Velvet Jacket and Flannel Skirt

I think I've pretty much said everything I can about these two items of clothing I can. The skirt zipper leaves a bit to be desired, but I'm calling it good after I totally serged the seams before inserting zipper. I'm not caring.  Other pro-tip: When taking photos, do the hat photos last, so as to not mess up hair. I remembered that this time. Small victories. 

Hi, how are you, check out my new skirt and jacket.

Katie mentioned this looked very Goth like and I'm all "Yeah! Corporate Goth!"

BUTTS! LOL

mmm... zipper wrinkle.

Oh look, boobs.

My lining, let me show you it.

I said to hubby "I make funny faces" He said "What? Where?" Weapons of mass distraction!

Here's a better shot of the jacket lining, with bonus funny face.

I made this cami too, like a million years ago. Then I decided I didn't want to make anymore camis, too much work. Then I tried to buy nice ones again, and they all suck. *sighs*

I are cute lady-k.

POCKETSES! I HAZ THEM!

This is to show that the actual lining doesn't show until I do something like put my hands in my pockets. And that I did manage to line up plaid. Also, I love this belt.

non-euclidean topography

Me: If I can ever wrap my head around the geometry of trouser fitting I will rule the world.
Hubby: Is it because non-euclidean topography has a real life application after all or did math geeks just figure out a way to get --> girls' pants?
Me: ...  You are such a nerd. 

In related news, I started a pair of Colette Clovers after finishing three Renfrew tops. Once I'm done with the two pair of Clovers I want to make (which should be this weekend) I'll have enough cake that I can get on to some frosting. Tasty Tasty frosting. No good photos as of yet, so uh... here's a pic of my cat in a box. 

I'm in a box! 

Pencil Skirt Obsession: Lace and Leather Edition

Vogue 8697

Well, we've already established that I like high-waist pencil skirts.  And I also like to have a corseting action going on in the waist, too.  I think this might combine those two quite nicely. I only include the technical drawings because all of the fashion samples were fugly. BLEH. In fact, for a while there I questioned my motives in buying this pattern in the first place. I blame JoAnn's sale. So there.

Moving right along...  I had one of those brilliant ideas you get when driving home in the car. I know the PERFECT fabric combo for this, and I already own everything I need to make it! I even remembered to write it down, nay, TAKE A PICTURE! when I got home.  Bully for me. Wanna see?

So here we have Egyptian cotton in Pepto Bismol, knock-off Chantilly lace, and a black deer hide.  Before you get upset about deer hide, please understand that there are many in my family that hunt, or know people that hunt, and my Aunt buys leather from local businesses that dress and carve deer to make moccasins for charity. At least, that's usually how she gets it.  Other methods can be read about here. Lets just say my family has its own share of quirks, and one of them is if we'll eat it, we'll use other parts of the body too. Enough about that.

So, yes, I have a deer hide in my fabric stash, originally it was sent to me with the idea of using it as the bottom of a purse, but I couldn't bring myself to use it for that purpose.  So back to my skirt idea.  I want to use the black leather for the waistband, with a lining that has horse-hair and boning to keep it upright.  I think it would also be good as an accent for the top of the two side panels, those sort of chevron pieces.  The Egyptian cotton I had bought thinking it would be the lining to my Earth Day dress, but I then realized it was much too heavy for that.  I've learned a lot about fabric qualities in the last year. Of course I'll use the black lace over the pink, I think that, with the leather, will make it edgy and feminine at the same time, and possibly even on-trend for the runway.  And I still have my chiffon blouse with sparkly beaded embroidery in my closet from what a friend of mine dubbed my "corporate goth look" .  Add a black chemise underneath and VIOLA! Instant badass chic.

So, that's on my mind, along with finishing the fit on my bolero and starting to work on some TNT trousers and button down blouses. And if any of you have some good tips on working with leather in garment sewing, I'm all ears! Well, not really, cause that'd look weird.

Shopping List or To Do List?

atom slicer

I can't help but think this strange bit of paper has something to do with my kids' current Minecraft obsession. I caught my daughter in the ipconfig file of my husband's computer and was like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!?!".

She huffs and says "Building a multiplayer server, of course."

Oh yes, of course, what was I thinking, silly Mom.  Sheesh.  Don't I know anything? But all that came out of my mouth was "Do you know the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?"  The discussion got weirder from there. My nine year old now knows more about internet protocol than the average person on the street. Not that she really cares, she just wants me to play with her.  I told her only if there are zombie squirrels. (That mask still has sunglasses on.  Maybe I'll decorate him for Christmas, it will go well with my Portal Tree.)

