snowmageddon. and gingham.

I've lived here quite a while (30 years? haha) and I don't think I've ever seen the snow come down this fast or this deep.  This is what I call Crazy Snow. 

When I open the back door, I see this:

When I open the front door, I see this:

And Priscilla jumps in.

So her face looks like this:

My poor little car is stuck in the garage with 21" (and counting) behind her:

But I'm lucky because during last week's snowpocalypse, I muslined this:

And Sunday I cut it out in this:

ps...I think poor Stick Girl got snowed in, in town.  Stick Girl, call me!

Stay warm everyone!!

pushing daisies & a vtg mccalls

Do you know what Netflix is most especially good for? 

Snow Days.   And catching up on tv shows you forgot about or never had the chance to meet.
We've been off all week here what with our little blizzard and all.  (It's snowing again today.)   Lu & I have been watching Pushing Daisies on instant play.

I am SO in love with Chuck's entire closet!  I've been busy compiling screencaps to plan my spring and summer wardrobe.  Some of my favorites...

 

I love the full, feminine, swishy skirts and fitted bodices.  And the abundance of yellow.  I just bought several shirting and lawn prints from Fabric.com, at least 3 pieces in yellow, so this was pure serendipity. I also have saturated greens and blues, mostly stripes, checks and simple florals.  I was channeling Chuck and I didn't even realize it!

I have plenty of patterns to choose from, including this gorgeous McCalls:

And I'm ready to muslin my square neck sundress (bodice only) one more time after the last few changes. Then I'll be cutting out my first Pushing Daisies dress, I think a bright green check first.  I'm digging through stash but so far I haven't found a cute 50s shirtdress...odd.  That seems like something I should have in stash! Etsy time! 

I am also digging around to find a suitable fabric for this lovely:

It is also very "Chuck-like", don't you think?  I have a size 15, so I had to grade up and do an FBA first.  Here is my first muslin:

Note the snazzy knit pj pants. ;)  The fit was pretty darn good.  The sleeve is a tad too tight, so I did a simple slash and spread on front and back sleeves to add a 1/2" to each.  Up there on my shoulder you might be able to see a "dart" I have pinned out.  With this type of cut-on cap sleeve, that bunchiness is inevitable, but I did attempt a small fisheye dart here to remove some of that.  I had to rotate it into the waist darts. 

I also lowered the waist darts another 2".  Whoops.  Forgot to do that on the traced/graded pattern I guess!  The neckline lies perfectly against me (I keep experiencing this with vintage patterns which makes new patterns less appealing, let me tell you!) in front and back.  There is a tiny bit of pulling at bra level in back, so I did add a bit there, as shown in my last post I think (the Rasband book). 

Lastly...a swayback adjustment.  I really don't have much of a swayback, I have a short waist and usually petite patterns in back.  Sometimes in front too, but I typically need additional length over my bust anyway, so in a weird way, a swayback adjustment works better on some patterns than petiting.  If that makes any sense.  I'm not even muslining again, this one's ready for fashion fabric! 

I leave you with pretty snow and visitors outside my window...

snow day.

I'm snowed in one more day (um, maybe more than that!) My neighbors directly west got 6-8 inches more than me, and I got plenty.  So, in other words, perfect Burda Style magazine tracing time.  I started with January 2011's issue and already have the flutter sleeve top traced and started this plus dress:

I'm feeling so positive about tracing I think I'll attempt to get these traced too:

 

Can't forget the fabulous plus pants in that issue (and possibly the slim skirt):

Whew.  That's a lot of tracing!  If my eyes hold out, I'll move on to February.  I really want to try these dresses:

 

And these bottoms:

So we don't starve while I'm preoccupied with the Burda Style's, I stuck this garlic chicken recipe in the crock pot.  Yum.  We'll have buttered (whole wheat) noodles and a veggie (probably broccoli) with ours.  Yesterday I stuck a pot roast in the crock pot, so we have the leftovers today to make barbecue beef sandwiches for lunch.  Yum again.

