Passions gone public
So I am truly the master of productivity today – I had quite a busy one but managed to do the prep work on my Pavlova last night, then sew it up, AND get it shot today!! 
The merino-cotton was absolutely dreamy to sew; I’m totally in LOVE!!! It’s heavenly to wear too; so soft, comfortable and flattering!
Behold!!!
Posted in Fashion
Back at the end of September I posted a pretty lofty sewing plan for fall/winter, especially considering fall was well underway! lol
My initial plan was as follows:
••• black linen dress pants
••• blue Anise jacket
••• navy print Jasmine
••• red Renfrew
••• navy wool skirt or shorts
••• vintage gray shirt dress
Of those six pieces I’ve completed three, but I also added in a silk dress for Christmas, a dress shirt for my man, and yoga pants. So the number of projects is on track but I’ve still got a ways to go to finish my initial plan.
There was a second part of that plan involving another six garments for winter but I think that will require some revamping now. I think five per season is a more realistic base, and allows more time for muslins & test garments.
So I removed the wool shorts & added them to my Spring plan instead, for starters. Then taking the two remaining pieces on my fall plan and adding three from my winter plan, this is my new updated Winter SWAP:
••• navy print Jasmine
••• red Renfrew
••• self-drafted wool pencil skirt
••• navy cigarette pants
••• red cardigan
I chose the most practical items from my winter plan to add. I’m dying to make the Tiramisu dress but I’m gonna be strong and add that to my spring plan instead, which is already in the works!! (wait til you see my colour palette!!)
LOL so many ideas… so little time!
One thing I’ve come to realize is I’ve improved my productivity; at the beginning of the year I was lucky to make one thing every month or two – now it’s an average of two per month!! Much better!
I’ve also learned that I need to plan in shorter sections to allow for seasonal needs (like Christmas), test garments, and extra necessities (like comfy clothes and maybe lingerie!)
I’m definitely still learning, but I can see progress and that’s pretty awesome! ^__^
I love making lists! I have lists for everything; it’s how I keep my life organized & on track.
Trouble is, my lists are always changing, so making a list for sewing is tough because my whims and inspiration can change overnight. Also, my wardrobe is so severely limited (like I mean REALLY – I have NOTHING to wear!) and there are SO many things I both need AND want to sew, it’s hard to narrow it down to a realistic level. I’m so desperate to just have clothes to wear, it’s hard to decide what should take priority.
Up til now, my sewing was organized mainly around sewalongs, as I was just learning the basics, but I haven’t come out with a whole lot of wearable pieces, or very much that feels like ME Now that I feel a bit more competent in my skill set, as well as having a clearer sense of my personal style, I want to sew now for me, with a purpose
Having recently discovered StephC’s blog through Sunni at A Fashionable Stitch, I immediately fell in love with her candid way of speaking and her way of approaching fashion… and pretty much every topic, for that matter!
Steph did a series of posts on planning a wearable wardrobe using basic pieces and colours that harmonize with each other. My feelings towards colour have always been pretty much in this vein, so it felt very organic to me. This one gives a guideline on where to start and I decided to use it as my inspiration to narrow down my choices for Fall’s plan
My colours weren’t hard to choose, as I’d pretty much already chosen them, but I didn’t follow the suggested pattern exactly because I’m doing two sets instead of one – one wardrobe, split into two sections: Fall and Winter. But it will essentially operate the same way as the sample wardrobe (only double!) interchangeable coordinating pieces that make it easy to dress: just throw anything on, and always look put together, cause it all matches!
My colours are black, red, navy, and blue-grey. Here is my plan for the first set (Fall):
••• black linen dress pants
••• blue Anise jacket
••• navy print jasmine
••• red renfrew
••• navy wool skirt or shorts
••• vintage gray shirt dress
In my second set, (which will essentially become my winter plan) the colours are the same only instead of blue-grey, my accent colour is cream:
•• black wool pencil skirt
•• black wool blazer or jacket
•• cream blouse
•• navy cigarette pants
•• red cardigan
•• black wiggle dress
Now I’m hoping I can actually stick to this plan and not get distracted by pretty new patterns or other sewists’ stellar creations!
How bout you? Do you plan your sewing or do you just wing it?
It’s Promaballoona! And what better way to celebrate than to don a bombshell dress and hop on a cruise with your sweetheart?
I’ll save the commentary on the making of the dress for another post; this here post is for fun and eye candy lol
We started off our evening with class: a 1 hour ride via public transit; it was 32 degrees out and we were a little more wilted looking than when we left! 
A couple Bellinis at a local restaurant while waiting for our boat to board helped with that, then it was off to sea!
(gratuitous pic of my sexy prom date)
As it got dark and we sailed around the harbour, we watched the finale of the Festival of Light – a spectacular fireworks exhibition ^__^
However, the boat was having troubles anchoring and we ended up crashing into two parked boats, making it difficult to concentrate on the festivities lol. We were outside but here’s a pic of the damage incurred down below:
Nevertheless after being escorted back to the docks by police, waiting for a cab, and getting home at 3am, we still had a pretty entertaining evening!
Happy Birthday, Oona! Hope you had a great birthday & as much fun (but less cops lol) than us!!
I finally finished the Taffy!
Hard to tell but it’s very sheer blue chiffon with an off white bubble pattern.
I made quite a lot of my own changes.
Obviously my usual FBA – yes even with a looser top; believe me, it’s necessary. It was a bit tricky on this one cause of the unusual dart but I managed to make it work
The most obvious change is that I opted not to use bias tape, as my fabric was SO lightweight and sheer, I felt it would take away from its delicacy. Also I didn’t want the sleeves to stick out too wide, as I don’t need any extra attention on my chest area lol. So I did a rolled hem on the neck, sleeve edge and hem. I think it looks lovely, and really suits the fabric.
