Made by Me File: Emerald Isle Knit on St. Patrick's Day. McCall's 6796.

Outfit of the Day portion first followed by the Made by Me Info.

I somehow, and by accident, managed to line up the side seam's pattern exactly right.  I call the "luck of the Irish" on that one.  :-)

Day: Tuesday, March 17, 2015.

Where:  Bowling!  And whatever else happens today.  :-)

Ease of Wear: (4.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Like wearing a pretty sweater tunic pajamas.  It fits, it is super soft, it is paired with leggings, and I am wearing ballet flats.  The only thing that bugs me, and only the tiniest bit, is that I have a bit of excessive ease through the shoulders, but that is certainly better than too little ease.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  It's St. Patrick's Day.  I am a good Catholic girl in an area with plenty of Irish-Americans.  It's about as cool as it is possible to be for the day.  5 out of 5 for today, 3 out of 5 for the rest of the year.  So combined and then halved, you have a 4 out of 5.

(And yes, I will be wearing this on other days, not giving a rat's behind if tunics aren't really cool.)

Anecdote of the Day:  Two weeks ago I managed to bowl a game that was 50 points above my average.  Because of this I received a patch with the words "Star of the Week" on it at today's bowling.  Yes!  They see my progress.  Now, true, my bowling score that was 50 above is other people's AVERAGE scores, but I call victory.  LOL.

McCall's 6796. This is a pattern for a top/sweater, not a tunic, but I have seen so many other people be successful in converting top patterns into dress/tunic patterns that I decided with my two yards of Emerald Isle Knit from Fabric Mart (purchased last year at $2 a yard--I still have two yards to go!) I would give this pattern a go in a tunic shape.  Initially I hoped for a dress, but I really wanted long sleeves and the full collar with buttons, so something had to give, so I decided on a shorter length, with full sleeves and collar instead.  I know I could have cut an additional yard or half yard from my extra, but I have plans for that for other projects.

The collar on mine, btw, is cut the opposite way it was supposed to be, but I had to in order to properly fit it on the fabric.  Because this knit has both cross grain stretch and vertical stretch, it was fine.

All the pattern reviews for this pattern talk about how easy this pattern is to make up, and I was like, "sure, if you say so."  Well, yeah, they are right, it cuts easily, it has no darts, and if you use a serger, can be a very quick sew.  The only place I didn't serge was the neckline when attaching the collar and the hems of the sleeves and the bottom.  (On those I used my lightning bolt stitch.  Apparently that one stitch is a bit controversial--???--but I love it for all of my knitted hems and necklines--nice and stretchy.)

Sizing wise, I went with a ten through the shoulders, sleeves, waist and then graded to a 12 at high hip and down to a 14 at low hip/hem.  It was the right call.  The only reason there is even the smallest amount of wrinkling there at my back is because I have some extra ease at the waist (I think the 10 has a measurement of 33" and I am closer to 29"). 

I have one small problem with this pattern and it is the instruction to set in the sleeves.  Why are there any patterns that call for setting in sleeves on a knit pattern?  There are SO many of them!  It is baffling.  Sure, a structured blazer or formal top, but a casual sweater?  Hmm...anyhow, I ignored McCall's and set them in flat.

The fabric is a medium-weight sweater knit and if I recall correctly is a kind of poly knit with some lycra.  Will definitely keep me warm, but have zero plans to wear this in any temps above 75 F.  The fabric was super easy to sew on the serger, it only took the briefest amount of fiddling before I found the proper tensions on the dials.

I had these buttons in my stash.  How Celtic do those look?  Perfect!  I had an additional one, so I could have gone for the third button the way the pattern instructs, but I prefer to places buttons on my dress form, and this combo, in this position, looked best. 

Hope all of you are having a lovely day.  Wear your green and celebrate Ireland!  :-)

OOTDs/Review: That Zara Jacket and the Color Green.

Good Monday morning, all!

I hope everyone had a lovely St. Patrick's Day weekend.  :)

Day: Sunday, March 17, 2013.

Where: Dinner out with my dad and stepmom.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This outfit was very comfortable.  The upbeat kitten heels (Boden fall 2011) were a bit snug, but they always feel that way at first.  By the end of the evening, they felt fine.

The Audrey dress (review here, on clearance here) is so easy to wear since it is made from a thick stretch ponte fabric.  I can see why this particular dress was super popular, you can look put together, yet feel very comfortable at the same time.

