Marfy Scuba Dress

I've been doing more sewing than blogging lately, which is probably a very good thing.  I fell in love with Marfy 3507, and decided I had to make it in a neoprene/scuba fabric.  I wanted a print rather than just a plain color and I found an unusual gray floral print at Elliott Berman Textiles.   



I'm not usually a floral person unless it's large and somewhat abstract, and this was small/medium and very traditional.  The style is traditional as well, a coat dress, but the zippers definitely update it.  I did a lot of alteration, and ended up making a trial garment which I didn't hem but is otherwise finished, out of a heavy dark green knit.  I adjusted the front waist size smaller and went on to begin anew with the neoprene.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the fabric was a dream to sew.  It's got body galore, and pretty much did whatever I wanted it to.  No ravelling, no 'squirming' around, it just stayed put.  It did require understitching on the collar and front edges. I used Pam's Pro-Tricot Fusible Interfacing on the collar and the lapel point areas, and that was all the interfacing it needed.  

 

 You can probably see that I used some interesting zippers for this dress.  These are Coats & Clark's Cutwork Zippers and they were very easy to apply.  The only problem I had was that they only came in 2 sizes, 7" and 22".

I ended up using the 7" zippers instead of flaps for the faux pockets.  They worked perfectly. 
However, the 22" zipper was too short to be both as high as I needed it at the neckline and as low as it needed to go on the skirt hem to make the dress really wearable.   So, I took another zipper and installed it from the bottom up, stitching the lower one over the upper when I got to the join.  It's not really noticeable when worn, especially with the somewhat busy fabric.  I like to have it unzipped from the bottom for a few inches for walking ease. 

The dress fits like a glove and is very comfortable, if also really, really warm to wear.  It will be a great winter dress, although as soon as we were done with the photos, I knew I wouldn't be wearing these shoes with it.

  The color is not good on the side view, but I thought the shaping was important to see.  I think this is a great basic pattern and it would be very easy to add a buttonhole extension to it, although the zippers are fun.  Once the alteration work has been done, I like to reuse a pattern if I can.

Leaving Santa Fe

It was such a wonderful time with wonderful women in a wonderful place. We made memories. Nancy (and Tony, who learned quite a lot about the ways of sewing friends, and that Nancy's behavior re textiles is perfectly normal) were perfect hosts and guides, and everything went so smoothly. Her suggestion that we stay at La Fonda masse for a wonderful stay. I recommend this fabulous hotel for anyone wanting a relaxing, pampered getaway. Meeting Margy and Sharon (Shams) was so much fun, and I know we'll be getting together again. Ann was with us for what seemed like a very short time. She is such a delight that we wanted more. And Patti. The originator of our group, she is a masterful mixer of personalities, always congenial and of course, she's a Legend! This dragon was in front of a gallery on Canyon Road, a delightful art district with lots of outdoor art as well as lovely shops. Jan and I took a short walk from La Fonda on the advice of Margy, and it was well worth it. I loved this little Frog Prince. We enjoyed visiting the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Palace of the Governors, which is also a museum. We had the most fantastic tour guide there,a former librarian from USC, who really made it comes alive, and drew everyone into the narrative. I will probably be writing more later about this trip, and especially about the wonderful Snoop Shopping we did. Santa Fe Dry Goods, you are a wonderful place!

Santa Fe Fabric Shopping

It wasn't all fabric shopping, but the fabric shopping was very successful. Patti and Ann would not arrive until afternoon, so Nancy led Jan, Margy, Sharon and me to Santa Fe Fabric, stopping at the fabulous bakery next door for breakfast first. Blueberry scones and Almond Croissants, that's all I'm saying. Very nice fabric shop and they have some things I hadn't seen before. I found a wonderful bird print in a stretch cotton for a summer Marfy skirt. This is an unusual poly that has almost a brushed nonwoven look, with couched yarns on a floral print. I think it's very southwestern in feel. I want to use it with some navy knit for a top. Nancy found a bolt of stretch overall sequined fabric in a deep navy that I agreed I should have. I'm thinking the DK cowl front dress in a floor length. Awful photo, but the sequins are hard to photograph. Then I found a cute knit stripe that has palm trees under the stripes for a cute summer top. Finally I was all done, but at the last minute found a wool spandex tweed knit with a lovely weight for a pair of knit pants in my favorite Marfy pant pattern. After the fabric shop, Nancy, Jan and I went to the Puma outlet and bought shoes. They are very cute, and look to be comfortable as well, which is always hard to find together.

