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bound buttonholes and… knitting.

30 Nov

look, guys, i’m a featured member on pattern review!
feature
i don’t actually know what that means, but it’s kinda cool nonetheless! my picture! on the front page! wheee!!

leopard & teal jacket
remember when i said i was going to make a leopard print jacket?

i decided to practice my bound buttonholes last night. here is my first attempt:
bound buttonholes

i figured that was good enough & forged ahead with putting them on the jacket front:
bound buttonholes
they are actually fairly camouflaged (hurr durr because of the print, get it?), so it wouldn’t even matter if they were imperfect. actually, i think they turned out pretty good!

bound buttonhole

bound buttonhole

ok ok, that’s enough bound buttonholes for one day!

unfortunately, my progress with the jacket comes to a stop now because i can’t decide if i want to fully tailor the thing & interface the whole front, or if i just want to do some “light tailoring” and only padstitch the back collar & put in a back stay. what would you do?
either way, i’m out of hair canvas so i have to order more. BOO!

in other news…

knitting swatch
i finished my first knitting swatch! bound off and everything! this will be a… dish cloth.

close-up
i started my first real knitting project – it’s a scrunchable scarf! the yarn is some soft alpaca i frogged from a scarf i (very poorly!)crocheted a couple of years ago. aha knitting is so thrifty! anyway, i’m really excited! my first knitted scarf!

also, i celebrated black friday by staying home and painting my living room blue.
living room
with special thanks to my patient boyfriend (who did the rolling) and all the hit songs of the 90s – i couldn’t have done it without y’all.

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happy day!

16 Nov

just picked up my fully serviced, fully functioning pfaff 7570 from the sewing machine repair shop!
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i also picked up a piping foot – i felt like i deserved it, after dealing with the Back-up Beast (appropriate nickname brought to my attention by prttynpnk!) for the past week-plus. and a pack of bobbins. i am bobbin-rich today!

if you need me, i’ll be spending some ~quality bonding time~ with my machine this evening.

plaid peony to come soon! i haven’t forgotten!

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nashville flea market? don’t mind if i do

25 Oct

i caved into internal peer pressure this weekend & went to the flea market. at first i immediately regretted my decision – october is traditionally the busiest month for our local flea market, and this year was no exception. the place was PACKED – moving was very difficult & i kept running into little old ladies who thought it was perfectly acceptable to just straight stop in the middle of the moving aisle (forreal, who thinks this is ok? anyone?). i eventually figured out that people were staying out of the sun, so as long as i avoided the air-conditioned buildings, i avoided the crowds. yay 🙂

anyway, let’s talk loot.

first, some patterns! i got all 4 of these for $3:
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simplicity 1799

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vogue 5381. someone on ebay is asking $53 for their copy lolwut. also, i definitely have the 80s version of this pattern as well. what can i say, i’m a pattern hoarder.

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advance 2540. can i say now that i’m kind of weirded out that the vintage pattern wiki has a different envelope picture for what is obviously the same pattern? uhh…

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mccalls b-100. now this is a weird one. it’s a basic sloper pattern, except the pattern is printed on something sturdier than tissue (it feels like mediumweight interfacing, tbh) so you can try it on and make adjustments. after you have fitted the sloper to your liking, you can make view B or C, or use the sloper to adjust a different pattern.

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i’m bummed that it’s missing the instructions, but meh.

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fabrics, $4 for all. the prints are cotton, and that big dark blob is actually a deep purple speckled linen.

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lingerie elastic, 10 yards for $1, or rather, 40 yards total for $4. can’t wait to make slips & undies!

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serger thread, $5 for the whole set. he actually had a LOT but i limited myself to only buying groups of 3. except for that orange. i needed the orange, wouldn’t you?

non-sewing related purchases:
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DIS SUIT & fur collar (the collar isn’t part of the original suit, but doesn’t it look nice! i bought it from the same vendor), and this shirt (that i can’t seen to get a good picture of), $7 for all

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love my vintage suit! it is really well-made (100% wool, fully lined, bound buttonholes) and it fits me perfectly. none of my friends like it, though, trolololol

totally randumb, but i also found snes control pads for $5 apiece:
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YES.

in other sewing news, i have yet to perfect my pants muslin. i traced the pattern & pulled a GIANT horizontal tuck (like, more than 1″ sup short crotch) and added a small FBA to the rear. muslin #2 still needs work; it’s barely passable, but sarai’s clovers on the coletterie are totally smooth so i will keep chugging along. meanwhile, my muslin pants are now muslin shorts and i am running out of stretch fabric, hey-o!

