Back from La-La Land and in a Great Mood

This was a crazy-as-hell very busy work week, including a three-day trip to Los Angeles. LA consisted long days and long nights. However, I was able to eek out a precious hour of fabric shopping. I had a few stores I wanted to hit (when I thought I would have hours to shop), thanks to the Threads Magazine "Sewing Destination LA" article in issue #165. As I looked online to try and find the article, I ran across this update. When I started to think about my schedule, I realized I had to pare down my hit list. By Thursday night, I'd decided that there were only two things I had to do in LA, get the garlic noodles from Crustacean and visit Mood Fabrics.

After a morning of fire drills from the office, I had to figure out the ONE thing I wanted to do most in LA. You are familiar with my addiction, so you already know -- fabric won over food. Oh how I suffered later when I realized I was sitting through an almost four-hour flight and I hadn't eaten anything all day! I was in row 39, so by the time the food cart made it my way, all that was left was a salad, a cheese tray and random junk food. Cheese tray and venerable Chex Mix -- the breakfast and lunch of champions.

Back to Mood. The store was like a breath of fresh air! It was very clean and contemporary. This brings me to my main beef about fabric stores in general. I feel like I'm in a time warp once I'm in the store (especially the independents I've seen). I want shopping for fabric to feel like shopping at Target. Fabric stores just feel old -- poor lighting, bad displays, antiquated purchasing procedures (including a refusal to embrace technology) and dust. Jo-Ann is sort of the exception. One advantage I will give to the chain stores is fabric content and care info on the bolt. I love being able to snap a picture of this and post it to my fabric stash secret board on Pinterest.

Look at how organized everything is! Sorry I don't have more pictures, but I was soooo pressed for time.

I loved that fabrics were grouped by type. All of the cotton and rayon jerseys were grouped together, organized by color. There was an entire wall of what looked like ITY jersey, but I didn't have time to investigate. The wool jerseys were together. There was an aisle for cottons. I saw some nice embroidered options, but sadly they weren't on the shopping list. The selection of shirtings was magnificent; it's where I scooped the sateen below. The last pic above shows the silk jerseys.

I'll admit to user error with my shopping experience. Mood is not to be rushed on a first-time visit. One of the things I really wanted was swatches of all of the Bemberg linings. Well, there is a section for linings, but everything is kind of mixed in. Ordering from the website is definitely the way to go for that.

While my fabric was being cut, I was at another counter signing up for the rewards card. I think that for every $500 spent, you earn a $25 credit. This is where Mood confuses me a bit and makes my marketing eyebrows raise. I couldn't find any info about the rewards card on the website. In the store, I couldn't find the lower prices I saw on the website. Where were the $8 rayon jerseys?? Again, this could be user error since I was rushed. However, I am wondering if the rewards card is in-store only because the prices are higher. Since my trips to LA and NYC are few and far between (like years), I'm not sure how I feel about that. The obvious solution is to just to buy more when I do go :-) But seriously, are the in-store fabrics that different from the web fabrics?

What I loved most is how efficient things were. I was able to drop the bolts off and have the fabric cut while I browsed the rest of the store. I could come back and add more fabric when I found something new. I  got a computerized order ticket for the fabric and one for the notions.  I took them to the counter and had them rung up together. This may not sound like much to you, but things are very different at one of my Chicago haunts.

Here's the moment of truth -- the haul. I got a cotton sateen and two rayon jerseys. The swatch is a beautiful salmon silk jersey. The tone in the pic is off; the colors are actually cooler. The pink jersey is a little more lightweight than I would have liked, but I fell in love with the color.

I had sense enough to look for buttons for the sateen while I was there. This will one day be a shirtdress and a shirt.

All in all, I had a great time. I wish I hadn't been rushing to catch a flight, but perhaps that was a good thing for my wallet!

