investigating retail

I think that I haven't set foot in an American clothing store in over a year. I do read a number of blogs (sewing blogs and style blogs) though. I saw this lovely skirt from White House, Black Market (a clothing store) and I thought that I would use it for inspiration. I like the fabric with a floral pattern: it's a border print with ombre-shading, running with the light colors at the hem and the darker colors at the waist. The waist also features lovely sapphire blue piping (!), which picks up the blue accents in fabric. It's really lovely and not overdone.

And then I checked out the back view, which unfortunately suffers from poor pattern placement. Does anyone notice this other than people who sew?

I like the overall idea, though, and I love the piping. It's the Floral Print Pencil Skirt, Style: 570014730

planning for a long weekend

January is turning into the month of de-stashing and de-cluttering. I've entered the PR stash contest-and I'm currently at 1.75 yards, so I haven't been sewing. I did manage to go through my stash and identify materials I will not use. I managed to bring 3 boxes of crafty trim and knitting stuff to a BABES meeting (BABES - a group of local sewists). I also gave some stuff to my co-worker who is going to send them to his sisters who quilt (and live in Iowa). I did manage to acquire more fabric. I carpooled to the BABES meeting with a friend who had never been to Happy Stop, so I had to introduce her to Simon. I managed to leave with a modest 9 yards: two lengths suitable for trousers or sheath dresses, and one blouse length.

I was unable to locate the key to the lock in my storage unit, so my luggage has been in my bedroom for the past month. I've been very annoyed while walking around it every morning. I've also spent several nights each week looking for the key without success. One the tech guys at work told me that they had some bolt cutters! I borrowed them and I cut the lock on my storage unit. My luggage is out of my apartment and locked away (with a combination lock--the combination is taped to my fridge). Since January 1, I've probably (re) gained more floorspace, probably a 3 by 4 foot patch. It's small, but it's progress!

While I was going through my stash, I came across several UFOs, including 3 unfinished pairs of Jalie 2909 trousers. They were neatly packed away in zip bags in various stages of completion. My goal during this long weekend is finish at least 1 pair. I'm laundering some stash fabric, so I can make another Simplicity 3684 blouse. If I can make two garments this weekend, I'll be very happy

I'm also laundering some stash fabric from a previous BABES meeting.

01-01-11 and 09-2010-121

I could not resist posting on such an auspicious day-it's quite binary! I've been working at home while watching the SyFy channel's Twilight Zone marathon.

I have sewn one garment: the BurdaStyle 09-2010-121 turtleneck top. When I organized my stash yesterday, I came across a purple/white/grey/black animal knit print that I purchased last February at Michael Levine's Loft in Los Angeles. It's a nice bright colored pattern which I think is suitable for winter in Northern California. I managed to use about half of the piece of fabric - about 1 and 3/4 yards, so I'm off to a good start for the PatternReview contest. I had to enlarge the pattern (Burda's pattern goes up to a size 44 and I am larger), and add a FBA (which meant that I added a dart). It's really funny, I didn't worry at all when doing the alterations--I just measured the pattern flat, measured me and pulled out my Real Fit for Real People and I made the changes. It was a very smooth process.

I finished the neckline using Summerset's suggested technique, which ensures that the turtleneck remains folded while wearing it. I made three other versions last weekend and I'm consider this pattern a TNT. PatternReview has 17 reviews already--I haven't added mine yet and I can see why it's popular.