tollhouse cookie failures

Q for you: do your tollhouse cookies work? mine are always flat. delicious, but never ever even the slightest bit chewy or cakey. wtf? I made two batches for the family in the past week, and they were both the same in spite of my best efforts. i had to face facts: it's me. when my bf makes the same recipe in the same kitchen, they are perfect martha stewart masterpieces..

have you had this problem? what am i doing wrong? OR, if yours are dope, how do you do it?

SIGH. Please do help! xo bex

Renfrews for le Mama

look how cute my mom is in her new Renfrews! she's the lucky recipient of my latest handmade gift/s. And she's already raking in compliments, so I'm pleased with my work!

um, navy is hard to photograph. 

 I gave her the brown one in pieces, saying if she liked the first one (with this gorgeous fabric) i'd make her a second (in a somewhat lamer, but still soft & cozy fabric). She was into it!

no waistband, just a simple hem. 

She also told me that when she was learning to sew knits, that's how they finished things- with bands. :/

fancy posing time. 

um, mom? was that a burn??

no, of course not. she's just sharing. she's also teasing me by telling but not showing me her tailoring books as she watches me struggle with my Anise collar. Another story for another day!

happy new year!!

i maybe just got tired of sewing

just momentarily. stitching up two cowl t's for the moms, i'm ready to get sparkly and untied from the machine. i will power through! only one hour til yoga, anyway

i'm writing today, though, because i've had this fabric in my stash since May and thought it was yucky poly blech (though why would i buy that? i wouldn't...). anyway, i washed it to just put it to work and IT TURNS OUT IT'S GORGEOUS.

go get some. 

http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/p/7845/Navy-Knit

it's rayon + wool + lycra with a rich dark color and vaguely slubby but only enough so you know it's LUXE. i bet you could make flipping ANYTHING from this and it would be gorgeous. $5/yard, baby. i put it in the dryer. ha!

i have enough, so go buy em out!

ok love ya.
R

tailoring chops in wool. ba boom.

i put another 7-8 hours into my ANISE jacket!

 i finally started sewing pieces together last night. between the four kinds of fabric, and jillion pieces to cut, it's taken me 2 months to gather materials, prewash, interface, and underline. i've gathered all of the fabric from my onsite fabric store, which is pretty sweet. I've kicked ass at not buying more fabric this fall, and i've been so productive at the same time. I think there's something in the 'using what you have' that makes me more efficient. When i have piles of new fabric and piles of new patterns, i get overwhelmed with options and i think more, but i actually sew less. what a good lesson. :)

oh hello, repurposed dress shirt. how are you doing as underlining?

now, back to the jacket! it's such a nice start on tailoring. I've used Gertie's princess seaming tips (from her Craftsy course, sorry there's no free tutorial), Tasia's bound buttonholes, and Tasia's basting and underlining. I should buy more patterns from Tasia, she's really becoming my favorite sewing teacher.

i love how the hand stitches and muslin look like a tailor's shop.  hard to see with hi tech photos. 

 i sewed a couple of pieces together last night just for the satisfaction of a body-shaped item. Then I detoured today into bound buttonholes.

lovely: perfect spacing and straight, even lines.

Aren't they lovely??

oh! they look so ugly in this photo. Trust me when i tell you they are just like ugly tadpoles on their way to being beautiful froggies. 

i love them. i'm going to hand stitch them more...sometime when i watch a movie or something.

here they all are, all flipped in  & triangles stitched. they're small- it's cool. 

I'm excited to put this together and wear it, but also to be really careful in the making process. interesting life balance there. 

what are you learning this weekend??

xo

tis a wee gift fact'ry

i have strep throat. maybe i just have a sore throat. who cares! the point is, i'm still in my jams, and I have been cranking out the sewn jams today. holla!

I'm proud to say I'm keeping it hella local and indie, too, which adds to the happiness.

this is how you buy the fabric. umm.

and then you cut and make an easy hem...

