Blue/Brown Snakeskin Print Skirt

Photo Link

This is the style of skirt I've been wearing a lot this summer, and I think this fabric worked very well for the it. It's a snakeskin print knit with an interesting feature; at least I think it's interesting. It has dots all over it that act a little like sequins. They're quite tiny, and I have to suppose it's part of the printing process. It may be what I've seen labeled holographic, but the ones I've seen like that are generally a much bigger dot. More the size punched out for a 3-ring binder, whereas these are about 1/16" or less in diameter, or about 1mm. Very tiny, anyway. It's what gives the fabric its shine and suggestion of skin or leather. In the photo below, you can see the fabric dots best on the brown part of the print although they are placed evenly over the whole surface.



Photo Link

Anyway, the skirt itself is very simple. Just a straight skirt with elastic waist and a handsewn hem. You can see both the inside and outside of the waistband above, and the ribbon loop that marks the CB. This pattern was a download that's no longer available, and actually has 4 seams but in this case I simply put the CB and CF on folds. I like the 4 seam look in most cases, but when the fabric has a busy print, I generally only do 2 seams for visual continuity. You can see the skirt laid out flat below.


Photo Link

My next quandary is should I make a jacket or something to match this? I have plenty of fabric left, and I think I'd like something. I thought of a 'scuba' type zippered jacket, but then thought that was a little too 'snaky' with this fabric. What about a cropped jacket? That's what I'm leaning toward now. But what about something else entirely? That's what I'm stumped on. I don't think a top is what I want, but it might be. What do you think? Any great ideas?

Marfy Flounced Top #2484

From Marfy 2484

From Marfy 2484

I've been avoiding pattern alterations for some reason, and I can't really sew a decently fitting bodice without at least an FBA, so I just forged ahead on Marfy #2484, one of the free patterns in the 2011/12 catalog. At first glance, I wondered why on earth Marfy had only extended the flounce to the shoulders or a little beyond. Seemed a little like "coffin clothes" but then I thought about what would happen to that flounce if you wore a jacket or other layer over it. You'd be fighting that back flounce continually and having to reposition it when you took your jacket off, and trying to get it to lay smoothly with the jacket on; in short, a real pain. So, this seems like a good plan after all.

I used an extremely thin knit fabric that I bought in the LA Fashion District while shopping with Kathi, Sue, and Lisa in February. I love the soft, watercolor effect and the colors, and the irregular slightly pleated/folded/wrinkled texture added didn't hurt either. The fact that the fabric is so very thin and soft let me use a faced technique for the flounce with great results.

From Marfy 2484

From Marfy 2484

I added a FBA and darts to this, but otherwise cut a straight 46. There are patterns given for the shaped front bands and facings and the sleeve hems, but since the pattern suggests either a woven fabric or a knit, and I used a knit, I just cut crossgrain strips and interfaced them lightly with PRO-TRICOT Deluxe fusible interfacing from Pam Erny's Fashion Sewing Supply. I used the same interfacing as a stay behind the neckline treatment. I used Jalie's binding method, which I like very much.

From Marfy 2484

Here is the binding pinned to the right side after the first pass, and with the flounce attached.

From Marfy 2484

The buttons are just for show, and I didn't bother putting buttonholes in. I handstitched the hem, just because the fabric is so soft, and I thought I'd have better control.

From Marfy 2484

Please don't laugh at me in cropped pants. I've been resisting them mightily for years, and found this pair in Irish Linen from Eileen Fisher for a song, so figured my time had come. I'm still not sure they're really "me", but they are comfy, so that's something I guess. Good color, too.

I've been wearing skirts a lot this summer, just little straight skirts from knits, and I have a new one almost done, and a couple on the cutting table.

Pink Top with Brown Polka Dot Trim

From

I saw a really cute crocheted dress pattern the other day from a Bernat vintage pattern leaflet called After Five and fell in love with it. Then I realized I'd be crocheting tiny motifs and attaching them to each other for the rest of my life, and decided to copy the idea but sew it rather than crochet. This top is what I came up with in my test.

