Merry Christmas!

Oh, Hallowed, Hallowed Christmas

Oh, blessed, blessed Christmas,
The stars were shining bright,
But there was one outstanding
Upon that holy night.
Its radiant beams were shining
Upon a lowly manger bed
Wherein there lay the Christ Child,
A pillow of hay for His head.

Oh, glorious, glorious Christmas,
The night of Jesus' birth;
Oh, hallowed, hallowed Christmas
When God came down to earth.
Forever we'll adore Thee...
Christ, the one tru light,
Resting in the promise
Of that most holy night.

by Loise Pinkerton Fritz

Merry Christmas to all. Especially those who read my blog. Thank you and God bless.
Cennetta

It's Beginning to Look alot Like Christmas...,

Warning heavy picture content

On one of the coldest, snowiest days of the year, my family got together for our annual kick off festivities for the Christmas season. The theme of this gathering was "Making Christmas Wreath".

Years ago Martha Stewart did an episode on decorating for Christmas. At that time, I thought it was such a cool idea to make your own decorations. It makes the holiday season extra special. My sister, Rochelle, was the host (not pictured) of this super fun event. We had lots of food, old school music, laughs and loads of fun. Party time: 3:00pm, December 12th.

When we arrived, the air was filled with delicious smells, Mmmm, Mmmm, good home cooked food (I bought a bucket of chicken and sparkling grape juice). In the kitchen, the table was set with all types of goodies to make wreaths. The house was filled with laughter, good cheer, and Lionel Richie and the Commodores in the back ground. What fun.



Everyone, except the young men of the family made wreaths. The overly, energetic young men preferred rough housing in the family room in between eating double portions of all the food.



Christopher Ryan the birthday young man (14)



Wreath Making -

Domino putting it together

Finished



Rochelle's wreath finished

Tricey - The Candy Wreath



Lolo - Kind of Traditional



Me - Fluffing the wreath while thinking about placement of decorations

Finished - Traditional -- Less is More

Testing, testing, 1,2,3 ...,

Finally, some practice videos (Wreath Making) for future sewing tutorials. Enjoy!
C

The Best Club in Chicago - Haute Couture

Want to know about a source of Great Sewing Inspiration? The Haute Couture Club of Chicago is it. Ladies who live as far as Florida travel to meetings and club events. When I tell you this is a great club; it's true. Each time I'm in the presence of these talented ladies, I feel privileged and thankful that Martha Moser (Club President) invited me to become a member.

Last weekend was our Annual Holiday Luncheon. This time we celebrated at the Terzo Piano Restaurant - The Art Institute of Chicago (Downtown Chicago-Michigan Avenue). It was so fun. During lunch, of course, we discussed club news and activities. Part of our meeting time was used to "show and tell" what you creatively designed/sewed. This is one of the highlights of the meetings. So such inspiration is flowing through the room. Several members wore their designs. I couldn't get photos of most, but managed to take a few not so great shots. By the way, these are "action shots".

First, Ms. Francine is wearing a beautiful dress that she made. She also designed a small handbag to match.




Next, Ms. E and Ms. D.

Ms. E is sporting a Chanel jacket that she recently made. You can always count on Ms. E to participate in show and tell. Last time, she showed a beautiful bomber like jacket (Vogue) made of faux leather with a fleece underside. Outstanding!

Ms. D was certainly dressed to the nine in her lovely silk suit made from a Vogue pattern. This photo is a little grainy and does not do the suit or Ms. D justice; both are beautiful. The suit is impeccably made, great fit and style.






This next lady, I didn't get her name. My apologies. She crafted this lovely suit and was proud to show it off.




Ms. Sandra (Chair lady of the Fashion Show committee) is styling a beautiful dress that she modelled in the April 2010 Fashion show. Ms. Sandra showed and told about the makings of the jazzy top she is holding. This is a copy of an expensive ($200) designer model made for a fraction of the cost. Isn't great to be able to design and sew? She also told us about her February challenge Sewing Workshop San Diego Jacket (I did not get a photo of her version).






Side note - The Sewing Workshop gifted the club several copies of the jacket pattern. Many of members accepted the challenge and will be showing off their creations at the February meeting. I'll try to get good pictures.

Back to the show and tell...,

Finally, Ms. Rhonda (Style Goddess/President 2008-2010) is sporting a jacket that she made the night before the luncheon. Can you believe it? She also wearing a super cute red skirt (her design) and a top which she also made. We celebrated Ms. Rhonda because she is now published in Threads magazine Nov/Dec 2010. She is also featured in the Threads magazine "Teach Yourself to Sew".










What fun!!!

Update - Last meeting our guest speaker was Peach Carr (Project Runway). She is so delightful and super funny not to mention extremely creative. She talked about her life, love of sewing, and Project Runway. She shared some behind the scene tidbits of Project Runway and how being a contestant changed her life. Of course, some things about the Project were off limits. But what she did share had us all on the edge of our seats. Woo Hoo!

Oh well, that's it for now!

Happy Sewing Beautiful Ones!

