put a bird on it

There was a week or week and a half or so near the end of March where I had absolutely no time to sew at home-- I had five rehearsals for various music things in 7 days (!), and all more in the northern part of the state. My parents live closer to everything I do than I do now, and I still teach there anyway, so I just killed the extra time at their place rather than lose the extra hour (and gas/toll money) driving home and back. The point of all this is that my mom is great, and not only let me use her sewing machine to construct these badly-needed pajama pants, she also let me raid her stash! I tried really hard to finish these in April, because it's the one contribution to Pink April that I could have possibly had in my anti-pink stash, but didn't quite make it.

To continue the running theme of Sewaholic patterns that I seem to have going on this year, these are the Tofino pants. The side panels didn't really add a whole lot of extra construction time, and I like that I can mix fabrics. The added waistband piece vs. fold over and sew is kind of nice, too--I think the crotch depth of this pair is more flattering than other pj pants I've made. Plus once the top starts getting holes in the top but the rest of the pants are still in good shape, I could always just remove that piece and sew on a new waistband, rather than toss the whole pair!

Isn't this bird print fun? I've had it for a couple of years. I originally bought it with a Sewaholic Crescent skirt in mind, since the pattern specifically says it works with quilt cotton! But in typical fashion, the print ended up being a much larger scale than I'd thought when I ordered, and I just didn't think it would work for the skirt seaming, especially in the yoke. But it's great for crazy loud pj pants! Of course, since I bought it for a skirt, I didn't have quite enough to make the full-length pj pants. I didn't want to make the shorts, because pants that were lighter than flannel but warmer than shorts were really what I needed. I seriously thought about cropping the pants to mid-calf to see if I could squeeze them out, but then Mom said she wouldn't mind letting me steal a piece of her quilt cotton. I settled on this bright dragonfly print. I had to cut it on the crosswise grain to squeeze it out, but it still worked.

There really isn't too much I can say about construction, other than they were easy, just a little time-consuming to get the piping sandwiched in well. They're super-comfortable. I've been wearing these literally every single night since I finished. I think this may be my new go-to pajama pattern!

On a random note, every time I look at the print, I think of this song.Which isn't a bad thing, since it's pretty and it has a great flute solo in it. Yes, I will freely admit that I have a strong bias towards songs that feature my instrument!

 Stashbusting stats:

Total used up (from my stash): 2.5 yards. Plus some piping, though I unfortunately had to buy another pack because I ran out with one line to go.

And since I forgot to add it to my last post, total used up from the Plantain cardigan: ~1.1 yards.

Fairly quickie refashion

Working on Saturdays always makes me a little cranky. The good thing was that I got off earlier than I thought (ok, not so good for my wallet), so I decided to do some sewing. I'm more inclined to refashioning when I'm cranky, because then I get to destroy things first. So I took one of my more recent thrift store acquisitions and chopped it up a bit. (Picture-heavy post coming up.)

I liked the color of this dress. And oddly, I liked the ruffle at the bottom.

I also liked this cute matching belt. Unfortunately, even at its tightest, the belt is too big for me. Which was a pretty big factor in what I ended up doing with it.

The more I was looking at this, the less I could see myself wearing this as a dress. I thought about dissecting it solely for fabric, but I couldn't really see it as a top of some sort either. So I decided to take it into a different and much more useable route-- I've badly needed some more summer sleepwear this year, especially since one of my few pajama shorts is literally falling to pieces. (No surprise, since I made them when I was 15 or something.) So I decided to go for a nightgown-ish sort of thing.

First thing I did was take out the side zipper, and then cut the skirt off of the top. Then I sewed the seam back up...

Then I fiddled around with it to figure out how long a portion of the skirt I wanted to use, based it together (it was a sheer fabric over top of a lining) and chopped off the excess.

I took the back next, and ended up trimming off pretty much everything above where the armhole curve started, then made an elastic casing at the top.

Then I took what was left of the back, which was still attached to the front, and trimmed off a good chunk of the back to make some straps.

Then I turned under the raw edge and stitched it... I know it looks a little weird with just that part topstitched, but you can't really tell on the finished product...

....because I made the straps all twisted up.

Then I sewed the straps to the back-- the front was kind of a surplice thing, so it was in two pieces.

Then I sewed the top part to the skirt...

