Prom 2009!

Last week was DD#2's Semi-formal dance. This week is was DD#1's prom (technically, her boyfriend's Senior prom). As I finished up the lavendar semi-formal dress for DD#2, the activity turned to finishing the stole and making the purse for DD#1.

Here's DD#1 modeling her stole and purse:

The stole and purse were the perfect accessories for the dress. As mentioned before, the dress was RTW to a tune of $350! I pitched in $50 so that guarantees me one wearing of the dress ;) . I went to JoAnn's and purchased the white/silver brocade for the stole and purse. Again, the stole pattern was provided to me courtesy of Mary. (Again, many thanks to you, Mary!) She forwarded me the link.

In my previous post on the stole pattern, I mentioned my displeasure of the original length. So the front slit became an embellished pocket. I added a button/buttonhole closure and an inside snap so the one side would not collapse or cave in and cause an uneven front hemline. I could tell when DD#2 first tried on the stole, it was met with an admiring glance aka her "seal of approval". I thought the fabric and revamped style of the stole would be a perfect match for the dress, both in color and style, and it was.

On the front, I added crystal buttons with buttonholes placed at an angle down one side of the front. The other side are "faux" buttons, however, the snap is placed on the inside to keep the stole layers together. The underlayer would have collapsed without it and dropped the hemline on one side.

I did light alterations to her RTW dress as well. I cut the lining 8" higher so she wouldn't trip/fall over it. It was very long. Just did a rotary cutter slice too (knit dress so no fraying issues). No hemming--no one is going to see the lining. The back had a long train as well. I pinned it up as she desired. Yes, the side seams are swinging back. There's no way around that. But I told her it almost looks like a design style. It looked nice anyway. I added an extra crystal button from the stole below the back design and cut a loop from the extra lining piece that was cut off. Voila! A new design on the back which she loved.

The purse was made from one of my fave books by Emma Brennan on Vintage Handbags. So much better than any storebought clutch IMO.

I'll take closeups later today for the details.

I leave you with pics of the charming couple. She's even wearing my wedding jewelry (necklace and earrings).

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is my Mother's Day present to my mother. She's probably a bit upset with me because she thinks I forgot or didn't get her anything. But I've been working and finally finished.

My second red leather purse, this time a clutch:


Rhonda asked about the closure. Yes, under the flap is a gold magnetic snap. On the inside is shiny, black lining my sister purchased for me from Paron's in NYC last Christmas. She bought me about 10 yards or thereabouts so there is PLENTY for future projects. The purse pattern did not include a pocket so I drafted one for the inside. I'll do a review of it soon.

Alexandra, yes you have to get some leather :) ! It has been a learning experience for me but the leather bags are so "showy" and rich-looking. I experienced a lightbulb moment last fall when I was wearing clothes that I just made but they were constantly covered up with an uninspiring, boring RTW coat or jacket and black vinyl purse. So I decided to sew some fancy coats and purses. Now if I could just add some fancy shoes...

Progress update

I took pics this morning! Here's the progress. The first pic is of the bags in various stages of progress. Sorry, I had to delete the one team name because it is an official organization and easily searchable. That one has the tagline, "Good Girls Hit and Steal" :) . The other is "Whipping the Wind Out of the Competition". I wanted cute catch-phrases for the bags and thought of those. The softball bags will have simple denim straps embellished with a narrow ribbon and a flap with a magnetic snap.

This pic shows the sample embroidery that I'm turning into a wall hanging. I fringed the edges and am going to recycle some denim for the backing, maybe using some bleach to add a star stencil around the border. Another rectangle still has to be create for her school team so there will be a total of three blocks.



And here's the boy who had a good game last night :) . In a little while I'm going to see my daughter's last 7/8 grade school team game. Hopefully I'll be able to get a video clip since I don't have any of her in action this season.




And I'm off to a very exciting softball game :) !

More bags!

Yesterday was a busy day (what's new), and it was supposed to be a no-sewing kind of day because I didn't think there was time. While doing housework, I did embroider the front of a new bag made out of denim. I'm making purses specifically for certain sports to support the team (maybe I'll even get a couple of orders for purses so who knows).

