Cheesecake...yumm...

I made an awsome cheesecake for Thanksgiving. A coworker of mine wanted teh recipie, so i'm putting it here.

Carmel nut cheese cake.

Crust:
2 cups grahm cracker crumbs.
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup crushed peanuts
1 stick of butter, melted (8 tablespoons)

Mix ingredents together and press into a FOIL LINED 13 x 9 baking pan.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350.

Filling and topping:

4 8 ounce bars of cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
4 eggs

1 jar carmel ice cream topping.
1/2 c nuts


Mix cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until well blended.

Add sour cream. Mix until well blended.

Add eggs, one at a time, just until blended.

Pour into pan, bake for about 35 minutes at 350.

A cooked cheesecake should still jiggle in the center when its done. I had to bake mine for 40 minutes.

Let cool completely, then put in the refigerator for 4 hours.

Once set, pour carmel topping on cake, add nuts. Although, you could top with anything you like -- next time i'm going to use strawberrys. I still recomend the nuts in the crust though, it gave it a good flavor.

Cuz they're cute...

..and they're mine!

Back to work. :(

I have to go back to work tomorrow. What a bummer. I guess I was in denial that this day would ever come.

The good news is that I bet going back to work will help me loose the 15 or so pounds I have left to loose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. That and a paycheck are the only two positives I can think of.

On a positive note, DH and I talked about it, and when we get X amount of debt paid off, I can quit and he won't give me a hard time about it. I'm sure I can get the debt paid off in less than ten months. So, wish me luck, as I am in such a hurry to be unemployed! Wee! lol

I sewed something!

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but I finally sewed something! Go me! I made two buntings for Suzanna.



This is a Simplicity pattern that I had to pay more then the usual .99 for because my kid grew so fast that she outgrew the first pattern I cut before I had a chance to sew it! I need to stop feeding that kid...

I only have a pic of one of the buntings, but trust me, there are two of them. lol

I still have a few other kids projects to do, and then hopefully I can I can make something for me. But seeing as how I go back to work next week, something for me isn't likely to get done. :(

Still nothig new to add...

Still no sewing. I have a pattern cut for me, but I just can't find the time to sew anything. Not that it matters, as I have lost a whole 4 ounces since the last doctors appointment (which was 3 weeks ago), and I can still wear my maternity clothes with wild abandon! Weee!

So, i'll post pictures of the Little Miss instead! YAY!










Here is a picture of Rachael and Suzanna.











And now a picture of my husbands birthday cake. It was funny, because a neighbor brought a ton of cupcakes over, and I felt bad because I had to hide them. I spent so much on the cake, I didn't want people to fill up on cupcakes before I got the cake presented. (the cake was a surprise)



Other than that, nothing new. Hopefully next time i'll have a shirt, or at least some handmade rags to post about! lol

Just for you, R.

She's ALIVVVEEEE!

Heh? Sorta...

I'm really working on getting some sewing done. I'm actually making some progress. I was able to make a Helo Kitty tote bag for my oldest daughter. One yard down 999 to go... Apparently, the school really would rather the kids have tote bags and not back paks because they're easier. Fine with me because I didn't get DD a backpack this year. However, plenty of other parents did, because there in nothing but Hanna Montana backpacks as far as the eye can see during the kindergarten lineup.

I have a few patterns cut. One was a bunting pattern for my baby. Unfortunatly, I cut it out about 10 days ago. At the rate she's going, she'll be able to fit it for the next ten days or so. Sigh. Guess she's not getting a bunting.

I have a pattern cut for ME!! Wee! Simplicity 2774. I really need clothes, and hopfully this will get my sewing mojo going again. Besides, i'm getting tired of being LAME...

I did buy 10 yards of flannel to make buntings, jammies for the oldest kid and a gift for a nephews and his wifes baby shower. BUT, well, yeah... i'll get to that, eventually.

A shift in paradigm.

Let me be the first to admit that I have always been a jeans a tee shirt kind of girl. ALWAYS. I was a tomboy as a kid, and things just went downhill from there. While I do clean up well on the rare occasion, I would prefer to generally look like a bum. Or as my loving husband calls it, 'frumpy'.

