Kiddo's Dress Choice + DIY Maxi

Kiddo chose Simpliciy 1876 to wear to the wedding so we took a trip to Joann's to get fabric.

We found a pretty floral satin print.

With the sale at 50% off, plus and additional 20% off coupon, I spent about $22 for 4 yards of fabric. Awesomeness, right??? Now we can maybe splurge a bit on her shoes.

I found my shoes on clearance at Marshall's for $18, I wasn't even looking!!!

I JUST HAD TO make a DIY maxi skirt, inspired by Adrienne, EricaB and MimiG, the sewing gurus.

Got a new hat wig too, lol! I'm having fun with it!

...peace...

I'm in love with a bumblebee (reprise)

I haven't sewn for kiddo in a while. She wants some summer dresses, so now I'll get to make some things for her!! Yay!!

So far I've made two dresses . One is a maxi dress made with a smocked cotton print from Joann's and the other dress is McCall's 6110. Slightly modified - I didnt use the gathered bodice, I just used the stay and self lined it. She wants 6331 next.

She picked out the fabric, it's a quilter's cotton from Joann's. I guess she likes yellow!

Guess who turned two???!?!

Time flies!! 



My attempts at being "domestic." I made strawberry/lemon cupcakes and they were a big hit.

I CAN BAKE!! (thanks to Duncan Hines, lol!)



Hanging out at Port Discovery.
That kiddo of mine is growing up...

That crazy Kiddo

Thanks for the sweet comments on Jr's costume.

He thought he was the stuff! When he got to day care that morning, which is all boys, they all started dino-roaring. It was adorable/hilarious!

Now for kiddo's costume, leave it up to her to be "out there" with it. I swear that girl is the opposite of invisible me. She was the only one of her friends that dressed up for trick or treating. I love her for that.


Simplicity 2525



My Girl

Happy 12th Birthday, Kiddo!!

Simplicity 4208

This weather sucks. Whatever warm weather we had before must have been a teaser and it's messing with me this week. I was so ready to pack away the sweaters & socks ya know?

Made a tunic and boloro from Simplicity 4208 for kiddo.She wore it today even though it was in the 50's.

I'm an 80+ degree kinda person so I was in my office today with the space heater blasting.

peace.

I'm in love with a bumble bee

Simplicity 3513.
Made the dress without the sleeves.

I have been spending my evenings this week sewing some springs things for kiddo. Lucky for me and my stash reduction, bold pattern is in for kids. She has highly approved my latest and planned projects. I've finished McCall's 5574 also, so I'll try to get a pic up soon.

For myself, I sewed Simplicity 2925 this past weekend. Haven't worn it yet though. I put the review up on PR and I'll get my pic in it sometime coming up. I also got the cutting table from Joann's, which has been big help, even though I had drama putting it together - more on that later.

Also, check your local pattern shops because Simplicity is getting ready to come out with the summer patterns, I got five cute ones today. I wanted to take pics but can't since crazy kiddo touched my camera lens - hence the blurriness here.

I'll catch up later on reviews and pictures, it's time to relax while I can....

My treat

Sewed for Kiddo this week...

Top: McCalls 5088

Pants: Simplicity 3513

Both patterns were easy to sew and were perfect evening retreats from the weekly madness that is my life right now. She couldn't wait to wear them today and BRAG that her Mama made it!

Happy Weekend!

Leave it to kiddo to show me up...

I've been (sort of) trying to crochet for almost a year. Kiddo told me she needed badly to learn to crochet after learning that I got the training CD from Tracey (um, just who does kiddo think she is - "needing" to crochet...?)

Since the disk wasn't compatible with my computer, I went ahead and put it on hers. We still couldn't watch the videos, but were able to see & hear the tutorials, she immediately made a slipknot.... Then we went online to the Coats & Clark website & to NexStitch to watch the vid-clips, she was crocheting a chain PERFECTLY in a matter of minutes!

This is one of the FOUR chains she made last night.
I am wearing two on my wrist and this one she attached it to her hair and wore it today.

What I didn't know is that she has been sneaking and reading my Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet book and already had an idea of how crochet worked and immediately caught on. It took me days of reading two books and viewing a number of online tutorials to figure out to slipknot and weeks to get the hang of the friggin chain!

I've also been testing out a new iron I purchased about 2 weeks ago. So far so good - meaning no leaking, spewing, it has even, HOT heat, and a good amount of steam for quick garment ironing, and the water tank lasts FOREVER.

