Simplicity 1459 completed and worn

 So Halloween, Thanksgiving and now Christmas has come and gone.  It's about to be a brand new year and I am excited.  I look forward to see what will come my way.  So many more projects, ideas and ufo's that needs to be completed and worn. 
So now let me get started on a project that took two years to complete and that's the Halloween Dress.  I am so happy with the results.  I extended the collar about two inches in width because I wanted it to make a statement since it's more of a costume than an everyday garment, but, with the design of the print  I realized it got lost in translation.  Meaning that the change was not noticeable, at all.

 

I was suppose to make a belt to match the dress, but I didn't have the time nor did I care to do that.  The dress itself was so busy and making a matching belt would seem pointless.  Plus, buying a belt is so much more convenient. If I had more options I probably would pick a belt with a simpler buckle. The gold kind of clashed to me when worn without the sweater, add the sweater and everything seems to flow.

 

 You know it's weird how I have a sloper but fail to realize that I still have not made a sway back adjustment.  Oh well, I enjoyed wearing this dress and my family totally loved it.  I hope to make more for every Halloween and maybe throw in a few dresses for other Holidays too. 

Hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday's.  Have a Merry Christmas and an awesome New Year.
A.S.

Mother said....

" You may be my passion, but you are not my purpose."  
I needed to hear those words.  I was feeling kind of off lately and wanted to be inspired by something, anything to get me going.  When I spoke to my mom about how I was feeling, she told me not to worry, things have a way of just working out on it's own. I may love a person, idea, dream or desire but it only works with true inspiration it can only flourish in it's own time.  She told me to also surround myself in a new environment, not let myself be stagnant and wait.  New environment can renew the mind, body and spirit (or start something new altogether).  She is so wise. I love that lady she always put me back on track, when things seems like they are falling apart.  She is why I love being me.  Thanks Mom.

I made it from scratch......

Hello Everyone,
  As usual I was inspired by a dress I saw on Pinterest, and thought to myself.  I can do that.  Wellll, I kind of did.  I wanted a colorful dress with an African print (Ankara Fabric)but what I envisioned and what came about are two different stories.  Have you heard this before?
Don't get me wrong. I love my dress, I love all my waders.  They are like dysfunctional children, they might be loud, rambunctious, rude and sometimes inappropriate but their yours.  So damn it, I claim it, I love it and I am going to have to keep it.  Quiet frankly, no one else want's it....lol.

So here she is in all her glory....

This is my attempt in creating ruffles.  Can you see it?

 

Anyway, that's it for now.  I have sewn quiet a few things so expect some more interesting experiments. 

Hope all is well,

A.S. 

Human Moments: Hidden Anger

Today was a very emotional day for me.  I am not sure if this only happens to me but there are times when something seemingly insignificant happens, turns into a chaotic, crazed, wrathful experience. 

I was in the middle lane of the highway and decided to change lanes to the furthest left.  Mind you I checked ensure there was enough room and signaled before merging into the left lane.  Then I changed lanes.  Now this is important right here because there is a belief you did something right followed protocol /procedure that you will get the right results.  But, no the person who was a good distance away decided to speed up change lanes and cut right in front of me.  I am not sure if the person was claiming position/territory, but I usually don’t let things of this nature get to me.  I do live in New York after all.

Something snapped, broke. (The nature of expectation.) I don’t know if I was holding too much in (being always cautious and careful).  Me always being rational, reasonable and usually just calm.  Me the stable, focus, emotionally intact human being lose it?  I lost it over something trivial, insignificant, an everyday occurrence.  What happened?  Who was I?  All I know I got dark fast, something took over my mind, spirit, body…I was so just done.  I tried to talking myself, but the more I talked the angrier I got.  At some point I started to pray but prayer turned into a rageful rant.  I was so frustrated angry, upset but most dangerously important I was vengeful.

I wanted to get her back in the worst way.  I mean car crashed into a wall of flames burnt body parts spewed all over the concrete ground. The darkness wouldn’t move it persist, it stayed and I knew I had to turn to God.   Something was eating me up and it wasn’t this.  I wanted to allow myself this small victory and even when I passed her for a brief moment. I refused to engage in battle, I wasn’t going to allow this to turn me into something I knew I wasn’t.  Because I realized it wasn’t about her.

My rage is coming from a place allot deeper.  The road represented my journey, my eagerness to get to my destination.( I knew this because in the midst of my rant I kept thinking about all the times I have been neglected, used, abused and not taken into consideration.)  Although I wasn’t being cut off from it but delayed and in my hurry I couldn’t afford the distraction, I couldn’t afford the hesitation.  

I didn’t want it to be in the obstacle but that’s life and I was tired, tired and fed up with being good, patient, and kind.  Fed up with being overlooked tired of feeling insignificant and insecure.  I cried and I raged, cried and raged some more. 

After I regained my composure.  I knew what would have been considered a breakdown was a breakthrough. Instead of allowing the situation to be an embarrassing incident, I knew it was an opportunity to let it all out.  My frustration, fear, anxiety, disappointment come through to the surface.  I had to let the tears fall because I need that cleansing.

