It has been a Looooong Haul!!

I moved to South Carolina in September 2016, lived in an apartment for 2-1/2 years then moved into my own home (townhouse) in July 2019. One of the requirements while looking for my home was to have space for crafting and sewing. I thought about a combined room but as it turned out I have a craft room and sewing room like I did back in Maryland. So, I've finally gotten my sewing and craft rooms together and ready for creating.  It felt like forever pulling it all together, the movers had boxes stuffed all the way back to the door. The sewing room is smaller than I had in Maryland but it has turned out to be just right. I really like it, it's cozy but plenty of room to create to my hearts desire. Heres' a little tour of my craft and sewing spaces.
I hope to get back to posting here and will be posting on my YouTube Channel as well. So, I'll be back with more soon!

Happy Sewing & Crafting!!

Fabric Haul & New YouTube Sewing Channel

I'm so excited to be getting back to my sewing adventures. I'm kicking my comeback off with a little fabric haul.  Here are some pictures and fabric descriptions and you can watch the video I uploaded to YouTube for a more detailed look at my first fabric haul since getting back on the sewing wagon.

Here's the video where I shared my fabric haul on YouTube...Enjoy!  

Happy Sewing!!

Sewing Room Tour...

I did a quick video tour of my current sewing room a few months ago, so I decided to share it here.  You all probably didn't know that I moved from Maryland to South Carolina back in September 2016. I shared that adventure on my YouTube channel but since I wasn't sewing at the time I didn't share that adventure here. Since moving here I've been in an apartment and my sewing room set-up is a little bit cramped....but better than nothing.  So, here's the video....Enjoy!


Happy Sewing!!

Getting my Sewing Groove Back...

It's been over four years since my last post here and I've been longing to get back on my sewing wagon.  Instead I've been dragging my little wagon behind me.....BUT!.....now I'M BACK! Please leave a comment below if you're there, I would love to reconnect. A lot has happened in this span of time, I moved from one state to another, life's ups and downs,.  I don't even know if there anyone out there still checking in but I hope so.  My sewing mojo is working so I'm working on a plan and hope to get my groove back.

I did do a little sewing this summer, here's one top I made...

Simplicity 1064

Pattern Back - Line Drawings

So, here's my version..... View B, only slightly shorter.  I was going for a tunic type top.

I also made a YouTube video if you'd like to check it out

I'll be back with more soon.  

Happy Sewing!!

More Sewing...

I was glad to get a couple hrs of sewing in this weekend.  I made this top to have something new to go with the white skirt from a couple posts back.  Ya!  This is just a jersey knit and the black binding around the neck & sleeves is bias strips I cut from some light weight poly knit (not sure what to call it) it's not a tricot but reminds me of tricot but it's more stable, has a little stretch and a nice sheen.  I plan to make a couple tank/camisole tops just to wear under low cut things.  I know, I'm going on about the black trim but it's so nice I wish I could get another 10/yds of it.  It's kinda nice to have around.   OK, back to the top, I made this top from "Pamela's Patterns" T-shirt pattern.  I've been meaning to use this pattern for a while but just now getting around to it.  It's a very simple pattern but one of the nicest fitting T-shirt patterns I've tried.  I haven't really made a t-shirt in a while and I guess that is the reason. Any I've tried in the past just didn't fit nicely.  This one is great without much adjusting.

OK, another thing I'm going to get back to doing is full reviews on the items I make.  I haven't posted a review on PatternReview in quite some time.  So, I'm going to copy the template and use it on my blog here and on PR as I've seen many of you do, that's such a time saver.  I've gotten lazy about some things in an effort to reserve all my free time for sewing.  I've got to do better...I know I didn't do it this time but going forward...OK...promise.

More later....

HAPPY SEWING!!

I'm getting there...

No sewing yet, but at least this weekend I did get to spend some time planning a few projects. First of all I went on a shopping spree without even leaving my house. I had a great time shopping my stash. I decided on a few pieces & pre-washed them and picked out the patterns I'm going to use. Note to self: (get back into the habit of pre-washing my fabric as I bring it home so it's ready to go when I'm ready to sew). Here's what I came up with...

