The County Fair Chocolate-Covered Bacon

Louie and I went to the Erie County Fair yesterday, something we do every year. It's always fun; there's so much to see and learn and do. And eat.

Oh dear. Let's take a closer look...

Louie and I didn't treat ourselves with any of these. But we might have shared a "Fried Dough." It is the county fair, after all, and it's only once a year. ;) 

I've been sewing but not keeping up with photos. I will bring you up to date one of these days. Oh, and I'm planning a road trip to western Massachusetts and southeast Vermont later this week.

Have you been to your local county or state fair yet this year? What did you see, eat, learn, and do?

And I'll leave you with this photo from the fair.

Everybody Loves Louie

Blessings and peace...

Just Had a Little Blogging Moment

When I started my blog last fall, it was to give back a tiny measure of what people all over the world have given to me and to keep a record of my sewing and knitting projects as well as how I have improved my health. Then I started and learned a couple of things:

• It takes a lot of work to create a tutorial.
• I love love love to hear from my readers.
• Comments from spamsters (which seldom appear here) are, for the most part, pretty funny.
• People are so very kind and helpful.

So I was just clicking around, visiting a few blogs, and saw someone's request for guest bloggers who will post a tutorial for the "festive season" (code for Christmas, I think). I read a bit about it and thought, "Oh I have a couple of ideas; I think I could help!" And then I read the requirements, which included:

have a reasonable amount of traffic  - page views of 75,000 per month or more   
Since statistics have never been my thing, I have seldom looked at the stats for my blog. A couple of times I've looked and been so happy to see readers from several countries in addition to the United States. So I just looked, and golly gee, I've had 12,501 page views since I started, and of course, that includes the visits from the spamsters. I believe that this means that my blog has an unreasonable amount of traffic.

So I guess I won't be offering to submit a guest post. (BTW, I don't feel bad in any way. I'm just sharing this emotion-neutral experience.) Interesting, eh? 

If you have a blog, do you care about the numbers? What do they mean to you? (Maybe I should care?)

Blessings and peace...

I Saw the Buttons-Theme Rug and Fabric

When we were in Pittsburgh last week, I saw the buttons-theme rug and fabric at IKEA that Ruthie blogged about here. 

Size: 6' 5" x 4' 4" (195 x 133 cm). From the IKEA website: "The dense, thick pile dampens sound and provides a soft surface to walk on."

I didn't buy it because of the dense, thick pile (and maybe also because of the size). And it's too heavy to hang on the wall. However, if I can figure a way to rearrange my sewing room to place it away from where I scoot around on my chair-on-wheels, I'll go back and get it. Maybe I have a little space for a comfy chair and lamp; I would love that!

I also found the buttons fabric:

It's 59" wide and only $5.99 per yard. The particular bolt of fabric I saw, unfortunately, had smudge marks every 10 to 15 inches, darn it, because it is also so cute.

Between the two, I liked the rug better; it was just somehow more pleasing to the eye. One or both of these may find their way to my house one of these days. It's a week later and I'm still thinking about them!  

If you are near an IKEA store, take a look and let me know what you think. I don't think they are available to purchase from the website. Oh, and thanks, Ruthie!

Blessings and peace..

Decluttering Skills Fail - Added an Embroidery Machine

Before dearly treasured family members came for a visit this weekend, which was followed by an overnight trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to see a Pirates (baseball) game, ... I bought an embroidery machine! It's a Brother PE770 embroidery-only machine. I'm really excited about this new addition to my sewing room, although I have to create some space so that I can get it set up.

Evidently I am going to have to un-retire to pay for all the embroidery thread I will need. And software. And stabilizers. And spray adhesive. And designs.

Maybe I can make this pay for itself. Hahahahahahaha!

I welcome any and all tips, hints, suggestions, resources, and ideas of how to learn to use my new toy. Thanks!

{{Sorry, no photos; I'm on my iPad.}}

Blessings and peace...

Cracking the Code of Joann's Pattern Sales

Hi friends,
This is just a quick note to make a statement:
I am never again going to miss the Vogue pattern sales at Joann's; I have done it for the last time. Once again, I missed the sale by just a couple of days (last week). And me with my list of the few Vogue patterns I wanted to—at the very least—take a closer look at.

