McCall's 5753 V-Neck Dress

While I was on vacation in Northern California, I spent 3 days at the UC Davis Craft Center. I visited with friends and worked on the dress (now OOP).  I'm so happy that I got to see friends, but it definitely slowed down the construction.  Of course I brought way too much to accomplish, and only finished the dress.  Here it is:

My styling is horrible(shoe choice).  I had a limited selection as I was on vacation.

 I'm relatively happy with the results.  (I'm such a perfectionist so when things don't line up absolutely perfectly, I get a little annoyed).  This is the first fitted dress of a woven material that I made!  I tend to make and wear knits because I have a hard time fitting wovens on my body.  The fabric is a cotton/spandex sateen ($1/yd. woohoo!) and the dress is fully lined with bemberg rayon (the instructions call for lining the bodice only).  The dress lining is a first for me as well.  I didn't use the directions, but used the Slapdash Sewist's tutorial.  I already knew the basics of lining, but needed a quick reminder on which seams to leave open.  The problem I found with this method was that it is difficult to fit.  The side seams are sewn after the lining is installed.  Even though I made a muslin that fit, for some reason, after I sewed the side seams, the dress was too big. I had to completely unpick it and take it in.  I took a total of 2 inches from the underarm seam tapering to nothing at the fullest part of my hip so I still have a "1/2inch pinch" of ease that the fullest part.   All of the other adjustments are here.

The front.

The back.

I decided to handpick the zipper (another first for me!). I didn't find it difficult, but I got lazy because I was chatting with friends and decided I didn't need to baste the zipper in first. I only pinned it.  This caused the zipper to pull a little in certain areas and you can see the zipper teeth :( No one really should notice this though because of the print and the zipper doesn't really look bad.  I also hand stitched the lining to the zipper to finish and blind catch-stitched the hem.

 On my vacation I also went skiing in Tahoe(weeee), and went to the Alameda Flea Market.  I bought NOTHING :( except a falafel and the yummiest mini donuts I've ever had in my entire life!  I saw Mena from The Sew Weekly from a distance.  I recognized her by her dress.

Also, my sewing friend made me the the most beautiful woven scarf. I'm definitely sharing pictures as soon as it dries (I just washed it to full it a little bit).

School just started back up again today and I'll have a report shortly. I love my textile science class!  I've already learned so much in just 3 hours!  I'm going to be doing a lot of blogging this weekend I think :)

Finally, THANKS to my newest followers Lindsey and Jen of Sew Frugal & Fashionable!

Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my Bicycle!

This post is an Ode to Doris. I love my new bike. She is a 1971 lightweight Suburban Schwinn. I bought her at the Alameda Flea Market at the beginning of the month.

She came complete with the original owner's manual filled out by her first owner, Doris Pangkorn, a working generator light, the "Doris" plaque, old-school gears (I think she is a 10-speed), a flag hook, rear bike baskets, an odometer, a rearview mirror, and a nifty pleather case for all her tools (most of which were included). It looked like she had never been ridden, but her odometer proved otherwise. She was just well taken care of. Oh, and she has a bizarre, but oh so comfy sheep skin seat cover.

The Boyfriend and I talked the price down a bit and the seller generously threw in a Newcastle. The picture above is me on my bike for the first time, drinking and biking. We were afraid to have an open container in broad daylight so between the two of us we chugged it. If I have to drink a dark beer, I choose Newcastle.

Here is a picture of her all alone:

The view of her backside (hehe!):

The Doris plaque:

The nifty rearview mirror, gear shifter thingies (see, look how much I know about bikes), the generator light:

I went to get her tuned up and her brakes fixed. It turned out to be more of an ordeal than expected and she is back in the shop. She did just fine on the Davis Bike Loop though. I am so proud of her and myself for actually riding 12 miles. It was a first for me.

Hooray Doris!

And Pearl likes her too: