a little owl cape

The nice thing about sewing on Saturdays is that I can instantly post! I literally just finished this project about 10 minutes ago, minus photography/writing time.

Anyway, as I mentioned in the last post, a friend of mine emailed me while I was on the Paris trip to ask if I'd be willing to help her out with a Halloween costume for her foster son. I've made some capes for her before, for her own boys and her nieces/nephews, and the idea was pretty cute, so it was hard to say no! The boy loves owls, and really wanted to dress up as one. This was the inspiration link she sent me. And she bought the owl mask herself, so my only responsibility was the cape.

And this is what I came up with. I made this one a little differently than the others, mostly in that it involved a half-circle rather than a rectangle. The bottom-most level of feathers is the cut edge of the cape, but all of the others were cut and sewn on. I was also able to use all stash fabrics! The boy's favorite color is green, so I was glad to find a piece of cotton that didn't have a girly-looking print on it.


And here's a view of the back, as best as Donna could model it. I'm sure her shoulders are wider than a little boy's! I left all the edges of the feathers raw, because it would have taken forever to make this otherwise, though I stitched the edges about 1/4" away from the edge to prevent too much fraying as it gets washed and worn. I figured a little fraying would actually be ok for this one, to soften the feather edges! The rows of feathers are just zigzagged on, so I did add the lining that you can see above in order to hide that. The rows got pretty crooked in some spots! I know there's this huge span of tan at the top, but honestly, I ran out of the green so I had to improvise!
One more detail my friend requested was some "handles" so he could use that to spread his wings. I made them pretty wide in order to accommodate growth, but it's just two pieces of ribbon stitched on so that the feathers above it were left free (minus the hem feathers, of course.)

I sent her some pictures in progress and she was excited about how it was turning out, so I'm hoping the boy loves it! This was more of a fabric hog than I thought, too-- I only have scraps left of the tan leaf print and the darker brown. So all in all, about 3.75 yards of fabric. I've been remiss in keeping track of the numbers on my spreadsheet lately--I still have some subtracting to do for the DragonCon projects and my TARDIS bag. So I'll have to catch up on that soon so I can at least see how I'm doing on my Stash Diet at the end of the month!

Are you doing any Halloween costumes this year? Or are you all too busy sewing your fall and winter stuff, like I need to start doing?

the slowest of sewing

I figure I'll have to do a few more in-progress posts for awhile, since I'm not speedy enough to whip out a winter coat in no time! Also, I've gotten a little sidetracked by a sewing request from a friend that I couldn't pass up. (Because it's costume-related and for a little kid--how could I say no?)

All I've managed to get done on my coat so far is to cut the outside and underline the pieces. My fabric doesn't look like a loose weave on the table, but when you hold it up to the light, it tells a different story!

If that much light gets through, it seems reasonable that winter winds could do the same! I had a large piece of silk organza left over from making this dress, because I seriously overestimated how much I would need to underline it. I also ruined the light color of it back when I made that dress, because I threw all of the fabrics in the wash together and it turned sort of an uneven, hand-dyed-looking grey. So I didn't want to use it as a press cloth, and I couldn't use it for any interfacing-type roles on lighter colored fabrics. However, I did have just enough to squeeze most of the outer pieces of this coat onto it, minus the two front pieces. (They were supposed to be interfaced anyway, and overlap when the coat is buttoned, so I was ok with making an exception there.)

The grain may be wonky on a few pieces here and there, because if you've ever worked with silk organza, you know how it shifts. At first, I tried cutting out the pieces and then basting it onto the main coat pieces, but of course things were shifting like crazy. So since the fabric itself has a bit more grabbing power than the usual things I underline, I tried a different approach: laying the pieces directly on the organza, basting them on, and then cutting them out. The other advantage to this was that I could tweak the layout to fit as many pieces of the coat on as possible, since I was working with leftovers!

The pieces are all cut out and ready to go, including the two interfaced front pieces. I'm hoping to finish my friend's project--an owl cape for her foster son to wear for Halloween/his early November birthday--before the weekend is over, so I can give it to her on Sunday. I do have a little sneak peek of that, aside from what I've been posting on Instagram here and there, because Doug got bored while I was working on this last weekend and started goofing off with my camera. I guess a good side effect of our Paris trip is he's a lot less nervous about using it now!
So many feathers. But the good thing is that I was able to completely bust a few pieces of quilt cotton from my stash!

And a little peek at me in my sewing room. It had been awhile since I had a nice chunk of weekend time to sew, so I was a happy girl!

