Mimi O

Lady Grey: Hair Canvas Technique

2010-11-01T13:04:00.001-04:00

My odyssey continues with the Lady Grey Sew-Along and sewing the hair canvas to my side front and front coat pieces. I have chosen a different technique for sewing my hair canvas in then what Gertie used on her blog, Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing. I didn’t like the thought of the added weight of the hymo (hair canvas) in my seams; the technique I utilized is attributed to Kenneth D. King from his book, Cool Couture. On page seventeen there is an information box titled “Installing Hymo the Easy Way” the author states:

Here’s an alternative to working with fusible interfacings – a method you can use in tailoring or whenever you want to avoid stiffening a seam.

Basically your side front and front pieces are cut out of the hymo (hair canvas) as well as a “thin, cheap fabric.” I utilized my prewashed white muslin. You layer the pieces together and then sew a serpentine stitch one inch in from the sewing edge (if you don’t have a serpentine stitch you could use a zig-zag). You then trim the hymo seam allowance back to the stitching and flip the piece over and cut out the center area of the muslin leaving the hymo showing through like a window. This will be the side you lay down against the wrong side of the fashion fabric and baste.

Pictures of the Process:

When your garment is constructed and the seams are sewn the only material that gets caught in the seam allowance will be your fashion fabric and the thin, cheap fabric thus allowing your seams to not get bulked up by the hymo. This process worked out nicely with my jacket.

I also choose to add more support in the shoulder and followed the directions from “The Tailored Shoulder” chapter on page 117 in which I added shields to stiffen the shoulder and armhole area on the front of the jacket. Three layers of progressively smaller shields are cut out of the hymo alternating the grain/cross-grain of each shield. They are layered and then serpentine stitched as a whole to your front hymo piece.

Photos of Shoulder Shields:

Moving along… I have basted my hymo pieces to the fashion fabric and completed all of my pad stitching which I will show you in my next post along with my bound buttonhole.

Note: Remember to do your buttonhole prior to attaching your hymo (hair canvas) to your fashion fabric.

~Happy Sewing`

Of Migraines and Muslins…

2010-10-27T14:25:00.001-04:00

I unfortunately suffer from migraine headaches and last week I had a doosey which put me out of commission for five days. Usually it only lasts three days but I had to use two different meds which do have their side effects and take a little while to move out of your system. This put me even further behind in my “Lady Grey Sew-Along” coat project and Through the Loops Mystery Sock KAL but by the weekend I was finally able to stand having the curtains open and working near a light source during the evening. It was nice to remove the sunglasses that had been my friend for the previous five days.

As far as muslins go I sewed up a THIRD muslin because I wasn’t quite satisfied with my second one. The jacket was still pulling and was a little bit tight in spots. I figured that with a lining/interlining it would be even tighter so I opted to sew the third muslin; in doing so I ran out of muslin so used this black cotton/poly print. It isn’t the prettiest fabric in the world but I’m not planning on wearing it. I made further changes to adjust the back for my scoliosis issues. In addition to my previous adjustments I made a 1/4” broad back adjustment, I dropped the curve on the front princess seam by 1/2” which in turn causes you to raise the waistline up 1/2” and then raise the lower armhole 1/2” on the side front piece of the jacket grading it back in. I adjusted my dart to compensate for these changes. I also increased the width of my sleeve by 3/4” and adjusted the placement of my easement dots on my front and back pieces by 3/8”. I corrected the side front/side back pieces at the side seams dropping the armhole depth 3/4” grading it back in.

I am finally satisfied with the results. I might do some minor tweaking on the left side back/back seam in the fashion fabric due to there being a little more material there than I want due to my back adjustments for my right side. I might leave it alone because the weight of the wool fabric may pull it down and allow it to hang better than the cotton muslin plus I want to be able to wear winter sweaters under this coat and would like room to move easily in it.

That’s it for now…I have moved on to cutting my wool fashion fabric and basting my hair canvas onto the side front and front pieces. Looking forward to doing some pad stitching today, will post more about that later.

Happy Sewing!!

References used for pattern adjustments:

Pattern Fitting with Confidence (Pivot & Slide Method): Nancy Zieman
Fit for Real People: Palmer & Pletsch
The Complete Book of Sewing: DK Publishing, pgs. 26 – 33, 94 – 105

Muslin means Work…Ugh

2010-10-14T23:41:00.002-04:00

I am definitely the turtle of the Lady Grey Sew-Along and have finally gotten the opportunity to cut and sew my muslin. And then, to cut and sew it again….and then to tweak it…and then…

Need I say more…muslins are a necessary “evil” when it comes to sewing and they are work!!! Ughhhh.

Going through the motions I have sewn two muslins and are making further adjustments prior to cutting out my “Lady Grey”, B5401, in my fashion fabric. Based upon Nancy Zieman’s “Right Size” fitting I have cut a size 16 and have done the following adjustments:

Adjustments

FBA
Shortened the front/back waist length
Adjusted pattern to fit my waist measurement
Graded from waist to hip
Added 1/2” length so pattern hip marking would hang at my hip location
Relocated dart to match my bust point location
Forward shoulder adjustment 1/2”
Forward sleeve cap adjustment 1/2”
Lengthened sleeve 1”
Lowered button/buttonhole placement 3/4”; graded up to collar
Lowered the pocket placement by 1 1/2”
Round back adjustment 1/2”

Phew….I think that is all there was. Due to my scoliosis I have fit issues and these adjustments are part of that. I’m also going to try putting a thicker 3/4” shoulder pad on my right side to see if this will balance out my unevenness when viewed from the back. It could be the angle of the camera making it look worse then it is too.

Here are the pics of my muslin in various stages.

MUSLIN #1

Opps…FBA is a “little” too big

MUSLIN #2

Myrna is styling in my “Lady Grey” ;-D

~Happy Sewing~

Mail Call via Club BMV

2010-10-12T19:59:00.001-04:00

This weeks Mail Call post comes to you courtesy of the Club BMV website and the Lady Grey Sew-Along taking place on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing.

In participating in this sew-along it is requested you purchase the Lady Grey pattern designed by Colette Patterns. It is quite a lovely jacket pattern but upon seeing some of the participants muslins I deduced quickly the pattern wouldn’t work for me! You see…I am rather tall, all legs and short-waisted; taking these body features in combination with the short styling of the jacket and sleeves, the added volume of the peplum along with the large lapels I’d end up adversely accenting areas of my body I would rather not!!

In making this deduction I gave the Big 4 pattern books a once over and came across a Butterick pattern with similar styling to the Lady Grey minus the short length and peplum volume which fits in with the longer, sleeker lines that I prefer on my own body type. This has led me to choose B5401, View C to make my “Lady Grey” jacket out of. The styling is similar with princess seams and the jacket length is longer with less fullness while the sleeves are full length and straight. I believe a good, alternative match for the Lady Grey. What do you think?

While picking this pattern out and not wanting to miss out on a good, three-day, $1.88 sale; I also purchased two other jacket patterns on BMV that will make good projects for the future. McCall’s 5525 trench coat pattern which is currently being featured on Gorgeous Things’ Blog in a lace version and Butterick’s 5295 which will be used to replace an old L.L. Bean duster that has seen better days.

All in all a great “Mail Call” haul.

~Happy Sewing~

October Fun: Mystery Sock Clue #2 Completed

2010-10-11T15:39:00.001-04:00

The Through the Loops 2010 Mystery Sock KAL continues; revealed this week is Clue #2 for knitting the leg portion of the sock. Late Thursday night I eagerly awaited the posting on TTL’s website and once up I quickly downloaded the clue and gave it the once over. It looked interesting but with it being rather late I opted to not attempt to knit any of it until the following day. Combining fatigue with an intricate pattern does not make for a fun time. I usually end making huge mistakes when I am tired so the sock would have to wait a day.

I am finding this KAL to be very enjoyable because it is giving me the opportunity to knit something other than a plain, old sock with self-stripping yarn. Also the pace is allowing me to work one section per week in the hopes of having a completed pair of socks by the end of the KAL.

Here is the latest pick of my socks.

Clue #2 on the TTL Blog

Download MysterySock10Leg.pdf (203.6K)

You can also join in the group discussions on Ravelry.

~Happy Knitting~

Update #2: Olympic Reindeer Hat

2010-10-10T19:43:00.001-04:00

Previously I had knit the under-band and now have completed the pattern portion of the hat band. The provisional cast-on was removed and the stitches were placed on a second set of circular knitting needles; the band was folded with wrong sides facing each other and the corresponding stitches were knit together as one. This gives the hat a finished professional look on the inside. A few more rounds were worked allowing for the addition of red into the pattern. For the time being I am setting this project aside to continue work on my Mystery Socks as well as The Lady Grey Sew-Along. Will update again in a few days.

~Happy Knitting~

Update #1: Olympic Reindeer Hat

2010-10-08T16:10:00.001-04:00

I have finished knitting clue #1 in the TTL 2010 Mystery Sock KAL and now turn my attention back to the Olympic Reindeer Hat. Stitches were cast-on, the under-band has been knit and work now commences on the pattern portion of the hat.

Will update the status of this project sometime over the weekend.

~Happy Knitting~

Waiting in the Wings…Lady Grey Sew-Along

2010-10-07T14:25:00.001-04:00

As if the knitting projects I have going on at present weren’t enough I’ve added sewing The Lady Grey project to my “Mama-Do List” as well. In comparison to the other participants in this SAL I am literally the turtle of the group!!! You want to talk about being at the back of the pack…I haven’t even gotten off the starting line!!

My main goal for this project???

In order to participate I could only use what is in my fabric stash…NO PURCHASING OF MATERIAL!!! Boy that is hard to do once you get to perusing the online fabric stores and all the wonderful fabrics they have to offer the sewist. Ok, I can do that…as a matter of fact I have 3 1/4 yards of a 62” 100% camel hair, black heather fabric. I also spent several hours going through some fabric bins downstairs and came across 5 yards of a hunter green moiré fabric that would work out nicely for the lining as well as a cute flannel that I plan to underline with. Even though you won’t see the ring pattern on the underlining I like the idea of having something funky on the inside of the jacket!

