Give me new blogs to read!

I finally cut out We Sew Retro and the Sew Weekly, since I was no longer interested in the posts, but had been not ready to delete them. I also deleted some blogs that hadn't posted for 4 + months. Am I right in thinking if you haven't managed one post in that time, you probably are NOT heading back into blog town?

I found a few new blogs (new to me, obvi) that I am going to add and I got them all from a Cambie dress google image search, if that is random enough (except for Neeno).

Four Square Walls- Andrea is super cute and her projects are really adorable.

Neeno was a link from the last blog. Again, super cute and great clothes. Her bangs are adorable and make me wish I had them. Then, I remember I would look like a turd.

Adrienne also has some cool sewing projects. I seem to really like blogs with good pictures, and am then lazy and only post shitty pictures for my own blog. Food for thought...

Amanda is in Australia (so we get to see summer clothes) and has an amusing writing style.

I also found Claire from a cambie search. More cute projects!

Now, I am out of steam and need to go finish cleaning. My parents are coming to visit for Xmas and they haven't visited us in Chicago since we moved here! It should be a fun visit and I was even able to get all my restaurant shifts covered, so I get a full week of no work! Ehmagerd, I'm so excited.

Happy Holidays and link me to some good blogs if you know of any. You can link your own if you want, but no hugely popular ones. Once people start posting daily about nothing just to drive traffic, I start to seriously lose interest. Give me some blog loot!

Butterick 6963- 70s Tunic-style top

Here is my pattern: 

It is a 1970s Butterick in a 30 bust. Technically it is a child pattern, but it's my size and I've done it before successfully. I made the square neck version with elbow length sleeves. 

This is my fabric and the back of the blouse:

The fabric is a light cotton from an estate sale. I just can't remember which one. I think it was one where there was a beautiful old gilded and painted Singer but the wires were all frayed (it was only 25 bucks or so). Then I told my mom about it later and she said "Oh that would be easy to fix!" Then, I was sad...

The front and the side with the tie belt. 

Then the front and back with it loose. It looks a little "maternity" without the tie, but it is tunic-y and comfortable. I over-lightened the pictures playing around on Picasa. I suck at both taking good pictures and editing them. 

 My twisty hairstyle attracted some comments at the restaurant on Sunday.

Pros:
 I got to use a piece of fabric from my hoarder stash. It was about a yard or 1.5 yds.
I used vintage fabric with a vintage pattern, which is always fun.
I made no changes to the pattern, other than shortening the sleeves. I thought long sleeve blue floral would be a little overwhelming.
It fits nicely and is comfortable.
It has a nice shape and goes well with skinny jeans and flats.
It was super easy to make and took just a few hours.

Cons:
Nada.

Is anyone else bored with We Sew Retro? I used to like that before they switched it to wordpress. Lately, I still look at it but I am never interested in anything posted there. It seems like a lot of beginners now. Maybe that's because I'm not a beginner seamstress anymore?

Tell me your thoughts!

December Giveaway Winner!

We drove to Woodstock, Il yesterday and cut down our Xmas tree. It is so beautiful! We got a blue spruce again. It was raining and cold, but we found a great one. It is really blue with that "snowy" look. Which is nice, since it has yet to really snow here in Chicago. 

 Today we decorated it and it looks delightful. I have a nice assortment of horrific estate sale ornaments mixed with the cheap ones from Kmart that come in a tub. I used my tree skirt that I made last year, as well.

 Yes, that is a jug of beer to the right. Andrew and my brother have been brewing beer. That is actually batch two and batch one turned out pretty well!

The winner of the patterns is....

Kristin! Kristin, please email me your address at mollysewsblog@gmail{dot}com.

Thanks!

Unfinished Project lolz

Tasia, from Sewaholic patterns, just wrote about her shameful, unfinished projects lying around. I laughed and then immediately made a Grumpy Cat face and thought of my coat...

Oh Vogue 775, you are my nemesis. I bought the pattern at an estate sale in Oregon in July of 2010. I included links to my posts for each of these long-ago stages because it is hilarious to read the things I wrote with such enthusiasm. I was instantly enraptured with the pattern and saw it as a coat, rather than a coat dress.

Here is where I gush with enthusiasm for my coat making progress and how I can't wait to make a muslin (which I rarely do).

Then, shockingly, I actually make and fit the whole muslin in a reasonable time frame! What? I took pictures and pranced about in it. Then, I tore it apart to be the new pattern.

In that same summer we went to New York and I was able to buy my wool at Mood. I showed it off and deliberated about underlining and if it was necessary. I decided to do it and cut out the flannel and basted it all together. Usually I get lazy when it comes to boring, repetitive sewing stuff and quit, but I stuck with it! Sam left a comment about how she couldn't wait to see my coat! Hahahaha.

That was January/February 2011.  We were still in New Orleans and it gets hot there by March, so I moved on to other things. Then we moved to Chicago and it has sat packed away in my drawers of fabric for a year and a half. I saw it the other day when I was marveling at all of the unused fabric I have managed to hoard. I want to finish it, I swear.

