Spoiled, embarrassed, and comforted

Hello everyone!
My parcel mailman finally decided to pay me a visit today. Apparently he had assumed I was away on holiday (?!), and consequently hadn't bothered to deliver FOUR parcels, some of which had thus been waiting for 10 days. My mailman has his own ways... He'd rather keep my packages in his van for two weeks than leave delivery notices so I can fetch them at the PO!
Fortunately, I was home a bit later than usual this morning!

I feel seriously bad about that. One of the boxes was a book I'd ordered for my work, but the other three were gifts from friends who were really starting to worry. Summerset even re-sent me a package 10 days ago because she thought the first might have gone lost. "Funnily" enough, I got both her package and her box today (envelopes and parcels are not delivered by the same mailman).

(Miss Cutie thinks this is all hers, and is therefore guarding her loot!)

In the box, were two vintage petticoat patterns that Summerset had carefully traced off for me... Along with a bunch of adorable fat quarters, and a kitty scissors fob.
In the envelope, there was one of Summerset's original vintage patterns (wow!), a beautiful card, and another kitty fob! How generous is that!!

I'll be sending the pattern back to Summerset, but she agreed that I offered one of the fobs on this blog... So stay tuned. :)

The other packages were a box of famous biscuits from Normandy that Anne-Marie very thoughtfully sent me (I'm patiently eagerly waiting for Seb to come home before making a dent in them!)

And there was a birthday box from my friend Hala, which contained a lovely card, a pretty bookmark, a gorgeous hair claw which is already in my hair, and this beautiful embroidered and beaded pillow cover that was made in her country (Hala is Lebanese and lives in the UAE); I promptly slipped it over a pillow form:

See how it matches our sofa throw!

(Said throw is a beautiful fabric my Mum gave me last Christmas to thank me for making slipcovers for four ottomans)

Thank you very much to the three of you... I do feel terribly embarrassed that you had to worry about those parcels; but they are really going to help me through the week... which has not started well, as my grandma's health has deteriorated further. She must be weighing 30 kilos (66 pounds) now, and doesn't have the strength to speak anymore. So we can't even know whether she's suffering or not.
Your tokens of friendship are therefore very comforting. Thank you!

Wedding Gown Muslin (New Look 3618)

Hi everyone!

First, thank you (as always) for your comments. Tanya asked whether I would be selling the bag. It was put for sale in the shop, but sold out within 24 hours! This was my fastest sale and I want to thank the kind buyer, who told me she reads this blog. This is so encouraging. Thank you!
I made two bags with those toile de Jouy fabrics, both of which sold out, but I don't have enough left to make another... I was planning on making smaller purses with fat quarters now, but those larger totes seem to be more popular, so maybe I should make more of those instead.

I haven't got around to posting the pictures of the muslin for New Look 3618 gown yet. Here they are.

For those of you who aren't used to sewing garments, a muslin (toile in French) is a test garment cut in an inexpensive fabric (originally, muslin), so that you don't ruin the expensive fabric in case the pattern doesn't work well at first. You make all the alterations on the muslin. When the muslin fits, you usually cut it apart along the seams and use that as a pattern for the good fabric.

In my case, the cheapest fabric I found was still pretty, so I decided to make a wearable muslin. That means I won't be taking it apart; but I took a lot notes while making the alterations so that I can change the original paper pattern and use that to cut the "real" dress.

I cut the muslin in a shorter length: the parts requiring fitting are the bodice and waist, not lower. This had two advantages: it allowed me to save on fabric (I can make another dress with the rest of this cute fabric); and this way, the muslin can become a cocktail length dress for my little sister.

The first muslin was much too big, which surprised me, as this is a New Look pattern and I'm used to them. I did my usual alterations but the back and waist needed a lot more taking in. This is surprising - I thought patterns made by a given company had a consistent sizing.
(I forgot to take pictures of the first muslin - sorry.)

I originally made a size 10 for the bust and a size 8 for the back and back side panels (I always do that because my back is apparently narrower than is usual). The bust fit, but I had to take out 3 cm from each side in the middle back, and resewed the side panels in a size 6. (Another note to my non-sewing readers: this bears no relation to the present American RTW sizing.)
Now, it fits well. Snug, but not tight, which is good because the dupioni will "give" less than this test fabric: it is stiffer.

I didn't add any straps, because I haven't redrafted them yet. I want them wider and tapered, not simple spaghetti straps. The dress is not supposed to be hanging by the straps anyway, and I realized this allowed me to see the issues better.

After those pictures I added boning to the front seams, and the fitting was good. There are no pictures unfortunately, because I couldn't ask Seb to spend more time on this.

