Sew, I've Been Thinking ...

I finished the white dress this morning. It fits me better than Vera and I'm beginning to realise how useless she is. If I can talk someone in to helping me, I think I need a duct tape dummy. Overall, I'm happy with this dress. The seaming all matches and I'm very pleased with my work. As I mentioned yesterday, I ignored the instructions and did this my way, resulting in perfect machine inserted lining and not one stitch of handsewing. Of course, that's not including my embroidery and beading. Despite all the wrinkles on Vera, it actually fits me pretty well. I cut a straight size 10, with no alterations, so it's surprising it fits so well. After a wash and a press, this will probably go into rotation as a work dress. It doesn't have the 'sexy' I was after. Here's a close up of the bodice. I had actually planned a detailed red and black design based on a piece of traditional art from the Gitskan people of the Pacific Northwest (USA). My inspiration...

This is Vogue 8594 . I love the dress, I've muslined it and it fits perfectly. The fabric is my beloved sateen and my work is very good. Why did I choose white? I don't wear white. I thought I could. It's just so WHITE. You probably can't see the detail, but the bodice is embroidered and beaded. I'd planned something entirely different and then this just came into my head and before I knew what I was doing I was buying white pearlescent embroidery thread and white pearlescent beads. On a WHITE dress. Maybe when I should stop worrying until I finish it tomorrow. While I'm complaining, though, I will whinge about pattern instructions. I read the instructions for this dress twice and then put them carefully back in the envelope. Why do pattern companies persist in telling us to do so much handsewing when I can completely insert this lining by machine? Come back tomorrow and see how it turns out. I'm going to drink some RED wine now.

I'm a little tired of sewing jeans. This is the last pair of pants for Grant's SWAP. I didn't get a decent shot before he packed them to take to Melbourne. The fabric that I used for the pocket bag and fly bit comes from a shirt I made when I first started sewing again in earnest about twelve years ago now. I paid $30 a metre and that was a lot more money then. The fabric has held up and the shirt was worn by me for two years before I lost weight and passed it onto a more boobified friend, who is still wearing it. With the house to myself for four days I am doing a lot of things. Today I cut out the white sateen dress for my SWAP and started on the embellishment, which I hope to have finished tonight. I've traced a couple of patterns and I aim to muslin one more dress for my SWAP. Perhaps I shouldn't have left it to now to do that. I have a backup if it fails. More tomorrow.

This weekend is all about Grant's pants. In his usual fashion, after saying how I needn't bother sewing for him becasuse he has plenty of clothes, he suddenly decided that he has nothing to wear. Grant is taking his 8 year old nephew, Enzo (his father is a Ferrari fan), to Melbourne for Formula One next weekend and now he needs a new wardrobe. These shorts are part of his SWAP as are the jeans I will make him today. I'm pretty happy with these, the pattern gets a little more refined each time I make them, although Grant insists there is something wrong with the pattern because his belly sticks out. You will notice that he never models his garments. I told him I need shots of him wearing them at the end of SWAP and that one comment has prompted a hasty return to the gym and an early morning surf every day this week. I once titled a post Vanit, Thy Name is Man ... I used a quilting cotton for the pockets and fly thing and I used black satin binding on the waistband....

I've managed to do very little today. I did spend a lot of time avoiding the things I said I would do today. When I did sit down to sew Grant's shorts I realised I had bought the wrong size zip, so I moved on to the pockets on the back. Then my machine started playing up. It doesn't seem to like the thread I'm using. The thread I bought for topstitcvhing is fine, but it doesn't like the other one. These photos show the sum total of todays sewing. I got the front pockets done and here you can see the black and white quilting cotton I've used. The back pockets are one and I've topstitched in a pale grey. I tested a few colours, but this was the one I liked most. You can even see the green nail polish I decided to wear for St Patrick's Day. Finally, just because I know my wildlife creeps people out, I thought I'd show you a phasmid who has been walking all over my sewing table today. I was worried I would squash him, so after an hour of nudg...

This is Vogue 8489 , which I managed to put together in half hour segments scattered throughout the week. It looks better on me than on Vera. Like most people on Pattern Review who made this dress, I left out the zipper. I cut a straight 10, but in hindsight I should have cut the 8. It's a little loose around the midsection. Everyone who has made this dress says how low cut it is, so I sewed the front bands together so that is covers my bra. It's still low, but at a point where I can wear it. The curved band droops a little low in the back, but I think it will be OK. it hangs quite nicely, but on me the band is neither at empire level or at my waist, but I think that's how it supposed to sit. I also frankenpatterned a different sleeve onto the sleeve head as I didn't like the length or shape of the original. I should have more to show tomorrow ...

This week during my television watching evenings I knitted this shrug. Sadly, my poor camera work does not show the pattern. There is a lovely chevron pattern knitted into it which points downwards, making this otherwise shapeless garment way more flattering than it appears here on Vera. It was knitted in one piece, folded in half and then stitched together at the sides. The really wonderful thing about this is that the yarn (a totally acrylic ribbon type yarn) came from a top I bought easily 12 years ago and never ever wore. A few months ago I decided to un ravel it and roll it into balls. I found this free pattern on the internet somewhere (I think it was the Unicorn website) and miraculously the two ended up in the same part of the room at the same time, telling me that they should join forces and become this. This afternoon when I came home from work I decided to work on some of the things I cut out last weekend. This jacket is from Vogue 1020 . I never thought I would make this ja...