....and sewed elastic on top of the seam to try and pull it in a bit. I guess the elastic I used wasn't super-stretchy, because there's not a whole lot of give there, so I might replace it. Seems to fit ok though.

And here's the finished result. It's definitely much frillier than my usual pjs, and not the sort of top I'd ever wear in public because it's way too low-cut and definitely has that maternity vibe. But I had fun making it, it was fun to experiment with a style I don't normally do. It was pretty comfortable to sleep in, too. And even if it is kind of frilly and girly, no one sees me when I sleep anyway. So works fine for me!

Festive.

So I haven't posted in a week or so, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!
I finished these pajama pants last Saturday. And while most if it went together nicely, the elastic casing proved to be a bit more of a pain than anticipated. The first problem was, I didn't realize until I got to that step that there was no elastic that was wide enough in my stash! So I had to run out to Joann's (on the Saturday before Christmas) to get some. Thankfully, the line was not as long as I expected it to be.  Then there was the issue of trying to get it in-- apparently I stitched the casing just a little bit too narrow, so it took me awhile to wrestle the elastic into submission. Even then, there's a spot in the back where the elastic didn't gather properly (right where I left the opening-- I ended up just having to stitch flat over the elastic.) So not the most professional-looking pair of flannel pajama pants I've ever made, if the term "professional-looking" can be applied to pajama pants, but they're done, and they're very comfortable, and the flannel must be a really good quality because I've been wearing them for about a week and they haven't gone all wrinkly on me from being slept in.

And here's a closeup of the fabric--a very cheery print! As it turned out, I had a long-sleeved knit shirt in my refashion pile that perfectly matches the lighter shade of green. I'd gotten it at the thrift store awhile back because I liked the color, but it was a bit big for me, so I had a thought to use a dress I'd found on the same trip that matched it well as a trim, and cut it down to size. But it's been relegated to pajama use instead, which works for me-- I'm silly enough to want the top half of my pjs to match the bottom half! Plus one thing out of the recon pile is always a good thing.

I also made this necklace for one of my cousins for Christmas. (She won't see this post.) On my mom's side of the family, for years each of the cousins has drawn another cousin's (or occasionally a sibling's) name, and that's the one they buy a present for. There's enough of us that it was just too much for the aunts and uncles to buy a present for every niece and nephew. Even though we're almost all adults now, it's still pretty much a gift from the aunts and uncles, but I wanted to contribute something this time. My mom's been making a lot of bags like this one that I made several months ago lately, and she had the idea to make one each for the cousins that I and my brother picked (since both of us drew girls), and fill them with handy things. The cousin I got is still in college, so she got things like a pack of purse-sized notebooks, pens, a water bottle, snack food like chocolate and mini bags of popcorn, etc. And the print of her bag has butterflies on it, so for a fun addition, I made this very simple necklace to match--it's just a chain with some iridescent beads scattered in it, and then the butterfly pendant. (My cousin who just started working as a nurse this fall got something similar, and my sister-in-law made her a scarf to go with it.)

Aside from that, I spent some time earlier this week decking my room with some of my ornament collection-- I love my mismatched ornaments, because almost all of them were handmade or given to me by friends, so there's memories with all of them. But I've never really gotten to use them, until this year. So this is what I ended up with:

It extends to the end of the hutch, too...a bit busy with my dvd collection in the background, but between the impromptu garland (a very thick piece of jewelry-making hemp that I've never been able to figure out what to do with, held in place by extra-large binder clips) and a few other places I found to scatter them, I was able to use nearly the entire collection. Since I'm still living at home, it was really nice for me to have a way to decorate my space that's just mine, you know?

Anyway, that's all for the moment....though there will likely be another post today, since I'm very close to finishing a project I started on yesterday!

Ahh....success.

I'm not completely done with the jeans muslin yet. But thanks to a brilliant suggestion by the wonderful teacher, Jen, the issue of weird wrinkles in the front around the crotch area seems to have been solved! So I just have to make a few more tweaks, and then I just might have an actual usable jeans pattern!

Aside from that, did some "real" sewing today. I cut out the first part of what will hopefully become a shirt inspired by the Anthropologie sweater I put in the last post, as well as a pair of new pajama pants from some wonderfully soft flannel. I did get those partially sewn together today--a nice quick project, since I'm not going to worry about seam finishing or anything on this one.

