Oops, I Did it Again (Pretty Much)

Hi all ! 

I recently had a birthday, and my wonderful daughter gave me gift certificates for both Mood and Beyond the Pink Door. Perfect presents for me! I haven't used the Mood gift certificate yet, but I immediately went on Beyond the Pink Door because I'd had my eye on some exclusive prints that the owner, Andrea, had recently commissioned.  The only reason I hadn't purchased any of these exclusive prints is because I did not want to pay the tariff, but since I had the gift certificate, I just went for it!

So, Andrea has six of these exlusive prints. I figured I could only buy one, so it took me a while to whittle down my choices. Eventually, I chose the Summer Bloom in viscose. It arrived last Saturday. I washed it on Sunday. I cut it out on Monday. I sewed it on Tuesday. And I wore it to a luncheon and meeting on Wednesday. Phew!

It is a beautiful, vibrant print. Probably a little bright for my coloring, but I don't care! I had purchased 4 meters of it, thinking I would make a dress. But when I got it, I wanted to do something with it right away. I thought I'd get a lot more wear out of a top since I rarely wear dresses these days.

Immediately, I thought of McCall's 7757, a pattern from 1995, that I recenly made out of rayon challis, blogged here. I made this version just like that rayon challis version. The verdict? I love it! It's probably seasonally inappropriate, but it was 80 degrees when I wore it on Wednesday, so it was perfect.

With some judicious cutting, I have enough fabric left to do something else. I'm thinking I'll make a top for my daughter. And also with judicious cutting, I was able to piece together a scrunchie from the scraps. This one is 18" x 5" with 7.5" of 1/4" elastic looped.

You might have noticed that I haven't followed my edict: if you have a new top, you need new pants. Well, the only reason I didn't make new pants is that I already have at least 3 pairs of pants that go with this top (not counting the jeans I wore in the photos). I have sapphire blue Jalie Eleonores, and both sapphire blue and fuchsia linen Closet Core Pietras.

So, this was a very happy and very quick make. I'm thrilled that this fabric won't languish in my stash. What's my big problem now? It's what to make next! Such problems.

I hope you are making some fabulous things!

Happy sewing ~ Peggy

Prepping for Winter: the Itch-to-Stitch Hepburn Turtleneck

Hi! Well, last Saturday it was hot here, but by Monday it was cold and rainy. Of course, not as cold as it will be later in the year, but still it was downright chilly! Cold enough that I pulled out a turtleneck I made last year: the Hepburn Turtleneck from Itch-to-Stitch. However, I'm a little tired of my current turtleneck selection, so I figured it was time to whip up some new ones.

The Hepburn Turtleneck has a great size range as it comes in sizes 00 to 40. It has been my go-to turtleneck pattern for several years although I've tried others. In cold weather, I've learned that I need my neck to be warm or I'll be uncomfortable. So, every year, I make a bunch of new turtlenecks to rotate into my wardrobe--and, I like variety. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I attended a 3-hour open studio, "Scream Allowance," last Sunday at our downtown library. It was a lot of fun, although I was the oldest there by far! There were six of us, and I'd bet they were all in their 30s and 40s. Nevertheless, it was really nice and I got quite a bit done. I brought my serger and five projects to work on. Now, I didn't think I'd actually get all five done, but just in case, I wanted to be prepared.

I brought a Pete the Cat T-shirt to make for my grandson. Done. And I brought another pair of Pomona Pants for me. Done (except for the hems and sewing down the waist). And I brought 3 Hepburn turtlenecks. One, completely done, and two, just with shoulders and necks attached.

The turtleneck I finished was out of the Art Gallery Mille Fiori fabric--which I used last week, but in rayon woven. This cotton/spandex jersey was purchased from Fabric.com several years ago during one of their sales. Cotton/spandex jersey is my favorite fabric for turtlenecks as it has enough body to hold the collar. I've tried it with rayon but the neck just collapses--although I love the feel of the fabric.

This came together easily. I had cut out and prepped each piece at home by pressing up the hems, adding interfacing to the back shoulders, and pressing the collars in half. I also decided to coverstitch the hems before actually serging the tops so that I could completely finish the tops at the open studio. Not ideal, but it worked just fine. After that, it was easy to put it together. I mostly sewed the turtlenecks in assembly line fashion at the open studio. I serged all the shoulder seams and pressed them, then I pinned all collars to the bodices and serged those. At this point, my assembly line stopped, and I decided to complete each one separately.

I decided to finish the Art Gallery one first, so I pinned and serged the sleeves, and then the side seams. The last piece was to weave the serger threads into the seams--which I did with an embroidery needle I brought with me. FYI, I'll probably wear this with a hoodie/pullowever/cardigan on top. Bonus: I can also wear this with the rayon woven Mille Fiori scrunchie I made last week!

All in all, a fun and satisfying day and I look forward to attending another Scream Allowance at the end of October.

If you have a chance to attend a sewing social, I highly recommend it! It's so nice to meet others who share similar interests.

I hope you are doing well and having fun getting ready for the changing weather! 

Happy sewing ~ Peggy