I have been trying all fall to make this colorblocked top, and apparently, it is not in the stars to get it done in 2013.
The colorblocked top that is not meant to be.
First, I wasn’t able to find the colors I liked. Then, while I was in Sacramento, I found the colors, but didn’t buy enough fabric! I started to cut out the pattern pieces the other night, and discovered that, because I’m mixing up the pattern, I didn’t calculate yardage properly, and I really need twice what I thought I would for the main piece. So, today, I bundled up and rode over to Seven Corners. Although I had purchased the cotton knit at JoAnn’s in Sacramento, the JoAnn’s in Seven Corners did not have the same color, and neither did G Street Fabrics around the corner. I did see some other knits for another idea I have, but I can’t find a pattern that I like well enough. I am not up on drafting patterns, so I’m afraid to try that, yikes.
The teal cotton knit is apparently so popular that I can’t find it here in the DC area.
So I came home, foiled again! I’m cranky that I haven’t made anything in a long time! Not only that, but I have ideas, and just can’t seem to get them started. And since my blog has shown up in a few different places lately, I feel a bit pressured to get more done! I am very impressed with Oanh’s reflective dress – I think she did a better job that I did on mine. I’m especially impressed with her reflective bias. I couldn’t get mine set in evenly when I made the peplum top. Her friend’s blog about her dress is equally impressive. I wish I lived closer to them so they could help me fit patterns! I guess it’s a bit too far to Australia for that, though.
Equally cool, yet a bit more random, my reflective dress showed up on a blog post about reflective gear. The website is devoted to safety, emergency preparedness, and other topics near and dear to my heart, so I’m very happy about this! I’m just not sure how they found me. And I totally want those reflective cheetah spot Nikes now.
I lost my lovely reflective sash in Sacramento – I must have left it behind in the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. I called the lost and found but haven’t heard back. I had hoped it was an odd enough item that housekeeping would turn it it, but apparently not. I guess I will spend tomorrow making a new one. Well, a different one – I don’t have much fabric left. I need a bachelorette party in New York so I can go fabric shopping, and hopefully find more of the colored reflective fabric. I wonder if I can register for that.
I did use the bike ride today to test out my new winter biking gloves. I recently broke down and bought a pair of women’s winter bicycle gloves. I can’t stand the thought of another winter with cold toes and fingers. After today’s test in low 40s weather, I think I will be okay for colder. My hands were the warmest part of my body when I got home!
I chose the Endura Luminite Gloves, in pink. It’s not a pink I truly love, but I did not want black. I honestly chose these over the Gore Bike Wear Power Thermal Gloves because of the articulated reflective knuckles. Honestly, those little slivers of reflective flash are not what I’d consider enough for safety, but you know me, I love anything reflective, so… 
Anyway, they were quite warm and felt wind-resistant, so I’m pretty happy with them.
The Mechanic is out of town and it’s supposed to be a nasty “wintery mix” of weather tomorrow, so it will be a good day to stay home and play with reflective fabrics and trims. I must be able to make something tomorrow.
tinlizzieridesagain 
Aw, thanks. Yes, please do come to Melbourne. Rachel will be very good at helping with fitting. I will be crap, but enthusiastic.
Alos, your reflective dress is amazing! I love it!
Not sure if this made a difference at all but the reflective piping I used was simply piping cord bound up with reflective bias binding. It was rather a pain to work with! I wish I could get reflective piping in Aus … I found a manufacturer in Korea who makes reflective piping in a variety of colours. Only problem is, minimum order is 5000 metres. Somehow, I think even my inefficient use would never get through that quantity….
I’d also like reflective thread, for top stitching! I’ve seen Sublime Stitches reflective thread, but that’s for embroidery … (another hobby I need to take up, it seems)
And, lastly, have you seen Lumatwill fabric? It sells for about 40GBP per metre (plus postage to Aus which can sometimes be quite prohibitive), so I’m not quite at the stage of using it yet …
Most of the piping I use is just plain ole Dritz, which I can buy in the fabric stores, but I normally order it in bulk from a web shop. Well, bulk being 5 packets of 3 yards each. I made my own bias trim for one of my peplum tops, and I prefer that, but I don’t have enough of the fabric to do any more. I suppose I could call the NYC fabric store I bought it from and see if they have more, but I’d rather go up there! Plus it’s $50/yard. And it’s still not easy to work with. I bought some of the Sublime Stitching reflective embroidery floss and made tassels out of it, but it didn’t hold up well. My mom reported hearing about a company that is coming out with reflective yarn, woo hoo! Stay tuned on that. I don’t even knit but I still want some. I think it will be a while before I get to Melbourne again, but I’ll let you know when I do! : )