I haven't had a lot of time to do any crafty stuff, but I received an e-mail from Lion Brand yarn in my inbox the other day regarding some new patterns they have for what they call, "stainless steel" wool. The wool, which consists of 75% wool and 25% stainless steel, is available in fingerweight and keeps it shape. It is only available online or at the Lion store in NYC. I really want to make something using this new yarn, so I think I will be ordering some in the near future.

I have been making some pillow covers because they whip up quick. I am also slowly working on some curtains with fabric from my extensive fabric stash. Of course I will post photos when they are finished.

I have been busy with other, non-crafty pursuits but I have been sewing recently. I have made several pillow covers that I will post photos of as soon as I get batteries for the camera. I was also going to make Halloween costumes this year but the weather has been really cold and it isn't very fall-like outside. It is more like winter, so I am not going to make them this year. Maybe for next year.

I borrowed my mom's heavy-duty sewing machine and will be finishing the slipcovers for the couch and chair. I finally had to take off the ugly sheets that were covering both pieces of furniture. I just could not stand it anymore.

As part of the non-crafty pursuits I have been doing, I have been learning about crafts, of all things, specifically creating stained glass and weaving. I did some weaving in college and made a loom but my dad chopped it up and used the wood. The stained glass is not as difficult as it looks and I took a glass cutting class last year. I would like to make a stained glass panel for the window at the bottom of my stairs. It looks like it will be a long winter, so I will have plenty of time for this I am sure.

I am going to try and arrange my schedule so I have time to do crafty stuff and of course will post.

I have been working on my crafty stuff, but I don't have anything finished yet. I am in the middle of a gift, a market bag, a pair of Palazzo pants, hemming my curtains, and making a crocheted summer bag. I will post photos as soon as I get them.

Craft news! I ended up not giving out my homemade presents for Christmas, but I still have them for birthdays.

I was working on my purse that appeared a couple of posts back, but was unable to attach the lining sufficiently so I threw it away and I have to say it was liberating. I did buy two more purse patterns from Simplicity, #3828 and 3715. Beyond that, I have been hemming jeans, which turned out pretty good, I think.

I am going to finish my hemming and then I think I will start the magenta suede purse using pattern 3828, view B.

Until then.

I recently posted about getting back into beading and I wanted to share a couple of projects I am working on.


The first one, which is finished, is from Sherri Haab's book Beaded Macrame Jewelry. It is called the three-strand sampler bracelet. The directions called for Griffin silk to be used for the stringing, but I couldn't find any in any store in Toledo, so I opted for the C-Lon bead cord. It is not as drape-y, but I like it. I was
going to send away for the correct cord and different beads, but I think that I am going to just stick with what I have. It is finished and nice and I like it. That is all that matters, right?



The second bracelet is currently a work in progress. It is an adjustable knotted cuff designed by Dottie Hoeschen and I downloaded it off the Beading Daily website. I am not wild about the satin cord color. Nor am I wild about the beads. I bought both at a local bead shop and am not happy. I will probably stick with the cord color but buy some multicolored freshwater pearls from artbead.com or Fire Mountain Gems.


The third project is a knitted necklace which will have beads strung through it. It came as a kit and there doesn't seem to be a photo of the finished project, so I guess I will have to wing it.

Two other bead projects I am going to work on is another bracelet from the Haab book and an interpretation of the macrame bracelet I made last year. I am not sure how I am going to do this last one, it is going to be a make-it-up-as-you-go kind of adventure. Which are always the best kind.

And some sewing news: My mom and I went to Vogue Fabrics on Tuesday, July 29. We went to the store in Lansing, IL, a little south of Gary, IN. My review of the store is that it had a lot of really great fabric but not a lot of notions. I was really looking for a clapper for pressing. It is impossible to find one in the city of Toledo because all we have here are JoAnn's and Hancock Fabrics. There are no other fabric stores. I found one online but it was cost prohibitive. Besides that, the store was well stocked. It was a beautiful day and it was nice to get out on the road for a little road trip. Gas prices weren't even that bad on the turnpike. After we visited the store, we headed back and stopped for dinner in South Bend, IN. I had a lot of fun. My mom and I are going to go up to the Evanston store in the fall and make a weekend out of it.

I bought three pieces of fabric. One was a green knit with white flowers. I am going to make into a shirt.


The next was a windowpane plaid wool that I am going to make into a skirt.


