An FO and a Fail

So I finished the hat, and it looks great, just what my son wanted.

However I messed up on the sizing and it doesn't fit!!


I did not take into account that quilting the fabric would reduce the size of the opening, so sadly I went out again today to get the supplies to make another one.

Oh well, it might come in handy at some point.

Progress on the hat

This past week besides being extremely busy, I had a back pain flare up. Quilting is not good for my back so quilting the velvet for the wizards hat was delayed until today, since I'm happy to report the pain is almost gone.

I have used Simplicity 5512 many many times but this is the first time for the wizards hat. Since my son is now over 6 ft I had to modify the hat for size and also he did not want the scrunched tip so I made it shorter.

The picture is terrible but it shows the quilting. For the brim I spaced and cut the velvet before quilting the fabric but I made it work. The brim is quilted with cotton batting, which I had on hand and no backing. The crown has the velvet, batting and a lining.

I have to start painting my bedroom today so I hope that tonight I will be able to continue on the hat.

Here is the inspiration picture again.

Curious about BB creams?

I was! If you have been reading my blog for a while you can see that I don't wear a lot of makeup. I am fond of the natural look; of course as I've gotten older there are things that although may be natural I don't want them on display ;-). I get dark spots with a little bit of sun and we always get a little bit of sun in our daily life.  I prefer tinted moisturizers to foundation, I use foundation as a cover up.

Anyways, back to BB creams... The American market has been flooded with BB (beauty balm) creams  which claim to be better than tinted moisturizers so I decided to investigate.

In general the reviews for the BB creams in the states say that most formulas have little or no coverage, like a tinted moisturizer and most had a shiny finish that most of the reviewers set with powder. Some reviews said that the Asian BB creams are much better when it comes to coverage.

I have two Korean markets very close to my house and the second one I went to had a cosmetics counter with 4 different BB creams (two were IOPE brand). I tried them all and talked to the very nice lady behind the counter and she told me that BB creams have a natural finish and will not cover imperfections, so they wouldn't do much for dark spots. On my hand they all looked  a little different some with more pigment color than others but they all blended into my skin, giving me very light if any coverage but  they did even out my skin.

The biggest difference in my quick and dirty research? The Asian BB creams dried flat, no shine whatsoever, no greasy feel.

I ended up picking up the IOPE Air Cushion Sunblock Ex, Cover, SPF 50, which was recommended as having more coverage but still looking natural. Some reviewers put this product in the BB cream category.

Well I have been wearing it and  I love it, while still looking very natural it gives coverage to smooth out my color. It feels cool on the skin and very hydrating. Since I spent more than I usually do on skin care I'm so glad I'm this happy with it.

This and that

Yesterday afternoon I took time off. Time off from computer, exercising, cooking, cleaning...you get the idea. I sat on the couch and read magazines that had been piling on the mail table (Vogue Knitting, Vogue Patterns...didn't get to the new Burda!) and I finished reading the book for my book club. The book is the Paris Wife by Paula McLain and I enjoyed it very much. I will review it later over at Goodreads; although it is fiction it deals with Ernest Hemingway's first wife. Don't you love the shirtdress on the cover?

Courtesy of Amazon.com

I have been blocking the cardigan I'm knitting and now when I am reading to start putting it together to finish it.

 Filati Cardigan

I also will finish this quirky and fun little cushion I crocheted.

The pattern comes from Attic 24


I also cut a beautiful silk to make Burda   which I already had traced but because of the cut on sleeves I couldn't find wide enough fabric to use for it.  The silk is from Metro Textiles from a couple of years ago. I was very nervous cutting this out, my first time on a slippery silk. Of course I have used Bemberg rayon for many linings  but never silk.

I found a nice velvet at Joann's to use for my son's wizard hat. Rhonda was very generous in offering me her quilted fabric, but my son was set in black with blue accents. I will have to quilt the fabric to get the look he wants.

While at Joann's I saw that they had quilt fabrics on sale and I couldn't resist on getting these

they will be a quilt for my in-renovation bedroom. By the way if painting was just about painting it would be a piece of cake, the priming is what is killing me.

Today I'm working on the wizard's hat, since my son is home from school I will be able to try on the pattern and see how it fits him.

Happy sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting and reading everyone!

Quilted velvet fabric?

Photo from Talltoad.net

Hello everyone!

My son has asked me to reproduce a wizard's hat we saw at the MD Renaissance Festival this past weekend (they wanted $50 yikes!). I have looked through my usual internet sources but haven't seen any quilted velvet. I know I can quilted but was hoping to find it ready for me just to cut and sew.

I am grateful if you can point me in the right direction!

Vogue 1250

Recently Catherine reviewed this dress saying that she was probably the last person to make this, well...now I'm the last!

I was hesitating to make this one because the pattern pieces were oddly shaped and I knew that I needed to add at the hip. Below you can see how I did it.

It wasn't difficult, I traced the shape of  the dart and then placed the tracing under the tissue paper to retrace at the spot where it would give me the extra ease I needed at the side.  I really like how the dress turned out, I hope to make more. What made me decide to go for it? At NYC  PR weekend, I was able to try on the dress since Karen had made it; even though it was tight around the hips, I really liked how the bodice looked.

The fabric is a rayon knit that I loved on Carolyn and ordered right away. From her post I can see I aged it a bit ;-)

Vogue 1250 has been made many many times, so I wont reviewed it over at PR since I have really nothing earth shattering to add.

I braved going outside in 90 degree weather and killer mosquitoes so I wore the dress with sandals. I'm looking forward to wearing it in the fall with fall appropriate shoes/accessories. If you haven't made it go for it, really I think it looks better in person than in pictures!