Vacation!

We will be leaving for vacation in a little bit. Did I get everything done that I wanted to before leaving? Um, no! That's ok. All my projects will be waiting for me when I get back. The GP skirt hasn't been touched since yesterday's post except to hang it in the closet. My 30 minutes per day project isn't done, either. Well, I finished my niece's birthday ensemble, and then started this bra, but obviously, it isn't done.

Again, something to look forward to when I get back!

I'm not sure how much internet connectivity I'll have, so I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with you all, but I'll be back on Monday, Aug. 3. See you then!

Parting Shot: Garden. I promised a peek at the garden progress a few posts back, so here it is. I've still got some filler work to do and plenty more flowers. In two weeks, I should make quite a lot of progress without other projects to distract me!

Garden Path - Skirt - Part VI

Almost, But Not Quite Done

I see quite a few you liked the OCD button! I'm OCD about quite a few things - so is my husband, but about different things than I am. It makes life very interesting, to say the least.

Well, I've continued to move along on the skirt, and even with all the errands and other things I had to do today, I made more progress.

All that's left at this point is:

The lining hem - it is pinned and ready to go. It should take about 30 minutes to complete.

Tacking down the waistband facing - again, pinned and ready to go. This will take more than 3o minutes to complete, but should be fairly easy.

Adding the interior hook and eye and OCD button. You can see in the photo above and the photo below that the ends of the skirt waistband are rounded. Not exactly an easy feat.

The template below explains a few things.

One, it explains how I was able to get such a nice rounded end. Two, it should explain *why* I chose to make the ends rounded. This is the template from the tab on the collar of the blouse, which is rounded. I chose to make the ends rounded to that they would match the blouse and all the other scallops of the ensemble.

Yes, planned OCD is a wonderful thing!

Will I get the skirt done before I leave? Not sure. Depends on if I get a couple of free hours tomorrow to work on it! We'll see!

Q/A: Sarah wanted to know about the braided trim. I made the braid myself from soutache - that's why I bought so much of it on one of my recent NYC trips. I try to as much as possible make all my own trims and embellishments for my art garments.

Bunny asked if I got the yarns at a shop in Henniker, NH. I got the yarns at the Elegant Ewe in Concord. I had to pick up my son at church from a Sunday School outing to the zoo in York, ME, so I thought I would take a little extra time and go to Bead It and the Ewe first since they're both in Concord.

Parting Shot: Short. My daughter decided to get her hair cut. I wasn't sure how short until she said she liked the pixie cuts. After a discussion with the family stylist, this is what she got. It's basically the same cut as mine, but so far, she loves it and I think it will be easier for her to take care of.

Garden Path - Skirt - Part V

More Progress!

Yay! More progress is a good thing. Today I work on some fiddly things, but important fiddly things. First, I tried on the skirt and discovered that I needed some darts in the front. I was able to place them underneath the pocket edges, so that they are hidden. This is the view down inside the pocket:

Here's what it looks like from the outside - no distracting dart to the smooth pattern of the front:

Second, I finished the lining, having to add the front darts and side seams.

Third, I got the waistband on and made the bound buttonhole:

Fourth, I even made the windowpane facing and it lines up perfectly. Thankfully.

Lastly, for the real fun: a perfectly matched to the pattern covered button. Yes, I am a bit OCD about matching. Not that you couldn't tell, right?

Tomorrow I'll finish up that waistband and all that will be left is the hems, tacking the lining to the zipper opening and adding the button and interior hook and eye.

Parting Shot. New Yarn. I bought some new yarns today for some more socks. Now that the sweater is done I need some car projects, especially with the road trip vacation coming up!

Garden Path - Skirt - Part IV

Major Progress!

Thank you all for the compliments on my niece's ensemble! It is fun to sew smaller things that don't require so much attention to fit and minute little details!

I am trying to get the skirt done and the blouse at least started before I go on vacation. I have been finishing up all sorts of projects that need to be finished anyway so that I can have a few days to really concentrate on this skirt.

Here's what I've got so far:

Not too bad, huh? It actually looks like a skirt!

I was able to get the trim onto the pocket edges today. You can see in the photo below that it is being attached with matching purple beads. Their purpose is to hold the trim in place, but not be extremely obvious.

