Noodlehead

curves class giveaway!

2012-01-27T11:56:00.000-06:00

It's Friday, right?! What could be more perfect than to have a little giveaway starting today? Do you follow Rachel's blog Stitched Color? She's one ambitious lady creating all sorts of good stuff. The best part is that she's willing to share her knowledge and skills and that's what I love about blogging.

Well, in case you haven't heard, Rachel has put together a whole class on curves, yep, that's right, so all those fun blocks that leave you scratching your head, you can learn how! She's got a great line up of projects that are for all sorts of skill levels:

I think my favorite is the scallop quilt, mostly because I love it when things aren't over designed, it's so pretty and perfect.

Want to win a spot in her Premium Curves Class?

Just leave a nice comment! One entry per person. Please leave your email address in your comment. You can leave it in a format like this if you wish: anna [at] gmail [dot] com, it's up to you though, if you have your email listed in your blogger profile, that works too!
One winner will be chosen.
Open to international entries.
Giveaway ends Sunday, January 29th at 10pm (central time).

Don't worry though, if you don't win, you've got plenty of options to pick from to get you started. Rachel's got three different levels of the class: Curves Class, Curves Class {Premium}, and Curves Camp. Curves Camp is already sold out, but the winner of Curves Class {Premium} still gets tons of info, access to videos, and even a PDF ebook of the class for you to keep. Good luck and have a great weekend, I'll announce the winner on Sunday night!

ps. my little tutorial coming up involves curves, you know how I love a good curve. :)

more printing

2012-01-24T12:54:00.000-06:00

Well, I completed the last handprinted fabric for the swap finally. I used a tangerine colored solid I had gotten a while back. I really like how the stamp turned out. And Natalie promptly asked me for the stamp as soon as I was finished, she had been waiting and waiting for me to be done with it so she could stamp away.

I finished my swoon blocks last night, I'm really excited about it. I'm going to send it out to be quilted, for the first time ever, I'm kind of nervous, but mostly excited to see the finished product and give it away! I can't wait! I almost want to share a pic of it, but its such a horrible picture taken in the dark of the night that I just can't.

Hey and I have a tutorial coming up next week, I'm a little rusty, it's been a while!

my living/dining room

2012-01-21T11:35:00.001-06:00

Hey everybody, since I've been busy plugging away at my swoon quilt, there hasn't been much other sewing going on. So I thought it would be fun to finally take pictures of my living and dining room area. I bought a new couch and chair and rug from west elm last summer and have been slowly getting things finished, so I thought it would be fun to share it today. I still have some colorful pillows to make for the couch and chair, but other than that I think it's pretty much done. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them in the comments. We live in a 1 1/2 story house built in 1951, so I feel really lucky because it has tons of character, as well as really drafty windows. Here we go:

This is a cool cabinet that I found last fall at an estate sale, perfect for my collection of cathrineholm and kaj franck goodies.

That's all for now, hope you have a great weekend!

a few done

2012-01-16T09:18:00.000-06:00

I hopped on my swoon blocks over the weekend. I think I have four finished now. The cutting seemed to take forever and so did the first block, but once I got the hang of it, the blocks come together pretty quick. Although now I think I know why I don't make too many big quilts (even though I love them so much), the time they consume is just amazing. Kind of makes me crave making garments, somehow they seem more rewarding to me.

I'm liking the way the blocks are looking together the more I make and hopefully I'll have the finished top by the end of the week depending on how motivated I feel after I put the girls to bed. We'll see! Are you swooning along?

ps. the background fabric is moda crossweave in gray purchased at Marmalade Fabrics. I have more of it stashed away, it's so pretty!

stamping and swooning

2012-01-13T10:40:00.002-06:00

Sounds kind of crazy, right? Well, let me explain. I finally mailed out all but one of my handprinted fabric pieces. I decided to switch it up and try another design, this time with the help of my daughter, Natalie. Of course I feel like a crazy mom ripping off my children's drawings to make stuff with, but when I saw her sweet little flower drawing I knew it had to be made into a stamp. Hoping tonight I can test it out on fabric.

And I'm sure you might already know about Katy hosting a swoon-along using Camielle's (of Simplify and fabulous fabric designer for Moda) Swoon quilt pattern. I finally feel committed to making it for a very very special person in my life, whom I'm going to keep secret until I finish it and give it away! Ever since I saw Miscellany by Julia Rothman for Cloud 9 I just kept thinking - this person will love love this fabric, it's so HER. So anyway, I've been feeling the quilting urge and when I saw Katy's post, I had already been dreaming up using Swoon.

Here's my stack, might need some tweaking here or there, I'm waiting for a few missing fat quarters that I ordered once I realized I 'had' to have them, but maybe I don't need them after all? The rest came from my very large toppling stash, which I'm thinking might need a little destash one of these days.

Happy friday and hope you have a fun and creative weekend.

zipper top tote

2012-01-09T08:03:00.000-06:00

I've been waiting for so long to finish up this zippered tote bag. It's a gift for a horse lover, couldn't have picked a better fabric than this Heather Ross print.

I used the basic dimensions from my Madras Tote Pattern and added a few extras. A little star pocket for keys perhaps, and a recessed zip to hide and hold all the rest. I've only done a recessed zip once before, but I think this is pretty close. Maybe next time I'll sew the pull end of the zipper into the side seam, but it works pretty darn slick this way. Love the little hedgehog end zip cover.

The straps are just linen with some handstitching thrown in. I love the way the lining [1001 peeps by lizzy house] looks with the brown. I have to admit I must have been channeling my inner Amanda when I was making this bag, seems something right up her (and my) alley. ♥

Anyway, hope you have a fantastic Monday, thanks for reading!

handprinted fabric swap: my prints

2012-01-06T15:30:00.001-06:00

Well, here's what I've got so far. Definitely think I need a lot of work, although I really did enjoy carving the blocks for printing. I think I'd like to do a few for stamping on paper, I've got a couple quirky little drawings I think would be fun to stamp up!

