In a Photo Mood

Well, sad to say I have not been in front of my sewing machine for a year. My BWOF has expired. Some of my fabrics and patterns are still laying around as I left them. Last year. I have no idea when I'll be back into the sewing groove. I should...turn on my machine and let it run a few stitches. Let it know I still treasure the wonderful sewing moments we've had and that I haven't forgotten her. So sad.

I don't want to shut down this blog that I've shared with so many wonderful sewists. Many of you have left wonderful and uplifting comments and experiences. If you don't mind, I'll keep posting every now and then about what I've been up to. Just maybe, real soon, that sewing bug will come right back.

My photography hobby has taken me on a wonderful new adventure. I've been spending my weekends, taking lots of pictures. I had the opportunity last month to take a trip into DC for the Cherry Blossoms. My brother and I managed to get to the Tidal Basin before the crack of dawn. We stumbled upon a nice surprise and was able to take pictures of a bride in a beautiful setting.

A bride at the Tidal Basin


Her gown close-up


Got to love those white platform shoes


I have to say whenever I visit a place or town with my camera, I always come across a bride-picture-taking opportunity. It happened to me last year when I was in Chicago.


Overall, I'm doing well. Life is good. :)

Wow! It's Beautiful Outside!

It's been snowing like crazy in my neck of the woods. It started last night around 9pm and it's now close to 4:30pm...still snowing. I think we have about 12 inches of snow. I spent 2 hours with DH, shoveling our driveway. That was a lot of snow to be moving for two people. The fun part was figuring out where to put all this snow!

Here's a picture from our front doorway at 9am this morning:




I'll be back to post another picture, where you can't even see the indentations from our front steps.

Now, I'm off to find a warm spot in the house and do some knitting.

Something to Be Thankful For...I Found a Job!

This Thanksgiving will be a special one for me. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. Staying healthy, celebrating 25 years with DH, having a part-time job, knitting up a storm, making new friends, and enjoying life. After so many months (8 to be exact) of researching, sending out resumes, and filling out applications...I finally landed a full-time position.

I'm sad to be leaving a fun job at my LYS (local yarn shop) and leaving my co-workers/friends. Can I share something with you? That was the best job I've ever had. Even DH thinks I should stick around and help when I can. We'll see what my new work schedule looks like.

In my neck of the woods, there are many corporations/companies who are still in lay-off mode. I am very fortunate to have found something and close to home.

The commute to my new job will be 7.5 miles and take roughly 15 minutes to get there. Just like everyone around me, I had to take a cut in pay. Folks, this is reality. Can I tell you how many times I've been humbled over the last 8 months? I don't have enough fingers to count. Let's just say, I'm very thankful for this job and many prayers have been answered.

I start my new job in early December. Sounds weird, huh? I never thought anyone would be hiring around the holidays. Let alone start a new job in December. Again, I am thankful.

I think it's time to start sewing again as another door has opened for me. I mean, I need to look a bit more professional than what I've been wearing to the yarn shop. Sounds like a couple of new knit tops and twinsets are in order.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Sewing!

I Like BWOF-December Issue

This year, time has slipped by quickly for me. I've been keeping busy and working part-time at my LYS. I've taken over 10k pictures with my DSLR. I have knitted 18 garments plus various accessories. Yes, I've reached a burn out period with knitting. I don't have much to show on the sewing front as I haven't had a real need to sew more clothes for myself. That my change, as I have some news that I will share with you in the next day or two. Now, on to some sewing news.

Sewing Lessons

Today, I will be giving private sewing lessons for a friend of mine and her daughter. I plan on covering the basics of the sewing machine, the different stitches and sewing a perfect straight stitch. Yes, I make the students adjust their machines to produce a beautiful straight stitch. I will also go over the basics of a pattern. More lessons will follow.

BWOF

I received my BWOF yesterday. I am very happy with this issue as I've found some interesting garments that I would love to tackle in early 2010. 2010??? Yes, it's right around the corner.

I absolutely love this coat. It's simple and very classic. I'm in need of a dressy coat. If you look in my closet, I have a lot of casual coats and jackets. When I try on RTW coats at the stores, I typically have problems with the sleeves not fitting correctly and always an issue with the sleeve length. Sounds like I need to sew one for myself.




Another great find is for my DH...a hooded jacket. He would actually wear this and it looks well, comfy.




