Category: Crafty

Musings
Canning and Preserving · Crafty · Gardening

Musings

LSiehLeave a comment

I’ve been doing some thinking on how the blog has changed in the past few months and especially at the amount of change since I started this project. I started it as a way to keep myself accountable for using my recipes and craft books and so far it’s definitely done that. 

I think though, I may have outgrown that strict model. I am still more likely to pull out a cookbook or to find a Pinterest recipe when I want to try something new, but I am finding it very limiting for some types of recipes, such as baking.  

The blog has definitely helped inspire me to sew more too! I am much more adventurous and willing to try new things, as well as finding a ton of new inspiration. I even wrote a short piece with a picture for a huge site, Sewcialists. A year ago, I was still not putting pictures of myself on the blog at all! Now there’s a picture of me with messy hair, wearing bellydance pants!

Don’t worry, I’m not planning on going anywhere, but you may start to see different content. Maybe some original recipes, maybe some tutorials or sewing tips. Possibly even some dog treat recipes! 

I’m also experimenting with the new editor, which is still in the Beta stage. Supposedly, it shows me all my pictures how they appear when loaded, but that’s not true… I was only recently logging into the blog on my desk top and saw that the pictures taken with my phone held a certain way loaded sideways. For the record, they look the right side up when viewed on my phone or IPad. Technology and I do not get along. So be patient please, I will fix them as soon as I can. In the meantime, maybe just use it as a way to stretch your neck? 🙂

I have gotten so far off my posting schedule with all the crazy going on here, that I figured tonight would be a great time to just admit it and start over. Fancy, our adventurous pup, got sprayed by a skunk last week, and we’ve spent most of the weekend attempting to make her smell less disgusting. She’s super stressed, as she doesn’t understand why she isn’t allowed in the bedroom, or why we don’t want her cuddling with us. Poor thing. Hopefully the shampoo and other things will help and she can be a snuggly dog again soon. 

Other things are going well though. The garden is booming! We have peppers galore. I think I may have to can some more salsa this Friday and use these tiny, but super hot peppers in it. We may not be able to eat it, but it will be delicious!

We also have Jalapenos and cayenne peppers growing. 

I will also use these in salsa. 🙂 We even have red bell peppers popping in. I think once I cut back the zucchini enough, they were finally able to grow and get the nutrients they needed. 

I am very excited. I thought the red peppers were going to be a wash this year. I had such lovely plans for roasted red peppers in the freezer. 

The herbs are growing well, except the bee balm. I killed that one by accident. The lemon thyme is growing back slowly. Everything else is good, but I forgot pictures. 

The tomatoes are, of course, growing like crazy! I honestly didn’t expect them to grow this well, but here we are. The Husband had to buy 6 foot stakes for me, as the plants kept falling down! The tomatoes got too heavy. I froze some green tomato salsa using the ones that fell down while being staked. 

It was meant to be canned, but I didn’t have enough head space to safely can it. I haven’t tasted it yet either.  We have two other jars of salsa opened that I should eat first. It smelled good though and I canned it before work!

Mr. Stripey has yellow tomatoes! They were all in weird places to get pictures of though. I’m so excited! I hope they are lovely. My Indigo rose tomatoes are getting huge! They are supposed to be cherry tomato sized, but they seem to enjoy being in the soil much better than pots. They are in the back. The front ones are a bush cherry tomato.

I’ve also made some delicious plum cardamom jam, which I may have to make a second batch of. I might be selfish and keep it all for me. I guess the Husband can have some too… Maybe… If he’s nice to me. It was from Southern Living: Little Jars, Big Flavors. Here it is on a chocolate chip poppy seed muffin. 

I could eat this directly from the jar with a spoon. Maybe I’ll get some more plums for Friday too. 

I have also been crafting for our Harry Potter party. I want to make it fit in with my fall decor so I can use it again. I’m a fan of multi season and purpose decorations. 

These were jars and vases from the basement that I used mirror spray paint on to make faux Mercury Glass. You know, the old glass that’s kind of streaky and wonderful? 

