Making time for sewing...Office Hours!

2012 was marked by an abysmal lack of sewing. We could blame it on a lack of pressing or interesting projects, or say that higher priority tasks and world travel edged out my sewing time, but it wouldn't be true. I simply didn't make sewing a priority. After the banner year of 2011 where I more-or-less completed a project each month, 2012 reeks of failure and smirks at me most unattractively. Stop it.

In spite of constantly proclaiming each January that I'm not a resolution-type person, I want to fill 2013 with the racket of my sewing machine and decided a resolution was the way to do it. My 2013 sewing resolution is to dedicate two hours* a week to sewing--I'm calling it my sewing office hours. Hopefully by giving the resolution/time commitment a pseudo-responsible title, I will not blow off my two hours a week or postpone indefinitely, or end up doubling up or tripling up my time commitment and invariably return to my infrequent sewing binge schedule. 

My first set of office hours was tonight since I had the flu last week (I actually did sew two hours worth last week, but that's another story). What can you accomplish in two hours of sewing? Well, not a whole heck of a lot. 

1. Seam rip, cover, and reattach two straps for my lamb bag (they were starting to fray, stuff was getting real)
2. Cut, embellish, and stitch two rice bags
3. Sketch, do the maths, and start cutting fabric for my forthcoming fabric cover for my new planner

There it is. I suspect that in future weeks I will make it through some larger projects, or at least through parts of some larger projects. But here is to a good start!
*Two hours a week is a minimum target, not a weekly prescribed exact amount.

2011 in Review!

It's leap day and I don't have someone to propose to, so I have to do other impressive things like beat my mile goal time (holla! yes!) and finally post my year-in-review. 

January !

2^nd: Bethie’s tweed dress

12^th: Scott’s Spice Pack

20^th: Bryce’s fireplace

January was a “clean-up” kind of month. I had a lot of Christmas gifts to finish and deliver. I was really stoked about Bethie's dress, but I made the huge mistake of choosing brown tweed for the fabric. I am fairly certain she has never worn it because it is brown (and a little big, but who's checking?).

February !

6^th: Chris’s bed pocket

22^nd: Jenn’s skirt   

We went to Mexico in February, and that seems more impressive than finishing up a skirt (hemming it, really) and making a bed pocket.

March !

23^rd Turquoise playsuit

26^th: bedroom curtains & ties

27^th: curtain ties (for the front room's curtains)

27^th: Cate’s pillowcases

Ah, the first playsuit! Made a size too big in some cheap yardsale fabric. Oh, how I love it! And my best curtains to date. So pretty and remarkably even in the hem!

April !

6^th: Michelle’s camel skirt

17^th: 5 pairs of bloomers for the KDVS Fundraiser!

May !

-fail-

But even if I didn't sew, it seems that I did wash a dog that month.

June !

12^th: Michelle’s light blue net dress

16^th: black w/ red & tan flower dress

30^th: coral window pane romper

Wedding dresses and other lifetime goals! I'm still mega proud of the dresses I made for Michelle and myself for Clara's wedding, and I can't wait until the return of romper weather. It should be a good time for all. 

July !

12^th: Michelle’s yellow playsuit

15^th: two headbands (one of which matches Michelle’s playsuit)

24^th: Orange/tan paisley Sorbetto top

 A Colette Patterns-heavy month, if I do say so myself.

August !

23^rd: teal skirt w/ black/white/red buttons

31^st: bed pocket for me

My teal skirt...why must you rumple so? I also need to do some serious fixin' on the lining, which I've shredded with my power stepping.

September !

2^nd: Jenn’s Art Tote bag

3^rd: Merril’s bloomers

22^nd: Thrift storedress modification

30^th: Blue BurdaStyle sleeveless top (never saw the light of day)

You guys haven't seen this shirt, but it is all around bad news. Susan is so embarrassed to be seen in it! I'm starting to think the buttons are cursed (they were used on my doomed Sencha blouse, too) since everything they touch turns to awful. Hrm.

