Marfy Wishlist … :-D

Okay then!  Let’s see if this post works.  I’m pulling photos from Instagram and Pinterest and I will be interested to hear if the images are showing up for everyone.  PLEASE, if you aren’t seeing them, let me know (and let me know what browser you are viewing this in.)  Thanks so much!

So Marfy just released a few more patterns from their 2014 catalog.  It reminded me of the patterns on my wish list.  😦  I may break down soon and place an order.  Just saying…

Want to see some of my favorites???   😀   I knew you did!

Here goes ….

I love the simplicity of this next blouse.  Even busty, I think I may be able to get away with this style.  I may have to give it a try anyway.  Part of me says I can take a blouse that fits and create my own flounce.  Part of me says use the pattern that has been tried and tested.

http://instagram.com/p/k7DKDGM4qL/#

Don’t you adore the next suit?  Maybe it’s just me.  And Marfy is really choosing colors and fabric patterns that just call my name this season.  Have you ever noticed the difference it makes when a pattern is shown in a fabric or color that speaks to you.  I have totally discounted good patterns until I’ve seen it made up  differently.  The power of the psyche!

http://instagram.com/p/k7C9sPM4p3/#

The sleek lines in this jacket are awesome.  I’m constantly reminding myself that fitting a (way too) curvy figure causes disruptions in those nice lines.  Doesn’t stop me from wishing.

http://instagram.com/p/k7DGWlM4qE/#

This has been on my wish list a while.  It just looks like a comfy, knock-around jacket, doesn’t it?

http://instagram.com/p/k7DCF0M4p8/#

I Have Got To Have this next coat pattern.  I may need the plaid fabric as well.  Love, Love, Love it!

http://instagram.com/p/k7DOfSM4qQ/#

I’m looking for a pattern that is something like these two:

They appear to me to have kimono sleeves and an a-line silhouette.  (And the color of that teal(?) wool is absolutely awesome.  I’d love to find boiled wool in that particular shade.)  These next two Marfy may be candidates.  Modifications to the sleeve and/or collar may be needed.  What do you think?

http://instagram.com/p/k7DSqXM4qX/#

http://instagram.com/p/k7DZhjM4qn/#

I stop every time I look at this next coat and I have finally figured out it’s the fabric.  The fabric pattern and colors are fantastic.  I’m drawn to that blue and that oyster(?) color.  I definitely need to keep an eye out for something along those lines.

http://instagram.com/p/k7DWcnM4qg/#

And just because….I want to try a pair of Marfy slacks.  Really like the lines of this next pair.

Honestly, I have a few more on my list, but I think that’s enough for today!  Meanwhile, I may need to finish the projects on my table instead of dreaming up new projects.  What do you think??

Question:  How do you control the number of projects you have going at any given time??  I need to find a better solution.

Hope you’re sewing something awesome and having a blast,

Ramona

Jamie Jeans … 1st make

There is an online group called The Monthly Stitch which consists of a great group of seamstress.  It has been fun watching all the makes and participating in the chatter online.  February’s challenge is “Smarty Pants”.  I have a pair of slacks in the making I hope to finish for this challenge, but in the meantime, I have finally finished the Jamie Jeans.

When Named Clothing came out with their first patterns, I was taken with quite a few of their styles.  Particularly the Tyler blouse and the Jamie jeans.

Tyler Shirt and Jamie Jeans

I have made a muslin of the Tyler blouse, but I’m not happy yet.  I had to enlarge the pattern and make a FBA which changed the style of the blouse more than I wanted.  It is on my list to try again.

I decided to make the Jamie Jeans for my baby girl since she would be an easier fit.  The fit of the jeans was really good on her.  She has stocky thighs and rear end and some jeans look a little tight through the hips on her.  These really looked good and gave her a leaner look.  Unfortunately, I could not get photos of her modeling these jeans.

Instead, her older sister (Jamie, oddly enough) modeled them for me.

For the first make, I’m happy with the way these came together and pleased with the fit.  For Jamie (above), I might fit the leg a little closer.  The yoke also looked very flat on Jamie.  In these photos, it didn’t bother me.  In person, I thought it should be adapted to show more ‘V’ shape.

I used a method for the waistband taught by Kenneth King in his Craftsy class, Jean-ius.  The waistband is cut on the cross grain and steamed into a curve and set on the waistband.  This method didn’t work well with these jeans.  The waistband has too much room in it and stands up from the back.  The pattern calls for a curved waistband which I will use next time.

