Fall Sewing

Fall has to be one of my favorite times of the year! I love the crisp air. I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch. Just the general feeling and smell of Fall. I don't know how to describe it. One other thing is wearing layers! I'm not fortunate enough to have a beach bod so tanks and shorts are not really my thing. Jeans, sweaters, skirts with boots, and long sleeve tees...that's my thing. I just splurged on this pattern from Sew Liberated:

I see this becoming a staple in my wardrobe. The tunics I've seen made from this look really good. I have this cute brown rayon I picked up at the thrift store the other day, 4 yards for $4, that I think will work nicely.

If you've made this, let me know what you think of it!

Another award!

Holy crap! Clio just awarded me with this lovely little award! Wow, two in the space of less than a month. I'm feeling awesome. I just 'found' Clio's blog recently. She makes beautiful things and she is venturing into sewing lingerie. You all know I feel about that! Anyhoo, the rules for this award are:
1. Tell us what you like about your own blog.
2. Then send the award to 10 other blogs that you read.

Hmmm...what do I like about my own blog? Well, I love writing about sewing and it's such a thrill to see that other people enjoy it and hopefully learn from me. I get emails with questions and I'm so happy to help other seamsters out. I've "met" so many wonderful people through my blog, too! In the area I live there is not much sewing activity. Sure, there are the quilters but they are really clique-y and I've yet to find someone who makes their own clothing. If I do find someone and try to engage them in a conversation their eyes glaze over for some reason so I just shut up. I don't get it. Anyhoo, it's wonderful to have this seemingly unlimited supply of sewing friends!

Okie dokie, on to my nominations! I read a LOT of sewing blogs! These 10 are just a very small sampling of blogs that I enjoy reading, get tons of inspiration from, and/or the ladies behind the blogs have become darn good friends (in alphabetical order):
1. Beangirl
2. Big in Japan
3. Cheap and Picky
4. CreaBH
5. Featherty Sews
6. Figgy's
7. Just Keep Sewing
8. Kadiddlehopper
9. One Girl Circus
10. Quality Time

The only thing I hate about these "chain letter" kind if awards is I'm seriously leaving a whole bunch of blogs out! Gulp! I mean really, take a look at my sidebar and how stinkin' many blogs I have listed. Also, I'm sure several of these ladies have been nominated for this award before. If they have then they're off the hook...for now.

Well, that's all I have for you lovelies today. I have been sewing, A LOT, but it's not something I can talk about yet. Are your curiosity juices flowing? Good!

I have been sewing...really!

Yes, it IS true! I have actually been sitting down at my machines and sewing stuff! First, I want to apologize to any of you who had trouble posting comments. I've had a couple of people email me and say they couldn't. I think I got it fixed so let the commenting commence. I love hearing from all of you!

This picture is as good as it gets for now!

Okay! First sewing project is McCall's 5893. I finally made myself a maxi-dress! Better late than never! The fabric was bought last summer and I never got around to it. This is supposed to be an easy one hour dress but it has taken me like a week to finish. I cannot place any fault on the pattern though. It's been all me. The fabric I used was pretty thin and stretchy so I decided to add a lining to the bodice. I just used the outer fabric and cut another bodice piece for this. For some dumb reason I thought I could stitch the neckline and armhole and then it would all turn inside out perfectly. Well, no that didn't happen. No matter how I twisted and turned it just didn't work! I tried and tried to figure it out but since I basically had two tubes attached by two big pieces of fabric it would never work. So, I spent over an hour on that little gem before I realized I was just going to have to rip the armhole seams out. There was no question. Dammit! Amazingly, I found a tutorial on how to do this type of bodice with a lining just in the nick of time but I'll be damned if I can't find that blog now! I may have to do up a tutorial myself on it 'cause it's a pretty handy technique to have stashed away in the ol' noggin! If anyone is interested in a tut let me know and I'll get to work on it.

