FNSI

Well, I didn't get too much accomplished during the Friday Night Sew In, but that's not all totally my fault.

I have the 'Sewing Clothes Kids Love' book, and I think it's a wonderful book. If you sew frilly dresses for young girls, apparently the Feliz dress in this book is the holy grail of dresses.

Anyway, back to the FNSI. All started out well on Friday. I decided to trace the Feliz pattern. Not only do I have the book this pattern comes in, I also have the individual pattern too. I decided to trace from the individual pattern because I like the heaver while paper it's printed on, as opposed to the regular old tissue paper that comes with the book. I also used the individual pattern because it's in German. I have other individual patterns from Studio Tantrum, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to brush up on my German. NOT! Not a single word that is on the pattern is in my (rather large) German to English dictionary. WTF! I might have some problems!

Anyway, the pattern is traced and the pieces are cut. Wish me luck, I hear that the first time you make this dress, it's a huge pain.

Simplicity 3956

So ok, I don't blog for a month, and then you get two in one day. The world must be coming to an end. That, or i'm just a bad blogger. :/

This post happens to be about Simplicity 3956.

I just have to say that I love this top. I've actually made it twice in the last 3 weeks. I might even make it a third time too. The next time I am going to have to lengthen the bottom part by about 2 inches. I just don't quite like where it lands.

Also, here is a tip for you if you don't already know. When you are going to cut silky fabrics, starch the hell out of it. I hung my fabric out on the line and sprayed it with starch until is was wet, then let it dry. It made cutting and sewing silky fabrics so much easier. I recomend Stay-flo starch. It's in a blue bottle (like a bleach bottle). The stuff in a can just doesn't cut it for stuff like this.

I really like this top, and I would defanitly give it a try if you like this style.

Friday Night Sew In

I've decided to join the Friday Night Sew In. I have a whole queue of things to get to tonight. And then we have the southeastern Michigan meet up in Ann Arbor on Saturday. I should get quite a bit accomplished.

Actaully, now that I think about it, I have been sewing a lot lately. I've made a dress and two tops in the last two or three weeks. That's good for me. Of course, I haven't been working much because of a health issue so I have a bit more free time, but whatever.

Anyway, hope you can join the FNSI! Seems like fun!

I'm pissed off at my stash!

..And i'm currently giving it Angry Eyes... >:(

So anyway, I finally decide to join the rest of the sewing world and make Vogue 8379. I had a nice fabrc picked out and was ready to go. Well, I notice that the pattern says I need 2 1/2 yards of fabric. I only had 2 1/4 of my chosen fabric. No problem, I said. I can make it work.

Well, apparently, no I can't make it work! I tried everything. I even traced extra pieces so that I could try and place each individual piece. NO luck. Nothing I tried worked.

Well, I took the high road and decided that i'll just go find something else in my stash. Can you believe that I have 555 (no kidding) yards of stash and not a single piece of stash is either long enough or inspiring enough? Friggen amazing! I need more knit prints, that's what I need! That's it, more fabric. The answer to all my troubles. Although, next time i'll be buying 2 1/2 cuts. lol

And the grand total is...

...537.25. That's only half of my estimated 1,000. And boy am I glad!

I still have a few items that I need to count -- mostly scraps. And some of that will end up in the trash. I have a small pile of yardage that needs to be counted, but I doubt it comes to more than 3 or 4 yards.

The great thing is that I have a whole empty storage bin left over. I'm sure it won't take me long to find something to put in it though. I think my scrapbooking supplies and when little bit of yarn I have can probably go in it.

Hopefully now that i've worked through some of the clutter, I can get some sewing done!

312.50 That's enough for one night

Well, the count stands at 312.50. I'm done for the night. I'm tired of standing and folding for what seems like hours!

The good news is that i'm probably 2 thirds of the way done.

The good news X2 is that i'm sure i'm not going to hit the 1000 yard mark! I'm proud to say that i'm not the horder that I thought I was. YAY me!

