More on Memorial Day

The fabrics have been washed and dried, so here they are!



Left to Right:

1. Pale beige stretch lace: I'd call it "flesh tone", since it's approximately the color of my flesh. But that would be inappropriate. So pale beige it is. I'm thinking lining for all those too sheer onionskin, mesh and stretch lace fabrics from places like Emma One Sock.
2. Brown and white print: This one's a nice polyester something or other. Amazingly, no sequins, glitter, or gold paint! I see a skirt out of this, and there's probably enough for a matching blouse.
3. Black and gray chenille sweater knit: Who knew that Jo-Ann's carried fabric like this?!? Yet it's the third colorway I've found in clearance. Where is this stuff when it's in season, huh?
   

Again, Left to Right:

1. Pale blue embroidered linen: According to the bolt, it's 100% linen, so I bought it all.
2. Kung Fu Girl cotton: This is some of the cutest Asian novelty print fabric I've seen in a long time. It's like they made the "Kill Bill" women into a Saturday morning cartoon. The only way it would be better is if it were a knit instead of a woven, because the design would make a fabulous T-shirt. But it's a woven, so I'll make some other type of fun summer top out of this.
3. Rayon/linen blend floral: interesting color choice to make the flowers orange, turquoise and fuschia, but it's pretty. I'm tempted to make a dress, but knowing how this type of fabric tends to "relax", it's more likely to become a skirt.

Fiber Arts Fiesta

Oh yeah, I forgot to post about the Fiber Arts Fiesta, which I mentioned here. I went on Thursday.

Meh. I dunno, there were some lovely displays of the fiber arts but the whole event left me feeling a little blah. I just felt as though I'd seen it all before. Which, of course, is impossible since everything in the show was made since the last one in 2005. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset, maybe I was a little tired. I can't quite put my finger on it.

I didn't let that stop me from shopping though. Unfortunately, no unique fabrics but I did pick up some jewelry from the Friends of New Mexico Bead Society booth:

Everything was made by members of this organization.



Everything in this picture came from Treasures of the Gypsy. The buttons have kind of a Schiapparelli feel, I think. I'm planning on using them on an otherwise plain and formal business jacket. I'll use the stone for a simple piece of jewelry, like these necklaces that I made several years ago.

Park Bench Patterns had a booth, and I got sucked into buying some patterns. The picture below shows them--Diamond Head Park, Carolina Pines Park (for the dress), River Walk (for the shirt), and China Town.

This line has a mixed reputation, but owner/designer Mary Lou Rankin does an excellent job at showing them off to advantage. The samples were soooo adorable, I convinced myself that I needed to try them again. Hmmm, I hope I can "make it work", as Tim Gunn says.

Memorial Day Weekend

I spent most of my weekend chilling out, that doesn't mean there wasn't anything sewing-related.

Actually, there was a big sewing event--I bought a new BabyLock Evolve on Saturday! I've been wanting a new machine for a while, and have been debating about getting a new sewing machine. But I mostly do garment sewing, and my current sewing machine, a Brother 8500, is fine for that. My little old BabyLock Protege has been a workhorse; I bought it at House of Fabrics (mumble mumble) years ago. And it's still a fine machine, too. So what to do? When the Aesthetics Guild at St. Michael's was setting up for Easter, I got a chance to play around with my friend SueEllen's Evolve--and well, I wanted one, too. My birthday's coming up soon, so "Happy Birthday" to me!!

I got the Evolve set up this afternoon and got it threaded for a regular 4-thread overlock, which actually works! There's a lot to learn, but it's great to have a new toy. The introductory class is June 16, but you can bet I'll be working with it in the meantime.

I also got the third pair of pajama pants done last night and this morning. I used the Protege because I wanted an easy and quick project to work on, and I knew there would be a learning curve with the Evolve.

I also went by Jo-Ann's this afternoon and found some nice fabrics in the clearance section. All of the clearance was 50% off, too. No pictures right now, the pieces are all either in the washer or dryer. With the exception of the chenille knit in shades of gray and black, it's all usable now. The other pieces are: pale blue embroidered linen; floral rayon/linen in shades of orange, fuschia, and turquoise on a cream background; cotton kung-fu girl print; poly brown and white floral; and light tan stretch lace.

I also picked up a couple of Simplicity patterns on sale: 3744 (the Threads pattern that Carolyn blogged about a couple of days ago),

and 3827, a princess seam dress and top with an empire line.

The last one is Simplicity "It's So Easy" 4223, a little top with Asian accents. This one wasn't on sale, but it was only $2.99.

