Working on that shirt...

So I'm totally obsessed with Celebrity Apprentice now, are you? American Idol has taken a back seat, and even Fashion Star didn't hold my attention last night. (Well, honestly, Dean agreed to suffer through it but the cable messed up and the only channel we could get was Fox News, so I only saw 5 minutes of it.) I just totally love Ivanka, and Lisa Lampinelli is hilarious. Penn Gillette is absolutely a stand-up guy who refuses to bow to peer pressure and is always diplomatic, totally professional. He is my new idol...and Ellen DeGeneres.

Okay, well on to sewing. Remember we started with this last week:



The front armholes were gaping. So I took Gwen's advice and watched Silhouette's webcast on fitting knit tops and French darts. Awesome - she recommended changing the angle of the shoulder seam, so I pulled it up by about 1/3" and voila:


The wrinkly, gappy thing that was worse on the right arm is gone! Magically delicious! Here's what that looks like on the pattern.


Next was the plethora of fabric pooling at my back.


I assumed swayback, but then I read somebody's blog on this issue, and just knocked off 2 inches of length. This would've been at the lengthen/shorten line on the pattern, but I had added 2 inches to the bottom (blush, so dumb) so I just took that off and did a small 1/2" swayback adjustment. Now on the muslin, I just sewed that right in to see what would happen - uh, yuck, but I get the point.


And finally, the French darts seemed to be too shallow and didn't end anywhere near my bust point.


I made them a little deeper and extended them closer to my "apex." Well, just take my word that the drag lines are much better, but I think I'll back the point down a bit. I don't think French darts are supposed to end in plain site at the front of your bosom. The webcast pointed out that they're invisible because they're off to the side doing their work.


Okay, now I might work on this some more, but Betzina's class starts tomorrow and I've got to get myself together. That brought to mind the scene in Airplane where they're taking turns slapping the screaming woman while shouting, "Pull...yourself...together!" I actually dreamed last night that I was headed to the class and had forgotten something, so I was going to be late. (But at least I wasn't naked.)

A Quick Skirt

So I had a yard and a half of this awesome blue cotton fabric that Robbie gave me, and I wanted to make a skirt I could throw over a bathing suit or something casual. Butterick 4399 is the fastest skirt pattern I have, but I only had a long pink zipper. I got a crazy idea to do an exposed zipper, and suddenly I'm the next Fashion Star, rockin' and color-blockin'! Here's the outside.

Okay, I'll let you see the crappy inside. I googled for some techniques, but this is the best I could do.

Here' how it looks - I think I need a darker top, but I'm at the beach, so this'll have to do.

Well THEN, I have 15 inches of hot pink zipper left, and I go nuts. I thought about faux pockets on the hips, then decided to highlight this seam leading to the "front slit'" as the pattern envelope labels it, but I prefer to call it a vent. (And pardon the wrinkles - this is after sitting in a barber shop [oh yes, I did wear it in public!] for 30 minutes and then sitting through Wrath of the Titans for 2 hours.)

So whatcha think? Would Jessica Simpson want one, or is the Saks dude going to tell me I am NOT his next Fashion Star?

Shoes...and Betzina decisions...and Jake

I ran to get a new Betzina pattern and fabric from All About Sewing, which is near Target where I had to buy some things, and look what God told me to buy. (It IS a sign from God when some cute strappy shoes match your toenail polish, right?) And now I'll have to make a summery dress out of that coral material from Chicago to go with the shoes...


So this is a slinky blue fabric I got to make the Betzina cardigan I showed you yesterday. I'll wear it to work.


And this pattern was one I hadn't seen before. I'll make view A (the 3/4's sleeves) out of a green bamboo knit I bought last year there.


And finally, my brother had to put down his 14-year-old Beagle last week, so I figured I should record some of the good times we have with Jake so I can remember them years down the road. He sleeps in Lucas's room every night, but he follows me to Drew's room to wake him up. All I do is open the door and turn on the light, and he does this, which always does the trick.

End of Spring Break

No, I didn't do any sewing over Spring Break after the family arrived. We were enjoying this too much:


And this:


And my mom and I especially enjoyed this.


Yes, I took a picture of the score sheet from our Spades game against Dean and my BIL, Joe. See, we started out in the hole, but I went mellow a couple of times and we came within one point of them before the final hand, when we set them - awesome teamwork. And I have to show off these matching aprons my mom made for herself and my niece - how cute!


And before I lose the non-sewists, can I show you the fabulous Florence and The Machine? Junior, I made you listen to Shake It Out, but I forgot about this one. I nearly ran off the road (not really) dancing to this in the car when it came on. The video's very odd (a Voodoo guy and Catholic church people? I don't get it), but close your eyes and listen to the song.



