I found a coordinating blue stretch fabric in the stash (no idea where this came from - maybe a GCGSW swap?) that was fairly casual. There was also a beautiful purple polyester fabric that matched the flowers perfectly, but was too fancy to pair with a sheet.
I used New Look 6189 that I also had in stash (so green, honestly!), because it has a center front panel,
and carefully placed my flowers front and center.
Voila! I left off the belt loops and sash because I only planned to wear this around the beach in the summer, but it turned out kind of cute.
And I don't usually tuck things in.
This is New Look 6470 and it goes with the purple flowers, I think.
And this is a knitted T-shirt I made but need to lengthen a little bit.
And now the backstory (haha - didn't intend that pun). I made a muslin of this skirt first with the rest of the bed sheet and it was too big, but then I tried a smaller waistband and it was too tight, so I went back up the size 16, which ended up floating on me. Being the lazy sewist I am, I took 1/2" out of the side seam WITHOUT the zipper, because yes, this has a side lapped zipper - DOH! So this is what happens to the back when you take in one side and not the other. The back seams get off-kilter and make you look weird. Now otherwise I finished this thing very nicely with serged raw edges throughout, etc., so I fully intend to take the zipper out and take the waistband off there, then take out 1/2" from the left side. No idea why I didn't do it before I put the zipper in. Just lazy.
Oh wait, it's because I had THIS project waiting! Lucas is part of the crew for the high school's spring show, and I volunteered to sew costumes with 2 other ladies. This was my first assignment: cover the gold with fur.
Yer WELcome!
Next up - finish the Mardi Gras dress. My dear patient mother assisted yet again with Simplicity 5093 , mainly to get the straps right on the back, which entailed unsewing and re-attaching to make them symmetrical.
Ummm, it honestly has to be my shoulders or blades, because we measured this like 3 times and it was perfect when she was there to arrange straps. I just need a dresser tonight to yank on those things till they're even...um, the straps, not my shoulder blades. (Yes, I'm wearing it tonight for a local-run before taking it to New Orleans...notice I didn't say dry-run, because Mardi Gras balls certainly aren't dry!)
I also had to get some new shoes to go with this, since my gray Ivankas didn't look right with the blue. (Speaking of Ivanka, I fully intend to let Nordstrom know that I shan't be shopping with them anymore. I'm sure they'll be crushed.) I love the little Mary Jane strap, or whatever you call that.
I may have to wear them out to dinner since they look good with jeans!
In non-sewing news, my mother made me this shell necklace after taking a class with a lady - nice!
And Lucas developed a need for glasses - he chose bright blue frames (when seen from the top) after deciding against Sally Jesse Raphael red - phew!
And finally, we went Geocaching around Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores. Can you spot the containers?
Somebody very clever set these out.
And we walked about 3 miles that day in beautiful weather - who knew this was hiding across from the beach?!
May have to rent a cabin or go tent camping here sometime...
Now to finish my knitted split-neck sweater which I will wear to work next week. Then to finish the socks on circulars I've been learning to do. What are you working on lately?
5 comments:
I've been working on my tan in Jamaica! Before we left I made 2 blouses and started appliquéing some crocheted motifs on a T-shirt. Since we got back I've been doing laundry ;) RE the straps on the mardi gras dress. Did you fit the straps while you had the dress on? I think that makes a big difference. The measurements may be "correct", but our bodies definitely aren't symmetrical so sometimes imperfect, looks better.
Robbie
Oh yes - hope it was awesome! You sound terribly productive - I want to see the T-shirt! And yes, my mom measured the straps on my actual back while I wore it, and found it was off by an inch, so I moved them. Dean tugged it around for me Friday night, and Lucas said he didn't see what I was talking about, so I think it's fine.
You have been busy! Cute idea with the skirt. I really like that pattern. I should make more skirts. They give a quick reward.
Costumes are my favorite thing to sew ever. That does not even look like the same vest anymore with the fur trim. Good job.
I am crazy for your Mardi Gras dress. I love the color and the cut of it is perfect. My favorite Mardi Gras dress I ever had was a black stretch velvet. It was so comfortable, I thought it was my cutest one ever. We’ve not been in many, many, many years.
I love the glasses on Lucas. They are super cute and make him look so grown up. We all wear glasses. My eyes are not super bad, but Bart’s are. Both of kids take after him in that respect.
I am so jealous of the geocaching. I bet my kids would love it. How do you participate? I bet that would be fun to do when Jessica is home for spring break, if it is not too cold.
I should have texted you and let you know. I have been taking a class at All About Sewing. We have basically been going through that dreaded bodice sloper class that you, Katrina, and I tried to do. It was supposed to be a two meeting class, but turned into three. I was iffy about signing up for the class and ended up signing up the morning it started. I had jury duty that week, and was not sure it I would be dismissed or not. Do you sense a common theme with me? I get called for jury duty more than anyone else I know, and it always lines up with a sewing class. I am pretty close on a moulage. I am at good right now. I am working on refining it. Sue is doing a class toward the end of this month on drafting sleeves. It is nerve-wracking, but I am actually enjoying it. I am loving drafting. I’d love to be able to draft whatever I wanted. I’d also love to be able to get to a point that I could take my sloper and compare to a commercial pattern so that I could get the right size without so much stress.
Thanks, Becky! You would like the geocaching - we downloaded an app from geocaching.com, but now apparently you have to pay for a membership to get hints, etc. Lucas said there were more websites that were free, so check those out. He did find all of these without paying for anything, and you just use your phone's GPS, or you can use a real GPS too. You have to watch out for "muggles" though, so they don't see what you're doing, since these things are all hidden and some get stolen if found by people who don't know what it is and think somebody just dropped something. Bigger ones have little gadgets or toys in them, and the rule is if you take something you leave something of equal value. We used to carry around a little bag of toys in case we found a geocache - they're all over the world! Also there's a login in each one where you put your handle and date.
And fascinating about the class! I haven't been in the store in a couple of years, but I think I have to sign up for another "how to use my serger" class, because I messed up the tension threading it and it's all wacked out. I don't think I could handle anymore slopers or drafting - that was all too tedious for me. I never finished watching the drafting class with Paul somebody I bought from Craftsy. He uses a dress form, and I was under the impression it's less math and more throwing fabric how you like on the form, but I could be wrong. I'll have to check that out again. Good luck with your sleeves - they're my ultimate foe! (PS I can't believe you got jury duty again!)
Doesn't that dress look great on her? Sounds like you have been busy, Becky. I tried the knitting thing, but after I started over for the 10th time, I gave it to the cat to play with. It was awful!!!! I found some instructions online and drafted a sleeve for a dress pattern I have that doesn't have one. It looked OK. I was pleasantly surprised.
I know several people who geocache, they are all adults and have loads of fun doing it.
Robbie
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