Sunday, November 24, 2013

Surprise: Fabric Shopping in LA

I was in San Diego for a work conference but after the conference ended Thursday afternoon, I took the Pacific Surfliner up to LA.  Friday was a full day of fabric shopping with Rachel and Jeanette.  Sherril was going to meet up with us too and couldn’t make it.  We missed you Sherril!

This was my first time in LA's fashion district so it was all new to me.
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
The day started at 9am at the FIDM Scholarship Store.  I first read about this store on Dana's Made blog in this post .  Such a neat shop!   A wall of fabric in the back for $1 and $2 a yard.  Lots of clothing and jewelry and random stuff like Christmas socks, makeup cases, etc. The employees were all wearing their FIDM Santa hats and now I kind of wish I had bought one to wear at work the week before Christmas.  I bought two pieces of fabric and a boatload of costume jewelry.  The last Friday of the month is 20% everything, and since they're closed TG weekend, it was 20% off during my visit.  
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
See the sign hanging from the ceiling?  It's pointing to the Fabric Room.

Next we went to the FIDM Museum but they are in between exhibits now.  They let us in to the gift shop where I did a little Christmas shopping.


Next we went to the holy land, Michael Levine Loft, home of $2.50 a pound fabric.  It was pretty amazing.    Boxes full of fabric remnants, then bolts of fabric along the walls.  The windows were open as we pawed through the boxes.
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13

Action shot
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
Rachel and Jeanette
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
Mmmm hmmm.

At one point the store was quite full of people.  They let us cut fabric off the bolts ourselves, and if you wanted to cut the remnants smaller you totally could. 
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
Look at all of that turquoise knit fabric for $2.50 a pound!
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
Here I bought a little over 11 pounds of fabric.  Turquoise ponte knit!  Brown ponte knit!  Spongy black knit!  It was all good and fun.

The guy running the loft was super super nice and he even took pix of us .
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
I bought 2 bags, Rachel bought one bag and Jeanette scored with 3 bags.

Then it was time for lunch and then on to some more shops, including the owner of EmBe Fabrics who is vying to be the Kashi of LA. 

LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
"Don't worry about the price!  How much you need?  2.5 yards?  $10."
"A yard?"
"No, for the whole thing!"


And then this store, Button and Trim Expo. 
LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
I think it may have surpassed Pacific Trimming as my favorite notions store.  I was looking for stretch lace trim.  Pacific has maybe 20 spools of stretch lace trim.  Button and Trim Expo has an entire wall of stretch lace trim, all along the right side, almost to the very back of the store (all that lace in the back is the non-stretch lace), in all sorts of colors and widths.  They also had an amazing selection of FOE for 25 cents a yard.  

LA fabric shopping 11/22/13

Yes, almost this entire wall is stretch trim lace, all the way til the second to last column in the back!

And then we went to Michael Levine’s regular store.  In the back they have a bargain section.  Er I bought even more fabric.

LA fabric shopping 11/22/13
We wrapped the day up at a fancy French pastry shop.   J  What a great fun day with Rachel and Jeanette.  We chatted all day long about fabric, fit, patterns, PR Day, etc.  Thanks for meeting up with me!  And a special thank you to Rachel for driving us around and also shipping my fabric home for me.  J

Then I went back to SD for….well, you’ll see…next post!

Be well!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Luxe tote bag, version 2

Thanks for all your well wishes for my birthday and your comments on my aloha pajama birthday top. I'm wearing it right now (and no, the chakoner chalk did not come out in the wash!)

my new vinyl bag
On Sunday afternoon I rewarded myself for packing early for my work trip by making a new luxe tote bag. Somehow I thought this would be a stress-free tote, bwah ha ha ha ha.  It's a companion tote for my briefcase style tote I sewed last month, pictured below.
U-Handbag "It's a cinch!" tote with peltex inserted in sides, plastic canvas bottom, and macbook air inside
Companion tote above, blogged here.

Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
Black vinyl (with and without holes): Kashi's (Metro Textiles) in NYC from the June trip with Velosewer.
Piping and straps: Pacific Trimming in NYC
Peltex: Joann's
Interior pocket zipper: Gosh, that cheap store we went to in SF for PR weekend 2013 that was selling zips for 25 cents
Interfacing:  Fashion Sewing Supply online
Interior Lining:Knit fabric from Gwen Couture during my visit with Elizabeth in San Diego Interior Pocket lining:  Yes, I know, I know, I know...that NYC subway fabric from The City Quilter in NYC

The pattern:  I decided to knock off this bag that Antoinette sweetly sewed for me for my birthday.  It is the *perfect* size.  Somehow I messed up the measuring and my bag came out taller than hers, but it's still lovely.

Antoinette made me a bag for my birthday
Antoinette's bag that she made for my birthday

Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
Cutting corners, literally....

It was fairly straight forward until I got to the Peltex.  Looking back, I should have just put the peltex in the bottom of the bag, inside the lining, and called it a night, but nooooooo..I decided to Peltex the whole thing...which does make the bag stand up all on its own, but was really difficult to sew.  My machine bed was MOVING while I sewed it...I felt like I needed three hands to get it under the presser foot (one to raise the presser foot higher than normal, the other two to shove it under the foot).

Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
I learned a few things this time, mainly to have the shiny side of the vinyl against the feed dogs to prevent shifting. Add to always sew top to bottom to prevent further shifting, which is how I got the pic above... (also I used my wonder clips, thanks to Jacqui for another round of 10!)

Look at how stiff it is!
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
It was pretty serious.
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
Here's a closeup of the piping. It's actually a black cord wrapped in silver (I know it looks white in the pic) lame with a black, hole-y vinyl encasing it.
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
There are two pockets; one for my cell phone with my very last worded fabric label, sob!
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
The other side has a zipper pocket
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
This alphabet fabric from Gwen Couture is pretty amazing.
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
Ok, it's only my 2nd zipper pocket ever, but it's my best one, ha ha. I felt very satisfied with how it turned out.
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
But there were so many layers to sew together at this point...aboveI'm about to attach the lining to the bag but haven't turned it right side out yet.

Here's what it looks like, all done.  
Luxe tote bag version 2
The patch pocket is not flush because I sewed it to fit my cell phone....
my new vinyl tote bag

Sooooo..normally one would topstitch the top edge or understitch the lining to keep it from poking out but there were SO MANY LAYERS, it just wasn't going to happen, and I was running out of steam sooooo...I left it as is!  And the world didn't stop turning!
my new vinyl tote bag
pockets!
my new vinyl tote bag
With Izzy:
Another black vinyl tote bag, this time with lining from Gwen Couture
Extra bonus points if you know where I am (work conference) based on this photo taken from my hotel room:
Mystery location: do you know where I am?
Be well!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Aloha Birthday Pajama Top with Lots of Good Feelings

McCall's Aloha birthday pjs
Free time is running in short supply these days, and my goal is always to reduce my self-induced stress.  So for my birthday this year I decided to sew up my Aloha pajama top using a McCall's pattern that I've used a million times (slight exaggeration).

The fabric is from the Robert Kaufman "Aloha Flannel 2" line (yes, 2) in the color of Sunshine.  :)

And I really love the color.  It is a bright, warm, happy yellow that generates good memories and good feelings.  I purchased it at Kaimuki Dry Goods while in Honolulu this past May.  I picked it up while shopping with MushyWear, and we went there based on SunnyGal Studio's recommendation.

Here's when I bought it!
my haul from Kaimuki

I decided to take loving shots of the pajama top like it was an epic piece of work, like jeans or a lined coat.  Kind of a like a little joke to myself.

This is the first pj top I've sewn since learning how to use my serger (I know!)  All raw edges were serged.
McCall's Aloha birthday pjs

I actually sewed the side vents--never have before
McCall's Aloha birthday pjs
I actually drew the stitching line on my V-neck using the blue Chakoner (and um, yeah, it hasn't, um, come off yet, but I'm thinking it will come off in the wash).
McCall's Aloha birthday pjs
I know it's big and shapeless and has no detailing, but I love it.

McCall's Aloha birthday pjs

I wear my pj tops with at least one layer underneath.
It's just how I roll.

