Trowbridge Street

I'VE MOVED!

2009-05-08T16:46:00.004-04:00

UPDATE YOUR RSS FEEDS!

For a variety of reasons, I've changed the URL of my blog.

Check me out here: http://trowbridgestreet.blogspot.com/

Still here...

2009-04-03T11:29:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've last posted! I'm still here -- I promise. I've just been preoccupied with other things.

The spring cleaning bug hit me hard this year, so I began cleaning out every closet in the apartment in early March. And, then we decided to rearrange our furniture -- including my sewing space. I'll have to post updates of all of my organizational changes as it relates to my sewing, because there were some dramatic changes in that respect. I'm still in the midst of cleaning out and organizing some sewing stuff, but I promise as soon as I'm done, I will post pictures of the new "studio."

Last week, it was spring break around here. I took the week off from work, and Nico had the week free from school. I had thought I would be super productive on the sewing front, but that was not the case. We just had a great time relaxing and doing "nothing" together for the first time since we were in college. It was exactly what we both needed!

I have been working on some sewing... I cut out three easy knit dresses about a month and a half ago. Unfortunately, most of the way into project #1 (a Hot Patterns cosmopolitan dress), I realized it didn't fit me right at all, so I became completely disheartened and threw the half-finished dress into the corner. I couldn't bear to throw it out, so I hope I can resurrect it somehow.

Finally, there has been progress on the party dress for the spring banquet I will be attending with Nico on April 18. The dress is approximately 65% done at this point. Unsurprisingly, I strayed once again from the previous post's plan for the dress. I'll have to snap a pic of the progress, as it stands on my dress form.

I was focused on accessories for the dress this week, and I bought a gorgeous necklace and pair of shoes from J.Crew:

Unfortunately, there won't be a whole lot of time for sewing this weekend: we are visiting friends today and Saturday, and I have lots of housekeeping duties (like, the huge amounts of laundry that are taking over our bedroom!) to take care of on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze something in on the dress in between cleaning toilets and doing laundry. (You know, sometimes being an adult completely sucks...)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Finally, a decision.

2009-03-09T13:47:00.004-04:00

I have been wavering on the plans for the spring formal dress since I last blogged about the fabric options. And, guess what? I changed my mind. Here's a "sketch" of the new dress plan:

Clearly, I am not a sketch artist. But, that is the new plan. Using the same pattern as a base -- McCall's 5001 -- I'm going to be using a silk dupioni for the underlayer. It will look pretty much exactly like the pattern:
Then, over the top, will be silk chiffon, gathered to a one-shoulder piece. There will be some kind of fabric flower embellishment at the shoulder as well. There will be a waist seam for the chiffon -- and the chiffon skirt will be simply gathered.

Instead of the dramatic floor-length number I was previously thinking about, I think this will be fun and more fitting for the party I will be attending.

Oh, and I chose the middle fabric -- the turquoise -- from the samples previously posted. If I had stayed with the old dress plan, I definitely would have gone with the sapphire, so thanks for all of your input!

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This weekend, I didn't do any sewing at all. Instead, we rearranged furniture, purged a closet, cleaned, and bought a new chair. This activity will affect my sewing quite a bit -- once I have everything organized, I'll post pictures of the results!

Do you tweet?

2009-03-03T13:49:00.002-05:00

Alright folks, I'm getting desperate. Today, I'm blogging about blogging.

Last week, I subscribed to Twitter. It's taken me a little while to get the hang of it, but one week in, I'M ADDICTED. Seriously.

Twitter coupled with my (also) new (but very tardy) use of Google Reader is turning me into an internet geek. It's very convenient that part of my job requires me to stalk the media for gossip and news about my employer.

If you look to the right, I just added a new widget that posts my Twitter updates here as well. You can read my nonsensical dribble over there -- in my "micro-blog" -- as you wish.

So, I ask: do you tweet? If so, let me know. We can be friends!

Swimming in swatches

2009-03-02T15:24:00.003-05:00

You know what the worst thing about a late-in-the-season snowstorm is? They don't give us snow days at work anymore. By this point in the season, I guess they assume we are used to driving, trekking through, and otherwise transporting ourselves to work in the snow, so they don't give us the day to slack off (or SEW). Hrmph. Bah Humbug.

What better to do while I'm bitterly sitting here at work, protesting the lack of a snow day (in which 75% of the office is out because they either have kids who are home from school or don't live within walking distance of the office) than to ponder the fabric swatches for the formal dress I'm preparing to make?

I have so many silk fabric swatches, I nearly spread them out on the bed at home and rolled in them. After previously getting some swatches from Mood, I ordered some more from NY Fashion Center Fabrics, B&J Fabrics, and Rosen & Chaddick fabrics. And, you know what? I learned that it's really hard to find three different kinds of silk, all in a single color.

Here are the three finalists:

I'm leaning towards the bottom color. I also like the middle one. I think I like the top one the least of the three.

Here's the plan for the dress:

I'm going to knock off a dress by Lela Rose (at left).

I will use a basic sweatheart neckline, strapless dress pattern (McCall's 5001), cut it off at the hipline to create the lowered waist, and add a full, gathered skirt made of two layers of crepe de chine and one layer of silk chiffon. Oh, and I'll add that one-shoulder strap thing. That's the easy part.

So anyway. The question is whether I should use the same sapphire blue, or if I should change it up and go with a more turquoise color.

Maybe the question should REALLY be, which swatch makes me think of spring?

Pattern Review: Dress-that-feels-like-pajamas-in-a-good-way (Vogue 8411)

2009-02-26T14:03:00.003-05:00

I apologize for the slightly blurred photo. And the extremely dirty dog-nose-smeared window in the background. And for not wearing shoes. (Picture taken post-work-day. I keep all of my work shoes in my desk at work because I cannot walk to work in heels on the brick sidewalks around here. So... I didn't have any shoes to photograph the dress in at home. I promise, it looked better when I was wearing shoes.)

But hey, the upside of this picture is that you get Eleanor. She's so cute.

Pattern Description: Loose-fitting dresses have pleated front with top-stitching details and sash. Mid-knee length with top-stitched hem. Long sleeves with elastic casing.

Pattern Sizing: 6-20. I cut a 12, but probably could have gone down as far as an 8.

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 thought so, but I know several people on PatternReview.com complained about the neckline instructions being complicated. I'm honestly not sure why. Or, maybe I've just been sewing Vogues too long and have completely internalized their dysfunctional instruction style.

One change I made: instead of setting in the sleeve like you would on a jacket, I sewed the sleeve to the body of the dress before stitching up the side seams. Then, I sewed the under-sleeve seam and the side seams in one fell-swoop. Super easy!

Oh, and for those darn pleats... Yes there are a lot, but they don't need to take a load of time. I just used a tracing wheel and some waxed paper to make the markings on the back of the fabric. It didn't take much time at all to pin out the pleats and baste them in place once I had the pleat lines noted. (side note: look! I still have tan-lines from Jamaica!)

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the neckline. The sides of the square form a very flattering shape -- they are slightly curved and lie at my neckline tightly. I also love the pleating detail.

Fabric Used: Knit from Gorgeous Fabrics in a nice shade of teal.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: No design changes, per se. I did take in over 1.5" from the side seams. I guess maybe my version is a little more fitted than the envelope's, but I like it better this way. You should have seen the dress without me taking out that much ease. It looked like a potato sack! Seriously, the hem was almost to my ankles. No joke.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again as a dress. I'm thinking about making it into a top or a tunic, since I love the neckline and the loose-fit is soooo comfortable.

Conclusion: I was pleased with the outcome of this dress. It seriously feels like wearing pajamas in a good way, and I felt put together and cute without much effort at work. Really, that's the beauty of knit dresses -- you get to feel like you're wearing your pajamas all day, when in fact, you look so cool and cute!

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I'm actually behind on some reviews. I have a couple more things that I have finished and have actually been wearing. Photographing said items is tough in the winter (as evidenced by the crappiness of the photography in this review), but I hope to get the chance to photograph them soon!

Swatching the dress

2009-02-18T12:27:00.002-05:00

I could hardly contain my excitement when this appeared in my mail last night:

The fabric swatches I ordered from Mood had arrived! Thanks to the kind, generous, and otherwise fabulous Marji, I've been thinking deeply about the final design for the formal dress I'm making for an event in April. And, for the finalized design, I need crepe de chine, chiffon, and either taffeta or dupioni -- all matching. This is going to be a trick.

So, I called Mood. I mean, if Mood doesn't have what I want, then who will, right? I've been in Mood. It's an amazing place. And, I have to admit, the idea of just calling them on the phone and asking them for something seemed... well... intimidating. I put on my best friendly and confident voice, and my conversation went something like this:

Mood: Hello, thank you for calling Mood, how can I help you?
Me: Hi! I was hoping to have some fabric swatches mailed to me.
Mood: Do you know the item numbers?
Me: Uh, no?
Mood: Ugh. Ok, fine. Hold on.
[put on hold]
Mood: Hi, I understand you want some fabric swatched?
Me: Yes.
Mood: What do you need?
Me: I need a Crepe de Chine, a chiffon, and either a taffeta or dupioni to match each other.
Mood: You mean Crepe de Chine? (corrects my pronunciation)
Me: Uhhh... yeah, that's what I mean...
Mood: Ok, what color do you want?
Me: Uhhhh... a medium blue... a little greenish? I have a pantone color number, if that helps?
Mood: No, that doesn't help. Do you want a... [lists about 20 different shades of blue I have never heard of]... kind of blue?
Me: Uhhhhhh..... I'm not really....
Mood: Maybe a peacock blue?
Me: YES! Yes, that should work.

I didn't really know what to expect after I had this somewhat mortifying conversation. But, I was pleasantly surprised when I tore open my package:

Many different shades of blue and blue-green in several different types of fabric. Sadly, there was no chiffon, which I was a little bummed about because in some ways, that is the most important fabric for the dress I'm going to be making. But, I am thinking about three fabrics in particular:

The top is a silk charmeuse; the middle is crepe de chine, and the bottom is a china silk (which looks more green in person). I like the idea of working with the crepe de chine the best, but I like the color of the charmeuse the best.

Anyway, the jury is still out. I just spent over $30 on swatches from NY Fashion Center. I'll be waiting eagerly for my next shipment of swatches!

Sundance Channel featuring fashion

2009-02-17T11:39:00.003-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Sundance Channel has been showing documentaries about the fashion world every evening at 7 p.m. this past week. Unfortunately, I only discovered this series on Wednesday, so I missed a few. Thank goodness they are re-running everything! Here's what they are showing. For those of you lucky enough to have the Sundance Channel, click on the links to see the next time they will be showing the film:

Lagerfeld Confidential
Iconic in dark sunglasses, white ponytail, high starched collars and beringed hands, Karl Lagerfeld is one of the fashion world's most powerful tastemakers - and one of its most enigmatic. Filmmaker Rodolphe Marconi attempts to uncover the man behind the image as he follows the shark-like ruler of the House of Chanel in an extended interview.

Who are you Polly Maggoo?
Influential expatriate American photographer William Klein worked for Vogue magazine from 1955 to 1965. When he made his debut feature film in 1966, he served up a caustic satire of worlds he knew intimately: high fashion and the media. Dorothy McGowan plays the titular Polly Maggoo, the latest supermodel of the Twiggy era, who is the subject of a TV documentary by a French journalist (Jean Rochefort).

Ralph Rucci: A Designer and his House
Martha Stewart narrates this profile of Ralph Rucci, an American fashion designer whose thoroughly modern creations are as renowned for their ability to reflect their wearer's personality as they are for their elegance, exquisite detailing and high quality materials.

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills
For more than 60 years, the fashionable custom-made suits Jack Taylor created for stars like Cary Grant, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Elvis defined Hollywood glamour, status and good taste. Now in his 90s, Taylor remains active and in demand even as some speak of him as an endangered species in an era of shoddy workmanship and casual dress.

Seamless
Overshadowed by the glamour and hype is the sobering fact that making it in the fashion industry is incredibly difficult. Concerned as to where the next generation of visionary designers will come from, a group of industry insiders established a mentoring prize competition for young designers. Filmmaker Douglas Keeve (UNZIPPED) follows four of the most promising finalists, who range from the shy daughter of dry-cleaner to a charming couple who sold their work to a major retailer while they were still in school.

Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton
Bringing the same intimate insight into the fashion world as his previous acclaimed documentary series SIGNE CHANEL, filmmaker Loïc Prigent focus on Marc Jacobs, called the most influential designer of his generation. This witty portrait follows Jacobs as he balances roles as artistic director of venerable French house Louis Vuitton and his own eponymous American line, in meetings, preparing collections and at high-profile shows.

Yves St. Laurent: 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris
In this companion piece to his biographical profile YVES ST. LAURENT: TIME REGAINED, filmmaker David Teboul peers behind the doors of one of the world's leading fashion houses. As he prepared his last women's collection in 2001, St. Laurent allowed cameras to observe the evolution of his vision for the first time. During roughly eight weeks, St. Laurent's simple black-and-white drawings are transformed through many iterations into glorious, colorful reality.

So far, I've watched the Ralph Rucci, Jack Taylor, Seamless, and Marc Jacobs. All were excellent, but I especially liked Seamless, which followed Proenza Schouler, Doo.Ri, and Cloak. The Marc Jacobs film was also really fascinating, I thought. I'm excited to catch the rest!

Pattern Review: Clutch Bags (Vogue 8527)

2009-02-10T13:02:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of clutch bags I made up back in late November to give as gifts to a couple of friends for their birthdays. I had fun making them, and I think they turned out pretty cute!

One thing to note -- the pink bag was photographed pre-embellishment. I added some large black rhinestones to the "yolk" of the front. The pattern is Vogue 8527.

I had no trouble making these bags, with the exception of my choice of fabric. Last spring (or maybe fall? I don't remember) Ann (of Gorgeous Things) was giving away some fabrics leftover from her handbag making days (thanks, Ann!). The fabrics had been fused to heavy canvas -- ideal for making tote bags. I loved the colors of these two, and I thought they would make fun clutches to use with jeans in the fall/winter. In any case, the fabric made the turning of these bags right-side-out somewhat difficult, and the line of top-stitching around the top was also somewhat difficult, since at the side seams, there were several layers of fabric to stitch through. But, they worked in the end, and I was happy with the result.

I omitted the inside pocket on the pattern. I decided these were small enough (and I wasn't in the mood for the fussy work involved in doing a patch pocket!). I used black silk for the lining, leftover from something else, and put a label inside.

All in all, a good pattern with good results. I recommend it!

Formal dress decsions -- help!

2009-02-06T19:48:00.011-05:00

I have a formal event in a couple of months, and I am planning to get started on a dress fairly soon -- within the next couple of weeks. I have a bad track record with finishing dresses in time for parties (see this dress and this dress), so I want to plan ahead this time. (I do have a back-up: my senior prom dress from high school. Yes, I still have it, and yes, it still fits!)

I have been pondering my options this week, and I have come up with four fairly well-developed ideas. I started by taking a look at the Pantone color trends for spring 2009 and by looking at dresses recently on the red carpet. Unsurprisingly, I found a lot of overlap in terms of color trends.

Option #1:

The inspiration dress is from Lela Rose's spring 2009 line. The pattern is the vintage re-issue of a Butterick pattern and would require few changes -- I would just add a shoulder strap on one side. I like the fact that the pattern would give me more of a waistline. The color would be a medium blue, I think. I like the dark blue, but it doesn't scream spring to me. And, it would definitely be chiffon.

Option #2:

The inspiration dress is again from Lela Rose. The pattern choice is from BWOF's 12/08 edition. I would not change the top; I would just change the shape of the skirt to give it a more flowing a-line shape similar to the Lela Rose. I would choose a fushia, or a green. I'm undecided about the fabric -- possibly a crepe back satin, or maybe taffeta for a little more stiffness. Something to think about...

Option #3:

The inspiration dress comes from BCBG -- a simple strapless silhouette with a shirred bodice and gathered skirt (click on the mosaic to enlarge the pictures). It somewhat reminds me of Marchesa (minus the fabric choice BCBG made). The pattern is a McCall pattern and would require no alterations for style. The fabric would definitely be chiffon -- either a lavendar, or a print. I like three prints I've found above.

Option #4:

This is probably the least developed idea. The inspiration dress comes from Lela Rose once again. The pattern is a "Frankenpattern," largely based on the Vogue with a couple of alterations to the neckline and pleats added to the skirt, a la the BWOF from 11/07. I'm undecided on the color, but I do like the lighter green and the fuschia for this -- and then there would be some decision regarding embellishment for the top. I think I would choose a silk tussah or something with a bit of texture for this dress. But then again, with the embellishment, maybe that would be too much... I do like the playfulness of the texture, however.

I need some help! Which dress should I make? Thoughts? Opinions? Votes?

Wishing I were still in Jamaica

2009-02-04T15:09:00.005-05:00

Well, we had a fabulous time in Jamaica. And, we returned home just in time for a snow storm yesterday. Thanks, mother nature, for the reminder that it's still winter. Here's what we did:

Got lost in the Blue Mountains on our way out of Kingston
Stayed in a treehouse at Great Huts
Ate jerk food at the Boston Bay Jerk Centre
Relaxed at the beach
Watched the local surfers ride the waves in Boston Bay
Went rafting on the Rio Grande River
Went snorkeling near the Blue Lagoon
Swam in the Blue Lagoon
Ate dinner at Restaurant Mille Fleurs in Hotel Mockingbird Hill and lunch at Norma's at the Marina in Port Antonio
Checked out the local market in Port Antonio
Drank lots of Blue Mountain Coffee
Climbed Reich Falls and explored some of the caves located behind and underneath the falls, thanks to our fearless local guide
Got lost in the sugar cane fields on our way back to Kingston

Now, back to reality. More pictures here. (Click on the mosaic above to make it larger.)

