I will return to my blog...

The reason I have not blogged in four months is that I was first waiting for tax season in order to buy myself a new computer. I have had my current computer for seven years, yes, seven years, since my freshmen year of college, and in the tech world, that means that I have been using an ancient fossil for five years. My poor HP crashes everytime I try to load more than one picture at a time from my camera... I got myself a snazzy new desktop with a mondo size screen for my feeble eyes (23" to be exact). Once I have that baby in my possession, I'll be ready to enter into the world of online communication again.

I'm a bad blogger...

I find sometimes its so hard to make the time to blog!! So, I am stealing some time from work, and using this lull in the chaos to update my loyal readers on some of the projects I've finished/been working on.

But first a Bella picture!!

This was from our old house, but I thought it was funny :)

First off, I finished my b&w dress with red trim! I haven't worn it yet, but plan on it! I need the right pair of red maryjanes to go with it... yet another excuse to go shopping.

Did I mention it has pockets? I love pockets.

The sleeve has elastic inside the red trim. Its a fairly easy technique, and I've used it in a few shirts that I've made with cap sleeves. What I did here was press and fold over the red fabric to create a casing, sew it closed, but leave an opening so that you can thread through the elastic. I usually attach a safety pin to either side of my elastic, lest it get lost in the fabric. Then you thread it through, attach both ends of elastic together, and either hand stitch or zig zag the opening!

Next up, a creation that is actually not my creation. My sewing class buddy Kate made this lovely cherry dress for herself, but realized after it was nearly done, that it wasn't going to fit in the, ah, chest area. Since I don't really have that problem, she gave it to me to finish and wear. I had to take it up in the shoulders, since like I said, I don't have a bosom problem, and I just need to finish the hem with some hem tape. Since this fabric is silky, hem tape is the best thing to use to finish off the ends. Its an iron-on applique, that you iron and fold the fabric over to secure.

Not that I have used it before, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out. Hah.

Finally, I have started my wedding outfit!!! Thanks Rose for finding this fabric, its super purty!! The picture does it absolutely no justice. Despite the beauty of the fabric, the texture is incredibly hard to work with. It frays and runs very easily, so I had to cut out the entire patter using pinking shears. I'm using a gold rayon thread, and a very thin machine needle to sew this baby together.

Le sigh... I still have so much more work to do on it before it will be finished. This is just the top, I also have pants to work on. And the top is missing its three quarter length sleeves.

I did do something a little fun on the top here. The pattern called for some sort of cord to line the seams, which I didn't like. So, I cut the top part of the tunic on the end of the fabric so that I could pick up some of the details and darker color. Hard to explain, but it will make more sense once its finished and I can show it off.

Project!

First off, I'm almost done with the dress. I swear I'm going to finish it this weekend so that I can start on my next project. All I need to do is finish attaching the sleeves and finish the hem.




For my next act, da da daaaaaa.....

a salwar kameez, or basically a tunic and pants. Probably not going to look like this, I ripped this from the internet, but you get the gist. This outfit is for my friend Mariam's wedding. Haven't decided whether I plan to wear this to the wedding or to the henna ceremony, but it will be worn, oh yes, it will be worn. The one problem I have had has been finding fabric... Joann's carries sari fabric, but not a very wide selection. I've asked around, and I'm thinking I may need to take a trip to the East Bay.

OK, so I've been tagged in Yarned Forces blog, so its my turn at this Meme.

The rules:- Link to the person who tagged you- Mention the rules- Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular or random details about yourself- Tag six other bloggers by linking to them- Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.

1. I have a cat named Bella, who likes to rub people's armpits with her head. This is a recent finding. I caught her molesting Cameron's armpit one night last week.

2. Once, for my birthday, one of my friends gave me Pokemon stuff. By stuff I mean stationary, pens, etc. And by gave I mean she thought I was really going to like it, and you know, it was a nice thought, but I was really confused by it. To this day, I still have not made the connection as to why she thought I liked Pokemon...other than that I used to have the game for my Gameboy (remember those?)

