McCalls 8107 -- Polka Dot Dress

I am allowing myself to sew winter things through February, but my daughter is sick of the cold weather and has moved on to sewing spring and summer things.  She purchased some white cotton fabric with black polka dots (the polka dots are very slightly raised) from Joann Fabrics and she rummaged through my pattern stash for a style she thought would work, settling on McCalls 8107, a basic princess-seamed but now out-of-print pattern.

Because her fabric was white it needed a lining, and for that she used a nice white broadcloth from Hobby Lobby.  She was afraid it would make the dress too heavy, but actually the weight of the lining feels good, and both fabrics are all cotton so the dress should be comfortable even in the summer.

The directions for sewing princess seams must have been good.  I was expecting to help with that part, but she already had them sewn and had done a great job before I even knew she had started.

However, the directions for the rest of the dress were terrible.  She used the directions of view I, because that view has a lining. The lining was attached with bias tape at the neckline and sleeves (she used black for contrast).  BUT -- and this was the terrible part -- the zipper was put in last, after the dress was sewn together.  And instead of sandwiching the zipper between the lining and the dress, at that point the lining and dress were treated as one.  The zipper was very difficult to put in with the rest of the dress sewn up.  I put the zipper in for her, and I had to redo it several times to get it to be acceptable.  Not fun!  I DO NOT recommend this method ever.

The dress by itself is a little plain, so she added a patent leather belt for waist definition.  After driving around to at least five different stores in a fruitless attempt to find one, I finally ordered one from Ebay (under $10 for a real patent leather belt - plus it is delivered right to your door!).

My daughter added 1 inch to the hem length which left very little room for an actual hem.  I'm trying to get her to add 3 inches to patterns (she is 5'9"), but for this dress we used hem tape to make a narrow hem.  The lining was hemmed an inch or two shorter.

Here is a close-up of the fabric and the bias trim:

We almost gave up on this dress, but I'm glad we didn't.  My daughter looks lovely in it, and she has gotten to wear it already during one of our warmer weekends.  It also looks cute with a black cardigan.  

McCalls 3830 -- Leopard Print Skirt

I am such a slow blogger that I have a couple of makes from before Christmas (as in late November/early December) that I am just now getting around to posting.  I like to record my projects on my blog, so.......if you are bored to tears by these sewing posts, I try to clue you in by the title so that you will know what you're in for.  However, if you do like to read about sewing, read on:)

Sorry for the slight blur of the photos

Even though I am late to the party, I wanted to join in the animal print trend.  Last year I bought some leopard print fabric from Joann Fabrics.  I'm not sure what you would call it.  It's not a knit, more along the lines of a microsuede, but I'm not sure if that's exactly right either.  Anyway, a fabric suitable for a skirt or a bag or even a structured jacket, but not right for a flowy dress.

I really just wanted a plain straight skirt.  I have not totally given up on A-lines, but so far I have not found one that flatters my poor body at all.  I chose McCalls 3830, which is a very basic but useful skirt pattern to have in your arsenal.  I chose view D because all the longer views have a kick pleat in the back and I didn't want to fool with that.  I did lengthen view D to hit me right above the knee.

Despite the supposed simplicity of skirts, I approach skirt-making with trepidation because skirts have to fit:  too loose and they fall off or twist around, too tight and you (as in, I) will look like a stuffed sausage.  It's a fine line.  Also, how to choose a size?  For dresses I usually choose a size 14 but then I add an inch to each side seam. I think I chose the skirt the same way, which put me in a size 18 for the skirt.

The skirt has a zipper up the center back and front and back darts.  One small change I made was to use hem tape at the waistband instead of facings as per the pattern instructions.  This worked great, so great that I decided to use hem tape on the hem as well, particularly as I did not add as much to the length as I should have.  However, the hem tape on the actual hem was my downfall.  I think maybe I made the hem tape too tight or something, but the hem looked AWFUL.  I redid it and redid it until it was passable, but I really wish I had just folded the hem up and sewn it down.  I always find a way to sabotage the simplest tasks;)

Anyway, I am hoping to get multi-season use out of this skirt.  Here I have worn it with black, but I think it can also look good with red, cobalt blue, denim, and even some other color combinations I haven't thought of seen on Pinterest yet.  I have quite a bit of the leopard fabric left, so I may eventually get around to making a bag out of the rest.

