Newsflash - New Simplicity Summer 2012 Patterns Announced

Simplicity has announced yet another round of new patterns for Summer.  You can check out the new collection here.  In general there are lots of summery dresses, though in general most of them seem a bit bland.

Simplicity has also jumped on the peplum bandwagon with this Project Runway pattern:

And I did rather like the new Cynthia Rowley patterns:

This could be great for the color blocking trend.

Also, Simplicity has new costumes!

Even though I haven't made any costumes lately I still like to collect the patterns.  This release also had a few skirts and wardrobe patterns, but all of the designs looked similar to Burda patterns I already have, or I wasn't too interested in the designs.  So overall, not the most exciting of releases, but I do think I will pick up the costumes and the 1801 Cynthia Rowley pattern.  What about everyone else?  Are you excited by this release, or are the designs sort of meh?  Will you be jumping on the peplum trend, or avoiding it like the plague?  Any of these patterns a must buy, or will you be skipping these releases?

Practical Fabrics

Alternative post titles were going to be something along the lines of "I Love My Mommy" or "My Mother is an Enabler."  Because last weekend when I went to the store to get more lining material for skating costumes (a necessary purchase, and mostly for my paying clients) my mother came along.  And when I was looking around and explaining that I pretty much can't wear any of the non-jeans RTW pants that I own because they don't fit anymore, and how I will totally need more grey and navy pants for this summer (at some skating events I act in an quasi-official capacity and there is a dress code) because the ones I made last summer were fine, but the fabric was so cheap that it really isn't lasting well, well, my mother broke down and got me some fabric.  Which wasn't my intent, as I wasn't expecting the store to have such a great selection of pants-weight fabrics in stock when I brought her, but, well, I don't turn down gift fabric.

So here are my grays:

Top: subtle pinstripe.  Unknown fiber content, though I guess polyester?
Very soft, though it had a funny smell when I washed it.
Bottom: crepe-like poly-rayon-lycra.  I love this stuff!

The blues:

Left: Ribbed knit with cotton content?  $2.49/yard from the mystery sale pile.
Right: navy poly-rayon-lycra for more pants.

So, erm, yeah, more fabric.  But it was a gift!  So it thereby doesn't really count?  Even if I won't be getting to it for a few months, I am hoping it will get made up sometime this summer.  I suppose the almost 9-yards of skating lining fabric I bought does count... but that is more of a necessary stash item, since I go through about 6-10 yards of that a year, and probably even more now that I am sewing for others as well.  And, well, yeah.  I have decided that my stash should really be full of things like interfacings and muslin, silk organza, and lining fabrics for skating costumes, when instead it is really full of stretch velvets, stretch lace, pretty silks and woolens.  Of course, there is nothing quite like the feeling of being able to pull out stash fabrics and make something awesome.  So, well, I don't think my stashing tendencies are going to change themselves anytime soon.

I Love Getting Packages

I love getting things in the mail.  It is so terribly exciting.  Especially when said mail is coming from halfway around the world.  One of the best things about having my sister study in Europe is I can force her to get cool stuff for me she loves me and sends me awesome gifts.  Though perhaps some of it is payment for the hemming of her jeans, which, as all good seamstresses know, is the ultimate leverage in getting someone else to do something for you.  Either way, I have some pretty amazing loot, so let's take a look, shall we?

Olympic stuff!  For this summer's London Olympics.

Assorted pins and goodies from England and Norway.
Also, one might notice Charles Darwin hanging out in the crowd.

More awesome buttons!

So sparkly!

The ones on the left are actually a pretty green/pink color, but hard to photograph.

Jane Austen book from the museum.

And historical fashion books from the Jane Austen museum!

Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen - has lots of great photos and drawings, as well as useful text. 

Jane Austen Fashion - More informative text about historical fashions with fewer pictures.

Costume from 1500 to the Present Day - A great overview of changes in European fashions over the past 5 centuries.

As you can tell, I am quite excited by my gifts.  The general England/Norway/Olympic stuff is cool, I have some awesome stash fabric that will look amazing with these buttons, and the Jane Austen fashion books are totally awesome and unique.  All in all quite a great haul considering all I am doing is being a lazy sibling across the sea.

