A Sew-aholic's Mothers' Day Weekend

So … the original Mothers' Day plan was to meet my daughter and her future Mother-in-Law in Northern Virginia where we would do wedding prep stuff.  I made the first wedding dress muslin and we planned to go to G-Street Fabrics in Falls Church, VA to look at wedding fabrics.  It would have been a great Mothers Day. That plan changed when I remembered I bought a ticket to see Motown, The Musical* in NYC on Saturday.  The bus trip included about two and a half hours to explore Manhattan and that could only mean one thing to a sew-aholic:  FABRIC SHOPPING!   I had an agenda.  I was working on the black crepe dress for my sister's 40th Birthday Bash.  The dress was looking too somber, not at all like a party dress, so  I decided to go another way.  I decided to make a skirt with the leftover black crepe (I'd bought 6 yards) and make a shiny silver satin top to wear with it and I'd buy the shiny silver satin fabric while I was in NY.  Since I was with my non-sewing cousin, I planned to visit only B & J Fabrics and Mood Fabrics.

But, there was a problem.  The chartered bus that was supposed to take us to NYC left 90 minutes late, which left very little time to drag my non-sewing cousin to fabric stores once we arrived.  Since we had less time to shop, we went only to B & J.  This was my first time there and I LOVED it!  Brightly lit and so much fabric!  But I didn't have time to browse.  (I MUST go back to that store!)  So … I rushed through B & J and made a rushed, impulsive purchase: a piece of silver/grey taffeta.  We got to our seats about 2 minutes before the curtain went up.

Silver/Grey Taffeta

It just so happened, Bryan Terrell Clark, who played Marvin Gaye in the show, said he attended the same church as the woman who organized the trip.  He came on the bus to say hello, sign autographs and take pictures.

Bryan and me

Traditionally, my daughter makes a big breakfast for me on Mothers' Day and gives me a mushy card that invariably makes me cry.   But this year, she was in VA and I was in PA.  (I still got the card and it still made me cry.)  I took a closer look at the taffeta and decided I didn't like it for a top - it had only slightly more pizzazz than the black crepe.  So I decided to spend Mothers' Day doing what I love -- shopping for fabric.  I tried to find the silver satin I originally wanted to buy either at Fleishman's Fabric, the only Fabric Row store open on Sunday, or JoMar.  I bought a piece of silver satin at JoMar, but I still wasn't totally satisfied. Since I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I ordered Silver Charmeuse  from Vogue Fabrics.

Silver Satin

But now I have about two yards of silver taffeta and a yard and a half of silver satin that I may never use.  (It might be time for a give-away!)

So, although my Mothers' Day weekend was not traditional in the Hallmark sense, it was a very enjoyable weekend.  I saw a great Broadway show; I discovered B & J Fabrics and I hugged a young, handsome and talented actor.  Not a bad Mothers' Day.



*By the way, Emilio Sosa, of Project Runway did the costumes for the show.

View From The Stone Mountain-top

 

Finally!  My Stone Mountain and Daughter purchases from PR Weekend are home where they belong.  The magenta is a cotton and will be a summer blouse, probably V1260 below.  The blue and white stripe is a knit and will be a t-shirt.  The turquoise?  I have no idea.  It doesn't look the same as it did in the store.  I had no idea what it would be when I bought it and I have less of an idea now that it is home.  It has a silk-like sheen that I didn't notice in the store.  It would make a nice MOB dress, but it's the wrong color.  Maybe I'll ignore the wedding colors and make my dress using this fabric.

V1260

I bought V1260, a Sandra Betzina Today's Fit pattern, at Stone Mountain.  I liked it so much, I didn't wait for a $3.99 sale at JoAnn.  Sandra Betzina was wearing it during the afternoon session.  She omitted the pleated trim and I will too.   I need to learn to look past the given illustration and see how I can make the pattern my own.  For example, I could use piping instead of pleated trim.

My sewing habits have really changed.  I now have 20 pieces of fabric in my collection -- more fabric than I have ever had at one time in my life.  Most sewers have lots more, but for me, this is a record. Two years ago, I would have been shocked at this fabric buying behavior.  Today, I feel no remorse whatsoever.  And, I'm beginning to buy envelope patterns more often.  I was the one who said they'd have to pry my Burda's from my cold, dead hands.  But I've bought two Vogue patterns in one month and I can't wait to sew them.  Wow.  Even I can evolve.

