Spring Rain Jacket

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

Butterick 5523 - Two Toned Dress

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

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




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

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