Me Made May - week 3 update

Since this post is being written during week 4, let me say: it's getting hard! My "me made" wardrobe is fairly slim and I'm starting to run out of steam. Looking back, week 3 went pretty well.

Day 11 - Mother's Day and the Sacramento Antique Fair (with my mom, of course) wore my just-finished-the-night-before-and-not-even-washed-so-don't-look-too-close-there-may-be-chalk-marks second Datura blouse.

Day 12 - second Datura again! I only left the house briefly (Monday/Tuesday are my "days off") and I wore crappy yard work clothes most of the day. I slapped this puppy on to go to dinner with friends. 

Day 13 - Rainbow meeting night means clothing I wouldn't wear elsewhere. The dress is my first dress ever (how did I not realize that when I made it? I also never named it) and I knit the sweater a few years ago. I love yellow. Could you tell? 

Day 14 - Movies in the Park shorts and a tank top. It was 100° that day, and I work in a kitchen with no AC. 'nuff said. (also, clearly this was before work!) 

Day 15 - This is why I don't wear nice things- because they're covered up with a dingy apron and smeared in grease! Dresses are nice and cool during hot summers (almost literally) slaving over a hot stove. 

Day 16 - On Wednesdays We Wear Black Dress. Worn on a Friday. Still unblogged. 

Day 17 - I wore BOTH Datura tops. I wore the white one to work with shorts and then the red one to a show. I did not take a picture of either outfit because I had a very busy day that included going to a succulent and cactus show, but I did take a picture of the two tops together. Which one is your favorite? 

"Hey, you're wearing a green dress. What, are you Irish? I bet you're Irish." FO: Dolly Cricket dress!

Nothing to disclose.



I finally did some fancy pictures for my Cambie dress. I decided to enter it into Sew Dolly Clackett, so I took a page out of Dolly Clackett herself's book and took pictures in front of my front door. Glad all my little plants are blooming! 





This was why I added extra fabric to the skirt: to be able to wear it to dance in on St. Patrick's Day. Holding the skirt is part of all of my favorite dances. This is me on the local news dancing in the dress: http://www.news10.net/videos/life/2014/03/17/6549351/



I'm a sucker for a dress with pockets.

I'm not a sucker for a dress that puts the "ass" in "massive", and this does. I didn't add that much to the skirt, so I have to assume that I'm not the only one with this problem. Especially because the waistband hits below my natural waist, it really makes the lower half of the dress look BIG. The fabric design doesn't help. If I remade this, and I very well might, I would definitely take fabric out of the skirt or do view A. This has actually reverse-inspired me to make some pencil skirts and tighter fitting things because this is so big. The fit could have been better, but I always consider the first item done from a pattern to be a muslin. You never know how you will feel about fit until you put in a zipper and wash it a few times and wear it all day long. I know that for future Cambies, tighter is better in the bodice. I will probably wear a belt with it, too, but haven't tried that yet.

I do love this dress and plan to wear it to a lot of the Celtic events that I attend, when I'm not wearing dance costumes and the like. I LOVE that I can wear a "regular" bra with it, and I've been meaning to put some ribbon strap-holders in the shoulders. It's very comfortable to wear and despite being pretty out there (i.e. covered in shamrocks and clover) no one has said anything weird or otherwise about it.

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie
Fabric: Heather Ross Briar Rose Cricket Clover in Yellow Clover (quilting cotton)
Alterations/Mods: added fabric to skirt
Dress stats: fully lined, vintage metal zipper
Cost: fabric $15, pattern $24 ($18+shipping), zipper - stash = $39
Started 2/27/14, finished 3/02/14

Verdict: Dress B+, Pattern A

Second sewing FO: Cambie!

nothing to disclose




YAY!

Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie
Fabric: Heather Ross Briar Rose Cricket Clover in Yellow Clover (quilting cotton)
mods: added fabric to skirt

I feel in LOVE with this fabric the instant I saw it. I work in an Irish pub; I have a shamrock tattoo; I needed this fabric like air. I had a hard time choosing what color I wanted, since there were 3. The others had a more chartreuse green, and had I been able to see them in person I probably would have picked one of them. But going only off pictures on the internet, I knew this would be a safe bet. (And thank you to Anna for getting it to me!)

I used a vintage zipper that belonged to a family friend whose sewing stash I inherited. It is a metal zipper painted white, that has quite a lot of wear but looks really neat. It quite clearly had been used in a previous garment and removed. I did an exposed zip although I don't have any pictures of it.

I'm pretty happy with the fit of the dress. It could be better, but I was erring on the side of being not too tight because the muslin seemed tight. It doesn't bother me enough to take it in, but if I make another one, I will make the bodice tighter below the bust. The sleeves/straps are GREAT! I love not having to worry about wearing a specific bra for a dress or even a strapless one. I could probably even wear a sports bra for when I dance on St. Patrick's Day.

Verdict" A+ would make again

back on the sewing wagon.

