I'm moving!

I know I'm way too new to this blogging thing to be moving, but oh well. It's happened. I'm switching platforms to wordpress, which already seems so much easier to use with a phone, and in the process I'm rebranding myself as a cat lady. My new blog is: www.flowercatdesigns.wordpress.com.  Update your readers! I promise there is more sewing content coming soon!

Join us! www.flowercatdesigns.wordpress.com

Last Month

new toy | watching the city by candlelight | bart station sunset
opera house | someone got up on the mantle | my first invisible zipper
yay! | cubicle flowers | relaxing

October has been productive! I know you can't tell, but I've actually been sewing quite a lot. Hopefully after this weekend I'll have some photos, but we'll see. Actual sewing is coming before blogging right now, as it should! I also knit Dandelion a little gray mouse that he found and pulled out of the laundry after I felted it. He knew it was his somehow : ) He's really our little darling. We hardly remember life before him!

Happy November!

Plans and action!

my sidekick

I've been doing a lot of sewing, and it sure does feel good! I've only actually finished one thing though: Cation Design's free dolman top pattern, which is AMAZING! I've already worn it so much it needs a wash before taking blog photos... 

Right now I have unfinished on or around my table:

• A Vogue designer dress I started before the gown thing happened
• A "quick" silk blouse that gave me trouble with the hem before being cast aside in favor of the Cation top
• An Archer that needs snaps and cuffs stitched down from the spring
• A black double-knit dress started last Sunday

If I focus I could finish all of these projects easily this weekend. However, I really want to make another Cation top and I just got a stack of Sewaholic patterns in the mail, including the Renfrew. My small office is dressing up as one of our coworkers for Halloween next week, and I need a black and white striped tee. I'm just going to see what type of stripes JoAnn has when running errands this morning... I have a feeling a Renfrew is meant to be this weekend!

***The following is no longer relevant. I stopped by Ross when running errands, just too check, and I found a gown! I'm free! It's black, boring, and made out of some horrible polyester knit that will never, ever wrinkle. It's perfect! In other news, I did not find a single black and white striped knit, except for a few zebra prints. Why is that classic combination so elusive??

I'm feeling pretty great about all the sewing going on, but there is a cloud on my horizon. I found out last week that our Holiday Event is black tie this year and I need another gown. I just can't face that again yet! I may buy something, and the thought of David's Bridal actually crossed my mind a couple times. I'm also thinking about this dress, which is just a summer jersey maxi dress. What do you think? Does black make it formal enough? I could make a beaded belt or and add some beading at the neckline. Again, I'm working not attending, so no one's really going to be looking at me and comfort is first priority.

Any ideas or advice on this one? I want the next gown I sew to be black and simple. Something that could be worn for any formal event that pops up like this.

Trail Review: Tafoni Sandstone Formation

We managed to pull ourselves away from our kitten to go for a little hike the other day! I haven't been out in the woods for a long time, and it felt so good to get some fresh air.

We didn't have much time, and just went a few miles out to see the Tafoni Sandstone Formation. The trail starts off of Skyline Boulevard in the mountains near Woodside. It's just three or four miles round trip with a little gain, and makes for a nice walk. The sandstone formation is quite impressive, and there's also a little viewpoint picnic area just a little further on where you can see out to the ocean on a clear day.

When we got back to the parking lot, we saw a sign directing us to the Methuselah Tree right across the highway and we decided to check it out. I'm not sure why our guidebook doesn't mention that it's worth it to take that extra .1 mile walk to see this enormous tree, because it really is! Most of the redwoods in this forest were cut down to build San Francisco, but a few old trees still exist. It's a treat to see them, but it always makes me a little sad wondering what this forest would have looked like if it hadn't been so intensely logged. This tree is estimated to be 1,800 years old and has a trunk diameter of 14 feet!

