FaDSA: Oct/Nov Winner *and more* + voting

Dear Donk,

Don't you love it when you get something good *and more*? I do. Even though the *and more* is usually something sucky you don't really need like another plastic cosmetic bag full of reject color lipstick and metallic eyeshadow BUT WHATEVER.

This time the *and more* is good.

First though, for our Oct/Nov winner. I have to say that I was happy to see more smiling faces (I imagined them. Whatever.) in the pool this month since there's been, let's say, a waning enthusiasm for this book.

Hey guys - I get it - I'm with you.

BUT - this month, good stuff.

Specifically, Dawn's very creative (and, frankly SUPAH CRAFTY) sewn card that, I imagine, was perfect for Halloween sooooooooooooooooo long ago.

Geez, it's December. Wow. Moving along...

So, this 2x/month's winner is Dawn of dhbuscher.com for her downright craftastic sewn spider web card.


Really now. That is overachieving.

Straight AND curved lines. All combined into a clean and meaningful design. If this happened at my house, I'd buy a lottery ticket and quit my job because I'd feel like I could do anything. LOVE.

And so, Ms. Dawn, won't you shoot me your home address to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom so that I might send you a prize worthy of your craftiness? Sweet, thanks. Also, bask in the glory of your win. It's fun to do.

And now, for the unsucky *and more* part.

In case you hadn't noticed that it was somehow already December of 2008 (pretend you're as shocked as I am. It makes me feel better about myself.) and we've managed to come to the end of our 2008 sewing along, it's time to put this year's ~along to rest by choosing a Grand Prize Winner.

But we didn't think it made sense for US to choose a winner, since we've been picking all along and that would be hogging, so we want to put it out to you all - the greater FaD Sewing Adventurers to choose from the monthly 2008 winners.

So - FaDSAers - it's up to you. You vote for your favorite project from the monthly winners and then we will send them a FAHbulous prize that will NOT be a plastic cosmetic case full of face lotion you'd never use.

NO - it will be great. And this FAHbulous prize will also set off our 2009 ~along, which we'll announce on 1/1/08 (or closely thereafter due to hangovers that prevent us from looking directly at glowing computer screens) and which I predict you will love.

And, not only do I predict you will love the ~along them itself, but I do believe you will love participating in it and also its pricetag and its variety. I'm really excited about it but Donk made me swear not to give it away so I'm going to shutup now.

For the voting though, here's a quick sum of the projects upon which you may feast your greedy eyes before voting at the bottom of the post.

Fabulous Projects From Which You May Choose Just One:

January: Button Scarf
Winner: Lynn of Craftstew

March: Pintucked Table Runner
Winner: Melanie of Taylor Design

April: Modern Apron
Winner: Jomie of Mama Nose Best

May/June: Wrap Skirt
Winner: Julia of denverbrunette

July: Kid's Pattern
Winner: Julia of denverbrunette

Aug/Sept: Tri-Pocket Ticking Tote
Winner: Claudia of creativeclaudia

Oct/Nov: Sewn Cards
Winner: Dawn of dhbuscher

Simple Stitched Gift of 2008
	Jan/Feb: Button Scarf, Lynn of Craftstew
	March: Pintucked Table Runner, Melanie of Taylor Design
	April: Modern Apron, Jomie of Mama Nose Best
	May/June: Wrap Skirt, Julia of denverbrunette
	July: Kid's Pattern, Julia of denverbrunette
	Aug/Sept: Tri-Pocket Ticking Tote, Claudia of creativeclaudia
	Oct/Nov: Sewn Cards, Dawn of dhbuscher
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Wow - I'm suddenly a little verklempt at y'alls fanciness. What a HOT group of fancy ass crafters we have here. *tear*

You have until 12/31/08 to vote. And you only get to vote once, so make it a good one. And if you vote for your own project, we'll never know, so feel free to be hoggy. I think you know how I'd vote if I'd won any of these projects. Because I'm self-involved like that.

ALSO - for those of you who read along but don't do the sew~along, you should vote, too. That's fun. And I know you have opinions. And buttholes, but that's another topic altogether.

So, go ahead - feast your eyes, vote for your favorite and come back on 1/1/09* for the Grand Prize winner announcement and the unveiling of 2009's ~along. New name and all.

xo,
Finny

*remember this is a tentative date dependent on the status of our hangovers. Just saying. Happy New Year and what not, too.

Not at all like the pattern, but still

Dear Donk,

When I put this out there as our bi-monthly sewing project and said something to the tune of "just do whatever the hell you want but try to work in some sewing", I already knew what I was going to make.

