Tag: clothes

Sew Many Things!
Crafty · Sewing

Sew Many Things!

LSiehLeave a comment

I have been sewing a lot lately and can finally share a couple of my super secret sewing projects! I have been finding it very soothing, especially since taking a knit break and finishing a scrap quilt to go to a friend.

This one started life as a baby quilt for my step-cousin’s second baby, but my Mom sent me cuter fabric, so I had to switch it over. My friend works in a hospital setting and I sent her two quilts to use for sensory issues/cool down times previously. The next couple will be going to their collection for kids with emergency situations.

I needed to expand the quilt past baby quilt size, so now it’s a rough square. I found the coolest pastel tie dye backing for it too, so I think it should be really cute. I finished it the week I was on steroids for a cold/asthma issue and I think it was one of the things saving me from full on ‘roid rage. Ugh. They mess with me so much, but it definitely almost completely got rid of the asthma flare. As a consequence though, I didn’t really sleep much and this was mindless enough to be able to sew it on little to no sleep. It was really fun to do too, of course. I just need to bat, quilt, and bind it and then send it off. I will probably add a tie to the middle of the white squares. I don’t have colorful enough buttons, I don’t think. It’s so cheerful and bright that I hope it will bring some joy to someone who needs it.

So for the super secret part of sewing, I made two little matching outfits for my friends’ boys and a cardigan and leggings set for my friend. I didn’t have matching fabric for a shirt, so I owe her one at some point. Somehow the leggings never got photographed, but they were a pretty teal color with a watercolor decorative part as a cuff. The watercolor part had purple, white, and teal colors in it. Her cardigan is a Cocoon Cardigan from Patterns for Pirates and has pockets! I used a fancy double brushed poly in a dark grey so it looks a bit more lux than a regular grey, I think. These are my favorite cardis to wear, so I knew it would be lovely for a new Mum. I have heard from reliable sources that it is extremely cozy, so I’m happy with it. 🙂

The boys got an outfit each and they happened to be free patterns! I used Ellie and Mac’s Grow With Me PJs for the older boy’s outfit, and Patterns for Pirates Wee Lap Tee and Petite Pegs for the baby’s outfit.

I was super nervous about making them and about fit, but my friend told me they fit very well with a little room to grow. The Husband reminded me that the boys are still tiny, so clothes would need to match. 🙂

Here’s a picture of the outfits themselves:

And a picture of the two cutest boys wearing them! (Posted with my friend’s permission.)

A note, I didn’t show this picture to my friend before she sent me her pictures of the boys, so it’s kind of funny that they ended up in the same places! Also, how cute are they?! I have some more things planned, some with a Lego theme, that I can now work on, since the sizes are right. I’m glad she liked them all, I was super nervous! They were such tiny clothes!

I had to laugh while cutting the Cardigan out. My pattern weights are “somewhere safe” in the messy basement, so I just grabbed the things closest to me, which happened to be the Firefly decor pieces. 🙂 Whatever works, I guess. I have occasionally used the dog as a pattern weight when she wouldn’t get off my fabric.

I made yet another Cocoon for me too. I just can’t stop, but should maybe branch out pattern wise. I don’t have a picture of the full cardi, but it is the grey from my friend’s cardi as bands and this fabric as the main piece.

It’s so pretty and drapey! Originally it was going to be a dress, but it is way too thin and I thought I would get more use out of a cardi than having to line the whole dress. It is a cotton jersey spandex, I think, so lighter and looser than the grey cardis.

Another new material has been fun to work with lately has been vegan leather. I bought it to try out for this next vendor/bellydance show and it’s been interesting. It’s super slippery and slightly stretchy, but only in one direction. The fancy craft glue I bought for it doesn’t actually work with the felt backing that I wanted to use, so I may end up using hot glue for the rest of the flowers.

I have one tiny one done too, but it’s drying. I have black vegan leather as well, so am planning fancy hair flowers, pouches, and a couple of slouchy bags. We’ll see if they sell. I might end up with a fancy new purse! I do plan to make some of the hair flowers, both of this material and cotton fancier with beaded tassels. Bling in a hair garden is always pretty!

Here are a couple more pictures of some of the things made with it. It doesn’t like topstitching, so I won’t be doing that probably for the other pouches. Both my tester ones ended up looking weird.

This bag is going to my Marvel loving friend. It ended up not quite the shape I was going for, but is still cute. I did topstitch this one because it works better when the machine isn’t directly touching the leather. I plan to make a couple more bags with some accents for fun.

