I'm Back

It has been WAY to long since the last time that I posted anything. I am ready to get back in the sewing spirit and there is no better time then the holidays! I am trying to think of some great family gifts and friend gifts. I also would love to make my husband something for Christmas. I made him a levi quilt for his birthday a few years ago and would love to make him something as equally awesome. Any ideas? Plus, now is the perfect time to make myself some holiday clothes. No, I am not talking about sweaters with snowmen on them. I am talking about a beautiful dress, a skirt, a nice blouse. I want something I can wear to a party and look hot in.

I recently got a new black velvet clutch that is gorgeous. I would love something to wear with it, but I don't have anything. I am on the prowl for a long sleeved or three quarter sleeve black party dress. I might try another color. I would love a sweetheart neck as well. Please send me any pattern ideas! I WILL post all of my holiday ideas and creations.

I'm back...

I just wanted to say to the 303 people who have viewed my blog that I apologize for slaking off. My husband and I just finished up to weddings this last week and I also had two large family group pictures to process and edit. I had to force myself to put all of my sewing stuff away so that I could stay focused on what brings in the bacon. Now, I can get back to the fun part of summer and start another sewing project. I will also finally get around to posting some pictures of the swimming suits that I made. Stay tuned....

I recently became an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics and hope to go to Seminar next year (the big awards and training extravaganza that they have). Well, anyway, it is a formal occasion and I want to make my own dress. I need something with sleeves, not full length or anything, but still elegant and beautiful. I just don't want to go looking like a teenager at the prom. I wan to look like an adult. If anyone out there has a pattern that they think would work well for a size 8-10 frame that sounds like what I am looking for, please let me know. I really like vintage but wouldn't mind something modern.

Happy sewing!

Vacation

My family and I just got back from vacation in Windsor, California.  It was wonderful!  My husband and I are also photographers and had a great time at the Redwoods and the coast.  www.legacyddp.com  

As some of you know I was trying to make a swimming suit for this vacation.  I ended up making two.  The first one was a one piece which turned out to be much too low cut for my large chest.  So, instead of trying to resurrect it I made a whole new suit.  I started about nine o'clock the night before we left and was almost finished when I went to bed at 3:30 in the morning.  The second suit was a two piece.  The pattern was made for a one piece but I didn't want to make the same mistake I had made with the first one, so I made the top extra long and the bottoms extra high.  The result was a normal two piece suit.  I learned something about swimsuit lining while I was making this suit.  You have to cut the lining so that it stretches the most from side to side.  I followed the patter and cut it on the selvedge and the suit had no give.  It took all my strength to pull the dang thing over my butt.  I ended up having to recut all of the lining.  It was a good thing that I had purchased so much extra.  I don't think I would have found a fabric store open at one in the morning when I realized my mistake.  I will have to get some pictures of the both suits up, but for now I am just trying to get back in the swing of things after a wonderful vacation. 

Shirt #2

I found a picture of a really cute shirt while I was looking for some patterns.  It looked simple enough.  Well, it would have been simple enough if I hadn't of been so optimistic about my size.  I made it much smaller than I wanted, so I altered the pattern by cutting open the front and adding the blue piece of fabric.  I bunched it so it wouldn't look out of place added to the shirt.  I also added this waist band to make it a little longer.  Overall, I like the way the shirt fits because it hides all the right places.  :)

Getting closer...

My mom came over yesterday and helped me cut out some shirts for Emma.  We used a pattern that my mom found at a thrift store.  The striped fabric and the denim for the pants were also from a thrift store.  I am not a huge fan of the striped one, or the whole capped sleeve, but I really love the pink and white one.  I added the big piece on the bottom with some of the fabric that I had left over from my pink shirt.  I really love the neck as well.  It is a good thing that my mom able to show me how to do it!

                                                                            

My mom cut these cute little pants out by altering another thrift store pattern to make pants into bell bottom capri pants.  I added the buttons and the sailor flap to add to the cuteness of them and my mom added the pockets on the back.  I put a decorative stitch across the top of the pockets to add a little something extra.

 

However, when I had Emma try them on after I finished, I realized that my mom had pinned the pockets onto the front of the pants on accident.  This makes the cute little sailor front look really funny all bunched in front.  I am not sure if I am going to fix it or just ditch the sailor flap to make it easier.  

All in all, I learned that it is easier to make kids clothes because 1) they don't care what they look like when you are done, 2) if you screw up, it is less fabric wasted, 3) you can make some dang cute kid clothes out of old scraps of fabric.

Bias

I learned a new sewing term today this is kinda important to know.  Cutting it on the bias is when you cut it so that it is stretchy, with the grain I think.  It is hard to explain, but I was sure happy that it clicked.  I also watched a tutorial on putting the neck binding on knit and making it look good.  Sewing is making more sense every day.

One Down!

I finally finished one of the projects that I started last week.  I made a pink shirt out of stretchy cotton.  The shirt fits but I am not sure how I feel about it yet.  To put it another way, I don't think I will be telling anyone I made it.  I used white thread because I wanted a contrast on the neck line.  Unfortunately, I don't know how to stitch a straight line.  So, now the white thread I thought would add a nice dimension to the shirt only makes it was made by a monkey trained to use a sewing machine.  

Like with the swimming suit, I made this shirt a size 18 (just a note for other novice sewers like myself: the sizes on the packages are not correct.  They say to measure yourself around the bust and waist, but according to those sizes I am a size nineteen.  I was only being optimistic when I made the size 18.  If I had only known to go by the size I would normally by in the store, a 10, I would have saved myself a lot of headache.  Instead, I had to size it down and it is still a little big.).  I also modified the bottom band because I was tired of sewing and didn't want to modify the bottom band that was several sizes to big.  The sleeves did not turn out how I thought they should have either.  I was expecting them to have a little more gather to them, which they should have since I made the body of the shirt so much smaller, but they didn't.  

This shirt taught me some valuable lessons even though I am not thrilled with the outcome.  First, don't go by the size diagram on the pattern package.  Second, I really suck at reading even the simplest patterns.  Third, I should use print jersey cotton for shirts because it will be easier to hide my mistakes.  Forth, don't use a contrast thread when I don't know what the crap I am doing.  All good lessons to learn before finishing my swimming suit.