In other news, Sandra Betzina's coming next week and I have to decide on my patterns. I'm not feeling up to a button-up shirt with collar and sleeve plackets like I attempted (and failed) last year, so I guess this is certainly out of the question.


This one seems to have been discontinued already, since I couldn't find it on their website - the pic is from Pattern Review.


Same thing for this one, which I'll probably make - the top, not the dress.


Have you got a favorite Betzina Vogue top? I know there are some new ones out there. Any advice is welcome, and it's a 2-day workshop, so I could possibly do 2 easy things.

Happy Easter!

Hope you all had a great Easter; we did. I actually did a little bit of sewing, too! This is the Silhouette Ann's Top (#115) muslin, which I didn't have enough fabric to put the sleeves in. I have a little problem with the armscye - I'm wondering if I need a little dart near the bottom front armscye toward the bust...

And what the heck is a French dart? The instructions don't say quite how to sew it, and I didn't take the time to Google it, so I winged it, but I think it needs to be deeper.

Obviously need a swayback adjustment...

I'm loving this so far, but I may make the cowl deeper like someone on PR did. And lookahere - I made a strawberry pie! (I was the only one to eat some today, can you believe that?)

And finally, we've had a harvest moon 2 nights in a row now - cool! (I realize the iPhone cannot adequately capture the miracle of a harvest moon, but I had to try.)

More later...we're having Spring Break with my sister's family this week. Two years ago that meant sewing tops, but the hubbies were both working, so we'll see what happens this year...

Mad Cow for Lunch?

My mom and I met for lunch Monday. She suggested Olive Garden, Purple Cafe? I said let's go to Olive Garden - we haven't eaten there in a while.

I drive to the restaurant and walk in. She's not in the lobby, so I ask the hostess. She doesn't remember, so she says to walk around and look. I go off to the right behind the bar...nothing. I try the main dining room and walk all the way to the other side by the kitchen door - nothing. Enclosed area off to the side? Nothing. I go back to the lobby and call her.

Me: "Where are you?"
Her: "I'm sitting in...(can't hear her)."
Me: "Are you in your car?"
Her: "No, I'm just inside the Olive Garden."
Me: "I don't see you and I'm standing right here."
Her: "Olive Garden?"
Me: "Yes, Olive Garden!"
Her: "I'm at Olive Garden."
Me: "Yes, Olive Garden!"

Oh shit, I'm standing next to the hostess in O'Charley's.

Is Anybody Watching Fashion Star?

I watched the first episode and was really annoyed by the short little designer guy with the hat, but the premise is kinda neat and he got booted on the second episode apparently. I missed the next couple of episodes, but I just watched one I recorded last week I guess. So here is Orly's color blocked dress. I thought it was really cute. See the contrasting pockets? And the kick pleat in back is done with contrasting fabric at the hem - love it.


It looked kind of baggy under the arms when the models leaned back, then I realized there's a drape at the back - really love it! (My bridesmaids' dresses were a deep green velvet with a deep green satin drape across the back - I'm consistent when it comes to loving drapes.)


So I go online to see how much Saks is selling it for. $295. Really? And look what they did to it - just YUK:


No drape, no knee-length, no contrasting pockets or kick pleat. Hmmm. There are lots of bad comments for Saks online - one person called them Suks, and several people suggested the show boot Saks and get Kohl's or some other store with a lower price point to join up.

Alrighty, that's about all I have to say for now. I fully intend to cut out my Silhouettes pattern - I even drycleaned the silk knit fabric from Promenade in New Orleans! (The drycleaner labelled it as a "scarf." They must think I've got a hell of a goiter!) But I'm all excited about the other fabrics I bought in Chicago - especially that white swishy one - I'm thinking of a cowl neck tank - self-lined of course.

Oh, I hit publish then remembered what I came here to say in the first place. I just finished Stephen King's 11/22/63. People, Stephen King is BACK! I've been a fan since the mid-80's, but other than Lisey's Story and possibly Under the Dome, which were great, they've been kind of...well....boring lately. From a Buick 8 seemed to have promise and then just never went anywhere at all. Same for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. But 11/22/63 is awesome! It's almost 900 pages, and about halfway through I couldn't put the book down - I carried it around the house with me, and I finished it today through tears. Lots of tears. One of his really good sentences: "Home is where you dance with others, and dancing is life." (Yeah, you don't fully appreciate it unless you read the book; like "I have poundcake, if you'd like a slice" doesn't crack you up either.)