WIP: Make Nine 2019….aka Let’s Pretend it Hasn’t Been Over SIX Months Since the Last Post!

Everyone read the title of this post?  Excellent! Let’s move on 🙂

I didn’t quite finish last years Make Nine, but I got a respectable 2/3 of the way done before I kinda tapered off.  I outlined my most of my Make Nine for 2019 a while back in a fit of productivity:

Yeah…. I’m not making some fancy gird thing this year…. you get old school index card & my terrible handwriting!

Not listed are knitting a sweater (see below) and I’m doing a Wild Card, TBD project again 🙂

And I’ve actually been on quite the sewing roll lately!

I’ve finally finished my Ginger Jeans!! Hopefully, more on this epically LONG make will be coming soon-ish (or in another 6 months…. you never know!)

I knocked out a pair of Oh Lulu Grace panties as a confidence building project when I was neck deep in Ginger Jeans fitting with no end in sight 😦

Aaaand in a fit of true sewjo I made a slip….. with NO PATTERN!!! This was my first project sans pattern.  It’s really just a very simple A-line skirt with elastic waist, but I’m quite pleased with myself 😀

I’ve also started on my second project of the Make Nine bunch Carolyn Pajamas in fox fabric!!!  I’ve needed some good summer PJs, so these will fill a very nice niche 😉

I’ve also prepped to batch sew a couple of Grail T-shirts…….

In between all this I’ve also been plugging away on my Julgran Christmas sweater!  I’m toying with the idea of using this for this years Outfit Along….. it is definitely a work in progress….

Lastly….. I’m finally on Instagram!!!  You can find me @liz.o.matic, it’s set private for now while I’m figuring out how to freaking use the damn thing- but you can send me a follow request 😉

The Kim Dress in Floral Print….. aka Outfit Along 2017

Adding to my better late than never category- I give you my completed outfit for the 2017 Outfit Along!!

You’ll recall that I finished the sweater portion (a slate blue Miette) of this reasonably close to the deadline…..but never even started on the dress!
Well after finishing this year’s OAL, I decided there was no time like the present to tackle last year’s OAL 😉

I made the suggested pattern- the Kim Dress from By Hand London.  This was my first time using a By Hand London pattern.  The one hitch I discovered was that they ONLY offer pdf patterns 😦  Because I hate printing and taping pdf patterns I did some research and pricing and ultimately paid to have it printed large format….. y’all this is a game changer for me!

I used pdf plotting. They were cheap, much more reasonably priced than the local FedEx print center, but you will may need to have a minimum order (I think I got 3 or 4 printed out at once, but I don’t see anything about minimum orders on their site now).  And they were reasonably fast, not the instant gratification of printing it out right now, but reasonable.  I’ve also noticed they’ve greatly expanded the directions and information on pattern printing since last year- which is awesome!
It does take the price to basically the cost of a printed pattern, but for me it’s worth it…. did I mention I hate taping???

I did a bit of franken patterning and made the bodice from Variation 1 and the full skirt from Variation 2.  I started out by muslining the bodice and cutting this in a straight size 14, and that’s when the FUN began…. and by fun I mean total frustration and swearing!! I got so excited about the pattern, the dress, and the fabric it some how never occurred to me…. By Hand London is drafted for a B cup…. I am a DD (pushing a DDD)!!

I ended up making FOUR muslins!!  I relied heavily on the Kim Dress sewalong, specifically the post on Full Bust Adjustments with princess seams.  I can’t find it now, but after two muslins I read a blog post from another blogger who discussed that if the difference between the Full and High bust is enough you should base the size you cut on your High bust and then adjust accordingly.  This proved the be just the advice I needed to prevent me from throwing EVERYTHING, so thank you nameless blogger!  This post from the Curvy Sewing Collective gives the same advice and provides a very handy reference for which pattern companies draft for what bust- spoiler it’s mostly B cup 😦

At the end of the day, I made a size 10 bodice with a 2″(!) FBA, graded to a size 12 at the waist, with 1/2 inch added to the center.  The skirt stayed a standard size 12, because nobody needs to fit a full skirt!

