Ooooh, i lurv it!

So I finished the Simplicity 2222 dress. Um, and I was super wrong. The skirt isn't terminally short, the pattern is just very long in the torso, at least it is for me. I did chop off 3 inches off the bottom of the dress (of the 6 inches that I added) before hemming. I don't like short skirts, especially for work, you know, 'cause sometimes you need to pick something up off the ground and I don't want to think about it too hard.

I'm so happy with the results. Giddily happy with the sewing I did. I was very patient and I enjoyed being that way, whereas usually I find it kind of painful. I must be growing up!

I rushed home every day after work this week to work on the dress and it was worth it, because I think I'm going to wear it for Casual Friday. Ok... picture onslaught.

hee hee, two red buttons, you know, just cause

waistline detail, i used elastic instead of cording

Even with the narrow back adjustment there's still a teeny bit too much fullness across the back but not too bad. I did use all the "petite" conversions which made most things land in the right place.

Simplicity 2222 and New Look 6843

The past couple of weeks I have neglected this space a little. Not sure why, I suppose settling into my new job and generally laziness in many areas of my life. But spring has sprung here in Edmonton and it's difficult not to feel some renewed energy when the sun streams through your living room windows.

I'm working on Simplicity 2222 at the moment. I'm making the "classic" version of this dress. Oh yoy, if I hadn't been thinking this dress would have been 8 inches too short. Warning to all who are over 25 that make this pattern, it is short. I hope when I have the dress finished I don't wish I hadn't added even more than the 6 inches.

I was really impressed with machine's ability to handle the buttonholes. It did a lovely job!

 And I think I'm finally getting the hang of topstitching ... that took awhile!

 This is my other finished product from this week. It's a New Look pattern that I've had for several years. Super easy, and you could easily make ten of these. I like the super thin waistband and made in this super soft knit (yeah, that's right, three supers in a row) that I've had for over ten years I think I'll have trouble convincing myself to wear something other than this skirt to work.

Simplicity 2593 and Vivat Veritas Dress

I actually made something for myself that I like. You probably can't imagine how very rare this is. I mean I make things for myself but they often quickly fall into the category "Oh, gee, that was a nice attempt but of course you would never wear that in public." I think I will wear this in public, and proudly.

On Friday I was feeling a little directionless so I went to Fabricland, bought some of this navy and white floral pattern for $7/metre and a couple of Simplicity patterns to work with and I made this top. Ok, as usual I cheated in multiple ways. The fabirc I had was much too slippery to make your own binding (which this pattern requires) but luckily I had some double wide bias tape kickin' around that I used instead. I kind of like the details it gives the top by encircling the armholes.

I'd seen on multiple different reviews that the ruffle was difficult to attach, but I didn't have too much trouble. Sometimes I think anticipating that it will give me trouble allows me to take my time and employ a little patience that I wouldn't normally. I must say, the hanger doesn't really do it justice ;)

 I also practiced a litttle patience with the Vivat Veritas Big Button Dress I was making for my sister. I pretty much undid every seam that had been sewn. I added a 3 inch band to the arms so that the sleeves would be more sleeve-like and I made an insert at the shoulder seam of nearly 2 inches. This brought the whole dress down a bit and is a much more attractive neckline for my sister. She tried it on and there are still a couple of things that need doin' but we're real close and I think it looks super cute on her (all it needs are some really big earrings!)

When it all doesn't come together

Okay, well, some of it comes together. But not the part where I continue to do the dishes, laundry, cleaning, bills kind of together. I sort of neglect different things as I go along. At the beginning of the week, I think, hmmm... what to neglect this week? The answer... dishes. So a big messy pile of them sit in my sink and there they will stay until I get home tomorrow at 6. I guess I'm a little bit embarassed about that, but not much!

I finally made a little progress on the table runner/wall hanging thing I was making out of those beautiful Kyle's Marketplace fabrics. I think I'm heading towards wall-hanging because at the moment I sew in my kitchen and it seems like a piece of art that works as a segway between this room's dual purpose.

 Obviously the project is still in process, but I like what's come out of it so far. Still need to attach the batting and do some quilting on the darn thing. Ergh, I find the quilting a little daunting... nevermind, I'll push it out of my mind for the moment.

Here is a close-up shot of the fabric my sister and I picked out for a dress I'm making her. It's the big button dress from Vivat Veritas' site.

Here's the project as it comes along. Does that look like a toddler's dress to you?
A word of warning if you are ever going to attempt this pattern... if you are petite never shorten the top part so much that the dress becomes a straight jacket. Second, remember that the person who drafted this pattern is very petite and her ideas of reasonable measurements may not be your idea of reasonable measurements. Just saying ... I'm looking into ways of increasing the top part. I may unstitch at the shoulder seam and add a 3 inch section *yes it's that small* or I may unpick the top part and cut out a new one. Luckily I have enough fabric for that.

The nice part about sewing is that almost everything is salvageable if you're patient enough to figure out what to do with it. At least I hope so...

