A baby quilt! (for a gift!!)

Well! It has been a little while since I posted anything. I had actually finished this quilt a few weeks back but couldn't post anything until it was packaged up and shipped and received!

So a good friend of ours is expecting his first child so I just had to make up a cute baby quilt. They know that they are having a girl so I went with a very "girlie" pink theme! Since I am currently not traveling for work the last few weeks I was able to work on this in the evenings at home and finish it up in no time!

As you can see from the pictures, I went with a very pretty selection of pinks and greens purchased at Joanne's Fabrics. I know that the pattern for the quilt blocks probably has a name but I just kind of "winged it" to create the look I wanted based on how the fabric went together!

How cute is this fabric?

A photo of the block before it is stitched together

Yay! Completion

 The finished product is really cute and I am so glad that I decided on the bright pink for the fabric backing. I wanted something very feminine and also bright because babies like bright colors! The teal green I chose for the binding was not my first choice. I wanted a pink binding but couldn't find the color that I wanted so I chose the teal. I am SO glad I did. It really "pops" and brings the whole quilt together and also the darker color won't stain as easy!

The bright pink back!

All 100% cotton fabrics with 100% cotton batting for ultimate softness! Machine pieced and hand quilted by yours truly! I really like making baby quilts because they go together so quickly and you see results much faster than bed quilts.

And the parents-to-be notified me that they received the quilt and love it so it was a success!! Until next time....

Fabric! And more Fabric!!

So the small town where my daughter had her wedding was Den Bosch, Netherlands. The actual spelling of the name is  ‘S- Hertogenbosch. It is a town about an hour south of Amsterdam. There is an adorable little town square and the actual church the wedding was held in is about 4 blocks away. It is a 14^th century cathedral and it absolutely stunning inside.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'s-Hertogenbosch

You just don't have churches like this in the states!

Amazing!

The town square holds weekly open-air markets for all to enjoy. There was the normal stuff like cheese, bread, bags/purses and goodies. There are also several stands of fabric! Yay! In heaven! In addition to the fabric, there are stalls of lace, trims and zippers/bindings. I did not purchase anything there but you can bet I bought some fabric!

Now in Europe fabric is sold by the meter and not by the yard. (I checked with my son-in-law beforehand!) The fabric stalls had multiple bolts of fabric all out for everyone to see (and touch), and there were also some fabric hanging from the ceiling of the tents for display purposes.

The day after the wedding (Saturday) the fabric market was in full swing. So, unfortunately, was the rain. It came down for about 20 minutes like someone had turned on the faucet. I didn’t complain as I would rather had it rain the day after the wedding and not the day of! The vendors had rain-ready tarps and gear to protect their wares so this must be a regular occurrence!

I ended up purchasing 3 kinds of fabric. One was a kid print for a friend who has small children and also sews. I purchased just a meter of it, you don’t really need that much for small children. I thought it was so cute and almost wished I had little ones again so that I could make up a cute dress in the fabric. Almost.

Then other two prints I purchased 2 meters each of. They are dress/shirt weights and appear to be either 100% cotton or a blend of poly/cotton. Very pretty and perhaps might make tops out of it. Not sure yet what I am going to do with it, it would also be pretty in a skirt.

Very pretty!

Perhaps a skirt?

The total cost of all three fabrics (if memory serves correctly) was about 25 Euro. That is about $32, give or take the current conversion rate. The gentleman who waited on me was very nice but his English was limited. No matter: Fabric is a universal language! (Or it should be!) I was able to communicate with him just fine and was very happy with my purchases! I found that most Dutch people understand English at least on a basic level. If they don’t speak English very well, they tend to at least understand what you are saying. Which is good, because I have zero understanding of the Dutch language!!!

Another fun thing to mention is that my daughter's mother-in-law found out that I liked to sew and she presented me with a small amount of fabric for me to use! It is what she called "traditional Dutch scenes" and it is so adorable! I have no idea what I am going to use it for but I want to use it for something special! It is lovely!

How cute is this Dutch fabric!!

Fabric shopping in Europe! Yep, I did that!

The Wedding!!

So it is finally here! My daughter’s wedding in the Netherlands. What a wonderful day, the weather was perfect and it was everything that the bride wanted for her special day.

Although this is not a perfect picture of the Mother of the Bride dress, it is one of the only shots I have of the full view of the dress. I was really happy with the way it came out and it was really comfortable for the day. Good thing too, as I was in the dress for about 14 hours total. The party lasted until midnight and although I ditched the hat and gloves after the church, I kept the shoes on until probably 11pm.

