Tuesday Project Roundup: Christmas Joy And Christmas $!%*#

First the joy: Last week's kitty blanket tying party will make a lot of kitties warmer and happier this year.

And for the "oh shit" moment of the week: I'm making a rice wrap for my friend (but using buckwheat hulls as a filing instead, since rice can smell a little rice-y and he's sensitive to smells)...

...and I was opening up the buttonholes in the cover and sliced right through one. $%&! Good thing pillow coverss are easy to re-do.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Starting, Finishing, In Progress

Over the long weekend I made a valiant effort to finish (or at least start) a few projects in the queue, in between eating pie for breakfast.

Another pair of boot toppers for a friend are DONE:

 The rayon dress has sleeves and half a collar (but is still looking a little Laura Ingalls Wilder; I'm not sure about this one):

And 4 out of 8 kitty blankets are cut out (but not fringed). Maybe my helper needs to be a little more helpful:

Tuesday Project Roundup: Test

I had an idea and some fabric I didn't care about and Joann stores had Simplicity patterns at $1. So I tried making one of those "waterfall cardigans" with an idea to wear it to yoga.* 

Of course,  then I realized that having a lot of moving fabric around your waist is probably not the best thing for yoga, so I experimented with tying it: 

I'm not sure. It's a test, after all, so I don't have to feel bad if I don't wear it too much. I used Simplicity 1945 and some random burnout tie-dye knit I'd ordered online a couple years ago, somehow not realizing it was either burnout or tie-dye.

*Assuming I ever get back to a real class, that is. Anybody have a favorite Anusara teacher who has a class people working normal hours can get to?

Tuesday Project Roundup: It's Not Too Soon

If you're a crafty type who's really slowed down lately, it's not too soon to be thinking about what you will make for The Holidays. 

Things will need to be made for neighbors and party hosts:

This will be green tomato chutney--if you haven't take out your garden yet, find the Joy of Cooking recipe and make some!

Things will need to be made for friends:

And things will need to be made for kitties: 

I might need to take a day off just to sew. 
  

Tuesday Project Roundup: Progress

Good crafty news: I finished the real knitting part on Skyler's sweater last night. Now I just need to sew up the hood seam at the top and figure out how I want to do the buttons. 

In other good news, I successfully dyed that sweatshirt dress to a more muted turquoise. Hooray for liquid Rit dye and my big kitchen sink!

Before

After! There's more of a difference in real life.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Beat The Calendar

I'm trying to finish up the current projects so Skyler can have his sweater while he still fits in it and I can get a few more things sewn before it's too cold to wear anything but sweaters and boots.

For Skyler's sweater, there's a sleeve done now. I think I can get this wrapped up in the next couple of weeks.

For sewing, the rayon that was a pile of pieces is now a dress front and a somewhat reduced pile of pieces. It's looking really "Little House on the Prairie Maternity" right now but I have hopes that it will get better as I add more parts.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Of Course This Is Going To End Well

I've been pulling fall and winter clothes out of storage and assessing what to hold on to for another season and what I'm really not going to wear any more. I found this sweatshirt dress I made last year and realized I never wore it very much because of the color.

I have a clown-like love of bright colors but in this case it made me feel like a great big cyan color swatch (it's considerably brighter in person than in the photo). So this is happening: 

I don't have a particularly successful track record of dyeing things, but I figure that if it doesn't turn out well I'll just have a dress I don't wear, which is pretty much the current situation anyway.  Stay tuned!

Tuesday Project Roundup: Forging Ahead

This past week I started a sewing project and a sleeve on the nephew's sweater. Things are getting wild over here!

For sewing, I cut out the rayon from the fall fabric pile--it wants to be a Wiksten "Tova" dress to wear with leggings and boots. Considering the last thing I sewed was the long dress in July, I think this is good progress. 

In sweater news, the body is finished, I have one sleeve started, and I bought buttons. I think this can go pretty quickly to the end now (which is good, because Skyler isn't getting any smaller). 

Tuesday Project Roundup: Fall Fabric

I finished off the bottom of Skyler's sweater and bought some buttons, but I haven't started the sleeves yet so it looks pretty much the same as it did last week. Let's look at some fabric instead!

I've been avoiding "the F word" (fall) but the fact that I had to get out Toby's space heater for the 50-degree mornings is a clue that I can't deny it much longer. 

Fortunately there's (from left to right) wool suiting, cotton-silk print that's a mill end from J. Crew, and some leafy French rayon to help with the acceptance process.(All three are from the local Yellow Bird Fabrics.)

