bodner066

I can't believe I have to go back to work in the morning. Well, it's a good thing ... past unemployment, etc., but I was really REALLY enjoying the paid time off. Something I haven't had for almost a year. I hope all of my American readers had a great Thanksgiving! It was very low-key here, just Alex and me, but we cooked (and ate) like we were expecting another dozen. I'm really craving a salad so the leftovers will be set aside tonight and maybe only come out one more time tomorrow before they are tossed. (Don't worry ... Alex has already made sure that not much is being tossed.) I didn't sew a whole lot over the last four days, but I did what us sewistas do when we're not sewing ... BUY FABRIC. Hahaha. I went to Hancock's yesterday for thread on sale, a couple of invisible zips also on sale, and to see if they still had any of the gray pinstripe left at $3.99/yd. Yes, yes, and yes. Although the fabric initially wasn't coming up as on sale, but th...

Maybe Santa will bring me a better camera, but for now we're all stuck with a simple Point and Shoot and/or my phone. But at least you get me and not Zillie, right? (cough:cough) So here's what I wore yesterday, which is the newest Jenna cardigan paired with the Kwik Sew tank and the Butterick "Carolyn" skirt. Love! this skirt. I want two more. I've been wanting a pinstripe skirt for a while now and I'm so glad it's finally in my closet. I may go back to Hancock's for more of the fabric to make a pair of pants too. It was a steal at only $3.99/yard. Bought these last night in anticipation of The Big Freeze today. Brrrr! They are very comfy. I did finish the Hot Patterns Uptown/Downtown Knit Dress last night, motivation rising as the temps kept falling. It was in the THIRTIES people. Good god! This is what I wore today ... Yeah, you can't see the dress very well in these work bathroom cell phone pics, but I like it a lot and it was nice and cozy. Ne...

Lots of sewing has been going on but you'll have to settle for Zillie doing the modeling for now. And crappy nighttime indoor photography, which is doing horrible things to the colors. I finished the next Jenna cardi. You saw a sneak peek of this one last post. While I didn't use the gathered front version, I did use the shoulder yoke pieces for a contrast and applied them over top. Also contrasting is the neck, button, and sleeve bands. I have used what seems like a TON of this gray sweater knit in the last 10 days, as you'll see. It's been in my stash for so many years I've lost count. And I still have at least 2 yards left. Holy cow ... it must have been a really good deal whenever/wherever I bought it. I also made another KS tank so the cardi becomes a twinset. But I made this one with a little "twist." It's party in the front, business in the back. A un-mullet. Ha. This way I get a plain gray-fronted tank to layer under the cardi and other things ...

After the wadder from last weekend's sewing, I went in a different direction for the pinstripe skirt after finding this inspiration photo on Pinterest. I'm calling mine the Carolyn Skirt because (1) pinstripes are very corporate and Carolyn is all about sewing a corporate wardrobe and (2) she's also all about finding inspirational fashion pieces and interpreting them for herself. My skirt didn't need much interpretation since I already had this Butterick 4877 pattern stashed and my skirt is pretty much a straight copy. But I did have to do a bit of pattern hacking, first for the size and then for design details. The pattern is from my bigger days and the size range I bought is too big for me now. I graded it down two sizes, using the pattern's actual grading upward as my guide downward. That sounds a lot more complicated than it actually was. Essentially all I did was to chop off  1-1/2" from each side seam and shorten the waist facings to match. I had previou...

1. I sewed a pinstripe skirt last weekend. 2. It's a wadder. 3. I may blog about it later. 4. Even though the photos are incredibly UNflattering. 5. Or I may not. 6. I reached into my BWOF (yes, still WOF) archives. 7. Traced through the roadmap. 8. Even graded it up two sizes, since this was a "regular" size. 9. Sewed it all together. 10. Even installed a me-shortened invisible zipper perfectly. 11. And it's horrible if one has a belly. 12. Which I do. Hah. 13. Oh well. 14. Onward and upward. 15. I also cut out another non-Burda skirt and another Jenna cardi last weekend. 16. I was on a roll. 17. Until that Burda made me lose my mind. 18. I'll start on the other two projects first thing Saturday. 19. Unless I'm distracted by the HotPatterns order that arrived after work tonight. 20. I forgot what else I ordered beside the new HP cardi. 21. The package is taunting me. 22. I think I ordered at least one skirt. 23. And I still have more of the pinstripe fabric...