bodner066

So I made these shorts (S3768) a few weeks ago and have been living in them every weekend. Love. Them. Still can't believe they needed no alterations. The last you saw, I was contemplating back pockets. I tried to get a modeled shot, but no flash, and aiming into the mirror while facing backwards results in much blur. Here's one of the better ones. I use that term loosely. So I just stepped out of them and laid them on the floor for a photo, weekend wrinkles, dog hair, and all. The first "tester" pair was from a much-loved repurposed linen but I totally spaced when sewing the waistband on by not stabilizing it and I could only wear them for about an hour before the linen stretched, which meant I was constantly tugging my shorts up like a teenaged boy. I fixed that yesterday. It ain't pretty, but it works. I added some twill tape to the inside of the waistband (right after they were pulled from the dryer) by stitching in the ditch from the top and praying I hit th...

Just a drive-by post, but I had to share this funny thing that happened today ... I was at work, doing my thing. Still neck-deep in catch-up and still learning all our cases and procedures. (It's going very well, but there has definitely been a steep learning curve some days. But I really do like the challenge.) Our receptionist buzzed me to let me know I had a phone call from an opposing counsel's office. I pick up on the line and start talking with the woman on the other end. We're both trying to figure out some things about a particular case that we're both new to, when I think I hear a question that just didn't compute with the subject matter. I heard .... "Do you have the Stitches and Seams blog?" It took what seemed like a full minute for me to comprehend that that was REALLY what I heard. How amazing is that? R ... if you're reading, you made my day! And I apologize for being such a dweeb. I was just so surprised. And I'd be happy to help yo...

Dillander (edited to add: and Dawn!) guessed correctly. The pattern I shamelessly copied is Kwik Sew 3790, although that Burda is very similar. I think I like the KS better though. But that's just my 2 cents. The fabric I was willing to "sacrifice" for my tester/muslin is a brown/ivory ivy-ish print that's been in my stash for years and years. While the pattern I created did actually work fine, I wasn't totally thrilled with the print crawling up me on this top once it was done. Until ... ... I whipped up a quick Magic Pencil skirt with the leftovers. Now I LOVE them together as a two-piece dress and will be wearing my new outfit to work this week for sure. I'm really liking the movement created in the different print directions meeting up, which itself is created by the odd-shaped front piece needed to create the top. Pattern morphing details/pics are below. Here's a close-up of the gathered sleeve join on the left. The right is just a cut-on/dolman cap...

This is "tester" (aka muslin) for a shameless copy of another pattern using my TNT tee. It's not that I didn't want to buy the real pattern, just that I'm too impatient to wait for it to arrive.  I worked on the pattern changes last weekend, so I'd be ready to try it out today. Can you guess the real pattern? Hopefully, this turns out. I'll be back later with the deets, including photos of my pattern slice/dice if you want to try your own shameless copy.

First fabric order in about 6 months. I couldn't control the shaking any longer. Now to check out some shoes ... ;-) Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Still with the newly TNT pattern ... I started another pair of shorts this past weekend and continued on them for about an hour tonight. I have about one more hour left and they'll be done in time for the coming weekend when I'm meeting up with my friend from that job which shall only be mentioned slightly. We're going to go out to a sports bar somewhere and watch football games. And drink. (By the way, she's no longer at that place either! Interesting, right?) Here's the front. The button/buttonhole and hems will be done tomorrow. I haven't been sewing during the week at all lately so I didn't want to push it. Inside shot. The last of some red/blue paisley cotton for the waist facing, fly shield, and ... ... inside the pockets. Speaking of pockets ... I think the back needs some. If only to break up the wide expanse of my backside. ;-) Parting Shots: The building where I work: A Tampa "landmark" from one of my lunchtime walks:

