Saturday, March 29, 2008

More re: eBay

Still feeling a little bit frenzied with eBay, but it's abated a little with the completion of the Threads collection. Yes! I have all of them now, mine all mine.

To be honest, I think some of the enthusiasm over the early issues is a bit misplaced. Yes, there are some wonderful articles. But there are clunkers as well. I don't weave and I'm the world's slowest knitter, so those kind of articles don't help me much. So here's my take: there's no such thing as a Golden Age. OK, so I'm being a sewing heretic. But there you are. No Golden Age. Not for Threads, probably not for anything else. So be careful of nostalgia.

I'm still happy to have them all, though. It's cool to have an entire set of anything, especially when the collection has so much utility. Yep, I still think so, even though I've just declared the Golden Age to be a myth.

Another recent win arrived yesterday:



I was looking through the pattern selections on eBay and discovered a listing of 42 contemporary patterns from lessalt. In case you're a Stitcher's Guild member, that's the same lessalt (Leslie) as on that board. Knowing her tastes and size from Stitcher's Guild, I bid and won the collection. What a pleasant surprise when the box arrived yesterday! There were even more patterns than advertised. Leslie had discovered that one of the patterns in the collection was cut, so she added a dozen more to make up for it!!! Amazing!

It's been fun to go through them all and decide which ones are keepers. Obviously in an assortment this large, there will be some that are duplicates or otherwise just don't suit a person's taste. However, I'm keeping most of them--46 at this point.

Stage 2 of eBay will be starting pretty soon, and I'll start selling items once I open a separate checking account. IMO, it's a better practice not to co-mingle money. Initially, I'll put up excess sewing things like patterns, magazines, and books, then venture out into other items as I get the hang of it. Maybe I can clear out some of my excess and even make a little money. I'll let you all know once I'm set up.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

An Update on Ghost




Ghost and I visited the vet yesterday for a followup and dressing change. The surgical incision looks great. However, she managed to pull the new dressing off the site about 5 minutes after we got home. So now she's wearing a rather inexpert wrap that I put on her. Oh well, at least the incision is covered.


Now, here's the bad news. The pathology came back and Ghostie has fibrosarcoma, which means that it's likely that she'll have more tumors and will eventually die from this. The vet and I agree that she shouldn't have more surgery. So basically, it's kitty hospice from here out.


She's an old kitty who has already lived past the average life expectancy of most domestic cats. According to the vet, that's 16 years, she's 18. For now, she's happy and relatively healthy other than the cancer. I'm hoping she has another couple years of contentment, but it is what it is.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Time for the Spring Sleepwear, Part III

And here are the finished pj's!








Time for the Spring Sleepwear, Part II

When I finished the last post, I had sewn the side seams of the long pants and was getting ready to sew the side seams in the cropped ones. In the photo below, I've decided to make the finished slits 2" long.





In the next picture, I've sewn the side seam and I'm pressing the side seam and slit at 5/8".





Using the crease just pressed as a guide, I sewed the vertical edge of the hem.





Then, I folded the hems back in place, and a slit is created.





Next, I topstitched around the edge of the slit and sewed in the hems.




Next, the finished pj's!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Time for the Spring Sleepwear, Part I

I've started on yet more pajama bottoms, this time for spring. The pattern I use makes really voluminous pants, and the SS 07 collection literally became clown pants. So they've become a charitable donation. The FW 08 flannels (which fit) are getting too warm to wear, which means it's time to start the SS 08 collection. I mean, it's not as if I have no fabric that I can use! Here are the choices I made this time:





All of them are cotton prints that I've picked up at Jo-Ann's, Hancock's, or Hobby Lobby, usually from the clearance area. Nothing fancy, although I have been known to use quilt store or eQuilter fabric from time to time. Materfamilias would have me use some of this Anna Sui silk--perhaps it will happen, just not yet. I'm still thinking that silk would like to be a top, nightie, or even a little robe. We'll see.


This round, I'm making 3 full length pairs and 1 cropped. Sometimes the yardage of fabric I want to use is a bit short. Cropped allows me to use a fabric that's otherwise perfect, like that fun kung fu girl print. Usually I make multiple pairs simulanteously on the serger, depending on what color thread needs to be used. So this time, 2 sets of 2 sewn with slate blue and beige thread. Then, the individual pairs are finished off on the sewing machine with matching thread. Usually this involves just the casing and hems, because I basically do all of the seams on the serger.


However, the cropped ones are an exception. You know how the side seams on pant patterns aren't perfectly straight? How they flare out at the hem allowance? Well, seeing as these are supposed to be a quick project, when I cut out the cropped pants, I simply folded up the pattern pieces at the desired length and cut the fabric. Straight, no little flare for folding up a hem allowance that will fit all the way around the pants leg. As a result, I sew the side seams on a conventional machine and make a slit detail at the bottom. You see this a lot on cropped pants, so it looks like it's supposed to be that way.


My pattern has you complete the inseam and crotch seam first, so the side seams are the last bit of major assembly. But before I sew the side seams, I press down the casing and hems, using a template. This is a technique I learned from Linda Lee of the Sewing Workshop, and I use it a lot. Much simpler to do on the flat, though.


