Kittys Drawings

Hi Everyone!

My readers who sew have probably seen a lot of Sewaholic Cambie dresses about on the internetz lately. I too, was one of the fortunate ones to be picked by Tasia to test her latest pattern.
And I’m so glad I got the opportunity because I’m now a complete convert and want to buy some of her other patterns too!

I chose the A-Line version of the skirt to make up since we’re heading into winter here and I wanted something I could wear to work that was warm and also office appropriate. I had the perfect fabric in my stash too – Pretty sure this is a wool blend of some sort – with not too much wool – just enough to make pressing easy. It’s got a very fine houndstooth pattern which is a b**** to photograph, and I used a black satin (probably poly) for the straps. The lining is that grey cotton voile stuff I’ve had forever which is perfect for linings but is now sadly all gone.

There are so many awesome things about this pattern! It’s a super flattering style which really is very versatile as Tasia mentions. I will definitely be making the full skirt version after seeing so many pretty floral ones made up by others (links below).

It has POCKETS. I cut mine on the opposite angle compared to the rest of the dress and while the effect is very subtle, I think it’s pretty neat.

It was SO easy to make – seriously. It took me a single day to knock this out – including the lining and finishing. The zipper is half done by hand half not….I sewed it in according to Tasia’s instructions at first, but because I didn’t use an invisible zip, it still needed a fold to cover the teeth. So I did the rest like a hand picked zipper. The instructions are really clever too and I learnt quite a few tips and tricks while making it.

The sizing is perfect for me. I made a size 2 which didn’t need a single alteration – not even in the length. Awesome huh!

I wear this to work a lot now – It’s so comfortable and fits really well.

Now I’m going to see if I can round up some links of the other Cambie dresses – they’re also on Tasia’s site but I’ll put them here too.

Tasia’s bright floral linen
Scruffy Badger Time made 2!!
Knitter’s Delight used a retro looking print
Molly made a beautiful full skirted floral one
Doortje’s stunning eyelet cotton  (wow – new blog to read too!)
Amy in a delicate floral voile (thank you Google for another blog)

Okay – that’s as many as I could find on Google – If there are any others out there, let me know – I love seeing how each person has made theirs.

Other news: Right now I’m finishing of a dress – still petrified of my coat….and….Going to do lots of fabric cutting soon. This weekend we’ve been rearranging the house in prep for our dining table, so my desk has shifted a bit. Also, I tidied my sewing area a little and my patterns are more easily accessible.

Til soon!

Hi Everyone

I’m catching up on a bit of sewing posts. It’s been TWO WEEKS since I last wrote. Gosh the time is flying. I really do have less time to blog these days. And draw. Still not getting anywhere with the drawing. I actually have some paid work to do this weekend so right after this is written I’m gonna go and earn some money.

So here is a dress I made a looong time ago now. The one I polled everyone about whether I should go the bare midriff option. And so I did. I loved the dress when I made it but I kind of hate it now. It’s all my own fault though really – I made it with like, zero ease…so while it fits around the waist, the nature of the pattern and these damn side closures means it’s a struggle to get it over my shoulders without seriously stressing the seams. If I made it looser, I don’t think it would look so good since any gaping would be very noticeable.

It’s such a cute dress though and the fabric is so awesome (another Savers find, remember?).

Some notes that usually go with my sewing posts:

• Totally love the contrasting fabrics!
• I made my own bias tape for this. I botched it a bit – just don’t look too closely okay.
• The skirt is from another pattern because I wanted fullness and did not have a wide enough fabric for the semi-circle this pattern calls for.
• It’s 10 gores! Woah. I love them though. And they’re all French seamed. That’s a lot of thread!
• I used snaps again for the side closure. Still much neater than a zip.
• This dress is really falling apart
• Not many bras are suitable! Eep
• The fabric marker I was using stained it. Grrr – those are supposed to wash out.

*sigh* I have such mixed feelings about this. It gets a fair few looks when I wear it out…mostly cos  of the ‘hole’ in it. The Mr doesn’t like it because of this hole. Haha. I dont know if these pale pastels suit me? It’s a bit meh.

Anyways – it’s done now.

Things I’m working on at the mo…. A skirt and a dress. One is green – that really cool Advance pattern with the bustle and the buttons. The other is a purple floral wiggle dress made of cotton. Desperate need of a summer work wardrobe. It’s gonna be a scorcher this year I think.

WELL.

I better go and not faff around so much.

Seeyas!

Hi All!!

Here’s the latest sewing project all finished. I’ve jumped ahead a couple cos this wasn’t the one I was intending to show you, but I was wearing this Saturday (and Friday haha) so I took pics of this instead. This is possibly the quickest dress I’ve ever made, and I even lined the bodice – so if you skipped that, it’s SUPER easy….That said, I think lining is quicker than facings.

