More work that needs to get done quickly

This is a new order I will be cutting and sewing next week. They are really cool hammocks and bags for a local company who is selling really well and needs more product asap

Getting ready to sew

I am super excited to get going on this order.  118 sweaters!  It is even more fun to work for a client when you love their product. I really like what they do and think there really is a great market for these.  I know I want one (or two . . .) Ebbets Field Flannels

Confession

I swear I never thought I would do this but I admit it, I am making a quilt!  Agg. My only excuse is that I got  new sewing machine with plenty of space to use and I got good deal on Force Awakens fabric. I promise, I will not become a quilter. But for the sake of The Force and The Empire, I must do it. Just this once.

Fur onto a hood

Do you wonder what it would look like to sew 3 raccoon tails together, chop about half of one side of them off and then try to sew that into a hood of a ready made jacket? Well here it is.  This was hard to do!  I had to splice the tails together which was not easy.   I, my sewing machine and work table were covered in hair.  I thought this would be easy, I was wrong. It was hard. But I go it done.

Doll repair almost done

The legs and shoes were beyond fixing so I made new ones. She needs a little touch up on her face then she will be done. I was careful to keep the original nature of it (the doll was made by my client's grandmother for her) but being sure it would last even longer.

Making pillow covers

I am excited to work for a return client. She is coming back for more covers for pillows and bolsters. I made some basic covers for her before and now she is inspired to design some more and get them made.

As you can see, the first order was pretty basic. But there is nothing wrong with that!

New client!

Yesterday I met with Ebbets Field Flannels about piece work.  What a great place. I love their product.   I am glad for this opportunity to work with a local business that makes such great stuff. Of course, I want to buy everything they sell.

good day at the Glitter Sale

Larnell and I volunteered the last 2 days at the Goodwill Glitter sale. It is truly an awesome event.  There are tons and tons of great buys but the most important part is that it benefits the Goodwill's Job Training Programs,  I cannot wait to go back on Tuesday for the Special Volunteers shopping night to get some fabulous old garments I will transform into super fabulous retro works.

Meeting of Program Advisory Committee

Last night I went to the first meeting for the Program Advisory Committee for the Art Institute of Seattle. It was really good and I enjoyed the interaction with other apparel/fashion industry experts in providing advice and guidance to their program.

Shot from the past

I found this old shot this weekend. It is from a sewing retreat I went to many years ago. I loved the pattern and the fabric.

An awesome Halloween shirt

Check out the shirt Larnell made for Halloween. He did a great job of construction and fabric selection.  He is making another shirt from that same pattern I cannot wait to see.

Halloween wear - not costumes but easy, quick and cheap to make from some extra fabric I had laying around

More repairs

Same location as other shorts. Same result

Before and after

First samples done

Just finished the first sample for kid's harem pants for a client. Super cute!

organize, organize, organize

From my personal experience and from working at companies, organization is the key for fabric and projects

Repairs

Here are some bike shorts - before and after and a doll that has met with the loss of both legs.  Replacing legs will be harder than fixing shorts but I will do it.

Before

After

If my legs were gone I would not smile

Pattern making for first prototypes

Larnell and I are working on patterns for the first prototypes for a client.  We are also carefully keeping track of the fabrics we are using.  Not very glamorous but successful designers know, start by being organized or you will regret it!

One day later . . .

My new mandrin collar shirt is on the left (all it needs it buttons), Brian's collared shirt is the far one one back (I will finish it tomorrow) and my new tank dress/top is done and on the right.

New Seahawks shirt

Today I am working on one of three Seahawks tops.  This will be a button front shirt.  Go Hawks!

commercial binding versus custom binding

This is a shot of a sample I am working on for a client.  The lighter fabric is an item they are trying to re-create but at a higher quality. You can see that it is bound with a raw edge binding and a big stitch length. The proto  I am making (dark color) has a double fold binding and a higher stitch count. Way more classy.

The beginnings . . .

This fabric will become curtains for one client and a vest and a blanked for another.   But right now they are a blob of fabric on my chair. The dog on the zebra blanked is also a blob but just a blob of dog, sleeping while I work.

Wonder clip success

I bought this at the sewing expo this year, mostly because it looked cool. But I hardly used them.  Until now!  I have been sewing bag samples for a client and the fabric is too think to pin through.  I was using binder clips until I remembered I had these. They are great. And I am now using them instead of pins in places. They are called Wonder Clips and they are from Clover. I recommend getting the wrist holder too.

Alpaca visit tomorrow

I am super excited to go to see the business of Fibers of the Northwest tomorrow.  They said they could meet me somewhere in between their place and Seattle but I decided to go there. I have never been to an Alpaca ranch.

In the pictures their hair looks like mine!

Teaching sewing at Rainier Vista

Here are some shots I just found from a few years ago when I taught sewing at Rainier Vista.  It was really fun and the students were really eager to learn how to sew.  They made little bags and little mini tops to start with.

Working on the website

Not as fun as sewing but it must be done.  Thankfully, I have help.

Last day of Hello Earth 2015

It was a blast to see the final show of the season for Hello Earth.  I am so glad we got to work on their costumes.  I definitely am already thinking about next year and even better outfits.

Review of Outdoor Trek

Outdoor Trek Sat., August 8, 2015

Blanche Lavizzo Park 2100 S. Jackson Seattle WA www.seattle.gov… 999 999 9999 Theater/Performance Free No sendup, no camp—Outdoor Trek plays this Star Trek script (Theodore Sturgeon's "Amok Time") affectionately straight, though there are plenty of laughs to be had in the genius way they adapt it for al fresco performance on a shoestring budget. ("Wsht. Wsht." the cast members mutter every time they mime walking through one of the Enterprise's automatic sliding doors.) The casting is not so much cross-gender as ignore-gender, and Helen Parson as Spock relishes one of the character's juiciest roles—this is the episode where he gets the seven-year itch and has to return to Vulcan to mate—and she rants and rampages intensely in addition to having fun with Spock's archetypal unperturbability. (I do wish, though, that Paul Unwin had really committed to the role of Nurse Chapel and donned a miniskirt.) Other impressive acting subtleties include Patrick Hogan's high-strung-ness as Bones and the smooth ultra-competence of Uhura; Stephanie Morris plays her as cool as an ice panther from Rigel XII. 7 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Aug. 9.

Shipping orders today

It is good to get things out quickly but getting them in the mailbox is hard.

Hard at work with my team

Larnell and I are working away tonight.  No rest for the careful garment makers.

Shirt shortening

This is a work out short I shortened for a client.  It is a little tough to shorten shirts that are patterned for a certain length because the circumference is set for a certain length. Thankfully I pulled it off.

From my archives . . .

I found this shot of some earlier work I did when I was looking for something else today.  It was for a fashion contest and my line was inspired by cycling outfits from the old days. When folks wore wool, everything was so classic.

Hard at work on complex pattern

This is a pattern I am making for a complex bag. 

Be careful of speciality fabric

Here is what the table of my lockstitch looked like after I sewed some speciality fabric.  The needle just cut through the fabric. And then it left a dark black powder everywhere. It was good my client had me test it because it clear it can only be glued on to work.