Here are the steps:


First, you cut your template to size, about 12" long by the desired width. You can use oaktag, a manila folder, or posterboard. The template in the photos below is 1 1/2" wide, which is the width of the casing. I also mark the template for narrower widths. I already have my template made, and you can see it in the next picture.





Lay the template on the wrong side, then fold the fabric to the desired width. In the photo below, I'm doing the hems, so I'm placing the edge of the fabric at the 1/ 1/4" mark.





Press.





The hems and casings are marked, and side seams are ready to be sewn.


At this point, I've serged the side seams of the long pants, and they're ready for casings and hems. The next step on the crops is to sew the side seams. I'm stopping for now, but will post later with the side seams and hem slits on the cropped pants.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Little Patient




Ghost is an old lady at 18, which is equivalent to 88 in human years according to the chart at the vet's office. She is quite the princess (or should I say queen? empress?) in spite of her 6 pound weight. She developed a growth on her left shoulder so I took her to the vet's office. She had blood work done and was deemed healthy, and surgery was scheduled yesterday morning. The vet said the mass came out easily, but she did send it for pathology so we would know what we're dealing with. I'm hoping for the best.


The pink "jacket" she's wearing in the pictures is actually her post surgical dressing. Pink, although she's not really a girlie-girl. She doesn't like it much, but at least she doesn't have to wear a cone on her neck.


She was her usual vocal self when I picked her up, and she immediately went to the food dish upon arrival at home. A good sign, I think. Here's Ghost after her snack:




A little unsteady on her feet, and in no mood to pose:


Friday, March 14, 2008

ASG Meeting Night

Last night was March's ASG meeting, with a speaker from one of the local Leather Factory stores. His store is #1 in the country for this chain, so I think I might need to check it out. It would be fun to make and wear some leather clothes some day (after all, this is the Southwest), plus he has a lot of findings for bags and things. He brought a lot of hides with him, OMG! The colors and finishes (metallics! prints!) were amazing. There were also some lovely soft pieces that felt like buttah, baby. A customer of the store also came with samples of work that she's made. Sorry, no pictures. I didn't realize the meeting would be such a great photo op.


As usual, we had our Trading Post, and I picked up some great pattern treats:





These both have 1961 copyrights, are new and uncut, and are pretty close to my size for simple grading tweaks. I know I've previously said that my time for a full-on vintage look is over, but I think both of these could be worn now. I especially like that sexy yellow cocktail dress on the left. I could so see myself wearing it! Interesting how adding a collar and a bell skirt (McCall's term) and leaving off the buttons can change vavavoom to demure.


The shirtwaist envelope on the right is proof that misleading pattern illustrations are nothing new. The technical drawings on the back show a much more normal shoulder slope than the picture on the front side. What is with that look anyway? Did women not have shoulders in the early 1960s? At any rate, either dress could turn into a good, workable dress look for today.


I guess the next pattern could be considered vintage to some of you. But come on, it's only from 1985!! Love the jacket and coat. The pattern also includes stirrup pants, but I seriously doubt that I'll be making them. Never say never, but I'm done with stirrup pants, having worn many pairs during the '80s and early '90s.





Again, my size and uncut. When I pulled the contents out of the envelope, those labels fell out! They're really nice woven ones! Don't you wish Vogue still provided labels for their fancy "big envelope" patterns?


I have this great length of Pendleton Indian blanket wool coating that I'll make into a Southwestern style coat someday, so I keep collecting coat patterns that might work. This one would be great with its straight lines, hood, and big patch pockets.


I also picked up some fabric, a couple of silk pieces for linings and a mini-houndstooth crinkle rayon. They're not that exceptional, so no pictures for now. Perhaps when they become something.


After the meeting, some of us headed to Applebee's for snacks and drinks. This has been a custom for quite a while. But last night, jeez! Let's just say that I hope I don't become a curmudgeonly old lady when I'm older. True, the hostess copped an attitude and the waiter was a little spotty, but come on. The manager came over to the table and everything was made right. People, it's Applebee's, one step up from fast food. Stop being so grouchy!

eBay Can Take Over Your Life

It all started innocently enough with the purchase of the Rowenta steam generator iron. Then I needed to get a gift for a prospective customer, so I got him a replica of the NASCAR my company sponsors (he's a big fan of NASCAR racing).


Then patterns. I had a particular set of Calvin Klein blouses in mind. I already have it, but I bought it a long time ago--before I knew to buy the pattern by the upper bust or shoulder width (depending on what method you use). I know I could, in theory, scale it down. But I know myself. It's not something I'd ever actually do, or it would have been done by now.




I haven't gotten that one yet (waiting for an 8 or 10 to turn up). But, 2 other Calvins and a Ralph Lauren have found their way to Casa Flan.







And now, Threads. Yep, the holy grail of Threads Magazine fanatics: to have a complete set. I'm very close thanks to some recent wins.





I think the next step will be to sell some things...