Two new t-shirts done

Some time back I splurged on fabric from Emma One Sock and finally have cut into it. I bought 3 pieces of Rayon/spandex blend. I still have a hard time sewing with it though.

This is the Ottobre pattern I've done before.



And nails are a new shade from Revlon - No Shrinking Violets. It's really pretty and goes on well too. The little lumps are from something or other, the fan, the heat or humidity, or my top coat was too thick (I've since thinnned it down.)

Oh no....frump attack

Sorry, but this will be a bit of a bitching and whining post. It happens, it's my blog, I complain a lot.

So I've been sewing this dress

and it's just about done, minus hem and buttons/holes and I feel frumpy in it. I had thought I could wear a belt...ugh, that's even worse.

I just hung it up in the closet for now.

I just don't know exactly what looks good on me or what to focus on. A thought is to cut the dress off at a long hip height and use it over capris or something. Not sure. Not ready to do it yet.

I did do a new nail polish today. It's OPI Sahara Sapphire, a gorgeous color, but very difficult to put on.


And last but not least. I got almost all of the rest of the color cut out of my hair...well, I still have a bit on the ends at the top of my head. I'm not crazy about this photo, I look very washed out (really needed eyebrows..lol.) I'll post it anyways. I'm very happy to not be quite as calico-ish anymore.

Memories

I have so many memories of fabric and outfits from when I was a child, not as much the actual stores though.

Both my mother and my grandmother sewed, though my Oma lived in Germany, she regularly sent beautiful outfits for me, generally with handsmocking as such.

I would guess that 95% of my wardrobe was sewn by hand.

As a young child I do remember buttons, and my mom matching buttons to outfits. I remember whole cardboard boxes of fabric scraps. She would take her scraps from an outfit, fold them up into a nice shape, then roll them tight. Then she'd take a small strip of the scrap fabric and tie it closed. Her cardboard box was full of these scrap "tubes." One day a neighbor girl came over to get scraps from my mom to sew doll clothes with, and I was so sad to see a bunch of those lovely tubes go.

Then I was allowed to play with her scrap box and I would sew little bags with drawstrings out of yarn (she also knits.)

When I was in 4th grade, for Christmas, my sister and I got dolls who had that growing hair. They were like 20" tall dolls, much bigger than Barbies. When we opened up the storage cases that we got as gifts too, they were full of outfits my mom had sewn. And it's wild that I remember the outfits from real clothes she had sewn for herself or us. That was probably my best present of all times.

My older memories of fabric stores are primarily from FabricLand (I think it was) in Silverdale, WA. I would have been older than 4th grade at that time. And my mom would wrap the fabrics off the bolts over me, have me stand in front of a mirror, and me agreeing that the color looked good. I had no clue. My mom was a summer (I'm autumn) and she always picked bright summery colors for me. I don't remember ever hated the fabric store or anything like that. I got to pick out some patterns too.

By the time I was in middle school I was starting to sew myself, and then by HS I sewed my own clothes (or bought.) The fabrics I later chose were much more toned down.

And I remember Esthers, on Bainbridge Island. We would go there to look at fabrics or buy notions we were missing, but it was usually too expensive...lol. Ah, to have a specialty store like that again.

Oh, my, I just googled it, and it's still there, the oldest fabric store in Washington. Esther's Fabrics

A new Ottobre tee

I tried using the rayon/poly before in a tee and it grew and grew and grew. I now just wear it to bed. I got this fabric from Emma One Sock and finally got the nerve to cut into it.

I'll wear it today and hope it doesn't grow. Since it's hard still for me to bind with the rayon/poly knit, I serged on a binding at the neck, sleeves and even the waistband (2" at waist) and that was easier than regular hemming.



Here's a closeup of the crystals I added. Nothing fancy. They are just a pale blue for an accent, spaced at 1/2" in the front and 1.25" on the back.

Yea, top finally done - KS 3652

This top I was struggling on. So, when the KC Pinheads were at Zoelee's recently, I just fell in love with this shirt. Zoe showed me the pattern, and though the pattern was for a cowl, she had put a small elastic strip in it and an adorable beaded medallion in top (that I want to make myself) and silly me thought it would work for her...lololol.

This is the original shop from Zoelee's shop. I took it with my cell phone and that's Ody holding it up.


This is the envelope photo:


And here is my rendition:


And some photos of the lovely sparklies I put on it:




I will do a review on PR and will discuss my alteration and stuff there.

Sparkles are a good thing

I do have a few things to show. I made a simple black skirt out of a very stable cotton/poly knit that I bought from Zoelees (www.zoelees.com) and also a purple crossover top from the same pattern

I added 3mm hotfix swarovski crystals at a 1/2" interval on the skirt. Now that's a lot of fun, though it sure can get expensive. I need to start ordering crystals online, just haven't done it yet. The top has 4mm crystals spaced at one inch.







The top is a bit low for me and just feels a little loose over the bust. I am afraid of falling out. I don't think tighter is the answer though, it's more a style issue. And I haven't figured out a top for the skirt yet.

Oh, and so no one thinks I'm totally weird and gaudy, trust me, crystalized garments are perfect for my two-stepping habit.

Here is a photo of some perfect coverstitching I did with my binder. I just had to immortalize it because you never know when it will happen again.


Nails of the Day was China Glaze Ruby Pumps and this was the most amazing color. Trust me, the photo doesn't do it justice at all. I couldn't help but watch it twinkle and sparkle in the sunlight.


Last but not least, I've been whining a lot lately about letting my hair go natural, and I will now post a photo of my calico hair. I have about 1" left to cut off, and have an appointment for next week, but only about 1/2 that will be removed.

NOTD China Glaze For Audry

Different, huh?

This is China Glaze For Audrey. Supposedly the big thing this Spring are mint greens and yellows. I haven't tried a yellow yet, I'm sure I will soon though.

I had my first break. Felt it happen at the library today. It's the index finger in the above photo. Went to Sally's and bought the silk wraps and IBD resin as recommended. I don't think I did a great job, but good enough is fine for now. It takes time to perfect one's technique.

This morning I continued to struggle with the hem (on the arm) of the following shirt, finally gave up, and just used a narrow zigzag and all is fine.


Then this shirt I'm not as crazy about, print-wise. It just looks too "work-like" for me. It's very hard to know what prints look good on someone.


I started this one yesterday, a mock-wrap from NewLook 6470. I like the skirt on the pattern too.

Here you can see I have some pulling of the front.

This I will work with. I've had some issues as to how to hem it. I will work on that too.

To make life better, my NOTD is OPI Kimono'ver Here.

It's not really very exciting, but it's elegant and nice for day to day affairs (not that I have any, but you know what I mean.)