Fabric Joy

I can't kick the fabric-buying drug. I gotta have it. I can sorta control it by supposedly buying what I need for a specific project, but who knows when I'll get to the project? Anyhoo. One shouldn't be too hard on oneself :-)

Seriously -- once the skirt bug kicked in, I realized the flaw in my stash. Either my pieces are too large or too small. I want full, A-line skirts that fall past the knee; I have an unhealthy crush on circle skirts. I need 2.5-4.5 yds to make this work. I can't bear to cut into a 5.5 yd piece of fabric if I only need 4.5 yds. I would rather buy more fabric! (I know this is completely ridiculous and a recipe for foolishness.)

Enter Robert Kaufman Ultra Cotton Sateen and Mary Jo's. I am now the proud owner of Forest and Black. Forest is destined for a dress. Y'all know I really want the chocolate now.

Then there's Fabric Mart. I got the last of this black silk/cotton Oxford shirting:

I made a couple of first purchases. Fashion Fabrics Club had basic sateen colors. I love the one on the left. I absolutely hate the one on the right. I will think twice before purchasing from them again. It is really heavy. Way too heavy for an A-line skirt. All sites should give you the fabric's weight. 

                

I got this lightweight embroidered cotton too.

I made my first purchase from Mood! Based on Project Runway and what the folks on its blogger network are doing, I thought Mood wasn't for sewing lightweights like me. I know where to go if I ever want silk 4-ply crepe, but I'm glad to say there's something for my skill level -- and that people is Bemberg lining at $6/yd! Oh happy day!

Last but not least are Jo-Ann and Hancock. From Jo-Ann there's this linen and poly charmeuse.

Poor Hancock. You're just not the same anymore. I do thank you for these two great finds. The lawn ?? on the left was $.40/yd! The stretch cotton pique was around $5. Now I'm on the hunt for stretch linings.  All except one of the older sateen fabrics in my stash has stretch.

May was a good stash month!

Beefing Up the Stash

I was pretty good about my stash in 2012! I guess it was because I didn't sew much, so I didn't feel the need to troll online hunting fabric. In fact, the only order I placed with Fabric.com was for swatches! Don't get me wrong; I did buy fabric last year -- I just didn't buy so much that I need to hang my head in shame.

As I thought about the clothes I needed and would hopefully make in 2013, I realized that while "The Collection" as it's named on my secret Pinterest board has a nice mix of pretty stuff and even practical rayon-spandex jerseys, it's lacking in two areas:  wool crepe and basic sweater knits.  Blame the weather, Craftsy.com and Cidell for helping me zero in on these gaping holes :-)

I also realized that my favorite RTW tops are two sweater rib knit tunics from Macy's. I thought this Silhouette Pattern would be a nice sibling to them. When I checked The Collection, my jerseys didn't seem substantial enough. I also have zero rib knits. I have plenty of awesome ITY, but that's another story.

Adding to my need for knits is the twin set. Ilove, love, love twin sets. It's a fitted top with something that covers the gap I usually have in at the center back waist in RTW pants. What's not to love?! I wear twin sets so much that my coworkers tease me.  Silhouette to the rescue again!  Can't wait to make this set. And the FBA is already done for me!

Enter Fabric.com! I clicked through the sweater rib knit fabrics and pinned each one that was medium weight. I think each one of them can be reordered, so I can rest easy at night (and stick to my budgeting goal). I want to attempt some turtlenecks too, since I found this blog post on a no-dart FBA tutorial for girls with big girlz.

O' how I love heather charcoal and pink! These are $5 a yard!  Hmmm. They might need to be colorblocked in this HP top. I digress.

In the most recent Nancy's Notions catalog, I was intrigued by these new Bare Knits. Talk about twin set heaven!



The jury is still out on the wool crepe. It's a little more of an investment. I can also wait to purchase it because I have so many knit projects I want to get through first. Heck, I can't even get to those until I finish the Burda skirt.  I will say that my heart is set on finding wool crepe in the plum and rust families.

Last but not least, I need some sequins in my life! I need summer sparkle, fall fabulousness and holiday hotness. Clearly, these are not a priority until I get the basics down, but it's fun to dream!

P.S. If you're looking for the Fabric Problem pendant, click here.

Fear Itself

I think I may have overcome my fear of prints. I can't get these out of my head!

The first two are from Fabric Mart.
The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection - "Basha"

Just insert you favorite sundress.


