Back in the saddle

Yesterday was finally cool enough to get back to my sewing room.  Hooray!  I'm working on some Christmas gifts for my family (sssshh...).  I made two cowls using this tutorial, one for my dad and one for my stepmom.  My dad's cowl came out great, but I tried to get a little too fancy on my stepmom's.  Instead of just sewing a nice straight seam around the edges, I decided to try to use one of the fancy decorative stitches, and it, uh, didn't work so good.  So now I have a new cowl for fall and will make another for my stepmom tonight.  With regular stitching.  I'm also going to make matching rice-filled handwarmers for them both.

I'm trying to get this stuff done before this weekend, because we are meeting them at the coast for a long weekend, and I'm not sure I'll get to see them at Christmas time.  I also started a zipper pouch for my stepmom, but it turned into a disaster, so I will have to redo that one.  She won't be getting that this weekend.

Pants, Bags, Sewing Hiatus.

I finally finished the drawstring pants, wore them for half an hour, and they have two tears in the seams.  Apparently, I didn't do a very good job.  Oh well, they will go in the scrap pile and I will either fix them or use the fabric for something else.  At least I hadn't left the house yet when I discovered the crotch tear.  Hooray!

I recently ordered some delightful fabrics from Fabric.com and I have a plan for some zipper bags for gifts.  Unfortunately, my zipper pouch kung fu seems to be rusty, as the first attempt didn't turn out so good.  No matter!  I believe the biggest issue is fixable, and I have plenty more fabric to make many many more!  I have pics of the fabric that I will post if I ever remember to have my camera and computer in the same room at the same time.

I still haven't been sewing much, because it is very stuffy and warm in the sewing room.  Unfortunately, that will be probably be case for at least another couple of months, since we are moving into August and that month is pretty reliably sweltering in the Portland area.  I'm hoping to get some gifts done for my parents before mid-September so I can hand them out when we meet at the beach.  Otherwise, they will have to be mailed later.

If anyone is reading this blog, I'm sorry for the long delays between posts.  I just haven't had much to say because I haven't been sewing.  Hopefully this will be a much more lively blog in the fall/winter when I spend much more time in the sewing room.

OMG

Well, I hope everyone had a nice vacation and no one noticed I wasn't posting.  (Haha, seriously, does anyone even read this?)  Anyway, I haven't had much to post about, since it has been warm and my sewing room is too hot to sew in these days.  I did mostly finish the drawstring pants.  They are a little too long, so I need to re-hem them, but they are otherwise finished and fit well.  I think the next pair I make, I will make the waistband shorter (this one is a little over 3 inches tall) and will use two vertical button holes for the drawstring instead of one horizontal one.  I liked the look of the horizontal buttonhole, but it's not super great.  The self fabric drawstring was easy and looks nice, though.  I will really try to take some pictures and post them.  I also have some pics of some of my zipper bags to post as well.

My most recent project was to make a drape neck top out of some regular cotton knit.  It, uh, didn't go as planned.  It was really hot in my sewing room, but I wanted to give it a try, so I quickly drafted the pattern from a shirt I already own, and tried to add a drape neck.  I really, really need to remember that if I rush things because I'm uncomfortable (hot, hungry, grouchy) then they turn out like crap.  I will probably be able to salvage the shirt, but at the moment it's not wearable as anything other than something to cover nakedness in an emergency.  *sigh*

Wheeeeeee

The linen drawstring pants are coming together nicely.  The size adjustments went well and they actually fit.  However, I neglected to adjust the waist height so they were super low rise, even before I made the casing.  I added a waistband/casing, so now they are super high-waisted, but I figure I can roll the waist down if I feel like it.  All I need to do now is make a drawstring and hem them up.  Yay!

Duh moment

Last night I was working on the muslin for a pair of drawstring linen pants.  The fabric I was using was this nasty cotton/poly blend that I bought at Goodwill for $4.  It's ugly, but $4 for approx. 6 yards was hard to pass up.  Anyway, I was sewing along and I could not get it to feed straight without totally manhandling it.  I kept thinking that the fabric was just that crappy, but then I realized that I was using an old needle that I had been using while working on the Clover pants and a couple other small projects.  So I changed the needle and low and behold: straight seams.  Hooray!  I'm usually pretty good about changing my needle, but since this was a muslin and not for an actual garment, I didn't bother.  

You probably saw this coming....

I have shelved the Clover pants for now.  The waistband is too small and I got everything turned around and put the zipper open on the right instead of the left, so even if the waist band would fit I would have to redo it anyway because the zipper opening on the waistband is on the left.  *sigh*

I have drafted a pattern for drawstring pants.  I'm hoping I have enough muslin to make a quick pair of shorts to see if the hips fit.  I'm not worried about the length, since that's an easy fix.  If they end up too long, I can hem them up a bit.  Now I seem to be struggling with finding time to sew when it is not too hot to be in my sewing room.  It gets the afternoon exposure and seems to be constantly toasty.  Nice in the winter, tho!

