HP for Free

A few months ago HP offered a free tee shirt pattern. All you had to do was download it, print and sew. It's quite a nice pattern but when I made it up I just didn't love it. It felt a bit big, frumpy and the tie bugged me. I tried it different ways and wore a few times and then left it on my ironing board for weeks. Today, I finally pulled it back out and made a few changes. What do you think? I like it much better now. I took in the sides by a full seam allowance up to the armholes - so over two inches. And I changed the neckline by simply stufing the tie inside, draping so I liked it, top stitching it in place and whacking off the excess inside. So the inside's a mess but I'm quite liking the oustide. Much better for me. The fabric's a lightweight knit from G Street's WALL.

The Weekend

Sorry, still no pictures as my camera is in my purse, the cable is in the sewing room and my computer is on my lap. Someday they will all magically appear in the same room and there will be photos for all. That day is not today.
I spent all day yesterday running errands. From about 9 am until I pooped out at about 3:30. That included taking my serger to G Street. I'm going to "bite my tongue" and not comment on service I received there - and it ain't easy to do this. But it should be back weekend after next making a nice chain and all oiled and cleaned. And, are you ready for this? I bought NOTHING while there. I just didn't see anything that couldn't live without, not even on THE WALL. I wanted a white, not cotton, knit for a tee shirt. No go. Nothing. Pah.
I finished quilting my son's quilt. Whew! What a job that was. I will bind it next weekend and be done. Then, assuming the 3-way required for posting pictures occurs, I will show it to the world. It's much larger than I'd started off thinking it would be. But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.
And did I tell you my glasses broke? Just broke. In two. At the nose bridge. I put them in my purse in one piece and took them out at the office in 2 pieces. Now I was due for an exam and counting down until I could get new frames but this really kicked up the timeline. I got lucky and there was a cancellation that afternoon and I should get new specs this week. I actually sprung for 2 pairs - a full vision pair and a computer pair that just has close and mid-range vision that should make working at my computer much more comfortable. I'm looking forward to being able to see again. Meantime I'm the world's biggest geek - my glasses are glued together with Gorilla Glue. That stuff rocks.
So the weekend is over and it's back to work tomorrow. Later, gators.

Ok, so I tried to post this last night (Sunday) from home and Blogger wouldn't post it. But NOW I can from work. Go figure?

Ha Ha, I'm back

Well, just a little. But back. For about a year I was unable to blog from my work computer. Whether I was at home on it or at work. I could read it and read others' blogs but couldn't update or post a comment, etc. Then, suddenly, and without warning I was able to access it all again. What changed? And why?? Who knows.
So for a fast update and to assure you all that I neither died nor joined the circus (though I am tempted after reading "Water for Elephants").
I'm working on a quilt for my son - a personal request with a personal design. I will show it off after I'm done, but it's much larger than I'm used to working with and the fabric has had to be shipped to me - and not all at once. So it's taking a bit of time.
I did finish my table runner and made some placemats to go with. I was in the process of making napkins, too, when my serger decided to stop making the chain. Many, many hours of rethreading later in all configuration still results in no chain. So I think it's going in for a check up this weekend. How fortuitous that G Street's having a sale..
What else....? Used my trusty Jalie Tshirt pattern to alter a top and a dress from Kohl's that were just shaped oddly for me. I'm wearing the dress today and it's much betterer. It wasn't the size or amount of fabric, but where that fabric was on me. They were both Dana Buchmann. Anyone else have issues with her stuff fitting weird? That reminds me, I need a new white knit non-Tshirt...
And a couple of failed attempts at using border print knits for skirts. They've just turned out poorly and I think I'm done with that particular experiment. Eh, fabric was about $3 for each. C'est la vie.
Took a trip up to the Cape Cod area in May. Weather up there was still chilly and we wore sweaters the entire time. A side trip to the mother ship of Fabricmart.com was fun. I've made up a couple of the fabrics already, though I didn't buy a whole lot. MUST CLEAN OUT STASH CLOSET!
And, in case this isn't enough excitement for one blog posting, I put up curtains last weekend. Decided if it's going to be another 100 degree every freakin' day summer I needed to block out some of the afternoon sun. I'm quite proud of myself. I hung the rods and the curtains and cut one panel into 2 for smaller windows (I used blanket binding to finish the edge - worked perfectly) and hung up the curtains. In all, for 5 windows. I get a gold star.
Sorry, no pictures to be had, for various reasons. (1) my pictures aren't on my work computer. (2) I don't seem able to match up my camera, download cord and computer all in one room at the same time. (3) I'm flat lazy - or pooped from all that curtain hanging (4) so far behind in posting pictures that I'm overwhelmed and don't know where to start.
But, it was nice talking to y'all again. We should do it again sometime.

Record Turnaround?

I'm a stasher. I admit it. I like it. I have no plans to change. And it only occasionally bothers me to have stuff I'm not using. I love deciding that I want to sew, and after rummaging around a bit I can do it. And I tend to need let my fabric age a bit before I use. Usually. But I just couldn't wait to use one of the fabrics I bought last weekend. The border print on the end + 2 hours became this I used a bit of Steam a Seam on the hem to hold it while I hemmed it using a double needle. Then I double needled the elastic in the waist, folded it over and doubled needled it again. It was quick and easy and I have a new skirt for Monday. It's a very stretchy knit - quite a bit of Lycra in it. Some of the center dots are yellow. Now, for the rest of the fabric. What do you think? Yes or no? I can't decide if I like it or its just weird? What do you think? The pattern is a Jalie tee shirt, short sleeved.
And I finally finished the simple, grey wool skirt I started about 6 weeks (or so?) ago. I got a bit stalled out for no reason. It's all done and could be worn on Monday, ok Tuesday. But it's too small. I tried it on before adding the waist band and it was huge. I took it in some -obviously too much. I still forced myself to finish, I was only lacking the hem. I will be thin again. As God as my witness, I will wear this skirt. And others. Not part of the pattern, I lined the front over skirt - so it wouldn't stick to the skirt. Lining was from JoAnn's a couple of years ago.
So that's a wrap from a dreary, damp and chilly Maryland.

Shopping Again

Yesterday morning I got up bright and early and headed over to G Street Fabrics. When we were there a couple of weeks ago I'd asked them to order the coverstitch adapter for my Bernina serger. They called me on Wednesday and said it was at their repair facility and would be in the store on Friday. So off I went to pick it up. And, of course, browse THE WALL. Ahhhh, THE WALL. They had recently restocked THE WALL and it was quite a fruitful visit.
First up, are the wools. They had yards and yards of beautiful wool/silk blends. Just gorgeous stuff, way above the stuff I usually see crammed on those shelves. All 4 are wool blends, the lighter one is more of a boucle and is attached/fused to some backing to prevent fraying. I only have a little over a yard, but it will easily become a skirt. The other 3 are destined for slacks.
They also had a nice selection of knits. The border print on the far left will probably be a skirt. The other three are shirt fabrics. All are soft and stretchy. mmmmm.
I also picked up a piece of poly-satin for linings. A bit of foldover elastic. And the free pattern for renewing my Thread's subscription. Don't know that I'll ever make that, but there you have it.
And a final shot of my backyard last Thursday after our most recent snow dump. I'm starting to hate snow.

The haul, ya'll - part 2

Yesterday we continued adding to the our fabric collections. We went to both G Street and, because absolutely everything was on sale, JoAnn's.

From G Street I did, as usual, hit THE WALL. If you follow me, you'll know how I love THE WALL. Can't stay away from THE WALL. It draws me to the back of the store like iron filings to a magnet. I just can't help it. Not that I really try all that hard, but still... This is the knit collection from yesterday. The large houndstooth is a firm, rather heavy knit that Karen found for me in the GS Remnents. I think it may become the Hermione skirt from Harry Potter - if anyone will ever get the new Vogues in. The grey tones floral is a very small piece of 4 way stretch that can't make much more than a short sleeved T. The bottom 2 are both 4 way knits, the one on the right - the deeper hued one - is from JoAnn's. A rayon/lycra compliments of my 50% off coupon.

And here is the woven collection. Only the purple silk or poly on the bottom is from THE WALL. The 2 on the left are wool skirt lengths - the center one is much greener than it appears. A very pretty piece. And doesn't the red floral just scream for summer? I have enough for a nice skirt, but not a dress. It was on the cotton lenths table. Ahhh, summer.

