There She Sews!

Some quick sewing for the Hubby

2012-01-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, my husband Bob hurt his ankle. He had no idea how, but figured he'd sprained it. Today he decided it was hurting enough to warrant a trip to the urgent care center. Lo and behold, there's a broken bone. Now he's in a splint, and will see the orthopedist on Monday for a cast.
We keep our house pretty cool during the winter, and the splint is too big for any of his regular socks to fit over. So I fired up Wild Ginger's free accessory program, Wild Things!, and drafted a bootie that would fit over the splint. I cut it out of polar fleece, serged the two seams, and now his toes are nice and warm.

Sometimes it's the little projects that give the most satisfaction.

Longcat Scarf Instructions!

2012-01-12T21:06:00.000-05:00

I realized when I posted about the Longcat Scarf that I neglected to post the instructions on actually making one! I have finally figured out how to remedy that.

If you want to make your own Longcat (or Tacgnol) scarf, click on this link for the instructions:

Longcat Scarf Instructions

The ZIP file includes the pattern, embroidery file for face and paws, and assembly instructions.

Let me know if you make one!

Fabrics in Phoenix!

2012-01-10T17:43:00.000-05:00

Last week I attended a Home Inspection conference in Phoenix, AZ. My husband had to be there a day early for a leadership meeting, so I had a day myself. Rather than waste it lolling around at the hotel, I asked if anyone on the Creative Machine List might be in Phoenix, and whether they would want to plan a meet-up.
My eternal gratitude goes to Vicky Wilson, who picked me up at my hotel and drove me all around the area. We had a blast going through the little boutiques in Scottsdale, and had lunch at the Rusty Spur Saloon. After some more sight-seeing, we headed for SAS Fabrics, where we met up with Kim Redlin.
Here we are, after having spent an hour poking through the piles and bins:

Kim, Vicky and me, and just a fraction of the SAS Fabrics Superstore.

And here's what I bought there:

On the left is a piece of ostrich-embossed leather, about 18" wide by a bit more than 3 feet long, for 50 cents. The three print fabrics are all lycra knits, which I love to use for my pull-over tops (like the one I'm wearing in the picture above). They were all $3.99/yard. The blue fabric is a butter-soft knit; they only had a little over a yard but it was just sooooo soft I had to have it, and for $1.99/yard I didn't feel too guilty about it. The zippers were a great bargain: they were all sold by length, and the most expensive was still under a dollar.
We enjoyed more conversation at a place Kim suggested: Rosie McCaffrey's Irish Pub. All too soon it was time to say goodbye, as I had to get ready for an evening reception.
The following day I had a few hours available in the morning, and decided to make a quick trip to the Phoenix Art Museum. One of the Creative Machine members recommended it, and I'm so glad I went! They had a small but excellent exhibit on the works of Georgio de Sant' Angelo, someone I was completely unfamiliar with. I loved the color blocking and use of knit fabrics! Once I was through with that, I chanced upon another one of their exhibit pieces: "You who are getting obliterated in the dancing swarm of fireflies." It's a long title for an amazing experience: a totally dark, mirrored room, about 15 feet to a side, with hundreds of little LED bulbs suspended from the ceiling. It's a bit unnerving to walk through, but once you get into it, you feel like you're walking through an endless starfield. The lights change color and pattern, and it's totally mesmerizing. I spent at least ten minutes in there, just awestruck.
However, that was the end of my fun time. From then on, I was engulfed by the conference. I did get a few compliments on my outfits! Here I am presenting one of my two educational sessions during the week:

It may look like there are just a few people listening, but I had about two dozen in the audience!
All in all, I had a great time at the conference. Even though I'm taking a different track, career-wise, I will always be sewing... How could I give up something I love so much?!?

Finally some sewing... and why I haven't been sewing lately

2011-12-31T12:42:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've been able to post some actual garment sewing projects -- mostly because it's been a while since I've actually sewn any garments! The second half of this year was quite busy for me: I decided to take the training to become a Home Inspector, so I can join my husband's company, Inspections by Bob, as a fellow inspector! This meant that I had to devote a lot of time to classwork and studying, so the sewing room was lightly visited. But in early December, I took the National Home Inspector Exam and passed with flying colors! Now I am just waiting for Maryland to shuffle the paperwork from one corner of a desk to another and send me my license. I will then be able to start doing Home Inspections!
First, however, I had to get ready to attend the annual conference of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). The shirts I had made for the Las Vegas conference two years ago really didn't look as nice as I would have liked (plus my measurements aren't quite the same, unfortunately), so I wanted to make some new shirts, along with a pair of pants and a skirt.
Everything was drafted with PatternMaster Boutique, version 5.
Here's one outfit:

I'm really, really happy with how the shirt turned out. I hadn't had much luck with long-sleeve button-down shirts until now. Even the sleeve plackets came out beautifully! I'm also very happy with the buttonholes; my Bernina 930 does beautiful buttonholes.
The pants feel nice, but I'm kind of wishing I had dropped the waist just a little bit. Next time. But the length is good; the pockets are deep enough to hold my cell phone without risk of it falling out (a pet peeve of mine in RTW pants).
Here's the second outfit:

The shirt pattern is the same as the one above, except the fabric is a little lighter and I shortened the sleeves. The skirt is a simple gored design, with inseam pockets (gotta have pockets!!).
What I really love about wearing these shirts is the logo:

I just took the company's logo and modified it a little! After all, lots of the people we work with call me "Mrs. Bob," so why mess with what works? I had digitized Bob's original logo years ago, and just used Embird Studio to add the little caret and new letters!

I'm hoping to get back to the sewing room in 2012; much of my wardrobe needs updating and I really want to whittle down some of my stash. But right now, I need to start packing for my trip to Phoenix on Monday. Have a safe New Year's Eve, and I look forward to sharing more of my creations in the coming months!

Make Your Own Longcat (or Tacgnol)!

2011-12-27T21:36:00.001-05:00

My daughter sent me a picture of a scarf she saw on the web as a suggestion for a Christmas gift for her. Naturally, rather than just buy them, I decided to make my own version. It was really quite simple!

The scarf is based on an internet "meme" called Longcat. There are many versions floating around the web, and looking at a few gave me enough information to put together my own pattern.
It's really pretty simple: you just need about half a yard or so of fleece and just a little bit of polyfill stuffing. If you have an embroidery machine, you can add the face and paws to the scarf, but those can also be added by hand. I digitized a face and paws to use on mine.

Here you can see the little pink paws:

(I pinned the paws up for this picture; they're quite floppy in real life!)

I gave her two versions: Longcat (in white) and Tacgnol (the dark version -- "longcat" spelled backwards). She absolutely loved them.

Update!!

Instructions to make your own Longcat Scarf are now available by clicking on this link:

Longcat Scarf

The new post has a link to the ZIP file containing the pattern, embroidery files for face and paws, and assembly instructions.

My favorite Christmas present

2011-12-26T21:31:00.000-05:00

My daughter gave me the most perfect Christmas present ever this year.

For those of you too young to remember, this is Carol Burnett in her fabulous costume from her show's famous skit, "Went with the Wind."

For those who haven't seen it...

Those of you who have followed my sewing over the years know that I have a penchant for making gowns out of drapery fabrics... or even out of draperies. So this is just a perfect addition to my sewing room!

Saying goodbye to our kitty

2011-12-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a sad day here. We lost our wonderful 13-year-old kitty, Stripe. He hadn't been showing signs of illness (other than being on thyroid medication), but we found him pale and weak by our bedroom door around lunchtime. Bob hurried him to the vet but it appeared that he had lost a large amount of blood due to a tumor that ruptured his stomach. He wouldn't have survived the trip to the animal hospital in the next city that could perform a transfusion, so we chose to let him go painlessly and with dignity.

My daughter took this picture of Stripe a few months ago. He was such a beautiful guy. He loved (and tolerated) children; my neighbor's little boy loved coming over and petting him.

Stripe came to us as a stray back in 1998. We had recently adopted two other strays, Gaia and her kitten Gingevere. When this sleek tabby started nosing around the property, we were sure the two cats would chase him off. Instead, they welcomed him into the family. We were worried they would welcome more of their stray friends, but any subsequent cat was quickly chased away.

We lost Gaia in 2006; now Gingevere is the lone kitty in the house.We've been giving him lots more scritches and hugs. We'll all need time to adjust to life without Stripe. He is sorely missed.

Happy Thanksgiving and a New Project

2011-11-23T20:17:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow will be a landmark Thanksgiving for Bob and me. It will be the first time in 22 years that we will not have one of our children with us. Our son is in Arizona finishing up his Senior year, and coming home for a long weekend is just too much of a hassle and expense. Our daughter is spending the weekend visiting her boyfriend. So it's just the two of us.

But not really. We tried to resurrect our "Orphan Family Thanksgiving" that we did a few times before, but didn't get any takers. But we were invited to join the fun at a friend's house, where we have been promised abundant food, fun and, perhaps, a Trivial Pursuit marathon (oh boy!).

The hostesses are a couple we have known for years. They're Wiccan, so I wanted to make them something that would be both meaningful and useful for them.

Hooray for Urban Threads! Their Wheel of the Year design was just what I wanted. I used it as the center design on a table runner.

It's really nothing fancy, but I hope they will like it. The main fabric is a "linen look" from my stash.

Urban Threads' designs stitch out so beautifully.

I added the "Blessed Be" to both ends of the runner. I created the design using Embird's Font Engine.

And, in case they ever just want to have a regular runner, the back side is a drapery fabric remnant from my stash.

I will be giving this to them tomorrow afternoon, as I acknowledge my good fortune in having a wonderful "chosen family" to spend Thanksgiving with.

May your feast be bountiful and your blessings be many!

I'm officially a lost cause.

2011-11-19T22:27:00.000-05:00

I might as well just admit it; I'm a complete lost cause when it comes to doing projects for my "practice grandchild." He's been pretty sick this past week, and I've missed seeing him, so I decided to make him a little "feel better" present.
The first time I made a stuffed animal from the Carol's Zoo pattern was when my kids were in Montessori school, and one of them was in a production of "The Velveteen Rabbit." I made the rabbit for the play, using this pattern, and loved how easy it was.
This evening I decided to make a "Feel Better Bunny" for Gavin. Rather than use fleece (of which I didn't have any appropriate color anyway), I decided to use two thrift store sweaters (pure lambswool, for $2 each!) that I had felted last year for an as-yet-undetermined project. The pattern pieces just barely fit, but the end result was worth it! I also added a design for the tummy to make it more personal.

I'm going to give him the bunny tomorrow morning. I might add buttons for eyes, but then again, I kind of like the plain look too. The sweaters were easy to work with and should stand up to lots of cuddles.

Recovering an old footstool

2011-11-09T20:57:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, my hubby and I took a day trip to Baltimore to scope out some antique/vintage stores, including HouseWerks and Second Chance. Both these places are treasure troves, especially if you're a fan of digging through musty, dusty areas to find that one special gem. Or, just something cute that calls to you and says "Take me home!" (This happens all too often. Which is why I'm not allowed to go to pet stores).
I confess that I especially love Second Chance, simply because its mission has two very laudable goals: first, to deconstruct old buildings and salvage their parts for resale, thus preventing lots of building materials from ending up in the landfill. Second, they offer a "second chance" to the unemployed, underemployed, and others facing barriers to employment.
Anyway, during our meander through their FIVE warehouses, I came across this cute little footstool:

What attracted me to it was the shape of the feet: they are an almost perfect match to the two chairs in our breakfast room. I knew it would need some "TLC", of course, but since when would that stop me?

This evening I finally started the restoration process, beginning with taking the footstool apart. Luckily, getting the top off was a matter of just undoing four long screws.

(Yeah, those feet do need help.)

The upholstered top just came right off.

So now I can refinish the frame. I'm actually thinking of spray painting it, rather than staining it. But it will depend upon what fabric I end up choosing for the new top.

The footstool wasn't very "cushy", so rather than just attach new fabric over the old, I used my staple remover to pry up the old, old staples holding the fabric in place.

Cough, cough. I swear, the thing was padded with STRAW!

Sure looked like straw, with just a token covering of batting. It all went into the trash, leaving me with a bare piece of wood for a nice, fresh start.
I've been thinking about my options, and I might actually want to do something a bit more fun than just a flat fabric top. How about tufting? And maybe a fringe around the edge? Or nailhead trim? One thing's for sure: it's going to have more padding and it sure as heck won't be straw!!
Stay tuned...

A One-Hour Pillow (whose hour took about 8 months to arrive)

2011-10-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

This was supposed to be one of those quick, satisfying projects to whip up and get done.

Hah.

The design is from Urban Threads, and was a freebie much earlier this year (it's now $7.00). I actually stitched it out within a day or so of its release, and intended to make it into a neck roll pillow. I set the embroidered fabric aside, along with the pillow form, and then... somehow... well, you know how it goes.

