Monday, October 22, 2012

Jalie 2769–Bad lighting

Hmmmm, this is me looking at the bad lights in my kitchen. This is my jacket made out of Polartec and Dri-Fit. The arms and CB are Nike Dri-Fit and the main part of the body is Polartec Hardface Knit. I really like it and it has been tested and approved for running. The front looks very crooked in this picture but it’s not.
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Here you can see the Nike Dri-Fit. Only the sides of the back are dark gray.
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Hmmm, sorry people, not the best pictures. I added long warm-up sleeves to the inside of the real sleeves. And look at my nice sparkly!
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I love this Nike Dri-Fit on the inside. Super plush and soft. Here you can see the difference between the Polartec and the Dri-Fit.
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Here’s how I did it. It’s just a tube inside a tube.
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I’ve been doing a ton of running lately and I’ve been doing some home painting/remodeling too so I’ll have to show you guys some of that stuff in the coming days.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Vogue 1250–Another One!

This has just got to be the best fitting all-around dress. There are 93 reviews over at Patternreview.com and I’ve never seen a version on other people that wasn’t flattering. This is my third dress out of this pattern. This fabric is one I picked up in San Diego at the Swap Meet. It’s a silky polyester/spandex. I would wear this to work if I was way more covered up; like with a sweater or cardigan over it. I’m thinking it might be my Halloween party dress though.

 

What’s really weird about it is that it makes my right hip look funny. I’m pretty sure it’s just the way the pattern “points” to my hip though.
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It was windy. I’m not intentionally being vampy. Or maybe I am. Bum ,bum, buuuum.
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The back is my favorite part!
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This fabric was a bitch to coverstitch until I tried using this water-soluble stabilizer with it. I put the stabilizer under the fabric and let the feed dogs pull the stabilizer along. That helped to pull the fabric along. Did I mention the fabric has some copper glitter in it?
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Once I was done, I trimmed off the stabilizer, dipped it in hot water, and washed off all the gunk.
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I was left with a perfect coverstitch on the other side!
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Is this not cool fabric?? Oh, and yea, we have snow.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Jalie 2805 + Ruffles

I told you JoAnn’s had cute fabric the other day. I made Jalie 2805 size H (4T) shirt and added ruffles to it. I used my scraps from, what else, Nike Dri-Fit fabric for the top. The pink ruffles are rayon/spandex knit and the middle layer is the fabric from JoAnn’s. I ruffled the three layers of fabric separately and then basted them together. Next time, I will ruffle them all together at once and then attach them.

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Here’s a very simple illustration of what I did. I used three layers of fabric of different lengths and attached them. Easy, simple, fun!
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I left the two rayon knit layers unhemmed. I added a pink edge to the sequined fabric. I’ve never worked with sequins like this before but the little suckers liked to come off the edge of the fabric. To stop the sequins from coming off, I added this binding.
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I stitched the two fabrics together RST. The picture should show the stitching being further from the edge, like 1/4” or so.
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Then I flipped the pink fabric over and stitched in the ditch from the right side. Later, I trimmed off the extra pink stuff on the back of the sequined fabric.
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Here’s the back of the sequined knit.
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I really wish I had gotten an action shot before our littlest one went back to her other mom.  Oh well, you’ll just have to use your imagination. It’s cute. She wore matching hot pink leggings.

 

Have you guys noticed I’ve been on a Jalie kick lately? I’ve been loving my Burdas but haven’t been into tracing them lately. I also have some CAbi stuff I want to knock-off.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

I might be hitched now too.

It’s been so busy, I forgot to tell ya’ll. I’m extremely happy. I found the right one this time. He’s definitely a keeper and he’s mine all mine!! We had a very casual wedding with a judge friend at the courthouse with a very small group of people. So small, in fact, they filled up only half of the jury box (that includes our four kids). My friend’s the judge and it’s his courtroom, so they sat where they wanted. The “bridal party” (ha! just us two and the judge) stood in the middle of the courtroom. I even got a little weepy and I never do that. I didn’t do it for my first wedding either.


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I love Wordles, don’t you?

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

JoAnn’s actually had cute fabric. What?

 

Is this birdie fabric not yelling at you? This purple one is telling me it wants to be curtains in my sewing room. The blue colorway is not yelling at me nearly as much.
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I have plans for this sparkly fabric and it’s not for Halloween. So many girls in this family!!!
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Hopefully I’ll be able to show you something tomorrow. Oh, and I’m done with my jacket. I’ve really been on a Jalie kick lately! I just need to find time to do some photos.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Why, yes. I do like brains . . .