I think it would also be amazing to give screen printing a try one of these days, too. But I think I've got to carve out some space to do some printing, at least somewhere the beagle won't step in what I'm doing.

Printing was pretty fun, but the design part, whew, it was a challenge. I think 9 out of 10 times something I would sketch up would be similar to some fabric I already know and love. So these little flowers and half circle crosses is what came out. I'll print one more fat quarter tonight hopefully and then ship them on their way tomorrow.

white ink on natural colored linen/cotton blend.
read more about the handprinted fabric swap here

have a great weekend everyone!

city girl apron

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

I made this apron, the pattern is from the very talented friend of mine, Christina of The Sometimes Crafter. Christina was nice enough to send me a copy of her lovely City Girl Apron pattern a long time ago. It was the perfect style, and really really flatting as far as the world of aprons go.

I had hoarded this coffee cup print, Coffee Buzz, from Andover for too long (sorry I tried to see if I could find any still available anywhere and I couldn't, leave a comment below if you spot some), saving it for my sister in law. She loved it. I was happy.

I love making things - just not for christmas usually. I don't know what it is really, but I guess I like to take my time instead of feeling rushing into making something in time for Christmas. And believe me, I am not the plan-ahead type. I do start thinking of what I'd like to make people, but when it comes down to it, I'd rather just wait and make something without that Christmas hype. Plus, for me making gifts is something I really love doing and if I feel rushed, it definitely isn't as fun, luckily this one was!

2011

2011-12-30T09:20:00.000-06:00

1. yellowbagblog, 2. quiltandme, 3. puddle, 4. wallets7, 5. racerback, 6. lemonslices3, 7. knot shorts3, 8. happy camper, 9. onmybed2, 10. tote1, 11. mugs2, 12. hood, 13. sunburst-pillow-tute

2011 was a great sewing year looking back:

made a queen size quilt
two new patterns, go anywhere bag and 241 tote
lots of fun tutorials: madras tote, sunburst pillow, boys wallet, quick tee, fabric tray, child's messenger bag to name a few
fun ringo pie quilt block challenges
a little collecting and re-decorating
getting more comfortable drafting my own clothing patterns

Thanks for joining with me on this journey, it has been one I never expected traveling, but have found so much joy along the way.

I'm very thankful for all my friends and everyone who stops by this space, here's to 2012!

i learned how to knit

2011-12-27T09:19:00.000-06:00

Hope you all had a great holiday and enjoyed lots of time with family and friends. You'll never believe it, but yes, I finally learned how to knit. My Aunt Mary sat down with me and showed me a few of the tricks. I learned how to cast on and made it through quite a few rows before screwing up. But man, it was really fun and I'm glad I got a good start. I'm really excited to pick up a pair of needles of my own this week.

It was pretty fun learning and messing up, and of course it was really fun being corrected by my cousin's 10 year old daughter who already knows how to knit a pretty mean scarf.

Can you believe it Shannon? Now maybe I don't have to drool over all these luscious knit things and can actually give them a try myself... mayyybe. Yay!

merry christmas

2011-12-24T09:43:00.001-06:00

Hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas with your friends and families. I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with my family. Looking back at my reflection from last year at Christmas, it still couldn't be more fitting.

Simplicity Skirt Sew-along Linky Party

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

A few people have asked if I was ever going to do a linky party for my Simplicity Skirt Sew-along I hosted a few weeks ago, so here we are!

Hopefully I know how to do this, so if you have any questions let me know. I can't wait to see you made!!! PS. If you link up I might just be able to do something special for those who enter, like a cool giveaway or something. Thank you!

i sewed

2011-12-15T13:01:00.000-06:00

Yep, I did. It's been a while. Believe me, every night after I get the girls in bed I've thought to myself, this is the night. But days and weeks passed. Life happens. You know the drill.

But last night I actually sat down, my handmade gift list in hand. It's long and ambitious, I'm 100% sure I won't get to all of it. I looked through my fabric stacks. It was fun, I actually hadn't looked at them in so long, it was fun to see what I really had.

Topping my list was a long overdue request, kind enough to be extended until Christmas. A pair of purple and blue zippy wallets. Sweet and simple. I used some precious scraps, one liberty of london purple flowery type print, the other a scrap of vintage barkcloth given to me by my friend Erica. A couple hours later, one item off to check off my list. Feels really good.

Now onto the rest, eek! Hope your last minute holiday shopping and making are fun.

2nd chair

2011-12-12T06:30:00.000-06:00

No, not talking about the fact that I was second chair in our high school saxophone section. But those were some pretty hilarious memories. More like I finished re-upholstering the other chair for my dining room the other day. The second chair went together much faster that the first, guess a little practice never hurt anyone.

Quite a few people had questions on my buffet from the other chair post. It's the dumont buffet from west elm. I got lucky and snagged it up when it was on sale and I had my coupons in hand. The perfect mix of modern and Scandinavian style, I agree.

The prints on the floating shelf are: pink triangle print by twoems and the midwest by brainstorm

Part of my cathrineholm collection (more on that later), and a lovely little yellow dansk enamel pitcher.

I'm pretty much done decorating my living room/dining room area. I had picked up a really cool glass door cabinet at an estate sale a couple months ago, just need to figure out if I'll be painting it. Anyway, hope to give you the full tour after Christmas.

feeling a little Christmas-y?

2011-12-07T09:54:00.000-06:00

Although I haven't done any Christmas crafting or sewing yet, I thought I'd share my Christmas type tutorials here again if you're getting in that Christmas groove. Who knows, maybe you're already done with your Christmas crafting? After all, there's only 18 days before Christmas...

[Snowflake Pillow Tutorial]

[Christmas Stocking Tutorial]

[Pocket Advent Calendar Tutorial]

And just for fun, a little Christmas pinterest inspiration never hurt anyone...