I have a couple more things in progress, but will share them next time. Next weekend is the vending event, so I have given myself until Wednesday to finish the sewing stuff. I have sorted and organized my bins a little, so that should be plenty of time.

I was the lucky recipient of these fun sewing books too, from a family friend. My Mom brought them down when she came to visit and I have projects planned from both of them already.

You can never have too many bags! My bicycling friend may be getting panniers from the first book. You know, because I have no additional projects waiting in line… 😉

I definitely have lots of sewing to do in the next couple of days, so wish me luck keeping everything together. 🙂 We’re planning to attack the yard some more after my aerial yoga class tomorrow, hopefully after that, I’ll still be able to use my arms! Wish us luck and maybe check in, if you don’t hear from me… The yard is still kind of jungly, so who knows what’s lurking near the garage!

Sewing Fun
Sewing

Sewing Fun

LSiehLeave a comment

This will be a current and catch up sewing post. I realized that I never actually did a sewing review for the year. I’m sure I’ve missed things, but will try to update some of them as I find them. (Please excuse any sideways pictures. They look correct on my computer but weird in the library, so I have no idea if they are correct or not.)

I made this table runner for my Grandma in Law for Christmas. She collects Nutcrackers, so we thought it would be appropriate.

I also made a star suit by accident. 🙂 I made these jogger pants from this lovely french terry. The pattern is a modified version of the Linen Loungers. I just slimmed down the bottoms of the legs. Sadly, I’ve worn them so often that some of the stars have started to wear off.

I wear them multiple times a week for pjs. I didn’t think I would like jogger style pants, which are gathered around the ankles, but it turns out I love them. They are definitly lounge pants or pjs though. I wouldn’t wear them out in public, but they are lovely to put on after work. I made a bright pink pair too, but I don’t have a picture of them, as they are currently being worn.

There was enough of the fabric left over to try out a new pattern for a basic t shirt. This one is the Sweet Tee from Patterns for Pirates. It was a little tighter than I expected, but looks lovely with a cardigan.

It has stars too, so obviously my favorite.

I have made a couple more versions of the Sweet Tee. I made a brushed waffle knit sleep shirt, which I made longer and a little bigger. It is currently in the wash, so no pictures yet. It’s lovely and snuggly. The neckline went wonky on me, because it was too big, but it was just a sleep shirt, so I haven’t fixed it yet.

This version was made specially for Chinese New Year. I wore it today and it was very fun. I plan to wear it for our Chinese New Year party too.

Batch cutting has been helpful in making me actually do the projects I say I will do, although it depends on what color thread I have in my machine generally. I have three pairs of leggings waiting to be sewn because I have white on the machine and not black.

Fancy was my fabric inspector while I was trying to make these leggings, which were part of the batch. I couldn’t resist the dinosaurs and I have see a bunch of little kids who adore dinosaurs. Obviously, I needed the leggings. 🙂 The Husband just rolled his eyes at me.

Speaking of the office, I made another batch of doll clothes and it was requested that my doll have a friend and then would need a big enough wardrobe to share with said friend. 🙂

Simple Tee from Ellie and Mac Patterns
Paige from Made for Mermaids
Patterns for Pirates Bonny Skirt and leggings-galaxy and grey, CKC Emmalyn Cardigan- pandas and black, Made for Mermaids Cora Coulettes- purple and grey

Pajamas and dance leotards have also been requested. Apparently my doll’s wardrobe is still lacking a few essentials. Oh, and a doll nail salon? Who knew?

This fleece is a Relaxed Raglan from Patterns for Pirates. It’s super warm for my crafting and sewing downstairs. Or for the polar vortex anytime!

I made it a size or so bigger in case the fleece wasn’t as stretchy, but I could have sized down, I think. It’s tunic length so my rear will stay warm. I realized after I had sewn one sleeve in that I had accidently cut it out upside down. I didn’t think it was directional, but when I put it on, all my sewing supplies were upside down! Whoops! Again, not going to be out of the house, so I’ll just laugh a little and wear it anyway.

This shirt was made right before it got super cold, so I have only worn it once, but it’s really comfy. It’s a shortened Agnes Tunic from Halla Patterns.

So that’s what I’ve been up to sewing wise. I cleaned out a bunch of clothes that didn’t fit and have two and a half boxes to take to the thrift store. It feels good to be able to pare things down, but makes me realize that I have a few holes in my wardrobe. I need a plain grey cardigan, a few more solid color t-shirts, comfy underthings, which won’t get posted, and some solid color and printed dresses. Knit dresses are lovely things. Especially with pockets!