McCall's Aloha birthday pjs

And I actually ironed the flannel all during the process.  Ironing flannel, I don't even know who I am anymore.

So this pajama top took me three weekends to sew--that shows you how short my free time is lately.  I finished it about 2 weeks after my actual birthday....close enough in my world of "less self induced stress".

Also yellow for my birthday: the last of the Princeton Farmers Market flowers:
The final farmers market flowers of the season
These lasted two weeks! Gorgeous.

Yellow yellow yellow.

Happy happy happy.

Relieved relieved relieved.

I have a big adventure coming up this week.  It's a work trip....with some sewing fun at the end.  You'll see!

Be well!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

PR Day NYC 2013

Sept/Oct:  Awareness that PR Day "little black dress" party in NYC was coming up, but on a weeknight, which meant I can't attend.

Tuesday:  Deepika sends out reminder about PR Day.

Wednesday:  I read Tuesday's email reminder and realize the party is on a Friday night.  Hmmmm...Friday night...

Thursday: Look at hotel prices...not bad...

Friday: wake up at 5am, read email from velosewer asking if I will attend the PR party in NYC.  Hotel prices still not bad.   Get dressed wearing my LBD.  Get to work.  Realize that I already have bus ticket.  At that point I decide that yes, I am going to this party!  I email my RSVP (which was due days before), book hotel, leave work early and quickly pack, make a dash for the bus stop and 2 hours later was at Elliott Berman Fabrics for the event.

And what a neat event it was!!  Hosted by Matthew and Eugenia from Elliott Berman fabrics, I'd say about 40 peeps were there, including 2 folks from Vogue Patterns (including the editor in chief of Vogue Patterns Magazine), Lisel from Oliver + S and Lisel + Co patterns, many many many sewing bloggers (Carolyn, Oonaballoona, Clio, Claudine among them), and of course PR founder Deepika.  What was really awesome though was seeing all the new faces I had never seen at PR events before and getting to  chat with them about fabric and techniques, and how cool it is that we even have a resource like PR.


PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
The welcome
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Deepika and me
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
The runway show
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
The wine bottles (love how the dress on the label is red and not black)
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
The PR Day carrot cake
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Even international model Cathy Lane was there--she even recognized me. Apparently Peter had told her all about me...and Peter had finished her dress just minutes before the event started.

So there were four contests: making an outfit from scraps, a trivia contest, a "guess what fabric this is while you're blindfolded" contest, and the LBD contest. Elliott Berman generously gave loads of designer fabric as gifts--some of it was even 2014 fabric. And Lisel also generously gave out her brand new womens patterns as gifts too.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
During the trivia contest....anyone with a bag was a winner!
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
I won second place in the LBD contest! I was really surprised. Really, really surprised. Did I mention, I was surprised?  Thanks to all who voted for me!!   I blogged about my dress here.  It's McCalls 6518.
Cathy won first place and Mary took third.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Lisel and me, and the pattern of hers that I won: The "everyday skirt". Her womens patterns are digital so the grouping of patterns she gave away were specially printed for us! Yay!

I used my NYC subway zipper pouch as my bag for the night, with the addition of Connie's tape measure keychain as a handle, it was perfect!
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Here's the fabric and pattern. The fabrics are silk and suiting; and Lisel's pattern:
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Then Saturday I did all the shopping I intended to do at the end of August. I spent the most time at Pacific Trimming and Chic Fabrics. Chic is like my Metro/Kashi substitute on the weekends. I also spent some time at the City Quilter.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
I know you are jealous of that polka dot FOE.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Get your 2014 New Year's Eve glasses now.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Big sale, always, at Chic.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Inside Chic.
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
I love these closures at Pacific Trimming; have to figure out how to incorporate them into something one day...

PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
The City Quilter
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
Here's hoping these zips are the answer to Lynn's motorcycle jacket prayers...

Overall, a fun event.  Thank you Deepika for founding Pattern Review, I'm not sure where I would be as a seamster without your site!
PR Day 2013 at Elliott Berman fabrics in NYC
A little souvenir for Izzy....

Be well!