Fun Fabric

Yes, I'm at this moment on my way to Santa Fe to, among other things, shop for fabric, but when Elliott Berman has their annual sale, I usually order. It came yesterday, and I'm pleased with all of it, especially the neoprene for the Marfy dress I'm working on. It's the floral. The wild fuchsia is a brushed brocade for a retro 60's coat, and the other two are knits.

Squirrel Fluff & Phone Update

It's been quite the day. As per my last post, my phone was immersed this morning, dried out and apparently it's now as good as new, albeit with a cleaner screen. Needless to say, I do NOT recommend this method of screen cleaning. So now, a post from my newly dried and useable phone. This picture is the end of a long story. I looked out the window this afternoon and laughed. That squirrels nest in the tree, probably 40' in the air, has a rather fanciful topknot of polyester batting. Originally I saw this batting at about eye level in the corner of my fence in some dried vines I was going to remove. It didn't look like much until I started pulling it out, but believe me there's more there than you'd think they could stuff into a place that small. I realized it was some kind of a nest and got a little nervous about what I might find. I had gloves on, so it was okay. Well, I found one squirrel sleeping, seemingly pretty good sized. I stuffed him and the fluff back where I found him. After that, apparently, the nest builder decided it would be safer to be out of my reach, and moved it to the nest in the tree. Somehow I don't think I'll be climbing the neighbor's tree to remove it again. The really strange thing is that when I first found it, I couldn't figure out where they had found all the nice, clean white fluff. I gave them credit for good instincts though. The next day I figured out their source. I have a very faded outdoor swing I was planning to recover. Well, I now have a reason to get to it quickly. The squirrels jumpstarted my project for me. Who knew they were un-upholsterers?

Rice! I Need More Rice!

Yeah, well, now that I have a nice phone app to do blog posts, I tried dropping my phone into the fish pond.  It doesn't help.  So, it is now taken apart and sitting in a bowl of rice after I dried it out as much as I could, first with a linen tea towel (the best, as we fabric lovers know) and then with a hair dryer on no-heat.  Sigh.

I'm hoping for the best, and after some research and questioning my brother (the IT guy) about it, next time I do this (never I hope!) I will try this method, using alcohol to first displace the water in the phone, and then drying it out in rice.  Can't hurt, and apparently has been the go-to method for underwater cameras for years.  Who knew?

A small bit of sewing content:  I thought I finished the patternwork on the Marfy 3507 dress last night, but of course this morning I realized I had forgotten a couple things I wanted to check.  It's always a good idea to sleep on it when it's a big project.  My brain sometimes seems to work better when I'm asleep than awake.  Sad, isn't it?  Anyway, I'm almost ready to do a muslin.  I think I have a suitable not-too-stretchy knit to use that will somewhat mimic the neoprene, which I don't have yet, so basically I'm guessing.  Oh well, onward and upward.

I will say I  hope you have a blessed holiday weekend, whatever holiday you're celebrating.  They're all very inter-related, which I find very nice.  I will be singing tonight at Good Friday services, and again Sunday for Easter, then having my family over for Easter Dinner.  Should be fun, especially if it stays warm.

My daffodils have recovered pretty well after being snowed on immediately after they bloomed, and the first tulip is out today!

Pattern Work

I'm beginning to alter the pattern for a Marfy dress I'm going to make. It's from the new 2014/15 catalog, #3507, and as soon as I saw it in the catalog,I knew I had to have it. I've been thinking if a neoprene dress since a trip to Chicago with Mardel. We saw some wonderful examples at Barney's, and when Elliott Berman had some, AND it's their 50% off birthday sale, I simply had to get the fabric. Here's the pattern as it comes,
partly unfolded,
and laid out to check.
Pattern alterations are never any fun. We would all like to just have the pattern come out of the package perfectly sized for us, ready to cut. Well, at least in my case, that's never going to happen. I will shorten above the bust, enlarge the bust, do a swayback alteration which will add a CB seam, and probably enlarge the sleeves slightly, as they are exactly my size now, with no ease. It would be okay for this fabric as is, but I think a little ease it's a good thing generally. Wish me luck! I'm trying an app that lets me blog from my phone, so I'm hoping it will mean more posts from me.

Thanks to becki-c, I now have the correct pattern illustration, too!

Another "Design Opportunity". FSG#1960 Plaid

I love design opportunities, but not as much when they appear because I have made a mistake that needs to be rectified. You get a hint of the solution on the right.  The third photo will show you the problem that I fixed.  All of the photos are also at my photo site.

