This and that

1. Do not sew at midnight, people. Nothing good happens at midnight. I made a series of unfortunate decisions with my hoodie that will require a few hours with a seam ripper this weekend. Gah. I wanted to wear the hoodie today, but that just isn't going to happen.

(Since when did I get picky anyway? Life was a lot easier when I didn't care if something was a bit off.)

2. Me-Made-May '12: Zoe's latest Me-Made challenge led to a bunch of thoughtful posts around blogworld, and the aspect of challenging yourself got me started to think about what I wanted to get out of Me-Made-May.




Since I started sewing, I've tapered down on shopping for clothes, and basically, at this point, I really don't buy RTW at all. (I bought a pair of jeans recently, but I think that was the only RTW I've bought in 12 months.) There's not much point - I have plenty of fabric, and I can sew. So, getting to wear the clothes you make doesn't really apply to me - I sort of do it anyway, just out of necessity. (I have plenty of RTW in my wardrobe though, and I do wear it often, however, any replacements for worn-out things are self-sewn.)

But I adore the community aspect of Me-Made! I love the enthusiasm people show, I love seeing how people wear their creations, and I love the whole idea of integrating your self-sewn wardrobes with your every day life. 

I'll be honest, in recent months, I haven't been approaching Me-Made with the same enthusiasm though. On the last challenge, I decided it was too much of a chore to participate. The previous one (June '11), I abandoned half-way. I enjoyed playing in March '11, in September '10 (though evidently I never did a round-up post), but I was my most enthusiastic in May '10.

This is ridiculous, of course. Internet challenges are entirely voluntary - why would I do them without enthusiasm?

So, my personal Me-Made-May '12 challenge - to enjoy the process. To enjoy taking my photo - to enjoy posting it on Flickr, to enjoy writing little blog posts about them. Oh, and if I can do it with more style? That would be pretty awesome too.

Wow, that was a marathon of writing. I now have nothing more to say. :)

Purple flowered Vogue 8667 - this year's birthday dress

Around this time of year, thoughts usually turn to stitching a birthday dress. Last year, I made my blue knit dress - a wardrobe favorite! This year, due to the time constraints of the SWAP, I needed to sew a dress that would also fit into the SWAP - sewing TNTs concept, and so I turned to Vogue 8667. 

Fun little fabric fact - I bought it with a gift certificate my friend Anna gave me for my birthday last year. Birthday present fabric to make a birthday dress? Score! I love this fabric - it's a stretch cotton - it's quite thick, and doesn't need to be lined, simplifying the sewing tremendously.

What a lovely and easy dress to sew! The cotton made the sewing and the pressing super-easy. The pattern is really well drafted, with clearly marked petite lines. I folded as instructed, and everything came together swimmingly. (For the neckline, I could have drafted facings, but instead, I used a bias-binding strip, attaching it to the neck, and hand-tacking it down.)

Normally, I view any sort of hand-sewing as a failure. However, with this print, any normal hem was going to be visible, and I don't know how to sew an invisible hem by machine. So, I painstakingly hand-stitched the hem, the sleeve hem and the binding to the neck. Aargh. Would have taken me less time to learn how to use the blind-hem foot. 

The dress is a bit snug on me, no? My birthday's 10 days away. I guess I could try forgetting to eat from now until then. Or, Spanx. (In all probability, knowing both my love for food, and my love for comfort, neither scenario will happen.)

Still, I'm really quite pleased about the dress. (My cousin really has a gorgeous back yard - it makes for really fantastic photo taking! Check out that tree in the background!)

Oh, and the SWAP countdown? 4 pieces to go. 

I have too much fabric...

So, King Textiles in Toronto is moving (around the corner, so not a big move), and they had a sale recently - a bunch of fabric for 20% off. (Not really much of a sale, since you can get 10% off anytime, really.)

Still, I went. Wisely though, I had a strategy - I recruited a male, non-interested-in-sewing friend to follow me around the store and keep telling me I have too much fabric. It worked - sort of - I only bought 4 pieces of fabric.

In any case, I really have too much fabric. And the reason I'm reminding myself of this is that this weekend, I'm going to be in New York*, visiting family. I'll be in the burbs most of the weekend, but on Friday, I'll be in the city, and I've carved out an hour or so to go see some fabric. The last time I was in New York, I went a bit crazy, and bought ~15 pieces of fabric. As best I know, I've only sewn up 1 piece - which strongly suggests I really shouldn't buy anything. But of course, my will power has a way of eroding when I'm in a store...

Sadly, the Museum at FIT is closed for Easter.

In other news, my Vogue dress for the SWAP is done. I've also discovered that my planned trip to Florida for a friend's wedding is not the last weekend in April, but the first weekend in May. Super! Now, I have two more weeks to finish.


* I would have loved to meet up with my fellow sewing bloggers! Alas, I'm going to be busy with family stuff, and I'm assuming everyone will be doing the same, since it's Easter weekend.

 

2012 First Quarter sewing

A quarter of the year is over, dear Readers, and it seemed time for a catch-up post on what I've sewed. I had the hardest time making last year's end-of-the-year list, and I figured it would be easier if I did it every quarter, no?

So, here's what I've sewn in the first quarter of 2012:

Dresses:
1. Greige version of BWOF 09-2010-122. (March)
2. Winter orange dress - modified BWOF 02-2009-108 (January)

Tops:
1. Flowered top - Simplicity 2936 (March)
2. Light green & white shirt - McCalls 6035 (March)
3. Lace top - BWOF 02-2009-108 (January)
4. Cowl-neck t-shirt in browns and blues - McCalls 6078 (February)
5. Red t-shirt - Simplicity 2933 (February)
6. Black and tan shirt - modified BWOF 02-2011-114 (January)
7. Grey and pink version of BWOF 06-2011-106 (January)

Pants:
1. Grey pants - drafted from RTW (February)
2. A pair of pants not on the blog yet.