Tuesday Project Roundup In Action

Not only did I finish the dress in time for the first wedding Saturday, I actually got a picture of me in it (one that includes not only my head, but someone else's, too!). It's not a full-length shot, but let's not ask for too much at once. 

Tuesday Project Roundup: Coming Together

There's nothing like sewing under a deadline--I haven't made this much progress on a project in a week in I don't know when.

Of course, I'm going to have to make a lot more progress in the next few days if I expect to wear this Saturday. I might be skipping yoga tonight...

Tuesday Project Roundup: Making It Happen

I decided I did indeed dare to make a long dress for the summer. After I posted about my debate I was invited to another wedding and I thought, "Perfect! Two out of the three times I'll ever wear this are covered!"

What fabric am I using? Um, maybe some Liberty of London (from a new source). The pattern is a Cynthia Rowley and I don't have the best track record with her, but I mocked up the bodice before I cut into the good fabric, never fear. 

I have 1.5 weeks until wedding #1 so I'm happy for a day off tomorrow. Time to get sewing!

Tuesday Project Roundup: Done!

I finished the tunic! I'm pretty happy with it: there's a big Liberty print, the sleeves are really well cut, the collar looks kind of 60s retro, and it's DONE

Fabric:  Liberty of London seasonal print lawn from Purl

Pattern: Wiksten "Tova" tunic

Level of completion: DONE! 

(I talk a lot about my productivity going to hell, but I looked back at the "sewing" tag and I've been getting one project a month done for 2012. So I guess it's not too shabby.)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Look!!

I think the title deserves two exclamation points, because the fact that I had a few hours to work on this tunic is nothing short of amazing. 

It's not quite done yet--it needs a collar and a hem and some topstitching--but I'd forgotten how much I can get done when I have the Fortress of Solitude back to myself.

Tuesday Project Roundup: (Glacial) Progress

I was able to turn last week's fabric and pattern into a cut out pattern and a finished front! That's not a lot to show but it's progress!

The front is hanging oddly on the dress form because it's just a front. But maybe by next week it will have  a back attached.

Tuesday Project Roundup: There Are No Sewing Machines In Campgrounds

Way back before the extravaganza that is April (Regular Easter! Greek Easter! Mom's birthday! Camping! And Skyler's birthday coming up!), I decided on my next project. I even got the pattern ready and did a quick test sew of the body to check the fit before I cut into my fancy Liberty fabric. 

Nothing has happened since then, though. But something could happen Saturday morning before Skyler's party. I'll let you know.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Accessories

I made my mom a scarf for her birthday. She's really hard to buy for and making her something requires that she like it (it's a Mom Law), so it seemed like a good idea. Besides, accessories are a pretty flexible gift.

I used two-thirds of the Liberty prints from last week and followed this tutorial, just making the square a little smaller. There was a lot of hand sewing to finish but it went pretty quickly.

Tuesday Project Roundup: "It Never Goes Bad."

My old roommate used to stockpile things like soap and laundry detergent and use the rationale of "it doesn't expire!". Similarly, I use that line to justify stockpiling fabric, even when I'm too busy to really sew.

Yes, this is more Liberty of London. It never goes bad!

Tuesday Project Roundup: Almost

So yet again, a leopard-print knit dress has not turned out the way I pictured it. But on the bright side, I think I can fix it.

Here it is with the skirt attached. See how the top part blouses out above the waistband and the skirt a little?

Yeah, that effect is being accomplished with pins right now.

Since my fabric is a knit, I didn't take into consideration the fact that a knit waistband would stretch. Without pins, the waistband slides down and pulls the top down with it, giving the whole thing a much straighter, drop-waisted effect:

But as I said, I think I have a fix for this: I'll add some elastic in a channel behind the waistband to keep things where they should be...just not this week. You can only struggle so much with something, right?

Tuesday Project Roundup: Half A Roar

Well, all my hopes for more time to work on this leopard knit kind of got blown out of the water last week and into the weekend, but I did manage to make some progress before then:

The pattern I'm using is for a woven, not a knit, but I the only modification I'm making for the knit is I'm leaving off the side zipper, as a knit should stretch enough to pull it over my head. I'm happy to report "so far, so good" on the fit.

Now it just needs the skirt. Surely I can find time to attach two rectangles to this top, right?*

(*This is where you say, "I don't know. And don't call me Shirley!")