I am 33 years old.

When I got pregnant 10 or so months ago, I made myself pretty much all dresses for pregnancy attire. I lived in those dresses for my whole pregnacy. Now that i'm not pregnant, i'm finding that I still want to wear those dresses. Well, not those dresses, because they're maternity dresses, and they are starting to look a little frumpy since i've already lost 25 pounds. But I just want to wear dresses now. How could that be!? Could I possably be leaving behind my comfy jeans for more femine fare?

Don't get me wrong, i still have no desire to put on panty hose and heels (I should point out that I own about 12 pair of heels, altough I never wear them. Strange), but I do want to wear the dresses.
Now I have a reason to make all those great dress patterns i've been hoarding for the last few years for no other reason other than I thought they were pretty.



First up (I think) is going to be a vintage pattern. McCalls 5176. Ain't it sexy? I'm hoping I can get it done by Christmas. I have a new baby, and sewing time seems to be next to nothing. Also, it's at least a size or two too small, so i'll have to venture into the world of altering. Boo!

She's a girl!

Ok, just so we're all on the same page, i'm starting this post at 5:48pm on Wednesday. Let's see if I can finish it before tomorrow...lol

12:01 am FRIDAY morning...lol Suzanna Marie was born on Saturday August 8th at 1:45 am. No Lynn, I didn't hold out for you, she did! lol

She was 7 pounds 10 ounces, and 21inches long. She was awake and alert at birth. I atribute that to the fact that I didn't ahve an epidural during labor. I did have something that I can't reamember the name of at about 10 pm, but i'm sure it was pretty wore off by the time she was delivered.


(11:08 am, friday morning...)
This is Suzanna right after she was born. I'm working on getting a few current pics of her. I can't believe how pretty and chubby in the face she already is. She a little blonde too, just like me. lol




(3:03 pm) I'm hoping to have some newer pics up soon. But, as you can see, it's taken me two whole days to post these two. lol

40 weeks pregnant

40 weeks preggo today. The baby doesn't seem very interested in coming out.

All I know is I spent weeks 30 - 37 making sure I did everything to keep the baby IN. now that it's finally time to come out, baby isn't interested. Figures! I can't wait to be induced next week! Or not.

39 weeks preggo

Yes, there's me on Tuesday the 28th at 39 weeks pregnant. I really don't think I can get much bigger.

I keep trying to convince the baby to come out. I tell the baby every day "Hey little baby, don't you want to come out and meet your family, play with your toys and breath actual air? Things out here have to be more exciting than what you got going on in there. Don't you want to come out?" Apparently this means nothing to a baby that has no concept of air, toys and family, because so far this kid isn't budging! lol

Anyday now. Kid can't stay in here forever!

New pattern

I got a new pattern today!




Mail order pattern 1271. It's for jumper with a skirt. I can't want to make it up in some vintage-y fabrics.

Of course, since i'm fat and pregnant, and probably going to stay fat for a while even though the baby should be here any day, the pattern is too small. So this is going to be my first grading project. Go me!

Side note. I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow. I am so hoping for this to finally be over. I thought I was making some progress a few weeks ago, but apparently not. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. Hoefully he will have some good news about my dialating. Wish me luck!

Enwrapture dress version 2

(If you click on the pictures, they should enlarge)

Ok, here is my second attempt at the enwrapture dress.

I ended up just buying a dress in order to get a template together to makr this. Here is the second version. With the exception of being too short (for me and my pregnant body, anyway), this is pretty close to a store bought one.

You will need for this dress at least 2.75 yards of fabric for the top (outer layer) and 3 yards for the botom (inner) layer.

I should also explain that I used a serger for almost the entire construction of the dress. If you don't have a serger, you will just have to hem all the edges.

Here is a small scale template for you to see how I the skirt part is made. This version fits me. I am a size 12 to 14 in pattern sizes. 8 to 10 in RTW size. I'm sure you can use these same measurements and go up or down a few sizes. If you need bigger or smaller, just adjust the part of the pattern that is 24 inches on my pattern. As that is the part that actually wraps around your body.