Finally, yesterday I got tired of the fabric laying there, mocking me every time I passed that corner of the workroom. It was dusty, but the beautiful embroidery was still just as lovely. I'm not sure what possessed me, but I snatched it up, shook it off, and proceeded to make the pillow. The hardest thing was resisting the urge to make it "perfect." The little voice in my head kept shrieking "Add cording!! Add ruffles!! Add something!!" But I just wanted it done, so it could become a useful item in my home, rather than yet another UFO in the workroom.

And, plain as it is, I actually like how it came out.

When my daughter and I were at the Maryland Renaissance Festival this weekend, I spotted a pillow that said "Queen of Unfinished Projects." I need to make that pillow... someday.

Something to go with Ian's Tron bag

2011-10-24T14:36:00.000-04:00

After I posted the Tron bag pictures, my friend Sarah from the Creative Machine list suggested I might consider making this accessory to go with it:

Sarah is such an enabler. How could I resist a challenge like that? Especially since I haven't touched a soldering iron since high school? So I ordered the kit (actually, I ordered four of them... you never know when you'll need some flashing LEDs!). Today I finally had all the components needed to complete the project, so I got to work.

Assembling the kit is very easy; it took me less than 2 hours start to finish. Then I spent another hour modifying a tie I got from Salvation Army to insert the kit.

And here's the finished tie:

And here is the tie in action:

I did make one modification to the kit to make the battery operation easier. The instructions tell you to use a binder clip to clip the bare leads to a CR2032 button battery. However, that's mighty fiddly and, after a while, the leads would likely start fraying. Instead, I took apart a battery-powered tealight, removed the LED light and soldered the leads to the clips.

While it lacks an on-off switch, the battery now has a secure connection, and you just have to remove the battery to turn it off.

This tie will be going to Arizona as a surprise for my son Ian. I hope he gets an opportunity to wear it for Halloween!

"I Spy" quilt finished!

2011-10-11T21:02:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I've had anything of interest to post about. But finally, I have something worth showing pictures of!
Earlier this year, I joined an "I Spy" fabric swap at Kimbo West's blog, A Girl and a Glue Gun. Now, I'm not a quilter, but I do have a "practice grandchild" -- my next-door-neighbor's little boy. He's turning two this month, and I wanted to make him something special from his "Tante" (as he calls me). What better than an I Spy quilt? So I signed up. I sent in my squares (I had to send in 10 squares each of 10 different fabrics; in return, I would get a package of 100 squares, all different). I got my package of squares back during the summer, and the project sat awaiting my attention. Finally, its turn came a few weeks ago, and I got started piecing the squares together.
The only hitch was that there were quite a few very "girly" fabrics in the mix, and this boy's parents are kind of on the "traditional" side, so I had to substitute about 15 fabrics. I didn't have that many in my own stash, but the amazing Julie Bowersett came to my rescue and provided the missing fabrics that were just perfect. Thank you, Julie!!!
I was also in a quandary as to what to use for backing. The solution presented itself when I was at the Sewing Expo, and I came across the SewBatik booth. I had bought their extra-wide border print batiks in the past to make the Folkwear Kimono. Well, they had something new: extra-wide batik flannel!! I bought two yards in a mottled dark blue/green colorway.
The assembly itself went pretty quickly; it was all done by machine. There are a few spots where the seams didn't quite line up, but hey, I never claimed to be a master quilter! It was also quilted on my Juki industrial -- which doesn't have a walking foot, yet somehow I ended up with virtually no shifting or puckering. I'm constantly amazed by that machine. I just stitched in the ditch along all the seam lines. The binding was a strip of the same flannel as the backing, on the straight of grain, machine-stitched to the front, then turned and hand-stitched to the backing. I digitized the label with Embird and machine-stitched it to the backing (before sandwiching the quilt, of course) with a fine zigzag stitch.
And here's the final product!

As you can see, I didn't do any sashing or anything like that. I just wanted to have the jumble of pictures, for maximum ~~confusion~~ fun.

Here you can see the backing fabric:

In between is a layer of high-loft batting. It really is a very plush and cushy quilt.

The label:

I'll be presenting the quilt to the birthday boy on Saturday, and can't wait to see his reaction. In the meantime, I'm glad I'm done, as I'll be spending the next two days in a computer class and will have zero time for sewing!

My sewing room has a floor!

2011-09-10T15:03:00.000-04:00

Over the last few days I finally decided to knuckle down and tackle the mess that was threatening to overwhelm my sewing room. I'm not done yet, but much progress has been made.

Open floor! Space to move around! The only areas left to be tackled are the ones at the far left of this picture, where I have about 7 bins and boxes of fabric and "stuff" to be sorted out. Also, I need to go through all the bookcases and organize the books, binders and pattern boxes stored there.

Here's the view from the opposite corner:

I love the open space! I'm not tripping over anything anymore!

But here's the best improvement, and the one that took the most time:

This is a built-in bookcase original to the house. I love to organize things into plastic bins, but there wasn't a real "system" in place, and I ended up with duplicates, overstuffed bins and underutilized bins. Plus, there was no real way to corral the itty-bitty stuff like snaps, cord locks, zipper pulls and the like that would get lost in even the smaller boxes.

So I went through every single plastic box, sorting and purging as I went along, and then labeled every thing with my P-touch labeling machine (I love that thing!). I also found a nice-sized storage thing with little plastic drawers; you can see it on the far right of the top shelf. I have no idea what these things are called, but they're great for small parts!

So, I'm getting there. Once I've gone through and processed all the bins and boxes still lined up against the railing, and dealt with the bookcases, I'm sure I will feel much happier in the space, and that will translate to a whole lot of creativity!

Designing the Tron Bag

2011-09-02T21:46:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all the incredibly nice comments on the Tron bag! I guess I kind of take it for granted that I can look at a picture and figure out how to translate it into a finished product. So, here's a glimpse into my thought processes surrounding this bag.

First, the sketch stage. All I had to go with were the two pictures in my previous post, plus the necessary dimensions for the finished bag, based on the measurements of Ian's laptop.

Looking at the pictures, I saw a flap with a pocket in it, and two main compartments, with smaller pockets on the front: one zippered, one with Velcro. And it looked like one of the main compartments was not covered by the cover flap, so that was going to present an interesting challenge.

Here's the first sketch I made of the bag:

Not terribly detailed, but enough to help me visualize the relative size of the pockets. Note that I added side pockets, which weren't on the original bag, but I knew they'd come in handy.

Then I had to start figuring out the depths of the various compartments, so I would know how big to cut the pieces. This required a second sketch:

The sketch shows a height of 11", but I changed that to 12" on the off chance Ian would switch to a larger laptop. Here you can also see how the flap is anchored between the two main zippered areas, which would allow him access to his laptop without having to open up the flap. As it turns out, this was not a feature of the original bag, but he loves it.

Now I was ready to cut fabric. I'm sure I wasted quite a bit, simply because I was making it all up as I went along, but the black denim had been in my stash for at least eight years so I figured its time had come. I did line some of the pieces with black drapery lining (still have a roll of that hanging around from my drapery workroom days!).

Based on this sketch, I knew that I had to cut four pieces for the largest components of the bag; since the finished dimensions were 17" x 12", the pieces were cut at 18" x 13", with a 1/2" seam allowance. The zippered front pocket was cut 18" x 9", and the pocket with Velcro was cut at 14" x 6. The pockets all had sides; this made doing the zippers much easier. So the main compartment, with a finished depth of 3", had sides cut to 4".

The laptop pocket got a layer of quilt batting between the main fabric and the lining, to cushion the laptop. In retrospect I should have added a layer of Decor Bond, but it's too late for that now.

I didn't take any pictures during the assembly process, and I won't try to describe how I put the bag together. The one part that almost flummoxed me was how to sew the two main compartments together while enclosing the end of the flap. I had already sewed the two compartments as separate pieces, and there was no way I was going to be able to machine-stitch the two together and have it look half decent. In the end, I machine-stitched the flap onto one main compartment, then pinned the two pieces together and hand-stitched the two together at the edges.

When I look at a project like this, I tend to break it down into measurements and relationships between the parts. I also think about the construction sequence: the pocket with Velcro had to be sewn onto the front of the zippered pocket before the zippered pocket was attached to the front of the main compartment... things like that. And I did have to adjust and re-cut a few pieces as I went along because they didn't quite go together right. But that's part of the fun and the adventure of trying to tease the details out of an experimental project. Still, any project can be broken down into the simplest of steps, and one just has to take the steps one at a time.

So I challenge you: find a picture of something you would like to make, and see if you can figure out how to make it. And let me know how it goes!

The Tron Bag: A Journey

2011-09-01T19:34:00.001-04:00

This project has a LONG history behind it. Let's go back about two years, to the Sewing Expo at Puyallup in 2010. That's where I spotted something called "Dazzle Wire" at Tammy O'Connell's Peacock Patterns booth. I bought a 5-foot piece, not knowing what I was going to do with it, but knowing that it had to be a part of something pretty cool.
So it came home, and sat in my workroom, waiting for a project.

And waited.

Finally, I showed it to my son, and he said, "Wow, that would be great on the front of a messenger bag." His favorite messenger bag (a "Bag of Holding" from ThinkGeek) wasn't holding up as well as he would like, and wasn't quite the right size for his needs, so he asked me to make him a new bag, but using the Dazzle Wire to give it a "Tron" feel.

What could I say? I seldom get the chance to sew anything for my son. All I had to go on was two pictures:

From these two pictures, I could figure out approximately how the bag had to come together. One of the requirements for Ian was that his laptop had to fit into the bag. So, with his measurements in hand, I knew the bag had to measure 17" wide by 12" high.

Time for some deep thought.

It looked like the bag had two main compartments, one of which was intended to hold a laptop. It also looked like the laptop compartment was not covered by the front flap. Hmm. There was a zippered compartment in the flap, as well as two smaller compartments attached to the front of the bag. And, although the original bag didn't have them, I figured side pockets would be a good thing.

So I got to work.

The first element was how to do the Dazzle Wire. I thought about couching it, using thick thread covering to fill in the gaps, but finally realized that the only logical way to approach it was to thread it in and out of the front via eyelets. So, I mapped out an abstract path for the wire, and made eyelets for each "in" and "out" point. Once they were all sewn, I threaded the wire through the eyelets and glued the exposed portions to the fabric. I also made openings in the flap so the end of the wire could hook up to the power supply, nestled in its own little pocket in the bag.

I wish I could say I knew what I was doing, but really I was just winging it the whole way through. I cut and sewed pockets and flaps that looked right, and put everything together so it matched what I thought it should look like. And, lo and behold, it all worked out in the end, because Ian absolutely loves his new bag.

So, here are some pictures.

Ian admiring his new Tron-inspired messenger bag.

With the flap open, the inner compartments are revealed.

There's a zippered pocket in the front.

Also, a Velcro-fastened pocket.

You can also see the short pieces with the snaps on them; these allow the top flap to be closed in two different positions, depending upon how full the bag is.

A nice, big main compartment. You can see the wire on the left, coming out of the flap.

This little pocket holds the battery pack that powers the Dazzle Wire.

And a second large compartment, not covered by the flap, is a padded laptop pocket.

There are also two side pockets with Velcro-closure flaps; perfect for a cell phone.

The Dazzle Wire lights up when the battery pack is turned on; here's a picture of what the effect is like in a darkened room.

Ian is absolutely thrilled with his bag; he's already trying to figure out whether he should use it as his carry-on luggage when he goes back to Arizona on Sunday. How does one explain to a TSA agent that one's carry-on bag has wires and a battery pack? I think I'll encourage him to simply put it in his suitcase instead.

Montgomery County Fair results

2011-08-26T10:17:00.000-04:00

The Montgomery County Fair ended on August 20. All six items I entered received ribbons! Although I didn't do as well with some items as I would have liked, I'm still happy they all got something.

The Otakon dress was entered as a "day dress" rather than a costume (you're only allowed one entry per category). It received a fourth place ribbon.

The Smithson Gown was entered as a "formal ensemble" and got a third place ribbon.

Diana's "Ocean Goddess" Otakon costume got a third place ribbon.

The tie I made for Bob for his part of the Smithson gala outfit got a second place.

The vest I made for Bob got a first place ribbon!

And I am most proud of my entry in the Accessories department: the diaper bag I made for my neighbor. It took first place AND a Champion ribbon!

Next year I'm determined to enter more items. I had wanted to enter some of the things I made for Diana during the year but completely forgot to ask her to give them to me in time. Oh well! Just another excuse to make more stuff!

Another t-shirt quilt

2011-08-25T19:40:00.000-04:00

Earlier this summer, a friend of mine contacted me to ask if I would be interested in making a t-shirt quilt for her sister-in-law. Since the timeframe wasn't immediate and I could work it into the other projects littering my sewing room, I said sure.

Well, the quilt was given to its recipient today and I got a picture of the proud new owner.

