T12:42:00.002-04:00

I just finished the remaining leftovers from a meal I made last week and it was so good, I wanted to write down what I did - I always forget to do that and then usually what happens is about a month after making, Mark will say something like, "Hey, can you make that chicken dish again?" and will be met with a blank stare.

Anyhoo, it is based on a Dr. Oz recipe I found online but honestly, I think my version is better than his. :o)

My recipe here.
His recipe here.

YOU be the judge!

M6356 - another miss

2011-06-26T14:42:00.008-04:00

I am not brave enough to sport the one-shoulder look so I was happy to see McCalls 6356,

View D,

which is a modified one-shoulder look that sort of conveys the same image with less skin showing.

This was a tricky one to sew for me. (More sewing details at Pattern Review.) I'm not crazy with the results. This is a little bit out of my style zone (if I have such a thing.) My daughter said it looks good but I feel like a big red pear in it! My oldest daughter said to try it with skinny jeans. My fiancé said it looks frumpy because he likes fitted tops on me. I'll probably try wearing it out and see if I'm comfortable wearing it.

M6069 - Hmmmm....

2011-06-26T14:18:00.003-04:00

M6069 is a ROCK STAR at Pattern Review. I don't think there is a bad review amongst the 29 posted. And I am a knit dress LOVER. But I finished this one about a month ago and I'm lukewarm. Admittedly, I got a little carried away after realizing I had cut the skirt too wide. And sewed the skirt seams tighter than I should have. But aside from the snugness at the hips, it doesn't seem to hang the same way at the neckline as everyone else's. I added sleeves but I wouldn't have thought that would impact how the cowl hangs. I also admitted the elastic casing at the waist. I threw on a skinny belt that I happened to have laying in the sewing room but I think I will wear this with a wide black belt.

(Forgive the open outlet. Just finished painting the room.)

I purchased this lightweight (but substantial enough) ITY border print from Fabric.com.

Bottom line... I guess I'll move it from my sewing room to my closet and I'll wear it but it won't be my fave.

Christmas Stocking

2011-06-23T06:59:00.003-04:00

My daughter is getting married in November so I decided to knit Christmas stockings for her fiancé and her for their first married Christmas together. Here is the first one:

The next one will be the same design and same colors but I'll make the top, heel and toe red and the stripes green and white. Details on Ravelry.

Question for my knitting buddies.... Do I need to block this? It doesn't look like it needs it.

Peasant Top (B4685) Finished

2011-06-21T09:32:00.007-04:00

Well, I finished the eyelet peasant top I blogged about last week. I still don't love the style on me but thanks to my sewing friend, Eve, I tweaked it enough so it's wearable.

I requested feedback from my sewing buddies on how to improve it and received several tips. Most agreed that an empire waist elastic fix would not be flattering. I tried Eve's tip to tie the elastic around the outside to see what it would look like and confirmed they were correct! Darts were suggested to give it more shape but I decided that wouldn't be ideal because it might require a zipper and I had already serged the side seams. Plus, making the top more fitted would change the style from a peasant blouse to... well... just a plain ole blouse. Several suggested belts (both waist level and just under bust) but I didn't like that either.

I was just going to abandon the top but lucky for me, Eve was on Facebook when I was assessing my options and we had a nice little chat. She was so encouraging and suggested a casing in the back with some eyelet inserted. I was envisioning a short casing in the middle of the back but decided to try a casing across the entire back. I like the way that turned out. Here's a peek:

Thank you, Eve!! I appreciate not only your help but your nice words, Sweetie! I liked Sharon's tip to add a long necklace to break up the white so I did just that!

As a reminder, here are before (on the left) and after (on the right) shots:

Progress on V8574

2011-06-17T10:37:00.002-04:00

I pieced together the bodice and basted in a zipper to check the fit. I am thrilled that the top fits PERFECTLY! No need to adjust anything. I started with a 10 on top and graded out to a 12 at the bottom of the bodice.

I pinned the front skirt pieces on to see how it will look overall. I did not try to arrange the pattern any particular way but I really like the way the bodice and the bottom front ended up. Unfortunately, I won't get this done in time to wear tonight but I will find another opportunity soon to debut it!

We're "taking a break"

2011-06-16T08:21:00.006-04:00

My peasant top and I are not seeing ~~eyelet-to-eyelet~~ eye-to-eye so we're going to take a little break and see how much we really care about each other. I received some good ideas from my sewing friends to try out on the peasant but I need a little rest before I go down that road.

So instead, I shifted gears and I'm trying a summer dress. Vogue 8574 to be specific, the short one shown here in an incredibly ugly color.

We're leaving tomorrow with a small group of friends for a weekend motorcycle trip down to Louisville. We're going to Churchill Downs tomorrow night and apparently, there is a "South Beach" theme so I need a flirty dress. A tropical print probably makes the most sense but instead I am going to try out this geometric print rayon that I picked up at Vogue Fabrics during PR Weekend. The colors are awesome and I love the print.

Lee had this fabric first so I ~~stalked her~~ followed her around waiting for her to have some cut so I could see if there was enough for me, too. Somehow she eluded me and I later found it back in the inventory and grabbed it up. Lee must have known I was on to her because she snapped this photo of me checking out the bolt.

If I don't get the Vogue done tonight, I'll pack this one that I made for the cruise last year instead:

A knit dress will certainly travel better than a rayon dress in a motorcycle tour pack anyway!

Peasant Blouse - Almost There...

2011-06-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

I love peasant blouses. One of the first things I made when I resumed sewing for myself a few years ago was a raspberry colored peasant top. During PR Weekend in Chicago, I picked up some lovely white eyelet from Rainbow Fabrics and decided it was time for a new peasant blouse. Butterick has a nice pattern (4685) out now with multiple variations. I was planning on doing View A (larger image on left in pattern photo below) but when I looked more closely at the lovely border on my eyelet, I thought it would make a nice neckline ruffle so I opted for View C (blue one) instead.