Last month

September was the month of the kitten. Besides work, and there was a lot of that, I really didn't do anything but hang out with my cat. I've been really itching to sew, but then he gets in my lap to snuggle and that's that. I'm glad he's an affectionate cat, though, and I hope this isn't just a kitten phase!

sleepy | favorite toy | snuggle
sun patch | discovery of yarn | first family photo
we watched an opera together | which lulled him into an epic nap | snuggle 

My belated ball gown

I can't believe Opera Ball was almost a month ago! I got my dress finished in time, but didn't get a photo taken that night. It was just too crazy! I should have though, on the grand staircase of the majestic San Francisco City Hall where the event was held. That week was pretty insane. I work in education, not events, so my workload was totally unrelated to the ball and we had a couple issues pop up at the end of the week. Dealing with that while being pulled in the other direction for my added event responsibilities left me little time to care about how I actually looked. Besides, I was just scurrying around checking attendees in, folding napkins, checking place cards and seating charts, trying in vain to get people to sit down for dinner, cleaning up volunteer meals, schlepping boxes back to the office at 2am, and so on. It's hard work!

I ended up making Vogue 1176, an OOP Michael Kors pattern. I added a gathered skirt with big pockets to store my phone, badge, and keys, and these pockets were the envy of every one of my coworkers. Seriously, you could see the look of longing appear on their faces as they noticed me whipping my phone out! The dress served its purpose, but I don't feel very sophisticated. I think the combination of the too-short skirt, the wide straps, and, well, maybe the pockets too make it feel a little frumpy.

I also had some trouble making this dress. First, I ran out of fabric! I had bought four yards, which seemed like an infinite amount. I usually make a dress using no more than two yards of fabric, since I'm short and on the smaller side, and I really didn't think that a long, full skirt would take that much extra fabric. I wanted the skirt to be cut in an A-line shape with gathering at the top, so that it would have a pretty full skirt by my shoes to keep them hidden. That was absolutely not going to happen, and this skirt not only isn't full enough to not show my shoes, but it's also too short. I didn't want to step on it, but I think it needs another couple inches at least.

Then the bodice... it was fun to put together, and for a 100% polyester fabric it was pressing pretty well. But then I tried it on and realized it was really big. Too big to just take in at the side seams. Everyone always talks about the extra ease in McCall, Butterick, Vogue, and Simplicity patterns, and I'm always skeptical because I tend to sew Simplicity and Burda and I have never, ever had a problem with excess ease in a Simplicity pattern. I might become a believer when it comes to Vogue, though. I had to take it in three whole inches at the waist, and could easily take in another inch, and also took it in about one inch at the bust. The alterations were distributed through the side and back seams, but I couldn't really take it in on the front due to the design and you can tell. It's pretty baggy under the bust. I feel like the fit is acceptable, but it was problematic and I don't really care about making another version to figure out all that was wrong.

I still love the color (more gray, less deep purple than the photos show) and the draped detail of the bodice, and I think I'm going to cut the skirt to knee-length to make it into a cocktail dress that I think will be much more successful.

Last month

Happy September! August was really about not feeling well and trying to get better, unfortunately. I did do some fun sewing though, with my vogue dress and gown, which coming along and will be finished in time! I'm really looking forward to September. I'm feeling better, and the endless fog is just beginning to lift. September and October are supposed to be SF's "summer," and I'm looking forward to it!

fog at sunset | close cribbage matches | friendly kitten
twin peaks over fog | home | view from pacific heights mansion
my favorite fruit | a clean window | asters

August ended on a very high note because we adopted a kitten yesterday!! He's an Abyssinian/Tabby mix, and is four months old. I think we're calling him Dandelion. How am I ever going to get that gown finished with this sweet kitten around??

Bay Area Generosity

Last weekend I attended a Bay Area meet up hosted at Vanessa's lovely home. She doesn't have a blog, but if she did it would be a great one - she's SO creative and makes fabulous clothes and all sorts of other things. I had such a great time listening to everyone's updates and seeing some really fantastic creations. The variety, creativity, and skill in this group of women is staggering.

I hadn't been feeling very well and almost didn't go, but I had been having a lot of trouble deciding on what to do about that gown and I knew that just being around these women would be inspiring in itself, and they might also be able to give me some guidance and reassurance about picking a pattern and moving forward. I wasn't wrong! The consensus was that I should stick with the plan, which was to make Simplicity 2444, extending the skirt pieces to the floor. I've made this dress before, it turned out well, and it meets all my opera ball criteria (big skirt to hide comfy shoes, pockets, ability to wear normal undergarments). I'm so thankful for all of you, you really helped push me across a self-imposed, but real hurdle.

