I made up this necklace/earring set Tuesday night, with the intent of wearing it with the pictured shirt on Wednesday. I’ve made quite a few necklaces, which ...keep reading]]> People have strong feelings about matching. If I understand things correctly, coordinating and symmetry are good, but matchy-matchy is bad. So, let’s call this new jewelry “coordinating.”

I made up this necklace/earring set Tuesday night, with the intent of wearing it with the pictured shirt on Wednesday. I’ve made quite a few necklaces, which is odd since I don’t really wear them much. I think one of the problems is that lots of necklaces are the wrong length for button-front shirts. I made this one as adjustable as possible, so while it’s short enough to wear with a button-front shirt, it could also be worn with a smooth-front shirt. Anyway… Perhaps not the most efficient way (time and energy-wise) to make jewelry, but it got the job done (and wasn’t hard to find the next morning, since I’d set the set aside, along with the shirt).

I have had this set of leaf pendants for a really long time. Years. Finally figured out a use for them. The chain and flowers were purchased over the weekend.

The colors are most accurate in this picture. They really do match the shirt (which is a bit awkward in coloring), I swear.

Macro mode!

I’m actually quite proud of those last two shots, considering I took them myself while wearing said jewelry, using the mirror in the bathroom to check the view.

The only problem I had was that the flowers, which are on a separate chain that dangles behind the leaf pendant, often moved around and were out of place – to the side of the pendant, in front of it…. I couldn’t hang them directly from the pendant, however, because there was no room for that. I’m wondering now if I can figure out a way to slightly affix the chain to the pendant in some way that is not visible. I’ll have to look into it.

This was the first time I’ve made any jewelry since… early June, I think. I had moved my supplies up to my office (instead of in the family room by the TV) because we had a house guest, and they never moved back downstairs. I thought about it several times, but there’s an embroidery project that I should be working on instead, because there’s a deadline, so I didn’t let myself play with beads. I made an exception this once.

Cute, right? Pretty, summery linen? How bad could it be?

How bad could it be indeed. Bad enough that there’s no photo of me in said dress (though ...keep reading]]> Do you remember that sneak peek I gave you last week? I got it almost finished over the weekend (not completed: hemming).

Cute, right? Pretty, summery linen? How bad could it be?

How bad could it be indeed. Bad enough that there’s no photo of me in said dress (though if you’re good, i.e. leave me nice comments, I might get to take one later).

Hrm. Maybe you can tell what one of the problems is from this picture. By the way, both the bust piece and that back piece (the green olive pieces) are fully lined and hand-sewed on the inside. Really? I spent time hand sewing a dress that I can't wear?

You see how that bust part kinda hangs out there when it’s on the hanger? It does that on me too. This dress was clearly made for someone with a C cup, which is so far from reality that it’s laughable (really, there has been much laughter about this dress). Unfortunately, due to the construction of the bust, there’s no way to re-engineer it to make it work.

Oh, but that's not all that's wrong with this darling dress.

What else is wrong? Well, quite simply, there is absolutely no way to adjust the gathers in the skirt (there are ties that go through the front and wrap around to the back, which makes sense only in person, as I cannot explain it better) to fashion a look that does not make me look 6 months pregnant. No joke.

See her? She doesn't look pregnant. Not at all! Nor does she have a C cup. I feel misled.

Part of the problem with this is that I used a medium-weight linen, which has body instead of drape. The linen wants to billow out from all those gathers, not drop or flow.

So, lesson learned, must pay attention to drape/body factors of fabric when matching with a pattern.

The other lesson learned from this experience (when coupled with another dress disaster where I accidentally made myself a gorgeous muumuu, complete with French seams and a lovely rolled hem), is this: I have a waist. I need to wear dresses that have waists. Not empire waists, but actual waists. When I was in high school, we were calling this style “baby doll” – it didn’t look good on me then (especially since the dresses were short, and I was tall…), and it doesn’t look good on me now. I’m not exactly sure what you’d call my shape – a thin rectangle with a dent in the middle? I’m not exactly hourglass, but pear-shaped isn’t exactly right either (even though that seems like it would be it, seeing as how I’m lacking on top and hippy). Whatever it is, I need to wear clothing that accentuates the fact that I have a waist, not clothing that tries to hide the waist area (which many people, understandably, want to do – I’m just not one of them).