The camera was not cooperating with me 

My 12-year-old informed me that he thinks leopard print skirts are tacky(!).  I, on the other hand, think they are cool fun (so there you have it ........I hope I'm not alone:)  In fact, Anne of Pretty Grievances is hosting a whole month of animal print garment sewing (just go to her blog and click on Jungle January on the sidebar).  I would enter but since I didn't actually make this skirt in January, I will just have to be there in spirit;)  It is hard to explain to a twelve-year-old that 48-year-olds often feel the need for a little zip in their life and in their appearance.  (At least I do, do you?)

Happy Connections

Last summer I was contacted by email by someone who was searching for an out-of-print pattern, New Look 6751.  She had seen a review I had done of it here and asked if I might be willing to sell the pattern.  I wasn't quite ready to do that, but I suggested she could borrow it, and she took me up on that.  Little did I know that she was in Queensland, Australia!

So, I went down to the post office and sent the pattern off from Texas to Queensland.  I was not in a big hurry to get it back, but in December Christine contacted me saying she had put it in the mail.  We missed a week of mail in December due to an ice storm (hard to believe since this week we are in the sixties), but a little before Christmas I got a fat envelope from Queensland.

I was only expecting the pattern, but when I opened it there was a lovely notecard with a kookaburra and some Christmas paper!

Inside the paper were some lovely gifts.  A beautiful tea towel with a map of Australia (whose photo needs to be rotated but I'm not blogging this from my computer so I don't have access to my photo files at the moment):

Also, this little pouch --

which unzips into a tote bag:

And these adorable little clip-on animals, all icons of Australia:

What a lovely surprise to open all these gifts!  My husband was quite impressed that I had received a gift all the way from Australia.  Thank you, Christine!

I have to say that making these kind of contacts through the internet has been so much fun and so nice!!  It really gives a boost to your day when someone on the complete other side of the world has given you a little thought.  I have always enjoyed making connections with people, and even though a lot of us may never meet in person, it has been (and is) such a pleasure to get to know some of you.

Here's to many more happy connections between us all for 2014!

Robins

Yesterday began and ended with drizzle and heavy fog.  However, around lunch time I returned home from an errand, and while the skies were still gray, the fog and mist had temporarily lifted.  I got out of the car and decided to walk down to the end of the driveway and pick up my soggy, plastic-wrapped newspaper.  As I walked, I began to notice bird song in the air -- something I hadn't heard in a long time.  I looked up and saw birds all round my little neighborhood.  There were tiny birds swarming in the bare branches of a mulberry tree, but they were so tiny and so fast I could not get a photo nor could I clearly identify them.   Doves were pecking beneath the bird feeder in my backyard, but I could not get a photo of them either because they attracted the notice of my little dog Luna, who raced out and barked at them in a very offended manner.

My neighbors' yard was filled with robins.  By leaving Luna in the house, I was able to get photos of a few of them using the zoom on my camera.

We live too far south for robins to be the first heralds of spring -- it's spring when they go back north.  I'm not sure where they spent the month of December, though.  We had a very icy, cold December -- the polar vortex reached all the way down to Texas -- and yesterday 40 degrees felt downright warm. 

I thought so anyway and so, apparently, did the birds.  This little fella is enjoying a puddle.

