Tales from a Pattern Addict

I think I need to do a reset on this thing…just flush what’s out there and start fresh.

I’d consider revamping my project plug-in for the newest version of WP…but I just don’t know when that would happen. For now, the plan would be just to tag things appropriately (i.e. with the project name).

I really need to actually blog too–take pictures of things in progress, actually, you know, update what I’m working on. Sigh. Although there are aspects of this layout I do like…maybe I’ll just dump all posts and start over? Or maybe just do a quickie-revamp of the layout? (these colors are so tired)

Yeah…I need to do something. I’d really like to participate in the community but I just simply don’t take the time. Grrr.

Well…here’s another challenge to myself. Let’s see how this one goes…

I’m torn about SWAP 2009. I want to participate (heck, I want to participate more in the online sewing community, period) but we’re halfway thru, 3 months left to go, and I haven’t sewn a single stitch. I don’t even have anything cut out!!

On top of that, I’ve got commissions for no less than :::pauses to count::: 16 garments–no wait, plus 2 or 3 more from another source. Gah! I mean, it’s awesome stuff and none of it is really all that challenging…but I only have so many free weekends and my weeks are so packed. On top of that it’s so cold that I just want to curl up under blankets instead of work on sewing. LOL.

I also have two or three (time consuming) costumes I’d like to work on for me–some I’d like done sooner rather than later, some for GenCon in August.

And then there’s all the other stuff I don’t have time for: cleaning, finishing the wedding book (eep), sorting thru boxes, decorating, organizing…there just aren’t enough hours in the day!!

So…I’d been looking forward to the newest SWAP since last year when I had to back out due to purchasing a house (and a hideous first piece that made me replan).

Now that the new rules have come out…I’m not so excite. Rule to dislike the first: no dresses unless they can be worn with all the bottoms. Booo. I love dresses. I understand they want to encourage everyone to sew/fit pants…but I’d include pants regardless. So boo. Rule to dislike the second: it must reflect what you’d really wear in a given week. Boooo. I’m sure it’s a good enough twist…but I’d been hoping to do a non-work-attire SWAP. I suppose I could manage to do a casual-attire SWAP, but  gah. So, that leaves me with office attire or some combination of non-ffocie and workout (dance) attire. Hrm. I suppose I’ll at least try to come up with a plan…

Banana Republic’s Top 7:

1. wide leg trousers
2. pencil skirts
3. long cardigans
4. tie-neck blouses
5. sweater dresses
6. booties
7. oversized clutches

I need some more inspiration. I really need a plan of sorts. LOL. And the ability to work in one hour chunks–and to work that one hour chunk every day (or nearly)

Well…I’ve started on the sewing room. I moved the gargantuan pile of boxes from the sewing room into the spare ‘oom, sorting into “sewing stuff,” “crafting stuff,” and “wtf stuff” piles. Then I found that 1) the little wire shelves fit in the closet, even perpendicular if I want and 2) the upper shelf is just an inch too short to use them there. Sigh. It’s currently up for debate if I’m going to purchase a piece of lumber to extend the shelf and allow the wire shelves to be place there, or if I’m just going to figure out another method of shelving.
Along with that, I unpacked (nearly) all my fabric. What isn’t unpacked is 1) wool felt for hats, 2) the misc bin with theoretically all project stuff, 3) what I’m pretty sure is a costume fabric bin and 4) remnants (including those > 1yd). All told, two normal-sized bins worth.
I’ll have to locate my old sewing table, as there’s no chance my sewing table will make it up the stairs before Easter. Regardless, I want a new desk in there (I’ll put the less-used embroidery machine on the sewing table/cabinet).
Things are looking promising. I just might have time to throw together a simple Easter dress. Well…if I have all of Sunday, it can be a little less than simple. I mean, I’ve sewn up a completely bound, bib-front, button-down shirt (sans buttonholes) in an afternoon (say…4-6hrs). I can certainly do a dress (and, technically, I’ll have some time during the week to finish it up, if need be).
I’m pretty darn excited to have my big sewing room!

