A deceptively complicated refashion

Recently over at Refashion Co-Op, the editors decided it would be fun to occasionally have community challenges based on a certain theme. The first one is going on this week, and the theme is lace. Now, I've said it before, but I'll repeat myself: I'm generally not a lace girl. But I did have a top on hand that fit the bill that I've been meaning to work on anyway, so it was a good time to join in on the fun!

Here's the original top, as modeled by Donna. An all-over stretch lace, kind of peasanty top that I picked up at the thrift store one day. My thought was that it would make a nice layering top, being in a rather neutral color. But it had some issues.

Namely being that the thing was rather big on me. I'm wearing it over another top here, and the only thing keeping it from falling off of my shoulders is that I'm holding my arm up to do the mirror shot thing. Which made it annoying to wear even layered over a camisole, since the straps were always showing.

My original thought was to resize and fully line it, so I could eliminate the camisole altogether. Which made this a deceptively complicated thing to refashion, since I had to almost entirely deconstruct it first!  I basically just used the original pieces as a pattern and lined it with some jersey knit. (The leftover remnant pieces from this top, to be precise, though I used the wrong side for the coloring.)

I realized partway through that I had no idea how to reattach the peasanty sleeves for it to still work, so I ended up making this into a camisole. Adding the lining was probably a waste of time due to this, since in order for the bust seam to sit right, I'd have to wear another one underneath (it's loooooow by my standards!) Though it might be ok to wear it a bit higher under another shirt.

I do like how the straps turned out, though. I basically just took a scrap of the jersey and a scrap of the lace and sandwiched it around a piece of regular old elastic, then zig-zagged it while I stretched it.

Since I used one sleeve to make the straps, I had one sleeve left over. So I squared up the ends, serged it into a tube, and sewed the ends onto another piece of elastic...

...to make a headband! The fabric is stretchy enough that I think I'll be able to avoid my usual headband issue. (They tend to squeeze behind my ears and make me end up with a headache.) And it's a neutral enough color that I'll probably get some good use out of it!

So since I did all of this (minus the deconstructing) yesterday, I guess I can say that Wardrobe Refashion Wednesday is back!

On a few random notes:

• 
  It's good to see Project Runway back! Despite my annoyance last season at Gretchen winning, and my annoyance in the first episode for cutting one of the ladies whose style I liked so far in favor of the one who was putting everyone down right from the start, I've been enjoying it so far. (I'm not-so-secretly rooting for Anya, despite her lack of sewing experience, because I actually know someone who knows her! One of my friends from church grew up in Trinidad and went to school with her!)
• I think I need this pattern. Seriously. This is the coolest knit dress pattern I've seen in awhile, and I have a piece of fabric in the stash that I think is the perfect amount to make it. Therefore, I need this pattern to bust my stash. So there.
• Several of you probably know this already, but the BurdaStyle book release date is up! As is a picture of the cover on Amazon. (It's hard to tell from the size of the picture, even when enlarging....but I'm pretty sure the jacket third from the left in the bottom row is mine!) That reminds me, I really need to get my studio page over there updated...

I forgot to mention...

I kind of spontaneously decided to sign up for another Pattern Review class. This one is all about dealing with knit fabrics, which really excites me because while I've gotten pretty decent at finishing wovens and making them look good, knits are something that's still a bit tricky for me, even though it's gotten a LOT better since getting the serger! Especially in things like hemming them, reconstructing them in situations where sometimes there's different knit fabrics involved (and sometimes even some wovens), things like that. So I'm looking forward to learning about things like when to use the regular machine vs. the serger, what sort of needles I should be using, etc. Plus the class starts in February and ends in early March, which means the same timeframe as when I'm not working at the garden center again yet, and therefore I can probably stay on top of the classwork a lot easier than I could for the skirt muslin class! So I think I'm going to hold off on any knit-sewing projects until after this class. But that's ok, because I've still got bibs to sew (cut out as of last night), a quilt to quilt, and a bunch of curtains to make.

Speaking of knits, I had a really odd dream last night--I dreamed that on Project Runway, the judges were making them include knitting samples along with their finished garments and judging them based on how well they did their knitting, and Michael Kors was saying something about they should be able to knit their own fabric or they weren't really worth much as a designer, and he also commented about the girl that got cut that she could take some time to sit down and knit 2-3 times a week. And it was making me wonder if I should attempt to take up knitting again! Subconsciously, of course....now that I'm awake, I know I have enough crafty hobbies!

Crafty progress!

I actually did get a couple of scrapbook pages done over the last couple of days--ones that I'd had pretty much ready to assemble since last February. I think that's the best way to go for me-- just have all the writing and such ready to go, and then I can just sit down and throw them together quickly. Anyway, here they are.

Both of these are catching up from 2008-- this first one is some nature-ish pictures from a park when I was hanging out with a friend. I had fun using the extra piece of the printed paper as embellishments.


And then this second was from a family trip to the beach, which was a little more time-consuming to get ready, mainly due to the little wood-printed paper frames that I made and the little crab sticker (barely visible in the corner.) The swirls were kind of a last-minute addition because it just needed something.

I've also managed to get the alterations done on both my dress that I'm wearing for next weekend's wedding, and C's bridesmaid dress. So here's my current project--I'm trying my hand at some screenprinting so I can make some fun baby gifts for a fellow Lord of the Rings-obsessed friend. I'm using the Threadbanger tutorial on how to do it inexpensively with recycled nylons and Mod Podge. So far I'm still in the screen-making stage. Believe it or not, this is the less intricate of the two designs I'm attempting to screenprint! And it looks a little funny right now since this was the in-progress pic and I went around the tree first, so by the time I got to the outer parts, that was mostly dry. Obviously it needs a second coat to fill in the rest of those holes, since trying to go over most of them while wet before was just pushing the glue out of other holes and leaving new holes. (And don't mind the blue smudge...I was experimenting with what to use to trace the designs onto the nylon with, and obviously it's a good thing I didn't go with that pen!) I guess now that I'm pretty much done eating lunch, I should get back to work--the natural light is being very helpful, and I'd like to utilize as much of that as possible while I'm doing the intricate outlining! But I'm looking forward to (and a little nervous about) seeing how these will turn out.

On a random note, new Project Runway! So far, it looks like this batch of designers is going to be way more interesting than last season's. And I did like the winning dress from this week.

Time for plan C

Man, crazy work week. But somehow, I managed to work in cutting out the muslin from the BWOF pattern I was considering using for the dress I'll be wearing to my brother's wedding. Notice the use of past tense... I basted it together yesterday, and it's kind of a fail on me. I had to cut it as a size 40 to accommodate my hip size, which is slightly larger than my bodice size, so I knew it would hang loose on me.

But this is kind of ridiculous. (Please ignore my messy room in the photos.) It's a little hard to tell on Donna (my faithful duct-tape covered model dummy), but on me, it has the overall effect of making me look rather flat-chested (which I am certainly not) and hippy (and not in the groovy 60s sort of way).

And while the top is helped somewhat by taking it in (here with the assistance of some clothespins), as you can see here, that has the unfortunate side effect of making the pleats balloon out. As stated before, my hips don't need the help.

Also, it had the overall effect of looking like a dress that might be good on me...ten years from now. I'm already tripping over the thought of turning 30 in a year and a half...let's not bump it up a decade, k?

So I am now moving on to plan C, which will be a simple sheath dress from a McCall's pattern that I already owned and somewhat tested out (sort of... I hacked it up a lot to make it into an empire-waisted shirt, a la Firefly.) Cut out the muslin this afternoon, attempted to make a few adjustments to the darts, we'll see how it works out. (Hopefully it will, because it's getting to the point where if I don't find a pattern that works by, say, the end of this week, I'm going to have to just suck it up and buy a dress. With the wedding 4 weeks from yesterday and 3 jobs going on, I'm running out of time!!)

Oh, speaking of making it work, I'm glad Marshall went home on Project Runway this week. Saying that he was looking for someone to carry him through the challenge was just suicide, and when Heidi comments on not sewing, you know it's bad. But I really didn't like Ra'mon's dress. Sorry.

(mostly) Project Runway 6.2

...starting with one teaser of my most recent sewing project. After all, I did promise a photo of some sort in my last post!!

One other comment, since I'm just waiting for the new episode to start anyway. I'm feeling a little frustrated with Joann's right now. I placed two special orders back in June for my impending bedroom makeover project--one for curtains, and one for the fabric I was planning on using to border my quilt. (Yes, I am planning on making a quilt. Somewhere, pigs are sprouting wings.) The curtain fabric came in within a couple of weeks, no problem. I was told the quilt border fabric (which also happens to be the fabric that inspired the entire bedroom color scheme) would be in this month. I called them about a week and a half ago to check on the status, was told to leave a message for the person in charge of ordering, nothing happened. Called them again yesterday, was told she'd be in today, please call again today. I did so, and she still wasn't there. I left another message. I hope she calls this time. At this point, I'm honestly not expecting to be able to get this fabric--it's out of stock on the website, so I'm suspecting maybe it was a limited run print and just not available anymore. (And of course I picked a brand that is only available through Joann's, so I can't get it anywhere else, unless it's on eBay or something. Except I just checked and it's not.) I am disappointed if that's the case, because I only have about a half-yard tops of the fabric left over from the scrapbook that I covered with it before this decor project even came up, so I'm barely going to be able to have anything in the room that's made from the fabric that inspired it. But I'm more frustrated over how much of a run-around they're giving me on this. If they can't get it, I just want them to tell me so I can get my money back and start looking for something else to match the rest of the quilt fabrics that I already bought. (The worst of it is, it's not even like I have an alternate place to shop if I get completely fed up with the lack of customer service. There's only one other fabric store I know of in my entire county (the entire state, really... this is Delaware) that sells apparel fabric, which is 3-4 times the distance away and has a far more limited selection. So it's basically use up more gas/lose the sales to drive there, buy everything over the internet, or keep shopping at Joann's regardless of how this goes down. And I can't really justify paying shipping or driving 3 times as long for say, thread or a zipper.)

On with the show!! Haha, the tie-on bellies are cracking me up.

I like the idea of Althea's woven-ribbon bodice... I hope it turns out well. And I have to say... "Mother Hen"? And jodphurs? What is Malvin thinking? I agree with Tim-- no woman wants to make her thighs look bigger. Especially if her belly's already bigger to begin with.

Oh man... those shorts are huge. And did he just say "fierce?" STOP CHANNELING CHRISTIAN!

No... you did not just say to make that nest more literal.

Logan's look: Kind of boring.
Shirin: I like hers. The drape is nice, the coat is cute.
Nicolas: Chic, but very bulgy-looking in the belly, more than I would be comfortable with pregnant.
Christopher's is cute-- looks maternity, but the one-shoulder is nice.
Mitchell-- trailer trash.
Qriistyl-- looks like a beach coverup
Epperson-- The wrap in the back of the jumpsuit is nice, but not my thing.
Louise-- cute.
Gordana-- very chic looking-- i like the sweater wrap.
Johnny-- looks like it would be easy to wear.
Malbin-- at least he didn't go with the jodhpurs.
Ra'mon-- would have been better without the color block.

Carol- the belly band is weird. It looks liek one of those baby wraps.
Aletha-- waaaaay low-cut. Would like better with more coverage.
Irina-- very cute. I want to wear that as a non-maternity dress.

Haha, Qristyl's reaction to being named as safe cracks me up.

Judge's comments:
Ra'mon-- I hadn't thought of the "baby here" arrows, but very apt description.
Louise-- I hadn't seen the pleats in the bust, but that' s a good idea to build in room for expansion. She thought it through well.
Althea--I'd agree with that.
Malvin-- it seriously looks like one of those baby wraps. Yup, Nina just called it a sling.
Wow, those ginormous shorts of Mitchell's are short. And gappy. I see London... (And that's bad when Heidi says it looks like she would have sewn the shorts.)
I hadn't seen the criss-crossy waist on Shirin's before either--that's cool.

