This past week was a week of firsts for my family.

My oldest son moved to college, granted he is maximum 20 min away, but still it is a huge change for us. He is doing great and has been very good about sharing with us. I know it will get easier for me with time =)

My youngest son started high school. He is a wonderfully responsible individual so I am not worried about his success there. It is still a new school with new rules to learn and the poor guy caught a cold and was out yesterday so now he has work to make up.

I also started a new job, actually another part time job. I am now also a teacher's assistant at our community college. The class is intermediate Spanish. It is a good way for me to get in the classroom, like I wanted, and then hopefully get a better position.

With the start of school also starts theater sewing and that is always fun. I'm looking forward to getting involved in the fall production Twelfth Night. It looks like the costumes will be modern but I still don't have details.

I did start sewing Vogue 1250 which I think everyone has done. I will share with you how I handled adding extra room at the hip with this unusual pattern shape (no side seams).

I am also in the middle of painting my bedroom, but it has been slow going because of the busy week. Today I'm home so hopefully I will get some more done.

Next time more sewing!

Burda 7364

I continue sewing for summer I guess I'm not ready to let it go yet. I bought this pattern last year but didn't get around to making it and now I was inspired to use leftover from another Burda dress and an ITY knit that I purchased during NY PR weekend.

I love how easy to wear this dress is. I inserted elastic at the waist instead of the elastic/cord combination that the pattern instructs you to do.

I have plans to make up the cardigan also.

I also took some ease off the bodice since when I tried it on there was just too much around the armhole; if you look at the picture that it's how it is designed but I didn't like it on me like that.

I also raised the neckline almost an inch.

 

Neckline binding
 

 

Pattern matching, not perfect but close enough ;-)
 

Vogue 1247 The top

 For the top of this very popular pattern I used a very lightweight linen from Michael's fabrics that my mom had given me; she made a beautiful tunic with this fabric years ago.

I believe this pattern needs  a  drapier  fabric than mine even though this was one of the recommended fabrics. As you can see there is poofiness going on with my top.

While I will wear the top it is really nice for hot weather, it is not the most figure flattering top I own. Like I said before I think this needs a softer fabric.

So in full disclosure the below pictures show how this top looked on me when I was done with it, yikes!! The neckline had stretched out and I thought I could fix it by taking it in front center above the waist, which gave me that nice peak right on my belly, not an attractive look.  Of course the rectangular shape of the design did not do me any favors.

 

So I removed the binding in the front pieces, stay stitched plus the neckline and brought back to its original length. I also undid the front seam to take in the same amount above and below the waist. Of course there were all the french seams meeting at center front that had to be partially redone.

I also added a lingerie holder at the shoulders to keep the neckline in place.

Looking back I should have taken into account the very wide neckline in this design which is hard for me to pull off with my narrow shoulders and I should have thought more about my fabric choice. I won't be rushing out to make another but I'm glad I was able to save this one since I do really like the fabric.

What I'm knitting

 Although I still have knitted garments that need seaming, I didn't have anything on my needles (well I have a "Missoni" style scarf that is my easy portable project) so I started this cardigan in the spring planning I would have it for the summer to use in air conditioned rooms. The pattern is from Filati Pocket which has a great selection of styles from a number of their publications. I think this issue is still available at Barnes & Noble and Joann's.

I'm using a cotton yarn ,GGH Scarlett, which although a bit splitty, has a very pretty shine and drapes like I hope it would. This design is a nice change from the lace top I worked on before. The only deviation from stockinette stitch is the lace detail on the sleeves.

I finished the top from Vogue 1247, pictures to come later. I also have planned the next project, still summer sewing.

Just one more...I went to Ikea to buy some bedding for my oldest move to a dorm in the fall and couldn't resist this embroidered pillow. The hydrangeas are from my garden and the Dr. Seuss was a gift from the Seussical production team signed by all the kids =). In the background is a diorama made by my oldest in photo class and a picture of my boys from long ago. After I took the picture I realized there were quite a few things in it that make me smile so I had to share.