The actual pattern piece. It's pretty big.










You are going to need a lot of room to cut out these pieces. And in case you haven't figured it out yet, the left edge of the patten is CUT ON THE FOLD. I am fortunate that I have a lot of smace and a big mat. However, if you are a little more limited, I suggest using the floor, plenty of pins and a good pair of sicssors.














When you cut the bottom layer of fabric, you use the same pattern piece, EXCEPT you add 6 inches to the bottom edge only.








Now for simple instructions!

Finish all the edges. I used a rolled hem on my serger. Once all the edges are finished, sew the top edges together (The top edge is the curved edge, marked 24 inches). I used a quarter inch seam. Once you get that done, you have half the dress finished. All you need is straps!

Here is the dress just pinned to my dressform. The bitch is skinnier than me, so naturally the dress looks much more svelt on the dressform.













Now, it's time for the straps. The straps are easy, trust me. I just know that I am not a pattern writer, and my direction will probably suck. You might just have to play with them a bit to figure it out. But trust me, they are easy.

For the srtaps you can use either the top or the bottom leftover fabric. I used the top fabric for my straps. You are going to need about 8 yards of fabric for the straps. For yards for the front, 4 for the back.

Here is how I cut my straps:
I folded my fabric along the selvedge edge twice, then I cut off the selvedge. Then I cut 4 strips of fabric 3 inches wide.


To make the straps, I take two of the cut pieces, and sew them together at the short end.

Do that for the remaining two pieces.

Right sides togetehr, sew those two pieces together at one of the long ends. Turn to the right side and press. Topstitch close to folded edge.

Now fold strap in half to find the center of the strap. Mark with pin. (actually, you should have the seam there where you sewed the two parts together)

FInd the center of the top edge of the dress by folding it in half. Mark with pin.

Match center of strap to center of dress, right sides together. Sew seam using 1/4 SA. Sew the seam until you come to the edge of the dress.

Now here is the tricky part. It's not hard, just I suck at explaining things. Perhaps you can figure it out fromt the pic.

On either side of the dress, right sides together, sew short edge of seam and then sew long end of strap just until you get to the end of the dress.



Turn strap to right side.







Now, we're almost done! After you turn the straps right side out, then you will fold the free edge to the wrong side 1/4 inch, then stitch to the top of the dress. Topstitch the rest of the length of the strap.

Now, make two button holes. For buttonhole placment, you fold the dress in half, then in half again. Mark that pont, and that is where you would put your buttonhole.

All done!



I know my pictures and instructions are not the best. If you need help, feel free to leave a comment and I can try to help the best I can. Also, if you're having problems with the straps, you can probaby use just about any apron pattern to see how to add straps.

Simplicity 3503, the maternity version!

Here I am, 35 weeks and 3 days pregnant! I don't seem to be getting much bigger at this point, but things are getting more cramped!

The dress i'm wearing is Simplicity 3503. I love this dress. It's so easy to put together. And i'll tell you, I did not modify this for my preggo belly. I mostly made the maxi dress so that I would have something to wear after baby. Turns out it almost fits. The one thing though is that I added the pockets to the first version, and they look a little weird because they stretch around the belly. I don't care! lol
























This is version two. I gotta tell you, it's impossible to look svelt in a picture when you're 9 months pregnant. Who knew? I can't say it enough, I just love this dress. This one doesn't have pockets, so it looks better than the first one too.


Happy 4th all!

Simplicity/New Look co-op?

I'm tossing around the idea of starting a pattern co-op. In order to do this though, I need to know that there is an interest, as I would have to buy quite a few patterns a year. The cost would be about $3.50 USD per Simplicity/New Look pattern + shipping?

The idea for this is because so many people outside of the US don't get pattern sales, and if they do the store is out of stock.

This would not start until probably early October. If you would be interested, PLEASE let me know. Because if I don't feel like there is any interest, i'm not going to bother.

Thanks!
-Tina

A few of my IRL friends have been making comments about how I finish my sewing projects so fast. Melody suggested that I make a blog post about it.

