MMM 2016 Reflections

Me-Made-May is over again! I kept data of what I wore even though I did not take any photos of my daily outfits. Too much stress.

The winner of the most worn award: Espresso Leggings by Cake Patterns!
I have two pair in cotton and two pair in wool. They are red and navy. The navy wool pair made the month with 6 wears but all together leggings were worn 12 times.

Unglamorous photo, I know.. but they are leggings...

Next up: Dresses! I really like dresses and wore them 15 days out of the month. Here are photos of a few of the most worn pieces.

My 50's dress. I really need to make some more of this style. I love it so much.

Hippie Bus Curtain dress wins the "Worn The Most Consecutive Days"Award

Burgundy Eliana won the "Interview Dress" award

Brings me the most joy!!! 

There was only one day I did not wear any Me Mades and I wore store-bought pieces 12 times over the month. These were mostly cardigans or sweaters. The other wears were solid tops with a printed skirt... remember this Emily!!! You wear solids! 

I really like wearing skirts and dresses. They are more comfortable and easy wearing. I do like my trousers for traveling and pockets though. Looking at my notes, I need to do some work on undergarments. I could use a short slip and some tanks. And a new floaty summer nightgown! 

I have a couple special projects that have been on the back burner for awhile that I plan on working on but since I am in the process of moving and I'm not sure what the new needs of my life will be, I am putting most of my garment sewing on hold...

I need to get my business newsletter off the ground and hopefully find some good craft shows to market my wares so I think I am going to direct my creative energies that direction.

Any great revelations for you this MMM? Any advice on moving the sewing room? Space is premium and I'm dithering on what to pack?!!?!

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge

My fabrics!

In true shoot for the moon, land among the stars mantra I'm joining two Capsule wardrobe challenges. Pattern Review and Sew-a-Longs
Pattern Review has a shorter time frame and a stricter garment policy: 10 garments consisting of 2 bottoms, 2 tops, 1 topper and 5 wild cards which all must go together.

If I can't make that I should be able to have a solid entry for Sew-along which is a considerably longer time frame and a more relaxed approach of a cohesive wardrobe of 8 pieces all your choice.

I think I have my plans figured out... we'll start with the hardest piece.

The Topper (which must go with everything)

I've been wanting to make this jacket for FOREVER so it's about time! Turquoise corduroy is what I've also had picked out forever so I had to reconcile myself to the fact that all pieces must coordinate with it.

The Bottoms

I've had these fabrics earmarked for trousers for an abysmally long time and it's about time they get made up. The brown corduroy will be my Maritime Shorts Jeans hack and the sparkle denim will be another lovely pair of Endeavours. I'm hoping the stretch in it will compensate for wearing over leggings during these cold months since the ones I've already made with zero stretch are too snug.

The Tops

This seems to be my biggest wardrobe hole, dressy work appropriate tops so I'm going to make quite a few.
Daisy Tunic in Red Flannel

Lani Tunic with those two cottons as my base fabrics and I'll figure out the other coordinate fabrics when I get there.

Some sort of Cabarita hack in this turquoise stripe that is running vertically down the fabric!! So it will be cut on the bias and I'm toying with trying to figure out long sleeves... I guess it will depend on my fabric yardage.

My Kimono Top pattern for the silk skirt I'm going to up cycle
I think a cute vintage blouse for the red vintage polka dots. I forgot to take a photo of it...

A Dress

I love dresses and this brown wool with a tiny turquoise plaid stripe will make a lovely 50's vibe winter one. Now I need to figure out how to wash the wool...

A Gauzy Thing

Not sure if this will be a top or a dress... we'll see when I get the fabric laid out. Since it is so sheer I think I want to try this voluminous vintage dress pattern I've been hoarding. Definitely the short dress length... but short or long sleeves?

My only concern with this mix is that the jacket will not pair well with my tunic tops. What do you think? I was reassured it would be ok and I know I'll wear the turquoise jacket once it is made just not sure about these tops...

