Molly's Sewing and Garage Sale Adventures

The hat quest: final results

2012-01-27T12:36:00.000-06:00

Here is my dad wearing all of the hats I made for him for Xmas. I had to draft my own pattern and it took a lot of time and a lot of failures to get anything resembling a golfing/driving/ Irish tweed cap. They are still not exactly like a store-bought one, so maybe I can perfect my pattern in the future.

Failure 1- not exactly a hat.

Failure 2: Tiny train conductor hat

Failure 3: A slightly too floppy and large driving cap!

A nice "final version" in plaid flannel.

The second "final version" in a thin wool. I think the color was called dill.

So, they are really easy to make when you have a pattern already made... but making the pattern was really hard. At least now I know hats are not that difficult to make!

I just got a huge box of patterns from Lisette, I'll post pictures of those this weekend!

Vogue 1121- The NYE dress

2012-01-18T13:39:00.000-06:00

This dress took me a long time to finish and I am less than in love with the final product.

Here are some awkward self-timer shots. It was a battle with the light being too bright and then too dark and then trying to find a angle that didn't make me look like a giant/too far away. Bleh.

Anyways, I am no photographer, obviously. I can't wait until the days get longer and I can get Andrew to take pictures outside again!

It is very fitted, except for the sleeves. I didn't really think that through and I'm noticing it in the pictures.

The side fits fine.

My main point of disgust for this dress is the neckline. It looks awful and the fit is awful. It goes too far to the sides, showing bra straps, and it is also DESIGNED to have that stupid inset in the neckline. I had hoped I could leave it out (I also called it the "Modesty Panel" the entire time I was sewing) but in the end the neckline is just way too low and gaping. So I sewed it in, but I really think it has a "oops, let's fix this neckline that's too low, but I'm already done sewing the dress" look. But they designed it like that! Why?????

See what I mean about the neck?

This pattern is a "NOPE" for me and I won't ever make it again. It was a disappointment. I may still wear this dress at some point, but I do not love it. That's two meh items for January. I am losing my sewing mojo with all of these icky items!

Well, I am off to Oregon to visit my parents for about a week. I am going to take pictures of my dad in all of his hats and then put him on the interwebs. hahahahaha.

Butterick 4083- the Meh blouse

2012-01-11T14:50:00.000-06:00

I used the pattern on the bottom right, which looked like a nice and elegant blouse. I used a piece of fabric from an estate sale that is beige with yellow and blue flowers.

Front: meh

Back: meh

It was super unravelly, so I did finish all of the seams in "Nile green" rayon binding. I used a zipper that matched. I tried to omit the zipper, but I couldn't pull it over my giant head.

It looks equally meh on. I need to stop using fabric just because it was super cheap and from an estate sale. It blends in too much with the pasty whiteness of my skin and is completely gross looking.

Off to the goodwill for you!

Next up: New Year's Dress

2012-01-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

I picked up this pattern on sale recently. It's another of Vogue's "let's make this pattern up in a fabric so that you can't see any of the details" collection.

The line drawing shows how it has a billions pieces, all with princess seams. I decided to cut out a 6, to make it snug and because waiting tables has made me skinny again. I lost 1"-1.5"- 2" from my measurements.

I don't think I even posted about this fabric from an estate sale. They were all severely overpriced, so I only got this one piece. It is knit fabric and I didn't realize until later that it was a 2 yard long tube of fabric.

It is grey and white with gold sparkly thread woven in. It's design reminds me of one celled organisms. I think it will be a slightly flashy, sexy dress. Whoo hoo!

Awesome new fabric store!

2011-12-31T14:11:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I got to meet Meg in person! Very exciting! I found a new fabric store that I had never been to and recruited her to go along. It is called Discount Textile Outlet and I found it on Yelp, which often has good (or hilarious) reviews. Basically the review trend in 2 directions: awesome, cheap awesomeness OR disgusting, messy and disorganized. I thought this sounded like a place I would enjoy...

It's a giant warehouse and on the first floor is mostly fashion fabric for clothes. There is a whole room of what I would call "prom dress heaven" full of satin, chiffon, beads and such. A whole room or ribbon and trim. They have nice men's suiting and a ton of spandex. A back room of upholstery fabric.

This seems to be the only picture I took, but I think it expresses our excitement about finding a great, cheap fabric store that is not Joann/Hancock.

There was so much to look at. This is in the basement, which is disorganized, but exciting. More upholstery (even for cars, lol) and so many tacky buckles and a room full of zippers in every color and size!

Plus there's an upstairs! It is slightly more organized than the basement and there are so many rolls of fabric. It is all so cheap. Lots of stuff is priced 4.95 a yard and the nicer fabric we bought was 7.98 a yard.

On a practical note, expect to park on the street and they take cash or cards. If you are in Chicago (and not overly prissy about organization) definitely go give a try! Also, it is owned by Orthodox Jewish people, so it closes early on Fridays and is closed on Saturdays, FYI.

It was super fun to meet Meg and I'm sure I will be going back often!

I bought two yards of this fabric. Yes it is velour. Yes it is gold! Yes, it does have sheer squiggles up and down it!! Hell yeah!! I am going to make another mardi gras maxi dress to take down in February! PS- they had it about ten colors. Would it be so wrong to make one dress from each color? LOL

Then I went to Joann for their pattern sale and bought:

yes, 10 more patterns. And then I went home and ordered two more online because the store was out of my size!

Whoo hoo!

Now I am off to work on NY Eve, and a double tomorrow and a double on Sunday. If you go out, tip your waiters and waitresses nicely since they will be ringing in the New Year at work, and you don't have to!!! :)

Have a good night!

Advice, please: Etsy

2011-12-29T12:34:00.000-06:00

Hello ladies!

I just cleaned out my closet and I have some handmade clothes I want to sell on etsy. Do any of you have shops on etsy or buy things from there often? What are reasonable prices for vintage-styled handmade dresses (mostly)?

I am going to sell those vintage heels I bought, some buttons, the plaid 50s dress, the purple dress with red buttons, the "social studies" dress, these tweed pants, the scary diner waitress dress and my cupcake dress of pinkness.

I would appreciate any advice!

Thanks!

T-Rex's Merry Christmas

2011-12-28T10:46:00.000-06:00

I bought T-Rex a sheepskin at Ikea for Xmas. He loves it a lot.

My mom sewed some dog pajamas for him ans mailed them- how cute are these?

He refused to look even the slightest bit happy when I put them on.

They are so cute! Thanks, mom!

Here is a video of him walking like he's being tortured. Hahaha. It reminds me of this video on youtube that I find hysterical.

Christmas Stockings!

2011-12-22T11:24:00.000-06:00

I finally found time yesterday to make our Xmas stockings. I took the pieces of cut fabric to All Seasons Screenprinting and they embroidered the names. That was about 30 bucks, but I don't have the tools to do it on my machine and it wouldn't look as nice.

I used that piece of vintage holly fabric from an estate sale. I added the green pom pom trim and gold ric rac.

I love them! I went to Joann and was determined to have pom pom trim. They were totally sold out of red and they had a really dark, ugly green and this bright green. Luckily I had a fabric swatch and it matched. I later realized it is exactly the same as my crazy 70s pajamas!

Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays!

Ye Olde Christmas Tree Skirt

2011-12-20T00:02:00.001-06:00

Actually, ye newe Xmas tree skirt! There was nothing math-related in the creation of this guy, so it does not close all the way in the back. I also ended up gathering the center, but that's okay. You can pull it up over the stand so it doesn't show.

It was 2 yards each of three different Xmas fabrics, which ended up being about 30 bucks. LOL, not really saving any money... Oh well. I like it and it's really big.

Do you like our tree? We drove all the way up to Antioch to go to Ben's Christmas Tree Farm and cut it down ourselves! It's a blue spruce, so it's really pretty!

It always looks sort of blue like that, but the light is extra piercing because it snowed! I am still excited to see snow every time. Ten years in New Orleans will do that...

I gave the lemon tree a few ornaments so it wouldn't be jealous.

Up close the fabrics are gingerbread men, holiday penguins and snowmen.

Merry Christmas to everyone if I don't manage to post anything this week!

Irish Cap Version 3: Progress

2011-12-13T18:05:00.000-06:00

Alright, the pictures are awful (taken with the iphone) because I just wanted to text them to my mom to show her I made a damn hat! I did it!

Now, it is not perfect and has more of a Newsie/ Dickensian chimney sweep/ train conductor yet I have made a hat.

It needs to be a little deeper to get the slouch on the front and it is too snug.

On to version 4, which will be part of dad's present even if it is not flawless...

Estate Sale Loot: We did not get murdered!

2011-12-09T12:42:00.000-06:00

Thursday was hilarious. Emma and I met at the house and then rang the bell. Knocked. Rang the bell. Peered in the windows. Agreed that we weren't leaving because we had already driven all the way here. Looked for the post on craigslist, only to find it had been deleted.

The Emma knocked on the door really hard and it swung open a little bit. That made it a little creepy, but we yelled "hellllooo" in the open door and still no one answered. Repeat all of this for about 15 minutes. Then we go to the back door to knock and a car pulls into the driveway, so we scamper back to the front door.

Apparently the guy cancelled his ad and called an estate sale company after people came to buy stuff and trashed the place. He did let us come in and look around, since he had already said that we could. We did not get murdered, hooray!

Now, on to the loot!

I was too lazy to bring these in, but we're getting the Xmas tree tomorrow... $12.75 worth of National Geographics at 25 c each.

Total was 20 bucks, so the rest of this stuff came to 9.25, which would be about 66 cents each. 5 packs of seam binding, 2 aprons, 1 holiday table runner, one piece of fabric with blue flowers (which I realized is extremely similar to this dress. I like blue flowers, I guess!).

I bought two knitting books since I am trying to re-learn how to knit (correctly this time). I also found an ancient buttonhole attachment and another zigzag attachment, which I will sell on etsy. Also buttons, which I will also sell on etsy.

Two wins and a FAIL

2011-12-07T12:22:00.001-06:00

Let's start with a win:

Look at my awesome tarte aux poires, aka pear pie. I complete stole the decorating idea from Meg and it turned out great!

Win 2: Emma is going to go with me on Thursday to the sketchy estate sale. The rest of you (Meg) should skip work and come too! Email me at mollysewsblog [at] gmail [dot] com if you want to...

Win 3: Adorable Andrew and his trench coat got chosen for Burdastyle's Best of November! I am super excited!

and now....

for the EPIC fail...

I present to you...

Dad's Irish tweed cap version 2...

Yeah, I know. WTF. Who even knows what is going on up in here. So frightening. When (and if) I ever sort this out I am going to make my first tutorial so that no one has to suffer like me (and your eyes). I even drew sketches and discussed it with Andrew...he is good at the logic puzzles of sewing.

I'm going to start version 3 this afternoon before work. Wish me luck, it seems I desperately need it!

Winterized!

2011-12-06T17:24:00.001-06:00

Ok, so my dad told me he wants an "Irish cap" made by me for Christmas. I bought this wool that I had been eyeing at Jo-Anns to make a practice version.

Did I go online and look at pictures to study them and make my own pattern? No, of course not. I decided I knew EXACTLY how it would be made and then drew and cut out 6 triangles. I cut them out and sewed them together and then put it on.

Result:

LOL, I am an idiot. This looks NOTHING like a tweed cap. So I added a band and decided I will wear it until it falls apart. This will happen soon because the weave is really loose.

I made a thin scarf out of the leftover fabric. I did manage to match up the plaid on the scarf, but not the hat.

Don't worry, I have since looked at some pictures and am going to attempt version 2 tonight. Or make a tarte aux poires. We shall see.

Want to go?

2011-12-05T14:30:00.000-06:00

Ahh I want to go to this "estate sale" but it sounds too sketchy to go to alone! Thanks, mom, for giving me such a strong sense of paranoia.

It sounds like so much LOOT!

Anyone off during the day sometime this week and want to go? I feel like I am less likely to be murdered by a sewing blogger than "Vic" from craigslist...

Quick estate sale loot

2011-12-03T11:15:00.000-06:00

I went to an estate sale yesterday in a nearly condemned "fixer-upper" which was creaky and gross. I braved my way into the basement only to find these awesome shoes! They are sadly too small (prob a 5.5 US) but I guess I'll clean them up a bit and sell them on etsy.

Someone has gone over this in what I hope is white shoe polish, and not paint. The faux opals on the toe are so pretty!

Two random patterns, since I am a hoarder.

These are so awesome!!!! Look at these Mondrian style heels. They are adorable, but again a 5.5. So small. They are really pretty clean, but the paper label on the sole is cracking and coming off. LOVE!

