23/01/2016

Mermaid Tights! - Seamwork Aires

YOU GUYS.  Ohhhhh man am I in love with these tights.  When the Seamwork January Issue came out I thought OHHHmygoodness, I need those cat leggings.  But then I realized I already had a couple other cat-fabrics and that I should find something else to make those leggings with.  Not a word of a lie - I had a dream about mermaid print fabric and hurried over to Spandex House to order some up in bright purple.


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17/01/2016

Sunday Stash-Busting

Hey there!  It's been a little while since my last update, but I promise I've been busy busy sewing away!  Clearly I've made good on my "make more time for blogging" resolution... not.

Anyways, after buying up a few metres of new fabric and not having a place to put everything, I took the chance to go through my stash and figure out some projects to use up all the fabric I've got in my stash.  I do not need to buy any fabric for a long while!  I have so many things I can sew with what I've got.


All these lovely cottons will eventually become dresses!  These are some of the new ones I ordered after the holidays with some Christmas money :)  The fabric is so so so soft, and they're all thick enough that I won't have to line the skirts.  The bottom two will be great year- round with tights & cardigans for the winter.  From the top: Catnap - Cat's Cradle (Lizzy House), Natural History - Star Chart (Lizzy House), and Cat Lady - Friskers (Sarah Watts for Cotton & Steel).


All these fabrics have been hanging out in my stash for a little while now... the one on the top left was purchased wayyyy back when I first started sewing my own clothing!  It has a good amount of stretch to it, and the photo doesn't do the deep teal colour justice.  I'm thinking I'll make another attempt at a Moss Skirt (first one was a fail... I'll post about that sometime), with the floral fabric as the pockets and inner waistband.

As for the others!  The top right is a Nani Iro double-gauze I bought in the summer and never got around to making a dress out of.  I had the hardest time finding a lining cotton to match!  Bottom left is some more cotton that I'll make yet another dress with (they're just the easiest thing to wear to work!), and finally the bottom right is some leftover navy cotton twill from my Robson Coat that should work nicely for another Moss Skirt!

Oh, and this is obviously not everything... Ha!!  I still have a bunch more bits an pieces hanging out in drawers and under the bed... I just have to figure out something to do with them!

03/01/2016

Navy Herringbone Emery Dress

Starting the new year off with a new dress.  I whipped this Emery Dress up in a couple days, so I could have something new to wear back to work on Monday.  I used the same pattern for my Party Dress, but this time it was so much easier since I was working with cottons.

I used a lovely navy herringbone chambray I bought from the workroom during their Black Friday sale back in November.  I bought two other fabrics from them that I'll be making more Emery dresses with.  I am seriously in love with this pattern!

2016 Sewing Resolutions

Happy New Year!  Sure, sure, I'm a couple days late... but I've been enjoying the peace & quiet around the house before heading back to work tomorrow.

With this project, I've managed to survive three whole months of no shopping!  Well... mostly.  I only bought things I can't sew (bras, undies, tights) but it still felt a bit like cheating.  Ah well!  I'll make up for it by sewing myself some underwear and a bra or two for good measure :)  I know I've been a bit lazy with keeping you all update with the blog... the last couple weeks before the holidays were crazy busy, and in my free time I just felt like vegging out.  I was also struggling a bit with some of my sewing, as I've had a couple things not turn out quite the way I was hoping and it was a bit discouraging.

So!  Like many other people, I've decided to give myself some sewing goals for the upcoming year, and the remaining 9 months of this project:

  1. PLAN AHEAD.  This is seriously the biggest one.  The most planning I've really done is figuring out what I'm going to sew with the fabric I buy - not the other way around.  I'll head out to the fabric store or shop online, with some ideas in mind, but then come home with more fabric than I need and no concrete plans of what I'm going to do with it all.  This goal can really be broken into a few sub goals:
    • Plan outfits that I will actually wear on a regular basis.  Compile patterns as required. Pick out suitable fabric.
    • Make a list of must have soon ("need now") items, and keep them at the top of the list. Sew the "want now" items after one of the "need now" items is done!
    • Keep track of clothing that is getting worn out, and plan ahead for a replacement.
  2. Make time to sew & blog.  Part of the reason things weren't getting done or I was rushed to finish up a few things was that I don't purposefully set time aside to both sew and blog.  I know I work best when I have a schedule - so why on earth have I not included my hobbies in that schedule?  I'm going to make an effort to set aside a couple chunks of time throughout the week to do both.  I'll still be flexible, but I find if I have time set aside for something, it will actually get done.
  3. Blog more regularly.  This goes hand-in-hand with #2.  I would really like to get a more regular readership, but to do this I know I need to blog more regularly!  The more I do it, hopefully the better the blog will get.  I also want to work on improving the quality of my posts - photos included!
  4. Sloooooowwww Doooowwwnn.  Again, this works in with #2.  I find that when I actually take my time with the clothing items I'm sewing, they turn out way better than the items I rush.  My sewing mantra this year will be "Quality over Quantity" (repeat ad nauseam).
I have a couple smaller goals floating around, but they all fit in to the above 4.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep myself in check with this blog, and I'll keep you up to date with my progress.  If you have any New Years Sewing Resolutions, I'd love to hear about them in the comments!