Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts

28 August 2013

I always injure myself when I hand sew

Okay. I just stuck the eye of a needle half a centimeter in under my nail. I think that means it's time to stop tinkering with my outfit. It's a significant eye, too - about a millimeter in diameter. Funnily, it's the same sort of sore as a piercing. Weird. It's not bleeding so much. A little blob welled up just after it happened, but now the nail looks normal, with only a little mark about half a centimeter down on the inside. Interesting.

I got purple shampoo today. Who knew such a think existed? Blondes use it to keep their hair looking super-duper extra-platinum white-blonde. And the one I randomly picked up had really good reviews. The conditioner's reviews aren't so good because people thought it made their hair look purple. That's good news for me :)

So my outfit is only about 80% good. There's more I'd like to add in and parts I'm not very happy with, but it'll do. It'll look good to anyone who isn't familiar with it, but I'm afraid it won't stand muster when real Skyrim fans see it. Anyway. It's good enough. It's not like I'm entering the cosplay contest or anything. And I'll have fun wearing it around for a day. That's really all that matters, really. Right - time to try this on. Yeay.

04 June 2013

I love it when things work out

I was supposed to start an online writing course (writeaboutdragons.com) yesterday, but the organiser sent an email saying it was postponed until July. I'm so happy about this. Now I have the time to finish the dress I started in September (and put off because the pattern was miles too big and I became disillusioned at having to undo and repeat all the work I'd done so far).

So now I have time to make the dress. I'm going to unstitch it today and iron the pieces, then cut out the pattern pieces in the smaller size. But before I go near the mock-up I'm going to try measuring things. I have this idea to cut strips of the pieces at the waist and bust level to see about sizing without having the hassle of sewing the entire thing up. It will at least give me an idea if the size is way off like it was before. But I'll see if that works out.

So...
today: rip, iron, cut pattern, test size by making strips from the pattern pieces
tomorrow: (possibly finish cutting pattern) cut material
thursday: sew
friday: finish sewing, fit
monday: cut actual material
tuesday: sew
wednesday: finishing touches

I'll update with my progress later in the week. I think this schedule doesn't give me enough time, but we'll see how it goes.

04 February 2013

January round-up

Not much happened in January. I think the highlight was skiing in the middle of the month. We headed to Sunrise, me with the hopes of taking up skiing and actually managing to make it down a slope that wasn't the beginners area. I've never managed it with snowboarding (all of twice I've tried it) because stopping on a snowboard is hard and I don't like it when I can't stop (also the reason I've never gotten good at rollerblades).
So my hope came true. By the end of Sunday I could wend my way down the hill with only a few stops to get past the most steep bits or to get myself in a good position to go across them. And now I'm conflicted. Because I got on well with skiing I want to try snowboarding again - because the slope in sunrise is very learner-friendly. But at the same time I feel I should stick with skiing until I can do parallel turns. We're thinking of going this weekend again, but I get the impression I'm the only one who really really wants to go.

What else happened? I made 2 t-shirts. I had a bunch of them from PAX which were too big for me so I cut them up and made them into t-shirts with raglan sleeves. I'm pretty proud of them. So of free t-shirts from PAX, one is a bodice and two are still t-shirts, but different.

I've come to a grinding halt with Altaran (aka book 2). I have no idea how to make act 3 work out the way I want. I don't really even know what the way I want is. So I'm going through what I've written and sorting out what happens (yes, I am pretty fuzzy because, while I had a plan, I made a lot of the story up as I went along) to see if I can draw a good (dramatic, tense, satisfying) ending from it all.

I think that was pretty much January. We're thinking of going to D&D encounters again. A new story is starting on Wednesday. I've been playing Neverwinter Nights and my head is filled with D&D. For the first time ever, I actually get how a bunch of rules I never understood before work (like identify and the difference between spot and search). Of course, it is 3rd ed rules, but oh well. I should just play Pathfinder instead.

Right. I think that's mostly that.