The third was a snazzy rayon that is begging to be made into a dress.


So, I have been to all three Vogue Fabrics in the Chicago area and I have to recommend them all. But if you are going to make a weekend of it, then definitely visit the flagship store in Evanston.

It has been forever since I wrote! I haven't been sewing much lately because I have been working on my writing, but I did whip up two skirts to wear to a work meeting. They ended up being too big, but I wore one of them anyway. I am away from work room at the moment, so I can't give up the pattern numbers, but the next time I post, I will. I am going to schedule more sewing in my future, to fit in with my writing.

Until then, happy crafting!

On edit: I know that I promised to post the pattern numbers on the skirts I made and I don't want to be a liar, so here they are: Butterick 4461 and Simplicity 9825. The Simplicity skirt was inspired by a skirt I saw at Banana Republic but was too expensive for me to even consider buying.

I am a member of the Crafter's Choice book club and recently received the new Nancy Ziemen book, Pattern Fitting With Confidence and Marie Clayton's Ultimate Sewing Bible. I didn't ask for these two and I must have missed the opt out e-mail, but I am going to keep them. I also received, in the mail, an RSVP for Clotilde's Sew Smart. I really enjoy the magazine and I feel you can't have enough sewing reference books.

I went to Hancock's yesterday and picked up a couple of patterns that were on sale for $.99. One is a shorts pattern and the other is a t-shirt pattern. I also learned the difference between ribbing and regular knit. Don't laugh. I had no idea. I also bought some clearance fabric for my shorts. If you remember from a previous post, that I wanted to perfect a shorts pattern and make them in a bunch of colors. The same goes with the t-shirt. As I said in my latest Wordful Googie post, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything done. To that end, I am going to create a schedule to fit writing and sewing in to my day.

I wanted to pop in and say hey! My Chanel jacket hadn't been going as well as I had hoped. I am working on the lining and it is a bit of a nightmare. I put it aside for now and have been working on non-related craft projects. I received the Hancock flier in the mail the other day and they are having fantastic pattern sales coming up at the end of June. I'm talking $0.88 patterns! Wheeee! I want to find a shorts pattern that I can make in a bunch of different colors. I hope I can find one.

Will check in later and hopefully have good news about my jacket.

I wanted to check in to let you know that I have been busy with other projects and haven't been working on my Chanel jacket. I will work on it this week and post an update, but I have kind of lost interest. The jacket is lined and it is not working out as well as I had hoped. I will finish it and post photos, though. Until then.

I wanted to add that I was on a sewing tear this weekend. I hemmed up my skinny pants, fixed the curtains that the cats shredded, and fixed my bra that needed the elastic re-worked. Everything, it seems, except for working on my jacket. I did, however, get more thread so I am all set for sewing tomorrow night.

Well, I didn't get my Chanel type jacket finished in time to wear it. I just got bogged down in other stuff during the week. I also ran out of thread, so I have to go get more this morning. I wore my purple velvet jacket out last night and my hemmed-up skinny jeans (which finally fit!). I hemmed them up 11th hour but I think they turned out great.

I will continue to work on the jacket, then the rest of my pile looks as follows:
Pants, another Burda jacket, a dress from hotpatterns.com, and two skirts. I am going to start looking for a quick and easy shorts pattern to whip out several pairs of shorts in all kinds of colors. Summer is coming and I want to be ready. I am going to work on my motivation and get going to get all of this done.

I have been busy multi-tasking. I have been working on my purse. I had to break out the Simplicity Classic to sew the leather. It isn't perfect, but I consider it to be a learning experience.

But I had to stop so I could start work on my Chanel jacket. I want to wear it next week for my birthday. Here it is in mid-sew. I didn't have enough fabric for the face, so I am using part of the lining. Thanks mom for the tip!

Spring has sprung here in Toledo, so I have been wearing the jackets I made this past winter. I am not pleased with the way the Burda jacket turned out. I have the pattern cut out and ready with fabric from Vogue fabrics. I think I will make it next. I am hoping that I have learned enough that this one turns out better.

I went back and was re-reading some of the posts and wanted to add another chapter in the skinny jeans saga. I tried them on and they are now too big in the butt. So, I give up with them. I tried on my store bought ones and they now fit. I will be hemming the bottoms because they are a bit too long, but are totally wearable. I want to wear them with my Chanel jacket I am making for my birthday next week.

