de-railed and ready to de-stash

Sewing has been derailed for a couple of days....my fault.  I will be finishing up a skirt and working on a dress, then I will be pulling things out to sell as I destash my workroom.  I'm not even upset about it, which is interesting. 

I'm planning on going through my fabrics, beads, beading supplies, notions, buttons, ribbons, every dang craft supply that I have crammed in my workroom.

I'm hoping that, by de-stashing my room, I will have a little extra money to put into savings, and LOTS more room to work in. 

I'm planning on sewing more for the family and for charities but I need the actual space to do the work......will post more tomorrow...skirt only needs a hem and a zipper, then I can move on to DDs polka dot dress for the 101st day of school.

dress is done...on to next project....

SO....last night, well maybe it was afternoon when I started....it was whenever the Ravens still had a slim chance to pull off a win....so....

ANYWAY....I started cutting out New Look 6935 while the game was on.  Got most of it done before bedtime and finished it today.  The zipper nearly made me throw in the towel, but mainly because I couldn't get it pinned in place for some reason.

Here is the final product:

and a close up of the fabric (it's blue, turquoise, and purple, with gold accents....didn't come through as nicely as I had hoped):

And finally, the picture of the 15 double-layer fleece scarves I did yesterday morning (and yet, I am *still* tripping over a pile of fleece....curious to know just how much I actually had piled on my floor...hmmm...):

SO...that was yesterday and the dress was finished this morning.  Time for lunch, then I will pick out what the next project will be....maybe something for me, maybe something for my daughter (yes, there are numerous projects stashed away for her as well...lol).

football loss leads to sewing progress...

So, the Ravens screwed up left and right as the game neared the end....missed passes, fumbles, and a field goal attempt that I swear is the result of Cundiff being in the pay of the Patriots to throw the game......so....off I went to sew.

From the previous post, I started working on the New Look dress (the one that is in the first set of picture with the little pink jacket - I'm not making the jacket, though).  It's all cut out, skirt is completely assembled, the bodice and bodice lining are prepped (darts and whatnot in place and basted, pieces pinned together at the shoulder).  I ignored the giants-49ers game, but will check the score eventually....hoping that the giants had their butts handed to them....but back to sewing....

When the NL dress is finished, it will give me another 3.25 yards of stash out of my workroom.  I've got more fleece that I will be cutting up to make double-layer scarves, which will eventually clear up floor space and lead to less tripping when I try to walk into the room...lol.

I finally got the Simplicity pattern (also in the first set of pictures from the previous post) in the correct size and that will be another 3 yards or there about...woohoo!!!  So...time to head off here...watching a little bit of BBT before going to bed....will be sewing and hopefully getting projects finished and pictures posted tomorrow....happy sewing!

Since I'm not sewing right now, I thought I'd post what my future plans are...

SO.....I've entered 4 different contests on Pattern Review and thought I'd post the patterns that I will be attempting to use.  You've already seen the jeans pattern that is being used for the jeans contest - 2 different styles.....first one is near completion, but I needed a break from them for a little while.

First up is the "Fabric Stash Reduction" contest (1/1-1/31), during which we try to use up as much of our stashed/stored fabric as we possibly can.  HOWEVER, the fabric has to have been in our stash for at LEAST 6 months to be eligible for this contest.  I have MORE than enough fabric that qualifies for this contest, including some fabric that is as old as my daughter (8 years!!!), but I ran into roadblocks.  The first was that some of the fabric I wanted to use hadn't been pre-washed, so that put a delay on my progress.  The next roadblock was that one of the patterns I was planning on using was not the correct size....total suckage there, but I was afraid to make it in the smaller size since it's a lovely little pattern that I want to look perfect when it's finished.  I set a personal goal for this contest of 25 yards being used up.  As of this writing, I have used 13 yards, with 2 more projects that need to be entered, which *may* push me up to the 25, but I'm not sure....have to sit down and finish some things, enter the pattern reviews, then enter them into the contest tally.  There are other items that I want to make....see below.....

Here are the patterns that I want to use between now and the end of the contest:

I don't know if I can get to all 3 of them, but the last one is the one that I have almost ready to go - fabric washed and pattern pieces cut out.

You've already seen the pattern that I'm using for the "Jeans" contest, which runs from 1/15-2/15....yes, overlapping with the fabric stash contest.

Next up is the "Red Dress" contest, which runs from 2/1-2/28.  I thought I had a pattern that I liked, but of course, I didn't have any red fabric...or at least not enough.  Fortunately, I was able to run to JoAnn Fabrics today after my daughter was finished with her Gifted and Talented class at UVA, which is where I found both the pattern I intend on using AND the fabric (and notions) for this contest.  It is NOT my typical style of dress, but sometimes we need something new to get our creative juices flowing.