As with most eyelets, the fabric is quite sheer and has large holes so underlining was necessary. I used a white batiste that I found at JoAnns. The top went together quickly and the only adjustment I made was to take in the waist a bit to add some shape. I used my commute to work this morning to insert the elastic in the neck and sleeves. After trying it on, I realize I need to make a few tweaks. I forgot the sleeves hit way up high and cut the elastic too short so I'll re-cut and insert arm elastic. Here is what the top looks like right now:

Yes, that's right. A white shapeless blah. Here is what it looks like if I pull in the sides a bit:

Looks better but I think I would need to insert a zipper to get it on and off. I already serged the seams so that isn't going to happen. Instead, I'm going to add a casing below the bustline like shown in View D and hope it creates the shape I'm looking for.

I would like to finish this one up tonight and any input is welcome!

Knitting Projects

2011-06-08T08:28:00.001-04:00

I finished up two baby knits recently. The first is a pinwheel blanket for Mark's granddaughter. I LOVE it!! Details here at Ravelry.

I also made a quick little flower hat for my hair stylish who is due in approx. 5 weeks.

I'm also working on Christmas stockings for my daughter and her fiancé. I plan to get them both done in time to be given at her wedding shower in September.

Girley Dresses

2011-06-07T08:27:00.000-04:00

My fiance's daughter recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I decided to make coordinating dresses for her and her 10-yr old sister. I fell in love with this New Look baby dress:

New Look 6037, View D

And decided on a simple sundress for the other dress:

McCalls 5838, View A with no ruffle

I was happy to find coordinating fabric that was suitable for both a baby and a 10 year old! Although the photos seem to show different colors in the fabric, they are the same stuff! I used the butterfly and polka dots for the baby dress and polka dots and stripes for the big girl dress. The fabric is from the JoAnn's Tutti Fruitti collection. I've used other fabrics from this collection for kids' clothes in the past and really like the way it launders.

I gifted the dresses on Sunday and they were a big hit. I'm now on the hunt for more striped fabric so I can make a shirt (Butterick 3475) for their almost 4 year old cousin (boy) so we can get a cutesy photo while on vacation this summer.

I may even make him a pair of cargo pants to go with the shirt. Would white work for a boy? Or should I stick with khaki?

Black Pencil Skirt - S2451 - AKA the DNP skirt

2011-06-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

Here is a long overdue post on my Damn Near Perfect (DNP) skirt I finished over a month ago.

I have wanted/needed a black pencil skirt for ages. Something to throw on for date night or to wear to the office. PR Weekend pushed me to finally make this one as I wanted something to wear with my polka dot top. I wore this on our last day, to the Lt. Gov. proclamation at Fishman's Fabric.

The details:
Pattern: Simplicity 2451, View C (with modifications as described below.)

Fabric: Black stretch twill, origin unknown.

I decided to add the tabs that are shown in View D and made them first. I cut them out, interfaced, sewed, and top stitched them damn near perfectly! Then I began construction of the actual skirt. I glanced at the instructions for the pocket but then put the instructions away. I mean, hello... I'm an experienced sewer. Why would I need instructions for a basic skirt? After inserting an invisible zipper that was also damn near perfect, I took a little break to pat myself on the back and admire my progress on the awesome skirt! All I had left was the waistband and hem.

After looking at the waistband pieces and realizing they were the same width as the skirt pieces, the little voice in my head said, "Ummm, cocky girl... something appears to be amiss." Yup... the waistband did not have an overlapping tab as I assumed and the zipper was supposed to extend all the way to the top. Dayummmmm. I refused to take out the zipper so I improvised and turned one of my DNP tabs into a closure for the back. The tab is straight even though it appears cockeyed in the photo below.

Summary: I've worn the skirt several times now and overall am very happy with it. I will likely make this one again (with the zipper properly inserted!)

Things I really like: I love the fit. Classic style that is oh-so-comfy to wear.

Things I don't like so much: I wish I had heard Angela's twill tape tip before making it because the skirt does seem to stretch out a bit during the day. I wish I had lined it. When I wear it with tights, it sticks to the tights and rides up as I walk. I'm wearing it today bare-legged and it's fine - no scooching up. Although the fabric is quite comfy, it does wrinkle easily as you can see in my first photo. Not a deal-breaker but somewhat annoying.

Black / White Dress & PR Weekend

2011-06-02T10:51:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I was thumbing through InStyle or People Style and saw a feature on black/white stripe dresses. I loved the look and decided I needed one! I love wearing knit dresses in the summer. I feel so much cooler and more comfortable than wearing shorts and tops. While in Chicago, I found a wonderful knit at Fishman's Fabrics that was the perfect weight for such a dress.

I started with my tried and true t-shirt pattern - Simplicity 4076, view D - and added length, using one of my fave t-shirt dresses as a template for the bottom. I used black rib trim at the neck and had planned to apply rib to the sleeves, too, but I forgot to lengthen the sleeves. They were too short for a cuff treatment so I simply hemmed them. Only took me an hour or two to sew it up and I had a perfect dress to wear on a hot night at the Taste of Cincinnati!

I found some lovely fabrics during the PR Weekend in Chicago. We visited Fishman's and Rainbow Fabrics in Chicago and the main Vogue Fabrics in nearby Evanston. I had a serious case of fabric envy, wishing I lived closer to such abundant fabric sources! We also stopped at Soutache Ribbon - a great little store full of amazing embellishments. As I look at the fabrics I bought, I have such fun memories of that shopping day and the new friends I made. I look forward to making new clothes that will have the added bonus of bringing back fantastic memories made on PR Weekend Chicago 2011!

So here is my haul:

The "Reds":

My PR roomie, Melody and I found the fun knit shown at the lower right corner in Rainbow Fabrics. It's a tie-dye knit with ribbons of trim sewn right on it. I bought red and she bought blue and my intention was to make a simple t-shirt to wear with jeans. I cut it out right after I got home and attempted to sew it together but neither of my sergers would have anything to do with it! I tried new needles and re-threading but the fabric was definitely fighting and beating the machines! I was able to sew the shoulder and side seams and when I tried it on, it was a definite "meh" moment. I decided it wasn't worth fighting the fabric to finish it off so it ended up in the trash. Boo hoo! But I'm slowly learning that "ya gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em" and I'm proud that I parted with the project, rather than finish it and let it sit in my drawer because I didn't like it.

The rayon on the bottom left was one another PR shopper found, hesitated, and decided not to purchase. I eagerly grabbed the bolt and headed to the cutting table! I plan to make a summer dress from it.

