Welcome, sewing friends! I've moved ye olde and neglected blog from Blogger over to Wordpress and I'm going to see how this blogging thing goes (again). No promises on where this is going, but it feels like a lot of things are coming together right now and I just want to put some positive sewing energy out there in the world and see what manifests.





To cover the technical details, you can now find me at www.thegreenviolet.wordpress.com. I've migrated my old blog over here with varying degrees of success and redirected my bloglovin' followers. That's the extent of my technical abilities, but let me know if there is something else I can do to make your following life easier. There are some buttons over there on the right that you can click, I hear they do stuff. If you feel like you are missing out on the last two (three?) years of my life, you can find me over on Instagram @thegreenviolet.


Welcome back and thanks for finding me again!

 

Me Made May 15 Week 1

Some of you have probably already seen these over on instagram, so I'll keep this short shortish APPARENTLY SUPER LONG. Pretty much all of these items are things I haven't blogged (though I'm thinking of easing back in with a post about the Southport dress if anyone is interested, since I've gotten some questions on fit for the largest size/curvy figures), so let me know if you have any questions or want details about anything. 

This dress is the "long fitted dress" (I think) from the Alabama Chanin Alabama Studio Sewing + Design book and you will definitely be seeing it at least once a week. In fact, I'm wearing it right now. I think the design is incredibly flattering and easy to wear. I made it out of a black ponte and just serged it up and used bands to finish the edges. Their website is shit at giving any relevant info that you might want if you were actually planning to sew something, so I'll go ahead and let you know that the largest size in that book is a very small XL that I had to grade up significantly. My understanding is that their most recent book includes all the patterns they have ever released, all graded up to an additional XXL size (46-40-44), though you may want to confirm that by calling or emailing if you are interested. I'm definitely considering it. Sorry, that was way longer than intended. 

The cardigan I hacked from the Colette Pattern's Moneta dress, which I am basically using as a knit block at this point. This design still needs some work, but its pretty close to achieving what I want in a drapey cardi. Unless stated otherwise, you can assume I am wearing one of my 5 Marlborough bras.

Pretty poor photos, pretty lame me made outfit. I had to attend a trail cleanup with my local co-operative market (for some reason, they put me on the board), so I managed to wear a me-made quick dry tank top that is a rub-off of a Comfy brand RTW top, which I thought maybe I had blogged about, but I just looked back through my archives and apparently I haven't blogged about much of anything. Later in the day I went out for drinks at our new co-operative brewery (!!!) and wore what you see below, because I also wore it on day 3. 

Another horrible photo, complete with wet hair. What can I say, it rained all day and then I had to run out the door to another meeting for the co-op. This is a Vogue 1234 dress and it took a LOT of work to make it fit right and look the way I wanted it to. I really like it now, though. The top is a Papercut Patterns Coppelia Cardi made out of an amazing french terry and I really love it and need to make like 10 more. I just love the combo of wrap top with raglan sleeves. 

The dress is a knit pattern I am working on, what I'm trying to achieve is basically maximum usage of a small yardage because that seems to be a problem I always have. It is just a lengthened big 4 tank top pattern with an elastic casing at the waist, hidden on the inside. 1 pattern piece for the front and 1 for the back, using the full width of a 60 inch piece of jersey. So basically, the amount of yardage I need will just be determined by how long I want the dress to be. It still needs some tweaks, the way I increased the width only at the side seams is making it hang really funny. The leggings (as always) are drafted from this tutorial on the Etsy blog. The cardigan is the same as day 1. Bra is Marlborough and undies are Seamwork Geneva (very modified, the fit was not good for me straight off the pattern and it ran really large).

Its getting boring! The dress is the same as day one, the cardi the same as day 3, the undies the same as day 4 (well, same pattern, different pairs!). The shirt is from the staple dress pattern , again very modified, made from a sheer poly chiffon. What can I say, I love repeats and part of the reason I sew is to make getting dressed in the morning easier. I always found it hard to find things in RTW that mixed and matched easily or could serve as basics without too much fuss. I'm so pleased to have two me-made gray cardis and this black dress in my closet for those days I can't be bothered with what I am wearing. 