I have to be honest, I have no idea how I finish projects so fast. But i'll list a few things here that I think probably help me move things along a bit faster.

First things first, I would like to point out that my organizational skills suck, so they have nothing to do with me getting things done. I'll give you an example, I have at least a dozen seam rippers. Do you think I can find one when I need one? Nope! Half the time i'm ripping out stitches using the point of a small pair of scissors. So, it has nothing to do with being organized.

Here are a few things I do to keep myself on track to finish that project.

- I don't hang on to UFO's and wadders. If it's a UFO that needs something to get it done like a hem or zipper, I just do it. Get it finished and out of your way so you don't have to think about it anymore. If it's a wadder, get rid of it. Why are you hanging on to that thing? You know damn well you're not going to fix it. Why let it clutter your space? I will tell you, every year, DH goes on a trip with a buddy and he wants me to make him and his friend embroidered tee shirts. Well, I have had nothing but problems with the stupid embroidery machine, and I DREAD making these shirts. So, what do I do? I put them off until the day before DH leaves for his trip. For two months I think of doing nothing else, but do nothing. SO I get no enjoyment from sewing because these shirts weight on me. As soon as they're done, I get my mojo back. It's because I let them fester, and they just zap all my sewing energy. Get rid of the extra crap, and get back to your project!

- I don't let things like zippers and hems intimidate me. Just install the zipper and move on. No one will notice that it isn't perfect.

- Someone on PR has a saying in their tagline that says 'Done is better than perfect'. I believe that. I don't rip out seams because they are 1/8 of an inch off. I don't care. No one will notice! Trust me.

- One of the few pieces of sewing advice I do follow is to keep all my pattern pieces and directions handy. I make sure to have all the notions I need. I make sure I have CLEAR markings on my fabric (that includes right and wrong side) right from the start. It makes things so much easier if you have to make a pleat if you actually know where to place the pleat!

- Just finish it! This goes back to the wadders and UFO thing. Don't go on to something else before you finish what you are currently working one. Just finish it, you'll feel better for it.

- The last thing I do is I make myself get started! I can sit on the internet for days and get nothing done. I have to make myself get up from the computer and actually do something. You can do it too! I have faith in you! lol

My first wrap dress.

Well, here it is, my first wrap dress!


























I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I know it's a bit too short. And perhaps I would like it better if my belly didn't stick out as far as it does. But for now, I think it's going to be hanging out in my closet until after the baby comes.

These dress was pretty simple to make. I don't have an actual tutorial here, but I can give you a basic idea as to how I made mine.

First, I got two 1 and 3/4 cuts of silky type fabrics. I came up with this measurement pretty much randomly. I figured a good length of fabric would wrap arounf my ody almost twice. The length I chose I think was actually pretty good. So that's probably what I will go with next time.

I cut the outer fabric (which is the print) to the length I wanted. Which was 33 inches in width.

I cut the inner fabric to 29 inches in width.

I serged all the raw edges and then serged the two pieces together at one of the selvedge edges. The garment looks fine as a skirt, but this was not my goal. I wanted a dress. These measurements are a tad bit to short for someone like me who is way pregnant, and who was a bit overweight to begin with. I will add 6 to 10 inches on the next one.

I made a belt with the leftover cut fabric. The belt was pretty long. It goes around my body almost 3 times or so. Then I just serged that onto the two triangles I had previously serged together.

You can see a video on how to tie these wrap skirts/dresses here on youtube.

I think these dresses are really fun and versitile. I am definetly going to be making more. ANd I know people get down on the silky poly stuff from JoAnns, but really, I think some of that stuff would be perfest for this. All those loud, vibrant prints? They too can be beautiful! lol

Day Trippin'

My friend Lynn and I decided we were going to take a little fabric road trip. What a fun day! Our agenda was to drive from the Detroit area to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL and then drive home. Well, even with the ungodly amount of sitting we did in traffic on the Kennedy expressway in Chicago, we still had time for a stop at Field's Fabrics in Kalamazoo!

