New Look 6107

Peace.

About 13 years ago I wanted a bike. So I bought one from Toys R Us. The people who put the bike together were on vacation and I would have to wait 2 weeks before it could be put it together. That wouldn’t do. My late husband claimed that he could put the bike together. When I came home from my ptj the bike was done; but there was a bag of leftover parts. He said they always include extra parts. The next Saturday we went to the park to bike ride. He was on his nephew’s bike and I was on my new one. I pushed off and the brakes and the whole break line came off. I couldn’t stop the bike. But luckily the wheel fell off. That stopped me. We took the bike to a bike shop, but without the extra pieces because he had discarded them. It cost $50 in the 90’s to repair the bike. That is how I feel about New Look 6107. It had a bunch of mystery pieces

Let me just say I love this pattern. It is very easy and very pretty. And I wanted something polka dot since Shawnta made a polka dot blouse. And I love a good pussy bow! I bought it in the summer with plans to make the short sleeved version. Unfortunately I didn’t get it in like that so I added the longer sleeves. I really like it. But I did have some problems.




Pattern Description:
Misses' Sportswear Misses' button front blouse with sleeve and neckline variations and pencil skirt in two lengths.

Pattern Sizing:
8-18 I cut the 18 I did the A-version

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!!!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
NO!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn’t get the instructions down to the pieces to be cut. I mean there were pieces that I just never used. I was pissed that I cut them because I wanted to make a hat out of the remnants but couldn’t because I had cut all the pieces that they asked for.

Fabric Used:
A BEAUTIFUL cotton from Wal-Mart. Yes Wal-Mart. It was a joy to work with and it doesn’t look like a scrub top. I might get some more and make a skirt….

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I have been on a diet fro the last 2 months and everything I own is loose. So I thought I didn’t need to do an FBA… That is until I was about to add the buttons (my last step_ Then I realized that although I didn’t need to add 10” to the garment, I did need to add about 6”. So I rigged the front to give me the extra room. In the future when I make this… And I will be making this again…. I will add the FBA. I accept I will never be able to make a top out of the package and I am okay with that.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Absolutely!!!!

Conclusion:
I love this pattern <3<3<3 I’m wearing the hell out of this top.



Peace

New Look 6130.... Blah!

Peace.

I sewed last weekend. I completed 2 UFOs. One skirt one top. I started to refashion a wadder that I refuse to give up on the fabric. I love it too much! I need to get these things done before I start sewing for the fall and I have plans!!!! I hit a Butterick sale like that last weekend.

I initially wanted V8815 but none of the stores I frequent ever had it in stock. I was NOT ordering it. I’d have to pay full price + shipping and handling (and what’s handling anyway and why do I have to pay for it????). Nope. Folks…Shawnta and Alethia… had remarked about NL 6130 And NLs are never too expensive so….. I got it. I had to go all the way over to NC to get it too.

I liked the pattern of NL6130 a little more that I liked V8815 because NL6130 is princessed seamned and V8815 is not. I think PS is a better look for me vs. just flat.

So here is my take on it…..



Pattern Description:
Misses' peplum top with neckline and sleeve variations, slim pants, pencil skirt and tie belt…. I made the top, view c

Pattern Sizing: 8-18, I cut an 18

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it did

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I suppose

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I don’t really like the pleated and pointy front peplum, but I don’t absolutely hate it. It’s too cutesy if you know what I mean.

Fabric Used: The store keeper said Cotton knit. I HATED working with the fabric. That might have something to do with why I don’t love it. It broke a needle and kept getting jammed in the machine. I blame the fabric because when I finally finished I was able to work on another garment with no problems and I finished a skirt before hand. I have another UFO in the same fabric in red. It might stay a UFO

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None because folks said it ran big and I was using knit.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes and yes

Conclusion: I like and dislike it. I’m not sure why. I will absolutely wear it. Probably wear it to death. It’s that type of reliable black top. I plan to make one for the fall with short sleeves and in pleather. But I will change the front peplum to the one in the back. I might change the sleeves too. Right now they are too poofy. If you like this style. It’s a straight forward pattern. There are just small things I personally didn’t like. I can over come it though and put my ‘stank’ on it though.