Source: nanacompany.typepad.com via Gail on Pinterest

Source: sometimescrafter.blogspot.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: creaturecomfortsblog.com via Gretel on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Kari on Pinterest

Thanks for reading everyone, I will be making something new soon, I've taken a long break, longer that I ever though I would or could. So it'll be nice to get back into the swing of making. Your comments, support, and friendships mean so much to me. Thank you.

hand printed fabric swap

2011-12-05T19:37:00.000-06:00

I was lucky enough to enter myself into Leslie's (Maze & Vale) hand printed fabric swap a month or so ago now. Lucky, yes. So far the two pieces of fabric I've received are just incredible. Seriously, somebody has to get them a fabric deal, like now. There's something so awesome about hand printed fabric though, I love it's qualities. Modern, clean, natural are all words that I think of when I see hand printed fabric. This is my loot so far:

Jesse Breytenback of South Africa

Leslie Keating (Maze & Vale) of Australia

I had purchased one of Leslie's designs from her shop and then she also threw in some fun extras too. :)

So here I am in my own little corner of the world hoping I'll be able to come up with a cool enough design to make my swap partners happy, man, it'll be tough though. Good thing I've got my gear all lined up and ready to go:

And if you're thinking about printing some of your own fabric I definitely recommend Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin.

Oh, and here's a little roundup of techniques that Leslie had, too. She shares some really great examples of what others have done using each technique:
screenprinting (multiple color)
screenprinting
stamps & leaf printing
blockprinting
potato prints

And I won't forget to show off this little prize that Jesse sent with her package, I almost bought some from her etsy shop too. I'll be saving this for something special.

Thanks you swappers, I'll be excited to show off what other prints I've gotten and tell you about what I made soon!

my chair

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is one of a pair of side chairs I purchased off craigslist over the summer. You can read about it here. This is the before pic:

I figured they looked easy enough to recover myself, so I finally found some fun fabric and finished the one of the two. The fabric is from the amazing Australian fabric designers, Umbrella Prints. It was a total splurge for me when I ordered it a few months ago, so it's nice that at least one of the chairs is finished and I can see it daily. I love the print, it's fun and versatile at the same time. Someday I'll make some spiffy patchwork pillows to add to the fun.

[yep, this is me in my chair, I'm that cool]

Things are still pretty bumpy here, I'm starting back full-time at my job this week. It should be interesting. I wish I didn't have to, but that's the way life goes I guess. I've definitely learned a lot in the last couple weeks, more than I ever could have imagined. Anyway, hope you have a great Monday...

i am thankful

2011-11-25T08:13:00.001-06:00

I know Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I still wanted to write up a list of things I'm thankful for
family, friends, my job, neighbors, my home, my dog, blogging, sewing, my sister-in-laws, and most of all my girls:

[they're posing with some goodies from my friend Jeni, thank you Jeni!]

I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday surrounded by your favorite people. Thank you for reading! And I also want to add a huge thank you to everyone who purchased my patterns during my sale, it brought this little mama tears of joy, thank you.

thank you and a 2-day sale

2011-11-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you all so much for your sincere and kind emails and comments about my last post. I really feel uplifted by your thoughts and prayers and knowing I'm not alone in life's struggles. I do want you to know that we're all physically okay and I am so thankful for that. I have become really aware of how many people really do care about me and my family, it really is amazing. But for now I'm taking things one day at a time...

I'm sure you're all planning your Thanksgiving day festivities and maybe even plotting the route to your favorite shops on Friday, but I wanted to have a little pre-holiday sale. I've never done one before, but having some money to pay a few bills would be a relief. So please stop by and enjoy $2 off any pattern of your choice!

all patterns | go anywhere bag pattern | 241 tote pattern

runaround bag pattern | gathered clutch pattern

~~Just use the discount code: holiday2011 at the checkout.~~
All done, thanks so much for your support!!

~~2 days only. :) Thank you for your support.~~

the post that I never wanted to write

2011-11-16T22:23:00.001-06:00

I never wanted to write this post.

Life has taken a complete turnaround in one week, things I didn't think were possible are now my reality. I could write a novel's worth of words to explain what is going on, but I won't, not here, not right now at least.

Source: dribbble.com via Karine on Pinterest

I do ask that if you are the praying type of person, please pray for me and my children. And if you're not, please keep us in your thoughts.

I do also want to add that this blog has been part of my own therapy, and I hope it can continue to be that.

Source: dearinspirationblog.blogspot.com via Anna on Pinterest

simplicity skirt 2226 sew along - day 5

2011-11-11T07:36:00.001-06:00

Welcome back for day 5 of the sew along, you can catch up on day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4 anytime as well.

Today's our last work day. We'll be finishing the waistband and hemming!

Finish waistband:

Sew the remaining waistband facing pieces together just like you did the other waistband pieces. This time though you'll want to finish the bottom curved edge of the waistband. Use a pinking shears, zig zag stitch, overlock stitch, or I even did a tiny rolled hem on my original skirt. There really isn't a wrong way, do what feels right for you.

* A reader pointed out that I was using a 3/8" seam allowance on these pieces and she's correct. It's my way of adjusting for a little bit larger fit, so it's somewhere between a size 6 and 8. I wasn't going to mention it, but on this pattern at least, you can make adjustment like that to the waistband and it doesn't affect how the skirt attaches since it's gathered. Hopefully that makes a little bit of sense. Okay, moving along...

Pin the waistband facing top edge to the top edge of the waistband on the skirt, making sure to align side seam of waistband with that of the waistband facing. The facing will extend past the back of the skirt on each side, that's normal. Simplicity says to move the carriers (belt loops) out of the way so you can topstitch them later, but I chose to sew them into the seam. You don't have to, it's just the way I wanted to make it easier. So if you want to sew them into the seam, just sandwich them in between the waistband and waistband facing and pin them in place. Sew.

