My friends and family know me well (and know about my Amazon Wishlist), so I got a lot of great sewing gifts for my birthday this year. First of all, meet my new dress form. She is a Singer DF150, I just adjusted it to my measurements this afternoon, so I still need to see how well it works out with making clothes. The form is lightly padded, so I could angle pins into it if I want to pin something on. I just need to find a good place for her in my tiny sewing room! I also got some great books. On the left is Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit. It talks about how to copy a pattern from... Continue reading

As Joann Fabric had their suiting fabric on sale last spring, I bought some with the thoughts of making a fall jacket. Over the summer, I wasn't interested in sewing it, but once school started, it was on my mind. We had Yom Kippur off at school, and I decided that it would be jacket day. I managed to make most of the jacket in one day. I only had to sew the lining and the hems on the next day. This is my second time making the Uptown Coat, and it's great. (The first time I made it is here.) It came together a little easier this time, although I did have a little problem with the buttonholes on such... Continue reading

It has been an exciting week! First of all, it was my 34th birthday on Saturday, now almost a week ago. This is me on my birthday. We went to Charlottesville, VA for a wedding. Because the bride and groom are weird, creative, delightful people, they had a wedding that fit them perfectly. It was a masquerade ball. David and I were suitably attired. And the wedding party was as well. The guy on the far right is the groom’s brother, and his shoes had a 6 inch platform on them. I couldn’t help a quick little, “Thank you, Hagrid”, when he directed us from the cocktail hour to the ceremony. The bride and groom were fantastic. I especially loved the... Continue reading

I have a new FO and an old FO to show you, together. First the old. The skirt is Simplicity 2410, which I've made at least 4 times before! I love this skirt pattern. It's so easy to wear and flattering. I made this skirt just as winter was turning into spring earlier this year, and I ended up waiting for cool weather to show it to you. The fabric is a wide corduroy. Love it. And secondly is a new-to-me pattern, Renfrew. I've been wanting to try this pattern for a while now, and it lived up to the hype. Simple, flattering, and easy. I made most of this top while watching the second presidential debate. (Color choice does not... Continue reading

This was a low-key Rhinebeck for me this year. I had to work on Friday night, so my friend C and I didn't get to leave until 9 that night, getting to our place around midnight. I haven't been knitting that much recently, so I didn't have a "Rhinebeck Sweater", although I wore Levenwick. And I didn't have a big list of stuff to buy! But it was still a great weekend. My friend and I talked non-stop to catch up, had good food, did some yarn, clothes, and shoe shopping, and it was great. I'm a sucker for tradition, and I loved being in the same places and doing the same things we did a year ago. Yay. This is... Continue reading

Even though it's the last one I've finished, I'm going to show you my favorite dress first. This is another version of Butterick 5315, with fabric that I bought in Bristol last summer. I used the red-polka dot bias tape to finish the neckline and the hem. I love the combination of prints. The vintage buttons (courtesy of the button lady who is at New Jersey Sheep & Wool), also were a great fit. This dress is easy to wear, and I get compliments on it whenever I wear it. Yay, it's an instant favorite. This is the A-Line version of Cambie, using some of my favorite batik fabric from Indonesia. I think I would be happier with this dress if... Continue reading

I wasn't kidding when I said the Libery store was overwhelming. It was huge. I didn't realize how many types of Liberty fabric there is. There was a lot of the lawn, of course, but there was also corduroy, silk, knits, and other types. This store had a lot of lawn pre-cut in 3 meter lengths. I ended up choosing two pre-cuts, one of which was not Liberty and therefore much cheaper. (There was one short shelf of non-Liberty fabrics.) I also got a 4 yard cut of the multicolored paisely and a 2 yard cut of the orange paisely. The trees fabric is not Liberty, but I loved it so much. The fabric feels like it might also be a... Continue reading