October !

11^th: Atmosphere bag (decoration)

21^st: Jenn’s houndtooth wiggle dress

 Jenn didn't give me a picture of her in her houndstooth wiggle dress. I'll remember that. My atmosphere bag is pretty fun, though!

November !

12^th: Stella’s skirt

12^th: Cate’s sleep top (adorableness, why don't I have a picture?)

December !

1^st: Michelle’s laptop bag

1^st: Cate’s bloomers

11^th: Bryce’s eye mask and bloomers

16^th: Cate’s sleep top (I had to go back and finish the hems, then it was really done)

21^st: CJ’s bed pocket (which he keeps at the ranch)

24^th: 12 lavender sachets

24^th: Bethie’s white eyelet top

24^th: Claire’s summer fun dress

24^th: My red/tan lace dress

Busy month, don't you think?

That is my 2011 in review. December was easily my most productive month and May the least productive (I was distractedly working on Michelle's blue dress for Clara's wedding the WHOLE MONTH), and there were lots of bedpockets and bloomers. Colette Patterns dominated the show with thirteen items (though eight of those were bloomers), and my own love of cutting out shapes for home decor purposes made a good showing too. (hello bed pockets and curtains!) At the end of the year there were over 40 notable things I had sewn. Wow! Good job me!

Now that we're entering March, any ideas on sewing goals for 2012? It's not too late!

Christmas Dress! Still can't make things fit...

I made a dress for Christmas! Actually I made a dress that I mostly finished in October or early November but never finished fitting until December 24th. That way I could wear it to midnight mass to look great for my walk of shame out of the Cathedral. (Don't look at me, it wasn't my fault!) Pictures of this scandalous dress are few and those I do have are oddly lit, but hopefully you'll get the idea...

Disregard my rumples--I just got off work.

I used Butterick 6582 (the same I used for Jenn's wiggle dress that she NEVER GAVE ME PICTURES OF) and layered this ~carnelian red lace/cutout fabric hybrid--it's too sturdy to be lace but too hole-y to be a cutout fabric, is there another name for it?--with a nubby, tawny boucle-type wool blend that I shrank the dickens out of. It can't get much smaller! Here's a mega-close-up of the fabric.

Yeah! You don't know what part of the dress this is! It is like one of those pictures that you keep zooming out of until you figure out that it was a super-close-up of an old milkshake.

For a wiggle dress, it is surprisingly roomy. What that really means is that I still don't have the fit issues worked out. It might be a fabric selection issue or my determined nature to only make things in the wrong size, but it seems unavoidable. I keep hoping that I'll outgrow my mismeasuring/sewing stage. Heck, I can bike in this "wiggle" dress, that is wrong on ten levels! Also, check this out.

It's not a tumor.

What is with that shoulder lift? Looks like I need to do some minor disassembly, poke around there with a chopstick, then press that seam into the suburbs of Sacramento. Citrus Heights, I'm coming for you!

Without the protective sweater; with the protective dog.

Hopefully I'll be able to post the "2011 in review" summary soon. Stay tuned! If things get really crazy, I might even let you know what I've been doing in 2012!

Claire's Summer Fun Dress! in December

Yay for summer dresses in December! It really gives you something to hope for, since I've had summer on my brain in an incapacitating way for the past month. How is it in the 20s at night? How is that POSSIBLE?! Anyhow, Claire has long been talking about dresses of mine that she likes, specifically my 50s party dress. My goal had been to make her a version of that dress until I realized that I didn't have the pattern in her size. Dangs. The plan shifted into making a version of Burda Style 108 (March 2011), with the seam allowances included, unlike my last duel with this pattern.

more pictures from my porch, such class!

