WIP (Work in progress) #2 is now finished, and I am headed to bed in my new pajamas. I had started a pair of flannel pajamas a year and a half ago, but never finished the top. Tonight, as I listen to the rain outside, is a good night for flannel.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had already cut out the pattern pieces. I tried to cut the pattern and/or fabric out last night at craft night, but I had tucked away the pieces that I needed in a "safe place." Thankfully, one that didn't take me too long to find considering I've rearranged my craft room two or three times since I started this project. (I can't say the same for the quilting supplies - those took longer to find this weekend.)

I'm leaning toward finishing my other quilt before I tackle another clothing project. In part, because I still have the 6' folding table set to the side (folded up, thankfully!) in the living room. If I do the quilt first, I won't have to drag it back in from the garage at a later date.

Well, that and I need to decide what my next project is going to be. :)

Here are pictures, some better than others:

It reminds me of when I made chicken stock a couple of weeks ago. It's Magic! Oh what some fabric and bits of string will become!

Normally I prefer to be oblivious when it comes to the difficulty level of anything I attempt. (Why else would I attempt a skirt with a lining and a chiffon blouse from a Burda magazine pattern - read "no pictures" - for my first clothing projects? Followed closely by a costume with set-in long sleeves and princess seams.)

I keep hearing about how scary finishing a quilt is, which caused me to piece together two quilt tops and then come to a screaming halt at the point where I was supposed put the borders on. Tonight I forced myself to push forward one of them, which is supposed to be a gift, and I found out that I had really just psyched myself out over the whole thing. Border, backing and stitch-in-a-ditch quilting ain't got nothing on setting in sleeves and princess seams.

While I'm probably going to be ready to work on something else besides quilting after I finish (the other project to finish is queen-sized), at least I don't have the "oo. scary." association with it anymore. Maybe I'll see if I can knock out the pajama top tomorrow so I can actually wear the set a year and a half later.

Chalk it up to another irrational fear conquered. (And yes, the most recent one previous was the eye doctor. Those who don't have to see me in my old glasses anymore thank me.)

Now that the weather is starting to warm up, my knitting projects (especially the Umaro throw that I've been working on a for a year or so) are a little less appealing. That means it's time to sew! So many vintage patterns, so little time. I've spent too long on Etsy scanning through the thousands of patterns listed and marking my favorites.

A couple of blogs that I discovered yesterday that helped re-jumpstart my interest in sewing vintage specifically:
Lilacs & Lace
Atomic Redhead
Clio & Phineas

I also found a few new sources for vintage patterns (aside from Ebay and Etsy and the big 4, of course):
Vintage Pattern Lending Library
Eva Dress

There were also several reference pages that I bookmarked for future reference:
How to fit Butterick 4790 (The Walkaway Dress)
How to Sew a 1950s Crinoline for B4790 (movable to allow for a flat front)
Gertie's Modern Crinoline Tutorial
A Shortcut to Great Linings
How to Apply a Seam Binding
Bias Tape Tutorial

Of course, I do have a few projects I need to finish or revisit - the pajama top I need to make to match the bottoms I made a year and a half ago (pre-wedding, omg that was a while ago), my first skirt pattern that I want to redo now that I'm more sure of what I'm doing (and to have a skirt with a straight grain line and thinner lining), my first blouse pattern (again, now that I know what I'm doing and since I want to add french seams and different interfacing to the sheer fabric), and a pair of pants from an as-yet undecided pattern.

I also have a couple of quilts that I need to finish. A lap quilt for a gift and the queen-sized quilt for our bed. Finishing them will mean dragging my sewing machine into the living room so that I have room to move the excess fabric around without shoving it into the corner of the built-in in my craft room. (My craft room is tiny, and the existing built-in in the corner has a sewing machine drop set as a diagonal to the corner of the room. I *so* am saving my pennies for a Koala sewing cabinet. I'm going to have to pull out the built-in and shuffle other things around, but I think it'll be a better use of the space.)

I also have a couple of friends who took a beginning sewing class and now want to learn how to read a pattern and assemble something other than a bag. I found the Colette Patterns Sorbetto top and think it'll be a good introduction. Just have to coordinate a time to get everyone together!

In the meantime, I need to clear off the cutting table and try and clear off the floor so I have room to sew. I know what I'm doing this weekend - after I recover from DJing at the Jam tomorrow night.