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Thursday 1 December 2011

Back online, now please help me get back to sewing

Well I am just emerging from the dust and mess after having my floors redone.  It would have been far easier to move out for a few days, but since accommodation & storage (for both cats and furniture) are all vastly expensive here we decided to just suck it up and live amongst the mess, moving a mattress around from room to room as appropriate.  I hope I don't have to do that again, getting too old for that kind of malarky.  Anyway it's done, it looks almost exactly the same as our self levelling concrete floor did before but now in ceramic tiles which I hope will be more resilient.



Anyway everything is now connected up again so I can get online at home and catch up with all your blogs.  I also need to get myself back into the sewing room which is mostly tidy. Tidyish.  Well as tidy as it was before (i.e. a mess).

Friends, I have to admit I am really struggling with the fit on the Burda dress and it is sapping all my sewing energy.  It looked absolutely fine when I just roughly pinned it together for the photo in my previous post, but do you think I can get anything like that when I sew it for real?  It's driving me crazy.

I may have to put it aside for a week or two and work on something else, but even here I am having procrastination issues.  I really want to make some fall dresses from my recent jersey haul - here are some patterns in my stash I am considering, all thoughts and general kicks up the backside to just get on with something will be much appreciated!

BurdaStyle 06/2011-139

DKNY Vogue 1257

Vogue 8379
Hot Patterns Cosmo dress



BurdaStyle 02/2008-103 (3/4 sleeve version)

And for Robin here is the current state of my fabric stash, not too crazy but there should be plenty of inspiration in here.  The cutting surface below flips up to cover all this up if I need to hide it!


Finally, CGCouture asked about magazine subscriptions.  Personally if I could only get one it would be Burda, I use it the most mainly because it is available in english, it has it's dodgy periods but is going through a good phase right now.  Patrones (Spanish) and Mannequim (Brazilian) both really appeal to me too.  Melissa at Fehr Trade has put lots of information on the various subscriptions available so I recommend a look over there to help you decide which magazine is right for you.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Alison, this is the first time I have visited your blog and I love it. Re the dresses you are thinking of making Vogue 1257 has received really terrible reviews on PR so after having all that trouble with your latest dress I don't think you want to start something that may also give you grief! Perhaps steer clear of that one for a while ;-)

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  2. Dear Allison, I have missed you so terribly, welcome back! I know the Burda wrap is rather revealing and low-draped. IIRC, Sonja of Assorted Notions made it and it was very vavavoom. Yu could pull it off, absolutely, but it would be a party dress, not a chic day dress IMO. Not sure what you want the dress for but do keep this in mind, ok?

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  3. The floor looks wonderful. We've just finished painting my sewing space and will have laminate flooring installed in a few months so I feel your pain. Love your dress choices.

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  4. oh thank you for showing your beautiful new floors AND your fabric storage space. I would love to whittle mine down to be that size.

    For some reason, the Burda dress looks the most "you".
    Sorry to hear the current dress is annoying you. Thes things happen, I know.
    (and yes, I think the shellac manicure is the same thing you described as a gel. It is cured with UV light. Love it!!)

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  5. Hi Allison. V8379 is one that I've made up. For what it's worth, I've made up V8379 as is in grey and blue as well as used a straight shirt pattern from another pattern and with the V8379 top for a striped knit. All the best. Your living space is wonderful.

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  6. I hadn't seen that Burda dress from 2008 before. It's an unusual design! But you can't go wrong with Vogue 8379. The only thing I found with that one was that the facings didn't stay put. Some people lined it instead which apparently works well.

    Your house looks beautiful. You must be so pleased to have it finished!

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  7. For somebody who sews so much your fabric stash is VERY tiny!
    I'm so glad to have you back and waiting for new things to look at!
    The room looks very posh in all white! How do manage to keep it white?
    And another question - how big is your Burda magazine stash? And other magazines stash?

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  8. Sit back, relax, and eventually you will want to sew again.
    Works for me.
    (Floor looks great - hope the cats like it!)

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  9. Oooo, room's looking lovely! Cool and calm!.
    Don't fret about about your sewing mojo, it does this to us from time to time. Pick up something else for a change, I find if I knit for around 10 days, my brain naturally wanders to sewing and the creative juices flow once more.
    You've done some big projects recently so why not stick to simple, quick makes for a while?

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  10. I really like that Burda 2008 dress, potentially a very figure flattering style. Sometimes I lose interest in sewing, mostly when I hit a rough patch like you have described. My personal cure is usually new fabric (or maybe new shoes)

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  11. I've had my eye on Burda 2008 for a while - You might also consider McCalls 6163 which I'm about to cut. It is a faux wrap dress and seems quite a flatterer.

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  12. don't give up on the Burda dress, we are watching you closely on Facebooks Burda Sewing Club Ireland ( BSC ROI)

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  13. Allison the room is beautiful. It takes a lot of patience to get through the remodeling process. Your patience paid off.

    I have the first two patterns in my stash too. But I think I like the first one the best. A few bloggers made the Vogue dress and noted some issues with the design. Good luck in making your decision about which dress is best for you.
    C

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  14. The floor is gorgeous--your house is always show-worthy!

    Like you, I am feeling the wrap look right now. As usual, I hate all my winter tops and I'm wondering if it would be so terrible to have a winter top wardrobe of only wrap tops?

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  15. I love your new floors -- thank you for sharing the photo! Is that your kitty lounging on the sofa? I think any of the patterns you identified would be great, but the 2011 Burda one seems particularly interesting -- a typical wrap dress with a little extra oomph!

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  16. I really like the first Burdastyle one. Shame about the last one. The floors look good too - hopefully easier to look after :)

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  17. Hi! I've made the 103 burda dress. That pattern is brilliant. I say give it a try!
    http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/the-velvet-dress?all_images=1#project-shot-all

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