Woo Hoo...I'm Back!

I'm back!  Wow, it's been a while. So much craziness has happened since my last post!  I've endured the move from hell, had a virus knock me out of commission for a few weeks and dealt with pet drama.  I also haven't been able to reach my sewing machine since the move until recently! So many boxes.

Someone's getting settled in at our new diggs. It's temporary, but don't tell her that.

While I haven't been sewing for over a month, I've been lurking on everyone's blog and living vicariously through the sewing projects of others. Thank you all! If I can't sew, at least I can admire those who can.

I've also been acquiring fabric. My hording abilities haven't been hurt by any of the above! It's quite therapeutic really, and I've picked up some awesome stuff that I can't wait to show everyone!

Last week I finally felt well enough, and was finally able to clear up enough space to sew again! It felt so "right"!

My project was McCalls M6744.  Full disclosure: I was heavily inspired/blatantly stole this idea from Gail's blog.  I love her version, and came across it when I was looking for a perfect summer dress.  I wanted something simple, lightweight and fuss free.  Something that I could make 10 of and just throw on in the summer.

Pattern: McCalls M6744, View A.

Size and Modifications: I cut a Small at the top and graded to a Medium at the waist.  The only other mod was to shorten the strap. I didn't realize it needed to be shorter until I had finished the neck and armholes. No matter, I folded the strap older and top stitched. It's not perfect, but I'm the only one who will notice. I'll need to shorten it further for my next version.

Fabric: Jersey from my favorite jersey source - the Vogue Fabrics remnant pile!

Final Verdict: I really like this. The elastic waist is actually my favorite detail. So simple, but I just think the casing looks great!  I made a minor error on the casing. When I finally figure out the instructions, I was half way through my own method. It's not bad, just a bit different.

Funny thing, shortly after I started this (I actually started before the move), I discovered Sewaholic's Saltspring dress.  Both have the shape I wanted (blousy top and flowing, loose skirt). Saltspring is next up in my queue, so we'll see what happens.

Finished!

Guess who just finished their eyelet Cambie dress? That's right, I did!

Here are my two Cambies hanging out together:

Guess who's also too busy watching the Oscars, checking hockey scores and trying to cut out another Renfrew to actually take proper pictures of the finished dress?

Yep, that would be me also.

I promise to post pictures later this week. Until then, how about another cat picture?

Progress on Eyelet Cambie

I love that point in the sewing process when you see the garment start to come together and actually look like something. That's what happened to me early Sunday afternoon while working on my Cambie.

Prior to that, it was just a bunch of pattern pieces:

(Since Ms Flooz won't move, she might as well help model my fabric.)
 
But Sunday afternoon, a skirt emerged! I could start to see the finish product.

I also have this amazing ability to pick out the most unsuitable fabric combinations for shells and underlinings.  I did this over a year ago when I sewed the Lonsdale dress pattern from Sewaholic. My fabric choices were this wonderful gauzy fabric for the shell, and crazy stretch fabric for underlining.  In the end it worked out beautifully, but it involved many hours and much swearing to get to that point.

My eyelet, while beautiful, was tough to keep on grain.  It didn't help that I decided to go with the satin mystery fabric as the underlining.  I struggled to keep both fabrics lined up enough to baste together.  I think I've managed so far, but it definitely slowed down the project.  If I had been patient and waited until some nice cotton in the perfect color came along, I probably would be finished already.  Oh well, onward and upward...

I was also having a bit of difficulty with my skirt gathers.  I guess I'm just not used to making and wearing something this gathered at the waist.  It almost felt too gathered and I worried I did something wrong.  Contributing to this is the fact that the skirt is getting heavy with both fabrics. I'll admit that I had a few panic moments where I thought that this dress going to be a puffy mess and that I had wasted good fabric.

I draped it on my dress form and pinned the sleeve/straps to their correct position.

Then, Magic:

I LOVE IT.  It has a wonderful vintage vibe.  It's beautiful.  No more worries.  I can't wait to finish.

Next steps - I need to insert the zipper and bodice lining. I think I'm going to omit the skirt lining. The fabric is opaque enough to leave it out and I am still a bit concerned about the extra weight and bulk.

Navy Eyelet Dress - Getting the Party Started!

