Just Sew It

My site has been down for a day because we’ve changed hosts. Anyways, I’ve started on my Amy Butler bag and I’ll post progress pictures and commentary later today.

I’m planning on making a whole outfit but was missing a pattern for a great knit top. I’ll be making a skirt from Burda and a bolero type sweater. I was looking for a flattering knit top and after seeing a PR member’s review of the infamous Burda twist top I decided that would most likely look very good on me. It seems to flatter women’s boobs and that I like. For me, I don’t like wrap tops or shirred tops because they seem to attract attention to the tummy area. My tummy is not something I like to attract attention to. I’m in shape but I do have issues with my gut. The fat on my gut is so stubborn! I do plenty of ab exercises and I do see results but the fat won’t go away. I need liposuction. So needless to say, I like tops to look slimming on me.

The infamous Burda Twist top is from Burda magazine’s issue of April 2005. Where oh where would I find that?! Put a wanted listing on the PR site and a member responded by getting it on Ebay from a seller named Twisletop. Hmmmm… I originally did a search on Burda Magazines on Ebay and she did not come up. Twisletop has excellent feedback. She is in the UK but I’ve ordered things from the UK before and my package came quicker than some of the things I’ve ordered from the States. Can’t wait. I love getting packages in the mail.

Sometimes Oprah has a cute top or jacket on. Yesterday I found this picture of her wearing this jacket/top I’d maybe like to make.

Hmmmm…. I wonder if there is pattern out there somewhere like this.

Well, I finished the top and it turned out absolutely fantastic!

This top went together like peas and carrots. No flaws in the pattern whatsoever. I tissue fitted before I cut and added 4 cm to the length as I find most tops to be short for me. I have a longer body than the norm. I find this to be a problem in ready-to-wear. My tummy tends to poke out. I used a linen with a bit of stretch in it. I didn’t realize that there was stretch in it until I began sewing. Oh well, the fabric was perfect for this project. On the neckline and arms I used piping instead of bias binding. To make the piping, I cut some of the pant’s fabric on the bias and then made my piping. Would you believe I couldn’t find any cording for my piping. I had to use a suede like yarn. Good ole Fabricland failed me again and Walmart didn’t have any either. I really didn’t feel like driving all around the city so I substituted with yarn. It worked. On the hem, I did a different finish instead of the regular fold and stitch that you see in ready to wear. I finished my hem off with a three thread seam. I put a pearl cotton in the upper looper and it worked beautifully. I love using different threads in my serger for unique effects on hems, etc.

This top fits very very well on me. I’m impressed. I will definitely make this baby again.

Now as for the shorts I made the longer version. They don’t look good. They look dumpy. No I didn’t take a picture because they are in the garbage. Another wadder. The pattern was fine. No flaws. They just didn’t look good on me. Personally, I really like Burda pants. I find that they have a very nice fit.

What’s next?? The Amy Butler Madison bag. I’m waiting for my interfacing. I’m going to post detailed instructions on how I do it. If I can help you that would be great or if I mess up you can give me your suggestions. I am going to give my all because this bag is costing me a lot.

Mental note to self: Keep costs down.

Yesterday, I picked up a lilac tree. I always say that a backyard isn’t a backyard until it has a lilac tree. I absolutely LOVE the smell of lilacs in May.

Went to the Zoo this afternoon and not surprisingly it was busy. The kids still enjoy going even though its a lame zoo. The Calgary zoo is sooo much better and my kids know it. Hopefully, we’ll be able to drive on down to Cowtown for a visit.

Tonight, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to finish my capri’s and top. I went scrapbooking on Saturday night and I decided that from now on that I will only keep a scrapbook for my kids’ school and extra-curicular activities. It is much too expensive to keep more than that. Honestly, I do get bored of doing layout after layout. Really, there is not that much variation to scrapbooking. Ya, there is a lot beautiful paper but the embelishments are so expensive! So, I’ll keep one for the kidlets only. They will appreciate that.

Hot, so hot. I love it though. I’m not a winter person. Can’t wait to go to the beach. That’ll be next month.

Last night I spent an hour trying to sew in an invisible zipper. I haven’t done one in a while and I had to do it over a couple of times. When I finally got it right, the zipper teeth screwed up and the zipper split. Arggghh! I was planning on posting pictures of my invisible zipper installation. Well, I’ll put in a centred zipper instead. I want to get this finished as I want to start on my Amy Butler bag. But I can’t start that until my interfacing arrives. I sent an email to A Great Notion asking where my order was and they said they were just sending it out!! They said they were waiting for their order of Timtex from Toronto and it finally arrived. That’s fine but maybe let me know what’s happening! Oh well, I’ve heard good things about this site so I’ll cut them some slack.

Tonight, I have a crop night to attend. It goes from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. It’s going to be a dinner crop so I’m looking forward to it. I much prefer to scrap at crops because I seem to have more stamina and it’s more fun to scrap around other people. I think it would be fun if there was a guy there. Yeah, some guys like to scrap. Even if they are gay. My dh’s cousin is gay and loves to scrap. He would be a lot of fun to scrap with because he is funny too. But he lives 3 hours away.

You know speaking of gay men. It would be really nice to have a gay man as a friend. When I was 19, I attended a local hairstyling school and a couple of gay male friends. They make great friends. Why? because they love to shop and are very good at picking out the right clothes. They are very honest and a lot of fun. Gay men give you the best of both worlds. You get to spend time with a guy who will never hit on you and has fabulous shopping advice. Even though they are gay, you can never take certain elements out of any man. These certain elements are hard to explain. A guy is a guy even though he may be gay. There is a show on Lifenetwork with two gay guys, “So Chic with Chris and Steve” that help women shop for a special occasion. They shop like a woman but treat the girls like true gentlemen. If you have never hung around a gay guy, try it you’ll like it. They make great friends.