I actually received many compliments on the hat! As stated in prior posts, I found it at a hat shop in Berkeley, CA. I felt very “put together” with the hat and gloves! We don’t really get much of an excuse to wear such things in the U.S. so I took full advantage of it!

Mother of the Bride dress: Custom Belt!!

The last step of the mother of the bride dress: A custom belt!

It is common to see vintage dresses with a matching belt and fabric covered belt buckle. I love that look and actually I remember that it was not too long ago that we could purchase packages in the local sewing store to cover belts similar to how you can cover buttons. Those are getting very hard to find today. I have looked online and found a few, but nothing that really excited me.

Since I really wanted the belt for the mother of the bride dress to match the dress as well as have a covered buckle, I was resigned to the fact that I might have to cover the buckle myself. Now I can make the belt, no problem. But the buckle proved to be another story. Since I only wanted a 1" buckle, trying to get my fat fingers to cover the buckle with the slippery silk fabric proved to be a challenge. A challenge that was driving me nuts! I really didn't want to spend more time on the belt and buckle than it took me to make the whole dress!

However, I found the answer to my problems! I located online in one of my vintage blogs I follow a post about a women in California that covers belts, buckle and buttons in a business out of her home. I investigated a little further and found out the following:

Pat Mahoney is a woman who has a custom button and buckle business out of Lodi, CA. Apparently back in 1965 the Singer company discontinued it's button and belt covering business in Lodi, Pat purchased all the equipment and began her own business covering buttons and buckles. I called Pat and she suggested I send $5 to her address, and then she would send me a catalog of her items. Once you receive the catalog, you simply fill out the envelope with what you want, add the fabric and the payment and send it back to her. She completes the order and will mail it back to you. She doesn't have a website and her catalog is something that looks like a simple presentation from Kinko's. But her workmanship is fabulous!!! I cannot say enough about the quality of her work or the simplicity of the process. I added an additional $5 for the rush charge as I needed it soon for the wedding (and was unsure of her turnaround time) and rush it came!! I mailed off the envelope on April 29th and received the completed belt and buckle on May 8th! Amazing!

Simply contact Pat at the information below:

Pat Mahoney (Pat's Custom Buttons and Belts)
PO Box 335
Lodi, CA 95241

Send her $5 and a little note asking for a catalog and she will get it out in the mail to you. Totally worth it!!

The cover of Pat's catalog

Perfect buckle!!!

I seriously couldn't have done this!

 See below to a link for an interesting article about Pat. And stay tuned for final mother of the bride dress pictures complete with gloves and shoes!

This weekend it's off to the Bay Area for the first wedding dress fitting!  So excited!!!


Pat's custom buttons

We have a hat!!!

We have a hat! I'm a little behind in my blogging what with life and all! But we have a hat for the wedding. And I didn't have to make it!

While in Berkeley last weekend Meghan and I went to the Berkeley Hat Shop on Telegraph and I found The One!!

Details below on Berkeley Hat Company. They are this little hole in the wall place in Berkeley that you have to look for to find. They carry all kinds of hats, from funky hipster hats to Kentucky Derby hats and everything in between. Not the most organized shop and you have to dig for stuff, but a great place to kick around. Street parking only and no extra charge for the drunks and druggies hanging out on the corner!

Address-Phone: Berkeley Hat Company, 2510 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley CA 94704 -- Tel. (510) 962-4428
http://www.berkeleyhat.com

Berkeley Hat Company

As you can see from the pictures it is a cross between a hat and a fascinator. I didn't really want the "church lady" look and a small fascinator didn't really work for me (and I couldn't find one I liked). Meghan and I came across this beauty! It has a real 1950's look to it, which works because the dress is from a vintage reproduction 1951 pattern!

Now I know, it's not gray! Well, there was no gray to be had. Anywhere. So since this one fit the style I was looking for, I went with it. It also gives me the option to carry a beige handbag and that means that I don't have to shop for a bag!

So excited since it was also only $60!!!  Seriously. I looked at some hats in shops and online and there was a price range from $100 up to $500. I just wasn't going to pay that. So this beauty was carried home with me!

Now you may ask yourself "how am I going to get that on the plane to go to Europe?"  Well I have the perfect solution! Meghan gave me a floral hatbox she had in her apartment and it worked perfectly on the plane. It was something she picked up at a yardsale for $2 to hold yarn or notions and she gave it to me to carry my hat some with me. The idea was that this would be a trial run for the June trip. Well, not only did it carry the hat without getting crushed. It set on the top of my handle of my luggage so wonderfully it will be no problem at all to take it with me. And my plan is to fold up my dress and place it under the hat so that I can carry the wedding outfit with me on the plane. Fits perfectly in the overhead compartment and I don't have to worry about what to wear in the off chance my luggage gets lost! Yay!

