Friday Review

(Click on the pics to make them big, Grandma.)

So, I have this class; Pre-Engineering. It's all by itself in the line-up I teach. Not since I was in charge of the engineering academy at my first school have I had a class like this.

The kids are just at a different level. And the class is less than half the size of all my other classes...16 kids.

All my other classes are the same and this is the third year I've been teaching that class...over and over, all day. It's weird to go from that to this and back again all before lunch. I explained this to them (in the event they were wondering why I was all erratic with my style). They said they would be patient with me. :-)

The truth is, while I love, love, love my other kids, I'm able to teach the way I think teaching should happen with a class like this. I gave them a vague-ish (open-ended) assignment to go along with the "History of Engineering" unit. They were to research Leonardo da Vinci's sketches and were to build a model of one of them using whatever they could find in the lab to build it with. (Because Leo didn't have Michael's or Home Depot down the street, right?) I told them to make it theirs and gave them very few rules.

Here's where it gets all sketchy (and is probably in violation of all the teacher rules). I didn't give them a due date. I told them to discuss it amongst themselves and when they were in agreement to let me know. They chose today...a month ago. Ahem. (I was a little concerned about the length of time they thought they needed...because, well...teens sometimes want to take advantage of things. I raised my eyebrows, and laughed a little...but in fairness, they did what I told them to do. And this wasn't the only thing I had given them to do.)

Turns out, it all worked out like I wanted it to work out. I'm pleased they took it seriously and am pleased they all had very different projects.

In other news, I'm the world's slowest knitter. (In reality, I start projects and forget about them.) Progress is being made. I have a fraction of one glove knit, lol.

Dinner was curried rice noodles with tofu and broccoli. (Minus the cilantro, because Alicia says cilantro smells like stinkbugs. I can't argue with her...because she's right...so I left it out.)

Fabric Friday!

The best thing about fall is cool weather fabrics. So much depth, so much texture, so much richness...

For my circa 1966 coat:

Italian Plum wool flannel lined with pistachio satin. On the way home from the fabric store, I remembered I bought this yummy, light pistachio yarn in Ocean City to make gloves. I forgot about that, hence only the beginning of that knitting.

When I signed up for Colette's Fall Palette Challenge, these were not the colors I had in mind. Not at all. But...one goes to the store and has to buy what there is. How do people choose their perfect colors and then go shopping later, anyway?

I don't have anything planned out and I'm already behind. But...hey....I work and have people to take care of.

I would like to make this coat and dress set, a blouse and a skirt. And maybe knit that pair of gloves for my poor, (raynaud's syndrome) suffering fingers. All of this is for work.

Maybe for winter challenge I'll choose something a little less uptight.

Fall Challenge

I missed Colette's Spring Challenge, so I'm totally in for this.

I'm too tired and don't have any time to go into anything more.

If you want to know about it, click on the button.

Last Minute Back to School Sewing

Just wrapping up the loose ends around here...school starts tomorrow.

I love 20 minute projects. They make me feel all productive. Completed two of them today.

1. I have a picky child when it comes to clothes. (Maybe they are all picky when they are 14?) She's in the camp of "If it isn't skin tight, it's too big." I do not reside in that same camp.

I have no idea if her school asks athletes to dress up on the day of their competitions (The high schools of my past and present require it.), but the only dresses she has are "strappy" and therefore not appropriate for school.

We've been looking for a cardigan. FOR A LONG TIME AND THE PROCESS HAS BEEN VERY ANNOYING TO ME AS THERE HAS BEEN SOMETHING WRONG WITH EACH OF THE BAJILLION CARDIGANS SHE HAS TRIED ON. I've had enough.

I saw this shirt at Kohl's.

I cut off about 8" from the bottom, split the front, removed the button placket and took 4-5" off the sleeves. Added a little hook thingie to the top (It's actually bigger than I would have liked, but it's what I had on hand.) and Voila! She seems o.k. with it.

(I just noticed that thread hanging...no worries. I'll clip it before she leaves the house. :-) )

Next...

I waited too long to buy one of those pouch thingies for her binder. All that is left in the stores are those cheap plastic ones that probably don't last through the first month. I told her to pick out some fabric and I'd make her one. (Evidently she is carrying two binders and will need a second pouch, but one will have to do for the first week.) I don't have any grommets (Is that what they are called?) that are large enough, so I just made button holes. Grommets would have been better, but whatever. (Not trying to go to the store.)

