Barriers to Blogging

I used to sometimes hear blog posts in my head.  I'd be thinking about something and it would turn into a conversation of sorts.  They were words I needed to get out of my head so I could move on to other thoughts maybe.  It really was the push to blog at times I probably shouldn't.

It doesn't seem to happen much lately.  Maybe because I'm happy.  Sounds strange but I think most songs are about something sad or challenging.  When we're struggling, we often have more things to say, more feelings to sort out.

That said, I am sewing.  It's wonderful to have new clothing to wear.  You know a few days I wore entirely me-made outfits last week?  Having two pairs of self made pants is certainly extending my wardrobe.  And last week I made a denim Hollyburn skirt.

I should be eager to blog about all of them but man I suck at taking pictures.  I was frantically hemming the skirt on Saturday so I could wear it to my nephews first birthday party (CRAZY, they can't possibly be one already).  First birthday, you'd think I'd have a picture or two of me in my self made brand spanking new skirt.

Nope.  I know pictures were taken of me but go figure, all the ones I have seen are of my nephew.  I mean really, there was a new skirt to show off, someone should have taken a picture of it (we need a sarcasm font or something).  I should have asked Mr. Lina to capture the skirt in all it's non-shiny denim newness but I didn't.

And then I washed it and wore it to work on Monday.  Granted, I left at 7:30am when Mr. Lina was in the shower and I got home at 7:30pm because I have limited time management skills, but in theory I could have taken outdoor pictures yesterday.  Spring HAS arrived (although I'm still skeptical it is here to stay).  But no, I decided having dinner and buying groceries was more important.

Oh and how is this for weird?  I was at a client this afternoon that happens to be near a Fabricland.  The car went on autopilot and the next thing I knew I was parked right in front of it.  Strange.  But stranger still, I didn't buy much.  I actually reminded myself I have fabric and home and bought things like interfacing, lining, and a little piece of fabric with grippies on it so I can make my hand knit slippers last a little longer (I swear my feet eat through yarn).  Nothing even to show off.  Every time I touched something I was reminded of some other piece of cotton sateen or poly-knit in my fabric stash.

I like making patterns twice.  You figure out what works and doesn't.  Let me tell you Hollyburn runs long on me.  The "above the knee" but not short (view B) is below my knee AFTER I cut the length for size 0 and then cut an additional 3" off the bottom.  I will sew it again but it will be cut 4" shorter (to be above my knee) and from a softer fabric.  I do like my light weight denim version (fabric purchased from Len's Mill denim ends, it's so dark it's almost black) but it the denim has enough body to float away from me.  My mom said I looked "youthful".  When I mentioned being ready for the sock hop Mr. Lina agreed.  I have some black linen in my stash, just washed it for a second or third time last week.  That could be nice for summer and while it won't drape like a chiffon, it will fall down instead of out.

Trips & Travels & Pants

It's been quite the month.  Mr. Lina and I were off to Germany and Austria for a little film fest and vacation.  It's the third year in a row that Mr. Lina had a film accepted into the same Landshut film festival.  Every time we meet people in the film industry and reinforce friendships.  I swear, my Facebook page is half German now.  If I knew in 2012 that I'd be back to Germany 3 times, I would have taken a conversational German class.  As it is, we are getting pretty good at "menu-German".

Opening night, cloned skirt made in February.  Black photographs so well.

Did I mention I dyed my hair?  Wearing Renfew top with cowl.

Again, it was a good festival and his film "Oh Come All Ye Zombies" was well received.  It won it's block of films and came in second for audience favourite by a very narrow margin.  Year after year, their programming is just phenomenal.  He's up against some amazing films and we aren't exactly stacking the audience with cast members.

Mr. Lina at the film fest!

Same Renfrew as above at BMW.

Landshut is such a pretty little town.  Even going three times, we still got to see some new things.  The festival arranged a tour of the BMW component factory for us.  They don't hold back on the tour, I got to see engine blocks being poured and carbon fibre bumpers being made.  The also added a film maker breakfast, weistwurst (white sausage), bretzel (big soft pretzel) & beer, a traditional Bavarian breakfast.

That's a radler - beer (lager) and lemonade of some sort, very refreshing.  Pretty sure I have self-made pants you can't see.

We decided after the film fest we'd go somewhere new for a few days.  Vienna, Austria ended up being the winner, it's close enough to be cheap and yet still new to us.  I liked Vienna, it's very beautiful, compact and walkable.  We rented a one bedroom flat through AirBnB.  It was great, we could make breakfast at the flat, if we at a big lunch and just wanted nibblies for dinner, we could do that.  After being in a tiny hotel room in Landshut, it was nice to have a little more space.

Long day of walking, corduroy pencil skirt I made last year.

 The first full day we walked a crazy amount.  Through the old part of Vienna, over to the amusement park, went for a ride in their rather famous Ferris Wheel and Mr. Lina decided we should have lunch at the Donauturm on the Danube, sort of like their version of the CN Tower).  We didn't quite realize how far away it was and ended up walking 20 km that day alone.  Above I still had a few kilometers to walk to get to the flat and I needed to just sit for a bit.  Thank heavens those shoes are comfortable!

Did I mention it was windy at the top of the Ferris Wheel?

We did a day trip to Saltzburg.  It was pretty overcast and damp that day so I can't say I got the best impression.  We walked up to the castle that overlooks the town.  This is the area that The Sound of Music was filmed in.  It wasn't until we were taking the train back to Munich for our flight home that I really saw the alps clearly.

Walking to the castle in Saltzburg, never been so happy to be at the top.

Oh right, this is a sewing blog isn't it?  And I mentioned pants!  

Thurlow Trousers, lunch at the Rathaus in Vienna.

Yep, I made pants.  Since February I have made a black skirt and 3 pairs of Thurlow trousers.  The first were a wearable muslin where I figured out that the leg is just too wide for me.  I'm drowning in them as drafted.  Above I'm wearing the second pair, black twill that is shiny on one side that I put to the inside of the pants.  It means they slide nicely on my skin when I'm walking (which led to me being unable to sit still after too much beer and coffee).  This pair is a bit loose in the waist, but that makes them perfect for travelling and great for bowling.  I have full range of motion but feel put together.  I actually wore that exact outfit to work yesterday now that I look at it.

