the summer snap!

here is what i love about having a nifty camera that i couldn't really afford, but can keep in my pocketbook ready for action: I can grab snappy snaps when they magically appear.

I like to try to get the most from life, and capturing simple gems of niceness is one thing i like to do. So here's one that i'll share with you. i went to my Public Library yesterday, and as i was walking up the little knoll, this nice little picture of wood square appeared.



That's a worthy snappy snap, i don't mind saying.

Blue 2.0

So. Last week, i posted the blue dress. my first go at sewing a project for a purpose. It went well, and the dress is totally wearable and very nice. the trouble is, on further observation, i feel it looks too much like a hospital gown- and while hospital gowns perform an honest, noble and necessary function- they aren't entirely appropriate for a wedding.

To that end, i tried it again. I went back to the fabric place in framingham to have another look at the blue fabric (it had to be blue because the stole that i've made is blue- and knitting takes me longer than sewing, so i really wanted to use that, as it was 7/8 complete).

alrighty, i really thought i was going to strike out on the fabric- am i the only one who thinks apparel fabric is really pretty nondescript and nothing to write home about these days? so on a whim, i decided to give the home dec dept a look round. and sure enough, i found this duponi silk sort of stuff- it's not too stiff, and it's quite nice- dressy and formal, without going overboard.



it's a tiny bit short, but this is the prelim shot, i didn't realize i was making it so short, and wonders of wonders, i didn't chop all the excess off before double checking. it's also way crooked, one side seam was 30" and the other was only 27" so i made both seams 27" and hemmed up to 26. so it still might be a bit short, but too late now.




I'm glad i did the Cotton one first- i got my legs under me, and was able to make this second version much better. this second version has fewer mistakes, and the craftsmanship is a bit better. on top of it, i was able to complete it in an afternoon- less than an afternoon, i started around 1.00 and it was compete around 3.30 or so.

All in all i'm very pleased with Version 2.0.

blau, μπλε, azul, bleu, голубо, blu, 青い, blauw

Whatever you call it, Blue is the colour. It's my favorite. I drive a blue car, i have a blue living room, a blue blogspot background, and now, i've got a blue dress. this is the dress i made for sarah's wedding.



I used the pattern i mentioned before, but i did make some modifications. i made it so there are no gathers at the side. i really tried to make those look nice, but no matter which way i did it they still looked like i got my fabric tangled on the machine plate, and it didn't look nice. What i really love about the pattern otherwise is that it's totally doable. i won't go so far as to say it's entirely free of strife; it's a good pattern for someone of my skills- a good place to learn more clothing techniques but it wouldn't work for a person just starting out- the directions are not clear enough. there is some sewing intuition called into play.

the dress is super wearable, and even though i had a tiny miscalculation and went a little crazy with the shears on the hem line, and it's only because god was smiling on me that night that i didn't ruin the dress.

the other thing i like about the dress is that it looks like a wrap dress, which i find rather interesting, but it's not a wrap, there's a zipper in the back (which; incidentally, came out PERFECT!) so it's way easier to put on and more comfortable to wear than a wrap dress which ties.

so all in all, this part of the wedding outfit project is a cerulean success. now to complete the shawl.