ProCRAFTination

Just Checking In

2011-06-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

I figure 6 months is much too long to go without posting anything.

This is just a short post to let those on the internet know that I am still here, stealthily reading the blog posts of others, attempting to post comments but loosing my train of thought halfway through and then abandoning the whole comment thing out of frustration.

I do plan on having some things to post about in the upcoming weeks as we are in the process of buying something that rhymes with the word "mouse"

Until then I will leave you with a gratuitous bun shot

If you haven't noticed by now

2010-12-24T12:55:00.001-05:00

I've been taking a break from blogging. Haven't really had the chance to sew let alone think about writing about what I've made. I don't plan to completely abandon pro-craft-ination, but I think it needs some time alone.

Hope your holidays are going well,
Rebecca

P.S. in case anyone was wondering I only had one day during self stitched September where I did not wear something I made.

S.S.S. Week Two

2010-09-16T19:41:00.000-04:00

Really, I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but time kind of got away from me. With that being said here is a super quick recap of my S.S.S. wardrobe for week 2 of Self-Stitched September.

Well almost, never got a picture for September 9th-it was a repeat-the teal knit cardigan that I wore on day 6 of SSS. It was a cruddy kind of day, didn't feel like posing for the camera on such a dreary and overcast day.

September 10th

Day 10 : Wore my one and only pair of self-stitched pants, made earlier this year. They've actually grown on me, though I'd still never wear them outside of the house. I still want to try my hand at making pants again, and after reading Real Pants for Real People I think I have an idea as to my plan of attack. It's just a matter of finding fabric and time for the next pair.

September 11th

Day 11 :Wore one of my first t-shirt recons ever while attending the mother of all town wide tag sales.

September 12th

Day 12 Crazy circle skirt, made shortly after the striped circle skirt. This was the first time I ever actually wore it, not only did I wear it, but I actually wore it outside of the house in front of people. Huge steps being taken here people!

September 13th

Day 13: Ah the owl shirt, I have worn it a handful of times and those bright little owls always make me smile.

September 14th

Day 14: I believe I've already mentioned how much I love this striped skirt. Topped it of with my vegetarian t-shirt, all in all a fun outfit. Wore it to a super casual business meeting.

September 15th

Day 15: The leopard tank, another repeat, but I really do like it and I feel good when I'm wearing it, even got a compliment on it while waiting to give blood.

Feeling pretty good about the month so far, however it is starting to get quite chilly here and I am beginning to realize how ill prepared I am when it comes to a self-stitched cold weather wardrobe. I guess I'll have to go do something about that,

....

like right now.

One week in

2010-09-08T17:29:00.000-04:00

I promised in my last post that I would try to post my Self Stitched September outfits every couple of days, so here it goes! All outfits include self stitched underwear, you'll have to trust me on that
Day one has already been posted so I'll skip on over to day two.

Day two: Literally a pain in the neck. I don't know exactly what I did that morning that caused my neck to make a horrible grind/pop noise that it did, but boy it sure did hurt a bunch. I decided that I would go for comfort over style that day. The skirt was refashioned from a long and large skirt at the salvation army. I made a new elastic casing, shortened it about 5 inches, and turned it into an a-line skirt rather than a rectangle. I'll get a standing up picture of it at some point.

Day three: A busy day working from home. Later in the evening the boyfriend and I strolled into downtown and checked out a meditation labyrinth that would have been more peaceful if that family hadn't shown up and provide commentary on our wanderings. We then grabbed a quick dinner and dessert at the diner and headed back out for a friend's monthly goth/80's dance night at a local club. Not my normal scene but I had a really good time, the people were friendly and the tunes were enjoyable. I made the circle skirt a few years back, but until this summer I had never worn it, now it's one of my favorite pieces of clothing ever.

took this picture the morning after, excuse the hair

Day four: Never got a proper picture of the outfit, but you aren't missing much. Just a quick t-shirt refashion. Worn while going to garage sales and a really awesome thrift store that featured mostly knick knacks.

Day five: Went to visit the boyfriend's parents and attend a family BBQ. Up until this day I had never work the shirt out in public. I believe it's simplicity 4076, one of pattern review's most reviewed patterns. I really do like the top, but I still feel like it is too short and that is why I don't wear it.

Day six: I totally dig this outfit. I refashioned the green leopard tank from an XL salvation army shirt topped it with my second version of simplicity 2560 (made in late July, never blogged). I loved the color combination, however due to strenuous physical activity (stuffing the futon cushion full of foam) I only wore the tank top for a majority of the day.

Day seven: Lazy day around the house, ended up doing that thing to my neck yet again. The tank top is made from the same fabric as my circle skirt. I don't know when it was made exactly, I had forgotten about it up until a few weeks ago when I found it while rummaging through my scrap bin. I promise I will get a picture wearing it at some point. Also being worn are my refashioned shorts from day one.

Day eight (today!): Broke out the moose shirt. This is one of those shirts that gets neglected for whatever reason. not much to say about it. Wore it out to the farmers market, then to ihop for some new york strawberry cheesecake pancakes, followed by a not so fruitful trip to the Salvation Army, and wrapped up with a grocery store run.

I've really enjoyed checking out the outfits people have been posting on the SSS Flickr group, and I'm slowly trying to check out everyone on the participants list. It's been a great month so far, let's see how the rest of the month pans out.

Happy Self-Stitched September!

2010-09-01T17:41:00.000-04:00

Here it goes...

'I, Rebecca, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-September. I endeavor to wear at least one handmade and/or refashioned item of clothing every day for the duration of September 2010'.

I signed up in the beginning of August after coming across this post, and was super eager to start sewing up some essentials. Within a week of signing up I produced a pair of pajama pants, 9 pairs of underwear, and an almost completed vest.

9 pairs of underwear

I paused for a day or two, stuck on the issue of what to do about work shirts. Plain boring black work shirts, I wasn't inspired at all so I didn't do anything sewing wise. Then the rest of August happened, during which I learned/applied new skills, and submitted my letter of resignation to my current employer, thus solving my issue of what to about work shirts. No, I didn't quit because of work shirts, in all honesty it is just my time to leave and start something new.

The whole thing is bittersweet, I'm happy because I'll have a career rather than just a job in a mall, but I am kind of down that I'll no longer be working with a bunch of really great people.

Anyways back to Self-Stitched September. I woke up today, not with S.S.S. on my mind, but with thoughts of my first ever business meeting floating around in my head. It wasn't until half way through getting dressed that I realized what I had to do. At least it wasn't a formal business meeting, I'd like to call it semi-business casual at its finest.

What I Wore:

Shirt: Banana Republic(thrifted)

Shorts: Refashioned

Bracelet and Necklace: Made by me

Underwear(not shown): Made by me


Close up of necklace

That's everything, I plan to post every couple of days with what I've worn this month, and perhaps finish up a few things that have been tucked away in my sewing corner. But for now, it's time for coffee.

it was a day of firsts

2010-07-30T20:29:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back I went to visit my family and see the first of my childhood friends get married (She looked gorgeous!). I'm still finding it hard to fathom that we are actually adults now, and that our 10 year high school reunion is only a year and a half away.

It was my first time wearing heels much higher than 1 inch. Technically they were wedges but still, they count in my book.

Ah yes, and it was my first time wearing a dress since 5th grade. My friends didn't even recognize me when I came running up to them outside the church.

That dress was the first dress I have made in my life. I used simplicity 2406 and made the closed back version of it sans pockets. When this pattern came out, I knew I had to have it if only for the sleeves.

The fabric I used was a cotton/poly stretch twill that I picked up from Joann's, sure I didn't have the greatest selection to choose from but at least I could touch and see the actual fabric. I personally have bad luck when it comes to online fabric shopping, I chalk it up to lack of fabric buying experience which I vow to work on.

Back- Take 1

I was slightly worried about under taking this project for two reasons. One, I'm really not a dress person and I find it really hard to visualize things like this on myself. Two, I doubted my ability to actually create something nice enough for such a special occasion.

I went ahead and checked out all the reviews on pattern review. The one thing that every one seemed to mention were the directions for making the sleeves. Taking that information, I sat down one night and read the sleeve directions about 10 times, made my muslin and jotted down notes to help myself out along the way.
Once I figured out the sleeves, everything else just came together.

Well, almost everything, I didn't mention that this was my first time inserting an invisible zipper. I tried to put it in by machine three times, but ended up with puckers every time. So I did what anybody would do, popped on Bright Star (followed by Zombieland) and hand stitched the 16 inch zipper into my dress.

Back- Take two, the back facing was tacked down after this was shot

I am quite happy to say that the dress held up well, even with my 3, possibly 4 hours on the dance floor.

Front- I still need to work on standing like a lady

In action!

So yes, that is my first ever foray into dressmaking and it turned out well in my opinion. I will probably never make this dress again, but I would love to make a tunic length top from it at some point.

That is it for now, hopefully I'll be posting a smidge more often, but I make no promises.

Not much sewing going on...

2010-07-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

except for this little thing, which will be fully completed tonight or tomorrow. More details and pictures (with accurate color) eventually

Quickie

2010-04-24T12:34:00.000-04:00

Simplicity 2560...what can I say. It was quick, it was easy and I'll probably make it again at some point.

I made view A, but used the cutting line of view D for the sleeves. The fabric I used was picked up from the local Goodwill, I believe I got at least 3 yards of it for 99 cents on two color Tuesday. It is a very light weight knit jersey with clear sequins(not a whole bunch but enough). To be honest I didn't notice the sequins until I got the fabric home and I was a tad put off on the fabric when I discovered them. I figured I'd use it to test out the pattern, but after trying it on I am in love with it.

