Loes Hinse Cowl Top,View A

A quick one. Nevertheless, I'm quite pleased I got this project done, because that makes 3 for the month of January! How long has it been since I've been able to be that productive?

I even made myself trace!! I traced the pattern pieces off Friday night, grabbed time in bits and pieces Saturday and Sunday for cutting and sewing, then completed it this evening.

No pictures on me yet, I'm hoping that someone will take some at tomorrow's sewing class
with Linda Lee.

Butterick 3201: Finally Finished!

This skirt is one of those projects that has taken a lot longer to complete than it should have. True, most of that time elapsed because it got set aside. But then, there was the matter of matching the back seam, which took time. And later, I wasn't happy with the way the skirt looked after trying it on, too much fabric at the sides. A-line is probably not the best shape for me, and I felt like I looked squat in it. So I took 2 1/2" out of the circumference at the side seams, tapering to nothing at my hips. Much better!

I hemmed it a bit long, but I like how it looks with boots.

I'm not ready to retire this pattern yet, it's a classic shape and I've done the work needed to make the style look its best on me. But time to move on to something else. I've got patterns and fabrics laid out for three more projects: a Pure and Simple Shell, a Now Shirt, and a Tango Skirt to replace the one I recently trashed. I found some more brown rayon in my stash that would work well.

Oh yeah, I need to fire my photographer! ;-) DF cannot seem to get the hang of photographing me so I'm getting a new camera and tripod. At least then I can only blame myself for bad pictures!

Vera Wang Fabrics (her loss is my gain)

Like many of my online friends on the sewing boards, I recently fell prey to the Fabric.com clearance of Vera Wang fabrics at $1.95 a yard. The first box arrived on Wednesday, and the second box will come later this week. I must have lost my mind because I have no room for all of it! Time to get busy, I guess.

This fabric became available due to the recent economic collapse. Remember the chaos in retail in 2008? High end stores dropped prices to 75% off before Christmas and cancelled as many orders as they could. Vera Wang's Lavender Label was one of the lines impacted. Most of her Fall 2008 and Resort 2009 collections did not get produced, and the fabrics were eventually liquidated as a result.

In June 2009, they showed up on-line, and I bought several pieces then--the more mainstream ones. Good stuff with prices in the $10 per yard range.

With the latest clearance, I bought some of the more "signature" pieces. I did an online search and found how they were used in the collections. Some of the fabrics are so unique I wasn't sure what they could be used for--lavender brocade with giant flowers, anyone?


photos courtesy Vera Wang.

Yep, that's one of the selections I bought. I'm not planning any line-by-line re-creations of Ms. Wang's looks, but now at least I have a clue. And that brocade with the giant flowers is growing on me.

Of course, that's just one of many, but I didn't think to save pictures of them all from Fabric.com. But I also got some of that navy fabric that's peeking out in the second photo, as well as some cobalt wool boucle that Ms. Wang made into this:

photo courtesy Style.com

Also tropical weight Ebony stretch wool, baltic blue matte jersey, and a non-VW print jersey. The next box has more brocades, chiffon, and dark green twill.

Famous Last Words...

Inevitably, the question arises on the sewing boards of how to properly sew a serged seam. Many believe that sewing the seam first and then serging is the way to go, and I've always kind of pooh-poohed it. "Oh no, I've never had a serged seam come out. You don't need to sew and then serge. You can just serge and be done with it."

By and large, I stand by my opinion. I still haven't had a serged seam on a garment come undone. However, I did have fabric totally shred past the 2 stitching lines of a 4-thread serge today:


I had a wardrobe malfunction at the office and fortunately, I live close enough to downtown that I could drive home and change into something else.

The fabric is rayon, and I'm not sure if an extra line of conventional stitching would have prevented the shred-out of this seam. Rayon is a notoriously weak fabric, and this skirt has been worn many times since I made it almost 2 years ago. I later found some other areas on the body of the fabric that were quite worn and on their way to becoming holes and another seam that was preparing to shred out.

So, farewell Romeo and Juliet Tango skirt! Time to make a replacement with wider serging (and a line of conventional stitching, just in case).

Holiday Weekend

So far, no sewing. But I did get my SUV sold! I went through CarMax and was very pleased at their professionalism and speed. Less than an hour of time over 2 trips and I left with check in hand. DF is happy too--more room for his toys and I'm giving him a commission for all the time he spent on this project for me.