I was sent a box of shirts from his running career and pieced them into a 60" x 60" blanket. The shirts were all stabilized with fusible knit from Rowley's, and the back was a fleece chosen by the sister-in-law. The quilt has a layer of medium-loft batting to give it some extra warmth, and the whole thing is bound with a brown knit fabric, double-folded and machine-stitched to the front, then the corners were mitered and the back hand-stitched in place. The layers were secured with knotted embroidery floss at the intersection of each block.

The mitered corners were actually interesting to figure out; I'm going to do a tutorial on how to mark and sew them because, really, once I wrapped my head around the topology of the folds, it was quite easy and quick to do.

Crabby scarves

2011-08-14T16:08:00.000-04:00

My daughter is finishing up her summer internship with the Smithsonian this week. I suggested she give her supervisors a gift for ~~putting up with her~~ providing such a great experience, and offered to embroider something. She told me one of the "running gags" at SERC was that whenever someone saw a crab, someone else would say "I pinch!" I had no idea what this meant until she pointed me at the following commercial:

So, I suggested doing polar fleece scarves with a crab on one end and "I pinch!" on the other.

I finished them just in time for her to take back with her for her final week.

The crabs are from Embroidery Library, although I had to edit out all the background swirls because my hoop isn't big enough.

They stitched out at just a few millimeters under the legal eating size!\

I did the text with Embird's Font Engine:

The scarves were lined with some cotton remnants I had in my stash. I look forward to hearing how the recipients like them!

Otakon 2011: Back to Reality!

2011-08-03T16:41:00.000-04:00

My first Otakon experience is now over, and I can honestly say it was one of the most interesting and fun things I've ever done! Being one of over 31,000 people swarming around the Baltimore Convention Center and Inner Harbor area was a real study in sensory overload. So many costumes!!!

My costume got some attention but not much; I had about two dozen picture requests. Compare that to some of the costumes where the wearer simply couldn't go anywhere because they were always surrounded by attendees asking to take their picture. Diana and I wore our costumes on Friday only; we went in street clothes on Saturday. Part of the reason was that the costumes weren't getting a lot of attention; the other part was that the makeup was time-consuming and inconvenient, especially when it came to eating or using the facilities! Lesson learned: no more body paint for me.

Anyway, I did take pictures of the other costumes, and will share some of them with you. I really have no idea who many of these characters are; I was just taking pictures of costumes I liked!

Diana getting her picture taken by the professional photographer in the PhotoSuite.

Not quite sure who this was supposed to be, but I loved the colors, and his makeup was great.

We braved the 101-degree heat for some pictures at the fountain by the Inner Harbor.

Spandex, corsets and skimpy costumes abounded.

Men in Black observing the Green Arrow.

Recursive cosplay: Video game character costumes made out of video game cartridges.

I thought this gnome was cute!

This Tron: Legacy costume was quite good, except he couldn't quite reach the disc on his back, and had to ask for help retrieving it!

This woman couldn't get ten feet without hearing someone squeal, "Miss Frizzle!!!!"

A beautiful costume; she had someone with her to help her navigate the aisles because the headdress prevented her from seeing anything next to her.

Dr. Who was quite well represented this year, in many of his incarnations (I even saw a Tom Peters version). This Dalek wasn't motorized (I don't think), but appeared in various places throughout the convention center to pose with the many Doctors (as well as with the people dressed up as a Tardis).

I was impressed with the quality of this guy's body paint!

Here was one of the group shot sessions for the Doctors; you can see some of the Tardis costumes as well.

A collection of Sailor Moon costumes.

Not sure who these two were supposed to be, but they couldn't see through their headdresses, so every time someone wanted a picture, they had to put the headdresses on.

I found Waldo! There were actually at least three of them wandering around; this one was the best.

A full-body costume. I saw her later in the PhotoSuite without the shoes, tag and backpack; it was a much better look. But I guess having shoes was necessary for walking around!

One of at least three "Tangled" princess costumes; this one had the best braid.

Again, not quite sure what this is a costume of, but it was incredibly detailed and frilly!

Commercial icons made for popular costumes!

I'm not sure if the backpack is historically accurate, but this Samurai costume was very good!

There were quite a few Disney Princesses, plus a prince or two.

A Tetris game piece. Pretty much anything related to a video game was fair play for a costume. There was also a Rubiks Cube costume!

The Fountain Atrium of the Convention Center was where many of the popular costumed attendees stayed to be photographed. Many of them were groups, or had awkward props that would be unmanageable in the crowded hallways.

Another group in the Fountain Atrium. I can only imagine how sore the two front characters were after hours of dipping in and out of their poses.

Another popular feature of Otakon is the Video Gaming Hall. This cavernous space was filled with oversize monitors and every video system imaginable, with every game imaginable being played. This was the one area with very few costumes in evidence; the people were here to play. This was a chance for them to indulge in hours of play, all included in the admission price. I loved the rules that were posted, especially about good personal hygiene.

It was impossible to capture the room in just one shot. But you can see the size of the monitors... and there were dozens of them. The room was also kept quite chilly. I can't imagine what the electric bill was for just this one room!

There weren't just video games in the hall, either. The area with the tables was devoted to a "Magic: The Gathering" card game tournament. There were people lined up for their turn to play; there were probably 30 tables with players, many with thick binders of cards and very serious expressions. These weren't casual gamers!

Another group of costumed characters; I'm told they are from the webcomic "MS Paint Adventures".

Superman!! Again, there was more than one at the convention.

So how about Diana and me? Well, here are some of the pictures taken at the PhotoSuite.

This picture really captures the flow of the dress! Too bad none of the pictures really captured the sparkle of the sequins scattered over the dress and the "wave" cape. Oh well.

I love this one for its contrast!

We went back to the PhotoSuite at the end of the day at the invitation of the photographer. My makeup was really starting to wear off by this point, but I think it lends just the right amount of creepiness to the shot!

So there you have it... We had a great time, and I'm looking forward to going again next year. But I might not go in costume; instead, I'm tempted to volunteer to work at the PhotoSuite instead!

Otakon 2011: Mom's Costume, full dress rehearsal

2011-07-27T21:21:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday evening, I did a full "dress rehearsal" for my Otakon costume. I did full makeup, all the accessories, and had Bob take pictures.

Here's the costume:

Oh, wait... That's not right. He had the camera set on "black and white" mode. Here's the REAL picture:

Yep, I'm going as a "black and white" housewife, complete with a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

Here's a closeup:

The makeup isn't perfect (which is why I did a dress rehearsal!). The chocolate chip cookies are real; I bought a package at the grocery store, put them in my dehydrator for a day to get most of the excess moisture out, then sealed them with Mod Podge and painted them in gray tones. They're glued to the plate -- except for the one I keep in my apron pocket to offer to passers by.

The makeup is actually very comfortable; it doesn't itch, and doesn't rub off on my dress. The true test will come on Friday, when Diana and I get up early and get into our full makeup before leaving for Baltimore at about 8 in the morning. Ugh.

Otakon 2011: Mom's Costume

2011-07-26T17:34:00.000-04:00

Yay! My costume for Otakon is pretty much finished. I just have to add a few details to one of the accessories, and then I can focus on finishing Diana's.

Here's the dress by itself:

The style is very simple: just a fitted bodice and a full, gathered skirt. I've got the petticoat on under the dress, and it really does make the skirt stand out nicely.

This dress is incredibly comfortable; I will definitely be making more in this style. But I might change the sleeve; it either needs to be longer or shorter, so the cuff isn't in the way of my elbow.

Here's the dress with the apron:

So what, you ask, is my costume supposed to represent?

Hint #1: Look at the stockings.

Hint #2: Pleasantville.

I'll be doing a complete "dress rehearsal" tomorrow, and will post pictures of the full getup then!

Otakon 2011: Diana's vest, ready to embellish

2011-07-23T21:26:00.000-04:00

It's been a productive few days in the workroom. Diana's vest for her Otakon costume is now constructed and ready for embellishment. I'm VERY happy with the fit, and so is she!

You can see the godets peeking out between the panels of the vest. Each one of them was sewn in by hand. Golly, I just love hand sewing. It took me the better part of a day to get all TEN of these godets inserted.

The godet fabric is a polyester from Joanns, with silver lurex threads in the design. It really does look watery, and it's perfect.

We had a lot of discussions about the "wave" she wanted for the back. Finally I figured out how to get the effect she wanted.

The wave is attached just below the shoulder points on the vest back, and fastened around her wrists with snapped cuffs. It provides for a really fluid motion, and complements the vest very nicely.

Tomorrow we'll make more progress on embellishing the outfit and putting some final touches on it before she heads back to her internship. Then it's up to me to get it finished by Thursday, when we'll head to Baltimore to pick up our badges for Otakon.

We interrupt this blog for a commercial message

2011-07-22T08:41:00.000-04:00

This is so totally not sewing, but it's so totally cool!

Most of you know that I live in an old house called Redwall. Old houses have tiny kitchens; after all, back in the day the kitchen was for fixing food, not for socializing. When we bought our house in 1997 the kitchen was in terrible shape, and we did a complete gut and rebuild at that time.

A few weeks ago I saw that Apartment Therapy was holding its "Small Cool Kitchens" contest, so I submitted our kitchen. And it's been accepted for the contest!

Of course, these contests are all about garnering the most votes, so please click on the picture and go vote for my kitchen!! Thanks!!!

Otakon 2011: What about Mom?

2011-07-21T16:35:00.009-04:00

With all the work I'm doing on Diana's costume, I also had to keep in mind that I would need my own costume for this event as well. I'm actually a little more hesitant to give too many details on what I'm doing, as I don't want to tip my hand, but I can share a few elements of the costume with you.

First off is the main part of the costume: the dress. This is a simple shirtwaist dress, drafted with PatternMaster Boutique (of course). It has side/waist darts, a gathered skirt, and a convertible collar. Pretty simple. But for some reason I've been making some pretty stupid mistakes.

Here's the dress as it stands right now. See those stand-out cuffs? I sewed one of them in wrong THREE TIMES IN A ROW. Talk about frustrating. But finally I did get the positioning correct and they went in perfectly. Now the only thing left to do is the hem and buttons/buttonholes.
It doesn't really show in this picture, but the dots on the dress are NOT white; they are light gray. And the white collar and cuffs are actually dyed a very light gray as well. There's a reason for this, which will be clear once the whole costume is done.

(By the way, it looks terrible on this dress form because the form is too small. I don't have a dress form even close to my size; I was given a Dritz My Double plus-size form and was delighted to find out that it's much too large for me. One of my dress forms is almost exactly Diana's size, which helps a lot. But I really want one that's my size.)

Now, I needed a petticoat under this dress. Fortunately, the June/July 2011 issue of Vogue Patterns magazine happened to have instructions on making a petticoat. So I drowned myself in a sea of netting to make one.

A true petticoat should be able to stand up on its own. This one certainly does!! I have to say it was NOT fun to make; gathering all that netting is tedious. I haven't covered the seams with the ribbon as indicated in the article; I may or may not go back and do that. I'm also not terribly fond of the grosgrain ribbon as waistband, but it will do.

The last bit of costume that's done is the apron. This was made without a pattern; I just eyeballed everything. I did make a quick template for cutting out the pockets so they would be symmetrical. The ruffles were gathered using the ruffling foot on my Bernina. The pocket embellishments are made of felt.

I've got a week to get everything finished; I'm shooting for doing a "dress rehearsal" early next week to identify any weaknesses in the costume in time to fix them. Stay tuned!

Otakon 2011: Plan B... and C... and D...

2011-07-20T20:31:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I posted, but that surely doesn't mean I haven't been busy.

Diana's initial sketch for her Otakon costume just wasn't inspiring either of us to envision a truly epic creation. It was too much like simply a "nice dress," rather than a great costume, so we sat down one evening and hashed out the issues, endured a fair number of false starts and spirited discussions, and ended up with yet another concept sketch.

This concept calls for a laced vest with long skirt panels and sheer godets between each panel. The back will feature a chiffon cape embellished with cattail sequins and a fringe of gathered tulle to resemble the ocean froth.

To add to the pressure, she has picked a piece of shot dupioni silk from my stash, which is 45 inches wide and less than 3 yards long, and it's all I have, and she insists that has to be the vest.

So, back to the drawing board... or rather, back to the computer to draft a muslin. I double-checked her chart in PatternMaster Boutique to make sure the numbers were still current (they were), and drafted a sheath using the panel styleline and a front zipper. A little while later the muslin was ready to try on.

I really can't say often enough how much I adore this program. Can you believe the fit? Here's the back view.

Yes, I know there are wrinkles across the back. She wants this vest to fit more like a corset, which means the final version will be boned and interfaced, so will lie smoothly.

Once she headed back to the eastern shore for her internship, I got to work on the final version. It doesn't look like much in the picture, and there's still a fair amount of embellishment to be done, but here it is so far.

This is the front view, which will have eyelets installed for the lacing. I still have to add to godets; until last night I wasn't sure what shape they would take but the wonderful ladies of my ASG group were again instrumental in helping me figure out the details.

I hope to get the bulk of the costume done by this weekend so I can work on my own costume; more on that in the next post!

P.S. I am so proud of my daughter... She was part of the team that caught the snakefish in the Rhode River last week, and got interviewed for TV!

The Tale of an Eyelet, or, Why I never get anything done around here

2011-06-29T20:14:00.000-04:00

See this?

This is an eyelet. Specifically, an eyelet that was required in order to proceed on a project that's been stewing in my sewing room for about a month.

And this is why it took a month to sew one stinkin' eyelet.

The Beginning
My son wants a new messenger bag, modeled after a "Bag of Holding" we got for him from the Think Geek catalog. Only, he wants it to look "Tron"-ish, with a glowing wire on the front flap of the bag. No problem; I happen to have one of those I bought in Puyallup more than a year ago, from Peacock Patterns.
In order to run the wire onto the outside of the front flap, I would need to sew an eyelet onto the front flap panel. No problem; I've got eight sewing machines and one of them surely can sew an eyelet. The machine I use for all my zigzag work is my old Bernina 930 . I sat down and looked at the stitch options. Hmm; no eyelet. I looked in the instruction book and didn't see any way to sew an eyelet.
No problem; I'll just lower the 930 into the cabinet and plop my Viking 1+ on top of it and use that to sew an eyelet. I pressed the lever to lower the Bernina and... nothing. It was stuck.
I looked into the recesses of the cabinet and saw that one of the wires had come loose from the pulley mechanism.
No problem; I'll fix it. Hmm. Easier said than done. I futzed with the lift mechanism while it was still in the cabinet but there's simply no room to maneuver under there. Luckily it's easy to remove: I unscrewed the top plate, unscrewed the side supports, and... SPRANG!!! The cables were under tension, and they immediately flopped all over the place, so I had no idea where they should go.
No problem; I'll find a diagram somewhere on the web. No such luck. This is an older model cabinet, and all the current cabinets have a totally different lift mechanism. After trying to figure out the correct path for the wires, I gave up and contacted Horn of America. This was last Friday, and their tech had already left for the weekend. So I shelved the project until this week (after all, Diana was home and we were in the thick of designing her Otakon costume).
Yesterday I got a call from Jeff, the technician at Horn, and he was able to email me the diagram for the cable paths. With that assistance, it took maybe ten minutes to get the cables in the right place. But then I couldn't figure out how to reinstall the whole mechanism.
No problem; I'll email Jeff again. And indeed, he was able to email me another page of instructions to install the lift mechanism. So, this afternoon, the whole assembly was once again installed, and working better than ever (leading me to believe it had never been cabled correctly to begin with).
Back in business! I lowered the Bernina and closed the table lid, then put the 1+ on top of the table and plugged it in.
Uh... Where's the eyelet?
The basic stitch cassette included some buttonholes, but no eyelets.
No problem; I've got more stitch cassettes. I looked at each one of them... no eyelets.
Sigh.
It took me maybe five minutes to remove the embroidery unit from my Designer 1, find the eyelet stitch, do a test or two, and stitch the eyelet in place on the front bag panel.

My father had a favorite saying in German: "Warum einfach, wenns aus kompliziert geht?" (which translates as "Why do it the easy way when you can do it the hard way?")

It's the story of my life.

Otakon 2011: Improving on Mother Nature?

2011-06-26T12:45:00.000-04:00

You might remember the Mother Nature costume I made for my daughter for last year's big Anime convention in Baltimore. She was delighted at how much it was admired. Well, she has asked me to create a new costume for this year's convention... and this time, she wants me to go with her, so I will need a costume as well.

During her visit home this weekend, she brought out the sketches of what she envisioned for this year. It was all inspired by a pair of earrings she found during a trip to Philadelphia last week:

These are especially appropriate for her, seeing as how she is doing an internship on the Eastern Shore, and is intimately involved with all things aquatic. So, as a follow up to last year's Mother Nature, she wants to go as Mother Ocean.

Here is her initial concept sketch:

The sketch on the left shows the underdress, which she hopes to be able to re-use as a non-costume dress in the future. So she doesn't want any adornments on it (like the leaves on last year's dress). The sketch on the right shows the proposed wrap, with strings of shells as the sleeves and the wrap closure embellished with a large scallop shell. She's also envisioning a cape made of fish netting, adorned with shells and crabs and perhaps strands of seaweed (fake, of course... we don't want to be attacked by the seagulls in the Inner Harbor!).

We went to Joanns for a quick fabric search, to at least figure out colors and drapes. Here are the three we came away with:

The center teal fabric would be the underdress; I'm envisioning it done with Fortuny-like pleats (perhaps using this method for the pleating). We also picked up a yard of the pale blue chiffon on the right, as well as some white organza.

I'm going to make a trial version in half scale, just to play around with the style.

What do you think? Remember that the goal is to be noticed, and stopped for photographs. And what do you suggest I make for myself as a costume? I was thinking of making a jumpsuit covered with plastic grocery bags and water bottles, and going as the Pacific Garbage Dump, but Diana says that political costumes tend to be avoided. Oh well.

Yet Another Dress for Diana (with Tutorial!)

2011-06-11T21:34:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, my daughter Diana and I went to New York City for a few days. While we were there, we did quite a bit of snoop shopping. One of the items we found was in the Anthropologie store in Chelsea Markets. It was a very simple knit dress that was seamed in an unusual way. She really liked it, but not the price (about $108!). As soon as we left the store I sketched out the dress and said I would make one for her.
Another stop was Metro Fabrics, where the (in)famous Kashi listened to the description of the dress and immediately pulled out the perfect knit for it.
Today, with Diana visiting for the weekend from her summer internship, I took a few measurements and made the dress... all in about an hour and a half.

Here's the front view:

It really is a very simple dress: no darts, just two seams.

Back view:

Diana used a black scarf as a belt to give the dress some shape. Without the belt, it really is very loose.

Here's a close-up of the binding and straps:

Folks, this dress was dead simple to make. It took just a few measurements. It's so easy that I'm going to give you the instructions right here.

Here's a diagram with the measurements you'll need:

A: distance from bottom of armscye to desired length
B: distance from side to center front (baseline front)
C: distance from side to center back (baseline back)
D: distance from side to bust point
E: distance from side to desired location of back strap
F: distance from bust point to desired location above bust
G: distance from baseline back to top of back strap

Measurement A is also used for the center front and center back.

Layout and Cutting:
You will need 3 yards of 60" wide fabric, preferably a very lightweight knit. Cut it into two pieces and rotate one 180 degrees so the pattern and grain are running in the same direction. Lay them out right sides together. C will probably be shorter than B, so keep that in mind when laying out line A.

Mark the center line A as your reference line; it needs to be just a bit off-center of the midline of the fabric. Draw lines B and C perpendicular to line A. Mark the points for D and E on the baseline, then mark the lines F and G perpendicular. Connect the ends of the lines with gentle curves, as shown in the diagram.

The width of the dress is limited only by the fabric. From the outer end of lines B and C, draw a line the length of A, angled out as far as the width of the fabric will allow you. Join the ends of the A lines with a curve.

Sewing:
Sew the center front and center back seams, preferably with a serger.

To make the binding: use some of the scrap fabric and cut strips 2" wide. Fold in half, and then fold the raw edges in on both sides to form double-sided binding. Sew the binding to the armscyes first. Trim the ends to the raw edges of the front and back curves.

(How I sewed the binding: I matched up the raw edge of the binding to the outside of the dress, then stitched along the fold with a regular sewing machine. I then folded the strip to the inside and topstitched close to the edge to "seal" the binding.)

Find the center point of another long strip of binding and sew it to the front curve. Try the dress on and pin the straps to the back curve at the desired location. Sew into place, seaming the binding at the center back. Hem the dress, and you're done.

Diana has already requested a second dress using the same "pattern." If you decide to make one, please let me know how it went! I'm still kind of new at writing tutorials.

One Last Smithson Picture

2011-06-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

Several people asked what Bob's vest looked like for this year's Smithson gala. Much to my chagrin, I neglected to take a picture of it that day! However, the official photographer did get a shot of us, and I finally received a copy of the picture today.

You can see that Bob's vest and tie did indeed match my outfit!

Hey, I DO have a sewing table!

2011-06-03T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well what do you know... There was a sewing table underneath all that crud!

The pile on the floor at lower right is the "To Be Tossed" pile. The rest of the fabric is in some new bins. Although I hated the idea of buying more bins for storage, I realize it's the only way I'm going to keep the room somewhat organized. I'm not quite done with the organizing, but am happy with the progress.

As for yesterday's Twist shirt, I've cut down the sleeves but haven't resewn them yet. I hope to get to that tomorrow, as I want to complete a show-and-tell for Sunday's PatternMaster Users' Group meeting.

More progress, with a Twist

2011-06-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

I'm continuing the archeological dig through the layers of my sewing table. Today I uncovered five mending projects: three pairs of pants and two shirts, all belonging to my sweet hubby, all needing very minor fixes, and all have been waiting for attention since before the move.

I did get one project finished today, because I really needed the lift that comes with completing something. It was something I hadn't tried before: a twist-front top from Wild Ginger's new PatternMaster Knits program.

Let's just say that this one won't be part of my regular wardrobe. And therein lies yet another frustration: I see pictures of garments that look terrific on a wide assortment of bodies... except mine. I have no idea why. With this one, I think it's the deep Vee neckline that just isn't flattering. And I don't like the sleeves, either; they're too long and too floppy. Serves me right for not checking the settings before printing out the pattern.

So, progress is being made. Thanks to all of you for your wonderfully supportive comments; they really do help keep me motivated.

Progress and Planning

2011-06-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

I really do appreciate all the wonderful comments on yesterday's post. Having something of a "cheering section" will certainly go a long way towards motivating me to get my act together.

I got about a third of the table cleared off today, and in the process found a blouse that I had cut out A YEAR AGO. The cut pattern pieces somehow survived the move back to Redwall, and have been languishing under the mess on the table since DECEMBER. Ugh. So I figured I had two options: throw the pieces out, or start sewing the blouse. I opted for sewing the blouse. Now I have the front and back sewn, but I didn't want to fire up the iron because it's just too darned hot today. Still, once I press the seams I can put the bodice together, add the sleeves, add the facing, and do the finishing work. I'm hoping to get it all done tomorrow.

Part of the issue is, I'm sure, the fact that this sewing room actually has less storage space than the other house. There is storage space in the basement, but the last time I went that route it became too much "out of sight, out of mind." It was just way too easy to forget the huge stash in the basement. Now I've decided that all my stash must be stored in the sewing room itself, so I can have a clearer picture of just how much I have. There is some sorting to do, and decisions to make: do I really need 15 pillow forms, left over from my drapery business days? How about the huge box of Robertson self-tapping screws for installations?

I've really had to admit to myself that this accumulation of stuff is not helping my creativity; instead, it's distracting me so much that I can't focus on what I want to do. It's going to be difficult to find the balance between stash and space.

Embarrassment and resolve

2011-05-31T17:21:00.000-04:00

I haven't been spending much time in the sewing room lately. Mostly it's because work around the house and my husband's business has kept me hopping. But it's also because my sewing room is just an unholy mess.

Really.

Don't believe me? Here's a picture of just the sewing table.

I can't see more than a few square inches of the surface. I haven't even stapled the canvas cover down. And I'm coming to the realization that one of the roadblocks to my sewing creativity is this mound of mess on the table. There is simply no room for me to lay out cloth and pattern and actually create anything.

The piles of fabric on the left are for window treatments for the house. Haven't started 'em.

The rolls of white are patterns printed out to be sewing into garments. Haven't started 'em.

So where do I go from here?

I'm going to declare the month of June as "Rebooting the Mojo" month. I'm going to write down all the projects I have rattling around in my head and assign them a spot on the calendar. While I certainly won't take care of the backlog in one month, I'm sure I will make a big dent in the stack.

The familiar demon will arise: "I paid good money for that, and can use it for... something!" Well, it's time to put that demon to rest.

I hope to post every day during June, with progress reports and (hopefully) pictures of projects that I have been able to complete. Any ideas, suggestions or encouragements are greatly appreciated!

L'Amour Fou

2011-05-29T13:29:00.000-04:00

(French for "Crazy Love")

I was in New York last week and got the chance to see this film at the Paris Theatre, next to the Plaza Hotel. It is a movie about Yves Saint-Laurent, his work and his relationship with his longtime partner Pierre Berge. While half of the film focuses on the auction of the art collection they amassed over their 40-year relationship, the other half was about the clothes. There was a lot about Saint-Laurent and his personal demons; he was incredibly young when he took over the House of Dior when Christian Dior died. Then he opened his own house (I think he was 27?) and the rest is history.