The following fabric is one that was being featured on the wall of Vogue but in a burgundy color. Several PR shoppers were buying that one but burgundy is not a color I like to wear. When I saw it in navy, I snatched it up. I think Jacqui and Kyle also bought it. Our group ended up purchasing the whole navy bolt and possibly the burgundy one, too!

The main fabric is the ecru background with small polka dots but it has a fun border that can be cut up and used to embellish. I stole this photo off Jacqui's blog that shows how the fabric can be used. She has almost finished her dress and I may make the exact same dress since I also have the pattern she used (New Look 6799).

In spite of growing up as a tomboy in a houseful (and neighborhood-ful) of boys, I do love girly clothes and I STILL adore eyelet! I found the following two eyelets at Rainbow Fabrics on our last day.

The thread on the red has a beautiful sheen to it. The white has a lovely border as shown and the body of the fabric is a pattern that includes 1/4" holes that repeat every inch or so. Both will definitely require some type of underfabric/lining. I'm thinking the red would be cute for McCalls 6346, View A

I think I am most excited that I found not one but TWO potential fabrics for my Mother-of-the-Bride dress for my daughter's November wedding. I am planning on this Cynthia Rowley design, view C and envisioned it in a teal or peacock blue silk dupioni. Well, I was lucky enough to find just the fabric I had in mind but I also found a fabulous purple stretch taffeta that I also think would be fabulous!

Here are my last pieces of fabric. I'm not sure what I'll do with the black/turquoise knit - I just loved the design. The black/white stretch twill will probably become a skirt.

Finally, on our last day we visited Loopy Yarns that was just a few blocks from our Dorm-Hotel. It was a dreary, cold, rainy day but we were dressed for it. The yarn store clerk called us the Rainbow Trenches!

I purchased 1000 yards of this scrumptious Malabrigo superwash. It will become a sweater someday.

Nametag Holder for PR Weekend

2011-05-11T09:47:00.001-04:00

I'm heading to Chicago on Thursday for the Pattern Review Weekend - a conference of sorts for sewers. I've watched with envy all the fun everyone has had in weekends past and decided to bite the bullet and join the great group of ladies! They are expecting a record crowd this time with just over 100 attendees.

Weekend activities include organized shopping trips at various fabric and notion stores, sewing lectures / discussions, and a private meeting with the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, Sheila Simon who is an accomplished sewer! She even sewed her inaugural suit and gown for the inaugural ball! Of course there will be lots of food and cocktails and socializing in between and I can't wait to meet some of the bloggers I've been following for a long time!

One of the optional aspects is to create a nametag holder for the conference. I think there are even prizes for various categories - most bling, largest, etc. Someone mentioned batteries!! Now, I can follow a pattern pretty well but I'm not very creative so when I read about that, I decided I would pass. But while I was at a work conference last week, I was sitting in a session wondering why they always make the nametag lanyards so long. Mine hung down to my waist and I don't need colleagues looking at my stomach when they're trying to remember my name.

As I sat there pondering this and twirling around my nametag (it was a boring session!), I had the thought that if the lanyards were elasticized, they could be shorter and still fit over heads. Which gave me the idea for my simple lanyard. This is certainly not going to win me any prizes but at least it won't clash with my outfits! :-) BTW, where you see my name is where our actual nametags would go. I thought it made sense to put my name in there for example but I realize now it simply looks stupid. LOL

Because it's black, it's a little difficult to see but here is what I did. Made a long tube, finished width approximately 1 1/4". Stitched a tunnel down the middle and inserted a piece of elastic. Stitch it closed and stitched onto a split ring. Made a 1" ruffle piece out of coordinating fabric and glued to the back of the plastic nametag holder. And because I can never leave well enough alone, I added a little yoyo with a bow on top. This holder was recycled from last week's conference.

McCalls 6324

2011-05-11T09:10:00.000-04:00

Because this is supposed to be a sewing blog, more about my Derby dress. The pattern is McCalls 6324.

I loved the simple lines of the dress and the exposed zipper adds a little zing! I preferred the little cap sleeve and wanted all one color so I made view C but left off the bottom band. I wanted it to fall just above the knee and without the bottom band, that's where it landed on me with no adjustment.

Although the pattern has a lot of pieces and took some time to cut out, the sewing itself was fairly simple. The directions were clear and easy to follow although I had to read the exposed zipper instructions several times. No fault of the pattern; it was my first time doing an exposed zipper and I wasn't quite sure how it worked. I didn't make a muslin (simple laziness because of all the pieces) but wished I would have because the bodice is a wee bit wider than I'm comfortable with. I should have reduced the width and I probably would have also added about 1/2" to the neckline to bring it in just a smidge. Tip: I marked each pattern piece with its number so I would not get the similar pieces mixed up and I would be sure to keep the right sides out!

Here it is modeled with my Derby hat (purchased on ebay - great source if you want to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on a hat!) I'm standing next to my lilac "tree". It smells beautiful right now!

The bodice and sleeves are supposed to be lined in the same fabric but I used a contrasting fabric for 3 reasons:

The fabric is a lightweight stretch twill and I was afraid it would be too bulky if I doubled up.
I didn't quite have enough fabric to squeeze out the lining pieces anyway.
I thought it would look cute! I LOVE contrasting linings.

Note: Due to my pose, the zipper looks crooked but it's not!

Derby Party 2011

2011-05-11T08:57:00.000-04:00

Every year, my neighbors have a Derby Party. They are the best hosts and always create a fantastic party! From the Bourbon Slushies in the frozen drink machine, to the authentic Mint Juleps, the delicious food, the horse "auction" (more later), the door prizes, the flaming shots (somehow they have become tradition although I passed this year), and concluding with a firepit - a good time is always had by all!

The first couple years they included a hat contest and the creations were hilarious! Although the contest has been discontinued, the ladies all still wear "Derby Attire" which of course includes a hat. I found mine on ebay this year at a very reasonable price. Like usual, I made my dress (see subsequent post).

