Goodbye, Hello!

So, for the last week or two I’ve been in a bad sewing rut. See, I was working on this shell blouse in a vintage synthetic fabric, and at first I was excited about it. It’s a staple garment, and I thought I needed staple garments. I do need staple garments but not hideous, shapeless ones. Holy cannoli is that thing UGLY. I think under normal circumstances, I would have just pitched it in the bottom of my stash closet, in the “finish later (never)” pile and not worried about it much. That is what happened with my wrap blouse that was incorrectly graded. But the wrap blouse didn’t have five bound buttonholes. I really toiled on those suckers, and I am not ready to admit defeat just yet, despite the fact that the blouse truly is hideous. I also don’t want to spend any more time on a fugly sewing project. So, I took a break- I did yoga at night instead, and that was good. I also did some pattern work- tracing and cutting, listing and selling via eBay and Etsy. That was good too. But I love to sew. I missed it, and so I jumped back in with a quickie project that I hoped would be as easy as the shell was supposed to be.

Here is Simplicity 2345 from 1947. 

Which view? Of course the one with the cute bow detail!

I did a truly lazy pattern alteration- mine was a size 12 (who has a 30 inch bust?) so when I placed it on the fabric for cutting, I spaced it ¼ inch from the fold to add ½ inch at center front. I did the same on the back, and I used a sewing curve tool to add 5/8 inch at either side for an overall addition of 3 inches to the waistline. It is fitted somewhat snugly, but  I am making all of my blouses and dresses to the smaller side, because I am still nursing baby A and still losing baby weight, and I want the clothes I sew to fit me when this chapter of mommyhood is over. 

 I sewed it up quick and dirty in a blue twill I found thrifting (I love this fabric- it is of a nice weight and drape- must find more!) I pinked seams, and my pinkers are old, and it looks like a possum gnawed the inside of the blouse. I used some vintage thrifted hem tape, as well as one of my 6 navy vintage metal zips (I had 6 hoarded away!). That was the part I was most pleased with- I again used the hand picked zipper method from Threads, and they are right, it really is worth the effort. The sides don’t gape open, and the stitches are barely visible. There are no puckers. I’m hooked and probably won’t be machine sewing too many zippers anymore. 

I did veer away from the pattern instructions in a few ways. For one, I thought it would be kind of weird to have a bias bound neckline but have facings at the armholes. So, I made bias tape using a nifty little method shared at Creative Little Daisy, and used it on the neck and armholes. I cheated and left the shoulder opening off of my blouse- the only opening is at the right bottom side seam. I cut the neck hole just a wee bit bigger, but this might not be necessary for anyone who doesn't have a huge head. Then, because my ric rac was too big, I decided to outline the neck and bow with embroidery floss. Here is how it all came together. 

Close up of the neckline and bow detail. 

Sorry about the photos, and the rest of my outfit.
But, as you may  know, I live on a farm and have a ten month old.
Still, sorry about the photos and the rest of my outfit.

What is up with this weird, warpy iPhone pic?

The pictures are crummy- but I took them with my iPhone, and we were headed off to Asheville for the day. Anyway, I really like this blouse. I think it is cute, and reasonably flattering, and I will probably sew several more variations in the upcoming months. I might work on grading it a little better though. The darts seem really high....and they are kinda way off to the side. But, I looked at the pattern illustration, and they are kinda placed that way there too.

Is this an intentional design with the darts, or am I just trying to justify my cheeseball  pattern work?

Anyway, I'M BACK Y'ALL! I'm feeling better and ready to get sewing my dresses for my sister's wedding and shower this year, and a whole bunch of other stuff just for the fun of it. I'm feeling good. I got my hair cut today (goodbye tired mommy-tail) and bought myself some new underwear. I also filled a trash bag with old, ill fitting clothes and brought it to the thrift for donation. It was so much easier to get dressed without all of that crap-o-la cluttering up my closet. Well, enough rambling for one night. I am exhausted and off to bed so I can get some mad work done tomorrow. It is so hard to fit all that I want to do in a day, month, year, and lifetime!  

Sorbetto Bow Blouse

I have played with the Sorbetto Top by Colette Patterns a fair amount now. I have it so I really like the fit, which involved angling the darts more (much more flattering to a small/medium bust) and lowering the underarm. I have made it as a back button blouse, 

a pajama top, and even a dress! 

