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Victoria

Summer Stashbust 2014: Part Two (The Plan) With Links!

Another picture heavy post! Nothing too big, though.

Monday I talked about my collection for my #summerstashbust14, and now I want to share the plans I have for most of my fabric. Most of this is tentative, but I am hoping to stick to it.

The Wovens

          

Row 1: Cherry Vinyl; Rayon Challis 90's Inspired Floral; Rayon Challis Watercolor Print

• For the Cherry Vinyl I have already cut out a Big Blue Ikea Bag to make a beach bag out of. This is actually the same print that Devon of Miss Make used, but I loved it. I plan to use it as a beach bag for our upcoming vacation.
• Both the 90's Floral and Watercolor Rayon Challis fabrics will be made into summertime Prefontaine Shorts. I am currently sewing up a wearable muslin version out of some Marvel fabric for bedtime shorts. I've really liked the pattern so far. I plan to make my own bias tape for these versions, and I'm a little nervous about that part!

          

Row 2: Some type of floral cotton; Some weird blue pinstripe fabric; Printed Cotton

• I loved this Floral cotton when I bought it, but now I have no idea what to make with it. I'm leaning toward possibly making an apron or two out of it for gifts. It has a bit of vintage flair, which I love. It just isn't my style for a garment (a problem I seem to have when buying things on a whim).
• Oh this blue fabric. I bought it from fabric.com about a year ago. It's a weird shiny color that I just don't like the feel of--this means I'll use it as a muslin for my first Archer.
• This cotton will either be used for another Archer or some type of muslin. I really need to work on my woven fabric buying skills.

     

Row 3: Light Chambray; Some weird lilac plaid print

• I'm planning on making this beautiful light chambray into a sleeveless Archer for summer! I already have two chambray shirts that have sleeves on them, and I think a sleeveless option would work well. Caroline from over at Sew Caroline has a beautiful version that I really like. I'll probably stick to the unruffled back, though. Stay tuned!
• Again, fabric from fabric.com that I was disappointed in. I'll probably use it as a muslin for a future woven project.

That's it for wovens?! Yeah I'm not much of a hoarder on that front.

The Knits

          

Row 1: Egglplant Waffle Knit; Fox Print on Light Blue Jersey; Feather Jersey Print

• This eggplant waffle knit is okay. Want to guess where it's from? I'm NOT trying to hate on fabric.com because they have some GREAT stuff. I just have had some really bad luck with a few items! I'm not sure what I'll make with this because it is really off the grain. I'm thinking a long sleeve top of some kind--casual.
• I love this Fox Print so much! It is on lighter blue jersey from Girl Charlee, and I think it will make a great top. My mom got me the Sew U Home Stretch book a couple weeks ago, so I'm looking for the right top pattern to edit and make it my own!
• Another great print from Girl Charlee: feather jersey! Another top is in the queue for this beauty. 

          

Row 2: Cranberry Ponte; Burnt Orange Ponte; Kelly Green Ponte (all from Girl Charlee)

• In this picture the Cranberry Ponte looks really pink, but in real life it is more of a wine color. I'm planning on making another Out and About Dress to transition the end of summer into fall. Actually, my plan is for all of these ponte knits to be made into dresses. :)

          

Row 3: Scratchy Burnt Orange Ponte; Heather Grey Jersey; Off-White Jersey

• Another fabric.com find that did not meet my expectations. Yikes. I love the color, but I put 2 yards of this in my cart only to be told three days later that they only had one. Very disappointing, but I'm hoping to either make a skirt or a peplum top from this one. No idea on the pattern yet.
• This heather grey find is from Girl Charlee and feels so lovely and light. I'm thinking of making a Boat Club Dress out of this for our summer vacation. It looks like such a cute pattern!
• This white jersey washed kind of funny in the wash, and it has a few spots on it. I'm either going to try to bleach it or dye it. I haven't decided yet. Either way I'm going to make a top of some sort--possibly a Nettie.

          
Row 4: Royal Blue Jersey; Grey-Speckled Slub Knit; Grey Stripe Hacci Knit

• The blue jersey is so pretty and feels great. I'm torn between a Nettie or maxi version of the Out and About Dress. Decisions, decisions!
• I bought this grey-specked slub on a whim from fabric.com and I actually really like it. My thoughts are leaning toward a Hemlock or something from Sew U.

         

Row 5: Pink Horse Print on Jersey; Orchid Swim Lining and Black Lyrca; Stars and Stripes Jersey

• I almost didn't post the horse print as part of my stash because it is for a secret project (read: not for me). Stay tuned.
• Swim Lining and Lycra? You guessed it. A bathing suit. I'm going to try my hand at making Bombshell bottoms like Paunnet did here. I like the idea of having a suit that I can wear a ton of different tops with. We shall see about that. 
• Finally, it's all about America. I bought these two fabrics together in anticipation of sewing something for Fourth of July this year. I'm also hoping to enter Girl Charlee's contest--I just don't know what to sew quite yet.

