Demande Spéciale : Ben 10

Je ne couds pas pour Jr C.
Faire des pantalons à taille élastique et des sweatshirts ne représente pas une bonne allocation de mon temps de couture, mais, quand il m'a demandé un t-shirt Ben 10, il est tellement fan, je lui ai dit que s'il le voulait bien, on pourrait le faire ensemble.

On a fait le processus entier : l'achat des t-shirts, la coupe, le patron pour la ligne noire devant, il a traçé les marges de couture, pressé le champignon et tout et tout.
J'ai un vague espoir en faisant ça, qu'il comprendra qu'on est pas obligé d'aller au magasin à chaque fois qu'il veut un truc et qu'il grandira en respectant les gens qui fabriquent les choses qu'il utilise.

Ceci n'est pas un tutoriel pour vous montrer comment élever vos enfants, je voulais juste partager avec vous son bonheur quand il a vu le produit fini. Moi aussi, quand je suis contente d'un vêtement, je crie et je saute partout.

Cette satisfaction est une drogue.

A Special Request : Ben 10

I don't sew for Jr C. 

Making elastic waist pants and sweatshirt is not my idea of sewing time well spent, but when he asked for a Ben 10 shirt, he is such a fan, I told him we could make this happen together if he wanted. 

I took him through the entire process : buying the shirts, cutting, making a pattern for the black stripe in front, tracing the seam allowances, pressing the foot and so on.

I have the vague hope that, if I make stuff with him, he won't be running to the store every time he wants something and that he'll grow up respecting people who make things he uses. 

This isn't a tutorial on how to raise your children though, I merely wanted to share how incredibly happy he was with the result and how, just like him, I too jump up and down and scream when a project is completed and looking like I had envisioned.

That elation is a drug.

T-Shirt Refashion

My sister went to see the Thunderbirds and all I got is a thousand t-shirts!

It's the best fitting shirt I ever had so I lifted the pattern minus the deep neckline and used it as the base for the new one. It bunches up a bit under the arm, I'll have to think about that when I refashion another shirt with that pattern, but I am quite happy with it.

How I did I know that, besides the school's name in bright yellow velvety stuff, that it was a French T? Look here, it had darts, on a t-shirt! Only in France!

Carlotta Stermaria is the proud winner of the giveaway and the T was sent to her today. We are all awaiting pictures!

Le T-Shirt Remasterisé

Ma soeur est allé voir les Thunderbirds (la Patrouille de France US) et j'ai reçu mille t-shirts.

C'est un t-shirt qui me va super bien alors j'ai tracé un patron basé dessus en modifiant un peu le décolleté. Ça fait des petits plis en dessous des bras, je corrigerai ça quand j'utiliserai ce patron la prochaine fois. Je suis assez contente du résultat.

Comment savoir, à part le nom de l'école imprimé en velours majuscule sur le devant qu'il s'agit d'un t-shirt français? Il avait des pinces, je n'ai jamais vu ça ailleurs qu'en France! 

J'ai envoyé le t-shirt gagnant à Carlotta Stermaria, on attend les photos avec impatience.

Clearing House Giveaway

There is not much sewing going on here because I am in the process of moving furniture around to make way for a sewing space where, you know, my sewing machine would stay where it is. I am quite excited by that prospect and both Mr and Jr CarmencitaB are quite happy that the dining/homework/sewing/crafting table will not be squatted anymore by notions and fabric for weeks on end.

When you move your house around, you discover hidden piles of "to be dealt with later" stuff which I am slowly going through. I am cutting magazine pages with nifty couture details and inspiration, making a scrapbook for Jr and generally getting rid of clutter and stuff that pick up dust ( I hate dusting!).

This t-shirt is waiting to be refashioned and I might just do that this week, a quick reward to myself for being such a good girl. I actually picked up 3 of them in a garbage bag, they are not in pristine condition, they have sweat stains and need to be worked on but, if you are inspired and want one for refashioning, tell me what you'd do with it in the comments, I'll send you one.