First up, Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. Please don't throw tomatos, but I can't say that i'm all that impressed. Although, you would never know it from all the fabric I bought. I did get a few knit prints that you can't get from the local JoAnns, but other than that, it seemed like a lot of the same stuff. Although for WAY better prices on most things. Here are a few pics of my findings.

The top two pics are of the knits I got. The bottom one is of the 3 cuts of woven fabrics I got. One is a heavy weight WHITE denim. I can't wait to try out a pair of jeans.















Our bonus stop was Field's fabrics in K-zoo. I was a lot more impresses with this place than I was with Vogue. The store is clean, the staff is friendly, the store is well stocked and almost everything was on sale! I told Lynn that I would like to make a trip every few months to this store. I think it's worth the drive.

By this point I was getting a bit tried, as I am 8 and a half months pregnant. But I still managed to pick up for cuts of fabric and four patterns! GO ME!

I got two knits for me, a bunny knit for DDs jammies (how cute!) and a cute eyelet that was on the 50% off clearance table.
















At the end of the day the damage was just over 26 yards of fabric. Not bad when you consider that buying fabric was what I had set out to do! lol Oh, And I had to get hubby some fireworks from Indiana for our big 4th of July party. I hope he doesn't set the yard on fire...

Happy Fathers Day!

While I doubt there are many fathers reading my blog, I would like to just say happy fathers day anyway!

For dads day, I made a shirt for DH. It's Kwik Sew 3484. The fabric I used was a Navy print(you know, like the military). DH was in the military years ago, so it's fitting for him. He also got a big ole' pan of lasagna. I narmally make it with chicken and no ricotta chesse, but today he got a whole pan of lasagna with spicy sausage and plenty of ricotta. Me and DD both don't like it, so it's all for him!

32 Weeks Preggo

Yep, that's me. Getting bigger by the day. As of June 10, 2009 I am 32 weeks and 1 day pregnant. ONLY 58 MORE DAYS TO GO!!!!

I love all you women who say you love being pregnant. You're the best. You can have it! I still have 8 weeks to go and so far I can't work, half the time I can't stand, I can't walk, I can't sleep, heartburn sucks and i'm dying for a smoke! Add to that about an extra 30 pounds I get to carry around... Can you tell i'm not the happiest of pregnant women? lol

Jalie 2907 View A this time

I am trying the pocket diaper from Jalie. I think this one needs a few adjustments though. I'm just not sure how to go about it. Here are the changes I plan to make.

1) First things first. I want to use snaps and not velcro. I didn't add any to this diaper because this one is a 'muslin'. I can't believe i'm making a muslin for a baby diaper when I don't even make a muslin for half of the things I make for me. lol

2) The outer layer is PUL and the inner layer is supposed to be some sort of wicking fabric. I just used flannel on this one just to get an idea, but i'll be using fleece for anything I plan to use as a real diaper.

3) The outer PUL layer. YUCK! I think i'm going to cut a cute fabric and use some basting spray to stick the two layers together. Then treat it as one layer nad have the PUL hidden inside. I just don't like PUL either, but it's necessary.

4) I need to add snaps to my soaker insert. I'm not quite sure how to go about this yet. But the pad that gets stuffed into the diaper is not going to stay in one place. Also, the soaker really needs to be thicker. As it is now, it's only 4 layers of flannel.

5) I wish I had a real baby to test on. All this could be for nothing because I don't even know how they fit.

I do like these AO2's though so far. Mostly because I don't like the stand alone PUL covers. I'm going to make a few more of these -- tweaking as I go, of course and see aht I can come up with. I'll keep you posted.

Look at what I got!

I bought some Michael Miller fabrics off of Etsy.com the other day. I think these are so cool! Two vintage-y type fabrics. I just love it. I can't wait to make a shirt from the fabric with the pattern pieces on it!

If anyone is interested, I bought this from Rainbow Fabrics from Etsy.com. SHe has a lot of nice fabrics there.