Don't hate me.

2009-01-26T14:39:00.002-05:00

We're going to Jamaica to beat the winter cold for a week. We leave in just about 12 hours from now! I have some sewing reviews to post when we return. Until then...

Things I Love Today, vol. 1

2009-01-22T13:24:00.002-05:00

Since my sewing is slow these days, I'm going to start a new series of posts, called "Things I Love Today." I read a fair amount of blogs, news sources, and various other things on the Internet, so I think this is really an excellent way for me to talk a little bit about what I see and like. Oh, and to collect all of those links over time.

1. Chef Tony Maws of Craigie on Main; 2. Roasted bone marrow with parsley salad on toast; 3. Ravenna bag from Sundance Catalog; 4. Martha Stewart's office.

Here's what I love today:

Craigie on Main for the most amazing Birthday meal last night. (Yes, yesterday was my Birthday!) Seriously, I have never felt so inspired to think about, taste, and otherwise pursue food and the process of preparing it. Thank you Craigie on Main.
Roast bone marrow. Seriously, I haven't had anything quite as deliciously simple as roasted bone marrow on toast in a very long time. This is going on my list of meals to try at home very soon. Oh, and this New York Times article discusses the chicness of bone marrow.
This handbag from Sundance, and this handbag from Anthropologie. I may be in the market for a new handbag this spring/summer, and both are going on my list of possibilities.
The offices of Martha Stewart Living. Is there anyone there who wants to offer me a job so I can soak in all of that beautiful creative space?
Newly minted President Obama for closing secret prison camps, such as the one in Guantanamo Bay. Nice, strong, swift political move!

I'm a Foodie.

2009-01-13T12:15:00.003-05:00

Taking a momentary break from sewing...

In case you didn't know, I'm a foodie. I love food. I like the process of shopping for, preparing, and eating food. Thus, I want to devote a bit of time on this blog to my culinary adventures.

Last weekend, Nico and I made ourselves an Indian feast. We had: Chicken curry and rice (courtesy of Martha Stewart's Cooking School cookbook), seasoned and fried eggplant slices, and homemade naan (both courtesy of Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking). Oh, and for dessert: traditional Indian vermicelli rice pudding -- Kheer, which is quickly turning into my favorite dessert. Mmmm... love cardamom! We were so pleased with ourselves, we had to take some pictures:

The full meal. Mmmmm... delicious.

My plate: fried eggplant, curry with rice, servedwith yogurt mixed with cilantro and a lime wedge.

I was very proud of our joint cooking efforts -- probably the best meal we've made in awhile. The curry was so absolutely delicious (though, extremely spicy!). In fact, the entire experience was so enjoyable, that I'm considering instituting Sunday nights as "ethnic food nights" in our house!

Ho, Ho, Home from the holidays

2009-01-05T16:26:00.003-05:00

Wow, I can't believe how quickly the month of December flew by! After our Thanksgiving holiday and reception, I thought I could finally relax, but soon it was off to Maine and to South Dakota to visit family. We had a great holiday season, with many exciting developments!

My brother and sister-in-law welcomed a new baby on January 1 (though not the New Year's baby!). Luckily, I was there to see the baby being born. It was a truly special event, and I feel fortunate to have been there to welcome little Lidia Jean into the world.

I better get busy sewing! I've been wanting an excuse to make cute baby clothes, and now I have one. I think it's my duty as "auntie" to spoil this little girl rotten.

In other news, we just planned a trip to Jamaica for the end of January. I have a few simple projects that I'd like to finish before then to take along on the trip, so I do hope I'll have time to do a little sewing between now and then.

Welcome, 2009!

Post-Thanksgiving Wedding Reception

2008-12-09T13:20:00.003-05:00

I'm finally back and digging out of the hole of things that had piled up around the house as a result of the craziness that is wedding planning. The wedding presents are finally (mostly) put away, and the boxes have been removed from the corner in our living room. It feels so much better to be "normal" again!

While we were in South Dakota for Thanksgiving, we had a wedding reception for everyone from that region of the world (my extended family and friends). It was great fun -- we had good food and dancing.

My dad also surprised me with a special gift that I have to share here, since it's very much sewing related. When my dad's uncle passed away a few years ago (he and my dad's other uncle were bachelors and lived together their whole lives), my dad was one of the people who helped to clean out and organize their house for sale. Amongst the other treasures he brought home (including a gorgeous mirror which was my great grandmother's), was an old treadle Singer sewing machine. That sewing machine was my great grandmother's -- my dad's mother's mother.

Well, as you can imagine, after sitting in a basement for 20+ years, the machine and its table were not in the best of shape. So, the surprise was that my dad had the table and the machine repaired and presented it to me, with a large jar of old buttons.

A special gift, indeed. And, although I know my dad doesn't read my blog, I have to say, I love you dad!

(We haven't quite figured out how to transport the machine from South Dakota to where we live in Boston, so it remains there until I have the chance to bring it here...)

Home for Thanksgiving

2008-11-21T14:40:00.003-05:00

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for an extended Thanksgiving with my family in South Dakota. Nico and I will be having another wedding reception, so there are lots of little details to wrap up. Thus, I won't be posting for awhile -- not until December. I'll leave you with a photo mosaic of some of my favorite photos from our wedding (click on the mosaic to view it larger). To view more photos, check out my Flickr album.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Back at it

2008-11-19T14:49:00.002-05:00

You wouldn't know it by my blog, but I have been sewing recently. Last weekend, I finished a couple of things that will remain a secret for the moment, but I promise I'll be able to reveal them soon. :)

I have also started a jacket from Vogue 7975, the classic collar-less, princess-seamed jacket. Here's a sneak peak:

That's some kind of fairly heavy black coating that I got at Winmill Fabrics in downtown Boston a few years ago. At the time, they told me they thought it was mohair, but I don't remember doing any kind of burn test on it. I'll do that and get back you on fabric content.

The idea is for the jacket to be heavy enough to be worn as outerwear in the fall, yet light enough to be worn as cozy inside-wear in the winter. The fabric is plush and cozy as a sweater, so I think it will be perfect.

For trim inspiration, I'm taking a cue from some of the J.Crew jackets. Especially this one:

I bought some trim online from M&J trimming when I was shopping there for wedding dress items a couple of months ago. I think it will be great -- possibly with a ruffle made of some silk that I have behind it. I haven't worked up a test, yet, but I can see how I want it to look in my mind. Here's the trim against the jacket (sorry it's slightly out of focus):

Well done Simplicity

2008-11-12T12:51:00.002-05:00

I picked up two Simplicity patters at JoAnn's yesterday, where Simplicity patterns were on sale -- 5 patterns for $5! Certainly can't beat that price...

And for the first time, there were new patterns that excited my interest:

Kudos to Simplicity! Now, here's hoping that selling patters at $1 a piece doesn't bankrupt the company...

Interesting items from J.Crew

2008-11-07T12:36:00.007-05:00

Wow, what a week. All I can say is: IT'S FRIDAAAYYY!!! And, next up for me: a 4-day weekend! Yes, you read that right. An entire 4-day weekend. With only a few errands planned. Nothing else is planned. This is going to be amazing.

Moving on, I noticed a few interesting blazers from J.Crew, and I wanted to keep track of the ideas. First up, a lovely herringbone jacket with some interesting details:

What I like: Cutaway detailing in the front, boxy shape in the back, cut-on sleeves with interesting seaming detail, collar. Seems like the perfect jacket to throw on with a pencil skirt or with jeans.

Here is another boucle jacket with a lovely detail (though admittedly perhaps a little garish) at the collar:

The description says the flowers are made with silk charmeuse. I think it's terribly fun -- it could potentially also work on the bottom edge of a straight skirt.

Vote!

2008-11-04T09:09:00.003-05:00

Wow, wow, wow. I have to say, I haven't been terribly excited about this election. I was a John Edwards supporter (that was long before he became known as a adulterating type). And then, I was a Hillary supporter. And, to be honest, the campaigns this time has been just plain boring (and silly). Anyway, I've been shocked at the excitement in the air around here today. Granted, I do work at one of Barack Obama's alma maters (Harvard Law School), and our faculty is very excited about the possibility of him being elected.

But, it's more than that -- predictions are that Massachusetts turnout will be 75%! U.S. voter turnout is usually shamefully low for a democracy, somewhere around 50-60% for presidential elections (We're usually about the lowest in the world in this regard. Australia has about the highest average -- at 95%!). The last time turnout reached over 60% was in 1960, when the turnout rates were 63% -- when Kennedy ran against Nixon.

As a political junkie and political science nerd, I have to say the bottom line is no matter who you support -- VOTE! (And then, go get your free coffee at Starbucks. :)

Disasterous weekend

2008-11-03T10:45:00.003-05:00

I'm sad to report that I did not finish the fall ball dress. I gave up at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Saturday evening (the event started at 7 p.m.). I've never had a zipper insertion go so very wrong -- I'm convinced I must have had a defective zipper. In any case, there will be much seam ripping in my future... but, I decided I needed to put sewing aside and relax for a bit on Sunday with a good book instead.

Oh, and I have to say, that brown brocade dress I made last year has gotten lots of use. I guess it's my take on the "little black dress" -- the "little brown dress." I now have several looks developed based on different accessories. It was my back-up in case something went awry with the planned fall ball dress, and what do you know -- it did.

I spent awhile organizing my sewing supplies on Sunday. We moved my sewing desk and associated materials out of the living room and back into the office. And... as much as I liked sewing in the living room, I must say that I really enjoy having our "reading nook" back in place!

I have an alteration project for a friend that I promised I'd get done soon, and I have a skirt that I made last year but never hemmed ready to be finished. Beyond that, I'm not sure what's next!

A trench to die for

2008-10-27T16:13:00.002-04:00

I have a lovely trench coat that I love and wear quite often. Nonetheless, that hasn't stopped me from oogling Kate Middleton's trench:

I love the color, the full-skirted style, the styling... love love love. I'm putting this into the ideas file for whenever I need a new trench.

New project: Fall Ball dress

2008-10-22T10:58:00.002-04:00

Well, we're back from our weekend in Bar Harbor, Maine. It was lovely. Nico ran his first marathon on Sunday, and I played in the harbor with Eleanor. A fun time was had by all. I did leave feeling that our time there was too short. But, I guess that's always the problem with vacations...

Now that I'm back, I'm digging into a new project for a formal event that we are attending on November 1. Since I don't have a ton of time to work on something, I went to my stash for inspiration. I had this gorgeous Vera Wang wool/silk silver and black brocade that I thought would be perfect for fall and winter formal events. That with a couple of fabrics from Gorgeous Fabrics, and I'm well stocked and ready to get to work this weekend.

Here are the patterns I'm using -- both are vintage:

The plan is to make the dress on the left with the brocade as the bodice and some gorgeous taffeta as the skirt. If I have enough time (and, I hope I do!), I'm going to make a little bolero to go with the dress. It's a little hard to see, but the dark green version at the top of the envelope is the one I'm hoping to make. It has a shawl collar and upturned cuffs. It would be really amazing if I have enough brocade to make this reversible -- brocade on one side, and black taffeta on the other.

Here are the fabrics:

From left to right in the back: black silk crepe de chine for lining, black taffeta for the bolero, and "anthracite" taffeta for the skirt of the dress. The brocade is in the front -- isn't it gorgeous? The brocade comes from Emma Onesock, and the other fabrics are all from Gorgeous Fabrics.

I can't wait to get started on this dress! I think it's going to be really beautiful.

I promise to post details of my wedding dress. It's been a little hectic reorganizing the apartment, packing and unpacking again, etc. I'm also waiting to get our professional photos back -- I think there will be some great dress photos there.

Speaking of which -- does anyone know of a reputable dry cleaner where I can take my dress in the Boston area? I'm a little nervous about where to go, and I could use some advice if any of you have it!

You win

2008-10-15T16:53:00.010-04:00

I'm breaking my word and taking a few moments to post some pictures of the weekend's festivities. I wanted to wait until I got the professional photos back, but I'm just as impatient as you all are! I don't have any detail pictures of the dress to offer... the dress is in Maine currently, and I don't think I got many right before the wedding. But, I can't help but share some images from the wonderful weekend:

Mere Point, where the ceremony took place

Taking pictures and waiting for the ceremony

My dad walking me down the "aisle"

Bridesmaids: my (pregnant!) sister-in-law, Val, and my friends Katie and Jen

Nico and I after the ceremony

Jen and Eleanor, who "participated" in the ceremony as well

Three friends laughing

Dancing the night away

Having fun!

I'll keep posting photos as I get them... you'll all probably be sick of hearing about my wedding soon enough, but everything looked so wonderful that I can't help but share photos with you all.

We did it!

2008-10-14T14:07:00.003-04:00

I'm back from our wedding weekend. I don't have any pictures to show just yet, but everything was perfect. I feel like everyone has at least one story of something that didn't go as planned, but I can honestly say that we don't have anything of the sort. The weather was absolutely perfectly beautiful, and it was so lovely to be surrounded by so many of our family and friends.

We're back for the week, until we take off for Maine again next weekend. Nico will be running a marathon on Sunday, and we will take a long weekend to do a little relaxing in Acadia National Park. I'm definitely looking forward to a chance for a little rest and relaxation. So, forgive me if I don't post anything until then. My time in the office is already turning out to be rather hectic this week... I've never been so overwhelmed by unanswered email in my life!

Thank you for all of your support during the making of The Dress. There were some very long evenings last week -- a few near all-nighters. But, it was as perfect and wonderful as I could have hoped!

Seeing the finish line

2008-10-06T13:16:00.004-04:00

Thank you all so much for all of your support and kind words. It really has been so nice to know that so many people out there are thinking of me and wishing me luck. A special thanks to Lindsey T for giving me a shout-out on her blog last week. Thanks Lindsey!

After this weekend, I now only feel slightly overwhelmed about everything that is left to be done. I know everything will be fine -- it's just all of those last minute details that are really stressing both of us out. We still need to work on writing our ceremony, we need to get our marriage license, we need to finalize the seating chart and make table cards...

I'm happy to say that the dress is progressing nicely, and that after sewing for three days straight this weekend, I can actually see the finish line! Here is a series of photos documenting my progress from the weekend:

These photos were taken at the end of Saturday. I added another section of lace to the hips, extending down to the thighs. The top of that lace is anchored to the hips, and the seam was sewn by hand to ensure that it is completely invisible. I shaped the lace with darts to leave it hanging free at the bottom, beginning the gradual a-line shape that I was looking for.

You can also see that I cleaned up the necklines, so all I need to do is attach the lining to the necklines and under-stitch that seam. (I'm planning to do that tonight)

Here is a close-up of the hand-picked zipper. I chose not to sew loops and buttons to the back of the dress (partially out of my own sanity), because I wanted to leave the back simple and clean. I did add some pearl beads that I found in my grandmother's sewing basket -- likely leftover from the making of my aunt's wedding dress. I think they add something a little special without drawing too much attention to the back. Plus, I love that I was able to re-purpose something of my grandmother's!

This photo was taken very late on Sunday evening -- the lighting is bad, and I am tired in this photo! I spent Saturday night and most of Sunday attaching the bottom layer of lace and the sleeves. The sleeve line will be perfectly in line with the neckline when finished, and they also need to be hemmed, so they will be shorter. But, I am very pleased with the fit and the entire look. The dress seriously weighs about 7 pounds (I should weigh it to get the exact number!), and I was very concerned that with all of that extra lace on the skirt, it would bring the dress down. But, the bodice is so tightly fitted that I am confident that will not be a problem.

This is my to-do list of remaining items:

1. Attach lining to neckline and under-stitch that seam
2. Hand-sew lining to zipper tape
3. Attach hook and eye to waist stay
4. Hem the sleeves
5. Hem the dress -- the lining, the satin, and the lace
6. Finish the neckline by attaching a length of the border of the lace all around the top (optional -- I'm undecided if I want to finish the top this way or not)

*Whew!* That still sounds like an awful lot of work...

I had plenty of company this weekend, as you can tell from this photo. I spent the whole weekend on the couch with my dressform in front of me. Eleanor was almost always snuggled up next to me, and here, you can see that she even took over a large part of the couch. I was sitting in that little space in front of her, at the edge of the couch for most of the afternoon on Saturday. :)

Wedding dress weekend

2008-09-30T13:52:00.003-04:00

I spent all day Saturday and Sunday working on the dress, and you can see my progress above. Everything was done by hand. I basically took four darts out of the lace on the bodice -- two in the front and two in the back. I used a fell stitch to make all stitches invisible, and I was very careful with my cutting to be sure the pattern was not disrupted.

Of course, the fact that all of this sewing took me ALL WEEKEND is disturbing, given how close my deadline is looming (the wedding is October 11!). I have taken Friday off work, so I have this whole weekend to be a busy bee. Wish me luck!

Progress!

