Musings of a Seamstress

The Middle

2012-01-20T20:11:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday the episode of The Middle aired that used my scarves! Only the blue one with white stripes was used, but hey, at least I got one scarf on a TV show! It was worn by Marianne Muellerleile. The episode was called "Hecking It Up" and it was about the upcoming Super Bowl. Living in Indiana and working in Indy, I can say the episode was pretty darn funny! You can watch it on ABC's website and I recommend it.

2012 Resolution

2012-01-01T17:12:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday 2012 is going to be a life changing year! How you may ask, well let me start by explaining a few things that happened last year and even before that. I hated my previous job, and by hated I mean I broke my hair brush in half and busted out a few kitchen cabinet doors due to frustrations. I do not want to go into any details as I do not believe in focusing on the negatives. This past July I was at my breaking point and started a new job where I get to sew all day long. I absolutely love it. I have so much less stress in my life and am very grateful for the opportunity I had been presented with. But before all this happened Eric and I had attended a meeting for couples interested in doing open adoption back in May. We have been trying very unsuccessfully to get pregnant for just over 4 years now. That is a lot of negative pregnancy tests. At this time the doctors aren't sure why I cannot get pregnant and so we were faced with a tough decision. We could either spend the money out of pocket for infertility treatments with no guarantee it will work or we could spend the money out of pocket for adoption and be guaranteed we would become parents. The choice was an easy one for us. Adoption had always been something we talked about doing at some point, we just did not realize it would happen so soon. So here comes the hard part, paying for the adoption! The agency we are choosing to go through is Independent Adoption Center (IAC). They are absolutely amazing! Everything we could have ever thought about was answered in our meeting back in May, including a full breakdown of all the costs. Depending on where we adopt from can greatly change the cost. For us to do a domestic adoption it can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $26,000. However, $9,000 of that money is to be paid over a 6 month period, but if you are matched with a birthmother before the end of that 6 month period it is all due then. Now, I don't know about you but I do not have that much extra money just in case we are matched quickly, let alone enough to cover the total. We are also going to do a few different fundraiser activities to help out with adoption costs, but the easiest way to get some money is by changing my Jo-Ann's shopping habits. This is where some different New Year's resolutions come into play.

Throughout the year, I have been throwing all of my receipts from Jo-Ann's into a fish bowl. About halfway through the year I decided it would be interesting to see what my total spent there for the year is. I think that will help me make some changes. First, the total for all those receipts is $1395.67, and I cannot say if this is entirely every receipt as in the beginning I was not making sure to do this. This also doesn't include any of my shopping at Hobby Lobby, The French Seam, Mood or Fabric Mart! My point is that most of that money was spent on things I have not gotten around to making. Projects I want to do but haven't found the time. As of right now I have more sewing, knitting, crafting and scrapbooking projects than I will ever get to finish in my lifetime and I currently have no children to pass on my crafting stash too. This money could have gone to our adoption, but instead I choose to go shopping. This has to change now!

In all that money spent at Jo-Ann's, I purchased 114 new patterns. Granted I never paid more than $1.99 per pattern, but I only sewed 32 garments this year and some were even repeats of the same pattern. Do I really need to purchase another 114 patterns this year? The answer is a resounding NO! Lately, I have been finding that I am not as impressed with what the big 4 are releasing and that is hopefully going to be a good thing. I cannot promise to eliminate all pattern buying this year, but I am going to limit myself to 1 new pattern per month. I think that is a very reasonable resolution for myself. So at max that would be 12 new patterns this year. It will also force me to do some editing when picking out which pattern I want. Right now I continually go through my stash and find doubles of some patterns or wonder what I was thinking when I picked certain patterns out.

Fabric shopping has been my weakness this past year! I purchased 194 yards of fabric and only used 114 yards. My grand total of fabric in my stash is 440 yards. That is crazy! I do not need to keep buying random project-less fabric pieces, no matter how fantastic they are. This year I am only going to buy fabrics for projects I am working on at that time. I do want to make a dent in my fabric stash this year. However I am not going to make the resolution to use 50% off it. I am just going to keep a tracker on my blog with the total amount of fabric in my collection and what I have used thus far. Maybe seeing the larger number will help me to see that I do not need to buy anymore fabric.

This same thing goes for yarn buying! In December, I did purchase/receive as gifts somewhere around 25 skeins of yarn. I have quite a few knitting projects in mind for this year but I know I will not get to all of them. With that reasoning I know that I do not have time to buy anymore yarn to add to my stash!

So overall, I guess my real resolution this year is to reduce what I am bringing in and increase my output.

2011 Year End Review

2011-12-31T16:44:00.002-05:00

Hey Chickadees! I'm back! Christmas is over and the new year is upon us. This year, especially December, has not been as productive as I would have liked. Let's start with December. Sadly, I did not do any sewing for Christmas presents that I had originally intended. Although, I do have a very very very good reason, being that my Etsy shop stayed pretty busy! I have sold 2 full felt food sets, 2 breakfast felt sets, and 1 felt fruit set. I also had a friend request a partial food set as a gift for someone else. Knitting wise I did have a custom order for a hat and scarf set. This was my very first hat and it turned out great. Unfortunately, I didn't even think to take pictures. All this is well and good but the biggest news this month, and actually all year, is that I sold the 2 scarves pictured that are going to be used for an episode of ABC's show The Middle!!!! The episode will air January 18th. If you are not familiar with the show it stars Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Neil Flynn (Scrubs) and it is about a struggling middle-class family in a fictional Indiana town. I just started watching it and it is quite funny.

As you can see, my December has been quite packed. Can you forgive me for not having any pictures to show of cool sewing projects? I did manage to fit in making 4 tie blankets for presents this month. That used a total of 19 yards of fleece. I only purchased 5 yards this month, which was last minute fleece for a last minute blanket.

Year End Totals:
Fabric bought: 194 yds
Fabric used:114.25 yds
UFO's: 5/17
Muslins: 5
Garments for me:14
Tops:9
Pants/shorts: 0
Skirts:1
Dresses:1
Jackets/coats:1
Accessories:0
Costume pieces: 2
Garments for others: 18
Costumes pieces: 7
Men: 7
Women: 3
Accessories:1
Gifts: 4
Santa Swap:7
Yarn Skeins bought:40
Yarn Skeins used: 13.25
Scarves knitted: 8
Fingerless Gloves: 5 pairs

Hats: 1
Cup Sleeve: 3

As you can see from my year end totals I haven't sewn much at all. Compared to last year I have bought 75 more yards of fabric and used 13.75 yards less! I have sewn 6 less garments for myself but only 1 more garment for someone else. I bought 6 more skeins of yarn and used 7.75 skeins less. I knitted 4 less scarves but knitted 9 completely new projects.

2011 Goals:

Well not much has changed with my goals since I did my half year review. To be honest, I am okay with that! This past year has been kinda busy with life things. I am working on some new goals for 2012 that I hope to get posted tomorrow. They are going to be different from past goals so that I can better achieve them and make some room for major life changes! More on that tomorrow though! I plan on spending tomorrow and Monday cleaning the sewing room as it currently looks like a tornado swept on through.

Santa Sack Swap

2011-12-26T16:44:00.029-05:00

I know I know, I am quite behind on posting about this! Check out the awesome goodies I got from my swap partner Vickie! Why yes, those presents in front are wrapped in fabric and ribbon! How stinking cool is that! I would have never thought to do that but next year I will.

First the handmade goodies! She made me an apron that matches our kitchen and will get plenty of use! A couple of project bags that I have already started using as well as a quilted and embroidered notebook, scissor holders a gorgeous table quilt.

Next the essentials! She got me a bin filled with elastic, which will quickly be used, the best seam ripper ever, pins, thread, a planner, and a couple of quilting pre-cuts! I told her that I really want to start quilting and she has definitely helped me on my way! She also included the coolest measuring cup ever! It is the Pampered Chef one, my friend has one too and I have wanted it for the longest time.

I must say that I am quite impressed with what I was given. I love it all! The table quilt is probably my favorite followed closely by the project bags and notebook cover!

Thanks Vickie!!

An Apple A Day...

2011-12-07T00:02:00.001-05:00

I have a new addiction! I know, just what I need right now in the midst of Christmas sewing? Well, at work we have so many left over scraps of fabric that just get tossed in the trash. So much so that I have started making a bow a day from whatever was cut that day. Here are the ones I made last week and this week so far.

Everyone of them is different in size as well as fabric types. I am putting alligator clips on the backs of them so that they can be worn as hair accessories. I am thinking about putting them up in my Etsy shop Mae's Garden for like $4.00 each, plus having a buy 2 get 1 free deal on them. What do you all think? I really want your feedback on this.

Mae's Garden

2011-11-28T23:00:00.002-05:00

For Cyber Monday I am offering free domestic shipping on all orders from my shop, Mae's Garden, with code CYBMONSHIP. I am going to extend this offer until Saturday at midnight! Check out my shop and what I have to offer. I am now offering personal gift wrapping and shipping to recipient for only $3.00 an order.

Black Friday

2011-11-26T12:04:00.001-05:00

I have been away for awhile and I don't even have a good excuse. I just have not been sewing this month. I think I needed to re-coup from my hectic Halloween sewing. I am probably going to go away for another month now that Black Friday has come and gone. Words alone cannot describe the amount of damage I did yesterday and today!

The Fabrics
top row:
2yds navy anti-pill fleece
2yds blue anti-pill fleece

3yds khaki cotton bottomweight
1.5yds Cars flannel
1.5yds trains flannel
2.5yds white snowflake flannel
2.5yds blue snowflake flannel
3yds Kermit flannel
5yds Colts flannel

bottom row:
2yds green/red Christmas tree cotton
1yd green/red Scottie dog cotton
2yds green/red stripe cotton
2yds green/red/pink dot cotton
2yds red button cotton
2yds green/navy houndstooth cotton
2yds green/blue/brown dot cotton
2yds gray/white houndstooth cotton
2yds gray/white polka dot cotton

2yds green felt
1yd gray felt
7 Butterick patterns
4 skeins of linen Vanna's Choice yarn
2 skeins magenta Vanna's Choice yarn
2 skeins taupe Vanna's Choice yarn
1 skein orange Red Heart Soft yarn
1 pound Caron navy blue yarn
more felt then I know what to do with

4 bolts of fusible interfacing for a total of 40 yds
2 separating zippers
buttons
rhinestones
jewelry stuff
knitting needles
lots of thread
lots of ribbon
other odds and ends

This doesn't even include the Christmas decorations or wrapping paper I also picked up during the sale. With all this on my cutting table you can see why I will be disappearing for the next month. If I don't resurface until after Christmas I hope everyone has a wonderful Holiday season!

**Updated 11/27/11**

So, I had a few last minute requests for presents. Three requests for Chicago Bears fleece tie blankets. I went back to Jo-Ann's today so I could catch the fleece in there $2.99/yd sale. I got a total of 7yds of orange fleece. While I was there I also got 2 more skeins of the linen color Vanna's choice yarn, 2 skeins of Kelly Green and 1 skein of old gold and two more spools of thread. What's even better is that I still have to go to the Jo-Ann's in Indy after I get off of work tomorrow to get 7yds of Chicago Bears fleece and 7.5yds of Chicago Bears flannel. I promise, after tomorrow, I will be done going to Jo-Ann's for fabric!

Santa Sack and SWAP 2012

2011-11-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

My Santa Sack is so full that my gifts no longer fit in it! They are so very tempting but I have been very good at keeping them all out of sight for now. Thank you to Vickie for making all these goodies for me! I hope you enjoy yours in return.

On another note, I think I am going to give the SWAP another go. This year's is a little different, so I think it will be something I will be able to complete without much issue. Below is a snippet from the Stitcher's Guild about the rules.

This year, our SWAP will focus on fitting, and making tried-and-true patterns: testing and fitting paper patterns, muslins, and fashion garments that will help lower the overall sewing failure rates, result in fabulous clothing to be proud of, and (hopefully) give every contestant a pattern or two that works every time it is used.

Choose any seven garments from this list:

Button Down Shirt w/Collar
Blouse or shirt (collar is optional)
T-Shirt
Vest
Overshirt
Dress
Jeans
Trousers
Shorts or Capri Pants
Skirt
Jacket (jean jacket, windbreaker, hoodie, etc.)
Coat (suit or sport coat)
Overcoat or Raincoat
Bathing Suit & Coverup

From those seven, choose four to make twice for a total of 11 garments that will work together. Those four may either be repeated garments from the same pattern, or one each from two different patterns.

I am not exactly sure what patterns I want to use, it's a good thing I have until December 26th to figure it out, but I do have an idea of what I want to do. I think that I may end up putting a few of the pieces I want to do for my FESA in here as well. Tentatively, I think I want to do a button down shirt with collar, jeans, trousers, shorts, overcoat, blouse and dress. I will probably do the blouse, dress, button down shirt with collar and shorts twice.

Off I go to plan this out now and possibly put the materials on my Black Friday shopping list.

October Round Up

2011-11-02T21:27:00.001-04:00

I am back after my brief blogging hiatus. I have so much to share now so this is going to be a long post! The last couple of weeks of October were unbelievably productive for me. My sewing studio has been a hot mess! Here is a breakdown of what happened.

Fabric in: 29 yards
4.5 yds red, navy, white and beige plaid wool
1 yd silver stripe
2 yds tiger velboa
.5 yd white velboa
8.5 yds white twill
7 yds white Kona cotton
3 yds black with blue pinstripe suiting
2.5 yds tan lining

Fabric out: 27 yards
6.5 yds Santa Sack Swap projects
2.5 yds velboa
8.5 yds white twill
4 yds light blue moleskin from stash
5.5 yds white Kona cotton

I would say a 2 yard difference is perfectly acceptable for the month! Especially since the plaid wool I bought will be used this month! More on that in a minute, let's get to some pictures first!

This is the vest I made for Eric's birthday in September. I never got around to taking any pictures of it until about mid October. I used Simplicity 2870 again. I even made it exactly the same as the last one. For this I used 1 yd of black with blue pinstripe suiting, 2 yards of a vintage navy lining and 10 black buttons. The funny thing about this fabric is that under florescent lights it looks black like it actually is. Under natural lights or any other light bulbs it looks brown. So brown, in fact, that I actually went back to Jo-Ann's just to check what the bolt said the color was. The black buttons look odd when the fabric looks brown. I am going to replace all the buttons on here with navy ones as soon as I find some I like. Because of the oddity in color I also picked up another 3 yards of this fabric to make pants to match it.

My nephew really wanted to be a tiger for Halloween, but could not find a costume that fit. In come, Aunt Sarah to the rescue! I made a tiger costume for him using Simplicity 2855. I did a few things differently to this pattern than called for. Unfortunately I did not think to get a detailed photo of it. But, instead of putting the facing around the neckline I used the binding machine at work to bind the neck. It was so much easier and the result is much more pleasing. I wish I could get a home version of this machine! Anyways, his tiger costume was a big hit. My favorite part and his favorite part is the tail in the back. For this I used 2 yds tiger velboa, .5 yd white velboa, a 16" white zipper, 2" velcro and 1 pkg of 1/2" elastic.

Eric and I hosted our 1st annual murder mystery dinner and it was a great time. We will be doing it again next year. For his costume he wanted to be a ghost, so, I made a 3 piece suit! That's right, I said 3 piece suit. I used Simplicity 4083 for the jacket and vest and I used my TNT pj pant pattern B5153 for the pants. Sorry the picture quality is so poor. I took this at the end of the evening, so there was no natural light and the costume was incredibly wrinkled. This pattern was very quick and turned out quite nicely! For the pants I pressed a very crisp fold down the center and no one even guessed they were elastic waisted pants. For this costume I used the 8.5 yds of white cotton twill, 3-1" white buttons, 7-5/8" white buttons, 3 yds of white fusible interfacing and about 1 yd of 1" white elastic.