How cool are these? Here’s what some of them look like with LED candles in them. 

They are so pretty! I’m going to try some with colored glass items as well. For our party, we need lots of different glass vases, bottles, and vessels. These items will work through out the year too. It’s been fun to find new  uses for things. 

I’ll have to catch you all up on my sewing too, but that will come at another time. I should probably get to bed so I can finish more projects before work tomorrow. Have a great night!

Where Did My Sewing Go?
Crafty · Life Posts · Sewing

Where Did My Sewing Go?

LSiehLeave a comment

I’m so confused. I swear I made more things than I seem to be able to find. I’ve been late all this week and our weekend was pretty busy, so it feels like I’m missing projects!

Fancy may have a part in this. I’ve gotten this sad, neglected look multiple times in the past week when I’ve tried to get up to sew.

Now how am I supposed to resist that face? 🙂 Of course, it’s also been hard to be in the basement when my lungs are having fits.

I have been doing some mending, which might explain why I’ve sewn a bunch, but don’t have many new projects. Both the bird and the dog leggings popped stitches, so I had to repair some curves. I also had to cut off the band for the owl tunic and redo it, so it is now done, but it did take a lot of time.

Ha! i just figured it out. Two of the three projects had major mistakes that I had to redo before I could be done. My seam ripper and I are buddies.

For example:

Adorable, right? So this would be what happens when you put a purple fabric in and it leaks all over.

Separate your colors, kids! I’m going to get a color catcher and re-wash. Luckily, it’s not completely over the whole thing, just patches. The Husband doesn’t need purple Christmas pjs…

I also repeated my new trick of sewing a sleeve to the neck area on my shark shirt.

I was almost late to work because I had to unpick it and lost track of time. It’s now fixed. This is the Perfect T pattern. When I make this again, I’ll grade out the front or do a Full Bust Adjustment. It pulls a little. The pattern is meant for knits, so it is a little strange with woven. It has a blue cotton lycra back. I enjoy it. 🙂 I’m determined to use all this fabric.

I have a dark blue dress planned with a bow on the back made out of this, but need to figure out the skirt as I have not quite enough fabric. 🙂 Everyone needs shark clothing for Shark Week, right? (On a side note, I’m pretty sure the Husband really does love me. He’s actively encouraging me in my quest for all the sharks!)

I also made yet another pair of Linen Loungers. The main mistake on this one was to sew the pockets in backwards, so that the curve went towards quite the wrong direction…

It would have been very inappropriate… 😳 I, of course, didn’t realize it until I had sewn the sides together and put them on to try the fit. I had to unpick everything and redo the pockets and the sides. Then while sewing the waistband, I ran out of bobbin thread and didn’t realize it until halfway around. 🙄

There’s a good chance I shouldn’t try to sew while sick…

Luckily, something worked out at least. I made these workout pegs yesterday and wore them today while at the mall with Fancy.

I plan to wear them tomorrow for a Zumba class too. We’ll see how they hold up. They are quite thick material wise and didn’t shift today at all.

Speaking of Fancy, we got her a sprinkler on Sunday, one of those ring ones. She was all excited at first and then freaked put and huddled away from it. She normally loves flowing water and will chase the hose for hours, but this one she didn’t like.

It’s been super hot, so we thought that she might enjoy a sprinkler. We might get her a little pool instead.

Well, I am going to not attempt to sew tonight. This week might have taught me a lesson about late night sewing. I hope your night is relaxing and refreshing. Feel free to tell me any mistakes you’ve made this week, so I can feel like I’m not alone. 🙂

Threads Of Crazy… Or Creativity
Crafty · Life Posts · Sewing

Threads Of Crazy… Or Creativity

LSiehLeave a comment

Fancy had to investigate every single bush on our walk today. She sniffed a squirrel’s butt, startling both herself and the squirrel. It was pretty funny.

Another funny thing that happened today was one of my more sarcastic teens telling me that I was “one of the older people, you know, another generation…” and then making me a cane. Because I’m old, you know. 😆

I love working with teens for things like this. You can really tell when you have good rapport with them.