I made a third pair in grey, it's got some stretch and pile to it, but it's not quite corduroy.  After this pair being a little big, I trimmed them down further but I had such a problem getting the bum right.  Oddly enough I'm not quite as happy with them as the second pair.  I've also got a little post-vacation weight on me so I'm hoping some of that sorts out the fit.  I did wear them on vacation but the days I wore them Mr. Lina only seemed to take pictures from the waist up.  Perhaps he isn't as keen either.

On the adoption front, we're one meeting and an evening training session away from being "Adopt Ready".  I thought the meeting was going to happen today, but our social worker isn't quite ready for us to sign off on it.  He has reviewed our home study with his supervisor and I gather they are really eager to have all the i's dotted and t's crossed and working with an adoption worker to place kids with us.  So soon.  Soon.

Finished Objects - Sorbetto

I did do a fair bit of sewing late in the summer, but I did not do a good job of getting pictures as proof.  So today I seem to be awake (there has been a lack of sleep the past week) and posting at home where I can draw from all the pictures Mr. Lina took.  He's a much better photographer than I am.

I worked on quite a few of Colette Sorbettos.  It seems when I tweak things it didn't quite make it better, just different.  This one is from rayon.  I made a Sencha blouse from this fabric before and while the colours make me happy, it didn't work well with the buttons/snappers I used.  It really wasn't heavy enough to support them.  Sorbetto is a better match, but I could have given myself a little more room at the high bust area.

This was taking in July, when our hops plant was growing like crazy.  We ended up with enough hops for a full batch of beer, it turned out quite well. 

And the sleeves?  I put the shirt on, pinned where I wanted them to start and stop and the top of my shoulder.  I took those measurements and made a moon sort of shape, but with a straight line where it was going to connect with the arm.  Marking the shoulder point worked well because I did need more coverage to the back than the front but I managed to sew one on the correct way and the other on backwards.  Oops.  I notice it, but it's a matter of millimetres so I don't think it's noticeable to others.

I bought this fabric last summer.  The day I was shopping I was wearing these red capris that I like but struggle to wear.  The fabric really seemed to be the "right red" so I bought it.  In trying to "fix" the arm/high bust tightness, I seem to have gone the other way and if I move the right way you can see a little bra.  Things I like about this... as 100% cotton, it's comfortable but has more structure than the rayon, standing away from me a little which is nice when it's hot.  I was too impatient to finish to go buy new bias tape so I used white (the background is a yellow/cream colour but there is white in it).  I'm not sure that was the best choice.

I like wearing it, but it's still far from perfect.  It generally has enough room in the bust, but looking at pictures from Summerfolk where I'm sitting down, maybe not...

I made a third and I don't have pictures of it, not sure I will.  It's sheer, but in trying to make the arm hole smaller, I went too far.  It's just annoying to wear and I think there is already a thread pull in it.  Pout.

Well, time for me to rustle up some breakfast for us.  I will say it's been fun going through pictures from this summer, it's like feeling sunshine again. 

Procrastination

As mentioned, we had the basement and hallways painted.  This required furniture to be moved and while some stuff went to the garage, the rest was moved around the room or into other rooms.  I figured while the furniture was away from the walls, it was a good time to borrow my parents steam cleaner and get to the carpets that haven't been seen in 9 years.  Until last night, there wasn't even a spot in the house where 3 people could sit together that wasn't a bed.

This is a long winded way to say I (we) have a lot of things to move and decide to pack or not pack and I don't really want to do it.

So what is a procrastinator to do? 

ANYTHING else.

And how have I filled my time?

1. Sorbetto #3 (I think it needs back darts, it's a bit puffy and I need pictures to blog)
2. Sorbetto #4 (I do have pictures but not with me at the moment)
3. Toronto Sewing Meet Up on Saturday (and I need pictures to do this justice, short version was that it was a whole lot of fun, so great to meet other bloggers and readers!)
4. Complete addiction to the game Dominion (seriously awesome card/deck building game, Mr. Lina should not have told me about the on line version)
5. Sewed up the fabric I bought at King Fabrics into an A line skirt
6. Wore said skirt to work and lawn bowling (a team event which necessitated light coloured clothing and I have come to realise I don't wear a lot of white)
7. Walks with Mr. Lina
8. Massive amounts of dusting as furniture was moved
9. Sneezed.  I know this is odd to include in a list of things I've done, but I'm sneezing a lot, clearly ragweed season is starting.

I think to get anything done I have to think of something else that I want to do even less. 

I am seriously happy with my white skirt.  Believe you me, I'll be posting about it because there are things that I like about it that make Mr. Lina's eyes glaze over.  I am very pleased by the construction and I find myself thinking about another one and the changes I'd make and what fabric I have in my stash that would work better.  I've already trimmed down the pattern pieces where I think it needed tweaking.  It's just calling my name to try that tweak out.

This is more of a note to myself but... I seem to have a new sleep issue.  Not only am I now an occasional sleep walker and talker (which I haven't done in a while now), but we can add humming to the list.  Twice this week I've woken up Mr. Lina.  Although he tells me the second time it was a ghost humming the tuneless song of its people from my side of the bed.  I appreciate he tried to make it funny.  Googling tells me it's not an issue to my health, but I don't like that it's waking Mr. Lina up.

You know what I'm not?  Sad.  At all. 

Friday night we went to see some very good friends.  On the drive there (about 45 min) I was telling Mr. Lina about some fanstasic Excel-fu I unleashed at work that day.  He doesn't use Excel so most of this was going way over his head and I knew it, but I had to share my pride in making it work.    And then he said it was good to see "Chatty Sera" back again.  I'm a talkative person, to the point when I'm quiet, he worries and is quick to assume I'm angry.  I've been quiet a lot the past few years.  From my perspective, I simply did not have much to say, certainly nothing that was exciting to bubble out of me.  He sees the change.

On Friday morning we met with our fertility doctor for our review of the last FET.  I figured it would at the very least give us closure with the clinic.  I have mentioned that our doctor takes my losses personally, like he should be able to "fix" this problem and I keep stumping him.  He even offered us an IVF cycle for free if I don't make it to 12 weeks of pregnancy.  And we politely declined.  It's not money making me stop, I don't want to do that again.  I appreciate the offer, but it didn't even feel tempting.  I think that's a good sign that I really am honestly good with this.  I'm on the right path and I know it.

