Follow up to Duo Tone Ottobre Dress

Here's a picture of DGD wearing the Ottobre jumper I made and blogged about in last post.  I think she wore boots with this ensemble, hence the lovely pink socks.  They didn't show when she was fully dressed.  LOL.

Duo Tone Jumper Ottobre #23 6/2011

I finally finished a little project for DGD for Christmas!  It wasn't difficult, just confusing at several points.  It is fullly lined so I hand picked the lining at the zipper and did a few little hand stitched touches.  I bought the main fabric years ago--maybe for older DGD when she was small!  I bought the bottom piece at Hancocks a couple of days ago with this project in mind.  Both are cord--top not waled and bottom piece very fine wale.

As usual, the pattern is very well drafted and the pieces went together flawlessly.  I had to pick out the invisible zipper because of pilot error--stitched too close to the coil and it wouldn't zip!  Easy fix and now it is ready for the gift box.  I'm also putting in red leggings and a red turtleneck top I bought at Target.  It is cute and could be dressy, but I am hoping she will wear it to school and get some use from it!

All of the seams are top stitched, but since it is black on black, I did not think it would be useful to add more photos. 

Missing Person

I know I have not been posting and guessing am on hiatus from sewing and blogging. I am embroidering silly shirts for teen grands and sewing simple AG doll clothes for the younger DGD. Our home is for sale so I'm trying not to make a big mess just in case someone wants to look. Not much traffic at this time of year!

I have lots of fabric and patterns and am anxious to make a few things, but will have to wait until other responsibilities move to the back burner. I am working as an elementary p for 2 more weeks and then I'll return to retirement. I am again reminded of the fabulous job teachers do, even in a difficult economy when some seem to under appreciate the time and caring the teachers put into their jobs. It is nice to be working with this community at the holiday time of year. Two of our school families lost homes this week due to fire. Food and clothing have already beendonatto the families and the children will have toys for the holidays.

No sewing, but life is good.

Happy Holidays!

To my family and friends--best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Packing up my sewing room to move, so I'm sewing via blogs and magazines. I'll be back one of these days!,,

Quick Post--Not Sewing

Just to keep this blog in the cybersphere I'll add a short update.  This blog started out as a way for me to document what I'd been sewing...not much this month.  We had a great family memorial for my dad this past weekend in CA and followed up with a long lunch at the Cannery Restaurant in Newport Beach.  Lots of laughter and stories...some sad, mostly fun memories of my dad's long life.  I was surprised at how exhausted that left me.  But, we came home this morning and after the laundry and our daily walk, I hope to get a few projects off of the sewing table. 

I'm doing some embroidery designs on t shirts for my DDIL.  She is running a relay marathon and I'm doing some silly designs on shirts for her team.

I want to finish the third pair of  Bilbao pants that I almost finished at the Loes Hinse seminar.  I did finish my Mallorca jacket and will post photos of that soon.  I made 3 t shirts, and only one remains.  Totally user error.  I did not pretreat fabrics or even test a sample swatch of fabric.  I am WAY too old for crop tops/belly shirts.  So, although I cut all three from the same pattern, only one is really fully wearable.  One is OK under a jacket after I let out the hem, and one went in the trash. 

Tonight DH and DS are going to the UNLV basketball game and I'm watching the 3 kidlets.  Then, back to work in the morning.  I am subbing again--at a delightful elementary school. Being an assistant principal is so much more enjoyable than being the principal!   This job is done before the winter break and then I'm taking a long break :>)

Hope to share some sewing and/or photos soon!

Loes Hinse Seminar

Having a wonderful time--wish you were here! What fun to sew with a group of like-minded ladies who share their talents freely with no hint of one upmanship! I love Loes's patterns because they are so versatile and they fit me with little or no alteration. That never happens for me with any other line. I've seen many iterations of patterns using a wide variety of fabrics--so many clever ideas to immitate in the future!

I'll share some photos when I get home, but I've made a couple of pairs of the narrow version of the Bilboa pant, a Mallorca jacket and a few perfect tee t shirts. Tomorrow is the final day and I'm hoping to cut out a Biarritz jacket/cardigan. We will see if I get that done. Seems I've messed up my lower back by sitting on the bed. Go figure! Not even an exciting story to tell. I'm hoping it returns itself to normal by morning. Not whining, just explaining that I may not get as many garments sewn as I hoped to/usually do.

Loes's boutique has many lovely items, as usual! I was drawn to jackets made from vintage fabrics, tops using stretch lace with interesting selvages used at the hemline, unique necklaces and scarves...so many pretties!

I hope sleep comes soon and that I wake up ready to sew!

ABO Vest

 Please excuse the phone photos, but I'll never get a picture up if I don't use my phone!  I know the vest is a bit wrinkly, but I want to post these and then get on to something else :-)

I liked both of the motifs--the dots on light and the multicolored stripes.  So--I made sure that the dots were prominent on the front and the stripes dominate the back.  I like to wear it with the collar folded back a bit and the shirt underneath unbuttoned at the collar.  I did not put buttons on the vest.

Today I traced the new pattern in a size small and will make a few muslin/wearable? garments to try out the sizing.  The ABO jacket and vest are XSM, but I think that is too small for the new A Cute Angle tops.

We are going back to CA too--I'm going to Palm Springs for 4 days with my best friends.  Some of us met in grade school, but we have all been good buddies since high school.  No husbands allowed.  We meet every few years for a long weekend and just enjoy the fellowship, love, laughs, and tears.  Then I have a couple of days of rest and will take off to attend my annual Loes Hinse seminar.  That should provide some new pictures to share!