And I'm glad Shirin won. She deserved it-- it was a very well-made outfit. Malvin wasn't my favorite, but I'm really surprised that he got auf'ed instead of Mitchell. Especially given that Mitchell was in the bottom two both weeks so far.

And I have to say, for next week's preview, it was gratifying to hear Heidi saying that to be on Project Runway, you have to, you know, SEW.

Project Runway is BACK!!!

(blogged while watching...)

Oh, Project Runway, how I've missed you. Especially after watching that cheap imitation of a Fashion Show that couldn't hold my interest for more than a couple of eps.

Based on initial impressions of personality, I'm inclined to like Qristyl and Shirin. And inclined to think that Malvin is seriously trying to channel Christian Siriano. I mean, the hair, the androgyny, the pretentious attitude of thinking he's so far ahead of the curve that his style can't be defined yet...I hope I'm wrong, because Christian is pretty much my least favorite PR alum ever. And I'm feeling kind of bad for Johnny... seems like he's got a lot to overcome, and I hope he pulls it together.

Runway show!

Favorite dress: I think I'm going to have to say Ra'mon's. Though I also liked Shirina's, Nicholas's Celtic-knot looking thing, and Irina's, and Louise's. Christopher's is kind of fun too, though I could probably never wear that silhouette.

Least favorite dress: Mitchell's, hands down. Ari's is a close second.

I am glad to see that Johnny got it together. Again, a silhouette I could never wear, but not bad considering the earlier meltdown.

Christopher was a good choice for winner, I think. He did a nice job.

You know, looking at them side by side like that, Ari's and Mitchell's haircuts are awfully similar...

It could have been interesting to see what else Ari would come up with....but considering her dress looked like something out of a MST3K-worthy film...yeah.

Edit: Craftstylish was kind enough to put up a post showing all of the sketches vs. the final runway designs-- check it out!!

Catching up, 4/4: The Honest Scrap Award

I am a bad, bad blogger. Catherine G was kind enough to give me the "Honest Scrap Award" back in June, and between the computer problems and all of the recent real life craziness, I'm just now getting to it. Sorry for the delay, Catherine, and thank you for the award!
The rules are as follows:

I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it.
I must list 10 honest things about myself.
I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links.
I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

All right, let's be honest:

1. It's probably no secret, given my career field, but I am extremely addicted to music. Including finding new music. I currently have over 8000 songs on my iPod, and it's an ever-growing collection (mainly due to my eMusic subscription, in which I get 30 tracks a month that I have to use or lose). I'm doing a blogging project right now (on my LiveJournal, since that's where I keep in touch with some RL friends) where I'm trying to listen through the contents of the iPod in its entirety. I started on August 1. I got through the last of the albums that begin with A yesterday. (No jobs where I can listen to my iPod while I work, so it's taking me a little longer than it otherwise would.)
2. The dorkiest thing I ever sewed: a vest from a vintage 70s pattern made out of snakeskin-printed vinyl. Both of which were free, having belonged to my mother. In my defense, I was a teenager at the time, and making an effort to create my own style and not just wear all the same Abercrombie crap that many of my classmates were drawn to.
3. I often wish that blogs were around back when I was a teenager, so I could have documented sewing projects like that. Somewhere back in grad school, I did realize that I should be doing that, and started a really basic scrapbook for it-- just pictures, basic info like what pattern I used and when it was completed and any other comments I wanted to make, and a fabric sample if I still had one. Something about the system wasn't working (too bulky or something) so I had to pull off most of the pictures to start over. I know I did start making a very, very basic digital scrapbook in Photoshop to start over, but that's unfinished as well. I'm kind of torn between trying to get caught up on that and get it all printed out so I can have a tangible copy, or just scanning the pics from the original scrapbook (film camera) and documenting them in here just so I can get it done.
4. I read really fast--when I have the time to sit down and do it, I can read thick books in a day. (Worked for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, anyway.)
   
5. Sad to say, I'm at the point where I dislike a lot more about being single than I like. Since all of my efforts to change that status have failed miserably, I really need to work on learning to like it again.
6. Routine is tough for me. That's why I loathed the thought of a job where I was doing the same thing 9-5 every day. (And why I have a hard time enjoying highly repetitive crafts, like knitting, crochet and needlework.) At the same time, I have a hard time sometimes with the day-to-day reality of trying to juggle an ever-changing schedule with lesson cancellations and reschedulings/other part-time work/fitting in time with friends when my schedule is so different from theirs/eating meals at regular times with my unfortunate tendency to get shaky when I don't eat for awhile/finding craft and exercise time/finding time to read/still doing the things I have to do like laundry and cleaning. I wonder if I'll ever find a balance.
7. On a related note to #6, I think part of the problem is that I enjoy doing too wide a variety of things. And I can't bring myself to quit doing things I enjoy.
8. You wouldn't know it from how much I tend to ramble in these posts, but I'm actually fairly quiet. At least within social settings, unless it's people I'm comfortable with.
9. I get really frustrated with situations where I have to wait on other people to figure things out, like my current attempts to figure out my fall teaching schedule, because I'm too much of a planner for my own good.
10. On a completely random note, I'm one of those people who likes to throw movie quotes into everyday conversation.
    

And the Honest Scrap Award goes to:

1. Sorta Frugal

2. StinaStuff

3. My Fabrication

4. Dressed to a "Tee"

5. Danvillegirl Sewing Diary

6. Salinda's Blog Spot
7. PB Designs Reading and Crochet Blog

Ok, I think that catches me up for now! Until I finish the current 2 projects, anyway...

Now to finish what I need to around here so I can do some sewing between my flute lessons! I'm going to miss my low-key Wednesdays once school starts and I'm back up to 3 jobs again.

And pardon me for a moment while I squeal... Project Runway starts up again tomorrow!!!

Congratulations, Leanne!

(Picture courtesy of Bravotv.com)

Unlike last year, I was quite happy with how last night's Project Runway finale played out. Leanne was totally deserving of the win, IMO-- her collection was the most cohesive, I thought the wave and water inspiration showed through really well without being costumey, and I absolutely love that she made a point of saying that a large portion of her collection was made using sustainable fabrics!! I wasn't sure about her at first, but she really grew on me as a designer throughout the season. And I still want to make something inspired by her skirt from the New York challenge.

