It's Time to Crochet for a Bit

So, when your sewing mojo has upped and left...what is a person to do?

Grab some yarn, a crochet hook and start creating something. That's what I've been up to. This purse I'm making is relatively simple and uses two colors (if you follow the instructions). I can really see some cool creative possibilities with this purse.


I'm about halfway through this purse project, one panel completed (front). I'm using Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Edwardian (the base-dark variegated gray) and Metropolis (the stripes-black/white). The panel consists of half-double crochet stitches which I do 16 rows in Edwardian, switch to Metropolis for 2 rows, back to Edwardian for 8 rows, and finish with Metropolis for 2 rows.

Once the panels are completed, I stitch up the sides and then stitch the bottom. Then I form the tote-like bottom: matching the right sides together, folding and bringing the bottom seam to meet the side seam. Ah...Just like the tote bags I have sewn.

I'm thinking of adding a lining, but that would require some sewing. We'll see when I get to that point. I should not have any problems finding a nice big black button from my button stash. I am not sure what I will be using for the handles. Will have to check my small handle stash.

Oh yeah, do you know that I also have a yarn stash? That's what happens when I travel and there's no fabric store in sight, but there's always a yarn shop to visit. I love yarn...almost as much as fabric. Thank goodness the yarns I have collected are small enough to store.

This purse I'm working on, we'll call it a prototype. For the next purse, I will definitely use fancy yarns from my stash.

On the health front: I've been having bouts of being sick and feeling bad, then feeling good and then finally feeling bad. I went to the doctor and found out I have bronchitis. So, I've been on antibiotics and trying to rest. Not an easy task to rest...as my mind keeps racing about the many sewing projects lined up and nothing accomplished.

This where the yarn and hook saved my sanity.

New Fingerless Gloves and Other Things

I keep the house temperature at 68 degrees during the fall/winter months. If the sun is not out, the house can be a bit chilly. One of the things I've noticed...my hands get cold while I'm working and typing on my keyboard. I was at Walmart recently and came across these fingerless gloves. You know what? They keep my hands warm while I'm working and I no longer feel cold. It has taken me half the day to get used to wearing these. So, here I am wearing my gray ones while I work and type. I also bought a pair of black ones to go with my black outfits. lol!!!!

I had a nice surprise today. My new Pants Fitting book came in the mail. Glad it came in time for some weekend reading. Yes, I forgot some of the things that Cynthia Guffey taught me in class a few weeks ago. So, hopefully with my class notes in hand and reading the book...the knowledge will come back to me.

I need to take my crotch curve and compare it to my KwikSew pants pattern. I will also do the same with a Vogue pattern. I will be sure to post my findings.

I am so behind in my sewing projects. I am now matching my patterns to my fabrics and stacking them. I'm hoping that I can get some time tomorrow to start cutting the fabrics. Maybe I'll get some sewing time on Sunday. Wish me luck.

Working on My Crotch Curve

** Updated with pictures **

Just for fun and for practice, I made an attempt to draw my first crotch curve last week. I used my 40" flexible ruler. I wrapped 3 individual rubber bands on the ruler. One to mark my front waistline, one to mark my crotch point, and the last one to mark my back waistline. I wrapped the ruler from my front, under my crotch, and over my rear. Yes, I had to wiggle the rubber bands along the flexible ruler for proper placement to represent the 3 points on my body. I carefully stepped out of my flexible ruler and immediately placed the ruler on my cutting table. I had already laid out and taped together 2 sheets of 8-1/2"x11" paper. I traced the inside edge of my ruler and marked the rubber band points on my paper.

Today, I plan on producing an accurate crotch curve. I will be using 1/4" elastic to wrap around my waist and using my flexible ruler to get an accurate crotch curve along with the 3 points (front waist, crotch pt, and back waist).

I plan on tracing my crotch curve on a piece of sturdy white paper and also on my tracing paper.

I also ordered a Pants Fitting book by Cynthia Guffey.

I will be back to post a picture of my crotch curve.


**** Sunday Evening Update ****

I finally got around to producing a pretty accurate crotch curve and I have pictures to show.

First off, I couldn't find my white roll of paper. So, I ended up taking four (4) pieces of 8-1/2" x 11" paper and taping them together.

I put on my one-piece swimsuit and tied my 1/4" wide elastic around my waist. I stepped into my flexible ruler and made sure the "rubber bands" were hitting my front waist and crotch point. DH (who was laughing hysterically at this point) helped me adjust the back waist rubber band on the ruler to match the elastic at my back waist.

Once I explained to DH that this step was necessary for proper pants fitting, he quieted down considerably. We did have a good laugh.


I had just "stepped out" of my flexible ruler and quickly laid it on my white paper. I used my Crayola pencil to trace the curve inside the ruler. I marked a line where the rubber band points were. The "front" of the curve is on the left side near the pencils.


