My Bucket List: Sewing Style

The countdown is well underway! Our little guy should be arriving in 50 (yes, 50!) days give or take. A month and a half. Just over 7 weeks. And I have some sewing to do! I thought I'd do a blog post of my to-do list--more for me than for my readers :) but I thought it'd be fun to share.

Photos linked to sources below :) 

1. Chase Pants-Dress pants for my little guy to wear to the Convention in the middle of August. I have the pattern & the fabric.
2. Matching vest
3. Tie to coordinate with....
4. Eden Dress- The skirt portion will be made from the same fabric as DS's suit (khaki twill) and the blouse will match his tie. Shawn picked a really pretty navy blue satin for this.
5. Coming Home Outfit- Kwik Sew 2246 (muslin here) Fabric swatch has been ordered--I need to find a coordinating ribbing and zipper. 
6. Big Brother, Big Sister applique shirts. I'll probably just purchase plain t-shirts & then hopefully applique the words on them. This is "low" priority, but I do hope to get it done.
7. Diaper bag! I bought the pattern from Watermelon Wishes on Etsy. The outer fabric will be a grey twill and the lining will be a combination of Verona Teal & Dots quilting cotton. 
8. Nursing Cover- Easy nursing shawl using tutorial from The Coterie Blog. I'm so glad I found this, I have a couple different traditional nursing "aprons" and I hate them.

Well, that's quite a list!! Add in a couple more tops & maybe even a maxi dress for myself & I'll be a busy girl!! I don't feel "pressure" to get any of it done except for the first 4 for the Convention (and I should be able to finish all 4 in a week or so), and the coming home outfit (which will take a couple days, probably).  The rest would just be icing on the cake!

Just a quick post...

I've been so busy sewing I haven't had time to blog (and the weather has been so nice we've spent a lot of time outside--AND I must be nesting because I've been on an organizing spree)!

My mini maternity wardrobe is coming along GREAT.  I've finished FIVE tops & have two more I'd like to do. And for skirts, I've got four done with hopes of finishing at least two more. :) At this rate, I very well could participate in Me-Made-May. I just don't know that I could commit to taking a photo every day.

I've started a baby sleeper for baby boy. It's coming along-but it's so bizarre how it's laid out. The front & back are cut as one piece on the fold, which makes it super easy, but at times it's hard to visualize how it's going to turn out. :)

That's it for now. I promise I'll have pictures posted at some point this week. :)

Sewing Snippits

I have been sewing. Really, I have. Just not for myself. And not garments. I've been altering bags. Lots & lots of bags.  Adding zippers, changing strap lengths, removing & replaceing snaps. I'm really enjoying it & the income helps me fund my crafting budget. :) Next month I'll be working on 2 custom purses, and I'm really excited about that. 

I also put an order in at Fashion Fabrics Club. Shawn has outgrown his dress clothes (again!) so he'll be getting at least 2 new suits. And for good measure, I ordered 2 yards of a purple knit to make myself a top (probably from my TNT S4076) I also ordered a red wool Gabardine with hopes of making a cool weather circle skirt from Burda's Linda pattern.

And since it's hard to sew for yourself when you need to be sewing for others, I've decided to get back into embroidery. And I might even be delving into quilting.

That's pretty much it. :) Lots of sewing & nothing to show for it. But that will be changing soon. :)

Lots of progress but nothing to share....yet.

I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. It's not for a lack of things to say, that's for sure. It's just that every time I sat down to blog last week, I though "I should be sewing, not blogging about sewing." So, that's what I did.

And my little doll's dress is almost done (with my very first invisible zipper). All that needs to be done is hemming. And I think I'm going to try using a blind hem. That will make for lots of firsts on this little dress. My first invisible zipper, first use of french seams. First time using tulle. More on all that later, though. 

Shawn's matching tie is finished, done in less than an afternoon. I swear, you spend more time turning & pressing than actually sewing when it comes to ties. It was a nice change of pace.

So, lots of unveiling to come. But for now...back to the sewing machine.

It's Good to be Back....

Phew. Ten whole days without a computer.  I suppose I can't complain too much; I was able to surf the web & read blogs on my phone, but not being able to post or interact left me feeling out of touch. :) On the other hand, there were some perks. :)

I have so much to talk about! A few new notions, some new finished projects (three, in fact), and of course, the ever constant stream of plans & new items on the "to sew" list.