I am glad Korto was the runner-up, as well. I liked her collection too-- great colors, and some really innovative stuff. And I thought it was just adorable when she brought her daughter up on the runway for the final walk-off! I'd felt like she'd kind of been choking near the end, but for making two completely new looks for the final collection in so short a time, I think she pulled it off well.

Kenley's collection wasn't bad. But I did think that that floral dress that the judges were saying was a copycat of some designer did look kind of like a grandma print. And I have to admit, the "oh crap" look on her face when they found out that Tim Gunn was going to be the guest judge was kind of priceless!

Ok, off to work. Later today: the blouse I finished last night.

Nooo!!

Why is Kenley still in? Everyone agreed they were tired of her attitude. And her whole me vs. them thing with the rest of the designers was really obnoxious. And her dress looked like a dragon, not a flower. Booooo.

But at least Korto's still in.

I also managed to get the stampings and rub-ons done for 4 pages of the road trip album. Quit trying after that...I was just not in the frame of mind to be productive.

Costumes, embroidery, and recons, oh my!

First off... watching Project Runway as I write, and heehee, fashion inspired by music!! I'm cracking up that Korto has to dress like a country star. That is so not her!





Anyway.



Had a good weekend hanging out with N. She's an avid swing dancer, and enlisted my help for a costume for a Halloween dance.


This was mostly all her, but I thought it turned out really great, so hopefully if she ever finds this blog, she won't mind that I posted a picture! She wanted to do a swing dress inspired by Marie Antoinette (she looks a lot like Kirsten Dunst, and therefore likes to dress up as her characters-- she makes a mean MJ from the recent Spiderman movies!) So she got the 80s prom dress from the thrift store and made the decision to fold the ruffle down to make a better neckline. I helped her figure out what length to shorten it to. And then the next day we went to Walmart (because we couldn't find a Joanns), got the light blue fabric, the white lace and the flowers. She inserted the blue panel, I did the teal ruffle down the front and covered the buttons, and then we figured out where to put the white trim. She added some darker lace and the flowers later, and then the lighter neck ribbon to tie it all together. I think she did great, and I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of her wearing it! Plus now she's thinking about a New Year's Eve costume party, and I hope she does, because I'm feeling bitten by the costume bug again!


I didn't spend the entire time working on the costume-- while she was working on machine stuff, I worked on my little embroidery project. One piece of three now done!







I wanted a quick project tonight, so decided to do a recon. Remember this skirt from my little dyefest?
Now it looks like this. I'm still not sure if it's done...still kind of feels like it needs something. But the border is a huge improvement over what it was. I spent the night with my serger, and the variagated thread really made it. Didn't really have to add trim at the top like I was originally going to do, but I'm glad I serged that edge.

I hope I don't need to add more fabric higher up... I really don't have much of that sheer left.

And now, since I haven't done it this season, PR runway show commentary!! I'm on commercial break now, and my personal opinion at the moment is that Kenley is going down in flames. Also, I think my brother owns Jerrell's boots that I borrowed for my fairy costume.

And now, on with the show!

Leanne: Wow, what did she do to Korto's hair? I can definitely see the country influence, though I'm not sure about the peacock feather earrings.

Jerrell: He definitely got the pop thing down. I hate that genre so much.

Kenley: last time I checked, Princess Leia buns were not hip hop.

Korto: The bleached jeans are pretty cool. And Suede has the personality for it!

Suede: Not really over the top enough.

Judging time! With LL Cool J as a judge, Kenley is so screwed.

Korto's up first. The chain lacing is a nice upgrade to the safety pins.

Suede's turn. The leather pants are so stereotypical rock. The vest is pretty cool. The shirt looks like every shirt Jerrell always wears though.

Jerrell's turn. Brave girl... I would never walk out on national tv dressed like that! But he did nail it.

Kenley's up. Isn't expensive in hip-hop usually in the form of massive amounts of bling? I know the judges aren't happy with Suede, but Kenley's arguing just might push them over the line.

Now that I'm looking at Leanne's outfit more closely, it doesn't look very well-made. At least the skirt doesn't. Though it definitely looks more country than Leanne looks hip-hop...

So it's basically between Suede and Kenley getting the chopping block, it seems. Which I wouldn't really be sorry to see either go. Suede's gotten described as boring for several challenges in a row, and that's pretty much the kiss of death. And Kenley really doesn't know how to do anything outside of the 50s.

Hurrah, Korto won! That makes me really happy, since she hasn't won in awhile and she is my favorite of the remaining designers. Plus Jarrell was being so cocky that I think he needed to be taken down a notch.

I wonder how long it takes Heidi to concoct these speeches? Turning up the volume and silence... nice metaphors.

And Suede is now out. Though I still believe that unless something drastic happens next week, there is no way Kenley's making final three.

I can't help but find it ironic that the auf'ed designer was wearing the winning designer's outfit. And wow, next week looks like the week of mental breakdowns on the runway!

Should it stay or should it go now?

Ah, it's that time of year again. The time where I look through my closet, trying to figure out what on earth to wear for work, because it's not quite cold enough for things with sleeves and not quite warm enough for things without (we're having what seems to be unusually cool weather for the end of August. Usually it doesn't feel like this until mid-September!), and realizing that there's things in there that I haven't worn all summer. Which then raises the question...should I keep them?

It's always such a dilemma for me. Especially when it comes to things I made. There's an emotional attachment that generally isn't there for things that I bought. And the garden center job certainly complicated things somewhat, because I'm wearing a lot more of my work t-shirt than I normally would. And the things like that skirt that I like, but just didn't have the right top for, or vice versa. Or that shirt that I like the concept of, but it never quite had the right fit. So what do I do with these things? Do I take the time to reconstruct them/find something to match/tweak the fit? Or just let them go to make space for new things?