Quite likely, there are children out there right now that are going to call me mom.  This has all been part of the journey that is going to make us the right parents for them.

The Tale of Two Capes

I have a lot of options for projects to finish.  Tiramisu, the Vogue in silk noil, the Burda dress, the Almas my wardrobe would benefit from...

And what did I sew?

A cape.

Not just any cape, a purple cape for a Skelator costume.

Oh, you didn't have brothers/sons/a heart beat in the 80's to make you watch He-Man?  Here's the refresher.

Source: http://www.comicvine.com/skeletor/4005-16424/

A loooong time ago, I made a black cape.  My boyfriend at the time wanted to be Darth Maul for Halloween, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace had released that year.  To be a Sith he really needed a big flowy cape but being Halloween, it's just made of cheap broadcloth and unlined.  I seem to remember draping it over him and pinning until it looked right and had a hood.  There is no pattern to refer to, no notes from 1999 kicking around, not even pictures of the event.  Just the cape itself which is much too long because Mr. Lina and I are much shorter than my 6' 1" ex-boyfriend.  On the plus side, the actor who will wear the purple cape is 6' so no need to hem it.

My sewing skills were a mixed bag at the time (not that it's all that much different now).  I knew how a sewing machine worked very well.  I understood the concepts of grain lines, was well versed in turning things inside out thanks to Mom's bibs.  I watched her sew many things and Fabricland felt like a second home.  Things  I did not get? 

• Patterns, the language eluded me.
• Finishing seams for wovens.  Mom does not sew clothing, everything she made was turned inside out and usually had top stitching.
• Full bust adjustments (not that it's a factor in this cape)
• I don't think I understood bias tape at that point.

So looking at this cape, I am pleasantly surprised with some things I did and shake my head at others.

• I draped the three panels so there was an arm hole, very wise move
• All selvages were left alone, I knew I didn't have to do anything with them and that's true for the purple cape, it's a costume, not couture.
• All cut (well, ripped along the grain line) edges were just folded back and sewn, so you can see the raggedy edges
• I used such narrow seam allowances and crappy finishings that some of the side panel stitching have come apart.
• The hood falls perfectly, just like the character I was aiming for.  This is something I didn't improve in the purple version, I should have pulled more fabric into the hood.
• The weight is mostly carried by the shoulders, not pulling back at the neck.
• It moves so well when he walked.  Pictures do not do that justice.

As many others have found, it's interesting to look back at your early days of sewing.

It's a very good thing I didn't hem that black cloak shorter.  It worked really well yesterday on the film shoot.

First time I've answered to the call "WARDROBE!"

The film shoot went well.  It's going to be a video, rock song about a guy doing a series of stupid things and pissing people off.  Like going to the movies and being obnoxious, being Skelator on the subway (you know not one person stopped us, a few looked, a few took pictures, but not many really stared or got pissed off).  It's a series of small events, we'll see how it all comes together in editing but they have some great footage.  I believe it will end up on YouTube so when it does, I'll add in a link.

I wanna be in pictures

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted.  Aft Agley has given me a Liebster Award and I have that post almost ready but not quite.  And it's the not quite that has held me back from posting.  It's been a very busy week chez Lina.  Fortunately I did get a chance to tell you all to enter in the contest at Falling Through Your Clothes because it was that entry that won the fabric.  Super cool!  Thanks, FunnyGrrl.

So what has gone on?

• Two dinners with my SIL and my niece.
• Sadly they are heading back to NWT today, hopefully it goes well as Toronto has snow this morning and freezing rain coming as the day warms to +4C
• My parents have headed south to Florida
• Which means I can do a little cheap-shipping online shopping this week (yay!)
• Last day of principle photography for Mr Lina's next movie was Saturday
• I did sew 24m of fabric into 3 backdrops - more on that below
• Corin Raymond released Paper Nickles - his Canadian Tire funded album, we went to the Wednesday release party
• A bowling tournament yesterday. 
• I did not bowl well but it was nice to bowl on wood.  The lanes I usually bowl at are synthetic, it's just not the same.

Busy, busy, busy.

So those backdrops.   They took way longer than I thought a few straight seams were going to take.  In short, these needed to be 9' high and light blue would be 15' wide and two in black about 7' wide each.  Mr. Lina wasn't sure how they were going to hang so flexibility was key.  I still wasn't healthy when we bought the fabric so some math was not quite right.

9' = 2.7m so we did buy 3m per panel leaving 30cm for a hem etc, 4 panels = 12m
45" x 4 panels = 180" = 15'

Anyone see the math problem there?  4 panels need to be sewn together.  Sewn together means there will be seam allowances.  And the blue fabric wasn't 45", it was 44".  By the time I sewed those 4 panels together and remeasured I was short by 8".

I am the win.

And when I measured out the black fabric (I thought starting with the smaller backdrops was wise) I added maybe 3 inches (7cm) for hem forgetting I'd need to also turn fabric at the top and that I wanted the bottom hem big enough to add weight or possibly slide through a dowel and that I did buy enough fabric for a 15cm hem.  So I really had to keep as much as I could at the top.

I thought it was rather unlikely they would have a true curtain rod to slide these curtains onto so I had to think about the top.  Ties seemed time consuming, velcro an option but not one I was really keen on.  Sewing velcro is not fun and at 9', that's a lot of weight for velcro to hold.  I decided some looped tabs at the top would be good.  If they could slide something through it, great.  If not, the tab would be easier to clamp or we could tie it to something or later on I could add velcro and make it fold down.  In the end, they had a bunch of these riser things that could make an upside down L, the tabs went through the short part of the L at the top and they clamped it to the long side of the L to hold it taught. 

To get these tabs to aim up, bias tape seemed the best option for attaching it to the backdrop (added benefit of keeping a lot of the fabric for the black backdrops that I cut short).  I had a package of black bias tape but it wasn't going to be enough for both backdrops.  I didn't have anything light coloured for the blue.  So what seemed like oh, a handful of 9'/15' straight seams turned into making well over 20' of bias tape.  That's a whole lot of ironing.  I did not count the bias tape nor tabs into my fabric purchase either.  There was enough for the black fabric because I only needed it for two panels and cut the hems short, but the blue backdrop, well...

