Sewing & Stitchery Expo, Puyallup

On By Sharon5 Comments

When Mark first mentioned our ski trip to Canada he didn’t quite understand my enthusiasm as the dates worked out perfectly for me to spend the weekend at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo at Puyallup in Washington State, which I had last visited back in 2011.

 I booked myself in for 4 classes over the 2 days:

  • Best Tools & Notions of the Trade.
    I just love this sort of thing you always find out about a new notion or two.
  • The Three Crotch Figure!
    Wow this was amazing!  One of them is the one we are all familiar with but the front and back armscye are the other two.  Lorraine Henry is an amazing teacher and she spent more time with me after the class which was very generous.
  • The Sheath Dress and Upper Body Fit.
    Again a lot of information that I need to take some time to review.
  • Sheila’s Knitting Techniques and Tips.
    This was an informative class and again have quite a bit of information to review, however there were 50 attendees which was just too many.  I did submit this feedback to the event management.
This venue is huge and I did find that I needed to plot who I wanted to see to make sure that I managed it in the time frame I had.

This is late in the afternoon, and I am standing at one end of Row 4 (8 Rows in total plus some stands like Vogue Fabrics that are at the very end) with approximately 70 exhibitors.

Now for the goodies that followed me home.

Magnetic screwdrivers for your sewing machine- computer safe
2 skeins of Tiger Merino wool Fancy Image Hand-dyed Yarn
4 yards of Eggplant zipper chain with 16 pulls from byannie.com
Clover Press Perfect by Joan Hawley
Kai Scissors Model 7250SE 10″/25cm Tailoring Shears
Cutting Line Designs – One Seam Pants
and My Hearts a’Flutter arrived home separately
BravoBella underwires
Lorraine Henry Measuring Made Easy
3mm masking tape

I attended the Cutting Line Designs fashion parade and have always thought this pattern line was a little bit too boxy for me.  Louise had very cleverly selected a range of models and one was a slim petite lady who looked very stylish in these designs, so I thought I would try them out.

I also purchased a 3 pack of fabric from Marcy Tilton in a dark navy colourway.

Before leaving Australia I had been in contact with PattiB from PatternReview who I had met up with previously in 2001 and we organised to meet up again this year.

Whilst Patti and I were sitting and chatting I spotted Carolyn, Dairy of a Sewing Fanatic who had told me she was attending and said she would like to catch up.

PattiB, me, Carolyn

The photo was taken by either Niema or Gaylen

Niema, Gaylen, Carolyn and I

It was a such a treat to meet them, I have followed Carolyn’s blog for many years and it felt like friends catching up, we all chatted and laughed and now I have two more blogs to follow.  Oh and you can see what Carolyn got up to here.

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2016 Stash Out: 0 m
2016 Stash In: 4.5 m

Canada and the USA – travel wardrobe

On By Sharon5 Comments

We have just arrived home from our trip to Canada and the USA and thought I’d share my wardrobe as this time I had to pack ski gear as well.

Time away:
16 days

Where to:
Canada and Puyallup in the USA.

Season:
Winter heading into Spring, however it was still snowing in Silver Star and Revelstoke when we visited and I planned for a temperature range of -2c to 17c.

Activities:
For the first two days I got to explore Vancouver checking out the various fabric shops that I could find, before meeting up with Mark and then driving the 2 hours south crossing the border into the USA to spend the weekend at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo, at Puyallup, Washington State.

Then it was back across the border to Silver Star where we stayed with Mark’s sister. Unfortunately I had a skiing accident which thankfully only resulted in a bruised calf but this put a stop to my skiing activities.  Mark had plenty of runs both at Silver Star and Revelstoke with family and friends.

Colour scheme:

What I packed:
(each garment is linked to its original construction post – left to right, top to bottom)

McCalls 8522 coat in aubergine wool (never blogged)
Simplicity 2603 cardigan in brown merino wool (to be blogged)
Grey leather gloves
Taupe loafers
Brown boots
Orange gortex ski jacket
Black ski pants
Black boots
Black snow boots
Not pictured are my pyjamas, lingerie and my thermals for skiing.
I also had a separate boot bag for my ski boots and helmet.
Oh and I did purchase a puffy jacket on sale which turned out warmer than my McCalls Coat.
Silver Star Village, look at the snow depth!

Verdict:
Again this wardrobe worked very well for me, all tops went with the bottoms and the yoga pants and hoodie were perfect for breakfast in the morning with family and friends and good to get into after a day out to wind down after a full day.

We did wash twice whilst we were away and this is part of our trips so no bother at all.

A selection of jewellery did accompany me and feel this changed the look of some of the combinations.