Although… I did end up making a few adjustments to the skirt…. Firstly, there’s probably about 3 to 4 inches of fullness taken out of the skirt because I didn’t have enough fabric 😦  I also left out the pintucks, because I figured they would get lost in the pattern.  And finally, I added POCKETS!!  Because what’s the point of a full skirt if you don’t have pockets!  Unfortunately, I did forget about them when attaching the skirt so they don’t exactly line up with the side seams…. but… eh…. whose counting 😉

There’s still some minor adjustments I may try for next time…..

1.  I will probably try for a size 10 waist and skirt, things were surprisingly a bit loose at the mid section (FYI: based on the muslin I was afriad it would be too small!).
2.  Maybe try to actually do a sway back?  I’m increasingly wondering if this should be an adjustment to try out…
3.  Add some of those bra strap hold-y things….. Unless I stand exactly just so they start to peak out from behind the straps…. as evidenced in these photos!

The fabric is a really lovely light cotton- maybe cotton lawn?  I fell in love with the pattern- kinda fall colors, but with a springy motif!
As with all my super nice fabrics I got it from Mulberry Silks 🙂 I was nervous at first it would be a bit through at the skirt, I actually bought extra lining fabric (just a light cotton blend from Jo-ann’s) to make a slip, as it turned out it wasn’t necessary!

All in all, I’m really digging this Kim dress!  The fabric is just right and I think with a couple more tweaks to the fit it can become a real staple….. part of me wants to go crazy and try for a sequin party dress!
And with that I not only finished an Outfit Along, but also ticked off my 6th item in the 2018 Make Nine challenge!!

 

Outfit Along 2018…. Finished Objects!

It’s official I finished the Outfit Along….. a month late….but I finished 🙂

I stuck very true to the Outfit Along and made the suggested True Bias Lander Pants…. or in my case shorts… and knit the Waters top.

I’ll start with the shorts…

This was my first time using a True Bias pattern and I was SUPER pleased with it!  I cut a size __ and it pretty much fit right out of the envelope….which never happens!!  I’ve had the chance to wear them a few times and I may want to adjust the crotch depth the next time I make them, but that may be partially due to my fabric choices (see below!).
I used the Lander Sewalong extensively and it proved quite helpful!  I also used Lladybird’s method for the belt loops, which was much easier than the tube turning mess.

Now while the fit was more or less fantastic I may have messed up on the fabric 😦  I used the discount code and bought Robert Kaufman Brussels Washer Linen in Navy from The Confident Stitch.  The fabric is really nice…..but has a tendency to bag out (and wrinkle, but it is still a linen) and was really probably not the best for these more structured shorts.  Which I have just now realized they specifically warned about in the description <facepalm>  When I remake them I’ll probably do it in a nice twill 🙂

Now I did take this up a notch by using really special buttons…. so special in fact I will probably move them on to the new pair of shorts when I re-make them.  These buttons came from my Grandpa’s Navy uniform who served during World War II!  My Mom gave me an old box labeled “Navy Buttons” and I found these among the more obvious eagle and anchor Navy buttons.  I know his actual uniform was destroyed in a flood, but I think someone may have gone through and cut all the buttons off it before tossing it.   I can’t tell what they’re made of, but they are quite solid and sturdy. [FYI: They got really blown out in these photos, the true color is closer to the outdoor shots- kinda of a linen/off white.]

Now on to the top!  I was originally planning on making Zinone (even had yarn & color scheme picked out), but when Andi released Waters and it was on sale…. I immediately changed plans! [Also, I FINALLY actually bought one of her patterns and so can stop feeling guilty about being a freeloader.]