The Hosts (polka dot dress & megaphone/visor) during the horse auction:
Over the years, they have established different methods for betting on the Derby horses. The one that seems to be most popular is to hold an auction and let people bid on the horses. The most expensive went for $160 and the least expensive went for $45. Payoff to top 5 horses and this year the winner received $800! Our horse placed fifth and we received $80 ($20 over our bid).

The Ladies Picture:
Notice the red roses on the table; my neighbor had roses everywhere - they were beautiful!! Note to self: do NOT stand next to beautiful Jen next year. (Notice how she's trying to scrunch down yet her legs STILL seem to end right at my chest level!):

My Daughter and me:
My daughter stopped by before heading to her own party; Isn't she gorgeous!:

Flaming Tequila Shots :
Directions: Pour a shot of vodka. Top with a thin slice of lemon. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Pour small amount of high proof alcohol (e.g. 151 rum) and light. Blow out flame (in dark to make sure no flame remains!!), take shot, suck lemon.

It was a great time!

Put Me in the Zoo top - McCalls 6078

2011-05-08T13:33:00.001-04:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Mark surprised me with these beautiful roses!

So what do roses and Mother's Day have to do with a sewing blog? Well, I wore my latest project to Mother's Day brunch with Mark and the kids.

Remember the leopard who could change his spots in the Dr. Seuss book Put Me in the Zoo? I LOVED that story. And I love polka dots!

When I returned to sewing after a 10 or so year hiatus, the first thing I made was a polka dot dress (pre-blogging; no photos). I'm always on the lookout for polka dot fabrics that are not too obnoxious for an adult so when I saw this fabric, I had to have it. McCalls 6078, View B (the orange and animal print shown below) had been in my queue for a while but I hadn't found a fabric for it yet.

When I saw the dots, I knew it was a match made in heaven!!

The pattern was lightening fast to sew - 45 minutes including cutting and marking! There are only 2 pattern pieces. I love how the facing wraps in the shoulder seam, ensuring the facing doesn't turn out. I made a small and the fit was perfect. The cowl drapes to the perfect depth - not too low/not too high; right on the edge of what I am comfortable wearing in the office setting.

The fabric is a bit sheer but I intend to wear it with a light cardigan over it anyway as shown.

I love the other two versions, too and will probably try them. I would also like to make View B with a sleeve on it.

It made the perfect outfit for a wonderful morning with the people I love the most!!

Flowy Skirt - S2184

2011-05-02T11:52:00.004-04:00

I love flowy (is that a word?) skirts and was happy to find out they are back in style this season. I recently ordered a few New Look and Simplicity skirt patterns from SewingPatterns.com (love their service!) and with some stretch rayon from Fabric.com that is FABULOUS!! I settled on Simplicity 2184 for my skirt. It's just a simply bias cut elastic waist skirt.

It coordinated nicely with a top I posted earlier, McCalls 6164. Here's a crappy photo taken in my hotel room mirror:

This was a quicky zippy project - approx. 1 hr and 15 minutes including cutting. I did hang it overnight before hemming.

Short Trench - FINALLY! Vogue 8480

2011-05-02T10:14:00.002-04:00

Once upon a time (2008) in sewer blog-land, someone posted about purchasing a fun fabric for raincoats - a water resistant twill in fantastic colors (turquoise, red, tan, black) that was fused to a Burberry-looking fabric to create a medium weight fabric suitable for rainwear. A buying frenzy ensued with sewers around the world buying up this fabric to make raincoats. Like the good little lemming that I am, I purchased some in turquoise from Michael's Fabric and planned on making Vogue 8480 - a short unlined jacket (unfortunately, now out of print). The jacket was highly rated by some of the best sewers in blog-land and I really wanted one of my own.

In spite of purchasing the fabric and pattern in 2008, it languished in my stash until recently. I am so thrilled I finally got around to making this jacket. I absolutely love it! I did make some alterations including lengthening the body, reducing the width of the sleeves (changed from bell shape to a more modest flare) and increasing the length of sleeves (changed from 3/4 length to full length). I also moved the buttons around a bit. Full review at PR, if you're interested.

We have been experiencing the wettest spring in Cincinnati history so it would have been nice to have this done a month ago but that's the story of my life!

Flasher pose to show the "Burberry" lining:

On the dressform as I pondered button placement:

"A evening to remember"

2011-05-02T09:02:00.007-04:00

In my last post, I mentioned that the night I wore my re-fashioned flower power dress was "...definitely an evening to remember." Well, here is why:

Mark proposed!!! Now that we've told all our family and close friends, I can post about it. It was a complete surprise to me. We've been together for 2 1/2 years and had discussed our future plans so he knew I would say yes (hee hee) but he spent several months designing/selecting the ring so he could surprise me. He even planned a proposal several weeks earlier in which he was going to propose at the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day on the KissCam. I blew that with an unexpected business trip that came up several days before that caused me to miss Opening Day.

Plan B meant a proposal while we were on a mini getaway at our home in Bonita Springs. The actual proposal came at the end of a fabulous dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Fort Myers Beach. By the way, I highly recommend this restaurant (even if dinner doesn't include a proposal!) - Bayfront Bistro.

We haven't set a date and will likely wait for a year or so.

A few more photos: We stopped for an after dinner drink on the beach:

Engagement congratulations from my daughter. Tulips are my favorite flower:

The value of being a sewer

2011-04-16T11:23:00.000-04:00

Remember this dress (Butterick 5030)? More details about it here.

I absolutely LOVED this dress when I made it. I intended the dress to be a business dress. The first time I wore it I received multiple very nice compliments. But the second time, something weird happened. Not one but two different random strangers (men) in an airport made similar comments along the lines of, "Wow, that's a BOLD dress." I don't think they meant it to be an insult but I started to second guess my judgment about the appropriateness of the dress in a business setting. As a result, I let the dress sit in my closet for over two years.

Well fast forward to a few weeks ago. I happened across the dress and showed it to the man. His reaction: "Wow, that is HOT!" So I figured I needed to take Ms. Flower Power out of hiding and transform it from a business dress to a date dress.

When I tried it on, somehow the dress appeared to have shrunk [cough, cough] after sitting in the closet for two years. Since the dress only has a snap closure, I shifted the snaps a wee bit farther apart. Of course, that lowered where the bodice crossed and it now requires a cami underneath. No big deal. I also thought it exuded more of a springy-summery vibe so I decided to change the sleeves. I considered sleeveless but these days, I'm more comfortable with something covering the top of my arms so I went with a short sleeve. I also considered removing the collar but took the lazy way out and left it on.

