A day to myself

There is only 2 or 3 times a year that I have the house entirely to myself for a weekend. This is one of them. I've been just enjoying the quiet, working (house and job), and working on my son's Halloween costume. Today, I finished the whip:


I found instructions for the whip at the Skip to My Lou blog. I think the whip turned out great. It will certainly last through Halloween and maybe beyond. I used 3 rolls of Ace brand duct tape to create the whip.

Look I've finally started on the Ottobre jacket for the Halloween costume:


The fabric is a dark brown upholstery fabric with a foam backing. It has the look of leather and that is all that I needed. I still need to figure out the pockets and draft some kind of a flap. If all goes well, I will get most of this completed tonight. I don't usually cut out on the floor but I wanted to watch/listen to the TV while I was cutting out and this was the only way I could do it. My little buddy was helping me by jumping over and around everything. Of course, it had to be very closely inspected just in case it was really a great big toy to be played. He finally gave up on me playing with him:




Happy Sewing!

Pattern Storage, Costume, and more general chatter

The dreaded re-arrangement of the bedrooms has begun. Here's picture of the IKEA cabinet that I purchased to put patterns in:
It is really perfect for patterns. Currently, I have around 300 hundred patterns in it and there is still room for more which is a good thing since I ordered the Vogue patterns that I was wanting to get. The Vogue website has been having a sell the past couple of days. So, I decided to join in and purchase. I ordered all four patterns that I was interested in and was surprised with one of them being free. However, the shipping was the same price as the free pattern so I didn't really make out there.

I have been working on the Ottobre jacket pattern for my son's costume. I pinned the pattern pieces together and tried them on my son (yes, amazingly he let me pin the pattern to his shirt). The sleeves needed 5" added to the length. I think I will add another 1" to the body of the jacket also. Once the sleeve patterns have been fixed, I can start cutting and sewing. I hoping to be finished by Sunday. Then, it will be on to the bag. I have the bag sketched and dimensions decided on. Also, I hope to get the whip created.

Yesterday, it was raining lightly and I decided to run out to the garden to pick some hot peppers for salsa. I was surprised to see fungi growing everywhere around the patio. I took several pictures. Today, while I was out in the garden I noticed that there were fungi growing everywhere around the back of the house. Since I'm not sure exactly what they were I tried not to step on them but they are kinda pretty.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good sewing day. In the morning, I will do my Curves workout and work for 2/3 hours. That should leave a couple of hours in the afternoon to work on the costume jacket or draft the bag pattern for the costume.

Costume work, general chatting and Charity

Yesterday, I finally got going on the costume pattern again. Just two more patterns pieces to retrace and add the seam allowances to and the pattern pieces will mostly be finished. I will need to double check the arm length of my son but that will be easy to add if needed. The plans are to finish the pattern today and possibly cut out. Once again I think that I have selected a fabric that will require careful handling as I'm not sure about using pins and my rotary cutter is missing. I may start drafting the bag pattern today. Hopefully that will be the easy part.

I have also started the dreaded rearranging of the sewing room so that I can move items from the current office area into it. The office area is a rather large room and it needs to be redone. I have been in this house almost 5 years and this is the only bedroom that hasn't been redone. It will be a lot work as 2 walls are wallpapered and the remaining 3 walls have a paper border on them. Once the walls are cleaned, the patching will begin. I'm thinking that the new wall color will be a blue or maybe even a green. I'm looking forward to removing the carpet. It is a dark navy blue and always looks dirty (since I have a white cat). I'm actually hoping that the flooring will be in good enough condition that I can have it re-finished. However, this room was at one time two separate bedrooms. So, there is uncertainty as to what the condition of the floors look may be. Repairing is most likely not an option as I don't want to damage the ceiling on the 1st floor.

Today, I received an email from some organization - crocheting or knitting and it has a link for a charity called "Knit One, Save One". This organizations give hats either knitted or crocheted to newborns in developing countries. Patterns are free. Here's the link to the organization in case you're interested in donating your time to this cause: Knit One Save One. I always like to be doing something while I'm watching TV or as a passenger in a vehicle.

Happy Sewing (knitting or crocheting)!

New Vogues

I'm still not sewing but I'm looking at the new Vogue patterns. There are lots of beautiful items in the short list of new patterns. Here are my favorites:


V1072 - a vintage pattern which is a fitted and unlined blouse with a peplum and a semi-fitted A-line skirt. I think that this would be a lovely item to wear to church. It is on my list of patterns to get.


V1078 - This is a lovely Guy Laroche design. I love the front of this dress but not so sure about the deep V and the diamond. This is absolutely not a pattern that I would have a place to wear but it is still very lovely and feminine.


V1082 - This is a Sandra Betzina design. I really like this skirt. It is another item on my list of patterns to get. I don't think that it is too fancy for my lifestyle. Everyone can handle a nice straight skirt.


V8534 - View C of this pattern is really cute and I want to attempt it for myself. We'll see how well that turns out. Tops are really hard for me but I keep trying. This is another one on my list of patterns to get.


V8543 - Another cute suit with great details. I'm drawn to the skirt on this pattern. It's another straight skirt with great details. You can never have too many skirts. This is the last pattern added to my list of patterns to get.

My pattern collection just continues to get bigger. I enjoy seeing all the beautiful designs, purchasing the patterns, and planning projects. Now, if only my closet showed the completion of all those projects that are dreamed about.

Happy Sewing!

Where did the past week go?

I can't believe a week has gone by and that I haven't worked on the halloween costume. That's right. I haven't touched the pattern in a week. Looks like I have about 3/4 weeks left to make the jacket, bag, whip, and whip holder. Tomorrow must be the day that I put the finishing touches on the pattern for the jacket and maybe cut out. Eeek! I'm starting to feel pressure now. It seems like this happened last year too and I was up all night before the costume was needed.

What have I been doing? Homework.....am I as smart as a fifth grader? Maybe, since my little fifth grader is having such a rough time we have been spending every afternoon/evening working math and cramming for tests. I have joined the ranks of Kumon in hopes that the little guy will gain some confidence in his math skills. Everything else seems to be falling into place with the exception of handwriting. I'm struggling with how to get the kid motivated without discouraging him.

Happy Sewing!