Burnt Out from all this life and such

Well it’s been quite the month for me, in between shoe making and deciding that my husband needed a new suit for our annual Christmas party , I was contracted to do a rather large job.  Now generally I hate sewing for others, I really exemplify the selfish sewing motto, but when its friends or family I can’t say no.  In this regard I absolutely couldn’t say no, because not only is my client my day jobs daughter but included with the job was a trip to NYC to source fabrics.  The contact was for a 16 piece wardrobe based on the outfits of Ariana Grande, which frankly is easy because that girl loves her some circle skirts.  The only thing was that from the time that I got home to my first deliverable date was only 15 days.  So in the last 15 days I have managed to sew 2 dresses, 4 skirts, a bustier, 2 crop tops a pair of jean shorts.  I do have a second deliverable date on August 10 in which I have to complete 3 more dresses, a tutu, a peplum top and another bustier.  I am doing the final pressing and hand sewing details tonight and then I am going to deliver them all tomorrow evening and then relax for a few days.

But let me gush about New York, all I can say is that I want to move there.  The city is so vibrant and full of artistic outlets that it’s hard for me to not want to move there right now.  Total time including the flights to NYC and home was 36 hours and we didn’t end up sleeping much but we experienced a lot.  In two days we went to Times Square, The Rockefeller Centre, 5^th Ave, Hell’s Kitchen, Soho and Central Park.  We ate at Guys Kitchen, Balthzars, Boqueria, The Plaza and tried Carnegies Deli right by our hotel.  Speaking of our hotel, we stayed at The London, which is quite the ritzy place for me, but also a little strange because there were celebrities staying there (Anna Paquin and some Vine guys) while we were there and thus paparazzi were staked outside the entrance.    We went to Mood, and holy cow I seriously almost fan girled when I got there, it was like a dream getting to be there and soaking in the atmosphere.  I even met the owner, who was a lovely man and obliged me a picture.  One of my travelling companions played with Swatch the dog as we shopped and was given a welcoming cuddle.   We got there a little late and only had two hours to shop so I spent all of my time scouring for the right color of pink for the dresses and didn’t really get to shop for myself or even to get to the second floor of Mood.  We were supposed to go back the second day but time just got away from us and then Manhattan started getting flooding warnings and we were worried we would miss our flight so it was missed.  I did get a few small cuts of some cotton and a piece of silk jersey but I think I could have dropped serious money there.  I didn’t even get to go see Metro textiles or B&J trimmings even though we walked right by them.  I will also say my pre-conceptions about New York were completely wrong, well except for the cabs.  When you see NYC in shows or movies, you think its dirty and that people are rude but that’s not the case, everywhere we went I found it clean, granted that may be because of the area where we were, but we did a couple of burrows but never did I feel like it was grungy.  As for the people, they were kind, helpful and sometimes brutally honest about people trying to scam tourists but honestly out all of the places that I have been I found NYC to be the best bunch of folks (I even went to Honolulu in June and found New Yorkers more kind).  But the cabs are scary, especially when you come from a small city, we were in the Holland Tunnel and I was terrified.  Not only was lane control something that almost every cabbie didn’t abide by, but speeding, cutting one another off mid intersection, rushing pedestrians and liberal use of the horn seemed more the rule than the exception.  With my day job being a paralegal for a car accident lawyer all I could think about was my day job and praying that something bad didn’t happen.  That being said though, the cabbies were very nice, the cabs were clean and it was easy to hail a cab anywhere.  I did have a secret fantasy of running into Carolyn from Diary of a Sewing Fanatic or Peter from Male Pattern Boldness, but I thought they would think I am a stalker if I ran up to them without ever having introduced myself prior, but alas the timing wasn’t right, I guess the next day was the day they were both at Mood separately but oddly during the time that we would have been there if we had gone a day later.  Getting home was a little dodgy because there was flood warnings going on throughout the city and we were flying out of Newark so it took about 2 hours to get to the airport but once there it was quick, although our flight ended up getting delayed by about an hour and damn near canceled.  Honestly we shouldn’t have left that night, the turbulence was really rough but we made it home in one piece.  But when I got home for some reason I got selected for secondary search which pissed me off.  I always declare everything, even if I am over and I am willing to pay duty.  I always keep my receipts for my purchases in an envelope ready to give any officer on a moment’s notice and in the end I was only $80 outside the exception but I guess I looked like a liar to the original agent.  When I got to secondary search the lady looked at my receipts and my luggage and said that I was a very efficient packer and that my receipts looked good and sent me on my way.  If the first officer had just looked at my receipts he would have seen that the numbers matched exactly what I was declaring and that I had my credit card out to pay, but oh well.