{Simplicity 2560}

The sequins are more subtle than I originally thought and as long as I pair it with more neutral pieces I think I can get a lot of daytime wear out of it.
Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with the remaining yardage.

Oh how I love thee Christmas Tree Shop

2010-04-16T12:30:00.000-04:00

I arrived at my place place of employment early yesterday, so I decided to walk around the nearby Christmas Tree Shop store to kill some time. I picked up some awesome nail polish and strolled around the book section. Imagine my surprise when I spotted this book on the shelf with the price tag of $3.99.

A few months back I looked it over in Barnes & Nobles and put it back. There are some nice pieces in it and the software that comes with it allows you to input your own measurements for a customized pattern, but I could not justify buying it at the time. Into the basket it went, it was then joined by this book with the price tag of $1.99

I consider the BBC version of What Not to Wear to be vastly superior to the American version of the show. It really all boils down to the hosts, I find Trinny and Susannah to be more likable than Clinton and Stacey, simple as that. The fashions book may be slightly dated(especially the trendy pieces) but still gives some solid advice on dressing well. Gotta love unexpected bargains.

Once upon a time

2010-04-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

We all know this story, once upon a time I wrote a post promising pictures of some recently finished projects. Then life got busy the way life typically does, I was forced to choose between sewing and posting. I chose to sew. Now things have slowed down a bit, so I figure I can start working on posting some of my completed projects.

I used Simplicity 2594 view A, but opted not to make the tie due to the busy print of the purple paisley fabric that I chose. Instead I figured I can use my one and only wide belt to cinch in the waist.

{Unbelted}

{Belted Front}

{Belted Back View}

The pattern came together quickly, instructions were easy to follow. I cut a size 10 for the top and graded out to a 12 from the waist down.

One shirt down, four more to go. I hope to post those all by the end of April, but I think we know how that goes. For now I'll leave you with a picture of Gatsby, the laziest bunny in the Capitol District.

Still Kicking

2010-03-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

First off I want to say that it has been so freaking beautiful outside for the past week and I love it. This early spring weather has most certainly helped motivate me to start thinking about spring/ summer wardrobe pieces that I would like to make.

The last time I posted I was venting slightly about my wrinkly fitting pants. Since then I have picked up Palmer and Alto's Pants for Real People and have spent many nights since trying to absorb all of the fitting knowledge that it contains before I start another pair of pants. That being said I have been able to accomplish quite a bit of sewing these past few weeks- 4shirts woohoo! Of course I still need pictures for three of the four shirts but that is besides the point.

The first shirt I made was simplicity 3789 view B. I had been very intimidated by this pattern ever since I picked it up last spring...I mean come on it has a collar and buttons.

I wanted to play it safe and make a muslin out of a lightweight bed sheet before using any of my nicer fabric. The shirt, to my surprise, was relatively easy to make. The instructions for the button placket required a few re-re-readings but I eventually caught on. I made a size 14 according to my bust measurement and it turned out to be somewhat roomy, next time I think I will make a 12.

{Front}

In addition to going down a size I would like to bring the shoulder line in a bit so that it rests on my shoulder at the pivot point rather than at the end of my shoulder. I have a feeling if I do that that I'll look a little less linebacker-y.

{Back}

By next week hope to have pictures of the other shirts I have made, but I make no promises. If I still have my sewing mojo intact after a week of working for the man I'm going to focus on production rather than pictures.

Oh crud...

2010-02-17T21:47:00.001-05:00

It has taken me one week to write this post about my first completed attempt to make real pants, and I think I'm going to use the word "crotch" as many times as I possibly can because I find it to be a fun word. Here we go!

What I wouldn't give for a well fitting pair of pants, a pair that doesn't require constant tugging at the belt loops (despite wearing a belt) to prevent the waistband of my medium rise pants from slipping half way down my rear and simultaneously thwart the crotch seam's attempt to migrate down to my knees. I live my life in pants and I spend it constantly tugging and pulling and readjusting. Sitting down is the worst thing ever, it requires holding on to the waistband while descending, if I don't do this the waistband slips down and once seated the crotch seam will have migrated 2 inches down from were it should be leaving me with all this fabric just stretched out across across my lap. It's not a pretty picture but it is what it is. With that being said I set about to make my first real pair of pants, well at least a muslin.

The pattern: Simplicity 3850, View A. In retrospect perhaps this style wasn't best suited for my figure, but I loved a lot of the project photos that reviewers had posted on pattern review...I just couldn't help myself.

The pants came together fairly easily, some issues with the fly front zipper but I stuck with it and eventually I got it.I finished them about a week ago and was admiring them in the mirror, I acknowledged that there were some flaws but that is what a muslin is for right? Then I saw the pictures and my bubble burst.Every wrinkle, every flaw hit me at once. I have front crotch wrinkles, under-butt wrinkles, extra fabric pooling right above my butt and very little clue as to where to begin fixing these flaws.And the crotch seam, don't get me started on the crotch seam, I hate the crotch seam.

Still I am determined to find my fit, from what I've gathered there are a few possible alterations I could make.

The first one being a full front thigh adjustment, what can I say? I have muscular thighs that will come in handy when the zombie apocalypse eventually comes. As you can see in the diagram below, the front of my thigh extends past the crotch line which could possibly lead to pulling and whatnot in the front.

The second adjustment I've been pondering is a full inner thigh adjustment. I'm leaning towards this one, I know that much of my RTW pant frustration stems from the fact that I have to buy pants to fit my thighs.Perhaps the wrinkles pictured below have been caused by my fabric stealing inner thighs. Unfortunately I just don't know, and there is only so much internet research I can do before getting all head-achy.

So that is were I am, I'm planning on purchasing Pants for Real People: Fit and Sew for Any Body by Palmer and Alto in the next few days and I will continue my horrible new habit of glancing at the crotches of strangers to see what wrinkles and imperfections they have until the book arrives.

I know won't be able to achieve perfect pants right away but I'm willing to invest some serious time and effort into, because if I leave it up to RTW, I will be 80 years old with my crotch seam hanging down around my calves.

Its 2010, where is my robot?!

2010-01-05T21:14:00.001-05:00

This is one of those obligatory New Years resolution posts, nothing major, nothing ground breaking.

To start it off I'll post the unfinished garment that made me feel the need to make said resolutions.

Pattern: Simplicity 4076 - View E

Status: unfinished, unwanted

When buying and choosing fabrics I will take into consideration that I am a 25 year old woman, not a 15 year old girl. I like bright colors and loud prints, but this is just a bit too much.
Though I don't plan on purchasing tons of fabric this year, I promise to purchase better quality fabric when I do. I purchased this fabric about two years ago from fabric.com, I'm pretty sure it was from the "everything under $1.95" section. At least it feels like it was from the 1.95 section.
When choosing a pattern I will try to base my decision on what suits my figure, my taste, and my lifestyle. I originally picked up this pattern for the faux-wrap top (views A & B) which I loved. This top was really made out of curiosity about the construction of the twist, I never thought about the fact that I wouldn't wear it due to several factors:

The shirt hits a little too high for me.What can I say? I have a long torso and I like to keep my backside covered. I added an inch in length to the pattern anticipating this problem and still it is too short.

The deep neck line- I don't really show off "the girls" that much. I'm just more comfortable that way. I knew from the envelope that this shirt had a deeper neckline than I'd like, but still I made the top not taking my personal preferences into account.

Those damn bell sleeves- I took an inch off the bell and it is still way too much.

4. Finish what I start. Honestly I do not plan on finishing this particular garment due to my dislike for it. That being said this year I hope to finish more of the projects that I start or have previously started but since lost interest.

Happy New year and until next time, take care.

Back again

2009-12-06T10:26:00.007-05:00

Once again I am back after a brief hiatus. November marked the start of the Christmas season at the studio so I've been working a bunch. Add to that a malfunctioning computer that I ended up having to reformat, and the cold that EVERYONE in the studio has had at some point, and there is how I spent my November. I did manage to squeak out a project though.

Craftster is/was running a challenge where one was to go to a thrift store, find something that would normally be passed over due to its ugliness, and give it a new life by turning it into something awesome. Total project cost was to be under 20 dollars. I was intrigued by the contest, at the time I wasn't sewing much other than hems and minor repairs, I felt like I was in a rut why not give it a try.

I managed to sneak a two hour long visit to the local goodwill one day after work. I found my ugly item fairly quickly, at first I thought it was beyond hope. It was a 100% acrylic sweater dress from the 80s with fabric accents that were poorly sewn on. I put it back on the rack and continued perusing the store, but I keep looking back at the rack holding my breath anytime someone was looking through the rack. In the end it had to be mine. I brought it up to the cashier and we had a good laugh about it after I explained why I was purchasing it and headed home, total price paid: 4.99. The rest of the evening was spent brainstorming ideas.

{before}

I kept coming back to the idea of a motorcycle jacket inspired cardigan. There was just something about the diagonal line of black ribbing on the dress that reminded me of the typical biker jacket. So I went for it. Armed with fray check, double fold bias tape, a really long zipper, and my seam ripper I went to work. Due to time contraints I worked on it about 30 minutes each night, I like to think my mood dramatically improved because of my nightly sewing.

{Gatsby inspects my progress -all pins were removed for his safety}

Lots of pre-planning, basting, machine and hand sewing later I ended up with this.

{after}

The collar overlaps in the front and has a snap closure, the button is merely decorative. Please excuse my weird hand placement...I don't know. Anyways, once the collar is undone the sweater can be unzipped.

{zipper action shot!}

So there it is, win or lose I had a lot of fun during the whole process and I got out of my sewing rut and that is truly what matters. If you want to see the other entries into the contest here is the link.

