Tuesday, July 1, 2014

The Last Week

Busy times continue around here.  I've been scrambling to get a lot of my summer house maintenance done before July 10.  Why?  Because my niece will be visiting from Turkey!  Not Niecey-poo, who has come three times before; sadly she decided to spend the summer studying for an upcoming exam.  This time it's Niecy-two, her younger cousin who is 8 years old.  We're really looking forward to her visit and I want to have as much of my work done as possible so I can just enjoy my time with her :-)

I've felt like I haven't had much time for sewing or knitting, but somehow I managed to complete a shirt for Hubby and two more Emery dresses in the last week + one weekend!  Because my time is so limited, I'm lumping them all together in one post.  None of these are new patterns anyway - these makes are all about the fabric.

Here's Hubby's newest guitar shirt.  I saw this fabric in the Hawthorne Threads newsletter a couple weeks ago and immediately ordered some - cool guitar prints are hard to come by!  This is called "Guitars in White" by Timeless Treasures.


Hubby asked for a mandarin-collared shirt with pockets deep enough for his new phone.  He likes being able to have things made to his specifications!  The pattern I used is one I bought new in 1996 to make him his very first guitar shirt, McCall's 8409.  The style is quite oversized; I liked it in the previous versions I made, which were all dark colors, but with this light fabric I feel it overwhelms him a bit.  So I'm debating taking it in a little at the sides.  It does fit nicely across his shoulders, which are wide.


Going chronologically, here's my Tiki Winki Emery Dress, which I've already shown you (and not completed in the last week).  This one is actually my favorite so far in terms of colors that suit me.



Next I made up a version in a stash fabric I bought last fall in hopes of making a dress just like this.  I bought it from Fabricworm; it's from Moda and is called "Tickets" but I can't find it anywhere to link, so I have a feeling that by the time I bought it, it was already out of print.


This dress is ironic because as much as I love the print, I actually rarely go to the movies!!  I've probably been to the movies 3 times in the 5 years we've lived in Chicago!  It's always too cold and too loud, and the chairs hurt my back.  I much prefer to watch at home :-)

I like the dress, but I don't love it as much as I was expecting to.  The fit is a little looser than I'd like.

"enhanced"

"actual early morning light"

I realized before my next version why my bodices were a bit on the loose side.  This is kind of embarrassing . . .

Ever since I got my Janome almost 2 years ago, I've been sewing with the needle on the default setting, assuming it was centered.  For some reason I decided to measure the needle position the other day and . . . it's not!  I have no idea why a machine's default wouldn't be the center position, but mine is actually one click to the right of center - giving me slightly narrower seam allowances and therefore slightly wider clothing.  Derrrrrrr.

So now I'm getting into the habit of centering my needle before I begin to sew.  I did it on this fourth Emery and I'm happier with the fit on this one than on any of the previous 3.  It's not actually noticeable in these pictures, in part because of the busy print, but I certainly notice it when I'm wearing the dresses.



failing at beating the self-timer

So here's a confession.  All I want to sew or wear these days is Emery dresses.  The pattern is a great blank canvas for pretty prints, and it's easy to sew since I've got the fitting worked out.  Because I really only have another week of sewing time before my niece comes, and then likely none until September, I want to spend my time sewing things that aren't frustrating and that I know will be successful.  So I bought myself a few pieces of fabric in order to Emery to my heart's content.  This is one of those.  It's Michael Miller's "Point of Sail," which I bought from Fabric.com.  Every time I see this fabric online, the triangles are always pointing downward, which reads "bunting" to me.  I wanted it to read "sailboats," so I turned it the other way around for my dress.


Emery #5 is already underway, and I'm hoping to get in a #6 before next week too.  Blogging is likely to be sparse from now until September while I enjoy family time :-)  But I will continue to do micro-blogging over on Instagram.  Well, I think I will but I tend to get caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures most of the time!

48 comments:

  1. Love that sailboat fabric.

    Have a lovely summer!
    -- stashdragon

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    1. Thanks, Gretchen! I just realized I forgot to carry the tote with the Tiki dress!!

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  2. Fabulous projects, and I love your tickets dress! I saw that print at one of the Portland fabric stores, and loved the colors on it.

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    1. Thanks, Anna! It's a great print, isn't it? I probably should have worn a higher contrast belt and shoes, but the yellows matched perfectly - I couldn't resist!

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  3. Your busy is far more productive than my busy! The shirt for hubby is wonderful. And, I bet you will get a lot of wear from those dresses this summer! The heat is officially on! (well, when it's not raining... gosh we're getting our share of rain this year!)

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    1. You know, I surprised myself by finishing this many things! I just sewed a bit each day, and before you know it I had a shirt and two dresses! And yes - these are the dresses I'm planning on living in this summer.

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  4. They are all awesome (but I do think that darker colors work better with your pale complexion). #5 and #6? Wow! It is really nice to see that you like a pattern so much you want to sew that many of them :D Enjoy the time with the niece! My 8 yr old makes my ears hurt with her constant chattering ;-) lol

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    1. Thank you! I keep hoping to get a tan but it's not that easy when you use all your free time to stay inside and sew, LOL!

