Life happens Be Positive

Hope and Faith was there and I'm doing okay

Hey Everyone

Just wanted to poke my head in to say thanks for all the wonderful supporting emails I got while I was at the hospital and in the last couple of days. The surgery went on longer than they thought, I had some complications but I made it so no sense talking about the bad things.

I should tell you guys the most interesting thing happened, just before I went into the surgery room, I actually started to feel a little anxious, finally, after all those weeks it finally hit me that this could truly be it you know.

Well the Anesthesologist came in to talk to me and get my approval, before she left she held my hand and said "don't worry, you are in good hands, I'm Hope and my nurse's name is Faith and we are here to take special care of you today"......

Isn't that wild?

The weird thing is that my grandmother was saying that she is sending me two angels the day before my surgery when I was talking to her on the phone and I will know when they got there... hmm,, sure, sure. I jokingly told her not to send Micheal or Gabriel because that will freak me the hell out, lol.

Well lets just say my belief in God has never waivered but its definitely fortified right now.

Apart from that, I'm good, very very woozy with all the pain medicine, I'm pretty stoned most of the time, they pumped so much morphine into me that I couldn't feel my abdomenal and lower back muscles until yesterday afternoon. I'm still numbed up.

My neck is really swollen the scar is pretty long from the right side where the mass were located to the other side of my neck, not pretty, but I don't care about that right now I'm just so glad I'm still here. I do need some scarves though, I'll have to work on that.

Ohh, and I got some flowers from everyone at work

 

awww, how sweet, lol and

 

I got these from my stepdaughter Tiara and her mom yesterday,,, or day before, I was pretty out of it but they are so beautiful. I feel so blessed right now.

A special thanks to Adrienne for getting the news out and keeping regular tabs on me since...hmm

and one more thing,,, because you know sick or well, there is always fabric involved

 

This was such a little treat I ordered from sawyerbrook.com last week, its made out of a synethic that looks like taffeta, I know its definitly not taffeta, then they have different strands of yarns woven into it for the pattern, its absolutely stunning and soft. I'm going to make a skirt based on this Michael Kors Fall 08 pencil skirt

 

using this pattern from the November 2007 issue of bwof, just adding some length. I think the best thing to do with this fabric is to do something simple and seeing that I have 2 weeks to muse from the couch, there will be lots of rambling!

more later and thanks again for everything

What I love now Part 4: New knits and Harper's Bazaar Rules of the season

So... I got my August issue of HB today,, lots to comment on, but my bathroom needs some special attention, so no long post today,, however, I wanted to touch on a few things of interest

They have an article in the back,,, 179 to be exact called "The Rules of the season, the hottest trends and how to make them work for you"..... really?

1. Look for lace and texture- Yawn! Isn't fall about sewing with more textured fabric.. moving on
2. Pick up Prints, artistic swirls and colorful floral and flourishes- I am always on a print kick,,, next.
3. Paint it Bold, a boost of cherry red or another vivid hue will enliven you look- Hmm,, well I did notice that a few of the designers did add a summer color in the mist of all the dark colors for fall into winter.
4. Add Elegant Extrassuch a bowed Clutch- How original? How do I get this job, someone is getting paid for enlightening us with these unbelievable ideas, lol.
5. Bag a big Bag- You mean to say, you have to tell us we need a big bag,, how long as the big bag trend been going on?
6. Pile on Extras- No.... you mean layering,,, jewelry,, STOP, this is to much for my brain to take in at once.
7. Reach new Heights- Honey,, there is a difference between heels and stilts, and I don't want to become crippled because of Fashion
8. Go for Playful Topper- Apparently they are urging us to go with a likely color, like, I don't know, Fuchsia, yellow,, keep it short, playful design,, something like that.
9. Go Bright for the night- No more LBD people,,, the little black dress is sooooo retro!
10. Get back to basics- You can't wear a black dress BUT there is still hope! You can wear a black or white suit,, GET YOUR STORY STRAIGHT HB!
11. Say it with Silk- say what with silk? Not everyone lives the glamorous life, some of us is fine with wool blends in the fall thank you very much.

Before I go,, I got my order from Fabric mart this afternoon

This one is has a crepe texture and it will be used for B5206

and this one,, which feels even more creamier is for V8489

this is my favorite of the two because the white is a winter white, not a summer white, with the black and red for fall, is right up my alley

more later

What I love now Part 3: Batiks and Oscar de la Renta's approach

Today was "the audit"....

I cruised into work, looking very preppy.....I wore my bwof dress, a strand of pearls and matching bracelet, plain black stilettos and 40 mins of well constructed makeup, I think my liquid eyeliner was the best I've seen in months, lol.

When I walked into the office, "T" had on a navy blue version of this jacket in a tropical wool, with a pencil skirt, cream tie front jersey top inside, and her shoes were round front navy blue and cream big polka dots heels........I had to quickly compliment her,,, had to do something with my mouth seeing that my jaw was dropped,, awestruck by how perfectly those cream dots matched with her blouse. 

"B" my other coworker, had on a navy blue shirt dress with godets and muted gold heels, the color of the shoes looked like a taupe that had ultra fine dust in it, like something you imagine, but never really think you'll ever fine it.... and that was the tip of the iceberg.

Driving home, I thought about every compliment I paid and received today, and I wondered again to myself,, when did my office become such the hub for fashion?

Have I been so caught up in a blogland bubble that I haven't notice fashions under my own nose?

it still is amazing to me.... I may have to start taking notes, lol.

moving on,,,thanks for commenting yesterday, I feel like it came of as a rant but its not, I'm like an anthropologist in my head, so you may see sporadic post like these.

Another piece of Fabric to share

this one came as no surprise, its like a celebration of color and seeing that "the designers" did tie dyes and batik looks on the run way, I knew Mom would have had to get in on that action. This is another piece that I want to frame, the dye job on the chiffon is so beautiful, so incredibly fascinating.... I will never sew this up, I can't bear to ruin it, lol.

Hmmm... lets talk Oscar shall we.

What is my allure to the Oscar de la Renta fall offering?

The Palette

there you go,,, again, the absense of a true navy,, but strong signs for grey and green.

I am so infatuated with this collection and not in an I love the clothing for my own closet kind of way but in a, if i can get a whole of them to inspect the insides and make notes,,, that would be so great,,, one.

Where to begin.....His coats, Putting the color aside, I find myself drawn to this neckline,, a double concept, two necklines, so you get to wear a round neck but you get the framing from the outer collar, Genius. Pure Genius

and look at this one, a mandarin engulfed by a standing collar, even the details on the coat makes it look like two jackets in one. This is the type of things that make me daydream. I wonder if this look will ever make it to a pattern company or are they in heavy production trying to get one out there as I type these words. I wonder if this is only something done by the masters or can it be distributed for mass onsumption, I would love to get instructions for this jacket, just to have it.

To begin, the use of this summery yellow in a fall palette totally shocked me. Apart from that I notice the gathered back detail. Back details such as buttons, exposed zippers, draping etc is becoming more prominent, leading me to think...

is the back becoming the new point of interest like the sleeve did from last year into this one?

The next feature of de la Renta's collection and Micheal Kors is the fabric belt with big square buckle. This is definitely a trend.

I've never made a fabric belt before and I don't know how but I feel like the tailored simplicity of a few fall dresses may require that I learn. I think this look is so neat,, so chic especially if done correctly.

The shirred border skirt...

BWOF did a trench coat this year that showcased this look,,, and as always, they stay on top of the trends, I think a skirt will be very flattering in the design,,, note to self, lol.

The lines of this dress reminds me of this one and as I said before, I was on the fence with getting it, but I know see that this dress is a must for fall

I was thinking, this is such an Audrey Hepburn LBD look, with little bow and all.

On the topic of LBD....

gosh, the fabric on this thing is divine.. simply speaking. Textures has always been huge for fall but the right type of fabric to get this look can cost a grip. I think this is a dream dress there is no words for it.