I have a diaper! Jalie 2907

Well, I have ONE fitted diaper! One! I'm on a roll now! This pattern is really fast to make and you can assembly line them. Right now I have about 6 diapers cut and ready to go, and I have the soaker pads serged. Now I just have to finish the assembly.

This particular pattern calls for velcro, but honestly, I don't really like velcro, so I used snaps (applied with my new pliers, more on that below). I am under the impression though that snaps on fitted diapers aren't the best idea. Although I see plenly of them out there.

Here is one happy Elmo with a new diaper...


Now for the snaps. As I said in a previous post, I have 3 snap tools from Dritz. Pliers, a 'quick attatcher' thing and the little knob thing that you hit with a hammer. They all suck as far as i'm concerned. So, I needed something to add my snaps to my diapers.

I ended up buying a pair for pliers from KAMsnaps.com. The pliers feel a bit flimsly, but so far i'm pretty impressed. The pliers with a bunch of snaps were about half the price of just a press. A press is what I really wanted, but I just couldn't justify the cost. If I use the pliers a lot, i'll get a press eventually, i'm sure.

My Mad Diaper Makin' Skillz...

...Or not! lol















Well, here is my first attempt at Jalie 2907. These are view C, the covers made from PUL fabric. My snap panels don't match up. And my snap setting sucks. I think I lost half my snaps in the washer. Oops!

Snap panels: Looking at the pattern piece, the front and back match -- they're the same size. However, on my sample, the back is way bigger. I'm thinking that I may have streched a bit to much trying to sew on the elastic. I'm going to have to come up with a better technique.

The snaps. I have three different Dritz tools that attatches snaps. As far as I can tell, all three suck. I had the best luck with my dritz pliers, but they are still a pain.

I considered buying a snap press, but at over $100, I decided against it. Although, I may kick myself later because as far as I can tell, the resale value is really high. So proably could have sold it if I decided I didn't need it.

What I did settle on was another pair of pliers. But I hear these are a bit better than the Dritz pliers. They are pliers for the plastic (resin) snaps. They come with an actual die set, so we'll see how that goes. Apparently people like these pliers, so, if they don't work for me i'll sell them off on eBay at a small loss and then just break down and get a press.

I'm going to attempt another pair of covers probably tomorrow. And hopfully my terry from fabic.com will be here tomorrow too, so I can make the insert! YAY. Now all I need is some 1 1/2 loop tape (velcro). Wonder if JoAnns carries velcro that's that wide? I'll have to stop and check tomorrow.

Cupcake Hat Awwww! and Jalie 2907

If anyone is paying attention, I would like one of these for the new baby! How can you go wrong with a cupcake hat on a little baby? lol

Here is a link to the shop of the lady who makes these. NinisHandmades Shop on Etsy Check it out. She has a lot of really cute stuff.

*************

JALIE 2907

I have the diapers all traced, and I think i'm going to get cutting tonight. I'm putting a little thought into this project for once, and I think I may have traced the wrong sizes. I traced newborn and 1 month sizes.

The newborn size fits 6-9 pounds
The one month size fits 7-11 pounds.
The three month size fits 9-15 pounds.

I'm wondering if I should skip the 1 month size and just do Newborn and 3 month since that will cover me from 6 to 15 pounds. Or do I really need the one month size? It seems like i'm wasting time with that size. One, because it seems like that is just overlapping with the 3 month and secondly, the kid is probably going to be in the 1 month size for only 3 weeks before he grows out of them anyway. I guess I can start with the newborn size, considering that i'm probably going to start with a newborn anyway. lol

I have the PUL fabric waiting to go. I can start with the covers. I ordered terry from fabric.com. It's should be here in a few days. Has anyone ever tried using plain muslin for soaker pads or prefolds? The directions I have found say use twill, but you need a yard each, so I bet it can get expensive fast.

Vintage patterns, Jalie 2907 diapers and other ramblings.

I got some of my newly vintage patterns up on Etsy this weekend. These are patterns I KNOW i'll never use. So, instead of hording them, might as well find homes from them. I got a few 70's ones that I really am dying to sew, along with some of the 50's mail order patterns I got. I'm just waiting until the baby comes so I can see where my waist is going to end up. ;)

Visit my Etsy shop!