Up next: Pattern Acquisition…

Gertie’s SAL is using the Lady Grey by Colette Patterns. It is a very sweet jacket pattern but I’m not a fan of it for myself and feel it just won’t work on my body type. My original thoughts were to keep inline with using only what was available to me via my stash but upon seeing the Sewing Princess Seams post on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing I’ve changed my mind from using McCall’s 5767 to finding a coat pattern that incorporates princess seams with a lapel design similar to the Lady Grey so that I can practice the techniques that will be used in the SAL.

What I came across was B5401 in the Butterick pattern book but unfortunately for me I missed the previous sale at Joann’s and I absolutely will not pay retail for a pattern or even 40% off when I know the store offers the very same pattern for $ 0.99 during the sale. In my e-mail last week was a notification from Butterick Online in regards to a three-day sale they were having on their patterns…$ 1.88 is a good thing!! Still more expensive then the Joann’s sale but taking into account time spent going to and from the store plus your gas it pretty much is a wash so…click…into the shopping cart it went and to my door it came today.

Wooo Hooo…I can finally join in the fun!!

Up first….UGH…tracing and adjusting the pattern then stitching up a muslin. I will be playing catch up all weekend; nice to finally be with the group.

~Happy Sewing~

October Fun: Mystery Sock Clue #1 Completed

2010-10-06T15:04:00.001-04:00

After finally picking out my yarn and digging through my supplies to find the needed dpn’s I commenced to taking on the task of knitting in the Through the Loops 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. I would love to say I breezed through this first clue with flying colors but sadly that is not the case. First I had my issues with casting on (which is never a problem), then I fumbled through using five needles and finally gave up on that and switched back to four putting 24 stitches on each needle for the large size sock. This worked out considerably better for me being as the pattern repeat is every eight stitches thus allowing you three pattern repeats per needle. In addition to the previous issues the designer had incorporated a cable pattern…it has been a while since I’ve knit cables and boy did it show! Took me a while to get the right twist and left twist correct within the pattern but after that everything went smooth…

Well at least I thought it was going well; I finished the first cuff and moved on to number two and when I had that completed I noticed one was larger than the other…mmm…what had caused that? #!$%? The culprit…I thought I had matching sets of dpn’s but upon closer inspection one set was slightly larger than the other…consequently…Ripppppppppppp out went the first cuff and the process of starting from scratch commenced again. UGH!!!!

To make a long story short I have finally completed that second cuff. The yarn I chose, Jojoland’s Melody in color #MS26 is a beautiful, variegated 100% wool in hues of pink, mauve, lavender and gold. As you can see each sock will be unique in coloring. I usually try to match up the yarn coloring so that both socks are started with the same hue but in order to do that I would have had to pull off half a ball of yarn to color match. I just did not feel like doing that and went with the flow! Unique is a good thing ;-) Right?

Up next: Clue #2 coming on Friday, October 8th at Through the Loops. Travel on over there and join the fun!!!!

~Happy Knitting~

October Fun Begins with the TTL KAL

2010-10-05T21:25:00.001-04:00

Kristen Kapur over at Through the Loops has posted the first clue to this years 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. I am very excited to have the opportunity to participate in this KAL and as I mentioned in a previous post I did have yarn in my stash but wanted something different to knit this pair of socks with than a self-stripping yarn. Enter DH who had a conference in Lake Placid this past weekend and a chance to visit a favorite yarn store in town.

The trip up the Northway was wonderful with the weather being sunny and cloud free. The leaf peeping was amazing once you got above Lake George and heading towards the High Peak Region of the Adirondack State Park. The drive along Route 73 was beautiful but as is the case sometimes when you enter the region and move towards Keene the weather changed to cloudy with some breaks of sun and mildly cool at 43 degrees.

Arriving in Lake Placid I dropped DH off at the High Peaks Resort and headed up Rte. 86 to my destination, Adirondack Yarns. The store is not large but offers a nice variety of specialty yarns, patterns and needles along with those handcrafted buttons I love so much! I zeroed in on the area where the owner has the fingering weight yarn and made my selection. I have chosen Melody by Jojoland in color MS26 which is a nice combination of pinks, mauves, lavender and gold. Along with the yarn I purchased a set of dp needles and a set of cable needles, in bamboo of course!

Having to keep myself busy until the conference was over I moved onto another store that is one of my favorites in the area….Nori’s Village Market in Saranac Lake. I love the selection of herbals teas that are available along with the organic produce and grocery items the store has to offer. A must have…the Vanilla Granola…yum. One can not get out of the store without diving into the bag and munching away!

After completing my shopping I made a quick trip out to Lake Colby and snapped this photo. There is nothing like experiencing the Adirondacks on a crisp, Fall day!

~Happy Knitting~

Mail Call via Ketchikan Alaska

2010-10-03T08:26:00.001-04:00

With autumn in the air here in the Northeast my creative pursuits have turned towards those things that keep us warm. In keeping with the knitting theme of my recent posts I wanted to share a “Mail Call” item that came to me via a lengthy road trip to Ketchikan, Alaska this past July.

While wandering the shops of downtown I came across a store (Mission Street Arts & Fibers) that offered an eclectic mix of items for sale along with a selection of yarns and crafts books. In amongst the various knitting books was one based upon the Andean culture of South America. What caught my eye was the cover which had an unusual looking purse featured on it. This drew me in and as I started to turn the pages my interest was peaked even more. I was engrossed by Andean Folk Knits by Marcia Lewandowski and knew I just had to have it!

The book is loaded with information about the cultures of Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia and as you progress from front to back the author has broken it down into the various regions accompanied by projects and tidbit boxes of interesting local information. Projects include folk bags/purses, a chulo (hat) & headband, mittens & gloves, a set of leg warmers & socks along with a muffler. One of my favorites is a bolsa (purse) knit up in the shape of a Llama. I’ve always had an affinity for llamas and this book feeds that need to know more with pertinent information on the animal and its’ importance to the communities that utilize its’ fibers to clothe themselves in warmth.

Recommended reading for the knitter in all of us and even those of us who don’t knit!!

My plan is to knit several of the projects myself; the Llama Bolsa will be first on my list!!!

~Happy Knitting~

Olympic Reindeer Hat

2010-10-01T05:59:00.002-04:00

During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics my daughter zeroed in on what the athletes were wearing during opening ceremonies. They were sporting a Polo Ralph Lauren knit hat which she just fell in love with and has requested be made so I will be adding this project to my “Mama-Do” List.

Current Status of the Olympic Reindeer Hat

Cascade 220 and needles purchased from Kaleidoscope Yarns
Ravelry offers a free download of the pattern created by Helen Bristow
Set-up my project page in Ravelry
Yarn wound into balls
Cast-On complete

The only thing that is left now is to get those needles moving!!!
~Happy Knitting~

Ughhhh to OMG Where Have You Been This Past Year…

2010-09-29T18:23:00.002-04:00

I have been having issues with Blogger this past week and I am sure I am not alone in this!!! One of the reasons why I haven’t blogged that much is the excessive amount of time that is wasted trying to get one’s pictures in just the right spot and formatted correctly. I have had difficulties with this since day one with posting on this blog but I had gotten use to the editor and working within the limitations of the program on the Blogger website.
Well this week I was at my whit's end…I spent three hours the other evening trying to get the pictures for my Felted Purse Revisited post in a certain order and arrangement. What transpired was a HORENDOUS mess that continued for several hours with pictures not lining up or not formatting correctly. You want to talk about being frustrated…it was a darn nightmare!
To prevent myself from going insane and totally losing my mind while working with this new editor, I took periodic breaks to visit some of my favorite blogs. By doing so I stumbled upon a comment left on a post of a fellow blogger and OMG….Hallelujah…I was saved; or more to the point my sanity was saved!
In visiting Dawn at Two On, Two Off I came across several of her posts, one of them being “Blogger, You Annoy Me” where she had been having difficulty with the editor as well. How apropos is that…I was having issues too! As luck would have it beangirl had left a suggestion on Dawn’s “My Sewing Plan for Fall” post. Having spent a ridiculous amount of time that evening I cut and pasted beangirl’s comment into a word document for later reference and shut down the laptop for the evening. The next afternoon I sat down and ran a search on the Microsoft website and came across the program beangirl suggested and boy is this the ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS and I am sure the prayers of many other fellow bloggers.
You may be asking, “Mimi what is this miraculous program??” It is called Window’s Live Writer and boy does it work just the nuts! I downloaded it off the website and was up and using it in minutes. WOW is all I have to say about it. No more being frustrated with using Blogger’s online editor!!! Yippie Skippie. Here is Microsoft’s Overview on their product:

Windows Live Writer makes it easy to share your photos and videos on almost any blog service. With Writer, you can preview everything you’re adding to your blog, and see exactly how the fonts, spacing, colors, and images will look, before you publish. It's fast and easy to make photos and videos look great on your blog. You can even create a photo album—just select the style you want and Writer takes care of the rest. Writer is already packed with useful features, but if you like to tinker, there are all sorts of plug-ins you can add to help you do even more.

I have used this for the previous two posts plus this one and it is heaven sent. Everything I put on the page ended up previewing as I wanted. If something isn’t quite right you can quickly correct it. Added bonus when you first start the program it allows you to set up an association with your blog and will import its’ theme/design so that you can work offline. What a time saver!!! It is great…write your post, insert photos and links offline then Publish directly to Blogger from within the program. I haven’t had time to look at all of its’ features but am satisfied so far with the program. The only thing I’ve noticed is that if you need to work within your blogs design that needs to be done directly in Blogger but other than that using this program has been wonderful.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blogger I would suggest wandering over to the Microsoft website and checking it out to see if your system meets the programs requirements and downloading it. Give it a try you may become a convert like me.
~Good Luck and Happy Blogging~

Two-at-Once, Toe-Up Socks

2010-09-28T16:39:00.003-04:00

I have finally finished those two-at-once, toe-up socks that I started in August of 2009. Nothing like taking over a year to finish one pair of socks!!! Yikes….
What prompted me to finally complete this pair???
It is the desire to participate in the “Through the Loops” 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. I had every intention of being a participant last year; I had the yarn and had printed off each weeks clue but just couldn’t get myself motivated enough to work on two separate sock patterns at the same time. This year was going to be different! I promised myself I would have these UFO socks completed prior to the start of the KAL and as luck would have it I have finished this project in time for the reveal of the first clue which will be this coming Friday, October 1st.
The only thing I am missing….some sock yarn. I wasn’t overly fond of my choice for last years sock; it was cheap and readily available and I do still have it but…I’m desiring something new and softer in texture. I’m thinking a wool blend with Alpaca in a nice autumn color scheme.
How am I going to accomplish this task of finding the elusive sock yarn? Enter DH who has a training conference in Lake Placid on Saturday and it just so happens this is where one of my favorite yarn stores is located. So…I am thinking I just might tag along for the ride and give Adirondack Yarns a visit to see if I can come across something more in line with my fall state of mind.
If you are of a mind to join in the fun here is a link to a discussion on Ravelry with pertinent information about the 2010 Mystery Sock KAL. Wander on over and you will discover that Ravelry is a free, online community meant for people who love to knit and crochet. You have access to projects, patterns, yarns, discussion groups along with being able to keep track of your own personal projects, stash, needle inventory, queues, friends and so much more. If you have a love for knitting or crocheting give it a try for I think you will enjoy what you find there!