Image from Pattern Review

When I got home, I had a message from Vanessa asking if I was interested in a dress form she wasn't using anymore, as it might help with my gown-making. How sweet is that? So, now I have a dress form! I'm so excited! 

Well, after all that I'm not sticking to the plan. Part of it is actually the renewed self-confidence I got from the meet up and having a dress form to do some basic fitting on, but an even bigger part is that I'm just not excited about that dress. Despite the protestations of the group, I still worry that it's going to look homemade and young in a sea of designer gowns, and when I whined about this to my coworkers at lunch last week, one of them wrinkled her nose and told me flat-out to not do it. It hit me that she's right. Even if my worries are unfounded and the dress would look fine, I just don't feel good about it.

I decided to use the bodice of Vogue 1176, without the bow, and pair it with the skirt of Simplicity 2444, gathering the skirt instead of pleating it, and cutting it on the fold if possible. I feel good about this decision, and have the bodice pieces cut out and ready to start sewing. One of the most helpful pieces of advice from the meet up came from Beth, who said to just make the bodice first, and then worry about the skirt, which will come together in no time. It's simple advice, but it really helped me think of this project in a more manageable way. I'm just going to construct the bodice today, and if it fails I know I can whip up the Simplicity bodice in a couple hours.

Image from Pattern Review

So, a huge THANK YOU to the sewing bloggers of the Bay Area who helped make this gown project happen! You all are wonderful!

And one more thank you has to go out to Meg, another Bay Area sewing blogger, who hosted a giveaway for Thread Theory Jedediah Pants that I won! As soon as this gown project is over I'm going to start planning a pair of pants for Eric. We're both excited for this pattern!

Color Blocked

This dress has been finished for about a month, but for some reason I've been having trouble writing this post. Maybe it's because I'm just not all that excited about the dress.

I actually was excited when planning this project. I ordered some double knits from Fabric Mart during a 50% off sale, with the idea that I need a few basic work dresses that will withstand my bike commute. I didn't like the actual color of the blue or purple fabrics when they arrived, but seeing the three fabrics stacked together inspired me to combine them, using Simplicity 1665, a design I was very much drawn to.

Image from Pattern Review

I just don't think it's that flattering in real life. The yoke and straps don't look all that great, and there is absolutely no bust shaping. It's not a bad dress, but it was definitely disappointing.

It was so cold and windy! Brrr...

It is a very serviceable work dress, though, and I do like it more paired with a cardigan.

I do own more than one pair of shoes... these are just my favorites!

So, there you go. It's not a great dress, but it's not a fail either. Meh.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments on my Vogue dress! I'm itching to finish it, but today is my personal deadline for starting that gown. Just three weekends left!

Don't forget to hand baste...

...when constructing something like this:

to make a seam like this:

Instead of diligently working on that gown I need in less than a month, last weekend I started making Vogue 1350, which has these terrific corner seams in the front and back. It's my first designer pattern and I was nervous after reading reviews complaining about inadequate instructions for these tricky seams, but I shouldn't have worried, it's really not that bad if you baste it!

I'm actually having a blast with this dress. After that year when I hardly made anything, I felt pretty insecure about my skills and gravitated toward super simple patterns. This one really isn't all that complicated either, but it does require careful, precise sewing, and, you guys, I'm rocking it! I haven't had to unpick anything yet, and I feel so much more confident about my ability to construct garments. I can still sew!

Last Month

Everyone warned me that July in San Francisco can be gray and cold... and I must say that this particular July has been characterized by fog. Visitors and fog and opera camp.

plant is finally recovering | beige | morning flowers
bbq sauce! | crazy girl | glorious sun after weeks of fog
visitors | mums | an old friend

Happy August! I have a feeling that August will be a month of new beginnings. A new school year, the new music season, the beginning, and ending, hopefully, of my gown-making adventures... 

Working basics

Lately I've been inspired to make some simple, versatile work clothes that can withstand being thrown into a tote for my hilly, windy bike commute, and it seemed like a good time to finally make a pencil skirt out of this remnant of nearly-black denim I've been stashing for at least two years.

