Scrap & Sew Weekend

First of all, THIS amazing house in Deep Creek, Maryland is where I spent the weekend with a fantastic bunch of ladies for our annual Scrap &Sew Weekend. 

Amazing, right? This is the second year we've rented the same house, which comfortably sleeps 12 (although there were only 9 of us this year) simply because it's gorgeous. And there's plenty of comfy couch room and table space to spread out.

It's a weekend away for us ladies to do whatever crafty thing we want. Some of us scrapbook, some quilt, some cross-stitch, some read, some sew, and some just sit around and enjoy the view, the hot tub and the conversation. 

Since I'm rather limited in what I can sew for myself, currently (although I'm working on a few things to remedy that!) I chose to spend my weekend sewing for my girls. And since Easter is quickly approaching, I seized the opportunity. I had this Simplicity pattern - 7113 - in my stash, thanks to a good friend's generosity. When I showed it to Lilly, she immediately gravitated to the pink and white polka dot line drawing. "I want that one!" she told me. I asked her what colors she would like, and she just looked at me like I was crazy and repeated that she wanted that dress. 

So, I headed to our local Joann Fabrics (my only real choice for fabrics on the fly) with my fingers crossed that I could come up with something close enough. To my astonishment, I found a white Swiss dot cotton with pink polka dots for the top and washed the crap out of some pink with white polka dot quilting cotton for the bottom. A little pink ribbon for the sash trim et viola!

I arrived at the cottage on Friday evening at about 8 PM and by Saturday around noon I'd finished the first dress (albeit unhemmed). I finished the second one by that night. It definitely helped that I had cut all my pattern pieces a few days before the trip, to speed up the process.

Pardon my less than perfect photography - I was using my phone's camera. I still have to hem both of them, but after I got home Sunday evening the littlest girl woke up sick, and her big sister followed suit this morning. Both are feeling much better now, and I'm just praying I don't get whatever it was.

No matter what chaos I returned home to, it was a lovely and productive weekend away. I'm already looking forward to next March when I get to do it again. :)

Better Late Than Never

Well, it seems I have a bit of sewing-for-myself downtime.  It happens when you're pregnant and can't fit into anything you might want to make. *sigh*  So, I thought that in the meantime, I could get caught up on some of the posts I should have already written.

I made these dresses for my girls as Christmas gifts. Each of my daughters has a very different personality, so I wanted to choose something that they would love and know was made especially for them.

I made Lilly's dress first. It's made out of a really cute lightweight cotton print I found at Joann Fabrics. The bottom band is just a matching color broadcloth. Only the bodice is lined and I finished the seams just by pinking.

New Look 6927

I made Evie's out of an adorable narrow wale corduroy that I found it two contrasting colorways. I may make another dress for her out of the other color after she outgrows this one. I don't think she needs two dresses in such a distinct print at the same time. But I loved how this turned out.

New Look 6016

There is a very plain knit shirt pattern included with NL 6016, so I made one to go under each of the dresses.  Both were made out of a super soft rayon knit jersey; Lilly's was made in ivory and Evie's in chocolate brown. 

Christmas day action shot. :)

I have a few more things to post, which hopefully I'll get to this week. I'm going away for the weekend for an annual "Scrap & Sew" getaway weekend in Deep Creek Lake, MD. I went last year and made two dresses - one of which I wore constantly BB (Before Bump) and one that was a horrible wadder. I'll share them both and hopefully have some cute new things to show from this weekend. I have big plans for Simplicity 7113 in pink and white polka dots, for the girls' Easter dresses.

I'm going to try and take a few lessons from Miriam over at Mad Mim. She did some amazing things in her 'Sewing for a Belly' posts last year. I shall study hard and make you proud! Also, I won an amazing vintage maternity pattern giveaway from Mikhaela over at Polka Dot Overload a month or so ago. I might give one of those a try while I'm away this weekend, if I have the extra time. * fingers crossed *

And as a parting shot - here's me, about three weeks ago.

Baby Belly at 15 weeks, 6 days. Trust me, it's bigger now!

Catching Up (Read: Bad Blogger!)

Good heavens, it's been a long time since I've posted! So sorry to have fallen off the radar like that. It's been a busy few months, and I haven't had much time to photograph or blog, although I have been doing some sewing.

