I Just Wanna SCREEEEEEEEAM!!

When last I left you, I said I was going to stitch Good Wife's side seams and test fit it.  Well, I did that and it appeared to fit well.  But, then I go to place it on my mannequin and the zipper starts splitting.

The Good Wife Update

After publishing this post on how much I loved Alicia Florrick's dress, I am finally at the point where I'm constructing my version using Vogue 8305, which is out of print.

The Remnant Repository

Am I the only sewing enthusiast who has a difficult time tossing out fabric remnants from completed projects?  I shared with you that I learned how to sew by watching my mother, and how she would use leftover fabric scraps from her clients' garments for other projects, including helping me augment the wardrobe of my Barbie dolls.  So, I recognize holding on to fabric scraps as a learned behavior from Mommy.

I have found storing my scraps to be a challenge, partly due to the amount of space they required, but also because I wasn't always sure of the amount of usable "yardage" I had on hand.

Remnants were once stored at the bottom of my Sewing Room closet in a small plastic bin, which proved to be woefully inadequate capacity.

Fabric scraps would then find a temporary "home" in the storage drawers I used to categorize and store uncut fabric yardages.

Rebirth of a Leopard...

Who else out there enjoys Pinterest?  I could not begin to count the accumulated hours I've spent on this social media site.  But unlike some others, I feel this one to be quite useful in sparking new ideas and sharing best practices.  I've been on Pinterest for maybe 2 years now, and have created 62 virtual bulletin boards with over 1200 pins.  Trust me when I say that is light-weight compared to some other Pinners whose boards I follow.

One of the pins I saved on my Sewing Inspirations - Skirts board is the image below.  Something about the "casual chic" combination of the animal-print skirt, plain white tee and classic denim jacket really caught my attention.

The Dresser Refinish

I shared with you how busy my spring and summer has been due to the amount of travelling I had to do for work.  Well, now that the travel has slowed down, I've been able to devote time to making my sewing space visually appealing.  I finally got all of my pattern boxes decorated, assembled, labeled and filled.  Yes, a couple of them are decorated differently, and the color saturation on others is a little off, but they're all done.  I will revisit the "odd" units at another time.

My Spring and Summer Recap

Hey there!  It's been a while, right?  How have you been?  If memory serves correctly, the last time we "talked", I was sharing with you with the process I used to create my pattern storage boxes.  Yeah...I still gotta finish that lesson, don't I?  Let me know if you're still interested in how I assemble and finish them...I'd be glad to share the remaining steps in the process with you.

If you recall, I was still at home recovering from surgery in January.  Well, I returned to my full-time job at the end of February and almost immediately began a busy travel schedule for work.  Between March and August, I've made multiple trips to Jackson, MS as well as Charleston, SC, Chicago and Alpharetta, GA.

Traveling for work can be grueling, and the worst part is time spent away from family and favorite activities which make life enjoyable.  So, what made me feel better about the sacrifices?  FOOD!  I ate quite well, thanks in part to the meal per diem allowance Comcast provides to travelling employees.

While in Jackson, MS, I dined multiple times at Drago's Seafood Restaurant.  This small chain of restaurants started in Louisiana, with the Jackson location being its third.  In fact, the Jackson spot had recently celebrated its grand opening prior to my visit.  They offer an excellent menu of fresh seafood choices, and easily the best cheesecake I've ever had.

Drago's in Jackson, MS

Making Storage Beautiful - Pt. 4: To Seal or Not to Seal...

...that is the question!

Welcome to this fourth post on creating pattern storage boxes.  I shared with you in an earlier post that I've tried a variety of storage methods for my pattern collection, and I honestly feel the current method I've employed is working the best for me.  The boxes I'm creating are very sturdy and durable while protecting my patterns from dust and light exposure, and will coordinate beautifully with my Sewing Room's planned decor.

Making Storage Beautiful - Part 3: Decorative Paper Prep

Welcome to this third post detailing my steps in creating pattern storage boxes.  In the first two posts, I shared with you the design inspiration for my boxes and the steps involved with the resizing and surface preparation of the cartons being used.  In this post, I will share with you the steps for creating and preparing the papers to decorate the storage box and maintain its continuous decorative pattern.

The tools and supplies you'll need are:

Another Denim Repair

I've been busy working on clothing repairs for the past couple of days, with a desire to seriously pared down the number of items sitting in the Repair Basket in my Sewing Room.  This basket has a tendency to grow and I am admittedly slothful about clearing these items out, as evidenced from a picture I took in 2012.

I'm happy to say the basket is not as full now as it was then, partly because I've also been purging items that were not worth the effort of repairing.  One such item could easily be my daughter's favorite pair of Levi's.  Instead, I spent time today repairing them.

Making Storage Beautiful - Part 2: The Foundation

The first, and arguable most important, stage in creating my pattern storage boxes is in the gathering and preparation of materials.  I've found through trial-and-error that the quality of the end product depends on this work, and reminds me of a well-known saying that's attributed to Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield:

"Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."

Pictured are the tools and supplies I used from start to finish, but let's begin with a list of those materials needed during this stage of the process: