Wow.

It's been a long stinkin' time since I have posted anything that I have made on my blog.  It is certainly not cuz I haven't been working on anything!  I have made a TON of things!  Want a list?  Okay!
1.  Maternity dress
2.  Maternity skirt
3. two maternity shirts
4.  three pairs of baby booties
5.  high waisted skirt
6.  Knit maternity skirt
And that brings me to number 7, which is a card table playhouse!  I got the pattern from pink chalk fabrics.  It turned out so cute!  It was especially perfect for us because this spring has been full of nothing but snow, rain and cold weather, so we have been playing our butts off in the playhouse!  Here is the final product!

When I got the pattern in the mail, I thought I would put it away until after we move and get settled in Arizona.  Unfortunately, Konrad found the pattern and harassed me until I broke down and said I would make it.  It was a rather long and arduous project.  You not only have to cut the fabric, but also the adhesive.  THEN, you have to iron it on THEN appliquéd all the pieces.  Not all that fun.  The final product is great, but I have never been so sick of a project as I neared the end of it!  In fact, I broke down and bought some fabric paint and painted leaves and all the lettering on the house instead of then being appliquéd.  The boys love it and that is all that matters to me!  My favorite part is the mailbox, complete with mail that I made them!

mad men.

I made this dress this weekend.  I used New Look pattern 6869.  I have been watching Mad Men (a little Jon Hamm, anyone, anyone) and was inspired to make this dress.  I cut it out on Thursday sewed most of it together on Friday and finished on Saturday during nap time.  loving how it turned out.
the fabric is just a $4.00/yd cotton twill that i found at Hancock's.  I was gonna go with a wool/cotton mix but figured that i could go back and make this dress again with the expensive crap.  
I, as always, learned a few thingies.
1.  Line the bodice with a light material.  seriously.  I lined it with the same fabric I used on the rest and it made for a very, very VERY thick collar.
2.  Follow the directions.
3.  Read the directions.
4.  Invisible zipper foot.  Holy crap, the greatest invention ever.  EVER!  I did not even know this thing existed till yesterday.  Life changing.  It only cost $2.40 at Joann.  
5.  Put in my first vent.
6.  I need a dress form.
7.  UNDERSTITCHING.  
8.  I am pretty sure that the directions were translated from Mandarin Chinese.   
9.  Dang, my calves look good in this dress:)
10.  Zippers- I kill 'em.


My confidence in dress making is definitely getting better.  I am a pro at darts (16 for this dress) and sleeves.  I ended up putting in four sleeves (two for each copy- the outside that you see and the lined bodice).  I am pretty pro at collars, but my confidence is not quite there, you know?

It's My Birthday Too, Yah!

Instead of singing the generic and boring birthday song, we sing The Beatles version of the Birthday song, complete with dancing and booty shakin'.  Rad's Bday is Jan. 3 and mine is the 8th so we get to do it twice in one week! 

For Rad's Bday I made him a Birthday hat.  It was super easy.  In fact, I used a cardboard Bday hat as a pattern to make this fabric hat.  I used my silhouette machine to make the appliquéd 3 on the hat and on his rosette pin.  I also made the pompom!  He wore his little Bday outfit all day and it was so stinking sweet.  I am gonna make him one every year until he tells me that he is too cool for it.  He was pretty pumped for the firetrucks, dump trucks, space ships, race cars and trains!

Hopefully soon I will have a Bday hat tutorial ready to go for all yuz!

jammies

I made my boys and cousin Billy some Thomas the Train pajamas for Chrissy this year.  Unfortunately I did not get a pic of all three in their jammies, but here are my two Yahoo's!  They are really easy to make!  My friend Sue Newberry "donated" the fabric to me.  She gave me about five yards of this fabric and some Cars fabric.  Rad is especially pumped for his Thomas jammies cuz they have Cranky the Crane on them, which Cranky he also got from Santa.  WooHoo for being a little yahoo!

