Anyway, I went to fabric.com and was able to get some samples for $1.75/each. But with a valid coupon I found on retailmenot.com, I ended up getting each for about $1.50 instead. I wanted to get fabric samples to feel the types of fabrics (not to choose a print for a pattern).

I’m still really new to sewing and fabric choices and it seems I always end up getting some type of cotton (usually the keepsake calico) from JoAnn’s. Sometimes they turn out to be a bit too stiff. But I figured ordering some samples will be able to help me choose fabrics better if I know what they feel like, how heavy they are, how sheer, etc. Maybe I’ll feel more confident going to a different section in the store or buying fabric online… we’ll see.

Here’s the list of fabrics I got, matching the image starting at the top left (going clockwise):
1. Designer Cotton Lawn Abstract Stripes and Dots Orange/Yellow
2. Bloom Stretch Cotton Sateen Specs Red
3. Cotton Lawn Paisley Motif Brown/White
4. Tina Givens Havens Edge Cotton Voile Walls Violet
5. Satin Charmeuse Cow Light Pink/Mocha
6. Boutique Crepe de Chine Penguins Mustard (I didn’t even realize these were penguins when I ordered it. Apparently, I didn’t read the name!)
7. Valori Wells Novella Rayon Challis Rain Gypsy
8. Blossom Chiffon Abstract Stripe Blue
9. Stretch Panne Velvet Orange
10. Hi Multi Chiffon Lacey Paisley Black/Purple
11. Cotton Twill Lime

I ordered two other samples, but one was no longer available and the other is on back order. (The back-order one is Salt Water Laminated Cotton Sea Stripes Coral)

What are your experiences with fabric? Do you buy on-line? Why or why not?

Well, it took a while, but I did it: I made my first dress! (and thereby fulfilled my sewlution for 2013 — thanks Karen, for setting the Sewlutions up!).

I purchased the pattern at the beginning of January and then bought the fabric and notions a little over a week later.  I washed the fabrics (the main and the lining), and then used some stash fabric to make a mock of the bust:

I put it on to test the fit (I closed the back without a zipper just to get an idea – you can see in the pic above), and was pleasantly surprised with the decent fit!  (I’ve since seen many posts about Sewaholic patterns that praise Tasia for such spot-on measurements).

Then, I waited until the end of March to actually do anything else.  Why, you ask? Laziness, being too busy or too tired and nervous to actually cut up the material to begin!  It took longer than I thought to cut everything out once I started, but I’m glad I did it all in one go. (My back was killing me after though, so that was all I did for the day — not to mention the hockey game was coming on…)

I finally began construction the day after I cut everything out and slowly but surely I made my way through it–but not without my share of mistakes/mishaps…

The gathering was going along smoothly, but when I tried to even some of it out, the thread snapped in the middle!! UGH!  I had to remove all the thread and then do it all over again…  (Does anyone know of any tricks for when the thread breaks in the middle of gathering??)

I battled with the idea of a lining for the skirt since it was so full already, and finally opted not to do the skirt part but still did a lining for the bodice.  I think part of the reason I struggled was due to the lining fabric I chose: extra slippery stuff (think a slip that you would wear under your dress or skirt) and that was the first time I ever worked with it.  I bought it because it was actually called lining fabric – I didn’t consider using a different kind of fabric (see? I’m still getting the hang of this whole sewing thing…)

I struggled a little with the sleeves too; I had to shorten them a bit (but instead of cutting the material, I just folded them at the edge).  The first time I sewed them on, they were too tight, so I had to use the seam ripper and re-do them.  (Luckily, that only happened once!)

Those were really my three biggest problems, so all in all, not too bad.  Sometimes it’s better to make the mistakes to learn and be better for next time!

And now…drum, roll please….

TA DA!

At one of the fittings, fiancé said “You look like Lucy”. haha!

