Happy 2016

Getting ready for 2016....I have been very industrious this last year. Orders for my screen printed bags went up to about 100 a month through the summer. For the Holidays I sold about 800 bags. That can be a little hard on the arms screen printing all those bags. This last year I also had the chance to sew more. I feel really lucky to have a decent sewing area, it's a little cold during the winter months, but we are working on that. I would like to get a dehumidifier the space since it's in the basement but really I have not had a problem since I have a small space heater that keeps the area at about 65. I also put up curtains and tapestry to keep the heat in the small area that I actually work the most. People who lived in large castles used tapestries on the walls to keep warm back in the day, though I do not have any large beautiful tapestries I do have some nice heavy fabric and curtains to close off my sewing area. 
Anyway for the Christmas I made my husband another Colette Negroni from some Pendleton wool that I bought a couple years ago at the outlet store in Pendleton Oregon.

 I was able to get about 12 yards of wool fabric for less than $100. I was very happy to score such a deal. In 2013 I made 2 shirts from some of the grey wool..one for my husband and one for my father-in-law.

There are several things that I made this year that I was was very proud of:

All the bags I made for Christmas from fabric I had collected over the years. The Red Fox quilt that is for some friends who are expecting their first baby in April of 2016, the Alabama Chanin Skirt that I printed and sewed while camping, the A line dress from Alabama Chanin...WITH POCKETS & the western shirt from a really lightweight gingham...it fits perfectly.
There are also a couple of other things such as all the pants I made for my husband this year. It was great to learn how to make pants and make something that he would wear everyday. Next I want to make myself a pair of jeans. My goal this year is to make me a comfortable pair of jeans and a few more pairs of leggings. Of course there will be several more quilts made as my husband bought me the couple of really cool quilt patterns from Oh Fransson…the sasquatch quilt pattern and the kitty pattern. 

Sometimes it just fails

I got very excited when I saw the pattern hack for the Colette Florence Bra. One pattern hack for a lounge bra in jersey, the other for a fabulous slip, I bought the pattern and then set it aside as other things in life took priority. When I finally had a few hours started making the bra according the the original directions, so a couple of things quickly went south. I extra pieces and did not add 1" to the bottom of the band. .

I did a 3 step stitch zigzag stitch over the cup of the braw causing it to ruffle. I don't know what it's called but it's when the fabric stretches too much and instead of a nice smooth seam you have a wiggly seam. You can see it on the left cup, the right cup is just merged on the inside, no overstitch. 

  
Then I realized that I did not add the elastic to the front of the bra cups before I sewed them in place & I stitched the elastic to the sides of the bra cup instead of all the way around to the back. Even thought it looks kind of cute it was a complete fail. I could do some sort of rescue but I think instead of spending time fixing the mistakes I just need to start over.  Funny thing I read several reviews about the pattern and everyone said it was easy you just had to go slow and pay attention. I did neither. I think this could be a great comfortable bra to wear when relaxing so I plan to try it again. 
Oh on a mother note...I't hard to get your bra size straight. I have been wearing a 38C for a while but when I read instructions on the internet it said I was a 42B. So that also was a fail when I made this piece because I cut it out as a 42B...it was too big.
Like I said back to the drawing board...I committed to making more of my clothes and the includes underthings. I hope to start making my husband cute underwear...that's fun to wear.  

Christmas Slippers, Christmas Shirt & tile

For Christmas my husband bought me a very cute pair of slippers, as well as a couple of Craftsy Classes that will help improve my sewing. Craftsy had all of their classes on sale for $19.99 just before Christmas. I had wanted to take the a class on pattern altering they had one called "Create any Size" it goes over pattern garaging and how to alter the pattern to your size. I have a ton of old patterns that I would love to make in my size but several of the patterns are too small. I have not taken the class yet but I will this week to see how I like it. I love learning new things but often find it difficult to match my schedule with actual classes at shops or colleges. I have taken some wonderful classes at Modern Domestic in Portland...if you ever need hands on training the ladies at Modern Domestic are WONDERFUL!!! 
I also made my husband another Negroni Shirt. He as about 5 now. This one is a lovely burgundy that I bought at the Pendleton Woolen Mills. The piece was in the salvage bin, it was bout 3 1/2 yards long but had been cut to about 36" width. It's soft and light weight wool that has a linen feel to it. I added some cute Japanese fabric as an accent. I didn't get the snaps on till after Christams, but gave it to hem anyway and took a photo. My husband prefers snaps to buttons. I think the color looks really good on him...so does he. 
My sister installed a gas fireplace in her basement about 2 years ago. She has a TV on the wall above the fireplace and some lovely bookcases on either side of the fireplace. The problem was she bought some expensive tile squares to put up around the fireplace, but was kind of afraid to do the actual tiling. I know that feeling..you really want something perfect so you just put off getting it done with the excuse that you may mess it up. I went over to her house last week and helped her tile the small area around the fireplace. She grouted it and it looks amazing. She told me she's glad I came over to help her and that Lisa (her partner) is very happy that it's finally done. The tile sheets were about 10x10 and the actual tiles were about 1/2 an inch each, the sheet is a mixture of metal, tile and glass. It sparkles so nicely. I was so happy to help her out on this project. 

Leggings

 I made another pair of leggings, It makes me sooooo happy because I have also found the perfect stitch on my server to make these leggings. It stretches nicely and holds the seam. It takes me about 1 hour from start to finish to make these leggings.

I have come to love this way of installing a waist band. You stitch the elastic down on the top of the band, the roll it down and stitch it again along the bottom. I added the blue piece of material so I tell at a glance which was the back. I think I will go back to the non-rolling elastic. The elastic I used on this pair was too stretchy & it may not provide the same staying power of the non-roll elastic. It's alway a test when sewing with materials that you get a thrift stores and estate sales. Though I love this pattern and would suggest it to anyone that asks. I want to try screen printing on the bottom of the next pair of leggings..oh yea there are more of these in my future. 

I bought a scooter a couple of years ago, we were going to make it into a rolling cupcake. It proved to be a little too large. It was about 5 ft long which would make the cupcake too large to store and we would need a trailer to move it. So my husband took about 18 inches out of the middle of the thing and then welded it back together there is a very study metal bar running down the center of the scooter). It's a little hard to ride if you have long legs but it's a work in progress. We are thinking of making a costume type of cover so the base can be interchangeable with different costumes. 

Making a shirt for someone for christmas. The burgundy fabric is from Pendleton Woolen Mills, it was a nice large piece in the scrap bin, it looks like a linen wool blend...but I'm not sure so I'm treating it like wool. That means I will have to wash it in cold and line dry the shirt. I'm in the process of putting it all together, I have the cuffs left. I should have it done in the next day or so. I will more then likely use snaps for the front closure as the recipient really likes snaps instead of buttons. I like to use a fun matching novelty fabric to add hidden details in the shirt. I have made about 5 of the Negroni Shirts so far, mostly for my husband...a couple for my father-in-law. They are always a hit and once you have made one...it's easier the next time. 

Out cat Sid sitting on the fence waiting for something to move in the night.