Mood

Stephanie and I visited the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising museum in Downtown Los Angeles today. They were showing Disney's Alice in Wonderland design exhibition. Several people came in costume as they were holding a competition. It was fun to see how people off the street interpreted the movie's costumes. There were some really great costumes and some not so great. Inside the museum they had a display of student's interpretations of the Alice in Wonderland theme. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take photos, but one student made the most wonderful dress for the Queen of Hearts. It was stunning. They also had many costumes from the movie on display.


After visiting the museum and having a lovely lunch at Marie Callendars, we were off to visit Mood. I still haven't forgotten that I'm supposed to be on a fabric fast, so I only got one piece of fabric. It's been a long time since I've been to Mood, so I thought I'd treat myself with this piece of cotton/lycra jersey. I thought it'd make a nice t-shirt for the summer. Mood is much more pricey than shopping downtown, but I make myself feel better by telling myself that the fabric is from Italy.


One thing you might not know is that Mood Los Angeles has a store dog like the New York store does. He is a little chihuahua named Oscar. Too bad they didn't name him anything cute like Swatch, which is the name of the dog that lives in the New York store. The chihuahua was so tiny my cat could have eaten it for lunch.

On another note, yesterday I celebrated my 100th blog friend. I just wanted to thank everyone of you who visit my blog. I'm thrilled that some of you make my Sewing Saga a regular stop during your day. I have lots of exciting things I want to start creating. Sewing for myself will be included, but I want to get more creative in what I sew, so stay tuned!

New Projects

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I will be making seven dresses for my son's play, The Wizard of Oz. The performances are late July so it's time I get started making the dresses. I'm on a world-wide hunt for the trim. If I have to, I'll replace the trim on the dresses I don't have to make so that they all match. My dear friends, if you've seen anything with sequins and in rainbow colors, please let me know. I've found a few leads on patternreview.com, but won't know until next week if they are going to pan out.


It would work out better if I could find it in yardage so that I can cut it into any shape. I'm willing to purchase large quantities since I need to put it on seven or more dresses and the production group would like to have some stockpiled for future performances since new dresses may need to be made if the current dresses, including the ones I'm making now don't fit the actors for future performances.

I also have to make a bathing suit for a friend who asked me at the end of last summer to clone her favorite suit. That won't take me very long I hope. I already have all the materials I need. Another project will be to make a pillow for another friend who gave me the fabric much more than a year ago. You see, I hate home dec and I hate to sew for other people. However since I'm not wanting to sew for myself right now, completing these projects will keep me sewing and get them off my plate and out of my sewing room.

I haven't started my summer exercise routine yet. After I clean my house, today is probably going to be the day. My weight loss has been stalled for about a month. I'm back down to the weight I was at when my son was born and at that time I stayed there for over 5 years. I guess set points are real and I'm stuck at one. I really think exercise is what it's going to take to get past it. The diet I'm on requires exercise and my age requires exercise. I guess I better get started exercising, you think?

I'm not OCD-Really!

I couldn't let go of the idea that my new purse needed that big floppy pocket divided into a pen and sun glasses pocket. I must have been serious because I had to remove my hand sewn stitches in the lining bottom to open the bag back up. I don't take sewing by hand lightly and avoid it at all cost when I can. Then I had a devil of a time getting the purse back under the pressure foot to sew these lines. I couldn't put it in the machine to sew from front to back so I had to use free motion sewing and sew the lines sideways on my machine. I was very careful about it sewing one stitch at a time and it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.

Sweet Harmony Handbag

This is the newest Amy Butler handbag pattern called Sweet Harmony. It comes in both the handbag and tote sizes and I decided to make the handbag. I've had the fabric in my stash for only 2 or 3 years and I bought the pattern last December. While cleaning out my sewing room yet again, I ran across the fabric and decided that this bag would be my next project. Unfortunately, the pictures do not show just how beautiful this bag is. The fabric has a gold line around the flowers and the print has a jacquard stripe that adds texture to the purse.


