WIP Wednesday: Addition and Subtraction

Tags

quilting, sewing, Simplicity 1199, WIP Wednesday

(WIP = Work in Progress)

I was thinking in the shower yesterday–where I do all my best thinking–that I should take along some sort of hand sewing on Friday when we head down to Oregon again for another bike ride.  I am happily cable-free at home, but I do love sitting in a hotel room in the evening and stitching away on something while listening to a terrible movie.  But the only hand sewing involved in my current list of projects would be the binding on my baby quilt–surely I couldn’t get that quilt to the binding state by Friday, could I?  Because I love a challenge (and I am not quite right in the head), I decided to try it.

I got all the applique sewing done last night; I wasn’t sure I’d ever un-kink my neck again after I finished, but I did it.  Today I figured out my borders and put them on.

I’ll put together my quilt sandwich tonight, then I’ll have Thursday and Friday to quilt and bind.  Maybe I had better start planning that quilting tonight . . . .

I also finished up the second Simplicity 1199 over the weekend, and I’m really liking how this one turned out.  I wore it while out and about on Tuesday, and it was super-comfortable and cool in the hot weather.

The hem needs to be pressed, but it’s not bad for being fresh out of the dryer.

The neckline lies a little better on this, I think because I tried a different method on it.  (Completely forgot I was going to try a chest adjustment on this top until after I’d cut it out.)  The instructions have you apply the neck band like a quilt binding: fold in half wrong sides together, sew raw edges to neck edge, fold band to inside and machine stitch down.  On this one, I sewed the raw edges of the band to the neck, then pressed the band up and the seam allowance down toward the shirt; I then sewed the seam allowance to the shirt, giving it a nice finish, I think.  I’m too lazy to look it up, but I think this neck band technique came from the Love Notions Laundry Day Tee pattern (free when you join the Facebook group), which I printed out lately as a possible use for some SUPER SEXXXXY turquoise rayon jersey I picked up at SCRAP (seriously, with that gorgeous drape, those glowing colors, that subtle sheen, rayon jersey is HAWT).

I spent a fair bit of time working on finishing this top nicely, as I really want to improve my knit sewing skills.  The white fabric with the dots (it looks like one of those über-’70s bead curtain things to me) is a cotton jersey and the edges curled, so I worked diligently to keep the fabric flat when doing the neckline and hems.  I would have loved to use the blue for the neck band, but it has a somewhat rough texture on the right side, and I knew it would drive me bananas to have that on my neck.

So, sure, it’s a pretty basic tee, but I’m proud of the finish on this, it feels lovely to wear, and I may figure out this knit business yet.

 

Could NOT get these in focus for some reason.  😦

Also in Tuesday adventures, I went over to Fred Meyer to look for pants (it’s a Pacific Northwest chain of grocery stores that also carry clothing and other things; I have a terrible time finding pants that fit me, but I’ve had good luck at Fred’s, for some reason).  And, yes, someday I’m going to learn how to sew pants that work for me, but today is not that day.  I found these pants that are totally secret pajamas–look like regular dress pants but don’t have a zip and the fabric they’re made with is actually the stretchiest stretch woven that ever stretched.  Score!  I bought two pairs.

Problem is, those nicely-stitched (if blurry) pockets in the photo are fake!  I googled and apparently this is now a thing.  I haven’t bought pants in YEARS and sometime between the last time and now, lots of pockets in RTW clothing became fake–not just sewn shut but no pocket bag at all.

Now, obviously, you KNOW I’m not standing for that.  Tutorials are being googled and we’re just going to see what we can do about that situation.  (Why, yes, my glasses are perched on the end of my nose and my hands are on my hips.)

So, this week I got one item off my to-do list and also managed to add one more–fixing the pockets and hemming (of course) my two new pairs of pants.

Have a great Thursday and I hope the pluses and minuses are going your way.

STH

 

WIP Wednesday: Zingin’ and Dingin’

Tags

clothing, quilting, Sew-Along Dinner Date Dresses., sewing, Simplicity 1199, WIP Wednesday

Look–I almost have a waist!

WIP = Work in progress

Today’s title comes from a favorite saying of a former co-worker of mine when I worked for the VP of a meat-packing company.  My desk was in a room full of beef sales people–an excellent location for picking up colorful phrases, as well as beef recipes.

Anyway, this past week I had one of those “OMG, I have HOW much time to do all that stuff?!?” moments when I realized how much I wanted to get sewn before our trip to London and how few weeks there are before the end of July.  So, I was in a bit of a panic,  trying to figure out how I was going to get everything done, and then I got a gentle reminder about the sew-along I’m supposed to run next month.

So, time to prioritize, spend my time wisely, and try not to freak out (or at least keep it to a manageable level).  Today’s post will be me tidying up old business and planning next steps.

First, the Hello Kitty top.

I bought this pattern recently for no other reason than that I have a lot of knit remnants to use up and my knit tops (which I wear a lot, especially when I travel) are looking a bit old and scruffy.  I didn’t think the pattern was very interesting, but worth a try.

I love how this top turned out, though.

I love how it has a little shape and gives me the illusion of having a waist (I tell you, I mourn the loss of my waist).  I love the 3/4 sleeves.  I love the neckline, which isn’t too wide or too low, as usually happens with my narrow shoulders and lack of boobage.  I love how comfy the top is and that I have a matching skirt so that I can look totally put together and elegant in my cartoon cat head shirt.

The binding on the neck is a little wonky, and I’m starting to think maybe I need a hollow chest adjustment.  I’m wearing my plaid tank today, and it has the same problem.  And the hollow chest thing seems to be a common issue among female sewers “of a certain age” (I love how that expression indicates old age without spelling it out, as if it’s a shameful secret).

