This is more for my own benefit - a list of all the patterns I have as of today, 10/1/11.

B4443

B4685

B4686

B5219

B5484

B5485

B5559

B6582

M3053

M4261
M5050
M5056
M5431

M5591

M5619

M5974
M6085

M6202

M6264

M6363

S2145

S2181

S2248
S2249
S2363
S2369
S2410
S2442
S2544
S2634

S2666

S2692
S2774
S2852

S2947

S3786
S3799

S3878

S3956

S4188

S4236

S9452

V1102

V1160

V8731

Dress no. 2

So, I suck and forgot to take pictures of the pie, but it was awesomely yummy. The crust was weird and *might* get one more chance but I most likely won't do it again. The directions said not to add more than 6 Tbsp of water or the dough would get tough. I ended up adding 10 and still couldn't get the darn stuff to stick together. I didn't use cake flour because I couldn't find any at the grocery store, but I used regular flour + some cornstarch like the internet told me to. Maybe next time I will try to find the real stuff and that will help?

This is my current sewing project. What do seamstresses call it? For knitters it's "on the needles," or "on the hook" for crocheters. If it were a sweater I would say, "I cast on for it last week," but I don't know any clever seamstress lingo so if you know what I'm supposed to say, let me know. I would also like to say that Ravelry is awesome. The closest thing I've found for sewing is Pattern Review, and it's functional, but it's not Ravelry. Speaking of which, here is an article on Slate about Ravelry!

ANYWAY. The dress. I'm making it in a navy blue broadcloth. I originally picked out a light green that matched my eyes but when the lady was cutting it out, we noticed that it had watermarks all over it. I didn't want to take the chance that they wouldn't wash out so I went with the navy instead. I also found out that if you have a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby, they will let you use it on your entire fabric purchase. Yay! I was half expecting them to be like, "You can use this 40% off on one of the five yards of fabric that you are buying." So, with all the notions and the pattern, this dress cost me less than $20 to make. Pretty good considering the suggested retail price for the pattern alone is $30.

The pattern has you placing the bow at your upper back basically along your shoulders but I read a few reviews on Pattern Review and the general consensus was that if you can't go without a bra, you shouldn't wear this dress. So, I made a change and placed the bow lower so it will hide the bra clasp. This may or may not have affected how the bodice fits, so when it's all done I will either add a strip of fabric where the bow was originally supposed to go for stability, or just put in some darts. I'm currently getting the bodice and the skirt all basted together, and then I have the zipper and the hems and I'll be done. And I will remember to take pictures!

Saturday's project

This is what I'm working on today. I've never made dough quite like this before, grating a stick and a half of frozen butter was kind of fun. I'll try to remember to post pictures of the finished product.

It's done!

The bodice doesn't fit at all. The fabric was still on sale yesterday when I went to the store, I am considering doing the bodice all over again. Other than that, I'm happy with it! I learned so much and I'm pretty disappointed that it didn't fit beautifully, now I know what I can do to prevent that from happening again. Yay!

I almost have a dress

I made tons of progress! I finished the bodice, broke my sewing machine, briefly thought I was going to have to pay too much money to have it fixed, used the internet to figure out what was wrong and fixed it, and then sewed everything together! I have to put the zipper in and hem the bottom. I will also be messing with the elastic and hopefully not destroying the bodice. This pattern just isn't up to dealing with my boobs! After adjusting the gathered section so it fit the skirt, it became apparent that the elastic was too long, so it needs to be shortened. Then, I will have a dress! And there will be pictures of it!

Progress!!

I have a bodice! Well, most of one, anyway.

In case you're wondering, no, that little strip of fabric is not enough for my ample bosom, but I've read that the dress fits loosely so I think I can cheat a bit with the empire waist. If nothing else, I'm sure I can find a very nice strip of lace somewhere to sew to the top!

Also, my very first gathering!! I was so proud, I didn't even have to Google it. I read the instructions and looked at the pictures until I understood. Has that always been a Thing?

I'm back, and I'm sewing

Woo, it's been a while! About 3 years. Not much has changed. I still start projects and never finish them. I'm still fat. I still like to bake. One new thing is, I've started sewing!

I learned to sew when I was 10 for 4-H, and pretty much haven't done any sewing since. I was recently sent a link to this AMAZING quilt show going on in DC and it made me want to sew things of beauty, too. I pulled out the old sewing machine that my parents bought me when I went to college (quote refurbished unquote, and probably older than me), and ..... sewed absolutely nothing because it apparently couldn't take the years of neglect and committed suicide. Luckily, this was over the 4th of July weekend and if there's one thing Americans like more than mixing alcohol and fireworks, it's sales on holiday weekends. Joann's had a good deal on a basic sewing machine, and I was back in business. I made a couple of quilt blocks and, pleased with myself, decided to try making clothes.

When I was in college, I decided that I hated my green bedroom wall with floral print border that only 3 years earlier I had begged for, so I bought like a bazillion yards of fabric to cover it (ok, maybe not that much, but I have no idea how to measure fabric. I just have to take the nice lady at Joann's word for it that she really did give me 3 yards. Anyway, there was a lot.). I held on to it for whatever reason and was able to use it to make this "practice" skirt to remind myself how to read patterns. I learned a lot, like that the people who made the pattern actually do know what they're talking about when they show you how to lay the pattern out on the fabric, and that when the diagram says to lay something out on the fold, you should keep the fold and not cut through it. (Why would I cut through it?? Seriously, Diane.) I was vaguely confused on the skirt part, but I figured that maybe the pattern assumed I was smarter than I am, and would know that if it called to sew two parts of something together and I clearly had in my hands four parts, I should repeat the step. It was only when I got to the yoke that I realized I had done something wrong, and only when I started on the next pattern (see below) that I realized WHAT I had done wrong.

Satisfied that I had learned all I needed to know (ha!), I moved on to a harder pattern, McCall's 5619 (View A, if you're wondering - I hate puffy sleeves). I bought some pretty light blue fabric with embroidered flowers and eyelet lace, and some plain white to go underneath so I could wear it in public without traumatizing children or getting arrested. At this point, you're expecting me to chronicle how spectacularly I failed, but I haven't yet!! I successfully cut out the pattern, paying attention to the funny little pictures and words, and equally successfully used fusible interfacing for the first time. Tonight I hope to (successfully) sew parts of it together.

Because I just can't help getting ahead of myself, I also spent time yesterday looking for the perfect sweater to wear with it. I'm leaning toward this one, because I feel that the boob area is the most interesting part of this dress, and most other cardis button at the top and sort of cover it up. Another option is a see-through, laceweight meshy design.