I had to replace my computer. I knew something was amiss with it; it crashed constantly, but especially whenever I was doing ANYTHING with photos…which is about half of my computer-using activity, so it was pretty frustrating. Fortunately, I gave up and took it in to the repair shop before anything went awry with the hard-drive, so they were able to transfer all of my pictures, music, writing, and myriad Japanese music videos to a fresh, new computer without any drama.
Joel’s computer had been dying a slow death for the past year, as well, so we replaced two computers in one fell swoop. A bit of a shock to the bank account, but fortunately, neither of us desires or requires a serious hot-rod computer, so not nearly as bad as it could have been if we were graphic designers or gamers.
So now that I have a computer that won’t have a violent hissyfit whenever I want to upload a photo, and won’t lock up when I switch from one window to another, here are some pictures of the tops I have made in the past couple of months.
I made this top back in late June, I think. It’s made of a cotton/rayon jersey knit with a strange abstract floral print.
The pattern I used was Vogue 8769. Unfortunately, this is one of those patterns that didn’t have a photo on the front of the envelope, or I’d have known to cut a size smaller than my normal. It ended up being much less fitted than I’d anticipated and is more “tunic-y” than I’d have preferred. Still, I like the fabric and at least it doesn’t make me look pregnant, so it’s okay. If I ever use this pattern again, though, I will be cutting it down just a bit.
One thing that turned out quite well was the stretch lace I used for seam-binding around the neckline. It made a beautiful, tidy finish, and I feel a bit fancy just knowing that it is there.
This Simplicity turned out just like I had hoped it would. This pattern is a keeper and will be a repeat-build. I’d already sampled success with another of the designs in this pattern, and had high hopes for the top you see above.
This is the other top, in some daffy pin-up girl-print lycra I found at a local thrift shop. Not counting the price of the pattern, this is a $0.50 tee-shirt.
Simplicity 4076 – definitely a good buy. I’ve made views B and D now.
This one I just made a couple of weeks ago…and worn it about once a week since then.
It’s another Vogue which turned out just a bit wider than I’d expected. I could take it in along a couple of seam lines – if I weren’t so lazy, I suppose.
I really like this design. I have a solid brown sleeveless top from Talbot’s that has this same sort of neckline and I think it is a kind of clever design. Next time, though I will extend the back facing so that the collar can be folded down like a shawl collar if I want to wear it that way, too. As drafted, the bottom of the facing shows if you fold the collar down. Boo to that.
I’ll probably make up the funnel-neck option sometime, too. I like that sort of exaggerated turtle neck far better than a bias-cut cowl neckline which always pouches out weird over my chest.
It’s funny, a few years ago, it seemed like all of the Simplicity patterns were running large, now apparently Vogue is upsizing while Simplicity is running true to measure. Weird. Simplicity has really upped their game in the past few years. Five, six years ago, I barely even considered Simplicity as a viable option. Most of my picks came from McCall’s or Vogue. While McCall’s is still representing, and Vogue consistently has a lot of really cute options, Simplicity has been offering a strong range of actually fashionable and functional designs. And usually at a lower price point than the McCall’s/Vogue/Butterick triumvirate.