So with the hat purchase complete we are just about done for the wedding! I have the hat, gloves, shoes and handbag. The dress is basically done. I have sent away to have a custom belt and covered belt buckle done for the dress so stay tuned for that post soon!

A terrible picture of the hat in the car!

I was trying to be silly. It came off more stupid than silly!

Wow! Someone needs some makeup!

A great side view

Mother of the bride dress! Making good progress!!

After a long week with both work and what is happening in the world, I spent a good majority of the weekend working on the mother of the bride dress. And I made great progress!!

I started out by working on the side drape and adding the skirt section to the bodice. The drape is attached first to the skirt portion, then the skirt is added to the bodice. I also used grosgrain ribbon as a waist stabilizer, because the skirt is so much heavier than the bodice and it helps to keep it's shape.

The side drape on the skirt

The skirt attached to the bodice

 Then I started working on the sleeves. I had already constructed the sleeve itself, hemming it and finishing off the seams but now I had to add the sleeves to the bodice of the dress. Not a necessarily difficult step, but it is very important to get the fit right so that there is no puckering or pulling of the sleeve. I basted twice and then stitched the seam, finally finishing off the sleeve seam with seam binding.

We have sleeves!

 Then it came time for the zipper. Recall that the original pattern had a zipper on the side of the bodice, and I changed that by adding a zipper down the back of the dress. This was done by slicing the pattern piece in the center back (after adding the necessary allowance for the zipper) and inserting a 22 inch zipper down the back of the bodice and skirt. I decided to attach the zipper by hand, which is a more couture effect. I made this decision for a couple of reasons. First, you have much more control of the zipper when attaching it by hand. Sometimes a zipper can slip when machine attaching it and I didn't want the bodice and skirt to be askew. Then you have to take into consideration the type of fabric. The silk fabric that I am using is not really delicate but it can snag. So I wanted to have the least amount of potential damage to the fabric. Lastly, the hand applied zipper is a finish that is not done much any more. This dress is fast becoming more of a gown and work of art than a simple dress!

Adding the zipper by hand

A terrible picture of the zipper

 So far it is coming right along. As you can see from the picture, the dress is hanging on the dress form, so that the bias on the panel can set before I hem it. I probably won't tackle any more today, needing about 24 hours for the dress to "settle" before hemming it. I still have to work on the belt and do finishing as well, such as adding the button to the top tab.

Not done, but looking good!

Very pleased with the results so far! I will post a pic with me wearing it once it is done enough to model.
Also, I have made the decision that I am going to make my mother of the bride hat. I have been very disappointed in the selection of hats, either the price is wrong or the color is wrong, etc. So I decided to make it myself! Stay tuned for more excitement!!!

Shoes and Gloves. Gloves and Shoes!!

In between the hours spent working on the mother of the bride dress, I have been searching for the perfect gloves and shoes to go with the dress. (And a hat too, but more on that later!)

I initially bought a pair of silver/ gray shoes (shown in another post) that I was unsure of. I only brought them home in the event that I couldn't find anything else. I wasn't really sold on them, however. So the search went on!

This weekend I found not only the perfect shoes but the perfect pair of gloves! Apparently finding gloves to match or coordinate with an outfit is rather difficult. I am about 40 years too late for that!

I found these fabulous gray suede pumps on Zappos. They were exactly what I was looking for! Classic, slightly pointy toe and the perfect gray color. So excited when the UPS man delivered them yesterday! Another bonus: I can wear them for work once the wedding is over!

The perfect suede shoes!

Now on to the gloves! I had been searching the web for weeks to try and find gloves. As well as going into shops, stores, etc. They are really hard to find. And if you do, they tend to be very shiny or "prom-like". Not what I was looking for. I wanted something that would have been worn int he 1950's by a lady on her way to an event. I finally found the most perfect pair of gloves (in gray, no less) on Etsy. They are supposed to be vintage from the 1950's and were fabulous! They are the perfect color to match the shoes, fit my hands, and are of a soft, lightweight fabric. Not sure of the exact fabric, maybe a cotton-poly blend. Not to matter, they were fabulous! I ordered them and even with shipping they were less than $20! Amazing! So excited when then showed up on Saturday!

