You were Right!!!

Ok, true confessions. After multiple washings and wearings, I do love these 2908 jeans! Yes, they are still a bit snug just above my knees, but that is just inspiration to make this pattern again.

I just wanted to say 'Thank You' for all your support and wisdom! Why do we get so frustrated with things we sew that it skews our perspective? Patience won out in the end.

Happy Easter!!!

I ran across this Fabric Basket tutorial from Pink Penguin this morning. Once I saw it, I knew I had to make one for Easter!!!

http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html

I know, I know, a little LAST minute! But all of my little ones are grown up and won't be over until later for dinner. (Except for my DDB who is her now, whipping herself up a new purse)

DDB's new purse!

DDB is making Whiskey BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw and sweet potato fries for our Easter Dinner!! For dessert will be.... More Strawberry shortcake! This time with blackberries and blueberries as well. (and I wonder why my jeans are snug?)

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Edited to add the highlight of Easter.... Kids showed up. DDB behind purse, DDA laughing, DSM's foot.

I wish you all a blessed Easter!

100.8 miles down

699.2 miles to go!

Rock On!

Jeans Sew Along.....came and gone....

Well I have completed my Jalie 2908 stretch denim jeans.

Sounds so anticlimatic. Where are the fireworks and confetti?

The celebration has been postponed. I am not sure how I feel about these jeans. I feel like a jilted sewer.

First off, I just don't have a Jalie body type (at least on my lower half). I went by my hip measurement which ended up being a size W, and traced that out. The legs looked way too slim. So I compared them to a pair of jeans that I wear and the legs WERE way to slim from the hip down to the knee. So I added to both inner and outer leg in this area. And still, I had to sew the pants with barely an 1/4" seam in this area and the legs are snug. I think I just have large quads. Could be from running, could be from cookies, brownies, cheetos, strawberry shortcake, etc.

While they are snug fitting all over, I think that the material is the real issue. It is a stretch denim from JoAnns, and I think it is too light weight. Snug jeans in a light weight denim make me feel like I am wearing a sausage casing. Lumpy and bumpy.

Snug jeans in a heavy denim are just more flattering, they have a much more smoothing effect..

My DH disagrees, thinks they look great. I am hoping they will grow on me. I have not hemmed them yet, want to wash and dry a few more times before hemming.

One thing I am pleased with is my back pockets! I love how they turned out. The closeup of the back pocket is the only picture that shows the actual color of my jeans. The rest I had to enhance to brighten them, and well...it made them appear blue!

For my back belt loop, I went with the crossover loop that cindyintampa shared in the Jeans Sew Along message board. I love it.

I also tried rivets this time. That was an adventure! RocketBoy suggested rivets from http://www.grommetmart.com/. I ordered them on Monday and they arrived on Thursday. Unfortunately, they did not come with a handyman to install them. I practiced with many on varying layers of denim out on the cold garage floor with my trusty hammer and vice grips. Almost everytime, the nail came through the front on the rivet. I finally ended up using nails from JoAnns rivets and Grommetmart's front part of the rivets. I used a snipper to snip the nails shorter and then pliers to reshape the now flattened nail head and then tried not exerting superhuman strength when compressing, and the nail head still came through, but I thought I could live with it. Then I tried the pants on.. and boing... there went two rivets across the room. So much for being hard to remove!!!

So this time, I snipped the nail heads even shorter and tried again. So far, so good. (-: We will see if they are still there after I wash and dry.

So now that I am done whining about these jeans, I feel better. Maybe I even like them a little bit more. (-: I guess, if all else fails, I can do it again, in a better quality denim and insert a little more strawberry shortcake room in the thigh area. Because for me, the making is more than half of the fun.

100.8 miles down

699.2 to go!

Rock On!

On my way!

I finished tracing the Jalie 2908 stretch denim jeans pattern. Took about 2 hours! I used Kwik Sew Pattern Tracing Cloth for the first time. I did not really care for it. I think it was a combo of the dot grids on the cloth, the multiple lines for sizing on the pattern and the square grids of my cutting table, but by the time I was done... I was dizzy and had a headache! It was also hard to mark on. I usually use Easy Pattern tracing paper that I buy at JoAnns, I think I will stick with it.
Despite my nausea, I did get it completely traced, pinned and cut out. Yippee!

I just realized that I don't have a jeans zipper..... used it on the pair I made while waiting for this pattern! So tomorrow at lunch I will pick up a jeans zipper and then hopefully tomorrow night I can get the zipper installed and maybe the front pockets done. (-:

96.8 down
703.2 to go!
Rock On!

Uncontained

My Pattern Came Today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A tracing I will go, a tracing I will go, High Ho the Dairy - O, a tracing I will go!

And..... My rivets mailed today as well! Should be here Thursday!