Now that the fitting alterations are done, I am very happy with the look of the dress. This is exactly what I wanted, and apart from the straps, I don't need to redraft anything. I was afraid the back might be a bit too low for my personal preference, but it wasn't. The front bodice in particular is very well drafted, with the centre bottom forming a point rather than being straight. This has a flattering and graceful effect.

The dress has been put on hold since last Friday (May 18), pending the arrival of white taffeta and more batiste. Otherwise, I could have worked on the lining, but have now decided to use batiste for the lining AND underlining. True, silk organza seemed to be the best option to underline dupioni, but was really too pricey for me, and according to Susan Khalje, batiste is another good option. As a result, I need to wait for the extra batiste to reach me.

Wishing you a lovely weekend - to those of you who have a long weekend, enjoy!

More sewing goodness!

Woohoo! I received my Hot Patterns order today. I purchased the patterns for the Cha-Cha-Cha (left) and the Cosmopolitan (right) dresses. Boy, they are hot!

I'd been drooling on those two for such a long time (longer for the Deco Vibe Cosmo Dress, obviously, since it's been out longer). Those patterns are more expensive than I'm used to, which is why I'd held back for so long; but I decided to finally treat myself to them as a late birthday gift.
I'm thrilled, they're even more exciting in person! I dream of making all four. Not necessarily all for me - I have a nursing sister who would love a wrap dress (very handy to start feeding a hungry baby in a jiffy, AND be sexy!), and a little sister who is very fond of halter necks.
Now, to think of the fabrics to go with them! I have a couple that would work, but not that much. All that sewing lately has made a serious dent in my stash of fashion fabric!

I finally made something new for the etsy shop:
another reversible tote in toile de Jouy.

I like those shorter handles and am very tempted to keep it for myself... but there are a couple of rings that shall need to be purchased soon!

Sorry to be short tonight, but I am just back from a wonderful dinner date with my adored little sister... now a couple of people here need attending to ;)

A couple of cute tops

Hi friends!

Once again, thank you very much for the beautiful comments to the previous posts. I'm glad you like my choices for the dress - and thank you for your wonderful reassuring words. You friends just rock!

I've put the dress on hold until I receive the white taffeta and some more batiste, as I've now decided to do both the lining and underlining in batiste and I didn't have enough of it.
There will therefore be a short break in the "special gown" saga; but I promise you there are several surprises in stock to keep you waiting. :)
Today, I wanted to show you a new top, and a not-so-new one.

Here's a top I made 3 weeks ago to help me through a distressing time:

Simplicity 3887

It didn't photograph too well, I'm afraid. In real life, it is very cute and I promise it doesn't make one look fat!
The "skirt" beneath the top is in fact the muslin for my gown... Sorry for the tease ;)

Here's a top I made in just a few hours last weekend:

Apologies for the tired face - I've been having a few difficult nights, thinking a lot about my Mamie...
You can also see I've had my hair cut a good deal! I've never had them this short since I was 11, which was (eek!) 15 years ago. I absolutely don't regret doing it.

The top is a twist top, not unlike View F of the infamous Simplicity 4076. This pattern has long been on my wishlist (it has so many great tops), so imagine my surprise (and thrill) when I stumbled upon a twist top pattern in a French magazine (Fait main, the only French magazine offering sewing patterns), from 2005! I was browsing through my sewing magazines in search of a cute wrap top, but once I'd found that, I knew I needed search no further - that was what I wanted to make for the weekend. You see, when I had just asked Seb whether he had a preference for what I could sew last weekend, he said "a sexy top you could wear over jeans. I love it when you're wearing a pretty dress, but I love to see you in a cute top and jeans too!". So, that's what I made and judging from the look in his eyes, it seems to fit the bill :)

The difference here with the Simplicity 4076 pattern is in the sleeves, which are slightly off the shoulder and continuous with the front pieces. The explanations were appalling, but once I'd figured out what to do, it went together in a jiffy. I'll be definitely sewing more of those for me and my sisters, once I get more knit fabric! That one was a 1 1/4 yard piece I got from Etsy, and I love it. It is very comfortable. The good news is, there's enough left to make a tankini! More on that some other day :)

Hoping you're all having a good week!
Thanks again, friends

Wedding Gown - the pattern

Hi everyone!
Thank you for the interest in the bourse class. If you popped over to Focus on Finishing, you must have realized by now how easy a bourse is! I was even a little ashamed to be writing this tutorial... But that was a request from many of you on the Focus on Finishing blog. The bourse got the most votes in the poll Anne and Karen created when the blog opened. So, I hope it will help some, even though I know many of you don't even need a tutorial for this.