VOILA! The results:

I wore it last night for a wonderful date night. We went to Bayfront Bistro in Fort Myers Beach. I highly recommend this restaurant. Drinks were excellent; food was wonderful; view was spectacular; and overall evening was definitely one to remember.

Ruffled Dilemma - B5320 vs M6024

2011-03-23T19:23:00.006-04:00

I have wanted to make a ruffle collared dress in bright yellow since last spring; maybe longer. Kinda like this one:

Fortunately, ruffles are still in style. I have some great fabric and two patterns that would get me to a similar look but I need some guidance to choose between option 1 & 2:

Option 1:
Butterick 5320 appears to be a little more difficult to construct with a pleated neckline and full lining. PR reviews are favorable although it sounds like it takes quite some time to pull together. It looks a little more professional than option 2 below and I do intend to wear this for work but I think Option 2 is still professional looking.

McCall's 6024 was highly touted in PR reviews (see here) and I love that it has different cup sizes. I also love that Option A & B have the ruffle going all the way down. However, there were some complaints that the wrap aspect of the dress tends to malfunction at times and the facings are deemed lamed.

I don't want to spend a ton of time combining the positive features of each into one dress. Anybody have any experience with both these dresses?

What to do... what to do... Please leave a comment and let me know!

Oh my!

2011-03-23T15:56:00.002-04:00

I was very excited to receive an email from McCalls Patterns that my version of McCalls 5977 is being featured on their Facebook page! How fun is that?!!!

Jacket with Bell sleeves, Simplicity 2977 - Item 6

2011-03-20T10:29:00.001-04:00

Simplicity 2977 Wardrobe, Jacket View E

Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. I was aiming for a jacket that I could coordinated with the brown skirts and tops but would be a little more casual than a traditional jacket style. I read a few good reviews of this jacket on various blogs and at PR so I thought this would be a good choice. But I can't stand how it looks on me. I'm not sure if it's simply too big or if I just don't like that boxy, flowy style but every time I've tried something like that, I don't like the results. I guess it's time to accept that I shouldn't keep making this style! LOL.

I used the fabric from the Ascot Top for the facing and LOVE how it looks. I also used the same buttons that I used on the skirt but in a smaller size. Too bad this one is going in the trash. :-(

Ascot Top McCalls 5977 - Item 5 in Wardrobe

2011-03-20T10:05:00.002-04:00

I loved this pattern when I purchased it. I assumed it was for knits but was surprised to find out it was for wovens. I had purchased this fun animal print charmeuse and decided it would be perfect for this top.

McCalls 5977, View C

I LOVE how this top turned out. I forget what size I made but I ended up taking it in a bit at the waist. Because it's made from a woven, there isn't any "give" when you put the top on. If I make this again (which is likely), I think I will tailor the sides even more and add a side zipper. Animal prints can be tricky in a work environment but I think under a jacket or sweater, this top is still professional looking. I decided to use the excess fabric as the facing for the coordinating jacket (more on that in a subsequent blog post).

Skirt with Inverted Pleat (New Look 6969) - Item 3 in the Wardrobe

2011-03-20T09:54:00.005-04:00

Another item in my mini-wardrobe.

I have no idea where this fabric came from. It's a linen-y type with embroidery and sequins. It's a fun fabric that I thought would make a cute little skirt to wear once or twice. When I started designing the mini wardrobe, I realized it was the perfect opportunity to use it and selected New Look 6969, View D. I had some turquoise buttons that I was going to use for embellishment, similar to the pattern but with all the busyness of the fabric, it didn't need them. I added a lining. The pattern went together easily although I had a little trouble with the pleat - it wouldn't hang correctly. I think I finally made it work.

All in all a cute skirt that I suspect I'll wear a few times this spring and then retire it.

Perfect Fit Skirt, Vogue 8603 - Item 2 in Wardrobe

2011-03-19T13:01:00.000-04:00

Now that I've finally accepted that I'm not quite the same size/shape that I was 5 years ago, I am making perfectly fitting clothes. LOL. I absolutely love this skirt. I know it looks boring in the photo but I am just tickled pink with it and it will be a great wardrobe basic for me.

Vogue 8603, View C
Fabric: lightweight stretch gabardine

Jalie 2921 - Item 1 in Wardrobe Capsule

2011-03-19T12:57:00.000-04:00

Jalie 2921 Scarf Collar Knit Top, View A
Fabric: Purple mystery stretch

This was another item from my mini wardrobe. The first one completed, in fact. I love the look of this top but it is just a wee bit too snug to be deemed perfect. More motivation to get the weight off!

The construction of this top was very clever. A bit confusing at first but once the light bulb went on, I realized it was ingenious! I did end up wearing this one in Saipan. The photo on the right was taken by the elevator of my hotel. LOL.

Shrug-look Top - McCalls 6284

2011-03-19T12:01:00.006-04:00

McCalls 6284, View C with View B sleeves.

This pattern is very similar to the Vogue top that was so popular a few years ago (Jeez, I wish I was still that thin. [sigh] Wait a minute... I just remembered WHY I was that thin. Never mind.

I like this McCall's version better. The pattern directions made more sense and it is sized better.

Turquoise t-shirt - Butterick 5493 Item 4 in the wardrobe

2011-03-19T09:06:00.005-04:00

This is one of the items in my mini wardrobe. It can be worn with either skirt.

Ruffled-neck top in turquoise interlock; Butterick 5493, View D

I loved the ruffle around the neck of this top. I wanted to wear it to work so I added short sleeves (not crazy about sleeveless on me at the office!) I like how the ruffled neckline turned out but to be honest, the shirt itself was just ok. First of all, it had darts. Darts in a knit? How odd. The shirt also came out just a bit short for my liking. I would have preferred it be 2" longer but stupidly, I didn't think of that before cutting.

I will wear this one and I like some of the other neckline ruffles but I will not use the base shirt pattern again.

