Beaded Forest

Vogue layered skirt 7880

I decided to try out Vogue 7880.  It's an interesting pattern, with zillions of bizarre-looking pattern pieces to cut out, and it takes a while for you to figure out how they're all going to work together.  But they do, and end up looking really nice.  I'll do a full pattern review over on PatternReview.com, but basically I did the whole thing in a black linen blend and felt it was nice, but you couldn't really appreciate the layers.  So I did a zigzag stitch around the edges in a contrasting color, and I'm really pleased with how it came out, and I even like the little waffle edge that it added! 
So here it is:

And the back, with the little ruffle:

Can't wait to wear it!

The latest from the garden

The garden continues to grow, despite my general neglect this year...

I don't remember planting these irises or seeing them growing there before, so they were a surprise!

Wild roses and wild geraniums                                      

 

Other garden goodies

Some Nicotania I'll be planting soon

Can't think of the name of this one at the moment, but so funny, the camera insisted the flower was a much bluer shade!  I had to do some post-production color adjusting to get the touch of purple back.  The leaves are pretty accurate at this point too, a neat contrast to the flower.  I love these guys, and the patch seems more vigorous every year.

I've been doing some sewing,and just finished this complicated layered skirt (Vogue 7880), but it needs something more.  I think I know what the "more" is, and now have to figure out how to make it happen.  More details soon to come!

More signs of Spring!

Can you ever have enough pictures of cute little springtime creatures?  Here are some more photos one of my neighbors got of our local friends:






























































Thank you Daniel!

Marcy Tilton Skirt Vogue 8499

Well, I decided to undertake Marcy Tilton's Vogue skirt pattern...very unique, and I had to try it.  And I'm glad I did!  Here are some pictures.  This is the front:



























And here's a side view:






















And here's the back:





















It was very hard to photograph on the dress form...it actually looks a lot better on, in real life, when you can see the movement of it.  They must have stuffed it for the picture on the front of the Vogue pattern!  I used a cheap wool blend for this version, just to try it out.  But I really like the way it fits and looks on me, so I'm currently looking for just the right material for a "real" version.  To me, this is not a skirt you can make a lot of versions of in your wardrobe...it's too unusual.  You just need that one perfect one.  And I'm looking forward to it! 

I'll be writing a review on Pattern Review, so if you're interested in more details, check it out!

Spring neighbors!

Some of our wonderful springtime neighbors:


















































I have to give my neighbor Gary credit for these pictures...the turkey family has been wandering around for a week or so, but I haven't been able to get a good shot.  Thanks, Gary!

Post-rain garden

Now that several days of spring rain are over (and a bit of chaos in my life has settled down!), here are a few images of the garden (yes, the lilac picture is the right way, even though it looks like it's sideways!)

My recent sewing projects

Here's what I've been up to, sewingwise:

The shirt is my adaptation of New Look 6621, and the skirt is self-drafted.  You can't really tell from the picture, but the skirt has inside-out French seams, making nice vertical lines down the mid sides of the front and back (I got that idea from a Vogue pattern).  The shirt is a bit brightly colored for me...I usually go for earth tones...but I had the material and was feeling ready for spring!  It's a stretch cotton so it fits really comfortably and wrinkles less.  I like the pattern and will use it again, now that I've made all my adjustments on it.  The two pieces weren't necessarily meant to go together, but they teamed up nicely for the picture, I thought.

On to other subjects...Harry's in big trouble!  Turns out he's been stealing from the neighbors.  We were aware of a few mishaps..."borrowed" gardening tools and the like...but we got a call from a neighbor last night that Harry had chewed up his baseball mitt, and two of his bicycle helmets were mysteriously missing.  One of the helmets was discovered this morning, its condition, shall we say discretely, a bit worse for wear.  So...he'll be getting some new helmets and a mitt on us, and Harry will be a bit more supervised outside!   

More evidence of spring!

Every week there's new spring beauty popping up!  The forsythia has been blooming for a couple of weeks now, and it sure brings on a bright, happy yellow to wake everything from its winter slumber.  I love these little frittilaria I planted a few years ago...they come back every spring:

My neighbor Kathy gave me a few of these from her garden a few years ago, and I love their Dr. Seuss-ness, and that little flower, hiding underneath the huge leaves:

This week's daffodils:

You can't have spring without a Bleeding Heart or two!