This fabric is a blue/black crinkle type shark-skin poly. I'm making this jacket with the blue/black crinkle & the black piece of poly crepe fabric for the dress, Butterick 5147Then I re-discovered this OOP (out of print) pattern that I made quite a few years ago I always loved this pattern. I think I'll make three skirts, one long and the other two shorter out of these fabrics. Well that's what I'll be working on, after this I think I look toward Spring sewing.



Happy Sewing!!

It's done and I kinda like it...

I'm finally done with this top and I kinda like it now. The only real change I made was to make the borders narrower on the bottom and the sleeve hems. The borders were a bit much before, (see this post). It's pretty amazing but I think it made quite a difference. I actually wore my top out and got lots of compliments.
I wish I'd gotten a picture of me with it on & I'm a bit too lazy to set up the camera right now...sorry. SO, I'm looking though my pattern and fabric stash to see what I'll get into next. I really need to work on some wardrobe separates. I seriously have some basic wardrobe needs and I'll probably sew some Christmas gifts in between. More later...

HAPPY SEWING!!

Making Slopers...

I spent some time Saturday making a skirt muslin. Thanks to Alethia taking a full set of measurements for me before I left from my visit with her last week, I finally have accurate measurements some of which are difficult to get on my own. So, I'll be working on a set of slopers. I ordered a fitting pattern, Butterick-B6092While I'm waiting I used a skirt pattern, Butterick-B5466 for the skirt sloper.

I prefer skirts and pants with either facing or a very narrow waist band, so here's my skirt sloper. I'm still deciding which pant pattern I want to use. I've had a real ordeal with pants if you remember from a few posts back...so I'm saving them for last so I don't use up my mojo on pants. I don't want pants with front pleats of side pockets but I want it so the zipper can be back, side or front fly. Fortunately Alethia gave me a few great tips for my pants fitting so maybe this time it will be a better experience. More later...

Happy Sewing!!

Whew, talk about laundry day...

I spent today pre-washing loads of fabric. I unexpectedly had most of the day off because of the bad storm that blew through the Maryland/DC area yesterday, the building where I work was without electricity. I drove in to work to find out the good news...wish I had checked before I left my house. Oh well, not a problem I joyfully drove home...YA! (I felt like doing a happy dance) and got busy washing up most of the fabric I bought in NY last week and several other pieces from my stash that had never been done. Between loads, I also started planning how I was going to make up each piece. Here are all the pieces I pre-washed today, some of the pieces are as much as 6/yds long.

Now just a matter of picking patterns and getting some of this fabric sewed up. Stay tuned, more later...

Happy Sewing!

What a BLAST...Part-2

The big day had finally come...NYC FABRIC SHOPPING and meeting up with two of my favorite blogger friends, Carolyn & Sheila. Alethia and I woke up bright & early Friday just beside ourselves with glee. We were anticipating a grand day and let me tell you the day unfolded beautifully. On this day we started out with coffee from one of Alethia's favorite coffee shops then took an express bus into NYC. We stopped in at M&J Trims, this place was just brimming with some of the most beautiful trims & buttons of every kind imaginable. I was so overwhelmed I totally forgot to take pictures but here's a link M&J Trims I didn't buy a thing but believe me I will know where to go online for the perfect unique BLING for a garment. We stopped in at a couple books stores. One was the international bookstore that Carolyn has mentioned on her blog before. They have tons of fashion related books and magazines. I can't remember the name of it but if you are ever looking for it, it's right across the street from the famous "Bryant Park" (made famous on Project Runway), I'm sure someone could direct you there. We also went to a Japanese book store that carries some of the Japanese sewing books & magazines you may have seen on a few blogs, it's also not far from Bryant Park. We stopped in a couple fabric stores as we made our way to "Metro Textiles".

Finally we got there and immediately enjoyed touching and drooling over fabric as we made decisions about which fabric would leave the store with us. We kept Mr. Kashi quite busy and jubilant measuring up our selections. Then suddenly coming through the door was none other than Carolyn. What a pleasure it was to finally get to meet her in person. She couldn't help but notice the piles of fabric Alethia and I had amassed in the short period of time that we'd been there. Just moments later in came Sheila, the four of us just had a ball in that store. Here we are with Mr. Kashi I had my fabric shipped to my work address. I got it today at work and needless to say I couldn't keep my mind on work, I just wanted to go home. I endured the torture of having the fabric in my office and not able to play with it. At 5:30 I flew to my car and quickly but safely drove home. Ok, enough suspense here's what I got...