2008-09-22T16:45:00.006-04:00

Whew! What a hectic couple of weeks it has been! There has been quite a bit of turmoil at my job that has been both stressful and emotional this past week. I am also beginning to get stressed about the dress... which, I'm happy to say is finally beginning to look like a dress!

You'll have to excuse the background. Hey, those of us who live in 900 square feet apartments don't have "sewing studios!"

Here's what I've done to get it this far:

Hand basted the underlining (silk organza) to the outer satin material.
Basted all pieces together and fit the dress to my body by trying it on inside out and pinching seams. (it's amazing how much fitting is necessary, even when you do a muslin!)
Finalized the seams and tore out the basting stitches.
Whip-stitched the bust seams to the underlining to make them lay flat across the front.
Finished the foundation layer and basted to the top of the dress:

Foundation has Rigilene boning, built-in bra, and grosgrain ribbon waist stay attached.

I then put the whole thing on my dress form in preparation for sewing the lace. It was recommended to me by the people I spoke with while lace shopping in NYC to just drape a piece of lace on the entire bodice and then piece the bottom portion together using some gathers and pleats to get the drape I want at the bottom. I feel confident about the top; I am a little more concerned about how I'm going to do the bottom portion of the dress with the lace. I've been thinking about perhaps sewing some godets into panels of the lace... we'll see as I begin to work with it how it goes. In any case, I did begin working with the lace last night, and this is where I stand:

I took a piece of lase and secured it at the hips. My next steps will be to take darts out of the middle wherever I need shaping. That way, I will not have to deal with seaming the lace quite so much. Since most of this work is going to be done by hand, I'm actually feeling a little less nervous about cutting the lace. I feel like I have a lot of control over what I'm doing, and I'm excited to see it as it begins to take shape!

I'm still not certain about what to do at the neckline -- I cut the border off the lace so I could potentially use it there. The border on this fabric is quite wide, though, so I'm thinking maybe I'll just use it at the hemline and keep the neckline simple. I will definitely have to think about it more and post pictures so you can see what I mean.

I'm also planning to keep the back simple -- with no covered buttons. For one thing, I didn't want to mess with sewing the loops on, and I was afraid if I didn't use actual loops but just sewed buttons, it would look too contrived. For another, I was anxious about getting buttons in the perfect shade. I was also worried about having to sit on a row of buttons -- doesn't seem like it would be very comfortable! I figured, simplicity is usually best, so I'll stick with a simple picked zipper, I think!

Wedding Dress Progress & Shopping

2008-09-08T13:10:00.003-04:00

This was the scene on my living room floor yesterday evening. That is 6 yards of silk fabric laid out on bedsheets. On the floor. For cutting. With my muslin laid on top -- with very professional "pattern weights." I'd say this is a Tim Gunn "make it work" moment if ever I've seen one.

The good news is I did get the dress fully cut out (ahem, aside from the lace, which will come later. Still too nervous about that.) The bad news is, that's all the progress I made on the dress. At least it's ready for the hand-basting of the underlining, which will be the next step.

What else did I do this weekend? Shopping. Lots of shopping. On Saturday, I dragged Nico out to the new Natick Collection shopping mall. We got Nico's new black suit (for the wedding), Nico's wedding band (every jewlery store we went in and told how soon our wedding was cringed, so we figured it was a good idea to get around to that little item), the shoes I posted about in my previous post, and ties for Nico, the Groomsmen, and some miscellaneous family members (the dads, my brother).

There is still a bit of a tie fiasco. The groomsmen will wear the burnt orange tie (I don't know if you've ever tried to find the right shade of burnt orange tie, but let me tell you, it's not super easy). We both love the subtle texture in the ties as well. The burgandy tie is meant for the dads and my brother. Nico will wear a white tie, which we also found, with the same diagonal texture. So, it all seems so perfectly coordinated. The only problem is that we haven't found three of the burgandy ties. We currently have one in that shade of burgandy, and two in another slightly different shade of purple. This is after driving to two different Lord & Taylor stores (which is the only department store carrying this brand of tie). Well, there are still two more stores I haven't been to yet, so there may be another shopping trip in my future. I guess this is why people hire wedding planners!

The other bit of shopping I did was to take advantage of Fabric Place's going out of business sale. I picked up all the items above -- from the left to the right: horsehair braid, purple velvet ribbon, beautiful embroidered trim (which will possibly be used for another party dress I need to make this fall), white thread, assorted white and black zippers, bias binding and hem tape, cotton/lycra print, gorgeous silk print, and some extra feet for my sewing machine: a pintuck foot, a piping foot, and a bias binding foot. I also picked up a few Vogue designer patterns that were on sale.

What a productive shopping day!

Wedding Shoes

2008-09-06T19:47:00.010-04:00

Back to wedding planning...

I have two beautiful pairs of shoes in my hot little hands at the moment. Or rather, one of each pair on my feet. I can't decide which pair to keep for the wedding.

On the left, we have a super cute Kate Spade sandal that I got on a fantastic deal today at Nordstrom's. It's a little hard to see the color from the photo above, but it's basically a cream suede with a crackled metallic finish. A close-up is on the right. The pluses of this item: it's adorable, it's fun, and I can envision myself wearing this shoe again in the future. The minuses: it's more expensive than the other option, it's not as "classy."

And, on the left, we have an ivory satin d'Orsay pump. The pluses of this shoe: It's elegant, elongates my leg, and is the PERFECT shade of ivory. The minuses: I don't see myself ever wearing this shoe again, unless I have it professionally dyed, which is a hassle, and even then, I'm not sure I'd have much use for a satin shoe in a different color.

Both shoes are equally (un)comfortable, and the heel height on both is exactly the same. Anyone have any thoughts on which shoe is better? Or, anyone have any ideas on how to justify keeping both ridiculously impractical shoes?

Who's the Elitist?

2008-09-05T19:01:00.004-04:00

There are a multitude of reasons the 2008 Presidential election is interesting, and I have to say, as an avid watcher of the conventions and all of the hoopla, I can't help but notice the fashions. Since this was the week of the Republican Convention, I'll start by commenting on the Republican women's wardrobes.

Disclaimer: I am a registered Democrat and very rarely vote Republican. But, don't worry -- I'm equally as critical of both side of the aisle. We'll get to the Democrats soon enough.

I'm not one of those voters who feels she needs to "identify" with the candidate. I won't vote for someone because I feel like he/she would be a good person to "drink a beer with." That said, I have a hard time understanding Cindy McCain. And, a big part of why that is true is due to her wardrobe choices. To me, she just looks like a Barbie doll with her brightly colored suits and fake-tanned legs. Exhibit A (lime green dress), Exhibit B (bright turquoise suit), and Exhibit C (bright red suit, Texas sized hair).

But, beyond that, her clothes and accessories just look ridiculously expensive. I mean, I get it -- she's independently wealthy. And, she's drop-dead gorgeous, considering her age. But, I got lost somewhere between her updated "June Cleaver" dresses and brightly colored suits.

Vanity Fair did an interesting piece on her wardrobe -- they added up the price of the look you see on the left, which Mrs. McCain wore for her appearance on the first evening of the RNC with Mrs. Bush. The look at left totals over $300K. Even without knowing that, I could tell you that somehow, Mrs. Bush fits the "First Lady" profile so much more clearly. Her outfit was also not cheap -- her Oscar de la Renta suit and Stuart Weitzman heels are estimated to cost $4K. Still, a far cry from $300K!

Everyone has their own style. And, everyone ought to have the ability to express themselves through their clothing -- that's why we all sew, after all, right? Nonetheless, I can't help but wonder, with the Republicans accusing Barack Obama as being elitist, who is the real elitist in this election?

Sadness

2008-09-05T15:25:00.004-04:00

What this poster doesn't say is that Fabric Place is also closing. This is the only fabric store in my area that I ever frequent. It's also the store in which I bought my new sewing machine. Where am I going to buy my thread? My zippers? I mean, I love online shopping and all, but going to the store for the basics is so much easier. How disappointing!

In other news... the dress is coming along. I just haven't had time to photograph. The lining is constructed. Next up: I'll be cutting the satin, and stitching that up this weekend.

Accessories

2008-08-20T15:00:00.007-04:00

It's been awhile since I've sat down at the sewing machine. Things have been busy lately -- I'm addicted to the Olympics, there was some dog-sitting, and there was a (fabulous!) surprise girls weekend in Minneapolis planned by a bunch of my best friends and Nico.

Even though I haven't been sewing, I've certainly been thinking about sewing and planning outfits for some upcoming events. Since I haven't made much progress on the wedding dress, I'll just show you pictures of my recent accessory acquisitions that I'm going to be wearing for our "rehearsal dinner" in October.

I've decided to wear the brown brocade dress I made last winter:

I thought I needed some fun accessories to punch up the brown. I have a bright orange cardigan sweater, and I splurged and bought the necklace and shoes below:

How perfect is that necklace for fall events? Little acorns!

I may also make myself a cute ribbon belt like the one in the photo below to complete the look -- but I may not need it with the necklace. We'll see. In any case, it's a great look, courtesy of J.Crew:

Wedding dress muslin

2008-08-06T09:49:00.004-04:00

Thanks for bearing with me while I ruminated on a non-sewing topic. I realize part of the appeal of blogs is that they are usually on one specialized topic. I don't want this blog to become half sewing half personal diary, but I supposed it's OK for a little bit of personal information to slip in here once in awhile.

The other bit of sewing I did this past weekend was on the muslin for my wedding dress. Well, actually, I had already made and tweaked the muslin a few times in March. I pulled it off the rumpled pile in my closet and tried it on again this past weekend just to be sure it still fits. And, I'm pleased to say it does!

As a reminder, here are the two patterns I worked from to create the dress -- Vogue 2928 for the top, and Vogue 2931 for the bottom shape of the skirt. I merged the two patterns together to get the muslin (and I did tweak a few things in the fitting process, but the shape was pretty much exactly what I wanted!).

I'm posting the photo of the muslin below with a few caveats:

I am aware of the wrinkles below my bust. But, I swear when I put the boning in, those will be nonexistent. Plus, I was sitting around in the thing for awhile before these photos were taken. You know, to be sure I could breathe/sit in the thing!
I am also aware that this muslin is severely wrinkled. Again, I swear it looked better when it was pressed and perfect.
I am wearing a black halter top underneath to act as a "bra" while I tried it on. Again, I know I will not be wearing a black halter top at my wedding, and I promise that it fits with the foundation underneath.
The back is stapled shut in these photos. Yes, yes, i realize, I should have put in a zipper... Also, the part that is not closed shut in the back will be removed. I changed the back to include a low scoop.
There will be off-shoulder cap sleeves on the dress. I did not put those on.

After I determined that the muslin fit, I clipped all seam allowances to an even 1/2", took the muslin apart, labeled all the pieces and drew in the grainline, and ironed them to become the pattern pieces for my dress. I then cut out the lining and the underlining fabrics (the lining is china silk, the underlining silk organza) for construction. I'm going to wait to cut the outer fabric (silk satin) until I construct the lining and am certain that the dress fits. I figure I can't be too careful!

Up next: constructing the lining and finishing the foundation.

Confessions of a meat-eating animal lover (Or, what I learned growing up on a farm in South Dakota)

2008-08-04T13:12:00.007-04:00

Me, at home on the farm during winter break from college in January of 2004
with my family's two dogs at the time: Rusty and Dusty.

If you've ever read my little ditty at the top of my blog, you know that I grew up on a farm in South Dakota. Living in Boston, I get a lot of "Really? I've never met anyone from South Dakota before. What was THAT like?" when people ask me where I'm from. I also get a lot of "I'm a vegetarian" responses when I explain that I grew up on a cattle/pig farm, as though I have somehow offended them, or as though I should somehow be offended by this fact.

Well, Nicholas Kristof (I love him!) published an outstanding op-ed in Sunday's New York Times about growing up on a farm and how that has affected his outlook on food. I realize this is totally non-sewing related, but it really struck a chord with me, and I can't help but say a few words about it here (this is MY blog, after all!).

I completely respect vegetarianism, and as an animal lover, I often question why I make the hypocritical choice of eating meat. I have a few responses:

I really love meat. Truly. A good steak ranks up there as one of my favorite meals. Ever. I figure anyone who enjoys anything that much ought to be able to partake in it once in awhile.
I want to support family farms. As I see it, buying local meat (which is what I try to do as often as possible) is just a way to support a way of life that I value dearly.
I try to diversify my diet. Growing up, we had meat for every meal. I'm not kidding. Now, I work hard to diversify my diet with more vegetable based meals. Part of this has to do with the availability of good quality meat in the city, as well as the economics of it. Let's face it: meat in Boston is not nearly as cheap or readily available as it is when you live in rural South Dakota.

I think Kristof does a nice job of summing up how I feel about animals/meat eating:

Our cattle, sheep, chickens and goats certainly had individual personalities, but not such interesting ones that it bothered me that they might end up in a stew. Pigs were more troubling because of their unforgettable characters and obvious intelligence. To this day, when tucking into a pork chop, I always feel as if it is my intellectual equal.

I'm not going to lie and say that I've never had that aching feeling from eating meat. This was perhaps most clear to me when at the age of about 10 or so, I had a calf that was "my" project for the summer. I named him Spike. I fed him and watched him grow. And, I showed him in the 4-H cattle show. All was good and well until I had to personally lead him to the truck that would take him off to the butchering plant to be made into hamburger and steak. I cried for hours. And, for months after that, my older brother tormented me whenever we ate any beef. I can still hear him say, "Gee, I wonder if this is Spike," at the dinner table. In short, I've dealt with the emotional issues involved here, and I don't have a good response to the pull I feel in my heart.

I've also read a lot about the impact the cattle industry has on the environment, not to mention what the rise of corn has done to our agriculture industry and the world's food supply. And, I do find these arguments persuasive. (These issues are most clearly and thoroughly explained in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma.)

For now, until I learn to love tofu as much as I love a steak, I think I'll continue to have some meat in my life. But, as Kristof says, "So I’ll enjoy the barbecues this summer, but I’ll also know that every hamburger patty has a back story, and that every tin of goose liver pâté could tell its own rich tale of love and loyalty."

Pattern Review: Periwinkle Eyelet Skirt (aka, Butterick 4648)

2008-08-04T13:00:00.003-04:00

This little skirt is my first project to report on from the weekend. This is the third time I've sewn a skirt from this pattern -- if I think of it, I'll take photos of the other two skirts (sewn pre-blog) the next time I wear them.

I can never have enough summer skirts. My workplace becomes pretty casual in the summer -- the men do not wear jackets, the women dress down. So, in the summer, my standard "uniform" is skirt + t-shirt/tank + ballet flats. I like that this pattern is a simple way to use some cute fabric to create a cute skirt.

I used some eyelet fabric I've had in my "collection" for a couple of years now. It has a very interesting pattern (that I love), and it is super soft. I got it from Winmil Fabrics in downtown Boston, a shop I used to frequent when I worked next door. They have a lot of crap fabric in there, but once in awhile, I found some gems -- I think they get ends from mills, so you never know what's going to be in their store. I have a really lovely piece of what I think is mohair coating waiting to be made into a coat that the owner pulled from the back room for me when I went in asking for some coating one time.

Back to the skirt... The biggest change I made was shortening the skirt severely. In the pattern instructions, they have you cut two panels (one for the front, one for the back) of fabric with a single layer -- side by side -- which explains why they have you use so much fabric. As I discovered, with a wider cut of fabric (56" or greater, basically), I could just fold the fabric with selvages together, line the top of the skirt up on the fold, and the bottom with the selvage. On me, this yields a skirt that ends at mid-knee -- which is just the right length!

For this version, I forwent the waistline facing and instead just finished the inside of the waist with grosgrain ribbon (see photo at left).

Can I just say -- sewing on my new machine is A-MAY-ZING! Updates on the wedding dress to come -- I cut out all the pieces for the dress (minus the lace), and I'm planning to get the lining stitched together next!

Pattern Review: White Linen Skirt (BWOF 06-2008-122)

2008-07-28T14:00:00.003-04:00

Pattern Description: Skirt cut on the bias with faux wrap styling that includes pleats, slit underneath front panel, decorative ties, and side zipper.

Pattern Sizing: 36-44

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, for the most part. I just realized after looking at the photo again that I turned my pleats the wrong way (oops!), so that's a little off. By the way, the photo on the German website is so much better than the photo in the American magazine! (see BWOF photo at left -- I really ought to change the direction of my pleats -- they look much prettier this way.)

Were the instructions easy to follow? Um, no. I mean, I realize we're talking about BWOF here, so I don't expect much from the instructions. Nonetheless, the first step was so confusing, it took me several cups of coffee, some time away from the pattern, and doing it incorrectly one time before I figured out how the pieces fit together. I also think the pattern piece for the right front of the skirt is marked wrong. I think it tells you to put the zipper in the wrong place. At least, that's what I think. But, maybe I'm just completely wrong, and I put this skirt together incorrectly, even with the instructions!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Aside from the bad instructions, I liked that this skirt was relatively easy to sew, yet had an interesting design that made it a little out of the ordinary. I wanted a pattern with a little bit of interest to make a basic white skirt a little less pedestrian. I think I accomplished that.

Fabric Used: 100% white linen in my stash from Winmill Fabrics in downtown Boston. I underlined the entire skirt with 100% white cotton batiste from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None. Although, I realized I unintentionally altered the pattern by turning my pleats in the wrong direction. I'm blaming the pattern markings on this one! Though, it may just be my own incompetence.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't make this again, but I would recommend it as a fairly quick pattern with a bit of design interest. I'm certainly pleased with mine, even though I seem to have flubbed some of the directions.