I always find these kinds of lists interesting - to see what I default to. Evidently, this quarter, it was tops. I do need tops, though I'm not sure still if I'm making the kind of tops I really need (solids, not prints.)

Also, 11 things sewn, keeping rough pace with my 1 garment a week output of last year. I plan to slow this down next quarter - I have a lot of travel coming up, and I want to start sewing more involved projects, not quick-and-easy pieces.

How has your first quarter of 2012 been? Talk to me. :)

The State of the SWAP

Dear readers, the deadline draws nearer! And it turns out, I have 5! patterns to sew in 2 weeks. Aargh. How do I manage to end up in this situation?

Anyway, I have a couple of aces in my pocket, if you will.(Small aces.) If I really run out of time, I have a couple of t-shirts and one button-down shirt that I made in the time period that I haven't included, so maybe, I'll just use one of those?

Sewing pattern review: BWOF 09-2010-122

Dear readers, if there's one dress I've sewn that I've reached for over and over again, it's my blue version of BWOF 09-2010-122. This dress is lovely, it makes me feel effortlessly stylish, and it works well with a cardigan and tights when it's cooler, and by itself when it's warm. I've worn it to work, I've worn it to parties, I've worn it cleaning... (ok, that last bit is a lie...) I don't think I can overstate how much I love this dress. 

And so, when I was thinking through simplifying my SWAP plans, I was pretty sure I'd be making another version of this dress. 

And here it is, and how I love this version as well! Do I look smug? I feel smug. 

Review stuff:

This time around, I didn't even bother looking at the instructions - I looked quickly at my last version, and got to it. The pattern is incredibly well-drafted, and the numbers on the corners that show you what seam to match up with is all you need to sew this dress. 

Sizing - I cut a size 19 on top, size 20 on the bottom. I shortened it too, I took about 3-4 inches off the original length - this version hits just below the knee.

Other things: 

- The 2.5 dot rating on this top is completely bogus, atleast if you leave off the sleeve flaps. Super easy. I made it in 2 hours, and I'm not fast. 

- As before, I left off the sleeve flaps. I can't see myself in sleeve flaps. 

- I interfaced the armsyce and then just folded it back and sewed down. For the neckline, I contemplated interfacing it, but then got lazy and didn't. I did scoop it slightly deeper than my first version though. 

Et voila! 

Unacceptable use of pattern tissue

Sweet little Biscuit,

The pattern sheets of my Vogue 8667 are not to be used as a bed.

Love,
Reethi

Sewing pattern review - Simplicity 2936

I bought Simplicity 2936 for it's resemblance to the Violet shirt by Colette Patterns, and a couple of weeks ago, I cut it out at the same time as my McCalls short-sleeve shirt. 

What a fun pattern! I used a really spring-like cotton for this, fabric that I'd bought sometime last year at Fabricland. I really loved how this turned out, and in fact, I wore it out the same day I finished it.

I've nothing useful to say about the instructions, I barely glanced at them. Here's things to note:

- I made a size 10 in the bust area, size 12 waist and hip.
- I was looking for a super-boxy top - this is actually a little bit fitted. Next go around, I think I'll add a bit of room to the hips to make it more floaty.
- The sleeves take up a lot of fabric! I shortened them somewhat, cause I was running out of fabric. In a perfect world, I think I'll add another inch or two to the sleeve length.
- The button placket is really wide. I should have interfaced it, I think - it sort of collapses a little, and I did tug at my top a lot as I wore it, since I was afraid of a combination of the wide neckline and gaping. It isn't bad - but it made me self-conscious, and it's easily fixed on the next go-around.

Up next is one of my favorite dress patterns. I've already cut it out and started to sew it - I've about an hour of work to finish it - tomorrow evening?

Or maybe I should just clean the patio instead - it's super dusty and gross. Bore.

Revamping the SWAP with another version of McCalls 6035

It's time to face the music, dear Readers. After some loss of sewing mo-jo in the last few weeks, with about a month to go for SWAP-end, I'm not going to be able to stick to my original plan. Instead, I'm going to have to simplify, substituting shirts for jackets, dresses for raincoats, etc.

Towards that end, here's another version of McCalls 6035. I've made this pattern three times before, so it was fairly easy sewing. I'm pretty happy with this version - I think it's the best version I've sewn yet. (For the SWAP, this will serve for the "button-down shirt with collar" category. 

I want this quilt!

My ridiculous brother Madhav is a little bit picky. Or a lot picky. Anyway, once upon a long time ago, he asked my mother to make him a quilt. He was *very* exacting in his requirements - the quilt had to be made of triangles, it had to be scrappy, and the triangles couldn't be too big.

My mother hates piecing triangles and typically avoids them like the plague, but then again, she's very nice, and for some odd reason, likes my brother. So, she got started on this quilt last summer, finally finished piecing the triangles yesterday (it kept going on the back burner), and sent me a photo of the still-to-be-assembled-quilt this morning.

Dear readers, isn't it gorgeous? I think it's perfectly acceptable to steal this quilt before it gets to my brother. Right?

A lace top - BWOF 02-2009-108

Friday night saw me in front of my closet, complaining that I had nothing to wear to a classical music concert I was about to go to.

With some hesitation, I reached for my yet-to-be-seen-on-blog cream lace top. I'd finished this about a month back, but have never worn it out - I look fat, hooker-ish, or both, the lace trend might be over, blah, blah. (Cranky mutterings about my still-useless, still-overcrowded gym.)

The concert was lovely. As for the shirt? You tell me.

Apologies for the crappy pictures - they were taken during the intermission inside Kroener Hall with my Blackberry. I was in the nose-bleed section, but there were still enough people around that I was pretty self-conscious about having my picture taken (how do fashion bloggers do it?)