I also did a small wardrobe refashion. Some of you may remember these pj's from a few years ago. Which I still love. But in the 2-3 winters I've worn them, I've learned that while those sleeves look awesome, they're really not very practical for clothes to sleep in. Especially this time of year-- all sorts of cold air gets in the sleeves, they get caught on things all the time, and if I want to throw my robe on over them, the sleeves don't exactly fit. I also discovered while unpacking them that one of the sleeves had ripped pretty badly near the armpit, I guess from the weight of that fabric while going through the laundry. So while I was repairing that, I chopped something like 10-12" off of the sleeve.

So this is what they look like now. Or at least as much as I can show with one arm shoved in a sleeve and the other holding the camera! (Also, please excuse the wrinkles--it was stored under my bed for the last six months or so.) I think it keeps the spirit of the kimono sleeve, but hopefully it'll be much more wearable now.

Au revoir, Jane....

This is what I woke up to this morning-- a huge tear right in the middle of one of the seams on the shorts I made as part of my BurdaStyle Jane pajamas! I knew they weren't going to hold up a super-long time, because the first time I washed them, I noticed that the seams were fraying rather badly despite the pinking that I put on them. So this really isn't fixable, because it's not so much a tear as that the fabric has literally frayed down to the stitching and beyond. I'd hoped they'd make it through the summer, at least...oh well.

So I'm going to treat this as a learning experience, and this is what I'm taking from it: First, if the fabric is this easily frayable, I really need to take the time to finish the edges. (My serger was in the shop when I made these, admittedly, but some zigzagging might have helped nicely.) Also, I probably should have made this one size larger--the top fits decently, but the shorts were just a liiiiiiiiittle bit on the snug side. So I think a reprint of the pattern is in order.

Though I am a little on the low side as far as my stash of summer sleepwear goes, I'm not crushed....they were cute, but it was just fabric from my stash that, as I said before, I'm not really sure what possessed me to buy them. And, I mean, they have pink on them. So I think I can consider this a muslin and just use a better print the next time. 


In jacket-sewing news, it's progressing... I've slowed down a bit this week because of some bias tape trim issues. Namely that suedecloth makes awful bias tape. The edges just don't press under that well, and it doesn't curve all that great. I had to completely change my original sleeve embellishment idea because the fabric simply would not accommodate it. But more on that later....as of now, the front pieces and the back pieces are sewn together, but the front and back are not sewn together, and the trim is all taped onto the front and sleeves (with a water soluble tape-- not quite the same brand that Oonaballoona recommended, but this stuff will dissolve if I ever need to wash the jacket, so that's good.) So I need to stitch that down before I can go any further. I'm hoping for a really good sewing day on Saturday, so we'll see how it goes!

Bonjour, mademoiselle Jane!

...and that pretty much exhausts all of the French I know. Unless I want to count to three, or start singing "Frere Jacques", or start quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  ("Fetchez la vache!!") Hey, don't look at me like that, the only language options I had in high school were Spanish and German, and I went with the latter. But anyway, it seemed like a fitting way to show my next finished project, which I finished yesterday (except for pressing).

So I've had this fabric in my stash for quite some time. It seriously might have been something like five or six years. I'm not really sure why I bought it, to be honest. I've never really been a Francophile--my European interests lean way more strongly towards the UK/Ireland/Italy. Also, pink is my least favorite color, and I generally go out of my way to avoid wearing it. As you can see, it figures quite prominently in this print. I'm also not entirely certain why I kept it after I freecycled a good chunk of my stash last year, to a woman who wanted to get started with sewing. I was probably thinking that giving her a slippery, silky fabric that frayed easily would be a great way to get her to give up in frustration. But it was time to get it out of my stash, and I needed summer pajamas, so here we go...

Pattern: the Jane Pajamas from BurdaStyle

Pattern Description: from the website: "A delicate and delightful set- neglige and shorts!"

Pattern Sizing: 32-44. I went with a 38.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? The top does. The shorts are close, but I made mine longer.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I have to admit that I didn't really look at the directions for the shorts-- I've made PJ shorts/pants often enough that I know the drill. The only thing about the top that I wasn't entirely clear about was how to attach the straps in the back, but I winged it and it was fine.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It came together pretty quickly. And I'm actually pleasantly surprised at just how well the top fits! (I haven't actually tried the shorts on yet, so I hope they're ok!)

