Questions answered!

It's time for a comment/question roundup! These are all questions left in comments of the last month or so that I feel the need to follow-up with... so hopefully you all are checking back in!

Tammy has left a new comment on your post "Me Made May... I lost count":
Man alive! Do you make all your clothes? You've been busy! I especially like the tunic and circle skirt :)

(aside from Jenny: check out Tammy's yummy and beautiful cakes! I so wish I lived in California!)

Branka has left a new comment on your post "Me Made May... I lost count":
Wow, you've been very busy, nice job on all of these, especially the maxi dress!

Tammy and Branka, I was super lazy when writing that particular blog post and didn't link back to any original posts for those clothes. I made nothing in that post during May! They were all from the last year or two. I have been sewing quite a lot the past few months, though, I'll admit. My mojo has kicked into overdrive! I really don't make all my clothes, but I have made a lot more than I've bought during the past year. I've still never made jeans and have made very few pants. I also have bought many more sweaters over the years than I have knitted or sewn. Um, don't sew much outerwear, no underwear of any type, and very few jammies. :-) There you have it.


saintpudalia has left a new comment on your post "Me Made May 29/Simplicity 2473":
I'm curious: Did you line any part of this? I love this fabric and almost bought it just two days ago! But then I thought it might be too sheer for a dress and seeing as how it's already super-hot where I live....well, I didn't get it. Now I really want to because it looks great and I even have this pattern!

I did line this with very lightweight cotton batiste. I didn't want to add any real weight since this is a summer dress, but I was also concerned about opacity. In the end, the batiste did the trick and keeps me from feeling too nekkid, while minimizing wrinkles and keeping the dress cool.


Trisha has left a new comment on your post "Circle Skirt/Me Made May 30":
Great job on making the skirt without a pattern! What's your secret for installing invisible zippers? I don't have an invisible zipper foot for my machine, so if you have any tips, I'd appreciate them!

I don't have any real secrets for the zipper installation, but here's what I do: I install the zipper before I sew the seam. Sometimes I use fusing tape to anchor the zipper first, but when I'm feeling lucky, I just use pins. I first zig-zag kind of in the middle of the tape to baste it. Then, I go back with a regular zipper foot and just stitch as close to the teeth as possible. The foot helps to roll out the teeth. I'll take pictures when I do the next one!


Uta has left a new comment on your post "Oh my, what a week! I've been sewing away and hav...":
Ah yes, the creature comforts of the US... BUT you won't have fabric markets! (I'm only saying this to make myself feel better, of course.) Living on the beach sounds fabulous, I hope you enjoy it. I think the top looks fine, and maybe you'll need it for all the air-conditioning (that I bet you aren't used to anymore, right?).

Uta, I will definitely miss those fabric markets! I'm actually wanting to sew up some linen I got at one before I leave here, but it may not happen. Other things I will miss:
Schnitzel and spaetzle
all the little family-owned restaurants with outdoor seating all spring and summer
the fun and feeling of triumph of learning new German words every day, sometimes from 3-year-olds
the feeling of security of living in a country with a very low violent crime rate
Spargel!!
Walking to the store/ice cream shop/strassenbahn (streetcar)/playground/everything else - not possible in U.S. suburbia
Being a quick plane trip and long weekend away from so many other countries and cultures
all the friends I've made here - German, American ex-pats, and other Europeans...
Ok, that got a bit deep. (apologies for everything I'm sure I've misspelled).

Kathryn, who commented earlier on that post, is my sister and has had to listen to me whine oh so many times about not being able to go buy medicine in the wee hours of the night here. :-)