Spring Flowers

Carolyn from Diary of a Sewing Fanatic had a post yesterday that brought home some feelings I have been having. She discusses using books to get better at sewing. I LOVE books. I love magazine, I love tchniques and am curious about many things. I realised years ago that I was reading rather than doing, so I tried to change that. Then came marriage and babies and other obligations. I stopped sewing for myself for a while. I sewed for work, but not for pleasure.
In the last few years I discovered Stitcher's Guild, Pattern Review and blogs. So many blogs! But again, I used them as I had previously used books. I read them rather than doing. With my husband's illness and inability to work, I have had to add more hours to my work week. I feel like I never leave my basement studio. I need to change that somehow, even if it means part of the time I am down here I am doing something for me.
So I have decided that I will try to do something for fun, for skill development and not for profit, everyday if I can.
Here is the most recent attempt: fabric flowers. I can't get outside to enjoy them much so this will be my replacement for now.
Ribbon Roses
Using a technique from Threads , number 64, article by Camela Nitschke.
Bias Roses
Top left has satin back shantung flower and leaf is silk dupioni, on right is metallic silk with ribbon leaves.
Bottom flowers are satin, acetate on left and polyester on right.
I am sure my skills need imrovement, but they are fairly quick and the results are cute from the start. Just what I need right now.

This is for KBenco. Here is the box from the ruffler foot that fit my Janome MemoryCraft 4000

A Great Haul!

Today was a perfect day for yard sales. We took the kids out and just wandered the neighbourhood. This is what we bought at the first place we stopped, about 1/2 block from our house.

A woman was selling her mother's goods. Her mum had moved and this stuff was stored in a basement and/or garage for the winter. I first asked a bout these rulers and some crochet hooks. The hooks she decided to keep, but asked $10 for the patterns, rulers and the sewing machine. I need another machine like I need a hole in my head, but for $10 I had to take it. It is on my porch right now as it isn't terribly clean.

Doll clothes patterns, embroidery transfers, needlework booklets and rulers (and a cat, but she wasn't included in the sale).

The machine is in a nicely shaped wood cabinet. It is motorised, you can see the pedal and cord in the first picture.

Does anyone know what exactly I have here? Could it be valuable?

It only does straight stitch. I am going to try it out tomorrow and see if it works. I figured the cabinet was worth more than $10 even with the finish so roughed up.

My kids got my camera again

The many faces of Maisie.

Frantic

Profile

Mad

Trying to look mad

You can't see me or the popsicle stain on my chin!

We also have an elbow series.

I miss my waist. I went to the dietician today with a food diary. I have been trying to control the insulin resistance with diet and it isn't working. I might need to go back on medication. I miss my waist enough to consider it, although I would prefer not to.

Oh, my aching feet!

Heart-ache that is!
I use a Husqvarna Mega Quilter for my daily sewing. It only has a straight stitch, has a longer than average bed and a really high lift. I love it. It is as close to an industrial as I need for power and but I sometimes feel a little too basic with it. I read blogs and reviews and there are a lot of discussions about various feet. I decided to try some but most of the feet I would like to try are not available for it so I will have to get feet for another machine that is not set up for daily use. It is a Pfaff 1522 and I want to get a binding foot, a ruffler and an elasticator.
I have been to two local sewing stores. The first, closest and my favourite is only a few blocks away from me. I can walk there. They suggested I bring in the machine but, since I do not drive, this isn't easy. They do not sell Pfaff machines there but they carry some feet for other machines. I purchased a ruffling/pleating snap on foot with the arrangement that I could bring it back for credit if it didn't fit. Well, it didn't fit. I will have to go back today.
They sell Pfaff at the other machine store. It is a 20 minute drive away, so we need to pack the kids in the car and have DH and both kids wait while I go in there. I told them what machines I had and asked what they suggested. After some discussion we decided to use the Pfaff and I bought a snap on elastic foot.
I didn't have a chance to set up the other machine for a week or so. Finally I had time last night. I opened my little bag and found a low shank binding foot. So now we need to trek back there for another long visit which I hope will result in a successful outcome. They are not known for their excellence in customer service at this establishment.
Wish me luck! After this I might just stick with a straight stitch and serger!
ETA- Better news! I called up and they explained that a low shank will work and that they were out of the snap on. However I don't want to use a screwdriver to remove the shank everytime I want to change the foot. They are going to try to order a snap on and we will go grom there. If worse comes to worst I can get a thumb screw for that shank.
As for the ruffler, not only does it fit on my Janome, but I was looking through some old Threads magazines that Mum gave me and the first one I picked up has an entire article on using a ruffler foot! This dreary Saturday is turning into a better day than I had thought.

