Lola, lola…love

I have been in a bit of a sewing slump lately.  So busy with work and the girls school and activities and my running that I have pushed it to the back burner…until now!   I used my lunch hour at work last week to run to Joann’s to buy specific fabric to force myself to finally MAKE SOMETHING.  I knew once I had the fabric and was in my space I would feel great and get my sewing mojo back.  And I did!

I recently subscribed to Seamwork magazine and have fallen in love with several of the patterns and was determined to make an Astoria top and Oslo sweater so I picked up 2 yards of a few different substantial knits from Joanns and got to work.  I have been incredibly frustrated with my serger not working, or seeming to work and then going to hell after 20 seconds.  ARGH.  I finally spent some time in my sewing studio and sat down and worked on my serger.  Sewing knits on my sewing machine is a total pain for me…that little lightning stitch takes forever compared to the serger so I knew I had to figure what the hell was going on to avoid totally getting aggravated.  Turns out it was my needle…or my mistake of buying the wrong needle.  Once I changed it to the correct one I was all set to serge away! I am so happy it was something simple and I didn’t need to take it in for repair, but I am annoyed with myself for letting it sit for so long before I figured it out!

I sewed up a quick animal print ( so unlike me!) Astoria, and was about to make another with my new fave fabric- this amazing almost woven backed windowpane knit when I switched it up and realized I don’t really need more than one cropped sweater at this point and realized I had enough of the fabric to make my ultimate fall/winter favorite- the Lola by Victory Patterns.  I am so happy with the pattern switch- and I was able to whip this baby up with a bit less than 2 yards of fabric. I love love the comfortable style, the ridiculously deep pockets and the princess seams that give it some body skimming structure.

It took much longer than the Seamwork patterns, and even though I had made it a few times before it still stumped me when trying to put it together.  It is a simple sew if you actually follow directions and pay attention to what piece lines up to what- but it is constructed of many more pattern pieces than most knit patterns so it takes some patience.  I am very excited that I was able to use the pattern with no adjustments this time.  In my past versions I had to increase the center panel by 1inch on the fold to add 2 inches to both the front center panel and back center panel since my measurements were above the included size…but this time I did not enlarge it and it works great.   I have lost almost 30lbs now and feel amazing.  Running has changed my life and I feel so much healthier and strong than I have in years.  Woo hoo.

I even had enough left to sew up a quick infinity scarf with the leftover fabric=easy future gift!  Once I figure out what to wear with the new cropped top I will blog it- but it is a different style for me and doesn’t work with my wardrobe of leggings and slim plants at this point.  I guess it is an excuse to sew some sort of skirt or get out of my comfort zone to become more comfortable wearing something that doesn’t cover my stomach and shows off my hips and waist.  Hmm.  We’ll see.  So for now here is the Lola.  Love.