One good thing about having a craft allowance is that it forces you to focus and plan. I'm 25 days into the year and I'm pretty proud of myself for averting so much temptation so early on, such as the 5 for $5 Simplicity deal and 50% of the notions wall at Joanns and other friend-sponsored enabling (you know who you are)! One way to keep my eyes away from temptation is to devise a plan, determine a goal and to make sure my craft allowance brings me closer to that goal, my prize if you will. As they say, keep your eye on the prize. The plan and the prize .... *drum roll* ... is a new wardrobe!

Yes, you heard me right, a wardrobe. I'm traveling to Brazil at the end of May and I decided that I wanted to sew my wardrobe (most of it) for the trip. I'm officially going to be doing my own SWAP (Sewing with a Plan). I was first turned onto this through Pattern Review's contest last year. A SWAP basically involves coming up with a wardrobe based on key garments. PR's contest this year consists 4 tops, 4 bottoms, 1 jacket or dress and 1 accessory. I am by no means entering the contest this year but I am taking inspiration from last year's winner, Eric B, and Trena, who sewed a wardrobe for her Big Fat Greek Holiday.

This is where I need your input. I need to decide what garments I need and what patterns to sew. I'll be in Brazil for two weeks and want easy to care for (but not frumpy or boring) clothes and at least one "party" dress. It will be late fall but still in the 70s or so. So this wardrobe will definitely take me right into summer when I get back. I'm currently thinking about 11 pieces, 5 tops, 3 bottoms, 2 dresses and 1 jacket. Time to weigh in folks.

Many of you have been asking how my SWAP was going. And to be honest, I hadn't worked on it much since I first blogged about it, partly because I was taking in all your feedback and because I was also waiting for more spring patterns to come out. Well the other day I realized that there are less than three months until I leave for Brazil. So last night, I sat myself down and got some work done.

I presented you with 25 patterns in my original pattern pool. Some of you and the wonderful folks over at the burdaenglish group said that they saw two themes emerging and you were right. As a result, I decided to leave the amazon/safari/"let's get down and dirty to get to know Brazil" look behind because I pretty much have most of those clothes in my wardrobe already. Plus the thought that I could stain and tear my clothes, the ones I made just for this trip, was killing me! So everything that is left now represents the fun, feminine and flirty side of my Brazil trip.

I decided to go with 4 tops, 4 bottoms, 2 dresses and 1 jacket for a total of 11 garments. I've successfully narrowed the field down to 15 so I'm going to need your opinions to help me drop 4 patterns.

a. BWOF 2/08 #101 A
b. BWOF 5/06 #109 B
c. BWOF 3/08 #107
e. BWOF 2/08 #122
f. BWOF 2/08 #119 B
g. BWOF 2/08 #123 A

Tops b, e and f are already finalists. Tops a and c would are both good because they have a little more coverage and would also be good as cover ups, especially if I'm feeling a little self conscious about just roaming around in just my bathing suit. Top g is also really cute, but is this just your basic knit top? Would my time be better spent on something a little more special for the SWAP?

h. BWOF 2/08 #111 A
i. BWOF 3/08 #122 B
j. BWOF 3/08 #114 B
k. BWOF 2/08 #121
l. Simplicity 4110

Bottoms k and l are finalists. Because skirts h and j are have very similar silhouettes, I need to decide between those two. Skir t j is great because it's got pockets, but skirt h is also great because it can be sewn in a more forgiving fabric, one that wouldn't require a lot or any ironing. Skirt i isn't a final, final selection as this, for now, is a place holder for a softer, more flowy skirt. I'm still open to ideas for specific patterns for this.

d. BWOF 3/08 #104
m. McCalls 5575
n. BWOF 2/08 #125
o. Vogue 8468

The only finalist in this category is dress n, my party dress. The two other dresses I must choose between are entirely different. Dress m is the trendier knit dress that can also double as a tunic and a cover up. Dress o is the sweeter, vintage-esque daytime dress that I can wear to just walk around in, explore and go shopping. The original jackets I choose were entirely wrong for this. While I love my new selection, jacket d, I'm not 100% sure this fits with everything else. Any suggestions for other patterns are greatly welcomed. Of course I can also forgo the jacket altogether and substitute it with another dress, too, not saying that that's what I want to do. I'm just sayin'.

So give me your input please! I'd love to know what you're thinking so far.

And if you haven't noticed, practically all the patterns are from BWOF. Am I asking for trouble? Let me also remind you that I still have NOT sewn one of their patterns yet. Oh dear..

It's story time folks.. so get cozy and grab a cup of tea and maybe a snack.

