No Time to Sew. But Time to Buy!

Yes, I have not had very much opportunity to sew lately. I've been taking an intensive six week anatomy class at my local community college so I can hopefully get into a nursing program. I must admit, with the class 20 hours a week and then work another 30 hours I'm a bit exhausted.

I have bought some more fabric. Mostly from Gorgeous Fabrics and Fabric Mart. Silks, a cotton shirting and a knit.

I ordered one more from Gorgeous Fabrics. It's the Bird on a Wire silk.

I think I will make Hot Patterns 107 out of this. It will be perfectly summery!

Speaking of patterns, I was over at Nordstrom's website and found this dress...

Which looks a lot like McCall's 5425, which I just recently bought at a JoAnn's sale.

I really can't wait to make this dress out of a fun print like the Nordstrom's version. I think I will tone it down on the large, bright print though. I am after all 25, not 15...

Until next time!

Yay! I'm Done!

Well with Beginning Patternmaking. Of course I procrastinated a bit, not too much though. I stayed up until 4:30 AM and got up at 7 AM to finish. But it was all worth it... I got an A! I just hope I got an A on the in class final.

The take home assignment was to pick out an article of clothing from a magazine or catalog, etc. and draft a pattern from it with our block. I actually took a picture that I saved from an Anthropologie catalog two years ago and used it as my design.

Here is my flat pattern version:

There were some mistakes. Mostly I forgot to notch at some places, like the darts in the bust. And I was misled about seam allowance notching at the midriff by the handouts given on notching in class. Oh and I somehow forgot that the sleeve is a full puff sleeve and for some reason drafted a puff at the hem only. But other than that, I am very pleased. If only I was able to make it with my own personal block... Oh well.

Speaking of my personal block, I did get that back and I also got an A on it. This means that I am good to go on designing my own clothing now! WOO HOO!!!

Another pic:

Well, I'm still going to make another muslin out of it to see if it does fit correctly, we did quite a bit of tweaking like slimming the area of hip placement and taking it out a bit lower. We also did some major changing of the bust darts. I did trace a size 4 block for the top, but we did have to extend it down quite a bit because I do have a long torso, and that would mean I would need to move the bust darts as well. We also had to square the shoulders a bit more because apparently mine don't slope so much!

And just for finishing this class I bought my self some bee-you-ti-ful silk fabric from Fabric Mart that happens to be from Anna Sui.


I want to make a dress from it. Here's a great example of the fabric and a design of Anna Sui at Anthropologie. Pretty isn't it?

I can't wait to get it!

Summery Shirt

So I made another piece of clothing! Amazing, I'm spitting out about one a month. So far, much better than last year's three finished garments! We'll see...

I used Simplicity pattern 4111, which is a Built By Wendy pattern. It's a simple long sleeved empire top. I made it out of a cotton Swiss Dot that I found at JoAnn's. Of course, I shortened the sleeves for the hot summer ahead.

Front Detail:


That's a button that came from the button collection my mom and I inherited from my grandma.

Front:


Back:


There's really nothing more to say on this. The pattern was extremely easy and I will most likely make it again.

Funny Father

Me to my dad: "Dad, you're so difficult!"

My Dad to me: "Difficult's my middle name!"


Ha ha ha ha....

New Shirt Alert! Also A Love for Embroidery Rediscovered.

Here she is!

I finished Simplicity 3882! I made MANY small changes and I love the way it came out! I must say I did well for sewing a knit. I hated knits... It's a grey jersey knit I bought as a very large remnant from JoAnn's a long while ago. And the lining is a black jersey knit with little white skulls from ReproDepot.

Cute, huh? Well, I plan on making the other version of this pattern sometime soon, but I have to get past my HUGE new collections first.

Good thing these fabrics were mostly bought with patterns or projects in mind already. See the patterns on the top of the right hand pile? I have a new found love for sewing again. It may be fueled by the fact that I know I can fix/alter patterns to fit or look good on me now. Yep that's right, I'm taking a pattern drafting class at my local community college! To be honest with you, I wanted to go to FIDM since I was in high school, but now I am so very glad that I did not waste my money there. This class is definitely worth the $3o I paid for it!

That there is my midterm for a medium cowl bodice. I'm also taking a Fashion in World Cultures class and am in love with this one as well! I must admit I did not know where t-shirts originated from until last Thursday.

