SO much has happened! Where to begin?

Well, OK. So, first, I broke my collarbone. I fell off of a horse during a riding lesson, which is bad enough--but on top of all that, his name was Spanky. Seriously, universe?

The wrath of Spanky.

Then I got to get surgery. I flew home to Atlanta and everything, which was rad because I got to take off school and work, but not rad because I then became entrenched in homework-land. I'm still there, because I have got this fabulous internship at Partners + Napier as an account planning intern, and when I come home, I am TIRED!

SO, very little sewing for now. BUT, i have learned to crochet in the meantime. I've made a skirt from Mary Jane Hall's Crochet That Fits, and wear it all the time. I love it. Crochet was easy for me to do with my arm in a sling, so now I'm obsessed. I am working on a bag currently, and after that...who knows? I'm thinking some pink, fluffy bunny slippers....as if I need those in the summer. :/

So, that's most of the news for now. Let's catch up again soon...I'll show you my latest hook projects, and maybe this crazy jumper dress thing I sort of am making up as I go along. LOL.

Let's talk about my fear of skirts.

I recently purchased this really great Joel Dewberry fabric from an Etsy seller in two colors...the lime green and the dark pink.

Now, I was in love with this fabric, but honestly had no idea what to do with it. I really wanted to make something utterly cool, but it doesn't seem like this fabric would be all that great all over your body--as in, a full length dress. After a little bit of snooping, I found this skirt over at Bird and Bread:

(img courtesy Bird and Bread)

Isn't it sooooo cute? She did an amazing job sewing it, and I only wish I could replicate the effort. Unfortunately, I have this little problem. Ok, a big problem.

(I look really bad in pencil skirts.)

Even I get how defeatist this is, but it's totally true. I just can't find any styles that accommodate my curvy hips with my small waist. I'm not built like a stick...I can't help that. But, I can totally take a cue from the fabulous blogger above and sew my own, well-fitted skirt.

I looked for a long time. Vogue had a lot of high-waisted options that I really liked, but I finally settled on this pattern from the "project runway" line. It's kind of a tulip skirt sort of shape that I think will go really well.

The link to the pattern review is here.

The one that the reviewer made up looked a little poofy in the hips...but hopefully this will work for me. I've never worn the style, personally. Here goes nothing!

Ok people, let's talk strapless. Or: A PLEA TO DESIGNERS EVERYWHERE

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, EVERYONE GET OVER IT.

Thanks for letting me have that little rant. Now I feel like we can truly begin.

This all started this morning when, groggy as a pirate the night after a wedding (aren't I punny? pirates would drink grog...Ok, sorry) I clambered onto my email and saw the email from VoguePatterns proclaiming that the NEW PATTERNS WERE HERE. YAY! I'm kind of a (not so) secret pattern hoarder, so I decided to check things out. Well, surprise, surprise...I was more or less disappointed. Here's a selection.

Wow. Look at all those sheath dresses. YAWN.

And then, the kicker. I saw it hovering around the bottom...some sort of delicious floral-on-white. Nothing gets my attention like pink and red on white. Here's what it was on:

                                                   

STRAPLESS! Why??? Why has everything got to be strapless? Who came up with this idea? It's terrible!

In my expertise, there is a tiny boob-range of women who can wear strapless gowns. If you are flat chested, you are not in it. Also, if you have any chest to speak of, you are not in it. That leaves...oh, about 1.8% of women who look good in a strapless. So WHY IN THE WORLD do we see this stupid design EVERYWHERE? 

(how does this last one even stay up?! what if you have to stretch!?)

I get that there's a certain charm to showing off your beautiful shoulders and collarbones. However, the majority of women (even the ones who can make these bizarre things stay up) still spend more time hiking the bodice up and/or looking like the saggy boobed grannies of yore. These types of clothes always drag down your bust. Is that the charm--the almost falling off part? Can someone help me here?

There are other ways to show off that chest without needing to resort to almost baring it. Busty ladies, why not try something like this? (Image from igigi.com...one of my fave designers)

And that goes for the rest of you too! Let's all shed the strapless like the dead weight it is, and bring back the boatneck, the cowl neck, the sweetheart neckline with long sleeves! Let's throw out the saggy boobage and celebrate cap sleeves!

Who's with me?!

And by the way, Vogue Patterns...THANKS FOR NOTHING!

In which I become a Level One Quilting Jedi, and bemoan making clothing for others

So, this weekend, I made my first foray into QUILTING. I know, you can barely stand the sheer adventurousness of the whole thing--but seriously, I became a Level One Quilting Jedi this weekend, thanks to the help of Regina over at The Queen Bee's Buzz. Quilting is actually something I enjoy possibly just as much as garment sewing, and this is because (like garments) a quilt is just the final result of a bunch of tiny, puzzle-like pieces. I dug everything about it, from the methodical cutting of squares, to the precise sewing, to the ironing. It was a very huge ordeal for me, however, to get the whole thing laid out, as I tended to get caught up in the layout obsessively from the get-go. Here's the final result, not yet sewn together:

I really can't wait to get a border and a backing on it. I'm thinking a thin black border and then a wider....? one. Any suggestions? 

