Thursday, January 7, 2010

My Little Red Dress ~ Neue Mode ~ 22471


........it's not done yet...but almost....... 
It's that work thing getting in the way again...


I started  Neue Mode 22471 dress, in December, and was so hoping to have it done for Christmas, but unfortunately that just never happened. I'm hoping to have it done this week~end, so I hope to have pictures up soon.  I'm making the "A", the shorter version.



In April 08 I had placed an order for quite a few  Neue Mode patterns, from SewingPatterns.com, including this 22471 pattern. When I received my order, it was missing and they couldn't supply it anymore, at that time. 

I kept looking. It was now almost an obsession. I had found it on several sites but they would all come back and say it was no longer available.  So, I was thrilled when I found it at again at SewingPatterns.com. I received the paper pattern by mail, but had to download the instructions ! Too easy, Thank you :)  I now have it and love it, that's all that matters.


It's similar to Burda, where you have to add the seam allowances, the instructions are great and I haven't encountered any problems so far with the pattern it self................my iron however ~ is a different story.
I'm having the same problem with my Rowenta as Mary Beth (Thank you Mary Beth for the information :) and it was most frustrating when working with my fabric, satin back crepe, (red)!a color I never wear but absolutely love in this dress.

I'm blaming my dress not being finished on my iron :) I almost hated ironing the seams and must admit tried not to......of course I didn't follow through on that!


 Even though I'm not sewing much and posting myself, I am trying to keep up with all your posts. It's great to see what you all have been sewing.

Hope you all have a wonderful week-end.

Take Care




Thursday, December 31, 2009

Vogue $3.99 ~ ends Jan 1 2010




~ Just a little reminder ~ Vogue (& Butterick & McCall's) 

 or $3.59 (Vogue members) 

is on until tomorrow ~ Jan 1 2010 :)




~ Happy New Year ~




Wednesday, December 23, 2009

~ Merry Christmas ~






I wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday! 

 

Thank you so much for dropping in! 
I  truly appreciate your visits!





Sunday, December 6, 2009

P-P-Posing in my J. Stern Jeans.....yes snow....brr


This is how I wore my J.Stern jeans today....partnered with my Sandra Betzina Today's Fit Jacket ~  Vogue 8043. Yes we too got snow last night. It was a little bit chilly for an out door photo shoot :) ... but it was a very pretty sight.

J Stern jeans and Sandra Betzina jacket Vogue 8043 DSC_00481812



Somebody else liked the snow....... just for a short while though....his little feet quickly got cold!


Bradley



J. Stern Jeans #0037 - Done.


Pattern Description:

Misses Jeans
Pattern No. 0037

Available in sizes 6 - 16. Fitted jeans featuring classic 5-pocket styling
w/ optional back flap pockets, easy front fly zipper, boot leg hem and topstitching. Finished inseam 34”.




 What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like the style. They look similar to my favorite RTW. They are not too low but also not too high. ( Jennifer Stern also has another jean pattern # 0037W, Available in sizes 12W - 24W)






Fabric Used:
12 oz Denim.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I'd say these pretty much fit out of the envelope. After making the original muslin I ended up only adding to the hips. I made my belt loops smaller.My front fly opens opposite the instructions because  when working on the zipper steps, I cut off the wrong side ...operator problem  :)  I embroidered a design on the back pockets and I also embroidered " J.Stern" on the back waistband. (My rivets and my button don't match because I couldn't find matching ones. I ended up using rivets from my Prym Vario Plus Kit.and the button from Fabricville.) I will find matching sets for next ones!     For the waistband, I used   "Pro Tailor Deluxe"  interfacing, from Pam @ Sew Exciting. It is an excellent interfacing and  the quality is exceptional. The waistband feels perfectly stabilized :)



 My husband assisted in applying the rivets. I used the tool (pliers) from the kit  and a couple of other tools :) like a  nail & hammer.

I used the tip from Sandra Betzina & Ron Collins Jeans Couture Video.




Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will definitely sew this pattern again and I highly recommend this pattern.
Conclusion:
I am thrilled with these jeans.They  fit as well as, if not better than my Favorite RTW pair of jeans. The pattern went together extremely well. The instructions were easy to follow and if you do have problems Jennifer Stern has a blog and welcomes questions. She also adds in her pattern instructions if you have any questions or comments or require assistance to email her. That is pretty good!
 
Format from Pattern Review.

I'll wear these tomorrow and take better pictures. Tonight I was anxious to post them....



Saturday, November 28, 2009

The "Giveaway" Winner is....




Congratulations Claire!
 I hope you enjoy the  3 month subscription to Sandra Betzina's Web TV-Show.



Claire, can you please send me your email address and  preferred user name. (My email address is in my blog profile)

 I will send  it to Power Sewing and they will then send you an email which will include a temporary password to get in. 

 Thank You so much everyone for participating. It was allot of fun!
Have a great week end.



Saturday, November 21, 2009

Giveaway * 3 months * subscription to Sandra Betzina TVShow

  
When I subscribed to Sandra Betzina's Web TVShow, the Special Holiday offer when purchasing a 1 yr subscription is that you can give a friend the gift of a 3-Month Subscription to the Power Sewing WebTV Show!


Well I immediately thought this would make a great giveaway. I e-mailed and asked if I could do this and Karla, Sandra's assistant replied "absolutely". 



The giveaway:   a 3-Month Subscription  to the Power   Sewing WebTV Show.


The 3-Month Gift subscription will consist of:
  • Two shows per month (with unlimited accesss, on-demand) 
  • The Fear of Sewing eBook
  • The Pants Primer ebook
 To Enter:
please leave a comment to this post letting me know you'd like to participate,
                 and  also please be a follower of my blog (to add see widget at left) 


I will choose a winner on Saturday Nov 28th :)
Good Luck!



Picture from Sandra Betzina's site
You may recognize the little guy up there applauding, he is from Stitcher's Guild.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Sandra Betzina - WebTV Show




Today I signed up for Sandra Betzina's Web TV Show.

I must say so far I think it is awesome. I love Sandra Betzina and Ron Collins. They are fun to watch and there is just so much information in their videos. I would  love to one day attend their seminars.

I've also started collecting thier DVD's and  have the "Jeans Couture"  and  "Shirts and Blouses" DVD's. They are great! What is really nice is that you can preview all the DVD's and get an idea of what's on them. They are "all"on my Wish List :)


***** Stay tuned for a  Give away **** 
I'll have the details posted tomorrow :)


Have a great week end!






Saturday, November 14, 2009

Blogger ???? Dashboard ?????

**********************************************************************************
Hi everyone. I have finally put some time into sewing my J. Stern jeans yesterday and will have pictures to post soon.
Is anyone else experiencing some funky stuff with their Blogger Dashboard???? Anyone know what is up?
I checked to see if there was some kind of maintenance going on but couldn't find anything? Hoping it won't last too long!
***********************************************************************************

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

DPC on Making Trousers - "Cutting out "tips

I wanted to point out David Page Coffin's latest post on "cutting out" tips. I love his replacement tops idea.
A great tutorial!
................................................................................................................................................................

Saturday, October 17, 2009

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!
.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Jennifer Stern Jeans 0037 - Muslin

I quickly took these pictures of the jeans muslin on Monday and wasn't overly pleased with them. I figured I'd take more this week but I will have limited sewing time this week so decided I might as well just use these after all. (Muslins are so not pretty - but are so necessary)
The pattern instructions are very well written and I had no problems with them.
The pieces all went together perfectly.
The only alterations I had to make was to add 1/4" to the side seam - starting approx 1" down from the waist and 1/4" to the inseam. (I don't like my jeans overly tight- personal preference - not a pattern issue). I think if I was using a stretch denim they would be perfect with no alterations.
There is plenty of length.
I still want to tweak the fit just a little more, but overall I am thrilled how they turned out.
The fabric I used was a light weight suit fabric and I think it was too light, but I know these pants will be much better made up in a denim. I'm anxious to get them started.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Fall Colors.....

