Simplicity 1805--"The Gotta Get Something Made Quick" Top!

Happy Sunday! In the midst of all my client sewing I wanted to take a quick moment to churn something out for myself.   I ran across Simplicity 1805 and found a cute polka dot/ rectangle pattern in my stash. The fabric is actually black with white with varying shades of blue and green circle and rectangular shapes but from a distance it all looks a bit distorted---like and optical illusion. I think the title I gave to this top says it ALL! It's 2 pieces and super quick to assemble. I serged all the seams, used FOE to finish the neckline, and coverstitched all of the hems. Bing, Bam, Boom----you're done in about an hours' time from start to finish!!!! This top runs a bit big so I cut out the size small. Ok back to some client work. I'm hoping to make a dress for myself next week.

Simplicity 1805

My NEW Cutting Table!!!!!!!!!!

I so should be going to bed but I'd rather stay up and talk with you. What else is there to do on a Friday night but stay up and chat. I'm really too old and tired to do anything else! LOL! Anyhow, I'd been meaning to showcase my new cutting table---but I've been up to my eye balls in client work. I've actually had it for a couple of weeks now but it's made ALL the difference in keeping my sewing room organized. I bought it from Mr. Jim, you know the Master Tailor that I'm taking classes with who has THIS VERY INFORMATIVE BLOG. Well when I bought my industrial sewing machine from him I found out that he was considering selling his cutting table which he wasn't really using at the time. After I got to thinking about it I realized it would be perfect in my studio. And it is!!!!!!!!!! I LOOOOOVVVVVEEEE it! You may recall THIS POST where I was complaining about my old cutting table being an "eye sore". Well not anymore. This baby is awesome! My Olfa cutting mat fits on top of it very well!!!!

Here are some more details:

It's 31" wide, 72" long and 37" high. It's also on caster so I can move it real easy. It has 2 SIDES so there are shelves on both sides where I can store things. That's a TON of storage!!!! It really is awesome! I put all of my client projects into separate bins so I'm not losing any of there stuff.

FRONT VIEW:

BACK VIEW

I pulled out the table from the wall so you could see the back shelves. Isn't that awesome. These are mainly empty containers and shelves. 

Another backview of the table.....

I'm so EXCITED about my new cutting table. It's all that I hoped and prayed for (Thank you Jesus!) No more tripping over stuff and losing pattern pieces! Yayyyy! Ok, I better get back to work. My Client's green dress (you can see it on my cutting table) is in need of completion. I'm off.......but before I go I wanted to thank all of you guys who gave me online fabric store information in my last post. SUPER helpful!!!!  Thanks you!!! I can't wait to go shopping for my client!!!!!

Fabric Hunting! Your Help Needed!!!!

Hey Guys, you are some of the most resourceful and smartest folks I know so I'm really in need of your help. I'm trying to find a fancy textile for a gown I'm making for a client and I've checked several online fabric stores but haven't really found anything I want. Can you recommend some more online fabric stores. I'm specifically looking for sellers of fancy fabrics but am open to looking at other types as well. I'm familiar with Mood Fabrics, Fabric.com, FashionFabricClub.com and a few others I can't think of right off hand. Please leave your favorite fabric sites in the comment section! I will be eternally greatful! Thanks so much for your help!

My Youngest Client......

....is only 16 days old. Yet she has her own tailor and is getting a custom made dress for an upcoming wedding!LOL! She's a special little girl indeed!  It's been a few months since I've sewn for a baby and to be quite truthful on top of that really forgot how small newborns were. Her dress was made in a similar fashion to this one since she'll be attending the very same wedding. I modified McCall's 4865, originally a Christening gown, to get the look I wanted. It has an organza overlay skirt on a white bridal satin bodice and skirt. It's also fully lined and has a glittery guava satin belt sewn on it. At the Mom's request I also made a diaper cover and a headband. I absolutely love it!!!! It's so sweet and so little. I almost had an emotional moment while showing the Hubby. Just had flashbacks to when my now 6 year old was so little. Needless to say he didn't join me in that trip down memory lane. LOL!!! Us Mom's are such "waterheads" LOL! Hey, we really can't help it!