    

I naturally planned to match the plaid on this top.  I didn't think much about it, and since the most plaid I've matched were all the shirts I made for Pearle, I just used my fall-back plaid matching method, and matched the lower armscye points.  It always worked beautifully on his shirts, but as you can see in the following photo, there was a little problem when I got to the dart.  Duh.  So, now I had a design opportunity camouflaged as a mis-matched side seam.  Although something like the seam shown below would be unremarkable in a lot of RTW, it is almost unthinkable in what I make for myself. 

  
 

I think my solution is rather fun, and it was fairly simple, although the spongy knit made it tricky to do a horizontal tuck very easily.  Not like pressing a beautiful tuck in say, linen.  But with a little hand basting, it all worked out, and the side seams are fine, and the back is FUN, if I do say so myself.

Teaching at ASG Convention

Mark Your Calendars for ASG Conference

Hyatt Regency St. Louis, at the Arch

July 24 - 28, 2014

I am so excited!  I hope you will be excited for me, too. 

I will be teaching at the American Sewing Guild National Convention in St. Louis in July!!

My friend Ruth C insisted I send in a teaching proposal, so I did, and they accepted me.  I will be teaching 3 different classes over the 4 day convention, with one repeat.  They are:

Shoes As Stylish As You:  We will cover a shoe with fashion fabric and your choice of embellishments, thus learning the techniques you will use to have a wardrobe of shoes to match your wardrobe of garments.  The class project will finish as a pincushion.  You may remember my Threads article on this topic.

Marfy Magic For You:  This is a trunk show of Marfy garments with a discussion of how to choose, use and acquire the patterns.  If you read my blog, you know I love Marfy, and it is so much fun to spread the love.  This is the class I'll repeat.

Clever With Your Needle: Specialty Hand Details:  Again, if you read my blog, you know I love to use hand details on my garments, and this will introduce them to you and discuss just why and when we would want to use them.  In a hands-on setting, we will learn to put a hand-stitched lining into a coat or jacket,  make a personalized medallion to use in a coat/jacket lining,  try some hand topstitching and saddle stitching, buttonholes, and some other fun details.  Here's a photo of the type of thing we will be talking about and trying.

So, if you are even thinking about going to Convention, think hard!  I want to see you all there, and get to meet you IRL!  When you decide, I want to know about it, so we can plan to meet. 

Catching Up to Style Arc

I have been hearing about Style Arc patterns for quite a while.  Ann, of Gorgeous Fabrics told me to get with it last year and try them, even suggesting a few I would like.  As usual, I'm a little behind, but I ordered the new Zoe Pencil Skirt the other day and along with it got February's Free-Pattern-of-the-Month, the Issy Knit Top.

Here they are laid out on the dining room table.  I have already traced and laid out the skirt.  I  have a nice blue tweedy wool that will be a good trial, and I have a gorgeous Elegance fabric from Mardel that I will use next if it is as good as I think it may be.  I love the idea of the dart shaping they're using, and the shifted side seams.  Let's hope it likes me too!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who commented so kindly on my Mermaid Gown.  It took me forever to get the post up, as I wanted some close-ups of the embellishment and it just wasn't happening.  So, here they are.  I used a very free-form style of beading and just found a bunch of beads that I thought looked good together and with the fabric.  I wanted something that would end up looking kind of floral and encrusted without being too much.  I am very happy with the way it turned out.


 This is the twist at the waist and the strung beads and cords that hang down from it.

The second photo shows the central drape a little higher up showing the twist and what's just above it.  There are a lot of silk ribbon 'leaves' mixed in with the beads.

 The third photo is higher up yet on the drape, showing the main style of embellishment.  The curving beads are cut pieces of spiral shells, a little hard to stitch on, and they don't stay perfectly still, but that's okay, it gives a little more movement to the design.

This is the perfect packable gown, as it seems to eschew wrinkles no matter what, and in fact I was carrying it around the house in a tote bag while I was beading on it.  Since it can't and shouldn't be hung, it now lives in a fabric-covered box on a shelf in my closet, waiting for its next appearance.

I can't tell you how much your kind and tremendously thoughtful comments mean to me.  I appreciate and reread each and every one.  Thank you.

Flowers

I just have to show off my lovely flowers.  I had some kind of a virus Friday that laid me low and my sweetie brought me flowers.  

Then when I got well, he brought me a dozen roses!  I just had to share.

