Merry Christmas!

Hi all, just wishing you a very Merry Christmas and an exciting New Year!

Working on a Super Surprise!

Of course I can't tell you what it is yet but when I do you'll be so excited! For now I'm sewing costumes for "A Season of Praise" our Church Christmas production. Got to figure how to make 3 wisemen headdresses, and some other caps for the main characters. All the other bits of costumes are hanging up ready for the performances which is a very good feeling!
And here is my wonderful wardrobe that I had such high hopes for (sigh). How easy it is to let life get in the way of accomplishing the sewing we would so dearly love to do. I have been sewing, just not for myself! The Creative show and then a trip to my favourite Newfoundland to teach just ate up so much time, and then the surprise which I am working on has consumed so much time and energy. Enough excuses! I am thrilled with the two tops I made, and have worn the short sleeve many times already. The crossover top is just a little low cut for work but fine for dinner out with hubby! I still like the wardrobe plan, aside from the vogue jacket which was a disappointment. I will try to finish the wardrobe for my New Years resolution!

The Shirt!

Sewing soothes the soul.

Fall is lingering here and I am quite thankful. Halloween came and went and now that the kids are older I didn't have to make any costumes. What am I saying...I did sew costumes not for kids but for a production of Sweeney Todd put on by the Whitby Courthouse Theatre. Now Sweeney Todd is not my favourite story but it was a lot of fun being involved with the behind the scenes. This is a shirt made for the character "Anthony". How did I come to be involved you ask? Well that would be to help my daughter who had originally volunteered because one of her teachers is the Director and also acting in the production. "Mom, could you make some gears on the embroidery machine? Mom, could you help me make Beadle's pants? Mom, there's so much to do, could you come and sew?" I had a lot of fun and met some multitalented people. The hard work put in by countless volunteers working together for a common goal was quite exciting to see and the finished product...the whole play with all the actors and all the props and costumes and the talented singers...made it a night to remember. There are still some performances and of course the line-up continues with more productions to come. Check out the Whitby Courthouse Theatre here, http://bing.search.sympatico.ca/?q=Whitby%20Courthouse%20Theatre%20%20Sweeny%20todd&mkt=en-ca&setLang=en-CA

Long absence explained

The Creative Show in Toronto brings together creative people from all over Canada and the States. I was delighted that my Mother and two of her sisters and a friend made the journey from Alberta. Not much time for visiting at the Creative Show, there is always so much to see, and being the first Creative Show for one Aunt in particular, it can feel like overeating at an all you can eat buffet! The friend and first time Aunt went home right after the Show, I'm sure they are still digesting all they saw and learned!

Mom and the other Aunt stayed with me for the week after. What did we do...more shopping of course! We visited St. Jacobs and St George. These are two great destinations for quilt shopping! In a simple house on the corner in St Jacobs is a quaint little shop with the most beautiful hand quilted quilts. The proprietess shyly told us she didn't know how to quilt by machine, but I can tell you she excelled at her handwork! Reichards was the next stop, filled with inspiring colours and projects this was a treat for the eyes! After a delicious lunch and browsing the other great shops we made our way to St George and Lyn Bell Creative Studio. Even though we caught them as they were just closing they graciously allowed us to shop and I can tell you plenty of Alberta dollars were sprinkled over Ontario! We couldn't leave St. George without visiting the "Brown Dog" for an apple fritter and fresh ground coffee! We took another road trip a couple of days later and it was a treat to visit Northcott Fabrics. Mom thought it was amazing how they got the fabrics onto the bolts, everyone was so nice there and it was neat to see the behind the scenes of what we usually see in a fabric shop. We finished the day with a visit to Ruti's Needlebed in Mississauga. This shop truly has everything you can imagine, if you can't find it just ask the ladies behind the counter, they know their stock!

This is my Mom working on the Shattered Angles quilt they started in a class at the show, Aunty Sylvia is watching the embriodery machine work its magic.

My Kingdom for a Muslin!

