Thurlow Shorts

Among my assorted goals for 2013 was to use at least one of the new patterns I bought in 2012. I'm pleased to report I've doubled that, since I used my Sewaholic Thurlow twice!

I was headed on vacation, and realized only one pair of shorts fit me at the moment, as I was at my higher weight and had a bit of a tummy. Can't go to Florida for a week and only wear one pair of shorts! So I decided to give the Thurlow pattern a try, and I selected some ridiculous dotted fabric, because, well, it suited the theme of my destination! ;)



I was pretty pleased with how they turned out, especially how I pretty much made them in one day - including flat lining each piece by hand, as I was worried my novelty cotton was too thin. (And it was; lining it made them the perfect weight!) Please excuse my poor pattern matching! I gave it my best shot, but this fabric was cheap and the dots weren't the exact same space apart, so it was nearly impossible to line up. I got as close as I could with the fronts, but had to give up with the sides! Anyhow. . . The front:



They fit pretty well! However, I did have to drastically let out the crotch area, because it would have been way too tight, (a complaint I've heard from others who have made this pattern, so that is definitely a watch point).

The other issue I had is that they are much longer in back than in front:



I haven't quite decided if this is an issue with the pattern or with my body not being right for the pattern. Maybe my rear is too small (or my belly too big!) for this particular pattern, and so it's pulling funny. Once I actually wore them around, I found that I do get a little crease beneath the, erm, cheeks:



This adds to my theory that these shorts are designed for someone with more oomph back there than I have. . .

Still, they were so comfortable that the next day - which was the day before I left - I whipped up another pair! This time in some black cotton I had laying around which was a remnant from something else. I had such a small amount of fabric that I had to play a little Tetris with the pieces, but I got it to work!



I think with a little tweaking, (I think I just need to pinch that extra below-cheek crease I was getting right out of my pattern piece), this pattern could become my go-to for comfortable summer shorts, and I'll definitely have to give the pants a shot as well at some point. . .

Stay tuned, because I definitely have more to post about! I've finished another cardigan save for buttons, and am hard at work on a couple of warm-weather dresses because spring has finally sprung here in Massachusetts! Hooray!

First sweater/UFO from 2007, DONE!

This is an exciting day because I finished my first ever real knitted sweater today! I've done some shrugs before, and parts of little doll sweaters, but this is the first time I'm making an honest-to-goodness sweater. And it's also exciting because it's been a UFO since 2007! I took the time to learn to properly seam things, and the correct way to pick up stitches. . . I even learned to make buttonholes, but the buttons will have to be added some time in the future because I didn't have anything to suit on hand. Still, calling it done because technically the pattern wasn't meant to have buttons/buttonholes, but rather, to hang open and/or be closed with a pin or something.

Without further ado. . . My first real sweater:





I blogged the heck out of the making-of this thing on my Ravelry page for it, and if interested, the pattern can be had for free here, but if you're thinking of knitting it, I'd note that the hood seems to grow out of the shoulders, which personally, I think looks a little strange. Were I to knit it again, I'd probably alter it so that the hood starts closer to the neck. But I probably won't be knitting this again because there are so many other sweater patterns out there that I'm super excited to try next! ;)

Dress forms skirt - done!

I decided to start the year off with an easy project! (Well, techinically I've already done several costuming/knitting projects this year, but this is my first contribution to my "everyday wardrobe" projects). This is just a simple elastic-waist skirt out of some fun fabric from my stash. Because it's black and white, I think I'll be able to have fun pairing lots of colorful tights/tops with it, and because it's elastic-waist, it should fit me now and after weight loss. Can't beat that!





I also thought that I might try and keep track of what my projects end up costing this year, because I am totally OCD and tend to track what I've spent on which fabrics/supplies, so, why not? This one came in at about $12.24. Not bad for a fun little skirt that I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of!

Distracted.

So after the new 18c ensemble, and down-sizing all kinds of pattern. . . Then, I decided to finally start the historic costuming pattern line I've been dreaming of for over a decade, plus am still looking for a job, plus still taking doll classes, plus all-kinds-of-randomness! And now, of course, holiday madness. I'm crafting several of my presents as I haven't tons of funds this year due to the unemployment situation I'm in. In between this, I did do some mocking up of some of my "flexible size" pattern ideas, and even made a skirt, but by and large, I've been distracted.

