Shorter Commute

I've been packing boxes for the last few days because my office is moving today. I'll have a larger office in a smaller suite and my commute will be shorter by two whole floors. What will I do with all the extra time - 8 whole seconds by my count!?!?! LOL The movers arrive at 3pm.

So, since I'm sitting in my empty office with nothing left to do but pack up my computer, I thought I'd share this new Harry Potter trailer with any other fans out there. It looks spectacular!

Pockets and Poconos!

It was a very exciting weekend in the Craft Lounge!

Welt Pockets

Shortly after I posted my first good-looking welt pocket - done on scraps - on Friday, I took a deep breath and made pockets on my pants...

Look, look! Welt pockets!

...And I am thrilled with how they came out!

Once I set my mind to it, and approached the whole thing in a calm and careful way, it all fell into place. I think Ann of Gorgeous Things really wrote a very thorough and top notch tutorial which guided me through it in exactly the right-for-me way. Honestly, some instructions have you pulling the whole pocket bag through the opening, flipping things inside out. Those methods just didn't work for me.

In the end, I would have to say that welt pockets aren't difficult, per se. They just require careful and meticulous attention to detail. And sharp scissors. I used serrated medical scissors, which seemed to allow me to cut to within one or two molecules of the stitching. LOL. It really helped.

Anyway, these trousers are nearly done, which is a very good thing since the Bottoms Up Challenge is winding down. So, expect photos soon.

Pocono Sew and Vac = New Toy for Me!
Yesterday, I took a road trip to Pocono Sew & Vac in Stroudsburg, PA to finally buy my very first serger! I really cannot say enough nice things about their friendly and knowledgeable staff. I've had a very good experience with them since buying my fabulous SM from them about 18 months ago.

My new toy!

After careful deliberation, I decided on the Brother 5234 that I first looked at in February. Most of yesterday afternoon was blissfully spent playing with this new toy. I threaded and unthreaded it (easy!), I serged a whole bunch of scraps (no tension issues or snafu's!!), and it made no mess since there is a (not-pictured) catch basin for the cuttings.

Now, there will definitely be a learning curve. I need practice "chaining off" the ends, I have no idea at this point why I would want to use a 3-thread overlock rather than a 4-thread one, and I have no idea what to do with the rolled hem stitch other than sew napkins (not likely). However, I'm incredibly excited to figure this all out and get going.

Hope you had a fun weekend, too!  And if you have any suggestions on books or articles on sewing with a serger, let me know!

Woo hoo hoo! It's A Welt!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present my first successful welt pocket!

My first non-disaster of a welt pocket

Is it perfect, no. Not yet. But it is such a vast improvement over my last attempt that I think we can call it a victory. Note the absence of puckering. The keys to success? Very sharp scissors and Gorgeous Ann's tutorial.

On the next version I will use thinner fabric for the pocket bag so it doesn't show through.

Hooray! And thanks for all the votes of confidence.

Hard Week, Hard to Resist Sale

It's been a grueling week at the office with my boss here from London, a board meeting to run and all of the associated social functions (board dinner, donor reception...). There was not a second for sewing, which was incredibly frustrating, since the shops of the Garment District taunted me on my way to and from meetings (it's terrible to have to walk by one fabric store after another with lovely things in the window when you just don't have the time to stop and smell the rose print cotton voile). Therefore, I'm going to go easy on myself for adding to my pattern stash in the five minutes I did manage to carve out for myself. And, in fairness the patterns were on sale for $1.99-$3.99 at BMV.com.
 
Here's what I scored.

McCall's 6164 - A variety of tops

McCall's 5890 - Nancy Zieman - 10, 20, 30 Minutes to Sew

Butterick 5382 - Fast and Easy

The first three are patterns that I've seen other sewistas in the blogosphere sew up beautifully and thought "gee, I need to get me one of those". The other two just appeal to me. I tend to wear a fair bit of DKNY in RTW, so I have no idea why I haven't sewn up any of the Donna Karan or DKNY patterns by Vogue (duh).  And the Vogue wardrobe pattern (which is not DKNY) actually would have been perfect for a week like this one - board meeting by day, cocktail reception at night.

Vogue 2064 - Donna Karan

Vogue 1042 - Wardrobe

I've taken tomorrow and Monday off, so after a very long night's sleep, I will most definitely be up for some sewing - namely practicing welt pockets. Have a lovely weekend! 

