[with love Heidi]

Tamara, hope Murray dosen’t have to go off farm for work, but if he needs to we pray it’s there!

I just cut out my first sketch book shirt in the remaining yellow cord from the cargos. Now to see if I have enough of anything to cut a size 10 secret agent trench with fleece lining!

[Tamara]

Thanks Heidi, I am praying we don’t have to resort to that. It could mean multiple more problems that we both want to avoid. Just want and need the rain!

So it is 4.10pm and the nook is still the same – I fell asleep and have only just woken up. Which is ok because I can still make a start before midnight.

I know it means starting yet another project but I think I might make a birthday outfit for N who turns 8 on Thursday. Corduroy cargos and a field trip top I think and maybe if I can spare it, a jacket of some sort. We’ll see on the jacket though.

So I will leave the kids in veg out mode and go do some solo tidying of my area.

[meleliza]

Sorry to hear about the farm troubles, Tamara. Farm life seems quite hard. I wish I could send you the rain we’ve been having!

I’ve finished up the music box “wish dress.” As soon as I get through the pictures I’ll post them. I also made up a quick ice cream blouse as I continue to try to use up small cuts of fabric before baby girl gets any bigger. I’ve also decided to jump into the Hawthorn sew along over at Colette. I literally threw a muslin together yesterday and can’t believe how nicely it fits with minimal alterations. I’m using a linen from my stash (yea) but I ordered a yard of Liberty to use for the facings (naughty). I’m also planning and cutting out projects to take with me on our annual road trip to my parents house. Hubby gave me grief for planning to pack the sewing machine! Can you imagine the nerve?

[Tamara]

Meleliza just remind him you aren’t the only woman who needs her machine on holiday – Think Mrs Beaver in Lion witch and the Wardrobe – I do believe it is really worth it!

Yes Wish! I had a look a the wish range again this morning with a view of using some for a smocking project but seeing as I am “taking a break” from cleaning the nook, I have discovered (or should I say RE discovered) some really lovely and very worthy prints already in the stash that could be used instead.

Oh please please send us the rain! Surely we don’t need to send water through customs! It would be marvellous and then we can dance in the rain as a “thankyou” instead of a “please may we”. Murray says we need to shift the country a few thousand km’s to the west! Likely that’ll happen!

Can’t wait to see the wish dress!

[Masha Richart]

We’re dry here too – I just pulled up my pea plants as they are shriveling from the roots. But I don’t depend on my tiny garden for my livelihood. I’ll do a rain dance for you, Tamara.

Last night I sewed a couple of tie onesies for my nephew (just took baby boy’s outgrown but not-yet-stained white onesies and made little floppy ties to sew onto them). I also started making a vest from an online tutorial. The vest is fully lined and the final step is to turn the armholes in 1/4″ on both the outer and inner fabrics. It is a giant pain and I was not able to sew it by machine without getting tucks, so I will have to handstitch it today during nap time.

I found myself thinking “How would Liesl have designed this pattern?” And I decided that she would have perhaps used facings and bias bound seams as in Sunday Brunch, with a bias facing for the arm holes.

[Tamara]

Oh thankyou wonderful ladies!

Cutting the re sorting time short with an extended “do something else” break. But I am hoping I have success with this task to be able to get back to the resorting within an hour (I hope! Says the non techy person who has to download things that seem impossible). I just love it when I can see things to work with but do not enjoy constantly having to tidy up.

[with love Heidi]

I have made my first drawstring bag from LTTS to test out the mini Elna that I picked up for $50 from Spotlight. And I have washed the blue cord and it’s drying now so hopefully I can start on the trench tomorrow!

[Mama_Knowles]

I hope you do see rain very soon Tamara! We have had too much rain here this year. It’s been the wettest summer yet. The kids have been inside waaayyy too much and are driving us crazy!

I finally finished Sarah’s Fairy tale princess dress! The one she ordered after the show Princess Sofia the First. It’s not her dress but rather the one Sarah’s character wears on the game in Disney jr’s online games. All the sewing is done but I do need too hand sew on all the glass beads on the bodice still. I am so excited to see this finally finished, I never thought I would be done with it.

After this I am making two baby outfits, one for Sarah’s baby doll and one for Friend’s baby. I wanted to have this done a few months ago but I have been undecided on the fabric and pattern. I really want these to be perfect for her.

[meleliza]

Rtw girl, can’t you sew the vest together like a sleeveless dress? Here is the method I use: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4971/a-shortcut-to-great-linings. It’s actually just like the Roller skate dress. So very neat and tidy. Or, even better, sew the whole thing right sides together and just leave a small opening somewhere in the lining for turning?

I’m going to load one little teaser photo to Flickr. 🙂

[meleliza]

Hubby left town for a business trip today and I completely ignored my two remaining children all day long for sewing. Well, I did remember to feed them. 😉 and nap the baby. I got completely swept away in the Hawthorn preparations. I had a piece of linen marked 3yds but it was actually only 2 1/2! This is a circle skirt, people, you know how they eat fabric. After careful laying out, I managed to cut the whole dress anyway with a 1/2 yard to spare! I am my grandmothers granddaughter. She was aces at making fabric stretch. So I think I’ll make a little short sleeved blouse for K too. Something like the family reunion maybe?

But wow, I really spent the entire day laying out, cutting, marking, clipping, basting, interfacing, underlining, etc. This is really not my favorite part of a project, and it’s especially tiresome when there are so many little pieces and huge circle skirts that need to be cut one at a time. Lately, I have been working two projects at the same time – one in the stitching phase und my needle and the other in the cutting and prep phase. This has been great because it keeps me from getting bored and it keeps one project always under the needle. But I took a break after finished in the wish dress to finish up the spring cleaning with my bedroom/sewing room. It’s nice to have everything so very clean, but I miss how I was cranking out dresses through the spring. Still, it isn’t always about cranking it out, right? And I suspect this Colette dress will be worth the extra attention to detail. I like to balance detail oriented projects with instant gratification ones. What do you all think? How do you like to work on things?

[Masha Richart]

Meleliza, thanks for the link – though in my sleep-deprived haze I am finding it difficult to digest! (Baby still wakes. A lot.) I was just following the instructions for the vest – it had me stitch everything together save the armholes then turn, and turn the armholes in on themselves. No topstitching – otherwise I would have tried to leave an opening somewhere else. Anyway, it is done, and if I make another I will find a different way to do it!

Now I’m on to the matching pants, and after that I have a pair of puppet show shorts and a blouse from a Japanese pattern for older girl.

As far as projects go, I generally do everything at once, first cut, then sew, move on to the next one. I am always afraid that I will lose enthusiasm for the cut-but-not-yet-sewn item and then not finish it. I am similar with my knitting projects, except I have had one very longterm project (a queen-sized blanket) on the needles for about five years now, and I knit on it in between other projects. But I never have more than two projects on the needles. Once I finish the blanket (hopefully by the end of 2013!) I will likely go back to just one project at a time. I guess I’m a monogamist at heart.

[Lightning McStitch]

I’m ‘flipping’ a roller skate dress into an ice skate dress to match our southern hemisphere weather.

I tend to be a one garment at a time creator, except on the rare occasion when I’ve made multiples of the same thing. Then it’s so much quicker to sew in tandem, two collars, four sleeves etc.

when I pack the sewing machine away and then wonder what to do in the evening, I go on a drafting/cutting spree. So I sometimes have a pile of cut things ready to be sewn. ( and then I put my hand up for Nicole’s cut out pile, so I have heaps at the moment.)

[with love Heidi]

I normally have a strict one project only rule, but I have currently broken it. I now have the second pair of pink and purple cargos cut, as A result of babysitting. A yellow cord sketchbook shirt, cut to check if I needed more cord while it was on special. Thirdly pattern and fabric prepped for A trench, this one will get made first as it’s a birthday gift. I am A little nervous having so many projects half started, but as the kids know about the cargos and shirt they will keep me accountable along the lines of “is my . . . ready yet?”

[wendy]

I’m back in the saddle after the disruption of moving house. I’m entrenched in Victory patterns, the kaftan one in particular. it’s so gratifying: sews up in an hour, flattering, COMFORTABLE! I made a blouse version in a precious silk linen remnant that was given to me and it’s all I want to wear. I just might do up a third to be used as a beach coverup. And then onto the Nicola, which is the wrap one with button closures.

I’m making a birthday Family Reunion dress for my daughter. We’ve picked out some green and yellow chicken fabric that should be pretty cute. And then, next in line is a Roller Skate dress in Kaffe Fassett woven stripes. I’ve seen a few versions in the pool, and they’re perfect!

I’m mostly sewing for myself these days and it’s great to feel like I’m finally building a wardrobe of wearable garment. I think I might finally be ready to tackle the mystery of pants this fall.

[Sarvi]

Wendy, please link to photos of your Victory projects — I haven’t had time to get to mine yet and I’m so curious to see what folks are doing with them.