I also mentioned that I went to Hawaii in June, all I can say about that is while it is beautiful and the weather was great, it was really really expensive.  If I hadn’t had a bonus from work I don’t know that my husband and I could have done much in the way of tourism.  We did a ton of walking, a lot of eating and generally just relaxing.   I really needed this trip after my trials and tribulations of my miscarriage and it helped my husband and me to finish dealing with the emotional aspect of this and to really reconnect.  We spent a lot of time just walking hand in hand, sitting on the beach and soaking each other in.  The flights home sucked bad, I can honestly say that red eye flights are just the worst idea ever.  We left at 10PM on Friday night and got home 11AM on Saturday, by the end of it I felt like I was floating because of utter exhaustion.  I was also not that impressed with West Jet because they just crammed us on that plane and it was so uncomfortable to try to sleep.

But after all my trips I am back home and have been sewing like a mad beast for the last 15 days and I am burnt absolutely out.  I have about another 9 days of work and then I will post pictures of all the outfits but I think I need another vacation.   If my contract offered to send me anywhere with her airmiles I think I would take that instead of a paycheck.  I honestly just want to go back to NYC.

With love,

Mame

The Challenge

For me the challenge of having a blog is posting semi regularly.  I am absolutely rubbish at blogging because when I do a project I get so excited and just steam right through it totally forgetting to document my steps and then when it’s time to wear it I feel as though I need to have a proper shot, no iPhone pictures will do.  So often nothing gets documented because it seems like a giant task to accomplish.  But I want to get better at blogging because sewing without blogging buddies is lonely.  In my city we are having a major die out of sewing, and the only other person that I know that sews is my mum, but she is more into beading.  I have been a blog lurker for a long time, admiring the likes of Carolyn from Diary of a sewing fanatic, Sigrid from Sigrid Sewing Projects,  Peter from Male Pattern Boldness, Melissa from Fehr Trade, Erica from Erica B’s –DIY Style and many more.  These lovely people have both inspired and taught me to challenge myself and my style perceptions; truly I am blown away by their talent and passion for sewing.   I look to these people as inspiration to challenge myself at better blogger.

In the spirit of the above statement I wanted to document my recent sewing escapades.  I have really wanted to challenge myself with a project so I decided to embark on the Style Arc Ziggi Jacket.  First things first, I love this pattern, love love love this pattern.  It’s incredibly well drafted and all the pieces just fit.  I did have to make a few alterations, but just a full bicep and to raise the arm scythe, other than that the straight size 14 was perfect.  For the material I bought 4 luscious cherry red lambskins from Tandy Leather when they were on sale at Christmas time as my present to myself, they were still a pretty penny but good gracious it is luxurious.  The lining is a mad print on rayon that I bought from my old favorite fabric store that has since gone out of business.  The zippers were found because of prophetic dream that I had telling me that there was something waiting at value village for me (back story -  I couldn't find zippers in the color or metal that I wanted and was beginning to get desperate).    The jacket is not quite done, I just need to finish the lining but it’s so close

Next I have wanted to completely remove myself from the commercial apparel market entirely for the last few years and have been searching on instructions to make shoes.  I have finally found a company called, I can make shoes, our of London.  I have to say even though this is my first pair and they aren't even half done I LOVE MAKING SHOES.  I can feel my creativity bursting and can just imagine a closet full of my own designs.  These are going to be a flat pair of loafer, this is just the lining, the outside will be made of metallic olive green pebbly lambskin.

Lastly my sister has recently become a makeup artist and asked me to model for her.  These having nothing to do with sewing but I think they are cool and wanted to share them anyway.

That is all for now.  I do have several items on the go including some leggings, homemade bras and undies, a lace shouldered sweatshirt and some casual separates but no pictures.  As well as a competition between my mom and I over French Macaroons, I am sure that I will post some pictures of those, but it’s on between her and I.

Mame 

It their problem not mine

Some heavy stuff will follow and I feel bad for not updating in such a long time but I have had a hell of  year. The quick recap of 2013 will give insight into my drama filled year. 

