Day 5: Me-Made-May

My me-made-outfit might actually qualify for sleepwear today. I spent most of the day napping on the couch. I still not feeling 100% and was so wiped out. I did manage to make it to the post office and enjoy the warm sun. It is tough to believe that less than a week ago I was wearing gloves and a toque. Now, the trees are starting to bloom.

Today's me-made photo is by my favourite fruit tree in Mama and Papa R's backyard, the apricot tree. Wonder if it will have fruit this year?

Top:               Navy bow-tied tee-shirt, RTW.  

Skirt:             A-line skirt with back pleat.  Vintage Vogue 2885, Red and white print 100% cotton.  

Footwear:     Mephistos.   

Eyewear:       My orange and silver glasses, Ooh La-La de Paris Eyewear.  

Accessories:   Floral leather handbag.  

Undies:           Bra and knickers, all RTW, a gap in my me-made wardrobe.

Nightshirt:     If I recall correctly this was made using a Simplicity pattern. Sorry, I can't recall which one. 100% embroidered cotton.  

Bathrobe:       Simplicity 7417.  Fabric: 100% Cotton Terry cloth.

Progress on the baby onsie:  It is almost finished. I just have to finish sewing on the bands, snap and give it a good pressing and it will be ready for some proper photos.

Happy Sewing!    

Day 4: Me-Made-May

This Saturday was not a relaxing day at all. It was an early start to my day as I travelled to my local Costco store to get my winter tires removed. Two hours ahead of the store opening and can you believe that I wasn't the first in line! Three hours and a latte later I was on my way home. Just a quick stop at the fabric store to pick up a metre of ribbon.

I arrived home around one-thirty with horrible back pain. Which would explain why I left the fabric store with what I went in to get and nothing more. The pain meds I have, I didn't want to take when I was driving because they make me drowsy. Despite it being early afternoon and the sun was warming everything up outside, I changed into my pajamas and sat with a heating pad without taking any photographic proof of my outfit for

Jeans:               RTW, Jones Brand.    

Top:                 Marcy Tilton design, Vogue 8709. Fabric: olive green stretch cotton sateen. I hardly ever wear this top anymore. I love the first version I made in a 100% cotton. The one I wore today is a lighter weight fabric and doesn't seem to hold up as nicely. And then I used that cheap fusible interfacing that seems to reveal itself with puckering. Oh well, that was a lesson to avoid cheap interfacing but I don't have to heart to get rid of this top and besides it is a good running-errands shirt with great pockets.   

Jacket:             Navy RTW windbreaker.  

Footwear:        Black and grey Mephisto Allrounder.  

Eyewear:         DKNY and Ray Ban sunglasses.                             

Undies:            Bra and knickers, RTW.

Night (and Afternoon) wear:   RTW pajamas.  

Bathrobe:         Simplicity 7417.

Progress on the baby onsie:  I stopped at the fabric store and bought a metre length of ribbon.

Day 3: Me-Made-May

The sun was out and the temperature hit above the zero mark. What more can one ask for? Maybe normal spring temperatures and less wind would be nice too.

Today was another workday, an early start and I'm so glad it is the end of the week. It was a tough one to get through, but I made it! (No pun intended)

Skirt:                Donna Karan design, Vogue 1038. Brown suit weight polyester fabric.   

Blouse:             Burda Style 7255. Fabric: 100% cotton.

Jacket:             RTW, Navy blue windbreaker.  

Footwear:        Beige environmentally friendly Groundhogs.

Eyewear:         DKNY

Accessories:    Knee braces, nicely hidden under my skirt. I love this skirt pattern for that reason.
                        Silver necklace and cross, The Bay.  

Undies:           Brown tights, bra, knickers, all RTW.

Nightwear:     RTW stuff.  

Bathrobe:        Simplicity 7417. Fabric: 100% Cotton Terry cloth.

Progress on the baby onsie:  Yeah ummm, none except for it made it out of my sewing drawer and is now sitting on my cutting table.

Happy Sewing!  

Day 2: Me-Made-May

Can you believe that the city woke up to another dusting of the white stuff? Once the weather warms up, I won't be wearing this dress. It is made out of a heavier weight of cotton that I found in the home decor department. But for today it was perfect. It was so chilly I even kept my jacket on at work.

Here is what I wore on day two of

Dress:               Vintage Advance 8436. Fabric: 100% cotton fabric found in the home decor department.    

Jacket:             Donna Karan design, Vogue 1263. Fabric: Boiled wool.

Footwear:        Taupe environmentally friendly Groundhogs.

Eyewear:         DKNY

Accessories:   Knee braces, Ossur.
                       Toque, The Bay.
                       Red gloves, Costco.  

Undies:             Blue tights, bra, knickers, all RTW. Did I mention that this is a gap in my me-made wardrobe?

Nightshirt:        Simplicity 2289. Fleece and knit double-sided fabric.

Pajama Bottoms:  RTW, Lady Hathaway. 

Bathrobe:         Simplicity 7417.  Fabric: 100% cotton terry cloth. 

Progress on sewing the baby onsie: none. I've got a date with a heating pad and an early bedtime.

Happy Sewing!

  

Day 1: Me-Made-May

Day one of Me-Made-May 2013 fell on a workday dusted with snowflakes. Yes, snowflakes! Luckily, I don't mind the snow. I'll take snow over mosquito season any day. I did enjoy the beautiful white scenery this morning.

My day had an early start with a before school shift where I'm amazed with how much energy little ones have as my body aches. Aww, to be young and oblivious to what is coming in their later years. But I digress... After that shift it was on to a day in the life of an educational assistant. Clothes have to be comfortable and washable since this has the potential to be a messy job. I miss wearing denim and my Mephistos to work, items that were recently banned from work. Again I digress...