This fabric was a gift from Michelle as a thank you for sewing her a number of things. Can you picture it as something other than a spring-in-your-step dress? I can't. The original dress pattern called for a bubble skirt, but that seems a little silly on a grown woman. Instead, I cut the pattern pieces in the recommended length (a rather short and kicky 21 inches, ee!), gathered the tops and sewed it to the bodice. The hem is basic, as in without horsehair braid because I felt it would give too much lift to an already short skirt. Without the horsehair braid, the skirt falls about four inches above Claire's knees. 

Gathering skirts is something I should put on my resume...

The dress fits her pretty well (no photographic proof, just trust me), gives her hips and everything! Now if only it would warm up a solid 60 degrees. 

These photos were taken at the 11th hour, aka right before I wrapped this gift on December 24th. 

Christmas is over, thank heavens...

It is a tremendous relief to have Christmas behind me--all of December was lost to sewing, worrying about sewing, preparing to sew, and breaking needles. I break the most needles at Christmas. Especially on Michelle's gift, which took out a pack of needles.

I made lavender sachets to accompany most of my gifts (homemade and bought) this year, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. The sachets are a great scrap-busting project! I have leftover lavender if anyone wants another (or a first) sachet to put in your drawers or with your laundry as it dries, drop me a line if you would like one.

I'll post pictures of some of the things I made over the next couple of days, though I sadly did not get a picture of Cate's Janet-Leigh-in-Bye-Bye-Birdie-inspired nightie (from Simplicity 2749),

I used the 3rd version, naturally.

paired with the mini-Madeleine bloomers, nor of Chris's ranch bed pocket from Simple Sewing (now with more pockets than ever!); aside from those omissions, I think I got photos of all the handmade items. Better than all of that, I only used fabric in my stash as part of the big fabric destashing effort. Huzzah!

Bad weather coming your way

I finally fulfilled my dream of being a tornado for Halloween! One pack of assorted farm animals from Rite-Aid (~$6) and your existing set of black clothes and you've got yourself a gift-card winning costume! Farm animals, Chris's miniature train tracks and trees, and some of my bike pins were among the items to get swept up in the dervish known as Victoria on Halloween-Monday. Things to know if you ever make your own tornado costume: a skirt is probably a better idea because the debris on my legs kept getting tangled, and make the strings on your legs shorter so they can't get tangled! I lost some of the items just walking around the office, so don't be super attached to any of your debris. Oh, and be ready to spin ALL DAY LONG. Still dizzy.

Here it is in action:

In other news, I made Jenn a black and white houndstooth-type dress in this pattern this past month, fulfilling my new year's resolution, and a fabric destash as well.

Compliments: Butterick.McCall.com

I used the black version with the bows as the selected model. I made a huge mistake in not taking her picture when she tried it on at my house, as the louse refused to send me any pictures from the party she wore it to. I'll get her yet. For the record, the pattern calls for interfacing on the bows, but that made them waaaay too stiff and I had to hand-tack them to the dress so they wouldn't poke people's eyes out. I would not do the interfacing on the bows again. Her friend Sara had the same dress made for her in blue taffeta (Mad Men party, if you're wondering), minus the bows. Tres chic! At the very worst, I'll be able to report on my version, which is a brown/gold linen blend with a red lace overlay, no bows. I need to hem that beast and document it! I kind of want to wear it to the bazaar on Saturday, so I better get moving. Unfortunately, I'm getting sick as we speak. dangs.

September Blues

September passed with a whisper. The entire month was lost to me, a transition month that failed to take me from summer to fall. September (and summer?) are gone now, and I don't feel that I have much to show for it aside from a lot of work-related stress. Though I feel like I fell back on my destashing project, I did manage some sewing in there: I made a long-overdue tote bag for Jenn, finished Merril's bloomers from the KDVS fundraiser, tackled a thrift store project, and thoroughly muffed up a Burda-style shirt (still trying to figure that one out). Since you saw a slew of bloomers earlier this year, and Jenn's tote was a duplicate of the gift exchange tote (though her version is lined and has pockets inside!), I'll show you two other projects I have pictures of, one of them a long time coming. And they're both blue!