Also I made self ties instead of bias tape ones, again because the fabric is so delicate, I wanted the ties to be more flowy.
This was my first bias garment and it was tough to cut because a) my work surface was too small and b) the fabric was so slippery, even with spray starch. Nevertheless I LOVE the look and feel of bias tops so I would do it again
I also sewed the first step of the french seam for the sleeve on the wrong side (even after checking it twice lol) It was this mistake that caused the long delay in me finishing it, due to my own shame and disgust lol. In the end, instead of seam ripping on my delicate fabric I just finished the sleeve seam with the serger.
Other than that the blouse sewed up fairly quickly and the fit is great – I’ll post pics of it being worn soon
Hi All!!
I have edited my pinterest mood board for spring to reflect my sewing plans, and revised palette
Check it out here
It was tough because I have a ton more that I want to make but I wanted to keep it simple, and be practical so that I can ensure that I finish everything. I decided to keep it to four pieces for now, incorporating the items I’m making for Sew Colette.
I thought what I’ll do is, once the Spring one is complete I’ll make another for summer, and that’s when I’ll be adding my bolds and brights like my tangerines and red-oranges…. ahhhhh my favourite colours!!! 
I have some great plans for summer, like my first pair of shorts, a tangerine silk halter top and the Bombshell dress in a sweet black floral cotton…. whooopeeeee!!!!!
Stay tuned and don’t miss a thing! LOL
Finally completed the March challenge of Sew Colette: The Truffle Dress!!
I learned a lot on this challenge as well: how to install a facing & attach it to a zipper mostly. I also experimented with using spray starch to stabilize my fabric; a VERY fray-prone, slippery dress weight rayon. I lined the bodice with cotton batiste and I really like the feel of it.
Overall I like the way the dress turned out… except that it’s a bit too tight lol. I can get it on but there’s NO WAY I’m wearing it to go out for dinner lol – I’d be afraid of a major wardrobe malfunction! lol. No worries though; I’m on a health & fitness plan and have been losing weight so I’ll bet I can wear it comfortably, soon
Gratuitous closeups, including kitty trying to hide under it lol:
Now onto April’s challenge: The Taffy Blouse!!
My very favourite season of all is Autumn but there’s nothing quite like the newness of Spring to kick up a girl’s heels and rejuvenate the spirit – the smell in the air here in the Lower Mainland is intoxicating; Japanese cherry blossoms, all manner of flowers, shrubs and flowering trees – enough to delight the senses from dawn til dusk and beyond We are SOOO blessed!!
It’s also the time where for many of us we start dreaming of lighter clothing and outdoor activities – the weather is so mild here on the coast, we don’t get THAT cold of a winter, but it sure is nice when one can put away the jacket and wear a hoodie instead, and when you start noticing you need a pedicure for those open toed shoes you’re dying to have a chance to wear again
All that being said, I’ve been on the prowl for a 50′s style sundress; the kind with wide straps, a straight across bodice and angled pockets, and LO!! Sarai from Colette patterns must have heeded my spirit’s call because what does she reveal in all its glory…..
the absolutely perfect sundress: retro 50's chic meets modern bombshell - STUNNING!!
Colette Patterns has also released two other lovelies: another sundress – Hazel – with clever V-front seaming, perfect for stripes or border fabrics (I’m thinking of this in bordered eyelet at a later date) and Iris, the most perfect shorts I’ve seen in a long time: not too long, not too short, and with clean lines and shape, making them both elegant and summery – not at all frumpy like a lot of shorts look on me (i’ve ordered them, we’ll see if they look as elegant on my not-quite-as-willowy figure LOL)
I should be wrapping up my Truffle dress this week, and will be making some headway on the Taffy blouse this weekend so I’m almost caught up on my Sew Colette projects… this means by the time my new patterns reach me I might actually be able to sew them!! YIPPEEE FOR SPRING!!!!
After a really long hiatus of general malaise and being very unproductive, I’m finally back to myself!
I’m SOOOOO behind on the Truffle dress for the Sew Colette, as I’d only cut out the bodice for my muslin. It’s due today so that means I have to do two projects in April to catch up lol. So today I did the fitting. I anticipated a 3/4″ fba (1.5″ total) so I worked that in right away, and was bang on – yay!
I also had the same back neckline gaping issue as with the Pastille (a full 2″!!) so I had my dear man pin off the excess then at the suggestion of my mum, trimmed off 1″ at the top center back tapering to 0 at the waist on each side, then redrawing the grainline parallel. Worked great!
On a side note, I just gotta figure a way to fix the Pastille now, preferably without removing & re-installing the zipper. I was thinking of enlarging & lengthening the back neckline darts, which just means I’d have to remove/reinstall the back neck facing (no biggie) Any thoughts?
For the Truffle remaining pattern pieces, I also made waist adjustments at skirt and drape pieces to match the front bodice, moving darts & notches to match as well (yay me lol). Tomorrow I’ll cut and begin sewing
I also made the executive decision to wad my blue chiffon blouse after laughing about the ridiculous fit with my mum. It was unsalvageable I came to admit, so on to greener pastures!!
On a brighter note, the Meringue is definitely salvageable so I painstakingly ripped the bottom facing off, redrew a gently curved hemline, & cut off the scallops, making it a much more flattering length for me. Just gotta hem it now!
I also finished another project I’ll post pics for this week!
So I may or may not have purchased a little something yesterday…. a pattern I’ve read tons of amazing reviews about, and given that I have a special place in my heart for all things halter + maxi, I finally gave in and got it!!
While I was there, I was also captivated by this little number, which I just fell in love with right away, and which I also envisioned my lovely man liking as well:
As if I didn’t already have enough projects lined up…. does anyone know how to clone time? I need some more…..