Fabric Used: See above. Aside from that, polyester silky print.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I added about 3 inches to the length of the shorts--they were practically underwear length! The only change I made with the top was to eliminate the bow. This fabric made it frou-frou enough without adding that. (There you go, more French!)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Provided that it fits ok, I definitely will. Especially the top. Though maybe out of a fabric that has a bit of stretch instead of a straight-up woven...

And now, back to work on my top-secret BurdaStyle related project. Curious? All will be revealed in due time...

Darn you, Pattern Review!

I had my next several sewing projects plotted out--I even made a list at work the other day to figure out a good order to work on things in. I even started on that list yesterday (at least until I had to stop for reasons I will disclose later in this post), and then you just had to go and offer a jeans-making class! Which of course you knew I couldn't resist signing up for, since I've been trying for what, 2 or 3 years now to get a decent pair sewn up? And especially drawing me in with that class outline saying that two of the topics covered would be denim selection (since that was probably the first major problem with the ill-fated jeans of last summer) and adjusting the pattern to avoid things like gapiosis (which is always a problem with my jeans, and the fit of the last pair wasn't so hot overall either).So much for the best-laid plans....but at least I'll (hopefully) get a successful pair out of this!

I also ordered this pattern, which I've heard a lot of good things about both from PR and from sewing bloggers that I follow. I'm hoping it will be nicer to me than this one, which was a resounding failure on me and didn't even make it past the muslin stage. And let's not talk about that self-drafted one that I had to make out of masking tape....it fit better, but was still somewhat disappointing. I guess that's what I get for using "imperfect-but-basically-best-fitting jeans", as I put it. Oh wait, I guess I just talked about it!

Well, the class doesn't start until the 26th (which is fortunately after I'm done with band for the school year and will therefore have a little extra time!), so I've got a little bit of time. And as I said, I did start on some other projects. Like, for instance, I had an idea awhile ago to turn this sweater into a more summery cardigan. I picked it up at the thrift store earlier this year with the intent to wear it as a winter layering piece, but the open-knit parts of it made it not work quite so well for that purpose, and then I got one I liked much better off of the clearance rack at Kohl's. So my idea was to cut this one up a bit, serge the edges to keep them from unraveling, and piece it back together so I'd have a shorter, waist-defined, short sleeved cardigan that would still preserve that cool zig-zag hem. The kink in the plan is actually my serger, sadly...I don't know if it just didn't like those more open bits when I was trying to go along the edges of the stripes in the chopped-off middle section to use as a waistband, or if something just went really weird in the mechanism, but I had to stop using it because one of the needles is now hitting one of the loopers. I replaced the needle twice (I had to do the first one because it broke), checked the instruction manual, cleaned it, oiled it, tested it again multiple times with just turning the wheel,and it's still making that clicking noise and rather obviously hitting the looper. So I'm not really sure what to do with it at this point, other than take it to the repair shop! :-( So I had to abandon that project for now, as I don't have quite enough serge-edged pieces to start sewing it. But hopefully I'll get this taken care of quickly, as I'd like to have it for my projects again soon!

On a brighter note, I did cut out a pair of summer pajamas today, which I just might be able to get sewn together quickly. Since I can't use the serger right now, I'm thinking I can either zig-zag the fabric edges or just trim them with pinking shears to keep the fabric from unraveling. The latter might be more comfortable, actually, and since they're just pajamas, I can probably be a little more lax on the inside finishing than I've been allowing myself to for awhile now. (And this one was on the planned summer sewing list-- #7, to be exact. I did decide to go with the Jane pajamas, and it's probably a good thing as I had barely enough fabric to do it! Particularly since I'd already lengthened the shorts...)

Oh yeah, and the black skirt is done as of Wednesday night. Or yesterday, I suppose, as that's when I pressed the hem as the last detail. Just haven't taken pics yet.

Finally catching up

Finally getting around to the rest of what I've been up to in the last couple of weeks.

#1: The car seat covers. I meant to do these last summer, but it was one of those things that I just ran out of time to do, and then it got cold, and so on. But I finished these the weekend before this past one. Made them out of four beach towels. The previous ones were beach towels too... in the spirit of trying to not be wasteful, I cut up the old ones (also beach towels) and am in the process of serging the edges of them to make blotters for a papermaking project I'm hoping to do soon.

#2: Last week was an extra-busy work week for me-- the annual middle school band camp that I'm the flute instructor for. Monday and Tuesday were particularly rough in that they were very long work days, between that and my regular flute teaching. But when I got home on Tuesday, despite being quite tired, I was in the mood to do something creative that I wouldn't have to think about too much. So I popped in Bride & Predjudice (not a mistype, the Bollywood version) and broke out the beads, and this is the result...

Gryffindor earrings!! We had some theme days, and since Wednesday was the premiere for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the kids were encouraged to wear house colors. So I went with this. (The red looks a little more burgundy when it's not in that sort of lighting, and I happened to have a non-HP-related burgundy and gold shirt that also has a star on it, so it does double-duty.) My best friend, who is a die-hard Potterhead, stopped by briefly that night to borrow my hiking daypack, and so I made her an identical pair. She was quite pleased.




This necklace is actually a reconstruction of sorts-- I made the basic necklace a couple of years ago, with a sun pendant that was huge. It didn't look so good and it kept falling off anyway. I got the pendant separately with no idea of what to do with it, and finally realized that it went perfectly with the existing necklace.

The bone earrings were made to go with a shell -and-bone necklace that I wear all the time in the summer-- one of the two original earrings got lost when I was out one day.
Finally, the "summer wardrobe" necklace-- I got the materials for this specifically to fit my hippie-ish theme. (The cording is hemp.) In retrospect, I probably should have waited until I was a little more coherent and put the flowers closer to the pendant instead of the copper beads. Maybe someday I'll redo that... we'll see.

And then on Saturday, I spent most of the day sewing a skirt, but ended up wrapping it up with a quick refashion. I got these pjs during my freshman year of college, and they've served me well. But I've since learned that tank top + pants = limited wearability time for me-- too hot for summer, too cold for winter, and the last couple of years the springs and falls haven't really been much of a transitional time. So now I have a tank top + shorts. Much better.
And the bonus is I could make them longer shorts--I'm not particularly fond of walking around in short shorts, even for bumming around the house in my pjs!!

Also making some progress on my upcoming bedroom makeover...I've ended up with a different computer desk, since my dad found one for free that would save me more space in the room (and has a bit more storage options), and he's helped me do a little repair work on it. I've also started what is looking to be the long, slow process of prepping it to paint-- lots of sanding. (The repair involved sanding down the particle board enough on one piece that it pretty much has to be painted.) And I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond today to get some storage-type stuff for the closet and under the bed. (Was thinking about making some fabric storage bins, but I found some that were good sizes, sturdy, not too expensive and even matched the room, so I figured I'd save myself the time and hassle.)

To go back to the clothes refashioning...I'm feeling a need to do some simplifying again...the impending fall and all of its schedule changes/preparations for my brother's wedding are stressing me out a bit. So it's been a tough decision, but I've decided to take another break from Wardrobe Refashion after my pledge is up at the end of the summer. Seeing as how it's the middle of July and I'm still working on my summer wardrobe plans, and I have to replace nearly all of my work pants and still haven't mastered fitting those, and I need some sweaters and haven't had luck with making or thrifting them, and my next several projects have to be things related to Adam and Julia's wedding (including arranging the music for it, once they finalize that), I just can't practically keep up with it. I figure I can still try to take away the lessons I've learned from it... I'm not going to stop refashioning, and I can look for some more sustainable options (at least for the sweaters...I have my doubts about the pants). And maybe if things calm down, I can go for another round. Everything has its season, and right now I think I just need to keep my sewing more simple and fun.

Princess Pajamas!

Well, purple is the color of royalty, right? Just please excuse the clashing red slippers. (What can I say... they were a gift, and they cover my entire foot so they're warmer than my old slippers.)

Anyway, I decided to start actually using my Pattern Review membership and start posting reviews. So welcome to my very first pattern review, for the pajamas I finished on Wednesday. (Even though I think this pattern is out of print now. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, right?) The actual review is here).

Pattern: McCall's 3017

Fabric: flannel-backed polyester satin, cotton


Pattern Description:
Women's pajama pants, pajama shorts, camisole, and button-down top

Pattern Sizing:
XS to XL

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I didn't have any difficulty with them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like that there's so many options for customization, particularly with the contrast bands and piping. I don't particularly like the sizing on the button-down shirt-- I made a size smaller than my usual because after checking the finished garment measurements against my own, I realized I'd be swimming in my regular size. The smaller shirt is still loose-fitting and comfortable.