So there you have it! I have now purchased the gloves and shoes for the wedding! The other pair of shoes I an return as they really were not what I was looking for. Now the problem becomes finding a hat! I am very picky about that and although I plan to keep looking, I may end up making the hat as well. How hard can a simple modified pillbox hat with a veil be??   Famous last words!!!

Mother of the Bride dress: Take 2!

So here we go! I have been working on the dress a little here and there during the week in the evenings. I am lucky that right now I am not traveling for work (at least this week!) so I am making good use of the evenings to sew! I want to get as much done as possible in the hopes that I will be on a new project soon and will have to travel.

The main portion of the work that I have done is on the bodice of the dress. It is very fitted and a rather challenging pattern with the neckline and the draping. Luckily I have made up a muslin of this so that I was familiar with the instructions as well as and shortcuts that I may have found.

One of the decisions that I needed to make was how to finish the seams. Since I am underlining the dress, and not simply lining it, I needed a way to cleanly finish the seams. The silk ravels quite a bit and I really wanted a nice, clean finish on the inside. Not only does it make the wearer of the garment feel good, it does extend the life of the garment.

So I decided on a Hong Kong finish on the seams. This is basically when you enclose the seam allowance in bias binding on either side, so that it completely finishes off the seam. It gives a rather nice look and doesn't add bulk to the seams. Vogue Sewing details it out below:

Hong Kong finish

How the finished seams look

I added the finish to the darts as well

The back seam of the skirt, with the Hong Kong finish

 I found that the extra time taken to use this finish really pays off. You have a garment that is as beautiful outside as it is inside! And no extra "threads" hanging around!.

The finished bodice is shown below. I have added all the draping and finished the seams and darts inside. It is hard to tell from the dress form, but it looks lovely on the body! The draping on the lower bodice will extend into a draped panel from the waist of the skirt and will fall down to the hemline. Because my dress form is so much smaller than the "real me" is now, it really is hard to judge the outcome. But the lovely silk fabric has worked up so nice and I am excited to get moving along!

The final bodice, with the draping attached

 Stay tuned for further dress making adventures! Only 8 weeks to the wedding and I still have to finish this dress, work on a gray casual skirt I am making for the trip, find gloves and shoes for the wedding. And then decided on either purchasing a hat or making one. Arghhh!!!

Mother of the Bride outfit: Let's get started!!

 So here we go....!

The first cut!!

 Today I have started work on the mother of the bride dress! I had previously worked on a mulsin to do all the fittings of the dress and see how it will turn out. The idea of making a muslin is to do any alterations on the muslin instead of the fashion fabric. This way you don't "overhandle" the expensive fabric. And you can make any adjustments on the muslin as well.

I am planning on several changes to the dress. The original dress (which is a 1951 reproduction pattern) has a zipper on the side of the dress. I am planning on having the zipper down the back like similar dress of the current era. (Many dresses from that time frame had zippers on the side of the dress. Some of them even had zippers on the side with a small closure at the back neck as well.) I don't really like the zipper on the side of the dress. I find it uncomfortable. So I will put the zipper on the back of the dress.

The very fashionable muslin of the bodice!!

Not much to look at

Looks like a mess, doesn't it??

I also had to lengthen the bodice as I am very long waisted. I had to extend the sleeves a bit as well. In addition I will have to shorten the overall length of the dress because I am short. Care will need to be taken to not shorten it too much to take the overall effect of the dress.

After a few hours of cutting out the fabric, cutting out the lining and working on the bodice I have the main part of the bodice started.

I must say it was a little nerve wracking starting to cut in to fabric that cost $95 a yard! I was a little nervous at first but as I went on I treated it the same as $1.99 cotton. Just go slow and pay attention!

So not bad for a few hours work. The hardest part going forward will be to make sure that the fitting is correct as well as the lining matches up. So far so good. Stay tuned for future posts! So excited to work on this dress. I must say that I am THRILLED with the fabric. It works up so nice and has a fabulous feel to it. Paired with an interlining, the dress should fall beautifully!

Say tuned!!

Mother of the Bride outfit: Shoes??

So, in this weekend’s shopping (or as I like to call it: helping out the economy!), I found what I think to be the shoes for the wedding. I am not crazy about the open toe, but they are actually very comfortable. The right color for the dress and they flatter my foot. Still deciding whether to keep them or take them back. I won’t wear them of course until the wedding so if I find something else I can always return them.  Any thoughts???

Mother of the bride outfit! Fabric found!!

So! My trip to San Francisco last weekend was wonderful! Although I got home on Sunday night and had to be back at the airport Monday morning to fly to North Carolina for work! Busy Busy!!  But we did a great deal of wedding stuff while I was there, including finding the fabric for my dress!