Wearing the Jackets

My sister and mother came for a visit today. I asked my sister Meg took some pictures of me wearing both recent jackets. The good part about this is that she is interested in flattery and not just getting it over with. She would say things like "Put your chin down" and "You need lipstick"

This is with my recent black denim trousers and the new handbag Mum and Meg brought for my birthday.

Close ups wearing both jackets. I like the tweed one better than I did before

Vogue 1100 completed

Showing saddle stitching

The hemline shows a bit. I usually don't do anything to emphasize a horizontal, but I might add two rows of stitching to hide my pressing mistake.

The neck seam shows at CB on the hanger, but dh tells me it doesn't while being worn. I cannot see it, so I have to trust his word on that.

Teal Tweed

I haven't stopped work on this jacket, but it won't be wearable until Fall now, so I haven't been frantically trying to finish it

I put one sleeve in as per the suggestions here and love it. http://2bsewing.blogspot.com/2009/05/another-butterick-5223in-works.html

I put the other one in the usual way and will have to re-do it. Guess how I will be doing it the second time?

Vogue 1100 Jacket Progress

I have cut this jacket out of a wool blend from Timmel Fabrics. I did not know how it would act, but it presses nicely. It has a nice drape, which I wanted to keep so I used PRO-TRICOT FUSIBLE~ Interfacing from Sew-Exciting. It fuses nicely and adds body without changing the hand much.
The measurements given on the envelope made it look just a little snug in the bum for me, so I added to the side seams. I cut a 16 in the shoulder and neckline, coming out to an 18 at the side seam. From there, I traced off the same shape side seam as the pattern, but swung out to just a bit past the size 20. It is plenty big in the hips now. I have found that keeping the same shape side seam in a looser style such as this gives a better result than trying to keep the waist small and swing out at the hip/bum.
I had planned to top stitch and edge stitch as desribed in the instructions, but am contemplating doing a saddle stitch in this buttonhole twist I found. I would likely wear the jacket with the charcoal jeans I just made or with black so I don't feel I am limiting my choices like this. It will be a new technique for me. You can see I have basted the edges of the CF and collar, but have machine top stitching on the pocket flaps. I changed my mind after doing the pockets.

Isn't the wooden spool cute?

ETA:

I started the stitching and LOVE the look! I was going to use tiger tape, but it looks OK like this. Perfection is for robots.

New plans- Keeping it simple

While I have been turning into a pasty mushroom in my basement, Spring weather has snuck up on us. I have discovered that I have one pair of jeans as my only pants. I have a lot of winter trousers and cropped pants, but no other Spring appropriate full length pants to wear.
Today is supposed to be a work day, but I plan to think about work a lot (an important aspect of designing) while I make another pair of jeans. I have two pair cut, fused and serged and I am going to wear one of them tonight!
I am also going to cut out a jacket (Vogue 1100)and fit a t-shirt pattern this week. Big plans!

Update- the charcoal denim trousers are complete. Hook and bar, hem and everything!

The jacket shell is cut out and basted for fitting. I still need to cut the lining though.

The Best Laid Plans...

I have been very busy with work sewing. Many of the fabrics we use need to be ordered from overseas and the already long ship time can be further delayed by Customs. I am not complaining about paying duty or taxes on these orders, but the delays can make deadlines difficult. The actual sewing time diminishes while the deadlines remain the same and I end up in a rush at the end.

This is the sleeve of a dress I have been working on. I took these pictures to show the difference a little extra line gives in emphasizing the under/overs of the Celtic knotwork. It looks much more finished, doesn't it?
I used a similar knotwork design on the skirt. The area was much smaller, but I wanted to maintain the scale, so I removed the two loops on either side and changed the shape slightly to fit into the background shape better. I made 10 little petal ends like this, got the dress together, sat back to admire the cohesiveness of the design...

