OAL 2015

I joined this year’s Outfit-along and unlike last year, actually completed both my sweater and dress! For those not familiar, Andi Satterlund from Untangling Knots and Lauren Taylor from Lladybird host a challenge each summer with the goal of knitting both a sweater and sewing a dress to make a complete outfit. The challenge runs from June 1st to July 31st and all participants who complete both garments and post their finished makes on Ravelry are eligible for prizes.

My dress is a modified version of Sis Boom’s Angie pattern. This was my first attempt at the pattern and though I found it easy to stitch up, the ease was way too much. I ended up narrowing the hip area by several inches and I still think the dress is a bit bulky.

I also made back waist ties instead of using elastic for the back. I used a lovely rayon bought from Kati at Kate and Rose Patterns during a sale she had a while back. I think $15 for 3 yards was a steal! The drape of rayon also makes the dress more flowy which is perfect for our hot South Carolina summers.

Please also check out my new garment labels. I ordered these from the etsy shop Remember Wynn and love the soft ultrasuede!

The sweater I knit for the OAL is from designer Erin Kate Archer. I saw the pattern on Ravelry and immediately fell in love. The sweater, Cancun Boxy Lace Top, is an assortment of stitches and ended up being a great learning garment as I had not encountered some of the stitches before.

I modified the original pattern by adding waist shaping and ribbing but other wise knit directly from the pattern. This was a super quick knit and only took a couple of weeks to complete.

Overall pretty happy with both the dress and sweater. I did start another outfit and hope to squeeze it in under the Friday deadline!

Me Made May 2015 by the Numbers

Well I didn’t manage to get a photo of my garments each day but I did document them so I thought it would be fun to see my month in numbers. How did you do?

 

 

 

 

MMM’15 Week 1 Round Up

Though I didn’t really plan it, this week saw many old favorites!

Day One 5/1/15: Colette Monetta hack. I added a color blocked waistband and cowl neck to the basic pattern.

Day Two 5/2/15 : Colette Monetta straight from the package. I wear this dress a LOT.

Day Three 5/3/15: Colette Monetta deja vu. Worn at Biltmore Estate to see the Dressing Downton exhibit!

Day Four 5/4/15: Kate and Rose Patterns Roza blouse. Added gingham lace embroidery to the front.

Day Five 5/5/15: Colette Oslo cardigan. This is from the December 2014 issue of Seamwork Magazine.

Day Six 5/6/15: Cake Patterns Cabarita top. Originally made for July 4th baseball viewing but I typically wear all summer.

Day Seven 5/7/15: Old Navy Tee embroidered with Anna Maria Horner design

Nothing new this week but everything I wore is much loved. How did your first week of Me Made May go?

Me Made May ’15

It’s my favorite sewing time of the year…Me Made May! Is everyone ready for tons of inspiration from all over the world? I know I sure am. So in honor of this year,

‘I, Jeri of My Modern Vintage, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’15. I endeavor to wear at least one Me Made item each day for the duration of May 2015’

Since I chatted with you guys last September (gasp, I can’t believe it has been six months since my last post) I have actually gotten some sewing and a LOT of knitting completed. I am in the middle of a heavy closet purge so at the end of this month, I hope to only have items in my closet that are actually worn!

Anybody else joining the Me Made May challenge?

One Week One Pattern Round Up

This was my first year participating in the One Week One Pattern challenge and I must say it was nice to wear some clothes that are not in my normal rotation. I chose to wear my Roza tops from Kate and Rose Patterns. I ended up wearing four blouses on five separate days.

Day 1 (Saturday 9/6) & Day 7 (Friday 9/12): I wore my University of South Carolina Roza. It is football season after all!

Day 2 (Monday 9/8): No Roza 😦

Day 3 (Monday 9/8): I wore my Gingham Embroidery Roza

Day 4 (Tuesday 9/9): I wore my Birthday Roza.

Day 5 (Wednesday 9/10): No Roza 😦

Day 6: (Thursday 9/11): I wore my Monogram Roza

This pattern is such a great starting point for all kinds of creativity. I recently developed an interest in smocking so I think my next Roza may incorporate that technique. Thanks Jane for coordinating the challenge. Can’t wait until next year!

Outfit Along with Lladybird and Untangling Knots

The daring duo of Andi and Lauren have cooked up a fun group activity for us knitters and sewers called the Outfit Along. Starting this weekend, we will be knitting Andi’s newest sweater pattern, Myrna, and making a coordinating dress. Lauren suggests Simplicity 1803 but does allow for other patterns so long as they work with the sweater to create a complete outfit.

 

I love Andi’s designs so immediately determined the sweater was a perfect match for my style. I will be using Cascade 220 in a bright yellow from my Yarn Crawl 2013 stash.