Fabric Used:
A flannel-backed polyester satin (SO soft and warm!), and a metallic-printed woven cotton for the piping. (Made my own.)

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
As already stated, it was necessary for me to make the shirt a size smaller than I usually make. I also lengthened the sleeves an inch or two to accommodate my long arms. (The latter caused a slight difficulty in fitting the cuffs smoothly to the sleeves, but I'll blame myself for that one since I didn't alter the cuffs at all.)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
This is actually the second time I've sewn the bottom--I made a pair of shorts from this pattern awhile back. I will definitely be returning to this pattern the next time I need a button-down top--it came together quickly and rather easily, for the most part. And I would recommend it, though a more beginner sewer might want to leave the piping off, since getting it to line up smoothly around the collar was the most challenging part. Just make sure to double-check the measurements before cutting out the top.

Conclusion:
These pajamas are very comfortable (wearing them as I type!), and now that I've had a little more practice with the piping, I think that will go much more smoothly next time.

Coming next time (because I haven't taken a picture yet)-- the shirt I reconstructed yesterday.

Meet Kaylee.

Kaylee is a kangaroo. (By virtue of the ears, because otherwise she would look very much like a dinosaur, I'm afraid.) I did most of the work on New Year's Day, and officially finished this on Friday night, but then I spent all day Saturday on the Great Craft Stash Reorganization, and she had to go into hiding on Sunday, and I forgot to take her out for her photoshoot until today.

Kaylee is for Susannah's bridal shower, which is coming up on Sunday. We're doing an Australia theme, since that's where her fiance is from and where she'll be moving to. So she's going to be doing double duty as decorations and gift wrap--Susannah couldn't register for much because of electronic compatibility and shipping weight issues, so the bridesmaids are just giving her money. Which will go in the pouch.

Oh, and the name? A tribute to Firefly, since Susannah, Joy and myself watched the series in its entirety while doing the beading on her dress. And that name fits better than, say, River or Inara.

I made the pattern myself, and it was mostly from things on hand. The dark brown fleece has been around in the scrap bin for quite some time. I did have to buy the light brown fleece, and the stuffing. (But I got organic bamboo stuffing, so that made me happy. It's so soft!) The buttons were also on hand. And, to give a little extra weight in the base and tail to help her stand up straight, I added a little extra filling...dried beans! (My mom's idea, which worked beautifully.)


Other crafty stuff that's been going on: I sewed most of the pajama pants that I'm working on together last night--just need to do the elastic waistband and the hemming. So that's tonight's project. I've also spent a good bit of down time over the last two days in matching up photos to paper for my scrapbook. So I'm not completely caught up on photos I had printed out--decided to hold off on Julie's wedding pics in case I want to buy any of the professional shots (like the bridesmaids on the mini-rock wall in my church's gym!) , and I was trying to limit myself to what would fit in my layout storage box. (That didn't quite work-- I have some to work on that involve saving bulkier things like multiple cards and such, or just so many photos that it wouldn't lie in the box flat, so I have something like 8 or 9 that I'm trying to get ready for the scrapbook binge weekend that are currently getting stored in page protectors that wouldn't work for my albums because they stick out too far, just like I used to do before I got said box.) But it's still a rather large dent. So now I just need to finish off the journalings, and try to get as much stuff cropped and such before mid-February, and I'm looking at a super-productive weekend that will go a long way in reaching my goal of finally getting my albums from the grad school years and on caught up! (Which, unfortunately, includes 2008 in its entirety. Oh well.)

Off to the sewing room with me-- want to get those pants done before the Lost recap at 8! One of the few shows where I cannot sew and watch at the same time. (Photo cropping, on the other hand... ;-)

Progress and Ponderings

This is what I've been working on for the last couple of days. I'm calling these my "princess pajamas"-- I mean, come on, purple satin with silver trim? But I think they're going to be really nice and luxurious when it's done. And hopefully warm, since it's flannel-backed!

Here's a somewhat close-up of the collar. I'm really proud about how well the tapering on the collar turned out-- granted, I did have to fudge it a little to get it to meet up, but I think the result was worth it. (Mostly.... in the process, I did sew my finger a little bit. First time I've ever done that, which I think it pretty good since I've been sewing since I was 7!)