From PinkTop

Here are the original photos for the dress.


I need to angle the lower binding more, as it reads horizontal now when worn. I would need to raise the neckline to more closely copy the original as well. Both of these things would be easy fixes, although the neckline change might require the addition of a closure.

I used my usual FSG#1960 Twinset pattern Top for this, although I think I might have done better with a Marfy tank pattern I like. I put a little side seam ruching at the hem, although you can't really see it in the photo.

From PinkTop

The polka dot fabric is a scrap I had on hand, and I think it turned out really cute.

I used the binding method given by Jalie in their #3024 knit dress pattern. Thanks Kay for noting these great instructions some time ago. I use them a lot now. Basically, you cut your binding 3x your seam allowance width, which will also be your finished width. This works for either binding on the right side or on the wrong side. The other side is always clean-finished.

From PinkTop

Swimsuit Straps and Food

From 2011April

I have been trying out Water Aerobics lately. I've had problems with Sciatica in the past, and suddenly it's back, and nothing seems to help much. It was suggested that water exercise might be good, as well as a few other things, but so far I'm trying the water, and it seems to help. It keeps pressure off the nerve, but still allows one to exercise.

I hadn't bought a swimsuit for years, but purchased 2 at the FIDM Shop in LA's Fashion District. They're identical styles in similar prints from Esther Williams. They have loops to attach halter straps, but there were no straps. Perhaps this is why they were selling them for $5 each. I decided it would be more comfortable to have regular, over-the-shoulder straps. I used some Victoria's Secret Satin Lycra I had. I put the non-stretch going lengthwise, so the straps do not stretch much if at all. There's plenty of stretch in the suit, and I wanted support. I made wide turned tubes, and pinned them in place, then tried it on, and adjusted (shorter) and did 2 rows of 2x2 zigzag at each end.

From 2011April

I think it turned out very well, and it's very comfortable to wear, and I think it looks pretty good, too. The color match is better than what I thought I'd find in the inventory. Now to do the other suit.

From 2011April

I also baked some rolls using the FARR bread machine I have. (FARR is Frivolous Appliance Round-Robin, and the machine belongs to my brother. I'm just 'storing' it right now.) You make the dough in the machine, then roll and shape it, let it rest, and bake it. They turned out pretty nice, and it was kind of fun. I love bread.

From 2011April

Chicago Fabrics

The UPS man brought me a very nice box this afternoon, and of course my fabric from Fishman's and Vogue were inside.

From Chicago Fiberly 2011

These two pieces are from Vogue Fabrics.
The top one is a Silk/Metal tissue-woven in Dark Brown and Gold. It's almost like a gauze. I'm going to use it to copy an elegant shrug/stole worn by the soprano at the Chicago Symphony last week. It had one sleeve, then went across the shoulders and fell to the floor on the other side. Very simple, very dramatic, and what impressed me most is that she didn't have to keep adjusting it. It stayed put. I'm hoping mine will too.
The lower piece is a Seafoam Slinky knit. I got just enough to make a top. I love the color.

From Chicago Fiberly 2011

This is a Wool/Lycra Knit w/French Terry-like back. Both of the knits I got at Fishman's (this and the one below) are really nice, heavy-weight knits that will be perfect for pants. This is a british tan/dull tobacco color. The 'french terry' side has a twill effect.

From Chicago Fiberly 2011

The fabric in back is the other knit, it's a chocolate brown. Both sides are similar on this one.
The front fabric is a Prada Wool with a birdseye weave in a very Grayed Brown with a Pink thread added. I fell in love with this. It's going to become a jacket. Fishman's also had this in 2 other colorways. Charcoal with Lavendar, and Charcoal with Lime. They were very nice, but as you can tell, I liked this best.

I thought I was fairly circumspect in my purchases, but I think I got some beautiful things, which would have been a complete gamble if I had had to purchase them online, sight unseen. I think solid colors are the hardest to buy online, as it's so difficult to describe colors, hand, etc. to each other.

