And Sew On....Part 4 - Finished Jacket

This is a picture of the finished jacket. I actually finished it in time to wear to the Indianapolis Chapter ASG Annual meeting the first part of November, but just haven't gotten around to updating the blog with the finished jacket.

I love this jacket, it is so comfortable and very flattering to wear. This is the second one I have made from this pattern (Kwik Sew 2801). The pattern lends itself to a lot of different design possibilities for using embellishments. I think I may try doing something out of denim with it next.

I have a whole lot of projects that I want to tackle this year, in addition to all of the commitments I've made to do some projects (not the least of which is my soon-to-be daughter-in-law's wedding dress), so this will be a busy and productive year, I hope.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas and love, peace and less stress in the New Year!

And Sew On....Part 3

And then there were sleeves!!!

I've finally mustered up enough energy to finally get back to my sewing. What a wild couple of weeks. I won't go into the details, but I wouldn't wish the trauma with work that I've been through on anyone. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting back to my old self emotionally, especially when I woke up this morning and I looked forward to getting back in my sewing studio.

All I have left to do is the facing and collar, so I should have this done tomorrow, probably with the exception of the buttons and button holes, just depends on how industrious I feel. I'm thinking self-covered buttons out of the jacket fabric. I love the embroidery and think that will work well instead of trying to find something suitable that wouldn't detract from the embroidery.

I don't usually do shoulder pads, but I think this one is going to need a little something. I typically don't like shoulder pads, and typically take them out of anything I buy that has them in, but I think the shoulder lines will fit me better with a little padding. I've noticed as I've aged (YIKES!) that my shoulders seem to droop a little now.

I've also been trying to sew with my left foot on the foot pedal of my 830 (not an easy feat for someone who has sewn all their life with their right foot). It is taking some getting used to, but I think I actually do a little better sewing that way, leaving my right knee free for the free-hand system. It also makes me slow down -- I have a tendancy to sew way too fast -- and I have better results.

And Sew On....Part 2

Spent most of the day yesterday getting my pattern cut out and embroidering the panels for the front. Looking good so far. I certainly didn't buy too much fabric, I was sweating whether I was going to get it all out of the 2 yards I bought. I only have little inch scraps left. Next time I'll make sure I get 2 1/2 yards for a jacket. Need to make sure I don't mess anything up or I'll have to go and get more.

And Sew On....

Finally, two days that I don't need to go anywhere, and I can finally work on some projects. I have plenty that I could work on, but decided that I wanted to do a jacket for fall, so that's what I'm doing.

The pattern is Kwik Sew 2801, and I'm doing View A, but in one fabric only. I picked up a piece of polyester ultrasuede last week in a mossy green.

I am embroidering a design down each side of the front. I had a perfect varigated thread, and decided on some pumpkin leaves from OESD's Shades of Fall Collection #12218. I'll post more pictures as I make some progress.

Moda Bake Shop - Tote Bag Project

Another great project today on the Moda Bake Shop blog:
LINK: Moda Bake Shop
Mill House Inn Tote Bag.
I'm always excited to see what's new on this blog - lots of good inspiration.

New Toy - ASUS Eee PC

This is my newest toy. I've been looking at Netbooks since they first came out, and decided I couldn't live without this one. It is so cute and does everything. It will even run all of my embroidery software, which is a real bonus, because then I won't have to pack the big laptop around if I don't want to. It actually has more memory and a larger hard disk than my laptop. I've only had it since Thursday, so I'm anxious to work with it some more and get things figured out. I did get my embroidery software loaded last night (I got the external CD drive with it), and hooked it up to my sewing machines and it worked perfectly.

I'm off today to the Indiana State Fair to work in the ASG booth. I always look forward to doing that, I get to meet so many nice people.

Have a great day!