Vancouver:
Before I left I found The Sewaholic Guide to Fabric Stores in Vancouver  and had this printed out for my 2 days in Vancouver before Mark arrived.

Some of them were a bit further afield for public transport but I did manage to find:

and these two pieces of paisley rayon followed me home:

and across the road was Atex Fabric Store which had some gorgeous wools but I did behave myself trying to remember all the wools in my stash at home.

Then around the corner was Button Button,

where some special buttons came home with me, you will have to wait for these.

I will be back soon to share the rest of my trip.

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2016 Stash Out: 0 m
2016 Stash In: 3 m

Skiing Henley

On By Sharon13 Comments

The planets have finally aligned and I have been home when Mark has put on his Anniversary gift from September last year.

The modern gift guide for our 14th anniversary suggested Ivory or gold jewellery and seeing he doesn’t wear any jewellery I put my thinking cap on regarding Ivory.  Luckily I remembered that I had some Ivory Bamboo Interlock purchased in 2009 from The Bamboo Fabric Store in my stash which would work perfectly for another Strathcona Henley, maybe the t-shirt with short sleeves this time.

My next quandary was how to make it not so plain and then remembered Mark had a purchased t-shirt from Japan back in 2005 which was looking very sad, but had a tone-on-tone embroidered skier on it.

Now how to do this as I don’t have an embroidery machine, but this is where talking to your sewing buddies is great, Alison volunteered to do this for me.

So I headed over to Great Designs and purchased a skier design for Alison to use on her machine.  It took Alison a few test runs with different threads to get the skier to look like I had imagined, and we ended up using Mettler No 703.

The only adjustment I made to the pattern was to lower the front neckline by 2cm.

And to make the t-shirt look more RTW I dug out some white twill tape and stitched it around the back neckline like Mark’s RTW t-shirts.

Mark is very pleased with this t-shirt, it has had a lot of wears already.

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2015 Stash Out: 25.55 m
2015 Stash In: 32.8 m

2015 in Review

On By Sharon5 Comments

Happy New Year!

I am a bit late to the party but once again Gillian from Crafting A Rainbow has again encouraged us all to have a look at what we have achieved in 2015 and where we would like to go in 2016.

Top 5 of 2015

It has been another quiet year for me for my sewing, I seem to be missing the time in my sewing room before work, part is due to exercise but that is not every morning.

Sewing Hits

These are the pieces that I have constantly worn, or are favourite makes that due to the weather has resulted in very little wear so far.

KS 3740 long sleeve in orange swirls and short sleeves using yellow slub jersey

Rose Hip Tights by Seamster Patterns
Jalie 2908 Jeans

and this one I can’t wait for it to get cooler to wear

Jalie 2320 cord jean jacket

Sewing Misses

There is only one and that is due to more adjustments that need to be made to make it more comfortable to wear, the Diane Von Frustenberg wrap dress

Highlights, Reflections and Goals

Highlights

There are a few highlights this year, all sewing related but that is what I love to do.

1.  Spending a week with Claire Sheaffer for a week of Couture at Armidale

2.  Being a joint winner for the Pattern Review Jeans Contest which are above as I just love my Jalie Jeans.

3.  Having a fantastic week with my sewing buddies at the ASG Convention in Brisbane!

Reflections

I have again this year taken my time to sew and after spending a week with Roberta Thompson at the ASG Convention in Brisbane this year, I know that I need to go back to some of Roberta’s notes from years ago.  Going back to basic steps when I want to work on a new pattern long before you cut the fabric e.g. the DVF wrap dress for instance.

I am also addicted to fabric, thankfully not as bad as last year but still too much fabric came in 32.8 when only 25.55 went out.  These figures are quite different to what was on this last sewing post as I have two items for hubby which I need to get photos of and then there are a number of new pieces in the stash that I haven’t shared, so it is time to come clean.

Goals

My goals for 2015 weren’t semi successful:

  1. Pants – well I am closer to what I want but not there yet.
  2. Sewing basics – short sleeve summer tops, well I have made two but they aren’t really work appropriate.
  3. Enter a Contest – two this year at Pattern Review, the jeans above and the Kate Top which I entered for the last contest of the year.

and for 2016,

  1. Yes pants again this year!
  2. Lingerie – I really want to make my own.
  3. I enjoy entering contests so lets see if my plans can be completed.
  4. Not sewing but knitting it is what I do when I can’t take my sewing machine so I want to learn Picking (Knitting) instead of Throwing and to have a garment knitted.
Most importantly I want to thank everyone who visits my blog and leaves comments.  If you are having problems commenting please let me know as I believe there have been some issues with Blogger, my email address is under my complete profile.
Finally here is the annual collage of my makes for 2015.