I don't know how I'm going to do it, I just know that I am going to do it.

Just because I have now made a second pair of pants with my Sure-Fit Designs pants blueprint (happy, happy me) and I am in the process of making a woven, short-sleeve top with my Sure-Fit Designs bodice blueprint (happy, happy me)—doesn't mean that I don't need want new patterns. They are still of interest for me: for the design details, for inspiration, for techniques.

Now, if you happen to know that someone else already has this figured out, please let me know. Because I don't need the satisfaction of putting this information together myself. I just need it! So if there's a link I could click at any day and time and see when the upcoming pattern sales are, that would most definitely work for me.

I have a feeling that there is a system to their pattern sales madness, and I am going to learn it, one way or another. And, of course, I'm going to share it here.

That is all, for now. 

Update: I went to Joann's for something else and as I passed the pattern cabinet, I saw a sign: Thursday to Saturday, July 25-27 Vogue Patterns $3.99. So now I'm looking at the current ad I received in the mail, and here's what I found:
Thursday to Saturday, July 18-20: Simplicity $1.99
Thursday to Saturday, July 25-27: Burda $2.49
{{nothing about Vogue patterns}}

Blessings and peace...

My Version of a Sundress

Inspired by Rhonda, I purchased this fabric from Joann's. Rhonda shortened hers a bit and used some lovely ribbon for straps. I knew that the maxi-length wouldn't work for me; I know I would trip on a long dress, just going up the stairs. LOL Also, I wanted a little more coverage at the top, so I thought I could use the piece cut off from shortening the dress above the border to make a slightly fluttery almost-cap "sleeve." (What's that called?)

After serging the raw edges and preshrinking the fabric in the washing machine and dryer, I cut off the bottom border about 1 in. above the top of the border and set it aside. I then held the fabric up to myself and looked in the mirror, pinning it up, auditioning different lengths until I got it just about right (remembering that I would be reattaching the border). I cut about 12 or 14 in. from the new bottom.

Next, I trimmed the bottom edge, slightly curving the back up so that the center back would be about 1 in. shorter than the front—to allow for (ahem) front body contours, which take up more fabric than my (lack of) back body contours. Please note the level hemline. Thank you.

I reattached the border, using French seams to encase the raw edges, which also added a bit of desired weight to the dress bottom. I then trimmed the serged edges to straighten what would be the center back seam. I sewed this seam, again, using French seams to encase the raw edges

So then I had this nice piece of fabric to make the fluttery almost-cap sleeves. My first attempt was a failure; I don’t even remember what I was thinking. So, with not too much fabric left, I got out my Sure-Fit Designs bodice front and back blueprints. I aligned the front and back shoulder seams and from that, created a pattern piece as long and wide as I could, flaring it out at the center (the part that would go over my shoulder). I serged the outer and inner curved edges, pressed under and stitched to finish them.

Then I tried on the sundress, and by trial and error, pinned the sleeves to the bottom of the top ruffle in the front and back until I was happy with the angle and fit. It took me about 100 tries, okay maybe 50. At least 25. I then trimmed and serged the edges and stitched them, right side of the sleeve to wrong side of the sundress, stretching the elastic of the sundress at the same time. I then hand-stitched the top of the blue ruffle to the sleeves.

Sure-Fit Designs is as handy as a pocket, even when I’m not making an actual garment from it! Using the shoulder area of the blueprint helped me to see what shape I should cut to get the look I wanted.

I know we (seamstresses ~ sewers ~ sewists ~ stitchers ~ sewing artisans) like to see everything up close and personal, inside and out. Here's a closeup of the outside of the top, where the sleeve is attached to the ruffle.

And here it is from the inside. If you look really closely, you can see the stitched I used to tack the ruffle down (thread color deep blue same as ruffle).

Here's how the reattached bottom border looks. I slipped a piece of yellow paper under the seam.

Here's the center back French seam.

I am delighted with the result; I am especially pleased with the neckline. And that I kept at it, even after my first attempt at fluttery sleeves was a total fail? I attribute that to how much I like finishing projects! I wore this dress to a party and then a baseball game yesterday, and I think I will get a lot of use out of it.

Are you still making summer clothes (for this year)? Or, if you're "down under," for your upcoming summer?

Blessings and peace...

Go Ahead and Revoke My Sewing Privileges

Goodness gracious. Two sewing flops, or more accurately, one flop and one should have been simple but I'm *still* trying to "make it work" (H/T to Tim Gunn). First, altering a skirt. I made several 6- and 7-gore skirts last summer, when I was losing weight. Since I have (happily) kept those pounds off, I thought I'd alter one of the skirts yesterday. Easy-peasy, right? Not here, not now. I tried the skirt on, "pinched" out the right amount of fabric, still leaving wearing and design ease. Turns out the pinched-out amount was 1 gore of a 7-gore skirt. Must be my lucky day. Except that I didn't take into account that what I pinched out was in between the seam allowances, and the first thing I did was to cut off the gore, including cutting off the seam allowances. I took a close look and decided that that was okay; I still had plenty of ease. Onward... Sewed new seams, rehemmed the skirt, and redid the waistband casing and elastic. Well, surprise surprise, when I tried it on, there was not a millimeter of ease. What? {{palm to forehead}} I neglected to take into account the fabric that would be taken up in the 2 new seam allowances. Ugh. So I finished pressing it and hung it in the closet. In case I should somehow lose enough more pounds... Or I might just donate it tomorrow. Second up is that sundress. Yes, it is now *that* sundress. Should have taken me a couple of hours, knowing how slowly I work. Anyone else could have done it in an hour. I have now tried three different ideas for attaching straps that extend past my shoulders. I am now removing three rows of stitching of the second strap, after which I will put it away til another day. No photos, lucky for you. Question: If you ever have this kind of experience, how do you *not* give up? Throw in the towel? Take up a new hobby? I would appreciate any encouragement you might have to offer. Blessings and peace...

Now I'm Part of Bloglovin, I Think

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


Evidently this is what I need to do to be part of bloglovin (?). Blessings and peace...

An Easy Little Sundress But I Need to Cover My Shoulders

Okay, now for something easy-peasy. Inspired by Rhonda's Creative Life, I want to make a sundress. Goodness, the bodice is already shirred. All it needs is a seam down the back... Wait, I need to cover my shoulders. 

I'll do what Rhonda did and shorten it in a way that I can retain the bottom border. I'm going to make mine somewhere around knee length, so there will be plenty of fabric to work with. I have something like this in mind. (If you have any Photoshop skills, please don't shoot me; this is just an awful combination of a couple of screen captures, I know.)

The fabric is rayon, machine wash, tumble dry and on sale (as of today) at Joann's. (The link takes to you a different print.) I bought mine at the Joann's near my house. 

So I need to make the shoulder "straps" wide enough so that the fabric falls so gently around my shoulders. Rhonda mentioned stretching the bodice when stitching the shoulder straps to achieve gathers. So far, so good. But her straps, which are perfect for her and really very cute, don't cover enough of me for me.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Is this something you've tried? How did it go? I really want to keep this easy. You know how slowly I sew, and I'd like to wear it this season. :)

Does blogger or blogpost or whatever this is have any emoticons? Where are they? I need them! And thank you for any/all ideas.    

Blessings and peace...

My Pants Are Finished and Angels Are Singing

Because you might not realize the significance of my having just made a pair of pants that fit, I bring you the before. Well, it's not really a before, actually; it's a pair of pants I purchased and have been wearing. They're black stretch denim Not Your Daughter's Jeans. I did a bit of color enhancing because photographing black fabric and having it show anything is next to impossible, for me anyway. So here we have:

I didn't bother to draw lines to bring your attention to anything in particular. Some of the wrinkles are simply from wearing them. Oh, and here we have the same pants, back view:

I believe we could call this one smiles, frowns, wrinkles, and folds. Sigh. This is why I sew. Or should I say why I have been trying to sew a pair of pants that fit me for oh about 20 years.

And here we have my just completed, made from Sure-Fit Designs, pants (fabric is grey tencel):

And the view from the other side:

I do seem to be standing at a bit of a tilt. ??? Smiles: no. Frowns: nope. Wrinkles: not a one. Folds: nada. I believe this is referred to as the Holy Grail of Garment Sewing. 