I was going to use the double strand braid, but once I actually saw it pinned to the trim and on the skirt, I didn't like it. It was too heavy, thick and really took over the trim. I didn't want the pretty scallops or beading to be obscured. After unbraiding and rebraiding with five strands instead of ten, I was much happier with the result and finished it up. I still think it needs something, probably a hundred beads or so. Right?!? LOL. You know me, it *will* have something else, mostly likely beads before I'm officially done. It can wait - it won't take long to add the extra beads.

The really big news is that I got the zipper in and the side seams done. As you can see, I've placed the invisible zipper in the side seam along with the pocket. This was a big risky as there is that bulky trim that goes into the side seam, but I really did not want a vertical line in the back where the zipper would be - the front and back are nice and uninterrupted with the zipper in the side seam. I am really pleased with this zipper - it actually went in nicely and there is no bubble or pucker at the bottom.

Tomorrow's big plans are to keep working on the flower garden (as usual - I'll have to show you an update on that some time) and to get the waistband on. That will involve a bound buttonhole and a covered button, so that's probably plenty for one day. If all goes well, I'll be putting the hems in on Friday and will be done with the skirt, well except for those few extra beads.

Parting Shot: It Fits. After five photos and threatening to get the other photographer, I finally have a picture of me wearing the sweater. It is soft and warm and I'll think I'll wear it to church tonight - perfect for the air conditioning.

PS - Someone did ask about the pooling of the colors - I just let the yarn do its own thing and knitted away, not terribly conscious of how the colors ended up. Since this is a hand dye, there is not as much precision as some of the more engineered multi-colored yarns.

Birthday Ensemble

You're very welcome for the shirt placket tutorial! I'm happy with how my sleeves turned out - I hope this method will work for you, too. Thank you all for the compliments on the sweater. Maybe there will be a picture of me acutally wearing it tomorrow. That depends on the photographers.

Every year I make my niece clothes for her birthday. Usually it is a coordinated ensemble of some sort, with a dress, shirt and shorts. This year's ensemble has four pieces, two tops, shorts and a skirt. The children and I chose the ladybug fabric and coordinating solid red and red squares to go with it.

Keeping all my old BWOFs came in handy, because I was able to find just the right inspiration and patterns. For patterns, we chose BWOF 3/08, #131, 133, 134 and Simplicity 2907, which was close enough to the BWOF shirt #130 from the same group. I've already sewn the Simplicy twice, plus I didn't have to trace it!

Most of these pieces were very, very easy. The skirt could be made without a pattern - it is just rectangles and an elastic waist with the addition of buttons on the hem band.

The tie top is easy and cute - no zippers or buttons, either! The bonus is that it is adjustable because the ties are functional.

The shirt really wasn't that hard, especially since the collar and stand are in one piece rather than two.

The shorts are your typical full-of-details BWOF - gathered pockets, zipper, and tie bands at the hem. These took me the longest time to finish, even with omitting the zipper. I figured the zipper would end up being about two inches long anyway, and since there was back elastic, there really wasn't any point in putting the zipper in. I just doubled checked the pattern finished measurements with the waist and hip measurement I had and decided it would be just fine.

I don't think it took too long to make this set - I work on it for two Sunday afternoons, and finished the shorts this week as part of the 30 minutes per day for Monday and Tuesday.

Overall, I think it is a cute set, not very difficult to make and worth keeping the old BWOF for. I will see my niece in a few weeks, so I'll be able to deliver the set to her personally this year!

Parting Shot: Removal. Our roof is being fixed and reshingled, so the contractor spent most of today removing all the old shingles. The weather has been so rainy that he is behind in a lot of projects. We're hoping the weather is good for the rest of the week so he can finish before we leave for vacation.

Shirt Sleeve Placket Tutorial

While making my husban'ds most recent shirt, I decided to find out how a RTW sirt placket was made. Since I had a shirt that I could take apart to figure this out, it was a good opportunity. After taking it apart, I discovered that the placket was made of one long rectangle, rather than separate overlap and underlap pieces. Once I saw how it was done, it wasn't too hard to figure out how to do this technique for myself.

Here's how:

1. Prepare sleeve. To prepare the sleeve, mark the length of the placket opening 6 1/2" long from the cut edge of the sleee where the cuff will be attached. Then mark 3/8" on both sides of the placket opening line and across the top. You will have a rectangle. Using a small stitch, staystitch all the way around on the marked lines. Clip along the placket opening line, to about 1/2" from the top and then clip diagonally into each corner.

2. Prepare placket. Cut a rectangle of fabric, 16" x 2 1/4" wide. Fold in half right sides together and press. Press under 3/8" to the inside on one long side of placket.