Tessuti Kate Top

On By Sharon9 Comments

Over at Pattern Review there has been a contest for New to Me Patterns for the month of December.

New to Me Pattern Company Contest

Around the same time Tessuti launched their new pattern – The Kate Top.

I’ve never used a Tessuti pattern before and this one appealed to me as a suitable top for both work and casual tops for my wardrobe.

I decided to make an XS and View A but first up in a toile only doing the following adjustments to the pattern:

–  Front neckline gaposis of 1cm
–  Back neckline gaposis of 1cm
–  Sway back adjustment of 1.5cm

I took this to my ASG meeting to see if the girls could help me get a better fit as I found it unflattering on my figure.

I don’t like the pregnant look.

So I added the following adjustments:

–  raised the shoulder by 1cm at the neck edge to 0.5cm at the shoulder.
–  high round back of 1cm
–  took out a dead dart vertically below the bust apex 1cm at the hem line to noting at the bust which removed some of the fullness.

Here are what the pattern pieces now look like:

Front pattern


Back pattern


I then found this fabric in my stash and had no idea where it came from or what it was. So I did a burn test and it appears to be a loosely woven polyester. One thing I do know is that it frayed like mad and I had to overlock the hems so that I would have something to turn under.

One thing I did notice was that the pattern is very well drafted all the pieces fit perfectly together and the way Tessuti has drafted the mitre corners on this top is very clever and the finished result is perfect.

and now for the finished top

I like the front better now but will wear it a few more times before I decide to make it up again in the gorgeous cotton voile I found in my stash.

I haven’t mentioned SWAP 2016 yet, and will soon, but this is my first top.

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2015 Stash Out: 20.45 m
2015 Stash In: 18 m

The Tiny Essentials Tote Bag

On By Sharon13 Comments

In November the Australian Sewing Guild posted that they were going to host their first Sew Along, The Tiny Essentials Tote Bag and I decided to sew along.

Back in 2012 when I did this workshop I purchased the fabric from Ikea, I also purchased the fabric below designed by Cilla Ramnek* 2008 designed for Ikea intending to make another Tote Bag.

However this, some black duck cloth and some green/yellow circles that were in my bag stash just wanted to play along.  

The interfacing was on hand but the 24″ Long Pull Zip that I wanted in green or black wasn’t and this isn’t something that I was going to find locally.   Luckily Alison pointed me in the direction of Zippit and I placed an order for the zips.

Whilst waiting for my zips to arrive I did manage to complete up to Day 2 of the Sew Along

Quilted, handles made and pinned on.

and then when my zippers arrived, it was decision time – green or black?

I ended up choosing the green as the gusset for the bag is black.

Then life got in the way and it has taken me until now to finish this bag.

and here you can see the gusset and zip

I decided to use a lingerie bag for part of the inside of the tote keeping the zip to keep the contents secure and then put covered elastic on the other side to hold chargers etc.

and loaded up to go on holidays, although I’m certain I take more cables than this away!

I learnt quite a few techniques with this sew-along and I also know that my piping needs more work.

Every time I look at this bag it makes me smile, I just love those trees!

* Here is some more information about Cilla Ramnek here.

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2015 Stash Out: 16.85 m
2015 Stash In: 18 m

Twas 5 nights before Christmas …..

On By Sharon7 Comments

and I decided to make an extra gift for Mark’s nieces and nephew.

This is where sewing with your friends on 19 December  at our ASG Group at The Remnant Warehouse is dangerous.  Deborah was making the Bendy Bag by Lazy Girl Designs and I was keeping a close eye on how this went together as I had the pattern in my stash and do have intentions of making one for myself.

Well Deborah made 2 in the one day of sewing so that got me thinking and when I showed Mark what I was thinking of, he said yes and he would have one as well*.

So again the bag stash was raided and so was my zipper stash as I needed  a 14″ zipper for each bag.

The only thing that Deborah and I weren’t that thrilled about was that the lining seams are visible and I did try and work out how to hide them but really don’t think it is possible.  So I took some of the offcuts over to my Juki and tried a few finishes.

This is what I found worked best for those seams.

Stitch length of 1, Blade at 3.5 and foot pressure H.

I did manage to get two sewn during the working week and I was very thankful that our office closed on 23 December so that left me Christmas Eve to finish off the other two.

These were well received by Mark’s nieces and nephew and there were quite a few hints from other members of the family, so I might have next years gifts for some already worked out!

* Mark is still waiting for his!