I will admit to being a bit chilly at the end of the evening when the temps dipped into the 30s.  The leather jacket with ruffle detail (still available here) was not the best at keeping me warm, but considering how much I adore this jacket, the little bit of chill I felt on the five minute walk back to the car was okay by me.

Cool Factor: (4.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I gave this one almost a perfect score.  I think had I worn a pair of booties, I could have given this one a 5.  :)

The jacket is insanely cool, and combined with the floral scarf, it looks as editorial as I am ever gonna get.

I would have not known that jacket existed had I not created a polyvore set for a blog friend who asked me to put together a few looks with the LouLou dress, which I had fun doing.  I was searching for the exact right look for one of the dresses, when I happened upon this pretty beige leather jacket from Zara.  I hemmed and hawed over purchasing, but decided to give it a try since I had no idea whether it would sell out (still don't, in fact, since I have no idea how Zara's stocks are).

I could get it as long as I was able to pay it off, and by continuing my closet cleanout (many trips to the consignment store later), I could afford it, so I grabbed a small and went on my merry way.

Then I realized by reading on-line reviews of Zara's sizing that I had probably made a huge mistake since Zara runs really really really small.  Eek.

I got the jacket three days later (super fast and free shipping, btw) and try it on and OMG, it was wee.  Indeed, very wee.  It fits at the shoulders and arms, but I cannot zip it up to save my life.  I can't even do up the zip beyond the first two inches, and since I actually want a jacket that does what it supposed to do, I know the small won't work, and based on how the small was fitting, the medium would fit, but just barely.  I was sure the large would be sold out (and it was the time I ordered the small), but when I got online later that day, there was a large in stock, so I reordered.

The one I am wearing is the large, and as you can see, it fits exactly right.  Reminder...I wear a size 4 in J. Crew perfect shirts, a 4 or 6 in Boden tops, and a size extra-small in J. Crew knits and tees.  Based on that, I would agree that Zara may run a bit small.  LOL. ;)

Anecdote from the day:  How did we celebrate St. Patrick's Day?  Well, we went to a Moroccan restaurant, of course.  It was next door to an Irish pub, so that sort of counts, right?

Mr. Dina stayed at home with the kids, including little Angus who had come down with a fever.  Poor kid still has it as of a couple of hours ago.  Blegh.

Speaking of Angus, I can't believe it, but one year ago exactly, I was heavily pregnant with him.

That Zara Jacket and the Color Green. by dinagideon featuring a leather ruffle jacket

Above is the polyvore of the outfit, which also has a direct link to the Zara website.

Day: Saturday, March 16, 2013.

Where: Sewing Class (last one).

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Hard to feel uncomfortable when you are wearing the world's softest leggings and a super-stretchy tunic (Boden Spring 2011--worn here in a similar way).

Even the Garnet Hill wedge boots are easy on the feet.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  I like this outfit and the jacket and boots help really up the cool factor, but it is still like I am wearing a slightly dressy pair of pjs underneath those two cooler pieces.  ;)

Anecdote from the day:  I finished another skirt, this time using Simplicity sewing pattern 1887.  I had intended to make a pair of pants from this pattern with the fabric I chose, but I realized that I had bought 1/2 yard too little of the fabric to actually make the pants, so I made view D instead, the skirt.

I will be making the pants from a very nice cotton lawn that I found at G Street fabrics that looks a lot like the pepper print from Liberty (but not being so very expensive, of course).  That one I may photograph each step so I can show how I made the pants, but it may be that when I actually get down to the process, I find it too time consuming to bother photographing the sewing "journey."

My stepmom and I are planning on doing the sewing class again, even though we technically are too advanced for the class.  The teacher is great, she lets us do what we want and serves as a technical adviser on the projects, which is handy since we still get confused by some parts of the process.

Here is a photo of Angus from earlier on St. Patty's day, before he came down with "the fever."  He looks like a cute little Leprechaun businessman.

You all have a great day!  And a belated Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

OOTD: Bit of Green.

Happy Belated Saint Patrick's Day, all! No Angus born on St. Patty's Day, so there you go...and no baby boy born on my daughter's half birthday, either (that would be 3.5, today, fwiw). That's fine. I am holding out for him to be born on time on the 29th or in the perfect world of a Rush fan, being born on 3/21/12. This date means nothing to you unless you really love Rush, as their album 2112 would always be part of his bday.  (Although would that mean I would have to name him Geddy?)