Fuzzy Cam

I was trying to get  nicely setup family portraits while on vacation,  took my tripod with me, setup at the beach at sunset... all that. But unbeknownst to me, the focus went out of whack when I set the auto-timer.  I didn't think to check cause I was exhausted and on lots of pain medication I'm derpy like that. But I couldn't resist these two cause the blue gingham dress has turned into one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES and well,  the family photo just speaks volumes.

Oh yeah, and I have a big (for me) announcement coming up later today.

Star Trek Fuzzy Cam!

Yeah, we're like that.

Sometime later I'll tell you how my husband shocked the mess out of me coming home with a mohawk.

Last Minute Sewing

I didn't get any of Felicity's retro outfit done, but she was much more excited about this dress anyway.  We bought it during last Saturday's excursion down town that involved me getting more batiste and silk organza for underlining and the kids picking out fabric for their elf costumes. Which was news to me cause NO ONE had said anything about their costumes previously.  WTF?  Anyway, I call this "cheater fabric" because its already shirred.  Its also 55" long so I had to cut and hem it for Felicity.  And its a seriously pretty dress on her too and makes her look too grown up.  It was fairly inexpensive, so, you know. Its cool.

Simon and my husband, on the other hand, spent 30 minutes looking for the the exact right green for Simon's Legolas  costume. They came back from the silk section and both had this very self-satisfied triumphant grin on their face.  They then procured the bolt of emerald green silk dupioni for a whopping $25 a yard.

"REALLY???" I asked my husband.
"Yes, it was the only thing that fits, and it shimmers and looks like trees."  Which it did, he was right.  I was incredulous.
"Twenty five dollars a yard for a costume? A KID'S COSTUME?"  They both just grinned big ass grins and nodded at me.  Husband went on to explain that silk would have been worn by archers anyway because it wraps around the arrow if they get hit and helps make it easier to get the arrow out.  At that point I gave up and was like "OK FINE!".

My husband is an enabler.  He's not allowed to complain about my fabric habit anymore. SHEESH.

In any case, we're about to pack the car and head out of town.  If you want you can follow me at Instagram.  Username is  "ladykatza", like it always is.

Stay cool everyone. CHEERS!

Cake and the Bunny Rue

First off, WOW! Look at all the new people!  Nice to meet ya'll and welcome to my little corner of insanity. And don't worry, we have cookies.  I'm gonna have to send some to Oona as a thank you. Also, if you are new, just started following me, and want to put your hat in the ring for any of the give-a-ways, please don't forget to comment! Otherwise I might miss you and that would make me very sad.

Second, I'm skipping the give-a-way tonight as I lost my way for a bit there. That will be explained after the "Cake" section in the "Bunny Rue" section. I will have the next give-a-way scheduled to go up at noon this Monday. In any case, despite the lack of in-depth sewing posts, I have been sewing. Honest! And I have more planned soon, including some insights into sewing vintage children's garments.

Cake

Mmmm, knits

So, to continue with the description that Ms. Tasia started, I have actually been doing some sewing since I finished the two frosting dresses. Sewing cake pieces at that, but in neat fabric.  First I have to back up and say that I had been on an online fabric buying spree lately.  Seems every time I want to strangle someone at work I end up buying fabric instead (My bank account is probably thanking my doctor right now for the Xanax prescription).  This has amounted to... a lot of fabric.  The above knits I had cut out, most of which are in progress right now being one bit.  Another knit fabric I had cut out was from Saywer Brook, a French rayon jersey knit called Gotham(now sold out, sorry). Being the geek that I am, how could I NOT buy it. It has since become a piece in heavy rotation.  The dress is New Look 6936 * and is all cake. Very great basic knit pattern. This one could be sewn without a serger if you have a good zigzag stitch.  I haven't modeled it on me, not had much time. But here it is on my brand new, padded out doppleganger.

Please excuse the mess, we're still in the midst of The Great Cleaning and Reorganization Project.   So, as cake-y as this dress pattern is, the print makes it fun.  Its kinda like Devil's Food Cake, doesn't need frosting, ya know?  I get lots of compliments on it at work.  Also, I'm quite proud of how my dress-form finally turned out.