This one is so interesting.
Marc Jacobs Cotton  Large floral printed broadcloth

So, what would you do you with such a HUGE print? Seriously.

This one is from eBay.

Yep, another ginormous print. Would this work?


I fell in love with these pinks on the Fabric.com sale.

Botanica Deco Flowers Salmon

Botanica Blooms Garden White

Geometrics Retro Stars Pink (sold out)

Wouldn't they make cute skirts?


Still haven't been inspired to think about prints for tops, but miracles never cease.

Under the Tree

Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope today is the source of treasured memories for each of you. Now for the goodies. What did Santa bring you? In addition to a minor family miracle last night, I was blessed enough to get a few sewing treats. First is fabric! After being defeated at Hancock, I took my valued 20% off everything to coupon to Jo-Ann and snagged this special occasion fabric, which was already 40% off.

I give equal praise and censure: I was pleasantly surprised when I went back to Hancock to get the patterns that were left out of my bag during the last visit. The new spring Simplicity patterns were in stock! From the new collection, I got 2257. This has happened to me before, but I end up seeing what I think are new patterns, but they aren't. I don't know how I missed these before, but I picked up 2373 and 2655. I've been looking at 2758 forever, but I didn't realize it was also a skirt pattern until recently (duh). Yep; I'm going to attempt more skirts in 2011. I talked myself out of 2451. It will be my treat when I lose weight.

There are a couple of things Santa and the elves didn't have time to get to my house, but I've been assured they are on the way: KS3380 from Fabric.com and red stretch velvet from Distinctive Fabric. I just looked out of the window and we have fresh snow for a white Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Checking In

Like most, I have to go back to work tomorrow.  So far, I've got three new projects traced and cut out:  KS2856, M6078 (not looking forward to the swayback adjustment for this) and M6076 (September sew-along). I'm making my alterations to Burda 8269. This has worked my last nerve, so I'm taking a break to write.

As usual, mo to do list was too long and my love of sleep and ability to waste time on the computer too great.  I wanted to knock out the alterations for the new projects, complete this skirt and finish KS3740, which has been hanging around forever.  I have some things in the alterations/mending pile I wanted to get to as well, including a friend's jeans.

I'm proud to say that I've completed the following. None of them aided a project, but I feel better because they're done:

• Hung all of the WIP. Thanks to Ann's tip, I can see my couch and dining table again!
• Created an index for the last Sew Stylish and Threads (Yep. I'm that anal. How else can you find the article you're looking for?)
• Wrote a couple of notions reviews for Amazon.com
• Picked up a couple pieces of very cute and very cheap ($1.99/yd & $2.99/yd) fabric and waxed tailor's chalk at Vogue. I used the tailor's chalk today and I love it.

I got this one from Vogue earlier this year. It was in the cute cottons stack, so I'd thought I'd show you. $3.99/yd!

• Grabbed a few new patterns

Here's what I'm ashamed about: I went through my catalog on Pattern Review.com and made sure each had a picture and the picture I wanted. This has been a small but growing pet peeve with me. When I buy fabric, I browse the catalog to figure out what I'm going to make with it. If there's no picture, I skip the pattern. If the picture is one view of four options, I might skip over the pattern because I don't like the particular view. However, I might have chosen the pattern if I could see all of the views.  This is especially true with the wardrobes.

Alright, I'll calm enough now to go back to the skirt.  I'm having the hardest time with is adjusting for my small waist and large (okay huge) front thighs. So far, I've added two extra darts, let a side seam out twice and adjusted the seam that goes across my right thigh.

Here's how I had to change the front right side seam (high hip).  The red line is the original stitching line.

Here's the top of the thigh seam.  I took it apart and pulled until the wrinkles went away. Left seam allowance:

Right seam allowance:

The pink and green highlighter marks show that I'm still working on the swayback adjustment.

I'm fixing (yes, I'm Southern) to work on both side seams and tweak that thigh seam. I'm praying that when I try it on again, I can sit down more comfortable and the wrinkle pointing to my left thigh is gone! The good news is that the side seams are straight.