Ms Grundy again

I bought a little over $200 worth of fabric this spring, and then I made 7 tees, a woven button-up shirt, and two pair of pants, for a complete wardrobe. Here are 6 tees and a woven with starfish from fabric I had bought earlier.

All batik scraps from a bag I made years ago and brown twill from a pair of jeans Two outside pockets one inside zipper pocket two inside flat pockets Pink Sand Beach Designs London City Bag My previous bag was from a kit - their Tuscany Tote Earlier, I had made two in blue One I gave to an old friend I met teaching at Granby One I gave to my boss at the library, as a leaving gift. The original bag was Pink Sand Beach Tuscany Tote - came in a kit

My husband didn't like my fabric choices - so I made him some from an old work shirt of his.

I had cut and sewn 4 tees, and finally got them all hemmed. They are all unusual colors for me: black n white, pale green, pale yellow, and pale pink (PINK!!)   This is a rayon knit, and still, 2 years later, a favorite!

All my tees are made with the same pattern - one I traced from a tee I bought from Wal-Mart. I have made regular neck, long sleeve, scoop-neck short sleeves, etc. I have fabric for at least three more... Note: these pictures were all taken on the same door, at the same time. You can see by the different colors of the door how true the color is to real life. The color of the door is "Navajo white" - so that bottom left  shirt in real life has a lot of dark burgundy in it - and no green at all. I wear it with burgundy pants. The other batik tee(upper right) has a lot of green, and I wear it with an avocado-colored pant.

Finished my navy, burgundy, and gray trousers last week (finally!) If I look harried, it's because my 4 grandkids were all here today, and the youngest is teething (2 Yrs old) Also finished my multi-colored sweater (though we sure can't use it right now - except for INDOORS, because my husband is always much warmer than I am)

I made two pair of pants, a light navy and a pond green, using my old TNT pattern. no pictures, nothing exciting... I also made two tees - one from this Art Gallery Morning Walk Jersey Knit Wispy Daybreak Aura Fabric all from Fabric.com And another in ink blue knit (picture later)

Well, I made a t-shirt to erase the awful memory of the pants-that-do-not-fit. The t, another t-n-t pattern, fits perfectly, so I don't know what I did... But I am getting ready to make a lovely pair of charcoal grey wool pants. (I will measure before cutting.) I also bound four kiddie quilts and quilted parts of two others for my quilting group. We make them for the local Children's Advocacy Center. Have spent some time quilting my Bonnie Hunter "En Provence", and have started cutting for another quilt. Perhaps today I may try to see what needs to be done to finish my chambray shirt...

cotton knit and linen/cotton blend My new necklace is by yarnplayer - and is a turquoise donut wire-wrapped, beaded, and with tiny tatted flowers. It is amazing. We had a family reunion today - third in two weeks - at the local park. My husband's side of the family got together. It was only in the 90's but the humidity was so bad that it was pretty miserable.

Many many years ago, I made a nightgown from a dark grey print knit. I love it, still wear it. Then, many years ago, I made a long-sleeve tee from the leftover fabric. This summer I finally used the last of the fabric to make this tee. The capris started life as a midi-length twill skirt that I couldn't wear.

Made 2 tee shirts - with my pattern traced from a Walmart tee. They fit well, but the fabric is a bit too "clingy" - or "slinky" for me. I want cotton tees! Oh,, well... note: Pictures taken first thing in the morning - no makeup. Also, my hair has looked better... This is the porch off my living room.

I finally worked on pants from my SFD pattern, made a pair of pajama pants, compared them to my previous favorite pants pattern, and adjusted them. Then I made a pair of linen capris and a pair of brown linen pants. Both of them fit well, even thought they loosen up a bit as the day goes on. https://www.fabric.com/buy/0403778/kaufman-essex-yarn-dyed-linen-blend-espresso 55%linen 45% cotton

Made two of these for friends - still haven't mailed one of them - need to make one for me to keep!

I hope to make more - but not from this pattern! It is too low-cut, and way too big - I had to take it up from the shoulders as well as on the sides. What I want is the fit from my regular tee shirt pattern, but with bust darts... Back to the drawing board ...

shopping at the end of summer, I saw several maxi-skirts on sale -beautiful fabrics! I know I won't be wearing maxi-skirts - but a maxi has enough fabric for a tee-shirt. So I bought a couple on sale- and made tees. One I love - one started pilling the first time I wore it. (I shudder to think of the pilling in a skirt!) Then I read a blog entry about Califabrics, with pictures of gorgeous knit prints. I loved several of their fabrics, so ordered 6 pieces from them. Have sewn 4 so far - and love them. I also dug out some old knits from stash - for a total of 10 new tees.  All but 2 are in constant use.

I've made my own underwear for years.  I mentioned it in one of my groups, and someone asked for more details, so here it is:  patterns for undies:  First, I took a pair that fit me the best.  Then I pinned one piece at a time flat and traced around it - front, back, crotch.  Then I added the parts where i'd like them to be just a little bit wider (longer, whatever).  Then I added 1/4" for seams between the pieces.  Then I examined how the elastic was attached -mine was sewn, then folded over, then stitched again. so I added the width of the elastic to the leg and waist edges.  Sew crotch seams - side seams.  Cut your elastic depending on its stretch. Regular underwear elastic probably should be 15-25% smaller than the edge it's going to be attached to.  Sew elastic into a circle. pin it into fourths or eighths. Pin the edge it's going to into fourths or eighths. Pin together. Stitch, fold, stitch.  Make one pair. Wear i...

  about 16 1/2" wide at the top x 12" tall x 4" deep  Bought the pattern and fabric in Panama CIty.  Love it!    about 17" by 18" - I have wanted to try a twister pattern for a while.. bought this template from an online friend who got it from Primitive Gatherings.  - turned out to be quite small. - not the smallest- there is a teeny tiny twister too. I sure am glad I didn't get that one!  The problem with the twister idea is that there is so much wasted fabric - so I cut out smaller squares from the scraps. These end up one inch squares:    AND in unrelated news, I am the new children's coordinator librarian at the local library. Since I worked in libraries from 7th grade all the way through the year after my Bachelor's degree(four different organizations), perhaps it was fate that that's where I have ended up...

OK, as I was cleaning out the spare bedroom closet, I kept FINDING things.. A lovely stretch cotton mint green with multicolor pinstripes - which turned into a 5- button short sleeve with a gently curved collar- a gorgeous cotton knit which became (very quickly) a v-neck tee, and a jacket all cut out and serged edges, but not stitched. I also finished a viscose scoop-neck tee with darts. I hate sewing that slinky stuff - and somehow the front hem was noticeably longer on the right than on the left. What the heck is viscose, anyway? Have just made 3 blouses in 3 days. The jacket - not so much - as the rest of the week is supposed to be in the 80's. Cleaning out the closet continues...

I was quilting a quilt yesterday, and my machine started skipping stitches. I also noticed that it seemed to vary in tension as it stitched. "Maybe it's the crappy backing I'm using." I thought. "Maybe it can't stitch over those busy intersections." I thought, although it has before. Then I attempted to apply the binding - straight stitching, no seams, and it started skipping worse. I changed the needle, I changed the thread, I oiled places that were squeaking. It would skip, and then stitch right over the same place. I can hear it skip stitches. It sounds different. And it's worse. Finally it refused to sew a small section over and over. The nearest repair place is an hour away, and I don't have a regular repairman. AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHH! Caro April 8, 2013 at 7:20 AM well. I couldn't get my old machine going. It has been a good soldier - have no idea how old it is - and I've been sewing A LOT lately. So I bought a new one - 100...