So cute! LOVE love love!

Ok we're off to get a Xmas tree and a daybed for guests from Ikea!

Have a fun Saturday!

Vintage dress copy, with artistic license

2011-12-01T12:33:00.001-06:00

I bought this dress on ebay in 2005 or 2006. It fit fairly well but it had a few rust stains, some permanent discoloration under the armpits and places where the bodice and lining were fraying apart. My plan originally was to take it apart and reline it, hopefully making it look nice again. As I took it apart, which was very simple as the thread pretty much disintegrated if you tugged on it, the fabric tore in several places as well. This is yet another reason I don't like actual vintage clothing.

So instead, I saved the pieces and waited and waited for this Lisette fabric to go off of sale, so I could use a coupon. It never happened, so I just bought it a few weeks ago. I bought two yards. How did I think that was enough to make a circle skirt?

Anyways, I was too stingy/lazy to go buy more fabric, so I reduced the skirt by half. Oh plus I started this in July (lol) so when I went to actually make it, I realized I had thrown away the front bodice! What! So I had to guesstimate, which is always a FAIL waiting to happen. It turned out huge, so there a center seam. I also added two tucks at the neckline at the very end, because it was so baggy and awful looking.

You really can't see the details, the bodice has no darts; instead it makes a triangle at the center waist and there are two side pieces that fill in the triangle. The fabric has white swirls on it.

I made a belt too, as I already has this pearly belt buckle.

I reused the zipper from the original dress. Oh I also used part of the original's skirt to line T-Rex's Napoleon costume.

It's not exactly the same, but I am pretty happy with it. Now I just need to wait for Spring to wear it....

Working at the restaurant has made me in way better shape- my arms and legs are stronger, my stomach is flatter, but... sniff... my bobs are smaller. So sad.

Also, since some of you also love the Walking Dead, which character do you hate? It seems like everyone hates at least one. For example, Andrew HATES Andrea so much. I absolutely despise Lori. She is so STUPID and weak and annoying and prissy. Really, it's a zombie apocalypse and you're not going to teach your son how to shoot a gun properly? OMG...... ahhhhhh. I wnat her to get really pregnant and then get feasted on by zombies. lol. Ok, share your thoughts....

Simplicity 6769- 70s dress in brown

2011-11-30T13:20:00.001-06:00

Here is my pattern, which was about 15 cents. I used that brown polyester from a recent estate sale ($1). This was really easy to make and didn't even need a zipper, so I whipped it together in just one day last week!

Please pardon these horrible pictures. It was so gloomy yesterday and the only light was in the dining room. Um, they would probably be better if you couldn't see the garbage can and the stuff on the back porch. Meh.

Oh matchy-matchy with my coat and elvin green tights!

It's pretty warm and I've been wearing it quite a bit lately.

This was another "teen" pattern. My Molly's Ews: the thick polyester did not gather evenly at the bust and the hem is really wrinkly/wavy. It is not the type of fabric to hand sew, so I'm just going to leave it like that.

There is just a tie for the back and no darts, so I left out the back zipper. I can easily pull it over my head.

More projects soon, I have Wed and Thurs off! Yay!

On a random note, is anyone else OBSESSED with The Walking Dead? It is sooo great, Andrew and I are really into it. Sunday's episode was awesome! I love the zombies, but now it's on a break until Feb...

Mardi Gras madness dress

2011-11-24T09:36:00.000-06:00

Here is my pattern, Simplicity 6057. It is for girls, but with a 32 chest. Works for me!I made the long sleeve maxi dress version with this fabric from that estate sale two weeks ago. Click the link for a close-up of the fabric and its border print.

The fabric has a little stretch and was about 2 yards of really, really wide fabric. I had a lot to work with.

I used the border print around the bottom, and parts of it at the waist and for the cuffs. It doesn't fray at all, so I didn't hem it. I might still trim a bit off at the bottom, I haven't decided.

I was able to leave out the zipper because it was stretchy, so I made this one day that I had off from work.

Whoops, the facing is sticking out a bit!

It might not be so practical, but we are going to see Steph and Steven in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and I plan on wearing it then! It is perfect because I can wear layers underneath and it is very flashy so I will catch lots of throws! Whoo hoo. (Also, no one flashes anything at the parades. That is only trashy people and/or tourists on Bourbon St.)

Ok, I'm working at the restaurant for Thanksgiving. Cross your fingers I make a ton of money!

Vintage lace dress rehab

2011-11-22T21:53:00.000-06:00

I bought this dress in 2006 or 2007 from a vintage shop on Magazine St in New Orleans that was going out of business. It was cheap because the lace was falling apart. I wanted to do a genius "before/after" post for you, but I failed! I know I took pictures in it before I repaired the lace, but I can't find them in the ten billion folders of pictures on my computer.

Before, it had a sheer, skin-color net overlay up to the neck that buttoned in the back. The lace was extremely tattered, especially around the armpits and sides.

Last winter (?) sometime I spent hours patching up the lace with hand sewing and Fray-chek.

Then, I tried it on and realized that while the waist and hips fit, the chest was desperately and pitifully loose. Then I added it to the pile of shame and ignored it for a year.

I finally dug it out. I needed to take in the boobs quite a bit. No, a lot. A ton. Like 2 inch pinches on each side. At least 4 inches total. Who was this lady with her real hourglass figure? Damn her!

This required taking out the side zip and putting it back in. Done.

It has this interesting drape on one side of the back only. The dress is probably rayon. It is handmade, I think. All the seams are pinked inside and there are no tags.

This could also be called "having fun with the self-timer on my new camera" time. I really don't know where I would wear this dress.... oh well. One less unfinished project in the dresser.

Here's a close-up of the detail:

One down, three more projects to share!

Giveaway winners and some estate sale loot

2011-11-21T14:50:00.000-06:00

First, here are the giveaway winners:

Katherine, who wanted the skirt and Advance 9928. You can see her favorite project here.

Heather, who wanted Vogue 1384 and 1510. You can see here favorite project here.

Lladybird, who wanted Vogue 2926 and the Dolores slip. You can see her favorite project here.

Lholy-chan, who wanted Simplicity 8805 and 4087. You can see her favorite project here.

Congrats winners. Email me your mailing addresses to mollysewsblog (at) gmail [dot]com. when I get all the addresses I will mail them out to only make one trip to the post office. If you ever want a laugh, read the online reviews people write about your local post office...so funny. Like on Yelp or google reviews.

Finally, some estate sale loot. I don't really have a lot of time on the weekends to go to a ton so I have just been searching "estate fabric" or "estate sewing" and then choosing a few that are fairly close. We went to one on Saturday way out west near Addison.

Loot: 5 pieces of fabric for 5 dollars. All are at least 2 yards and the orange and brown one is much longer.

Bag of seam binding:$3

Misc Xmas ornaments, cookie cutters and decorations: $7

I also finaly got my camera and am buying a new memory card before work at 4. I also have 4 finished projects that I have been waiting on to take pictures!

Toodles!

Twinsies! A skirt for Stephanie

2011-11-20T19:28:00.000-06:00

Stephanie, my very bff from NOLA, took over my job teaching the baby 6th graders. I had extra fabric left over with the creepy children from around the world fabric. A world history teacher needs a crazy flag and child skirt!

Steph is skinnier than I am, but I wasn't sure of her measurements and I didn't want to ask her because it was supposed to be a surprise! So I made it with a narrow waistband and pleats, so the hips ar eloose and the waist can slip down to wherever it fits.

She was excited and sent me some pictures to show off.

Yay, success!

The Dog Coliseum- best dog bed yet!

2011-11-17T11:20:00.000-06:00

I made this on a whim this last week. The first bed I made for him was good and he enjoyed hiding things between the cushions. It is now a hideous color, sort of a sea green ingrained with dirt.

He does like the kitty dog bed, which is right under my sewing table. He sits on it when I sew, which is cute.

Things T-Rex likes:

1. Pillows for his head

2. Cracks/crevices in which to hide things and/or dig

This bed combines the two into MAGIC!

This is where his old bed was, right next to giant radiator in the living room. It gets roasty-toasty hot when it's running.

He thought taking pictures was a fun game. I would pat the bed, he would jump the side and land on it, then sit still for about one second, and then climb over the side to see me.

I didn't plan for it to look like the Coliseum, but it does. I wanted the sides to stand up more by the opening, but I am going to let the center cushion settle a bit and see if I need to sew it up the sides a bit.

The fabric has two scenes: the dog doctor looking at an x-ray of an acorn in the squirrel's belly and the squirrel kicking the dog in the face when he checks the knee reflexes.

My plan was to use up the rest of that giant box of fiberfill. Andrew kindly did all of the stuffing, which is tedious. Unfortunately, I had to buy another box (which we used all of) and then I hacked open an old pillow to stuff the rest. Whoops. This also used two yards of 60 inch fabric. Total cost was about 20 bucks.

Anyways, it was quick and easy and I think the dog will love it!

300 follower giveaway!!!!

2011-11-14T23:37:00.001-06:00

I have finally reached over 300 followers and 500 subscribers on Google Reader! I decided to celebrate by having a giveaway (and to avoid hoarding sewing patterns).

On Monday, November 24, I will select four winners. The giveaway is open to everyone, even international people. Please only enter if you want to sew up these patterns, and not to re-sell them online!

To enter, leave a comment with a link to the item you have sewn that you love the most, or are the most proud of, or learned the most from, etc. Then add the names of the two patterns you would like (or the skirt) and an email address.

On to the patterns:

Left: McCalls 9407, 30 bust
Right: McCalls 7704, 31 bust

L: Butterick 7295, B 30
R: Simplicity 6186, B 32

L: Simplicity 8805, B 32
R: Simplicity 4087, B 32

L: Vogue 6001, B 34
R: Simplicity 5653, B 34

L: Dolores slip, B 34
R: Vogue coat, 2926, B 36

L: Simplicity 7264, B 36
C: Butterick 2275, B 36
R: Advance 9928, B 36

L: Vogue 9458, B 36
R: McCalls 2015, B 36/38

L: Vogue 1382, B 38
R: Vogue 1510, B 38

Mccalls Home: 4406
McCalls costumes: 5129

Or you can have the skirt from this outfit which has a 33 inch waist and is 22 inches long.

I am excited to look at your links and GOOD LUCK!

Estate Sale Loot!

2011-11-12T19:11:00.000-06:00

I managed to go to one estate sale on Friday since there weren't really many nearby.

I picked all of this up for ten dollars:

A huge piece of this Hawaiian border print polyester, which is just begging to be made up into some kind of joke... $1

A Singer zig-zag foot, $4. It has its box and manual as well, and there was an extra bobbin in the box!

I also found a huge piece of brown polyester ($1) and two pairs of "travel slippers" that have little zipper cases and were clearly never used. I am wearing mine right now, but Andrew scoffed at his.

No sewing pictures yet, I took four more teaching endorsement tests today. It was a hour drive each way and then the tests took from 7:15am to 5 pm. Blehhhh. Plus I went to bed at about one, since I worked last night, and then got up at 5:30. I feel pretty confident about Psych, Sociology and English, but not about Economics.... cross your fingers!

Plus I ordered a camera online, whoo hoo! I had an Elph before and I loved it, but eventually the lens broke and wouldn't extend anymore. That was a 3 mpixel from 2005, so I'm excited!

Butterick 4646- Sassy 70's pants!

2011-11-10T13:33:00.001-06:00

Here is my pattern:

My fabric is thin corduroy in a chocolate brown color.

Notions: Two 6" metal zippers and brown thread. I didn't buy any thread because I was convinced that I had a ton from making Andrew's coat. No, I had one spool that ran out when I was winding the bobbin. Whoops. So I did it all, including top-stitching, in black. It is unnoticeable.

Time: Maybe 2 hours, they were so fast and easy!

Cost: The zippers cost as much as the fabric, so about $15 total.

God these pictures are awful! I am going and buying a digital camera tomorrow! These pants look way better in real life!

Here are some hideous flash pictures to show off the details:

Making the waistband and the zipper plackets was interesting. You fold it all to the outside (instead of to the inside, like for jeans) and then topstitch it down. Then you sew in the zippers, since they are meant to be exposed.

I restrained myself and did not put M's on the back pockets.

I am pleased with the fit and the color. They look cute with my green jacket and were fairly warm.

Today, I passed my interview to be a sub for CPS, yay!

Also, it started snowing as I was walking back from the train! Fun day!

Dye, jeans! Dye!