I have to admit that this tiny little dress took a little more time to sew then I expected. That's in part due to the fact that I had to do alot of hand sewing---mainly basting. The sleeves were so incredibly tiny! I also had the hardest time trying to sew a casing in the legs of the diaper cover. I finally nixed that effort and just sewed the elastic on the inner edge. I like the effect it gives and I'm not nervous it will be too tight.

 

Anyhow I think the results are great! Can't wait until her Mom see's it. Ok, on to some more client sewing and possibly squeezing in something for me and the daughter to wear. I've got to put some mileage on my new industrial machine!!!!!

Alcohol to the Rescue!

HA! Being that I don't drink this will probably the only time you'll hear me say such a phrase! Of course I'm only being silly!!! But seriously what I experienced yesterday was no laughing matter. I had a bottle of Fray Check explode all over my sewing table and  several drops got on a project I was working on. I nearly panicked!!! I quickly wiped up the residual with the quickest piece of muslin I could find and said a prayer under my breathe. I felt so sick ya'll. Those of you who have used fray check know that it's nothing you want to be spilling on your clothes. I kept my calm, investigated the bottle and read that rubbing alcohol could be used to get rid of unwanted spots. Well I administered the alcohol and remedied the problem. Thank God! That was a close one (wiping sweat off my brow). I don't ever think I'll squeeze a bottle of fray check to dislodge a clog again. Lesson learned-------FOREVER!!!! So if you ever find yourself in a similar situation. Don't panic----just grab the rubbing alcohol!

Ok, enough about my near nightmare! Back to some client sewing. The newborn's satin dress turned out too cute. Can't wait to post!

Buying my first Industrial Machine!

Looks like I'm taking the plunge. I'm buying my very first Juki Industrial Sewing Machine and I'm all too EXCITED!!!! For the record I own an industrial blind hemmer which I absolutely LOVE! Anyhow I'd planned to buy the Juki for quite some time ever since finding out Mr. Jim, my tailoring teacher was trying to sale several of his. He'd bought a good deal of them for his sewing school and has decided to downsize a bit. I'm all too excited to get one.

 I actually test drove it for the first time today while at his studio. That bad boy is FAST!!!! WOW!!!! And this one wasn't even set to the fastest speed. Imagine how many projects I could get through super quick! This thing's got a super motor. What I love is that I'll now be able to easily sew through textiles such as leather.

Here's my future "Baby". We're getting the adoption papers together now! LOL! She comes with table, lamp & thread stand . This thing is HEAVY!!! Fortunately the machine can be removed and will be transported that way. I'm literally going to have to make space for this big girl. I've got it all mapped out. An entire half of my sewing studio will get shifted around a bit. But it will all be worth it. I'm excited to make her part of the family!!!

Well, while I was busy test driving the industrial sewing machine I thought I'd give the industrial overlock a "spin" provided that I needed to serge the edges of the tailored slacks I'm working on. And YES, those are the same tailored slacks I've been trying to finish for quite some time. Trust me all the client work has made finishing them a bit difficult. I'm not complaining. I've really enjoyed having so much incoming work! It helps fund sewing machine purchases (wink).

After trying out this machine all I can say is you don't want to drive this thing fast unless you know what you're doing. WHOA!!!! I was pretty good with it but I did lose control for a split second and almost shave my pants down a bit. You've really got to keep a good grip on your fabric with this one!

This thing has 2 foot petals. The one on the left runs it and the one on the right lifts the presser foot. How cool!

 This is so cool, there's a little chute that funnels all clippings to a trash can. This is one cool overlock machine. One I don't have to have right now since I own a Huskyvarna Viking Huskylock that I love very much. Maybe a few years from now when I've got a much bigger studio/showroom.

Ok, that's all for me for now. I've got to start moving things around in my sewing room to get ready for the "new girl". Anyhow, do you own an industrial machine? How do you like it? If you don't own one do you want one eventually? Why?

Sewing Jots and Tittles 9.8.13

Sewing Jots and Tittles---my weekly post of all of the random thoughts/happenings of my little world..........

Sewing Fashions and Such

Went to a formal wear shop to look at various dress details. The "Wee-One" nearly lost her mind being surrounded by all those gowns.

Just stocked up on the Burda $2.49 sale at Jo-Ann's. Picked up some great Fall and formal wear looks.

Ugh, 2 more bins of fabric needing to be packed away in the garage. My attempt of selling fabric didn't go as well as I'd planned:( I'll try again later!

