Villain Extraordinaire

Stretchy!

Here are some stretchy clothes I have made recently. I switched Pills not too long ago and have subsequently put on a few pounds. How very frustrating! Luckily, I can both knit and sew with knits.

I took the crewneck shirt pattern from the Built by Wendy book and modified it to have long sleeves and a wrap front. I just finished the edges with the ruffly lettuce stitch that I can do on the regular machine. It works pretty well, but very soon I won't have to resort to such tomfoolery. That's right, I'm getting a serger for our anniversary! (J is getting an Ipod touch, so happy gifties all around!)

Here is some unfinished bizniss:

It is an unplanned crop sweater. I was sure that two skeins of Knitpicks Shine would be enough, but nope. Next time I order I'll have to get an extra skein. For now, I'll wear it with a camisole. I have started a sport-weight sweater for J. Since we started dating so many years ago, he has wanted a thin thin thin sweater. Like on size 000 needles thin. Not so much. I did make a sport weight sweater for him once, the Mossdog, but it sadly got felted. This one is in Knitpicks Comfy and is machine washable. Also, they aren't kidding when they call it comfy. Very very soft, though I think I like Shine better. After that, I will start another small boatneck sweater for myself in dark orange with dark violet trim.

But for now, I am off to have a Delicious Protein Shake for Lunch. Wish me luck.

Once A Month

It seems like I can't bring myself to post more than once a month. How lazy of me! There have been craft items made Chez Villain. Though I did finish writing the conclusion to the dissertation! Hurrah! I will get it back in a few days with my adviser's suggestions, but it feels done. I have to insert the pix and bibliography into the manuscript, then it goes off to a copy editor for the final revisions. Well, the almost final revisions. There will always be more revisions. Stupid revisions. To keep my mind off of those, I painted a bird:

It will go in the bathroom in the new apt. I have an owl started and got some tiny canvas boards for other tiny creatures, too.

I have been trying to get things together for the new place now so that my mind isn't so scatterbrained and distracted when we move in September. I will be defending sometime (hopefully) at the end of Sept or beginning of Oct. Here is a rug that I crocheted and felted, for J's side of the bed. I wanted to use up some of the ol' yarn stash and it turned out pretty well. I'm doing one in all red and black for my side. Cheaper than all those other rugs I was looking at online. Also, soft!

We had some floor pillows I made a couple of years ago, but never really use. They were originally euro (26x26) pillows for the bed and I decided that they ought to resume their former occupation. I made some pillowcases to coordinate with the quilt and threw out the second set of normal pillows we had on the bed. They were just collecting dust. These, I think we will really be able to use for bed-reading:

Another knit dress! How repetitive of me! I'm wearing it right now; feels like jammies. I have to wear a slip because it's so clingy.

Here is a small sweater I started not too long ago from bamboo yarn. I made a blue one many moons ago, but I guess I used smaller needles because I ran out of yarn really early with this one. I got some cotton/modal yarn from Knitpicks to finish it off, but it might be kind of short. I don't really know yet. Oh, surprises.

Out of the Wilderness

So we were in Montana this weekend for a wedding. It was pretty and the people were very sweet, but I think we might have done pretty much all there is to do (aside from outdoor sportz) and seen all there is to see in Montana. I am a city girl. What can I say? There were a few cute spots, such as the Dragon Hollow Play Area/A Carousel for Missoula:

Possibly the world's creepiest mannequin:

On to the wedding: here I am, Bridesvillain in action! I was pleased with how the dress came out. I will definitely be wearing it again. I was also very excited that I was listed in the program as the Bridesvillain. For real. What is cooler than that?

With J:

I even got to sew! The hook at the top of Taryn's dress and a button fell off. Just give me a needle and thread and all will be well.

When we got home, we found a nice surprise: the quilt was back from being long-armed! I really love how it came out. It coordinates well with the one that my mom made for me, though hers is much much more advanced and well-made. I can see how people get bitten by the quilting bug. I was ready to start another one as soon as I saw the finished product. J reminded me that we don't exactly need another blanket and that we are moving in a few months. Drat.

Just a List, No Pix

I haven't taken shots of anything lately, though I have made a few items. I did another knit dress, this time in black modal/spandex. It is the same basic pattern that I've been using, though I deleted the waist seam on this one too. J and I are going to a friend's wedding this weekend and I am going to wear it on the plane. Yay for stretch! Maybe I'll get a pic of it then.

