Sewing ADD

I saw a lot of peacocks this weekend.
This fellow followed me and shook his feathers at me

As I walked away,
he then started to follow me.

What do I do when my project is not going well?  Do I stay with it?  Do I work through the problems.

No silly me, I start a bunch of other projects. 

My new motto:  When a project goes horribly awry, just start something else!! And ignore any UFOs that are formed.

My current list:

Then he opened up and
shook his feathers at me again!

1.  The 1940’s skirt;  I am baffled on how to fix and therefore paralyzed.  Blech.  I swear I have not yet given up. 

2.  Started a summer sundress that has had problems from the cutting out stage.  My fault but still it is aggravating.  Seriously, I tend to think this dress is cursed.

A little later, I ran into this fellow
showing off his backside.  Just in case you
wondered what the backside of a
peacock looks like.

3.  Gala outfit.  Traced off the bodice pattern that I need to adapt to muslin.  But then started having nightmares about the project so moved on.  Will have to buckle down…at some point…since I need it in July.

But then he turned around to show off his
plumage

4.  Steampunk skirt: Decided on a pattern but have not yet traced off the pattern because I am now overwhelmed by what I have on my agenda.

Another hiding behind the fountain

I mentioned the nightmares didn’t I?  Yup there it is in item 3.  The nightmare I am having is that I only have 24 hours to complete the project.  


Peacocks in lieu of actual sewing pictures.  Prettier too!

What Do You Consider A Fail?

I know that my December list became an epic fail in my mind.  Not because I did not have sufficient time?  Oh no, it was simply because I did not plan and check what I was doing. 

A quick recap:

1. Under no circumstances am I permitted to purchase fabric. Notions such as thread and zippers are permitted. SUCCESS!!

2. Finish a minimum of 2 UFOs.  FAIL –  1 completed except for the hem.

3. Fix the lining on the vintage coat. FAIL – I thought this would be just sewing up the seams.  Oh my NO!  I had not really examined the lining.  I will have to replace the entire thing.  UGH.

4. Sew 2 hems: FAIL – only did one.

5. 1 new skirt out of existing fabric.  FAIL.  I took the fabric with me and I didn’t notice that it had shrunk in the pre-wash so it no longer fit the selected pattern.

6. Trace off 3 patterns:   SUCCESS!!  I traced 5 patterns.  Yup, got carried away with the soil separator.

I know that this is not an unmitigated failure of a to do list.  I did get a lot accomplished.  But this is why I try to be very careful when making lists.  I don’t know  how you react to lists but let me tell you this one started to really stress me out.  When December 30^th rolled around, I started scrambling to try and finish more on my list.  Geez…that sucked.  I hate doing that to myself …it gives me flash backs of my former career…..shudder. 

What I learned is no more lists for a little while.  I apparently am a wimp and just cant take the pressure!   Thus, you will see no resolutions, sewing or non-sewing happening here.  I want to enjoy sewing so I guess I just have to putter along at my own speed for a while.

June 1949 - Butterick's Recommendations

Whew, following a to do list is really unexciting.  Trust me.  So I am not going to provide daily updates because it would put everyone who reads it to sleep...including me.  However, I think that black and white swirly dress has bad karma or maybe it's cursed!  Seriously, it took me hours upon hours to get that zipper in.  First I baste it in backwards one direction, then the next.  Then I get the right side but forgot to cut the extra bit at the top...and on and on and on.  No wonde this became an unfinished object, I almost tossed it aside for the second time!!!

But...take a look at these:

 

Every month Butterick, and I am assuming other pattern companies, would publish advertizing pamplets with what is "in."

Black and White Swirls or UFO #1

UFO #1

The first item coming off of my December list is this UFO.  It has been sitting on my sewing table for about a year and a half.  It will be off of the table by the end of 2010.

A year and a half on from the point of just giving up because the bodice was inches bigger than the skirt which made putting them together seem impossible, I have learned many skills which would have prevented this from occurring.

In fact, many problems I encountered with this pattern I would not now encounter.

There are a number of reasons this dress became an UFO;

1. I didn’t like the fabric.  This is now a no-no for me.  If I don’t like the fabric, no matter what, I do not buy the fabric.  The irony is not just that I don’t like the fabric but I spent more money for it than I normally did.  Also, it is a cotton stretch….ugh. 
2. I did not know about FBAs at this time so I cut the bodice to fit what I thought was the correct bust size.  Wrong!  I had so many fitting issues because the bodice gaped at the arms.  Much fiddling occurred to try and fix that.  A simple FBA would have resolved that issue!
3. I had never eased in anything.  You will note there are no sleeves in this dress because at this point in time sleeves scared me.  It wasn’t until I picked this back up today when the lightbulb went off and I figured I could just ease the bodice into the skirt.  Duh….how simple.  Never occurred to me when I was first making the dress.
4. I didn’t know about different types of interfacing and the one I have is too heavy/thick.  This problem still exists but I if I made this up now, it wouldn’t.
5. The ribbons on the pleats just would not press correctly.  I now know what to do to fix this and may work on this before I go to sleep tonight.
6. Zippers scared me.  Not any more.
7. I was making this to go to a party.  What was I thinking???   I didn’t love this outfit so why would I hurry to complete it to wear to a party?  Once the party got close and I had issues, this was tossed aside with pleasure.
8. Hubris: I seriously thought I would be able to whip this together in a few days….right!  Now that would be a possibility but then….no way.

