Sept. 27

I don't know if it is because it's getting around Oktoberfest or if I'm just feeling rather romantic at the moment, but I have been dreaming of dirndls this week. Tonight I had a really strong desire to watch the Sound of Music mostly due to the costumes I think. I fell in love with two dresses in particular...

The Baronesses! It's a lovely polka dotted/pink combo which usually doesn't do anything for me, but the cut of the top is killer. The silk looks so dreamy and luxurious!

And of course, Maria's dress in the opening sequence..

Isn't she so beautiful? This is kind of an idyllic picture for me.

I adore it! the stripes and the bodice... I was reminded instantly of the 1912 Kimono pattern from Sensibility Patterns and I'm certain that it could be used to make this dress.

I would have to make the skirt a bit fuller, but that would be it; I'd rather have 3/4 sleeves than full length ones anyways. I've been looking at that pattern for years but I never got it because of the price. My roommate convinced me to go ahead and splurge a little though, since I usually spend so little on patterns when they are on sale at the big fabric stores it evens out. That's my rational anyways.

I'm thinking Halloween if I get the pattern in time... I'm super excited. It figures that I didn't even post any dirndls!

Sept. 26

Yet again, I got too excited about something and blogged it without knowing what I was talking about. The yellow gunk is supposed to be there! I took my sewing machine to the shop today and they said my problem was probably with the belt rather than any kind of gunk, so I left it there and hopefully I can get it picked up before next weekend, though I may have to wait until I get back. It kid of puts a damper on my weekend though, as I was going to sew all day tomorrow. I may have to just cut things out and wait for my machine to come back or embroider maybe. I got a book from the library on making patterns from existing clothes that I need to look through too.

In other news, my roommate told me about this new invention called an EBbra... which is essentially a bra that can also convert into two safety masks if needbe. I can't say I'll be getting one anytime soon, but it's entertaining to say the least.

Sept. 24

I just found another reason as to why my sewing machine hasn't been running smoothly! Despite the fact that it has just recently been checked up, it has been having trouble starting and just been running very heavily. My manual (see how I've learned to read the manual when I have a problem?) said that it could need oiling, so I oiled the bobbin area but that didn't help, so I took the top off of it and found... duh duh duh...! a huge pile of yellow gunk on one of the parts! It's gross guys.

I sent an e-mail to the store that I bought it from and who did the check up to see how on earth this could have happened and if they can fix it free of charge, since I can't fathom how they could have missed something like this in the check-up. Hopefully it will get fixed, since I kind of need my sewing machine to make money right now...

This evening though, I'm going to a new monthly event in Lawrence called Final Fridays. Pretty much like First Fridays, but without the competition between Kansas City for local folks. I think it's a great idea to help support the Lawrence arts scene.

Sept. 23

I have to admit, I haven't been doing much sewing the last few days due to schoolwork. I wasn't so busy studying that I couldn't go to Kansas City yesterday to see the Horror Remix show though!

If you like bad movies, this is the thing for you. It consists of two or three bad horror movies trimmed down to the essential 30-45 minutes each; "All Killer, No Filler" as the slogan goes. One of the movies this time around was almost too crazy and gross to be appreciated, but I still had a great time.

Since I don't have any pictures of what I've been doing since my last post (unless you want shots of cultures from my microbiology class) so I'll leave you with another song from a new artist from Nebraska I just found out about named Danielle Ate the Sandwich. Crazy name, crazy girl, lovely Ukulele tunes.

Sept. 19

I've been a busy little girl this week! I'm trying to figure out little things to make for a craft show I'm going to be in in November... I have a few ideas but I need to figure out how long they will all take and if it's cost effective. I did whip up a reversible bag from this pattern and it turned out pretty good, but my fabrics were too lightweight, so I still need to work on a solution for that. I also made a cute little pincushion though from scrap fabric from my dress and I love love love him. I'll definitely make more of those.

Today I also went to the Renaissance Festival about forty miles away in Bonner Springs and had a grand ol' time. The only thing I left with was a bag of kettle-corn, but I think that's the only real necessity anyways.

Sept. 16

I have decided that there really aren't any good places to take pictures of myself in this apartment. In the future I can probably have my roommate take some, but for now bear with me. I think it turned out fantastic. Serging the pieces made me a lot less worried about how I would finish the seams and though it took a little while to do them all, I think it was worth it. Most of the pieces fit together great, though the sleeves were a lot bigger than the arm hole, so I ended up gathering them at the top and I really like how they look. I also shortened the skirt by a few inches and it's still plenty long, the slit in the back is a lot shorter now though.

I definitely will make more, at first I was thinking that I would probably end up keeping this one since I love the fabric so much, but there are a couple alterations that I would make if I were doing it for my own body... the upper back is a bit too wide and it doesn't fit snugly at the top of the zipper. I'm not sure if this is a pattern flaw or something specific for me, I've never made a dress that sat that high before. I'd shorten the skirt pattern piece a bit as well. I might see what it would take to line it too, I don't have much experience with that so I'll have to look it up.