My poor math skills also required a pieced side panel for the blue backdrops.  Being a few inches shy of 15' was okay, 8" was too much.  With the little fabric I had left (keep in mind I did leave a good hem allowance on these having "learned" from the black panels) I had 18" of fabric left that cut in 3 could be a 6" panel but after seam allowances only added 5" (so it's still only 14' and 9").  It was close enough.  I didn't like the look of the pieced panel.  Being pale blue and cheap broadcloth, seams showed.  Wrinkles showed.  Everything showed.  Fortunately, as much as the room was 15' wide, they needed less than 14' to show and the sides were wrapped around the pole so the pieced part was not on screen and it all worked out well.  Once they added the television show logo to the fabric (paper letters attached with scotch tape), it looked like a (very) low budget children's television show. 

Groopa maintenance between takes.  I swear I ironed every seam.

I thought I'd be able to do all of this last Saturday, maybe we would even go to a late matinee.  By 5pm Saturday, one of the black backdrops was done but I still had to make the bias tape etc for the other and the blue fabric had not been touched.  Clearly, I underestimated the time involved.  Sunday afternoon I was finally done.  It was 4pm and I was still in my housecoat not even showered for the day.  It's a damn good thing someone had to cancel the 3pm lighting tests because I was not done in time for that.

All is well that ends well.  I have a 14" by 16" piece of blue fabric and about 6" of black fabric left, essentially nothing.  When I saw them raising the curtains to 9' and put the lettering up, I felt really proud that it was my contribution to the film.

On filming day I did craft services duty (aka food) and I got to be an extra.  As an extra, I was the puppeteer for Jingles, the girly puppet with bells all over.  All I had to do was walk off stage and guide my brother Scot wearing the Groopa suit and look unhappy.  I don't think much of me shows on camera (I was an extra after all), but I was wearing a Renfrew for it.  It was a strategic choice on my part to wear something self made.

My Contribution to Film

Mr. Lina is going to be filming the next movie from Friday to Monday so the long weekend we were running a few last minute errands for the film.  Mr. Lina mentioned he needed to buy a thong for the movie.  I said I could do that.  Really, it gave me an excuse to put off the zipper situation on the purple dress and it's two triangles sewn together.  I can do that.

This is made from pantie fabric from Sew Sassy - Y2705 (they spell it i.e., I want to spell it with a y, either way, it really does feel nice), picot elastic from Sew Sassy and some FOE I think I bought at Fabricland, I've had it for a while so I'm not sure.  Mr. Lina wanted it all black (oh so easy to photograph) so the FOE is actually inside out.  The proper side has silver threads on one side, when you stretch the waist band you can still see a few glimmers.  If I understand right, Mr. Lina wanted this to be as tiny and stretchy as possible.  It will be used more like a string than underwear.  The actress will not need to wear it, so sizing didn't really matter, I took the sizing roughly from a RTW thong in my drawer.  I made it a little too small for me and told Mr. Lina I didn't want it back, if the actress would like to keep the "wardrobe", she was welcome to it.

My sewing room really needs to be tidied up.  I have many shoe/boot boxes that keep things like elastic or ribbon or black bra supplies together.  It works pretty well for me.  Until I misplace the box that has the cotton knit I use for the gusset on underwear.  I must have spent half an hour looking for that box.  I still haven't found it (although I did find a RTW bra I was looking for), I ended up using a little snippet of pointe knit, same fabric I made my last Renfrew from.

Why does the couch look wavy?  I really should have taken my time last night.

The one challenge with this kind of project is keeping everything facing the right way.  Because the triangle in the back is not attached to the front, it's really easy to think you have the elastic facing the right way only to sew it all on and realize there was a twist in it.  Ask me how I know.  Between looking for the box and resewing the waistband on, this took much longer than it should have.

I also needed to get my ass in gear on the blanket.  My brother has gone back to the NWT, I think I'm healthy enough to meet my niece but Mr. Lina is still having some lingering coughing and congestion.  I don't want to go without him so I'll wait until after the film is shot.  I've started the boarder but each side has a different stitch pattern to get started so it's been slow going.  I think it's 4 rows of single crochet and then a few rows of the shells to make a wavy edge.

Sorry for the night time picture, it really is a pretty green.

I bought some pink, yellow and variegated yarns, providing options on what to use.  Mr. Lina liked all three but he really liked the variegated yarn.  I figure you shouldn't ask an opinion if you aren't going to consider it.  I liked pink best because I know who it's for but I liked yellow best because it was pretty, this felt like a compromise when I just couldn't decide.    We'll see how it looks when I have more than one row done.  I can always switch back to green for the wavy shell part.

One little whiny story.  I went to Montreal on Tuesday for work.  There were 3 newish employees who needed training on the product I specialize in and part of their time was associated with my client so I will be working with them.  My account director decided it was cheaper to send me to them rather than all three of them to Toronto.  I like training, I was happy to meet many people I work with on a regular basis but have never had the opportunity to meet.  I did not realize what the day was going to end up like.  I was on an 8am flight to Montreal (i.e. the alarm went off at 5:40am) and I was on a 5pm flight home.  Fortunately both my home and employers office are close to their respective airports, but it's still about 2.5 hours between the flight time and pre-boarding each trip to end up being in the office from 10am to 3:30pm and I spent all of that time standing at the front of the room talking.  Lunch ended up being a quick take out from the mall across the road because there wasn't time to have a social meal.  AND no time to go fabric shopping.  I mean really, what were these people thinking?  Why did I not speak up sooner?  I'd say next time but I have been with my employer over 6 years and 2 years being associated with a client that has a head office in Montreal, I don't know when "next time" will roll around. 

Anyone live in New Orleans?  The Post-Lifers has been accepted to the New Orleans Film Festival.  Mr. Lina also submitted to the New Orleans Horror Festival and is waiting to hear back.  We are thinking that we'll go to one of the two festivals, both are in October about two weeks apart so we can't stay for both.  I'm happy to have another reason to go to NOLA even if it's just for a couple of days.

My Mother the Enabler

Let's get back to sewing for a bit, eh?

I have mentioned my mom also sews and she sells her work.  One of the things she sells is luggage tags.  This is a picture of a new fabric she was hoping for help on naming so they don't have the tags on them yet but you can see more on her Etsy site as well.

Mom has an incredible assortment of luggage tags.  She makes 12-24 of each print and moves on.  She has multiple shoe boxes of these things done at any given time.  Some of the prints take a little while to find a home but it makes for a great assortment. 