Current Status:  Bodice and skirt have been sewn together!  It did take a while to ease the bodice into the skirt but it was doable.   

Sewing Goals for December

December is such a busy month for me even with a week+ off from work, there is simply not enough time for everything. In an attempt to keep my sewing focused…..here I go making lists.

1. Under no circumstances am I permitted to purchase fabric. Notions such as thread and zippers are permitted.

2. Finish a minimum of 2 UFOs for the learning process involved. I have 4 UFOs on my sewing table and by UFOs I don’t mean the hem has not been sewn up. I mean a project that is in such an unfinished state it is unwearable. These are all over a year old, some even older (YIKES…embarrassing).

3. Fix that darn wonderful vintage coat. Last February, I bought exactly the vintage coat I was looking for: size, color, length and price: everything PERFECT, I mean the dealer reduced the price to $35 for a wool coat! I inspected it and it looked to be in pristine condition. Well, the first time I wore the beauty, I reached up to bring down the garage door and I heard a RIP..WTF? It turned out that the perfect lining had been replaced with the tags sewn back in. However, the lining was sewn back in by HUGE running stitches…lets say an inch and ½ in length. I need to resew that lining.

4. Hems: Must sew up at least 2 hems. I hate sewing hems and if I don’t do this right away, the outfit sits and sits waiting for attention.

5. 1 new skirt out of existing fabric.

6. Trace off 3 patterns so they are ready to roll in 2011.

This list is already scaring me! But these are goals – what I would like to accomplish. I do not have to accomplish not what is required….must keep that in mind at all time.

Dithering and Decisions

Well, you would think that once I remade the sherbet dress, I would be able to move on to something else.  You would think so wouldn't you?

Not so much.

The past week has had me dithering right and left.  Persuing the stash for fabrics to go with the patterns on hand.  Dithering more on what to work on next.  This was not due to a lack of ideas...oh no, it was because I could come up with a fabulous idea for every pattern and fabric I saw.  I overloaded!  I could not make a decision.  I went back and forth every night with not one thing getting done or a decision being made.

Last night, I forced myself to make a decision.  I could no longer keep this indecision up.  So after even more dithering, I determined that this weekend I will work on this pattern:

It is only 4 pattern pieces.  Perfect to get moving on something!

I will use this fabric:

With the binding from some self-made brown bias binding made for this dress.

Tonight's goals: pattern tracing, fabric washing and ....maybe....fabric cutting.

Derailed...or Welcome to the Kitty ER

I had a list of everything that needed to get done by Thursday.  Every free minute was accounted for by that list.  That was until yesterday morning when my cute little furry helper started limping.  A quick trip home to check on him at lunch showed no improvement.  When I got home for work, he started growling at me, something this cat never does.  So off we went to the kitty ER.  It was proclaimed that he is very sturdy ( I wonder if that means husky in the furry helper world).  The thought is that he was bit by a spider and given pain meds.

So there went 2+ hours of my night.  I did take my hand sewing to the kitty ER and got a little done in the waiting room. 

What is the status of the Dress o' Doom?  It is hemmed.  The collar is pinned on ready to be basted on tonight.  I did buy some buttons that I am not thrilled with but they will work.  That's it. 

BTW, the furry helper was not limping this morning and seemed to be almost back to normal.  He is still under confinement per vet's orders and he is not happy about that!

What Time? What Sewing?

Time was at a premium this weekend. That does not mean that sewing did not occur. A little bit occurred. In fact,, because I knew that time would be at a premium I did not create a to do list because I knew I could not keep up.


What did I do you might ask? Well, I ripped out the cream color zipper on McCalls 5150. I will replace it with the almost matching one. It bugged me. I did get the hem measured, so I can sew that up sometime soon. I also want to lower the bust darts a tad. I don’t think I need to get into that one in detail.

The new 1918 dress got some action as well. One sleeve was set in but then I forgot about the fichu. So out came the sleeve. Tonight I am going to hem the fichu and start put it in and re-do the sleeve. That was a silly mistake.

All I can say, is that I have a lot to do in the next 2 weeks and I know I cannot finish everything I would like to finish. I do not know what I will want to wear. I am getting a little wishy washy. The Teal 1918 dress will be worn. That is the only “for sure” I have at this point.