One of the funny stories in the movie is that Saint-Laurent created his iconic "Mondrian" dress because he had a deep desire to own a Mondrian painting but couldn't afford one.

Naturally, I wore my own Mondrian dress to the show.

A few people outside the theater asked to take my picture, which was enormously flattering! And even while walking from the subway to the theater, I got a few "Nice dress!" comments. Those really made my evening!

Rustic Rucksack!

2011-05-23T20:58:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, my daughter sent me a picture of a rucksack she admired, and asked if I could replicate it.

Looked pretty basic; so I said of course.

Me and my big mouth.

I couldn't find any patterns that came even close to this type of bag. Finally, after spending too much time searching pattern sites and catalogs, I figured that I was going to have to wing it.

The Amazon product site was kind enough to list the dimensions of the bag, so that was my starting point. From there, I eyeballed some pattern piece sizes (drafted on Pellon Tru Grid -- wonderful stuff) and threw together a muslin. Diana gave her approval on Friday evening, and said she hoped it would be finished in time for our trip to New York City... tomorrow.

Somehow, it got done. And the daughter has pronounced it "perfect!"

Here she is, testing it out:

She was looking for the "wicker basket" look, and while she had hoped I could do leather accents, I just found the leather I had on hand too difficult to work with (it was really too thin). Maybe next time. The outer fabric is from Joann Fabrics' outdoor collection; the lining and contrast pieces are Joann Fabrics' linen-look.

There are four outside pockets; two on the front panel:

And one on each of the two side panels:

There's also a zippered pocket on the inside:

The bag closes with a braided leather drawstring, and the flap is held closed by threading the drawstrings through one of two grommets on the outer flap.

This upcoming New York trip will be the "trial by fire" for this bag; I'll let you know how it works out!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pack my own suitcase for the trip!

Purse Sewing

2011-05-22T19:52:00.000-04:00

I signed up for a swap on one of the blogs I follow, and my swap buddy and I decided to make each other a bag of some kind. It could be any kind of bag; I elected to make a handbag.

One of the members of my PatternMaster group brought in a bag she made using Simplicity 2676. I really liked the idea of a "base bag" with interchangeable outer covers. So I decided to make the bag for my swap buddy.

I did make one change to the pattern: rather than use the flap-and-snap closure as called for in the pattern, I substituted a zippered panel, using the same technique I developed for the Professional Tote.

The bag was very easy to construct; I'm going to have to make one for myself soon!

This shows the purse with its cover, fastened to the purse body with elastic over the buttons. You can make multiple covers for the base bag (which is solid black).

This shows the zipper panel closed. I really like this type of closure; it is much more secure than a simple tab and magnet, yet the zipper placket lays flat and out of the way when open.

Here the zipper placket is open, and you can easily see into the purse interior (and its integrated pockets!).

I hope my buddy likes her new purse!

Sometimes, the Universe smiles for you.

2011-05-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

Hard to believe it has been more than a month since my last post. I actually got an email from a follower asking if I was okay; I was so touched! Yes, I am fine; circumstances have just kept me out of the sewing room lately. I've been engaging in a lot of project planning, so that when I manage to carve out some sewing time, I will be ready!

A few weeks ago, while I was babysitting my next door neighbor's adorable son, I spent some time thinking about the storage (or lack thereof) in my sewing room. I was also trying to address the lack of a mirror, which, one would think, would be an essential fixture. My sewing room has very little available wall space, so I wondered whether I could combine the storage and mirror issues by building some kind of free-standing unit. So I started sketching out the idea, and here's what I came up with:

I started pricing out the materials I would need, and figured it would come to between $100 and $125 for the boards, mirror and hardware. But since I was still lacking the time to actually build it, I held off buying the components.

Fast forward to yesterday. My daughter is home from college, and we decided to go to Tyson's Corner Mall for a few hours. On the way home, we took a detour to Great Falls Park, where the rain-swollen Potomac River was running so high the Park Service closed the Olmstead Island Walk. Still, the sight of the roaring river was quite impressive. This detour meant we would be taking the back roads home. As we were enjoying the drive, Diana spotted a sign: "Estate Sale, Friday, 10-3". It was just after 2:30 when we saw the sign, so we figured we'd see what they had. Following the signs (which, luckily, led us in the direction of home anyway), we pulled up at the sale location at about 2:50pm. I headed into the basement and spotted this:

Okay, so it's missing the cork board and the pegboard, but I don't think I could have found anything that was closer to my sketch than this!! And it was just $40! I think it is from IKEA, but I'm not sure because they didn't have anything like it the last time I checked.

So, I will be spending some time figuring out what goes on the shelves, and appreciating that I finally have a full-length mirror in my workroom!

And a Lovely Time was Had By All!

2011-04-09T11:46:00.000-04:00

Last night's Smithson Gala was a fabulous affair; so much so that we didn't take nearly as many pictures as in previous years! We were just having too much fun talking with people. The food was amazing (as always), but we forgot to take pictures of it, or of the tables. Ah well!

The outfit turned out beautifully, and was incredibly comfortable.

(These pictures were taken when we got back home at about 11pm, so I'm looking a little bleary!)

Back view:

I really love this collar, and plan to use it again in the future!

The jacket lining matched the shell:

This was my first time attempting a lined jacket, and while I'm not afraid of them anymore, I still have a LOT to learn about constructing them -- most specifically, dealing with the hem and cuffs. But for a first try, it came out pretty well.

Now, on to the ball!

Overall observations:

Colors were muted. I didn't see any bright red; there was a fair amount of orange and salmon and a few greens. Many women wore black or black/white.
Almost all dresses were long and slim; no poufy gowns this year.
Out of all the men in attendance, I spotted only one deviation from the black tux/black tie format: one gentleman wore a white tux jacket over a black shirt and trousers.
There was only one real "why?" outfit: black sparkle skinny leggings under a short tunic top. I wish I'd gotten a picture.

I loved this black velvet dress, with its asymmetrical seam detail separating the two elements of the skirt.

Here you see the front of the dress that shows up in the last picture; the jacket over the dress forms a deep scoop in the back, which I thought was a great detail. (And, by the way, this is the only other person who makes her own Gala outfits, so every year we always seek each other out to see what the other has made!)

I loved the ombre in this gown. The only unfortunate part was that she did have to keep hiking the sides of the bodice up. But it looked lovely on her.

One of the staff members who helped run the whole event. I guessed (correctly) that this was an Infinity Dress. She had wrapped it perfectly! Unless you were familiar with the style of dress, you'd never know it wasn't a constructed bodice.

Every table at dinner has a Smithsonian staff member (we call them the "ringers"!); we were seated with Tuck Hines, director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. This is the facility where Diana will be interning this summer!

I loved this scarf!

This was one of the rare bright outfits of the evening, and, on the left, one of the rare pants suit outfits.

More monochromatic dressing. And I was in good company with my jacket-and-skirt combination; I saw quite a few of them.

This was probably the flashiest outfit I saw; it was far more glittery than the photo shows. But it looked gorgeous on her, and the color was great with her red hair.

So, that's it for this year's Smithson Gala! Thanks to everyone who helped with the decisions about the dress!

Tonight's the Night!

2011-04-08T13:28:00.000-04:00

The annual Smithson Gala is this evening, starting at 7:00 p.m., at the National Air & Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This is the tenth year we've been going to these events... How time flies!!

Everything is ready to go: My skirt, shell and jacket; Bob's matching vest and tie; and a clutch purse for me. I won't be posting pictures of the outfits until tomorrow morning, but I did want to share the clutch purse.

I had wanted to make a matching purse for this outfit, but realized that I had made this decision too late in the process or order the necessary parts (and yes, I tried to find them locally -- even G Street Fabrics no longer has its extensive selection). So I took one of my mother's favorite clutch purses and did a little creative tweaking.

It's actually pretty difficult to photograph the fabric; it's quite dark. The monogram is from the Zundt Embroidery Baroque Alphabet and is stitched in a thread color just barely lighter than the background fabric. I then used Sulky's KK2000 temporary adhesive spray to hold the fabric to the clutch, and hand-stitched the edges down.

The original clutch color is slightly more purple than the new fabric cover, but, frankly, no one is going to notice or care.

So, I'm off to do my nails and try not to worry about the fact that it's raining and cold outside. I'm determined to enjoy myself this evening, and will report back tomorrow with pictures!

You Say It's Your Birthday... It's My Birthday Too, Yeah!

2011-04-03T11:04:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's me, about 50 years ago! Nothing special planned for today; I have my monthly PMB meeting, and will be modeling the shell and skirt of the Smithson Gown for them. The jacket shell is constructed and I'm working on the lining; I hope to have it all finished early in the week. Pictures will be posted!

A Tale of Two Sleeves

2011-03-31T20:55:00.000-04:00

Part of this year's Smithson Gown is a lined jacket with two-part sleeves. Now, I've never made a lined jacket (yes, it's true...), so this is all new territory for me. Same thing with two-part sleeves.

After the original critique of the first muslin, I drafted a new pattern and put it together. The collar is better, but those sleeves... Something just wasn't right.

I'm also not sure about the length... This is 24". I might add an inch or two. It just looks too short. The collar was shortened by an inch and on this muslin I did the whole facing thing as well. I like it enough that I'm not going to mess with it any more. The muslin is also taped shut here; I'm going to put a zipper in the final version, positioned so that the folds of the fabric conceal it (rather than fussing with a separating invisible zipper). But anyway, about those sleeves...

The sleeves just looked puffy and ill-fitting. I think that most of this was because the upper seams on both pieces were convex. Not only that, but the stitching line on one piece was nearly an inch longer than the seam line on the matching piece.

After some input from folks on the PMB forum, I re-drafted the sleeve pattern so that the upper seams on both pieces were more concave. The result is a MUCH better looking sleeve. Not perfect, but good enough.

The inner curve of the sleeve looks more natural and feels a lot better, too.

Hmm... Looking at this side view, I do think I will be making the jacket a bit longer. I've got another week to finish the whole thing; the skirt is cut out and ready to assemble, so it's really the jacket that's the issue. But I'm going to spend much of tomorrow and Saturday working on the whole outfit and hope to have it done in time to show at my PMB group meeting on Sunday!

The Show is Over...

2011-03-27T18:37:00.000-04:00

This afternoon was the final performance of "Hairspray" at the local high school. I'm so glad I got to see the show; the kids all looked like they were having a blast!! And I got some pictures, too!

Here's Tracy in the opening number, "Good Morning Baltimore." I made the skirt, and intended to make the blouse, but there simply wasn't enough time to do it all, so I ended up going to Salvation Army and buying up an armful of shirts and blouses and altering them to suit the actor. This shirt, for example, used to have long sleeves, but the director wanted short sleeves.

I was so tickled to see these dresses again!! These were the green dresses I made for the girl group "The Gems" for the same school's production of "Dreamgirls" two years ago.

The costume mistress wanted eight colorful skirts for the Council dancers, to match the shirts of the council boys. These are just gathered elastic-waist skirts, with velcro-fastened belts. The belts were made out of a flannel-backed vinyl tablecloth, cut into strips and sewed together.

I think the hardest assignment I had to do for this show was this dress. The costume mistress specifically asked for an "Ugly Dress" for Edna. So I used this plaid flannel shirting and added ruffles, along with some elastic under the bust to make it truly unflattering.

Matching dresses for Tracy and Edna from Mr. Pinky's Hefty Hideaway. These were fun to make, but I'm still vacuuming maribou feathers from around my sewing machine. That stuff sheds!!

Edna's custom Muumuu. This is a simple raglan-sleeve dress, with knit band collar and cuffs.

Tracy's final outfit was another interesting challenge. The costume mistress gave me a tiered, sleeveless, scoopneck dress, and asked me to add sleeves and raise the neckline (to cover the fat suit the actor wore). I was trying to figure out how to draft sleeves and attach them when my brilliant daughter suggested I make a simple "dickie with sleeves" the actor could wear under the dress. It worked perfectly! I scavenged a tier to make trim bands for the sleeves, just to tie it all together, and also added a band of the sparkle to the neck as binding.

This is Edna's final outfit, and it was a lot of fun to make. The costume mistress wanted it to be flashy, red, and very sexy. I used some silk dupioni left over from some draperies I never got around to making, and added hot-fix crystals to the neck and a band of glitter ribbon at the top of the ruffle. The sash was the finishing touch.
(By the way, the actor playing Edna is not wearing a wig... That's his own hair!)

So, another show has closed, and I've already been warned that I will be called next year. I have no idea what show they're doing, but it's always so much fun to work with the high school kids. At the end of the performance, I was called on stage, along with the other parent volunteers, and presented with a huge poster with a picture of the cast and all their autographs and messages of thanks. I can't wait to hang it up in my office!

30 Days of Me: Day 26

2011-03-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

Day 26: Picture of Your Family

The kids were home from college last week for Spring Break, so we decided to take advantage of all four of us in one place and got some family portraits done. We are fortunate to have an excellent photographer in our neighborhood: Eric Lader. He came over and spent some time on a sunny Saturday afternoon and took some marvelous pictures. We just got the proofs back, and this one is my favorite.

