Vogue 1030

I started this dress in May to be a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding in September. When she said "pick any dress" I knew just the one I wanted to wear, but I was so afraid to mess up. 

I gathered my supplies and carefully began cutting the fabric. Surprisingly, this wasn't as difficult or slippery as I imagined. I added 5" length to the skirt. 

Sewing also came along more easily than I expected! This wasn't such a difficult task at all, just labor intensive. 

I did get a little worried about sewing the monster hem on this, but I got a little expert advice from the alterations ladies at work and it ended up only taking me about an hour to hem all three layers. 

I also added a double bustle and hand crocheted the loops, but Andy accidentally stepped on the little that was still dragging so I ended up holding the train all night.

So many compliments on this dress from guests who couldn't believe that I made it, which I think is the highest compliment a sewist can receive!

New Year's Resolution

So, I might have a problem. A problem aquiring fabric and patterns. I've been organizing my sewing supplies in preparation for their move to the basement, and I discovered that I am the proud (?) owner 114 patterns, and 6+ Rubbermaid tubs of fabric. Not to mention the zippers, ribbon, thread and other notions I've gathered throughout the years. So until my fabric stash is greatly reduced, I won't be buying any more fabric. This is my New Year's Resolution. The only exception is that I am allowed to buy fabric for the bridesmaid dress for my friend Lindsay's wedding, since that can't come from my stash of flannel, cotton, fleece, and wool.

Stella McCartney Style Pants

All summer I'd been loving these pants at Nordstrom, the Stella McCartney brocade pants:

But I just couldn't swallow the $1200 price tag (obviously). So I made my own!

These pants cost me less than $15 using fabric that I found at SR Harris and Butterick 5614, and I've worn the heck out of them all fall. I've also transitioned them into winter by wearing them with fishnet or swiss dot trouser socks as shown above. I still have to make these simple pants in a few more fabrics too!

New Basement Floor

Andy has been working hard on the basement for a few weeks now, and we've finally decided on new flooring. Andy wanted a wood floor look, and I wanted a waterproof and durable flooring in case our basement flooded or our future children turn out to be terrors who ruin everything. We compromised on these vinyl "wood" planks from Home Depot. They stick together and float over the concrete. They are fairly simple to install as they just stick one end to the other, but Andy decided to make a beautiful herringbone pattern which has caused a lot more work, measuring and cutting.

Here is the result so far:

The paint looks really drab here, but I assure you that it's a bold bright pumpkin orange.

In case you think we're close to finished with this project, I will reveal the other half of the room:

Slowly but surely...

Basement Project

We have (Andy has?) been hard at work on our basement makeover. We have wood paneling on most of the walls, and didn't want to re-do that, so we used wall spackle to fill the cracks on the top half of the walls. After sanding and washing, we painted the top half Butterscotch by Martha Stewart, and the bottom half Glass of Milk, also by my namesake. You can see in the last picture here that we've ripped up most of the carpet and all of the wood carpet tacking that surrounded the room. We are pleased with the condition of the cement floor underneath, and the battle currently continues about laminate vs. wood floor.

Here is our computer generated vision:

And the progress, don't mind my re-upholstery mess:

And where we began:

Vogue 2899

Since my mom doesn't have a Facebook like the rest of the world (Love you Mom!), here is a photo of my new dress, Vogue 2899, worn to a wedding last weekend. The doubleknit fabric and self lining helped hide a multitude of sins, but I still wore Spanx too. I got so many compliments on this dress, it was very much worth the effort to put this together!

And here with Kim and Marcie in Rice Park:

Garment District Fabric Shopping

Last week, Andy and I went to New York for five days. It was Andy's first time in the city, and I was happy to play tour guide. We did everything touristy: Guggenheim, the Met, MoMa, Ellis Island, Chinatown, Times Square, Central Park, saw Newsies on Broadway, accidentally ran into Tina Fey filming 30 Rock, and last but CERTAINLY not least, shopped for fabric in the garment district.

Armed with a carefully edited shopping list and close to 10 pattern envelopes, we finally made it to 38th St on Wednesday morning, our last day. We had a great time, and here are my finds:

To make Vogue V8804:

I found the following items:

The wool tweed is officially the most expensive fabric I've ever purchased at $30/yd from Paron Fabrics. The 4-ply silk lining fabric is from Chic Fabric, and the trimmings (braid, grosgrain ribbon, chain and buttons) are from Pacific Trimming.

To make Vogue 8766 ( dress view E) and McCalls 6173:

I got these:

This picture is hard to see accurately, but the red lace is for the dress, to copy a Valentino that I saw at Nordstrom's Designer Preview event in June. The black (yes black, not navy) pleather is for leggings, they will have a ponte back, for a fraction of what the ones at work cost. Fabric is from A.K. Fabrics.

For Butterick 5780:

I found this:

Marine blue wool crepe from somewhere cramped, can't remember or find the receipt. Hopefully this works out since it doesn't stretch like the pattern recommends.

For Kwik Sew 3503:

I found these:

I've wanted the peacock print since April, and loved the multi brush print too. These and the power mesh for lining are from Spandex House. The rubber swim elastic is from Pacific Trimming.

I've wanted to make McCalls 5433 for awhile, but could never find eyelet that didn't look like it was meant for a nursery.

Then I found this:

All from H & M Fabrics, which is right next to Paron. We actually found these fabrics on our first day, and then I thought about them all week before going back to purchase. The eyelet is for the tunic, obviously. The brocade in the middle is sososo yummy and will make a gorgeous pencil skirt. The sequined sweater knit will make something, maybe a jacket? How could one find such beautiful fabric and not just take it home?

My most anticipated shopping place was Mood Fabrics, which is featured in Project Runway. At Mood I found the prices high, although the organization and staffing certainly justified it in comparison with other shops in the area. I found one fabric that I just couldn't not have (rhinestone print silk charmeuse), and a t-shirt. That awesome tote bag came with my purchase!

And that's it for my garment district finds. These should keep me busy for... awhile.