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Monday, May 7, 2018

Only *slightly* Random!

Spring finally showed up here in Minneapolis and it got straight to the point! We went from 16" of snow on April 14 to 60 degree weather 10 days later. We've had a few 80+ degree days too (it's 86 today!!! OMG!).  In pulling out more spring/summer clothes, I decided I wanted some nicer tees. I went on a little spree with Target's A New Day line; those tees fit me very well. I couldn't say that about their old basic tees. But now I want a few that can stand alone for work. When I wear my basic tees it's usually under a cardigan or jacket; they feel too casual alone. Tees with a little bit of visual interest should solve that for me.
 
I'm thinking of making tees in orange, olive and white. I found some inspiration in these tops from ModCloth and LOFT:
 
 
 
This month for our monthly sewing meetup, we visited The Sewing Lounge; a small fabric shop in St. Paul. I bought this orange lace (among other things - there was a pitstop to JA too). I have an orange wool jersey in the lighter color in the lace that I plan to make tee #1 from.
  
I cannot wait to make that Tracy Reese dress!!!
 
Yes, I can wear wool jersey in the spring, even with the warmer temps. One, it isn't too humid yet. But also, remember I am in an office building for 40+ hours a week - it's FREEZING half the time! I am able to wear my navy wool jersey cardigan nearly year round.
 
Initially, this black tee is what I had in mind for the lace. But it was "fancier" than I wanted. I saw the coral tee online and thought THAT is it. I want it to clearly be a "tee shirt with lace accents". I'll use M6964 which I've made a couple times.
 
 
I ordered some colorful tassels to make another version of that Burda top. I saw this and thought it was so cute! Depending on how pretty the edging (what do you call the part that the tassels are attached to?!) is, I may spice up a RTW tee vs starting from scratch since this will be a trendy piece that will unlikely have much longevity in the wardrobe.
 

Otherwise, I have been sewing!  I made some adjustments and made another Ogden - review of the first 2 to come. I need one more tweak then I'm cutting my silk!!

I had lost my mojo for NL6107 but I realized it's because I really, really wanted to make that Ogden! LOL! Once I had that ready to hem, I was gung-ho on the NL top! I put the buttons on (it closes with self-fabric loops and buttons) so I could baste the side seams and one of my buttons broke!
 

I think it was a faulty button...it could also be that it was 8 p.m. and post-quesadillas & tortilla soup...idk...but luckily I had an extra. HOWEVER, now I have no extra! If I'm using buttons that are unique in any way, I like to have at least one more on hand. I feel like these were a little spendy at $.75 per button but, I'll grab more the next time I'm in St. Paul. In the meantime, I plan to glue it. I was just going to use regular household glue (super glue or guerilla glue) but someone on IG mentioned E6000 and I have some at home. Yay!

I swiped this pic from my IG stories:

 
I am CRAZY about the fit of this top! So dainty and pretty!
 
Sleeves up next (it's completely finished everywhere else except for the sleeves). Review to come (what else is new, right?)
 
Next up is my mom's gift (uhmm, Mother's Day is Sunday. DOH!), this black & white skirt I am now obsessing over, and then we'll see what's next! :)

Saving MMMay for last because I know it gives some people the eyerolls...so you can leave now if that's you! :-p

My pledge this year was at least 1 handmade a day and completely handmade outfits at least 2x per week. These are not actually in order...Oops! LOL!
  • Simplicity 2369 top + Vogue 9032 pants
  • Burda 1/2017 sweatshirt + Baste & Gather Kendall skinnies (not available for purchase unfortunately)
  • McCall's 6519 top + Baste & Gather Birkin Flares
  • Burda 6/2012 dress + RTW denim jacket
  • Burda 3/2017 dress (that day I wore a RTW top and New Look 6530 skirt to work)
  • McCall's 6996 cardigan + RTW tee and pants
  • Simplicity 2246 shirtdress in a jersey knit (every time I wear this I tell everyone they need a knit shirtdress)
Hope your MMMay is off to a good start!