Some Notes:

• It’s made from a sheet – Possibly! Nicole from Circa thinks it might not be as the cotton is fairly thick.
• I shortened it a bit
• I didn’t add the scallops on the bottom because I can’t figure out how to shorten the circle skirt without changing the circumference of the hem, thus needing to change the pattern piece for the scallops (hard to explain!)
• Only the bodice is lined
• This has a side zipper but it isn’t closed at the top so it’s really easy to get into.
• It’s the perfect, comfy summer dress!
• I didn’t need to change the pattern at all except the length

(look at the surge of kitties hehehee)

After reading Elyse’s post on her first Spring sewing project, I notice that I have wrinkles on the bodice of my dress too. I answered her question by saying it could be the lining competing for space…Which could also be the case for my dress as I used the same size lining as the outer pieces. I’m not sure? It doesn’t bother me too much though.

Guess what? I made the green belt I’m wearing too Using a kit from A Fashionable Stitch, I covered the belt backing in some green fabric and hand-sewed it all together. Covering the buckle was a bit fiddly though. It comes with a sticky piece of card that you attach your fabric to and then the other side sticks to the metal front of the buckle. Then you jam in the bottom of the buckle with some pliers. I botched it a little bit but you can’t really tell when I’m wearing it. Then I had to rush out and buy an awl and the Mr helped me bash in the eyelets.
I think I’ll be making simpler slide belts next – eyelets are a PITA.
I’m majorly in love with that green fabric I used. It’s such a perfect shade – and matches my dress so well. I have enough left to make a skirt…And the pattern is coming in the mail so it should hopefully arrive shortly.

After making this dress I think I’m going to hold off on all the DRESSES for a while. Need to make lots more separates – so skirts and tops for my new job (staring tomorrow!!! Eeeep)…but first the ROBE in pink seersucker – or plissé – I’m not sure which it is actually. Yes, there is a difference. More on that later ;-P

Okay so I better run!!

Hi All!
A quick drawing and a quick post today.

This one took me a few hours (maybe 4?)….Using reference as usual. I loved the light and the fairly simple tones in this.

Typical nose frustrations. That’s what I’ll be working on next. Noses. More noses. More!

Other news…busy busy as per usual. Trying to push through some motivation issues.

It should be a sewing post next? I’m pottering along with a few things. My frenzy has died down to a mild simmer.

Okay – well this is short/long enough. Til next time!!
(sorry for not being wordy today!)

Hi!
So the zip is fixed and I can wear my new dress. Yay!
Here’s some gratuitous ME shots – with Puss getting in the way as usual.

Scuse my dumb head

Look at that regrowth! Arrrgh – gettin it FIXED on the 22nd – still way too far away!

Yay scallops

So there ya go. Overall I’m pretty pleased. It’s a bit shonky but hey it didn’t fall apart on me when I wore it today.

Bya!

Hi!

Guess what? I totally WON the dinner with Audrey! Woooo!! It was a pretty splendid night and I did actually manage to hold some conversation. My photos suck – so I’ll be posting those as well as Jonny’s good ones later. But today I have some drawing completed. Another piece where I was all gung-ho at first…then I abandoned it…then I finished it just to be done with it.

Next time, I think I’ll be ready to attempt something original. And spend more hours on it. Definitely have got the hang of Corel Painter’s tools – now to get over my own self-sabotage.
Some work in progress and (shitty) detail shots….

Not a very high level of detail but whatevs…NEXT.

Seeya’s round (Audrey post up soon)

Yaaay finally some work!
Okay so it’s utterly shit.
But that wasn’t my intention to create something great. Trying to pick up the Corel Painter skillz again…trying some new things. I drew this without any initial sketch – something I realised I should be doing after finding it so liberating dropping the linework at life drawing. I was getting all stressed about getting the perfect line all this time, and yet I feel more comfortable pushing blocks of colour around.
The only problem now (there’s always a problem), is that Corel Painter doesn’t behave the way I want it to. Or more so, I haven’t figured out how to make it behave the way I want it to. Hrrmph. *whinge whinge whinge*

ANYWAY….so I started off happy with this…and then when I got to the face it all went bad. And I pottered around….and then I thought “F*** it, just FINISH IT”….the more I do the better I will get huh.
Took about 3 hours all up….copying directly from a Gil Elvgren painting.

And I’m a bit obsessed with pinups right now – I like the skin tones and the shapely legs. Legs are fun to draw/paint. I can hear my ConceptArt readers (think I still have a few of those?) screaming “But the anatomy!!!!”. Hehee – I won’t argue against that – have you seen how small the feets are in these paintings? But oh well….it’s practice.

So here’s the drawing…

Also – not something I usually do, I’ve added some inspiration pics…and the original. So you can see just how much I failed

Til next time…