Enter Stage Right

Yep, I'm back. I didn't think I'd be neglecting my blog for so long but I'm finally sewing again and so I should be more regular here now. I feel like I have lots to catch you up on and I will over the next few posts or so. But for now, I'm just going to talk about the first finished sewing project to come off my machines in close to (if not over) a year. Although time has flown, I still can't believe it's been that long. And boy do I NEED clothes.

Here's McCall's 7254, one of the newer releases. Although I've been off-blog, I've still been buying patterns. :-) I cut out and started sewing it this past Saturday and finished on Sunday. It's a very quick sew and I can see adding at least one more to my wardrobe soon. I sewed a blend between the L and XL (the only two sizes in this envelope) and made no other alterations, and the only thing I'd change for a next time is to narrow the shoulders a bit. So nice to have a Win after such a long absence.

I sewed View C, which is the view on the left in the second row below. The instructions call for interfacing one layer of the all-in-one collar/front panel/peplum. I didn't for two reasons. First, LAZY. And second, it's a casual, unstructured knit jacket and I thought interfacing only one side of the panel would do weird things to the hand/drape of the knit. This was confirmed when I read some reviews, so I'm glad I left it off. My finished jacket hangs nicely and I'm not missing the interfacing at all.

Here's a shot of the inside. Seeing this, I'm thinking that with the right combo of two-sided fabrics, it could easily be reversible. My fabric came from Fabric Mart last year-ish and is not reversible. It's a textured knit which I think is part cotton, part synthetic. I had a near-disaster with the iron but luckily it was on the inside of the two-sided facing and doesn't show. Whew!

And the back.

I edgestitched the entire collar/facing/peplum piece and also the princess seams to hold the two-sided panel together better and to set off the seams (which shows more in real life than here in pics). The instructions don't mention either of these steps, but I would recommend at least edgestitching the collar/facing piece so it doesn't roll outward.

Here's a quick nighttime shot of where my machines are set up. Lots of windows in here but not enough room for a cutting table or fabric and pattern stash so I've had to spread out into other rooms and my pattern cabinet and most of my fabric currently live in the garage. It's still a work in progress but I'm slowly getting there. I'm hoping to get a good portion of my fabric into the house but I need to do some rearranging of armoires/shelving first.

Up next is the new Cashmerette Appleton dress. I was supposed to test this before its release but my lifestuff interfered. Jenny was very nice to send me a pattern (and fabric kit) anyway. I finished cutting it out tonight and hope to start sewing it tomorrow night. Stay tuned for a review on it soon.

After the dress, I'm wanting to make a long-ish black skirt. Once that's done, I'll pair it with the jacket and take some photos of me in everything.

Thanks to those who sent notes of concern and search parties. I'm doing great and happy to know you're still out there. I'll see you again here very soon!