Just some sewing ramblings

It's been quiet around here on the blog front, but there have been some going-ons in my sewing space, I assure you. I figured I'd do one overview rather than 3 or 4 short posts. 

Vogue 8669- This should have been done, like, weeks ago. :) Really, all that is left to finish it up is to attach the sleeves & hem it.  I kept putting it aside because I didn't want to re-thread my serger. So, what have I been working on, you ask??


McCalls 6179- I saw that the Vintage contest on PR was going to start May 1st & I thought it would be a great opportunity to have some extra help from the other ladies that are participating. I haven't officially signed up, but my muslin is nearly done & it's looking pretty promising. I dare say, it looks much better than my Crepe ever did.

I'm sewing View B, the wiggle dress. It fits great in the bust, but I had to enlarge the pattern by 2 inches at the waist & hips. And even then, I'm going to have to let out the side seams at the waist another 1/2" or so.  I'm so glad I used 1 5/8" seam allowances on my side seams for the muslin. It seems that I just might be learning from past mistakes. :) 

As for fabric, I decided early on that I was going to avoid solids. Prints are just so much better at hiding sewing mistakes & figure flaws. I've been keeping an eye out for floral, but I just love this polka dot from fabric.com. I haven't ordered it yet, but I'll probably push the button later today. Also in my cart is a purple jersey knit, some tricot yardage (for a full slip!) and some elastic thread.  While I'm at it I'll probably throw in some wooly nylon thread, too. 

 Pattern Drafting: I ordered Don Mccun's book How to Make Sewing Patterns & have given it a quick look through. I really like it. The writing style is laid back without being overly casual. I probably could have waited a little longer to add this to my library, as it is a little more than I'm probably going to need right away, but it will be nice to use if I just want to make a simple adjustment to a commercial pattern. 

Sewing Classes:  I'm going to be taking my first official sewing class later this month.  There's a little sewing (and scrapbooking) shop that opened up this last month (yay!) and she'll be offering classes. I just signed up for the apron class, even though I've made aprons & honestly, I feel like I've "been there, done that" as far as teh skills required. However, one can never know too much, and also, I'm kind of scouting to see if maybe I'd liek to take private lessons.  That & I feel very strongly that I need to support this local business. The closest Joann is 45 minutes away from where I live & there are no shops any closer than that. 

Also, I've been watching the on-line classes at PR. They have a couple that I'm consdering coming up. The first one, Break Your Serger Out of the Box, is a basic serger course.  I feel like my serger & I have a love/hate relationship.  Of course, I felt that way about my sewing machine, once, too.

The other course starts in July & it's all about fitting skirts.  It even covers drafting & modifying your own skirts. Very tempting. 

Well. This post turned out much longer than I had expected. :)