Winter is actually a pretty good time for us to see birds.  The usual winter birds of cardinals, chickadees, titmice, bluebirds and dark-eyed juncos are around, as well as lots of blue jays, crows, mockingbirds, starlings/grackles, doves, ducks and geese.  We also live on some kind of migratory highway.  Birds pass through on their way south to Mexico for the winter and then again when they go back north in the summer.  Every year for a few days we enjoy flocks of cedar waxwings, Mississippi kites, killdeer, and goldfinches.  More ominously, our entire town gets covered up in starlings/grackles (I'm never sure of their official name) at certain times of year, to the point you begin to feel you are personally inhabiting an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

 

Anyway, it was nice to see so many birds out cavorting around because this past month has been a month to hunker down in the house.  The Christmas season seemed very short, partly because  Thanksgiving was so late and then an ice storm hit my county and lasted through the first week of December.  School didn't finish until December 20th and then my mother arrived for an extended visit on the 19th.  Blogging had to fall by the wayside to make room for parental and filial duties.

This was the first time my mother had visited me in five years.  She got to spend Christmas with us and we had a great time making candy, thrift shopping, and generally just lounging about.  I took almost no photos of the holidays -- when I'm with other people I seldom think to stop and take photographs -- but sometimes that's okay.  While it's fun to have documentation, it's not always necessary.  It's okay just to live:)

I feel like I should have something more profound to say about the changing of the year from 2013 to 2014, but I'm past the point of thinking I know everything and I'm not yet to the point of feeling like I have a lot of wisdom to impart.  I will say this about 2013 -- I lived through it, with its good parts and its hard parts.  I hope to say the same about 2014.  Of course I cannot read the future, but from this vantage point it doesn't look to me that it will be an easier year.  In fact, it looks like a year of hard  work.

I have a friend who chooses -- or feels that God chooses -- a word for each new year.  I don't usually do that, but this year the word "diligent" keeps calling my name.  The Lord has helped and will continue to help me persevere, but at the same time He is calling me to be diligent:  that is, to keep doing faithfully those things that I know to do.  I will leave the results to Him.  I guess it's like the old song:  "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey."

I'm not trying to be gloomy and pessimistic.  Although many sad and hard things happened in 2013, many good things happened, too.  I'm sure the same will be true of 2014:)

In any case, I wish you all a belated Happy New Year!

New Look 6225 -- Sweatshirt Dress

A while back I saw this dress (at least I think it's a dress, it may be a tunic) by Philip Lim on pinterest and thought how I would love to wear that.  (I know, that may not be what you were thinking, but to each his own, okay;).  Sewing is changing the way I think about clothes.  Instead of thinking "Where can I find this?" "Can I afford this?" or "Will this fit me?" I think "Maybe I could make this."  That starts the wheels rolling, and I think about what fabric and patterns I could use.

There are not many dress patterns with raglan sleeves, so I decided to use New Look 6225, view D, which is a raglan top pattern with cap sleeves, and just extend the lines of the top down to my knees (one of the few times having a relatively straight figure is to my advantage).   I made a size 14, and added one inch to the side seams, tapering out from the underarm.  I also lowered the neckline in the front by 3 inches.  Because I was being a little experimental, I basted the side seams first to check the fit.  I found out that this is a good practice:  the fit check is much more accurate than just using pins, and if it needs to be fixed, basted seams are MUCH easier to unpick.  For the fabric I used a cozy charcoal sweatshirt fleece from Joann Fabric that has no stretch, which worked out since New Look 6225 is drafted for wovens.

I know this dress is a little 'out there', but I've worn it to an art gallery opening already, and it's very comfortable while being a little edgy.  I do wonder if I am on my way to 'crazy old lady' status; on the other hand, I have always loved that poem "When I Am Old I Shall Wear Purple,"  so I guess I'm okay with that. Life is too short to take oneself seriously all the time:)

Usually I am not a fan of asymmetrical hemlines, but I felt in this case it was necessary to add a little 'oomph.'  Instead of cutting each pattern piece on the slant (I was getting a headache trying to make sure each side was correct), I made the dress a normal length, then tried it on and marked where I wanted the hem to go on each side.  I then chopped it off, leaving enough fabric to turn up the hem.  (One note here:  I wish I had made the dress longer and given myself more room to work with, because the differential between one side and the other needs to be greater than I anticipated for it to have the right effect.)