In other news, I am dying to make myself a spring/summer dress out of this old vintage sheet I've got. It's  perfect fabric for such a thing because it's light, airy, pre-washed, and already broken in. However, I've already promised to make the SO a vest, and my mom and friend a dress. Why oh why can't I just be a selfish seamstress? As soon as I make something, I want to give it away!!!

Lame. Well, on top of everything else, the machine's tension is on the fritz, so I may have to get it looked at. It's not been serviced in fourteen or so years, so I'm thinking it's about time....

Well, I guess that nips my sewing in the bud, at least for a little while. Lame.

Blog Collecting: Part three and final notes

A blog I check every day, several times a day, is Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing. Gertie is this amazingly cute, energetic blogger, who always writes about just the things I want to read: vintage fashion! She has great and informative articles on her adventures sewing from Vogue's New Book For Better Sewing, as well as an ongoing forum for enthusiastic commenters (and her commenters are some of the MOST enthusiastic) to discuss body image and other issues presented to women today. I highly recommend this blog, if you're only going to read one. She updates constantly, and is a joy to read.

Already Pretty is such an inspiring read. The beautiful and tasteful Sally writes this blog, giving pictures of her daily wonderful outfits and tips on putting outfits together. Today, she posted a beautiful post on being womanly, and what it means to different people. Go for the outfits...stay for the food for thought.

Male Pattern Boldness is a blog I just started reading, but I already love it. It's written by the very talented MALE (I know, get excited) sewer Peter Lappin, who is also a reviewer of patterns on Pattern Review, a fab website to check out if you are looking into buying a pattern to sew, and want to know other people's experiences with it. Anywhoo, Peter writes a hilarious and often-updated blog that speaks to universal issues with sewing as well as his adventures in fashion. Love him!


Well, that about wraps it up for the blogs I read. There are a few others, but these are my favorites! Sorry it took so long to update this series!

Blog Collecting: Part two

Long time coming, no? I'll just pick up where I left off, then. ;)

The Pink Teapot is run by Janine, a very sweet and heartfelt writer who offers excellent etiquette advice. She always writes nice length posts on things absolutely relevant to real world situations, while I find that the brand name Miss Manners tends to handle only the most bizarre of all social situations. Which fork do I use underwater when dining with the sheikh, and whatnot. No, Janine always explains gently and gracefully the best ways for normal people to act and be received. Three cheers for Janine, "the people's Miss Manners"!

Letters of Note is such a fabulous and interesting blog. The author posts scans and transcripts of old, extremely cool letters, like this one from the leadership of Israel to Albert Einstein, requesting that he accept the presidency of Israel! Very easy to read, low involvement, and soooooooo cool.  (By the way, he obviously said no.)

Elsie Marley is the queen of tutorials. She makes the best ones, she finds the best ones. That's all there is to it. That, and her incredibly easy-on-the-eyes blog design. ;)

LetterHeady, by the same guy who does Letter of Note, is a fun showcase of some of the neatest letterheads around. Take a look. Great design inspiration, and just great for a little dose of neat-o.

Tavi is just hilarious. She is totally tiny and young (I think 13? Early teens, anyway) and just about the most fashionable and wonderful person. If she and I lived next door, we'd craft hats out of velvet and flounce about in brocade mixed with tulle. I'm just saying. Her posts on fashion are pure joy to read.

Ok! Just a few more! Saving them for another post! ;)

Blog collecting: Part one

Almost as bad as my new fad of pattern collecting is my fad of blog collecting. I have been obsessively adding blog after blog after blog to my Favorites, until it is now officially (within just a few days) longer than my screen is tall. A scroll button has added itself to the bottom of it, and to my dismay I find that I am confused immenselyby what has been updated, what has not...etc. So, if you are into anything I am into, please take a moment to pick my brain (and Favorites) and look through some of these awesome bloggers.  This even has to become a multi-part post because I couldn't possibly marathon the effort needed to write about all of these at once.

(this is but a tiny sample of my Favorites. It's nuts, I know.)

First off, Amy Karol at Angry Chicken is one of my favorites. She has such a candor and ease to her posts that make me feel like a friend, or at least not a stupid sewing or crafting rookie that can't even hope to decipher the "lingo." On top of that, she takes everything with a grain of salt, providing awesome photos, everyone-friendly crafts, and a lovely sense of earth-love and humor. What is earth-love, you ask? Someone who is in touch with this lovely planet we live on, and values it for what it's worth. ;) Amy also runs Tie It On, a blog devoted to giveaways involving apron making according to a certain theme. A longtime lurker, I hope to piece together my first submission for this soon. 

The Queen Bee's Buzz is run by my good friend Regina, a talented quilter and creative genius in her own right. How lucky we are that we don't sit close to each other in the office, otherwise we'd get no work done!!! Her posts are lively and full of great ideas and colors--she has an amazing eye for matching fabrics. Seriously. Her whole family is incredibly creative...and it's so comforting and inviting to read about their adventures together. I highly recommend this blog!!!