Early Morning Sky......
Pretty Trees......
and Bradley
chasing leaves.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Comments
.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

A Jennifer Stern Weekend!

Finally things are back to a fairly normal pace and I'm back in my sewing room.
I have these two patterns traced and will be starting a muslin for them both tomorrow.
First up are a pair of Jennifer Stern jeans.
Click to enlarge
and her shirt pattern. I'm making View B - with long sleeves.
Click to enlarge
Hope all are having a great week end.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Keeping in touch

.
Serena and Duncan - ( new house) -July 2009
Every one has adjusted well to the move....so all is great!
We are still pretty busy setting up the house like we want. We are still very much in a just moved in mode - but little by little we are getting the job done!
I am making some progress with my sewing room. Instead of building a room we decided for now to use a room that is available in this house and work with what we have. There is definitely a time issue right now ,with working full time and just every day living that this works out much better. I still end up with a great room and lots of space. The previous owners used this room as their family room, so I now have a wood stove in my sewing room. I will be toasty warm this winter in my room :)
As far as "stuff"......... I cannot believe how much I have. I am grateful but I see I really need to slow down my "collection" as my husband calls it. I know I am not the only one with this issue - it is amazing how many boxes I ended up packing from my sewing room.....and I am still unpacking them and going through every- little-thing and deciding on what I'll keep and what I'll part with.
I'm actually having fun doing this sorting - once I am done I just really want to sew.
I have been trying to keep up with reading and commenting on blogs but I haven't had a great amount of time for this either. Once the house is set up I'm sure it will free up some time and all will get back to normal.
Till then........
Hope you all have time to sew!
Have a great week end!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

To Facebook?...or to not Facebook?

for me at this time - it is * to not *
I signed up .......and then I de-activated my account.
I'm not quite ready for Facebook :)
Right now when I have any free time I just love reading my favorite blogs and checking up on what you are all doing.
That is what I enjoy so that is what I'll do. Facebook will be for later!
Have a great week end!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

All moved in

Our move went well. It's just so nice to have that all behind us now.
We still have allot of boxes to unpack but that will all get done in time....not to mention that my sewing things are all in boxes and must stay in them untill my sewing room gets done....
I'm not liking that very much but I know it will be worth it.
I am behind in reading my blogs but since my computer has been up and running I have been browsing......everyone has been busy sewing and making wonderful garments.
I also joined Facebook. That is something I never thought I'd do.I just never thought I'd have time to keep up blogging and Facebook. . . ( Paco was the enabler :) To be honest it's all new to me and I'm not really sure how it all works, or if it is time consuming at all, so I'll see how that goes. It has been fun so far and there seems to be allot of of us over there :)
Hope everyone has a great week.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Moving Day......

.....................on Monday!
We have been so busy the last few months selling our house and buying another one - and now our moving day is finally almost here.
(When our children were younger we read them "every" Berenstain Bears books that were out there. One of them of course was the "Berenstain Bears' Moving Day". They had subjects on everything :) and they were wonderful stories that kids loved)
Even Bradley wants in on the fun.
....not sure where I found this dog running away picture....
All is packed and waiting for the truck. One of the biggest packing jobs I (we) had was "my" sewing room.
I knew I had allot of "stuff" but this move is truly confirming this fact. Our new house does not have a sewing room ""yet" but my husband will make one as soon as he can. He assures me it will not be long.
I definitely have not been sewing for the last couple of months (well one quick skirt) but I have been enjoying reading my favorite blogs, and then more.
So for a few more weeks there will be no sewing. I am so very anxious to get settled in so everything can get back to normal.
I received my Claire Shaeffer CD this week and I have not had time to even look at it, but when I do I'll report back :)
I hope you are all having a great summer.