I hope you're staying warm and toasty during this massive storm!  I'm watching our local news right now and they just got off the phone with a driver who has been stranded in his truck on the interstate in Tulsa since 10 pm LAST NIGHT.  Can you imagine??  There are approximately 100 people stranded in regular cars as accurate as they can count at this point.  Who knows how many are out there without cell service.  Sending them all warm, positive, safe return home thoughts!

Vtg Simplicity 3430 - in progress #3

After a few days "away" from this dress, I have tried it back on to reassess and discovered the following things:

1. It fits perfectly through the bust, neckline/shoulder, and armscye in front.
2. It's too tight across the mid-back but too high at the back neck, and the center-back seam has a funny curve to the left.  

If I could've figured out how to take a picture of my back that could capture all of that, I would have!  What's most confusing to me is how perfect the front can be, with plenty of ease at the waist/bust, etc, just PERFECT...and yet the back is a hot mess and feels super uncomfortable.  Weird weird weird.

A little research in my two favorite fitting books and I think I've found my problem.   First I went to Jan Minott's Fitting Commercial Patterns.  The closet wrinkle chart in this book I could find was this one:

 

I do have pulling/tightness right there at mid-armhole in back but my tension wrinkles continue across mid-back and even lower.  I have used this adjustment in the past though.  It requires you to redraw the armhole, and I'm never sure I've done that adequately (and you won't know until you muslin!) 

So I went to the next book with helpful wrinkle charts, Fitting & Pattern Alteration by Liechty, Pottberg and Rasband.  I really like this book.  I'm such a sewing geek sometimes I just read it for fun. 

And here is where I found my first back wrinkle: 

 

What I love about this book is that it gives you a variety of pattern change methods.  If you're a pivot/slider, you have a diagram.  If you're a slasher/spreader, you have a diagram.  If you're one of those cut into the seam and spread people, you have a diagram.  (I wish I was one of those people.  That method always looks like it constrains proportions of things like armhole/neckline, etc. best). 

And I didn't realize it until I saw the wrinkle chart, but I have this wrinkle too:

Overall the back is too narrow, but the armhole is fine. The funny curve I get in the CB might be the fiddly zipper insertion.  I had to re-do it several times and it's possible I took up more than the seam allowance at that curvy CB level.  For now, I'm not going to address that.

To check and see if these alterations would fix my problem (before I go any further with another method) I did a terrible thing (haha).  I used the slash method (first alteration photo, far top left) and slashed my dress as shown, on each side.  Then I tried it on.

I know.  Those of you who really loved this dress so far are crying.  Sorry!  I did not love it.  In fact, it's been looking more and more Gunne Sax (and not in a good way) hanging there on my dressform.  Taunting me with it's floral print and too long skirt.  Trust me, I was never going to wear it.  The skirt was too narrow, even with 2 full widths of fabric.  It needs 3 minimum for this style (or maybe 2 widths of 60").

The good news is, the back dropped into place and smoothed out, revealing I need about 1" more in width (if I go by the amount of skin showing through the slash!)  I also need about 1" more at waist level, so I did the 2nd slash as shown in the 2nd set of photos above.  That created a new wrinkle, one that showed the CB length is too long (which I suspected anyway).

I'm altering the pattern today and I'll recut bodice only in another scrap fabric to check.  Then it's off to find another suitable fabric.  I got several lovely shirting pieces from Fabric.com's recent clearance sale! I can't resist shirting cottons, especially at $1.99 and $2.99 a yard.

Meanwhile, I'm watching it snow.  I'm stuck home in a blizzard warning, a surreal experience for those of us in Oklahoma.  Praying I don't lose power and water (and thus my sanity).

If you're anywhere east of me, it's coming your way, so stay safe and stay warm!

snowed.

