Yet Another Mid-Project Side Project

I have sewing ADD.

I can go for weeks without so much as a glance ("sew" much as a glance? Heh heh heh. Okay, not that funny) at my sewing maching. Yet when I finally pick up a project, all of a sudden that's all I want to do, and I just cannot start ENOUGH projects, all at the same time. It's a sickness, I tell ya.

In this case, I put the linen dress on pause as I consider what to do next. The muslin helped, yes, but I think the whole pattern was just wishful thinking. Here's the problem: I should have sized the pattern to my upper body and just add the extra to the bottom region, rather than trying to find something large enough for the bottom region and taking it in at the top. Because this pattern just doesn't have enough opportunities to take in the top - only bust darts and the side seams. And when I took in the side seams, there is so much that it's throwing everything off. GRRRRRRRRR. You see, this is normally where I'd get mad and just say forget it. But I'm thinking about making a skirt out of it somehow. It has that fake front panel, but I still might be able to do it. To be continued.

ANYWAYS, we had a burst of lovely spring weather this week (don't worry, it's all gone NOW) and I had this kicky fun fabric. So I was in the mood to whip up a skirt. I started last night and finished today:

See the ric-rack on the bottom? What did I tell you? It's like my signature. I would never make a garment without it on there somewhere. It is a little on the short side so it won't be going anywhere near work, but it would be a lovely vacation skirt. If I had vacation days, that is. Well, let us just bypass the work negativity and just bask in the completion of another project.

Mid-Project Stress Relief: Free At Last! Free At Last!

It doesn't matter what your craft of choice is, there are some projects that are just bad juju.

You know what I mean. It's like the project is just cursed from the start. It doesn't matter how many times you recalibrate. Maybe even cut new pieces. Take it apart and even start all over again. It's like the Christine of the sewing world - you just can't make it do what it's supposed to. Although I have never had a project so cursed that it's gotten up in the middle of the night and attacked anyone, I'll give you that.

Last June, I started a cutesy little apron for a friend whose birthday was in August. I came across a tutorial online and thought that it would be a nice gift, because she's a Betty Crocker sort of gal. I had enough coordinating fabric in my stash and it started off okay.

...Or did it?

First, I didn't realize that the main piece of the apron was supposed to be right-side-facing-your-body. Because ruffly strips obscure the front anyways, the wrong side was supposed to face outward. Whoops.

Secondly, God forbid I follow instructions ever, and I adjusted the size. Which is fine, except I forgot I had to then adjust the spacing of the strips to avoid a big gap up at the top. Whoops again. The inventor of the seam ripper deserves a throne to the direct right of Jehovah.

But nothing compared to the aggravation of the waistband. It foiled me at every turn, and I must have ripped out the stitches at least 4 times, no exaggeration. So naturally, I did what every good crafter does: dump that bitch on a dining room chair and leave it to collect dust for 9 months.

But it was not content to sit there quietly. Oh no, dear reader, it mocked me at every opportunity. Every time I cleaned (and by "cleaned," I mean, "gathered stuff up and threw it in a nearby closet"), it leered at me, flaunting its raw, undone edges. Every time I sat at the table and tried to enjoy a warm, wholesome meal, its demonic laughter sent shivers down my spine.

In other words, it bugged me that I never did finish it. So tonight I had a bad day at work and I wanted to do some mindless sewing, and I had long resigned myself to just buying my friend something for her birthday. I was soon reminded why I had given up in frustration, but with a lot of iron trickery, it wasn't so bad - or at least, the bad part was hidden at the back once I put it on:

Is it perfect? No. But there is something even better than perfect:

FINISHED.

Taunt me no more, Christine.

Day 7: A Case of the Mondays

Mondays happen. And there's nothing that anyone can do about it. Except pour yourself a second glass of wine and go to bed, and sleep it out until Tuesday.

I deliberately got to work before 7 so that I could leave early enough to really get a lot done on my dress. Things really didn't work out that way.

I cut out both sides of the back and the left front (oh - somebody remind me tomorrow. I need a new fabric marker), and I thought, "Dang! I am on FIRE!" So I took a pancake break while watching a little of "This Is Spinal Tap" (yeah, it's awesome!) and of course, sploosh, I kicked over my nice full coffee mug, all over my coffee table, all over my brand freakin' new rug, and all over some pattern pieces. So that took a while to clean up, and when I got back to work on the remaining piece - I ended up being AN INCH short on the fabric, by the way - I flipped the pattern piece up to straighten out some of the kinks, and Beaker comes running out and riiiiip, bites the pattern piece and tears a big hunk out of it. At that point, God was telling me to just do something else for the rest of the night. I choose to interpret that something else as watching the rest of "Spinal Tap" and cuddling with one of my boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Day 6: Muslin Madness!

Here is a brief overview of my day:

Cut. Cut. Pin. Sew. Cut. Sew. Cut. Pin. Shimmy. Oof, my head's too big. Shimmy. Riiiip. Pin. Heh, not too bad. Nip. Nip. Nip. Pin. Sew. Shimmy. Riiip. Mark. Mark. Tape. Cut. Tape. Ooooh, ranch dressing!