I’ve had a couple of funny sewing mishaps, one easily fixed and one that got tossed in the projects box until I’m over it. Here’s the second one…

So this is a shirt… There’s one sleeve on the left… Then there’s the neck… With a sleeve attached… 😂

That’s when I thought I should stop for dinner. It will get fixed eventually.

I did make nice things too.

I made a pair of harem pants to test my pattern for my peacock bellydance costume. I was a little nervous at first. Before the gathering on the waistband I could fit into a single leg.

They turned out super fun though! I’ve been wearing them constantly in the evenings.

They are a navy jersey or rayon spandex from many years ago. Originally the fabric was going to be an infinity dress, but it stretched when I tried to cut it and I moved on.  They make me want to dance and fly out very well during twirls. I kind of want six more pairs. 🙂

While trying to decide what to make, the Husband suggested that I focus on the things I need, since my projects in the box held no appeal. I made two pairs of bike shorts to wear for pjs and under dresses.

They are both made from scraps, hence the different bands. I cut the left leg on the galaxy one wrong, but fixed it with a higher waistband. They are both comfy and fill a need. This next shirt was also made from scraps. It needs a neckline adjustment, as it tends to slip, but is cute. It’s the sewing machine print with black backing and bands. Both are double brushed polyester, so very soft.

I haven’t used this material for much other than leggings, so was fun to try. I have an Agnes dress with color blocking partially put together with DBP for the skirt.

Aren’t those spools adorable?

I needed to sew before work on Monday. Felt it in my bones, kind of need. So I made these heart leggings in 30 minutes and went to work slightly happier at least.

They are very comfy. My co-worker gave me a look and shook her head when I said I’d made them before work.

We have a family wedding to go to this weekend and I was thinking about making a dress for it, but hadn’t picked a pattern. I made this dress length Agnes.

It’s very soft and comfy. Hard to see, but there are little gold outlines on the flowers.

I think it’s fancy enough to attend a wedding. My arm and neckbands worked perfectly. I enjoy it greatly.

Well, we’re watching TV and keeping Fancy company while the fireworks start. The Husband is putting together the new entertainment center too. I may go sew downstairs, if Fancy gets too upset. She won’t even eat her chew.

I hope you all have a safe and Happy 4th!

Organization With a Side Of Sewing
Crafty · Life Posts · Sewing

Organization With a Side Of Sewing

LSiehLeave a comment

My parents were here for a couple of days and my Mom not only made dinner, two loaves of nissu and two baguettes, washed our dishes, and I’m pretty sure sneakily organized our kitchen shelves. Oh, and made lasagna… (I’m pretty sure she’s actually Wonder Woman.) My Dad took pictures, let the dog snuggle him, and told dad jokes. It was perfect. 🙂

Mom also helped me organize my fabrics and other things on the shelves, which really means she wouldn’t let me pick things up and not put them away and said “Do you really need this under one inch scrap?” She was a task master and kept me on task. She snagged a couple of fabrics too, but we have a deal that if she hasn’t done anything with them at Christmas, I’m taking them back to donate. So, if you know my mother, see how she’s doing on her projects!

I forgot to take before pictures, but imagine fabric covering everything in disorganized piles.

Look! You can see the table and there’s an empty box! Yes, that is a TV. We haven’t got the place to mount it yet, but eventually I can watch Netflix on the TV and use it for dvds for dance practice.

The Husband had an excellent idea to separate my large yardage into colors in my totes. That way, while looking for a specific fabric, I’ll only need to go into one of them.

I also have my apparel fabric separated into totes. One is wovens and one is knits. I have a lot of both all of a sudden. Enough to fill the two blue totes on the bottom.

The shelves look so nice!

I need to snag the label maker from the Husband again and finish labeling the totes, but it’s all organized and ready to go on the new shelves, when we get them. Mom was a huge help, so I’m glad she was willing to do that with me.