Yes! My new True Bias Southport Dress, which I finished the night before. I really like it. Its exactly what I want to wear in the summer and layers well with leggings, too.  I need 10 more (and just ordered some fabric that I'm hoping will be perfect). Leggings are same as above and cardi is RTW. I could definitely stand to make a black cardigan, but ugh, so boring. 

Ugh, another horrible picture. I made the mistake of going out for drinks after work, which meant not only was I slightly tipsy, but the lighting in my yard was also crap. Oh well. This is a linen dress that I somehow hacked from the Washi dress pattern. Don't ask, it can't be explained, but it is somehow fairly wearable. Leggings as above and cardigan is RTW but primed for a rub-off. I love this thing. 

In other news, I learned how to make buttonholes this week! And it wasn't even that hard with my new machine. I love you, janome (I think it needs a better name). 

I also got my greens planted!

And, cleaned out my closet and both my dressers. And, yes, I still have too many clothes but this was a good start and now I have space to make more!

Phew, well I'm feeling pretty good about myself now, especially since its the weekend! How are your Mays going, me-made or not?

 

Me-Made-May '15

Shit, ya'll. I'm back (?) ! I've dusted off the 'ol blog, (probably) blocked all the flickr creepers, might at some point review my comments for spam, and I have a brand new (as of like 9 months ago) laptop. And, just in time for Me-Made-May '15. That fun time of year that everyone loves to hate. In fact, I'm doing y'all a favor by posting this on May 1st, now you can go ahead and start drinking according to the SSSF drinking game! Its Friday and I'm sure I'm you're looking for any excuse to start drinking early. You're welcome.

 

My fave 100% me-made outfit of all time: Moneta, Copellia Cardi, leggings. Horrible photo though.

Yep, finally made an Anna or 2

Don't worry, it didn't escape my notice that I forgot to blog for the last 11 months. To be honest, I've just decided that I'm not going to use my free time to do anything I'm not super excited about doing, so I've obviously been doing a lot of super exciting things like sewing, watching too much netflix, drinking, neglecting my bills, and talking to my dog. I've really been enjoying instagram since I got started on it during the last MMM, but I'm feeling a little blogging urge again, so let's see where this goes. 

So here we are for MMM:

I, Megan of various places on the interwebz entitled The Green Violet, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I will endeavour to wear at least one me-made item every day of May with two days comprised of entirely me-made outfits (underthings included). 

Hacked from the moneta, need to make more.

Papercut patterns Clover dress, love this pattern. Almost as much as ya'll are loving my bathroom selfies, i'm sure.

Most likely things will go up on instagram, they might show up here at some point too. Other May goals include making more panties, resurrecting the abandoned bathing suit project (the bombshell was just UN-fixable), making more cardigans/layering pieces, a lightweight robe to wear for those three weeks in July when I curse the fact that air conditioning doesn't exist in New Mexico, and hopefully tackling some new patterns since I've been in a major sew-the-same-thing-over-and-over rut. But these aren't hard and fast rules, we will see how they go. 

Can't believe this is going on the interwebz. 

Ditto.

 In other news, enjoy the random instagram shots of a very few of the probably 100 many things that I made over the last year.

Highlights include:

I've gotten VERY into lingerie sewing. Turns out the me-made stuff is better than the RTW.

I still haven't made made any pants that I actually want to wear. Not sure if I intend to. 

As of yesterday, I'm the proud owner of a sewing machine that can actually sew a straight line. Now I understand why everyone says that bias tape isn't that hard to sew. 

I still love knits. Yep. 

I finally sucked it up and payed someone to cut my hair, so you can expect something slightly better than in these photos. Jeez, embarassing.

Yeah, the new one is in the front. And it sews straight lines, ya'll!

That's all for now, folks!

 

Me-Made-May Reflections

Whats the take-home message from Me Made May 2014? KNITS KNITS KNITS. I've been sewing knits since I started sewing 1.5 years ago, and I have no intention of stopping. Its what I like to wear and the main reason I started sewing. The really nice thing is that the blogosphere seems to have caught the knit craze, so I have a lot more patterns and inspiration to work with than I did a year and half ago. In fact, I made up six SEVEN EIGHT new knit items during MMM! Shit, ya'll. I can't count.

