Jack's Coat

Wow, 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 wrapping station, but I'll get a picture of it up soon. I've done some sewing, but honestly not that much.  I think I've made 2 tops and 2 dresses since I moved.  I've just  been busy!

Not only did we move in together, but we have an addition to our family:

This is Jack.  He was  my boyfriend's mom's, but he no longer fit into her lifestyle.  She knew I always loved him, and now she gets to spoil him as a grandma!

The day after Thanksgiving, we all went to chop down a Christmas tree and we brought Jack with us.  It was pretty cold, so I ended up doing this:

I love my boy so I don't mind looking like a crazy dog lady, but clearly he needed a coat! I was looking in various stores and at craft fairs and I didn't see any I liked, so to the sewing room it was!

This is McCall's 5998 in view C, minus the booties.

I also omitted the elastic.  I had seen other dog coats in my travels and I'd never seen one with elastic on the rear so I left it out.  I also didn't put the little tab with the D ring.  Instead, I plan on making a slit in the back with my buttonhole maker so I can pull the D ring of his harness through.  This is something I saw in doggy-ready-to-wear that I liked.  But I haven't done it yet because I want to practice on the fleece before I mess it up!

The fabric is a fleece from JoAnns.  It was on sale for 50% off, and then I had a coupon for 25% off.  I bought 3/4 of a yard to be safe, but I could've gotten away with less than 1/2 a yard.  It only cost me $3 though so I can't complain! The lining is a navy blue cotton I had in my stash.  I have no recollection of buying it, I must have had it for years.

Overall, this went together very easily.  The hardest part was probably just sewing with fleece.  Especially when I was attaching the velcro.  Up where the collar and the body meet were some parts that were pretty thick and trying to attach the velcro there was no fun.  My machine really didn't like that.  But like I said, overall it worked out great.

Poor guy, the sun was in his eyes.

I made a size small, but it's a little snug on him. He's pretty barrel-chested.  I think a medium would've been too large though.  If I were to do it again, and I may one day, I would add an inch to the body and an inch and a half at the neck. I tried to measure before sewing it up because I know he's barrel-chested, but there were no front pictures on the pattern envelope and I was confused about how it ended up wrapping around the front.  So here's a front picture of Jack so anybody else making this pattern can see how it looks. 

And one more shot, just because my dog is a cutie!

My pattern review can be found here.

Lots 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 top caught my eye though, and when I saw this fabric (which I believe is a challis) on clearance for $3 a yard, this pattern immediately came to mind.  I bought this fabric a few months ago though and moved since then, and somewhere in the process of storage and moving some holes formed. There were four holes, lined up the way it was folded, so I know it wasn't a manufacturing error.  But with some creative placing of pattern pieces it worked just fine.

This pattern was super easy.  Only two pattern pieces! No zipper and no closures.  I cut a straight 6.  It slipped my mind to widen it at the hips, but this just gives it a more fitted look which I ended up liking.  In the past I don't think I would've worn something so loose on top, since that's my smallest area.  But as I mentioned in an earlier post, I lost a lot of weight and I'm still getting used to what works on my new body and what doesn't. Since only a small fraction of my old clothes fit, I've had many chances in various dressing rooms to try on different styles and such, but I'm still getting used to it.  I have a lot of thoughts about this that I may dedicate to its own blog post.

More details on my pattern review can be found here.

Finished Alma

My 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 result, the zipper rubbed my armpit all day. I ended up breaking into the first aid kit, taking some gauze, and stuffing it in my armpit.  It worked! But definitely not a long term solution.  I think I'm going to hand sew in a little flap or something to cover the zipper.  Still wearable, and I'm still very happy with it.  If I were to make this again (which I may) I would lengthen it, which I think would look better and would fix my zipper issue.

Overall, I give it an A-, maybe a solid A if I resolve the zipper rubbing.

Click here for my pattern review link.