I have to say that going fabric shopping with Ann and Kay opened my eyes. I thought I was fairly proficient at telling fiber content by feel, but I am a pure beginner compared to them. I will be attempting to brush up my ability, but I don't think there's much chance of my catching up too far. Obviously the only answer is to shop with them again!

Spring, and a Turkey Has Come

From 2011-04

It was nice in Chicago, especially on Sunday, but it's absolutely perfect Spring weather here in Lincoln. The forsythia had begun when I left, and there were crocuses, grape hyacinth, and other early bulbs blooming. Now everything is just pushing out, including the wisteria. Its buds are approaching 2" long, and have a ways to go before they'll bloom, but things are looking up. Spring is always so cheerful and hopeful. And then there's this turkey.

I saw the turkey once before I left, and now she's still hanging around. The photo is taken off the top deck, and the turkey is actually in the neighbor's yard. It seems perfectly calm and has apparently adopted the area as a safe place to forage. I'm wondering if there isn't a nest somewhere around close. It's fun to see it, no matter why it's here.

More Spring Flowers.

From 2011-04

This little stone bunny was my Mother's, and I think he looks quite serious guarding the daffodils.

From 2011-04

Helleborus Orientalis - Lenten Rose is just about done for the season. It's finally beginning to spread out a little, which is nice. It's a beautiful plant, and always blooms for me during Lent, as it supposed to.

From 2011-04

I planted some ferns a few years ago on the North side of the fence on the East side of the house, so lots of shade. They lived, but didn't particularly thrive. Until this year. Suddenly I have ferns coming up on both sides of the fence, and multiple times as many as originally were planted. I was so thrilled when I discovered them yesterday.

From 2011-04

View of the back from the patio. Note antique horse weather vane/lightning rod.

From 2011-04

Wider view of the back.

I spent a few hours in the afternoon yesterday cleaning the flowerbeds up, and got a lot done, but I still have a ways to go. It's nice work, though.

Chicago Fiberly Trip

I've spent the last 4 days in Chicago having a marvelous time with other fabulous sewers. Patti put it all together, and we had the best time. I got here Thursday morning, Patti drove us directly to 2nd Presbyterian Church where we viewed the Tiffany stained glass windows and other magnificent artworks there. This is truly worth a special stop if you're anywhere near there. That evening Patti, Norm and I went to The Chicago Symphony and Chorus's concert performance of Verdi's Otello. It was the return of Riccardo Muti, the soloists were fantastic, and it was simply a wonderful performance. I thought the soprano was especially good, and when I read the review, I was glad to see the Tribune's reviewer agreed with me.

"By far the best was the Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova as the wronged heroine, Desdemona. Hers is a rich, gleaming lyric soprano with ample colorings and spinto thrust where needed. She sang with ravishing depth of sound, never more so than in the "Willow Song" and "Ave Maria," floating their soft, high-lying phrases so purely and poignantly as to have one hanging on every phrase. She did not need stage direction to bring out Desdemona's innocence and faith that pure love will be her salvation."

Following the performance, the weekend became purely textile-related. KayY (The Sewing Lawyer) and her husband Don came in, then Ann (Gorgeous Things) and Nancy (Nancy DaQ). Unfortunately, we were missing Linda, who was scheduled to come, but didn't make it.

Because Friday's weather here in Chicago was very foggy, both Ann and Nancy's planes were delayed, so Kay and I went to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, Don tagged along and hit the 'trilobite shop', and Patti gathered Ann and Nancy as they arrived. We all met for dinner at Addis Abeba that evening.

From Chicago Fiberly 2011

Saturday morning, we met Cenetta at Fishman's and shopped there and at the Chicago location of Vogue Fabrics. Lunch at Manny's, an Architectural Walking Tour, dinner at Tapas Barcelona, and then more chat late into the evening rounded out our day.