Back to my Two-at-Once, Toe-Up socks…
Pattern: Two at Once, Toe-Up Socks by Kelley Petkun (this pattern is available on Knit Picks)
Yarn: Knit Picks Simple Stripes (discontinued) or any Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)
Quantity: (2) 50g balls
Needles: (2) US 3 - 3.25 mm circular knitting needles
I wanted to try the technique of using (2) circular knitting needles to knit both of your socks on at once and this was the pattern and yarn I had chosen to give this technique a try.
Needles: (2) Size 3, 24" circular needles and two balls of sock yarn. Each sock requires a ball of its own to use this technique.
My thoughts on the pattern, it was fairly easy being as I have knitted socks previously on dp needles. Knitting both socks at once was rewarding at the end being as they were both complete at the same time. I didn't particularly like how the heel came out in the final product and would probably adjust that in the future being as I have a rather large foot for a lady (12.5N) and the direction were meant for a medium foot.
When knitting my socks it took me approximately an hour per color band so I completed the socks in 21 hours. I made them a little longer than the pattern called for being as I wanted to have them "scrunched" as well as being able to cuff them if I wanted to. I finished the socks by placing them on “sock-blockers” and sprits with some luke-warm water and allowed them to dry. It isn’t necessary to block your socks but it does give them a more finished look.
Would I knit these again?
Not too sure on that one; I'd have to give this technique another try but am leaning more towards sticking with the dp needles. Not a fan of the toe-up method, top of the sock doesn't have as much of a give as if you knitted from the cuff down, but still a fun project to complete. Give it a try you may find you like it!

Felted Purse Revisited

2010-09-27T23:14:00.002-04:00

Just a quick post on the completion of one of my latest projects; after having knit this purse for my daughter and her two college friends I finally had the opportunity to make one for myself. I used “The Pink Lady” pattern by “Designs by Shelley” knit in Lamb’s Pride Worsted Wool in Royal Purple Flutter (M-270) and Kiwi (M-191). I previously posted about this pattern in Felted Purse~Pink Lady.

As always I feel a bag is not complete unless it is lined so I went through my stash and unearthed a silk crepe-back purple satin that had been used for a formal gown I made for myself for a wedding at the St. Regis in New York City. I knew saving those scarps from the gown would come in handy one day!

The finishing touch…a beautiful handcrafted glass button.

An enjoyable project to knit as well as sew!!

Before Felting After Felting

Installing Magnetic Clasp Right Side

Layering Lining for Inside Pocket Strap, Tab, Front & Back Lining

Felted Purse with Lining Pieces Hand Sewing Lining into Purse

Handcrafted Glass Button Finished Project

Happy Sewing :-D

Summer's Bounty

2010-09-22T15:28:00.001-04:00

Fall is upon us here in the Northeast even though today calls for sunny skies and 70 – 80 degree temperatures. Many of us have taken advantage of a fairly nice summer to put up the fruits and vegetables from our gardens. For those of us that don’t have gardens road-side farm stands offer numerous varieties of produce as well as great selections. With this abundance from nature DH and I took the opportunity to include a little canning/freezing in with our regular pursuits; mine being sewing and knitting, his being woodworking. We didn’t accomplish as much as we had hoped for but there is always next year! We did put up strawberry, blueberry and mixed berry jams. Still on the list to be made are peach jam and orange marmalade. We rediscovered an old family recipe for Winchester Sauce and canned 18 pints of that along with spaghetti sauce. Of course there is always the never ending supply of zucchini which we froze along with 15 pounds of blueberries that were picked at a local farm. Up next a visit to the orchard to pick apples which means applesauce and canned spiced apples, DD’s favorite!!! Hoping you are taking advantage of the Summer's Bounty and getting out there and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Hoping you have a wonderful Fall season!!!

Where have I been as of late? ”There and Back Again…”

2010-09-21T18:43:00.001-04:00

DH and myself on Day 1...The Journey Begins

But mine was not the fantasy journey the likes of Bilbo Baggins in “A Hobbits Tale” running into the dragon, Smaug from the Lonely Mountain...

...my “There” turned out to be Ketchikan, Alaska and driving through the mountain ranges of the American and Canadian Rockies bumping into bear, elk, moose and other interesting wildlife, beautiful scenery and fascinating people along the way via an extended 26-day road trip. In essence this was a fantasy trip that slowly became reality as we progressed across the country and on into Canada.

For your enjoyment here a few pictures of the sights along the way.

Glacier National Park, Montana

Columbia Icefield
Jasper National Park of Canada

Elk foraging along the way.

Ward's Cove
Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan Harbor
Ketchikan, Alaska

DH & DD at Settlers Cove
Ketchikan, Alaska

DH, DD & Moi
Totem Bight Clan House
Ketchikan, Alaska

~Happy Sewing~

Mail Call...via Jo-Ann Fabrics

2010-04-18T18:33:00.000-04:00

My goodness...it has been almost two months since my last post. I must say that I have not been too inspired as of late and just haven't felt in the mood to blog. Plus I think I kind of fell into one of those ruts that went along with the icky spring weather and it has taken me a while to dig myself out. Having climbed out of that hole I am now ready to get back to being artistically inclined and get my "MOJO" back on....

To aide me in my recovery I took a drive down to the Jo-Ann Fabric's store in Albany. My true goal was to see if perhaps, on the off chance, that this larger fabric outlet would carry Burda Magazine...it saddens me to report that NO, they did not. They of course had the Burda Knitting magazine but they didn't have the one that features sewing. Kind of strange considering their main stock consists of fabrics, machines, notions and patterns. One would think the magazine featuring sewing would be a mainstay in their store. Go figure!@#$%. They had the usual Threads and Vogue but those really weren't of any interest to me.

My daughter and I wandered the store aimlessly for close to an hour trying to find something that would inspire us to part with our hard earned cash. Being as this was the last day of the "Daffodil Dash" sale and we each had a 50% off coupon finding something, of a hearts desire, was taking a monumental effort on both our parts. Nothing and I mean nothing caught our eyes. We circled with our shopping cart, a minimum of five times around the store and Nada....must be that we each had a set idea of what we wanted to purchase and weren't going to be satisfied by just anything!

Not wanting to circle one more time I finally gave up and had the clerk cut 20 yards of drapery cord to replace the frayed cording on one of my roman shades. We then wandered over to the notions wall where I came away with the WashAway Wonder Tape that I love so much when it comes to installing zippers. This was 50% off without a coupon, a great deal. Turning around my eyes fell upon an end-cap of books that held a book that I wanted to purchase for a long time, "Making Trouser for Men & Women" by David Page Coffin. Yeah...finally an item worthy of my 50% off coupon. With book in hand my daughter and I made a beeline to the checkout and paid for our purchases. Her major purchase of the day...a really cute iron-on for a onesie...bargain price with 50% off coupon...$1.80

My purchases...

$ 33.00 One tank of gas
Trip to Plato's Closet so daughter can shop
$ 4.95 Two, Iced Vanilla Coffees (light & sweet)
$23.25 Jo-Ann Fabrics
$19.80 Lunch at the diner
spending time with your 22 year old daughter...PRICELESS <3 <3 <3

Looking forward to getting the chance to sit down and read the book as well as review the DVD that came with it. There is more information on David Coffin's website DPC On Making Trousers that is helpful as well.

Happy Sewing.....

Mail Call…$3.99 sale at Vogue

2010-02-14T09:13:00.006-05:00

Note: This post was created on 2/6/10 right after the online sale; I must say the past few weeks I just haven't felt like being on the computer so my lack of enthusiasm for technology has left me not wanting to go near the laptop being as I'm on the computer at work all day as well. This lack of enthusiasm probably has something to do with the winter dragging on too!!! So with a cup of coffee in hand and Martha Stewart on FLN I am finally getting the chance to get it up and posted...all be it a little late. Enjoy!

This week’s mail call comes to you courtesy of Vogue Patterns and their $3.99 sale that took place last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I normally don’t order patterns through the mail unless they are for a company I can not access locally or it’s a good buy. For me ordering three patterns online from Vogue equated to what I would have spent in gas and sales tax if I had purchased the patterns at Joann’s considering I have a 30 minute drive to the nearest Joann Fabrics store. The patterns I selected were V8146, V8615 and V1160.

First up is the V8615 which I had seen in the December ‘09/January ‘10 issue of Vogue Patterns (pg. 65) but hadn’t really given much thought to until a post made on Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing blog made me rethink my ideas about this particular pattern. What drew me to the pattern was the fact that Vogue was introducing their new Custom Fit for A, B, C, D cup size collection but I believe my dislike originated with the fabric choice for the dress that was featured in this issue as well as the artwork on the front of the pattern envelope. Black and white houndstooth is not one of my favorites so seeing it on the model was basically a big turn off for me and in essence colored my vision towards this pattern. But through following Gertie’s blog my thinking on this pattern has been reversed for she made a lovely wine-colored silk shantung dress from this pattern.

Gertie also offered some very helpful video tutorials on tissue fitting and finally finishing off the dress with a circular hem. Please check her blog out for you will be pleasantly surprised by all of the helpful information and posts you will find there.

Left: Photo courtesy of Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing

Moving on to the V8146, a Very Easy Vogue, Misses Jacket and Dress; this pattern features a basic sleeveless, straight dress but it is the jacket on this pattern that I fell in love with. Made up in the right fabric it will be a great jacket to go with the V8615 dress for a night out on the town. I can’t wait to make that duo up. As for the sleeveless dress, I have future plans to utilize the basic pattern in making a knock-off of an L’Wren dress that I have just fallen for.