Back 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 and she passed away just 4 months later.  My mom and I were very close, and it was a painful experience to say the least.  She was only 46. While this was going on, I also got laid off from San Diego Unified and things fell apart with my now ex-boyfriend.

So while this sounds a little sad, and I guess it was at the time, it launched me in such a good life trajectory.  I ended up moving to Sacramento, where I have some family.  I got a job teaching 7th grade.  I lost 20 pounds.  And I have a new man in my life. I've been sewing a bit off and on in the past year, but things are finally really settled and I've jumped 110% back into sewing and dipping my toes back into my blog.

And now that that's off my chest, onto sewing matters!

I'm currently working on Sewaholic's Alma blouse.

Waiting for sleeves and a hem!

I'm using a black and ivory stretch sateen that I think I bought from FabricMart, but it was years ago. For the contrast collar I'm using a fuchsia corduroy that has also been in the stash for a while.

I told you I had some stuff for years- Look how wrinkled that corduroy was!

I expect to be able to finish it tonight or (more realistically) tomorrow.  But the part I want to brag about is that fact that I installed an invisible zipper-like a boss! And without an invisible zipper foot either.

So invisible you can hardly even see it!

Here's some tutorials I used, if anybody else struggles with invisible zippers like me!
http://www.burdastyle.com/techniques/how-to-insert-an-invisible-zipper-without-an-invisible-zipper-foot/technique_steps/4
http://www.coletterie.com/tutorials-tips-tricks/tutorial-installing-an-invisible-zipper
http://blog.sewserendipity.com/2009/08/dont-fear-invisible-zipper.html
The key for me was to adjust the needle position to the far left and uncurl the teeth as I sewed.  Worked just fine!


Look for some finished pics in a few days. :)

Floral 80s Blazer

I 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.  I have a white one, but I don't wear it much as I'm afraid of getting it dirty.  I ordered this fabric and I just thought it needed to be a blazer!

This fabric was a dream by the way.  It's a "floral jacquard stretch suiting" from Fashion Fabrics Club. I think it's mostly polyester.  It's fairly heavy, but not bulky.  It doesn't wrinkle and it sews nice and presses nice.  Just a dream to work with.  The lining (not pictured) is orange acetate. I hate acetate, but the price is right.  Not so nice to sew with, but slippery fabrics never are.

Sewing a blazer is hard.  There, I said it.  I used Simplicity 2340. I think the directions assumed that you had made a blazer before, and I haven't.  It took a lot of puzzling, especially the collar.  I redid the collar probably like 5 times.  I was carefully matching the small dots and large dots as instructed, but on the wrong pattern pieces because there are a million large dots and small dots!  I finally got that more or less figured out, but I never did figure out the back vent and I'm sure I did it incorrectly, but I don't really care, it works. However, if you have sewn a blazer before or have a reference book it's probably not so bad, and it wouldn't be so bad a second time around, if I were crazy enough to attempt it.

I'm not crazy about the fit either, which I think adds to the 80s-ness of it.  According to my upper bust measurement I'm a 12, but I went down to a 10.  I did a tissue fitting of the 10 and it was a bit snug, but I went ahead with it anyways.  In my sewing class my teacher said that a garment will grow about a half inch when changing from tissue paper to fabric, so I didn't worry about the snugness.  But this grew way more than a half inch.  If I were to make this again, I'd go down another size.

One last thing- the button.

Gary hates the button, says it puts "the finishing touch on the granny look".  I told him granny chic is in, but he never listens to me!  Plus, this really is a granny button.  When my grandpa's sister died at the ripe old age of 82, I ended up with a hot pink, faux fur, mod 60s style coat with these buttons. (No idea if it was from the 60s or just a replica.  She was a good seamstress herself, I'm pretty sure she made the coat) I parted with the coat, but not before snagging the buttons.  It only took me about 10 years to find a use for one of the five buttons, but at least they can finally see the light of day!

