Self-Stitched September Recap and a Giveaway Winner

Oh Self-Stitched September! How glad I am that you're over. Just kidding.

Overall, it really wasn't bad.  In the year of blogging/sewing, I've made up quite a wardrobe for myself. And it was nice to revisit some of the garments that have been tucked away in the back of my closet.

Of the 30 days in September:

• I only missed one day, because I really didn't even leave the house.
• I photographed all days, except for two. I actually think it was only just one, but for the life of me I can't find my picture for day 29. I wore my grey Rooibos dress with the matching plaid belt.
• I only wore a handful of repeats, usually separates.

My last day of Self-Stitched September was spent camping.  I didn't really have anything that I had sewn for those kind of conditions, but I did wear a cowl that I crocheted.

With the end of Self-Stitched September, also came the end of my month of giveaways.  I hadn't had a chance to pull the winner for the Whimsical Ornament Giveaway.  A few people submitted responses after the deadline so I unfortunately had to turn them away.  But the chances were pretty high for the two participants (3 entries) on the post.  And the winner is...

Yara!  

Congratulations Yara, I'll be reaching out to you to get your details for your prize.

Self Stitched September Days 21 - 28

Whew! Backlog of Self-Stitched September posts.  Here are days 21 through 28.

Day 21:

What I wore:
My new Colette Crepe dress.  I know this dress is going to get a lot of use. I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Day 22:

What I wore:
My brown, polka dot dress. Perfect for work with a nice cardigan, and so comfortable.

Day 23:

What I wore:
My Summer Sails dress. I spend a lot of time in the sewing room working on more of my Fall items.

Day 24:

What I wore:
My Amy Butler dress that I made last October.  I think I've only worn this once or twice since I made it, but pulling out of the closet reminded me how much I like it.  I think it'll be going back into circulation.

Day 25:

What I wore:
My Sew Weekly inspired dress.  It looked like it was going to be a nice day outside but it became a bit grey and dreary - though luckily still warm.  I wore this out to lunch with a girlfriend and received some very nice compliments on it.

Day 26:

What I wore:
Well, Day 26 was crazy busy and I didn't end up getting a picture of my dress.  By the time I remembered, I had already changed out of it and did a whole bunch of dance practice, so I would have been too gross to get back into it.  But I wore my plaid summer dress.  This is one of my favorite work dresses that I like to pair up with a brown belt and some brown heels.

Day 27:

What I wore:
My new grey, Ginger skirt with a store-bought blouse.

Day 28:

What I wore:
The plaid, Vogue dress that I made last November.  I paired it up with a brown cardigan and belt.

You made it all the way to the end? Well, only two days left! Woohoo!

Vintage Roses Dress

I've been wanting to make the Colette Crepe dress again for some time now, but haven't had the five yards of fabric that just called out to me.  I picked up a Groupon for a fabric shop in San Francisco that specializes in vintage fabrics.  I waited until the last minute to use it, so of course, I ended up making a frantic trip to the city to check out the store, Urban Burp.

The store had a great selection of fabrics - most of which had been part of the owner's personal collection.  The prices ranged from moderate to pretty pricey, but with the Groupon, I felt a little better spending the money.  I ended up getting a little over five yards of a beautiful blue, cotton fabric, with a pink and yellow floral print.  I knew just what to make with it.

Fabric: Vintage, floral cotton
Pattern: Colette Crepe
Notions: Zip, zero, nada! Gotta love Crepe.

I love this version of Crepe! Second time is definitely a charm, especially because the first time I made the pattern, I was still pretty new to sewing garments.  But as usual with Colette patterns, the fit is great and it was easy to assemble.

Our heat wave is only going to last for so long, but I think it'll still work for the rest of the Fall season.

 

Parading around in polka dots

My latest Fall dress is all about the polka dots.  Since the fabric itself had a lot going on, I wanted a simple design to display the fabric.  I've had Vogue 8473 in my collection for a while and it looked like the dress was simple enough, with just a few darts in the front.

Imagine my surprise when I found that the dress itself only had five pattern pieces.  I think I actually let our a cheer.  The only problem was that the lining was basically repeating the pattern twice. Eh. But I'd rather do that then deal with facings, hand-basting, etc.

Fabric: Brown and white polka dot cotton. Internal lining is a plain brown cotton.
Pattern: Vogue 8473, just the dress for now
Notions: Just a zipper

I love that this pattern only had a few darts on the front bust pieces, and no gathering. So easy!  Assembly was really fast and the directions were very easy to follow.

I'll definitely make this pattern again and I can tell the dress will be one of my Fall staples.

