227. Plus Quilt and How-To / Tutorial

My last baby quilt of this baby season!  Here is the front of the quilt, and after the jump I'll tell you more and give a quick how-to if you want to try to make a quilt block:

212. Knock-off City: Cherry Print Knock-off Dress

On the left is my latest summer dress, and on the right is the knock-off point:

But really, nothing is truly original, right?

211. Easter + Earth Day Shirt from the remnant bin!

Happy Easter!  Happy Earth Day!  And Happy Birthday to my boy, whose birthday overshadows everything within a 1-week vicinity:

There's something about a sewing challenge that I especially love.  When I have enough fabric, when the pattern is a perfect fit out of the envelope, when the stars all shine down on a project, I kind of get bored.  Sometimes I'm so bored I don't even start!  Ridiculous.  A few months back, I purchased a yard remnant of Alexander Henry cotton from the remnant bin at The Common Thread, because it was really cute, and a few days later I found a half yard of gray cotton with white polka dots from the remnant bin at Hancock.  Even though they were both quilting cottons, I knew they were destined to become one in the form of a shirt -- nee, a statement shirt -- somehow, from those two meager remnants.

It's basically Simplicity 4179, with a modified front placket, longer length, and no back darts.  It's an Easter shirt because of the crazy hen/ rooster print, and an Earth Day shirt because it was made from the leftovers of two bolts of fabric (and vintage buttons from a recent estate sale button bag purchase -- score!).  It's yet another article of clothing that kind of makes ME look like an 8-year-old, but hey.  In another 10 years I will look insane wearing it, so for now, no sweat.  ;)

BTW any ideas on why the top of the placket rolls forward?  Is my interfacing for the collar too stiff?  Is the interfacing on the front placket too floppy?  Have a super week!

210. One (major) pattern piece

Hi, Blogland Buddies!  It has been a while!  I've missed you!  :)

Since my last post, which was just before Christmas, I've worked extensively for two very cool new clients and other very cool current clients, seen the Austin school district undergo a massive budget crisis which resulted in the threat of my son's fantastic public school being closed, lost myself in the ensuing drama, pulled myself back out with the help of good friends, and finally gotten back to sewing and life in general.

After a 2-month hiatus from sewing, I jumped back in by skinnifying 2 pairs of jeans for family members and mending a pair of Louis' shorts.  Easy stuff, projects to dip my toes back in the water.  Then came Book Character Day at school.  Louis wanted to be Curious George (again) so I made a (bigger than last year) monkey suit.  I took a McCall's boys shirt pattern and pant pattern and traced around them both, matching at the waist and (as best I could) aligning along the grainlines.  I've always appreciated those Simplicity Jiffy patterns from the 60's and 70's, with one main pattern piece, so I blended the front and back so that there was no side seam.  Et voila!  A one-piece pattern for a monkey suit:

209. I Don't Craft! Christmas Edition.

When I think about combining various related topics because I don't blog frequently, one thing I may have alluded to or outright mentioned a long time ago is that our household size has more than doubled with the addition of my sister and her two children!  They are with us until June of next year.  This means there are twice as many residents in the house and, somehow, four times as many presents under the Christmas tree!

It also means more indecision about the Christmas tree dilemma.  Long ago we stopped buying fresh trees.  Just didn't seem right to chop down a tree that we'd enjoy for 30 days.  We had a fakey-fakey tree for a long time, but it got all bent out of shape and we tossed it a few years ago.  One year we bought a rosemary tree and intended to plant it in the garden after the holidays, but I'm sad to say that somehow it died before January!  This year I decided to make one.

208. Thanks + friends + a new refashion

Another set of related updates...  Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all who celebrated last weekend!  I am thankful for a great family.  I am thankful for fall foods, which are my favorite from any season.  I am thankful for the enduring handsome that is Kenneth Branagh, and it is clear many of you are, too (and if I can get my hands on those Swedish Wallander DVD's a couple of you mentioned, I will, but Netflix doesn't have them).  I am thankful for my friends, both in real life and in Blogland.  Super-thankful for this lady, Kyle...:

... who, in late September, took a half day off work to drive to Philadelphia to pick me up from the airport, take me to Jomar, experience vegan cupcakes from Virago Baking Company in Lansdale, and ultimately drop me off at my hotel in yet another town when the car rental company wouldn't rent me a car without my drivers license (which I'd lost at an airport and not replaced yet).  Can we say "national drivers license database, please"?!  Whatever - I first met Kyle in person less than two years ago and I think she's super-nifty.  So, so glad we are both friends in Blogland and friends IRL.  She blogged about our Septmber meeting in Philly here.

