It's a celebration!!! Happy 4th of July!! And I finished the dress!!!

I finished See and Sew B5235..at least the dress portion of the pattern.  I don't think I mentioned that this dress was inspired by a picture of a dress (109) in the Burda Style magazine from May 2010.

The photo of the dress and this fabric is close enough. My dress doesn't have the princess seaming or a back waist line.  

The view from the back.

Here is the detail of the zipper slipstitched to the lining.

I need to adjust my dress form...she is "larger" than me!!  I just noticed this when I put this dress on her inside out.  The dress fits me much more loose than it does her.  I'm planning on wearing the dress on Tuesday, so I'll snap pictures and post later.

I've changed my mind on making the jacket right now.  I want to make another dress first.  This time with a V neckline.  I saw this but I'll have to trace the pattern and alter it because it only comes in Plus size.  It is dress 123 in the March 2009 issue of Burda Style Magazine.  Not the coat, just the dress.  I'll have to give this more thought since the last dress went together so well...I really hate to take the time to try this one and alter.   

I will give this much more thought!!  Until next time.

Progress

I've had distractions today that have kept me from my sewing.  I didn't get into the sewing room until 2:00  pm.  I had to draft the pattern to make the interfacing for the neckline since I read somewhere that for best results, I should interface the lining along the neckline.  Once that was done and I cut the interfacing, I then got started.

I took a break at 8:00 pm to have dinner and post.  I'm now understiching the neckline and the armholes..at least as far as I can go.

I'll get back in there and finish the understitching and then I'll press really good and call it a night.  Tomorrow the zipper!!

Have a great 4th of July!!!

And the winner goes to - the 4th try

I finished the last pair of Kwik Sew 3614 - the shorts. I made these with the welt pockets and they came out pretty good. I am very satisfied with the outcome. I really think I like this pair best of all of them. Forgive the goofy look on my face!

For my next project - I'm making Butterick See and Sew #B5235.  I'll be making the dress from a Purple  Greek Key stretch cotton fabric that I purchased at Joanns when I was in Florida a few months back.  The jacket will be from the purple washed linen that I have had in my stash for years.  Both items will be lined with Ambiance, the dress with white and the jacket with purple of course.  I'm going to underline the jacket with an ivory cotton batiste to keep it from wrinkling so much.

A few weekends ago, I went to Slidell with my sister-in-law Danette (who I haven't seen in years!) to the quilt show.  I bought two packets of fabric, one with LSU motif fabric and the other with the Saints motif.  I plan on making a quilt using the Cotton Theory Quilting technique so that one side will be LSU and the other side will be Saints!  There were some beautiful quilts on display.  I felt so inadequate and in awe of the work these quilters can do.

I also bought a quilt pattern that I hope to try soon.  It is very simple, but I'm sure it will be a challenge for me.

 

And this is the last of the fabric that I bought at the quilt show...a gorgeous purple and gold Fleur De Li's.

My plan for the Holiday long weekend is to sew the dress, cut the jacket muslin and then adjust if needed and then cut the fashion fabric. The dress muslin was made last week and it fits perfect straight from the envelope with no adjustments. 

That is all for now, happy sewing.

Kwik Sew 3614

Ok, I finshed 3 pair of shorts with Kwik Sew 3614. The first pair was a light weight tan pair that are now too big but great for around the house.

The second pair is from an aqua blue twill from Hancocks and that I also used to practice welt pockets. These were the practice pieces. #1 was using the instructions from a PR online class by Shannon Gifford. I only tried it once and knew more practice was needed.

The second try was from instructions in a post on Gorgeous Fabrics' Blog from Friday, February 23, 2007 http://gorgeousthings.blogspot.com/search/label/Pockets which came out much much better.

Then I made a denim pair of shorts and was scared to mess them up with a welt pocket if things didn't go well, so I'll put the welt pockets in the next pair of shorts - a dark green twill. Here are the denim pair

They are cut 1 size smaller than the first pair and I love the stretch denim. I bought that at Joann's in Winter Springs last month. I messed up the buttonhole when I went to cut the slit and ended up cutting the threads! Drat! I'll have to hand sew around the cut part to keep the denim from unraveling, but since I always wear my shirts out, no one will see it but me.
I didn't do a review of these shorts on PR because they had been reviewed several times already and I really didn't have anything to add.
Next up, the green pair of shorts then a couple of dresses. Hopefully I won't be so long in posting.....

Yes....I'm saying it again...I'm still here!!

Haven't been doing much in the blogging world...but I have been sewing a bit. I made 2 pair of the shorts and I've cut fabric for 2 more. I will post pictures later of both pair that I made.

I've actually been praticing making welt pockets for the back of the shorts. I used Shannon Giffords method that she had in one of her online classes that I took from PR, and boy do I need more practice. I googled and found another way to make them, so that is up next...we will see how well that method goes. I really want to add them to my shorts so they will look more RTW.

I cut a stretch denim for one pair and a dark green twill for the other pair. Both fabrics were purchased on my last visit (end of April) to Winter Springs, FL to visit my daughter and her family. My grandson is a great fabric shopper! He helped pick out the thread and zippers for both pair! I think his young eyes helped pick the right colors for the thread.

I'm still here!

I'm still around...just haven't been sewing or blogging. I was very busy for work lately and am now getting a bit of time for my favorite hobby!
Sunday I made a shorts muslin that I had to tweak just a bit and now I'm ready to cut the fashion fabric. I'm using Kwik Sew 3614.

I'm making the longer version of course! This pattern has a really unique way to insert the zipper and also the waistband. Everything is done flat! Quite easy and intersting. This is the first pair of pants I'm made in many, many years. Stay tuned for the finished project.

The quilt...I'm not done with it, but I've put it away for now. I wasn't able to practice the quilting as much as I thought I would, so I've put it away until I feel like practicing again.

I did get to spend a whole week in my favorite place...San Diego. I was there for work and then spent a few days extra to have fun. The weather was horrible...yes, horrible, but we managed to enjoy it anyway. Sunday, March 7 (my birthday) I had brunch with friends at the Hotel Del Coronado, wonderful! Then the afternoon/sunset in La Jolla.

I've also booked my annual sister's vacation. We are heading to London in July.

Well, until next time...Happy Sewing!

Practicing

The machine quilting isn't going so good. It. Is. Hard. And I'm not good at it. I did try tracing the stencil onto the sticky saran wrap...my BSR doesn't read the fabric well so my stitches in curves are not regulated. So I've traced the stencil directly onto the fabric. I'm. Not. Good. AT ALL! So I may just have to stitch in the ditch...we'll see....practice continues.