Quick thoughts on PR last night. I think I've finally decided that my favorite designer of the bunch is Korto. Her fashions consistently get high marks, I like her style, and she seems to be not quite as mean as a lot of the others. That being said, Leann has really grown on me lately too, and I am glad she won last night. It was definitely an innovative dress, though one I would never wear myself because frankly, my hips don't need the help. I did like Jarell's too, and Kenley's air filter skirt thing. I have to admit I felt a little bad for Stella-- after all, she was trying to break out of her usual mode. It just didn't work, that's all. And I'm not surprised Keith went. His outfit was kind of ordinary, and I think his little rant about criticism from the judges just put a whole lot of nails in his coffin. And I'm still amused that they made clothes out of cars.

Because directions are for wimps, right?

I had no idea I was such a visual person when it came to sewing instructions. The complete lack of pictures in the Eva jacket directions has got me up the wall! And the ironic thing is, reading comprehension was always a really strong point of mine. Maybe that doesn't go for technical writing.

So here's what I'm wondering...

* Why does it say to sew everything with a zig zag stitch?

* What exactly am I supposed to do with that front piping bit?

* What are the end of direction #9 that cuts off mid-sentence?

* What am I supposed to do with those cuffs?

Truth be told, I'm winging it. I actually already did something with those cuffs, and provided I don't screw up the lining, I think it'll be pretty good. But I've decided, based on the look, not to use that on my suedecloth version. And I have one of the sleeves in for real now, and it's not puckered and facing the right direction. So that's good. So we'll see how my experiment in no directions goes. Even though it will have to wait for later because I'm off to dinner at a friend's house.

And no Project Runway for me tonight. Cable's out and they can't fix it till Saturday. Good thing our internet is tied to the phone company, or I'd be going really nuts. And at least if I have to miss an episode, it's the drag queens.

a few small things

The last two days have seen a few quick projects. #1 on the list, this magnet. I spent most of yesterday when I was home cleaning my room (it needed it badly!) and so didn't have time to do any serious crafting. I did, however, find this squirrel sticker that was given to me by one of my friends. (Several of us have a long-running joke involving squirrels and the mafia. You sort of had to be there, I guess. At least at our college.) I also found a magnet that I had been given by my bank. So I ended up layering the sticker on top of the bank magnet and trimming off the excess sticker/magnet (the original sticker was an oval) to make a magnet that was much more fun.










Then tonight I made these two sets of clip-on earrings for my friend S. She doesn't have pierced ears, so I got some clips to make her bridesmaid earrings for J's wedding. Since I had a few pairs left, she requested that I make her a few more earrings--she recently got engaged herself, and wanted some new earrings for her trip to meet her in-laws (her fiance and his family live all the way over in Australia!) It would have been three pairs, but I discovered in the process of making them that one of the tigereye beads I was going to make the third pair from wasn't drilled through all the way! So I guess I'll be making the third pair when she comes over on Sunday and picks out more beads.

I also cut out the test version of my Eva jacket on Monday, and I've been working a bit on basting it together. Doing a kind of last-minute hangout with C and T this weekend, and I know there's going to be at least two movies involved, so I'm bringing that to work on as well. (Hand-basting it so I don't mark up the corduroy, just in case I need to make fitting adjustments--the whole point of using this instead of muslin, besides fabric weight considerations, was to not chop up a bunch of fabric only to throw it away!)

The other advantage to the hand-basting: Eva has a funky dart, as you can see here. So this is helping me figure it out.


And this is what it's supposed to look like.

Just a few quick thoughts on Project Runway, since I finally watched it.

Blayne & Leanne's outfit: Boring. Looks like something you'd see on any teen-oriented CW show set in southern CA.

Kelli and Daniel's outfit: I actually thought, while the jacket was on, it wasn't bad. At least, the jacket portion of it. Wasn't a big fan of the wrinkly-looking skirt. I actually would have rather have seen Blayne go than Kelli, to be honest.

Jerell and Stella: The outfit that I kind of wish had won. I liked the silhouette and the mix of textures a lot. And they seemed to be the one team that wasn't laden with drama.

Korto and Joe: Huge improvement by the time it got to the runway. Another result I ended up liking.

Keith and Kenley: I like the skirt, at least in concept. I'm really not into the high-waisted thing... having the waistline end right under the chest just really makes me think of one of my childhood favorite TV shows, Family Matters, and the Steve Urkel look. But the layers were pretty cool. But I still wish that Jerell and Stella had won.

Terri and Suede: Very wearable outfit. But that's what I've come to expect from Terri.

Friday Favorites, Episode 20 (and some belated Project Runway thoughts)

A short edition today, but that's ok.

1. My friends J, C and I used to do this thing on occasion where we'd get together our clothes that were destined for the thrift store anyway and dig through each other's stuff to see if there was anything we wanted to take. I think they call them "Naked Lady parties" around the interweb. It was kind of fun, and it always amuses me to see one of them wearing a shirt that used to be mine. The point of this story: Crafting A Green World had a post about a site called Dig N' Swap, which is basically the same thing, on a larger and more anonymous scale. It's a neat concept-- you post your clothes, if someone wants it they offer you an article of clothing in exchange, and it's free. I like free.

2. Mirela at Cutting Edge Stitches N' Seams consistently turns out all this beautiful, professional-looking stuff. And she posted a nice list of tips for working with stretch fabrics. Including avoiding those awful wavy seam lines that are a dead giveaway that it's a homemade outfit.

3. Just in time for me to be wanting to work on an embroidery project, I found a tutorial for transferring patterns to fabric. It's at a blog called Elemental Stitches, but I found it through My Half of the Brain.

Regarding PR...

Oh, Blayne. All the UV rays from your tanning addiction must have done unspeakably awful things to your brain. How else could you have NOT heard of one of the most quintessential rock albums from one of the most famous bands in the history of recorded music?!? The Beatles fan in me is appalled. Especially since I'm not that much older than you.

Didn't like either of the bottom two's outfits this week. With the hairstyle, Daniel's outfit made me think of Betty Boop, while the first thing I thought of when I saw Jennifer's sketch was Japanese anime schoolgirl. Wasn't really a fan of Jarell's either-- the mix of prints was well-done, but the outfit itself looked straight out of Titanic and that is not one of my favorite movies ever. I actually liked Joe's the best-- it just looked cute and sporty, and the most "Olympic" to me. And I agreed with Heidi that the two-tone zipper was very clever. I'm not sure how he did it, because I've never been able to put a zipper back together once it busts apart. I am glad that Korto won, though, because I just like her for some reason I haven't been able to put my finger on yet. I did really like Terri's as well--while I hate officewear and am glad I'm in a career where I can avoid it, jackets are one of my favorite fall/winter layering looks, and I really liked hers.

