It's 102 Degrees out...

...with 39% humidity.  It's gross. 

No joke, I've been running in the middle of the night just so it's not so bad.  

While it's one thing to get all sweaty when you mean to, it's not nearly as fun when you're trying to look nice.

Curly hair, sports bras, and flip flops are as real as it gets.

I actually wore this skirt to a wedding a couple of weeks ago, but I took a quick second in the heat today to make a child get off the ipad and take pictures... 

only to realize I'm way late for the round-up on the skirt.

Ooops.

Anyway, I really do like this skirt, and being all light-weight cotton, it's pretty wonderfully breathable and cool.  And I think it will work for school in a couple of weeks when we go back. 

Also, this may be the sole patch of grass in our yard that's not currently brown and crunchy. 

Pattern: Liesl + Co Extra Sharp Pencil Skirt

Fabric: Rag and Bone Geometric burn-out cotton, + dark gray cotton lawn for underlining

Notions: invisible zip, interfacing for waistband facing, rayon seam binding for hem

The best part of this skirt is that the pattern is simple enough that the fabric stands out.  

Underlining it in dark gray helped make the burnout parts stand out, AND it makes the skirt opaque enough to wear to work.  (Everyone wins, here.)

I am, naturally, too lazy to change the serger thread from navy. 

And if you can't tell (?), I interfaced the zipper tape area.

I used navy seam binding for the hem to make the navy serging look like a "design decision".

 I liked that the pencil skirt includes directions for a walking hem, instead of just a slit.  

I did tack it to the  inside of the hem just for extra insurance, but it looks very clean and precise.

I've never sewn one of Liesl's patterns that didn't go together wonderfully, and this one is no exception.

I have been back into the swing of sewing, but picture taking is hard, so no promises on future blogging...it's way easier to stay inside in the air-conditioning!

First Signs of Spring

Today I bared my legs for the first time this year.

And no one died.  Or shrieked in pain. Or claimed blindness.

Okay, one person may have cried, but I really don't think that was because of my vampire legs.

Pattern: Sewaholic Harwood

Fabric: navy/white geometric cotton voile

Notions: 1/4" elastic, light interfacing, and buttons.  A lot of buttons

So, this dress may be proof of my busyness.  Or laziness.  Or both.

I've had this in the works for over a month.

It waited a while for buttons.

It waited a while for hemming.

It waited a while for me to iron away markings.

And it waited a while for me to move that bottom button an eighth of an inch down.

Guess who finally just wore it today, with the bottom button unbuttoned?

And guess who noticed pink frixion pen during pictures?

(Maybe that happened at work?)

Notes:

Mmm.  I cut a straight size 10.  

I would normally grade down for the hips on a Sewaholic pattern, but it's a flared skirt, and grading felt like too much work.  It's fine.

This is the longer length version, which is a little longer than I usually go for, but a good transition length for shy limbs.  No special construction issues; Tasia writes clear, concise directions, and everything went together neatly.

I was originally worried the neckline might be too high, but it sits comfortably, and I don't feel choked.  I could probably tighten the waistline elastic a little more--it sits comfortably loose--and the belt helps it feel a little more secure. You can see it slipping a bit in the above picture, but that may have been due to yanking the skirt down after a particularly wild gust and a slight overreaction to the idea of my underwear and my husband with a camera. 

 

My house is a mess, and these are crazy bad pictures, but at least you can see the shape.

The only other thing to mention is these buttons from Grandma's stash.  They were the only ones I could find that I had enough of. I tried scouting different buttons, but there's not a whole lot of pizzazz when it comes to white 1/2" buttons.  These are thick and chunky, slightly frosted, and stand out from the print. 

Now if only I can make myself move that bottom one, I'll be good to go.

Gallery Tunic

Pattern: Liesl + Co Gallery Tunic

Fabric: Robert Kaufman London Calling--Periwinkle cotton

Notions: light interfacing for collar and cuffs, 4 1/2" buttons for cuffs

Time to complete: a couple evenings

So, I recently saw that there was a sewalong offered for this pattern, and since I already had it, and hadn't yet taped it up, I thought "why not?" and this jumped to the front of my to-sew pile.

I had originally purchased this fabric to make a sundress out of, but thought that might be too girly, and instead used it here.  I flat-out swapped the fabric I'd planned for a shirt with this, and now that's set aside for a sun dress. 

A not-too-girly sundress, but that's another story.

I made the long-sleeve verson with the collar in the shirt length in a size 8, and my only adjustment was to shorten the tunic by 2 inches.  Everything went together easily, and the sleeves are a great length.  Here I have them flipped up over my sweater sleeves, but they look nice buttoned, too.

Yep.  It's got green (check), and blue (check).

On the other hand, I think I need to stop saying I don't wear floral prints.

I purchased this fabric at KC Modern Makers in the fall, and it is nice.

It's from the Robert Kaufman London Calling line, and mental note to self--it's a good light-weight cotton for shirts. 

On a completely unrelated note, I was trying to get pictures done before the link up on the Oliver + S blog closed.  I missed it, but I still owe a big thank you to my sons for taking pictures for me.  We were able to negotiate a fair trade involving going out for pizza, which I think counts as appropriate compensation.

In addition, they snapped many a great gem, including, but not limited to:

"Let Me Tell You a Secret..."

"

"I Want to Be in the Picture, Too  (But Not Really)"

"You Can't Make Me Be in the Picture"

And my two personal favorites: 

"Exhibit A" ...

...and "Exhibit B".

Hope your February weather is as nice as ours right now!