Quick recap:
My Granny died, which then resulted in my family collectively losing their shit and turning into a nightmare.
I went on a trip with my mother in law to Texas.  Which was good and bad, she is a very intense person and I missed my husband dearly.
My sister got hit by a car and was seriously injured, which took up a lot of time to take care of her.  She has mostly recovered but still needs a lot of hand holding.
My husband and I went for two weeks to Mexico.
Christmas at my house, which sounds nice but there is always problems with an individual that causes strife.
Decided to move from our old apartment to a townhouse, which ended up happening on the coldest day of the year her -39C.

So to say the least I have felt the need to just stay quiet.  I cant say with certainty that I will be a great blogger but I will try.  Now onto the meat and bones of this post, please read below.

 

Well I don’t know if I will be able to put this down rationally but I feel as though I need to get it off my chest.  I am having this body image crisis, not that I don’t love myself and what I am or what I am made of but how I feel about the outside image I present. 

Deep confessional time, I wear spanx every day every single day unless I don’t leave my house; I have always felt that if my bits wobble then they should be reined in and have thus built my wardrobe around a conservative fairly covered silhouette.  But as I get older the more I look back on my early and mid-twenties I feel as though I have limited myself too much.  I see styles that I would like to wear but I have felt as though my body did not match with the presented model.  But more and more I read blogs of women of all shapes and sizes and realize that it’s not the world that’s judging me its me that’s judging me.   

Another deep confessional time, In April I really had to rethink my priorities because I had a missed miscarriage (which was sad but gave me an opportunity for some introspective thoughts) and have finally come to the thoughts that I am not happy with what I have limited myself to.  I felt deeply unattractive after my miscarriage, I had gained just a little weight because my hormones went all funky, my skin had gotten a little oily again because of the hormones causing me to breakout, and I just felt down and out.  Everyone at the clinic kept saying that I needed to give myself a break but I find that kind of helping not helpful, just pandering.   I had to deal with my headspace playing games on me and still even today I occasionally have negative thoughts(I think that it has to do with all the girls in my office being pregnant, thank goodness their maternity leaves are all starting and it can go back to a maternity free office).  But now I am becoming at peace with it, my body is healing and I know at the very least that I can get pregnant.  Although I am not following doctors’ advice anymore, please see mini rant below:

v  Mini Rant

Not to sound like an insane person but I do not trust doctors, it’s not that I don’t believe in modern medicine, in fact I am highly fascinated medicine and consider myself well read in medical science, I can hold my own when in conversations with my doctor friends.  What I don’t trust is that they are largely motivated by money.  As much as Canada touts itself as having universal healthcare there is still a touch of pharmaceutical interfering.  For example my doctor recommended bladder infection medicine that I knew was contra-indicated with other meds that I was taking because it was provided to her office as swag.  I also feel as though my doctor wasn’t necessarily truthful with me regarding my miscarriage, she did not tell me my HCG levels were low enough to be concerned, nor did she tell me that my ultrasound wasn’t really a dating ultrasound, it was more of a viability test.  Tack onto that when I went to the ultrasound even though the tech was supposed to give me results she did not.  Then to complete the bullshit circle my doctor’s receptionists whispered about me, about my miscarriage, as I am waiting to see my doctor to get my test results.  I knew that I had miscarried before I saw my doctor, I knew as soon as I saw my ultrasound results, I didn’t need a doctor to tell me but it would have been nice to get some compassion.  Then I had to complete a medically managed miscarriage at a hospital clinic which honestly pissed me off.  I know that not everyone is like me but when I hear nurses talking in soft baby talk telling me that its ok to cry and to be gentle on myself it pisses me off more than anything.  I just want someone to talk to me like an adult, I am a 28 year old married woman who has had a miscarriage, I am neither a teenager nor a weakling who cannot handle an adult conversation.   I may handle life’s struggles a bit mechanically but its my process and asking if I want to talk to a padre over and over again is not doing anything to make me feel better it just pisses me off.   I like to deal with my issues by being alone and painting, writing, sewing or just sitting in a bath with a McChicken in hand watching reruns of British comedy shows on my iPad.  But finally the process was over and I was done with the hospital portion of things, but then they tell me that I should wait for several months to try again.  I don’t really think that’s sound or sage advice, I had a normal miscarriage, it lasted 9 days from start to finish, my HCG levels returned to normal immediately and my body has already rebounded hormonally.  When our ancestors would have a miscarriage did they wait 3 months before having intimate time NO and as sure as shit I can guarantee that they did not use anything other than the timing method to prevent pregnancy and yet the human race continued to endure.  I know some people say it’s because your body needs time to recover from the trauma of the miscarriage but I personally know of 3 people that were pregnant almost immediately after giving birth and surely birth is more trying on your body than a miscarriage.  I have come to a resounding thought in that I am not going to actively try to prevent pregnancy so I will just let what happens happen.  When I am meant to have a baby I will have one, be damned if they want me to wait, fate will take its course.  If my doctor has a problem with that then ultimately that’s her problem and not mine.