No worries about the dress though – it will get a new life, in ‘s closet. She came over last night, tried it on, and it looks so cute! So, I will hem it up for her, and perhaps get a picture of her in it to show you, and then the dress can fulfill its destiny, while I continue on my quest to make myself a dress (since my last three attempts have failed miserably).

Thinking about these lessons, I had to go through the other patterns I bought at the same time and see how many of them will not work for me. But first, a laugh for you:

Do you see what I see? Gotta laugh at this. What happened is that I bought 8 patterns (McCalls were on sale for $1.99 and Vogue for $3.99, and I really wanted to make a summer dress), which "retail" for $15-25 each (though I would never pay anything close to that for a pattern. Plus I had a 40% off one item coupon, and a 10% off my total order coupon. Still, this is hilarious. That's a savings of... I can't even do that math. 1 million percent.

Now let’s look at those patterns and see how much damage I’ve done (we won’t even think about the rest of my patterns, some of which suffer from the same problem as the pink floral muslin I made up for Easter – ooh, a dress success! – that being curved side darts which create a poofiness at the tummy that is less than flattering, and some of which, I’m sure, suffer from this high-waisted problem as well.)

[Editor's note: pardon the crappy photos - it was 8:30 last night when I remembered to take these, and there was almost no natural light left, and I was too impatient to share with you to wait until tonight to take the pictures. I hope to re-take and replace them, but in the meantime, you'll have to suffer through these.]

Oh, success right off the start! Can't go wrong with a shirt. (OK, lots of things can go wrong with this, but not in the waist area.

Bummer. Failure. A said, that's so cute! Cute, yes, but methinks it will not look cute on me (unless perhaps I walk around the whole day with my shoulders thrust back, and maybe some padding in my bra).

Huh. I don't know about this one. It seems like it might have a waist, but it might be too high. I think I'll have to look at the pattern pieces to be sure. The gathered bust is quite flattering for those of us who are not so endowed, so I'm going to hold out hope for this one.

Waist, yes. Potential poofy belly anyways? Yes. Only with a very drapey, flowy, thin fabric. Also, must check pattern pieces first to see how low cut this actually is, because that looks a bit low for me.

Ah, no problems here. We all look a bit chubby in coats, so who cares. (Yes, I admit that it's incredibly idealistic of me to think I could actually make this up. Whatever. A girl can dream.)

Success! I think this one actually gets it right! (Must check to make sure the top isn't too big - might need to add in some darts or something.)

Another success! I'm feeling good about myself at this point. I'm kind of in love with D/E (and A would make a satisfactory base dress, which was what my previously mentioned pink floral muslin was supposed to be a template for).

And... failure, I think. Those front gathers, unless the fabric is absolutely perfect, will just make me look chubby in the tummy. Bummer, since I really like A/B.

Well, in light of that, I’m feeling a bit down about myself.

Oh, let's cheer up with a picture of the fabric that arrived at my house last week (three separate orders from three separate stores).

Does that not inspire you? Maybe you can’t see the fabrics well.

From top to bottom: light green stretch wool suiting, grey polka dot, and grey stretch wool suiting.

The green suiting is for this skirt (view A), the grey suiting for this dress (any view), and the polka dots for this shirt (any view – most likely a short-sleeved option).

The pretty Sew, Mama, Sew! order. There's some stuff in there for the stash, and two pieces for skirts.

Oh, I got this from Fabric.com with the suitings too. How can you not be happy when you see this? "You've downloaded my heart." Indeed. I got this to make a children's something, but I may just have to keep it for myself.

