tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72172201487341544172024-03-13T13:57:02.407-07:00Steph Gets CraftyAdventures and mishaps in sewing, knitting, and other crafts.Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-55907572282991257562013-12-21T18:07:00.002-08:002013-12-21T18:16:38.341-08:00Jack's CoatWow, I let a long time go again in between posts.
A quick catch-up!
Well, I moved again. I ended up moving in with my boyfriend in July to Fairfield, inbetween Sacramento and San Francisco. And the best part (besides of course seeing my handsome man everyday) is I have my own sewing room! That's the dream folks. It's messy right now because it's been doubling as a gift Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-78702986275756415432013-04-14T10:57:00.000-07:002013-04-14T11:05:46.676-07:00Lots o' Dots
A simple tee, featuring lots of dots:
This is McCalls 6519, view B, sans pocket.
I bought this pattern for the blazer, which I made up like a year ago, and it came out horrible. Very wide and short and boxy, which gave it an overall 80s vibe. A wadder for sure. I never blogged it though because it happened around the time my mom had cancer.
Something about the Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-12740826055482064542013-04-09T17:52:00.000-07:002013-04-09T18:01:30.603-07:00Finished AlmaMy finished Alma:
I'm really happy with it! It's tight enough to show I have a body, but not uncomfortable. My only issue was with the side zipper. I bought a 12 inch zipper as instructed on the envelope. However, in the size I made (a zero) I had barely over 12 inches between armpit and hem. This left like no space to fold a hem and no space at the top. As a Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-22611089172352196572013-04-02T19:42:00.000-07:002013-04-02T19:42:24.864-07:00Back and ready for more!While this is mainly a sewing/crafting blog, I want to address some personal stuff before moving on. Feel free to scroll down to a brief sewing bit at the end.
I feel the need to address the year-long silence here on my blog. About this time last year, on Easter Sunday actually, my mom checked herself into the hospital with abdominal pain. It was diagnosed as pancreatic cancer Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-76666887689882500612012-04-04T15:24:00.001-07:002012-04-04T15:24:51.339-07:00Floral 80s BlazerI love this blazer. Absolutely love it. Gaudy? Yes. 80s? Yes. Look like I'm 75 and going to a business meeting in Honolulu? Maybe. And Gary has reminded me frequently of these facts. But I don't care, I love it!
At the Japanese Friendship Garden in beautiful Balboa Park.
I've been a fan of blazers for a long while, particularly boyfriend blazers. &Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-59694648813493331482012-03-23T17:26:00.000-07:002012-03-23T17:26:17.692-07:00Colonial DayIt's been slow sewing lately. I had 2 wadders recently, which is disheartening as always. But my mojo is still flowing strong. I've seen a lot of cute outfits I'd love to recreate on pinterest, and I also bought way too much fabric when Fashion Fabrics Club had their anniversary sale, so I'm ready to push on and keep sewing!
But of course I've had one success this month. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-78824007788902232522012-01-30T18:21:00.000-08:002012-01-30T18:21:24.780-08:00Quit before you get more behindI've been working on McCalls 6512, a Melissa Watson pattern for blouses.
That's the line drawing. I've been working on view A, the short sleeve with front pockets and the tabs on the sleeves. This isn't my usual thing, and I bought the pattern for view B, but the more I stared at the envelope the more I liked it. It's actually a very interesting pattern, in both views. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-85145850272215159892012-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:002012-01-17T19:10:55.346-08:00The Winter DressI love winter dresses. Throw on a knit dress, leggings, and boots and you're good to go. It's so comfy and you never risk showing anything you don't want to show as you're covered neck to toe. And while you're completely conservative, it looks cute, sassy, and is entirely work appropriate.
That being said, I've had my eye on this pattern for a while:
This dress requires a Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-27909317420800070002011-11-14T17:23:00.000-08:002011-11-14T17:41:31.375-08:00Work BlouseIntroducing my third Pendrell!
Not much to say about this pattern as this is my third make. This is definitely my best one- third time's the charm!
But I do have some words about this fabric. I love it! I went to Joann on Friday with the intention of picking up some clearance fabric to make some shirts for work. Most of my nice shirts are black or white. I like Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-21917148544182876802011-10-29T12:52:00.000-07:002011-11-06T15:02:58.691-08:00Got a job!I got a job! Yahoo!
I've been a teacher the last 3 years, and in a big political/personal showdown, I ended up losing my job at the end of June. I applied to teaching jobs over the summer, but obviously didn't get anything. So I was just collecting unemployment and looking into switching careers and had even taken steps to going back to school in January. Then on Monday Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-70673634209733217002011-10-05T12:07:00.000-07:002011-10-05T12:07:23.078-07:00Little Bow PeepThis is my final product:And incidentally the only normal picture
This is what I was going for:
The Loosened Shelby Blouse from Anthropologie
This is the story behind it all:
I always liked this Anthropologie top. But I also believe it was priced around the $100 mark. I thought about copying it, but I had never done that before, so I let it sit in my inspiration folder.
I was lookingStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-39373057984638666482011-09-21T14:33:00.000-07:002011-09-21T14:33:54.943-07:00The Perfect BodyGuess what? I have the perfect body! Haha, far from it...
But apparently my body measurements are almost dead aligned with standard patterns.
In my coats class today, we spent like 2 hours learning how to do various alterations (as a former teacher, I have to say that I love the way she taught this lesson). Although I learned a lot, I was NOT looking forward to doing all thatStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-60169290486486065642011-09-20T17:00:00.000-07:002011-09-20T17:15:14.056-07:00Queen of DrapeyI love long, drapey stuff. You know those drapey cardigans that are in style? Well, I think I own at least 4 of them, with plans to make another one next. They're all different lengths, textures, styles, and colors, so I justify owning so many. Plus I do wear them a lot!