Glammed up Cardigans and Tuxedo shirts

I think this tuxedo shirt need a standing ovation, what a great concept, it looks like basket weaving or something close. This is something I would think BWOF would do, gosh,, if they could, that would be sweet. I am a basic cardigan girl, black,,, black,, black, totally boring, I think I have an argyle one in celery green, I was feeling frisky the day I got it, lol. I am captivated by this and will be looking out for something similar once the looks start to trickle down to the regular affordable stores.

and last but not least,, these two jackets.

this is why I say, I wish I can get a hold of this collection to go over every detail, this suit, is phenomenal, its the details I am in love with. The stripe band with fringing is so on point,,,how it goes up the neckline, the hidden closures which seems,, very appropriate for this style, how do they come up with these things. The first one has buttons and the fringing is emphasizing and defining the shape which I talked about before,, love,,, love this.

gosh, more later....

What I love now Part 2: Fabrics from Home and Micheal Kors details

so what do we have now....

well, I got some fabrics from Trinidad, my mom brought up like 5 pieces for me. I think the story went something like, whenever someone asked what I wanted she would say, all I want these days is Fabric,,, done!

First up... some crepe chiffon

with specific directions to be worn with some seriously bold turquoise jewelry. This is not the kind of fabric I will seek out, but when I tell you, that blue just draws you in, you won't believe me unless you see it in person. It has a designer edge about it, like vogue magazine, out of this world, fashion fabric. I want a simple long dress, I just have to find a pattern.

Next one... Black embroidery linen

She said, this reminds me of you..... hmm,,, is it total gemini bipolar-ness, serious but whimsical or seriously elegant and sweet (fingers crossed)? lol

This will make a great black dress... Yes I concur!

I really don't mind my mom acting as personal fabric shopper because she has a good eye for quality, to bad she refuse to sew anymore.

I will post a few more as the week goes by.

Other things on my mind

I'm still not on the Fall campaign as yet, I'm seeing a lot of things but no plans are concrete, just lurking, admiring, etc

Last week I was checking out Micheal Kors for Fall and these are some things I took mental notes of.

1. A fall palette without Navy but heavy on on the greys and greens.

2. Shape defining dresses with seam lines for more emphasis

interesting....

3. Incase Tie bands

BWOF started doing this in their May and June issues,,,, interesting!

4. Raglan Capped Sleeves and Big Glass Buttons

Simplicity did a few raglan short sleeve tops and dress for summer, here it is going into fall and remember this, note to self, seek out glass buttons for jacket at MJ Trimming next month. And for the record, if I wear to make that dress, I would try to get the belt more centered between the buttons because that just doesn't look right to me.

5. Silk chiffon that looks like textured fabric, ie tweed.

okay,,, Maybe California in the Fall, chiffon,, in Philly, in the fall,,, I really can't see how, but I guess under a wool jacket it will work,, then again, I take that back, I have seen some really crazy things here. Love it

6. Taking the twist to another level

I will have to live on lettuce and water for 2 months to get those collar bones, who in the world can pull off this dress... well except miss perfect here, lol.... I love it, gosh I love that dress. We have seen so many new ways to add a twist or gathering to the neckline this summer and I guess its about to get even more interesting.

7.Gathers Galore

and this is where I have to say,, this is why I have to love american designers, because I can wear this, this is perfectly wearable and I can make it too which is even better.

So.................that back view, that zipper, what is going on there,,, hmm.

more to love coming soon

 

What I love now Part 1: Fabric Love and Emilio Pucci

I'm enjoying all the fabulous post about the new patterns from the big 4. That is my type of blog reading, I love to read everyone's take on the patterns because we all have different taste and perspective (the eye), in which you see things I would never see and bring my attention to it.

I could read 10 points of view from 10 different blogs and enjoy all of them, it never get stale, boring or drawn out.

I wanted to share my thoughts on what I love now, as I'm not sewing this week but I have a few things on my mind that I don't want to add to my EOM post.

Ombre prints

I got this piece from Joann's Fabrics but it was after I did my plan. I still have no idea what I want to make, a skirt, a dress,, it will come to me. Its the type of fabric that just ends up being in your stash because you can't bear to make the WRONG thing with it...... then the right pattern comes along. It may just stay in the stash so I can look at it, or made into a tunic style dress to wear to the beach when I go to Trinidad next year.

 Knits on Sale

A few online fabric stores like Fabric.com, Fabricmart and Fashion Fabric Club are having sales on Knits or offering knits at a pretty good price. Of course I picked up a piece here and there to add to the stash, no sense worrying about sewing them up, I don't think they will go out of style.

I absolutely love this print. It reminds me of a MOD/Retro style print. The colors are so great for  summer into fall transition, the chocolate brown, burgundy and winter white and the DOTs,, oh I love those dots.

I don't know what I'm going to do with it either, but it will come to me.

I got a few piece, I'm not going to show all of them, but this one, I want to show because when I got it, I DIDN'T LIKE it.... at all. The print is fabulous and this is why I ordered it online, but when I got it,,,,, Glitter,,, everywhere, on the whole thing. I don't like Glitter on Fabric, stones/gems on the neckline of a garment,,, okay,, glitter.. NOPE. Now this is a personal preference of mine because I like it on other people I just don't like the dust to get on my skin.

so,,,, I am going to make one of those jalie tops for my mom with it, because she loves this type of stuff, problem solved, so I love it, but for her, not me.

Emilio Pucci Fall Prints and Dresses

Because I love prints, the artistic part as well as wearing and sewing with printed fabric, I was so visually satisfied with Pucci's fall offering. I wish,, wish I can get a hold of some of this fabric, lol.

Placed Border Dress

Great Colors, the Palette is great for a wardrobe plan for fall

cappachino, harvest yellow, light grey, deep navy blue, greyish brown and white.

 

The bateau neckline (or boat neck) is one that closely follows the collarbone. It is a good choice for women who have well proportioned necks and heads, but who wish to present a more conservative appearance.

This print is Insane, I love how it is made to give the illusion of sewn borders.

Monterosa Printed Dress

I am going to make one of these tunics for fall, I promise you that,well it maybe not be in such a fabulous print but the style is on my agenda.

First the Palette,, gosh, someone through me in Pucci's Mill and close the door!!!!

not a color scheme for every one but beautiful all the same, blush, light pink, white, celery, navy and magenta.

I love the cowl neck and the fact that the print is working hard here, the design lines are simple, in a line drawing you may not even give it a second look but the print is TDF.

The Shift

Looking closer to the neckline, you can see the details, little pleats that is true to the neckline trend right now,,, once again, the colors.

celery, tan, white, brown and black

I'm I the only person seeing how fabulous these palettes are?

once again, the trend towards shape defining in shape dresses, I think someone finally thought about the women who rather NOT wear a shapeless garment but would like to try a shift dress,, eh hem,, moi!

Not really my favorite thing but I can see it in another print,, the main print looks kind of camo for me and that is a little much!

and last but not least, the Cosmo Print Shirtdress, which has a true Winter Palette

black, grey, white, carnation and violet

another style feature I have to steal, I love how they did the black and print combo on this dress and the button,, TDF,, love it, love it

so,, I'm not sewing but its all in my mind,, all in mind, taking lots of mental notes,,,, its going to be like this all week, more later.

Breaking up the Monotony....

of sewing my M5661

 

everyone!

Look what I got

I picked up some red cotton/spandex with matching buttons for the Encore presentation of my BFJ.

I think I want to use the triangle buttonholes for it this time. This will be my vacation project. My mom is coming next week Friday from Trinidad for a month. She will be in NY most of the time, but I'm going down on the first week of August to do some final merchandise shopping with her, a little sightseeing and of course, Fabric shopping.

On the subject of Fabric shopping,

You won't believe I haven't thought about what I will sew during the fall to winter season. I was looking at some of the collections on style.com, but the only thing that spoke to me what the colors. So, hopefully, went we hit the streets of NYC I will get inspired by something.

As for now, at Joann's Mccall/vogue sale yesterday I picked up 2 jacket patterns from their Latest Line.

M5715 should not come as a surprise to you,, for me. It looks like the fall version of B5223 just with a 3/4 sleeves and more back details like the yoke and pleats. As of right now, I am leaning towards A and thinking of doing the skirt too.