And I also knew it had nothing to do with the pattern in the book aside from the fact that I was planning to sew on some paper. But there weren't going to be any stars or vellum or cutting out of shapes or anything remotely resembling the holidays in my final product.

My "Sewn Star Card" was going to be made of whatever color cardstock I had in the stash with whatever scraps of fabric I could exhume from the other stash with whatever semi-coordinating thread remained in the sewing supplies and stamped with whatever color ink from the other other stash and then done 8 times over and tucked into whatever notecard envelopes I had left in the other other other stash.

The only For Sure thing was that I was going to use a monogram and then gift the set of cards to whomever belonged to the monogram stamp I had on hand for the project.

Obviously my methods are very specific.

Regardless of my directionless take on this project and utter disregard for the pattern, the cards came out exactly as I envisioned them, which is to say that they are the shape, size and combination of materials I'd had in mind and no catastrophic failure was experienced.

Plus, I was glad I could find scrap cardstock and scrap fabric and scrap thread and scrap envelopes and a random monogram stamp and ink in the craft closet that could come together and not look like a heap of crap.

AND AND I got to use my sewing machine which was just freshly back from the sewing shop and greased like a young squealing hog. An awesome thing, that newly tuned sewing machine, I'll tell you what.

So, that's about all I can say about this project. I used up some treasured stash items, got out a stamp for once in a million years and came out with a nice little stocking stuffer for my MiL.

I guess I won't be bitching about the book this time which I'm sure will come as a welcomed change for some of you who are sick of my ranting. Or perhaps you, too, will be relieved that this wasn't a hopelessly tedious project for no good reason.

Anyway - YAY! We're nearing the end of this year's sew~along, so get your projects in (some of them are really impressive, BTW, and I should be getting used to your radness by now. Apologies. I'm slow.) so we can announce this round's winner on 12/1 and then the Grand Prize winner and also next year's ~along at some point at or near the end of the year.

Oh, and I should say, it's going to be pretty fun, so don't go resolutioning any anti-crafting behavior. I'm just saying that you'll regret it and I will not be responsible for any craft-induced depression that you may experience. I'm just not qualified for things like that.

xo
Finn

FaDSA Oct/Nov Project: Sewn Cards

Dear Donk,

So, for some reason it's October today, which I find absurd since I'm sure it was just the first day of Spring, like, yesterday - BUT WHATEVER.

I'm ready for a new project anyway - so there.

Although, I'll be honest, there aren't a LOT of projects left in this book that I'm all fired up to make. I mean, yes, that pleated bag is cute, but I'm certain that I can't make another bag right now and still try to keep a straight face around Bubba.

So what's left?


Something I can actually use without having to make up a lot of elaborate explanations as to why IN THE WORLD I would need any more of those. I am running out of excuses, and so, I say we make cards.

Because I can always say, "Bubba, obviously I'm making cards because the holidays are coming and also we'll need to give gifts and then what about thank yous for things and what not." And I won't get any guff about making cards because I think you know who is responsible for all mailed correspondence in this house and I'll give you a hint, it's not Bubba.

SO - I say that this month and next (because two-monthers are our new theme, forget the "adventure" thing) we all work on our interpretation of the Sewn Star Card.

Of course, because it's our ~along, there is no requirement to stick to the pattern, cut out shapes, use a star in any way or, really, even follow the pattern. Let's just use the idea as inspiration and only stick to it in the sense that these cards we make should have some sewing involved.

Whether you want to holiday them up (I can NOT believe I just said "holiday". Please kick me from wherever you are.) or make a set as a gift or make some thank yous or just copy your ass on to some paper and embroider the outline - that is up to you.

Just do what you will and then upload your photos to the pool and we'll come back on 12/1 and announce the winner.

Then we'll get to talking about who is the year's grand prize winner of a fabulous prize that we're both very excited about.

SO GET CRACKIN and also don't tell anyone I said "holidays" because I am ashamed of myself.

Wuv you,
Finny

Oh. I wish I'd thought of this before.

Dear Donk,

Remember that I GIVE UP moment at Hancock's I had last year during the making of the placemats and napkins? Where I ended up buying some mostly butt-ugly (to me anyway) striped fabric to match the mostly awesomely adorable (to me anyway) butterfly fabric? Oh, and let's not even mention that heinous hand-painted floral fabric. GAG.

Anyway, yes. I found a purpose for that leftover yard (!) of pink striped fabric and that purpose was this Tri-Pocket Ticking Tote.

Let me just say, bless you for choosing this as the project (and not only because we're running out of good projects in this book, whatever) and also for deciding we should be making this bag for others because:

1. I wanted to make this bag
2. Until you said make it for someone else you selfish whore (I added that last part in my head) I couldn't justify making another bag just because it was cute and I wanted it

Yes, even the depths of my childish desires have limits.

