My 2016

I have a Facebook friend who is a former classmate. Normally, I laugh hilariously, 'like', or give a mental fist bump to the vast majority of her posts. On NYE, there was one meme shared that I just couldn't get behind...

No, the turn of the calendar won't miraculously turn any of us into someone brand new. It won't change the core of our character or anything like that. But I certainly believe that there is power in new beginnings. How many times have we told ourselves "tomorrow's a new day"?? Is not accurate just because it is :) It's really a new opportunity!

Personally, this year is FULL of positive, exciting, life changing (mostly for other people but I get the benefit of sharing in their joy!) events. Weddings, graduations, starting college (My baby!)...2015 was so hard and full of low points. I'm really looking forward to this fresh slate!

What does that mean sewing wise? Well, a sewing room reorganization to start.

I scored this IKEA 4x4 Expedit shelve with all 16 bins for $50! It was a great deal and even though I don't want to use all of the bins they will come in handy for some basement storage.

Clear bins on top: These will store mending, UFOs (which I don't generally have a lot of) and possibly my small yarn stash (we'll see)

Row 1; Prints: Suiting, light weight wovens, medium/heavy knits, light weight knits

Row 2; solids: same order as above

Row 3; empty slot will have more suiting (I have a lot!), denim (there's more), more solid ponte, lace & mesh

Row 4; woven scraps, knit scraps, fabric for muslins , nice fabric (e.g. not muslin fabric) that isn't for clothing for myself (fabric earmarked for PJs or something for the kids)

This is not my entire stash. The rest is in storage bins in the basement. When I moved into the living room, I hated my fabric all being in the basement but had no money to put into any storage solutions. Eventually I brought up a plastic shelf and brought up some fabrics that were intended for upcoming projects. When the seasons changed, i rotated those out to include more seasonally appropriate stuff. 

Now, I will probably always keep the coating stash in a bin as it's all so thick and I have several 3-4 yard cuts. I will bring up the rest of the suiting and denim...

The new cutting area!

When my husband asks if I need a ____ from the school, I almost always reply "YES!". He mentioned later that I wasn't using the table and I let him know that I'd find a use for it and now...boom!

It rises to counter height so it's now my "support" table for cutting. I can keep all the clutter off of the cutting table now and be able to use the full surface all the time.

2 baskets for upcoming projects

bin for scissors

basket for pattern weights

basket for measuring tapes and a seam gauge

basket for rotary cutters

cart for random stuff related to cutting (haha!) 

On the wall is the cool little Singer wall hanging that I got on clearance one day at Hancock. I am so cheap so spending $12 was a LOT but I loved it so much that I had to have it. The hooks are too big to hang the rulers from (which is what I was thinking initially), so it's mostly decorative.

I had to update my up-close pic after thinking to hang my French curve!

In the next month or so I'll buy a few sets of sheers to hang but I am loving sewing right in front of the window. THE LIGHT!!!!! Eeek! 

Task lighting on the table and the small lap on the bookcase puts out quite a bit of light. The cart under table has serger thread and then randomness (some cleaning still needs to happen).

The bookcase is a WIP. 

I have an open bin with elastics and one with zippers and will bring up my bias tapes. I also have a tackle box with buttons, hook & eyes, etc.

I also plan to hang the thread racks.

The pressing station

The lamp there is the main room lighting. It's a very bright daylight bulb. The steamer was also a score from my husband's job. 

The seam roll, ham, spray bottle and bottle used to refill the iron...and then chalk liner, snips, scissors, interfacing, steam a seam, Wonder Tape...all that good stuff.

The 2nd shelf needs cleaning to make room for notions and underneath are patterns that need to make their way downstairs to the file cabinets.

Aaaaand then there's what you don't see! Hahaha!

This living room is so huge!

In this pic I'm standing with my back right against the ironing board.

I plan to make a small seating area - nothing formal - probably two comfy chairs and table or a futon or something.

Whew! That was an epic New Year's Day project!

Goals

Patterns: 

I am a pattern stasher. There. :) I have lots of storage and now that I have the file cabinets the pattern stash doesn't feel so out of control. I still want to buy thoughtfully though. 

There was a time where I nearly bought every pattern in a new release. Now it's much easier to cherry pick what I actually like and/or want to sew. 

