Pink is Not Usually My Color (Still Not Sure That it Is)

I don't think I have much to say about this make, given that I've already used this pattern.

But let's do this thing anyway.

Patterns: Grosgrain's Simply Shift Dress, Simplicity 1690 

Fabric: rayon from Joann

Notions: stay tape, perhaps the Dritz Brand

Alterations: enlarged and stabilized neckline with stay tape, added sleeves via the Simplicity 1690 top, graded out the hips, left out the zipper, accidental curved hem

When I first bought this remnant (one yard!) my first thought was "skirt," but then I finished my microsuede Simply Shift Dress and decided to see how the dress would turn out in rayon.

I decided to add kimono sleeves and through pattern perusal I rediscovered Simplicity 1690 view C. So I very unscientifically laid the top/ blouse pattern over the partially cut Shift dress piece and cut out a sleeve (extending as far as the fabric would allow). This was all intended for a dress for The Monthly Stitch December Party theme, but I got sidetracked. In late January 2017 I decided to tackle it for my first finished project of the year.

In my musing and desire to finish quickly (ha!) I decided to completely handsew the slippery rayon with no lining. And due to my desire to try new things I decided to incorporate french seams for a clean(er) finish (thus deciding against pockets).

During the making I also added stay tape around the neckline (hole enlarged for my head, as with the previous Shift)...

...and in my inexperience using the dress form I accidentally cut a curved hem.

When dressing for church I realized that I need to make a new slip since all of mine were too long. For modesty I threw on a pair of shorts underneath (which you can see in the photos).


Thoughts during the making and photographing processes:

1. Learn how to hem properly! (I was a bit mad at myself and am slightly worried that it's more of a tunic than a dress).
2. Learn about lighting in photos. These are sadly washed out (which might actually have to do more with the background. I had trouble finding a place with good lighting and privacy!). Experiment with different backgrounds and lighting, which will be easier when the warmer weather comes. 
3. An epiphany about my hoarding tendencies. I have a tendency of being afraid of ruining things, so I avoid cutting into lovely fabric and thus when I look for fabric for a project I am loathe to actually cut into a 4 yard piece when I only need 2 yards. This makes me more willing to collect more fabric so I can avoid destroying all my pretty things. Start being bolder.
4. Part of why I'm so slow at this creation business is because at every step and half-step I reassess my plans. I'm gonna try to make most, if not the entire plan, before I make the first cut to see if I can keep the momentum going.

In the queue:
1. Falling leaves upholstery Delphine
2. Watery dots Anna
3. ?

Into 2017 (Yeah, I'm Late)

2016 was a weird year for me, emotionally and personally. But it was a good year creatively.

Blog stats:
- 8 blog posts this past year.
- 4 were project posts.
- With 4 unblogged but finished projects swimming around the house. (From left to right: hacked Sew Liberated Gathering Apron as a dress, Lane Top in palm leaf shirting, stretch lace Scout, Simplicity 8022 PJ bottoms in cotton flannel with little orange foxes)

Collage format courtesy of Fotor.com

Eight finished projects over five from 2015, not bad!

Now to thoughts about this year.

1. I'm not setting any do-or-die-trying sewing goals for this year. However I plan to sporadically follow themes for Stashbusting 2017, The Monthly Stitch, Sew Alongs and Sewing Contests, to finally enter something in Indie Pattern Month, and to finish more items (like 57 yards worth. See #3)!
2. Refrain (more) from fabric purchasing.
3. Per Stashbusting 2017 I measured the stash. 571 yards not including UFOs. It's frightful, seeing just how much I have, but so helpful because I've reacquinted with so many pretty and inspiring fabrics. I don't know that I can sew through 10% of the stash (57 yards for the year!), but I'll sure make the attempt!
4. Have fun!

On the sewing queue:

1. Black and pink floral rayon Simply Shift (Finished! Planning to blog soon)
2. Flannel blues and turquoise modified Lane Top  (UFO)
3. Watery black dots on white cotton Anna Dress (have an image, need to jump into the tracing, cutting out, fitting, sewing, etc.)
4. ?

2016 Creative Plans

I stated one major goal for this year is balancing crafting with intellectual pursuits. Now let's set some more goals for the year.

1. Stashbusting will happen as it happens, as inspiration strikes and fizzles, or strikes and storms through to a new make. There will be no quantitative goal in order to allow leeway in balancing life pursuits.
2. Blogging was always sporadic and mostly dependent on makes (and a working camera!). This year it shall be much the same. We will see if this is a productive a year.
3. Have fun! Create with no regard to contests or themes.