The feathers didn't go quite as far when I pinned them on for real after edge-finishing, so I cut out what I hope is the last of those last night. The only work I have today is teaching a couple of lessons, so I'm hoping to get those edges done so I can finish up the sewing ASAP!

Top 5's of 2013, part 4: Knitting and other craftiness

Because those things deserve recognition, too, right? So here's all the things that weren't sewing clothes.

Top 5 hits of 2013: 

1. The Branching Out mitts that I knitted. Look, I did colorwork! And they're soft and cute and from a pattern I already had on hand. And I used the yarn in a fairly timely fashion, so win all around. I did have a bunch of this yarn leftover, but I'm actually using the leftover blue in a current project, which I will blog about when I have more to show for it.



2. The "Project Life" scrapbooking system. I started playing around with this during the summer as a way to try to stay more on top of my scrapbooking and document newlywed life. For those of you who don't scrapbook, the basic concept is that you can get these kits with pocket page protectors, cards that fit into those slots, and then you just add your writing and photos and you're basically done. Most people seem to do one spread a week. I've been doing more of a system of add stuff as I have photos for it or things I want to write down, occasionally mixing in more "traditional" scrapbook layouts, and go on a more month-by-month basis. I can't say I'm caught up, but it really is making it easier to scrapbook on a more regular basis--it's so easy to just grab the stuff, sit in front of the tv, and see what fits where. I'm also able to use some paper and stuff I already have, just slicing it down to size. I haven't showed too much of that on here, so here's a sampling of some things that I've (mostly) already gotten done!



It's not all pocket pages, obviously. The top two show what I've been doing when I have a "real" scrapbook page on one side--I've been making my own cards here and there to coordinate with whatever the main page is. The bottom left-hand corner is a finished page, from a concert that I went to over the summer with two of my closest friends, the bottom lowest right is one of the straight-up Project Life pages, though with a few additional filler cards that I made or printed myself, and the one above that is an in-progress one from the honeymoon. Yes, they're all Instagram pictures of a little plastic TARDIS. Doug and I were having fun with that! I just need to print out the captions and paste them on, and then that spread is done, and same thing with most of my honeymoon pics. I've only gotten stuff through the end of the summer mostly done at the moment, but I'm still feeling much better about this particular hobby than I have for a couple of years!

3. Geeky shoes. My bridesmaids and mom got a huge kick out of our mostly Whovian shoes for the wedding reception! And I have occasionally worn mine since, though not recently since it's been wet and icy a lot lately. Not the best scenario for painted canvas footwear.





4. It's nowhere near finished, but I'm going to add my Roheline cardigan. This is what it currently looks like. I have a long way to go, but once I got past the initial trouble with starting it, it's been a pretty easy knit, albeit slow. I think my stockinette knitting is starting to look pretty nice and even, which is why I'm calling this a win, even if it's still in progress! And now that I finally understand what it means by "wrap and turn" on the short row sections, the top will look even better.

5. Making things for others. Yes, this includes sewing too, but I tend to often be selfish in my crafting, and I did make more things that were gifts for other people this year. So that makes me feel pretty good.

Top 5 misses of 2013:

1. The scarf I knitted for Doug near the end of last winter. It was successful for stashbusting, but he hasn't really worn it at all so far this winter. This isn't a criticism, because he does wear the hat I knitted for him in 2012 all the time! He just doesn't get as cold as I do.






2. The bedroom curtains, to some extent. They do block more light than the blinds do alone, though it still can get way more bright than I like in the mornings. They're way shorter than I would have preferred. Note to self: Next time, be more generous with curtain yardage estimations.

3. Jewelry-making. Mainly because I just didn't take the time to do any this year. Note to self: must start playing with beads again, because I have way too many of them not to!

4. Home decor crafting in general. I meant to do a lot more, but once again, time management and I didn't get along so well, and I only got to the bedroom curtains.

5. Honestly, I can't come up with a fifth thing, because that more or less encompasses everything I made this year! So let's just say the time factor and leave it at that, since having more plans than I finished was a running theme this time around.

Finally, in the interest of not leaving projects unblogged, here's the handwarmers I actually finished to wear to my retail job.