2011-11-09T15:16:00.000-06:00

I did this on a whim. Since the EPIC FAIL that was my attempt at jeans, I decided I needed to make my faded jeans look better. When I went to the fabric store, I picked up a pack of RIT dye in denim blue, or something like that. Andrew also had a pair of hideously faded jeans, so I thought I would toss them in as well.

Here is the before shot: pretty faded and gross, acceptable for house painting or some other task.

I did the machine dye method, using the "Whitest Whites" 75 minute cycle and it worked pretty well. They are all a slightly odd, really uniform blue, but they look better.

Finally some dyeing success! Waaaaay better than last year's Monkey Paw....

Next up: Awesome 70s pants

2011-11-07T14:52:00.000-06:00

I am currently working on these pants using a fine wale corduroy in a dark brown. They have been really easy to make so far and I should finish them up tomorrow!

Close-up:

They are a Junior's/Young Teen pattern from the 70s and it looks like they are going to fit, even in length? HWHAT? Maybe I should look for more of these online....

Silky Fall dress- Simplicity 3914

2011-11-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

I started this a few days ago and completely it very quickly, as I have made this pattern before. I really like how the bodice fits and the boat neck. The black cotton is starting to fade a bit, so it seemed like a good time to make a new one.

Cost: pattern, (free); fabric $1; zipper ? second hand maybe 25 cents?

My fabric is this lovely striped silk I bought at the fabric hoarder's estate sale. I really love the colors and thought the strips would go nicely with this pattern, which is designed for stripes.

I don't usually do tea-length for skirts, but I like it on this one. I gave it a deep hem, but I cheated a did it on the machine. It still looks great because the line of thread goes through the black stripe! Win! However, I didn't measure the skirt before I had my moment of genius, so it is longer than usual.

Look how billowy the fabric is!

I had a nice kelly green zipper for the back.

I am in love with this dress. The sleeves are small and fit under a sweater and it is pretty and light. Plus, it will match all of my black tights. I'm excited!

"It's a small world" skirt

2011-11-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

I made this skirt from the same McCalls pattern as the last one I made.

I bought this fabric from etsy from the seller Sewwhatsnewfabrics from the section called "most frightening fabrics." Ha ha ha, it really is a strange and frightening fabric and it makes no sense. A sumo wrestler, a cave man, a kayaker, a Greek Olympian throwing a discus, a boy on a tricycle, a child shooting a bow, a cowboy and a MERMAID? Wtf.

Point being, I made it into a skirt. Genius.

I really need to buy a new camera with a self-timer and quit using the iphone. It can't handle bad lighting and I could take better pictures during the day, when I am often home. Now it's already dark by the time Andrew gets home...

Off to sew some more before work tonight....

My awesome fall jacket- Minoru Jacket Sewaholic pattern #4

2011-11-02T12:57:00.001-05:00

Tasia, from Sewaholic Patterns, has released her fourth pattern. The Minoru jacket is a lightweight casual jacket that I think is perfect for the fall. I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for this pattern and it was SO HARD to keep it a secret for a month because I love it!

Since I am on the mailing list (you could be too!) I got an email about pattern testing and pounced on it. I consider this the highlight of my unemployment. Sitting all day on the computer doing job applications and wasting time on imgur meant I was checking my email constantly. Yay! So I got a copy for free and made it up to check for clear directions and pictures, etc. I finished it at the beginning of October and then I had to wait until it was officially released to show you.

I made mine out of army green cotton twill with a brown plaid cotton lining. The jacket has a big collar that the hood zips into, so you can hide the hood and tuck it into the jacket. It also has a front zipper (yeah no sewing on buttons!) and elastic at the waist to give it a nice, fitted look. It is such a great jacket!

Tasia says this is an intermediate pattern, but I think a diligent or advanced beginner could do it. All of the instructions and pictures are really clear and easy to follow.

Above you can see the collar and hood, and below you can see where the hood can be zipped into the collar.

Even when pattern testing, I can't resist making some changes although I followed the directions (for once!). I underlined it in flannel to make it warmer and more appropriate for a Chicago autumn and I lined the hood because I was really pleased with my fabric and lining and how cute they look together.

Equally cute open or closed. There are pockets on the inside for keys or credit cards.

As you can see the elastic starts on the sides and goes around the back, just enough to give it a nice shape. I like having a jacket that doesn't make me look like a tube. I bought brown metal zippers with gold teeth. I like how they look and I also have clear memories of having plastic teeth break off zippers as a kid. I suggest metal zippers. Jo-Ann had a terrible selection and I had to adapt the hood opening for a smaller zipper. Pah.

Anyways, this is a great pattern and I made a really study and well-sewn coat. I am proud of myself. This really might need to be remade in a fun color for a spring jacket, too. Oh the possibilities! I have been wearing it all the time for dog walking and going to work and it is warm and cute. It is on pre-sale now if you join the mailing list and when it is officially on sale you can go here to buy it. There really aren't any parts that I messed up on or did a bad job- so there!

A clean vintage fur coat!

2011-11-01T13:29:00.001-05:00

Now this coat is totally clean and wearable! I took off the fur trim and then bathed it in the bathtub using Woolite and really hot water three times. Then I put it in the sun on the back porch to dry.

Reattaching the fur was a giant pain in the butt, so let's just say this coat is never going to be cleaned again. It took an entire Poirot movie and an episode of Project Runway. That's like at least 2 hours. I also repaired a tear in the back lining and a place where the hem was coming undone.

I then sprayed it with Febreeze and let it air out on the back porch for about a week. It no longer smells like BO or has dirty tissues in the pockets, but it is slightly musty with that old house smell. I think it will air out with use, although it isn't cold enough for a wool coat yet.

Yay awesome fur coat- ain't I fancy?

Happy Halloween from Napoleon BONEaparte!

2011-10-31T13:08:00.000-05:00

T-Rex would like to wish all of you a happy Halloween!

He looks very regal. I totally screwed up on the hat and it looks like a floppy beret, but it's not like he'll wear it for more than 2 minutes anyways. I had to remove the cravat and the hat to get him to act even slightly happy.

Luckily, he is dumb enough that removing the hat and tie and then shouting "SQUIRREL" got him happy again. Here is the dictator of the yard hunting for squirrels.

I like how his tail pokes out from between the coat-tails. Win!

Have a fun night everyone and eat a ton of candy!

Men's Vogue 8720- Trenchcoat

2011-10-29T14:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I am glad to be finished with this finally! Coats take along time to make and this took me about two weeks to finish. Andrew is happy with his coat, so happy birthday!

We had some piercingly bright sun today, and I just finished sewing on the buttons, so it was time to wear it to the park for a dog walk. I followed the instructions to a T and only added length in the sleeves and hem. I also underlined the brown cotton in plaid flannel for warmth. I did the topstitching, but not the flat-felled seams. Instead I bound them off with bias binding.

Plaid interior.

The back looks very nice and exactly like a trench coat should.

The buttons match fairly closely and blend in.

Running with T-Rex in the park...

It's not a very hard pattern, but it takes some time to do all 50-some steps that go with it. It's a nice coat and Andrew is happy, so I'm happy.

fin.

Pumpkin fun!

2011-10-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

We finally carved the pumpkins last night; it only took us almost a month!

Shockingly, my 45 lb pumpkin was full of goop. Ha ha. The seeds were giant and it was very thick. It would have been good for making pies, I bet.

Andrew carved his with a T-Rex face and traced it out in pen and everything. I, on the other hand, just hacked away at mine to make a scary face.

I like to think of mine as having "freaky shark teeth." Go google shark teeth if that's confusing.

I do need candles to make them glow. Finally pictures of Andrew's coat tomorrow. I just need to sew on the buttons tonight after work and it's FINISHED!! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Curtains 21-28: A sun room finale

2011-10-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

Yay to having the house feel complete. Now all the windows that need curtains are done! Finishing up the front porch also made the living room look nicer. It's really cloudy today, but you can see that the sheer curtains let in a lot of light.

Each panel was 2 dollars at the estate sale, plus two packs of curtain pins for the green ones: total cost- $18. What a steal, since each sheer panel at Kmart was 7.99 and they looked cheap.

Andrew re-potted the giant ginger plant into two pots, since it will die outside in the winter. Sometimes we eat breakfast out here on the weekends, which is really nice.

We have now rigged up a lamp with fluorescent bulbs for the lemon tree. It is so pitiful. It has grown a lot more healthy looking leaves since we bought the lamp last month. It should be warm enough near the radiator for the winter, hopefully. I need to re-pot it in new soil and drill more drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. Then, it should be fine. Can you tell I have been reading up on lemon trees?

Ok, off to sew. I work the next six days straight, which is going to be exhausting and I'm going to miss Halloween. So sad! I want to be able to cram in some sewing too- wish me luck!

Curtains 19-20: we learn what "pinch-pleated" means

2011-10-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

Apparently, pinch pleated drapes already have pleats at the top, right? Right. But did you know they have to be hung using curtain pins (99 cents a bag) or curtain rod clips (8.99 a bag)? Obviously, I did not and had to go to Kmart to buy some today. Guess which kind I bought? Ha, the cheap one.

Now, the second window gets no drapes because it looks out onto a brick wall. The covered window looks directly into my neighbors' bedroom. Oh la la. So now we all get some privacy. Thanks curtains!

I am also super pleased with how the bath mat looks in the bathroom. It's not the exact same shade of green, but it was brand new and cost $1. Can't argue with results!!

Last curtains tomorrow and the house is complete! It only took about four months, ha ha ha ha!

Estate Sale Loot!

2011-10-21T21:36:00.000-05:00

First, proof that the wild neighborhood bunnies exist! It was just sitting under the bush, twitching its nose.

I had to go to Franklin Park to pick up a package from the UPS station for Andrew, so I thought I would go to an estate sale in Schaumburg on the way back. There weren't a lot of choices this weekend. If you live to the southwest of Chicago, there was one with sewing stuff and patterns in Joliet on estatesale.net... loot for others...

I did not buy this monstrosity, but I did take a picture! There were also elaborate pink velvet drapes to match the bedspread! Every room had a suite of furniture that was similar, but slightly different. They were all really over-wrought blonde wood things. Ick.

I did buy this lime green bathmat and five kitchen utensils. Another metal spatula, a potato masher, a butter creamer, a meat tenderizer and a hard-boiled egg slicer. Well, that's what I call them- you can chime in if they have real names...rug- $1, utensils 50 c each

Apparently this lady had worked at Lord and Taylor and had accumulated a lot of stuff still in the packages. There were a ton of bed ruffles, pillow cases, sheets, etc. I hooked myself up with curtains! So now the small bedroom and sun porch will be covered and I don't have to do any more boring curtain sewing!! Yay!

All of the beige ones have one big curtain in them ($2 each) and the flowered ones ($4) are two to a pack.

I also got Andrew some brand new flannel pajamas, which were way cheaper than the fabric would even cost! (only $5!)

So that was fun, but not the traffic getting home at 3:30 on a Friday. I got on the I-90 like an idiot and then had to sit there for nearly 30 min, just to get off at the next exit. Derp!

No more estate sales this weekend, I need to finish Andrew's coat!

Next, next up: A dress for ME

2011-10-19T13:59:00.000-05:00

Well, in case you can't tell from that title, I am bored with making Andrew's coat and am dreaming of future projects for me. He is too giant, it's like flopping around a huge blanket trying to do top-stitching. Also, the welt pockets are looking waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

less than stellar. But I have no more fabric, so whatever. Hopefully it will not be terribly noticeable.

I am going to remake this pattern, Simplicity 3914, which I made about two years ago. I love it, with the contrasting stripes. It is perfect for the striped silk I got at that estate sale awhile ago.

Soon... soon.... I would say I am just past half-way on Andrew's coat. Hopefully I will finish it by Friday.

Next up: Happy birthday Andrew trenchcoat

2011-10-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

Men's patterns have a really limited selection. Props to Vogue and Burda for even having a men's section in the catalogue. I bought this online for 3.88 on sale, I'm sure because the guy on the front is SO CREEPY!

I mean really, I bet those are fake pants that end just above his knees and he's just waiting for the chance to flash some little old ladies in the park. LOL

I'm making it out of brown cotton sateen and underlining it with green and brown plaid fabric (yeah Plaiditudes!). It is meant to be unlined, so I am going to bind the seams with brown binding. Andrew chose the fabric, but I paid for it. Aren't I generous, hee hee. It took five yards of fashion fabric and four and one quarter of the underlining and I used every bit cutting it out.

Vogue calls this "average" or moins facile in French. Andrew and I were discussing the phrasing, which is "less easy" but then we couldn't think of a better word that would be as clear. Moyen is medium, but that could mean a size... Point being, I would call this "advanced." Essentially steps 1-7 are like "hey do a diagonal welt pocket on each side with top stitching, ok?" And I said, "ok, but a year ago I would have quit right there, so I don't think this is average by most people's standards.." Vogue replied "stfu."