Feel free to shower me with compliments and/or advice now.

[Editor's note: come back tomorrow. Big post tomorrow - I might be giving something away. I'm just sayin'. You don't wanna miss it.]

I finished up two shirts that I started the day I dropped my machine off for service (2 1/2 weeks ago – that’s a pretty short turnaround time for me from start to ...keep reading]]> My goal for today is to not have someone ask me if I made my shirt myself. I’ll keep you updated.

I finished up two shirts that I started the day I dropped my machine off for service (2 1/2 weeks ago – that’s a pretty short turnaround time for me from start to completion).

Pardon the headless shot - I hadn't put on makeup or done my hair yet, and my photographer was leaving the house.

The fabric was $5.98/yard, and this shirt used one yard, so… two shirts for $12! Good deal! (I’m counting the pattern as free, since I bought it many years ago to make a Christmas shirt.)

A few notes on this project: I have made Vogue 2611 before, though last time I made the fluttery-sleeve version, and I didn’t make it with a jersey. I like it much better with jersey – it is fitted just enough and drapes well. I did have to take in the sides just a bit under the arms, but I’m assuming chestier women would not have this problem. The front drape part is supposed to be finished, but since this is a knit, I didn’t do anything (it won’t unravel in the wash). Because it drapes so much, and because I didn’t finish the edge, I have it tucked into my bra, which actually works well to protect my modesty (otherwise I’d have to clutch at the neckline every time I leaned over slightly).

The drape at the neck is quite low (though not the lowest cut version of this pattern), so that might be an issue for someone with significant cleavage (I have no idea, having never had that problem). The back neckline and arm holes are finished with single-fold bias tape, which makes a nice edge. I used my twin needle on the bottom hem so that it looks like a store-bought shirt. I made both shirts at the same time, hoping to minimize the time it would take (assembly-line and all). It basically took me two evenings to complete these, not including cutting out the fabric.

I’m kinda bummed that the long-sleeved versions are wrap-front instead of the drape – they take significantly more fabric (3 yards compared to 1), and I really like the drape (it creates the illusion of a bust, which I always appreciate).

I also made those pants, but that was nearly two years ago. You can tell that I’ve lost weight because the pants are way too baggy – I think I need to take them in at the waist a bit so they don’t look quite so silly (though in person they look better, especially with short heels). I’m thinking two darts at the front will work (there’s a side zipper, so I’d rather not take in the sides) – there are already darts on the back. I love, love, love these pants. The fabric was $2/yard, and they are so comfy!

Total outfit cost: $11.50.

So, I’m letting you ...keep reading]]> When the first set of beads I ordered had come in, and they didn’t even come close to coordinating with my shawl, I promptly ordered more. And now I can’t decide. I’m talking about my jewelry for ‘s wedding. The other girls’ sets are already done. (See here and here.)

So, I’m letting you decide giving you the chance to provide your opinion.

This was very hard to photograph, so I have quite a few for you to look at. I know that colors on monitors can vary widely from real life, but I figured that if they were in the same picture, or at least photographed in the same conditions at the same time, they were at least OK relative to each other.

White background:

At the top, you can see the shawl that I'm talking about. It's a turquoise-y jersey. Below you see all seven sets that I'm considering (I will try to not sway you towards the one(s) I like).

Close-up of the first four. Note that the ones on the far right are not laying correctly, but I couldn't get them to sit upright. They're not as white as they appear in the picture, but they are pretty pale.

Close-up of the other three.

Colored background:

All seven on the shawl itself.

Close-up of the first four.

Close-up of the remaining three.

And now, some artsy shots for you. I was hoping to be able to show more of the detail of the beads so you could make an educated decision.

Better?

Or maybe this view is helpful?

How about this one? It was really hard to photograph that third one. Even without flash (and it wasn't terribly bright outside), the mother-of-pearl reflected way more light than anything else. You get a truer view of the color in the photos on the white background.

Trying to show you the details of these little beads.