With a nod to Cidell, I also made soup. My standard chicken soup is an improv--no formal recipe to speak of. I do make my own stock with a pressure cooker and freeze it, so that's my starting point. Saute an onion, carrot, celery, and some garlic in olive oil, then saute a chicken breast cut into chunks. Add a carton of frozen green chile (a uniquely New Mexican food item), add stock, add 1/2 cup-1 cup raw brown rice. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for about an hour. Adjust seasonings (salt and pepper) and serve.

Off to church soon, then more football. I hope today's games are better than yesterday's. I'd also like to fit in some sewing. I need to finish up my wool skirt but I'd also like to start on something new.

TSW Peony Vest

My first garment of 2010!


And here's the reverse:


The starting point was this vest, from The Sewing Workshop's Peony and Poppy Vest pattern. The Peony vest is the simplier one at the lower left:

The orginal vest design is more involved than mine, with lining, facings, and 2 different vest fronts. I skipped all that because I wanted to take advantage of the unique properties of a double faced jersey that I picked up from Fabric Mart in December of 2008. With one side orange and the other black, it was a natural for a reversible garment. I had previously used it last year to make Vogue 8430, a Marcy Tilton jacket. Coincidentally, it was the first garment of 2009!

What I did was to serge off the edges and seam allowances, lap together the seams, and attach them together with a line of sewing and some fusible webbing. A fairly quick project--neatly finishing off those edges was the most time-consuming part, with all those loose threads to tuck in. However, I really love the way they look and will probably go back and finish off the jacket the same way (it's now finished off with zig zag and that just looks a little too raw to me). Below is a detail of the edge finish:


I'm glad I had enough jersey left over to be able to play with this vest. Even though I'm not a big vest fan, but it will be a nice garment to have now that winter has hit New Mexico. Maybe I'll even make another one! Once again, I need to give Terri K. credit for the idea; she had posted a similar vest on Stitcher's Guild during the holidays.

An Upcoming Visit by The Sewing Workshop

I recently found out that one of my favorite sewing people will be in town next month! Linda Lee is the creative mind and owner of The Sewing Workshop, an independent pattern line that I've talked about many times. Linda has a great eye for fabric and design, and I always enjoy her teaching. Since one of my "intentions" for 2010 is to take care of me, I'll be taking February 1 off to take a class from Linda, followed by another event on February 2. This is a great opportunity for me since I don't think I'll have a chance to attend one of her Getaways this year.

The all day class is called Sewing Workshop Techniques, and it's described as "an opportunity not to be missed. Linda Lee has a firm grip on sewing trends, and while she is aware of today's more relaxed fashions, she also is superb at techniques that work and work well. Learn several of her methods that will improve, indeed, perfect, your garment stitching."

The next day I'm back at work but will be back for an evening presentations called Get the Lowdown on Her Upscale Fashions. OK, it's a trunk show, but I always enjoy the opportunity to view, fondle and try on Linda's samples.

I didn't want to push it too much so I will not be taking the third class, two hands-on sessions about making the Liberty Shirt:


Although I haven't made this one yet, I have the pattern and I'm already pretty familiar with it. I'd really like to make this one as part of a suit.

I realize New Mexico is a far destination for many of you, but if you're interested, contact Ann Silva's Sewing Center for more information and to sign up for these sessions. They aren't inexpensive but they'll be worth it.

Those Dreaded Resolutions

Every year I struggle with New Year's resolutions. On the one hand, it's probably a good thing to state your intentions for the year ahead. On the other hand, another set of obligations to live up to.

So here goes with some general intentions for 2010, ones that are important to me and seem reasonable:

• Limit personal internet at work. I think this one needs no explanation, right?

• More sewing.

• Attend more ASG activities. My attendance in 2009 was abysmal. I want to attend most of the monthly general membership meetings and most of the Material Girls meetings.

• Health maintenance. Ideally, I have about 10 pounds that I'd like to lose. So I want to eat in a more healthy manner in 2010 and make more effort to exercise.

• Explore new career opportunities. Maybe it's the Seven Year Itch, or maybe my current field has changed in a way I don't like so much. But it doesn't hurt to take a look and see what else is out there.
  

Generally, 2010 will be the year of treating myself better. I didn't do that in 2009, and I've been worn out for most of the year. Therefore, more "me"--self care, making myself happy, etc.