For work we had a Halloween party and had to dress up as a movie character. I chose to be Alice from the Disney cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland. This costume was actually made on the evening of Sunday October 30th, the night before Halloween. I must say I am impressed that I finished this! For this costume I used McCall's 4948. Materials wise I used 4 yds of light blue moleskin that has been in my stash for years, 5.5 yds white Kona cotton, 3 yds 1.5" wide white satin ribbon, 6 yds of 1/2" horsehair braid and 1 22" blue zipper. I made a few changes to this pattern. First, I added a collar to the neckline since Alice's dress has one. I also added .5" in length to the bodice and took off 4" from the skirt length. I redrafted the back of the skirt using the pattern from the front so that the gathers would be more even throughout the dress. Lastly, I added a couple of layers of the cotton for and underskirt to match Alice's but also to give the dress a little more fullness. All layers of the skirt were then hemmed using the horsehair braid to give it the wavy look. I love this costume! So much so that I am kinda sad I will probably only wear it the one time.

This is probably my absolute most favorite thing we have made this season at work! It is a raincoat costume for a school that is doing Singing in the Rain! The fabric is not my most favorite choice but the overall look of the coat is fantastic. All of the seamstresses love it so much we are going to have a sew along and contest between ourselves. We are all getting our own custom sized pattern pieces for it and will have until our Christmas party to complete it and a coordinating dress. I have a couple of ideas that I am debating over. First, since the basic design of the coat gives off a 60's vibe I was thinking about going along that route and making a vintage inspired ensemble. I am not sure on the details like colors or patterns though. My second idea is to go military inspired, by adding tabs to the shoulders and the cuffs and also making it a double breasted jacket. For this version I want to use a lightweight navy wool with gold metal buttons. I was even thinking about making the collar a little larger and adding buttons to it as well. I am not sure about the coordinating dress just yet though. I am excited to get started on this project but I am on a self imposed Jo-Ann's/fabric buying break until Black Friday.

Blogging Break

2011-10-11T21:07:00.000-04:00

I am going to try to take a brief break from blogging for a couple of weeks. I have so much Halloween sewing to get done and blogging is such a huge distraction for me. I may post a few pictures here and there as I get costumes finished though. In the meantime, enjoy these pretty awesome pumpkins!

Fabric Flower Brooch

2011-10-10T00:10:00.000-04:00

As promised here is my new tutorial for a Tudor rose inspired fabric flower brooch. I have made a few of these so far and really like them. They will make a great accent to your everyday wardrobe as well as your faire or festival costumes.

Materials needed:
thread and needle
fabric glue
Fray check (optional)
1 - felt circle about 1.5" in diameter
1 - button or rhinestone 7/8"
1 - pin clasp
5 - 3"x3" fabric squares
5 - 2"x2" fabric squares

Instructions:

1. Fold and press each fabric square in half along the diagonal. You will end up with five triangles of each size.

2. With a generously long piece of thread and needle, hand stitch a gathering stitch along the two open edges of one of the larger triangles.

3. Pull the thread to gather the edges. This will create your first petal. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each of the five large triangles adding each one to the same piece of thread.

4. Once all five petals have been gathered connect the first and last petals together with a few hand stitches near the raw edges to form your flower.

5. Still using the same thread repeat steps 2 through 4 for each of the five smaller petals as well. You can either align the petals so the smaller ones are directly on top of the larger ones or you can keep with the Tudor rose and offset them. Along the center of the flower stitch a few times to secure both layers together. Once I had both layers together I did Fray Check the centers of each circle to prevent fraying. This is optional though depending on preferences.

6. Next stitch your button/rhinestone to center of flower. For this one I used a metal shank button. For the one above I used a rhinestone that had two holes in it so I could stitch it securely. You can also use any type of button for this depending on how you want it to look.

7. After applying the button you will want to put a dot of glue on the backside in the center gap. This will help secure the button a little more and give the center some more stability. While that is drying apply the pin clasp to the felt circle. Glue your felt circle on top of the center back.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! The possibilities are endless when it comes to how you can make your flower look. The one at the beginning of this tutorial has both layers made from the same plaid with the rhinestone center. I love the idea of adding this to a Celtic costume for the ren faire, but it would also look great on a dress for holiday parties. The pink and green one is very spring like and I think will be cute on a trench coat or other springtime jacket. As always I would love to see pictures of your version! If you have any questions about this tutorial and its' instructions please feel free to email me.

Busy busy

2011-10-05T23:07:00.000-04:00

This last week has been crazy busy and I have not really had a chance to post even though I have about a million, okay more like a few, things I want to share. Unfortunately, I cannot share all of them as quite a few of the things I have been working on are gifts for my Santa Sack Swap partner,Vickie. However, I am working on a new tutorial for what I think is a super freaking cute fabric flower brooch. I hope to have all the pictures and tutorial written by this weekend. There are just a few kinks I have to work out first. I also hope to get some pictures of my husband's new vest that I made for his birthday and as one of the items in my FESA '11. I still have to add the buttons to it though. On a side note, I did finish the SSS '11 challenge, but neglected to take any pictures. The garments I wore were all repeats anyways. I guess I am just going to have to bust my rear in for my FESA '11 to have more pieces to wear for Me Made March next year.

As a parting shot, this is the inspiration for my new tutorial.

Barbarians...

2011-09-25T23:34:00.004-04:00

The Ohio Renaissance Festival was fantastic fun as always! It was barbarian weekend but I really didn't feel I wanted to dress all barbarian woman like. So we went in our Royalty garb. I thought I would share a few pics from today. Today's outfit is also what I am posting for my SSS '11 garment.**

This was one of the most adorable things I saw. It is a magnetic pig and they sales guy just came up and stuck it on my bodice!

These little girls had the most amazing fairy wings! This picture does not do them justice. When the sun hit them they sparkled beyond belief!

Flower garlands for sale. I love the colors.

This is Deb. When I did my internship she was the one who taught me just about everything I know about Renaissance costuming!

Blacksmith doing a demonstration.

Potter's work space. I thought it was kinda cool looking.

This is my new rennie friend Adi (aka Elnara). She stopped me to tell me she loved my gown.

She then came back and let me borrow this crown for the day! I love it and want to purchase it as soon as possible! Her website is here. Check it out!

On a side note,this was the last year for my peacock dress. It is 5 years old now and well worn. I am ready for a new noble gown and Eric is ready for a new noble costume as well.

**I am not posting any other photos for SSS '11 garments worn this past week as they were all repeats. :( I figured nobody wanted to see all of the other things again.

Giveaway winners

2011-09-24T23:05:00.000-04:00

I am a terrible giveaway hostess! I forgot all about this giveaway this week after I first posted it. Anyways, the winners are

Meigan said...

I love giveaways! And I love to win: Simplicity 4589, Sim 4885, Sim 3837. I could actually use some patterns for tops and coordinates (there are too many dresses in my stash!)

and

Joyce in NC said...

Please enter me in the drawing! My choices in order are: 4885, 3837, and 5480

Since they were the only two entries I am giving each of them 2 patterns! Ladies please email me your shipping information and I will get your patterns out to you!

On a side note, tomorrow Eric and I will be at the Ohio Renaissance Festival in full costume. Stop by and say hi if you see us there!

Hopefully there will not be any wardrobe malfunctions!

Monday Musings and.......a GIVEAWAY

2011-09-19T22:35:00.001-04:00

Today is incredibly gloomy. The forecast called for thunderstorms from noon-6pm.
It really did rain that long too. :(
No fun.
It is season premiere week and that makes me excited!
Really excited for the return of Glee!
Horsehair for hems is the most amazing thing since sliced bread right now.
I went to Jo-Ann's on Saturday and Sunday for the patterns sale.
Both times I had my Gingher scissors in my purse that I needed to drop off to be sharpened and both times I forgot all about them.
I have to go back again to get buttons for Eric's vest and double fold bias tape.
Eric and I are going to be at the Ohio Renaissance Festival this Sunday.
I will be wearing my peacock dress.
If you see us say hi!
It has been awhile since I had a giveaway.
I really want to have a giveaway.
I also really want to stash bust my patterns.
Here's what's up for grabs.

First row:
Simplicity 4589 Size RS 14-22
Simplicity 4885 Size RS 14-22
Simplicity 3837 Size RS 14-22
Second row:
Simplicity 3850 Size P5 12-20
McCall's 5820 Size RR 18W-24W
McCall's 5480 Size EE 14-20

All patterns are brand new and uncut. I am giving all 3 of them away to 3 lucky winners. Each winner will get their choice of which ones. Entry deadline is Friday, 9/23, at 5:00 PM (EST). Winners will be announce that evening.

To enter you must:

Be a follower of my blog.
Leave a comment with you top two choices.
Earn a second entry by posting about the giveaway on your blog. (leave a separate comment with the link)

Fine print: This giveaway is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Simplicity or McCall's. They have absolutely no idea who I am. If your first choice of pattern has already been selected then I will send out your second choice. In the event that both have been taken I will email you for a different selection.

Camera Strap Slipcover

2011-09-19T11:00:00.002-04:00

I am in love with this tutorial I just stumbled across! It is for a camera strap slipcover. GENIUS! It is from Moda Bake Shop. Sadly, I do not have a SLR camera that requires this kind of strap but when I do I will be making a few of these slipcovers! This would be a great scrap stash busting project as well.

SSS '11 Week 3

2011-09-18T17:25:00.000-04:00

This past week was another filled with tops! I really do need to focus more on making bottoms.

9/12, Monday I wore the purple top I made using McCall's 6120 back in June. I really love this style, which is why I have made two versions of this top and three versions of the McCall's 5974 dress with the same design features. I paired the top with my gray knit cardigan to make it more work appropriate.

9/13, Tuesday I wore the brown and aqua chiffon top I made back in April. It is from the OOP Simplicity 3535. This is only the second time I have worn it. I actually like it better than I originally did. While the yoke around the shoulders is still a bit large this picture makes it appear to fit much better than it did the first time around. I have a white tank top on underneath it and I am not a fan of it as it dulls the colors of the chiffon a bit. I think that if I get a brown tank it will look much better.

9/14, Wednesday I wore the blue lightweight cotton top I made for my SWAP last year. The pattern is Simplicity 3504 from the Project Runway line. I really like this top and keep thinking I should make another version soon.

9/15, Thursday I wore my green knit wrap cardigan. The pattern is Simplicity 2603. I don't think I ever posted any other pictures or reviews of this pattern other than a brief mention of the sleeveless top I made to go with it. I really like the look of this top and the pattern is very easy. That being said there is not enough length on this to wrap it all of the different ways the pattern shows. If I make it again I will definitely add more length.

9/16, Friday was a repeat day. I wore the same white top I wore last week. It was chilly and I don't have any other long sleeve shirts that I have made to wear. I should also put a few of those in my FESA plan.

9/17, Saturday was also a repeat day. I wore my Simplicity 2223 jacket that I also wore last week.

9/18. Sunday was a lazy day. I have been fighting a terrible headache and scratchy throat all day so I wore pajama pants that I made last December. I really do not want to get my yearly cold already! I have been loading up on the Emergen-C vitamin packs all day. I did however take an hour or so to run to Jo-Ann's and pick up a few Butterick patterns that are currently on sale for $.99. I got B5956, B4954, B4827, B4377, B5685. I also got the patterns for Katherine's wedding dress (BP249) and Pippa's bridesmaid dress (BP250), which are not listed on the Butterick site. How odd! Not really sure I will every make the wedding dress but I feel that it must be in my collection. The bridesmaid dress at least has another version with a shorter length that make it more usable for me.

FNSI results

2011-09-17T14:35:00.002-04:00

I actually didn't get much sewing done, but I did get a lot of other projects cut out and some others planned out.

Here's a breakdown of it all:

I used 1.75yds of a yellow knit to make the cardigan of Simplicity 2262. It ended up as a wadder. The pattern is fine and I will be making it again, but the fabric and both my serger and sewing machine did not get along with it. I should have known better too. I had a light blue of the same fabric that I tried to make a top with a few years ago and it also ended up as a wadder. I should have known better than to try anything in yellow as it is icky looking on me.
I used 2 yards to make a Christmas present for my Santa Sack Swap partner Vickie.

While doing all this I had a few thoughts:

My job has taught me so many new techniques that I want to try on my garments like binding cover elastic, cover-stitching my knits and stripping (similar to binding but without the elastic).
The most useful thing I have learned/adapted to is sewing without pinning everything!
I am really glad I am getting started on my Christmas sewing this early.
It should save me quite a bit of stress this year.
I hope!
I keep debating what I want to dress up as for Halloween at work and to hand out candy.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland or Little Red Riding Hood.
Right now I am going with Little Red Riding Hood.
I am taking my costume inspiration from the new Red Riding Hood movie.
I am not that big of a fan of the movie though.
I need to get patterns for this.
McCall's patterns are on sale at Jo-Ann's for $1.99 until today.
Butterick patterns go on sale at Jo-Ann's for $.99 starting on Sunday.
Crap, I have to go to Jo-Ann's twice now!
I need to send invites out for our Halloween Murder Mystery Party.
Crap, I need to make a guest list first!
I really need to take my machines to get cleaned and oiled.
Eric's birthday is coming up in just over a week.
What do I want to make him?
Maybe a new vest.
Maybe a new dress shirt.
Probably a new vest.

FNSI

2011-09-16T19:19:00.000-04:00

How could I forget that tonight is the sew-in? I am actually very excited by this. I have quite a few projects that I am wanting to make this weekend and this is the perfect way to start! I have a cardigan jacket cut and ready to go. I also want to get started on a Renaissance style chemise for a client as well as some pajama pants for Christmas gifts. There is still time to sign-up yourself! Check out Heidi's blog to do so!

SSS '11 round up

2011-09-11T20:19:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, 9/6, wore the newest top I made myself. I have still not written the review for it, but I used Butterick 5355. I love this top but I am going to have to make a different belt for it. The chiffon just does not stay tightly tied very well.

Wednesday, 9/7, wore another top that I had never photographed. This was made using my TNT pattern Simplicity 2603. This pattern is a quick and easy basic. It works great under any jacket or cardigan.

Thursday, 9/8, I wore one of my most favorite tops. I used Simplicity 3690 in the same white cotton burnout as the top I wore last Saturday. I even have 1.5 yards of this fabric still in my stash but I figured two tops in it in my current wardrobe is plenty. If you have not tried this pattern yet I highly recommend it. It is very unique and not like much of the RTW I have ever seen in my area.

Friday, 9/9, I wore my favorite garment I have made this year but you wouldn't know it by that expression I am sporting! Eeps, I look pissed! Anyways, the jacket is Simplicity 2223. I have an obsession for military inspired garments with tabs and when I first saw this pattern I knew that I had to make it.

Saturday, 9/10, I wore a red top I made using McCall's 5436. I made this just over 4 years ago. Up close it is looking a little rough as it use to have a silver paisley design on it that has since faded. Yesterday was a very laid back day so I figured I could get by with it.

Sunday, 9/11, today I wore a black sheer top that is very similar in design to the one I wore yesterday but it is a different pattern. I originally made this to wear for portraits that were taken of my husband and I for our church directory 3 years ago. I have only worn it a couple of times since since I am not a big fan of the rolled hem I did on it. The neckline just looks sloppy to me.