I also have quite a few new projects going: two embroidery projects and a knit scarf. I finally decided to pull out my embroidery hoops, needles and floss. I found a Sublime Stitching kit that I bought way back in 2002 from ReproDepot (long standing loyal customer here!) And I just bought her newest book! But anyway... I decided that my loving boyf and his housemates need at least one dishtowel and started one for them. It's coming along quite nicely and I'm actually almost done.

The next embroidery project is a Happy Spring card for my Gramma. I took a picture of some tulips in our backyard and framed it for her and am sending it over with my mom on Sunday, since I have to work :( . The card to go with it is a design I got from one of my new books, The New Crewel: Exquisite Designs in Contemporary Embroidery. I scanned the design and then just traced it onto the cardstock from my computer screen. I unfortunately do not have the wool thread/yarn for crewel so I'm just using what I have from my floss collection. I've been punching the holes into the cardstock with an embroidery needle and that has taken a toll on my hands. Geeze what a workout for my fingers!

As for the scarf, I started to make it for my dad because he was supposed to go to Washington, D.C., but that was canceled. So I'm taking my time on that now, it hasn't exactly been cold enough in So Cali for a wool scarf anyway.

I found the pattern at Smariek Knits. She has some wonderful patterns on her blog, I must say. And this scarf is looking quite sharp! It's really quite easy too.

And finally, my last project. A work in progress since 2003, well more like a work put on hold for 4 years and now back in progress...

Can you see the date on my layout? Well, it says "6/13/03" and "first cut on 9/22/03." Ha ha... I've started piecing the squares together again and decided to join a Quilt-Along over at Craftster. I guess we'll see how this goes.

Okay that's, finally, all for now. I really need to get to sleep anyways I have a lot of cutting and taping to do in the morning, we're doing skirts.

Weird!

Okay, I was going through my blogs postings and just realized that it's been exactly a year since I made this thing. Very funny since I pretty much only sign on once a month, if that.

I forgot to also mention that I finished the under dress for my designer knock-off!


A little skimpy looking, eh? Don't worry I won't wear it by itself, only under or over another garment... That is, at least in public. ;)

Ideas! Good Recycling Ideas!

Okay, first I have to grumble about the stupid switch to Google Blogger, or whatever the hell it is. Google is great and everything, but I do NOT need another stupid e-mail! Blah!

Anyways...

I had an idea. I saw this blog yesterday while surfing on my day off. I must say, what a cute blog! She had the cutest little apron, and I decided that I need to have one for myself. This is especially exciting to me since I have this and this that I recently received in the mail! I can't wait to combine the two color variations.

Now on to the recycling/reusing/repurposing, or what you will... I have a penchant to buy one or two things from Anthropologie.com. And they always package their smaller items in these muslin bags, which look like this...


I know that they won't make up the majority of the apron, but they will definitely be much more useful that way. I was previously storing small balls of yarn in the larger ones and small silk scarves in the smaller ones. I know I have lots of un-dyed muslin in my ginormous stash of fabric, so I can use that for the rest of the apron.

And speaking of aprons, I believe that my next craft book purchase will be The Apron Book. I have read so many good things about it, and since I've been doing a lot more cooking now, it could come in useful.

I have recently bought quite a few books. The classic Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and Simple Sewing with a French Twist: An Illustrated Guide to Sewing Clothes and Home Accessories with Style. The New Cook Book, obviously, is a timeless favorite and a must have especially if you want to learn how to cook more than just spaghetti. LMKG and Simple Sewing are both beautifully photographed, well written, as well as well laid out. I must say I am thoroughly impressed!

Alright, that's enough jabbering for now, must start sewing!

Here's to New Year's Resolutions!

In the year 2007 I resolve to: Spend more time snuggling puppies. Get your resolution here.

Oh btw... My grandma loved her Clapotis. She was so excited! I've never seen her that excited about something before. And she loved that it was her favorite color!

Totally Craft Unrelated

I found this on some other blog and I thought it put things into perspective for myself.

Countries I've been to...


create your own visited countries map

States I've been to...


create your own visited states map

A Present for Destiny (Again!)

And you may ask... What is that? And I say, it's an ear/head warmer. It's called Calorimetry and it's available at Knitty's Winter 2006 issue.

