Uff Da!

Doing a blind hem by hand on a circle skirt for the shop sample for my class has left my hand practically numb.  This is why I add lace to everything.  Its like cheating.  Very expensive cheating. Anyway, its a circle skirt, which most of you who sew probably know all about already.  If not, take my class!  *shameless plug*  

But here it is, it goes to the shop tomorrow. Now I'm going to take  lost more medication and go back to bed.  My body is very very mad at me right now.  Lots of pain plus summer cold. BLEH.  

Big Announcement! I'm Teaching!

For those of you that follow Tasia's blog over at Sewaholic may have noticed there's a new fabric shop in my neck of the woods.  The shop is called Sew Main Street and I'm happy to announce I'm now on the teaching roster!  Yay me!

Easy as Pi: Drafting and Sewing a Circle Skirt

Did you know that (x−h)2+(y−k)2=r2 can be used to draft a pattern? Using this little formula and your waist measurements, you can create your own pattern for a circle skirt, designed to fit you perfectly! Don't worry, its not complicated at all.

If you're ready to move past the basic elastic waist skirt, Elizabeth will show you how to create your own patterns for a tailored, custom fit.

In the first class, you will draft the skirt as a 1/4 pattern piece and mark your pattern piece for a 1/2, 3/4 or full circle skirt. By the end of the first class, you will have your pieces cut and a little sewing done! Your second class will walk you through inserting the zipper, adding the waistband, hemming the skirt. Once you have drafted this pattern, you will be able to use it over and over again to create more skirts for yourself, and you'll have the knowledge to draft a new pattern for others!

I'm really excited because I've had this idea of somehow incorporating math into sewing for a long time as a way to help get more young ladies interested in both.  It first peculated in my head while attending a "Women in Science" panel at Dragon*Con. One of the things that came up is how even the examples in science tend to be gendered.   Thankfully, the wonderful owner, Debi, also thought that bringing sewing and math together a great idea and hence my first class! So you if you live in the Atlanta area and are curious, come on down! This class will be two Friday evenings the second half of August.

Circle skirts are cool. 

High Tech Blue

Do you remember when televisions used to have that black and white "snow" that was loud and static? And sometime in the 90's they started to have what I call "high tech blue". That's what color this dress is, I don't have any other description for it. Its another Vogue 8679, view C. This time I kept it at the full length and also lengthened the sleeves. Its a fairly stable wool knit, which had I been thinking I would have kept some of the ease. Since I did an FBA I decided to keep the bust darts. They were fine on my polkadot dress, but here they are almost parallel under my bust, which um... makes it weird. I'm certain that was a carelessness on my part as I cut this and a shirt out after being so thrilled with the results of the polkadot one. Then I sort of lost my steam and started daydreaming about summer projects. It might be that we got seven inches of snow here in North Georgia. That's all that white stuff at my feet that's kind of cold and wet. And cold. Did I mention its cold? Good thing I'm wearing wool.

And no, I have not lost my mind. I remembered my coat. (There's proof below. See?)What was I talking about again? Oh yeah, losing my steam on this project. Its a fairly simple dress and it only takes a few hours to put together. That is, when you feel motivated to do so and your sewing machine doesn't decide to be a cranky beotch. I think its time for a tune up, honestly. But I don't know if I can part with her for that long! Lord, I'm hopeless. Its not like I have a lack of sewing machines around here.

Speaking of summer projects, I got my fabric in for my Vintage Sew-A-Long. I was hoping for a smaller print but its just going to have to work. And along the way I picked up this pattern during at $3.99 sale on impulse and then promptly found the perfect fabric to order along with the one for the sew-a-long. How about that? Anyway, that's all from the peanut gallery for now. In the meantime, STAY FABULOUS!