Quick Boot Pillow Project

I own a lot of boots.  

I have always admired the stuffed, weighted pillows that some shoe stores put inside the boot shaft when the boot is on display.  This holds up the shaft so you can see the entire boot while shopping; BUT it also prevents creases from forming in the leather from storing boots flopped over.  Another option is to store boots flat in their shoe boxes, but that takes up space.  I decided to make a set of boot pillows for myself.  (I do not know if these are actually called Boot Pillows, but it is descriptive.)

I cut 12"w x 15"h pieces of muslin for each pillow.  Then I folded each rectangle in half so if was 6"w x 15" h and sewed around the edge.  I left an opening in the middle of the seam.

I then stuffed them with polyfill and sewed the opening shut by hand.  I did not weight these at the bottom.  I did not have quick access to lead shot and not enough spare dry beans.

... and inserted them into my boots!  I did remove one set of boots from the pile so it is a bit tidier.

I am taking a MOOC!

I love online collaboration and learning!  So I am trying my first MOOC (Massively Online Open Course).  Here is the link:  http://www.gamesmooc.shivtr.com/pages/summergamesmoocinfo

How cool would it be to have this as your virtual class room space?!?!?

The first half of the course covers Gaming and the second half covers Immersive Environments.  I do quite a bit of work with immersive environments in Second Life (for work) and Minecraft (for fun).  I am hoping to learn some things to make my online courses more exciting!

Dress Done!

Here it is!  I wound up cutting off about 8" from the length, so it is not quite as vintage-y looking as it could have been, but I think it is more wearable at this length.

There are some discrepancies between the picture on the front of the pattern and the actual dress.  Most noticeably in the sleeve head.  I am going to try pressing the seam allowance into the body to get some of that puff to de-puff.  I even took the sleeves out once and trimmed some off the cap area, but I think I need to reduce the width of the sleeve at the cap as well.  This would require a total recut, so I think I will try some seam allowance manipulation and serious pressing before I take it apart again.  Also the bodice is more poofy that I thought it would be.  It has tucks at the waist rather than darts.  Again, the pattern picture that I found is much more smooth.  Also the model appears to have a 19" waist and sloping shoulders which probably helps the overall proportions.  So not my shape.

I agonized over the button choices and have to resist the urge to go buy more buttons... which I do NOT need.

Assortment of grey/green

Pearly?

Love the hot pink....

Not enough of the roses for the whole front

I settled on these large black 4-hole buttons

Unfortunately I didn't quite have enough, so I had to space them out a little farther.  On a women's button front, you need one button in line with the apex of the bust to keep things from gaping.  This is especially true if you are larger busted.  You will notice that I do not have a button at that location on this dress as I ran out of buttons.  I have a snap sewn in the placket at that location.  I have several vintage dresses that use tiny snaps and hook-and-eye closures to keep things closed or flat.

Alicia's Bunnies

Look at Alicia's cute bunny patterns at Posie Gets Cozy!

And they have clothes too!  Both cut and sew and hand knit!

It is rose season!

My roses are putting on their first rush of blooming.  They received an extra dose of composted mulch last fall and it seems to be paying off.  I have this bouquet in my studio.

I can't remember this one but it is a David Austen variety

Variegata de Bologna

Tradescant

Graham Thomas

57 Buttonholes Later...

I took a break (again) from the dress project to finish up the bedroom project.  We installed floor to ceiling curtains across the closet wall using hospital style ceiling track which is in a word AWESOME!!!

The pictures did not turn out well.  I will try again this evening and turn on other lights.

The curtain panels were purchased at Fred Meyer during a sale.  The cost was much lower than making them myself.  Originally we wanted a warm, french grey, but the dark brown works really well against the wall color and with the furniture.

They open very easily and glide smoothly.  I need to find some other places to install this stuff.  You can also get curved sections to go around corners too!

You can see what the closet looked like before the curtain in this post.

Slow and Steady

There has been some delay in the dress project due to the end of the semester.  I had a couple of finals to take and grading to do for the course that I teach.  But now I am back on track.

Since the floral fabric is too sheer to use for self fabric facings, I decide to line the bodice with white batiste and interface the facing area using fusible interfacing.  I did add a row of stitching to the edge of the interfacing that is not in the neck opening seam.

Back with interfacing fused

I have pinned in the sleeves on the dress form (true pin basting because I am too lazy to actually hand baste them in because I know they are too full) and have discovered a lot of poof.

The pattern shows a very flat and smooth sleeve cap, so I will be reducing the cap a bit.  That is the project for this evening.

Here is a view of the left front (as worn) with the placket turned back.  It is a little blurry, but you can see the neck opening clean finishing and possibly see the lining disappearing behind the turn under for the placket.  The lining stops at the fold that creates the placket to reduce the bulk.  I also added interfacing to the lining that will be inside the placket area.  I am skipping the separate placket entirely.  The pattern was cut for it, but I think some of the center front needs to be cut away to attach it.  And I don't think the voile will work well with an applied placket.  You can see all the seam allowances through the fabric.

I will leave the sleeves unlined, so the lining ends at the arm hole.  Easy lining.

Mystery Pattern Status

Here is how the dress is shaping up....

The bodice fits surprisingly well!  I only did a small adjustment at the waist.  However the voile is VERY translucent, so I have purchased some white cotton batiste to line it.  I cannot use self fabric for the neckline facings as it will show through, so I am going to interface the neckline area of the lining and use the lining to clean finish and support the neck opening with understitching, of course, to prevent the lining from rolling to the outside.  Will post more on the progress.