Today, I wanted to post an update on the "special gown". I've been working on the muslin last weekend and at evenings during the week.
I'll share pictures of the muslin later, but first had to tell you about the pattern.
I changed my mind quite a few times about that! Finding the right pattern has been an ongoing process for the past several months.
I had finally decided to make McCall's 5383 (pictured to the left), but...
Once I got the pattern, and could look at it close and personal, while I still liked the simple lines, I thought the bodice was... wanting. It wasn't classy enough. Too flimsy. Never mind, I can still use the pattern to make a cute shorter dress some day!

My mum also told me she thought princess seams would be more becoming on me, and I thought she was right. (My dear mom is not always right when it comes to my style, but this time I think she was spot on!) The last time we were together, I was wearing my red roses outfit (the first I machine-sewed), and the top has princess seams, which is why she thought about that.

My mum sounded honoured that I emailed her pictures of prospective patterns and asked for her advice, but it meant a lot to have her opinion. If I was shopping for that kind of dress, instead of making it, I would be shopping with her, right?
Another reason why I like the idea of princess seams, is that I know her wedding dress, which my grandma made, had princess seams. That is about the only thing I know about that dress: it was lately cut apart to make a suit. Sigh. The only picture I have seen of my parents' wedding is a bust portrait and my mother is holding her big bouquet of marguerites in front of her... So I never saw the dress's style.

I still wanted an empire waist, and after putting my thinking cap on again and browsing some more, I finally decided to use New Look 6318.

I am very happy with my final choice and have not had a flicker of doubt ever since I purchased it...I guess that is the same feeling you get when you shop for your wedding dress and find "the one"!

Of course, I want the dress to be completely and utterly mine - otherwise what would be the point in making it oneself, right? So I am changing a few things to make it fit my own idea exactly.

First, I am going to use the bodice in view A over the skirt design in view C. The bodice, dress and overskirt will be in blue dupioni, while the underskirt (which is actually the dress's front skirt panel) will be in a contrasting white.

I was thinking of making the contrasting underskirt in batiste (like the lining and underlining), but my friend Becky treated me to a very generous birthday gift certificate to fabric.com yesterday! Thank you Becky!!
So, I am now thinking of spending a little more and using a lightweight white taffeta. The weight and drape should be closer to the dupioni, which should be much better for the general hang of the dress. I didn't want dupioni for the underskirt because I want to play with contrasting textures (I want a smoother look for the underskirt).

That means I'll have to wait for the fabric to arrive before making more progress on the dress, but that's OK. I can make something else in the meantime and read more from the fantastic Bridal Couture book.

The other main alteration concerns the straps. I am going to redraft the straps so that they are wider, and also tapered where they meet the bodice (or maybe I should do the opposite and have them wider on the bottom and tapered on the top of the shoulders? I'll have to try both).

Dupioni update: I cut out another swatch and this time simply soaked it in cold water for an hour or two. After a careful ironing, the swatch was still beautiful. The fabric may be slightly less drapey, but that is not a problem. The texture is almost the same. I shall therefore soak the whole fabric piece before using it. Knowing the dress won't be ruined by a drop of water is a great relief! Which just gets to show, it is always good to experiment. Even the fabric books don't agree on how to treat dupioni, by the way. (I have to thank Tany for her help with sewing books!)
That is the beauty of sewing - the freedom to experiment and achieve the exact result that you have pictured in your mind's eye.

That's it for now. I'll be posting pictures of the latest muslin fitting later.

~*~

I'll leave you with pictures of Miss Cutie, who seems to have reinvented the notion of "sitting pretty":

Wishing my kind readers a lovely weekend.

Bourse Class Weekend!

Hi everyone!

The Focus on Finishing blog is hosting its third interactive monthly class this weekend.
This month, we'll be learning how to make a bourse...and I'll have the honour of teaching you!

Even if you haven't had the time to stitch a square design, you can still practice by using a couple of pretty coordinating fabric (instead of using a stitched piece + a fabric square). It will still make a pretty bourse! :)

This bourse features a part of Morning Berries by LHN.
It's to be a giftie for a friend.

The class will open this evening (central Europe time) is now open!
Come over to learn a very easy and gratifying finishing method!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

Stitching update :)

Hello everyone!