A little tuckered out...

That's how I'm feeling tonight, a little tuckered out. I was thinking back on this week and wondering why I didn't get more sewing done when I realized that I was being ridiculous. I finished the loose-fitting jacket for my mom, a hooded fleece sweatshirt for one of the little boys I know, and sewed the binding on a long-standing quilt project that I have been avoiding. That's quite the week of projects... I guess not so shabby after all.

I bought some red fleece with waffle finish from my local Fabricland store last Friday and planned to make a hoodie for a boy whose third birthday is fast approaching. I used McCall's M6237, which is quite a versatile pattern and I might end up using the dress pattern that is included as well. I was talking with a friend who also just recently used a McCall's pattern and we agree that sometimes there is just something missing... in this case I thought the way the front pocket was attached seemed fussier than it need be. I know that it is a simple pattern (the word EASY graces its cover!) but the product looked a little handsewn when I finished it so I added some extra top-stitching. I think that helped. Does it need something else though? I haven't decided yet.

I was also able to complete the loose-fitting jacket with short sleeves and a mandarin collar using Butterick 5567. I took it to my mom today and it looked really nice. A word of warning though, I think the pattern is too short... my mom is pretty small and still she could have used an extra inch or two on the bottom of the coat otherwise things get a little boxy.... I'll be making another version of this in a navy linen that my mom and I picked out and I'll definitely be adding a little length for wiggle room this time around.

Does anyone else miss Project Run and Play...? I sure do. What fun it was and so inspiring.
But in my internet roamings (and there are plenty) I found an etsy shop with great kids patterns for both boys and girls, and it's based in Canada! I think I'll be ordering something ... any requests?
You should check them out.

A new dress and another WIP complete

I cannot tell a lie ... I work part-time. Not that this isn't completely obvious considering my obsession with my hobby and with other people's blogs about my hobby. As a result, though, I have Mondays off most of the time. So on Monday I started a new project out of my newest book Sew U: Home Stretch, of Built by Wendy fame. If you live in Canada and are anywhere near Chapters/Indigo/Coles you should go buy this book for the rock-bottom price of $5.99 (oh, yeah, I suppose you could order it online, I never really think of doing that, what can I say, I don't use a cellphone either a.k.a I live in the dark ages).

Of course you should start with the t-shirt pattern because that is where you learn all the skills you will then apply to your other projects ... or you could skip to the dress, because what's more fun than learning on the fly, non? So, yeah, I skipped to the dress, and here is a picture of what I learned.

1. I love my machine and will never criticize it ... but it doesn't love this fabric. Or maybe it does love it because it liked to EAT it. So, all of my seams look like this. What is that, you say? Little, teeny, bits of tissue paper that are left over after feeding all the seams through with tissue paper under them. Hmmm.

 2. My shoulders are narrow, like really narrow! So when I put this dress on for the first time after making it the shoulder seam was down my arms and the little puff on the sleeve was more like an awkwardly placed bicep. I made an extra dart along the top between neckline and shoulder line on both front and back to gather up a little fabric and bring that puff back on to the shoulder.

3. Oh yeah, and sewing with knits is hard. I know, I know, Wendy says it's easy but I kinda think it's hard. Not impossible but challenging when you don't own a serger!

Next week - back to cotton! YAY! Oh knits, I'll be back -- I just need a little time with some fabric that likes to be pressed and folded and cut, oh yeah and sewn!

Meanwhile I have this pile of leftovers to take a look at!

PS My mom's cardigan fit and I didn't ruin the hem!

A world without cable...

leaves quite a bit of time to sew! My husband was off for a gig today that took most of the afternoon and evening so I was left to my own devices this Saturday.

At first I spent a good deal of time surfing the internet looking at everyone else's sewing (I am religiously following Project Run and Play, and a number of other blogs) until I decided that there is something pretty lame about gawking at everyone else's work when you don't do any of your own.

I had a difficult time picking out which project to work on (which is silly) and then decided to start something completely new (hee, hee). I told my mom that I would work on a swing cardigan for her from the Butterick 5498 pattern that I bought a while ago. I used some "linen look" fabric that she already had and I went at it.

This is an extremely easy pattern and really took only 3 hours or so (although at the moment it is still unhemmed). I think the fabric has great drape and I hope that it fits my mom because in many cases I've already finished the seams. I even made my own bias tape to finish the facing (what has gotten into me?). It was really fun and I didn't get held up by unclear instructions.

It's hard to tell due to my lack of picture-taking prowess but the fabric is blue-gray and not as drab as it may appear here. But I was still afraid that it looked a little plain, so I went ahead and made a little purple organza flower for the lapel.

I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I only made one change to pattern and that was that I decided to topstitch the facing down because it always drives me crazy when it starts to creep around.

For many years my mom made a dress for me for every important occasion in my life -- and yes, that included my wedding dress. I suppose this is the start of paying some of that back.