I'm contemplating summer clothes again... dreamed that I was talking about sewing with one of my closest friends (who is, ironically, the least crafty of the bunch), and I remember specifically discussing a BWOF wrap skirt that caught my eye in my July '08 back issue....and woke up inspired to make something completely different. My idea would have to be a knit. So now I'm pondering how to make it work. That, and between that and my halter-style dress that I want t make for my mini-wardrobe, whether I need to also ponder building bras into both of these garments. Because I don't exactly like my strapless, and the nature of the straps on both garments would make them less than bra-friendly. (And bra-less is NOT an option!) So here's my question--have any of you ever done something like that? (Especially on a knit?) How hard was it?

My Mathematical Mind

....apparently needs some serious help! Since I'm in the stage where I'm back to teaching work, but not back to part-time job work, I'm trying to not get lazy and be very productive with my time. So I've been spending the last two days on things like exercising, practicing my flute, doing laundry, etc. And also starting some new craft projects. I've been working on getting some overdue scrapbook journaling written, in preparation for having some pages ready to assemble when Cassie, Tracey and I have our next crafty/geeky sci-fi marathon hangout thing. (We just scheduled it for mid-February.) And I also started my next sewing project, which is a pair of pajamas.

I made the piping for the trim on Friday night, which went fine, and my goal for yesterday was to get it all cut out. But when I was laying it out, I discovered that I had somehow grossly miscalculated what I needed when I bought it, and had enough to make either the top or the pants but not both. So I had to stop at Joann's on my way to my first student's house yesterday and get some more. Fortunately, they still had it! Oh well... it's like I usually tell people, I'm a musician and only have to count to 4 (or sometimes up to 8) over and over again. And that's why God had someone invent the calculator.

I'm also making a slightly belated New Year's "resolution", after having spent some time over the weekend measuring and sampling part of my stash. I have this little sketchbook with the fabric samples/yardages, so I can do things like choose patterns or matching buttons or zippers for things I bought with no particular use in mind (or waited long enough to change my mind on what I wanted to do with it.) So here's the deal: For every piece of fabric I buy this year, I have to make something with a piece of fabric I already have in my stash. And I am counting the pajamas miscalculation. So even though I already had it cut out, my top that I'm slowly embroidering the trim for is going to be the project for that. I had a little time this afternoon, so I worked on that a bit. Hoping I can keep chipping at it and get it done soon that way, because I'd really like to get these pajamas and that top done before I go into hardcore bridesmaid seamstress mode!

Speaking of fabric, I got this in the mail today. (Stupid Blogger won't let me imbed the image. Meh.) Anyway, you know how I said that one of my goals for the year is to make a mini-wardrobe? I've been sort of plotting it for a couple of weeks, and I already know basically what I want to make. My thought was to do summer clothes (because they're my favorite) with a beachy inspiration-- was originally thinking the Caribbean, because they've got that gorgeous blue water, but I couldn't pass up this print. It's fun and graphic enough to work really well with a dress I wanted to make anyway (the long one in the "day" section), it's got plenty of colors to draw from, and the name was "Sea Flowers" so it fits the theme. So I guess I'm going more with a mid-Atlantic beach town inspiration, because the colors remind me of the houses at the beaches I've grown up with, but that's ok. I got enough of it for that dress and this (purple) top. I also know I want to make this shirt (really the longer version, but that's in black so you can see it better here). Beyond that, I know I want to do some kind of shrug cover-up thing (I'm thinking a lightweight summer sweater, so hopefully I can at least get good enough with the knitting machine to make fabric for it!), a long skirt, a pair of jeans (if I can find some denim that works well with it, otherwise I guess I'll have to go with a lightweight pant) and a pair of shorts. Maybe a short-sleeved top of some kind too, if I'm feeling the need to add a third shirt to the mix. Ambitious, yes, but I figure I need something to be plotting while I'm sewing bridesmaid shrugs, because I already know it's not going to be the most interesting thing for me. And possibly frustrating, since I'm trying to fit people that aren't me (and two people to one of them, because the bride is taking the maid of honor's jacket with her to Australia, along with the dress since it belongs to her.) So trying to find fabrics to go with and patterns to use with it all should cover that nicely-- and give me a more fun incentive to finish quickly than a mere deadline!