This gorgeous piece of fine silk crepe, This was the most expensive piece but I had to have it, Ok don't drool...HA! I hesitated on this one for a moment but was strongly encouraged by Carolyn. I would have been a fool to leave this behind, I'd been looking for the perfect orange fabric for a dress and this is defiantly it,To top it off I'll use this piece as a shawl with the the orange silk
This is a piece of silk also, yes, had to have it...
I'm not sure of the content of this fabric but it's enough for a couple pairs of pants and a skirt, The pen is there because my camera needed something to focus on...
Oh, yes and had to have this too, not sure of the content, I think it's a cotton/poly blend, this will be great as a jacket and I might be able to squeeze a skirt out of it too but I won't wear them together, that would be too much on me. This one will be a tunic or maybe a dress, it's a knit jersey,
I love this one...Ok I love them all but can't you see this as a jacket. It's a cotton sateen with a bit of stretch.Not sure of the content on this one but I love polka dots, this is a light weight kind of crepe or something (hard to describe) but this will make a cute top to wear with a white skirt or pants.Whew, that's the damage I did at Metro Textile Fabrics. I simply had a ball and now I've got to recover and get busy planning my projects.

After leaving Metro, Carolyn took us over to "Daytona Braids & Trimmings, she got us settled in and headed back to work. Then Alethia, Sheila & I stopped at another fabric store (couldn't resist) then we headed off to "Juniors" for lunch and spend the rest of our visit together chatting about sewing, fabric, projects & techniques we've tried. After lunch we parted ways and seemingly skipped off to our destinations. I must say from start to finish my trip to NYC was inspiring, exciting and just the spark I needed. We will have to do that again and next time I'll look up all the NJ/NY sewing friends out there that want to join us, the more the merrier.

I will be working on a muslin shell & sloper I think that will also help me with TNT's. Then I will be planning what to do with my new treasure trove of beautiful fabric. No breath holding please, but stay tuned, LOL.

Happy Sewing!!

What a BLAST!! Part-1

I'm flying high from my latest NJ/NYC excursion. I returned this past Saturday from visiting with my friend Altehia in NJ. I was her mystery guest...imagine that, LOL! All I can say is we had a blast. I drove up this time so I could haul back my treasure trove of findings. Believe it or not this was our first time meeting and it was like we've known each other for years. Be careful, if you invite me I just might take you up on it, (LOL) and I did just that. It all started with my visit to NYC back in April with my girlfriend from Ohio that visited me in DC. The purpose of that trip was to take her sightseeing in NY and except for our visit to Mood Fabrics I stuck to my promise to show her a good time sightseeing. But I was soooooo wanting to fabric shop, so I patiently waited until, I had a few email exchanges with Alethia and she invited me to come up and spend some time with her. Did I ever jump on that invitation...we worked out the timing and off I went. She invited me into her home & family with open arms and I count is a wonderful blessing to have been in her home and meet her wonderful family. I was treated like royalty, I can't begin to tell you what a pleasure it was.

Well, I got there Weds. night and she laid out all she had planned. At the dinner table we were talking a mile a minute, her husband and son were a bit bored with our conversation so they left us to our own devices (which was probably a mistake, HA!). So, Thurs. morning after breakfast we grabbed our wallets and cameras and off we went, first to the "Brooklyn Museum" for a wonderful display of couture gowns and clothing. Here are a few pictures, but for more click here. WOW! you talk about 'eye candy" we got an eyeful. After that we sped off the the Bronx to visit a couple "off the beaten path" fabric shops and...yes....of course we got fabric, HA! Here's what I got between the two shops we went to, on the bottom underneath the black & white fabric there is 20/yds of muslin...This is just a photo inside one of the fabric stores, "Fordham Jerom Fabrics...Even thought Alethia had prepared part of our dinner the night before her husband completed dinner and had it waiting for us when we got back...is that awesome or what! SO, we talked well into the night until we were just exhausted. Yes, I slept really fast in anticipation for the next day of NYC FABRIC SHOPPING and meeting Carolyn and Sheila at Metro Textiles!!!

Part-2 coming...

Happy Sewing!!