Technical details about the shirt:

Pattern notes: BWOF 02-2009-108 was one of the patterns I'd taken to Myrtle Beach to sew on vacation. It's really simple - front, back & sleeves, and that made it perfect to fiddle with. On that vacation, I made this t-shirt with the same pattern, and also the bodice of this dress.

Fabric notes: The lace fabric is a relatively recent addition to my stash, bought around last summer, when the lace trend was peaking. I'm afraid it's peaked a bit though, which makes my top seem so last-season!

Construction notes: I was concerned that the lace would unravel when I cut it, but it didn't, and hemmed up pretty easily. On the sleeves, I just used the selvage as a hem (lazy!)

Also, this pattern is designed for a knit. The lace has a tiny bit of stretch to it, but really, I should have added a zipper. I didn't - it does fit without, but I need to be careful putting it on, for fear it might rip. Next time, center back zipper!

A pair of pants is on the sewing table right now...

and I might have temporarily misplaced my sewing mo-jo. I know exactly why - cutting lining. I hate and loathe cutting lining. The damn thing is slippery and it moves, and I'm very annoyed with it. And - I made a mistake cutting it out as well. It's fixable, but I'm annoyed by the whole thing.

So, my dad called me an hour ago, asking if I'm going to be at home tomorrow evening, because he's coming to pick up my sewing machine to take it to be serviced. Aargh. I whined a little - despite the lack of mo-jo, I'm not ready to give up my sewing machine for the weekend. Especially because it's a long weekend here. He's now picking it up (as a result of the whining) on Friday, and I should hopefully get it back Sunday evening. Which is not bad at all.

Which also means, I have a couple of hours tonight, and a couple of hours tomorrow night to finish my pants before my sewing machine leaves for the weekend. I wonder if I can get it done.

McCalls 6078 - Another easy t-shirt

Dear readers, according to the SWAP plan, I was supposed to either catch up by finishing another pair of pants, or start my raincoat.

Yet, somehow, after the red t-shirt was done, I reached for this printed knit fabric I'd bought in October in France (I like buying a piece of fabric on vacation - it's a nice reminder of the vacation, plus, I get to go fabric shopping in a foreign country.)

I'm happy to say that when I bought the fabric, a cowl-neck t-shirt was exactly what I wanted to make. Looking through the pattern stash, I even discovered the perfect pattern - McCalls 6078, view B. It was a quick couple of hours of work to cut out the pattern, cut the t-shirt and sew it up. Easy-peasy!

Not sure what else to say about the pattern that would qualify for a review. Let's see - I made a small, and took ~4 inches off the hem. In retrospect, and for the next time around, I think I'll only take off 3 inches, to get an extra inch in length. The length is fine, but I sometimes tug at the t-shirt, which is a little silly.

I really like this kind of top for work - I layer it under a cardigan, and I'm neither too hot nor too cold. Plus, as I mentioned, it was really, really easy to sew. I must explore my stash to see how many more I can make!

I did spend a bit of time starting to cut out another pair of pants for the SWAP, and hopefully, that'll translate into me sewing the pants this week. Ideally, I'd like to get in production-mode, and cut out and sew 4 pairs of pants at the same time, but I recognize that this is unlikely to happen... I quite like production sewing, but the cutting? The idea of cutting 4 pairs of pants, and then 4 pairs of lining is quite horrifying, really.

Oh, and I do need t-shirts for the SWAP, and so both this t-shirt and the previous red one could qualify, so I'm not too terribly off-plan. Though I did say I needed a black t-shirt, and I still do...

Simplicity 2933 Red t-shirt

What a fun, easy t-shirt this was. A few hours of work, some leftover fabric, and voila! - I have a t-shirt.

I've made this pattern before. I've worn the dress countless times, which makes me extremely optimistic that this red t-shirt will get the same amount of use.

Pattern notes - I cut a size 8 - there's a lot of ease in this pattern! - and shortened the top about 4 inches. It's the perfect length now.

Pants! I have them!

I'm rather delighted with these pants, dear readers.

They aren't perfect. But, compared to my many previous versions, this is the best pair yet. (The one that came closest, before this, was this green version.)

(As an aside, I tried them on, and spent a ridiculous time staring at my crotch, making sure the pants fit without wrinkling. Sewists are funny people, aren't they? I've been staring at people's pants as I walk around the city, checking for fit. It's a bit strange.)

The pants look a bit wrinkled in these pictures, but that's cause I'd been wearing them for a few hours - they stood the test of an all-you-can-eat lunch, and still fit. Score!

The back - I'm not sure if these lines are normal, or if I did something wrong (cut off grain?) I'm going to try the pattern again, and see. (It could be that my original pattern was unlined, with a different heavier weight than the fabric I used for these pants.)

The fabric was a thrift store find - $3? I think they are wool, or some kind of wool blend. ($3 fabric is perfect for a trial set of pants!) Inside, the pants are fully lined (I need to work on that though, it's definitely wrong, the way I'm doing it) with some lining fabric I got as a gift from a friend.

Oh yeah, this is a complete SWAP outfit. My blouse is part of the SWAP too - sweet!

So, the SWAP. I'm now a full week and a pair of pants behind. Instead of  (a) starting on my raincoat or (b) catching up with another set of pants, I've decided to sew a quick fun project, a red t-shirt. I'm hoping to use the t-shirt for my SWAP though - but I'm definitely doing it out of order.

Yet more picture-less rambling from me

I finally got to start on my pants, and it's going rather well, I think.

So far, I've done the following:

- Cut the pants and the lining out. Incidentally, could a step be more tedious? I used to think sewing darts was my least favorite sewing thing. But I've now decided - nothing is more painful than cutting. And cutting lining? Ugh, ugh, ugh.
- Sew the back darts on both the fashion fabric and the lining.
- Get the side-front pockets in. (I skipped back welt pockets, since this iteration is mostly a trial, and also because I'm a little tiny scared of welt pockets.)
- Get the fly front done, and attach the lining at the fly front. (The lining w/fly front bit I've mostly figured out by trial and error, looking at all my RTW pants for clues on how it's done. I've yet to see a tutorial for this - dear readers, does one exist?)
- Sew the outside leg seams of the pants.

