Just Checking In

There are no sewing pictures today. I needed to check in and up date my blog!! I do post more sewing pictures on Instagram.

I have been sewing. I thought I would try to take pictures of me modeling what I made, but it it was not as easy as I thought it would be. I will keep practicing using my tripod. I have read some good posts on photography for blogs, and they were helpful. I am so thankful for those in the sewing community that share their knowledge.

What I have sewn is summer pieces. It has been hard to step into fall. We had such great summer weather on the East coast. I have one summer skirt that I need to hem and then I am on to fall sewing. 

Next up for me is NL6230. It is a raglan sleeve sweat shirt top. It is shown in color block. The sleeves are in a different color than the body of the shirt. I have some lace type knit that I will use for the front and back.  Also to continue with color blocking, I want to make V8950. This has a yolk that continues to the top of the sleeve.

Also, I need to make a few skirts. I have some ponte that I want to use. My question is with ponte do you line your skirts? Do you use a thin jersey knit to line them? I would appreciate any and all thoughts on this question!!

Thanks for reading my picture less post!! 

Have a wonderful day of sewing and creating!

Little Dresses for Nicaragua

I started these dresses with my 5th grades as a service project. The one problem is that it is hard to find parents who know how to sew and have a sewing machine. Most of the dresses got completed half way by the students. It really is fun spending some time one on one with each student teaching them how to sew! They love to tell you if they have sewed before, the projects they made and who in their family has a sewing machine.

The dresses are made from quilting cotton. I used S2383 as a guide, but there are tutorials on the web for pillow case dresses. As you can see the I enjoyed picking out cheerful and fun fabric for this project.  

My goal for the classroom is for students do something tangible that will help others. Many times we ask for donations for organizations, but they need to use their own hands to serve. My past students have also made burp cloths for a pregnancy center and lunches for a shelter.

My church was also making dresses all year long to send with the mission team. I know there will be a report from the team and I am looking forward to seeing pictures of the girls who received dresses! 

I am going to try to make a dress a month to be prepared for next year. There are needs everywhere for these dresses, so our church will continue to sew.

My daughter arrived home from Indonesia after serving there for two years with the Peace Corps. She taught English to middle school students. We are so proud of her service and glad to have her home! It was tense waiting to see her after her plane landed!! I don't think I have hugged someone so tightly!! We enjoyed vacationing with her and shopping (she left most of her clothes there or threw them away).Having someone so far away for so long has given me understanding and compassion for those who have family members serving in the armed forces. 

 I have been sewing some summer things and they will hit the blog soon!!! 

Again thank you for the comments! 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Final Me Made May

Finished my commitment for Me Made May! 

This renewed my excitement for sewing. 

First is S2892.  This is an oldie, but I love it! It calls for woven fabric, but I made it out of jersey. 

The pink top is a S2603. This is a pattern that everyone was buying for the cardigan.The top could be missed, but it should not! This little one yard top is a great addition to my closet. 

Finally this is S2599. Well this was a hot mess from the beginning!! It was too big, so I took in the side seams. Then the back needed a sway back adjustment. It just was not feeling right, but I liked the style. So I continued to work on it and got it to the point of wearable.

I really enjoyed taking on this project. It was fun seeing everyone's pictures. I also found many new blogs. 

What did I learn? I need to make some skirts and try my hand at pants/shorts. Also, I took time to leave comments and make new friends!! 

One week and my daughter will be home!!!! She is packed, said her goodbyes to her school and students. I am so proud of what she accomplished. 

Me Made Week 3

Here are my picks for week 3. 

First up is a "restructure". This "Pink Out" tee shirt was a normal crew neck tee. I am not crazy about wearing crew necks in the summer. I removed the neck rib trim and the sleeves. First I curved the side seams to make the tee fitted. Next I changed the neck and added back the trim. The sleeves have a little gather where they are attached to the arm hole. 

Next is S3696. This a PJ pattern with pants, shorts, nightgown, robe and top. This is a raglan PJ top that is very comfortable.

Finally, is NL6892. This is peasant style top. The fabric is sheer, so I wear camis underneath. 

One week left and the lesson I learned in week 3 is that I need to get to my sewing machine!! I have some things cut out that need to be completed. My daughter returns in two weeks from Indonesia, and there will be a lot of cooking, shopping, watching movies and family fun once she gets home, so I need to sew now!!!

I must tell you that a few days before Mother's day, my daughter was texting me about vintage style and patterns. She does not sew yet, but does other creative crafts. I sent her many links to the young women who are into vintage sewing and links to sewing blogs that I knew she would appreciate. It is so wonderful that there are so many young women who are sewing. I know the craft will continue for many years!!! 

On to next week!

ME MADE Week 2

Here is week two! 

First is S4076 for the third time! I wore this with a pink cardigan.

I changed the sleeves. They have a pleat in the center of each sleeve cap.

Next is NL6843 skirt view E. This is made in a cotton print.

Last is S2369 view C.  This is made in a knit. 

The Simplicity top makes an appearance again. Usually the pink version would only be worn in the house, but because of my commitment, I decided to add a cardi and wear it while doing errands. So glad I did! It looked great.

What did I learn this week? Well, I am learning to play around with my camera and use some of the edit functions. Also, I am learning to be confident with wearing what I have made and not to focus on what might not be perfect.

On to week three!!

