ProCRAFTination

Where have I been?

2009-07-08T11:42:00.002-04:00

Work, work, work. If I'm not at the studio taking pictures of children and their families, I'm at home working on a collaborative project with the boyfriend which I hope to show off soon, like August.
Of course I do have all of this coming weekend off to visit my parents and attend the 41st annual Corn Hill Arts Festival. I always loved going to Corn Hill, but for the last couple of years I was always busy working. I can't wait to see all the different vendors and artisans showing off their work against the beautiful backdrop of historic buildings. And the food!

I promise my next post will have pictures.

Simplicity 2804- I feel like Batgirl

2009-06-15T18:01:00.006-04:00

Can I get a "Da na na na na na Batgirl!" I recently decided to make Simplicity 2804 view c out of some left over dollar a yard fabric that I used in a previous project.

I had very high hopes that this project that I started on a whim could possibly lead to a nice summer shirt for work. From what I have heard form others it gets unbearably hot in the studio over summer, Simplicity 2804 seemed to be a nice solution with its breezy dolman style sleeves. The pattern was easy enough, a front piece, back piece, neck band, waist band, I cut everything out and sewed it up in a span of 5 hours with multiple breaks for eating and watching Across the Universe.

Then I tried it on, like the title of the post says, I felt like bat girl. Not only that, but a stumpy bat girl.

As you can see by the picture above I probably wasn't wearing the best pants for the outfit, I just happened to have them on when I finished. It wasn't until today when I tried them on with a pair of straight leg jeans(which I've worn two times counting today) that I realized the shirt wasn't a complete wadder.

I played around in photoshop to show a comparison of the shirt with my flood pants vs jeans + strappy sandals. The photos could be better, but my camera was running low on battery so I'm short on pictures. I wish I had more shots that actually show off the shirt but oh well, maybe another time.

Proportions...wow, always knew about them, but I've never really taken the time to experiment/visually document it until today. I think I'll be paying more attention to this now that I've actually seen it in action.

Heads Up

2009-06-14T17:35:00.001-04:00

A quick little post about a cute new accessory of mine. If you noticed, I've chopped off a lot of my hair, at least 6 inches, which leaves me in dire need of something to control my no longer weighted down locks. I managed to whip this up one day before an evening shift at the studio basing it off of a head band I bought at H&M a few years ago but can no longer find.

I loved the bright cheery yellow plaid, so summery, so perfect, well almost. It needed something... buttons!

Red and blue buttons placed on the right side of the headband with one cutesy blue button with a smiling yellow airplane (which you can't really see in the photo). Hey, I work with primarily kids at the studio so I'm allowed to let my inner child express itself sometimes.

Its funny how memory works...

2009-05-10T19:19:00.006-04:00

I distinctly remember coming home from work one night in March, eating a gigantic bowl of mac & cheese, and then set about cutting out pieces for my hopefully wearable muslin of simplicity 4076. After reading so many great reviews on it I decided I had to give it a try. Despite my eagerness, I got sidetracked with work and life. The pieces sat on my table for close to two months. Earlier this week I sat down in front of my sewing machine and bam, I got my groove back.

I made view b, the wrap top with short sleeves. My only issues are:
(1) I feel the non-gathered side feels a little looser than it should be
(2) I would add about two inches of length in the torso to prevent unnecessary exposure of my midriff.
(3) the neck line stick out a bit, but I think I'm at fault on that one.

Other than that I think it looks pretty good for a project that was almost forgotten.

{front}

{back and poor posture}

{side}

Thanks for looking

(p.s) I hope every one called their moms, or mother figures, today and wished them a happy Mother's Day

The wheels are turning

2009-05-01T13:47:00.004-04:00

I've been off for the past two days and have been trolling about various sites, getting ideas, then falling asleep on the couch. Next week I have a bunch of time off as well so I'm hoping that I can avoid the couch and actually be somewhat productive, rather than just thinking about doing it. That's about it for now, I will leave you with some pictures of my buns.

{Byron chinning some cardboard)

{Formerly the unamed bun, now known as Gatsby}

Phew

2009-04-15T14:39:00.005-04:00

The Easter picture season is all done and over and I am overjoyed. Now I can get back to working on my own projects.

