This and That

I attended the PR Weekend in Montreal a couple of weeks ago. The organizers did a great job, and I enjoyed the weekend, but the weather was hot and humid and the dorms where we stayed didn't have air conditioning. Luckily it was OK as far as sleeping since the room had a fan, but I must say I was uncomfortably hot for much of the weekend. I just can't take the heat anymore. Must be an age thing :) But I do feel like my sewing mojo got a boost, and it was nice to meet a couple of women who I have only known through reading their blogs.

Although I have wanted a coverstitch machine for some time, it was watching Jeanne Binet from Jalie at PR Weekend that really got me itching for one. And thanks to a classified ad posted on PR shortly after I returned, I am now the proud owner of this Janome CoverPro 900CP! It was just delivered yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to play with it yet... I have a Christine Jonson top just waiting to be finished. It may actually happen now!



The end of another school year means another apron made for my daughters' teacher. Unfortunatley, I forgot to take a photo before I wrapped it. I used the Amy Butler pattern from the In Stitches book again, see last year's version here, using these fabrics that my daughters picked out...



It looked cute.
I hope that spending the time actually making a gift for a teacher shows them that I appreciate the work they do and the care that they give my daughters all year.

Dresses!

But not for me! I wish I could be more like Elaine, aka The Selfish Seamstress. Seems like the only time I sew lately is for other people. I've replaced a zipper and hemmed a friend's pants, hemmed same friend's shower curtain, let out and hemmed pants for DBF, and made birthday dresses for my daughters. For myself? Squat. What am I going to wear to the cocktail party at PR Weekend in Montreal? How about a toga?? :)

Here is a picture of the dresses I made for my daughters. They just turned 8 years old. The pattern is Simplicity 2380.



They each chose the fabric and the lace themselves. It was an easy pattern to sew, (thankfully, since I didn't start the dresses until two days before their birthday and they wanted to wear them to school on that day), and they are happy with them. I will definitely use the pattern again, probably for the short jumpsuits. But first, I have to sew something for myself to wear on PR weekend... at least an easy knit top...

Spring is here! Hibernation is over...

Apparently, I hibernate for 6 months. I can't believe I haven't posted here since September.
My excuses are:

1. I haven't really sewn anything all winter (except for the now traditional Christmas nightgowns for my daughters),

2. I started a few posts, but they never made it past draft mode, and

3. I had to cut down on the amount of time I was spending on the computer, which meant less time on Pattern Review and reading blogs.

I thought it was time to start blogging again, because I just registered for PR Weekend in Montreal. Why, you may ask? Because despite my lack of actual sewing, I am still somewhat enamoured with the "idea" of sewing...

I still wander around fabric stores, touching everything in sight and thinking about what I could make, but I am not allowing myself to purchase any fabric until I use some of my stash.

I still check out the pattern catalogs, and occassionally buy a pattern or two, even though I have MANY patterns that I have never used.

I'm excited to meet sewists who actually complete more than one project a year.

I'm hoping the weekend will inspire me to start actually sewing... gotta have something to wear...

And, I love Montreal, live just two hours away, and rarely get there.

I'm really looking forward to it!