The front turned out so nicely that I should actually be embroidering the front for the second bag right now as I type this. However, the area embroidered doesn't fit any particular bag pattern in my stash so I drafted one myself. It's not too little, not too big, just right for a tournament. I know some people like big bags and they do serve a purpose, but the only time I like a big bag is for PR Weekend. A big bag is just begging for a lead ball. The lead ball is actually the pile up of coins, lipstick tubes, gas station receipts, and a myriad of other goodies and who knows how they got there. The bigger the bag, the more I put in it and I'm not the most organized person in the world. So, the bag is simply a nice size for me.

On the inside flap of the bag, I'm going to embroider the name and number of my child. Just in case others want a similar bag, this is how we'll know whose bag is whose. On the back of the bag I'm going to put a pocket. At first I was thinking a zippered welt, but then I'd have to go out and buy a zipper for it. That would mean driving into town at least 10 miles and with gas prices being what they are, I'll choose the pocket route. The only thing I have to do now is buy some fabric for the lining but I'll do that locally in my town. Maybe my second bag will have the zippered welt.

Anyway, yesterday I thought there would be no time for sewing. However, there was a 20- minute block right after dinner and a 10-minute block just before 9 p.m. I was able to get the purse and flap cut out from the denim, the Timtex cut out, but have to do the lining now. Also, during the baseball game I basted the Timtex to the front and back pieces.

I was thinking about using buckram to interface the bag but it just felt so stiff and the bag has a slight curve. Maybe the buckram might be better suited to more boxy square or rectangle styles? Perhaps a buckram user could chime in and give me some input. Batting wouldn't be appropriate on this project because I want it to have some structure.

Duty calls. Maybe I'll have time to work on my purse and post a few pics later. It's really rainy here and that might cancel all our nightly activities. But right now I'm off to do my motherly responsibilities.

Relaxation at Last!

Deadlines do nothing for me. Nothing positive, that is. They make me stressed and sweat the small stuff which I don't normally do. Suffice it to say I was a happy woman when I finished my red, leather bag. To do all that work with such little available free time and not make the 4/30 deadline date? I would have been bummed. But it actually happened on time :) ! Here's the finished bag that I just reviewed yesterday. The details are in the bag review on my sidebar.


So now I'm going to relax and tend to the homefront. I have much paperwork and housework to do and my house is a mess. I need to take a few days off from doing any sewing and just concentrate on that. It's not that I don't want to sew, it's just that I've put everything else on the backburner and I have to get those things done...uh, *now*! No more putting them off.

Which leads me to another question. Does anyone ever NOT lose their sewing mojo? I know people talk about getting back into their sewing groove. I don't think that has ever happened to me. I always want to sew. It's like a 24/7 kind of thing for me. Many years ago during summer vacation when I was in high school, I'd disappear into the basement and sit at my sewing machine for hours on end until I had to go to my part-time job. It used to irritate me that I'd have to stop sewing and go to work.

For several years I only did sporadic sewing because the kids were so little and took up all my time. Then they grew, started school, and there was more time to sew. I've never had to find my sewing mojo because it was always there, at times repressed just because of life issues. So I'm going to take a few days off, get some housework done, and think about future projects. Three I've already thought of. I want to make denim purses--one for each softball team that DD#2 is on with the appropriate logo, and one for Varsity tennis for DD#1. I'd make one for track but we only have two home meets per season. Then maybe one for baseball because of the boys. I have the embroidery designs for all three sports. Maybe I'll even get some requests and sell a few along the way.

More ideas and projects to be though over the next several days. Eventually I'll sew up that winter coat that is already cut out and has been sitting on my couch for 6 weeks.

Oh my gosh!

The purse is 98% done! All that needs to be done is some embellishing. I can't believe the actual sewing is done. Yahoo!!! More later...

Home Stretch--Yeah, Baby!

The hot-fix crystals arrived today!!! Also, most of my lining has been stitched up today and I added a cell-phone pocket on the inside. The handbag I'm making is not designed to hold the lead ball we women usually carry in our purses so I think that's why pockets were omitted in virtually all the bags in the book. All the styles are cute vintage ones.