Now where was I? Oh yes! I can't dress like a hippie so this is what I wore on day one of

Dress:               Lynn Mizono design, Vogue 1312. Fabric: taupe coloured crepe knit.

Sweater:          RTW, Lord & Taylor.  

Jacket:             Donna Karan design, Vogue 1263. Fabric: Boiled wool.

Footwear:        Taupe environmentally friendly Groundhogs.

Eyewear:          DKNY.  

Accessories:   Knee braces, Ossur.
                          Yellow wool scarf, The Bay
                          Toque, The Bay
                          Red fleece lined gloves, Costco
                          Watch, Fossil (gift).
                          Silver necklace (gift) that holds my whistle (essential for working those Before School shifts and recess duties).  

Undies:             Brown tights, bra, knickers, all RTW, a gap in my me-made wardrobe.

Nightshirt:        Simplicity 2289. Fleece and knit double sided fabric.

Pajama Bottoms:  RTW, Lady Hathaway.

Bathrobe:         Simplicity 7417.  Fabric: 100% Cotton Terry cloth (a really messy fabric to sew but wonderfully comfortable to wear).

Socks:               100% wool, Smartwool.

Part of my Me-Made challenge is to tackle those cut sewing projects that have been sitting in my sewing drawer for far too long.

First up, McCall's 7367 an asymmetrical baby jumpsuit that I have cut out on a yellow and black polka dot knit.

I'm still on meds for my back that "may cause dizziness and drowsiness." If I make any major errors, I'm blaming the meds.

Happy Sewing!  

April in Review...

Center for Pattern Design, CB Spiral Blouse

Vogue 8839

Vogue 8637

McCall's 2447

Vogue 1247

Burda 7255

There was quite a bit of sewing done this month. Most of my projects were part of the Pattern Review pattern stash contest. How perfect was that! Just the push I needed. I didn't pattern stash bust the most in the contest but I'm thrilled with what I managed to accomplish and in awe the number of items others had managed to accomplish during the contest. 

Sew far this year, I managed to stash-bust a total of:

• 45.61 metres of fabric, 
• 15 previously unused patterns, 
• 4.6 metres of trim, 
• 4 zippers, 
• 12 spools of thread, 
• 3 sewing machine needles, 
• 7 snaps,
• 44 buttons and
• 2.8 metres of elastic.

And this this year I've added to my stash:

• 37.4 metres of new fabric, 
• 7 Vogue patterns,
• 1 Simplicity pattern,
• 1 metre of trim,
• 7 spools of thread
• 2 sewing machine needles,
• 6 buttons
• 2 new sewing feet
• 4 metres of elastic.  

Happy Sewing!  

It's a Mad Mad World, Man!

Stash busting 2013:  The Retro Blouse, Project #20

Fabric Used:       1.60 metres of 100% cotton sateen and 1 metre of interfacing.

Buttons Used:     Six frosted pink buttons

Pattern Used:      Burda Style 7255, I've had this pattern since last year.

*****

First, I'm apologizing for the gawd awful photo. I look like death and a bad hair day all rolled into one. Don't worry, I'm not fishing for compliments, I feel that way too. I'm just going with it.

Now that we have that out of the way, I have to tell you that this pattern has sat in my stash teasing me. I love the illustrations on the front of the pattern envelope but I questioned if I wanted to makes something that seemed a bit trendy with all the whoopla over Mad Men fashions. It is just not my style. But the illustrations were so damn cute. Yeah, I don't understand why I bought the pattern either.  

Moving along, I saw Debi's version recently and it was the push that I needed to re-consider this pattern. Her post has links to other versions of this blouse as well. 

"This might work," I thought to myself. 

I do love the curved collar that Debi described. It sounded like the one that worked well on the Center of Pattern Design Spiral Top and this pattern has the same style of collar.

"What the heck, why not give it a try," I thought to myself as I scanned the piles of fabric in my stash.  

Inspired by Rike's version, I knew I wanted a print. And do I have the perfect fabric. It is floral (check me out, I'll be on trend this spring!) and better yet it is a screen print fabric with soil and stain repellent finish. This is perfect! If I spill my coffee (wine, dinner, fill in whatever), I won't have to whip out my Tide stick stain remover. Gawd, I love this fabric.

I found it in the home decor section of my local fabric store. I know, I've been shopping in that section of the store a lot lately but it seems like the only place that you can find natural fabrics with fabulous prints. And I do love this print, much too fabulous to be fading in the sun somewhere as curtains.

Now lets talk about this blouse. Oh my goodness, I don't know why I didn't make this sooner! I think the tucks and pleat detail in the back are the cat's meow.  Debi is right, the sizing is spot on. I can't believe that I ended up with three-quarter length sleeves and I didn't even alter the sleeve pattern. The elbow dart is in the perfect spot too. The shoulders fit perfectly, I don't know what I could ask for besides... I could use a little more ease around my belly area or I could do some sit-ups when my back and neck heal up. Otherwise, this pattern is perfect. Despite that, I did lengthen the blouse a few inches.

The buttons have been in my stash for a few years. I'm not a frilly pink-lovin' kind of gal but I thought these buttons worked. It was a toss up between an ivory floral shape or an opaque button. The floral shaped button gave the blouse a homemade feel, not the look I was going for. And the opaque button was nice but just seemed too large on the cut of the blouse. Sew, the pink buttons won out. I think I can live with this colour choice. Besides, I really don't want to shop for more buttons.

That's how I ended up with a floral pink buttoned blouse. This pattern will go down as the most unexpected favourite from my pattern stash.

Happy Sewing!