Retail Therapy?

I've been bad this summer about staying on my sewing budget. I'm sure my husband noticed but he would never say anything about it. The limit is self-imposed. I haven't gone crazy or anything but I certainly haven't kept track of what I was spending. It's August, school is starting, and it's time to get back into a routine. That includes the budget routine. Even though it's mid-August, this is the first official expenditure. Why? Because I decided, that's why. I'm not going to try to find receipts and tally up my total for the first 18 days of the month. So, there ya go. I follow the rules when it's convenient, I guess.

I'm part of the Chanel Sew Along but don't, as of yet, have a Chanel pattern. I was glancing through PatternReview's catalog and saw this Kwik Sew jacket. I think it's very nice and Kwik Sew fits me well.

Then I saw this Burda pattern. I was unable to decide between them and so I bought both. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that. I want to try out both patterns and figure out the main differences. I haven't for sure picked out my boucle fabric but I do have some options.

Then, I saw this pattern. I've wanted to try it since it came out and now, it seems, I will.

I'll keep you posted. I'm cutting out the lining on the Vogue jacket. Man, that thing has become the monkey around my neck. I will finish. I will finish. I can't handle something not getting done.

Burda 07-2009 #104 Shirred Shirtdress

I finished this shirt dress a few days ago but haven't gotten to show it to you because of school and the race and all the other hectic things happening in my life.

I thought it was okay, but boring, in the magazine. Then I saw Christina's version and fell in love.

I bought this really fun fabric from the Fabric and Notions coop. It's a beautiful silky cotton print. There is no stretch and I think it's 100% cotton. I had to carefully cut it so that the golden colors stayed near the hemline.

I really like the waist runching.

Near the waist, three buttons are close together. I really like it but, boy, is it a loud dress.

I did not do the petite adjustment that I normally do. My body has been doing some changing and I'm not sure if I'm just standing straighter or if something else is going on. I don't really seem to need that adjustment anymore. I did change the cuffs so that they are folded up and tacked. You are just supposed to fold them but I didn't want them coming down all the time. I left off the welt pockets because I didn't want to break up the fabric.

Half Marathon 2009

Wooo hooooo!

I did it this year in 1:57. That's 50 minutes faster than last years time. Last year I just wanted to finish but this year I wanted to beat my time. I sure did. I'm a little stiff today but it'll get better as the day goes on.

Another Houston Trip

This is my husband's last trip to Houston for a really long time. But, I did score in the fabric department.

Green polyester crepe? He got it in the remnant bin so he's not sure of the fiber content. It's really pretty and drapey. The right is a microsuede. It's kind of like a moleskin but so much soft.

The left is black Sofia knit. The right is a beautiful shirting material. He wants me to make him a dressshirt once I master the David Coffin book.

Left is a 4-way stretch knit. The right is wool challis? I've never heard of challis. Can I wash it? It's beautiful and drapey. I love it. It is so much more beautiful than what the picture shows.

Two duppionis. The left one is a dark burgundy and the right is a checkered one. Very cool.

The left fabric is amazing. It's superfine wool jersey. It's amazing! It's sooooo soft. I make have to jump onboard the Pattern Review Cardi Sew Along. It would make the most amazing wrap. The fabric on the right is wool, silk, mohair , and linen. Does my husband know quality or what? It just looks blue in the photo but it's got texture like you can't believe. I'll have to be doing a lot of thinking before I do anything to that one.

He bought me two boucles because I specifically requested them. They are perfect. He so knows me. He totally gets me. I'm so lucky.

Skirt Facing Tutorial

Here you go. This shows you how to add a facing to a CB or side seam with an invisible zipper. In other words, it's how to make you zipper and facing look nice on the inside. :) All photos should get bigger when you click on them. For reference, SA = seam allowances, CB = center back, RS = right sides, and RST = right sides together.

I screwed up a bit on this tutorial because this skirt has a full lining. So, pretend the lining fabric is sewn to the bottom of the facing. Cut the SA off the facing but not off the lining. I usually make a little pleat on both sides and keep that extra ease in the lining piece.

Remember that there is lining on the bottom of the facing piece. You would continue doing this all the way to the bottom of the zipper.