Currently on the sewing queue:

1. A Belladone skirt partially sewn
2. A pair of Simplicity 8022* pajama bottoms partially sewn
3. A blue Belladonne dress cut out
4. A Simple Skirt on the brain, the fashion fabric chosen

Hopefully they will make blog appearances soon!

The 2015 Sewing Assessment

Well, checking in with at last year's recap tells me I was minimally successful.

So, what changed from last year?

A. The camera woes were remedied by buying a new picture-taker: a Canon PowerShot SX400 IS affectionally named Elsa (not because of Frozen. I just like the name, watching the movie makes me restless with boredom). She's not a fancy machine, but she serves my very basic purposes of being a working camera with the burst setting and not breaking the ole bank account.

B. There are only seven blog posts in 2015, versus the eight of 2014. That comes to an average of one post per fifty-two days, with only two being actual project posts!

C. I failed the Stashbusting goal by one piece of fabric (though I'm not fully sure why I count it as pieces of fabric when everyone else measures in yards or meters. Oh, that's because of how making partial circle skirts affect what is leftover). I also added approximately ten yards to the stash, mostly with pretty strong ideas of the intended projects.

D. Projects-wise I finished two UFOs,

Homespun half circle skirt

Simplicity 2314 in khaki twill.
Oh the learning experiences!

a top to wear at The Brother's graduation,

the Sorbetto in bird printed shirting from Jo-Ann's*

the Blue Porcelain Belladonne,

and a linen skirt that will hopefully make a great summer option.

*Oh, and the dress form is a Simple Fit from Dritz (can't find it on the website or I'm just that dense). Belle came into the CD creative house from the 60% off sale at Jo-Ann's Black Friday weekend sale.


It was a slow year for creativity, mostly due to personal events and the nagging question of life direction.

Of late there have been constant reminders of my finitude as a crafter, as a thinker, as a reader, as a worker, as a person.  I have grown up in a pretty intellectual family and consider myself to be the dumb one. This is not to say that I am a dummy or I have no self-worth, but that I'm probably the least intellectual while also being the most DIY craft-minded.

I recognize that I have the potential to be more intellectual, but that means more time away from the craft projects.

On the other hand to be at my peak of happiness and production I need to be working on those craft projects.

So comes that struggle between disparate desires: crafting and intellectual pursuits.

One of my plans for the coming year is to try to find that balance.

Sew Long Summer: Fabulous Fall Skirt

So I suck at project photos.

(I was also in a hurry and feeling a slight bit under the weather, so there are those factors as well.)

Here be a submission for Sew Long Summer Fabulous Fall: a linen half circle skirt, lined in quilting cotton (forgot to get photos, hopefully I'll remedy that soon) with a 7" zipper and elastic in the waistband. All fabric and notions are from the stash.

The reasoning for this to be a transitional garment is that it is composed of linen and cotton, lovely fabrics to wear for Summer, and it's the very Autumnal brown.

However, it is also 18" long, which is 4" shorter than my other half circle skirts.

The pockets are semi-drafted (I took the pocket pattern from Megan Nielsen's Veronika, placed it over some of the pieces of linen leftover from cutting out the skirt and waistband and did some finagling) and not-quite-topstitched (I hand sew) onto the skirt. The pocket opening is edged in bias binding and strengthened with selvage to avoid stretching.

Not much else to say as this is such a simple skirt and I've already made two like it, which bored me a little, which is why I tried new pockets. I'll report later about how I rate them.


I can, and will, talk a little about the effort I put into this skirt.

Sewing is an enjoyable hobby; it's creative, relaxing, a great activity while listening to lectures or audio books, and it's a hobby that has tangible results. (Wearable mistakes!)

But it is only a hobby.

In the week before finishing the skirt I same across The Great British Sewing Bee and I half watched, half listened to all three seasons while doing a mass purge of my belongings. In the watching I became a little guilty about my messing around with sewing and decided to try to up my game a little.

I will endeavor to:
- Stitch evenly and straight
- Hem evenly
- Use the notches indicated in patterns
- Use 5/8" seam allowances (I start out well but tend to peter out to 1/4" seam allowances)
- Learn a little more about fit
- Make casings and thread elastic through them
- Gather fabric using dental floss (I tend to gather and not baste and then stitch while I hope for the best)
- and other sundry challenges

I don't have the inclination to attain great skill or technical excellence; I don't want to spend the time and energy.

In essence I don't care enough.

Sewing is a wonderful and relaxing hobby and my life does not depend on my technical excellence.

So this skirt has an uneven waistband, slightly uneven hem, and lots of wobbly stitching.

But some straighter and even stitching around the hem.

Onward.