Vogue $3.99 ~ ends Jan 1 2010

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

$3.99 pattern sale 

 or $3.59 (Vogue members) 

is on until tomorrow ~ Jan 1 2010 :)

~ Happy New Year ~

~ Merry Christmas ~

I wish you all a safe and Happy Holiday! 

 

Thank you so much for dropping in! 

I  truly appreciate your visits!

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.

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....

The "Giveaway" Winner is....

from  "1 seam at a Time".

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.

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.

Sandra Betzina - WebTV Show

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

(click here for TV show info)

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.

Picture's are taken from Sandra Betzina's Website

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!

Blogger ???? Dashboard ?????

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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!

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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!

................................................................................................................................................................

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

How Much Fabric? Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

.

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.

Fall Colors.....

Early Morning Sky......

Pretty Trees......

and Bradley

chasing leaves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

Happy Birthday Canada! - Bonne fête Canada!

.

Happy 142nd Canada! -

Bon 142e anniversaire Canada!

Behind The Seams: The Shaeffer Collection Volume One: CHANEL

Ready at Last!

I just ordered my copy from David Page Coffin's-

Schaeffer on Chanel site!

Pictures from Shaeffer on Chanel.

Lovely Blog Award

I want to say "Thank-You" to Barrientos for giving me the Lovely Blog Award.

I have been very slow in posting this but believe me I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness.

• 1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

• 2) Pass the award on to 5 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

• Pendle Stitches
• Quality Time
• Sonoemi
• Amanda's Adventures in Sewing
• AllisonC Sewing Gallery

Have a great weekend everyone!

Attitude of Gratitude Award

I wanted to check in and say "Thank you" to Cennetta for giving me this award. I truly appreciate it.

In short I have an Attitude of Gratitude because I am just so fortunate to have a wonderful family - excellent health - doing what I want to be doing, with the people I want to be with...... .............overall my life is simply "perfect"...and I am truly Grateful!

There are so many people out there who share so much of their sewing knowledge!

The following are some that I'd like to recognize:

• Paco
• Tany
• Mary Beth
• Stitches and Seams
• Paulette
• Diana
• Robin
• Pam
• MaryPat
• Claire

Attitude of Gratitude - The Rules of Accepting and Sharing this Award

1. 1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. 2. Nominate a few blogger's that show an attitude of gratitude
3. 3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. 4. Comment on their blogs to let them know they've received this award
5. 5. Share the love and link to this post and the person who nominated you for the award.
6. 6. Tell us how you've come to have an attitude of gratitude

Edited to add: I'd like to Thank Marie-Noelle from La Machine a Courdre for the Premio Meme Award.

Things are Slowing down .......

Finally life is starting to slow down "somewhat" ..... and I am so planning (hoping) to get some sewing done this weekend.

I'm also behind in my blog reading but I am slowly getting to all my favorite blogs :)

Happy sewing to all!

Burda 7947 Skirt - Done

This was a very easy skirt to make and it went together perfectly. I didn't make any fit adjustments to this pattern.

Overall I am pleased.....I like the skirt style....it is very slimming.

I like the fabric.....but ....... unfortunately I'm just not sure yet how it will wear!

Skirt Front

My fabric is a light weight jean fabric with some stretch, and I'm thinking I should have made the skirt a touch smaller to accommodate for the stretch..... I have a feeling by the end of the day it may be somewhat loose. We'll just have to see!

Skirt Back

Inside Back Yoke - label & yoke seam detail

Invisible Zipper

Once I finish the Jalie top I will post a picture of the outfit.

Taking pictures to post on a blog sounds easy enough - doesn't it? Not so...not always....not for me!

I have to say I have allot of respect for people who take pictures of their garments and they look "so" professional. ....whether they are on their forms or they are wearing them.... trying to get everything right is just not as easy as it may appear.... again to me!

I must take 50 pictures to get one right. Now I'm curious, am I too fussy or do you all go through this to get your pictures up on your blog???

Have a great week!