Enough, I have to go wait some tables...

An overly large green purse

2011-10-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

I did make this purse very quickly. It has no closures, just a flap. It's a little too over sized. I would make it smaller if I made it again, both for the sides and the straps.

Here is my dog-model ignoring me. Andrew was out of town on Monday and I had to work a double, so TT was boarded at a doggy day care. Crate free, very clean, lots of dogs to play with but he still spent Tuesday pouting and ignoring me to express his displeasure.

I had to make siren noises to get him to even look at me. Such a brat!

I added two pockets inside, as I try to keep my phone separate from all my junk so it doen't get scratched.

So this is kind of meh, but I want to do some more practice purses and then make some out of leather. I refuse to pay 100 + dollars for a leather purse. I have no interest in purses, I just want a brown one and a black one to hold my stuff.

Next up: Making a Purse

2011-10-11T18:23:00.000-05:00

I really like this style of purse, which Lucky Magazine calls saddlebags. I have some green cotton twill and some brown plaid cotton to line it. I think it will be pretty easy to whip together.

What do you think should go inside of it to make it kind of stiff? I'm trying to think of something around the house, so I don't have to spend any money.

I thought this leaf was funny because its shadow looks like lips!

I should be able to make this soon, I hope!

More Estate Sale Loot of Awesomeness!

2011-10-08T16:13:00.001-05:00

Mama Violet asked where I find these estate sales yesterday. I find them on craigslist mostly. Here in Chicago I see many are cross-listed at estatesale.net too. We did go to one today by "Caring Transitions" which absolutely sucked big time. I would recommend avoiding all of their sales. Not only did they have you take a ticket and wait outside for an outrageous amount of time, but the prices were WAY too high and the guy was completely unwilling to negotiate! Avoid them!

We went to one by Barbara's Absolut Estate Sales that was good and one from yesterday was A to Z sales. They both had good prices and were nice. So those are ones you could google. Most companies have websites and list their upcoming sales.

Anyways it was fun. Andrew started to get cranky by the end, poor Andrew. He is very nice to come with me at all!

At the second estate sale In Round Lake, since we were already way far north, I got some good stuff, all for six dollars!

That is 15 national geographic, mostly from the late 60s, two metal spatulas for Andrew, three ruffled curtains for the small bedroom and two crocheted pillbox hats. Love!

At the shitty Caring Transitions sale, I bought some metal zippers and some bias tape and three cute packs of trim. This was 7 dollars, because they are overpriced.

The first sale was the best. We drove all the way up to Antioch, which is practically in Wisconsin. Google maps said it would take an hour but it was really more like 35 minutes. I mean who actually drives 55 on the freeway?

All of these patterns were 2 dollars, which is about 11 cents each. Yay!

Vintage Halloween patterns, just to have! I like the weird penguin one!

I don't have children, obviously, but I'm hoarding for the future. Does that make it not hoarding? (Please say yes!)

I kind of like the double zipper pants. Hmm.

Even the "girls" patterns will fit, I mean I fit a 32 on a good day! I really like the Butterick blouse- very elegant!

In addition to the patterns, I also got this awesome full lined wool coat with rabbit fur trim! Sweet! Half price made it ten bucks! The old ladies having the sale were really excited that someone fit into it and I was going to buy it.

I really love it, although it absolutely reeks of B.O. for some reason. However, I inspected it closely and whoever made it had this in mind. The collar and cuffs are tacked on sturdily, but can removed for cleaning.

I was going to do a "hey it has pockets!" picture, but there are old kleenexes in the pocket. Ew!

Well, I hope you are a little bit jealous.

Two questions for you:
1. Should I dry clean the coat or wash it in wool detergent? I'm not even sure if drycleaning will kill the BO! I also hate the chemicals. Thoughts?

2. What do you think about buying vintage fur? I think the animals were murdered during a time when no one had any qualms about it, but throwing it away seems hateful. I mean an animal did die for it, so shouldn't if have some purpose? Do share!

Estate Sale Loot!

2011-10-07T17:41:00.000-05:00

I went to three estate sales today. The first and third sucked, but the second one was great. It's funny because I only went to that one because I was already near Skokie.

They had really cute vintage baby clothes, which I admired but did not buy. I am not (yet) a sewing hoarder.

There were other outfits too, but by that point my hands were full. Oh, and people were around. I like to take pictures in secret of stuff I don't want to buy. Hee hee.

I bought another muffin pan for 1.50, two sets of knitting needles and two metal zips for 25 cents each, a scarf and two pairs of mittens, 6 kitchen towels with food things on them and a ceramic eggplant dish. Total cost: 15 dollars.

I found three more awesome sounding sales that start tomorrow, one is nearby, but the other two are far away in different directions. I will have to choose- but, but but- they both have sewing stuff and patterns! Ahhh! A real Sophie's choice kind of situation!

Cross your fingers I make the right choice!

Long in the making: McCalls 5591

2011-10-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

I bought this pattern over a year ago and the fabric as well. Usually, because I am so small, I can lay out the pieces differently and save a lot of fabric, so I bought less than it said to. This of course came back to get me when I cut them out and didn't have enough fabric to do the waistband facings. Derp!

I had leftover beige lining after finishing my wool pants, so I pulled this out of the drawer and set to it. It was very fast and easy, as it was already cut out! (fabric and pattern)

I also had a burgundy zipper so I didn't even have to go to the store! I like it- it is flattering and also perfect fall colors.

I am a big fan of pleats lately, so I like this style. I hemmed it on the machine but did the zipper by hand and the whole thing took maybe an hour or two.

Yay to quick and easy projects!!

Fall Fun!

2011-10-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we went off into northern Illinois and went apple picking and selected our own pumpkins. First we went to get some apples...

Andrew could reach the apples at the very top that everyone else couldn't reach.

I am always making such evil faces.

It was a very nice day out, sunny and maybe 60 out.

Then we went to pumpkin patch because I was determined to choose my own pumpkin. There were many choices. So hard to decide.

Andrew got a normal one and I got a very small one and a very huge one.

Baby on board! My 45 lb monster (about 15 bucks) needed to be safely secured!

So now we will be making a lot of apple-related food as well as zucchini, since they had enormous ones for a dollar. One is enough to make sure that every dinner this week has zucchini in it. Hahaha. It was a fun adventure!

Wide Leg Wool Pants

2011-10-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

I finished my pants, about which I am fairly happy. I wish I had had a bit more fabric and the pattern had pockets. What is the point of loose pants with no pockets? Stealing away my slouching fun!

I thought I looked Mr. Burns in this picture and I was right! Picture from here.

This is my wool fabric up close and they are lined with a cheap poly lining from Jo-Ann in off-white.

They took 4-5 hours because lining things makes me annoyed, so I procrastinate and work more slowly.

For notions I used a beige zipper from my Drawer of Zippers and Buttons.

Yeah, I know my right crease is very off center. Whoops. Now, I rarely wear heels so I hemmed these for flats. See, the perfect length!

I had to make a lot of changes to this to get it to fit. I shortened the leg an inch, but then had to cut off another inch. The sides were wayyy to wide, so I took them in almost an inch on the inner and outer leg. The waist was outrageously high- as in, past my natural waist before the 3 inch waistband was added. I cut that down and re-fit the waistband so they are more semi-low-rise.

I doubt I will make this pattern again. I will find a better one with pockets, or I will trace off my favorite pants and try to copy them.

Next up- McCalls 5818 wool pants

2011-09-28T19:11:00.000-05:00

This is my pattern, which I picked up on a 99 cent sale at Jo-Ann quite a while ago. I wanted to make pants and I had this pattern, so I thought I would give it a shot.

I have a pair of wide-leg slacks that I bought in Paris from H&M in 2004 that I really love. Hmm, I guess I really do like them! That is quite a long time ago.

I am using this wool from my estate sale loot. It cost a dollar and is about 1 1/2 yards of about 60 inch wide wool. I know it's wool because it has that sheep stink when I press it with the iron....

Simplicity 4256- Vintage print blouse

2011-09-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

Yay, I finally made something I like after my disappointing jeans project. I made this 1950s? blouse pattern from one of my vintage fabrics from the estate sale a few weeks ago. I made the folded down collar, but with the short sleeves from view 3.

My fabric has an awesome print of hearts and lines in red, white and blue. I only had 1 1/8th yard, so there wasn't very much matching I could do. I barely managed to cram all the pieces onto it. I had less than a handful of shreds left at the end.

This only took a few hours to make, as it was very simple. I shortened the torso, as usual. The front pattern piece had the facing included, but I has to cut it separately and add a seam. Totally unnoticeable.

For notions, I used some royal blue thread I already had and some of my many miscellaneous vintage red buttons. I have a lot of really pretty red plastic ones, but usually I only have 2 or 3 or each type. I used three small, round ones with an interlocking circle pattern and two that are flowers. Andrew said that's weird, but I told him he;s not allowed to have opinions that differ from mine- at least relating to my opinions of my own sewing projects. Hee hee.

I was able to line up the sleeves so that they have a heart and a big X on each. That's cute.

As it's already getting cold here, in my opinion, it will be nice to wear with jeans. Under a jacket. Brr.

Next up: Simplicity 4256 blouse

2011-09-25T18:46:00.000-05:00

My mom gave me this pattern, I think. I am going to make folded down collar from view 1 with the short sleeves from view 3.

This is my fabric, which is from the recent estate sale loot. It is only 1 1/8th yards, which is such a small piece. I am trying to figure out how to cram the pieces on there, while still somewhat matching the sides in the print.

Either way, I have tons of vintage red buttons, so it will use up some of those!

Tiny Napoleon Bonaparte- dog costume part I

2011-09-24T12:25:00.001-05:00

If you were following my blog last year, you know that I had planned on making T-Rex a Napoleon Bonaparte Halloween costume. My costume took a long time, so it got put on the back burner and I just forced him to wear his Chiquita Banana costume instead.

With all of the restaurant training (5 days, with 2 more to go!), I only had time to make this this week.

Crying because he jammed his ball under the sofa. What a fun game!

As you can see, it is a blue velvet coat with tails and some very fancy details. He still needs a white cravat (lol) and a tiny blue tricorne hat. So it's not quite complete, but still!

Looking at Andrew with sad eyes and refusing to look at me or come onto the porch.

Sad dog hates his costume, but too bad- I love it!

You can see his epaulets, made from gold ribbon.

I had all the trim and buttons, I bought the velvet and the white fabric for his cravat last year.

I can't wait until it's finished. Anyone have any ideas on how to make a tiny tricorne hat?

Andrew Halloween costume: Inspiration

2011-09-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

I asked Andrew id he had any good ideas for his Halloween costume. He did not, as his only idea was to make a papier mache Forever Alone guy mask and wear normal clothes. Lame!

I am wearing last year's costume, of course, because it took so long to make!

I showed him my idea, which is to make this Jolly Green Giant costume and he agreed happily. It helps that he is 6 foot 3, so he practically is a giant! I'm thinking green spandex bodysuit, and felt or cotton tunic with leaves and leaf hat.

Any other possibilities for construction?

Vision Quest Jeans: Version 1

2011-09-19T19:02:00.000-05:00

Well, these are not exactly a resounding success. But, for my first pair of jeans i have ever made they are not that bad. As in I could donate them to the Goodwill and someone would TOTALLY buy them for 4.99. LOL.

These pictures just make me think about how poor fit can make your body look so gross. These pants are like "Oh hai, Molly! We brought you a muffin top so you can look 10 lbs heavier than you really are! Yay!"

Front changes for next time: Everything 5 inches above the knee is too tight. Waistband needs to be cut on the curve, even though it didn't seem like it had been.

Knees down: A+

Future changes: The pockets still have too much scoop. Also, the side seam veers to the back sharply above the pocket.

Pay attention to me!

Future changes for the back: I think the back would be fine if I made the other changes I mentioned: more ease in the inner thigh and a curved waistband.

I did a good job constructing these. The fly is perfectly flat and looks exactly like the fly on my example pair

My topstitching was very straight. Yes, I did sew giant cursive M's on the back pockets. Why the hell not- Molly Made, Molly M. M M M M M M M M M

Since I do not have a serger or a zig-zag stitch, I bound all the exposed edges with pink bias binding. I made the pockets out of a pink cotton with sprinkles.

They are built to last and withstand many washings, which they will never need as I do not plan to wear them. In case you can't tell, they are a tad snug!!!

I have restaurant "training" this week and crap for my online class, so who knows how much sewing I'll do this week...