I also finished at black knit top that was suppose to be cake, but ended up giving it to a friend because it didn't fit me.  I have pictures and will post them later. :D

*This was my first time trying to do a downloadable pattern from Simplicity's site and all I have to say is NEVER AGAIN.  Not only did it really cost me more than it would at the store, I'm only allowed to print it out twice and the system they use to put the pieces together is confusing.  I can't even really describe it. They don't have the rows numbered numerically or anything like that. Its weird. AND they made me go to a WHOLE other website  and fill out info for "security" of only being able to download it twice, AND the instructions counted. WTF? So, in summery, unless you live overseas and its just otherwise impossible to get, don't do it.  Or even better, use Tanit-Isis'  Grecian Sundress pattern.

The Bunny Rue

So, Friday was my actual birthday.  And the day itself was not exactly spectacular but it ended on a note that, while not in any way happy, was completely unforgettable. My husband is on call this week, and got a trouble call while we were out for my birthday dinner. Not really his fault, but after I had gotten up early to pick up my farm share and everything, I was kinda just tired.  We both ended up going to bed when we got home, Felicity was off with Grandma again (she does that alot in the summer) and Simon was in his room reading.  So, about 10:30pm (which is like AM to me, I work nights), I wake suddenly with the feeling something is not right.  I get up and walk out to the dining area to see Simon's kindle sitting on the floor next to the table in the walkway with its little reading light still on. This is very unusual since Simon takes fairly good care of his electronic devices.  Then I hear commotion in the sun room. 

I walk around the corner into the sun room and find Simon kneeling on the floor and obviously distraught.  He stands up and says "I just locked Manga out so he couldn't get to the bunny. I heard it scream upstairs, it woke me up and I tried to save it but look!!"

Manga is our orange tabby cat. He's a tough hunter, enough so he managed to survive a wild dog attack,  so without even getting over to see this bunny I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.  Simon's squatted down over it and is crying "Don't die little bunny, hang on little guy. You can make it."  

I can see its bloody from across the room and knew I was going to need some gloves. I told Simon to watch it, I'll be right back and went and got a pair of the latex gloves I use for cleaning.   I get back and remind Simon to breath as I put the gloves on and gently roll the bunny over. Its back is broken and you can see its intestines.  "I'm sorry Simon, but I don't think he's gonna make it." I tell him gently. 

"Its gotta make it! Its just gotta! Can we try and save it? Can we keep it if it does??"  he says with so much hurt in his voice.

"Yes Simon." I tell him, knowing neither of those things are possible. " Grab that empty box and some paper towels."

He's better with instructions.  Panicking people always calm down when they have something to do.  He gets the required things and I put some of the towels in the box and then gently lift the rabbit and put it in the box.  The poor thing is gasping for air this entire time.  I put the box in Simon's lap and tell him he can pet between its ears.  The entire time he's got tears in his eyes and he pets it gently saying "Hold on buddy".

I'm totally losing it on the inside but this is one of those moments in motherhood you gotta keep it together. I've taken off the gloves at this point and I'm holding him while he holds the bunny in the box.  After what seems like ages but is really only about five minutes it finally stops breathing.  Simon starts sobbing.  I let him cry.

"Its better this way Simon. There was no way it was going to live through that. See its side, that's its insides.  It was too broken and in pain to live that way." I told him.  "Breath Simon."  And he gets his breathing in check with the exercises we've given him to calm down.  

"Its better this way, I promise.  Now its no longer suffering." I tell him. 

"Like Grandma W?" asks Simon. 

"Yes, like Mom. Neither of them have to suffer anymore".  

"We have to bury her, or him. It, we have to bury it."  I have to smile because even distraught Simon's mind focuses on the details.  And of course we have to bury the rabbit. It couldn't be any other way.  I ask him if he knows where the shovel is. "No, but I know where the little one for gardening is" he says. 

So there I am in the backyard at 11pm at night with the camping lantern, a dead bunny, and a tiny hand trowel digging a grave.  We dig it big enough for the bunny but not the box and as we put it in the ground Simon asks "Since its dead, can I name it?"

"Yes, Simon, I think that's just fine." 

"I'm gonna name it Rue, cause it was tiny and brave."   And if ya'll have read "The Hunger Games" then you are right there with me.  I waited until he cried himself to sleep in my arms before going through an entire box of tissues myself.  

And that's how my birthday ended. 

My Doppelganger Needs More Butt Padding

Keen eyes may have noticed my mention of an Epic Meltdown (post before this one) due to my missing out on family fun at the lake.  Well, I have to admit that, in my petulance, I ended up doing a little online shopping.  However, it did mean I snagged a Singer Dress form for $99 (still going for another couple days... qualifies for their fee shipping, too).

Please excuse the mess. 

