Sewing / Cutting table inspiration

Have you ever seen something and you have an Ah-Ha! Moment? Well, I did. I was reading Victoria’s blog   and she posted on something she saw that struck her as brilliant. She took us over to Brooke Wilkerson's blog. She took 12 IKEA LACK tables and stacked them to make this wonderful cutting / sewing table. I checked the IKEA website and the white ones are $9.99 each (even here in Canada). 

Here is what she created. Sheer genius, n'est pas?

I love the height of the tables, the depth of the table, the storage area beneath and the fact that it is held together by Velcro and can be dismounted easily. My current table is a fold up table from Canadiantire. It is too low, too narrow for my sewing table. This IKEA hack will allow me to have my sewing space while still being practical and affordable. My sewing space doubles as a play room and entertaining area. When we have people over I remove my tables. When we have large dinner parties we set up long tables in my sewing area. This idea will still allow us to do that!

Thank you both for sharing this WONDERFUL idea! Now, to save up $$$ for this. 

Jalie 2908 Stretch Jeans

This week I started Jalie's Stretch Jeans, pattern 2908. Simon and I went to Tonitex and picked up a nice stretch denim for $6 a meter. This made me reconsider my position on Tonitex. Simon suggested that we go there from now on. I think he has a good point! 

I took my measurements, waist 29 and hips 37. I cut out a “S”. I hope they are not too small. I know in the Big 4 patterns, I am a 10. If I go by the measurement charts, I would be a size 14, but from experience that is WAY TOO BIG. This is my first women’s pattern for Jalie, so we will see. They do not appear to be too large. They may be tight, however. I was going to do a muslin, but I decided against it. I had this vision of me knowing what to do once I made this muslin, then reality came back. Perhaps taking a course on pant fitting next year would be an asset. I have no idea about crotch depth and curvature!

Simon was SUPER awesome and he picked up the kids for me. That way I could go straight home and sew. What a sweetie-pie! He took them to the park and played. I was able to accomplish a lot! I tried designing a pattern for the back pockets and realized that I did not like the results. I would need to tinker a lot more before I commit to designing a back pocket. I have a new Janome Memory craft 8200, so I am sure I can arrange something fabulous, but not today.

The back pockets were simple to construct and place on. The more you practice something, the easier it becomes. I got confused on the front pocket illustration and had to rip out my seams. 

This will be my 4^th fly that I have completed. The last time it was a breeze! Let’s hope tonight it will be as well.

Now in number 13 and 14 it appears that you sew all around, no? oops, no, look at 15. This is where I finished up the other night. I undid my stitches and laid it out flat. Then I pinned on the top and it now looks like #15. Sam has his first ear infection (now we know why he was so grumpy!) so I have not had the opportunity to sew as much as I would like. After a few hours of grumpy and crying I can no longer concentrate eek! Tonight Simon is picking up the kids again (love that Hubby!) and I will have a few hours of uninterrupted sewing time. I plan on getting the front pockets completed and the fly. Wish me luck!

I figured out the pockets quite easily. I fixed my mistake and after that it went pretty smoothly. The pants are taking quite a bit of time as I have to sew in bits and pieces. I try to get at least 45 minutes in before I make dinner. That is if Simon is home and he can take care of the kids. I am now making the tabs for the belt and will attach them and then the waistband. I tried on the jeans and they fit! Yippee! I like that I chose the higher waist. We will have to see if it is too high. I am tired of having jeans that are too low and I am constantly hiking them up. I am not 18 and letting "it all hang out", so sometimes low rise is just too low.

I have made a number of pants now and the fly construction is terrorizing me way less. I think after this pair I can consider myself an expert on this section. I am glad that I am perfecting my technique!

Summer PJ's for the boys

The warm weather is upon us, and it looks like it is going to stay! I must say I am loving this, but it has caught me by surprise. I do not know why, it is not like we had a lot of snow, nor has it been cold lately. I’m just not that organized this year I guess. Too much going on.

I have gone through the boy’s clothes and took out the clothing that was for winter. I just haven’t taken out the summer garments yet. Tyler has a few short PJ bottoms, but not many. And I KNOW we have some for Sam, I just can’t find the size 2 clothing bin at the moment. PROJECT!