Most of you probably don't know this fabric. In my stash, I have a few coveted pieces (mostly Heather Ross/Munki) I've never been able to cut into. Leave it to my girlie to pick a piece of my Heather Ross. The fact I cut it for such a silly thing is proof I like her.

Facing Realities

I think it's sort of a Christian tradition to be sewing Easter dresses at the last minute and typically there is an all-nighter involved. I did plan ahead. The problem was my plan included a beautiful white linen that I only just discovered is destined to always be wrinkled no matter how much one irons it/steams it/starches it/etc...

So, at the last minute, I had to buy new fabric. My dress is the farthest from my mind's original picture than it could possibly be. It also turned out at least a size too big. I should have cut the 6...probably could have gotten away with the 4. I took it in a bunch in places I could take in a finished dress. I'm not totally happy with it and it looks way more girly than I was thinking it would look...

But, check out the facings. I love the shapes of the Colette Pattern pieces. Typically, I can't stand facings and will just line something to avoid them. But, these facings are so pretty. If I look at them long enough, I kind of forget I'm not so happy with the whole dress.


The next dress will be better. Pictures of this dress tomorrow.

Lady Grey

She's sort of done. I'm going to mess around with the hem some more, but beyond that...she's done.

The facing and lining...I love these fabrics together. (Click on the pics to see them bigger Grandma.)


I only have tags for childrens' clothing and a "Jacob's Alley" tag all written in a kiddie font with crowns was just not what I was thinking of. I always sign my e-mails with a -m, so just embroidered that on the back yoke. I should have stabilized it, but thought the interfacing would have been enough. It wasn't. Oh, well. Next time.


Here I am...looking all annoyed. In my defense, I had just come from lacrosse, preceeded by lunch with a friend, preceeded by 5 hours at the church, preceeded by....I was probably just tired. But, annoyed is also a valid option. Note the wonky hem. Perhaps, I was thinking about that hem.


And then there is this lovely photo. There is something wrong with our video card that makes pictures look distorted. If I look this wide in real life, don't tell me. I'm a size 6/8...how can I look this wide? Can I blame it on the flare? Am I just in denial of my big arse??? Argh. This picture has convinced me to make a straight coat next time.


Pattern Review: I like the pattern and think the design is great. Everything came together perfectly (except for that hem). The problem with the hem is the coat is very flared and the bottom is wider around than any other part of it. Turning the hem up means there is more fabric than space to sew it to. I did ease it, but there was still too much fabric. I'm getting ready to cut part of the hem off and will just make it narrower. I think that will solve the problem. (I'm a little scared to do that, but need to move on...) I'm not a huge person and I think this coat kind of overwhelms me. Maybe. It's probably better for someone taller and stick thin. But, that's not the pattern's fault.

Summer Palette...Maybe.

Playing around with ideas. I'm trending towards "girlie" these days.

The coat is nearly finished. I can't get the hem right. Namely, because it requires turning up the hem 2" and shape is triangular. So, thinking about some kind of solution to create a flat hem instead of one that is all bunched up. Because, the bottom of the coat is wider than it is 2" up.

Additionally, I didn't think about how a flared hem was going to visually affect my lower half. I look pear-shaped. Maybe, I already look pear shaped, I dunno. What I do know is a flared hem does not help that situation.

Progress/Wonky-ness

Posting a pic of my progress thus far on the jacket so E can see. Everything always looks really wonky to me when it's half finished. I hope that's the case with this. Because, it doesn't look right on my body in it's current state. The flare is too much and the rest is just a little overwhelming. Maybe, with the lining and a belt it will look better? I hope so. Otherwise, what a huge waste of time. (And, I've topstitched so much I've already used an entire spool of thread.)

Project #2

Yes, I realize I didn't post project #1. I will. It's my style to be out of order with things. Project #1 was a skirt. It's awaiting belt loops. Instead of finishing up that little detail (which seriously would take maybe 30 minutes), I've moved to project #2.

This was not my first fabric choice. My first choice did not have enough left on the bolt. But, it's "happy" and not like anything else I own. I have spent way too much time looking at vintage and indie patterns. I love this designer.




I cut out all the pieces last night. (Cutting adult sized pieces takes FOREVER.) I cut an 8. The measurements say a 6 will fit me, but I like roomy coats. I'm ready to get going with this project, but alas...the house, the kids, lacrosse, my parents are coming over, yada, yada, yada... Perhaps tomorrow I can actually sew.