I have a quest

It's been almost 3 weeks since I last posted, but I have a good reason - partially sewing related but mainly more of the "garden variety" excuse.

Last year for my birthday - yes, in 2013, my husband started building me a garden in the backyard.  Now, this doesn't sound like a big undertaking to most people, but for us, it was a huge project.  Because we live in a very rural area, we have deer that roam freely throughout our yard and munch on whatever they happen to like at the moment.  This constant munching is a battle between us and the deer every year.

So my innocent vegetable garden couldn't consist of just a few beds in the backyard.  No - we had to incorporate a very large fence (8 foot tall) around the beds and make it blend in with our current backyard landscaping - which was nothing at the starting point, except a big dirt patch.  After many days of planning, mapping, measuring and "thinking like a deer" to determine our fencing strategy, we had a plan.

Here's our starting point.  Our very plain backyard.  We decided to place the garden next to our existing brick wall and incorporate the brick wall and the fence behind it as part of our deer defenses.

Here it is after some of the framework is in, the plumbing calculated for the beds, and some of the pea gravel rock hauled from the front of the house to the garden.  

I certainly don't miss hauling rock.  When the rock was delivered, the only place the rock truck could dump it was in our front parking area (yes, we have parking meters - a birthday gift from my husband a few years ago!).  Many a night after work was spent shoveling and hauling.  This is the pile after about 1/2 of it had been moved.

Here's the garden after one bed is in position and filled with dirt, all of the pea gravel rock moved and now, there was a pile of dirt in the front yard to replace the rock.  Yippee - more shoveling!

We're getting closer.  Here, all of the framing is done and we've purchased a screen door for the entrance.

Next, the metal fencing is installed and the finishing boards nailed to the outside.  After the second bed was installed and the temporary "deer defense" erected on the remaining open areas between the brick wall and the existing fence, I started planting.  To get to this point, it took us about 4 months of hard work last year, but it still wasn't finished.  The weather was heating up and my husband was fed up with the project.  I ended up producing more tomatoes than I knew what to do with and learned alot about herbs and cucumbers in the process.  But remember, we still weren't finished.

So low and behold, 2014 rolls around and yes - the garden still isn't completed.  My husband agrees that in the future, he's not giving me such elaborate birthday gifts that take a long time to finish.  It's gift cards for me from now on!  

For the last month, we have been working very hard to get this project finished and we are 99% of the way there!  Here's the garden with the 3rd bed in and planted, the remaining fencing on the back almost finished, and everyone is a happy camper!

Here's a view from the inside.

By now, you are probably wondering how sewing relates to this at all.  I titled this blogpost "I have a quest", but have yet to mention what the quest is.  Well - here goes.  "I have a quest to keep my work jeans going as long as possible."  A good fitting, comfortable pair of work jeans is hard to find and when you finally do have them, when they start getting holes in them, it's time to start patching.  I have patches upon patches on these jeans.

The patches all started out innocently enough with denim squares on the knees - but that was getting a bit boring, so I started grabbing odd bits of fabric out of my scrap bins as more holes appeared.  I particularly like the leftover patchwork I incorporated on the knee area of the right leg.  This was leftover from a quilt I made for my niece's first born child.

But then one day, I got a hole in the bum and wanted to do something a little whimsical with this particular location.  I searched and searched for a patch looking like a pair of lips, but couldn't find one.  I did find this lovely pink flower that looked quite fun so decided to place it over the offending hole. It's held up quite nicely over the last few years.  Everything time I hear a hummingbird flying around though, I get kind of nervous - hoping it doesn't mistake my patch for the real thing!



As luck would have it, the latest weeks work has created a new patching opportunity.

 How about some apples for this one?  That's very "gardeny" don'tcha think!

 Until next time - Happy Sewing!

Sewing Garage Sale - Good Deals!!!

As promised, here's the update on all of the fabulous finds I purchased at the Sewing Garage Sale.  I purchased a total of 59.75 yards of fabric for guess how much?!?!?!?  A grand total of $78.30 and that includes sales tax!!!  That's an average of approximately $1.30 per yard.  That's just amazing!  And, I got some really great stuff!