Not only do I have the cardigan version, but I also own 2 vest versions. And as a nice, easy Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-8667266576250357452011-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:002011-09-06T15:01:00.022-07:00An atypical first dayI was so excited for my first day of sewing class. My plan was to get up early, have a nice big breakfast and a big ole cup of coffee, get all done up all cute, and have Gary take a picture so I could post me off to school!
You know what they say: If you want to make God laugh, make a plan.
I didn't fall asleep until like 12 last night, which is actually pretty typical for me lately. &Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-11201022266890285162011-09-05T17:31:00.000-07:002011-09-05T17:31:52.928-07:00Embracing unemploymentI've mused on this post for a while, writing and rewriting it in my head. It ended up a little long and philosophical, maybe I was talking things through for myself. Anyways, I'm choosing to be vague about my last job, because it sucked the life out of me and there's no point in reliving it, but I hope I can convey the low feelings I had afterward and what a change of heart I had. AndStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-35380652464275878672011-08-28T19:00:00.000-07:002011-08-28T22:56:35.078-07:00Old projects, new picturesHi everyone! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I posted! Very lame of me. But this will be a nice big post with pictures.
What have I been up to the last 3 weeks?
1. I had an interview on Friday and wore my hopefully lucky skirt (blogged here):
Don't I look professional, responsible, and cute? You should hire me!
I don't have much to say about it, this is the fourth Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-2779246038028235902011-08-01T09:15:00.000-07:002011-08-01T09:15:28.192-07:00Rethinking...After yesterday's post, I took my little purple jacket to my mom's house to show her, and she absolutely loved it! She said it'd look good with jeans and a white shirt, which is what I was going for. I think that my lack of photogenic skills influenced my own thoughts about the jacket. I saw the bad pictures and thought the jacket was bad. But now my mom's comment makes me Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-38808714059072079592011-07-31T12:29:00.000-07:002011-07-31T12:29:23.470-07:00Vogue 8721First, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm no model and I lack photogenecy (the noun form of photogenic? Is that a word? It is now!) I asked Gary to coach me and he failed. In a bunch of pictures it looks like I have a really big stomach, which I don't think I do. I seriously think I'm going to google tips to taking better photos after I finish this post.
Anyways,Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-21915455149712418252011-07-29T12:31:00.000-07:002011-07-29T12:31:40.354-07:00Thirty-one dollarsMy FabricMart order came in today! Yay! I mentioned early that I got 23 yards for $31. I also ordered a mystery bundle, so some of that is hit or miss, which I'll describe below.
I'm going to describe what I bought, how much, and my plans for it, starting at the top left, working down the first column, and then the top right (like reading a book!). You can always click Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-52767667763069523862011-07-27T21:44:00.000-07:002011-07-27T21:44:31.079-07:00Pattern OrganizationIn an earlier post, I bemoaned that I lost two pattern pieces. This particularly bothered me because I think my patterns are pretty well organized. And to prove this, I have pictures!
First, I organize my patterns electronically. I use Evernote, which luckily came on my new Vaio, but I think there may be a free version of the program. I started using Evernote after Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-18868251790263815952011-07-25T15:08:00.000-07:002011-07-25T15:08:23.056-07:00The "You Should Give Me a Job" SkirtFor reasons I do not wish to discuss on the internet, I've found myself to be unemployed. What better way to convince people to hire you than to have the perfect skirt!
It even has hanger appeal! You just have to trust me on this one, because I finished it all of 3 minutes ago and nobody is here to take a picture of me wearing it and because I've been wearing sweats with my hair in Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-24811578914484150992011-07-22T21:49:00.000-07:002011-07-22T21:49:50.557-07:00The Weekend UpdateIt's been a crazy week. Bare with me as I ramble a bit here.
I woke up Monday morning, ready to tackle my skirt and clean the house. Instead, my mom and brother called me from the hospital. I ended up at the hospital all day. Turns out my mom had appendicitis, which is a lot more serious than I realized as a kid. No worries, my mom is fine, but I took care of Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-74018834882618782812011-07-13T22:01:00.000-07:002011-07-13T22:01:05.928-07:00Tried and TrueI found a solution to my little wadder depression.
That's right, I'm cutting out my FOURTH version of McCall's 5591. Second time making Version A. The fabric is a poly poplin from fabric.com in gray. Knock on wood, but this should be fairly straight forward. I feel like I could follow this pattern in my sleep at this point. The fabric is a nice medium weight, notStephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-2867462791669922692011-07-12T12:42:00.000-07:002011-07-12T12:42:07.089-07:00WadderI loved that word. Wadder. I just found that in blog world this week. I can't remember where I first saw it used, but I swear I've never seen it before and now I see it all over the place. From what I can deduce, a wadder is a failed garment that you toss into the corner in a wad. Unfortunately, the discovery of this word coincides with my own wadder.
Remember how Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7217220148734154417.post-57221639203584849262011-06-16T15:12:00.000-07:002011-06-16T15:12:17.596-07:00Busted!My knees, that is.
Turns out I have chondromalacia patella, a minor form of arthritis. I've worn down the cartilage in my joints from going up and down the stairs so much at work.
What does this have to do with my blog?
I'll probably be on a sewing hiatus. I cut and pin my fabric on the floor, and at this point I just can't get up and down like that, too hard on my knees. Stephaniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15028468830883390661noreply@blogger.com1