I had to take the pics myself using my little tripod for my camera.  I had the camera sitting on a stack of books (probably about 8 or 9 of them) on my bed, and no matter how hard I tried, the pictures with my head in them looked goofy (the camera was tilted up so it was very unflattering and the lighting looked funny…I think if I stacked anymore books the tower would have fallen over).  I probably took at least 12-15 pictures trying to get it just right. So I just accepted the fact that I’m not a self-picture-taker and just decided to post the pictures without my head! (and I’ll make sure someone is around to help with future photo shoots…) (also, please excuse the ugly closet door – it was like that when we moved in…)

I decided that I would cut back on the amount of fabric for the skirt if I were to do view B again – I feel like it might accentuate my hips a little too much.  Too much gathering, so I would cut out less fabric, I think.

The online tutorials from Tasia were super helpful when it came time to attach the lining and the sleeves.  However, they were much easier for me to understand when I was following along with my material than just reading them while sitting on the couch.

I ended up using stitch witchery for the hem at the bottom of the dress.  I haven’t had much experience hand-sewing and wasn’t sure how to approach it.  Also, the thread that I used for the dress would have showed on the outside of the dress and I didn’t want that. I’m not sure how well stitch-witchery will hold up against multiple washings (I’ve only used it on one other project that I haven’t had to wash yet – a table runner).  Anyone know?

There are a few things I wasn’t too happy about (operator errors), but all in all I’m proud of what I accomplished!  And I plan to make view A – I think in a solid color – plum perhaps.

Would you believe me if I told you each of the patterns above was $1.88??  Well, it’s true!

Last Sunday I was browsing for sewing patterns when I saw that the McCall’s/Butterick/Vogue/Kwik Sew website was having a sale!  The prices were insane! At first I thought that it was the ClubBMV price, but that was even lower. The best thing about it? I ended up getting them on the last day of the sale!

However, I realized after I placed the order that I got the wrong size for the girls dresses, and when I called to see if they could switch it for me, I was told that they can’t make changes to the order after it has been placed, so I need to return it and they’ll send the other size out for me (but I’ll have to pay $4 for shipping…considering that the pattern at its regular price is around $7 I believe, I’m willing to pay the $4 because in total it’s still cheaper!)

Yay!  Now to decide what to attack first…

Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes

My synopsis: Book 1: It’s the summer before Ginny’s senior year of high school when she receives a mysterious letter from her nomadic Aunt Peg with a list of instructions and a packet of other letters that need to be read in order.  Aunt Peg always thought have a free lifestyle was a good thing and something Ginny should experience. The oddest part about it all?  Aunt Peg died months before Ginny received the first letter. So, with her letters and instructions, Ginny sets out to Europe for a summer of discovery and mystery.

This was an interesting, light read – nothing to write home about though (no pun intended).  Though it did make me wish someone had sent me a series of letters that sent me around Europe on a trip I’d never forget. I know I wouldn’t get into the same situations Ginny did (the chances of me traveling around with complete strangers isn’t likely – especially like the crazy family she ends up rooming with for almost a week).  But I love the idea of only being able to know a bit at a time and having to read the next clue to find out what comes next. The aunt really knew how to find the local places and really got into the different cultures and she certainly found/met some quirky places and people.

The Last Little Blue Envelope
Maureen Johnson
eBook (borrowed from library)

My synopsis: Book 2: Due to unforeseen circumstances in book 1, Ginny never gets to read the last letter.  But the following summer she receives an email from someone in England who found the last letter. So, off Ginny goes to England to retrieve her last letter from Aunt Peg and get some closure.  Once again, Ginny is involved another one of Aunt Peg’s crazy adventures.  But will her friends from last time be around and will they help her?

The guy that contacts Ginny about the last letter basically forces her to let him join in on the last task set by Aunt Peg: in exchange for the original letter, he gets half the money that will come from this last adventure.  But if Ginny doesn’t agree, she’ll never see the letter. It turns out that this letter has another task (broken into 3 parts) for Ginny to complete. Ginny’s love interest from book 1 is back but not quite who Ginny thought he was.  A strange journey ensues with Ginny, her love interest, his possible girlfriend, and the guy who found the letter traveling in a tiny cramped car.

