THE LUNA TOP

I decided tops and blouses were the next thing for me as I lose weight.  First up was the Luna Top from The Sewing Workshop.  I had made the Stella top from the same pattern in a knit.  A few months ago, I found this fabric from Sawyer Brook and thought it would be perfect for this pattern.  It's a rayon, crepey fabric, that looks like patchwork in different floral prints.

The alterations I made were my usual - sloping, narrow shoulders and a high rounded back.  I did not need an FBA because it's fairly loose fitting.  I omitted the zipper when I realized it would fit easily over my head.  The bottom is buttoned, but I decided to sew the diagonal lines at the bottom and attached the buttons.  As I lose weight, I can take it up at the side seams.

The challenge was in the bias seams on the cowl front with slippery fabric.  It took lots of pinning, which I don't really enjoy.  After that, it came together like a breeze.

Here's a picture of me in it with a pair of white jeans I bought about four weeks ago and couldn't zip up at the time.  (Hurray for me for getting them on, and now they aren't even too tight.)  Pardon the expression on my face.  It's already 90 degrees in Alabama and the sun was in my eyes.

I wore it  on a road trip to Florida today to spend Memorial Day with my husband's Aunt Janie.  She was a surrogate mother to him and is still quite feisty at age 90.  I hope to be just like her.  Here's Aunt Janie and my stepson.  Can you believe how tall he is at age 16?  It was a wonderful day.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Sewing While Losing Weight

I am determined to lose weight with the help of Weight Watchers.  I'm at the heaviest I have ever been, and my eating was out of control.  Therefore, I took control by joining Weight Watchers at Work.  I am a Lifetime member, but what does that mean when you need to lose 30 pounds?  So much for Maintenance!

I decided to make my weight loss public through this blog to make myself more accountable.  I have a couple of partners in this endeavor - a coworker, and my stepson.  It's so much easier to do this with someone.  So far, I have lost 7 pounds, and have 27 more pounds to go.  I am confident I can do it.

While losing weight, I still want to sew, so I've been focusing on clothes I can alter while losing weight, starting with pants.  I made a pair of capris with my Sure Fit Designs pants kit, and loved the style, so I decided to make them full length in khaki and navy blue. The pocket design is from the new booklet from Sure Fit Designs.

I chose this design because it will be easy to alter during the weight loss without losing the pocket.  I can just take it up at the sides.  Also, I sewed the waistband with a 3.0 length stitch so it would be easy to remove and did not top stitch.  Here's a picture of the pants with a top tucked in.

This is how I will actually wear them.

And here they are in Navy.  I love these pants.  They are a cotton lycra, so very comfy.  I narrowed the pant leg and like the width.

As I lose weight, and alter, I plan to post more pictures.  When I get to my goal weight, I plan to take a picture and compare it side by side with these.  How fun will that be?  Something to work toward, and fun to see the results.

Every Baby Girl Needs a Pink Dress

I am traveling to Houston on Friday for one last mother-daughter weekend before Lydia arrives in June.  It was great timing that we could do this on Mother's Day.  It was miraculous that I could find an organist to fill in for me at church this weekend.

I was able to finish another smocked dress before I go.  This one is by Michie Mooney.  I love her patterns and her blog.  Creations by Michie  I found the material at a wonderful heirloom shop in Louisville, KY when I was at a meeting of the Southern Health Association in March.  The smocking plate was perfect to echo the print of pink flowers and green leaves.

The actual plate was for a bishop dress, so I altered it, omitting some of the design toward the end and repeating the border from the top.  I can't wait to take a picture of this dress on Lydia.

I will be taking the sundress, the quilt, and the daygown with me on Friday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.   I know I will.  I  am blessed to have such a wonderful daughter, who is already becoming a wonderful Mom.

The Pleat Front Dress

This is my second Pleat Front Dress form Christine Johnson.  Like all CJ Patterns, it goes together well, fits well, and looks RTW.  This time, I made it sleeveless, which was very easy to do.  The bodice is lined, so I left one shoulder seam unsewn, turned it right side out, then completed the shoulder seam.  This dress will be great for a conference I'm going to next week.  I will wear it with a white draped cardigan.  After the conference, I have to catch a plane to go see my daughter.  It think it will be very comfortable on the plane.

The fabric is from Sawyer Brook and is a french knit.  It has a vintage feel to it and was a dream to sew on.  

Below is my first pleat front dress.  The fabric is from Textile Studios (I miss them!) and is one of my favorite fabrics I ever purchased.  I have warn this dress over and over again!  I think the pattern would look great sleeveless in a black knit.