Basically, I think I have the following steps left:

- Sew inside leg seams
- Sew center seam
- Attach waistband (thankfully, already cut out and interfaced)
- Attach inside waistband (cut out, but I need to add bias binding to the bottom bit)
- Hem pants
- Hem lining

Looking at that, I'd say I'm about 66% done? The bit about attaching the center seam around the fly front area is always tricky to me - and I always get a wrinkle there. Which is always lovely - everyone wants a wrinkle right at their crotch, no? But the rest is relatively simple.

I own David Coffin's pants book, and I've looked through it in bits and pieces at various times. For this version, I took one critical bit of advice from him - I skipped trying to figure out which Vogue/Simplicity/Burda size would fit me (the answer, from previous iterations seems to be - (d) none of the above), and just ripped apart an old RTW pair that fits me pretty well.

Ripping apart an existing (serged) pair of pants was a bit of a pain in the ass, but you learn so much from the process. So far, in my RTW pants, I've discovered:

- 1/4 inch seams throughout
- no side seams on the waistband - there's a join at the center back, and obviously the center front is buttoned/fastened, but the left and right waistbands are cut as one piece. No extra bulk at the side as a result.
- different patterns for fashion fabric right and left waistbands, and different patterns for the lining right and left waistbands.
- to minimize bulk at the center front, the waistband is folded back on itself, and the lining join happens at a spot that isn't the center front. (I reread that sentence - ridiculously unclear. I'll take a construction photo to illustrate when I'm at that step.)

As a tangential aside - there seems to be a bit of prevailing wisdom on some 'sewing expert' blogs that RTW is crap, and hand-sewing hems, hand-basting and hand-anything else is the way to go. I couldn't disagree more. I would love to get the kind of consistency and efficiency in my sewing that RTW produces on a regular basis.

Anyway. I've bravely not tried on my pants so far, since I used a pattern that 'should' work. Tonight - I should get far enough with sewing this that I can try it on, and let's see? I'll either throw another tantrum, or be over-the-moon happy.

In which I throw a tantrum

Ok, I didn't actually throw a tantrum, but wow, did I come close.

So, last night - I'm all ready to sew. I serge my lining seams, I fully construct the lining, and I'm at that final bit, where I attach the lining and the dress together, and voila! I'd be done. I couldn't have had, at that time, much more than 1.5 hours of work.

Before I did that final step though, I decided to try it on - hadn't done that since the zipper was properly inserted, and figured I needed a quick sanity-check fitting.

And of course, my zipper stuck.

It's hopelessly stuck. For no reason whatsoever, as far as I can tell. In the process of tugging at it in sheer annoyance, I've broken bits of it as well. My only recourse right now is to rip the zipper out and replace it. (Of course, I didn't have a zipper in stash for this. Because that would have been easy, wouldn't it?)

If I had remembered to breathe deeply and strive for perspective, I would have noted that this has never happened to me in 4 years of sewing - and I was overdue for a stuck zipper.

I didn't get quite that zen - but I did refrain from flinging things across the room. And then I promptly packed up the project into a little bag, and I'm now going to hide this till I can bear to look at it again. Let's try maybe the middle of February.

I needed two episodes of Doctor Who to help me calm down. Once that had happened, I was able to work on my pants pattern. More on this soon...

I'm late, I'm late...

Stalled before I even started, dear Readers.

Let me explain. (You know you are going to hear an excuse when a post starts out that way, don't you?)

I went out Monday night for my mom's birthday, Tuesday night for trivia (a weekly thing) and a friend was over for dinner last night. Which means that I haven't really had very much time to sew.

And then there's my sewing table. It is covered in stupid crap from the stupid lined dress I've been making since December. If I put the unfinished bits of that dress away, I might never, ever finish it.

So, I decided that I'd finish the dress first, and then make pants. Which might have worked in a regular week, but not so this week, I just am not at home enough.

Tonight - I have a free night. I'm going to try to finish the dress. It'll probably take the full evening, but it'll be worth it.

Friday, I'm out again. If I wake up early Saturday, I'll have a few hours to sew, but I have plans again from 3pm for the rest of the evening. Sunday, I might get 3 hours to sew, but that will be all.

Overwhelming conclusion? No pants this week.

Unless, of course, a miracle happens, and I magically find more time than I think I have. Let's hope for that, shall we?

A black & tan shirt (modified BWOF 02-2011-114) & deorphaning a skirt

I finished this little shirt a while back - cut it out over Christmas, finished it in early January, but I kept postponing taking a photo - I was hoping for daylight, outside photos. Finally, in the end, I just gave up - inside photos are boring, but I'm not going outside in short sleeves for the sake of my art...

This shirt was made with a modified BWOF 02-2011-114 pattern. Basically, I eliminated the horizontal seam in the front and back, and and cut both front pieces as one piece, and both back pieces as one piece. I also eliminated the short sleeves, and just hemmed out the cut-on sleeve instead.

I love this fabric. I bought it when shopping with Connie, Claire and Sue over the summer. This was exactly what I'd envisioned when I bought the fabric - but, such is the backlog of projects that it took 6 months for me to make a 1-dot BWOF pattern. Sigh.

Now - the de-orphaning. I've had this cream skirt in my wardrobe for a few years - but I've never worn it very much - mostly because the only top that suggests itself is a cream, which I'm afraid I'll spill things on, or a black, which is super-boring. As I was standing in front of my closet though, I had a bit of a brain-wave - what if I pair the stripes with the plaid?

Dear readers, I'm a pretty safe and boring dresser - this was almost crazy-talk for me. But, oddly enough, it works. And a co-worker even mentioned she really liked my outfit, so, bonus all around. Perhaps the skirt will get worn more often now.