I've sorted them by categories.  First - we'll start with the yardage I would use for linings.  Most of these are polyester or a blend of some sort, but I love the prints.

Next, I have a complete outfit here - the black/teal on the left will be the new Sewaholic Gabriola skirt and the crinkle knit on the right will be a matching tee of some sort.

Here's a selection of knits including a very nice red/black/white stretch mesh (2nd from the left) and a black/pink/tan circle print (2nd from the right).  I'm not much of a pink person so I was reluctant to purchase this one, but it had such a nice hand, I couldn't resist.

These two cottons - the left one will make a nice blouse and the one on the right - maybe a dress?

These two linens.  I was not sure about the one on the left, but it grew on me as the day went on so I snapped it up.  The red and blue stripe linen will make a nice summer dress - I have a Vogue Vintage pattern in mind for this one.

The two rayons above are already destined for projects.  The red/white polka dot will be Butterick 5917 - a dress with a ruffle along the front neckline.



The blue/white will be either Simplicity 2281 or Simplicity 2406 - both Cynthia Rowley dresses with interesting sleeves.

 

And this wonderful fabric - isn't it luscious!  It will be a suit/jacket of some sort.

 Here's a close-up.  It's just yummie!

Just a quick post today.  Until next time - Happy Sewing!

ASG Sewing Garage Sale

For those of you who have not experienced the American Sewing Guild Sacramento Chapter's Annual Sewing Garage Sale - you truly don't know what you are missing.  I will try to give you a brief pictorial description of our event and in the next few days, post some of the fantastic finds I purchased and my plans for them as well.

The Annual Garage Sale was held on April 12th of this year at the North Highlands Community Center. Set-up day was Friday, April 11th and I was extra excited because this was the first time I've been able to help with set-up day.  Here's how it all starts.

Boxes and boxes of already priced and labeled fabric are unloaded outside, patiently awaiting their temporary homes on the bargain tables.  ASG volunteers work countless hours in the months leading up to the sale measuring and marking donated fabric, books, notions, patterns, etc.  You name it, you'll probably find it at the sale.



More and more boxes....


Once all of the tables are set-up inside, the unloading begins.

Here's a sampling of the red and pink fabric table in the foreground, with the blue tables in the background. At one point, the blue table was stacked about 3 feet high with fabric and it was starting to fall over, so we needed to spread it out a little more.  You can see yarn, batting and a quilting hoop up against the walls, all eagerly waiting for a new home.

Here, the white fabric table in the front is starting to get higher.  And just look at the rest of the tables!  Lots of goodies for everyone!

 And the purple fabrics aren't far behind!  I wonder who will buy that whole roll?!?!

After everything is set-up, all of the wonderful ASG volunteers get a much needed rest before the crowds of people arrive early Saturday morning to start the shopping frenzy.  Below is a picture after everything is set-up and just before the doors are open to the public.  The ladies in the red shirts are all volunteers making last minute touches to entice our shoppers.

And here we are right as the doors are opened.  The middle door on the back wall is the entrance door and you can see the people starting to work their way in.

Five minutes after opening....

Ten minutes after opening...

Here we are in full swing!  Look at all of these wonderful sewers!  

And finally, nearing the end of the sale.  The tables are thinned out and some are completely empty.  After just 3 hours, it's amazing the amount of fabulous finds had by all!  

As mentioned above, the Sewing Garage Sale is an annual event for our chapter and it gets bigger and and better every year.  You do not need to be a member of ASG to attend nor to sell items.   When the event rolls around again next year, I'll include a link on this blog to the Sacramento Chapter's website to provide you with further information.  In the meantime, I need to get busy sewing myself!

Happy Sewing!

McCalls 5194

It's been a few weeks since I've posted.  Sometimes life is just flying by so quickly that there isn't time to get everything done!  I've been super busy over the last few weeks and haven't been sewing as much as I'd like to so I've decided to post something that although I made it a few years ago, it is still a favorite in my wardrobe.