Book Review: A Clash of Kings

Last year I decided it was time to start reading George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.  And now I have finally finished the second book in the series, A Clash of Kings.  The second book in the series will soon be shown as a TV drama on HBO, and the first (Emmy Award Winning) season will soon be released to DVD.  Overall this series seems to be picking up fans left and right.  Since the story, characters, and plot are entering more into the popular culture, I am trying to read them before I came across any major spoilers.  So far I have managed that, despite my slow pace.  I will try to keep these reviews as spoiler-free as possible, in case there are any other Ice and Fire fans who also want to experience the story in their own time.  You can read my review of the first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, here.  And now my review for A Clash of Kings:

Well, first of all, let me say that when I finished A Game of Thrones, I jumped headfirst into A Clash of Kings, as I was very excited by the ending of the first book, and could not wait to find out what happened next.  The first book felt very much like a beginning, and I was convinced that the next book would keep the momentum that the first book had ended with.  Sadly, I was rather mistaken.  It has taken me nearly seven months to get through this second book in the series, with my attentions and interest being diverted by nearly a dozen other books in the meantime.  I have been following the Read of Ice and Fire on the Tor website, and have endeavored to stay ahead of their pacing so that I don't have any major events spoiled for myself, but some weeks that goal was all that compelled me to read this book.

Now, while I crawled through the pages, I still have to insist that this is a good book.  The writing is fabulous, the characters are complex, and the plot is brilliantly constructed.  And yet, I found it hard to want to read this book.  I think part of it is that the world Martin has created is so dark.  I mean, even when the characters are making quips, there is a brooding undertone to it all.  So I really had to be in the right frame of mind to sit down and focus on these pages... which apparently I haven't been in much over the past few months.  Though when I am in a mood to read it, I actually did find a lot of this book to be quite enjoyable.

So, despite the long time it took me to read this book, I actually have to say I like it better than the first one.  The plot has thickened, the characters have developed, and the action has increased.  And, well, Martin does know how to build to an ending.  I found that I have grown fonder of certain characters, and I now have at least a few people I am rooting for, even if they all seem to be on opposing sides.  I also found that I had a much greater appreciation for the richness and complexity of the world he has created as well.  And I can't emphasize enough how good the ending is - although it took me months to read the first two-thirds of the book, I flew through the last few hundred pages in a matter of hours.  Like the end of the first book, I am now very excited to move on to the next in the series.  At this point I feel like we are deep enough into the story that the pacing can be a bit quicker, and that more information about the characters, plot, and world can be revealed without overwhelming the reader.  Of course, after two books I am starting to think that GRRM likes to take things slow and build up to his exciting endings, but I am still hoping that my renewed interest and enjoyment will propel me through the next book a bit faster than this one.  Of course, only time will tell, but with any luck I should be doing the next book review sometime before December!

Dance Skating - The Quickstep

Moving along in our tour of the dance skating world, I thought it was time to look at one of the most exciting and traditional skate dances - the Quickstep.  Based on the ballroom quickstep that became popular in the 1920s, the skate dance quickstep first made an appearance in the 1930s.  As one of the older dances, it is performed in ice, and in roller, with both American and International styles.  For all of these variations the steps remain the same, but the tempo changes.  In ice and international roller, the dance is skated to 112bpm, while the American variation is relatively slower at 100bpm (trust me, that is still plenty fast!).

Newsflash - April Burda Style Preview Posted

The full preview of the April Burda Style has been posted to the Russian website here.  And, well, I have to say I am actually more excited now that I have seen the full preview.  I don't know that there is anything that will cause me to rip out the pattern sheets upon arrival as happened with the March issue, but I do think there are a lot of good basics and a some items with a few fun details.

First, and most awesomely, we are getting a special designer dress in this issue!

Pretty!

I mean, I realize it sort of is a sack dress with pleats and gathers, but it is so pretty I don't care.  I really want one.  And I think I will have to make one, if I can find the right fabric.  It would be dreamy in a lovely silk chiffon....

Alright moving on, it seems Burda has minimized it use of the sack dress in this magazine (yay), though they did manage to slip one by me:

I saw this and thought, hmm could be interesting...

Then I saw this and thought meh.

Also, it seems as though Burda is skipping Spring and jumping right into summer - they already have a bikini pattern this year:

Much much better than last year, even if the print is crazy.

So much better than the saggy drawers monstrosity of last June.

And, well, actually there were quite a few designs I liked in this issue:

The sleeves might be fun to add to another dress...

Though maybe I like it a bit better as a shirt?

I can't decide if I like these pants...

But I do like the way they look in the model photos.

Love this little bolero.

And this red dress - perfect for tango dancing

Here is the line drawing - interesting front darts for shaping.

And I LOVE this dress with the lace sleeves.  I have a thing for lace...

There are also lots of shirts and skirts that aren't terribly exciting, but could be great basics, so overall I would say this is a pretty good issue as far as the normal ranges go.  The plus sized designs are a bit bland, but I did like this draped dress/top:

Though my favorite plus sized garment has to be this skirt:

Love the subtle details - I will have to grade this down for me!