These aren't good pictures because the fabric is Black. Project Runway says black doesn't photograph well... Oh well....




Peace

What wear on a hot @$$ed Day? M6556!

Peace Y’all,

It has been is hot as Satan’s scrotum lately. The funny thing is you would think the south would get all the hot weather and everyplace would be cooler. But surprisingly no. Seems like everybody is getting slapped upside the face with heat. There have been days my inlaws in upstate NY had higher temps than we did. It makes it difficult to dress 3/4th when it's hot like that. I mean I could stay home and be naked, but this Earth has people to see and things to do!

M6556 was almost the dress that wasn’t. I cut this joker out at the beginning of the summer to teach another Earth how to sew. Since it really only has 2 pieces (once you tape them together) I thought it would be a good teaching experience. Unfortunately she got lost cutting it out. And folks who claim they want to learn to sew don’t necessarily mean it. And her mother sews!!!!!

I went through 3 different planned fabrics on this too. The green gauze was my original intention. I hate when I go through hell just to start back at the beginning. I swear this dress didn’t want to be made. I t was impossible to cut on the table so I had to cut it on the floor. Just crazy reasons NOT to make this “dress.” But I persevered and here it is. Shall we?


I don't know what I was looking at.

Pattern Description:
M6556 Misses Dresses. But this is not a dress unless you are under 5’ tall. I had to wear it with a skirt



Pattern Sizing: 12-20

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Actually it did

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It is a very unique top. But for some reason the front neckline is a bit wonky. I had to readjust it while I wore it. I think the weight of the right arm fabric kept pivoting it.

Fabric Used:
Cotton gauze

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I added 2” to the top trying to get it to be a dress. And that didn’t work. The package said the finished garment should be 41”. And had that been the truth then the additional 2” would have allowed it to cover the exposed knee. Any longer than 2” then the hanging part would have dragged the floor when my arm was down

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I doubt I’d sew it again, and I do recommend this to others if you like this style. But be forewarned it’s a top and not a dress.

Conclusion:
Cute and different top.


Peace

Dillon!

Peace Family.

I sort of had a vacation last week. Sort of… The office I work for was closed for an entire week, but….. I came in on Monday and Thursday, had a funeral on Tuesday that took all day and Wednesday I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t come in on Friday because my coworker and I are not allowed to be alone together (it’s that serious y’all) and Friday is her day to come in the office since we are usually closed on Fridays. Mix in the FACT that our AC went out at home on Wednesday and the temps have been over 100* of late means I didn’t get much sewing done. But I did get something completed.

Behold……





This is a baby quilt for my newest nephew. Dillon Benjamin, though I’m not completely sure of the name. I want to get his name embroidered on the blanket but my people have not confirmed the spelling of his name. You know how we can be…. My niece and I are 1 year apart in age. When her sister started having babies, I made blankets for her girls. All 4 of them. This started me the tradition of me making blankets for the next generation. My niece even asked me if I was making a blanket for her son. You know I had to say YES! Besides, this niece has been sickly all her life and never expected to have a child. He was a blessed surprise. We are all very geeked.

I kind of cheated on this quilt. I made the 1st square 3 years ago. A fellow Earth was baring and I volunteered to make her a quilt. I had made another Earth a quilt when she was baring, but it was a group project. This Earth and I were cool at the time so I agreed to make her a baby quilt and allowed her to choose the colors. You need to understand. I don’t like to quilt. But I will make a baby quilt if the squares are large enough that I don’t have to make that many. And I have to really like you to make you a quilt. And I never allow the recipients to dictate the colors unless I’m not quilting but teaching someone how to quilt.