When the workplace and hobbies collide

2009-10-20T13:21:00.009-04:00

I recently got the chance to use my knitting skills for a projects at work. During one of our slow days my manager and I were talking about ideas for photos. She said "I really want hats for infants" and showed me a few pictures of what she had in mind. Almost immediately I offered up my services. Two days later I had these...

Originally my manager had asked for a gender neutral infant sized hat, but that plan had to be scratched. When I went home and looked at my inventory there was little in the way of gender neutral yarns that I thought would photograph well and/or was willing to part with. In the end I decided to forgo neutrality in favor of vibrant colors and fantastic textures.

The first hat is made from Moda Dea's "Cache" (2355 siren). I whipped it up on size 8 dpns, guessed the amount of stitches that needed to be cast on and was actually correct on the first go, . I then proceeded to K1,P1 in the round until it measured 5 inches in length. I used the ever so handy kitchener stitch to bind off then sewed my fun and sassy tassles on . Can I just say how much I love the texture of this yarn when its all knit up?

Hat #2 was also worked up on size 8 using Lion brand suede yarn in teal (the darker blue), and mystery yarn puchased from goodwill several years ago. Same process as the hat before, only the ribbing on this hat is K2,P2 and has pom poms rather than tassles.

So far I've only seen the pink hat in action and it looks great against our brown minky baby blanket, once halloween is over and people start wanting winter pictures, they'll probably get more use. Just wait till the matching scarves are finished!

A few days after bringing them in I was asked by a coworker if it would be possble to knit hats for all their family members. They understand the specialness of a hand knit hat and are willing to pay actual money for it so yay!

Did you know its September?

2009-09-30T11:36:00.008-04:00

This month has really flown by for me which is why I haven't updated anything until now. The first week or so I was pretty much at work. Then came Byron and Gatsby's big day, they got neutered! They had a skirmish in August which surprised and terrified me, leading to their immediate separation. Gatsby became territorial and developed a bad habit of marking near Byron's cage much to my dismay. I was upset with myself for putting off the neuter for so long that it had escalated to the point of having to keep them separated. Watching them look at each other through cage bars longingly was hard, but I knew that I couldn't let them play together due to their raging and unpredictable bunny hormones.

I went into nurse mode for about a week making sure my boys were comfortable and happy. Yesterday was their two week post surgical exam. The vet said they were fully healed and looking quite nice, though we are concerned with the weight that they put on during the two weeks since the operation (Byron put on 6 ozs !). All in all life is now back to normal, possibly a little better. Since the neuter Gatsby has not sprayed one bit- that alone is well worth the money spent, liter box habits have improved on the whole, and I think they're starting to like each other again. In another couple of weeks the boyfriend and I plan on reintroducing them and seeing if they can forgive and forget.

On the craft front I've been fairly productive as well. I have finally managed to tame the beast known as yeast and produced some fantastic cinnamon rolls. Truth be told I went a little overboard on the filling, but that's okay in my opinion. I want to make these again when my mom and sister come to visit later in October. This time around I want to incorporate pumpkin into the recipe somehow to add some seasonal flavor to these babies. Mmmm. So keep an eye out for that next month, I'll provide a link to the original recipe as well.

I managed to start and almost finish knitting another hat using the knitty foliage pattern that I adore. When I say almost finish, I mean I need to redo the cast off due to it being super tight, which means I have to find my handy dandy crochet hook which I packed up last year at this time and have not seen since moving.

In true pro-craft-ination style I also have started and almost finished making a new purse. All that is left to do is stitch around the opening of the bag... give me another two weeks and that should be done hehe.

On a final note I have also been working on my side project which I've been promising to reveal for over a month. Though I doubt people have been clamoring to find out what it is I've been working on, I think the time is drawing near to reveal it. Not today, but soonish.

That is all for now, enjoy the rest of September!

Finished

2009-08-03T15:05:00.004-04:00

In my last post I showed off my semi-completed Christmas present, now I am quite proud to show off the finished ornament.

The back is just red fabric from a t-shirt that I have had tucked away in my fabric drawers, the green ribbon I picked up from one of my local dollar stores that has a phenomenal craft section.

{side view}

One present down, so many more to go...

Thinking ahead

2009-07-30T12:52:00.003-04:00

July is almost over and I've been working on finishing up a Christmas gift for my mom. Now, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think she'll love it.
I would like to think the reason I was able to have such a good relationship with my mom while growing up was our mutual love of horror movies. Specifically those of the zombie genre. At a time where most teens would do anything and everything to stay away from their parents, I was spending time with my mom analyzing the social commentary in Romero's zombie pics. It made sense that I try to capture that bond in ornament form for my zombie loving, ornament collecting mom. That is when the idea of a decapitated zombie hand holding mistletoe came to mind.

I began by sketching out my idea, using my own non-decapitated hand for a model, researching what mistletoe looked like, improving the rest. I finished the outline in January, but put it aside afterward due to embroidery burn out (see Christmas in July post). Now after picking it up again last week I have this.

{picture was taken sideways... too lazy to fix)

For the mistletoe I used white glass cats eye beads that I picked up from Joann's. I liked adding that tiny three dimensional detail.

{Up close detail picture}

{Angled view of hand}

Now all that is left is to sew it up and give it to her. I'm thinking I'll give it to her around thanksgiving so it can go up on the tree.

Christmas in July

2009-07-16T19:54:00.008-04:00

While at my parents I was finally about to take a picture of my first and only embroidered work. It was a gift to my mom for Christmas. The subject is our family's canine companion, Dylan, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

{Dylan}

After seeing this post on the Craftzine blog I felt strangely compelled to try my hand at embroidering. I don't know why I decided to start this ambitious project two weeks before Christmas, but I did. I finished it in early January right before my holiday visit. I don't remember the exact measurements, but it is pictured in an 8X10 frame.

{click picture for a much larger view}

At some point in the next couple of months I wouldn't mind trying embroidering again. I'm thinking more line work and less filling in this time around. I guess we will see what this Christmas brings.

Back

2009-07-16T08:53:00.004-04:00

Like the title says, I'm back from my weekend with the parents. It was a good visit, a bit short, but good.
I got to go to Corn hill opening day, we got there nice and early to avoid the crowd and potential thunderstorms.

The vendors, as always, were great, I wish I had more money and more room in my suitcase. Sadly due to the chance of thunderstorms I decided to focus on perusing the booths, rather than taking pictures. I also felt kind of weird taking pictures of booths especially if I did n0t purchase anything from the vendor. So instead I'll be sharing some pictures of the general neighborhood.

We arrived at about 9 am walked around, made our purchases, then headed to the absolute best food vendor who's name escapes me. It's a tradition, we have to eat there, we have to enjoy our "artichokes french". Artichokes dredged in flour, sauteed in butter with lemon juice and garlic, topped with Parmesan cheese and bread (for soaking up the butter). It's a good thing they only come around once a year, or else I would have had a heart attack by now.

I wish it had been a better day, we could have spent more time walking around, maybe next year. At least we left before the torrential downpour, I can't imagine how the vendors coped with it. The next day was gorgeous, of course, but I had a train to catch. I'm hoping to find something similar in my area this summer, anyone know of such things in the Albany area?

Simplicity 2804- I feel like Batgirl

2009-06-15T18:01:00.006-04:00

Can I get a "Da na na na na na Batgirl!" I recently decided to make Simplicity 2804 view c out of some left over dollar a yard fabric that I used in a previous project.

I had very high hopes that this project that I started on a whim could possibly lead to a nice summer shirt for work. From what I have heard form others it gets unbearably hot in the studio over summer, Simplicity 2804 seemed to be a nice solution with its breezy dolman style sleeves. The pattern was easy enough, a front piece, back piece, neck band, waist band, I cut everything out and sewed it up in a span of 5 hours with multiple breaks for eating and watching Across the Universe.

Then I tried it on, like the title of the post says, I felt like bat girl. Not only that, but a stumpy bat girl.

As you can see by the picture above I probably wasn't wearing the best pants for the outfit, I just happened to have them on when I finished. It wasn't until today when I tried them on with a pair of straight leg jeans(which I've worn two times counting today) that I realized the shirt wasn't a complete wadder.

I played around in photoshop to show a comparison of the shirt with my flood pants vs jeans + strappy sandals. The photos could be better, but my camera was running low on battery so I'm short on pictures. I wish I had more shots that actually show off the shirt but oh well, maybe another time.

Proportions...wow, always knew about them, but I've never really taken the time to experiment/visually document it until today. I think I'll be paying more attention to this now that I've actually seen it in action.

Heads Up

2009-06-14T17:35:00.001-04:00

A quick little post about a cute new accessory of mine. If you noticed, I've chopped off a lot of my hair, at least 6 inches, which leaves me in dire need of something to control my no longer weighted down locks. I managed to whip this up one day before an evening shift at the studio basing it off of a head band I bought at H&M a few years ago but can no longer find.

I loved the bright cheery yellow plaid, so summery, so perfect, well almost. It needed something... buttons!

Red and blue buttons placed on the right side of the headband with one cutesy blue button with a smiling yellow airplane (which you can't really see in the photo). Hey, I work with primarily kids at the studio so I'm allowed to let my inner child express itself sometimes.

Its funny how memory works...

2009-05-10T19:19:00.006-04:00

I distinctly remember coming home from work one night in March, eating a gigantic bowl of mac & cheese, and then set about cutting out pieces for my hopefully wearable muslin of simplicity 4076. After reading so many great reviews on it I decided I had to give it a try. Despite my eagerness, I got sidetracked with work and life. The pieces sat on my table for close to two months. Earlier this week I sat down in front of my sewing machine and bam, I got my groove back.

