A Premature Announcement

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might notice I have a teensy problem with follow through. I start out with the best of intentions but the reality is I have sewing ADD. Projects catch my attention, I plan them out, and then once it's fully formed and I own enough to get started, my addled brain moves on like a regal tang that has realized that the tops of jellyfish are bouncy.

So I'm a little reluctant to go blathering here and yet I'm entirely too excited about this project to keep my mouth shut. I suppose my hope is that putting it out there to the universe, or at least the blogging world will keep my attention from straying.

You see, I discovered Marfy patterns a few years ago. They are an entirely too lovely line of patterns all the way from Italy. The lines are elegant, gorgeous, the styling unlike anything you'll find here in the states, and entirely devoid of seam allowances or even directions. That's right. These patterns have no directions. They are a puzzle to anyone but the most experienced of sewists. That's seamstress grade knowledge right there and I am completely lacking in such things.

I bought one right then because I'm a sucker. Despite it being a rather easy little A line skirt, it's been sitting in my stash ever since. Probably because it is an A line skirt. I mean how boring when you think about it. But I don't want to think about it. I want to think about all of the gorgeous patterns offered on the Marfy site and I want to dream about the day I will be brave experienced enough to give one of these bad boys a try.

Marfy 2751

Marfy 2410

Marfy 2268

And will you look at that, I just happened to stumble upon A Challenging Sew, a blog that's in the process of doing a Marfy sewalong. And not just any sewalong but a Marfy sewalong featuring three very free, very beautiful, perfectly coordinating patterns with all of the proper handholding one might need to throw together a perfectly coordinating Marfy suit.

See for yourself!

Le.Sigh.

I can do this, right? 

You'll make me do this, yes?

Oh goodie!

I mean, do you die?

I die. I truly, truly die.

So when to start? Everyone knows if you don't set a start date, you have no hope. Or maybe procrastinators know this. Of course a date doesn't mean you will accomplish anything but it does up your chances. Or so I've heard. That's a lot of sentences that start with O, isn't it?

YES, I'M STALLING.

Okay. I can do this. 

I, The Hot Mess, more or less, (hopefully less in this case) do so solemnly swear to embark on the wondrous journey that will be the Marfy Free Pattern Challenge. I will muslin up, use my stash, and sew one carefully crafted three piece suit with Italian flair sometime in the near future to start September 1st if not sooner. I will not allow myself to be discouraged by the fact that this arbitrarily chosen start date is also the anniversary of the beginning of WWII. Bad juju is not real. The gloriousness of Marfy Patterns is. Other people have done it as evidenced by this blog. And so can I.

I CAN DO IT!

I'm in so much trouble.

Peas Porridge Hot

During my recent sewing frenzy, I neglected my poor unfortunate garden. The peas are in desperate need of trellising, the beans in need of mulching, and I better find poles for my pole beans to climb less they wrap their graceful grasping tentacles around my onions. I'm a wee bit ashamed of myself for letting things get out of hand, but that's how we lazy people procrastinators roll.

Not all is gloom and doom, however. Things are happening out there, albeit rather slowly, as gardens tend to do. I went out there the other day to inspect my little babies and wonder of wonders, there are green, nearly edible things cropping up out there.

First up, the tomatoes. Really, I have no idea what kind they are. Grape? Cherry? Who knows? I think gophers stole the plant identification tag. We have gophers in Georgia, don't we?

If you squint really hard, you might see the baby squash at the base of, oh who am I kidding? I think that's the wrong picture of the wrong squash plant. You'll just have to trust me when I say that out there in the wilderness of The Hot Mess garden, there's a plant with some baby budding squash out there.

Is that a future ear of corn? I feel all verklempt, almost like the first time I saw an ultrasound pic of my baby. That's not weird at all.

I still only have enough peas to eat them by the hand straight off the vine. This is no great loss as far as my youngest is concerned. I think raw peas straight out of the garden might be right up there with salt water taffy and starburst on the list of things pudding likes to eat. See for yourself.

A Girl in White

Girls' 1914 Dress by Sense and Sensibility Patterns

Pattern Description: Girls' dress based on shapes and styles of the late Edwardian Era. Dress features a slightly raised waist with gathers, back closure, and has options for short puffed sleeves, capped sleeves, and long sleeves.

Pattern Sizing: Pattern includes sizes 1-10

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Aside from my changes, yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they were. But I adapted the pattern to use heirloom techniques so I didn't follow them strictly.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the wide range of sizes available and the thick paper used for printing the pattern. Also, it's quite rare to find patterns like this. If you want to sew historically accurate-ish clothing for children, your primary option is to use the patterns of the era. If they aren't laid out and crisscrossed all over each other crammed into a dusty old text, they still come with the expectation that you've been sewing since you were short and can turn out a gown like Ma Ingalls before Laura's wedding. So it's nice to have historical patterns for the modern sewist.