Wardrobe Update

2011-03-19T08:34:00.004-04:00

Remember the mini-wardrobe I designed for my February trip to Saipan? Well, as expected, I only got 4 pieces done before I left but I subsequently worked on the pieces and finished 7 of the 8 pieces. I am going to do some reviews at PR and will highlight some of the individual pieces but here is a synopsis:

Completed and happy with results:
1. Scarf tie knit top in purple lycra; Jalie 2921, View A with short sleeves
2. Pencil skirt in lightweight brown stretch twill; Vogue 8603, View C
3. Bolero wrap in brown lycra; New Look 6559, View A
4. Ascot top in brown / cream leopard charmeuse; McCalls 5977, View C
8. Ruffled-neck top in turquoise interlock; Butterick 5493, View D
9. Skirt with inverted triangle pleat in brown embroidered linen; New Look 6969, View D

Wadders:
6. Gathered side top in purple slubby knit; Simplicity 2977, View B (Couldn't get the fit right; fabric was too flimsy.)
7. Jacket with bell sleeves in brown stretch twill, facings in leopard charmeuse; Simplicity 2977, View E (style is unflattering)

Incomplete (can't decide whether I'll do this one or not):
5. Straight skirt with pleated overlay in purple, turquoise, cream stretch sateen; New Look 6918, View E

I was happy to pull together a mini collection and although there were some failures among the successes, it was fun to develop and implement a collection, rather than just pieces along the way.

Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli, Pesto

2011-03-05T19:18:00.001-05:00

If you start with leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, this is a very quick meal. 20 minutes including boiling the water! Spinach can be subbed for the broccoli.

12 ounces rotini pasta
¼ cup olive oil
½ pound fresh broccoli, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons pesto
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1-2 cups chopped cooked chicken (use rotisserie chicken!)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup toasted pine nuts

Steam broccoli until crisp tender.

Bring large pot with water to boil. Cook pasta until done. Drain.

Heat oil in skillet. Sauté garlic and pesto sauce in the olive oil for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broccoli, and chicken.

In pasta pan, toss cooked pasta with vegetable – chicken mixture. Add grated Parmesan cheese and pine nuts and mix well. Serve immediately.

Spring Rain Jacket

2011-02-19T09:09:00.004-05:00

Ages ago, I purchased this very cool two-sided rain-resistant fabric [purchased from Michael Fabric] with the intention of making this little rain jacket [OOP Vogue 8480].

Returning to warm weather in Cincinnati has pushed this project to the top of the list. I'm going to cut it out today. I plan to modify by eliminating the flare on and lengthening the sleeve. (What is the point of a cropped sleeve on a jacket - that would just annoy me!) I would also like to make the jacket longer so it covers the tush. Since the jacket is not lined, I think I can try the longer length and if it doesn't look right, trim it back to the design length.

JoAnn's has buttons buy one/get one free this weekend so I'll zip over to pick up coordinating buttons this morning.

Birthday Goodness

2011-02-06T15:38:00.005-05:00

My middle child turned 20 on Sunday. No more teenager years. (Can I get an Amen, people?) Her birthday present request was for data service for a Blackberry (she already had the phone). Boring present in my mind but it's her birthday, right?

But I also gave her the cutest sweatshirt. Kristine of "Just Keep Sewing" showed some adorable designs she created here and here and I knew my daughter would love one. I emailed Kristine and she agreed to make a couple for me. She uses Vera Bradley fabric for the letters. My daughter goes to Ohio State so I thought she would like that. (She LOVED it!)

And I had to get one for me adorned with my initials.

Baby Shower Package

2011-02-05T12:49:00.005-05:00

I finished the last of the baby shower presents this morning. In addition to the bathrobe I finished last week, I made two hooded towels and 5 bibs.

The hooded towels are made from one bath towel and one wash cloth. I used this tutorial as a starting point but I added some bias binding and the heart appliques for extra cuteness!

I found a bib template here but I didn't use the same instructions. I added some interfacing to the two tabs to strengthen where the snaps would go and I added a contrasting bottom, rick rac and appliques. The back fabric is flannel. I also chose not to use seam binding but instead sewed right sides together, trimmed seams and curves, turned right side out and top stitched. As you can see, I used the bath towel and bathrobe fabrics as well as some other purchased fabrics. I dug out my handy dandy snap setter that hadn't been used in at least 14 years (when my now almost 17 year old son was 3!) I LOVE this tool and enjoyed using it again.

Finally, I purchased a baby "spa" (seriously, a baby spa???) off the gift registry and a few other goodies to complete the bath time theme.

Baby Bathrobe

2011-02-01T13:54:00.004-05:00

Mark's daughter is pregnant with her first baby and the baby shower is in a couple weeks. She is having a girl and you all know that means cute baby clothes! I have a few things in mind but the first thing I've finished is a reversible bathrobe. I made this pattern a few years ago for my co-worker and it turned out so cute that I wanted to make it again.

The pink side is flannel and the ducks are just a woven cotton. The pattern is Simplicity 3711 and is still available.

New Fabric and Wardrobe status

2011-01-28T10:23:00.008-05:00

I succumbed to yet another fabric sale. Good Lord. What am I going to do with all this fabric??? Anyhoo, Fabric.com had a good sale on ITY knits. I purchased 4 of the knits and also 2 charmeuse satins (poly) to use for linings. They goofed on one of the ITY's and instead sent a (really ugly) gold woven linen like fabric but just got off the phone with them and they are sending the correct fabric right out. All fabrics appear to still be in stock so if you're interested, click on the photo to be taken to Fabric.com. The four knits:

The knits are all a nice weight and the colors are vibrant. I've had mixed results with knits from Fabric.com in the past so I'm very pleased with the quality of these fabrics.

And the two charmeuses (is that a word? lol) that I will use as linings to jazz up plain skirts, dresses or jackets.

My wardrobe progress (see here) is not going as well as I'd hoped. I have the two knit tops done and hope to complete the skirt and bolero this weekend. I will prepare full reviews later but the quick version is I LOVE the Jalie top (what a clever construction method!) and am not terribly fond of the other purple top. The armhole openings are quite deep, so much so that I don't think I'll be comfortable wearing without something (like the bolero ) on top. The front was very floppy and I had to take it in quite a bit. Probably should have attempted a SBA on this but I fudged it to work. I will probably wear it on my trip and pitch it when I return.