What do you get when you add Zombie blood
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and Zombie make-up????
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You end up with some pretty awesome Zombies (plus a six-year old photo bomber).
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I’ve wanted to do this Zombie Half Marathon for the past couple of years but there was always something going on. This year I only half-assed trained (as in, didn’t) and we still ran with okay time. These are my best girlfriends. I’ve known them since college (20 years now, ack) and we are still great friends. Trust me though, they are much more attractive than this!
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This is at about mile eight (maybe?) and there are beautiful mountains behind us (trust me, they were there). We are each wearing about three layers because of the cold. It was in the high 20’s with a breeze.
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I’m not wearing my Nike pants but I did end up modifying these Under Armour pants to fit my needs. I’ll have to post about that a little later.

 

I’ve been sewing so there is actually more posts to come this week!!!!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Nike Dri-Fit, I have some more!!!!

I managed to get my grubby hands on two more bolts of the Nike Dri-Fit Brush-Back knit. I’ll stick it on Etsy this morning. It’s in 2-yard chunks but if you want more or less, let me know.

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Polartec Powerstretch Hardface Fleece + Jalie 2679

I’m not done working on my jacket but I just wanted to share what I’ve been working on lately. I decided to make myself a cozy jacket from Jalie 2679. I’ve made this jacket a few times before and it’s always a winner. I wish Jalie would just start looking to Athleta for inspiration (why can’t they make me a pattern for these pants? or these?) and make some patterns for their fantastic clothing. I’ve never bought anything from Athleta but I love their stuff. So bright, so fun, so functional! Anyway, I figured this pattern would be the perfect thing for this new fabric I have. I’m going to make the main body out of the charcoal gray and the arms will be the Nike Dri-Fit fabric in black.


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I also put some of this fabric up in the Etsy store for ya’ll. You guys bought up my Nike Dri-Fit and Dri-Fit Pants material in a few hours. I did talk to my supplier and once I know the the two new bolts are on their way to me (yes, I said two more bolts!!!) I will sell my stock of that black fabric. That’ll take a day or two though. I will let you know if it happens.

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Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Nike Dri-Fit + Jalie 2215 = <3 <3 <3

No, it’s not a typo. I made an entire outfit out of Nike fabric and Jalie 2215. I made the top a few days ago and now the pants. I’ve made these pants before and used the same modification as my Halloween pants from a couple years back. The only thing different I did this time was to increase the waistband (I made it out of self-fabric folded in half). This Nike stuff has so much stretch and recovery, I made it 4” less than my waist/hip measurement and it’s perfect. You can see in the picture below that there is a small amount of gathering at the band. When I wear them, those tucks go away.
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Here’s the front with the waistband folded down.
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Here you can see the side with the waistband up. I will probably wear it up for the winter because it keeps all those chills off my back. I think the seam halfway across my butt makes my butt look smaller too. Always a bonus if you ask me. I left the lower legs looser because I sometimes wear longer and thicker socks in the winter and I hate having skinny ankles to mess with.
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Here’s the back of the pants. You can see I added a CL (that’s Center Leg, duh!) seam to the pants like last time. I kinda like it. I should probably take a picture of the back, duh.
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I did put some of this on Etsy. Only eight yards. Yea, I’m a selfish bitch and want to keep most of it for myself. But guys, it’s so COZY and SOFT! I can make running pants for all my kids! Really, I love it that much!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Nike Dri-Fit + Jalie 2215 = <3

Here’s the gray (anthracite) Nike Dri-Fit fabric married to Jalie 2215. I’ve made this top numerous times. It is certainly a winner. In this version, I lengthened the arms, added thumbs holes, and added a high neck band for added warm-fuzziness.

I can also say it has been approved as a cold-weather layering top. I put this on as my base layer and put a windbreaker on over it (it’s been in the 30’s when I run) and went for a run. It wicks with the best of my running tops. Of course, I guess that makes sense. It is Nike wicking fabric.
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I added some fun Urban Threads embroidery to the lower back.
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Here you can see it a little bit better.
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Here it is all spread out. If you don’t have Jalie 2215, you should get it (it’s out of print but you can still get the electronic download). It’s a kid and adult pattern and has this raglan tee (I’ve made numerous times!), a stretch boot running pant (made that a few times too!), and a cute skirt (never made that).
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I know you guys want to buy some of this fabric. I will put some stuff up in my Etsy shop. I think I’ll sell it in 2 yard increments but you can do a custom order for more or less yardage. I’m only putting 12 yards of it up for sale. Enjoy!

Here's a description of the fabric:
Dri-Fit Stretch Fabrics - Hi-Wick Comfort Paired with Lycra Stretch and Return
The Dri-Fir series features advanced wicking performance developed for active individuals. Specially formulated hydrophobic polyester fibers move heat generated body moisture away from the skin to the outer surface of the fabric. The enhanced dissipation of this moisture on the outer surface results in rapid evaporation, keeping the wearer cool and comfortable. The lycra content adds plenty of stretch for active comfort as well as great fit.