Fabric Used: Swiss dot from Hancock's for the main body. The laces came from Martha Pullen Company, most acquired during their recent warehouse sale. I ran out of time to make buttonholes so I used lace tape from Martha Pullen Company to stabilize the edges and used Kam Snaps to close it available here.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: In addition to using heirloom techniques, I created a square neckline with mitered lace trim. I cut the cap sleeve pattern but lengthened it. I also cut a full skirt instead of one tapered toward the waist as the pattern indicated. I'd planned to taper the waist but I was headed for the homestretch and got ahead of myself. By the time it was attached, yeah, that bad boy was not going to be pulled out.

As mentioned above, I used snaps instead of buttons, again, an issue of time restraint as well as error. The pattern runs small, imo. I measured her first and chose a size based on those measurements but the fit was still rather close even without the slip. It's my fault for not doing a muslin but procrastinators do what they must. Snaps it was.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would sew it again if asked but I can't see a need for this kind of dress for pinky. But I'd definitely recommend it to others looking for a similar style with the caveat to either make a muslin or make it a size larger than the pattern indicates, perhaps even two if you want room to grow.

Conclusion: I love this dress. Can I just say what a prideful, shameful person I am? I'm supposed to be focusing on a big spiritual day for my daughter, when she affirms her faith and becomes a member of the church. All I could think though, was DAMN THAT LACE HEM LOOKS GOOD!

It's a good thing Jesus loves me.

Fresh Growing Things

"If you look at it the right way, you can see the whole world is a garden."

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Why I'm not doing Me Made May '14

Because I don't wanna, that's why?

Okay, so that's not true. I would love to do MMM. But when I thought about my wardrobe I realized, meh, there's not a whole lot in there I want to wear every day. I have quite a few things I like to wear to church but generally, I wear it already. Sot it's not really a challenge to continue on business as usual.

Instead, I've decided to give myself a companion challenge. Instead of making an "I shall endeavor to wear" challenge, I will make myself a "prepare for Self Stitched September" challenge.

I, Hot Mess, shall endeavor to make an unspecified amount of casual wear between now and the end of summer in hopes of having enough handmade creations to spend a month wearing at least three handmade garments a week for all of September.

How does that sound?

Btw, please ignore my rather prominent behind and focus on that gorgeously albeit wrinkly blouse. Yes, yes, I made that. Turns out I blogged about how I was going to make it but not that I actually succeeded. So now is as good a time as any.

Pattern Description: Simplicity 2147 is a tunic/dress pattern with sleeves and yoke in one.

Pattern Sizing: Size 12 US/34 Bust

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? As far as I remember

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that the sleeves and yoke were all in one pattern piece. Not only does it make it a quick sew, but it's a rather convenient feature if you want to add some heirloom sewing techniques.

Fabric Used: A touch of Swiss dot from Hancock's and a  pima cotton batiste that I'm sure I bought at my local quilt shop but may have bought from Farmhouse. You can find a similar one here. The laces are a mix, some from Farmhouse, some from Martha Pullen Company.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I opted to go with lace insertion to somewhat mimic the style of Pinky's Easter dress last year. This involves piecing strips of lace together until you have a length that fits the pattern piece you'd like to use. You cut your pattern piece out and then you carry on.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Oh yes. I lost the pattern pieces to an entirely too inquisitive dog so I bought a new one. I think my next one shall be worked into my personal challenge. It did come out short though. I really wish I could remember if that was my fault. I'll be sure to let you guys know when I make it again. I planned to wear it as a dress that Easter morning but I ended up tucking it into a pair of pants as seen above. Speaking of tucks, it's too long for a tunic as well so I plan to put a few tucks into the hem so I can wear it with jeans.

Conclusion: A ridiculously easy pattern with simple shapes, very few pieces and a ton of opportunities for customization. Maybe one day I'll make an embroidered version with bright flowers across the yoke. For now, a plaid version beckons. Are you scared?

So any Me Made Mayers out there? Are you tsking your head in shame?

Look at all of the pretty green!

The warm weather is still taking it's sweet time but I'm not complaining. For starters, our AC unit needs a tune up, and secondly, the peas and the lettuce like it a bit cooler. We've also had quite a bit of raining which has resulted in all of this gorgeousness cropping up every where.

All of my tomato plants have blossoms. As does one of my squash plants and my tomatillo. The peppers like hale and hearty, the lettuce is growing more quickly than I imagined.

My only loss was that of two broccoli plants. They were wee little things without even enough for one serving so I let them go thinking they would grow bigger. Instead, they became spindly, woody, and eventually, blew up into a bush of pale yellow flowers. I'm sure I'm not the only one who referred to them as trees as a kid. Well guess what? Those aren't baby leaves. They are little flower buds. I was committing floricide in my mouth.

The horror!!

Anyway, we've pulled it. Nothing to see or eat there but hopefully, space for a watermelon plant.

