Category Archives: misc.

February 15, 2010 · 1:43 pm

Another McCall’s 5984 – Part II

I managed to get quite a lot done on the jacket yesterday considering that cutting out too as much time as it did. This bouclé was very shifty so I had to cut single layer to make sure everything was perfectly on grain.

By dinner time last night I had completed the body of the jacket.

front

I used a stay in the back. Ordinarily, I’d just use a piece of muslin but I couldn’t find any (really must reorganize!) so I used a thin, tightly woven drapery lining I had on hand. Even a printed cotton would work but I’m using Ambiance lining and I was afraid it would show through.

backstay

Closeup of one of the pockets. These pockets are so simple to make and look so nice. Isn’t this fabric beautiful?

pocket

I constructed and set the sleeves in this morning. Now I’m ready to insert the shoulder pads and construct the lining/facing/collar unit.

sleeve

It’s taken four men four hours to chisel that tiny slit on the right with a jack hammer. My house, she is strong like the ox. Right now, this crew is thinking it would be easier to break into a bank.

wall

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Filed under McCall's, misc., Year of the Jacket

April 12, 2009 · 8:19 pm

Yep, I’m still here!

The last couple of weeks have been very busy so I just haven’t had the energy to write – or even do much to write about!

The green silk tunic is nearly done. I’m looking for some beads so that I can bead the edges to give the crinkled silk some weight.

I also finished the Layer Cake Quilt – photos of that later. Today I cut out all of the pieces for a large Drunkard’s Path quilt. It will be made entirely out of batik fabrics, 20 prints in all. Interestingly, the instructions (and every quilter and website out there) say to stitch with the convex piece on top. Hmm, as a garment sewer that makes no sense to me whatsoever! When I sew a Princess seam I always stitch with the concave section on top and curve it around the side panel. This is a real piece of cake when you’re working with a 1/4″ seam allowance! Am I missing something? There is even a foot marketed to quilters to help stitch these curved seams. I don’t get it so I will just sew the blocks my way – no pins, no marking.

curve1

curve2

curve3

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Filed under misc., Quilting, This and that

March 26, 2009 · 10:20 am

Quilt and tunic – plugging away!

I’ve been kind of hacking away at my two current projects – a little bit every day!

I am LOVING my quilting setup! Until my Consew 105 is ready to bring home I decided to use my Singer 20U for the quilt. It has a table behind it making it perfect for large projects. I like the fact that I can work on the quilt for a few minutes and then just put the needle down, turn it off and leave everything until next time. It’s great because I don’t feel the need to hurry up and finish and it doesn’t interfere with my garment sewing.

setup

I’m happy with the way it’s turning out. Nothing earthshattering but I thought it would be a great way to practice my freemotion work and I’ll end up with something perfect for curling up on the couch.

freemotion

The tunic has been cut out as well. Because the fabric is very wispy and slithery I taped it to my cutting board so that everything would stay on grain while I was cutting.

layout

I also pulled out the box of extra-fine Clover pins that I bought several years ago. They are really nice for chiffons but you do need to “weave” them in because they will otherwise fall out. I’m not really a big pinner but I wanted to use a few on the darts to keep everything straight.

pins

Parting shot:

The Phals are blooming! Most of you don’t know this but years ago (before I became a mother) I was very heavily into orchids. They are, without a doubt, my very favorite flower. These days, I stick mainly to the easy ones that don’t require much attention. My phaelonopsis always spoil me with flowers and I love having them around the house!

phals

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Filed under Burda WOF, Fabric, misc., Notions, Quilting