This dog of mine has stolen my pillow in an effort to tell me it’s bedtime, so I need to take my spot back.

It’s supposed to be super icy tomorrow morning, so I may have some extra time to sew! Hopefully everyone stays safe on the roads though.

Have a great night!

Shorts Extravaganza
Sewing

Shorts Extravaganza

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I don’t know about you, but I have been too hot lately. My shorts pattern has been put to very good use. I made 8 pairs over the past month or so. I might be slowing down now, but it was so exciting to have a pattern I could actually use and feel good in.

Fancy is also excited about my shorts… Well, not really, she’s excited that I’ve been walking her. Here’s a picture for proof.

Such a good dog!

Here are the latest shorts I have made. Both have pockets. Both are a little wrinkly from being worn or washed.

These are a lighter cotton. Lace edges on pockets and legs. White cotton lycra band because it’s so comfy!

The next pair was made from a remnant of purple linen that I’ve had for a while. This is also the only pair that is actually made from the called for fabric of linen. 🙂

Back pockets:

Black accent fabric with sewing notions and a black double brushed polyester for a waistband.

They are super comfy. I got the wrong color thread by a lot. It was a bright purple instead of the dark purple, so I used black. It blends in surprisingly well. 🙂

I completed one of the projects I set out to finish this month. This blue shirt gave me so many problems.

You may remember seeing this before… Maybe with a sleeve protruding from the neckline?

That’s the one. You may have noticed that it now has no sleeves. Well.. Here’s a funny story. I cut off the sleeve, merrily thinking about how to get it all pretty again, held it up to realize that I had actually cut off the sleeve that was attached to the correct place! The one at the neck was just taunting me… So I chopped it off and decided it needed to be sleeveless. Take that shirt!

I used bands to finish it off and then added gold stretch lace to the bottom. Now I can wear it with pride. I did discover that I need to make the sleeves a little less wide at the shoulder and raise the armscythe.

I used the pattern, which is the Perfect T by Pamela’s Patterns, to make a shirt with a woven front and a knit back, sleeves, and bands.

It’s so cute and I made the modifications to make it fit me perfectly. I like being able to make things work the way I want.

Although it wasn’t one of the two projects I named to finish, this bag was in my UFO bin. I owed it to a friend for cutting my hair last summer and finally was able to finish it for her.

Here’s a close up.

It has five pockets on the outside and a recessed zipper. It has yellow stripes on the inside to make it nice and light. I was super proud of my topstitching, but was really rushed for time and didn’t actually get pictures. 🙂

I have a couple of sweaters planned to make for fall and have decided I need to sew a lot faster to keep up with my stash. I also need to go through all my clothes and continue to be fairly ruthless with what I am not currently wearing or want to replace. Wish me luck!

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. 🙂

Why I Sew- Shark Shorts Edition
Life Posts · Sewing

Why I Sew- Shark Shorts Edition

LSieh2 Comments

I’ve been running around for the past half hour making up songs about shark shorts. I don’t know how the Husband puts up with me…

To back up a little, I saw this fabric a while ago and said to myself “I neeeeeeeeed this to make shorts for Shark Week.” Then I texted the Husband and my sewing buddy and said the same thing. Much to my surprise, they both enthusiastically agreed. Then I waited for payday, the fabric sold out on all my websites and I finally found it online at a Michigan store. It cost a little more, but these shorts and I needed to be together. Lesson learned, buy the fabric! So here are the shorts:

They are a lighter quilting cotton with a navy blue cotton trim that I bought a few weeks ago, originally to use for something else. It matched perfectly though. It’s little round shapes with a band on each edge. They have back pockets, a fold over yoga waistband, and are just the right length. Next time I’ll move the pockets closer into the center line, but they fit very nicely.

These are the same pattern as my flamingo and minion shorts from last week: Linen Loungers by Patterns for Pirates.

I had a bit of a revelation about shorts and myself while getting ready for the concert last night. Ready for it? Here it is! No one but me, cares what I wear! I was so hung up on the fact that the store shorts didn’t fit, and squeezed everything, and looked like I should be 80 while wearing them that I forgot I might just be wearing the wrong style. These have a built-in hip curve and make me look cute, rather than emphasizing the things I don’t like about my body. I seriously have not worn shorts in over 5 years because I just was so self-conscious.

The other thing I appreciate about this pattern is that although I can wear them for sleep shorts, with the right details and fabrics, they don’t actually look like sleep shorts. Minions, yes, sharks, no. Details matter.

I posted a picture of myself looking nervous, but wearing the flamingo shorts in one of my sewing groups and the response was affirming. I’m still working on accepting and changing the things I need to change, but I can’t let it stop me from trying new styles or from being comfortable.