So, even though the pink stripey fabric wasn't "ticking" or "canvas" or any of the other very-specific-for-no-good-reason fabrics that the book called for, I had a yard of it I wanted to dispose of, the stripes would work well for the pattern and I happen to have a goddaughter who likes pink and green so there.

Well, I assume she likes pink and green, but who really knows what kids like? Certainly not me. I'm the one who gave a hand-knitted angora bunny to a newborn. What am I, simple? Anyway.

I'm not going to get into the exact number of times I didn't follow the pattern properly because we'd be here all day and you'd disown me as a friend, but let's say that while this is probably the simplest project in the whole wide world, my mind was preoccupied with the fact that it was 95 degrees outside and since we don't have A/C, I was doing this project while standing over a steaming iron in my house that was no less than 90 degrees inside, which resulted in a lot of DAMMIT and then seam ripping and then the use of stitch witchery which is not called for anywhere in the pattern. And then I ended up ripping out the stitch witchery and going in a whole different direction altogether.

Long story short, I forgot to sew seams on the tops of all the pockets at the outset and had to go back and sew them in once the tote was sewn together.

Yes, imagine that scenario, will you?

*Sigh* It's amazing I can put on pants.

At the end of this process, which I estimate took 50 times longer than it should have, I had a cute little library tote for Emma, Goddaughter to the Stars which I shall gift to her filled with some of my favorite childhood books and maybe a coloring book or something at a future gift-giving holiday.

These books are for demonstration purposes only and will not be gifted.
Thankyouverymuch.

Or maybe I will just hold on to it for a while (her birthday's not until April and I already have something for her for Christmas) and let it hang from the hook on my bookshelf as is since it's currently holding (and separating nicely) gifts I'm collecting for friend's birthdays.

Which is a nice idea. I mean, who couldn't use a Gifts to Give Bag, right? See, there's the reason I could have used to make this bag for myself. Anyway, too late now. I'm out of ugly striped fabric.



xo,
Finny

Totally appropriate for hot weather: Imp hat and mittens

Dear Donk,

I might have to establish a rule for future book picking out: All books must have full-sized patterns included.

Because I will tell you that there is nothing that pisses me off more than when I get all my materials carefully culled from the pile and I hunker all down ready to get started and then I turn to the pattern page and above the pattern it reads: "Enlarge pattern by 145%".

*Blood boils*

I *may* have mentioned this before, I can't remember for sure, but I know I've said it in my head before because that is just annoying. Why do I now, after finally deciding on a pattern and sourcing its materials and finding time in my life, have to go find a copier or remember to drag the book to work with me so that I can waste some more paper printing out this exact pattern at 145%?

Why I ask you? WHY?

What really annoys me is all the potential answers that crop up in my head that usually start with, "because it's cheaper to print the book that way rather than including fold out pages and such", but still - annoying.

ANYWAY - Once I got past that whole thing and I calmed down thanks to a nice cocktail, I just traced this pattern on a nice big piece of newspaper (Thanks SF Chron!) at what I imagined was 145% and went about my way.

So, for those of you who find notes like these above your patterns similarly annoying, I would like to share with you that piece of advice: Eye-fuck it!

• Slice the entire page out of your book (because you know there's another pattern piece on the other side - ANNOYING, TOO, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT NOW)
• Pull that nice big broadsheet out of the center of the Entertainment section of your local news rag
• Tape the book page to a window
• Hold the newsprint over the book page
• And with a nice marking device like a pencil, estimate how much that extra % will add to the pattern and trace it out all free-hand like
• Then cut your pattern piece from the newsprint and go to town

And while you've probably come up with this same work around, I thought I'd share because besides that, I don't have any tips to make this pattern easier because, well, it's pretty simple to begin with.

Awesome! A simple gift to stitch. What a thing. What a relief!

I'm not naming names or anything but some pattern that rhymes with Flap Skirt was a pain in my ass and required too much figuring for me to feel good about.

But these hats, which are destined to go under the godkid's tree this holiday season, were simple, quick and made use of materials I still had on hand from holiday crafting of year's past. All attributes I love in a project. Especially when the materials of which I speak are bulky and hot and I have to touch them every time I take fabric in or out of my storage closet in the summertime heat yuck.

So - less polar fleece in the closet and more holiday gifts in the stockpile means that I am now happy again with this book and know what I'm going to choose next time it's my turn to choose which won't be until September, but that's OK.

Let's not get into the fact that I just made polar fleece hats and mittens for two children that live in the molten lava heat of Phoenix and may only get a chance to crack out mittens once a year if they're lucky. No. The important thing here is that *I* have less fleece to deal with and if we will recall, it's all really about me anyway.