This is not the most flattering view of my backside, but honesty in blogging and all that;)

The shoulders were unpleasantly constricting after the sleeves were sewn in.  I unpicked them -- every project needs a little seam ripper action;) -- and resewed them with a 3/8"  instead of a 5/8" seam allowance.  The sleeves are two pieces with a center top seam, so that gave me another inch of room (4 seams at 1/4" increase), which was helpful.  I'm not very experienced with raglan sleeves, so I'm not sure why the shoulders turned out too tight, and there may be a better way to fix this problem, but for now it worked.  I added a little interest to the sleeves by binding them and leaving the raw edges exposed.  I also added a binding to the neckline and topstitched the raglan seams.

Also I finally figured out how to mount my camera on a tripod and take photos of myself using a timer.  (I looked on the good old internet and downloaded a very helpful manual for my camera -- much more extensive than the booklet that came with it!).  I need a lot more practice with picture quality and height, etc. but not bad for my first try.

Of course, I did get photo-bombed by my furry friends:

(Note:  my little dog Penny, who has appeared on my blog before, disappeared under sad circumstances early last summer.  We got Luna, the little dog on the left, this fall from a rescue shelter.  Angus is our Australian Shepherd.)

I also got photo-bombed by my husband and older son, who hammed it up and danced grotesquely for the camera.  But those photos are certainly not fit for public consumption;)

Lessons from this dress:
It's fun (and possible) to copy -- or loosely adapt -- ideas from pinterest or other inspirational sites
A top pattern can be turned into a dress pattern
Basting seams is worth the extra time -- they are so much easier to unpick, and they allow me to check the fit before I permanently commit to it
I can take pictures of myself when necessary

Simplicity A1738 -- Turquoise Waterfall Jacket

In October I experienced some computer issues that kept me from being able to put photos on my blog.  Also, access to my laptop has become more limited as my high schoolers need to use it for some of their schoolwork.  That, combined with overwhelmed feelings on my part, led to an unplanned blog hiatus.  And like with most things, once you get out of the habit, it's hard to start back again.

However, I did continue to sew a little.  I love the title of Barbara's blog, sewing on the edge, because it conveys what is probably the reality for most people -- I fit sewing (or any other creative endeavor) around the edges of my days, in spare moments here and there.  So, back in late September/early October, in the midst of everything else, I made this waterfall jacket (I think that's what you call it, anyway).

I have Lynne of Wonderfully Made to thank for it.  She made this beautiful version and then had a give away of the pattern (it's now out of print) and I won!!!

Not only did she send me the pattern, but also this cute zippered pouch.

It's lined with wipe-off fabric and would make a fantastic cosmetics pouch, but right now I am using it as my camera bag, which I needed more.  I love it -- thank you so much, Lynne!

I was very surprised to win her giveaway, and also I was very intimidated (Lynne's version is gorgeous!).  It was the beginning of our very hot summer, so it took me until autumn to feel like I could actually make a jacket and also to decide on fabric.  I ended up using some turquoise cotton interlock fabric I had purchased from Golden D'or back in February.  I have a brown knit jacket made of similar material so I hoped this would work, even though the recommended fabrics were fleece (!) and suedecloth.

I cut my usual 14 in the shoulders and added a little to the side seams.  Now there are some things I wish I'd done differently.  I think I should have gone down a size to accommodate my more stretchy fabric.  The cotton interlock is a little too floppy.  I ended up top-stitching around the edges of the entire jacket to give the seams a little more structure.  I did not use knit stay tape on the seams, and I really wish I had.  But, it is very comfortable and I love the color.  A tab adds interest across the back:

And one more sort of goofy view of me, however you can see the jacket pretty good.  The sleeves are long, but I usually wear them pushed up.

I am much more a jacket person than a cardigan person.  I am thinking of making another one of these, only next time out of suedecloth, which would give it a whole different look.  Lately I have noticed some really cool suedecloth at both my local Joann Fabrics and Hancocks which could work.

It is wonderful to be inspired and encouraged by friends on line.  I have "met" so many generous, nice people, and Lynne is one.  Finally, Lynne, I have finished my jacket!  Thank you so much!