The hem was also wonky, which I’m going to attribute to sewing it while waiting to hear from my sister at the hospital how my mother was doing after falling and bonking her head.  I needed to leave for my Memorial Day weekend trip, but couldn’t go until I found out what was up, so I thought I may as well do my hem while I was waiting.  Probably not the best idea; I redid it as best I could when I got home.  (And my mother is okay, if a bit more dotty than usual; I suggested she tell everybody that she got in a bar fight and they should see the OTHER little old lady.)

I’m planning to make another version of this top with short sleeves, but that may need to be put off until August.

My other recent finish is the wall quilt, which I had set aside but finally finished yesterday.

The only way I could find to take a pic of the whole thing–binder clips and a bookcase.

You can just barely see it, but there’s a stalk of wheat below the text.  I wanted it to be subtle, and I guess I got that.

To be honest, I had hoped I would love it by this point, but I don’t.  Which is fine, considering it’s not for me.  I hope the recipients do, though.

So, next up on the priority list is the sew-along.  Here’s what we’re making in July:

I love these fabrics!  The yellow is from SCRAP, the flowered from the Goodwill in Newberg, OR, and I think they’re both cotton interlock.

I’ve got several questions about that bodice, so I’m going to make a muslin of it this evening.  I plan to do my dress in a midi length, possibly extend the sleeves a little, and add pockets (because pockets).  I love empire waists and I think this could be a good look for me.

If you’d like to join along, the Facebook group is called Sew-Along Dinner Date Dresses and it’s a very fun and helpful group.  They’re making some really gorgeous (and challenging) Vogue dresses, so they’re acquiring some pretty great skills.  I only wish more of those great patterns were suitable for the waist-free (Vogue 1424–so very cool, so wrong for my shape, sigh).

Have a great Thursday and I hope you’re keeping all your proverbial balls in the air.

STH

WIP Wednesday: On and Off Track

Tags

bags, cats, clothing, Cloudsplitter Summit Pack, sewing, Shelby, Simplicity 1199, swears, WIP Wednesday

Well hello, Shelby the kitty!

(WIP = Work in Progress)

Many projects in process, as usual, but I also have an actual finish!  And another almost-finish!

ALL THE COLORS!

So I wrote about the Summit Pack last Wednesday–making progress, generally good instructions, blah blah blah, everything’s fine, nothing to see here.

Then I hit the proverbial rocks.

I got to work on putting the front of the bag together and YIKES.

You know how it is when you’re sewing two pieces of fabric together and their curves go the opposite way?  Like when you’re sewing a collar to a stand or putting a princess-seamed bodice together?  And the fabric is protesting and fighting you, so you use lots of pins, but the layers of fabric actually push them out, that’s how hard they’re fighting not to make that curve.  But you cram them together and sew the damn seam, and then you have to unpick and resew the three or four places where the fabric on the bottom folded up and got caught in the seam because it is NOT REPEAT NOT going to take that curve.

That’s what the front of this is, only you do that over and over with lining and exterior pieces, all with sharp angles that other pieces have to be coaxed-slash-forced to conform to.  Oh, and there are zippers, too.

Plenty of unpicking happened here, and easing, and unpicking, etc., etc.  There are definitely some wobbly bits and some slight gathering where my easing skills failed me, but that’s okay with me.  I can honestly say I did the best I could and more re-doing would not help.  And I don’t have any helpful advice, either; it’s just a difficult bag to make.  Absolutely doable if you have some bag-making experience and take every step slowly and carefully, but the kind of project that would probably make perfectionists twitch.

On the other hand, though, look how pretty!

Handy Oyster card slot for riding the Tube!  And passport fits in the back of the purple unit!

iPad fits in padded gadget pocket perfectly for reading on the plane!

Whatever, it’s a little bit wonky, but I love it.  I just put on my to-do list to make some quickie zipper pulls for this, because we are going for maximum fabulousness here.

Also!

I had another squirrel moment this week, because I am basically a big kid (you’re completely shocked to hear this, I’m sure).

I have been invited to the Seattle area to spend the weekend with my BFF, Heidi.  Which means, of course, that I need to make something new to wear.  And, because of that big kid thing, it must involve the new Hello Kitty cotton knit I just got from here.

This is just the nicest fabric–soft and substantial, with great color.

I only bought a yard–I love it, but I’m still cheap–so I’m using the Kitty fabric for the front and back of view A (top picture).  For the rest, I dug through my knits and found the rest of the mystery knit I used for my black skirt.  I don’t know the fiber content on it, but it has similar weight and stretch to the Kitty fabric.

The instructions were a little bit of a mind bender–you sew the sleeves to the side front and side back, then attach the whole thing to the front and back–but quick and easy.  I strongly recommend cutting or marking the notches on everything to help keep you oriented, though.  Don’t be like this dork here; I ignored most of the notches because I didn’t have the mental energy to deal with them at the same time I was cutting out pieces that are a large at the bust and XXL at the waist and hip.  This made the non-standard construction more complicated than it needed to be.

The top is almost finished–just hem and sleeve hems to do.  Here’s a quick and dirty selfie in my sewing room:

No, that’s not some sort of apocalypse happening behind me, just a big window and a sunny day.

Quite a different effect than the striped one on the pattern envelope, huh?  Less sporty, more dressy, even though it’s covered in cartoon cat heads.  Some nice shaping on this; it isn’t the usual tee shape.  We’ll see what happens when I shorten the sleeves to their proper 3/4 length.  Right now I feel like it needs something, but I don’t know what.  Hmmm . . . .

Anyway, have a great Thursday and I’ll yak at you again soon.

STH

ETA:  I have linked this post up to Needle and Thread Thursday over at My Quilt Infatuation.

I’ve also linked to Midweek Makers #73 at Quilt Fabrication.