Tuesday, January 22, 2013

still enjoying…

well hello there! i feel like i haven't written in a bit. my focus on enjoyment sewing re-sew-lution has spilled into the other aspects of life. i'm just trying to add more enjoyment in general. i think it's more about the mindset than anything else. 

thank you to everyone who responded to my last post and to everyone who linked up and posted their own list. I really enjoyed reading what you wrote and i might copy some of your ideas!

besides sewing more, i also want to make time to work out more (did that once over the weekend, so that counts for me) and read more. and i don't want to feel guilty about spending time doing any of those things while i could or should be doing other things. it's all about balance too. anyway so i popped by my local library (which i love love love) and checked out 2 books on serging and 1 other book, Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, which Every other blogger seems to have read, so i had to see what all the fuss was about. not what you'd think i'd pick for focusing on enjoyment, right? sounds more like a downer. but it is an interesting read. i may or may not write a post about it when i'm done. we'll see. but did i mention how much i love love love my local library.

it was nice over the weekend to sit on the back porch (when the weather wasn't too chilly) and just read and not worry about anything else for awhile. although in the back of my mind i couldn't help thinking, "i could be sewing right now!" ha ha ha, but i tried to silence that. i squeezed in a little bit of sewing as well. we enjoyed a 3 day weekend.

this is not what i was working on, i actually did this a week or so ago, but hadn't posted it. actually even wasn't sure if it was worth posting, but whatevs… my red sofa and loveseat i bought about 5 years ago came with these pillows that were plain red on one side and this funky pattern on the other side. the funky pattern was never my taste and doesn't go with the livingroom rug At All. i would always turn them over so the patterned side didn't show. but they always bothered me. OCD much?


so i finally ripped them open, trashed the old stuffing, threw them in the washing machine, and used the red material to make 2 new pillows that are red on both sides with new stuffing. (there were 4 pillows and now i have 2 pillows.) i think it's an improvement. i also decided not to keep the piping and made them a little boxier instead.


and then since i was on a roll, i ripped open the khaki colored faux suede pillows we also have, washed them, added new stuffing and stitched those back up too. much better. thinking about making some new pillows, but for now, just giving my old pillows a facelift was a big improvement.

are you asleep now? that was pretty boring right? i have also finished my 3/4 sleeve knit top, but i'm not super excited about it anymore. i took some photos, but they aren't that great. how often do you do something and you're super excited about it in the beginning, but then it drags on or it causes problems and then by the end you're just glad to be done with it and don't even really like it!! ha ha. well at least it was a learning experience. but darn it that fabric wasn't cheap. 

so i'm working on my new dress right now and it's coming along very slowly. but i'm having fun with it and that's what matters. and it's getting a lining!!! my first! and it's my 2013 Sewlution for Did You Make That? - to do something with a full lining. any tips, tricks or tutorials that are helpful for linings?

24 comments:

  1. Rocking red cushions! They look great and its great to be able to sass up your couch so easily :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. The cushions look great! What pattern are you using for your new dress...did you tell me and I I missed it somewhere? :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks! I only briefly mentioned the dress before here: http://soisewedthis.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-re-sew-lution-focus-on-enjoyment.html
    It will be Style 2325, which is a sleeveless dress. I'll post a few in progress photos because it's slow going! I'm a little nervous about the fit and if it will even be flattering! trying to stay optimistic and just enjoy the process!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's right! I remember now :) I don't know if it is too late, but you could make a muslin to check the fit? I am sure it will be great! Good luck!

      Delete
    2. since the fabric was super cheap i could think of this as the wearable muslin! i just can't seem to make myself sew something with actual "muslin fabric" so boring. actually this fabric might've been cheaper than you can buy muslin!! I'm going to keep trying it on as i go, so hopefully that will help! do you make muslins of everything or fit as you go?

      Delete
    3. It depends. I guess I make muslins 90% of the time, and sometimes not the whole thing. Sometimes just the bodice, which I use scrap fabric for. I will say when I don't make a muslin something really horrible happens. Like I sewed this great black swiss-dot cotton dress. It was adorable! I went to hem it and since I stupidly didn't do a muslin or check the fit as I went (sometimes I just want to keep going and not stop to check!) it was one *full* size smaller than I needed. I actually broke the zipper thinking I could wear it anyway! Since I had finished all the seams it was too heartbreaking to fix. So lesson learned: check measurements, make muslin or check as you go. I think success lies somewhere in there :)

      Delete
    4. ohhh nooo, that swiss-dot dress sounds so cute! (I love polka dots!) could you turn the bottom into a skirt or was it tight fitting through the bottom as well? hopefully i don't learn my lesson the hard way!!!

