Tank Top turned Dress turned Nightgown

So I made a new version of my jersey tank top and ... it turns out that I really don't like it as a dress. Ha ha. However, I had been looking for a nightgown pattern and this is super comfy (love that bamboo/cotton blend!). Now I have a new summer nightgown. At least the failed experiment was salvageable and I didn't have to post it to CraftFail (see the link list at the right side - you have to check it out!). Pin It

Handmade Daddy

I've been thinking lately about all the benefits of creating and how lucky I am to have such wonderful inspirations in my life...my kids, a big goofy dog, the beautiful climate we live in, our cozy home, a life full of family and friends, and a wonderfully supportive husband who cheers me on no matter how far-fetched my projects may seem sometimes.

So this is a post dedicated to him, our Handmade Daddy. :) Just a few pictures of the beauty he creates and nurtures in our home... Pin It

Free Dress Pattern!

Heather Ross, who designs all kinds of fantastic fabrics and wrote that book I keep raving about, is offering a FREE and ADORABLE summer dress pattern on her website. It looks really cute, and is supposedly all-around flattering. There are 2 pdf documents to download and save. Hopefully, I can make this up in the next week or so!

Check it out: http://heatherross.squarespace.com/journal/2008/8/5/free-dress-pattern-download-for-mendocino-fabrics.html Pin It

Shutterbug

As if I need yet another interest with my huge amount of free time (sarcasm), I have recently taken an interest in photography ... at the most amateur level. Here are a couple pictures I took yesterday during a get together with friends that I just love. Especially the sweet little girly shoes with chalk. Ah...



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Summer Top

It may not be a summery color, but it is super comfy for hot weather. Bamboo/cotton blend jersey knit fabric...just wonderful. I made this top based on this tutorial and used jersey when inspired by this site. It's so easy (seriously, I made it during naptime!) and custom fit to your own measurements. I didn't even finish off the hem because it hangs nicely on its own and won't fray (you just have to cut a really straight line to make this work - I used my rotary cutter).

My next plan is to make a much longer version and belt it at the waist for a comfy summer dress. But, I'll make that it in a lighter color this time... Pin It

How to impress dinner guests

I know I'm generally very sewing-centric, but this is actually about cooking. Tonight I tried a new little trick for dressing up dinner and just had to share. Super quick and easy with a very impressive result.

Instead of using plain marinara, I added heavy whipping cream to make it a creamy marinara sauce...so yummy. I read about it on a couple recipe sites way back when but was in too much or a hurry to get the details tonight. So I poured a jar of Newman's Own marinara in a saucepan and added about 1/4 of a small carton of heavy whipping cream (whatever amount seemed to create the right color in my mind - highly technical process). Stirred it together and let it bubble away very slowly while the water boiled for the ravioli. This is really rich but is a perfect match for the right dishes. Tonight, we had it on portobello mushroom ravioli (don't get too excited - they were frozen store brand...a mommy can only accomplish so much handmade in one day).

Just a little tip to send you off into the weekend. Go convince someone you slaved away on dinner for hours, and impress the heck out of your friends. Pin It

Personal Space

So I read in all these wonderful craft blogs and sewing books about how you should set up your creative space. While it all makes sense to me and I love the idea of color-coordinating my threads and never unplugging or unthreading my machine, we've got a long way to go here.

Currently, I have my machine on a cheap card table and my fabrics and notions in 3 or 4 different places. You should see me work this way...I have to keep the presser foot just so to keep the machine from going too fast. If it does get too fast, it creates this crazy vibration with the table resulting in what I like to call sewing speed wobble. Seriously, my poor machine is bouncing up and down like crazy. It reminds me of that old movie footage where the bridge is flopping around in the wind and then disintegrates. Can't be good for the machine. Sure doesn't make it easy to see where you're going.

Needless to say, I'm stalking craigslist lately to find a cheap (maybe free!), big, possibly L-shaped desk to set up shop. I'll get to color-coordinating later. For now, I'd be happy just to not have my machine wiggle when I reach a good speed (read: very slow...).

Just sharing my latest little crafting dilemma. Hope you're all having a great week. The kids are in bed and I'm off to have a glass of wine and pizza with my man.

ps: Oh! I did make a summer top today during naps! I'll post pictures tomorrow once I hem it up. Pin It

Baby Gifts and a quick tutorial

I just went to a baby shower and took these with me. The coordinating fabric was from the scrap pack I got from the Fabric Shoppe, and I made the bibs using terry velour for the backing. My favorite part of this project is the variegated thread in different oranges that I used on all the pieces.

If you ever need to whip up some bibs, here are some instructions...
**warning: questionable drawings ahead**

1. Using a bib you like the shape of, trace the shape onto the wrong side of your decorative (front) fabric. Do not add a seam allowance. Make sure that the two tabs at the back of the neck form points. This will make applying your binding easier.
2. Cut out the fabric along the lines you just drew.
3. Pin this to your backing fabric (velour, flannel, waterproof PUL, chenille, even an old bath towel will do) with wrong sides together - meaning that both fabrics are facing the way they should for your finished bib.
4. Cut out your backing fabric in the same shape as your decorative fabric, and leave the pieces pinned together
5. Using a zig-zag stitch, apply double-fold bias binding (like this) to the outside edges of your bib. I've fallen in love with 1/4" binding tape since using it for a couple of Amy Karol's projects in Bend-the-Rules Sewing, and it costs less than $2 for a package at the sewing store.
6. Then apply binding to the neck of the bib, overlapping the first binding at the points of the tabs, and leaving extra on either side to tie it.
7. Run a straight stitch down the center of the bib ties (the extra length you left on either side) and tie the end of each in a knot.

You're done! Handmade goodness.

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Something so cute for messes

Another book that I just bought and love is Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew. I seriously recommend it for any sewer. She has a wonderful perspective on sewing and I got lots of useful tips. Plus, she includes some very cute patterns. One of them is this Swing Swing Smock that I made for my oldest (very camera shy) boy. Last night, he got the first swipes of paint on it and my heart just swelled with pride. How goofy is that?

Oh, and I got the sweet polka dot fabric in a pack of scraps from the Fabric Shoppe on etsy. I've fallen in love with scrap packs to embellish and spice up my projects. Such a sewing geek... Pin It

Bittersweet

I made my first skirt from a pattern and it came out beautifully. However, it's too small for me...I guess that's why you need to measure yourself (rather than guessing, especially after having two kids) before picking the pattern size. Ha ha...lesson learned.

The fabrics are great, lightweight cottons perfect for summer, and I love the bold print. I used the Yard Sale Wrap Skirt pattern from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching (awesome book, by the way).


I'll have to check the legalities of this, but if possible, I'll go ahead and list it on etsy since I can't wear it. Someone should enjoy it if I can't! Pin It

Hello, Dolly

I bought a dress form! A vintage dress form that is proving smarter than me, but a dress form nonetheless. Here she is...

Hopefully, I'll create some custom tops and summer dresses to wear soon...just as soon as I figure out the best way to adjust it! Anyone who's worked with one of these, feel free to offer advice. Pin It

I LOVE MY CAMERA!!

My sweet husband bought us a new camera (YEAH!) after the old one got lost and now I can take lots of satisfying pictures of what I've been creating in the last few weeks. If I have too much free time, I may fix up the pics at some point, but you're getting the "raw" version for now. So, here goes...hope you're prepared for an onslaught.

The jewelry wall I made in our bedroom. I don't have a jewelry box and if my necklaces and such are put away then I never actually wear them. My solution: masking tape, $.50 bottle of craft paint, and removable hooks. (I can even hang earrings)

Here are the finishing touches for my little man's cowboy room, to go with the quilt I made: a valance and wall hangings. I love these 12x12 square frames that are made for record albums and scrapbook pages. This is their second life - they used to be in our guest room (now baby's room) with a green paisley fabric in them. Very cheap, quick, easily updated decorating idea for anyone in the market. Buy 1/2 a yard of fabric and cut it to fit, no need to prep or sew. On these, I did fuse the stars to the cowboy fabric and zig-zag stitch around them.

And, I finally made my first honest to goodness garment, albeit a very tiny one. Using this tutorial from an incredibly generous mama (http://www.jcarolinecreative.com/), I made a little top for a friend's daughter's first birthday. This was my first time using the buttonhole foot on my machine and it is awesome. Man, girls are fun to sew for...

Oh, and I can't forget the purses. I made my my first purse using this tutorial from another very generous crafter online (http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/). It's just adorable and the pattern is easy to follow. It's going to my sister because all my mommy gear won't fit...so sad.

Here is the more mommy-appropriate purse. I'm calling it the Santa Barbara bag because I made it just in time for a weekend away in Santa Barbara with my husband. No pattern, just lots of room. 3 pockets, magnetic closure, fits everything for me and 2 little ones on an outing. I am pretty happy with it overall...there may even be some in my etsy shop some day.
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New Look. Same Great Taste

Testing out different looks for the blog. I prefer simplicity and the old background was a little busy. Ill try not to give you whiplash. Thanks everyone for stopping by! Pin It

New Favorite Blog

I've got a new favorite sewing mommy blog here: http://seemommysew.wordpress.com/. That's all, just sharing.

Hope you're having a great week, and hopefully finding some time to do something crafty. I've made 2 purses, a foil & cardboard robot get-up for my sweet toddler, a few burp rags I'm test-driving for the etsy-shop-to-be, and am planning on making a dress form soon. Hopefully, we find/get a camera soon so I can share the fruits of my labor. Pin It