New Vogue Patterns

The McCall pattern company has updated their websites for Butterick, Vogue, and McCall.  I got the word from KID MD.  :)  I was just on the McCall's website yesterday, too... I guess it happened overnight. 

Well, they've added a couple of new designers to the Vogue patterns... Rebecca Taylor and Rachel Comey.  I'm soooo excited about Rebecca Taylor because I LOVE her designs!  Best of all, they have a pattern for a suit that I've been waiting to make!!!  I even bought fabric for it last year and was trying to figure out which patterns would come close, but now I don't have to worry.  It's V1169.

From the Vogue pattern website

Here's the suit for sale from Nordstrom for $365.00 last year.  (The picture was saved from the Nordstrom website.)  I just love it!

I didn't get to browse too much on the websites, but so far I like the changes.  It looks fancier.  :)  Until next time... happy creating!

UT Regular Guy Beanie

My second finished item for 2010!  :)  It's a beanie for my husband.  I started this in December, but finally got around to finishing it.  It's a pretty easy, standard beanie... used the Regular Guy Beanie.

I put the UT in front of the name because of the "burnt orange" color.  :)

(Actually, we're watching the Texas vs. Kansas State men's basketball right now.  Go Horns!)  I love the "star" pattern created at the top of the beanie from the decreases.

The only thing I didn't like about the pattern is that the top was a little pointy as seen in the top photo... the picture is with a little stretching, too.  Once it's on, it's fine and the hubby loves it!  :)

I didn't do much knitting in 2009, but I've really hit the ground running in 2010. I'm currently working on the Corona Hoodie for myself... it's a little slow going because I'm S L O W at knitting.  There's 5" of ribbing and the picture shows ~3".

I also started the Colonnade Shawl from Knitty last night for a gift to my aunt.  If this shawl goes well I'll be making another one for another aunt... both for their birthdays next month.  Hehehe... no WIP picture for this one.

I think I'm a little burned out from sewing.  I've a few sewing projects that I need to finish, but it's just staring at me on my desk.  I'm feeling very "eh" about them... I didn't think this day would ever come!  Hopefully, it won't last too long.  :)

Some New Toys

I recently received some new sewing "toys".  For Christmas I received sewing books (and a scanner that's not pictured) from my husband.

(Hmm... I still don't know how to rotate these pictures on blogger.)

I'm very excited about these books.  I already know I'll get valuable information from these based on others' reviews.  :)  I started reading the Shirtmaking and the Tailoring books.  Next up are Gingher scissors!!  I bought these when they were on sale at Joann.  One is pinking shears and the other is dressmaker's shears.

The pinking shears are my first pair and I love them!  The dressmaker's shears are super nice, too!  They're not as comfortable to cut with for long periods of time, but boy do they make some clean cuts.  Then, I recently bought some Colette patterns from The Common Thread, a local independent fabric shop.  I love this shop!!  If you're in the Austin area, I definitely recommend it.  The store has a great selection of fabric and the owner, Jeanie, is super nice and very personable.  She personally emailed me when she got the Lady Grey pattern in and saved it for me!

I've heard great things about Colette patterns and I can't wait to try one out.  I will definitely be starting with the Sencha blouse since it's rated beginner.

Wedding Picture Silhouette

This post is a bit random from all my sewing and knitting... In high school, I took two years of upper art in digital graphics.  (I wanted to go to art school for digital design, but ended up being an accounting major. :)) I made a silhouette of one our wedding pictures using Photoshop.  Here's the original picture:

I don't think my digital graphics teacher would be very proud of my little project because it's not smooth, but I only printed a 5x7 so it's not noticeable.  Here's our silhouette:

My Christmas Present

... from my brother.  :)  I'm very blessed!

No words are necessary.... hehehe.  Here it is open and ready for use:

This is the first thing I made with it.

Lemon Pound Cake from Smitten Kitchen... very yummy!

Twinkle Diamond Scarf

My first FO for 2010 is a scarf!  I started this sometime in December to use some yarns in my stash.  It was fun knitting with what my husband called baseball bats.  :)

Pattern:  Diamond Scarf from Twinkle's Big City Knits by Wenlan Chia
Yarn:  Caron Simply Soft Quick (Held two together)
Needles:  US size 35
Changes:  Didn't add fringe and didn't pay attention to the length... I just stopped when I felt like it.
Comments:  I love the pattern!  It was pretty easy to memorize, but it's hard to see the lace in person... maybe I need to block it?  It seems like you can see it better in the picture.  It was a present to a lady at church.  This yarn is super soft!

2009 FO: Vogue 2980 Top

I finished this top sometime in December.  I used Sandra Betzina's Vogue 2980, which is the popular faux bolero top.  I love this top!  I was a little worried about the sizing on this pattern since it's mentioned several times in the reviews.  I went with my bust measurement, which gave me more leeway in the waist.  This leeway was definitely needed!

The only changed I made was not hemming the bottom of the shirt.  I used fusible tape, but I may need to go ahead and hem it since it's not staying very well.  We'll see how it is through the wash.  There are a couple more things that were finished before the end of 2009, but they'll have to wait since they're going through the wash.

Sewing machine update:  It's not fixed.  I'm borrowing my FIL's at the moment.

2010 Goals

Bow and bird from Songbird Avenue Dec '09 kit.

Looking on toward 2010... these are some things I want to work on this year as far as the creative side goes:

1. Handmade wardrobe for myself, no buying clothes --> except undergarments and accessories
2. Make a pair of jeans --> I saw so many nice jeans made in 2009 that I really want to give this a try.
3. Make a bra (knitted or sewn) 
4. Make a coat -->  I've really been inspired by Gertie's coat
5. Learn and master 3 new sewing techniques
6. Make at least 3 knitted garments
7. Make a scrapbook for 2009 and finish 2008's.

My health and fitness goals are:


1.  Run in a 5K and 10K
2.  Participate in a triathlon
3.  Better eating habits (details on this TBD)

I'm exciting about this year!  I can't wait to see what you guys come up on your blogs, too!  I've been inspired and encouraged by all of you guys.  Hehehe... I'm always teased by my family and friends saying that I'm an old granny because I love to knit and sew, but I know I'm not alone in this world.  Thank you!

Happy New Year 2010

Hope everyone had a safe and fun new year's day! Wishing you the best this next year.

P.s. I'm wearing a traditional Korean dress called hanbok and had a traditional celebration.