207. Zero Waste

My infrequent blogging creates a backlog of things I want to share with you, and then comes the task of grouping some of those things together into one post in an attempt to catch up.  Zero waste seems like a good place to start.

I really, really dig the concept of zero waste!  The idea that nothing is wasted while making something new is super-cool.  Soy jersey is probably the softest and most luxurious fabric I've ever laid hands on, and it happens to make full use of the soy plant.  (Technically I wouldn't say closed loop and zero waste are the same, but they both apply to soy fabric production.)  Zero waste can apply to clothing design, too.  This gentleman has certainly made waves in his pursuit of zero-waste fashion by designing zero-waste garments, and this lady is refashioning straight from the fast fashion sale racks.

Appreciating zero waste means I have a few bags and piles of fabric scraps and remnants.  My sewing room looks like a pit at the moment for lots of reasons (too much travel, not enough sewing, too many friends/ family members cleaning out their closets and forwarding perfectly usable castoffs, my deep love of a good challenge, I keep lots of scraps because I like zero waste), so I watched the entire first season of Hoarders and concluded that I'm messy, but not a hoarder.

I sewed a few bags, to get rid of some of the larger scraps and remnants.  There is always a need for bags in my house, between the shopping and sewing meetups and hauling food to PTA meetings and my sister and niece, who are always ready to claim a new tote as soon as it rolls off the back of the presser foot!  I'm happy to report that I had no emotional issues using the fabric and giving the bags away.  The bag on the left was made with parts of khakis left over from the Austin Museum of Art khaki dress, the bag in the middle used a printed home dec remnant and the bottom of a bedskirt that my nephew didn't want, and the bag on the right was just scrap cotton print and scrap denim:

Then I turned to the pile of knit scraps.  My 7-year-old needs long sleeved t-shirts.  Correction:  he needed them for the two weeks of fall-like weather we had last month, and since has lived in short sleeved tees and shorts in the lingering heat.  But I bet he will need those long sleeved t-shirts at least by Christmas.  So I snagged a stack of brand new t-shirts my dad gave me last summer -- some promotional t-shirts and some plain ol' men's cotton tees -- and using a pattern made from a traced tee in my son's drawer, cranked out a couple of new long sleeved shirts.

The first (all black tee) was a quick cut-up and small-izing of a men's long sleeved tee, keeping the ribbing at the neckline and wrists.  The second tee was a little more challenging, because I used a black promo tee with a logo so prominent that I couldn't cut an entire new shirt front from the existing shirt front.  So I grabbed some red knit from my scrap pile, leftover from a previous t-shirt project, and used it for the top of the new tee.  And because the original tee had short sleeves, I used the red and some other black knit scraps to cobble together long sleeves.  I didn't think I'd like the shirt while I was putting it together, but I kind of do now.

Totally unrelated to hoarding and the sad state of my sewing room, but related to my 15+ year crush on Kenneth Branagh and my love of all things Scandinavian, is the PBS series Wallander.  All three of the new episodes have aired on PBS but they are available to watch online till mid-November.  See them!  Love them!  They are excellent and the bullies meet their right fates.  ;)

205. A whole lot of refashioning going on

Geez, I haven't shared a sewing post with you in a month.  Totally not reflective of what I've been up to.  Let's start with a simple tank-style woven top and altered jeans.  The tank is a refashioned men's shirt (short sleeve button down and SOFTASALLGETOUT) and the jeans were a standard pair of bootlegged Banana Republic jeans I have not worn because the bootlegs never really worked for me.

203. Austin Museum of Art Fashion Show

Or, How Lucky I Am.

I know, every day, how lucky I am.  Not everyone gets to do something they love for a living and do stuff they love for fun.  I know that.

These are two dresses I made for a fashion show this past Sunday, one from two pairs of men's black denim jeans, and one from two pairs of men's khaki pants:

runway photos courtesy of Sterling Images

202. In Mociun (knockoff #2) to Seattle

Or, my amazing and super-cool summer trip to Seattle, during which I wore my Mociun knockoff #2.  Why 2?  Read on to find out!

