SewBaby News

I found this stunning striped silk jersey at Fashion Fabrics Club last month, and it has inspired me to start working on an early fall wardrobe capsule.  We have some friends who live in Sedona, Arizona, and this reminded me so much of the colors there, that I'm calling it my "Sedona Sunset" SWAP.  (SWAP stands for Sewing With A Plan.)  Not everything will be worn together, but it helps me set a general direction of where I want to go.  I love the planning process. I have 6 yards of it, which should be enough to get at least 2 pieces, maybe three out of it just by itself, so it is definitely my centerpiece.  However, it is a narrow width, as silk jerseys often are.   I know that I for certain want to make a wrap style dress out of it.  Hopefully, I'll have enough left over for a sleeveless top or straight skirt. I also had two sandwashed silks- a blue and a tomato red.  I've got about 5 yards of the blue, but just 2 of the red. Both...

One of my daughter's best friends, Wen, went to Rwanda a couple of years ago, and brought back several beautiful pieces of fabric to give to us.  My daughter said that I could have one of them, so I chose the most subdued piece of the bunch which was this one. I found the stickers interesting, and in researching African Wax Prints, I found that counterfeit fabrics are a problem, so that must be why it came with these markers. I had 3-1/2 yards of 44" wide fabric to work with.  It did have a very slight waxy coating on it, which washed off when I preshrunk it, but didn't effect the color in any way.  The remaining fabric was kind of a cross between a broadcloth and a canvas- lightweight, but crisp, with a slightly coarse texture. I hung it on the dress form for a while trying to envision it in another form.  I went to the manufacturer's website and was surprised to see that the fabric actually was made in China.  Here is an excerpt from their About U...

If I loved working out as much as I love sewing, I would probably be a marathon runner!  But alas, I do not, and even though working out is always on my to do list, it hasn't made it to the top of the list for a while.  I actually do like yoga and running, but I've had a foot issue plaguing me for several months that has dampened my enthusiasm quite a bit.  To try to get my mojo back for exercise, I decided to make myself some new workout clothes.  So, I ordered two Kwik Sew patterns during their last sale- 4163 and 4181. I had three pieces of nylon/lycra knits- one coral, one printed, and one black.  I had ordered 1-1/2 yds of the coral and the print, and just one yard of the black. Let's start with Kwik Sew 4163.  Although I loved the end results, I did find some problems with the pattern.  First of all- the shorts on the model look like a great length, right?  On me, they were obscenely short- like bathing suit short.  So, those wer...

Wow- it's July already!  I haven't posted much this year, but I was sewing or thinking about sewing quite a bit.  If you follow my blog, you know that my daughter had a very serious surgery in May, and most of my Spring sewing was devoted to making her some loungewear for her to wear while she recuperated.  My daughter's big surgery went very well, and she is recovering amazingly fast.  She'll be returning to work in just 10 days (the surgery was in mid-May).  After we knew she was going to be fine, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted, and I immediately went out and cut off all my hair!  I don't know if that's a normal reaction or not, but it just seemed like the thing to do- to just lighten up!  I hadn't had such a drastic cut in many years, but it really feels good. I did make her a couple of new dresses while I was staying with her during her recuperation, and, unfortunately, the pretty robe that I made for her got lost in the hospita...