Thursday, April 1, 2010

Monthly Roundup - March 2010

Seriously, is it already April???  March was a crazy month for us personally, and I felt like I was moving really slowly as the beginning of the month, but I must have picked up momentum, since I managed my usual baker's dozen or so projects.  Other than the jeans, there weren't many complicated projects, so that helped.

1) Ottobre 02/2005-25 shirt for Logan
2)Ottobre 01/2009-25 pants for Logan
3) Vogue 8598 blouse for me
4) New Look 6638 PJs for Myra
5) DIY pink and green skirt for the Kitschy Coo sew along for me
6) RTW copy tee for me
7) McCall's 5142 jeans, my first piece for the PR mini wardrobe
8) burda style 02/2010-122A top, also for the mini wardrobe
9) Vogue 8157 capris, ended up to small and had to go to wadder-ville
10) New Look 6704 top for the mini wardrobe
11) New Look 6641 shorts for Logan
12) A self-drafted full skirt for me for the mini wardrobe
13) Kwik Sew 2881 bike shorts for Mitch

That is a grand total of 14 garments.  The breakdown is 6 tops, 6 pants and 2 skirts.  8 of those were for me (thanks to the mini wardrobe!), 1 for Mitch, 3 for Logan and 2 for Myra.  One pair of pants are a wadder.

New skills I worked on...
1) Fitting a close fitted woven blouse.  I'm pretty comfortable in knitwear territory, but fitting wovens is tricky for me.  This is still very much in progress!
2) Pattern drafting from measurements.  I've drafted 2 skirt patterns using the Cal Patch drafting book. I want to give the tee shirt a try as well.
3) Sewing on a vintage machine!  What a surprise!

Toward my other goals, I've sewn 16.17 yards this month and 14.67 were from my stash!!  Awesome.  Of course, there were a few fabric sales that I succumbed to.  I also sewed from burda style this month!  Yay!  I entered a PR contest and sewed a great little wardrobe that I am really excited about.  I have to say that I am really glad that I entered the contest, but I had a lot of challenges with fitting of several of my garments and I got a little frustrated toward the end.  I like to sew with a plan, but I'm not sure I like the pressure of a set deadline.   Maybe 4 garments was a bit much for a first contest.  As for outfits, I did sew a mini wardrobe; all in blue and all of which coordinate with each other.  I also sewed an adorable pink and green skirt that I have absolutely nothing to wear with.  You win some...

For April, I still have quite a few projects on the drawing board from last month.
My first tailoring attempt hasn't even left the pattern envelope, although I did steam the wool.  Baby steps.  To be honest, I'm having a hard time mustering up any desire to sew heavy wool coating.  It's been in the 80s all week.  I'm not sure when I'll feel like working on this, but I've learned the hard way not to tackle something tough when I'm not excited about it, so it goes on the backburner for now.
This little cutie will be perfect for the weather, though!  It's near the top of my short list.
As is this other vintage lovely.  This long dress just looks so cool and comfortable.  It makes me feel like I should be lounging on the porch with a tall glass of lemonade.
And it's never too hot for skimpy lingerie.  Mitch is excited about this one, too.
Myra needs more PJs, and I have a few pieces of girlie flannel crying out the be used.  This New Look pattern is a fun one.  I'm trying it out on the pink now and if I love it, then I'll cut into those cute owls.
I need a top to go with my poor orphan skirt.  This ITY from FFC is a great match to the pink! I'm thinking either Vogue 8390 or 8635.  I also really like the new 8649, but it isn't in my stash (yet!).
Other than that, I think I'll just leave it loose.  Too much structure isn't good for my creativity, and that Mini wardrobe contest really took it out of me.  I still have to take pictures and I'm not sure I've even completely decided which pieces to include...  More later!

12 comments:

Marybeth said...

Wow! I'm always amazed at your productivity! Great work on all your projects, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in April. I really love that Vogue wrap top, and it's on my list of things to do, too!

Karin (the mrs) said...

Wow, Katie, I'm impressed by what you accomplished! And I really look forward to hearing your stories about the lingerie sewing. That's something I want to try soon too, but didn't get around to yet. By the way, lounging on a porch with a glass of lemonade sounds really, really good. Especially if it's combined with some sunlight and a warm temperature. Here it is pouring from the sky again and really, really chilly. Blegh. Can I move to where you are? ;-)

Sam Rose said...

Go, Katie, Go!! I'm with you about not wanting to work on a coat in the warmer weather. I have a few I was going to work on, but I'd much rather work on summer clothes now. (Something we can wear right now!) Your mini-wardrobe looks wonderful. You are so awesome!

auntninn said...

Wow, what fun! And how wonderful it must feel to clothe your kidlets in your own hard work. :)

What about also picking something pretty for the t-shirt drafting to go with your new skirt? I picked my "muslin" knit to match it at the very least.

Eugenia said...

Wow! I am so impressed with your speedy sewing skills! And you've got some lovely projects in the pipeline ......

amber said...

I'm going to sound like a broken record, but I'm still so impressed by your productivity!

Angela said...

Wow! That's awesome! I didn't sew anything this month. :( It doesn't look like I have sewing mojo back yet even with all this inspiration. Hopefully it'll be back soon.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

You got so much accomplished! Color me impressed.

Digs said...

Wow you're unbelievably productive! Every month is some 15 garments!!! And such lovely ones, too! Happy Easter!

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Wow - you're running a sweatshop there! Love the wrap top you've got planned too!

Victoria said...

Well no one can say you sat around all March and twiddled your thumbs!!! Good deal on being super productive!!!

Pam said...

I love your monthly roundup. I am a little bit in deep like with houndstooth lately!