No-Go On the Mojo

I spent 2 weeks out in California with my daughter and son-in-law, and 12 glorious days in new grandma land. I was so glad that I was able to help out in those early days but it also meant NO sleep. It took me a long time to get my energy back! I know people have babies at 40 but goodness gracious I cannot imagine doing the sleeplessness now! Hahaha!

Couple that with not going into the office (most of my sewing is work wear) and fall breezing right by...meh. Oh, and that?! When I got back, I put away lots of summer stuff but not everything. On 10/9 it was 79F for a high. On Sunday, 10/18, the temp was 35F and it hasn't gotten above that since. BLERGH!

So I finally just went in the sewing room and got started on a project. Burda 4/2018 has been on the to-sew list for awhile. It's so interesting!! It's done and just needs photos. I will have to get them this weekend because this fabric practically glows with my phone.

Beth over at SunnygalStudio has made a couple iterations of this too!

I chose it 1) the pattern 2) nice, stable fabric 3) slightly more involved project. And I like it! And it fits nicely! But it didn't spark the mojo. 

So now I'm sewing a skirt. I was going to make another version of Burda 2/2020 but with all the seams, wasn't sure I had enough fabric for matching stripes. But I knew I had way more fabric than for just a straight skirt. Then I found these buckles in stash and got a little more excited. So I cut another NL6326

mock wrap skirt. Here's a prior version with the buckles:

I think this'll be a fun project and will "age" well in the wardrobe, even if it doesn't get much wear this winter. I'll be lining it in a black pongee.

I cut the waistband on the bias:

Lastly, mom and dad are doing well and adjusting to parenthood. The little one is doing EXCELLENTLY...still shunning clothing! :)

Pattern Repeat: Burda 11/2018

A review?!?! hahaha!

This Burda 11/2018 is a remake. This time I decided to leave off the sleeves and sewed it in a heavy rayon lycra jersey.  I used my normal Burda size - 40 neckline and shoulder, 42 for the rest. It is so simple and in a neutral solid, it's a great wardrobe addition. 

I love the neckline so much. I can't remember how the pattern wanted the neckline finished but I made a facing strip, stitched, turned and topstitched. I finished the armholes the same way.

It is kind of long and in the ponte, slightly thick. So it doesn't work as well to tuck in unless the bottom garment is a looser fit. 

I finished this sometime in August so I'm a little behind on my reviews! 

A couple of weeks ago marked my 1 year anniversary of reduction surgery. Woohoo!!!! Sometimes, I don't look very different IMO, then I see a pic like the one below (left). Ah. Ah-ha. LOL!!

I also celebrated my 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  

Adulting is hard and marriage is hard, but we found our way and we've built a great marriage. Hoping for many more years. 

September Wrap-up and October Plans

 Another quiet month on the sewing front. But let's start with the MOST IMPORTANT THING!!!

I headed to California the morning of the 15th. We hung out that afternoon and on Wednesday, my daughter, son-in-law and me walked down to the beach. Thursday morning, she mentioned not sleeping well that night and I said, today is the day! They didn't believe me...but I told them! I had been telling her to pack a bag and finally, around 10 a.m. she did. By 11 a.m., she was having contractions 7 minutes apart and by noon, she was ready to head to the hospital. She was 6cm dilated and within a couple hours had hit 10. Grandson was born on Thursday the 17th at 3:25 p.m. My SIL called me on Face-Time and luckily, I got to witness the birth! Watching a baby come into the world is truly a magical thing!!

And because I am CERTAIN that he waited for me to get there, I was able to spend the first 11 days of his life with him! I snuggled that sweet boy every moment I could!

Her labor story SO mirrored mine with her! I spent the evening with varying levels of back pain and when I finally told my mom I was ready to go in, I apparently was already 9 cm. dilated! I got to the hospital at about 11 p.m. and she was born 3.5 hours later. 

I made a new tee with the Cricut for my plane ride there so I could proudly let any and everyone know! 

So this month was productive in a different way! :)

I did sew a few tops for my daughter for nursing. I plan to make a few nursing camis for her since she wears lots of button front shirts anyway (flannels) in fall. 