And I found my 3rd fabric for the Asian quilt to use my kimono that's been drug around with me for decades. The kimono is the pink, and the darker green on top is the most last addition. It may get done later this winter. I want to sew up some of my new wools into pants first.

And finally, a quiz. Yeah, that's what it is. A quiz. Does anyone know what this thing is? It's been rumbling around my sewing stuff for ages, but I really have no idea what to do with it. It has a hole near the point that looks like it could be threaded.

Well, we're off to Ikea for some idea shopping next and maybe do a bit of sewing this afternoon. Later, all.

WTF?

Seriously. (1) how did this happen? (2) how did I not notice it was happening until I was done (3) how could Sandra let me down? I thought we were close? I suppose I'm out of practice, but this is bad. I did such a nice job on the pockets and a nice job putting the zipper in. Well, except for one itty-bitty little detail. This is (was?) a pair of slacks from a recent BWOF magazine and some stretch suiting from G Street. As you can see, at the top above my fingers that I've even done the top stitching. I'm not sure I can get this out to re-work, the thread is a very good match and it sinks into the fabric a lot. As you may suppose, they are currently wadded in the time out corner, spending some time thinking about what they've done wrong.

So in order to have something to show for my long weekend, other than a wadder of a pair of slacks and some missing colors for my embroidery project, I picked up my bargello placemats that I left unfinished last summer (click the link to see the original post from September, about 2 weeks before I left for my banishment to Detroit). No, they aren't perfect, there are a number of wonky stripes, but they are usable and it was fun. The pattern was to make 6, in 2 batches - so you piece three at a time and then cut them apart and finish them. Well, with the wonkiness of stitching, and I think I'm still making too "generous" of a 1/4" seam allowance, I didn't have enough cut strips to make 2 sets. AND (in keeping with this weekend's theme), I put the binding on one set wrong side out (it's sitting in the corner with the slacks, but has a much brighter future ahead of it). But here are the 2 that did get finished and used. I photographed them before we had Mexican for dinner. I will be doing this again, it was fun. The back (ack!) actually shows the bad striping worse than the front, I think. You can't really tell in the picture, but you quilt as you go, each row is sewn onto the flannel "batting" and the back so the back is quilted and the front is smooth. I wasn't sure how to finish the binding without putting stitching on the top so I really cheated and Steam-a-seams the back of the binding. I was tired of messing with them. The quilting lines really show up wonky on the back. Boo. But I learned a lot doing this, and this style of quilting really lends itself to this type of project. It is much too stiff a result for a bed quilt or throw (though I suppose you could make it work with different fabrics), but worked fabulously for placemats and would be wonderful for wall hangings or table runners. It isn't very heavy or fluffy - just very stiff. I used all quilting cottons from Hancock's with a piece of flannel as the batting. Just cheap PJ type flannel. I found some woven with a gingham pattern that was great for lining up the strips. A stripe (woven in - not printed on, too often off grain) would also do very well. Not too sure how well these will launder - all the fabrics are likely to shrink and at different rates. I have a book that has some nice tutorials and patterns in it. I used it with my own color choices.

So, is it cold enough for you?

It snowed, I sewed

It snowed. A lot. If I could find my camera cable I would show you my patio with drifts past my waist and some cool (ha! pun soooo intended) cornices and shapes. We watched season one of the Tudors while about 18" of the white stuff piled up outside. Timing was perfect, it started snowing while we walked home from dinner Friday night, allowing for a decent commute home and even stopping at the store. It wound down around 8 or 9 on Saturday night. We live right on a main highway so we could see the plows come by at regular intervals. They expect the Metro to be up and running in the morning for rush hour. Most of Saturday regular TV was displaced for "Storm Watch, the Blizzard of 2009". But, yes, it was a lot of snow.