Chrissy Pressies

That is Christmas presents.  Santa has been slaving away making Chrissy Pressies for my lovelies, you know who you are!  First up!  I finished this gem this afternoon.  It is even insulated.  I learnt a few things while making this and the first is that I need to make sure I read the directions thoroughly, especially what the seam allowances are meant to be.  Secondly, interfacing thickness is a big ish.  Anyhow, I might keep it for my own self.  Friends, look out for a package from me!

Secondly, I have a new niece.  Reagan Elizabeth.  Said niece has a new quilt and doesn't even know it.  Crank your necks, loyal readers, she's a beaut!  Circles suck.  Nuff said.

Lastly, this is for a dear friend!  I hope she likes it.  I think I'm gonna make a few more for my less fortunate friends that live in colder places than AZ, although she will use it, I am certain!  Fleece is the ballz, for sure.

Lots more Chrissy pressies to come!

shirt

Those who know me know that I am loving the reemergence of the 1980's.  I also blogged the other day about how I wish I could be Joan Collins and/or live my life as though I was a character from Dynasty.  I went to the Goodwill about a month ago or so and found a 1980's McCall's pattern.  It is an amazing pattern.  So I went to the fabric store and found some fabric and behold:

The fabric ended up looking awesome, especially with the pockets turned on the bias, but it was really hard to work with.  It was like 60% poly, 5% spandex and the rest cotton.  It frayed easily and did not keep a crisp line.  I did learn a few things!
1.  Collars are not that hard.  I think I have got it down.
2.  Following the directions makes things SO much easier!!
3.  Hemming:  Since the fabric would not retain a nice clean line, I decided to do a running stitch on the seam allowance, which in this case was 5/8".  Then I went back and ironed the seam allowance then folded the unfinished edge into the folded seam.  Then I finished the hem.  EASY!  I am sure I am not the first person to come up with such a trick, but I thought it was a brilliant idea!  And it worked beautifully.
4.  My chalk pencil is the ballz.
5.  I need to take better measurements because for me, my measurements are always changing.  I ended up having to take in the sides and sleeves another 1.5", but even so, it is still a little big.

Yay for vintage patterns!!!

Hoodies

I found this fab pattern on etsy for this hoodie.  It looked super easy and fall is upon us, so here is the result!  I opted for flannel for the lining but I am not sure I would do that again.  I mean, it looks really cool, but flannel does not have much stretch, as does the sweatshirt fabric.  I have never used sweatshirt fabric before and it wasn't too bad to use.  I made sure I finished all seams with my overlock foot, which helped the seams lay flat...and TOPSTITCHING. I dedicated an entire post to my love affair with TOPSTITCHING and I meant it!  Also, I opted for snaps instead of buttons.  Buttons made it look pretty girly so that was a definite no-go.  Brian took Rad to a Marquette football game and Rad came home perfectly warm!  Okay, off to my next project. 

Top Stitching

I just wanted to write a post dedicated to my most favoritest thing to do (in regards to sewing, that is): topstitching.
Topstitching is a sewing technique. It is used most often on garment edges such as necklines and hems, where it helps facings to stay in place and gives a crisp edge. Decorative topstitching is designed to show, and may be done in a fancy thread or with a special type of stitch. Otherwise, topstitching is generally done using a straight stitch with a thread that matches the fashion fabric (thanks, wiki).  
I am working on hoodies for the boyz (Rodney's is done..check back for post in a coupla dayz so I can finish Rad's) and Topstitching saved my life.  I use it all the time.  I have done it on purses, collars, plackets, scripture cases, flowers and probably more.  It DOES make hems and edges crisp and I don't think any project is "finished" until it has been topstitched!


Topstitching, I LOVE U!

More Crap

Not actual crap.  That would be disgusting, albeit hilarious.  Nope, I made a bib necklace from s{craps} of fabric from Mr. Hexy McQueen (of which I have finished all 17 hexagons.  Still gotta do 6 half hex's and 8 triangles.  Then I gotta lay it out and the bastard of all bastards...baste it).


I love how it turned out!  I made some fabric flowers, which I totally winged, and some fabric buttons.   I have also been searching and collecting vintage earrings, buttons, broaches, cuff links and such. They added the perfect amount of sparkle!

