Bolero me Over

I have several more garments made from Loes Hinse patterns to show you over the next little while. I figure I had better get them posted now, as the weather seems to be warming up and spring is approaching. So, I need to post the remainder of my winter sewing endeavours.

First up is another work combo - pants and a jacket. The pants are more Loes Hinse Hepburns (view A), made from some lovely dark caramel wool broadcloth I purchased from Fabric Mart. This pattern has quickly become a TNT for me this winter (at last count I have made five pairs). I can see myself making it up in linen for the summer as well.

The jacket is a Loes Hinse Bolero jacket (view A), created using some fabric remnants I had left over from other garment projects. This was my first attempt at making this jacket (although I have made other LH jackets) and even though I was pretty much certain of the correct size and I flat pattern measured carefully, I still wanted to check the fit. I grabbed the couple of pieces of leftover fabric and got to work. In the end, not only was the fit pretty darn good, I ended up with a great looking jacket. I got tons of compliments when I wore it to work, so I knew I had a winner. The next time I make this jacket, I will nip it in a smidgen to help define the waist area, as it is a little more boxy than I prefer. My favorite part of the jacket? The closure - it is a nifty vintage metal clasp that I found on eBay and it makes the jacket special.
















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As a final note, whenever I see the LH Bolero pattern, it reminds me of seeing Torvill & Dean perform at the 1984 World Figure Skating Championships in Ottawa. I was a huge figure skating fan in my early teen years and my aunt was kind enough to take me to the Worlds. I will never forget seeing their bolero performance live and in person - to say it was magical is an understatement. I can actually remember people around us holding back tears at the end of their performance.

Music Soothes the Savage Sewist

Often when I'm home alone, sewing up a new project, I like the serene silence of a quiet house. Better yet, if the weather permits, I love to open the windows and listen to the calming sounds of nature; the birds, the crickets, the breeze blowing through the trees...

Other times, I like to crank up the tunes and bust a move as I sew. At these times, I pop in the Jill Scott, India Arie, Eva Cassidy, Joss Stone, Annie Lennox or Robbie Williams. So, the CDs by these artists are played a lot and I was getting bored with my selection. So, off to Amazon.ca I went, looking for recommendations. You probably already know this, but Amazon will suggest CDs to you based on your prior buying habits. I often find interesting new (or perhaps new-to-me is a better description) artists this way. If I see something that looks promising, I bring up the YouTube and give a listen to a few tracks. If I like what I hear, I buy the CD.

My latest acquisitions include the following artists: Adele, Jully Black, Divine Brown, Melody Gardot, Sia and Lizz Wright. If you like bluesy, jazzy, soulful female voices, give these artists a listen - you might hear something you like.





On a final note (pun totally intended), I have to admit to one guilty musical pleasure that I have indulged in lately. I have been listening to Tom Jones incessantly - from his early years right through to his latest CD. The other day I had the CD cranking in my truck when my best friend got in and she asked who was playing. When I told her it was Tom Jones, she said, "Really? Isn't he kind of...ya know...cheesy?" Well, he may very well be, but he has one of the most amazing voices ever. This man can sing just about every modern male artist under the table and then some. And don't even get me started on those hips:

Lacquer Lundi

It looks like a great majority (78%) of readers are interested in nail polish reviews. So, without further ado, let me first tell you a bit about my nail polish philosophy:

* When it comes to nail polish, I am basically a magpie - the brighter the shade, the weirder the colour and the sparklier the polish, the more I'm drawn to it. I do have many traditional colours - reds, pinks, neutrals - but my heart always beats a little faster when I see a polish chock full of glitter!

* I don't freak out if I break a nail - I just file them all down to match.

* I keep my nails fairly short - anything too long and I can't function properly at work.

* I am not a polish snob - at this point, I own polishes that run any where in price from $1 to $17 per bottle. I have found that price is not necessarily an indicator of quality.

* I am easily distracted. I don't generally wear a polish for very long (I like to switch things up every 1 to 3 days).

* I am very hard on my hands - I don't baby them. Between all the chemicals I use at work (the joy of being a chemistry teacher) and all the gardening/housework I do at home, my hands get quite the workout in any given day.

Now, on to the pretties:

Rimmel Play Fast - Out of Control
- purchased at Zehrs (a chain grocery store) for $2.29 CDN

I love this polish. The consistency is good, not too runny, not too thick - so application is a breeze. The brush is easy to control and is a good size, so three swipes of the brush and the nail is covered.

It has decent pigmentation - these pictures are two coats, although three coats would have been more opaque. This is a fast drying polish - my first coat was dry in one minute and the second coat was touch dry within 2 minutes.

But, the best part - the colour, oh the colour! This polish is the most beautiful shade of dark orange, with light orangey-gold micro glitter. It is simply gorgeous.

I wore this polish for three days (during which I was tough on my hands) and I didn't suffer a single chip. The only evidence of a three day old manicure was some slight tipwear. This polish is a winner in my books.


BB Couture - Frosty Meadow
- purchased from overallbeauty.com for $8 US

I wanted something green for St. Patrick's Day and this bottle jumped out of my stash and into my hand. It is a beautiful rich green base with small gold glitter. I realize that green is probably out of the comfort zone for many people and may not be work appropriate for most. I'm lucky that I can wear wacky nail polish to work and no one bats an eye. For people still wanting to give it a go, it might merit consideration as a great weekend or pedicure colour.

The application is a little difficult for the first coat (it's streaky), but all subsequent coats are easy-peasy. Three coats were required to build up to the bottle colour, but it is well worth it in my opinion.

This line of nail polish boasts a "4 in 1 formula", which means that it has "base coat, top coat, nail strengthener and color in one bottle." However, I always use a basecoat to avoid yellowed nails, but I did not bother to use my usual topcoat.

I have had this polish on for two days with no signs of any chipping and only minimal tipwear.

Blast from the Past

I truly believe the old adage "nothing ventured, nothing gained." Especially as it applies to sewing. I'm always saddened (and rather annoyed, I must admit) by people that post on sewing discussion boards asking questions about things that they could easily figure out on their own, either through research or hands-on learning. Sometimes it's pure laziness, but more often than not, they seem paralyzed by the fear that they might do something wrong. To that I say, "Who cares if you're wrong? What's the worst that can happen?" So you wreck some fabric - there will always be more fabric. So you waste some time - learning something new, even if it's just how to avoid making the same mistake twice is valuable. So you have nothing to show for your efforts - well, maybe you don't have anything material, but you will have gained knowledge and experience. But, I think the more important lesson here is "What if you succeed?" Either way, taking a risk and venturing outside your comfort zone is always a good thing.

That is how I came to make my second Prom dress (my high school boyfriend was a year older than me, so I needed a dress for each of our senior years). I wrote about my first Prom dress in an earlier post.

By the early spring of 1989, I had been sewing for a full year and I felt confident enough to tackle another formal dress. I didn't want any old Prom dress though, I wanted a fabric fairytale. I would be a beautiful princess in a sumptuous gown, Prince Charming basking in my glory. At 18 years old this seemed like a perfectly logical desire and I had the means to achieve it. So, I set to work.

I found the perfect pattern - puffed sleeves, nipped in waist, full skirt. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the identity of the actual pattern now, although I have been on many searches through vintage pattern websites looking to jog my memory. Up next was the hunt for the fabric. I was unsure of the colour when I walked through the fabric shop's door, but when I saw the heavy pale pink satin, I was smitten. To really make this gown a show stopper, I picked out various beaded and sequined lace motifs to embellish the bodice - the small local independent store I shopped at was renowned for their amazing bridal lace selection.

I wanted this dress to fit like a dream, so I started by making a muslin out of some yellow cotton broadcloth. Then the real sewing began. I worked on this dress for two solid months and it became a labour of love. Often I had no idea what I was doing - I had never worked with a difficult fabric like satin before. So, I improvised and researched and figured it out as I went along. In the end, I created a garment that was a test of my tenacity and skill, but it was a completely fulfilling experience.

Here is a photo of the dress and a closeup of the embellished lace on the bodice. I have kept this dress for 20 years and about once a year, I pull it out of the closet as a reminder of how important it is to accept a challenge.







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Oh yeah and don't forget: "Beware the Ides of March." If you happen to know anyone named Brutus, don't turn your back on him today!

More Zesty Duds

Recently, I professed my love for orange and I was quite pleased to hear that I'm not the only one that adores this fab colour. Lately, I can't seem to get enough of this juicy colour - anything from rust to coral to pumpkin catches my eye and renders me speechless. Viva l'orange!

In that vein, I have another tangy outfit for your viewing pleasure. With the brown and orange herringbone RPL fabric that remained after making my skirt, I whipped up a pair of Loes Hinse Hepburn Pants (I used view B). I love this pattern! The fit is much more flattering on me than I expected. I figured the wide legs would overwhelm me (I am only a paltry 5"3" on a good day), but they are actually quite appealing. I used size S (small) for the entire pant and this proved to be exactly what I needed for a good fit. The only tweak I made was to use a sorter length of elastic in the waist to cinch it in a bit more.