While the patterns (Butterick 5429 and Simp 2185) were still out, I went ahead and made another 2-piece "dress." This time I added the flounces to the skirt. I figured they would be mostly lost in the print in case I hated them but would still add swish and movement. I do like them. Per the pattern, they are single-layer and raw-edged but hang in such a way that the wrong side of the fabric barely shows. In other words, a quick/easy addition to the skirt. Can't beat that. This skirt has definitely moved into my top 3 knit skirt patterns so I should probably leave the pattern out a little while longer. I like how it fits closely at the hips even though it has an elastic waist (I changed it from a casing to a serge/turn) and then flows into a swishy bottom. Treena had commented on the first skirt that (paraphrasing ) she wouldn't want to sew all those curved seams in the panels. Don't be afraid ... in a knit, it's a breeze. You barely know you're sewing a...

Mine, not yours. Hah. :-) There's a message board thread on PR at the moment which is discussing the "right" way to place a pattern and cut fabric. So I thought I'd ask ... 1. Do you cut with your fabric RS out or WS out?  Me, RS out ... always. I want to see motif placement most of all. I do use me a lot of prints after all. It's just The Way I Do It. Always have. But I think what's most important is consistency. Since I also have the tissue next to the RS, it's easy for me to know what the RS is (or what I've chosen as the RS) after everything is cut and the tissue may have slipped. 2. How do you make your pattern markings? Me, water soluble pen the most for interior marks, chalkoliner next. Notches and fold/center markings by snipping into the seam allowance. Sometimes I'll use a sticker if a mark isn't going to show with a pen/chalk. 3. Do you follow the cutting layout in patterns? Me, never. I don't even look at them. Even as a newbie...

I finally wore my new outfit today and just snapped a pic after work. I *love* this!! The skirt is swishy, the top flatters, the fabric is my colors, and I received many unsolicitations in the office. What more could a girl ask for? I made my billable time goal again for last week so I'll be getting an early start on the weekend at 2:30 tomorrow. Love that perk! We have a big trial coming up next month so I'm guessing I'll be putting in some extra hours throughout the rest of the next few weeks, but I think it will actually be fun ... in a work sort of way. There's lots of camaraderie and team effort in this place and it feels good. No BS, no drama. It's great not to have to worry about that stuff and just do my job. I'm thinking about making another pair of shorts this weekend in some denim this time since the trial pair went so well. I'd also like to make another top like the one in the pic above, but from a different fabric of course. It's a great lit...

Happy Labor Day from here at Chez Debbie ... where absolutely NO labor is happening at all. We're hanging out on the back porch (lanai) , dipping toes into the pool, surfing the 'net, and waiting for when it's time to fire up the grill. Linen Bermudas ... it doesn't get much more comfortable than this. And a rayon knit top only helps. (Speaking of which, the front of this top is double-layer, so be warned if you have your own personal heater moments! ) I will probably be living in these shorts for the rest of the summer, on weekends and after work. Or at least until they're too big, because I was serious yesterday about the gym. I know my weight gain is due to the emotional rollercoaster of the last few months and hopefully I'm now off that ride, but I am more than ready to drop those lbs.that creeped back onto my butt. And, arrghh the reappearance of back fat makes me mad. Thankfully, this is one thing that IS in my power to control. So, a few fabric and const...

It's looking like this will be one of those patterns that sat untouched in the drawer for too long. Two cut-and-sew successes. Here's the top, nearly finished. I still have to hem it and will do that tomorrow after I try it on again to mark the length. And the shorts, also nearly finished. They still need to be hemmed, which will also happen tomorrow. It's late and as much as I want to get these done so I can wear them tomorrow, I know I'm tired enough that stupid mistakes are likely. I haven't sewn anything in the pants category in YEARS. Yes, me, who used to sew pants and pants and more pants. I've been making do with some RTW jeans and capris because I really wasn't looking forward to re-fitting pants. But another one of my wild hairs struck and I decided to just go for these without stressing. No muslin. No pattern alterations. No fitting as I sewed. No good fabric. Well, actually, this used to be good fabric but it was already made into a pair of pants ...