S9776 tank + Jalie 3025 skirt + Jalie 2796 compression shorts done

I want to say a big thank you to the 38 of you who voted for me for the PR Activewear contest--I really appreciate your vote and support!  I came in 8th out of 65 who completed their entries.  The top 6 made jackets with zippers which is something I haven't attempted in a long, long time.

Meanwhile, I finished up my next activewear outfit....
Simplicity 9776 tank + Jalie 3025 skirt view A skirt (modified) + Jalie 2796 compression shorts




The skirt is meant for ice skating, so it has a very flouncy feel.

I will make my next pair of shorts shorter as they do peek out from under my skirt unless I hike them up a bit.

I did not attach the shorts to the skirt as they are from two different patterns and meant to sit on two different places on the body.  But by not sewing them together, it gives me more mix and match options, with the caveat that I must remember to pack both a skirt and shorts for class!


The shorts just have FOE at the top and are hemmed with my stretch twin needle.

I love this lace fabric SO SO SO much...you will see it again....
Deets on all the fabrics for this outfit are in this other post.



I added 5" to the bottom of the skirt--I might add another inch next time as it is kind of short.

The skirt raw edge not hemmed but it is serged.


I did not attach the yoke to the skirt.  Instead I used FOE on the top of my skirt.  Originally I just serged it but did not apply the FOE but the skirt really needs elastic to stay level during class, as I found out during Monday's class when after a bunch of squats I could see the back of my skirt from the front.

By Thursday's class I applied the FOE and it was fine!  One of my classmates who I don't know told me that my skirt is "so cute" and that it would be great for a coverup at the beach.



I don't know about you darlings but I have been feeling really tired and sort of burned out by many aspects of my life.  I feel like my body and brain needs a break, a reboot, something....

Be well!

Alternative use for your iron

My iron + gorillapod + my camera

This was my setup for taking photos last weekend for the Pattern Review activewear contest.  (Voting is open and runs through Tuesday 2/24--I'd be honored to receive your vote!!)

The iron was perfect because it is heavy and won't fall over under the weight of the camera.

That's my poor ruby red point and shoot.  It's 5.5 years old, which is pretty old for a little point and shoot.  I was running across an intersection when it fell out of my bag hard onto the pavement.  It hasn't been the same since.  I feel a bit sad to retire it, but it can't handle certain light situations anymore.  My last camera met its end when I slammed the car door shut on my purse--the display took the impact.  And I feel I am usually so careful with my things....



I took ~150 photos the morning of 2/14 for the PR activewear contest but half of them turned out like the above and had to be deleted from the start.    It's like it can't focus in natural daylight anymore.

I also use the 10 second timer on my camera, which has to be the most inefficient way of taking photos.

I know some bloggers have an interest in photography and sewing... I just care about sewing but need to find a more efficient way of photographing my work, like the remote I've seen some of y'all using!


Er, isn't there a digit missing?  No?  1F on Friday morning is the coldest temp I've ever experienced.

In other news, I am having the coldest winter I've ever experienced.  The cold has been sustained for a long time now.  Last winter was definitely snowier in NJ but this winter is much more cold.  Typically it's in the 30's and 40's F all winter with a week of single digits or teens in January.  All of February has been in the single digits, teens or 20's F except today when it was a glorious balmy 45F and sunny to boot. Speaking of boots, I've worn my snow boots every single day for quite a while now even if it wasn't snowing, because they are tall, fuzzy and warm.

Tmw:  22F with a low of -2F.

Then I read KLine's blog where she said last weekend was -40 where she lives, and that -40 is where F and C are the same.

Ok, that puts things in perspective!!

What's the wackiest thing you've ever used your iron for?  What's the coldest temp you've ever experienced?

Be well!!!

Jalie 3025 skort and another tank in progress

I started this next gym outfit on Sunday....but I think this tank might be too good for the gym, ha ha.

The tank is my usual Simplicity 8779.

I ran out of the W-I-D-E 1" fold over elastic that I now like using for finishing the tank, but you can see where it's going!

Folded in half, it's a half inch binding, which makes a really nice looking strap and finishes the raw edge nicely.

And look, I eliminated the CB seam on the tank, so I wouldn't have to worry about lace matching.   The lace is super stretchy so I can get away with eliminating the CB seam.
The "hem" of the tank is the selvedge of the stretch lace--very awesome!

The skort is currently in two pieces and is from two different Jalie patterns.

The skirt is Jalie 3025, a figure skating skirt pattern.  I used view A (upper left and center skirts on the pattern photo) and lengthened it 5 inches.  It really makes that flouncy skirt look, especially in the back view.

Since the pattern comes with attached panties and I prefer attached shorts, I'm using the compression shorts from Jalie 2796.

Since I haven't sewn the skirt and shorts together yet, I could put the skirt on Izzy.

This time the skirt is made with a thinner-than-last time activewear fabric from Apple Annie's, specifically this one.
The stretch lace is also from Apple Annie's.
The fabric under the stretch lace is Nike Dri-Fit from SewSassy (scroll way down on that page to get to it).

I can't wait for the FOE to arrive so I can finish it off!!

In other news, voting is now open in the Activewear Contest on Pattern Review!
Take a gander at the entries.
If you've enjoyed all my silly poses, I'd appreciate your vote!  Thank you!

Be well!

Olympus Sashiko #211: Waves

Wow!  Thank you for all of your kind words about my promotion!!!   You are as excited about it as I am!

To answer a few questions:
1.  What does "ERA" in my title stand for?
I enjoyed your guesses--it's Electronic Research Administration.  My previous title was ERA Manager and my new title is Senior ERA Manager.   If you want to know more about my day job, it's explained here.

