Mother of the Groom dress

 I have been sewing like crazy. I started making a dress for my sons wedding and it looked boring and like a sack, so at the last minute, ( a week before the wedding, CRAZY) I dashed down to Tessuti's and fell in love with a silk floral fabric.  I love silk but find it difficult to sew. I took out Simplicity 2549 and decided to use this pattern.  Luckily I have started my  holidays but of course had house guests and my daughters boyfriend from Canada decided to move out here, I was pretty stressed but I was really happy how the dress turned out.

The top part is a navy lace over a plain navy that I bought at The Fabric store. The bodice is lined and the sleeves are unlined.

The bottom half of the dress is the most beautiful silk. I just fell in love with it.

 Adjustments
I did a 2inch full bust adjustment and lengthened the bodice by a couple of inches. This meant the back was a bit long but I did need it at the front. Then I extended the pattern for the cap sleeve to create 3/4 sleeves. I didn't quite know how to do this but it turned out. I wanted to use as much of the silk as possible so I did pleats from the band under the bust. These were a huge pain but I'm glad I made that change. I also lined the lower skirt,  this gave it body. The end result made me quite proud of myself. I felt good and more importantly I felt comfortable. The lace was a pain to sew because it was corded and the silk was slippery but I love a challenge.

With my gorgeous man.

The happy couple, my handsome son and his beautiful new wife. It was a wonderful wedding so full of love and happiness.

                                                      Happy Sewing!

Skirting

My son is getting married in 4 weeks OMG! I am so excited! He is marrying a gorgeous girl and they are so happy and in love, it fills your heart with joy BUT what do I wear to the wedding. I was going to buy something but finding something I like and that fits me has become a real issue.
When I was repacking my shelves I found a gorgeous bronze black fabric.

 Can I wear a skirt? Well I will try.

 

The Pattern I have been wanting to try is the Bluegingerdoll Betsy skirt. I think this will be a very useful pattern. The bronze fabric is hopefully for the wedding , lined with black plus a black top, not sure which top yet. I have seen this made by several people on Curvy Sewing Collective and they all look fabulous.

 The wearable muslin fabric is quite a thick cotton. I have no idea where it came from but I love it. I know I am going into winter but I'm sure it will be fine for here and what better way to brighten a dull day than wear a flowery skirt.
What I like about this pattern that is that I don't have to upgrade . As far as I can see if I make the 22 it should fit. Anyway I am quite excited to try this pattern.

 

Altogether I feel quite positive about this.

Happy Sewing!

Back in the Swing

My sewing room is up and running again. I have been trying to organise my sewing room but I just wanted to get all my fabric out and put on the shelves again.

A bit messy but at least its out where I can see it all. I had fabric in boxes and I decided fabric needed to be on display, otherwise I forgot about it. Stacking the fabric made me realise I really don't need to buy fabric ever again, ha ha, as if that will happen! I loved reconnecting with my stash. I found pieces of fabric I haven't seen for years.
 My other dilemma was trying to work out a way to store my patterns successfully rather than in boxes. Boxes made it difficult to locate patterns so I would often wind up buying 2 of the same pattern.  I bought a filing cabinet thinking that I would have plenty of space, ha ha again. Really, sometimes I surprise myself at my lack of intelligence.

I have filled this cabinet and have ordered a second one. I must say it is easy to find patterns. I feel this is a good solution for me who clearly over purchases patterns. I also got rid of 3 bags of patterns, well actually they are in my garage waiting for the next school holidays, when I will take them to the Fabric Cave. You can also see in the photo my beautiful new hardwood floors. I am so happy with the renovation it was all worth it, now all I need to do is sew, sew and sew.

                              Sunrise last week from my balcony, nothing to do with sewing but I loved the sky.

                                              Happy Sewing!

March Madness

My how time flies. It has been so long since I have posted, I can hardly believe it, its nearly April. I haven't sewn much , well actually at all. Work has been beyond hectic and every night I have fallen asleep exhausted. To add to all this, I am renovating and had to pack up my sewing room, very sad. My stash now looks like this

Another 2 weeks and I will be unpacking my house again, so exciting. I can't wait to unpack all my fabric. Although I do have a desire to destash. I may have to visit the Fabric Cave again.

Happy Sewing!

February Garment

I have been struggling with trying to choose a garment to make for February. The beginning of the school year is always a challenge but this year we have had so many changes at our school that it has been an enormous challenge. That coupled with the humid weather I have been feeling quite overwhelmed and indecisive. I'm not sure that my garment completely fits into the theme but I really want to make this top so that is why I decided to make it.

The pattern I found at the Salvo's for $1.00. I intend to make a top out of the main black floral fabric and then the sleeves in the pink flower fabric. The flower fabric is a cotton lace that is quite open. It's marginally a frankenpattern. I'm hoping this will work.
               
                                                     Happy Sewing !

Burda top 6972 and Style Arc pants

I started this Burda 6972 tunic top last October, it was meant to be my Garment a Month top but things  didn't go well and I only finished this in January.

This top I changed the sleeves to 3/4 length . I did widen the upper arm slightly just to give me a comfortable sleeve. The fabric is a gorgeous linen I bought from Tessuti's last year or could have even been the year before. It's a beautiful fabric that is lovely to wear. The top has a horizontal dart at the front and the neck opening is bound. I did find this a bit tricky and had to hand sew the bottom section so that it sat well. The top went together very easily. I really like the shape and the pleats in the lower section.

The pants are Style Arc Elle pants. I had this fabric in my stash and it was a perfect coordinating fabric, pretty happy with that. This is my 4th pair of Elle pants. this pair turned out to be a bit tighter than I like but they were actually fine when I wore them to work. It amazes me how you can make the same pattern and they are different every time.

 Pretty happy with this outfit. I will definitely do this tunic again. Maybe a sleeveless version and then a long sleeve version for Autumn.
                                                 Happy Sewing !

The late Jungle Top

After I finished my last black and white top in my previous blog post I decided I needed another top to go with my Tummy Taming Pants . In my stash I found this lovely black and white animal print. It's a lovely stretch that I bought from Style Arc last year. I decided to make Simplicity 1463 view C, however I used the one fabric for the whole top.

I really like the sleeves in this pattern, they are loose and comfortable. I lengthened the top by 3 inches because I prefer tops longer and didn't want the same problem I had in my previous top. Its hard to see the peak at the front but it is there.

Its hard to see in the photo but there is gathering at the back yoke..
This is a lovely soft fabric and very comfortable. I am very happy with this top and will definitely be making it again.
                                                Happy Sewing!