Announcing: June Capsule Competition 2 (JCC2) - Rules and discussion thread

[Morzel]

  Congratulations to all those who finished!!! (I am not amongst them...) I am looking forward to your pictures!

Ruthie, what a wonderful blouse nevertheless!! Great colour and from the look on the hanger great style! Reworking that sleeve do check (before cutting anything off) that the sleevecap has still enough height to hang well - I reduced the sleevecap height on one of my shirt patterns but afterwards thought it didn't hang all that nicely. I know it sounds weird (but it probably the easiest way to fix a finished, sewn-in sleeve because you just have to rip part of the seam), but you could sew in a dart at the upper sleevecap/shoulderline. Just like a seam on a raglan sleeve, going to as low as the biceps line. If you rip out the sleeves anyway, you could start partially and pin a (shaped) dart and look what it's like?   I drafted a cardigan the other day, having to reduce ease at the cap but keeping the biceps line the same (yes, I also got those upper arms). Here's a link to a photo, this and the next in sequence showing the alteration of the pattern.

Regarding easing: it is not only the sort of fiber you use (wool eases nicely, poly doesn't) but also the kind of weave that is used - wool gabardine doesn't ease well, as is cotton poplin. The denser the weave, I think, the less it is likely to ease.

[RuthieK]

Thanks Eva,

I had a look at the photos, so I guess curved darts in the sleeve a few inches down from the shoulder in each direction would probably take care of it.
I can try it (after the contest photos obviously, no cheating on the deadline folks) and if its odd always unpick it again.

[Karendee]

Congratulations to all that finished!!!!!

Karen

[Morzel]

Ruthie, I didn't make it clear, but those are two different suggestions. Sewing a dart (I thought about one, at shoulder line, but two is also an idea) is one possibility. The pictures show the alteration of the pattern, as I am sure you want to sew this baby again!

[CarolTrendall]

I'm not having a good week.  My computer at home has completely up and died.  Until I get it replaced, I only have access at work.  Here is my final blouse with the jacket.  I forgot to photograph my cap, but you'll see that in the final pictures.

I'm not happy with my work on this but, like Ruthie said, the deadline was looming.

BTW, how many pictures do we need to send in?

[Sharon]

Congratulations on all who finished    I didn't even get started 

Can't wait to see the final pictures as there are some wonderful garments here.

Sharon

[sdBev]

OK here's the shirt finished with buttons on and everything....

Ruthie,  I think it is gorgeous!!

[Janis]

Congratulation to the finishers.   Wish I could be one of you, but I'm not.  I look forward to seeing all the beautiful garments and accessories.

[RuthieK]

Jenni and I were chatting on the phone the day after I finished the blouse, and I decided to measure the armhole and the sleeve pattern on the blouse. Very revealing as the sleeve has 3 inches of ease, which I think explains why I had such trouble getting it in neatly!

Still need to do photos, and send to Elizabeth, and then I need to empty my sewing room as I am having it decorated on Monday and Tuesday.

Good job no more contests for a bit!!!

[sdBev]

...
 then I need to empty my sewing room as I am having it decorated on Monday and Tuesday.

..

Ruthie,
I just did this last week, but because I was shampooing carpets.  I am no longer physically able to shampoo all the carpets in the house all at once, so this week, I'm emptying out my stash room also to shampoo the carpet in that room.  What's really nice though, when I returned the rooms appointments, I carefully sorted through and disposed of unused items.  It really made my room neater and easier to find the things I do want to use.  Good luck with the decorating ... Looking forward to the photos

[RuthieK]

Must take photos and send them in to Elizabeth.
Not made time to do it yet, but time is getting short, so I think they may have to be indoors after all :-(

Have the rest of you all done your photos and are just waiting for the big reveal?

[CarolTrendall]

Can someone tell me where to send the photos?  I must be an idiot because I can't find an email address anywhere.  Also how many pictures are we supposed to send?  Do we need a picture of all the items together, or just us wearing them??  I took pictures of me wearing the clothes, but I don't have a shot of all of them together, although that is easily fixed.  Thanks

[JennyAnne]

Here's the info on how and where to send photos.  I don't think you need a photo of everything together since they're all supposed to be modeled photos.  I'm sure Elizabeth can clarify.

As soon as you can, send me your photos.  I think you can do it by PM, but you can also send them to ejvc0000@googlemail.com, or you can put them up on flickr and post a link.

I'll be creating a flickr set for this to make judging and voting easy, basically like it was last year.  I'd like a maximum of four photos please, and please show them on yourself.  Feel free to crop or fuzz out your face if you prefer to be sort of anonymous.  You also need to send me some text describing the collection: what fabric and what pattern for each garment, what you think the best part of the collection is, and why you should win.  Oh, and something about what the orphan is and why you thought it worth saving.  I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT ANY FLAWS OR WHY YOU DON'T DESERVE TO WIN AND I WILL EDIT THOSE PARTS OUT.  Seriously, we don't give ourselves enough credit.