A Quick Sewing Hit

I bet you all are beginning to think I don't sew! After all, it's been a while since I've posted any projects.

I just finished up a simple project--more pj pants from McCall's 2476. As you might recall, I posted on this pattern when I made the last pair back in March. After completing that one, I had 3 more pairs cut out and ready to go, just for this kind of occasion. You know, when you want to sew. Right now. No pattern adjustment, no cutting out. Because the serger was threaded with beige thread, I made the 2 that went with that shade. Ahhh, I feel all better now.

After the last pair, I need to come up with another project like this one has been. Pj pants are great, but it's finally starting to get warm here and soon it'll be hot. Too hot to wear pj pants. I'm thinking of:

• Kimono style robes in a shortish length. More cottons! These would be great to throw on while I'm getting ready in the morning.


• Tank-style short nighties. I have a tank top pattern that I've been working on for a while (umm, the last 2 summers). The tank is fine, and I'm thinking that it would make a cute nightie if lengthened a bit (and if the bust dart were moved downwards, grrr).

Or I could just get going on a "real" project that involves some effort!

Hello, my name is Nancy and I'm a collector...

I was going to say shoeaholic, but that wouldn't account for the clothes, the stash, the patterns, the books, etc. So collector will have to do!

My first order of shoes came from SmartBargains yesterday, and are they nice! Dark red slingbacks, on a shapely but not too high of a heel.

I also made a quick visit to TJ Maxx on the way back from a client's yesterday. I was looking for a some shorts and casual pants, seeing as I haven't been able to sew lately. I did find one pair of nice Columbia shorts. But...I also found more shoes on clearance.

The Anne Klein slingbacks were only $20. They're made of black logo design fabric--little tone on tone "AK"s. Too bad the lion motif isn't used anymore, that was one of the coolest designs ever. Sure, they're probably from a couple of seasons ago, but I can live with that considering that this brand normally runs $80/pair. These are great shoes for the banking business, a very classic design with a reasonable heel.

The other pair is by Rampage and harder to describe. The front is strappy like a sandal, but the heel section is enclosed like a shoe. And they're flats but have a teeny little kitten heel. They cost all of $10, so it was hard to go wrong.

Another pair came from from SmartBargains this evening, like I need more shoes. Ooooh, but these are fierce:

If I wanted to be serious, I'd probably find some deep seated reason from my childhood (the orthopedic shoes my mother insisted I wear, for example). But for now, I'll just say that they're pretty and fun and buying them doesn't hurt anybody. Sooner or later, I'll have to wear "comfort shoes" but not yet!

Oh, and I did do something sewing-related last night. I hemmed a pair of pants to wear to the office. For all the procrastinating I do, you'd think alterations were a big deal. They're not, but they don't provide a lot of creative joy either.

More Following Up...

DBF looked at my finger Sunday evening and declared that it's looking good but would take a while to completely heal. I did a little bit of sewing on samples at the workshop and noticed that the hardest thing for me to do was to use the rotary cutter. Now, this may have had something to do with the finger, the tight space in which we were working, or the blade was dull. Take your pick. I'm still armchair sewing and shopping in the meantime. Here's an assortment of items from the weekend:

The brown fabric is rayon that I found at the old Hancock's on San Mateo. The colors are too dark for summer but should be perfect for the fall. The other fabrics are cottons from the Wyoming JoAnn's that were on clearance. The border print is for a summer skirt, Mickey & Minnie and the citrus for pj pants. The vegetables and food label prints I bought in anticipation of quick gifts--napkins, placemats, chef aprons--that sort of thing. I know I don't need any more stash but I also need fabric for quick and simple projects.

The Asian charms are from Rami Kim's workshop. Maybe I got a little carried away? But they are cute and my bedroom's done in an Asian theme, so I suppose I can find something to do with them. The leather purse handles are from Rami as well--the handles are really nicely made, not items I can easily find locally, and eventually I'd like to make some bags.

Believe it or not, I really am trying to pace myself. The Fiber Arts Fiesta is next week, and I want to shop the vendors. Not that I need anything, but I'm looking forward to seeing more items that aren't generally available here.

Rami Kim Workshop

Yesterday I attended Rami Kim's workshop sponsored by the ASG chapter here in Albuquerque. The morning session was a trunk show and PowerPoint, followed by lunch, and a hands on session in the afternoon.

Pictures really don't do her garments justice, as there are so many subtle little things going on that the photos don't pick up. Although I don't have a "wearable art" lifestyle, I can appreciate the amount of work that went into them. They're truly showpieces.