This is only the second week of SSS '11 and I have realized that I really only make myself tops. I do have skirts and dresses, but they are not all to casual. In fact all of the skirts I have made are business attire or dressy. I do not make myself pants other than for pajamas and I don't know why not. I know my style is pretty much jeans and a cute top, but really? This needs to change!!! I always admire stylish women who wear skirts and dresses regularly and not just for their jobs. I want to be one of those women. I am going to have to reevaluate my FESA '11 plan because I know that I do not have a single skirt or dress in it.

Never Forget

2011-09-11T12:36:00.001-04:00

In 2001 a lot of things happened...

-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Pearl Harbor, Shrek and the first Lord of the Rings movie hit theaters.
-A Beautiful Mind won best picture of the year at the Oscar's.
-Apple released the very first iPod.
-Number 1 hits on the Billboard charts included Fallin' - Alicia Keys, Butterfly - Crazy Town and Bootylicious - Destiny's Child.
-Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise split up, as did Julia Roberts and Benjamin Bratt.
-The Balitmore Ravens were Superbowl Champions.
-Kandace Krueger of Texas became Miss USA.
-The National average of gas was $1.46 a gallon.
-Bjork stepped out on the Oscar's red carpet in her swan dress.
-A gallon of milk cost $3.50.
-Microsoft released the Xbox and Nintendo released the Gamecube.

...But the one thing that springs to mind is 9/11. While we may forget about all the pop culture events we will never forget 9/11.

Fall Essentials Sew Along '11

2011-09-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

I think I am going to participate in the Fall Essentials Sew-Along 2011. There are several different categories. I will not be making stuff from every category but I will get through most of them. I also added an additional category. Here is my plan:

Chic Chemises for Cool Climates
Blouses, tops, vests, cardigans, and sweaters! These wardrobe essentials can carry you from day to night, not to mention provide necessary layering to keep out the chill.
1. McCall's 6401shirt in the blue/creamy/copper plaid
2. Simplicity 2262 cardigan in a yellow knit
3. Simplicity 0595 jacket in a blue wool with cream lining and flower button
4. Simplicity 2369 shirt in brown cotton lycra knit

Fashionable Foundations for Frosty Weather
Trousers, skirts, legwarmers and more! Anything that keeps your lower portion fashionably cozy fits perfectly here! The chilly weather necessitates the donning of bifurcated bottoms and sassy skirts!
1. McCall's 6403 shorts in brown and aqua plaid
2. Butterick 5391 wide leg pants in brown and aqua plaid
3. McCall's 5142 UFO denim jeans

Fabulous Frocks
Dresses of all styles; mini, short, or long! Keep yourself warm in your modish designs, layering with tights and boots!
Nothing for this category but if I have time and want to I may work on a UFO winter party dress I have.

Underneath It All
When you're spending months covered from the neck down, a glamorous underpinning of your choice adds a secret, luxurious touch that chases the cold away!

I am not making anything from this category yet.

Tender Tootsies
Let's not forget your frosty feet! Socks, slippers and the like are the order of the day. Keep those tootsies warm and dry!
I am not making anything from this category either.

Those Cozy Nights
Is there anything better than snuggling up in a cozy pair of pajamas with a hot drink and a book whilst Jack Frost works his magic outside? I think not! Sleepwear of all types are the way to go here!
I do want to make a flannel pj set. I have the pattern for it but I am waiting until the Black Friday sale at Jo-Ann's to get the fabric.

Baby It's Cold Outside
Coats, hats, and mittens donned to keep the cold at bay, especially when out enjoying the spectacular fall colors!
1. Butterick 5145 coat in black, white and silver plaid with pink shimmery lining.
2. Knitted scarf possibly in dark purple yarn but I have not decided yet.
3. Knitted fingerless gloves in matching yarn as scarf.

Mens Must Haves
My additional category is for Eric. I want to add quite a few pieces to his work wardrobe for fall that will also work year round for him.
1. Simplicity 2870 vest in black with blue pinstripe
2. Simplicity 7030 dress shirt in kelly green broadcloth
3. McCall's 2447 tie in black Asian brocade
4. Simplicity 2870 vest in vintage gray wool
5. Vogue 2836 pants in vintage gray wool

All in all that is 15 pieces in an 8 week time frame. The chances of me completing that are pretty darn slim! I really want these projects to take me all the way until spring as I will be able to wear most of them then too. I think I am going to get myself started by tackling the most time consuming project first, the new coat. I just have to get buttons and a light colored cotton for the underlining. What's great about my chosen projects is that all the fabrics, with the exception of the pj set and underling for the coat, will be coming from my stash. That should help me burn through quite a bit of my stash.

Self Stitched September round up

2011-09-05T11:03:00.000-04:00

I have done a pretty poor job of taking pictures these first few days of Self-Stitched September. Instead of posting daily, I am going to do a weekly round up on either Saturday or Sunday from here on out.

On the 1st I wore the pink top I made back in April. It was so hot that day that as soon as I got home from work I put on shorts and a different top and completely forgot about taking any sort of picture.

On the 2nd, I wore a pair of shorts I made last year for my SWAP. I once again did not get a picture of me in them. I promise I will be much better this coming week with taking pictures.

On the 3rd my Self-Stitched item is this light weight white top. It was made quite a while ago and I don't think I ever blogged about it.

Yesterday, the 4th, I purposefully did not take a picture! Eric and I had a lazy day where we had absolutely no commitments. So we laid around all day in our pj's and watched 5 Batman movies! Now, I do not wear my pj's outside the house, not even to get the mail, so I am not posting any pics of me in them online forever no matter how cute I think they are. I think it is a slippery slope that will eventually end up in me at the grocery store with pj's, a ratty old t-shirt and slippers where Clinton Kelly and Stacy London come to take me to New York for a fashion intervention.

Today, the 5th I wore a jacket I made a couple of years ago. I figured that since Labor day tends to mark the end of summer vacation and the start of school, and the fact that it is only in the low 60's I would bust out my fall jacket. I had never blogged about this piece either and I love love love it. It was made using one of the Simplicity Project Runway patterns, but at the moment I just don't feel any desire to go dig through my patterns to figure out which one. I used a woven plaid from Jo-Ann's for the shell. I lined it with this great shimmery blue cotton. I, also, underlined it for additional weight.

My favorite part of this jacket is the buttons! These are buttons that normally, I would look at and think 'Man, those are gaudy and ugly. So, 80's. Why do they still make this stuff? Who is buying it?' But this coat totally changed my mind. They were the perfect finishing touch.

I have enjoyed seeing and reading about what everyone else has been wearing this past week. It is a lot of fun to be a part of this!

Life is crazy

2011-08-30T23:00:00.000-04:00

The title of this post pretty much sums up my last couple of weeks. Between switching jobs, creating pieces for a pageant and filling an order from my Etsy store I have not been able to sew a single thing for myself. I did sew something in early August that I still have not finished my review for PR though. Hopefully I will be able to do that soon. I really just wanted to take a few minutes from the craziness and talk about what I have going on. First check out the headpieces I made for Talisa!

The first one you may recognize from my how-to over the weekend. We did add a few more feathers to it to make it even more attention grabbing for her pageant. The blue one below is my favorite. I opted not to do a tutorial on this as I really didn't do anything. I bought a premade feather flower from my new favorite Ebay seller and glued rhinestone crystals on the front and a clip on the back of it.

I actually just ordered a dozen more of these feather flowers in various colors to make some for the girls I work with and put them in my Etsy shop. Depending on how they go I may try to contact the seller about becoming my official supplier.

Speaking of the girls I work with and my new job, I love love love it. It is fantastic to get to sew all day long, get paid for it and come home and actually still want to sew. My job is even inspiring me to try new things with my sewing. What more could I possibly ask for? Did I forget to mention I also get free fabric!?!? That's right, FREE FABRIC!!! While most of it is just very large scraps, they are still big enough that I will be able to do something fantastic with them. There are a couple that I want to point out in this bunch.

First, this is a custom sequin design. I have quite a few large scraps of this and I am going to use them as embellishments. I want to make some of the fabric flowers like I did for the red headpiece, only I want them for brooches as well. I also thought about making a kickass sequin New Year's Eve clutch.

The second piece is another sequin. The fabric is black Trico, which is what swimsuits are made of, with a red sequin pattern. This is the only piece that I have actually yardage of, sorta. Length wise it is just over a yard. However when fold, selvage to selvage, there is a very large section missing. I should still be able to get a shirt of some variety out of it though.

That's really all I have for now. I will make sure to post all sorts of pics of any other fabrics I get. The other day I told my husband that my car, my sewing room and myself are now going to be permanently covered in glitter and sequins. I'll let you imagine how excited he was by that idea.

How-to make a fascinator

2011-08-27T08:00:00.003-04:00

I am excited to share my new tutorial with everyone. This is one of the headpieces I made for my friend in the Miss Ethnic World Pageant. It was a lot of fun to design and make this piece. I am glad to say it was pretty easy too!

Materials needed:
1 satin covered headband with fabric loop
1 9x12 felt sheet in coordinating color
4" wide piece or scrap of organza
scrap of netting or tulle
feathers 7-12" long
rhinestones
hot glue or fabric glue depending on preferance
scissors
toothpicks for spreading glue
spray starch (optional)
fray check (optional)

Step-by-step

1. Cut a 2.5-3" circle from felt. Take netting or tulle an fold it making an almost square/circle shape. Glue this to the felt circle.

2. Glue onto the headband, backside of felt circle to the fabric loop of headband. Play around with different positioning before gluing down to get the best placement for you.

3. Next arrange your feathers behind the fabric loop and glue into place. Again, play around with these and try it on to make sure you like where the feathers are at before gluing/

4. Before I cut out my organza petals I spray starched the fabric. This added a little extra stiffness to the organza. This is optional depending on your preferences for your fascinator. After the starch dried I cut out 10 petals and Fray Checked the edges of each petal to help prevent the organza from shredding apart.

5. Once all dried arrange the petals of your flower and glue them together one at a time. Take the organza flower and glue it to the felt circle on top of the netting/tulle.

6. To help hid the glue in the center and give it more of a flower look, glue rhinestones on top. You can also attach the rhinestones to the flower petals. Since my organza has sparkles and gold on it already I didn't feel this was necessary this time.

And voile, you have your very own facisnator but at a fraction of the cost. Overall it cost me $15.00 to make this. The feathers I did order on Ebay from a fantastic seller in China. At first I was a little hesitant to purchase from a foreign country because I like to try to practice buying local and handmade when possible. But I was unable to find feathers like I wanted anywhere here. The seller I bought from is beautifulli528, and she has a store full of any colored feather or feather embellishment you could possible need. I have actually bought a couple additional items as well. She reasonable shipping too, which is nice since they are coming from China.

I wish I had done this project before the Royal Wedding. It would have been way fun to dress up for the day. :)

Winter McCall's

2011-08-26T07:50:00.000-04:00

I am forgoing Fashion Friday today becase McCall's just released their winter collection! I am finding that more and more I am just not liking most of what the big 4 are releasing. I am not sure if it's the trends or their interpretation of the trends that I don't like. I also feel like they are not releasing nearly as many patterns as they used to. Am I just crazy?

Anywho, here are the few I liked for winter.

M6433, I love the red version of the dress. The pleats in the skirt and tucks in the shoulder give it a retro feel.

M6345, love the sweetheart neckline. This shirt has been popping up everywhere lately. So it doesn't surprise me that McCall's has jumped on board. Have you seen Zoe's version and tutorial at So, Zo...What do you know? I will probably buy this when Jo-Ann's has the pattern sale though.

M6446 I actually want this pattern for costuming. The hooded version is very Red Riding Hood. I think I may do that for Halloween this year. We'll see I have so many ideas brewing for what I want to make.

M6442, I have an addiction problem to coat patterns. I really do. I continually buy them but never make them. I currently have more than I will probable ever make in this sewing lifetime. I am going to try very hard not to purchase this one. I really like the blue version though. The skirt on the coat is heavenly!

What are your top picks this season?

Flashback

2011-08-22T01:41:00.000-04:00

This past week my Mom, Dad and brother all came to visit for a few days and help landscape my front yard. In prepping for the trip my Mom decide to de-clutter a bit. She brought me two Rubbermaid tubs full of stuff from my childhood. One of those things was the certificate above. The year was 1990 and I was 7 years old in the 1st grade at Ox Bow Elementary. Look at the last statement.

When I grow up I want to be a: fashion designer.

While my vision may have changed directions a little, I cannot believe that is what it says! I always say that I love sewing because I remember making Barbie clothes when I was around that age but I had no idea that was when I decided what I wanted to do. I guess I am either lucky to know what I love or really stubborn. Probably a little of both. I may not be designing current on-trend fashions for a big label or have my own big label like I thought I would, but I am happy that I am doing something. I love creating costumes and it is still my dream to have my own shop at the Ohio Renaissance Festival someday filled with my designs.

Also, just in case you are wondering, My favorite story is Ninja Turtles. I think my favorite toy is my radio, but I cannot be to sure. If there is one thing I know it is that I was and still am a terrible speller. Thank goodness for spell check and proof reading!

My Mom also brought a few other things that I sewed, including my first ever really sewing project. I am working on a post about those for later. It was quite interesting to examine construction of these things and I cannot wait to share it with you.

Fashion Friday - Reese Witherspoon

2011-08-19T21:22:00.000-04:00

Today's Fashion Friday feature is Reese Witherspoon. I love this look she is sporting. It is very summer chic. It is an easy look to achieve. That is the what I love most about this since I can just throw this on in the morning and go about my day, whether it be going to work or running errands. This casual chic look will easily fit into my wardrobe and lifestyle, making this a must sew project for next summer.

For this look I choose McCalls 4079 for the top. For the fabric I went to Fabric.com and found this Moda Bella Broadcloth in Prairie Blue. It is only $5.98 a yard! That is fantastic. This shirt can easily transition in your wardrobe through all seasons. By making it long sleeve it can be worn rolled up for the warmer days of summer and fall. Then it can be worn rolled down during the chillier days of winter and spring.

For the shorts, I went with another McCall's pattern. This time it is 5391 for the short blue shorts. The fabric I choose is also from Fabric.com. It is a white denim, which is currently on sale for $6.78 a yard. The sale ends on 8/22/11, so hurry and get this fast. If you do not want to use a denim I would also suggest a white cotton twill or even a white linen depending on your lifestyle. Both would be suitable.

In other news tonight is also the Friday Night Sew-In. I did sign up for this challenge, but now I am unable to sew sadly. I am, however, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my second nephew. With that in mind, I think it will be okay that I do not get any sewing done. I am knitting up a storm in the meantime. Tomorrow I will be checking to see what everyone else worked on and hopefully be able to finish a shirt I started for myself last weekend.

Until next time, happy sewing!

Mood Groupon

2011-08-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

Oh me oh my! There is a Mood Fabrics Groupon. For $15 your get a $30 credit to shop online! I will be getting this one. Don't miss out everyone! The deal ends in 6 days so make sure you go and get yours now!

FNSI Announced

2011-08-14T16:59:00.000-04:00

Heidi has posted the Friday Night Sew-In sign-up on her blog, it will be this coming up on Friday the 19th. Everyone go sign up and start prepping what you want to sew. I have a few ideas that I am kicking around right now. I know that I really need to get started on my French Seam challenge, so that is on the table. I also need to make a few more Renaissance costume pieces before the fair season starts.

Parting shot: Some of my button stash. This is the jar that is filled with random buttons. Some of them match, but for the most part they are leftovers from previous projects or the extra ones that come with dress shirts and coats.

