This dress from acrylic knit  is lined with silk weight power dry and has longer blousing at the waist.  The ribbing at neckline, cuffs and hem is the same rayon used on the first wool knit

So now I have 3 versions of this pattern and I like how the ribbing at the bottom naturally pegs the hemline.  The pattern has you cut the hemline ribbing in two pieces but joining this nasty ribbing results in a seam that can cause it to flare out as you can see above.

I had a short bit of metallic silk I used to make a scarf.  I cut the fabric in half, seamed it end to end and used the 3-thread rolled hem to finish all the edges.  It was tough to keep the fabric under the serger foot, it kept wanting to slip out from under the needles, so I had to pull the fabric to the right (using my left hand) as it came out from the serger foot.

Sometimes the simplest things take lots of extra time and care!  I still haven’t used the pattern for the mobius scarf accessory and perhaps I should on the next version of this dress.

I have so much of this ribbing that I am tempted to use the latest free download from Hot Patterns to make a shrug from it.  You can find the download here .  It’s only available at Fabric.com.

I like this pattern for winter knit dresses.  Easy!

Yesterday, I forced myself to do a couple of things that amazed me:  I found a Critter Sitter to leave the dogs with for the day and drove to Nashville for an ASG seminar with Nancy Nix-Rice!

Here’s a sampling of the seminar topics from the flyer for this event:

·Your coloring classification: warm or cool … or something in between.
·Solutions to 8 most common figure challenges
·The (almost) universal secret to looking instantly taller & trimmer.
·8 ways to appear 10 pounds thinner instantly … without losing an ounce.
·How the right undergarments strip away years and pounds.
·How your facial structure dictates design details and accessory shapes.
·Accessories – the exact shoes, belts and handbags to finish your look.

VISIT www.nancynixrice.com FOR MORE INFORMATION

Oh yay!!!  Nancy is so funny, charming and down to earth.  She worked with the group in such a non-threatening way that everyone was comfortable “celebrating” her own beauty differences and we all learned just tons about how to accessorize, dress, pick colors, create a wardrobe, and view ourselves as others see us.

Which reminds me of my favorite lines from the poem To A Louse, by Robert Burns (from the RobertBurns.org website)

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
An’ ev’n devotion!

———–

I haven’t been a member of the Nashville ASG for a number of years as I don’t get up and drive to Nashville for 9 am meetings but once a year even though I have some really great girlfriends that used to be active.

I was pleased to have Loretta G sit next to me and Laura A sit next to Loretta!  I don’t get to see these ladies but once a year or so and both of them are so inspirational.  They met while they were both employed by the CDC and I met them when the ASG Nashville chapter was forming.

Loretta published the Fitting Tips newsletter for many years and has written and taught about fitting, sewing, styling and the use of pattern drafting software.  She blogs here at FittingTips@wordpress.com

Laura is a scientist who now works for the TN Bureau of Investigation and you just ought to see her badge!!!  She is busy with her new hobby, dancing the Tango and her bright complexion and trim silhouette reflect the addition of this wonderful exercise.  She’s my hero.  And she’s also a logical thinker that adds a lot to a sewing meetup.  She’ll bring in two different patterns to compare the two, and bring swatches from a new online vendor.  I like her style.

Both looked just gorgeous and we all have had health issues for the past number of years so it was excellent to be together in good health this time.  Being healthy does make such a difference in our sense of selves, does it not?

I can’t cover all the things we learned in a day long seminar so I’ll highlight what I took away.  Loretta stayed afterward to get her colors done and I’m so hoping that I will find out what she learned!  I had to get back to the dogs, Patch especially,  as this was the first time he had been away from me and with a stranger.  They did fine but were more than happy to see me.  I made the right choice to get back to them as Patch was looking pretty insecure.

I have had Nancy’s book, Looking Good, for many years and she now offers a CD.  She brought a huge rack of scarves for us all to try on and find what colors and combinations would best highlight our faces.

The one scarf she kept pulling out for me I bought and took home:  it’s a deep bronze on black so the bronze picks up my hair color and is a medium high contrast with the black so it matches my contrast levels.  I am wearing it today and feel very put together:

The rules are:  don’t use greater values of contrast in a print fabric than the contrast value in the face.  So the scarf fits the bill.

