Cherry Bomb

Is a thirty nine year old women going to look ridiculous in this?  I don't care!  I love it!  The fabric has a little vintage flare to it and the cherries scream summer!  I bought this fabric at least 5 years ago with a strawberry selection.  The strawberries made it to a nice summer dress too but this one sat on the shelf.  I picked up Simplicity 2209 and thought the two would go together nicely!  This is another Lisette pattern.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy that line of patterns.  Usually pretty easy to put together and the results are always nice.  Now I just need to find a summer party.....

Short Season

Have you been watching all the cute short trends for summer?  I have!  So out I went looking for a really great shorts pattern!  This one is from the Lisette line of Simplicity(1879) patterns.  They have the cute little cuff, small pleats in the front and a side zipper.  Supper wearable.  I plan to have one in every color by the end of summer....seriously.  Have to make sure I get in on the cute print and color blocking trend this season!  Some great variations on this pattern would be to take out the pleat in the front and to leave the cuffs straight.  Try some denim, bottom weights, decorator weight cottons.....the options are endless!  

Picnic Dress

 In about one month I will be setting off for that tropical vacation.  The one that will rescue me from the dregs of winter and give me hope that I will once again be warm.  In the meantime, I have set about sewing my vacation attire.  I figure a few new dresses, some shorts and blouses....everything needed to at least distract me from the fact that vacation is still a whole month away!

This is Simplicity 2180.  I picked it up through the "Make This Look" section of Sew Weekly.  I absolutely love that site for idea stealing!  It was a pretty easy pattern though I did manage to bungle the side zipper.  Lucky thing for me its on the side and under the arm!

Vintage Style Sewing Resources

My favorite sewing is vintage style sewing.  The reason for this is a) I like vintage b) you typically can't buy it in the store c) it gives me a reason to frequent the local thrift stores.  My favorite resources for patterns are thrift stores.  My trip through the thrift store usually involves a look at the sheets and fabrics then on to the patterns.  Always fun stuff there!  Some I use and some I display.  I also have a few websites and blogs I reference regularly.   The Coletterie is great vintage inspired sewing web site that posts new projects regularly with great advice.  You can purchase the Colette patterns but they also have some free tutorials.  The sorbetto top is on my list of things to do.

Another favorite of mine is Sew Weekly.  This site started with the premise of sewing one article of clothing a week.  I love the idea but doubt I am going to crank out one article of clothing a week!  If I can get half that this year I'll be happy.  My favorite part of this web site is the make this look section.  They look at mainstream designs and offer pattern alternatives for you to make the garment yourself!

Happy Valentines Day!

With a candy free holiday declared in the classroom we needed to come up with something a bit more creative.  This is our rendition of something I pulled off of Pinterest.  I think they turned out cute.  Annika and I had a great time making them.  Sending you all a little love bug to let you know that you are the best today and every day!

Pantalones

Is it really almost mid February?  Surely a testament to how busy I have been.  In addition to working my regular 40hr job I have been working at my husbands office and have some private landscape clients I have been working with.  To say time is short is an understatement! That has of course not kept me from sneaking in some sewing. I just have not taken the time to blog about it!  That said, I would like you to share in my most recent victory.  I made a pair of pants that fit!

 Making fitted pants is difficult and I have avoided it accordingly.  With a dress or blouse you can fudge a bit and it will be o.k.  Pants must fit. It took me a total of three tries and about 6 yards of wasted fabric but I finally got it! For this adventure I chose a loose legged pattern hoping it would be a bit more forgiving.  This is Simplicity 2656.  I love the pattern because it has a bit of that vintage flair but getting that front placket in on the diagonal with out puckers was not an easy task.  This is probably not a beginner pattern. Regardless of all the frustration, I love the pants and have worn them twice already. The details are great and I will probably make another pair.

After I wasted 6 yards of expensive fabric I found this at the ARC.  Four yards for $5.00.  The buttons cost me about $6.00 and the zipper in the back another $1.50.  In the future, I will start with cheaper fabric first for new adventures!  Who knows, maybe if I shed a few pounds I'll be able to utilize the others that are half built!

On a last little note, I want to say thanks to those who tracked me down and asked when I was going to post again.  I appreciate your encouragement. And BTW: Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays

The carrots and hay are on the porch, ready to feed those hard working reindeer and the dollhouse is finished!

I am happy to say we were able to slide it in beside the tree- finished.  No letters from Santa indicating how busy the elves had been this year and how they just didn't have time to get it all done.  The paint was even dry! I have to say this was a very satisfying project.  It might have been a bit less stressful if I had allowed some more time for completion.  I had trouble getting the roof angles right and that proved frustrating but in the end, I learned a thing or two.  1)It would do me good to have the right tools and save a lot of time.  2) Paint and caulk are indispensable for um creating that "finished" look.  The dolls and furniture came from Target and fit nicely with the scale.  I would definitely do it again and would recommend the project to anyone.  I am comfortable using tools but am definitely not a finish carpenter. I still felt like the project still turned out nice.  I am going to enjoy watching my daughter play with it possibly more than she will enjoy the play. Total lumber cost was about $50.00.