July is going to be a busy month! We have our annual 3 day convention & I'd like to carry on the traditoin of making Laila & Shawn a coordinating dress & tie (respectively, of course). I just ordered fabric for the dress & a slew of swatches to find the perfect silky coordinate. I'm also going to need to make another suit or 2 for Shawn.  All his pants are quickly becoming too short.  Since I was planing on sewing for them anyway, I think I'll hold off until July 1 to start & enter some of my creations in the Sewing for Children contest on PR.

Also, Sarah Veblen is offering a class (again, at PR) on fitting & altering skirts. I'm seriously considering taking this class. I think it would be a great experience.

Well. That's it for now. I just wanted to peek my head in & say hi!

Sewing Snippits...

It's been kind of a rough week for me. All my key appliances seem to be boycotting. On Monday, I was practicing doing a rolled hem on my serger (for the class I'm taking). Everything was going fine. And then, all of a sudden, it stopped forming a stitch. And then came a horrible clanking noise. I did a little looking around & realized teh lower looper was hitting something.

I was all set to take it in to get serviced on Thursday, but my father-in-law came to the rescue. He was able to fix the lower looper rub relatively easily. And by the end of the day, my beloved serger was better than ever. Oiled, cleaned, tension correct. She's running beautifully. And I am so glad, because I was dreading having to use just my sewing machine on my next knit dress.

Also, my computer went on the fritz Thursday. Just up & quit working. So, I called my tech (who happens to be an 18 year old computer genius--he also built our computer originally) and he determined the graphics card was bad. So, he gave us one out of his computer & we're up & running (for now...since we're using his fancy graphics card, he can't play his games...so he'll be taking it back shortly LOL). So until we get our card, I'll be without my computer. I still have internet access on my phone, but I won't be able to post to the blog. So, please excuse the temporary radio silence.

I'm making a couple of baby dresses for a friend of mine's granddaughter. She had purchased the fabrics, notions & patterns, but just hasn't (& won't ) get around to sewing them up. I'm glad to help out, and they'll be quick little projects to keep the mojo going. That & I won't have to look up any complicated construction techniques while I'm without the internet.

So, there you go. Consider yourselves caught up. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm posting again. :)

Confessions of a Seamstress in Training

 Image Source

Within the last week, I've bought 14.5 yards of fabric. Yeah. Wow. Three yards are muslin, but the rest are destined to become wonderful skirts & tops.

And because I've bought so much fabric this week, and I like to pre-wash it all before it goes into the stash, I've managed to stay on top of the household laundry. It's amazing that I don't mind doing the laundry when it includes new yardage.

I've actually finished my a-line skirt, but haven't shared it yet because a matching top is in progress. I'll share more on that later--it's a long, emotionally draining tale of heartache. Hopefully it will have a happy ending. 

My serger class had it's first chat last night & it was really good! I've been having a lot of trouble with the tension on my serger for awhile now...the upper looper is too loose even on the tightest setting. Jen said to try moving my knife over so it was catching less fabric. And it worked! My upper looper is still on the highest tension, which bugs me, but my stitch is really nice looking. I'm going to have to take my serger in for servicing soon, and I'm trying to get used to the idea of being without it for weeks on end. :(  Honestly, I'd rather give up my sewing machine, since I've been sewing more knits than wovens.

Sewing Snippits

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately. Much more sewing than blogging. Which is ok, since it gives me material to blog about when I don't feel like, well, sewing.  That being said, I do have some things to talk about. But they are a little random.

My sewing space is on the move. We're building an attached garage & the door leading to it will be through the kitchen. Which means we'll need to move our kitchen table. To where my sewing space is. Which means I'm moving into the "office. The lighting is far inferior to that of the kitchen, but other than that, it seems to be working out well.

I'm taking the class "Break Your Serger Out of the Box" that is being offered at Pattern Review. If you've seen any of my projects, you know that my serger has indeed been set free from the box, and that I can & do use it. But this class is going to show me how to utalize it better. Gone are the days (I hope!) where I spend more time figuring out tension than sewing. :)

I love my labels. Espcially the Dance Pants ones for the kids.  But I'm planning on making something for my sister (she doesn't know what yet-so neither shall you) and I'd love ot have a custom label that matches the fabric scheme. And I keep falling in love with different designs that I come up with. So I'm exploring ways to make them myself. Stay tuned. :)

With the release of Colette Pattern's Ginger (A-line skirt) I'm seeing lots of talk of skirts. Specifically A-line skirts. Apparently they are the ideal project for a beginner. So, I'm wondering, why haven't I made one?? I've set out to do so. In fact, my next few projects will include both an A-line skirt as well as a floral circle skirt. I'm excited.