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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Magenta & Silver

I spent all day Monday sewing.  Come to think of it, I spent the better part of Sunday sewing too!  I seem to have a lot of projects on the go at the moment, but I'm just going to show you one today, as it's the only one that's finished!

This is my second Burda 7866, which appears to be out of print now.  This one is made from a magenta wool jersey - one of the fabrics that both Andrea and I bought at Fabrications in Michigan.


This top is just slightly different front to back.  I've found when putting on my leopard one that it takes me a bit of time to figure out which is the front.


The neckline on the front is a teensy bit lower.

BTW - this is closer to the true color

I was tired of having to spread the top out on the bed to figure out which was the front, so this time I added a little tiny tag at the back - made of some of my leftover selvedge from the binding of the quilt!


I like having a little bit of hidden leopard :-)

For such a simple design, for me this is surprisingly tedious to make, because I use all three of my machines.  The neck facing is sewn to the neck opening using the sewing machine; the seams are done on the serger and the hems on the coverstitch machine.  It's a lot of getting out and setting up, then putting away.

I like this one, but I don't like it as much as my leopard print one.  The fabric is less drapey, and since it's wool it's a tiny bit scratchy against my bare skin.   Also, I find that I have to ruche it around my tummy just so, in order not to draw attention to the little bulges there - both from my body and from the jeans button.

Still, the solid color makes it a great backdrop for some nice accessories.  I decided to dig out a couple of my old hand-made pieces that I thought went nicely with this top.  First is this drusy necklace:


Years ago when I was working in the studio, a friend purchased a bunch of drusy cabochons.  She offered to give me one in exchange for setting one in a bezel for her, so I chose this one and made this necklace for myself.  I also created the "chain" from sheet metal, giving a rough finish to the links, and formed the clasp.








I love this necklace, but don't have a whole lot of things to wear it with, so my new top fills that hole.  I layered it with another simple necklace I made - a super long chain interspersed with highly polished silver bars (again, cut from sheet) that I can wear doubled or tripled.  Here I wore it tripled.



And you may have noticed that I wore the top with my Jamie Jeans - I am loving these, and plan to make at least a couple more.  AND this top takes care of another piece of fabric from my stash!


52 comments:

  1. Fab outfit Gail! I love both the necklaces. I'd love to try jewellery making myself sometime.

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    1. Thanks, Sam! Jewelry-making is so fun - especially when there's FIRE involved :-)

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  2. I wish we were neighbors so I could hire you to teach me to sew.
    You made another fabulous item.

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    1. Thanks, Tracey! Wouldn't that be fun? And we could keep our energy up with some of your yummy grits :-)

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  3. This is a great color on you, and the whole outfit is so lovely! It's so amazing that you made the necklaces yourself!

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    1. Thanks, Carmela! I love this color - not sure why I don't have more of it in my wardrobe!

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  4. I love this top! Just everything about it. The wide hems, the shape of it, the ease at which it goes together...it's a winner. Wonder why they decided to discontinue it...

    Love the color a lot too. Your jeans are so fantastic. You should make like 13 pair of them. Seriously.

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    1. I agree! But I think it might have been discontinued recently - I just bought mine in December, and at that point it was still in the online catalog.

      I am definitely planning on many more pairs of these jeans! Hoping to find some denim in different colors too - ooooh!

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  5. Great top. That colour is fab on you.

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  6. this is a great outfit! i love that the jewelry is made also.

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  7. Love your top AND your "leftover selvage as tag" invention! ;D

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    1. Thanks, Stacy! I normally don't like tags, and cut them out! But it was just too frustrating always having to figure out which was the front. If I have to have a tag, at least it should be cute! (And not scratchy!)

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  8. That sheet-metal chain is way cool! Do you still make jewelry?

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    1. Thanks, Morgan! No, sadly I don't have space to set up a studio in this house, so I can't do any real metalsmithing any more. Once in a great while I'll do a bit of stringing or wire wrapping or bead weaving, but making silver pieces was always my favorite. Also, since it was my hobby and my job, I have a LOT of jewelry - don't really need any more! I've started slowly documenting my more favorite pieces on Kollabora.

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  9. I love the top - LOVE IT. I'm rethinking my swearing off of kimono sleeves (these longer ones might work on me). And I get what you mean about making more solid color garments. When I first got into sewing, I was drunk on all the lovely prints, but then gradually realized it was really hard to pair prints with the jewelry that I own. I appreciate more the subtle make that allows you to show off the accessories!

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    1. I think you would look great in this! When I googled the pattern, I looked at the images also and saw one with the sleeves lengthened to almost 7/8 length - I really like that and might try that out for my next one! You're welcome to borrow my pattern and trace off if you can't find it, but I have a feeling some stores will have leftover copies of this one.