Additionally, I made my bridesmaid (bridesvillain!) dress: Vogue 8468 in black silk dupioni with 3/4 sleeves (no bell, though) and French seams. It is a super easy dress and went together well. I was going to make a retro halter, but thought it would be too "bridesmaidy." This one is not exactly avant garde, but will be a touch less wedding-cliche. I made us apple green sashes to tie the black dresses together. I finished the sashes and silk table runners last week and sent them off. They will be nice pops of color (green apple, canterbury blue, and carribean blue.)

I made a tote bag for a friends birthday in aqua/neutral dot upholstery fabric and also sent the quilt out to be machine-quilted. I have a couple of dresses to finish up, including a sexy silk number that only requires a zipper and a sheath dress in leopard print that is cut. I really want to buy more modal, but when your rent is $1700 and you don't get paid over the summer, things get a bit tight.

Moving back to Minnesota (I did mention that, right?) will have its downsides (um, weather, needing a car to get around) but it is soooo much cheaper to live there! Also, I'll be able to visit my beloved Crafty Planet once again. We really want to Boston it up the last few months we are here, doing all the Bostony stuff we have wanted, but haven't gotten around to. I am looking forward to the Harbor Islands the most, followed by the Aquarium. Yay for fishes!

Ruffles have Ridges

Here is a ruffly knit dress in bamboooooo fabric (with lycra). This dress was super super simple. I just used the short sleeves from the crewneck tshirt in Home Stretch and the bodice from the dress. I elongated the bodice to dress length by placing a fave a-line skirt below it when cutting. This way, I avoided a pesky waist seam. Yeah for three pattern pieces!

All of the edges are ruffly. I don't have a serger, so I just did a zigzag stitch on the buttonhole setting so that it advanced very very slowly. I stretched the fabric as I went along and it ruffled up nicely. There is no fabric showing on the edge; it mimics a serged edge pretty well. Sucked up a lot of thread, though. Certainly no replacement for that serger in my Amazon shopping cart. Maybe for my birthday? Hmm. I mostly want a serger for the normal seaming capabilities. Zigzagging can only take you so far, really. I will dream!

I'll probably cut out another dress in modal soon, though it is so nice out today that I just want to walk and walk and walk outdoors! I have a feeling that with the advent of nice weather, my troublesome spring allergies won't be far behind. I never really had seasonal allergies in Virginia, but Minnesota and Boston have wreaked havoc with them. Flonase to the rescue!

Just a Boatneck Shirt

Here is another of my recent creations! I used "baby jersey" from Koshtex which is very similar to American Apparel's sheer jersey. I would definitely buy this stuff again. Very basic, but with a nice feel to it. The orange sections are cotton/spandex jersey from the same source. The pattern is just a modification of the Home Stretch pattern, given in the book. I decided not to finish the edges of the orange and it rolls just a little, but I think that fits the style of the shirt. I'm not generally a raw-edge fan, but in some circumstances it is alright. I mean, I do own shirts that have them, I've just never been keen on it with my sewing projects, since I try to shy away from the "Aww, did you make it yourself? How quaint" comments. (Though I seem to get plenty of them anyhow) Not to say that some can't leave raw edges and have a fabulous project, just that whenever I do it, it looks sloppy. Ok well, without further ado, pix:

Without flash:

With flash:

I have one more dress mostly finished. I just need to put an edge on the sleeves and its done. I should have it up today or tomorrow. Not too much else happening around these parts. We've been watching Buffy and Angel. How did I miss these shows the first time around?! I think I have a crush on Spike. Those cheekbones! *swoon*

Knitsies

Knit dresses for the win! I am in love with this modal/spandex blend. I also made a boatneck tshirt and a dress in bamboo/spandex, which I will shoot and post soon. Knits are so fast! Also, very comfy. I am, so far, resisting the urge to buy a Spanx slip. We'll see how long that holds out.

The shiny whitish stuff on the front of this one is flash, not a misplaced milkshake. Also, disregard the demon eyes.

Toppings

I am STILL waiting for my order of modal fabrics to arrive, so I decided to work on that quilt top. 576 squares later, it is done! I think that trying to quilt it myself would be an overly ambitious undertaking. I have seen a bunch of longarm quilting services online, though I will have to wait for a while if I am going to be able to afford it. Any recommendations?

Hopefully the fabrics will get here this week. I mean, really. Its been since the 20th of March! I guess I should be happy they're not coming by pony express...

Scrap Strips

So I have finally gotten around to starting the second side of that quilt from oh so long ago.

Most quilters will perhaps shudder at my lack of preparation, etc.; I am using 4 inch square scraps from old projects and just sewing them together into strips of randomness. No pattern, no rules, just scraps! Hurrah!