I would also like to take a quick second to apologize to anyone who has landed on my blog buy doing a Google search for Simplicity 2587. Yes, I see my stats. I know how you get here, just to find no useful information. Sorry!

Now for Jalie 2907:






















(How cute are these?!) I'm going to try my hand at making a few cloth diapers. I bought two yards of PUL fabric (from a company who shall remain nameless until they have been given a chance to correct their shitty customer service issues) and I have 6 yards of terry coming from fabric.com.

I'm going to make the fitted diaper and the diaper cover. I was going to go with the All-In-Ones, but I have been reading that they take forever to dry. I have the pattern traced, and I might start on the covers tomorrow -- as they require the PUL fabric. If anyone is interested Jalie.com has a video of their diapers being made. I haven't used it yet, but it could be a good resource if you need it.

New Vintage Patterns

I got my lot of vintage patterns from eBay a few days ago. I am so happy with what I got.



I never thought to take the picture while I had all the patterns out of the box! Duh! I can't believe some of the stuff that was in this lot. There are a few recent kids patterns, but most are 1975 and older. Here are the older ones. I haven't counted them all, but there are quite a few. And they are all mostly in got shape. A lot are still factory folded. And if that isn't good enough, most are in a size I can use! They are either 34 or 36 bust. I can't believe how I lucked out with this lot.







Here is a picture of the oldest ones.
They are mail order patterns that you ordered through the mail. They are not dated, and most don't even have an actual pattern company. But I do know that they are early 50's, and one is post marked 1952. I am thinking that the others are earlier because they don't have a dated post mark.

























Here is a picture of my fav from the 70's! Simplicity 6925. I was looking at something really similar in the Victoria Secret catalogue. I couldn't find anything current really. But here it is, in my vintage lot! I can't wait to make this up. I'm going to change it to a dress though. I have the perfect purple gauze for it. Of course, I have to not be pregnant anymore, but I only have about 11 more weeks to go.

One question if anyone can answer. I want to sell some of these on eBay, or etsy or whatever. They smell really old. Is that common? Or can I air them out somehow? I don't want to put smelly patterns on eBay, but they are 60 year old patterns. Anyone know anything about this?

Kwik Sew 3327 and the modification of Simplicity 2587

Well, I finally got around to making me some jammies! Weee! I don't think I have ever had a night gown in my adult life, but for some reason, I want them now.

The pattern I used was Kwik Sew 3327 For the most part, I like the pattern. It does have one big issue though. The fact that the nursing openings go down to your knees!



I hate to say this because it's just a night gown, but you will probably need to make a muslin just to find out where to place your nursing openings. I can't imagine that these fit anyone -- unless you are sagging to your knees. Sheesh!

After I made the nursing gown, I decided that I just really wanted a few more non-nursing gowns. So, I hunted through my pattern stash and came up with NOTHING! How do I not have a simple night gown pattern in my stash? Then it dawned on me, I can just modify the kwik sew pattern. It was actually really easy to do. You just fold the front right down the center front line. Voila! No more nursing gown, but you do have something that will fit a pregnant lady. These gowns are also so easy to put together. Hour, at most, start to finish. On piece of advice though, use your pre-pregnancy measurements.






























Now that I have a few night gowns, I think i'm going to try something a little more ambitious.



Simplicity 2587. Except I have to modify it to fit my pregnant body. I already slashed the front skirt piece, we will see how it goes. I plan on starting on that tomorrow. There are a million and one pieces though, and i'm not in any hurry to get a wadder out of this. Wish me luck!

Fun With Vintage!

Yes, I know there are other blogs that go over this. And I know they are better at it, but this was just too good for me to pass up!

I was looking through the vintage patterns on Etsy.com the other day, and I just happened to come accross a few gems! The were so good infact, even DH thought they were funny.



Really, are these cartoon pattern cover chicks so ugly that we can't even see their faces? Was the illistrator new and unsure of how to draw faces? Wonder if the sexy bonnet (wonder how many google hits I get because I said 'sexy bonnet') is part of the pattern. I never checked.


























