Gift for me Mudder.

I almost kept this bag for myself because it's so crazy-cool.   But, the bag is with its new owner...my mom.  I made it with her in mind for her 62nd birthday (63rd?  64th?  I forget).

My kamikaze sewing pal lent me her Simplicity tote bag pattern and she embroidered this lovely design, from Urban Threads, onto the bag last weekend.

I chose an airy light gray linen for the outside fabric and lined it with a brilliant marine blue taffeta that has a little spandex in it.

And...she loved it!  Happy Birthday, Mom.

UPDATE: Next Time I'll Just Buy A New Couch: Part II

There's been very little movement on the recover-my-couch odyssey, but yesterday I did a little work on the very exciting cushion covers.  Why so exciting?  Well, because there's piping involved!  Yep, homemade piping.  Exciting, right?

To start I had to make side panels for the cusions that had a zipper in them, so I could slip the covers on (and off--oh, who are we kidding?  these covers are never coming off!). 

And I used this very cool 12 foot roll of upholstery zipper to make the 4 zippered panels.  Too bad it came with 12 zipper heads...what a waste.

I also spent a good deal of time making a lot of this olive green piping from scratch, which isn't difficult; just time consuming.  I think I bought 20 yards of piping and it looks like I'll need about 60 more.  :(  Those blue strips underneath the piping will become the sides of the cushions.

I was only able to finish one cushion cover, but it looks pretty good!  Only 3 more to go...

Organized, finally.

Last year I scored a bunch of vintage soda crates, and I had plans...big plans. 

These cutsie, shallow boxes of vintage wood and paint were going to save me from disorganization in my office/sewing studio (thanks for the idea, Patti!)...if only I ever hung them up so I could use them as shelving.

So this weekend, I finally did it. 

I had to pull out all of my most impressive tools.













And here's the result!  This is the sewing studio portion of my home office.

And this is the "office" side of the office, although sewing stuff somehow is over there, too.

One final bonus shot; I also put up several in my entryway. 

Next time I'll just buy a new couch: Part I

So...am I working on my white blazer?  Nope.  Have I started my homework from last week for the online sewing class I signed up for?  Double nope.  What HAVE I been doing?  Torturing myself by sewing a slip cover for the couch.  And, I'm about half way there (to being tortured).  I haven't cried yet, but there's still time.

The couch has spent its whole life being very red, which I have enjoyed for quite a while.  About 5 years, I think.  But, I'm tired of looking at it; yes, I'm tired of the red.  Who knew there could ever be too much red in one's life?  I entertained buying a new couch, knowing how much work this would involve, but I'm just too cheap right now.

I chose some blue fabric online and had it shipped, and I'm still deciding whether I hate it's country undertones or not.  I really wasn't going for country.  Honest.

Here's the couch at the start of this project (minus its cushions).

Here's some draping and pinning work...

...and the dog being totally bored by this two-day long affair (though her tail IS blurry in the photo, so she must have been wagging at me...poor thing probably thought we were going outside--which we did not because it is literally 100 stinkin' degrees outside).

And here's the (almost) finished base part of the slip cover, the red cushions I still have to cover (zippers and all).

Here I draped some blue fabric over the seat cushions, just to give you the overall effect of the blue couch.  Oh, and I also made the pillows this weekend.

Maybe next weekend I'll have it done so I can blog Part II:  Next time I'll just buy a new couch.

Blazer Dreams Part 2: Half done?

You'll have to trust me; the jacket really is white, but I have super-crappy night lighting in my studio (aka, second bedroom, home office, thunder-storm-dog-retreat).

I'm not quite sure how to judge whether I'm actually half way done with this jacket.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's still very faint.  Much like putting IKEA furniture together, I'm praying I don't have any pieces left over when I'm done sewing.

 Here, you'll see some of the basic construction of the outer jacket is taking form.

The pesky, and oh-so-important-to-get-it-perfect, lapel and collar business looks good from a distance as you see here.

But it is giving me some trouble--notice the tuck I accidentally sewed into the inner collar and the burgeoning overlap of fabric I've created? (see left side of photo, oops the other left). 

Because I've already clipped and pressed the curves up in there, I'm pretty much convinced I can't do any seam ripping and re-sewing without causing another, more noticeable flaw.  I'm thinking of leaving it in.  I believe this is what my Kamikaze Seamstress friend meant when she said "power through that hot mess."  So, I am.

So what if every time I wear this jacket I'll feel a little like Quasimoto?

Onward and upward, man.

Blazer Dreams - The Beginning

I've never found a RTW blazer that fits.  Never. 