Vision Quest: Making my own jeans!!!

2011-09-17T13:38:00.000-05:00

The temperature has droped here in Chicago, so I started thinking about making pants.

T-Rex sez: "Oh my lord it's cold! Why did you bring me here!"

These are the best fitting jeans I have ever owned. They are Citizens of Humanity "Faye" which they no longer make. They are expensive and very well made. New ones cost between 150 and 250 bucks, which is insane. I got them at a resale shop in New Orleans in 2006 for 35 bucks because they had been hemmed. LOL. I still had to hem them.

Yes, my sweatshirt says "Raisin hell in Dundee, Oregon" and has a California Raisin on it. Thrift shop gold!

They were originally much darker, but I still love the fit. I decided to trace them onto muslin and make a pattern. Then I went prancing off to Jo-Ann and spent 60 bucks on denim and jean-making supplies.

After coming home and thinking about the money I spent, I paused and forced myself to make a muslin, even though I hate that. I especially hate picking it apart to use as a pattern, so I used this monstrosity of a cotton in my stash. Can you believe I thought about making a DRESS from this? Good gods!

At this point it is okay to make this face:

So, I'm glad I made a muslin, cause these looked like shit!!! Not only are the pockets way too big, the waist was gaping and horrible, there's some terrible under-butt wrinkles and the crotch! Even Andrew was like "that's some scary camel toe." Really, it's more like V-crotch. Still terrifying.

Somehow this didn't put me off of my project enthusiasm and I spent most of Friday busting out a pair of jeans. I'll try to finish them today and take pictures tomorrow. They are really not bad for a self-made pattern and my first time making jeans!

Oh, and feel free to mock the fit of my muslin. hahahahha!

McCalls 6203- A wardrobe from a sheet

2011-09-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

First off, thanks for all the feedback on my last dress! It made me really happy!

I started this a week or two ago, but then lost my motivation.

My pattern is from the 50s/60s. I was amused when I opened it because some later seamstress had altered the pants into bell bottoms. Ha!

Fabric: a yellow, flowered sheet from the Salvation Army. $3.

Notions: 5 large white plastic buttons that I had, and a zipper I had

I am surprised, but I actually like the top a lot. The dark jeans calm the craziness down and it fits pretty well.

Time: Not including all the time I procrastinated, just a few hours.

Cost: fabric, 3; zippers and buttons .25; pattern .25; super cheap outfit.

It's hard to see, but the shirt has flaps on the sides for some ease.

I also made the skirt which turned out to be huge. I have no idea why when I measured a 34 inch waistband I didn't stop and think. I was too excited about working out the pleats. So, yes, it is about 7 inches too big. I pinned the back for the picture. I think I'll offer it up in my 300 follower giveaway, if I ever get there. Maybe I'll do it for Halloween if not!

Wearing them together is a bit terrifying.

I am on an exciting sewing quest for the weekend! More news about it tomorrow, with pictures of my muslin. Don't die of shock! I really did make one! It's not even 12/12/12 yet, OMG!

Vogue 1161- A pretty awesome pattern!

2011-09-14T18:58:00.000-05:00

Pattern:

My fabric: cotton from the estate sale a few weeks ago. It has blue, yellow and burgundy flowers and stuff in patterns. (You can click on the picture to blow it up)

Time: I have been trying to enjoy sewing as much as possible this week, since I start the restaurant training on Monday. This is not very complicated and I only had to look at the directions for turning the bodice lining, which is pretty impressive for a Vogue pattern. Maybe 3-4 hours.

I thought to include my scary-spice pose, as it is funny and shows off what I am calling the "under-butt ruffle"

I made this out of 1 1/4 yards fabric and 3/4 or a yard lining.

The back has this cool knot detail, which is really pretty!

Notions: just a zipper. This is also my Molly's Ew. I dug through my drawer of zippers and found a baby blue metal one that worked. I sew in half of it by hand. I zip it up to pin the other side to match and the zipper goes flying off the end! AHHH! Please, do not be as stupid as I am. It was a zipper that closes on both ends, so I just hacked off that little stopper and did not see the consequences!!! Fortunately, Andrew somehow fixed it and saved me gallons of agony.

Cost: fabric, 1; zipper .25; lining 2.75. I love sewing! Awesome dress for 4 bucks? Awwww yeah!

So, I love this dress. I cut a 6, and while it is snug, I don't feel like a sausage. I am going to make it again soon using the red silk Andrew brought me back from China. Wouldn't that be hot? When I make it again I am going to elongate the skirt piece to get more under-butt ruffle and take a dart out of the center neckline bodice pattern piece so that the neckline doesn't gape so much. I think all of you should buy this pattern (on sale for 2.99) and make it. It is easy and beautiful!

Go!

Next up: Vogue 1161

2011-09-13T09:47:00.000-05:00

I went to Jo-Ann to buy some cheap lining for this project, as I am using one of my estate sale pieces that is only 1.25 yards. In the lining section, there were 20 bolts of "palm" medium green lining. It just cracked me up. It's not a very Christmassy green, so I can only imagine it was an accident.

My dress will be made from a blue paisley cotton using Vogue 1161.

It has a lot of cool details that the leopard print hides. I was able to make it from just 1 1/4 yards, when it requires 1 3/4. I did some creative piecing and it really helped that the skirt is made up of so many tiny pieces.

I cut a 6 instead of an 8, so we'll see if I look like a sausage....

Dress Love- I want to copy this!

2011-09-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else been watching Project Runway this year? I quit watching it three or four years ago because I got so sick of crappy people winning, but now I am liking it again. Point being, for some reason it is an hour and a half long. When it was over I turned on the end of a Bones episode, knowing I had probably already seen it. I had, but it had this dress in it!

I had searched high and low online and could never find anything about it because I didn't remember the name of the episode or anything. The pictures suck because I took them of the tv. Now I know that its episode 6.4, but there are still no pictures of it!

Now, I know you're thinking "really, Molly? After last weeks epic failure at color blocking, you think you should make this dress? LOL!"

I love this dress! I want to make it! I want to know what the BACK looks like! It's so flattering and hot! I wants it!

Butterick 6944- The crazy diner waitress dress

2011-09-11T15:34:00.001-05:00

First some good news! I found a waitressing job! Yay, so now I will soon have income! Not at a diner, though... Also, I took three of my teaching endorsement tests yesterday, and I feel pretty confident about them, even the French one (which I thought I might fail!).

On to the only thing I made this week:

Fabric: navy and off white fine wale corduroy

Notions: 1 16" front zipper, 2 white vintage buttons

Cost: About $13

Look at my crazy face! Ha!

Time: Maybe 3-4 hours spread out over several days

I did buy the "Awesome!" brand paper towels.

Molly's Ew: The front facing was supposed to be off white, too. I made it blue.

I don't really like this dress. Maybe because I am so small, but the collar and the pockets are way too big and make the proportions off. Also, the colors make it look like a diner uniform or something. I am not a fan.

Firsts: sewing with corduroy, making a dress with a FRONT ZIPPER!! (which looks excellent because I did it by hand), making pockets that double as belt loops ...

Meh. I told Stephanie I would mail it to her if she liked it. I really do not. Ok, I'm going to go make something more fun and hopefully more successful.

The last batch of vintage ads!

2011-09-08T12:19:00.000-05:00

These are the last of those ads I got in June, I think. I gave the vast majority away to a girl from Freecycle before we left New Orleans, but I kept these to take pictures of.

I love the girls face: Oh pig, you don't even KNOW!

Just because I like Ritz crackers

This because that would be an awesome doll for a kid, and because I think that should be Andrew's Halloween costume. LOLZ!

This is precious. I hope T-Rex doesn't bite off my future children's faces. He is so afraid of small children. Dachshunds can live to be 15 or even 20, and he is only 5!

Wow, what an amazing "pocket camera"! Which I took a picture of using the miniature camera inside my phone. Ha. Also, the dude's hair!!!

For the original release of Cinderella, "a love story with music"

Oh, Pepsi! You so fun!

I really like these Lifesavers ads, in case you haven't noticed.

Now, I cook with a ton of butter, but that seems a bit much!

Still working on my dress, which I am adding front darts at the waist to improve the fit and I need to re-hem it. It is the frumpiest bottom of my kneecap length right now. And then pockets, and I'm done! Woot!

Next up: Butterick 6944

2011-09-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

I am making this cute 70s dress next, the version on the far left. In my typical fashion, I have been overly inspired by the envelope and am making it in navy and cream fine wale corduroy. I really like the pockets that fold over and double as belt loops.

As school has started here, I have given up on finding a permanent job for this school year, which is sad. We moved all my boxes of teaching stuff to the back porch, where it will hibernate until next year. I did finally get my provisional certificate; I need to one course online and my endorsement tests. I hope to have my real, final certificate by December. I told Andrew we are not moving again any time soon, especially if I will lose a year or my career every time this happens. It would be so much better if the US had nationalized health care (as I am once again among the uninsured) and a nationalized education system. It would make it so much easier for people to move around the country. If every child across the country took the same courses in the same grade, it would benefit everyone. I had so many students move to my previous school, and we would be studying ancient world history and they were studying US history, or geography or something else before. It would be so much simpler, but state's rights, etc, etc.

Anyhoo, I will be looking for waitressing jobs this week, so I don't know how much sewing I will get done. We have also been watching Masterpiece Theatre's Poirot series on Netflix, so many of my evenings have been taken by those!

Anyone have any good projects for the fall? Or spring for the southern hemisphere?

A vintage fabric Man-Apron

2011-09-04T15:54:00.001-05:00

After making the curtains (in the background), I still had about a yard and half of fabric left. I told Andrew "I think I'll make my mom an apron out of this fabric!" He says "But you know how much I love this fabric" wahh wahh wahhh French food, he's french, blah blah. Guess who gets the apron in the end? So sorry mom, blame Andrew!

I have no unisex apron patterns, so I simply cut around this apron we got for free several years ago. Cheaply made, but the right shape.

I went to Jo-Ann and bought some bias tape in the closest green. I am usually not a fan of store bias tape, as it makes clothes look really "home sewn" in the worst way, but it's great for a project like this!

I had a limited amount of fabric to work with, so I cut out the apron and did the binding. Then I cut off a 2 inch strip for the neck loop. This left a 10 inch strip left to make the triple pocket. I bound the top of the pocket and folded under and sewed the other sides.

There are three pockets seperated by rows of stitching. We just watched the episode of Southpark where Butters is going to win the state tap competition dancing to "I've got something in my front pocket for you" when his shoe comes off and there is a tragedy. Click here to watch it, Southpark is so funny, yet horrible.

It's a very giant apron, but it ended up fitting him perfectly and he was very, very excited and happy.

Pattern: traced from existing apron

Fabric: Vintage, left over from the dining room curtains

Notions: green thread and bias binding

Cost: about $6

Time: I busted this one out in about 2 hours!

Toodles!

Curtains 15-18: the office and a POLL!

2011-09-03T11:10:00.000-05:00

This week's sewing was all curtains, which I know isn't very interesting. I have made a poll for you to compromise. This is the "office," a small room off of the living room. It's maybe 8 feet by 8 feet.

This is the fabric, which my mom sent to me. She said she got it at an estate sale for $5, I think. It feels like silk and is very crinkly.

The fabric turned out to be about 3 or 4 yards, so I cut one length and then split it in half to make the long curtains. I took the remaining fabric and doubled it to make the short center ruffle. It is sew onto a long piece of ivory cotton in the center to make the curtains functional. It's glowing like an alien space ship light, but I swear it exists.

The fabric matches both of my awesome estate sale armchairs. I can't decide which one looks better in that spot. This house has a serious lack of electrical outlets. It would be nice if Andrew could keep his guitar stuff on the sun porch, but there are no plugs out there.

For the poll, you may choose which chair you like better in the office- green or orange!

Have a great weekend!

(Yes, that is a hole in the floor. They replaced some boards from under the radiator and Andrew stepped on the one next to it and fell into the floor! hahahahahah)

Curtains 11-14: A newly lovely dining room

2011-09-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Now that looks like your sewing room, you say.

Sure, but it is also the dining room and we have even been eating dinner at the table consistently every night! Like human adults!

(PS getting the ottoman and getting rid of the coffee table really helped eliminate the "eat in front of the tv" option)

Pattern: No, ma'am. Silly! 4 giant rectangles!

Fabric: "A Waverly Bonded Glosheen" "100% combed cotton" "Everbrite Dyes" "Le Bistro"
This is one of the pieces I got at the estate sale last weekend. It is 34" wide, which is random and there were probably 10 or 11 yards of it. I used four 70" pieces.

