Busy week.

Well, I have gotten some good headway in on the jacket. The buttonholes are pretty substandard and I don't like the fabric much. I'm using a leaf-printed denim that I had lying around as the muslin. I might try over-dying the jacket with green or brown when I'm done, otherwise I don't think I'll wear it. It seems a bit heavy too, but I suppose that's to be expected when working with denim.

I don't expect to do much sewing this week. I'm off camping again,won't be back until midweek, and then we'll be working up to the start of school. I haven't finished many things for my Self-Sewn September, maybe I'll make more as I go along.

A jacket? For me?

At Goodwill this morning I picked up a copy of Indygo Junction's Trench Topper IJ740 for $1.99. I love it! I think I'm going to make view 3 in a horrid leaf print denim that I have. I'd love it in a nice camel wool but that had better wait until I get the sizing right. I'm going to trace the pattern out tonight--I can't wait to start cutting!

Pleated skirt

I cut this skirt out last year and just got around to assembling it this weekend. I don't love the fabric or the waistband. I do like the twirl though. I might make a different version of this with a more fitted waistband in a different fabric.

Rummage

On Friday there's the Glen Acre's Church Rummage Sale in White Center. It's not a great sale, I probably wouldn't go, but the first year I went I got a pair of Lelli Kelly Mary Jane shoes for a dollar. I keep going back to see if lightening will strike twice.

On Saturday there's South Park Garage Sale day and there's the Steven's School PTA fundraiser in Capitol Hill. It's from 9-3 at 1842 18th Avenue E between Galer and Highland. On Sunday I will be going to Lopez Island and hoping to hit their recycling center where you can get anything they have for free!

Silverlake #2

I think that this jacket looks a lot better in person. The photos just don't do it justice. However, I had a lot of trouble with all of the bulk at the seams, topstitching was a horrible problem, even after I cut away most of the bulk there. All of the fabric came from scraps from rummage sales and thrift stores. I cut this jacket out before I made the original Silverlake jacket, but I was too intimidated to start sewing. Most of this jacket was much easier than making the first one, mostly because I had already worked out the problems. The fabric was a pain though, my sewing table has rough and splintery spots that kept snagging --urk!

My very own T-shirt

OK, here it is, the end result of my very first self-drafted pattern. I like it. I think I could make it into a dress, too. I made the pattern using the book Design-It -Yourself Clothes. I feel very good about the process of making this shirt as well. I started by sorting through all of Kevin's old work t-shirts and I took all of the ones with holes to use as fabric. This shirt is actually made from an extra large t-shirt that I bought at a thrift store for $1.99, but all of my muslins were made from Kevin's discarded shirts.

Anyway, I love the color and I am fairly happy with the fit. It could still use some tweaking but it's definitely wearable.

This photo and the photo of me in the Claire Cami dress were taken a few days apart, I think that that's a pretty good example of the difference the fit of the garment makes.

Serendipity Claire Cami Dress

OK, I loved the idea of this dress. It looked like it would diminish my belly and make me look fabulous. Instead I look as wide as a house. Looking at the photos, I might be able to improve the dress with some darts to remove the extra fabric in the back of the bodice, but I think that having a contrasting color for the waistband is always going to make my midsection more prominent. I also think that having the waist several inches higher than my natural waist makes me look wider than necessary. I might make this dress again and try to improve it, but right now I don't know if it's worth it.

I would like to point out some adorable features to the photos which are not related to my sewing. One is the potty chair in the background, we've had good success with that lately, the other is the circle of letters above my head. That is the Marriage Award, given to me and Kevin by our eldest. I believe it's a sort of 'thanks for making me legitimate' plaque. I may keep it forever. I should actually place it next to our framed marriage certificate, it hangs over our bed, giving a bit of government approval to all our works.

I have been sewing, really.

I just haven't been posting about it. I've been too busy sewing! I made a dress this weekend (very unsuccessful) and then I spent the last 3 days drafting my very own t-shirt pattern (very successful). I think I finally have a handle on the whole, sewing with knits thing. One problem has been that all of the knit fabric I've found (and really I only have Jo-Ann and Pacific Fabrics nearby) have been pretty unimpressive. However, I just discovered that if you hit your local thrift store you can buy 5' x 6' pieces for primo prices. That's right, all those "T-shirt" sheet sets that were so popular five years ago are now being donated, and in an impressive variety of colors!

I am currently working on drafting a pants pattern. I'm hoping to have enough clothing basics constructed to enable me to take part in Self-Sewn September, where participants endeavor to wear at least one thing that they have sewn every day. Even if it's only a lapel pin.

I am also fascinated by this bra and I would buy one so that I could try to make more, but they DON'T HAVE IT IN MY SIZE!! I'm a bit cross about that. But I'll try to move past it.

Anyway, I will post pictures soon.

Rummage Sales, a sad assortment.

Unfortunately, all of this weekends sales seem to be rather far afield.

Lakewood Lutheran, the 13 and 14 from 9-4

10202 112th Street SW, Lakewood, 98498.

St. Matthew, 12-14 from 9-4

123 L St NE, Auburn 98002

And there is a Mount Baker Community Garage Sale Day

8/14 from 8:45-3

Pick up sale maps at 2811 Mount Rainier Avenue S.

Also, this garage sale in Ballard looked promising (for those of us who worship fabric)

6720 20th Avenue NW

8/14 from 10-3

Tie-dyed knit dress

Hey! I finally started making something for myself! It's a knit dress from the Alabama Studio Style book. It has six panels and is really a great shape for me. Now, before you mock me for the tie-dyed fabric, I will explain that this is actually just a muslin and I (thriftily) used fabric that I didn't think I'd actually use for anything real on it. However, that being said, my entire family loves the muslin so much that I think I have to finish it off and keep it.

Flower gets some work done

I never really liked the hair that I put on Primrose's doll, Flower, and I always knew that it would probably have to be replaced with longer hair at some point. A month or two ago someone (just who I do not know, but probably not the cats) unpicked Flower's eyes. I replaced them but my blue selection of embroidery thread was limited and they ended up being a terrifying blue (sorry, I don't have any photos). I decided to redo the eyes again and to tackle the hair problem at the same time. I like this hair quite a bit and the new eyes are fine, a bit paler might have been better. I obviously, (as you can see from the rear view) need to put in more hair, it's a bit thin in spots.

Too many rummage sales?

I don't think I can hit them all!

On Friday the 6th there is a sale at St. Mark's in Shoreline, 9-6.

Haller Lake United Methodist Church (NE 133rd and 1st NE) from 9-3.

There is also a sale on Capitol Hill at the Broadway Japanese Baptist Church (160 Broadway) from 9-4.

For those of us on Vashon Island, there is a sale at the Burton Unitarian Church in Burton.

I didn't even include Auburn, Tacoma or Snohomish, all of which sound good but the kids have been traveling a lot lately.

Upcycled sweater

My favorite kind of project! It was very quick, only a few hours. I took two ruined sweaters and combined them to make a new sweater for Willa. The first sweater formed the base. It was a v-neck but I cut it open to make a cardigan. I cut the sleeves of the second sweater in half lengthwise and used those to make triangular panels that I inserted into slits cut in the bottom half of the first sweater. Then I cut strips off of the remainder of the sleeves to form a button band and sewed them on. I used the body of the second sweater and all the remaining scraps of sleeves to make the hood, then I took some red corduroy and made a border for the hood and button bands. I made some rather atrocious buttonholes using my sewing machine and sewed on the buttons. I love this! Willa and I would both have liked the skirt to be a bit fuller, but then I couldn't have added the hood. Oh, well. There's always next time.