Louet Celebrity Progress

Link to Photo

Here's the back of the Instant Jacket I've been knitting in Louet's Celebrity yarn. It goes really quickly, as it's 2spi on Size 15 needles. I just love the colors and the little bumps that show.

I'm also finally binding off for the sleeve cap on the Xmas cabled sweater I'm making. So, after it's done, one more sleeve and then assembly. It's been fun to knit, but it will be nice to be done too.

A Fair Outcome

Photo Link Here

Here's Pearle in front of his 1st Prize shirt at the 2007 Nebraska State Fair. I was very thrilled to win. We almost couldn't find it when we looked this morning, but they had put it on a mannequin in a case, so it made a nice backdrop. We rent a cool little scooter for him to get around the fairgrounds on, and I get my excercise just keeping up. He can go fast!

I've been knitting on one of the Instant Jackets I'm doing from my new elann yarn, and I'll have to take a photo soon. It's the Louet Celebrity, and it's really luscious. I'm done with the back and halfway up one front. It really is fast to knit.

Nightie, Night!

I bought some beautiful embroidered-border batiste from FabricMart some time ago, and finally got around to making a nightgown from it. It's such a fine, thin fabric that it feels quite luxurious, although it's cotton. Perfect for a nightgown. I used my copied-from-a-favorite-RTW-gown pattern, and although it's quite simple, I'm very pleased with it, as it's exactly what I wanted.


Photo Link Here

I was planning to use some trim for straps and the top edge, but as I worked with the fabric I enjoyed the feel of it so much, and it was so light that I was afraid trim would weigh it down, so I decided to do narrow turned tube straps, and also to just turn the top edge over twice and do a hand stitched finish. I used Edge Stitch, as described in my favorite sewing book, Sew the French Way. It's said to be de rigeur for fine lingerie seams, and it's very pretty. It's also used to attach lace and appliques to lingerie, as it has tiny decorative holes when you're done. It looks very much to me like the heirloom stitch on my machine called Point de Paris, although this is much finer and more flexible by far. It only took a couple hours to do the stitching, and I enjoyed it. I may even do more. You can see it in the next photo, and if you want a real close-up, use the link below the photo.


Photo Link Here

The yarn I ordered Thursday night from elann.com came yesterday (Monday) which I thought was excellent service. I'm planning an Instant Jacket type cardigan out of each of the two yarns. The left is Louet's Celebrity, and on the right is Austermann's Soft Wool. I also got a couple sets of double-pointed needles that I needed.


Photo Link

I've also begun to seriously plan my Fall sewing, and have begun tracing and altering the patterns I'm planning to use. This is not something I generally do more than one pattern at a time, and I'm finding that this is really focusing my mind on details of what I want to do, and has been quite the nice experience. I dislike cutting out a number of garments at the same time, as it's so easy to change your mind about some detail when it's too late, but I think this mass alteration plan may be a good one for me. That way, when I'm ready to sew, I'll be ready to sew!

Omaha Expo in September

Kayleen was asking, and in case anyone else in my neck of the woods isn't aware of it, there's a sewing expo coming up in Council Bluffs, Iowa (across the river from Omaha)in about a month.

• The Original Creative Festival
  
  September 21, 22, 23, 2007
  Mid-America Center
  One Arena Way
  Council Bluffs, IA 51501
  
  
  WORKSHOPS BEGIN Thursday September 20th 9:00 am
  Sewing machines sponsored by Sew Viking
  Irons sponsored by ROWENTA
  
  Three days of FUN PACKED ENTERTAINMENT
  
  Special Guest Speaker Cynthia England / England Designs
  Cynthia is a graduate of the Art Institute of Houston and has been creating quilts for more than thirty years. Experimentation with quilting techniques led her to develop her own unique style. Cynthia’s quilts have been honored with many awards, including two Best of Shows at the prestigious “International Quilt Association”. Her quilt, Piece and Quiet was distinguished as one of the Hundred Best Quilts of the 20th Century. Cynthia teaches and lectures nationally and internationally.
  