I only had one yard of each of these two fabrics and the pattern called for 1-3/8 for the body and 1-1/8 for the lining. I had plenty with my 54" home decorator fabrics. In fact, I had enough to fussy cut each piece of the body. I placed one side pocket so that it would feature one of the roses. Because both sides of the purse are alike I decided to make them different by using the lining for the body behind one of the pockets. That way I could tell which pocket I put things in. I hate searching for things in every pocket until I find it.


For the other side of the purse I matched the print on the pocket with the body of the bag. I think it turned out great and matches perfectly. I was tempted to do some free motion quilting around the roses but decided that it wouldn't add much to the look and might even detract from the beautiful print, making it look more quilted wearable art than a designer handbag.



I really liked the design and placement of the cell phone pocket. This is the side where I'll keep my keys and the phone. That way I won't have to search for them in every pocket the way I do now. I wish I had added this type of pocket for my sunglasses as well. I'll be sure to make that addition the next time I make it. And there will definitely be a next time. I like purses like some women like shoes. It drives my son crazy because when I tell him to get something from my purse, he can't ever find it since he can't keep up with which one I'm currently carrying.


The inside pockets that the pattern called for weren't so great. The pattern had you install a zipper on top of a panel which would have been bulky and much too big. I made the pocket and omitted the zipper, which is one option the designer provided. I wish I had sewn a dividing line down the middle of this pocket because it flops open inside the bag. It's just too big and should be divided. I think putting two dividing lines would be nice allowing space between the lines for a couple of pens would have been cool. It's too late to add that now, however.


For my zippered pocket, I decided to do my own thing and made a window for the zipper and added a pocket bag behind the zipper. That way my things are inside the lining and out of the way inside the pocket. This is where I keep my lipstick and advil and other small things I don't want to lose on the bottom of the bag.


The inside of the bag is roomy and will certainly fit all I need to carry. You can see in this photo that I've changed the handles from the strange one that the designer created. I like the two handles that allow me to fully open the bag instead of the way the original handle is one that is bifurcated near the bag to allow it to open.

While this wasn't a quick and easy project, I'm quite satisfied with the way it turned out. I had many issues with the pattern instructions and decided to just stop using them and made the bag the way I thought it should be done. I don't know if Amy Butler is this way with her other patterns, but she is overly wordy which makes for a lot of confusion and head scratching. I was getting very frustrated until I stopped reading them and just sewed it my own way. The pattern, however, makes one terrific handbag.

Love My T-shirt Pattern

I went shopping for fabric in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday and this fabric followed me home. It's a poly/lycra jersey that I found at Michael Levine's loft for $2 a pound. I'm pretty sure this dress weighs less than 2 pounds so I got it for next to nothing. There was plenty of this fabric left over after cutting out the dress. I'm thinking it would make a cute skirt as well. I bought several other pieces at the loft too so expect to see more t-shirts very soon.


The pattern is my TNT t-shirt pattern KS 2900 which I altered to add a round sort of yoke and gathers. I made it up in a muslin, but never got around to making a t-shirt from it. Stephanie and I were discussing t-shirt dresses on our way home from downtown which inspired this dress. Sunday I altered the pattern by lengthening it 18 inches. Next time I'll only add 16" because I had to hem it up 3 inches which meant I cut 2" off the 1" hem. I also had to remove four inches from the side seams at bust level and 8 inches at the hips to make the pattern fit me. Pretty soon, I may have to find a new TNT t-shirt pattern. That will be a very sad day for me, and yet, quite exciting as well.


The dress looks so cute with these earrings. I've had them for a very long time but none of my clothes went with them, so I don't think I'd ever worn them before. The colors match the dress perfectly.


If I ever wanted to get lost in the jungle, this would be the dress to wear. It's a great camouflage. My son said I shouldn't wear it grocery shopping because I look too nice, however, it feels like I'm wearing my nightie. I plan to make lots more t-shirt dresses for my summer wardrobe. I think they are the perfect clothes to wear for losing weight in the summer. The pants I bought a couple of months ago are all getting too loose so I don't think I'll get anymore pants for awhile and pants patterns are too hard to fit, especially since I'd have to do it all over again in just a few months once I lose even more weight.