Firstly, I have been meaning to post some photos of the gala dress actually on my body. I will know for future reference not to rely on Husband to be photo-man for events, particularly ones where I'd like shots of one of my creations. Noted. That said, I took a few snaps of myself wearing it, along with a few of the other recent completions. So, yeah, they were all taken today. No hair and make-up variety, but I did try to change up my background a bit here and there. :)

 I purchased a mask from Michael's craft store to make a matching masquerade ball mask. I covered it in the same maroon satin fabric, used stick-on jewels (which I glued for stability) and painted the designs on with glitter glue. Just one one-piece feather thingamabob hot melted onto the back and some pretty ribbons. It wasn't terribly difficult, just a bit time consuming. But I was asked a few time how I managed to have a matching dress and mask, a people were genuinely surprised and impressed when I told them I'd made both items. Not so secretly, I love that. :)

 Pardon all the wrinkles. The dress hasn't been cleaned and re-pressed since the event.

I should mention that the only change I made the original Burda design was to add bra cups sandwiched between the outer and lining layers. There was no possible way to wear an undergarment with a back that low, and even with my less than ample chesticular area, I thought it necessary to have a bit more modesty.

I did take a bit of break after I finished the dress. Although not particularly difficult, it was a time burner and the last few bits were a little fiddly. I guess I needed a little break, so I doubt I stepped foot in the studio for at least 2 weeks. Once I did finally get some mojo back, I started on McCalls 5668, which I've had cut forever and never bothered to put together. What better way to ease back in than with a project you don't even have to cut, right?  I didn't bother with a muslin since it was just a cheapo moleskin from Joann Fabrics with a pretty swirly flowery design. I find, for the most part, that I can get away with a straight-out-of-the-envelope size 12. I count myself very fortunate for this, believe me.

 
I think it turned out very nicely, and I've already worn it twice. The only thing I changed on this pattern was to add a closure. The white shirt underneath was also a completed project, but it was in the laundry, and thus I could not photograph it for this post. Promise I'll throw it in somewhere else after I can get a photo.

I threw this little skirt together in an evening. It was comes from a Butterick 5534 separates pattern and really lives up to its Fast and Easy title. It's a bit hard to see in the photos, but the fabric is a subtle blue/black plaid with a little stretch. It has to be 100% polyester based solely on the smell of it being steam pressed. I did add a full lining, which the pattern did not call for, and changed the lapped zipper to an invisible one.

 Please ignore the horrible fit of the RTW shirt I've paired it with. I won't attempt an excuse except to say that I won't wear it anymore after seeing the photos. Ick.

Lastly, sometime for the girl. Well, one of the girls. Lilly came home from preschool the Friday before St. Patrick's week in tears after her teacher told her she could wear something green on St. Patrick's day. The child who normally only allows me to dress her in pink (and the occasional purple or Disney/Nickelodeon character) was devastated that she didn't own a single green item. So, what is a sewing mom to do? We went down to Joann's, picked out some green printed cotton and flowery trim and whipped something up.  I used Simplicity 2269 from my stash.

I had to re-do the squared front sections twice so they'd lay flat. It's taken a while, I think I can safely say I've mastered that skill now. It's super cute and she was completely in love with it. Not only did she wear green on St. Patty's Day, but she wanted to wear it again to church on Sunday. Maybe I've converted Little Miss Pink to include a bit more variety. Maybe it's just because it was a dress. She still won't wear jeans with anything that isn't pink. Oh well, I guess it could be worse! :)

 

So, yeah. That's what I've been up to for the past two months.  This weekend I'm headed out to a cabin with some girlfriends of mine about an hour from home. It's traditionally a scrapbooking getaway, but since I've converted my friend (who happens to be the organizer) she's made into a Scrap-n-Sew. I have to haul my machine and supplies, but who cares! Imagine -- a whole weekend with no husband, no children, no distractions (well, except for the hot tub and copious amounts of alcohol), just lots of sewing (and maybe some scrapping) time! I'll be sure to take the camera to document my (hopefully) productive 2 days away. 

Until then... Happy sewing to all!

Giving Thanks and Holiday Preparations

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My babies, fresh out of bed and snuggling together - these are the moments that I'm most thankful for!

'Things I'm Thankful For' list toppers: Hearing Evie call me Mommy (pronounced more like 'Mah-MEE'), a husband who works hard for his family, Lilly's incredibly quick wit, an awesome new job and equally great boss, finding an amazingly therapeutic new hobby, parents who go WAY out of their way for us, and the love and support of a handful of truly great friends. I'm a very blessed girl!

And on another note :) .....