I made view b, the wrap top with short sleeves. My only issues are:
(1) I feel the non-gathered side feels a little looser than it should be
(2) I would add about two inches of length in the torso to prevent unnecessary exposure of my midriff.
(3) the neck line stick out a bit, but I think I'm at fault on that one.

Other than that I think it looks pretty good for a project that was almost forgotten.

{front}

{back and poor posture}

{side}

Thanks for looking

(p.s) I hope every one called their moms, or mother figures, today and wished them a happy Mother's Day

The wheels are turning

2009-05-01T13:47:00.004-04:00

I've been off for the past two days and have been trolling about various sites, getting ideas, then falling asleep on the couch. Next week I have a bunch of time off as well so I'm hoping that I can avoid the couch and actually be somewhat productive, rather than just thinking about doing it. That's about it for now, I will leave you with some pictures of my buns.

{Byron chinning some cardboard)

{Formerly the unamed bun, now known as Gatsby}

Phew

2009-04-15T14:39:00.005-04:00

The Easter picture season is all done and over and I am overjoyed. Now I can get back to working on my own projects.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce two new members of the family. A little back story first.

For the past 5 weeks or so the studio where I work had Easter bunnies available for pictures. Horrible idea, kids and bunnies are not generally a good mix especially if you throw in an inattentive parent who lets their kid run wild with little to no discipline. If the job market wasn't so bad I would have quit due to this gross exploitation of these gentle creatures. I stuck it out though, became super protective of the little guys, educated parents and children about proper handling and care of rabbits. Then the night before Easter finally came came, marking their retirement and the beginning of a better life with me and the boy.

{Helping the boyfriend fix the cage}

We are working on renaming them at the moment. I like to think of it as a witness protection program for rabbits.

{The unnamed bun}

{Sir Byron Bunnicula VonBunnington}

They seem pretty happy with their new, quite, child free environment. Took them to the vets today to make sure they're in good health, which they are. Talked to the vet about getting them neutered, got an estimate which made me cringe and I am now in the process of trying to figure out a way to afford the cost of the surgeries. I'll make sure it gets done, it just may take a bit longer than I had originally expected. At least they're happier now and I no longer worry about how they're being treated when I'm not around.

{The End}

You know...

2009-03-02T12:47:00.003-05:00

All this work is cramping my style.

That's about all I have to say. No real progress has been made since my last post due to my recent surge in work hours and it seems like that will be the trend until Easter. I guess it's a good thing, I'll have rent money at least.

Oh well.

Pleats me

2009-02-21T20:21:00.004-05:00

For your viewing pleasure I now present you new look 6868 - a work in progress. No before pictures, sorry :(

{Tie Detail}

Last post I was complaining about my latest project and the sack like qualities it had. I didn't want to have this project turn out as a bust, so all I could do was try to make it work.

I deemed the problem to be the mid weight fabric I was using. The pleats at the collar just weren't laying down as nicely as I would have hoped for. After doing some general fussing around in the mirror I decided to sew those suckers down. A second later I had tossed the shirt on my home made dress form and began basting the pleats in place, down to about my waist. I tried on the shirt again and it seems to have made quite the difference in the fit of the shirt. However, I think I need to continue the pleats further down on the shirt due to their extreme puffiness.

{ Far away}

{Close up puffiness and loose threads}

It is starting to look more presentable, looks much better on me than on my dress form, but it still needs more work.

*sigh*...

New shirt or bust?

2009-02-20T17:24:00.004-05:00

As I am posting this I'm in the process of making my new shirt for work, work for me. When I first thought about making some shirts from work I was thinking about using some knit fabric that I had with simplicity 3790. Later I remembered that fabric had been set aside for a specific non-sewing related purpose. No sweat I thought, I'll just use some different fabric and pattern. The pattern I used was New Look 6868 view D.

Initially I was really drawn to the tie detail. However, after completing it I was left with a big sack like shirt that had a tie.

{Artist's Rendition}

The fabric that I used was a mid-weight cotton blend, which I think attributed to the sack like look of the shirt. The pleats along the collar don't drape as nicely as they should. So here I am, taking a brief break from my attempt to restyle this shirt. So much for having a new work shirt for tomorrow, maybe later in the week.

Now for something completely different

2009-02-19T12:27:00.004-05:00

I've been seeing this quiz posted a lot so I figured why not jump on the band wagon.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure

I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this

Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit

Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally

Ask me questions to help me get clear

Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery

Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings

I like a good discussion but not a confrontation

Let me know you like what I've done or said

Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

being nonjudgmental and accepting

caring for and being concerned about others

being able to relax and have a good time

knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around

my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator

my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now

being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive

being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline

being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally

being confused about what I really want

caring too much about what others will think of me

not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant

tune out a lot, especially when others argue

are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

are supportive, kind, and warm

are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

For a two question quiz its not bad, I can't really argue with the results with the exception of

* Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery

I don't know how to handle compliments on my personal looks, so I'd prefer not to get any at all, especially comments from strangers at the bus stop. However, feel free to compliment what I'm wearing if it's something I made.

In sewing news I've cut out the pieces for my new work shirt and did some prep work (basting) yesterday night. I changed my mind as to the pattern I was going to use, but I'll post my reasons why in my next post.

That is all for now, take care

Mini vacation plans

2009-02-17T11:48:00.005-05:00

Today is the first of my four days off from work, which is music to my ears and sewing machine. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy working at the portrait studio, but Valentines day was ridiculously busy and left me longing for some nice, personal, quite time at home.

So what to do? My main goal for this mini vacation is to make a shirt for work, most likely using simplicity 3790 since it comes together so quickly and easily. No interesting fabric choices, just some stretchy knit black fabric that will suit the studio's dress code and cover my backside while bending over.

Lately I've really been aching to show off what I can do, what I can create. I love being asked, "where did you get that" and being able to proudly respond "I made it". It's the best ego boost ever. A co-worker recently complimented me on one of my fabric cuffs and suggested selling them. Oh if only...

I can't deny that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, or that I've designed logos and such for my potential entrepreneurial endeavor. It's just that there is a lot of paperwork and legal things that need to be considered beforehand. It takes time and money, both of which I seem to be lacking an excess of.

Ah, to dream

{ The Complimented Cuff}

Spring fever

2009-02-11T11:47:00.008-05:00

It's over 50 degrees here today, yay!

I doubt this nice weather will last much longer, but it is helping fuel my need to sew, specifically my need to sew new spring/summer clothes. A recent visit to my fabric collection unearthed about three yards of this black fabric with white floral silhouettes and plenty of stretch. I don't remember where it came from, but I do remember it being quite the deal. It didn't take too much time for inspiration to hit. Using simplicity 2852 view c, I was able to make this sweet little tank top/tunic with a bubble hem.

{front}

This top came together pretty quickly. I did most of the prep work the night before (cut out pattern pieces, fabric, applied interfacing, all that good stuff) and was able to sew this up in a an afternoon.

{back}

After seeing the pictures I will be looking at the actual garment to see is one shoulder is longer than the other, or if is just my typical schlumpy way of standing that is making it appear that way.

Thats about it for now, I just want to go outside today and take advantage of this early spring-like weather before it's gone.

Toodles

In Remembrance

2009-02-07T11:03:00.008-05:00

No crafting updates today, instead I would like to take some time to pay tribute to a very near and dear animal companion, Ron T. Hamster, who passed yesterday.

Now most people might say "its just a hamster", but Ron was more than that, he was a mascot for the apartment, an escape artist, and a friend. He was with us for two years, and I like to think that he had a good time with us. He loved to go and ball around the apartment, following us around and knocking into our ankles, just to let his presence be known.

{Ball-ing}

He was a friendly hamster who loved attention, and would scratch and gnaw at his cage whenever we had company over so he could come out and say "hello".

He was never a biter, sometimes a nibbler, he just loved coming out and spending time with us.

So here's to you Ron, we will miss hearing your late night runs in the wheel as we get ready for bed, the sight of your cheeks all puffed out after diving into a fresh bowl of food, your love of healthy bites.

We hope wherever you are now, that you are feeling better, and that there is an unlimited supply of food without corn kernels (we know how much you hate them).

We love you and we miss you little buddy.
You'll always be our "Ham-Star".

See my vest!

2009-02-04T17:45:00.007-05:00

It's done, it's complete, it's snazzy, it's my vest. Using simplicity 4079, I made view E, minus the false pocket flaps and ties in back. The pattern wasn't very complicated, the most frustrating thing about the whole project was being bounced around while reading the instructions, a big focus breaker for me.

I think if I were to make this again I'd make my own straightforward list of instructions prior to even cutting out the fabric in order to save time and patience. After trying on the finished vest I would consider making it a size smaller, as its just a bit too roomy for me.

Now on to the pictures.

First up is a shot of the lining (which I'm still amazed I made). All in all it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The process of finishing the vest required that I learn the slip stitch in order to finish the lining. I'm debating top stitching along the edge of the vest due to poofyness that occurs around the shoulders and bottom of the vest while being worn.

{Side View}

{Princess Seam}

{Front Open}

{Back}

It looks uneven in the picture, but I'm actually just twisting slightly.

{Picture of my background for part of the shoot}

January equals loss of sewing mojo

2009-02-02T12:10:00.007-05:00

The title says it all. January was an uninspired month fueled by a lack of hours at my current job and fruitless search for a 2nd job. My days were spent staring at numerous job posting sites, and my evenings consisted of an anxious/uneasy feeling mixed with moderate amounts of self loathing.

January sucked.