Mahalo for reading all about my crazy jacket and aloha! (and I mean that in the goodbye sense)

Colonial Day

It'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.  My Colonial Day dress!

My school does Colonial Day every year with the 5th graders, this being my first year joining them.  The students rotate through the different teachers and do different activities.  The kids danced the reel when they came to my station.

A kid took this picture, and I ended up looking like an amputee!  Note to self: don't put arms behind back!  But I'm including the picture anyways because you can see the whole look with my mob cap. :)

So on to the dress details.

I used McCalls 6139, mostly View A.  I added lace into the princess seaming and I added ribbon to the center bodice piece.  The bodice back was oddly drafted.  I'll put more details about this on pattern review.

This dress is by no means perfect, but I think it's fine for what it is.  Most of the seams aren't finished, I never ironed the skirt fabric, the zipper doesn't match, and the hem is totally wonky.  But I will wear this once a year at most, and I'll probably never wash it, so I wasn't motivated to be that careful or meticulous as I worked.

My non-matching zipper.  This is what happens when you're on a deadline and the local store doesn't have the perfect brown!

My departing thought: I used about 8 yards of fabric for this dress.  As I trimmed the 10 foot hem (!) I thought to myself: If I had to make this fabric myself, I'd be wearing a damn mini skirt!

All tuckered out.  Those kiddos wore me out!

Quit before you get more behind

I'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.  It's drafted in a unique way.

Anyways, I had this yellow polka dot rayon shirting, which feels like challis to me, in my stash for like a year.  It was one of those things that I loved so  much I never risked cutting it.  Can you tell yet that it's going to be a sad ending?

It came along just fine.  I worked really hard, especially on those $@%! front pockets.  It was so hard to get them not only even, but also symmetrical with the other one.  The pattern has you place the pockets toward the beginning and then continue sewing the shirt.  In my tissue fitting, this was a fine placement, so I went along with it.

Well, once I sewed the rest of the shirt together, I realized the pockets are WAY too low.  Laughably low.  My fabric is so soft and drapey that it has a lot of give to it, and I think the pockets just stretched out the fabric and dragged it down.

Picking out the pockets isn't an option, you'd see all the holes on this fabric.  At first I thought I could power through.  "Maybe when I add the collar..."  But the more I tried to power through, the more sloppy I got.  I started having the attitude of "What's the point if it isn't even going to work out?"  So I finally just made myself stop.  It's done, it can't be saved, and I just need to move on.

I did like the cut of the shirt though.  I have some pretty rayon challis from which I'm going to make view B (no pockets!).  I do recommend the pattern, just be careful with those pockets and a drapey fabric.

Crappy picture, I know, but I refused to spend any more time on this doomed project!

The Winter Dress

I 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 double knit, and I've had a hard time finding reasonably priced double knit in an attractive color, or even a print.

But one fateful day, Gary was driving me home from work.  We were on Morena Blvd. and I said, "I heard there's a good discount fabric store around here..." and he's such a good boyfriend that he helped me track it down and was very patient as I looked around.  And lo and behold I found the perfect fabric:

I actually found a patterned double knit!

For textile nerds: In actuality, I think it's more of a novelty knit.  I think it was a double knit, but they dropped some stitches to make the pattern, so it's not a true double knit, but it's stable and worked well for this dress.

Anyway, at $4/yard, this gorgeous piece was cheaper than the yucky, shiny, polyester crappy double knit at Joanns, so I was very satisfied with the price. :)

And my final product:

Hurry up and take the picture Gary! Oh wait, that actually came out pretty good...

Overall, I'm happy with this dress. It's really comfy and I think the simplicity of the design lends itself to fun fabric or other cool details.  But I did have some fit issues.  I have an *ahem* full derriere and the fabric pools at the small on my back.  I read that somebody else on Pattern Review had the same issue, and she ended up inserting a waist seam and back darts.  I'm considering pinching in some back darts, but I like the look and idea of a just simple/easy T-shirt dress.

