Fall sewing

I know I'm not the only one thinking about fall. This weekend I picked up this Fall Fusion magazine at Joann. It's filled with a lot of fall sewing inspiration. As a bonus, it tells you the pattern number(s) and even the fabric they used (Joann fabric of course) for each outfit.

I love this work outfit. I've been afraid to sew pants. However, I have been training for a triathlon (in two and a half weeks) and as a result I have been holding my pants up with safety pins. I really need to suck it up and make some or buy a new pair.

This dress is from Simplicity 3622, view D. I bought the pattern intending to make view B. Now I am thinking I might be making view B and D.


Is it just me or is Joann's knit fabric selection getting better? I actually passed up this fabric over the weekend, but if it's still there when I go back I am going to grab it up.

I'm not sure I like this print (actually, I'm certain), but I love the pattern, Simplicity 3678. This view in particular, view A, can be worn through the rest of summer and into fall. I've had this in my stash for a few weeks. It's near the top of my to do list. Speaking of, time to work on making that list shorter...

The one in which the second wasn't easier than the first

This shirt isn't new to the blogosphere (see Amy's and Anina's recent versions). I made this shirt about two weeks ago out of some cotton gauze and loved it. That same week I won some of this dreamy fabric from Sew Mama Sew and decided to make another shirt with this pattern (Simplicity 3887). Since the first one went together so easily, I must have gotten a little cocky and didn't take the usual measures I normally do with the second try. Thus, I cut out the sleeves exactly the same (the sleeve pattern is not symmetrical). That was mistake number one. Mistake number two happened when I modified the pattern by cutting about half an inch off the sides for more bust definition and didn't into take into account my rump's circumference.


But all was not lost. Sure, I have a scant 1/4 seam allowance on the bottom side seams and I have an extra sleeve with no place to go (thankfully I had enough fabric to cut out an extra sleeve), but the end result is as I envisioned.

Now I can't decide what to do with the rest of the day: sew or catch up with Harry Potter? Oh, decisions decisions.

Payin' it forward

I signed up for this last week via Raesha. Now it's my turn to pay it forward. Here's how it works:

"Pay It Forward. The first three people that leave a comment and pledge to pay it forward to three others on their blog will receive a handmade gift from me within one year (July 20, 2008) of this posting. I will read your blog and get the essence of who you are to come up with an idea."

I've got a lot of ideas brewing in my head so I'm really looking forward to this endeavor. Go ahead and leave a comment if you want to join in.

Because I've been too lazy to learn to knit

I decided to expand my crochet skills beyond the granny square. I was doing one of my favorite activities the other evening, browsing through the craft books at the bookstore, and picked up this book. Wow! It is filled with some really cute and cool patterns.


I'll be browsing the yarn section instead of the fabric section at the craft store this weekend. Really, who am I kidding? I'm sure I'll come away with more yarn and fabric.

P.S. Thanks for all the granny square clutch love from my last post!

"Don't tease, aim to please"

So the bottom of my beercap read last night. I thought it a fitting title for this post, since I haven't been teasing you over the past week with WIP pictures of my latest project. As much as I love sewing, sometimes I just want to have a project that I can work on while sitting in front of the tv. Thus, last week I picked up a crochet hook and some yarn and just did whatever my hands told me. Since I only know how to do a chain stitch and a granny square, it's not surprising that they started making more granny squares. I already have a granny square bag, so I wasn't sure where the project was going. Luckily, as soon as I finished the first square, an image popped into my mind. Thus, the granny square clutch was born.


I wanted to make it sturdy in my hand, so I sandwiched Timetex in between the inner and outer lining of the bag. So there are actually four layers to this bag: the outer crochet layer, brown lining to hide the timetex, timetex, and then a peek-a-boo polka dot inner lining. To keep my goods in the bag, I used a zipper closure. Check my flickr page for more detailed pictures.


I finished the bag in perfect time for Sew Mama Sew bag month. While I did use crochet in this project, there was still plenty of sewing.

I'm pleased with the end result. Are you?

Finally

I'm freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm done with school. When I eventually recover from two nights of celebrating, I've got grand plans to sew, paint, and do whatever else I feel like without a worry about school on the mind.

I'm planning a little giveaway to help celebrate. Stay tuned...

Waiting

Three days and counting...


In the meantime, I'm waiting for this fabric to tell me what it wants to be...a shirt? a dress? a skirt? I'm hoping I figure out what I want to do with it before the summer is over.

What is summer without seersucker?

I finished this dress two weekends ago but only now got around to taking a picture. It was inspired by a dress from JCrew I found about two months ago (it's no longer on their site).

I used Simplicity 3803 for the pattern. Overall I found the pattern fairly easy. In all of the reviews I have read (check out Pattern Review if you haven't already...you'll be glad you did), I am surprised no one has mentioned the difficulty of sewing that point in the middle of the bodice. It wasn't hard, just more of a pain in the butt. Maybe it's just me. Other than that, everything went together pretty smoothly. I'm happy with the result and looking forward to wearing this out soon.

P.S. Ummm, the boob really isn't messed up as it appears in the picture. I just need to wear a better bra when I actually wear this out.