Thursday, February 26, 2009

Simplicity 2896

I saw this pattern last year at Joann's last year, but didn't buy it because the price was beyond my pocketbook. Thank God for dollar sales! I purchased this pattern last week, along with a few others to update my spring/summer wardrobe.

The first incarnation of this shirt is in denim:

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I have about five yards of beige linen that I got at the end of last summer for a song and that fabric will be the second incarnation of this shirt. This shirt was fun for me to make as I always loved these types of sleeves. When I was a young girl, I would try to iron or pull my sleeves upward so that they would form a pouf. If it was up to me, all ladies shirts with sleeves would have poufs!
Until we meet again...

Friday, February 20, 2009

Bbitce Is Bback!

My apologies for the super duper long hiatus. My digital camera was on the fritz (right after the warranty expired, I might add) and it has taken me quite some time to get a new one. Since I've been gone, I have continued creating and have gathered a few "toys" along the way.





I'd like to introduce you to Ching Mai:



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She was a (belated) Christmas present to me and already has proven to be indispensible. The only problems I have with this dressform are that the dials are hard to turn and the waist does not expand as far as the specifications state. Right now the waistline is a problem because I am at my winter weight…le sigh. But, I will be back down to my summer weight in a few months, so then that won't be a problem.


On a late night forage through the internets (sic), I came across these:



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They are paperless reusable patterners that adjust in size. With these two particular tools, I am able to make basic patterns without paper for jackets, blouses, shirts, coats, dresses, and skirts. The company also sells the pants patterner, but since I also have these:



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I don't think I'll get the pants patterner……BUT then again, I have an obsession of keeping 'sets' together, so I probably will break down and get that as well.





Well, back to Ching Mai and the tools….I am working on this coat (that my son swears is a poncho):

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With Ching Mai's help and using the rulers and French curves, I hope this will end up as a wool coat with a quilted lining.



I'll share other projects later, including some crocheting and knitting. So in parting, take a look at this 'fun' scarf and hat set I crocheted for my lovely mini-me:

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