So these books weren’t amazing by any means, but they were enjoyable reads for the most part.  Ginny could be a little annoying.  She kind of hints at the fact that her parents are pretty boring and basically, they don’t seem like the kind of parents who would let their 17-year-old daughter just up and go to Europe on her own.  Stranger things have happened, I suppose. Some of it seemed kind of far-fetched, but again, not looking for high literature here, just an enjoyable read.  I would classify it as a beach read or even something to read when flying…just something to pass the time.

Goodreads synopsis: Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

I’ve read mixed reviews on this, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I finally borrowed this from my mom.  I’m pretty sure I once took it from her when she first got it, but then I never got around to it, so I gave it back.  I didn’t really know anything about it, actually – no idea who the main characters would be (male/female), what time period it would take place in, or where.  So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was a woman a few years older than me in present-day England (for the most part).

The characters were decent, and I liked them, including Diana’s aunts’ house – it was very fun and interesting with all its rooms, magical things and ghosts. The one thing that I felt was slightly off was the fact that Matthew kept saying that vampires are so dangerous and that Diana shouldn’t romanticize them, but I felt like they were still kind of romanticized anyway.  The whole love story was predictable, but it is what it is.

I thought the science/DNA aspect of the story was interesting – not many of these books try to give scientific explanation for why witches/vampires/daemons exist, but it seems the characters are trying to figure it out.  And I guess when you’re 1500 years old, what else have you got but time to study this stuff?

I thought the book was longer than it needed to be, especially for the first book in a trilogy. I’m sure there were some things that could have been cut (all the time in the library, eating, some of the time spent at Matthew’s house with his mother, etc.).  But I’m really just looking at the book as entertainment and not trying to dissect it.

I just got the second book from my mom a week or two ago, so I’ll get around to it.  I want to know what’s going on with Ashmole 782, the alchemical manuscript mentioned in the synopsis above.

Number of books read: 7
Favorite book of the month: The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruis Zafon

Reading challenge progress (% complete)
Personal TBR: CANCELLED
What’s In a Name 6: 100%
Historical Fiction: 60%
2013 Reading Goal: 36%

Number of reading challenges completed: 1
I FINISHED A READING CHALLENGE!!!!! Wooooo!! I still need to post my last book review as well as a wrap-up post, but I’ll get to it – I’m just amazed I finished one.

Number of sewing projects completed: 1
Favorite sewing project of the month: I completed my first dress!  I wish there were a few things different (stuff I did, nothing to do with the pattern), but I’m still happy and proud of what I accomplished.  That post will be up eventually… just need to take some pictures

This month was better for meeting with my reading buddy – we only had one week off: his school vacation week.  Which happened to be the same week of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.  Thankfully, all of our schools were on vacation that week, so that was one less worry for people (think about it: schools would have had to go into lock-down – scaring both the children and their parents – or they would have had to evacuate which could have caused more panic, too).

Anyway, we’re almost done with Zac Power #3, probably have about 10 or so pages left to read.  A. seems to really enjoy the books, which is good, since I think these are much more appropriate than the scary books (I think you all know how I feel about those by now, yes?).  The program coordinator found book #4, so I think we’ll have enough time to finish that to wrap up the year together.

We only have 3 weeks left and then an end-of-year celebration, so I’ll only see him 4 more times until next fall when the program starts again.  I need to figure out what book to get him as the end-of-year gift… any suggestions?

Pants on Fire

Goodreads synopsis: Katie Ellison is not a liar.  But she can’t exactly tell the truth, either–not when she’s juggling two boyfriends, secretly hating the high school football team everyone else worships, and trying to have the best summer ever. At least Katie has it all under control (sort of). Her biggest secret, what really happened the night Tommy Sullivan is a freak was spray-painted on the junior high gymnasium wall, is safe. That is, until Tommy comes back to town. Katie is sure he’s going to ruin all her plans, and she’ll do anything to hang on to her perfect existence. Even if it means telling more lies. Even if, now that Tommy’s around, she’s actually–truthfully–having the time of her life.

Honestly, I chose this book pretty much based on the title.  One of the categories for the What’s in a Name Challenge required a title to have “fire” or the equivalent (such as flames, smoke, etc.).   I scoured Goodreads searching these terms and this seemed to be an OK one (most of the books with those words in the title tended to have covers that looked like romance novels that I’m just not into).  I also recognized the author’s name, but couldn’t remember if I had read anything by her.

