I’ve been silent because it’s been hot and sunny here (yay!) and I’ve been sitting out on the back patio reading and relaxing. I’m going to enjoy every minute of this gorgeous weather while it lasts!

In addition to trashy adventure novels, I’ve been devouring books on fashion. Tim Gunn is my new hero. Not only does he have an impeccable personal style, he knows how to behave decently to his fellow human beings–and he’s articulate on on that subject. I particularly liked reading Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons in Making it Work.

His narrative style is chatty but refined at the same time. He obviously draws from a broad and deep education–both the academic sort and the school of hard knocks sort. I agree with so much he has to say about etiquette and like the glimpses he provides into a world I’ll never be part of. I only wish there were some NICE way to gift this to the few people in my life who need a little schooling in manners.

I’ve also read Nina Garcia’s The Little Black Book of Style, which is interesting, particularly the introduction where she discusses how her parents influenced her. I personally would rather hear a lot more about that than what follows in the rest of the book: good, but basic fashion advice, which could be found on any number of websites or in magazines. She seems like a fascinating person–and, as she says, “beauty is not all that interesting [...] but when a confident woman walks into a room, it is entrancing.” I am “entranced” by the author, but not so much by the book.

Finally, I’ve been skimming through an e-version of Christian Sirriano’s book, Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self, on my blackberry. It’s definitely not the best way to enjoy this book. I’m having trouble seeing the pictures, since they break up between one screen in the next. However, his lively voice comes through. What a FIERCE personality and brilliant designer! I love his enthusiasm for fashion and his encouragement to revel in what makes you special–a similar message to Nina Garcia’s but delivered in his unique colloquial style. Sirriano is far more taken with designer labels than I will be or ever could afford to be–just like he does, I admire the fabulous styles and high quality materials and craftsmanship, but unless I win the lottery, they’ll never be part of my life.

I haven’t been doing all that much sewing, with the exception of working a bit on a denim jacket. I’m making slow progress due to the heat, but also because I have some misgivings about how it will turn out. For starters, the bust darts are giving me fits. Ideally, I should have divided them into two sets of darts, horizontal and vertical, since that would distribute the fabric more evenly, but didn’t want to change the look of the jacket too much by adding extra darts. That was probably a mistake. So, now there area under the front appliques are puffier than I’d like.

The other thing that’s making me worried is the fabric. It’s really stretchy…almost like a rubber band. I don’t know what possessed me to buy it in the first place, but I’m trying to “Make it work.” Wish me luck!

• I lost my iPod. It’s broken, so I’m not sure why I’m hell-bent on finding it, but there you have it.
• I lost the collar stand for my blue blouse. I tore the house apart in search of it. I even dug through the garbage bin (the big one) to find some scraps I could use to replace it. I had to shower afterwards.

  

On the plus side, I’m using some techniques from the latest Threads magazine to add some pizazz to this blouse and I like how it’s turning out!

• I used to disregard advice to pick out the pattern sized based on your upper bust measurement. Instead I used the full bust measurement and worked a small FBA. Recently, I realized the larger size translated into a sloppy looking back. When I use the size based on my upper bust measurement, I end up with a nicely fitted back.

  

• I tried sewing a t-shirt yesterday and used fabric without enough stretch. I can get it on, but it feels a bit like a straight jacket. Oops.

A. A little number I whipped up to wear on a dinner date with my husband tomorrow night. We’re celebrating eleven years of marriage.

I’ll be sure to take photos!

Yes, I’m taking a break from my blouse. I sewed a dress. And I sewed a t-shirt:

I cut up an old t-shirt of my husband’s and fashioned it into one for myself. There were lots of holes in the fabric, which I tried to work around. Unfortunately, a couple of holes still remained in the piece used for the front, so I stitched them closed and covered them up with a PATCH pocket The original shirt had a pocket on it too, but it was huge on me. I made a smaller pocket based on a RTW t-shirt of my own. You can still see the darker spot where the original pocket was–perhaps I should dye this to help that blend in…hmmm…

I used two Ottobre patterns to create this t-shirt. The body was made from 02-2007-03 and the sleeves were taken from 02-2006-01. The armscyes in the two patterns were very similar, so the sleeves for the patterns could be substituted for one another. I prefer close-fitting sleeves like this on my tees, since I generally wear them as layering pieces and they fit nicely into the sleeves of sweaters and jackets–no bunching up!

