Ottobre 2/08 #8

Ottobre 2/08 #8
Originally uploaded by leahholland

My second top in this pattern. Better fit in some areas - hips and back, but still not happy with the bust area and had to add a lace panel at CF as it was lower cut than the previous version....

A great day for dancing....

I am really happy with how the vest turned out after I fixed the front boning length (right side) and the braid tightness (left side). Today she got a 3rd place for her pas de basques, and was slightly disappointed because she didn't place on her other dance.

Vest Complete and other sewing

The vest is complete... sorry no photos yet. It is in the laundry room drying/cooling from being steamed. Wish I could steam it on her :) I'm sure it would shape up faster.

Other sewing was for a laptop bag for the kids new computer. Before Christmas we ordered them a laptop from the One Laptop per Child which arrived a few weeks ago. My sons immediate request was for a laptop bag for their computer.

Its made with some black denim with smiley faces, lined with green broadcloth and interfaced with some fleece and canvas. It has a pocket on the inside for the mouse and power cord. My son helped sew the pocket...


Since she wouldn't wear these as shorts that were made for under her easter dress, I added a skirt to them - A new skort!

Vest nearly complete....

I didn't pull the braid tight enough when basting so ended up having to take most of it out....


Ok its almost done, but I'm not happy with a few spots! The two centre front scallops look different to me (they didn't before I added the braid) and the braid on the left shoulder is pulled too tight! And for some reason the lining ended up too short at centre back so I ended up slicing it and putting on a tag/"patch"

I haven't seen it on, as its nearly 2AM.... but I'm hoping the front scallops don't look as off when its worn.

Any ideas?

Still to do is sew the front braid (its over boning so it can't be stitched with a machine) and add the hook and eyes. And fix anything that may need fixing. And it really needs a good steam - wish I had a dress form for steaming it...

Vest Update

The vest is looking good. I temporarily abandoned the black one to start work on the purple one. I learned lots about the whole process and it was great to practice with an actual vest before making the one in purple. Changes I made for the purple one include, slightly tweaking the back fit (went from too snug to too loose), using 1" seam allowances, and improved my basting stitches for the interfacing. I really liked the 1" seam allowance - much easier to pin and sew!

2.5 hours of basting!!!! The braid is now basted on, just over 2m of it..... Next steps are to stitch it on the machine, make 10 button holes, slip stitch the CB lining seam and stitch on the hook & eyes. I must get this done by Friday as she needs it Saturday morning. As long as the 2yo doesn't nap today, I'll be able to hand-baste tonight.

Playing with the embroidery machine

Here are some pencil bags I've done for my kids... I've also got a small bag started for my Gramma for Mother's Day.

One the light blue one, I really should have used a different stabilizer, but my 5yo loves it!

Photos......

This is the embroidery project I worked on during one of the workshops at the sewing show.
Doesn't it look right at home in the corner?
My son had a birthday party to go to today (for a friend who has his purple belt in Taekwondo), so I had to try out my new machine.... This morning I digitized the picture, and stitched it out. A few of the stitches are a little long, but it worked out well. The text is one of the ones built in on the machine.

It followed me home....

I was at the Vancouver Sewing and Craft Show for the past two days. I had a good time, took a few classes and bought just a few small items and one BIG one! I bought a Brother PE700II Embroidery only machine!

I took 3 workshops and did 2 free demos. I took 2 machine embroidery hands on workshops. The first one we embroidered on organza and taffeta to make two layered flowers that were then glued onto a grapevine wreath. The second focused on how to place designs and we embroidered on a pillowcase. The third workshop was making a crystal transfer. I did one demo on the Bernina machines to make a little bag (I didn't complete this as I had to go to one of my classes) and the other was an embroidered napkin.

I know why..... (vest update)

I know why these cost so much! They are tedious work!

Here is the progress of the black vest.... it is assembled, but needs some tweaking near the shoulders (the right and left front don't match at the moment, but I wasn't fiddling with that at midnight last night) and I will probably take in the side seams a little - they are quite straight! This vest is TOO wide at the waist for my daughter, but otherwise fits well. I am not completely happy with how this one is constructed at the moment so I will be redoing some of the seams. After that it still needs braid and button holes.

Other progress: the mending pile is completely empty again. Just after emptying the mending pile last month, out of the laundry came another batch of items....

Friday and Saturday I'm headed to the local sewing and craft show. I'm signed up to take some courses and will hopefully get time to do some of the free demos too. And thanks to my husband who will be spending the two days with the kids....