So sorry...no pics at this point. I've been taking them but have been too busy to post. I'm just grabbing a little chunk of time to do this post. Yesterday I actually started my review for the handbag but need to do two book reviews as addendums to the handbag review. I want to do my leaf tutorial for the book review to highlight how easy the directions are from that book. IMO, it's a must-have for the person who loves embellishment.

More later and happy sewing!

Purse Progress

The other day I worked on embroidery flowers for my purse. They're black, lacy little things and I used water-soluble stabilizer (2 sheets) when embroidering them. For some reason, the thread loves to shred, then I get the occasional fuzz collection right above the needle and have to stop the machine to rethread. I don't know if my thread is getting old, or if my machine just doesn't like this brand of thread. It's the 40-pack of name-brand thread (can't remember the brand right now) that I bought with my machine. Even tinkered with the thread tension to no avail. So I lugged my machine into the kitchen where I could keep a closer eye on it while doing housework. It took a while to create the four flowers and I have one more to go, just a tiny one at this point.

My hot-fix crystals shipped so I'm waiting for those. The crystals will be the stamens on the flowers. Haven't heard anything about the beads, but plan B will be set in motion if they don't arrive in a few days. Didn't get to the lining the other day, but I will be sure to cut it out today. So many little errands that have to get done and my day is used up. Spring sports is absolutely killing my schedule right now. I should get started on my review for the Handbag Contest. I've been taking pictures as I progress and really shouldn't leave this to the last minute. Maybe this weekend I can get at least half of it done.

Will try to get some pics of the my progress up later on.

ETA--When I got back from the gym this morning, guess what was on my doorstep! The beads from FireMountain Gems :) . The one style is exactly like the ones that I bought for the original handle, but are smaller. These should work quite well. This makes me one happy camper.

Murphy's Law Strikes Again!

Maybe it wouldn't have if I would have read the directions first though ;) . I made a lovely handle for my purse out of some round, black faceted, glass beads with gold seed beads. Only problem is that the diameter of the beads are too big for the handle flap of my purse. I was praying that wouldn't happen but it did. I'll just have to save that handle for another purse.

So this morning I ordered some new black beads that are smaller. Sure hope they arrive in time. The handle can be whipped up in no time, and I can work on embellishing and the lining until the order arrives at my doorstep. Right now I'm going to set up my embroidery machine to work on the flowers.

ETA--if my handle beads don't arrive in time, I'm just going to take apart a necklace with some perfect-sized beads for the handle. I rarely wear this necklace, and maybe it will save the day :) .

That Red Leather Bag.

Been working on the bag. Been busy. Been working on the bag. Been busy. Life is hectic, and I'm praying I get it done in time to enter it as an entry in the Handbag contest.

Thursday or Friday I cut the bag. Held my breath, too, because cutting into expensive material like leather makes me sweat. Then I cut some buckram because I thought the bag needed some extra stiffness. It didn't. Made it too stiff in fact. Good thing I stitched at 3/8" as a test because I had to seam rip to take out the buckram. Restitching at the 1/2" that the instructions recommends was no problem/no visible holes. Right now it's just the leather and batting as the instructions recommend. Yeah, another one of my brainiac ideas that went awry but is still okay in the end.

So, the bag at this point has been constructed. The handle has been made. I experimented making lace flowers with my embroidery machine the past several days and have picked out two possible flower combinations. Now to get going and finish up the bag. That's what I'm going to work on right now.

Slow Sunday

I like Sunday mornings. They're kind of slow and relaxing as opposed to the hectic Monday-Saturday schedule. Get up, take the kids to church, then religious ed while I work on some type of sewing activity in the church hall, gab a little w/ people I know, come home, make my coffee/eat my bagel or toast, then surf the Net. One thing I've been trying to savor the past couple of weekends is Robin's blog. Every Sunday morning I "accompany" her and her DH on a virtual cruise :) . We never go anywhere, but I"m very happy to view the sights of her recent cruise. If you haven't been to her blog, you can check out her amazing pics (and her equally amazing knitting!) of her vacation. After I type this post, I'm off two check out her last two days.