I used to think I had the fit totally down on the Ottobre t-shirt, but now I’m wondering about the wrinkles at bust-level near the sides. Depending on the fabrics I’m using and how I’m holding my arms, they’re more or less noticeable. Am I doomed to have wrinkles there? I suppose I could add a dart, but that would be odd on a t-shirt…wouldn’t it?

I didn’t have enough non-holey fabric left to create binding for the neckline, so I used a little bit of fold-over elastic. I’ve never had a lot of luck with the stuff, but recently, Sue described how she sewed it on and I tried her method. It worked out fairly well, but I need to keep practicing to get a smoother, less floppy result.

THANK YOU!

Finally, thank you all for the nice comments about my new hairstyle. I’m enjoying my new look a lot! Did you see Mary’s recipe for volumizer? I’m going to give that a try!

Contemplating hacking off my hair.

Obviously, these hair colors aren’t quite right. Daily Makeover only let me pick two hairstyles before it demanded that I upgrade my account, so I didn’t get to try out anything else. Here are some other styles I like:

Last time I was at the salon I asked my stylist to cut a stacked bob like the last image, but she balked at that saying it was an “old lady style.” Why am I still attracted to an old lady style? I’m almost twice the stylist’s age, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Anyway, I’m due for a ‘do. Should I go drastic and get it chopped off, opt for something in-between such as getting bangs, or just get a trim?

Maybe I should dye it hot pink.

Can you tell I’m bored?

After reading posts on Burdaystyle’s and Gertie’s blogs about muslins, I was baffled at how much controversy the topic generated. Muslins/toiles aren’t for everyone. That’s cool. Tissue fitting isn’t for everyone. That’s also cool. I don’t make muslins for every single thing I sew, but I do find them invaluable diagnostic tools when trying out patterns by companies with which I’m not familiar, or for styles which are different from those I typically wear or for fitted clothes made out of fabrics with little stretch.

I’m particularly glad I decided to make a muslin for my Butterick blouse. I learned some valuable lessons and now I think I’ll have a blouse that looks much nicer than what I would have ended up with, had I just forged ahead using my typical set of alterations. Here’s what I ended up with for my first try:

At first glance, I was happy with the way this turned out. The only thing I took issue with was the horizontal dart position. That could be fixed easily enough. Then I took a closer look at the back. Eek gad! The wrinkles along the sides! The poofy bit at the mid back! Not good.

What to do? First, I checked in with the incredibly helpful people at PatternReview.com. They suggested I try a narrow shoulder adjustment and sway back alteration.

For my second muslin, I attempted the narrow shoulder adjustment. The shoulder seams appeared to be in the right place, but there was still significant wrinkling.

Even worse, the alteration restricted my arm movement.

On a whim, I decided to try another method. I re-traced the pattern using one size smaller for the waist upward and then worked a larger FBA.

Pretty good on the front, except I need to shorten the legs of the horizontal dart. Just eyeballing it, the shoulder seams look like they are in the right location.

Instead of a swayback alteration, I took out 1/2″ at the lengthen/shorten line. I don’t think I have a sway back. Rather, I have a short upper torso. The alteration got rid of the puddling at mid-back. Yay!

See the difference?

The back isn’t as billow-y, but there are still wrinkles along the sides.

I inserted shoulder pads, which reduced those wrinkles. Yay!

Instead of shoulder pads, I’m going to try a sloping shoulder adjustment. I will then sew on the sleeves and make sure I have lots of room for movement. If that’s good, I’ll start in on the actual blouse. I think this looks promising!