M5711... OMG, I froze, eyes locked to the screen when I saw this jacket,,, Goodness help me, I have to have one, and I promise you if I don't make it, I will find one that looks just like it for Fall.... Oh, I need this in my life,,, I mean closet, lol.

Other considerations in M5701 because even though it is a sack, the lines of View A is giving the illusion of shaping and I love the back detail and I'm liking that a lot.

M5718, Gosh, I will love to see sewn up but it's not for me, because, it will give me a turtle effect,, no neck, my round face just sitting on top of that collar and the way all the fabric sets on the shoulders,, that bulk will not do at all.. woo hoo, not going there.

Okay enough of that

Progress report....

As I said, I am working on my M5661 right now, adjustments has been made, and once it is done, I will try to get some photos of me in it, hopefully by next weekend. I had a lot of bias binding work for the inner seams, I made them myself, 

finally broke down and got a 1/2 inch bias binder maker to experiment with.

I can't say I am loving the process, its kind of tedious.... honestly and hopefully I will get into it as my skill improves.

I plan to have it done my tomorrow for the latest and go straight into my BWOF 05-2008-121. I know once my mom gets here, the sewing will come to a crashing halt so I am planning ahead of the game. Plus once this is done, I can go ahead and post Phase 3..... And the photos will just flow as I wear the clothes.

Oh,, always more ladies, always more.

Process of Elimination and Fabric Love

He said, "I don't like it, it looks something old ladies wear, why would you want to make that, it will make you look top heavy......."

Ouch!

So,,, who is on your fashion council?

My mom,dad and hubby are my unofficial fashion police and they will not bite their tongue to let me know how they feel about anything I wear in their presence.

So Friday night, we were chilling out, I was about to cut out the fabric for simplicity 2896, the jacket for my she's so pique-cular collection, when he voiced his opinion,,,, very bluntly and with evidence.

He said that he knew for a fact that "I" will not wear that jacket once I made it, then he brought out exhibit A.

Ouch!

Okay,,, so let the truth be told,,,

yes I made it

yes I like it when I made it

yes I wore it....... one time.

yes I tried to forget all about it because it made me look,,,,, very,,, hmm,,, FAT

I think it was a bit to big or the fabric was to stiff so it made the bust area look overwhelmingly huge over my sweater but the moral of the story is, I don't plan on wearing it anytime soon.

How in the world did he find that, I made sure to put that in the BACK OF THE CLOSET, no man's land, not to see the light of day again zone.

He proceeded to back up his argument stating explicitly, that I don't like boxy clothes,, and furthermore, boxy clothes don't look good on me unless its a knit,,,, in a sing song impersonation of my voice, recalling what I told my mom a few months ago.... his selective memory working at its best that day.

Ouch!

You know, I wouldn't feel so bad if I didn't have mixed emotions about the jacket when I first saw it. I did say, "that will not look good on me" but my lust for it overwrote any doubt I had about it.

Maybe God is trying to tell me something......

But the truth still hurts, I'm going to need at least 2 pairs of shoes to get over this one, lol

So, S2896 is X off the list so there will only be one more set in the Collection, the plans I will reveal in a couple of days.

Now,, on a Positive note.

New Plans and Fabric LOVE.. YAY!

can't leave you without something great to take with you now can I.

did I disappoint?

for my black and white collection, I picked up the white and black, star/flower print cotton sateen and black and white abstract knit at Metro Tex. in NYC, the other piece is a silk cotton and to see it in person, you may need CPR, ITS STUNNING, I am so serious!

I have a few more pieces, a few swatches I am undecided about and you know I will reveal the plan as I go to keep it interesting.

more later

Fabric Love: Pique in spring/summer prints

I am feeling a little Lilly Pulitzer-ish or maybe its Sara Campbell I am channelling, whatever it is, these pieces are pulling at my preppy heartstrings.

All I need now is a fresh new white Cardigan, lol

Just wanted to poke my head in really quick because I will not be posting until Monday and hopefully that will be my 2963 FO,,, fingers crossed okay

Have a great weekend!

toy

M5522 Modified A, S2925 Progress & Fabric Love

Its an Overcast Sunday Morning on the outskirts of Philly today.