...and YIKES! the tip of each skirt end had a horrible little smiling skull face on it!

Below is the sketch, now picture it in white on black.
Can you see it?
Just imagine the horror I found as I prepared to package this up to ship to a sweet little dancer!
I will have to remake the skirt before I can send it and, as I am already behind, I will need to stay up most of the night to do it. Ouch!

Easter Dress

Maisie with Boy. I don't make him much, so he doesn't get much air time here.

On Easter Saturday, as Maisie was being readied for bed, she reminded me of the promise of an Easter dress. I had embroidered out the bunny (from http://www.emblibrary.com/ ) on a leftover piece of cotton already. It was supposed to be a practise stitch out, but I found another piece of the fabric and had enough for a pinafore style without sleeves. The bodice is a from pattern I used for my now 14 year old niece, but no pattern pieces remain. (Yes, I have had UFOs for that long.) I used a full width of the cotton for the front and another for the back, dividing the scrap in half to determine the length.

I found a strip of acetate satin bias for the neckline and decided to use bias to finish the armholes as well. I had cut a lining in satin ( I don't remember why I chose satin) and used it to underline the front section. I should have just lined the bodice as I would have gotten to bed a lot sooner.

The design looked like something was missing and I thought I would embroider some flowers by hand on it but the design was too dense to get a needle through. I gave up and added a little green satin ribbon bow and did a row of green stem stitches under the bias at the neckline to make the colour look a bit more cohesive.

The dress is really a sleeveless jumper and the top underneath was a birthday present from Nana. The tights were a gift from my sister and even though they all came from disparate sources, the end result looked pretty put together.

On Easter Sunday morning, after the egg hunt, we all got ready to go to Church.

As we walked up to the church we saw the sign with the new Mass times, realized Mass was about to let out, and just kept walking around the block and home again. It was our own private Easter Parade!

Vogue 1098

I realized I hadn't put up pictures of Vogue 1098 yet. The repair on the lining went fine. I like the big oval buttons. Round buttons on a voluminous jacket (on my voluminous body) just didn't seem right.
I made a few changes to the pattern, but no major alterations. I cut it about 3" longer than the pattern. in a straight 16 for the upper chest/shoulder area, increasing to an 18 at the side seam. It is large and I could have done a straight 16. The back has a lovely flow with the extra width.
The sleeve alteration took about 1 1/2" (3/4" each side) from the sleeve at the seam where the centre joins the "cuff" seam, tapering up to nothing at the shoulder curve. It is still quite a large sleeve.

I am now working on the sleeves for the teal tweed jacket. They are cut, onse seam sewn and lined to edge. One has been quilted already. I basted the tweed, machine stitched it and have hand sewn the lining up, so it is ready to set in. I have just begun the quilting on the other sleeve.

I looked at beads for on the trim, but I don't want to decorate it so much that I feel self conscious wearing it.

Trim

I decided to stick withthe suede look fabric. I like the texture of the suede. This way I can make a coordinating skirt from the crepe and not feel too matchy-matchy in the jacket.Channel stitching in variegated thread

Facing sewn on

The pockets are a maybe and are just pinned on in these pictures to figure out placement. I might trim the top edges like I did the jacket edge. I don't like to bring the eye down, so usually avoid things on my hips. They are large enough to call out for attention on their own!

Bad Timing?

After waiting forever for the wool crepe from Fabric Mart, I received an email from them saying that the package had been returned and to check the address. All was correct and they shippied it out to me this time, instead of my sister in the US.
In the meantime I found a synthetic suede in a good teal and cut that into a edge band. After I backed it with a layer of lightweight quilt batting, I bagged the outer edge, using silk organza as a facing. Once it was pressed and the edge compared to the jacket for size and shape (which has a clean finished edge already, doh!) I channel stitched it with a variegated cotton embroidery thread in a 30 weight. It is a subtle effect, but noticeable when close up.
At about the time all this had been done, but not yet sewn on, the doorbell rang. Of course, it was the package from Fabric Mart containing the teal wool crepe and of course, it was a perfect colour match for the tweed. Now, what to do? I have a band faced and stitched, which I like, and 5 yards of coordinating crepe.