Mermaid Gown

 I have been working on this gown for quite some time, since I wasn't in any hurry and didn't have any place to wear it particularly.  When the 90th Anniversary Banquet for my Mu Phi Epsilon alumni chapter came up, I knew I had to finish it.

The fabric is a mint/dull-red cross-dyed stretch velvet which was a gift from my dear friend Patti.  In the photos it shows as much more red than it does in person, I think because of the flash, but it is very changeable, and a lovely fabric.  She bought it and later realized that it wasn't her colors.  However, it IS my colors, and she was kind enough to let me have it.  I didn't have any plan for it originally, and thought it might become a nice, snuggly winter top.  And in fact, I was holding it up in front of the mirror last winter to see what style might be good when I draped it around myself and realized that it wanted to be an evening gown.

I have long been an adherent to the theory that you can't just pin a length of fabric around yourself and stitch it up as is, with no underpinnings, and have it look good once you're past about 18-20 years old.  I was shocked when I did just that with this fabric.  It was almost magic, the way everything just worked as if it was meant to be.  I don't expect to ever have it happen again.  I simply tacked it where I had pinned it, and didn't even cut at all.  Since the inside is a dull red, it makes a great contrast to the mint/sage green and red of the right side, and I used that contrast for the turn-over at the top.  The slit in the skirt shows both sides as well. 

The only interior 'work' I did was to add a grosgrain waist stay that is attached at the point where the waist drape twists.  With all the skirt fabric hanging from that point, it became heavy enough to sag after I added the beading, and the stay holds everything in place.  I wasn't uncomfortable once during the evening, or nervous that my dress was going to move out of place.

The beading was fun, and I just started in without any great plan other than an idea of what I wanted it to look like when I was done, and added more and more, and after the Kenneth King Weekend, I added silk ribbon embroidery and even more beads and some cording and strung beads that hang from the waist drape. 

The shawl is a piece of silk chiffon embroidered with starfish (appropriate for a mermaid gown?) that I purchased from eQuilter several years ago.  It's simply hemmed on the ends, and uses the selvedges for the other edges.  It turned out to be the perfect colors to go with this, and just what I needed.

Kenneth King Weekend (plus Bonus "Hostage" Experience)

Kenneth wearing his Clown Hair Jacket in front of a photo of it.

 I was lucky enough to be able to attend a wonderful workshop featuring Kenneth D. King, designer and sewer extraordinaire, in Kearney, Nebraska.  There were 4 sessions over Friday and Saturday, and I think I can safely say everyone there had a fabulous time.

Mardel came and stayed with me before and after the conference, although it was a flying visit, so not long enough.  We had a great time, and my friends Jan and Jane also went to the conference. 

We learned all kinds of cool tricks and interesting things, and I can say that my creativity was sparked in a big way.  It was just what I needed, I think.  The most exciting thing that happened however, was after the official weekend was over.  Kenneth's ride back to Omaha and his flight out the next morning, had to leave early and they needed someone "who would be willing" to take him to Omaha.  Well, THAT was a no-brainer!  Mardel and I immediately volunteered.  An extra hour to Omaha from Lincoln and then back home was more than worth it to have Kenneth King as Our Hostage!  Yes, we had him in the car for 3 hours across the state, and he was just as gracious, funny, fun, charming and personable as he had been the entire weekend.  We had a blast, and we hope he did too. 




I have a few photos when he let us try on a few things he had brought.  Talk about feeling like a queen!  Some are a little blurry, but that's life, I guess. This is one of his gorgeous boleros made with the moulage, I believe.  I have photos of another one with a blurry front and a sharper back that I will post soon, along with some other details.  Thanks to Mardel for taking these, and to Jan for taking the ones of Kenneth.

Another Swimsuit

I'm still doing Water Aerobics as my main exercise program, and so I'm still making swimsuits.  I did a new one this week and here it is.  The  pattern is one I copied from a RTW suit, and the fabric and the Fold-Over Elastic are from the LA Fashion District (thanks Kathi Rank!!) The bodice is lined with PowerNet from Fabric Depot.  It's sort of an athletic/shelf bra arrangement.  Since I'm hopping around a lot in this, and I'm not wearing it for 'glamour', I like the flattening effect I get with this type of support system.

I was going to say that this was the same as a couple other suits I made, and link to the blog post where I discussed them, but apparently I made them when I wasn't sewing much and I wasn't blogging at all, so I'll put a photo of them in now. 