I have done some sewing too. My machine, patterns, and some fabrics are still upstairs.  The sewing table downstairs is cleared off though, so I’ll probably retreat into the cool basement. It’s been hot and muggy, so I know it will feel good.

I had a very lovely chat with an older man making graduation signs for some friends’ kids the other day at Joann’s, where I was unsupervised while there was a knit sale going on. He hd a bit of an accent, I could not place where from, but was telling me that his brother was a tailor and could “make a whole suit from scratch.” We lamented together about the lack of custom orders and sewing happening these days. He was very charming and asked what I was making with all the things in my cart.  He seemed very surprised at the variety. I had athletic fabric for leggings, knits for dresses, a cotton for a shirt, and cottons for a table runner. After I had explained what everything was for, he said “But why are you buying it all now?” Well, everything was on sale, for one, and for two, I get bored easily. Of course, this is how I ended up with an overflowing project box, but I digress. 🙂

From the L: cotton woven for a dress, cotton for a shirt, leggings material.

Rayon spandex and peachskin.

I quite enjoyed talking to him while we waited for the very precise and somewhat slower lady at the cutting table. Experiences like that remind me that not everyone is horrible and rude.

I found the fabric I have been eyeing up forever on this trip. We’re planning a Harry Potter Tasting party in the fall and I didn’t think I would actually wear clothes out of this, so made a table runner.

It’s the Marauder’s Map and I love the print. The black is the symbol for the three brothers’ story. I’m super sleepy at the moment and don’t remember what it’s called.

I’ve also made a pleated knit skirt with pockets from Rayon Spandex.

It has a yoga waistband and is very comfy. It does tend to hang unevenly. I only bought a yard and used it all in this one skirt, so didn’t have enough to add extra to even out the rear of the skirt.

Tonight I hosted craft night and not only shared my Mom’s delicious foods, but also made a pair of apple double brushed poly capri Peg Legs from Patterns for Pirates.

They are very comfy. I need more capris, as the long ones are too warm. Luckily, I’m short, so a yard is more than enough.

My friend M was super duper excited about the Nissu. He pronounced it correctly and everything! I sent some home with him and I might have made his day. 🙂

I’m hoping tomorrow to sew before work, but it may have to wait, depending on time.

Fancy is giving me her best neglected pupper look and I’m so tired that I can’t type, so I should probably go to bed. It’s been a long week already. 🙂

Have a good night!

Sew Satisfying
Crafty · Sewing

Sew Satisfying

LSiehLeave a comment

Hello! I hope your weekend was splendid. Mine was surprisingly hot, but filled with sewing projects and yard work. I didn’t want to go back to work today, so I made a Lego unicorn and a rainbow. The unicorn is going to join the octopus and the flamingo and be my office mascot. His name is Heinrich. 🙂

We didn’t completely finish the garden, but we did make good progress. We also bought two pots of zinnias and a solar gazing ball for the porch, as well as a pretty purple and yellow flower pot to start my fairy garden. A few more solar stakes made it into our basket, one being a flamingo, of course. 🙂

We took Fancy on a pretty walk on the river on Monday. She was very excited to go to a new place and didn’t try to chase too many of the bike riders.

It was pretty hot though, so we were only out for about 45 minutes. She took a nice nap while we went to visit the Husband’s Grandma.

After our walk, I made a nice sleeveless dress to wear to Grandma’s because there is no air conditioning over there. It’s a very nice old house from the 30’s, but it does get a bit warm on the hotter days. We had fans though and ice cream. 🙂 Here’s the dress.

It’s another Agnes from Halla Patterns. I love this pattern quite a bit. This one is hemmed. 🙂 It’s quite cool and breezy, so it worked well.

I made two other dresses this weekend as well. Same pattern – Simplicity 8294. I used two different skirt styles, one gathered, one pleated (views A and C.)

This is C, with added sleeves and no collar or tabs. I need to do a final iron before wearing it. They have a side zipper.

This is A. Excuse the face, I was trying to take a quick picture before leaving for a funeral. I like this pattern, although I added an inch to each side of the bodice. I think my dragon dress will be made from it and I’d like to try it in a drapier fabric too. These are both quilting cotton.

