and sew the running begins...: January 2009

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Necktie madness

"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties? How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around your neck?" ~Linda Ellerbee

I've been working on my mom's outfit a little and have come to a standstill on it. I deconstructed the muslin and cut the pieces out of the fashion fabric, but I didn't label them in any way, the front of the fabric or the back, or which pieces are front panels or side panels. I thought I could just figure it out, but it's turning out to be quite a chore and is making me angry.

I'll get back to it but I definitely needed a break from it. In the meantime I worked on the next project I have in my queue...my dad's tie. If you recall, I bought two tie silks in the New York fashion district. I decided to use this one

to make a tie for my Dad's Christmas present this past Christmas. Well now that it's almost February, it's about time I started working on it, eh? :)

I used Kwik Sew 3183 for the pattern.

First I made a muslin to practice. It turned out so-so.

As you can see, the point wasn't exactly straight, and while you can't see it in this picture, the interfacing showed on the back, and there's a crease down the center of the tie that I couldn't get to iron out. The cool thing was that I figured out how to change the directions a little bit to fix these problems.

For the first time in my sewing experiences, I am *extremely* pleased with how it turned out! Don't get me wrong, I've liked other things I've made, but this is the first time I've felt very excited and happy about how the item looks in comparison to a store-bought item.

This tie was such a fun, quick, and relatively easy project! I do believe my Dad will be quite surprised and happy when he sees his (belated) Christmas present. :)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Kitty cat bed

"...one of the ways in which cats show happiness is by sleeping."
~Cleveland Amory

One of my cats' favorite places to sleep is here, in this corner on this 3 yards of fleece fabric I bought for B because The University of Louisville is his favorite team:

One of my cats' least favorite places to sleep is here, on this pillow I made especially for them out of the SAME fabric:

Though when I put the pillow up on the sewing table to take a picture of it, Grace decided it was, in fact, the only place for her to sleep at that moment:

It must be the location. Or the fact that they're *supposed* to sleep on it. Not sure which.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Back to the Future Wednesday

"Children will not remember you for the material things that you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them."
~Richard L. Evans

This year for Christmas, based on a tradition Gwen has for her nieces and nephews, I decided to take my niece who's 9 and my nephew who's 11 fabric shopping as part of their Christmas present. I told them that I wanted to make them pjs and they could pick out whatever fabric and basic design that they liked. My niece desperately wanted footie pajamas, but I was unsuccessful at finding a footie pj pattern during our shopping trip, so she settled for a nightgown and we chose this pattern:

As you may or may not remember, this is the pattern from which I made my twin nieces pjs, so I already have some familiarity with the pattern! Score! But this time I get to make the gown instead of the two pieces. For her fabric, she fell in love with this very fun, very fishy seersucker fabric.
My nephew wanted a short sleeve t-shirt pj, so we picked this pattern for him:

and he was instantly drawn to these two simpsons cotton prints. He wants the bottoms made out of the blue "I didn't do it" fabric. For the top he chose the fabric on the right called "Where's Bart" and much like "Where's Waldo" you search for Bart amongst all of the other Simpsons characters. My nephew just thought that was so totally awesome and was very excited about his pjs!

I have a few other things to finish before I get to these pjs, like my mom's outfit, and my Dad's and B's ties, but since the present was the afternoon out with me and the purchase of the fabric there's no real hurry to get them done. Though they are definitely marked high on the priority list.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Return to sewing

"A hobby is only fun if you don't have time to do it."
~Leo Beenhakker

Well I had a very nice holiday season and I hope all of you did too! Now that all the Christmas-crafting is over, it's time to resume sewing. Boy do I have a bunch to do. Right before the holiday season hit I felt no motivation to sew. Luckily for my birthday, in December, I received several gifts that will help me sew- tools and inspiration:

My mom gave me a nice cutting table and a craft lamp. Now I don't have kneel on the floor to cut and I'll be able to see much better to sew after dark.

and I got a great Japanese sewing book from my friend Gwen.

There are so many cute clothes in this! Sadly I don't think I'm actually small enough to fit into their largest size, since Japanese women tend to be on the petite side, but some of the items would make great gifts, and perhaps the patterns can be modified to fit me. All of the pictures feature polka dots, which I adore!!! So thanks Gwen, I can definitely see lots of inspiration coming from this book.

Now, after my hiatus from sewing and my new tools in hand I'm feeling the motivation. Sewing machine here I come!

Year in review

"Another fresh new year is here...
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest...
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!"
~William Arthur Ward

I've seen a few people post their sewing accomplishments for the year, so I thought I would do the same. Here are my sewing highlights for 2008:

August