This stacks up to four TNT patterns, a PDF jacket I must muslin for fit, three vintage patterns, and two PDF Tunics from a new to me company (hoping the sizing will be consistent for both)

Now for my real dilemma! What should I call my collection? Do you have any catchy name ideas?

Eliana Love

The burgundy came first. It was a mystery fabric with great drape yet weight. I think it's slowly shrinking in the wash.

Next came the silk sari with vintage mother of pearl buttons.

Finally the lavender wool for my friend. When she tried my burgundy dress on this summer she promptly turned to me and said, "My birthday is March 12th." Over Thanksgiving break, she came and we chose fabric and zipped it up so she could take it to her college Christmas party.

POCKETS!!! The cause of much squealing when they were discovered. 

I won this pattern in a giveaway from Busy Lizzy and it has quickly become an absolute favorite. I've worn my burgundy dress tons!

Pattern Changes

• I can't remember what size I made but I'm 5' 10" and I added about six inches to the skirt. For the silk I added about an inch to the top pieces so it would be more blousey. 
• Did a facing for the front opening instead of the ties. 
• If you remove the ties buttons and loops work better than a hook and eye. Personal experience speaking. :)

My friend and I love our dresses and they are seeing much wear. Thanks to Pauline Alice for drafting a great little dress pattern and Lizzy for letting me win a copy! I'm sold.

Return From The Dead! A Year of Musings

Fair warning, this post is probably going to be as messy as my new sewing setup. But I miss you all so here I go. No more procrastinating!

Why haven't you heard from me?
Well, we moved into our mostly remodeled house and I left for summer camp for three wonderful months then I came home and immediately went to work as a speech therapist paraprofessional which is as fulfilling as it is mentally draining.

Have I gotten to sew in all this?
Well I finally got a sewing station set up and have rediscovered most of my sewing supplies. I've made a couple of SPECTACULAR pieces that I can't wait to share with you. I've also won some pretty amazing sewing swag and tested some super cool patterns and I really want to share with you all.
I haven't figured out where to take photos yet which has been part of my procrastination in beginning to blog again.

I've taken this impromptu blogging hiatus to evaluate what I want from my blog and life and all that big stuff!

• I have a sewing related business and I want to promote it on here in a non spammy way... How exactly I haven't figured out yet... I mostly know how I don't want it to look. :) But I do run across great vintage stuff and I know some of my sewing bloggy friends would love it too! I love Sanae's blog and how she is trying to make a go of this entrepreneurial thing! I'm so jealous of her Furoku  Membership! What a fabulous idea! We are different styles but I love her moving writing and maybe because we are so different she is so refreshing to me. I'd like to be as genuine as her. 

• Tying into that, I want to write more thoughtful pieces. I want to finish Aria's story and maybe a couple more I have percolating. The art of sewing should be celebrated and girls should have girl adventures where they win as girls not as girls acting like boys. (I hope that makes sense..)

• I've got so much cool stuff I want to share. There's nothing like the happy sewing community squeeing over a fabulous finished make together. I've also won so many cool giveaways and I need to thank the givers and pass on this loveliness! 

I think what this boils down to is setting myself the goal of posting once a week. Then using my time wisely making stuff and writing all these stories. 

What have blogging breaks taught you? What's been happening in this sewing world that I've missed out on? 

Coming Full Circle: A Peek at My Sewing Setup

Changes, even good changes can take time to adjust to. Moving unsettles everything. All the sewing supplies are packed away and scattered throughout the rest of the household items. We're renovating our house while camping out in an apartment across the street.  We have half a house worth of stuff crammed into a tiny apartment.
I was sleeping on a nice air mattress bed until it molded, now I pull the sofa bed out each night and sleep there. Looking on the bright side, I was able to borrow a card table and set up my machines. I cannot tell you what a sigh of internal relief this brought me.

Check out the rest of the room. Every time we go out to the moving container I discover more treasures and drag them home. Bits of me slowly coming back together.