My super exciting big project

2011-08-11T15:33:00.000-04:00

Awhile back I eluded to the fact that I am currently working on a big project. Well the time has come to share it with you all. I have a friend named Tally who is Ms African-America Elegance 2011. Over Labor Day weekend she will be competing in the International Pageant. Exciting right?!?!? Well it gets better. In the spring she asked me if I would help her out by creating her dance costume and a few show stopping headpieces. I, instantly, said yes!

First up I am making a caftan out of this gorgeous burnout silk from Fabric Mart. Honestly, this picture does not do it justice! I did the muslin fitting with Tally yesterday and am cutting out the pieces today. I am using McCall's 6125 as base for this. I am going to finish the edges with a rolled hem so it will add a little more of a wavy effect to it.

I am also working on 2 headpieces for her. The first was inspired by this fascinator she had sent me. How fun is that? Her outfit that she will be wearing with this is black and red, it is actually the sketch I drew below. I am not making this outfit though. She was sponsored by Igigi, who provided it and her formal dress (more on that in a minute). I do need to make a few alterations to the skirt though. It needs to be about 5" longer and unfortunately, does not have that deep of a hem. It actually only has about a 1" hem. I am testing a few other ideas to see if I can add it to the waist band, since it will be covered by the shirt and belt. The trick is that the skirt has pockets on the front that end up super low when the length is added to the top. I also thought about adding a piece of red fabric to the hem since finding the black would be nearly impossible. Another idea I have would be to some black lace or red chiffon to the hem to create the look of another layer underneath. I am not sure just yet though.

Anyways, back to the headpiece. I am going to start with a black headband and add some dyed rooster feathers I ordered from Hong Kong. At the base of the feathers I am going to put a fabric flower with some black rhinestones. Once I start it I will take pictures and post a tutorial for it.

Her formal dress (at right) has a belt that has some rhinestones on it, however they only go across about 10" of the front. I am going to be adding some more to this and possible the tie at the top to give the dress that extra oomph! I am also making a headpiece to go with it. For this we are going to use blue almost teal feathers. Think Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City movie, only not a whole bird. It will be something similar to the one below.. I think I may end up doing this one as a hair clip so she will have more options as far as how she wants to do her hair. I will also post a tutorial for this once it is completed.

Instead of a swimsuit competition, this pageant does a sports themed round. Tally choose boxing for her sport. For this I am going to embellish a track suit for her. The back is going to have rhinestones that are hot glued on in the shape of boxing gloves and will have something written as well. Her track suit is currently on order and should arrive by the weekend. Of course I will post pictures of everything as I get it all completed.

The French Seam

2011-08-09T22:37:00.002-04:00

My camera has taken a turn for the worse so please excuse the poor picture quality. I am not quite sure how to fix it yet. Below is my review direct from PR.

Have you bought anything from this store? If yes were the prices competitive?
Yes I have bought a couple of things. You can see them on my blog at www.smclevenger.blogspot.com. The prices were competitive. Lining fabrics for $4.00. Silks and Wools for $25-$36 a yard.
Were the sales people polite and friendly?
When I went in I spoke with one of the owners who was fantastic. I told her about my blog and she very graciously allowed me to take pictures of the store and even gave me her email address so I could email her a link to my blog.
How would you rate the quality of the item this store sells?
The fabric selection is AMAZING! I live in an area that only has Jo-Ann's and Hobby Lobby. This store is about an hour away from me but well worth the trip. They stock a lot of designer fabrics that are hard to find elsewhere. They even have Collette Patterns!
How was your shopping experience. Is there anything you did not like about this store?
My shopping experience was great. Everything was organized and clearly marked.
Would you shop here again?
Absolutely! I thought about going again today!
Would you recommend this store to others?
Yes, and I already have! I told everyone I work with about the store and they all want to go.
Any other comments you would like to add?
If you are in the Indianapolis area you need to come to this store. They opened only 2 months ago but you would never know! They store is well stocked and organized. The staff is knowledgeable and had no problems helping me in anyway.

I had a great time browsing through the selection. I cannot wait to go back. I know I want to pick up the Collette Pattern for the Lady Gray coat that everyone has made. I love it! They also have some great wools that would work wonderfully for it. However in the picture on the left is their selections of laminated cottons! I found a couple that I must have. I want to make a funky raincoat.

Just a couple of different shots of the store. I love how everything in the store is organized. I am not one of those people who can dig through racks and piles of stuff. I need everything laid out for me and The French Seam does just that.

Store Hours
Monday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: 12:00 Noon - 4:00 PM

I picked out a gorgeous piece! It is a very lightweight woven cotton plaid. The brown stripes are actually metallic copper thread. I know exactly what I want to do with this piece. I want to make View C of McCall's 6401. I think that may actually be my project for this weekend. That way I will be able to wear it before summer ends.

The next thing I got is pretty exciting! The French Seam is currently running a Project Runway type of challenge. You purchase a bag with 3 - 1 yard cuts of coordinating woven cotton fabrics for $15.00. You can make anything but it does have to include all three fabrics. You can add any additional fabrics, buttons, trims, etc that you want. Then you turn in your completed project to the store by August 26th. All entries will be judged by a panel and the winner receives a $150 gift certificate to the store. How could I possibly pass this up?!?!? On the left are the 3 fabrics I picked. I know exactly what I want to do. I am going to make a dress. A very cute dress, unlike any that I have made previously. I was inspired by Oona's post. I am going to make the bodice of mine out of a lavender knit to match the lavender color in the fabrics I have. The skirt is going to be pleated with the green fabric. It will have a band around the the bottom of it that will be made out of the blue flower fabric. This fabric will also be used for the waist band of the skirt. For the third fabric I am going to cut out the peachy colored circles and make some fringed fabric flowers to attach to the bodice. So, what do you think of my plan? Hopefully, I will be able to finish it in time

Burda Style 7359

2011-08-08T20:50:00.006-04:00

Pattern Description:
Fitted Shirt
Pattern Sizing:
38-50. I made a 42.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
The design of the shirt was exactly the same. I made view B with the tabs.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
This was my first Burda Style pattern and the instructions were okay. The way they had me attach the collar (see below) was new and it took me reading it several times before I even wanted to attempt it. In the end everything went together without any major issues.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the design of this pattern. There is not a thing I dislike about it. My only issue with this version is all the ripples from topstitching.
I think it was because of the fabric since the black did not ripple at all once topstitched.
Fabric Used:
2.5 yards of green cotton left over from a dress I made myself and 1 yard of black cotton left over from a ren faire costume.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I didn't make any pattern alterations but I did change the color scheme. I did the main portion of the shirt in the green. The yoke, underside of the collar, and pocket are all in black. I also did the tabs to have one side green and one side black.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would sew this again. This is a pretty casual shirt for my husband so he is not able to wear it to work. I want to make a dressier version that he will be able to wear. I also want to make this in a solid color.
Conclusion:
I am quite surprised that I am the first review of this pattern. I really didn't like this shirt when I started due to my husbands color choices. It started out feeling like something Charlie Sheen character would wear on Two and Half Men. But once I finished it that changed. I actually really liked it once DH put it on.

The Collar

There are two pieces, upper collar (6) and lower collar (7). as you can tell they are shaped completely different. There is also no neckband to attach the collar to the rest of the shirt. To make the collar you attach the under collar first. Then you hem the bottom curve of the upper collar. then you sew the upper and lower collars right sides together. Fold the collar, right sides out and slip stitch it. Then you stitch the lower edge of the upper collar to the shirt center front edge that was folded previously. I hope that all makes sense. I had to read it a few times first and it didn't really make sense till I actually started going through the steps. Personally, I am not a fan of this collar. I think that it is what gives the shirt a casual look since it cannot be buttoned all the way up. I may try to attach a more traditional collar next time I make this shirt.

On a side note...
I, Sarah C of Musings of a Seamstress, sign up as a participant of my very first Self-Stitched-Sept '11. I endeavor to wear at least 1 self-stitched garment each day for the duration of September 2011. I hope you will follow along and join me in this journey!

New Butterick

2011-08-01T23:21:00.001-04:00

Wouldn't you know it, just as I am checking my email one last time before I go to bed I had an email from Butterick announcing their new patterns are out. So of course, I had to check them out right away. They seem to have a few drapey pieces like Vogue, but I don't really like any of these. I will stick with my Vogues that I already picked out. But here are my other must haves.

B5666 in the solid reddish pink color. I really like this style of jacket. It is casual and comfortable. Before I get it though I am going to have to check my pattern stash to see if I have one like it already. I am thinking I do.

B5680 in the pink. I love this for the same reasons as I like B5666. It looks casual and comfortable. Plus this has an added little bit of chic with the brooch closure. Other than that view I don't think I would make any of the others.

B5682. I love jeans. I live in them. I prefer the flared and the boot cut versions. I think this picture is terrible to put for the pattern envelope. Most of the styles are covered up by the signs and way the positioned the models' images. I almost skipped right past it until I looked closer at the line drawing.

I am a sucker for a tailored coat and B5685 is no exception. I have way more coat patterns than I will ever have need to make, but what is one more? I need variety since I never know what I will be in the mood for from season to season. That's my argument and I am sticking to it.

B5696. LOVE! That's all I got and all I feel I need to say about it.

I know Butterick patterns are getting ready to go on sale at Jo-Ann's so these will hopefully be available then.

July Review

2011-07-31T23:31:00.000-04:00

Hmmm...it seems that July has blown right by and I have gone back to not accomplishing much of anything! In fact, I have only completed 1, that's right 1, garment this month!! What the heck?!?! The only thing I completed was the Simplicity 2262 top that I reviewed here. It was an instant gratification project.

The other thing that I have been "working" on is the Burda Style shirt for Eric. I use the term working loosely as I have let it sit in my sewing studio for a week straight untouched and several days in between when I started it and now. I am going to attribute my lack of wanting to work on this to the fact that I am not that big of fan of it. This was a spur of the moment project and I didn't really feel like buying new fabric for it. So I had Eric pick out some fabric from my stash. He didn't really want it in any of the dress shirt fabrics I had bought for him and I didn't have enough of anything else, so he decided to go with the green for most of it and do black for the yoke, underside of the collar, pocket and one side of each of the 4 tabs. When I first started sewing this I was not a big fan of the black for the pocket and yokes. I thought it made it seem very Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men. I really didn't like it until I added the sleeves. It is growing on me now. All I have left to do is hem it, make the buttonholes down the center front and sew on all the buttons.

Fabric used:
5.5 yards all from my stash!

Fabric bought:
10 yards from a Fabric Mart Mystery Bundle

I have decided I am going to put myself on a fabric buying fast! I have been adding way too many fabrics to my stash this year.   I am only going to buy fabrics for specific projects that will be started within 1 month of purchase. This is going to be for the rest of the year, except for Friday Nov. 25th since it is Black Friday. Hopefully this will help get my fabric stash and spending under control.

This month I did win a giveaway from Miss Sews-It-All. She was giving away vintage button goody bags and I was lucky enough to score one. It was packaged so stinkin' cute too!





After dumping out the bag to examine them I was even more excited. Vintage buttons are fantastic! There were a few genuine shell buttons, which are gorgeous. There are also some cool shank buttons. I think I want to make some quirky top and use all the different vintage shank buttons I have on it. I already have some in my stash that have robots and spacemen on them, while the shank buttons in the goody bag weren't specific shapes they will fit quite nicely with them.

Fashion Friday

2011-07-29T23:25:00.000-04:00

I actually forgot all about this today! Fail on my part. But I think I have a good reason for forgetting. Yesterday, I submitted my resume to a company that designs and manufactures show choir and color guard uniforms. They contacted me 20 minutes after I sent my resume. This morning I had an interview and sewing test with the head designer, floor manager and another seamstress. This company is a good distance from my house. By the time I got home I had an email with my training schedule for the next week. So, I got myself a new job today and I am so excited about it! I will be making more money than I am currently plus I will be doing what I love, sewing! Oh and not that I have to mention it, but I get to let my inner band geek out and it will be totally accepted! I will let you know more about my new job once I start training next week. My postings may become pretty scarce for a bit while I get accustomed to this new drive. It used to take me 7 minutes to get to work, now it will take between 45-50.

On with the show, Taylor Swift is wearing a D&G floral print dress. I think it suits her well. It is young and flirty.

For the pattern I picked Butterick 5486. I would pick version B which, in the picture above, is the knee length pink dress with tie at the waist. I think this would work well, especially if you make that tie in a satiny white like Taylor's dress.

I am in love with this fabric. It is on Fabric.com for $8.98 a yard. It is designed by the fan-tab-ulous Anna Marie Horner and called LouLou Thi Summer Totem Strudel.

Now, where to find that shade of red lipstick?

Show Your Hearts

2011-07-27T17:11:00.000-04:00

I am taking a quick sewing pause to bring something to every one's attention. I found out about this tragic accident through Facebook and immediately donated $10. Everyone please ready the story and help out. The following came from the website.

On July 3rd while returning from an annual family road trip in Colorado back to their home in Houston, Texas the Berry Family found themselves to be victims of a horrific and tragic fatal car accident. Their Minivan carrying parents Joshua and Robin Berry and their children Peter age 9, Aaron age 8, and Willa age 6 was hit head on by another vehicle who had crossed into their lane of traffic. The parents Joshua and Robin Berry were tragically killed leaving their 3 children behind. While the children did survive the crash, both boys sustained serious spinal cord injuries and they are both paralyzed below the waist. The children are currently being treated for their many injuries in a Houston, Texas area hospital.

There is a significant urgent need to raise funds to aid these now orphaned children's ongoing needs, including medical rehabilitation, physical therapy, psychological support and education.

Show Your Hearts will facilitate the efforts of all people who want to come to these children's aid and support them in this time of need. Donations will be made directly to the Joshua and Robin Berry Children's Trust.

Joshua and Robin Berry Children's Trust
Bank of Texas
510 Bering, 5th Floor
Houston, Texas 77057

You can also text BERRY to 85944 to make a $10.00 donation. To complete it you will have to reply back to the response.

Fashion Friday

2011-07-22T20:19:00.000-04:00

I know I am posting this kinda late in the day. Better late than never, right? It has just been a crazy busy day and all I did was run errands. Blah! Not fun. I did, however, get my new Michael Kors glasses. They are fantastic! As much as I love my contacts I will definitely still be wearing my glasses. Now onto the feature!

It is Miss Anne Hathaway! She is my style icon. She is a modern day Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly! She is wearing a white lace day dress with bright red pumps and killer sunglasses! She owns this look!

I think there are a couple of different ways you can go about getting this look. Vogue 8613, on the left, is for knit fabrics. While I don't think Anne's dress is knit, I do think that it would work for this. For that one I would definitely leave off the lapel and add tabs to roll up the long sleeve version. The second option I would go with Simplicity Vogue 8613, on the left, is for knit fabrics. While I don't think Anne's dress is knit, I do think that it would work for this. For that one I would definitely leave off the lapel and add tabs to roll up the long sleeve version. The second option I would go with Simplicity 3877. I would make version D, which is the pink one, with the sleeves of version A, the tan one.

Fabric wise I found this stretch lace on Fabric.com for $6.98 a yard. The description did also say that this fabric does have a scalloped edge but they did not have any pictures of it posted.

I actually, would really like to make this look. I would go with the Simplicity pattern, mostly because it is in my stash and I have been wanting to make it for awhile now. However, I do not think that I would do a white lining like Anne's. I think I might try something a little more daring just to make the lace pop! I would do a dark lilac purple cotton as the lining and the ivory version of the stretch lace. Both of these are also from fabric.com. Maybe even rock a yellow shoe and belt with it.