The dogwood tree:

And finally, the little jack-in-the-pulpits which pop up all over the woods.

I've been doing a bunch of sewing, but haven't gotten around to pulling out the dressform for picture-taking.  I'll do it soon, I promise!

Signs of Spring!

A few of the local flora popping out, now that warmer weather has arrived:

A wild violet;

Can't remember the name of these guys, but they appear all over the place!

One of the gazillions of different daffodil varieties I've either planted or inherited;

Lovely nodding hellebores;

These guys are one of my favorites. They appear all through the woods this time of year, with speckled leaves and little nodding flowers. So sweet and bright among the old dry leaves!

Kewpie

Harry brought this home the other day from God knows where, and David decided it was worth a cleanup.  So here the kewpie sits, in the sink, receiving a little bath. 

Pattern adjustments

I just finished making some adjustments in my pattern for the blouse I showed off in the last post (the first blouse listed)...there were some fit issues that needed some work, and hopefully I've figured them out!  So I'm gonna give it another go-around and see how it turns out this time.  I really do like the pattern, and it's worth fiddling around with for the perfect fit.

This is pretty much all I've gotten around to this week.  We were out of town for a few days, so that threw everything off!  But it's always nice to get away and do something different. 

I'll document my progress as the blouse comes along...

What I've been up to

I've been doing a bunch of sewing lately, squeezing it in when I have time.  I've been thinking of Spring/Summer tops!!!  The main project I've been working on is this one:

It's from an out of print Vogue pattern (7999), and I should model it on myself...it's looking kinda bedraggled here, worse than it looks in real life (also, it's not finished).  I actually love the pattern, which is very flattering on me.  Emphasizes my waist and glides over problem areas!  There are a few problems with this rendition, and I need to make some adjustments to have it really fit right, so I'll fiddle with the pattern and make it work.  I'd been looking for a pattern with a side zipper, a style which has always worked for me, and this one fit the bill.

This is KwikSew 3419, and I've made it a couple of times.  Once again, it's fitting kinda funny on my dress form...I've got one of my bras on it, but there's still something off in the boob area.  Don't know what's up.  But it's a flattering style on me...has that nip-in-the-waist-and-glide-off-the-hips thing again.  I had to raise the neckline, because the first version I did was a bit too revealing!  Just like the Victoria's Secret top below:

I added the stretch lace inset for modesty purposes.  Who can wear these super-low-cut things, and where are they going in them?

This camisole (with an underwire bra attached!) is from Sahalie, but it was a little too long to fit right.  So I hemmed the bottom, something I've never done on a store-purchased knit.  It ended up a little wonky, but I think some additional steaming with the iron will help.

So, those are my sewing adventures for the week!  I'm going on a little vacation this week, so no sewing time...boo hoo!  But yay vacation!!! So it balances out.    

I'm back!

After a long creative dry spell, I think I'm back!  Or at least headed in the right direction.  I don't know what it was, but I just couldn't get myself to do anything craft-related for a month or so.  I managed to get a lot of eBaying done, which was an accomplishment (I've got lots of stuff sitting around that someone else could have more use for than I do, so I feel it's my duty to get it into their hands!  Makes more space, too!), so that's a positive.  There's still more eBaying to be done, but finally I feel motivated to get out the sewing machine and scissors and start doing something fun! 

I started out with a project that totally flopped...more on that another time...but now I'm doing some t-shirts using a TAT (tried and true) pattern, so they should work out fine.  I think I'm getting in the mood for warmer weather! 

And I ran across this gorgeous fabric while surfing the net:

Please click on the picture so you can see the detail...I love it!  It's a William Morris cotton from Waechter's Silk Shop, and I had to have it.  It has no assigned use just yet, but its proper place will become evident at some point!

I also have to remark on David's cooking of late...it's been terrific!  He made this fabulous shepherd's pie which came out of the oven so lovely I had to take a picture:

And delicious too!

More to come...I'm back in the swing of things, I can feel it!

What Harry's doing today...

...and what I get to do is stay home from work!  A foot of snow is expected today, and our driveway hasn't been plowed, so I'm not going anywhere.  Whoo-hoo!!!!