Sunday, September 20, 2009

Next Projects: A UFO and Another Tango

In 2007, I entered a SWAP at Artisan's Square, but I didn't get very far. Story of my life! One of the garments I almost completed was a Butterick 3133 skirt like the one below on the far left.



My version was in black georgette with circular designs. I'm thinking I should pull out the skirt and finish it up, as it would be perfect for this time of the year. I also have enough fabric left over to make a matching top/blouse for a faux dress look.

I'm also thinking of making another Loes Hinse Tango Skirt from some animal print and floral border print I got from JoAnn's a while ago.



For that, I'm planning on doing an "engineered" print somewhat similar to this skirt from Coldwater Creek:



I saved this picture a couple of years ago because I thought it was a different (and more flattering!) way to approach a skirt with a border print, and since then I've seen several other similar ones in their catalog.

Mine will have each panel centered on the pink lilies of the border. At least that's the plan. I'm still debating the length, but I'm leaning towards a little longer than the last one so it can be worn with boots.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The Last Butterick 4194 of Summer

As I mentioned yesterday, we're 2 weeks in and things have settled down enough that I had some time to sew this weekend. I chose to make this using "known" machines, so alas, Audrey is still waiting for her turn to sew with me. However, I was looking for a simple, stress-relief project so I wanted as few unknowns as possible. Hopefully next time, girl.


I've already made several versions of this skirt so there aren't a lot of sewing details to share. The fabric is an embroidered linen blend from JoAnn's. The fabric speaks for itself so I kept the skirt simple, with no cargo pockets, etc. to distract. And due to being pastel, the fabric tends to shadow through, so I made the pockets from some beige voile that was in my stash--no show through and minimal bulk:


I don't know if I'll get much wear out of it since it's such a summertime design on the fabric, but it was a nice little project to end my summer sewing on.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Moved In, Week 2

Another week, and we're moving along pretty quickly. DF's Man Cave is all set up except for the pictures on the walls, which he has asked me to help with. This weekend's big project is our shared office. Right now, DF's office things are still in boxes and strewn about, while I have a big mess hidden behind doors in the closet. First things first, we'll deal with the visible stuff! But at some point, the office closet will have to be dealt with.

And today, I'm actually planning on sewing! I'll be working on the pink Butterick 4194 skirt since it's already cut and partway done. And that will be the end of summer sewing for me. I'm really looking forward to starting on fall things. Even though it's still warm here and will be for a while, it's time to start working in a different color palette and with more structure.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Moving Day Plus Seven

This is just a quick one...

As we continue to unpack and organize our stuff, things appear to be going well. No major arguments so far! We are both learning to compromise.

One of my compromises was to eliminate some fabric, since it was the source of discomfort for DF. I put together 5 boxes for the Iraqi Bundles of Love project and mailed them on Friday. Umm, 50 + yards of fabric and barely a dent! Kind of a wake up call. Maybe I actually do have too much fabric--or I need to get sewing.