Yesterday the first day of spring looked like this in Oklahoma:


This morning it looked like this, with a bit more scheduled to arrive today. I measured this morning in my back yard and I have 11 inches on the ground.


Keep in mind that on Friday it was over 70 degrees F. Welcome to the OK weather! If you don't like it, wait 5 minutes.

While I'm snowed in (aaahhhh, SPRING BREAK! Neener Neener to Beangirl & Shannon.) I've got loads of sewing and stuff to accomplish. Not that I'll get much done with all the loafing I plan to do. First up I thought I'd show you my spiral bound copies of Jen Paganelli's pattern books. I printed them out and then took them to school to bind:


Aren't they awesome?? (If you don't have access to a binder and don't want to pay someone, what about a 1/2" 3-ring binder for each? That would make an awesome "instruction book" too.)

Here's my planned fabric for the Patricia tunic (the one on the left in the photo above):


So...not very subtle. Are you surprised?

Didn't think so. ;) (But I also have a lovely Lecien blue rose print tunic planned too that is much tamer. yawn.)

snowbirds.

We survived the ice & snow and still have power and water, which makes me very happy. We got over 1/4 inch of ice:


Before 6-8 inches of snow fell:


I've had an assortment of colorful birds enhabiting the back porch since the white stuff came down. Here are just a few!





I sent the snow & ice on over for ya'll in the southeast to enjoy.

You're welcome.

winterized.

See this?


Well, I'm right in the path of the white stuff (that 6-12 inches band is me). I can handle snow, but unfortunately they're calling for up to 1" of ice accumulation first, which means I'll lose power.

Last time I lost power for an ice storm, it was out for 2 weeks. Yes, WEEKS.

But least I'll have time to trace some of the cute things in the new BWOF (or BS as Shannon has started calling it, haha) and Burda Plus mag, which has some cute things in it for spring/summer! I really like this knit top:And this pencil skirt is really sort of awesome. I probably need to muslin it asap.

And I'm a sucker for these flowy, butterfly sleeve thingies. LOVE this top.
This top has possibilities too. Hmmm.
If you don't hear from me for a few days...I'm hunkered down, keeping warm, and missing the internets!! But hopefully, we'll just see some nice, white fluffy stuff and I'll be cozy warm with the internet AND the tv to keep me company.

brrr.

Well, we had a white Christmas! Did you?


More pics of that and some furry cuteness in just a second. First though, I can finally post pics of the single handmade gift I crafted this season. I would be more ashamed, but the 3+ weeks of flu I suffered seriously cut into my usual Christmas craftiness. Sooo...here she is. Miss Kitty²:


She's pretty fetching, don't you think? Her boggly eyes crack me up (I used 1940's plastic buttons from my vintage button tin). The pattern can be found in this book by Jenny Ryan, Sew Darn Cute.


Technically the pattern is for a Square Bear. But my Lu loves kitties, so I just redrew the ears and added some kitty-like whiskers to her little pink, embroidered nose.


Lucky for me, while Lu may be fast outgrowing all things dolly (sniff), she still appreciates a good plushy! Just some details on Miss Kitty²: She is made from mint green wool felt (head, back & extremities), a cute "3 pigs" Japanese linen for the body front, and red rickrack accents. I used scraps of quilting cotton in a retro print for her ears, and pinked all the edges of her ears, arms and legs. She also has a red satin bow tacked to one ear, because she's a sassy kitty.

Now on to weather pics, in case you're on the beach and need to see the white stuff. It's been several years since it snowed on Christmas here! But it was blizzard conditions all night Christmas Eve, and bitterly cold. (It's still well under 30 degrees F.)

This is from Christmas morning in my back yard; the wind was whipping the snow so hard it made your eyes water!


See? Oscar says Brrr.


So does Megs.


Refrigerated Farm Food:


Jessie:


And one more of little Os, who actually loves the snow and would have stayed out longer. Except I'm a wuss and made him go in with me.


Christmas was wonderful, and over too soon. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday too!