The reason I am behind is I found out a baby shower for a close family member is WAY earlier than I expected so I am frantically pulling together some baby projects to try to have at least some done in time for the shower (in two weeks!)

My First Wardrobe Capsule

2011-01-11T17:00:00.009-05:00

Year after year I watch the "SWAP" contests and the mini-wardrobe contests and all the blogs in which people develop wardrobes and I think to myself how fun it would be to create one. But I've always been intimidated and have never taken the time to attempt even a mini capsule. Instead, I make random items depending on my mood. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but with all the trips I take, it would be helpful to have a coordinated grouping so I wouldn't have to stand in front of my closet picking and choosing items that go together.

Well, last night, I took the plunge and developed a capsule for an upcoming trip to Saipan (people usually ask so see here for more about Saipan). Saipan has a tropical climate and the people dress very casually. As a consultant, I still need to look professional but not overdressed. Men can simply throw on a golf shirt or short sleeve button down and a pair of khakis and voila, they're ready. More difficult for women.

I started by looking in my fabric stash for items that go together and came across a print fabric from which I made the following dress:

I can actually wear the dress (with a jacket/wrap) on this trip so that became my starting point! I am only going to be with the client for 4 days so I really only needed 3 outfits other than the dress, plus I intended to include a RTW pair of khaki capris as one of my bottoms. But I couldn't narrow my pattern/fabric choices down so I've expanded the plan to include the following 9 pieces:

3 skirts
4 tops
1 bolero style knit wrap
1 jacket

I strategically planned the sewing order so I will have at least 3 outfits in case I don't get done (which is almost certain since the trip is in 4 weeks and I have several other business trips in between that will take away from my sewing time.) I frequently have trips to warm climates so even if they don't all get done in time for Saipan, I will get plenty of use out of them. Not all items go together like a true SWAP (i.e. the leopard charmeuse top and the purple turquoise paisley skirt!) but each item does go with at least two things. I think...

Each item in the order I plan to sew:

1. Scarf tie knit top in purple lycra; Jalie 2921, View A with short sleeves (I forgot to photograph the purple lycra for this one.)

2. Pencil skirt in lightweight brown stretch twill; Vogue 8603, View C

3. Bolero wrap in brown lycra; New Look 6559, View A

4. Ascot knit top in brown / cream leopard charmeuse; McCalls 5977, View C

5. Straight skirt with pleated overlay in purple, turquoise, cream stretch sateen; New Look 6918, View E

6. Gathered side top in purple slubby knit; Simplicity 2977, View B

7. Jacket with bell sleeves in brown stretch twill, facings in leopard charmeuse; Simplicity 2977, View E

8. Ruffled-neck top in turquoise knit; Butterick 5493, View D

9. Skirt with inverted triangle pleat in brown embroidered linen; New Look 6969, View D

Broccoli Cheese Soup with noodles

2011-01-11T12:05:00.003-05:00

All this snow falling has me thinking of soup. I posted a new recipe on my cooking blog for Broccoli Cheese Soup. I was a member of Kindervelt a long time ago and our chapter used to make this soup for the big KinderMart every year along with corn muffins. I've lost touch with the group so I don't know if the group is still active or if they still make the soup but the soup has become a family favorite!

New Years Resolution # 1 - Done

2011-01-09T09:15:00.005-05:00

1. Change the skanky ironing board cover shown here:

Voila! I have been dealing with this nastiness for over a year because I thought I would make one like all the other crafty ladies in blogland. But other projects were way more interesting so I continued to deal with my yucky ironing board, constantly crossing my fingers that the gunk wouldn't rub off on my sewing projects.

When I saw these lovely Raymond Waites ironing board covers at TJ Maxx for $10 ($10!!!), I nabbed a black and white paisley. Took it home and my mother decided she wanted it. Went back and bought this cute red/pink paisley one for me.

New Patterns from McCalls and a few others...

2011-01-09T08:35:00.005-05:00

1/13/2010: Edited to reflect shipping time. I ordered on 1/9/2010 and the patterns arrived today. Unfortunately, one pattern was back ordered but a note on the invoice indicated it would be back in stock in 5-7 days. I am pleased with the speed of the shipping!

One of my favorite things about blogland is when new patterns are released and bloggers point out their favs. I often overlook patterns that others find and am always happy to get new suggestions. I just placed my first order with SewingPatterns.com because they have new McCalls for $2.99 and I don't want to wait for JoAnns or Hancocks to put them on sale (only to drive to the store and find out they are not in stock yet. But I digress...)

Anyhoo, I purchased the following McCalls patterns and also a KwikSew and 2 Burdas. Several of the suggestions were from fellow bloggers: Sharon, Ann and LaToya.

I also had my eye on these 2 jackets from McCalls but I didn't purchase them. Yet.

Weekend Sweatshirt

2011-01-09T08:22:00.003-05:00

I have loved this pattern for so long. In fact, I bought the Yarn Girls book (The Yarn Girls guide to Beyond the Basics) just for this pattern. The book includes other great patterns and I highly recommend it. I started this sweater in 2009 and it was a start and stop kind of project - my normal M.O.! I finished the knitting before Christmas but it took a while to sew it together and weave in all the loose ends. I love this sweater and the only thing I would do different is increase the length next time. The yarn is Knit Picks Main Line (discontinued). I also have this yarn in a cream color and I'm considering making a second version although there are so many other designs out there that I hesitate to repeat.

Forgive the photo. I was too impatient to wait for natural light. The color is much more vibrant than it appears.

Here is my full review at Ravelry.

Knitting FOs

2011-01-03T17:28:00.007-05:00

I finished a few knit projects right before Christmas. First is a stocking knit for the Man. I intended to make a pair - one for each of us. Mine was going to be the same pattern with a cranberry red accent color but this pattern was a B***H!!! No errors or anything just very difficult for me to follow. I made quite a few mistakes.

I still intend to knit the second one so we will have two by next Christmas. The pattern is from a book called Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit that I checked out of my local library. The design is named Hugs and Kisses Aran (Designer - Dee Lockwood) because of the x's and o's pattern on the front and back. The middle cable pattern is called the spindle lattice (I think). It's hanging a little funny because I didn't get the I-cord loop done so it's just stuck on the stocking hooks. The yarn is Cascade 220.