Next we'll understitch the waistband facing so it doesn't end up rolling to the outside of the skirt when you're wearing it. Press the seam allowance up towards the facing and sew close to the seam.

Press the waistband facing to the inside of the skirt. Tuck in the back edges that are along the zipper so that there are no raw edges. You can finish them in by hand sewing like step 29 in the pattern, but I'm lazy and sewed them down with my machine, I just stitched along the stitch lines that were there from sewing in the zipper.

On the outside of the skirt stitch close to the waistband seam. That's it for the waistband unless you chose to leave the belt loops out of the way, if so you'll topstitch them in place now. You can also sew in the hook/eye, I skipped sewing mine in, but it's up to you!

Hemming:

Okay, so if you're ready to finish them hem, I would suggest trying the skirt on to see if you still like the length of the skirt. You'll press the bottom edge to the WRONG side by 1/4" then turn and press again and stitch close to the inner fold, just like in step 34. You can use a pretty long stitch length if you want.

I wanted to try something new for me, so I did a blind hem on both my skirts. It's a little different, but a nice finish. You can follow the directions in your sewing machine's manual, or there's a great tutorial here.

You're finished! Thanks for sewing along with me. If you want there's already a Simplicity Patterns flickr group for you to add your photos to. I might also do a linky party possibly this weekend, but maybe next just so everyone has time to finish up. How does that sound? Let me know if you'd be interested in that.

simplicity skirt 2226 sew along - day 4

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome back for day 4 of the sew along, you can catch up on day 1, day 2, and day 3 anytime as well.

It's zipper day! Don't be afraid, take some deep breaths, whatever you have to do to get your game face on. I can tell you that my second time sewing the zipper was much better and went smoother than the first time, but both worked out great and I've got two wearable skirts.

Inserting the zipper:

First you need to baste the rest of the back skirt seam from the notch you sewed up to earlier all the way up to the top of the waistband. Basting again is the longest stitch length on your machine.

Flip the skirt so that you have the left seam allowance all the way to the left, pulling the rest of the skirt to the right.

Pin the opened zipper in place to the seam allowance only. Teeth and pull tab should be facing down with the teeth centered on the center seam.

Starting from the bottom of the zipper, using your zipper foot, baste the zipper along that left seam allowance (it looks like the right seam allowance, but it's because I'm sewing it from the bottom of the zipper to the top).

Next, flip your zipper out to the side and you'll have a tiny little bit of fabric peeking through from the seam allowance that you'll sew along (see that little green line above?).

Now, flip the zipper face down over the right seam allowance now. Pin it in place through all the layers (zipper tape, seam allowance and skirt).

From the RIGHT side of the skirt, baste in place. I think they recommend hand basting, but I cheated and used a basting stitch on my machine. (I didn't take a picture of the basting, but you can see it in the picture below:)

Now sew with a regular stitch starting by making a line perpendicular to the center back skirt seam at the bottom of the zipper about 3/8" of an inch or so, then pivoting and continuing to sew up towards the top of the skirt all the way to the top of the waistband along the zipper. You're sewing right next to the zipper teeth (which you can't see, but they're under the fabric, just feel for them) and be sure not to sew into them otherwise your zipper won't open! Remove basting stitches from the previous step.

Use your seam ripper and open up the basting stitch and you should reveal a lovely little zipper all finished and ready!

**Here's the nitty gritty. If you're super stressed about the zipper again, practice on a piece of junk fabric and zipper. Just use two pieces of fabric sewn with a 5/8" seam allowance. You might be surprised how much more comfortable you'll feel doing it on your actual garment after you've practiced. Trust me that trying new things will not only help you learn, but that you get a huge sense of accomplishment once you've done it.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to put your pictures in my flickr group and you can add notes and ask questions right with your actual photo, of course ask questions in the comments section too, but I know sometimes it's just easier to show what you're working with compared to trying to explain it all.

I really want you all to succeed with this! ♥

[I'm going to run this sew along a little differently than my typical blog posts, if you have any questions or comments or suggestions/tips please leave them in the comments section and I'll respond to them there. Usually I like to reply to comments directly by email when time allows, but this way the info will be there for anyone who joins along.]

simplicity skirt 2226 sew along - day 3

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome back for day 3 of the sew along, you can catch up on day 1 and day 2 anytime as well. :)

Today is a pretty low stress day. We'll be doing two bigger steps, sewing the waistband and attaching it to the skirt, as well as making the belt loops.

A little word first on the gathering. If you did choose a thicker material you might have a little more difficult time gathering, just take your time pulling and gathering bit by bit. You could also add a third row of gathering stitching. By doing two rows it's basically a backup if one of your threads breaks, so a third row would make it even more sturdy. Gathering is pretty forgiving, so if you gather it too much you can always loosen it and you can gather it more as well if it's not gathered enough.

Sewing the belt loops (referred to as the carrier in the pattern):

Basically just like making double fold bias tape. Press wrong sides together in half, open up, press raw edges to center fold, fold in half again and press. Topstitch on both sides.

Cut into four equal pieces. That's it, those are your belt loops. You can also leave these out if you're not ever planning on wearing the skirt with a belt. I like the little bit of added detail they provide, so I included them.

Sewing the waistband:

Grab your interfaced waistband pieces. Pin back waistband pieces to each side of the front waistband, RIGHT sides facing, aligning the notches. Again, still using a 5/8" seam allowance. Press seams open.

Sew belt loops at bottom curve of waistband at the indicated locations marked by the dots on the pattern pieces.

Attach waistband to skirt:

With RIGHT sides facing, pin the waistband to the skirt. You'll want to pin the bottom curved edge to the skirt top, aligning the raw edges.

Be sure to match the side seams of the waistband with the side seams of the skirt.

Adjust the gathering so that it fits with the waistband. Pin the remaining waistband in place.

