Spring is in the Air

Happy Spring Everyone....  Spring has officially Sprung.


   Since I have not finished my faux leather skirt project, I thought I'd share what I am wearing today to celebrate the 1st day of Spring.  This dress is coined the Carolyn Dress made in 2010.  The name came to be when Carolyn had notified me of argyle fabric on sale at Fabric.com.  She is such an enabler and I was so tempted, but didn't buy any fabric and instead went through my stash &  pulled out this grey/pink fabric, work it up and rightfully named it.

     I love my wrap dresses dearly, but since I've become a cardigan fanatic, the ties are a nuisance when worn with a cardigan. So a minor change was made to the dress by removing the waist ties. I cut off the waist ties at the skirt edge, leaving a smidge to fold to the inside and stitched down, also had to hand stitch the buttonhole closed that the inside waist tie fed through. For closures I used pink snaps that I'd purchased some time ago from Virgo fabrics, Bklyn, NY.

 

So Good-bye Winter and Hello Spring.

Enjoying the virtual Canopy of Cherry Blossoms.... so pretty

Haaa...  a virtual leisurely walk through the park on a beautiful Spring day....

There are a few more old wrap dresses that I plan to tweak for the sake of cardigans...lol.  With Spring officially sprung, I need to get my sewing projects in order.  Of course, dresses will be at the top of my list.


Do you have your Spring sewing list ready and what will be your top of the list projects.

Grainline

Happy Monday Everyone and hoping you had a great weekend.  I am feeling much better today after my Something is Sew Not Suitable post over the weekend and settled on a rtw suit today... circa  2005 navy blue pinstripe with a lime top... my pic is crappy, but take my word.... its navy blue & lime....lol

However, I still pondered over what truly went wrong and my thoughts settled on Grainline.   For all intent and purposes, I thought I was checking my fabric grainline after pretreating it.  Basically once its washed, dried and ironed, I'd fold the fabric matching edges, if all looked even, I then proeed with cutting the fabric.... nothing more. 

My question today is do you check the grainline for each fabric that you sew by matching up the edges and pulling the thread and all that?
 or
Like me,  fold it matching the edges and if it looks good.. then its on grain.

Until then... have a Fabulous Week.

Something is Sew Not Suitable....

about New Look 6874 with Simplicity 4273.  Personally I think it's the fabric choice which is cotton/spandex blend.  The fabric washed and dried nicely with minimal wrinkling, actually in the pics below the suit garments were washed & dried and put on without any ironing. There is just something about the fabric, its stiff despite the spandex, but on the other hand it feels comfortable on... its just something about the fabric.

New Look 6874: misses skirt, lined jacket & knit top.  Suggested fabric for the jacket & skirt are cotton, cotton blends, damask, pique... and the top calls for stretch knit.

I made the skirt in 2010 and decided to make the jacket, View E.

I cut a size 14 that ended up too big and unpicked the front panels from the side fronts, removed 1/4" from each and also removed 1/4" from the side side seams.  Thankfully I had some fabric leftover, the pockets had to be redone.

The collar had to be unpicked because I had sewn it on wrong.  For the lining I used stretch charmeuse and must say of all the linings I've sewn, this one is by far the best insertion.  I used Karen's technique in which she leaves an opening at the hemline and turn the jacket right side out and then close that opening.... love that technique... Thanks again Karen.

Other than the minor set backs, the jacket went together nicely.  However, when I put the jacket on there's all kinds of diagonal lines, giving the appearance that the suit is tight which it isn't.  To some degree I think the shoulder pads are causing the diagonals on the upper part of the back & front sleeves, however, when I removed them before finishing the lining the sleeve caps sink in ... can't win for losing.

Ok... on to the pants which I've made numerous times, Simplicity 4273: misses jacket, pants, skirt, top & dress. The pants have a wide waistband which I cut in half and a side zipper.  Again, I feel something is off with the fabric.  I sincerely believe its the stiffness of the fabric. Seriously... when I take off the pants they can darn near stand on its own.  Mind you the poor suit has been washed 4x.. yes 4 times.  Prior to sewing and 3 times afterwards in the hopes of eradicating the stiffness.  There's not much else I can say about the pants in that the pattern has become a TnT.  However, my daughter feels that this style of pants gives me a granny butt....o_0...  In response, I had to remind her that I belong to the IBBC (itty-bitty-butt-committee)... there's no junk in my trunk....lol

Without further ado, pics wearing the garment, feel free to share your wisdom... because I sincerely feel something is sew not suitable.