v  End Mini rant that turned into a long rant, apologies

 

But back to the main point which is body image, now more than ever I feel uncomfortable with what I have morphed myself into.  I dress older than I am and I don’t want to.  I want to wear sexy little underthings, not ugly spanx, I want to show more skin and not cover up because I am afraid someone will see my ugly knickers.  I just bought a lovely bra making kit that I requested double material that I was debating making my own compression bodysuit, but now I am thinking I am just going to make bras and panties out of it.  Do I still think that I will wear a tank top to smooth things out yeah probably but am I going to burn my spanx, heck yeah.   I want to try making a crop top for a trip that I am taking to LA, I figure if gorgeous bloggers that are larger than a size 16 can wear it why cant I, who wears a RTW size 12 cannot.  I want sexy little off the shoulder numbers and I want to show some skin.  If someone has a problem with it, that is their problem not mine. 

Jalie 2908 “The perfect jean, or not”

Well after many months of trying to find the perfect fitting jeans that would fit my very expansive list of necessary qualities I decided to try to sew my own jeans again.  Now let me say that I have sewn jeans in the past but I have never been happy with the outcome of the pattern, maybe I am exceptionally persnickety or maybe I have a strange lower body but they are never 100%.  For me the perfect jean is a thinner boot cut leg, not too tight around the thigh( I have really developed muscular thighs from many years of Air Cadets), fitted through the hip and waist and hitting probably about an inch below my natural waist.  I am very high waisted and I have quite a small waist compared to my hip (waist 32in hip 42.5 inch) so they need to be nipped in quite a bit so I don’t have major gaposis.  I had read many reviews of several different patterns for jeans and went back and forth between Jalie or J Stern, in the end Jalie had more reviews and that I should just go with that one.  

I sewed like a mad beast over the weekend hoping that everything would look as great as Ms. Erica B’s did but when they were done I really don’t like them.  I bought thicker stretch denim which I washed and dried twice, it was the required stretch and it was a beautiful dark wash and pretty expensive.  I also bought the gutterman jeans thread in the classic gold color, rivets and jeans buttons.  I followed all instructions but changed the pocket design to my own design.  I powered through and managed to cut, interface, sew and topstitch the jeans in a 12 hour mania stretch. I was ecstatic because they looked great on my dress form, I put them on to marvel at my creation and was disappointed.  They give me mom butt, the stretch is too stretchy and they just are not right all over.   I will not even disgrace the inter webs with pictures of the horrendous mom butt effect, you will have to take my word for it.

My list of disappointments from these jeans is:

1.)    Even though I picked the low waist option they are still really high in the back, like comically high and I think that’s what furthers the mom butt issue but I did confirm that I was using the right pieces.

2.)    The pocket placement is too high for my butt, realistically I would need to lower the placement by at least an inch

3.)    The pocket placement is too far out towards the hip but not by much, I think if I moved them in a half inch it would make my aforementioned rear end look smaller and less momish

 

4.)  There is some extra fabric directly below my bum that bunches up.  I have done fisheye alterations for the rear before and it has helped.  I just found a great Kenneth King alteration that I may use instead.  But the extra below the bum is just unattractive

5.)    The front rise is a little too low maybe if I raised it by an inch it would be more comfortable.

6.)    I hate the bias cut waistband.  I did read through the reviews and many people commented that this waistband had a tendency to roll over but when I first make a pattern I try to follow the pattern to a t, then I make alterations for the next time.  But this wasitband should be removed from the pattern and a contoured band should be added.  

7.)    I don’t think that the pattern actually needs as much stretch as the denim I bought had.  I really think that I probably could have gotten away with as low as a 10% stretch.