Someone recently inquired for a larger purchase.  A bridal party that were going to Vegas so they wanted a bunch that were like one she sold on Etsy a while ago.

Last one.

She dug through her bin to find no more finished tags and no more fabric.  She had to say no, but it brought to light a "theme" that was missing in her stock.  Guess what I'm on the hunt for now?  She's checking all the Fabriclands near her, I'm checking the 4 that are easier for me to access. 

Let's just review a few facts...

• I haven't been able to sew much with all this restrictions on moving and feeling crappy
• I haven't gone shopping because I haven't been walking all that much lately.
• I also have tried not to go shopping because I have enough stash to sew through.

But here I am going from one Fabricland to the next on a wild goose chase for any fabric with cards or dice or vaguely gambling themed.  Two down and no luck, I've got 2 more stores to visit.  It's like sending an alcoholic into a liquor store to buy a gift for someone else. 

What did I find?  Silk noil, 45" wide, regularly $20/m on sale for $5/m.  All solid colours, I bought 4m of it in black.  I have not worked with silk noil before so I'd be happy to hear from any of you if you have and suggestions on best uses.  I was thinking it could be a nice dress but in purchasing black, I was also thinking maybe light summer pants?  I think it would work well with the pants blocker that I worked on with StephC.  I did not take a picture of the noil, you know how black photographs.  Good reviews may result in me going back for something a little brighter, they did have about 8 bolts in colours other than black.

I also bought 2m of a cotton print, sort of a buff yellow background with red poppy like flowers.  Mostly because the red matched the capris I was wearing at the moment and I struggle to build an outfit with those pants so it will fill a gap in my summer wardrobe.  It might be a good one to try the Pendrell blouse.  I bought the pattern when I got Renfrew but I haven't tried it yet.

Prior to "bad things happening", we were in Toronto with friends from Vancouver.  I happen to have ended up with a "Renfrew Action Shot".  I wasn't drinking so most places I was asking for some form of bubbly water or club soda and a lime.  At the Irish Embassy, I ended up with a poorly cut piece so it was really two wedges that weren't cut through and I was a bit excited as I really like limes.  So for the next round, our friends asked for LOTS of limes for me.  They delivered.

May I say I love my Renfrews.  I know I've gone on and on when I made a bunch of them, but it's good to revisit after the first excitement of something new is gone and they have hit the wash a few times.  I still love them all.  I have found they fit in lots of situations.  Above, I'm wearing stretch velvet pants so it's all fancy for a nice dinner out with friends.  The fabric has washed well, no pilling yet.  Same with my black short sleeve version.  My original blue/brown/black/white bricks has a bit of a stain on one of the white bricks.  It's not overly noticeable but it's held me back from wearing it as much as the others.  Still, total win of both pattern and fabric.

Silk noil?  Any horror stories?  Watch outs?  Love it because...?  Should I buy more?

Elan 645 - Retro Styling

I finished Elan 645 and worn it for a little over a week and while I like it, it's not the holy grail of bras for me.

Socks filling the cups, tee hee...

Things I like

• Wow is this band supportive.  My posture would be so much better if I always wore a band like this.
• The back is really low.  I could wear a damn near backless dresses with this bra.

• I love purple, I find the end result pretty.
• The straps generally stay put and yet are far enough to the side to not show up under my boat neck top.
• Speaking of the straps, another successful venture making sliding straps.
• And my first bra with integrated straps as opposed to just tacking them onto the back.

• Mr. Lina also thinks it's pretty.
• My breasts are staying put in this thing.  The top less so because the lace isn't going to hold them down if I jumped, but it's a real shelf underneath.
• Of course that's my own fault for putting 3 layers of fabric in the lower cup - stretch purple satin, purple tricot against my skin and a little powernet.  It's the first time I've tried powernet in the cups, I think it's overkill.
• The directions are pretty good.  I did keep my Bra Makers Manual around because I've put my own notes in the book about channeling and for once I did that right on the first try.  For the most part I followed the directions with the bra and found them good enough.
• The underwire is actually sitting flat against my chest between my breasts

Things I'm not sure about

• The shape.  It really does lift my breasts up and out, but it's a bit like a shelf and feels a little retro compared to the modern soft cup look.  Gertie posted about the fashion of breast shape, and this looks like a lot of the retro images she included rather than the modern tshirt bra. 



Wearing a tank for modesty, but you see the pointed shape.

• The change in shape seriously impacts how this fits under my clothing.  My bust is 44" in this bra, other bras are around 43".  Some shirts have wrinkles under the arm, they just don't fit the same.
• I had a headache the first couple of days of wearing it, but that seems to be easing as the bra is stretching out a little.  This seems in line with Gerties post "Is my girdle making me dumb?"
• Something is funky under the arms, about an inch of the top band is floating away from my body.  This is likely my sewing error, maybe stretching something that shouldn't be stretched while sewn or the fabric stretching when I picked out stitches, I'm not sure.  It's not really noticeable except that I'm looking for problems.

Things I don't like

• Initially, I was going to say the band was too tight.  I really felt the headaches were due to oxygen being cut off, but I can tell it's relaxed in the week I've had it.  Wearing it on alternating days or shorter periods of time was a good call.  I'm still wearing it on the loosest setting but the headaches aren't so noticable.
• I seem to have not caught the stitches well under one of the underwire.  Elastic is stitched once on the right side of the fabric then turned under.  It is key to go close to the picot edge so that you only see the little pretty detail of the edge when it's flipped under.  I guess in focusing on the elastic, I didn't look closely at the fabric and it's  frayed and pulled through.  I have put some fray check on it, and zig zagged a little there.  Really, who is looking at my bra that closely? 

Nice match on the thread, eh?

• The cup seams are not well curved and you can see them through my clothing.  It was hard to find an outfit that would work well with the bra but that is improving as I mentally adjust to the shape and try it under more clothing.  As mentioned, it's noticable on my black Renfrew, but I still wore it. 
• My preference in RTW are partial band bras, this is the first full band bra I've made (well, second, but the first 645 was pretty but far too big).  That longer piece of fabric under the cups is rolling when I sit at a desk (again, my posture sucks).  If I pull the bra higher it helps but the underwire starts to get so high it shows up at the neckline and it won't stay there.  I think there is a reason I haven't purchased many full band bras.