Which is literally the title of a post I did in 2010: http://tartanhearts.blogspot.com/2010/03/back-on-sewing-wagon.html

Sewing isn't my favorite thing. It doesn't come naturally to me the way that knitting and other fiber-related crafts to. I have to really think about it and take my time. And the worst part is that mistakes are so much harder to fix. Especially when it comes to cutting.

But when you combine being 5'10" and generally not petite, fitting ridiculous dress codes (Highland dance, DOS, IORG, etc.) and it almost becomes a necessity. Plus it seems like I want to sew every year at this time. Winter blahs? Who knows.

Point is, I made a dress.

(I still have not taken nice pictures of this dress, so selfies will have to suffice!)

I even did it properly and did a test-run muslin.



This was the dress pre-alterations:



I ended up taking it in about 3-4" in the waist. I could have easily done a size or even two sizes smaller but I really wasn't sure how much ease I would want in a finished garment that was fully-lined.





Finished specs:

Pattern: McCall's 3129 (Patternreview)

Fabric: This rainbow polka dot stuff from Hobby Lobby. (I had a gift card. I was not impressed with them at all so I do not feel bad about not shopping there.) It is perfect for IORG, which is what it was intended for.

Alterations: Took in the waist about 4". Added full lining (which was so easy and I am so glad I did). Should have lengthened it (and the pattern was great about how to lengthen/shorten), because it's about ankle length instead of top-of-my-foot/floor length. Nothing major.

Notes: The zipper installation instructions sucked, and I am very glad that the internet and many of the wonderful tutorials out there exist. I have installed zippers before but needed a refresher. I forgot that I don't care about using invisible zippers, and won't waste my time with that in the future. I have never done a lapped zipper, which I am looking into presently.

Verdict: I would sew it again, but I probably won't because there are too many other gorgeous patterns out there begging to be sewn. Sewaholic Cambie is on my list to be done next. Or Simplicity 1882.

Back With a Bang

It's the most wonderful timw of the year. Everyone's stressed. I always get really depressed during wintertime. I think that's because I get outside so much less and don't get to enjoy the sun. What I'm trying to say is the holidays suck! And they're just starting.

Speaking of the holidays, I went so San Francisco to do a little Christmas shopping yesterday with the ladies from the Elks Lodge down the street. And I managed to forget my camera! I did get some shopping done and I finally found a pair of grey Chuck Taylors in my size! I've been looking for some for years. I wanted to check out the yarn shops in the city, but didn't have time. I did, however, pick up the newest Debbie Stoller book, Son of Stitch n Bitch. I just picked it up on a whim with no intention to buy it at all, (I haven't been very impressed with the manly patterns in her other books) and I loved it! The 'Lucha Libre' pattern sealed the deal for me. I'm not entirely sure I would want to wear a wool mask, but it made me immediately think of a couple of friends who would love it. There are a couple of other patterns I like a lot, like the Ernie sweater and the argyle scarf. The stripper illusion scarf is just classic. A must-knit.

Since it's the holiday season, I'm knitting a lot of smaller stuff. Most of it is generic and could be given to a lot of different people. There is always at least one time where I kick myself and think, "How could I have forgotten about ____?!"



pattern: My So-Called Scarf, still a WIP
yarn: Patons Classic Merino Wool in a colorway I can't remember
needles: US #10s

This is one of those things that I have no idea what I'm going to do with. Give as a gift, but I don't know to whom. Best case scenario: I don't have anyone to give it to and I can sell it. (With most patterns one couldn't do that, but this is just based on a stitch pattern! whoo!)



yarn: Peaches n Cream in Daisy
hook: I-9, I think
pattern: Little Dress Dishcloth
mods: i used a small elastic hairband instead of a plastic ring in the center.

I don't know what I'm doing with this, but I know I'm not keeping it. Definitely a grandma-type gift. Way too cutesy for my taste, but it's fun to make.
I'm actually thinking about making a bunch of dishtowels for people. The kind with the little loop for hanging. You don't have to hang it from your oven (reccomended) but everyone uses towels in the kitchen!



pattern: Seaman's Cap
needles: US #7s (4.5mm)
yarn: LB Wool Ease
mods: On this hat, I did the ribbing the opposite of the pattern (k2, p1 instead of k1, p2) and I did the ribbing on the same size needles.
I've also made a TON of these hats (I'm on #4 or 5 right now, but haven't photographed those yet.). They are pretty much the perfect knit hat. I wish I didn't feel like such a homeless man wearing one, otherwiseyou would probably never get it off my head.Maybe I need to make a more feminine one. Anyway, Dad and Grandpa are all getting these for Christmas. Boyfriend already has two. The best part is, these take very little time to make. I just wish I could find a CO that I really like on reversed ribbing. I like the front of the double CO (also known as the thumb method) but the back is just purl bumps which is not my favorite. I might try a cable CO with the next hat.

I did a little dyeing last weekend while the rest of the family was out picking out a Christmas tree and it turned out rather crappily, if I do say so myself. More on that, and pictures! in the future. It was probably the worst dyeing experience I've had to date. And let me tell you, hot Kool-Aid stinks!