2.  Will I still have time for sewing?
YES!  Thankfully the answer is yes.  I'm done working nights and weekends for a long long time.  Now I just work in my own sweatshop on weekends, my sewing room, ha ha.

Speaking of which...the sashiko.   I started this one to relieve stress a few weekends ago.

I used variegated pink and white thread, Olympus #53.


Compared to the colorful daisies, it stitched up *really* fast.

I'm kind of on the fence about this one.  Maybe next time I will try alternating rows of pink and white instead of the variegated thread?


If anything I have learned how to spell variegated.


Blink and it's done!

I'm nearing completion of another sashiko piece--it's colorful like the daisies!

In my head I have my whole day planned out tmw with a mixture of stitching, sewing and chores, as it was looking like it might snow enough to close work--but now it is looking somewhat unlikely.  Delayed opening?  Maybe?

Be well!

My PR Activewear 2015 Contest Entry

This morning I had my photo shoot for my entry in the PR Activewear Contest.  My entry refers back to this post so I wanted to include some detail shots here, since there are only 3 photos uploaded for the entry itself.  (I moved my sewing table out of the way so I'd have a blank background and took~150 photos this morning, half of which came out blurry, ooph).

My entry is a three piece set:  my first ever skort  (skirt with attached shorts) features black and hot pink colorblocking, and coordinates with two tanks:  a hot pink tank with black adjustable straps and a hot pink tank with a black lace overlay.   

The Jalie 2796 skort
My original blog post about the skort is here.

The compression shorts are attached.

The skort was basted and then serged on my serger. It gives such a professional finish to the interior of the garment. In the photo above, you can see how I've stabilized the side panel with a layer of the black fabric.
I had never sewn a skort before  and now I am hooked--can't wait to sew my next one--might even be tmw!!

The stretch twin needle hem is quite stretchy!

The pink fabric did not like my stretch twin needle so I used my regular stretch needle for that and moved on.

Back when it was in pieces....you can see the start of the side pocket formation.

Very clever!

That side has this neat "cross over" detail at the bottom.

The Simplicity 9776 tanks

My original blog post about the tanks is here.

Bust vs bust?

I had a really hard time deciding if I should make the tank with the lace or without the lace.  Originally I didn't think I'd have enough fabric to make both....but I did!  The lace one is shorter because that is all the fabric I had left.

In the above photo, you can see one back, a blank space for the other back, and the front.

I cut out the two pink backs and the two lace backs separately, but then hated how the lace pattern was interrupted by the CB seam. I wound up cutting out one continuous lace back and layered it over the pink back that had its own CB seam. It worked out well.

In progress...

Before putting the rings on.

Inserting the bra strapping into the sliders, which is super fun and very professional looking.

The back of the lace tank

Skort is pinned on Izzy since she doesn't have legs.


Front of pink tank with rings

Back of pink tank with adjustable straps.


Conclusion
Overall my lessons were #1:  The pink  fabric for both tanks was not nearly as stretchy as the other tanks I have sewn, so that affected the fit. You can see the drag lines in the photos for the tanks that I'm wearing, which are not there in the tanks I have made in stretchier fabric.

Lesson #2:  Skorts are pretty fun to sew--I am pretty excited to make more skorts!! Bring it on!!


Be well!!

New Simplicity 9776 gym tanks + good news!

Guess what sewing friends???

I'm so excited to share some good news.  My boss announced my promotion today and I can finally share it with you!  Since Jan 1, 2015, I am Senior ERA Manager.  It is a recognition of my work on the big software project as well as my additional responsibilities, and I'm just so excited!

Also I made two Simplicity tanks yesterday to go with my Jalie skort.

Since I'm entering the tanks and skort in the PR Activewear contest, the official photo shoot will be this weekend, with better lighting and a cleaner background.

Both tanks are Simplicity 9776, but my pink fabric (Performance Quick Dry fabric in Heathered Pink from Joann's--bought sometime last year or maybe even the year before) is not as stretchy as my prior versions of this tank, thus there are some drag lines.  In an attempt to ease up on my perfectionism, I'm taking this as a lesson learned and moving on.  I think for no drag lines and a close fit, the fabric has got to be somewhere between 50 and 75% stretchy.   The Joann fabric is ~25%.  Also the light color really showcases every line; dark fabric hides that kind of thing.



On the pink fabric tank,  I took a cue from Jalie 3131 and used rings and sliders on the straps.

Because I wear the tank with a bra, the ring does get hidden. But here on my dressform you can see the ring quite nicely.

Honestly sliding the straps through the sliders is very fun.

The sliders, strapping and rings were all from SewSassy.com.

I also used 1" wide (when unfolded) FOE from Pacific Trimming in NYC, purchased during MPB Day 2014.  Usually I use the 5/8" wide (when unfolded) FOE, but this made more impact,  I thought.

For the lace tank, I layered this stretch lace from Chic Fabrics in NYC, purchased in Nov of 2013, over the Joann fabric.  For this lace version, I did not use strapping, rings and sliders, only FOE.


I wore the lace tank + skort at my gym class tonight and it worked out (heh heh) really well.
I plan on wearing the all-pink version the next time I go to the gym (either tmw or Thursday night).

It doesn't count for the contest, but I made a matching headband out of the scraps (and I do mean scraps, there was hardly anything left over).

My local Joann's doesn't have any more of this fabric, but I bought some more of it online this weekend.  If it arrives before the end of the contest, I am tempted to make the Jalie 3131 tank...I made a muslin but didn't like it....but I think I know how to change it.  How long could it possibly take (cue laughter here).

Be well!