Last but not least is the V1160 pattern. This pattern I think is to die for because it has a very fun and flirty look to it for spring. It is a DKNY (Donna Karan New York) designer pattern for Vogue. I’m not totally into the black and white polka dot fabric but the dress itself is great and I have already purchased the chiffon fabric for it. I will approach this pattern with trepidation being as sewing on chiffon can present its’ own set of issues. Wish me luck on this one!

Well…those are my latest editions to my pattern gallery and I can’t wait to work on them once my Chanel jacket is complete.

As always….Happy Sewing!!!

For the men in my life...

2010-02-03T20:33:00.001-05:00

McCalls's 4244

Having spent a considerable amount of time on making gifts for Christmas this year I decided that the men in my life needed to be taken care of as well. So...my husband and my daughter's boyfriend were recipients of flannel pajama bottoms.

On my first trip to Joann’s I was sadly disappointed for they did not have any “man flannel” and I was then relegated to choosing something from the snuggle-flannel line. Needless to say this did not include anything really meant for a man. The closest I could come to anything a guy would wear was a “flame” flannel. I thought it was kind of cool and being my daughter's boyfriend races snow machines I thought it would go along with his need for speed.

I whipped those up in no time but they just didn’t do it for me. I wanted “man flannel” so on my next trip to Joann’s I made a bee-line to the flannel shirting section and this time they had an over abundance of it. I quickly picked out a lovely hunter green plaid for my husband and a red/white/green plaid for my daughter’s boyfriend.

It took me a little longer to complete these than the flame bottoms being as I took the time to match the plaids. I think they turned out well and I will definitely use this pattern again. I did modify the pattern’s casing for the waistband. I tried making them the way the directions suggested but it makes the pattern more difficult than need be. Instead I converted the waistband to fit 1” elastic and I added buttonholes on each side of the center front seam and ran a drawstring through it.

Here are some pics along with my review.

Didn't do too bad on the plaid matching.

Pattern Review

PR: M4244

Pattern Description: Men’s Robe, belt, tops, pants and shorts I made the pajama bottoms

Fabric Used: Flannel

Pattern Size: (Small, Medium, Large) I made both a medium and a large.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I did not care for the directions in regards to the making of the casing for the waistband. I totally scratched the pattern directions and created a simple casing to hold 1” elastic. Prior to sewing the casing down I put a buttonhole on each side of the center front seam to run a waistband drawstring through. Once the casing was sewed I ran the elastic through having left an opening in the back of the casing then stitched the elastic together and closed the casing. I then ran my purchased drawstring twill tape through the casing using the buttonholes.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I shortened both the medium and large by 2 inches.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: These pajama bottoms went together quickly even with matching plaids. I would recommend the pattern with the waistband modification.

Happy Sewing!!!

A Christmas Present for Lola

2010-02-02T21:10:00.001-05:00

Lola...L-O-L-A...Lola

Who exactly is Lola?

Well...Lola is our Beagle-Lab mix that we adopted eight years ago. I work for a local highway department and on a very cold January morning one of our drivers came across Lola's mother in a snowbank. Someone had just dropped her off and left her there in the bank to fend for herself. Being the caring person that she is, the driver brought the dog back to the highway department to warm up and give her some food. To make a long story short Lola's mother (Hilda) was found to be pregnant and she gave birth to a litter of ten puppies right there at the highway department.

Everyone took their turn at caring for the puppies until they got to the stage where they could be adopted out. This is where my daughter comes in for she had fallen in love with these little balls of fur and energy; in particular she had fallen for Lola. Slowly, each and every puppy found a loving and caring home with Lola being the last. She had worked her way into our hearts and our home and we are so glad she came to live with us and are thankfull all the other puppies were adopted out as well.

So...this Christmas...we wanted to give Lola a new, comfy spot to lay her head down after a day of chasing squirrels and barking at the deer wandering our woods out back.

McCall's M5410

I didn't like the fact the bed didn't have a removable liner so I used some left over denim and an upholstery zipper and whipped one up to fit inside the large dog bed.

This pattern is a "no sew" project but I modified the pattern by sewing part way around the bed prior to stuffing. On the edges that I left open I also stitched along the remainder of the bed to give a point to cut to for the ties.

Denim bed placed inside fleece.

Tying the knots around the bed.

Plaid Top

Solid Bottom

Lola enjoying her new bed!

Pattern Review

PR: M5410

Pattern Description: Pet Beds

Fabric Used: Fleece

Pattern Size: (S-M-L) I made a large bed for Lola.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This pattern is a no sew pattern but knowing that I would want to wash this pet bed at some point I sewed it prior to tying the knots. Also they have you directly stuffing into the fleece which I did not like either so I made an inner liner out of some left over jean fabric and stuffed that with the stuffing and then stuffed the jean liner into the fleece bed.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I sewed the bed together about three quarters the way around and left a quarter open. I placed the stuffed denim liner into the fleece; I then tied the knots closing the bed up around the denim liner.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: I think this is a great project for both the sewer and non-sewer. Pretty simple and quick!

Happy Sewing!!!

Mail Call…Part Duex

2010-01-27T15:09:00.020-05:00

Oh my goodness…ask and you shall receive. In today’s mail is the elusive Vogue pattern #8369. WOW...the lady at Pattern Mania is fast and the item was so nicely package in a cellophane sleeve and shipping envelope. The UPS man was here as well with my Boucle fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics. I am thrilled to death for now I have some of the components and can now start making the jacket. At the very least get a start on adjusting the pattern and cutting and sewing a muslin mock-up. There are still a few other items I require like the lining and some good sewing thread but that is for another day.

TTFN... Happy Sewing !!!

Mail Call…via Santa Claus aka DD

2010-01-27T13:20:00.001-05:00

In my ongoing lust for a Chanel jacket I am slowly acquiring the resources and references that one needs to construct a jacket of this nature. As in my previous post Mail Call...Another Sewing Goodie I have already acquired "Great Sewn Clothes" from Threads Magazine in which there is a small section on the construction process. My latest acquisition, via Santa Claus aka my daughter, is "Couture Sewing Techniques" by Claire B. Shaeffer. This is truly a fabulous and informative book and one of my favorite gifts to have received for Christmas.

Now I am waiting for that elusive Vogue pattern 8369. The Vogue website still offers this out-of-print pattern but not in the size I need and at a price that is reasonable. While clicking around the other night I was lucky enough to come across a shop on Etsy called Pattern Mania and low and behold she had one pattern and in my size and at a great price! So I am anxiously waiting for this pattern to make an appearance for then I can begin my jacket and participate in the Go Chanel or Go Home blog.

Happy Sewing!!!

Wandering Aimlessly....

2010-01-27T12:32:00.000-05:00

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year has begun. Where have I been? Being as I haven’t posted in over a month, you could say I’ve been wandering aimlessly in the wilderness of what I call my life. Which…isn’t a bad thing.

As always Christmas brings with it the hopelessness of frantically trying to complete each and every project that was planned for presents. This year was no exception with my working right up to two days before Christmas. YIKES. I tell myself each year that I am not going to do this to myself…and each year; the inevitable scrambling to get it all done.

Note to myself: Do not make any more resolutions to get presents done in a timely fashion…it just isn’t happening so why stress yourself out trying to make it happen.

I am satisfied with what I did accomplish and will start posting the projects that were completed after that last DD Christmas Quickie.

As to my lack of posting…I haven’t made anything so why post! I guess that is a good enough excuse. Yes…yes…that has to be it.

Seriously, I just haven’t had the time and kind of stepped off the sewing machine carousel for a month, plus the fact I had to tear down the room for my daughter visiting over the holidays and just the thought of dragging everything back out and resetting the room up was enough to stop me in my tracks. I finally mustered up enough ambition to bring the table and machines back upstairs this past weekend so there is some progress! Maybe I should blame my lack of enthusiasm on the winter and this crappy weather we have been having. Sounds like a plan…

Any whooo….I am anxiously awaiting some boucle fabric I purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics along with an out-of-print pattern from Pattern Mania on Etsy. Maybe once those items get here the creative juices will begin to flow anew. In the mean time I think I will just sit here on the couch, watching the birds, squirrels, turkeys and deer and ponder the meaning of life. Mmmm...that isn't working for me...I think I will go sew.

Happy Sewing!!!

Another Christmas Quickie...

2009-12-16T18:36:00.010-05:00

Did the title peak your interest? Alas it is not what you may be thinking…

Now that I have shamelessly drawn you in…I am working diligently to get all my Christmas sewing projects done before Christmas Eve is upon us; which is only next Thursday!!! Can you believe the holiday is almost here??? Yikes.

I just finished up another gift for my daughter. It is a gift that you can quickly put together with a small amount of materials. My daughter has a body pillow she purchased in Target last year and no longer cares for the cover she purchased with it so I decided I’d make her a new one for Christmas. Prior to heading to Joann’s I thought maybe a plaid flannel fabric…inspiration was lacking when I walked into the store.

Once there I realized I picked the right day to head into Joann’s (Joann.com) for they were having their fleece on sale for $ 2.99/yard. What a bargain and I quickly went about trying to find the perfect fabric for her cover. Because she is into “Western” type gear and decorations I looked for similar designs in the fabric and quickly found the perfect fabric for her. A beautiful royal blue fleece with cowboy boots and horseshoes on it…what luck…literally…horseshoes and luck go hand in hand!!!

To make the pillow cover I purchased an 18 inch zipper, thread and 1 ¼ yds. of 56-60” wide fleece. I cut two rectangles from the fleece that were 21 inches by 55 inches; ½ inch seams are included in those figures.

• Serge one 21 inch edge on each rectangle just skimming the edge and not trimming any fabric off

• Take these serged 21 inch edges of fabric, right sides together, stitch as follows:

• ½ inch seam - start with regular stitching for 1 ½ inches, back tack and then baste where the zipper will be, then back tack at 1 ½ inches and finish with regular stitching. Adjust these measurements based upon your pillow size and zipper.

• Press open and install zipper as you usually would. I use wonder tape to baste the zipper down and then I open out the seams and sew the zipper tabs down on each side of the pressed center seam.

• I then flipped to the right side and top-stitched around the zipper at top, sides and bottom.

• Very carefully remove your basting stitches and open your zipper.

• With rights sides together, sew both long edges and finally the last short edge. I stitched with my conventional machine first and then went back and serged the edges without trimming any fabric. I just skimmed the edges once again.