Sigh, Vogue 1129 is pretty much done and it was not worn at the creative show :(. It just didn't fit right and the cowl was too fussy to work in. So many of you make your muslins before the garment and somehow I thought I could skip because the measurements on the pattern matched mine and it is a loosely fitting garment. I didn't think I would have to make a full bust adjustment because my bust measurement was stated on the pattern. The sleeve cap was too high and I would have been able to fix that if I had done a muslin. It looked like I was wearing someone else's jacket, I think the model was well over 6 feet tall. I shortened the jacket by four inches which is just past my finger tips and the length looks appropriate on me.
The Creative show was amazing! It is so inspiring to rub elbows with creative people, I came home with a renewed sense of inspiration. Quilters, sewers, beaders, and crafters are so generous with their creativity and ideas. If you ever get the chance to come to the Creative show you'll find out for yourself!
I will post pics and do a review of the jacket soon.

If it weren't for deadlines nothing would ever get done!

The Creative Show in Toronto looms ever closer and the sewing seems to be moving in slow motion! Things are getting done and Monday will be the final day for things to get finished. We took a little time off today to take the train, York Durham Heritage Railway that runs between Uxbridge and Stouffville. Just the two of us; kids were all busy socializing... kind of that empty nester feeling again. It was a lovely ride and this time the train went all the way; we took this trip several years ago and one of the cars slipped off the track. The speed never gets up that fast so no damage or injury, just the pride of the volunteer crew. That trip was also in the fall, I think it is my favourite time of year!

Want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving! (Now you know for sure that I'm in Canada, eh!)

Sneak Peak!

Well as promised here is the dress! Don't you find the little details can take the longest? The hand sewing takes a little time but there's something comforting about taking needle and thread to sew the hem and finishing details; I feel a kinship to the seamstresses who did all their sewing before the sewing machine was invented. Thankyou, ladies, for steadfastly sewing everything. You inspired a machine, an industry, even entire economies.

This dress will be at the Creative show in Toronto, I hope you get a chance to come see it!

No pics but my nose is to the grindstone!!

The week has flown by and I don't have anything to show for it yet, but I have been in the sewing room! I've been working on the sweetest little dress featuring sashiko on the bodice, and Vogue 1129. There couldn't be two garments that are more different and I'm not really doing myself any favours by working on them at the same time. The dress is palest pink silk dupioni and the Jacket is black crepe. It's a chore keeping the black bits off the dupioni! My goal is to have the dress finished on Wednesday and the Jacket and matching pants on Thursday. I want to wear it for the Creative Show in Toronto.http://www.csnf.com/

Time Flies when you're having Sew much Fun!

Last week I've worked on the Sashiko Machine. There were questions as to what the stitching looked like on the back. Here is the back of a pillow panel. You can see that the stitching looks like a long running stitch.

My DH helped do some cleaning in the sewing room and afterwards I traced and cut out the black pants and topper for the Pattern Review contest. The pants are from BWOF 2/2009 132, the topper is Vogue 1129. I've used a weighty polyester crepe, I'd loved to have used wool but I'm alergic :(. Rather than lining the pants I've underlined with a lovely bemberg lining I acquired at Designer Fabrics on Queen St in Toronto. So far I have attached the lining at the inseam and side seams and can treat the piece as one. The waist facings are interfaced with fusible weft insertion, it's so much nicer than non-woven fusibles. I used the Weft insertion to give more body to the pocket lining for the topper as well. I'm looking forward to getting the topper done, it is quite long and has lots of lines for fit. That shawl piece took a lot of fabric, it is cut on the bias, the rest of the jacket is cut around it.

Today I finished some of the Sashiko projects, a pillow, a bag, and a Tea Cozy. My daughter is helping make costumes for a Sweeny Todd production in a local theatre and needed assistance with the pants for "Beetle" and we got those under control.

It will be Thursday before I have time to sew again, it's hard to stop when I'm on a roll!