SWAP 2012 - a plan to get it done

Dear readers, as you saw in my post yesterday, I'm easily distracted. If I'm to complete my 2012 SWAP (and I do! I need wardrobe basics!), I needed a PLAN.

So, I pulled out Excel, filled in the weeks, and made a plan. I'm already done with my two blouses (I think...), so up next would be two pairs of pants.

I've allocated the entire month of February to work on my raincoat - simply because I think it will be the most challenging thing I've made - both in terms of complexity, and in terms of sheer fuss. In addition, I don't have a pattern for this. Any suggestions? I've 4 years of past Burda issues to look through, and I could snoop shop RTW for this as well.

In March, my feeling is that I'm going to be sick of major projects, so March is about the easy quick wins. Skirts, t-shirts and a hoodie.

And I'll finish with another complex project, a lined suit jacket in April.

Which is, on paper, a good mix between long meaningful projects (which I should do more of) and quick instant-gratification projects (which I do all the time.)

In general, I'm a great planner but am terrible at follow-through. I'm counting on you, dear Readers. If you see me talk about some sewing that isn't on the plan - call me out, will you?

January goals, a WIP, and more...

At the start of the month, I wrote down two sewing goals, along with how long it would take to complete these goals.


1. Sew a pair of pants (5 hours)
2. Finish (10 hours)

 - Cream t-shirt,
 - Lace t-shirt
 - Grey and pink blouse, 
 - Orange dress, 
 - Black t-shirt 

I'm actually doing pretty ok on the goals - I've finished a few of the projects I cut out over the holidays, and I've identified fabric for pants.

The problem though, is while I'm trying to stay focused on the goals, there's a zillion little voices in my head, trying to distract me. Some of these:

- A woolen black dress would be such a wardrobe basic - I'd wear it every single week. 

- If I make my cream suede skirt, I'd be able to match my grey and pink blouse to it. And then I'd actually have a finished SWAP outfit.

- Look how cute Robin's hoodie is - I want to make myself one!

- My niece just had a baby boy. Should I make a baby quilt? 

- What about this half-finished black and white dress that's taking up all the space on the dining table? I should finish it before I cut out a new project, no? But then again, it doesn't fit, and I need to lose weight. Yuck*. 

- Atleast in 2012, I should make something from each Burda. 

- How do I not have cute sleeping clothes when I know how to sew? I should fix this!

- Should I participate in the Sew Weekly sewing challenge? 

Anyway, as you can see, there are a billion thoughts swirling around, preventing me from getting anything done.

Last night, one of those deviant thoughts took center stage.

- What about this half-finished black and white dress that's taking up all the space on the dining table? I should finish it before I cut out a new project, no? But then again, it doesn't fit, and I need to lose weight. Yuck*. 

This dress has been sitting on my table forever for the last 6 weeks. I've been procrastinating on this for multiple reasons - (1)The fabric is very, very ravelly, and it needed serger involvement, which in turn required getting the serger out of the box, (2) it's a lined woolen-ish dress, and therefore has a lot of steps, and (3) at first try-on, it is sausage-in-a-casing tight. Ugh. Anyway - just because of the room it's taking up, I'd like to get it done this month, even if I'll have to wait a while to wear it.

Last night, I worked on setting in the sleeves. In the main dress, I still have to get the zipper in. The lining isn't constructed at all, and then of course, I'll have to integrate the two. I really just need to get it done - I use my dining table both to sew on and to cut on, and with the serger out and the sewing machine out, I haven't been able to get anything cut out. (And eating - forget about it. I eat on the couch in front of the TV. Bad Reethi.)

*Which is a good lead-in to a rant. I went to my gym last night after a few months of not going. My gym used to be a nice independent gym - but sometime in November, it got taken over by a big-box gym. I've a bit of an irrational dislike for this big-box gym, and added onto my natural avoidance of the gym anyway, I just haven't made it in. Still, last evening, I gave myself a stern lecture and headed there - but it was a zoo! None of the machines were free - it was super crowded, and I'd have to stand next to someone working out to stake my place out for a machine. Yuck.

So, I don't know how I'm going to handle this. Evidently, this is the new normal - the gym is a zoo between 5pm and 7.45pm. I'll have to either wake up and go in the morning (who am I kidding?) or work out at 10pm (assuming I haven't been out in the evening.) The most obvious time to work out - when I get out of work - seems to be the most obvious time for everyone else to work out as well. Maybe I should work out at lunch instead. (I'm lucky, both work and the gym are 5 minutes away from home, making this option possible.)

A third version of BWOF 06-2011-106

Dear readers, it's cold in Toronto. As a result, there will be boring indoor pictures on the blog until further notice. Sigh. I guess a trip to the Allen Conservatory is in order.

I cut this shirt out on vacation in Myrtle Beach, but needed the serger to finish edges, so it didn't get finished until last night. I could have sworn I was being careful cutting it out, but somehow, I've managed to place a flower on my breast. Ah well, atleast it wasn't a pink flower.

I bought this fabric in April with a gift certificate my friend Anna gave me for my birthday. (What a fun gift!) The last top I made with Anna's gift certificate, I've worn constantly - I'm hoping the same will be the case for this top.

Previous versions of this pattern are here and here. 3 versions in the last month? Why, yes. It's a great pattern, and really easy. Highly recommend.

Parting shot - cooking:

There's a new eatery in my neighborhood that specializes in grilled cheese sandwiches. $7-$10 for a grilled cheese sandwich. Yikes! I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but that's ridiculous.

I had some leftover grated radish mixed with masala and green chili (a paratha stuffing), and as a grilled cheese experiment, I added it to my grilled cheese sandwich. Along with some onion and tomato slices. It was delicious. But then again, is there anything you can add to a grilled cheese sandwich that will make it less tasty? I think not.