So, there you have it. Since it won’t take much time to make up, I’ll let you make comments through Friday, and then I’ll create over the weekend and share with you next week. (I can’t do a proper poll, as all of the free sites to create those are blocked here. We’ll have to do it old-school. Well, as old-school as blogging and digital photos can be.) Remember, we’re looking at doing a necklace with three in a row, followed by the pendant, just like the other five sets. Earrings are more free-form, and styling will depend on which beads are ultimately chosen.

Once more, just for reference. You can refer to them by name, designation, or by number (left to right, one through seven).

So… what are your thoughts?

But, I did take some more pictures last night to ...keep reading]]> I promise. Tonight the summer semester starts and I have class until 9:30 (we will likely get out earlier, it being the first day and all), and tomorrow is someone’s birthday and I should probably pay attention to him instead of tiny little beads.

But, I did take some more pictures last night to share with you. It was much darker outside, so these were taken without flash and with very little natural light, but they still turned out great. I didn’t have to edit them at all! These were all finished on Monday night (no beading last night, but other crafting that will be revealed shortly).

The last set for one of the daughters. I love the dangly earrings! (OK, it's not exactly the last set - I'm still waiting to do mine. But it's the last set to give away!)

Here's what I came up with for Alison, based on her love of these blue squares. It was hard to figure out what to pair up with the blue - she originally said red, but then we thought that was too patriotic. I think the purple is a nice compliment, and it's fairly dark, so while not neutral, it doesn't take away from the blue (I hope). I only had three of these blue squares, so the necklace could only have one, but I think it turned out OK in the end. (After all, isn't a set better than just a necklace? I think so.)

These little guys gave me so much grief! I do not like working with gold (thankfully, I have very little of it in my supplies), but I wanted to do something with these umbrellas. I was going to call the "springtime in Paris," but then I remembered that Audrey Hepburn's character in Sabrina tells Humphrey Bogart, "never a briefcase in Paris and never an umbrella." So... "April showers" will have to suffice.

I had to run out to JoAnn last night and while I was there managed to get some basics so I can make pieces in the antiqued gold and silver instead of just the bright ones. I have several charms and accents that are not in the shiny gold or silver that I can’t really use. Maybe there will be more variety next week. However, I find it difficult to work with the gold for a number of reasons. 1) I don’t like to wear gold. It makes me itch*, and I personally don’t care for yellow gold. 2) It is much softer than the silver. You think that would make it easier to work with, but it doesn’t. Sure, it bends out of shape easier (opening the jump rings), but doesn’t bend back as nicely (i.e. misshapen jump rings).

So, there you have it.

* My engagement ring and wedding band are platinum. That’s just how the engagement one happened to come; I was expecting white gold. It wasn’t until a few months after our wedding that I realized that gold makes me itchy, and then I was glad that my rings didn’t have that effect. Of course, for our first year and a half of marriage, just about everything made me itchy, until we figured out the culprits and eliminated most of them (soap, laundry detergent, fragrance, the color blue, I could go on).

If we backtrack, ...keep reading]]> To be honest, I almost always read and follow the directions. However, there are certain situations which require… straying from the printed page. For instance, recipes. The number of recipes I have followed to the letter on first try is incredibly small. My most recent stitching project was one such situation.

If we backtrack, you might remember that in 2009 I promised to not pick up any new hobbies. I was incredibly successful at this on paper. However, in February (only the second month of the year!), I discovered crewel. I wanted to try it. I must. I loved it. I could have rationalized that it’s really the same thing as embroidery, but I did not (fyi, crewel is really a subgenre of embroidery, since the same stitches are used, but the work is done with wool thread on linen, whereas embroidery is not picky about materials). I stuck to my guns and drooled over pictures on Flickr, watched eBay auctions (without bidding), and dreamed.

Well, it’s no longer 2009, is it? No, it’s not. So you can be sure that in January, to eBay I went, buying some crewel projects. I had learned that it is nearly impossible to buy crewel wool in stores, so I picked out some complete projects that included the stamped picture on linen and the necessary thread.

