Halloween Coasters!

Today I spent the morning embroidering these fun little coasters for my etsy shop.



They're orange thread on a dark gray felt and were a lot of fun to make, though now I wish I had a thimble. My needle-pushing finger is sore! Still, I enjoy the tactileness of hand embroidery and really enjoyed whipping these up. Since it's a little late to sell many more of these this October, I'll probably pack away the patterns and start working on some winter themes. Maybe snowflakes, an advent series, and some Christmas ones? Hm.

I nearly finished another robe but it's waiting until I get the last few threads clipped for it's photo shoot. Two other robes are just a few little details away from being ready as well so expect my inventory to increase this weekend!

Until then, more pictures of my halloween coasters -





And yes, I plan on taking better pictures tomorrow, after a trip to the store for AA batteries. This camera is such a glutton!

And, just in case: Click here to buy!

New Shirt - Butterick 5218

I have a new shirt! Or rather new - I finished it two and a half weeks ago. But when most of my wardrobe is older than the kids I work with, a two-week-old shirt still, comparatively, has that new garment feel to it. You know the feeling, where you're still getting used to fitting it into your wardrobe line up and it still feels a little strange (yet wonderful!) when you put it on. And the other tops look a little dingy and out of date next to it. And your black skirt that works so well with it suddenly feels new as well.

It's a great feeling.

I don't want to do the copy-paste bit from my PR review since I figure you can just click here to see it if you want to and ignore the link if you don't want. The long and short - I actually used three sizes smaller than recommended and it's still a moderately big shirt so keep that in mind. Construction and drafting were both excellent and while the pattern needs some tweaks to look high-end RTW (a standard shirt hem with the curving side vents, cuffs on the sleeves), it's a great starter piece and easy enough for a first tailored shirt project. I really had a great time with all the (added) topstitching. It's just so instant-gratification that you've gotta love it.

This was my first time doing buttonholes so that was a good bit of anxiety right there. After all, you mess up on that front placket and suddenly you're in salvage mode to save the whole thing. After, of course, you've put at least ten hours into it. Pressure? Yeah. But my new little machine did a great job! After I fiddled with it, that is. It's got some strange quirks. But I'm not sure how to explain them so I won't. It just makes me wonder what it is about me that can't have a NORMAL machine for once? Oh well. Someday. :) Until then I should be able to stay nicely dressed with the machines I have!

Wrap + front seam = Dress?

I was experimenting with my new wrap/cardigan pattern and made it up in a really stretchy poly/lycra knit from Joann's and wasn't pleased with it. The front folds just didn't have the fantastic definition of my stiffer cotton knit. So I put it on Elanor and started to play with it and ... hm.

Imagine this just a little longer and hemmed ...



I like it. I like it a lot.

New Pattern (Squee!!)

So ecstatic! I had this image in my mind of what my basic robe pattern could be and so last night I skipped a game night at church, pulled out the pattern, some tracing paper, and some old black knit I had and went at it and look what came out!!




This may be the most flattering item in my closet. The v-neck is so fabulous, the gathering just does the most amazing things for my figure, and the length makes my hips and thighs smaller and legs longer. Seriously, I think there's some magic happening. Hopefully tonight and tomorrow I can get a couple more of these cut out and posted on my Etsy shop. If I can bear to part with them!

Opening Day!

Cherry Lime Studios opened for business today! And I'm heading down to the apartment green space to get some more pictures of coasters - they just don't photograph well indoors, even with our south-facing window's blinds open so I haven't listed them yet. Plus I've got another robe to put up, again, just need to get photographic evidence that it exists.

Unfortunately the part of my day that wasn't taken up by setting up shop didn't go very well. I had plans to make another couple sets of coasters and a robe. Well, one coaster came together well... the others kept having just about any trouble they could. I still have red ink all over my fingers. Blech.

So moved on to some little eye masks. Wow, those turned out terribly. Really terribly. Ok, cross those of the list of products.

On to robe. Those are easy, I can whip one up in my sleep.

Or maybe not.