The top I made to go with the pants is from a really cool knit fabric that has a mottled orange and brown design, as well as a random raised pattern knitted in. I purchased the fabric from RB Fabrics (a lovely little independent store that I would love to shop more, but it is a 45 minute drive for me). This fabric is heavy and drapey and gorgeous - I wish I had bought more. The pattern used is the Loes Hinse Bianca Top. I combined the long sleeves of view A with the body of view B. I love this pattern too! This top was a perfect fit with very little tweaking - I used XXS for the shoulder, bust and waist, then graded out to an XS for the hip. This top now fits exceptionally well and I know I will be making countless more versions of it.

When I wore this outfit to work the first time, it got rave reviews. It's amazing that the simplest patterns can be made up into eye catching garments, mainly through the use of unique fabric. I have really been embracing this mind set (subtle pattern - super fabric) as of late. It is a philosophy that I learned from Loes Hinse (see the Casual Elegance site for the Gallery pictures and the S Magazine articles for some inspiration) and it really has made my work wardrobe better. Over the next while, I will be posting more of my Loes Hinse garments, as I have been on a real LH pattern kick for the past several weeks. So stay tuned.

The Nose Knows

Inspired by Sharon (and the rest of the Dogs on Thursday crowd), I present the best little beagle nose on the planet:





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In other news, I have officially become obsessed with nail polish over the last few weeks. My collection of nail polish has gone from 5 bottles to over 130 since the start of the year (I kid you not). So, to make myself feel better about my new buying spree, I am thinking of adding a new feature to HZC:

Lacquer Lundi

On Mondays, I plan on sharing swatch pictures of the polishes I wear during the week. My favourite brands range from the inexpensive drug store variety to the pricier labels. So, would anyone be interest in this? Take the poll on the side bar and let me know (the poll closes on Monday, March 16th). If you have any additional comments, feel free to add those as well.

A Couple of Cozies

This winter was one of the coldest, nastiest, snowiest winters that I can remember in a long time. It was a winter made for hot chocolate and snuggling under mounds of blankets. Unfortunately, since I couldn't hibernate all winter long, I needed some warm sweaters to throw on when the mercury dropped.

The first sweater is a tunic made using a maple coloured boucle knit from Timmel Fabrics. It was a perfect match for the Loes Hinse Cowl Neck Top pattern. The second sweater is a cardigan made from a lovely teal boucle knit fabric from Fabricland, a local chain store. It was made from a shortened version of the Loes Hinse Sweater Coat pattern. Both sweaters were comfy, cozy and easy to wear - a huge win in my book!

ETA: I have been asked about the closures on the teal sweater coat. I used four large silver sew on snaps (the largest I could find - size 10 - about 2 cm in diameter). The snaps are spaced approximately 15 cm apart starting at the top and they extend down to just below the waist.







In other news, you could have bowled me over with a feather today when I read Audrey's blog. Apparently, Elizabeth Joyce (an Australian Stitches reader) recommended my blog along with the blogs of Audrey, Tany and Trena in a recent issue. This can be found in the Internet sites feature in Volume 16 Issue 11 (pictured to the left). There is a nifty little write-up and a picture for each blog. To be grouped in with these other fabulous seamstresses is a real honour.

So, a heartfelt thank you to Elizabeth!

A Tangy New Outfit

I love the colour orange! I love all the shades of orange from zesty and bright to muted and deep. So, in that vein, I present the following juicy goodness:




















The cardigan is a remake of BWOF 103 (9/05) that I had whipped up earlier this year and the skirt is a TNT pattern, Kwik Sew 2771. The fabric for the cardigan is a stretchy polyester knit from Vogue Fabrics. The skirt fabric, purchased from Timmel Fabrics, is a wonderful taupe and orange herringbone patterned RPL.

I am very pleased with this outfit - it is a great addition to my work wardrobe. The pieces are comfortable and easy to wear, not to mention the fabrics are a breeze to maintain due to the laundry friendly fibre content.



Before I sign off, I want to send out a couple of huge smooches to Carolyn and Karen for nominating me for the Sisterhood Award. The ladies in blogosphere sure are a congenial bunch. If the rest of the world would learn a thing or two from all the sewing "sisters", the planet would be a far better place!