Vogue V8559

Thank you again for your visits and your comments!
Glad you liked the real picture :-)
Coryna and Embellisher, be warned, Altered Couture is highly addictive! It aims at customizing clothes, but it is also inspiring to sew from scratch...
Talking of that, here is my version of V8559, started on Monday, finished today. But after Emilie had left, so my dummy is modeling for me.

The printed jersey was a bit difficult to sew. Only a jersey needle would do. And the twin needles I have are not jersey needles. :-( So I finished it with a single seam, wherease the Tshirt has a double seam finish, which looks sooooo professional...

I wish you a nice week!

PS: to answer Lisa's questions:

I'm far from being MZ Haute Couture, tehcnically speaking, I mean there are ladies in the blogosphere who sew really well. I still have a lot to learn from them.

However, I enjoy sewing, as I enjoy any work involving needles and thread. A new sewing machine and a new silhouette are two of the reasons.

Another one is that my job involves a lot of thinking (without much responsibility though), and I need something down to earth to relax. Sewing or gardening are perfect for that.

A fourth reason will sound funny. It is related to Barbie. I rediscovered it recently, with so many blogs talking of Barbie's birthday: When my sister get married, I was still a kid, about 8 years old. She invited me over to her home, and she spent a lot of quality time with me. Mostly sewing clothes for my Barbie. I found it was magic to see the flat fabric turn into shapes, and I still love that part. So sewing is having that quality time again.

Also, I had stopped sewing because my teenagers did not want to wear home-made clothes. Now, my young ladies love to have a dress made especially for them. And I enjoy sewing for them, especially since they are away.

This bring us to my dummy. Yes, she has a name, even three names. When she impersonates me, she is Mini-Me. Otherwise, her names are Mini-Amandine or Mini-Emilie :-) She is really of great help. It is quicker to try clothes on her than on me. Or to pin cut fabrics on her, at the right place, instead of having them in a bunch on the table. And since I can give her Amandine's or Emilie's shape, she makes sewing for them easy too.

Dress pictures

I was right to take a walk in the garden on Thursday: it has been raining all day today...

Emilie is there. We had a lovely time yesterday, doing some shopping, having a pizza and chatting.

Today, she took that picture of me, in the dress:

I've discovered Altered Couture a few weeks ago. A lot of inspiration in that publication!!!

Among others, there were some customizations with skulls. I knew Emilie would love it. Here is the result: Stretch jean (black), one panel cut on the wrong side and decorated with 3D Paint. One pocket with a hint of bling-bling. I'd put it on her bed for her to discover. Apparently, it was love at first sight.

Note the shoes! Since she is living in Paris, Emilie is discovering the woman hiding in her :-) She bought those shoes yesterday, and I offered her another pair, also with high heels.

I hope you enjoy your weekend!

this and that

Pfff, where is the time going?
Thank you so much for your comments on my dress! I'm eager to wear it now, but it is not warm enough yet.
I've been working on a TShirt and its jacket on Monday. Wanted to work on them tonight, but instead, I made some food shopping and gardening.

I sowed this calendula last year. I was not impressed by it, it was supposed to be as sparkling as a sorbet. Well, I guess too much sun hid the sparkles. Tonight, I found it lovely.

This is my "last-born". A rose named after a French pop/country singer, Eddy Mitchell. I planted it two weeks ago, it is already growing. I like this dark burgundy!

And here is a parrot tulip. The first one!

Close to her are narcisses. They bloomed very early last year, just after XMas. But I was sorry they did not bloom this year. I guess they have been scared by the snow, they are blooming only now!

And this was the bad part of the evening. Buying food means I cooked. I opened the drawer to fetch a knife, and fetched a little furry ball, well almost. And look at what it had done to my brushes:

Not a single "hair" left!!!!!!!! All what remains is the tiny yellow bit in the background! I think it is very rude.

And while I put some traps, the ladies were very busy, mounting guard on my bed! This is a very rare view, they avoid each other most of the time.

I wish you a very good weekend. I went to Barcelona to be with Amandine last weekend, and Emilie is coming this weekend. Ain't I a happy mother?

Vogue V8280

I've been working on version B of V8280.
It is almost finished, I still have to attach the lining to the zipper inside. I like the armhole:

The fabric is a printed linen. Very nice to work with.

As for the pattern, it is completely different from what I use to sew. Usually, I go for easy pieces, that just require one day to complete. This one is marked Easy by Vogue, and that is true, but since it has much more construction, I was a bit out of my comfort zone. But I enjoyed sewing it.

Now I have to find shoes and maybe a belt (I have enough leftover to make one too, this could be the easy option).

Have a nice week all!

PS: I've just found your messages on my last post. Thanks for them.

I have lost weight, 1/5 of my initial weight in fact, since last Eastern, hence the need/longing for new garnments. And for fun garnments. And on how I see myself now. I have altered the pattern because my waist is too thick compared my bust and hips, but at the end, the top came out a bit too big :-) I had to resew the zipper with more seam allowance :-)

Fabrics shopping!

I'm not working today, so I headed to the big town, to find some fabrics for my sewing projects.
The man was of great help. He understood what I wanted, and could find what I wanted very quickly.

This will turn into a dress, pants and matching jacket, Tshirt and matching jacket and skirt. ..

Misc

I met my patchwork friends tonight, and they complained that I did not post this weekend.

They are right, but I have excuses.

First, I'm planning my sewing for spring, and since I lost weight, and have never made a dress for myself from a Vogue pattern, I spent a part of my weekend sewing a muslin and altering the pattern. Now I just have to find the fabric, and to sew the real dress. Until then, no picture of the sewing.

Then I went to the opera, kind of. The movie theater in Aix en Provence proposes HD performances direct from the Met in New-York. I attended the performance of Saturday evening. And I liked it. I can't tell an opera from another one, but I was completely under the charm of Madama Butterfly. I'll go again next year, they will propose Aida, La Tosca, Turandot, and some others.

After this busy weekend, I started sewing yesterday. My assistant had to help, of course ...

I wish you a good time until the next weekend !

Venus andf metal

That Venus is bothering me! :-)
She is not that bad, since Startare expressed what I wanted to achieve in her comment: pre-historic goddess, obvious shape, hide and seek, etc. But in my opinion, she still misses some fizz or bling-bling. Still thinking...

Arlee of Aldebo Design Journal is presently working a lot with metal. And shares her experience in one of her blog. This is what kept me occupied yesterday. It is a kind of sampler (I tried various built-in stitches to see what works best). If you're tempted, don't hesitate to give it a try, it is amazing how easy it is.