I traced BWOF November 2009 trousers #122 this morning. I must be out of practice, as the whole tracing and cutting thing consumed an extraordinary amount of time. Or maybe it was the company of my husband who needed something every other minute. Or most likely both. I'm using a slightly stretch wool blend from (drum roll here, please......) G Street's $2.97/yard wall. What else would you expect? Seriously. It's a brownish-gray pinstripe purchased on my last run through there when my friend was here for a conference. She stayed the weekend and, of course, we shopped. But what a chore this tracing was. I really must keep up my skills, this took all morning! As for the sewing, back darts in and one back leg seams finished. Not much, is it? Maybe will get a little more, but not likely. Need to get some packing done for our Christmas trip, then I'll be gone for a week. I SWEAR I will sew over New Years. I Promise! It was a bit of a leap to get back in there and get started.

And speaking of starting. Or stopping. The vest/waistcoat that has been languishing for months has been officially banished to UFO land. I am forced to admit that I don't know how to finish this. I have the outside together and the lining together, but don't know how to make them into a lined vest. So I rescued my pins, labeled the damn thing, and shoved it on a shelf. Pah!

And I want to thank Cidell for reminding me of my love for this dress:

From the September issue that I circled and then never got to look at again. Don't know about the super short sleeves, though, or it would be on my New Year's sewing list. Maybe back on the shelf until spring. I do really love it, though. Thanks, Cidell.

Arrrg!

No progress on my quilt at all. In fact I had to take a step back. I started, as directed, with strip #12, ran thru #20 fine. Put on 11, and then couldn't figure out 10. That's where I left it last night. Probably stared at the book and quilt for an hour. Repeated this evening, to finally figure out that # 11 was just wrong. I'd placed it wrong and had to rip it out - not an easy or fun experience. And the strip can't be re-used. Replaced #11 with a new #11, correctly this time. But to find out - after stitching - that my cutting was off too much. This strip is only 3/4" wide, add 2 1/4" seam allowances and there isn't much room for error. So ripped that one out, and cut 2 new ones. Didn't try to sew it on, figured I'd had enough for one night. But ARRGGG! Maybe tomorrow night.
In other news... I'm looking for "loosely woven hairy mohair - a fashion fabric" (I think that may be debatable - the fashion part). I need it for the Kenneth King class in Novi in a couple of weeks. But I (a) don't know what this stuff is or (b) where to get any. G Street? I should call them tomorrow. Michaels? He has lots of stuff. Any ideas?

New Sleepwear

I finished my increasingly less ugly sleepwear last weekend. Now Victoria Secret has nothing to worry about, but it is a vast improvement over this (as much as I love them). The fabric is a REALLY slippery, heavyweight poly from Hancocks. I originally purchased for a blouse, but it is a much better fit as a chemise. And it would have been a real bear to make lots of seams and pleats and such out of. It likes to unravel by the chunk and it's slipperier than OJ Simpson. I used the same Kwik-Sew Lin gerie pattern as the white gown, lengthened just a bit more. It is also cut on the bias and very comfortable. To work around the hideous raveling and refusal to press issues I edged in black lace (bought while shopping with Denise and Betsy) on the bottom hem and in the front. I used tear away stabilizer on the hem and a great deal of washaway stabilizer on the top. Arms and back are overcast and folded once and hemmed. I did get some of the notorious bias stretching and ended up taking in the sides under the arms about 2.5" total. The straps, though were a breeze to make, the stuff was so slippery that turning the tubes was effortless. I like the look (much better on than in the floor) of the straps attached to the lace. It finished the edges nicely. I still owe a pair of undies of the same stuff, I have plenty of fabric left. Even bias-cut this doesn't take a lot of yardage.

And while I showed you the full set of fabric postcards, I don't think I posted the set of the ones I made (ok, I forgot I took the picture, whatever). As you can see I used my deco stitches and no two are alike. The large leaves are appliqued on using some fusible interfacing and a satin stitch. They're showing rather pinkish on my screen - they aren't, green is the real dominant color and the carpet background is white.

New Friends and new stuff

I took off for a couple of hours today (um, or so) and met Denise and Betsy at G Street in Rockville. Their new store just around the corner from the old location. We did a little shopping or a lot of shopping, perhaps, and had our photo made in front of my favorite place in the store. Then we all had lunch in the old G Street shopping center. They'd been to Mekong River first and then were headed to A Fabric Place (aka Michael's). I had to go back to work.

Denise found this beautiful wool, fit for Caesar perhaps? For her BWOF coat. She's going to line it with a deep corral silk. Betsy draped it over her and I took the picture so she could see how it looked on her. Good, I think. Very good.