3. Pin placket to sleeve. Starting at one end, place the *right* side of the unpressed edge of the placket to the *wrong* side of the sleeve and pin from the sleeve edge to the corner of the stay stitching. Open out placket opening so that the whole opening is straight - this is where the diagonal clips are important. Continue pinning across the top, and down the other side. If there is extra placket length, trim off excess even with the sleeve edge.

4. Attach placket. Stitch placket in place from sleeve edges to corner of stay stitching only, using a 3/8" seam. Do not stitch across top of placket. Stop at the corner. Repeat for the other side. You can see the thread tails in the photo below where I stopped stitching at the corners.

5. Top stitch placket. Fold placket over seam allowances to the right side, lining up pressed edge along with seam line.

Top stitch along fold from sleeve edge to corner, the same as for attaching the placket. Do not stitch across top of placket. Repeat for other side. You can see where the stitching stops in the photo below.

6. Fold the top. Press the triangle at the top of the placket opening up.

Lay the sleeve down on a flat surface and extend the underlap. This is on the side closest to the sleeve back, or the side of the sleeve with the least amount fabric between placket and sleeve seam. Fold the top of the placket at a 45 degree angle inward and downward, which results in the other side of the sleeve folding upward at a 45 degree angle, with the overlap now at 90 degrees to the underlap.

Again, but closer so you can see the detail of the fold:

Now fold the overlap downward so that it is directly on top of the underlap. This will form another 45 degree angle at the top of the placket.

Trim top of triangle (now underneath the folds). Press folds and pin in place.

7. Finish the top . Once the top of the placket is pinned in place, draw a line 1 3/8" down from the point of the placket horizontally across the placket. Starting at the edge of the overlap, stitch across this line, pivot and stitch up and around point, pivoting at the corners and connecting with the top stitching on the overlap.

That's it, you're done! Here is the front and back:

Parting Shot: Done! My sweater is finally done! I am really, really pleased with how it turned out. I just love the style, color and fit, too.

Garden Path - Skirt - Part III

A Skirt Post!

Really, I've actually been working on the skirt. The garden is still growing for the jacket and until I get that done, I can not do much real work on the jacket. So, I've decided to work on the skirt during the days and the garden in the evenings.

When we last saw the skirt, it was in muslin form and just large, uncut quilted pieces. Yesterday, I cut out all the quilted pieces, underlinings and lining. The one thing I didn't have done up to this point was the pocket yokes - that piece that fills in the space between the top of the pocket and the waistband. I didn't quilt them initially, because I did not know where in the pattern the pocket edges would be. I wanted to match the quilting on the yokes to the quilting on the skirt front perfectly. Until I cut out the front, I didn't know where the lines or free motion quilting would be.

You can see in the photo below that I'm lining up the piece I cut off with the new piece to get the stitch lined up properly. It will take a bit more careful measuring and checking before I cut those yokes out.

Today I was able to get the yokes quilted, they're hanging now to dry after removing the water soluble pen lines.

The other thing I've been working on today is underlining the back and making the darts. Notice in the photo below that I've transferred the markings, and basted down the center of each dart. I've got a couple pinned and waiting for stitching, but I need to check to see if the darts are in the exact same place on either side of center back. I'm a little OCD about these things, but the darts must be in the same place in the pattern on either side of CB, mirror imaged, of course.


Tomorrow I will start work on the trim for the pockets. That needs to be in place before constructing pocket bags and the remainder of the skirt. You can see that I have already shaped the bias pieces to fit the curve of the pocket edge. These are ready now for the shell tucked trim and the braid.

I did have a question as to where I get my ideas for my trims and such. I get some inspiration from Jane Conlon's book, Fine Embellishment Techniques. Mainly, though, I just play around with different ideas and elements until I end up with something that I like. Sometimes it takes a while to get just the right thing and sometimes things fall into place quickly, I never know until I start playing around.

Parting Shot: Goodies. I won a blog giveaway from Marilyn, and just look at all the cool things that I got. There are pressed flowers, pictures, postcards, a bookmark, a vintage zipper and buttons amongst other goodies. She has fairly regular giveaways, so check her out!

Garden Path - Jacket - Part XXIII

Small Trim, Part 2

I've been finalizing the details of the small trim for the jacket and skirt pockets. Which I really should be doing since I cut out the skirt today, but that's another post for another day. Here's a better photo of what's going on with a ruler for reference.