So anyways, here are some pictures and I'll probably put up a listing on my Etsy shop here in the next day or so.

 

Sept. 15

I figured out was was causing me problems with my sewing machine, and it was a completely preventable silly fault of mine... my needle was in backwards! So many people said to check my needle but I was just sure that it was in right. With that little blunder fixed my machine is running fantastically and I finished my dress tonight. The last bit took a while since I put the zipper in by hand at its full 22 inch glory. It looks fantastic though guys... really. Unfortunately it was too dark to take pictures when I finished it, but I'll make sure to take some when I get home from school tomorrow.

This afternoon I went to Costco and they had some naan at a good price, so I got some and made Indian food tonight. I can't say it was the best batch I've made, but I was still happy. I even made some mango lasse to go along with it. Tonight I also baked just about the best cookies ever... I just ate two. I doubt they will last long.

Sept. 13

Yesterday I alluded to a little hiccup in construction of my new dress and today it seems to have gotten worse. When I came back home from my parents this weekend I brought my mom's serger with me and while it took me ages to get the tension right with all of the threads I ultimately prevailed and serged all of my pattern pieces except for part of one, which I'm not sure how to do without cutting into the piece itself. I'm just going to zig zag stitch that little part. Another issue with the serger is the pedal. I think it has an electrical issue because it gets super hot after about half an hour of use. I sew barefoot so that's no good!

My serger and cramped little sewing space. I should organize that maybe...

The bit that has gotten worse since yesterday is my sewing machine... it's started to skip stitches like crazy! I think it's probably a tension issue since I was messing with that last week. But I got really frustrated and decided to stop for a while and make a sandwich and cookies. Or at least cookie dough. I'll mess with it some more tonight and see what I can do.

Poor skipped stitch! They were all over the place.

Sept. 12

I had such a full weekend! I went to Topeka on Saturday to an annual event called Huff and Puff. Usually I believe we've gone in the mornings for the big send off, but they have a smaller one in the evening and some tethered rides. My grandma has always thought it would be cool to go up in one so we arranged it with a balloon crew for her to go first since she can't really stand for a long time and I'm sure glad we did! The line got huge super fast. Her and I went up together and my mom took a couple pictures. It was short and we didn't go very high but it was still fun.

Then today we went to the zoo to see a couple new baby animals they have: a giraffe, Hope, and a hippo named Vision. They were almost too adorable for words. After that my sister, her boyfriend, and my nephew and I went to Ace Hardware to meet Red Green. Red Green!  He signed a roll of duct tape for me and hugged the baby. I probably had a really goofy smile on my face.

So enough of that I think yeah? Maybe tomorrow I'll give an update of my dress. I'm having an issue or two with it tonight...

Sept. 10

       I'm finally starting a new sewing project! It's Simplicity 2550 and I'm doing the dress in the upper right hand corner of the envelope.

It's taken me a bit of time as I traced the pattern onto butcher paper so I didn't have to cut into the sizes. I didn't think about the fact that I probably only need to do that with patterns that I already know are great instead of one that I've never used before, but we'll see what happens. My fabric is a great cotton (lightweight denim maybe?) that I've been saving for a while now and I'm excited to actually be doing something with it.

I've already made a mistake though! I cut out extra facing pieces with my fabric instead of an interfacing, so I may cut the pieces out again, I haven't really decided yet.

I've been taking pictures and editing pictures for the shop all afternoon and I'm a bit pooped, but I think I'm still going to put some up tonight. This weekend I have a hot air balloon festival, a meet and greet with Red Green, and a trip to the zoo to look forward to. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous too. Good times.

I saw this little guy at school this week. He made me happy.

Sept. 6

       Today has been good... I made a fantastic smoothie, cleaned some of the rust off of my bike and attempted to get the tires aired up without success (I guess gas station pumps are a different size than bike tires?) I also cut out some sewing patterns, watched the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, and made enchiladas. Of course, I didn't take pictures of any of these things. I still need to get into the habit of being a good blogger.

       I was however, told of a great site called Shuffler. With this site I was introduced to a few new bands, one being Isbells who are from Belgium I believe. Since I don't have any pictures I'll leave you with a song by them. Enjoy!

Sept. 1

         Earlier this summer I went to Boston to visit a friend and while there we went to a flea market. Needless to say, I walked out with a box of vintage sewing patterns and somehow managed to fit them all in my suitcase (a feat of greatness if I have anything to say about it.) I'm just now going through them to see how many are whole or salvageable. It's quite a daunting task... there are really so many.

All of these children's patterns are cute as a button. I won't need to use any of them any time soon, but I think I have to trace a few before I can bring myself to sell them.

These are some great women's patterns, I love the red one. It seems like something Sophia Loren would wear.

This one is definitely my favorite though... I can't imagine what was going through the artist's head when this package was created. Loafers, a cigarette, mustache, and very feminine shorts... He is surely a force to be reckoned with.