Houston, we have a problem.

In all my sewing days (all 300 or so of them), I've never had a pokey dart.

Until now.

I'm showing the rear dart, but all of them are poking at least slightly.

And the problem is that it's in suede.


and it's already been topstitched.



And frankly, I'm afraid to go in and start messing with it.


Everything seemed fine when it was flat, but as soon as I connected the seams (this skirt has one long horizontalish seam that spirals around) and pulled it on... well- let's just say I know my butt is in need of a few laps, but it's not got corners yet. And the muslin was soooooooo perfect.

So I'm stalled. I have a good idea of how to fix it, thanks to the PR boards again, but I'm not too eager. I have doubts as to my ability to pull this off :( And my machine is not happy. I tried to use the Trusty White from my mom to do the seams in the suede, but it didn't even break the surface. My Viking D1 is proving to be as tough as it is pretty, but as all tough girls know, the tough need a break.

***********************

In the eternal search for the AB bag fabric, I did come across some neat buttons that I would like to use for purse feet:

But no fabric yet. To be honest, I've read so much about the difficulties of the thick home dec fabric in the Weekender that I'm thinking I might just beef up some lightweight fabric with interfacing and go with it. I promised my machine a break after the leather, and I can't really find any home dec that I like. I'm thinking silk shantung. In chartreuse. With a baby blue liner.

or maybe I've just been looking at this dress (on PR) too long.

****************************

I'm thinking about stash organization. Have you seen this flickr site?

The best just got better!

sorry there's a big ol' packing sticker in the middle, but I often favor laziness efficiency and figured I didn't need to dig the box out and turn it.

I found this cover your ears, j bigayss box o' polyfill when I was cleaning out the sewing room today. Oh yes. I could lose a small moon/space station in that room amongst the clutter. I immediately thought of The Slapdash Sewist's recent post on dressforms. This fiberfill is what I used to fill both of my forms *you can check the forms out over there on the righthand column under Things I Do*.

I had a coupon for a bigbox craft store and was grasping at straws for what to fill my form with. I grabbed this box, figuring it was about twice as big as my torso, so I could afford to mess up. It ended up being really good stuff to use, very easy to fit into cracks and crevices. Funny thing about this fiberfill is that it expands. We're talking 3rd trimester expansion. Put it this way, after I filled the first dressform, there was so much polyfill oozing out that I couldn't close the box again! I filled 2 dressforms out of this box, and could easily do 5 more - which is absolutely not going to happen. I've got scars from the last one. I'm hanging up the duct tape and getting a professional form. someday. (all suggestions on that subject are welcome :).

So what's a girl to do with a here it is again bigayss box o' polyfill? Say it together, folks!

Give it away!

I'm figuring I can just package it up somehow and ship it out to whomever might be wanting some for the cost of shipping. It weighs almost nothing, so you do the math. Just drop me an email. I'm sure somebody out there is working on a neck donut right about now!

Here is the muslin for that Burda skirt. OMG I need to start running. I had to add an inch to my usual waistband length. Hurry up, warm weather!

I'm prepping the leather for tracing as soon as I can see my cutting table again. cleaning. right. that's what I was doing.

:)

Check this out

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090217_Penn_student_collecting_sewing_machines_for_Zimbabwe.html

Spread the love :)

I'm just not that into you

This McCall's 5657 started off so well.

I was pleased with the way the bodice was going in the intial rendering, and the fact that it came together rather quickly was a plus. After I attached the 5 (!) panels of ruffled skirt... well, it kind of lost me. Maybe it's because I know spring isn't right around the corner. Or maybe I know I need to get to the gym more before I'd ever even wear it in public. At any rate, I've cast off the strappy poppy dress and moved on to bigger and better things.

Leather :)

I have juuuuuust enough of this forest green suede for the BWOF 08-12-118 skirt.

The suede has a beautiful silky softness that makes you want to rub your cheek against it. The piece measures about 50" square, and I got it for only $25 during the Philly get together last November. It's so light and drapey, I love it. I'll need to find a funky contrasting remnant for the waistband, because I definitely don't have enough for that.

