Another Kwik Sew 2565 Quartet

Yes, more of them. But a basic T shirt is pretty versatile and they make great layering pieces. I finished this group up yesterday after a marathon session of coverstitching.

This time, I was able to get some picture of me wearing them, with various levels of success. But then, I never claimed to be a professional model or photographer!

This one was made from a remnant I had left over from another T I made several years ago when I first got the pattern. The original is long gone, but I had just enough for another version. The fabric came from Emma One Sock and is a cotton and lycra blend.

The fabric for this one came from Gorgeous Fabrics and is a very soft rayon. I think this one may end up as a layering piece. Although rayon is nice to work with and very comfortable to wear, it tends to be clingy.

Another fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics. This one is a poly matte jersey. The color in real life is darker, what I'd refer to as an American Beauty Rose shade.

This fabric is from Jo-Ann's. It's a bit thin, so will be another layering piece, but I really loved the print.

I think I've located a current Kwik Sew pattern that's pretty similar to  my TNT 2565. I haven't sewn it yet but it may be worth trying.

A Visit to Portland OR

Last weekend, I headed up to Portland for a meet up with several delightful ladies for a weekend of fashion, food, and fun! I really needed a break and this getaway really hit the spot for me

First up, some shopping. Georgene and I headed off to the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store, the one with actual fabrics, located at 8500 SE McLoughlin Blvd. We both did a lot of damage to our wallets there! Following are some of the goodies I picked up.

Silk prints,

cotton shirting,

a remnant of Pendleton's signature wool,

and notions. Clockwise are felt binding, faux suede binding, and denim piping.

The fabrics were precut and discounted from the prices on the labels. In addition, I picked up a scarf that you'll see later. Definitely worth the taxi fare.

After Pendleton, we met with the rest of the group as they were finishing lunch at Habibi, a Lebanese place. I shared a few bites and it was fabulous, yum!

After, some of us headed to saysay, a nearby boutique. I picked up a pair of tights (which I forgot to photograph--trust me, they're cute!). I also got a wonderful handbag that can be worn two ways. Here's the bag all together.

The inner bag can also be worn by itself with a shoulder strap.

The scarf in the above pictures is the cotton scarf I got at Pendleton. I love the Pacific Northwest Native American design of hummingbirds.

But we weren't done yet! Off to Nordstrom Rack, where we had to look at (and buy) shoes. These are the ones I got. This pair was marked "Brookline" on the tag, a brand I'm not familiar with, but I did like the Fluvog/Tsubo look. They are also surprisingly comfortable.

The other pair is Bernie Mev, which I've liked since seeing Shams' pair last year in Santa Fe. Very light and comfortable. All those strips are elastic. 

After a brief respite at our home away from home, Hotel DeLuxe, we headed out for an Italian dinner at Piattino in the Pearl District. I think we overwhelmed the place, but we had a great time as you can see. Mardel, Liana, Jan, me, Rosie, Ann, Margy, Patti, Shams, and Georgene.

Saturday and breakfast at Cheryl's on 12th.  A hearty, delicicious breakfast and lots of coffee prepared us for our journey into fashion at ...

the Portland Art Museum! We arrived before it opened and had some time to explore the sculpture garden. Margy and Shams with a sculpture that matched their ensembles.

And then the doors opened for the show,

The exhibit was a very comprehensive review of Italian fashion, with several galleries over 2 floors. Alas, no photos allowed inside, but the catalog arrived Saturday (yay!).

Of course, more shopping around after the museum. We all wound up at the Button Emporium, since pretty much all of us sew. It's a very well stocked place, but it made me realize that I already have a lot of buttons. I really couldn't choose and left without buying, although I did like browsing.

Jan and I broke off from the group when we noticed a "boutique" Goodwill nearby (838 10th Avenue). I bought an Eileen Fisher cardigan and a dupioni top from Chico's. I liked the concept and hope Albuquerque will open one of these soon. Yes, the items are a bit more expensive, but worth not having to hunt through racks and racks of clothes to find one nice thing.

After changing for dinner, we headed to Josephine's. It's a re-boot of the the venerable Portland fabric store that closed in 2013. The new store is in D Street Village and has a well-curated selection of fabrics. Below are Liana and Margy checking out the goods.

I bought a yard of Liberty Tana Lawn cotton that I fell in love with. Now I know why people go nuts for it. This print is called "Anna's Garden."

Next up, dinner at PokPok, a Thai restaurant. It's very popular but somehow Shams managed to get reservations for us! Here's Jan, me, Georgene, Ann, Patti, Mardel, and Liana.

Mardel and Liana again, Rosie, Shams, and Margy's(?) hand.

Interesting food and delicious drinks.

Since Ann, Georgene, Shams, and Rosie were leaving on Sunday, we did a show and tell after dinner with all our goodies. The front part of this pile is mine (yikes).