After I attached the facing, I did go back and attach the lining. You can do it either way but I usually put the lining on the facing first and then attach the facing. I'm not sure why I did it differently this time.

I hope that helps people. This is from Kathleen Fasanella's website. She has a whole list of great tutorials.

Uck.

So, crappy sewing week here. I made a pair of pants. It's a pattern that I've used before. It turns out, with all this running, my butt has rearranged itself and gotten bigger. Lovely. I made these Jalie pants before and they fit fine. The first version was a bit tight and the second version was a bit loose. This time I cut an in-between size and it's too small. Not like, "Whoa, I can't sit down in these" but instead "Holy shit, these pants are an inch and a half from zipping!" So. I've been pondering this the last couple of days and doing a lot of rear-end examining. First off, by no means do I think I'm fat. I don't want you to get that impression. My weight hasn't changed but I think it has rearranged itself. I've really been doing a lot of speed work this summer and I've increased my time by about a two minutes a mile. Yes, it sounds impressive but it's not really. Last year when I was doing this training, I was running with a friend who was decidedly a non-runner. It was her first year running and I was more interested in being supportive than being fast. Because I was being supportive, I was running at her pace which is much slower than mine. She has picked up a different running buddy because she moved a ways away and I am now running with a different, much more competitive, friend. We have really cranked up the intensity and I feel really strong right now. But, my butt is apparently feeling strong too. The pants are not finished but I think I'll hold on to them for a while and see if things rearrange themselves this winter when I'm not doing intervals training. We'll see. The half-marathon is Sunday so wish me luck. I want to do it under two hours.

On another front, my Vogue couture jacket has really been bothering me. I hate having unfinished things hanging over my head. After I posted the almost-finished jacket on my blog, my instructor called and said that I need to unpick the arms and lower the armhole a little bit. I thought about it. A lot. I agree but (1) I've already sewn the sleeves in permanently (two lines of stitches), (2) cut the seam allowances for the under arm, and (3) don't want to damage the fabric any more than I have already. Right now I'm trying to decide what to do. I think I'm just going to leave the arms alone. Yes, I know it's not perfect but I see more jackets in my future. But, having this jacket in my sewing room is just bringing me down every time I see it. I would rather have it finished even if it's not perfect. I still learned a lot from this class whether my arms are perfect or not. Now that it's decided, I already feel better. Whew.

I'm currently working on a shirtdress and it's giving me fits too. I can't seen to apply the collar and the points look like crap. Maybe I just need to take a sewing break for a couple of days. I have the will but the way is eluding me right now. I love the fabric so I will keep working on this to the bitter end but it's killing me a little inside to be having all these problems. Okay, too dramatic but you get the idea.

I have not forgotten that I owe you guys a waistband tutorial from this skirt. It's coming but school started yesterday so I haven't had much time to think it out and write it down. To prove it to you, here's a picture.

More Kid Stuff

I work in a middle school. We have teams. My team consists of three women and one man. He's a man-man. And a MAN-MAN at that. I equate him to a rutting bull moose. He's dirty, profane, and amusing. His life just changed in a very big way with the arrival of his first born child in July. Seeing as I go back to school Thursday, I've made him some baby gifts. He'll be gruff and uncomfortable and say something like, "Uh, thanks, hmmmmm, I'll give these to L (his wife). She'll really like them. Uh, thanks, really." Then it will be back to business as usual and we'll talk about hunting (I know some) or engine parts (I know nothing).

My daughter is modeling the bibs I made him. I'm not sure what is up with the hands-in-the-air-weird-pose. All the embroidery is from UrbanThreads.com.

They all all backed with laminated crab microfiber that Paulette gave me. She has the most interesting fabric scraps. She got them from Chez Ami & Chez Belle. If you sew for children you have got to check out this site. They have knits and wovens and the prices are really good (like $3.50/yard in the clearance section). And, they have matching ribknit!!!!! I figure the microfiber will keep the clothes a little bit dry. And it's so damn cute!!!

This is my favorite design of the bunch. I wish there was more contrast between the background and the dandelion puffs.

I found this free pattern by googling, "free baby bibs." I added a link on the right under the Favorite Sewing Tutorials link. Ok, now some me sewing . . . damn kids.