New SBCC 314 for the first day of MMM (so I guess I technically made it the last day of April)


Moneta V1 (which shortened horribly in the first washing even though I pre-washed. ugh)


Moneta V2, still rocking on


Dixie DIY Summer Concert Tee V1 (wearing it as we speak/type/read...whatever)


A self drafted pencil skirt


A cardigan hacked from a T-shirt pattern


Dixie DIY Summer Concert Tee V2


And finally... Moneta V3

In other news, I should probably sew some cardigans. I had one me-made cardigan prior to the start of MMMay and sewed up 2 more during the month. However, I fell under the alluring spell of ALL THE PRINTS so those two cardigans ended up being not-that-practical. When I am not in crazed-sewing mode (happens occasionally due to inspiration overload), I try to sew dresses and tops in prints, all else in solids (and typically neutrals) so that things can be mixed and matched. I wore a non-me-made gray cardigan 11 days during me-made-made, so clearly this is a gap in my me-made wardrobe! I could also use a few me-made black and white cardis. And maaaaaaaaaaaybe a solid dress or two so that I have something to wear with the printed cardigans.  

RTW cardigans in need of copying!

In general, MMM showed me that I don't really NEED many more clothes. I have a lot of stuff that I didn't wear during MMM2014 (see MMM2013 posts for evidence) and the act of taking a photo of my clothing every day forced me to realize that I am pretty lazy dresser (see: KNITS KNITS KNITS). A few tops that go with jeans, some easy to wear dresses, leggings, and cardigans pretty much get me through the week. I think that having about 2 weeks worth of outfits to rotate through, with some special occasion stuff and some active wear would greatly simply and improve my life. Right now, my three closets closet is seriously OOCT (out of control) because I haven't yet purged the RTW clothing that I no longer wear. This is on my agenda for the weekend. Are there any great closet organizers out there that want to lend some advice? This is my most dreaded task.

I've also given some thought to things I DON'T want to sew (for now). I've finally found some RTW jeans that fit decently well, so I've put sewing jeans on the back-burner for the time being. I used to HAVE to wear pants to work, but recent change in positions means I can basically wear whatever I feel like wearing (which is AMAZING!!!). Bras? Someday, but for now RTW will be fine. Anything structured/fitted? I have never worn that kind of stuff, so why sew it? I would like to do a few projects to expand my sewing skills, but the thought of sewing something I won't wear just for the sake of it isn't appealing to me right now.

So, what am I planning to sew (was all this anti-sewing talk worrying you?)? I've got a few things up my sleeve...


I'm working on perfecting this kinda self -drafted/cobbled-together dress pattern so I can make a few more out of linen this summer.


SHOES are totally still happening, people. Anyone want to jump on the shoe making bandwagon with me?


Knitting! Yep, I'ma kinda scared, but hopefully I can figure this sweater out with enough googling (the Myrna from Andi Satterlund, any tips?)

And, as always, I could use more active wear!

'I, Megan @ TheGreenViolet.blogspot.com, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear one Me-Made item each day for the duration of May 2014. Additionally, I will strive to create some more field-work-appropriate garments. '

So, MMM14? Mission (mostly) accomplished! I would be remiss if I didn't mention the second half of my pledge, which I totally didn't accomplish, but with GOOD reason. Around the 1st of May I received the exciting news that some of my work responsibilities would change due to a colleague's retirement (I only wish I could call this a promotion- more work but same title and same pay). I am doing almost no field work now (I haven't done any since the start of May) and am officially in charge of all GIS/graphics needs for our small office. It has been SO nice to have the change of pace and the change of outfits. No more pants required!

MMM2014 33-100% done!

Here is a much belated wrap up of the latter 2/3 of May, better late than never?!? I wanted to get a post up so that I could pontificate about my feelings on the experience this year as compared with MMM2013. 

Days 11- 14. I feel like these are a pretty good representation of my personal style! On day 11, I wore my me-made Jalie 3132 tunic. I should not have looked up that pattern number on the Jalie website, now I have a long list of things I 'need'. Day 12, I wore a me-made tee (staple dress pattern) and fleece cardigan (SBCC pattern) and made Peter pose with me since my outfit was kinda boring. I wore a me-made dress (bess dress pattern), my same old-self drafted leggings, and a scarf I got on my recent trip to Ecuador. Day 14 was my favorite Washi dress and the brown version of my favorite leggings. 