Only one of these fabrics was fresh. The rest were all from old dresses and shirts. I like that I'll be able to pick out the projects looking at my scrappy bits!

Also made a jersey nightgown (long) in the same vein as the previous dresses, though with no hood. It makes me feel like a wicked witch. I like it! Not really that interesting to photograph, though. Same ol', same ol'! Boy when I find a pattern I like, I just repeat it ad infinitum, don't I? Raglan sweaters, that Built By Wendy shirt with the elastic neck, this dress. That pretty much mirrors how I dress. I find a couple things I like and wear them in different colors. Shoes, shirts, you name it. Not boring: consistent!

Irina's Dress!

Finished another couple of sweatshirt-dresses. One of which is modeled below by the amazing Irina!

Isn't she the cutest? I love that she titled the last one, "The Rejection of Your Values."

In other news, I got a walking foot and a knit foot yesterday in the mail. The knit foot seems to help with the problem I have been having with knits stretching out when sewn. I can't wait until payday! Then I can order that modal I've been lusting over. Yum.

I really ought to be putting the final touches on the introduction today. As long as it's done by the end of the week. Then, J and I can celebrate at Boston's Restaurant Week! I think that I want to go to Persephone, since I've kind of had a Persephone fixation since college.

Another cool thing: Ashley O'dell, the fab photog from our wedding is building her portfolio. What that means for me is some pro pix of me in my clothing creations! Yeah! Take that, point and shoot camera! Maybe I can get her to take our passport photos, too... Hmm...

Fleecy Dress

I got my order of knits today!! I washed and dried it all and couldn't help but sew something...

It's the same dress as in the last post, just shorter and + a hood. Comfy-womfy!

CHAPTER 4 TURNED IN

Good news!! I turned in my last chapter! Now, just a conclusion and some editing and I'll be all set to defend! Whenever they decide that will be. Hrmm. Oh well. On to the dresses!

I'm trying to find a pattern for a dress to wear to Taryn's wedding. Black, cocktail were her only requirements. I'm going to get some black dupioni and see what I can do. Not sure of the look I'm going for yet, so I thought I'd try a few different styles. This is a Butterick pattern (4443) from a long time ago. I tried to make the neck sit flatter and made it significantly shorter than last time. Oranges!

Hilary Duff McCall's pattern 5512. I had already made this one and then I saw a dress from this pattern being sold in a boutique. In black duipioni, no less. No changes to the original pattern! Also, the gathers were weird. I would have redone it, but that's just me. (snark!)

I am going to start working with knits. This is from the Built by Wendy Home Stretch book. I just cut out a small, ditched the waistband, and sewed it up fast! It is a prototype for a dress I'm going to make for a friend in exchange for two lovely paintings!

I just used some cheapy knit that I bought a long long time ago and it still came out pretty well. Comfy! I have an order of knits/sweatshirt material on the way and then I will move up to Modal! MODAL! That is the softest stuff in the worlds! I just love it and can't wait to make all my own tshirts! Heh. Like that'll happen. Maybe one day...

Two More... soon.

So I have made two more dresses. Well, one needs a zipper, but that won't take a minute once I get to it. However, the final chapter of my dissertation is due on 10 March, so that is (sadly) consuming my life. I only have 10ish pages left, but damn those last 10 are a killer.

Almost done. Wish me luck.

Many Moons Ago

Did I really never post any pix from Jamaica?? Shame on me. Here we go!

Back From The Dead

***VILLAIN'S SEWING SABBATICAL IS OFFICIALLY OVER!***

That's right folks. Don't know if you missed me or not, but sewing just wasn't happening around these parts. Well, not until a couple of weeks ago. Then, I got a whole slew of stuff sewn up... stuff that has been lying around for months cut and languishing...

Vogue 8468. The same as the Fall Dress from a mere few entries (and several months!) ago. Love love love this fabric.

Simplicity 3560, on MC. It is supposed to have a keyhole in the front, but those "Project Runway" patterns must be made for juniors cuz no way is that gonna meet around my neck.

Simplicity 3530, again with MC. This one didn't sit right on my shoulders, so MC took it away!

Vogue 8392. Quick and easy. Nuff said.

McCall's 5094 The straps on this were so fiddly. I was going to make one in black silk for Taryn's wedding, but I think I'll find a different pattern.

???

Butterick 5031 Cute and all. This dress won't change my life, though.

Going to iron up the fabric for an orangealicious Butterick 4443 tonight! Time to get back into it! Yeah!