30 Days of Me: Day 25

2011-03-25T20:11:00.000-04:00

Day 25: Put Your iPod on Shuffle; First 10 Songs

You're assuming, of course, that I have an iPod.

Okay, I do. But it's still an assumption.

Quite honestly, I rarely listen to music tracks on my iPod. The vast majority of the time, I'm listening to podcasts. And those don't seem to show up in the shuffle lineup! Anyway, here's what came up when I did the shuffle:

“In the Bleak Midwinter” (The Best Christmas Album in the World)

“The Hounds of Winter” (Sting)

“Piano Sonata No. 11 in A” (Mozart -- played by Alicia de Larrocha)

“French Suite No 6 in E” (J.S. Bach -- played by Alicia de Larrocha)

“Rinzler” (Tron Legacy soundtrack)

“The Fall of the House of Usher” (The Alan Parsons Project – Tales of Mystery & Imagination)

“Dirty Diana” (Michael Jackson)

“Inside Looking Out” (The Alan Parsons Project – Gaudi)

“Breakdown” (The Alan Parsons Project – I, Robot)

“Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road” (Loudon Wainwright)

“Angkor Wat” (Yes – Union)

Not sure what it all says about my tastes in music!

30 Days of Me: Day 24

2011-03-24T20:09:00.000-04:00

Day 24: Something You've Learned

How to choose just one thing?? I've learned so much over the 50 years of my life.

I was discussing this question with my husband this evening over dinner, and he suggested I write about my battle with perfectionism.

I'm a total perfectionist; I'd rather not do something than do it poorly. As a result, I will drag my heels on new projects out of fear they will not turn out the way I see them in my head. I self-criticize a lot, and it takes me quite a while to fall in love with something I've made.

However, I've gotten a LOT better at accepting my own imperfection, and I have Cynthia Guffey to thank for it.

It was probably seven or eight years ago that I went to one of Cynthia's trunk shows at a sewing expo. I was so excited; I even got there early so I could snag a front row seat. I wasn't disappointed; the garments were amazing! Cynthia would hold up a garment and talk about the details; we would ooh and ahh. Then she handed the garment to the audience and it was passed from person to person for closer examination.

And that's where the interesting part came in: once I had the garment in my hand, I could clearly see the imperfections (yes, even Cynthia Guffey has imperfections in her garments!). They weren't huge... a jump stitch not clipped, or a corner that didn't lay perfectly flat. But they were things that would probably drive me nuts in my own sewing.

Then it occurred to me: My first introduction to Cynthia's garments were from about 15 feet away, seen as whole, complete garments. So my first impression was of the finished dress. Seeing the little imperfections after I had already seen the finished dress somehow made them less... imperfect.

In contrast, we sewers see our garments first as elements, close-up, as we're peering at them from eight inches away on the bed of the sewing machine. Our first impression of our own projects is of components, and that first impression lingers even after the garment is done and part of our wardrobe.

So I learned to be kinder to myself in my sewing. If I'm getting frustrated with a garment, I will put it on a hanger and look at it from across the room. Usually, any perceived flaws disappear when I do that, and I can relax and continue the process.

This attitude has also been invaluable to my costume sewing; I am now able to remind myself that the costumes will only be seen from 20 feet away at the closest; as long as they're pressed nicely, no one in the audience will be able to tell that I top-stitched the hem instead of using a blind him, or that the waist seam is off by 1/4" at the zipper.

I passed this lesson along to each one of my sewing classes when I taught at G Street; I only hope that some of the students were able to take the lesson to heart and be kinder to themselves about their sewing than I was; I wasted far too many years (and yards) beating myself up over invisible gremlins.

30 Days of Me: Day 23

2011-03-23T09:34:00.000-04:00

Day 23 - Favorite vacation

In early 2000, my husband decided to take early retirement from his high-stress IT job. That summer, we embarked on an epic family vacation – the first family vacation we had ever taken.

Diana and Ian at Disney World

We started out with a rough itinerary and a few basic rules:

Anyone could call for a stop at anything that looked interesting.
At least one meal per day had to be a good one (i.e. not fast food).
Separate hotel rooms for us and for the kids.
No more than two long driving days in a row.

Our trip spanned six weeks and over 6,000 miles. Here was the rough itinerary:

Five days at Disney World
Four days in Sarasota, visiting Bob’s parents
Three days in New Orleans
Three days in Houston, staying with Bob’s cousin
Three days in Austin, visiting Bob’s uncle
Three days in Albuquerque
Three days in Colorado, visiting my sister

In between all those stops were driving days. Most of the time we had no idea where we would spend the night, so it was always an adventure. This was in the days before broadband internet! We traveled with a “technology box” containing a laptop with a modem, and every hotel we stopped at we would see if NetZero had a local dial-up connection. We used this to find places of interest in the days to come. Nowadays, of course, we just whip out a smartphone and Google it!

Bob with the souped-up lawnmower used by Tim Allen in a Citgo commercial,
at Don Garlit's Museum of Drag Racing in Florida

One of the things that made this vacation so much fun is we decided in advance not to take anything too seriously, and to just have fun. We also had daily contests of “guess the mileage”, where everyone guessed how many miles we would drive on a given day. We also had an overall mileage guess.

Ian and Diana learn how to make baskets with Bob's Uncle Bobby in Austin, TX.

There were so many fabulous places along the way; the kids still talk about the trip as a highlight (especially regarding the food… they both got quite adventurous, eating snails, ostrich, alligator and frogs’ legs!).

Other trip highlights:


Diana with a model of an atomic bomb (National Atomic Museum, Albuquerque, NM)

Bob and the kids with the unused Saturn V Rocket intended for the Apollo 18 mission
(Johnson Space Center, Houston)

Me on the edge of the Sandia Crest, outside Albuquerque NM.

The family with Paisano Pete, the world's largest roadrunner
(Fort Stockton, TX)

Heading home. This van had the best option a traveling family could want: rear-seat headphone plugs and controls, so the kids could listen to their own music while the adults could enjoy the quiet.

30 Days of Me: Day 22

2011-03-22T10:14:00.002-04:00

Day 22: What's in Your Makeup Bag

Uh... nothing?

Really. I wear makeup maybe twice a year: once for the Smithson gala, and maybe if I'm getting my picture taken. I've never gotten into the habit of "putting my face on."

Last week, I went to Ulta (a cosmetics superstore) with my daughter. As we were wandering through the aisles, all I could think of was that this was an entire store devoted to making women feel ugly. There were potions and lotions and creams and powders that promised to make all the "visible signs of aging disappear from view". Note: Not "disappear," but "disappear from view." There's a big difference.

Anyway, I count myself among the great unwashed -- I do not shower every day. So far no one has run screaming from my presence due to a cloud of B.O. My skin isn't as supple and smooth as it was when I was twenty, but then again, I'm not twenty anymore, so it makes sense. I've earned my wrinkles.

30 Days of Me: Day 21

2011-03-21T18:14:00.000-04:00

Day 21: Picture of Yourself

(Hey, no one said it had to be a current picture!)

This was taken in 1966; I was six years old. It was my first airplane flight on Loftleidir (Icelandic Airlines). I have no idea why we flew to Europe via Luxembourg, other than it was the cheapest way to travel with two adults and three children.

I came across this picture during the last week, when the kids were home for Spring Break. We spent part of the time going through all the boxes of old pictures, sorting and telling stories. It was wonderful.

30 Days of Me: Day 20

2011-03-20T11:51:00.002-04:00

Day 20: Nicknames

When I was a baby, my parents called me "Wammes" (pronounced "VOM-mus"). This was the name of a cartoon character popular at that time, Wammes Waggel, who was a ditzy goose in the "Tom Poes" comic strip.

How flattering, hmm?

When I was around nine, my parents bought a vacation house in central Connecticut, on Amston Lake. My brother and I would sit on the rocks at the lake shore in front of the house late at night and do wolf-call imitations; we were pretty good at them, too, because we loved to watch the lights snap on in the houses across the lake. My brother started calling me Wolfie, and that nickname stuck for YEARS... all through high school, in fact.

But when I got to my 20s, I started becoming irritated that people didn't seem to want to learn how to pronounce my name. I'd tell them my name is Welmoed, and they'd ask, "What do people call you for short?" and I'd reply, "Welmoed." Come on, people; it's two syllables! Some people tried to stick me with the nickname "Vel", but I stomped on that pretty hard.

30 Days of Me: Day 18 & 19

2011-03-19T13:51:00.000-04:00

Day 18 - Something you regret
I lived in Holland for a year after graduating from high school. During that year, I didn’t visit any museums, historical sights, or anything. I kept to a very narrow “comfort zone”, consisting of my apartment, the local library, and the main shopping street in Utrecht. Looking back, I could have done SO much more… even just taking the train to Amsterdam or something, and wandering around. But it simply didn’t occur to me. I missed out on so much!

Day 19 - Something you miss
Living in the middle of a city. Yesterday we had a “family day”, and spent part of the day wandering around Dupont Circle in DC. Seeing all the little shops, boutiques and restaurants really made me miss the years I spent living downtown, where everything was just a short walk away and getting places didn’t mean spending an hour on the road fighting traffic to get into and out of town, or sitting in a Metro train for an hour. Maybe someday I’ll live in town again, but that’s not gonna happen anytime soon.

I'm Tired!!

2011-03-17T17:53:00.000-04:00

This afternoon I delivered the last of the costume work for "Hairspray." Here's the rundown:

From Scratch:

Two fat suits
Eight satin skirts for the Council girls
Eight white vinyl belts for the Council girls
One pleated plaid skirt for Tracy
One gaudy dress with maribou trim for Tracy
One gaudy dress with maribou trim for Edna
One muumuu for Edna
One ugly plaid dress for Edna
One glamorous red silk gown for Edna

Alterations:
Honestly, I lost count. I replaced about five zippers, shortened about six dresses, added sleeves to a dress for Tracy, turned a wrap skirt into a zippered skirt, and replaced several sets of hooks and eyes.

Sorry, no pictures yet... That will have to wait until the show pictures are posted. I didn't get any decent pictures of my own. Opening night is Friday, but I won't get to see the show until Saturday.

30 Days of Me: Catching Up

2011-03-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

I've fallen behind on my posts... Oops! Life got in the way for a few days. So forgive me if I lump a few into a single post.

Day 15: Bible Verse
I probably do own a bible, since I was given one by a friend in High School. But I'm not Christian, so it's never been a part of my life. I'm somewhere between Agnostic and Atheist, with a bit of Pagan thrown in, but mostly believe in the awesomeness of nature itself. People created religion in order to feel important in a world largely beyond their control.

But anyway, my favorite religious quote is from the Jewish teacher Hillel, who lived in the first century CE. When asked to relate everything the Torah had to say while standing on one foot, he replied:

"Do not unto your neighbor what you would not have him do until you; this is the whole Law; the rest is commentary."

The world would be a much better place if more people followed this with more than lip service.

Day 16: Dream House
I'm actually living in my dream house. The only things that would make it absolutely perfect would be a full staff, a bigger kitchen, and the money to pay for it all.

But seriously. I love our house. And we're working on enlarging the kitchen; since we're doing all the work ourselves, it's going to be several years before we see any real progress. And this post reminds me that our home website is sorely in need of an update. But before I update it, I need to declutter and make the new window treatments. There's always something to do!!

However, I will add that my personal pipe-dream is to own a small apartment on the west side of Manhattan, facing Central Park.

Day 17: Something You're Looking Forward To
Once the kids are out of college and on their own, I want to take a long, rambling, no-fixed-agenda trip around the US with Bob. We'll put a mattress in the back of the van so we can camp if we choose, but will probably stay in hotels most of the time. We'll stop whenever and wherever we like, seeing interesting museums and visiting friends.

30 Days of Me: Day 14

2011-03-14T22:18:00.001-04:00

Today was so busy, I almost forgot to post for today.

Day 14: A Picture You Love

I'm going to interpret "picture" rather loosely. Here's one of my all-time favorite illustrations: a cover of the New Yorker magazine.

But really, I could have chosen any one of hundreds of pictures on my hard drive. It was very hard to pick just one!!

30 Days of Me: Day 13

2011-03-13T20:31:00.000-04:00

Day 13: Goals

Are these supposed to be realistic goals, or pie-in-the-sky goals?

A really unlikely goal is to be a "Not My Job" guest on the NPR show "Wait... Wait, Don't Tell Me." The likelihood of that happening is just about nil. But a gal can dream!

Other goals:
Get all the family photographs into albums (which should take about ten years or so).
Go on an extended cross-country road trip with my husband, not following any set itinerary, going anywhere that interests us or catches our fancy.
Turn Redwall into a non-profit arts colony, with Artists in Residence and outdoor performance space.
Build a new kitchen for Redwall, doing most if not all of the work ourselves.