 

Day 15, I wore my new New Mexico patterned Moneta and posed in a very New Mexican spot! I need to make a rub-off of that cardigan, its about a bajillion years old but I just keep wearing it because it works so well with dresses. I wore my (only) maxi dress on day 16 and realized that I would be happy to welcome a few more maxis into my wardrobe. On day 17 I did yard work most of the day in my Jalie skort. Cute, no? On day 18 I sewed up the fabric I bought at a yard sale the day before into a Dixie DIY summer concert tee and then put it on to run errands. I love this top!

On day 19, I wore my new shirt again (why not? hardly anyone saw it the day before) paired with my favorite leggings/skirt combo (both self drafted). On day 20 I wore one of my favorite dresses that was drafted then modified from a rub-off of a Comfy brand dress. I have two versions of this in dress form and maybe 3 in shirt form, its a great, easy to wear shape! The only me-made item on day 21 is the skirt (from the same self-drafted pattern as the black one). This is another RTW cardigan that I clearly need to copy! On Day 22 i wore a very old me-made Dixie DIY ballet dress and my favorite leggings (again). 

Are you guys bored of reading this yet? Because I sure am bored of typing it! Lets speed this thing up! Day 23: me-made cardi hacked from t-shirt pattern, thrifted dress. Day 24: me-made tank from the aforementioned Comfy brand rub off made of quick dry poly for travel/sport, all else RTW. Days 25&26: Yep, I think ya'll have figured this one out by now. Day 27: One of the first few dresses I made, hacked from the Dixie DIY one-shoulder dress pattern. 

So close! Day 28: A new Dixie DIY Summer Concert Tee, self drafted leggings and skirt. Day 29: Yep. Day 30: Another Moneta! I thought I hated this fabric, but once I sewed it up, I LOVED it. The only problem is that it requires a slip, so I haven't been wearing it quite as much as I would like to. Day 31: Seriously, why did this week have to end on a weekend, during which I spent all day BOTH days spreading mulch by myself. Xeriscaping is hard work, ya'll. So is being single. I wore my (seen above) tank-top and a skort that is a combo of the Jalie Skort shorts and waistband and my self drafted skirt. 

Whew. Hope you didn't fall asleep while reading that riveting wrap-up of my wardrobe. I think I better save my thoughts on the experience until tomorrow to spare you any further pain! 

Finished: The Summer Concert Tee Duo

Look, y'all! A finished item post! I made two of these Dixie DIY Summer Concert Tees during Me-Made-May, and also three Colette Patterns' Monetas which will hopefully be coming to you in a post soon (as well as a wrap up of MMM). I wanted to get this post up now so that I could take part in the wonderfully inspirational Sewing Indie Month and, more specifically, the Everyday Casual Contest hosted by the fabulous Jenny of Cashmerette. But enough chit-chat, you came here for the photos, right?

I made my first version of this pattern from a fortuitous fabric find at a garage sale earlier in the month. Its an amazing vintage fan print, and I knew it would be perfect for this pattern! In fact, I had been waffling on buying this pattern for over a year, but when I found this fabric I went home and purchased it immediately! I'm glad to see that polyester is getting some slightly better press in the sewing blogosphere recently, as I have always been a fan (no pun intended). No sweat stains and it dries quickly (TMI?), what more could a girl ask for in a summer shirt?

For this first version, I graded the largest size (XL) up to what I would guess would be a 2XL. I was worried about the limited stretch in the vintage fabric and it worked out great, but I ended up just using the straight XL size for the second version because the fabric had much more stretch and drape. 

I also lengthened the pattern about 2 inches since I couldn't see myself rocking the crop top look! I think this length is just great with skirts. 

Pattern close-up! I also lengthened the whole thing about 2 inches, I couldn't really see myself rocking the crop top!

I finished the neckline by folding it over and using the double needle, a technique that I have practically mastered in the last month with all the knits I've been sewing! I just thought that the binding would look really busy with this fabric.

I also omitted the cuffs on the sleeves, I think they look super cute on the other versions I have seen (including Dixie's original), but I tried the top on after sewing it together but before adding the cuffs, and I liked it that way and thought the sleeves would be too long with cuffs.

On to the second version! This guy is made of a much more drapey rayon-blend knit. Like I mentioned above, I used the straight XL size on this (though I don't meet the size chart requirements). I feel like it is a really good balance of fitted though the bust and flowy at the bottom, just like I like it!