Two very spoiled cats

Dear readers, I think I've stated it before, but my mother is a little crazy loves her children's pets very much. Little Biscuit is very, very spoiled, for example.

Well, it isn't just Biscuit. For Christmas, she decided to make the three cats (my one cat, and my brother's two cats) quilts for Christmas. Ahem. The two boys got blue quilts, my little bear gets a pink one.

Of course, my mother is ambitious, but also crazy busy. So, the tops got done, but that's it. Quilting was delegated to me. Sigh. Not exactly fun sewing, but I put my dutiful daughter face on, and did it. (Also, slightly self-centered reason - I've found that practice is actually useful when machine quilting. This was low-pressure practice - the cats don't actually care how good the quilting is.)

Keshav's cats are better behaved than my little devil. In my house, a quilt has just to be laid out, and Biscuit is lying on it in a matter of instants. Keshav's cats though needed treats to be convinced these were for them.

I'm not sure if they decided which quilt belonged to which cat though. They might be still fighting over it.

Winter Orange Dress

How many patterns does one really need, dear Readers? I took about 4 patterns to Myrtle Beach, and it seemed plenty enough. I must rethink the 4 boxes of patterns I have, not to mention the many back issues of BWOF.

This dress was very simple - it is my BWOF boatneck top, 02-2009-108 on top, with a simple pleated rectangle as a skirt.

After sewing it, I tried it on - it was way too long, and it looked a little Amish-ish, - not quite the look I was going for. I shortened - rather ruthlessly. Right now, I think it's a bit too short, but since it's a winter dress, designed to be worn with tights, no real harm done, I guess.

The fabric is something I found in a Myrtle Beach WalMart (one of those few WalMarts that still has fabric) - it's a sweater knit. It was super-cheap, I think I paid $2.00 a yard for it, which makes this a $4 dress. (I'm happy about the $4, but happier still that I've already used both of the pieces of fabric I bought at Myrtle Beach.)

The results of half-assed packing

Dear readers, you might ask - "Why are you wearing a half-finished shirt on the beach?"

Ahem. When you live in Toronto, and decide to head south for the Christmas holidays, there's a certain insouciance associated with the packing. You pack a couple of pants, a sweater, and a couple of tops, and then you are done.

And so, when I had to go to the beach, I looked among my clothes, and realized I had no layering clothes. And I *needed* layers. Hence, I pulled out my half-finished shirt, layered it over a navy blue henley, tossed a jacket over, and consented to leave the warmth of the car. :)

Shirt details - A nice basic - BWOF 02-2009-108, previously made here. I've still to finish the neck, arms and hem the thing. Either tonight, or when I get back home.

2011 Year End Tally

Of course, I still have 4 days, and sewing *will* happen - I already cut out a t-shirt for myself tonight.

But, here's the projects I did this year, in numbers...

Quilts/quilt tops:
1. Moda Sanctuary top - December 27.
2. Woolen scrap quilt top - completed sometime in December.
3. T-shirt quilt - completed sometime in December.
4. The Very, very Red quilt top
5. Pink and yellow baby quilt top
6. Black & white quilt-along quilt top (collaboration with my mother)
7. Gender-neutral baby quilt
8. Pink zig-zag baby quilt

Random other sewing: (I probably did a lot more in this category, but I don't generally bother blogging about it...)
1. Two tote-bags

Tops:
1. Flowered shirt - BWOF 06-2011-106
2. White top - BWOF 06-2011-106
3. Jason Wu-inspired grey t-shirt (variation of Simplicity 4020)
4. My beer t-shirt refashion (BWOF 02-2011-114)
5. Plaid shirt (McCalls 6035)
6. Camouflage top (McCalls 6400)
7. White shirt with McCalls 6035
8. Brown dotted top (Simplicity 2594)
9. Mustard t-shirt (McCalls 5105)
10. Purple turtleneck t-shirt (BWOF 09-2010-121)
11. Blue flowered knit top (BWOF 12-2008-113/114)
12. Black solid knit top (McCalls 5890)

Toppers:
1. Blue cardigan (BWOF 08-2011-117)
2. Grey cardigan (McCalls 5890)
3. Black cardigan (McCalls 5890)

Skirts:
1. Black skirt - McCalls 5817
2. Graphic black and white skirt (Simplicity 4047)
3. Woolen mustard skirt (Simplicity 4047) (Or could this have been finished in 2010?)
4. Brown plaid with side pleats (BWOF 08-2010-135)
5. Green plaid skirt (Simplicity 4047)

Pants:
1. Dark green Simplicity 2700 pants
2. BWOF 04-2010-120 jeans (utter failure!)
3. Black knit pants (McCalls 5890)

Dresses:
1. White, black & blue knit dress (McCalls 6112)
2. Blue swirl version of Vogue 1250
3. Red Vogue 1250
4. Blue stripes version of Vogue 1250
5. Wide blue stripes knit dress (BWOF 11-2008-118)
6. Pink tie-dye knit dress (BWOF 11-2008-118)
7. Cream and blue batik dress (Simplicity 3803)
8. The How I Met Your Mother/Santa Claus dress (utter failure) (McCalls 6200)
9. Black knit dress (McCalls 6243)
10. Pink ruffled dress (BWOF 04-2010-112)
11. Light blue dress (Simplicity 2963)
12. Yellow and red plaid summer dress (Simplicity 2444)
13. Cream, blue and brown flowered summer dress (Butterick 4443)
14. Deep pink Vogue 8110 sheath dress
15. Blue knit birthday dress (BWOF 09-2010-122)
16. Printed blue knit dress (McCalls 6200)
17. Black and white print knit dress (BWOF 12-2008-113/114)
18. Inspired by Proenza Schouler dress
19. Rust knit dress - McCalls 5890
20. Black and white gingham frankenpattern dress

That's 52 things! Apart from this, I know there's atleast another dress that I made and never blogged about, and also a skirt (same thing...) That's a lot of sewing!