Anyway, this wasn’t very good.  The main character was annoying.  She’s supposed to be at the top of her class, yet the writing isn’t all that sophisticated (using “like” a lot, and saying stuff such as “so my mom was all like…” rather than “and my mom said”).

We don’t find out until way late in the book what was written about Tommy on the junior high gym, but the synopsis tells us right away.  The book had this build up to what it actually said and who wrote it, but when they synopsis gives away what it says, why is there such a build up?  I thought the whole situation was pretty extreme.  I didn’t care about any of the characters.   The only good part about the story was the speech Katie made at the end, which would be in line with the character Tommy knows and loves, but not with the one we read about throughout the book.

I just did a search on Goodreads for Meg Cabot and I know why her name is familiar: she wrote The Princess Diaries.  I thought the Disney move was cute, and marked the book to read a while back.  I’ll give that one a chance, but if it’s anything like this, I’ll probably give up early on.  And if this is an indication of how the rest of her work is, I’m all set.

You know, I hate giving bad reviews, especially if I see others have enjoyed the book.  If I happen to see a number of good reviews, I try to think back and see if there is anything I did enjoy about it and try to soften my review, but that usually doesn’t happen.

I’ve been reading some reviews on Goodreads and still feel the same way: nothing for me to soften my review (in fact, I’ve seen some pretty scathing stuff!) and I agree with the few 1 & 2 star reviews I’ve read, but I’m dumbfounded when I see that some people gave this 4 or 5 stars!  I just don’t see the quality in it to give more than 2 (and I think that’s being generous).  SEMI-SPOILER: There was one review that made a really good point: how is it that Tommy was run out of town for exposing a lie, yet the main character goes around with lie after lie and all her cheating?  No type of punishment for Katie at all.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Goodreads Synopsis: Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man. A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life…as only a dog could tell it.

I cut down the Goodreads synopsis because it was really long, but you can click on the book image to be taken to the Goodreads page and read the whole synopsis.

First: I love the dog’s name! This was an enjoyable read.  My manager told me about it a while back and I added it to my to-read list, but never got around to it.  When I was visiting my cousin about a month ago, I saw she had a copy and she said it was really good, so I borrowed it.  I was not disappointed in it.  However, I was surprised at the subject matter the “tough stuff” that was at the center of the novel.  I was expecting a lighter read similar to A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron (which is one of my favorite books).

At times, I felt Enzo was too philosophical and not very dog-like, but some of his observations were pretty funny.  And some observations were funny because they were true (his description when owners have to pick up their dog’s poop, for example).

Admission time: After reading the first chapter and knowing Enzo was on his way out, I went to the end of the book to read the last chapter (before I was emotionally invested in the characters), thinking that one of two things would happen when I really got to the end: 1. I could skip it ’cause I already read it, or 2. I wouldn’t be emotional because I already read it.   Of course I did read it when I got to the end and of course I did tear up over it!  So that was a big fail for me. Ha!  (by the way, I’ve never done that before!)

It took me a little while to get into it, I must admit, but once I got settled with it, it was good.  I think I was comparing it to A Dog’s Purpose too much and once I let that go, I could enjoy it more.  There were lots of comparisons between life and racing (obviously!), which didn’t really mean anything for me since I’m not interested in racing but I understood the comparisons/parallels so it worked.

Number of books read: 6
Favorite book of the month: The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
(I decided I’m not going to track portions of books like I did in February; I’ll only add books that are completed during the month)
Reviews for The Art of Racing in the Rain and Pants on Fire will be posted within the next week or so.

Reading challenge progress (% complete)
Personal TBR: 27%
What’s In a Name 6: 83%
Historical Fiction:  50%
2013 Reading Goal: 25%

Number of reading challenges completed: 0
So close, though!  Only one more book left for the What’s In a Name Challenge!

Number of sewing projects completed: 1
Favorite sewing project of the month: N/A
But I did a lot of work on the dress!  I’m hoping it’ll be completed by the end of April.