 "Muslin" for my youngest client---a week old Baby girl who will be attending a wedding in 2 weeks. Wow, I forgot how small newborns are. I actually had to sew in the sleeves by hand. Can't wait to make the actual dress. I love to see babies in satin and organza!

 A fabric I plan to make for my daughter's dress!!! They're goldfish outlined in gold! This pic doesn't do it justice. Such a cool fabric.

Non-Sewing

Favorite tea in my favorite mug. My SIL has got me addicted to this stuff!

This is what happens when you decide to use super fertilizer to fill in thin grass. Bet my Hubby won't do that again! We're now growing a corn field! LOL!

What can I say. She has a thing with straightening up items on store shelves.

Remnants of the Hubby and daughter's date night. They always seem to have a blast!

Trying to look cool at the dentist office while getting numbed up. The operative word is "trying"..... not succeeding LOL!

These two are funny! They keep me laughing!

I dropped and broke my Samsung Galaxy S phone!  Boy that hurt my feelings!!! Thankfully insurance had it replaced 24hours later.

The Hubby & I recently celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary.  On a whim we did a "couple pedicure". Let's just say pedi's aren't his thing.  He made me promise not to put it on FB. He was terrified he'd lose his "Man Card". LOL!!!

 "Witch Finger" grapes! Never knew such a thing existed. They're quite good! Weird looking but good!

This recipe is great but  look at the comment in the red circle. Now tell me why would I want to eat this white bean chili out of a fritos bag? Who thinks of these things? Obviously someone who doesn't have kids! That's an interesting suggestion. LOL!

Excellent movie! Not at all what I thought it was going to be. Quite spellbinding and the music very ethereal. I like a movie that keeps me pondering about it a few days after I've watched it.

 The "Wee-One" turned 6. She's growing up SO fast!

I backed in my Hubby's Dodge Ram quad cab truck. It's huge! I felt like a Boss! LOL!!!!

 Some of my latest "reads". When I'm sewing/driving/working the audiobooks are awesome. These are some of my recent reads and they are/were very good!!!! I'm still reading Philip Yancey's book (one of my fave authors) and it's SOOOO good! Also, if you're not a Napoleon Hill fan you should be! His works are dynamic!!!

I love hearing her read!

This is what's left of some of the best Goat Milk Soap I've used!!! The raspberry vanilla is my favorite!!! Smells so good! This soap almost started a war in my house. My daughter started using it then my husband stole it. Child it got a little crazy! Becky, don't know what you're feeding those goats but keep it up!!! LOL!!! You guys check out Becky HERE, she's got some great goods!!!

New Month/ Butterick 4967

Happy September! Boy can time fly by fast when you're having fun or being really busy. In my case it's been both and continues to be. I'm loving it! To recap my 10,000 Hour Sewing Challenge June/July sewing goals will be pretty easy. I managed to sneak in 4 pieces for myself (see my blog archive to see which one's). But for the most part I've been devoting most of my time to clients and tailoring classes.

 I just finished a wonderful dress for one of my younger clients. This is Ms. Camryn and at the end of this month she will be a Junior Bridesmaid in a friends wedding. Her and her Mom were such a delight to work with. Isn't she just the prettiest!!! I took Butterick 4967 and converted it to this dress. I changed the straps and the skirt details to their liking. My favorite is the skirt which consists of 5 stratified layers---top 2 are 100% nylon organza, underneath that a shiny satin, then white bridal satin and finally the lining. The front of the dress was a little higher then the back (you can see better from the side view). She's wearing it with a crinoline to add some extra fullness. The organza was a little challenging to hem. I tried several methods, including using a hot knife to seal the edges (that didn't work consistently well) so I ended up doing a scalloped edge using a zigzag stitch. Anyway, this turned out lovely. Ms. Camryn plans to wear it with a beautifully guava colored belt with lots of bling on it and cowboy boots (seen below). I can't wait to get and post the final wedding pics.

Well I'm off to finish my pants for tailoring class. Then we're moving on to tailoring jackets!!! Can't wait!  I've also got to make a dress for a newborn for the same wedding and a few alterations for clients. Whew............September is already off to a busy start!!! It just so happens to be National Sewing Month. How's you month going so far? Got some exciting stuff in the works??? Do share!!!