In 2012, I'd like to increase the pants-sewing, increase the lined winter dress sewing (I have very few winter-suitable dresses) and sew as few summer dresses as possible. (I have a ton of summer dresses, I really, really don't need any more!) Let's see how that plays out!

Sewing on the go means more quilting

I've brought a couple of clothing projects to sew in Mrytle Beach, but it's amazing how much equipment I take for granted when sewing at home - large cutting mat, weights, pins, etc.

An easier sewing-on-the-go project was at hand, a Moda Sanctuary pre-cut pack. My mom had bought this early spring at the Creativ festival. Before we headed out, I quickly cut up strips of sashing. I asked my mother if she wanted to sew it, but she was too busy being in 'vacation-mode' - and so I got to work. (I don't get this kind of gift of time in Toronto, what a perfectly lovely vacation - plenty of time to sew!)

I'm hoping to actually be able to quilt it up on vacation. My brother's two cats are weirded out by the sewing machine though. They aren't used to the noise - and spend a lot of time just staring at me. Plotting to take over the world, I'm certain. Either that, or eating me when I'm asleep.

In use, two quilts

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'm sure you are tired of reading about these quilts, dear Readers, I'm certainly a little tired of writing about them. But, I don't think I showed a completed picture of the t-shirt quilt, plus, I like my blog to be a record of all the projects that I do.

And so, pictures.

My brother Madhav, readying himself for a post-meal nap.


The t-shirt quilt, held up by my brother Keshav.


Keshav's pretending to be Yoda?

Another version of BWOF 06-2011-106

So easy to make, another version had to happen.

This top was inspired by an Anthropologie top that I can't find on their site anymore. Basically, the fabric is a white print with a coloured border. I cut the front on the bias using the border, and the back is the printed white, cut on grain.

Dear readers, this is the top for which I actually bothered to sit and learn how to thread my serger - this fabric is very ravely, and I was too lazy to mess with French seams.

Other things - I changed the neckline from a V to a rounded neck and stitched the side seams all the way down.

I'm off for the next few days to Myrtle Beach to visit my brother. Sewing will happen though - we are driving down, and I'm taking my machine. (Most of my family, afraid of what would happen when I get bored, vehemently came out in favour of the machine going along. I make a very bad bored person.)

Toys...

In shocking news, dear Readers, I've finally taken my serger out of the box. I've spent a large period of time trying to thread it, I finally think I have the hang of it, and yes, eating at the dining table doesn't really seem to be an option any more.

Oh, and since I took a picture, here's the woolen quilt, all quilted up. I actually did my best quilting job ever on this, (not good by a quilter's standard, but I'm no quilter, really).



And I've made another shirt! I'll try to wear it out tonight, and get a friend to take a photo...

BWOF 06-2011-106

Dear Readers, after all the selflessness I've been displaying, surely I was overdue for some me-sewing? I decided that yes, it was indeed time to make something for me. And thankfully, I had a blessedly unscheduled weekend, which actually left me time to sew - love!

I was looking for a low-commitment quickie project to get me back in the swing of things, and so I traced out BWOF 06-2011-106 (a one-dot pattern) and got to work.



My fabric was a bit of thrift-store cotton I've had lying around for over three years in my stash. (I bought it when I still lived in Michigan; I paid 50c for 1.5 yards of fabric.)

I did most of the work yesterday, with some hem finishing things today. What a simple top! Less than 30 minutes of sewing, I did it in 5 minute chunks - I kept getting distracted. Still, super simple. I should have finished yesterday, but didn't... This evening, my parents came over for dinner (my mom cooked, score!) and I should have got one of them to take my photo. Unfortunately, the top still needed hemming at that point, my allergies had been insane all day. Hence, self-taken photos of me, which I hate, really, but ah well.

I was aiming for a feel that was a sort of a cross between artist smock and peasant blouse. I'm not sure if that's the look I got, or if instead I got scrubs. I'm sticking to the former.

That's quite a v-neck, no? Ah, Burda - my breasts actually don't need to be on display when I make a shirt. Next version around, I'll raise the neck an inch or so.

This might be a contender for my SWAP. It certainly fits the 'Sew the Basics' theme.

And now I'm off to cut the next version...

Torn! And other random mumblings...

I'm rather torn at the moment, dear Readers. The last few weeks, I've been using my precious sewing time to finish crafting and quilting UFOs. On the one hand, I miss garment sewing so much! and that makes me slightly cranky. But on the other hand, I'm getting the super-satisfying feeling of striking things off a To-Do list, which is nice.

As in everything, the secret is balance. Which is why, when I finish with the current quilting project on my table, I will get back to my own sewing and make something for me.

--------------------------------

A couple of weeks back, my overflowing crafting closet was getting rather stressful, and I decided to make a UFO-project list, with the intention of working on one UFO each week.

Ahem.

I divided my excel spreadsheet into three tabs - one for quilting, one for general-purpose crafting, and one for garment sewing. I starting listing UFOs, along with how many hours it would take to finish the project. And gulp! my quilting UFO list would take 188 hours to finish.

I think I spend maybe 10 hours sewing each week, which suggests that I'd be spending a good third of 2012 finishing up quilting UFOs. I don't think so. I'm going to hide all my quilting UFOs in my parents' basement instead.

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All kidding aside, writing the UFO list was really good for me. I've already crossed off two items off the list - attaching the binding for this red quilt, and quilting my brother's t-shirt quilt.

Right now, I'm quilting this woolen scrap quilt for my other brother.

My thought is that I'll give them these quilts for Christmas (though of course, none of these quilts were actually intended as Christmas presents, it's just an artificial deadline to help me get them done and out of my apartment.)

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Back in the fall, I'd gone to Creativ (a big crafting/sewing/quilting festival in these parts). I was a bit disappointed by the sewing stuff on display, honestly. (I didn't sign up for the classes though, so maybe that was my problem?) But there was a ton of quilts on display, and they all served as pretty wonderful quilting inspiration.