Because the fit is good, I feel comfortable testing my amateur pattern manipulation skills on it. 

For my latest version, I decided that I am over the bias binding at the neck and arms. It always feels constricting and causes pulling. Instead, I drafted facings. I also raised the back neck 3 inches and lowered the front neckline about an inch and a half. I underlined the sheer, crepe fabric I used with a mystery navy lining purchased in the thrift (that's where the polka dot fabric came from, too). I used the glue trick to marry the two except at the darts, where I hand basted. From there I used french seams on the shoulder and side seams, stitched in the facings which were serged along the lower edges, hand hemmed the bottom with lace hem tape, and neatened it all up by stitching the facings and hem to the underlining. 

For a little more personalization, I stitched a rectangle, top and bottom, at the neckline and made a long tie to go with it so I could have a bow blouse. 

I love how this top turned out. It is easy to wear and, to me, looks polished and classic. These are adjectives I would like to be able to apply to my wardrobe more often, and I am trying to sew up some versatile basics. 

A Little Sewing

I have done a few shorter projects as of late that I never posted and wanted to quickly share. Here is my second pair of shorts from McCall's 3132. I sewed the first pair over a year ago, and I see definite sewing improvement.

Yeah, sorry about the crappy pic. I have no excuses. I was happy that I made these using leftover fabric from my aborted Lady Grey Sew Along coat project. This khaki jacquard is some of the most expensive fabric I have purchased (which isn't saying much, only that I paid full price), and I didn't want to see any wasted. So, now I have used that fabric for my cape, these shorts (a little more practical and wearable than the cape), and also this purse.

This Buttercup Bag was actually made from the sleeves of what would have been my coat. I used piping along the bottom seam, made my own shoulder strap, and covered a button for the closure using a little plastic ring as described by Casey of Casey's Elegant Musings here. This Buttercup pattern is great (and there is a free version!) I bought the large pattern sometime last year, and whenever my bag gets a little dingy looking with use I just sew up a new one.

Finally, I am now in the process of sewing a Bow Blouse for my Grandma's birthday. Grandma is one of my favorite people on the planet Earth, and I am excited to be seeing her in about a week. It is the utmost of compliments, in my opinion, when she says that she and I are "cut from the same cloth."

Here we are together at my wedding four years ago

So, that's it for my little projects. Brian and I are making progress on the big project too, and I should have pics to post soon. Until then....

On the Road Again.....

We got on the road with our Shasta. It isn't finished, but we aren't too fancy (and we are very impatient), so we took it down to FL. We pulled it with our Subaru Forester, and it pulled well. It took us many more hours than usual, as we drove U.S. highways instead of interstates, but I prefer to drive the highways and admire the old houses, farmsteads, and towns along the way. We all slept surprisingly well considering I was in the bunk, the baby in her pack and play, and my hubby on the cot under the bunk.

We leave tomorrow, and I am hoping to do some rural thrifting on the way home- maybe pick up some fabulous, long forgotten sewing supplies for a pittance.

I griped about Florida the whole way here, and it has been miserably hot, but we have familial ties that bind us to the state (we still have a house here, but I don't see us ever living in it again). My family came from all the way up the east coast to be here for my younger sister's bridal shower. My elder sister and I were hostesses, and it went off without a hitch. This kind of party can be tricky, but I felt we managed a pretty good blend of camp and class. Here is the bride-to-be in the paper plate bow hat we tried to make her wear while she opened gifts. She wasn't having it, but I did manage to snap one photo. Even wearing a paper plate, my sister is beautiful!

We also had fun Saturday night when my husband got the chance to perform with the reggae band he played trumpet with for close to 10 years. They are excellent and have quite a following. Three of my sisters came along, and we got to catch up with a lot of people we haven't seen in a long while.

In fact, the catching up was for sure the best thing about our visit. That and the fact that the baby had so many family and friends to love and hug her. She met Great Grandma Rizzo for the first time, and I finished hemming and tacking on Great Grandma's blouse just in time to give it to her for her 88th birthday. I wish I had gotten a photo, but she says she will be wearing it to my sister's wedding in September, so I hope to snap some then.

Overall, this trip had me feeling really relaxed for the first time in forever. Who would have ever thought relaxation would come in the city! But it did, and although I am ready to head back to lovely western Carolina, I am already missing all of the excellent company. And the sunsets.....

Well, until next time Florida!