8.)    I don’t have a large belly but I do carry some flub around my midsection and I don’t know whether it’s the cut or the fabric but these jeans seam to enhance said flub.  If I do make these again I will extend the pockets to the fly area to act as a little tummy control. 

Now with the list of things I would change I have to ask myself if I am going to bother making another pair of jalie jeans or not.  Right now I am too disappointed to even contemplate that, I had really been hoping to have a great pair of home sewn jeans for an upcoming trip but sadly that is not the case.  But further do I stick with Jalie whose block apparently doesn’t work for my body or do I try J Stern or do I whip out my trusty drafting book and get back into the drafting saddle.  I have drafted pants before in the past but I have never done jeans but I think that I could probably do it.

Not all is lost I did have enough denim to make a little skirt so I have sewn that up but I am not going to post pictures of anything I have sewn for my vacation until I get back.  But in the last few weeks I have sewn 3 skirts, two and a half dresses, two dress shirts and a wrap for the plane.  Do not worry all will be revealed once I return on March 13.

Till we speak again

Hugs

Megs

 

Vacation Sewing and my continual procrastination

So I am going on a vacation with my mother in law in about 23 days and I have just finalized my sewing plans.  I knew that I was going with her several months ago and should have started my travel wardrobe then but its so hard to sew for nice weather when the leaves start falling or when its -40C, but I had a panic moment the other day and now the mad dash starts.  For my wardrobe there are a few items that I have already made and that will come with me, I have also bought a few things but I really want to make a few things.  I would like to make a chambray shirt (discussed below), a gingham shirt (done just needs buttons) a pair of white jeans, a white denim skirt, 2 loose dresses (Vogue 1236), and maybe a couple blouses (Simplicity 2599).  It seems like an insurmountable amount of sewing but I will persevere.  The added drama of this situation is that because I am hourly and February is a short month I also have to squeeze in some extra work hours.  Also one more task for my February is that my husband is starting a business and I am designing his corporate identity, including business cards, logos, letterhead etc.  I also would like to do a big cooking day called “Once a month mom”.  Last time I did it with my mom I saved around $500 for the month in groceries and it was so nice to get home and have dinner waiting, no muss, no fuss, plus then I can have meals in the freezer for my husband who would just eat garbage food while I am gone. So this month looks like it is going to be a busy month with no breaks in sight.  But as long as I sew something each night then I think that I will be ok.

Well I have made two more simplicity 2339’s.  One is peach colored gingham and the other is a light blue chambray.  I love the peach gingham one, but I don’t have any pictures so I will have to show you that one another day.  But the chambray one I am not as much in love with it.

 

 I think it looks a little prison uniform (the final version had sleeves and a button placket).  The real kicker about it is that I have spent so much time working on it that I am hesitant to just throw it away or start over.  When I found the fabric I wasn’t one hundred percent on the color but I was running out of time and had no other options so I threw caution to the wind.  But I am almost finished and I have concerns that I will not love this creation.  So where does that leave this shirt, my personal thoughts on it is that I should either bleach the fabric to all white or I should dip dye the shirt (Like the below picture).   

 

My biggest concern would be that it may make me look larger than I am.  But fashion does say that a darker color tends to recede and a brighter color jumps at you so maybe this will make my large hips recede and bring the attention to my face.  The other real kicker about this shirt is that somehow I put the sleeve vent on the wrong way, its not a huge deal but last night I was about ready to pop when I realized what I had done, I will most likely wear this shirt with the sleeves rolled up anyway.

After the shirts I had decided that I wanted to do a Missoni style maxi dress using McCalls 6073, but as a personal observation there is no way that I can wear maxi dresses, I am just too short.  I know many people that are shorter than me wear maxis but I think that problem with the way that I am built is that I have a long torso compared to my short legs so it just looks funny (when my husband and I sit on the couch I am taller than him from bum to head but when we stand my legs reveal my petite stature).  So after careful deliberation I chopped the bottom 12 inches off the dress and wide a wide sash for the waist.

I haven’t hemmed the dress yet and I think that I would like to take this dress in a little around the bust and waist area.  McCalls 6073 was a super easy pattern and I think that I may try making it again out of some slinky black jersey that I have.  I still wish that I could wear a maxi but I am not hopeful that it would look good.

Up next is Jalie 2908 out of some white stretch denim material.  I think that I will make the flared leg a little more stovepipe or at the very least boot cut.  I also plan on adding a little chub control panel, I have done it on other pants and it works).  I will post a little tutorial on that as soon as I can.