Eat Your Heart Out, Princess

I finished my Amy Butler Liverpool dress this week!!!  I wore it to church today.  The besticle part of wearing something you make is when somebody compliments you on it, you get to say, "Thanks!! I made it!!!".  I did get a few compliments, not complement.  That's biology.
So... Here it is!

This was the first collar I put in and it was certainly not easy.  I do not make any attempt to be a perfectionist but collars require perfection and precision.  I can do precision, but perfection alludes me.  But I think I killed the collar!  I am going to make another shirt with a collar and some pajamas for the boyz so I can master the collar.  

I also learned that interfacing is my new besticle friend.  I love interfacing.  And belts.  Isn't the belt fab?  The most important thing I learnt is that being a perfectionist does not necessarily mean that the results will be any better than if you are going for speed, or as I like to call it, efficiency.  Let me explain.  There is a lady in my class who cut, marked, pressed, pinned to the T.  She started sewing before me and was way ahead of me.  Then there is me.  I just go.  I am all about business.  I have about 2 hours a couple times a week to sew so I try to get as much done during that time that I can.  I don't have time to pin and re-pin 100 times.  What I am saying is that Lady probably spent twice as long on her dress than I did and it did not turn out any better/worse than mine.  I beat myself up trying to be more of a perfectionist but the more I sew and do other things too, I am finding that perfectionism doesn't really add much to the end result, other than time:)  I do think that I could pay a little more attention to reading the directions.  That is time well spent!

Quilted Coasters, A Must

I wanted to share one of the projects that I started/finished this week (another biggie to come!!!)  We were in desperate need of some coasters.  Contrary to what Brian believes (that those water rings can be rubbed off wood), coasters are kind of a big deal, unless you want unruly water stains on your wood.  Out there in the blogging /craft book world, there are gazillions of tutorials, patterns and the such for quilted coasters.  I got out my scraps and came up with my own little block.  I also made the cutest birdie appliqué and fused them on.  Easy project, but I thought I would share the results.  I did not use fusible batting which I will always do for projects like this in the future.  Speaking of the future, I am thinking some quilted place mats!  A few other things I learned that might be useful....

1.  Don't bother with the (cheap) store bought printer fabric.  It is way better to use bubble jet 2000/set /freezer paper method.  It takes a little longer but I found that the adhesive they use to adhere the fabric to the paper is way too sticky. I printed really small things and when I went to remove the fabric it tore.

2.  Use a small needle to quilt the coasters.

Hexy McQueen

Hexy McQueen

Please meet Hexy McQueen.  This is the quilt that I am making to commemorate our 10th anniversary next June.  I was going to make it a surprise for Doxta Kleinman, but a coupla things: 1.  He just don't care.  Not about the anni, but the quilt.  I mean, he thinks its cool but it would be like giving me a bunch of tools for our anniversary.  I am sure they would be awesome but I don't care.  2.  Can't hide a 108" quilt.  Simple as that.  It is literally bigger than our living room.  I think the word "literally" is way over-used, but I am using it because I am demonstrating how it is supposed to be used.  I am going to have to put the hex's together then assemble them somewhere, probably the church because it is gonna be YOOOOOJ (huge, for the idiots).  My goal is to finish putting the top together before Christmas that way I can take it to PatchedWorks and get it quilted.  I am not doing it myself.  These are the times you let the professionals (machines) handle it!  I have three hex's done, 14 more to go.  Plus 6 half hex's.  What do you think?

Big Boss Little Boss

Big Boss

I always name the quilts I am working on. It is always the first thing that comes into my head.  Big Boss and Little Boss are quilts for Auntie Api and Reagan (my niece in utero), respectively.  Big Boss's squares are all sewn and done, I just have to put them together.  The squares are 10" and I think it is going to be amazing when I'm done.  I think I am going to quilt it on a diagonal and then do some free motion circles  in the circles.

Little Boss is the same idea, I just used two charm packs instead, so the finished block size will be 4", which is perfect for a little baby quilt.  Sorry Sissa, no pix.  You have to wait till you shoot that baby outta you.