Speaking of me, I will be on vacation when the 1st of the month rolls around, so it's all you with the choosing of winners and projects and themes, so I'll catch up with you when I get back. Sound good?

Glad you're home, by the way, my life had a Kelli sized hole in it for too long there.

xo
Finny

FaDSA: May/June WINNER + July Project

Dear Donk,

Are you ever coming home? I miss you and our never-ending email strings. I'm very selfish, because I know you're taking care of those who really need it, but Finny misses you and wants you to come home already.

Meanwhile in The House of FaDSA, many fun things have been going on. For instance, the making and show-and-telling of some HOT wrap skirts.

I will say that I'm very impressed with the overcoming of bizarre obstacles and creating of totally wearable and beautiful skirts that occurred in this group. Y'all are no wimps, that's for sure. And diligent as the day is long.

WE ARE NOT QUITTERS AROUND HERE, FOLKS!

This double month project winner, of all the Hardcore FaDSArs that stuck it out through May and June, is Denverbrunette.


Not only is her skirt amazing and in the groovinest fabric ever - she strutted a sweet pose for the pool and really created a wardrobe item. At least, in my opinion anyway.

That is the thing with sewing clothes, I've found, is that I may find a pattern I love and a fabric I love and go to all the trouble of sewing it all up only to find that, meh, I doubt I'll really wear it. And then it gets shunned to the back of the closet or the bottom of a drawer and eventually gets shuffled off to Goodwill under the shroud of night or whatever.

Not this skirt though! I imagine Denverbrunette will have herself a few saucy outings in this cute wrap. Great job!

Now send me over your full name and home address to finnyknits AT gmail DOT com so I can send you a prize befitting your efforts.

Everyone else - GOOD JOB with the darts and ribbon belt (so glad the blanket binding was helpful to some. It quite literally saved this skirt from the Goodwill treatment for me.) and what not.

I think next month's project needs to be something a little more lighthearted. And given the free-spiritedness that comes with summertime, I say we call it Dealer's Choice so that you can pick and choose the pattern YOU really want to make from the kid's patterns in the book.

So, make up a terry cloth toy or an imp hat or a confetti raincoat OR if you are a genius and can rework a grown-up's pattern for a kid - GO FOR IT. You'll have my admiration just for the math, that is for sure.

And then you can gift it to some nice child that needs a bath or a clean shirt or dry shoulders or a pin-tucked runner for their dollhouse.

And then meet back here on August 1, when Kelli will reveal the month's winner and August's project while I drunkenly wander the beaches of Costa Rica with Bubba.

Cheers,
Finny

Wrap Skirt: Better than I thought + Helpful things

Hey Donk,

So, I'm glad you finished your skirt before I did, since you were the lone positive voice in my head as I approached this project, and also you kept me from dragging my skirt to the trash about three separate times.

"It's the nicest thing I've ever made."

These are big words from Mrs. I've Made a Million Things, so it immediately helped me move forward even though I was *sure* I was going to not love this project so much. Like, I was already imagining how I would break it to you when I decided to make another Barcelona Skirt and pass it off as my wrap skirt by putting a ribbon belt on it or something.

I know. I'm bad.

But this skirt had two strikes against it going in. Specifically, it appeared to have a HIGH waist (I'm more a fan of the "So low as to bring in to question the appropriateness of particular undergarments" waistlines) and it wasn't the Barcelona skirt, which we all know I love and to which have dedicated a good portion of my closet.

In the end, I forged ahead. I had a lot of that green linen leftover from my ill-fated Pintucked Runner project and I needed to convince myself that it wasn't cursed and, thus, sitting with the rest of my fabric stash just cursing it all up.

Also, I don't like to publicly shame myself, so coming to the sew-a-long table with nothing but a sad look and some "cursed" fabric, pretty much put me in Public Shame territory and wasn't something I was willing to deal with.

Helpful Things

Problem
I am lazy, as is well-documented, so when I read through the pattern and it called for precisely pressing the 3" ribbon in half to make sure that the belt would be picked up on both sides when sewing the waistline, I sorta panicked.

How precise is precise? Obviously too precise for me, Mrs. Hey That Looks About Right as I Eyefuck Things That Require Exact Measurement.

Solution: Blanket Binding

Not only did I manage to find it (after ruthlessly digging through the drawer below the poorly stocked display) in a good color - it was cheaper than similar width ribbon from the shelf and WOO was already pressed in half precisely by a very precise machine somewhere so I didn't have to worry about my imprecise methods. WOO again.

I was very tempted to get the hot pink, but didn't want to call attention to the fucked up buttonhole I was sure to make, so left it at the matching sage green and called it a day. After I also bought a pale yellow and an icy blue, just in case I got frisky and decided green was too bland.