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this post has nothing to do with anything

7 Oct

well well well, blogland – it’s been a while, hasn’t it? wanna see what i’ve been up to?

well, firsties… i cut my hair off. and then i dyed it black-brown (clearly, i wanted it to match my soul):
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i must say, the partial lack of hair in my life has been awesome. it definitely has more bounce to it and my pincurls actually last all day now. and headbands are pretty much the cutest thing ever on this coif. yay short(er) hair!

my s10 pick-up bit the bullet – hard – and i had to scrap it (the timing belt broke & ripped through the engine, if you’re curious). but it’s ok, because i bought a new truck. meet ruby:
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and she has air conditioning! my first air conditioned vehicle in over 6 years yay!

i also made a halloween costume for a friend:
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you can read my pattern review here, although there’s not much to say. i used simplicity 2853, with minor modifications. no, i didn’t make the hat. i might have my moments of crazy, but they don’t involve making hats!

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i also made this wreath, to put on my front door. talk about a moment of crazy.

oh, wait, i’m supposed to talk about sewing here, huh?
let’s discuss simplicity’s new pattern line. actually, the whole line is really boring & yawn-inducing, let’s talk about 1947 & 1948 instead.
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rather, i just want to talk about the guy with the purple hair. what is going on here? he looks like he wants us to believe he is going to beat somebody up (i personally think he would run away crying if you challenged him to a fight.

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LOL WELL OK THEN.

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new vogue sewing patterns: just checked, still ugly

30 Sep

ooh you guys, vogue just released their winter sewing patterns! in fact, it’s been almost exactly a year since i last shit all over them. happy anniversary to me! let’s celebrate with a snarky shit-talking post, shall we?

i’ll start off with the 3 that i like.

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vogue 1271, kay unger
gorgeous dress, although the fabric choice is pretty tragic. can you imagine this in a lush black with a jewel-toned belt? i die.

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vogue 1265, pamella roland
i hated this one the first time i saw it – i thought it was some kind of awkward dressy romper/suit hybrid. EW. actually, it’s just a dress – that is a slit in the front, although i have no idea why they put it there since it obviously doesn’t need it once you see the back:
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again: i die. twice.

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vogue 8766
ok, this one isn’t really that special, i think i just like the lacy lace. pretty sure i have a dozen patterns exactly like this, but with different cover art. still – me likey!

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vogue 1273, badgley mischka
i like this ok – it has some neat detailing – but, again, tragic fabric choice. what’s with all the shiny polyester satin, vogue?

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vogue 1267, tom & linda platt
i like the detail seaming, but for the most part, this dress is pretty meh.

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vogue 1272, bellville sassoon
i know we are still in the middle of an 80s revival, but this is just uncalled for.

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vogue 1269, chado ralph rucci
i want to like this, i really do, but the flounce overload is giving me hives.

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vogue 8768, vintage vogue
actually, this one isn’t so bad aside from the WTF STYLING. this mess doesn’t fit the model AT ALL, especially that unflattering hemline. she looks horribly awkward & uncomfortable. i don’t blame her.

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vogue 8769
well, that’s practical.

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vogue 8780
what is this i don’t even.

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vogue 1279, pamella roland
not a bad suit by any means, but why did they decide to make it up in 3D hologram fabric? excuse me wtf r u doin.

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vogue 8776
actually, this one just made me laugh for about 5 minutes straight. thanks for the mood-lifter, vogue!

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vogue 8783, marcy tilton
i love that this purse is ~designer~, if by designer you mean totes appropes for hauling around in the minivan on the way to the soccer fields. i’m side-eyeing that woman’s hair so hard right now, willing it to morph into this. and oh, look, she’s wearing 8780! in green fleece!

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vogue 1276
this is actually a sleeveless vest, thoughtfully covered in hairballs.

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vogue 1268, guy laroche
looks like a cheap pocahontas halloween costume.

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vogue 1277, koos van den akker
you can defend koos van den akker all you want, but every single one of his designs is ugly as shit, as far as i’m concerned.

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a new sewing room for LT!