• Turn right sides out and your are done and now have a wonderful Christmas Quickie pillow cover…Enjoy :-D

Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing…

My Daughter Is Making Out Like A Bandit...

2009-12-13T16:04:00.001-05:00

I am truly enjoying my time making gifts for the holidays. Based upon my previous posts, my daughter is making out like a bandit this week! I have just completed another gift for her for Christmas.

She has always been one who likes special pj’s for Christmas Eve so this year I thought we would continue the tradition but make her some instead. Here is the camisole and bottoms that I made for her yesterday. They came out so cute and were very easy to construct from McCall’s 5248.

Happy Holidays and Happy Sewing!!!

Review Follows for M5248:

PR: 5248

Pattern Description: Misses’ Robe, Belt, Top, Nightgown, Shorts and Pants. I made the camisole top and the full length bottoms.

Fabric Used: Cotton Flannel

Pattern Size: Y (XSml, Sml, Med) I cut a medium

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Looked them over but really didn’t use them

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The pattern was easy to construct, no major difficulties.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made this pattern for my daughter so I adjusted it to fit for her. I corrected the bust point to go along with her measurements and made adjustments for waist and hip differences. I shortened the top 1 inch and added the same lace used at the bust area for trim around the bottom of the camisole. I finished it off with a small bow made from double-faced satin ribbon. On the pj bottoms I lengthened the pants 1 ½ inches and took 2 ½ inches off of the top of the pants due to her liking a lower rise on her pj bottoms. I changed the casing and drawstring as well. For the drawstring I stitched the center front seam and then put a buttonhole on each side of the seam line within the casing area to draw the string through. My daughter prefers to not have her bottoms fall down like they do with just a drawstring so I put 3/4 inch elastic in the casing then stitched it closed and threaded the drawstring in afterwards.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes. This is a fairly easy pattern to sew.

Conclusion: I like how these pjs came out and will more than likely make them again for my daughter as well as myself.

DD Gets Another Early Gift…

2009-12-11T20:49:00.000-05:00

I am on a roll here!!! With notification from my daughter that she was going to make a quick visit home for the day I quickly made up some pillows for her living room from the left over fabric from the snowman wreath I had made earlier.

A few weeks prior to this visit I was perusing the aisles in the Christmas Tree Shop when I came across some bolster pillows that had been marked down from $ 5.99 to $ 2.99. They weren’t exactly in a color I liked but figured…what the heck…you can’t buy the pillow form for that price!!! So I purchased them in the hopes of covering them.

Well…as luck would have it…the left over fabric from the wreath project was perfect to cover these pillows and the project took no time at all to complete. Following is the process I used to make the pillows:

measure the circumference of the pillow and added 1 ¼” for 5/8ths inch seams
(mine were 6” + 1 ¼”, I cut two circles at 7 ¼”)
Measure the width of the pillow and add 1 ¼” for 5/8ths inch seams
Measure around the pillow and add 1 ¼” for 5/8ths inch seams
Cut a rectangle from these measurements.
To be able to remove these covers to wash I added a zipper
First I serged all fabric pieces before constructing the pillow cover. I did not trim off any fabric just skimmed the edges while serging
Taking your rectangle of fabric stitch the width ends together, starting with regular stitching and then basting where your zipper is going to be then back to regular stitching. Remember to back tack at the start and end of your basting. You now have a tube.
Press seam open and install zipper as usual and remove your basting stitches
You will need to place quarter marks on your circle. Fold your circles in half, mark on wrong side at seam line, fold again and mark
Do the same for your sewn tube, these will give you reference points to match up your tube and circles evenly.
I stitched piping that I made from cording and 2” bias cut strips to the circle pieces and then pinned and sewed the circles to the tube.

Viola…two flannel covered bolster pillows to go and one very happy daughter!

Happy Sewing…

An Early Christmas Gift

2009-12-09T10:28:00.003-05:00

Even though Christmas is right around the corner one can not help but give to others a little bit early. Of the many projects sitting in the wings to be completed I decided to help my daughter with decorating her apartment for Christmas. To greet visitors to her new pad I decided to sew up a really cute wreath that appeared in the Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Crafts magazine (You are “Snow” Welcome Wreath, photo page 58, directions page 64 – 65).

When I saw this wreath I figured it would fit perfectly in with her personality and lifestyle. I was right…she loved it and hung it up right away when she got home!!!

Enjoy the holiday season…

What We Won’t Do For Our Children…

2009-12-09T10:19:00.000-05:00

A parents’ love is boundless and what we won’t do for our children is limitless; case in point…our 21 year old daughter and the 21’ Colorado blue spruce in our front yard. She has been, shall we say, “pestering” us to put lights on this tree at Christmas time for the past several years. We have sweetly skirted the issue but finally decided to take the hike up the ladder and hang those lights on the tree this year.

What a project this turned out to be! Two different ladders, a rigged up broomstick with a hook on the end, sixteen sets of C7 multi-colored lights and two “wild & crazy” parents swinging from the branches and we finally have a lighted Christmas tree.

This picture shows how we didn't quite get the lights right on this side of the tree at the top...but the pic is cool because I used the moon as the star for the top of the tree.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!!!

One Smart Cookie…

2009-12-09T09:43:00.001-05:00

Today is a Snow Day and my dog, Lola, has finally figured something out.

“Mmmm….she is saying to herself…I should go outside for when I come back in my Mommy will give me a cookie for sitting nice and getting dried off."

Well…Lola has taken this to the extreme…she has been outside four times within the last hour…she is definitely “One Smart Cookie” and how can you say “NO MORE COOKIES” to a face lake that!!!

Enjoy the Snow!!!

Hurray....it's a SNOW DAY!!!

2009-12-09T06:18:00.004-05:00

With the holidays upon us my time on the computer has diminished. I have been busy sewing and knitting but I just haven't had the time to sit down and blog about it. I’ve taken all sorts of pictures and have posts in mind but the hustle and bustle of the holiday season has slowed me down to a point where time is precious and those Christmas gifts need to be completed before any posting can be done. Oh how I want to tell you about all I’ve accomplished over the past few weeks but time is of the essence, which brings me to today's post…SNOW DAY!

Just the words alone bring back memories of sitting by the radio, listening, hoping and praying the announcer would call your schools name and say the much anticipated words…"Such & Such School is now CLOSED."

Well…today is one of those days…One can only smile in how your lifestyle can be brought to a screeching hault by a tiny, miniscule frozen item when combined with millions of other tiny, frozen flakes to give you a snow prediction of 5-9 inches. To be given the opportunity to take a breath during this busy season and take stock of what truly is important and to slow down if only for a moment is heaven.

I am taking this moment in time to just relax, have a cup of coffee and enjoy the view from my sliding glass door overlooking the deck and the forest below. Oh how I love the freshness of a new fallen snow and watching the birds come to the feeder. It is so peaceful and calming.

Life is good…Enjoy!!!

Mail Call…Another Sewing Goodie

2009-12-01T16:57:00.012-05:00

Through my online web surfing I have come across another sewing blog that has peaked my interest. I stumbled upon the “Go Chanel or Go Home” blog purely by accident and am grateful for that minor “click” that led me in that direction.

I have been interested in making a “Chanel” jacket for sometime and this blog is all about creating your own jacket in combination with sharing your creation process with other fellow “sewists” as well as the internet community who share a similar love for Coco Chanel and her designs.

In wanting to create a “Chanel” jacket I needed more background information on the construction process. That is what brings me to today’s Mail Call…as I quickly rip open the large manila envelope out comes the book I’ve been anxiously awaiting to arrive from Amazon. “Great Sewn Clothes” from Threads Magazine has come home to reside with my collection of sewing books. For me…this is the start of the process in the making of my “Chanel” jacket…I will be devouring pages 8 – 13 once this post is up.

The patterns I have in mind…Vogue 8369 or Vogue 8259. Being as these are out of print patterns I will leave my options open and peruse the other pattern companies for jackets of similar construction as well as reviewing what fellow “Go Chanel or Go Home” bloggers have used.

I am open to suggestions or any ideas as to the most appropriate pattern to use for this process. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Wish me luck on my quest for the couture sewn jacket!

Happy Sewing…

M5142

2009-11-16T22:01:00.003-05:00

PR: M5142

Pattern Description: Misses’ Classic Fit Jeans in two lengths with two waistband treatments

Fabric Used: Non-Stretch Cotton Denim, 12 oz.

Pattern Size: EE Cut a 20 but will need to cut smaller size next time

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes but I did modify the design to fit my taste

Were the instructions easy to follow? Didn’t use them

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The pattern was easy to sew. Being a Palmer/Pletsch I figured that there would be at least an explanation of the flat back pleats in the instructions but there weren’t any. I didn’t need this information but for an inexperienced sewer who doesn’t understand fit they would require an explanation as to what to do with this fit technique.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I participated in the Build A Better Jeans class and didn’t have the opportunity to buy the Jalie 2908 jean pattern that I had wanted to use for this project so had to resort to using this one being as it was readily available locally. I made several alterations to this pattern being as I didn’t like the final shape shown on the pattern envelope and technical drawings. I wanted the jeans to be more like my RTWs so I adjusted the side seam going from the hip area and tapering in at the knee by 1 ½ inches and then flaring back out at the hem. I also did the same for the inseam starting at the crotch tapering in 1 ½ inches at the knee and back out to the flared hem. I shortened the crotch front by 3/8 inch and lengthened the jeans 2 ½ inches. I added 3/8 inch to the waistband to bring it in line with the width of my RTWs. Due to the increased width in the waistband I added some length to the belt loop piece. I didn’t want my side front piece to be all denim so I changed the design cutting the piece from my lining fabric and making a denim piece to overlay half of the side front so that the lower part of the pocket was out of the lighter weight fabric and reducing some bulk in that area. I decreased the width of the ticket pocket and moved its position over a little bit towards the side seam. I moved the back pockets as well not liking where they were sitting on my form. They had them too close to the center back. As far as fitting goes, this pattern offers a generous 1 inch seam allowance but I found I needed to take an additional 1/2 inch to 1 inch more from the waist down to the knee. I did make up the pattern according to my hip size but still needed to make these additional adjustments. Being as these were my “mock-ups” I will have to redraw my pattern downsizing and adjusting it for the additional amount needed to be taken in. I also did the “Rocketboy Waistband” treatment on my jeans. An explanation of this can be found on PR under the Jeans Sew Along thread, page 31 as well as on my blog M5142: The Finishing Touches.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes but if you are looking for a tight fitting jean, this pattern isn’t it, you might want to consider the Jalie 2908 instead using stretch denim with lycra.