Next up was a quick cowl to keep my neck warm. It matches my pink coat! The pattern is called Captain Crunch and the yarn is an old one from my stash called di Ve by Teseo.

Finally, another little neck warmer from a pattern called Tudora. The yarn is a self-striping yarn I purchased from someone at a fiber fair in 2009. I love the colors and the yarn was a joy to work with.

V8422 - wrap top

2011-01-03T13:20:00.006-05:00

Note: Picture was lightened intentionally to show detail.

This pattern received rave reviews at Pattern Review for its ease in construction. Many people touted the speed at which the top went together. Well, mostly due to user error, mine took longer than I expected and as you might notice, I constructed it backwards. I seem to have a block when it comes to asymmetrical designs and frequently use the one-way pieces incorrectly. I try to pay extra attention when laying out the pattern pieces but I still make mistakes frequently. It didn't matter in this case (at least I don't think it did!) but I wish I would quit doing that!

The fabric I used was an interesting knit described as a sweater knit. It was very stretchy and looks like boucle but without the bulk. I'm fairly certain it's 100% poly but it feels ok. It's a very dark navy although I lightened it for the photo so the detail was visible. To be honest, I really don't like navy and I'm not sure why I bought this fabric (ok, it was on sale; that's why!) and after looking at the final result, I still don't like navy on me. I don't intend to wear it with jeans - that was just for the photo. Instead, I wore it with tan slacks.

The opening for the tie is quite large (I flashed a little skin at the waist - not a good thing!) so I will sew it more closed before I wear it again. The wrap stays adequately closed and isn't too low cut. The construction of the top was quite interesting - a little different but worked very well.

All in all, I like the top but I don't think I'll make it again. I don't care for View B or C. The actual versions on Pattern Review indicate the top closes even higher at the neck than the picture drawings show.

Vogue 8422, View A but with long sleeves.
Navy stretchy "sweater" knit from Fabric Mart **
The closure is a metal ring - one of two that came in a package by Dritz.

** I have placed several orders with Fabric Mart recently and can't say enough about their customer service. They are very fast (I usually receive my fabric within a business week) and they communicate during the entire process.

Vogue 8634 - Knit Tunic

2011-01-03T13:15:00.000-05:00

I finished this at the beginning of December and wore it a bunch during the holidays. The glittery threads made it seem very festive. I love the fit and it is very comfortable to wear. It went together in a flash and I intend to make more of this pattern.

Vogue 8634 , View C
Sweater Knit from Fabric Mart - glittery gold with black stripe

I won, I won!

2010-12-18T08:22:00.006-05:00

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

2010-12-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

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

2010-12-07T19:08:00.005-05:00

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

2010-12-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2010-12-05T19:17:00.005-05:00

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:

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.
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.)
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

2010-12-01T08:15:00.006-05:00

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

2010-12-01T08:09:00.002-05:00

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

2010-11-29T10:47:00.004-05:00

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

2010-11-07T15:28:00.006-05:00

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?

2010-10-28T19:19:00.004-04:00

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!

2010-10-25T23:14:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-02T14:06:00.010-04:00

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

2010-09-13T08:06:00.002-04:00

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

2010-08-21T07:31:00.003-04:00

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

2010-08-20T08:44:00.006-04:00

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:

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

Fabric on right, top to bottom:

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

Butterick 5382

2010-08-20T08:16:00.005-04:00

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?

2010-08-07T08:48:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-05T22:36:00.004-04:00

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

2010-08-04T07:33:00.010-04:00

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

2010-08-03T07:51:00.007-04:00

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

2010-07-27T13:39:00.006-04:00

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

2010-07-27T12:51:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-27T10:02:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-23T11:07:00.006-04:00

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

2010-06-12T14:45:00.005-04:00

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!!

Two Knitting Projects complete

2009-12-02T08:02:00.003-05:00

While on vacation last week, I finished not one but TWO knitting projects. Hooray for me - the queen of UFOs!! The first is a pair of Uggs-inspired booties; I fell in love with this pattern and just needed a baby to make them for. Fortunately, my dear friend cooperated and had a beautiful baby girl in August so she will get these booties for an early Christmas gift

The second project is a simple roll brim hat using a pattern from Knitpicks. Unfortunately, I decided it is too short so I'm going to undo it and add an inch. The yarn is Plymouth Baby Alpaca Grande - heavenly soft!! As I was leaving a yarn store a few weeks ago, I walked by it and of course, as we all do, had to fondle a project made from it. SOLD!

More details on my Ravelry account for both the Uggs and the hat.

Fabric Luggage Tags

2009-12-02T07:51:00.007-05:00

I found the cutest idea for a little something to attach to gift packages. I found this fabric luggage tag tutorial and made a few up for some special friends. I have more printed and cut out to make for some family members. I did mine a little different than the tutorial - specifically, I used June Tailor Printer Fabric (a bit expensive but when you use a 40% off coupon at JoAnn's, the price is more reasonable) rather than the freezer paper method and I appliqued the address section onto a coordinating fabric, rather than use the whole printed piece as the back.

I highly recommend this project!

Denim Skirt

2009-11-13T08:27:00.005-05:00

I recently saw the skirt on the left in InStyle and thought it offered a cute twist on a denim skirt. A bit too short for someone my age but I loved the separating zipper. I also love what I think is pin tucking or maybe horizontal pleats in the skirt but there was no way I was going to tackle that! I considered using a colored double separating zipper in red but I too frequently go overboard on details and end up creating something gaudy instead of clever so I stuck with a simple black separating jacket zipper.

I decided I did not want a waistband and so I looked for a skirt pattern with no waistband and a vertical seam in the front. It wasn't that easy to find but finally I came across Simplicity 5259 and knew View F would work. I had to redraft the waistband since the front seam was now the opening but otherwise it worked perfectly.

I LOVE this skirt and have already worn in 3 times in the two weeks since I finished it (and shhhh, don't tell but it's not entirely finished - it still needs a hook and eye or some other closure at the top but you can't see it). The skirt is casual but the zipper and top stitching add a little interest. I think I'm going to make another one in black.