SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

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My Ever Growing Sewing Library

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

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My Thread Tree

 

 

A valuable tool purchased at a sewing expo about 4 years ago.  I love it!  It's a constant companion that I just wouldn't want to do without...

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

...My thread collection

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

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MY FRENCH CURVES

Wouldn't want to do without them!  They really come in handy when altering patterns.  You can purchase from online tailoring sources, but I've also purchased at Hobby Lobby.  They come in all shapes and sizes...

THANKSGIVING PASTTIME...

...even though it's been a really long time since I've owned a dog, I love watching

THE NATIONAL DOG SHOW...

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

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My wonderful seam gauges.  Love them.  Wouldn't want to do with them!

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A BLESSED AND...

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BEEP BEEP: BLOG TRIPIN 6 ...

...Guess I really should put the top up.  It's such a drizzly rainy type of November day.  Just the right kind of pre-Thanksgiving day that lets us know Fall really is here.  It's a perfect Fall day - I LOVE IT!  But, alas, rain does to my hair what kryponite does to superman (hahaha).

The first stop - CREOLE CONTESSA...
 This is the second trip to Contessa's place.  It's one of the best food blogs I've come across and it really appeals to my inner gourmet self.  The blog has lots of variety, color and user friendly recipes so I think it deserves another little a peek.

I promise this dish will appear in my kitchen one day soon!

Second stop - SewDIY...

on the agenda because it seems to me Beth fully embraces HER OWN unique style. Whenever I see her model her easy, carefree designs I imagine (unlike me) that she never gets caught up the kind of indecisiveness that can cause confusion and slows down the whole sewing process, or worse yet, shuts it down completely.

Yes she wears it well!

 

One final stop at The Tell Tale Tasha's:
I admit - this picture makes me want to whip up a poncho, cape or SOMETHING!  Love Tasha's  rendition of Olivia Pope outerwear.  Mmmmmm, cape or poncho?, I really need some tweedy warm fabric for cover and style real soon!

Well that's the end of trip #6.  Enjoy a warm and cozy Thanksgiving week...
 

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

... I do love my pressing tools.  These are just some of them, I also have a collapsible June tailor board,  two very nice sleeve boards, and a couple of pressing sticks that didn't make it into the picture.  I've had one of my hams and my seam roll for a very long time and they have held up very nicely.  I have two different sized hams - they are my saw dust stuffed babies.  Pressing tools recently added to my "WISH" list are a pressing mitt and a velvet/needle board.

What are your pressing favorites???

WELL SAID...

...every season is the season to BELIEVE

SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

...no, no, no!
I just don't want to be without my gravity feed steam iron.  I've gotten so use to it.  It's weight and the amount of steam it produces is so important to quality pressing that kicks my hand sewn garments up a notch - for real

Seriously, at first I was actually afraid of it.  I didn't know if I could be careful enough with all that steam.  It seemed a scary contraption, but we have gotten soooo use to each other.  It's kinda like my relationship with my pressure cooker (for lack of a better comparison) haha.

Gotta LOVE a good pressing tool...

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SEWING SPACES/SEWING ESSENTIALS/WHAT DO YOU LOVE...

...my baby shears and thread snips.  All sizes shapes, all sizes.  I keep them posted in different areas on the sewing table and in different areas of the room.  I want them handy, within arms reach at all times.  I love them, wouldn't want to be without them. 

I want several more types and colors.  Kai has a short pair that I've placed on my wish list.  What do you love about or in your sewing space...

SEWING SPACES...

...mmmm yes, let's talk a little about our proverbial sewing (rooms, spaces, studios, or caves).

 Whether it's:

•  a tiny closet (like mine use to be) 
•  the kitchen table (I've sewn there too)
•  your bedroom (been there, done that)
•  your basement, or
•  a dedicated room
• I even know one lady that has a complete little house located in her back yard (refrigerator, television, bathroom and all) lucky girl.

 Whether we think it's the ideal place or not, there is something about it or in it that we love.  Why else would we spend so much time there?

Today I'm highlighting these beauties

My magnetic pin holders or cushions (as I call them) - I LOVE THEM.  Yep, I have a small collection (use to have 5 but gifted one of them) and really wouldn't want to be without them.   And would you believe that from time to time one of them will come up missing - go figure!  The lavender and dark blue ones are my oldest and most favorite.  They are made sturdier, heavier and don't come apart opposed to the two sitting in front. 

SEWING SPACES - WHAT IS IT THAT YOU REALLY LOVE IN OR ABOUT YOURS, OR JUST COULDN'T DO WITHOUT???

WORK WERE THURSDAY...

...oh yes, Amen!  I do love this jumper.  Remember, it's McCall's 7014, my knock off of a knock off of a Ralph Lauren Blue Label Dellora Tweed Dress that I blogged about here.  I love it when a project turns out exactly as I envisioned it - and this one did.

Forgot to take my point and shoot to work today so I had to resort to my cell phone.  My kids are teaching me Instagram and other technological things.  They are amazed and giggly to know that I am even interested in social networking but they all loved this jumper.  We snapped a few pictures just before we left for an early morning job shadowing trip.

Meanwhile, there are soooooo many potential sewing projects floating around in my head.  I just want to sew and sew, and sew up so many things.  I keep telling myself not to get so bogged down in planning details that it makes deciding on a new project confusing.  I have a few "I really need" items and lots more "I want" things to make.  Right now I need to concentrate more on cake rather than frosting...

WORK WEAR: VOGUE 8939 #3...