There was a silver lining though, the last week of January I found out that I would be getting hours next month. I was nursing my job search bruised ego that last week, reading the craftster forums and exploring new and uncharted territories in blog land. And then it happened, I found inspiration.

This woman is amazing, her name is Carolyn and I've been addicted to her blog for the past few days, devouring her extensive blog archives, taking notes on techniques, and coveting her fabric collection. I highly recommend Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. I felt invigorated reading her blog, ready to take on new challenges, and so it began.

What to make though? I had a few things in mind before my January blues kicked in, so I did a little research on pattern review, and decided on making Simplicity 4079, a very at the moment hip and trendy lined vest.

I was lost in some sort of fantastical sewing trance all day Saturday and managed to cut, everything out, and assemble the majority of the vest, pressing every seam not once, but twice. I love the lining I can't believe I made it, its that amazing. Pictures will come but not today as I hope to finish the vest some time tomorrow, and I have an awful lot of slip stitching to do if I'm going to reach that goal.

I gots mad skillz

2009-01-16T17:45:00.006-05:00

Lately I've been working on honing a few skills before I tackle my next pattern project, mainly my button hole making skills. There have been a few semi successful attempts in the past, but I figure a little practice couldn't hurt. At first I was practicing with scraps, but I figured why not try to make something useful in the process. After a little brainstorming and an afternoon all by myself this adorable plaid cuff is what I came up with.

{ All done up}

{Stretched out}

In hindsight I think I should have made the button holes a tad bit bigger, I've already stretched them out by constantly taking it on and off. Other than that they've held up quite well. As for design aspects of the cuff I kind of went wild with the sewing machine and made a neat loop-de-loo design just for fun. I definitely had fun making it and I can see making a few more in the not to distant future.

I would also like to point out that I'm trying my best to work on delivering better quality pics (through better camera work and digital editing). What can I say? I've been working at a portrait studio for the past three months, something was bound to rub off on me.

oh well

2009-01-15T14:18:00.004-05:00

I promised a while back that I would post pictures of what I made for Christmas, not everything has gone according to plan though. Long story short, I ran out of time to make a knit hat for my sister, so I got her a book on digital photography. My parent got her a camera that she is in love with but doesn't fully grasp the technical aspects of it, here's hoping she'll crack it open and learn from it. My mom's present I managed to finish the night before going to visit, however in all the craziness of wrapping and packing, I forgot to take pictures (as well as to bring my camera for the visit itself). The only finished picture I have is that from my camera phone, and I'm not paying 50 cents to post some crappy camera phone image on my blog. My sister took some pictures, but I don't know when those will be sent to me (if they're sent to me), so for now here are a few in progress pictures. The finished embroidery was about 7 inches long, and about 5 1/2 inches tall, its a portrait of our family's animal companion, a welsh corgi named Dylan. Please excuse the blue markings, its just water soluble pen that I used to sketch out the outline.

{Close up}

{From a distance, ignore the pink flower I was experimenting}

As for my dad (AKA: the hardest person to shop/craft for on earth) I was quite fortunate one night while trolling around on etsy to come upon the greatest t-shirt ever for my father the ex-utica resident. I figured, at least its something handmade that he'll really enjoy, rather than the typical store bought gadgets that he might use. Of course I decide to order it like two days before my trip, no way on earth could it have gotten here in time, but when I showed my mom a picture she broke out in a fit of laughter. Dad decided he would rather wait and be surprised. I'm not sure what the legalities of posting a picture of the item is so I'm just going to leave links for now. The seller was great, I highly recommend GossipGossip, my order was here within four days, and it looked great, lets hope dad enjoys it as much as I do.

First post of the year

2009-01-04T14:48:00.008-05:00

Well I'm going to kick off the new year with a post about things I made last year that I haven't posted. A while back I picked up five simplicity patterns at Jo-Ann's for a dollar each (woohoo savings!). Last week I actually decided to use one of them in order to use up some stretchy thermal fabric that I recently acquired. After much deliberation I decided to use simplicity 3790 (View A).

So I took my measurements, compared it to the sizes, cut everything out and did all that good stuff. The one change I made while doing this was to forgo putting in the inset piece in order to achieve more versatile looks with the shirt.

All in all its a really simple pattern, no confusion whatsoever, but lord almighty this thing was HUGE. I mean, it fits in the sense that its not falling off of me, but its bigger than I would like ideally.

Now before I show you the shirt I'm going to flaunt my fabric choice which the BF has deemed classically unsophisticated (he meant in in a good way). The moment I saw this fabric the inner child in me was awakened and demanded that I buy a whole bunch of this fabric. And I did. Pictures do not do the colors justice. The yellow own is more lemon-lime neon in person.

Now for the shirt, please forgive my "modeling"

So its big, but its not bad. Once I make a sash type of belt to go with it I can see myself wearing it a whole bunch.

I wanted to give this pattern another go taking into account what I now know about the sizing of the actual pattern. I made View B (3 sizes smaller) from the pattern using this awesome moose/outdoorsy type of print- again, I left out the inset.

Next time I take pictures of something I've made, I'll make sure to straighten everything out a bit more. The bottom band appears to be traveling upwards in these pictures due to stretching and running around.

Well that is all for now, hopefully I'll be posting finished x-mas projects soon so stay tuned.

X-mas gifts given

2008-12-28T22:13:00.006-05:00

Last post I said I would show off what I've made for others this Christmas... after posting it dawned upon me that I have not yet finished what I'm giving my family for Christmas yet. Its okay though, I have until the 9th when I see them to craft my little heart out. My work hours have also drastically been reduced which really frees up some time (I'm trying to be positive about this). Anyways here is a look at some pajama pants I made.

Wonderful, warm, snuggle-y, super easy to make pajama pants. That's what the boyfriend got. I used the same pattern as the first pair I made a while back, but added pockets as per his request. The first pair is made out of cotton flannel with a dartboard print and gray fleece stripes, which were added once I realized the cotton flannel fabric I had was not wide enough to fit the pattern on. Not too bad all in all, but I must say, the next pair my personal favorite.

This pair was made out of artic fleece fabric and has the the most AWESOME hand shaped pockets. Now The hand shapped pocket may be of no valuable use to the boyfriend, but for me they are the perfect place to put my hands whenever they're cold or just looking for attention.

Thanks for looking

Christmas Loot

2008-12-27T12:16:00.004-05:00

I do have a few pictures of what I've made others for x-mas, but instead of posting those today I'm going to show off the recent donation to my ever growing fabric stash. My boyfriend's mother is a very crafty lady who was looking to narrow down her own craft stash in order to be more productive/less overwhelmed. I only made a slight dent in her fabric stash, but every little bit helps right? Now on to the pictures!

{Bias Tape and More}

{Fabrics}

The white fabric that everything is piled on top of has this great lace edging. I definitely want to make a spring/summer skirt out of it, possibly dye it. I'm picturing a gradient kind of effect... but I digress.

{Buttons}

A great assortment of old buttons that have been collected over many years. One particular set of buttons intrigued me to the point where I actually looked them up.

This is the best picture I could get of these buttons. They have the state shield of New Hampshire on the front, and have "Scoville MFG Co. Waterbury" imprinted on the back. After some research I found out that they are militia buttons, however I haven't been able to date them. At this point I'm pretty sure they're not from the civil war era like others that I saw in my search, but still its pretty cool. I'm going to hold off on using these until I know exactly what I have, and I let the BF's mom know as well.

That is all I have to share for now, I'll post x-mas gifts at some point in the nearby future. Until then, happy holidays

One more time

2008-12-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

To be honest I wasn't completely satisfied with the card I made before hand, mainly because I had deviated from my general winter holiday theme. So last night I gave it another go and this is
what I came up with:

I'll most likely play around some more with the text placement, but for now this is the general idea I had in mind. Please, if your reading this, feel free to add constructive criticism.

Tis' the season pt.2

2008-12-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is the finished(?) product...I think.

I'll take another look tomorrow and decide.

Tis' the season

2008-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Crap, it's December already and I have so much to do. This year I'm trying to give something handmade to family and close friends, sounds great and all but I've managed to wait until now to really figure out who is getting what. Bah, humbug.

One of the first projects I jumped on today was taking care of my holiday cards (it also gave me a chance to play around with my new drawing tablet).

This is what I have so far:

Once Ron the hamster gets up I'm hoping to get a decent picture and finish up the card so I can start mailing it out, as well as post the finished product.

Thats all for now.

Stash Busting and new project

2008-11-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

A couple posts ago I made pajama pants using a pattern, a first for me. They weren't for me, but after finishing the project I had a hankering to use up some of my ever growing fabric stash. I actually made these the day after I posted the other ones, just haven't gotten around to posting them. So here I present to you my new purple paisley pajama pants. Only one pic to so as it is late and I was unable to take decent action pictures

So when I haven't been working, or sick due to work, I've been working on making my very fist pair of trouser pants from Newlook 6815. So far so good.

Below is a picture of the pattern pieces marked off on the dollar a yard fabric I procured not too long ago. I just began attaching the waistband today, hoping to have them finished possibly by next week.

Well, thats all for now. Goodnight.