So net-net, I'd say it's a wearable, functional bra but I'm not sure how many of this style I would want.  I like my partial band styles better. 

The Addiction Continues

I did have time to sew this weekend and I enjoyed every minute of it.  What did I sew?  Renfrew, nothing but Renfrew.

First, was for my mom.  So that was unselfish sewing that I haven't taken a picture of.  Mom picked a floral rayon knit.  It's pretty vibrant, but she can pull off bright colours.  Here's hoping it fits.

After finishing that, I got to thinking about my own Renfrew collection.  I love them, but they are too warm (and polyester) for summer.  There was about 20cm of the 60" wide fabric left when I was done with Renfrew #3.  It's pretty fabric and when I came across some thin black knit (quite likely ponte knit but I'm not 100% sure) I thought this could work well.

I tried taking pictures outside this morning, but the sun just seemed to cause problems.  Either I'm totally bleached out like at the top, or it ended up super dark where you couldn't tell where the pine tree ended and I started.  But.. .the bleached out colour is good for showing black I suppose, at least you can see the wrinkles etc.  The above picture is my backyard, this is my front yard.

So the "inside" of the cowl is the same rayon that I made Mom's shirt from, the outside of the cowl is black like the rest of the shirt.  I am thinking now I could have done the arm bands in the same print, I have enough for that.  But maybe this way is okay, it's like wearing a black t with a permanent scarf.

Now under that shirt is my Elan 645.  Honest, post is coming.  I thought I lost the little doohicky that makes the little memory card fit into my computer, but no, Mr. Lina put it away.  I'm just more excited by what I'm wearing today because it's new.  You can see the seam line of the bra at the side. 

The black fabric was a whole lot easier to work with than the rayon knit.  Getting that to fold in half was a serious pain in the arse.  It just kept shifting or clinging to itself and I'd think it was matched perfectly at the selvage but still have wrinkles at the fold like indicating it wasn't quite perfect.  Cutting took way more time than it should.  The black folded nicely, has a little slink to it so the fabric didn't grip itself when folded, sewed lovely.  I am glad that I bought a lot of it.  I didn't remeasure, but I think I bought 4-5m.  Now that I've used it, it will be top of mind. 

As I was cutting this one out, I folded Renfrew back into the envelope.  I will likely return to it to make the scoop neck t at some point, but folding it up will get me to move on to something else for a while.

First Renfrew

Second Renfrew

Always Check the Bobbin

I mentioned that I was working on Renfrew #2 but ran into some tension issues.  I thought I checked this but apparently the issue was that I didn't have the bobbin threaded right.  Face to palm.  I really should put this on a plaque by my sewing machine.  98% of the time on my machine it's the bobbin thread at fault.

So, I bring you Renfrew #2 (sorry for the 10pm/comfy pants pictures, I was excited but not excited enough to dress up for the occasion).

This fabric is pretty similar in stretch and weight as the last one, so I didn't change much.  The side seams are more like 1/2" rather than 5/8", but I didn't actually break out the pattern and retrace.  Call me lazy.

There are some (very small) pull lines on the bust this time.  I think this fabric is just a shade thinner and I'm wearing a bra with more umph.  This is a ridiculous picture, I forgot the timer wasn't set yet so it just took a picture rather than giving me 10 seconds, but you can actually see a little of the pull just at the bottom of the picture and it's a good view of the cowl.  As I said, another bra would solve that.

Mr. Lina is again a fan.  He has been quite, ah.. complimentary on the first one and for this one said the shape really suited me.  Sadly pictures from the back did not turn out quite so well, this is the best of the bunch.

Something about the other print seems to have a little more trompe l'oeil going on.  I dunno, just looking at the pictures, I see more waist with the other version.  Not that I don't like this one.   I am wearing this version today with my grey cordoroy skirt and purple tights.  Comfy but nice.  I like it.  But... downside of both shirts... 100% polyester.  Wow is this not kind to my arm pits.  It's a good reminder why if I do sew with poly, it's sleeveless or a flutter sleeve, something with air circulation.

And... TGIF.  Time to make dinner and open some wine.  Not necessarily in that order.  ;)

Finished Renfrew

Well that was easy.  There are literally 13 steps in this pattern and that includes all 3 neckline variations.  As mentioned, my brain struggled a bit with the cowl, but that is more my fault than Tasia. 

As mentioned, this knit is pretty stretchy.  It has a nice soft feel and it is actually fairly heavy.  I was wearing a black bra while sewing and I was impressed that you could barely tell in the white bricks.  I made the 12 as is, but I should go up a size. 

As mentioned, I had all but the bands done on Monday night.  Mr. Lina was already reading in bed and I came in wearing it, my first opportunity to see if it fit at all.  I did a little turn and he commented it looked really good from the back.  I think I see what he likes, I know there are some wrinkles there, but I look like I have a waist.  The comment was reiterated last night when he looked away from the video game for 10 seconds while respawning.  He also likes the print, probably more than I do. 

I like a little draping around the bust line, I like cowls (but not a fan of turtlenecks, I just look like a ski slope without well placed necklace to create a V).  But it drives me a little crazy that some look perfectly work appropriate until you lean forward.  Suddenly everyone can see right down the centre.  What's with that?  Now I do have the crazy eyes here (I was giggling and feeling silly taking pictures) but this top is cleavage proof.  Even pulling at the cowl, you don't see any more than you need to.

And even though it's cleavage proof, the negative ease is definitely showing there is cleavage to hide.

So, next version (and yes, there will be a next) I'll go up a size.  Maybe even grade to the 16 around the bust if it's not as stretchy as this fabric.  I like the 3/4 sleeve length, the top is long enough on me as is for jeans.  I think the shoulder seam is in about the right spot, so when I grade up I will try to keep that about where it is.  This version will be fine for casual days at work and I'll probably get a lot of weekend wear out of it.  I will be thinking about a work appropriate version for the cowl again.  I would also like some short sleeved versions in something more breathable, maybe with the other necklines for bowling. 

Well worth the pattern price.  If you have a T&T, I can see how you don't need Renfrew, but it's going to fill that T&T spot in my pattern collection.  And one last Tasia inspired shot.

Overdue Sorbetto

I was getting dressed this morning and decided to wear my satin Sorbetto, dark jeans, boots, black cardigan.  And then I realized I never did post pictures of it after talking about it so much.  I'm such a slacker.