Maybe not an OOPS after all....

Well I decided to work on my top some more to try and save it from the wadder pile. I think maybe I can make it look even better than the original. Here's a couple pics of the fix I had in mind.I plan to also put a black band around the bottom of the sleeves and the hem. I just have it pinned on for now...SO, now lets see if I can put this off for real.
More later!

Happy Sewing!!

OOOPS!! Should have made muslin....

To do a make a muslin or not to make a muslin...that is the question!?! Well I just want to scream right now for not making a muslin! Since I have multiple fitting issues I should have known better, but nooooo, so now I have a wadder. "Just do it" will be my motto now as far as muslins go if I have any doubt about the outcome. I hate wasting good fabric. Well, this is the project, from my last post.The FBA turned out fine, but it is about 2" shorter then I'd like and it feels like it's going to fall off my shoulders, that just won't work for me. So I need to make the shoulder area wider and taper it down to the regular "V" neckline. I really like this top so I think I will try it again and this time test, test, test. One problem...I need some more pink fabric (I can't remember where I got this fabric) now since I'm making the pink skirt....not that I need an excuse to buy some fabric. So, I'll see what I can find and try again hopefully before summer's over. Well I guess I'd better get working on the skirt.

Happy Sewing!!

Ya, I'm Sewing!!

I'm finally sewing...I cut out a few things this weekend before running out to a family gathering. This quick & easy top was fun to put together , it's a silkie from JoAnn Fabrics that I bought last year, using Simplicity #2594. I hope to make a couple more of these this Summer. Actually in this picture it's not hemmed yet but that's all I need to do to finish it. Ya!!
Also on my cutting table ready to be sewn are this top Butterick 5138 using this material (chiffon to be lined in a solid pink poly)and the skirt from this New Look pattern#6609 (view C also lined). using this fabric which I think is a micro fiber,
So, we'll see how far I can get on these this weekend. I think it's time to take a few days off for some me time so I can sew. The weekends are so busy and the time goes so fast. So I feel a much needed sewing vacation coming very soon.

Happy Sewing!!

Moving On...

I've been working on pant muslins so long I think I'm stuck. I'm just going to move it right along. I don't have a perfect fit yet but I want to get some other stuff done. I think I'll go from my last attempt and just fit as I go to get them as close as possible for now. Here are a couple pictures of my latest attempt.

I've tried all the fitting suggestions from my fitting books and other sewers but it's not working...what am I doing wrong?!? Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Not giving up but I'm moving on for now.

Happy Sewing!!

Frustration Behind The Scenes

OK, I've been working on getting a good fitting pair of pants made. I have used so much fabric, I made at lease 6 or more muslins. What's a girl to do, I have an odd shape and it has made fitting quite a challenge for me lately especially where pants are concerned. At least I have lots of fabric to practice on so it's not a waste as long as I'm learning. I often buy fabric as practice fabric with no real intention of a wearable item in mind. I am determined that this year my sewing concentration is getting better fit, no matter the type of garment I'm making. If it doesn't fit well...what's the use in sewing in the first place right? OK, so I'm venting some frustration but I'm not giving up. When I get this fit thing down pat...or at least get relatively good at it I'll be able to turn out more garments with a feeling of real satisfaction. I hope to post a pictures later this week. So, send your good vibes and thoughts my way as I continue on this quest.


Happy Sewing, Omega

My Mojo is working...

I finished an outfit from this New Look (6735) pattern. This is really a nice simple pattern but I did run into some problems with the band around the neck, because I had to enlarge it across the back a little.So, I fixed it by running a center seam down the back tapering it toward the bottom, then splitting open the top part of the neckline and tacking it down. What a goof-up but it turned out OK. I forgot to take a picture of the back after I finished but it looks virtually unnoticeable.
Here a picture of the finished outfit. I see lots of twin sets in my future from this pattern.Up Next...I'm trying to get a really good fitting pair of pants. So today I spent the day cutting out about three different muslins. I'm not even getting close to what I want. No pictures on that adventure yet but I'll be taking pictures and posting on my next attempt. Cross your fingers with me. I don't want to burn out my Mojo on making these pants, I've got far too much I need to make...Spring is coming and I'll need plenty of Mojo for Spring & Summer sewing. More later...

Happy Sewing!!