This hasn't stopped me from daydreaming about still more sewing plans! A lot of the "flexible size" plans I had were paired up with lovely, flowery, lightweight cottons from my stash. Clearly, I don't feel like working on those any more when it's winter now! But I was able to pick different stash fabrics for some of those patterns, plus have some more ideas, and in the end, I've got a nice little collection of ideas to choose from. Oddly, they fell into two color themes: red/white/black, and purple/fuschia/black. And they involve a little of everything: dresses, separates, outerwear, knitted accessories. . . So definitely something for any mood that might take me.

So these are the things I'm thinking about for playing around with in January and through the rest of the cold weather months of 2013. As for the rest of 2012, I've got a few UFO's that have been sitting for far too long, one more Christmas gift to make, and then I really need to recover my vintage knitting bag/stand thing. I got it for so cheap because the bag part is old, dirty, and falling apart. I told myself I wouldn't use it until I recovered it, but it's just so handy! So I've kind of been putting my projects (clean and safe in their zip-loc plastic bags) into the stand. But, I can see how much better it will be when I don't have to additionally bag my projects. Also, today I jammed my finger into a pin that was hidden in the folds of the fabric, where someone years ago had attempted to stop the thing from falling apart. So now, this has become a matter of health and safety! Stay tuned on whether or not I end up dying of tetanus as oppoed to getting any of my sewing/knitting done!

Just kidding. . .

I was just kidding. . . I meant I would NOT be back any time soon with actual sewing content, ha ha ha!

As it turns out, I decided I needed an all new 18th century ensemble for an event I'm going to this Saturday, so that's taken up a little handful of my time (and gets blogged in my historic sewing blog, of course), and I've also been working on a cosplay costume with my neice, and some random mending. In addition, I've had a lot on my plate in the non-sewing areas of my life.

One of my big projects has been down-sizing my pattern collection, because apparently, I have over 700 patterns! YIKES! That's what happens when you aquire patterns fairly consistently for something like 24 years straight! Especially since I can not resist a cheaply priced box of vintage patterns at a random yard sale or flea market! So I've been finding new homes for a lot of my patterns. . . But also buying a few patterns. I can't help it; I'm a patternaholic! But the patterns I'm buying lately are fewer, and they have to be something seriously special. As my good friend Sarah so accurately described it, I'm "refining" my pattern collection.

So anyhow. I'm really crazy excited for some of my fall sewing projects, which include some of the works-for-my-changing-body-size plans (I've lost five pounds so far - go me!) and I was thinking to give you guys a sneak peek at what I'm doing next. . . But I actually can't decide! So my plan is to get up Sunday morning, pick something, and make it. . . And then hopefully post all about it. We'll see if I actually stick to the plan for once!

Babble, and BlogLovin'

While this blog may have been quiet, there's actually a lot going on for me right now! And some of it is even sewing! Now, if I could just focus on one project at a time long enough to 100% finish any one of them, I'd have something to post about. . . ;)

Coming soon: a summery blouse (just needs buttons), an obnoxious sundress (in pieces, partially assembled, all over my sewing room), and then a line-up of fashions geared towards my planned size/shape change. Yes, I know I said way back in April that I was trying to lose weight. I've been starting and stopping traditional diets and exercise options since then, and it seems that now that my metabolism has slowed to that of a real grown-ups, this just doesn't cut it for me any more. But I've done a lot of reading up on nutrition/diets, exercise, and health in general, and I've decided to give the Whole30 challenge a try. So I'm filled with hope that I can nix this belly bulge and get back to my normal size, but in the meantime, I still want to sew pretty things! So stay tuned for some fun dresses that are good choices for shifting sizes, because I've found a few patterns/styles that don't look like maternity, and offer flexibility for size/shape changes, while still looking super cute the whole time!

Oh! And I joined BlogLovin', so do feel free to follow me there! You can do so via this link:
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Okay, I'll be back soon with some actual sewing content!

Bursting Stars Dress

Hope everyone had a happy, fun, safe 4th of July! I know I did, because I was rocking a brand new dress I patterned and made in 1.5 days so I could get to wear it. ;)



I had my husband snap a few pictures in front of our patriotically decorated house. I am making ridiculous faces in all of them, but, here is the least awful of the bunch (and please excuse my railings which are badly in need of some painting):



It was super fun to wear, and at one point, I heard a girl walking behind me whisper to her friend "that's a really cute dress!" which made my night. :)

I think the pattern turned out well, and the fit is perfect, but I really want to try putting some shirring in the back of my next one, because I am in the midst of losing a bit of weight and don't want to hold off on sewing, but also would like the dresses I make this summer to continue to fit post-weight loss!

Oh, and I scored these awesome sunglasses for $5 at this little craft+stuff sale they had going on in my town for 4th of July:



Hello Kitty for the win! :)