First I serged one shoulder seam wrong - right side to wrong side. Grr. Seam rip, which, btw, is seriously annoying when it's a serged seam. Finish that, serge second shoulder seam, everything's going well, then -arg- the serger decides to do something and attempt to eat the fabric. Save fabric but must rethread serger. Three times. And no, I don't have air-threading. I have fingers. That's it.

Whimper.

So get serger working and finish shoulder seam. No problems. Move on to armcyc. Sew it up, everything looking fine ... OH NO! Sewed right sides to right sides. This is SO the last time I'm making a solid-color robe, from now all all right and wrong sides will be visible from 100 yards.

So now I've seamripped the serged armcyc and I'm putting this away for the evening. No more chances to mess up! Some days I just shouldn't bother!

Scarily true

My school requires you to have some sort of health insurance (and apparently "my father in law is a GP, I'll fly home for any treatment I need because the last-minute plane flight is cheaper than health insurance and, unlike the health insurance, I'll actually get treated" doesn't count) so this story hits very close to home. I love the Onion (spoof news source, for those across the pond) but decidedly in a "ha-ha-owch" sort of way.

Man Succumbs to Seven Year Battle with Health Insurance

Pictures

Robes and one set of coasters!

Need to finish photographing the others and make up another robe in anticipation of Cherry Lime Studios going live in a week - because there's no time like a recession and trouble on wall street for a new business venture. Sigh. Ok, enough sadness. Time for pretties. :)












And on another happy note, creative writing went very well today - my poem was last and when we finally got to it my prof, a published author a number of times over, read it, read it again (nerve wracking if you're on the hot seat, btw), then looked up and told me to send it for publication. As is. And the next five minutes were him and the TA gushing over it which, while a wonderful ego boost, didn't actually help that much since I'm so not sure I could repeat the act of creativity. And I certainly won't be supporting myself with it any time soon! But coming on the heels of a really frustrating encounter with the internship department it was really comforting and affirming to be told I am a competent human being, at least in one area of life. Of course it raises the question - how in the world do you go around submitting poetry? Oh well, will find out! Prof should know. :)

Happiness!

Joann's had a fresh shipment of my favorite knits - a nice, drapey, poly spandex that's wonderfully soft. I've been wanting to redraft my Lara wrap to make a nice knit cardigan, like this one:

DKNY Cozy Cardigan

So I got enough to make a first-draft. Bonus points, among some gorgeous fall colors they had my teal. Yay! I'd bought the last of the previous bolt which was just enough for a short sleeve shirt which, yes, I need ... but drat it, I wanted a cozy long-sleeve cowl to curl up in. So (fingers crossed) my first-draft cardigan will leave enough leftovers for sleeves for the shirt. Happiness!

My Hannah

A piece I wrote for creative writing - thought I'd share it. :)

Hanna 's my grandmother but she'll never be “grandma.” Too country, she says. I think it makes her uncomfortable. Too soft. Hanna fits her much better. Hannas don't make cookies but they teach you to laugh. To a Hanna the world's like a mutt found, brought home, and needing a good scrubbing. It might not look like much and it might need some stern discipline but underneath there's a lot of goodness and potential. For a kid a Hanna is better than a grandma. She doesn't kiss your bruises, she teaches you to pick yourself up and not fall again. Or at least make a story out of your next tumble.

One down!

My green shirt, piece #1 for my "August" wardrobe (yeah, little behind on that) is done! I wore it all day Sunday, first to church, then to lunch with friends, then switched out my nice black skirt for a denim skirt and wore it to our first evening service where DH preached his first sermon. Well, his first sermon that wasn't done to a class full of seminarians armed with grading sheets. He did a good job, though he really excelled at the preacher-on-the-hot-seat bit after the service. And after the service we cleaned it all up and then had game time over a friends' apartment. So much fun but apparently I'm still not physically able to do that much because today was a fog of exaustion and half-hearted attempts to get anything done. Sigh. I really need to make another appointment and get this fatigue thing sorted out. But anyway, all that to say that I've got a shirt done and I love it! Usually I feel like somethings "off" about the clothes I wear - something just a little not right that keeps me from loving it. But this shirt's different. From fabric to fit to finish, I really like it. Yay!