Mr. Lina took this prior to us going to my friends Christmas party, front lawn of our house, I was so cold and grumpy while that was being taken.  Yep, it's February and I'm posting a December picture, I am *that* much of a slacker.  This is exactly what I'm wearing except for the jacket.  Even the stained glass necklace (which is reversable, it's purple silk on the other side).

So let's break down the good and bad...

• Love the feel of wearing it
• Love the length on me
• Love the loose around the belly but don't look pregnant
• Love that as 100% polyester, I really can't kill it in the laundry
• Love how it looks with this stretch corduroy jacket
• (wasn't my MIL spot on with buying me that jacket?)
• The flutter sleeves worked out well, if I'm too hot at work it's appropriate alone
• I like the ruffle at the neckline instead of bias tape
• Armhole is high enough to cover my bra but not uncomfortable for movement

And the problems...

• The bust darts are miles apart, one is about where it should be and the other is too high on a bad angle
• The hem is twisted a little, not noticeable to anyone but the grain of the fabric is diagonal in spots
• I think I did cheaters French seams (good call because this frays like crazy) but I didn't do a great job of trimming so there are spots where there are tiny threads poking through, again, I know what they are from but they aren't noticeable

So, everything that is good is great, and the not so good aspects probably aren't noticeable to anyone but me.  Even the bust darts.  With the pattern, I didn't notice the discrepancy until I had worn it a bunch of times. 

Okay, and speaking of December vs February...   I am all for mild winters.  I am okay with not shovelling snow although I do miss snow shoeing.  I get that green Christmas is pretty common for this part of Canada.  But my crocuses have decided it is spring.  My lilac bush has some green buds.  They are going to be seriously disappointed if February decides that winter really does exist and slaps them with a foot of snow.

Debra Lyn Neufeld is presently at my house, hanging out with Mr. Lina.  Time to get my own show on the road and head home...

These are the bras I know I know

I did get to sew this weekend, not as much as I hoped, but it was good.  I've made lots of bras and I thought it was time to try again.  I went to take a picture of the work in progress and thought I'd post a few other bras I've made that have not worked out for one reason or another.  Then I started singing in my head "These are the bras (Daves) I know I know" courtesy of The Kids in the Hall.

Before I get into my bra history, I have to give a shout out to K-Line.  She has been doing a fantastic little series on bras.  Pretty sure this is part of what gave me the push to make another.  Sadly I haven't been in the right mental state to comment on it much, but it's a good read.  Go over, I'll wait. 

Most of my supplies come from Sew Sassy.  Even with duty etc at the boarder, it seems worth it based on what is available at Fabricland (although most of the lace is from Fabricland).  The under wire are heavy, I love the channeling (922 - not 909), the stretch satin has a nice amount of stretch to it and washes well.  My parents go to Florida for the month of February, to save the crazy shipping I stock up once a year.  My other recommendation if you are going to make bras is the Beverly Johnson book The Bra-makers Manual.  This has saved my sanity and inspired me that I could make bras and it was okay to make a few to get it right.

To answer the first bra post from K-Line, I am not comfortable taking pictures of me in ill fitting bras.  I'm sorry these are not so great pictures because my 38D/DD bras do not look so pretty flat, but I still don't have a dummy to model them for me.  Maybe if I can get this looking good and no nipple showing, but for now, you get flat pictures.  If I do work up that courage, it sure as hell won't be sexy "oh look at me" bra-porn pictures.

So first up is the bra I am working on.  Elan 645.  I'm making it in purple stretch satin, lots of support with tricot in the cup, powerknit underlining the back.  So far so good, except...  I put the black lace in on the wrong cup so it is inside out.  I realized this after I had topstitched and cut the seam allowances so I'm sucking it up knowing it's not perfect.  Right now one cup is inserted, the other is not.  It will have under wire, I think that is optional with this full band bra but I like underwire if it's fitting properly.

I have made this bra before, but the cup is much too large.  K-Line asked if people like a snug band.  I am sad to say all the bras I'm wearing at the moment are loose from being too old and stretched out.  The one thing I loved about this bra was the feeling of the band.  It's snug, you aren't fitting much between my skin and that bra, but not uncomfortably so.  It is quite sad just how much retrofitting would be required for those cups to hold my breasts because the band truly is perfect.  My breasts get bigger when pregnant, maybe one day my band will stay the same and I'll fill those cups.  Doubt it.  So realizing a lost cause, there are no straps on this bra.

Bah, this is right side up in Photobucket.

 The first bra I was really pleased with was this one.  Elan 510.  Keep in mind, this isn't the first bra I made, there were a few white ones with the bra kits from Sew Sassy first.  As directed, most of these bras would be disappointing.  I don't think they give enough support as directed with the supplies in the kit.  I figured that out quickly.  510 appealed to me as a front closing bra.  I'm on the cusp of not being able to find front closing bras.  Either they cut off at a 36 and are too tight, or they only go up to a C cup and there are spillage issues.  I thought making my own would be nice.  I did love this bra.  It didn't lift them all that much, but I had a nice shape and I could wear a deep V neck shirt well.  I would wash that out in the tub, hang it to dry and wear it all over again.  The lace cup was starting to get a little stretched out when the front clasp broke. 

So I tried to make another one.  Not nearly as successful.  This one ended up too small if I remember right.   I think the satin shrank from the steam in the iron.  So frustrating.  Adding to that, I screwed up the straps, something is twisted.  I should revisit this one to see if the magic closet has helped. 

Ever try on a bra and you just know it's not designed for your breasts?  The shape is wrong, it is just... wrong.  That's Kwik Sew 2101.

All that lovely pink top stitching, black & pink lace...  Sigh.  Love the look, but it would take more engineering to make that fit than I'm willing to do.  That said, it actually fits my mother in law well.  At some point I'll finish the straps etc and give it to her.  Someone may as well wear it.

I'd say the consistent fit issue comes down to a few points:

• Too much space in the upper cup, I'm a D/DD depending on the band, but it's not in my upper chest. 
• My breasts do not push together, again, they just aren't spaced quite like other D cups I think
• Fabric - a small change in the degree of stretch has left some bras (not pictures) just making me look flat and spilling.  Ick.
• Fabric - shrinking.  One of them must have shrunk because by the time I went to sew it up, the band was smaller than the power net.  It wasn't that way when I cut it.