Time: An hour or two. Hemming rectangles is very monotonous, but fast.

Notions: I have been obsessively sewing my tags into my projects ever since my bathrobe a few weeks ago. It's silly to have curtains that say "Fashioned by... Molly M," yet I like it. Someone at my hoarder estate sale will know THESE were made by Molly M. Also, made free floating ties from leftover green ribbon.

Cost: $1

The print is of a French bistro menu, I guess with items and prices (prob in francs) How super cheap!

As a little extra bonus, I got a CTA transfer ticket in my bag of notions. Anyways, now when the tree loses its leaves in the fall, no one can spy on the dining room! Hee hee!

Garage Sale Loot!!! Chicago edition

2011-08-30T12:52:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, I dragged Andrew to an estate sale in Rogers Park. It's pretty far north, but only ten minutes or so away because we live pretty far north. I went because in the ad it said "lots of fabric"!

This was another awesome sale of an Old Lady Who Loved to Sew's stuff. Sadly all the patterns were for a 38 bust (wayyyy to big for me) and were mostly from the late 70s to 90s (pretty meh for style, in my opinion). It was the last day of the sale, so who knows what was there before... but that also meant everything was 50% off! Woot! So, I got a ton of stuff for $16!

Going around the world from 12 o'clock: brown and pink tweed, blue heart cotton, orange poly (and when I say poly, I mean scratchy 60/70s poly like I made this dress out of!), green woven poly, blue flowered cotton, huge orange and yellow flowered nice cotton, blue rainbow striped silk, green leaf printed cotton, yellow and brown paisley silk, and orange and brown circle poly.

Also, this one. We were both sad I had already made kitchen curtains as it has all kinds of cooking stuff in French all over it. All of the pieces are at least 1-2 yards and some of them, like the one below, are huge pieces! There was a whole room of fabric and even some entire bolts of denim and curtain stuff. Every piece I bought was a dollar. How cool is that!

I also bought three patterns, which will be part of a giveaway as they wouldn't fit. Two potholders, which saved me a trip to wal-mart. That bag of notions was only 2 bucks. It is full of hooks and eyes (my frenemies), about 15 metal zips in all colors and a lot of bias tape and hem facing.

I'm feeling greedy and I wish I had bought more! I need to remember that a lot of it was just ugly and I bought the cool pieces! Here's hoping there's more estate sales in the future!

McCalls 6331- Adorable cuteness

2011-08-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

Here is the pattern, which I picked up on a whim at a Jo-Ann pattern sale sometime in the spring. I liked the big scalloped skirt, which is not a feature any of my other patterns have. I doubted that the bustier style bodice would be flattering, so I opted for the fold down neckline.

My fabric is two pieces of 2.5 years each of Jo-Ann special style quilter cotton. It is super thin and nearly sheer, so I don't know what they mean by special. I bought the white with tiny purple and green flowers and then a matching purple thin stripe.

My changes: I have no idea why none of the girls on the envelope have any contrast on the collar. It is so easy, as the bodice is meant to be fully lined. I made the entire outside of the flowers and then I made a fill lining out of the stripes. This had the added bonus of eliminating a narrow hem on the scalloped skirt. I hate narrow hems and mine always look like garbage on the inside, which would be visible in areas.

The waist is nice and slim because you make inverted pleats over each section seam. It's not bulky like gathers would be.

Cost: I had a zipper and the fabric was 50% off, so it was about 12$.

Time: Maybe 3 hours, as the lining eliminated the need to hem!

Just to show off the shape of the skirt.

It's hard to see in these pictures, but as I walk the stripes peep out from underneath. It is too cute (not me, the dress!)

I rarely show the inside of anything, since I don't finish seams or line things. This dress is practically reversible ! If you ignore the tag, some zipper visibility and where I had to piece two pieces of the skirt due to running out of fabric?!?

Sorry for the wrinkles, this was after I wore it all day.

Anyways, I strongly recommend doing the same thing if you make this pattern. It made it really easy!

Marian Martin 9279: The Krazy Klown dress!!

2011-08-27T18:07:00.000-05:00

Pattern: from the 1950s, Marian Martin 9279 featuring cuffed sleeves, gathered yoke on front and back, a-line skirt and buttoned front.

Fabric: the magical un-wrinkleable polka dot poly from Jo-Ann. While I bought 2 yards of this on a whim a few months ago, they still have a lot at the store. 2 yards was just enough.

While it says for a 34 bust, it fits rather nicely and didn't turn out too big. This is a case where the harsh sunlight is a plus, to show off the details that otherwise disappear in the busy fabric.

Cost: pattern and buttons were a gift, fabric was maybe 10 bucks?

Time: This has features that are similar to other dresses I have made recently, so I didn't need the instructions and I whipped it together in a few hours. The fabric is quite awful, and I had to hem it by hand because the machine hem made it so stiff that it stood out awkwardly and lost all of its drape. Maybe 4 hours in all. Buttons took part of Murder on the Orient Express and the hem was an episode of Project Runway.

Notions: white thread, 8 red vintage buttons

I actually made no changes to this pattern and it fits great! Oh, other than my usual shortening of the bodice, sleeves and skirt. I ran out of fusible interfacing, so I decided to sew in white muslin instead. It worked so WELL! I think I am a convert! It also prevented teh dots from showing through on the facings and cuffs and collar.

And look! I called it the Krazy Klown dress and as we were leaving California Park, there was a birthday party with 2 DJ-ing clowns! How fortuitous!

Tomorrow I am dragging Andrew to the Randolph St Market so that should be fun. No dog beach for T-Rex this weekend; there is a triathlon going on along the lake.

New dress pictures tomorrow- and I am super proud of my work on it!

Chicago peeps- is this fun?

2011-08-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

I was looking at the Randolph Street Market online. Have any of you gone? Is it fun? Is it worth paying the 8 bucks to get in? Any other cool places we should go see while the weather is still nice?

Thanks for any input!

Funny vintage magazine covers

2011-08-25T13:26:00.000-05:00

I finally unpacked my desk stuff on Monday and I am only left with a few things on the front porch that need homes. I packed these to take pictures of them, but I think I will give them away in my next giveaway whenever I reach 300 followers. So here are some more of the vintage magazine covers, most are from the 1940s and 1950s.

Hot dog!

Ha!

Because women can't do math!

from 1944

Girls can't throw! Silly!

This one could be interpreted in a few ways. What do you think the joke is?

Hopefully I will have pictures of my Krazy Klown dress tomorrow- depends on when Andrew gets home from work.

Next up: Marian Martin 9279

2011-08-24T14:20:00.000-05:00

Here's my next project: Marian Martin 9279 with my fabric.

Hint: I am calling it my "Krazy Klown" dress...

Enjoy!

Sew-Rite 8860- A little black day dress

2011-08-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Sew-Rite 8860, a 1950s mail order

Fabric: A black rayon(?) I got for free on freecycle.org

Notions: Three buttons for the front closure and a 7" side zipper (the only thing I bought)

Cost: 99 cents for the zip, everything else I had and was free

Time: This was quick ad easy to make, maybe 2-3 hours.

Molly's Ews: I didn't baste the front shut before attaching the bodice to the skirt, which accounts for that wrinkle next to the bottom button. I also cut the skirt on the wrong angle so the sides were extra droopy. I spent a long time trying to cut it even, and it just kept getting shorter and shorter! Finally, I used the tape measure as my radius and made chalk marks all around in a circle and then cu and hemmed it. I should have done that from the start.

The back is quite nice. The buttons are cool and they remind me of dice. They are black circles with white squares inside. I only had three and it was perfect!

As you can see, it's a bit shorter than my usual, but it's not skanky looking.

Also, we went to the air show on sunday and watched it from farther north up the lake. The weather was awesome and it was nice to sit in the sun and people watch.

I like towering over the skyline like a giant.

This cracks me up every time I drive by. Some comic book store on Western puts the Spidey on the bike every day and chains him there so no one can steal him. LOL

Have a good Tuesday!

Next up: Sew-Rite 8860

2011-08-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

This is the next dress I am working on, yet another pattern from my stash that I am trying so hard to work through. I think it looks very 1950s. It was a pristine pattern in factory folds. I got it from my Aunt Sherry. It is a mail order pattern and has no envelope. As you can see, it is also perforated and has no printed marks.

This is for a 34 bust and 37 hips. There is no waist measurement given, as I'm sure you were expected to be able to adjust that to suit you. I am almost finished, I just need to add a side zipper! Pictures soon.

On a good note, my teaching certificate is finally in the mail! While I don't have a permanent job, that will at least allow me to substitute and work on making some connections for next year...

Advance 8898- A World of Plaiditude

2011-08-20T11:22:00.001-05:00

Pattern: Advance 8898 from the late 1950s

Fabric: 3 yards of Jo-Ann's "Plaiditude" fabric in a green and grey plaid. It is very soft cotton.

Notions: I used the last of my dark grey thread and then switched to black, five fabric covered buttons and 2 hooks and eyes for the waist above and below the button.

Cost: About $24

Time: This was much more time-intensive than most of my projects. Matching the plaid made cutting take longer, I followed the instructions carefully, and I hand sewed the hem, the sleeves, the buttons and the hooks and eyes. I hate hooks and eyes. I think I will replace them with the ones that are meant for pants at every opportunity. So fiddly and annoying and look, they kept poking out! Now I have to move them again!! I would say this took 7-8 hours to make.

This was my first real attempt at matching plaid. I am quite pleased. It has a nice look and the stripes matched up on all sides. It has that same giant stand-up collar that my bathrobe has. I think it requires the hair to be pulled up, or it gets in the way.

The back is the part I really like. It has a slim skirt and a fitted waist, but the bodice back is very gathered and looks very full. Um, that's the wind also. It's not that grippy in the back!

You can see the volume from the side.

Plaid alignment!

Changes:
I shortened the sleeves and bodice my typical 1". I shortened the skirt to my knee, prob 4-6 ". I cut the waist pieces on the bias to show off the awesome plaid. They are heavily interfaced, so they do not stretch out.

I am really happy with this dress! Yay!

Happy dog says "Have a good weekend!"

A sewing first- adding a back stay

2011-08-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

This is the first pattern I have made where it calls for a back stay. As you can see on the illustration, the top is blousy, with a wide neckline and the back is very gathered. The back stay stabilizes the back and makes it fit close to the body. This holds the top in place, making it appear loose, while it is really very stable. In all, it makes it so that you aren't spending the whole day tugging your dress into the right shape!

On this pattern, it also serves as the back neck facing. It is also sewn into the waist seam allowance as well.

Not a lot of links online. They mostly have to do with coats or jackets. It's an interesting thing to know about! I did it at the very end after I had done all the fitting and sewn on the buttons. I thought about leaving it off, but it slid around too much on my shoulders. After spending ten minutes plucking at my dress, trying to get it to sit right, I gave up and sewed it in.

Wiat til you see this dress! I am very proud of my work!

Next up: Advance 8898 with plaiditude!

2011-08-17T10:14:00.000-05:00

My next project is this pattern, Advance 8898 from the late 50s. It is! I looked it up online! It has the same stand-up collar as my bathrobe that I just finished.

I have also liked looking at some new fabric at JoAnn, which they have decided to call Plaiditudes. LOL! That is such a dorky name! I will make sure my pictures are full of plaid and attitude! I chose this grey and green plaid. They all look like wool, but are in fact cotton and feel like flannel or something equally soft.

I'm excited and so far I have been making a real effort to match up the lines. I hope this looks nice!

Curtain 9-10: A very dotty bathroom

2011-08-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

I am VERY pleased with how these curtain came out. I chose the big circles in blue and green and grey. It makes the bathroom look pleasant! What!

Now, from the hallway, you don't have to look at shelves of towels and medicine! Instead there is a delightful curtain.

Making a shower curtain is really easy. My fabric was 54 inches wide, so I did have to match two pieces. It's really invisible. A shower curtain is 72 by72 inches, but I made it slightly longer as our tub is raised up a bit.

I put the woodland critters in the bathroom. They used to be in the laundry room, but I am running low on things to hang up. This was the last room, so we're good. If you would like to enjoy the episode of the adorable, yet bloodthirsty southpark animals click here. This episode makes me die laughing!

Slightly blurry. I made 12 3/8ths buttonholes for the hooks. I then discovered a bit of liquid dish soap mixed in a mug of water is really good for taking out blue chalk marks. Somehow, spacing the buttonholes was a monumental challenge for me and I ended up with 13 several times... Finally 2 inches on either edge and 6.33 inches between each hook worked.

Yay! Look at that pleasant looking bathroom!

