Life

One summer evening in July 1975, about 2 weeks before my 10th birthday, I was watching TV when I suddenly felt intense pain in my "stomach", and tearfully sought relief from my mother and father.  After asking questions to clarify where this mysterious pain originated, they simultaneously said, "Yep, her period is coming."  What?  My period?

At Last, My Project Table has Come Along

I used to be one for making resolutions with each coming of a new year.  However, I've found it more productive to identifying goals I'd like to meet, and then establish a timeline and plan on which to achieve them.  Sometimes the plan works as designed, sometimes not.  The good thing is I'm not holding myself to some ambiguous target and feeling less-than if it's not met.

Included in the goals I've set each year are various household projects, many of which carry over from one year to the next - and that's okay!  Transforming my Sewing Room into a space which sparks inspiration and creativity has consistently been on that list, and I've steadily been making changes to the room and furniture to make this space one in which I love being.  In 2012, I started this process by painting and customizing my self-drafted drop-leaf sewing tabletop.

 

sewing tabletop and base, before

Nobody is Perfect, but Really?

I spent time Sunday looking at designer garments from various 2015 Spring runway shows.  I know I'm a little late given most of these shows ran between September and October 2014, but better late than never, right?

I would imagine most designers try their hardest to ensure each design is flawless in its appearance before going down the runway - i.e. hanging properly on the models, no wrinkles, no missing or dangling closures, etc.  After all, the runway is where their potential customers first see their designs, and retail buyers are identifying those items they feel will sell within their stores.  So, imagine my surprise when I saw the following runway mishaps.

First, there was the hanging threads on the shoe of Donna Karan's Look #5.  From the runway itself, this would not be noticeable, but you can't help but see it when Style.com publishes a close-up picture.

 

Now, big picture, this really is not a big deal.  The shoe is cute, and at least the model's feet have been properly pedicured and toes painted.  But then, my further navigation yielded more questionable results.

DKNY Done Easy

I have a confession to make.  My name is Aisha, and I am a patternholic.  I admit that buying patterns on sale is my weakness.  I love browsing through my JoAnn sale brochures to see which patterns are on sale so I can plan my shopping trips accordingly.  Between my love for pattern sales and the time I worked for So-Fro Fabrics many, many years ago, I have built a collection in excess of 600 primarily consisting of Butterick, McCall's, Vogue and Simplicity.

Like most of the "sewists" whose blogs I follow, I like reviewing ready-to-wear runway styles and picking out those which inspire me to create my own versions.  While surfing on Style.com, I fell in love with Look no. 3 from the DKNY Fall 2013 RTW collection and proceeded to search through my pattern collection to see which one I could modify to make my version of this dress - and I think I did settle on one...

Beyond Distressed

Happy New Year!  I pray your Christmas was truly merry and your 2015 is off to a prosperous start.  It has been about 19 months since my last post and I kept telling myself "I have to publish a post! I have to publish a post!"  But, sometimes it seems there's never enough time or energy to do all the things you want.  With that said, I intend to maintain a more regular posting schedule - certainly shorter than every 18 months or so.  (wink)

Though my blogging activity has been stagnant, I have been busy in my Sewing Room and will soon share with you some of the things I've been doing while away, beginning with this project.

 

left and right legs, before

Yes, I'm Still Here...

You may recall me sharing with you that my daughter is graduating high school this year and I'm using the prom dress I'm making for her as my submission in the "Frankenpattern" online Facebook challenge.  You may also recall that she wants the dress's details to remain secret until the big day.  However, I didn't want to wait until then to document the process, so I'm drafting all of my blog posts so I could publish them once I'm given the "okay".

Today, I struggled with getting the bodice muslin to fit because the pattern I'm using calls for jersey-type knits and I'm using a woven instead.  Simply cutting the bodice pieces on the bias did not provide enough stretch, so I had to redesign and reconstruct the bodice pieces.  You know I love her, right?

Anyway, I will share more details very soon.

Be blessed!

Aisha

Have We Met Before?

I "discovered" In Style magazine about a year ago while in a hospital waiting room and really appreciated it's goal - to simply cover fashion.  Period.  The issue I perused didn't have articles on revving up my sex life, or adding the latest home decorating trend to my living room, or new recipes to encourage my family to ditch eating New York strip steak in favor of tofu, or a perceived overabundance of advertising - just some of the problems I've had with other so-called fashion magazines.  So, I recently started my subscription and have been eagerly waiting for my inaugural issue to arrive in the mail.  While thumbing through and adding page markers with Post-It notes (I dislike folded "dog-ear" pages), look what I found on page 78...

This dress looks so familiar.  Where have I seen this?

What I CAN Tell You Is...

Judging from the many blog posts and Facebook updates, most of you already know it's Prom Season - a fact that has not been lost on me, either.  But, unlike the other prom dresses I've cranked out for my daughter in the past, this time it's for HER prom.  Baby Girl is graduating, and this one must be special.

I would LOOOOOOOVE to tell you what pattern I'm using and the modifications I'm planning in order to make this dress truly "hers".  As it turns out, I've been advised that all dress making plans fall under the realm of "Emanne's intellectual property" and must remain covert until the dress's grand unveiling.  You'd think she was getting ready to walk Oscar's red carpet!!

I have, however, been given permission to show you the fabric choices.  The dress's main body will be made of white crepe and accented with a golden-yellow charmeuse and beaded trim.  I feel it's safe to  mention the dress will be constructed from two different patterns.

Setbacks Make Me Wanna Holla!!

I shared with you that I spotted this Michael Kors dress in the Bloomingdale's window display in Chicago recently and really want to make my version of it.  On a whim, I dropped by Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak last Saturday to see if they had a wool crepe that would work for my "Kors" dress.  I didn't find a wool crepe, but there was a Tencel/Spandex fabric with a crepe texture that I felt would work well for my dress.  The color was not quite the "daffodil" I wanted; in fact, I'd describe it as "bile yellow" because it has a greenish undertone to it.  But, I bought 2 yards anyway because I thought I could work with it.

Plight of the Project Clingers

How many unfinished projects do you have occupying space in your sewing studio?  A question I asked myself recently after reading a post on Erin McKean's "A Dress A Day" blog.  She wrote that, before a recent move, she went through plastic bins housing various sewing and alteration projects which have been "languishing, untended and uncompleted for two moves now."  After looking through them, she realized many of these "zombie projects" felt like "obligations" and it was time to let them go.  I recognize that I also suffer from a condition that I've coined Project Clinginess - yeah, I know it's not a real word, but just work with me for moment.  So I looked around my space, and here are just a few lingering projects I found.