121 and Counting

I'm doing the unthinkable.

I'm starting to count my stash.

I'm two whole bins in, and already I have 121 yards counted. I've got about 10 more bins to go. I'm hopeing to not hit the 1,000 yard mark, but it's going to be close.

Oh, the UNopened box from my latest fabric.com purchase is still upstairs...

Is this really what its come down to?

I swear, i'm going to take a class or something. I totally feel like a new sewer all of a sudden. Bah!

For the last few weeks (OK, months) I haven't had much of an interest in sewing. I think the only thing I actually finished besides the Butterick dress was some cloth baby wipes for a friend.

It's not that I haven't been sewing. I'm trying. I'm really, really trying. It's just that nothing fits, I don't know how to fix it, and it's starting to piss me off!

My first attempt was a Vogue dress that was so big that after the first one or two (feeble) attempts at trying to fix it, I knew it was a wadder. My second attempt was a McCalls dress. I cut a size 14, but can you belive that the stupid thing is about 5 inches too big? So, another wadder. Attempt three is a pair of KS shorts. They are particially made, sitting there on the ironing board just waiting for their turn. I lost interest installing the zipper. Bah again!

So, today I decided I needed some instant gratification. I came across New Look 6464. Easiest project ever. Although, I think i'm about 15 years too old for this look, I just don't give a shit. I'm going to wear this sucker with pride until I can make something a little more age appropriate fit! HA HA

For your viewing displeasure...

Butterick 4790

I have to start by making something clear. I'm a vintage pattern reseller on eBay and Esty. I have TONS of vintage patterns laying around my house. Not only do I buy patterns in lots to resell, I have spent a small fortune on patterns to add to my personal collection.

Ahem, having said that, I finally decided to wade into the vintage sewing waters the other day. With all the patterns I have laying around, want to take a guess on what my first project was? If you guessed a current Butterick repro, you win! (There is no actual prize, just be happy that you're a winner)






)





I gotta say that I just LOVE this dress...IF I had chosen a better fabric. The pink is a cotton and it wrinkles like crazy! This is supposed to be a fun little dress. I have no intentions of ironing it when I want to wear it. Hopefull to many people will notice. :/

I made a size 12, due to teh fact that a lot of reviewers mentioned to go down a size. Because of that, I had to use buttons and loops. The loops are a bit too long, but I think i can fix that with no problems. Other than that, i just love this dress. Give it a shot!

The Nani Iro Side Pocket bag is mine!!

Imagine my suprise this morning when I woke up to see this: And the winner is...

The winner was me! YAY! I hardly win stuff, let alone stuff that's actually cute.

Oh, here is the bag I won:





Heather from FeathertySews made this. Isn't it totally cute! And it's mine! Wee!

Thank you, Heather!

Baby Mozart

See my baby? Isn't she cute?

Patrones Magazine

I got my very first issue of Patones magazine the other day. I have to say that i'm not all that impressed. My opinion is that Burda WOF is way better, not only design wise, but pricewise too.

I read somewhere that Amazon.com offers the Patrones subscription for something like $400 a year. I hope i'm wrong, because I would not pay half that for the magazine. If you want my opinion, if you want to subscribe to a magazine, I would go with Burda. (Which you can get from GLP News)

I will say for those who are not falmiliar, this magazine is published in Spanish. The patterns are a lot like Burda -- pattern sheets that have to be traced, stapled to the center of the magazine. One thing I don't like is that as far as I can tell, the Patrones doesn't have the line drawing for the garments in the issue. I'll go back and look again, but I couldn't find them. Oh well.

I leave you with a few pics from the design page. Sorry, they're bad pics, but I dont' ahve a scanner. Also, if you're interested, I believe this is the Jan 2010 issue, although, i'm not entirely sure.

I'm a blogger lamer.

Well, here we are, only 6 years since my last post. Bet you're excited to see i'm still alive! I got a lot of stuff accomplished since I last updated.

Where to begin?...

I guess with the Pattern Review stash contest.