[ejvc]

Thanks JennyAnne and sorry for being a bit absent from the thread -- of course now would be the time that lots of things are going on in my life and Charlotte is waking more in the night so I'm a bit zombied, if I can use that as an adjective!

One person has sent me a single photo of her wearing two garments and standing next to a dressmaker's dummy which has the other two garments on it.  I won't disqualify this but I really would prefer MORE photos and modelled on you.  I think that makes it easier for everyone to judge.  Maximum four photos though.

Regards and feel free to PM me if I fall unusually silent!!

[JennyAnne]

I took my photos this morning.  Had to take them inside since it's an ugly day out, but that's what I get for procrastinating on the photos!  Here's the final piece that I haven't shown yet.

[RuthieK]

Hiya Elizabeth,

OK so up to 4 photos
Need to show wearing the garments if possible (not hanger shots)
Composites OK, or not?
File size?
Email address to send to?

I'll do mine tonight honest.

[RuthieK]

.......As soon as you can, send me your photos.  I think you can do it by PM, but you can also send them to ejvc0000@googlemail.com, or you can put them up on flickr and post a link.

I'll be creating a flickr set for this to make judging and voting easy, basically like it was last year.  I'd like a maximum of four photos please, and please show them on yourself.  Feel free to crop or fuzz out your face if you prefer to be sort of anonymous.  You also need to send me some text describing the collection: what fabric and what pattern for each garment, what you think the best part of the collection is, and why you should win.  Oh, and something about what the orphan is and why you thought it worth saving.  I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT ANY FLAWS OR WHY YOU DON'T DESERVE TO WIN AND I WILL EDIT THOSE PARTS OUT.  Seriously, we don't give ourselves enough credit.

.......

Elizabeth

Taken from an earlier post by Elizabeth on what photos she needs etc :-)

[fzxdoc]

JennyAnne, what a gorgeous dress! You sure slimmed down quickly after having your baby! What fabric is the dress made out of?

Kathryn

[Morzel]

JennyAnne, the dress is great! LOVE the vibrant colours.

[JennyAnne]

The dress is made of silk charmeuse from www.gorgeousfabrics.com.  There's still a few yards in stock.  I was able to cut this dress out of 1 (generous) yard.  To answer Eva's earlier comment about working with silk charmeuse, this is actually my first time working with silk.  It's not any more difficult than other silky, slippery fabric.  I used a single layer layout to cut to prevent slipping and to make sure there were no flower bullseyes in bad places.     The trickiest part for me was pressing.  I'm still not totally happy with the pressing at the hem.  I can't get a crisp fold.

[fzxdoc]

Thanks for the info about the fabric, Jenny. It's beautiful and you did a really nice job of placing the print. 

About your inability to get a crisp foldline at the hem, some sewists try not to get one, using interfacing at the hem to help create a softer fold. Some sewists are disappointed the first time the dress comes back from the dry cleaners with a knife edge fold at the hem.   

But as with all things related to sewing, it's really about personal preference.  If you like a crisp fold, at the hem, then steaming and using a clapper may create that effect. Just don't press too hard, because you don't want to mark the silk with a clapper-shaped outline. 

Kathryn

[RuthieK]

Are the photos available yet? I suppose Elizabeth is having a busy real life :-)

I am going out of town (to see relatives without the internet!) until Monday evening.

[Hen]

Sorry for submitting only one photo, but it was really a matter of minutes. I worked on the blouse until the last Sunday in June and took the photo on Monday morning just before I had to leave to Florence. I am still here at the course, but now we have programming lessons so I can use the internet in the breaks.

I just wanted to tell you that I got a very nice compliment on my clothes. An Indian course participant, whose wife is soon coming to live with him in Spain, asked me for advice what clothes he could buy for her (now she is only wearing traditional Sari), so that she does not look as if she has been flown in yesterday, but still looks credible and feels comfortable. Of the ten women who are here, he asked me because I dress “stylish and fashionable, but decent”. (It is very hot here so you are tempted to dress such that you would not be allowed to see the cathedral from the inside.)

[ejvc]

Apologies all -- truly my real life is interfering and I'm just popping up to apologise to those who really made the effort this time for the fact that I'm very behindhand.  Expect photos in the next day or so.  Of course voting will also be extended.

Elizabeth

[kitnrose]

And, uh, prizes will be a little extended as well ... we move to a temporary location later this week (our apartment is gradually turning into piles of boxes) and then there's total chaos until next month when we move from one end of the country (south) to the other (north).  So mid- to late- August all the stuff will be available again.  So sorry!!  When I signed up we thought we'd get our lease extended here to cover through August but now we're being evacuated early thanks to severe water damage our place sustained and things are utterly topsy-turvy.  Life!!

[RuthieK]

Any news from Elizabeth on real life or JCC? I fixed my puckered sleeves today and thought about the JCC. I am itching to see all the other capsules.