This blog has become more and more devoted to sewing in the past few months, and as a result stitching has taken the back burner... I hope none of you mind. It has been easier and more enjoyable for me to tackle sewing projects on the weekends, rather than stitching in the evenings during the week as I used to in the previous years. Most of the time, I am either still working in the evening, or too tired to pick up a needle. As a result, except for one or two evenings a week, my only spare time is in the weekend - and when the weekend comes, I get more creative satisfaction out of sewing. I cannot see that tendency reversing in the year to come... At least not until I complete my PhD (September 2008, if all goes well! I'm in the middle of writing my third out of 9 chapters).

That being said, I do manage to find an evening here and there to put a few dozen stitches into a project - and am still liking it a lot. Stitch by stitch, half-hour by half-hour, you do manage to go somewhere, albeit slowly... but that's OK with me. I'm enjoying the process, not the goal.

Here is my progress on the lovely Counting House, by LHN:

It's almost complete, and I plan to finish it into a wallhanging for the bedroom.
You may remember that the design and fabric were sent to me by Nicki... Making this project all the pleasanter. Of course, I'll be passing the chart along once I'm done with it!

I'll post an update soon on the muslin for New Look 6318, and my new (more satisfying) experiments with dupioni.

Thanks again to all of you who expressed your joy...
You are making this even more special.

Hoping this finds each of you well. Have a lovely day!

Dupioni update

Hi everyone!
Sorry for the third post in the day - this one shall be really short.
Thank you very much for your precious advice, Summerset and Shannon.

I followed Summerset's advice and washed a sample this afternoon, waited for it to dry, then ironed it according to Shannon's instructions. I don't know whether it's because I'd serged the swatch beforehand (it was fraying and I didn't want it to fray into nonexistence in the washing machine!), and maybe that pulled the fibers, but the swatch ended up significantly coarser. The warp threads became much more apparent.

It's difficult to photograph the difference so here are a couple of pictures at different angles. The washed swatch was laid onto the unwashed fabric, along its grain.

Can you see what I mean? Do you think the serged edges caused that?
In any case, I certainly don't want the whole fabric to look that way.

Anyway, I still have time to decide... All I did with the dress today was read through the pattern instructions and figure out which alterations I wanted, and how to do them. Then I left to co-sing at a French-Portuguese mass, which was very moving and uplifting.

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend.

Something Blue... in Dupioni

Hi - again - everyone!

I started working on the "special gown" this weekend. I'll tell you about the pattern later, but here is a picture of the main fabric for the dress.

I chose dupioni silk, in a light shimmery silver blue.

I hope none of you is horrified at the sight of blue!

I shall be cutting out the pattern this afternoon, and shall be making up a muslin before cutting into the gorgeous silk.

I was wondering whether any fabric savvy reader out there would be willing to offer any advice about dupioni silk. I have the wonderful Bridal Couture book, which offers good advice about how to sew dupioni - and I'll be lining it with cotton batiste. (There will also be a contrasting white underskirt - oh, wait till you see this!).
However, I am not sure how I should go as regards fabric treatment. Basically, I'm still pondering whether to wash the dupioni or not.
This was discussed on my favourite sewing boards before... It was said that washing dupioni will make it lose its luster. But is that a big deal ? I would really not mind myself if it was less shiny. I might like it even better, not to mention the practicality of a washable gown.
So, is it done to wash dupioni? Will it just make it less shiny, or will I end up with a lumpy, ruined fabric?

Of course, it would be easier to test a sample of the fabric, but I want to make sure I have enough fabric leftover to make a few matching accessories (stole, purse, hair accessories).

I hope some sewing divas can advise me... Thank you!

I am so happy to be starting this gown.

Birthday Goodness

Hi everyone!

Thank you for the wonderful response to my last post. This, along with the news I was sharing in that post, helped me go through this week - I was alone, but definitely not lonely. Thank you, friends.

My birthday was more than a week ago, but I still haven't posted about the gifts I received. Sylvie had told me her package would come a wee bit later (you'll soon understand why!), and I thought I'd wait for it before posting the birthday goodness that reached my mailbox this year!

I'll go in chronological order, starting with the pretty, pretty heart that Karen stitched and impeccably finished for me:

It is so fresh and feminine, isn't it?
Eyelet lace is a favourite of mine... I love it!

Karen is a bit naughty, as I'd asked everyone here not to make me anything this year... Yet she's such a dear friend, I couldn't possibly owe her a grudge now, could I? Thank you Karen, you already know how much I like this heart - it hangs on the wall above my desk and I can gaze at it while working, whenever my eyes need some rest from the computer. :)

My friend Doris in Alsace sent me a lovely parcel. I don't want to overload this post with pictures, so you can see all the goodies she sent me on my French blog. I'll just share here the gorgeous sewing case that she stitched - again, in my favourite shades:

Bisous to you, Doris!