There once lived an ambitious young woman by the name of yaiAnn. yaiAnn lead a fairly normal life. Growing up, she was a fairly well-rounded student. She succeeded in school and participated in athletic, cultural and social activities. In her post-college years, she set out to define herself as an adult. She was beginning to establish her career and settle into a normal routine. One day she realized that there was something missing, something that she hadn't felt in quite a while, and that was the feeling of competition. Now keep in mind, it wasn't the act of competing with others she missed but rather the mental (and also physical aspect) involved in training oneself to push oneself to their limits to achieve a goal.

One of the sports she participated in when she was younger was swimming. So she quickly started looking into swimming. And through her internet search, she stumbled upon the sport of triathlon which involved swimming, biking and running. "Hmmm.." she thought to herself. "I can definitely swim. I know how to bike. And I've recently learned how to enjoy running. This actually might be something I could do." And so the first seed of triathlon was planted in her brain. A few more searches later, she discovered a few local triathlon resources that would be able to get her on her way to complete her first triathlon. However, she still needed a bicycle.

A year had passed and she still had not made any progress toward completing a triathlon. She was now in graduate school and working towards furthering her education. She had started to swim regularly and picked up running again. One day at the university bookstore, a magazine caught her eye, Triathlete. And in it, there was an article, part one of three on how to train for your first triathlon. Naturally, she bought it and the two subsequent issues. The seed started to sprout again. But of course, she was still missing one thing, a bicycle. And now that she was a student, she was also lacking the funds to purchase a bicycle. One fortunate day, she received good news that she was going to receive a stipend for her internship! Two months later, she was the proud owner of a brand new bicycle! After two rides, the bicycle sat unridden on her balcony, under a tarp for another year until she finished school.

But there was hope, yet! A month and a half before finishing school, she had a few conversations with her BFF and her boyfriend's older sister. She had discovered that they both had interests in completing a triathlon as well. With a little research, they had found an upcoming race. Could it be, that this triathlon would soon become reality? A few more conversations here and there and it was finally decided. It was now, or never. And now it became and they all signed up. Three months later, they all completed their very first triathlon.

Since that August day in 2003, when yaiAnn crossed the finish line, she was immediately hooked on the sport and has since completed over 10 triathlons of various distances. It took yaiAnn three years since the triathlon seed first got planted for her to finally complete her goal. And all that it took, aside from a little peer motivation and momentum, was to commit to a race.

Sometimes it's just not enough to make a goal for yourself. Those goals may have to come with a target date or other motivating factor to get yourself going. So kids, the moral of the story is, "Put your money where your mouth is." So just when you thought all SWAP hope may be lost, let me show you where much of my money went this weekend.

Craft allowance be damned! I'm determined to get this wardrobe going!

It's been 15 days since I've last posted and I've honestly done nothing except for open up my packages of fabric, and pet and swoon over them. I've honestly been a little preoccupied with my preparation for a major event and I knew that would hinder my progress a bit, but I didn't think it would hinder it THIS much.

So what's this 46 days business? Let me let y'all in on what this major event is and NO it has nothing to do with bells of any sort, except for maybe the cowbell variety. In 46 days I'll be in Brazil (hopefully with some new clothes), taking on a day-long adventure. Think of the things you can do or accomplish in 12-14 hours over the weekend. And then think about how on May 25th at 7am, I'll be working hard to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles all within 13 hours. And you only think I was crazy about crafting.. I'm just crazy, period.*

I got this email today. Truth be told, this photo makes me nervous. The jitters of a mass start, the sound of the timing chips, it's all very nervous and exciting at the same time. This was a bit of a wake up call, a 46 days left to get your butt in gear wake up call and a 41 days or you'll be partying naked in Brazil wake up call.

I've got 41 days to turnover some semblence of a vacation wardrobe before I make my getaway. I've set up my training schedule to allow for full use of my evenings and I thought it would be perfect. Here's a how a "normal" week looks:

Tuesday/Thursday:

• 5am - up and at em'
  
• 6:15am - spin class
  
• 7:30am - treadmill session
  
• Head to work by 9:00am
  
• Home by 6:00pm

Wednesday/Friday:

• 5:20am - up and at em'
  
• 6:00am - swimming (2100-2500yds)
  
• Head to work by 8:00am
  
• Home by 6:00pm

Saturday:

• 6 - 7:00am - up and at em'
  
• 8 - 9:00am - riding my bike anywhere from 40-100 miles
  
• Home by 5:00pm

Sunday:

• 6 - 7:00am - up and at em'
  
• 8 - 9:00am - running around anywhere from 6-13 miles
  
• 10:30am - swimming (~4000 yds)
  
• Home by 1:00pm

Monday:
DAY OFF!! Wooot! (but I still have to go to work.. boo!)

So yes, up early in the mornings with completely FREE evenings.. and how have I spent them. Cooking, baking and veging out. I'm heading into crunch time for my training so now I'm cracking the whip and putting myself into crunch time for sewing, too.

Tonight, after I come back from the pool (yes, I missed my workout this morning), I'm going to get friendly with my BWOFs and tracing paper while my fabric goes a washing in the machine.

