Circle skirt madness continues

As promised, here's my second circle skirt made for my recent business trip, with fabric picked up from my Vogue Fabrics excursion. This is some kind of mystery polka-dot stuff...it feels *almost* like a very light fleece? (That does not sound like an attractive thing to make a skirt out of. I promise, it is.) I'm not really sure, but it's pretty warm, and soft, and only cost about $1.50/yard from the bargain table, so....

I took some inspiration from Handmade Jane for the color choices (damn you, Ribbet, screwing up the colors again - the first pic is more true-to-life than the second one) - navy, red, and white are so classic and so so cute. This one came together much more easily than the last one - it didn't stretch out nearly as much on the dress form, so there was less evening out to do (but using the proper technique from the beginning definitely helped!).

Again, another good circle skirt great for layering with fleece leggings. I made this one a bit smaller than the gray one, and it does fit much better. I should have interfaced the waistband, though. This is all unlined, but doesn't seem to stick to my leggings much, if at all. One of these days I'll get around to making a slip, though.

More twirling, because I can't resist. You can see a bit of green bias tape sticking out (you guys, this is my new favorite thing, I just stocked up at Hobby Lobby's 1/2 price sale!). It's what I had on hand, and I really like the extra peek of color!

And just for fun, I'll leave you with a pic of Will "helping" me cut this out, which also allows a better view of the polka dots. :)

What do you think - for or against circle skirts?

Circle skirt madness

As mentioned in my last post, I've been on a bit of a skirt-sewing kick, especially since I needed more work-appropriate wear for my recent business trip. Since I finally got my mom to photograph me in my most recent makes, I can share skirt #1 of Vogue fabric-buying madness! This was my *worst* deal: 2 yards of gray wool blend for about $10.

It's inexcusably wrinkly thanks to having been packed away for a while, but I like it! I used the By Hand London circle skirt calculator to make this one (my first ever!) and am pretty pleased with the result. The waistband isn't interfaced (because I was too lazy), and it ended up being a bit big, but it was definitely a good start.

I used a zipper I already had on hand - not invisible, but I don't think it looks too bad. I am gradually getting better at inserting them, too, even though this blend had a bit of stretch. I cut out and sewed this up pretty quickly, but when it came time to let it hang and even up the hem, I almost threw it in the trash out of frustration. After getting what I'd thought was a perfectly even hem, I used single-fold bias binding for the first time ever and was thrilled with how much easier it was than I thought, and with how nicely the hem turned out...until I realized how uneven it was and that I'd have to rip out about 6 yards of it.

My brand new (to me), lovely dress form helped out, but it wasn't until *after* I'd finished this one that I learned the secrets (thanks to Gertie). All in all, though, it's perfect for winter - warm and heavy (but not too heavy!), and I can twirl like a princess in it. ;-)

One skirt down, three to go!

Excuses, excuses!

Hi there! Long time no talk, huh? I *have* been hard at work lately, but the few hours of daylight we get aren't exactly conducive to being able to photograph things. Neither is the fact that I was rushing to get some (i.e. three) skirts done a few weeks ago before my big business trip! (I feel like such a grown-up saying that. As you can probably tell by my use of the phrase "grown-up," I am not.)

Since I've officially given up on my stash-busting pledge, I've been buying fabric pretty maniacally lately. Sure, I can usually resist the overpriced junk at JoAnn, but Hancock is another story. My latest and greatest find there were these lovely flower prints. Originally $13/yard, they were marked down 90% (!), AND I had another 20% off coupon, making them practically free (at least, that's what I have to tell myself).

[Forgive the blurry pic. I'd been meaning to photograph these for a while for this post, and finally decided this morning in the dark that I couldn't put it off any longer.]

A week before I picked these up, I headed to the Vogue Fabrics Warehouse sale in Evanston. It'd been on my calendar for months, and I was so looking forward to scooping up some fabric by the pound like I did the last time I visited (a few years ago now). To my disappointment, the only by-the-pound pricing they had was on scraps. I certainly don't need any more of those, and didn't need 20+ yards of any one particular fabric on the bolt, either, so I walked away (mostly) empty-handed. I did pick up a couple small pieces of leather, but I think that was it.


Vogue has a retail store near their wholesale one, though, so I stopped by to look there and ended up finding some great bargains! I'll be sharing most of those with you later, but for today, I need your help!

By the time I realized that I *had* to have these Anthropologie cardigans, they were all sold out. I've found a couple for sale on eBay, but can't justify spending $70 on a used article of clothing that's not even guaranteed to fit. So, my question to you is - have you seen any fabrics that are even remotely similar? I've been searching high and low for watercolor/floral fabrics, but can't find anything that resembles these in the slightest. I'd appreciate all of the help I can get in tracking something down!

Rainbow stash-busting

Well, after almost 9 months, it's finally done!

As usual, it's far from perfect, but I don't care, I love it!

I've talked about this a couple of times in the past, but it was inspired by this beauty:

[Hope Valley quilt by Jolene Klassen]

For once, almost all of the fabrics I used were from the stash, woohoo! I only bought 1/4 yard for this project specifically. All of the colored fabric was stuff that's been sitting around for quite a while, and the white on the front and the blue binding were recent stash acquisitions as part of a HUGE quilter's auction. 

I think Will (my new kitten, yay!) approves, don't you? 

This was definitely a labor of love, and impatience. While I certainly see a lot of flaws with this quilt, no one else seems to, and I did learn quite a bit. I'm already eagerly looking forward to making another...my Pinterest board is overflowing with ideas. I just can't decide where to start. What do you think?

Breaking resolutions

I'm thinking I might need to change the name of this blog, and my commitment to Stash Diet 2014...while I think I've used more of my fabric stash during the first half of this year than all previous years combined, I have also not stayed very true to my "no-buying" rule. Hancock Fabrics is my downfall, but I've also bought a few things here and there at JoAnn (it's much easier for me to put things back there, though!). In my defense, I've already used quite a bit of the fabrics I've bought at Hancock and at the Textile Discount Outlet (and I used restraint when purchasing there!), but still.

This weekend, however, I just couldn't help myself. I occasionally browse Craigslist looking for patterns, fabric, and various other sewing accoutrements, and this weekend I stumbled across what was billed as a GIANT fabric (/estate) sale, with things going for rock-bottom prices. I briefly debated not going, but in the end, the pull was just too strong. 

Giddy with anticipation, I pulled up to the house, got out of my car, walked into the yard...and stumbled upon probably 20 boxes PACKED with fabric...and this was halfway through the second day of the sale! I quickly filled up two bags of odds and ends, mostly quilting-weight cotton (we all know I don't have a problem making clothes from it at this point). The people running it said they'd give me a price when I was ready, so I wandered into the very chaotic house. Inside, I found loads of bias binding, zippers, and some brand new rolls of quilt batting. (I realized after I left that they also billed that there were sewing machines for sale, but I forgot to ask/didn't see them while I was there. Kicking myself for that now!) Once I was ready, I asked for a price, hoping I had enough cash to cover it...And he told me $10! For all of this (and then some)!

Needless to say, I will be busy/stocked for the foreseeable future. 

I have been working on things, but have not quite gotten the motivation to photograph them yet. I've got another pair of culottes that, for some reason, are a bit too tight in the crotch, and yesterday I finished a Modcloth-inspired peplum top. However, once I tried it on, I realized that there's a reason I don't wear peplum, so now I need to figure out how to modify it. Them's the breaks, I guess...

I'll try to post more regularly in the next month or so, before my big move disrupts all of my crafty pursuits.