I used McCall's 5590, which is now OOP despite being wildly popular a few years ago. I made this skirt back in the day, and though the skirt fit well I decided that I like my skirts to have a waistband, and I never really expected to make it again. Well, apparently waistbands take a tiny bit more fabric than no waistbands, and I just didn't have enough fabric this time! This pattern is really worth keeping around for those scraps of skirt-weight fabric leftover from another project.

Image from Pattern Review

I don't have that first skirt anymore, and I totally forgot how high the waistline is on this pattern! Super high waists were trendy a few years ago, and it didn't bother me at all back then. Now I think it looks kind of silly, especially since I'm on the small side. Oh well, this will only rarely be worn with anything tucked in and the slight stretch in the fabric makes it super comfortable. It's interesting how styles change so quickly!

No side, back, detail, or shots that show the ridiculously high waist - I was lucky to get photos at all! July has been so busy over here, and my sweet photographer and I see each other so rarely these days that blog photos are not exactly a priority. I don't expect my blogging to magically improve in frequency or quality anytime soon, but I do hope to at least start commenting on your blogs again - that's the reason I started blogging in the first place!

In closing - have you ever made a pattern for a second time several years after retiring your first make, only to discover that the style that you thought suited you just doesn't work as well as you remember?

Amateur Costumer

I've been kept busy at work these last few weeks with our conservatory program (more like a day camp, really), which culminated in a performance of a short opera last night. The students and staff all did so well - I was very, very proud to be working for this organization! As happens when putting on shows, the last week was a bit frantic and our costumer asked for some sewing help on a few of the costumes. It was my first time doing any sort of costuming, and I quickly learned to lower my construction standards, stitch as fast as humanly possible, and embrace polyester and sparkles.

I just hemmed this, but isn't it the coolest fabric? It's the sort of thing that you could never use in everyday life, but it's SO perfect for use as a fairy tale costume! It really looked amazing on stage.

I hemmed and made casings for four pairs of knickers, hemmed a robe, made a skirt start to finish, and then stitched numerous sparkle trims, buttons, and so on by hand on location. The robe and skirt sewing occurred late at night, and these photos were all taken in the wee, small hours of Thursday morning, hence the poor lighting and disheveled look. I'm glad this sort of frenzied sewing doesn't happen too much, but it was really fun to be a part of it all!

I made this one! Simple, floor-length pleated skirt.

It's also fun to have a job where my sewing skills really do come in handy. I've always totally ignored costume patterns and fabrics, but now I'm thinking a few basic patterns may need to make their way to my collection, just in case!

Trail Review: Local Beaches

We haven't been hiking in so long! Well, we actually did take a couple nice, camera-free trips to Mt. Tam and the Purisima Redwoods since I last posted a trail review, but even that was a long time ago. Sadly, there are no real plans for hiking in the near future either, but even when we can't find a moment to get out of our little corner of the peninsula, there is always time to go to the local beach!

I can hardly even believe that I have a neighborhood beach. How did I get so lucky? Our home is at 500 ft. above sea level, and though the beach is only a quarter mile away as the seagull flies, there is a steep, dangerous, eroded cliff to get down and I only found a good way down that doesn't involve driving a couple weeks ago. It is certainly a good way too, with the *best* wildflower display I've seen in the Bay Area yet. It's not even really wildflower season anymore! I can't wait until next spring.

Monkeyflower | Paintbrush

Buckwheat | Milk Thistle | Moonwort

Birdsfoot Lotus | Yarrow

This month

I disappeared there for a bit! I wish I could say I have exciting things in the works that have kept me from posting, but that's simply not true. Really, my other main hobby groups - music, plants, and long walks on the beach - have gotten in the way of dedicated sewing time. It seems as though I never have enough time for anything, but I love sewing, guitar, beaches, hiking, plants, making things, taking care of home, reading, and so on, almost all equally! Do you ever feel like you have too many hobbies and interests to really be effective at any of them?

