It's been a while...

So, it's been almost three years since my last post, and I'll keep this short and sweet. In all honesty, I had given up on the idea of blogging. I didn't have enough ideas or enough time to regularly maintain a blog. At the time that I abandoned this blog, I was also working for a major control freak (an understatement) who had made me paranoid that if he detected that I had any sort of life outside of work, it could be held against me.

Since I last posted, I've had a lot of big changes in my life:

•  A few months after that last post, I changed jobs and moved to a much healthier work environment.
• In June 2012, I had my daughter Eva. I can't believe that she's 16 months old now. She's absolutely amazing, and I love being her mom.
• In May 2013, I was canned from my "new" job when the startup company that I worked for laid off 1/3 of its employees, including my whole team. I'm sure that many of you have been through this and know that it's not fun.
• After going on many interviews and evaluating our options, I accepted an offer with the Large Internet Retailer based in Seattle (the name of my team rhymes with Spindle). As a result, we packed up the family, including our four cats, and moved to Seattle last summer.

Now that I've re-started this blog (again), I have several goals for future posts:

• In the near term, I am participating in the Cake patterns Red Velvet sewalong. This sewalong runs for the next two weeks, and I'll be blogging my progress here.
• In the long term, I will post about my sewing projects, patterns, fabric, and such. 
• For 2014, I am seriously thinking about trying to add some structure to my sewing by coming up with a plan of some sort to push me out of my comfort zone. I have a few ideas for this, which will be a separate post.
• I reserve the right to occasionally post musings about being a new Seattlite, being a mother of a toddler, and whatever topic strikes my fancy. Trust me, if I allow myself to wander "off topic" a bit, I'll be much more likely to keep this blog regularly updated.

That's all for now!

Simplicity Early Spring 2011 patterns

I keep hoping that my next blog post is going to be me glowing about my completed HotPatterns Camden coat, but with all of the pieces/seam, top-stitching, and life distractions, my progress has been very slow. As of this posting, I have the shell mostly complete except for setting in the sleeves and placing/stitching the pockets. The lining should go together quickly, though, and I'm really, really, REALLY hoping that I manage to finish the coat this weekend.

In other news, the new catalog recently became available for the Simplicity Early Spring 2011 collection. I don't usually sew very much from Big 4 patterns, but I'll hit a few of the pattern sales each year and often pick up a few from each company that really grab me. (Whether or not I actually get around to sewing them is a different story.)

I hit the Simplicity sale the other day and walked away with three patterns from the new Early Spring 2011 collection, plus one pattern that it seems like everyone has been sewing and loving, so I thought it would be good to add to my stash.



First up are Simplicity 2263 and Simplicity 2261. Both of these are wardrobe-type patterns with several options.

I picked up Simplicity 2263 primarily for the jacket with the princess shoulder seams and epaulet details. Jackets/toppers are currently a decent-sized hole in my wardrobe, and I plan to sew a few of them over the coming year. (I'm NOT going to try to tackle that 12-jackets-in-a-year sewalong, though!) With my large bust, shoulder princess seams are the easiest style for me to fit, so I'll usually pick up any pattern like this that there's any remote chance that I'll sew. This one is unlined, and I could see myself making it up in one of my stashed linens for spring.

Simplicity 2261 caught my attention for the neckline details on the v-neck knit top. Nothing earth-shattering here, but this is the type of project that I tend to gravitate towards after finishing a longer/more intense project.


The other two patterns that I picked up were Simplicity 2262 and Simplicity 2369.

Simplicity 2262 instantly got my attention for View A--the cute long-ish cardigan with the pockets and sleeve tabs. Not only will this fill a "topper" hole in my wardrobe, it looks like it will be very fast and easy to sew, as well. I suspect that this will be the first pattern that I sew out of this group.

Simplicity 2369 has been around for a while. I think that half the members of Pattern Review have made either the wrap top or dress from this pattern. Usually, when a pattern is really popular, it makes me less likely to want to sew it--I think my adolescent need to be a non-conformist kicks in or something. However, this has looked great on everyone who has made it, and I haven't bought any wrap top patterns in a few years. This pattern just seemed like a good one to add to my stash.

Hopefully, I'll actually have time to sew up one or two of these in the next few months!

Candidates for next project (Jan. 2011)

I'm currently buried in the 30+ pieces of the HotPatterns Denim Diva Camden coat, but I wouldn't be me if I wasn't already flitting back and forth between various ideas for my next project.

The coat hasn't been difficult so far, but with so many pieces and so many steps, I think I'm going to need a "palate cleanser" type project as my next project. I'm thinking about going with either a knit top or a knit dress. I'm leaning more towards a knit dress--specifically a long-sleeved knit dress--because I haven't sewn one of those in a while, and it's a hole in my wardrobe. I did include one knit top in the candidates because I think it's a really cute pattern that I've been wanting to make for a while, but I keep bumping it from the top of my queue.

Here are the candidates in no particular order:

Vogue 8613

Somehow,Vogue 8613 has been in the pattern catalog for over a year and doesn't have a single review on Pattern Review. This amazes me given the popularity of Vogue knit dresses on PR. It's a shirtwaist pattern designed for doubleknits or beefy knits.


I'm planning to make this out of a Ponte doubleknit with a lovely drape from Fashionista Fabrics. It's got a little bit of a Mad Men vibe to it, but without being overly costumey.

HotPatterns 1057

HotPatterns 1057 - the "Indispensable dress" is another candidate. This is another shirtdress designed for knits. This one has princess seams, though, and has a completely different look than the Vogue. I must want to make a shirtdress of some kind fairly badly, I guess.

I'm thinking about making this one out of a different color of Ponte doubleknit from the same batch at Fashionista--this one in an "Ocean Blue".

Kwik Sew 3823 - View B

The only top candidate that I'm considering is Kwik Sew 3823, View B. This is a scarf-neckline style, and I think it's really cute. There was a similar KnipMode dress recently that a few people have made up, and it turned out lovely. I'm more inclined to try the top version first to see how I like it before committing to a dress.


I'd be making this one up in a red rayon jersey from my stash.

HotPatterns 1034

Finally, I'm considering going with the boho-vibed HotPatterns 1034 - Delicious Dress. I was convinced that this one wouldn't work for my body until I saw a few made up, and then became convinced that it could work with the right fabric.


For this version of this dress, I'd use the knee-length, long-sleeved view. I've got a lovely rayon printed jersey from Mood Fabrics picked out for this one.

So what does everyone think? Do any particular fabrics/patterns jump out at you?

2010: The year in sewing projects

Whether in baseball, science, or even sewing, statistics can be a bit of an eye-opener. While I've been sick and not motivated to work on many other things over the past few days, I tallied up my sewing project output over the past year. Here's the breakdown of what I made:

Breakdown by garment type

For me:
Knit dresses - 5
Knit tops - 5
Jackets - 2
Woven blouses - 4
Sleepwear - 3
Pants - 0 (1 UFO is a pair of pants)
Skirts - 0
UFOs - 2

For my husband:
Casual shirts - 5
Boxers - 1
Lined raincoat - 1

For my niece:
Dresses - 2
Sun hats - 2

Total garments completed: 30


Number of garments completed by pattern company (includes multiples)

HotPatterns - 11
Simplicity - 6* (*Includes 5 versions of the same shirt for David)
La Mia Boutique magazine - 4
SewBaby - 2
Kwik Sew - 1
Butterick - 1
Vogue - 1
Colette Patterns - 1
KnipMode magazine - 1



The garment type numbers surprised me. It seems like I'm always sewing knit tops. Granted, they were my most frequently sewn garment type, but I would have thought that the numbers would have been a lot more skewed once I counted them.

The pattern company breakdown did not surprise me, although I would have guessed that I'd sewed more than one Vogue pattern last year. I do know that I sew from HotPatterns a lot--many of the designs are perfect for my age/lifestyle, and their pattern draft usually fits my figure well with minimal alterations.

I expect the project type numbers to change quite a bit in 2011. For one thing, I need pants and jackets. My first project, which is already in progress, for this year is a lined raincoat, so that's more complex than anything that I sewed for myself all of last year. After I finish that, I may go with a knit top or dress as a bit of a palate cleanser, and then it's going to be on to updating my pants and jeans wardrobes.

Happy 2011! / Blog reboot

Is anyone still out there?

I'm not surprised, but my last post on this blog was in November 2008. At the time, I was engaged, and my life was crazy-busy with wedding planning, honeymoon planning, and the crazy hours that I work at my startup software company. I still needed to sew, if only for stress-release, so blogging dropped far, far down on my priority list.

One of my goals for this coming year is to start blogging regularly. I'm going to try to post something new at least once a week. I'll likely continue to post about sewing a lot, but to cut myself from slack, I might post about other topics (such as beer) if that's what I'm really in the mood to write about.

Over two years later, I'm now happily married to the love of my life, but still work crazy hours for the same startup software company. I still need to sew for stress relief (and have found that I actually get grouchy if I go more than a week or two without working on one of my projects), but have also really gotten into craft beer. The craft beer scene in San Diego has completely exploded over the past 2+ years, and I've been absorbing as much about it as I can--both in learning about styles and sampling as much as I can (in a responsible manner, of course). During this time, David (my husband) has become an avid homebrewer, so his homebrewing equipment now competes for space with my sewing equipment/fabric in our tiny condo.

Thanks for reading, and happy 2011!

Premio al esfuerzo personal blog award

I'm terrible at keeping up with this blog (if you hadn't noticed), so it's wound up taking me way too long to acknowledge Melody (aka "crazed sewer") of my favorite online fabric store, Fashionista Fabrics for awarding me the Premio al esfuerzo personal blog award last month. I'm really touched by this, but have had practically no free time to sew, let alone blog, lately, so I'm really behind here.

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Select 6 bloggers to whom you would like to give this award- prize
2. Put the award - prize on your blog and indicate who gave it to you by identifying her/his blog;
3. Paste these rules on your blog;
4. Write 6 of your most important values and 6 negative points you condemn,
5. Inform the 6 recipients by leaving a comment on their blog.

So...I'm giving this award to the following inspirational bloggers:

1. Sherril Miller of Sherril's Sewing Saga - Sherril has been like a personal tutor to me on the Pattern Review message boards and can find ways around any fitting/design problem. For one of my upcoming projects in the new year (after I establish a TNT t-shirt pattern), I'm planning to knock off a great looking designer t-shirt that she knocked off.

2. Lynelle of Sewl II Sewl. Lynelle has some similar fitting issues to mine, and observing as she perseveres through them on Pattern Review has provided me with a lot of inspiration and encouragement when I feel like throwing in the towel.

3. Belle Noelle of Sewing in the City. Her lovely creations in her Etsy shop were part of what inspired me to dig out my grandmother's old sewing machine and sign up for a sewing class almost two years ago now.

4. Keely of Keely Sews. Always funny, always upbeat, Keely's blog is a joy to read.

5. Melissa (aka "squirrelypoo") at Fehr Trade. An amazing seamstress, and funny as heck, Melissa takes patterns and completely remakes them into something her own and something much more interesting than what they start out as. I drool over her wardrobe. (Like me, she's also getting married next year, too!)

6. Leora of Journey to Couture. We always seem to zero in on the same patterns, and I know that we have some of the same fabric in our stashes. Her posts and reviews on Pattern Review are always a joy to read.


My six personally important values:

1. Integrity
2. Compassion
3. Open-mindedness
4. A sense of humor
5. Accountability
6. Balance

Six things that I condemn

1. Being judgemental
2. Self-centeredness
3. Ignorance
4. Pettiness
5. Lack of sensitivity
6. Greed

The Hoodie Experiment

I fell in love with the menswear collection in the October 2008 issue of Burda World of Fashion as soon as I saw it. I showed it to David, who while not particularly into fashion, seemed excited that there was actually something in BWOF that I could make for him.

Unfortunately, the BWOF men's sizes go only up to a 42.5" chest--about the equivalent of a men's Large in RTW. David's extremely broad shoulders alone usually call for an XXL, so I knew that actually sewing one of these garments would present a bit of a challenge. I'd have to grade up at least two sizes to get a decent fit with any of these patterns.

I chose the hoodie pattern as my first experiment in pattern grading. For the most part, I followed the method recommended by Threads magazine. I traced all of the pattern pieces (all 13 of them), and held them up to David to figure out how much I'd need to add where. I then split the main body pieces along the lines shown in the article (neck, shoulder, side seam, etc) and added the appropriate amount at each slash line.

Once I felt that I was going to get a decent fit through the shoulders and back, I used the alteration method described in Off the Cuff for a prominent abdomen to get enough ease through the abdomen area.

On top of some of the fitting challenges that this project provided, it also required that I tackle welt pockets for the first time. I'm not particularly happy with how these turned out in the final hoodie, so I won't show a closeup of them, but each practice try turned out a little better, so I'm pretty confident that after a few garments with these, I'll get them looking decent.

Of course, the big thing with this hoodie that I'm proud of is the fit. It's not tight or pulling anywhere...and it's not baggy (and therefore pound adding), which is more than I can say of most things in David's closet.

The top-stitching on this took forever. Or maybe after recently finishing a pair of jeans, I'm just really burned out on top-stitching. I think it adds a really great detail, though, and really elevates this from your standard hoodie. I think I need to add a snap or two to keep the top pocket flaps from flying up, but it's not an urgent alteration.

Overall, I think the pattern grading experiment was a success. There's another sweatshirt/jacket (a non-hoodie) in the same issue that uses the same body pattern pieces, so after all of the fitting work that I did on this, you can bet that I'll be making up that view, too.