 1) contract napkins. towel fabric from stonemountain: $18.75 time spent cutting and hemming: approx 1.25 hrs. My friend offered way more than that for these, so i'm going to double her order tomorrow. (love ya, Syl!)

finished product!

2) Cation's dolman sleeve top! I have been eyeing this one for ages, but there are so many things already on the table, especially in the knits area. BUT my bird fabric + Cation seemed like a perfect gift for my fake gf. i left out the back seam to make it backless, cause she's slutty like that. ha!

back view, hanging nicely :)

let's be frank. it doesn't work to just leave out a seam and call it a feature. you know that. So I hemmed the raw edges, duh, and then crossed it over a bit at the waist. 

surprise! 

  

namesake dolman sleeves with neat sleeve bands. 

 it's kind of a long top, and i didn't figure she'd want her jeans/pants hanging out of her top, so i stitched the lower section closed about 3 inches up. see, up close: 

 then i rolled the top center corners in, a gradual hem that went from about 1/4" to 2' at the top.

sneaky tip top

that made the draping more effective...then i raised the top inner corners up a little and trimmed about an inch off the top, again for draping. i'm so intimidated by those drape drape books, but somehow not so intimidated that i won't just make it up myself :)

full frontal 

pretty neck and crossover feature showing from the back. 

i love how sewing combines fashion and math and spatial problem solving. and creativity, and colors and cool people.

Now back to the cutting board for mama's present (s)!

what are you making?? and should I make ornaments for the children??

t shirt weekend

so much for being done with knits? I wandered into the local fabric shop a couple of weeks ago and scored $10 worth of remnant table fabric: a hot cocoa-colored soft rayon (?) almost sweater knit, and a little bit of baby blue with a tight stretch knit. I knew the brown was for a cowl neck t for me, and thought I'd experiment with the blue for little man clothes. and that's just what i did!

For the boy

A mixed media raglan tee from sewing for boys. the little man is growing like crazy right now. While I think  he is in good shape with pants and outer layers, he needs some simple Ts.

Changes from the pattern: i did a double needle treatment on the neckline, because i am not into the messy construction of zig zags and exposed seams everywhere.

For the same reason, the sides/arms seams are also done against the instructions, with the seams inside the shirt. The pattern is designed to leave hems unfinished (how was i going to get those armholes around my machine arm anyway??) but i'm not sure the boy is going to go for it. nothing to do but wait and see i suppose.

one more thing- when I traced out my pattern pieces, i used a size 2/3 width and 4/5 length (he is a perfect store size 3 for the moment). Even though it's supposed to be slim fitting, everything else in the book has been SOO wide I just thinned it down by default.

cost $5 for fabric, 2 hours for cutting and putting together. i loooove how easy this book is!

for me,
A cowl neck renfrew (from sewaholic), finally, in a proper full yardage way. I was frustrated to have to pull out a long seam of tight zig zag stitched because of an error in the pattern, but luckily Tasia recently wrote a blog post on how to handle the crazy cowl collar, which made it go like cake once I was there.

a poor artist blames her tools, and also i do not love my crappy machine.

what's funny is that this one is supposed to have finished sleeves and hem, but I opted to leave them raw. I used to have a black shirt like this that was a really nice fine cotton and I wore it to threads, i loved it so much.

So when I tried this puppy on and the unfinished sleeves hit at my wrists, i just left em. Ditto the hem- it's landing at a nice length now, just right for a cami to peep out from without being bulky.

well that just looks like a natural fit. 

 i don't need any bulk at the middle to make me self conscious, so here we are, a matched set of completed and yet also unfinished tees.

matchy matchy

cost: $8 for fabric and thread, 3-4 hours of cutting just right on the grain, sewing, picking, and sewing again.

i also made curry, granola, mac and cheese, and a long homework assignment. what did you make this weekend?

xo r

ufo attack

well, just the one. but as usual, thanks Sunni for a grounded approach: I am tackling a few UFO*s for mental health. Step 1: I just spent 2 hours watching Planet Earth with my baby and tearing out the zig zag and topstitches of my referee tee.

the girls tee in progress: love this fabric!
girlcharlee is good for stuff that looks fun online, and then you find out is really better for the kids. 