I had been going back and forth about what color I should wear. Meghan was completely unconcerned about it; she left it up to me. I did however, need to coordinate with my husbands USMC dress blues uniform, so that really left out colors like yellow and light green, etc.

Even though it is a June wedding, I was really feeling red. I look good in red. I love the color. I bought a new car in red. It’s MY color! So we headed over to the orgasmic Britex Fabrics on Geary Street early Saturday morning. We looked at a couple of different fabrics, but when the salesclerk showed us a fabulous red silk faille, I was in love! It was a lovely red (not that orange red but a clear, blue red) and was a nice weight with some texture to it. 100% silk and just fabulous! I was sold! And so was Meghan. It has a nice weight that should drape wonderfully with the pattern I chose for the dress. This is not the type of fabric one could get at a Joanne’s or Hancock fabrics. (And at $95 per yard I can understand why!)

The button purchased for the dress!

100% silk faille

It's not nearly this pink

 

The pattern I chose. I will be making the short sleeve one.

The pictures don’t really do it justice; I blame the late afternoon sun in my sewing room! The plan is to do all gray accessories, with gray gloves, shoes and hat (and potentially a purse) to complement it. I also have been thinking of lining the front skirt drape with a lovely gray to bring out the gray accessories as well. Will think on that!

So, what do you think? Is it weird that I am wearing red to my daughter’s wedding. (Not that I care!)  I figure that as long as Meghan is happy, that is all that matters!

Stay tuned for shoes!  Ahhh….Shoes….

Plaid, Plaid, Plaid!!

So here we are another weekend and another weekend project! I know, it has been all sewing all the time for me! I attribute it to the cold weather. Or something. Not sure why I have been so busy in the sewing room, unless it is because I am getting close to making my mother of the bride dress!

This being said, I started work this weekend on a cute cardigan type jacket. I have a wonderful plaid wool that my daughter gave me for Christmas one year. I this it was 2 years ago and I have been dying to use it, but wanted to use it for something special. Plaid is tricky. You have to use just the right pattern or run the chance of looking like a 1970's throwback. Basically I feel that you should use a simple design for the garment the more "busy" the fabric is. I have never been a super fan of plaid but this is just a lovely fabric with a great "feel" and is very lightweight!

The plaid I am using is a beautiful lightweight wool with an all over brownish beige pattern. It is very lovely and just a joy to work with. Used as the lining is a rement that I bought a few years ago at Britex on their rement floor. It is a brown silk with a slight dotted pattern. Another lovely fabric!

Vogue basic cardigan style jacket

I used a simple Vogue pattern for a basic cardigan style jacket. No buttons or closures and patch pockets on the front. I used view B of the pattern.

Beautiful wool plaid!

Looks kind of funky 1/2 done!

Somehow, I managed to match up the pockets!

 Plaids are tricky. You have to make sure that if the design is very visable, you have to match up the plaid in certain areas. That means paying attention when you cut out the pattern, and it may be necessary to obtain extra fabric (more than the pattern calls for) to allow for the matching. Also, if you have pockets in the front, there will be a need to allow for the pattern to match up on the front. It is not difficult, but it does require more time and patience. Also, this wool was a loose weave. This means that it unravels easily so extra care will need to be taken to finish seams to discourage the fabric to unravel. I used both bias tape as well as finishing the seams to provide a more finished look (even though it is inside the jacket and will never be seen!

View of the inside lining

Hand sewing the lining on

The finished product!

I really like how the finished product came out. The picture above does not do it justice (and the pattern does match up on the jacket in the front, it just looks funky on my dress form! I really like the option of having a cute, lightweight jacket that I can dress up or down. I can pair this with a dressy skirt (brown or blue) and I have a suit for work. I can throw it on with a pair of jeans and a bright scarf (purple or pink would be nice) and I have a cute casual look.

 A view of the inside facing. 

I love my labels!

All in all I am very pleased with the outcome. It took both Saturday and Sunday (1/2 day each day) to complete the jacket (including the cutting out of the fabric and matching the plaid). I would use this pattern again, it was very simple. Hopefully I can post a much better picture of the finished product on me instead of the dress form. It looks much better on!

I intend to stay away from the sewing machine for the next few weeks to give myself a break. I plan on traveling to San Francisco to the fabulous Britex fabric on Geary Street to shop for fabric for my mother of the bride dress. I am leaving the weekend of the 22nd so stay tuned for fabric blogging!!