I plan to try more of my Style Arc patterns and to sew SOMETHING from the handful of Jalie patterns I have.

Fabric:

I will definitely be buying less fabric this year. I'm just too budget strapped to do much stashing. I really want to keep sewing down the stash a bit but won't discount buying fabric for specific projects. For example, I really wanted to sew another version of S1364 but couldn't really find anything that I WANTED to use for it. 

Budget:

I will probably sit down tomorrow and figure my new personal budget and decide what will be allocated for sewing.

Skills/Plans:

1) I enjoy wearing floaty tops (chiffon, charmeuse, etc) but I decided to abandon those fabrics because UGH! But I like wearing them!!! :)

I "solved" that issue by sewing with rayon challis. But every single time I sew solid-colored challis it's a disaster. So I may as well give it a shot with what I really want to use. I can see a few silk blouses in my wardrobe! :)

2) I need to conquer my anxiety and sew a blazer!!!! I was too overwhelmed by the Burda. There were a gazillion pattern pieces and I just put it all away. I really want/need a black blazer and know that I can buy something but the fit won't be right. I need to make one.

3) Sew at least 6 Burda patterns in 2016; not necessarily from new issues. Just to ensure I am using the collection

4) Sew a prom dress :-O eek! She's settled on a shape that's almost a dead ringer for a pattern from one of the Burda wedding dresses. There's a couple of McCall's/Vogues that I would prefer but I had my prom already ;-)

I'm going to start the muslin sometime later this month.

5) Make pajamas! I have amassed a nice bit of stash to be used to make pj's but have I? nope. And then I bought those from Target and loved that they were rayon and pretty prints but they don't have enough butt room! :) I need a full butt adjustment! This is continuation of my defunct loungewear plan.

6) Sew a summer wardrobe that I actually want to wear! I hate summer for clothing. Weird, I know. I prefer fall. Love fall. I always feel over or under dressed or I spend the entire summer wearing the same 3 dresses. 

I plan to have the prom dress finished by mid-April and then I will start sewing a summer wardrobe; for work and play. I need dresses, shorts, ankle-length pants and tops. 

Overall, I predict a slow down in output mainly because of 'big events'. 

*I'll spend who knows how long on the prom dress and prom is the first week of May

*I plan to go to Pattern Review weekend which is the second week of May

*June is graduation/grad party

*July is my birthday and a wedding

*August is my husband's (40th) birthday, another wedding and MOVE IN DAY! for college

And then hopefully after all that I can churn out a trench coat to be used for fall. 

I Hope I Don't Regret This

My mojo has been non-existent this week.

After finishing my pants (thank you for all the nice comments, by the way. I have worn them twice this week. Yes, I know it's only Wednesday...but I Love them so.), I wanted to get started on 1 of 2 fall jackets I want.

Now, I love coats. Love. I own a lot of coats/jackets. Like, A.Lot. Coats and shoes have always been my 'thing'. Bags? Meh. Give me a beautiful coat!!!!

I have this Via Spiga coat that I just cannot part with even though I can't fit it anymore (it's a RTW 10).

I have always adored that subtle print and it was just the perfect little topper for fall and spring. 

I planned on the Sewaholic Minoru in a water resistant linen in tan/beige with a cheetah(?) print lining and S2508 in this cotton floral faille.

I bought this faille back in December 2013. But it was all metallic and OMGHOWWILLISEWIT?! Well, I suddenly got the urge to use this fabric now. Like, now. And was going to make S2508 (the pink coat) but with the ruffled sleeve

But no matter how I laid those pieces out, I just didn't have enough fabric. I also decided that the faille might not look good with the raglan sleeve. So I nixed it.

I love coats, remember? And I have a lot of coat patterns(!) I still bought a new pattern. WHY does this happen!? I was waiting for my daughter and was browsing the sites and decided on Butterick 6141. But since I'd just ran out to pick her up, I looked a hot mess. My son went into Hancock, found the pattern and bought it for me!

He's redeemed himself just a tiny bit with that one ;-)

I've spent daaaaaaays (whine) trying to force myself to get started. And so I decided to get it going. I don't love the lining fabric I chose. It seems so drab?? I'm hoping that I didn't force myself into a bad spot! YIKES!

So I hope to get that finished before September rolls in. Fingers crossed!

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What did I do with my few mojo-less days?