I think I just figured out why the necklines don’t work. I think I was supposed to bind it, not put in a knit style band. Whoops…

Since this weekend was so hot, I discovered that I needed more capris and shorts to wear in the house. This was the remnant from another Agnes dress.

I repurposed a yoga pant band which made these a 20 minute sew. I hemmed them too! They unfortunately get a little see through when stretched, so they will be indoor pants, or worn with a very long tunic. They are comfy though.

I had a second band sitting around too, so I used it for these purple bike shorts. They have been worn, so are a little wrinkly.

They are not hemmed yet. They have a castaway look to them. 😬 I desperately needed shorts though and they are super comfy. Both of these are Cotton Lycra.

I received a new type of fabric, Liverpool knit, in the mail, which I couldn’t wait to try. It’s a match for the ever so stretchy pencil skirts I love so much. I made a pencil skirt, of course, but I think it would make some cute dresses too. It’s textured on the front and smooth on the back.

I played dress up and found my Valentine’s day outfit for this year. 🙂 I wore the skirt today to see if my Lula loving boss would comment and she thought it was super cute. I think I’ve trained my work ladies well. If I’m wearing something particularly cute, they now just ask if I made it, instead of where I got it.

I did some cleaning tonight and finally unpacked two more desk boxes from downstairs. I had to stop though, too much dust, not enough asthma meds. Blech. I’m feeling better now though and am excited to have a clean desk there again. Hopefully soon, I can sew down there soon.

For now though, I should head to bed. Have a great night!

Me Made May Memo
Crafty · Life Posts · Sewing

Me Made May Memo

LSiehLeave a comment

I really need to work on my pun game apparently. 🙂 I’m a little behind mid-May update, but I thought I would share some thoughts on my experience so far.

I’ve very much enjoyed sewing new pieces to wear and exploring ways to wear my previously made clothes. New techniques and fabrics have been used. Cotton Lycra fabric is my newest experiment for a test run of leggings.

Leggings look so weird in flat pictures. They are super comfy. I wore them briefly last week and Fancy got so comfy that she peed on them in her sleep! Silly dog.

My sister-in-law is getting a pair of panda leggings for Christmas out of that type of fabric. I’ll have to do some creative editing on those pictures… The pandas are not happy morning pandas. Hilarious, but not happy. 🙂 Don’t worry, she knows about them. I had to check first to make sure she would like them.

This dress is also Cotton Lycra. I wore it when we went to the Zoo to not pick a new dog. 🙂 We didn’t come home with a friend for Fancy, although there was one that really, really wanted to come home with us and looked exactly like her. He was smaller and younger, but had the same eyes. The sad, sad eyes! We really need someone to adopt him soon, so we can stop feeling guilty.

Back to the dress!

We took the picture in the bird exhibit, as it seemed to fit right in. 🙂 It’s a nice, heavier material, but not overly warm. It feels like a good quality t-shirt. The pattern is from Halla Patterns and it’s the Agnes Tunic. It’s actually cut on the regularly sized people tunic line. I added an inch to make sure I’d have enough to hem it, but wouldn’t have needed to at all.

The only thing I don’t like is that the bands stretched out. The material doesn’t have enough recovery and it sticks out weird and looks wrinkly, especially on the sleeves. I may cut off the bands and replace it with plain black in a smoother, stretchier material.

I felt lovely in it though and it was perfect for the zoo. At which, I will say, I didn’t steal any penguins (Dad..)! I’ll post some of those pictures tomorrow.

I’m working on a color blocked dress in double brushed polyester, which is the super soft leggings material.

It will have a black panel in the front and back of the skirt and two lines of the red on each side. It will be a long dress. I was excited that my neckband looks as nice as it does, but in true late night sleep deprivation, I accidentally used the midriff parts as arm bands and had to cut more. This version of the dress isn’t supposed to have sleeves, but I would have to wear a sweater to work with it all the time, so I added them in. I should be able to finish it in the next couple of days.

