M4261

I'm still working on that same blouse and although it goes against everything I believe in, I actually put it on the back burner and inserted a quick project. Click here for the full review.

Absolutely no new sewing projects until I finish that darn blouse! Last night I did sew on the facings. Now I just need to hem the bottom, sleeves and add buttonholes and buttons. I will not take it into the new year. No progress on the sweaters. Frankly the only thing I want to do right now is make cards!

BTW all the prizes from the giveaway have been claimed.

Unclaimed prizes

Hmmm... prizes 2 and 3 are still unclaimed! Prizes 1 and 4 were mailed yesterday. I'm going to give the remaining winners a few more days. Here I am thinking I was having a fantastic giveaway and the winners don't even want them?? What's up with that? I think if you register for a giveaway it is your responsibility to check back to see if you won. Is my thinking all wrong.

So on my little planet, not much sewing has been going on. I have a blouse in the works--it's been in the works for a couple of weeks--but my enthusiasm waned because it's not coming out quite like I expected. Since I can't go on to another project until I finish it, I'll have to dig deep and muster up enough enthusiasm to finish it. I did machine knit my granddaughter two sweaters for Christmas but have yet to assemble them.

So what have I been doing? I've been doing my Black Martha thing making Christmas cards! I made all of my own cards this year including the envelopes. Here's a few of them:

Yesterday during the cleanup I also make a couple of Valentine's Day cards. Talk about ahead of the game.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and I am looking to my sewing New Year!

And the winners are...

Gift #4 goes to Joyce in NC from JP's Creations

Gift #3 goes to Elaray from Another Creation

Gift #2 goes to Michelle from Cheap and Picky

Gift #1 goes to Jen from JT's Closet

Congratulations ladies! The sooner you contact me at knitmachinequeen@aol.com, with your mailing info. The sooner your gift can be on its way and off of my cutting table!

I haven't done any sewing this week but I did knit (machine) the pieces for our granddaughter a sweater. I hope to finish the pieces for a second one today and tomorrow and have to have them done by Thursday. I work so much better under pressure!

Giveaway

I just want to give a brief description of my four giveaways. You must be a follower no later than Saturday, December 18th at midnight. I will announce the winners Sunday. Be sure to check back, you could be a winner.

#1

• Can of 20 spools of thread
• Dressform pin cushion
• Serger book - used
• Brand new Singer Sewing book
• Brand new One-Piece Wearables book
• Ceramic mug

#2

• Can of 20 spools of thread
• Chair pin cushion
• Selection of vintage sewing patterns
• Pants for Anybody - used
• Vintage Reader's Digest Sewing Guide

#3

• Can of 20 spools of thread
• Vintage Better Homes & Gardens Sewing book
• Fantastic Fit for Anybody - used
• Beads and Buttons - new

#4

• Can of 20 spools of thread
• Vintage Vogue Easy Sewing
• No Time to Sew by Sandra Betzina - used

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change to add to or omit items as I see fit!

Today is my blogoversary

Do you know what today is? It's my blogoversary! (Sung to the tune of the Toni, Tony, Tone song) Don't forget to follow and leave a comment to be eligible for my giveaway. Four lucky winners will be chosen. Two years and counting!

International Mail

I got International Mail yesterday. It's a first for me and was so exciting. I won a giveaway at Eve's House and all the way from the United Kingdom I got this beautifully wrapped gift box.

As if that wasn't enough, look at what was inside.

Thanks Eve. I'll be wearing this to all my Christmas parties this season!

Giveaways are the best but you can't win if you don't enter. Be sure to enter my giveaways to be awarded on Saturday the 18th in celebration of my second year blogoversary and 100th pattern review.

Blogoversary in four days

I'm starting the countdown to my second blogoversary. What better way to celebrate than with a giveaway. Four lucky followers will have an opportunity to win one of four packages! At Ruthie K's suggestion it's only for US followers.

Tina of TCM asked "what's in the cans?"  There are 20 spools of thread in each can. And since I love pin cushions so much I had to add those. Some of the books are new and some are vintage duplicates from my stash. Don't forget to follow and leave a comment. You can leave more than one comment to increase your chances. I'll announce the winners next Saturday, the 18th.

My 100th PR review & blogoversary in 6 days

I've just posted my 100th review on Pattern Review...woohoo! To celebrate that and my second year blogoversary in a few days and I'm going to have an awesome giveway. As usual you must be a follower and leave a comment. The deadline will be next Saturday the 18th. Here's a photo of what will be included in the giveaway. Three luckly followers will win from this pile of stuff. Some vintage (old) and some new...as in brand new, never used! You could be a winner!

Simplicity 4273

The jacket is finished and my pattern alterations from my previous post were spot-on. I think it is one thing to be a great seamstress but an entirely different animal to be able to sew a garment that fits well.

This jacket is everything I hoped it would be. Because it is an unlined jacket, I opted to use a hong kong finish on the inside seams. I'm not sure I'll ever do that again. Finishing the seams took more time than it would have taken me to draft a lining. I will make this jacket again but will line it the next time.

The jacket is great with my Painter's Tape Pants. The fabric is from my stash and I'll sure it was purchased at an estate sale. Not the best quality...looks like polyester garbardine but it is very comfortable and feels great against my skin.