And will post pic tomorrow. Tonight it's time for zzzzzs. :)

Setting up shop

I've been building inventory and a blog for my soon-to-be-opened shop. On top of classes and internship. Sigh. Anyway, a couple years ago we had a rash of friends suddenly get the matrimony bug and I had a lot of showers to go to with very little money to spend. What to do? Sew! I wanted to give little cotton robes that could go from sexy to cozy depending in accessories (or, for sexy, lack thereof) and so I went pattern shopping. And went again. And began looking through independents. For whatever reason I just couldn't find one that was quite right. They were either too big or too robe-like or too something else. It's just a robe and I've seen enough Pattern Runway to think that drafting is easy so, well, I drafted. And made up one. Gave to friend. Tweaked pattern and made again for another friend. Then a third tweak, a third gown, and by this time I was really happy with it.

Nice. And then I put it away.

Fast forwards to this summer. I knew I needed a part-time job that was highly flexible. Bonus points if it was on-campus as we only have one car. Started thinking about robe pattern. And Etsy. And how happy I am when sewing.

Hm.

Fortunately I had a fourth robe that had been cut out but not sewn for whatever reason. Time for an experiment. Pulled it out and timed myself.

Forty-five minutes. Not bad. And my serger's earning her keep. Figure I can only get faster ... and I love how the robe turned out. It's going to be hard parting with it! And I had fun. Hm, at this rate, if the product finds a market, I can bring in around $200 a month doing what I enjoy. And that's including time to tweak the pattern into a few other products, like a knit wrap, an oriental dinner jacket, maybe even a summer dress (though that'll have to wait a few seasons)....

It's at least worth trying, right? I mean, it beats working janitorial or at the cafe for minimum wage.

So I bought some trial fabric at Joann's and whipped up two more robes today. They're not finished quite yet - they need to be hemmed and ironed. But all the serging is done. What do you think?

Shopping list

Life is going well ... my adult ed class I'm teaching through the school starts this week and, while I'm not exactly ready, I'm also not panicked. My creative writing class is going better than I expected - I'm really enjoying the process and having an excuse to write and my ego's getting stoked a bit by my great classmates and prof. Sewing class is a lot of fun, I'm done with my regular job, and I've got a shirt in progress that's actually coming together fairly well. Unfortunately it's at that stage where it really doesn't look like much, just a collar and some pockets, so it's not photogenic. I tried taking some pictures and it looked too much like a wad of fabric to be worth posting. It's just on hold until I reassemble my new machine enough to make button holes on it. I tried on my old machine (scrap fabric, thank heavens) and realized why I avoided buttonholes for so many years. They're TERRIBLE. I don't know what the problem is but, wow, they're so very, very ugly.

So more incentive to get new machine fixed.

Until that point, J's is having Buttericks on sale soon and heaven knows I need more patterns.

On my list this time:

B5243



I'm not certain I'd get around to actually making this in this century but I love the look. One of my RTW dresses (it's from Target - shh, don't tell!) has this same shoulder treatment and it's totally fabulous. Great 40s vibe but still current. So just in case I come across a good knit, it'd be nice to have a great pattern to go with it!

B5251



I love the idea of a large, cozy cardigan for the library or classrooms. Version E is my current favorite though D's worth a try as well. And these CAN'T take that long to make, right? I also like A and B once I get past the images and start thinking - it's the collar that throws me at first. However ditch the collar and it's a really nice kimono-eque top that can be seriously chic. Nice pattern overall.

B5254



With Wisconsin just a year away I'm suddenly realizing just how unprepared I am. This isn't a super-fab coat but it's a nice one and that tube collar looks warm. Plus it'll sew up quickly with a minimum of fitting and is make for (shudder) fleece. Which means cheap, at least for poly fleece from Joann's. I know, I know. But it would buy me a little time and, really, it'd be cute. At least I think it would be ... worth a try, anyway.

B5265



Because you can never have too many costumes. Specifically nice, surprisingly accurate patterns. Look at that muff!

B5266


See above :) I LOVE that coat!

If it's not one thing...

I had this grand idea of whipping up a bunch of felt coasters (among other things) and opening a little shop on Etsy. Good way to make a few extra dollars (very much needed this semester) while keeping the flexible schedule I very much need. No problem, right?