Here's a close-up of the pockets (I wrote about this process recently, will add a link when I'm not on my way out the door):

Because the pockets don't show in the previous photos.

And me?

P.S. May I please have extra credit / bonus points for not talking about how my weight has changed over the years and how my body is not exactly the particular shape I'd like it to be and when did I shrink I used to be taller and how some of my "soft tissue" seems to have moved from the back of me to the front of me? And how only the inch of hair closest to my scalp is my natural color and not the orange that is the rest of it and at least it's not pink like it was when I colored it a few months ago before I applied Clairol Oops, yes that's a real product? And how we should sew for the body we have and not wait until we have the body we want? Thank you.

Blessings and peace..

Pondering Pants Pockets

I'm getting ready to make a pair of pants using my Sure-Fit Designs blueprint. I want to add front pockets and have been thinking about the exact angle and curve of the pocket opening I want. So of course I had to read up a bit. Just Pockets: Sewing Techniques and Design Ideas by Patricia Moyes has a lot of information about this, as well as construction information.

I thought I'd take a look at the pockets of my jeans. They're Not Your Daughter's Jeans (NYDJs), and the pocket bag (both layers) goes all the way to the center seam. I'd like to duplicate this and welcome any suggestions and tips, especially if you've made pockets this way.

Here are a couple of photos (please pardon the not-ironed-ness of them):

This photo is of the jeans' pocket area (right side). I'm not going to include the tiny coin pocket. I have drawn in the stitching line of the side front, but you don't see this from the outside of the pants.

The same area but from the inside. I lightened it so you can see the details:

• Both layers of the pocket bag go to the center (zipper), which is at the left of the photo.

• The red-thread X is stitched through only the innermost layer (pocket back). I think that this is part of the "tummy tuck" (ahem) feature of these jeans. The stitch itself seems to be a stretch stitch. However, the fabrics of the jeans AND the pockets are 96% cotton, 4% Spandex. So I'm not sure how much stabilizing that X stitching is. It would, though, stabilize the crosswise fabric of a fabric that has no stretch.

I'll be using a woven fabric with no stretch, so I want to give this a try. However, I don't have this fancy kind of stitch, so I wonder if maybe two rows of straight stitching will work. No, I think that any strain in wearing might pop the stitches. What kind of stitch might work? (My machine is a Bernina 1130, if that helps.)

My next pondering relates to the order of construction. Here's my thinking so far. Please chime in.

1. Cut 2 rectangles of pocket bag fabric the length plus top and bottom seam allowances and width from center to side seams plus seam allowances.
2. Stitch X (with what stitch?) on the pocket back, ending about 1 in. from bottom. This is the innermost piece of the pocket, which can be seen from the inside of the garment.
3. Stitch this pocket back to the side front piece, which is cut from the fashion fabric, along curve.
4. Stitch again, 1/4 in. from first line of curved stitching. Trim away pocket back along curve.
5. Sew second piece of pocket, which I'm calling the pocket bag front, to pants front, along curve, which is about 2 in. smaller than the curve of the pocket back. Press stitching, then press open, then fold pocket bag to wrong side and press along curve. Topstitch curve, close to the folded and pressed edge, then topstitch again 1/4 in. from edge. (In my NYDJs, it looks like there is a piece of bias on the inside of the curve that covers the seam. ???)
6. Stitch bottom of pocket pieces, right sides together. Press, press seam open, turn, and press again. Trim and topstitch close to this bottom seam, then stitch again 1/4 in. from first row of stitching. Or stitch a French seam.
7. Attach at center front and side seams.

If by any chance you have followed my train of thought, do you have any suggestions or warnings? It would be just so loverly to not have to pick out stitches (at best) and/or recut the pants fabric (at second best). 

Or maybe you have a question or two? I'll be happy to clarify anything I can. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

Blessings and peace...

Birthday gift

I'm just stopping in to show you how I'm presenting a gift for my husband's birthday today. And yes, we have more than one Scrabble game. And no, this doesn't follow the rules. ;) Anyway, maybe this is something you might try?

Oh, I just had an idea. Maybe I'll send this photo to him by email; but that might be cruel—he reads his email on his teeny tiny iPod Touch. And he IS a year older now, and you know how our vision changes over time!