Then tomorrow i can whip out the girl's tee (unblogged? doh), and call my foray into knits happily closed (for the moment) so that I can finish the boy's duvet cover. Did you know that's what I'm doing with my quilt blocks? it is. surprise! did you know sashing and finishing a quilt takes FOREVER? it does. now you know so many things. :)

quilt top + pins + flannnnellz

happy thanksgiving, friends. i hope your cocoa is warm and sweet as mine. and that your antidepressants always contain anti anxiety components, too.

xoxo
bex

*a UFO is an unfinished object. they're like gremlins, which breed whenever water is present. side effect of a shortage of time and overabundance of wardrobe wants!

Finishing things:black white and grey edition

i finished the T shirt

(it kinda sucks, whatever.)

but i like my knits teacher more today-- hugs meg!

oohhh turning fabrics sidewayz

i also finished a conservative top.

i stopped this one months ago because it was dull conservative. but now i need stuff like that to wear with mah toms n jeans and look like an adult. so: finished.

if i edited photos, i would spruce up my makeup :P

i also made placemats and a runner for my grandma's fancy dining table.

They are kind of ugly, but they are a good use of some fabric that i was probably never going to turn into anything else. (from the sew weekly swap woo thanks team!) they also work well and were kinda fun to play quilting doodling on while i caught up on 30 rock. what are they doin on there this season? it's very community theater improv. i bet tina fey is having fun. being a boss: is it fun?

my next tee?

the down side of being a vampirish sewist (but who paradoxically soaks up every bit of UV radiation possible hmm) is that i don't take many photos because i don't have a whole studio setup with umbrellas and lights and all, and nighttime photos suck. sorry! (UPDATE bf and i turned on every light in the house last night to provide these beauties. xo bf)

bf is teaching me to be a football ref

did you ever read one of those things about how to have a good blog? i break every rule. that is why no one follows my blog and it hasn't made me rich. SIGH.

well, it makes me grin, so. I hope you had a wonderful halloween!!!!

xo
bex

math is hard: undies and time

please forgive the inordinate use of the word SO in this post. my editor (LOL) is on vacation and that is how it is!

I have been wanting to make unders forever. and t shirts...but my first renfrew was pretty awful and the second wasn't enough better to entice me back.

so i signed up for this class. the patterns are cool, the teacher is LONG WINDED. the intro is like 2 hours long, LITERALLY. she is not a city girl like some other teachers whose style i jive with a little more, though the content is hella solid and I learned a fair amount in that two hours. i said jive with - shoot me!

ok so anyway. i made a t shirt! it took like 5 weeks between the school and student teaching and maintaining a household and freelancing and oh yeah raising a kid, so. tonight i will bind the neck. i made a cool yokey design choice based on accidentally (?) or maybe frugal fanny-ly? buying an insanely small amount of fabric. i sacrificed a t shirt from my bestie's dance co (check em out! dope!) to make a cool contrast yoke. i lURVE it.

i'll use another hunk of that t (thick, late 90s weight 1x1 rib knit? who knows) for the crotch in my new undies...but that's where we get to the math part.

i was so excited to see amy's fabulous style rendered in these hot --but ass-covering-- undies.  Now that I spend a fair amount of time around teens and tweens, i prefer to cover my cheeks. weird? they (my cheeks) are under my pants/dress anyway, but i feel like a generous dash of modesty won't hurt.

