Good intentions

Wouldn't you know that I got up this morning all set to finish my McCalls jacket 5276. I made some coffee, walked the dog while it was brewing, came back home and poured a cup, sat down to finish the jacket and discovered that page 3 of the pattern instructions were missing. Of course I thought how can this be!!! So I started looking for it. Maybe I put the instructions in with another pattern, mistakenly threw it away or it was not there to begin with. Bottom line I DON'T HAVE IT!!! Needless to say I am not happy about this right now, because now in addition to cleaning up, finally decorating the house for Xmas, addressing some Christmas cards, and giving the dog a bath I have to wait for Joann's to open and go pick up another pattern so I can finish my jacket. Note to self: Always make sure that all the instructions are in the pattern before you leave the store.

Brocade jacket

McCalls 5276 View B is almost done. I used a satin brocade which I found out ravels alot, but I still love it. I love brocade fabric because it is so very glam and it makes every thing look good! However it shows stitching marks so it is best to use a really small size needle when working with this fabric, otherwise your basting marks will show.

Wrapping up loose ends

I finished my Built by Wendy top (Simplicity 3835). It is actually the second time that I made this top. I used a cotton batik fabric for both tops to give it an ethnic feel. For Spring I plan to make a skirt to go with each top, probably a white linen skirt and a denim wrap skirt. I still need to map out what I am going to do for spring. Maybe I will do a mini-SWAP. Who knows?



This is the first Built by Wendy top that I made.

This is my finished classic knits tank top in burgundy Woolease Thick and Quick. I am going work on my Bobbalious sweater in black Woolease Quick and Thick yarn over the Xmas holiday and then that will be my last sweater for the season (maybe because knitting is addicting).

New patterns

These are some of the new patterns that I picked up at Joann's this weekend. Vogue patterns were $3.99 each and McCall's patterns were $1.99 each. I love love love the Guy Laroche suit (Vogue 2752) and the cocktail dress patterns.

Faux snakeskin jacket

Last week I was perusing the Neiman Marcus website and saw this jacket and I thought the construction looks really simple yet stylish. Hmmm I think that I have a pattern and some fabric that while not leather will sort of have the same effect. I came home and went through my stuff and found a pattern and a cool fabric that I could use for the jacket. Now keep in mind that my McCalls skirt still needs to be altered, but instead I decided to make myself feel better by making a quick jacket. I used a brown and black snakeskin patterned moleskin fabric for this jacket and added a frog closure to the top of it. The pattern is really simple and quick. It was so easy that I am thinking about making the dress (View A) in a brown satin.

McCalls skirt update

Well my McCall's 5523 skirt is not working out like I would have liked. I am going to make some more alterations this weekend and hopefully I can salvage it. So wish me luck! I am so happy that I used my $1.00/yd mystery fabric, which I actually think is a rayon/polyester with alot of stretch to it. If it doesn't work out then it will become a muslin if I decide to make another one. As it stands now the waist is too big and it just is not hanging right, but the pleats are okay(even though it is hard to tell from the picture). I think that the fabric has way too much stretch to it. I feel like it is a spandex skirt (LOL). I'll do a pattern review this weekend after I figure out how to fix this thing.

Knockoff dress

My Lucky magazine dress (see previous post) is done. It is actually an Alisha Levine dress. I made my Alisha Levine knock off using Butterick 5040 in a grey ponte knit. I think that it is a pretty close copy except the original is a mini dress. Sadly my mini dress days are a thing of the past so my dress is right above the knee. The pattern is really easy. It is basically a lot of gathering. I love ponte knit fabric it sews really well. I will probably make something else in the same fabric because I like it so much.