As for short-term goals, I'll settle for just getting the clutter cleared out, the pictures hung on the walls, and new draperies finished.

30 Days of Me: Day 12

2011-03-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Day 12: What You Believe

I believe in science and discovery.

I believe that the plural of "Anecdote" is "Anecdotes" and not "Data".

I believe that everyone is capable of good; some simply choose not to rise to the challenge.

I believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs, but not the right to impose their beliefs on anyone else.

I believe in being honest, kind, patient and generous.

I believe that my life will have had meaning if I have helped just one other person achieve a dream.

30 Days of Me: Day 11

2011-03-11T19:34:00.000-05:00

Day 11: Favorite TV Shows

I grew up watching TV (what baby boomer didn't?). But I've found that, as I get older, I spend less and less time simply watching a TV show. I don't have the patience to get into a series like "Lost", which requires much thought and speculation and thrives on plot twists, and unless you watch it from the first episode you have no hope of figuring out what is going on.

When we moved back to Redwall in December, my husband was researching what kind of TV service we should get. When we lived here previously, we had Dish Network. It was nice, but expensive. For the last four years we had Cable TV (Comcast). Again, great selection of channels, but after the introductory period the bill was topping $300 per month!!

So, I made a radical suggestion: Let's not have any subscription TV. We have an antenna; let's just see what we pull in over the air for free, and supplement it with our Roku box. And you know what? We haven't missed a thing. Of course, one thing that contributes to that is the fact that our TV is not in the living room; it's upstairs in what used to be our daughter's bedroom. So watching TV becomes a conscious decision, rather than a default activity. I also chose not to reconnect the TV in my sewing room, and instead I listen to podcasts on my iPod.

That said, there are a few shows I like to watch, and I will sometimes purchase episodes from iTunes. My favorites are:

Mythbusters
Hoarders

And, that's it. I've never gotten into shows like "Project Runway" or "American Idol"; ever since I worked on an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" I just cannot stomach so-called "reality TV." We were fed lines; scenes were re-shot multiple times; everything was carefully staged.

Give me a decent book any time. My list of favorite books would be a mile long (And I do find it interesting that this "30 Days of Me" question list does not include anything about favorite books).

30 Days of Me: Day 10

2011-03-10T19:41:00.000-05:00

Day 10: Something You're Afraid Of

Wow; these questions certainly aren't just about silly things, like what's your favorite color?

For a long time, I had a fear of flying. I was a total white-knuckle passenger. Then, about three years ago, that fear went away. I have no idea why or how, but it just disappeared. Now I'm fine with getting on an airplane; I just don't have many reasons to anymore.

I was also afraid of heights for a long time. Couldn't climb a ladder without feeling nervous. Again, this fear went away quite suddenly last year, when I found myself climbing a 20-foot ladder to remove some awnings at our house. Even though the ladder wobbled and swayed, I was fine with it and felt no fear at all.

Being a perfectionist, I have a fear of making mistakes. I worry about giving people the wrong information. I second-guess myself all the time. I've got what our family calls the "Curse of the Competent" -- that is, people have much more confidence in my abilities than I do, and even though I can usually do whatever the task may be, I worry about whether I've really done it well, or other people are just being polite.

So if I have to boil it down, I'd say that I'm afraid of letting other people down.

30 Days of Me: Day 9

2011-03-09T13:16:00.000-05:00

Day 9: A Picture of your Friends

I don't have any kind of "group picture" of all my friends, but here's one that holds a special place in my heart:

On the left is my dear friend Jane. She and I met each other when we were very small; our fathers were colleagues at Yale. In this picture she's sitting with me at the luncheon following my graduation from high school. We also share a birthday, although hers is two years behind mine.

Jane and I have managed to keep in touch through the years, and I'm very grateful for that.

30 Days of Me: Day 8

2011-03-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

Day 8 - A place you've traveled to

I’ve been extremely fortunate to have traveled extensively in my formative years. When we emigrated to the United States from Holland in 1962, we came via ship, on the Rotterdam. I have no memories of this voyage at all; I was a little over 2-1/2 years old. My first airplane trip was in 1966, when we went back to Holland. The only thing I remember is that it took forever: it was via Icelandic Air, which meant a 6-hour trip in a propjet from New York to Iceland, a two-hour layover, and another 6-hour flight from Iceland to Luxembourg. Twelve hours in the air!

In 1967 we spend the summer in the south of Spain, in a tiny seaside village called Torrevieja, on the Costa del Sol, just south of Alicante. I spent the first week of that vacation in bed with the mumps; I had developed symptoms the day before our departure, and my father made me wear a headscarf and keep my mouth shut. I’ve often wondered how many people I infected on that flight.

That trip was memorable to me mostly because my parents were largely absent; my father was starting a years-long study of hemp and flax workers in the rural textile factories, and he and my mother spent most of every day working in a lab. I was just seven years old; my sister was nine and my brother was ten. We were pretty much left to our own devices during the day; the wife of one my father’s colleagues was sort of expected to keep track of us. I ended up being “adopted” as a little sister by a group of Spanish college students – all male. They took me everywhere with them, even octopus fishing. I loved the attention! They even serenaded me one evening.

When I was nine, I spent a summer in a camp in the Netherlands, where I was totally miserable. I was so angry that I wasn't allowed to watch the coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing; the other kids were totally oblivious. I was crying in my bunk, worried about the astronauts, when a counselor came and whispered to me that they had landed safely on the moon.

I’ve taken a train trip along the Rhine river, where dinner was served by waiters in crisp white linen jackets, serving boiled new potatoes from silver platters.

Some other travel experiences:

Climbing partway up the Matterhorn (not very far, I’ll admit).
Visiting Monte Carlo (but was too young to go into the casinos, darn it).
Touring the Alhambra, overlooking the city of Granada, and seen a bullfight in Madrid.
Spending Christmas in Paris, where I was blessed by the Bishop of Paris.
Strolling the beaches of Nice, along the Mediterranean Sea, with its smooth rocks instead of sand.
Visiting England, where I stayed with my aunt in her flat in Hackney for two weeks, along with my 4- and 6-year-old.
Participating in the Big Ride Across America in 1998, during which I bicycled across the United States from Seattle to Washington, DC, and learned that Montana is ENORMOUS.
In 2000, taking an epic 6-week family journey around the country, without any real itinerary, going through 16 states. I learned that Texas is even MORE enormous than Montana.

Now, I’m pretty content to stay put. In recent years I’ve been to Toronto, Washington State, Oregon, Las Vegas, Atlanta and New York. I finally got to see the Pacific Ocean (thanks, Jim and Janet!). Travel just isn’t any fun for me anymore – too much of a hassle. The only trip I’d like to do someday is getting back to Holland and show Bob where I was born.

30 Days of Me: Day 7

2011-03-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

Day 7: Favorite Movies

I don't watch a lot of television, and rarely go to movies. So there really are no recent films on this list. But these are movies I love to watch over and over; they never get tiresome for me.

This is an obscure one, made by Claymation genius Wil Vinton. I love its quirkiness, and it was the first time I was exposed to Twain's less-well-known stories, such as the Diaries of Adam and Eve. Well worth tracking down.

I first saw this when I was in my teens, and it just captivated me. It's an Italian spoof of "Fantasia" and some of the imagery is just splendid. My favorite part is the evolution of life on earth, set to Ravel's "Bolero".

This one is just so much fun because it's so stupid and highly improbable.

A three-hankie movie. One of Depp's best.

Whenever this movie came on TV, I would watch it. Don Knotts puts in a surprisingly good performance as a fish.

What can I say? It's so sappy, but I love it. Even if it's historically inaccurate. Don't care.

Actually, any of the Miyazaki movies are worth watching, but this was the first one I saw. It's so visually striking, and the little soot balls are so cute.

Lordy, Christopher Reeve was gorgeous. The first movie was so campy, it's tremendously fun to watch. The second was more fun, but it went downhill with Richard Pryor in the third.

Again, a movie I loved to watch whenever it came on TV. I loved the line Henry Fonda gives near the end of the movie: "It's not going to bed with a guy that proves you love him; it's getting up with him every morning and dealing with the kids, the house, the mortgage..." Truer words were never spoken.

I'm sure I'm leaving out a great many movies (the original TRON; Monty Python and the Holy Grail...). I love the older movies, and lean heavily towards comedy and light-hearted escapism. So sue me.

Smithson Gown 2011: The First Muslin

2011-03-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

I am so fortunate to have a group of very creative sewing friends who have no problem being honest about what looks good on me and what doesn't!
I finished the muslin in time for today's PatternMaster Users Group meeting, and got a LOT of very good feedback. But before we get to that, here is what the muslin looked like before they made their comments:

Remember, my inspiration is drawn from Vogue 2607. I drafted it with PatternMaster, of course, with a little tweaking of the collar pattern piece after I printed it out. Although my original intent was to have a single-breasted front, I opted for the zipper after all.
Overall, I am very happy with the fit and the style. The PMB group did make some suggestions, starting with the jacket hem. They all thought it was too long and had too much flare. So it was pinned up to see if it made a difference.

Well, yes. So I'll be shortening the jacket and reducing the flare.

The next suggestion was to raise the flare point of the skirt -- that is, the point at which the skirt starts flaring outward. Right now it starts just above the knee; the suggestion was to raise it about two inches. Not a huge change, but enough to subtly alter the line.

The two-part sleeves are also too baggy. It doesn't help that I'm pretty sure I sewed them inside-out and backwards. But I will be reducing them a little bit. Again, not a lot, but enough to make them more tailored.

This collar is just about right; the suggestion was to make it about half an inch shorter, so it stops just below my earlobes. But the ladies all liked the dramatic look, which is what I was aiming for!

I'll be making a second muslin in the next week or so; the fabric I ordered should arrive by mid-week, and I will then look for fabric for the lining and the shell. I'm also going to add welt pockets to the jacket, although I'll try them first on the muslin to make sure they don't create an unwanted detail so close to my hips.

We also had a discussion about the zipper: I'm going to look for an invisible separating zipper (I had no idea they existed!), but it was also suggested that one of the sparkly rhinestone zippers might look good too. But the more I think about that option, the less I like it.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the way this outfit is shaping up. One of the ladies also suggested I make a shorter skirt if I have fabric left over (which I think I will), so I can pair it with the jacket for a less formal occasion.

So, stay tuned for the next muslin round!

30 Days of Me: Day 6

2011-03-06T10:35:00.000-05:00

Day 6: A Picture of Something that Makes You Happy

This picture encompasses so many things that make me happy. First, it features my best friend and husband Bob. It was a gorgeous early summer day, my favorite time of year. The Praying Mantis landed on Bob's face totally unexpectedly, and the photographer captured the moment beautifully.

It just captures so much of what I love about my life. I smile every time I look at it.

30 Days of Me: Day 5

2011-03-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

Day 5 - Your favorite recipes

I’m so spoiled; my husband is the main cook in the family. This started back in 2000, when he took early retirement from his very high stress job. I told him that, while he had the option to retire, that wasn’t an option for me, so we were going to have to renegotiate household chores. I suggested he take over either kitchen or laundry duty, and he chose kitchen. I’m so glad he did; he’s a much better cook than I ever was. Which is why I have such a hard time losing weight.

But I do have a dish that the kids always ask for when they’re home from college. So I will share it with you.

Crunchy Macaroni Casserole

This was my mother’s standby dish, for whenever she really didn’t want to cook anything elaborate for us ungrateful kids. We ate this a lot when I was growing up. It also became my own easy-to-fix meal choice when my own kids were growing up. Now it's a "must make" when they visit.

Ingredients:

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 can SPAM

1 cup (more or less) grated Parmesan cheese

MAGGI liquid seasoning (usually available in the imported food section)

Dried bread crumbs (either plain or Italian), about half a cup or so

About a stick of butter

Preparation:

Cook the macaroni until just barely al dente; you don’t want it mushy. While it’s cooking, cut the Spam into small cubes and toss it in with the cooking macaroni.

Grease a casserole pan with the butter and shake some breadcrumbs into it to coat the pan.

Drain the macaroni and return it to the pan. Add the Parmesan cheese and a few shakes of the Maggi. Mix well and pour into the prepared casserole pan.

Sprinkle the surface with bread crumbs, then some more Parmesan, then a last layer of bread crumbs. Dot the top liberally with pats of butter (be generous).

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the top is crusty and golden. My kids like to sprinkle additional Maggi on top but be careful; the stuff is very salty.

Leftovers reheat very well in the microwave.

30 Days of Me: Day 4

2011-03-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Day 4 - Your Parents


Fenna van Gulik and Arend Bouhuys, married March 23, 1956

Fenna Geertruida van Gulik (1934-1996)

Mom was born the youngest of four children on the island of Sumatra, in a village called Lebong Donok (which is now, supposedly, a resort town). Her father was a physician and worked at the hospital of a silver mine. They moved to the Netherlands in 1938, just in time to avoid the Japanese invasion of Indonesia, but also just in time to get caught up in the German invasion of the Netherlands. They lived in the middle of Amsterdam throughout the war, and Mom always shared stories of playing in the rubble of bombed-out buildings, and of how her father had to go into hiding because of aiding the Dutch Resistance.