I love the style of this pants and the pockets. There is a reason. When I'm doing a photo shoot/session, I can't seem to have enough pockets on me. These pants would enable me to carry my wallet, store my lens cap, carry extra battery, remote control, and lens cloth. Okay, not the typical stuff a lady would carry. I would call these my Photog Pants.




For a quick and dressy sewing project, why not a lacy topper? Like some of you, I have a few sheer and lacy fabric that's been sitting in my stash for years. I may end up sewing one of these. This would be pretty over a dark colored camisole and slender pants.




I'm not a cape fan, but I really like this design. If anything, I would get a lot of experience installing zippers.




Stay tuned as I will be back soon to post my really big news.

Pants Muslin #1

I'm not so sure about the "Fit Nice Sew Slim Pants" system. I guess I was expecting perfect fitting pants right out of the pants pattern package. BUT then what is a perfect pair of pants? What should it look like on me? Maybe I need to remain flexible. After all, I should go ahead and sew in the drawstring elastic waistband and see what the pants looks like when finished. So, here's my pants muslin #1 still in the works...front view.



I need to cut the excess fabric off the top of the pants and then sew in the elastic. Here's a side view.



Here's the back view. Wow...where did all that padding come from???? I rarely look at my backside and I'm noticing pictures don't lie!!! I really need to lay off the dark chocolates and do some running.



There appears to be a lot of gathers around the waistline. I could take in the sides a bit, but I need to make sure I have enough room for the pants to go over my hips when I pull them on. ;)

These "Fit Nice Sew Slim Pants" are initially sewn with the draw string elastic waistband. They can be modified to add front pockets, a zipper, and a waistband.

What do you think? Do you see something I don't see? Should I give up on this pattern and try a Burda pattern? Comments and suggestions are are wholeheartedly welcomed here.

Pants Status

I'm still working on my pants. I sewed up the seams and tried them on and I like what I see so far. That is, "no smiles" under my rear smiling back at me. Of course, dark brown fabric wasn't the best choice to use as I have a hard time seeing any real problem areas. I really like the front and especially the side view of my pants...very slimming. BTW, I love this twill fabric with a bit of lycra. I could get used to seeing this fabric in my stash. So, this first pair of pants is on temporary hold.

In the meantime, I have cut out another pair in real muslin fabric. I'll be sewing this pair soon. Working with a light colored fabric will definitely help me see any fitting issue I might have. I figure any initial adjustments that I need to make will be made to the side seams and then see if I need to add any darts in the back. Then I'll check to see what my crotch area (front and back) looks like on me.

It's soooo cool to be in front of my SM again. Kind of like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget. ;)

Pants in the Making

As you know I'm on a personal quest to sew a decent pair of pants for myself. It's been two weeks since my pants class and I thought I would start over and retrace another pants pattern. Could I remember all the steps from class? That would be my first clue if the class was well taught. The results? It was a very good class. ;)

The only changes I made to this 2nd version was to draw a smaller waist and then draw a narrower pants leg towards the bottom. My first version would have had the leg width around 20 inches. That would have definitely looked funny on my 5 ft frame. My 2nd version has the pants leg width around 16-1/2 inches.

I dusted off my scissors (paper and fabric) and cut out my pants.



The fabric I'm using is a brown twill with some lycra. At $3/yard, it turned out to be cheaper than using muslin and it was sitting in my stash. (Must make a note to buy some muslin when it goes on sale)

I need to put aside my knitting projects for a few hours this morning and sew my pants. I'm really anxious to see how much tweaking I'll need to do. Ahhhh...the joys of sewing.

Back to the Basics

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to teach a friend of mine how to sew. Actually, it was more of a refresher course on how to use her sewing machine and then onto the basics of sewing. Within that small amount of time, I'm reminded of the passion I had for sewing. It gave me great pleasure to see straight and consistent stitches sewn. My friend even sewed samples of all the stitches her machine could produce. I really enjoy seeing the surprised reactions and pleasure that a simple sewing machine produces.

I had another door/opportunity open for me. I will be teaching again at a local fabric store. This time I hope to teach two of my favorite hobbies. One is in the works and I hope to start in another week (as long as folks sign up). The other class...I need to figure out student availability. You know that feeling. There's never enough time to take a class...morning, afternoon, or evening?

I'm still working part-time at my LYS. Still enjoying my fun adventure there and still giving their yarns a good squeeze.

So, maybe I've found the beginnings of a nice balance between my two favorite hobbies.

As always, I'm enjoying life.