I always run up against the same fit problems:  the arms are too short, there's too much room in the chest, and the hip area is too tight. 

Could I sew a blazer that fits me perfectly?  I wasn't too sure. 

I've got issues.  Sewing blocks.  Until recently, I didn't have a machine that would do a decent buttonhole.  And, blazers, well they have all those pieces and there's construction I don't quite understand.  Then there's the fitting process, which is nearly impossible for me to do by myself. 

It seemed  like a good time for me to get over myself and try.  I've got a machine that will sew buttonholes and a resident expert in tailoring (my neighbor), whom I hired to help me make/fit a muslin for this Burda blazer.  After making the first muslin straight from the pattern I was amazed at how badly it fit, and I almost cried.  But, my neighbor worked her magic and a second muslin later things were looking pretty perfect. 

I watched her make me a set of altered pattern pieces from the revised muslin and tried to make mental notes of how she did everything.

So, my new pattern made just for me has been sitting around for 2 months and summers whizzing by...and I want this blazer made!   

I just cut out all the blazer pieces, using my new and ultra-cute pattern weights.  I chose a heavy, white cotton/poly fabric.  I don't plan to line this one, so it will be a little lighter--nice for summer!

Gift

My Illinois sewing buddy made these pattern weights for me.  Those polka dots are the cutest!  I tried them out and they work really well.  Good-bye tuna cans!

Three shirt weekend!

I did one more LLBean reproduction shell/shirt out of this stretchy, dark grey fabric with a very fine silver thread running through it that creates stripes.

Very fancy!

Stu-stu-STUDIO!

Just like Phill Collins says, "There's a coverstitch machine on my mind...it happens all the time!"  

I just added a much-coveted machine to my sewing studio--the Bernina Funlock Cover and Chainstitch Machine (009DCC)--thanks to EBay.   I can't wait to sew on it (it's being shipped)!

I had to rearrange my desk (computing/teleworking on the left and sewing studio on the right) to see if I could squeeze three machines on there, and I'm not quite sure where the new coverstitch will go.  But, at least there's now more room for sewing.

Another LLBean Shell Reproduction

Here's shell #2.  This one went together in about 2 hours...as predicted!

LLBean knit shell reproduction

I'm sure I'm not the only one this has EVER happened to. This particular problem might be unique to those of us who gravitate toward the wardrobe basics. We find something particularly flattering and think, "Where, my little darling, have you been all my life?" We buy two or three of these at a time and hope like hell the company never changes the cut or discontinues the style--pants, shirts, blazers. Whatever.

That, my friends (oh, there's only two of you!), is how I feel about LLBean women's 100% supima cotton shells (0MA91, AN71341, VN3199). This shirt is so comfortable and drapes so beautifully, due to the cut and the bust darts. That's right ladies, BUST DARTS!! You hardly ever find this little detail in shells made with t-shirt material. If you own one of these shells, you are one lucky bastard.

If you've ever wondered what the big deal about bust darts is, especially in a stretch material, it all comes down to the tailored effect. Sure, you can wear a stretchy shirt that's two dimensional and has no bust dart, but you'd just be squeezing yourself in there--and it shows with close-fitting shirts. Adding darts to a flat, two dimensional piece of fabric gives it three dimensional shape and makes things look more like they were made just for you--skimming the body instead of squeezing it.

I have loved this style of shirt for the last 8 years, at least, and then a few years ago LLBean stopped making them. :(

(Dear LLBean: I still love you, but you hurt me so. My affection endures only because you've given me your most brilliant shell pattern.)

So, last night I decided to take the plunge, pick apart one of the (coffee- and sweat-stained) shells and make myself a pattern.

Yes, I said coffee- and sweat-stained. Sorry about that. You can see it in the photo so I thought I should own up to it. Also, I could tell you that this particular shell's been out of the wardrobe rotation for some time--just waiting to be made into a pattern--but that would be a lie. Oh, the shame. I love these shells so much that, I admit, I've worn a couple past their expiration date. I probably should not have worn this one to work for the last year. In my defense, it IS very dark in the morning when I get dressed for work.

From picking apart the original shell to this finished product took about 4 hours, so I imagine the next one will go together in under two hours.

A big shout-out to my kamikaze-sewing buddy (you know who you are!) who inspired me with her suggestion to finish the arm holes and neckline with strips to knit material--it lays flat, and it looks professional and gorgeous!!!

I hope you enjoy the photos of the pattern-making and cutting event. Oh, and please do enjoy the very first blogging photo of my new (craigslist) dress form!

P.S. I'm so excited that I finally have a tried and true (TNT) shell pattern.