So far, I have about 10.50 yards entered into the contest.

I made a baby blanket: 2 yards


I made the Simplicity cardiwrap: 2.50 yards. I have to say, I really like this wrap. I put off sewing this for so long, and I don't know why. RuthieK from RuthieKSews has inspired me to make these from prints, as opposed to the plane ones I was plaing on making.

I made the famous Jalie Sweetheart Top.: 1.25 yards. I have mixed feelings about this top. I seemed to make my small bust even smaller. And the 1/4 inch SA didn't seem to be enough room for the basting stitches the top required. Also, when I was clipping curves, I cut part of the neckband. So, now I have to fix that.

I made yet abother version of McCalls 4223. 2.50 yards. I just love this fleece pullover. Hey, it's cold here in Michigan. We can't always be cute and warm. lol

I also made another version of Simplicity 3634 This is a cowl neck sweater pattern, but I just lengthed it into a dress. It turned out great. Trust me, the pictures are bad.

See, so i've been sewing. I'm just lame when it comes to blogging.

Here's one way to keep the stash under control...

...Close down all the damn fabric stores! If there are no stores, then I can't buy anything, right?

Last summer, they closed down the JoAnns in my city. It wasn't such a big deal, because I had another one not too far from me. Well, turns out, they're closing that one too. Now, I don't mind so much that the crappy fabirc is going away. If I really need something, I can buy online, and for notions, there is a WalMart a half mile away (although, i'm not a big fan of WalMart, I don't mind going there if all I need is a zipper). But I really feel like i'm losing a part of me with the closing of this store. It was one of the few places I could go and I didn't have to take the kids. I could just go there and look, even if I wasn't interested in buying anything. I sort of feel like they're taking my playground away.

I have to say, I still have a few JoAnns that are sort of near me, but I won't be making any special trips to go there any time soon. My stash will thank me for it.

Happy New Year!

Well, here we all are again. A new year, time for reflection and to set new goals.

The reflection part is easy. I had a baby in 2009 and I sewed some stuff. Didn't take me long to do all that reflecting.

The goal part is a bit harder. I like to set goals for myself that are actually attainable. So, here we go, since I know you're dying to read this! lol

- I would like to lose 10 pounds. I've already lost 50 since the baby has been born, so i'm thinking I can lose 10 more. Attainable.

- I'm thinking about keeping a cleaner house. Probably not attainable.

- Quit smoking. As soon as I can get hubby to quit, I should be able to do it. Probably attainable, but depends on the cooperation of someone else.

- Sewing goals. *sigh* Me thinks this is the biggie. lol I finally had to break down and go shopping for clothes the other day. What a sucky expierence! I hate clothes shopping! I always have. And as some of you can relate, it sucks when everything you try on doesn't fit for whatever reason. That's why I sew, because of my narrow shoulders, wide back and low armhole. RTW just doesn't fit. It's also really crummy when you're in the store and all you can think is "$20?? I can make THAT for $5!"

I had a gift card for Victoria's Secret that I got for my birthday LAST year, and I finally got around to using it. I spent $38 for a teddy. $38 bucks for a thin little garment that takes less than a yard of fabric. Amazing. I can't wait for the Pattern Review lingerie contest. I'm telling myself that I need to enter a few garments in that contest.

I'm ahead of the curve though this year. So far, I almost have Simplicity 2603 finished. You know, the cardi wrap that everyone on the planet has sewn. I finally made it to the party. All I have to do is hem it, which sucks. And I made a little sleep sack for my DD. She's 5 months old and in year old clothing. The sleep sacks they sell in the stores just simply don't fit. I'll be making one or two more of those for her soon.

Oh, that brings me to another goal -- More fabric going out than coming in. 2009 wasn't a bad year for me. I think I had about 20 more yards that came in than went out, but as most of you will probably agree, that's pretty damn good! lol I already have almost 4 yards out this year, and it's only the 3rd. YAY!

Anyway, we'll see how it all works out. Hope everyone has a happy new year!

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.