Hi everyone-
I thought I would check in with an update of what is going on. I have the Prada knock-off dress almost finished: it just needs a zipper. I am finished with the dress part of my Halloween costume. I have to make the vest and the overskirt. I will work on it this week.

I went to one of the Toledo SnB meetings tonight at Barnes & Noble. It was a lot of fun to sit with other knitters and knit. I found out that I have been knitting in the back of the stitch instead of the front of the stitch. I will definitely attend more in the future.

I have been switching off my sewing with knitting and crochet. I am working on a felted knitted bag, that if it works, could be a really great Christmas gift. I could totally whip them out on my knitting machine. As for crochet, I have been working on an afghan I started for Tim last year. I am almost finished.

I am still sewing strong. My mom sold me an extra serger she had, so I am going to be experimenting on it. I also took a book out the library that describes how to make a pattern from an article of clothing you already have. I am going to try it on a pair of pants I would like to duplicate.

I have more than enough projects to keep my busy throughout the fall and winter. I know that posts are more interesting with photos, so next time I will post some.

Till then!

Hi-
I was playing around with my camera and figured out how to take up close and in-focus photos. I guess I could have read the manual, but what fun is that? Anyway, yesterday I mentioned that I bought a couple of anklets and visited a bead store during my trip out west. Here is what I bought.

I bought this in Taos. I just love the green.


I bought this at Four Corners. I mentioned that it was a great shopping opportunity as vendors had set up in the stalls that circled the area.


I also bought this necklace starter, but I am unsure what to put on it. Maybe some charms or something.

I also bought some pink leather straps to make a bracelet and two bead strands, but I didn't take a photo of them.

Now that I have figured out the camera, I have high hopes for future photos! Yippee!

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day! Vacation was nice. You can view the photos at www.photos.yahoo.com/cifuller. The album is titled, “Out West 2006.” You can also view photos of my pets in the album titled, “Pets.”

I bought a couple of nice anklets while out West. One I bought on the Navajo reservation, and the other I bought in Taos. I will post photos of them later. I also visited a really great bead store in Trinidad, CO. Unfortunately, I didn't write the name down, and can't find it online. It is however, on the main drag in town. Very nice! I bought some glass beads, a necklace starter, and some pink leather straps I am going to make a bracelet out of.

Back to crafting:
I have been secretly multitasking. I have one more bracelet to finish before I can throw myself into sewing, but while I was working on the loop de loop bracelet, I started sewing. I confess! I have a big pile of projects I would like to get done in record time and the only way to do that was to do two things at once. So, while I will start and finish the ribbon bracelet, I will also continue sewing.
I have been obsessed with all things Prada. As mentioned previously, I have a ton of magazine subscriptions, and I decided to cull them for fashion ideas, ripping out pages, and discarding the rest. The designer whose dresses I ripped out more often was Prada. I love it! Right now, I am making a dress that is inspired by her 2006 spring/summer collection (left),

The pattern I am using is Butterick 4849 (top). I also bought Simplicity 4072 (bottom). I am making both in different fabrics. 4849 is being made out of a taupe linen with embroidered designs. 4072 is out of a crème linen. I don’t know if I am going to add beading yet. I have to see how they turn out. I am not the most proficient sewer, so I may have to use beading to cover up my mistakes! Ha!



I am also inspired by the Prada handbag collection. Namely, the Heritage bag. Ahhh. So beautiful, except for the fox collar. I am really against fur. I decided that I am going to make my own bags.



To that end, I bought three purse patterns (Simplicity 4646, 4668, and 8331) that encompass the handbag-shape oeuvre. There is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to recreate what I want at a fraction of the cost.

I have learned two valuable lessons from sewing:
1. Don’t equate the size pattern you are buying with your actual clothing size. Clothing manufacturers re-sized all of their clothing about a decade ago to make women feel better about themselves. Keep telling yourself that those Gap jeans in size 10 mean you really are a size 10!
2. You must look beyond the hideous fabric used on the front of the pattern to discern the real shape of the garment/accessory in question. Some of these fabrics are so horrible, they almost hide the design! Where do they get them? Old curtains?

On another sewing-related note, I have to begin my Halloween costume next week (Butterick #3906). I just found out that one of the parties I am going to is on Oct. 14. I don’t want to be sewing right up to the day like I did a couple of years ago. In all fairness, I was in the hospital, but still! I am going as a gypsy and am making Butterick 3906. The dress is white muslin, the vest is gold and the over-skirt is red, much like the photo. Don’t get me started on that vest fabric in the photo! Eeek! I found the vest and skirt fabric at Wal-Mart of all places. I know, I don’t usually shop there but found myself inside the new store on Airport Hwy on an unrelated matter. The fabric was only $1 a yard! Who could beat that? I am going to add gypsy-related touches like a red scarf tied around my head, coin bracelets, hoop earrings, and a crystal ball to carry to tell people’s fortunes. Note to self: must find crystal ball.

I will post photos of everything as I make it. The purses/totes will be an ongoing project throughout the fall and winter.

The next three weeks comprise Spring 2007 Fashion Week. The first week is New York, then Milan, then Paris. I will be keeping up on the collections and posting my favorite looks from the shows over the next couple of months. It would be really great to get on fashion-designer time, meaning to be able to work a season in advance. Unfortunately, I am still working on summer 2006 clothes, and the days of summer are numbered! One day, I have high hopes that I will get my act together. Until then, I will keep playing catch-up.