I also did a 1.5 inch FBA and it turns out I didn't need it. The fabric stretched sooo much I ended up taking out 4" on each side. Yes, a total of 8"! That's just ridiculous. I *almost* started ripping the bodice and skirt apart and then I smacked myself back into reality. I just cut that sucker apart and re-sewed it. This ended up being a very good thing since the bodice and the skirt were both too long and now they're just about right. The bodice is still a bit long.

Another thing I changed was I didn't make a casing at the bodice/skirt seam as directed. I hate doing that and think it looks really sloppy. Instead, I just measured the elastic to fit around me just under my bust. Then I stitched it to the seam allowance just as you would a waistband; quartering the elastic and dress, stitching with a zig-zag while stretching the elastic to fit.

Wow, that doesn't make a lick of sense but you understand now why a one hour dress turned into a 1 million hour one.

Next up is some more sewing for the little girl I used to babysit. She's turning three so I wanted to make her some new outfits for fall. I've only made these little pants so far. I used Ottobre 1/2009 design #21 for the base. I adapted it into one piece instead of two so you just cut out, sew the inseam and crotch, hem, and make the waistband casing and yer done! Love that!

Now I just need to find some fabric to go with this rosy coral! I'm having a really hard time. None of my knits go with it, unless I use white, so I'm probably going to have to use a woven. I have some more knit tops to make and maybe some jeans. I'll share those when I get done!

Looks like lots of back to school sewing has been going on around the blog-o-sphere. I love to see all the cute stuff people are making. The weather is starting to turn cooler and the trees are starting to let go of their leaves. I love this time of year!

My first Award!

The totally awesome Big In Japan nominated me for this award and I feel pretty honored! She's cool, a rock star, and has a bunch of awesome lookin' tats. I have to admit I have a bit of a girl-crush on her too(Shhh...don't tell).

Anyhoo, since I'm the recipient of this mighty honor I'm required to tell 10 things you may not know about me! I'm pretty boring so I don't really know how entertaining this is going to be. Just fair warning to you all.

1. I got married right smack out of highshool. Well, about three months after graduation. I was 18 and he was just barely 20. We celebrated our 16th Anniversary on September 1st!

2. If I could be anything, I would be a dancer. Not an "exotic" one, although my husband would probably enjoy that for his eyes only, but a serious Dancer.

3. I used to want to be a tattoo artist. I had the machine, ink, supplies, and everything but it just didn't work out. I thought we were going to be able to move to a larger area so I could try for an apprenticeship and then the economy tanked. Now I'm just glad my husband has a job!

4. I think you all may already know this, but I'm going back to school. I never went to college, so it's been pretty exciting for me. I always wanted to go, and it's a bit of a dream come true.

5. I have a dark side (really, who doesn't?). I don't show it very often but it's there. Dark, fetish-y, underworld-y stuff is intriguing to me. I imagine the really gross aspects of my nursing career will be more fascinating than appalling.

6. I was only 21 when I had my first baby. Many people thought my husband and I got married because I was pregnant. Ha! We showed them!

7. I always have dreams where I'm back in highschool and I don't know my locker combination or my class schedule. I'm always the age I am at the time, too. Since when do 30-somethings attend highschool? What is up with that?!

8. The older I get, the more I'm becoming a germ-a-phobe.

9. I watch cartoons. On purpose.

10. I'm painfully shy. Seriously, if I know I'm going to meet new people I get really nervous and kinda sick. People probably think I'm a snob but I'm really just trying to hold myself together! LOL! Maybe when I dig deeper in my Psychology class I'll learn more about why I'm like that.... Once I get to know someone I'm pretty silly and loud.

Oh! Thank goodness that's over. I had a hard time thinking of stuff! This is more difficult than I thought!
Now it's my turn to nominate! Several of my blog friends are already nominated so these may be duplicates for some. I'm suppose to nominate 5, but I'm doing 6! All of these ladies are just plain awesome!
Millie
Kelly Hogaboom
K. Line
Tina
Shelly
Katie