Reasons to finish it:
1. It would be a great coat.
2. That wool was expensive
3. It is cut out and underlined and ready to be sewn up.
4. I even have the thread and interfacing for the lapels.

But coats are so time-consuming and I'm supposed to be doing other things like sewing my wedding dress and such and such. We shall see, my friends!



Do you guys have some shamefully unfinished years-long projects to share? I'm not the only one, right?



P.S. For lolz, read the the end of my finished cape post, where I marvel at how it took me three years to finish that cape and how I KNOW it won't take me that long to finish my coat. Well, lah dee dah, past Molly. Looks like someone was a little too cocky!

December Giveaway!

This month I am giving away these four vintage patterns to one winner! Leave a comment by Friday at midnight to enter and I will choose a winner this weekend. 

These patterns are tiny (30 ans 31 bust) but have some cool features that might make them worth grading up. 

McCalls 9407 is a 1953 pattern featuring a halter dress with an out-sized collar. Bust 30. 

Simplicity 1283 is a 1955(?) dress pattern featuring a dropped waist, full skirt and kimono sleeves. Bust 30. 

 Butterick 7205 is a slim "stem" dress that "flowers out" with an optional overskirt. Bust 30. 1950s?
McCalls 6487 is a 1946 Junior 2 piece suit dress pattern. Bust 31.

Leave a comment to enter!

Wedding Dress Fabric Swatches from Mood

First off, I am going to go to Fishman's on Saturday morning to look at wedding dress and bridesmaid fabric.  Would anyone like to go too or meet up there? Email me at mollysewsblog@gmail(dot)com if you'd be interested!! I would happily drop my Saturday shift at the restaurant!

I am trying to do wedding stuff while still working 7 days a week. I did make some progress and sat down for an hour and looked through Mood's website to order swatches. I got them today and was super excited to rip open the envelope!

These were just random ones I liked (well, if I'm already paying for shipping...)

 Meh. meh and OH YEAH! 

I have been dreaming of a cheetah lace ever since I cut this picture (below) out of a magazine years ago. I think it was a Kors dress? Love, love love! So I'll buy some of that regardless...I went through a phase where I had subscriptions to like 20 magazines and would religiously cut out pictures and paste them into a Moleskine notebook.

On to my samples, friends! (I accidentally wrote fiends...)

These are the maybe-wedding-dress possibilities from looking online. This should really be a lesson in "why you buy swatches before purchasing online fabrics." 

 From top down, left to right:
1. Lace embroidered with stuffs, poly
2. Cotton/nylon floral lace
3. Silk tiny dots
4. Poly lace, with fancy edges
5. Striped lace
6. Off-white floral lace, cotton
7. Crinkle flower silk
8. Dotted netting

Pause and judge...

Now these are one I would actually maybe consider:

 I am really liking the cotton/nylon one with the big flowers. (Middle top)

Feel free and share your opinions! (Good or bad)

A Button Dilemma

I was digging through my drawers of fabric and was forced to remember exactly how many pieces of unused fabric I have. Whoops! I had over a yard of this 70s fabric still, even after making my maxi Lonsdale dress. I dug through my bowl of patterns for the season and made up a button front blouse with long sleeves. So I need about 5-6 buttons down the front and the one each for the cuffs. 

I dug through my buttons and these are the finalists (all from an estate sale a few months ago).

 Which ones do you think I should use:

The orange ones (left) are ceramic with metallic backs that almost look like tiny tambourines or beer bottle caps. They are maybe too heavy for my lightweight fabric, though. The ones in the center are orange plastic that have a spiky-plaid design. The ones are the right are yellow, flat plastic. The look like they were one lighter and have darkened with age.

Which buttons should I use?
Orange ceramic Orange plastic Yellow plastic Other, in comments
	Results

Let me know what you think!

Vogue 8280- The Little Black Dress

I made this Vogue dress really quickly this last week. It is Vogue 8280 and is made of a medium heavy black knit. I am just sick of Vogue dresses that turn out to be so uncomfortable because they tell you to use a woven fabric. so that avoided that problem!

This si the pattern and I made view C with the long sleeves and pleated skirt thingie.

I meant for it to be a comfortable and semi-warm work dress for winter, but there is no way I will be wearing this to sub at the high school! It turned out to be pretty snug and way to sexy to wear to work. 

 The side and you can see the pleats on the skirt. You can also see T-Rex looking through the bottom panel of the window. He can't go on the porch anymore because Andrew and Luke are brewing beer out there.

 The back has some odd wrinkles and I had to take a pinch out of the lower back center seam. There was a big flop of loos fabric there. I was able to omit the zipper due to the stretch, which was good because I didn't have one long enough.

 I'm happy with it and it was super easy to make. It's an "Easy Vogue" which was much more pleasant.

 I really like it and will have to make an occasion to wear it since it is not for work!