Let's hope I survive.

*Don't worry, I've done this once before in 2006 out in BC, Canada. And yes, I voluntarily agreed to do it all over again (and I voluntarily agreed to do it the first time, too). I'm crazy, I tell you!

I know it's not nice to tease, but I'm so excited right now I have to share just a little bit. I was hoping to have these two pieces done by Saturday so I could wear them to a baptism (and also do a photo shoot) but the odds were against me.

Topstitching has never made me so nervous!

Two down (almost -- I have to make a few adjustments to the brown piece) and ... nine to go.

Instead of sewing Vogue 8468 as planned, I got hold of McCall 5620 during a wonderful 99cent sale at Joanns. They're the same basic shape except the McCall pattern uses pleats instead of gathers. Besides, those pockets on the Vogue pattern aren't even functional. I swear, why bother faking it if it's not functional? I don't get these patterns sometimes. Aside from the point, I decided to make a muslin because the ease on this dress is insane. I'm taking like 18 inches of ease. I decided to make a wearable muslin out of some seersucker in my stash.

I went down south this weekend for a race and decided it would be a great opportunity for a fun photo shoot "on location." On the way back home, we decided to make our way up Highway 1. The weather was most uncooperative as it was mostly overcast and cold. We were running out of beach and coast fast but luck was partially on our side as the sun was blazing in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, the wind was in full force as well. So it made for nicely styled photos with proper drape and detail absolutely impossible.

Yes, please plaster the dress all up on my body.

Yes, the wind was most uncooperative. I kept telling B to wait til the wind stopped blowing to take a shot. But the wind never seemed to stop blowing. So after a while, I decided to screw around. It made for a fun time though, channeling being an airplane and all.

But at the end of the day, all you will get are stand still like a manequin shots on the dress form.

Pattern: McCall 5620
Fabric: Some Synthetic Seersucker (true content unknown -- more detail on this in the notes)

Back

Notes: The cut of this dress was inspired by Christina's fabulous Patrones shift dress. I decided to experiment and cut the front and back on the bias to make a chevron effect.

Generally speaking, I'm not super happy with this dress for many reasons. But in considering that it's a muslin, it is what it is. So here goes my laundry list of unhappy thoughts, many of which I have learned from and hope to remember in the future.

1. Get to know your fabric well before pattern placement and cutting: While I was able to get my chevrons to line up on both the front and the back. I neglected to see that the seersucker stripe pattern consisted more than just one light stripe sequence and one dark sequence. There are actually two different dark stripe sequences offset by one light stripe sequence. Fortunately it lined up perfectly on one side, which happened to be the back.
   
   Hi, we're fraternal chevrons.
   
2. Take notes while fabric shopping and label all your fabric: This was my second time working with seersucker and I assumed that it was the same as the cotton seersucker I used to make B's shirt last summer. Yes, don't ever assume. As I was pressing the garment during construction, I noticed the seam edges doing funny things, like shrink and distort. Hello yaiAnn, we're not made from cotton. Down went the temperature setting on the iron. It's a good thing I realized this early in the sewing process. I should have listened to myself earlier, however, when I noticed that the fabric started puckering more in places as I was pressing the fabric before cutting.
   
3. Bias is fun. Bias is frustrating: Cutting the dress on the bias made such a cute effect on the finished product. However, it made it so much harder to handle because I didn't want to distort or stretch the fabric. What should have ended up as a dress with a very smooth silhouette, turned out to be very balloony, not to mention, it didn't make hemming very fun either.
   
   Puff in the front and puff in the back tapers down to the hem.
   
   Don't look at me, I suck!
   
4. Lining and underlining can be your friend: I think the balloon issue could have been solved by either lining or underlining. The seersucker is pretty light and sheer and I was just really eager to sew to be bothered to find fabric for lining or underlining. Cidell is currently working on a seersucker vest and is underlining it instead of interfacing it to give it the structure that it needs. This dress definitely needs a tad of structure. I'm opposed to garments with drape or that are "loosey goosey," but balloon action is not what I'm looking for here. But structure aside, there's no way I should be leaving the house without a slip on underneath this dress (FYI, I had shorts on underneath -- hence the odd lines).

So despite my problems, the dress is done and is wearable. And at the end of the day, my muslin question has been answered. The dress fits and no modifications are necessary. But the one burning question I have is, will this dress, once made from the actual fashion fabric, look maternity? You've all seen this swatch.

This fabric is a polyester/lycra blend with a lot more weight that the seersucker so it definitely won't poof out. The black border on the bottom of that photo is column that runs down the length of the fabric with a coordinating motif that runs along one of the selvedges. I plan on having that black column run down the center front of the dress with the black border as the hem all the way around. (I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the entire pattern repeat of the fabric to show). Should I move ahead and cut into this or save myself the trouble?