Anyways, here's the pictures of what I'm talking about:

Any thoughts?   I don't think it's as bad when it's in motion and I purposely didn't adjust it since I wanted an honest photo.  I think I just need to wear it again and ask a friend's opinion in real life!

Work Blouse

Introducing 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 white a lot.  I don't love how black looks on me.  I chanced upon this fabric and loved it.  It's 100% polyester, which doesn't bother me in the mild San Diego climate, and it is super soft and buttery.  And it was mismarked and ended up being only $1/yard!  When I found that out I got 3 more yards, so you might see a dress from this fabric one day soon. 

I also love the color.  Yes it's black, and looks good paired with black (like this thrifted Ann Taylor skirt I got for only $3!)  But the autumn colors in it soften the black and looks better on me.  

We all know I'm not photographic, so just trust me that this looks really good in person. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful 3 day weekend!  I'm looking forward to my Thanksgiving sew-cation next week. :)

Got 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 afternoon I got a phone call and I've been swept up in the whirlwind all week.  I'm teaching 5th grade for San Diego Unified.  The classes were overfilled so they're splitting them up and giving me the overflow and I start with kids on Monday.

At my last job, I had a really difficult time maintaining a work/personal balance and I felt like work sucked my life away.  Coming home and sewing or knitting was my therapy.  This week I admit that I've been very unbalanced on the side of work, but I'm also trying to learn a whole new system, get officially hired, and be all set up for kids on Monday so I'm giving myself a pass for the first month or so.

So that's my story on why I haven't done much sewing!  I started a pair of pants last weekend, but haven't touched them all week.  I started McCalls 6403 in View E, the wide legged loose fitting pants.

I started out with the intention to make the shorts in View D, but I had the fabric and got excited and there you have it!  I've never made a fly before, and I swear it took me like 2 hours of watching you tube videos repeatedly and ripping out and trying again, but now that I've done it before I think it'd be easier the second time around.  This video was extremely useful by the way for anyone trying to sew a front fly zipper.  Despite doing a tissue fitting, this is a bit big so I need to shave off the sides, attach the waist band, and hem up the bottom.  Hopefully I'll get to it this weekend!

Little Bow Peep

This 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 looking at Pattern Review for reviews of Simplicity 2599 and came across this tutorial.  The ladies at Presserfoot had already written a tutorial for how to make a Shelby-like top.

So I pullled out some cute cotton from my stash...

And got to work!

Now, you would think that having this tutorial readily available, mine would come out darn close.  And I'd have to agree with you.  But this is what I did:

Skim tutorial... skim... okay, cut a piece about that shape... gather here... skim, skim skim.  Got it!


Do you understand now why mine didn't come out like the tutorial?

My collar piece was much larger than the one on the Anthropologie top, but I decided I liked it.  Because the collar was so large, I left off the gathers on the sleeves.  I wish I had made the ties slightly longer, but it's not worth taking it apart in my opinion.

The thing I am most proud of is the fit on this top.  I had made this before, and it's really big in the back.  As I was cutting this one, I realized it's because I omitted the back seam without accounting for the seam allowances.  Oops.  This means I have an extra 1.25 inches in the back of the first one I made, which is why it's so big.

So this time I cut a size 12, graded out to a 16 in the hips.  I did a tissue fitting and brought the seams in slightly.  I omitted the back seam and took out the 5/8 seam allowance on each side.  I also tried it on pinned together before sewing it and made some slight adjustments, but overall I was really happy.

The front and the back pieces were the only pattern pieces I used from the Simplicity pattern.  The collar piece, the ties, and the bias binding I measured and made myself.

Even though it's not exactly what I had in mind when I started this project, I'm very happy with the end result.

As an end of post treat, here's a mini-montage of pictures from Gary trying to coach me in modeling:

Steph, look away like you're thinking.  Why are your arms just dangling there?!?