Sew. I usually am pretty careless about sewing gathers, but if you really want things perfect you can use a knitting needle or stick to help hold the gathers in place. More pins help, but a little 'extra hand' in the form of a knitting needle might come in handy.

Press seam towards waistband.

That's all for today. Tomorrow we'll tackle that zipper, it's really pretty slick. I quite like how it works, so don't be worried!! After that it's pretty smooth sailing...

[I'm going to run this sew along a little differently than my typical blog posts, if you have any questions or comments or suggestions/tips please leave them in the comments section and I'll respond to them there. Usually I like to reply to comments directly by email when time allows, but this way the info will be there for anyone who joins along.]

simplicity skirt 2226 sew along - day 2

2011-11-08T08:35:00.001-06:00

Well, hopefully day 1 went well for you, I'm glad to hear some new tips and your excitement in making something for yourself, finally!

Today we're going to put together the main body of the skirt with pockets. I'll add some suggestions for finishing the seams as well, but definitely feel free to do whatever works for you.

Please note that this pattern calls for 5/8" seam allowances throughout. Make sure you know where that is on your machine (and if you don't, get out a ruler and measure from the needle and mark 5/8" with a piece of masking tape, etc.)

Sewing pockets:

Place pocket facing pieces RIGHT sides together on top of the skirt top.

Sew along both curved pocket seams. Flip so that the WRONG sides are touching and topstitch along both both opening edges.

Now flip over the skirt front. You'll be folding the pocket piece so that the RIGHT sides are facing.

Like this. Pin the bottom edge.

Finish the bottom edge by using a zig zag stitch or serging or using pinking shears, etc. Baste (the longest stitch on your machine) along the top edge and side edges as shown in green.

Sewing main body of skirt:

First you'll want to finish the back seam edges, I chose to do a zig zag stitch on both pieces or you could also use a pinking shears, serge, etc. Since you'll be pressing the seam open, finish both edges seperately.

Place skirt back pieces RIGHT sides together and sew together starting at the notch.

Press the seam open.

This step uses a french seam for both side seams, I chose to do this method because it frays less and looks more professional. Place skirt front and assembled skirt back WRONG sides facing. This seems wrong, but don't worry, it's easy and painless. Sew down each side seam with a 1/4" seam allowance (this is instead of the 5/8" allowance called for).

Next, you'll turn the skirt wrong side out and press both side seams. With RIGHT sides facing this time, sew each side seam again using a 1/2" seam allowance, thus enclosing the raw edges.

When you turn the skirt right side out the seam will look like this:

Press.

Sew two lines of basting stitches along the indicated areas between the dots. Basically you'll be gathering along the front of the skirt between the pockets and along each back skirt piece. Set your machine to it's longest stitch length and do NOT backstitch, simply leave the tails of thread. The directions in the simplicity pattern call for you to gather the fabric in a later step, but I always do it this way out of habit (or probably just trying to rush through things). You can chose to do it now, or save it for another step.

Pull those tails (either the bobbin threads/bottom threads or the spool threads/top threads - not all threads) gently and as evenly as possible to gather the skirt.

It's starting to look more like a skirt! Hope you join me tomorrow for Day 3. ♥

[I'm going to run this sew along a little differently than my typical blog posts, if you have any questions or comments or suggestions/tips please leave them in the comments section and I'll respond to them there. Usually I like to reply to comments directly by email when time allows, but this way the info will be there for anyone who joins along.]

simplicity skirt 2226 sew along - day 1

2011-11-07T09:12:00.001-06:00

Hi there! Welcome to simplicity skirt 2226 sew along. Whether you've been sewing garments for years, or if this is your first time using a commercial pattern, we're going to sew along together and by the end of the week we'll have a really cute skirt that'll fit right in to your wardrobe.

Today we'll discuss sizing, tracing pattern pieces (optional), cutting your pattern pieces and fusing on interfacing.

Sizing:
So you're probably looking at the back of the pattern envelope where the sizing information is, right? Scratching your head.

I believe with my measurements I should have made a size 14 skirt, which would have been way too big. I only really know that from experience that the wearing ease (or the amount of room built into the pattern) has typically been too much. I used a size 6, but could have definitely gone with a size 8, and I typically wear a size 4 pants/jeans. My best advice if you're still unsure what size to use would be to use some muslin or junk fabric and cut out the waistband pieces (pieces 4 & 5) and sew them together, it should give you a pretty good idea on the sizing.

They do stress one thing in the pattern quite a bit, which is that the skirt is designed to be worn 1" below your waist (your natural waist). So if you're used to wearing things lower on your waist, this skirt isn't designed to be worn that way. If you're still determined to make a skirt that sits lower, you might want to make a size or two larger. Again, a muslin would come in handy to help figure it all out.

Tracing:
I use a large roll of tracing paper and a sharpie to trace all my patterns. I never cut the actual pattern pieces for two reasons 1.) I want to keep the pattern intact in case I ever need to make the garment in another size (really essential for kids clothes) 2.) durability, the tracing paper I use is much more durable and sturdy than the tissue pattern pieces which tend to rip and tear.

So go ahead and trace the pattern pieces. For view C (which I'll be sewing, but I'm skipping the fabric ties/belt) you'll need pieces 1,2,3,4,5 and 6.

You'll want to be sure to trace and mark all the notches and dots as well as indicated grainlines and which pieces are to be aligned on the fold. Notches are used to help align pieces when sewing, dots are typically used for placement or stitching start/stop points. The grainline shows you how to place your pattern pieces on your fabric, essential for when you're using directional prints and ensuring your pieces will sew together well.

* Be sure to wash/dry and press your fabric before cutting.

Cutting:
Fold your fabric so that the WRONG sides are facing, aligning selvage edges.

Pin your pattern pieces in place like so (there are also cutting diagrams on page 3 of the instruction pages, I did mine a little differently, but it's up to you):

You can either use a scissors, pinking shears, or a rotary cutter (28mm) and self healing cutting mat, which really makes quick work out of the cutting process. Be sure to align pieces 1 & 4 on the fold.