So now, thanks to Nancy, I know I have “rich” coloring, a cool complexion,  with medium high contrast and medium brightness on a rectangular body silhouette (due to the high hip shelf in back)  I have a better handle on how to present myself.

I now know that in those cases where I don’t have the right color shoe for an outfit I can pick up my hair color in my purse and shoes.

I deliberately wore pieces that have bothered me to see what the feedback would be

The verdict is that I can wear the pink jacket as long as I bring in something that relates to my coloring but the dress is “too bright” for my coloring, I’m not as bright as the fabric.  LOL.  I also have to keep my makeup in the cool range to wear the pink.

(No one said anything about the leggings, except for Laura who said that’s what the tango dancers wear.  I’ll bet, though, had I pushed it, that the advice would have been to skip the leggings with this dress.  That’s what my fashion sense says anyway.  At the very bottom line the dress is too long for the ankle length leggings.)

I do recommend catching Nancy’s seminar and having your colors done if you can.  If you’re responsible for programs for your ASG group this is one wonderful lady to bring to your members.

Posted in Fashion, Sewing ]]> http://thestitchery.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/personal-style-nancy-nix-rice-looking-good/feed/ 14 Mary Beth http://thestitchery.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/patch-on-the-beach/ http://thestitchery.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/patch-on-the-beach/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:35:26 +0000 Mary Beth http://thestitchery.wordpress.com/?p=1154 ]]>

We had lots of doggy fun on the beaches in Florida.

Patch at Brohard Paws Beach, Venice, Florida

Gaely GoLightly and Patch Go Exploring at De Soto National Memorial

Gaely and Patch Investigating a Horseshoe Crab Shell

Patch Meets a New Friend

Evening Falls in Sarasota

I’m on a roll sewing up knit dresses, loving something simple after conquering the difficult jacket fabric blogged at The Sewing Divas that took up much of my sewing time for the month of October. I haven’t sewn many knits for the past few years and really don’t buy them often.

I have some acrylic double knit from Michael’s Mom’s store, A Fabric Place. Why am I always talking about Michael’s Fabrics???

I got to stop there on a sales trip last Fall and again during this October when we made a furniture delivery in Massachusetts. So Micheal has much of my fabric budget for the past couple of years. I don’t have a big budget these days but considering the mistakes I’ve made in the past when buying online, it’s probably best if I get to fondle fabrics before I buy them.

This inexpensive piece is a test to see whether if I like wearing magenta and gold. They are quite outside of my usually palette and perfect for a muslin. I don’t know whether or not I’ll ever actually wear this dress.

Double knit fabric has very little stretch so I pulled the HP Annisette Dress (AKA HP 1021), a sheath with a little waist shaping, no darts, gathering in the sleeve head and only a little gathering in the sleeve cuff. The bands on this dress do not require the stretch that the newer Uptown/Downtown Dress bands need to have. The wrong side of my fabric has mostly gold and yellow threads showing so I used that for the contrast at the neck, cuff, and hem.

Again Hot Patterns has produced a great draft that fits me well and this comfy dress will become a favorite silhouette.

The only change I made to the pattern was to shorten the dress by 3.5″. It is a straight sheath with little waist shaping and no darts and I like it for the way it fits without the armscye being large and droopy.

I don’t think it looks like the envelope illustration, do you? The neckline is much higher and the sleeves at the cuffs are not as gathered as shown nor is the cuff as small and the sleeves are not “batwinged” at all.

So without further discussion here’s the dress, sewn without alterations except to cut a size 14 through the shoulders and bust and a size 16 from the waist on down:

On my next rendition of the dress I’ll lower the front neckline about a half an inch. I wonder how well wool crepe would work using this pattern?

I wanted to post this before the next sales trip so let’s get it straight that these horrid eggplant tights are only because of the press of time!!! Forget ‘em. I planned to crop them out of the picture but then how would I explain that dog head in the lower corner??? So you get to see them. Darn.