Conclusion: I like a white skirt in my wardrobe, and I recently retired a white linen one that had a stain on it. I'm pleased with this substitute!

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In other news, I convinced Nico to let me move my sewing machine into a temporary workspace in a corner of our living room. I know it sounds odd, but I like being in the middle of everything when I sew. Now, I can watch TV, gaze out the window, listen to music -- whatever I want! I really love the natural light I get from the windows out in the living room. Plus, I'm just about one foot away from the dining table, which is great for cutting and spreading out large pieces. I have some supplies tucked under the shelf under the window, so I have pretty much everything I need right there -- without much disturbance of our living room. Yay!

I also got a start on the foundation of my wedding dress last night. I am not sure why I had the idea to use buckram as an interfacing, but I quickly learned that was a mistake. The buckram I have is so terribly stiff. Anyway, after much debating and much reading, I think I'm just going to use plain old muslin underlined with silk organza for the foundation, which will make life much easier. If I decide I want more support later, I can always change my mind! So, up next: finishing the foundation!

Taking the Plunge

2008-07-21T11:05:00.004-04:00

I did it -- I really did it. I bought a new sewing machine!

I had been thinking about this for quite some time, started to do some research, found out that my local Pfaff dealer was having a good sale, went to the store, tried out a few machines for over two hours, and came home with this baby: the Performance 2058. And, oh boy, am I excited!

I regret to say that I have not yet had a chance to take the thing out of the box and play with it (sigh -- tonight, I'll probably be up until all hours playing around), but in the over two hours I spent at the store, I was able to try out most all of the major features I'll be using most frequently. And, I have read the instruction book from front to back, and I am eager to try out all of the amazing features it has.

Sheepishly, I have to admit that the feature I'm most excited about is the buttonholes. Yes, that's right, my lowly Elna 2002 didn't even have automatic buttonholes. It was certainly a workhorse, but fancy it was not. So... I've never made buttonholes on my Elna. If I ever had a pattern that required a buttonhole, I found a work-around -- I either made bound buttonholes or used snaps. Those days are over!

Now, if I could just find the time to take it out of the box...

Jersey Girl

2008-07-14T13:02:00.005-04:00

What is it about not having time to sew that makes one purchase fabric? Emma OneSock has some gorgeous jersey fabrics at the moment (not to mention the mesh prints!). I went back and forth last week about ordering, and since some new options were posted today, I went ahead an made a purchase. Here's what I got (click on photo to enlarge):

I'm super excited about all of these prints -- I think all of them will make great transitional pieces for those times of the year between summer/fall and spring/summer.

Still no sewing to report here. We went on another camping/hiking trip this weekend, leaving me completely exhausted. We did about 15 miles on Saturday, which was rather unpleasant after the novelty of going uphill and then downhill wore off. Oh, and we ran out of water by 1 p.m. We didn't get back to camp until close to 6 p.m. Five hours without water while hiking uphill left us both feeling very unpleasant. You know it's bad when Eleanor loses interest in chasing chimpmonks. Usually she's crashing through the woods at a break-neck speed. So, I'm guessing we're going to lay off the camping/hiking trips for a few weeks and (hopefully) do more lying on the beach.

And, yes, I am aware of our impending wedding (thank you, Jen and Katie for the not-so-gentle reminders now and then) and the dress I have to make to wear for it. Not to mention the million other little arrangements that still need to be made... there is also the little thing of sending out the invitations... argh! So much to do!

Vogue, why have you forsaken me?

2008-07-10T14:13:00.003-04:00

I know I'm not the first sewer, nor will I be the last, to rant about the lack of creativity in the new patterns of the Big 4 companies. And, so far, the companies that have released new fall collections have shown us some very dowdy, boring designs. The latest company to fall victim to this is Vogue.

Let me start by saying that I used to love Vogue. I almost exclusively sewed Vogue patterns. Growing up, they always had the most interesting styles by REAL designers, which was exciting for a teenage girl sewing in South Dakota. I would defend them -- and probably still will -- against criticism. I always find their directions to be clear and their designs to be more stylish against the vanilla backdrop of Butterick, McCall's, and Simplicity. I fear that I have to admit that in their new fall collection, this is simply not the case. Moving past the million Anne Klein suit patterns that all look like previous seasons of boring corporate wear, I give you evidence of the horribleness of the new Vogue collection:

Why do they think we want to dress in shapeless sacks? We are all not 6'3" and 90 pounds! I think this dress might even be unflattering on a supermodel. We do NOT want to look like wallpaper!

Again, with the shapeless sack. And again in a wallpaper print. And brown? Really? This is not inspiring, Vogue!

How many princess seamed sheath dress patterns do we all really need?

I'm not even going to TALK about the Koos Van Der Akker pattern and the hat that is included. (I guess some people like his stuff? I' m just not one of them.)

Even I will admit, though there are a couple of cute patterns. I think my favorite is actually this little clutch pattern, which is saying something about the quality of the clothing patterns:

I think this dress has some potential to be cute for fall in some luscious knit:

I also think this skirt has some potential. Think, playing with the grainline of plaid or herringbone for fall:

Well, I guess I'm becoming even more of a fan of Burda these days. I better get tracing on the patterns in the collection of Burda magazines I already have!

Pattern Review: Flower Garden Blouse (aka, BWOF 3-2007-108)

2008-07-08T15:37:00.003-04:00

I blogged about this blouse quite awhile ago, but I've finally gotten around to posting the review. It took about a month to sew the snaps on the front -- that's procrastination for you! Anyway, I'm wearing it above with a red cotton sateen skirt I made a few years ago (pre-blog days) and a black tank top underneath the blouse. I think it's quite a lovely spring/summer garment, and I think I would like more sheer blouses in my wardrobe.

Pattern Description: This blouse has puffed cap sleeves, mandarin collar, and drawstring waist.

Pattern Sizing: 36-44

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? Yes. I mean, just about as easy as any BWOF instructions can be.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This blouse is super quick and easy to stitch up. My fabric choice made it slightly more time consuming, but I'm happy with the result.

Fabric Used: Silk Crinkle Chiffon from a Fabric Mart sale -- I think maybe it was $1.99/yard? I also stabilized the placket and collar with black some silk organza.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Instead of making button holes in silk chiffon (yes, I know it can be done, but I wasn't really in the mood), I sewed on snaps. I think this was a good way to get around making difficult little buttonholes! I make this again, I would add some length.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I may sew this again; it's a quick little blouse. And, I would recommend it to others.

Conclusion: A quick and easy little blouse, which is great for sheer fabrics (over a camisole, of course!).

Full swing of summertime

2008-07-07T15:39:00.004-04:00

So, as you may have guessed, there hasn't been much sewing going on in the little studio on Trowbridge Street. It seems that faster than a blink of an eye, we're in the midst of summer. And, that has meant camping trips, beach time, ravenous book reading, picnics in the park, painting projects, and things that generally eat up my weekends and time away from work. (If you're in the market for a good book, by the way, I recommend Half of a Yellow Sun, which I just finished. Fantastic!)

Anyway, I have a few things to review -- all things that have been completed for quite some time now. Hopefully I'll get those items photographed and reviewed, and maybe I'll even whip up a quick knit dress or a summer skirt, or something along those lines, very soon. And, before long, I will be neck deep in my wedding dress project. At least, that's the plan.

In the meantime, a photo from the trail. The Appalachian Trail, that is:

Pattern Review: The Saffron Dress (aka, Vogue 1030)

2008-06-13T11:20:00.008-04:00

Warning: long and photo heavy post to follow...

Introduction: I love the color yellow. This season, the color yellow has been popping up in lots of places. I think it is being called "daffodil." For my dress, I decided on the color saffron. I'm not sure what prompted this decision, but I really do love the golden yellow color. It's so rich and beautiful. I had several people tell me the color is mango, but whatever. I don't like mangoes, so I'm sticking with saffron!

Apparently saffron represents sacrifice and salvation in India. The upper band of the Indian national flag is saffron. I have to say I was a little less than amused when I took the saffron colored chiffon up to the cutting counter at Mood, and the guy asked me if I was trying to make a Buddhist monk robe. I mean, I love the robes -- I think they look beautiful -- but, that wasn't exactly what I was trying to imitate.

Anyway... I posted the Roberto Rodriguez dress I saw earlier this season that inspired the dress. I also saw this really fabulous Lanvin gown (at left) that I thought was just gorgeous (just look at how that fabric billows!). I wish I were tall, willowy, and had a place to go to warrant that gown! I digress.

This pattern is not for the faint of heart. I fell in love with it when it came out, and I just knew I had to have this dress. I will say that with a bit of patience (more than I possess!) this pattern is not terribly difficult -- it's the amount of precision sewing required on silk chiffon that makes it difficult. Nonetheless, I love my results, and I had a fabulous time at a very good friend's wedding with it, so it is a special dress to me.

Pattern Description: Lined, flared, floor length dress (shaped hemline), close-fitting at bust, has back zipper, neck ruffle and bodice front extending to form neckline drape. Gathered drape is sewn over empire waist seam. (I made my dress tea length instead of floor length)

Were the instructions easy to follow? For the most part, yes. The bodice was the most difficult part to construct -- getting the drape and the ruffle correct was challenging. I will say that the instructions have to do some weird, weird things. I constantly second-guessed what they were having me do. Once I trusted all the steps, everything was fine. So, trust the instructions!

The only thing I would probably do differently is construct the bodice lining first for fitting. I guess this is probably obvious to most sewers, but I followed the instructions and didn't do this. This gown is difficult to fit due to the open neckline and the drape/ruffle. It's hard to imagine what this will look like before you get it finished.

Fabric Used: Silk Chiffon for the outer portion of the dress. For the lining, I used china silk. The pattern calls for double georgette, but I was unable to find any reasonably priced double georgette in the right color (B&J in NYC had what I was looking for -- at $50 a yard!). The china silk was fine -- I can understand why you would want to use the georgette instead, due to the drape the fabric would undoubtedly give.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None, except for the length.

I will say that if I were making this again, I might re-think the neckline. It ended up being fine, but I felt a little "exposed" at some points in the evening. If you make this pattern, be sure you get the right undergarments. I found the U-plunge bra at Victoria's Secret to be perfect. I also used a little bit of flash tape from The Sewing Place to keep the dress in place around my bust. Those two things worked great -- until about 10 p.m, when the tape began to lose its stickiness. But, hey, for 10 hours of wear (with dancing included!), I think that's pretty good! If I had been planning ahead, I might have tried to sew in bra cups. I was afraid they wouldn't give me enough support, though, so I opted for the bra.

Some construction details: Here's the part where I tell you what I messed up.

First, I'd like to note that everything was sewn together with french seams. If I never see a french seam again for a few months, I'll be happy. I had never sewn french darts before, but they are very easy -- exactly like french seams except as a dart instead of a seam. One silly mistake here was that I managed to sew both parts of the bodice lining together the same way, so one of the sides of the bodice lining is in backwards (you see the wrong side of the dart on the inside of the dress). But, since everything is done in french seams, it doesn't matter much at all.

Second, they have you use binding for the armhole edges, the zipper, and the empire seam. This worked beautifully, and I think it looks quite nice on the inside of the garment. Because the silk I was using was so light, it didn't add too much bulk at the empire seam, which was a concern I had initially. I will say that you need to be VERY CAREFUL as you're clipping the excess seam allowance. This is probably obvious, but because there is so much fabric in the bodice kind of floating around (with the drapes and everything), it's tricky to keep it all in line. I accidentally made a small snip in the inside of the bodice. Thankfully, the outside of the dress was not affected, so you don't notice a thing.

The instructions recommend using an invisible zipper. I love invisible zippers. But, I couldn't find one in the right shade of yellow for this dress. So, I hand-picked a regular zipper. I actually think this worked better, as it gave me more control over the back, so I was able to match up where the gathers came together.

I would also recommend putting the dress on a dress form or yourself to be sure you have the gathered overlays sewn on correctly. I had a slight problem with the left side of the overlay at the empire waist -- it didn't match the right side of the bodice. I had a bunch of extra fabric. You can see what I mean in the photo I posted here. I thought I could work the extra fabric in as I hand sewed the drape to the bodice, but when I got half-way done doing that, the sides looked very uneven. Instead of taking out the zipper in order to take up that extra fabric in the back, I just made a small fold at the side-seam. It turned out to work fine -- I don't think anyone noticed this at all (see photo at right to see the portion where I pinched out the excess fabric and created a faux-seam).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm not going to sew this again, as it's a pretty distinctive dress. But, I would recommend it to others. It's has beautiful lines, and I think it would be flattering on several body types. The skirt also has lovely movement, which was fun for dancing!

Conclusion: I am really happy with my dress -- mistakes and all! I accessorized the dress with bright blue. At left is a photo of my shoes, cuff bracelet, and earrings that I wore with the dress. (Sorry, I never managed a full-length photo of me wearing the dress!)

Back from SoDak

2008-06-11T14:49:00.003-04:00

I arrived back to Boston safely on Monday evening and spent yesterday "recovering" from my trip to South Dakota for my good friend's wedding.

Kate (the bride) and I joke that we have been friends since "the womb." It's true -- our moms were friends while they were both pregnant with us. We were born about one month apart. We grew up together and were virtually inseparable at several points in our lives. And, now, here we are, at her wedding:

The "saffron" dress was a hit; though my friends told me the color was actually mango. I'll write up a review later -- I need to take a few photos of the details of the dress. So, for now, just these preview shots.

My friends and I had fun dancing, talking, and hanging out just like we used to do in high school. I'm so lucky to have such a great group of girlfriends. I love you all! Girls from Brookings, past and present:

Tagged: about me

2008-06-04T11:56:00.004-04:00

I was out of town last weekend, and this work week has been busy with Commencement festivities all week long around here. So... it's convenient that Gwen tagged me for this little game:

1) What I was doing 10 years ago:

10 years ago, I was 15 (I know, I know, so young...). So, I was what? a sophomore in high school? I was likely participating in my myriad of activities and going to school like the goody-two-shoes I was in high school.

2) 5 things on my to-do list today:

Well, I'm at work, so...

Two news webposts for the website I help to manage at work
Eat lunch
Watch Class Day activities (it's the day before Commencement!)
Play with Eleanor
Finish saffron dress

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Anything salty. Especially potato chips, popcorn, and dill pickles. And cheese. Anything with cheese!

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Start my own business (not sure in what!) and hire smart people to do most of the work for me so I could set my own hours and schedule
Do some frivolous shopping
Travel
Buy a vacation home (or four!)
Be financially responsible so it lasts forever, and so that I can donate some to charity.

5) Places I have lived:

I grew up on a farm in South Dakota.
I went to college in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
I spent a summer living in Washington, DC.
I still live in Cambridge!

Short list!

6) Jobs I have had:

Lifeguard/swimming lesson instructor at the local pool
Soil tester in a testing laboratory
Library book re-shelver
Press Intern with Senator Tom Daschle (when he was minority leader of the Senate)
Research Intern on Senator Tim Johnson's 2002 re-election campaign
Intern at an Internet communications strategy company
Account executive at the same company
News Coordinator (I deal with press and do a lot of writing for various outlets) for Harvard Law School

I'm too lazy to tag people, plus at this point, I think this is rather old. Thanks, Gwen, it was fun!

Pattern Review: Sophisitcated Flowers Easy-Breezy Dress (aka, Simplicity 3678)

2008-05-30T11:42:00.003-04:00

I was on a roll last night! Two quickie knit garments. Here's the second:

Pattern Description: Knit dress with cross-over, pleated top, empire waist inset, and short cap sleeves.

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? Yes, though i didn't use them too much.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the style of this dress for summer. I think it's something I'll get a lot of use out of.

Fabric Used: Knit print from Gorgeous Fabrics. It's so silky and light -- perfect for summer!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None to speak of. I made this pretty much right-out-of-the-box. Though, I think I could have lengthened the bodice a bit to make that empire waist line fall under my bust a bit better. It's not bad as-is, though.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I likely will use this pattern again to make some of the long-sleeved versions, and I would recommend it to others.

I would note that the pleats in the front were pretty difficult to work with. My serger did NOT want to cut through that many layers of fabric to sew that under-bust seam to attach the inset. So, that seam is a little wonky.

And, normally for a neckline like this, I would eliminate the facing and just turn and stitch the seam allowance. This time, I read that the facing was drafted well to eliminate gaping at the neck, so I thought I'd try it. Well, it looks fine, but that extra fabric does create a bit of bulk at the neckline that seems unnecessary. I say, the turning of the seam allowance is the better way to go here.

Conclusion: Cute dress, which I think I'll wear a lot this summer and maybe even into the fall with a layering piece underneath. Definitely a quick sew, and the different sleeve/neckline options gives you quite a bit of freedom. There's a reason so many people have made up this pattern!

Pattern Review: Funky Flowers Kimono Top (aka, Simplicity 4020)

2008-05-30T11:39:00.002-04:00

The first installment in my "easy knits" break from the saffron dress...

Pattern Description: Kimono sleeved, wrap front top with empire waist.