201. The World Needs Another Mociun Tie-Front Dress Knockoff!

I am telling you!  I had once upon a time thought about buying the actual Mociun dress (on sale).  But I changed my mind last winter and decided to buy The Boots That Changed My Life instead, which I have not yet shared with you but oh, their time in the blog spotlight is coming.


For now, back to the Mociun dress.  I liked the tie front and the deep v but with the rest of the neckline and decolletage generally concealed, and the version I'd considered buying had a band at the bottom, creating a real tulip effect.  I succumbed to the peer pressure after Cindy revealed her version during Week of Dresses and Meg posted hers the same week.  Turns out a gracefullady was kind enough to share some detailed notes of how she knocked off this dress (how she managed to eke it out of 2 yards of vintage 36" wide fabric, I'll never know) -- and the instructions were spot-on for me.  Behold, Another Mociun Knockoff:

199. McCall's 6069: The HOT 2.5 Hour Dress/ Cindy's Dress Week

The name of the dress is a reference to an enthusiastic comment I made on Kyle's version of M6069 a couple months ago.  I immediately proclaimed it HOT! HOT! HOT! and bought the pattern at the next 99-cent sale at the fabric store.  I don't think my dress is quite so HOT but it is great in HOT weather and very comfortable, as any tube of stretchy knit fabric with an elasticized waist would be.  The front shot doesn't show the draping in the most flattering light, but overall I think it's a nice dress and I have been wearing it a lot.

It is my official submission to Cindy's dress week sew-along!  I do think I sewed this during the right week, but haven't posted till now. 

198. McCall's 5879: Citrus Dress

Thank you for the overwhelming support of the plaid Trickster dress, and/ or of my wielding power tools in my garment photos!  Who can't use a good laugh every now and then?

Unlike the plaid dress, I really loved the pattern envelope pic for McCall's 5879.  It wasn't until I picked up the pattern that I realized you put it on by slipping it over your head.  Is it just me, or does it seem impossible that the dress could fit so well around the bust and still be wide enough to slip over one's head?  Well, call me curious.  I moved this dress to the top of the queue.

I usually switch my personal scent in the summer to something lemongrassy or grapefruity -- if I smell like citrus, it must be summer.  So why not look like citrus, too?  I pulled this fabric from last summer's stash and there were just scraps left after cutting this dress (the bodice is self-lined).

So how does it fit?

197. McCall's 4892: Trickster Dress in Plaid Linen

Tricked me once? Shame on you. Tricked me twice?......

... Well then, shame on me.  This time, I'm referring to McCall's 5892.  (And the first time, it was Vogue 1046.)  It reads like a mystery in three parts, or maybe more like an episode of Blue's Clues.  Not the full-on cartoon newer ones, but the original ones, with Steve, where Blue doesn't talk.

195. My second quilt

About 3 1/2 years ago, I sewed my first quilt, a little lap quilt that I finished the day it was donated to a silent auction for Louis' preschool.  I was still new to both sewing and blogging, and didn't have a routine for taking photos and sharing my finished products.  So I have no photos of it to share, but let me say that it was not particularly impressive.  I had just purchased Denyse Schmidt Quilts and was inspired to make a quilt, even if a rather plain one.

Motivated by finishing that lap quilt, I started a baby quilt for a friend.  I finished it last night, in time for a different friend's baby shower.  Let me just reiterate that it took me more than 3 years to finish this quilt, and not because it was difficult.  It is because I am, by nature, in the top 1% of starters in the world.  And in my sewing, I am in the bottom 1% of finishers.

194. Happy Mother's Day! Pantone 2010 Dress

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas!  It can be a tough job but we asked for it and do it with style.  Hats off, sisters.

BTW, my name is Antoinette.  You may have forgotten me, as it's been about six weeks since I last posted.  Yeah, sorry about that.  Springtime is extra-nuts around here, between spring break, family birthdays (and parties), Easter, seasonally heavy workload, and volunteer stuff at the elementary school.  The school yearbook is due at the printer this Friday, which will leave me with more spare time.  I've got a busy couple of weeks after that with work, and then school's.... out.. for.. summer!!!