In the meantime, let us remember poor broccoli, who did such a wonderful job growing nice and strong but unfortunately, suffered at the hands of a gardening newbie who let him go past his prime.

I'm sorry, mr Broccoli. I'm sure you'd have been tasty had I picked you when I supposed to. Instead, you've shrank away into a woody stem.

RIP, my brassica friend

The Audrey Dress

Every year on Palm Sunday, our church does an Easter egg hunt. Since we weren't going to be in town for Easter this year, I decided this would be the perfect occasion to make Pinky a dress for spring. Unfortunately, you won't be getting an Easter egg hunt shots as it's difficult to coordinate an event and take pictures at the same time. It's one of the drawbacks of being so involved with a church ministry.

I do, however, have pictures from Sunday when Pinky decided to wear the dress for her first youth class appearance since her confirmation. (More on that to come, btw. I outdid the hell out of myself and I'm pleased as punch. As a bonus, it fits in with the Historic Sewing Fortnightly. Score!)

So let's talk about the details, shall we? To start, it's the Audrey pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop, a company that makes PDF patterns for children. Now I won't lie. I have beef with the majority of PDF pattern companies. We'll just say I'm generally not a fan. However, the offering for patterns in pinky's size are rather slim from the Big 4 and can be rather expensive from other companies. I also didn't relish the idea of tracing out an Ottobre pattern given the time constraints I gave myself so the pdf would have to do. They are quick to download, easy to print out, and since the pattern that caught my eye had limited pieces it went together nicely.

So without further ado, here's my review of The Audrey Dress by Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.

Pattern Description: Audrey is a faux crossover bodice pattern with a full skirt and bias tape binding.

Pattern Sizing: It comes in sizes 3 months - 12 years and I cut the 10 for Pinky.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Pretty much

Were the instructions easy to follow? They would have been if I used them. But I really wasn't thrilled with the way the dress was meant to be worn and changed it.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I didn't like the lack of real closures. This is considered one of the bonuses of these types of patterns, that you can assemble them with no zippers, no buttonholes to make, no plackets to fuss with. It has a small opening in the back that closes with one button But quite frankly, I don't think that suits a dress that's meant to have a defined waist and a full skirt.

Fabric Used: aqua batiste from a local quilting shop and white eyelet from Joann's. The ribbon at the waist is also from Joanns. I believe it's made by Offray.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I omitted the bias binding. The ready made stuff sold in the big box stores is stiff and the color selection is limited. I decided instead to treat the batiste as a lining and used traditional methods to attach it. I also turned it into a real wrap dress and I added snaps to fasten it at the waist. I messed up my snap placement which has turned it into an adjustable waist should my child decide to grow out instead of her usual out.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?: I'm not sure I'd sewing again and I'd only recommend it to a newbie sewist I couldn't convince to give Oliver and S a try.

Conclusion: This dress was a sweet project that sewed up quickly. But I found myself wishing I'd stop being such a wuss about pattern drafting. A couple lines with a ruler and I could have taken the pattern for one of the traditional bodice dress patterns I own and come up with the same result.

Suffice to say, this pattern hasn't converted me to the world of pdfs. I'll use them because they're convenient but there are easily obtained and explained patterns that result in a much better fit.

Would you like to see a bonus shot of the baby?

He's not much of a baby anymore, is he?

The Burdens of My Heart

It's the season of Lent, a time to let go of our frustrations and focus on the good things God has done for us. Focus on your children, your health, the roof over your head and not the one and only corner of the online sewing community that has really worked to piss you off royally in this last three months.

Where do begin, where to begin? You see, I don't enjoy ranting and raving on my blog. I admit that it's one of my favorite pastimes and I excel in it, no really I do, but the internet is a cautionary tale in online rantings. You never know what will go viral. One day you're posting about organza vs organdy, and the next . . .

However, going on my third busted attempt to buy some damned fabric on FB and I'm really failing at my Lenten promise to give up yelling. This is actually my third blog post on the subject. The other two were just rambly as hell and made me look every bit as looney tunes as the people I'm dealing with.

What I'm struggling with here is how to explain the process of buying custom printed fabric via Facebook and you know what? I give up. I really, truly do because the hard truth here is despite the fact that these fabrics would make baby Jesus in the actual manger want to trade his swaddling clothes for brightly printed hipster foxes and mustaches, it should not take lines of text to explain how to order. If it does, you're doing it wrong.

And I was doing it wrong.

I'm still mad though. We'll talk about it later.

When you find something perfect

Spring, Spring, Spring!

The garden has been planted. Light and airy fabrics in all sorts of pastel shades have been floating through my doors. The windows are open. The days are warmer. And now, there's a beautiful spring wreath on my door.

And a pretty floral arrangement on my bathroom sink.

I'm just going to pretend that spring isn't the time of year that ruins my sense of smell and causes my eyes to leak death and destruction.

Instead, we'll focus on the positive.

GAME OF THRONES RETURNS TONIGHT!

Joffrey better bite it.