  Come learn from the top industry designers & educators that will be offering 4 days of workshops, seminars & FREE stage presentations. Special Guest speakers: Cynthia England, Jodi Barrows, Emma Seabrooke, Barbara Callahan, Connie Spurlock, Sheila Reinke, Brian Bergquist, Terry White, Jewell Hulitt, Lorraine Henry, Connie Spurlock, Kathy Ruddy, James Raymer, elinor peace bailey, Ute Vasina, Patti Culea, Julie McCullough and more to be announced. It’s a perfect opportunity to learn NEW sewing, quilting, crafting and embroidery skills or simply sharpen current ones.
  
  Cloth Doll Makers & Doll Lovers
  YOU are in for a HUGE treat! For the first time in Council Bluffs 4 of the Top Industry Cloth Doll Artist; elinor peace bailey, Patti Medaris Culea, Ute Vasina & Julie McCullough will be traveling to The Original Creative Festival and will display their Creations, teach workshops, lecture and offer Hands-on Make & Take it projects during the Festival. Be sure to stop by “Doll Alley” and meet the artist face to face, they will have all their newest products & supplies for purchase.

I plan to go for a day, mainly to visit the vendors and perhaps do a few classes. There's quite a list of them, and some sound pretty interesting. I've been told that Lorraine Henry is very good on fitting and pattern choices. Anyone know anything about her?

There's a thread on Stitcher's Guild about this now, too.

There's also going to be a Hancock workshop weekend in October in Omaha, but I haven't heard who the guest speaker/educator will be. It's always been very good though, so I'm hoping for great things.

A Real Quickie - Sundress

I felt like sewing something, and since I need to go through my fabric inventory and really decide on my plans for Fall as a whole, I didn't want to start on anything major. I just needed that quick fix of a fast project. I had some cute printed knit fabric that I bought from Wazoodle last year, planning some sort of sundress. The May 2007 Burda WOF had a cute top and sundress from the same pattern, only with different lengths. It's not my usual thing, but it's been so horribly hot the last week or so that my brain is fried I think, and it's finally hot enough that I think of sundresses for me, rather than other people.

I did the top first in a tricot to try it out, and found that the V-neck hit way too low. It was cute though, and I decided to raise the neckline. I just made it horizontal instead of a V, and I think it came out very cute. I like the fact that the straps almost completely cover my bra straps, except where the knot is. It has a self-fabric tube as a belt, although I think if I wear it, it will probably be unbelted. It would be cooler that way too. The colors in the first photo are the most true.


Photo Link here


Photo Link here.

I got my Marfy patterns yesterday! That should spur me on. I also just finally went and bought the new Vogue Knitting magazine. I have to call them now and tell them mine never came.

Fall Sewing - Ruched Skirt

Link to larger photo.

I knew when I saw this skirt pattern in the May 2007 Burda WOF magazine that I wanted to make it, and I knew the perfect fabric. Timmel Fabric had had a plaid mesh fabric that kept popping up in my head, but I never knew just what I should do with it. Until I saw this skirt. The original was a plain tulle underskirt with a border print overskirt, but I thought a plain overskirt would be more wearable with such a stylized design. So, I ordered the fabric along with a plain brown in a light weight, and proceeded to do nothing with them for a couple months. I'm glad I waited, as it really seems to be a Fall skirt rather than a summer one, and when I had finished it, my real problems began, as I tried to find something that I wanted to wear with it.

I had lots of help from some very discerning eyes, and the consensus was that it went best with a Marfy zip-front jacket that I made a couple years ago. (The colors are better in person, as I lightened this photo a bit so the skirt shows better.) So, now I had a jacket, I now needed a blouse. I had enough left of the plaid to make a blouse, and so I tried on several styles to see what I liked with the jacket, and decided on Vogue 2719, which I had made previously in a batik. You can see the collar under the jacket above, or here's a photo of just the skirt and blouse.


Link to larger photo here.

I put 2 collars on the blouse. I used the brown skirt fabric for the undercollar on the top collar and the top of the lower collar. It's a small detail, suggested by Linda's description of an Armani jacket, although completely different, and not nearly so wonderful. It was fun to do something different, though.


Larger Photo Here.