Here are some examples:




Rami primarily works with cottons and dupioni silk, and embellishes with hot fix crystals, beads, Asian charms, and metallic threads. Many garments have Asian themes--Rami says she has come to appreciate her Korean heritage much more since she moved to the U.S., and she incorporates it into her work.

In addition to the garments, Rami showed some quilt wall hangings that she makes from all of the leftover bits from the garments. She also does handbags (doesn't everyone?) and brought some examples.



The meal break featured box lunches by a place called Sweet Blessings. I was unfamiliar with them, but they do a good lunch. Mine was turkey with homemade cheddar and green chile bread. The dessert brownie was huge! Imagine chocolate fudginess offset with cherry filling and topped with a chocolate streusel. Genius!

We also had shopping opportunities. Rami brought purse accessories and an assortment of cute Asian charms. I bought a couple of sets of leather handles and several of the charms.

After we ate, on to sewing. Rami taught us several techniques that she uses in her garments. Some were based on a Korean technique of paper folding called chopkey. It's somewhat like origami. She also took us through mirror image prairie points, which I can totally see being used as embellishment on a silk blouse, and lined prairie points, which look much more intricate than they are. We also learned how to make stiched tucks, straight and curved. I don't really have good photos of these, so I'll try later to post some illustrations. It was nice to do something hands on, and it reinforced what we had seen during the morning session. Although my personal taste is more simple, I can see incorporating some of these techniques into my sewing repertoire.

Following Up

First, thanks for all your kind words and thoughts. My finger is healing up, and although I'm still doing the neosporin and bandaid routine and the finger looks icky, it's got some mobility. I'm touch typing with the sick puppy right now.

As expected, I didn't get a whole lot of sewing accomplished this week and I did some shopping. Not all of it sewing related. Ann of Gorgeous Things posted about her new shoes and they were so great I had to check out the site she got them from! SmartBargains rules! 2 pair of shoes are on their way to Casa Flan. Although Zappos is still my favorite shoe site ever, I can see that SmartBargains will definitely be a worthy supplement.

I also got my patterns from the Vogue sale. Check them out!

Vogue 2946: This is the gorgeous Oscar de la Renta set of blouses everyone loves. Someday, somewhere I'll have reason to make and wear these blouses.

Vogue 8264: This one's been out for a while. It just looks like summer in New Mexico to me. Apparently some other southwestern fashionistas agree with me, because I've been unable to find it at any of the local sewing retailers.

Vogue 8178: Isn't this a charming little dress? I can see myself wearing this to the office as a suit substitute during those long hot months.

Thanks to Erin at A Dress a Day, I also found this little gem of a pattern:

Simplicity 3747 View F (the pink and white one) reminds me a lot of a favorite dress I made in college. The yoke was white with black splotchy dots and the body of the dress was black with white splotchy dots. I wore that dress to shreds, but unfortunately the pattern is long gone. Until now! Another cute suit substitute for the summer.

There are even a couple more patterns and a nice piece of rayon challis I found at Hancock's but it's late and I have a sewing class tomorrow. The Rami Kim class I posted about a while ago is almost here! I'll report back as soon as I get a chance, probably Monday after a couple of social evenings with DBF.

Injured!!!

I actually have been sewing. I made another pair of cropped pants from Butterick 4194, which is out of print but still available on the Butterick web site. I wore them yesterday even though it was really too cold (Does global warming mean it's gonna be cold here instead of hot? Inquiring minds want to know!). Cute, even though they're elastic waist (converted from drawstring). What can I say? It's a TNT pattern, and the resulting pants work well under t-shirts that I seldom tuck in anyway.

But back to the topic. For the second Saturday in a row, I've managed to hurt my sewing hand. Last week, I put a splinter through my right middle finger while cleaning the baseboards. This week, even worse! I mashed my right index finger in the utility room door as I was moving my little SUV to the driveway. Opening the garage door while having the sliding doors open created a wind tunnel effect, which caused the door to slam, catching my finger--owww! I did this around 7:30 pm and probably should have gone to the ER for stitches, but the prospect of visiting the ER on a Saturday night was less than appealing. So DBF did his professional best when he came over (he's an RN with an emergency care certification), and my finger has been cleaned up and is wrapped in bandaids to the second knuckle.

It's a good thing I'm relatively ambidextrous thanks to sewing, but handsewing will be out for a while. I think I'll be able to cut and machine sew. But for now, I think I'll give it a rest. Neosporin and fabric don't exactly play well together, so I need to let my digit heal for at least a couple of days.

So I'll be doing armchair sewing while I recuperate. Hopefully it won't get too expensive!! Maybe I can cut and trace patterns instead of succumbing to the lure of internet shopping...