Try whipping your hair....

Sorry, I took the picture too fast.  Try again!

 Not enough hair.  Try again!  Be a model!

There you go, that's modeling!

Uh... Gary... you know that I'm trying to show off my shirt right?  This isn't  a Pantene commercial.

PS! I forgot to mention that my post on Butterick 4989 is going to be featured on Butterick's facebook page. I feel famous!

The Perfect Body

Guess 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 that work on my own pattern.

I went to get fitted, and was very nervous to find out all the things I had to adjust.

But guess what?
My pattern fit!  Perfectly! And she checked everything, really looking for something, anything, that needed to be tweaked... but nope.  Back and front are perfect.  It probably helps that I had already graded out a size for my hips, but still, this is very exciting!

Gary says this means I'm completely average.  I think it means I'm perfect.

Queen of Drapey

I 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 project, I whipped myself up a third!  Just call me the Queen of Drapey. :)

Happy with my long flowy, drapey vest! 

This is Butterick 4989 in View C, the long drapey one.  This is labeled a 2 hour pattern, and I'd say that's pretty accurate. It was very simple, only 2 pattern pieces; the back and the front is cut twice. I was a little slower, but I didn't work straight and I had some self-created issues with the fabric layout.  I was a bit short on fabric, so I studied the directions seeing if I could squeeze out some more fabric.  Then I noticed that the pattern includes a 4 inch hem.  Wow.  You do NOT need a 4 inch hem.  I figured I was 9 inches short, so I cut 3 inches off each pattern piece and barely squeezed this out.  But as you can see, I still have tons of length, so I wouldn't stress out about the fabric requirements.

Obligatory back shot.

The fabric is really pretty.  It's a sage green stretch lace that has some shine to it.  It's really bunchy (as in bunches up a lot) and it has a lot of holes (because duh, it's a lace) which made it tricky to sew, but not as difficult as I thought.  I was able to use a normal needle and everything, just used a zig zag stitch.  But as a result, this didn't come out as particularly neat in terms of construction as it would've in a simpler fabric.  But because the lace is a little busy, you really can't tell. 

A close up shot of my lace, although the color is more accurate in the other pictures. 

Overall, I highly recommend this pattern and I am very happy with the result. :) 

An atypical first day

I 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.  But then I woke up at 3am, feeling sicker than anything.  I don't know if this has to do with getting older or the strains of the cold or flu virus changing, but lately when I'm sick I get the body aches bad.  I think I've had them for a few days, but was confusing them with gym soreness.

After waking up sick as a dog at 3am, I tossed and turned in bed until about 4.  At this point I felt bad for Gary, so I got up, switched to the couch, and watched Secret Life of the American Teenager (I'm so pissed at Madison by the way! Ugh!)

I went back to bed, and slept from about 6:00 to 7:00.  So when I got up to go to class I was functioning on 4 hours of sleep and feeling very achey.  No fun!  I debated going to class, but finally decided to go.  Side note: My dad always says you can tell how sick I am by how I'm dressed.  I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror at school and thought "This soooo does not look like me."  Whatever.

But I am soooo happy that I pulled myself out of bed and went to class!  It turns out that I had the days wrong, today was Intermediate Sewing, not my coat class.  I figured this out at about 5am, not when I walked in to the classroom, which would've been awkward.  I didn't bring anything, which was a good call because all we really did was introduce ourselves and then watched a movie about textiles.

Speaking of textiles, wow, I really know a lot.  The teacher was asking questions and I knew pretty much everything.  She also asked where people buy fabric and when I said I buy online she said that you can only do that if you know your textiles.  But I think I've made it pretty clear that I know my textiles.  Then I got to wondering how I know this.  I know my fibers from knitting and from reading knitting magazines.  As for actual fabrics, I think I seriously just touch like every fabric in the fabric store and then read what it is.  I also read a lot online, so when I buy a new fabric online I have a good idea of what it is before it comes.