And now, off to finish dinner, because I'm hoping to sew some tonight. And I have a little hippie craft extravaganza planned for myself tomorrow, so we'll see how my plan works out!

Also, no pics of Sadie yet. Hopefully also tomorrow.

running with scissors

Spent a pretty huge chunk of today cutting things out. I got a tank top (the BurdaStyle Sadie) and a blouse (from New Look) cut out entirely, a knit top cut out roughly, and another BurdaStyle pattern taped together and cut out. Was hoping to get more done, but the blouse took awhile due to the fabric-- it's an embroidered stripe, and to get things to line up well, I had to cut a pretty good portion of it out as single layer pieces, so it took twice as long. If all goes according to plan, though, the two front pieces should be mirror images of each other. I hope.

Let's see, PR tonight... I was actually surprised that Kenley's dress won, after the judges' comments about how it made the thighs look all uneven and such. Personally, I thought that Terri should have won this round, because her outfit was pretty spectacular. Especially that she was able to find fabric so close to the graffiti design. And I actually really loved Leanne's skirt in this episode. I'd actually wear that. And I don't say that about too many things that come onto this show. I wish the judges had something to say about Stella's, because I have a feeling that her outfit wasn't really anywhere remotely close to outside of her rockstar box. And if she's just going to keep churning out the same thing every week, she can go. She annoys me anyway. I was sorry to see Emily go rather than Jennifer, if only because Emily had the better concept, even though the ruffles failed rather spectacularly. If she'd done some kind of flatter surface design with the abstract bright colors, I think it would have been brilliant. And Suede still needs to stop talking in the third person.

Greening the "Runway"?

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with Project Runway last night. Since Bravo put a summary blurb of each episode on the site already, I was excited to see that episode 2 was going to be a "green" challenge. After seeing it, though, I'm having some mixed feelings.



On the one hand, PR should definitely be commended on even bringing it up. It's a major exposure into the fashion world that a lot of people tune into, even average Janes like me who tend to not follow the runways too closely because I'd rather make my own style than follow trends. So the cocktail dress challenge did do a good job in showing that eco-friendly can be really classy and fashionable, too. And I forget which of the girls said it, but I did appreciate her comment about liking the challenge because the fashion industry does horrible things to the environment and she wants to do what she can.

On the other hand, I was a little unhappy with how they chose to do a "green" challenge. My first thought on it was that it might have more of a recycling twist to it, rather than purchasing new materials. So I was kind of disappointed that it was just another buy-fabric-and-make-this-dress challenge. The other thing that saddened me (which I know PR had no control over) was how limited the selection was. I know Mood is one of the big suppliers of the NYC design world. Even BurdaStyle uses it for their pattern sample garments. I know it's hard for home sewers like me to get access to good, eco-friendly fabric. I guess I'd kind of hoped that, especially as awareness of the issue has been growing, NYC would be a little more on top of this and have a better supply.

I know I'm probably in no position to criticize. I'm obviously not the greenest fashionista around-- I still have an awful time trying to figure out what to do with scraps, especially those pieces that are too small to cut anything new out of. I still use polyester and other synthetics--I feel a little guilty for it, but a lot of times that's all I can manage to get my hands on, in the way of sheers and such. Plus I just like the texture of a lot of it. I'm a big texture girl when it comes to fabric. And, let's face it, I'm a musician, which means money is a constant consideration, and I live in Delaware, which means that for a clothes-focused sewing girl, Joann's is the only game in town. So until they get with the program and start stocking organic fabric, I'm limited to the choices of a) not using it, or b) buying it mail-order, paying a lot of money per yard, and getting it mailed from places that would probably offset all the good of organic fabric by the carbon footprint the shipping would leave. And, well, I like my crazy prints, and organic fabric is often rather solid-colored. Yesterday's challenge being case in point. But still, I try to do what I can. And PR is obviously a huge influence on the number of people my age and younger that have come to realize that sewing isn't just for their grannies. So they could have made this huge statement, and I can't help feeling like they dropped the ball a bit on it.

I've been thinking about this a lot today (when you have hardly any customers to deal with and spend your entire morning pulling dying leaves off of daylilies and daisies, you have a lot of time to do this), and have decided that this is the PR challenge I would love to see: take the designers on a field trip. To Goodwill. And tell them that they have $20 and all their fabric/notions/etc have to come from the old clothes. And then watch them all squirm uncomfortably while I cackle in glee at how much ahead of them I am. Either that, or a challenge where old bridesmaid dresses are turned into something that actually can be worn more than once. I would really enjoy that. But since I have no say, I guess I'll just keep eyeing Crafting a Green World for affordable fabric that strikes my fancy, raiding my own local Goodwills, and pondering what can be done with a tea-length cobalt blue spaghetti strap dress.

Oh, and Suede really needs to stop talking about himself in the third person.

(P.S. I will give an update about my own craftiness from yesterday...but in a different post. Whether it's before or after the return of Friday Favorites remains to be seen.)

I miss sewing.

In a bad way-- I caught myself daydreaming of project possibilities on several occasions over the last couple days of band camp! Blaming Project Runway, as that brought it back to the forefront of my consciousness. I keep mentally reviewing my stash, dreaming of the possibilities that different pieces of fabric in there hold, thinking of projects I've been wanting to make for some time, re-evaluating what I want to do with other cuts of fabric...

Yeah. I'm a hopeless addict.

The good news is, my wrists are doing much, much better. Not totally out of the woods yet, but the carpal tunnel pains have nearly gone away entirely again, as has the numb tinglyness! We'll see how I do tomorrow, after a nine-hour stint at the garden center. I'm still going to be cautious, but I think I should be happily crafting again before long. :-)

So, in the interest of keeping this post short (especially since I have no pictures to show to make it more interesting), just two things more.