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce two new members of the family. A little back story first.

For the past 5 weeks or so the studio where I work had Easter bunnies available for pictures. Horrible idea, kids and bunnies are not generally a good mix especially if you throw in an inattentive parent who lets their kid run wild with little to no discipline. If the job market wasn't so bad I would have quit due to this gross exploitation of these gentle creatures. I stuck it out though, became super protective of the little guys, educated parents and children about proper handling and care of rabbits. Then the night before Easter finally came came, marking their retirement and the beginning of a better life with me and the boy.

{Helping the boyfriend fix the cage}

We are working on renaming them at the moment. I like to think of it as a witness protection program for rabbits.

{The unnamed bun}

{Sir Byron Bunnicula VonBunnington}

They seem pretty happy with their new, quite, child free environment. Took them to the vets today to make sure they're in good health, which they are. Talked to the vet about getting them neutered, got an estimate which made me cringe and I am now in the process of trying to figure out a way to afford the cost of the surgeries. I'll make sure it gets done, it just may take a bit longer than I had originally expected. At least they're happier now and I no longer worry about how they're being treated when I'm not around.

{The End}

You know...

2009-03-02T12:47:00.003-05:00

All this work is cramping my style.

That's about all I have to say. No real progress has been made since my last post due to my recent surge in work hours and it seems like that will be the trend until Easter. I guess it's a good thing, I'll have rent money at least.

Oh well.

Pleats me

2009-02-21T20:21:00.004-05:00

For your viewing pleasure I now present you new look 6868 - a work in progress. No before pictures, sorry :(

{Tie Detail}

Last post I was complaining about my latest project and the sack like qualities it had. I didn't want to have this project turn out as a bust, so all I could do was try to make it work.

I deemed the problem to be the mid weight fabric I was using. The pleats at the collar just weren't laying down as nicely as I would have hoped for. After doing some general fussing around in the mirror I decided to sew those suckers down. A second later I had tossed the shirt on my home made dress form and began basting the pleats in place, down to about my waist. I tried on the shirt again and it seems to have made quite the difference in the fit of the shirt. However, I think I need to continue the pleats further down on the shirt due to their extreme puffiness.

{ Far away}

{Close up puffiness and loose threads}

It is starting to look more presentable, looks much better on me than on my dress form, but it still needs more work.

*sigh*...

New shirt or bust?

2009-02-20T17:24:00.004-05:00

As I am posting this I'm in the process of making my new shirt for work, work for me. When I first thought about making some shirts from work I was thinking about using some knit fabric that I had with simplicity 3790. Later I remembered that fabric had been set aside for a specific non-sewing related purpose. No sweat I thought, I'll just use some different fabric and pattern. The pattern I used was New Look 6868 view D.

Initially I was really drawn to the tie detail. However, after completing it I was left with a big sack like shirt that had a tie.

{Artist's Rendition}

The fabric that I used was a mid-weight cotton blend, which I think attributed to the sack like look of the shirt. The pleats along the collar don't drape as nicely as they should. So here I am, taking a brief break from my attempt to restyle this shirt. So much for having a new work shirt for tomorrow, maybe later in the week.

Now for something completely different

2009-02-19T12:27:00.004-05:00

I've been seeing this quiz posted a lot so I figured why not jump on the band wagon.

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Audrey!

You are an Audrey -- "I am at peace"

Audreys are receptive, good-natured, and supportive. They seek union with others and the world around them.

How to Get Along with Me

If you want me to do something, how you ask is important. I especially don't like expectations or pressure

I like to listen and to be of service, but don't take advantage of this

Listen until I finish speaking, even though I meander a bit

Give me time to finish things and make decisions. It's OK to nudge me gently and nonjudgmentally