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? Several people have reviewed this pattern before me, so I used their recommendations and did NOT use the instructions. I changed the order of construction, so I constructed the bodice without sewing the under arm seams. I then stitched the bodice tops to the bottoms, and then stitched the underarm/side seam all-in-one. If you follow the order of the instructions, you end up with a pretty awkward situation.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the style very much. I have a wrap top with kimono sleeves that I wear all the time. I love how easy it was to put together -- I made this and a knit dress in one evening!

Fabric Used: Wonderful silky, soft funky knit from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Not many. I did add about 1/2" to the bodice front top and back to make sure the empire waisted seam did not cut me off at an unflattering point. It ended up fitting pretty much perfectly.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm going to sew it again, and I would definitely recommend it. It's obviously a very popular pattern. Next time around, i'm going to lengthen the bottom a bit more so I don't feel self-conscious about showing skin at my waistline!

Conclusion: Great pattern -- there's a reason so many people have made it!

Sneak Peek!

2008-05-29T10:21:00.003-04:00

I have been working away on the saffron dress, and I just wanted to give you all a sneak peek at my progress. I've left it hanging on my dress form for a few days since the skirt is cut on the bias. So, I just have the hem and some hand stitching on the drape around the neck and around the waist to do.

But, I'm quite excited about the dress! There were a couple of moments in the middle of the project where I thought it was headed for disaster, but I learned I just need to trust myself a little more. I also have some fabulous accessories to complete the look, which I'll show you when I complete the dress.

I got a little sick of hand stitching after I put the zipper in by hand, so I'm taking a hiatus for a couple of days on a couple of quick and easy knit projects. Since knits pack so well, I wanted to make up a couple of things to wear when I go to South Dakota next weekend for the wedding festivities. With any luck, one of those projects will be done tonight.

Gus!

2008-05-19T13:38:00.006-04:00

Sorry to re-post this -- there were some technical difficulties with the video.

This weekend, there was new sewing for me because we had a special visitor: Gus! Gus is Nico's parents' new little standard poodle pup. He's just 12 weeks old, but he proved he can stand up to Eleanor! Here's some video footage of the two of them playing on our deck:

I realize there hasn't been much sewing happening on this sewing blog, but that has to change. Stay tuned...

Happy, happy!

2008-05-15T10:59:00.002-04:00

My sister-in-law called me Tuesday night to tell me that... SHE'S HAVING A BABY! So, that means I'm going to be an aunt! That also means that in a few months, I'll be making cute, adorable baby clothes for said child. I can't wait to find out if it's a girl or a boy so I can get started!!!

About the picture: my brother and my sister-in-law being a little silly after their wedding last April. Don't ask about why they are posing in front of the tractor... it's a long story. :)

Spring!

2008-05-14T13:39:00.003-04:00

I'm still working on the saffron dress and making progress. No photos yet because it still looks like a giant pile of mustard. Seriously, all of the chiffon makes it impossible to get a real sense of the shape of the thing. I'm hoping to get the skirt attached tonight, and then I might have a photo to show. I have a LOT of hand-stitching in my future...

In the meantime, the flowers are in full bloom, and we've had some nice sunny days. We've been taking advantage of the weather by taking Eleanor outside. She turned 2 on Sunday, so she had a full day of swimming, walking around a May Fair in Harvard Square, and then curling up with exhaustion with her new toys (Birthday presents!) on the window seat. I swear, this is not a posed photo:

And, last night, we had our annual spring outing to the Arnold Arboretum. They have a huge collection of lilacs there, and every year, we try to go to see them. We enjoyed a lovely picnic dinner, and Eleanor got to prance around outside. Everyone was very happy. I love lilacs!

That's MY Fabric!

2008-05-12T16:27:00.002-04:00

I was browsing patterns at JoAnn's on Friday, and guess what I saw? My fabric on the front of a New Look pattern! Well, I think my dress is cuter:

Tag, you're it

2008-05-08T14:58:00.003-04:00

Lindsay T and Leslie tagged me with a literary game:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

I'm at work, and I always carry a fiction book with me. I'm currently reading Lolita, because I love Nabokov and I'm trying to read and re-read "classics" these days:

"Oh, I've been such a disgusting girl," she went on, shaking her hair, removing with slow fingers a velvet hair ribbon. "Lemme tell you--"

"Tomorrow, Lo. Go to bed, go to bed -- for goodness sake, to bed."

I pocketed the key and walked downstairs.

Ok, trying to "spread the love," I tag Tany, Cidell, Sharon, Stacy, and Rosanne.

More Fabric???

2008-05-07T11:00:00.004-04:00

It all started innocently enough... I missed the April edition of BWOF at my local newsstand (Out of Town News in Harvard Square). I noticed that Fashionista Fabrics happened to have it for sale, so I figured I would just order it. Well, I also happened to notice that they have a flat rate shipping policy and that shipping is free on orders over $100. I mean, really, think about the shipping fee I'm saving by ordering all of this great fabric...

From Left: Cynthia Steffe cotton eyelet, cotton/silk voile, and silk/linen print

Not having time to sew is very dangerous for my pocketbook! The good news is that my work event is over, spring is here, and I should have more time to sew very soon!

Just Because

2008-05-01T13:45:00.002-04:00

This week has been a bit crazy at work -- we have a big event coming up this weekend, which has meant lots of long hours logged at the office and no sewing. I'm also going to be working this weekend, which means I probably won't have much time to work on my various projects for a little while.

Anyway, I had to post these photos of Eleanor hanging out on the couch, because they are both so adorable. I'll be back soon!

Officially Labeled

2008-04-29T16:59:00.003-04:00

I finally got around to naming my "label." It was actually quite a process -- I agonized over what to call myself for a couple of days. Finally, I just decided I needed to make a decision and get the labels ordered. (I must have somewhat randomly chose from the options I had, because I promptly forgot what I decided to call my label until the labels arrived on my doorstep!) Anyway, I'm quite pleased. My garments will have a more professional look! Oh, and I ordered them from Heirloom Labels.

Taming the Beast

2008-04-28T15:17:00.005-04:00

Spring is officially here, and sitting in front of the sewing machine has been more difficult now that the weather is so nice. Nonetheless, for the past couple of weeks, I've been working on two different projects -- both in silk chiffon, which I've nick-named THE BEAST.

Project #1 is a quick and easy little blouse (minus buttons):

Wait -- did I say quick and easy? I meant slow and painful. Well, that's not entirely true either. It went much better than I expected. I guess I did manage to go through an entire package of 5 Microtex needles (recommended for sewing with silk) throughout the course of this blouse. And, I haven't even figure out how to do the buttons yet (I'm thinking snaps are a good way to go here -- I can just imagine the disaster of trying to make buttonholes in chiffon). More photos and a formal review when I figure out the button closure.

Project #2, which I began this past weekend is the Saffron Dress:

This dress is for a friend's wedding the first weekend of June. The minute I saw this pattern come out earlier this spring, I knew I had to have it. I'm shortening the length to make a tea length dress (mid-calf, perhaps). The fabric on the left is the most beautiful and delicate chiffon from Mood in NYC, and the right is some soft and luscious china silk from B&J in NYC. My color inspiration comes from the seasoning saffron (which I love) and all of the yellow I've seen this season. In particular, I saw this Roberto Rodriguez dress on the Nordstrom's website:

I was going to alter the pattern to make the top more like this dress, but I decided that I was lazy and actually loved the dress as is -- the pattern is more elegant. So, that's what I'm working on this week!

More fabric???

2008-04-17T10:44:00.010-04:00

There's nothing better than fabric shopping to cheer up a sickly girl... my cold or allergies or whatever has gotten worse (it seems no home remedies or medicines are helping this time around). And, Ann over at Gorgeous Fabrics decided to run a sale. So, I'm being shipped quite a few more lovely fabrics:

Clockwise from top left: Silk jersey for a top; Black and white jersey for a dress; Funky floral jersey for a top; Brown and white tribal inspired silk chiffon print for a tunic; Pink swiss-dotted cotton for a blouse; Brown and white floral print batiste for a top.

I also ordered some plain white batiste for lining and another jersey print that I can't seem to find a photo of (I think it has since sold out). I really hope I can get my cold/allergies/whatever under control soon because I want to get sewing!

When you can't sew, BUY FABRIC

2008-04-15T13:08:00.013-04:00

That was my motto this weekend. My dad was here for a visit, so I didn't have a chance to get any sewing done. Not that I'm complaining -- we had a really lovely weekend! With spring officially on its way (though, it feels like it's still a few weeks off here in New England), I decided that I needed to buy some more fabrics for spring clothes. Nevermind that I have a mammoth wedding dress project to undertake...

Here's what I got from Emma OneSock:

Clockwise, from the upper left: Stretch linen in a lovely gray/blue shade; wacky knit print (that I love!); Cotton/silk starburst print voile; Silk border print

I have a cute silk chiffon blouse cut out and ready to sew up, and then I'm going to be moving on to another chiffon project, which I'll hopefully start on this weekend. I've also managed to catch yet another cold, so my sewing time is turning into recovery time... In the meantime, I'm excited for my fabrics to arrive!

Pattern Review: Instant Gratification Dress (aka, Butterick 4976)

2008-04-08T11:33:00.002-04:00

Here's a dress I sewed Sunday evening in just 2 hours! Not bad, if I do say so myself. It's been a long time since I've worked with a knit, and I cut this dress out last fall before we moved. Well, packing got in the way of sewing, and this dress sat on my shelf unsewn until this past weekend when I was in the mood for some instant gratification. Wow! I'd forgotten how great knits are! It's also another great transitional piece of clothing; in early spring and fall, I can wear it with tights and boots, and when the weather warms up a bit, I can just throw on my pair of brown slingbacks.

Pattern Description: Dress is below mid-knee and has semi-fitted bodice, slightly flared skirt, attached self-fabric sash with long ties and three-quarter length sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: 8-22; I made a 12, though I could have made a 10. I ended up taking in the side-seams and the shoulder seams quite a bit.

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? Very, although I changed a few things from the instructions:

1) Instead of putting a facing on the edge of the bodice, I sewed a bit of clear elastic on the edge when I used my serger to overcast the edge. Then, I just turned the 5/8" seam allowance and stitched down. Of course, if you have a coverstitch machine, this would be even easier.

2) When attaching the sash, they have you leave the middle of the sash open for turning. Then, they have you stitch it to the bodice and hand-sew the opening closed before top-stitching over top of the sash. I eliminated the hand-sewing and topstitching; instead I just sewed the sash to the bodice at the opening and then folded over the seam allowance and stitched the opening closed with my sewing machine. Since the sash is then folded down for tying, the stitching doesn't sew. Is that as clear as mud?

3) The pattern has you insert a zipper. I think this is because the pattern is also made for non-stretch materials. I definitely eliminated the zipper for this one.

4) Instead of setting in the sleeve, I sewed the shoulder seams, leaving the side seams open. Then, I sewed the sleeve into the garment. Finally, I stitched the long seam from the end of the sleeve, down the arm-pit, to the hem of the dress in one long seam. This was super-easy, and I don't really know why the instructions have you set-in the sleeve instead of doing this for knits.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I LOVE that this dress took me about 2 hours to sew. Hello, instant gratification! It's also chic and simple to throw on to go to work, and it's another great transitional piece of clothing, perfect for New England falls and springs.

Fabric Used: Brown and cream jersey print from Winmill Fabrics in Downtown Boston. I used to work next door to this fabric shop, and I think this fabric joined my collection about 2 years ago and probably cost somewhere in the range of $4/yard. I like that this has a bit of the safari/tribal look that is trendy this spring.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened the sleeves a little bit, but otherwise, this sewed up quickly right out of the envelope!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I think I am definitely sewing this again, and I would definitely recommend it to others!

Conclusion: I know there are a lot of wrap-dress patterns out there, but I have to say that I love how this one went together. I feel very DVF today at work!

Pattern Review: Electric Blue Plaid (aka, McCalls 5466)

2008-04-02T15:40:00.003-04:00

Don't I look smug in this photo? Well, I am quite happy with this dress. This is how I wore it to work today (I changed into heels once I got to work), and I've gotten many compliments! It's a great transitional piece of clothing -- good for spring/fall when the temps are cool, but not cold. In the winter, I can wear it with a black turtleneck layered underneath.

Pattern Description: Fitted bodice dress with straight skirt has short sleeves and back zipper closure. Purchased belt.

Pattern Sizing: 4-18, I made a 12.

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'm not sure. I read through them briefly, but then didn't use them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the pleats and the slight tulip-shaped skirt. And the pockets. How fun to have pockets!

Fabric Used: 100% Pendleton Wool I won at the Make-It-Yourself-With-Wool contest somewhere around 1996. It has some body and is rather spongy in texture. I've been waiting for the right project for this fabric, and I think this was it!

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I added a lining to the dress by sewing two versions of the same dress -- one in fashion fabric, the other in lining. I stitched them together at the neckline. Instead of lining the sleeves, I fell-stitched the lining to the seamline at the sleeve, concealing that seam.

The pattern also has you use a self-facing for the sleeve -- basically cutting two sleeves out of fashion fabric, sewing them together at the hemline, and then easing both thicknesses to the bodice armholes. I thought this would be too bulky (and who wants to ease two sleeve caps anyway?). Instead, I just folded up the 5/8" as a hem and hand stitched it.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again, as it's a pretty distinctive style. But, I would definitely recommend it. It went together very smoothly -- no alterations! And, I love the look.

Excellent!

2008-04-01T13:06:00.002-04:00

Gwen over at After the dress... was kind enough to give me an "excellent blog" award! In receiving the award, I'm also supposed to nominate 10 more blogs. Frankly, there are just too many great blogs to name, so I'll pull a Shannon and point you all to my blogroll, which are the blogs that I read regularly for inspiration and wisdom.

Thanks, Gwen! You're really too kind.

Wedding Dress: WE FOUND IT!

2008-03-26T14:02:00.010-04:00

After a full day of searching nearly every fabric store in New York City, WE FOUND IT! "It" being the PERFECT lace. It's a little hard to capture how gorgeous this lace is, but it is so beautiful. We literally went to every single fabric store, looked at probably thousands of different lace patterns, and finally, Frank of Sposabella Lace pulled out a magical bolt of 72" Alencon lace. After spending the day looking at lace at B&J, Rosen and Chadick, Mood, Lace Star, and some other stores for more than 6 hours straight, this lace was so far and away the best thing we saw all day.

(Inside Sposabella Lace)

I also got some double-sided silk satin. I hadn't imagined myself wanting so much sheen, but when Frank draped the lace over the satin, it was just beautiful. And, I knew right then and there that it was all perfect.

I also can't say enough about the great service we got from Frank and Susan. I was deciding between two different lace patterns, and they did not push me at all (unlike the people at Lace Star, for example). They put me in front of a mirror and draped the lace around me so I could visualize the full effect. They were both extremely knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions this novice wedding dress maker had! I also had everything shipped to me, which I was a little concerned about, but everything arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday (I had purchased on Saturday!). Can't beat that speed...

We spent the next day just browsing at fabric stores for another project I want to get started on soon. I have to say, all of you who live in NYC or get there regularly -- you are so spoiled! I had such a great time just browsing. It was all a little overwhelming, and I'm a little sad I didn't have more time to make more purchases for other projects. Nonetheless, I got some great fabrics for a couple of other projects (more on those later). And, now that I know the ins and outs of the fabric district, I plan to get there much more often!

I feel so inspired after being in NYC and amid the floor to ceiling bolts of fabric. I just want to get back to sewing. Unfortunately, the past couple of weeks have been 60-hour work weeks for me, plus I came back from NYC with a bad cold, so I'm hoping to get some sewing done this weekend. I am still just in awe of all the gorgeous fabrics I saw. If only I had unlimited time!

A couple of cute photos from the weekend... more in my Flickr album here.

(Nico, Eleanor, and I in Brooklyn)

(Nico and his parents, Christa and Tom, in Brooklyn)

(Eleanor saying hello to the bears in Central Park)

Wedding dress: Selecting the fabric

2008-03-04T12:11:00.006-05:00

This stack of little fabric swatches arrived in my mail this weekend from Thai silks. In preparation for my fabric buying trip to NYC in a few weeks, I decided to order the bridal sample set. For under $20, I got hundreds of silk samples in all varieties of types, weights, and colors.

I immediately ripped open the envelope and stood in the kitchen thumbing through it all. Can I just say: I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT GOING FABRIC SHOPPING. It's been so long since I've stepped foot in a fabric store (had to save up for the spring shopping trip to NYC!) that I had almost forgotten about the tingly sensation I get when touch new fabrics. I guess you could say it's a bit of a fetish.

Anyway... I learned a lot. I'm not very experienced with all of the different types of silk, so it was immensely helpful to compare everything. I definitely recommend ordering a sample set before embarking on a project of this magnitude. I'm hoping it will prevent me from being too overwhelmed when I go shopping in NYC!

I decided that I want something with a bit of body and crispness to hold up to the lace overlay. I'm leaning towards silk shantung at the moment -- I may also go with taffeta depending on what I see. To get that drape in the mermaid-style skirt, I may underline with cotton flannel or something a bit softer than organza. I'll have to do some sampling with whatever fabric I end up getting!

This weekend I also managed to get a muslin of the shell put together. It still has a few fitting issues to figure out, but I feel like it's getting there! Stay tuned for a report on the muslin process.