On my cape story a few days ago, the baseball mom asked me yesterday if I had priced it out. I told her yes, but it would likely be cost-prohibitive. At *least* $60 for Malden Mills fleece ('cuz it wouldn't be on sale), then double that figure for labor. $120 wasn't in her budget, and I didn't figure it was. She told me she'll go buy a blanket. Yes, that's the thing to do. I don't work cheap. Also, I'm really not in the mood to make garments/coats for anyone but myself and my family--backlogged as it is! Personally, I like Susan's (2BSewing's) response which was something like only doing sewing for family but teaching others how to sew. I'd much rather give sewing lessons than do sewing for others.

Speaking of sewing, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel! My daughters show very little interest in sewing. Okay...DD#1 NOTHING! DD#2 slightly. However, DD#2 signed up next year for Creative Sewing and it wasn't at my insistence. We went through all the 9th grade electives she could take and that's what she chose. Definitely not my idea for her because both my girls seem kind of negative about sewing at times. So I thought that was kind of cool.

DD#1 just bought a new I-Pod for herself. She told me yesterday that she wanted me to make her a cover for it. I told her to make one herself ;) ! And make some for her friends so she could sell them and make a little money on the side. No interest. (Sigh...) You'd think money would be a motivating factor but no, it isn't.

Anyway, my floral purse is almost done. I was working on attaching the rose, rosettes, and leaves this morning. Now I just have to make some tiny filler rosettes. It's funny how some hobbies seem to be so complementary. Several years ago I took the three Wilton cake decorating courses. My favorite kind of cakes to decorate are wedding cakes with beautiful floral arrangements. I would make all kinds of icing flowers too. My instructor taught us some basic floral arranging principals in cake decorating and that info is coming in handy for this purse. The only sewing left is attaching the lining to the bag and that should be a snap. I'm hoping to get a pic up by tomorrow.

Okay. Now I'm off to my "cruise".

I'm beat!

Yeah, I really am. It's been such a busy week. My family is back to their usual spring schedule and this year it is...DD#1 is on Varsity Track and practices tennis every chance she gets, DD#2 is on 3 softball teams including the school team. Actually she's rostered for 4 but probably won't play in the fourth one. DS#1 and DS#2 are both playing LL baseball. I'm still the LL Softball Rep but trying to find someone to replace me. Unfortunately, no takers :( . I don't really need to find someone, but I hate the thought of leaving my softball division because the girls will not have a voice. I will not run again in September, but will fill in from January to March next year to get things organized if the President wants me to do this. She's a gem, and I don't want to leave her with laundry list of things to do in my division. However, what's happening now is I'm spending quite a bit of time with LL and it takes away from time I want to spend with my own family. And the other thing...prepare yourself...IT TAKES AWAY FROM SEWING TIME!!! Isn't that awful!?!? There's only so many minutes in a day and somethings got to give.

I think that's why I'm focusing on purses this month. I can take a lot of work with me, especially embellishing items, and work on them at practices and games. Today I had lots of thoughts going through my head about my red alligator leather purse I'm making for the Patternreview contest. I went to my local ribbon and craft store and bought several rolls of ribbon and thread for embellishing purposes, including the black velvet ribbon on the right for my alligator purse. Check out my purchases today :) :

Also, a few days ago, I promised a pic of the red alligator leather. Here it is! It's really more luscious in person. The color is actually darker red, not the brighter red as it seems in the pic.It FEELS good. It SMELLS good. And I think it will look good, too, as a purse. I finished my two clutches that were laying around (just waiting for my handmade flowers) and now am about a third of the way through my muslin bag for the handbag contest. Here is a pic of the muslin in progress. The flowers and leaves aren't attached yet, and I need to futz with them and make some more small filler flowers, but you get the idea. My extra leaves I made at baseball practices are laying on the bag lining on the left.I've been working hard on the ribbon flowers and leaves--you wouldn't believe how easy they are to make if you've never done them before! I'm hoping next week to review the ribbon work book (it's excellent and was recommended to me by Kenneth King) and do a simple tutorial from it as a plug for it. It is truly a great book that opens a huge window of embellishment opportunities.