Even with all these failures, that one success haunts me.  I LOVED that bra.  When this works, it will be perfect.  Until I get it right, I'm not so interested in buying more. 

Oh and to answer another question K-Line asked, I have been for a proper bra fitting.  The first time was to get a strapless bra for a wedding I was a bridesmaid for.  A couple of years later I dragged a friend to get fitted.  I was wearing the right size and was pleased to hear that.  My friend, however, did have one of those life altering fittings that drastically shrunk her band and increased the cup size.  Go figure, the bruising from the under wire stopped with the right size bra.

Signs It's Time to Pause

If you remember, my grey skirt was made because I didn't have matching thread.  I had cut out the slip (?) of a gift, but not sewn it up.  Friday night I tackled sewing now that I had matching thread.  I worked until 6ish, home at 7, went out for dinner with Mr. Lina so I did get a late start on the evening.  One thing I like about that pattern is that the pieces really line up well.  Even with me grading up 5" on the hips, notches lined up, the pieces were the same length, etc.

Lekala 5241 or Modern Pattern Sewing Red Slip

I did forget a few things. 
A.  I sewed the whole seam down forgetting about the cute slits at the front.  I was lazy on this front.  I could have unpicked the 2 seams but meh, it's stretch fabric, I put in a lot of extra fabric for her hips, pretty sure she'll have room to move.

B.  I cut the SA too big.  I use my overlock stitch on past versions as they were sheer and I didn't want to see the seam allowances.  As much as sheer wasn't an issue, I went to sew it the same way but I had cut wider than that.  I will admit to trying it on (over clothing, we have similar bust measurements) and realizing this was WAY too big at the sides and around the bust (although the extra at the bottom fell nicely).  Sadly this was after I had put the bias tape on so it was a true PITA to fix.

C.  My sewing machine is not a mind reader.  More on that shortly.

D.  Pictures.  Yep, ran out of time.  I was suppose to be at the bride's house at 3:00 (20 min drive).  I finished it a bit past 2, then wrapping, out of the shower at 2:30, I managed to leave at 3...  Sigh.

So the sign that it is time to pause in a project and go to bed.  I had it done, bias tape along the top/straps (black satin bias tape that Fabricland sells by the meter), all it needed was a hem.  I was getting tired, it was midnight, but I thought I'd push on so all that all I had to make were panties the next morning.  I bought a double needle a while ago but really haven't had a chance to use it.  In theory, this should be quick and easy.  I practiced with a scrap to see if I wanted to put some interfacing or tissue to stabilize but honestly, the part that looked best was left alone so I went with that.  Then I realized I should overlock the hem.  Switch feet and overlock so it doesn't shed so much.  Then go back to the double needle.  That was my downfall.  I did not change the stitch back to a straight stitch (see item C above) although I did put the width back to 1.  I was so confused why it was going through so much thread, then it struggled with every vertical seam, eventually coming to a standstill.  That's when I noticed the back didn't look the way it did on practice, way too much thread back there.  I rethreaded a whack of times and go figure it looked the same.  I went to bed with the hem half done and completely confused.

Next morning I look at it, use some scraps, see the same thing happening (because it was still doing what it was set to do), rethread again...  I finally looked at the stitch setting and realize my mistake.  I went back to the hem and broke a double needle trying to go through a big lump of thread I was too lazy to pick out.  Sigh. 

So off to Fabricland.  10am on a members 50% off day, it was better than the craziness I expected.  I stayed away from fabric but I did stock up on notions and two double needles.  Sewaholic posted today about the triple stitch with the warning to sew carefully because 3 threads are a PITA to pick out.  Let me tell you, a double needle of overlock stitch was looking pretty painful until I finally saw the pattern of where the bobbin thread was.  After breaking one needle, it all needed to come out no matter what time was involved.

Ah well, it was finished in time, black lace panties were made to go with it.  The bachelorette itself was fun.  I like the bride, but honestly, some of her friends are a tad shallow and I said I'd drive, I wasn't sure how it was going to go.  Fortunately a very good friend was also part of the party, we had a great time.  Dinner was at The Chef Upstairs. 

This isn't us, it's from: http://www.thechefupstairs.com/interactive_dining.html

It's a cool mix of dinner and cooking lesson.  I got to plate the beets.  Dinner was not very Sera-friendly (carrot risotto is hard to adapt to being carrot free) but the chef was a trouper fixing what he could and I ate a lot of beets.  Good thing I like beets.  We were going to head out to a bar in Toronto, but the bride was feeling a little headachey and wanted to go somewhere closer to home.  Ended up at the pub where Mr. Lina and I had our first "let's meet for drinks and see if you look anything like I remember from Oktoberfest" (lots of alcohol at Oktoberfest, neither of us remembered names correctly, although he was closer than I was).

The boys had a longer day than us, beer tour starting at 11am.  They went to 4 microbreweries in Toronto, dinner then went to watch the hockey game at a pub.  They had some pub frustrations and ended up meeting up with us at the same pub.  Mr. Lina was crazy drunk, but oh so very happy drunk.  It can be annoying being the sober driver around drunks, but how do you get upset when he's asking for "hangaburs" as we approach a McDonalds?  In the drive thru he was muttering in frustration at the seat belt because he tried to tickle me and couldn't reach.  Ah, it was fantastic.

Sunday was recovery for Mr. Lina.  We were suppose to play Dungeons & Dragons, but he wasn't mentally up to running it and there was some miscommunication so one player couldn't make it.  There are 3 D&D themed board games that are a great time, highly recommend (and no, you don't need to know anything about D&D).  We played The Legend of Drizzt.  The characters are from a series of books I didn't read but for Mr. Lina bring back fond memories.  It's a great cooperative game for 1-5 players. 

Image from the Amazon site linked above.

If you are interested in board games, I'll add the occasional review.  I grew up playing with my dad and brothers with rules like "we play until 8pm or when Clone cries".  You know that rule was created based on experience.  As a result, I didn't want to play board games and I'm pretty fussy.  If it gets overly competitive, too "screw your neighbour", or boring as hell (why does anyone play Monopoly?) I'm not interested.  We're usually playing games that are a little less traditional than Clue, unless you go looking, you won't hear about them.

Well, off to bowling tonight.  I have the itch to sew after two projects finished in short order.  So rewarding.  The problem is that work is going to dominate my time.  Too much on my plate right now.