I do like this pattern for color blocking, but don’t really like it for just a regular dress. My clock dress looks cute, but it was fussy to sew.

The lines get a little wasted on the same fabrics. I may have to look for another one for options. Of course, I have the Agnes, so I may just make everything in that for a while. 🙂

The other dress I have made that I love is the green and blue striped one.

I have a couple of tweaks to make it perfect, but I think this style really suits me. My especially stylish friend liked it too and she always looks like Audrey Hepburn, so I think I’ll keep it. 🙂 The green was a risk for me, but it paid off.

My other favorite outfit has been my original Agnes Tunic, the floral and lace one.

It hits at just the right spot and makes me feel slender and cool. I really want to use more lace in things now.

I haven’t been keeping up on taking pictures of my daily outfits, although, I have been good about wearing me made at least three times per week. I am finding myself reaching more for those items than I am for my other things, but sometimes it’s been hard to pair outfits.

The realization of how my skills have improved is sinking in too. Some of my previously made skirts don’t fit quite the way I want them to, or the pockets are too small. I have at least four shirts that don’t fit right either. I learned after making them, that I wanted a small extension to make them longer. Those first ones hit at a weird spot and the necklines are a little too wide. I get concerned about leaning over sometimes!

I still love my strawberry dress and will definitely keep that pattern as  tried and true pattern, but will add the green striped pattern to my list as well.

Today I didn’t wear anything that I made, but wore my flamingo yesterday and received several compliments. I think my work ladies are catching on, sometimes I just get asked if I made it right away. 🙂

The Husband has been super supportive as well, so I do appreciate him putting up with a table covered in fabric and sewing accoutrements.

Overall, I think this is a good experience for me. I’m making things not out of panic, but out of a desire to have pretty, well-fitting things to wear. I’m getting better about taking pictures and being able to critically look at them. I’m more involved in the online sewing community and am getting more courageous about trying new things.

Right now though, my main desire is to join this cuddle bug in slumber. She’s snoring away quite sweetly on my lap.

I hope your night is peaceful! Let me know what exciting things you’ve been up to lately!

Sew Much Fun!
Crafty · Gardening · Sewing

Sew Much Fun!

LSiehLeave a comment

Ha! Sewing puns…. They go well with my sewing machine leggings!

I was so excited to finally get these made. I now want all the leggings fabric though… It’s cool to have leggings just the right size for me. 🙂

We went to our good friends’ house for J’s birthday party over the weekend and while the Husband played Halo 2, I sewed along with his wife. 🙂 I was super productive and ended up making 2 pairs of leggings, one regular and one capri length, and a new woven shirt.

The shirt is a flamingo shirt. Printed cotton front, black cotton back.

I’m going to wear it to my teen group on Monday. I don’t think they quite believe me on how much I like flamingos. I modified my regular shirt pattern for it. It’s the same as the Castle shirt. I’m trying to convince my friend to try wovens and I think this might have helped win her over a little. 🙂

Here are the leggings:

They don’t look terribly different, but I assure you, they are different sizes. 🙂 They are made with performance fabric/ athletic knit from Joann’s. I’m still working on my waistbands. The measurements on my pattern seem off. The pants part don’t stretch as much and I haven’t quite figured out the correct length yet for it.

They are very smooth and nice to wear. They aren’t see through at all and stay up. I wore the capri ones to do a spot of yard work on Sunday and they were nice and cool. We, of course, did a bunch of yard work and then couldn’t leave it alone even after cleaning up. I took down a tree wearing my lace trimmed tunic and flip flops.

I was super proud. 🙂 Fancy was very excited to help us take care of the rest of the tree.

She broke that branch off by herself after peeling all the bark off and snapping all the dry branches off. She was quite excited.

It rained a bunch on Saturday, so I did some more work on UFO’s. The rainbow railroad quilt is done! I don’t have a picture, but it’s backed with a brown doggy print fleece that was hiding in our guest room where I promptly forgot about it. Darn safe places!