At the beginning of the week I received two lovely surprises from a couple of French friends:
Marianne sent me this cute kitty:

Is she begging for cuddles or for food? Both, don't you think?
Thank you Marianne :)

Renée stitched this very apt bookmark:

(The Lord is my strength and my song)
From Psalm 117/118, which I sang at Easter!
Thank you Renée...

Last... but definitely not least... came Sylvie's parcel. Many of you know that Sylvie is my dearest friend, not merely online, but in "real life" as well, and I believe the feeling is mutual :)
Sylvie has a very busy schedule. Besides her regular job, she follows a training which involves a lot of work. Despite my asking her to concentrate on her own stitching instead of spending time stitching for me, Sylvie did not stitch one, but two gifts for me... her gifts did not involve simple stitching, but tiny over-one stitching... and one of those gifts, as you shall see, bespeaks an incredible amount of work and minute care.

To say I gasped would be an understatement - I was actually in tears when I had finished opening all the packages. Mind you, I'm not a big weeper. I can be teary-eyed when I'm moved, but having tears rolling down my cheeks involves a whole other level of emotion.

Sylvie even made the card - isn't she multi-talented?

I started by opening this sweet little pinkeep - little only because it's stitched over one.

Then I found a darling cat potholder (that shall decorate the kitchen rather than be used) and the gorgeous threads. I'd never seen or touched Gloriana threads before, and they are scrumptious.

Then... There was this.

This is the most exquisite piece of stitching and finishing I have ever seen...
And Sylvie stitched it for me! Can you imagine?
I just can't figure out how she ever had the heart to give it away.

(Yes, the beautiful scissors were part of the gift, too - actually this is why Sylvie didn't manage to post her package earlier, because the scissors were late in coming.)

Thinking of all the care she put into this... of the many, many hours of stitching and then assembling... Examining all the tiny details... I just couldn't help crying.
(((((Sylvie)))))

No, with all the love pouring into my virtual and real mailbox, I could definitely not feel lonely this week!

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

My Joys

Dear friends,
Many of you have been concerned about me lately, and I believe I owe it to you to reassure you somehow. While the last few weeks have certainly not been the happiest, I do remain deeply grateful for many, many wonderful things that have been going on in my life. Yes, my heart is heavy about my Grandma, and I think about her all the time; however, it would be sinful to overlook some other essential blessings.

Here are my deepest joys lately (and not so lately):

Seb's and my continued path towards an ever deepening understanding, tolerance, esteem and love of each other, that shall lead to our wedding next August.
Seb's freely deciding to embark on this for me - for us - in spite of his own beliefs or disbeliefs. Because, even though he personally didn't feel the need to get married (love is such an intimate, personal thing, and we don't need ours to be written anywhere to make it any truer), he acknowledges that I wouldn't be "me" if it weren't for my faith - I wouldn't love him the way I do, if it weren't for Him. Sébastien wouldn't want me any different. And he knows how much it means to me - acknowledging the place of God in our love, in our story.

Seb's and my parents' happiness at our telling them last week that we were getting married in August.
Their understanding at our not telling them earlier, although we've been spiritually preparing ourselves for more than a year, and meeting regularly with a priest for the last 6-7 months. Seb needed us to be "on our own" in our preparation, so that we could feel utterly free and unbiased in our decisions.
(Which is also why I haven't told anyone of you earlier, although there were times when I really wanted to - and I hope you will understand...)
Their understanding of our absolute wish for a no-fuss wedding - we just can't bear to be in the spotlights and be made a fuss about. The marriage is what matters to us, not the wedding.

Here are some other daily joys in my life:
the pictures of Robin that my sister sends me several times a week, such as this one:

I am so grateful for the Internet. It allows me to follow Robin every day, despite the distance.

A couple of mini-movies my brother-in-law just sent me, from a couple of weeks ago (at the countryside), where I singsong lullabies and Irish ballads to Robin... who sometimes wants to sing along.

Your continued kindness and support. Thank you for being such kind and thoughtful friends! That is a great joy, as well. My life would be very different without you.

Having finally everything ready to make my wedding dress: pattern, fabric, lining, muslin fabric, and a couple of great books.
I'll be telling you more about it later - actually, there are probably going to be quite a number on posts about it. Although it is to be a very simple gown (I can't picture myself in anything else), I would really like it to be full of little details that bespeak my passion for sewing. Details my Mamie would be proud of. If I don't attempt my very, very best for my own wedding gown, then when shall I, right?

By the way... This is the special project for which I started the boutique! The funds are going towards the gown's material, the rings, etc.

Love to you all