Follower Shout-outs from Beautiful Yosemite!

Half-Dome.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my move and wished me luck!  I actually moved last weekend, came back on Wed to clean my apt. On Saturday the Boyfriend and I drove down to Yosemite! It was my first visit and it was so beautiful.  Perfect cool weather too.  Well, let me get to what I really wanted to talk about:

FOLLOWERS!

Thanks for reading and (hopefully) enjoying my sewing and craft blog!

First, I would like to give a shout-out to Shari of Shari Sews.  The last two garments she made are really nice (as are all of them!) A Cynthia Rowley tunic and a Vogue dress. Check out all of her cute creations!

I wanted to get on top of this log, but had some issues so I just posed next to it :)

Also BitterBetty has become an official follower!  When I first started blogging, she gave me some great advice about Blogger.  Her blog is a mish-mash of awesome!  Some vintage sewing, crafts, photoshop fun, giveaways, etc, etc, etc.

The Boyfriend's perfect picture.

Zoe from Deva's Garden became a follower too!  I really admire this blog because Zoe is journalling about her first veggie container garden. I sort of attempted this also this past year at my apt. and was able to grow tomatoes, lots of herbs, and a lone bell pepper.  Her blog has lots of cool tips and recipes for all of your home gardening needs!

Beauty...

Lastly, a big shout-out to Joyce in NC and Taki J. They either do not have blogs or they are  set to private,  but I'd like to thank both of them for following Pearl and I!

The Boyfriend and I in front of a fallen giant sequoia.

I think I will post a few more vertical pictures of Yosemite shortly.  I have to rotate them before I can add them to the blog.

Let's Play a Game of Where's Waldo?....I mean Pearl

As I mentioned before, I moved down to Southern California to attend The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to study Fashion Design.

This is how the truck looked all packed up:

Can you find Pearl?

There she is!

Sorry for the all the non-sewing Pearl posts.   It's my blog and I can write about whatever I want!

McCalls 3830 Denim Pencil Skirt

I made a denim pencil skirt ages ago.  It was one of my first projects. I remember I did flat fell seams and topstitched it in a golden yellow.  It was my first invisible zipper and it was perfect!  Here is a picture of it:

It didn't fit all that well. It was a little big so I gave it to my big sis.  


I then made another one shortly after that fit me better and I didn't do any topstitching at all.  All seams were serged.  The invisible zipper was great too.  It was a very quick project.  

Weird Face!

The back view.

Here's the PR Review:


Pattern Description: 

Skirt in five lengths have front and back darts, back zipper, faced waist and optional carriers; skirt A, B and C have back vent.

I made View D.

Pattern Sizing:

AA(6-8-10-12), DD(12-14-16-18), FF(16-18-20-22)
I made an 8, but I think I ended up with around a 6. 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Super Easy!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

It was easy. I
Fabric Used:

Denim. 

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I have no hips So I had to straighten out the hip curve significantly and I had to narrow both front and back darts and lengthen the back darts. I also pegged in the skirt.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Maybe. I think I will try another pattern first. This one wasn't my favorite pattern. 

Conclusion: 

Very easy for beginners!

McCall 5661 Silk Blouse is done!

I'm done...after weeeeks of working on this blouse.  It was very simple to put together, but I had absolutely no time with the other crafts I've been making, a visit from my mom, and the impending big move down to Southern California. 

I really worked hard on this blouse and tried a couple new-to-me techniques.  See here and here for previous posts.  I attempted a so-so narrow hem, used french seams on the side seams, used a Hong Kong finish to encase the raw edges of the facings (new!), made covered buttons (new, and so much fun!), and used the one-thread dart technique (new!).  I am proud of the blouse, but not sure how much use I will get out of it.  My wardrobe is pretty casual, but I want to start dressing more sophisticated. I know my shoes don't go, but I love them.  They were the first heels I grabbed running out the door to take pictures. I didn't want the Boyfriend to wait too long.  The shoes are from a tiny antique store in town nearby that had tons of shoes all in my size! I think I got them for about $7.

The silk really gave me a lot of trouble. It was very shifty, and any time I sewed a curve, I could feel it stretch out...even as I stay-stitched.  Thank God for the print or you would see all the little puckers.  I never did use tissue paper as I stitched, but I should have.  Not terribly happy with the bust darts, but I will live.

Check out those sloping shoulders and my invisible covered buttons!

Here is the PR review:

Pattern Description: 

Fitted tops have front and back darts and back button closure; top B has self-faced sleeve; top C has gathered sleeve with sleeve band; top D has front pleats; top E has front pleats and gathered bubble sleeve; belt is included.
I made view A. I think the blouse would have been better as view D.

Pattern Sizing:

BB(8-10-12-14), F5(16-18-20-22-24) I used a size 10.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Very easy. 

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I like the pattern alot. I should have used view D with this fabric. I love the back button closure. 

Fabric Used:

A silk of some sort. I think silk Habotai maybe. It was very light, drapey, and shifted like Hell!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

I had the pattern fitted to me in Pattern Fitting class. I made a straight 10, made 1/2" sloping shoulder adjustments, and had to add shoulder darts to accommodate for my prominent shoulder blades. At least that is what I am telling myself (I do NOT have the beginning's of a rounded back!) 