I decided to try 3 times and traced the 3 curves. As you can see, I came up with 3 slightly different results. I am going with the last traced curve I did, which is the inside curve. When I stepped out of my ruler, I had to be careful not to distort the ruler. I finally got the hang of it on my third try.


Here's a picture of one of the rubber bands "wrapped" around the ruler.

Guess what? My practice crotch curve from last week was pretty close to the one I drew this afternoon. I feel comfortable going forward with what I have.

Now, I have a question to my fellow sewists. Does this crotch curve look weird to you? Average? What does it tell you?

Adding More Vogue Patterns to My Ever Growing Stash

I am suppose to be teaching beginning sewing classes for the months October and November. I had to cancel this month's class since no one signed up. I am not surprised as folks are holding onto their $. It's no loss for me as I now have time devoted to sewing and embroidery.

As I was hanging out at Hancock's, I did catch their Vogue pattern sale. Here's my purchase:

As you can see, this is a pattern for close-fitting pullover knit tops. I have a lot of knits in my stash that I need to start sewing up (to make room for the piles of other fabrics sitting on my sewing room floor). I like this pattern for the basic designs and various neck treatments and sleeve variations. I thought I would give it a try as I have worn out my TNT Kwik Sew and Stretch & Sew knit top patterns.


I finally got this pattern. I've been catching Hancock's Vogue pattern sales for the last few months, but never found this pattern in my size. Wouldn't you know it...the pattern was mis-filed under a different pattern number. I found it through my persistent digging in the pattern cabinet! I've been reading a lot of great reviews on this pattern. Mostly for the knit top with gathered shoulders.


This is an Alice & Olivia pattern. I read a few reviews on this pattern and really loved the results I was seeing. I thought this would be a great pants pattern to try once I get my crotch curve done. For my personal taste, I would more than likely remove the flare at the bottom of the pants.


As I was thumbing through the pattern book, I kept coming back to this pattern. This pants pattern is for moderate stretch knits and they do list stretch woven as a suitable fabric. Looks like another great pattern to try once I figure out my what pants alterations I need to make.


I love this evening bag pattern. I love all the versions shown. I have a few special events to attend later this year and next year. This is my chance to use up some of my fancy brocade scraps/leftovers.

Now, I need to start making my official sewing to do list.

More Fabrics

So, I'm planning my future sewing projects and they will include the fabrics I picked up recently at Hancock's. These are upholstery remnants I found on their tables. The fabrics will eventually become future tote bags for Christmas presents. This year, I've decided to sew as many presents as I can for my family members.

What kinds of gifts will you be sewing for Christmas?

Linda...Thank you!

I wanted to post this acknowledgment and thank my fellow Virginian, Linda of Danville Sewing Diary, for nominating me for this Premio-2008 award. A big Thank You!

According to Linda's post, I should display my award and mention who nominated me (which I've done). Next, I am to select 6 to 10 bloggers to whom I would like to give this award to. I'm putting a placeholder here and will be back to post the names of the 6 fellow bloggers.

I now need to include 6 most important values:

• Love
• Friendship
• Honesty
• Passionate about life
• Christianity
• Faithful

And the 6 negative points I condemn:

• Disrespectful
• Untruthful
• Rude behavior
• Negativity
• (that's all I can come up with for now)

The last thing I need to do is to inform the recipients by leaving a comment on their blog (which will be done when I come up the 6 names).

I'll be back to update this post...

My Test Sewing List (sidebar) & Other Things

Okay, it appears my sewing mojo has left me. My sewing room looks like a disaster zone. Fabric everywhere. Patterns & notions scattered here and there. Some of the things I unpacked from my west coast trip managed to follow me into my sewing room. I can barely see the top of my cutting table. Clean up & organization will have to wait another evening.

I am having some fun right now. I'm now playing with my blog and re-learning some HTML codes. I used to tinker with web pages way back when my primary hobby was working with computers. Okay, those days when I was sooooo close to being called a geek and built computers for fun.

Anyways, I have created a "Sewing To Do" sidebar list. Scroll down the right side of my blog until you get to my "sewing test" list. What do you think? I know, it's quite "busy-looking" right now. I had to try it out.

I received my BWOF yesterday. I also got a copy of the Vogue Pattern magazine. I skimmed through them. I think I'm feeling...well, inundated with sewing information.


Kat...when you have a minute...PM me on PR.

Sewing To Dos

As I've been resting, I've been thinking of future sewing projects. I know I have been posting about my next projects...some which actually get made up and some that get lost in my whirlwind sewing. I plan to make a sewing list for the rest of the year. Let's face it, Christmas will be here before we know it. My sewing list will include Christmas gifts which I will have to keep under wraps as I know a few folks will be reading my blog.

My first priority is to create my crotch curve and sew up a pair of pants and do some tweaking before I forget what I learned in class. There's a few Vogue and Butterick jackets that I would love to make, a few knit tops and somewhere in between tackle the Christmas gifts. Oh yeah, at some point I'll also have to move my Janome embroidery machine next to my sewing machine...so I can tackle and complete some embroidery requests. Nothing like multi-tasking.