193. Wednesday Workshop: The W Bag v1 :: Free Pattern

Did you think Wednesday Workshop was limited to Wednesdays?  No way!  I just returned home from a week in White Plains/ Westchester County, NY, and Summit, NJ -- lots and lots and lots of travel, and lots of work!!!  I tried to include a day or two extra on this trip to venture into NYC, WHERE I HAVE NEVER EVER BEEN, but it wasn't meant to be.  Do you know how it is when sometimes you feel like you are pushing so hard for something to happen, but nothing falls into place no matter what?  That's how it was, so I figure NYC is meant for another trip.  Garment District, I've still got my eye on you!

Did you follow the recent story about W Magazine's search for a new editorial director?  While I was out of town, it seems they found one.  Meanwhile, this past Sunday, Kyle visited Austin and commented on my bag, which I'd made and called my "W Bag version 1," as I designed it especially to accommodate the oversized dimensions of W Magazine without damaging the corners.  Reminded me that I'd intended to share this pattern in case anyone else was looking for a brand new bag.  It has been my go-to bag all fall and winter long!  I will try it soon in a spring-appropriate fabric because the dimensions of the bag, for me, are just right.  Big enough for lots of stuff, like a big W magazine and a light sweater and wallet and keys, but not Mary-Kate-and-Ashley-Olson-bag big.  Maybe it will work for you, too?  Click through for the pattern link and directions.

192. Colette Patterns: Macaron Dress

What's up, ladies???  I hope you're getting a nice change of season where you are.  We are on spring break!  Excitement and happiness and sunshine and lots of sugary sweets abound.  My brain is squarely in spring and summer dress mode, and the weather has been so accommodating that I couldn't resist taking the plunge with the Colette Patterns' Macaron, which seemed the most "like me" stylistically of all the Colette offerings.

191. Read All About It! Newsboy Cap: Free Pattern + Tutorial

Being invited by the ever-creative Dana to participate in Celebrate the Boy month gave me an opportunity to revisit one of my favorite topics: my 6-year-old son's head.  I've traced the story back to labor: I checked into the hospital when I was 6 cm dilated, at which point the doctor remarked that, based on my baby’s head size, the baby would weigh at least 8 pounds. I was stunned and scared! Hours later I was surprised not only by my baby’s gender (BOY) but also by his 8-pound baby head on a 6-pound baby body.  Mmmm hmmmm.

After the initial head pointiness from that trip into the outside world, my son’s head bounced back into admirably round form.  It has always been enormous, enormously round, and an enormous source of pride for me, with its glossy, healthy hair and housing the most amazing, wondrous brain!  Sometimes I am allowed views into the brain in that head, with thoughts both fantastical (“When I grow up I am going to buy my own chocolate factory”) and mystifying (“If I had a turtle, I would punch it in the face”).

I will always remember his first store-bought driving cap, allowing me to Celebrate the Enormous Head.  Given that, it was exciting to be invited by Dana to participate in Celebrate the Boy and find a way to share the joys of adorning our beloved boys' heads.  When I read that newsboy caps were traditionally made of 8 panels, I scoffed at the wimpiness of the commercially made 6-panelled caps, and I vowed that our handmade caps would return to the illustrious glory of 8 panels. Don’t our boys deserve that???

Of course they do, but after drafting from scratch and sewing three total samples to get to this point, I only have a cap pattern to offer for ages 6-8.  Tiny changes in the pattern make a big difference, and I need more time to grade and fit for smaller heads.  So stay tuned for a cap pattern I'll share in the future for ages 2-4 or something like that.  Or, if you're brave and try your hand at grading it for other sizes, please let us know where we can download your version.

Keep reading for the Read All About It! Newsboy Cap: Free Pattern + Tutorial.

190. Wednesday Workshop: Simple Sweatshirt Recon

It has been a busy and a bizzy February!  I just got back from a short trip to New Orleans, and I had not seen the city since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  I didn't visit the Lower Ninth Ward or go on a self-guided photo tour of other areas that had been ravaged by Katrina, because I was working a lot and, in between, nursing a cold in the comfort of my hotel room.  Still, it was good to see spirits so very high.  The French Quarter was bustling and all outward signs say ongoing recovery.  Esp. with the recent Saints Superbowl win.  WHO DAT?!

I have thought a lot about sewing but don't have much new clothing to show for it (but lots of crafting!  I'm just not used to blogging those crafty projects...).

Well, I have one new garment to share.  After the sad news of Alexander McQueen's untimely death two weeks ago, I felt a little down and knew the best way out was to start one of the many sewing projects in my mental queue.  Behold: the simple sweatshirt reconstruction.