12 Sep

sewing room eye candy time!

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yes, that is very much a duran duran poster on the door.

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i feel like everyone has an ikea expedit at this point. gah, it’s so handy for storing fabric & patterns! don’t plan on it ever leaving the room, though. i’m actually really surprised this thing survived another move, tbh.

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it is a *very* small room, so getting the furniture in was a bit of a challenge. i had to forfeit my white serger table for lack of space… not sure if i’m too keen on keeping both machines on one table, but oh well! we all make sacrifices sometimes.

the paint is “refreshing pool” by behr, i had it mixed into glidden paint (NEVER AGAIN.) it is very blue-blue in these photos, but it is a definitely tiffany blue in real life. very pretty, i love it so much!

because i was feeling super crafty yesterday, i swatched out the fabrics i want to use for my fall/winter sewing:
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sorry ’bout the giant piece of boning. that piece of leopard print is over 5 yards! DUDE. what should i make with it??? it’s very drapey & flowy. and five yards.

and because i feel so gushy & lovey for my new house…
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my kitchen 🙂

the paint is “tropical bloom” by valspar, the cabinets are “vibrant white” and i really really love back to the future.

many of these supplies purchased using these home depot coupons.

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a nonsensical post of whatever

9 Aug

i’ll be laying low this week… the tomato art festival is saturday (this saturday… eek!) and my booth stash is quite lacking. as it stands now, i’ve been feverishly sewing tomatoes & more tomatoes with no end in sight. well, saturday, anyway. so i won’t be unveiling any new clothing this week!

however, if you’re in nashville, i highly recommend stopping by 🙂 our booth – the wicked tomato factory – will be on 11th avenue, in front of the green wagon! we will be selling tomato-themed art, jewelry, headgear, and of course tomato pincushions 🙂

so this post isn’t entirely no-sew, have a cardigan i refashioned into LT-size:
cardigan - before
before

cardigan - after
after
pretty easy revamp! i cut the sides smaller (the original shirt was an XL… i usually wear an XS or a S), shortened the hem a few inches, reattached the sleeves much shorter. i love cardigans, but the ones that fit me are usually reeeal pricey & the cheap ones are always the wrong size! so glad i can sew 🙂

i also started cutting out my fabric for the leopard print peplum jacket.
it would have started much sooner – it did start much sooner, actually, but i was having major fit issues with my muslin. i’m pretty sure the muslin still isn’t perfect but i totally gave up after the 4th one. whatever! it’s a jacket!

this kind of steamed me, though:
leopard jacket
laid out my pattern pieces

WTF
LOOK AT ALL THAT EXTRA FABRIC WTFFFFF

i ended up cutting the long sleeves out as well, because damn, i don’t want to waste fabric. it worked out perfectly in the end, though. well, perfectly if the sleeves are well-drafted i guess. i didn’t do a muslin of those because i thought i only bought enough fabric for short sleeves. LOL RIGHT.

i want to do some light tailoring with this jacket – bound buttonholes, padstitching the collar (but not the lapels – they are separate pieces from the jacket front so i don’t think it’s necessary) and a backstay. i have a beautiful teal bemberg rayon for the lining, and teal buttons. bring it!

i must get back to creating tomatoes. in the meantime, here is a present for you:
lol
you’re welcome 😉

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birthday dress, revisited

5 Aug

over at oona’s corner of the blogworld, we are having a party-dress-party. please! i will take and and every excuse to pull out my fancy party duds & parade around the room!

my contribution: my birthday dress, of course!
what did you think i was gonna wear? 😉

dress front
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WTF: our new etsy shop!

1 Jun

my roommate/bestie & i have decided to combine creative forces & open our own etsy shop! we are planning on manning a booth at this year’s tomato art festival (oh yes, we nashvillians love our tomatoes), but we thought it wise to start early & dip our toes in, so to speak. we have named ourselves the wicked tomato factory (WTF for short!).

i made pincushions! y’all know how i feel about a good pincushion 🙂
pincushion1
Continue reading →

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new(old) sewing patterns!

18 Apr

my birthday isn’t for another month (::ahem::) but my roommate/best friend/life partner, morgan, already gave me my gift because she is awesome 🙂 – she went to an estate sale & bought me a big ol’ stack of vintage sewing patterns! yay sewing patterns!!

please come bask in their glory with me.
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