Ask me questions to help me get clear

Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery

Hug me, show physical affection. It opens me up to my feelings

I like a good discussion but not a confrontation

Let me know you like what I've done or said

Laugh with me and share in my enjoyment of life

What I Like About Being an Audrey

being nonjudgmental and accepting

caring for and being concerned about others

being able to relax and have a good time

knowing that most people enjoy my company; I'm easy to be around

my ability to see many different sides of an issue and to be a good mediator and facilitator

my heightened awareness of sensations, aesthetics, and the here and now

being able to go with the flow and feel one with the universe

What's Hard About Being an Audrey

being judged and misunderstood for being placid and/or indecisive

being critical of myself for lacking initiative and discipline

being too sensitive to criticism; taking every raised eyebrow and twitch of the mouth personally

being confused about what I really want

caring too much about what others will think of me

not being listened to or taken seriously

Audreys as Children Often

feel ignored and that their wants, opinions, and feelings are unimportant

tune out a lot, especially when others argue

are "good" children: deny anger or keep it to themselves

Audreys as Parents

are supportive, kind, and warm

are sometimes overly permissive or nondirective

For a two question quiz its not bad, I can't really argue with the results with the exception of

* Tell me when you like how I look. I'm not averse to flattery

I don't know how to handle compliments on my personal looks, so I'd prefer not to get any at all, especially comments from strangers at the bus stop. However, feel free to compliment what I'm wearing if it's something I made.

In sewing news I've cut out the pieces for my new work shirt and did some prep work (basting) yesterday night. I changed my mind as to the pattern I was going to use, but I'll post my reasons why in my next post.

That is all for now, take care

Mini vacation plans

2009-02-17T11:48:00.005-05:00

Today is the first of my four days off from work, which is music to my ears and sewing machine. Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy working at the portrait studio, but Valentines day was ridiculously busy and left me longing for some nice, personal, quite time at home.

So what to do? My main goal for this mini vacation is to make a shirt for work, most likely using simplicity 3790 since it comes together so quickly and easily. No interesting fabric choices, just some stretchy knit black fabric that will suit the studio's dress code and cover my backside while bending over.

Lately I've really been aching to show off what I can do, what I can create. I love being asked, "where did you get that" and being able to proudly respond "I made it". It's the best ego boost ever. A co-worker recently complimented me on one of my fabric cuffs and suggested selling them. Oh if only...

I can't deny that the thought hasn't crossed my mind, or that I've designed logos and such for my potential entrepreneurial endeavor. It's just that there is a lot of paperwork and legal things that need to be considered beforehand. It takes time and money, both of which I seem to be lacking an excess of.

Ah, to dream

{ The Complimented Cuff}

Spring fever

2009-02-11T11:47:00.008-05:00

It's over 50 degrees here today, yay!

I doubt this nice weather will last much longer, but it is helping fuel my need to sew, specifically my need to sew new spring/summer clothes. A recent visit to my fabric collection unearthed about three yards of this black fabric with white floral silhouettes and plenty of stretch. I don't remember where it came from, but I do remember it being quite the deal. It didn't take too much time for inspiration to hit. Using simplicity 2852 view c, I was able to make this sweet little tank top/tunic with a bubble hem.

{front}

This top came together pretty quickly. I did most of the prep work the night before (cut out pattern pieces, fabric, applied interfacing, all that good stuff) and was able to sew this up in a an afternoon.

{back}

After seeing the pictures I will be looking at the actual garment to see is one shoulder is longer than the other, or if is just my typical schlumpy way of standing that is making it appear that way.

Thats about it for now, I just want to go outside today and take advantage of this early spring-like weather before it's gone.

Toodles

In Remembrance

2009-02-07T11:03:00.008-05:00

No crafting updates today, instead I would like to take some time to pay tribute to a very near and dear animal companion, Ron T. Hamster, who passed yesterday.

Now most people might say "its just a hamster", but Ron was more than that, he was a mascot for the apartment, an escape artist, and a friend. He was with us for two years, and I like to think that he had a good time with us. He loved to go and ball around the apartment, following us around and knocking into our ankles, just to let his presence be known.

{Ball-ing}

He was a friendly hamster who loved attention, and would scratch and gnaw at his cage whenever we had company over so he could come out and say "hello".

He was never a biter, sometimes a nibbler, he just loved coming out and spending time with us.

So here's to you Ron, we will miss hearing your late night runs in the wheel as we get ready for bed, the sight of your cheeks all puffed out after diving into a fresh bowl of food, your love of healthy bites.