This is McCall's 5194 - a Non-Stop Wardrobe pattern set that is now OOP.  It's a semi-fitted, lined jacket with princess seams, lined pockets with a contrasting band, two piece sleeves and a shaped hem with lots of contrasting bias binding around the edges.

Here is my version of the jacket.  The fabric is a brown/bluish green herringbone poly blend that drapes just beautifully.  The skirt is a Decades of Style pattern. The brown fabric for the bias binding is a poly stretch ultrasuede type fabric. I can't remember it's exact make-up, but I do remember that using it for the contrasting binding was a bit of a challenge.

Side view of the ensemble.

And here's the back.

I love the pockets on this pattern. They have a nice little pleat in the center front and are fully lined.  Lined pockets are a great added feature to any garment.  It's so nice to put your hand in the pocket and feel the silky fabric on the inside - it's like a little secret that only you know about.

The shoulders on this jacket are a bit "linebacker" looking and could probably do with being brought in 3/8" at the top of the shoulder.  Here's a closer look at the binding around the collar.  This involved alot of pinning and hand sewing to get the brown fabric to behave.

The binding on the curve around the bottom hem in the front was a little easier to sew than the sharper curve of the collar pieces.

Not to crazy of a lining on this jacket.  I did manage to find this sort of animal brown poly weave though.

I used the same brown for the undercollar.

This is one of those timeless garments that will be in my wardrobe for years.  If I ever get the urge to go horseback riding in the English Countryside, this jacket will be perfect. Pair it with a nice pair of riding pants and I'd be off!  Too bad I don't know how to ride a horse!

Until next time - Happy Sewing!

Valori Wells - Little Wallet

If you are looking for a quick and easy project, this Little Wallet by Valori Wells will fit the bill. This maybe took me 30 minutes to sew and that's including tracing the pattern and cutting everything out.

It's just the cutest little thing.  I use mine for holding gift cards, but it could easily hold credit cards and some cash for an easy wallet option in a small purse.

I made this one for a friend of mine for her birthday.

Here's the inside.  There are 3 separate pockets.  The pattern calls for each pocket piece to be two separate pieces, sewn across the top and then turned.  Instead of doing that, I eliminated the top seam (cutting off 1/4 inch from the pattern piece) and instead, just cut out the pockets with the top edge on the fold.  This not only eliminated the extra sewing, it eliminated the extra bulk that would be caused by the seam at the top.

I hope she likes it!

Until next time,
Happy Sewing!

Just a quick post today.  Although sewing is my true passion, I do have a few other needlework interests.  One of them being cross stitch.  Santa cross stitch patterns in particular.  I just can't seem to pass them up.  Here is the latest one I've finished.  He's a Scottish Santa - complete with his kilt and sporran.  Isn't he cute!

Under this little kilt I can tell you is a bunch of threads, but no knots!  As for the real kilts, well, you'll just have to find out for yourself what's underneath them!

Until next time,
Happy Sewing!

New Look 6026

I love pajamas.  I could live in them all day long given the chance. If it were socially acceptable and in compliance with our dress code, I would wear them to work!  And who wouldn't want to when you have cute pajamas like these!

This is actually a practice muslin I used for fitting the New Look 6026 blouse pattern. I had a few yards of this cute yoga print and a coordinating purple and thought it would be a great to try out on this pattern and get a new pair of pajamas in the process.  A sewed View A with the cute sleeve ruffle.



Here's a close up of the curved neckline and the sleeve facings with the sleeve ruffle.

Side view.  I ended up shortening the body of the blouse by 4 inches.  I didn't want the ruffle to hit right at the hip area, so I raised it up a little higher.

Back view.  I was running short on fabric so the yoga girls on the back aren't centered, but oh well, it's pajamas right!  Also, the pattern calls for a small tie in the back which I eliminated.  This would give it a little more shaping in the back but who wants to sleep with a big knot in their back.

Here's the front all by itself.

The bottoms are just an elastic waist pant, but I wanted to share a little technique my grandmother taught me. An easy way to tell the front from the back is to sew a little grosgrain ribbon tab to the back waistband. Now, at a quick glance, when you are tired and ready for bed, you just have to look for the tab!

Until next time!
Happy Sewing!