Happy Birthday Jess W!

 Jess is the mistress of all things prim.  Another of her phase that we all have to live with ... :)  I gathered some essential prim (dare I not?) items like crushed walnut shells, heavy muslin and a metal clamp make-do.  I also stitched a mug rug for her (my current craze).  The pineapple stitchery is a freebie design by Sue Allemand.  Being the cat lover that she is, I knew I had to get her this kitty card.  These are prints by a talented local artist Emila Yusof.

 Another mug rug but this time for Margaret W.  The cross stitch is a freebie design by Plum Street Samplers. I changed the chart a little with MW's DD as the elder and her DS as the baby!  Stitched on Lugana 28ct evenweave with DMC floss.  The fabric is from a honeybun called Make Life by Sweetwater for Moda. Sorry about the pictures being a little dark despite being rather sunny outside.  I think I need to tweak some manual settings and see how that goes.

 I bought this book without knowing that it wasn't REALLY couture.  The techniques really looked impressive and quite polished to my untrained eye.  Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics panned it just a few days after I got my copy :(  Nevertheless it's really useful to me and I don't think I want to aim for real couture sewing as such although it is always good to know what's out there (famous words by Mulder).  I would be happy with meticulously made RTW (Ready to Wear) garments. 

 This is the start of Burda 8218.  I chucked this fabric aside as it was too sheer almost like organza.  The fabric was Glace by Three Sisters for Moda.  My friends say I could use a spaghetti T or a lacy camisole inside the blouse ... we'll see.  I've cut another piece or white cotton fabric since, this time thicker.

 I tried Hong Kong seam for the shoulder seams using the discarded organza like fabric.  I think I better stock up on some satin bias tape or some viscose lining.  Sure would be prettier and more comfy.  And it saves a trip to the shop to serge it before attaching the collar.

 I used the couture dart method as described in the book.  I needed to sew 6 darts for this blouse.   I am also using that same organza fabric as the interface for my facings.  I have not got the silk organza that it widely used in replacement of interface.  I need to make a trip to the fabric stores to get some essentials soon. The instructions for the Burda 8218 leaves a lot to be desired and for a newbie like me it zapped all the little brain power I had.  It was a rather mentally exhausting weekend.  For a more finished front facing I used Sunni's tutorial, which is very clever.

 To soothe my tortured grey cells, I worked on Mary Glover, still some catching up to to.  I had to unpick 'FINISHED THIS MARCH' as I used the wrong colour floss :(  It's now corrected.  When it rain it pours?  That's how the weather has been here in KL for some days.  There's a mini storm every evening starting at 4 pm.  The lightning show is just above my roof!

 Some clowning around with the T block.  It's a 3" block, a little too small for my liking but I think I may make another 3 just to convert it into a potholder?  I saw this just the night before on Taryn's blog.  I used this instructions.  I am using Kona's Rich Red and a white muslin.