Till later

Hugs

Megs

Simplicity 2339

Simplicity 2339

Pattern Description: Amazing Fit Collection. Misses' & Miss petite shirt sewing pattern with individual pattern pieces for & A, B, C, D cup sizes.

Pattern Sizing: 6-14 and 14-22.  I made a 14 with a C cup

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 hardly ever look at instructions usually I find the things that I get confused on I can find better instructions on line.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I really loved how this shirt was a little longer, that it wasn’t a curved hemline and that the collar had a stand.  I hated how they used a piece of bias to make the sleeve slit opening, I avoided it and used a threads template for a perfect placket.  The threads method looks so much better please use it (http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/25307/how-to-make-a-precision-placket/page/all) it really doesn’t take that much extra time and makes it look much more professional.  I also really liked how this shirt had so many potential areas to completely customize it.  It is great that it has the different cup sizes; it really cuts down on any alterations that I normally have to make. 

Fabric Used: An absolutely beautiful Liberty of London Cotton and a synthetic eyelash lace.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn’t make any alterations on this version but in future versions I will add some more room around the hips.  I found that this one almost fits a less curvy hip structure, but it could be a personal preference as I like things to float around my lower midsection rather than sit right on it.  I have added about an inch on either side for future versions.  Even though I like the straight bottom on this version for a future version planned I have added a curved hem line.  Allthough the pattern called for buttons I didn’t want to destroy the lace so I just used some snaps.  I also interfaced all collar, neckline, cuff and button placket pieces because I wanted it to be stiff enough to hold the lace up. 

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I definitely would recommend this pattern to other people.  The multiple cup sizes along with the great pattern itself made this an easy sew, probably about 10 hours total.  I have already made a peach gingham version of this blouse and have two others cut out and ready to sew.  I also plan on cutting out a third of chambray, so yes I would recommend this one to anyone wanting a good dress shirt.  The one thing I would advise people is to check the hip measurement against yourself because that is the only area where I found it could need some extra room. 

Conclusion: This is one of my all time favorite wardrobe pieces.  I have worn it a bunch and always feel great it in it. 

Thanks for looking

Hugs

Megs

 

Vogue 8825

Pattern Description: Pullover tunic or dress has front extending into back collar, fitted, front pleated bodice, raised waist, tie ends, two-piece sleeves with barrel cuffs, and stitched hem. Fitted, straight-legged pants (below waist) have elastic waist.

Pattern Sizing: 8-24

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 looked at the instructions once for neckline facing instructions but this pattern sorta just goes together.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the almost 70’s vibe that this dress gives off.  I also love that its like a wrap dress but with no risk of front gapage.  I also like the long gathered sleeves.

Fabric Used: A slinky deep burgundy/wine colored jersey fabric.  I can’t remember the exact contents but I know that it is manmade.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  I didn’t make any alterations on purpose but this fabric has a definite right and wrong side that can only be seen in sunlight.  When I was sewing this I accidentally sewed the right front side to the wrong back sides.  There was absolutely no way to remove the seams without destroying the fabric so I cut very closely to the seam line and recut the back pieces with a little extra seam allowance to make up for what I cut off the front.  Next time I will be more careful because I think that I could have used that little extra around the front and not the back.  Next time I think that I will take a small dart in the neckline because the front does tend to gap a little bit, not enough that I am indecent but enough that sometimes just a bit of my lace slip can be seen, not scandalous but something that I am not entirely happy about.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I keep thinking that I will make this pattern again in the same material just in black (which I have) but I haven’t been motivated enough to do it.  I also have a vision of one in an emerald green silk jersey but there are so many other things that I want to sew so we will see.  That being said I would totally recommend this pattern.

Conclusion: I really do love this dress and I have worn it many times since making it.  I get compliments from random strangers both male and female saying they love the color and that it is a very beautiful dress.  I love how this dress shows off my curves but keeps my front tummy camouflaged with the big wrap tie wrap.  I do find the tie wrap a little long and may shorten it by a couple of inches for the next one.   This dress is a fantastic wardrobe builder and is great both in a professional and non professional setting. 

Till next time

Hugs

Megs

New Years Resolution

Goodness Gracious I am a terrible blogger.  I honestly sometimes don’t know why I started the blog.  I had all these grandiose plans that I would blog every project and show my process but what can I say I am a secretive sewer.