I'll be back to post my sewing to do list. I'll also need to figure out how to post this list on the side of my blog and be able to mark off when the project is completed. If anyone can help, please advise. Thanks!

Sewing Expo Classes - Fitting Accomplished: Pants

Friday late afternoon:

I was able to make it to my 2nd Expo class. It was "Fitting Accomplished: Pants" class with Cynthia Guffey. First off, I want to say that I would recommend any of Cynthia's classes. She has an interesting way of teaching...straight forward, direct, and makes sure you "get it". Personally, I found her class captivating. She definitely got my attention and the fitting techniques...well "I got it".

Cynthia demonstrated how to take the bottom half measurements (from the waist down). Basically, side seams, front and back, hip differences, and slopes. Also, waist to knee, finished length, crotch depth, and crotch length. She also mentioned using the flexible ruler to get the crotch curve, trace the ruler to paper, and then use your traced crotch curve to layover your pants pattern.

She also mentioned about using darts in pants. For round butts, use 2 darts. For flat butts, use 3 darts. Narrow and longer darts uses less fullness. Wider and shorter darts adds more fullness.

I learned a few things about the "wrinkles" in the front of pants. If I step forward and I see a "smile", my crotch depth is not deep enough or too shallow. If I see a "frown", my crotch depth is too deep. What I should be seeing is a "straight" break across.

I also learned a few things about the back of pants. If I see too much fullness, I need to adjust my hip curve. If I see a "pull up and down", I would have a flat butt. Wrinkles at the inner thigh, would need a tuck in the inner leg seam back. Cynthia actually demonstrated these techniques with a lady in class who made her own pants. We watched as Cynthia made the tweaks and tucks on the lady and low and behold...the lady's pants fit perfectly in the back.

She demonstrated how to make a waist yoke, for those of us who might have a narrow waist and wide hips.

Her final demonstration, was to make a pants facing that fits. This was very helpful after you make a adjustments to your pants pattern and add darts.

The class was only an hour long, but I learned a lot of wonderful techniques. Again, I highly recommend Cynthia Guffey's classes. An entertaining and enjoyable experience.



Saturday:

I was signed up for 3 classes on Saturday, two of them with Cynthia Guffey. Unfortunately, I hit rock bottom with my cold (2 weeks now) and could not attend. I coughed myself awake at 3am and woke up DH too. DH gave me OJ, vitamin C, zinc, and hot tea. He made me "first breakfast" and then off to sleep I went. I woke up hours later and just felt miserable. I had "second breakfast" then decided to stay indoors and well, keep quiet. You know I must be really sick if I can't attend my sewing classes. For some odd reason, I would every now and then look at the clock and say "Oh, I would be in this class by now". A real bummer.

I felt bad for DH, as I've been having these coughing attacks early in the morning for the last few days. He was one tired puppy yesterday. We were grateful to have a day of rest.



Sunday:

I've decided to remain quiet today and rest. I've got my sewing notes from class, my Nikon D40 field guide book, and chick flick DVDs nearby to keep me entertained.

Sewing Expo Classes - Win the Battle of the Butt

I had a great time in class yesterday, Win the Battle of the Butt with Lorraine Henry. She showed us the back pants pattern pieces from the major pattern companies including Burda. There are major differences as most of us already know. She showed us how to take the bottom half measurements (from the waist down) by ourselves and the tools to use to mark our waist and hip line. She demonstrated how to get our crotch curve using the flexible ruler and using rubber bands to mark the ruler for the front waist point, crotch point and back waist point. How to step out of the flexible ruler and trace our curve onto paper.

Lorraine demonstrated how to lay the new crotch curve pattern piece over the e.g. McCalls pattern piece to see how different our own personal crotch curve is. She also demonstrated how to make the appropriate pattern adjustments.

These are great starting points for me as I hope to create my own "crotch curve" pattern this weekend.

Overall, it was a great class with a lot of valuable information. For me, it was helpful that I attempted to make pants over the Summer and could use that experience in class.

As for shopping at the Expo, I did managed to get over to the Vogue Fabrics booth. I found some wonderful remnants...mostly knits. I also found some French floral denim. I also bought some fancy lace trims. I picked up some pre-wound bobbins (black thread) at the Janome booth as I need to do some embroidery for DH. I will post pictures of the fabrics later.

So, I left the Expo and got stuck in the middle of rush hour traffic. No problem. I headed over to G-Street Fabrics (on the way home) to chat with some ladies.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures. Kat...Sorry. No photography allowed. I am sooo keenly aware of when to and not to take pictures now. Especially after I got my hand slapped for taking a picture at EMP in Seattle.


I am looking forward to this afternoon's class, Fitting Accomplished: Pants with Cynthia Guffey.