Random Sunday thoughts

Hi Kyle--I study Egyptian-style belly dance. I like it--it's a lot of fun and a great excuse to dress up in fun costumes and wear tons of cosmetics (if you do not look like a drag queen, go back to the mirror)

Does anyone else think that the TLC television channel is taunting viewers by showing back-to-back marathon episodes of Extreme Couponing and Hoarders? I respect the need to save money--and yes, I'm frugal--but I'm very disturbed by the couponers' stockpiles of groceries. I say this while staring at my sewing stash of fabric, patterns,and notions and wonder if the pot is calling the kettle black... I'm very glad that the Extreme Couponers are organized! LOL!

My frugal tip : my mobile phone (AT&T) was physically falling apart (phones don't bounce when dropped) . I was able to buy a Go-Phone (AT&T) from Best Buy, put my sim card into the phone and voila! I have a new phone. The best part--the phone was only $10. Hallelujah!

Sewing! I did manage to trace out a new-to-me Kwik-sew t-shirt pattern: KW 2594. It's from 1997. It features side panels and sleeve panels, which should allow for more fitting opportunities. I'll continue to work on this pattern this afternoon and figure out how well it fits...

Early Autumn 2010 Pattern Round-up

Simplicity, Vogue, McCall's have released their new patterns for Early Autumn 2010.

My top selections (in no particular order) are:

Simplicity 2339 - the Amazing Fit Shirt patterns with different pattern pieces for A, B, C & D cup sizes. I always buy the patterns where there are pattern pieces for different cup sizes.

Simplicity 2342 - the Amazing Fit Pleated pants, with different pieces for slim, average and curvy fit. I think that any pattern that will give me a head start on alterations is worth an investment.

Simplicity 2343 - Nice and Easy Pencil skirts., I like the interesting seam options, especially in views D, E, & F. I'm on the fence about the ruffles, but it's easy enough to omit.

[I'm not certain why this picture is so much smaller,but I'll try to fix it later]

Vogue 1203--Tracy Reese outfit. I like the top. The empire waist means that it's easy to alter, but I'm not certain how well it will look on women with full busts (e.g, myself). The skirt is okay (I'm not a fan of exposed zippers), but it doesn't appear special The outfit, as depicted on the envelope, is very nice, though.

Vogue 1204 - the Issei Miyake Tunic and Pants. Sigh. I like this but I have trouble seeing it look good on a curvy figure. I like the idea of making a slim cut pair of pants (in a plainer fabric--those diagonal lines on the pants on the pattern envelope make me dizzy). I like the cuff and the diagonal seaming on the tunic. I don't think that the drapey quality of the pattern would be flattering on curvy body. I imagine it would the fun puzzle trying to make the tunic follow my figure and go in at the waist.

Vogue 8672 - Easy Options. Five fun pencil skirts--just fun variations, with interesting waistbands, inserts and/or ruching. I don't wear a lot of skirts, but I can see this one being a classic.

Vogue 8664 - Very Easy Vogue Custom Fit for A, B, C, &D cup sizes. A lovely, slim-fit dress with a sweetheart neckline, with a head start on the alterations

Vogue 8679 - a wardrobe pattern with a jacket, skirt, top, and pants. I would buy it for the top--a simple raglan (short) sleeved t-shirt that's fitted.

McCall's 6162 - a classic sheath dress, with an inset waist. I'm glad that McCall's sewed up the version with the epaulet/tabbed sleeves, as I would have had trouble seeing how the tabs would have looked in real life (as opposed to judging from the technical drawing). Now I can see that the tabs don't really seem to work. The sleeveless or the sleeved version look great though. And it might be fun to play with the stripes/plaids/checks with this pattern (e.g. put the inset waist piece on the bias or on crosswise layout).

The eighties revival continues!

McCall's 6170--I like this motorcycle jacket, although with the asymmetrical zipper, it does appear to be channeling Michael Jackson in the 1980s.

McCall's 6171 - Made for you including custom patterns for A/B, C & D cups. instead of Michael Jackson, you can channel Eddie Murphy. I might pick this up (at a sale) for future reference.

And you can tell that it's the beginning of the sewing season: Halloween and Holiday gifts are starting to appear in the catalogs. Here's one that looks pretty cute:

McCall's 6180 - a Halloween costume for a child that is as cute as a bug ... or bee ... or arachnid!

Not the day I planned

My afternoon did not go the way I wanted. I was planning to start a new pair of Marlene pants, but one of my dental appointment ran over. And over. I'll spare you the details, 3 hours in a dentist chair isn't fun and my one bit of advice is to lean over a sink when you gargle when your mouth is numbed with painkiller. After I got home, all I could think of ibuprofen and a nap.

After I recovered a bit, I did manage to trace off a copy of Burda 7774, a empire sheath dress with short sleeves. I traced the bodice according to my high bust measurement (I'm going to make an FBA) and the skirt portion according to my actual hip and body measurements. I'm making View A, which should require no more than 2 yards of fabric. I'll make a muslin tomorrow. I'm still thinking of Vogue 8555, but I need to start with one dress and see how it works out.