I made 2 versions of S1916. I used a size 12 and shortened the sleeves. The only other mod I made was that I didn't use the included pattern piece for the neckline facing and just cut a strip an appropriate width.

I also sewed up a version of Burda 11/2007 #121. It's pretty "booby" LOL! I missed the fact that the model was wearing a tank underneath. But it's fine for these early weeks where you're just at home trying to survive the lack of sleep.

I cut a size 38, eliminated the facing in place of a "faced band", and used cuffs instead of hemming. 

I love this front detail!!

So that's 3 items for a total of 4.5 yards this month, all fabric from stash. 

October? 

Sigh. Whine, whine, no real reason to sew new fall clothes, whine. 

I'll likely sew those camis I mentioned for my daughter.

I've coveted this sweatshirt from the 5/2018 Ottobre issue for 2 years. I think it's about time to sew it! 

I was *this* close to finishing my blue blazer before I left. So I'll finish that. I'd love to sew the blazer from the 2/2020 Burda:

And, since Covid doesn't seem to be going anywhere, and I'm terrified of what's going to happen once we're deep into cold and flu season, we are still being hermits. I want to sew my husband's corduroy jacket but I know it won't actually be worn if we're not going out for dinner and such. He's in IT and definitely wouldn't wear it to work. I should definitely muslin the Fulford jeans for him though! He has a tough time buying jeans. Also, I LOVE sewing jeans but 1)I really don't wear them very often and 2)I don't need any. If I can make this pattern work for him, I can sew a couple pair and get my fix! :-D

Are you sewing for this fall season (or spring if you're down under!)? Is Covid affecting your sewing plans?

August Wrap Up and September Plans

Quiet month, as I expected. I had little motivation because as mentioned in last month's wrap up, it's usually the time I start sewing fall garments and wahhhhhh. 

This month I sewed 3 items and a total of 5 yards.

• Simplicity 8389 shorts - 1.25 yd
• Navy brussels washer linen from stash
• elastic
• Burda 11/2018 top - 1.25 yd
• ivory rayon lycra jersey from stash
• Burda 5/2019 dress - 2.5 yd
• striped double brushed poly from stash
• gold cord stops

Fave: I'll go with the dress because it was a vision come to life. That's always fun! :)

FAIL: Not really a fail. The Simplicity short was fantastic in crepe and a bit too stiff in this linen. But, linen will soften with continued wear/washing so hopefully they'll grow on me a bit more.

Accomplishments: I didn't sew up much yardage but it all came from stash! 

I really like this Burda pattern! I could have cut the armhole in a bit since I left it sleeveless. 
Something to keep in mind.

I also finished my second Burda 5/2020 top in the ankara (I'm going to review both, promise!)

I made up a few of the free Aplat masks for us. I had this fun Art Gallery print on hand (that I bought to make a cover for my knitting machine) and the mask doesn't take much fabric so I stole a little corner from my yardage :-D

I was looking for a mask pattern that didn't use elastic around the ears for my husband since he is back in the office full time. The pattern worked great for him as-is (he is 6'2" FYI). I found the original size to be too large on me. I removed 1/4" from top and bottom (technically, it should be taken out of the center). I added elastic to mine because I found the tie a bit fiddly. 

I found myself sweating way more in this fabric than my other style. I don't know if we happened to have uncharacteristically warm days when I tried it out or what but I wanted to rip it off when I got back to the car after grocery shopping. I LOVE the style and how quickly it sews up! Will have to test the comfort again to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

And, I got a new sewing machine! As we know, sewing friends are the best, and she so graciously sent me this Janome Skyline S3. I only managed to unbox it today (I don't test the limits of my hands if I don't have to) but will be setting it up tomorrow!

September Plans:

I finally fixed my jacket from last year's tailoring class! Now, I'm sewing in the lining. I still need to sew the sleeve lining (hem and vent) and sew in the shoulder pads. Then I have to do the front buttonholes (sleeve b-holes are done) and sew on all the buttons. I will finish this blazer because it is really awesome! 