Miraculous sidenote: The buttonhole did not come out fucked up! I know. I was shocked, too.

Problem 2
Darts on a skirt are scary and there weren't any pictures (I need more pictures, people!) showing me exactly, stitch by stitch, how to sew the darts and when I can't see it for myself I start to doubt that it can happen and then I start doing stupid things like "interpreting" directions in a way that makes some kind of sense to me. And then things go horribly awry and projects start going in the trash.

Solution: Youtube
This nice woman showed me step-by-gloriously eye-opening-step just how one goes about sewing darts in clothing. And, strangely enough, it looked almost like she was sewing the same size darts I was, which was a handy coincidence seeing as I need things spelled out for me in the most specific Tell Me Like I'm Four kind of way.

Also, she shows you how to tie a tailor's knot at the base of your darts so they stay crisp and nice, which is a great little touch and made me feel professional, if for only a moment between swears and sips of my G&T.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm proud to say that I do, in fact, like this skirt and I did not end up throwing it out. No. It's stowed safely in the closet, near the Barcelona Skirts, waiting for its debut.

I'll say that I'd rather it were a little longer (not a fan of my scarred soccer knees) and a little less poofy (why must we accentuate the hips?), but when worn at the proper waist height with a fitted blouse and my 4" heels, I feel a little prissy and a little prim and like my grandma would probably be proud of her prim and prissy granddaughter for five minutes. And also probably glad that, for once, she wasn't going to have to stare at the birthmark on my lower back all day.

That's right y'all, I was born with a tramp stamp - no after market ink necessary.

Anyway - good call on this one, Donk. I'll start thinking about next month's project soon and will report back on July 1 with my answer.

Happy travels - I miss you already!

xo
Finny

FaDSA: April Winner

Dear Donk,

I totally want this apron for myself now. It's living the dream of properly installed D rings, custom embroidery and a spicy little ribbon belt. I mean, I'm sure the "J" doesn't hurt matters, but that's just an extra bonus.

Now, I know, I'm not usually a fan of pink but I AM a fan of green and this apron says "Palmetto" to me in the best way.

Love it.

So, anyway, like I was about to say, this month's winner is Mama Nose Best for her very sassy interpretation of the Modern Apron - seersucker and all. Which I didn't think I'd like, but well, there you go.

Mama, could you shoot me your full name and address to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom so I can send you up a hot prize? Thank ya.

So, Donk, tell us already - what is the May/June project?

xo
Finny

FaDSA April: Modern Apron

Dear Donk,

You can call me old-fashioned if you want, but I feel like sewing patterns should have, well, patterns. I know this book is supposed to be *so simple* that I don't need patterns, but let's face it, I'm not so hot with the math and measuring business so patterns typically help. I need to trace and cut along predetermined lines, OK.

But, I will say I was happy to see at least a diagram in the back of the book for this one. Granted, it just showed measurements and a line drawing, but it was easy enough for even me to follow without making massive mistakes and ruining my favorite fabric ever. That's saying something about the "Simple..." in this book anyway.

I also realize that this *pattern* called for seersucker, but I don't live in the south and couldn't picture myself cavorting around the kitchen in a fabric I actively associate with mint juleps and those straw hats with the really flat brims. I can be very literal sometimes. And as you know, I found this fabric in Portland and loved it very much and wasn't going to leave the store without it so, when I couldn't think of anything else I'd want to make from it I decided,TEE DAH, it will be an apron.

Sure, it doesn't have the alleged absorbency characteristics of the seersucker but I hardly care. It's wicked cute and now has a ring pocket (I don't wear my rings while I cook because of the big mess, you know) and an adjustable neck strap that I also love.

The neck strap, while neato because of its adjustability, became necessary after I realized it was really long and the apron wouldn't cover my boobs if I wore it like that. Sure I *could* have ripped the neck strap off, cut it down and sewn it back on, but then it would probably be too short and Whoopsy! I'd have to make a whole new one when it didn't fit over my giant heed.

No, we can't have that.

So, instead I added a little velcro to the strap so that I could slip it over my head and velcro it up so it'd drape at a normal place. Specifically, over my boobs. Can't have them open to the fires of the stove, you know. Now it's a perfect fit and Bubba thinks I'm extra clever for that little maneuver. Score!

Anyway, enough about my boobs. I have a birdie apron and I love it a lot. It's already dirty with stains from at least two good dinners and a baking extravaganza with lemons that went on this Saturday.

Winner!

