Thursday, August 23, 2007

Maisie clothes

I finally got some clothes made for my 18 month old daughter, Maisie. They turned out a bit large, but should fit her this winter. I did not exactly follow the SWAP mentality, but tried to make sure everything would work with something else I made. They will also coordinate with much of her existing wardrobe. The girl isn't really hurting for clothes, but she should have a at least a couple of pieces her Mama made for her.
Brown pants, showing hem detail, and vest
Pink pants, with cargo pockets, brown pants and vest
Pink pants, pink and lime striped top and leggings and purchased lime t-neck.
Vest. This looks a little crooked somehow. I am tired now, so will look it over another time and see if there is a problem.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Completed jackets


Here they are-the silk tweed jacket and the aqua bias jacket.
My son took the photos in our dining room today. I plan to wear one of them to a competition on Saturday, so I really needed to complete at least one. Now that I have a choice I will not be able to make up my mind and will likely wear something else!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Nearly dones

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Ruched Aqua top

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Silk tweed jacket- just needs braid
I have three nearly done pieces that are starting to get boring.
There is a Chanel inspired silk tweed jacket, and a ruched top and matching skirt in aqua.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Coordinating Fabrics

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I'm just trying to figure out how to post pictures. I think I should give up for tonight. Only half of each picture is showing up and they are HUGE!

Ocean linen

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This is the Ocean Linen I purchased from Timmel last week. The others are some silks I had, hoping to be able to use them one day. I am still working on the design.

Sewing Room- "Before" Pictures

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Works in Progress

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Fabric storage shelves. Sorted by colour and fabric type- honestly!

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Sewing area with Notions and decorating supplies on shelf behind.


The sewing room in is a constant state of disaster. Every dress requires a mulitude of fabrics and each must be chosen with an eye for colour and texture contrast all while keeping the dancer's physical aspect as well as strengths and weaknesses of style and ability in mind. Every consultation erupts into a disastrous mess by the end.

SWAP


I participated in Timmel's "Sewing with a Plan" SWAP Contest last winter. My goal was to complete the contest, which I was able to do. Since then I have watched other contests and sewn items that corresponded, without actually entering the contest.
I wrote to Julie at Timmel last week asking to enter her latest contest. It is based on adding a detail to the garment that is not in the pattern. I plan on making a jacket with some applique/embroidery to it. This is not really a stretch for me in technique, since this is what I do for work, but doing something that I would actually wear will be a challenge. I like things subtle and dull, but somehow gaudiness takes over any project I plan. I cannot even decorate my Christmas tree without thinking that it needs MORE! More sparkle, more lights, more decorations! Less is not more in Irish dance.


Introduction

My name is MaryPat. I live in Southwestern Ontario with my husband and children. I work from home full time as a costume designer/dressmaker. I used to make most of my own clothes, but gave it up some time ago. I gained a lot of weight with my first pregnancy and, with a surprising lack of effort, managed to keep most of it. However, I found it hard to want to decorate this big old bod and am just starting to get back into sewing for myself.
Having a sewing job provides me with some great equipment that I never need to put away to have dinner on, but it is hard to come back down to my workshop and get anything started, much less finished.
I plan on taking baby steps with this, so even though my professional work is elaborate and detailed, the stuff for me will not be. Not yet, anyway.