Anyway, this is what my June looked like:

sunset from the neighborhood cliff | fireworks seen from the living room | my #1 time consumer
fog rolling in | future projects! | gray beach evening
embroidered flowers | a very happy jade plant | my sewing corner

Even though I sometimes feel like I'm spread too thin, I'm so happy with all the little activities that make up my life. Seeing these images all together makes me feel rather accomplished, even if I don't really have anything to show for the last month.

Further Fanciness

Aside from sewing and hiking, my third passion is guitar, and since that's the passion that has been winning my free time the last couple weeks I have nothing new to show this weekend. I have been spending some time thinking about my next big project, though, which is going to up the level of fancy in my sewing by a few notches, believe it or not. You guys, I'm so out of my element. I'm a bumpkin teacher, not an urban socialite!

Anyway, I have to go to a ball in September - a real, honest-to-goodness ball. It's for work and I will be actually working at the event, but I still need a gown. I had been going back and forth about making or just trying to thrift one, but then I bought some fabric so I guess I'm making it. A gown is really just a dress with a long skirt, right? I can make a dress!

The perfect warm grayish lavender... a bit darker in real life

I found this poly dupioni in the clearance section of JoAnn. I know I should do better than a JoAnn poly dupioni, but gowns really eat up fabric, $3/yd is well within my budget, the color is absolutely perfect, and, most importantly, it's not a shiny satin. This remnant of gray lace coordinates perfectly, but I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't make it in the final design.

Now I just need to decide on a pattern. Because I'm going to be working, I need a comfortable dress that I can move in. Pockets are a huge plus, as are sleeves, and the ability to wear normal undergarments is a must. Two weeks ago I was really sure that this was the one, but now I'm waffling. I'm afraid that the skirt might look frumpy unless I fit it perfectly. It will look especially bad if the seams aren't pressed totally flat, and I don't know if this fabric is capable of that.

Image from Simplicity

This dress turned out to be such a great design for working events that I kind of want to just make it again. I could incorporate the lace on the cummerbund included in the pattern. I am a bit concerned about being totally boring, though, both because the design isn't all that interesting and my fabric is plain, and because I just made it and it has some distinctive features.

Image from Simplicity

There are a few more patterns floating around my head and my super-helpful Pinterest board (what did we do before Pinterest??), but none of them are quite as good as these two. I have a couple months to make it but I'm sure they will just fly by, and as much as I would love to gather inspiration and dream up the perfect design I really want to keep it simple this year.

Have you ever made a gown? What did you wear it to, and how did it all turn out? If you needed a gown in the near future, what sort of dress would you want to make?

The party's crashing us

Finally, photos are taken! I made this dress on a whim the weekend before last to wear to a cocktail party for work the following Wednesday. It had been quite some time since I made a dress, and everything was going pretty well until suddenly it wasn't. I was up late Tuesday night scrambling to finish, but the dress was completed just in time and I'm pretty happy with it.

Image from Pattern Review

I used Simplicity 1610, which is one of the new summer patterns, and I highly recommend it! I chose the pattern because of the basic design, the sleeves, and, above all, the pockets. I've worked enough functions, though not quite such fancy ones, in past jobs to know that I want to have a place to stash my badge, phone, keys, and so on. The dress was very straightforward to put together, and the troubles I had weren't the fault of the pattern at all.

I cut a 10 at the bust and graded to a 12 at the waist, which is normal for me, with no other alterations except that I sewed the back seam with a 3/8" SA because I was afraid of it being too small. I usually construct dresses so that the side seams are the last to be sewn in order to adjust fit, but since I've never set in sleeves with a pivot point like this I didn't want a bunch of dress hanging down on that step. Next time I'll sew the regular seam allowance, as this dress is a little too big, but that actually turned out to be a good thing because I can just slip it over my head without a zipper. It's also super comfortable, and since staff kind of blends into the background at these events, I don't really care that there's a bit too much ease.