I have the perfect pattern for PJ’s and I have the pattern traced out for Tyler’s size already, Simplicity’s 9499. I can bang out a shirt and short in no time at all! I will make sure I get the most out of this pattern. It gives you both the children's sizes and the adult sizes. Make sure to trace the pattern to keep it for a LONG time!

I plan to use this pattern to make Tyler's splash pants that we bought the material for, and then that night I finally found his splash pants tucked away. 

New Look Workroom 6120 Misses' Dress

When I saw this pattern I had to have it! I love the simplicity of the dress and the neckline. She looks fierce, and I could picture me in this. I have had this in my stash for a while along with the material, but it isn't really a dress one can wear in the winter. Not with the silky material I have.












Simon and I cut out the perfect material for this pattern! The pink will be for the sash. I hope that we chose to place the pattern in the most flattering placement of the fabric.



I thought this dress would be lickity-split easy. I am tired (teething toddler in the house), and there are a few steps they do not write down. They show it in their illustrations, but they don't tell you to do it. Thank goodness I knew better, otherwise I would have been lost.

I tried sewing the bias tape on the neck by machine and it turned out horribly! My sewing teacher helped me take it off. Seeing as we had only 30 minutes left to our class and the whole class I basically spent doing this, she took pity on me and pinned it back for me. She showed me how to sew a neck binding on by hand. MUCH BETTER! But it does take much more time. That is ok, I want to learn the finishing touches, and they take time.

I took a whole 3 hour sewing class to get to the pockets. Working with silky material is difficult. You can't be in a rush. I finished the top part, surged and all! The hem is so much easier to do when you serge the edges first. I rolled it up the first time, pinned it and did not like what I saw. I unpinned it and took my time. I have learned to S-L-O-W down. I have way too many sewing projects on my list. The object now is not to plow through them all to learn, but rather to learn attention to details. Hopefully I will get this done for my last sewing class next week!

Finally finished! 

I finally finished this dress! I took my sweet time with this project. The silky material is hard to work woth if you are not used to it. I pinned everything, then basted it before sewing. That way my material did not shift. I used a walking foot, which is a must.

What I really like about this pattern is the belt, which surprises me. I am not a belt person, but the shape of it and the wrap around is nice and feels comfortable.

Due to the nature of the material one must wear a slip or else run the risk of static cling! The skirt did not hang properly, but put a slip and that is corrected.

Dedicated, uninterrupted sewing time is a luxury these days

My sewing instructor informed me 2 weeks ago that there may not be a Spring session for Friday evenings. I spoke with Simone as we had decided that I did not need to take another sewing class this spring session. My last sewing class will be April 26^th. With this date LOOMING ahead I got to imagining what the next few months would be like. I find it rather difficult to get 3 hours of uninterrupted sewing time for myself at home. I have 2 young boys (19 months and 5 yrs old) who are rather active. For those of you who have young children, you will understand my dilemma. I want the quiet time, the reflection time, and the dedicated time. These 3 hours are precious to me. It allows me to work on my projects in an environment where I can concentrate, where there are no distractions. I love that and I do not know if I can give it up.

I took to the internet to find another sewing class. Perhaps I want a newer challenge. One where the class is structured, one where I can build my sewing techniques. Perhaps lingerie or bathing suits. Club Tissue offers a bathing suit course, but it has already started. They do have a class on Tissue Extensible (stretch material) but I already know how to make leggings, shirts and a skirt. I would like to perhaps make lingerie. Va-Va-Voom! The problem is that these courses are in Laval, at 18h30. I live in Pincourt, off-Island westward = 2 bridges to cross at rush hour = MAJOR TRAFFIC.

I have 2 kids at 2 different daycares to pick up, go home, start dinner, wait for hubby, UGHHHHH But if it is for 5 weeks it is something maybe I can deal with. Maybe.

All of this uncertainty has made me anxious. I enjoy my sewing time and I am not ready to give it up. I cannot find any classes in my area, and I am at a loss of what to do. Simon suggested that I do take the next session, if it is available. Do any of you know of any sewing classes in the West end? Given in the evenings or weekend?