Bet you can't guess what project is up next in my sewing queue. ;) If I ever finish gluing...

My hanging ironing board doesn't mind chilling with my bath towel.

I literally stopped in the middle of a project to snap these photos because of that glorious sunshine coming through the
window. It's amazing how much light can cheer you up.

Today I realized I've come full circle in my sewing. I started out on a card table in the living room, watching old movies and sewing polyester. While I'm done with polyester and can't get internet in this back room, the card table remains the same. So does my love of sewing.

With new people, experiences and jobs, spotty internet and cell service, being able to pick up needle and thread and gain confidence in creating has been therapeutic. It hasn't fixed all my problems or made all the anxiety and confusion go away or shortened my to do list but it has given me brief moments of peace. It has allowed me to create beauty out of the chaos.

Eye candy for now... my silk dresses. Left is a new TNT pattern. Right is a Japanese pattern.

And while I haven't gotten up the courage to photograph my latest creations I had no problem filling my pockets with sewing paraphernalia and traipsing out to the backyard scattering buttons and stabbing pins in trees for some fairy sewing photos.

In a time when I feel quite blown about in spirit I'm grasping at the threads I DO have in an attempt to keep me anchored. So hello Sewing Machine. Hello Sewing Friends. I'm glad you are here.

Mary Knickers

Who knew sewing your own underpants would be such a self esteem journey? I didn't.

It first started with the name of the pattern, "The Mary Knickers" Now while MeasureTwice did a kind job with her description, no one wants to be Mary from Pride and Prejudice. But a knit undies pattern was what I was looking for and a boy short sounded appealing so I bought it regardless of it's name.

When I tried on my first test pair the front fit beautifully while the back only came 3/4 up my bum. This started a whirlwind of thought.
Is this how boy shorts are supposed to fit? Is my bum really poofy like my grandmother said? Could I make this work as is? If I alter it am I just recreating my granny panties? 

It was at this point that I stopped myself before the insecurities could get loose. It doesn't matter how the pattern was "designed" to fit. It doesn't matter if the pants I end up with could be classified as "granny panties" .  If any part of our sewing is about getting the fit we want PERSONALLY, it should be our underwear. This silenced my moaning and I went back and added a large wedge to the back of the pattern.

Look at the little ruffles

Pattern Notes:

• I added a wedge to CB to bring it up
• Tapered down CF
• Sewed down the short edges of crotch pieces. This puts a seam across the front and back of the undies but I think that's better than having some sort of weird pocket there.
• Marked back and front on the crotch piece. The back is the straight edge!
• Used underwear elastic for top instead of a casing.
• Used elastic thread for shirring in my bobbin to hem my legs. 

Thoughts:

• I got so excited to be using up my scraps, I cut up a shirt I've been saving for a couple years and it will probably get more wear now than it ever did! Because who can resist millefiori on their bum! 
• I'm finally getting to use up all those vintage elastics and I'm loving it!
• I've completed one of my goals for 2015! 

While this hasn't stash busted much in yardage it has decreased the clutter. I've got some sewing planned for today so you have the weekend to finish your projects and post to the Stashbusting Flickr group. I'll be back monday with my totals and a Roundup!

What are your thoughts on undergarments? And more interesting, what are they called where you live?

Sewing Musings and Partial Plans

Hello Fellow Sewists,
  I feel like I'm wandering around in a bubble of... well I don't really know what. I've gotten some projects sewn this month; but the bad bit of sewing floaty silk dresses in January in Montana is you can't actually wear them without turning as purple as the fabric. Oh photographs! The bane of our blogging existence.

  I got some of my UFO's done and have cut several things out that I'm now staring at... and there are the projects I'm dithering on... help!