Instant gratification sewing

2011-07-19T17:39:00.002-04:00

Pattern Description:
Simplicity 2262:Misses pullover dress or tunic, pull on pants and knit cardigan in two lengths.
Pattern Sizing:
XXS - XXL
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
It looked exactly like it.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
I am not sure as I never once looked at them.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the yoke on this pattern. I also like that it was a very quick and instant gratification project.
Fabric Used:
I used 2 yards of a very lightweight gauzy cotton. I fell in love with the print and because it is tan and not white it is not as sheer as I thought it might be.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
The reason I never read the instructions, other than it only being 4 pieces, was that I chose to add a facing to the yoke. I thought it was odd when I cut it out that there wasn't one. I am actually really glad I did add the facing. I also added topstitching around the yoke to help prevent it from rolling. I also eliminated the binding on the arm holes. This is mostly because I didn't have any and partly because I was too lazy to go get some. Instead I just fold my armhole edges up 1.4" and stitched. It is not as neat as I would prefer but no one sees that part but me.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would. I really want to make the dress version. I also am planning on doing the cropped cardigan in a yellow knit. Yellow isn't the best color on me so we'll see how that turns out.
Conclusion:
I am glad I choose this! All in all it took me under 2 hours to cut the pieces, work out how I wanted to do the yoke and sew it up. Talk about instant gratification! It is a very loose fitting top, that's why I want to make the cardigan to go over it. I am also on the hunt for a good belt to wear with it so I can give it more shape. The picture at the right versus the one up top with my hands on my hips are exactly why I and wanting a belt.

I have been very negligent in getting a picture of the top. I made it last month and just haven't worn it yet. It is my second version of McCall's 6120. For it I used the brown and cream polka dot knit I picked up from the remnant bin at Jo-Ann's last month. I never did post a review for the pattern. I may have to do that next. Anyways, this is a pretty good instant gratification top too.

On a side note, this Friday, the 22nd, is the next Friday Night Sew-In. The sign up is posted on Heidi's blog. I hope that you will join us for a great night of sewing. I will be working on the Built by Wendy shorts that I still haven't touched and possibly the cardigan for Simplicity 2262.

I couldn't have said it better...

2011-07-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

For nearly 2 months there have been the final 3 episodes of the Oprah show waiting patiently on my DVR. I have been putting off watching them because I thought if there were still episodes then her show really wasn't over. Today, since it was too hot for me to even think about sewing, I sat down and watched them. There were a lot of things she said in the final episode that were inspiring to me. This is one of them.

"When I started, not even I imagined that this show would have the depth and the reach that you all have given it. It has been a privilege for me to speak to you here in this studio, in this country and in 150 countries around the world on this platform that is The Oprah Winfrey Show. You let me into your homes to talk to you every day. This is what you allowed me to do, and I thank you for that. But what I want you to know as this show ends: Each one of you has your own platform. Do not let the trappings here fool you. Mine is a stage in a studio, yours is wherever you are with your own reach, however small or however large that reach is. Maybe it's 20 people, maybe it's 30 people, 40 people, your family, your friends, your neighbors, your classmates, your classroom, your co-workers. Wherever you are, that is your platform, your stage, your circle of influence. That is your talk show, and that is where your power lies. In every way, in every day, you are showing people exactly who you are. You're letting your life speak for you. And when you do that, you will receive in direct proportion to how you give in whatever platform you have"

This is my platform and I am so grateful for every single one of my followers and any of the stalkers out there too. I hope that over the last few years I have shown you all who I truly am. I want to inspire others. This blog really started out as a way for me to document the things I made for my own purposes, because I had realized I had made some amazing things, like a Civil War dress, and have absolutely nothing to show for it. I wanted to be able to look back at all the things I had created because it reminds me of a time and place and what I was doing. It reminds me of how far I have come. It really has grown from there. I really didn't believe anyone would want to follow along. I remember being so excited when I got my first follower and am glad to say I still get that thrill every time I see my follower count rise. I am thrilled to see that others are listening to what I have to say. Thank you!

My other favorite quote from the final episode is this.

"Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your life to serve the world."

While I am not doing great things for the world yet, I am still contributing in my own way. Awhile back in I wrote about why I sew. In that post I wrote, 'I believe that if you have a gift or talent for something you should share that with others to make the world a better place in your own way'. This was something that Oprah inspired in me. There are several projects that I keep coming back to wanting to do as a service to others. But I have never gotten around to starting them. So that is what I am going to do! I have known that sewing and creating things is more than a hobby since I seriously started it. I have known this is what I want my life's work to be. It is time I went full force. I have had a few sales in my Etsy shop but I know that I can do better! The more successful my shop becomes the more time I will have to be of service to others. I would love to teach aspiring young sewists. I have considered doing a fundraiser similar to The Uniform Project, but I want to build a larger following first. I have also thought about going back to get my masters in apparel design, so that I can teach at the college level. I also thought about getting my masters in teaching, so that I can teach middle and high school sewing in home ec. For now, I am doing what I can and working towards those goals.

Monday Musings

2011-07-18T08:58:00.000-04:00

I got contacts last Thursday. I love them except that it is now a little harder to read the computer screen. I will have to talk with the eye doctor about that at my appointment on Friday.
I was off all of last week and I didn't do a single stitch of sewing. How sad is that?
I did, however, watch 2 seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
It's freaking hot! I wish I had central air.
Eric and Jeremy did install a ceiling fan in my sewing room. It helps a lot, except when laying out pattern pieces.
I need to jump on the Vogue 1250 bandwagon with everyone else. Next time they go on sale I will pick it up.
The month is halfway over and I haven't started on the second two gifts for my swap partner.
The Burda shirt I am making for Eric has been sitting halfway sewn and untouched for a week and a half now.
The McCall's shorts for myself are cut out and have been sitting unsewn for two and a half weeks.
Man, I am behind on my sewing.
Last week I did order a second mystery bundle from Fabric Mart when I ordered some fabric for another project.
My other project is big and I cannot wait to share it. More on it later though. I am working on collecting everything and all the details for a separate post.

See, my Sebastian really does love the mystery bundle, or maybe he is just waiting for me to empty out the box for him. Anyways, I got a 2.5 yds of a gauze bright pink cotton, 3 yards of a tan and cream wool boucle, 1.75 yds of a floral printed cotton, 1.5 yds of a teal double knit and 1.5 yds of a purple, tan, black and cream print stretch twill.

I am not really a fan of the tan and cream wool. I think I may make some sort of renaissance peasant garment out of it and put it up for sale.
The teal double knit is going to become a cardigan of some variety. I have two patterns I am debating between right now.
I think the stretch twill will become a pencil skirt.
I have no idea about the floral print, It's a little 80's and a little Asian all rolled into one, plus it is more of a quilting cotton than fashion fabric.
The pink gauzy fabric, I am on the fence on. I think I have enough that I can get some sort of day dress out of if I find the right pattern, but it will definitely need a lining. For that I am thinking black cotton, just for contrast. But I also think this fabric would make a cute peasant style top.

Fashion Friday

2011-07-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

This weeks Fashion Friday feature is Olivia Palermo in her lemony yellow chiffon Topshop dress. I really like the easy of this dress. It is very loose fitting and the chiffon makes it so light and flowing. Now, I am not well versed in the ways of Topshop since they are a British company, but from briefly looking around their site they really do seem to have something for every woman. They have so many different styles available it's fantastic.

Simplicity 2929 view E, which is the red with gold flowers dress, is very similar to the Topshop dress. This pattern is unlined but I would line it since the Topshop version is made of chiffon. I think I might actually make the lining more sheath like with a sweetheart neckline. That way when belted you do not lose the flowing look of the dress. Plus, how cute would a sweetheart neckline be underneath the shear chiffon?

I actually found a couple of options for the chiffon. First, Fashion Fabrics Club has this 100% silk chiffon for $13.05 a yard. The color is just the right shade of yellow to work for this dress.

The second option I found on Fabric Mart's site for $9.99 a yard. It is also silk. However, this one has a very subtle sunburst print that I didn't even notice till I started looking at the other images. I actually prefer this chiffon over the solid yellow. I am not a person who can wear yellow, thanks to my Irish heritage, so I think I would personally pick either an Emerald green or a Sapphire blue. I really really do love jewel tones. I think they look best on me.

As far as accessories go you will need to get some great gold shoes. I love the ones she is wearing. Her clutch is encased in clear lucite! She belted the dress with what I think is a brown braided leather belt. Normally, I am soooo not a fan of the braided leather belt, but for this look it really works. I love her necklace as well. I am really into the multi-strained look that is trendy right now.

Dresses and Draping and Ruching, Oh my!

2011-07-11T22:59:00.001-04:00

As most sewers know the new Vogues came out today! They have come out with quite a few patterns that I am going to have to pick up during the next sale! Here are my favorites. Be warned though this is a picture heavy post.

V1252, Tracy Reese, I love the draping and ruching. The garment photo does not do this dress justice, that is why I included the line drawing. I think this would be good in a solid color to show off all those lovely lines.

V1253 is a Tracy Reese design and is gorgeous as always! Once again this has wonderful ruching. I also love the way the skirt hangs. I think I would actually make this in a gray similar to the design picture.

V1259 is Donna Karen and I love every single thing about this. The color of this one is gorgeous! A long long time ago when I was in school one of the designs I had drawn up was a similar top only in a creamy off white with some brown leather trim going down the ruched seam. I think I may have to do something like that.

V1254 is Anne Klein. While this is very different from the others I selected, I love the crisp look of this one. The neck detail is fantastic.

V1257, DKNY, is also a fantastically draped dress. I love the knot below the waist.

Have you checked out the new patterns? What are your favorites?

Santa Sack Tutorial

2011-07-09T20:12:00.001-04:00

As promised, here is the tutorial for the Santa Sack I made for my swap partner. This sack is approximately 2' across by 2.5' down. It is completely lined and has two stocking pockets that are perfect for holding giftcards or Christmas cards. This is a very easy and quick project that will leave you with a great way to tote around all those Christmas presents you have to give out. You could even use this sack in place of wrapping paper as an eco-friendly gift wrap.

Materials needed:
3/4 yd fabric for outer shell
3/4 yd fabric for lining

1/2 yd fabric for stocking pockets
2 yds ribbon
2 jingle bells
approx. 400 8mm sequins
thread
stocking template at right. Print this as a full page.

Fabrics:
Christmas quilting cottons or flannels are great for this project. You can also use shantung or satin for the outer shell fabric. For mine this one I choose Christmas quilting cottons.

Step-by-step:

1. Fold your shell fabric in half, lengthwise, right sides together. Stitch stitch side seam and bottom with 5/8's seam allowance. Do the same for the lining fabric. Clip bottom corners of seam allowance for both the lining and outer shell. Press seam allowances open.

2. Lay out your stocking template on fabric. This template is at the bottom of the tutorial. Cut 4 stockings.

3. Place 2 stockings right sides together and stitch around entire stocking leaving a 3" opening in the top. Do the same for the second 2 stockings. Turn both right sides out and press. Top stitch around entire edge of each stocking 1/4" from edge.

4. Place and pin stockings to front of outer shell of bag. I recommend turning them on a slight angle and staggering them. However, it is completely up to you how you would like them placed.

5. Stitch sequins through outer shell layer and edges of stocking along the top stitching line, leaving the top edge of stocking free from the outer shell. This will create your pockets. In place of the sequins you can also use ribbon or other trims.

6. Once sequins are on, place the outer shell inside of the lining, wrong sides together. Make 2-1" buttonholes along side seam, through outer shell and lining approximately 1 and 3/4" from unfinished edge. Press unfinished edge 5/8" towards linings. Press edge again 1" towards lining. Stitch along bottom fold line as close to opening as possible. Turn sack right side out and press.

7. Feed ribbon through buttonhole and upper edge. Tie off each ribbon end with a jingle bell.

There you have it. Your very own Santa Sack. I hope you enjoy this tutorial. Put your own spin on this Santa Sack by changing what shape you use for the pockets. I would love to see your version of this. Please share a link.

Fashion Friday

2011-07-08T07:16:00.000-04:00

This week's Fashion Friday post is Emmy Rossum's butterfly dress by Lyn Devon. I think this dress is absolutely adorable. I love the shape, it has a retro/vintage vibe. Because of that I choose a retro Vogue pattern for this look.

It is Vogue 8728. Now, the pattern is not exactly like the dress but I think you definitely get the over all shape of the dress. The waist is defined, so that you get that perfect hourglass shape.

For the fabric I, once again, choose a woven cotton from Warm Biscuit. This fabric is $15.00 a yard. If red is not your thing they do also offer the same print in cream/off-white. I think I actually prefer the cream to the red.

Now, you just need to get yourself some great white peep-toes and you are ready to rock it like Emmy!
I don't know if I could pull off this print but I do want to try. I may have to attempt this knock-off sometime. Do you have any looks that are considering trying? I would love to hear what your inspiration piece is and how you plan to achieve it!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T11:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July by sarah121haras featuring miu miu dress

Miu miu dress
$759 - net-a-porter.com

D G gingham dress
£203 - matchesfashion.com

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania peter pan collar dress
£169 - my-wardrobe.com

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania red tank top
£84 - matchesfashion.com

Marc Jacobs loose shirt
£295 - brownsfashion.com

Swimwear
$30 - topshop.com

Dorothy Perkins shorts
£23 - dorothyperkins.com

Iron Fist platform wedge
$50 - heels.com

Espadrilles wedge
$50 - heels.com

Qupid shoes
$24 - kmart.com

Weber 751001 Grill, Charcoal One-Touch Gold 22.5"
$150 - macys.com

The French Seam

2011-07-02T23:35:00.000-04:00

Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh! Oh My Gosh!! The Gods and Goddesses of sewing have granted my wishes!!!! There is a new locally owned fine fashion fabrics store in Indianapolis, Indiana!!!! It is called The French Seam. I just learned about it while reading through my latest issue of Threads. In the back there was an add for the store. Close to 7-8 years ago there was a great fabric store, it was something like the Sewing Junction, but it closed and I have been missing it ever since. My only local fabric options were Jo-Ann's, Hobby Lobby and Hancock's. I don't even really count Hancock's because they are close to an hour away and I am not driving all that way for basically the same selection as the Jo-Ann's down the street. But now I have a fantastic option!! I read an article about the store and the writer, who is a sewer, talked about how fantastic the selection is and how different it is from the previously mentioned stores. This place is on my must visit list for next weekend! I guess I better stop going to Jo-Ann's for a week or two so I can spend more money on better quality materials elsewhere. They even carry StyleArc patterns. I will definitely have to post a review of the store once I visit but in the meantime I am going to have very high hopes for it.

And because I can't leave this post without any pictures, here are the new fabrics I bought at Jo-Ann's yesterday and today.

1 yard black and white poly charmeuse houndstoooth
2 yards gray and black poly charmeuse zebra
3/4's yard white and purple border print chiffon
2.25 yards light gray baby silk
3.25 yards gray, black, white and red bias stripe lining

I was pretty excited by these fabrics but now I feel they are nothing compared to what I will find at The French Seam.

Summer Reading Library Book Bag

2011-07-02T07:14:00.000-04:00

How cute is this?!?!? I found this great tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew! This would be a great project to have your kids make or help you make. You could even put different appliques on instead of the apple, to match their personalities. I think I want to make one for Eric and myself now that we are using the library on a regular basis.

I think that my favorite part may be that it has a spot on the strap to hold your library card! Genius!!!

Half way there

2011-07-01T15:37:00.000-04:00

Kimberly from As reasonable as can be expected posted a comment on my New Year's goal post that got me thinking.

Kimberly said...

In case you have been wondering, I'm the one going through all your old post. It's half way through the year. How are you doing with your list? I may make a half year goal list.