This was a fairly easy pattern to follow.  I thought I was going to have a hard time remembering to switch colors for the stripe pattern, but that was actually super easy!  I knit it in a size Large and the fit is very good.  As always, I went up a size on my needles to a size 4 to get the right gauge….. of course that was only after I bought the size 3 needles 😦

I used Lindy Chain yarn, because it was a lot cheaper than the suggested yarn, in Navy and Mist.  It wasn’t the original combination I wanted, but I think I actually like it better then the original Navy/Linen combo (they were out of Linen when I ordered).
The only issue I have so far discovered is that despite the linen/cotton yarn and the short sleeves this is still a sweater and it gets HOT!!  I walked around the historical Tree Streets neighborhood with a friend to get these pictures and by the end I was sweating up a storm! (or glisten- as a proper British woman once told me “Ladies do not sweat, they glisten”)

Overall, I’m quite pleased with the outfit…. and the fact that I actually finished the Outfit Along!!  I will definitely be remaking the shorts in a better fabric…. and probably give the pants a shot too 🙂

And BONUS- this will fulfill two from my Make Nine challenge!!  Knit a sweater (check) and I’m going to count my shorts as my Wild Card (double check)!  That brings me to five down 😀  Woohoo- over 50% complete!!

Don’t let the fall decorations fool you…. it was hot!

Works in Progress: A Big Update

Whew! It has been a serious hot minute…..like two months hot minute!!  Let me catch you up on everything…..I went to D.C. for a work conference, kinda at the last minute:

National Portrait Gallery

Coffee & Knitting

The Capital Building

National Gallery of Art

The Metro

I found a LYS mere minutes from our hotel and bought awesome stuff 😀   ….and I also attended workshops and did work stuff 😉

I then almost immediately turned around and went to Sewcation!!! At the beach this year on Pawley’s Island 😀

Work has been CRAZY this summer…. every year I imagine all the free time I’ll have to sew and work on projects…. and inevitably every year it seems to be crazy!

BUT between all that and especially at Sewcation I’ve been madly working away on my projects for the Outfit Along(s)!!

I have actually finished my Lander shorts by the deadline!! *Cue the celebratory music*  I will talk about them more in a future post….because unfortunately…. my Waters did not make it in time 😦

Speaking of the Outfit Along….. I’ve finally gotten started on the Kim Dress!!

Yes, over a year late, but I’m hoping to actually finish the Outfit Along 2017 before it gets too cold to wear this somewhat summer-y dress….. I epitomize the saying better late than never 😉

…..and with that I leave you with a picture of El supervising some cutting…. she is quite the task master:

Outfit Along 2018!

Yes! Despite only getting half-way through last years Outfit Along I’m giving it another go!
….also…. I had meant to get this up at the beginning of June, but that obviously didn’t happen…. so, uh…. things aren’t looking so good for this year either 😦

But I will tell you about what I’m making, even if it’s doomed for failure!  The suggested patterns for this years Outfit Along are the knitted linen top Waters by Andi Satterlund and the Lander Pants & Shorts by True Bias.

I am nothing if not suggestible and so will be doing the Waters top and Lander shorts 🙂

Despite how the picture looks I’m actually making decent progress on this.  I’m using Lindy Chain in Mist and Navy…. it’s a linen, cotton blend and is a lot cheaper than the suggested yarn.  I’m knitting up a size large and as always had to go up a needle size to get the correct gauge.

The shorts though are a whole different story   Similar to last year I got everything traced, a muslin cut out….. and then got a bit side tracked….  but, I’m hopeful I can get back on track!  I used the discount code to get some navy washable linen from The Confident Stitch.  I briefly thought about tapping my inner patriot and buying red linen, but decided to go with the more versatile option.

Now, a very small part of the reason not a lot has been done on these is because I was taking my time and working on another pair of bottoms….

Can you tell what these are??  They’re no where near done and are going on the back burner for a bit, but I basted together my Ginger Jeans!!  A WIP post will follow at some point giving updates on this 🙂

But for now stay tuned and wish me luck with the Outfit Along!

Works in Progress XIX…. plus Me Made May 2018!

So…. I totally had to look up what 19 was in Roman numerals 😦   I may have to re-think my numbering system….

But at any rate! Here’s what I’ve been working on!

Unfortunately, in the case of my knitting not only has no progress been made…. there has actually been negative progress!  That’s right mere rows before coming to the end of my cowl I decided I didn’t like my interpretation of the pattern and ripped it almost back to the beginning 😦

I’m trying again to more closely follow the pattern (despite it making NO sense) just to see how it turns out….but, as you can imagine I haven’t really gotten too in to it

HOWEVER! The wheels are turning on a new summer sweater!!