We hope wherever you are now, that you are feeling better, and that there is an unlimited supply of food without corn kernels (we know how much you hate them).

We love you and we miss you little buddy.
You'll always be our "Ham-Star".

See my vest!

2009-02-04T17:45:00.007-05:00

It's done, it's complete, it's snazzy, it's my vest. Using simplicity 4079, I made view E, minus the false pocket flaps and ties in back. The pattern wasn't very complicated, the most frustrating thing about the whole project was being bounced around while reading the instructions, a big focus breaker for me.

I think if I were to make this again I'd make my own straightforward list of instructions prior to even cutting out the fabric in order to save time and patience. After trying on the finished vest I would consider making it a size smaller, as its just a bit too roomy for me.

Now on to the pictures.

First up is a shot of the lining (which I'm still amazed I made). All in all it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The process of finishing the vest required that I learn the slip stitch in order to finish the lining. I'm debating top stitching along the edge of the vest due to poofyness that occurs around the shoulders and bottom of the vest while being worn.

{Side View}

{Princess Seam}

{Front Open}

{Back}

It looks uneven in the picture, but I'm actually just twisting slightly.

{Picture of my background for part of the shoot}

January equals loss of sewing mojo

2009-02-02T12:10:00.007-05:00

The title says it all. January was an uninspired month fueled by a lack of hours at my current job and fruitless search for a 2nd job. My days were spent staring at numerous job posting sites, and my evenings consisted of an anxious/uneasy feeling mixed with moderate amounts of self loathing.

January sucked.

There was a silver lining though, the last week of January I found out that I would be getting hours next month. I was nursing my job search bruised ego that last week, reading the craftster forums and exploring new and uncharted territories in blog land. And then it happened, I found inspiration.

This woman is amazing, her name is Carolyn and I've been addicted to her blog for the past few days, devouring her extensive blog archives, taking notes on techniques, and coveting her fabric collection. I highly recommend Diary of a Sewing Fanatic. I felt invigorated reading her blog, ready to take on new challenges, and so it began.

What to make though? I had a few things in mind before my January blues kicked in, so I did a little research on pattern review, and decided on making Simplicity 4079, a very at the moment hip and trendy lined vest.

I was lost in some sort of fantastical sewing trance all day Saturday and managed to cut, everything out, and assemble the majority of the vest, pressing every seam not once, but twice. I love the lining I can't believe I made it, its that amazing. Pictures will come but not today as I hope to finish the vest some time tomorrow, and I have an awful lot of slip stitching to do if I'm going to reach that goal.

I gots mad skillz

2009-01-16T17:45:00.006-05:00

Lately I've been working on honing a few skills before I tackle my next pattern project, mainly my button hole making skills. There have been a few semi successful attempts in the past, but I figure a little practice couldn't hurt. At first I was practicing with scraps, but I figured why not try to make something useful in the process. After a little brainstorming and an afternoon all by myself this adorable plaid cuff is what I came up with.

{ All done up}

{Stretched out}

In hindsight I think I should have made the button holes a tad bit bigger, I've already stretched them out by constantly taking it on and off. Other than that they've held up quite well. As for design aspects of the cuff I kind of went wild with the sewing machine and made a neat loop-de-loo design just for fun. I definitely had fun making it and I can see making a few more in the not to distant future.

I would also like to point out that I'm trying my best to work on delivering better quality pics (through better camera work and digital editing). What can I say? I've been working at a portrait studio for the past three months, something was bound to rub off on me.

oh well

2009-01-15T14:18:00.004-05:00

I promised a while back that I would post pictures of what I made for Christmas, not everything has gone according to plan though. Long story short, I ran out of time to make a knit hat for my sister, so I got her a book on digital photography. My parent got her a camera that she is in love with but doesn't fully grasp the technical aspects of it, here's hoping she'll crack it open and learn from it. My mom's present I managed to finish the night before going to visit, however in all the craziness of wrapping and packing, I forgot to take pictures (as well as to bring my camera for the visit itself). The only finished picture I have is that from my camera phone, and I'm not paying 50 cents to post some crappy camera phone image on my blog. My sister took some pictures, but I don't know when those will be sent to me (if they're sent to me), so for now here are a few in progress pictures. The finished embroidery was about 7 inches long, and about 5 1/2 inches tall, its a portrait of our family's animal companion, a welsh corgi named Dylan. Please excuse the blue markings, its just water soluble pen that I used to sketch out the outline.

