2 down, 3 to go!

I have finished the starlet suit!  I am happy!  Well, I'm almost always happy, but it's great to finish this project.  

Yesterday was my 51st birthday & we went to see Al Green @ Wolf Trap w/ friends.  It was a great concert, but I have to admit that, as I only had 4 (of 5) buttons to sew on, and I hadn't had a chance all week as we were busy Wednesday (gym) and Thursday (friends visiting), I thought, "Do we have to go to the concert?"  But we went, so I finally got a chance to finish this evening after another set of friends (visiting from NYC) went off to a wedding.  Yay!  Finished!

Here are some thoughts about the course & the pattern & the process & the experience.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed Gretchen's class.  She is an excellent teacher & a lot of fun, too (I think her giggle should be a ringtone).  I appreciated her honesty and helpful hints.  

Bella helps find
a pattern piece.

2.  I wish Gretchen would use the numbers when she refers to pattern pieces.  There are a lot of pieces and sometimes I had trouble finding the ones she was talking about (sometimes she doesn't use the exact same name).  Referring to a pattern piece name and number would make finding them a bit easier, especially if you don't have a huge sewing space & can't lay out all the patterns separately.   

3.  I usually watched a class (or part of a class), just to see if I needed to do any prep and also to get an idea of what was coming in the class.  Then, after I did the set-up (put in darts, stay stitch curves, etc.), I'd watch while trying to do the work with Gertie.  Using the pause button a lot & back-tracking a lot.  

3A. Which brings up another point:  I have a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet, and I often watched the classes on it.  It works great, but there's no slider to move the class back a bit or forward a bit.  So if I paused in the middle of a class, I'd have to watch the first part again to get back to the portion I wanted.  I know that things don't always work great with tablets, but it would sure be a nice feature, especially as I have friends who only have tablets now (no laptop).  

4.  I learned soooo much!  A lot of which I may never use again, but at least I know how to do it.  And so many things I will use again, i.e., bound buttonholes & tailor's tacks* & favoring a seam* & putting in a lining.  I want to make a few cotton jackets & the work I did on modifying this pattern piece to fit me will be so useful.  

I made an effort to be careful, but I can't say I'm going to win any awards at the county fairs anytime soon.  My mom says that they used to judge the back/inside of all handmade projects & the back had to look as good as the front.  No way not ever; I'm just not that neat or good at the handwork.  

Now to make a gored & lined skirt to match.  Before winter!  

All in all, I recommend this class if you'd like to learn what tailoring is, and how it's done. 

*I keep thinking of things I learned.  The asterisks are what I thought of after I first posted this!