Conclusion: All in all I am satisfied with how my jeans turned out. I will be making another pair to try and improve the fit. I liked the fact the jeans were sewn from denim without lycra in it.

M5142: The Finishing Touch

2009-11-16T15:42:00.016-05:00

I am in the home stretch…starting off with my belt loops I did not make them according to the pattern or with the directions that the instructor of our “Build Better Blue Jeans” course gave us. I wanted to eliminate a few layers of bulk so once again I matched up to what my RTW jeans had. I still utilized the belt loop pattern but cut it a little longer being as I wanted to use a thicker belt for these jeans and you need to account for that. I folded and pressed wrong sides together then brought the raw edges into the fold and pressed again. I unfolded the fabric and serged the length of the loop piece ½ way between the first fold and the second fold. I then folded the raw edge in first with the serged edge over it thus making a loop of three layers. Being as my jean fabric is so dark I stitched with my conventional machine down the center of the loop to hold the layers together then topstitched the loop on each edge. Set aside.

Moving on I opted to do a “Rocketboy Waistband." You can find information on this on page 31 of the Jeans Sew Along thread on Pattern Review. I modified some of his techniques being as he utilized glue on a good portion of his band and I prefer not to. The M5142 has two band options of which I chose the one piece band in matching up to my RTW’s.

Up first the interfacing:

I used a fusible interfacing but in an unconventional way. Being as the waist seam is 1” I folded the band on the fold and pressed lightly on the fold only to fuse together. I trimmed 1” off one side then pressed remaining side down being sure not to touch the exposed fusible with the iron.

I then trimmed ¾” off the exposed fusible edge.

Fold the denim waistband, wrong sides together and press. Open back out and mark the 1” seam line on the wrong side then trim 7/8” off of the other edge. I left 1/8” for turning ease and too make sure the band gets caught when topstitched.

Turn band over so your cut edge is face up

Mark a ½” line from the fold.

Stick down the basting tape along this line, peel and stick your fashion fabric down right sides together along the basting tape line. Do 6-8” at a time then peel some more and stick down until complete.

Flip the band over, open flat and darken your fold line with your marking pencil/pen. You will be stitching close to the fold on the side that was previously trimmed. Do not stitch on the 1” seam side of the fold. I matched the fold up with the center of my foot and offset my needle from the center position and stitched.

I removed my basting tape and pressed the fashion fabric towards the cut side of the denim. Because you stitched approximately 1/8” away from the fold you will now have a small amount of jean fabric that will be showing.

Flip your band over having fabrics laying flat. Now press your fashion fabric over your trimmed edge encasing the raw edge being careful not to press out the center fold.

You will notice my fashion fabric is over the center fold line; I trimmed it down to 5/8” and pressed it down with stitch witchery.

Take your interfacing and place inside the fold with the fusible side down against the 1” seam line. Close the band to set the interfacing in place, it will shift a small amount away from the fold. Open out again, press the fusible down. I remarked my 1” stitching line on the interfacing.

I used the rotary cutter to cut my waistband and fashion fabric out in doing so I cut them with some extra length to deal with any fitting issues. Make sure you leave an appropriate amount over-hanging each end by the zipper opening before sewing the waist seam. Stitch your waistband to the top of your jeans.

Trim and grade your seam allowances. Sew the ends of your waistband at the zipper and fly guard, trim, turn, press and then I hand stitched the waistband down.

Topstitch ¼” around the edge. My RTW’s were edge stitched but I knew I’d have issues going through the layers and opted for ¼” topstitching instead. Cut your belt loops to size, fold over edges and stitch to the jeans according to your preference. I bar tacked mine down based upon the RTW’s.

With the extra piece of fabric that was cut off my waistband when I attached it I practiced making buttonholes with my automatic buttonholer. Oh…it came beautifully(my pic is a little blurry)…but when put to test on the jeans themselves…it was a…NO GO…due to the layers of fabric and the foot getting stuck so I had to go with making a buttonhole the old fashioned way. It came out ok…not the best but it will work. Besides it is only going to get covered up by a belt anyway.

Finally…THE HEM…

Whooo Hooo….a completed pair of jeans that actually fit my long legs!!!

Please Note: Measurements were based upon the M5142 pattern seams and you will need to adjust those measurements according to your patterns seam allowance.

Update: 11/18/09

I've mentioned throughout my posts on these jeans that I was taking an online sewing class (Build Better Jeans) offered through Pattern Review by Shannon Gifford of Sensible Sewing. I know I set up links on the "Mail Call" post but I don't believe I've added any other links. Please visit these links for more information. The class was very informative and the instructor was extremely helpful and had wonderful materials that you could print out and keep for future reference.

M5142 Jeans: The Perfect Fit

2009-11-16T09:25:00.006-05:00

The jean saga continues and is rapidly approaching its completion. This project has been a fun one and has moved onto the quest of achieving the perfect fit. The leg inseams have been sewn and topstitched and the crotch and side seams are basted and tested for fit.

I pin basted the side seams and marked the inside with a basting line and stitched together. Retried the jeans and adjusted again. The M5142 offers a generous 1” seam allowance but I found I needed to take an additional ½” to 1” more from the waist down to the knee. I did make up the pattern according to my hip size and I previously had adjusted the pattern taking out 1 ½” from both sides of the front and back legs tapering at the knee and flaring out at the hem. This pattern has a classic fit with it being pretty straight from hip to hem and I didn’t like that design so I had adjusted it to match my RTW jeans. Being as these were my “mock-ups” I will have to downsize my pattern and adjust for the additional amount needed to be taken in. All in all they have turned out well.

The next challenge consisted of matching up the yoke and crotch seams and getting over the “hump” created by all those layers of jean fabric! A hammer and towel help to soften up the "hump" area as well as a size 18 topstitching needle. I fabricated a homemade "Jean-A-Ma-Jig" which was aided in getting over these seams too.

I matched my topstitching in this area to what was sewn on my RTW jeans.

For the side seams I did the same. My RTW’s had the seams pressed to the back and topstitched from the waist to the end of the pocket and bar tacked.

Next post I’ll move onto total completion of these jeans installing the waistband, belt loops and buttonhole/button.

Anticipation...

2009-11-15T22:03:00.002-05:00

Ok…here’s the deal…my jeans project seems to be taking longer than anticipated. Technically I have completed sewing on my project but haven’t had the opportunity to put everything all together on this blog. Not because I haven’t had time to sew or do laptop work but because I had to tear my “room” down due to my daughter visiting for the weekend.

As I have told you before I have “liberated” my daughter’s room being as she has moved into an apartment while finishing her final year of college. Unfortunately for me, when she comes home to visit, the room has to get torn down and a makeshift bedroom set up for her stay. I am happy with her coming and getting the chance to visit and spend time with her but now that she is heading back up North I will once again set the sewing room back up. Total tear-down time with bedroom set-up: 1 hr. 45 mins.

Mmmm….I am hoping I can set the room up more quickly this week for I do want to get back to my sewing. “Sew” many new projects await…the anticipation is killing me! ;-)

…more tomorrow on my M5142 jeans.

M5142 Jeans: Front Pockets

2009-11-15T20:34:00.002-05:00

I know my progress may seem staggeringly slow but I’m back after having taken the weekend off. It is now time for me to continue with my jean making by completing my front pockets on the M5142 jeans. The pattern calls for you to cut the complete side front (#2) out of denim but I wanted to make them more like my RTW jeans. I modified the side front pattern by creating a piece that was at least half of the side front and cut that out of denim and then cut the (#2) piece out of my lining fabric.

I also resized my ticket pocket based on my RTW and moved the placement. Serge bottom edge of the jean piece on left front and finished top of ticket pocket and pressed under the sides of ticket pocket. Pin ticket to right front jean piece, mark for topstitching and then topstitch.

I didn’t turn under the bottom of the ticket pocket it will get trimmed off when the piece is serged.

Place jean pieces onto the wrong side of the lining piece and sew down with the conventional machine around all edges of the denim piece for both left and right side fronts.

With the wrong side of the front pocket lining against the right side of the denim front, stitch pocket seam, press, turn, clip if necessary.

Pull the jean fabric over the pocket edge so that the lining stays to the inside and topstitch.

Sewing the pocket linings together.

Here is the front of my jeans all finished along with and inside view. I chose to sew my pocket with the wrong side of my lining because I wanted to see my fashion fabric on the inside of the jeans. I am satisfied with how they are beginning to look.

Up next…the inside leg seam and center back seams.

Catcha on my next posting...Happy Sewing

The “Flies or Fly’s” have it….

2009-11-11T10:05:00.005-05:00

Well…it is that time of year and we are experiencing an “Indian-type Summer” here in the Northeast. Very unusual indeed…and along with this shot of warm weather comes the inevitable swarms of what I like to call “Big-Dumb-Flies”!!! They are every where…there is one that is persistently bothering me while I am typing this on the laptop…oh how I’d love to swat it but for fear of breaking my LCD screen I am refraining….he lives to annoy another day! Ha…ha…ha

Well any who…this post is not about flies…at least flies of that ilk. I am talking about the fly on jeans today! My jean project continues and I am working on the front zipper fly portion.

I have chosen to install my zippered fly according to the standard method. There is a quicker streamlined method the instructor recommended but I kind of like the looks of this method. Since I’m not pumping these babies out in an assembly line it is ok if this takes a few minutes more. I don’t mind…

As I said before, these jeans are basically my mock ups so I am trying different things to see what works best for me. The instructor had recommended a metal zipper but I wanted to go for “fun” and am installing a nylon one. My reasoning…I wanted something to go along with the coloring of my fly guard. I know…you don’t see this from the outside but I know it is there on the inside and I picked a print from my stash that was “fun” so in keeping with the theme my zipper is going to be red and nylon.

The installation went smoothly and here are some pictures of the finished product. I still need to add the bar tack to keep the fly guard in place.

I’ll be moving on to the front pockets, which I have modified as well.