I finished the muslin for the major dress pieces. And so far, not bad! As usual, it was loose and baggy on the top but skin tight on my hips and seat. So I had to decide: alterations? Or should I shell out the $7000 for a boob job and another $5000 for lipo around my butt so it would fit properly? While the latter would probably be a lot easier (and could open up a career in the exotic dancing arts!), given my limited budget the former was the plan.

I'm going to spare you the semi-pornagraphic pics of me in the muslin while I was nipping and pinning (there are some things NO ONE will pay to see). But here's my list of the alterations:

• Narrow the front by about 1/2"
• Narrow the back by 2" on each side, by the zipper (I'm not kidding. I must be the most disproportionate person ever)
• Add 1" to each side around the hips

My living room was so clean and tidy from my parents' visit last week. Unfortunately, this is my new reality:










But the upside is, I get to cut into my fabric! And also, there is now a fighting chance that I will actually want to wear this dress when I'm done. Here's the fabric:

You can't really see this in the picture, but the beige-y thread is slightly metallic so it has a little sparkle. I think it's going to look really nice.

This week's plan is to hit Jo-Ann's to pick up another 1.5 yards of my linen and also to pick out some cute matching buttons (it has a faux side panel). Then I am going to cut into it. With any luck I will be done in 2 weeks' time.

Without luck, however, I will have a lot of fabric to make many turquoise linen bags.

The OTHER thing that I'm super excited about is taking some design lessons. My friend D told me about some sewing lessons that she'd taken. I went to the website, and the level 2 class sounded like what I wanted - beyond the basics, but geared for those who wanted to be able to Figure Things Out. I tagged along to their open house last night and had the opportunity to chat with the owners of Brush Factory. Furthermore, I am looking forward to it even more because D is going to take it too! So hopefully she won't get annoyed with me when I whisper to her for the 500th time, "Psst, pin WHERE?"

Day 3: Already Behind Schedule

It will surprise no one, least of all me, that I am already behind schedule. In January I got a new job and while it's nice to have secure employment, I work a ton now, even when I am at home. I am hoping this gets better after April, though.

Another thing that is throwing me off my sewing schedule is the complete dearth of anything good on TV! Sewing is a fantastic excuse to keep my TV on all evening. I am going to just come out and say this: I love television. I LOVE IT. Sometimes I feel as though people expect me to be anti-TV because I read a lot. Is there a lot of trash on TV? Yes. Does it rot your mind? Undoubtedly. But hot damn, what a way to go. Anyways, my point is, "The Bachelor" just ended earlier this week (no, I cannot explain why I love the show, so don't bother asking), and what's even worse, "Biggest Loser" just started AGAIN (seriously, "Better Off Ted" is killed after 2 seasons but "BL" is on its 200th? There is no justice in this world). So a lack of quality TV is not incentivizing my sewing.

BUT... I did start cutting into the muslin. And lucky for me that I have a helper....

Because cats have an uncanny knack for knowing when their presence is a hindrance -- which is the precise time that they most want to be around you.

I have this sneaking suspicion that I'm working on getting sick, because I've been feeling headachey and dragging around for the last couple of days. But hopefully I can keep it together and get far enough to actually start sewing the pieces together this weekend. I read a really good tutorial on altering muslins so I'm itching to get into it!

Day 1: Simplicity Vintage Dress Pattern

I love the way vintage dresses look. LOVE them. So when I found this pattern, I knew it must be mine. It's been sitting around gathering dust for a while, so I finally decided to get a move on already. The last 2 garments I attempted turned out so god-awful that I didn't bother trying to fix them. I just said screw it and hacked 'em up for the fabric.

This time, however, I'm gonna do it. I am going to, in the immortal of words of the man I desperately want to hire as my life coach (Tim Gunn, natch), "make it work." So I have even decided to make a quickie muslin for the body to make sure I'm close. I swear that I follow the measurements on the package when I pick which pattern size, but somehow, I always end up with stuff that is waaay too big. The last skirt I was SO careful with - I took all of measurements, did my little math tricks and sketched it all out on paper to make my own pattern... and wound up with something that could fit Mama Cass. So, either my math is terrible (well, I am a product of Ohio public schools), or... I am just bad at fitting. Which is the long way of saying, this time I'm going to play it safe.

And of course the most fun part of a new sewing project (well, the most fun other than snipping the threads of the last stitch, that is) is picking out the new fabric! So this past weekend, my friend D and I jetted off to the new Super JoAnn's. After much ooohing and aaaahing and daydreams of rolling around in big piles of fun retro prints (and $75 later), I walked out with some really good stuff, including my new dress fabric: a turquoise-y linen with beige embroidery. Really pretty - and strategic on my part: the embellishment is included with the fabric so I don't have to screw around with trims. Which is good, because I am terrible with picking out appropriate trim. I live in a ric rac world, my friends. And while ric rac is definitely the most fun you can have without booze or drugs, I must concede that it doesn't quite go with everything (unfortunately). So... the less thinking I have to do on that point, the better.

However... I probably should have checked the pattern before I flounced off to the fabric store because naturally, I am a yard short. I forgot that the dress was a bit of a wrap, so I needed more fabric than I thought I would. But, no biggie because of my sacred muslin vow. First things first, yes?

The Plan: I have a hot date cutting out the pattern and muslin pieces on Wednesday night. Do stay tuned. This is usually about the time that New Project Euphoria wears off.