Introspection

2008-11-11T23:45:00.000-05:00

With my birthday fast approaching (and a chance stumbling across Abraham Maslow's idea of self actualization) I've been doing a great deal of introspection on my life. With my introspection came a number of things that I want to try, that I feel will help promote my own personal growth, and/or might just be fun. I was able to narrow my list down to a few things that I feel comfortable enough sharing with people I don't really know. So here it is, my short bullet format of things to try/accomplish eventually:

Things to Accomplish

Join a roller derby team- I figured I'd post my most "outrageous" personal goal first. What can I say? I've never personally seen a roller derby match, but I feel that it would be a cathartic experience for myself.
Write my own ZOMBIE movie/novel- I've had one in the works for a while now, my personal goal at the moment for this project is to be finished with writing and editing by December 2009.
Continue to reduce, recycle, reuse my wardrobe- I'm definitely going to sign up for wardrobe refashion again...maybe go for four months this time around. I would like to take this opportunity to say that the shirts I got for work were purchased from Goodwill (yay!).
Make my own tofu- enough said
Try to be more active in my community- I've noticed in the area where I've recently moved that there seems to be a lot more social outreach and activism(probably due to all the colleges in the area). It seems like a no-brainer, volunteer my time to make my new home a better place over all, make some new friends.

That is all for now, I hope to add updates eventually as to the progress of some of my own personal goals. As always I will be updating with more crafty good-ness as well...just not now.

Toodles

YES WE CAN - a continuation

2008-11-03T18:25:00.000-05:00

Not really anything new, I just got pictures from the rally so I figured I'd post one. Please ignore the silly look on my face...I have no idea what I was thinking at the time.

I also made the poster that I'm holding, no pictures of the back but it said "Yes We Can". After the rally I put the poster to good use, I trimmed it and put it in the window for all to see. Not that it would really sway anyone's opinion considering NY is a blue state, but maybe it will remind people to get out and vote on the 4th (tomorrow **squeals**).

YES WE CAN!

2008-11-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try and keep this post to a strictly craft post because I know I can go on and on for days on the subject of the upcoming election.

With that being said I decided to make a t-shirt for the Obama rally I attended yesterday. I wanted something simple that showed my support but wouldn't offend others- especially after McCain's remark in the third debate that Obama supporters were wearing negative t-shirts at Obama rallies.
My quest began at the dollar store nearby which has a clothing rack full of factory reject t-shirts. I managed to find a shirt on the rack that did not have a mystery stain on it, just a faint dotted line going across the chest which I attemptedto cover up -unsuccessfully- with some white paint. I used a stencil I found online (type "Obama Stencil" into Google's image search and you'll find it) for the front part of the shirt, and the back image I just quickly made in photoshop. I used the mod podge screen method again, and the end result was great.

{Front}

{Back: Printed the black outlines, then hand painted the interior parts of the letters}

I got a whole bunch of compliments on the t-shirt, as well as a lot of questions about the dotted line across the chest (Is it symbolic?) I'm still waiting on getting some action shots of the rally from my friend so until then take care.

Pumpkin Time

2008-10-29T15:02:00.002-04:00

For the past two Halloween seasons or so I've had this desire to make pumpkin-y goods using my own homemade pumpkin puree. Weird? maybe, but I've come to accept it.

The first year I chopped up my jack o' lantern, just to find out later that field pumpkins, such as the one I had, are not the right type of pumpkin to cook with. The second year I spent all of my pumpkin allowance on a whopping 20 pound pumpkin...again, not a tasty pumpkin.

This year however I was fortunate enough to have a sugar pumpkin given to me by the BF's mom. I know its not difficult to go out and get a sugar pumpkin, but when you're shopping on a tight budget its not really a necessity. Now onto the pumpkin puree!

First- wash pumpkin throughly then remove stem.

Cut pumpkin in half from top to bottom

Remove all seeds (set seeds aside for roasting) and stringy pumpkin guts

Place pumpkin cut side down on a baking sheet and cover top with aluminum foil (not shown). Place in oven that has been preheated to 375 F and cook for about an hour and a half or until soft. Remove from oven and let cool.

Scoop out pumpkin flesh and place in blender

Blend pumpkin until it looks like this....Mmmm

Now what to do with all this pumpkin puree? After looking through a bunch of recipes online and seeing that I did not have a lot of the ingredients they were calling for I decided I'd wing it. So I present to you my own simple but very tasty basic pumpkin muffin recipe. I'd imagine it would be pretty easy to make some modifications to the recipe, I can't wait to try adding cranberries and chopped walnuts the next time around.

Basic Pumpkin Muffins- Makes 12 muffins
2 cups generic store brand bisquick
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
spices used to taste:
cinnamon
nutmeg
ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl- no particular order- and stir. Pour batter into greased muffin tins and bake in a preheated oven at 400 F for 13 to 18 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

I don't have many pictures of the muffins afterwards since I kind of got distracted by eating them.

First timer

2008-10-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

Now that I'm not stressing out over a lack of employment I decided it was time to do something new. The first challenge that came to mind was using a pattern. I had never really had any experience using a real pattern so I figured I would try something simple - pajama pants. I had the BF pick out some fabric (he picked out the gray fleece despite my best efforts to sway him towards the veggie tales print). I used simplicity 9871, read the directions a few times. Despite a few minor errors (not knowing what a particular marking meant, and deciding not to practice using my button hole setting before using it for the first time) I think they turned out pretty well.

{Modeled by Floor}

{Modeled by Boyfriend}

{Side View}

I think I may have possible found a use for some of my excess fabric stash...hmmm

Its curtains...

2008-10-24T16:00:00.000-04:00

While on my mini job hunting breaks I managed to solve one of the major issues with the new apartment, the bedroom window. The first couple of days in the apartment we were greeted by blindingly bright, burn your retinas out, sunlight. It became apparent that this issue needed immediate attention. Thanks to the excellent public transit system I was able to go out and procure some fabric for the project (and much more).

{Curtain Fabric}

{Muslin Backing}

Just a simple set of curtains, but they make all the difference in the world.

In addition to my newly completed project it seems that my job hunt is OVER, I found a job. Of course it's only seasonal at this moment, but its better than nothing. I start the first week of November, which leads me to ponder "whats a crafty person like myself going to do with all this free time?"

Update

2008-10-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

Well, its official, I've moved...YAY! I am loving the new apartment, there's so much more space for all of my crafting supplies. Not to mention its a quick 5 minute walk to the downtown area and the public transport is top notch.

{ Double Parlor Living Room}

I don't have much to show project wise, as much of my time has been spent searching for a job. So far I've had one real lead, but I'm still waiting for them to call back and schedule an interview. I was told by another potential employer that I'm overly qualified for the position and that they would love to have me, EXCEPT, for the fact that I'm under qualified in the sense that I don't have the specific degree needed (which was not mentioned in the ad) to fulfill the position. The person who I was talking to then went into a long speech about how they felt that it was unfair to require that specific degree, but its required by law. So for now I'll just be scouring job sites and the newspaper in hopes of finding some kind, pretty much ANY kind of employment, taking short breaks only when I feel my sanity depends on it.

Toodles for now

Project Manchild - conclusion

2008-09-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

Well the shirts went over pretty well, just look at that happy recipient. It bothers me that "skateboards" curves upwards slightly, but for now I can live with it as long as I get it right next time.

For now I don't know when my next update will be as I'm moving upstate October 1st. I don't know how long it'll take to get an internet hookup once I get there. So I guess toodles, for now

Project Manchild part 4

2008-09-25T16:17:00.001-04:00

So close I can taste it. Today I did the face image on the back of the shirts, they came out pretty well if I do say so myself. Now all thats left is to let them dry heat set and wrap it all up. What else can can I tell you?

Project Manchild part 3

2008-09-24T19:17:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I managed to so something with my first printing mishap (see part 1). After getting the right black ink I printed the Manchild logo in the big gray blob. Then I filled in the letters using one of the shimmery jacquard fabric pants and added some white paint just because I can.

Its okay, I guess, but I personally feel its a little too "homemade" rather than "hand crafted"

I've managed to rebound from this mistake quite successfully though. I took my time, I had all my supplies at hand and I'm very happy with the result.

Time to get back to work

Project Manchild part 2

2008-09-23T10:53:00.001-04:00

Last night I was able to accomplish making a new screen with smaller text that won't go off the shirt (yay!). This morning upon waking up and drinking my coffee I made a quick test print of the screen on a plain navy blue tank that I got for 3 bucks just a few days ago. Somehow I feel that by the end of this project I'm going to have an unofficial merchandise line due to the test prints I've been making. I know I could just do test prints on a piece of paper, but wheres the fun in that? now that I'm looking at it I'm thinking I should make another screen so I can do a nice semi-professional looking 2 color print.

New Screen

Test Print on a ribbed knit t-shirt

Thats all for now, I've got to start working on packing the apartment up.
Toodles.

Project Manchild part 1

2008-09-22T16:03:00.000-04:00

Next weekend I'll be heading down to the city with the BF to see a friend of ours for his b-day. Our friend has recently started out his own business- Manchild Skateboards, and we figured he would appreciate some D.I.Y. shirts. As such it seemed only right to use this as an excuse to try out the mod podge/embroidery hoop method of "screen printing. I took his logo from the website, loaded it up and made a simple black and white image of the text and the face thing, then printed it out. Not really thinking at the moment I started to trace the text onto the screen (neon green fine mesh nylon given to me by the bf, formerly a green screen). Once I finished tracing "manchild" I realized skateboards was too long to fit horizontally. I thought I was pretty smart and started to trace the letters vertically, having the words intersect at the "A", but once again realized that it wouldn't fit. New solution...smaller text...heh.
{shown: screen of "Manchild" and part of "skateboard"

My impatience is most certainly my down fall. I had planned and planned to do a test print prior to printing on the actual shirt I tossed that plan right out the window. Curses!
My impatience led me to discover that I bought the wrong black ink. I picked up a fabric dye rather than a printing ink. It bleed, oh how it bleed through that knit cotton fabric (at least I printed with something in between the front and the back side of the shirt). The other colors I picked up will work just fine, but now I'm left with a little (big) mistake.

