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.

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.

A Quick answer for Wendy

Wendy asked if the Kwik-Sew book has a pattern for spaggetti strap style ling erie. Yes, it does. Gowns, slips, panties, teddies, etc. And suggestions to mix and match. Nice directions on inserts and trims. Really the basics needed to make some high-end type underpinnings. Suggestions for fabrics and laces. Bras aren't mentioned, but all the other "soft" items are there. Nice pictures - a little dated maybe, but that happens. The pattern sheets remind me of BWOF, all on one page, color coded. And you can trace what you need.
I'm going to use a thin cotton for my chemise - they recommend bais cutting for wovens. I also want to make some new slips, you just cant find those anymore, I guess younger women don't wear them. My mother told me "nice girls wear slips" and I AM a nice girl. Ergo, I need slips. Seriously, I have them in my drawer from HIGH SCHOOL! (I'll turn 50 this fall, does that mean I have antique ling erie?) It's time for an upgrade.

And my fabric for the dress is a large wood-block stamped look green and black. Actually pretty unique looking. Very drapey, but BWOF said "drapey dress fabrics".

Interesting People

Last night, after doing some high end shopping at Target we had dinner at a local fine dining establishment, okay, Applebee's. As we were eating they seated a couple of women on the other side of the planter from us. I wouldn't have noticed them - middle aged, frumpy dressed, pudgy - but the older woman had a rather loud voice that carried. So I heard her order the Mongo Pina Colada, Caesar Salad and 2 steaks medium well. And water - no ice - to take her pill. Then waiter brought the wrong drink and no water. Then a CHICKEN Caesar salad. Hmmm. Anyway, all of this started us talking, "Yes, I heard you order to Mongo size".... Point to this long diatribe - the 2 women were mother and daughter. From Regina, SK, Canada. Remember we're in D.C. They travel the U.S. every summer for about a month. They drive (well, apparently the daughter does). They've been to every state except the New England ones they're covering on this trip. They make sure they go to the capital of each state, which they know better than I do. Take the back roads - avoiding the interstates - to see the country and get the feel for the area. They'd spent yesterday in the District on The Mall. They were going to go by JFK stadium for a photo shot and ball cap (for a nephew, I believe - they were a little frumpy but not that bad). Then up through Baltimore, Pennsylvania, NY, Vermont, NH and Maine. Probably hit a few more of the small states up there that they know are there, along with their capitals, flowers, birds and trees, that I've missed. They've seen more of my country than I have. I was quite impressed, if you can't tell. They were really fun to talk to, quite adventurous. I hope they have fun on the rest of their trip. But they're almost done with the good old U.S. of A. They don't know where to go next year. Europe?

In sewing news, I got my nice gift from Julia. When we played a game. It was a handy purse organizer that I can definitely use. Maybe find my keys in the morning? It could happen. THANKS, JULIA! I emailed you.

I'm working on BWOF 08-2009-113 It's a cute style, but a lot of futzing around the top. Once I get the neckline top stitched down, it will go fast, I think. I should finish tomorrow. My fabric is a very light crinkly almost gauze from Hancocks. So light the zipper seams heavy in it.

And I want to make some nicer sleep wear. Liana really made me think about my FRUMPY night wear. Yes, the grape PJ bottoms are awesome. But perhaps it's time to kick it up a notch? I'm going to crack open my Kwik-Sew Lingerie book There's a chemise pattern I'm planning on using. Now while Liana has nothing to worry about, I'm hoping I will get off the What Not to Wear to Bed list. Did you know that JoAnn's has almost no black lace? Brown? yes. Black, not so much.

I'll try to get some picks for my peeps tomorrow. Hubby's visiting his mom, so I have the weekend to sew.

(Dis)Organization and some quilting

A little slower than I'd planned, but here are some pictures of my organizational fit (a.k.a. Income Tax avoidance) from Sunday. See my nicely labeled box o'feet? I even have spaces for ones that I intend to purchase or have ordered and not received. Frankly this level of organization scares me a little. But I've really enjoyed being able to quickly pull out and put back whichever one I want. I'm not wild about the storage area on my machine being behind the machine, and I had more feet than it has spaces, so it works quite well. In fact, the pretty box scares me more than this:My sewing room this morning with stuff falling everywhere. See the black and white fabric on the Singer stool? That goes with the pattern pieces on the green mat that goes with the small wad behind my machine of a pair of knickers that may not make it. Having FITS over the elastic. I've seen elastic do things on this machine I didn't know it could do.

I've been making some real progress with my quilt, though. Here are all the strips cut and ready to piece.

I put 2 blocks together and laid them out to see how it would look. (on the ironing board - that's why the lower left corner droops)

Here are the rest of the strips sewn into half-blocks. I only over ran one square and had to take it apart and put it together the right way. Now the bad news. And I don't know WHY!?! The squares aren't lining up. I've checked (I swear!) my raw pieces and my stitches and they're all the right size. But when I put them together I get this:Look where the 2 squares are sewn together. This was every time. I really don't get it. I will finish piecing and then square them all up to the same size. But WTF?

And, because I just thought it looked kind of neat:

I'm off for a little (as possible) family time in my hometown and a weekend with a friend. And I won't be sewing (probably) but I may be shopping... Stay tuned for "THE HAUL" It's likely to be pretty awesome.

And pretty strips all in a row

For those of you cyberstalking my every move (well, it could happen...), I wore my undies today and they stayed together. No unexpected drafts. Perhaps if I modeled them I'd increase my cyberstalking population? No? You don't think that'd help? My technique needs a little work (like sewing the leg elastic around the leg - not the waist) but I'd call it a success. They looked better than the pair I used for the pattern and fit well. Just ignore that little spot on the waistband where my elastic didn't quite fit all the way around, okay? It WAS supposed to go around the leg. Duh. Remember this is the same fabric as the Simplicity dress turned skirt, that still lacks elastic. And then I broke down and ordered the Kwik Sew lingerie book. When I fall in, I fall in. Maybe I should make a life vest?

And I cut out the strips for my quilt. All 80 or so of them. So tomorrow night I can start to piece some. The next step is to sew all my strips together in groups of three. Hopefully in the same order each time as laid out on the right. Then cut the strips into quarter blocks. This is from Fabric.com. The fabric is a little stiff, but that might be better for working with. Last time I had problems getting my fabric to behave at the throat plate (yeah, I know, and I can't wait to use the straight stitch one I bought. Did I mention it was the last one he had?). I washed the fabric before cutting it. I dislike working with fabric with sizing and finishing stuff on it. Any brilliant ideas on a backing? Maybe a bright yellow or dark navy sheet. Or yellow/blue stripe sheet if I can find one. This is fun.

And I ordered some more feet for my machine. I think I got bored and went shopping at work today. I got an elastic foot, a binding foot, left edging foot and a quilt guide thingy. This is fun, too.

I think the classes make her look quite studious.