How I wore B4790

Wow!  It's been three years since I made this dress and I finally got the courage to wear it.  Honestly, I didn't know how I was going to wear it until I purchased my red sweater.  I originally had the McCall's dress in mind when I bought the sweater but found that it can also be used for the Butterick dress.

Everyone at work complimented the look...I have to admit I kind of liked it myself.  My only regret is that I couldn't really show the back portion of the dress. It's actually the main focus but, oh well.
More to come.
A.S.

McCall's 6696

Hello Everybody,
  I just wanted to stop by and say hello.  Plus I am overdue for a post.  I finished two versions of McCall's 6696 but wasn't able to post any pics because I wasn't satisfied with the results.  But, I can't wait on perfect conditions, hairstyles, make-up and etcetera, so here it is....

I can't tell you how much I love this pattern. The style, cut and variety is just amazing and it fits me perfectly.  I had to make minor adjustments here and there but nothing dramatic.  The only thing I would change is the placements of the darts, but even when I tried to alter my bust darts according to my sloper it still landed in a strange place. 
Well that's it for now....I still have a great deal of things to work on and others I have to post soon.  Since I am still learning how to use my new computer it might take me awhile, but expect some more post on my new and old but never shown garments. 
Hope all is well,
A.S.

More like me.....

Hello Everyone,

As of late I have been thinking about how I can change my blog to represent a more accurate portrayal of who I am and how I think.  In the last seven years of attempting to make garments I realized that I am not a fast sewer, but more importantly I am more than a working progress in constructing garments.  I am working progress as a woman.  I see myself in the midst of allot of changes and I want to bring that into my passion, my world, my love which is sewing.  By all means I am far from where I want to be but I am far from where I started.  Thank God. 

This really began when I was watching a youtube channel and I had a particular fondness for an individual which I aspired to be.  I haven’t watched her video in a long time so I decided to make a quick visit.  I realized who I once was and who I am now may have altered my perception of who and how she now fits in my life.  I realized I grew out of a certain phase, but more alarming I realized that in a way she would have been a toxic contamination in my life if I followed her mind-set, attitude and lifestyle.  It wasn’t necessarily in her behavior, it wasn’t in her message, it wasn’t even her intent.  Honestly in her own way she tries to advise, give tips and even encourage others.   In my transition in life I have become more centered and knowledgeable about what is good for me and what needs to change. 

As of late I have been praying a great deal and trying to build a solid relationship with the Lord.  I can only assume that has a huge impact on how I now see things.  One thing I have noticed is a prostitution of oneself….meaning people who are selling themselves for a price.  In my years of growing up I have watched loved ones offer themselves over for a cheap thrill, recognition, protection and most importantly validation.  I am beginning to understand the true value of self-worth and respect.  You can never purchase, enhance, change or manipulate the source of who I am and what I believe.  If I am truly in a good place with myself and I cherish who I am then I cannot betray my principles for anyone’s convenience. Believe me this is not coming from a better than thou mindset.  It comes from a place of concern.

I am not talking about little girls who going out there proving to their peers how bad or good they are.  I am talking about grown women. WOMEN!!!!!!  As in above and way beyond legal age.  How did this happen?  How did mature, educated, knowledgeable women become…….(I leave it at that).  How do you claim to love yourself when you don’t even know your worth?  I see them invest in new clothes, hair, makeup, shoes, jewelry but never seem to take the time to discover themselves.  I see them invest in their education get their bachelor, masters and some even Ph.D.’s but as educated and intelligent as they are ….no work on self-actualization.

Now how does that relate to the video’s I used to watch?   I realized that all of us grow old but some of us never grow up.  Intellectually, we can rationalize things and make sense of a situation.  But our emotional I.Q. our development as individuals may have taken the backseat of our lives.  Like I stated before and I will state it again…I am not here to judge.  I am only aware because of the changes I need to make in my life, which requires me to be selective as to who I follow and who I will lead. 

Anyway on that note.

More thoughts by me to you,

A.S.

Sunday's Best (my version of Fable)...and McCall's

Hello everyone,
 I know it's been awhile but I have exciting news I have finally finished my first dress McCall's 6696....and I am totally pleased. I have a few pics of the garment up-close...it's really just to give an idea of what it looks like.  I will be wearing it soon so I will have pics of it in action. 

  Plus, I  have finally worn my version of fable for Sunday mass and it was an experience. There really isn't anything wrong with it per se. I just realized that it fit the occasion but did not compliment my body.  The proportion is really off.  I wonder if I were to use another fabric for this pattern will it look and feel better.  I need to make some adjustments so I guess the only way to find out is if I sew another version of it. Which is something I look forward too. So here are a few pics of my attire.  I hope all is well with everyone and I will be posting the second version of McCall's in the upcoming weeks.

Update on construction of McCall's 6696...and the wannabe fable jacket.