To mark the notches cut outwards away from the pattern piece to note each notch. To mark any dots, use a pin and water soluble pen to poke through the pattern piece and mark on the fabric.

And after all the cutting, you'll have your pieces:

Interfacing:
You'll need to cut pieces 4 & 5 out of a lightweight fusible interfacing as well.

Fuse the interfacing to one set of the waistband pieces (you'll have two sets, one for the waistband and the other is the waistband facing). Follow manufacturers instructions to fuse on the interfacing to the WRONG sides of pieces 4 & 5.

That's all for today, take a little break, pat yourself on that back, and I'll see you here tomorrow for Day 2!

[I'm going to run this sew along a little differently than my typical blog posts, if you have any questions or comments or suggestions/tips please leave them in the comments section and I'll respond to them there. Usually I like to reply to comments directly by email when time allows, but this way the info will be there for anyone who joins along.]

Thanks for stopping by!

Dress E - Stylish Dress Book

2011-11-02T06:08:00.000-05:00

Mmmm, yes, I do love this book [Stylish Dress Book]. I had ordered it a few months ago and pretty much want to try every pattern in the book. Don't want to sound like a broken record here, but Karyn is a total inspiration for sewing with Japanese pattern books like these. She's amazing, check out her work here, blah, blah, blah, love it all. Conveniently she also runs a nifty shop and started selling online.

So I pulled out my gift certificate to my local quilt shop that my good friend Dahlia had sent me, and scooped up some of this Anna Maria Horner Lou Lou Thi voile. Yes, the stuff is addicting, just want to say I warned ya.

I chose to start with dress E, also on the cover of the book, which I realized shortly after deciding that's what I'd make first. Pretty pleats in the front, soft gathers in the back, pockets, what more could you ask for?

The pattern is amazing, I don't know Japanese, but it came together pretty quick. And yes, I can't wait to try out more from the book!

I'm busy trying to get things ready for the sew along, luckily my camera battery decided to bite the dust, good 'ol best buy to the rescue!

trick or treat!

2011-10-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hope you all have an awesome Halloween!

Had to quick use up the cutest Halloween fabric I bought a while back by Riley Blake. Jeni's drawstring bag tutorial was the perfect choice, so I decided to make 4. My girls love them, they even carried around candy in them for a while until they decided to sneak upstairs and eat most of it. Of course.

The other two are headed to their teachers, filled with a little Halloween treat inside.

my little monarch

2011-10-27T10:24:00.002-05:00

Thank goodness for pinterest and friends. Seriously, I was about to make Natalie her 'sock' costume that she wanted to be and then I saw my friend Kristin (skirt as top) pin this awesomely cute butterfly. A sock wouldn't have been so bad, I actually had some creative ideas for it, but I'm so glad the butterfly came along. Don't worry, Natalie had a whole list of possible costumes and luckily, a butterfly was near the top!

The instructions were really great, just discovered I should have bought more colored felt so I could have decorated both sides instead of just the back. Oh well, next lifetime...

Meanwhile my little butterfly is pretty darn happy wearing her wings.

I'll take that as a yes, sew-a-long it is!

2011-10-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all your sweet and kind comments about my skirt and I'm so glad there was so much interest in a sew-a-long. Fun fun, I can't wait!! I think with the hustle and bustle of last minute Halloween costumes and decorating it would be fun to go with the week of November 7-11. That should give everyone enough time to gather supplies and grab the pattern, right?!

Just to get you started here's a few little bits:

Pattern: Simplicity 2226, I made view C with belt loops and no tie belt. Simplicity patterns are available at Joanns, Hancock fabrics, hobby lobby, etc. Hopefully there's a sale running somewhere, usually on sale they cost $.99 or $1.99.

Fabrics: (This is directly from the pattern envelope) damask, pique, twill, sateen, lightweight wool and wool blends, challis, crepe-back satin, jacquards, laundered silks-rayons, silk linen, brocade, satin, shantung, soft lightweight linen and linen blends.

I think a fine wale corduroy would also work well and of course any quilting weight cotton, too. I should also note that none of the sizes on the pattern require more than 2 1/8 yards of 44" wide fabric, most requiring just 2 yards!

Zipper: one 7" zipper

Other supplies needed: thread, hook/eye, lightweight fusible interfacing 1/2 yard would be more than plenty.

Here's the following breakdown of what the sew-a-long will probably look like:

Monday
Picking your size and tracing/cutting pattern pieces, fusing on interfacing

Tuesday
Creating pockets and main body of skirt.

Wednesday
Sew waistband and assemble to main skirt.

Thursday
Inserting zipper (might also give it a whirl with an invisible zip which I think might be even easier), and finishing waistband.

Friday
Hemming & finished skirt reveal.

TBD: if anyone is interested I can hopefully figure out a linky party so you can all check out each other's skirts!

Oh and I just want to add a teensy little disclaimer here: I'm am by no means an expert nor do I know all the answers to questions that may come up, I'm just excited about getting to sew with friends and to be able to help as much as I can along the way! Thanks and I truly hope you'll join in! ♥

fall skirt

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

wheee! this was a fun one. I love it when I spot a cool fabric and have an immediate project for it. Couldn't pass up this awesome print for $3.95 a yard at hancock's the other day. I knew it was meant for a skirt.

I chose the Simplicity 2226 pattern after seeing Karyn (Make Something) make it earlier this year. It's a great little pattern!! It does really go into a lot of detail for a beginner, it's a learn to sew pattern. The only thing is that it didn't go into seam finishing much, which is okay, but I really want to make something that will hold up for a while instead of shred apart after a few washings. So I added my own finishings and it should last a while!

