Newsflash: New Simplicity Patterns Announced!

First of all, let me proclaim: Happy Pi Day!  Mathematicians following the US convention of writing dates shall rejoice.

Secondly, along with releasing even more vintage posters, Simplicity has announced their latest pattern releases.  This release is full of plenty of wearable spring dresses.  But I can't say there is any one pattern the jumps out and grabs me as being really fantastic.  Most of the designs are fine, but boring.  That seems to be the theme of pattern releases for the week, I guess.  Let's take a look:

S1606 - A perfectly lovely dress.  Nothing exciting or innovative,
but a nice classic style.  Pretty, but not exciting.

S1607 - The latest Cynthia Rowley.  Again, fine, but nothing new.  
Though my perspective might be skewed because I have seen one too many
skating dresses with tops like that in my time...

S1610 - The latest Project Runway pattern.
Again, nothing new with the style, but hey - it has pockets!

S1612 - More cleavage cut out dresses...

S1613 - Knit tops.  Usually I can't say no to more knit top patterns,
but I think I am going to say no to this one.  Too similar to things I already have.

S1609 - A retro release from the 1960s.  It is retro, but it is boring.
Especially after I just saw all of the gorgeous costuming from a re-watch of the TV show Pan Am.

S1611 - Ok, I get that it is supposed to be a simple dress,
but does anyone else think it looks like lingerie?

S1614 - So BORING!  A strap does NOT qualify as "back interest."

S1621 - The jacket looks cute in the drawing, but sort of sloppy in execution.

S1617 - My hips are not a fan of those supper baggy pockets.

S1630 - This pattern could actually be quite useful,
especially for the technologically savvy seamstress on the go.

S1631 - I had to post this for the LOLs.

And, ummm, yeah.  That's about it.  Snoozefest, no?  I mean, the dresses are perfectly fine.  But not exciting.  And everything else... well...  Yeah, umm, no.  As always, you should feel free to disagree with me in the comments.

Newsflash: April Burda Preview Announced!

Before we get to the Burda-ness of this post, let me point out that the latest Kwik Sew patterns have also been announced, but other than a pattern for yoga pants they are all pretty much not inspiring, so I won't even bother to given them their own post. RIP Kwik Sew, I loved you dearly.

So, on to the main deal.  The full preview of the April Burda magazine has been announced on the Russian website.  And, well, I am not super impressed.  I mean, there are some nice spring clothes, but nothing I am super excited about.  I guess we should take a look anyway...

Maybe I will start with the good?  There were a few cute dresses for spring:

This lace dress has an interesting curved seam running through the front.

The seam details are much easier to see in the line drawing.

This halter dress could be quite  practical for summer.

Not totally a fan of the ruffles, but the general style is pretty cute.

Not really a fan of the maxi dress, but I could see cutting this shorter...

I like the neckline on this sheath dress, but the bow could be left off.

Much easier to see the seam lines without the print...

Basic sack dress, but with the belt it looks pretty good.
I like the neckline details as well.  Though I think Burda does one of these every spring.

I think this shirt is super cute!  Love the gathering at the buttons.

Just a circle skirt, but I really like it anyway.

There were a few patterns that I don't necessarily like, but I guess they are worth mentioning anyway:

The jacket has nice lines, but I am not really digging the oversized fit.

I suppose the idea of lace shorts is ok?  But if you can't see the lace detail
these sort of look like they have been through a ship wreak.

This top has a solid front and lace back, which seems to be quite a trend at the moment,
but I don't know if I like the lack of shaping on the shirt.

I like the gathering on this top, but I don't know if the shape would be flattering on me. 

The Burda Plus section was mostly full of spring dresses.  Nothing super innovative, but some pretty wearable patterns:

The pockets are a bit baggy, but the rest of this cardigan looks pretty cozy.

This tunic top is quite pretty.

A simple slip-like dress with a pretty covering.

Another easy spring dress.

This magazine also has a bonus section - men's patterns!  Unfortunately it sort of looks more like period pieces that belong in a production of Newsies, but on the other hand I won't reject men's jacket or vest patterns either.

And that's kind of it on the good end.  Pretty much everything else is decent basics (basic skirts and pants) or sack dresses.  Seriously, check out all of these sack dresses:

In seam pocket sack.

Sack dress that looks like it was made from the sail of the
same ship wreak that affected those shorts.