We had a farewell breakfast Sunday morning at the hotel's restaurant, Gracie's. Mardel, Liana, Jan and I went to Knit Purl. I didn't get anything since I'm "World's Slowest Knitter" and had already bought so much stuff, but it was a lovely store. Afterwards, we had dessert at Petunia's. I admit that I didn't have high hopes for a vegan and gluten free bakery, but the food was remarkably good! I had pie, a sliver of Mardel's cake, and a spoonful of Jan's mac and cheese.

We took in a movie since Dior and I was showing locally. It's a documentary of Raf Simon's first collection for the House of Dior, and quite good. We all appreciated that so much attention was given to the staff who make those beautiful couture garments.

One last meal, back at the hotel since we were all pretty tired at this point. Thanks Driftwood Lounge for having wonderful burgers and other items that we could make a meal of. And here we are: me, Margy, Mardel, Liana, Jan, and Patti!

Thanks to Patti and Shams for "herding cats" and putting this weekend together! And thanks to all who attended--Ann, Georgene, Jan, Liana, Rosie, Mardel, Margy, and Patti! I loved being with each and every one of you.

Other posts about our Portland weekend--Shams (here), Margy (here), and Mardel (here and here).

Kwik Sew 2565, Again

I hope you're not getting tired of seeing the many versions of this TNT. I know it pops up often, but when it's a wardrobe basic and tweaked exactly as wanted, what else can I do? At least the fabric is  different each time, as with this one:

I used an incredibly soft rayon knit from Gorgeous Fabrics that I bought this Spring.

I also added a slight mullet hem to this one, because a) I'm on a roll and b) the lower edge of the pattern is not absolutely straight due to a non-darted FBA. I'm at a slight angle in the photo; however the curve is actually centered.

The pants are the same Hudson Pant from TSW that I showed you in the last post. The linen was another purchase from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Revisiting the Eureka Top by TSW

I'm still not ready to let this pattern go so I made another out of the woven crinkle rayon that I used for the Asymmetrical Skirt. The crinkles approximate the stretch of a knit, and I still have a lot of it left over.

This time, I made a couple of changes. I left off the sleeve bands and simply turned up a narrow hem instead. I also made a slight "mullet" hem, with the back longer than the front, and turned up a narrow hem there as well.

The result is a very loose fitting, swingy top that I like better than the original.  It also makes a nice ensemble when combined with the skirt. Thanks for the suggestion,  Janine! Here are a few shots of that:

Also, I couldn't resist a Shams-style twirly shot so you can see the skirt in motion:

Yes, Summer is officially over, but it's still warm and it's fiesta time, so I'll still get some wear out of this before the weather gets too cool.

PS-the black pants are the Hudson Pant by The Sewing Workshop (aka TSW) made from linen I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics last year.

Fiberly Train to Santa Fe, Part One

If you read Facebook, you probably already know that I was in Santa Fe last weekend with several wonderful women (and my DH, who joined us for some of our activities). Some I already knew in real life, others I felt like I knew from the world of blogging.

The first to arrive was Sharon (or shams as she is known on her blog, Communing with Fabric). She arrived on Wednesday due to a scheduling glitch and spent the night at Casa DaQ. What a delight to finally meet her in person! I took her to the airport on Thursday so she could meet her roommate (Margy of A Fool for Fabric) and arrange for their rental car. But of course, we had to fabric shop first! We stopped by Nob Hill Fabrics and found some wonderful fabrics.

I'll leave it to Sharon to post her finds, but here are mine:

On the left, devore silk chiffon. On the right, a colorful linen print.

The historical La Fonda on the Plaza was our hotel for the weekend. I'm happy to report that the recent renovations have not spoiled its charm. The rooms are are still lovely, but upgraded. The most obvious changes were the new bathrooms, closet space, and carpet. The concierge told me that the rooms were taken back to the studs during renovations; you would never know. My room was on the 5th floor with a view of the Loretto Chapel next door:

Loretto Chapel

Once we got settled in, we headed over to Santa Fe Fabrics (twice!) for more fabric shopping. It's a smallish store but has a wonderful selection of fabric. Here I am with Liana of the Sew Intriguing blog, working out one of the store's samples:

I picked out a couple more selections while there:

On the left, a soft cotton print. On the right, fleece

Our group arrived at various times. Sharon, Margy, Liana,  Jan (no blog), and I arrived on Thursday. Patti (no blog), Ann (owner of Gorgeous Fabrics and its blog), and DH arrived on Friday. We window shopped around the Plaza and had a late lunch at the Thunderbird Grill. It's located on the second floor of its building with a great view of the Plaza and the Cathedral:

A view of the Plaza from the Thunderbird's balcony

That evening, off to the Coyote Cafe. Very fancy!

Saturday, we were mostly on our own. More shopping and dining. Back to Santa Fe Fabrics, with a detour to the Outlet Mall with Liana and Jan.  And lunch at Osteria d'Assisi for a delicious Italian repast:

From left: Liana, Sharon, Ann, Margy, me, and Jan 

In the evening, we visited the Cantina at La Casa Sena for a delicious dinner and entertainment. The staff performs Broadway show tunes in between waiting tables. What fun! We headed back to the hotel to hang out at the La Fiesta Lounge, its venerable bar. We spent the rest of the evening chatting and enjoying each other's company.