I do have a sneak peek picture of a present for a friend that was finished on Sunday.  I saw the fabric and couldn’t resist. I hope she likes it too!

We’re seeing our friend soon, so I’ll show you the full picture after that. 🙂

Staying up late to sew had a lovely ending this morning, although I was very sleepy. This fabric really wanted to be a flirty, twirly dress, and now it is!

It has a pocket! Just one because I wanted to get it done. It’s big enough for my phone and keys. I will be fixing the sleeves, they are tight. It makes me feel super cute though and I love how it looks on me. There are more twirly dresses in my future!

I’m going to try to get some more of the in progress projects done. It’s lots of fun to make new things, but I’m kind of forgetting about the things waiting to be finished, which is a bad habit of mine.

The basement work area desperately needs to be organized again. Perhaps I will have an organizing day on Friday. If you don’t hear from me over the weekend, I’ve been eaten by a fabric monster. Send a search party!

With that said, I hope you have a great night!

Why I Sew: The Long Version
Crafty · Life Posts · Sewing

Why I Sew: The Long Version

LSiehLeave a comment

Hello all! One of the prompts for Me Made May from Sew Sew English on Instagram was “Why I Sew,” and it really got me thinking. I sew for a lot of different reasons, but I think they all come down to creativity and love. It’s also an outlet for the stress of my job and a way for me to make sure there’s beauty in the world, despite the trauma. Clothing that fits is also a plus, of course.

My Grandma Shirley and my Mom taught me to sew, but it was my Grandma that I sewed with more. We would attend the quilt group at church together and she made her grandkids quilts. I have sweet memories of her whenever I sew something that she would be proud of. The shoe is one of her pincushions. 🙂 She would be very proud that I’m working with stash fabric and trying to use all the scraps.

I made this shirt over the weekend and think that it’s the best thing I’ve made so far.

It fits me so well and I feel lovely in it. I added a band of antique lace to the bottom hem and the sleeve bands, which I pulled from my stash.

It’s a knit; rayon spandex, I think, from Joann’s. It was one of my birthday haul fabrics. The pattern is the Anges tunic from Halla Patterns. I love it and will need to make a bunch. It hits at just the right length and doesn’t make me look or feel huge.

Here’s another reason I sew:

So I can make my own fancy leggings! Although with shipping, these may not be cheaper than I can find them for online, I take great pride in knowing I can make my own. I have sewing machine leggings.

I had enough fabric left over to make a pencil skirt, arguably the most comfy skirt I own.

How fun is that? I’m going to pair it with a lovely black sweater for the Dita Von Tease show on Thursday. 🙂 Stars for the star!

I also made the most of my maxi skirt scraps by making a super cozy yoke for my new pj pants.

I bought this knit at the discount fabric store a few years ago, specifically for yoga pants and finally made them! They are very comfy. I have enough of the polka dots to make cuffs, but can’t decide if I want them cuffed or not.

This dress is also fabric that I bought many years ago intending on making an infinity dress out of it.  I would have only had enough for the skirt part, so I made this new knit dress pattern out of it instead.

Sadly, I missed all the time related puns while posting it.. “Time to sew, etc.” It’s secret pajamas. I enjoyed putting it together, although about halfway through, I was nervous that it wouldn’t work.  I finished it about 30 minutes before leaving for work.

I do have to remind myself that I’ve got some older projects to work on too, but these are so much fun! Most of it has been stash fabric too, so I’m using that up.

It’s been interesting to evaluate my clothes as I try to think of what to wear. There’s a huge pile of skirts on my bed reminding me that even my early self-made clothes weren’t always the right fit (pun intended.) Luckily, knowing that I can take them apart and fix it is helping me be less discouraged.

Another benefit of sewing is that I’ve been inspired by so many people and clothes from around the world! Everyone has their own style, even with the same pattern. The lace on my first shirt, for example. I’ve seen a couple different patterns paired with the fabric, but none had lace like mine. Who knows? Maybe I’ll inspire someone else to try something different with a pattern!

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to try something new this week!