PR Weekend Diary

Wednesday, April 24
     I made it!  I'm in San Franciso for PR Weekend 2013!  I'm so glad I came early.  I got to see Gina, Lindsey's best friend from high school. She is my "other daughter from another mother".  I haven't seen her since graduation.  She's all grown up and a wonderful young woman.  I'm so proud of her.  She picked me up from the airport and drove me to the Marines Memorial Club and Hotel.  We talked for hours, even though I was still on east coast time and was dog tired!
   

There is no way anyone can stay in The Marines Memorial Club and Hotel and not be made aware of the sacrifice US soldiers have made.  I was on the 5th floor, which housed the Memorial Hall.  The walls were covered with plaques honoring deceased soldiers, most of whom were killed in action.  The 11th floor housed the library/reading room in which were many artifacts, including Gen. MacArthur's corn cob pipe and hat.  The resin sculpture of the bulldog mascot was so realistic looking I thought it was taxidermically preserved, a process I find a little creepy.

Thursday, April 25
     I got up early and walked the short distance to Chinatown.  When I got to the Chinatown Gate and saw the steep hill, I almost turned around. But I needed to buy a rolling bag for bringing my fabric purchases home.  Then, I went to Britex, also a short walk from the hotel.   Britex has an awe-inspiring inventory and eye-popping prices.  People warned me about the prices and when I saw the other stores in the immediate area (Neiman Marcus, Bulgari, Chanel, etc.) I knew they were right.  I bought only a piece of khaki cotton on that trip and went back to the hotel.  Later, I met up with  a group of PR People and went back to Britex for more shopping.  On that visit, I bought black crepe and a batik to match the khaki cotton.

Cotton Khaki twill and Batik

In the evening, I had dinner with Gina and then hung out at the registration table to chat with and meet other attendees.

Friday, April 26

V1260

     Today was the Sandra Betzina seminar.  She had so much  information to share, she hardly finished a sentence before she began to talk about something else.  It's a good thing I have many of her books.  The best part was the afternoon trunk show.  We got to see clothes from her Today's Fit collection up close and personal.  She was wearing a blouse from the collection that looked nothing like it's patten envelope photo/illustration.  If I'd seen only that picture, I would never have considered the pattern.  But I liked it so much on Sandra, I plan to buy the pattern tomorrow without waiting for a $3.99 sale at Jo-Ann.  Unfortunately, something I ate for lunch didn't agree with me and I didn't feel well enough to have dinner at Buco Di Beppo. I'm going to bed and pray I feel better for shopping tomorrow.

Saturday, April 27
     SERIOUS FABRIC SHOPPING TODAY!  I had three stores on my Fabric Shopping Bucket List.

1. Mood Fabrics in NYC
2. Vogue Fabrics in Chicago
3. Britex Fabrics in San Francisco

I've been to all three!  After hearing Sandra Betzina mention Stone Mountain & Daughter about 153 times, I added it to my list.  I had my own personal guide, Mary Beth, who took me, via public transportation, to Stone Mountain in Berkeley, Fabrix and Satin Moon back in San Francisco.  Stone Mountain shipped purchases if requested. I can't wait until it arrives home safely. We didn't have to pay sales tax if we had our purchases shipped.  Here is my haul (minus the Stone Mountain purchases):

From Satin Moon: Italian cotton and Indian cotton:  I forgot which was which.

Close-up of Italian or Indian cotton

From Fabrix:  Cotton/poly twill and soft knit.

Sunday, April 28

     On the plane home, I reflected on the weekend.  This time around, rather than traveling in a large group by bus, we were left to our own devices to shop.  On Friday, I felt confident that I could get around by my myself if I had to, but on Saturday, I was extremely grateful for Mary Beth, my own personal guide.   We ran into other PR shoppers at every stop, so it was almost like we were traveling en masse. 

I had two goals for the weekend:

(1) something black for my youngest sister's 40th semi-formal birthday bash (She wants everyone to wear black - don't ask me why.)  

(2) something blue for my Mother of the Bride Dress.

I got black crepe (sounds so funereal), but I didn't find anything for my MOB dress.  Oh, well. That's a 50% success rate.  Not too shabby.

I wish we had the show-and-tell post mortem after shopping.  It was a fun event in previous PR Weekends.  I hope there is a way to include it next time.

PR Weekends are always fun.  Eighty-five people who are just as obsessed with sewing as I am!  How could I not have a good time?

Next year, Austin, TX.

Thanks, Denise!

I've known my best friend Denise since kindergarden.  She decorates cakes, makes ceramics, caters and organizes events, and she is an excellent seamstress.  We learned to sew together in Home Ec in junior high school; back when there were such things as Home Ec and junior high school.  I remember looking a suit she made and being instantly inspired to improve my own sewing skills.  She seldom makes garments anymore, though.  Instead, she makes fantastic, custom designed, one-of-a kind aprons.  She made an apron for my daughter and finally, she made one for me.

