Nothing but blue skies....

'Cause that's what the colors on this set reminds me of.  Carolina blue skies with big fluffy clouds.  These are made with some of my favorite material - the Victoria's Secret Stretch Satin - purchased here.

The patterns are my favorites - the Sewy Rebecca bra and the panties are from the Ottobre Women 5/2009.  There were not any changes made from the previous makes except that I went up a size in the underwire.  Since I've had a weight gain, the cups seemed to still fit fine on my previous makes, but the underwires were poking slightly.  So I ordered one trial pair in a size larger and gave the bra a trial run the other day, everything felt great.  Maybe I've been using the wrong size underwire all along, since the larger size fit in the same cup/band size??

The color is a little off in the first picture, but it is closer than the pictures I was getting inside.  On the second picture the color is pretty accurate and I liked the juxtaposition of the rough decking against my silky lingerie.  One of the nice things about living out in the middle of nowhere is you can carry out your lingerie to make pictures on the deck and there is no one to give you funny looks except the local wildlife.

Happy Sewing, Suzanne

More WIP's

These have been in process for quite a while.  I used the free patterns found here for the bras - models 8 & 9.  If like me, you do not speak or read Russian, I suggest you try Google Translate, to at least get the descriptions of the pattern pieces.  Model 9's lower cup pieces are very similar once you get them traced and cut out. 

I had made a trial run of both of patterns before, and found they run slightly smaller than the other European patterns I had tried.  So to get them to my size, I did a "cheater" grading and added .25" to the outside (where the underwire sits) seamline and that worked pretty well.  Now they fit except the straps ended up too wide on my shoulders, evidently I did not pay enough attention to that in the trial run.  Luckily for me my daughter wears approximately the same size I do, except her shoulders are slightly more square. So she can wear them without the straps constantly sliding down her arms like they do on me.

After the grading, it was pretty straightforward sewing. Since the patterns are in Russian and the translation is both confusing and amusing, I do suggest that you have sewed other bras or have a good "how-to" book in front of you, I recommend Beverly Johnson's, The Bra-Makers Manual - so much great information in there.
 
The panties are the free Rosy Boy Shorts (right side) from the Cloth Habit and the Cheeky Panty (left side) pattern from BurdaStyle, also free. Both are an easy sew, especially if you have sewn any panties before. I will tell you now that the boy shorts will not be worn by me - I don't really like boy shorts to start with and I need more coverage that they have.

Both sets started out all white -

Dear daughter does not do white, so just a little bit of time and some acid dye later, we got -

Cotton candy colors!!!

Also there has been an auxiliary, non-sewing project going on for my daughter. 

She sent me this picture -

Brought me these shoes -

I procrastinated for the longest time over this, because what if I messed them up? What was Plan B? I had no idea! But we ended up with this -

 

 

Not exactly the same thing, but I think she likes them!

 



Next on my list, is some lingerie sets for me.  As soon as I restock some of my supplies that is - SIGH - I let myself run out.

Happy Sewing, Suzanne

City Slicker

Christine called the City Slicker, but I would have called it the Goldilock's Bag, because it's perfect!!! It's the perfect size, the perfect shape, perfect number of pockets, perfect kind of pockets, etc.... you know perfect.

 

Here is her description - The CITY SLICKER Advanced is the perfect sized handbag for a day out shopping, with loads of pockets to keep organized while you shop! It features a front twist lock pocket (perfect for your keys) and a back slip pocket which is handy for quick access to your phone. A top zippered closure keeps your main compartment nice and secure. Inside you will find a zippered pocket, a pleated pocket perfect for your sunglasses, 6 slip pockets, and 2 pen pockets.

And it's on sale now - both versions - the intermediate and advanced. I got them both through the Bag of the Month Club.

Mine is the advanced version and I would have had it done before, but once I got into it, I kept procrastinating when I would get to the advanced parts, like the welt pocket.  Just a reminder to myself for the future "GOOD GRIEF Suzanne, just take a breath! and do it!" I have avoided welt pockets on jackets, skirts, etc... like the plague, because, ermmm, well I don't know now because why. Just follow the directions, they are excellent.

Don't what was going on or how I managed to capture that face!
 

Also excellent was the drafting.  Everything fit together perfectly.

More handbag bling!

The only un-perfect thing about this bag is it's the last one in the club. BOO. If anyone is listening, please, please, please do this again.  It was SO. MUCH. FUN.

All six Bags of the Month

Happy Sewing, Suzanne