Finally giving in...

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Things I've Sewn Lately: Colette Laurel

Say hello to Laurel, blog pals! 

This dress was made from the Colette Laurel pattern, their newest release. The pattern is for a shift dress and a blouse version of said dress. When Colette released the pattern, they also announced a huge competition. I wasn't going to participate, but then the lovely Charlotte of Seam Ripped posted a PSA with information about Elliott Berman's annual 50 percent off sale.

Say what?

Elliott Berman 50 percent off sale? Sign me up! 

I got several cute things, including this sheer printed fabric that just screamed Laurel. 

Yes. This is a Missoni knit print. See the tiny peach writing? It says Missoni. Very sheer. Perfect for an underlined dress like Laurel. You may swoon. 

It's a pima cotton and I will admit that I was surprised by how stretchy it was. I ended up underlining it with sheer white stretch pima cotton from G Street fabrics. It was $24.99 a yard (though it was 20 percent off). Didn't I swear off buying fabric at G Street? Sheesh! I think that makes the underlining more expensive than the outer fabric.

Matching the two fabrics together, by the way, was an absolute BEAST. It took forever. Millions of pins. Lots of cursing. The sheer, super stretchy Missoni stretched if you looked at it the wrong way.

But it came out well in the end. Phew!

I used plain old bias binding on the neckline and cuffs and, per the pattern's suggestion, I left off the underlining on the sleeves, which I think adds interest. My mom and dad weren't sure how they felt about it, but I think it's kind of fun.

I also took my mom's suggestion and let the dress be loose, in the '60s shift dress style. This dress is so super comfortable. And it has enough weight and hang to it that it would be perfect for a workday where you feel like you need a looser dress. We've all been there, right, ladies?

Our dogwood tree is blooming finally. Pretty, isn't it? It's rained for the past two days, but since the contest deadline is tomorrow, I had to get pictures, rain or not. It's misting in all of these pictures, but I made Greg brave the elements to get pictures with the tree.

All in all, Laurel is a really well-drafted pattern. Everything fit together beautifully!

And it goes together very quickly. The whole thing is three pieces -- front, back and sleeves. I didn't bother setting the sleeves on my muslin, so the muslin went together in about an hour, cutting to sewing!

There is a lot of ease in this dress, I thought -- though of course part of that is the dress shape -- so I definitely suggest a muslin.

I don't know if I'd make the dress again (I'm not a huge shift dress fan -- one is probably enough!) but I do think I'll definitely make the top at some point.

Best of luck to everyone else entering the contest! And for those not entering, check out the Flickr group. The dresses people have made are incredible! In addition, you can check out my review on Pattern Review.

Thanks for stopping by!

Things I've Sewn Not-So Recently: New Look 6808

I made and photographed this top sometime during the winter -- and then never managed to post about it. Woops!

This is New Look 6808, view C.

I loved this pattern. It was really simple to work with and I think it came out really cute! This blouse is definitely the type of blouse I'd buy for myself.

I eliminated the darts in the back of the blouse so that I could pull it over my head and wouldn't have to put in a zipper in the side. The idea of a zipper in the side of my blouse does not sound like a good time.

But otherwise, the pattern is awesome!

I actually didn't wear this blouse all winter besides this photo shoot, because the wideness of the collar doesn't work with any of my cardigans, which is a bummer, because I initially thought it would be cute with a cardigan. Alas.

But I do think it will be lovely with jeans or tucked into a skirt when it's warmer outside!

I really enjoy the little bow detail on the collar. The collar was very easy to sew, which, as those of you who've tried making collars before may sympathize with, is so not always the case.

The one thing I'm bummed about with this blouse is that the fabric I bought is SUPER wrinkle-prone. I was trying to buy a softer off-white cotton, but this is fairly stiff, and, as mentioned before, wrinkle-tastic. At least it's not see-through, though. Little victories, right?

If you're interested, feel free to check out my Pattern Review post on this top.

I've also made another of this top, using the same fabric I lined my Butterick skirt with, and I adore it. I'll try to take pictures next time it's nice out!

Me-Made May 2013!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I've taken 'So Zo's Me-Made May pledge!

I, Aleksandra of Liveaboard Takes the Suburbs, sign up as a participant of Me-Made May 2013. I endeavor to wear one handmade garment each day for the duration of May 2013. 

I'll be doing lots of sewing between now and the end of May, I'm sure, and I have several new garments lined up to show off as well, including two new Colette Ginger skirts, a Sewaholic Lonsdale dress, a Sewaholic Renfrew and lots of other goodies.

I can't wait!

If you're doing Me-Made May too, let me know in the comments so I can follow you! I am so excited to participate and see what awesome outfits you all have hiding in your closets. :)

Spring Is Here -- Along With Lots To Do!

If it's been awhile since my last post, it's because I've been a busy little bee around the house! Over the winter, we managed to obtain a ton of free lumber. I saw an ad for free lumber on Craigslist and drove out to  the boonies to borrow Greg's parents' truck and, when he got home from work, we went off to pick it up. Turns out there was a lot of good stuff... 4x4s, 2x6s and miscellaneous other stuff. 

I'd like to state here and now that my experience of driving that truck, which is on the old side and, of course, stick shift, through rush hour in the D.C. suburbs was not my finest moment. 

But I did it and it was so worth it.

Some of that stuff was 14 feet long! I think the people who gave it away were house-flippers. So while I worked one Saturday, Greg set to working. 

With spring here, it was time to create some more garden boxes. I already have a 6x12 one out back. These two are out front and they contain root vegetables (beets, carrots and potatoes -- on the left) and strawberries (on the right). 