Got the felt, got the thread, practiced a bit...

Realized in practice that, of my two machines, only the Bernette can do this. My viking's pressure foot is non-adjustable and stretches out the felt too much as it sews. That's ok, the Bernette needs to earn it's keep anyway.

It doesn't agree.

To get those nice, thick lines I need a size 3 zig-zag. Fine, the Bernette goes up to 5. But therein lies the problem. It not only goes up to 5, it really, really, REALLY wants to sew 5s. And only 5s. I set to 3, start sewing and suddenly the dial spins and we're at 5. Stop, reset to 3, try again... dial spins and we're back to huge zags. Arg!

Deep breaths. See this as an opportunity ... an opportunity to pull apart the dratted thing and see how it works on the inside. I like pulling things apart and seeing how they work inside. This is good.

Whoever designed the Bernette shell does not agree. Their previous employment? Puzzle boxes. The sort where you push here to slide this lever which opens that hatch... it's the only explination for the shell design.

A half-hour later (!!!) I finally get the back off. Woot. Look inside. See this:



See also that there's no way to tighten from this angle. And the front panel is NOT coming off without doing far more dismataling of internal parts than I'm comfortable with. Seriously, there are far better places to put the screws than where they did. It's a plot. An evil plot.

I did try to delay the inevitable by attempting to jury-rig the dial with tape and a rubber band for traction. It didn't work. No duct tape in the apartment so can't try that. Not sure what else to try.

Anyway, posted problem on PR and hoping that the machine geniuses will have an idea. Sigh. Until then the machine's in pieces, the sewing on hold, and I'm out of excuses to put off some research and reading. Ick.

Towards a complete wardrobe

According to the standard SWAP guideline a basic wardrobe consists of 11 pieces - 1 jacket, 4 shirts, 2 tops, 2 pairs of pants, and 2 skirts. Switch out skirts for pants, tees for blouses, and a dress for any of the basics depending on need. Simple. Doable. Challenging but attainable.

So that's what Julie Culshawl, a seamstress in Australia came up with and it's been seconded by many, many others.

But what do New York fashionistas call a core wardrobe?

I pulled out my copy of the Lucky Shopping Manual (we all have our secret indulgences, this is mine) and chapter by chapter added up what they consider essentials, give or take a coat or summer skirt based on your latitide:

11 skirts
_ 2 all season work skirts
_ 1 day to night skirt
_ 2 summer work skirts
_ 1 denim skirt
_ 2 summer weekend skirts
_ 1 summer evening skirt
_ 1 winter evening skirt
_ 1 Leather or suede skirt
12 Tops
_ 2 Basic neutral color tees
_ 2 black tops
_ 4 tanks
_ 1 polo
_ 3 fun tees
15 Shirts
_ 6 work tops
_ 3 fun tops
_ 4 weekend tops
_ 2 fun tops
11 Dresses
_ 3 Summer weekend dresses
_ 1 summer evening dress
_ 1 summer daytime party dress
_ 2 summer work dresses
_ 2 winter work dresses
_ 1 winter weekend dress
_ 1 winter evening dress
7 Sweaters
_ 2 Fitted pullovers for work
_ 2 cardigans
_ 1 turtleneck
_ 2 weekend sweaters
7 jeans
_ 1 pair for heals
_ 1 pair for flats
_ 1 weekend pair
_ 1 color pair
_ 1 pair corduroys
_ 1 pair of favorite
_ 1 fun pair
9 pairs of pants
_ 3 pair winter pants
_ 3 pairs summer pants
_ 2 pair all season work pants
_ 1 pair evening pants
4 suits
_ 2 classic suits
_ 1 trendy suit
_ 1 fun suit
5 jackets
_ 2 wool blazers
_ 1 short jacket
_ 1 denim jacket
_ 1 summer blazer
8 coats
_ 1 classic coat
_ 1 parka
_ 1 spring jacket
_ 1 raincoat
_ 1 fall coat
_ 1 evening coat
_ 2 fun coats
_ 1 lightweight jacket

That's ... 90 items.

Total.

SWAPs sound so much easier now.

****************
And, because my inner logician demands it, I'll admit that there's some apple to oranges comparisons going on. A SWAP is just to get you a working, basic wardrobe to tide you over so you can add more, trendier, or more specific items. Lucky's trying to prepare you for all contingencies. Even so, this Texan girl is pretty sure that even the oddest of contingencies won't require 8 coats. Or 7 pairs of jeans. My little wardrobe would burst trying to hold them all.

Digging through the old pattern box

I need to dig this pattern out again - about three years ago I made it up with a stiff poly and it's pretty cute. Unfortunately it has the funny armcyce gape that all patterns seem to have on me so I have to wear a little sweater over it but still, cute. And short. See how it hits just above the knee on the model? False advertising, that. It hits a good 3" above my knee and, at 5'4" (ok, the 4" is in sneakers) I'm not exactly model material. And while 3" above the knee is hardly scandelous, it's short for me. I added some beautiful tea-stained lace to the hem and it helps me feel more modest but I still don't wear it as much as I would if it were just a liiiittle longer. But really, those are the only issues I had with this and I made it straight from the pattern, no modifications at all. So now that I know what to expect I really should try it again. Great for summer or, now that I look at it, as a cute jumper with a shirt underneath. Hm...

Oh, and this pattern comes from a group of fun 70 ones from when my mom went through a pattern collecting phase. She was living in southern California at the time and so passed on some adorable little sundress patterns. So far this is the only one of the bunch I've made but just give me time!

Perfect in Purple

My husband's from one of those small towns where everyone went to school together and people live and die in the house they were born in. Completely foriegn to this suburban military brat! However I fell in love when DH took me to the local antique store. So many lovelies! There was a little pattern area with a number of beautiful vintage offerings. None of it was in great shape and all the patterns had obviously been well loved (and used!) but in a way that added to the fun of the hunt. This is one of the patterns I picked up because I just couldn't resist it. Look at those lovely collars! And the sleeves! Sadly it's missing a good half of it's pieces (including the lower part of those full sleeves) but, like most patterns, it shows what those peices should look like on the back of the envelope. So if I do decide to make this someday it shouldn't be impossible. Difficult, but not impossible. For now it's functioning as artwork and being fully appreciated as such. Vintage patterns are my version of jewels, I guess. Not terribly practical but they make my world more beautiful. Or something like that!

More Disney Pictures

Because I'm on a roll. Don't worry, I've got some great vintage patterns coming up next!


Hanging in the waiting area at Jungle Cruise. I love things like this.

Frontierland looking towards Big Thunder Mountain.  We never did get around to riding that last time.  No loss for me, personally.  I can get the same thrill by letting hubby drive around Dallas.  Love ya! Mean it!

Fantasyland - look at that blue sky!  It was like that all week.

The Haunted Mansion, looking only moderately creepy in the afternoon sunlight.  Should have come back at night for a shot.  Oh, well.  We went on this more times ... husband grew up watching Ghostbusters so this ride was a favorite.  Though, given the chance, he'd "plus" it with blasters and turn it into a ghost hunting game.  :)

A little washed out but I liked the sign.

Dumbo!  And God bless my grandparents for going on this ride hundreds of times with me when I was little.  What IS it with flying elephants that so enchants the 5 year old brain?

Me and Plinkley, from Lilo and Sitch.  I love the hawaiian shirt.

Only at Disney does a Christmas Wreath formed from red mickey crocs seem so normal...

Fantasyland in a rare moment.  An hour later it was packed.  

Looking out towards the castle from the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse.  I really love that attraction.  Slow pace, lots of fun details, and the fun of imagining I could live there just does something for the kid in me.  This shot also shows how green the World is, even in winter.

Where in the world?

Mellie got it right!

We're in Disney World. :)

Or were in it ... not there now. Which, much as I love that place, is a good thing. Do you know how hot and crowded that place is in August? Not pleasant. Not at all.