Wedding Dress Muslin: Part 2 - drafting the pattern

2008-02-20T12:53:00.005-05:00

With a three-day weekend due to President's Day, I was able to get a bit of sewing in, though not as much as I had hoped. I think this was mostly due to my own inertia, but Eleanor's playfulness and the desire to watch The Wire (a fantastic HBO show we've been watching on DVD) also contributed to my unproductivity.

I fiddled with the foundation a bit on Saturday and Sunday -- created the channels for the boning and made the adjustments to the design. In the process, I learned a few things:

I have very little patience for tedious tasks (like making boning channels);
Cutting spiral steel boning is not fun, and you must have an industrial strength wire snips to accomplish this task; and
I am easily frustrated by failure.

In short, the foundation construction didn't go well. I decided to move onto the pattern drafting for the rest of the gown.

I took a pattern drafting course about a year and a half ago at the Boston School of Fashion Design, and discovered a love of drafting. Here are my drafting tools:
From left to right: standard issue tape measure, pen, scissors, clear grided ruler, french curve ruler, and square ruler.

If you recall, I'm using two patterns as a baseline for the design of the gown -- the top of one pattern and the bottom of another pattern. Well, this would be all fine and dandy if they each had the same seamlines, but of course, they don't. One pattern has 4 pieces in the front, 4 pieces in the back, for a classic 8-gore type construction. The other has 3 in front, 2 in back, and 1 side piece that wraps to both the front and the back. So, I couldn't merely stick the two together -- I had to do a little fudging. For the most part, I was able to line the pattern pieces from both patterns up at the waistline, and use the pattern for the bottom of the gown as a guideline for the pattern pieces. Here's a shot of the top of the side panel. It has a large under-arm dart, which I think is pretty interesting:

I was feeling a little lazy, so I didn't mark the seamlines on the pattern pieces. I was thinking about it, and when I construct the muslin, I am not seriously going to hand baste along every single seamline. (The gown is long! The seamlines are long!) That's just crazy, and I don't have that kind of patience. I feel like such a sewing slacker, but between couture quality and sanity, I vote for sanity (at least when I'm doing the constructing!).

Next up: constructing the muslin from the newly drafted pattern!

Wedding Dress Muslin: Part 1

2008-02-11T12:04:00.000-05:00

One of my other interests, besides sewing, is politics. This is Eleanor, all geared up for Super Tuesday! (yes, that's a democratic donkey on her handkerchief) We had a little party of sorts, and I stayed up much too late watching the election returns out of California. I haven't jumped on the Obama-wagon just yet, but I have to admit that if anyone can unite the country as much as it seems he is, that has to be a good thing. I'm not sure he can keep it up, though. In any case, I'm curious to see how it all shakes out. All of the people I know and trust in politics are currently working for Obama (I worked for my Senator -- Tom Daschle -- in college when he was Minority Leader, and all of his people went over to Obama's camp when he lost his 2006 election to John Thune.)

Back on the sewing front, I made progress on the muslin of the wedding dress. I am starting with the foundation -- since it's so important to get that fitting perfectly, I wanted to start with that.

Following the methods described by Susan Khalje in Bridal Couture (hereafter known as THE BIBLE), here's what I've done so far:

Traced the paper pattern of the foundation from Vogue 2928 onto my own tracing paper. I marked all seamlines on my pattern.
Placed my pattern onto muslin and cut out pattern pieces, allowing a minimum of 1" on all seam allowances.
Using wax tracing paper, I marked all seamlines, placement lines for boning, notches, and other relevant marks on the piece of fabric. Instead of placing the tracing paper between the two pieces and using the tracing wheel to mark both pattern pieces at once, I carefully marked each piece individually by placing the tracing paper underneath the pattern piece, between the pattern paper and the piece of fabric. This prevents slippage and increases accuracy.
Thread basted all marks made with the wax tracing paper for increased accuracy. This also ensures that I know where the original seamline was when I start sewing and making fitting or design changes. I used bright red thread so I could easily see the basting lines. While I really enjoyed this process, I can't believe Tany does this for all of her projects. Really makes me appreciate her workmanship, compared to my more shoddy methods! Here is a photo of some of the pieces after I completed the thread-tracing:
Sewed the darts into the front pieces and then stitched everything together. At this point, I probably should have stitched boning channels into the pieces and inserted boning, but I wanted to see how close on the fit I was before going through all of that trouble. And, I'm happy to say, that I think it's a good start:

I know the front needs some fitting help. To be honest, I'm not completely sure my dress form is set up correctly. I just got it a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still working on tweaking her measurements. I also know once I get the boning in, that will change things dramatically. I am a little concerned it's a bit tight in the bust area, though.

Before I make too many fit changes, I want to make a few design changes and then re-fit everything. I learned that I think I need to raise the front v-neckline a bit. I was feeling a little uncomfortable with the amount of cleavage the v-neck was revealing! I also want to drop the back quite a bit. You can see the outline of the new line across the back. I'll probably experiment with how low this should go a bit, but I think that's about where I want it to be.

A side note about the pattern: this pattern included two separate pieces that form a "front stay." I understand why they did this on this particular pattern -- to prevent the sleeves from pulling the bodice horizontally -- but, I don't fully understand why simpling making the foundation out of two layers of muslin won't do the same trick. The only difference between the pattern pieces is that the stay has a hole where the bra cups go, which doesn't really make all that much sense to me. Instead, I think I'm just going to make the entire foundation out of two layers of muslin fabric, as Khalje did in her book for the blue mini-dress she talks about in the back. The primary benefit of doing that is that I don't have to deal with boning channels; I can just sew channels into the two pieces together and sandwich the boning between them.

When I make the real version of the foundation, I'm also planning to use something stiffer for one of the layers -- maybe buckram or haro? A dressmaker I know recommended that to me, and Summerset talked about using it in the corselette for one of her gowns here. I'm just realizing that with a somewhat low front and a low back, I am going to want more support than just muslin.

Brief update

2008-02-04T12:51:00.001-05:00

Not much sewing going on here. Last weekend, we went skiing in Maine and had a great time. At the risk of public embarrassment, I've posted a short clip of myself skiing below. As a disclaimer, this was only the 5th time I've been skiing in my life. I enjoy it, but I'm by no means a skiing prodigy.

I finally got the curtains for the bedroom hemmed and hung this weekend before the Superbowl started. And, with most of my unfinished projects finished, I've begun work on the wedding dress. I started to prepare my pattern this weekend, and I hope to get the muslin of the foundation cut and basted this week. Of course, tomorrow is Super Tuesday, so I'll be busy watching returns, but with any luck, I'll be able to get some sewing time in later on this week.

Pattern Review: BWOF 11-2007-107B

2008-01-23T15:16:00.000-05:00

This dress was supposed to be for an office holiday party, but I didn't finish it in time. Then, I thought I would finish it for New Year's, but that didn't happen either. I did manage to finish in time for my Birthday!

Pattern Description: From the Burda Web site: You've got a formal invitation? We've got the right dress for you, with costly brocade fabric shimmering in metallic shades and the hemline fluttering flatter-ingly about the knees.

Pattern Sizing: Burda sizes 36-44. I made a 38.

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? Um, well, hit and miss. This is BWOF after all... I didn't really use them, until I got to the side-seam pockets. Not that pockets are difficult, but I needed a little refresher. And let's just say that I ended up not putting the pockets in the dress. But, that was mostly because I was rushed for time and generally being a little lazy.

I ended up doing a lot of hand-sewing in this garment. I whip stitched all the way around the bottom of the facing at the neckline, pick-stitched the facing (instead of stitching-in-the-ditch with my machine), and hand-sewed the hem. The fact that I underlined with silk organza made all of this very easy and invisible to the front of the dress. I'm happy with the result -- the hand sewing was fun and relaxing to do.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that this dress was cute and simple enough to showcase the brocade fabric I found. Not to mention the fact that I started this dress only a few days before the office holiday party with the intention of wearing it to the party. Even though that didn't exactly happen, in theory, the dress was simple enough to be done for that event. One dislike is the facings instead of a self-lined bodice. If I were to make this dress again, I would line the bodice and eliminate the facings. I'm not entirely sure why I didn't do this in the first place -- I think it had something to do with the fact I was in a hurry!

Fabric Used: 100% silk brocade in dark chocolate brown. It has a swirling/paisley design all over it in a similar tone to the rest of the fabric. I also underlined the dress with silk organza.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Almost none, except for the elimination of the side-seam pockets at the last minute.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again, as this dress is going to languish in the back of my closet unworn until next holiday season. But, I would definitetly recommend the pattern to others.

Conclusion: Cute pattern! I plan to wear it with brown tights, brown shoes, a blue cardigan sweater, and gold jewlery for a cute, slightly dressed up look. Great for office parties and the like.

I think I'm in love...

2008-01-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

I love love love this pattern. I'm thinking about making a shorter, tea length version to wear to a friend's wedding in June. Too many dresses! Not enough time to make them!

Pattern Review: Spicy Brown Skirt (aka, Vogue 7937)

2008-01-17T13:52:00.000-05:00

This is how I wore this skirt to work yesterday (hence the wrinkles from sitting all day!). I actually started this skirt last fall, and just finished it now (but, who's really counting the time from start of project to end of project anyway?!?)

Pattern Description: Vogue 7937 - Semi-fitting, straight skirt, below mid-knee has front princess seams and side zipper. I made view B, which also has two back vents and tabs with buttons on the front of the skirt.

Pattern Sizing: 6-22; I made a 12.

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 follow the instructions at all, but I did give them a quick read before I started sewing. They seemed to make sense to me!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the simple lines of this skirt - a great wardrobe builder. The topstitching detail on the princess seams is particularly flattering - creates nice vertical lines. Due to the extra seams, this skirt was extremely easy to fit. I disliked that this pattern does not have instructions for dealing with a lining. This would have been helpful when I was fiddling with the lining on the back vents.

Fabric Used: 100% wool from Emma One Sock. This fabric is gorgeous. It is so soft and spongy, and the color is really nice. For the lining, I used Ambiance.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I added a lining, but other than that, none. Here are a couple of detail shots - the first one of the tab and button at the hip, and the second of the facing, where I used a Hong Kong finish on the raw edge with the lining:

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm definitely sewing this again. I have view D cut out already!

Conclusion: Great staple skirt pattern. Simple to work up, with great results!

Mail Call

2008-01-15T16:50:00.001-05:00

My walk to work was gorgeous this morning after our mini-storm yesterday. I just love it when the snow sticks to everything like that.

While I was home in South Dakota, I took my chance to pack up a box of sewing stuff -- some of it my mom's, some of it my grandma's. I went through my mom's vintage sewing patterns (that she used while she was young) and packed up quite a few! I was really excited to get them all in the mail after I returned... almost like a belated Christmas present! Here is my pattern haul:

There are a few that are really wonderful. The photo on the right shows perhaps my favorite pattern, complete with a swatch of the (bright pink!) fabric my mom used to make up this pattern at one time.

I also found some Pendleton fabric - no doubt from Make it Yourself with Wool Contests over the years!

Finally, some special treats from my grandmother - a collection of buttons in a tin, and a scrap quilt top, with most of the pieces sewn together in long strips. My grandmother didn't sew much, but I always remember her making these quit tops out of scraps of material. All I have to do is to sew the strips together to make the quilt. I'm looking forward to finishing that up sometime. I do have one quilt my grandmother completed, and maybe this one will be a gift to my brother someday.

Isn't it fun to have items from the past?

Back with a vengence

2008-01-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

I'm back. Actually, I've been back since January 1, but I've been catching up on some reading, mail, email, etc. since the holidays. Even though it was nice to see family and friends in South Dakota, I have to sheepishly admit that I'm really happy to be back. Scheduling all of my days with visits to aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, etc. was exhausting! It's nice to have a routine again.

Since being back, I've also been working on some wedding plans. While I was in South Dakota I met with an amazing seamstress I knew growing up who now has a business making bridal gowns. I was thinking about having her create my gown for me, but after meeting with her, I've decided to go ahead with making my gown myself. Since I made that final decision this week, I've been frantically reading reviews and message boards on PatternReview.com from people who have made wedding gowns for themselves or for others. I'm getting nervous!!! It seems like such a daunting project, but I'm also excited about the whole process.

As a first step, I've compiled a montage of the gowns I'm using as inspiration (click on the photo to enlarge):

The general shape is going to be a mermaid style, which is fitted through the hips and flares out from the lower thigh/knee. For the neckline, I have settled on a v-neck - probably more shallow than deep (similar to the dress in the right-hand corner). And, for the back, a low scoop (like dress #2 above). I want to have off-the-shoulder cap sleeves.

The rest will be determined whenever I get to NYC to purchase fabric. I would like some type of lace - I am in love with the fabric used in dress number two (the middle dress in the top row). But, if I can't find what I'm looking for and end up using a more traditional lace, I may have some details like the scalloped neckline in the dress that is pictured directly below dress number two.

I've decided to work off of Vogue 2928 as the base (minus those terrible looking appliqués, of course!). The shape of the skirt is not what I want, but I like the lines and the top. It also has a built in foundation, which will make that portion of the project a bit easier, I think. I'm going to lower the back neckline as well. I'm also going to be using Vogue 2931 (minus the horrid pointy bow top) as a reference for the shape of the skirt. Line drawings below:

For my plan of attack, I'm going to get started on a muslin ASAP, with the hopes of getting all of the design decisions made by President's Day weekend February. With any luck, I can use that 3-day weekend to head to NYC to go fabric shopping!

This means that my Burda jacket is hitting the back-burner for now. I just don't need it right now. I'll plan to finish it for next fall. I also have some UFO's (unfinished objects) floating around the sewing room (the holiday dress, a brown skirt, and another skirt cut) that I'd like to finish in-between the wedding dress stuff. No complicated projects other than the wedding dress right now, though!

I'm on vacation

2007-12-21T10:59:00.000-05:00

We got even MORE snow yesterday, making everything just beautiful. I left the house wondering if I suddenly got transplanted to a ski lodge. Eleanor had a nice time watching the snow out the window yesterday, as you can tell from the photo.

Thank goodness the weather is supposed to be fine tomorrow -- I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to head back to South Dakota for nine days of all-out relaxation. Well, there are some things I'd like to accomplish in South Dakota too. On my list:

sleeping in
reading books
seeing friends and family
cooking and baking up a storm (I haven't made any Christmas goodies yet!)

No sewing on the list... I am going to take the brown dress home to finish on my mom's old sewing machine. I'm hoping for more snow... my dad said they only have about 8 inches on the ground -- a far cry from the 24" or so we have here in Cambridge!

Truthfully, there are a few things I will miss:

Eleanor (she's going to Maine with Nico to spend the holidays with his family)
Nico (he'll be joining me on the 26th, though, so I can't complain)
Our fireplace (I've never understood why people in the midwest don't have fireplaces, considering it's usually colder there in the winter than it is in the northeast)
The New York Times (I miss the Sunday edition of the Times when I don't have it available in South Dakota... seriously, the only place I can get the NYT is at a Starbucks, 45 minutes away from the house I grew up in)

I suppose the friends and family make up for the things I'll miss. :) It's a bit of an odd Christmas for me, I guess... it's the first time I've really felt like I'm leaving my home to visit family instead of going back home. I suppose that's what home ownership does to you. In any case, it makes me feel like... *gasp*... an ADULT.

Why couldn't it be a three-day weekend?

2007-12-17T11:27:00.001-05:00

Today is the day of the office holiday party. This is the party for which I was sewing my holiday dress. Well, guess what? I didn't finish it. I quit sewing at 11:30 p.m. last night, because I was getting tired and frustrated. I've made many a mistake sewing while tired and frustrated. Anyway... I don't have much left to do, so I plan to finish it this week anyway and take it home to South Dakota with me to wear on Christmas. I also have a party in January that I can wear it to. At least I'll get some use out of it!

The reason I didn't have time to finish the dress this weekend is in the photos above. We got a snow storm on Thursday this week. And, we got another one on Sunday. I spent my Thursday evening shoveling out and playing with Eleanor. Unfortunately, the snow on Sunday was followed by pouring rain. Yes, that's right -- have you ever shoveled 8" of snow covered with rain? Yeah, not fun. I think every shovel-full weighted about 15 pounds. After shoveling our sidewalk, front porch, and entire driveway, I'm sore today. That's the story of why I didn't have time or energy to finish my dress last night.

At least the weekend wasn't lost. We saw two movies: Juno and Atonement. I love, love, loved Juno! Atonement... not so much. The cinemetography was gorgeous and the acting was fantastic. I just wasn't blown away by the story. I haven't read the book, but I imagine the story made a much better book than a movie. It was a bit boring and over-the-top romantic. Don't get me wrong, I love over-the-top romanticism, but this story was no Dr. Zhivago.

I also got some Christmas shopping done in the craziness that was the mall on Saturday and went to a "chili cook-off" themed party. What a fun idea!

I went, I saw, I purchased.

2007-12-13T12:06:00.001-05:00

My day started innocently enough... until I opened my email, that is. In my inbox was an email notifying me that Fabric Mart was having a sale -- 20% off EVERYTHING! Well, with all of the online babble about buying their really cheap Anna Sui silks for linings, I couldn't resist. And, let's be honest. I really only got one fabric to use for lining. The rest, I got simply because I couldn't resist:

The first is a "crinkle chiffon." Isn't it pretty? Next is a purple paisley wool/poly blend that sounded interesting and looked pretty. The plaid is 100% wool, and I think it will make a fabulous galaxy dress. Finally, a "wool blend knit backed fleece." I don't entirely know what this means, but it was plum (one of my fav. colors this season), and I thought if nothing else, I can make a cozy pair of lounge pants. I also got a silk charmeuse print, but I couldn't find a picture of that.