Triangle boucle dress of boring grey-ness.

Swiss cheese sack dress - with ruffles!

And that's about it!  Pretty boring, no?  I mean, unless I am missing something...  Which makes it pretty difficult to pick a best of the bunch, but here it goes anyway.  For the Best of BS April 2013 I chose:

White lace dress!

Maybe this won't be the most flattering style for everyone, but at least the dress isn't boring.  Which is more than I can say for most of the other pattern options this month.

As far as worst pattern this month, well, there are just so many drab sack dresses it was difficult to pick just one.  It was essentially a tie.  But in the end I gave BWTF award for April to:

Made of muslin sack dress!

Honestly, this dress sort of looks like it was inspired by a bathrobe.  I am not a fan.  On the other hand I think this photo sort of proves that classy shoes are a significant portion of looking good.

And that's that.  Like I said - sort of a boring issue.  I am going to hit the snooze button until May.  Which is fine because I have enough patterns from the March issue traced and ready to get cut out anyway.  But, still, sort of seams like a waste of an issue.  What do you all think?  Am I missing something great?  Anything you want to sew up?  Or are you going to focus your sewing time on other things?  What is your opinion of the men's section?  Feel free to discuss in the comments!

Drat You March Burda!

So, while I was initially uninspired by the early preview for the March issue of Burda, I ended up really liking a lot of the styles in this issue, and it seems that having the magazine in my position has inspired a fair bit of fabric acquisition and unexpected project planning.  Which I think is sort of a good thing, as it means the mojo is on the rise.  But maybe also not so good because it means that my year long sewing plans are going to be thrown totally out of whack.  Interesting how the mojo flow changes plans, isn't it?

So first of all, here are the new pretties...

From Jo-Ann Fabrics (white and brown) and Fashion Fabrics Club (teal):

White houndstooth jacquard cotton/poly blend, brown pinstripe poly-rayon-lycra
(yes, the fabric from the encounter with the QuiltB), and teal cotton sateen.

From Hancock Fabrics:

Purple cotton plaid for my sister's shirt re-make.
Rainbow cotton plaid for a dress for me.

From Fabric.com:

Teal and light blue stretch lace (for the March Burda cardigan),
white embroidered cotton eyelet (for the March Burda skirt),
and multi-colored houndstooth wool (because it was super cheap and awesome).

And from Fabric Mart:

Purple rayon challis print (meant for the March Burda ruched top halter dress)
Pastel cotton/rayon boucle blend (meant for the March Burda 3/4 sleeve jacket)

Vera Wang acetate linings.

More Vera Wang acetate linings. 

Free fabric bundle: lime cotton plaid (for PJs!), black cotton-ish
broadcloth (for a muslin), and brown knit print.

So, obviously, after a few months of not buying much at all I went a bit fabric crazy.  Though in my defense most of this is $1.99 lining fabric.  And as for the rest, well, I am really inspired to make a lot of the pieces from the March Burda right now.  So while I still want to try to stick to my year-long sewing goals in general, I have been re-working my plans for now through the end of March...  And moving around some of my other challenge projects, since there are things I still really need to make, but didn't get to what with all of the mojo-crushing flu bugs I have been dealing with.  Oh well.  The projects I will be moving around will still fit with my "seasonally appropriate" theme - besides, grey trousers are always in season (at least if you are a skating judge).  In the end I guess we all just sew what we can in the time that we have.

Sewing with Cats

Ok, I know there are a lot of seamstresses out there with "helpers" of the feline variety.  Sadly, due to allergies and other things, I don't think I will ever be one of those seamstresses.  Though baring the allergy issue I really think I would be something of a "cat person."  Regardless, during my recent teal blazer photo shoot the neighborhood cat decided it was going to make the front yard its new favorite place to nap.  And when I am tracing pattern at the kitchen table she likes to stare at me through the window.  The cat has a collar, but I haven't been able to get close enough to find a name, so for right now I am going to call her "Burda."

My new BFF, Burda.

Burda thinks taking pictures is boring...

Burda decided it wanted to follow me around for a while...

Time for Burda to go home...

Ok, so maybe it isn't exactly "sewing" with cats, but since Burda likes to hang around when the camera is out for sewing photo shoots it is kind of like having a sewing assistant.  Sort of.  Only I don't have to feed it.