Oh that dog…my constant sidekick who wouldn’t fall for the ruse of playing fetch with a stick. He looks pretty suspicious, doesn’t he?

But no, he wouldn’t go away. Hey, after 13 years on a chain all alone who can blame him for sticking so close? I’m going to treat him to lots of long walks in Florida with his buddy Gaely GoLightly. There are a number of preserves in the area we are going where dogs are welcome as long as they are on leashes and any poops are cleaned up.

I can do that for this old gentle dog. Maybe some day he will tire of being so close to humans all the time.

If you want a quick and comfy knit dress this just might work for you!

Here’s my finished dress. It was cut at size 14 although I probably ended up with a 12 because I had to rip and reapply the difficult ribbing so often.

This wool jersey knit fabric is from Michaels Fabrics. He probably has some still available.   It’s very soft and not scratchy so I didn’t have to line this simple dress. When I asked Husband if he liked the blue stripped version he said “You look French!” LOL

The ribbed rayon fabric has no lycra in it and it stretches out with no recovery.  It was in the stash from an early coop buy, Michael doesn’t have this stuff. He wouldn’t touch it!!!!!

What a pain it was!!!  I had to cut every stripe into about half of what the pattern pieces give you for the bands.  Test, test, test!

I ended up putting an elastic yarn in the neckband to keep it lying flat.

I don’t look too happy. I forced myself to do photos today in the cold and wind and it even started raining.  The following photo I took the day before yesterday when there were better conditions.   At least you can see the paisley in the nylon jersey bought long ago from Emma One Sock. This is my muslin cut at a size 16, which is according to my measurements.

This ribbing has more recovery but still wrinkled at the neckline.  That is the toughest thing about this simple pattern:  finding proper ribbing.  The paisley version will be OK for work and look much better in the Spring time!  Somehow it seems way too silly for our deepening Fall.

It will match the jacket I made last week

Here’s the neckline with the elastic thread in it. I just gave up on “perfect”. Good ribbing, and better yet, with lycra in it, would help so very much.

I like how this dress pattern feels on the body and I like the sleeves at the elbow length. I haven’t yet played with the infinity scarf or tie belts. I personally like these shifts the way they are.

I purchased the two new Hot Patterns, couldn’t help it.

I need a knit dress pattern just like this:

and I love the shape of this new bag.

It’s like they knew just what i was thinking. Scary!!!

I heard from the vet yesterday and Gaely’s biopsy came back negative for cancer! Yippeee, yay, cool. Thanks for your prayers!

Gaely is feeling better and better each day she’s on antibiotics and wants to know why she has to have her picture taken. She doesn’t like pictures and the flash.

It’s so nice to have a frisky, curious, adventuring Westie again .

Patch is stoic about pictures or so that’s the way he looks.

He’s been off the chain and out of the weather for 2 months now.

Gaely’s improved health will help Patch learn how to play and have a great time, too.

hugs all!

Doubly good news, according to the results from the endoscope!

1. Gaely’s tumor has shrunk greatly since we started antibiotics last week.
2. The tumor is located in an area where it can be surgically removed if need be.

There is much happiness in the dog house! We are hoping that the biopsy will report an inflammation and not a cancer. But canine bladder cancer will respond to antibiotics so cancer is not yet ruled out.

I am still “baby sitting”. Apparently there is some kind of restraint that is used during these procedures that has really bruised her little hip bones and she can not walk well enough to do her dog thing. She needs to be carried. This was scary until I located the source of her pain and figured it out. She is more mobile today.

Fortunately Dear Husband has taken our adopted and unsocialized Patch Dog to work with him so it’s just me and the little dog & cat but we’re stuck at home with no sewing for as long as it takes for Gaely to be able to heal. I haven’t set up the home sewing yet. I’m so used to going to work at The Stitchery every day!

Maybe this enforced removal from my sewing life is good: I have been stuck on a couple of difficult knits. I want to use them as mini dresses under a gray lurex knit overcoat. They are in a beautiful blush color but one is a rayon rib knit that is very difficult to sew and does not hold a shape and the other is a wonderful cloque . It is two jersey knit fabrics with the top one being joined to the smooth bottom piece so that there is great bubbling and texture, like what you’d get if you used shrinking thread or Texture Magic by Superior Threads. In fact the picture of Texture Magic shown at Superior Thread’s web site is almost identical to the yardage I am trying to use.