David and I took a long trip this August, and in the weeks leading up to it, I found that I was running out of time to do everything that I wanted to do. So, I had an inadvertantly long blog break, and I'm just now feeling like I'm really back home even though we got back two weeks ago. We were in England, and we got to arrive in London right in the middle of the Olympics. And through a bit of good luck, we got to attend the Olympics. Yes, it was pretty awesome. Before we went to our venue, we watched the women's marathon flash by. And then we went to the ExCel Arena to see Table Tennis.... Continue reading

When I saw that Sewaholic had a new dress pattern out, I knew I would be trying it soon. It has so many details I like, and I've been trying to sew more patterns from independent designers. I decided pretty quickly which fabric I would like to use. I got a great black and white linen print from JoAnn fabric a few months ago, and I used it to try out Vogue 1175. Unfortunately, my first go at that dress did not go well, and I determined that it was unfixable and I tossed it. So I bought that fabric again. I finished the bolt, too, so I was lucky that I got back to it in time. I made a... Continue reading

I haven't really tried making up my own patterns yet for sewing. But this skirt is about halfway there! It's pretty simple. I was inspired by Tilly's Picnic Blanket Skirt, and by some clearance black and white checked fabric. This is what I did: I pre-pleated the fabric, which took a lot more work than it should have, especially given how pleated it looks in the FO. I took Simplicity 2410, one of my favorite skirt patterns, put the center and side pieces together, and traced over them to make one pattern piece. I then added several inches since I wasn't planning to add a ruffle to this skirt. I then cut out the pattern using the pre-pleated fabric, and sewed... Continue reading

So after realizing I had a fit issue on some of the previous dresses, I decided to finally figure out how to do a FBA (Full Bust Adjustment). Most sewing patterns (especially from the big commercial companies) are written for a B cup, and I am not that. There are some patterns now that have different bodice pieces for different cup sizes, which makes things much easier. I looked around on Pinterest, and found this Full Bust Adjustment tutorial. It's pretty clear, but when reading it over again for the 4th time the comments about the movie she's watching get a little old :) But I successfully altered the front bodice piece for Simplicity 2444, and this is what I got.... Continue reading

Well, I didn't mean to take a big blog break. I kept putting off blogging because I wasn't entirely happy with the dresses I made several weeks ago, and I didn't really want to post about them. But I've since made dresses I'm happier with, so lets get through the older stuff first, OK? I had a big photoshoot today, and now I have a lot of dresses to hang back up again. First of all, this is Simplicity 2444, which is part of the Project Runway line. I bought this fabric at a local festival, and it's originally from Africa. It's a lightweight woven. I love the collar of this dress. I don't like how it fits. It's too big... Continue reading

A few days ago, I got back from my trip to Indonesia! David and I, along with my MIL, step-MIL, and BIL went to visit David's sister, her husband, and my nephew. They're currently living in Jakarta. Pretty good excuse for a trip, right? We arrived in Jakarta after a 25 hour flight through Frankfurt and Singapore. Once we arrived, we went to a huge, shiny, overwhelming mall (keyword for this trip: overwhelming), and I forgot to take pictures. Except for this line of ATMs, which kind of gives the vibe for the entire place. The next day, my SIL took me fabric shopping, and for that I will be forever grateful. I was too overwhelmed by it all to remember... Continue reading

A month or two ago I got a baby shower invitation for a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. It was a little bit of a surprise, because I didn't know she was pregnant, although I knew that she was trying. The catch was that it was a surprise baby shower, so I couldn't call her up and congratulate her! Instead, I made arrangements to get together for dinner ASAP :) In my head I was trying to think of what kind of baby quilt I wanted to make for her. Dresden plates? Stars? I wasn't sure. We got together for dinner, and although I wasn't surprised she was pregnant, I was surprised to hear it was... Continue reading

I've been a little annoyed with January. David thinks it's funny that I'm mad at a month, but there it is. January is supposed to be cold and blowy, but we are rewarded for this cold and blowiness with snow. Which leads to snow days off from school. Instead we've had cold and blowiness, and then the weather warms up just enough to rain and then goes back to being cold and blowy again. Grr. Anyway, I took advantage of a slightly warmer day with no rain and tried to take some outside blog photos. It was pretty cold to be not wearing a coat outside, so I took like three pictures and hurried back in. This is the second time... Continue reading