I made it for Destiny because both of us go on walks and it's been a bit chilly lately and so our ears start hurting. I have found that we have many things in common, including pain... HA!

I knit it on size 8 needles out of Paton's SWS yarn in Natural Denim and cast on 80 stitches rather than the 120 the pattern calls for. I used a button from the wonderful collection my mom inherited from my grandma.

SWS stands for Soy Wool Stripes, hence the stripes in the Calorimetry (I know, Duh!) But the yarn is super soft and warm, such a plus with wool, especially when worn by your head/neck!

Grandma's Shawl Finished!

I finished Grandma's Clapotis last night and I'm quite proud of it! I had fun knitting it even though it took me about two and a half months. At least I got it done in time for Christmas... and with time to spare!

I used Artyarns Supermerino in color #215 that I bought at discount from LoopYarn. I found this wool very soft and not scratchy and would like to buy a black colorway to make a Clapotis for myself.

I did find that I had taught myself a "different" way to knit when I started to knit this. I was wondering why it said "ktbl" aka "knit through back loop" when I was already doing that anyway! So I guess you could say I learned to knit the "proper" way to make this Clapotis.

Since I'm done with this and starting a new occupation tomorrow morning, I think I'm going to go to the local yarn store that I finally found close to me. It's called Knitwitz and it's in San Dimas, the next town over!

Mission Started: Make A Designer Knock Off Outfit

I decided a while ago to join one of the Craftster sewalongs and found this Petro Zillia outfit that I just love. It's a lace shirt dress under a tube dress.


I knew that I had the patterns that fit the outfit, I just had to do a bit of searching in my stash. I found Butterick 3446 and New Look 6040. I am making mine a bit different, I just pretty much like the idea of the outfit.

I bought a charcoal wool for the tube dress and a black netting with red flocked polka dots for the under dress. This is definitely going for a more winter look. What's great about this outfit is that it's only made of two pieces, but both can be worn without the other! So versatile! I have actually used both of these patterns before and I remember both of them being pretty easy. I also plan on making a black slip dress to go underneath the sheer dress when I don't feel like wearing the tube. I hope I can have this done in time for my birthday/Christmas!

Making a Pair of Jeans, Factory Style

I found a link for this video at Ramonster. It's from The Science Channel's show "How It's Made" and apparently it only takes 12 minutes and 50 seconds to make a pair. Funny how some are willing to spend $200+ for this. Funny how if we made our own jeans it would take the better part of a day or two to make them and it would cost less than $30. Now I do realize that more goes into the jeans especially with the more bells and whistles on it, and that some are handmade, but seriously. Ah well...

Five Year WIP Dress Finally Finished!

I finally finished a dress I started about 5 years ago. I had originally given up on the dress because it was just TOO big. But I pulled it out of the closet to give it a go again. To my chagrin, I found moth holes in it, but I knew I could fix those too!

I went to Craftster to ask for some advice. The only idea I could come up with myself was cutting off the section with the holes and adding a contrasting bottom section. Someone suggested the great idea to applique. (Why didn't I think of that?) So I went to JoAnn's and bought a little bit of black microsuede and cut out some flower and leaf shapes. I then appliqued them on with embroidery floss in a cross stitch with French knots. Here's the dress on: I'm definitely wearing this with black tights, a black cardigan and a pair of my fave shoes... Matches perfectly! The pattern used is out of print, but it is New Look 6065. It has an a line skirt and the empire bodice has pleating at the center front. I used a grey wool suiting for the fabric.

Destiny's New Purse!

Well actually my friend Destiny! I made this purse twice before, which can be seen here and here.

I started this one over a year ago, I just absolutely hate sewing the interfacing so that was a bit discouraging for me. I finally got up the guts to start sewing it again last week and finished it today. I am happy with it and I am sure that Destiny will love it.


Inside:


Pattern: My own. Topstitched around the edges.
Materials: Purple/pink taffeta, black satin lining, Pellon interfacing, black wood handles, hot pink thread and a dragonfly brooch; all from JoAnn's.

Unemployment = Learn How to Cook!

Okay. So I have been searching for jobs. When I'm not doing that I'm doing homework, sewing, knitting, cleaning, baking and learning how to cook! Yesterday I baked Martha's Cookie of the Month from May 2005. They were great! Sugar vanilla cookies with raspberry white chocolate cream filling sandwiched between...