29 August 2012

First Fitting

So, apparently, I'm not a size 12. I'm a 10. I kind of knew this, but I assumed pattern sizes were different to shop sizes. Anyway. The dress is huge. I had to sew all 8 seams at 23mm, rather than 16 because it was just so big. But at 23mm seams it fits amazingly. So I don't know what to do with the actual dress. Cut the seams to be sewn 5mm smaller, or sew a massive seam. I'm a bit afraid cutting them smaller for fear of messing up the design. What's really annoying is that 12 was the smallest size of this pattern, so if I wanted to go to a size 10 I'd have to buy the pattern again, which I'm not about to do. I haven't sewn the arms and top yet, so I'm a bit afraid that with my bigger seam allowance it won't all fit together properly. Hmmm.

I don't have any other news.

28 August 2012

Dress part 4

I didn't update over the weekend. Not for lack of progress, but because Guild Wars 2 came out and when I finished sewing for the day (which was early, I'll admit) I went playing. Over the weekend I got the princess seams and the pleats done. Today I put the whole thing together and tried it on. It's too big. I knew it would be, because with about 2 seams to go, I realised I'd been sewing the wrong seam allowance. I'd been sewing 13mm, when I was supposed to be sewing 16mm. Sigh. Anyway. I'm just going to sew 3mm inside all the seams around my torso (no need to do all the way down - the skirt is wide enough not to notice). So It's looking kinda cool - even for a mock-up. The skirt is massive. I think I'll need about 3 petticoats to pull it off. I have one and the material to make a second, but don't know where the third will come from. Ah well. That's a worry for another day.

Guild Wars 2 is amazing. It's the best designed game I've ever played (or at least MMO). I actually prefer playing with lordkilljoy than on my own. The game is really set up for doing things together. And there is so much to see and do, and all the cities are beautiful, and the storyline is fun, and I just want to play all the time. One of my favourite things is the dye system. You can change the colour of your clothes as often as you want, so when I get bored of one colour, I simply change it to another. But what I really love is that they make it so accessible. In GW1, you had to buy / trade or find dies and you could only use them once. So to make your whole outfit red, you had to get 6 (or whatever number) red dies. And If you wanted to go blue then you had to get 6 more dies. It was really limiting. Whereas in GW2 when you find / buy / trade a die it gets added to your collection and you can use it as much as you like. It's a small feature, but the game is full of helpful little elements like this that make it a pleasure to play.

Yea. I don't have much other news.

24 August 2012

Dress, Day 3

I got about what I thought I'd get done today done. So that means the rest of the material is cut and ready for sewing. Now, start the procrastination machine. I'm so scared of messing up that I don't even want to try. Is that perfectionism at work, or is it something else? And this is only the mock-up. Okay, worst case is that I waste a few days when I realise I've done it wrong and have to go again. No big deal. Right. Tomorrow I start sewing.

As I wrote that sentence my brain went: have I forgotten some vital step, something that happens after cutting that isn't sewing? Ah well. It'll be fine.

Right so. We're off to the pub for a few drinks with friends. I almost forgot to update today, let's hope I remember tomorrow - because I want to have these journals as a sort of step-by-step guide for the next dress I make.

23 August 2012

Dress Part 2

Today I got half the material for the mock-up cut out. Cutting material takes ages. From laying out the pattern pieces properly, to pinning them to the material to actually cutting. I'm starving right now and my back is sore from leaning over the whole afternoon. And after it was all cut I had to mark the places where stitching starts and ends. I'm really hoping this stitching becomes clear when I get to the instructions, because right now I have no idea what it's about.

So yea. I get to do it all again tomorrow. But I should be faster because I found the best way for me to cut the fabric while staying within the lines of the pattern.

Other news of note: we pushed Disneyland out by a week. We hadn't realised it was a bank holiday when we booked, and I imagine the park will be packed. So that's a bit sad, but let's hope it means our trip will be even better because the queues won't be so long.

I need to get myself a dress icon.