I really didn't get much done in sewing last week but I did finish two things. The first was S2925 which I will review later because I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the pockets, as you can see,,, very bland...... so more on this later. Its on my dress form, hopefully it will come to me soon.

Next thing

I made a quick View A of the M5522. I was messing around with the pattern at lunch one day just because I was bored and it looked like something that I can do so I pulled out a piece of light blue cotton which I had stashed for a shirt,,,, a work wardrobe basic that I didn't sew until now.

so here are some photos first

close up

side view

 

lower back view

Likes and Mods

Well, I love the mandarin collar, not quite a full collar but not a round neck, I still get that V neckline going on that really works for me. I wanted the puff sleeves version, part of it was due to my curiosity with the construction, I thought it had a band but its actually a double sleeve concept, the bottom being a "stay" to give it structure.

This I found to be utilized in a lot of high end designer garments and I was really pleased to see it used for a simple shirt like this.

The mods were easy, I made a 1.5 inch band by eliminating this measurement from the lower pieces and just adding that 5/8 inch SA,, basic stuff.

The back has a little surprise, stitched down pin-tucks which I went backward and foreword in how I was actually going to do it, first I thought maybe just do it half way, but I wanted it to look as if it wasn't even there. Going back to the whole illusion thing where you have to really look to see,, "oh, it has something on there"...... makes for good conversation right?

And its not perfect, I can even tell you that the 2nd buttonhole is a little off, if I really wanted to start pointing out all the imperfections... it will work though because I really am happy with the over all look of it.

and Last but not least,,, some Fabric LOVE

I know I say it all the time, but IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, and its not so much the print but the colors will make the people over at Pantone very happy. Is a rayon crepe that feels so good. I am thinking, something simple that I can have for all time and maybe that simple fix will be S2938 view A or maybe not we will see I need a simple project for this week.

so more later....

Project Update and Fabric Love

WOW,,,, what a month, you know I didn't even realized that I would be so content to sew just from my collection and in ode to my NO buying knits diet I will show some fabric love because it heals all wounds, lol.

Okay, as for a Progress Update since we are nearing the end of April.

M5378: I cut out the muslin for this a few weeks ago and started working on it, but I got a little unmotivated,,,, which maybe due to the fact that I haven't figured out what I'm going to do for buttons,,,, or thread color for the fabric. This is NOT good, this means that if I don't figure it out soon, it will remain in the stash for a long long time. So desperate time calls for desperate measures. I'm sending it out to a swatching service, so more on this later.

04-2008-116: Muslin is cut out and ready to go, if I have a shred of time next week, I will be dealing with this.

M5522: Almost finished. I made view B and I'm already planning on making View A in a navy blue and white stripe cotton. I'm still contemplating whether or not I should post it, I mean, its beyond simple.

M5591: This weekend's project... oh yes, there will be a muslin involved. I'm using the tan and off white dot from this post.

Dilemma: My waist to hip ratio,,, is off the chain and this is why I rarely mess with bottoms at all. I will be checking for wear the waist rest, the ease on the hip, the height of the waistband ( I foresee taking it about 2  inches, I can't stand a small waistband, it totally disappears on me) it may not look thin on the pattern envelope but you never know until you try it right?
I'm doing a combo of A and B,, which shouldn't come as a surprise you know how I do it, lol
I like the pleat design of A but not the band on the bottom,,, I mean, I like it but not for this skirt, and I want the loops to pull the tie band through.
I contemplated lining it with some batiste but decided against it, the cotton/spandex I am using have a good weight especially after I washed it.

So we will see how it plays out. If it doesn't work out at least I didn't waste my fabric.

Okay,,,, Fabric Love time

If less was more in regards to my stash, this would definitely hit the spot for a while.
Blue is my favorite color and this is absolutely STUNNING.
It is betrothed to 2925 View B, even though we are currently conducting an elicit affair, lol

Gosh,,, I am tickled!

so maybe a completed project or two next time we meet.....

more later