So I allowed this woman to choose her own colors… blue and lavender. Since it’s hot here in GA, I don’t always use quilt batting. I back the quilt with fleece. I find that’s usually enough to make a solid baby quilt. Anywhoo… As I was building with the Earth…. Who KNEW I was making her a quilt…. Waits until the week before her shower to tell me she doesn’t want a quilt from me but something else. Apparently, she went through her guest list and decided what certain people should contribute. The shower was clearly intended to be a gift receiving venture. She didn’t even stay in the room with her guests or participate in any of the games. I didn’t buy her what she asked for and was planning not to attend the shower. B.U.T. she made the shower coed and invited my God to said shower who did purchase what she asked for and put both our names on the gift. To this day I am still waiting for a thank you card….. So…

I used the same fabric for my new nephew’s quilt. Luckily my niece isn’t picky doesn’t know the story nor does she follow my blog. Even though I’m pissed how the story unfolded, I’m thrilled with the out come. It is a 16” block. I made 4 with a 2.5” strip of white in the middle with another red piece. I think it’s really cute. And once I got rolling, it wasn’t hard at all. In the future, I will spring for a quilting foot. I broke 2 needles! I will only quilt baby quilts on my machine. Anything bigger gets sent out.

The quilt square is called “A Mother’s Life.” If you look you will see a red square of love in the center and arrows going out and coming in to represent a mother’s love in how she loves others and they love her right back. Here is the link to the website.
http://www.quilterscache.com/M/MothersLifeBlock.html

I hope Dillon Likes it. It is very different from his cousin’s blankets. You can see how my skill level increased through the years. The oldest niece is 15 now. Her blanket was one of the ones that you make maybe a few stitches here and there. Grand-niece 2 & 3 got quilts and #4 got a crocheted blanket. I was in my crochet phase then. Each of the girls still keeps her own respective ‘blanky”.

Yay Dillon!!!!!



Peace

A little help please......

I have a fresh dilemma and I wanted to take it to the 20 of you. I want to make a floral blazer! But I’m scared.

Here is the fabric. I am obsessed with light blue this summer. I don’t know why. But I scored 4 yards from Wal-Mart of this fabric. I love it. You can tell I love it because I paid full price for it.


The pattern that I want is V1296. The pattern itself says that it’s hard. And it even requires some boning! It was even hard to cut out. I have B5619 It calls for 41/8 yd of fabric to my 4 yards, but I can cut the facings in a different color if I need too.



Here is my dilemma…. Should I go ahead and try to make V1296 or should I just go with the safety of B5619?



I suppose a muslin would help…. I hate doubling back, but I hate wadders too….

Damn!

The God Laughed!

Peace Y’all,

My God sometimes reads this blog. He agreed that I needed to have a sewing space separate from my reflection on my life as Earth. He made a suggestion that I blog on my nail habits. Since it is part of my refinement. Wow. Even after years together, this man surprises me!

When I was a small child, I had 3 wishes: long hair, straight teeth and long nails. Well weaves supplemented me until I went natural. Now I have locs and you know locs will grow. So I checked off Long hair. I checked off straight teeth when my braces came off in the 11th grade. But the nail thing was tricky.

I have soft nails. Really soft. They will fold as soon as they grow past the fingertip. That folding causes cracking and loss of the nail. These nails are just like my mother’s nails. Skinny and sharp. As thin as they are, they are like razor blades and used to tear my skin up when I scratch. That is actually a big problem for me because I suffer from eczema. I have tried every hardener, every vitamin, every damn thing that reported that I could grow those long beautiful thick and strong nails. Even my toenails are thin and are prone to grow inward.

When I was 22, I went to a ball hosted at my dental school (I managed to graduate with long nails. I have the graduation pictures to prove it!). I decided to get some acrylic nails. I have never looked back. I have had some sort of acrylic on my nails since that day 19 years ago. Acrylic nails make life easier. When I get my nails ‘done,’ I’m done. Meaning I feel put together and since polish doesn’t chip off acrylic nails like it does natural nails, I don’t have to worry about my hands until my next nail appointment. That is a huge relief. Before acrylics, I would have to paint and repaint my nails every 4 days. That’s a HUGE inconvenience because of all the down time it takes to dry. It was like and additional hair washing day. And y’all know how long it takes a Black woman to completely wash her own hair from start to finish!

Folks act like this is an expensive venture. As soon as I hear that nonsense I KNOW it is coming from a place of frank ignorance. A full set is $20 here in GA. Fillins run between $12-15. I get fillins ever 2-3 weeks. For some reasoning the winter my nails grow more slowly. So there have been the occasional months where I only fill once. That’s maybe $12-25/month. You waste more than $25/month.

