Tuesday, March 6, 2012

This and That

Thanks for all your nice comments about my Roland Mouret dress.

Gail asked "I'm interested in the back insert. “Did you add over the top of the back or cut out and insert as a block?"

I thought I had put a description of how I attached the back in the post, but when I checked, it was nowhere to be found. It probably got deleted when I was moving pictures around.

Anyway I attached the back over the dress. I turned under the seam allowance on the back pieces and hand basted it to the dress, using a tiny catch stitch along the folded edge where the seam allowance was turned under. Then on the inside, I machine stitched in the fold. I was able to get to the seam allowance of the basted piece because it was not attached at the neckline yet and the fabric was very stretchy, Finally I basted the neckline of the back piece to the neckline of the dress and attached the collar.

Diana
gave me the Versatile Blogger Award.


To accept you follow these rules:

• Add the award to your blog
• Thank the blogger who gave it to you
• Mention 7 random things about yourself
• List the rules
• Give the award to 15 bloggers
• Inform each of those 15 bloggers by leaving a comment on their blog .

Thanks Diana,

Random Things

• I am an introvert and happily spend time by myself. In fact I need that time, which my family refers to as “Mom’s Piddle Time” or I get very grouchy. For people who like to describe this behavior as antisocial, because they live with and don't understand introverts,  I recommend  reading this excellent article called. Caring for Your Introvert

• My dream job was the summer of 1979 during college in the Engineering dept of Hershey Chocolate. I liked the job itself, and the perks included a huge container of “all you can eat” chocolate bars that was refilled twice a week. There was a company fitness center across the street with an Olympic swimming pool and an indoor track to work those fat bars off. My current employer offers its employees free product too, but I don’t take any since I don’t smoke, dip or chew.

• I also worked as kitchen help at a Girl Scout camp one summer. We had to choose a camp name, which is what we were called all summer. I chose Skunky. I think it is ironic that I now have wide white streaks of pure white running through my dark brown hair. What I took away from this particular job is never, ever work in an all female environment. OMG! And you know the theory the menstrual cycles of women living together will eventually synchronize. I swear it is true.


• My fabric stash is huge due to lots of years of two incomes, no kids. I have a room that looks like something on a Hoarder show. My sister assures me that it is just a very large, disorganized collection, and collecting is different than hoarding.

• I love to sit in a public venue and observe people. At a mall, a bench on the boardwalk, at a sewing expo. I look at families and try to figure out what parent the kids resemble and look for patterns in body shapes, postures etc.

• I am a tea drinker. The hotter and blacker the better. No namby pamby flavored teas for me. I buy it in bulk from internet sites and use an infuser to make cup after cup. Did you know there are now recipes for meat rubs, sauces and puddings that include tea?


• I met my husband at a college dorm party that my roommate forced me to attend. (see number 1 above) Future DH was trying to get the party going and he was making his way around the room asking every girl to dance. I was the first one to say yes. He was taller than me and had long shiny shoulder length blond hair (it was 1975).  Not exactly a romantic “meet” but we have been together for over 30 years.

Here are some blogs from my Google Reader list that I enjoy reading, and that I have not yet seen in other Versatile Blogger lists.

Adriana live in Costa Rico, She is a fashion designer specialized in custom made wedding and evening gowns. She makes gorgeous creations for her clients and shares how she drafts the patterns. I also enjoy her pictures of the local flora.
Janine is an Australian who loves to sew and is a fellow tea lover.
Kelli is a young mother living in Midwest She is super creative and blogs about sewing clothing, makes jewelry and refashioning garments.
AnaJan live in Belgrade, Serbia. Her patterns and sewn garments have been featured on the BurdaStyle site and in their books, and also in Sew News magazine.
Lynn sews lovely garments and is a wiz at finding great thrifted garment and incorporating them into her wardrobe.

My current project is a raincoat, inspired by these ads. Because obviously I don’t have to wear any other clothes if I have a fabulous raincoat.

 And gorgeous men will flock to me when I wear a raincoat.

Aren't they a hoot! Actually the rainy spring weather is inspiring this sewing project. This is what I have made
so far.


Hmm you say, that looks more like a long vest than a raincoat. You are right. Here is the pattern I am using.
 See if you can discover 'the twist" to this pattern.

11 comments:

  1. The cropped jacket goes over the vest...very kewl! And I loved these new insights into you...but I have to admit that when I met you I never realized that you were an introvert!

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  2. What a fun pattern for a trench coat.
    Being an introvert myself (married to a very social man) I am very thankful to you for linking the article.

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  3. So that is three garments in one, a vest, a shrug and a raincoat. I like multi-purpose clothes.
    I just can't imagine when I would wear sleeveless or cropped jackets from rainproof fabric...

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  4. Let me confirm the menstrual cycle thing. Many years ago, I worked in an office with four other women. After a while we found out our cycles were all at the same time. One woman hadn't had her period for over a year, until she came to work with us. We got her back in sync.

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  5. The twist is the little over jacket. Very interesting. Enjoyed reading your insights. Being an extrovert married to an introvert, I completely understand. I will read your reference to the article on introverts though.

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  6. That was very nice of you to mention me ! I understand about the introversion - my family are very understanding about the time I need to spend alone - when I get home from work the first thing I need to do is have a cup of tea and 15-30 minutes alone to unwind my brain. However not everyone does understand introversion and can misinterpret this.

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  7. It was a pleasure to read more about you. The introversion thing made me re-think about myself: I too need some time on my own, and frequently find other people very tiring and I generally enjoy being alone. Sometimes I avoid some of my neighbors because I find small-talking with them really exhausting. However, until now I've never thought of myself as of an introvert, because I enjoy talking and discussing when the topic and the interlocutor are interesting. The article was eyes opening, I found myself in almost every description :).
    Thanks for passing me the award!

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  8. Thanks for the shout-out, Audrey! I love your blog, and always enjoy the great planning and thought you put into your garments. AND LOL about not wearing any clothes under a raincoat! How perfect! Actually, I once did wear a raincoat without anything under it....I just may have to share that airport story some time!

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  9. Oh wow, I love that pattern! Imagine, you could even make your coat two-tone, vest in one color, shrug in another. I actually might look into that one. Thanks.

    I'm also an introvert but I need to know that I can be around people when I need to. Otherwise it can be lonely.

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  10. I wouldn't have pegged you for an introvert, I think based on your fearless fashion sense and...your height! Which is silly, of course. I am not a mouse because of my height, either (though I am definitely an introvert).

    I went to a Girl Scout camp where the counselor's real names (I almost wrote "adult," but I now realize they were just teenagers!) were the huge mystery and intrigue of the summer. It was fun!

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  11. I really enjoyed reading more about you -- thank you for sharing! I'm a big fan of alone time, and love that sewing and knitting give me time to just be in my own space. My mom is a complete extrovert who always needs to be around people and socialize -- wonder if that's one reason why she dislikes sewing.

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