Of course, Burda couldn't give us all classy styles - they had to get some of the crazy in there as well:

More saggy diaper pants (does anyone ever make these?  Does anyone ever wear them?)

I thought this crazy jumpsuit might be the worst pattern of the month...

But then I saw this.  She looks like a goddess... so I guess I can't ridicule the pattern too much?

However this playsuit gets no such consideration.  Awful.
(Clio - I think this might be in contention with your denim for the ugliest fabric of all time)

So I guess that finally brings us to the best of the month.  I am really torn between the subtle elegance of the black lace sleeve dress and the overwhelming pretty of the designer pattern.  Maybe it is just because we are heading into spring, but I think the overall happy lovely floatiness of the draped dress wins out, so I hereby give the Best of BS April 2012 Award to:

The exclusive designer pattern!

And, well, worst of the month wasn't nearly as hard.  Obviously the BWTF Award for April 2012 is bestowed upon:

The ugly floral playsuit romper jumpsuit thing.

So, what do you all think?  Is there enough here to get you excited, or is it just a sort of meh month?  Or are we all just ready for May, which is traditionally Burda's best dress issue?  Would be excited to hear your thoughts on the magazine in the comments!

Also, as a special bonus, the garment photos for the 2012 Spring/Summer Burda Easy fashion can be seen here.  I will probably do a post for this as well, once the full preview is up, but so far the offerings look pretty bland.

Button Down Shirt Version 1.0 and Other Things

Even though I am working on skating costumes, and I expect I will keep working on skating costumes for the next few weeks, I can't help but think about all the other projects I am wanting to sew when I am done, and what I want to do next for my year-long sewing challenge.  Mostly, I am contemplating the McCall's 6035 shirt which I have "muslined" but haven't actually done any work to correct the pattern as of yet.

Here are some pictures on me, with a few of the problems highlighted:

Many fit problems on the front

You can see how the fit is not right around the sleeves and bust

The back is actually pretty good, mild swayback issues and more sleeve problems

I think one big problem is that the bust is too low

This fit looks much better when I pinch some out of the top

I do like the collar quite a bit though!

So I am a bit conflicted, because I do like the style, and there are some fit problems which I can identify and easily correct (the too-low bust being a big one), but I think the main fit problem is the shape of the sleeve.  For those of you who haven't yet read this article about sleeve-cap-ease, you totally should.  When I look at the sleeve drawings in that post, I can totally see a Big4 sleeve on the left (this is the incorrect sleeve) and a Burda sleeve on the right.  Which is why I ponder if it is worth my time to try and re-draft the armscye and sleeve patterns, or if I should just use a BWOF pattern instead:

BWOF-09-2006-106

Or maybe I should just Frankenpattern the two?  I still want to use the sleeve style from McCall's (I like 3/4 sleeves), but it shouldn't be hard to change the Burda pattern to get the sleeves I want.  Bah.  Haven't really decided which way I want to go yet, and I am feeling a bit unmotivated to actually work on this project despite spending time pondering pattern alterations.  Instead I have been obsessing over these pants from Patrones:

PE-10-40

In my head I know these pants won't look good on me - pale colors and pleated fronts just make my hips look larger than they actually are.  And yet, I want these pants!  And I want them exactly like they are in the magazine.  It is a bit illogical, I admit, yet I think these will be my next project, once I finish with skating costumes and work through my button down shirt funk.  I have to admit to pulling out this magazine at least 3 times a week just so I can gaze at this photo.  It is becoming an obsession, despite my apprehension over the possible issues with the style.  And, well, if these don't work out in the muslin stage, I have a Burda pattern as a back up plan:

I think I just really want wide-legged trousers.

Also, I was going to quickly make up some linen pants from my recent fabric purchase:

Linen/rayon from Fabric.com

With my previously tested BS-06-2011-114 pattern:

But after pre-washing my fabric it is now way too small!  So I am thinking I will be using this linen for a skirt instead.  Which still leaves me looking for fabric to make a non-pj version of these pants for summer as part of my sewing challenge.  And also a bit frustrated because it sort of killed some of my sewing plans for this week.  But, well, I really should be focusing on skating stuff right now anyway, so I suppose it is just as well?  Maybe the real problem is that I just have too much sewing I want to do and not enough time to get it all done.  Either way, I am thinking about getting sewing done for my challenge, but I am just busy sewing other things at the moment.

Also, if you have any advice about fitting and adjusting the shirt, or input on the wisdom of attempting Patrones pants which logically I should avoid for stylistic reasons, please feel free to comment!