Still no AB bag fabric. I got all the interfacing at the BigBox sale this weekend, and I had two rolls of clearance home dec on the table to be cut... but I chickened out. I actually stopped her just as she opened the shears. I'm just not sure what I want the bags to look like. Do I want a funky print? Do I want sophisticated black? Do I want red? (don't I always?)

Speaking of red, Happy Love Day all ;)

The Queen Mother - A sewing backstory

Sometimes, almost as striking as the woman herself, can be the way others are transformed in her presence. Can you feel the goose flesh tingling in the photographer? Clearly, he reveres this woman.

That's my grandmother, Pell. Pell. Isn't that the coolest nickname? It's a blend of hers and my grandfather's names, christened WAY before the Brangelinas and Bennifers of the world spawned. I always thought it sounded so avant garde, like Wallis Simpson.

And, yes, the photographer (my grandfather) reveres her. Everyone does. She just has that royal thing about her. Feminine, yet fierce. She does only what she wants to, and those around her are only too happy to help her reality along.

Remember when Rudy checked for scuffs on her shoes because Whitley raised an eyebrow at her foot tapping? "The true mark of a lady is a clean heel". That was me with my grandmother. I watched elbows, tilted my chin up, generally tried to emulate the grace I found oozing out of this woman. In the fourth grade, my grandmother gave me handwriting lessons, and I was geeked beyond happy. And yes, it's quite lovely to this day, thank you. She taught us how to greet dinner guests properly. She also taught us the importance of being free-spirited. Only last year she burned her leg on my dad's motorcycle when she jumped on it in her golf shorts and keds. Like I said... fierce.

And like all fierce women- she sews. I've only been witness to some of her later projects, but they are exquisite. I've only recently gotten up the courage to ask her if she'd pass along any sewing stuff she may have stashed. I always love reading about other blogger's history pieces, like Karen's deep stash fabric. My grandmother made this dress for my daughter, the collar is lace from her wedding veil.

Sewing was always a strange thing to me- aside from my dad's uniform patches, I didn't see a sewing machine around my house. And sadly, it never occurred to me that sewing could be learned. I figured it was like math, you either knew it or you didn't. I'd heard the legendary stories of my grandmother's sewing. During a vacation at their house when I was about 11, I asked my grandmother if she would make me a dress. She replied that we would make the dress. I knew better than to show any sign of disappointment, but I really doubted my ability to make this a real dress. I'd seen the machine in her sewing room as I lurked from the doorway- she'd never let me touch that thing.

I remember looking for a pattern. I was all about the fabric. I just wanted to pick the prettiest fabric, and I recall my grandmother guiding me toward a little rack. Now I realize she must have been steering me away from some silky prints or some difficult chiffon I would have naturally been drawn to. I picked a pink and purple teeny floral printed quilting cotton. The dress pattern had buttons all the way up the back, with a low scoop neck, full skirt, and cap sleeves. I wish I had pictures. I can see it so vividly. I also remember grandmother's expression at seeing all those buttons. Now I have a better idea on that, too.

And not only did she let me use the machine, I pretty much remember doing the whole dress by myself. I couldn't believe she was letting me use this stuff! The serrated tracing wheel (won't it cut through?) and the seam ripper amazed me. And the dress was actually nice. But when I got home from vacation, it was back to real life, and sewing was never a part of it.

This two week period was lost in the recesses of my mind, only slightly nagging me when I went shopping looking for the perfect *fill in the blank*, and came home disappointed, wishing that I could make my own. Finally, 20 years after the dress with the buttons down the back, I remembered that I could.

Wallflower

Something in my subconscious is trying to blend me in with my background.

I didn't find any home dec for the bags at Jomar, but since I'd already dished out bridge toll, I figured I'd grab a $1 remnant. In the sea of remnants, this 2 yds of knit hooked me.

I tried to coerce this floral satin into being a coordinating liner for my AB bags instead of something with a circle skirt.

The satin turned out to have a very nicely structured stretch. *sigh* The satin won. The AB fabric search continues, and the satin will become this image of girlishness:

pockets!

which also happened to have caught the eye of a certain 11 year-old.

I do have 5 yards of the poppy print...

:)

Check this out

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090207_Karen_Heller__Boys__Bobbins_and_Beer_stitch_together.html

I had to do a "did I just read that right?" head shake.