#1: A brief PR recap. I love the unconventional material challenges, so I was quite happy to see they were back at the grocery store. And I'm truly pleased that Kelli's design won this week-- I saw her dying the vaccuum cleaner bags and thought that was just so cool, I would totally wear that fabric, in a way it kind of reminded me of the "Paging Mr. Pollock" print that I used for the Green & Gray Dress. Was also a big fan of Daniel's plastic cup dress, though I would not want to be the model to wear it! I'm still undecided whether Jerry's or Blayne's outift was worse--the Playboy Bunny or the MST3K-esque mad scientist woman? Hmmm....

They actually have an episode synopsis for every show this season up already. Next week's is supposed to tap into the green movement. This should be interesting...

#2: Now I'm glad I at least skimmed the sewing-specific section of my Bloglines feeds to see what I missed this week--otherwise I wouldn't have known that I actually got featured in a Threadbanger blog post! It's on possible projects to do with thrifted button-downs, and somehow they stumbled across my Doolittle Blouse (last item on the list). Guess I should thank Anthropologie for inspiring what seems to be my most popular project on the web... Anyway, there's some other really fun ideas on there, so you should check out the post.

The mid-week update...

First off, I'm probably going to disappoint a couple of you who were kind enough to comment on my last entry... this probably isn't the band camp you're thinking of! What I've been doing all week is working as the flute instructor for a concert band camp for middle-schoolers. In other words, not marching band. It's been a pretty good week so far, though I have the quietest bunch of middle-school female flute players that I've ever had in the six years I've been doing this now-- usually by this time of the week, it's all I can do to get them to shut up and play during the all-flute rehearsal portion of the day! I have this theory that flute attracts two completely opposite personality types-- the divas who want to be the center of attention and pick it because it's one of the highest instruments (like a soprano) and tends to get a lot of melody parts, and the introverts who want to play music, but are content to hide within what is inevitably a large group of the same instrument. I think this year, I got all the latter. So that's been interesting. Oh yeah, and I'm getting paid to play music from Star Wars, since the instructors play along with the students in the concert. So life is good.

The wrists are getting better-- my right hand is almost completely back to normal, though I'm not giving up on the braces yet, and they still have their moments of stiffness/tinglyness. Left hand is still a little more on the stiff/painful side, but in theory, if I'm a good girl for the rest of this week, I might be able to pick up on stuff like, say, craftiness, and my own personal practicing, by next week. As long as I take breaks to rest them. Here's hoping.

Ok, now for the stuff that's actually interesting to you all!

• I ended up getting beach towels for my seat covers again. Nice ones, so hopefully they'll last. But need to start working on that some soon.
• The pages aren't done by any means--have to go back and add stuff like the stamping and machine stitching--but I spent a good amount of time over the weekend just sticking photos to paper for the road trip album. By that count, half my pictures are now on paper, at least. So that's progress.
• No actual sewing this week, as I'm not willing to risk scissor-work until the concert's over. But hopefully after that.
• What I've been doing on weeknights instead is some organization of supplies. My mom had a whole bunch of scrapbook supplies that she'd gotten-- I'd been helping her put some of our old family photos in an album. But then I got busy with grad school or something, and they've been in bins for years, and she decided she just wanted to put them in a nice acid-free album with pockets that she could just slide the pics into. The result of this is that I am now in possession of a lot of paper and stickers (and a few albums) that need to be sorted into my stash, which I am slowly working on getting more organized. So between this and the stuff that C gave me when she decided she was more of a yarncraft girl, I will probably not need to buy another album for, oh, the next five years. And I have so much paper that I'm seriously considering a Wardrobe Refashion-style pledge for my scrapbook supplies--like not to buy any new supplies (with some obvious exceptions like, say, adhesive when I run out, or photo development) for a certain period of time. And if I don't have something that immediately works, especially on the paper/embellishment side, take a cue from Tim Gunn and "make it work"! Not a formal pledge yet, will keep you posted.
• Speaking of Tim Gunn, I did NOT know until this morning, when reading the entertainment/comics section of the newspaper, that Project Runway premieres tonight! Hopefully tomorrow I'll find some time to review the episode...and my hands will cooperate!

The Sidone Hiking Skirt, part 2 -- Make It Work!

Since I'm watching part of the PR marathon leading up to the finale tonight, figured it was an appropriate title.


This is my inspiration skirt, kindly lent to me by K. So you can see how it attaches on the inside (a tab with velcro). And the blue stuff inside is kind of like a suedecloth to prevent chafing from the quick-dry, not-so-soft nylon.

I cut out and basted the mockup today. I'm really glad I made a mockup, because the basic concept is good, but it needs some tweaking...

#1: I should have done more of a straight line when adjusting the waist-to-hip sizing difference--the curve was bubbling out horrendously and I had to baste it in a good half an inch in spots.

#2: For some reason, the yoke sits very high in the back. It also gaps a bit, probably due to the fact that I cut the yoke from the bias-cut front. I added the darts that would have been in the back, and will also have to add at least an inch to the hem in the back.

#3: On the outer wrap, the yoke needs to be angled up a bit more so it'll line up with what's going on underneath. To fix this, I basically based a 5/8" dart for 4 1/2" , taking part of it from both the yoke and the skirt and tapering it into the seam that was already between the two. I'm also having to move the tab down and trim part of the skirt accordingly.

#4: The inside wrap goes over too far-- almost to the seamline. This would probably be ok for a regular wrap skirt, but since I do want the front to close in the center, this needed to get trimmed down. I took about 1 1/2" from the top and then tapered it into the pre-existing edge. Also ended up having to take a dart between the yoke and skirt on this side.


(In the meantime... Project Runway finale time!)

Can it be? Am I hearing this right? Christian just said nice things about Rami and Jillian's collections? Especially Jillian's? Now I know he's stressed. It's making him have a personality glitch.

Wait, no, he's back. Let's see... Jillian's stressing over models, Christian's snarking about her, Rami's being pretty quiet.

