My Image Magazine – Winter 2010/2011

So I’m a little late to the party for this magazine (here’s a link to their website) but I do have a copy and I really like it. I have traced out M1005 in size 34 and I didn’t make a muslin either. I’m probably going to regret that decision later but I thought I’d just hop into this whole “sewing thing” again. So, it’s your basic faux wrap dress. Although I read the PatternReview.com reviews and they said it’s more of a tunic length so I’ll add a few inches to make it longer. 

 

Here’s the line drawings for all the designs in that issue. I also like (read: LURVE) that coat in the upper right hand corner. I have some red wool coating that needs to be loved on. M1014 is really cute too. I saw Karen’s version of the mini-skirt and loved the pocket details and all the seams. She said it’s super short though so I’ll add a few inches. If you know me, you know I like my skirts short but I do want to cover all my girl bits. (**ETA- Dammit! Karen’s version is in a totally different magazine!! What I have circled is a girl version. That certainly would not cover the girl bits! Ha!) also love that dress with the cowl neck and tabs. Cute! 

 

Hopefully I will be able to cut out fabric this weekend and sew this little puppy up. Luckily, my Viking is already set up to coverstitch so I can do that overlay and then switch it over to overlock.

Pathetic?

Is it pathetic that my great big Sewing Accomplishment is to hem a pair of pants?? On the positive side, that does mean that my sewing room is now functional. I found the iron, my pressing clothes, got all the cords managed, etc. I’ll have to pick any easy thing for my first garment. Maybe a knit Jalie top? Those are fun to make an always seem to fit well.

More on the Room

Here’s a rough sketch on the new sewing room. The storage rack and built-in desk are on the wall with the Vintage Merlot.

I finished adding the outlet covers last night. Now all that needs to happen is some shelving that is built-in and backs to the backroom and attaching my pegboard. I have three machines on the desk and one embroidery machine on the little table that’s between the storage rack and the desk. Love!!

 

I actually looked for about 30 minutes today for my iron so I could hem a pair of pants. I finally found it but it was too late to work on them. Once I get all the stuff in the right place, that room will be rockin’.

It’s Me Again

I feel like I need to change the name of my blog to, “I’m Back! No, Wait – I’m Moving, No, I’m Back!! Moving! Back! Moving! Back!!”

I’m not going to make any promises this time. You guys know I bought a house. Well, the first room I painted and fixed up was my sewing room. A girl’s gotta have priorities right? Granted the rest of the house is totally livable, it’s just dated. Picture white walls, white textured ceilings, brown trim, some wood paneling, and brass fixtures. It’s certainly a place I can call home. I plan to replace windows this summer so I’ll paint my walls and redo the trim then. The sewing room is in the basement so it’s kind of out of the way. I did two-tone walls with an accent color called Vintage Merlot. I left the old trim because I don’t plan on changing this window at all so I left the original trim/doors too. The rest of the house will eventually have brown walls, white trim/doors/windows, and a few accent walls. It’s kind of hard to figure out the shape of the room but it’s kind of like an L. I’ll have to sketch out a picture for you guys. It’s under the stairs so there are all sorts of fun angles. I really like how the colors look with each other. It took four coats of paint for that red wall!

 

This is looking toward the bathroom. That’s a little built-in desk. It may become a homework desk for my son when I’m sewing.

 

Here’s looking toward the door into the room. I put my storage rack that holds most of my fabric behind the door.
 

Here’s a view from the bathroom side. I bought a desk from Costco that fits perfectly in the space available. It’s got three desks, a hutch, and some drawers. Right now things are sort of strewn about.

 

Here’s another view toward the door. I am able to put four machines in here. I had three machines out up at the rental and boy do I miss being able to do topstitching on a separate machine!

 

Here’s a good shot of the three colors. This Vintage Merlot may show up somewhere else in the house. I love it! Maybe in the master bedroom? It looks very much like a boudoir color, no?
  

 

p.s. And thanks for the note yesterday from my “Blog Readers/Lurker.” Y’all make a gal feel loved!

Swimsuits!

I finished up on a set of swimsuits last night. I love this pattern. Last time I graded down to a size 3 (4 is the smallest size) and this time I used size 5. I used the same fabric for both of them. Personally, I think it’s kind of hideous but it was the favorite for both of the girls. It’s great fabric with fantastic stretch and recovery. I bought one yard of several prints from Fabric.com a while back and it’s all really high quality. They don’t look like they have any right now otherwise I’d post it for you. I’ll get action shots when I can.

 

This shows you the racer back which I really like.
 

 

I used my zigzag stitch to finish off the elastic edges.

 

For those of you wanting the sewing nitty-gritty: I used a Microtex needle in size 80 for the zig-zag and had to change it once during the process. I used regular ol’ Coats and Clark cotton/poly thread. Nylon is sometimes a hard fabric to work with but it’s not bad if you use a really sharp needle and go slowly.

Undies for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I absolutely love the Ottobre 05/2009 #2 pattern for hipster underwear. I have made several of these pairs of underwear for myself lately. I am still (ack!) slowly moving so I am working on small projects I can do amidst the chaos. I used fabric from the girl jammies a while back and the pink turtleneck.

I have also completed some more pants redecoration for the blue jeans I’ve been working on. I also just cut out two swimsuits so the girls can play in the hot tub. We’ve been using the smaller ones but they are a bit uncomfortable for them.

Girl Jeans

I’ve been working on refashioning some of my son’s jeans into jeans for my girls. I have had very little time to sew lately because I’ve been moving, packing, and cleaning. My sewing stuff is still at the old house so I’ve been able to sew here and there when I have a moment. This is what I managed to do last night.

I added some some velvet ribbon to the waist of the pants. The ribbon already had the white flowers on it. It’s kinda cute stuff. Who knows where I got it.
 

 

Then I decided that I needed more purple. I added matching purple velvet bows to the pockets. Again, who knows where I go that. It matches so I’m sure it was purchased together.

 

This is what it looks like now. I think it needs something in the middle where the ribbon just ends on the waistband.

 

Then I went digging through my button box and found this button. I think I’ll cut off the shank and glue it to the existing button. I’ll have to check that it will still go through the hole though. Another option is to paint it with purple nail polish and then add a clear gloss to it. That might be fun too.