The pink one with the lines of trim is the one I purchased and have copied.  The others are my copies, and all the fabric is from the LA Fashion District.  The newest, orange one is at the top right in the photos.
The lower photo shows the back, and the interior.  You can see that the powernet has elastic at the lower edge.  It's stitched to the edge of the front piece around the neckline, straps and down the sides.  The lower edge floats free.

New (Old) Vintage Singer aka Grandma's Treadle Machine

 When I was in Junior High (in the 1970's) I was sewing away on my Mom's machine, a straight stitch Domestic, which resided in my parents' bedroom and was in demand by me, my Mom, and my sister.  My grandmother lived in the same town we did, and she sewed as well.  She had a Singer Golden Touch'n'Sew that she used often.  But, she also had her Singer treadle machine, which had been a wedding present in 1925.  She let us have it, and I sewed on it for several years.  It was fun, very reliable, and not really much different than the Domestic other than the power source.

When we moved away, the treadle went back to Grandma's house.  When she moved to a smaller place, my aunt got the treadle, and had it in her home for quite a few years.  It was mainly used as a lovely end table.  I had assumed it would go to her daughter or granddaughters.  A few years ago she asked me if I was still interested in it, and I said, "Of course!"  So she said when she moved to a smaller place, it would come to me.  Well, that day arrived.  I got a call yesterday that her grandson (my cousin's son) was coming down in his SUV to move back home from his college housing here, and would bring the machine to me on the 'empty' trip here.  (He's decided to farm with his Dad, which I think is exciting as well.  It's very nice when young people know what they want to do, and are able to do it.)



So, here it is.  It needs a little love, but mainly it's just about as it was when I used it years ago.  I haven't tried it yet, but I will soon.  I need to read the manual, probably oil it, and the front tip-drawer needs to be put back in place, but it looks like a screwdriver may take care of that.  I am just quite thrilled! 

 

And these are the accessories and the original manual.

Clean Up

Just a couple notes.

Pam at Fashion Sewing Supply generously provided interfacing sample packs for all of the participants in the Coat Class I did on Saturday, as she did for me in Chicago too.  I can't thank her enough, and I hope the participants take advantage of the resource they've been given, and test the best interfacing available, in my opinion.  You know you'll need interfacing for a coat, and probably more than one type, so this is a great way for them to find out exactly what works best and what fits their fabric and their project.  She sells larger test/sample sets on her site, and I encourage you to try her products if you haven't already.  You will wonder how you got along with what you've used before.  NAYY, just a fan for quite a few years.

On to the non-sewing stuff. 

This may be kind of silly, but I am so thrilled to now have a recycling can as well as a garbage can!  I've been hauling the recyling to various places around town for several years, and it's not that much fun, plus it builds up in my garage until I can take it.  Now, finally I can put it in the recycling can and the garbage guys will take it away.  Thank you Niederhaus Bros.  This is wonderful!   I don't have to sort it, or haul it away myself, I just put it in the can and they take it once a week, like magic.  I don't produce that much trash anyway, but it's amazed me how much of what I used to throw away was recyclable, and it cuts down the actual trash to a very small amount.




My other news is the turkey of course.  I found eggs next to my house in the side yard, behind some ferns and daylilies, and it turned out that they were turkey eggs.  The turkey laid quite a few and has been sitting on them ever since.  I'm hoping they're going to hatch pretty soon.  I am able to look out a window above her nest, and so I keep an eye on her.  She never seems to move much, although I noticed there were quite a few feathers in the side yard yesterday, so maybe she's preening or something, away from the nest a bit.  I really know nothing about turkeys, so it's all a learning experience for me.

Fun in Omaha - ASG Class

The Coat Class I did for the Omaha ASG yesterday went very well.  I had a good time, and I think everyone else did too.  I had said earlier that I was taking about 6 coats that I'd made, but when I got them all together and actually counted them, there were 8.  I hadn't realized I'd made that many, and now I feel very virtuous, or productive, or something anyway. 


This is my latest Coat/Jacket as I'm putting it on and buttoning it up to show the fit.  Yes, it really does match across the seams and hem, but not while I'm buttoning it.

Here's a favorite I wear all the time, and you can see the slide of the Marfy catalog illustration of it.

This is the second time I've done this class, and it's just so much fun.  I hope I will get to do it again.

Ooh, also a little tid-bit I heard while there:  Kenneth King is coming to Kearney, Nebraska this fall to do a 2-day workshop for the Bishop Educators group.  I will make sure I get to attend!