13 yards of fabric for just over $50! I certainly can't complain... I guess it's my holiday gift to myself. We won't talk about the Boden order I placed yesterday for some of their tops and sweaters, which are on sale...

The Holiday Dress

2007-12-12T12:12:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a little break from the Burda jacket I've started to whip up a quick holiday dress: Burda 11/07 #107B. I'm using a dark chocolate brown silk brocade and underlining with organza. (Sorry, I couldn't get a decent photo of the fabric since it the fabric is so dark and it has been cloudy here for the last few days)

The line drawing doesn't do it justice -- I love how the darts have been moved from the sides to the center front of the bodice and the skirt is going to be wonderfully full with those pleats. And, it has pockets!

Anyway, last night, I managed to get all of the pieces prepped for assembly. I'm using the method of underlining and finishing your seam in one step, as described by Shannon. Now, I just need to put it all together, which should be painless and easy. It feels like instant gratification -- I bought the fabric last Saturday, I'm going to finish the dress this week, and I'll wear it on Sunday!

I just have to post a photo of Eleanor, who has been extra snuggly, shaggy, and cute this so far this winter. Here she is, doing one of her most favorite things - gazing out the window. We have two couches in our living room, and since we moved, she has officially staked out one of the couches (the one near the window) as "hers." That's one of her favorite spots to be in our apartment -- either standing up on the couch with her front paws on the shelf below the window and looking out, or curled up asleep.

Winter has arrived!

2007-12-10T10:37:00.000-05:00

I was sick this week with some kind of virus that seems to be going around the office. While I was home on Monday and Tuesday, we got our first snow of the season! I couldn't have picked a better week to get sick. I love the view of our street.

I am a winter-y kind of girl. As proof, I always think of the stories I heard about myself when I was a baby -- how I would cry unless I was completely swaddled in as many blankets as possible. Apparently, I would get so warm, I would sweat through the night. My mom said my pillows would be wet when I woke in the morning. Apparently, I've always liked being cozy and warm. And, I love snow.

After recuperating this week, I was ready to be productive again this weekend. I guess I needed a few days to just be a couch potato to play catch up. Re-energized and excited about winter, I spent Saturday afternoon at the fabric store. I was inspired to make a quick holiday dress for a couple of holiday gatherings next week. More on that project tomorrow.

I spent nearly all day on Sunday cutting. I finally got the Burda jacket cut out! It felt like a marathon - I cut the fashion fabric, the lining, and two types of interfacing. I managed to get all of the pieces ready to assemble - I fused some lightweight interfacing to the boucle, since it is very loosely woven. In retrospect, this fabric may not have been the perfect choice for this project, as it really feels almost sweater-like. But, I think with a bit of interfacing to add strength and some nice quilted lining, this jacket will be very snug and warm. I also serged all the edges, as it was prone to raveling. Next step: bound buttonholes.

As I mentioned before, I also cut out another project, which I hope will be a completed this week (to wear to two holiday gatherings - one on Sunday and one on Monday).

I'm really happy to be back at the sewing machines again!

Backlogged

2007-11-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

Well, another week is almost over, and still no sewing. I guess I got backlogged on household duties over last week - the pre-Thanksgiving rush and being out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday meant we didn't do our normal "clean-up hour" over the weekend like we usually do. Thus, this week has been full of house cleaning, mail sorting, filing, and laundry.

Not to mention Eleanor has been a little sick, so her hourly trips outside kept us up on Tuesday night.

Tonight, I have baking on my agenda. We're going to visit some friends and their new baby in New Haven, CT, on Saturday, and I have plans to bake some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and maybe some pumpkin bread to take with us.

Wedding Dress Shopping: The Anti-Bride

2007-11-19T15:19:00.001-05:00

This weekend, I went wedding dress shopping with my friend, Katie. I made three appointments - one at Vera Wang, one at L'Elite, and one at Priscilla's of Boston.

Vera Wang was the first appointment, and the one we were most apprehensive about. I was worried that her dresses would be way out of my price range (most of them are), and that the salespeople would not be nice to us (you know, the snobby salesperson in the high-end store). I was also prepared to lie about my budget so I would be privvy to all of the expensive gowns that I couldn't afford. At the end, however, I was really glad we went. Not only did I get to try on some gorgeous dresses (one of which, I'm certain was between $6-8K), but we got fantastic service. Not to mention the opportunity to look at all of the exquisite gowns hanging on the racks... oh, the gowns. I could have just browsed for hours!

In any case, here is a quick snapshot of some of my favorites, along with some notes about details that I liked and found interesting. More photos of gowns with notes about their construction can be found in this photo album on my Flickr page.

I think this gown was my favorite of the day. I kept comparing everything to how fantastic it was. Of course, I'm certain it was also the most expensive. One thing to note is that the version I tried on did not have the sash. I like it much better without the sash.

This gown is made of silk eyelet in a gorgeous swirl design that I loved. If you can't tell in the photos, the silhouette is actually quite simple - it's a basic mermaid gown with princess seamlines. Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of the back, but it was very simple with a low v-neck. The interesting part about the back was that the straps were set far apart and curved, keeping the majority of the back open. It was a beautiful effect.

This is also a Vera Wang dress. I don't think of myself as liking strapless gowns, and I think I would add some cap sleeves to this one, but the detailing was exquisite. It had English netting overlay, which was pleated from the bodice to the floor. The pleats were sewn down from the bodice, and released at the hip, creating a modified a-line silhouette. The layer of silk underneath was more fitted through the hips - I think they called it a modified mermaid fit. Another picture of the pleated English netting follows:

This third gown is by Anne Barge. It is also made of the same English netting as the second Vera Wang with a similar silhouette. I have to admit that seeing this gown on this model doesn't look as fantastic as I thought it looked in the store. It was a bit more fitted in the store - not quite as wide of an a-line. I am not certain I love the embroidery and beading at the empire waistline, which is why this gown is further down on my list. But, I really do love the pleated English netting.

The photo makes this dress by Cymbeiline a bit hard to see. But, there were several things I liked about it. First, the shape is lovely. For someone like me who has wider hips and a small waist, this is the kind of shape I think flatters me most. I also loved the bottom. You can sort of tell by the photo that there is a lace overlay that does not extend all the way to the bottom of the dress - it falls in an asymmetrical line across a few layers of tulle. I love that modern twist. I also really loved the neckline. It was so beautiful. I think the skirt/train was a bit much for me, though, and I would definitely change that. And, I am still not sure that a strapless gown is for me.

I could go on about all of the gorgeous things I saw and the experience of having someone pick out gowns for you and dress you in them. I will say that compared to the other girls in the stores who were trying on gowns, I think I am the anti-bride. There were young girls in there looking for the ultimate "princess" gown - full ballgown with a corseted top. They would have entourages of admirers (likely their bridesmaids) with them. And, when the girl came out with "the dress" on, there was frequent crying. I was so the opposite of that - at one point, even, the salesperson at Vera Wang brought out a veil for me to try on. I had a moment where I kind of freaked out. "I don't think I want a veil," I said. There is certainly something jarring in seeing yourself in a veil!

I also learned that it takes up to 9 months for a dress to come in. That means, I basically have a month or so to decide if I am going to make my own dress, have someone else make one for me, or buy a dress (albeit cheaper than the $8,000 Vera Wang dress that I loved!).

Paralysis

2007-11-15T10:44:00.001-05:00

I can't seem to shake the rut of unproductivity I've been in since the start of the fall. Perhaps it's the easing into one of my favorite seasons that is delaying my progress on so many projects. Or maybe it's Nico's statement, telling me to relax a bit.

All of this is to say that I had hoped I would have had the jacket cut out, interfaced, and edges serged by now. Where am I? Well, I have the fabric steamed and ready to go, the pattern traced and cut, and that's about it.

There is something about cutting into a beautiful piece of fabric - especially when it has some pattern that needs to be matched (e.g., plaids) - that always delays my sewing. It's not exactly that I'm scared of cutting, but more that I don't want to ruin what is already beautiful. I suppose that's silly - the garment that comes out of the material will be equally, if not more beautiful (not to mention more functional).

In any case, tonight I'm hoping to get everything cut. If I have some extra time, maybe I'll finally put the finishing touches on that wool skirt I made 2 weeks ago... it needs a hem and some buttons.

Next up: Plaid Jacket

2007-11-13T14:16:00.000-05:00

I realized I need a slightly more casual jacket that is warm enough to wear outside this fall/winter. It doesn't need to be warm enough so that I can wear it in below-zero type temperatures - I'm thinking something warm enough to wear casually when I don't need a ski parka to keep me warm (and a little more stylish than the oversized ski parka look), but a bit more casual than my nice camel hair 3/4 length coat.

I have a large houndstooth print coat that I made about 4 years ago that fit this bill. As much as I love it, I think it's time to retire that coat before it's completely tattered. Thus, I present my next project: a jacket from Burda World of Fashion's November 2006 issue in Anna Sui textured plaid fabric from Textile Studio.

Note in the line drawing above, the BWOF version has a fur collar. Well, I'm not going to add that. I'm also trying to determine if I want to match the plaid of the pockets to the body of the jacket, or if I want to cut them on the bias. I'll have to decide that tonight.

I'm off to the fabric store tonight to gather notions: lining, interlining (possibly - flannel), thread, buttons, and hair canvas interfacing. I also need to pick up some buttons to finish the skirt I made last week! It's been awhile since I've made something this complicated (and had to match plaids). I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Resolution.

2007-11-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

I've come to a resolution about my sewing (or lack thereof): I need to make time for more. It would seem as though I would have enough time in the evenings to get something done, yet I never seem to get the gumption to be productive after a day sitting in front of my computer at work. My eyes are usually tired, as well as my brain, so instead, I play with Eleanor, cook dinner, and relax.

Next week, I'm going to try something new: getting up earlier in the morning to sew. This new plan was conceived because I learned that the person who held my job before me got up at 5 a.m. every morning to write their novel. I thought, wow, that's great discipline. I should have some of that too. We'll see how it goes...the minute sewing stops being fun, I'm quitting the early mornings. But, I do think it will be a good experiment for me to try. I feel like I could use a little more discipline in my life, and since the mornings are lighter and the evenings are darker, I feel like I should take advantage of that.

In any case, I did get a skirt mostly finished last weekend that I love. I need some buttons for it to finish it off - I am hoping to wear it on Friday!

Window Seat Cushion & Pillows

2007-10-27T22:46:00.001-04:00

I finally finished all of the pillows to go into the window seat today! I'm really pleased with how the window seat area came out - I think it looks really cozy, and it adds some much needed seating to our living room area. The cushion cover in particular isn't perfect, but I think it looks really nice, despite the small problems with it. I'm sure I'm the only person who even notices it's not "perfect!"

A few construction details:
- Everything has a zipper, so the cushion cover and pillow covers can be removed for cleaning.
- The cushion cover and the striped pillows have covered piping; the plain burgandy pillows have purchased piping. A detailed shot of the burgandy pillows showing the purchased piping:

All in all, like all home decorating sewing, I didn't find any of it too difficult, just time consuming. Having to cover yards and yards of cording for the piping was a bit tedious. In any case, it feels good to be done!

Suit Idea

2007-10-26T12:19:00.001-04:00

I want to keep track of this idea for a suit, courtesy of Ralph Lauren's Fall 2007 RTW collection. I love the idea of the full skirt and the fitted jacket.

Also, the hem treatment is interesting. From someone who went into the Ralph Lauren store to check out how the hem treatment was achieved:

The hem is sort of like a Hong Kong finish. The fabric they use for the skirt is very lofty. They took a long strip of fabric maybe 6" wide and long enough to go around the hem. They stitched it to the hem, raw edges aligned and right sides together, using a 1" seam allowance. They flipped the long strip to the wrong side and ditch stitched it in place. They wind up with 4 layers of fabric at the hem, and the fabric is so lofty that there's almost a trapunto effect at the hem. The lining is stitched down to the strip near the hem.

New Projects!

2007-10-25T15:19:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, I managed to get our window seat cushion covered and sew up a couple of pillows. I am going to finish up all the pillows tonight ( just two more to go!), and hopefully take some photos. Since it was cloudy, the light wasn't good this morning. I'm hoping to snap something after work today or tomorrow of the finished window seat area. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

In the meantime, I've been planning my next projects. I thought about entering the SWAP (Sewing With A Plan) contest this year, but I think that with so much other stuff going on, I'd rather have more flexibility in my sewing and not have to stick to a specific plan. Not that I don't have any ideas about what I want to add to my winter wardrobe - I have a whole collection of brown woolens and other fabrics in warm eggplant tones that I plan to get sewn up this winter. So, I present the first two "outfits" on my list:

1. Slim skirt and jacket. Skirt: Vogue 7937 with a dark brown Jeanne Maag tweed from Emma Onesock; Jacket: BWOF 08-2007 115A with a dark brown and yellowish herringbone from Pendleton (not pictured).

2. Jacket/top and pants. Jacket: BWOF 10-2007 121A with Anne Klein Brocade from Textile Studios; Pants: BWOF 10-2007 107A with Anne Klein deep espresso wool also from Textile Studios.

Where I've been

2007-10-10T11:23:00.000-04:00

Well, folks, it's been a busy month. Mostly, I've been turning this:

Into this (excuse the unmade bed and general mess):

I sort of forgot what a pain in the a** painting is. We still have a little work to do - the trim needs to be painted white, and the bathroom needs some new paint as well. But, it sure feels good to get that horrid red off the walls and those horrid yellow curtains down! (Neither were our choice, by the way - the former condo owners had seemingly horrible decorating taste)

There's also the small matter of a wedding... MY wedding, actually. Nico and I have been engaged since February, and we've finally set a date - October 11, 2008. So, we spent the long weekend in Maine scouting out spots. I had hoped to make it to some fabric stores in Manchester, NH (on Summerset's recommendation), but we spent so much time scouting out potential spots that we just didn't have time on our way home to stop.

We did manage to stop at a fabric store near Boothbay Harbor, ME, however, for some home decorating fabrics and high density foam for our window seat. So, hopefully I'll be back on track soon... I have a mini-wardrobe plan for fall/winter in my head (and fabrics in the mail). Not to mention the pillows and cushion cover I have in the works!

MIYWW: Red Dress, Part One

2007-09-13T12:32:00.001-04:00

With some re-jiggering of my schedule last night, I managed to make it to the fabric store to search for some wool that would work for the Make it Yourself With Wool (MIYWW) contest. I went with the intention of getting some kind of brown tweedy fabric that I could make a skirt and vest with, or some black fabric to coordinate with a piece I already have. Well, I didn't do either of those things.

After over an hour of agonizing over the tweeds, plaids, and other woolens, I chose a piece of bright red lightweight 100% wool gabardine to make up into Vogue 8409:

This dress was on my to-do list for this fall anyway, and I do think everyone ought to own a red dress, right? I passed up an absolutely fabulously luscious piece of cranberry wool/cashmere that was just too heavy to make any dress (I was thinking of using it to make Vogue 8408, but the wise saleslady talked me out of it). I think I would have sat in my office sweating if I ever wore it to work. But, it was just so beautiful.

The really wonderful thing about picking a pattern like this is that I won't need to do any sort of fitting muslin. By now, I have so much experience sewing with Vogue patterns that I know what alterations I need to make ahead of time. That's important for my short timeframe! Tonight's task will be to get the pattern ready for cutting.

I'm not dead!*

2007-09-12T13:17:00.001-04:00

*If you've ever seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail, you'll understand my title. Growing up, I watched that movie quite a bit with my friends, and one of my favorite parts involves the "dead cart," which is a guy who comes along and picks up the people who are dead from the Bubonic Plague. He picks up someone who isn't dead, and that person begins shouting "I'm not dead!" Anyway...

I'm back! Actually, I've been back from vacation for nearly two weeks now, but unpacking from moving, getting back into the work thing again, and furniture shopping has pretty much occupied my time since we've been back. September really is the busiest time of the year, it seems, even for those of us who aren't in school.

More on the trip later, but here is a link to some of the photos from our vacation to "The Motherland" - South Dakota, my home state. Note that I still use film for most of my photographing (I know - I'm in the dark ages!), so those photos are still forthcoming. These shots are mostly from Nico.

As for sewing, I'm just getting my sewing area back in order. Truth be told, it's still a mess, but I have gotten a boost of motivation from the Massachusetts Make it Yourself With Wool Contest, which is scheduled to take place September 22. Call me a sucker for silly contests, but I am really hoping I'll whip something up in time for that. I know... only a week away...

I searched my stash last night for suitable fabrics, and discovered I had nearly none. So, an emergency trip to the fabric store is in order! This contest has very strict rules about what types of fabric can be used to make garments, so I need to be very cautious about my selection. That is also why I don't really have any suitable fabrics in my stash.

Anyway, one of the big reasons I really want to try to enter this contest, aside from the warm nostalgic feelings I have from entering this contest yearly while growing up, is the fact that it is being held at the Eastern States Exposition. I didn't know about this annual event before yesterday, and it looks to be the South Dakota State Fair on steroids. I would really like an excuse to check it out.