Betsy shopped mostly for "staples" (wallet a little light after Mekong River? I took a gander at that haul, really beautiful pieces). She did get some buttons for a jacket she has planned. Wish I had a photo of both the Mekong hauls and the buttons. But I did get a picture of our feet There's a tiny piece of Denise's fabric in one corner, we'll pretend that's what I was photographing, ok?

I bought some lin gerie lace to try some undies and to finish my chemise. It's photographed on some interfacing (wouldn't want you to miss that) and some turquoise silk - 2 yards, so you can see the white lace. It's all stretch lace except the black scalloped. It's going to edge the chemise.

In fact, I got one edge sewn this evening before stopping to blog and eat dinner and veg out. I'm putting some stabilizer on the edge, then zig-zagging the lace on. A little tedious, but it seems to be working out well.

In addition to the silk I picked up a couple of pieces off the $2.97 wall of goodness. It was neat and tidy (see the photo above) but not very packed. I still found these: The stripe is a wool (probably blend) and the darker brown is a knit with a nice texture. Click to see it better.

And to top the day, this was waiting for me in my mail box from Wendy. Thanks, Wendy. I'm really liking the Yoked top on the far right. And the dress with the belt on the left looks promising for fall (with slightly less poofy sleeves, I think). The Bolero? We'll see.

It was a fun sewing day and don't forget to watch Project Runway on Lifetime tonight.

Playing Hookie

Shhhh! I'm going to play a little hookie tomorrow and do some fabric shopping with a couple of on line friends (my husband calls them pretend friends, but I'm pretty sure they're real people). We're going to Mekong River and G Street. Then lunch and then they'll make a run to Michaels (A Fabric Place) while I go back to work for the afternoon. Film at 11. Of some day.

Don't you just hate it when

You finish something, like it, and then realize it isn't the color you thought it was? Seriously. As promised I broke out my Kwik Sew Ling erie book this morning. The pattern sheets are very Burda-esk, but not overlapping, printed on both sides and even includes a couple of appliques. So the first step was to trace. And trace and trace. I traced the cami, I added length for the chemise, I traced the teddie, I traced the high legged pantie, I traced the low cut pantie. Lots of tracing. Even Kacy was impressed (and in trouble for walking on the sheet). And this was the last of the freebie exam paper, it worked out well (thanks, BFF and Lunesta). Here are a couple of them up close After all that tracing, I used this fabric to make the chemise as a nightie. Though tracing took a long time, sewing was quick. I hemmed the bottom and top edges, then sewed them together with an overcasting stitch (sewing machine - I don't have a serger). I couldn't get the tubes to turn for the straps so went to plan B and used some purchased lace in black and white. The fabric is a 100% sort of brushed cotton of unknown origin (though if I had to guess, my money'd be on G Street's $2.97 wall of goodness). It liked to stick to itself (thus the tube turning difficulty), but was easy to cut and sew, these patterns are designed for knits on grain or wovens on bias. This was my first bias garment. Any who... I liked the straps okay with it, but it's a little plain. I was thinking maybe some scallops along the bottom to tie in with the straps. That's when I noticed, just then, when I did my test stitching, that the dots on this fabric are BLUE. Not black, BLUE BLUE BLUE. Don'tcha just hate when that happens?

In other works, I'm almost done with the BWOF dress from Aug 08 - #113. All it lacks is hemming the bottom and sleeves. If you make this, feel free to omit the zipper or at least shorten it. I don't need one at all, if you pull the neck tighter and/or have a larger head a short 5-6" would do you fine. I wasn't sure how far up to sew the sides to make the sleeves, so I just made it work. I'll do an official review on PR after soon. This fabric is a very light-weight all cotton from Hancock's. Pretty sure I got this for $1.97/yard (that's a whole dollar LESS than G Street, does it get any better?) , it's actually much prettier than it shows, the greens are brighter and fill in more. It's a crinkled, almost gauze-like fabric that was both a breeze and a pain. I didn't worry a lot about being precise with this one, I knew it would be blousy and loose when finished, but there was a lot of easing to make seams fit but it eased great. The belt is a must, and I know what "Cabin Baby" means about the muffin-top. I think it looks fine on, but feels big and wants to droop towards the front, I'll put belt carriers on and see if that will help. I'll try to take a picture wearing it tomorrow. I may even wear shoes - hey, it could happen. And you can weigh in on the muffin top.

