November 24, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING; LADY GREY COAT; SEWING ROOM PROGRESS...

It was a wonderful pre-Thanksgiving here in Georgia today.  Work ended at noon, which was more than nice.  The weather was just perfect for the season; i.e., cloudy and overcast with just a little bit of misty rain.  You know, "the over the hills, and through the woods to Grand-Mother's house we go" type of weather.  I hope that you'll are not working to hard getting T-Day dinner underway.  I'm sure if you are, it is truly a labor of love.  I'll be free-loading at a cousins house looking forward to that lethargic feeling that is sure to follow the afternoon meal.  So let me go ahead and wish one and all a very Happy and safe Thanksgiving Day!

LADY GREY UPDATE:
Yes, I am STILL plugging along with this coat.  I did get to work on it a few nights this weeks even though I had to pull two night shifts, and work a couple of hours over at my school's dedication ceremony one evening.  The shoulder pads are in, and the lining is finished


complete with flannel interlining, but sans the sleeve hems.




I gave myself a little break from the coat this afternoon but still worked on making the belt and belt loops.  If I get up early enough tomorrow I should be able to get the lining sewn into the coat prior to leaving home for the 2p.m. dinner.  We'll have to see how that turns out.  Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to complete this project sometime during the four day weekend.

SEWING ROOM PROGRESS:
I have gotten this far - if you can call this progress.  Since last Tuesday the room has been almost completely void of furniture...
 

... that has been temporally stored in where else but the living room...



...with the temporary sewing area set up in the kitchen...



So I'm working on this very crowded table while I cultivate enduring patience.  The painting was originally scheduled to be completed, carpet cleaned and furniture replaced before Thanksgiving Day, but of course it won't be.  Things happen, but I'm still gonna finish this coat!!!  Painting is SUPPOSED to start on Friday - of this week I hope... 











November 14, 2010

GIVE-A-WAY WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT; LADY GREY UPDATE...

The winner of my 200th Follower Book Give-A-Way is...
Victoria of 10,000 Sewing Hours

Victoria, I certainly hope that you enjoy having this book in your resource library as much as I do. Please email me your address, and I will get the book in the mail to you before the end of the week..


Lady Grey Update:
As another weekend sewing saga comes to an end, we find that the sleeves have been set in, the collar has been basted on, and what was once only a shell now bears a striking resemblance to the actual Lady Grey coat. My feeble attempts to installing roll lines, pad stitching, and molding the collar for it's sleepover pinned around the dressmaker's ham - I think I'm ready to move on to constructing the lining/underlining. Maybe after pulling two nights on the late shift I'll be able to get some more sewing done during the week.


SEWING CAVE UPDATE:

There's a lot going on at my humble abode right now. Tuesday evening will be spent setting up a temporary sewing station at the kitchen table because my Sewing Cave is being completely emptied in preparation of a long awaited paint job. Yes, very soon the dark paneled walls will take on the hue of "Powdered Snow" - i.e. the name of the paint color. Hopefully the room will be finished and everything in it completely re-assembled before Thanksgiving Day. But if not, I'm making sure that everything I need in order to keep right on sewing is very easy to get to in the kitchen. Painting the Sewing Cave (and the rest of the interior) will be a dream come true for me.

So until the next update, happy sewing....

November 7, 2010

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU FOR LOOKING IN, AND A SEWING ROOM UPDATE...

Today my thoughts traveled back to the day that I added the "followers" gadget to my side bar. I was still learning new things about blogger (I still am for that matter) and wasn't really sure what this gadget was about. But shortly after, a few people did actually sign on to follow my blog. As I've watched the number of followers grow, I continue to be genuinely THANKFUL that there are people who appreciate my content and find my blog interesting to read. I also value the many COMMENTS, ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS, AND HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS OFFERED WHEN I FIND MYSELF IN SEWING PERPLEXMENT . I have a few new ideas for the blog that I plan to incorporate very soon, so please keep looking in.

My blog following reached 200 this weekend, and to me this is a very big thing! So, in celebration and to show my appreciation I'm having a give-a-way drawing! I recently purchased this book and like it so much I thought that one of you might enjoy having a copy too.


I have several friends who are really into re-fashioning. Me, not so much, until I saw this book by Nancy Minsky of 21st Century Dressmakers. I became very interested in some of her creative designs so I finally ordered the book for my sewing resource library. I have several "Denim Revolution" projects scheduled to follow the completion of the Lady Gray Coat (oh boy!). You should check out Nancy's blog if you haven't already done so. She's also an amazing artist as well.

So, if you'd like to enter my "Denim Revolution" drawing:

1) sign on to follow Faye's Sewing Adventure if you haven't already;
2) Leave an "I'm interested" comment on this post;
3) HELP! I cannot come up with a suitable name for my dress manikin. Would you please HELP me out by suggesting a name you think would match my personality?

That's it. The book drawing will be held next Sunday and a winner will be announced. And once again, thank you all for taking the time to look in and read here!!!

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UPDATE FROM MY SEWING SPACE:

My sewing space is a constant WIP. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve it, make it prettier, or more organized. This week I turned this look...















into this look.


I love this seven drawer chest. It's much more attractive than the stacked file cabinets, and fits in the exact same space - which is a plus. I've already filled all of the drawers.

Be on the lookout for more sewing space improvements in the very near future....

Paying Homage to Black Pattern Designers...

...for years February has been set aside as a special time to learn about and recognize accomplishments of African Americans and other peopl...