Today's needlepoint

Well! It's been over a week since I posted, just being lazy, really. I did start on version two of the July BWOF blouse this weekend, though. The fabric is a "needlepoint" print, it was my first ever purchase from Emma One Sock, I got it a few months ago. I admired this fabric online daily, and the first day it was marked down 20% I bought two yards. Today I bought the cording for the drawstring; hopefully I'll have the blouse done in the next few days.

And much to my surprise I received my August issue of BWOF in the mail on Saturday. I see a couple of blouses that I'd be interested in making up.

Heat

So, no sewing to report on. Instead I've been spending way too much time after work this week scouring Seattle for the perfect pair of heels - buying some, realizing they are wrong once I get home, returning them the next day, and repeating the process. My urgent need for new shoes is for this weekend - we are headed to Las Vegas to celebrate Tim's and my birthdays which are Saturday and Sunday, respectively, plus, two of the other people coming had birthdays earlier this week. There will be 8 of us altogether, so (despite the 105F temperature) it should be fun!

Speaking of heat, I have nearly finished Heat by Bill Buford, and if you are someone who likes to cook, or someone who likes to dine out , I highly recommend it. Bill Buford was an editor at the New Yorker for many years before he decided to to something a little bit crazy - he had recently met Mario Batali at a dinner party he was hosting (pressure!), and he asked Mario if he could work in his kitchen, thereby landing an (unpaid) gig at Babbo in NYC. The book is a mix of his trials & tribulations working in a busy restaurant kitchen, the behind-the-scenes goings on of the restaurant industry, and several very entertaining stories about Mario Batali.

There is also a bit about Mario's father, Armandino Batali, who runs the extremely popular Salumi just a few blocks away from my work office here in Seattle. If you ever visit this city (and you are not vegetarian), then you must make every effort to go there for lunch one day. I always order a sandwich (finnochiona with mozarella), but there are plenty of other dishes as well (antipasti, gnocchi, etc). Just be prepared to wait in line at least 30 minutes. And don't plan to do this on a weekend because they are only open Tuesday thru Friday. And shoot me an email, because I'd love to meet you there!

New Vogue Fall 2007 patterns

The first fall Vogue patterns were released today, was it just me who had a hard time trying to access Vogue's website this afternoon? Anyway, this evening I had no problem. I found a few nice pieces (of course!).

The ruffled collar on this coat (Vogue 8438) is very appealing to me.

View B of Vogue 8436 (the brown coat) is whispering my name.

Here is a great cocktail dress and an evening gown in one pattern, and they are "very easy" to boot (Vogue 8416).

Embrace the wide-leg trend with these Alice and Olivia pants (Vogue 2981).

This Sandra Betzina dress will be perfect for your Halloween witch costume (Vogue 2977). Broom not included.

Burda ruffle-collar blouse: the wearable muslin

Today I completed my wearable muslin of blouse 113 in the July 2007 BWOF. Overall I'm pretty satisfied and I'm planning to make it again.
The collar can be more or less ruffly depending on how long or short you keep the drawstring with the cordstops.

I deviated from the pattern by making only 4 belt loops instead of the suggested 12, I raised the placement of the belt loops, and I made the belt a bit wider.

When I make this again, I'll add about 2 inches to the length.

So? What else is new?

There's yet another news article that discusses how sewing/knitting/crafts are hip now and not just for your grandmother; this one was published in the NY Times. Of course this isn't news to you or me, but still I'm glad it's among the most popular emailed stories of today.

Progress has been made on the BWOF blouse; all that's left to do is make the drawstring for the neck, make the belt, and sew on 7 snaps. So far so good. The only tip I have so far, if you make this, is remember that the armholes are cut slightly on the bias, and so you should be careful not to pull them too taut when hemming them (which results in a wavy hem) as I did.

Stitches Customer Appreciation Day

Attention Seattle seamstresses!

Seattle's most fun and funky fabric shop, Stitches, is having a 20% off storewide sale this Sunday, July 15, as a way of saying thank you for (once again) being voted best "knitting, sewing, or crafts shop" by NW Source readers.

The owner, Amy, who is just as sweet as can be, stocks a well-edited selection of fabrics. The prices are reasonable to begin with, so with the sale you can get some great deals. The last time I was there, I even saw some Echino fabrics (for inspiration, check out the bag, pillow, and placemats that lupinbunny created with Echino).

So go spend some money and show your support for independent brick & mortar fabric shops.

Me & BWOF: Back together again

I subscribed to BWOF in 2004 and 2005. I gave myself the goal of making one garment per issue. The problem was, I was in graduate school and working at the time and didn't have much time to sew, plus my lack of sewing experience combined with the lack of directions was frustrating, so I cut myself off after 2 years. Lately, BWOF has become much more stylish - the clothes are more fashion-y, the styling of the photoshoots is much improved - I couldn't resist resubscribing. I have reinstated my goal of completing at least one garment per issue...

Reunited and it feels so good...

I get home after work about 2 hours earlier than Tim does, so usually I am the one responsible for getting dinner ready. Today though, he called me to ask/tell me that he'd like to have dinner with some of his friends. I tried to hide the glee in my voice as I told him that would be fine with me. This meant that I could eat cheese and bread for dinner and spend the evening getting started on a BWOF blouse!

I am working on blouse style 113 from the July 2007 issue.

I was going to make a quick muslin first, but as I started cutting out the 'muslin' fabric (a cotton lawn from a recent yard sale), I decided that I wouldn't mind wearing that fabric actually, so I'm just going to make this one up as the real thing, and if I like it, I'll make a second blouse in the 'real' fashion fabric.

Aloha!

Whenever I hear the word "Maui", I always think of the SATC episode where Aiden is trying to convince Carrie, who is freaked out about being engaged, that they should just run off and elope. He suggests Hawaii, and says something like "Let's get Maui-ed".

Our trip was great, it included all the things you'd expect: soaking up rays at the beach, hiking over lava rock, snorkeling with tropical fish, buying macadamia nuts for the friends back home, and quality time with Tim's parents which was really the purpose of the trip.

'Iao Needle

At the produce & craft market

Not so shy birds seeking dropped crumbs while we were sitting out on the lanai

Snorkeling pond surrounded by lava rock

Sunset