And this time I was armed with knowledge of how to pad it out and make it more "me" shaped.  I started out I used the dial for the upper bust and under bust (which on the dress form  = waist) measurements. Then I used one of my older bras and padded that out and then started with the quilt batting. I did two wrap-arounds with low-loft polyester, tucking it under the bra strap.  Next I cut out more rounded shapes to pad the tummy and posterior.  I measured as I went, both myself at the moment, then the dress form.  I'd stand side by side with it to make sure it was approximately the same shape as me.  This also meant I ended up in my underwear. Actually, that happens a lot when I'm at the "try it on" phase.  I don't always remember to pull the blinds cause we practically live in the woods, so its really only an issue if I have pervy neighbors with binoculars and insomnia.  In any case, I now I basically "bump breasts" with it if I'm trying to put a tape measure around or something, which means I probably have a good height too.

I then draped and pinned some scrap red knit/lycra I had kept around pinned an approximation, and then serged. You can tell from the white showing that I didn't bother to change the serger thread. Cause I'm lazy like that. I didn't really think to take photos of that part.  It was around this time my roommate woke up and wandered through the sun room and said "Hey, that's very you shaped!" Bonus.

The padding did settle after a days sleep, so when I got up and had enough coffee in me to ask his opinion, my husband says  "Good job, but your doppelganger needs more butt padding".  *insert BADUMDUM TISS here*

Oh yes, I plan to put BOTH sergers to work on these. There's one more that I cut but is not in this picture. 

He's right, probably need a bit more of a tummy pooch too. Ah, the joys of motherhood. Now I just need to sew up that pile of knits sitting next to the sewing machines. Hmmm.

I'm a Teapot in a Boat!

Little girl is my daughter, baseball cap is my brother in law, and the man behind the wheel is my Elusive Husband. 

Did I mention my brother-in-law* bought a boat?  Like, a ski boat that seats about six. I found out and was like WHOA, AWESOME!  But not until after my friend Jenna talked me out of an anxiety attack about the kids learning to ski.  She pointed out this is why they make life vests. Oh right... durrr.  And seeing as we live close to the lake, their grandma takes them to the pool, and we like to vacation at the beach, well, our kids pretty much develop webbed toes and gills in the summer time.  Not to mention the ever adorable freckles across the nose.

Felicity is biting the strap to keep it from flapping against her face.

We're all happy about swimming here.

Last weekend they went out and it was kinda last minute and I had an Epic Meltdown because I couldn't go.  So this was a sunset ride so I could go. SO. MUCH. FUN.  I didn't actually go swimming,  I'm not happy with my current swimsuits for that purpose. The one I want is on back order and I might just have to modify this pattern to make one I like. We'll see. There are just some things I don't feel like spending the effort on.

In any case, this means there may be some more beach style cover-ups in my future (shirring anyone?).  So obviously, we had a blast.  The funniest thing happened as we were all driving back to my Brother-In-Law's, a friend of mine ended up pocket dialing me.  This particular friend, Kris, has known me so long he still uses my maiden last name.  My husband says its cause he's an optimist.  I reply by sticking my tongue out at him.  It devolves in maturity from there. Anyway, pocket dialing.  If you've ever seen "Real Genius" and remember   Val Kilmer's character then you have a pretty good description of both looks and personality. So of course, after hearing Kris talking AND I could tell he was talking to some other people, I realized that the phone was actually in his pocket, I couldn't resist what happened next...

Me: HELLO KRIS?  CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOUR PANTS ARE TALKING TO YOU!!! HELLO!
*wait a minute, still hear talking*
Me (singing at the top of my lungs):  I'M A LITTLE TEAPOT SHORT AND STOUT, HERE IS MY HANDLE HERE IS MY SPOUT!!!! WHEN I GET ALL STEAMED UP AND START TO....  *devolves into a fit of giggles from me and the kids in the truck* 
Me (after I still hear talking): HELLO, KRIS, YOUR PANTS ARE TALKING TO YOU!! HELLO!
Some other person in the room: Dude, your pants are talking...
Kris: Uh, hello???
Me: Hi Kris, you pocket dialed me.
Kris:  Who is this?
Me: Elizabeth
Kris:  Elizabeth [my maiden name]
Me: Yes, that's right.  Your pants dialed me.
Kris: My pants dialed you? Why would they do that? Are you seeing my pants behind my back?
My Husband in the background:  I don't know, you should ask them.