Sisters from Different Mothers: me. Liana, Patti, Ann, Sharon, Margy, and Jan

Ann, Sharon, Margy, and Jan

Me and Liana

What a special time for all of us.

And that takes us through Saturday, but I'll post more on the rest of the weekend later.

TSW Eureka Skirt and Another Kwik Sew T

Both of these are patterns I've made before. The skirt is from TSW's Eureka Top and Skirt pattern, that I originally made last winter from a cottony knit fabric.

This time, I used a poly knit I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics some time ago (no longer in stock).  Since brown is not my best color, I knew it would have to be a skirt. I love the drape but oh man, was it difficult to sew! I'm sure that some of the difficulty was self-inflicted--I tried a stretch needle and a universal, neither of which worked very well until I started placing strips of water soluable stabilizer between the fabric and the feed dogs.  I probably need to look into purchasing some ball point needles? In spite of all that, the skirt was fun to make. There are 2 basic pieces, each cut twice, that fit together like a puzzle. The first time I made it, I cut the lower piece on the bias. This time, I didn't bother and it worked fine while using a little less fabric. Because the drape of the fabric was so nice, I didn't bother to finish the hem edge. Works fine, as this is a knit that doesn't curl or run. 

The T is from my usual T pattern, the OOP Kwik Sew 2565 you've seen in many previous incarnations. I discovered this knit in my stash--it has a cottony hand with synthetic threads mixed in. It's not as sheer on me as it appears on the dress form; it's actually thicker than a lot of knits I work with. I'm not sure if this will be the ultimate pairing of top and skirt, but this is a T that can be worn with a lot of items in my wardrobe. 

Random Thoughts

What to do when there's not enough material for a full blog post but there are things to say? Yep, bullet points and links...

• Seems like everyone in the sewing blogosphere is watching the Great British Sewing Bee online. I'm no exception. I hope someone will bring it to America--without the Bravo/Lifetime style drama, please.
• Not much sewing going on here at Casa DaQ, due to work and tax prep. I'm proud to say we completed our filing today and have received a net refund. Yay!
• Back spasms have also popped up recently. I'm feeling fine today, but spent yesterday afternoon and evening with a long soak in the tub, heat pad, Aleve, and finally a Flixoral. I really do need to look into getting a massage therapist.
• Retail therapy. I have a few packages coming due to on-line shopping. Coldwater Creek (meh, but good for basics and work) and Gorgeous Fabrics (had to jump on the black linen Ann showed on her blog). There's also a bauble coming from Wendy Brandes, who designs lovely jewels as well as writing hilarious blog posts. 
• The St. Michael Vestry thank you dinner is tonight, and I'm one of the honorees! It will be a fun time. And in other church news, I'm in training to be an altar server.
• I just received news that my submissions for the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta have been accepted! I submitted this jacket and this ensemble.
• Warm weather finally appears to be here in New Mexico (again). For a while, I hope. It's hard to figure out what to wear when temperatures fluctuate between 20 degrees and 80 degrees in a 24 hour period.  Plus, our backyard is designed for outdoor living, and so it will be nice to have that space available to us again.
• And hay fever season seems to finally be at an end. I can wear contacts and can breathe again! Both have been factors in no sewing. 
• We had Jeans Week at work last week as a Heart Walk Fundraiser. We're having another one this week. I'm guessing our site manager really likes life in the West after being on the East Coast for most of his working life. Whatever, I will not look a gift horse (so to speak) in the mouth.
• Mad Men is back! As is Game of Thrones!!

Vogue 8795 Jacket, Complete!

All set! I finished it up today.

Much better now that it's complete, isn't it?

This jacket was a pleasure to put together, despite the exposed separating zipper. I made the jacket 2" longer due to the length of the zipper I was using. Although I added an additional 1" width to the side and arm seams, I ended up not needing most of it.

Here's a closer view of the collar and zipper. The drape is a single layer of the fabric, so that's the reverse side you're seeing, plus the selvedge edge. This photo also shows some sparkle--The fabric has silverly threads knitted in.

All in all, this was a fun project to make and I think there'll be at least one more.

Progress on the Marcy Jacket and a Class

The Vogue 8795 Marcy Tilton jacket is coming along. I've gotten as far as the collar. The zipper is steeping in a cup of hot water to eliminate any residual shrinkage, then I'll proceed with that part. Yes, I'm sewing out of order, but I can't see the guide sheet's purpose in having you assemble the entire jacket then insert the zipper. I want to do side seams after the zipper for two reasons: application will be simpler working on the flat, and I'd like to fine tune the fit.

Anyway, that's progress on the jacket. It still doesn't look like much on the dress form but I don't think it'll take long once the zipper is in

I haven't worked on it much this weekend, because I had a drafting class! Melisa had a class on drafting a skirt sloper Saturday at her store Stitchology, so that was most of the day. It was fun and interesting to start with a blank piece of paper and end up with a basic skirt pattern. And there is no better way to learn how to fit than by watching an expert work with different bodies. I am hoping to construct a "real" skirt soon, because that muslin will never see the light of day!