Sewing Class

I am taking a garment construction class over at Bigsby's.  I have taken lots of garment construction classes over the years but I thought I would do it again to sharpen my skills a bit.  I am making the Amy Butler Liverpool dress.  It's not too bad... you have to do 10 darts, two plackets, a collar, 12 buttons/holes, sleeves, cuffs and a hem.  I have done all that schtuff before but I don't really remember the collar.  Anyhow, I picked this fabric by Denyse Schmidt.  I am finding that it frays a bit and is not very rigid so I have had to put in extra interfacing.  It is really turning out sweet and I shall add some pix when it doesn't look like a 9th grade home ec project!

Failure to the Nth Degree

Back in college I took a sewing class each semester.  You know what I did?  I made ties.  I made ties for everybody I knew.  Hey, they were easy and I needed a good grade.  I always had grand intentions of making something big and awesome, but hey, I was 18.  I ended up not finishing the big item I'd started so I'd whip up a tie for the final.  What I am trying to say is that I was pretty pro at making ties.

Fast forward to two days ago.  I am not pro at making ties.  I am also not pro at picking good fabric.  Note to self and to anyone smart enough to be reading this in the first place: DO NOT TRY AND SEW A TIE WITH BROCADE.  It would look pretty and it could probably be done pretty easily with a serger, but ties are supposed to be easy.  I will let you have a look at my failed attempt at making a tie (for the milllionth time).

I will say that I went back and did another tie with said brocade and got it!  That's right, I pwned that brocade.  It looks pretty awesome.  I will post pix after I give it to Brian for Father's Day.  I just wanted to show you my FAIL for the week/month/year/life.

The Sad Tale of Soffie (not sophie).

Konrad has had a little blue blanket that we called Soffie (kinda like Softy, but with no "t").  He called it Da.  He started calling it Da when he was like 8 months old.  Who knows why.  Not a question.  Well, we lost it.  probably in Arizona somewheres.

Anyhowzit, I took him to the fabric store and let him pick out what ever fabric he wanted.  Strangely, it consisted of helicopters, fire trucks, carz, diggers, back hoe's, dump trucks, boats and space ships.  So I sat down one afternoon and came up with this little number.  I think the ribbons are the cutest!  On his old soffie, he would play with the tag as he fell asleep so not only did I add one tag, I added 400 (or so).  The fabric is just from JoAnn (like she's my best friend), and it is flannel on the 9-patch and helicopter fleece on the back.  Super easy, super cute!  I am gonna make one for my cuzzin's new baby, Desmond!

I was not 100% sure Rad was gonna take to his new soffie, but I have to tell you (whoever you is), that he woke up that night, came into my room and asked me to get soffie for him.  WIN.

The Tree of FAIL

I was so excited to learn how to do the tree of life quilt block.  I don't know, it just seemed so cool.  My first attempt at it was an epic FAIL.  It was so bad, in fact, that I didn't even bother sewing it together.  But I did learn a few things:  1) half square triangles are no one's friend.  2) starch is my best friend. 
So, yes, I failed miserably at the Tree of Life the first time around.  That being said, I tried again.  Result?

Much better!!!  I made this for my mom as a wall hanging for her birthday.  I love how it turned out.  I used civil war fabrics and then quilted it and bound it by hand.  Not too shabby, especially it being a small quilt.  The finished size is 16"x16". 

Welcome!!

I am here today to post my first completed project.  It is a birthday present for one of the 7 Birthdays of friends/family that happen to occur in April.  I don't know why I am so in to making bags lately.  Perhaps because they are fairly easy to make, as I have made a few in the past, they require very little cutting and very little fabric.  Also, once you get the hang of making bags, you can kind of just do your own thing. 

For this bag, I made my own snap closure.  I probably will not use a snap closure  in the future.  As per always, I was being lazy and thought I would save some time by not using a magnetic closure.  It ended up taking my way longer to do the snap, along with breaking three needles for my machine.  You are supposed to hand-sew the snap but I tried to machine sew it.  FAIL.  Seriously.  Lesson I learned from this project and in general:  There is No Such Thing as a Shortcut. 

The yoyo broach was just icing on the cake!  Check back for a tutorial soon!

Yo Yo detail