For the moment its hanging up, I'll take a look at it later and see if it could possibly be salvaged. I managed to get to the local art supply store and pick up the proper black ink.

First thing I did upon returning was make a test print on a ratty old t-shirt of mine. From the looks of it I just need to take my time and apply a nice even coat. Well, heres to seeing what tomorrow brings.

Brand spankin' "new"

2008-09-18T14:15:00.001-04:00

So as promised previously here is my brand "new" sewing chair... but first a couple more process pictures

{during} After covering the new foam cushion

{during} Applied 3 coats of jade spray paint to my new chair on an absolutely beautiful afternoon

...
{After}
...

It really does brighten up the room, I just wish there wasn't so much STUFF out due to the upcoming move, it detracts from the wondrous-ness of my chair.

On a more personal note, yesterday was my last day at the hospital. I won't miss the paper work, the hours, the stress, the 4 hour round trip commute (public trans), but I do miss the people already. I can't help but wonder if I will ever find another job with as great co-workers and caring supervisors as I had there. Sounds cheesy I know, and after months of dreaming of this day, I'm left looking back fondly at everything I've done there and the overall impact its had on my outlook on life. I'm just going to leave it at that for now.

a quick peek at whats to come

2008-09-14T22:20:00.000-04:00

{Before} 6 dollar chair from the salvation army, originally intended for craftster's "in the hot seat" contest, I kind of forgot about this chair until a few weeks ago.

{During} ripped off hideous fabric (apparently someone else tried to give this chair a makeover), and added new foam padding.

{During} Sanding down the chair for the next step....

::Stay tuned for the finished product::

whats new

2008-08-29T10:11:00.000-04:00

Quick little update:
Haven't been able to post very much (or accomplish much of anything) due to the upcoming move. I'm hoping to be back and crafting in a few weeks.

preparing for winter

2008-08-06T20:24:00.000-04:00

Well soon I'll be getting ready to move upstate, where the winters can be pretty brutal. Taking this into account I've decided to break out the knitting needles and start making myself some warm winter accessories. I used the pattern Foliage from Knitty.com and made the chunky weight version of the hat using Paton's rumors in Fern Heather. Its a really fuzzy, soft yarn, but it might not have been the best choice of yarn to show off the actual lace pattern. Oh well, anyways, here are some pics.

As modeled floor

Sort of side shot

Top View

Thats all for now

...and one more

2008-07-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

So I just got a shipment of jersey fabric from fabric.com and I have been trying to think of ways to use it all. Why not take the easy way out and make another circle skirt? I'm not too crazy about the print, but hey it was under 2 dollars a yard.

Back view

Fun circular-ness

stupid camera timer/ action shot

Nothing spectacular, I know, But I had fun making it. I've been suffering from major craft ADD as of lately and I keep bouncing around from one thing to another. I'm hoping to finish a few of these things up while off from work, but I also need to do some hardcore cleaning out of the apartment to prepare of the upcoming move. Well, I'll leave you now so I can wage an internal war with my priorities, ah to craft or not to craft?

Going 'round in circles

2008-07-16T16:39:00.001-04:00

I've been wanting to make a circle skirt for sometime now, so I figured why not give it a go today. After quickly browsing the circle skirt tutorial on whatthecraft I set to work. I had the striped jersey laying around (purchased at the local fabric store) and used the sleeves from one of the donated t-shirts I have laying around to make the waistband. I added elastic to the waist and presto, I have this wonderful floaty fun circle skirt.

Showing off the fabric

... And because no post of a circle skirt is complete without a super-twirling action shot... (did I mention how dizzy I got during this shoot?)

I love the way the stripes fall on this skirt, I've been walking around the apartment all day and watching how it swishes back and forth. All thats left to do is hem it I suppose, back to work!

Lime green and appliqued

2008-07-14T12:35:00.000-04:00

I couldn't help myself. I loved the t-shirt to lounge pant project so much that I had to give it another go. As I had mentioned in a previous post I had recently been given a bunch of huge t-shirts from the bf. No pictures of the shirt beforehand, just think huge lime green t-shirt with some text on the chest. Again, I used the t-shirt to lounge pant tutorial from the live journal t-shirt surgery community. This time around I added elastic at the waist, and made a fold over waistband.

I managed to cover up the plain lettering by adding a pocket made from scraps of the t-shirt (it's kind of hard to see due to the glare.

I wanted to do something fun with this pair so I pulled out the bed sheet I got from the salvy and cut out one of the picture panels. I added interfacing to the panel then ironed and sewed it on.

The bf couldn't believe how fast the entire project came together while I intermittently worked and watched the simpsons last night. It could be possible that I spent more time answering questions about the project than actually at my work station. Now what to do with the other shirts...

I walk the line

2008-07-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

So a while back I got this shirt from work(with sleeves intact), someone had carelessly left it behind and had not called to claim it for at least 2 months. That meant it was up for grabs and it was all mine. I had originally intended for the shirt to be turned into a short sleeved hoodie, I honestly don't know how it turned into this off the shoulder number.

From the front:The sleeves can be worn either on top on or off of the shoulder.

From the side: I added gray and black striped jersey panels to both sides for visual interest

Sleeve detail: Three rows of zig zag stitching (2 black, 1 pink) were added to the edge of the sleeve to create a decorative ruffle.

Well, there it is in a nutshell. The tank top underneath the shirt is to preserve my internet modesty, but now that I see it I'm thinking I may add some kind of half tank in the gray and black fabric. For now I'm happy with how it is.

Unfinished business and new arrival

2008-07-08T10:48:00.000-04:00

A couple months back I had posted pictures of fabric which I reclaimed from a HUGE casual business blazer. I also promised to give an update...so here it is, a much delayed update on a long forgotten project. Perhaps it's because it was the first skirt I ever attempted to make, or the fact that I don't normally wear skirts and dresses, (although with some tutorials and patterns I've found, I'm a little more open to the idea), but something doesn't seem quite right about it. It looks a little triangle-y. I wasn't quite sure how to tackle fixing it, so I put it away and forgot about it until now. Now that my bf and I are getting ready to move in the next 2 and a half months I need to start finishing some of my semi-completed projects so I don't end up having to pack up clothing with pins sticking out everywhere.

Now for a quick peek at one of my newest salvation army finds. I LOVE this bed sheet, I wish I bought the other pieces now that I think of it. So many ideas are going around in my mind as to what to make with this sweet printed bed sheet. Only time will tell...

Comfiest lounge pants ever

2008-07-07T16:25:00.000-04:00

Recently I've been seeing a lot of posts using this tutorial on the t-shirt surgery live journal community, so I figured why not jump on the band wagon. It was just luck that my bf happened to be getting rid of some HUGE t-shirts he has received from work and school over the past year.

Here's my first attempt, not too shabby. The only thing I did differently was cut the shirt in half from front to back, rather than right up the middle (and through the design).

The whole project took about 3 hours with multiple 15 minute breaks, but not counting the time I spent the night before ripping out the sleeves while watching the Simpsons.

These shorts/gauchos turned out to be incredibly comfortable, absolutely perfect for summer days spent around the apartment. So thats one shirt down, four more to go.

long time no post

2008-06-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

So I've been working a bunch, and switching back and forth between working days and nights which has led to my lack of posting (insert sad emoticon). I have been getting things done though.
I made my first bag ever which I'm pretty excited about. Its going to be an overnight bag pretty much. I based the bag on a smaller messenger bag that I've been using for years and made a few changes to suit my needs. I added on an elastic cup holder for my coffee mug (works with water bottles as well. The bag that I based my pattern on had no inside pockets which I've always hated due to the constant shifting of things during my commute. I added in a zippered pouch/divider pocket so I can keep my electronics separated from my keys, wallet, and reading materials among other things.

Next up is a fairly quick clothing recon (majority of it done in less than 5 hours-that's good for me). I bought the shirt at target a few years back, wore it a few times, but as always I hated the t-shirt neck line. The green fabric was a fat quarter I picked up at Michael's a few weeks back. For this recon I "drafted" a pattern piece for the green fabric I used due to the fact that I didn't have much room for error. After showing it off to the bf he suggested adding some of the green fabric elsewhere on the shirt to give the shirt a "more unified" look. Not a bad idea, I'm just too lazy to do it right now. No action shots yet, maybe once its fully completed

updates

2008-06-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't forgotten to post, I've just been really busy. Got back from camping yesterday, we had to leave early due to the severe thunderstorms in the area. On the bright side, I managed to start and finish a t-shirt recon today, I will post pictures eventually when I get around to taking pictures. I also need to post pictures of the new messenger bag I made. I do have a few pics of the seating cushion I made from an old t-shirt and a vinyl table cloth to bring whilst camping. So here it goes, enjoy.

The camping chair in action

Camping pictures

Fit to be Dyed Part II

2008-05-28T11:25:00.000-04:00

So here they are, dyed and everything. Unfortunately I didn't take any dye process pictures, but you didn't miss much, just some navy blue RIT dye.

Here a quick picture of the back. About 20 minutes into dying the jeans I looked over at my sewing station and saw the back pockets chilling with my pin cushion, I quickly tossed them in hoping that they would be able to soak up some color. They did, but not as much as the actual pants did.

Despite the mismatched/wonky back pockets I'm pretty happy with the jeans. I'm hoping that once they go through the wash some of the residual dye will come out and the pockets won't look so bad (to me).

Its nice to know that I can overcome whatever issues the fashion industry has with my body by taking matters into my own hands.