However, the color and texture will add major pounds to the silhouette and is probably better for the Spring season.

I need to turn to the wools and finally our mid-South weather has turned to the cool: 40’s at night and 70’s during the day.

It is gorgeous outside!!! Perfect time for fishing on the little local lake. Gaely likes to go out in the swamp boat with the electric motor and help with choosing the tackle and hauling in the fish. She loves to swim, too. It might be good for her to do some very limited swimming. Tomorrow it’s going up to 78 degrees so that might be the perfect evening to try a little water therapy.

sewing hugs to all!

I am shaky today. My little Westie is undergoing exploratory surgery because she has been diagnosed with cancer of the bladder and they want to assess the tumor. I am rarely WOD (with out dogs)

She’s been my constant companion for almost 11 years, and a major contributor to the weird looks on my face as I try to get photos done for the blogs.

Solo photography is hard enough to do without a couple of dogs hamming it up: sometimes I just have to give in

Last week was all about getting the laundry room set up at The Stitchery and finally everything is done

and the hot water heater produces clear water now that it has been inadvertently drained like a scene from a Walt Disney movie.

Because I bought a front loader for the house I had to paint the laundry room there when the over-the-washer cabinet had to be raised.

And now I’m loving having the ability to process fabric during the day instead of working even later into the night in prep for the next sewing project.

I’ve been truly blessed. My only thought now is this prayer:

Dear Lord: Please protect Gaely GoLightly, Westie Extraordinaire, and guide her Vet’s hand. And please don’t let any one else in my family get cancer!

The odyssey of adding a fabric pretreatment center continues…

I decided to move my 5 year old Neptune top loader washing machine into the Stitchery and get a new front loader for the house. So I got a call this morning that the new washing machine has come in and I set a delivery date for Thursday morning. Husband was in town for meetings so afterward he came to the house and we moved the old washer (which I dearly love for gentle treatment of fabrics) over to the Stitchery. We place it and leveled it.

Before hooking up we ran some water into a bucket and the water was red from rust. I turned on all the other faucets until all the water ran clear and then filled the washer. The water was opaque. Not red, just not clear so I found the drain valve on the hot water heater and using a cordless drill and a bucket I opened the valve…yup, too much crud in the water. I don’t have a garden hose so I thought I would drawn off 4 or 5 buckets of water to get the crud out of the hot water heater.

I tested the water valve again: it turned on and reversing the drill I easily turned it off again. No problem.

So I started draining and turned off the valve when the bucket was full. Went and emptied the bucket in the tub: back to it. But this time when I turned the valve on I opened the valve farther than I had before and when I tried to turn it off again, the drill bit couldn’t reach or something and

I couldn’t turn off the water. No water pan under the heater and no shut off valve that I could find anywhere! I did management to get the gas pilot turned off but

Oh shoot! Water gushed out in between bucket changes, all over the square of carpet under the heater and the 50 year old hard wood floors.

I had 2 bathroom waste baskets and one 5 gallon bucket. I had to fill one and slip the next under the wide open spigot and run to empty in the tub. Somewhere in there I needed to find the phone and call for help…somehow I did that…I have no memory of where the phone was. Got husband on the phone and he will have to drive 8 miles.

So I ran back and forth emptying buckets for another 15 minutes, shouting at dogs to get out of the way.

And Husband showed up, got a pair of pliers and turned the valve handle as far off as it would go. It was broken so the water was reduced to a dribble but not stopped. I used the flat head bit in the cordless drill to turn it the rest of the way off.

And I mopped up.

A shut off valve is less than $3. Why would it be under the house and not on the water line running into the heater???

Someone’s cheap home renovation. A 40 gallon water tank with no way to turn off the water. Joy….

But the good news is that the tank was almost completely drained and hopefully I will have fresher water for the first load of fabrics. I believe I’ll start with some very soggy towels.

After I catch my breath.