IT'S FRANKENLADY!! I think the rose necklace is holding her head on -- or hiding the scars. Has to be. There is no other logical explianation!

Can I just bitch for a minute?

You ever notice how if one thing doesn't go rigth, nothing goes right?

Right now i'm really agitated with online retailers, USPS and shipping issues.

So, I buy patterns from PR a week or so ago. I get an email from Deepika telling me my patterns have been shipped. Great, I should have them in 2 or 3 days, right? WRONG! Apparently, USPS shipped my patterns to Washington state. So, my patterns Started in Mass. went to Wash. only to (hopefully) be back on their way to Michigan. My patterns are better traveled than I am! Just so we're clear. This is not a reflection on PR, the turn around was fast. This is a gripe about USPS. Which is my employer, BTW. How nice is that?

The day after I ordered the patterns from PR, I ordered some PUL fabric from whamsupply.com. Well, they say they have a turn around time of 4 days on orders. Well, I ordered early on the 30th, and it's now late on the 7th. Their website still says my order is processing, and they haven't answered my email.

Arg! eBay. I won some vintage patterns of of eBay the other day. I had a brief conversation with the seller, and she said she would ship yesterday. Well, I haven't get a tracking number in my email, so I assume i'll probably be waiting on those too.

Last but not least, grill parts. I ordered some new grill grates for DHs BBQ grill yesterday. Now I have no reason to worry that the grill grates won't ship in a reasonable amount of time, but it seems as if I am having no luck with shippers right now. Grr!

Thanks for listening to me vent. I needed to get that off my chest.

The Studio Kat Boho Bag is Finished!

The bag, it is finished! I can't beleive how easy this pattern came together. After all the pissing and moaning I did about all the pieces, it just came together.



Pic of the lining. If you like this design, definetly try this bag. It comes together so easy and they results are great!

Seriously, what have I done part 2...

I have been on my own little shopping spree for the last few weeks. I don't know what's gotten into me. But I think I better find a way to control it or we're going to end up living in a box eating Ramen noodles every night.

I have been trying to stay away from buying vintage patterns for some time now. Mostly because I have plenty of other crap I horde. But the bug finally got to me last night. Ready for this, I bought a lot of 120 patterns off of eBay. Auction YAY me! Now, if I could only find a place to store them.

Actually, I do have a plan. I saw a few in the picture that I actually do like. I am going to save those, and then probably try and sell the rest. We'll see when we get here, as I have no idea even what kind of shape these are in.

A week or so ago I posted that I had bought a few patterns from PR. Well, one of those patterns was for baby diapers. Well, I don't have any PUL fabic, so naturally, I had to buy some of that. I ordered 2 yards of white PUL from WAHM supply.com. I have neever heard of them, but they were by far the best price. I also bought two sling rings, because I want to make a baby sling.

As for today, I have to go to Michaels because I have to get beads to finish the Boho bag. I have a zillion beads in my stash, just nothing that matches or that will fit the cording. So off I go, hopefully to end my shoping spree! lol

The Boho Baugette bag in progress.

Whoo-Hoo! Progress! This is probably one of the more involved projects i've ever done, but the directions are so well written that things seem to be moving along without any problems so far. Good thing Melody from FashionistaFabrics lives down the street from me, and she was able to supply me with the D rings, or that would have been a trip to JoAnns. Which would have hindered my progress. Not good!

First up is a picture of the bottom. I have to say, I am not used to using so many pins. I'm more of a one-two pin kind of girl, but I want to do this right.



Next is attaching the top lining...



Last but not least is where i'm going to finish for the night. I have the straps and D rings and snaps on, and i'm putting on the casing for the drawstrings.



So far, this has been a fairly easy project. Keep in mind that I have been taking careful steps to make sure that I have all my pattern markings and pieces handy (which I don't usually do a very good job of that) I'm meeting with my sewing group tomorrow, so hopefully i'll be able to get more done. At this rate, I might be done by the end of the weekend!

I started a Purse sew along on patternreview, if you're interested.
Purse sew along thread.