Sunday we met Patti and two new friends, Karen and Adrienne at the hotel, walked to the train station, then made our way downtown to the Holiday Inn at the Merchandise Mart for the Haute Couture Club's luncheon and Fashion Show. It was a great day with probably 70 outfits in the show. Cenetta had quite a few, Rhonda Buss, whom we met before the show had multiple outfits as well. Altogether we had a lovely time. Nancy and Ann left us at the Mart and headed to their flights.

From Chicago Fiberly 2011

Patti, Norm, Kay and Don gave me my first experience of Indian and Nepali food as we went to Mt. Everest in Evanston for a light supper. Very nice. What a congenial group this has been, and I think we all had a marvelous time. It was just so much fun getting to meet and talk with longtime on-line friends. Everyone was just as nice as I'd thought they would be, and it was a most pleasant weekend to say the very least. And yes, I did buy fabric, but it's being shipped home, so you will just have to wait to see it. I was pretty circumspect in my purchases, but I have to say that between all of us, we made some fabric stores pretty happy.

A Fast Raincoat

From Raincoat

I'm heading to Chicago in the morning to have a sewing weekend with some fabulous friends from all over the continent. Patti, who lives in Chicago, has invited us all to come and attend the Haute Couture Club's Fashion Show and Luncheon. We will naturally take the opportunity to do some Power Shopping of the Fiberly Kind, and of course there will be lots of chatting, show and tell, etc. At the last minute, almost (about a week ago) we decided to have a challenge, and any garment we started after the challenge was issued and finished before the event counts. I can't wait to see what Patti, Linda, Kay, Ann and Nancy show up with. This raincoat is my challenge garment.

I decided I needed a new raincoat for the trip, and since I've had this fabric on hand waiting to be a raincoat for a couple of years at least, I was ready to go, sort of.

From Raincoat

Deciding on a pattern was my next problem. I think a raincoat should be very roomy so it's easy to pull on over bulky layers if necessary, and I decided to go with the Marfy cape pattern #0493 I've used before, but I knew I would lengthen it both at the hem and the sleeves. So it's only sort-of capey. I started this on Sunday and finished it Tuesday. It's unlined, as the fabric has a very slick finish on the wrong side. The right side is a coated print. When I bought it, it was almost sticky/rubbery feeling, but now it's not sticky at all, so I don't know if it's aged well, or lost its oomph. It's much nicer now, IMO.

I enlarged the pockets from the original, and I think they're just the right size now. I love this style with the gathered pocket placed into the band.

From Raincoat

I think the most interesting and fun detail on the coat is the closure.

From Raincoat

I knew I needed some kind of focal point, as there's just so much pattern to the fabric, and with the cape-styling, there's a large expanse of unbroken fabric. I originally thought of Ultrasuede for some kind of front band or something, but I couldn't find any Ultrasuede anywhere, or anything to stand in for it. I thought of snaps, and was very pleased to find these Magnetic Snaps at JoAnn's in their handbag notions. They're exactly the same as those in the snap area, but much more reasonably priced. I used 5 in all, but still wanted something like Ultrasuede to place on the right side of the snap placement area. There was nothing, so I scouted around the store, thinking there might be some small suede or leather scrap stuff in the craft area that would be big enough for what I wanted. Well, you'll never guess what I finally used. In fact, I think it would be fun if you all just guess. So leave a comment if you think you know. I'll give you a hint or two. It's not fabric. I purchased it at JoAnn's, and it comes in quite a few colors.

I think it's going to be a nice coat to just throw on when I need it, and it's going to be perfect for my trip, as it's no-wrinkle, and certainly won't show any spills, if they don't just wipe off anyway.

From Raincoat

Palomino Dress

From PalominoDress

I've said for a long time that I want to make more dresses, but I don't actually do it, it seems. I began this project with my original plan for this fabric (from Mood LA). I was going to make a long sleeved high-necked top that I could wear under dresses, or with a cami under it since it's so sheer. I then thought it would be nice as the yoke and sleeves of Jalie 2682. I then thought maybe I should make it a dress instead of a top, by just lengthening it. I am quite pleased with the result, and am glad I made a dress of it.