Me Made Week 1

My pledge for "Me Made May" was to wear three items that I made a week. I will be posting weekly instead of daily. 

First is S4076. I changed the sleeves so they are 3/4 in stead of a short sleeve.

Below is also S4076 view B. 

Last is S2603 view E. This is a 1 yard sleeveless top!

Please forgive the messy bedroom in the background of my last picture! This is my daughter's room. She has been in Indonesia for the last two years serving in the Peace Corps. She is returning in 5 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, 59 min. and 38 seconds, but who is counting :)

Did I learn anything from this week? First I love S4076. View B looks great on me, but I need to lengthen it. As you can see I am wearing a light green cami underneath to help with the shortness. It was fun to gather all the things I have made and start combining and accessorizing to come up with an outfit. I did not take pictures with the cardigans that I wore with each because I wanted you to see the tops. Not  every fabric is my favorite, but I was able to "make it work"!

I am getting ready for next week!!!

ME MADE MAY COMMITMENT

OK, here is my Me Made pledge:

I, Dharma will wear clothes made by me at least three times per week in the month of May. 

The reason I am only committing to three times a week, is that I do not have as many summer items as I do winter. I have been sewing a number of summer things, but I have not posted any of them yet! 

Hopefully I will post pictures by the week!! 

A Piece of My Journey

After Christmas it was time to get the sewing room in order. Clean out time was in order. One of the many items that I needed to consider keeping or letting go was many years of Quilter's Newsletter magazines. As you can see from the picture, I had many years worth of issues. The problem was that they were part of my journey. A journey that consisted of quilting. I started sewing garments in middle school and over the years, I focused on quilting. 

I looked through each issue. How sweet a time to look over the pages of beautiful quilts. Quilter's Newsletter brought quilters the up-to-date information on new products, along with artistic quilts. They displayed those quilters who pushed all boundaries and also those who loved tradition." Loose Threads" was a column that was written by Helen Kelley that I looked forward to as each issue arrived at my house. Helen was the Carolyn of "Diary of a Sewing Fanatic". She shared her soul and life in that column! 

What was inspiring beside all of what I have just written was that this quilting world was filled with women who were progressing in an industry that was hopping!! These ladies traveled all over the world to teach or compete in shows and write books!

It was very hard to let go of this piece of my journey, but it was necessary. As I paged through each issue I decided what I needed to keep. Some copies were autographed by the quilt designers that I met at guild meetings! What memories!!! So, decisions were made. Precious issues were stored in my sewing room. Others moved on to a new home.

Quilting is still an interest, but sewing garments is in first place. I have been inspired by so many women who have shared their talents on blogs. Seeing the Indie pattern companies become popular is exciting.

Letting some things go to move forward is a good thing!

Gray on Gray

Gray on Gray

I bought this fabric last fall at JoAnn's. The reason I bought it was that it had Modal as one of the fibers. I like the way modal feels on my skin. Also, the tee shirts that I have with modal seem to wear better. The knit is thin with a shimmer appearance.
The pattern I used is a oop S038. There are three types of turtlenecks to make in sizes S,M,L. I made a fold-over neck band version. The sleeves are hemmed-no wrist band.

 Instructions are very easy and this is a quick sew. No changes were necessary. My inspiration was this Coach ad! I love the gray top with the gray coat. Classy!!

 My styling was to layer a gray cardigan over the top. Black pants or skirt to accompany it!

 I got an idea from marionberry.blogspot to layer necklaces to give a fresh look to an outfit. So this is what I came up with!! I like the look!

The down side to this piece is that the knit was very stretchy and thin. After wearing it two times I already have signs of wear-age under the arms. The fabric sewed up well, but I am not sure of the quality. I will be very picky as to what I buy at JoAnn's. I buy fabric on line, but sometimes when you see fabric it persuades you to buy it!!!
This is pattern that I have and will make up in the future. We just got through a number of snow storms here on the east coast and I am always cold!!!

New Beginnings

Last of  2013!

Happy New Year Everyone! 2013 was an amazing year with family and friends. One of my goals for 2014 is to blog regularly. I do not sew as fast as some bloggers, but I have achieved more in 2013 than any other year. Also, I have really enjoyed wearing what I made more so than any other time in my life. Hopefully with many inspirational bloggers out there I will continue to sew more and learn to better my techniques.

The last thing I made was S2369. It is a faux wrap top with raglan sleeves. First I made a muslin out of left over knits. lladybird.com did a post on how she gets so much accomplished in her sewing room. If you did not get read it, do so. I picked a few things tips from that post that I use all the time. One was that she always makes a muslin. So that is what I did. I am glad I did, because the size I cut out was too big. 

 I cut a 16 first and had to go down to a 14. You can see that I did not make facings for the neck/wrap section. I used the facing to make a nice visible edge with twin needle stitching all the way around.

 It is hard to see the detail due to the large print, but it is very comfortable and can be wore with a cardigan during colder months. This fabric came from Joann's and is a rayon jersey knit. I love the colors in this print. There is pumpkin, light and medium purple, along with olive green.

When spring gets closer, this will be made again.

I hit a really good sale at Fabric Mart on black Friday. I received a good % off the fabrics plus free shipping!!! So up next will be some tops out of the knits I purchased in November.

Until next time-and there will be a timely next blog........ keep sewing and creating!