Her husband has barely forgiven me for encouraging her to buy an embroidery machine, but the barbecue apron below monogrammed with W. L. J. was made for him.  She knows how much I love to sew, so my apron has a sewing theme.  And the buttons are little thimbles!   Not only did her suit inspire me to be a better sewer, but her apron might inspire me to be a better cook!

She sells her creations at various venues, but I'm trying to convince her to set up an Etsy shop.  I think she'd do very well. 

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

 And now, a retraction/correction.

In a past post, I complained about Burda's fashion photography. It's true, sometimes the fashion photos don't tell you much about the garments.  But there is an alternative.  Both the website and the magazine include garment photographs in addition to fashion photographs and line drawings.  I wouldn't want my complaining to scare a potential sewer away from trying BurdaSyle Magazine patterns.

Wedding Dress Adventure: Chapter One

I realize what I'm in for.

A few weeks ago, I announced my daughter wanted me to make her wedding dress.  At the end of that post, I wrote:

"So, if anyone has any advice, tips, sources and resources, stimulants, sedatives or liquor, please share!"

At that time I was sort of kidding.  Now I'm serious. I will definitely need stimulants, sedatives or liquor.

The wedding gown selection offered by the Big Four is poor – very poor.   But Neue Mode had a large selection of formal gowns and wedding gowns and Lindsey chose two patterns she wants merged into her gown.  Both designs are simple and I felt reasonably confident about the process.  After all, I have a 50% off coupon I intend to use on a whole bolt of muslin.  But, I have absolutely no experience with Neue Mode pattens and I panicked when the patterns I ordered arrived without instructions.  I was afraid Neue Mode was like Marfy and I'd have to make a wedding gown with no instructions.  I raced to the website and found out I could download and print the instructions.  First crisis averted.

Lindsey came home last weekend for my birthday, so we went to Fabric Row, not to buy anything, but to make some fabric decisions. One of the things that frightened me about sewing a wedding gown was sewing lace.  Guess what?  She wants a satin gown with a lace overlay.  I admit, I loved the embroidered lace with beads and sequins, but the price made my eyes pop out.  Oh well, I only have one daughter and she gets married only once.  We spent a lovely day looking at fabric and making plans.  After we got home, I went online and found out the store in which we found the biggest selection of beautiful laces was destroyed by fire about 30 minutes after we left.

So, the Wedding Dress Adventure began momentously.  I have major design changes using a pattern company I have never, ever used before.  Ever.   The store that had the lace I loved burned and will probably not reopen.  It's a good thing I have a whole year for this project.  Looks like I'm going to need it.

Finished: BSM 01-13-133B

When I was a child, shopping for a new Easter dress was an exciting event. My next door neighbor and I would show each other our new outfits. We couldn't wait to wear them to Sunday School and to see what the other girls were wearing.    When my daughter was a child, I shopped for fabric for her Easter dresses many weeks in advance.   It didn't matter that I made all of her dresses; making her Easter dress was special.

Burda Style Magazine 01-13-133

So perhaps it was a nostalgic longing that made me wake up last week and tell myself, "I'm gonna make me an Easter Dress!"  I didn't have time to shop for fabric, but I had a piece of tomato red crepe in the sewing room closet.  I searched through my Burda Index and found a suitable dress in the January 2013 issue.

The dress looks better in real life than it does in the photo below.  I used crepe which dressed up the design a little.  I like that the dress is fully lined with self fabric.  It made the crepe more substantial and the dress has an expensive feel.  I didn't have enough of the crepe on hand, so I had to make a trip to JoAnn's and try to match the color.  I didn't find a perfect match, but it was for the lining and no one sees it.

As usual, the slit in the front exposed way too much skin, so I raised it an inch and put a hook and eye in the middle of the slit to close it up a little.  If I make this dress again, I would also add some interfacing to the slit to give it a little more stability.  Another issue was the loose fit.  My top half is two sizes larger than my bottom half so the bottom half, beginning at the waist, has a very loose fit.  If I make this dress again, I'll blend down a size on the waist and skirt when tracing.

The dress fits more loosely than I expected. Making a muslin would have fixed that. In spite of the issues, I was happy with the results, primarily because I loved the fabric.  I had a new Easter dress and I felt like a little girl again.

And while we're on the subject … can I really tell how a dress is supposed to fit when the fashion photo looks like this?  Come on, Burda.  A little help please?