      Delete
  4. ugh know what you mean, I always start something super excited halfway in then I end up nit picking it to death and I hate it at the end. Once I walk away from it for a couple days the love seems to come back. Youtube has a bunch of tutorials on how to sew a dress lining. That's what helped me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to stop nitpicking as well! I'll have to check youtube, thanks!

      Delete
  5. Do you have the threads book on linings? Also - there is a reason people term it the magic closet. So, if you loved the fabric and the fabric / pattern are a good match, it just made you crazy, then put it in the closet for a week or so and revisit it. I'm sure it's fine and just needs a little time out. g

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I actually don't own any sewing books at all (shock and horror!) the library has been my saint. I haven't seen that one there, but i'll check and maybe it's on amazon or ebay if i'm lucky. Thanks!

      Full disclosure on the knit top: I think i shrank it a bit in the wash! i know i know. i was trying to fix the neckline i stretched out, and then once i had fixed the neckline i think the whole thing shrank in length. oops. maybe tucked into a denim skirt? but i'm really not that in love with the fabric anymore. it's on the drab side (kind of an olive-y green) and i've discovered i look better in saturated colors. live and learn!!

      Delete
  6. I love quick little jobs like your pillows, aking changes to things that bug you - for me it is like repairs/alterations.

    I had a (RTW, ugh, horrors!!) that needed a quick alteration to the hem. I have not worn the top for over 6 months, but I did the alteration this weekend and guess what - it took about 10 minutes and then I had a top I could wear again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speaking of alterations, i have a couple RTW tops that i think i would wear more if i altered them slightly, so i need to move that up on my to-sew list! Glad you like your altered top better! I'm only slightly concerned that i'll ruin what i'm trying to alter! but if i wasn't wearing it before, then there's really no risk of ruining it! =)

      Delete
  7. Good call on the pillows, that old print was pretty wacky! I have plans to redo my couch pillows as well. I have some green corduroy that has a race track printed on it (it's clearly for little boys), that I think would make for fun pillows for me (I am clearly a little boy at heart).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I probably offended some fabric designer, but squiggly waves and metallic curly-q's aren't my thing. I'd love to see how your pillows turn out! I was trying to pick other fabric that would go with my red sofa and also with the rug (which is a tan color with large organic leaf-type shapes) but i am NOT an interior decorator. I do like my rug, it is nice, but i don't know what to do. and now i'm liking geometric repetitive patterns more. maybe i'll post photos of my rooms and get people to tell me how to decorate! ha ha ha. or i need to just call hgtv and say "helpppp meee!"

      Delete
    2. Sara, i found you a matching rug! http://www.wayfair.com/nuLOOM-KinderLOOM-Race-Track-Green-Kids-Rug-NLO3037.html
      =)
      ok actually that rug would match my red sofas, haha! wonder what my husband would think (he might not notice)

      Delete
  8. you sure are on a roll with pillow refashioning! let us know what you thought of the book, i read it and i like reading what other people have to say about it.

    also i've used this tutorial for lining a jacket in a few other applications that weren't even jackets so it's pretty versatile: http://grainlinestudio.com/2012/01/09/sewing-tutorial-how-to-bag-a-jacket-lining/

    ReplyDelete
  9. So smart to redo the pillows! It's surprising how much little things like that can be so annoying. And on the flip side, once you've fixed them the continuing satisfaction every time you see the improved pillows pays back a hundredfold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! I'm happy every time i see them on my couch! Why did i wait so long??!! =)

      Delete
  10. I'm with you on the pillows. While I live for wild fabrics, there's a difference between "funky" and "hotel by the airport," and I think the new shape is much more modern. How thrifty of you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! Hotel by the airport is a perfect description!

      Delete
  11. Thanks for visiting my blog! Your pillows look great - love that you reused the old ones!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! I welcome any advice, insights, witty remarks, snarky comebacks, commiserations or just a quick hello. I'd love to check out your blog as well, so let me know where you're posting. Happy sewing!