      It will definitely be an adjustment - I usually have no one to talk to all day since we don't have kids. But it will be fun. Each of my nieces is different, and I enjoy them all. It's really nice to have the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with them.

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  5. I can't wait to see version 5 (and maybe 6) - at the moment Point of Sail is my favourite but Tiki Winki a close second.
    I had a similar revelation with needle position. When all I made was curtains and blinds I used to change the stitch setting to number 2 (straight stitch with needle central over the presser foot and really easy to see what's going on) so when I switched to dressmaking I still had this habit. I remember converting 5/8 inch to 1.5cm so that I could line the raw edge up with the mark but didn't think to actually measure it myself. After my first couple of makes, I was folding a hem up and happened to measure an intersecting seam allowance at 1.25cm. Since then I've managed to break the 'stitch setting 2' habit (mostly!).

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    1. Thanks, Emma Jayne! I have to say, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has done this! I do still wonder why centered is not the default - seems like that's the most useful!

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  6. Wow, I can't believe you get that much sewing done during a busy period. I don't think I'd manage that in a quiet spell. Love all your Emery's. but the Point of Sail one is the loveliest. I can't wait to see the cocktail one you previewed on Instagram.

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    1. I had a feeling you'd like the sailboat one best! I was definitely inspired by your sailboat dress! I'm hoping to have the cocktail one done in the next couple days.

      And I'm kind of obsessed with fitting in as much sewing as I can before she comes, because it won't really be possible while she's here. At least I should still be able to knit :-)

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  7. Cute, cute, cute!!! Everything is just so cute.

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  8. I really like all your emerys, the shape/fitting suits you very much. My favourite is def the Tiki Winki one! Have fun with niecey-two!

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  9. These are all so cute! You're going to have one for every day of the week soon.
    How fun you're welcoming your 8 y.o. niece in and spending quality hang out time. I bet you're everyone's favorite aunt. :D

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  10. Such cool fabrics! I just love your tiki dress & the sailboats one. Enjoy your family time!

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  11. I love all of these (especially the colors in #1 and #3) and I can see why you want to make more for yourself - the style really suits you! I hope you have a lovely time with your family and I might even finally get on instagram in hopes of catching a glimpse of you!

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! You should get on Instagram - it's lots of fun!

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  12. Hooray team Emery! They are Zen to make, aren't they? I don't think I could get bored of sewing or wearing them. I know there are folks out there who have made 50+!

    Of yours, they are all lovely! But I think I love the ticket stub one best, though I too hate going to the movies.

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    1. They are quite Zen! Wow - 50+ ?!?!? Who are those people? I want to see! And how many are you up to now?

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  13. They are lovely dresses, I can totally understand why you want to sew more. My fave ones are the tiki and the sail versions.

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    1. Thanks, Erin! Those two seem to be the overall "fan faves!"

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  14. Very pretty - at least you'll be sorted for One Week, One Pattern in September!

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    1. Thanks - that's what I thought too when I saw the announcement the other day!

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  15. LOVE these dresses of yours! How exciting to get a niecey visitor.

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  16. These look fabulous Gail! Great work. You make me want to make more for myself :)

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  17. These makes are all lovely. My favourite is the tickets fabric dress, because I made a S2444 with the same fabric (but with a cream background). Emery is a lovely pattern, and I can understand why you want to make lots of them. Enjoy your niece's visit!

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    1. Oooh, I went over and took a look at your dress - lovely! I think I prefer the cream background of yours, which is a surprise since I like pink so much!

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  18. Wow, you've been busy! I only have one full-skirted dress on my summer plan and I still haven't gotten to it. All of yours are lovely. By the way, that type of ticket design is now being used for raffles and state fair-like events so it doesn't have to mean movie tickets.

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    1. Busier than I realized! You know, I LOVE wearing dirndl-type skirts, but honestly I sort of hate making them! I just finished Emery #5 and I'd put it aside for a few days because of the gathering!

      I should have shown a close-up of the Ticket fabric - the tickets have theater names on them! And some of them are drive-ins, which I think is super cool because my parents used to bundle us in the car and take us to drive-ins when I was a kid. Sad that so few exist any more.

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  19. Perfect sewing, I love all of your projects! It's understandable why you want to sew so many Emery dresses - you look so lovely in all of them!

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  20. all these dresses are great! i can totally understanding making so many! have a great time with your niece! :D

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  21. OK, I did the EXACT SAME THING with my Janome needle position, too! I only realized it after testing some other machines this spring! Whoops...

    Also, movies... you must have central air! I go to the movies even when I'm not very interested in them in the summer just to get out of my hot apartment, heeheehee!

    Love these on you! They're so, so cute!

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    1. Hahaha! Yes - can't live without central air at my age, LOL!

      And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't figure out the Janome. I even read the manual for this machine, and it doesn't mention it! It made me wonder if my machine was a "lemon!"

      And thank you for the compliment!

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  22. Emery is sure a great pattern for you! They're all wonderful! Have a wonderful summer with your niece!

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  23. What fun fabric for all of these! The Emery looks like a great blank canvas to showcase different fabrics, so I can see why it's so popular :)

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    1. It really is! It's allowing me to express my inner Dolly Clackett :-)

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