Of course I could teach you macrame!

I got this dress at the thrift store for a dollar. It had some unsightly stains hip-level and the length was...questionable. It had a post-prairie missionary feel to me, but check out that border print! It definitely called for the skirt to be removed, shortened, and reattached.

Success!

Back in June, I complained heartily about making Michelle's maid-of-honor dress for Clara's wedding because the netting was such a nightmare. I sewed until my fingers bled--not exaggerating, I had to wear gloves and bandaids to keep from staining my powdery blue tormentor. But it turned out really well! (and I should hope so after the muslins and fittings and general anxiety) Here are some shots from a different wedding earlier tonight...

What is Michelle's exclamation lately? You know, it is shouted at parties, texted...hrm.

This was my second round using horsehair braid on the hem. It is still wiley and less-than-cooperative, but the effect is lovely and I *think* my technique is getting better. (it gives the bottom of the skirt that rolling body)

I was reminded tonight that the original inspiration for this dress was a lacey Erdem number, which tells me that I need to look at more fashion magazines/websites so I can strive to replicate (and re-interpret) notable things. I need to constantly remind myself of that.

Extreme close-up!

And that Burda style shirt...shis. What happened there? Well, first of all there were some ill-placed buttonholes, and the fabric might be less than ideal for the pattern (left over blue fabric from this dress)...you know what, I'm going to try to fix it. I'll let you know in a month or so if that worked out. Technically, it was my September clothing item to fulfill my resolution, but it needs more work if I'm going to ever wear it without a self-loathing grimace. Like I said, I'll get back to you on that.

Happy October!

Rainbow Collection: Blue Beignet Skirt

Whee! I finally finished Rainbow Collection: Blue! (It also counts as my "August" item of clothing) We'll say that it is finished, though it is missing belt loops. I really wanted to be able to wear it for my Wednesday meetings on the 24th (after failing to meet my "wear the skirt to my meetings on the 15th. No? How about the 17th. No? How about the 23rd. No?" goals), so I set those scraps aside and called it a cake. Maybe I'll stitch them on later today if I'm not at the river.

Lunch break! Very bright! (Chris was right) 

This fabric was purchased as remnant fabric from Britex last November. Even back then I was planning to use it for this skirt pattern or something similar. There was less than a yard of the linen, so there weren't too many other options. Finally, I would have a high-waisted skirt that was meant to be high-waisted instead of a skirt that crept up until you were forced to call it high-wasted. I've got too many of those...

No real comments on the Colette Beignet. It worked out pretty well, even installing the lining (which was snaky and sneaky and slipping all over the place). The skirt seems to have some stubborn stiffness along the button placket, but that is probably because I used too-stiff of an interfacing. The coolest part about the skirt is the button selection. Check it out!

I ordered these from LiDDesigns after becoming thoroughly disappointed with the selection of U.S. shippable buttons. The products from Thailand and Korea were interesting, but how long does it take for something to ship from those parts of Asia? I have enough delays without factoring long shipping times in! Anyhow, the buttons are perfect for the skirt and make sewing a worthwhile endeavor. Has anyone else had a hell of a time finding notions that complement your awesome creations?

This statue is right by my work in an art-walk corridor. Judging by the girth of her hips, I bet this statue has to make her own clothes, too.

The skirt will be great in the winter because it is surprisingly warm (unwelcome August discovery). Next on the list, I'm going to work on a "purple" challenge. I just dug out all of my purple fabric and found that a) I don't have much yardage of purple fabric, in spite of it being "my" color, and b) most of the fabric I do have is leftover satin from wedding projects. Someone should shoot me. 

Black, Red, and Tan Party Dress!

