Happy New Year!!!!

I don't know about you but I am really looking forward to 2010. 2009 started off great with my return to sewing in February, a new sewing machine and long awaited serger, then it was quickly derailed when a very close friend had a stroke in March and I later had the house guest from hell from June through September followed by the end of a 30 year friendship. Talk about a roller coaster. The truth is, the thing that kept me sane through the worst of it was sewing and my connection with the online sewing community and I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who have commented on my reviews and/or blog, offered suggestions and words of encouragement and support. Because of all of you and the beautiful work you do, I have been motivated to new heights this year, sewing more that I ever have in one year:

2009

9 Dresses
2 Tops (first ever)
1 Baby Sling

I've also realized a few things about my sewing self this year.

1. I am a very slow sewer. I used to start projects a day or two before I needed to wear them and then get all bummed out because I couldn't get them done or they turned out to be wadders for one reason or another (fit, style, etc.). Now I realize I need to start at least a month in advance if I want to make something for a specific event.


2. Even though it slows me down more, I like to watch TV while I sew.

3. When in doubt, make a muslin. I used to think I could do without a muslin to save time. ROFL!!!!!!!


4. I feel better when I am wearing clothes I've made for myself.


5. If I have a snowballs chance in H#$%at making it to PR Weekend in Philadelphia, I have got to stop buying fabric, seriously, I have spent more $$$$ on fabric this year than I care to admit, most of which is still folded and stacked.

6. The more I sew the better I get at it.

Armed with my revelations and the support of my sewing cyber friends, I am excited to see what we all will create in the coming year.

2010 here I come!

Simplicity 2497

Can I just say, I love this dress; not only do I love it because it looks good, feels good and was easy to sew. I love it most because I feel good in it. This was the first Christmas in a long time that I felt that what I had on really represented what was in my spirit. I usually end up putting on whatever I can find that fits and that looks festive. I realized that the last time I felt this good about my Christmas fit, I made that one too. My plan for 2010 is to make at least 90% of my clothes and only have things in my closet that I absolutely love. I don't believe that clothes alone make the woman but I do believe that when you feel good and feel that you look good, you walk a little taller and exude that much more confidence.

Pattern Description: Cynthia Rowley - sewing patterns dresses. Misses' dress in three lengths with neckline variations.

Pattern Sizing: (12-14-16-18-20)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? YES, YES, YES!!!!

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were pretty well written EXCEPT for the knarly zipper insertion/left pocket instructions. I still don't know exactly what they wanted me to do I just made it work. When fitting the dress, it is most important to make sure that the band at the waist fits the bodice and the skirt are very forgiving since both are gathered at the waist.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the lovely ruffle and the simple lines of the dress. I also liked the novelty of the invisble side zipper instead of a back zipper. This really is a quick dress to put together and in fact, my muslin went together in just a few hours. My only dislike was the confusion caused by the zipper insertion instructions.

Fabric Used: Deluxe Stretch Cotton Sateen Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Because I had to make room for my extremely ample bust, I added two inches to the length of the bodice and did a two inch FBA.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would recommend this dress. I know I should say no because the style is so distinct, but I definitely plan to make this dress again and already have the fabric picked out for Spring.

Conclusion: This is a great dress. I loved my fabric choice which was great because of the stiffness of the fabric to make the ruffle stand up and the stretch was good because it allows the dress slightly more fittted which I will take into account the next time I make it.

Just because I like them so much, one more shot of my fabulous shoes!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, or . . . Simplicity 2497

I'll start by saying I hardly ever make a muslin which is why in the past I've ended up with wadders and had to go with less-than fabulous back up options. However, for something as important as my Christmas dress with no time for do overs, I decided I would make all my alterations to the pattern pieces and make a muslin. I also thought it'd be a good idea to see if this style would translate well on my body. Well wouldn't you know the muslin came out perfect. For a minute I chided myself about wasting precious sewing time making a dress I couldn't wear but the truth is, with my luck, if I hadn't made a muslin the dress wouldn't have fit. I've got the dress all cut out and if the sewing gods are good to me, I will have the dress substantially completed by Tuesday of next week since I will be home alone for the next two weeks during the day with my 3 and 5 year olds baking cakes and cookies, going to see Disney's Princess and the Frog, Chuck E. Cheeses and story time at the library, stealing moments to sew along the way. I love, love, love this dress, pockets and all. I love that the dress is chic but not body hugging, lets face it, I've body parts that just should not be hugged.

I'm using this rich blue toned red stretch sateen that I got months ago from fabric.com. So far, this seems like a really good fabric choice for the dress because of the slight sheen, stretch, yet stiffness of the material so that the ruffle will actually stand up like on the pattern envelope.

I had convinced myself that after the recent additions to my fabric stash and boot collection that I really didn't need any shoes but when I found what I hope (I'll know for sure when they are delivered on Monday) to be the perfect shoes for the dress on sale and an additional 30% off, I had to have them.



I'll post pics and a full review after Christmas but I'm so excited about the dress (who am I kidding, and the shoes) I just wanted to share.