On the other hand, I’ve been hard at work and have almost completed my ninth and tenth Grail t-shirt!  These ones will both involve some pattern hacking on the original…. and fit in with my Make Nine plan- BONUS!

 

My Ginger jeans took a bit of a back burner when I decided I wanted the somewhat immediate gratification of a Grail t-shirt….. but I’m hoping to get back to them very soon!

Which brings us to Me Made May!!  I’ll be participating again…. getting in just under the wire (per usually)….

I, Liz of Liz-o-matic, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’18. I endeavor to wear at least one visible me made item every day for the month of May 2018.

Last year I had a handful of me made underwear days…. this year my goal is to limit it to only one day!  I’m also going to try to be better about getting a photo EVERY day!

Works in Progress XVIII….. plus bonus Finished objects!!

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done one of these…. and I’m actually working on stuff for a change!

I’ve finally gotten back into working on my Carolyn Pajamas…. and after over a year (!) I finally finished…. the bottoms

Where upon I promptly put them on and got to work on the top 🙂

I’ve also started a new knitting project.

A super chunky, super squish cowl!  I got the yarn and freebie pattern from Purl’s Yarn Emporium…. a shop everyone should check out if they ever find themselves in Asheville 🙂

Both these projects will fit in nicely with my “Winter is Coming Wardrobe”- the pajamas in particularly will fill a distinct me-made pajama gap in my wardrobe (winter or otherwise)!

Closest Case Files has also declared it No Fear Jeans Month…. and while I’m not crazy enough to declare I’m going to sew my Ginger Jeans this month…. that would be crazy!  I am going to take it as a hint from the Universe to finally *start* on them!

Ginger Jeans

I’m setting the very modest goal of settling on a size and tracing the pattern 🙂  ….which makes this post, that was just posted incredibly useful! Thanks Heather!

And finally my first make of 2018:

Oh Lulu Grace Panties!  I had cut these out eons ago and finally got around to making them.  I added the tiny little buttons so now their vaguely nautical themed 🙂  I’m pretty sure I salvaged those buttons from another pair of undies that got destroyed in the dryer- hooray recycling!

2018 Make Nine Challenge

This is a bit late in coming, but I wanted to change things up slightly this year for New Years resolutions/ goals for the year.  In the past I’ve focused on fairly broad goals, like “Sew More”, and even when I had fairly specific goals, like “Knit a Sweater”, they were still fairly broad.

…..So…. I’m changing things up!  This year I’m going to try to participate in the #2018MakeNine challenge as my “goals” for 2018.

 

Ginger Jeans

Winter Skirt

Winter Hawthorne

Renfrew/Grail Mashup

Summer t-shirt

Knit a sweater

Kim Dress

Carolyn PJs

Wild Card!

So…. some most of these have been on my “To Do” list for quite a while   ….but better late than never….right?

1. Sew Ginger Jeans!  I’ve got the pattern, I’ve got the fabric…. shit I even bought the class!! No more excuses I will sew these! (but…uh…just in case don’t hold your breath)
2. Sew the Brooklyn skirt!  This is another one where I literally have everything…. I’ve technically kind of even started on this one (I’ve cut out, but haven’t sewn a muslin)
3. Make a Winter Hawthorn–  I’ve decided I need a winter dress…. and this seemed to fit the bill.  I again have everything I need to complete it….. are you noticing a trend???
4. Make another Grail/Renfrew mashup – I get a lot of use out of my navy version and I feel I need another one in my Winter is Coming Wardrobe!
5. Make a summer Grail T-shirt!  Because I needed to throw something summer-y in hear…. and also my RTW t-shirts are way past their prime.
6. Knit a sweater! I’m kinda liking this semi tradition of making a new sweater each year, plus I seriously wear my Armande sweater all. the. time.
7. Make the Kim Dress…. Yeah…I still haven’t really started this one….despite it being a key component in my (ill-fated) Outfit Along attempt.
8. Finish my damn Carolyn Pajamas!  This has been a languishing WIP for well over a year!! Their time has come!
9. Now the last one is a bit of a cheat…. I’m giving myself a Wild Card!  Just in case something comes up that I absolutely must do… the only framework I’ll give myself now is that it can’t be an “easy” project.

