SEWmuchKNITting

I spent a little time with my sewing machine last week, working on the  HotPatterns Fast and Fabulous Blouse-Back T : I watched Trudy's tutorial , and was intrigued by the quick and easy construction. And thought I don't purchase RTW very often, choosing to sew my clothes more and more, I do "snoop shop" once in a while. Tops like the Blouse-back T can be see in many retailers at the moment. After a quick delivery of the pattern via snail mail, I was off to raid my stash for suitable fabric. I found this animal print in a drapey rayon, and a thin black knit for the back piece. The important thing to note here is that the key word is "drapey".   I was a bit concerned that my finished project looked a little like a PJ top, but I think it works okay with the right accessories. I didn't make any alterations to the pattern, outside of narrowing the neckband a bit. And I didn't use the pattern piece for the neckband, instead I just to...

Hard to believe that today is August 21....the summer is flying by. Here at Casa Pozolo it is Wedding Planning Central with 3 of our 4 children engaged to be married:                                            Libby & Terry to be married on 11/15/2014:                                           Kenny & Cassie to be married on 6/6/2015: Kristen & Brett to be married on 8/22/2015:                                                               The 3 Brides-to-be!: I haven't had much sewing or knitting to blog about as some of it is Top Secret, tho I have managed to make a garment or kni...

   

Realizing that the maxi dress continues to be a summer staple, I decided to jump on the bandwagon, using McCall's 6308. I had this very drapery black & cream rayon in my stash, and it was a perfect pairing of pattern + fabric. I now understand the popularity of the maxi dress....seriously, wearing this is like wearing pajamas, it's that comfortable! I made a few adjustments to the pattern: a smaller than usual FBA since the top has a lot of gathering, I raised the neckline by 1 inch, and also added 1 inch to the length. A quick and easy project yielding great results! The back neckline vee is cute, but was a little "fiddley" to get to lay right. Redrafting to a more rounded/scooped back neckline would be easier. Fun dress to wear on the perfect Father's Day Sunday in Michigan!  

I picked up this pattern a couple of years ago at a quilt shop near my home, after seeing the shop sample. The Rupert playmat is made with the quilt-as-you-go technique, using fleece as the top layer, cotton batting in the center, and quilting cotton for the backing.                               I think the detail in the face and paws (felt appliqued with a satin stitch),                                                               makes this so darn cute! (baby Thomas: 10 days old!) Cute little playmats like Rupert, and this one  and this one  are fun gifts for the new baby/parents, and have been well-received by the new families. I see more of them in my sewing future!

Vogue 8667 , View C (pink) without the sleeves: This bright, cheery, yellow fabric came out of my stash (again! I feel like I am making some headway sewing through the stash). It is a pique/waffle type of fabric, with a subtle white, shiny thread woven in. It is fairly "beefy", but I liked it for this pattern, and it was a pleasure to sew and is comfortable to wear. The full Bemberg lining of course feels wonderful. As you can see in the first pic, I did cut out the sleeves, then lined them and attached them to the dress. It just didn't look right... so, off they came! On my way to Easter Vigil Mass: This will be a great addition to my work wardrobe this summer, and the cheery color really lifts my mood!

I've been in search of the perfect button-up pattern for awhile now, and have collected a few. McCall's 6436 has had many favorable reviews, and has a lot of the qualities I was looking for: front and back darts, collar with stand, button placket and longer length. After reading in those reviews that this pattern ran big, I did not make my usual adjustments and sewed this gingham up as a test garment right out of the pattern envelope. I really want a gingham button down(!), so I'm glad I have more fabric as I need to tweak the pattern in some areas. Looks great on the dress form, yes?: Well....... Us usual, I'll need a little more room in the front: And we can all see those sway-back wrinkles: Garment details:  Black and white gingham from  Fabric.com PerfectFuse  sheer interfacing from Palmer/Pletsch Buttons from my collection The alterations needed next time: shorten sleeves 1", adjust for broad back, sway back, and FBA....