Happy New Year! David and I celebrated by watching the San Francisco fireworks from the top of Twin Peaks. The fireworks were distant, but it was a great view of the city and a fun way to start 2012. What a year it 2011 was! For me, I left this year healthier and happier than I started it, which is always something to appreciate and cherish. (I'm especially glad this is so because this year had an 11 in it, which is my favorite number.) After I cleaned out and rearranged my sewing room, I sewed more than I ever have before. The tally: 9 dresses 6 shirts 2 skirts 1 jacket 3 scarves 3 pincushions 4 napkins 4 pillowcases (2... Continue reading

I knit David two pairs of socks this year, and I've been woefully neglectful telling you about them. This first pair, I started during the 2011 Superbowl, and finished them up about a week later. Since then, David has worn them, lost them, found them again (whew), worn two small holes in them (they've been darned), and now he is finally posing for pictures! The yarns are both Koigu I had in my stash, and I decided it was time to use them up! The second pair got started in the spring, and would have been finished in the spring if I hadn't gotten so frustrated at the toes. I had David try on the socks, and it looked like it... Continue reading

When looking through my list of projects, I realized that I had neglected to show you a dress that I finished earlier in the fall. This could be because I feel a little ambivalent about it. It has all of the elements that I like-- big collar, purple, knit, but there's something that still makes me feel a little unsure about wearing it. The waist is a little tighter than I hoped it would be, which might be contributing to the uncertaintly. Unfortunately, the seams are serged, so there's no room for change! I wore this dress to Rhinebeck (on Sunday) and got several compliments, including one person who stopped me and asked me where in New York I bought my... Continue reading

When I was in San Francisco at Thankgiving, I went fabric shopping at Discount Fabrics. I actually went there on Black Friday, but it was not a place that was crowded with people, and there were no special sales. It's a big warehouse, and I had to poke around for a while before I decided what I wanted to get. I came home with three knit fabrics, two of which were from the remnant section. As soon as I got home, I sewed a new shirt. I decided to actually use a new pattern, Simplicity 2409. It's looser and drapier than I realized it would be, but I've found that I like it. It's comfortable, and I think the style goes... Continue reading

I really love making things for my co-workers. We're always busy at school, and conversations are either quick or interrupted. But we do get to know each other, and it's fun for me to figure out what to make for a friend, and which colors to use. Here's some mittens, made out of a pattern that's in my head for "how to make basic mittens". I used the leftover yarn for a sweater I haven't shown you yet (wince) and some pretty green Rowan Lima I bought when I was in San Francisco. The stripe pattern on the first mitten was made up as I went, and then I copied it for the second mitten. I really wanted to make mittens... Continue reading

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's a place where people can showcase, or "pin", pictures of things they like. I have found that it's a great source of inspiration, and I have actually bought or sewn a lot of things because of Pinterest. In fact, I made a Pinterest board of everything that Pinterest has made me do! Here's a dress that started as an inspiration from Pinterest. When I saw this picture on Pinterest, I thought it would be fun to try and make it. Then I found some soft houndstooth fabric, and I decided to pair it with Butterick 4443. I had made this pattern a couple of years ago, and I had a problem with the neckline gapping.... Continue reading

I recently finished a quilt for a friend who is a fellow Montessori teacher. "Freedom Within Limits" is part of the philosophy of Montessori teaching, and is also an appropriate name for this quilt. I was tickled pink when I made the connection! My friend got married on New Year's Eve this past year, and I've been wanting to make a quilt in celebration of her marraige. Then we made plans to visit her, and the deadline was set! I asked (not so discreetly, unfortunately) what colors she was using to decorate her house, and she replied that it was mostly shades of brown with some rust and slate blue added to it. I love this color palette! The center six-inch... Continue reading