I haven't done any heavy duty sewing to test it out on but it looks promising so far. (Plus I hide it from hubby who is the iron killer, he still uses the sucky, poor Sunbeam)

Ok sis here is your dress 90% complete, I just need to install a zipper and hem it.

peace.

Mojo(jojo) back!

Me & kiddo finally got our sewing mojo back after a hectic holiday season. We are both psyched about having a three-day weekend so we are crafting away!

She made herself a bag and is trying to figure out how to work this mini knitter I found in Joann's. I can't figure it out either. We are so not yarn inclined.

Meanwhile I finished 3 UFOs I started during the holiday rush:

McCall's 5531 (review)
Vogue 8425
not going to review this one, i pretty much learned from these reviews
Simplicity 3546
...and for the rest of the weekend I am going to work on Burda 7783 and whatever else I can get into.

OK here's the last FO from my abandoned SWAP.

Mccall's 5244
I may review it later
ciao 4 now!!!

Saturday morning walk

Made a carry-all for kiddo. She tried it out for our morning walk, and decided it's perfect.


She can tote around all of her on-the-go "essentials" like water, gum, lip gloss, camera and her kiddie novels.

Review xposted on PR:

McCall's 2933

Pattern Description: lined bags w/ Velcro closures

Pattern Sizing:n/a

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? yes. view B

Were the instructions easy to follow? GREAT instructions. Very easy to understand - no "duh" moments

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? this was a very easy pattern for quite a stylish bag! I made this as a carry-all for my 10 y/o daughter.

other bag patterns I have looked at seemed so complicated in construction and needed many hard to find notions. this is a winner at ease and potential.

the bag is also very sturdy - all pieces except the lining are interfaced. and one thing to note is to be mindful about choosing heavy fabrics, because you have to go over many layers.

Fabric Used: denim on outside and lightweight canvas for lining

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: used heavyweight fusible instead of sew-in interfacing. Put on iron on jewels.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?I think it would look nice in a variety of fabrics - and there is ample space to get fancy with embellishments. I like this for kids and it would be a nice bag for walking or shopping.

Conclusion I want to try all views!

a few more pics here

Imma get to it

I did hand hem my jacket last night, and I'm gonna do the buttons/holes tonight before I go to bed. Hand hemming is not as bad as I thought. The results stunned me!

Today tho, I had to make this Kwanzaa dress for kiddo today!

I think I will enter it into the PR holiday contest.

Simplicity 3546 & Butterick 3470 - Out of print

I'm off to write up my reviews...

Reviews written, I joined the contest too!

Sweatshoppin for kiddo II

I spent most of this week's evenings cutting & tracing patterns in preparation for kiddo's school wardrobe. I have the carpal tunnel to prove it. I was able to leave work early today and decided to get to sewing before my hand fell off!

Review: McCall's 5463



yes I've been learning to use my serger!!

Size: L

Pattern Critique: easy, not many pieces. Cutting, stitching & pressing took me about 2 hrs per top.

I loved the styling of this pattern. Most of the Hilary Duff patterns are pretty cute anyway.

Fabric: Kiddo approved 2 way stretch jerseys.

Stripe came from the remnant table at G Street Fabrics. This fabric is so stretchy, that I can fit this top with ease.

Camo came from the remnant table at Hancock's.

Pink high heels came from Fabric.com

Modifications: none, I only did the belt for the black top.

Results: kiddo approved. what more can I say?


Kiddo also got a jolt of creativity this week. She found a pair of too small underwear and decided to cut the waistband off to make a headband. I was pleasantly surprised, she did it all by herself, and it was done well!



I also found a couple of really cool books at library and I MUST share:

Fashion Illustrator: Drawing and Presentation for the Fashion Designer by Bethan Morris - A really cool intro into the world of fashion design. It touches briefly on all of the technical aspects of the creative process. I like it because I am learning where exactly I need to begin in developing my skills - and the skills I want to achieve. Lots of pretty pics to look at too.

The New Creative Artist: A Guide To Developing Your Creative Spirit by Nita Leland - This book got my creative juices flowing. I get so caught up in work, my daily duties, and my mundane environment. In the book I found some really cool activities to wake my right brain up. Plus the author's writing makes me feel warm & fuzzy.

Kiddo's first project

Kiddo has been practicing her straight stitch almost every night now for the last week or so. She even tried curves on her own without me showing her!