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2015 Stash Out: 15.85 m
2015 Stash In: 18 m

Kris Kringle gift

On By Sharon7 Comments

Earlier this month I attended the Australian Sewing Guild Region Day and AGM at Bernina Chatswood and we could take along a Kris Kringle gift.

Now this is where reading blogs can give you some great ideas.  The site that I find quite interesting during the lead up to Christmas time is Sew Mamma Sew, during the month of November where they have new tutorials, recipes and printables for all areas of your life for Handmade Holidays.  They also do a blog post that lists all the ideas together, 9th Annual Holidays Tutorials.

When I saw the Scissor Cozy I knew this would be great gift for any of my sewing friends.

Luckily everything was in my stash except the small amount of ribbon.

The scissors aren’t part of the gift, but I did print out a picture of a pair of scissors and put this inside the cozy in case it wasn’t clear what is was used for.

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2015 Stash Out: 15.35 m
2015 Stash In: 18 m

Getting to know my Juki

On By Sharon8 Comments

As you saw here I am the proud owner of Juki MO-1000 which has a few more features than my old 4 thread Singer Ultralock 14u 34, so when in2Mode offered the Taming your overlocker workshop I signed up as I thought this would be worthwhile.

It was held over 2 Sundays and by the end of the 2nd week we had a cover for our overlockers, showing all the wrong and correct ways to use it, making it an easy reference guide.

We had 8 squares of fabric with 2 curved end pieces, so on each square a different technique was tried e.g. flat locking, pin tucks, rolled hems.

After all the blocks were completed then 4 where joined together for a front and back and then we were supplied with white cotton and bamboo wadding to complete the cover.

Front

Back

Side without pocket

I was quite impressed with my Juki, when I came to put in the end piece there was 2 layers of bamboo wadding as well as the front and back pieces with their lining to stitch through and she didn’t miss a beat.

One things the teacher did realise is that the Juki is quite a bit higher and wider than any of the other overlockers in the course so mine is a bit snug.

There were 6 of us in the workshop a which was a very good size and a diverse group of sewers.

Watermelon frill

On By Sharon12 Comments

When I first received this Spy polyester rayon fabric from Kerryn’s Fabric World, I had planned and had nearly finished another version of Vogue 8572 (OOP).  It was a disaster!

Now I had purchased 1.5 metres of both a salmon and watermelon colour so I had just wasted .8 of the salmon and was at a loss of what to do with the rest of the fabric.

I emailed Kerryn Swan with my query and this is her reply:

“Hi Sharon,
Because you are a fine build and the fabric is soft you need a garment that adds some soft bulk. If the garment is simple, plain it will be too flat on you.
A peasant style for example would be perfect.
Look at New Look 6179, 6599, 6891, View D, 6895 View D 6781 and 6104.
Cheers
Kerryn Swan”

From Kerryn’s suggestions I really liked New Look 6895, View D and was very fortunate that my sister had it in her stash as it was discontinued and she kindly gifted it to me.

I cut out a size 8 and then did the following adjustments:

  • 1cm front neckline gaposis

  • Round shoulder (both front and back)
  • 1.5cm round back adjustment
  • 1.5cm sway back adjustment

  • Moved the sleeve cap for the round shoulder adjustment

  • Raised the back opening by 2cm as it was showing my bra strap.

Once this was all cut out, I started to try to figure out how I was going to finish the ruffle.  My trusty Singer Overlocker does do a rolled hem, but I have to pretty much rebuild it do achieve it.

So this is where going to the Quilting and Craft Fair with your sewing buddies is quite dangerous.  At my ASG Group the day before, Renata told me that Juki was at the fair and she had a couple of brochures on overlockers with her.

Now I didn’t go with the intention to purchase but after sitting with my sewing buddies and giving the pros/cons of a new overlocker, I took home with me

I took this to my next ASG meeting and much to the amazement of my sewing buddies they couldn’t believe I hadn’t touched it until then and they couldn’t wait to see what it could do.

It did take me some time work out the tension and this is where Alison, the Overlocker Whisperer was so generous.

Once Alison sorted out the tension for me, it was so lovely to push one control and you are all set up for a rolled hem.

It was also at this meeting that I was having issues with the neckline gathers and keeping them in place and again Alison suggested to use Solvy to keep them in place.

There are lots of advantages of sewing with your friends.

Now I did manage to get this top finished for our holiday to Hamilton Island back in July, but we had very unseasonal weather with low cloud and flights cancelled and this top stayed in my suitcase.

It wasn’t until last week that we had a warm enough day (41c) to wear it.

This top is another item completed from my “To Sew, Knit or Purchase” list.

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2015 Stash Out: 15.15 m
2015 Stash In: 18 m