That's all, folks! All of my fabric and all of my plans.  I'm really excited about this summer. Like I said in my last post--after Thursday I don't have class to worry about. Plus, I have these things turning in my head, things I'd like to wear on vacation, etc. I'm SO ready to go! 

Any suggestions for anything?

Summer Stashbust 2014: Part One (The Collection)

WARNING: This post is pretty photo heavy! 

Have you heard about the Summer Stashbust that Sally from the quirky peach announced last week? If not, you should check it out. Basically it is a challenge to sewists to get through their fabric stash between June 21 and September 21. That means no buying new fabric until you get through what you have!

When I first read the post I thought, "YES. This is exactly what I need!" Even though there was a litttttle voice inside me saying, "but Victoria...you budget everything. You don't need to NOT buy fabric. Plus, Girl Charlee will miss you!" Baha.

In all reality I have too much fabric. Not truck loads, but a lot. A lot that sits around and doesn't get used because I'm too busy buying new fabric for other projects and then the same thing kind of happens to that fabric. It is a vicious cycle. So I have vowed not to buy any fabric until I get through my stash. What's in my stash, you ask? Great question! I've documented all that I have (not counting scraps/RTW refashions) below. My next post will be a planning post about what I want to do with it all this summer!

The Collection

So. Much. Fabric.

The Wovens

          

Row 1: Cherry Vinyl; Rayon Challis 90's Inspired Floral; Rayon Challis Watercolor Print

          

Row 2: Some type of floral cotton; Some weird blue pinstripe fabric; Printed Cotton

     

Row 3: Light Chambray; Some weird lilac plaid print

Thoughts: I recently (well not so recently--more like in November) fell in love with sewing knits, and a huge chunk of my fabric stash is not woven anymore. While a few projects have gotten me to fall in love with wovens again, a lot of my stashed wovens are sub-par. Looking ahead, I plan to only buy woven fabric online from trusted sources. I was buying from fabric.com because of the great shipping deal ($35 & over free), but the fabrics haven't been that great. I got the beautiful 90's floral/watercolor from Wanderlust fabrics, and I really like them. Lesson learned: always touch your fabric and know what you are buying. AND buy for a project/wardrobe addition in mind and NOT just for the fabric!

The Knits

          

Row 1: Egglplant Waffle Knit; Fox Print on Light Blue Jersey; Feather Jersey Print

          

Row 2: Cranberry Ponte; Burnt Orange Ponte; Kelly Green Ponte 

          

Row 3: Scratchy Burnt Orange Ponte; Heather Grey Jersey; Off-White Jersey

          
Row 4: Royal Blue Jersey; Grey-Speckled Slub Knit; Grey Stripe Hacci Knit

        

Row 5: Pink Horse Print on Jersey; Orchid Swim Lining and Black Lyrca; Stars and Stripes Jersey

Thoughts: As I stated above, I l-o-v-e knits. And after discovering Girl Charlee my stash started to grow uncontrollably. A lot of the projects I've done I haven't documented (boo), but I have gotten through a lot of the stash before this challenge. But I am going to have the same goal as with my wovens: I want to buy for the project as well as my wardrobe.

I'm really excited about this challenge. I really think that it will help me get through my stash as well as get me to blog even more this summer. On that note, after this Thursday I am free of grad school until September! Now is the perfect time to start. You'll see lots more soon, I promise!

Next up: The Plan. I want to have a general plan for each of these fabrics before I dig in--I think that will be a great way to help me get through what I have! Are you stash busting this summer?

Life Lately: Lane Raglans Galore

Life lately has been busy, but it's been a good busy. While I don't have a lot to currently update (big plans coming in the future, but I always say that! I really do mean it. Really.) I do have proof that I've been doing some sewing. Specifically, I've been sewing a lot of Lane Raglans:

Lane Raglan v1: All That Glitters is Gold

Lane Raglan v2: Sweater Weather

Lane Raglan v3: Another Floral Lane

Excuse all my different photo locations. I'm trying to find "my spot" like so many sewing bloggers out there have. It's hard! ANYWAY. This pattern is the bomb dot com. It's an easy sew with a serger (or even a regular machine!), and I made TWO in one afternoon. That's including cutting out my fabric! The best part? No hemming required! You just have your collar piece, wristbands and waistband. Of course if you wanted the look of a true raglan tee you could opt to hem the sleeves/bottom, but I wanted some comfy sweatshirts.

I wanted these to fit more like sweatshirts rather than your standard fitted tee, so I upped the size a bit. You can see in my All That Glitters is Gold version that the one armpit looks a little big, but other than that it fits great. Perfect for summer nights, beach evenings and bonfires!

There are at least one or two more Lane Raglans in my future, but I'll probably size down depending on the fabric. I highly recommend this pattern whether you have worked with knits before or just want to get your feet wet! Have you made a Lane Raglan yet? Do you love it?!

Until next time,