22 August 2012

I'm making a dress

Ever since lordkilljoy sent me a link to some 50s swing dresses a few years ago, I've been obsessed. I think they are the most beautiful dresses a woman can wear. But they are way too expensive to buy and I've contemplated making one for ages. So, last week I came across (very accidentally - I was looking at a random craft tutorial generator) a beautiful pattern - the most different I've seen - and I had to make it. It's vogue 2903, and it looks like this:

V2903

I bought the pattern, read the instructions, got material and notions (look at me using proper terminology) and today I cut out the pattern pieces. It took ages and my hand was killing me from holding the scissors by the end of it. I went super-carefully, ironing the printed sheets first then cutting exactly on the lines.

I hope to get the mock-up material cut tomorrow. And maybe start on the sewing that. :) It's going to be so cool. I'll update again (tomorrow I hope with the rest of my progress).

06 February 2012

News Things

I finished my skirt on Friday. Wore it on Saturday. It's a bit weird - not exactly even and I cut the material sidewards. So I'm not sure if I'll wear it that much; probably just wear it in the summer when I'm hanging around the apartment.

Did I mention at all that we taught River how to do paw. She does it for everything now. It's very cute: waiting to get lead on for walk - paw; want food - paw; looking at treats - paw. I think she thinks paw means I'll get what I want. Hee.

I went out with the girls on Friday. It was a good night - I got to dance, which is always fun. I think I'm good now for nights out for another few months. I can ignore all the things I dislike about night clubs when they only happen once in a while, but too often and I just get to hating.

What other news... Did I mention that I started on my cotton string top? I have 5 rows knitted at the moment. I've given myself until June, but this is going exceptionally slowly.

Dinner tonight was amazing. I did a tofu and veg stir fry and it was so delicious. Soy and oyster sauces make an amazing base for stir fry - add in a little stock, ginger and mirin and you get something absolutely divine. I love Mondays. I could eat rice and stir-fry every night.

Right so. I'm off to play Star Wars.

12 January 2012

Domestication

I'm getting an inkling about myself and I'm not sure if it's something other people already know about themselves. I'm biased when it comes to things I've made for myself. All the cooking over the last month or so is making me realize this. I really, really love the food I cook. It's the most amazing food I've ever eaten. But I've come to the idea that if I got the same food from a restaurant, I wouldn't be so absolutely in love with it. Something about having worked for the food makes it taste better.

What really brought this home is the bread I baked yesterday. It's yummy out - a honey oat white bread. Slightly too dense and slightly too sweet, but I think it's delicious despite these flaws. If I'd bought this bread in a shop I'd probably buy it again, but only if there was nothing nicer there. And therein lies my bias. Do I judge myself easier or things in a shop / restaurant harder? Or does criticism just not come into the picture at all with the things I make? It's weird.

Anyway. Bread. Yummy. Will be making it again at some stage. Well - I might look out for a different oat bread recipe that uses less honey and more oats.

I've started the big sew-up of my skirt. It's turning out well. Though the ends are a bit weird. They turn in instead of out. Some ironing might be in order. I'll leave you with a picture of the material.


So cute.
I'm turning into a right little domestic lady, amn't I?

03 January 2012

Now we're cooking with cream

For the first time ever I used a recipe with cream in it, and was it ever yummy. Yes it was. We had pasta bake with spicy italian sausage. It was pretty basic, but absolutely delicious. Something about sausage, tomatoes and cream (and pasta) just works.



I'm sewing a jacket from a pair of jeans at the moment. It's turning out quite well. I have everything done (arms sewn on, back darted into shape) except for the front. The shape of the material is a bit funky and I'm not quite sure how to make the front look good. It's all well and good if the sides and back look amazing, but if the front doesn't match, I'll never wear the thing. So I'm waiting for inspiration on that.

I don't have a lot of other news. I guess I forgot to say that my wedding dress arrived. It's beautiful. There's one small problem with it (some material got puckered by poor stitching) but I think it's fixable.

Right so. I'm off to play Star Wars: The Old Republic with lordkilljoy now. Later.