I was thinking it might be fun to do some kind of sew-a-long type thing using this pattern, would anyone be interested? If enough people want to join in, I think it would be a great one for lots of figures, I think it's quite flattering. And of course with a skirt, the options are pretty endless. Let me know and happy Friday!!!!!

crowns of flowers

2011-10-18T08:38:00.001-05:00

Have you ever seen someone else's project and wanted to make the same thing right away? Well that's what happened when I saw Maureen's felt flower crowns. I finally begged her to send me some felt flowers and ties to make one for each of my girls. And if you stop by Maureen Cracknell Handmade you can follow her Felt Crown tutorial to make some of your own. Awesome, right?

I've been meaning to make these for so long, I don't know why I put it off, they were so easy and fun to make. Very little sewing involved, so a great project for beginners!

I mostly got poses like this pout, our little photo shoots don't always go how I plan. :)

kcwc: his outfit

2011-10-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

A long sleeve raglan tee:

And a pair of Treasure Pocket Pants:

[just noticed this pic makes it look like I made one pant leg longer than the other, I promise they're the same length!]

A match made in boy heaven I do say.

I love knits for kids. I love them most because they're the clothes my kids pick out more often than most of woven fabric garments I've made (at least tops that is). I love these patterns (both in the Sewing for Boys book I reviewed earlier). This knit shirt is the easiest shirt you'll ever make, no hemming, love that. I think it took me about an hour to make the shirt and that includes pattern tracing and fabric selection time. I had to add the little beep! to the front, sorry I'm such a sucker for cute. And my nephew is such a little cutie, I can't wait to see pictures of him wearing these clothes (his mommy is always so good about showing me the things I make in action).

The pants weren't as quick to make, but I really enjoyed making them. I didn't use a serger at all. I kind of love that. French seams and turn and stitch seams make for a super professional and sturdy pair of pants! And the faux fly, it's over the top cute. Lots of great details you won't find in many store bought clothes.

That about wraps up what I made for the kcwc. Fun was had by all! Hope you have a super awesome Sunday! Thanks for reading. ♥

[Fabrics: Pants, Honk Honk by Michael Miller, Kaufman shot cotton; shirt, random knits from Hancock fabrics]

kids clothes week: another cardigan and some skirts

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Jumping into Kids Clothes Week Challenge with Elsie Marley, you're doing it, right?

Hope it doesn't bore you, but I had made another version of my bias trimmed cardigan tutorial for Natalie. I desperately wanted to use this little tiny floral trim I had swapped with Adrianne of Crafterhours. It was perfect, who doesn't love pre-made bias tape?! I'll take it!

This was actually the first cardigan I made, so it's a smidge different than the tutorial - just added pleats to the tops of the shoulders because I had cut it way too big.

The other things I made, did you notice? The little shot cotton skirts (even though it looks like chambray) to go with their cardigans. It was last minute, but then, a simple gathered skirt doesn't take any time at all, maybe I'll go through my whole fabric stash and make a million skirts, maybe not. Anywho, I whipped them up as quick as I could. Came in pretty handy that I had finally written the girls' measurements down using this Child Measurement Chart from Owly Baby.

I added a couple little pintucks at the bottom of Natalie's skirt, I think they're divine.

[thought I should throw this in here again just so you don't have to go back and look at their skirts together from the last post]

Hope to get at least one more project done for KCWC! I'd better hop to it!

bias trimmed knit cardigan tutorial

2011-10-11T09:10:00.000-05:00

Very honored that my friend Rachel of Stitched in Color asked me to hang out today and post up a little tutorial for Celebrate Color! If you haven't been following along, catch up on all her posts here. Today I thought I'd share a quick little cardi you can make for that sweet little girl in your life (or heck, you could even make one for yourself!). When I think of fall I think of bright saturated colors, so that's what these little cuddly layers represent.

It's fun, quick, and super easy, I promise. All you need is some knit fabric, a ballpoint sewing machine needle, and some double fold bias tape.

Materials:

1/2 or more of knit fabric, depending on what size you're making, interlock would be great
1/2" double fold bias tape (one yard)
thread
ballpoint needle
cardigan pattern

[1/4" seam allowance used throughout]

I decided it might be easier to include a couple pattern pieces for the cardigan (download from link above), I made a size 2/3T and a 5T. You can choose to use the pattern pieces or you could make your own, or if you have a simple raglan tee pattern you can modify that. It's quite forgiving, and quick, so if you don't get it right the first time, give it another try!

Directions:
Assemble pattern pieces, cut desired size and tape together at matching letters on pattern pieces. Cut two body pieces on the fold and two sleeve pieces on the fold.

Stitch sleeves to body pieces right sides together. I just used a regular stitch and foot on my machine. Here's a diagram of how the sleeves get sewn to the body:

Cut an opening straight up one body piece (this creates the cardigan opening and will be the front). Next you can align the top front edges and trim away a little scoop for the front like so:

Next, place the cardigan flat right sides of facing. Pin. Sew, going under the arm continuing down the body of each side.

Lastly attach the double fold bias tape to the neck edge, leaving a tail of tape on either side. You can either sandwich it on, or open it up, stitch on the fold then fold it over the knit to the other side and sew, being sure to sew all the way to the ends of the tape.

Tie a knot in each end of the tape, plop it on a cute kid, and you're ready for fall!

And if you're new to sewing with knit fabric, Luvinthemommyhood and I had a fun little series with tons of great tutorials and tips, find them here and here.

what's for lunch?

2011-10-10T09:30:00.006-05:00

Okay, so Natalie is in kindergarten, and loving it. It's been so fun to see her learning all sorts of awesome things, but we really do miss her here at home. The funny thing is that she asked me to pack her lunch everyday. We tried out hot lunch for the first couple weeks, but then she asked for me to send lunch with. No problem, I'm a lunch kind of person, it's definitely my favorite meal besides breakfast. Have you guys seen all the cool bento boxes people are making for their kids? I mean really. cool. stuff.