      I had thought I did the same thing - getting drunk on all the prints. But when I started cleaning out my closet a couple months ago, I realized that most of my RTW clothes are prints also! My problem goes way back, I guess!

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  10. This is LOVELY! And your necklace is spectacular. I bought the washable wool jersey from Fabrications and I love it, but it's a teensy bit scratchy (as all wool jersey is, really). And it never drapes like rayon. I like wool jersey in really structured knit tops. Did you get the Uruguayan stuff? BTW, mine is in exactly the same shade and I love it.

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    1. Thank you! No, the one we got is dry clean. It's not the Uruguayan one either. I went over to the website to see but it looks like they're out of this color now. BUT they have a ton more new stuff - uh oh!

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  11. Your necklaces are great, I'm so impressed you made them! Another nice top too. :)

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  12. What an eye catchy color. The cut is perfecto on you. The silver looks right on with that top.

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    1. Thanks, Stef! I do really love the color :-)

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  13. Such a pretty top; it's too bad it is scratchy :( That necklace is amazing!!! I'm glad you have something to wear it with to show it off. And good job for using stash!

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    1. Thanks, Kristin! It's not so scratchy that I don't want to wear it - it's just that I have sensitive skin :-) I'm very happy with my stash usage - the piles are getting smaller!

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  14. LOVE IT! you inspired me to find the pattern - I just bought it from:
    www.sewingpatterns.com

    They put you through a bit of a song and dance to download the pattern (have to install their lizard viewer - why can't they just have it work with Adobe?) I wasn't crazy about all that, but I was happy to get the pattern.
    Thanks!

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    1. Great find! I hope you make it up and love it!

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  15. Love the outfit, esp the shoes! :)

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    1. Thank you! They didn't show too much in these pix but they're pretty fantastic - mirror-shiny silver!

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  16. You made ALL those things?! And I only clicked through because I was attracted by the word "magenta!" YOU ARE A WHIZZ!

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    1. Ha - yes! I made ALL those things, and didn't even realize it until you just said that!

      I love the word magenta (as well as the color). It reminds me of when I was a little kid; magenta was my favorite color from the 64-box of Crayons. But I misread the label, and called it "Magneeta" for years! hehehe!

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  17. Lovely top, the colour is gorgeous and the sleeves are the right length. I like wearing solid coloured tops like these with accessories too :)

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    1. Thanks, Erin! I definitely need more solid-colored clothing, LOL!

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  18. Really lovely colour, suits you so much! Funny I had to put a tag in a pair of Iris shorts that I made because I kept putting them on backwards. Multiple times. Sometimes I amaze myself that I have a tertiary education.......

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    1. Hehehe - I'm glad I'm not the only one! But really, who wants to spend those few extra seconds figuring out which way is front? We could be using that time for MOAR sewing!

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  19. Wow! You look great! I love the color on you! And the jewelry is so beautiful!

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  20. The top is a great background for such a beautiful piece of jewelry!

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  21. What a stylish outfit! I love this top - the shape & colour, what a pity it's a bit itchy! Your necklaces are gorgeous too - so talented!!

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    1. Thank you, Kathryn! I do think though that next time I make this top, I might give myself a bit more room in the waist :-) I'm glad I finally made this up though - I fantasized about it for so long!

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  22. You are just absolutely stunning. What a wonderful blouse/color on you! And those shoes! Quite the dreamy cool out there.

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    1. Aww, thank you! I was hoping I was SO cool that I was wearing the Color of the Year (Radiant Orchid) but it's just a bit off :-)

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  23. Love this fabric/pattern combo! The whole style is fantastic on you! And you're right that it serves a lovely backdrop for great jewellery! You and Andrea make me really want to give the whole jewellery making a try! Maybe some day soon!

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    1. Thank you! You should try making some jewelry - it's very fun!

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  24. I really like the kimono sleeved top! Great colour and fit. And, I've seen so many people do that with the fabric loops or tags at the back of tops that are so similar front and back and I think what a great idea it is, then I always forget to do it! Nice jewellery making!

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    1. Thank you! You know, I generally cut the tags out of clothes because I hate the feel of them! So I usually am not inspired to add my own on my makes. But in this case, it will save me a lot of frustration!

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  25. Finally catching up. You already know I love that top and that fabric, but boy, your jewellery: so nice!

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    1. Thank you! It's nice to get out some of these older pieces and wear them again!

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  26. Lovely! I want one too! Spring is just showing up here in Canada. Perfect for such a lovely top. Thanks for inspiration!

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    1. Thank you so much! I do love this pattern!

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