I'm not sure I ever posted this top once I got it finished. I still need to write the review, but I love how it turned out. It's NL 6940 and it was too tight when I made it in early March, but it fits me perfectly now.

Fusion

A week ago Friday I was rear-ended on the freeway. Luckily no one was hurt, except the cars. My '05 Pontiac Grand Am was totaled. At first I was upset since I only had a year and a half left to pay on it. However, now that I have my dream car, I'm not so sad anymore. I never did really like the Grand Am. It was a compromise when I had a choice to either buy a used car and go to Italy or buy a new Ford Fusion.

This car is a 2010 Ford Fusion SE but it has over 20,000 miles on it so I bought it for a steal. I love my new car! Already today, I was stopped in the parking lot by a man who wanted to ask me about my lovely car. He wanted one as well. After all, it was voted Car of the Year by Motor Trend.



Besides dealing with the insurance company, rental agency, and shopping to buy another car, I did have a chance to pick out some fabrics for some summer sewing. Last summer I made a mini SWAP in red and black. None of those pieces fit any longer so I've decided to make another red and black wardrobe. From left to right: Top row - Black RPL for pull-on pants, white jaquard stretch twill for white skirt, b/w animal print poly mesh for top, Red cotton knit w/black trim for top, Bottom row - gray RPL for pull-on pants, black/gray herringbone for jeans, red/black poly lycra knit for dress, and white dotted swiss for blouse. I have some red capris and some black burmuda shorts that will go great with this wardrobe. I understand that black/white is big this summer and I've added a splash of red since it's a color I look good in.

Besides making this wardrobe, I have seven dresses to make for my son's acting troup which will performing The Wizard of Oz late in July. I'm making the dresses for the rainbow dancers.


I'll be making the one with the full skirt and I need to add a short puffed sleeve with a cuff. They will all be in rainbow shades of poly satin with sequin trim at the waist and sleeve cuff. I also have to add a satin ruffle at the neckline, which with this pattern, will be easy to do. Wish me luck with the fitting. Luckily they are only costumes and don't have to look perfect. But you all know, I'll probably make them look much better than I have time for and the fit will drive me crazy!

A Motherless Day

I've been motherless for the last four years and Mother's Day is probably the day that I miss my mother the most. Growing up we weren't close. We were never friends. In fact, from as far back as I can remember through my early 20's, if you'd asked, I would have said I hated her. And I would have meant it. It took a few years of counseling and a divorce (on my part) to understand her. To see her life through her eyes. She grew up with a mother that was mean and a dad that was not home as he was usually out on the farm. Also, she spent most of her life either depressed, in pain, or both. She lived with pelvic pain the same way I did. She went through many surgeries to fix her health issues, but she was always in pain. To say she was cranky would have been an understatement. She was mean too. I was afraid of her, as were my sisters and my brother. In my late 20's and early 30's, she became a non-issue for me. I ignored her for the most part, except at family gatherings where I was friendly, but we weren't friends. About 10 years before she died, my dad spend a couple of weeks in the hospital suffering from serious heart problems. Mom stayed with me and for the first time, she was able to show a kinder, softer side. She was afraid and worried about my dad and yet, was pleasant to be around. It was probably the first time in my life I'd ever seen her vulnerable. Then, when my son was a pre-schooler and I was recovering from gall bladder removal surgery, we started becoming friends. She came and stayed with me for a week to help me out. At that time I think I was still trying to figure her out. However, it was not until she was in her 60s that we became close. Not close like best friends, but where I wanted to call her and see how she was doing. Just close enough to where I looked forward to her visits. Three years before she died at the age of 71, I had the privilege of having her and my dad stay with me for nearly 2 weeks while wildfires ravaged the mountaintops where they lived. They had no idea if they would have a home to go to or not. That time is when we really became friends. I think it was the strength she showed when I would have just worried and been afraid for what I was losing. She was grateful for everything that she still had. With her courage, she gained my respect. I am so grateful that we were able to be friends before cancer took her life. So on Mother's Day, while I will be motherless for the rest of my life, I'm grateful that I had my mother in my life and that I was finally able to love her.