I wish I could have had more photos but the temperature was only in the 20's and it was starting to snow.

Before the sewing starts - Simplicity 4273

My next project is going to be the jacket from Simplicity 4273. I cannot believe that I don't have a black jacket. This jacket will match the Painter Tape Pants I just made and since I had six yards of fabric, I think I should make a matching skirt as well.

The days are over for me to simply trim a pattern and sit down and sew it. Actually those days probably never existed. I start with a size 16 pattern as I am a devout believer in the Palmer/Alto method. Fit for Real People (FFRP) is the best thing that has ever happened to my sewing skills.

The first alteration I always make on any jacket or blouse that has sleeves is to make a wide back adjustment of 1". It is a very simple alteration but one that I cannot get a good fit without. I make the alteration by marking a line the length of the pattern. Next I cut the pattern apart, spread it 1" fill in with tissue, finally taping the entire alteration. Unlike as suggested in FFRP I use 3/4" tape because it is more readily available.

After the back alteration, I make a 1" full bust adjustment (FBA). While on must princess seam jackets I make the alteration on the front side piece, on this particular jacket I made the alteration on the front piece only. This will be a first time for me making a princess seam jacket that also incorporates a bust dart. I marked the pattern piece, slicing, spreading and filling the alteration in with tissue and tape.

The red mark to the left of the center front and below the waistline represents where my waist is. To have the pattern fit as intended I marked, slice and lengthened the pattern piece 1".

The remaining pieces of the body of the jacket all had to be lengthened 1" while the facing had to be lengthed 1 3/8". Finally I measure the sleeve circumference, armhole opening and sleeve cap.

Simplicity 2501

First I have to say I am very blessed these days.  Eve over at Eve's House had a jewelry giveaway and guess who won? Righty-O, moi! Not only that, she also gave me an award.

Have I said how much I like awards? Well I do and will be adding this to my sidebar as well. If someone out there is having a giveaway that you think you'll like, by all means make sure enter. You can't win if you don't. The blogging sewing community is just fantastic. Thanks Eve, I love you girl!

I've been a lazy blogger lately but I've been sewing. Adding to my growing blouse collection is Simplicity 2501.

Pattern Description:

Misses' blouse with separate pieces for B, C, D cup
Pattern Sizing:
6-22
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Exactly
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like the separate pieces for the different cup sizes. For me the darts were spot on. I didn't like the back neck facing. I don't know if maybe my fabric was too heavy but the sleeves were beyond poofy! I used my upright steamer to beat them into submission. There is no way I would have worn it if I hadn't be able to tame the sleeves.
Fabric Used:
Something from JoAnn's called Silky Prints--it's polyester
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
No need to do an FBA here but I did have to make my normal wide back adjustment. I should have lengthened the bodice about one inch with an additional inch on the center front. I find that for me when the pattern has separate pieces for different cup sizes, there is enough width but not enough length on the center front. It could be due mostly to the fact that I have a very erect posture. It feels a little wierd because the band is higher than my normal waist.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will sew this again but think I will use a sleeve from a different pattern. When I wore it to work last week my boss said I looked like a librarian...not quite the look I was going for. I didn't have these skanky stockings on; bet I don't look like a librarian now!

Conclusion:

This pattern went together really fast. Sometimes it's nice to use a pattern that you don't have to spend more time adjusting than sewing!

Remember my Painter's Tape Pattern? I resurrected it and it's a perfect fit. Just look at that rear fit! I haven't hemmed them yet but I just couldn't resist photographing them. The red slacks are my first foray into Burda magazine patterns. More on those later. BTW I have a little survey in my right side bar. Can you take a few seconds and answer it. TIA.

Musings

I've wanted to post about this for a while but just kept putting it off. October was breast cancer awareness month but every month should be. If you are not taking your breast health serious I implore you to do so right away. With the statistics being 1 in 8 women wil suffer from breast cancer, breast health should not be takien lightly.

It has almost been two years since my breast cancer diagnosis and I am still weathering the effects. Somehow I thought I would be back to my normal self by now but some days it is still a challenge. One side-effect of either the cancer, the radiation or the meds that I never told anyone about--not even my husband and I tell him absolutely everthing...after all he is my best friend--is not being able to read. That's right I couldn't read. Oh, I could read the words but the meaning mostly absolutely escaped me. I was fouling up at my job, at sewing, at everything. Even now I am still experiencing some short-term memory loss but that too is getting better. The great news is that about three weeks ago I realized that once again I can read and it's wonderful. I've always loved the library and the book store and I'm trying to make up for lost time. In the last two weeks I've read two books and am close to finishing a third. I've invested in a Pandigital color ereader and sewing is taking somewhat of a backseat. I'm dividing my time between sewing, reading and bowling.

I finally bit the bullet and threw out most of my wardrobe. Losing 30 lbs has some drawbacks. I'm working on a pair of slacks that I plan to blog about tomorrow so say tuned. BTW here's a burning question.

Please fill in the blank with your answer. I know I have to many______________ because I ________________. Can't wait to read the answers. My answer is....
I know I have too many pairs of shoes because I could sell half of them and still have too many!