So, it's a great dress, and I'm sure I'll wear it to functions like this all the time. That said, I'm going to try to never, ever sew anything in a satin again. The fabric didn't look all that shiny in the store next to the other JoAnn satins, but the more I sewed it the shinier it looked and the more I noticed that it shows every little wrinkle, flaw, stitch, and even the pinked edges of the wispy acetate lining that I used as a facing. To make matters worse, even though the bolt said it was 40% cotton, this fabric pressed like 100% polyester. I felt more and more trepidation about the zipper insertion, and as suspected it was a total disaster. I ended up just trying to squeeze into it without a zipper, and thanks to that 3/8" SA I could. Phew. Even though staff blends in, I didn't want my dress to look so totally homemade among the attendees' designer dresses!

I had forgotten how much fun it is to make dresses, but I also forgot how much I dislike sewing under pressure. I'm not one of those people who can whip up a garment in a few hours, and I like to take my time, go slow, and finish things nicely. There will be more of these parties and other events through the year, and I'm looking forward to making a few pretty dresses that are actually well-made!

Me-Made-May Week 5

Welp, just when you thought it couldn't get worse from me...

• 5/26 - me made tee; worn doing yoga.
• 5/27 - me made bag, mom-made scarf; worn to view The Clock at SFMOMA.
• 5/28 - me made top; worn to work.
• 5/29 - me made dress; finished just in time to wear to the party.
• 5/30 - me made dress; worn to work.
• 5/31 - me made skirt; worn to work and a coworker's baby shower. I would never wear the sweater that wrinkled - I just pulled it off the drying rack to recreate this outfit on the floor!

This week was crazy. Work was busy, the party was intense, finishing up the dress turned out to be harder than anticipated (more on that after I get some real photos) - I'm actually still recovering from it all!

I planned on writing a bit about my thoughts on MMM and my homemade wardrobe, but I kind of just want to be done with this challenge. I had a hard time with this. I knew taking photos would be hard, but I didn't anticipate that wearing me made items would feel like such a burden, especially since I wear something homemade about three out of four days anyway. If I thought about it I could probably come up with some insights about why this was and what I should focus on sewing, but I think I'm just going to go actually sew. There's another Archer on my sewing table, cut out and waiting for me!

How did your Me-Made-May go? Do you anticipate participating again? Did you start feeling bitter about wearing me-mades simply because you had to?

Emerging from the land of separates

I forgot that I love to sew dresses! I started sewing because I wanted to wear dresses all the time, and though I did make a few of them, somewhere along the line I got stuck making separates. I haven't made a dress in over a year! Well, I am going to a fancy cocktail party for work tomorrow and I spent the weekend stitching up a new dress. It still needs a zipper, a hem, a final pressing, and some hand stitching on the inside, but I think it will come together in time. More details to come!

Big, Bright Flowers

Hooray for a finished item that definitely works! I've been perfecting a slim pants pattern, and I needed to renew my enthusiasm with a quick and easy project almost certain to turn out well.

Image from Pattern Review

I used Simplicity 1693, and it turned out beautifully with no fitting issues at all, not that the fit is super important for this style. The collar turned out nicely and the back opening is a pretty detail, but it's totally unnecessary because the top goes over my head easily. My only disappointment with the pattern is that it doesn't include guides to cut bias to the appropriate length for the neck and arm holes, instead instructing sewists to use purchased bias tape. All other Simplicity patterns I've used have included a bias facing piece, and though I know I can figure out the length and cut my own bias, it's an extra step that I got used to not doing. I do appreciate that Simplicity tends to favor a bias finish instead of facing either way, though, especially since this is a good pattern for beginners. When I started sewing it was all facings all the time, and ugh, I was disgusted that facings were the method for finishing homemade clothes instead of the clean RTW finish. Thank goodness for the sewing blogs that soon introduced me to bias tape!

Thread loop made from pearl cotton

The fabric is a rayon challis purchased around New Year's for $2/yd during a Fabric Mart sale. It's a beautiful fabric - easy to sew and press, lovely to wear, perfect drape. The only thing is that it's a little too bright and wild for me. I knew that before buying it, but it was such a good price! I figured I could use it to test out a new pattern at least, and at best it would help me feel a bit more comfortable in bigger, brighter prints. We'll see how much it gets worn, but at least it's a bit more toned down under a cardigan!

Have you ever bought a piece fabric you knew didn't match your personality or style because it was good quality and a good price? Did you end up wearing the resulting garment much?