What I Did? and Other Thoughts

Not as much as I had hoped to accomplish for 2 reasons (yes, they are merely excuses) but here they are:

1.  Spent too much time shopping on Saturday
2.  It was too hot.  When the sweat started dripping off my arm and onto the fabric it was time to STOP sewing and sit somewhere cool.

What I did accomplish:
1.  Facing has been sewed down to the bodice and the waist tape installed on the McCall's 5150.
2.  I completed putting the stays back to the way they were.  I started to move forward with the stays when the sweat fest hit and I decided to stop sewing.  I also messed it up....I didnt read the instructions...my fault.
3.  I cut out the 1918 dress view 2.  The fabric is a silk blend per my many burn tests and it was slippery hell to cut out.  I started marking the pieces so I can start sewing.

Thoughts:  It has just occurred to me that with the sewing that I have done, I have never sewed up a Simplicity pattern.  I have a bunch of these but always gravitate to other patterns when making a selection.  Odd.  I have read about problems that a lot of vintage sewists have with Simplicity patterns, is my subconscious at work?  Who knows, this is too much thinking for a Monday morning.

Agenda

Since it worked well last weekend, I want to set another agenda. 

So, McCall’s 5150 needs the facing sewed down, the waist stay put in and hemmed.  I will have no problem with the facing and the waist stay but I may need help with hemming it.  I think it will be much to hot to wear.  But I might as well finish it since it is so close to completion.  I may not bother with the facing stitching I wanted to put around the neckline and cuffs.  I can always add this another time but if I finish the dress, it can at least be worn in the meantime.

The stays I want to put back to the place where I tore them apart.  That is essentially 6 seams.  That should not take too long if I can find the correct needle.  I seem to be out of denim needles.   Though I may have some hidden away somewhere.

I think I can almost complete a dress to go with the hat this weekend if I put my mind to it.  I have decided to go with the already muslined pattern, if you call this a muslin!  I will be doing this view.  The only time consuming bit about the other dress was the hours spent sewing on the trim.  No trim planned for this one: a plain jane but flashier material.  Oh no, now I do have to pull out the bottom tub to dig out the fabric.

I was going to put a couple of other items on the list; but think this is sufficient…for now.  I also have to go to a fabric store…horrors I have been so good and have not bought fabric since June.  Need to get eyelet ruffle material for the class and will need thread to match the material.  Ah..that could take up most of Saturday.

I guess I better get cracking on something!

Weekend Accomplishments?

Not a whole lot but not a big fail.   Zipper went in McCall’s 5150 and bias binding went on the Mint Chip dress (perhaps if I didn’t keep messing up sewing the bias binding on, I would have gotten further this weekend).  I did not put the buttons on the Mint Chip dress but I could right now before bed, I mean how long does it take to sew on 3 buttons? 

Just now before sitting down to write this, I cut out the need piece for my stays.  The only reason I did this was because I knew I had this to do list hanging over my head.  Wow pulling out the stays, I see I have a lot of unpicking to do to remove that one piece.  Too bad it was one of the center front pieces.

Overcasting facings did not happen…at all…on anything.  Actually, I fail because I totally forgot that this task was on my list.  However, I did get some substantial cleaning and laundry done so that’s probably better than doing the overcastting.  Ah…yes…justifications.. are raising their evil little heads.

Then there is homework and no it wasn’t on my list but no it did not get done.

To Do List

All the sewing I am doing is homework which is rather unsatisfying.  Trying out different stitche on 10 pieces of muslin....blah.  Yes, it is nice that I am learning these skilss but exciting not so much.

Last night I spent almost 5 hours on homework, the night before 4 hours.  Because this homework is overtaking my sewing life I need to be proactive and make a list of what I want to do Friday,Saturday and Sunday:

1.  Put the zipper in McCall's 5150.  Kelli, do not worry about sending me in the wrong direction.  The consenus is a non-descript cream/beige zipper.  I just agree with what you and everyone else who chimed in said.  And if I hate, but I know I wont, its just a zipper and easy to rip out.

2.  Put bias binding trim on the sleeves of the Mint Chip dress.  Then put the buttons on.

3.  Cut out the one piece of the 18th century stays that I mesed up the first time.  Sew as much of the stays as possible.  One side is done, just need to do the other side.  I havent blogged about this because it seems to be outside the scope of the blog but if anyone is interested, just let me know.

4.  Overcast the facings in McCall's 5150 and the 1918 dress. 

Ok, this does not seem overwhelming.  Let see how much I can get through!  I cant even think about next week's homework....add that in somewhere because it is my company's monthly event which means a killer couple of long days next week.  Maybe having this list out there in the universe will help me focus.  Normally, I dont care but I have some deadlines looming.

I am trying to stop another weekend from passing by with no work done....darn vacations!