In exchange for a few weeks of free babysitting, I've been helping one of my best friends create some handmade gifts for her 4 (that's right, I said FOUR!) boys for Christmas.  She's not a sewist... well, at least she wasn't when she asked me to make these. An early Christmas gift to me - I think I've converted her! So, TOGETHER we created these 4 amazing works of fiber-filled art!

 She calls them "bed partners" - I call them creative body pillows. Whatever you call them, they're a great gift for kids. We used some out of print Simplicity pattern (whose number I cannot currently remember) that had 2 other patterns - a cat and an elephant - that we didn't use. She chose a fleece fabric that she thought suited each boy's personality and that's what we used for the bodies. A nice touch, don't you think?  We started off with the panda. I cut this one and did 95% of the sewing - leaving just the long, straight seams for her since she's a complete newbie.

 

Boy #1's Panda

She cut this one out completely and sewed everything after the head was completed. That muzzle was a bear! (no pun intended... okay, a little pun intended. *grin*)

 

Boy #4's Bear

Feeling much more confident, aside from the nose seam, this puppy was 100% her! *sniff* I was so proud! :)

 

Boy #2's Puppy

 Now, this one I completed after she cut. (God bless her... I've offered her a job being my permanent 'Cutting Assistant' - sadly, she's not interested.) We kept it for last since it was so involved. Not quite sure what it is, exactly. I've been calling it a dragon, she calls it a dinosaur. We have no idea, but it suits Boy #3 perfectly. It took me over 2 hours to do the face, alone. Not even the back of head... just the FACE! It didn't help that my machine kept jamming every 2 or 3 minutes from the ridiculously thick thread. Got it done in one evening, though, so I can't complain too much. By far the most tedious, but also the cutest, don't you think?

 

Boy #3's Dragon-saur

  

A close up of the face

  

And just so you can get an idea of the gigantic scale of these bad boys, Mr. Bear decided to do a little sewing of his own. 

All in all, it was a fun adventure. And the best part of it? I get a new sewing buddy out of the deal! Hooray! Any of you ever 'convert' one of your friends to sewing? I have to say, it's a ton more fun sewing with a friend (especially one who will do the cutting!) even if she doesn't want to sew any garments. Yeah, it's true - she's strictly a craft sewist. Well, until I convert her on that, too. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Mood Swings of the Fast and Tiny

Can it possibly have been a week since I've been down in my sewing room!? Gosh, some weeks just get so busy that the time disappears. This was just one of them... work 'things', a little bit of travel, cranky teething baby, sniffly sickness, and complete exhaustion.

I made myself work on the second princess costume a little bit last night. I got the bodice and lining cut and sewed together. It's a start!

Trying to 'fit' a 15-month-old is, um... difficult. Here's the progression:

 Cutie Evie playing it up for the camera.

Running and giggling - I chase her around the kitchen table trying to get a photo.

 Deciding she doesn't like the camera flash. More running ensues - this time with screaming.

Yelling at me (it's gibberish, but I quite easily understood that it was a tongue-lashing)

"Okay, Mom. Enough is enough. I'm pissed!"

The End. :)



One down, one to go!

It's finished! Well, the first one at least. And she LOVES it! She won't take it off.

Notice the little silver trim around the neckline. Just a little something to tie in the silver from the peplum belt. The directions actually wanted me to glue that on! After all the headache of putting the rest of it together, there was no way I was settling for glue on my beautiful princess dress. I hand sewed it, and made sure the stitches were hidden between the fabric and the lining. She decided against the pointy hat, so I may even add some on the sleeves, too.

 Simplicity 2569

Just being silly :)

 And extra silly. But, that's my girl!

The silver lame was surprisingly easy to work with. And wouldn't you know that the first project I've ever had to stitch-in-the-ditch would be a little girl's Halloween costume? Just goes to show that you can learn something (or LOTS of things!) from any project. Any of you attempting costumes this year?



Past works, revisited in photos

Here are a couple of pieces that I've done in the last few months that I thought I'd share. These are just some of my favorites:

Butterick 5484
Asymmetrical hem faux wrap dress
Yellow linen-look

Simplicity 5259 Capris

Brown suiting

BurdaStyle download - Kasia #6012   Stretch cotton plaid 

paired with   

McCall's 5661 in Blue baby silk

McCall's 6120
Cap sleeve
Plum rayon knit

Skirt: 

Simplicity 9825

Green embroidered microsuede 

Top:

McCall's 6120 long sleeve

White cotton interlock

And even something for the hubs:

McCall's 6044 in blue herringbone stripe