Thursday, August 26, 2010

High Hopes and Good News!

My eyes are bigger than my free-time for sewing lately!  Within 24 hours of returning home from vacation, I had 15 shirts on my table for embroidery, 2 more for patches, and some pants to hem for my FIL.  Paying jobs get priority (since they pay for my fabric addiction), so the fun stuff will have to wait a little while...

Like the dress I started for Little Miss Princess...

The dress I really want to make for myself (Vogue 1183, Kay Unger dress) before school starts...


And the handbag pattern I picked up while on vacation!

I've been watching Bunny make the most beautiful handbags for the last few years, and have never worked up the courage to try one.  And you know me, I can't seem to ever find the "easy way" to do something!
I want to make it up in black lambskin, won't it be stunning?    If I go with the recommended yardage, I'll need about 9 sq. ft.  That's big for a single skin, so I'm probably gonna need 2 small skins.  I've been researching my options, and Ann recommended lambskin for the weight and softness for the ruffles.  Haberman's has none (shop local first, ya know?), Leather, Suede, and Skins had 2 skins for approx. $50 plus shipping, and was so nice on the phone! (I wish I lived closer to NYC!)  I found "The Leather Guy" in Minnesota, and the nice lady that answered the phone understood my plan and is currently searching their stock for black lambskin.  Price: $2.50/sq ft, which is pretty reasonable!  I'm waiting on a call back, keep your fingers crossed.  Meanwhile, I'd better get back to the work table so I can make some fun stuff!

I've also been cramming in the last 2 episodes of Project Runway that I missed on vacation! Thank goodness for "On Demand", I'm now ready for tonite's new episode! The party store challenge was fun, but I was really surprised by the judges comments on the hat episode.  My favorites so far are Andy (that black ribbon dress for the Party Store challenge! Wow!!!) and Valerie (consistently in the top 3, but still waiting for win!)Watching makes me miss NYC, and if I had decided to take the Sit & Sew class again, I'd be there right now.  Hope you ladies that are there enjoy your time, and learn a lot!

Good News!  My silk dress made it through Round 1 and I will be modeling it at the American Sewing Expo in September!!!  I'm very excited to make another trip down the runway for Kenneth King & Julianne Bramson.  If you haven't seen them at Pattern Review, there are some amazing entries, and you can see them all here.  I'm expecting some free time tomorrow, so I'll have some new stuff to share soon!!!

12 comments:

Gail said...

Had to laugh about over ambitious sewing plans. We are all in the same boat aren't we! Love that Kay Unger pattern. Saw that someone else is working on it too - can't remember who.

Julia said...

I love that little dress pattern for your princess. I'm going to look for that one. I think my 10 year old might go for that if I don't make it look too little girly.
You are an ambitious and busy lady. Good luck getting everything done. I have a list a mile long, but then, I'm retired from teaching so I don't have to worry about school starting back.

meredithp said...

Congratulations on the silk dress! That will be fun.

I don't know how you stay upright, let alone get it all done. I'm going to lay down now. :-)

Penny said...

It is fun to watch the models at the Expo -- yes, I'm going, and I'll give you a big shout-out if you like.
Susan

Kim said...

Fabric Mart is having a 50% off sale for their genuine skins right now. I bought 5 from them last time they had a sale to make a jacket...I'm jumping in the deep end. But anyway, they were very nice,helpful and the leather is beautiful (NAYY)

amber said...

Congrats on the silk dress!! :)

I swear, I no more get one sewing project completed then 5 more take its place. The list just grows and grows and grows and my time just shrinks and shrinks. ;)

Kristin said...

Congratulations on your silk dress entry moving forward, I can't wait to see it in person. My green linen dress was picked, so hopefully I will see you at the show. Yay!

Patty said...

Congrats on your entry for the PatternReview fashion show!! I didn't enter, but I will be there and look forward to meeting you in person :-) I also have had that Kay Unger pattern with some lovely buttery yellow fabric sitting in my sewing area all summer....it's beginning to look like it will get put away until next year. I am getting the itch to start sewing for fall/winter!

Michelle said...

Welcome back from vacation, and congratulations on the dress progressing past the first round! I love that Kay Unger pattern and can't wait to see what you do with it!

BeeBee said...

Good, good luck at the PR fashion show. I won't be there this year, but will be rooting for you!

Anonymous said...

I had great service from the Fauck company who have offices/warehouses in both Berlin and Canada. Their selection is fabulous and I don't think you'd have any problem getting your black lambskin within a week. They're a big supplier to Burda and I was very happy with the kingfisher blue suede I got for my dress, as seen on sewing.patternreview.com under member "inkstain."
Good luck!
Inkstain

Bunny said...

Congratulations on becoming a finalist! We will be on the stage but not competing as you are silk and I am linen. Today's plan is to mail the jacket!

Your bag will be fabulous. You don't start off easy, do you?