It made me really think about how I need to change my thinking. How can I sit with clients, especially teen girls, and make all these statements about acceptance and self-esteem, if I am not willing to work on my own?

So I plan to make more cotton shorts and experiment with wearing them. For now, my sharks will definitely be my favorite!

In other sewing related news, my Mom challenged me a little on my UFO boxes and recommended that I start each month by pulling a project out and committing to finishing that project during the month. I think it’s an excellent plan. I’m cheating a little this month and fixing a couple of wonky new projects, like the shirt with the sleeve where the neck should be…

I’m also going to fix this sweet Cocoon Cardigan that I messed up the band on. It has an owl appliqué on the back and is made from black double brushed poly. It’s very lightweight. 😍

It’s going to be so sweet when it’s done!

Finishing this skirt is on my list. It’s a perfect, flowy cotton. It needs a waistband and a lining.

This star fabric used to be a faux wrap skirt that was too small. I need to see if I can line up the seams to make shorts or a tank top.

I found this skirt at the local thrift store and should probably be trying to find some more of my fabrics or materials from there. Now that I kind of know how to fit things, I can use those cheaper materials to try techniques out. A couple of the thrift stores have full sari sets and some of them carry fabric pieces. It’s all hit or miss, of course, but it never hurts to look.

You may have noticed a sudden influx of stars on my clothing. 🙂 For some reason, stars are making me quite happy right now. I’m alright with that, there are some adorable starry prints out there.

Speaking of stars, I should probably head to bed to dream under the stars. Have a good night!

Monthly Review
Gardening · Monthly Review · Recipe Roundup · Sewing

Monthly Review

LSiehLeave a comment

Well, hello! It’s hard to believe that it’s time for a review again, but I guess it is. My garden has exploded in the past month with all sorts of new growth. I had a salad made with lettuce from the garden just yesterday!

I picked some of both, buttercrunch and romaine. It was delicious! I’ve been picking the basil for caprese salads a lot too. I can’t wait to have homegrown tomatoes and basil for it.

My zucchini plant has taken over part of the garden. (Pictures withheld as to not frighten my father…)  I have five blossoms on it. I may be giving away zucchini shortly. 🙂 I think part of the plant ended up in every picture I took of the pepper box. Except the lettuce.

The tomatoes have absolutely taken over their box. I had to find some sticks to stake up the plants. The Early Girls are huge!

Mr. Stripey is holding his own in the corner.

I have some tomatoes started on the plants, but they are hard to get pictures of, as they are small and green. It’s exciting to see them growing though. So far, no sign of blossom end rot, which was the bane of my existence the last couple of years. I think the garden soil is keeping everything much more stable, moisture wise.

The peppers plants have a few flowers on them and seem to be holding up well, despite the encroaching zucchini. The herbs are also doing well. The strawberries never flowered, but that’s alright. I’ll keep them through the winter again and get some more plants for the berry boxes next spring. A friend has some raspberry plants that we can steal cuttings from too.

I’m pretty pleased with how it’s working out. I think we’ll get a lot of yield this year.

I’m also pretty pleased with my sewing this month. I have made lots of useful wardrobe items and am considering what of my ready to wear clothes I can replace or how to fix previously made items that don’t quite work.

My favorite things this month have been my harem pants, my Harry Potter table runner, the abstract floral dress, the blue lotus Agnes, and my Cocoon Cardigan.

I haven’t blogged about the cardi or the three pairs of shorts I have made in the last couple of days yet. 🙂

I finally found a pattern for pj shorts and pants that fits the Husband. He got his minion shorts a few days ago and I can catch up on Christmas pjs too. He has flannel pants with sweater bears on them that are not yet made. Here are the minions.

They were from the book Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. The failed slipper pattern was from this book, so I was glad to find a pattern that worked. 🙂

I realized that all of my recent patterns have been ones that I’ve traced! My friend slowly dragged me over to Team Trace when I wasn’t looking. She tempted me with PDF patterns that I couldn’t resist. I’m not very mad about it, for being firmly on Team Cut That Sh*t Out (terms coined by my favorite sewing group on Facebook- The Self Sewn Wardrobe by Mallory Donohue.) I will admit that it does make sense, but I still hate printing and taping PDF patterns.

I will admit, this Cocoon Cardigan by Patterns for Pirates, had a lot to do with it as well. It looked so snuggly and wonderful on everyone online who made it that I had to have it.

The shoulders look weird in this picture. I swear it doesn’t actually make me look like I’m a linebacker. 🙂  They are a dolman sleeve, so they start sloped and pick up the sleeve partway down your shoulder. It was a new technique for me and I was super nervous, but it came out so nice. I have plans to make a lighter weight black cardi with an owl appliqué on the back. It’s going to look so cool!

The stars are french terry, which is a new fabric for me too. Here’s a closeup of the stars. They are multi-colored.

There’s a grey colorway with pink stars on the website and I think I want it too. Next time I make this in a non-stretch fabric, I’ll add a tiny bit in width to the lower arms. They are a tiny bit tighter than I’d like.  I wore it to work and received several compliments.  A very stylish coworker said “I don’t even ask anymore, I figure if you’re wearing it and it’s cute, you probably made it.” 🙂 Also, it has pockets!!

The other PDF pattern I have tried and loved has been the Linen Loungers by Patterns For Pirates. I made two pairs for myself yesterday. I may have flamingo fabric ordered to make another pair…

They are both sleep shorts and have a yoga waistband. They are very comfy and didn’t make me feel fat and horrible, which most shorts do. I will be making more of these. The pattern comes with  curved hem option, pants, and bermudas as well.

I’ve done a bunch of organizing in the basement, so I’d like to keep it that way.

Foodwise, we did pretty well. We mostly planned pur meals and we used the InstantPot. We had 24 recipes, with 9 being completely new.

Hits were Korean Beef,

Chophouse Cheesy Burgers, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, and the chewy chocolate chip cookies. The Husband also tried searing pork and did an excellent job!

We only had one miss, the blueberry muffins that were very dense. I managed to make dinners even though I was horribly sick. Overall, a pretty good month.

We’re looking forward to trying to have more new recipes this month and also grilling some more.

Goals for the month:

Food Goals: 

– Try a new Instant Pot recipe

– Two canning recipes

– Battle Cheesecake

– Meal plan

– Pantry meals

 

Sewing/Craft goals:

– 1 or 2 new patterns

– 1 or 2 UFO projects

– Continue to organize

 

Garden Goals:

– Put together composter

– Keep everything alive

 

Well, I have to to get ready for a family wedding. I’m wearing a me made dress and my starry cardigan, so I will feel cute all day. 🙂 Plus, I get ice cream! Have a great weekend!

Sewing Space and Garden Update- Wordy Wednesday
Life Posts · Sewing · Wordless Wednesdays

Sewing Space and Garden Update- Wordy Wednesday

LSiehLeave a comment

Well, hello Wednesday! I thought it was Tuesday, somehow missed that I have spent two days at work already. Man…

I’ll post some pictures tomorrow for a Thoughtful Thursday post, but in the meantime, here’s an update on the garden and my sewing space.

The garden is growing like crazy! I have to get out there and weed it, but it’s currently pouring rain, so it won’t be today.

Here’s a shot of the pepper and lettuce box:

I lost once lettuce, but the rest are going strong. We’re going to have a lot of lettuce though. More salads, I guess. Next year, maybe I will split lettuce with someone, or start from seed.

Here’s the tomato box:

Holy tomatoes, Batman!

Mr. Stripey is getting very big and my smaller tomato plants, the Early Girl’s have taken off! We’re going to have so many tomatoes!

My herbs are looking good. I used some lemon thyme in shortbread cookies and they were good.

I think being in the ground has really helped the garden. It’s much easier to control the consistent watering and everything seems to be thriving.

Now for the sewing part. I wasn’t up to crawling around on the floor to get patterns cut when sick, so I didn’t do a lot of sewing. I did make a table runner for Thanksgiving.

I also made this maxi skirt. Excuse the late night, silly face.

It’s super comfy and now has a slightly shorter hem. The skirt is a cotton rayon blend and I used black double brushed poly for the waistband. It’s lovely ans swishy, but I have to wait until it stops raining to wear it. It originally had a pocket, but it looked hideous, so I took it out.

I’ve done a lot of organizing to get my space ready to sew downstairs again.

The desk still has a few things on it, but now where near as bad as it was. The new lights the Husband hing are glorious, but I think I need one in front of my machine too. It’s a little backlit at the moment. It’s much brighter though, so that’s good.

I even cleaned the little messy area on top of my storage shelves.

That’s where I lost my serger pedal. 😳 Now I can’t lose things there anymore.

In Fancy news, that darn fireplace dog is still turning up trying to stealing her toys!

Shortly after this was taken, she started pawing at the door. Silly pup!

Well, that’s all my updates for now. I hope you’re having nice weather wherever you are!

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!

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!