P.S. We live near Buffalo and Niagara Falls, so going to a Major League baseball game means a road trip. We'll see which city/team he wants to go to. 
P.P.S. You didn't think it was going to be something I sewed for him, did you?

Blessings and peace...

The Queen-Size Quilt I Made

I was trying to send these photos to my friend Carol but it didn't work (evidently her email couldn't handle the photo sizes, even though none were more than 1 MB). So I thought I'd post them here.

This is the quilt I made for my daughter, Emily, for her 21st birthday some time ago. Emily selected the fabrics; I'm not sure how true the colors appear here. They were the pinks and blues of that era (era? How old ARE you, Emily???). The pattern is Trip Around the World, Sunshine and Shadow. It is for a queen-size bed, what was I thinking, it was so huge to maneuver under the needle to do the quilting. I'm hoping that I will be able to capture some of the quilting another time. I machine quilted it and incorporated designs of lots of the things she loved/was interested in at the time.

Hanging on a clothes line

and

On a twin-size (I think) bed

Have you ever made a great big quilt? Or even a little one?

Blessings and peace...

Top Ten Reasons I Love The Great British Sewing Bee

Ooooh, I haven't kept up here about the Great British Sewing Bee (GBSB). It's been the most fun television program ~ competition ~ reality show that I've ever seen. 

Two of the finalists are shown here.

In no particular order, here are my top ten eleven reasons to love this program, which has been renewed! 

1. It's about sewing.
2. It's about garment sewing.
3. The contestants are all delightful.
4. The judges are experts in their fields.
5. The judges are kind and helpful with their comments.
6. Back to the contestants. They are genuinely interested in focusing on the challenge in front of them.
7. The narrator, by her commentary, helps viewers to understand the details about what the contestants are doing and why.
8. The challenges actually relate to garment sewing.
9. The videography is excellent, frequently zooming in and showing "up close and personal" the stitches and techniques that the contestants are using.
10. They chose the same person that I would have as the winner.
11. I love the prize. Just love it.

If you haven't seen this program, all four episodes are on Youtube. Here you go:

Episode 1 Great British Sewing Bee 
Episode 2 Great British Sewing Bee 
Episode 3 Great British Sewing Bee   
Episode 4 Great British Sewing Bee 

Did you watch it? What did you like about it? Please share in the Comments.

Blessings and peace...

My Review of Sure-Fit Designs

Garment sewing, and in particular, learning how to get patterns that fit my body, has been my greatest sewing challenge in my decades of sewing. I have read just about every book on the subject, taken pattern-fitting classes, attended seminars, purchased computerized pattern systems, and browsed the Internet. Did I miss anything? Even if I haven't listed it here, if it has anything to do with garment sewing and pattern fitting, consider me "Been there, done that."

Used with permission from Sure-Fit Designs™

Cowl neck tops, crossover tops, yoga pants, and lots more—these are some of the current fashions you can make.

More than a year ago, based on many reviews and watching videos on YouTube and at Sure-Fit Designs (SFD), I purchased three SFD kits (pants, dress/bodice/skirt, and shirts).  

I am someone who buys or receives something as a gift and then immediately puts it to use, preferably the same day. Somehow, though, I was so lacking in confidence, even of taking my own measurements, that I had the package here, unopened, for all this time. When I received an email from Glenda this winter about classes to learn the SFD system, I decided to go for it. I signed up for both classes: pants fitting and bodice fitting. This is my report. It's all my opinion only; I have no affiliation with SFD or the owner, Glenda Sparling.

I went to Eugene, Oregon, in early April to take these classes. In preparation for the classes, Glenda asked us to watch the DVD that comes with the system (How did she know I hadn't watched it yet? oops!), to view a selection of her videos at the Sure-Fit Designs Learning Center Library, and, if possible, to take measurements and make a muslin.  

I procrastinated getting started until two weeks before departure day (Why? Fear of failure? Fear of disappointment? Yes and yes.) 

Once I started watching the DVD, I thought, "Hey, this makes a lot of sense! I think this is the answer I've been looking for all these years!" I (somehow) found the time to take measurements and make a bodice muslin. I tried it on and my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. No kidding. It fit better than any and every thing I've tried to make for myself. Honest to Pete. Not perfect, but the best ever, for me.