While inspired, I didn't actually *want* to make a quilt top. Instead, I decided that my mother should make one of the quilt tops I'd seen at Creativ.

(Outsourcing the work? Check.)

So, I pulled fabric for a quilt, started cutting it out, and laid it out all over the floor of my parents' family room, thus forcing my mother to work on the quilt if she wanted to get her floor back and be able to walk around in that room. It worked like a charm! I don't think she's ever sewn a quilt top together as quickly as this one went together.



Pretty, right? I wonder what she should work on/I should cut out next?

What I'm working on...

I'm quilting (badly) my brother's t-shirt quilt.

I will say that quilting is not easier if a cat refuses to move out of the way.

Cat cuteness

Ok, I've no actual blog content (UFO finishing + boring projects + camera batteries dead.) Instead, I give you pictures of the little bear.




Seriously, how cute is that? Right?

Jason Wu-inspired grey t-shirt

Two separate stories come together to make this t-shirt...

The first bit: I think it was Carolyn's lace dress that first made me aware of the Jason Wu lace thing. It led me to look at the rest of the collection, which then led me to this sweatshirt, which got filed away as inspiration.

The second bit: I've a bit of a bad habit. Sometimes, when I hang out at my parents, I just have to sew. And so I'll start cutting random things out, and before you know it, I've created a UFO.

And so it was with this grey t-shirt, which was basically a variation of Simplicity 4020.



I cut it out a couple of months ago at their place, and sewed up the sides and shoulders. At which time, I tried it out, decided I looked fat in it. In the middle of all that, I also proceeded to burn a big hole near the neck (iron malfunction) and so, I buried it in the UFO basket, and tried to forget all about it.

Cue to now. I'm trying to finish the UFOs. This was a pretty easy fix - I just needed to deepen the neckline to trim away the burned bit, and hem. I did both those things last night, but then decided the shirt needed something extra. Rummaging through the notions boxes, I found some midnight blue lace trim I'd bought forever ago, thought of the Jason Wu shirt, and got to work. And here you have it - the Jason Wu-inspired grey t-shirt.

Unlike the inspiration picture, I sewed my lace on the front of the shoulder seam, so that the lace is visible from the front. I thought about sewing lace on the back shoulder as well, but I hand-sewed the lace (my machine didn't do too well with the lace, for whatever reason), and honestly, just ran out of patience. The front works well enough.

Ah, the satisfaction of finishing these pesky UFO's! Now, back to the UFO basket, to see what else I can finish.

A T-shirt refashion

At this stage, after I've been sewing for a few years, one of the hardest bits of sewing for me is just figuring out what styles look good on my body. One thing I do know though, and have known for a while - regular crew-neck t-shirts look horrible on me.

So, when I got this t-shirt during some St.Patrick Day outing in Toronto, it sat in my refashion pile for ages, while I looked for a good pattern to use to refashion it. And when I saw the 02-2011-114 Burda pattern - I knew I'd hit paydirt, this was the perfect pattern.


Sometime in mid-September, I cut out my XL t-shirt, positioning the lettering carefully, etc. - and sewed it up. And then I thought it was a bit too short (not enough fabric) and it sat on the UFO project pile, waiting for hemming.

Now, I've been a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of projects I have in progress, and over the weekend, I decided to try to finish up at least one. This was the easiest project - all it needed was hemming - and so, I picked it up, ironed some interfacing to stabilize the hem, added some elastic, and finished it up.



Significantly better than a crewneck t-shirt, no? I'm not sure how much wear I'll really get out of it, but it's good for running to the grocery store, and stuff like that.

The Stitcher's Guild 2012 SWAP

I haven't done a SWAP in ages, but intellectually, I love them. (Reality check - I'm fantastic at making plans, significantly less so when it comes to following through.)

The full set of rules are here.

Basically, I need to make 11 garments - here's what I'm thinking of making.

- 2 t-shirts. I'll probably make that long-sleeved black t-shirt that my wardrobe has been screaming out for, and a cream t-shirt. This is all about basics for me.
- 2 pairs of pants. Black for sure, and probably a brown. (Have to look in the stash to see what I have.)
- 2 blouses. This is where I'll incorporate the prints - I'll make a couple of blouses that will go with the pants.
- 1 suit coat. Probably something that goes with the black pants, as difficult as that will be to photograph.
- 2 skirt. For the first one, I'm thinking cream. I have some cream faux-suede that's been screaming to be made for ages. I've been procrastinating, since it would involve lapped seams, which I've never done before, but it's time to put on the big-girl-pants, and get to it. The second one? Well, I still need a black A-line skirt, and even a black woolen pencil skirt (I have a black cotton pencil skirt, but I can't really wear it in winter, I'd die!)
- Raincoat. Every single time it rains, I resolve to make a raincoat. I even have fabric - navy blue. This SWAP is a perfect impetus to make it up.
- Hoodie. Much more casual - but I need something to just grab and go. I'm thinking something fun and asymmetrical.

As I review the plan, I'm thinking - wow, that's boring. My colours are blacks, browns, greys, blues and creams.

And guess what? That's exactly what I need. Right now, I'm wearing a black t-shirt, a black cardigan, and a pair of peach-ish pants. Yesterday, I wore grey pants and a coloured sweater, with a black t-shirt underneath. This is how I dress to work, and I might as well sew the things I need for it.

Two tote bags

I feel like I should have a more interesting 500th blog post - but this is it. Still, I actually have a couple of free evenings this week, and real sewing will happen soon.

In the meanwhile, I spent a few minutes yesterday evening finishing up my tote bags, using assorted scraps that were lying around in my fabric closet.



My mom has already claimed one bag, which works fine for me, I like to use up my scraps, but don't need a million tote bags. (Although, oddly enough, tote bags tend to disappear. They probably live in the mysterious black hole where my socks go.)