[JennyAnne]

Maybe we could go ahead and post our photos here awhile?  I'd love to see them all together, too!

[Lisanne]

Here is what Elizabeth posted to the new SWAP discussion about a week ago :

"BTW apologies to all (especially JCC participants!!!!) that I haven't been around.  I am putting final touches into my PhD and it's sucking up all my energy."

[zora]

I did not finish on time  but I can't wait to see pictures of all your wardrobes!
Congrats to all who finished!

[Lisa]

For those of you who've participated in and finished the JCC this year, it's more than time to get the pictures up and posted!  It appears that life has gotten the better of Elizabeth (or at least her schedule) this year, so the mod/admin  team  here will see if we can't take up some of the slack.  That way we can all enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The following several posts identify those who have named themselves as finishers in the JCC thread, the "rules" for photos & voting--and how we'd like you to post your photos, the details (to the extent we know it) of those who promised prizes (as soon as we can confirm them), and how we'll vote.  Some of the donors were listed as anonymous.  If they care to ID themselves to me, we'll award those prizes.  Otherwise the joy of finishing your projects will need to be your reward!

Lisa

[Lisa]

Here are the names of members who ID'd themselves as finishers in the JCC discussion thread:

CarolTrendall
Clambaby
Hen
JennyAnne
Kbenco
Robin
RuthieK
Scarletthread

We'll use this list for voting and picture submissions.   There may be more of you.  If so, please post here so that we know who you are.  I'll add those names to this list!

Congratulations to all of you!

Lisa

[Lisa]

Elizabeth's instructions for pictures were:

I'd like a maximum of four photos please, and please show them on yourself.  Feel free to crop or fuzz out your face if you prefer to be sort of anonymous.  You also need to send me some text describing the collection: what fabric and what pattern for each garment, what you think the best part of the collection is, and why you should win.  Oh, and something about what the orphan is and why you thought it worth saving.  I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT ANY FLAWS OR WHY YOU DON'T DESERVE TO WIN AND I WILL EDIT THOSE PARTS OUT.  Seriously, we don't give ourselves enough credit.

Unfortunately, we don't have access to the pictures you sent to Elizabeth.  So we're asking you to resubmit as follows:

Please create a Flickr  account (if you don't already have one), then go to the group page "here" and request that the group admin (that's me) make you a member of the group--be sure to give me your Stitcher's Guild name in your request.  I'll try to approve requests as soon as I get them, and over the next few days I'll look often.  

In the meantime, upload the 4 pictures Elizabeth asked for to your Flickr account.   When you upload them,  name them using your SG username followed by a 1, 2, 3 or 4 for the four photos you can post.  If I had finished the JCC and was posting, my pictures would be named:

Lisa1
Lisa2
Lisa3
Lisa4

Then use the description area under each photo to post the text Elizabeth asked for.  

Once you've joined the group and have your pictures uploaded (appropriately named and described as discussed above), please go to the group, click "add photos" (next to the "Group Pool" caption) and you'll see the photos you have hosted on Flickr and the four spaces for your four pictures.  Click the photos you want included in the group and they'll apear on the right.  When you have the right ones,  click the "Add to Group" button.  That's it!

Come back here and tell us that you've posted.  We hope that you'll all have posted by August 20th.  If you know that someone on this list is on vacation and won't be back before this date, please let us know--we may need to adjust the date.

Lisa

[Lisa]

We've identified five JCC prizes listed in this discussion thread and (to the extent we know the donors) are attempting to confirm that those donors are still planning to distribute those prizes.  At least one of the donors was anonymous and unless I hear from them, that prize definitely won't be distributed.  We may not learn about some of them until Elizabeth is again available!

You may need to be satisfied with the prize of your new garments!  But I'll post here as (or if) we can confirm that a prize (or prizes) will still be available!

Lisa

[Lisa]

Once we have all of the pictures posted, I'll start a poll in a new thread, listing all of the finishers who post pictures.  Any member of Stitcher's Guild will be able to vote for their three favorite JCCs!

And remember, no voting for yourself!

Lisa

[ejvc]

Dear all,

I'd like to first APOLOGISE to you all (again) and second THANK SO MUCH the moderators for picking this up.

Because I would like to be able to show my face around here, since I love this board, I will just briefly explain what's happened.  I basically did not have the time to post pictures and after I had PROMISED to do it and still had time I just felt so bad that I didn't even check in or explain or ask for help.  Which I ought to have done.  And I feel very small.  Because everyone worked so hard on the contest.  (Except me, I guess).  Well, here is a big dose of humble pie.  Anyway since I hadn't done the pictures (since I never GOT the time) I didn't want to post and it became a really vicious cycle.  What a contrast to last year when they were done really quickly, with many more contestants.

Anyway I am feeling so thankful that our wonderful mods have stepped in.   Please PM me to vent and I will apologise personally as well.

Your very bad friend,

Elizabeth