Mom never really had a high opinion of herself, which was a shame, because she really was a remarkable woman. She had a wonderful artistic talent and did the illustrations for several of my father’s medical textbooks.

She was also, evidently, a deeply unhappy woman, something I really only figured out when I grew up. She suffered from depression and alcoholism, and struggled to maintain the illusion of a happy family life. My father’s position at Yale University meant she was always being surrounded by people she felt were her intellectual superiors, and it was difficult for her to feel comfortable. She was hospitalized once for depression, and we children were sternly told that we were not to breathe a word of this to anyone, lest the family image be tarnished. I honestly don’t know if she ever had any real “girlfriends” – mostly she socialized with the wives of my father’s colleagues. Looking back, I see that she was incredibly lonely, and covered it up by focusing on painting and decorating the houses we lived in.

Mom in 1980, visiting me in Washington DC (45 years old)

When my father died, she was only 44 years old. She had never lived on her own; this was an entirely new experience for her. But she eventually found her way, and slowly her life started to take on some new direction. She quit drinking, found employment, and started coming out of her shell. But she was still lonely. She eventually started dating again, and was wooed by a man who married her and then proceeded to get her drinking again, cut her off from her children and sold off just about everything she owned. He moved her back to Holland and blew through her savings; by the time she finally caught onto the fact that he was a slimebucket, she was pretty much wiped out. She divorced him, and set about picking her life up again.

The next few years were probably some of the happiest for her. She developed a wide circle of friends; she mended her relationship with her sister; she quit smoking and drinking. I visited her with my kids in 1995 and had a great time. But right after I got back from my visit, she revealed to us that she had an esophageal tumor and it was inoperable. By March of 1996 she was terminal, and a few weeks later opted for euthanasia, which was quasi-legal in the Netherlands at the time (it’s fully legal now). She was just 61 years old.

Arend Bouhuys (1925-1979)

My father was born in Deventer, the Netherlands. He was a sickly, asthmatic child, not athletic at all but very intelligent. His memories of the war years are very different from my mother’s; being in the eastern part of the country and somewhat more rural, they didn’t have as many shortages and hardships as urban dwellers. He did tell us a story about his mother phoning her regular black-market meat supplier and slamming down the phone in a panic when a German voice answered. Also, one of the family heirlooms was a brass shell casing he found near the house, about a foot long and four inches in diameter.

Dad attended the University of Utrecht, where he became a doctor. He married young to an unstable young woman with whom he had two daughters. They divorced when the girls were very small, and he married my mother not long after (and they never really talked about the details of the sequence of events; my mother was always adamant that she met Dad after he was divorced). His first wife committed suicide about a decade later, and he was crushed when his two daughters elected to live with their maternal grandmother rather than with him. I don’t think he ever really got over that.

My parents moved a lot in the early years; each of their three children was born in a different house (my brother in Appelscha, my sister in Amsterdam, and I in Leiden) as my father moved to different medical jobs. In 1963 we emigrated to the United States when Dad took a position at Emory University. We lived in Decatur for two years before he accepted a position at Yale and we moved to New Haven, Connecticut.

Dad was, quite honestly, a control freak. He was acutely aware of image, and wanted the whole family to present a unified and happy front to the world. I don’t know where this came from; it would have been nice to have some kind of idea why it was so important to him. There was so much about his life I never knew. But one thing is certain: he was a hyper-type-A person, involved in so many different projects. He edited a magazine (“Lung”), he appeared on “Sixty Minutes” as an expert on byssinosis (brown lung) in textile workers. He was the director of the Pulmonary Center at Yale. He spoke five languages fluently.

We traveled with him to Europe and even helped him with research on hemp and flax workers in Spain for a summer. He was an expert in history and had a passion for visiting cathedrals. He was an excellent pianist and could sight-read music flawlessly. Some of my happiest memories with him are with us three kids around the piano, Dad playing a tune from a musical (like “Guys and Dolls”), and us kids doing three-part harmony.

His marriage with Mom was not smooth; they came close to divorce several times. But when they finally had the house to themselves, things got better and, as Mom told me later, they decided to recommit to their relationship, and it was one of the very best times of their marriage.

In 1979 Dad was appointed to head the Physiology Department at the University of Utrecht, which meant moving back to Holland (something my mom had wanted to do for years). They packed up the household and sailed aboard the QE2. The last night on board, he suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly. He was just 53 years old.

Dad only saw one of his children graduate from college, just a few months before he died. He never met any of his kids' spouses or grandchildren.

30 Days of Me: Day 3

2011-03-03T09:17:00.002-05:00

Day 3 - Your First Love

Boy, this one’s a toughie. The answer would change depending upon when in my life you asked me. Of course, every boyfriend was “true love”; that’s the wistful romantic that exists in just about any young woman. But thinking back, I really don’t know if I could have actually made a working partnership with any of them. Sure, they were fun to be with, but in the long term the relationship would not be sustainable (Sorry, guys, but I’m just being honest! Not that any of them read my blog, of course).

Bob in 1981, age 23. This was about a month after we met.

Then I met Bob, and discovered that there’s a whole lot more to love than heart-flutters. It was great not to feel like I had to prove myself to him, or be anyone other than who I was. Sometimes it was a little unnerving: Am I supposed to feel this relaxed in a relationship? I wasn’t torturing myself with the “oh-my-gosh-he-didn’t-call-today-what’s-wrong-is-he-getting-tired-of-me?” drama that some of my girlfriends were going through with their boyfriends.

Not that everything was bliss and roses, of course. We had our moments, like everyone else who is doing the relationship dance. But we have been together nearly 30 years now, married for 25, and yes, it just keeps getting better.

That said, I’ll participate in the spirit of the question of the day and say that the first guy to really set my heart aflutter at age 15 was Dave G. His father worked for Saab and he always picked me up in prototype cars (so in 1975 he was driving a 1978 model), which was good for major status points at my prep school.

Fat Suit Remake

2011-03-02T16:41:00.000-05:00

After making the second fat suit, I realized that the method I used to make the first fat suit really wasn't going to work. So I ended up taking the Edna suit completely apart, drafted and attached new sleeves (the director wanted them a bit longer), and put it back together again. But this time, rather than just stuffing the cavity with loose fill, I constructed pads out of batting stuffed with polyfill to make the bust, belly and butt shapes. This worked out so much better!

I brought the suits to rehearsal yesterday for a second fitting and the director was quite pleased; she had the actor try on a nightgown over the fat suit and it fit (size 3X)!

I still need to tack the shaping pads into place and take just a smidge out of the belly pad, but overall I'm happy with how it looks and the actor is quite comfortable in it. I also took measurements with both actors in their suits so I can start making the actual costumes (Five for Tracy, three or four for Edna).

Some of Tracy's costumes are blouse and skirt combos, but rather than making them as separates, I'm going to make them as dresses, with invisible zippers up the center back seam to make quick changes a lot easier. It will also insure that the skirt stays put; the waist of the fat suit is squishier than an actual body and I'd be afraid of the skirt falling down.

30 Days of Me: Day 2

2011-03-02T10:30:00.002-05:00

So now you know something more about me. Now that we've broken the ice, it's time for the next post.

Day 2: The Meaning Behind Your Blog Name

Well, this will be a short post as there really isn't any special significance to it, other than I liked the sound of it and it seemed to be a fun play on the old whaling call. Or maybe it sounds more like "There She Goes!" Either way, I wanted a short, roll-off-the-tongue title that made it pretty clear that (a) I was female, and (b) the blog was probably about sewing.

I guess not everything is meant to have a deep meaning, huh?

30 Days of Me

2011-03-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

I've never participated in one of these types of posting things, but this one intrigued me, so I'm going to give it a try. This particular list has been making the rounds since last year.

Supposedly, I'm going to be posting every day on a specific topic. Don't worry; this isn't the only thing I'll write about! I'm still sewing (and trying to organize the sewing room as I go) and will post about those projects too.

Day 1: Introduction, recent picture, and 15 interesting facts

Well hello there! I'm Welmoed. And for those of you who have always wondered, it is pronounced "VEL-moot". It's an old Dutch name that means "full of good cheer".

Here's a picture of me and my husband of 25 years, Bob. We were at a black-tie dinner in Atlanta, Georgia. This picture was taken late January 2011. I really don't like having my picture taken. (oops... Did I sneak in an interesting fact prematurely?)

(Yes, that's a Smithson Gown... It was so nice to be able to wear it again!)

Now for those facts. Whether they're interesting or not...

I was born in the Netherlands and moved to the US when I was 3 years old. I still speak Dutch.
I made an appearance on CNN’s “Sonya Live”.
I used to be a two-pack-a-day smoker but quit in 1985.
My mother taught me to sew when I was 8 years old.
I live in a castle with a fire-breathing dragon.
I love to visit New York City, especially with my daughter.
I collect “blind boxes” – little plastic toys from Japan.
I adore estate sales.
I’m great with ideas but lousy about executing them.
I read to my kids every night, from the time the oldest was 6 months old until the youngest was in high school.
We don’t have cable or satellite TV and I don’t miss it a bit.
I’ve been on the internet since 1981 (CompuServe).
I have a degree in Journalism with a minor in Psychology.
When I was 18 I moved to Holland for a year and lived on my own.
I used to sell digitized embroidery designs on the web.

So that's it for the first day (which I got in just under the wire). I'll be taking bets as to how long I keep up with the posting challenge.

Second Fat Suit: A Learning Process

2011-02-24T17:18:00.000-05:00

This afternoon I returned to the high school auditorium to fit the second fat suit, this time for the (skinny) young lady playing Tracy. I learned a lot in the process of making the first suit, and applied it to this one with such good results that I know I'm going to have to take the first one apart and redo it. But I'm not upset; the end result is what matters.

The differences is that I added bust and butt pads, made of poly quilt batting stuffed with more poly batting. I will use a tag gun to fix them in place during the next fitting, and will then secure them with hand stitches.

The only alteration the director asked for is to take a bit off the hips (you can't see from this angle, but she's got quite the jodhpurs look going on). I just wish the suit fabric matched her skin tone better so she could wear a sleeveless dress in the final scene. But alas.

The next fitting session is on Monday, and at that time I need to have both fat suits pretty much complete, plus one outfit for each of them (a muumuu for Edna and a blouse and skirt for Tracy). I also need to pin-fit some existing dresses for some of the other cast members so they can be altered. The good news about these alterations is that they are to dresses I made two years ago for the production of "Dreamgirls!" at the same school, and when I made them I designed them for easy alterations.

How to Gain 200 Pounds... Instantly!

2011-02-22T16:54:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers used to have the tagline, "When was the last time you tried something for the first time?"

A few weeks ago I agreed to help with costumes for my daughter's former high school production of "Hairspray." Their first question: "Can you make a Fat Suit?" Umm... Yes?

Three weeks, a bunch of sketches and some seat-of-the-pants drafting with PatternMaster Curves later, I brought the "Edna" suit to this afternoon's rehearsal for the actor to try on.

For those of you unfamiliar with the staging of "Hairspray," the lead role of Edna is customarily played by a guy. For this particular show, the actor is about 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 135 pounds and has a 29-inch waist. And I'm supposed to make him look like he weighs at least 300 pounds.

I was quite nervous as he got changed (with the help of a male cast member -- he can't wear anything under the suit but his skivvies), but the hoots and laughter when he came out to model the suit came as a tremendous relief.

Here he is, in all his glory:

The director's only comment was, "He needs some boobs." So I'll be adding some more padding in the next day or so, and will then make the first of her costumes: the muumuu for the opening scenes.

I still have to make the fat suit for the (very slender) girl playing Tracy, but this "small" success has given me some much-needed confidence that, perhaps, these costumes will work just fine.

Auditioning Fabric: Too Much Scarlett?

2011-02-21T19:39:00.000-05:00

Thanks, everyone, for the votes of confidence in the pattern choice. I drafted my first muslin yesterday and hope to print it out and test it tomorrow, since it looks like we'll be "enjoying" a snow day.

I went to JoAnns today to take advantage of their sales and buy fabric for the "Hairspray" costumes I'm doing for the local high school. While I was there I came across this tone-on-tone blue jacquard in the drapery section, and picked up two yards to audition for the Smithson gown.

It is not as subtle a tone-on-tone as I would have liked, but it's very close. Here it is held up against me:

Looking for honest opinions here: Done up in the pattern mentioned in my last post, would this fabric just scream "DRAPERIES!!"?
One thing this fabric has going for it is the price: I can get it on sale for about $8/yard. Considering I'll be needing 10 yards or so for the jacket and skirt, that makes it mighty tempting.
Share your thoughts!!