V9057

 I really like this pattern. I want to make every version of it.

 This time I made view D. I shortened it a inch. I like the fold over on the sleeves.

God's Blooming

I know this isn't in keeping with Christmas, but this cactus was in bloom today and it brought to mind the treasures that God brings to my garden for me to enjoy.

Decorating

Started decorating the wall in the new room. I hung up two old magazine pages from a 1889 fashion magazine and then I put up some pictures of the patterns that I am working on or will be working on. The glare on the plastic covers on the pictures made it hard to get a good picture for you to see.

A Garden Addition

The sun is out today. I wanted you to see what a friend painted for me. My new rock. I would say she was very lucky to find a rock the shape she needed to complete this idea. It is a great addition to my garden.

In my leggings

Thought you would like to see me wearing one of the pairs of leggings that I made. I went to a fashions show today and this is what I wore.

Leggings

 Well I got started making leggings and found out how easy they were to make. I am very happy with this pattern. The hard part was finding 4 way stretch fabric which you see after looking for a while I did find it. Now I have to decide what to wear them with.

B5925

 I really like the way this one turned out. It is long enough to wear leggings. For my 5"3' height I had to shorten it 2"s.

 I had fun adding a grey and then a black and grey stripped sleeves. Added two trims to the neck.

 Made the pockets one in grey and the other in black and grey stripped. Alternated the trim on each pocket.

The fact that it was long enough to wear with leggings got me into making those. You will see them soon.

Stylearc Dotty Blouse

 Several bloggers sew with this Austrialian pattern company. They feel that they fit so well. I found that this pattern was easy to work with even though the directions are very different then American patterns I had no trouble following. The design was very basic. I like the way it turned out. I think I should have allowed more ease across the front so it would drape better.

 I tried to show you that the back is longer then the front. Being black it doesn't show up in the picture. It comes down in the front at the bust line further then I anticipated. I thought using one of my camisoles would solve it, but I am going to have to come up with a better fix for that. I think it looks dressy, but can still be worn with jeans.

Another Hat

 I made a colorful hat to go with the Katherine Tilton sun dress that I made. It adds a festive touch.

 The fabric is linen and supported with horsehair.

A friend of mine gave me a small piece of precious fabric and it made a prefect lining for my hat. Added my personal label.

Rhonda Buss's T-Shirt

 This is Rhonda Buss's T-Shirt pattern. You can find it on her blog. She put it on Friday and when I saw it I decided I had to try it. I think it turned out really cute. Yes, I got it done in one day.

 She suggests cutting the inserted piece 8". I made mine 10" because I was running out of my main fabric.

I think it is very cleverly done. It is very simple to draw the pattern off of one of your standard patterns. This shows how the piece just goes across the back. Give it a try. It is a good way to use up some left over pieces.

New Fabrics

What do you think? Did I have fun? I went on our fabric store bus trip with PenWag. We went to three fabric stores in the San Francisco area. We also went to Lacis that has a lot of laces. I got some for the lingerie that I am making. We went to a bead store as well. Some I have never been to before. I do not have very many knits, so as you can see I stocked up on them. I been saving for a couple months for this, so I could get what my heart desired.

 I found a couple pieces of 4 way stretch for leggings.

 The fabric to the right is the one that I bought and thought it would go with the one on the left so I could combine them. I am going to start with those two today.

 A couple of grey stripe ones to combine for a shirt and then bottom one will make a nice soft jacket.

 Three black and white stripes to make a bias skirt for a class that I downloaded from Craftsy. Some other interesting ones for shirts.

Some more interesting knits to combine for t-shirts. The bottom one is for a knit sweater. You will be seeing the finished products as I get to them. It truly looks fun doesn't it?

V8582 and V8710

 This is out of print, but good. You probably can find it on the internet. I have used it several times.

 This was some fabric I got at a estate sale and I dyed it the color I wanted. This pattern has a side piece that drapes out and down. The pattern has it on one side and I put it on both sides. I shortened it one inch. I cut the bottom edge uneven so it would looked ripped.

 I used the bias iron on tape to secure the neckline before I sewed the crew neck. It works so well. It makes it easy to do necks on knit fabrics.

 I like this shirt. I had fun using the stripes different ways.

 I took out a 1/2 inch on the shoulder seam like I do on most things. It looks like I should of left it in. It is a little short across the shoulders. I think I will add a little more in the bustline next time. I used my coverstitch to make a decorative stitch at the bottom hemline, sleeve edge and around the side piece at the bust.

 In this picture you can see the side piece. I cut the sleeves on a bias.

Another V8975

 I really like this dress and decided to make another one. I used one of Marcy's combos with the orange fabric that I had. I made this one a little tighter and I can see the rolls, so it looks like the first one was a better fit. Live and learn.

 I decided to make matching bra and underpants to go with it. I know I will be the only one that knows, but it is still fun.

B6101

 This is Katherine's new shirt for the fall. I totally love it. She absolutely amazes me how she puts the pieces together and they really look nice if you follow the directions. It isn't for my usual just put together and not read the directions. It creates a challenge, which I enjoy. The design of the pockets on this are really genius.

 I bought the fabric from Marcy. It is one of her combos that she sells. I love the fabric. It is great quality and it is so soft. You think you are walking around in your pajamas. One of the sleeves and the bottom trim is mesh.

I wasn't able to fold out my usual 2" at the waist because of the design lines. So it is longer then I usually have them, but with some tights or leggings I think it will be great. I did take off 1/2" at the shoulders, because the patterns are usually too wide for me. I added 1/2" at the back shoulder at the neck edge to accommodate for my round shoulders. I put in a small dart at the armhole for a better fit at the bust. Theses are things I have to do on all patterns. I find that these patterns run big and I used a small, but would use a XS next time.

Shrug V8975

Yup, that is me with my eyes closed. I was too lazy to take it  over. Besides you just wanted to see the shrug that I made.

 This is the back.

 This is the side.

 The pattern has a draw string for the front neckline, but I like it better without.

 This is a another one that I made also. I like the way it drapes on the body. The pieces under the arm are put together quite clever. Add something different. Marcy always amazes me how she can have so many pieces to her patterns and they do actually go together.

Katherine Tilton's B5881

 I really like this one. I sewed it just way the pattern had it. Next time I would added a 1/2 inch to the armhole.

 This is the front. One side of the upper front and the button band. I was very lucky to find a piece of linen that was all gave the look of being pieced together.

 This is the back. It has gathering at the waist.

 The front again.

 I made a hat to go with it. We are out for breakfast.

There is a piece that the bottom skirt hangs from. It had several places when you were sewing the seams that you were instructed to not sew when you were adding the pieces. So it has gaps that open up. I did it that way because I wanted to see how it would look, but next time I will sew all the seams closed.