It's honestly not my best work--I messed up the very easy stitch pattern here and there because I was in a hurry, and the yarn is pilling very quickly, because my job is hard on them. The stripes don't match up, and I don't care, because I just wanted to get them done--though I did do a surprisingly good job of getting the thumb gussets to match the stripes without even trying! But they've been keeping my hands warmer than they would have been on their own, especially during October when I was still mostly sitting at an outdoor register. This is how I was wearing them then:

Yes, those are other gloves underneath. Along with a hat, a scarf, long underwear, at least 2 other shirts, and a 2-layer sporty winter coat. Incidentally, one of the main reasons I still want to sew a new winter coat rather than just use this one, other than fashion, is that the inner layer is fleece, and I've found that it's really, really difficult to pull that on over my sweaters and blazer jackets, on the occasions that I forget to bring my "real" winter coat with me to switch to before I go do my teaching!

Aside from a couple of secret projects that I won't post until after Christmas, and a few in-progress things, that pretty much wraps up 2013! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!

First finished project of 2013! Finally!

Obviously, it's not the dress. Given the status of the last update, the only way that would have happened is if I had some talking mice and some friendly birds come in and finish it for me while I was stuck doing chores. But I'm not Cinderella (my feet are way too big, for one), so that didn't happen.

What I did finish was a knitting project. Nothing too exciting, just a striped scarf made from leftovers of the hat I made last winter, at my rather patient fiance's request. This has been one of my main go-to projects for tv hangout time with him over the last several months, as he knew I was making it and I didn't have to hide it. Unlike a certain sewing project.

As far as technique goes, I did learn a couple of things from this scarf:

1. I really don't understand how to join short pieces of yarn. I guess I could have just started knitting it, but I was afraid of unraveling, so I ended up knotting everything together. Which I'm almost certain is "wrong", but at least it's more likely to hold together should he decide to throw it in the wash.

2. My ends-weaving skills need work. I was left with lots of little frayed bits, which I wove in as best as I could and then trimmed off. Again, I'm not sure if this is "right" or not. (But I'm pretty sure it's not.)

It was a fairly decent stashbuster-- I basically knitted it until I was close enough to the end of the green yarn that I wasn't entirely certain I'd have enough for another round. I have just enough left to use as a small amount of stuffing for something. (Can you use yarn as stuffing? I do want to make some pillows for the house...) I do still have a decent amount of both the black and tan left, so I'll just need to figure out what to do with it. 

the tie saga

First of all: I don't believe that emerald green is really the color of the year. Either that, or no one listens to Pantone. Because if they did, people would actually be selling emerald green fabric, don't you think?

So, my fiance requested very early in the planning process that I make him a tie. I say this in the most loving way possible--he's not exactly what I could call a "stylish" man. The Anthony Lilore quote that Cidell posted recently--that is a very accurate description of his style. So given this (and the fact that he's flat-out told me that I probably shouldn't ever attempt sewing clothes for him, because he probably won't wear them), I felt like I should honor his request.

My original plan was to make a sash for my dress and a tie for him out of the same fabric. The problem has been actually finding some fabric, because it is really hard to find nice fabric that is solid green and not either chartreuse or olive, neither of which would really work for a June wedding with sunflowers. (If this was a fall wedding, I might be all over the olive, but it's not.) I finally found a piece of lightweight silk at Gorgeous Fabrics that was lableled "happy green", and looked to be kind of a bluer shade of yellow-green. And this is where the dangers of fabric shopping on the internet comes into play, because I got it in and it was basically lime. I like lime green. I think it's a very happy color. But it was also most definitely brighter than I wanted for the wedding, mostly because of trying to match accessories for me and the bridesmaids to that. So I ordered some kelly green dye from Dharma Trading Co. and decided to see what I could do.

I figured that doing the washing machine route would be the best for an even color job. And Doug has a top-loader machine, which is what is usually recommended for this. So since we were having a low-key hangout at his place for his birthday on Saturday anyway, he was fine with me experimenting.

So I got the fabric wet, put the dye in, and let it run through the cycle.

The result....


Yeah, it basically looks exactly the same as it did before, doesn't it? With the annoying addition of a few red dots right in the middle of the fabric, and a loss of the nice silky feel that it had before. *facepalm*I did try washing it again on Monday--with fabric softener--but it doesn't seem to have helped yet. I'm going to run it through again soon, since I got some things at Goodwill that I need to wash anyway.

So after I freaked out a little and he got me calmed down, we headed over to Michaels' to see if we could get some other dye. The selection of greens was rather limited, but we got some dark green since it looked like it would turn out decent. At his suggestion, I just cut a narrow strip off of the bottom and did a test run first. It's a good thing, because it basically turned out to be army green. (I don't have a picture of this, and already threw the strip away, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.) At least now I know the washer dyes. So I gave up for the day and cleaned out the machine.