We've got the five strand braid, which actually uses 10 strands, because I'm using two piece of soutache for each strand. There's also those scalloped edges. From the wrong side you can see how that's done - which isn't hard!

Those scallops are made by using the shell tuck stitch on my sewing machine. The machine does all the work - all I have to do is feed the bias strip through evenly. Of course, I'll be using matching thread, but this is only a sample. That side is covered anyway so it really doesn't matter.

Last but not least, there are the beads. I have some yellow ones on my desk that will replace those white ones in the real version - I just didn't have them at the time! This border also is attached via beads - purple to actually blend in so that the border sort of floats.

Tomorrow I'll make the trim for the skirt pockets and get start on the skirt construction! Yay! Finally some progress, well, besides the garden that is still growing.

Parting Shot: In. Bluebird of Happiness has made it into the International Quilt Festival Show in Houston, TX. Now comes the wait to see if it wins anything in October.

NYC: Revisited

Yesterday, all of the planets aligned and I was able to go to NYC again. This is no easy feat with two children, a husband with a slightly unusual work schedule and commute, and some people who are supposed to re-roof our house. At any rate, I drove down to South Station in Boston and took a bus to NYC. I rode a Boltbus, which not only was cheap - $33.50 USD round trip - but also had a drop off/pick up point at 34th St. and 8th Ave., just a couple of blocks away from the garment district. The buses were nicer than any kind of bus I've been on, and included plug-ins for electrical items and free wifi. We left SS at 7:30a and arrived in NYC around 11:45a. Not too bad and no driving, parking or taking the subway from Chinatown if you take a China bus - either Fungwah or Lucky Star.

This time, I went back to see some of places I didn't go to the first time and revisited other places. My first stop was Spandex House - I've been there before and then I went to Daytona Trim. I bought some elastic at Daytona and checked out their stretch laces - nothing I loved for the price.

I also met one of the store cats:

He's a big boy and very friendly. I couldn't get a photo of his face because he was following me around the store and rubbing me and trying to get me to pet him. The owner said there are actually two cats, brothers from the same litter. You can see the shelves of trim just at the right side of the photo.

I then went to Steinlof & Stoller, Rosen & Chadwick, NY Elegant Fabrics and Parrons, where I bought nothing. I got a lining sample at NY Elegant, but wanted to wait to see what else I could find before purchasing anything.

I then headed over to M&J Trim, taking a peek at Times Square and Bryant Park along the way. M&J Trim is a must stop if you go to NYC for fabric shopping. It is amazing. It is big, beautifully laid out and has every ribbon, trim, and embellishment you could want and some you didn't know you wanted. I got a sample for a student of mine who is making a Chanel style jacket. This trim is beautiful and was the one I fell in love with - there really wasn't any other trim that was as perfect as this one - it picks up the aqua, but also picks up the color of the orchid lining, too.

I then wandered down to Mood, and found the lining for Garden Path, some yellow Bemberg:

The price was actually better than Jo-ann's and of course, they have every color under the rainbow.

No stop to NYC for fabric shopping would be complete without a stop at Metro Textiles to visit Kashi. I bought 3 pieces of knit for my daughter for school tops. Yes, you've probably seen that print on the right before. This is the knit version of the red I bought last week, in a magenta/teal/chocolate brown colorway.

Kashi, of course, didn't want me to leave only buying 6 yards of fabric, so he said, "I make you a deal." Some of you know what that means. So, this fabric followed me home:

It is hard to see from the photos, but the red is actually woven in and the edges around the flowers/vines are like cut velvet - cut and fringed. Very pretty, yes it was a deal and yes, I bought all that was left on the bolt, but, he's got plenty of this same fabric just in black.

Greenberg & Hammer was my next to the last stop before going back to the Tick Tock Diner for dinner, which also happened to be at the bus pick up. I bought a couple of yards of bra channeling - the stuff is really soft, plush and cushy. I just got some similar stuff in the mail for Hooks and Wires, so I'm interested to try it out.

I don't know how the bus driver did it, but we left NYC at 5:00p sharp, and got into SS around 9p - 15 minutes before we were supposed to. I was leaving the parking area at 9:09, and got home at 10:30p. I was pleased with that!

Overall, another great trip to NYC! The ride was nice and stress-free, it didn't rain and I got to see a lot more of the fabulous offerings of the garment district.

Parting Shot: Piecing Done. My son finished his blocks, now he just needs to finish the borders and the fish!