Not holding my breath, though. LOL. :)

Onto a bit of green! I love the color and am more than happy to wear as much green as possible on the actual day and during the week leading up to it in bits and pieces. Unfortunately, I am literally limited to the 6 or so pieces of clothing that still fit, and that means I have only two real items that will work. All good, though.

The first outfit is from the day the kids celebrated the world of shamrocks and rainbows and all things Irish--Tuesday.  (Thursday, the other day they go to preschool, they celebrated with a "leprechaun" party, in which their classrooms were destroyed by the antics of those Irish mischief makers.  CW was really irritated by them.  Hee.)

Dress: Pea in the Pod.  The ombre effect includes a deep green at the hem becoming a light tan color at the top.  You all have seen this dress before (of course...easy to do with a limited wardrobe).
Shoes: Boden.  These are the green animal bow flats from the fall.
Scarf: J. Crew.
Sunglasses: Target.

Mr. Dina was with me--he took the photo which is the only way I would ever pose like this in public--he took me to the doctor that day.  He really wanted to make sure that the doctor was comfortable with my due date, he is SURE that I should be giving birth earlier based on how big my tummy has become.  It turns out I just brew the children big.  Nice and hearty, like a Guinness.

Close up the dress, scarf, and sunglasses.  I do really love this dress!

Yeah, this is from St. Patrick's Day, just in case you were color blind (it's possible!!!).  CW is in a lime green splendor and I am in shades of dark olive.

Cardigan: Macy's Charter Club.
Top: Merona Maternity.  I wore this top with another very similar outfit a few weeks ago.
Shorts: Motherhood Maternity.  It was HOT that day.  I ended up, by the time we made it to the supermarket, not wearing the cardigan.  (BTW, at the supermarket a non-pregnant person parked in the expectant mother's spot. Le sigh.  Wasn't much I could do beyond giving them the side eye, but grrr!)
Shoes: J. Crew.
Necklace: Boden Semi Precious Pendant. This is a preview of this pendant, which I have better photos of for next week's Boden Weekly Review roundup. It is on backorder in both colors, I can see why. I think it is a keeper, and for the price, well worth it.

CW is in a selection of Carter's, Hanna Anderson, and Miss Trish of Capri for Target.  Her "purse" is an old one of mine.  She has a lot of my old purses.  And she carries them with her, without anything in them.  I think she just thinks they look good and that they add to her outfit.  She doesn't actually understand their utility yet.  ;)

My hair is in pigtails because it was so flipping hot...I would have melted if I had left it down.

Okay, so before I go, I had such a great day today!  Some of my blog friends invited me to one of the coolest restaurants in DC, America Eats Tavern (formerly Cafe Atlantico), for a Gus baby shower.  How sweet!  There will be more on today in an upcoming post, but I had to show off this adorable cupcake packaging that Summer (of the blog Sumsunshine) created for the party.  She had told the lovely folks at Georgetown Cupcake to package it for a boy's baby shower, but they must have not got the message, as we ended up with pink, but Summer swooped in and got the blue ribbon, blue safety pin, and "it's a boy" pendant on the package to show that I am having a little man and not a little lady.


Thank you so much, ladies.  It really was an amazing day!!!  

You all have a great night! 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Real quick post about what I wore. I am walking home (I also walked here), so I have to get going, but I wanted to show my pride in St. Patrick's Day, and more importantly my love of the color green.

Because I walked today, I didn't do anything super-fancy, but it works as a whole. The top is a cotton sweater from Talbot's. I love this print. So pretty and chic. The pants are tan cords from Lee Riders that I have finally been able to wear again. In fact, I think I may have waited too long to wear them...they are a bit loose and may be headed for retirement if I can actually reach my weight-loss goal (still have about 3 pounds until I reach my pre-pregnancy weight before Rex and about 14 to go before I reach my ultimate goal--my weight in Summer 2005). The tennis shoes are some keds that I bought a few years ago at DSW. The headband is the only thing from J. Crew. Shocking, I know. Even the jacket I wore was from Kohl's.

I have J. Crew clothing in green...but none of them spoke to me last night when I planned this outfit.

I hope all of you enjoy your night. I am going to yoga. Maybe I will wear a green yoga top. Hmm...do I even own a green yoga top? :)