The new sewing room? Full. Absolutely full. Crap. I don’t think I’ve ever had all my sewing stuff in one room since I moved out of my first apartment-and even then I think I had stuff stored at my parents house (there still may be a box or two of sewing-related-items…I know there’s a treadle machine and other random boxes).
At the last two apartments I’ve always had at least a few boxes in the garage (in the case of the last place, two large shelving units full of fabric and patterns).
But the goal in the house is to have it entirely contained in the one room. It really shouldn’t be difficult; it’s a 10×17 (ish) room. And a full closet. Seriously.
And, actually, I should be able to do it. I should be able to have all my patterns available without trekking to the cellar or garage or shed. I should be able to have all my fabric visible and at my fingertips.
But first I need to be able to get at everything!
Methinks having all the sewing related stuff dumped into the actual sewing room (instead of the spare room next door) was not the brightest idea I’ve ever had. So…many many boxes will have to be transported down the hall whilst I get shelves set up and desks organized. I want at least one new desk; an adjustable one. Or at least something shorter-than-normal. Maybe I’ll browse the thrift shop around the corner and the resale shop in town. If I thought it’d actually be cheaper, I’d check out the outlet shop for one of our clients (an office furniture manufacturer). Something. The wooden TV tray and wire shelf are not cutting it anymore. I do have one “sewing cabinet”–not that any of my machines would actually drop down into it, but it’s a reasonable height for sewing. I think it’s a bit tall…but that’s why I hope to put the less-used (or at least less sat-at) Singer there.
But first things first: the kitchen must be unpacked and all dishes, pots, etc rinsed in hot, soapy water. Both my husband and I are sick of eating out. My goal is to have the kitchen at an acceptable level by the end of the week. His goal is to have the living room cleaned up and the garage capable of housing at least one vehicle.

And that means it’s time to start thinking of what I’ll sew in the new room. Yes, it could be one of the several projects I cut before the Serious Packing began. But I do also need an Easter dress.
This dress must, naturally, coordinate with a hat. Any hat will do but I always wear a hat on Easter. I really ought to wear hats more, as a general rule, but I never remember. Le Sigh. If my hair were a bit longer (it’s in a pixie right now), I’d wear my wedding “hat”–but a wide band of white just would look silly. Mind you, I’ll probably try it on just in case but I suspect it will be a case of “needs more hair.”
Now, I do have white wool I bought last year (ostensibly for the wedding hat) and could thus make my own hat. That will be explored but not counted upon. I do still have to unpack everything. Thankfully, my husband will be out of the country for a couple of weeks so that will make the unpacking go a bit more smoothly. That sounds so mean, doesn’t it? It’s not really. It’s just that if he’s around I tend to get interrupted with questions. Which is fine and understandable; it just distracts from whatever project I’m attempting.
Let’s see…I could do the retro halter dress out of the white cotton with yellow flowers…just need the trim fabric. That should be easy enough. No purple. I’ve worn purple for the past 3 or more Easters in a row! Sheesh! Hrm. I think I’ll explore my possibilities…

WTF??
Is it just me, or is their Spring lineup almost completely uninspiring?? And half the patterns (okay, maybe a couple) are reprints. Yeah, B5172 is totally a reprint; I’ve had a version of that bag cut out for 2 years now (yeah, shuddup. LOL).
Sigh.

