Things have been so busy at my house. My wonderful husband has a new position as of Dec. 31st. He’s the Executive Director of a local society, so we are in full gear getting ready for that. My home is filled with phone calls now getting everything ready for a smooth transition for him. And lots of meetings. Many of those I’m attending as well. As if Christmas wasn’t a busy season already, but we’re welcoming the change.

I did finally get some sewing done. Not just hand-sewing this time either. This past week I set up my desk and got my sewing machine out and did some sewing.

But let me start with my new cabinet. I bought some drawer lining paper, and covered the shelves. It looks so much better inside. And I’ve filled it with sewing items.

I still have a few more things I want to fit in there, but it’s a great start! And I’m sure I’ll organize it more as I go along. I’m so happy to have it. It looks much better than boxes piled up. And those boxes aren’t in my living room or bedroom anymore. I think the best thing is if I don’t get everything put away neatly, I can just close the doors.

So what have I been sewing? I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been working on a cloned bra. I’m not done yet, but so far it looks like it’s coming together well.

Here are the cups, and bridge with band. I haven’t done the elastics, channeling or hooks & eyes yet, but it is taking shape. The cups here are sitting on some beige foam cups to show the shape. The material is a set I bought from ELingeriA. The clone is Prima Donna’s new Duchess bra.

One of the things I like about this bra is it is lined on the inside of the cups. But the lining is a bit different from many other lined bras. This bra’s lining has a seam in it. The seam runs vertically, so it gives more support to the lower cup.

You can see that in the picture below. That seam is in the lining. The lower cup front is one piece. I quite like that extra detail to add support.

So ahead I still have some more work to do on this bra, but it has to wait a bit. I also have two house coats to sew for Christmas presents for a friend. I’m using a basic McCalls pattern for that.

And something I was so excited about this week was a great find. I was out looking in the second-hand stores for a sweater. We’re going to a ‘The Good, the Bad, the Ugly’ sweater party, and I don’t have a sweater. So I went looking for one, but had to look in the book section first. Look what I found!

I was so excited when I saw these two books. Both are in incredible condition. There was a whole Singer library of books there that day, but I resisted. I was in there for a sweater after all.

And the hand-sewing I’ve been doing? I wanted an abstract-looking poinsettia pin for the holidays. I’ve made a few now and given them all away, but here’s my most recent one – on my coat where I’m planning for it to stay.

Happy creating!