This party dress has been two years in the making! Not two active years, but two years filled with longing looks (you know, the sort that you gave that sandwich earlier today) and exaggerated sighs. "Oh imagined dress...when will we be together?" The answer the fabric always provided was, "Shut up and start sewing already!" I took this abuse from a (beautiful and charming) piece of fabric for TWO YEARS. I had put the fabric on a pedestal and I suffered mightily.

I'm just stoked to be here!

What makes this fabric (from Preet, natch) so awesome and worthy of two years of reverence would be that festive, vibrant border of not just flowers, but also scallops! Because this seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a hemmed skirt and a mess of appliqué completed without me lifting a finger, I was holding off on using the fabric, not wanting to spoil it with my normal mishmash of mis-sizing, wobbly seams, and hard cider.

So, flashback a month to mid-June. I'd been working my fingers past that first somewhat-unnecessary layer of skin to complete Michelle's dress (a future post, I promise!) in time for Clara and Brendan's wedding. It was the day before Chris and I flew out to St. Louis and I had no idea what to wear for the wedding. I bargained with myself. "You did such a good job on Michelle's dress, you DESERVE to go by something new!" I fully intended to hit up Sugar Shack with a purpose after work on Thursday evening. Then I ended up working until 7 and the store closed before I got my shop on. Sugar Shack waits for no man.

I wandered about the house, a puddle of despair seeping from one room to the next, wailing, "What am I going to wear!?" Chris, crazed man that he is, suggested, "Why don't you make something?" Because we both know that I am so skilled at whipping out perfectly-sized dresses in short amounts of time. In fact, as soon as the words escaped Chris's mouth, he looked like he had struck an infant: "what have I done?" However, I was just despondent enough to go for it!

I flipped through a mess of Burda Styles trying to find something that would work for the wedding and dug up dress pattern 108 from the March Issue. It was conveniently included in a wedding spread, in case anyone was having trouble figuring where you would wear a bubble skirt. Weddings and proms, folks!

They're bubble skirts...for a party!

Though I'm a closet fan of bubble skirts, this dress would have no such party at the knees; it would have a gathered poufy skirt starting somewhere near where most people have a waist. It would make the most of those pretty flowers and delicate scallops! Then stuff happened. 

First off, they didn't have my size listed--the highest size they did have for this dress came within centimeters of my measurements, so I figured it would work out well enough. I traced the pattern from the magazine and cut out the skirt, then sewed up the side seams to form a large rectangle with an open top and bottom. I then readied the fabric (not much left at that point) to cut out the the bodice pieces. I cut them. Then I remembered that Burda Style does factor seam allowances into their patterns. I can't type what I said. 

Hair in motion, dress in motion!

I didn't have enough fabric to cut out new bodice pieces, so I had to force the cut pieces to work in spite of their torso-hatin' ways. That is why the lines of the dress bodice don't look a whole lot like the lines on the pattern sketch above--the V in the back is much deeper and wider, the neckline more boatnecky. Also, the fabric was a heck of a lot more sheer than I ever knew...it needed to be lined and I didn't have anything that would fit that bill. In most lighting, you can see the polka-dot fabric showing through the bodice. However, all of these oddball flaws are quite dear to me and add to its eccentric charm.

Never giving this belt back to Michelle. Never!

Sadly, I don't think this dress is long for this world. I damaged the fabric by ironing it with a too-high heat setting, so there are fractious sections on the brink of deterioration. That was a lesson I would have really preferred to not learn the hard way.

These pictures were taken in front of the Governor's Mansion on 14th and H. Sadly, it is on the list of state parks to be closed by 2012. Fortunately, it is still open for the summer! Someone should go with me! Anyone interested? Or we can go look at our feet in front of the mansion, your call.

