The "Right" Way

Well folks, I gave up. Not on sewing, of course, but on teaching myself to sew. I signed up for a clothing construction course on Tuesday nights at Mesa Community College. It's a bit of a drive, about 25 minuets, but completely worth it. Not only will this class count as my fine arts credit to graduate high school (would you believe that in 3 years I've never taken a non-academic elective? No wonder I'm such a nerd!) but I will be able to tackle "scary" projects with a knowledgeable professor helping me when I need it.

Tonight was my first class. Last week was the first class of the semester, but I showed up this week and caught on. I had brought some fabric with me, just in case, not really knowing what else I'd need. We are suppose to sew skirts from a commercial pattern. I didn't have a pattern with me, so I just did a bit of measuring, drafted a pocket by tracing my hand, and went off to do a little drindl skirt action. The only requirements is that our skirt have a waistband and a zipper. I'm essentially remaking my pillowcase skirt, with a center back seam for a zipper and pockets at the side seams. The fabric is a gorgeous, gorgeous black cotton with blue and purple flowers and gold detailing. It was only labeled as "cotton" at SAS, but lord knows how acurate that place is because I'm almost positive this is a rayon challis. At $3/ yard, I dont care much either way.

On the sewing table:
-Vogue 8623 coat project for the Trench Sew-along
-Drindl skirt for class
-Simplicity 2364 view D, done and awaiting hem

Why I haven't been sewing

It's official. Ashley has moved out of the house and into her dorm at NAU. I loved her staying with us and surprisingly, so did my mom. We had a crazy few weeks. 

Ash was sleeping in the spare bedroom/sewing space. For a while I had just barely enough space on the desk to sew, but the daffodil tank is all I had managed to sew when my fabric shelves fell down. It was a huge mess and even after everything was put away and re-folded, there was absolutely no space. Instead, we got a new distraction...

Meet Boston! Ashley and I saved her from the Euthanasia list. Boston is about four months old and very well behaved. She's already been spayed and litter trained - so we got the fun part! Boston is curious, ambitious and fearless. She also has super-soft kitten fur. Yes!

Ashley left for Flagstaff, AZ and moved into her dorm on Tuesday. I drove up the next day to bring the rest of her stuff. 

NAU has such a pretty campus, her dorm looks awesome and I know Ashley is going to do really well there. 

I'm still in Scottsdale finishing high school, working at Jason's Deli, and sewing when I can. Sewing post coming soon, I promise!

Wishful Blogging: Edgy Florals

All items featured in this post are from ModCloth.com

Conjuring Chicness Top, $42.99

While I appreciate demure floral styles, I'm not one to wear them. I've always thought those English rose bits were too feminine and frilly. After an hour-long dream shopping session over at ModCloth, I'm dead set on acquiring a few floral pieces in my wardrobe.

Rosemint Top, $29.99

Wouldn't this top be fabulous with black skinny jeans and red flats? Throw in some cat eye liner and a vintage clutch; swoon.

Floral of the Story Top, $37.99

Cute top, right? Maybe this is super-girly floral like the other two, but I'm totally in love with it. Simplicity 2447 view B would be a great pattern for a knock-off. 

Hit the Dance Floral Heel, $109.99

A great mesh of femininity and scandal. I'd love to wear these with a swishy skirt and lots of jewelry. 

Flower of the Hour Wedge, $114.99

There isn't much I wouldn't wear these shoes with. I'm totally in love, and they are Jeffrey Campbell. Jeffrey Campbell shoes have the perfect arch support and never wear out. I've got a few pairs and they all wear like brand-new. I could use a new pair of wedges... we'll see what my next paycheck from the Deli looks like, hah.

Simplicity 2865 daffodil tank

As usual, life has been pretty crazy around here. My good friend Ash got kicked out and is living with my mom and I for the foreseeable future. Even with her living in the sewing room spare bedroom, I managed to make this tank and cut out several other projects last week. 

Tank is from daffodil yellow jersey from fabric.com's clearance section bought supercheap at $1.95/yard. The buttons, which I hate, are from JoAnn. I am for sure going to rip them off and put yellow ones on, soon as I find some little yellow ones.  

Like my pattern weights? I figured the tealight candle thing out after vetoing canned food for being too heavy and too large to cut around. 

I forgot to cut notches before sewing in the side pannels the first time. See all of those puckers? Not pretty. I ripped both out and sewed them back in, this time cutting notches, and they went in much better... 

...but they also didn't line up. The notches on both were way off and both panels were about an inch too long on the ends. It's not very noticeable and frankly, I wasn't in the mood to rip them out again. Maybe this is why I sew so many wadders?

Overall, it's a cute pattern and I'd like to try the collared view in the dress length sometime. The racerback and fake-placket front are easy but stylish.