love this boy!!!!

thanksgiving dress!

i actually started this dress, butterick 5755, this summer with shirley... she used silk jersey and i used cotton jersey.  both of us made view a:

i got the fabric from gaffney's in philly.  it's very soft and only cost 99c/yard!

here's the full view.  construction was not so easy... the pattern was huge.  i had to take in the sides, shorten the bottom, shorten the overlay, shorten the straps.  it initially looked like a muumuu on!

 here i am, giving it a preview at school!  i'll be wearing it to thanksgiving dinner, in pittsburgh!

byebye shirley cupcakes

i have a new sewing buddy, shirley.  i met her this summer.  she's a total sweetheart and is so fun!  anyway, shirley just moved to oregon this past wednesday to be a dentist in this beautiful coastal town. many many visits to oregon will be had, i'm sure.  trust that LOTS of sewing will take place there.  plus she's in the same state (but not all that close) to one of my fav cities ever: portland... hello knit'n kitten (best thrift fabric store EVER)!!!

in honor of her departure, i made red velvet cupcakes... my fav cupcakes... but with green dye.  and 100% recycled cupcake wrappers...  because where she's now living in oregon is VERY woodsy.

 it's no surprise that my frosting job sucked.  cream cheese frosting of course!

see... green.  i wasn't kidding.  so yum!  too bad she's not here to enjoy them.  i'll have to help her out and eat her share for her hehehheheh

the sandy bali skirt!

remember when i said i was going to make view b of butterick 5249?

with this blue handwoven ikat fabric that i purchased in bali?

well here's the final result!  we're dubbing this the "sandy bali" skirt... as in i sewed a lot of it during hurricane sandy, and the fabric is from bali!!  (and bali has sandy beaches... gotta love the puns!)  before i reveal the final pics, i must note that after working with this ikat, my hands were blue, as the balinese did not treat the dye, and thus it bled like CRAZY.  so, prior to wearing it, i soaked it for 2 days in heavily salted water.  check out how much dye bled out:

i used dark mugs filled with water to weigh down the skirt.  per usual, i used my ridiculously teal cheong-sam fabric as lining!  (i still have TONS left.)

i did knock off 2.25 inches off the top, as i didn't want this skirt to be as high-waisted as the last burgundy one that i made (that one went as high as my bottom rib... yes, a bit ridiculous...)  here is the front.  if you can zoom in on the pic, notice the pleated gathers in the upper left and right of the skirt... to add girth to my nonexistant hips.

here's a zoomed-in view.  at the top of the pleats is a little pocket!!

and the back... i do love me some perfectly matched seams! 

oh, you don't believe that this isn't one panel?  here, let me zoom in for you... see, the back is actually 4 panels, but i worked hard to make it match!

 and here i am, donning this skirt at work today!!

with a bit of camera flash so you can see the detail:

yippee!!!  a new fav!

a sandy bunks

bunks loves storms...  i'm stuck at home with him, so he demands my attention.  because the apt was quite chilly, he insisted on snuggling ON me...

 while he napped on the floor, i'd tuck him in my fleece blanket...

 and when i vacuumed up his remnant woodchips, his bunnytail got sucked up too...

just kidding.  hehe.  still intact!

lucky for me, my apt didn't lose power, so i sewed through the storm.  a sandy bali skirt is coming up next!

lining of yesterday's skirt

oops, i forgot to include this pic yesterday.  the vintage cheong-sam silk of course.  i accidentally got a little carried away while serging the hem, so it's a bit short.  no worries though, since it's underneath and you can't see it anyway.  check out my stellar zipper insertion!

super high-waisted pencil skirt

for my october garment, i decided to make a super high-waisted skirt.  i started with the butterick 5249 pattern and used view c (but without the belt loops and belt parts), 

this thicker upholstery fabric and an exposed navy zipper,

to make this piece of wonderfulness.  the skirt is so high, it sits right under my ribs.  i had to let the waist out a bit... no shocker there.  this is my usual adjustment.

i had to shorten the pattern by 5 inches.  FIVE!  i'm of staggering height, as you all know.  my fav detail is certainly the exposed zipper!  i've never installed one before.  wasn't as bad as i'd expected!

i rarely chop my head off in pics, but the head had to go...  after 2 attempts, i couldn't get my face to look right, hehe.  i styled the skirt with a black patent skinny belt, black tights and black suede heels.

my hair was a hot mess today.  it's now back in a ponytail.  round back:

yippee!  i'm now making view b with some bali fabric!