Now that the year is officially half over I guess I should check up on my goals to see what I have done and have not done.

1. Sew more for Eric. This is a must! I have to get over my fears of men's tailoring and just do it. I have resigned myself that the first dress shirt I make will not be perfect but none of them will be perfect if I don't ever start with the first! This I am happy to say I have been doing and will continue to do. So far he has gotten 2 dress shirts, a vest and 2 pairs of pj pants. Although I don't think the pj pants really count.

2. Sew 50% of my stash. After re-tallying my stash I have much more than I kept track of throughout the year. I was gifted several dozens of yards of fabric as well as I had a bolt of muslin that I added in. My current total yards is 348. So I need to use 174 yards. This calls for a new ticker and better methods of keeping track. New ticker: check. Better methods: WIP. Umm...I am so not even close to this goal. I have been buying so much more fabric than I have been using. So far this year I have only used 29 yds and I need to use at least 198 now. I don't even think I can hit the original 174 yds. I need to do a lot more sewing and a lot less shopping.

3.Get some friends to be models and post items in my Etsy shop! I want to have these posted by the end of February! I haven't done this either. I haven't really made costumes for my Etsy shop The Five Petals. However, I did open a completely different Etsy shop Mae's Garden. I have even had a handful of sales so far. So I guess I will count this as a half completed goal.

4. Finish the quilt! I feel awful that I have not done this yet. Winter is the best time to do it as it requires the quilt to be laying on me and we do not have air conditioning to do it comfortably in the summertime. Not yet, I am on my last row of rings though. It is starting to get warm here again so we will see how much more I get done before fall. After that I need to attach the binding. I am having a debate with myself of how I want to do that. Do I save time and machine stitch it on or do I hand stitch it to keep with the hand quilting?

5. Learn a new knitting technique and put it to use. I am going to keep knitting scarves and possibly, POSSIBLY, a blanket. Though I doubt I will get to the blanket this year. I have put my knitting aside so far this year to work on the quilt. But I will be picking it back up since the weather is getting a bit to warm to have the quilt laying on me. I have, however, taught myself to knit fingerless gloves, which are for sale in my Etsy shop. I also have the instructions for knitting hats but I haven't tried it yet. When I set this goal I was thinking more along the lines of learning to cable knit or some lace stitch techniques. I am still planning on trying my hand at cable knitting here soon.

6. Be well prepared for both the Ren Fest and West Fest. By this I mean, break the cycle of sewing until the sun is rising the day we are supposed to leave. This is not going to happen. I haven't even started sewing a thing for the Old West Fest. I think we may not go in costume again. The Renaissance Festival may be a different story. My pirate costume that I didn't get to wear last year is still a good fit. Eric's pirate costume is most of the way done. I just need to sew the buttons on the jacket, but the shirt is finished. I still have to make the pants and vest though. But those should not be to hard to whip up pretty quick. My friends have not requested any costumes yet, so I cannot say for sure that I will not be sewing the morning of. Although, this will be the 10th year we go so it could be fun to wear the costume I originally made. But now that I rethink that, that was before I had a serger or pinking shears so non of my seams were finished and it was not very period.

7. Complete at least 5 of my UFO's. I will have a list of them coming up soon and what needs to be done for each. I have done this. I spent the first few months this year in a sewing rut and all I seemed to sew where UFO's. The five I have completed are Eric's pirate shirt, the muslin of Eric's dress shirt, a chemise for The Five Petals, my plaid skirt and my plaid vest. I still have 11 other UFO's on my list though. Hopefully I can knock out a few more of those. The quilt being one of them.

I think that I have made some good progress so far. I am in a much better spot with my goals half way through this year than how I finished last year. I think I want to revise my goals just a little.

1. Sew More for Eric. While I have already completed this I will continue with this goal. I have a more casual shirt cut out for him that is ready to be sewn up this weekend. I also want to make him a couple more vests and dress shirts this year.

2. Sew 50% of my stash.I am sticking with the using 50% of my stash even though I don't think I will make it. It at least gives me something to work towards. Plus, every time I go to the fabric store I do actually think about this goal and how much I have bought versus used this year.

7. I want to complete another 5 UFO's this year. More specifically. those UFO's will include the quilt, Eric's pirate coat, a white pinstripe skirt, a blue plaid skirt and a blue dress. That blue dress has been sitting unfinished for 2 years!!! Can you believe it. I think it has gone that long because I need to take off the cowl neck as it does not look good on me and refit the rest of the dress. Ughhh...alterations!

I guess we will see what happens at the end of the year. How is everyone else doing with there 2011 sewing goals? If you haven't made any goals, why not start some now and what are they?

Fashion Friday

2011-07-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today's Fashion Friday post features Liv Tyler in a great DKNY navy and red polka dot dress with red Louboutin peep toes. I love this dress. It is simple effortless chic. Plus, she is rocking it paired with those shoes!

A great pattern to use for this would be Vogue 8682, which is one of their Very Easy Vogue patterns. You could keep the length as is for either version that comes with the pattern or if you are more daring you can shorten it to the length of Liv's dress. Personally, I am not as skinny as Ms. Tyler so I would not shorten it that much but maybe just a little above the knee. She also has a thin belt made of the same fabric tied around this dress. That should be simple enough to make that you really wouldn't need a pattern.

I scoured the web trying to find similar fabric and I did...but it was no longer available. Sad face :( The navy with red polka dots above was from Fabric Mart. When I went there the fabric was completely sold out! Double sad face! :( :( So, here is my next best option.

If you want to stick with the navy look just white polka dot. This is a 100% woven cotton from Warm Biscuit. It is 44" wide and $12.00 a yard. They also sell all sorts of cotton fabrics with fun vintage prints. Everyone should go check out their site.

I think that I may have to make this dress in the future. I really like it. What's even better is that I already own a pair of patent red peep toes. Of course, mine are not Louboutin's, but I wish they were. I am going to keep my eye out for the navy and red polka dot fabric in the meantime.

June review

2011-06-30T11:17:00.032-04:00

or How Sarah Got Her Groove Back!

I have been pretty busy this month. I have definitely got back into my sewing groove thankfully! After realizing that I had made more things for my husband this year than myself I knew it was time to step it up. Especially if I want to achieve my New Years goal of sewing 50% of my stash. I am a long ways from it for being half way through 2011. I do have quite a few ideas for garments I want to work on so I have business casual clothing for work in the fall. I also have an exciting new project I am starting for a friend. More to come on that later, but for now lets just say she is competing in the Miss. Ethnic World Pageant and asked me for help!!

This month I have made the following:

2 tops for myself
1 jacket for myself
1 shirt for Eric
1 Santa Sack for Vickie
1 secret project for Vickie
Continued working on the never ending quilt

Fabric used: 9 yds
Fabric bought: 15 yds

My Santa Sack swap partner Vickie has received hers so now I can show everyone what it looks like. I am working on getting the tutorial typed up still but here is the finished sack. The stockings are trimmed with gold sequins and sewn so that they are pockets. They are a good for holding gift cards or Christmas cards.

I also finally got a picture of one of the McCall's 6120 tops I made for myself. Please disregard the complete and utter disheveled look I have going on. It was incredibly hot that day, 95 I believe, and I could barely stand it. Our house does not have central air and probably never will. This top was made with a purple cotton/lycra knit. I love this style. It is uses the same base as the McCall's 5974 Perfect Knit dress which is so flattering. On a side note, M6120 is currently on clearance on the McCall's website, so if you have been eying it make sure you get it! It is very easy and a great wardrobe builder. I also made this top using the brown with cream polka dot fabric I picked up a couple of weeks ago. The shorts I am wearing in the picture I also made about 3 years ago and never blogged about. They are from Simplicity 3690.

By far my most favorite thing I have made this month is my Simplicity 2223 jacket. I love love love it! For as poorly as the directions are written I still managed to get a great looking addition to my wardrobe. I believe I will definitely make one of the other versions as well.

Look what I got

2011-06-29T18:07:00.001-04:00

I arrived home from work this afternoon to find this lovely box sitting on my porch! Don't be fooled by the Palmer bunny, it's not chocolate. It is my mystery box from Fabric Mart!!!! Even Sebastian, my cat, was excited about the box. I have to tell you the mystery box did not disappoint!

First the mystery bag with all the random notions.
This bag include:

1-10" black zipper
1-7" white zipper
1-36" red invisible zipper
1-30" white with gold teeth separating zipper
1-30" black separating zipper
1-30" dark green separating zipper
1 spool of lilac purple serger thread
2 black clips (not sure what they are for though)
8.5 yds - 7/8" wide light blue elastic
5- thin white elastic tank top/bra straps (wish I would have gotten 6)
6 yds - 7/8" wide red elastic
5 yds - 7/8" wide black grosgrain ribbon
7 yds - 7/8" wide light purple elastic
5.5yds - 1/2" wide white elastic
4 yds - 1.5" wide white elastic
5.25yds - 1/4" wide black elastic
9.25 yds - 1/4" wide white satin ribbon
8 yds - 1/8" wide light brown ribbon
3 - 2yd cuts of 2.5" wide black sheer wired ribbon
3.33 yds - 6.5" wide black lace

For $8.00 a bag I feel I made out like a bandit!

The lace is fantastic! I have been looking at all sorts of laces over the last few months because I really want to make something with lace accents. This lace has some teal and purple in it as well. Unfortunately, you cannot really see it that well in this picture. I know I will be using quite a bit of all the elastic as well between costumes and pj pants for Christmas.

The mystery fabric bundle wasn't too bad either! I got a total of 5 cuts of fabric. I did burn tests on all of them too. Sadly the following pictures have some funky coloring to them. The picture of all of them together is the truest colors.

I got 1.75yds of this dark gray almost navy fabric. It is synthetic of some variety. It is satin-y on the wrong side and matte on the right side. I think. After looking at this again I could be completely wrong. I think either way I go will be good. It must have been near leather because there is a strong leather smell to it. It is most definitely not leather though.

This is a 1.75 yd cut of pink and white cotton gingham. The checks are pretty small so they don't show up really well in the picture.

I got 3 yds of the bright lime green linen. If I am not mistaken this is the same linen (picture on right) I added to my Fabric Mart wishlist. It is Jones NY linen! I am super excited about this piece. When I first put it in my wishlist I wanted to use it for a jacket and 3 yds will be work wonderfully for that.

Despite the bright orange of this picture this it is actually a dark burnt orange. This is the oddest fabric of the bunch. It is 2 yds and some sort of synthetic fiber. The right side of the fabric looks and feels like a felted wool while the wrong side has a smooth twill look. It is very thick too. I don't think that I will use this for any sort of fashionable garment. I am certain it will be a costume of some variety.

This last one may actually be my favorite of the bunch. It is 2 yds of black and white floral print. It is a heavy weight woven stretch cotton. I think this may become a jacket of some variety as well.

Now, I really want to order another mystery bundle. This could become a problem. I think I may need Eric to block access to the Fabric Mart website from me.

Simplicity 2223

2011-06-28T19:55:00.001-04:00

Pattern Description:
Misses jacket in two lengths with trim variations.
Pattern Sizing:
6-24, I made a 14.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
No! Just like the other reviews say, the instructions jump around. Now, no one else has reviewed the view I made though. But the instructions had me start with the top of the jacket then sew the pockets on to the bottom section, then go back and sew the tabs on the top of the jacket and finish the center fronts and neck of the top only. Then I went back to sewing the bottom front pieces to the bottom back and attaching it to the top. I was not a fan. I chose to ignore the finishing of the center front seams until everything was sewn together and I did a narrow hem all around instead of seam binding on top and a narrow hem on bottom. My way worked just fine. The instructions for doing the tabs on the sleeves also didn't make any sense to me. As a result my sleeves do not have the cuffs. I read the instructions at least 4 times for this part going step by step through sewing on those tabs and it did not work the way the pictures and instructions are laid out.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I hate the instructions. Other than that the pattern is great! I love the design.
Fabric Used:
1.5 yds Olive green cotton twill
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I do not have the cuffs on my sleeves. After reading the other reviews I decided to add 2" in length to the top pieces. I am glad I did otherwise it would have put that seam on my bust. I do think that I could probably have gotten away with only adding 1" though.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I do want to make some of the other views. I really like the over design of the jacket.
Conclusion:
I wore this to work today and received a lot of compliments. I even had one co-worker ask if it was DKNY!!! They were quite surprised when I told them I made it. Overall this jacket cost me $5.50, which was for the gold buttons. The fabric was given to me by a friend and has been in my stash for about a year now.

I hope to have some pictures of the McCall's tops I made tomorrow.

Fashion Friday

2011-06-24T11:05:00.053-04:00

To get back in the habit of posting regularly I am going to revive a weekly feature called Fashion Friday. For this I will be featuring some fantastic outfit or designer look I have stumbled upon throughout my week. I will also post ideas on how to go about getting the vibe and essence of that look by sewing it yourself. Now this is not to say that I will be sewing these garments anytime soon, but hopefully I can inspire someone else who maybe in a sewing rut like I have. I should have started this months ago when my own sewing rut started. I mean come on, I have sewn more garments for my husband this year than myself! Anyways...

Just in time for summer a cool relaxed casual look. Cameron Diaz is wearing an Equipment romper with an Elizabeth & James blazer. I am not a person who can pull off a romper but to get this look here is what I would do. The new McCall's 6403 shorts with the cuff.

I would use the sleeveless version of McCall's 6122 without the sash. I tend to get warm pretty easily so I would choose the sleeveless version since the blazer would be worn over top of it.

For the blazer I would use McCall's 6087, which is funny because looking at the pattern envelope and the way they styled it I hate it! But if you use version B (yellow jacket) and put shoulder pads that are not as thick I think it could work really well for this Cameron look. You could even put tabs on the sleeves of the long sleeved version to help keep them scrunched up to add your own personal flair to it. Definitely pick a lightweight fabric for the jacket.

There you have it, Cameron's look! All you need to do now is get the red belt, nude sandals and multi-strain necklace.

Giving in

2011-06-23T23:42:00.001-04:00

I caved and gave in to temptation this evening. I keep reading about bloggers' who have bought the mystery bundle from Fabric Mart. I have wanted to do that for sometime now but just could not bring myself to do it. Well, after reading Sharon's post about her fabric burn test of the silk fabric she got from one of these mystery boxes I just could not take it any longer! I HAD to have one. It was a very dyer situation my friends. I didn't see it listed on the site anymore, maybe I am just missing where they moved it to, but thankfully it was in my wishlist still. I so am glad I got the fabric bundle that I am still kinda on a shopping high.

Not only did I get the magical mystery fabric bundle but I also got the mystery box that is filled with thread, trims, buttons and all sorts of fun tidbits. I cannot wait for these to arrive! I will make sure to take plenty of pictures and post about all my new goodies. I have not been doing so good with the not buying fabric thing. I am never very good at that. My goal to use 50% of my stash just keeps getting bigger and bigger while I am doing much less sewing this year. Maybe these bundles will inspire me to sew more.

On a side note, I have finished the McCall's 6120 top and am a good way through the Simplicity 2223 jacket. Sorry no pics just yet of the top. I will have to way for Eric to get back from his work trip this weekend. By then I should have the jacket finished so I can get pics of both and put up the reviews. I hope to have the Simplicity 3850 shorts done by Monday.

New McCall's are out today

2011-06-22T17:31:00.000-04:00

As most sewers know the new early fall McCall's patterns were released today. Surprisingly there were only a couple of patterns for myself that I liked. McCall's patterns will be on sale for $.99 each at Jo-Ann's for their 4th of July sale plus you get a 10% off your total purchase coupon. I am going to be picking these up and a few others that have been on my want list.