McCalls 8560- Miss Marple Robe

2011-08-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

I stole my mom's idea to re-read all the Agatha Christie novels. I am limited by the library to only 5 books (!) until my card is 1 month old, so I checked out a 5-in-1 Miss Marple and a 3-in-1 Poirot. Then I forced Andrew to watch a Miss Marple on Netflix, which only is partial payback for forcing me to go watch Transformers 3 in 3-D. Worst movie ever!

My pattern, from 1966.

So now he has been calling me Miss Marple, since I am an old person at heart and like to do old people-y things. He talked me into a Miss Marple-like plaid in pink and brown. Oh, it's anti pill polar fleece. Thus, I present to you, the Miss Marple Robe/House coat.

Pattern: Mccalls 8560 from 1966. It's nice that McCalls dates their own patterns.

Fabric: Anti-pill polar fleece in a light pink and brown plaid

Notions: For some reason I already had two spools of light pink thread and I used two left over buttons from a jacket I made for my mom. Poor mom; I was too new to sewing and didn't take ease into account, so it turned out gigantic.

Time: Maybe 3-4 hours, I busted out the whole thing yesterday.

Cost: $22

Wooden buttons

It has a kind of crazy, Star Trek stand up collar, but whatever, it's just a robe.

Pictures are taken on the front porch/sun porch.

I made no attempts to line up the plaid...

Dinosaur pose

There are windows from the living room to the porch that serve no purpose.

Oh hai!

Anyhoo, I now have an excellent robe for the winter and I used up another pattern from my stash. Yay!

On to curtains for the bathroom, a shower curtain and a closet curtain. I ended up buying the green, blue and grey circles on the white background. It should look really nice!

McCalls 6539- 1940s pajamas

2011-08-13T20:23:00.000-05:00

This is my pattern, from 1946. I made the short sleeve shirt, with a collar and the long pants.

As, I mentioned in the last post, there were no instructions inside and no pants pattern. I looked at the line drawing and guesstimated.

They are kind of gigantic, but this is lounge wear. In fact, I am lounging in them right now. They are very comfy and it decided to rain all day, so it's fairly cool out.

What you say 27 is too old for pigtails? Yeah, probably- but with amount of zits my evil skin has been festering, I don't look 27.

Do you see the pocket? I lined it up perfectly with the print! Also, the pink buttons were on sale. Aren't the bears cute?

The pants were a guessing game of randomness. I should have made a curved waistband! I always do that! So it has random darts in the waist and six darts on the front and on the back. They are rather voluminous, I feel link a skater punk.

The back is simple.

Here is my magical side closure. The envelope did not call for a zipper, but there were no instructions to clarify anything. They overlap kind of like the fly on boxers and then just button at the waist.

Time: Perhaps 3 hours

Fabric: Flannel with tiny bears

Notions: 5 buttons and more white thread

Cost: about $20

I'm happy with them! We also took the wiener dog to the dog beach and got him to swim. LOLZ! So hilarious! He would only swim from the sandbar towards the shore and he did not look happy. I'll have to make a video at some point!

Next up- McCalls 6539

2011-08-10T11:27:00.000-05:00

Next up, I am making Mcalls 6539, a 1946 pajama pattern. I am making view B, with the short sleeve top and the pants.

This is my fabric, a flannel with tiny baby bears with pink stripes, obviously meant for a small girl child. The background is white, it's just a terrible picture.

I went and bought the fabric with a 50% off coupon, coincidentally why I love Jo-Ann, and then came home to iron the pattern. I always iron vintage patterns, and this one had been used and then crumpled and stuffed back into the envelope. So, I iron it all out and there are no instructions and no pieces for the pants.

The line drawing looked very simple, so I am making my best guess.

In other news, I did not get the French job. I don't blame them, my French is startlingly mediocre since I never use it and haven't for five years. Now, Andrew and I are going to speak French to each other for at least part of each evening. Not the whole evening because its exhausting. Maybe that will help.

I did just start reading a new blog i found through Sew Retro. I thought this post was absolutely hysterical. It's about her tragic problem making a dress, including sobbing and scaring her husband and cats. Everybody's been there, and she has other cute projects and is learning to sew. I also started following Oonaballona, though I'm sure some of you read her blog too. She is so cute with her fluffy hair and her pointy face!

Ok, I'm off to watch The Closer on OnDemand and then sew. Oh I have to go defrost a chicken! Did I mention I've been cooking every day like a housewife? Weird.

Simplicity 6756- A bathrobe for Andrew

2011-08-07T21:21:00.000-05:00

Making things for Andrew makes him giddy with excitement and he was being very nosy, watching me sew. Hovering. He tried to make me finish the whole thing last night, it was like being in a sweatshop. Lol. I finished it today, when my brain was fresh.

Here is the pattern, a vintage one from my stash that I bought at an estate sale 2 summers ago I think. All of their faces are really creepy- perhaps because the do not have upper lips?

Time: Less than 3 hours

Fabric: Blue terrycloth. It feels like a cheap towel, but that's the one he picked.

Notions: Blue thread I had

Cost: $11

Adjustments: I lengthened the sleeves an inch and added 12 inches in length, per his request. "I want a long bathrobe, like Merlin's robe." I also added a strip on the inside to serve as his "shaving towel." He thought of this...

Eh voila!

Perfect for lounging- another quote: "I'm never wearing clothes at home again!!"

Side view of the ghetto booty.

See how long it is? He is 6'3", so it was an enormous amount of fabric to be handling. I felt like I was making a quilt.

The back. Molly's Ew was cutting the back piece on the pattern line (oops) and then having to reattach the extra 12 inches. It is practically invisible.

So Andrew is happy, I used up one more pattern from my stash and I cleaned up all the fuzz all over the place from cutting it up.

I have an interview tomorrow! Wish me luck and hopefully my interview outfit will land me a J-O-B!

Vogue 8333- Let's call it a test run...

2011-08-06T14:23:00.001-05:00

First things first, look how good my lemon tree looks! After the move, it lost every single leaf and then grew new, bigger, greener leaves. They are all avocado sized, which is probably 3 times bigger. I guess it hated the heat! I have it on the sun porch, where it will sit next to the radiator in the winter and keep it happy.

On to the pattern. We shall call this a muslin or a test run because otherwise it's just another EPIC FAIL. Plus, I look like a vampire in this lighting. If I had known, I could have put on my sparkly "illuminating" face powder and pretended to be an idiot from Twilight!

Time: 6 hours-ish

Fabric: Ponteroma knit

Notions: Buttons that I already had, brick red thread

Cost: $23

Pattern: Vogue 8333

This pattern runs big, or has way too much ease in it. I cut an 8, which according to the pattern is for 31.5-24-33.5. I mean, I had a 24 inch waist sophomore year of high school, but that was 11 years ago. I am about 33-26.5-36 now. So I thought if anything, it would be snug, which was fine since my fabric is a heavy knit.

No, it is huge on me. It came out to 38-34-46 measurements. That's a huge amount of "ease" Vogue. Aren't you meant to be the more stylish pattern company? The shoulder seams fall about an inch off of my shoulders, the sleeves need at least an inch taken in and the body is huge too. This was disappointing. See below- it's like my arms are webbed to my body, like a flying squirrel.

Try to ignore my drunken expression (though I am not drunk) and look at the left shoulder. I pulled it up to where the seam should be, and it looks way better and the sleeve is no longer too long.

The back is droopy and loose.

Horrifying is probably the best word for the side view.

In conclusion, I doubt I will be strutting around in this in public, except for some slovenly dog walking.

I think I am going to cut the pattern down to a 6 (the smallest size) and then pin it to my dummy and take up the shoulder and in on the sleeve and the side. I pinched it in while it was on, and it wouldn't even make the armhole tight. It is too loose!

In conclusion, it was good for practice. When I remake this pattern, I know that it will fit really well and look nice. The pattern itself is nicely made, especially the collar construction with a stand and when I do it right I left out all interfacing, the roll line, the lining, etc) and know it will fit, it will be worth it. I do recommend buying it if you can get it on sale for 3.99 like I did.

Anyways, you can mock me this time- THIS time... or leave helpful suggestions like "burn that in your backyard!"

Work in Progress and soon a 300 follower giveaway!

2011-08-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

Here is my next work in progress, Vogue 8333. It is one of the Claire Shaffer Custom Couture patterns. I really liked the style, and I hoped that it would be well-drafted when I bought it. I of course am not doing the couture version, unless someone has scheduled me for a patience transfusion! My fabric is a red ponteroma knit which has been very easy to work with.

The cat has been re-capitated.

My next project is a bathrobe for Andrew from a vintage men's pattern I have had for at least a year. I'll drag him to the Jo-Ann on Saturday to choose his fabric.

While at the Jo-Ann, I decided I really like this dot fabric (with a 50% off coupon, of course!) but I didn't realize there were two! I'm leaning towards the grey, what do you think?

I finally framed my last garage sale print in its Ikea frame. The all look so nice framed, I can't believe each print was only $5. I'm so glad Stephanie made us randomly go to garage sales that day.

Also, I have a lot of patterns I want to give away when I get to 300 followers. That will be pretty soon! I am so pleased to have any followers and anyone who comments! It is so nice to know people (even online) who also like to sew and appreciate the details!

Pictures of the jacket to come this weekend!

Navy Blue Shorts

2011-08-03T09:43:00.000-05:00

I really like this shirt, and it made me want some navy blue shorts. I already had a shorts pattern that I have made.

Time: Less than 2 hours

Fabric: Navy polyester "bottom weight" from JoAnn

Notions: 7" zipper, slide fasteners for waist

Cost: $8

Pattern: McCalls 5657

The Molly's Ew for this came right after I had cut out all of the pieces and was cutting the notches in, like I always do. I remembered making these shorts, because I still have them.

But suddenly I remember that wasn't my first attempt. These were- and they were horribly tight, really they were in EPIC FAIL land. Why did I not make a note on the pattern? So I wrote a note: "Dear future Molly, stop being a moron. Add at least 1/2" to each piece before cutting so you don't look like a whore!" If you think that is harsh, go click the link and look at the first failure.

I had already cut them out, so I went down to a 1/4" seam allowance and hoped for the best. It turned out to be fine. The only thing I would adjust a little bit for the future is that the seam along the butt is wayyy to grippy. What would be the best way to fix that on a new version?

These picture have flash to show off the detail. Pockets, cuffs, no back pockets.

On another happy yet sad note: I sold the Oldsmobile! Yay! I will miss the car because I loved it and it served me well for six years. I sold it to a nice young guy named Charles, by far the least creepy person from Craigslist I met in relation to the car selling adventure!

PS-
T-Rex was sleeping on my green chair, which is not allowed, so I pushed him down. Then he was being suspiciously quiet so I turn around and see this!

DECAPITATION! (Say that in a Mortal Combat voice) WTF, T-Rex! Now I have to sew the cat's head back on!

Bow down!

2011-08-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

An offering to our kangaroo overlords!

Cupcakes: made last week by me (from a mix) I have never mastered a fluffy handmade cake.

Picture: Cut out of National Geographic magazine and framed in an Ikea frame. Andrew was horrified that he paid for a frame for the kangaroo picture. LOL!

That is all.

A baby bed for the baby dog

2011-08-01T12:01:00.001-05:00

Here is my pattern, one of my stack of never-made options. I am remaining firm- I am not allowed to buy any more patterns until I have made all of the ones I own at least once. This is a Kwik Sew pattern from 1994 for a child's pillow. I thought it would make a good, new dog bed for T-Rex. I had made him one before, which he loves, but it is gross looking now. Making it from light green jersey was a mistake.

I thought it would end up a little bigger, but he fits. He loves laying on pillows, although now that we have a sofa again, he is back up there. I like how ti looks like he is making a cat pancake.

Oh, did I mention how I bought the 5 lb box of fiberfill for my pillows? Uh, that was a mistake. I stuffed two pillows and a dog bed, and it is almost a full box. I didn't realize it was vacuum packed! I opened the bag, and it grew about two feet taller than the box!

See how it's black? I was smart this time.

I think he likes how the cat head is like a pillow. It's pretty cute.

The cat's face is my Molly's Ew for this one. My machine does not do a zig-zag or satin stitch, so I wonkily topstiched the applique down. Going around in small circles was extremely hard- and you can see my crooked effort if you embiggen the picture, especially around the eyes. (Simpsons anyone?)

Time: Maybe 2 hours

Fabric: White and black flannel, pink cotton bits

Notions: Black thread (already had)

Cost: $6

Pattern: Kwik Sew 2339

It's an easy pattern and it took maybe 2 hours to make, and that included all the cutting and stuffing. It's a cute pillow. It reminds me of Nyan Cat, probably in how the head is attached.