Tomorrow I'm planning on being offline. Maybe even a bit into Sunday. DH bought me a new computer! It is a very nice thing to have, although not a Babylock serger/coverstitch machine (sigh...BIG sigh...) Maybe next year ;) . A lot of things need to be transferred over to my new computer and that will take time. Before we do that, though, I need to catch up on blog reading while drinking morning coffee tomorrow.

And a thank you to Jackie for making my day on the Excellent Award. I truly feel that each an every blog on my blog roll, and then some, deserves an Excellent Award! I love 'em, and that's why they're there.

Thank you!

In yesterday's post, I forgot to thank Phyllis, one of the The Sewing Divas, for my purse inspiration. She posted in my swing jacket review to make purses out of the large scrap pieces of fabric left over from block fusing. That was such a great idea so thank you, Phyllis!

They're Done!

On Sunday I finished my first two of many purses to come. These two are mine (can't help making matching purses for my outfits :) )--prototypes for the ones to follow. They don't have any pockets inside but yesterday I drafted a pocket piece to include a mini pocket for a cell phone and a larger one for makeup, credit cards, whatever. The bags are fully lined, and I used a "bagging the lining method" similar to what one uses in a jacket. It really makes for a clean finish. A portion of the bottom inside bag lining is handstitched closed to finish the project.

Here's the first bag. I used it today on my trip to the doctor and out to eat with my friends. It's from the houndstooth fabric I used for my swing jacket. There are actually two made from this fabric, but I didn't have enough to finish the flap on the outside of one of the purses so I used velvet. The bow and bow band are made from velvet as well, with a ribbon rose I made affixed to the band with handstitches. In the center of the rose are clear, hot-fix swarovski crystals. I just love using my Bejeweler 'cuz I'm a flashy, glitzy '80's girl at heart.

The second one (there's two made from this fabric as well) is from wool fabric I used for my recent McCall's jacket and Vogue miniskirt. Again, the flap and band are made from black velvet, the bow from the wool with black, hot-fix crystals affixed to the bow band. It probably would have looked better with the bow in black velvet too, but we learn as we go, don't we. And IMO, velvet is not the best fabric to use for the flap. It doesn't lay as nice and crisp as wool, brocade, or upholstery fabric.


Here's a peek at the lining inside both bags:

For the interfacing, I used a craft-weight stiff interfacing purchased at one of the local stores in my area. However, I'm going to invest in some buckram and Timtex to see how I like that better and which one I prefer. Here are a few of the other bags that are WIP's. They need to be lined and the bows need some embellishing. This is just one style of many more to come. There's another style bag in the same floral print with a wooden handle that has been cut out, but not stitched as of yet.

After I get the current batch of purses lined and ready to go, I really must work on cutting out four of my garment projects. Suffice it to say, my last winter coat will not be worn until next Fall. It will probably get done in May!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

That's to all my Irish friends, DH, and my kids, and of course, people like me who don't have one ounce of Irish blood in them 'cuz everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. I forgot to pick up some ice cream at the store yesterday. The family will clobber me if I don't make Shamrock shakes for dinner so I have to pick up a carton. As usual, the house is a usual Monday morning disaster area after the weekend and needs some cleaning too.

However, two of my purses are done! I will take pics and post them tomorrow hopefully. I posted a topic over at Patternreview about the difference between Timtex and buckram. My current bags are interfaced with a stiff, craft-weight interfacing. I don't know how that compares with the other two, but I'm thinking those are typical bag interfacings so they're probably better than what I'm currently using. My other purses are almost done, but I need to add pockets to the lining. I'm hoping to get that cut out today.

Nothing.

What to write about today? Really there's nothing much going on. DS#1 has an appt. this morning so that does away with my entire morning. I need to clean a bathroom, go to the post office, and a couple of other mundane activities but hope to head down home stretch with some purses I'd like to sell onEbay. Of course, I'll keep one in every style and color I make :) . They're looking pretty good now and I need to work on the velvet bows for them. Will post pics when I'm done.

And that Burda coat...it needs some quick alterations. Will I finish in time to wear it? Who knows! I'm such a slow sewer.