Moved some stuff around in the sewing room:

I'm shopping for a dresser or file cabinet for pattern storage. I'm tired of shuffling bins around to look for stuff!

I like the sewing table in this corner more. I need to pull it away from the wall on the left a bit (my chair keeps rolling over the vent in the floor). I also need to move my ironing board to *this* side of the mirror.

And that fabric was just in various boxes and bins and UGH! I am annoyed with my stash right now! I am going to try to pick up an IKEA Kallax shelf for my fabric. Well, for a good portion of it.

I moved the cutting table over here. I think once I buy some of the larger storage pieces I'll move the cutting table away from the wall. 

 Knitting:

I did NOT understand this pattern when I first started it (about 8 months or so after learning to knit). I'd gotten like 50% done and the pattern was just off. So I stuffed it in a bag! Well, with my hand issues I haven't knit in almost a year and was itching to do so :) I decided to finish this because I wouldn't have to do the ribbing! LOL!

So I frogged back and started over. I have messed up SO many times since picking it back up! Sheesh. But, It's almost done (I've started the decreases) and I'll have a super cute hat for fall/winter!

Making dessert (It's not really 'baking'):

I had an overwhelming urge for banana pudding. So I came home and whipped one up! :)

Finished Item: S2153 and My Genius Moment

I got a lot of laughs on the last post! :-)

Simplicity 2153, size 10. No alterations to the pattern.

The only thing I would do differently for her is lengthen it below the waist casing. *just* a little bit...which would allow me to make the pockets slightly deeper which would be nice for her long hands. But she is in love with it!

Love the bright contrast!

TWINSIES!!!! :)

Speaking of long hands...

My hand atop my 14 year old's hand

Why am I genius you ask?

Yes, this is an accurate representation of how large my living room is.

And it has sat, unused, since we moved in last July. 

I decided to move my machines upstairs (ironing board too). My fabric and notions and cutting table are still downstairs. I told them it's for summer, because I enjoy the natural light.

but that's only partially true

Remember how, on Memorial Day, I brought the sewing machine to the dining room table in order to work on DDs shirt while my brother was visiting? Well the machine has been there ever since. And I have sewn a ton. A TON. And guess what? Not one of the people I live with has complained.

I'm "there".

I'm "present".

They can see me.

Today I spent over 4 hours working on her jacket. No complaints. The kids were in there for at least half of the time, probably more and my husband was in there for quite awhile too. I realized it was me "going away" to the basement that made everyone whiny sad.

So I cut downstairs and put the fabric, directions, zipper, buttons, cording, elastic, etc in a basket and worked from the basket. Worked perfectly. 

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Lastly, I terribly miss my Papa. I hate that they live so far away :-(

Happy Father's Day to a super awesome dad!

The morning of my junior prom

February Wrap Up & March MAGAM Challenge

I didn't sew a ton this month! I knew last month was some sort of freakish stress management sewing craze but...in the month of February I managed to do very little it seems!

I acquired another 19 yards of fabric (dang you Fabric Mart!!) and only used 8. Oops.

Stash used/items sewn:

• McCall's 5523 in black - 1 yard
• (2) Deer & Doe Plantain in red plaid and white - 3.5 yards total
• (2) Burda Style 11/2012 #136A in black and offwhite polka-dot - 2 yards total
• Newsboy hat in camel/white - .5 yard total
• Butterick 5965 in lavender - 1 yard (cut but not yet sewn. Was to be worn with black skirt)

 I decided to pass on sewing my February project right now for MAGAM; the Burda Illusion jacket as it's just still ridiculously cold here and it won't be worn anytime soon and that makes me sad.

Did you see Melody's version?! Check it out here!

For March I plan to sew the high waist pants from a Simplicity 1940's retro pattern!!

S4044







I wanted this pattern anyway and then I saw Shanni's version
 
 
And uhmm - yes please! I think they will look pretty good on me and I certainly have some type of suiting in my stash that would work...so I am going for it!

I will be in the sewing room this weekend as the hand is feeling much, much better. I won't over do it though...or at least I will try not to :)

Since I couldn't sew the other day (and yesterday was a 14 hour day almost), I cleaned. I am so ready to get in here and get some stuff done!

 

I need to make nicer covers!