Very important shoe discussion

Time to break the silence

If you were wondering, I DID finish Michelle's dress in time for Clara and Brendan's wedding. Those of you who were at the wedding know that, since Michelle was clothed. What is somewhat more impressive is that I also made a dress for myself the night before I flew out. One night=one dress, but since when? Mine was black with red and tan flowers, and there were some...difficulties involved, but both of the dresses turned out really well.
Now, how do I say this...I didn't get pictures of either dress. Yeah, I totally dropped the ball on that one. Not only that, but all of the facebookers also dropped the ball as well, so I can't find a good picture of Michelle's dress anywhere online. Now I need to handwash both her dress and my dress so we can have a proper photoshoot. This photo is the best I can scavenge from online; it was taken around 2:30am at Caleco's.

See that sleeve? That sleeve is the root of one thousand curses!

Anyhow, let me bring you into my brain for this one. The mental picture I have of this blue dress is Michelle standing in front of the assembled wedding guests, a couple of steps behind Mikey. The hair has some more lift at that time in the night (can you imagine?) and the lighting was not so...brackish and neon. It is a very pretty picture, it is a shame that I don't sketch. Or use my camera.

Heavy Duty Playsuit!

I mentioned this dress (opaquely) before; I cut the pieces out before we left for Mexico thinking I'd have all day on the 7th to work on it, thus finishing it kind of in time for the Sew Weekly challenge. A canceled flight from Cancun to Los Angeles made a mockery of my sewing plans and ate up all of my sewing-Monday, and the pattern pieces stayed in the bag until last week, when I set small sewing goals to accomplish each night, i.e. sew the bodice on Wednesday. I finally got to hem it last night, and I'm pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of a heavy (heavy) duty (duty) playsuit (heavy duty!)!

ease in fit makes it ideal for sassin'

I picked up this turquoise fabric last summer when Michelle and I were yardsaling to find raw materials for Burning Man. I loved the color and the fabric, which originally gave me pause due to its canvas-like properties, worked out really well for this project. Regrettably, there were a number of small stains and defined faded areas here and there on the fabric, requiring strategic pattern placement/cutting, but I think I was successful in not making a pre-stained/faded dress. My sizing difficulties continue; though I'm okay with it for this particular project, the dress seems big all over. Why is that? How are my inches different from the inches of pattern makers?

good for dancin' too

This is the Colette Patterns Rooibos dress, which has a fun opportunity to pick a contrast fabric for the top of the bodice. This is excellent because I used to have this ill-advised habit of buying fabric sample packs where nothing was bigger than a half yard. Um, I don't quilt, and you'll be hard-pressed to make anything other than a purse out of such a small piece of fabric. At least I struggle...

close up of the neckline, on Susan the dressmaker thinger

I fulfilled my sewing resolution for March, and it might very well be my Easter dress! But you never know, my next project might be another springy dress, in spite of the fact that my office wardrobe is seriously lacking.

Bethie's dress and some sewing resolutions

Remarkably, I finished Bethie's dress in a week; specifically, the week after Christmas. Also known as the week when I was both physically sick and sick of sewing. But, I have now completed my first dress using an unprinted pattern! It is also the oldest pattern I have used to date, being from 1954.

Beth tried it on when we dropped it off, and though I would like to take it back and alter it a bit (re-do the darts to their original width instead of the less deep version seen here, shorten it another inch or two), Beth seemed unwilling to give the dress back. I guess that is a good thing?

This is the first project of the new year, and it brings me to my sewing resolutions: 

• I vow to create one to two "big" projects per month, and 
• I vow to create more things for myself. 

A "big" project means an article of clothing, not just a tote bag or traveling pouch. In spite of sewing for the past three years (anniversary of my first Craft Center class this month!), I still only have two dresses and two shirts I have made for myself. I never wear the shirts because of awkward fit issues and unforgiveable rookie-sewing mistakes, but I wear the grey dress bi-weekly and the green dress whenever I can rustle up an occasion. (There was also a drop-waist 60s dress fiasco in there; no pictures were taken and I donated it to good will because it made me look like frumpy maid)

So, more projects and more things I get to keep in 2011! Once I finish my to-do list for others... :)

Oh, and I'm also going to be more active or something. And leave my house more to hang out with you. Yeah!