I also got the impression that I am an advanced intermediate.  The syllabus has us doing things like working with knits, making buttonholes, and installing zippers.  I've done all that, no problem.  But some things I don't really know or want more help on.  She's going to teach us fitting using the Fit for Real People book (which I bought like a month ago and LOVE!)  I think it'll be helpful to have other people around when using that method, especially since I have such a hard time fitting my back and it's hard for me to see my own back!  So even though I think I'm on the more advanced end of the class, I still think it will be worthwhile to take.  And again, I'm glad I got out of bed.  Now off for a nap!

Embracing unemployment

I'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. And if you don't care, then you can scroll down toward the bottom for some sewing related stuff!

Unemployment is not as fun as you would think.  It sounds cool- the state is paying you to go to the beach and play Paper Mario all day.  But what people don't really get, unless they've been through it of course, is that it really hurts the ego.  I really did everything right in life- I graduated second in my class in high school, went straight to a 4 year university which I actually finished in 3 years, then got Masters degree and my teaching credential in one measly year, and then got a job straight out of college.  We've always been told that if you go to college you'll get a job, but Gary and I sit here as proof that this isn't really the case.  So here I am, with this beautiful resume with an excellent education and a reasonable amount of experience for my age, and no job.  It really affects your self esteem, because you wonder why you're not good enough.

Two weeks ago, on Friday, August 26th, I had my last teaching interview.  It was depressing!  It was a group interview, and I genuinely liked everyone in my group and we chatted a bunch, and it came out that at least 2 of them had taught for about 10 years and had been unemployed the last year or two.  Ten years experience!!! If they can't find a job, what chance do I have?  And I'm not even sure I want to be a teacher anymore anyways!

That night I let myself be sad for a few hours, grieving the loss of my career, and the next morning I put on my big girl pants and decided to seize the day.  I spent my summer letting things happen to me.  Letting the interviews come to me, letting unemployment wash over me.  No more! I decided I was going to own unemployment, unemployment wasn't going to own me!  So I started thinking about the things I'd like to do if I wasn't working.  One of those was getting back in to shape, which I actually started doing maybe 3 weeks or so ago now.  The second thing I really wanted to do was take sewing or fashion classes.

And so it is friends that tomorrow I start sewing classes at San Diego Continuing Education!  And they're free too!

My first class tomorrow is entitled Sewing Like a Professional (Fall Coats and Jackets).  According to the class description we are making trench coats.  I couldn't find an option to email the teacher, but it says to bring a fabric swatch and a your measurements.  It didn't mention anything about a pattern.  Joann Fabrics was having a huge sale this weekend, so I decided to pick up a pattern for 99 cents, and if it was wrong or whatever, who cares, it was only 99 cents!  So I bought McCalls 5525 which I plan to make in view E:

I also bought my fabric:

On the left is what I intend to use as the lining, a clearance polyester.  On the right is a light weight denim ( feels more like twill to me) that I bought for the outer jacket.  It's a really pretty and interesting color.  They call it Moroccan Blue; it's somewhere between a royal blue and teal. I wanted a really sturdy and heavy cotton so it could stand some beatings and so it wouldn't wrinkle too bad.  I spend a lot more than I normally do, but I know that since I'm making it in a class I will do a really good job and I hope this is something I will wear forever.

I think this post is long enough, so I'm going to wrap it up.  Tomorrow I'll blog about how class went and my other classes.  But here's a last thought- I wonder what I need to bring?  I think I'll leave my sewing machine in the car, but have it in case.  I'll bring my pattern, a swatch, a tape measure, a notebook, and a pen.  I think I'll bring pins, in case I want to do a tissue fitting.  My fabric won't be washed yet, so no point in bringing fabric or scissors.  I just don't know how it will all go!  But I'm sure other people won't have a lot of stuff either, and at least after tomorrow I'll know for Wednesday's class.