 

I sold a TON of my yarn stash last weekend. Bye-bye crocheting :-(

The fabric stash has infiltrated the knitting cabinet

 

Stash. Stash. Stash. 

 

Burda tracing sheets in ziplocks and watermelon pop rocks. Don't judge me! ;-)

 

The random table I scored for free. This table is invaluable when I am working! Keeps my cutting table free of the extra stuff

 

This is the first time I am wearing this top and I made it MONTHS ago. For some reason, I don't like it though I feel like I *should* like it. It fits pretty well and it has raglan sleeves (!!!!). I want to sew some simple, light tops with my ITY and this should be a candidate...but I haven't fallen in love with it.

Finished: McCalls 6614 and a Peek Into My Mess

First up, my Dougie's sweatshirt.

This is McCall's 6614, View B. They claim this pattern is unisex. Either you're a shapely boy or a boxy girl? I dunno how it can be for both.

The pattern is just okay...I wouldn't make it for myself, I'd find a more feminine style...but I'm already shaped like a box. A medium-large sized box. She's tiny...she can wear a box. :)

She has a pretty short torso, this comes well past her waist, yet I needed to add 2 full inches to the sleeve length and they are absolutely perfect now.

Sewing fleece was WEIRD. It will not go on my list of favorite things to do. I ended up using a size 12 universal needle with a very narrow zigzag which worked well. I pressed on a warm setting with my press cloth and serged all interior seams except the princess seams.

 

 

She could've used a little more width across the shoulders in back

 

The bands came out pretty nice. I love the clean look of it and won't be afraid to do neck bindings on knits anymore!

 

She wore it to school - excitedly - so I must've done good!

 

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And then...there's THIS foolishness:

 

The view I saw when I entered the room this morning

(the old fridge and dryer are SUPPOSED to be making an exit. I need that corner!)

 

90% of my yarn stash that my daughter catalogued for me. I need to get rid of some of this!

What was to be the "in progress" shelf. I bought a bunch of dollar store baskets because you can easily store the fabric, pattern, and notions...but I have like 9 things cut and they're all over the place!

 

Calm amongst the storm. My pattern/fabric/notions cabinet is happy. Except oh boy does my stash overfloweth (from my pov! I know there's lots of sewers who have 10 times this amount!)

 

Haphazardly stored knitting/crochet stuff. Bibs and burp cloths that need gifting

 

What in the sam hell?! Again, stuff I need to get rid of. Those are boxes of tutus, wings, etc. The blue cart is full of what flowers and elastic (headband supplies) that I have left. That bottom drawer is overflowing with ribbon. Oy!

 

The rack is for my Sunday ironing. Hubby does the laundry, I usually (lol!) iron his shirts. I never iron my shirts.

 

Pure and utter randomness. I have too many things going on in here and need to clean, organize and refocus. The water jug :-) is because we have hard water and who wants to clean mineral build up from the iron? pfft. Distilled it is.  One gallon, still going strong since July.

 

So yeah, it's pretty bad...so bad that I offered to pay MJ to help me. It's real out here.

 

 

 

EEK! - Butterick Giveaway Winners!!!

I was supposed to do this on Saturday...announce on Sunday. I'm a day late - sorry!!! Busy weekend with teens, you know how it is.

Anyway...I assigned a number to each entry and using random.org generated a winner for each pattern and...

B5927 - Amy Gorman!!

B5926 - Beth Byrge!!

Contact me at babymodo@gmail.com to claim your pattern! :)

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This weekend I got started on my M6744 dress. I was going strong until I sewed the side seam and went right up to the shoulder. Oops! :) I kinda need a space to put my arms! LOL!

Soooo yeah. Then I quit sewing and started organizing:

 

There are 3 (three!!) of these cabinets in my room, but I had to relinquish one to cleaning supplies - boooo!

There's a shelf above but it isn't full height of the others. I have one bin with miscellaneous sewing patterns up there and a couple of empty baskets.

Top shelf has tins with bias tape, hem tape, twill tape (I like the storebought stuff - 'sew' me! Lol!!!), 7-9" zippers, a vase holding 12"+ zippers and then a tin of snaps, hook & eyes, buttons on cards. Then a Ball jar full of buttons, a basket of elastics and a basket of trim (free FM bundle)

 

4 tubs of patterns - Dresses, pants/skirts/shorts, wardrobe patterns/jackets & blazers/outerwear and tops. There's a little room to grow. But because these hold the standard patterns so well, I think I might buy a couple more just in case :)

 

2 tubs of fabric. It's pretty jam packed. I might buy two more to relieve the pressure! Also, they're really heavy to lug in and out.

