Oh Where Does The Time Go

So, I have not touch this blog in sometime and I think it is about to have me brought up on charges for neglect. I have been sewing, however only one of the items that I had traced during my self imposed "prep week". If I can get my photographer (ie. my DD) to take some photos tonight then I will start posting and reviewing the patterns. I am still fabric "fasting" but the patterned fast was short lived. I am currently finishing up a baby shower gift for a coworker and then next up on the cutting table is a muslin of the Vogue fitting shell. I am hoping to get it fine tuned so that I can use it as a starting point for the MANY projects in line behind it. I have never tried a real fitting before so I foresee a lot of time, pictures and questions on PR for help. I have quite a To Do list ready and waiting for me to get a better fit, which I will list tomorrow to keep me accountable. LOL! As for the 2010 list that I already have posted, I have pattern traced, fabric and notions for the White Shirt, The Shirt Dress, The Maxi Dress and the Bra (no notions on this one, but the piece are cut out for a quick baste fitting).
Oh in case your keeping up, the project that caused me to miss the PR Mini Wardrobe contest came in 1st Place for our state. So J got both of us bent out of shape for nothing! More tomorrow!

~Renae

Prep Week

Well since the disaster that was to be pants, I have not touched the sewing machine since. I instead am using this week as a "prep" week of sorts. I am working on my least favorite part of sewing... The pattern tracing! So, in an attempt to check off some things from my goal list I have traced out McCall's M6034 views A & B. A the red one pictured will be for myself and B the blue one pictured will be for my sister. Although the top for me doesn't count toward any of the items on the list, I figured while I had that envelope out I might as well trace it off.

The next item I traced out was Simplicity 3882 view C. I plan to use this as the maxi dress so I added about 5 inches to the length. I know there are plenty of patterns out now for maxi dresses, but I am "fasting" from purchasing any patterns or fabric for the moment so that I will actually use up some of the stash I have accumulated in the 9 short months since my daughter and I took our first sewing class.

I have two more patterns on the table waiting to be ironed and traced. McCall's M5522 view D will serve as my Basic White Shirt and Simplicity 2403 view B (I think) will serve as my Shirt Dress.

J also asked for me to make her something, which is different since she usually just makes it herself. I use to like sewing for her and my sister a lot better than sewing for myself because with the exception of a FBA for my sister, I can usually sew straight from the envelope for them. Well I already had McCall's M5929 view B traced out for J in her usual size and right before I was about to start pinning the pieces to the fabric I decided to tissue fit. SURPRISE, it did not fit so it looks like we will be taking some new measurements before she can get this top.

Depending on how quickly I can get through tracing the 2 patterns I have out right now will let me know if I stop there and start alterations or if I keep going and trace off some other patterns. My thoughts right now are Simplicity 2401 view C and maybe NewLook 6354 view C (so that I can once again try to master a pant).

Oh well, I'll keep you posted.

Stepping Back to Move Ahead

I have spent the past week and a half being a sewing blog voyeur (there are some talented and funny ladies out there in blog land). When my DD told me last summer that she wanted to become a fashion designer and I signed us both up for two sewing classes my only goal was to convince her to select a different career (we all want a doctor no?). Needless to say, I have been SUCKED into the world of sewing myself. I have made several hideous looking items with the comfort of being able to say that each item was better than the last. Since it appears that I will not be packing the sewing machine away any time soon, I thought I would put together a list of goals. So here they are (in no particular order):


2010 Sewing Goals
1. A basic White Shirt
2. A Maxi Dress
3. A Sheath Dress
4. A Shirt Dress
5. A Trench Coat
6. A Floral Print
7. Jeans
8. A Bra
9. A Little Black Dress
10. A Great Fitting Tee

Now, the one thing I can promise is that I will become completely distracted from this list along the way but it's out in the universe now.

For the short term I need to finish moving all the sewing stuff from the living room to the office. My mom (her cleaning company clean my house) and my daughter are past complaining that sewing has taken over every corner of the living room. I still need a proper table for the office before I can make the transition, but if nothing else the fabric stash needs to move ASAP. I am on a quest to get "fitting and alterations" down, but from what I have read it's an ongoing process. I also want to start documenting my progress and posting it here on a regular basis (this blog thing is new to me). Hopefully I will also get around to dressing this page up a little, since it is quite dull for me. That's all for now!