I still need to make the baby blanket on the knitting machine. I just need to settle on a stitch pattern; it should only take a couple hours. 

I'm going to whip up a handful of nursing friendly pj tops for my daughter before heading to CA. 

Hopefully, I'll get to muslin V8890 for my husband. 

I hope to get pics taken over this long weekend for some old stuff. Things I can't photo solo like the ankara top and the black one, and the dress I just finished is bright red (with blue dots) but attempts to photograph it just reads insane brightness. 

Another Dress! Burda 5/2019 #104

I'm always talking about something I saw somewhere but rarely remember where. I'm sorry! LOL!

I saw a wrap dress with 2 tiers of ruffles in a vertical stripe and went completely nuts for it. I knew I'd be making one and was drawn to this print. Sure, I was mildly afraid of it looking Big Tent (clownish) but luckily...it's awesome!

So, I now have several dbp dresses. I am still not a huge fan of the fabric but man if the vibrant colors and prints don't draw me in! I definitely can't wear it on my lower half and am not sure how people make pants of this stuff! WHEW! At any rate, it's too warm for the warmest days; it was about 85 when I took the pics and I was hot. I meant to show it with a denim jacket but, HOT. Too hot! It was really cute though when I tried it on :)

This wrap dress from the May 2019 Burda was a great match and just needed a ruffle (I decided against 2 tiers). I cut a size 40 neckline, 42 front and 44 back (after the armholes). It came out a little too big, I probably didn't need to grade to a 44, but it's fine.

It wasn't until I tried it on to decide how long the ruffle should be that I realized the front isn't cut on the straight of grain because of the wrap front. DOH! My stripes aren't actually vertical!! I was kind of over it at that point and almost quit the project. But honestly, I like it! The back is vertical and the ruffle is horizontal and the front slightly biased, the ties are on the crossgrain...I love how everything came together.

I had my hair in 2 french braids for the past few days. I took them out and it seems like within moments, I had a fro! LOL!!! One of my favorite hairstyles will always be front up/back down so I'm loving it anyhow! And, I love this dress and want to hug it! But it wasn't without trials because, of course!

I used my serger to do the gathering (you must try it!). My ruffle panels are about 55" wide and 11" long (I wanted a finish length of 10"). I gathered this 4.5+ yards of fabric in like, less than 5 minutes! Ahhhhhh. 

I always read the Burda instructions but it usually reads like gibberish. Usually, if you follow the steps, it ends up making sense. Most of the time, the garment has straightforward enough construction that I just use methods/order that I want. But, this time I didn't follow directions and got to place where I was stuck. 

Ohhhhhhh! That's what they meant! I couldn't figure out why they'd want me to make a separate back band or why the side seams were sewn first. 

Well, so that you don't do what I did, the shoulder casings is why! The side seams are sewn, the armhole, back neckline, and front neckline are all faced and turned inside and topstitched. Then, you sew the shoulders together, press open the seam, and topstitch on either side to form a casing for the shoulder tie. Hemming the neckline and armhole first results in an opening at both neckline and shoulder.  

Because I'd already sewn the shoulder seam, I ended up having the shoulder pulled up a bit because I needed enough seam allowance to make a casing! Because of course I serged it initially, when I removed the serger stitches, I only had 1/4" of seam allowance. I sewed the seam at 1/2" and made 3/8" casings. I also made the ties a bit narrower to account for this. For the neck and armhole binding, I didn't use Burda's measurements mainly because I prefer a narrower topstitch and usually go for 3/8" or 1/2". 

And of course I used more of my Milly cordstops! I love the look!!

I cut 2 pieces from the same section for the ties and flipped them so that one side had pink facing and blue striped under and vice versa on the other. Just another area where I played with the stripes.

You can see here that the shoulder is sitting a little bit back, and I can feel that 1/2" difference when it's on, but it doesn't result in discomfort so I can live with it. 

Lastly, pics in which I accidentally serve face! 

I haven't done anything I set out to do in August but what else is new! :-p I did finish the baby set though! :-D It didn't defeat me!