Self-Stitched September Days 19 and 20

Day 19:

What I wore:
My Peggy dress with it's red bow belt.  It's been a while since I've worn this one but I still love it.  The red pleats are hard to see in this picture, but they're there.


Day 20:

What I wore:
My Pendrall blouse with some grey slacks.  I wore this to the office and then as I was making my tasty pear and prosciutto pizza for dinner.

Sencha and Self-Stitched September Days 14, 15, 16, and 17

Whew, half way through Self-Stitched September! It hasn't necessarily been hard, it just forces me to really think about my wardrobe.  I'm trying to really use all of the garments that I've made.  I'm going to hit some repeats, but I have made enough that I shouldn't have to do too many of them.  It also helps that I'm still making garments during this process.  So here's my newest one, and day 14!

Day 14:

What I wore:
I made a new Sencha blouse! I'm really on a Colette kick right now, and remaking a lot of the patterns that I've already done.  It makes for the ability to really 'whip up' new items, and is such a satisfying feeling.

Fabric: Leftover orange blend from my off the shoulder dress from August
Pattern: Colette's Sencha blouse
Notions: Button, button, who's got the button? (Sorry, was finishing off the last season of Buffy while I was making this one)


Day 15:

What I wore:
My green Ceylon dress.  Love it - so cute and it fits great.  I don't know why I haven't made another one yet, but maybe that'll be part of my Winter collection.


Day 16:

What I wore:
My Colette Sorbetto top with some jeans and a cardigan.  Went out to the movies with friends.  We saw the movie, Jig, which FINALLY came to the Bay Area.  It follows the journey of several young Irish dancers as they participate in the World Irish Dance Championships.  It was pretty inspiring though I don't even dance in the same plane as those dancers.  A fun movie, and I highly recommend it.  It comes out on DVD in the US in just a couple of weeks, and I believe it's already out in the UK.


Day 17:

What I wore:
I finally had a Highland dance competition that required my full kilt outfit.  This was the 'grand unveiling' of my Highland jacket.  This puppy was a lot of work.  It didn't take long to assemble the base - I just had to make sure that I had the right fit with my muslin.  Once that was done, I put together the main base with my mom's assistance on the boning and front zipper.  I wanted to make sure that it couldn't be seen when the jacket was closed, so she gave me some tips and showed me how to insert it with a bit of an overlap.

The most time consuming part of this jacket was the trim.  I had to hand baste it into place, as there are a lot of curves and points in the edge of the jacket.  The buttons were also a bit of a challenge, as I had to be precise in their location and the fabric was pretty thick to cut through.  Normally you thread a ribbon through all of the buttons along one edge, but the new buttons that I had came with a smaller hole that really only allowed for thread to go through. It was easier this way as I don't have to worry about the buttons turning while I dance (a problem I had with my vest), though it was time consuming sewing in all of the buttons.

I'm really happy with the jacket and did a decent job at the competition.  I had fun dancing with the other ladies in my group and enjoyed a cool day (for Fresno).  Wearing a full velvet jacket might have been a completely different experience if the weather had been a few degrees hotter.

Self-Stitched September Days 11, 12 and... 13

Self-Stitched September continues!

Day 11:

What I wore:

As we've already covered, I attended the Gatsby event on day 11.  I wore my green dress, tights, costume beads, and a cute headband that I found via Pinterest.  The tutorial, that is.  I made it in an ivory lace. A cute and easy project. I may need to make half a dozen more.

Day 12:

What I wore:

My Colette Crepe dress... one of the first items that I made. So comfy, so easy, yet it seems to hang out in the back of my closet.  I don't have a good explanation why, I think I just forget that it's there.  I'll have to fix that...

Day 13:

Sneak peek

What I wore:

Ok, now I begin the excuses.  So, I worked from home only leaving to work out for a little bit. So I pretty much stayed in my workout clothes... none of which I made.  I did however, spend most of the evening working in my sewing room, on a new dress.  I tried it on a few times during the night... does that count? Maybe a fail on day 13, but I'm not ready yet to reveal my new dress.  I will say that it's super-cute and I'm looking forward to showing it off in a few days.

Self-Stitched September Day 9 and 10

Two more days of Self-Stitched September complete!

Day 9:

What I wore:

My Colette Parfait - probably the second most worn item that I've made.  To be honest, this was another day that I could have stayed in work-out clothes all day, but I forced myself to change after my Dailey Method class, and went to get drinks with some friends. Sorry for the cleavage shot - I didn't want to stand up in the middle of the restaurant for the picture.


Day 10:

What I wore:

Simplicity 2579... also known as the UFO dress.  I finished this as part of the Sew Weekly challenge in July and have only worn it one other time since.  It was another beautiful day over here and I was out to lunch with a girlfriend.  Wallace was excited to know where I was going.