3. I have an unhealthy obsession with purchasing DVDs. Combined our collection is close to 300, and growing. In fact, I just bought two this morning on Amazon. Hey, at least I qualified for the Free Super Saver Shipping.

4. My hair is naturally curly, but I straighten the shit out of it everyday because I could never accept that I was born with curls.

5. Once, at bandcamp... no really, once on a company retreat, I nearly witnessed a homicide in the Truckee river. By homicide I mean my co-worker brandished and swung an oar at another unsuspecting co-worker... Her cigarette had fallen in the water, can you really blame her?

6. I love black eyeliner. I've been using the same brand for about six years. I tend to be a loyal customer when I find something I like.

Um, OK, since I don't have six bloggers to tag, I'm going to tag one (although he may not even see it, haha)

Yo!Cam!

BTW, the two movies I bought today? "Control" and "Depeche Mode 101"

YAY!

FYI 101 is a great flick to put on while crafting.

Musings

Ok, first off, to my audience of one, I apologize, I have been a major slacker in the blogging arena. I have, however, been working away on a cute little number. The original hope was for this dress to be a summer dress, but ah, as you can see, its now going to be a fall dress.

Its not complete however. I haven't attached the sleeves or finished the hem. Its a little hard to tell in the picture, but it has pockets!!! Gloriously large pockets! The red strips are the pocket detail. I also added red fabric to the neckline. The original pattern called for a much higher neckline. I brought the neckline down by about 5 inches, which changed the way in which I was able to finish the hem of the neckline. I cut a 3 inch thick strip of red fabric and attached it much in the same way you attach bias tape. I had to notch the inside of the hem in order to be able to sew on the curves. I did have a minor incident (GASP) where I accidentally cut the front of the dress... luckily this happened in class and our instructor, Alicia, was there to the rescue.

Here's a close up of the fabric. I purchased it at Britex!

Wouldn't this pattern make a great tattoo? hmm..

Oh and here is a snippet of my fabric stash, all from Quilted Angel. I especially like the snowbunny pinups.

And now to digress, last night, after watching the Town Hall Prez debate, we watched an excellent, excellent, flick - "Control." Its based on the book written by Debbie Curtis, Ian Curtis's wife. For those not schooled in post-punk/New Wave era music, Ian Curtis was the lead singer of the band, Joy Division. The movie was beautiful. You know when something hurts its so beautiful? I had one of those moments.

It was directed by Anton Corbijin, who has directed all of Depeche Mode's music videos. Side Note: If you haven't seen any Depeche Mode videos, I highly recommend You Tubing "Personal Jesus," one of their more popular songs/videos.

This movie will definitely be joining our collection in the near future.

Sewing Class Tonite!

Class starts tonite! I will hopefully have some pics to post tomorrow. I'm planning on finishing my black and white dress with red belt (which I've been working on for two months :P). I bought the fabric from Britex, and its beautious!

Nice Cup 'O Joe

On one of my many adventures to the Quilted Angel, here in Petaluma, I picked up these great squares of fabric with coffee house designs. I decided, what better way to showcase the design than with a pillow!

I have had these plain green pillows on my bed for about two years now, and was getting sick of them. So I decided to take matters into my own hands:

Here is pillow pre-fabulous slipcover. Notice the beads on the edges. I had to cut them all off. I'm keeping the beads for a possible project down the line.

And presto! Instant cool! The back of the slipcover is a black and red polka dot.

I actually just added the buttons and buttonholes this past Saturday. It unfortunately took me quite a long time to figure out how to attach the buttonhole foot, as well as to figure out my stitch settings, so by the time I had sewn three buttonholes and buttons, I was grumpy and hungry. But the pillow came out great! I have another swatch of coffee fabric (slightly different pattern) that I plan on making another slipcover out of.

Sewing class starts next Monday, which I'm very excited for! I will be sure to bring my camera to class and snap some pics.

In the beginning...

Hi all! This is my first shot at a blog in years (last blog I actually kept up was on Xanga aaages ago) so hoepfully I won't bore you all to death!