As you can see, I raised the yoke/bodice seam from under the bust to above the bust, just below the armscye. This meant that the FBA I had done on the original pattern needed to be adjusted as well, with the dart pointing up to the new seam, rather than down as before. I also added the bow with streamers. A nice strong vertical line is hardly ever a bad thing. As I look at the photos now, I may make the bow part larger, which would only involve un-tacking it and pulling them out longer. Pressing the seam out after turning the piece for the bow took about as long as making the rest of the dress. The sheer part of the burnout wants to stick to itself, and I had to pin the seamline to the ironing board about every couple of inches or less, and carefully manipulate the fabric while pressing. Hooray for teflon iron shoes, as I was able to use steam on this. It was resistant to pressing flat, too.

From PalominoDress

The Brown Burnout is a knit, and the body of the dress is Slinky Knit. I didn't have much trouble putting them together, although the burnout is very light and flimsy, and the slinky is fairly heavy. I used clear elastic in all seams involving the slinky, which seemed to work well. I used a twin-needle for the hem. This project involved changing thread colors depending on which fabric I was working on at the time. I have a fairly unique zip-up jacket made of the slinky that I will have to try with it. You never know.

This dress is really comfortable, as you might expect. The burnout seems pretty fragile, but once you have it on, it's fine. I was surprised at how much coverage it gives, especially since it's double on the front bodice. I am wearing a strapless bra with it, but I think I could wear a regular one without much problem. I found I did need a half slip with the dress, otherwise if I had the skirt fitted this closely, it showed every bump, and if I had it looser, it just looked like a sack. I think I found a happy medium, and I like wearing a slip anyway. I was just afraid it might show, but it doesn't seem to.

From PalominoDress

California Fabrics

This is a photo of the contents of a box now working its way toward me on a UPS truck. I think I did pretty well overall. Kathi took me, Susan and Lisa first to FIDM, both the store and museum, and then to the Fashion District. We did find some good things.I bought mostly knits, some linen, serger thread, and elastics and stretch laces. FIDM sells almost all of their fabrics for $1/yard, so it's very difficult to resist when you find things you like. Here are some detailed shots with descriptions.


L-R, from top
Plum Knit; Brown Knit; Mauvey Knit Stripe w/Eyelet Hem; Gray/Silver Small Print; Brown/Gold Cracked Knit; Gold/White Swirl Dot Knit; Pink/Gray Line Knit.


L-R, Bottom to Top
Pink/Lime Floral Knit; Pink/Gray/White Plaid Knit; Gold/White Dot Swirl Knit; Pink/Gray Link Knit; Elastics.
Black/Gray Small Print Knit; Teal/Black Knit; Brown/Gold Cracked Knit.
Serger Thread, Eyelet Hem Knit; Sage Taupe Linen.
Plum Knit, Brown Knit.

These are closer photos of the fabrics.





I can't wait for them to get here so I can start in with them.

Palm Trees & Papyrus

This was the view as I looked up from a bench near the ocean in Laguna Beach. It was so perfect, I had to take a photo to share.

We went to the Sherman Library and Gardens yesterday for lunch, and of course to wander in the perfectly appointed gardens.
This is their Central Garden Fountain. The Sherman is truly a tiny gem, and it's one of my favorite places out here.
They have the most darling little pond with the figure of an otter which holds a shower nozzle. There are two turtles sunning themselves on rocks below it, and you can see Lisa (or some of her) leaning over on the right. (She said she didn't want to see her face in my posted photos, and as her obedient sister, of course I would never do that.) I think the moral here is "be careful what you ask for". It is a nice photo in general though, and I have always loved the papyrus in the center of the pond. There are not koi in this pond, but they do have huge specimens in another larger pond in one of their greenhouses. The roses had all just been pruned, and so weren't blooming yet, but the orchids are at what seemed to me to be their height.

Here's me at the Gardens.


Later on, we hit the hot tub, which was fantastic for really relaxing, and unwinding after a day of being a tourist.