SO this happened. amazeballs, right? right. but the bf's computer/printer is a mac style, which apparently prints whatever size it wants. i printed, & taped & cut a 6 (exactly my measurements oh happy day) and made it up in some leftover mesh. it was pretty skimpy, esp in the crack, but also a little saggy. so, ok, maybe size down and that will raise the back up? (from the pattern it made sense.) when i printed the sections i needed to size down, they were WAY BIGGER than the first printout. what the hell size is my meshmuslin? i have no clue.

sigh

i hate it mostly, that my sewing time is so fractured and grab here and there, so the minor frustration of this confusion sets me back to square one, and i may not get to it for a week or three. i started today hoping for hot unders in the drawer at bedtime. instead i have pages of recycling, a strange pair of mesh ladyshorts, a good relationship, a yummy tomato sauce, a happy child, and chocolate zucchini bread.

not so bad, i suppose. except for the underpants. ;) and please, if you have one, what's your best panty pattern???

xo yalls
bex

i'm a winner

hey look i won this thing!

it's not something i would have spent money on (but if you have $15, you could?), what with current age of unbelievable austerity in which i'm living, but should bring me a few hours of no-budget fun. WWOOOO.

also, if it's dope, i'll get to pimp a local creative give backy business, and i love that.

so. here are some things maybe i'll do

1) wallpaper a small wall of my love shack with gorgeous wallpaper for frees.
2) make a cool side sewn sketchbook (with the cool paper from the free book and embroidery floss from last year's friendship bracelet fun? like.)
3) make wood rings?!?!?!? love.
4) MACRAME
5) oh you know, sew some clothes or whatever.

I wanted to tell you something else, but i forgot. so, happy day, have fun at creativebug, and if you find the best video, share it!!
xo
bex

Colette party and why i'm trying again

So I went to the Colette party. It was fine. I saw a lot of people wearing Colette dresses.

things I learned:

• These dresses provide a particular aesthetic 
• That aesthetic is not exactly mine...
• I am also not a big fan of dresses out of quilting cotton (though yours was extra cute, Nicole!). 
• The samples are made from fabric types (silk, slinky poly), that I rarely see home sewists use in their Colette creations. that's why this dress is so dope:  
• I scrutinized the Sencha sample, and am going to try to work that one again. I also saw a cute version in action (on an actual person) so I have the faith again!
• I also grabbed the Anise from the sample rack and tried it on. WOO! I want a short jacket, and it's a good time to get motivated with a sewalong. 

are you supposed to touch the samples? xlnt.

I plan to make it up in this gnarly (free) olive wool I have downstairs as a test case. It'll be useful if it works, and not a huge loss if it doesn't. 

Questions

• Does Liberty quilting cotton = regular shirting cotton? something to consider. I love this stuff, and it's wayyyyy less benjamins than the nice stuff:

finally, i have this blog, where i sew and stuff? but i can't identify as a sewing blogger (because i don't do sH&t to build audience or community or whatever...plus of course I feel like a giant dork trying to befriend people whose projects I stalk and judge online) (who's honest? me). but innyways 1.0 points if you can name the one with the Look in this photo.

lolz- hi Amy! 

See you at the SEWALONG?

xo 

bex

dressess forever!

I'm working on a dress for myself yippee! I've been daydreaming about this dress in this fabric for the past couple of weeks.  It's a me-made version of my favorite comfortable go anywhere dress.

But I've also been daydreaming about this one, in this fabric, for maybe longer?

 And this pattern has a big "easy" circle on the cover, and no style options- it is one way (praise the lord and retire the possibilities). So I made this muslin:

hmm.

somewhat snug for school

but pockets! 

this one's for you, boyfriend.

wonkety zipper for the muslin, no sweat. muffin top? sweat. 

pulling in between waist and hips. SO GLAD i tested this first. that is not a spot i usually have trouble with.  (laura mae, this pose is for you :)

those pockets are not supposed to puff. 

yes, the neck is too low.

it got comfier over time...

I put this piece in backwards, so it has this cute ruffle around it. woo!

holy crap it fits my back so sexily.

will it work to just raise the V this way? the shoulders are really flappy.

thought i should smile at least once. :)

 now what? muslin #2? or should i finally CUT THE IKAT???

tune in tomorrow to find out what happened. LOLS.