Thimble is a wonderful blog to find tutorials and inspiration on. The authoress, (I think her name is Laura), has one of the biggest doses of "good taste" that I've ever seen. Like me, she is in love with bird motifs, but unlike me she is actually skilled in making them work for her in ten million different ways. She is also bold enough to experiment with all sorts of creation--from crochet, to sewing, to getting out that glue gun and pasting things to other things. If only my crafts could come out looking half as decent! Two thumbs up to Thimble!

Alright, kids, it's almost 11:30am, and I really want to go see my horse today. What horse, you ask? Well , his name is Pedro, and though I'm sure he isn't sorry that I haven't seen him in a few days, I am extremely sorry and have a need to go brush on his yak-like orange winter coat. Ta-ta for now!

In which I complete an apron and make the world's best sandwich!

I love the feeling of finishing a project! Sewing is great for this, because the end result isn't a model car or space ship or something, but actually a piece I can wear and/or use. Today, I finished my Valentine's Day Apron.

(I apologize for the terrible picture. I'm working on a tripod. Really.)

Super simple and actually made by following this tutorial over at One More Moore... Basically, a square of backing fabric + rectangles of fabric for ruffles + fabric for the band = apron.

Cool!

I had a little issue with my backing fabric, as after hemming it wasn't exactly wide enough to go around my hips. I have come to terms with this, as it's not really a protect your skirt kind of apron, more of a hosting apron...But, I love to dress up, and I don't have any pink aprons for V-Day, so this is perfect. The fabric is one I got off ebay with a radish fabric I love, but because this one is sheer I had no idea what to do with it...until now. The SO calls it "bacon n' pansies" because the little pink squares totally look like bacon. Ok, I'll buy it. 

It's a prototype, but I hope to make more. Some pointers for next time:

1. Check and RECHECK your ruffle rectangle measurements. I don't know if you can see, but I totally made the top 3 rectangles about 6 inches too short. Oops. I just figured they'd layer for some cascading ruffles, and it doesn't look too bad. Hmm.

2. Find a better backing fabric. I just used white for this, and it's not really all that pretty on the other side. I mean, no fabric will be, persay, but I could get one with a little polka dot or something...which is what the tutorial recommends anyway...Oh well...

In passing, I LOVE the fabric i used for the band. It's some sort of linen-look stretch type thing. Who knows what practical apparel applications this thing has, but it sure was nice to iron. 

Well, onto the sandwich. I don't have any real pictures of this, so I will just have to substitute. I made the world's best sandwich yesterday. 

Not even joking. For some reason, I rediscovered Price Rite the other day, which is like this cornucopia of food for really cheap. And, it's usually pretty good food! So I am in the meat section and I get this CRAZY idea. What if I get these really thin slices of beef and tenderize them, and then make a sandwich out of them?

So, I did. I got this meat, and I got some bread, and pickles, and stuff. And a tomato or two, though winter tomatoes are terrible--but it's just not a sandwich for me without a tomato. And here's what I did:

(except with meat.)

Yup, I pounded those suckers with a tenderizing hammer until they were paper thin. Then, I fried them in butter. Oh, horror of horrors! How will I ever live! Oh, stop it. I don't buy this butter is sin crap. Butter is so much better than any of that nasty processed stuff, and used in moderation is a good way to add NATURAL fats to your diet.

But I digress.

I also sprinkled them with paprika and salt, and once they were just barely cooked, drained them in some paper towels and put them between two slices of whole grain crusty bread with mayo, mustard, pickles, and a tomato.

Heaven.

I highly recommend this. Best thing is that I am still eating these sandwiches...unfortunately, the meat gets tough in the fridge, but I guess that's just my consequence.

Of eating butter, I mean.

I have a problem, and it is called: I spend money.

Ok. Welcome to the first ever SEWING SUNDAY, hopefully a regular fixture on ye olde blogge. I couldn't really resist the temptation of discussing my purchases from the Vogue/McCalls/Butterick $3.99 pattern sales. I wasn't going to buy these patterns. I swear. Then, the devil took hold in the shape of this little suit:

...and that was it. I know, it's marked Advanced, and I still struggle with a pillowcase. I will save it for the FUTURE, when I am a level 57 sewing Jedi.  Just like I will be saving this dress along with it: 

...isn't it beautiful?
Well, on top of all of this, I decided to see what was up in the vintage and retro patterns section. No good, that's what. I ended up with these 4 from various areas:

...and if you look at the last one and wonder what happened to my sanity, I will tell you it flew out the window when I saw the incarnation of this dress and imagined myself lounging around in an expensive restaurant or something in it. 

I know. It's like the coolest thing ever. That, and those incredible hats. Next, I picked up a fall coat type pattern thing, because I secretly love these and I know that this pattern and I were made in heaven for each other. 

Finally, I purchased a vest pattern because the SO has been bugging me for a vest ever since he learned that i could sew. It sure looks dorky on these people, but we will make it look hipper. I swear.

And that's all, folks. Just had to share. Don't be like me, you will be broke in a very short amount of time. :(