And then, of course, Greg built me this monstrosity for tomatoes in the side yard. It's 7x14.

Let us not forget that I'm growing squash around the tree out front. It's a lot of garden space to fill, ya'll. 

So with that in mind, I started some seedlings. (And I direct-planted some other things.)

 Yes. Get excited for lots of canning this summer.

We're growing (or experimenting with):

Several types of tomatoes

Several types of sweet peppers

Several types of cucumbers

Peas

Strawberries

Lettuce

Kale

Scallions

Red onions

Carrots

Beets

Potatoes

Broccoli

Basil

Spaghetti Squash

Butternut Squash

Brussels Sprouts

... and probably several other things I've forgotten about. And one of my coworkers promised me an acorn squash seedling.

I may need my head examined come fall... 

Introducing Miss Lyra!

 I mentioned in my last post that Greg and I had adopted a dog -- and here she is!

Readers, this is Lyra. She is a 1-year-old mixed breed dog from a local rescue place called Friends of Homeless Animals. 

Adopting a dog was a fairly difficult process for us. We applied to another organization first and were denied for an unknown reason, which was really disheartening. And then at FOHA, we were accepted, but the first dog we wanted had three (!) families apply for her, and a different family was the best match. But, we were so lucky in FOHA. They told us that since we were approved, but had been denied our first choice, we would be first on the list for another dog if we were a good match.

We tried out several dogs to see who might be a good match, and we fell in love with Lyra, who used to be called Terri. She had only just come out of isolation at the shelter, so she didn't know her name at all (or her name, Wysteria, from a previous shelter.) And instead of waiting a week (dogs can only be adopted on the weekends) we took her home the same day we met her!

We decided to call her Lyra. I've always been a fan of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Phillip Pullman, and the main character of those books, a slightly rough little girl, is named Lyra.

Our Lyra is a sweet girl who loves people and other dogs, but she's very shy and quiet -- we're hoping she'll get more comfortable with time! She is getting better every day. She can climb stairs all by herself and is willing to go into different rooms of the house alone.

My cousins even visited this past week and she was fine with having a 9-year-old in the house (though his exuberance made her a bit wary.)

We have no idea what happened to her before we got her, but she's ours now and we love her!

New York, New York!

What a wonderful town!

I'm so sorry to post this an entire week and a half after the fact, but I got busy once we ended up ADOPTING A DOG. But more on her later. First, the meetup!

I was so giddy leading up to this trip, it was totally unreal. I went to New York for a meetup organized by Lauren of Lladybird, got to meet a bunch of other amazing bloggers (and non-bloggers!), go fabric shopping in the Garment District (Hello, Mood!), hang out with some of Greg's friends, eat some incredible food and generally nerd out. I seriously had the best time.

I know it sounds all kinds of crazy to drive four hours to go fabric shopping, but the prices and selection in New York are way better than they are here.

When we arrived in New York, we parked the car and immediately headed to Mood for the meetup, which was awesome and awkward and amazing and a million other adjectives.

Photo stolen from @Mood_Fabrics

Look at these beautiful ladies! From left to right, starting at the top, we have Shelley, Meredith, Gaby, Charlotte, Lee, Kayleigh, Carly, Kim, Nettie, Sonja, Lisette, Janice, Lauren, Oona, me, Devra and Rosie. (Oh goodness, PLEASE correct me if I got that wrong!)

We sent about an hour and a half tearing around Mood. I wish I'd had even more time! I mostly just stuck to the main floor -- wish I'd had time to go upstairs! I was on a mission to buy fabric for a ton of upcoming projects: denim for a Ginger, knits for Renfrews, printed cotton for a Lonsdale, silk blends for work blouses. I went with a whole list in my little book.

After Mood, we went to Fabrics for Less and Chic Fabrics, as well as Pacific Trimming.

And then we went for drinks and snacks at Houndstooth Pub. I sat between Lee, who was wearing a beautiful bamboo wrap sweater she made (I covet it!) and Meredith, who just started a blog after the meetup. I wish I'd gotten to spend more time talking to everyone -- they were all so cool! Shelley was super nice and found me on Twitter the night before the meetup, so we bonded over mutual giddiness. Lauren let me try her Minoru coat on -- let's just say I need to cut a slightly larger size than she did. She is so tiny in real life! (OK, OK, so maybe part of it is that I'm tall.) Oona has the loveliest speaking voice and I'm convinced she knew every single person in Mood. Charlotte is studying in D.C. -- and she too is disappointed by the selection and prices at G Street! I won't go on and say something about everyone, though I certainly could!

Instead, I'll show you what I bought:

Everything

That piece of denim was much larger -- but I already made a skirt from it. The grey wool is from Azaymoon, the teal knit and black silk print are from Chic Fabrics and the tan with black print is from Fabrics for Less. (I think -- I may have reversed Chic and Fabrics for Less -- the stores are very similar and are owned by the same people.)

Knits

Funny story about the printed cotton on the left in the photo below. It was in a pile of cut fabrics at Fabrics for Less, and I pulled it out and asked the shop owner what it was. He spread it out on the table -- it looked to be about a yard -- and said "$10!" Well. That answered that question!  

The fabric on the right will be my Lonsdale dress.

OK, so I know I'm the worst copycat in the world, but Lauren pointed out that bow fabric in the back -- she'd bought some the day before -- and when I went back the next day for the aqua knit in the knits picture, I just couldn't resist. I bought just enough for a blouse. It was too pretty. Also, it's Betsey Johnson. Um, yes please!

Silk blends

Bonus picture of my new assistant, Lyra. More on her in a separate post!