 

Lastly, the white bin has WIPs, UFO's then there are two boxes of non garment fabric and scraps all mixed together.

I think I'll move the stuff from the bottom shelf to the other cabinet (which will hold crochet & knitting yarn and goodies) and put two more blue lidded tubs in here for fabric.

 

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I also worked on my socks. It's starting to look like a sock but a small one. I have thick feet. We'll see! Turning the heel wasn't that difficult, but picking up stitches for the gusset was. Also, that is supposed to be ribbing. I don't know what happened, but apparently I got off track on my knits and purls and uhmm, yeah. Hopefully sock #2 fares better. I'm hoping to get a pair knitted on the road trip this weekend!

 

 

My New Sewing Space!

I am tired. No, you don't understand. Really, really tired. Like I want to ingest naproxen for breakfast, lunch and dinner tired. Like I want to sleep for 4 days tired. Moving is stupid exhausting.

You're kicking butt, making progress, you got this.

Then...THEN, you realize you have NOT got this. There are suddenly 1,187 things to move. Wait. Where did all of these things come from?!?

But you persevere because well...you sort of have to. Then eventually, you're out of the place. But wait! There's more!!! You get everything to the new house (not in - to). There was still work to be done and we started moving things into the garage, which seemed like a good idea, but it would have been better to just move directly from the truck to the house.

So later, we separated the overflowing garage by room. The kids knocked out everything to go downstairs and then moved on to their own bedrooms and finally our bedroom. They were soldiers. Little moving soldiers!

I got the main and 1/2 bath cleaned and set up. I got the dining room set up and even have art on the wall. Not my main art though that's a 3 piece set and takes forever to hang because of all the measurements. It is compounded by the fact that the 3 pieces each have a two-hook system so you have to account for the nail spacing on each piece as well. I enjoy math but sheesh.

I then got the family room going because well...those kids would revolt eventually. This is our first time with a family room and they are so happy to have their own little world down there. The tv, video games and all the trappings...plus their computer...plus a cool little Ikea table and chair set to hang out at, play board games, or whatever.

Then I started on my room. Only I have so much stuff. More stuff than I ever thought I had!!! Boxes and bins and storage containers - Oh my!

The basement is cold which I'm okay with and it's kind of dark. But I scored (mis-matched) lamps for $15 total on CL so it's okay at the sewing/serger table. It'll be tough at the cutting table - when I get one set up.

 

"empty room"

 

It's like a little enclave. Blue totes have my fabric. Ironing board with new 'Fitz Like a Glove!' cover, and Lily is hanging out!

 

Folding table with sewing machine and serger, Dollar Store tins with bias tape, zippers, buttons. Purple/Green case has thread and bobbins plus needles and other goodies. Desk for writing, notes, where my laptop will rest when I'm sewing.

Black storage bin for other odds and ends: elastic, serger thread, interfacing, etc. White bin on top has pattern weights (ok, washers) and scissors, rulers, seam gauge, etc. (stored in a Dollar Store pen/pencil holder).

Wicker basket has cut patterns that I'm working on next. Stored on top of white tote that has WIPs and UFOs

 

 

Right now, I have my cutting mat, clear ruler and tracing paper stored over here so the mat doesn't get bent. It's not wide enough and is slightly too tall to be a cutting table. Dratz! The mini dress form used to be for modeling tutus. I *might* start selling them again.

 

These boxes are primarily tulle from the old tutu business and yarn oriented things.

Two drawer units of yarn plus some other stuff. And the other desk that I probably won't use.

 

There are four (yes! 4!!) of these cabinets along the back wall. This size tote fits perfectly. I have to slowly buy bins and totes that will fit on these shelves to store yarn and fabric. I might give one to the family for storing supplies :-) My husband has an obsession with Ammonia. We have like 4 bottles of ammonia at any given time.

 

 

I'd been sewing at the dining room table so what I don't have is a CHAIR! Sheesh! I'm wondering if I get one on casters so I can easily move between the SM and serger...AND if I get a stool vs. chair. We'll see! :)