Hey everyone! I finished my jacket:

It went together very easy. Almost too easy. I was concerned about matching plaids, but I used tips from an article from Threads December 2007/January 2008 issue titled "Mad for Plaid." I probably mentioned it earlier. Anyway, it was helpful. I can't believe it turned out! I didn't include all of the buttons because I didn't have ones that matched and I wanted to avoid having to buy more. But besides that, I followed directions pretty easily, which is unusual for me. It is also fully lined. My next project is that purse and I have another jacket waiting in the wings which I am pretty excited about. I will tell you about it later.

I wanted to update this to add that I did end up buying the extra buttons. JoAnn's had buttons 50% off so how could I not? So I will be adding them and then taking a photo, of course.

I went back in the archives to see if I had posted a photo of the jacket that I am now working on and saw that I didn't. So here it is:


And here is the bag I am going to make. I know that I mentioned that it was on the cover of a Vogue Pattern magazine. I am going to make it in hot pink suede.

Finally I am finished with these jeans:


What a nightmare! Nothing was working. Not the zipper. Not the waistband. Not the buttonhole. I think my last post was me giving up, but I took them apart and recut and re-sewed them. I REALLY wanted skinny jeans! My obsession knows no bounds!

My next project is McCall's 5478 which I would like to complete by Easter. I think there is a photo on a previous blog entry. I will start it tomorrow. It is too late, today. Oh yeah, I will be making Vogue 8406 concurrently (it's a purse).

Well, I decided to rip apart the jeans and re-cut them, but they were still too big in the waist. I added two darts and they were still too big. Then I added a waistband and had to put darts in it so the back wouldn't pucker. The result? A mess of bulky fabric that won't lay flat. I don't think my body is that unusual and I am definitely not that thin. I do want skinny jeans, but I am not sure what to do. Personally, I don't think darts have any place in a pair of jeans. I may go tomorrow or Saturday and buy more denim and try again. I think this time I will buy some muslin and fit that first. The jeans are really but cute but too bulky in the waist. One other problem I always have is that the waistband is never long enough to give me a flap on which to place a fastener. I always have to add a piece of material to do the job.

I am not going to give up but I am definitely frustrated. I have been working on these stupid things for a couple of weeks. Sometimes I feel like a novice sewer who has never made a thing in her life. I would think by this stage of the game that I would be able to make something that actually fit.

Happy Leap Day! I, for one, am happy that February is over. It really is the longest month. Anyway, I tried on my skinny jeans tonight and they are too big. When I say too big, I mean like three inches too big on the waist. I am not sure what I did wrong. I followed Nancy's alteration directions, but to no avail. I would have to rip apart the seams and re-cut the pieces. I don't think I am going to do that. I may though. I really want skinny jeans! I tried on my store-bought skinny jeans and I am not quite able to wear them yet. I think another 5 pound loss should do it. I really want to perfect a pants pattern, so I am not going to stop trying. I may just buy more dark denim material and try again. It would be so great to be able to just make pants whenever I want. Really, any piece of clothing, because that is the reason I started to sew. I wanted to be able to reproduce the styles I saw on the runways because I can't afford to actually buy anything. I will get there. Hopefully before I am too old to see to thread the needle!

I finished my jacket and as promised, here is a photo. It was pretty easy, although I did have to re-do one of the sleeves. I used a hook and eye for a closure. Tomorrow I will start on the oft-mentioned skinny jeans!

Hey! I have been working diligently on my short-sleeved jacket. Everything is finished, except for the sleeves. There is a band that is attached to the bottom of the sleeve that has to be slip-stitched to the rest of the sleeve and I am doing that by hand. I am not the fastest hand sewer. I should have it finished within the next day or so. I will post a picture when it is finished.

My next project will be the skinny jeans from Burdastyle (see my previous post). I was watching TV last Sunday afternoon and I stumbled upon Sewing With Nancy with Nancy Zieman and she was demonstrating an alteration technique called pivot and slide. I feel like such an idiot. I have been doing alterations all wrong! I really like her. She can explain something so quickly that I have spent hours reading in a book and still don't know. Anyway, my point is that the skinny jeans pattern needs to be altered to fit me and I will be using this method. I may take photos and post them as I alter, but I don't know. I like to multi-task when I sew: sew a little, watch some TV, surf the Web. It suits my short attention span. I am pretty excited about trying something new. Even if I don't post photos of the work in progress, I will post photos of the finished project.