The thing that made the God laugh was all the rules and regulations I have set up for myself with regard to shapes and color. Nail techs think I’m crazy and I’m not far behind them in that appraisal. When I get a fresh set, I go with round nails and light colors. More than likely some sort of American. I won’t cut them down until my own nail grows back in. As my nails get longer, I will have them shortened to the actual nail but cut square. The reasoning is this… I prefer round nails, but they have a tendency to separate from the natural nail. That leaves sharp snags that cut me, pulls my hair, ruins stockings, etc. So as soon as the natural nail grows in good, I swap round for square. Square makes my fingers look longer. I have really stubby digits.

I will NOT wear frosted polish in the spring or summer. I just won’t. Makes me look ashy and looks like something that should be worn around the holidays. The ONLY exception would be for a special occasion or if it is a sparkle and not a frost. Meaning like a top coat with those big sparkly pieces in it. Pastels and bright colors for spring and summer only.

In the winter frosts and dark colors abound. After the autumnal equinox, that’s when I’ll entertain, browns, deep oranges and reds. I don’t think red looks good on me. But I will rock red and gold at the winter solstice. Just seems like the right time to do it then. I will only wear Black or dark blues in the fall/winter too.

On the toes, anything goes. I don’t generally tip my toes. I will admit that there has been the rare occasion that I have put tips on my toes. I don’t generally do this because it is uncomfortable to wear closed toe shoes. Don’t judge me. But I will wear ANY color on my toes I fancy at any time. I just feel that way about feet. I DO NOT like for my finger nails and toe nails to match. Nope. Don’t like that at all. It bothers me and I don’t know why.

I rarely do nail art. I feel like that’s for kids. I’m grown. I don’t need flowers and swirls on my fingertips or toes. I might add a sparkle color to the top of my color but that’s about as intense as I go. I pay attention to colors of the seasons. I bet you didn’t realize that nail polish companies come out with spring and fall lines of color. I know. I was blown away when I found out. But that’s why it’s hard to find a color that you always wear if it’s not in style. Those colors come and go.

So that’s my build on nails. You can call me vain… excessive…. High maintenance…. Whatever. But just know when you do it, my nails and hair will be perfectly on point while you’re talking.



Proper Education Always Corrects Errors!


My toes in Tiffany blue and my nails done "Stiletto" style.

B5709

Peace,

I like this pattern. It is a good mojo starter. I know I have been sewing a lot lately, but this top is what I needed. It is a “grown woman” top; meaning it’s not from Old Navy. It’s not knit. It’s is in my favorite color purple. Most folks don’t realize that purple is my favorite color because I don’t wear it. I don’t think lot looks good on me. But this top does and I love it. And lastly, it is printed! I have been doing the knowledge to indigenous Original cultures; and have come to realize that Original people love print and color. It’s in the blood. And you can recognize a person’s culture based on the prints they wear. I’m doing prints until further notice.

I have been desperately searching for a peplum pattern. V8815 isn’t in the stores yet and NL6130 can’t be found. I was getting a bit desperate. Shall we?



I have to stop making that face. I honestly was smiling and the moment I stopped to answer a question, she took the picture!

Pattern Description: Misses' Top and Belt

Pattern Sizing: 16-24. I cut the C-version of a 24… you know, for Cocoa and Puff. But I could have easily cut a 20. It’s very loose. But I like loose, despite what my mother says….

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes it did!

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very easy. The whole thing start to finish only took 3 hours and I paused to cook breakfast

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The style of the top is very adult

Fabric Used: Rayon. Now this is wear I get mad with folk/ Why didn’t someone tell me how difficult it is to work with rayon? All the ironing… all the fraying… I would have pinked this. I have a bunch of navy blue rayon to use for a shirt dress….. I am very nervous

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Not sure if this counts, but I tacked the front closed. Otherwise, I’d have to wear a shirt underneath it. In the future, I will add an additional 1-2" to the bodice. The Girls take up a lot of room.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes. I am planning to make the A-version and I have fall/winter versions with the sleeves planned

Conclusion: A TNT top!

I made the skirt too…. Maybe in April? I don’t remember the pattern number. I’m annoyed because here I am thinking I’m stepping out of my comfort zone with this skirt and I had 4 others in the summer trunk in brighter colors. I wear the skirt a lot, but I am very ashamed.


Peace