26 August 2010

i'm super excited for some reason

i just used the sewing machine to sew the button back on to my watch strap. before you get confused about a button on a watch strap - i made it myself out of shoelace and a snap button. i'm very proud of it :) the only problem is that the constant pulling open and closed wears out the thread quickly and i have to sew it back on again. but that will no longer be a problem, because it takes about two minutes for the machine to sew it back on :)
woo! i'm really happy now.

in planty news, the two peppers are about half the size of a full-grown, store-bought pepper. the tomato has reached the top of the window. it has loads of flowers which i'm hoping will turn into tomatoes. the goji is massive. it's almost as tall as the tomato. i had to tie its branches up because they were falling over.

my novel is going well. i'm on chapter 28 of draft 3.1 (which is the proofread of draft 3). chapters 25 to 28 are a little slow and i don't know how to spruce them up. but then penelope_stone tells me i need some down bits in the book. i guess it's tense, which i want i wanted. i want edge-of-your-seat for the whole book. woo! fantasy thriller! no. not really. it's not a fantasy thriller. i like to call it a fantasy adventure. lots of stuff happens.

i think that's all my news. :)

16 September 2008

autumn changes

i just unsewed a top. and i just made up a word. woo!
i had this lovely top i got in KL, that was a black vest-type thing over a white shirt (or shirt pieces that were sewn into the top. but the first time i washed it, even though i was so careful, the die from the black ran into the white and gave it a kind of greenish tint. but it didn't do it very evenly and the top has been slightly unwearable since then. but last week i got a white shirt, and today i got around to unsewing* the shirt bits off the vest part :)
*unsewing; different from (is this the right preposition?) just ripping the stitches out and leaving bits of thread everywhere and risking ripping delicate wool.

so yea. that was very painstaking and took about 2 hours. my left arm cramped up half way through and the last bits were frustrating, because i just wanted to be done with it. but it's all good now, and i'm happy.

interview thing tomorrow. i'm not so sure if i want this job. it would be cool if it was closer. it's in sandyford, which is clear across the city. that's like a two hour commute on public transport or something... the idea of that just does not inspire me, and while people may say that i could use the time to write - i've tried and all the moving scenery out the window and shuffling people is way too distracting. but i guess we'll see.

i don't really have much other news. i drew a map today. that was fun. now i just have to come up with some city names (i have 2 of 11). city names are kinda hard. well, names in general are hard.
but just as i was saving the map my computer kind of had a spas attack. i had time to grab my camera and take a photo of my work before everything went into not responding mode and i had to restart the computer. i was so happy not to have lost the whole morning's work.

did i mention that i now have one and a half free shelves in my room? well i do. i'm trying to figure out the best stuff to populate them with.

heh - just making up a title for the post and i remembered a cool quote from Traitor's Moon (by lynn flewelling aka otterdance). it went something like: life changes and life changes you. it was so cool - the difference that one word can make.

ooh - i forgot to say: i printed out the fall yesterday. i have come to the conclusion that chapters 1 and 2 need to be utterly scrapped and re-written. i'm up to ch. 5 and it's not going too badly. the problem with writing for the nanowrimo is that i went way overboard on the exposition because i just wanted to fill up my word count. so there is lots that needs to be pulled out and written in a more dynamic way.

18 August 2008

just a quick post

i took our sewing machine apart today. i like doing that - taking machines apart. it needs oiling, but i don't have the right kind of oil, and i'm a bit scared to go putting oil into it. but right at the moment, i've a grid of screws, a casing, screw drivers and the opened sewing machine on my floor. it's a bit of a mess. using your small (2.5m²) bedroom as a workroom isn't such a good idea. ah well. i'll get oil (and grease) and then all will be well.

off to kerry tomorrow with penelope_stone. that should be good. i hope the weather is clement. i doubt it will be, but what can you do. nothing. exactly.

i moved my room around a bit today. i finally got my printer off the floor. i moved my dvds to my wardrobe. i lost my red dusting rag too. i made a new one, but i really liked the shape of the old one. the new one is fat looking.

i broke today and had ice-cream and a bit of chocolate (kinder bueno - yummmmm). i blame the moon; how am i supposed to help myself when i have a craving that lasts three days. my will can only hold strong for so long. and since we're on random food things: we had mahi-mahi with teriaki sauce for dinner today, with cous cous. it was so yummy.

i don't have much else to say, now. i'll go. bye.