What I've been doing all day. I told you yesterday that I would be playing with a new toy today and here are the pics. Unfortunately it's not my toy to keep and must find its way to Nova Scotia and Quebec before it comes back to Ontario for the Creative show. The new Baby Lock Sashiko machine is absolutely addictive! Will be making more samples tomorrow! I'll be dreaming of more designs, they say some of the most creative things come to you in your sleep!
Labels: Sashiko

Fall Wardrobe 2009

Pattern Review contest 2009.

For those of us who did not grow up with computers learning software can be like learning a new language. Paint.net is what I've been using to set my wardobe on one page. Just like learning a new language it has taken a lot of repetition and I'm still not fluent!

The contest consists of 5 tops, 4 bottoms, and one topper. Except for the topper I'm using BWOF patterns which I'm very happy about because they are quite an investment. The topper is Vogue 1129 which I admired as soon as it came out. The other contest rule is that you must use at least one print and I'm using three, and as you can see I already have one top done! See my review http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=43724. I'm looking forward to getting this contest done, I'll have a mix of dressy and casual outfits that will mix into my current wardrobe. Today I get to play on a new toy and will post pics later!

Playtime!

Had just a little time to play on the new Baby Lock Sashiko Machine! This machine gives the effect of hand sewing in a fraction of the time, no hand needles or thimbles required. I found these cloth napkins at my local Superstore and being navy blue, a traditional colour used in Sashiko, I new they would be great to try. As you can see I did nothing elaborate, just straight rows. It takes a bit of practice to pivot at the corners. Hopefully next week I will get to try some other techniques and have some new samples to show. Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Imagine having a birthday just a few days after school starts...for those of you with no kids this means that times are hectic, money is tight, and the one person no one is paying attention to doesn't care so much about birthdays anyway. But I remembered this time!! Of course after forgetting a few years ago I'm not likely to forget again! No big doings, just out to dinner, kids are out with friends so it will just be the two of us which seems to be happening more and more. We are practicing being empty nesters and I think I like it! This morning I made the Jalie T-shirt. Very pleased it went together very quickly and used the double fold bias binder on the cover stitch machine.

If you're a pat your head and rub your tummy kind of person you will have no trouble with this. I practised a little and realized I had to keep the strip nice and straight or it would sag and bunch and do all kinds of nasty things when it came out the other end of the binder! A little time, a little practice and my patience was rewarded! Read my review on Pattern Review!

Now, off to the gym so I can buffet tonight!

Summer Day?

Don't you think the weatherman has got it wrong? We are having such nice days but sadly they are getting shorter and the trees don't lie, some are showing off their lovely colours already. Gave the bags to sorority sisters last night, they loved them. The symbols on the front are the greek letters Xi Delta Tau,the name of our chapter, but someone pointed out that it looks like the word "EAT"!! Well its does, sort of, and we do...eat that is!! What do you think?

No sewing done today, but traced and cut out the Jalie Tshirt from this pattern. The fabric is a celery/olive green intended to be a top for our cruise in last March. The cruise happened but the top did not. Hopefully tomorrow! Just a word about the pattern; multisized so quite economical and 1/4 inch seamallowances so will serge very quickly. Want to work with the knit binder on the coverstitch so will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Happy sewing!

Happy Labour Day!!

Today was a great end to summer; a lovely drive, sunny weather, and a long walk at the beach!! I spent the morning working on these tote bags for my sorority sisters. Tomorrow is our first meeting of the season and as usual I waited to the last minute to finnish, I knew all summer that I wanted to make them! We are looking forward to getting back to routine, it seems that everyone accomplishes more when they are on a timetable. I would love to work on a contest with Pattern Review in the morning but I think I will be buzzing around the house cleaning and getting ready for my meeting. I need to carve in some gym time too, better go with healthy snacks for the meeting so I don't cancel out the exercise!

My first post!

Hi there, I've been a lurker on so many blogs and learned so much from many of you, I feel some of you are my friends. I've sought you out for advice; been inspired and encouraged, laughed at your jokes, shared in your heartaches. It's time to end this one sided friendship and add my voice to the sewing world.