The first one I won was a lovely floral motif.

I paid $1.99 plus shipping for this baby. Love the eBay.

The picture on the auction was terrible (very pale and washed out), so I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting. Here’s a better view of the photo from the packaging:

Hrm. Purple, creams, and pale greens don't exactly match any decor in our house. It should be noted that the fabric that this came printed on looks nothing like what they used for this pillow.

What was a girl to do?

Well, this girl decided to hop online, find a store that sold crewel wool, and make some substitutions of her own. It was a bit tricky, figuring out what the colors actually looked like, since two of the stores I browsed had very different photos of the same exact colors, so I bought several versions of the colors I was looking for, and ended up with one of each that would work.

I had decided that the crewel needed to coordinate with the color scheme I’ve been using in the living room. It’s based on Joel Dewberry’s Deer Valley fabric line, and while lovely, I will be honest that these colors are ridiculously hard to find outside of these prints. That red? It’s just a bit more orangey than you might think. And that turquoise? No, it’s actually quite green. (The tans, creams and browns I have no complaints about. They’re lovely.) Sidenote: while shopping at Hancock Fabrics a few weeks ago, I found two lovely remnants of dupioni silk (again! the first time I found a 3-yard piece in chocolate) in this exact shade of turquoise/green. I guess that room can have curtains afterall. (Also to note: you can get dupioni silk for $3-7/yard on the Hancock remnants table. Since it retails for $14-$30+/yard, this is an exceptional deal. Don’t pass it up if you find it.)

Fronts on tops, with the corresponding backs below them. You've seen these before, but I thought a photo was necessary to remind you. My favorite one is the front of small one in the upper right corner, even though it's upside-down in this picture. I worked really hard to make that deer appear just as I wanted it to.

After figuring out what colors should be substituted in the pattern, I started working. I did follow the directions as printed, color substitutions aside. Let me tell you that the stamens, all those French knots, that was awful. It took me forever, partly because the wool was rough on my hands and I could only do so much at a time. But, I did finally finish it on Spring Break.

These colors are much better, don't you think?

Yes, that is two different colors I used on the "blooms," or whatever they are. It was an oops, but I stuck with it. I'm pretending that the sun is shining down on the flower from the right, and that's what's causing the color disparity. Seriously, there are a bajillion French knots here, and once they were done, I wasn't ripping them out for anything. The centers are done in cream embroidery floss, and the outsides in crewel wool, just like the pattern dictated (just slightly different colors - the original pattern has the centers of the smaller ones green, and the centers of the larger ones cream).

Satin stitch, in red crewel wool, on cream linen, is not very pretty. I had to outline it so that it would be tolerable. I think it turned out well, all things considered.

For some reason, I had no difficulties whatsoever with the satin stitch in the pale green. However, I was not too fond of those gigantic French knots. They are not my favorite. The leaves in general, though, I do like. Very artistic, and yet still leafy.

I love the cream falling leaves in the background. I wasn't sure that I liked it (they are in the original color) as I was doing it, but once I saw the overall effect, it was a nice touch.

I haven’t decided what to do with it yet. Originally I was thinking it could be used as a chair cover, but all those French knots seem incredibly impractical (and perhaps uncomfortable) for that (it should be noted that crewel is considered to be much hardier than standard embroidery because of the materials used). So now I’m thinking I should just stretch it over a canvas and hang it on the wall. The instructions note that it is not to be washed under any circumstances, but you can take it to the drycleaners. Well, I have no plans to take my embroidery to be dry cleaned, so it will just have to stay as-is. Forever. (Really, who takes embroidery to be dry cleaned? This seems highly impractical. I didn’t want to do the washer-dryer thing, just run it under cold water and let it dry, and then iron the non-stitched parts, just like I do all my other embroidery pieces. Fussy, fussy.)

Lovely!