Much prefer September, December, and April. Of course, my school also prefers those months ... for classes. Ah, well. Last trip I really made it a point to take pictures of the unexpected details. The prayer flags in Animal Kingdom's Asia, the buildings in Epcot's World Showcase, little statues tucked in odd places, and all the other little things that puts Disney's parks so far above others. I have a group of black and white photos framed on my wall and most people can't identify them as Disney. For so many people Disney means Mickey Mouse, the castle, and bright colored tackiness. There's far more ... it's just taking the time to look. And most people don't. Can't blame them, after all there's all those rides and shows and characters ... but it's worth taking the time. Also fun - going up to characters and getting your picture taken with their handler (cast member serving as body guard and time-keeper for those in costume). Confuses the heck out of the characters and makes the day of the handler!

Anyway, here's the more obvious shots that would have made the contest far too easy. :)


The Mark Twain paddleboat with Tom Sawyer's Island on the left and the Haunted Mansion in the background.


Cinderella's fountain. Look carefully at the wall behind her - that's a crown. You have to bow to her or be kid-height to get it to line up with her head. Neat trick.


My favorite. Before applying the old photo filter it was just a fairly eh photo of the castle. Kind of impressive but nothing special. However the filter really turns it into something I love. The feel of the 50s of Disneyland mixed with the grandeur of Disney World. And I think I have a Christmas present for my mom now. She'll love this. :)

Photo contest 2

No right guesses yet, so a few more to have fun with!

Photo Contest

This week hasn't been a lot of fun - it's mostly been cramming for my class (the one I'm teaching - you know the one I whine about in every stinkin' blog until you must be horribly sick of it. I know I am!) and wishing I'd started earlier and finding really random ways to distract myself. I really should just disconnect from the internet. While yes, it is helpful for finding stuff I could look it up that same info in a book far faster. Heck, I could drive to four different schools' libraries and look up the information faster. And for whatever reason my laptop makes me sleepy. I can be wide awake and then, after five minutes of it on my lap I'm dropping off. Poor me. And yes, I would like some cheese with that whine, thank you very much! :)

Anyway, one fun distraction I did was take some pictures I'd shot from a trip this past year and play with them to make post cards and pictures for my aunt who graciously sponsored the trip. I thought I'd share them with you as a little break.

Also, can you guess where the photos are from? Hint: They're all from the same spot. Well, roughly. One answer will cover it all - like if I had pictures of the Lincoln Memorial, Smithsonian, and White House then "DC" would be the correct answer. No clicking on the photos since doing so will tell you the answer. Just try to guess first. :) Hard photos today, easier ones tomorrow or Friday depending on how much I need a break either day. And enjoy!

On the cutting table: Burda 7895

The first item for my 4-piece mini wardrobe is cut out and started on! My cold is still fighting for control so it was slow going but I knew if I didn't do SOMETHING creative I'd go crazy so, well, the skirt got cut out. I didn't have as much fabric as the pattern called for but some creative rearranging made it all fit. However after making up the lining I have a new respect for Burda's sizing - I measured myself a little more snuggly than I had in the past, saw I was a 12 by those snug measurements, cut out a 12 ... and have a snug lining. Hm. So unlike the Big4's standard, when they say a 12 fits a 36" hip they aren't kidding around. I plan on sewing with 3/8" seams and hopefully that'll give me enough extra room to keep it from looking and feeling too painted on. Of course, I AM making this out of faux suede so maybe sexy is impossible to avoid. Worst case I might be able to squeeze out two more back sides from my remaining fabric. We'll see! Another worst case is that only DH gets to see it on me and, if you ask him, that's a best case. :) So win-win.

Crazy week

Flew home for a short weekend, now parents are coming here and then down to a family reunion - it never stops! And on top of that DH decided he wanted to steal one of my sewing class tables for his desk and gave me his nice folding table with a drop-down part for the keyboard (PERFECT for a sewing machine) in return. Buuuuut that meant totally redoing the entire study/sewing room which left me with more room (Yay!) but also took a lot of time. Oh, well. Now both my sewing machine and serger can be out at the same time - always nice! I'll post pics of my sewing space soon, I promise. I like it. :)

So that's why I've been in radio silence mode. And why my red shirt's in the same condition it was last blog. And why it will remain like that until next month since right now I need to spend my sewing time on my wardrobe for the August contest!