At this point, and after looking on Dharma again, I gave up and ordered a new piece of fabric from Mood on Sunday morning. It's polyester, and I feel bad because I'm indulging myself with a silk dress and wanted to make him something nice too. But the powers-that-be are not working with me on the colors, you know? This also means that I've already broken my stashbusting pledge to not buy new fabric, but I think I can chalk this one up to special circumstances. I only bought a yard because at this point, the sash seems like more trouble than it's worth. And at least with kelly green, I do have a better chance of finding jewelry to match. Assuming I can get it, because I also got a call last night saying that they don't have it and wanted to talk to me about what my options are! I tried calling them back and it hung up both times--the original call had been during one of my lessons and I couldn't pick up. So I guess I'll call them today and see what's up.

Seriously, people--why is it so hard to find solid green fabric?! The really annoying thing is that I need this fabric asap, so I can match the color to other things I need to get sorted really soon. Like centerpieces and cake.

This also means that I have about 3 yards of lime green silk with not much to do with it. Doug said multiple times that he likes the color. So I may try my hand at some lingerie. And maybe the Alma blouse, since I do have some skirts that a lime green top would look great with. If I can get this nice drape and hand back. Stupid dye.

Edit, 12:43 pm: I got back in touch with Mood, and was told that they wouldn't get it in for 4-6 weeks! Which is kind of pushing it for a lot of the other things I need to match the color to. But the woman on the phone was very helpful, and I was able to swap it out for another piece that was the same price. And--get this--emerald. So hopefully that will be the end of the drama!

Surprise-- I'm still knitting!

It's not a really focused thing right now, obviously. But this has become the answer to the conundrum I posted about awhile ago for what I can do in situations where I want to craft but can't work on the dress. Namely those where I'm just chilling at my or Doug's house, watching tv with him and wanting to keep my hands busy.

So I have two in-progress projects to share with you today.

I started this one first, though it's hibernating for the moment. These are the "Branching Out Mitts" from Coastal Knits, which I received for Christmas last year. Over this past year, my best friend and I have become fascinated with the "bucket list" idea, though several years late for the movie, and have been working on creating ours. I've ended up with several craft-related ones on mine so far (yes, including "sew my own wedding dress," though that would have been on there anyway even if I wasn't currently planning my wedding!), and one of the things I've decided I'd like to do is to knit at least one project from every knitting book or magazine that I own. I liked several of the projects from this book so I'm sure I'll be revisiting it, provided I can find good wool-free yarn options for some of those sweaters. The yarn is some that I purchased near the end of the summer, and it's been very nice to work with so far. The biggest challenge has been trying to teach myself to knit with a second color within a pattern, and I'm hoping that I'm allowing enough slack for those little runner strings, or whatever they're called, on the backside, since I do tend to knit rather tightly.

I set it aside for a super-simple scarf for Doug, to go with the hat that I made him for his birthday.  Now that it's getting colder again, he requested one, and I have to take advantage of such rare opportunities. He's flat-out admitted that I probably won't ever be able to make clothes for him! He's super-picky about comfort, and once he's out of work, pretty much all he'll wear are oversized t-shirts and black athletic pants. I've never seen him even wear jeans! (On the plus side, I won't have to feel guilty that I'm sewing all clothes for myself and not for him, right?) Anyway, this is pretty much the perfect brainless tv knitting project, because it's just knit 3 purl 3 rib. The hardest thing has been keeping track of the number of rows before I need to switch colors. And, well, the switching colors. Since that hat is pretty much the only striped thing I'd knit ever, and that was in the round, I'm honestly not sure if I'm doing this right. I've been tying the ends of the yarn together for now just to hold it together, and I have started knitting the tail of the new color into the scarf so that I have one less end to weave in later. But weaving in ends is something that doesn't seem to work too well for me so far, and on the couple that I did do, I have little puffy yarn ends sticking out. I guess I'll just trim those out with scissors, but I'm not sure how this is going to hold up in the long-term...any suggestions from you veterans?

I've been doing the alternating stripe widths on the black and the tan on purpose, so I can use up more of the other. My plan is basically to knit until one of the yarns, probably the green, runs out. Hurrah for stashbusting! (Hopefully it won't be the black that runs out first, since I used the most of that in the hat.) And although he knows he's getting this, since I've been knitting it right in front of him, I am still hopeful that I might finish this around Christmas so that he has it for the coldest part of the winter.

Not that I'll be working on them today, because I have another day not scheduled at the shop. (Even though this time I have to work Saturday instead....boo. Oh well.) So today, other than my teaching, is all about muslin deconstruction!