So I set out on my travels, arrived in Eugene, met my pre-arranged roommate (Hi, Kay!), picked up our rental car (optional, not really needed), and went to the Residence Inn and checked into our suite. We each had our own bedroom and bath, and we had a common kitchen and sitting room. Nice! 

There were five of us in the class, a perfect class size for this kind of learning, from all over the United States. 

Each day began with a brief presentation, demonstration, and show and tell of garments Glenda has made from SFD. Throughout the week, Glenda was consistently well prepared, knowledgeable, gracious, helpful, kind, and generous. How on earth she was able to keep each student's fitting concerns in mind at all times is beyond me, but she did it! We then set out to work on our task for the morning or day. We gathered again at the end of the day to recap and learn a bit about the plan for the next day.

Have you ever taken a sewing class and felt:

• Like you spent all your time waiting around for the instructor?
• Like you didn't get the help you needed?
• Like you couldn't see or hear what you needed to?
• Frustrated that the instructor didn't explain things clearly?
• Like maybe just maybe you were wasting your time and money?
• Like the class location was severely lacking in good lighting, comfortable seating, and amenities?

Well, over the years, I have experienced all of these things, and then some. But! This was different, really different.

• At SFD, while we each had to wait for Glenda once in a while, it was never for very long, and there was always something useful to do while waiting.
• Glenda made sure throughout each day that we felt we were getting the help we needed. She didn't just wait for us to come to her with questions; she moved throughout the classroom from one of us to another, asking how we were doing.
• The arrangement and class size were such that everybody was just a few feet from Glenda during the presentations and demonstrations, so nobody missed anything, at least I didn't and it didn't seem like anybody else did, either.
• Glenda is such a well-prepared, knowledgeable, and articulate instructor that I found it easy to pay attention and soak in her insights and wisdom.
• I prefer to be thrifty with myself so that I can be more generous to others, so taking this class, especially when you add in the cost of travel and hotel, was a big expenditure for me. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes!
• Oh and the class location, Our Sewing Room, more than exceeded my expectations. Nice, high cutting tables. Lots of great lighting. Comfy chairs. A kitchen with coffee, tea, refrigerator, and microwave. Lovely, just lovely.

Okay, down to business. What is it about SFD that sets it apart? I think of it like this: buying a pattern (Vogue, Butterick, McCalls, and Simplicity are the "Big Four"; and independent pattern companies from around the world) and changing it to try to make it fit me is like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole, whereas with SFD I am fitting a round peg into an almost exact duplicate round peg. The modifications needed after the initial creation of my “blueprint” are truly minor. That means that I have created my own blueprint—from which I can make anything!

I had no confidence in my ability to take my own measurements, so imagine my surprise when the measurements taken in class (we used a buddy system and then Glenda came around and checked every single measurement) were very close to those I took at home! So I’ll pause here and say this: If you have the SFD kit(s) but haven’t gotten started with it yet, go for it! Do it! You will be most pleasantly surprised at the results! Watching the DVD and the online videos helped me a lot.

Many figure variations and fitting concerns were represented in the group, and I believe that everyone left completely satisfied. 
 

Glenda makes herself so available (by email, phone I think, and Skype) to help with any questions that you have, whether you take a class or buy a kit.

Finally, I make four recommendations: 

1. If you already own the SFD kit(s) but haven’t gotten started yet, unpack it, watch the DVD and online videos and get started, even if you don’t have a sewing friend to help you to take your measurements. But maybe I'm the only one who bought it but didn't use it for (ahem) some time?
2. If you have gotten started with SFD but haven’t used it in a while, dust it off and start using it again. 
3. If pattern fitting has been holding you back from making clothing, consider purchasing one or more of the kits.
4. If you have the opportunity (time and money) to take classes with Glenda, I think that you will be delighted with the experience.

As Glenda says, “No matter your shape and size...you can achieve amazing personalized fit!”

I welcome your feedback about this review. Thanks; you know I love to hear from you!

Excuse me but I have to go sew my yoga pants now… from my SFD pants kit.

Blessings and peace...