I've got this beautiful creamy white sweatshirt knit from my #StorageUnitHaul (which is now my official twitter hashtag for all those goodies I post) There was some fun red and gold bias tape made up as well and I think it would look lovely used a faux piping around a shawl collar I'm planning on stealing from this vintage Butterick pattern. My first thought was to make this a circle skirt sweatshirt dress but how am I going to wear a massive white dress practically? The sad conclusion is I'm not so what can I make instead? Something cute with a shawl collar. Any ideas? Photo inspiration is welcome.

Link here

 I'm very inspired by this flannel shirt on Pinterest and when I found this gorgeous flannel in my new stash I knew it was meant to be. I just have to prewash it... which is a big deal right now because we're using a laundry mat about every two weeks.

I dithered about the pattern but I think I've settled on the Marie Osmond one because it is closer to my size and the original inspiration image.

Then there is this! I'm planning on making a tunic version of this out of some oatmeal knit sometime this winter minus the front pocket because I just think it's dumb. It's not like we're actually going to put anything in there. I know it's for aesthetic purposes but it is a pocket! A utilitarian thing! Only not. What do you think?

Link

So how is the month going for you? Are you getting any sewing done? Remember to upload your stash busting photos to the Flickr group so they have a chance of being featured in our end of the month roundup. Thanks for reading my sewing dreams because who knows what I will actually end up sewing! 

Staple Dress Insanity

What madness overcomes a seamstress when we blithely say, "I'll do that."? Only later realize the size of the task we've taken on...

That, my sewing friends is SIXTEEN Staple Dresses! 

This summer, three girls went to town on their day off and came back with all the fabric from three thrift stores to make matching dresses for all the girls on staff. We accomplished Sixteen.

The Statistics:

• There are 10 Woven Dresses
•  4 from Thrifted Sheets 
• 1 from New Fabric
• 5 from Thrifted Fabric
• There are 6 Knit Dresses
• All from thrifted fabric
• There are 6 Hi/Low Hems, 1 Maxi, and 9 Straight Hem Dresses
• I don't remember all the sizes but I made each size offered at least once. 

The Details

• I was pleasantly surprised to see that on all the girls I was able to check, the pattern waistline was right on. For the wide range of heights and figures I was very impressed. 10 points to April Rhodes. 
• I did not do pockets.
• Assembly line sewing is the way to go!
• Instead of tags marking the back I wrote each girl's name at CB and a verse around the neckline. 
• I am now the Shirring Queen! Don't worry how it looks on the machine, a shot of steam will make everything beautiful!
• The heaver the fabric the more rows of shirring needed. Knits shirred wonderfully with only a few rows.
• I did slightly stretch the elastic as I wound it on the bobbin. It seemed to give better results.

Before & After Steam
Psst, Aren't those alligators cute!

My Thoughts

• If I ever get married, this has cured any lingering ideas of making my own bridesmaid dresses. They can wear whatever they want! I'm not going to have 16 bridesmaids either!
• I feel like I've accomplished a milestone in my sewing. There has to be some award for sewing the same pattern up nineteen times. (counting the three versions I've made myself) I CAN DO BIG PROJECTS
• I don't want to do something this big again even though I LOVED doing this for the amazing ladies I worked with this summer. Each dress reflected their personalities and in the post camp blues it was nice to have a reminder of them.
• This was my biggest January Stashbusting UFO. I had three left to finish when the year turned over and I'm so glad they are all DONE.

For a couple of the knit dresses I had to improvise.
These I did make "tags" for.

All packed up and ready to head out to their new homes.

How about you? What is the biggest sewing project you've ever tackled? How many times have you made up one pattern?

Top 5 Finale: Reflecting on the Past & Dreaming of the Future

• Top 5 Reflections: Looking back, what have you learned about sewing or yourself? (We often focus narrowly on each project, so this is a chance to step back and appreciate the whole picture.)
• Top 5 Goals: What do you hope to achieve in 2015? (General or specific, what are you looking forward to trying?)

Ooh it's my last Top 5 post, you can see the rest here and here. I'm so excited about these! There are way more than five and some of these are going to be personal, just because I want a record of my thoughts.