Thanks, Pamela! - Fashion Sewing Supply

A few days before Thanksgiving I received a cute little package that contained several generous interfacing swatches. This was my prize from a drawing held by Pamela Erny, Fashion Sewing Supply. This was the perfect little prize. Last week I used the kit as part of a sewing lesson. The swatches were the perfect size to pass around the table. It gave my students an opportunity to examine the various types of interfacing. Each swatch has a post it affixed describing the type, use and care. This is a neat way to teach students about interfacing and a great way to sample the various interfacings available at FSS. Thanks again, Pamela!

Much appreciated.
C

Starting with the Pencil Skirt of S2452 - The Wardrobe Builder

Grey Skirt with Teal Blouse (JC Penny's)




Grey Skirt with Navy jacket and Stretch Velvet Top (Both RTW)


This is another installment of my Fall 2010 wardrobe builders. Simplicity 2452 is a nice pattern to create a custom wardrobe. The only thing missing is a top/dress to complete the ensemble. The sweet thing about this pattern is it has two jacket styles, view B being the cutest in my opinion. The skirt is typical and can be found in many wardrobe patterns. This version does not have a facing or waistband. Instead the sewist can add twill tape to finish the waist.



Sage Skirt with Faux Snake Skin Jacket (McCall's) and Brown Knit Top (Kohl's)


Well I think I've given you a idea about the description of the pattern. My first review is the skirt. I used it to make three skirts to add to my work wardrobe. It's too simple. Two pieces, front and back with a zipper and vent. The "simplicity" of this skirt gives the sewists many options to add trim to add some interesting details. This round I only added a lining.



Maroon Skirt with Ruffled Knit Top (Walmart)


Part of this review is to show how the skirt can be incorporated into my ever "growing" wardrobe. Styling options included. Review follows:

Pattern Description: Misses' jacket with front variations and skirt. Simplicity sometimes gives vague descriptions of the style of the garment.

Pattern Sizing: 6 - 22.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, But I made a few changes to suit my taste.

Were the instructions easy to follow? For the skirt, I skimmed them. They look pretty standard for this style of skirt.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? As I stated in the introduction, the jacket, view B. My least favorite waist finishing is to add twill tape.

Fabric Used: Two of the fabrics used were wool remnants from Vogue. Each at about $10.00. And the third is a left over piece (wool also) from a dress I made a few years ago. It was purchased at JoAnn's. Here is a close look at the texture of the fabrics used. Here are a few of the many Vogue fabric tags.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Instead of inserting a side zipper and place it center back: two invisibles and one lapped. The waist was finish by adding 1/4" twill tape to stay the waist. Then I attached the lining, pressed the allowance towards the lining, understitched and finally topstitched the skirt to the lining to finish the waist. Here is a close up of the finished waist. And here is the finished waist and zipper.


Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I probably won't sew it again. I have many more skirts styles I would like to sew. And yes, I recommend this pattern to others. I already have a jacket cut and ready to sew. But I won't start on it until after completing my holiday gift sewing. But it will be done before the new year.


Conclusion: This is a pretty nice wardrobe pattern. And the skirt is simply enough for a beginner to sew with no problems. I do recommend trying it.

More Wardrobe Builders with M5818

I knew it wouldn't be long before the cold wintery weather claimed the Chicagoland area. Yes, winter is here to stay. Sadly, I don't think we will have any more 50, 60 degree days until next spring. So in preparation for the bone chilling temperatures, I'm sewing wool pants and skirts to help fight back the cold winds. These are my number staple bottoms for work. Last week, I finished two pairs of pants using ole faithful M5818.

The fabric is a wool blend suiting from JoAnn's. It really nice and easy to sew. Here I've paired the pants with a fuchsia turtleneck (RTW) and with a Simplicity t-shirt and jacket. Pati Palmer's pattern includes a one inch seam allowance. For the top of the waistband I only sew 1/2 inch allowance resulting in a wider waistband which I like a lot. Also I modified the end of the waistband for a slightly different look.





More views of pants made using this pattern here on Flickr.

More later on wardrobe builders (pencil skirts).

Happy Sewing!
C

Parting Shot - November 28th, My cousin Thomas married his childhood sweetheart Linda Kay.

Abbey Resort - The Repeatable Vacation Spot-Spa

Is there a vacation spot that you love so much you plan to go there every year? Well the Abbey Resort and Avani Spa is that place for me. Every year, I'm excited to go to this little resort in Wisconsin. It's a perfect little get-away that is is reasonably priced. I've blogged about it several times in a past few years. And the joy of my most recent visit is no less appreciated than the first.

This time around, only my sister and I went. We wanted a quiet, relaxing visit. And of course we understand each other. Each taking advantage of all the amenties: massages, scrubs, whirlpool, pool side meals and pool side naps. Joy...,

Each visit I try to take a few shots of the surrounding area to share and catelog. So this time, no shots of fabulous homes, but of the shoreline and a few land marks. On our walk, we noticed several real estate properties for sale from $275,000 and up.

This is a great little mid-western spa. So if you live hearby, check it out.