Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fabric. Show all posts

17 November 2010

Sewing Adventures....


Yes!
They are finally finished....
those 3 silk blouses that I agonized over...
and squirmed each time I looked at the folded
fine silk laying on my sewing desk.

I worried,
stewed,
bargained (in my head)
and looked very hard for someone who would take on the task
of transforming the luscious threads into something 
wearable.

then I gave up, or in.....
and sought out patterns to make for myself.
YIPES!

Curtains, yes...
pillows, yes....
handbags, yes....
clothing, Oh *#&# no!

But 
I started slow,
and prayed each and every time 
that I put the presser foot down.
and finally,
I have finished.

And 
I just might start wearing them next week....


This first one was a bear!
I tackled it last,
and I am very glad too,
the "cross-over" neckline had me flummoxed....


I had to take out the two front seams, twice...


this one was a breeze, it is simply
2 squares (front) and one rectangle (back).



but this is my favorite!
I love paisley...
and this fabric is especially yummy,
thick, heavy as cream, silk
that worked very easily.
Not the simplest thing I have ever done, 
but probably the most satisfying.




And because the fabric was so expensive,
I didn't throw one scrap away,
I simple started sewing them all together and made a 
couple of scarfs...crazy quilt style....
smiles.


These are my Christmas gift to me...


08 November 2010

And, they had to ask....

Do you suffer from Delusional Holiday Gift Sewing?


The magazine
asks.....

Now let me set the record absolutely straight....
I am not an accomplished seamstress.
I am not an enthusiastic sewer even....
I always pray before putting the presser foot down....
especially lately.

My sweet baboo spent an extended business trip in 
Shanghai recently.

On previous trips,
he asked what I might like....
I said pearls.
He brought me 
earrings,
necklace(s),
and a ring!

Whew!
I love them all 
and frankly, am a bit 
humbled that he would
go to so much trouble,
and expense.

So,
as he was packing for this trip,
he asked again,
"What can I bring you?"
I was prepared this time.
I said that I would love some silk fabric,
so that I could make a blouse.

He came back with the most luxurious fabric you could ever imagine.
And his business partner mentioned how expensive it was.....
Yipes!

So, you see.....
when I sat down to pick a pattern for this fabric,
I was especially cognizant of the difficulty of each 
option.



I have completed 2 out of the three patterns I chose.
(They are being completed by a monkey with 12 thumbs,...me.)

My eyesight is in transition,
(menopause)
and thus, 
I can hardly thread the needle.



So,
back to the 
"Question From Vogue Magazine"...
the answer is 

YES!

I apparently got all cocky....
big-headed....
looney....
(you get the picture),
because I started to plan to make all 
of my Christmas gifts.....

Handbags for girlfriends,
scarfs for others,
felt phone covers for guys,
hats for others,
laptop protectors for some,
and simple stockings for others.....


What am I thinking?

It is November 8th for Pete's Sake!

Guess I should be grateful that a magazine 
brought me back down to earth....

Now, I wonder where that glue gun is?
smiles....







10 October 2010

"living right".....well, maybe....

That's what they say when blessed by some good fortune around here.....
"She must be livin' right...."
she's got a raise...
a boyfriend....
escaped a relationship...
found Jesus...
won the lottery....
got good grades....
made it home on bald tires...
made it to work on time....
got good hair...
good skin...
good kids...



Well, you get the picture....

Anyway, I don't know if I have been livin' right,
but I did run into a bit of good fortune.

while on one of my junkin trips,
I can across a bolt of fabric....
a very large bolt.
It was 54" wide,
and on a roll,
and weighed in over 10 pounds,
easily.

I sort of hmm'ed and haw'ed over it for a
few minutes....and then looked at the price.

$4.98

that's it.....
I wasn't sure if that meant per yard,
or what....

So, I took it up to the front of this store,
which by the way doesn't normally carry fabric,
and asked...

"That's it mam'"
"$4.98 is the price"

So, I bought it,
brought it home,
showed it to my sweetie,
who knows a thing or two about textiles...
and he just about 
"fell out"
(that's what they say around here when someone is 
going to faint)
He couldn't believe it.
He said that there must be 25 yards on the roll....
and then,
he looked closer,
(which he does with all fabric)
"It's cotton, and look at this!"
I look...
"It's Waverly!"
Holy Cow!

Now what to do with my find.....
I sat with it in my office for weeks....
I would think, 
ponder,
measure a bit,
and then,
I decided.

Curtains for the living room.

We have lived here for over 5 years,
and really had no need for curtains, as 
we look out to trees....lots of trees.

But curtains would be nice,
so that's what I did....

Here they are...





I must confess....
I cheated a bit...
I used a pair of curtain from IKEA
for the lining, and that gave the fabric some structure.

But I am pleased to have finished....
I must be livin right...
smiles

30 October 2009

Rainy days and Fridays......wait!


Sort of a rainy day...
and usually I would find myself
glued to the desk....my computer....and
100's, literally, of images to "tweak".
But today,
instead I went to a huge fabric store,
called "Mary Jo's".
My mother called this morning
and wanted me to go along for the ride....
funny,
as I drove us over,
about 45 minutes away,
I was reminded of
the dozens of trips we have taken to
Mary Jo's over the years.
No lie, dozens....
Well, I am 52 yrs old,
and she started taking my brother and me
when we were small children.
Back then, it was located in a different location,
the current store is unbelievable.....really.
As I have gotten older,
I appreciate these trips with my mother
so much.
As a child, I hated them.
There is not a lot for a grade schooler to do in a
big ol' fabric store.
Now....
well I have a ton of things to look at,
dream about,
envision,
create a plan...
well, you know.
AND
to top it all off, I get to spend time with my mother,
without anyone else needing our attention.
My mother is sweet as she can be,
and loves sweet fabric,
calicoes,
small little sweet prints,
traditional quilt designs.
I, on the other hand,
have always been drawn to the
upholstery fabrics,
wild prints,
toiles,
velvets,
stripes,
mid-century modern prints,
well,
decidedly not sweet.
So we go our own way when we hit the door,
and then later compare while driving home.
We are always diplomatic while
being shown the other's purchases,
but in our minds,
I am quite sure that we both are thinking
"What was she thinking?"
smiles.