Purple Explosion

I've been on a top-making binge lately.  Between last Wednesday and today, I've made three tops and am half-way through a fourth.

The one I'm most excited about is my second Avocado Hoodie made from the awesome heathered purple fleece I picked up from my recent trip to the Textile Discount Outlet (Blogged here. I called it maroon in that post, but after playing with it for a while, have decided it's more purple.)

Pattern: Avocado Hoodie by Disparate Disciplines. I made option B, non-overlapping hood with back pockets.

Fabric: Super soft, super awesome purple fleece from the Textile Discount Outlet. I could not stop petting this in the store. I also used purple jersey left over from this dress for the pocket lining picked up in the Vogue Fabrics remnant room.

Size and Modifications: Even though I said I would modify the size a bit after my last hoodie, I lied.  I used the same sizing as before - size 6 on top and size 8 at hips. Since this fabric is much thinner and more drapey than my first, it fits looser.

I also did elect to interface the pocket tabs with some lightweight fusible interfacing and tacked down the tabs just a bit in the corners. This helped them not gape open as much as my first hoodie. (That one isn't bad, these just lie flatter.)

Close-up of my lining:

Underneath , I had on my latest Renfrew.  This is the millionth time I've made this pattern, and there's no end in sight. This shirt was made from purple burn out jersey picked up from, you guessed it, the Vogue remnant room. Seriously, most of my Renfrew fabric comes from here.

As you can probably tell, I've been on a major purple/maroon/burgundy/wine colored fabric binge lately. But hey, if the color works, why not stick with it?

Meetup and Fabric Fun

This Sunday, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a group of amazingly talented Chicago-area sewing bloggers.  It's always inspiring to meet with such talented ladies, and extra fun because you know that every single one of them was wearing something that they created themselves! I didn't take any photos, but you should definitely hop on over to see the ones Michelle posted on her blog.

Our meetup began at the Textile Discount Outlet.  If you haven't been there and are in the Chicago area, you must go. It's a huge, chaotic, insane amount of awesomeness that will leave you feeling overwhelmed, but you'll also end up with some great deals. Afterwards, we headed out for lunch and pattern swap. Again, check out the pictures on Michelle's blog. It was a swap of epic proportions! I picked up two patterns, a Tiramisu (a pattern I've been eying up) and a basic elastic waist skirt that I'll probably make ten of to wear around the house. 

Amazingly, I managed to keep my purchases reasonable.  (And by reasonable, I mean under $60) I was very good keeping my wardrobe goals in mind for the most part and have patterns or at least ideas for all of the fabric!

My haul:

Floral Fabrics. The bottom left light blue is so soft! I'm sure it's rayon. The darker purple at the top left still feel great, but not quite as soft. I'm guessing that it's either cotton or a cotton-rayon blend  At least one, if not both, will become a Saltspring dress. 

Snake Print is a heavier, stretchy cotton blend (maybe?). The guy at the cutting table called it a printed denim. It doesn't feel heavy enough for that, but I'm definitely not the expert when it comes to these things. I couldn't find a suitable leopard print for my dream pencil skirt that wasn't velvety or chiffon, and this was my consolation fabric.  But, I really like this because it also has a sort of lacy vibe from farther away.

Maroon Fleece on the top right. This was so amazingly soft. I couldn't stop petting it! This is destined to become a Burda top similar to ones I've previously made, an Avocado hoodie, or maybe I could branch out and try the Lola dress pattern.  I hope to be able to squeeze a few things from this, so we'll see what happens.

Mystery Purple Fabric on the bottom right. Thurlows. I'm not sure if I'll go with the shorts or pants yet. I'm giving this pattern another shot and am not going to mess with alterations like before. I like to live and sew dangerously.

And, last but not least, SEQUINS!!!!!!!!

Here's a closeup of the awesomeness! They're so dainty and delicate and I love the color. I actually have been eying up sequins for some time now and while it's the most impractical item in my haul and technically not on my to do list, it's sequins!!! So shiny! How can I resist?  This will either become a sheath dress or a top and I don't care if I only wear this out to the movies or the Golden Nugget Pancake House, it's going to be worn!


I was also really good when I got home and went on a cutting spree! I usually hate to cut, but since I wanted another day to think about the silk Saltspring fix looming over me, I cut out the fleece for my first Avocado hoodie, a maroon knit for a Burda kimono top, some plaid fleece for lounge pants for my mom, and I'll even include a Renfrew even though I didn't cut it out. I found the pieces and added them to my pile so I'm counting it.