Old projects, new pictures

Hi 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 version of this skirt!  I loved the fabric, a poly poplin from fabric.com.  I had to drive an hour to my interview and this baby didn't wrinkle at all.

2. I went to the High Desert to visit  my friend Sydney and wow, I bought a lot of clothes.  And I mean a lot. But it was all cheap, so there you go! I averaged like $6/item.  The teal shirt above is one of such finds.  While visiting Sydney, I also knit 2 American Girl doll hats and a baby hat for her new niece.  I wish I had the foresight to take pictures of all those hats!

3.  I finally photographed a dress I made earlier in the summer.  The top is from McCalls 6083, a jumpsuit pattern.  I started off thinking I wanted a romper, but decided I wanted a dress instead.  I didn't do anything fancy at all to change from romper to dress, I just cut two trapezoids such that the waist was roughly the size of the waist of the shorts pattern pieces.  I didn't measure anything and just eyeballed it all.

Off to some Sunday Dim Sum. Over 90 degrees today, that's hot for being just two miles from the Pacific!

This picture doesn't do the dress justice.  We all know I can't be photographed (examples here and here) plus I left all my make up at Gary's parents' house and I should've put some shoes on.  Anyways, I like this dress, it's more or less a sack.  There's elastic at the waist, but it really does need the belt.  However, it's a super comfy just throw on dress that makes it look like you tried a lot harder than you really did.  The fabric is weird though.  I got it for like a $1/yard at Walmart (Hey- I am unemployed you know!).  I guess it's cotton, but it feels soft, but not in a good way, like in a "its crumbling apart" way.  It comes apart at the seams a lot, I had to super reinforce my seams, and I still don't think this dress will last long.  Oh well, maybe I'll make it again in a sturdier fabric.  And really, this was cheaper than making a muslin.

4. I finished my yellow shirt (blogged about at the bottom of this post).  I don't have a picture, mainly because I don't love it.  If I tried it on in a store, I probably wouldn't have bought it.  I measured the tissue pieces and got a really good fit in the waist and hips.  But the bust is gathered, so I didn't know how to measure that and plan accordingly.  As a result, it came out too big in the bust and makes the whole thing look dowdy in my opinion.  I'm sure it's fixable, but I don't feel motivated to fix it because I just gave up hope on the whole thing.  I guess I'll get around to it sometime soon.

5.  I made a delicious dinner for Gary:

Eggplant stuffed with qunioa, ground beef, and sauteed veggies with a side of yogurt sauce.  So yummy!

6.  I've been working out a LOT.  I gained 20 lbs over the last 3 years of my last job (told you it was a good thing that I got let go!)  The last five pounds was in the last few months there, when the monkey poo really hit the fan.  Now that my knees are feeling better, I bought a 24 hour fitness gym membership at costco and I've been making good use of it.  No excuses since I'm unemployed and have so much time!  I already lost 4 pounds, and I'm feeling motivated to keep it up!

However, one bad thing about this is I hesitate to sew a lot of clothes for myself.  If I'm losing weight, I don't want to waste time making clothes that won't fit in a few months.  So to solve this, I'm planning to make things where fit isn't such an issue, like the drapey cardigans, and I'm also....

7.  Sewing for Gare Bear!

 In knitting circles, there's an urban legend known as the Boyfriend Curse.  It says that if you spend the months knitting your boyfriend a sweater, it's guaranteed you'll break up right afterwards.  Hopefully that isn't a thing in sewing!  I'm working on a gray dress shirt made from stretch shirting from fabric.com.  I've having some issues with the ease of the sleeves, but to be honest I only tried once and then was too tired to mess with it again. But other than that, I'm surprised how nicely it's coming together.  I also ordered some seersucker to make him a short sleeve more casual shirt.



So that's what I've been up to in this radio silence!  If anybody knows of a job for a former teacher in the SoCal area let me know!