We got a free sofa this weekend, so I didn't take pictures of my shorts. Soon.....

My New System and a quiz!

2011-07-29T09:24:00.003-05:00

Moving forced to me pack, unpack and organize all of my sewing supplies and I was amazed at the number of unfinished projects I had crammed into some drawers. I also have at least twenty patterns that I have never even unfolded.

My new plan is that I must do this in order:

1. Make a fun project of my choice

2. Make curtains for one room of the house

3. Finish an unfinished project.

When I run out of rooms, that will become make up an unused pattern. So, for example, I made my interview dress (1), then I made kitchen curtains (2), and then I dug through my drawer to finish something. I had long ago bought these two panels of fabric at garage sales, meaning to make pillows. Of course, I never did.

UNTIL NOW!

Scary owl on canvas. The back is unbleached muslin, which I had on hand.

Crazy parrot. The back is bleached muslin. I secretly love when people write muslim instead of muslin- it makes me giggle every time. Talk about spelling changing the meaning of your sentence! "I made a muslim of this pattern." You what?

Time: Less than 2 hours

Notions: White thread (already had)

Fabric: Muslin and pillow panels

Cost: Less than $5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here were some home decorating fabrics that I liked for the bathroom. I am making a curtain to cover the door-less closet and a shower curtain cover. It will need a lot of fabric.

Boats were 10.99/yd, the circles were 19.99/yd, the green with flowers is 10.99/yd. I did get the Jo-Ann app on my phone, which is great because you can save coupons in it, and then I always have them with me.

I love this one, but is it (gasp) 39.99/yd. But it's so cute!

So vote which one you think is best. Our bathroom has that rental "charm" of having been painted cream color 96 billion times. The counter and tiles are also beige. I want something that is soothing, yet will distract you from the ugly bathroom.
Tomorrow some friends of Andrew's family are giving us two suede sofas! How nice is that! So I baked some peach pies to give them one as a thank you. I finally mastered good crust using Crisco. Crisco itself is repulsive, but it makes flaky pie crust.

The middle one was my leftover bits, that's why it's so ugly. We ate it last night and it was delish!

Toodles!

Curtains 2-8: Lemony Snkitchen

2011-07-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

My next curtain project was the kitchen because we needed to cover the window on the back door. The lemon yellow fabric really brightens up the kitchen and makes it very festive.

I gave the door curtain tabs because I didn't think the tiny, cheap curtain rod could withstand very much gathering. It serves its function by letting in some light, while freeing the neighbors of seeing us drink beer in our underwear.

These are three piece curtains, just to frame the windows and look cute. These two windows look out onto brick walls, so no one can see in. I love them, they're so peppy!

The smaller window is in the same style, with three pieces.

Time: About 2-3 hours.

Fabric: Quilting cotton from Jo-Ann, the selvage said "juicy" by Alexander somebody...

Notions: Yellow thread, which I already had

Cost: $30, which is great since I got seven "panels" out of it. You know that trick at the store, where the package picture has a nice window with two curtains but each pouch only has one panel, if you read the fine print. Sneaky.

This picture is a little blurry, but I wanted to showcase my lemon tree yarn embroidery from a garage sale. It's pretty 70s out, and spectacular.

Next, I am making navy blue shorts. I felt the need...

The "Interview ME" Dress

2011-07-26T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, I have finally finished this dress! Maybe it will be a good sign, and someone (anyone!) will call me about a job. I hate job hunting- it's depressing and no one has called me. I think part of it is that I haven't taken any of the endorsement tests yet, because the next one is on Sept 10 and the last one was on July 9, the day we were driving a moving truck across the country. Until you take one, you aren't considered qualified to teach your subject area. So, I will take the French test, the history test and the LBST I, which is for special ed teaching assistants. But, unless someone miraculously calls me before school starts after Labor Day, it seems I may end up spending some time waitressing and substitute teaching....Wah! But I did that while I was getting my Master's degree and it paid the bills, so.... I am trying to stay positive!

Anyways- here is my pattern.The picture on the right, with the collar.

Time: I made it over several days, maybe 3-4 hours.

Fabric: light grey pinstripe "summer suiting", lining is a pinky skin color, both from Jo-Ann

Notions: one 14 inch zipper

Cost: I am sure I used a coupon, but it all cost less than $20.

Picture were taken on the back staircase because I didn't feel like tottering around the neighborhood in heels.

The collar got an extra pressing, and it doesn't flip up like that anymore.

I did a side zipper and the hem by hand, while watching Law & Order.

Our backs.

Tiny T-Rex.

Here's my whole interview outfit. Banana Republic jacket from two years ago, off white patent leather shoes from Dillards, and the white bag was from K-Mart of all places. It came with a tiny white umbrella inside. :)

Fully lined, a rarity in Molly Land!

So, it's good for an interview and hopefully I will get one, so I can wear my lucky white jacket and become employed! Woot woot! Wish me luck, it seems like I need some!

Curtain 1- Bedroom

2011-07-23T16:20:00.000-05:00

This will be the first in a million part series called "Curtains." Hmm, did not notice the lack of mini-blinds in the rental before moving in. Obviously, the bedroom curtain was deemed the most important. The neighbor's house end just before our bedroom, so the window looks out onto their yard, six windows of the next house over, and the back of an apartment building. That's a lot lot of potential eyeballs spying on me.

I am still working on hanging up pictures.

Here's the before window. Piercing sunlight.

Also, I was nice (for once) and gave Andrew the big closet. HWHAT?

So, as you can see, I really made a curtain, not curtains. Meh. I bought the last of this bolt of fabric, which was 2 5/8 yards. I made a tube at the top and hemmed the bottom. I turned the long sides under once, because I doubt the selvages will fray. It is just wide enough- yay! Total cost- $12.

It has multicolored bikes all over it. It's nice and dark to block out the sun. I tricked the dog into sleeping until 9:40 today! Hahahahaha, he thought it was still night!

I also made two ribbon ties, so you can have some light if you want. That would be my Molly's Ew for this one; I thought I was being all careful and precise and then we hang up the curtain and one tie is about a foot higher than the other. Did I go back and fix it? Oh, hell naw!

Have a great weekend! Our horrific heat wave has now passed to the east coast, so if you live there- sorry, but not really!

My NEW Sewing Room!

2011-07-20T16:33:00.001-05:00

I am quite pleased with the dining room, aka my sewing room. Not only is it bigger than before, it has that awesome built-in buffet along the wall. The light is pretty good and I have already made one curtain for the bedroom and half of my "interview dress."

Plus, I have the ironing board right there. Before, I walked across the house to the laundry room to iron things. But, I did. I am an advocate of "sew, trim threads, press seams". The back door leads to the back porch (yes, there is a front porch too!), so if anyone classy was coming over, I could throw my ironing board and dummy and tub of patterns back there for a bit. Fortunately, I don't know anyone classy.

Also, I have the little tv hooked up in the corner. This solves the problem of sewing to the sounds of Andrew machine gunning people down on some Xbox game. Lol.

Like I said, the cabinet is built-in and I not only have a place to store my Wedgwood china, but I have all these drawers to tuck my things away in. I also have the top to toss things on so we can actually eat at the dining room table like real people. It's shocking, I know, but we have managed it two nights in a row!

Here's my dress in progress. It is going to be fully lined, so it's about half done right now.

The dining room is open to the kitchen, but I cleverly cut it out of all my pictures. It is really messy, and it's too hot for me to care. It's 98 degrees and all I have is a fan! T-Rex and I have just been lying on the floor in front of the fan, panting and sweating, respectively. Yipes!

Curtain pictures tomorrow. You like my sewing room? Jealous? I hope so, I am quite pleased about it. Toodles!

Flouncy White Dress- First Pix in Chicago!

2011-07-17T19:05:00.002-05:00

Just to recap, this was my pattern inspiration. An Azzaro cotton dress that cost $2,741. Lol. I "drafted" my own pattern for this one, sort of. I used the bodice of the pattern I am going to make my grey interview dress out of, to test for fit. That turned out to be wise, since I really need to shorten the bodice at least an inch. The sleeves I drafted on paper to be five lump scallops. The skirt is just a drindl, a big rectangle gathered at the waist and the ruffle is the same.

On to construction:
It was easy to make. I originally did the side-boob darts, but this fabric was a pain. It really likes to stretch out on the diagonal. So I ended up with some wildly pointing uneven lines. I took them out and left it loose. Instead of waist darts, I made small gathers like the inspiration dress. It's not very obvious, but it makes the bodice looser. The back has waist darts. Pictures were taken walking the dog to the river, which sis a few blocks away.

All layers of this dress are doubled up because the fabric was so sheer. I thought it would be pretty lightweight, but it is rather heavy. The bodice and back were done first and turned right side out because the fabric also frays terribly. I then made the sleeves (again, doubled) and just top-stitched them down. They are floppy and cute.

The waistband is about an inch wide and drops a little below my natural waist line. Fortunately not to the "dropped waist" point that I hate so much (and Lisette- I know I am not the only one!)

The skirt was easy to make. It is double layer rectangle that I gathered at the waist to the appropriate size. I then added the bottom ruffle to it. The ruffle was easy because it is just folded in half and attached, so there was no need to hem! Yay!

Below you can see the Molly's Ew for this project. I put in the metal zipper in a very half-assed, on-the-machine-with-no-basting fashion, and you reap what you sew. (Edit- I went back to spell sow correctly, but I made a pun! By accident! It stays.) So I have an incongruous, semi-exposed zipper on a girly dress. Meh, at least it's a side zipper. Maybe the lump of hair on the back of my head will distract you!

While slightly warm for today's 93 degree weather, I am sure it will get a lot of use. The ruffle bounces while I walk and it looks very nice. Overall, pretty nice and I'm glad to be finished with it.

Is anyone else obsessed with the weather on their phone? I have New Orleans (77 rain), Chicago (93), Salem, Or (parents- 67 rain) and Ulsan, South Korea (brother- 75 nighttime). I find it really interesting to compare the weather in my four places of interest. I would add Paris, but the weather there remind me very much of Oregon- gray and rainy.

Anyways, I made a curtain for the bedroom, so soon I will have some of the house to show you. I am also reading a play in French to try to improve my French, since I have been applying to French and History job openings. More on that later!

Oh, hai! 80s pants refashion/ Goodbye New Orleans!

2011-07-14T11:10:00.001-05:00

I originally bought these pants at an estate sale in May. I thought it was more recent, but I had to go way back on the blog to find a link. They were terribly 80s in the worst way- high, tight waist, peg legs, poofy hips. In a word, sexy. Ha!

Stephanie and I have spent too much time discussing that extremely short shorts seem to be "in" right now, based on how many I see everywhere. I thought this would be an excellent refashion, to make these pants into short, sexy shorts. As a joke, obviously. We also wore our matching Oscar the Grouch shirts, bought at Walmart on a beach trip. I made them into shorts by hacking them off about 1 inch below the crotch and then fancying them up with my pinking shears. Oh la la!

We went to a colorful, local playground to highlight the delicious colors of our outfits.

Oh hai!

This is by far the best picture- in the air and we even managed to touch hands!

This was the "try to slide without burning the flesh off of your legs" picture

All in all, it was a fun last photo shoot in New Orleans!

I am now officially in Chicago and setting up the house. Bleh moving is un-fun! We now have an enormous apartment that is pretty great, but it has no mini-blinds. Also, there is an enormous Jo-Ann about 5 minutes away. Yay! So expect to see many before/after curtain posts over the summer. I am starting to sew cold weather clothes already. I doubt I will need any more sundresses.

Dress In Progress...

2011-07-04T15:02:00.000-05:00

Once again, I am copying a dress from a magazine. It is hard to see in the picture, but it has little scalloped sleeves and gathers at the waist instead of front darts, plus the three tier skirt. If you can read it, this cotton dress sells for 2,741 dollars. Oh my lord! Cotton? Maybe if it was made out of clouds and silver, lol.

Anyhoo, my fabric is rayon so it does not have the stiffness to do the scallops on the skirt. I am doing a side zipper, so the waist will be more fitted, it just isn't pinned shut. I self-lined the bodice, so that is isn't completely see-through.

I ran out of fabric, so I had to buy more. Then I hit a mental block. I just haven't been able to get motivated to finish it. Plus all I have been doing is cleaning the evil bathroom and packing boxes. That is both boring and tiring. I have also read a book a day since I went to the library on Thursday. They are all sappy chick-lit books and are pretty ridiculous!

Maybe if I take a nap I will feel peppy and ready to sew!

Which fabric should I use for the bathroom?
boats circles green birds
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