Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Tic Toc...I Love You All The Time


At long last!

This has got to be the oldest 
U.F.O. I have ever completed!



 India picked out this fabric all the 
way back in 2000!

I made a mistake in my last post and 
said I had bought it in 1999.

She was in second grade and just beginning to learn
how to tell time on a clock.

I cut out this dress and 
got it about half finished 
and then we packed up to move to 
New Hope, Pennsylvania. 


Somehow, I never unpacked
this to finish sewing this dress!

Ahnalin found this unfinished
dress in a box in our garage here in 
in Santa Rosa!!!

That means that this box had travelled
through several moves before 
being opened! 

OH MY!

For some reason,
I made the bodice with
facings instead of lining it.

Weird, 
especially since there was more
fabric packed with the pieces.


So, I cut out a lining 
and added interfacing.

And then the bodice looked a little
too  boring, 
so I pleated some gingham ribbon
and added a scrap 
of rick rack.

After all, 
I still adore rick rack!


Ugh!
How did I miss that thread?

I didn't have any buttons
in my stash that I loved 
with this fabric.

And there was no way I was going
to the fabric store to finish a
U.F.O that was 11 years old!

So, I dug through my button jar
and started layering buttons.

I liked this combo.


I had already sewn the hem band 
and pockets onto the skirt,
but I added more rick rack,
because, well, it's me!


Although I prefer button closures,
I had already put in the zipper,
so, out of a desire to just
"get'er done!",
I left the zipper in.


Ahnalin loves it!


She wanted to do "Pretty poses"
for this dress, 
so this is one of those.



Twirling!


And then,
of course,
the "Classic Ahnalin Pose"!

I am so glad I finally finished this little dress,
before Ahnalin grew out of it too!

---------------------------------

In other news,
I am doing well on the "Anti-Inflammatory Diet"
and am seeing results in my hand.
After a visit to the doctor,
and blood work,
we found out that there is some kind of 
auto-immune condition going on,
but we don't know what it is.
So, I am headed to a specialist to figure that out.

And, 
I will be starting the girls Halloween 
costumes this week.


Does this give you an idea of who
both of my daughters want to be for Halloween?

Happy Sewing!




Monday, October 3, 2011

Alterations, Aprons And A Really Old U.F.O!


Thank you, 
so much (!!!)
for your prayers and encouragement!

My hand is MUCH better and I have been 
able to do some sewing!

I am thrilled with the progress
my hand has made since I have been following

So, thankfully, I have been able to do
some work!

That has meant A LOT of alterations for 
various clients in town.

And, as usual, that means replacing
a lot of zippers, 
adjusting hems,
and letting out seams.

But I finally remembered to share a tip
that has saved me a lot of frustration.

I have been replacing a lot of invisible zippers lately.
And I truly HATE the little plastic feet by Coats,
that are sold next to the zippers.

Now I know that you can buy a special foot 
for installing an invisible zipper,
but I didn't want to buy one more thing!

So I tried all of my different machine feet 
and found out that my Piping foot worked perfectly!

I was thrilled and feeling rather thrifty as well!


Do you have any idea what this is?

It is the inside of a gorgeous bridal gown
that I am rebuilding for a client.

While I always welcome alterations business,
I LOVE altering bridal gowns!


I have been taking my machine over to 
the bride's home to work on her dress,
because my eager girls would have 
a hard time not sneaking a try-on!

Did I mention that I adore bridal gowns? 


And I have made a few aprons lately too!

I had an old friend order an apron
for her preschool daughter.

She picked these two fabrics
so I made the apron up 
with the same fabrics but
in reverse.

She picked this one!


And this is the other version.

I love them both!

This is a size small (2-4) 
and I will be listing it in my Etsy soon.


And that U.F.O.?
(UnFinished Object)


Well.............

I bought this fabric in 1999
and cut out a dress for India.......
who was in second grade at the time!

A month into the school year,
we moved from Lake Bluff, Illinois,
to New Hope, Pennsylvania.

So I must have packed up this 
partially sewn dress that I had
been making for India,
to encourage her to learn to tell time. 

Guess who found it while
"shopping in the garage"?

Ahnalin!! 

This is just crazy,
because we have moved 
2 more times since then!!

So, now Ahnalin is in second grade
and learning to tell time.

And I am finishing this dress for her!


However, I don't like
that I had made it with facings,
instead of lining the bodice.

So, I have taken off the facings
and am lining the bodice so 
I can attach it to the skirt.

The dress also only has seam
allowance for a zipper,
instead of buttons, 
but I am just keeping that the same.

So, hopefully tomorrow I will have photos of 
Ahnalin in her finished dress!

It feels so good to be able to sew again!

I need to get back to work now.

Happy Sewing!