Paralysis

pa·ral·y·sis

1: complete or partial loss of function especially when involving the motion or sensation in a part of the body

2: loss of the ability to move

3: a state of powerlessness or incapacity to act

Used in a sentence: Clio found herself in a state of paralysis, brought on by her fear of the dreaded welt pocket. 

I tried to find a picture that was pink because it is less scary

Yes, I am exaggerating.  But not as much as you'd think. So you understand the severity of paralysis that I am experiencing when it comes to this project, here are all the other things that I convinced myself needed doing before practicing welt pockets: 

• I cut another version of  New Look 6915 - this time view D, the cowl neck version in a beautiful silver silk charmeuse from my stash.
• I traced the pattern for the knit top I just finished from Burda Magazine in a smaller size (BurdaStyle 02/2011 - 102B).
• I cut the beautiful blue knit print fabric for that top. 
• I transferred all the marks and began pinning both tops. 

So, yes, you read that correctly: I would rather blind myself retracing a pattern from Burda than face my sewing machine and the welt pocket that awaits. 

 Now I could make excuses for why I shied away from getting going on the welt pockets, like there was a weekend guest inhabiting the craft lounge, or that I spent most of Saturday at a five year old's birthday party. But really, it all boils down to project paralysis. I really like the fabric that I plan to add a welt pocket to. And I really don't want to screw it up. So, paralysis it is.

And now that I have confessed (and I do thank you for listening), I have no choice but to get on with it. Wish me luck. 

Black & White Mini-Collection//Bottoms Up Challenge

As promised, here is my mini collection of black and white tops!  And since I have newly discovered how to create slide shows on Picnick, I've decided to make it a slideshow. 

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

I'm hoping that the flashing by of pictures will distract you from my mediocre-at-best modeling skills.

And since Faye has decided to morph the Over the Top Challenge from the first half of April into a Bottoms Up Challenge for the second half of the month, I will be getting back to this project:

Right now - thanks to my dreadful first attempt at a welt pocket - these Simplicity 2700 pants are in danger of becoming a UFO. So, my Bottoms Up challenge will be to complete them... welt pocket and all.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Mmmmmmmango....

Mangoes are my all time favorite fruit.

That said, I don't think I have ever cooked with a mango. Occasionally I'll add them to a salsa or tropical salad. But my overwhelming sentiment is: why mess with perfection? Most times in my house, mangoes are devoured enjoyed slightly over-ripe, leaning over the sink and with juice running down my chin and occasionally my arms, too (attractive mental image, no?). If you have never enjoyed a mango this way, or wouldn't know how to eat one, I've created a handy slideshow, demonstrating the "hedgehog" method of eating a ripe mango.

"Mango Hedgehog"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Anyway, thanks to an article in the NY Times dining section heralding the arrival of mango season, last night I decided to break out my ice cream maker and actually try out a recipe.  The recipe itself is for Mango-Rosewater Lassi, an Indian yogurt-based drink. However, I felt the need to make some changes. First, I don't really care for rosewater. To me, it tastes like old ladies. Not that I've been tasting any old ladies lately. It reminds me of my grandmother's special occasion hand lotion. So, I replaced it with limoncello.  The other changes I made include using greek yogurt (2%) rather than regular and hacking up the mangoes haphazardly (I object to recipes that make you dice something into neat little cubes only to chuck it into the blender and puree it). And I followed the recipe's suggestion to put the lassi in my ice cream machine and make frozen yogurt out of it. So, here is my version:

Mango Frozen Yogurt

2 cups hacked-up-any-old-way ripe mango
1 1/2 cups plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tbsp limoncello
Pinch kosher salt
Combine the mango, yogurt, milk, sugar, limoncello and salt in a blender. Purée until smooth. Chill. Churn in ice cream maker for 10-15 minutes. Store in freezer. Makes about one quart.

Tangy frozen goodness.

Yum. Now, be forewarned, this is not "fro-yo" or an ice cream substitute. If you are into overly sweet frozen treats, this will probably be too tangy for you. But if you are a fan of the way frozen yogurt used to be - tangy, not overly sweet, adult-tasting, like yogurt that has been frozen - then this is for you. Honestly, I could see myself replacing the sugar with honey and eating this for breakfast during a heatwave. Mmmmm...

Anyway, I plan on using this recipe throughout the summer for a variety of fruits. The only other change I'll make, aside from the honey, is that I will probably increase the amount of fruit to three cups, depending on the fruit that I'm using. And if I wanted to make this more Indian tasting (not that I've been tasting any of them either) I would add a dash of cardamom.