I also used what Kenneth King called the “Burrito Method” to install the waistband.  I wish I knew how to explain it because it gives a very neat look to the front edge.  Next time I will try to take photos to show.  He gave a great tip for matching the right and left side of the front waist band so the waistband is level.  There are a lot of wonderful nuggets of information in this class.  Kenneth King has a wonderful teaching style.

The pocket design was a doodle that Betsy had drawn a few years ago.  I didn’t like the way I attached the pocket and will do a neater, better job on my next pair.  I started with a single seam, didn’t like it and added a second line.  Definitely can be neater.

And then there’s the button!  I used the jean snap from Wawak.com.  I ruined the first two trying to attach it.  I finally got one attached and it came off on the first wear!  Back to the drawing board on that one.  If I remember correctly, Angela Wolf talks through this process on her jeans class.  I will have to revisit that.

Whew!  I’m looking at this one as a muslin.  LOL!  Basically all of the issues here were my own techniques.  The pattern itself went together very well.  They were a good fit for all three of my girls.  The style is very flattering on them.

So that’s my jeans saga for the day.

SUMMARY:

Pattern:  Jamie Jeans by NamedCollection

Fabric:  Stretch denim from Hancock Fabrics

Notions:  Jeans snap and zipper from Wawak.com

What Weekend?!!!

I have really loved sewing garments lately.  Not that I have a lot to show for it!  But I have also really missed quilting.  This weekend, I played around with a few quilting projects.  I finished a camera strap and camera pouch (fits a point and shoot camera), made a scrap vomit block a la Katy Jones (see inspiration here), quilted my ‘B’ block from the Adventures of the Amazing Alphabet, and finally made up a scrappy bag perfect for my sewing tools.  All in all, a fun weekend.

This bag pattern is called Sew Together Bag and I’ve wanted to make it since I first found it.  Then I let it sit in my stash, of course!

I purchased this pattern when it was just released and what I love (besides the awesome design) is that every time it is updated, I’m notified to download the new version.  I don’t know if that’s a Craftsy thing or a Sew Demented thing.  (That’s the pattern designer by the way.  Don’t you love the name!?)

There have been some great versions showing up on the internet.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Crazy Mom Quilts

Crazy Mom Quilts

s.o.t.a.k : Used for English paper piecing. Love it.

I’m really glad I finally took the plunge and got this done.   Mine is totally scrappy and I’m glad about that.  I can now see what goes where and will be able to plan fabric placement next time around.  I started this Sunday morning before Sunday School.  After church we had our two young grandsons till almost 4:00 and then I got back on the bag.  Finished it that night about 8:00.  Not bad, I don’t think.  Now that I can ‘see’ the placement, it will go much quicker next time.

The pattern site on Craftsy lists the fabric and notions needed for the pattern, but somehow that got left out of the main pattern.  Since I was going scrappy, that wasn’t an issue for me except for the zipper sizes.  I read through the pattern to find those, so it wasn’t a major problem.  I’ve noticed that the author of this pattern has revised this a couple times and has tried to address previous makers’ comments.  It’s a very nice looking pattern and I enjoyed working with it.

The bag appears much like a pencil pouch and I was surprised how roomy this pouch is.  It’s great for a rotary cutter, scissors, a couple small rulers, and various other sewing tools.  I think I’m going to LOVE this bag!.

Our modern quilt guild, NELA (Northeast Louisiana) MQG, is holding a retreat on the last weekend of March and I had decided I needed this bag for that.  So glad I got it done.

Now to finish that Aeroplane bag that is in mid construction!!  My Bernina needs something to ride in.

Since I felt guilty for my unfinished slacks and jacket, I got up this morning and worked a bit on my slacks.  Should finish those this week.

Hope you’re working on something fun!

Ramona

Linking up with Le Challenge.   The theme is Order.  You should see some of the wonderful projects that have been linked.  Post can be found here.

Vogue 8498 In Progress…

We got a little ice in north Louisiana yesterday and I claimed a snow day.  (I felt like a total fraud, by the way.  Most of my coworkers showed up for work.  I just wasn’t in the mood to drive on the ice…or maybe I was just in the mood for a day off to sew.  Yep, that’s most likely.)

I did make progress on my Vogue 8498 pants.  A couple weeks ago, I worked on the muslin and sorta finalized the fit.  Want to share my frustration??  I measured the pattern hip and waist.  Waist was exactly on in back and too narrow in front.  So  what does any sane person do?  Add ease in the back and increase the front plus ease.  Result… Too Big!