The trip to the fabric store will happen tomorrow after work... stay tuned for a final project decision!

Vacation

2007-08-20T06:18:00.000-04:00

We successfully finished moving last night! Now, we're up early to head out on vacation for two weeks - we're going back to my mother-land for a couple of weeks. We'll be back in September. See you then!

Moving

2007-08-16T13:35:00.001-04:00

This is what we've been up to - moving! We closed on a condo yesterday, so we'll be spending the next few days moving before heading off on vacation. You can see our new (and empty) place in the photo above. We ate in the condo last night with Nico's parents, and had a little fun with Eleanor. At one point, she decided it would be fun to jump INTO the kitchen sink to get some water...
I'm hoping she doesn't make a habit of this in our new place!

Anyway, there won't be much to write about sewing-wise here until September. The only thing I can say I've done is purchased the fabrics I last blogged about (as well as shoes to match two of the dresses-to-come).

See you in September!

Fabric desires

2007-08-07T11:33:00.001-04:00

After sewing up that knit dress last weekend (frustrating as it was), I've had my eye on some knits from Gorgeous Things for fall. in fact, I've been eye-ing them so much that I've put them into my cart and taken them out again about 3 times (don't you love online shopping?). I recently purchased a knit dress for fall from Boden that was on sale, and I'm so excited to wear it that I already want more dresses like it to beef up my fall professional wardrobe. Here are the fabrics and patterns I have my eye on:

I already have this pattern, and I think this fabric would be very cute with white ties and maybe white binding around the neckline. I think it would be a great transition piece - the colors are bright enough that I can wear it in early fall and spring.

I'm thinking I'll make view A, the one shown in the white and red houndstooth above with the black leggings. Or, maybe view D (the crimson colored dress) with the sleeves from view A. In any case, I am in love with this fabric!

I'm not completely sure this is the fabric for this pattern and vice versa, but I absolutely love love love this fabric. I'm planning to try a SWAP (sewing with a plan) this winter, and I want my colors to be eggplant, chartreuse, and brown. I think this fabric would fit in perfectly. And, even if it doesn't, well, I'll still have a fabulous dress!

I'm also thinking about picking up these plain knits because they will fit with my SWAP and I like the colors. Particularly the eggplant, which I notice is selling rather quickly... I'll have to make my decisions soon!

Weekend wrap-up & why I can't wait for fall

2007-08-06T11:18:00.000-04:00

So, I'll begin by giving a quick update on my weekend. I did a bit of sewing - perhaps not as much as I would have liked, but better than none. We're moving in about 2 weeks, so I spent some time on Saturday packing. (I never realize how much stuff I have until I start putting it into boxes, by the way. Thank goodness our new place has lots of great storage!)

We also saw the Bourne Ultimatum on Saturday afternoon. I have to say, I don't think there's any better way to spend an uber-hot afternoon than in an icy cold theater watching a movie with a cute actor in it.

Sunday, we did some cleaning - the apartment and the car. Not fun, but it feels good to have things clean. I spent the afternoon (and part of the evening) sewing. I have Vogue 8380 nearly completed. For being a "very easy" pattern, I have to say the entire process was extremely frustrating for me. More on that later in the week, after I finish the darn thing. I wish I could have gotten more sewing done - this may be the last bit of sewing I have time to do before we move and return from vacation in September. Three whole weeks without sewing!

Finally, a word on rude people. After the whole dog-park incident, I've had several run-ins with what I have to believe are abnormally rude people. What is it? The hot weather? The moon? Am I just abnormally sensitive now that I've been accosted by rude people several times? Is it because I've been reading too much of our neighbor, Miss Conduct's blog? Here is a summary of the rude encounters I've had over the past week:

At the dog park. Two people yelled at Eleanor and I for Eleanor's doggie behavior. But, you already know about that.
Thursday evening, Nico and I met some friends for happy hour after work. It was VERY VERY hot - both inside the restaurant and outside. Upon emerging from the restaurant, we can't really exit due to a large crowd of people. I say excuse me several times, and no one moves. So, I gently start working my way through the crowd. No one moves. I accidentally brush my left hip against a pregnant woman's belly. She squaks: "geez! I'm pregnant here! Can't you see?!?" I mutter, I'm sorry and move on. But, really, it was a bit much for her to have such an outburst, and due to the previous day's dog park incident, I took it rather personally.
Sunday evening, at the grocery store. I come to expect that people are generally more rude than they usually might be at the grocery store - people don't like going grocery shopping, it's usually crowded, and you're focused on finding what you need. So, first, our real estate agent nearly runs her cart over me in the produce section, and did not say anything to me - no hi, no excuse me, no apology. Then, also in the produce section, she cut in front of Nico, who was asking the produce stocker a question, interrupted him in mid-sentence, and then asked her own question. Makes me just a little angry that she's getting a commission based on the condo we bought through her.
Also at the grocery store, a guy got angry with me in the check-out lane for not immediately handing him one of those separators so he could put his items down. When I did hand him a separator, he rolled his eyes and began slamming his stuff down on the conveyor belt.

My theory is that it's the hot weather. I mean, it always puts me in an irritable mood also because of the fact that I don't have a house on the beach that I can escape to (or someplace similarly comfortable in the heat). People are generally in a good mood around here in the fall - the weather is gorgeous, the leaves are pretty, and everyone is excited for new beginnings - a new school-year, a new city, etc. So, I say, bring back the fall!

Pattern Review: Flowerbomb Dress (aka, Butterick 5024)

2007-08-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

(I'm headless because I snapped this before leaving the house this morning with the camera on self-timer, and I look a little bit ridiculous.)

This is my flowerbomb dress, so named because the fabric rather looks like flowers exploded all over it!

Pattern Description: A-line dress, mid-knee has fitted, lined, mock wrapped bodice, raised waistline, stitched pleats, and back zipper.

Pattern Sizing: 6-20; I made a 12.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, with the exception of the additional trim, which I chose not to add.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't use them very much at all, to be honest. The pattern pieces were very clearly marked.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was looking for a quickie project for this cute fabric I had. This certainly fit the bill! I think it took me 3 hours from start to finish. It's cute, fun, and easy to wear on hot days.

Fabric Used: Cotton sateen with stretch from Gorgeous Things. The fabric has a thick enough hand that I didn't need to worry about lining or anything for modesty.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None. I use the straight sizing, and it fits perfectly. I did look for some ribbon to add at the empire waistline like the pattern suggests, but I couldn't find quite the right color - everything looked a little off. So, I just left it without any additional trim. I may add that later if I ever find the right color of ribbon!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I don't think I'll sew this pattern again, but it is definitely a super easy pattern to whip up. I'm wearing the dress today, and I've already gotten several compliments!

Conclusion I am really pleased with how this dress turned out in such a short amount of time. I love the fabric - it's so colorful, that I can throw on several different cardigans over the top for the office and change up the other accessories I decide to wear with it.

Rant: Dog Park Etiquette

2007-08-01T13:04:00.000-04:00

Excuse the impending rant... totally not sewing related at all.

Last night, I took Eleanor to the dog pond to swim and run around. She loves other dogs. She loves wrestling with other dogs. She loves to swim and splash about. And, she's cute when she does all of the above.

Anyway, she played with a very cute English bulldog puppy named Maggie for most of the time we were there. They were quite rambunctious. So, I'm watching them race about, splashing and wresting around. As is everyone else there. Someone even asked me if they lived together because they were such good playmates.

This cranky woman with a prissy poodle (who shall remain nameless - I will not publicly ostracize the poor poodle who has to live with this cranky woman) gets up, disgusted, to leave. The dogs are wrestling in "her" path at this point. Here's what happens next:

Cranky lady: "Is one of these dogs yours?"
Me: "Yes." I laugh.
Cranky lady: "Well, honestly, I'd like to leave here without getting my knees blown out. I know they are having fun, but this type of behavior is EXACTLY how I got the cartilage torn out of both of my knees. Why can't you make your dog BEHAVE?"
Me: Silence. Mouth gaping open. Thinking to myself: "Is she serious? Isn't this a dog park? Why can't I come up with a snarky comment in reply?" Finally I mutter "Um, I'm sorry?"
Cranky lady: huffs and puffs away

Honestly, why does someone always have to ruin everything? I'm sensitive to the fact that Eleanor can be a bit energetic, but this was the DOG POND. Generally, mayhem ensues at the dog pond. Cranky lady should know that. She's a regular. She's been cranky at me before because her dog never fetches its tennis ball, and Eleanor occasionally steals it.

Isn't there some sort of public ostracizing we can perform on people like this?

Pattern Review: Peachy Keen Skirt (aka, McCall 5274)

2007-08-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

You've already seen a rather horrible and unflattering photo of me wearing this skirt, so I thought I should also post a new (but equally bad) self-portrait of me in the skirt (broken mirror and all) as well as a review of the skirt. I have to say, I like the skirt, but I don't LOVE the skirt. I have enough fabric leftover to make some sort of top - maybe wearing a matching top will make me love it more? We'll see...

Pattern Description: Semi-fitted, flared, lower calf skirt with narrow hem has back zipper.
Pattern Sizing: 4-20; I made a 12.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Mostly, yes. I did not use the contrasting fabric for godets like the pattern suggested. I also shortened the length to make the skirt look less frumpy/dumpy/dowdy (pick one). I'm not sure I was completely successful in that regard.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't really use the instructions at all. This skirt was very well drafted and went together easily without reading any instructions.

One thing to note is that I did glance at the instructions to see how they wanted you to do the narrow hem at the bottom. They simply had you fold over the edges twice. Are you kidding? Talk about the best and fastest way to burn yourself with an iron. So, I used Susan Khalje's method, described here. For all the talk I've heard about narrow hems being a nightmare, I have to say, though time consuming, I found this method to be very easy and satisfying. It was definitely worth the extra time to do this hem treatment on this skirt. I feel like I've mastered the narrow hem now!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I was going for a soft flowy skirt. I love the fabric that I got from Gorgeous Things. I think I got the look I wanted for the most part. I'm not 100% in love with the skirt, but I don't think it's the pattern's fault. I think my vision may not have been perfect for my body type (I think it makes my hips look larger than they really are).

Fabric Used: Peach embroidered cotton gauze from Gorgeous Things. I made an additional under-layer for modesty out of plain white cotton gauze from JoAnn's.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened the pattern by about 3". I think I maybe should have shortened it more, making it more like below the knee length instead of mid-calf length. Well, I can always change that!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would recommend this skirt as a good skirt pattern for a classic eight-gore skirt with godets. I'm not sure I'm going to make it again, as I'm not completely in love with the style. But, this style is showing up more and more in Boden's clothing (which I love), so I may attempt it in some other fabric types that are a bit more firm and less drape-y.

Conclusion I really love the fabric, and I love that this skirt is light, airy, and easy to wear. It is a nice addition to my office-bound wardrobe, which has been inundated with silly, girly, colorful sun-dresses lately. This skirt is feminine and pretty and it feels more appropriate for my office environment.

Sweat Shop Weekend

2007-07-30T15:39:00.001-04:00

Wow, I'm prolific today. Can you tell it's a slow day at work? This is what I'm wearing today. I made the skirt this weekend - the result of my self-proclaimed "Emily's Sweat Shop Weekend." I wish I would have taken a photo of the living room on Saturday. Actually, no, I don't. Because then I would be embarrassed by publicly showing you all the mess I created.

I dragged the table from our kitchen into the living room and set up both of my machines there. My reason for doing this? So I could sew while watching girly movies. All. Weekend. Long.

Well, that's not exactly right. Our landlord unexpectedly asked if he could show our apartment on Sunday. (Our lease is up Sept. 1, and we're moving August 15 to our new place!) Keep in mind that he emailed us Saturday afternoon asking us if he could show the apartment and that I didn't get his email until around 10AM on Sunday. After complaining to Nico and swearing about our landlord's lack of planning (seriously, is 48 hours notice too much to ask?), I quickly took down my sweat shop and went out with Nico, Eleanor, and Eleanor's friend Digby, who we agreed to dog-sit for in the afternoon.

In any case, the sweat shop weekend netted the following: one skirt (finished), one dress (put in the zipper and hemmed the dress I made last weekend), and one more dress (cut out). I felt pretty productive.

I also got to watch six movies (yeah, that's right... six whole movies) while I sewed, including some of my all-time favorites: The Good German (I recommend seeing this - excellent film noir starring George Clooney), Pride and Prejudice (the Keira Knightly version), Funny Face (aside from Breakfast at Tiffany's, my favorite Audrey Hepburn), My Fair Lady, Vanity Fair (lovely costumes; I love the book and character Becky Sharpe), and Zodiac (interesting crime thriller/drama). Oh, yeah. And, I watched Pride and Prejudice twice. Wow, that's a lot of movies!

Meanwhile, Eleanor did this:

Clearly I was boring. Well, it was too hot to really do much outside this weekend anyway. She would have just stood around looking at me panting if I had taken her to the park. Poor thing.

World Premiere!

2007-07-30T12:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, Ok, you caught me. World premiere is perhaps that's a little bit too grand... but, the weather was so hot last week, that I had the perfect opportunity to wear my lemon drop dress. And, I just had to show you!

When I got to work on Wednesday morning last week, my co-worker said, "Emily, I think you just have an endless supply of cute sundresses!" I didn't tell her my secret - that I sew them. I just thought happily to myself, well, why yes, I do!

The dress inspired me all day long. At lunchtime, it inspired me to go read the newest Harry Potter book (which I've since finished, by the way) in front of my favorite yellow house - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's house. It was so lovely sitting in the grass near the beautiful garden - I couldn't help but imagine the ladies of generations past sitting in the garden reading poetry (yes, yes, I know... Harry Potter is hardly beautiful poetry). Here are a couple of photos of the house and the garden, so you can see why it's one of my favorite spots in Cambridge (and, lucky me, right down the street from where I work):

Inspiration like this is one reason why I sew (aside from getting those little comments that I have endless supplies of cute clothes, of course). I know not everyone is inspired by what they are wearing. But, my mood is greatly helped when I feel confident in what I'm wearing. I think I feel like I'm an extension of the environment around me. We all like to be in pleasant environments and, I think, to imagine ourselves fitting into those beautiful places that we adore. The lemon drop dress made me think of one of my most favorite places, so I carried that with me all day as I wore my dress. Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, I felt light and airy all day long!

Pattern Review: Lemon Drop Dress (aka, Simplicity 3867)

2007-07-23T15:35:00.001-04:00

I'm calling this my "lemon drop dress" for obvious reasons. It vaguely makes me feel like some sort of character on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but it' s cute! I don't have a photo of me in the dress just yet, but soon...

Pattern Description: Empire waisted dress has front and back pleats and band that ties in front.

Pattern Sizing: 6-22; I made a 12.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looked exactly like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope. The only thing I will add here is that I decided to line the skirt with a cotton batiste because my fabric was sheer. This added a little bulk and pouf on the bottom, which I don't really mind, but it does make the dress extra poufy.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Extremely easy. I finished this dress in one day.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like that the dress was easy to sew and came out to be so cute in the end. I haven't worn it yet, but I imagine it will be light and airy on a hot day. I love the way the tie detail worked out in the end.

I do wish it were a little less bulky at the seam underneath the bodice; with two layers of bodice fabric (lining and fashion fabric), two layers from the decorative band, plus two layers of skirt fabric (lining and fashion fabric) that is pleated, the seam under the bodice is a little bulky. This makes the zipper a little difficult to pull through that area. To reduce the bulk, I just serged the seam allowance together, but I'm thinking I should have bound it or something. The photo at left is a close-up of the inside of the dress that shows the seam under the bodice and the pleats.

Fabric Used: 100% yellow cotton voile embroidered with flowers in white thread from Gorgeous Things. I love the fabric, and I think it was really well suited to this dress as well.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't make any alterations whatsoever aside from adding a lining to the skirt for modesty sake.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would sew this again - I'm thinking about making it up as a top this time around. And, I definitely recommend it to others. I think it's a really fun, cute style.

Conclusion I'm really happy with how this dress turned out. It will be lovely to wear on a hot summer day!

Hogwart's Square and Two Dresses

2007-07-23T11:10:00.000-04:00

Harvard Square turned into Hogwart's Square for one evening to celebrate the release of the final book in the Harry Potter series, and yes, we were there to witness the crazed fans of this cultural phenomenon. Not only was there a concert in Harvard Yard featuring Harry and the Potters (with Draco and the Malfoys) - bands of some fame, apparently - but, the bookstores were mobbed with people lined up waiting for the clock to strike midnight. There were people of all ages dressed in costume and streets had to be blocked off because of the crowds. All of this mayhem was duplicated by the fact that Denzel Washington was filming a movie in Harvard Square this weekend as well (in case you were wondering, he is really that attractive in person too). Here's a glimpse at the concert:

We stayed in the Square until midnight to pick up our copy of the book from the Harvard Bookstore. No, we didn't get two copies - Nico and I had previously agreed that he would have first dibs on reading it. Here's the scene outside the bookstore at midnight:

I stayed outside with Eleanor while Nico ventured into the crowd. After people came out of the store with their copies of the book, people cheered. Then, everyone lined up across the street to begin reading. I noticed some people reading the last chapter first, which seems a little silly, if you ask me. You can see all of the people lined up reading:

And, while Nico was reading Harry Potter this weekend (he finished last night, so I have plans to start reading over lunch today), here's what I did, reviews to follow soon: