[Tamara]

I completely understand this last comment Carol.

The ever continuing costume Glinda is still in progress and hopefully will be finished by mignight Thursday (or she can go as cinderella in rags!) for bookweek dress up day. Normally I love to make costumes but this one in particular has been a bit painful.

After this I have the School days jacket, sketchbook shirt and sandbox pants to make (for N to wear next winter) amongst a few other things including Class picnic shorts and a blue hopscotch top for the sports carnival (doesn’t matter what style just so long as it’s blue!). The list is too long but t-shirt weather is upon us already so I have to get cracking with some summery clothes.

[janimal]

I am desperately working on finishing up sewing things for our new baby’s nursery. It just isn’t as much fun to sew curtains, bedding, etc. than it is groovy O&S clothing. Sigh….

[Nicole]

Very exciting Jan! Not long now?

I have finished the Sailboat pants for the youngest,next up is the bundle of Music Class blouses. I am drafting and cutting Picnic Blouses and shorts for the little girls.

[Mama_Knowles]

Oh how I miss babies!

I am finishing up sandbox team shorts for my two oldest boys and bucket hats to match for them for school then onto 2+2 outfits for my toddler. I am wanting to start the Sunday Brunch jacket for her too but need to order fabric. I found some beautiful cord on fabric.com that would look great for a fall jacket for her.

[meleliza]

I’m on a forced sewing break. 🙁 projects piled up everywhere!

[meleliza]

But speaking of the Sunday Brunch jacket, I’ve been eyeing up this striped stretch velveteen in a rosy pink color from Hart’s fabric for that. What do you thin? I had hoped to make her a jacket for fall since she’ll be wearing her brothers handed down snow coats in the winter, but I think that project will have to go by the wayside.:(

[Tamara]

Sounds marvellous!

Things on my list to make this week include, a messanger bag, a baby two piece (or finish a half made christening gown), stumpwork butterfly and Sketchbook shirt, Sandbox pants and School days jacket. The last three is a maybe if I have time up my sleeve project for this week but it has to be done before mid September to go in the show.

[meleliza]

That’s a lot of sewing in one week! The school days jacket was an all consuming thing when I made it. Lots of pieces and lots of careful steps.

[Tamara]

Well…. last night I just wanted to hide under all my sewing projects for the next week. I had the most humiliating day ever in my 9 years of parenting and I just wanted to hide!!

So yes! I may not get them all done this week but the first three have to be by Friday (because our local show is on and they are in it!) and the next lot including the half made christening gown have to be finished before the 20th September so I can take them to the city show – they need them early to set up and have them judged and on display before the show actually begins. It’s just my way of getting them organised and ready so some will be double exhibited and others not – they won’t know the difference as they have local judges up here.

Today, the kids are going with their dad for as long as possible – don’t want to see them for a good while. I’m still fuming!

And while the kids are away working with dad, I get to make a start on my list.

[meleliza]

I sacrificed some sewing time this morning to drive to the burbs and help my aunt clean out her flooded basement. My prize: my grandmother’s sewing machine, wedding dress – sewn by her in the early 40s – and a bag of vintage fabric scraps!

[Tamara]

Did Irene flood the basement? It’s good of you to help. I hope it wasn’t too bad for her but really nice you got two heirlooms. Have you tried the sewing machine yet? Does it still work?

I’m finishing a baby dress today – playdate in 6-12 months and teaming it with a hat which hasn’t even been cut out. I must say it looks so very cute and I did the bodice lining slightly differently (judges are picky about how you do your seams and linings etc). Plodding along with that and hoping to start on the bag tomorrow (in between helping at school).

[meleliza]

Yes, Irene. I haven’t tried the machine yet, but it worked a few years ago when my grandmother last used it. How did you do the playdate dress? It’s always bothered my to have those raw edges under the yoke and I’ve been planning to do something differently myself.

[Tamara]

Hope the clean up was swift.

For the yoke of the playdate dress I used mini piping to edge the yoke itself and this gave me a “seam” to work with. I left the yoke lining out of the way and so basically eliminated the steps that require you to sew the two together up until the dot on the back. I just did the back seams and sewed the mini piping on AFTER I decorated the yoke and then once this was done I hand stitched the yoke lining so the seams themselves aren’t seen. I trimmed them and edged them before I did this just so I didn’t show through the white fabric.

I also bound the sleeve instead of doing the hem as per the instructions. I just felt that it needed to have the contrast fabric there aswell as the yoke. I’m now up to handsewing the double bias bound sleeves and the hem of the dress and then it’s ready.

I have to say it is a pretty dress pattern and I can see so many ways you could make it -heirloom sticks out a mile. I’d love to do a yoke with lace insertion and a frill instead of flat piping. Just for something different.

The only other way I could see the yoke seam being done neatly would be to apply some bias as you did the seam and bind it in on itself. Personally though, I like to hide my yoke seams.

Oh I interfaced the yoke also because of the decoration being added before being sewn on. It had to have that extra stability.

[homefire]

Just batch sewed 4 2+2 tops for my girls and I am so happy with this pattern. Now I have about 500 cookies to bake for a huge family reunion this weekend. Happy sewing everyone!

[Emily]

I have five Jump Rope dresses cut out, and I spend yesterday doing the plackets on each of them. For me that’s the most challenging and time-intensive part of the dress, so to have all the plackets out of the way is pretty satisfying. My goal is to have them done by the end of the week, so that I can do some Playdate dresses next week.

Justsewit, I’m reading through your method for finishing the yoke seam on the Playdate dress and I’m having trouble following. Using bias to bind the seam makes sense, but I can’t quite picture your method. Did you happen to take pictures of it? I think seeing a picture of the finished seam would help me figure out what you’re doing. It sounds really interesting!