I have also been studying one of my drape neck sleeveless tops and planning in my head how to draft a pattern so I can copy it.  I think I'm ready to graduate from boatneck tops that are basically rectangles.  =)

I feel like I have project ADD

There are so many projects I want to work on at the moment.  I want to make a t-shirt, drawstring linen pants, another straight skirt from a nice grey stretch twill that I bought a couple of months ago.  I want to make some slippers from a cute pattern I found on Craftsy, because I'd like to give them as Christmas gifts.  I also need to work on some hand warmers and zipper pouches for gifts as well.  (Yes, I know it's June.  I have to think ahead, otherwise it will never happen.)

I also realized yesterday while sewing up the Clover pants that they are not going to fit.  I think I can salvage it by buying another yard of fabric and redoing the waistbands, but I'm not entirely sure.  At this point, I really want to shelve the pants and work on other stuff, but I feel like I should just go ahead and finish them, since my intention was to make a (hopefully) wearable muslin.  If I finish them, I can identify the changes I need to make for next time so that I end up with well fitting pants.  I am also afraid that if I don't at least finish this muslin, I will never again attempt these pants, and that would be a shame.

Check in

I'm just checking in to say that I've started work on the pants and it's going OK.  I misread the directions and applied interfacing to both waistband pieces so I'm trying to decide if I need to get another half yard of fabric to cut out two more waistbands.  I'm still working on stitching together the body of the pants, so I'll worry about that later.

The weather has been really nice here the last couple of days, which is great, but unfortunately means my sewing room gets really warm.  I had to stop after an hour this morning before I started sweating on my material.

I bought a really nice linen blend in a dark rust orange.  Once I'm done with these pants I'm going to make a pair of drawstring pants with it.  I kind of feel like I'm going backwards.  Isn't one supposed to start with the easier project before getting into the harder ones?

Pants Pants Pants

I am making progress!  I cut out the pattern pieces and the fabric, and now all I need is some lightweight fusible interfacing for the waistband and I can get started.  So what do I do now?  Cut out a pattern for another project, of course.

I felt I needed a break from the pants, so I cut out a simple pattern for a pair of cute slippers I'm going to make for friends and family this year.  Then I was hungry so I went to get something to eat.  I didn't sew a damn thing this weekend.  *sigh*

That's how it goes for me, though.  I can only spend a limited amount of time on something before my blood sugar gets low and/or I get really frustrated.  And when I'm frustrated I take short cuts and make mistakes.  And if I get a block about something (like the casserole carrier I never ended up making) trying to force it makes everything horrible and the project doesn't end up well.

Why sewing pants is freaking me out

A few weeks ago I bought this pattern.  I love the style of the pants and the construction looks fairly easy.  I've made a couple skirts, and I'm not afraid of zippers (thank you zipper pouches), so I felt that these would be a solid next step in skill building.  But.  The largest size on the pattern is 3 inches too small in the waist and 1 inch too small in the hips.  Intellectually, I can see it's not a big deal to add those inches to the pattern, but I have this huge block when it comes to actually tracing out the pattern and starting construction of the pants.  I haven't even pre-washed the fabric yet, so that I can keep using that as an excuse to put it off.

One of the issues contributing to this block is my lack of confidence in my measurements.  I've drafted a couple of skirts patterns (from this book), both fitted and elastic-waisted, and both times the initial result was HUGE.  Like you could have fit me and a skinny person in one skirt.  I've retaken my measurements several times and I think I've got my waist measurement dialed in, but my hip measurement has stayed the same and I'm just not sure it's accurate.

The only thing I can really do is just. make. the. freaking. muslin.  I will have no idea what the fit is like until they are made and I have tried them on.  Maybe this weekend I will take my first steps toward pants-making.

Inaugural Post!

I am notoriously bad about finishing what I start.  It's a family trait.

A little over a year ago, my MIL gave me a sewing machine.  It was a nice little Janome Jem Gold that a friend of hers was getting rid of.  I thanked her nicely and put the bag with the machine in the closet.  A couple months later, I pulled it out and starting sewing pieces of fabric to other pieces of fabric.  It seemed to go OK.  I didn't invest a lot of money in fabric or notions because, well, I never stick with anything I start.  I found some tutorials on the internet.  I made some zipper pouches and pillow covers.  I made a couple of weird jersey shirts.  I made an elastic waist skirt.  I spent more money on fabric and accouterments.  I made more stuff.

Then, last November, I bought my own sewing machine; something with a few more bells and whistles than the Janome.  I have a sewing room in my house.  It used to be the small room, but now it's the big room.  I have a stash of fabric.  I've made some fitted skirts.  I'm contemplating making a pair of pants.  I want to make a dress.  And a cardigan.  And some proper t-shirts.

I've started this blog to catalog things I've already made in the past, and to talk myself through things I want to make now and in the future.  Like these pants.  I'm terrified of these pants.

I will also link to all the amazing, wonderful craft and sewing blogs out there.  I will probably also post about other random stuff that comes to mind.