Your thoughts? Does this look about right?

Here is an excerpt from the Threads magazine article I referred to in my previous post:

Spruce Up Your Shirt Hem – Threads.

My family and I are really lucky. Just a short trip from our home, we can see Dahl’s porpoises, orca whales, foxes, bald eagles…and a whole host of incredible wildlife. The scenery isn’t half bad either.

I’m taking a little time off from the blog to enjoy some rest & relaxation (still recuperating from a horrible migraine) and to spend time with family visiting from out-of-state. I’ll post again next week!

Thank you for all of the suggestions about how to finish my tunic top. I have a confession to make: I wore the partly finished tunic around yesterday evening and came to the conclusion that it SUCKS. It’s a big fat wadder. The problem was in my fabric choice. I can see Burda models lounging around in transparent tunics, but that look doesn’t work for me. I was going to wear a tank top as the base layer, but the tunic clings unattractively to everything. It doesn’t drape. It doesn’t magically float. It just looks like I forgot to use a dryer sheet and then had a swarm of cats rub against me until a gigantic field of static electricity was built up and…

Do I really need to finish that analogy?

Anyway, I’m going to save the ribbon and use the fabric as a dust cloth.

I’m chomping at the bit to start new projects. I want to get started on easy, comfortable, brightly-colored clothing. While day-dreaming about all the things I want to make, I asked my son if it was OK to start something new…just making conversation, you know? I had to hear all about his model airplane, so I figured he owed me a little sewing talk time. Poor decision on my part. He told me I should finish what I started.

Who’s the adult in this relationship? Seriously!

I looked over at Headless Hannah who also looked fairly put out at having to wear my current projects: the Victorian school marm’s outfit:

What am I sewing these things for? A funeral? Time at the convent?

All modesty aside for the moment, I’ll come out and say that they’re shaping up to be really nice garments. If I could manage to take focused close-ups of the skirt, I’d love to show you how precisely I made those pleats. I’m taking my time to make them as best as I can; however, I keep asking myself “why?” Why do I keep sewing clothes I would have worn in the fairly conservative environment of my old law firm? Clothes I really wouldn’t wear all that much right now, considering I spend more time cleaning up spilled bubble solution and over-seeing funerals of dearly departed pet fish.

Somehow, sewing casual clothes can seem like a cop-out, just like wearing them instead of nicer clothes. It shouldn’t be that way–I should be able to sew casual clothes and become a better sewist. Perhaps I just need to keep adding new skills/techniques, but choose more light-hearted fabrics?

Some of the participants in Me-Made June have been discussing what they have learned from the project. Several have mentioned that they need to sew more basics in plain fabrics. I think I’m the opposite. I spend a lot of time sewing basics and very little time sewing just-for-fun things.

When I finish the very nice black skirt, I will do something very simple, but fun. T-shirts? Draw string skirt or pants? Here I come!

Me-Made June Update

Thanks for all of the sympathy about my blues. I’m feeling a little better today, and, to help boost my spirits, I put on a skirt, blouse and cardigan…and some new hand-crafted jewelry. A few glittering beads can do wonders for a gal’s mood.

Do me a favor and pretend you don’t see my slip peeking out at the hem of my skirt. Here are the deets: Apricot Jacket from Rebecca #27, Burda Draw-String Blouse and A-line skirt.

You know what else would help cheer me up? An appointment with the hair dresser. Sheesh. My hair is frizzy and gray.

New Etsy Shop

I have had a few inquiries about my jewelry, which delighted me. If you would like something similar to any of the necklaces, earrings, or bracelets I’ve made, please let me know. I’d be happy to create a custom piece for you! Also, I have stocked my etsy shop with a few items to entice people. Please check it out!

Future additions to the shop may include a bracelet or two, stitch markers, little bags for knitting and sewing notions, etc. I’m still testing the waters, so feedback would be VERY welcome.