Here is the pattern that will be used for the contest:

No, I don't normally like any of the patterns that come with the "Project Runway" branding......simply because I find it hard to believe that any of the contestants are actually capable of making clothing that can transfer to daily wear...and no, I don't watch the show anymore...too snarky, too many silly limited item contests, and WAY too many prima donnas  for me.

Finally, there is the "Challenge" contest (2/1-2/15), which in this case is a "Menswear" contest.  Now, part of the rules states that it must be for an ADULT male, which is no problem since I've got one of those in my household (love you honey!), but another one states that it can NOT be an accessory....which led to the question of a vest....does it count as clothing or is it considered an accessory??  Got the ruling back that it counts as clothing.  So NOW, I have 2 different things that I can make for my darling hubby.  The first is a third version of the flannel shirt that we have both found MUCH more acceptable than store bought (seriously, tell me how only the sleeves of a shirt can shrink and not the rest of the shirt)....this is the pattern that I've used for the previous shirts and will use for the next one:

I may be making the vest from this pattern as well, but not 100% decided on this as I have another pattern that I've used in the past.

I have one more pattern that may or may not get used for the stash reduction contest:

We shall see how much progress I can make between now and the end of the fabric stash contest....though I'm not going to try and push myself because I've decided to spend some of my sewing time doing sewing for charities that I work with.

Well....that's enough for now....happy sewing everyone!

jeans - status report

Sorry, no pictures yet.  I've decided to go with the "basic bling" and just use clear crystals, simplistic design.  HOWEVER.....I decided to add edge stitching and top stitching to the outside leg seams, so it's taking a bit longer than planned.

The description on the pattern said these were supposed to be "relaxed fit" and I'm REALLY hoping they shrink a little when I'm done and throw them in for a wash because....well, relaxed is one thing, loose enough to fit 1.5 of me in them is a totally different thing!!!  And yes, I *did* go my my measurements and I *did* use the 1" seam allowances that the pattern called for.  At this point, I'm too far along to go back a re-do all of the seaming, so I'll just keep plugging right along and pray for a positive outcome. 

The one good thing about this experience is that, for the second pair, I know I can go down a size...lol.  Will have pictures up once more progress has been made (outside seam stitching done, waistband attached, etc.)

Jeans, part 2 - Butt Bling

SO....cruising right along here with my silver top-stitching...and that's going well.  HOWEVER....butt bling....how much sparkle should there be...lol.

Here is the way it is RIGHT NOW:

small clear/white diamond crystal attached where the stitching lines cross.
Here are the options (other than just leaving it the way it is):

From top to bottom:

Small clear crystals where the stitching meets the sides of the pockets
small purple crystals where the stitching meets the sides of the pockets
medium green crystals where the stitching meets the sides of the pockets  and finally,
the "mega butt bling":  medium green crystals on the side and large turquoise crystal in the center of the "loop"....this is NOT my favorite, but still an option (I can just imagine how uncomfortable it would be sitting on that, so no, while not really an option, it was fun to see what it looked like).

Now for the front:

Top to bottom: medium green square, small purple square, small clear square, medium clear square - these are all at the corner of the "quarter pocket".

Finally, at the top of the front pockets:

top to bottom: large turquoise, large clear

I have yet to be able to find rivets, so I've given up on them and am going to use the "crystals" instead.

Oh, one last detail...the pocket lining fabric:

SO.....tell me what you think about the various "blingy" things and which you would opt for

Jeans, can i make a pair that fits better than store bought

Ok, so we've established that I visit www.patternreview.com quite a bit and even enter contests on the site.  I'm still trying to get more stash out the door by the end of the month, HOWEVER....now there's a jeans contest going on.

I tried to make a pair of jeans a year or so ago, but missed on piece that I needed, then discovered that I didn't have enough fabric to cut it out, so...out the door it went.
Here's what I'm working with:

I am starting with view D (upper right) out of black stretch denim with silver top-stitching.

I think it's going well so far....you tell me.....:

back pocket detail.  Will be adding a little sparkly where the lines cross each other - that will be in the next post if I can get it done.

right front pocket with the little "quarter pocket"...all top stitching done with silver metallic thread

zipper stitched in...yes, marking are on both side...easier for me to just smack the tracing paper while pattern is still somewhat pinned in place....and yes, it wipes/washes right off.

plain left front pocket

I now basically have the front of the jeans done.  I will take a picture of the fabric used for the front pocket linings and get them in the next post....good thing is that progress is being made, even though I'm taking more time to read and re-read through all of the directions...more to come at a later date