Fun and Sun

Anchorage has been having fantastic weather. It's been in the high 60s
and mid 70s for a week now. The kids and I have been having a blast
outside. Note the KS swimsuits and BWoF swim trunks. Happy Monday!

Burda 05-2010-121 Short Shorts.

I haven't made a Burda item for a loooong time. I liked these shorts though and I needed some running shorts. I used a blue Supplex fabric from my local fabric boutique. The trim fabric is a stretch poplin fabric. I made this shirt out of it and have some left over. It makes fun bias tape.

I didn't realize until this was mostly done but the drawstrings are sewn into the front sides and do NOT go all the way around the waist.

The edges are kind of fiddly but not too bad.

I don't know what is with my pictures. Not one of them included my whole head. I think it may be that I'm using a camera and taping it to the tripod. Ghetto, I know. But, it mostly works and I don't know where the little piece is that screws on to the camera bottom. These babies are short.* This is a Jalie top. See more about it here.

Here's where they hit on the navel.

Here's the side/back view. Short!!!

Hmmmm, other details . . . The pattern calls for 1.5" elastic. I bought .75" elastic in bulk last year so I just used the zigzag stitch and linked them together. I used my industrial snap press to put in the grommets. I love that thing.

I'm planning on making that knit June Burda with the bust gathers next. I really liked that top.

*Yes, I realize there are the haters out there that will say something like, "You are too old to be wearing those!" or "Wow, there she goes again! Too short and there she is parading around like that!" Really? You need to rain hate down on other people? I guess if it makes you feel better about yourself, then have at it. :)

Jalie Jeans - Number Five?

I think this is the fifth time I've made the Jalie jeans. I think I have more back fitting issues than any other pair I've made. I don't think it's me, my body hasn't really changed all that much. I think it's a combination of the denim and the alterations I made. I know some of you are like me. I trace the pattern onto tracing paper and modify as I go. The first time I made these they were pretty tight in the thigh. So, the next time I just added a little width to the thigh without actually changing the tissue. Those were pretty perfect. On the next two pairs, it was big again. Again, I just sort of modified willy-nilly and guessed at the right amount to take off the thigh. I need to actually make them according to the pattern and then adjust the damn tissue so I'll know the next time. I just sort of guess and, well, sometimes it turns out but sometimes it doesn't. Overall, I like this pair of jeans. I hemmed them long to wear with these four inch heels.

Like I said, the back isn't great. One day I will have to make the contoured waistband. See the belt wrinkle? That's because there is a sharp V in the back of my pants that the belt can't follow. See the really wrinkly things??

A closer front view.

I've found the perfect topstitching guide feet by the way. I use a 3/8" and 1/8" for the topstitching. It gives the perfect space between the rows of stitches. I get my feet here and I love them. I have 1/32", 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2". I've ordered from this eBay seller several times and they always ship fast!

Just have to share …

How much fun are these pockets going to be??!???

Crop circles on my butt . . .

I am wanting to make another pair of Jalie jeans and am playing around with embroidery on the pockets. I plan on using the Font Engine component of Embird to make my design. Right now, I'm leaning toward the Crop Circle Dingbat font from dafont.com. I particularly like the bottom one of my samples. The others are too small and I was experimenting with stitches. Not only do I like the shapes but I would love to have some crop circle-esque on my butt. It would make me smile every time I saw it. I was thinking too that it might be fun to put some sequins or small beads in those circles.

What do you guys think??

Jalie 2919 - Pleated Cardigan Again!

Yikes, this is what my hair looks like with no attention. This is hop-out-of-the-shower-and-air-dry-hair.

I made another Jalie cardigan. This is my second one (here's the first one) and I love it. This is a lightweight wool sweater knit I bought from out local sewing boutique. Yes, I'm wearing wool with my shorts. It's about 55 degrees today and that qualifies as Shorts Weather. Sometimes, though, Shorts Weather is a bit too chilly for a tank top. This wool cardi is perfect for a day like this.

The back, obviously. Not a whole lot to post about here.

It's a winner. It's a Jalie. It's wool. Nuff said. :)

I hope to have a pair of jeans cut out by the end of today.

Hot Patterns - Nairobi Bag

I finished it!!! It is pretty darn big but I love it. I always have to haul around a ton of stuff so it should be perfect. I love the teal color - very springy! Grumpy girl #1 wanted to be in the photo also. This photo is to show you the size and the real color. It's not as eye-popping as it looks in the other photos. Here's the original post with a little bit more information. Here are a few in-progress photos. Here's a link to the Hot Patterns page with the information. I got my download free (thank you, you-know-who!). If you want me to send it you, you probably won't have to convince me too much. I'm writing this small because I'm hoping that HP won't read this if it's small. They already aren't really big fans of me.

Here's the inside. This side sports a zippered pocket with a pink (all for you Paulette!) zipper.

This side has a series of pockets that you can barely see. Didn't I do an absolutely freaking awesome job matching the prints? It's so easy to do on something without darts, pleats, and curves. You can see my iPhone peeking out of one of the pockets. I made a few pencil pockets and a larger one for my wallet.

I decided to add a leather facing to the top edge. I didn't want the cotton peeking out at the top and I thought the cotton would be too dainty to deal with the magnetic snaps and the stress of open/shut, open/shut, open/shut. As it turns out, it's very hard to topstitch this many layers of leather. I topstiched through the outside and facing so that the lining didn't just go together leaving the main bag open. I never downloaded the directions so I don't know how HP has you put it together. I omitted the middle section of the bag. Melissa has made this bag numerous times and says that it's fine to leave that part out of the bag. It's plenty big she says.

Here's the outside of the bag with the straps. I don't like how long the straps that attach to the bag. They are too long. Oh well, there is no way I am fixing that at this point. On my next bag, I'll change that.

This is the intersection between the purse straps and the shoulder strap. Notice on the purse how I couldn't topstitch around the bag where the straps go it???? Too bulky. I'm not sure how to fix that next time. This time I think I'll just leave it. Oh well. I still love it. I'll get lots of use out of it.