Some people may not like the filling, such as my boyf, but the cookies themselves are wonderful!

Today I made Martha's Gazpacho from one of the recipe cards (sorry, I'm not sure which issue). This recipe was a success as well! I did add some paprika and chili powder to give it some extra taste. I also decided to roast my own orange bell pepper as the recipe calls for canned roasted bell peppers. I made it for lunch for my mom and served it with French bread, avocado and saltine crackers spread with cream cheese. She loved it! Although she really wanted to heat it up; I wouldn't let her.

I'm searching for other good recipes to experiment with in the other issues that we have. My gramma gives all of the issues she gets to my mom when she's done looking at them... Lucky me!

Cute Apple!

I made this shirt on Tuesday out of an Apple print jersey I acquired from ReproDepot and another knit fabric I bought from JoAnn's a while ago. I like the shirt but it's not for me, it just doesn't suit my boyish figure. Oh yeah, and the fact that I already look like I'm 15! My ma said I can sell it on her Etsy though. Hopefully it sells!


Oh and before I put it up, I will definitely fix the neck binding, it's just not wanting to lay flat!

Okay, Now It's Really Done

Here it is... Buttonholes, pearly buttons and all!


I really love this blouse and am very proud of it. I did decide to enter it in the Built by Wendy contest. I'll cross my fingers! The last time I won something for creativity/art was in third grade when my town had a coloring contest for Halloween. I got honorable mention!

A "Charm"ing Blouse and Other Things

I recently bought Wendy Mullin's new book "Sew U" and dove into it. It is really well written and perfect for beginner sewers or more advanced sewers such as myself. But of course I had to buy another book to supplement my more advanced cravings...


This textbook by Helen Joseph-Armstrong is wonderful! It is definitely not for beginners. But I have a pretty good knowledge of clothing construction so decided to give clothing design a try. This text shows you how to slash and spread a basic pattern block to make endless amounts of designs. A word to the wise though, this text does NOT show you how to construct clothing out of the patterns, it assumes you already know how to do that.

Back to the whole reason for this post... I made a shirt! I used both books, Wendy's book comes with basic patterns for an a-line skirt, button-up shirt and pants. I used the shirt pattern as the block and went from there.

It took me about two weeks and a TON of muslin to make the pattern look just right on my body. I made a plethora of alterations: rounded the collar, shortened and puffed the sleeves, attached 1/2 inch bands to the sleeves, inserted a midriff section below the bust, substituted gathers for bust and side bust darts.


I used a cotton floral fabric from Amy Butler's "Charm" Collection that I purchased from ReproDepot.


Here's my shirt! With no buttons yet...


Don't worry I bought the buttons, they are 1/4 inch pearl half-buttons. I think I will put them on and make the buttonholes this week. I've already done a review for the shirt at PatternReview, so that has more details.

In other crafty news... I bought myself a serger on eBay! And it was only $110!!! I still have to take it to the local sewing machine repair shop, Bags 'N Bobbins. When I first opened the box it smelled like smoke and the Styrofoam was falling apart. Upon further inspection I found that the Styrofoam had gotten into the serger, so it needs a major cleaning. From what I understand the serger was never used and sat in its box, the foot rod (or whatever it's called) was a tad crooked so my dad adjusted that for me and there was a loose screw inside the serger's compartment. But here it is!


I bought a Brother because I was so impressed with my standard sewing machine which is also a Brother. All in all a good purchase considering most GOOD sergers start at about $500. One day I will buy one of those!

I also went on a shopping spree at JoAnn's last Friday. I bought 7 Simplicity patterns since they were only $1.99. I also bought a tracing wheel and tracing paper, JoAnn's Sensations Bellezza Collection Stellina yarn in Sea-Breeze and Size 6 Clover bamboo dpn's to make Knitty's "Fetching."

I also received a shipment of Artyarns' Supermerino in color #215 to knit a "Clapotis" for my Gramma for Christmas.


This yarn is 100% superwash wool and is so very soft. I hope she likes it!

First Finished Fair Isle

This entry title is dedicated to V for Vendetta.

I started this project so I could learn how to do some Fair Isle knitting. It's the Crimson Ghost, The Misfits mascot. I gave it to my DB, he's going to hang it on his wall. That's about it for that one. Next I think I will knit my first sweater.