So tell me, how's things going with your apron?

xo
Fin

FaDSA: April Project - Modern Apron

Dear Donk,


So, I hope you'll forgive me if you have a hundred aprons and don't want to make another one because I have a hundred aprons, too, but only one that truly fits the bill. And that bill is keeping me covered up enough so that my mess making doesn't end up also being my fashion statement.

See, I've taken to coming home from work and forgetting to change clothes so I end up making dinner and risking messiness in my good clothes that are sometimes dresses.

Worse yet, I sometimes end up serving dinner wearing a dress and an apron and some heels and looking a little too much like June Cleaver for any of us to take seriously. It's gotten a little 50's in my house to the point where Bubba took one look at me during a recent "Hey, I'm impersonating a Real Live Housewife" moment and asked me to just steer clear of the cocaine and maybe I was taking this whole Wife thing a little too seriously.

Really though, I don't do coke or act like a Real Live Housewife.

But I do make a mess while I cook (mostly on myself) and so I need a real person apron that covers my whole front and doesn't just stop at the waist with some frilly thisandthat which doesn't protect a damn thing from flying tomato sauce. For example.

Cooking is a full contact sport in my kitchen and I need a full coverage uniform for the job. If it's "Modern", all the better so I don't promote this whole Real Live Housewife persona that I've been inadvertantly cultivating.

SO - y'all...if you, too, need some real apronage for your real cooking and have it in you to sew one.more.apron - please do so. I'd love to see what you come up with and I'll thank you to not remind me that we sewed an apron last year that was a halvsy type and how come we didn't take care of this whole full coverage apron business then.

Let's regroup on May 1st (YAY! MAY!) to show off the month's winner and move on to other things and perhaps revisit that whole pintucking fiasco.

Also, big congrats to our March winner!

xo
Finny

FaDSA: March project - Pintucked table runner

I'm about 99.9% sure I did this project wrong and it was not for a lack of reading the four lines of instructions, I'll tell you that. I read those fuckers to the bone.

However, I'm pretty pleased with the way this came out, even though I'll have to iron this thing for sure if I ever wash it so that those pintucks look all crisp, etc.

Perhaps my problems started at the beginning, with My Vision. See, I could not envision how the contrasting rayon thread called for in the pattern was going to make one bit of difference once this beast was sewn together since, to me, it looked like the seams got hidden when the muslin was sewn on.

I thought this strategy might reveal itself in the instructions, but there were only four lines of those, and I wasn't holding out a lot of hope.

Anyone tracking me here?

So, when I bought my linen (Note: this was my "something I've never done before" because technically I've never sewn linen OR pintucks and you can call me lame if you want but that is how it went down and there's no way in hell I'm going at this FO with a needle and embroidery thread.) I went over to the threads and picked out a contrasting rayon thread so that I could be all in line with the directions but kept trying to visualize the final product and could NOT make it make sense.

How was I ever going to see these seams?

Mysterious.

So, because I like to follow shit to the letter and all, I bought some stupid contrasting rayon thread and then I also bought some matching cotton thread because, let's face it, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to sew it with the cotton thread and bury that rayon crap at the bottom of my sewing basket for "later" and in the event that the Mystery Rayon Thread Secret reveals itself in the four lines of instructions then I am going to bust out my rayon thread and be like, "I knew it all along."

So, no big surprise here, there was no Mystery Rayon Thread Secret awaiting me in those instructions. And I looked, too. HARD. But there wasn't much to look through, so I gave up. Call me a loser, but I think I need things spelled out a little more clearly when "Pintucked Table Runner" involves no pins of any kind and this contrasting rayon thread in the "Materials Needed" column is not obviously presented in the shiny picture in the book.

About those pins...

So, this is how I know I did it wrong. First, I used pins. A lot of them. Three per tuck, to be precise. And also, none of the seams showed in the final product, despite the one picture showing seams in the book. Confusing.

In the end, I went with the process that I thought would get me closest to a runner that looked the most like the one in the photo. Because, really, that's what I'm about: Making shit that looks like the photo. I do this when I cook. I do this when I knit. I do this when I sew. If my FO looks like the picture, then it is a job well done. If my FO looks like a pile of horse shit and I'm not, in fact, trying to sew horse shit, then I dive into a deep pit of despair and self-loathing.

Every project I do gets me *thatmuch* closer to seeking therapy I think.

Anyway, even though I'm sure I did the project wrong, I did end up with a project that looks somewhat like the picture and so I'm suitably happy. I also have a mile of linen leftover so will be making some place mats and napkins OR a skirt or a top or whatever but not another runner.

Also, I'm not sure how one effectively launders linen without ruining it, so please let a girl know, k?

FaDSA: Jan/Feb WINNER

Hey Donk,

So, I don't know about you but it feels to me like it's been a million years since we set out on our first project of year 2.