And, I'm out of projects again. My cutting stuff is still on the dining room table, so I'll do some more cutting tomorrow before I clean up. What should I make next? Maybe a silk cami or chemise? I have some nice silks from Fabric Mart bundles... Or I hear G Street just re-stocked THE WALL, maybe a road trip tomorrow afternoon. I could use some lace, too, for another chemise or cami.

I've been quite busy.

I got up this morning and after walking the dog went to the grocery store and then Hancock's to pick up a few things needed for some planned and in progress projects. I decided against G Street for both time and money's sake.

I have finished my BWOF April 09 #101. I reviewed it over at PR already, so I probably won't do so again, though this one looks very different. Again I didn't put on the pockets. It just gives it a more casual look than I want. I may make it one more time (hey, it's already traced!) in a lightweight denim and do the pockets and top stitching. I DID make it 3 inches longer. I just like my skirts a little longer than this one was. For now, I bought this fabric at G Street earlier this spring from THE WALL (duh...) thinking shirt. But it wanted to be a skirt. Who am I to argue? It really is a much nicer piece of all cotton than I originally thought, but it really wants to hold both creases you don't want and pin holes. Hopefully they will wash out some. And it wrinkles like your granny. I made some piping and used it on the front between the yoke and front panel. I orginally thought to use it between the front and side panels, but decided it would be too much. So I have some piping left over for another project. Cool. The buttons I had in stash. I couldn't believe I had these! They were freakin' perfect. I think this is from the stash my MIL gave me over Christmas. Otherwise this skirt is really easy. Side zipper, no waist band. Ignore the BWOF directions for the yoke and you'll be done in a flash. I spent more time on the piping than anything. And you want to know something REALLY scary? I have some shoes that match the blue. Told you it was scary.


I also replaced the tie in my lounge pants with a ribbon - much easier and more comfortable. The bias tape was too heavy and the wrong fabric. And I have more of this, too. (from Hancock's today).

Up tomorrow will be a shirt to match the pants. I was going to put an embroidery on it, but couldn't find the right colors at Hancock's. Not sure if it was me or Hancock's. But I may do an applique before I'm done. I got it cut out this evening, I'll be using my Jalie pattern - with the waist lowered by 2". Pretty boring photo, I know. But I took it, I'll use it.

But before I do that tomorrow, I want to do some embroidery on some cotton I bought (yes, at Hancock's) for some new place mats. This will be my second attempt at embroidery and the first with a purpose. My machine is a little messed up, though. It's supposed to recognize the embroidery unit automatically, but it wasn't doing so. I finally pulled it off and found the connector wasn't stable and was pushed back into the machine. I pulled it out, connected it and am good to go. But I need to get that fixed. Maybe. Without the auto- detect it provides a wider and longer base for sewing/quilting. Hmmm. Anyway, I'm looking forward to playing with that tomorrow. I have 4 to do. Or maybe 8 if I make them reversible or maybe use a different embroidery on the flip side. Do I really have to go back to work on Monday? This is so much more fun.

Oh, and I also replaced a button on a pair of Target shorts. Sorry, no photo here. I know you're disappointed. You'll get over it.

I may cut out another pair of pants while I have my stuff out. I need pants badly. And hem the two pairs sitting on my shelf. That would help. So would loosing 10 pounts.

A while back I mentioned I found a new pin catcher at Jo Ann's while visiting my son. Since I've finally found my camera, here it is: isn't the cutest thing? I like the divider, my plan is to put metal only pins on one side and my plastic on the other side and use it at the ironing board. So I can easily accept iron friendly pins.

I know you were all glad I found my camera. But you should be careful of what you wish for. I spent a few minutes cleaning out the bobbin case. Yes, this is all from the bobbin case. Not the dryer. Apparently it isn't safe to leave me unattended for an entire weekend with a working camera and computer. I take pictures of lint and post them on the Internet.

I have something new in the works for (maybe) tomorrow. I worked on it a bit today, but it's a bigger project than I usually tackle (blog wise) where I just ramble and post pictures.