Dye-ing for your help...

I caught a case of fabric buying mania a few weeks ago on Gorgeous Fabrics and I added this turquoise denim to my cart with the grand idea of making another pair of Clovers with it. I basically saw the words "turquoise" and "stretch" and hit "purchase" without actually looking at the fabric. Now that I've received it, I've noticed that it has a kind of metallic quality to it and it's a little more blue and less green than I had pictured in my head. This is obviously my fault for not really looking at the picture online, but now I'm trying to figure out if I can successfully dye it. Its' a cotton blend denim and I bought Rit dye in "teal" so I'm not planning on changing the shade too drastically. I just want it a little less shiny and a little more green. Any words of wisdom/warning?

The right and wrong side of the fabric, and the potential color...

Close-up of the shiny-ness

Thanks darlings!

NYC Fabric Shopping

Here I am, holding a bolt that I wrangled from the shelves. Such a feeling of accomplishment compared to the normal fabric shopping experience.


Swatch the dog!


Lovely.


This makes me want to go back...


And now on to the fabrics... (Sorry the pictures aren't great, the weather has been crummy so I was desperately trying to get the most light possible, hence the patches from the window panes)

I ended up with 2 shopping days during my trip to NYC. The first day I was there I ended up with a few hours to myself while my friend was finishing up her work day. I found my way to 39th street, and wandered through some tiny fabric stores, trying not to get killed by falling bolts. I was kind of intimidated by the whole process of buying fabric from these places since I'm so used to the JoAnn/Hancock fabrics system, but I couldn't resist these 2 pieces so I figured it out. These pieces came from a place called Hamad Fabrics (not sure of the spelling), which had a lot of really beautiful fabrics. The piece on the left is a silk charmuese which you may recognize from the cover of one of Leanne Marshall's new line of patterns for Simplicity. The second is a gorgeous silk crepe that I'm hoping to squeeze my Easter dress out of.


All the rest of my shopping was done at Mood later in the trip and accompanied by my friend/host in NYC. I decided to make my focus finding prints that I really love, since it's easier to find/order solid colored fabrics. Also, I never seem to make tops, so I wanted to find some great fabrics that would make breezy summer blouses. These first two pieces are cotton jersey. I bought a yard of everything since I was planning on making shirts and I can usually squeeze one out in a yard, however, the jersey print on the right had some damage on the bolt, so I got an extra 3/4 of a yard at 75% off. I'm thinking I might be able to get a wrap dress out of it with the extra.

These pieces might be my favorites. They're all silk/cotton blends and they're super light weight and soft. They're a little different than my normal print and color choices but I think they'll make gorgeous breezy summer tunics.
Ok, just kidding earlier, this piece is actually my favorite. It's silk charmuese and it's so lovely and drapey I can barely stand it! I got 1.5 yards of this because I felt like it was calling to me to be a drapey little dress to wear to a few of the weddings I'm attending this summer. The color blue isn't really coming across well in these pictures but it's closer to the color in the shadows...

I'm Back!!!!

I made it back late Wednesday night from my excellent, amazing, memorable and exhausting trip to NYC! I can't wait to show you all the gorgeous fabric I bought and some of the finished items I made for the trip! However, I was dumb and came back to town just in time for 2 days worth of work craziness and a weekend trip, so those things will have to wait...



Yeah, I met Swatch at Mood. No big deal...


Big thanks to the fabulous Vicki of Ruffle & Whiskers who's Mad Men inspired dress is a stunna and to Crissy of Adventures in Adventuring who is a fellow citizen of the Alamo City and who makes fab vintage inspired clothes. We need to meet up soon girl!

So here are 7 random things about me as per award requirements...

1. I have a green bathtub and it is one of the great loves of my life.


2. I have a real thing for suits and other "business attire". Dressing up for work was something that really excited me when I graduated from college. I sometimes dream of having a non-9-5 job, like being a full time blogger or owning a catering company or vintage store, but then I realize that I couldn't wear suits...


3. I adore living in San Antonio and I am definitely one of those obnoxious Texans who is crazy proud of her state. I have traveled to some fun places but I've never been somewhere I'd rather live. It's warm, the people are fabulous and the food is great. Come visit me!


4. As an adult I swore I would never get a pet. I didn't miss the fur covered clothes of my youth. But then I found this tiny yellow girl abandoned on the street and crying and decided I had to take her in since we're both blondes. She is a total crazy sassy nightmare but I love her to pieces.