So far she has had lessons on:
Machine safety
Keeping the fabric steady
Controlling the foot pedal speed
Seam allowances
Pattern tracing
Notions and their use
Staying organized with her notions
Taking her time
Threading the machine & needle
Replacing the bobbin
Back Stitching
Pattern instructions & pictures

I will be reinforcing these as we go along.

She made her first item today! An eye mask from Simplicity 3988. I did the elastic for her but she did the cutting, applying the interfacing, pattern markings (I also had her mark her stitch lines using a guage), tube turning for the strap.

she was very proud!

& so was I! Next we will work on the pants, but I'll be doing the elastic again & probably the hemming. She's not quite ready for that yet.

Today mom dropped this off for me! A Brother XL-3027! She's had it for years and never used it. She's also going to throw a couple of bucks towards the Huskylock! I ended up missing hanging out with Cidell & Nicegirl but ummm.... it was kinda worth it today.

My Singer CG-550 works just fine - perfectly actually. I recently re-read the manual and realized I was doing a couple of things wrong! My Brother XL-3010 (which now belongs to kiddo) is working pretty well also I re-skimmed the manual and learned a few new things about that too. I think I will take it in to JoMax to see if it needs a tune up or whatever, it really is a solid little machine after all these years (10).

Now I will spend some time reading up on this XL-3027 before I make anything with it.

Sergers & stuff

I haven't been doing much any work on my blouses since Tuesday night. I've lost interest for the moment, so they're sitting in the UFO pile. I had a lot of distractions this week.

I saw baby sis off to SF, so I was a bit emotional this week, but all is well. She moved in w/ dad and starts work Monday! A nice distraction from missing her was some late-late spring cleaning and a new obsession with this baby right-chere:

Viking Huskylock 905

What a beaut eh! I started looking into it on recommendation for a beginner's serger from the Viking dealer at Joann's. I think it's about $500-$600-I wasn't in the mood to hear the actual price at the time.

I have spent the better part of this weekend Googling every site and PRing every thread I can about this machine. I had been previously curious about the White Speedylock, the Singer CG-754 (since I use the CG-550 sewing machine) OR the Brother 1034D (since so many at PR have given it kuddos) but I think I need to go for something a with bit more longevity and serviceability. I can't buy new machines every few years.

I spoke to my seamstress aunt and she says that Viking is the way to go & stay away from the White & Singer sergers. So as of today, I started saving my rainy day coins and am hoping for a side hustle idea & some graduation gifts to come through soon because I am going to dream about that serger until I get my paws on it.

I did a mini project this weekend, a t-shirt revamp. I dug out my unruly tee stash, highly motivated by one of my fave books and wanting to get rid of more stuff. For those who have the book, I made a version of the Elizabeth tee:

& for those who don't have the book - get it! you wont regret. It took me 15 minutes because I didn't take in the sides, I left it loose instead & put ties on the sides to tighten up the bottom. Here's what's in the book: (sorry for the dark pics, they're prolly not much help, but they are 1024x768 when you click em)

Something else that gave me a bit of joy this week. Kiddo has expressed a serious interest in sewing!

This past winter I bought her a $12 mini sewing machine from Walmart and she practiced on it until it died a month later. She made me a cell phone pouch and was really proud of it. She was upset when the mini stitcher crashed (i figured it would) so I told her I would show her how to use a real machine, which would be more fun for her. I was right.

Here she is on my first baby, Brother XL-3010, just practicing control of the foot pedal and fabric (no needle & thread yet)

I had to force (brute force) her off to bed 'cause she was having so much fun! Next we'll work with stitches since she's got the hang of the pedal.

We already went to the fabric store for her first project & she chose KS3410 and a camo print interlock knit. I really tried to talk her into getting a pillow, but she's a mini fashionista, hence the camo print and the fancy pattern. I'm interested in how this is going to turn out... or how long she will actually remain interested since she is my child and all...hee hee

She also has been apparently snooping around in MY stash and found that Burda dress I recently made. She tried to wear it out thinking it was hers because it's "Hot," so I guess I'll be resizing it down for her since I can't wear it. I'll make sure to post it after I finish it.

Next, I read the most awesome fabric stash tip on PR by Nancywin!

This seemed like the most reasonable & manageable way for me to start keeping track of my fabric. Than my previous idea. The card protector package comes with 10 sheets/9 pockets per page. If I ever need more pages than this, it means I have too much fabric. I'm kind of excited to get started, but it's going to take some patience. I'm not in the mood to be patient right now.

My Access database of patterns is also complete. I will share it via email if anyone is interested in using it as a template, email me: (edited to remove email address for now)

peace