Oh' I did decorative stitching along the edges of the back tab and why does it look like the thread is glowing... ugggh... again something is sew not suitable

Until then... Have a Great Weekend.

Closet Woes

Happy Thursday Everyone,

 How many of you have a closet that looks like this?

I surely don't,  and  if you do...all I can say is I am beyond Jealous.... jealous I tell you....lol

I spent the early part of this week thinking of other things I'd rather be doing instead of organizing my closet.  However, my thinking ended back to what needed to be done... handle my closet mess.  Since switching from an ok-sized closet to the smaller one in the sewing room I've had to come up with a hassle free way of housing my clothes...way too many clothes for a small closet.  Although the attic serves as an extension of our closet, the problem there is we rarely go in there... possibly once a year.  At the time I thought it was the be all to end all coming up with the idea of using the attic as a closet extension since it was easy to get to.  Went through the extreme of purchasing clothing racks, shoe/boot boxes, garment bags & boxes, because I thought it was an awesome idea.  Umm yeah, went into the attic once last year... as for the garments & shoes there.... totally abandoned.


Instead of dwelling on my brainstorm that turned in to a rainstorm I decided to just deal with the problem at hand, which is the bottom part of my closet.  The closet is 3' wide x 3-1/2' deep, which allowed me to put two clothing rods, with the back rod holding my suits and  front rod holding my slacks/skirts.  The main problem was the bottom of the closet that housed bins for the garments that I do not like to hang, dresses, sweaters, blouses and jeans.  After looking at a variety of organizers, I went with Resin collapsible Hampers. They hold more than the bins I had in my closet and shelving that I was considering.  Mostly, I like the idea of being able to pull it out of the closet for easy access.  I initally purchased 4 of them, for dresses, sweaters, blouses & jeans, but ended up having to buy two more.  I made sure to put the items that are in heavy rotation at the top and must say I am feeling so much better for it.

The other issue were my shoes which I keep in shoe boxes under the bed, well my favorite shoes.  However, it was getting out of control, I kept buying shoes and pushing them under the bed. Then came the problem of the boxes peeking out from under the bed... waiting for an unsuspecting victim to trip.  In came the under-the-bed shoe organizer, loooooooooove them, I purchased 4 which was perfect for housing all the shoes/boot I had under the bed.  To accommodate my ankle boots & calf boots I put in only three dividers and my boots fit perfectly.

 

Remaining items to organize is the top of my closet which houses my favorite handbags/scarves, need to buy another shoe organizer for my belts and looking to order a Wall mount jewelry armoire.

So I am happy to say that my closet is more functional and while putting away my dresses came across a flashback... circa 2010... Butterick 5147 Grommet

And wearing it like this today with an apricot cardigan (Loft)... can't believe it.... its 68 degrees here.... said it before... weird weather.

Another question... Do you have Closet Woes?... if so what storage techniques do you use to make it functional.

Wednesday Wardrobe Wishlist

Happy Wednesday Everyone and hoping your week is going well..

I'm not complaining, but its 60 degrees in New York today and tomorrow 65 degrees… can we say... weird weather. With that said, this weird weather is causing my crocuses and daffodils to bloom too early… which will result in little to no blooming in Spring...uggh

Ok, enough of the meteorological babble jabble and on to what’s on my Wardrobe Wishlist this week.

Sheer Blouses:

Which would be perfect paired with a leather pencil skirt

There are an abundance of patterns that would work in achieving that look:

However, one must be very careful sporting a sheer blouse.  I have seen it numerous times in my office, especially during the summer, women wearing sheer blouses with flesh tone bras... umm yeah..

Corporette thinks a good quality camisole (black or white) underneath is the appropriate way to wear a sheer blouse.. Read more... 

Wednesday Question... do you wear sheer blouses to the office?

