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Monday, April 25, 2011

Smokin' the embroidery machine

I spent my afternoon hanging out with my Deco, embellishing these three projects. I LOVE THAT MACHINE!

Here are some close-ups of what I am working on:
a basic tee from Ottobre with this cute Harajuku design (stitchontime.com)

This will be New Look 6041 with the "I believe in Fairytales" design from Embroidery Library.

and finally a Bonnie Blue top and bloomers playset embellished with giraffes by stitchontime.com

I have one more day off before I have to be back at work, so I should get some of this stuff sewn up. None of these are complicated patterns. I also have a skirt for myself cut and ready to sew.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

McCall's summer patterns - a haiku & my picks

Let me sum up the new McCall's with a haiku...


McCall's new patterns
lots of interesting styles
not too bra friendly

Now, for my picks:
6356 looks interesting for the two-color top in the middle.
Palmer & Pletsch has a couple of nice basic patterns - this one (6361) and a tee/knit dress pattern as well.

How cute is this??? 6373 - aprons for children plus adorable bags, too


If I had a baby girl to sew for (sniff, sniff...my baby is too big), I would love this:
I like the tote and cushion pattern by Tina Givens (6367).
The organizer, 6374, might be one of my favorites of the entire batch.
This is also a cute organizer pattern (6375): 

Isn't this pattern sweet?  It's 6371.
I have plenty of doll clothes patterns, but I do think this is a nice one - very boutique! (6370)

This is clever - 6369 is a playhouse that is essentially a cover for a card table - what a great, quick, portable idea!

Obviously, my fashion picks are limited since I like to keep the girls in place, but some of the craftier sewing options are fantastic - not a total loss.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter finery

It's the purple people! This represents half of my Easter sewing (shirt and two dresses). I'll get pics with the whole herd on Easter Sunday, but I wanted to share a few pictures since I am so thrilled to have Easter sewing accomplished.
Don't they look sweet (kind of belies the fact that the darling girl is currently whining at me as I type this...)?

This dress was officially a BEAST to put together, but I do like it. It's one of those dresses that looks like crap on the hanger and is barely recognizable during construction, but once you get it on a body, it looks good. And curvy girls, this style is not for the flat-chested. You need to be able to fill this out with womanly curves to make it look good. This is not the most flattering angle in the photo (what happens when you hand the camera off to a child), but you can tell that without appropriate "filling" from the girls, this dress would be weird.
BTW - gotta love the Target dollar spot which is where we found this sweet hat a few weeks ago. When she loved the purple one, my fabric selection was clinched!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Easter's on its way...

Shirts for the boys...from the summer 08 Ottobre, a classic dress shirt, all in Spechler-Vogel pincord

A shirt for my husband...Colette Patterns Negroni with a self-drafted collar stand added, also in the same pincord in a darker blue

A lovely dress for my girl...from Simplicity 2709 done in a Fabric Finders print

...and for me, to be cut tomorrow, this Donna Karan Vogue dress in a heathered lavender fabric from Hancock's (last year)

If my new Ottobre comes in tomorrow's mail, I should be ready for it very quickly since I am down to just my dress! Thank goodness for Spring Break.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Patterns I'm Getting Excited About

Modkid patterns by Patty Young has a new version of Kyoko for tweens and misses sizes. I do think I will be picking one of these up for myself.

I also got my first ever issue of Knipmode - good thing I'm building a vocabulary of foreign sewing terms. There are a lot of lovely things in this issue.

I should have my new Ottobre tomorrow, which is perfect since I have the next ten days off from both work and grad school.

I am currently working on Easter dress shirts for my boys - all from an Ottobre pattern. I'm hoping to get all of the Easter sewing done pretty quickly so I can play with these new patterns and some lovely new Fabric.com goodies that came in yesterday's mail.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this - the t-shirt is Ottobre and the embroidery design - "Hanging With My Peeps" is from stitchontime.com. It was just right for the preschool Easter party and an egg hunt coming up this weekend.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Thank heaven for little girls!

Today is Gracie's 4th birthday. That means I have been sewing for a little over four years since my sewing began in the last trimester of my pregnancy with her. I had only sewn a couple of times (with my mom's help) making a baby bubble for two of my little guys. When I found out in November of 2006 that I was having a baby girl, I was so excited to look for little girl crib bedding. The more I looked, however, the more I realized that this stuff was too expensive and I was really picky. In early January of 2007, I ordered my Kenmore computerized sewing machine. I bought fabric for a crib set, but I decided to start by making flannel receiving blankets. I bought several yards of pretty flannel, cut them square and did a simple hem. Then I tackled the crib set (bumper and dust ruffle). I moved on to a bucket cover/storage basket project in addition to a baptism dress.



Once Gracie was born, I didn't take the sewing machine out for several months, but when she was about three or four months old, I made a couple of outfits. After all, she had a huge wardrobe I had purchased when I lost my mind found out I was finally having a girl. By the fall, I had discovered Elegant Stitches and gotten my first peek at Ottobre. By winter, I was buying fabric for decorating Gracie's room (we didn't finish converting the nursery to just her room until the boys were all fixed up with a double room for the three to share). Her first really fancy dress by mommy couture was for her first Easter, and my sewing really took off from there.

Now, I make more of her clothes than I buy and I also make a lot of my own clothing. I even sew for the guys, our home, and for lots of different projects. It is a true joy to be able to create wonderful things for my family.

Nighttime projects

I like nightshirts. They are so much fun to sew because I have access to lots of great knits (Patsy Aiken outlet!!) and they don't require major fitting issues. A couple of nights ago, I made my second version of Simplicity 2739. I reviewed it two years ago in a long sleeve version.

 This version is made from a Patsy Aiken knit and trimmed with a white ruffle trim I got from an online store. I didn't want to change thread just to sew the trim on, so I used an embroidery stitch to do it. The sleeves and ruffle are finished with a serger rolled hem.



This is my cap sleeve version:
Tonight, I have been stitching out cute little monkeys from Embroidery Library for birthday party outfits for Benjamin (6 on 4/1) and Gracie (4 tomorrow). They are having a joint birthday party in the afternoon. I stitched on a store-bought t-shirt for Benjamin and then decided to make Gracie a simple t-shirt knit dress. I'm currently stitching out her monkey and still need to sew the dress. Oh well, this is what I do...

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rainbow Bright

 Simplicity 2343 made up in a gorgeous rayon-poly woven from Emma One Sock. I fell in love with the fabric, got the last piece of it on sale and had enough for this beautiful skirt plus a few small pieces that I will save for the inevitable someday project.

The top I'm wearing is the Jalie sweetheart neckline top. I think I need to revisit that pattern. I forgot how much I liked it.

For tomorrow's sewing adventures, I have two nightgowns cut and ready to sew. One is from a Simplicity sleepwear pattern with a romantic peasant neckline gathered below the bust. The other was cut from a McCall's dress pattern that I am adapting to my nightgown desires. (Sounds like a steamy romance novel, huh?)

Once I get those done, I will make sure I have the perfect 4th birthday outfit for Miss Gracie who will be 4 on Saturday, then it's on to the Easter fashions.

Monday, April 4, 2011

I like my size

Allow my day job to creep out and share a poem with you (I'm an English teacher) - Maya Angelou's "Phenomenal Woman"



Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me


I'm 5'4" and a size 12/14 in RTW which makes me pretty darn average - except for my girls because I definitely have an above-average size bust. I used to care that my body wasn't perfect. Then I gave birth to and nursed (for a cumulative total of 7 years) four beautiful, healthy children. Things could be a lot worse. 

As a sewist, I have come to realize I have a unique advantage. I'm right at the size where patterns tend to cross size ranges. I just picked up a La Mia Boutique Tagli Fortie because I'm only one size off (smaller than) many of the patterns. Plus, I already know they look good on models with figures more like mine than the size 2's modeling in the regular issue. If I sew it, it's about the final appearance, not vanity sizing. I make it fit me.

Of course, I thumbed through the issue, identified several things I like and want to make and proceded to cut out two nightgowns and a skirt from big four patterns. The fabric for the skirt was Italian. Does that count? LOL ;-)

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Pinkness, Cuteness - the epitome of an almost four-year-old girl


Modkid Emma in some of Amy Butler's newest fabrics - so pink and girly - even added pink princess Sleeping Beauty (an applique from my stash pre-Deco). I can't picture anything girlier!

Here's a bonus shot of the little darling modeling the green dress I finished earlier in the week.
I think she really likes the applique from my embroidery machine!