FO: Crepe Dress

I finished the Crepe Dress! It was done a few weeks ago, but it took me a while to hem it. Here I am modeling it while wearing my new Franco Sarto pumps (I finally found black all-purpose pumps!) and red lipstick (which I never wear but this dress was calling for).

I really like the fabric and the colors, but unfortunately, I don't think this is the most flattering style on me. I'm apparently an "I" shape, and the red sash just draws attention to my lack of waist. It's really too bad, because it's a fun, feminine dress (while the pinstripes keep it from being too girly). And it has pockets!

Inside shot of the dress. The fabric was a cotton/linen blend that was really simple to sew and easy to press as well. I used a combination of French seams and zigzagging to finish the inside of the skirt (whatever was easiest in the situation). And I hand sewed the hem and finished it with red lace seam tape from my now extensive collection. I'm pretty happy with how all the sewing turned out and a bit more confident in my sewing skills too.

Close up of the fabric and the fun red lace seam tape on the inside of the hem.

I definitely learned a lot through the sewalong process. Many, many thanks to Gertie for hosting and for sharing so many tips along the way!

Crafty weekend

My shoes arrived yesterday and, unfortunately, none of them fit quite right. So back they all go. I've already placed another order with a new batch of hopefuls (like the Cole Haan pumps above). I've been on a quest to find the perfect pair of black pumps for the longest time now. I so rarely wear heels that I have no patience for shoes that hurt the minute you put them on or after standing in them for 2 minutes. And I refuse to get granny shoes. I also think that my feet are oddly shaped compared to whatever models the shoe designers of the world are using (and I seem to wear something between a 5.5 and a 6, which doesn't exist), but I remain hopeful that I will eventually find the right pair. Some day when I'm rich and famous, I'll have shoes made from molds of my feet! For now, though, thank goodness for free shipping and free returns with a huge selection of shoes.

In other news ---

Progress on the Crepe Dress: None. I was waiting for the next steps in the sewalong, but they seem to be coming very slowly, so I'm thinking I might just run ahead on my own. I found a tutorial on threadsmagazine.com about facings and interfacings, and with the muslins I've gone through, I have already practiced the rest of the bodice twice now. I think I'll wait for the posts when it comes to dealing with the skirt, however.

Progress on the Pendrell Blouse: I ran a zigzag stitch along the cut edges of my fabric and ran it through the washer, so my fabric is all prepped. I didn't want to cut into the original pattern, so I taped the pieces to our sliding glass door and traced them onto freezer paper (it's cheap and comes in a big roll). My bust and waist measurements match the size 6, but my hips are 4" smaller since the pattern is meant for pear shapes, which I am not. So I reduced each of the seams by 1/3" (8.5mm). The pattern is also quite long, but I don't like to tuck my blouses in (they never look quite right on me), so I shortened the pieces by 4 1/4" for a final blouse length of 22". My pattern pieces are now cut out and ready for the next step of the sewalong.

Progress on the Blackberry Cardigan: The first sleeve is blocking and I'm working on sleeve 2 while watching the Seahawks vs. Bears. The game is rather painful to watch right now as a Seahawks fan, so I'm glad to have something else to concentrate on.

More Free Time

The roads are still dangerous around town, so this is my third day at home. Apparently the city of Atlanta only owns 8 snowplows to serve its population of 5 million people. Watching the news has been entertaining, to say the least (especially since I grew up in the Pacific Northwest). Clips that have been shown that I found especially entertaining: a guy in a BMW spinning his wheels trying to gain traction, overheating his engine, and eventually catching his car on fire; a man easily ice skating with real skates down the middle of Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta; a DOT truck coming to rescue several jack-knifed semis on the freeway and crashing into a guard rail itself. Each day on the nightly news they mention the overnight freezing temperatures and say something like "All that slush and melted ice will re-freeze over night, making tomorrow's commute the worst yet!" To which I reply, "Well, duh!" Needless to say, we haven't left the house since Sunday evening.

So what have I been doing with my time?

1. Sleeping (since I can).

2. Reading. I think I read the entire book How Starbucks Saved My Life in 1.5 days or so. My thoughts -- decent book, a bit jumpy, seems too polished for real life (maybe the guy has a very vivid imagination, or a publisher who likes to "spice things up"). There were too many flashbacks that went on for much too long. I get that the author was trying to tell us about his early life in the midst of his new life, but I found it distracting. Some of the flashbacks went on for so many pages I forgot what was going on in the "present". But it's a quick and simple read. I didn't really like where it ended. I would have liked for the author to tell a bit about the events that were just about to happen when the book ended.

3. Sewing (well, mostly sewing preparation, anyway). I finished re-drafting the facings for my Crepe dress with Gertie's sewalong and cut out all my pattern pieces. I made lots of strips of cotton organdy and stabilized the neckline on the front and back pieces. I might read a few tutorials this afternoon and just jump ahead to attaching the fusible interfacing to the facing pieces since I have the time and I'm likely to fall behind on the sewalong in the next few weeks.

4. Shopping online. I ordered several pairs of shoes from Zappos.com since they offer free shipping and free returns. I can try them all on and send them back if I don't like them. After all, spring is on its way and I have all these cute dress and skirt patterns to sew! Here's what I ordered (although, not necessarily what I will keep since I'm so picky!):

Kensie Girl Lisa	Kensie Girl Chandra2
Sofft Ramona II	Softspots Neima

I've also decided to get two new knitting books. I'll pick up New England Knits at Borders when the weather clears since I have a $20 gift certificate (thanks, Brandy!). The other, Vintage Modern Knits, is due out in February, so I'll pre-order it on Amazon.



5. Checking this blog obsessively for comments. :P Thanks Tasia for being my first official blog commenter!

I'm not actually sure what else I've been doing. Maybe that's the best part, I don't really feel like I have to do anything at all! Something that's been really rare for me, and probably something I really needed.