Maybe I've just preoccupied since it is so spring-y around here (YAY! SUNNY!) but I'm anxious to get the March project underway, whatever it may be. So, you go ahead and choose it up and I'll announce the Jan/Feb winner right here and we can all get on our merry ways with this sewing adventure, yes?

Oh, and before I get right to the winner, I'm just giving you a heads up now that I'll likely be referring to Finny and Donk's Sewing Adventure as FaDSA because I can't be typing that whole business out into the title of posts and things. It's a lot. And plus I know our sewing adventurers are very smart people who'll know what I mean when I say FaDSA or at least they'll know enough not to test me so early in the morning.

Ahem.

For our #1 Winner of Year #2:

Lynn of Craftstew for her excellent use of three perfect items: Leftie over wool, sweet birdie fabric and a HOT ass matching button.


These things together resulted in a sweet as Button Scarf that I'd be wearing in a SECOND since I am pretending that spring has actually arrived despite the 42 degree temp displayed on my car's read-out this morning AND of course I'm wearing a skirt and no socks. Whoopsy!

Hope you're enjoying your scarf, Lynn and please send me your address to finnyknits AT gmail DOT com so I can send you out your prize.

Now, Donk, for that March project - I'm ready!

xo
Finny

Button Scarf + Anatomy of a Sweater

I knew when I chose the Button Scarf as our first project that people would probably be hating on it from the get go. Because of the faux furriness of it and everything.

I mean, my first reaction to seeing it in the book was, "Really? Faux fur? Is it 1983? Ew."

But almost right away my mind started churning to the tune of what if I knitted the front panel or what if I used fleece or what about corduroy or what about OMG WHAT ABOUT IF I USED THAT OLD WOOL SWEATER THAT GOT FELTED AND THEN LEFT IN THE SCRAP BIN TO BE FORGOTTEN UNTIL NOW?

Yes. And then I went to the scrap bin to exhume the sweater and decided that, indeedio, I would be making my Button Scarf from this old ass Old Navy sweater which had gone in and out of the Goodwill bag about six times before getting felted and thrown in with the other fabric cast-offs. You know, for futures.

And, TEE DAH, the future was here. My $20 sweater of yore was going to become a Button Scarf and...well, one minute, let's first talk Button Scarf.

So, the Button Scarf went like this:

1. Wait until the 11th hour (in my mind) so that you have to race to the fabric store with only a half hour to choose a coordinating fabric before the early game comes on
   
2. Go to the fabric store without the sweater so that you have to coordinate fabrics on the fly which is always a terrible idea
3. Look desperately for wide wale corduroy and fail because you are shopping in a quilting store which obviously doesn't carry apparel fabric
4. Decide on a sweet Asian-y/organic-y fabric in orange because you like the fabric so much and WANT IT NOW
5. Riffle randomly through the button bin with a four year old and let her pick out buttons that she thinks look good with your fabric
6. Check out, race home, watch two football games and eat a mountain of nachos with Bubba. Forget all about the fabric, project, etc
7. Wake up the next morning and begin making your way toward the inevitable doom that awaits any project that requires the use of the buttonhole feature on the sewing machine
8. End up hand-sewing the buttonhole to avoid Total Devastation
9. Take a lot of photos to prove that, despite Buttonholing Gone Awry, you are still pleased with the outcome AND are now inspired to take the $20 sweater to its fullest potential (keep reading)

So, in a nutshell, I'm considering my Button Scarf a success, if only because I like the fabrics and the buttons individually (if not necessarily all sewn together), the scarf fits and is warm and PLUS I recycled an old forgotten piece of clothing instead of giving up, throwing it in with the Goodwill and buying new fabric.

Sweet ass. Button Scarf can be hot if not necessarily made with Faux Fur. I like this.

So, what else was I talking about back when I said, "My $20 sweater of yore was going to become a Button Scarf and..." and , "now inspired to take the $20 sweater to its fullest potential...?"

I was talking about my new endeavour, people: Anatomy of a Sweater.


I decided that I'm going to go all native on this bit of $20 felted wool that used to be in the shape of a boring Old Navy v-neck sweater by using all of its parts and pieces in Projects to Be Named.

Like, I'm going to not just slay a sweater for the sake of its best meaty parts, OH NO. I'm going to go on to use every last hoof and tooth in other projects in order to produce many wonderful things from only one original thing and also produce ZERO waste.

Then I'll come on here and show you what I made so that maybe when you're cleaning out your closet next and come across a heinous old woolen thing and think to yourself, "I should really *do* something with this wool...", you'll have some ideas. Or maybe you'll see my projects and think, "Whatever. I could make cooler things from Old Navy sweaters. She is a retard." and then you will and I will like that a lot because your ideas are usually better than mine anyway.