Yay, It's My Birthday/Butterick 5100

I love, love, love my birthday - so much so that I'll use any excuse to celebrate for the entire month of November even though it's actually on the 13th. On Friday I celebrated with a cake and dinner prepared by my husband and boys.





Yummo! White cake with rum custard filing and whipped cream icing.







Blackened catfish with Cajun lemon butter sauce served with mashed potatoes and broccoli. Pretty good for someone who never cooks.


Then on Saturday, I went to my mom's for my annual birthday dinner which ends up being our Thanksgiving warm up.






Cornish hens and dressing, greens, banana squash, corn and salad.





Followed by a yummy dessert of birthday apple pie (doesn't everyone get one of these?)



And homemade brownies for the chocolate lovers.

Of course I needed a new dress to wear and I settled on Butterick 5100 after some mishaps and great advice (see post below). Thanks ladies! Hubby took the pics so they are not the best but I wanted to post pictures of me actually wearing the dress.

Pattern Description: Pullover, sleeveless tunic in two lengths and dress have deep V-front neckline and extended shoulders, separate tie belt or purchased belt. D: cowl collar.

Pattern Sizing: Y(XS-S-M), Z(L-XL)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? I think so.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions for this were super easy with the exception of one bump in the road but other than attaching the facing to the neck after putting on the cowl, I didn't even have to look at them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved that this came together rather quickly (other than my aforementioned bump in the road). It could have been that I was working on it so late (3:00 a.m. - I know this was the reason I cut the front in two instead of on the fold and had to go back and get more fabric, the last on the bolt) or that the instructions/diagrams weren't clear but when it was time to put the facing on, I couldn't figure out where to place the cowl so that when I turned the facing it would work because they only showed the V-neck version in the diagram which is pretty straight forward. It wasn't until I put the dress down for a day or two that it came to me that with the cowl attached, you're supposed to attach the facing inside the cowl (right sides together) then when you turn the facing inside you have a nice finished seam. I'm sure they could have found a better way to illustrate this.

Fabric Used: Ponte Roma Knit

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't make the belt because I just don't feel the need or think it would be flattering to have something cut me in half.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I plan to make it at least one more time. In Black.

Conclusion: This is a great little dress. It's comfortable and stylish. When made in basic solids, it gives you a lot of options with the change of tights, tops and accessories. I made it for something else but this will make a great little work dress, something that allows me to look pulled together but is simple to make and wears well.

Inspired but no time.

Is it just me or do you notice that your mood is directly related to how creative you've been. I haven't made a wearable garment in about a month (I've only attempted two, 1 is a total wadder and 1 just didn't get finished when I wanted to wear it) and I am feeling more and more frustrated. I realized a long time ago that my sewing style was more that of an "event sewist" in that rather than just sew for sport, I would only pull out my machine to create a new dress or outfit for a special occasion be that Christmas, a wedding, graduation or something more basic like a family bar-b-que. It's been my association with PR and the inspiration provided by the very talented and supportive folks there that have me wanting to sew more/most of my wardrobe but now I'm at a point in my life where I have the least amount of time. This dilemma lends itself to all nighters and stolen moments, both of which for me have been main ingredients in the recipe for disaster. Case in point, after doing an FBA on M5752 and carefully constructing the bodice and waist band, I realized I didn't not fit the waistband and therefore cannot wear the dress, ruining my beautiful fabric. Disaster #1. On this past Saturday/Sunday I stayed up to 3:30 a.m. feverishly cutting and sewing B5100, (my second attempt by the way since the night/morning before at 4:00 a.m. I cut the front in two pieces instead of on the fold.) only to give up and go to bed after attaching the cowl incorrectly. While this is definitely salvageable, I didn't get to wear it the next day at brunch like I wanted to, which qualifies it as Disaster #2. Something has definitely got to give. I can't imagine not being able to create custom fashions for myself but if I don't get any sleep nothing productive is getting done anyway and who knows what the next thing I cut in half might be. Any suggestions?

I did it!

I finally got layers to work in Paint.Net. I've been working on this for weeks to no avail and then miraculously it worked this time so simply I can't believe I ever had problems with it. Thanks so much to Em over at Em In The Studio for her post about Paint.Net free download and how to make these groovy garment mock ups. I don't really have much else to say other than it is definitely time to abandon Summer sewing around here and get to my long list of Fall/Winter projects. First up McCall's 5752 in a nice fall polyester knit I picked up at Hancock's for 40% off.

Is this cool or WHAT!!

I'll post pics of the finished dress as soon I can.

Happy Sewing

I am such a pattern junkie, buying new patterns makes me feel like I actually own the clothes. The Vogue Holiday/Winter 2009 patterns are out and I did see a few that caught my eye. Although I don't know how many I'll actually get to this season, I will definitely pick these up so that I can capture the possibilities.

V1150 - I like this because it's simple, chic and sexy. Give me some tights and a nice shoe boot and I'm ready to go.

V1147 - I'm actually pretty ambivalent about this one but I think with the right fabric and embellishment it can be pretty stylish.

V1143 - What really needs to be said about this other than this is HOT!

v1138 - This is definitely a great party dress and I can see it in a nice jewel tone for the holidays.

What about you? Do you see anything you like? Did I miss any of your favorites?