The first is 6403. I love the shorts on this patterns! I think they would be great for early fall paired with some coordinating tights and boots. I also like the straight leg pants.

I also love the cardigan jackets in 6408. They look so comfy and warm. My office tends to be cold year round and I hate wearing a fleece jacket over everything. It doesn't look professional and it doesn't go with everything I wear. One of my goals right now is to make myself some more jacket type cover ups so I have a selection to choose from. This pattern will help me achieve that.

Now I do not have any children nor do I know anyone with little girls that this would work for but I think it is absolutely adorable. This one is 6391. I especially think that little girl with the glasses is adorable. If I had little girls right now I would make this in a heartbeat for them. I am contemplating picking this pattern up anyways. I think both the shorts and skirts seem like they could be pieces I make for future children.

I am on the fence about 6397. While I love the mixing of fabrics and the shape, I am just not sure I love the exposed zipper. I know that they are all sorts of trendy right now. In fact so trendy that this afternoon I read a post by Lindsay T about how to make one. I am just not sure if this trend is for me. I think that means it's time to do some sneaky shopping to figure it out.

What are your favorites or must-haves?

Shopping A.D.D.

2011-06-21T21:44:00.000-04:00

I went in for this...

Just a few tidbits. Black buttons to sew on Eric's shirt, gold dome buttons to sew on the Simplicity jacket I just cut and jingle bells for my nephew. It should have cost me no more than $10.00 right?

Well what I came out with in addition to those tidbits was this...

1.25 yards of plaid suiting fabric

.806 yard remnant navy w/ white pinstripe cotton/poly satin

.861 yard remnant brown & cream polka dot poly/spandex knit

.75 yard remnant orange & cream paisley cotton print

.917 yard remnant black & white poly baby silk floral.

Their remnants are on sale for 50% off the remnant price. I figured the remnants I can make a couple of shirts out of the black & white floral and the brown & cream polka dot. I may use the pinstripe for a vest back for Eric. The orange & cream paisley I am undecided on. Right now I do not have enough to make a top even though that's what I want. I was also thinking about using it for the pockets and facings on the Simplicity shorts I just got cut out. I think that could be fun. The plaid I am going to use for a new skirt for fall. Just not sure which one yet.

Better late than never

2011-06-20T13:08:00.004-04:00

I am a terrible FNSI participant! I posted on Friday night to remind everyone to sign up and participate. Now I did do both of those things. However, I never posted my results! **Hangs head in shame.**

Well, I guess better late than never. So, on Friday I finished my Santa Sack. Sorry no pics just yet of the completed bag, but here is a sneak peek! I must say I really like it and think that I may make a few more for my Etsy shop.

I also worked on Eric's new dress shirt. I didn't quite finish it though. Today, I have to do the buttonholes and sew on the buttons. Please don't mind all the wrinkles, I have yet to press it. I do also want to let everyone know that the Pro-Woven interfacing is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Granted it did not fuse very well but I attribute that to the fact that when I washed the fabric prior to ordering the interfacing I used fabric softener and the interfacing instructions said to not do that. Unfortunately, all my fabrics for his dress shirts have been prewashed with fabric softener. :( It doesn't look bad, it just took a bit more elbow grease to get them to fuse than I would have preferred.

This shirt should look really nice on him though. It is his first purple shirt, but it will certainly not be the last one. We went out to J.C. Penney's to get him a tie and he saw another purple shirt that he really liked. It was a bright purple with a lot pink in it! Now, I am on a search to find a shirting fabric in a similar color.

It is pretty gloomy here today, so I plan on spending the day in my pj's cutting out and prepping all the pieces I need this week after I finish the dress shirt. I may even try to get the purple knit top for myself done tonight. It should go pretty quick if I serge it all together.

Sorry about the poor color of the picture. I just could not get a good pic that showed the true colors earlier. I am going to blame it on the rain and clouds. Under the McCall's pattern is an eggplant purple knit and under the Simplicity patterns is an olive green cotton twill. Oddly enough, when I was pulling patterns and fabrics for the week I wasn't trying to match them or anything but the purple and green combination look fantastic together. I won't be wearing the green jacket and shorts together but either piece with the purple top should look pretty darn good! Hopefully I will have some results to post tomorrow for these pieces. Back to my crafting cave!

But before I do how about one last parting shot or my sewing buddy, Amadeus! He makes sewing a challenge because he nuzzles his head against my hands while sewing! But he is so stinkin' adorable!

It's Friday Night!!

2011-06-17T17:53:00.001-04:00

So, tonight is the monthly Friday Night Sew In. It is being hosted by Craft Vegas Mom this month! If you haven't signed up yet there is still time to join in the fun. Just follow the link and off we go!

I have a few projects I want to work on tonight. First being my super secret Santa sack. I unfortunately, will not be posting any pictures of it until after my swap partner, Vicki, receives it. I will also be posting a how-to for my design once she receives it. Stay tuned for that in July. It should take me about an hour to finish up what I have left to sew on that sack tonight though.

The next project is to finish Eric's new dress shirt. I started it on Monday and haven't touched it since. He's going out of town for work next week and I want to have it finished so he can take it with him. It is a dark purple cotton sateen. It should look really nice on him. I am using the same pattern as before, Simplicity 7030. I forgot to cut the sleeves with the additional 1/2" for a better fit so I am just going to change my seam allowances for the cuffs to make up for it.

I also have a few other things I want to get cut out for next week. Since Eric will be out of town I will be free to spend all my nights with my trusty sewing machine. I want to make myself a jacket from Simplicity 2223 view C, shorts from OOP Simplicity 3850, and a shirt from McCall's 6120.

I better get going if I want to accomplish all this tonight. Keep the caffeine coming!

Men's Steampunk

2011-06-11T01:07:00.000-04:00

I have an actual plan for Eric's steampunk costume. It is definitely going to be sky pirate. Which is why I have that in the running for mine. Years ago he asked if I could make him a vest for the ren faire like the one Balthier wears in Final Fantasy XII. I said sure, but being the period costume snob that I am I knew it wasn't right for the renaissance. Then the Old West Festival came along complete with a steampunk weekend. Above is the concept drawings of Balthier. It was the only pic I could find that showed the back of the vest, which in my opinion is the coolest part. Below is a still from the game. I think it shows better detail of the front.

Eric's vest is not going to be exactly like this but for the most part the cut will be the same. I am not sure what he wants to do just yet about colors and fabric choices.

In keeping with the sky pirate theme any sci-fi fan or Joss Whedon fan will instantly think of Captain Malcom Reynolds from the short lived series Firefly. We are going to do his pants from the picture below and the gun holster. I don't think I will be making the holster but I am going to scour Etsy and Artfire looking for one.

On a side note, if you have no idea what show Firefly is, you should definitely check it out and immediately watch the movie Serenity afterwords!

My Steampunk

2011-06-10T01:12:00.000-04:00

I have had a serious lack of sewing in relation to the The Great Costuming Project. The festival season is fast approaching and I need to get a move on it! As soon as I finish a few smaller projects I have going I am going to start shopping my stash for my next costuming adventure, which according to the title of this post is Steampunk. I have a lot of ideas for what I want for this costume so I am going to start narrowing them down.

One of the first and my current favorite is Courtney's corset from SYTYCD. This is one of my favorite songs and my most favorite routine from the entire show. The corset is freaking H-O-T! I think I would even rock the one ripped fishnet stocking too!

I also really like the look of a black and white stripped corset like this one.

Either way I decide on the top, I think I want a short skirt with bustle and long train, similar to the one above. I would make the skirt longer than this one since I am not that skinny.

Then there's this outfit. I love everything about it. I love the brown and champagne colors with brushed gold hardware. This kinda outfit makes me think I could be a sky pirate with gun and all. That makes me also want a set of goggles.

I am in love with both versions of this Simplicity pattern. Unfortunately, as Steampunk is still pretty new in the Big 4 pattern world I think most first timer costumers will be making this and I do not like to look like anyone else!

What do you guys think? What are your favorite things about Steampunk?

Tomorrow I will try to post some of the ideas I have for Eric's Steampunk costume. Stay tuned!

It's been awhile

2011-06-07T23:39:00.001-04:00

I have not been blogging the last few weeks and it is not because I don't have anything to share. In fact there are quite a few projects I am working on right now but I can't share them. Awhile back I mentioned that I am participating in a Santa Sack Swap through Cheryll at Gone Stitchin'. For this swap I have to make/buy 2 gifts a month starting in July for my swap partner and in return she does the same for me so that by Christmas we will each have a nice pile of presents. For July in addition to the 2 gifts I also need to make a Santa Sack to put all the gifts in. Above is just an example of a Santa Sack for those who have never heard of them. I love the idea of them and will be making plenty more in the future.

Well, I have been hard at work on designing what type of sack I was going to make. Yesterday, I was about a quarter of the way done with it and decided it was turning out so much better than I anticipated that I was going to turn it into a different gift for her. Needless to say I am now starting all over on designing a sack and I have to have it and the gifts mailed out by July 1st. Eeks,,,that date is going to sneak up on me faster than I would like.

I have a new dress shirt for Eric that has been cut out and ready to be stitched up. I received the interfacing for it about a week and a half ago. The last dress shirt I made him I used some left over featherweight interfacing. After washing the shirt, the interfacing did not hold up well. I put a message out on PR for help with where to get the best interfacing to get that crisp RTW look. And boy did it work. I bought a yard of Pro-woven Super Crisp Fusible Shirt Interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply. So far it is light years away from what I used before. I will let you know more about it once I get the shirt completed and washed a time or two.

Friday Night Sew-In 5/20

2011-05-21T15:53:00.003-04:00

I almost completely forgot about the sew in last night! I didn't manage to do much last night but what I did do was make a new pair of PJ pants for my husband. They are made with a 3 yards of a woven cotton with a Batman print on them. I made him a pair of Superman ones several months ago and I don't think I ever posted about them either because I know I don't have a picture of them. :(
I used my TNT pj pattern Butterick 5153 for both. The only other thing I worked on last night was the double ring wedding quilt. I am getting very close to having the major parts quilted. Once I do that I am going to go back through and quilt the purple diamonds and sew on the binding. I am still debating if I want to go back through and quilt a design in each of the large yellow centers though. It will take me so much longer if I decide to do it, but I think it will make it look much nicer. We'll see.

On another note I made my husband a vest using Simplicity's Project Runway 2870 a couple of weeks ago. He was out of town for work all week so I could not get any pictures of it until yesterday when he got home.

Materials used:
1 yard of black suiting fabric
2 yards of black lining
10 black 5/8" buttons
1 yard black fusible interfacing

In the end I opted not to put any pockets on this version. I originally was going to do welt pockets. Even after reading the PR review's that talked about the wonky instructions for them I still decided to go with them. The original left side piece got discarded after I became so frustrated I had to walk away for several hours. I really should have made a sample welt pocket first. I had plenty of this fabric left over so I just cut a new piece and moved on. The only changes I had to make to the pattern were lengthening it by 2" for his longer torso, which then meant I had to redo the button placement. I think it originally called for 6 buttons in the front and I ended up putting 8. He really likes it though! I am definitely going to make this again for him real soon.

There has been a real lack of sewing for myself as of late. I don't know why. There are plenty of things I want to make myself but I have been putting so many other projects ahead of that. Last week I made 2 new strands of patriotic felt garland for my Etsy shop. And before that I made a new pair of pj pants and pj top for a friend.

Keep Calm and Sew On

2011-05-19T20:51:00.002-04:00

I have a new favorite Etsy shop! It is called Keep Calm Shop! I just bought the print above in a different color! I framed it and hung it above my machines! I love love love it! Everyone should go check them out and get a print!

**Please note that I am not getting paid or anything like that for this endorsement. I am doing it because I bought and received a great product and want to share it!

Cool How-to

2011-05-09T15:06:00.001-04:00

My CraftStylish email came with this super cool tutorial on how to turn old bed sheets into reusable shopping totes! Now I just need to find some super cool old sheets to do this with!

New Item in Mae's Garden

2011-04-27T21:24:00.003-04:00

I just listed a new item in my Etsy shop. It is for some felt garland like I had posted about making quite a while ago. This garland is 6 yards long and has hand cut circles ranging from 1" all the way up to 2.25". For 6 yards it is $14.00. Check it out and while your their check out some of the other items available!

I also added a like button for the Facebook page of Mae's Garden to my sidebar. Check it out too!

My Vlog Meme

2011-04-26T13:52:00.004-04:00

Steph at 3 Hours Past the Edge of the World participated in this really cool project that examines different accents and dialects. I wanted to share my own with everyone as well. I find it interesting to see the variations in how we all speak the same language. It is no wonder that English is one of the hardest languages to learn. I am originally from Northern Indiana.This will probably be the only time I ever post a video of myself. I hate watching myself back. Personally I think I sound silly! Please pardon the poor video quality. I do not have any sort of video editing software.

The words I read:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And answer these questions:
What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

I had a lot of fun doing this and a lot of fun watching the other videos. I am interested to see yours.

I think that there should be some extra words as well. Along with New Orleans should be Louisville. Even here in Indiana there are several different pronunciations of this city. My husband and I both say supposedly differently as well.

What to do

2011-04-25T21:29:00.004-04:00

I have a few things on my project list that I want to make this week.

1. My trench coat muslin. I have had it cut out for 2 weeks now but have not had a chance to sew it up yet.

2. Eric's vest. I just cut the paper pattern today so I will make this muslin tomorrow. I am using Simplicity 2870. I am going to to the version with the lapel with the v-cut. I am going to be using a black woven suiting cotton. I used the same fabric for my LBD, suit jacket and tulip skirt. I still have 3 yards left, so I figure I can get this vest for Eric and maybe another skirt for myself out of it.

3. Does anyone remember the Bitten line by SJP? Well, I do and I miss it dearly! It was launched at Steve and Berry's shortly before they filed bankruptcy and closed their stores. Anyways, I loved the jeans in her line. They were by far some of the best fitting jeans I own. After losing 30lbs last year I found two pairs, one worn and one NWT. I was so ecstatic the day I found them!! I could not believe it. Now, a year later those jeans have become quite faded and need to be replaced. I tried searching Ebay for some in my size but the cost is almost 3X what they cost in the store. So, I have decided to try my hand a copying the ones I have. I don't want to rip apart one of my pairs so I have been looking for articles on how to make the pattern without doing so. I know there is an article in one of my old issues of Threads that I am still searching for. If anyone knows off the top of their heads which issue that is please let me know. Also, if you have any good tips for how to do this easily let me know.

Giveaway Winner

2011-04-17T21:33:00.003-04:00

Oh my gosh. It is 9:30 and I almost forgot to announce the winner of my first ever giveaway! That would have been awful if I had completely forgotten! I wanted to thank each of you for your comments! I loved reading your answers to the question. A couple of you talked about inheriting fabric, which reminded me that I have done that too!! My BFF once gave me around 10-15 yards of different wools from her Grandmother's stash. They are vintage wools from the 70's and 80's and I have to say they are amazing. The plaid skirt and vest I made came from that haul. I have also made a bolero out of a brown wool but I don't have any pictures or a review for it. I may have to get some soon and put them up.

Anyways, now on to the real reason you are reading this post. The winner of 2 yards of fantastic teal and white brocade and Simplicity 4491 is...

Deborah said...
Hello! I've been reading your blog for awhile now and I just became a follower. Great haul at Joann's! I went to Hancock Fabrics a couple of days ago to buy lining for a dress...just lining...I wasn't going to buy anything else. HA!