Fit to be Dyed

2008-05-23T12:30:00.000-04:00

For a while now I've been wanting to try out the whole skinny pant leg trend thats been so popular. I've tried on pairs in stores and I could never find a pair that looked right, it would be loose at the waist, fit at the thigh, and bunch up like crazy at the knees. I figured why not give it a go myself. I had seen a bunch of tutorials on craftster and similar sites, but they all started out with jeans that fit properly through the waist and thighs. The particular pair of jeans I had in mind were about four sizes too big.

After a trip to the library I came home and began looking over the readers digest complete guide to sewing to see how to go about reconstructing these or if it was even possible. I began by removing the waist band and back pockets, then tried them on. Holding the excess fabric in the back I pinned it into a large dart. Then after carefully removing the pants I measured the pinned fabric, divided the number in half and made two darts going through the middle of each pocket...is that clear?

After getting the waist to fit I tried the pants on inside out and marked where I wanted the pant legs taken in. Then after taking off the pants I basted the new inseam and tried on the jeans to see if they needed any more adjustments. Once I was happy with the new inseam I sewed the new inseam using a straight stitch and then reinforced the new seam with a zig zag stitch.

I was overall happy with the end result, but light denim skinny jeans aren't the most flattering thing on earth, I knew what had to be done, it was time to dye.

Mens shirt to summer shirt

2008-05-12T00:17:00.000-04:00

It all started out with a striped mens shirt from H&M, I spotted it the second I walked into the salvation army a few months ago. Originally I thought about turning it into a simple racer back tank top and doing some free hand embroidery. However, after beginning the project I started to not like the horizontal stripes as much as I originally thought I would (Please excuse the mess in the pictures).

After a bit of playing around with it I cut off the torso of the shirt and made an empire waist by adding a band of vertical stripes. I cut the remaining torso fabric in half and added extra fabric from the sleeves to give the bottom part of the shirt more swing. I also added a scalloped/ruffled edge on the bottom of the extra fabric and on the edge of the sleeves.

The finished product:

Wardrobe refashion pledge

2008-05-04T12:19:00.000-04:00

The Pledge

I Rebecca (a.k.a. dustbuunnyodoom), pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that i shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoated, recylcled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftyness brings!

Signed, Rebecca.

Wardrobe Refashion

Quick update

2008-04-27T21:22:00.000-04:00

Not much of an update, but it will have to do. Here is a quick look at the lightweight blazer I picked up from salvation army that is now in pieces on my chair.

I have a few ideas floating around in my head as to what I want to do with the fabric, and there is quite a bit of it. I was thinking perhaps a skirt (but I don't really wear skirts), or using some for a Johnny Cash t-shirt recon. I figure tonight I'll sketch up the ideas, it would be nice to have something planned out more than 15 minutes prior to sewing.

Goodnight for now :)

At least I paid my taxes on time

2008-04-21T16:32:00.000-04:00

Well its been a few weeks since I last posted, but I assure you I have been doing some work. To start things off I have finally finished my sewing desk. I had either had my sewing machine on the kitchen table or on an old wooden filing cabinet that was going to be thrown out until I thought up this project. At home depot I was able to pick up some knotty pine and have it cut to size, I then took it home a varnished the heck out it.

Here's a picture of my original filing cabinet set up; good lighting, horrible ergonomics.

Over here is my semi-completed project, you can kind of of see the interior of the filing cabinet. The bottom draw still slides in and out, I just removed the from of the drawer so I could easily see whats in it just by looking down. I removed the top drawer and I am currently thinking of making a shelf. The front of the bottom drawer was used as an expandable work space/cabinet door-unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of that in action. I'll take more pictures once the whole interior of the cabinet is finished. The important thing is that I now have my very own crafting corner.

In celebration of my new desk I was able to start and complete a quick clothing recon that I've been thinking of for a while now.

I bought these pants at Marshall's few years ago for about 10 dollars (my mom said I overpaid-notice how the pattern doesn't match up on the sides). I think I maybe wore them once, it was just too much plaid. I tried the pants on and marked them about two inches below the knee, and cut. I tucked and folded the edges and hemmed them (while at my new desk)

The result is a little something I would like to call plaid perfection.

trip to the salvy-a very delayed part 2

2008-03-31T16:58:00.000-04:00

I never did get around to posting the next day, but I was able to accomplish some things and start some new projects as well.
Here's a quick look at the wrap pants I made using some very soft fabric my boyfriend's mom gave me. Not to many pictures for this one due to crappy lighting, I was also going to post the tutorial link, however it seems to have disappeared.

Next up is a recon from one of the goodies I got from the salvation army. It was a scrub top with a zany ambulance print and it cost me 2 dollars.
Originally it was just going to have the blue band of fabric going across, but when I tried the shirt on it was kind of snug around the hips and the way the fabric puffed out I looked like I belonged at a maternity ward. So I lovely hacked off the ambulance print and attached the bottom part of a dress from forever 21 that I bought to wear to a wedding but never actually wore.

I'm thinking I may add two front pockets with the ambulance fabric, but thats for another day. For now I'm quite happy with it. Thats all for now, its time to clean up.

trip to the salvy part I

2008-03-05T22:48:00.000-05:00

On my last day off I took a trip to the three story salvation army near my apartment, I came home with 4 new pieces of inspiration.
I'm currently working with the blue scrub shirt, but I don't have any pictures of it as of yet. Maybe tomorrow.

t-shirt recon rescue

2008-03-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

So I decided to take my new dress form out for a trial run and see if I could resurrect an old t-shirt. I've had this Circle Jerks t-shirt since high school (8 years), it was a men's large and at the time it was pretty fitted on me.

It went to college with me, where one Halloween morning I hastily cut the neck in order to make an 80's costume, if I had planned it better, maybe it wouldn't have been so revealing. So for 3 years it was used as a night shirt.
I started the whole project by pinning the neck line to make a boat neck collar, then I removed the sleeves and set them aside. I took it off the form and sewed it, the put it back on for the next part.

I determined how far up on the shoulder I wanted my sleeves to start, pinned the arm holes and sewed. After putting it back on the mannequin I worked taking in the sides. Working with the dress form made me feel freer. I played around with the side seams and made it so the begin curving towards the front which I found to be very flattering. I picked up the sleeves and cut them in half, attached some ties, and again, pinned and sewed.

Here are some detail shots:
Left:Reinforced side seam ----- Right: Top of shoulder (still needs to be cleaned up)

Left:On the dress form ----- Right:Curved side seam

I am really happy about how this turned out, I wasn't frustrated at all while making this, and I took my time while planning the whole thing out. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can wear it outside again.

unexpected day off

2008-02-29T12:57:00.000-05:00

Well today is certainly a treat, I've had the past two days off, and today I was "on call". Being "on call" typically means I get a call at 6 am asking me to come in and begrudgingly work a thirteen hour shift. It is a very rare occasion when I don't get this call. I love days like today, an extra chance to continue with the projects I was working on the day before (or whenever).

Yesterday I was able to start and finish a project that I have been waiting to do for a while. I made my very own dress form using the paper tape tutorial on instructables.com

Here's a picture of my dress form in progress. I was able to do the majority of the front and parts of the lower back by myself. For the rest I enlisted the help of my TBF (trusty boyfriend), who was surprisingly good at this. The tutorial on instructables is fantastic, in my own opinion, the best piece of advice in the article would be to precut the paper tape in varying sizes. Preplanning this project (even if only an hour in advance) is a must. I cut darts in some of the strips that I was going to use on my curvier attributes to prevent ugly misshapen bumps on the surface of the form.

After being cut out of the form I taped it back up and cut off odd little bits that would not stay down.

Once that was all done I finished the surface by applying two coats of clear acrylic gloss medium (cause I like shiny things). Please excuse the glare from my camera.

Chicken curtains

2008-02-24T15:19:00.001-05:00

I've been putting off finishing up the kitchen curtains for months, but today I managed to do it (with plenty of encouragement from the bf). It was just a matter of finishing the top part of the curtains and hanging them up. However before I show off the finished results, I would like to point out some of the details. I am very pleased with how the backing of the curtains came out. The backing was a gauzy fabric that I had a lot of difficulty working with in a previous project.

The idea of an elastic curtain rod was inspired by the fact that I did not want to go out and spend money on a curtain rod that would require putting even more holes into the wall of the apartment before we leave in a few months. All the "rod" consists of is some old stiff elastic that was given to me by my bf's mom that was wrapped in the same fabric that was used to line the back of the curtains sewn together and tacked up to the windows

Okay, so I've gone on long enough, here it is all finished (and looking quite snazzy in my own opinion)
It hides the cracks in the glass and blocks the view of the ambulance dispatch parking lot and its nice and cheery, who could ask for more?

well thats enough time reflecting on my accomplishment, whats next?

First Post

2008-02-22T18:06:00.001-05:00

Seeing as this is my first post I guess I'll tell you a little about myself. I'm kind of a "jill of all trades". I sew, knit, crochet, draw, paint, cook quality vegetarian meals, attempt claymation, screw around in photoshop... the list goes on and on and it quite frankly scares me. Every time I start a project it seems I stop half way through because I've come up with 3 other projects that I feel compelled to start. If you will look to your right you'll see one of my latest almost finished projects. I need to fix the side where my hand is resting because I wasn't paying attention while sewing and therefore the seam didn't turn out so great. In general the side seams could need reinforcing, but none of this has been done. Instead I started working on sewing a set of curtains for my kitchen windows, and working on knitting a lovely green scarf, oh yes and the self-portrait I was working on painting. Sadly none of these projects have been finished.
My boyfriend suggested to me that I start a blog (yes, another thing to add to my list) as a way to keep track of my projects and perhaps serve as an inspiration to finish said projects.

Heres to seeing how this goes