I feel like this is rad.

So, for Project 1 in Anatomy of a Sweater, I present to you the Button Scarf. And soon, I hope to present to you at least three other projects and no evidence of waste of any variety. I am about to make a six+ year-old Old Navy sweater as cool as I can possibly imagine.

Prepare yourself accordingly.

Finny and Donk's Sewing Adventure

Dear Donk and Sewalongers,

I'm back from my *gallivanting* as someone so kindly put it, and ready to deal the dish on the 2008 sewalong so that y'all can get your machines back out and put your energies to good use.

I have, by the way, appreciated your gentle coaxing to get the hell off my dead ass and come up with The New Book for 2008 OH MY GOD WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM HELLO, so thank you. Sometimes I need a swift kick to get moving.

Business, let's get down to business...

First things first, to close off 2007, go check out Donk's post for the Nov/Dec Dealer's Choice winner. I'm very impressed with you all for not snagging the simplest patterns from the book and going easy. Because that is really what I usually do, and frankly it makes me a little ashamed of myself when I see how ambitious and fabulous you all are.

Second thing, with regard to InStitches, Amy Butler and all of your awesomeness - Craftzine's blog (which, by the way, if you haven't looked through an issue of CRAFT: magazine yet - go now, it's tits) is hosting an Amy Butler Sew Inspired contest for those who have created a bag inspired by Amy and her designs. You can read all about it here, but we thought it would be some great extra mileage for those of you who made really hot bags (hello, quilted patchwork bag heroes) and want to flaunt them and perhaps win some more Amy stuff. We know you are all very talented and we want you to win. So go check it out, yes? You have till 2/29.

Okokok, for 2008...

After careful consideration via a very long email string (thank you Gmail for stacking my emails so neatly, wuv you) the Donk and I chose Simple Gifts to Stitch for our 2008 sew along. (Check comments for a deal through Buy.com - thanks Katie!)

There were a few considerations here, specifically a lot of you all voted for it (yay democracy), we thought a good portion of the patterns looked promising and then there also wasn't a hundred Flickr pools already dedicated to fawning over it, unlike most of the other choices. Plus, it doesn't involved quite as much quilting and patchworking as *some other* books, which I enjoy.

You recall my bouts with these techniques and their horrifying results. I'm sorry, I'm just not ready to go back into the water with the patchwork measuring yet. I'm just not.

SO - we hope you're excited to venture into uncharted territory with this book and don't get all "what about the book *I* voted for??" and what not because we think this book looks pretty rad. And, hey, if it turns out to suck ass, we should be the ones to decide right here. And then you can all yell at me and I can be punished with a hundred quilting projects. Seems fair, right?

As for the first project, we're going to put a two month time limit on this one so you have time to curse my name and then go get the book (I hope, yes?) and then do the project. So, the deadline will be 2/28 and the project is the Button Scarf. And, as always, be as creative or as MUST DO IT EXACTLY AS THE PATTERN SAYS (me) as you like and then go post your photos to our new 2008 Flickr pool.

Oh, and you'll notice that "Finny and Donk's Sewing Adventure" keeps cropping up, and that is with good reason because we are renaming our sewalong for longevity. As we realized, InStitches ~Along wasn't going to work what with our non-InStitches book and all, so we've given ourselves a new name and face (that thing at the top of the post, yes) so that maybe MAYBE we can keep this up for a while in the event that 2008 goes well and y'all don't hate us for picking The Unknown Book and still want to keep going in *gasp* 2009 or something.

Anyhoo, just so you know, the Finny in Finny and Donk's Sewing Adventure is me and Donk is Kelli and the adventure will come when we're trying to pin-tuck linen for a table runner (hint) and we run out of swears. Ok, so maybe this only happens to me, but still *adventurous*.

If you're interested, we also have a new badge to declare our Sewing Adventureness (refer to top of post), and you're welcome to grab it and display it on your blogs for all to see. If you want a higher resolution copy for tattooing purposes, just shoot me an email and I'll be happy to oblige.

One last piece of business - the Rad Surprise that I boasted about last year that was supposed to be [RIGHT HERE] is a bit delayed, so forgive me please. As soon as its radness is present, I will put it up and let you know and then sit back in awe (hopefully).

Ok, phew, I think that's it. I have a burning desire to summarize everything with a bulleted list, but I'm trying to surpres my urges to do anal retentive things that make other people go, "OMG, really? I think she's crazy.", so I'm not going to. I will have to rely on my strategic bolding techniques and hope that y'all are careful readers.

Looking forward to another year of inventing proprietary sewing swears with all of you.

xo
Finny