Seeing Spots

I finished my short-sleeved Built by Wendy top tonight. I was pleasantly surprised at how cute it turned out. If I had thought about it more, I would have tried to match the dots on the center back seam. Even better would have been to cut the back on the fold as one piece instead of two. Oh well. The pattern calls for two back pieces because of the dress, which has a zipper. The only alteration I made was to shorten the length by about three inches. This was an easy project that could easily be completed in about two hours. I may have to make a few more for spring and summer!

Spring Break

It's spring break here in PDX and I decided to take a few days off this week. That means lots of time for knitting, sewing, cleaning, and getting the new basement ready and furnished. Yay! I finished the sleeves up for the Rebecca sweater last night and plan to cut out the fabric for the Built by Wendy top this afternoon.

New Coat

I love how this coat turned out! The superbuzzy fabric makes it fun, especially with the contrasting lining. This was a really easy project that I would recommend, especially with the raglan sleeves. When it's all buttoned up, there's a weird bumpy gap between the collar and the button placket, so I may need to put in a hook and eye. Maybe not though because I doubt that I'll wear it much with the collar all buttoned up. I like how it looks with the collar down.

PS You can see a picture of me wearing the coat here.

I Do Remember How to Knit

I stayed up way too late yesterday swatching and knitting for the Rebecca sweater. It felt weird to actually be knitting. It's been about two weeks since I last knit and I rarely go that long without some kind of knitting project. The color of this yarn is starting to grow on me. It's a color I don't have in my wardrobe and I like the brightness of it.

I also have my next sewing project lined up. I bought this fabulous trees fabric from superbuzzy and decided to make a lightweight lined coat. I got yet another Built By Wendy pattern that I hadn't seen before. I'll make the longer coat with the short sleeves. It will be perfect for springtime.

Seeing Stripes

I finally got around to taking this picture of me actually wearing the shorts. The quality isn't so great because it's a mirror shot. The weather is much too cold to be wearing these around twon now, so I'll stick them in the closet until spring. Around these parts, that isn't until late April or May!

Zipped Up

Last night in apparel construction class, I sewed in my side seam zippers on the Built by Wendy city shorts. I like how the red of the zippers complement the striped fabric. Our next class project is to create a shrt sample. Everyone will be using the same pattern, so it won't be something I can wear. But it will be a good lesson in construction!

Snow Days = Lots of Crafting

We had another snow day today! There is still lots of snow on the ground, but the main streets seem to be pretty clear. There is another chance of snow tonight, as well as everything refreezing. Who knows what tomorrow will be like? All I can say is that it sure is nice to hang around home and work on projects!

The first project I finished yesterday was the Brooklyn Cap from the Summer 2006 Interweave Knits. I crocheted a chain around the brim for some extra detail. Obviously, it still needs to be felted, but that may be a while since my washing machine is currently out of order due to the renovations in the basement. I also worked on the fronts of the Alexi cardigan and am just a few inches shy of finishing both of those.

My apparel construction 2 and textiles classes were both canceled this week, so I started working on my pants project yesterday and was able to finish up today except for the zippers on the side seams. As I mentioned before, I didn't need to make any alterations when I did the tissue fitting. However, when I sewed the fronts and backs together and was able to try on the shorts, they were huge. So, I ended up taking in the side seams, as well as the rear rise. They fit surprisingly well now, especially with the stretch denim. I really like the pattern and several of the details, like the side zippers, the back fake pocket flaps, and the yoke fronts that are supposed to look like pockets. This is another Built by Wendy pattern, so there is lots of topstitching. I'll post photos when they are completely finished.

Apples of My Eye

I finished my jacket this morning. I wanted to wear it about town, but it was pouring rain and I didn't want to have to wear another coat on top of it, so it stayed in the closet. This was my first Built by Wendy pattern and it was pretty easy to follow. I only made one alteration and it was to keep the sleeves a little bit longer. They are almost the same length as the body of the jacket and I think it looks more like a cape. One warning: there is a lot of topstitching with this project, so buy an extra spool of thread. I ended up having to use another spool that I had left over from a previous project. The color was just a little bit darker, but you can't really tell. I used my new Janome machine, which was fabulous. I had to get used to a few little quirks, but overall, I'm glad I made the purchase. My favorite features are the needle threader and the automatic buttonhole maker.

Built By Melissa

My Apparel Construction 2 class starts next week and our first project is to make a pair of pants from a commercial pattern that is altered for each individual. I didn't see a great pants pattern, but I liked these city shorts from this Built by Wendy 4110 pattern. I chose this great striped stretch denim for the shorts. You can't tell from the picture, but there are zippers on the side slits. That's a nice detail. I don't often make pants for myself because of past fit problems, so I'm excited to pick up any tips I can. I also had this Built by Wendy 4109 jacket pattern and decided to buy fabric to make the shorter cape. Originally, I wanted this mondo fabric for the cape, but as I browsed the aisles at Fabric Depot, I found this cute apple corduroy from Robert Kaufman. Finally, a couple of sewing projects that will allow me to use my new machines!