Chantilly, I just can't quit you.  I was so set in my decision to go with the Cambie pattern for my eyelet.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of hanging my the Chantilly bodice muslin on my dress form. I've been staring at it for a day now wondering if I made the right decision.

"Pst...You know you want me. I'm so pretty!  Just cut me out!"

No.  I made my decision.  If I don't stick with it, I run the risk of agonizing over the pattern for months. Cambie it is!

Don't worry Chantilly, I have an awesome consolation fabric in mind for you:

 

 

That's right, it's Dr. Who Toile from Spoonflower.com! I'm eying up the cotton voile mainly because it comes in a wider width than the cotton silk (54" width vs. 40" width). And since this fabric is expensive and the pattern does take up a decent amount of yardage, the wider option is more economical. 

This fabric will be perfect. The pattern is subtle enough for daily wear but nerdly enough for events like ComicCon. I'd call this a win win all around.  And, the purchase shall be my reward for finishing a few projects.

Now, on to Cambie!

I started cutting out the shell last night and I have to say that cutting this eyelet was a bitch! I was trying to be very careful to make sure it stayed on grain. This meant lining up the circles every few inches and pining them in place. I also had to decided if I wanted the circles aligned vertically or horizontally. It's subtle, but I know if I didn't keep this consistent it would drive me nuts. (Horizontal alignment won.)

As always, my dedicated helper was there to supervise.

" You might want to consider pattern weights instead of pins"

She is really annoyed in this picture that I have the nerve to try to move her! Check out those ears.

I need to cut underlining and lining next, but I anticipate that these will go much faster as long as I don't get any more feline help.

Fabric Cutting Craziness

Guess who had a burst of energy this weekend and cut out fabric for three new projects!

I really surprised myself because cutting out pattern pieces is my least favorite part of the sewing process, and I never cut out more than one project at once.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because the process isn't that exciting, or maybe because it's impossible to layout and cut any fabric in my house without having to navigate around my cat Floozy. She's never met a pattern she didn't want to lay on.

That's right - check out that strategic use of brown paper as a decoy.  I've also tried decoy fabric with varying degrees of success. (And yes, I cut most things out on the floor since it's the largest, clearest surface I have available.)

The dark green fabric in the top image will be my second Burda Gathered Top.  I've taken in a few inches from the neckline, so I'm excited to see how it will turn out.

The tool print fleece is set to become another pair of lounge pants for my husband (McCall's 3019) and the blue snowflake print fleece for a house dress for my grandma (McCall's Easy 2250). Both patterns are no longer in print.

I have a number of much fancier projects in the queue, but wanted to finish up a few quick items first.

Weekly Sewing Goals

I love the website www.sewweekly.com . I find it extremely inspiring to read about other sewers who commit to completing a project per week.  But, no matter how many times I contemplate playing along at home and completing one of the weekly challenges, I just never do. 

Well, not this year!

I'm borrowing their concept to challenge myself, but I need to put my own spin on this.  I need this to be a realistic goal and take into account that there will be some weeks where I just don't have the time, so I'm going to be loose in my challenge criteria. I want to complete one clothing-related project per week. Said project can be sewing a complete garment, completing a knitting project, or even something as minor as mending an article of clothing. I'd like to be able to say that I worked on one crafty/artistic project every week.

So far, so good.  For the first week in January, I made pajamas for my mom out of some very cute cat print flannel.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the top, but the pattern was McCall's M4320, View B. The bottoms are McCall's 3019, which I believe are out of print now. (They're very similar and possibly identical 4320, but I've never tested it out.) These are my standard, go to lounge pants pattern and I've made these about a million times now.

Sorry about the grainy pictures.  These were all taken with my cell phone.

I've also added my "signature" label to these. It's definitely not my best work, but I was in a bit of a hurry.

Second week and I've been going strong. My first project was one off my to-do list: "Better Than a Box Pet Bed" from the book One Yard Wonders.

Miss Floozy is modeling her brand new cat bed.  She sat on it before I finished hand sewing the last seam. Consequently, I had to work around her and try not to stab her in the backside with my needle.

I also just discovered the Rosy Ladyshorts pattern from Cloth Habit.  I love, love, LOVE this pattern! I can't say enough good things about it. I've made three pairs so far, with a fourth in progress.  Sorry, no pictures of these to share yet.

Let's see how long I can keep the sewing momentum up!