Teal Lady Skater, Label Giveaway Update, Meeting Lisa from As I Said

I'm on a teal/turquoise/aqua kick lately...here are the last three items I have machine sewn, and one that I hand stitched (the bird on Izzy's shoulder)


Labels giveaway update


Tech time and Linda T:  Please send your mailing address to me at kdburkhardt at yahoo.com so that I can send your labels out to you!

Above are the woven labels that are left; if you want any of these, please leave a comment below listing the label(s) you want, then please email me at kdburkhardt at yahoo.com with your mailing address. Open to all including international as these are thin and light and can be mailed like a letter.

Teal Lady Skater
 
This teal Kitschy Coo Lady Skater has been on my "to sew" list since last December, when I made the wearable muslin out of this same fabric, only in black.   This pattern has no darts in the bodice so it really lets the fabric sing without being interrupted by dart lines.

This fabric has loads of texture and is super stretchy.  At the time, I went by the size chart and sewed a size 4 grading to a size 5.  It was a bit too snug in the bust in the wearable muslin version, so I went with an overall 5 this time and I think it still kind of looks too snug in the bust (as in you can see the outline of my bra--keep in mind what I'm showing you here are the best shots and I tried 3 different bras plus a full slip) so next time I will go up to a 6 in the bust.




I made it sleeveless and bound it in some kind of mystery fabric I bought at Paron.  I didn't want to use the same fabric for the binding because it is kind of lofty and had nothing similar in the stash so during my little daytrip to NYC in June I went looking for something to match and this is what I came up with.

I stitch down my bindings from the outside, so my stitching isn't perfectly along the binding edge here, hmmmm....

A little wonky

I took about 2.25" out of the bodice at the strap and another 1.5 " out of the bodice closer to the waist on the pattern that I traced.  I knew from the wearable muslin that I needed to remove some length to get the horizontal seam of the skirt to be closer to my waist.  I added 1" to the length of the skirt that I had traced from last time, and really should have added 2" as it is a little short...but I didn't have another inch of fabric to spare, sooo....


I hemmed the dress by serging the raw edge first, cranking my DF up to 1.5 so that it would gather the edge for me, then pressed up 1" with my Elna Press, and then blind hemmed it on my machine, and then Elna Pressed again.  I really like the look of that finish.

Texture!

Meeting Lisa from As I Said 

Lisa wearing her adorable striped dress which she recently stitched up--great stripe matching on the sides!!

I wore the dress to Philadelphia yesterday to meet up with Lisa from the blog As I Said (and the IG account metamorphpursuit).  I've been a reader of her blog since 2008 and this was the first time we met in person.  It was really lovely to meet her and spend the afternoon in her company.  I had not been to Philly in YEARS and it was also good to get reacquainted with the city again.

We had lunch in Reading Terminal Market, then tried to look at the exhibits next door at the Fabric Workshop and Museum but they are between exhibits right now; only the gift shop was open.  So we took the Phlash to The Philadelphia Museum of Art to see the Vlisco African Wax Print exhibit.  

It was really beautiful, I learned a lot, and I appreciated that it was not crowded (unlike the Met Man vs Machine exhibit that was overly crowded).  










In the sewing themed section.

We wrapped up the day back at the Reading Terminal Market to get some sweet treats (I highly recommend the classic whoopie pie from The Flying Monkey--outstanding!)

Goodies at The Flying Monkey

Thanks for meeting up with me, Lisa!
Be well!!

Leather Bag Handles, City Quilter Closing, Woven Label Giveaway

Hello from a random vacation day.  The weather was phenomenal today!!!  Anyhoo, it's a bit of a smorgasbord post, with three topics that don't necessarily warrant their own post:

1.  The Leather Bag Handles have Stretched.

They have also stretched on the other side of the same strap, I just didn't point it out in the photo above.

• I have been using and enjoying my leather tote.  It is a great size, not too big and not too small.
• It is lamb leather, so it is incredibly soft, and those who touch this bag in person remark how much softer it is than they thought it would be.  One of my coworkers was compelled to bury her face in it, that's how soft it was!
• The handles have started to stretch, though.    I was very concerned about the handles separating from the bag (which is not happening) but had not considered that the straps would stretch.  Next time I will insert buckram between the two strap layers to prevent that from happening.
• I still haven't sealed the raw edges with gum tragacanth, and I'm not sure that I will.

The City Quilter Is Closing

The City Quilter storefront in 2013


My first pillow "quilt" top, pieced but not quilted yet, Elizabeth Hartman Fancy Fox II pattern. I bought the original Fancy Fox (and a few other quilting patterns) at The City Quilter, even though I don't quilt.


The City Quilter NYC subway fabric as an interior zipper pocket from a bag I made in 2014

• MPB Day 2016 was amazingly hot (I don't think I've ever sweat that much in one weekend  in my whole life) and also really fun.  I felt so incredibly happy throughout the day.  
• Alert:  I did not buy ANY fabric during MPB Day this year. My sewing room reorg really made me not want to add to the stash.  And it was soooo hot, I didn't want to carry more fabric around.
• However, Anne told me  that the City Quilter is closing their bricks and mortar store in October.  A google search found these two posts here and here.  
• I'm not a quilter (slowly venturing into quilting) but I have always loved the CQ for many reasons: .  
• This is the only source for the NYC subway fabric that I have used in many zipper pockets and also a few gifted zipper pouches, and they will continue to sell that fabric online (it is their own design).  
• I've always been tempted by their umbrella kit, but truth is I'm never going to use an umbrella that is that big.  If I lived in NYC though, I could totally have seen myself going to one of their umbrella kit classes for an afternoon.
• I purchased a few sashiko kits at the CQ.
• It's also how I discovered Heidi Boyd Crafts--I saw her kits at the CQ last August.   As you know I am a huge Heidi Boyd fan and have stitched many of her kits in the past year.
• ATP and I will visit the CQ in September, but I'm not sure what their store will be like then, so close to closing.  I will miss you, CQ!!

Heidi Boyd Craft Excitement

Woven Labels Giveaway

• Sometimes people ask where I get the woven labels with random words on them (not the custom-made labels with "Vacuuming the Lawn" but the other kind.)
• I bought some at Joann's but found many through variety packs on eBay, particularly the "Me and My Big Ideas" or MAMBI woven labels that I think are intended for scrapbooking (set up an eBay search alert if you want to buy some yourself).
• I am purging some of these labels because of my sewing room reorg; would you like any of these? If yes, just leave in the comments which one(s) you want and I am happy to mail them to you for free, even internationally.  They are very light and thin so I can mail them like a letter.  First come, first served.

Be well!