So tomorrow I'm off to the Gatsby picnic! I hope to meet some Sew Weekly posters, including creator, Mena, and Debi, correspondent from Scotland (so... jealous...).  I'm really excited to go. My period-appropriate dress, parasol, hat, and a lemon cake to contribute to the picnic, are all packed and ready to go!

Ginger, Belts, and Self-Stitched September Days 5, 6, 7, and 8

After a weekend of dancing and one extra day off, I was excited to spend more time in my sewing room. I took the time to get a few projects wrapped up and to work on the belt to go with my previous Rooibos.  In order to keep things nice and organized, let's go through the next four days of Self-Stitched September, and I'll address my new items as we get to them.

Day 5:

What I wore:

Labor Day! I wore my Lemonade at Lunch MTL dress.  The weather was beautiful and I was off to a couple of BBQs with friends.

Day 6:

What I wore:

This is where my new Ginger skirt comes in.  I had some leftover grey suiting from the Rooibos sewalong, and it was just enough to make another Ginger skirt.  After reading Colette's recent 'Snippet' on ways to sew faster, I realized that I really hadn't re-used any patterns.  Ginger was still fresh in my mind, and a great addition to my work wardrobe, that I decided to make another skirt.  Here are the details...

Fabric: leftover grey suiting from Rooibos

Pattern: Colette's Ginger

Notions: Just a zipper. I didn't use boning this time.

I have to say that I am loving this suiting fabric.  It hangs so nicely and is so easy to work with.  I didn't use boning in the skirt this time, just to mix things up, and it still has a great shape at the waistband.

For Self-Stitched September, I wore my new Ginger skirt with my previous Violet blouse.  

Day 7:

What I wore:

My Colette Sencha Blouse.  I hadn't worn this recently, just because I've had so many options in my closet, but I do love this blouse.  And to be honest - I really just threw this on, with some jeans, for a dentist appointment. I could have stayed in my workout clothes all day, but I forced myself to put myself somewhat together before going out in public.

Day 8:

What I wore:

My recent Rooibos creation with... (drumroll)... my new belt!  A shout-out to reader, Lynn (and the others who commented and emailed me), who reminded me about where I saw it: A Fashionable Stitch.  I had it in my head that it was a brick-and-mortar store, but once I saw her site, the light-bulb went on.

The belt was really easy to put together, just time consuming (as Sunni warns on her blog).  The little Flash image slideshow on her blog walked me through the belt, step-by-step.  

Unfortunately, I didn't have the tool to fasten the eyelets into place, so I just used the round 'eyelet' feature on my sewing machine to make the notches in the belt.

One of my favorite parts of the belt/coolest part to assemble, was covering the actual buckle with my coordinating fabric.  Sunni's kit provided a double-sided adhesive and clear instructions that made it so easy to put together.  I think I may have actually squealed when I finished.

So there you have it! Days 5-8.  So far, Self-Stitched September has been easier than I imagined.  Tune in for more outfits, and details for the next giveaway!

Self-Stitched September Days 1, 2, 3, and 4

Alright, here we go! My first 'Self-Stitched' or daily journal of wearing only things that I've made.  I committed to wearing at least one item that I made each day in September.  Here are the first four days.

 

Day 1:

What I wore:

My Plaid Summer Dress!  I really don't know why I called it a summer dress as it's really an everyday staple, but I did make it in June.  Anyways, I digress.  I wear this dress quite a bit as it's perfect for work.  It's a good dress to kick off my self-stitched September challenge!

Day 2:

What I wore:

My Spring Stripes dress that I made back in April.  I actually haven't worn this dress since I made it as I was worried about looking like a candy striper.  It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area so I decided to go girl-y and wear it.  I actually received a lot of compliments on it throughout the day which re-invigorated my faith in the dress.  I'll definitely be wearing it again soon.

Day 3:

What I wore:

My first day of a week-end full of dance competitions.  I wore two outfits that I made back in the beginning of my sewing projects.  My Irish jig dress and Sailor's hornpipe outfit.  I was in the fairgrounds for most of the day so when I wasn't wearing my dance outfits, I was in my typical dance capris and workout wear.

Day 4:

What I wore:

Second day of dance competitions, however I didn't get to wear my Highland jacket that I just finished, so you'll have to wait for a picture of that one.  I spent most of the day in an aboyne costume, but when I wasn't, I was wearing my Summer Sails dress.

This dress is one of my favorites and also one of my most worn items.  It's perfect for a competition day because I can easily slip it over my head without messing with my hair and makeup.  I didn't wear it with anything exciting as I was constantly changing.