I was soooooo excited. I was confident I could get a LOT accomplished in the two weekends my husband was to be out of town.
And then we found The Perfect House. And made an offer. And it was accepted.
So that means we’re moving—March 1.
ACCCKKKK!!!
That means I need to pack. Again. Second time in less than a year (so, yes, we’re breaking the lease). Sigh. It shouldn’t be that difficult. Per usual, I’m unconcerned about the bedroom (garbage bags work well for clothing). Half my sewing area is already in boxes and fabric packs easily. I even packed a chunk of one set of shelves last night.
It’s the kitchen that concerns me. LOL. Oh well. It isn’t like we don’t have boxes—we just need to dig them out of the crawl space. Hahaha.
But, it is only a 5 mile (at the outside) move so, as my dad put it, things don’t need to be packed “scientifically.” LOL.
The new house means a new sewing space as well. It’s as yet undecided whether I have to shoehorn myself into a 9×10 room (about the space I have now—and that feels cramped) or getting one of the bedrooms upstairs (11×17). If there were no stepkids to consider, of course I’d take the larger room. But the kids need to stay someplace. Sigh. So it’s under discussion. It isn’t like we don’t have the room (it has 4 bedrooms plus an office), it’s just figuring out what will work the best.
I’m guessing I’ll end up in the 4th bedroom or the office (9×10). Kinda depends on if we want a guest bedroom (when the kids are in town) or not.
I’m guessing we won’t be able to make that decision until we see the house empty and decide what to do about the basement (a possible space for one or more kids).
Anyway. So that means that I have almost no time to do the SWAP. At least not in time to complete it for the Timmel contest. Sigh. So I may end up modifying my plan (i.e. no wardrobe pattern, each separate need only match 3 others). Ah well.

I finished one project and nearly two others–and they’re not even on the project list here! Well, one might be.
Gah.
I just don’t spend the time.
Nor do I remember to take photos. Bleh.
Anyway, I had an “instant gratification” moment with a grey knit dress with cowl neck. The neck opening seems a touch wide and yet again I sewed the “this is the back” tag to the outside of the garment instead of the inside. Sigh.
Last week I nearly finished a sack dress from one of the new “Project Runway” patterns. It was very “meh.” It didn’t look bad per-se, but it wasn’t incredibly flattering. I’ll be finishing it off and giving it to my newly-pregnant co-worker. It will be far more flattering on her (actually, it’d be more flattering on her regardless; she doesn’t have the chest for the draping to hang from like I do). It might have been that it was in black; a lighter color might not be so bad. Regardless, it was a “free” dress–the georgette I’ve had for nigh 10yrs, I tend to stock up on black lining and I only used a touch of brocade I bought last year for the LBD redo. Still have plenty for a midriff/bodice.
Let’s see…oh I also cut out a muslin for a new pair of slacks, verified a couple other patterns are a reasonable length…nearly finished up another skirt; but I ran out of patience to whack 3″ off the bottom and hem it (so I left the pockets to be topstiched as well).
Let’s see…I have a ton of project cut, interfacing to cut on a couple more and patterns prep for several more. I’m trying to work on getting patterns and fabric cut out during the week so that I can sew sew sew on the weekends.
I do need more interfacing for my new purple shirt. I didn’t quite have enough shirting interfacing for the plackets, cuffs, collar and stand. I could have used regular fusible (or even sew-in; I have yards of that stuff) but I didn’t feel like it.
What’s upcoming? I still have the olive knit dress to finish, the purple shirt. Then there’s the brown plaid swing-pencil skirt with lace insets (also already cut) and the gray pencil skirt. And the tweedish princess-line jumper (and experiment in layering). I really ought to make myself a white button-down as well; I don’t have a good long-sleeved one.
Did I tell you? I’m planning a SWAP. Yay! I have all my patterns picked out, most of the material (I need to stash-dive for the yellow satin; I think I have enough for a top left from another project and I’m waiting for a better sale before I pick up the teal dupioni).
Oh and I cut out some homemade bias tape for Hong Kong finishes. One’s an obnoxiously bright batik/fish pattern; the other white with black scribbles and stars. I’ve got a multi-colored scribble print and a yellow tone-on-tone on deck. I need to pull out the wine label fabric that’s destined to be finishing on a jacket (pink satin left over from my prom dress).
Oh there’s so much more. And my husband and I are house-hunting. He’s already agreed I need my own dedicated sewing space. Yay! And he wants it very, very organized. Yay again! Everytime we walk through a house not only are we looking at “will this fit us and the kids?” but also “which would be the sewing room?”