The collections:

Jillian-- I liked several pieces. That grey-and-red coat. The short blue dress. The gold dress. Some of them I thought were kind of odd, and I'm not totally convinced the striped sweater fits. That, and the sleeves make me think of a mop.

Rami-- Has some good color. Not sure about the gym bag with the pink skirt look. I do like his army green pants outfit a lot. And the woven corset wit hthe draped skirt. The two evening gowns were just stunning. Looks like the big poofy coat didn't make the cut, but that's probably good since it was highly criticized.

Christian-- No real woman would be ble to wear that first look-- too tight in the chest and big on the hips. Some of his jackets are good, though a bit neo-Victorian for my taste. Not into the poofy ruffle coat. Or that ruff that makes it look like her neck got eaten by a bridesmaid gown. Oh look, it's a Musketeer! Yeah, these big ruffly tops and tight pants are just not cool. And I'm really not just saying that because it's Christian. I will admit I like the blended-color chiffon looks though. It's kind of neat how they change colors.

I think I want Rami to win. Jillian would be my second pick.

Judgment time! Jillian is commended for her attention to detail, knitwear and innovation. Nina thinks it was a bit disjointed. Christian is "fierce" as usual (or "major" according to Victoria Beckham), but Michael and Nina thinks he had too much black and repetition. Heidi likes Rami's weaving too, as does Michael, though Michael's not a fan of the color choices. Nina commends him for having a strong point of view.

Ok, here we go... Jillian is out. And GAH!!!! I knew Christian was going to win, just because it would drive me crazy. If I hear that something is "fierce" for the next six months, when it doesn't involve, say, a wild tiger that's about ready to pounce, I think I'm going to scream.

Anyway, back to my project. Here's the mockup as it stands now, from the front....
...and the back....

...and the side. I'm going to be using twill tape for that one tab there. It really is laying better with the dart, so I'm not sure how they got it to work on the original without it. Once I'm satisfied with the fit, I'll have a couple more additions to make. I need to add a belt casing for the webbing belt built-in to the waist, as well as a belt loop for the end of it. And I want a zippered cargo pocket on the non-wrapped side. I know I'm not going to have time to sew tomorrow, but I can hopefully get enough to tweak the fit and maybe trim the seams and rip it apart to use as the pattern if I get home in time for Lost or something. At any rate, I will have Friday and Saturday nights, Sunday afternoon, and I'll have to wing it from there. But I got the basic skirt sewn together in less than an hour. Even with the extra details, surely I can get this done before next weekend's deadline!

When inspiration strikes like a piano falling from the sky

I'm having trouble concentrating on anything else right now. Thanks, BurdaStyle.


The scenario: A mini-challenge sewalong contest. I have to use the Sidone skirt pattern (alterations strongly encouraged), and I have until March 15. So I think the Desira pants will be put on hold. I may still do that sewalong, we'll see how the time goes.


I saw it at first, and was trying to figure out what to do with it. It's a shorter skirt than what I normally wear--generally I go knee-length or longer (I love long skirts), and a skirt closer to mini-length probably wouldn't be good for either church or teaching. So then I was thinking maybe I could turn it into a wrap skirt and use it for a beach cover-up. Then it hit me-- make a hiking skirt.


I know it sounds weird, but my hard-core hiker friend who got me into backpacking swears by them, as do several of her hard-core hiker friends that I met on one of the trips. I can see how they'd have their advantages-- for one, nature calls in the woods would be so much easier. (The disadvantage would be the ticks would have an easier time getting to my legs, but there's ways around that too.) Plus they just look so darn cute. I mean, look at this!


The Sidone would adapt to it very well, I think, since it's a basic A-line skirt. In theory, making it a wrap would be easy. If it's geared towards moving, the shorter length wouldn't matter-- it would be longer than shorts. The one problem-- I'm not sure what it would look like on the inside, to keep it from flapping open when walking. I emailed K. and asked her if she could bring one of her skirts on Sunday so I could look at it, so hopefully she'll get the message. (Oh, wait, she just emailed me back and thinks it's a great idea. So I'm good there.) I already have fabric, from my failed attempt to make zip-off hiking pants (I'd gotten enough for two pairs, so I have some black quick-dry nylon-type stuff that hasn't been cut into at all, and I've been wondering what to do with it since the pants pattern was a flop.) I probably have nice outdoors-weight zippers from that too. And maybe outdoors fabric will be slightly easier to work with, now that I have a serger and can take care of the fraying before it starts. So I'm quite excited about this project, and eager to get started! Even if I can't deal with the fabric itself till Sunday, I might be able to take care of a few starting things, like printing out the basic skirt pattern and seeing if I need to make any fitting changes. And maybe drawing out a cargo pocket.

I'm still planning on working on the Kaylee tonight, though, since I can't really make any serious pattern decisions until I see what I'm working with-- whether it's a pleat or a real wrap or what.


Also, a quick comment on part one of the Runway finale. So far, Jillian's collection is my favorite. The details are exquisite, like with that one jacket. I hope she brings some more color in, but since she worked for Ralph Lauren and they're geared towards those dull-colored timeless classic looks, I have my doubts. Christian looks like he has some good stuff, but that ruff he had for that one jacket looks like the model's chest would have been attacked by the ghost of Elizabethan collars past. (Not in a good way.) I knew Chris was in color as soon as he said he was adding human hair to his clothes-- creative, but kind of gross. And it was refreshing to see some tailoring from Rami, though that one coat was way over the top. Maybe it'll be different, seeing it in context. And I'm eagerly looking forward to Wednesday!

Edit, 10:28 pm: I did work more on the Kaylee tonight. Got the side seams in and the collar sewn on, though I still need to stitch down the inner collar. Had a bit of trouble with the invisible zipper-- I decided to try a technique from the 7/05 issue of Threads to sew an invisible zipper into an already partially-sewn seam. The good news is, there were no bumps at the end of the zipper. The not so fun news was that I actually ended up having to sew a third row of stitching in, with the invisible zipper foot-- it was supposed to work with just a regular zipper foot, but I couldn't get it close enough. I think I'm going to have to work with this technique some more--maybe try the second row of stitching with the invisible zipper foot instead of the regular zipper foot and see if that solves the problem.