5. I am a tequila girl. It is by far my favorite liquor and I usually have 3 or 4 varieties in my house. I love it straight on the rocks but I'm also a huge sucker for margaritas. If I don't have at least one a week I get grumpy.


6. I have this dream of buying a vintage travel trailer, fixing it up and going camping all over the place with the boyfriend. Still on the lookout for the perfect one...


7. Tuna melts are my favorite sandwich and pretty much the only thing I order at Subway. This is the one I attempted to eat at Carnegie Deli last week. Shockingly, I didn't make it all the way through...

Almost Friday Darlings!

It's a little ridiculous...

that I've only been in the city 4 hours and I've already made my first 2 fabric purchases...

Crazy Lady Top

Over the past few days I've been sewing, packing and cleaning up a storm in preparation for my New York trip and I've actually finished a few pieces but the weather has been horrible so photographing hasn't really been an option... In the meantime, I thought I'd show you this weird top I made a few weeks ago out of a piece of fabric from my neighborhood thrift store.
Anyway, two more days before I leave for NYC! Hopefully I'll get some more finished objects up in the meantime, but get ready for some fabric porn after my trip to the Garment District on Tuesday!

Pants! That fit! Amazing!

So I finished my Clovers! Hooray! And they fit, which is the greatest miracle of all!


Ignore my grim expression, I actually love these pants...

Those wrinkles around my crotch are definitely from sitting at my desk all day and not from fitting problems. Thank goodness!



I realized while editing these pictures that this was a terrible picture to demonstrate fit because I'm standing funny. Trust me though, they fit like a glove...

 Here are my overall observations:

-I'm crazy lucky that these didn't need much adjusting. The first muslin I made was just overall too big, but luckily I was able to pinch out the excess fabric rather than do any major fitting adjustments. That kind of stuff hurts my brain...

-Sallie Oh is a red hot genius and I'm so thankful to her for the step-by-step tutorial to add pockets and a fly to these pants. It was super clear and definitely not as hard as I thought it would be.

-Black pants are hard to photograph.

-These are the kind of thing that you love more the more you wear them. I was happy to wear them in the morning but by about 3:00pm on Monday I was totally in love with these pants and was deciding which color to make next. It was probably because they loosen up a little as the day goes on...


On to the close-ups:

(PS Oh my gosh, please ignore the horrible wrinkles/cat hair on these pants. So embarrassing... I don't go out of the house looking like this, promise)

Here's the main 2 problems with these pants. First, the waistband is kind of funky, and crease-y. I'm pretty sure it has to do with combining the stretch outer fabric with the interfaced non-stretch lining. Secondly, I did something to screw up the fly. There's not enough of a flap to cover the zipper and I'm not exactly sure why, however I am sure it has to do with me being an airhead and paying more attention to season 1 of Ally McBeal than to my pants. Luckily it's not too noticeable because it's black and I wear long shirts and also, if you do notice it, stop looking at my crotch please!



Fun pink pocket lining!

Welt pockets covered in cat hair...

Inside front pockets...


Inside back pockets. I need to come up with some sort of finishing besides pinking for these. Maybe bias binding?


What's that you ask? What's that giant stack of fabric on my ironing board? Did I go crazy at the JoAnn's Coupon Commotion sale last weekend?

Let's just not think about it shall we?

Crazytown + Giveaway Winners

So before we get to the giveaway winners, can we talk about this crazy thing that happened last night?

Sew Grateful!

Since today is the last day of my birthday giveaway (enter here by noon!), I figured I would show you the giveaways I won during Sew Grateful week!

First of all, I won a Burda pattern of my choice from VickiKate Makes! I chose the Madison dress, which VickiKate got to me super quick. I can't wait to make it!

Secondly, I won this gorgeous piece of silk from Joanne of Stitch and Witter's trip to Laos and Thailand! It's so beautiful I can't even stand it! I don't know what I'm going to make but whatever it is will be fabulous because of this fabric! Anybody have any suggestions for it? It's about 3 yards, and around 30 inches wide, so I'm not sure if I have enough for a dress... maybe a small one?


Thanks to these two ladies for these awesome gifts! Stay tuned for the winners of my giveaway tomorrow plus some actual finished garments this week!