{Close up}

{From a distance, ignore the pink flower I was experimenting}

As for my dad (AKA: the hardest person to shop/craft for on earth) I was quite fortunate one night while trolling around on etsy to come upon the greatest t-shirt ever for my father the ex-utica resident. I figured, at least its something handmade that he'll really enjoy, rather than the typical store bought gadgets that he might use. Of course I decide to order it like two days before my trip, no way on earth could it have gotten here in time, but when I showed my mom a picture she broke out in a fit of laughter. Dad decided he would rather wait and be surprised. I'm not sure what the legalities of posting a picture of the item is so I'm just going to leave links for now. The seller was great, I highly recommend GossipGossip, my order was here within four days, and it looked great, lets hope dad enjoys it as much as I do.

First post of the year

2009-01-04T14:48:00.008-05:00

Well I'm going to kick off the new year with a post about things I made last year that I haven't posted. A while back I picked up five simplicity patterns at Jo-Ann's for a dollar each (woohoo savings!). Last week I actually decided to use one of them in order to use up some stretchy thermal fabric that I recently acquired. After much deliberation I decided to use simplicity 3790 (View A).

So I took my measurements, compared it to the sizes, cut everything out and did all that good stuff. The one change I made while doing this was to forgo putting in the inset piece in order to achieve more versatile looks with the shirt.

All in all its a really simple pattern, no confusion whatsoever, but lord almighty this thing was HUGE. I mean, it fits in the sense that its not falling off of me, but its bigger than I would like ideally.

Now before I show you the shirt I'm going to flaunt my fabric choice which the BF has deemed classically unsophisticated (he meant in in a good way). The moment I saw this fabric the inner child in me was awakened and demanded that I buy a whole bunch of this fabric. And I did. Pictures do not do the colors justice. The yellow own is more lemon-lime neon in person.

Now for the shirt, please forgive my "modeling"

So its big, but its not bad. Once I make a sash type of belt to go with it I can see myself wearing it a whole bunch.

I wanted to give this pattern another go taking into account what I now know about the sizing of the actual pattern. I made View B (3 sizes smaller) from the pattern using this awesome moose/outdoorsy type of print- again, I left out the inset.

Next time I take pictures of something I've made, I'll make sure to straighten everything out a bit more. The bottom band appears to be traveling upwards in these pictures due to stretching and running around.

Well that is all for now, hopefully I'll be posting finished x-mas projects soon so stay tuned.

X-mas gifts given

2008-12-28T22:13:00.006-05:00

Last post I said I would show off what I've made for others this Christmas... after posting it dawned upon me that I have not yet finished what I'm giving my family for Christmas yet. Its okay though, I have until the 9th when I see them to craft my little heart out. My work hours have also drastically been reduced which really frees up some time (I'm trying to be positive about this). Anyways here is a look at some pajama pants I made.

Wonderful, warm, snuggle-y, super easy to make pajama pants. That's what the boyfriend got. I used the same pattern as the first pair I made a while back, but added pockets as per his request. The first pair is made out of cotton flannel with a dartboard print and gray fleece stripes, which were added once I realized the cotton flannel fabric I had was not wide enough to fit the pattern on. Not too bad all in all, but I must say, the next pair my personal favorite.

This pair was made out of artic fleece fabric and has the the most AWESOME hand shaped pockets. Now The hand shapped pocket may be of no valuable use to the boyfriend, but for me they are the perfect place to put my hands whenever they're cold or just looking for attention.

Thanks for looking

Christmas Loot

2008-12-27T12:16:00.004-05:00

I do have a few pictures of what I've made others for x-mas, but instead of posting those today I'm going to show off the recent donation to my ever growing fabric stash. My boyfriend's mother is a very crafty lady who was looking to narrow down her own craft stash in order to be more productive/less overwhelmed. I only made a slight dent in her fabric stash, but every little bit helps right? Now on to the pictures!