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I would definitely sew this again. Probably in View D. I would also maybe carve out a bit of the armhole for more of a tank look. 


Conclusion: 

Love the pattern, great for beginners!

2 New Followers and Pearl the Velcro WonderDog

Sorry for the lack of good posts lately.  I'm still in the process of moving and cleaning my apt. Right now I'm sitting in the manager's office enjoying the free AC while workers are cleaning my carpets.  Upon move out, I have to get my carpets professionally cleaned.  It is cheaper to hire someone myself than allow the apt complex to do it, so its one more thing I had to worry about.   After the the move (which went relatively smoothly) I brought my sewing machine and a bunch of UFOs back up to Sac to work on, but neglected to bring any tools or notions.  I am a complete moron! They are in a ziplock bag ready to be put into my suitcase in my sewing drawer in SoCal.  Poo... So not much sewing for me, but hopefully a lot more blogging.  

As most of you already know, I like to give a shout-out to all my new followers.  This is a relatively easy task, because I have so few.  And guess what....I have 2 new official "Followers" of my blog.  Woohoo!  I have a few more on Google Reader (Thanks Google Reader readers, hehe) too!  My new followers are Sarah and Alexandra.  Alexandra has a cool sewing and crafts blog.  She has made some nice skirts and knit tops.  Her dog is pretty cute too. Check her out.

Here is a gratuitous picture of Pearl:

Pearl just sneezed.  This is her attempt to wipe her nose. :)

 I hope I haven't already posted this picture.  Sorry if I have.  I love this pic because Pearl is velcro. Everything sticks to her for some reason.  Leaves, tissues, twigs, grass, bits of food....and its not just her face.  Pearl is magnetic.  

I thought about sticking fake baby chicks all over her and calling her a "Chick Magnet" for Halloween.  I've had women run across the street squealing and flailing there arms to meet Pearl.  Once at Picnic Day (big open House at UCD) I had my male former roommate watch her for a bit and count the number of girls that approached him. I think it was 8 or 9 girls in a 10 minute period.  I've joked about renting her out to bachelors.  What do you think??? hehe....

 

Vintage Sailor: Doggie-Style!

I'm taking a lesson from Peter and dirtying up my blog post titles to increase unintentional readership.  Those porn-addicts searching for "doggie style" will be in for a big surprise when they see my Pearl dressed as a sailor.  Who could resist her though?  They'll keep coming back for more!

This was the first dog outfit I drafted from scratch.  I really just draped fabric over my wiggly dog and trace.  Can you see it is a wrap dress?  I was inspired by Butterick 4790:

This was one of my first projects and it was hideous!  One of the worst things I've ever made, but at least I was inspired to make Pearl a dress. 

Sorry for the poor quality. It's a camera phone.

I finished the dress with bias binding like the Butterick dress.  I call it a sailor dress btw because the buttons have little metal anchors on them.  

I love making dog clothes.  Almost-instant gratification!

Two of Six reasons sewing has been slooooww going...Glass Fusing!

Remember in this post I talked about glass fusing?  Well here are two of the finished plates.  I forgot to take pictures of the other four before I gave them to my parents.

I'm done! Finally!  I just heard that they arrived in one piece too.  I've been able to focus on sewing.

I did finish my silk blouse (pictures to come) and also made a pj set from my vintage 1984 Disney fabric.

I should be packing....must get back to it!

Pearl's UFO

I made Pearl a new outfit!  In the winter, Pearl likes to wear warm clothes. I'm sure some of you don't believe me, but she really does.  She gets very excited when I put her in her little outfits and even helps by diving head first into to doggie garment, and then lifting her paws one at a time to help me get dress her.  She refuses to wear booties, hats and hoods.  Believe me, I've tried.

I took one of Pearl's existing store-bought onesies and used it as a pattern to make her a new one.  I just measured and traced around the curves.  It was completely unscientific. I even used a grocery bag for my pattern pieces.  I had scraps from the amazingly soft knit and used it to make Pearl's onesie. For months I've had the body of the outfit done (all serged), but left the binding off.  I had started a binding using self fabric, but I did not have a enough to go around the bottom hole, so I had to rip it off and its been sitting until this weekend. I remembered that I just bought some knit binding at an amazing estate sale and decided to use it for the project.  It's not perfect, but its done. :)

Here's Pearl in all her glory:

She's such a happy puppy!

From the top:

She's the best dog model:

Maybe I'll post the sailor dress I made her.  Anyone have a burning desire to see it?

Vintage Shirt, Yea or Nay?

Months and months ago my mom bought a vintage shirt at one of the swapmeets she and my dad frequent. It didn't fit her so she gave it to me to wear.   I liked the design (the tucks, the tuxedo style inset, the cute cuffed sleeves).  When I tried it on, it was about 2 inches too big around the waist and realized that the previous owner added a strip of fabric to the side seams to increase the width.

 See the extra fabric here:

I decided to removed the excess fabric and restitch up the seams. A quick and easy project.

They finished seam!

As soon as I can get the Boyfriend to take a picture of me in the shirt, I'll post it.  Then you can let me know if it's flattering or not.  I'm having trouble deciding whether I like it or if it is "me."