 

Hello Everyone,

 It's been awhile but things are slowly progressing.  So far I have finished my version of the fable jacket.  I have some reservations about the look of the  jacket because it looked nothing like I imagined, but,  I do like the fit and the concept behind it.  Will I make another version?  No.  It took to long and the material was very fussy.  Every time I would get back to sewing different parts of the jacket it would grow and not just grow in the sense that it needs a little alteration here and there, it was inches of fabric appearing in different parts of the jacket.  I had so much fabric to cut out, it became ridiculous.  Which made me come to terms with my fabric choice, although it seemed like an awesome idea,  I should of left it at that... an idea.

 

 



 

 And here what I have so far for my McCalls 6696.  I love how this shirtdress is coming out. 

I struggled with this one because I added to many inches in the bodice forgetting that there is a front placket to be added.  It's a good thing this situation can be resolved easily. The next version is being cut out so I will be posting on how I altered this version differently from my last one. Let's see how that turns out.
Hope all is well,
A.S.

Spring Sewing 2015

Hello All,
     As of late I have been doing the sewing jumble juggle...I can't seem to keep focus on one project.  Every time I look into my pile of patterns, something always jumps out at me.  So I decided since I am inspired to do so many things, I will have to find a way to organize myself and see where this journey takes me.  So my Thursdays are cutting out pattern days, Fridays are measuring and altering days and Saturdays are cutting out fabric days.  You notice there is no sewing day right, yeah I guess it's just going to happen when the sewing bug bites until then I will just have to wait. But when I think about it.... that's a great thing, I am doing of all the hard work now and get to do the fun stuff later.
So here are a few pics on what I am working on and some things I got from Jo-Ann.

So we have this little number here McCall's 6696.  Which is a dress I wanted to do for a long time, but was intimidated by the buttonholes.  I figure at this point in my sewing journey I can take a leap of faith and try to make this dress happen.  Plus the fabric I have in my stash been waiting so long to be used it would be a shame to let this opportunity pass.

I love this cotton fabric it's so vibrant and fun...I know this is going to be an awesome experiment...I mean dress.

This is another favorite of mine....I love the different shades of blue.  But I really love the idea that it reminds me of a tourist shirt.  I can't wait to make this happen.

I used my sloper to make the appropriate adjustments to my pattern.

Since Simplicity was having a sale. I decided to pick up a few patterns.

 And here is my ultimate favorite.  While watching a movie I was inspired to create this top.  I  don't know how or why Hell Raiser 3 could encourage me in any way to make such a docile but cute top, but hey I am happy some sewing mojo was being conjured up during it's viewing. I mean huh?  No leather, no spikes, no chains.  But, ANYTHING! At this point to get something going.

  Well that's it for now. 
A.S.

Construction Update

Here are a few pics of the jacket I am working on. So far it looks nothing I had in mind but I still like it.









Well this is the parting shot.  Hope all is well.  Later, A.S.

Hello Again

Hello Everyone,
  This post is going to be pic heavy...so I hope no one minds looking at a few updated pics.   Forgive the random pic order.  I was having a difficult time adding my pictures on this blog.  According to this website my picture gallery had to be updated.  I sometimes hate technology.
This was one of my Sunday's Best Outfit.



This was an outfit I wore for my sister's surprise birthday. 




My Halloween dress...almost done.




You remember my Beautiful FrankenHulk Top well it took me awhile but I finally found the perfect sweater for her.  Isn't she lovely?


I leave that for all of you out there to judge.  I personally love her because I used techniques on her that I had not tried before and in that sense she is a success but as far as design...hmph.  I still will wear her.  Like I state before and I'll state it again....NO ROOM FOR WADERS!


That's it for now. 
Later,
A.S.

2015...ALREADY!

Wow!  It’s been about six months since I posted anything on this blog.   I really have no excuse, I am an awful blogger.  It’s not because I have been lazy I literally can’t keep up with the amount of ideas/concepts I want to work on.  Every week I am trying to work on a new muslin for a top or outfit that I want to create, unfortunately when you have your hands in too many things nothing gets done.

That’s why I am happy I have a sewing instructor to keep me organized and focus.  She loves the fact that I have grown as far as creating designs and pattern making, but I think I sometimes exhaust her…just a little bit.  (Which I think is a good thing.)

2015 so far has been a decent year as far as sewing is concerned.  I am ninety percent done with my Halloween dress….which has been in my closet for the last three months.  I have to hem the dress, add buttons and either create a belt or buy one.  I think I am going to buy one. 

Then I started a new jacket, which I am really excited about.  I made the muslin for it, cut out and sewed the bodice together.  Now, I am working on the collar and sleeves.  I love this jacket because it was an inspired piece from pyramidcollection.com I believe it's called fable. I don't think they sell this particular item anymore, sad really.    My version is created from curtains that I got from a 5 dollar bin.  Hey, I do what works for me. 

Anyway that is it for right now.  Hopefully sooner than later I will update everyone on what I am doing and maybe post the things that I have done.