Under Pressure

Chemical Weathering of Limestone

Inside this mason jar a limestone rock is soaking in vinegar and is slowly disintegrating.  The rock started out much larger and very smooth.  (This is an example of "chemical weathering" for those of you who don't have a student in general science this year;)  I have been observing this rock disintegrate for several weeks now because it is sitting on the windowsill above my kitchen sink.

On the other end of the windowsill is a different mason jar filled with dirt, sand, gravel, and water.  After jostling the mess around for a day or so, the contents of the jar were left to settle and over time they settled into distinct layers.  Most of the sand is on the bottom, then a layer of gravel and dirt, then a layer of light sediment, with fairly clear water on top.

The Laying Down of Sediments

Sitting nearby on the counter is a bowl, which used to contain a big square of pristine steel wool. The steel wool has been transformed into its current state by nothing more dramatic than soaking in household vinegar for a few weeks (just like the limestone rock, a victim of "chemical weathering").

Chemical Weathering of Steel Wool

There was a time I tried to keep fresh flowers on my windowsill, and hopefully that time will come again.  But right now science experiments surround me, and in some sense they serve as metaphors for what is going on internally as well.  A lot of weathering, a lot of rubbing away of sharp points, a lot of transforming.

This fall has been a time of pressure in my home.  Five teenagers/young adults in the house is a lot of food and laundry to keep up with, but just as importantly, it is a lot of conversations.  Conflict resolution conversations, talking-someone-off-the-cliff conversations, listening-to-venting conversations, reassuring conversations, attempts-to-motivate conversations, crisis-avoiding conversations, temper-cooling conversations, faith-building conversations, asking-(and hearing)-questions conversations, late-late-night conversations, late-late-night-waiting-for-the-last-person-to-make-it-home praying conversations.

This has also been a time of increased academic pressure as everyone has more homework, more papers to get done, more decisions about the future to make, etc.  And some students are more motivated than others.....

Financial pressure has also increased this year, a combination of poor planning with some unforeseen and unavoidable expenses.

Plus, I am at the age where I am starting to have health pressures, both my husband and I have parental (our parents) worries, and there is not any one standing in line to buffer any of it anymore.....it's just us.  I have felt very squeeeeeezed.......why?  Well, I need a lot more wisdom, discernment, patience, hope, discipline, authority, energy, frugality, creativity, encouragement, perspective, endurance and love than I've got.

I think I have unconsciously been living my life under the delusion that things will get easier when (substitute whatever) happens, when a new decade arrives. That is not how it works (at least so far as I can tell).  Every season has its good  parts and every season has its hard parts.  Also, everybody's story is different; we don't all have the same burdens, nor the same joys.  It does me no good to compare my story to yours -- I am called to live MY story, and it may require different things from me than yours does from you.

Which brings me back to the limestone rock.  There is another way that limestone rock can change.  If, deep in the earth, it is subjected to intense heat and pressure over a long period of time, it can be transformed, or metamorphosed,  into marble, through a process called 'recrystallization.'  I am hoping that all this pressure will have this good result in me (and everyone else in my family), that the character of Christ is being formed in us.  It is certainly not something that can be seen on a day-to-day basis, but I hope to one day look back and think wow...the Lord has done something beautiful with all of these messy lives.

On my windowsill is one more science experiment:  a bowl of crystals that were formed by dissolving alum powder in water (you can get directions here).  Not quite diamonds and not quite marble, they still are incredibly beautiful. The same God who has power to change things on a molecular level has the power to change people on a spiritual level, bringing forth beauty and order and love and peace and perseverance -- all the fruits of the Spirit -- from people who once walked in darkness.

Alum Crystals

Squished behind all the science experiments on my windowsill is an index-card stand.  For a long, long time the only verse written there has been John 16:33.  Every time I would think about changing it, I would think No, I still need that verse.  I finally feel like I can add another verse, one that has been hanging around my thoughts for awhile, to remind me that God is able to do so much MORE than all that we ask or think:

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.  Amen" -- Ephesians 3:20-21 (KJV)