My new year’s resolutions include keeping a better blog.  I will accomplish this come hell or high-water.  Especially because my Mum keeps an excellent blog and I feel like I should too.  I have been incredibly sewing busy I am just rubbish at taking photos (which is strange given that I have two fantastic cameras).  I guess I just feel like if I am going to take time to make an outfit I should plan a photo shoot around it, but unfortunately for my blog I live in northern Alberta and we are currently in winter and don’t get very much light when I have time to shoot.  But no more excuses I promise that I will post more photos if you (any reader that might read this) promises to not make fun of the occasional iphone picture, lack of hair/makeup doneness, and the occasional surly look.  I can say in the coming weeks I will be posting photos of past completed projects and some projects that I am working on. 

Hugs

Megs

Kwik Sew 3740

Well I have been suffering a little sewing block. I have a ton of WIP’s and I have enough fabric to clothe me for a year but nothing
is grabbing me. I have cut out several patterns and made muslins but when it comes to my fancy fabric I just loose all motivation. Its not that I am scared to mess up expensive fabric, I have destroyed $98 a meter silk accidentally and just moved on, its just a feeling of blah.

Last night I thought if I sewed something easy that I would again find my spark. So I sewed Kwik Sew3740, this pattern comes
with a basic shell top and with a cowl neck version. I just did the basic shell, you can never have enough basics. I had done the cowl
version previously and had made some adjustments based on that. So here is my review





KWIK SEW 3740

Pattern Description: Close fitting pull-over tops have scoop neckline. View A has cowl
collar and full length sleeves. View B is sleeveless and neckline and armholes
finished with self fabric bindings.

Pattern Sizing: XS-S-M-L-XL - I made a M, View B.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were
done sewing with it? Yes completely, although I found the binding on the
arm and neck to be really thin compared with the illustration

Were the instructions easy to follow? Didn’t really look at the instructions, didn’t need them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that the shirt was cut a little higher on the chest, I don’t like to show to much cleavage. I disliked the bindings, next time I will add an extra half inch to the width of the binding to make it easier to work with. Other than that I loved the pattern and plan on making a few more for the summer.

Fabric Used: Cotton jersey, it’s a little thicker but not as thick as Ponte.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I had made the cowl before and made several changes to a size large. This time I graded from a large in the hip to a medium everywhere else. It fits almost perfectly, next time I think I will add a full bust adjustment, I find that it
pulls a tiny bit across the bust, but at least I am not swimming in it everywhere else like I was in the large.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Definitely I have made this one several times already with the cowl but now that summer is gearing up I will make view B again. I already have fabric pulled out for it.

Conclusion: This is a great basic pattern that can be worn both to work and on casual weekends.

Fluff: I wanted to make this shirt a little fancier to wear to work so I made a flower from the scraps. I don’t have a brooch backing on it yet but I wanted to wear it so I attached it with an just a sewing pin.

I dont know if my mojo is back but tonight is another night that I will plop down at my machine, whether something is created or not is another matter entirely.

Hugs

Megs

Simplicity 2724

Project Details

Pattern: Simplicity 2724

Fabric: Silk, not sure the exact type, but I know that it is a designer print, I believe its Vera Wang or Donna Karen but I bought it so long ago that I can’t remember.

Lining: No lining

Notions: 14" invisible zipper

General Jazz:
I guess I got a late start on my review considering I made this dress last year; yikes I need to get better at posting things. I loved this dress the moment I saw Erica’s (Erica B DIY style), I knew I needed it.  The first time that I made this dress I found it really large. I followed the measurements on the pattern and cut a 16 but I ended up taking in about 1.5in all around the whole dress so for the second attempt I made a straight 14.

Alterations:
I didn’t do a lot of alterations, but I omitted the facings and just used bias tape for the arms and neckline. I also lowered the front neckline by 1 inch.

Conclusions:
Love this dress so much that I have made it several times. This was the first dress that I actually felt like it was made well enough to go outside in. I made it in February 2011 and even though it is light weight silk I started wearing it in March 2011, at the time we still had several inches of snow on the ground and I probably should have waited but I couldn’t not wear it anymore. I do love this dress and made a few more versions last year.  I don’t think that I will make this one again because there are so many other designs out there that I want to try but it’s a great dress to start with.

Hugs

Megs