Reflections: The Sewing
Living out of a suitcase this summer was very revelatory for me. Here's what I learned:

• I need to stick to my Plain Bottoms-Printed Tops rule. The shorts and pants I reached for again and again were the plain ones and while I love my red floral shorts I never knew what shirt to wear them with.
• After dabbling with Wardrobe Architect and Into Mind I've got a better handle on my likes and dislikes. I've got a core color palette; red, brown, turquoise, floral, polka dot with ivory and navy as my neutrals and gold as my metallic. I wear long and flowy or a classic 50s silhouette of fitted top/defined waist/poofy skirt. Above all it must be comfortable and something I can put on and not have to think of again.
• I like my TNT patterns. Several of my favorite things were made from them. 
• I like seeing what I have but I get overwhelmed and frozen when I have too many options.
• I like making multiples of the same pattern at the same time but I don't like having too many different projects going at once. It stresses me out. 
• I LOVE PRINTS! Especially watercolorish floral ones... 

Reflections: The Personal

• I need quality time with people.
• Sometimes I overstimulate myself with Pinterest and blogs... I spend too much time looking at all the things and never getting anything done.

So after all that navel gazing what are my goals or probably more accurately my dreams for 2015? 
Goals: Sewing

• Make underpants! I've got some Christmas money earmarked for some of Measure Twice Cut Once goodies. Completed in January
• Make some quilts! I've been so inspired by Red Pepper Quilts. I'd really like to make one or two quilts and start my Double Wedding Ring quilt. (I think I say this every year)
• Make a capsule wardrobe I'm happy to pack and wear. Which means more trouser sewing..
• Sew the patterns I have. I invested in one of the Pattern Parcels and have some killer vintage patterns I've found. I'm starting to be overwhelmed by all the choices I have and want to use my resources wisely. 
• Set aside time to sew everyday even if it's just 30 minutes

Goals: Business 

• Teach sewing classes and private lessons
• Become a better jewelry maker
• Try new product ideas
• Find good ways to promote my business endeavors 

Goals: Personal

• Review & study my Korean lessons
• Learn more cool stuff
• Have an AMAZING summer working at camp again

2015, The year of British and American Pants! 

Hits and Misses of 2014

I feel like 2014 was a good sewing year for me. I had a lot more hits than misses and I had a hard time narrowing it down. So here you go in no particular order....

Cake Patterns Cocoa Shrug
I wore this ALL summer and fall. It's perfect for those dresses I wear
that sit at my natural waist. I want to make another!

Maritime Shorts and Pants Hack
I'm so tickled I attacked my trouser fear and made these up. They are still
worn frequently!

Japanese Pattern
Chiffon Top. I love this top! I'm so happy I got to sew with chiffon and
it turned out to be an enjoyable experience. 

I made this ADORABLE vintage dress pattern up in one day because
I had a birthday deadline. She loved it and I loved it. 

Sewing Cake Hummingbird Skirt
This plaid wool skirt has to be one of my favorites of the
year. I refashioned an old aline skirt of my mother's
into this. I wear it until it's too warm to wear.
Love love love.

 Two others that have to be mentioned even if they haven't been blogged are my black plaid Lola and my blue floral sweatshirt top. Both have seen lots of wear and are pieces I reach for  again and again.

Now for the misses...

Athena Top Pattern
I really wanted this to work out. It had some of my favorite features,
pleats and a cowl. I don't know if it was pattern or fabric error but
it stretched and gaped like crazy. I wear it for pjs.

This is my second Athena top with a not such a cowl back.
The neckline was still to gapey and the facing wouldn't stay put so it never
got worn. I'm going to have to remake this into something else because
I like the fabric.

My other miss wasn't a garment but something I do feel badly about. I feel like I really dropped the ball on the Stashbusting Sewalong. With camp and the move I wasn't able to encourage or promote as much as I have in years past.

So what have I learned? Well that will have to wait until my Reflections and Goals post... :) Stay tuned.

How about you? Any terrible fails this year?