Removed all the ease in the muslin which took me back pretty much to the original size!  Craziness.

So yesterday, when getting started on these, I chose a nice wool purchased at Hancock Fabrics at a clearance sale.  Saving some nicer wool for when I’m certain of the fit.  This is a lightweight, brushed wool.  It almost has a flannel feel to it.  I really like this and hope it wears as well as I believe it should.

At this point, I’m following Claire Shaeffer’s suggestion and putting the zipper in by hand.  This will be a first for me.  Looking forward to it.

Others are working on pants as well in The Monthly Stitch.  If you love sewing, you should check out their blog.  They have interesting and fun challenges, and it’s inspiring to see what others are working on.I’m enjoying sewing garments again, but I’m would really like to get some time in quilting.  Quilting has a quicker reward time to me and I’m needing that right now.

Hope you are warm and dry where you are.  And hope you get some thread time!  😉

Ramona

 

Miss Bossy Patterns, courtesy of The Monthly Stitch

I started following The Monthly Stitch at the end of 2013, and have enjoyed watching what others are sewing.  Members vote on the theme for the month and everyone sews and posts within that theme.  For March, it was decided to spice it up a bit.  We get to submit a choice of three patterns in our stash that we have not used and the other members will vote on what we get to sew!  May be intimidating.

I’m playing it safe.  There are so many things I want to sew that I will win regardless.  I had a hard time narrowing this down to three patterns.  Let’s see if I can do that.

The first pattern takes the most planning.  I have really been wanting to add a ‘shirt’ jacket to my wardrobe.  Something simple that I could put on over dress T’s or turtlenecks.  In Louisiana’s hotter months, it allows a cooler option that is still professional.  Recently I found this light weight, worsted wool plaid and fell in love with it.  One part of me wants to use this plaid for this shirt jacket and another part of me wants to use it on a skirt with pleats.  Your vote may help me with that decision.

This plaid is large and uneven.  The simplicity of this pattern, the lack of a center band and the minimum darts should help when matching plaids.   You can see below two possible pattern placements for the front piece.  Note that the right and left sides will not echo each other because of the uneven plaid, but I believe the general color columns should be the same.

I’m large busted and I’m attempting to keep the emphasis off the bust area.  Let me know what you think.  (Photos appear washed out because I used Illustrator to do an overlay of the pattern and fabric.)

And two other options are a couple I’ve had in my stash and have wanted to sew for a little while now.  One is the Scout tee by Grainline Studio.  I’d really like to make this with a mock  turtleneck or cowl neck and thee quarter length sleeves.  The other is Cynthia Rowley’s Simplicity 1783.  I really like the pleated, blousie look of this top.  Yet the pleats at the waist and hip brings it back to a fitted look.

The fabrics shown are a sage green polyester(??), toast colored polyester, and ice blue silk charmeuse.  The green is much prettier and a vivid shade of sage green.  (Can anyone tell me why greens photograph so badly!!??  So Frustrating!)  It has a silky, almost charmeuse, texture and fall.  The toast colored polyester leans towards a caramel color and has a very nice fall and texture.  And of course silk charmeuse speaks for itself!  It has a nice weight and not tissue thin.  All of these fabrics have a nice weight and ‘movement’ appropriate for these patterns.

Well, I had this post ready and was so proud that I kept the patterns to three.  But as I was proofing it, I remembered I had this one in the lineup as well.  Hmmm.  I got close, does that count?

There’s this blouse by Marfy.  Marfy recently released a jacket, skirt and blouse pattern as free pdf’s.  To get them, you go to there site, click on ‘My Account’, and either create an account or sign in.  At that point, you can click on ‘Patterns’ and there will be a ‘Free Sewing Patterns” option.  Fantastic way to try these patterns.  There are no instructions and no seam allowance, so they can be intimidating depending on your sewing experience.  I find them intuitive and have had fun with them.

I recently picked up this piece of rayon on a remnant table.  It just shouts ‘Spring’ to me.  It is Rayon and the feel and movement of a nice weight chiffon.  There is only a yard (55″ wide) and options are limited, but it’s perfect for this blouse.

So, there you go.  You’re turn.  Boss me around, why don’t you!  😉

Feel free to leave comments with fabric selections.  Thanks for visiting and have fun sewing!

Ramona