All set for Convention....

Two weekends ago I had a mini-retreat in my own sewing room & managed to get 6 tops finished for Convention. I had realised that owing to a little weight gain, none of my previous tops fitted. Well...they did...but not how I like them to fit. So I went through the stash, sorted out my fave TNT knit top patterns & got to work.

First up is Kwik Sew 2759 an oldie but a goodie. I probably should've gone up a size for this one but it will do. :) This has FOE around the neckline and I've sewn the overlap down so no flashing.

Next are 2 tops from Simplicity 4076. One has FOE around the neck and the other has the band from the pattern. The one with the band was a bugger to sew...very slippery.... and my Coverpro hated it. I wanted to try to make the neckline using my binders but it wasn't to be. Wrong choice on my part for a first attempt.

This is Kwik Sew 3784 without the buttons/loops and centre front seam. I used a fine wool blend that I got at Remnant Warehouse. I was in dire need of a plain black top so this has filled a hole in my wardrobe. The neckline is gaping a bit but I'm not sure if it's due to the facing or whether it may have stretched a little.

Again, a TNT pattern - Kwik Sew 3740. This first one, in the most gorgeous & expensive red/black/grey knit from Addicted to Fabric in Canberra, has no cowl and FOE around the neck. I had to laugh...I had my hair done this morning and you can see it getting messier and messier with every photo!

This version of 3740 is done using the softest most drapey fabric. I had to buy it just for the feel! It came from the Remnant Warehouse and goes so well in this pattern. It looks black and white in the photos but it's actually brown. Sharon, you should get some!

Last and certainly least is this silk jacket I've been making since May. Talk about give you a challenge! This was supposed to have a double mitred hem but my fabric didn't want to play so I ended up overlocking it and turning it over. Now I look at the photos, the sleeves are huge! probably not my best look but, as I was wont to say during construction especially at the end, I don't care!!

Vogue 8088

Fabric: silk sari given to me by ASG Board (hence the obligation sewing of same)

A few finishes

Last weekend, I joined a group of intrepid ASG members for a weekend away sewing. Three days (& nights) of uninterupted sewing time saw me finish 2 items completely & half finish two others. In fact, I could've used another project!

My first finish was Vogue 8795, the Marcy Tilton short drapey jacket. I just knew when I saw this that a black ponte with Swarovski zipper would be perfect and as I had the aforementioned ponte in my stash, all I had to do was order the zipper. Incidentally, I got it at Zipperstop and their customer service was wonderful. If you add the zipper to your cart by itself, the shipping to Australia will be calculated at $44.95! However, I emailed them & asked if they could just manually do the order and send me a Paypal invoice for the total. No problem & it was done that very day! $5.95 shipping. Highly impressed.

Onto the pic.

Vogue 8795

Size 14 at shoulders & 20 at sides

Fabric: Ponte

Purchased at The Fabric Depot, Portland OR 27 Feb 2011 $9.99 p/yd (less 20%)

Zipper from Zipperstop.com

The other item I made was the draped jacket from Christine Jonson's Travel Trio 1.  Mine is done using a turquoise acrylic sweater knit, sewn totally on the overlocker (except for the darts) and hemmed using my Coverpro. Very quick!

Christine Jonson Travel Trio 1 - draped jacket

Size L with FBA

Fabric: Acrylic sweater knit from The Remnant Warehouse

$15 for 2.5m remnant

I've also entered a contest on PR. The handbag one. Duh! I made Vogue 8439 using goat leather for the handles and ties. While it looks good in the photo, I will be taking it apart and giving it more structure. The interfacing I've used is just not firm enough and the leather straps & heavy hardware make it fall down in a heap. So I will need to fix that.

Vogue 8439

Fabric: Quilting cotton

Straps: goat leather from NSW Leather

Vogue 8559

This is one of my evening outfits for the Convention next month. Eeek!! Did I say next month? Yes, it's 4 weeks from today. Better get cracking.

Lucky this top only took a couple of hours to whip up. Attaching the mesh was the fiddliest bit. Unfortunately, I only had the small sizes so had to use a medium where I should really use a large. The sleeves are a little snug and I should've done my shoulder/neck adjustment but other than that, I love it. I just happened to have this mesh in my stash & it goes beautifully with the burgundy velvet.

I did lengthen it by about 10cm (4 inches). It's incredibly short. I think Marcy designed it to wear over the tank from the same pattern but I think that would just be too much velvet for me. :) One thing I did learn....velvet is really hard to photograph!

I pinned it up here so you can see the mesh at the bottom edge.

Back view....love that little gathered bit!

Closeup of how the mesh is joined to the raw edged velvet. I used a twin needle although it's really hard to tell in the pic.

Closer view of the back gathered bit.

Marcy and my toile

I'm back with a pic of my finished Marcy Tilton top. The fabric is absolutely gorgeous against my skin..it's a micro-modal and just happened to match perfectly with the cherry red/black printed knit I brought back from Portland. I'm working on a small wardrobe of clothes for the Australian Sewing Guild Convention in September so this is one of my tops for that.

Vogue 8671

Size 16 at shoulders/neck, 20 at sides/fronts where possible

Fabric: Micro modal from the Remnant Warehouse

Cost: $6.95 less 25%

Please excuse my daggy around the house shorts! They certainly don't match. LOL.

I've used various pieces of fabric for the top. There is some black mesh from an older fat dress I had, some amazing black fabric with a metallic finish that I got at Remnant Warehouse and some stripe purchased from Marcy. I'm loving the raw edges (who'd have thought??) cos there's no hem hassles. The sleeves are a little long and I've already taken 3 inches off but I'm going to leave them and maybe push them up if necessary. The top is a little clingy but I think if I wore a tricot half slip underneath, that might make it look better.

Onto my toile. I have no pic cos it's not suitable for publishing! I made a size E hoping not to have to do an FBA. Well, actually I don't. But the jacket doesn't come anywhere near doing up around my stomach & hips and I can tell that it's pulling towards the back. So I need to add more to the back hip and do something with the back armhole cos there's balloons of puffiness around the armhole! It's also very short but I haven't put the band on yet. The shoulder looks OK...just need to take off my usual 1.5cm I think.

Sewing or lack of it

I met up with my real life sewing buddies on Saturday & managed to start and finish the front piece of my Marcy Tilton top, Vogue 8671. I'm making View C which is the one pieced with various other fabrics and involves using spray adhesive to get the little pieces sitting correctly. I'm very happy with how it's looking so far & was all ready to sew the rest of it on Sunday. Well you know how the best laid plans never work out. I was struck down with some sort of illness. I felt like crap and honestly thought I was having a heart attack! It started with huge indigestion-type pain but when I took indigestion remedies, they didn't work. It reminded me of gall-bladder pain but I knew that couldn't be what it was as mine was removed in 2002! Anyway, the pain got worse and eventually I took some heavy duty drugs, chucked up my breakfast & slept the rest of the day. Felt better that night but it returned again on Monday although not as bad. I finally got myself to the doctor who thinks it might be pancreas related. Oh goodie! Just what I need. Anyway, I'm off tomorrow for an ultrasound although I am feeling much better today (of course) so hopefully the worst has passed and I'll be given a clean bill of health. I sure don't feel like spending any time in a hospital bed cos that's the treatment for pancreatitis.

I'm really disappointed that I couldn't finish my top but I'm definitely not in the sewing mood right now. I think I just need to chill and watch TV and maybe sleep. But as soon as I'm back in the land of the living, I'll be back to Marcy and you can all be on the lookout for an update. :)