I think I’ve gotten over my rut–over the weekend I started a pencil skirt:
And last night I finished the second sleeve of the sweater:
Also, the Hamburglar coat took first in the state fair, as reported by my brother.The collar baffled the fair ladies in charge of display, as I thought it might–but a ribbon’s a ribbon, right?
Tuesday Project Roundup
Tuesday Project Roundup: No Boots Before Labor Day
Boots after Labor Day are just fine, though–because now it’s fall, right? I didn’t do much with the long weekend but I did finally finish that orange dress:
For something that’s pretty much a sack, it seemed to take a long time. On the other hand, there are a lot of nice details (topstitching, pockets) that made the sack a little fancier, albeit time-consuming. But overall, I’m happy with it.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Color Of The Week
Does it surprise anyone that both projects I’m working on right now are orange?
The orange sweater has 1.375 sleeves now:
And look, I’m finally sewing again–this is the front piece of a dress in orange sateen:
Can you make out the pocket detailing in all the orange? So far I’m happy with how this is turning out, if just for the color alone. Such is the power of orange!
Tuesday Fabric Report: What to Make Next?
I’ve been having too many adventures lately to have anything to show today, and I’ve been feeling uninspired to boot. I’ve grudgingly accepted that fall clothes are out and here to stay so I should probably think about making some, but I don’t really have a vision for what to make or what fabric to get…except for this:
It’s fabric from the Liberty of London fall “Liberty Rocks” line; it’s designed by Storm Thorgerson, the artist behind a lot of Pink Floyd album covers; and it has rock-and-roll/sci-fi birds all over it. Birds. Rock and roll. Liberty.
I have a weakness for stuff like this–see the psychadelic star print hippy dress and the dress with horses that look like they were airbrushed on the side of a van–but fitting them into my regular rotation of pencil skirts and 60s shifts makes me feel a little bipolar, fashion-wise.
So I’m still on the fence for fall fabrics. Stay tuned!
Tuesday Project Roundup: Tablecloth Dress
Is it me, or does this dress really remind you of summer picnic tablecloths? I may just be reacting to the fabric, which is a madras from IKEA that I’m pretty sure was intended for summer picnic tablecloths–but it was soft and cheap and helped me test out the pattern.
The pattern sewed up well but I thought I would like it more when it was finished. There’s nothing wrong with it and there are no fit issues, but I tried it on and just thought, “I expected more from you, shirtdress.” So I’m blaming the fabric.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Part Of The 12 Steps
As I mentioned yesterday, I have to get my head around the approaching end of summer. A good way to do that? Start knitting a sweater.
That’s the bottom of a sleeve of what will become this pattern:
The yarn is extra chunky, which makes the knitting go fast and also makes me realize that it will have to be quite a bit colder for me to ever wear it. Small steps, right?
Tuesday Project Roundup: Hipster Baby Booties
After knitting veggie hats and owl sweaters, I think my co-workers now expect me to make something for the moms-to-be rather than just contribute to the group gift (at least, that’s what I tell myself. Maybe they dread my creations? if so, they mask it well).
Anyway, this co-worker is having a little boy and is very hip, so I went with a pair of moccasin-booties, using this free pattern:
Cute, small, lots of impact in proportion to the knitting time required: I think hipster booties are the new veggie hats!
Tuesday Project Roundup: Baby Aloha!
A few weeks ago, I scored a bunch of fabric from a sewing friend. In the haul, there was one yard of flamingo print. Now that there’s a baby to sew for, I knew exactly what to do with that yard of fabric. I give you the Tiny Flamingo Aloha Shirt:
I only dropped it off last night so I don’t have a picture of the nephew modeling it yet. But if he rocks it the way he rocks this cowboy outfit, it’s going to be mind-blowingly, face-meltingly cute.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Goes Well With Friendship Bracelets
If you couldn’t tell, I’ve been into tunics lately (blame my inner hippy). After the last two dresses, I thought, “I should make one to wear as a shirt, too!” So I did.
I didn’t use the dress pattern this time; I actually had an out-of-print Simplicity pattern I bought when I first got into sewing again six years ago. The fabric is from the spring Lisette line at JoAnn stores.
Now I just need an outdoor concert to wear this to. I resisted the Sam Bush band last week–I can’t let the inner hippy get away with too much.
Tuesday Project Roundup: So This Happened…
What happens when the yarn for your next project hasn’t arrived yet and you’ve been seeing pictures of fashion types wearing friendship bracelets? This happens:
(What is it with me and crafts that involve string?)
Like most crafty people, I have a bunch of embroidery floss on hand so this was a free project. I made the one above with 12 different colors, another plus (I still want to be Rainbow Brite as an adult, apparently).
Yet another plus? Making these makes me feel like I’m about nine years old again.
That’s why I bought more floss for the next one:
(Linked image credits and a good tutorial can be found here. But if you grew up in the 80s, you’ll probably remember how to make these.)