NEWS & CONFESSIONS...

First the News: I've been given the nicest prize from my friend Paco from Barcelona, Spain and here it is...
Paco's is one of the blogs that I frequent often. I think his work is the epitiamy of couture that I aspire to.

The rules for this award - prize are as follows:

1. Select 6 bloggers to whom you would like to give this award- prize (choosing only 6 is hard because there are so many wonder blogs that I learn from).

2. Put the award - prize on your blog and indicate who gave it to you by identifying her/his blog;

3. Paste these rules on your blog;

4. Write 6 of your most important values and 6 negative points you condemn,

5. Inform the 6 recipients by leaving a comment on their blog.

Values that are important to me:

1. Kindness
2. Honesty
3. Respect
4. Patience
5. Unconditional Love for family
6. Excitement

Some things I condemn:

1. Lying
2. Meanness
3. Deceit
4. Greed
5. Hate
6. Jealousy

These are some of the creative blogs that I frequent and from which I learn so much. (I cheated here by not adding links...but each one is listed on my sidebar).

1. Ebony at "A Needle for My Thoughts"
2. Angela at "Sew Much to Sew"
3. Amy at "I Might Sew"
4. Mirela at "Mirelap"
5. Trena at "The Slapdash Sewist"
6. Shawnta at "Divinerae"
   

NOW ON TO MY CONFESSIONS: I grow more and more in love with this everyday:

My gravity fed iron. When I was sewing on Saturday, my iron was very low on water and I didn't feel like going to the store to get more. Instead I switched back to my classic Black and Decker iron which really use to love because it was heaver than most of the irons that they sell now a days. Well, I've gotten so use to the weight of the gravity fed iron that I don't think I ever want to switch back. I think that this iron is my most important "MUST HAVE" sewing related tool I have other than my sewing machines. God forbid, but if something ever happened to it I would just have to get another one. When I first got it I was so scared of it because it is so unlike my regular irons, but now I handle it just fine. By the way I pick up 3 gallons of distilled water yesterday...don't want to run low again.

My second confession is: I might as well admit it to myself...I am also addicted to underlying. It just adds so much to the garments that I've been making lately. I started making McCall's 5764 out of a ponte knit like fabric this weekend and it was just not draping as I thought. So although I have said that I would stop taking patterns to yet another level, I started thinking about underlining this knit cape. First I needed to do some research as to what would be the best underlining for this fabric. I must say that the Pattern Review Site has helped me on more than one occasion. There I found that one of the better ways of underlining knits is to use a fusible tricot interfacing. So that is just what I did and now I'm much more satisfied with my fabric choice. Notice from my pictures I used white interfacing and the reason for this was the white was 60" wide and the black 22". The interfacing/underlining necesitates a lining (yet another step that the pattern didn't call for) and the fabric is so dark that I really don't think it matters.
These are pictures if the front and back of the cape so far. I'll also be making a matching straight skirt to go with this.