I finally got my sewing mojo back (very excited about a lot of designs in Burda Style magazine!) but life has kept me from sewing. It is the start of the spring semester so I have been attending seminars/professional development/training sessions, filling out paperwork, coordinating schedules and now doing lessons plans. My oldest left for school yesterday so I spent most of my day getting him ready. Also the school musical is moving along and costumes are going to be made. Of course these are just the extras all the regular stuff also has to be kept up =O.

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed yesterday, especially when I realized that we had stripped my son's bed in school at the end of the semester to wash all the bedding and I did not see it at all during the break and still has yet to be found. I'm thankful that I had given an extra set of sheets but mattress cover and duvet cover are missing. Where is the stuff???

So...School musical Wizard of Oz....patterns I will use...

This looks like a bear with the dark color fur!!

I will be making Dorothy's and the Cowardly Lion for now the others have to be decided. We might have a dress that I can add to for Glinda, but I still have yet to actually see what the rentals look like in person.

I requested fur samples and I'm waiting for those and I think I can get most I need at Fabric.com and Joann's.

I apologize that I haven't kept up reading all the wonderful blogs I follow and hopefully once I get into my routine this semester I will be able to keep up again. By the way I had to remove my blog list since it was giving virus alerts when readers using Chrome would try to access my blog, Blogger!! I will have to play with it again and see if it was a temporary bug with Blogger.

Looking forward to a new normal!

Inspired by a Cynthia Rowley top

 Don't ask me why but I saw this Cynthia Rowley top at Macy's and I loved it. I think it was $60 on sale and there was no way I was going to pay that. I instantly thought of the plaid knit you see in my garment,  I bought it from Gorgeous Fabrics a while ago (Ann now has other plaid knits available). There wasn't much left and since placement mattered with this fabric I had left it for when inspiration struck.  The grey knit was in my stash also, no idea where it came from!

For my version I used Vogue 1261 which I have made before as the basis. I added width to the sleeves, which are pretty narrow in this pattern.

 I remembered seeing the Hot Cocoa Sweater pattern in a blog (it's free!) and I had liked how the back was longer than the front but in a gentle curve so I used the bottom of  this pattern to shape my hem and then measured and cut a band to fit. I also added cuffs to the sleeves and cut a wider band for the neckline than the recommended width in the Vogue pattern.

As you can see my version is longer than the inspiration and the neckline not as high. I'm very happy with mine I think my changes make this top more versatile.

This top was finished before the New Year but just got to wear it yesterday for the first time. I'm glad I had it to show you since no sewing has been going on. I have been knitting but I can't decide what to sew next and it has paralyzed my mojo, anyone familiar with this?

Simple Laptop Sleeve

Yesterday I finished the laptop envelope for DS2. DS1 received his at Christmas but my youngest didn't like any of the fabrics I had for his. When I told Andrea that I was having trouble finding a fabric he liked she mentioned she had a dragon print in black, red and gray that maybe my son would like since she knows he is big into fantasy. She sent a picture and he loved it! So I ran to Joann's and I couldn't find it so Andrea, a dear that she is, went to her local Joann's, bought it and mailed it to me!

I used an excellent tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew! . The only thing that I did different was to fuse the fleece to the lining instead of the fashion fabric. The fabric for DS1 is textured and the fusible fleece would have crushed it. It is a great tutorial that  can be used for any size rectangular shaped device, she gives a little formula to figure out the panel sizes to cut.

This was a quick and satisfying project, don't forget practical too! I feel a little better that the kids have an extra layer of protection on their computers when they are transporting them.

¡Feliz Día de los Reyes!

Have you seen CBS Elementary?

 While I lay around hoping this cold gets better, I watched the newest episode of Elementary and then started to search for info on the wardrobe worn by Lucy Liu, who plays Joan Watson, Sherlock's companion.

Can I just tell you how much I love the clothes? Love, love, love

 Of course I'm going to sew inspired garments! I already have a top I finished before the New Year and it is waiting to be worn and shared. I'll tell you how that top came to be and although the inspiration did not come from the show, I believe it fits right in.

The one piece I was smitten with is this dress

The dress by designer Yigal Azrouel

On the show Ms Liu wears it with a button down white shirt ( I figured out how to do screen shots!) and it is just perfect. I have never heard of the designer but I am in love with so many of the pieces! I am going to try to reproduce it, with a more modest length of course.

A couple of more outfits

 This site has a lot of pictures and info about the show and  a how-to-get-the-look using rtw.

Anyways hope you enjoyed the ramblings of my congested head ! =)

What I made in 2012

As usual I made more Burda Style and Burda patterns than any other, just love their style and fit.
I left out one Vogue top that came out huge and needs to be worked on to be wearable.

Como siempre usé mas patrones de Burda Style y de los de sobre que ningún otro. Me encanta su estilo y como me quedan al cuerpo. Dejé fuera la foto de una blusa de Vogue que me quedó inmensa así que tengo que arreglarla.

Vogue Patterns

The dress on the left, Burda envelope, was made but never worn, except for the picture.

Este vestido es de Burda pero no llegué a estrenarlo, sólo me lo puse para la foto

 



 Burda Style and Burda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simplicity

 

My son loves his hat! 

 A mi hijo le encanta su sombrero!

 

 

 

 

Knitting

 

The pink is a shawl that I finished but having gotten around to blog about it.

 

Lo rosado es una manta que terminé y quedó muy bonita per aún no la he fotografiado.

 

 

 

 

These two skirts from Chritine Jonson patterns were made from leftover fabric from other projects and they have been worn the most out of my sewing this past year.

Estas dos sallas (Christine Jonson patterns) hechas de retazos son muy prácticas y me las he puesto muy a menudo.

This was a vintage pattern from McCalls, inspired by a dress I saw on Mad Men.

Este patón es "vintage" McCalls, inspirado por un vestido que vi en Mad Men.



The most fun I've had this year sewing? Come to think ever! Sewing for Seussical!

Lo más que me he divertido cosiendo fue durante el show de Seussical!

Even though I did not make the outfit on the left I did put it together so these were "my girls"

Aunque no cosí el conjunto de la izquierda yo lo compuse así que estas eran "mis chicas"

 

 I took on the challenge of making a tail grow on stage and everyone was thrilled with the results!

Accepté el hacer una cola crecer en escena y a todos le encantó como quedó!

And the bird girl that just wanted to have fun never looked more beautiful. I accesorized, repaired and coordinated costumes and it was a blast!

Y la chica pájaro que sólo quería divertirse nunca se vió más linda. Creé detalles para completar el vestuario, los reparé y tuve la oportunidad de ser parte del diseño, no solo de de la confección.




One more project finished in December didn't get photographed, it is a cover for my son's laptop. I'm finishing another and then I will share it with you. I had hoped to have it finished by now but I came down with a cold that has me laying around miserable.

Tengo un proyecto más que terminé en diciembre, un sobre para proteger el "laptop" de mis hijos. Terminé uno pero yo he terminado el año y empezado el nuevo con un catarro que me tiene tumbada. Cuando lo termine compartiré con ustedes.



Looking forward to reading everyone's end of year reviews!

Espero leer los escritos de fin de año de todos ustedes!