No Sewing on Saturday or Sunday

Yesterday I got together with several Bay Area sewers (members of BABES from "Bay Area Bash Expressly for Sewists") at Cañada college's Artistry in Fashion event. It was a frightfully hot day, and I arrived sometime after 10:00. I was only able to stay for a short time, but I saw the independent fashion designer fashion show, featuring La Fred, Decades of Style and Loes Hinse. Each designer was able to show 10 different outfits and discuss their design principles, inspirations, etc. Afterwards, Lisa, Irene and I went sales room where the designers were selling their patterns (way beyond the the art to wear sales tables--lots of yummy stuff there) and tried on different garments made up from the outfits. That was really fun-it was great to see if a garment works on different body types, etc. I ended up buying 4 patterns, more that I expected, but I think that I'll enjoy them. From La Fred, I purchased the Daphne Pant and the Maia Jacket. And from Decades of Style, I purchased the 1931 Lily Jacket pattern (# 3006) and the 1950's Diamond Dress (#5002).

I forgot to allow time to look at the student displays. They had a re-cycle/re-use competition--I'm sure the results were great. I did wander through the art to wear tables--there was a lot of cool stuff, but a lot of it was very arty, not what I would like to wear to work. As I was leaving, I did come across another room with sales tables. I will have to allow more time next year.

After this event, I went to two cultural club meeting and then a barbecue. I didn't get home until close 10:30. I'm exhausted. I was happy to see the new Burda World of Fashion (October 2009) issue in my mailbox, as well as the two missing Netflix DVDs. I had given up on ever seeing those discs and had reported them missed last week. Well, back into the mail they go. The new BWOF has some great patterns. I'll also try to finish the olive green pants--I just have the waistband and the hems. More later. I'm recovering today and tonight is Mad Men.

1st post : goals and resolutions

I've decided to join the blogging world.  One of my dubious achievements for 2008 has been to accumulate huge stash of fabric, along with appropriate notions and other sewing tools. Notions includes patterns, pattern magazines, tracing paper, scissors and shears, buttons, zippers, thread, straight edges, curved edges, loop turners, elastic, binding tape, tracing wheels, carbon paper, thimbles, needles, seam gauges, pattern weights, ribbon, trim, etc.  

My stash has literally taken over my apartment.  I think that when I work through my piles of fabric, I will discover one of the Collyer brothers.   I realize that I have been buying materials when I'm bored, instead of creating with them.   I'm hoping that if I blog about things that I see that I like, instead of buying the item, I can mentally take some sort of ownership of it by  simply stating that I like it.  Of course, if I really want it, I'll find a way to get it.

My sewing goals are more closely related to (curbing) my acquisition habits, rather explicitly learning sew sewing techniques, but I think that I will learn new techniques as I work through my stash.

2009 Sewing Goals [draft]

1. Sew 4 items each month:  clothing, grocery bags, tea cozies, curtains, home dec, costumes, dance and fitness clothing, etc.  Consider sewing for charity, gifts, etc.  Blog about these projects.  
2. Keep track of the yardage used.  Yardage used in muslins will be included.  When I reach 100 yards, then, if I want, I can spend $50 ~ $75 on fabric purchases.  Then nothing until I reach the 200 yard marker. 
3. Fabric use:  Sew above mentioned items from fabric and patterns in stash.  I want to set a goal of NO fabric purchases, but I think that would be unrealistic.  So I will limit to purchases of 1 yard purchases of fabric no larger than 1 yard each (to coordinate with the fabric from stash).   The objective is that the newly purchased fabrics will be completely consumed with the project.
4. Patterns:    Envelope patterns purchases are limited to 3 a month, and should be used within 4 weeks.  I receive several pattern magazines:  Burda World of Fashion (12 x year), Burda Plus (2 x), Ottobre Women (2X), Patrones (12X), as well as some back issues of Knip Mode and Knip XL.  Each one of these magazines contains 20 ~30 patterns.  I should be able to get better usage from these magazines.  I also have boxes and boxes of patterns. 
5. Figure out where trading/exchanging/gifts of patterns/fabrics fit into these goals.  Part of the goal is to reduce the unnessary volume of materials in my possession.  Most of my stash was purchased at either a discount or at estate sales or were gifts.  I want to practice being more selective regarding my materials.
6. Use the best available fabric first.  I don't want to hoard fabric until "a better time."   I went to more one estate sale this past summer and I got a load of really nice fabrics.  The lady ran out of time for all her planned projects.  I don't want to be that lady.
7. Feel free to ditch projects that are going badly (UFO's that are creating headaches, etc).  Life is too short to feel guilty about fabric I won't wear or use.
8. Sell/donate/trade/gift materials I don't need:  patterns I won't sew, extra notions I don't need and don't plan on using.