I didn't realize how similar these two prints look from afar until I took these photos! They are so different up close!

I had very limited yardage of the floral print (one 3/4 yard piece and one 3/8 yard piece, which both shrank in the wash a lot), so I had to get creative with the color blocking. Good thing I had some black left over from my favorite leggings. Its always wise to keep a black knit in stock in the stash!

 I also added about an inch to the front pattern piece so that I could wear it with jeans without having to layer it. I didn't hem because I wanted to maintain the length, I kinda like the look of a rayon knit that is un-hemmed (it rolls the best of all the knits), and I'm lazy!

I wore it the first time without the pocket, but I decided that the color blocking on the back looked kinda out of place and didn't tie in with the front well. So, I added a little black pocket! I think its pretty cute.

Well, thats my Concert Tee story, and trust me its just the beginning! I'm thinking of being rebellious and attempting this in a lightweight woven...like chiffon...mmm... 

Go forth and make one for yourself, its going to be PERFECT for the summer! I promise!

 

Me Made May 2014, 33.333% done!

 Well, I thought I would do a week 1 round up. Then I thought I would do a 7 days in round up. But here we are on the 13th, so I figured I would do a 1/3 of the way done, 33.3333% finished, or (in other words)10 day round up of Me Made May! We've already seen Day 1, so onwards........

Day 2

This is my very hacked dixie diy ballet dress and self drafted leggings (again). Scarf from recent trip to ecuador! The dress is made of a thrifted light-weight sweater knit. I modified the dixie diy ballet dress pattern to make a faux wrap bodice and added a band at the waist for extra length. Its a little too short (especially without leggings), but what are you going to do when you are working with a limited quantity of thrifted fabric?!?

Ughh, awful picture. Saturday was crazy and I only managed to squeeze in a photo between a maragarita party at my boss's house and loading up the car to go rafting the next day. This shirt is actually made from the same fabric as the moneta that I wore on Day 6 and I am so pleased that I was able to squeeze a tank top and a dress out of 3 yards. Once again, I'm wearing my favorite black self drafted skirt and leggings combo. Best substitute for jeans ever!

Rafting! Yay! I think one of the biggest wins of learning to sew was my ability to make some cute AND functional clothing for outdoor adventuring. I am out of the size range for a lot of the outdoors brands (which is a whole other rant that I won't subject you to), so it is SO liberating to be able to make what I want! The skort is Jalie 2796 with my self drafted knit skirt instead of the one that was included. The tank top is from a rub off of a Comfy brand shirt that I love, made out of a bathing suit material. This shirt is AWESOME for drying quickly and looking passably like I'm not wearing work-out clothing everywhere. I wore the crap out of it in Ecuador last month. 

Oh look, I'm an idiot! The photo says day 6 but it was actually day 5. Guys, this is one of a my favorite shits EVER. I wear it at least once a week. Expect to see more of it. Its a heavily modified version of the staple dress because the fit on the original version of the pattern was ATROCIOUS on me. I have major kimono sleeve pattern problems. 

Ok, actually day 6. My new Moneta. I seriously love this pattern. This is the dress pattern that I have been trying to find since I started sewing. As much as I love the lady skater/ dixie diy ballet dress, there was something I didn't quite like with each of them. THIS is the pattern I have been looking for. 

Day 7. My favorite Washi, one year later and still going strong. Actually, I don't know if this is my favorite Washi, I love them both equally and I can't choose a winner! Must make more Washis! Also, me-made leggings (again). 

Yes, this was the week of crazy dresses. I love crazy dresses! This was hacked from a basic tank top pattern from the big 4 (?) and my self drafted knit skirt pattern with darts added at the waist. Love this dress, but I seriously need to hem it before I wear it again. Yep, leggings (again). 

OMG! Another Moneta! And more leggings! Are you shocked? Don't worry, I wore the brown leggings this day for fear that you all think I'm super gross. Prepare to see this Moneta a LOT more. 

Is that a caulk gun or are you just happy to see me? Me made T-shirt from a big 4 pattern. I really like this tshirt and I need to make more! 

Well, thats it for now, folks! If you feel the need to see more gratuitous selfies, step on over to my flickr. 

Lessons learned? I like leggings and gray sweaters. Will wear black or white sweaters if I think someone is paying attention to the repetitiveness of my outfits. Must make more Monetas.