See you tomorrow & Happy sewing ;-)

(click on picture for a larger view)

...It's A Jeans' Thing

2009-11-11T08:56:00.009-05:00

This past week I have ventured into the world of jean making. I have always wanted to make jeans but never really followed through and sewn any. I’ve sewn on denim before making my brother a denim storm-duster jacket but never a pair of jeans. I’ve recently signed up for a course through Pattern Review and would like to share with you my jean making process.

For my first pair of jeans I’ve chosen McCall’s pattern 5142. It was recommended by the instructor and readily available. I’ve also purchased the Jalie 2908 pattern which I plan on using for my next pair of jeans. The reviews on the Jalie pattern have been wonderful so I am looking forward to getting the chance to construct my second pair of jeans from that pattern.

In starting this process I have altered my pattern to hopefully fit my body proportions. I know I should make a muslin first but I have a ton of jean fabric in my stash and pretty much am using this first pair as my mock up. If they fit fine…if not…that is ok I will have at least gotten the opportunity to work on the concepts taught in the jean making class.

First up…Seams. (click on picture for a larger view)

Traditional fell seam without using a fell-foot as seen below

I used ¼” quilters tape to make sure my seams are even and straight.

Mock fell seam using my standard machine and the serger.

I’ve chosen to use the mock fell seam technique.

Up Next…Back Yoke (click on picture for a larger view)

Sewing the yoke with the standard machine then I went back and trimmed 1/8" off with the serger then pressed and topstitched.

Here are the results:

Now for the Pockets... (click on picture for a larger view)

I did not cut the pockets out. I left the material uncut then traced the pocket pattern onto the jean material. I backed each pocket piece with iron-on, tear-away stabilizer. From here I designed my stitching for the back pocket and created a template to mark two of the lines to start my stitching off with and then used my 1/4" quilters tape from there to create successive stitching lines.

Stabilizer being applied. Tracing design What it looks like before sewing.

First lines of stitching. Peeling 1/4" tape off. Sewing more lines.

The final result. Notice I ran the stitching over the pocket lines. In removing the tear away stabilzer this helps maintain your stitching without putting stress on the stitching right at the pocket cutting line. Thus avoiding your stitching coming out on the pocket itself.

Remove stabilizer, cut pocket out, press for attachment to jean backs.

What the backs look like with the pockets attached.

I'm not using rivets this first time so I bar tacked at the top of the pockets.

I didn't give you a full shot view of the template before. Here it is on the pocket after stitching.

Being as I made my design symmetrical I flipped the template to draw the second line.

Stay tuned...will be doing some fly work next.

Mail Call…..Sewing Goodies

2009-11-05T16:38:00.005-05:00

I was just ecstatic today to find the order I placed from Pattern Review sitting in my mailbox. I have excitedly anticipated this packages’ coming in the mail. I thought it would be in yesterday’s mail but was sadly disappointed when I opened the mailbox to find only bills and junk mail. Ugh!!! However, today has more than made up for yesterday’s disappointment.

What have I been so eagerly awaiting???

Patterns of course….to be more specific, patterns by a company named Jalie. I have never purchased any of these patterns before but was so enticed into purchasing them based upon the sewing reviews at Pattern Review. The patterns I purchased were the Jalie 2908 Jeans pattern and Jalie 2805 knit top pattern. What is so wonderful about these patterns is the fact they include 27 sizes, ranging from little girls (ages 2 – 13) on up to Women’s (sizes 4 – 22).

I am very excited to receive these but will have to wait to use them because I am presently taking an online jean making class “Build Better Jeans” by Shannon Gifford of “Sensible Sewing” through the PatternReview.com website. I’ve already committed my jean fabric to another pattern for this class M5142 but have enough “stash” to make a pair from the Jalie pattern when I’m done with the course. I can’t wait!!!

As to the other special sewing goodie that came along with my patterns. It is a book that I’ve wanted to get and finally splurged on for myself. It is “Cool Couture” by Kenneth D. King…looking forward to perusing those pages tonight while watching Project Runway!

Venture on back for a visit to see how those M5142 jeans turn out and I will be posting on the Jalie patterns as well.

Happy sewing…

Lined Valance Without A Pattern

2009-10-29T15:25:00.097-04:00

Decide on finished size of your valance based upon your window measurements.

My Valance: 49 ¾ inches wide by 14 ¾ inches long

For the valance width I added the following:

1/2 inch side right seam allowanc
1/2 inch left side seam allowance

Cutting Width: 50 ¾ inches

For the valance length I added the following:

1/2 inch top seam allowance
2 ¼ inch header
1/2 inch bottom seam allowance
5 ¼ inch hem

Cutting Length: 23 ¼ inches

Valance Final Cutting Dimension: 50 ¾ inches wide by 23 ¼ inches long

These figures were based upon how long I wanted my valance and that was determined by the pattern repeat in the wildlife print fabric I used. I wanted to make the most out of an expensive fabric and didn’t want to waste or ruin any cuts I’d be making to the remaining unused fabric that I will be making cushions and pillows out of at a later date.

Valance Lining: Cut fabric 50 ¾ inches wide by 8 ¾ inches long

Construction:

Due to the loose weave of the wildlife print I serged all the edges without taking any material off
Do the same on the lining edges
Right sides facing sew the lining and print together along one of the 50 ¾ inch edges.
Press the seam open and stitch down the pressed seam on the lining side only, ¼ inch away from pressed center seam (did this so rod doesn't get caught in seam).
On the other 50 ¾ inch edge turn under ½” and stitch down.
Your valance and lining are now all one piece
Hem edge: with right sides together fold up the hem 5 ¼”, baste edges. Do not turn right side out.
Header edge: With right sides together fold your valance so that the top (wildlife print) has 2 ¼ inches folded down and the lining is laying flat on top of the hem edge you just turned up. The lining should overlap over the turned up hem edge. Pin down
You will be stitching both side seam edges closed breaking at the 2 ¼ inch header mark and restarting the stitching 1 ½ inches down from the header. This will leave an opening to create your casing for your curtain rod.
Turn valance right side out tucking your lining under your hem. Press valance making sure you keep the 2 ¼ inch header and the 5 ¼ inch hem.
Hand stitch hem closed to lining.
Stitch in the ditch at 2 ¼” for top of your rod casing
Stich 1 ½” away for the bottom of your casing.
Valance is now complete and ready to hang

Header

Hem

Back of Valance

Finished window with the valance and the roman shade.

B6677

2009-10-29T14:37:00.003-04:00

PR: B6677

Pattern Description: Easy To Do Shades

Fabric Used: Broadcloth, Drapery Lining Fabric

Pattern Size: N/A

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Pretty much straight sewing on the view I made (View B). Very easy!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made valances to go with the shades. The ribbon trim that View B called for would have detracted from the look I wanted so I didn’t sew that on. Next time around I would use a heavier drapery cord than what I purchased.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: I really like the pattern, too bad it is now out of print.

M5682

2009-10-28T13:36:00.018-04:00

PR: M5682

Pattern Description: Misses’ and Women’s Character Costumes

Fabric Used: Cotton Gingham, Symphony Broadcloth, Light-Weight Cotton Lining

Pattern Size: Cut a size 14

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The pattern was easy to sew. I did not like how the empire waistline was finished in regards to the elastic casing and using the seams themselves as the casing. Considering the dress would be getting taken on and off and that gingham fabric frays easily I took and covered the raw seam edges with ¼” bias seam binding. It gave the inside of the garment a more professional finish.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: The pattern did not offer a short sleeve version so I shortened the sleeve 1 ½” beyond the upper most elastic casing. I gave the sleeve a 1” hem and trimmed sleeve with 1 ½” pre-gathered single-edged lace and rick rack. Also, due to the lightness of the gingham fabric I added a full skirt lining underneath out of light-weight cotton.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes

Conclusion: If the opportunity arose again and my daughter needed another Halloween costume I’d make this or one of the variations.

In addition to the outfit we conjured up some ruby red slippers. We purchased an inexpensive pair of flats, spray painted them red and then brushed thinned-down Ailene's Tacky Glue on them and sprinkled with red glitter. We made bows out of 1" ribbon and applied glue and glitter. Let both dry and then hot glued the bows onto the shoes.

At a later date I hope to have pics of "Dorothy" and her "Scarecrow" to show how the outfit looked.

Enjoy!

Ma Ma Ma…Marvelous Myrna

2009-10-21T19:51:00.011-04:00

Pray tell…who is Myrna you ask???

Myrna just arrived today after a quick trip up 87 from the borough of Queens in NYC. Even though her trip here was rather short it is anticipated that she will be with us for an extended stay. I have waited almost a lifetime for her to get here and can’t wait to start working with her on the various projects we have planned together, first up being a jacket by Simplicity Patterns that I just fell in love with.

If you haven’t quite figured this one out yet, Myrna is the name I have given my dress form that I have recently purchased. She is stunning from the tip of her neck post, to the padded linen body, right on down to the cast iron of her feet.

The search for Myrna has been an elusive one. After having taken a brief hiatus from sewing I have been recently inspired by the Lifetime series Project Runway. As happen stance would have it, a fellow e-blogger has been a source of inspiration as well with her web presence and online tutorials on You Tube.

With the fire of my inner-seamstress being relit the quest to find a reasonably priced dress form commenced. My search began online with checking out reviews on the more easily accessible dress forms offered by Dritz and Singer. The search engines took me to numerous websites that offered these forms for sale. In reading these reviews I wasn’t too sure I wanted to invest the $$ they were charging for this type of dress form. I am more of a hands-on type person and like to see and touch what I am purchasing.

Recently, during one of Joann's (Joann.com) $ 0.99 pattern sales I got the opportunity to observe the Dritz forms up close. For me, I was not impressed. They do offer the wonderful feature of being able to adjust the form to your measurements but I did not like the space that is left open when you make those adjustments. Yes, you could cover your form in a sheath to compensate for this but then you still are compromising the fit and hang of your garment due to the gaps especially if you are on the large end of your forms dress size. I wasn’t too enthused about the product quality either, they seemed kind of flimsy. If I was going to invest that kind of money on something like this I really wanted to get the quality for the dollars spent.

My search continues…

I stumbled upon several very nice websites for dress forms that are used by designers and fashion school students. One of these sites Fabulous Fit offers a wide variety of forms and the quality of the product offered is definitely worth the money spent. Another site to consider as well would be PGM. Having said this I still continued on with my search because these forms were a little more than my budget would allow for.