{Bias Tape and More}

{Fabrics}

The white fabric that everything is piled on top of has this great lace edging. I definitely want to make a spring/summer skirt out of it, possibly dye it. I'm picturing a gradient kind of effect... but I digress.

{Buttons}

A great assortment of old buttons that have been collected over many years. One particular set of buttons intrigued me to the point where I actually looked them up.

This is the best picture I could get of these buttons. They have the state shield of New Hampshire on the front, and have "Scoville MFG Co. Waterbury" imprinted on the back. After some research I found out that they are militia buttons, however I haven't been able to date them. At this point I'm pretty sure they're not from the civil war era like others that I saw in my search, but still its pretty cool. I'm going to hold off on using these until I know exactly what I have, and I let the BF's mom know as well.

That is all I have to share for now, I'll post x-mas gifts at some point in the nearby future. Until then, happy holidays

One more time

2008-12-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

To be honest I wasn't completely satisfied with the card I made before hand, mainly because I had deviated from my general winter holiday theme. So last night I gave it another go and this is
what I came up with:

I'll most likely play around some more with the text placement, but for now this is the general idea I had in mind. Please, if your reading this, feel free to add constructive criticism.

Tis' the season pt.2

2008-12-05T20:11:00.000-05:00

As promised, here is the finished(?) product...I think.

I'll take another look tomorrow and decide.

Tis' the season

2008-12-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Crap, it's December already and I have so much to do. This year I'm trying to give something handmade to family and close friends, sounds great and all but I've managed to wait until now to really figure out who is getting what. Bah, humbug.

One of the first projects I jumped on today was taking care of my holiday cards (it also gave me a chance to play around with my new drawing tablet).

This is what I have so far:

Once Ron the hamster gets up I'm hoping to get a decent picture and finish up the card so I can start mailing it out, as well as post the finished product.

Thats all for now.

Stash Busting and new project

2008-11-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

A couple posts ago I made pajama pants using a pattern, a first for me. They weren't for me, but after finishing the project I had a hankering to use up some of my ever growing fabric stash. I actually made these the day after I posted the other ones, just haven't gotten around to posting them. So here I present to you my new purple paisley pajama pants. Only one pic to so as it is late and I was unable to take decent action pictures

So when I haven't been working, or sick due to work, I've been working on making my very fist pair of trouser pants from Newlook 6815. So far so good.

Below is a picture of the pattern pieces marked off on the dollar a yard fabric I procured not too long ago. I just began attaching the waistband today, hoping to have them finished possibly by next week.

Well, thats all for now. Goodnight.

Introspection

2008-11-11T23:45:00.000-05:00

With my birthday fast approaching (and a chance stumbling across Abraham Maslow's idea of self actualization) I've been doing a great deal of introspection on my life. With my introspection came a number of things that I want to try, that I feel will help promote my own personal growth, and/or might just be fun. I was able to narrow my list down to a few things that I feel comfortable enough sharing with people I don't really know. So here it is, my short bullet format of things to try/accomplish eventually:

Things to Accomplish

Join a roller derby team- I figured I'd post my most "outrageous" personal goal first. What can I say? I've never personally seen a roller derby match, but I feel that it would be a cathartic experience for myself.
Write my own ZOMBIE movie/novel- I've had one in the works for a while now, my personal goal at the moment for this project is to be finished with writing and editing by December 2009.
Continue to reduce, recycle, reuse my wardrobe- I'm definitely going to sign up for wardrobe refashion again...maybe go for four months this time around. I would like to take this opportunity to say that the shirts I got for work were purchased from Goodwill (yay!).
Make my own tofu- enough said
Try to be more active in my community- I've noticed in the area where I've recently moved that there seems to be a lot more social outreach and activism(probably due to all the colleges in the area). It seems like a no-brainer, volunteer my time to make my new home a better place over all, make some new friends.

That is all for now, I hope to add updates eventually as to the progress of some of my own personal goals. As always I will be updating with more crafty good-ness as well...just not now.

Toodles