...I made this dress twice last year (one for myself and one for my Mom) both in classic black.  Back in the summer when I found this maroon sweatery knit Vogue 8939 immediately came to mine.  This dress has been ready for a couple of months (posted here) and today seemed just the right time to give it a test drive.   I don't mind having two of these dress in my closet one little bit, and might even give it one more go should I come across just the right fabric when ever I have time to shop through my stash.

I love this pattern - just four pattern pieces, made for knits and what attracted to me most is that it has no bust darts.  I HATE bust darts in a knit garment.  The dress wore wonderfully and just my style.  I can dress it up or down, it just really fits my lifestyle.

We've had some drastic weather the last couple of days.  Temperatures have dropped tremendously here as they have all over the country.  Yesterday a tornado even touched down in an adjacent county.  Thank God it only took out a barn and a storage unit - they said it was only on the ground for one minute.  The word C-H-I-L-L-Y was not enough to describe today making me decide that I need a new black coat...

MY KNOCKOFF OF A KNOCKOFF OF A Ralph Lauren Blue Label Dellora Tweed Dress...

...long title for a project that I think took me too long to make.
A few weeks ago I happened upon a new blog called That Black Chic and fell head over heels in love with one of her projects.  I even featured her blog and the project on one of my blog trippin posts.  I just had to have a dress like it, so I set out to make that happen.  I decided to make use of fabric already in my stash (a stripped tweed wool blend) and used bits of leather left over from a previous project.  The fabric was gifted to me a very long time ago so this ensemble really cost me nothing but time.

I did have to work up two muslins to make this simple McCall's jumper work, but I love the fit results so muslining was well worth my time.  Without further ado here is a picture of my knock off of That Black Chic's knockoff - of the Ralph Lauren Blue Label Dellora Tweed Dress.

My Rendition

Right shoulder leather trip and armseye piping

Left armseye piping

Both pockets have leather piping

Neckline with leather piping

Side view of the cap

I'll make sure I take a picture wearing it - hopefully next week.  Now I'm trying top make a decide what project I'll work up next.  Decisions, decisions...

WELL SAID...

THANK YOU...

...to each and every one of you, I say THANK YOU, and happy

ALL HATS OFF!!!

...to Central Georgia Technical College

First in the Nation in awarding Certificates and Diplomas to African American Students

I've always known this was a great place to work!!!

WORK WEAR...

...my Mable skirt (by Colette Patterns) went to work today.  You know - everyone and everything has to earn it's own keep around here.  She was comfortable and wore well with my cobalt twin set, skinny belt, the best feeling pair of tights I've ever worn (purchased last winter that don't even have a tag in them so I don't know what brand they are.  If I did I'd run right out and buy more of them right now), and my new booties.

The skirt is just a little too long for my taste for this type.  I'm thinking about shortening it just a tad.  I tend to agree with Tim Gunn's theory, for the most part, of where skirt lengths should fall (you can see it here).  Just a theory, of course skirt length is a personal preference.  Length (for me) also depends on the look/style I'm going for at the time.

I did get all types of unsolicited compliments on the outfit.  I'm amazed how much I do like the skirt considering that I didn't like the fabric at all and this started out as just a muslin.  As for the Colette pattern, I will definitely be making it again.  I'm in love with the non-elastic waistband...

FALL WORK WEAR...

...with temperature down to 38 degrees this morning, I thought it would a good day to finally wear my houndstooth/leather combo skirt.    I made the skirt way back in September.

Vogue 8730

The skirt wore well and I like it a lot.

As a side note I'll leave with some pictures of my students practicing moulage/fx special effects makeup on Halloween last Friday.

Sort of gorey, but they had great fun...

BEEP, BEEP...

...HAPPY NOVEMBER ALL!  I'm so glad it's here.  Well, October certainly wasn't as productive sewing wise as I'd hoped.  I did manage to get three items made so the month wasn't a total wash.  Since it's a new month thought I'd pop in with a BEEP, BEEP

blog tripping post.  Even though there wasn't much sewing last month, there was quite a bit of blog tripping going on.  Sewing related blogs, I'll tell you, there must be millions of them out there! I love finding new to me blogs, seeing their fabulous makes and gleaning on lots of fashion inspiration.  These two really caught my interest recently...

That Black Chic.Com

Her recent knock-off of a Ralph Lauren Blue Label Dellora Tweed Dress for her daughter totally mesmerized me.

I'm a sucker for tweed any day, and my love of that little touch of leather didn't help matters at all.  I immediately thought "I MUST HAVE ONE OF MY OWN".   Yes, I know I can't wear dresses this short - anymore.  Yes, I know that I've always classified jumpers as fashion for little girls and teens.    But a girl can change her mind - can't she? I actually started working on a muslin for this jumper last weekend.  And yes, she was right, this Simplicity pattern does run SMALL.  Against my better judgment I decided to follow the pattern's suggestion going up a size larger for my cup size based on my measurements.  WRONG CHOICE!, I should have stuck with my norm.  Doing so MESSED UP my muslin - DAWG!!!  Thank goodness it's only a muslin.  I'll be working up another one this weekend.

Have you seen the new jeans pattern developed by Closet Case Files.com?

I've only attempted jeans once and to say that the results weren't happy ones would be an understatement.  This pattern makes me want to try again, either view would be pleasing to me.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to produce a great fitting self-made pair???

Well that's it for this trip.  Time to fall back, need to go set my clocks now so that I won't forget.  Happy Fall ya'll...