Sunday, July 24, 2011

Featured!

My cowl design is out and featured on Creative Knitting's September 2011 highlights. You can check it out on their website.

http://www.creativeknittingmagazine.com/

I'm have way through my summer job. The heat index the other day was 115, not good knitting weather at all!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Happy July

I have a lot to put to page this blog post and might not have enough time to do so. Me Made June '11 is over and while my camera broke and I wasn't able to update what I was wearing I did try to finish out the month. Being at camp though it got tricky and I mostly resorted to wearing my navy athletic shorts and cotton jersey pencil skirt in lavender.

How do I feel about having completed this challenge? It made me have to go outside of my comfort zone in sewing. I made my first pair of pants that weren't meant for PJ's, I also made my first garment with out the use of a pattern and just my measurements. This challenge has made me a better seamstress. I was wearing my lavender skirt yesterday and noticed that my hemming was straighter than when I started this challenge. I am more confident when I start out making a garment and I feel that I am ready to take on more difficult projects, (like the Lady Gray).

This challenge has also ruined my outlook on ready to wear, none of it fits! I would rather make my own t-shirt than buy one that doesn't really fit me right. Maybe it's my high natural waist or my broad shoulders, but even though I am small ready wear clothes don't actually fit me right. I have a theory that ready wear doesn't actually fit anyone.

One thing that this challenge did not help me do was figure out my style. This is proving difficult. I would like to me a bit more put together, but I am stuck in a casual rut. I do however have a plan for the fall on being more fab, but this is too early to go on about that. To help with this I have made a Pintrest account and as of right now there isn't much, but I have high hopes for after camp, as well as some sewing plans.

My advice to someone looking to start making their own clothes, is to start small. Start with altering a t-shirt, then learn how to make a tote bag on a sewing machine, then try a simple pattern and build up your skills. If you take small bites you will be sewing in no time.

For some fun and easy t-shirt alterations check out Megan Nicolay's blog Generation T. She has great tutorials and if you want more of her designs she has two books out Generation T:108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt, and Generation T: Beyond Fashion: 120 New Ways to Transform a T-Shirt.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Quick update

Things are crazy busy and my camera is broken and I'm out of underwear so I am off to do laundry and then back to work.

I will admit that I miss sewing and I haven't gotten anytime to knit with meetings and everything. I am hoping for a little extra time once the kids get here and I will not be scheduling and ordering as much as I have in these first few days here on camp.

One thing that I am regretting is that because of my schedule here at camp and with my camera being broken I am having some trouble with my Me Made June '11 challenge. Today was my 1st slip up, but I was working in an icky shop full of dust, dirt and spiders. I also Don't have pictures of what I wore the last few days. Even if I can't photo document my me made challenge I will still finish it, no more slip ups for me.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Me Made June '11 Update: Day 12-15

Training is winding down for me and I finally have time to give you an update. Hopefully I will be able to update more often now that the intense training weekend is over.

Day 12

I Finally got a photo from Sunday. (Thanks Jamie!)
Top: Altered softball tee, I added the contrasting cap sleeves
Bottom: Navy blue, double knit athletic shorts, made by me!

Day 13


Top: Altered Men's Tee Tunic
Bottom: Black leggings
Braided Belt

Day 14



Top: Cotton Anchor Tank
Bottom: Go To Shorts

Day 15


Hey remember this dress? (Don't worry that's not what I wore!)


Now it looks like this! I finally finished altering that horrid pink thing. I took in the straps making it an empire waist. I also brought the hem up and finished the edges with bias tape. Ta-da a dress!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

At Camp!

I am here at my summer job and its head training weekend. I am super psyched to be here and am excited to be working with awesome artists. The sad part is I will only be blogging three days a week, but I am planing on having lots of photo updates.

Tomorrow I will have a photo update of Me Made June. TTFN!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Lists and More Lists

I am very organized and deliberate when I pack. This is great having traveled abroad with a back pack and a carry on sized suit case. (One of these trips was the three months I spent in Oz.) I have a process and my packing takes about three to four days because of my process. Since I am leaving for my summer job tomorrow I have been packing and am almost done. I thought I would share a bit of my list, and my process.

For working at a summer camp you pack what you need plus a bit more, plus anything weird or fun that might come in handy. My first step is to make a list of what to pack and by what to pack I don't just mean cloths and toiletries I mean everything from linens, to knitting supplies, to the tools I take with me. Here is a sample of my master list.

Camp Packing
Cloths
-2 pair work shorts (by work I mean what I wear in my classes, I teach technical theatre and we get messy and painty.)
-1 pair work jeans
-2-3 work tanks
-3-4 work tees
-1 pair nice jeans
-2-3 pair shorts
-1 pair "other" pants
-1 skirt
-3 sun dresses (Me Made)
-1-2 rompers (Me Made)
-4-5 t-shirt (Me Made and Ready Made)
-1 knit top (heat wave)
-2 cotton sweaters (hand knit)
-2-3 pj bottoms
-2-3 pj tops
-3-4 tank tops (Me Made and Ready Made)
-2 "Nice" dresses
-straw fedora
-Rash vest
-2-3 bathing suits
-sparkly tam
-cotton tam
-2 summer scarves
-1 pair athletic shorts
-2-3 long sleeve shirts/sweat shirt

Shoes
-plaid cons
-flip flops
-1 pair of heels
-two pairs sandals

Linens
-2 towels
-1 beach towel
-2 pillow cases
-1 set sheets
- comforter
-throw blanket
-1 pillow
-2 hand towels

Tools (all in tool bag)
-speed wrench
-wirer strippers
-screw gun/ charger
-tape measure
-leatherman
-sharpies (2-3)
- Small flash light
-headlamp

Fun Things to bring
-stuffed koala
-stuffed tazzie devil
-laughing kookaburra
-squeekie chicken
-deck of cards
-deck of uno cards

This is just page one of two and a half. So after my list is made I gather up the things I need to pack, but I don't pack them just yet. I tick them off my list and then go through and decided whether or not I need 3 or 4 tank tops or if bringing my spinning wheel is really necessary (I think it is) or if I can get away with two pairs of shorts instead of three especially if I bring 1 romper and three sun dresses. This is the step I finished yesterday, which means today I will finally actually pack.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Why I Am Starting to Hate My Ready Made Clothes

Last night when I got home I changed into jeans. This seems like a benign thing to do. Go home put some jeans on, relax with the husband. What I realized though as we walked through the Italian Market was that my pants were uncomfortable and maybe not as flattering as I once thought they were. They cut into my waist line weird and the seam in the crotch was too high. I was a very unpleasant companion because of this (and I was hungry too). (It is interesting that I had my pants revelation while at the start of making my first set of pants. Which compared to my jeans are polor oppisits and I am expecting my pants to be comfy and fab all at once.)

One thing that making my own clothes has done is made me realize how hard it is to find Ready Made clothes that actually fit and are made well. I'm not even going to go into affordable at this point in time. I thought these jeans fit me, I thought they looked good on my tush, but the truth of the matter is I settled for something that kind of fit me. No wonder so many women hate to shop for themselves. Even some of my favorite things I've purchased over the years are not a great fit, I have a dress that I love and while it fits my bust it's too big in the waist, I also have a plaid button up that fits my bust, but is too short in the arms. I feel that sometimes producers of ready made clothing have proportions all wrong, or try to distill the vast diversity of the population down to a Small, Medium, and a large. How is this even possible?

How do you deal with ready made clothing? Mine was to stop buying ready made clothes all together. What fit issues do you have? What do you wish clothing producers realized about women and their bodies?

I'd love to hear your opinion.