They were having a great fabric sale and I added several yards to my stash. Notions were on sale for 40% off so I splurged on tools. I love, love, love that fabric that you are giving away. It's beautiful. Congrats on your 100th post. I hope you keep posting because I enjoy looking at your creations.

Congrats!!! Deborah please email me your address and I will get your prize out to you this week.

Again, thank you to all of my followers. I appreciate you all and love following along on your sewing adventures as well.

Friday Night Sew-In Results

2011-04-16T16:18:00.006-04:00

I started the day by taking a trip to Jo-Ann's to pick up some knit fabric so I can make another version of my TNT knit dress pattern. I decided to make a new one because I have a friend who tried on the red version I made and wanted to wear it for Easter. We decided that it should be a brighter more spring like color for this. So, as you can guess, it was really hard to twist my arm to want a new one. *wink*
While I was waiting for that fabric to go through the wash I got the muslin pieces cut out for my trench coat. I used a total of 3.5 yards of muslin and am using McCall's 5525, view C. I will eventually be made out of a navy twill with a blue and red polka dot lining.

I took a break from those projects to work on the never ending double ring wedding quilt. I only worked on this for a couple of hours while watching Smallville and Supernatural. I still have a long long ways to go on this quilt and as you can tell by the date on it, I have been working on it for 2 years now! This will probably be the last time I ever decide to do this type and size of quilt again.Once the new episodes were over it was back to work on the dress. My TNT pattern is McCall's 5974. I love the pink fabric. It is hard to tell the exact shade of pink from these pictures. It is kinda like a bright raspberry sorbet shade. Once I got all the pieces for the sleeveless dress laid out I realized that there was enough extra that if I rearranged them I could also get a new top out of this as well.
For this top I used Simplicity 2603 view E, which is the sleeveless top. This is also a TNT pattern for me as this is the 3rd time I have made it. Oddly enough, I have never posted pictures of the previous 2 nor did I ever do a PR review on it. I went ahead and finished the top first so I could test out some different knit stitches on my machine. I like the way this turned out. It will be great to wear under sweaters or jackets. Sorry, there are no pictures of it on me. Today is my lazy pajama day since I have absolutely nothing going on today for the first time in months. Eventually I will take a picture of it on me when I make something else it can go with.

My plan is to sew the dress today. Between the dress and the top I used a total of 2.5 yards of fabric. Also, don't forget to leave your comment on my last post for your chance to win the giveaway!!!! Time to get back to sewing!

So, I went to Jo-Ann's today

2011-04-13T15:46:00.006-04:00

This is my haul:

2yds animal dot chiffon (50% off, $5)
1yd black w/ red pinstripe (50% off, $2)
1 yd black w/ blue stripe (50% off, $4.99)
4 cones of serger thread (50% off, $.99 each)
1 11" remnant (50% off, $1.22)
10 McCalls patterns ($.99 each)
4 Vogue patterns ($3.99 each)
2-3 ceramic pot sets (50% off, $4.99 each)

I used my VIP 10% discount for my total purchase as well. All in all I paid $53.95 with tax. My savings are a whooping $254.90!!! I love it when patterns are on sale! I also love when the cashiers go to tell me how much I saved and start by saying "Wow!"

Because, I am in such a good mood now...

Because, this is my 100th post...

And most of all, because I want too...

I am having my very first giveaway!!!!!

Woohoo!!!! Thank you to all of my followers who have been reading my sewing adventures.

I am giving away 2 yards of a woven brocade cotton in teal and white as well as an uncut Simplicity 4491 (Sizes 14-22). The fabric has a paisley pattern woven into it. I purchased this fabric from the now closed Baer Fabrics in Louisville, KY with the intent of making a jacket of some variety. This is a sample piece for Sag Harbor.

To enter and win this lovely fabric and pattern you will need to be a follower of my blog and leave a comment answering the following question.

What is your best sewing related haul?

I will announce the winner on Sunday evening!

Disappointing Top

2011-04-10T21:24:00.007-04:00

This was my project for this past week. I wanted to make a quick and easy top for myself before I start the trench coat. I used OOP Simplicity's Project Runway 3535. I had previously cut this pattern in the size 20 before I dropped 20 lbs. The pattern has quite a generous amount of ease to it already, so it was a mistake not to grade this pattern down to the right size. While sewing it I took in at 2-3 inches on each side seam. It helped slim it down a bit but it would still need a tie or belt to give it more shape.

I wore this to a party this weekend and that will probably be the only time I do wear it. Since I didn't grade it down the neck yoke is quite large which caused the shirt to constantly slip down my shoulder exposing the straps of my tank top underneath. This is currently the only picture I have of the top and it clearly shows my complaint. It's a shame too! It is a really cute top. I love this fabric. It came out of my stash. I may have to give it to someone else.

Materials Used:
2 1/2 yards of polyester chiffon
1/4 yard fusible interfacing

I will try to get a better picture tomorrow and post my review of this top and DH's dress shirt from last week on PR.

On a side note the next Friday Night Sew In has been announced. It is this coming Friday the 15th. Go to Heidi's blog and get the new badge and sign up for it!

This is my husband...

2011-04-01T21:43:00.007-04:00

...from the perspective of a 2 year old. This picture makes him look like a super tall giant. Granted he is 6'3", so he is fairly tall and pretty thin. This makes it extremely difficult to find well fitting dress clothes. This can be quite the problem as he now wears a suit and tie to work everyday thanks to a well deserved promotion. So for this promotion I decided I would finish his much needed dress shirt.

I originally had grand plans for how this post would go. I would start with a post about making the muslin and fitting it to my husbands tall and skinny frame. His biggest fit issue is finding dress shirts with sleeves long enough for him. First I finally finished the muslin for this as it has been a UFO for almost a year now. I used Simplicity7030. But when he put on the muslin it fit perfectly! I was actually a little disappointed by this. I really was looking forward to making fitting adjustments. I really wanted him to be involved in the whole process, not that he already isn't. He did pick out the fabric and the buttons for it.

Materials:
3 yds cotton poplin
1/2 yd heavy fusible interfacing
9 3/8" buttons

I love the way this turned out. At first I had misgivings about the fabric looking to girlie, but once it was cut and partially sewn together they disappeared. I even got the pocket to line up perfectly so that the stripes all matched up. The only real issue I had came when I was opening up the button holes. My seam ripper got stuck so I tried to force it and it went a little to far, about 1/4" past the end of the button hole. Luckily, I was able to get some fray check on it and stitch it up from the facing side. You cannot really tell it was ripped unless you are up close, plus as he wears a tie, it will always be covered up.

He wore the finished version to work today. After all day in it there are a few things I will need to tweak for next time. For some reason the sleeves in the finished version are about a 1/2" to short. After putting his tie on he also realized that the collar was about 1/2" to high. So I will correct for those changes.

I am pretty proud of my first men's dress shirt. It only took me 10 years to finally make something that was not a costume for DH. I wish I hadn't waited so long to do so! We now have grand plans of many more of this shirt with different variations like making it more of a slim fit shirt and doing different color cuffs and collar on the undersides. But first I plan on making an emerald green one and a dark purple one. I am also going to try my hand a making him a tie and a dressy vest since I just picked up patterns from the latest Simplicity sale at Jo-Ann's.

I also finished another UFO, a plus size women's chemise, when I made the muslin of DH's dress shirt. This will eventually go into my Etsy shop The Five Petals. I am still working on getting everything ready for this.

Next up is a trench coat for myself. I am participating in the PR lined jacket contest. I have been wanting to make this jacket for a while now and have all the material, except buttons, to do so.

How To Knit a Hat

2011-03-03T22:36:00.001-05:00

This is probably going to be my next knitting project now that I have the fingerless gloves mastered!

Dressing Annie

2011-02-28T19:56:00.006-05:00

First, let me tell you how much I love love love Anne Hathaway! She has and amazing sense of herself and her style! She actually wore most of my favorite dresses from the night! This may also be because Rachel Zoe styled her. I love that she wore classic red Valentino and brought him with her to walk the carpet! She can pull of red like nobodies business!

The first change is a stunning Givenchy Haute Couture. LOVE!

The next quick change was into a tuxedo with cigarette pants by Lanvin. The Brian Atwood shoes were my favorite. She still manages to make this look amazing. James Franco...not so much.
This is Atelier Versace. Love it! Very seductive!

She is wearing Vivienne Westwood, whom I adore! Sadly she looks super sickly gray in this pic, but I think that is because it's a bad pic. She didn't look like that last night!

Oscar De La Renta! Gold beaded fringe! Enough said!

Armani Prive Spring 2011 collection. Admittedly my least favorite. It looks almost like super thick vinyl.
To close the show she wore Tom Ford! Super Sexy!

Some of my other Red Carpet favorites:

Mila Kunis wore lavender lace Elie Saab Haute Couture. She looks super feminine, sexy and bad ass all at once!
Hailee Steinfeld wore a pink princess Marchesa dress. It is totally age appropriate!

Stuck

2011-02-26T15:37:00.004-05:00

I think the picture above pretty much sums everything up right now. Sadly, I have been so uninspired this year! I started the year with grand hopes of the things I wanted to sew and create, but so far nothing! My new issues of Threads and Vogue came this week and nothing! Even with Vogue toting it's 574 pages of showstopping spring fashion. Not even this past Fashion Week made me want to jump out of my seat and lock my self in my sewing room. I am blaming it all on this winter weather that keeps coming back around. Or it could possibly be that I put myself on a self-imposed fabric buying ban until May! The only thing, and I do mean only, that has even sparked the tiniest bit of creativity in me a simple camel colored trench coat. Which I can't even make because of my fabric buying ban. :( I know there are things I need to make but I haven't really felt like it. It seems kinda like a chore at the moment.

I haven't stopped sewing completely. I did participate in both the FNSI's for January and February, which helped me to complete some lingering UFO's. I have been tinkering around in the sewing room a little. Mostly sewing some new things to put in my Etsy shop. Which, by the way, I never blogged about. What's that all about? But I did start A shop not The shop that I originally intended to. That one still remains pitifully empty. Right now, my shop only has a handful of my hand-knit scarves. I have a few pairs of hand-knit fingerless gloves that need to go in there as well as some of the felt play food sets that I made this past Christmas and some heat therapy rice bags. I encourage and welcome everyone to check out my shop Mae's Garden.

So, here is my question. What do you do when you get stuck in a creative rut? I need some help here!

Sew-In Results

2011-02-20T10:09:00.003-05:00

I didn't get much sewing done this past Friday because I got quite a late start. I did manage to take care of a couple of UFO's though. First, is the Simplicity 3690 D Vest. I used the same plaid fabric as the last skirt I made.
This is the back view. I promise that it is not wonky at the bottom like this picture makes it out to be. That's just the front curves peeking out. I will get a full review on PR here shortly.

I also managed to finally get the buttons sewn onto Eric's pirate shirt. There were only 4 to sew but it has been on my UFO list for about 6 months now. How sad is that?!?
I also finished my knitting project for the week. Fingerless gloves! I don't know how much sewing it counts for but it did require me to sew up the sides. I have already started making a blue pair. They are great to wear to keep my hands warm but still allowing me to do things like knit and sew and type and pretty much anything else.

Friday Night Sew-In

2011-02-09T22:29:00.004-05:00

The next FNSI is going to be Feb.18th. I am already signed up and waiting to go. I have a few UFO's lined up for this. I haven't been doing any sewing the last 2 weeks so I want to finish the Simplicity 3690 vest I started last time. I also want to sew up the muslin for Eric's dress shirt and get the actual fabric cut and continue chugging away on the never ending quilt. I also need to sew up some rice bags and felt food to put in my Etsy shop. We will see which of these projects I get done.

Make sure you go sign up.

How to Knit Fingerless Gloves

2011-02-07T18:40:00.001-05:00

I love this tutorial for how to knit fingerless gloves. I haven't tried it yet, but the video makes it seem so very easy. I am going to have to try this.

Kate Middleton

2011-01-26T23:23:00.004-05:00

Just in case you have been living under a rock for the last few months you should know by now that Kate Middleton is going to be marrying Prince William. I like many, if not most, of the girls my age cried out in sadness that it was not us. However, that does not make me dislike Miss Middleton. She kinda has fantastic style! Their upcoming wedding is on April 29th, a Friday. My cohorts are having a "tea" party so we may all watch said nuptials. This can only mean one thing when we get together...I must have the most fantastical ensemble ever, including an amazing hat! In prepping for this occasion I have been doing a little bit of research on Kate's style.

Hats...hats...hats!! I must have something that would be worn to the Kentucky Derby. I have wanted a derby hat for years now but really had no justifiable reason for creating one until now! I envision something big with feathers. The tan one to the right is probably my favorite!

These two above are also up there. Same for the black one below. It feels very Jackie-O, and you can't go wrong with that.

The thing I love about her style is that she looks so freaking chic! Look at that white coat! If I could pull off wearing a white coat without spilling anything on it I would make myself one in a heartbeat. But I am sure to spill something like red spaghetti sauce or chocolate all over it the first time I try!

I think I am going to try to do a sheath dress with some great detailing. Right now my front runner is McCall's 5972 in a incandescent lilac purple and blue shantung with lilac purple chiffon ruffles. I also thought about doing a retro dress with lots of volume because it is a royal wedding so bigger is better. In the end I think the sheath dress is the way to go as it seems to fit Kate's style better.

Friday Night Sew-In

2011-01-22T14:49:00.005-05:00

For last night's sew-in I think I got quite a bit done. I only sewed for a few hours but in that time I completed 1 UFO and started another. I cut out all the pieces for both of these garments out in August or September and was sidetracked by making costumes and Christmas PJ's. I was over joyed, to say the least, that I finally got to work on them. I used 2 yards of a black and white plaid wool That has strands of jewel tone blue, purple, yellow and green. From a distance it looks almost solid gray but in the pictures below some how it came out looking brown and tan. The fabric didn't photo very well. First is my new skirt. I used Butterick 4613 in view E. I love the ruffle detail around the bottom. I am going to put a full review of the skirt on PR here shortly, but for now here are a few details. I used just over a yard for the skirt. I also added a lining to it. This is the second time I have used this pattern and I added a lining the first time as well. Most skirts and dresses I make now I add one if it does not call for one to begin with. Linings just add that finishing touch that makes it feel more professional and RTW.

If you do not already have the B4613 pattern, get it now. It is OOP, but still on the McCall's site. There are 6 different variations of the skirt that make it a very versatile pattern. It is definitely a TNT for me.

The second piece that I worked on is Simplicity 3690 D. It is a simple vest that will have one button on the front. For the vest I used about a yard of the fabric and the same for the lining. I got the front side seams, center back and shoulder seams sewn on both the outer shell and the lining. I am going to try to get the lining and shell sewn together sometime this weekend. I also want to add some sort of embellishment to one of the shoulders to bring out the subtle colors in the fabric. I wish I could get a better picture of the up close detail so you all can see the colors. I cannot decide it I want to do something with grosgrain ribbon and make a bow or make some yo-yo's to put on it. Right now I am leaning towards the yo-yo's as a broach so they can be removed. We'll see once I get is all done.

S3690 is also a must have pattern! I have made 2 pairs of the shorts from it and the shirt. Although the shirt was technically from a S3786, it is still exactly the same.

Happy Birthday

2011-01-21T22:28:00.005-05:00

Today is my birthday. I am celebrating my 2nd 27th birthday. Twenty-seven was good the first time around and I figured it would be just as good again so that is where I am stopping. I am celebrating by spending my evening participating in the Friday Night Sew-In. Tune in tomorrow to see what skirt I have been working on.

Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

2011-01-17T18:04:00.002-05:00

Take a minute or two out of your busy day to think about what he has done for our Nation!