Instead of Simplicity 1803, I’m going to use the Christine Hayne’s Emery pattern which has been in my stash since it came out last year. There are so many wonderful examples of this dress pattern and one of my favorite bloggers, Roisin, used this pattern many times and the finished garments are always lovely!

I am enamored with royal blue and bright yellow color combos, so I’m finally going to be brave enough to cut into my Liberty of London blue rose lawn. After seeing Jane’s gorgeous shirt dress in the same fabric, I knew I wanted a similar dress. Hopefully my sewing efforts will do this wonderful pattern and fabric justice! Anyone else planning to join the Outfit Along?

MMM14 Week 3 Round Up

Week three ended up being much cooler than expected so I broke out some hand knitted sweaters. Of course, my love affair with the Colette Mabel pattern hasn’t cooled so I stitched up yet another!

 Thursday, May 15: Colette Mabel skirt, review here

Friday, May 16: Anna Maria Horner embroidered shirt, review here

Saturday, May 17: I worked all day so wore the same as yesterday!

Sunday, May 18: Shalom sweater, Ravelry notes here

Monday, May 19: Juliet sweater, Ravelry notes here

Tuesday, May 20: In House Patterns Cool Cowl Tank, review here

Wednesday, May 21: Colette Laurel dress, review here

 

MMM14 Week 1 Round Up

One of my goals for this year’s MMM is to determine where there are gaps in my wardrobe and fix them so this week’s Me Made May (MMM14) round up is a mixture of old favorites and new patterns.

Thursday May 1st: Liesl knit sweater by Ysolda Teague, Ravelry notes here

Friday, May 2nd: Cabarita top by Cake Patterns,  review here

Saturday, May 3rd: Mabel skirt by Colette Patterns, review here

Sunday, May 4th: I spent a relaxing day reading and sewing so only wore PJ’s!

Monday, May 5th: Roza blouse by Kate & Rose Patterns,  review here

Tuesday, May 6th: Giselle dress by Kate & Rose Patterns, review here

Wednesday, May 7th: Afternoon Blouse by Jennifer Lauren Vintage, review here

 

Wednesday, May 7th:

Dolly Clackett Mini Me? Yeah Baby!!!

Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones decided to host a Dolly Clackett Sewing contest in honor of Nic and Roisin’s upcoming wedding. Unless you live under a rock, I’m sure you’ve seen all the lovely dresses Roisin wannabes have been posting lately.

The rules were simple and only required you to sew a dress similar to something Roisin would wear. The contest ends today so without further ado, please check out my “Dolly Clacket Mini Me” dress!

Roisin is probably best known for her cheerful printed fabric and gathered skirt dresses. She is going to Paris for her honeymoon so has been whipping up Eiffel Tower dresses like mad. In honor of her traveling spirit and my upcoming trip to Italy, I decided my Mini Me dress would require an Italian print fabric. I found the perfect choice at Hawthorne Threads. The fabric is from the Dear Stella Va Bene collection and includes many famous attractions from around Italy. Isn’t it wonderful?

The dress pattern is an upcoming release from Kate and Rose I was lucky enough to pattern test. I will do a proper review once Kati releases the pattern but can tell you now this is already a TNT pattern for me and will see heavy rotation in the coming months!

Jennifer Lauren Afternoon Blouse Pattern Review

First I must apologize for being remiss in naming the winners of the Kate and Rose hot iron transfers so without further delay, they are Bea and Anneke! Please send me your mailing addresses and I will get them in the mail post haste!

Now onto my review of the first pattern from Jennifer Lauren Vintage: The Afternoon Blouse. I was immediately sold after seeing Jane and Tasha’s versions. The Afternoon Blouse is loosely based on a 1940’s style blouse with kimono sleeves and a front closure. The pattern is aptly named as even for a slow sewer like me, I still finished within a few hours.

The pattern is sold in pdf format and unlike most pdf patterns, is tiled so you don’t have to print all the pieces at once. This is especially helpful since there are two front closure variations. I chose to make the rounded front closure version and only had to make a slight grade to the bust area to fit my 48″ bust measurements. Since the blouse is intended to fit over your head without zippers or buttons, the overall shape is loose. I am a pear shape so the shape fit wonderfully without significant changes.

I also love the fact that there are only four pattern pieces: front, back, neck facing, and front facing. It took me about an hour to put the pattern together, make my grading changes, and cut the pieces out. Jen’s instructions are super clear and easy to follow and with the exception of the bottom of the front closure being a bit “fiddly”, the blouse was a joy to sew.

I enjoyed making the blouse so much, I made two! The first one used some rose suiting from my stash and the second was made from a yard of Liberty of London Wiltshire. Since I only had a yard the facings were some white lining from my stash.  These blouses also cover my April challenge over at The Monthly Stitch which required me to sew at least two versions of the same pattern. Even though I have sewn two,  I see more Afternoon Blouses in my future!