It's Been Awhile

 We've had a busy summer:  a wedding in California, visiting family, meaning Jakob of course, and having computer issues, all of which pushed blogging to the bottom of the list.  I did do a little sewing after the wedding outfit and spent a lot of time cleaning up the sewing room, moving summer fabrics into the closet, moving  fall fabrics out and planning my fall sewing. 
I made the ubiquitous Vogue 1250 like so many others.  The biggest issue I encountered with this was getting it enlarged to fit my hips and then getting it to fit on the fabric.  I ended up cutting it on the cross grain.  If I make this again I think I'll resort to creating a side seam.
To refresh your memory, this is what it looks like on the tall, skinny model,

This is what it looks like on me.  That's Lily by the way wanting in on the picture taking. We adopted her in June from Arf or the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons.  I highly recommend them if you are looking for a dog on Long Island. 

Anyway, back to sewing.  I won't do a review of this; there are lots of reviews out there already, but I will show you what I did to make it fit my hips.  Even thinner people complained that it ran snug in the hips so I was cautious.  First I made an fba adding a dart, which I think that you can just make out.  Then I copied the side hip dart and put it aside.  After slitting the side seam and adding the room I needed I taped it  in place positioning the point of the dart with the center of my addition.  It worked and I have enough room for it to fit nicely.  It did however no longer fit the width of my fabric, so I cut it on the cross grain.  The fabric is a rayon knit from Emmaonesock that while thin was very easy to work with.  It didn't roll at all.  Nice quality as always from EOS.

The second piece I worked on was this top from Hot Patterns Riviera Cote D'Azur knit dress, tunic and top.  I made the top.  I love it.  I wish I'd made it earlier in the season because the dress would have been the perfect summer piece.

Description: V neck knit top with center front and back seams. The cf is gathered to a facing piece at the bust and then sewn together.  I didn't make an fba on this.

Fabric: A rayon knit from Mood that was printed and then overprinted(the black) to make a border print along one edge.  I again resorted to cutting it on the crossgrain.  I did not buy enough to put the print at the top as I originally planned, but this worked out well.

Instructions: Minimal, but this is so easy they are fine.
Pattern alterations: all I did was to shorten this a bit.

This   is an easy top and comfortable to wear.  The neckline is a bit low, but my bust is low so there's not a lot of cleavage showing.  I am comfortable with this, but if your bust is higher or you don't like low necklines, I'd consider raising it a bit.
If you live in the southern hemisphere, I'd really think about making not only the top but the dress.  Perfect pattern for hot summers.

What am I working on now?  Jeans, finally.  I have a pair of rtw jeans that are too tight but when they fit, they fit well.  When I took KK's moulage class he suggested that I copy  and grade them up.  I've done that and  I am fitting them now, but I'll leave that for my next post.  I will however leave you with a picture of Jakob.