Wednesday Wardrobe Wishlist

My plan was to post about a suit that I am currently working on.  The pants are done and have completed the shell & lining of the jacket.  What remains is sewing the lining to the jacket and well I am just not feeling the project right now and thought I'd share where I get my inspiration.

I enjoy reading others who post about their inspiration garments and the source and decided to go viral with Wednesday Wardrobe Wishlist... lol.  It will focus on my latest inspiration garment, pattern(s) that would help me create the inspiration garment, blog articles and of course inspirational bloggers. 

My latest quest... a Leather Pencil Skirt: 

I have 2 yards of brown faux leather ($7.99/yd) that would be perfect for a pencil skirt and have a few patterns in mind: Butterick 5147, McCalls 3830, New Look 6107

 The Vivienne File posted various inspiration boards on how to maximaze a leather skirt:  I really like the sheer blouse with the skirt... Read more....

 Chic Fashionista has great advice on how to wear a pencil skirt.  I like to wear my blouse untucked especially if the garment is a high-waisted skirt... her suggestion on "Keeping it untucked":
- Creates a more relaxed and fun look
- Elongates your torso
Leaving the top untucked is more fail-safe than tucking it in, because usually, people look at tucking as a fashion statement... Read more ...

Corporette discusses Leather & the Office... her $.02: Leather, like animal print, can be a little wild — but also like animal print it’s a classic, and a well-fitting, quality leather skirt in a classic shape can be worn for years to come. Read more...

Inspirational Bloggers:
The Mahogany Stylist
Lindsey T. Sews
Erica B.
Smoking Needles
Amanda's Adventures in Sewing


Rather Buy It than Make It... Check out
Forever 21
Jones New York
Chadwicks of Boston
Spiegel
Boston Proper

Until next time.......

Hoping the rest of your week is a good one

Thank You Sarah

 of Goodbye Valentino for

Award

It's so exciting to be nominated for such an award which  is an awesome way to recognize blogs and share appreciation.  Being a part of  the Blogger World has allowed me to meet such great people and the inspiration they exude is so powerful that it's contagious.  With constant inspiration, I find myself constantly trying new things and it keeps me reaching farther in my goals in creating... So keep the inspiration flowing.

I learned of Goodbye Valentino via PatternReview and fell in love with her New Look 6097 dress and quickly began checking her other posts.  She has a great sense of style and looking forward to more as she journey through a year without buying rtw garments.  If you haven't checked out her blog, I highly suggest that you head on over.

In order for me to accept this nomination, I must do the following:

1.Thank and link the person/people nominating you.

2.Share seven tidbits about yourself.

3. List and pass the nomination on to 15 of your favorite bloggers.
4.Copy this picture to your blog.
 
Some Things About Me:
 
1) I'm from a large family of comedians and one day I'm going to take people up on their word and do a reality show...lol;
 
(2) I loooooooooove crocheting, sewing, knitting, crafting, just love it;

(3) Once a month Mom, Sisters and I go food shopping that can last up to 7 hours, over the last 2 years, daughters/nieces have joined the crew and its become a totally all out hilarious and exhausting day. The menfolk call us the 3G Girlz  (3 Generation Girlz)...lol


(4) Love me some Feel Good Friday... its the beginning of a fabulous Weekend of  family, crafting & spirits.

(5) My Guy knows how to win my heart with his cooking... his favorite saying is he'd rather pay my credit cards than feed me though...lol

(6) Staying Positive;

(7) I love meditating which reinforces # (6)

I have a ton of Favorite Blogs, but wanted to share some linky love of the new & semi new blogs that I enjoy:

 1:   CoudreMODE
 2:   Adonising Dressing for Dinner
 3:   A Fashionable Stitch
 4:   Fashion-Incubator
 5:   The Creativity Exchange
 6:   Rhonda's Creative Life
 7:   Sassy Studio Designs
 8:   Quality Time
 9:   Green Apples
10: Shoes & Sewing
11: Biblioblog
12: Cathie Filian
13: Don't Disturb This Groove
14: Domestically Speaking
15: Let It Be Sew

Congrats!

 and

Have a Great Week