Je Nettoie Et Je Donne

On ne coud pas beaucoup ces jours-ci parce qu'on bouge des meubles pour trouver une petite place à ma machine à coudre où, elle resterait accessible en tout temps. Cette perspective m'enchante et même messieurs CarmencitaB sont heureux de savoir que la table de cuisine ne sera plus squattée par ma pile de projets et disponible pour d'autres activités que la couture.
Quand on bouge tout, on redécouvre les piles de "trucs à faire plus tard" qu'on a oubliées et lentement, je m'en débarrasse. Je découpe les magazines, je fais un book pour Jr et je range ou jète, c'est selon, tout ce qui ramasse de la poussière (j'aime pas faire la poussière!).
Je suis une bonne fille et pour me récompenser, je vais prendre un peu de temps pour refaçonner ce t-shirt cette semaine. J'en ai trouvé 3 dans un sac poubelle, pas en très bon état, avec taches de sueur  et petits trous, ils doivent être refaits. Si le motif vous inspire, dîtes-moi ce que vous aimeriez en faire dans les commentaires, je vous en posterai un.

Me-Made-May

May 25th - Self-drafted skirt

Me-Made-May is over, thank you Zoe, it was a lot of fun. If you don't mind, I'd like to share a few quick thoughts with you.

May 29th - T-shirt refashion

• You should go see the Flickr Pool for inspiration. The stylishness, creativity and craftmanship is amazing.
• I haven't made many comments for lack of time, but I really loved everything.
• I need to go on a World Tour to trace back all the wonderful fabric I saw.
• I should take another look at Burda Patterns, some of the girls have made wonderful garments with them.
• I don't plan on planning, SWAP is not for me, but I should plan on making a few tops other than cut up t-shirts.
• My pant making skills need a lot of work.
• I have to take better pictures, iPhone pictures are a bare minimum.
• I need to do something with my hair!

May 28th - Another Nicole Miller with boats

Thank you so much for your kind comments, it was really nice to rumage through my sewing history. Now on to some new stuff.

May 30th - BWOF pants

Me-Made-May : The Update

I've been Sidetracked but it was a good thing. Look at those totally Kawaï bags. (They are gifts, but I can show them, the recipients don't have web access).

Frankly, it wasn't very interesting anyway, here is a picture heavy post, to catch up, nothing very particular about what I've been wearing, the weather was awful so lotsa layers involved, but today is beautiful, so I am wearing a wedding dress to celebrate! More on that later.

May 13th, Living Colour t-shirt refashion. My favorite, it got so much wear, I had to dye it again. BTW, I did see them in Paris in 91!

May 14th, 4 pannels skirt, t-shirt refashion.

May 15-16th, slow day at the ranch, Burda Kimono T refashion. Another concert I've seen, in Nantes in 93-94.

May 17th, another cut up t-shirt. I should count them!

May 18th, too cold for comfort, this is a wool Nicole Miller top that I lined in polarfleece for a job where I had to work outside in November. I am getting seriously depressed by this weather now...

I've made the skirt several times, if the weather holds out, I'll show you.

May 19th, Kenzo skirt I've talked about already.
That's it for now. Hope I didn't bore you. See you later!

May 3rd : Another T-Shirt

It's way too cold to bother wearing anything else than pants and a t-shirt!

It was 26° C last week and now it's 5°. I may get my sweaters out!

I look like a flasher, but really, I am not that perverted unless you say : Sewing!

(Merci Marianne!) 

May 2nd : T-Shirt Refashion

Day 2 of Me-Made-May (MMM from now on), the weather took a turn for the worst and all I am wearing is this tiny t-shirt. I made it so long ago, that it's really short on the hips and that it turned grey and I had to dye it again. But I get smiles when I wear it!

We shot (Merci Caroline!), I got my sweater and jacket back on and I went home to cut up some more XXXL t-shirts for this Burda Kimono Tee I am working on.

Go look at the Flickr Pool, there is some really pretty hand made garments there.