At which point I completely lose it and start laughing so hard tears are going down my face, which sets Kris and everyone in the truck to laughing too.  Eventually Kris says he has to go.  Have I mentioned I know awesome people? True facts, man.

Goggles a must!

Why yes, I'm a sassy redhead, what makes you ask?

Awesome, right?

So, great times!  What do ya'll have planned for those in the Northern Hemisphere for summer?  Don't  forget there's always fun things to do even on a budget, like Finding a natural swimming hole or even going on a day trip to the nearest State Park.  For those of us in the U.S. of A. I say explore the fun out-of-doors. National and State Parks are there for a reason and you should get your tax dollars out of them!

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta finish padding out my new dress form,make some zucchini bread, and coleslaw.  

*My brother-in-law and sis-in-law live eight miles from me in one direction. My mother-in-law/father live eight miles in the other (basically live in a house turned into a duplex).  I gotta say having family close makes life easier.

Spoonflower Fabrics; Something for Everyone

  I was poking around Spoonflower trying to find fabric that my husband might actually like. Something kinda dressy that I could make for him.  He likes dragons. Ok, so I found this:

He kinda liked it, thought it wasn't bad.  But then he came across this:

FOR THE HORDE!

Oh yeah, that's way more his style.  There was a time he practically lived World of Warcraft.  So I've bookmarked it.  Then I went looking for something I could make a tablecloth and napkins out of.  I was pleased to find there was an entire range of Cthulhu fabrics.

Please to be making a sanity check.

Even Christmas Cthulhu!

Christmas decorations my husband won't complain about!

Something on my "to do" list for a while has been to make curtains for the kids' rooms. For sure they have very unique personalities.  Simon was all about this galaxy print.

Hubble!

I asked Felicity and she was like "No, I want horses!"  So I did a search on "horses" and this came up. I said 'Skeleton Horses?!' and she goes "YEAH! That's what I want!".

Horsies.

I think there's something wrong with this family.

Marc Jacobs Is Big Pimpin' in America

Seriously, when I was going through the recent shows I saw this and I my brain just sort of screeched in mid-air. Its like on the other side of Mad Hatter's looking glass was an early 1980's Brooklyn, or Harlem, or... downtown Atlanta. Mix it up with the 1880's and you get.. this. What is this, I don't even?

Excuse me, have you seen my gold chain?

Someone used this poor girl for dart practice.

My husband calls this "Fetish on the Prairie, for a price".

She stole the safety pin out of a giant's diaper bag.

I dunno why I think Marc Jacobs is not suppose to be so off the wall. I'm personally excited to see what Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta have to offer. AND Donna Karan's line was yummy. Give me black and red! I love black and red together.

Not much sewing going on with me right now. I've been doing a lot of planning and my husband is taking me to cabin up in the mountains for a mini getaway. I'm gonna attempt to make little lounge wear, we shall see.

Gusset

Now added to the list of sewing vocabulary that makes grown men turn into giggling school boys. No, I don't want boning in my gusset, thank you very much.

When You Have Children...

You turn the corner and find this...

nom nom nom

Now, this mask lives at the top of my stairs. My stairs land in the foyer of the front door. Its purpose is to scare away evil spirits (If you believe in such things).  Finding this random sort of thing is not uncommon in this house.  Ask me about the time they created an instance in a kids MMORPG  called RoBlox where they convinced the other players all squirrels are brain eating zombie agents of the devil. No, I'm not making this up. To say I have interesting conversations with their teachers would be an understatement.

I will have sewing related posts this week, promise.

New Label

Hello Dear Readers! I know a while back I mentioned I might do a bit more photography that is not quite sewing related. And more technology histories. And a few political essays when they cross over into the sewing room. And I assure you that scattered across my house are various bits of paper with ideas scribbled on them, but since I live in a barely controlled state of chaos, getting it together and putting it here is problematic. And my camera is at the camera doctor.

So. I've decided to give you another, somewhat spontaneous, occasional thing called "Sh*t My Family Says". Family here being a somewhat loose term to include people I interact with on a regular basis. Often I post these things to Facebook. Honestly though, some of them just need to be shared to spread the pain. And funny.  Pain is funny, right?  Like the other night:

Me: I don't hear any teeth brushing going on!

Son: I had to take my pants off!

And there you have it.

In other news, the trash guys hauled off  my porch decoration. And Friday I should be able to get pictures of Felicity in her robe. But not the Pebbles Dress. That turned into an un-mitigated disaster. I'll probably just turn it into a loincloth and call it a a day.

Here's a photo of Moran Freeman with a kitty on his head.