Up next….E-bay

I then proceeded to check E-bay for any offerings and low and behold a hit came back from my search. A company (LaModel), located in Queens, NY was offering a sale on their professional dress forms. They were also offering the product as a “buy-it-now” auction/sale. I was definitely impressed with the price being as the form was on sale and was more than half the cost of the Fabulous Fit form. It was also comparable in price to the flimsy, My Double Deluxe Dritz form and the quality was so much better. The only down side of these forms is that they do not match your measurements exactly but you can compensate for that by purchasing a form that closely matches your measurements and padding your form where necessary.

This company’s form fit into my budget and I placed an order for my size dress form. I was definitely impressed with the company’s response time. I ordered my form on E-bay October 18th and it was sitting on my front porch when I got home from work on October 20th. Wow….

I was so excited to see it sitting there that everything came to a stand still upon entering the house. I immediately opened the shipping carton and was impressed with the packing of the product. They do ship it unassembled and being my husband was out of town some ingenuity in putting it together by me was in order. It didn’t take long, overall maybe 20 minutes and Myrna was standing there before me in all her linen glory.

I am so pleased that Myrna has decided to come and stay with me; she is now a key source of my inspiration and I can not wait to start utilizing her.

As I mentioned earlier a fellow e-blogger (Mimi Goodwin) offers several tutorials online. Up first for me…draping…looking forward to it!!!

P.S. Please Note: Myrna’s size identity has been concealed in order to protect the body measurements of the innocent…or as the case may be, her sewing partner...me. ;-)

Happy sewing…

Felted Purse ~ The Pink Lady

2009-10-19T20:18:00.083-04:00

Last fall while visiting my daughter at college we ventured off campus and into Lake Placid for some shopping. The previous week she had gone into a yarn shop with a girlfriend and had seen a felted purse she just had to have. In her minds eye, she thought by bringing me to that very store, she could bat her baby blues at me and give me that “oh-so-forlorn” look and I would then purchase said purse.

Mother’s Please Take Note: Even though they do grow up into young adults they still remain children at heart and look to receive “goodies” from their parents whenever an opportunity might present itself.

In we went and proceeded over to the rack where the purse was hanging amongst the various wool yarns. It was a sweet purse. My daughter just had to inquire with the sales lady as to whether it was being offered for sale. Unfortunately for my daughter, said purse was not for sale. The salesperson directed us to a rack of knitted items for sale that included other felted purses. These purses were beautiful but the price on them was more than I was willing to pay…no matter how beautiful my daughter’s blue eyes are when she is batting them at me in anticipation I was not going to pay that price for something I know I could make for considerably less money and have an end result that would be even better than the store model.

I had always wanted to try felting so we perused the yarn selections and decided we would make one similar to the store model. The sales assistant pulled the pattern for us and guided us to the correct wool yarn. The purse requires a button closure so we made a selection from the beautiful hand blown glass buttons on display.

This is one of the reasons I do love to shop in a “Specialty” yarn shop. You may pay a little bit more for your yarn purchases but the unique items they have are not offered in your big box chain stores.

The pattern is called “The Pink Lady” and is a “Designs by Shelley” pattern. The designer states right from the get go:

“You are going to LOVE this bag! It is so easy, it can be done in one day…done all in one piece, it is a cinch to knit and will make a great gift for that special friend or family member. Make one in all your favorite colors…takes so little time, you’ll be making one for every outfit! Knit Away!” –Shelley Boardman

I loved this pattern and it was indeed easy and could be completely knit in one day. Following are the materials that I used to make this project:

• Approx. 200 yds. BULKY weight, 100% wool yarn
• Size 13 or 15 – 24” Circular needles
• Button

Note: To create my bulky yarn I used a strand of each of the following knit as one:
2 (50g/109 yd) skeins POEMS 100% wool by Wisdom Yarns, Color 172
1 (4 oz/190 yd) skein of Lambs Pride, worsted weight wool
85% wool/15% mohair, Color M191 Kiwi

The project was completed in no time!!!

Purse prior to being felted.

(Click picture to enlarge)

The part that I was dreading and most anxious about came up next…

I had never felted anything before purposely! Oh Yes…I am one of the “chosen” who have accidentally shrunk wool sweaters to the point of them being made unwearable by its owner. To do this on purpose is a difficult concept to overcome for the fear of ruining the project. I had my reservations as to what the results would be. I dove in and followed the designer’s directions and low and behold a beautifully felted purse appeared as I lifted the washing machine door. It had shrunk down to size rather nicely and had a nice heft to it.

Purse after being machine felted.

(Click picture to enlarge)

In completing this project I made a few modifications. I am one who does not like unfinished looks. For me a purse without a lining is like a flower without its pedals. It has to be as beautiful on the inside as the out.

It doesn’t take much to line the purse and each one will shrink differently so there is no set pattern. I just traced out a lining a little larger than the purse itself plus seam allowances. I added a few pockets and compartments for those necessary things we all like to carry and stitched them on prior to sewing the main lining seam together.

Prior to installing the main purse lining, I also cut a rectangular piece of fabric a little longer than the strap and added seam allowances. I turned under the long edges and hand stitched this in place first. I lined the closure tab as well. Because I was using a glass button I decided there would be less stress on the shank of the button and less chance of it breaking if I just made it more of a decorative closure. Due to this I sewed Velcro to the purse and to the tab lining before sewing in the linings. Install the tab lining and then turn under the edges of the purse lining and hand stitch in place. Sew your glass button on and VOILA one fashionable felted purse.

Purses prior to being felted.

(Click pictures to enlarge)

My daughter loved her purse so much that she wanted me to make two more for her girlfriends as Christmas gifts. Here are the before and after pics of them as well:

Green Purse
• 1 (4 oz./190 yd) skein Lambs Pride, worsted weight, Color M210 Forest Shadows
• 1 (4 oz./190 yd) skein Lambs Pride, worsted weight, Color M120 Limeade

Pink Purse
• 1 (4 oz./190 yd) skein Lambs Pride, worsted weight, Color M200 Strawberry Smoothie
• 1 (4 oz./190 yd) skein Lambs Pride, worsted weight, Color M120 Limeade

The yarn combinations are endless that is what is so great about knitting this purse. At some point I plan on knitting one for myself too. This turned out to be a win-win situation for my daughter and myself; ultimately I did give into the purchase of the purse, in a manner of speaking …in her eyes she scored a purse while I got the opportunity to learn a new concept in the process. No losers there…

Plans for this and many other felted purse projects are found on the designer’s website, “Designs by Shelley”, and can be purchased for a modest fee of $5.

Give this project a shot...you will not be disappointed!

Happy Felting....

Lighting My Sewing Space

2009-10-18T17:43:00.005-04:00

Ok…one can’t say enough for having adequate light to sew by. We live in a rather small house and my sewing space has previously been the dining room table. With my daughter being in her senior year at college and living in her own apartment I have commandeered her room and turned it into my temporary sewing space. On this particular day I decided to finally get the room together and get it lit properly.

What I had been using previously was two, rather small desk lamps and the light of the machines themselves along with the two windows. Needless to say this was not working. Trying to sew in a cave-like atmosphere is not conducive to being very productive. Basically when the sun went down the sewing ceased to continue.

On Friday I decided that I’d head to our local Target store after work and pick up the necessary lighting that would make my life easier. I figured I’d be able to buy what I needed and be back home prior to dinner time and have the room set up while dinner was in the oven. Mmmmm…best laid plans never work out as one anticipates!!!

While putting my light together I noticed the switch wasn’t working correctly. I continued on anyway and got the floor lamp put together and ready for the installation of the bulbs. Well…I was right about the switch…it was bent in an odd direction and when turned would only light one portion of the three-way bulb. I proceeded to test out the new bulbs I had purchased as well…and guess what…they were glowing only one-way. Unbelievable…

Knowing I really wanted to get back up and sewing on Saturday I decided to head back out and make the 40 mile round trip to Target once again. Only issue this time…rush hour traffic on a Friday evening heading to the mall…UGH. Upon arriving at the store I was greeted at the service desk cordially with the return only taking five minutes. With money in hand I headed back to the lighting department to get another light, except this time I decided on a different floor lamp.

Lesson Learned: You get what you pay for…I “cheapened” out on the first light and paid for it in lost time. Never again…

Back home and the new light went together without any issues. Thank goodness…I did not want to repeat that process again! I made dinner and proceeded to spend the next five hours picking stuff up and getting things situated to my liking. By 12:30 AM I’d had enough and retired for the evening knowing I’d be able to start sewing the next day.

• Two Trips to the Mall = $20
• Going 40 miles out of your way = $10 plus another 1.5 hours of your time
• Spending extra $$$ on a second lamp = $30
• Having a room that is well lit….PRICELESS :-D

Onward…

And so it begins...

2009-10-18T17:10:00.002-04:00

Recently I have been inspired by what I have viewed in other individuals blogs so thought that I would give this a shot and create a blog about my adventures in crafting and share the knowledge that I have gained over the years.

I suppose a little background information on who I am and where my “craftiness” had its beginnings would be in order. I am a “forty-something” wife, mother and “Jane of all Trades...” I do work outside the home part-time doing computer work for a local highway department but my passion is for crafting, hiking and white water kayaking.

As with many working Moms I’ve had to juggle the various hats one has to wear. My husband and I have made it through the extremely busy high school years and the activities that accompany it with our daughter. In recent years that busy lifestyle has gradually decreased as our daughter has gotten older and has become more independent while attending college. We are now in the twilight of the college experience with her being in her senior year. There is “light” at the end of the proverbial “college” tunnel.

As to the origins of my crafting abilities I can say with 100% assuredness that my Mom has taught me most of what I know. My father contributed as well being an excellent carpenter and craftsman who was meticulous in everything he did right down to the smallest detail. My mom is an accomplished artist in her own right. She draws, paints, sews, knits and is a wonderful cook. What I didn’t learn from my parents has been self-taught. My all time favorite hobbies are sewing and knitting. But I also love to paint (oil, acrylic, and watercolor), crochet, help my husband with his woodworking projects as well as porcelain doll crafting from pouring the mold right down to dressing the doll, and in general…love starting any new crafting project. At the present…wood burning on gourds holds a special interest that I haven’t followed through with yet. But hopefully sometime soon….

So…now that you have some background information let us enter….

“My Adventures in Crafting…”

Welcome & Enjoy!!!

~michele aka Mimi O