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.

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.

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.