Now, you may have noticed a theme….in that most of these projects I already had the fabric.  In fact for all of these projects I should already have the fabric, because my other goal for this year is to stash bust!  I have all this great fabric that I just hoard, so no fabric buying for at least 6 months!  ….we shall see how long I last

Year in Review 2017

This has got to be the latest year in review posting EVER!  But there you have it   Unfortunately, 2017 did not turn out to be a banner year sewing wise….. I would say multiple things contributed to the low output- work, helping my parents move, etc- but at the end of the day (er…year) it was/is a case of low sewjo 😦

 

Summer t-shirt

 

The knitting front was somewhat better…. this marks the first year I made TWO sweaters… hooray!  I also finished the husbands scarf… double hooray!

…..Despite getting so little done this year I still managed to meet some of my goals:

2017 Goal Assessment!

• Put together the sewing room

It’s still a work in progress, but I’m calling this a success.  I still need to get “real” shelving for my fabric…. the boxes are slowing becoming the Leaning Tower of Fabric, but things are coming together.  The husband got me some heavy duty shelving for all my “junk”.

Even more exciting I got my Great-Grandmother’s sewing table….which was built for her by my Great-Grandfather!!  Everyone in the family was very excited it was being used for it’s original intended purpose again 🙂

• Participate in the sewing community more!

I’m calling this a success as well!  I followed Allie J’s Social Sew till the end…. with two Moneta’s actually!  And am still super sad she stopped 😦

 

I finally participated in Me Made May!  And discovered it really wasn’t that hard!  I, also, attempted to participate in Summer of Basics and the Outfit Along…. but failed pretty miserably at those

• Continue to sew and knit more.

This most definitely is an unequivocal failure…..

Summer t-shirt

Last year I made 21 items….. this year I made 8 *cue sad trombone* 😦   ….now in reviewing last years Year in Review I did make a lot of “small” things, so there’s that….

At any rate… tune in soon for 2018 plans!  And if anyone has suggestions for getting the sewjo back I am all ears!!

Armande Sweater in Tweedy Oatmeal

Woot! A finished object!! I had meant to post this as one final make for 2017, but that cruel bitch that was 2017 had one last ‘fuck you’ in store for me…. the stomach flu (or food poisoning) on New Years Eve [insert vomit emoji].  I will spare you the graphic details, but I will say that it is not an experience I would wish on my worst enemy.

At any rate, back to more pleasant matters.  I give you my finished Armande!

Armande is a bottom-up seamlessly knit cardigan sweater from Andi Satterlund.  I knit this in a size large, using size 8 needles to get the right swatch.  I started it around Christmas 2016 and finished it up around Christmas 2017 🙂

And what a start it was!! I had a pretty rough time with it at the beginning….particularly the pockets.  I ripped back and re-started them twice before I finally frogged the whole damn thing and started from scratch.  But honestly the whole thing was user error….never question the directions!

Despite the rough start I do really like the way the pockets were knit, it makes for a very smooth and seemingly very sturdy pocket 🙂

Otherwise it’s a fairly simple knit, great for binge watching and knitting days…. Knitflixing if you will 😉

I was a bit nervous about the fit, but other than being slightly big in the shoulders it’s pretty good.  In these shots I’m wearing a sturdy long sleeve shirt under it…. this one actually!

The buttons are again from Wood Buttons.  These actually weren’t what I originally ordered, they were out of that and sent me TWO replacement sets instead of slightly different buttons.  I honestly can’t remember what I originally ordered and am quite pleased with these.

The yarn is Homestead Tweed from Plymouth Yarn Company in Oatmeal Tweed.  When I envisioned this sweater it was with this EXACT kind of yarn and lo & behold I was actually able to find it!!

It was my last purchase from my old LYS The Village Knittery…. which just recently went out of business 😥 😥

But cry not, for I have this insanely warm sweater to remember them by!  Yes, it is fitting nicely into my Winter is Coming Wardrobe already…. because as you know if you live anywhere along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.- SHE HAS ARRIVED!!