Source: cutefoodforkids.com via Anna on Pinterest

Source: bentomama.net via Anna on Pinterest

Source: anotherlunch.com via Anna on Pinterest

Although I don't plan on being quite that cool, I have had fun scouring the web for some fun lunch stuff and ideas.

Here's a couple fun bento mamas blogging away: Bento Mama and Wendolina. Definitely check out their sites, they have super cool ideas!!

I bought some really cute lunch accessories from Bento & Co.

I was nervous ordering but what I ordered didn't cost that much, so I took the risk. It came pretty quickly and - so cute!

I also had gotten this little bento panda last year for snacks. We didn't use it much, but now it's what I use to put her lunch in everyday. I totally wanted to make a little lunch bag, but she was totally into picking out her own bag and chose this littlest pet shop bag. Cute and functional.

How about you? Do you pack lunches everyday? I think this is one way of making it less like a chore and more like fun! Just curious too, if you like random non-sewing kind of posts like this? I figured it was something creative so it was fun to share it here....

pockets full of clutches

2011-10-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

Here's my little story, I hope you find it worth while. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time you'll realize I love to make bags and wallets and little useful day-to-day stuff. I can't help it, somehow making something that I can use over and over again brings me so much joy. The other part is that I love dreaming up my own designs, and bringing them to life is incredibly fulfilling (and time consuming). You see, I have this extremely practical side that is always looking over my shoulder. I spot a cute pattern or tutorial someone has made and I just can't wait to try it. I don't find it any less satisfying to sew things that others have designed, in fact, it's incredibly rewarding in and of itself. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be sewing today if I hadn't taken the time to explore what others were sewing and given it a try myself. I've learned so much. From every project I pick up little tricks or maybe figure out a new construction method. Not only is it fun to support fellow sewists, I get a little peek into their world. Another way that sewing is just so amazing to me. Okay, enough with my super deep thoughts for the day...

So the end of that little story ends like this: I bought Keyka Lou's pocket clutch pattern at least two years ago and just haven't taken the time to sew it up. Well now I can say I did, and love it. I definitely recommend this pattern (plus she has an infinite number of other patterns) it's such a nice satisfying little project that uses hardly any fabric, but you get that wow factor. Awesome, right?!

I couldn't believe that after sitting down and sewing for a few hours that I had 4 pretty little clutches each going out to a special woman in my life. Oh, and you know I had to make one for myself. I'd been saving up my special scrap of Heather Ross's paper hats fabric I had gotten from her studio sale last year.

And of course I had to use up some of my Liberty of London bundle, no regrets with that little splurge.

So I hope this weekend you can maybe sit down and sew something you've always wanted to but have always brushed aside. And thank you so much for supporting me by purchasing my patterns, using my tutorials, and leaving such amazing and generous comments. Thank you. ♥ oh and hope everyone at Sewing Summit has a blast!!!!

fabric tray tutorial

2011-10-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

[Just re-posting this here, I shared this as part of Skip to My Lou's Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along!]

This project is really fun because you can make it as simple or complex as you'd like and there's really no rules, love that. So for making a really fun customizable fabric tray read on...

I had made a tray earlier this year for my dad and I figured this would be a simple project to share!
This is a great project to make to combine with a few other goodies for a hostess gift, a gift for your not-so-organized husband as a place for him to set his glasses and wallet and spare change, or for a special friend. Fill it with treats, magazines, recipes, anything works! I've included dimensions to make three different sized fabric trays: pencil size (small), spare change size (medium), and magazine size (large). This is also a great scrap busting project, so dig into your scrap bin and pull out your favs. Enjoy!

Materials:
For small fabric pencil tray:

2 pieces of fabric 10"Wx6"T (this is where you can get as fancy or simple as you'd like, think of patchwork, quilt blocks, anything goes - just trim it down to this size)
one piece cotton batting or fusible fleece 10"Wx6"T
one piece peltex 7"Wx3"T stiff double side fusible interfacing (I used Peltex 72F, found at Walmart/joanns, etc.)

For medium fabric spare change tray:

2 pieces of fabric 12"Wx10"T
one piece cotton batting or fusible fleece 12"Wx10"T
one piece peltex 9"Wx7"T stiff double side fusible interfacing (I used Peltex 72F, found at Walmart/joanns, etc.)

For large fabric magazine tray:

2 pieces of fabric 16x15
one piece cotton batting or fusible fleece 16x15
one piece peltex 12x11 stiff double side fusible interfacing (I used Peltex 72F, found at Walmart/joanns, etc.)

Directions:
Fuse fleece to one of the main fabric piece (if using fusible fleece), fuse peltex centered onto the fabric you've selected for the bottom of your tray.

Layer batting (no need if you've already used fusible fleece), fabric for inside of tray RIGHT side up, fabric for bottom of tray RIGHT side down (see picture, the peltex is fused center, leaving the plastic layer on for now).

Pin. Sew along all four edges using a 1/4" seam allowance, but leaving a 3-4" opening for turning (5" opening for the large tray). Clip corners. Remove plastic film from peltex. Turn right side out, push out corners with a chopstick or other dull instrument. Press, tucking the raw edges of the opening inside. Also press the peltex rectangle to fuse it to the tray interior.

Topstitch along all edges, thus closing the opening you left for turning.

Sew a rectangle along the edges of the peltex rectangle. You'll be able to feel the edge of it through the fabric, if not, sewing through it isn't a big deal. A water soluble pen might come in handy to keep your rectangle looking like a rectangle! You can even do more quilting at this point if you wish.

Pinch each corner at the edge of the peltex, bending the fabric up to meet at the edges.

Here you can either use floss (or even thread) and sew a few stitches through the two edges to hold them together.

Or you can pin them together and stitch straight up the corner you pinched (remembering to backstitch). Repeat for the remaining 3 corners and you're set!

Fill with whatever your heart desires and give that gift!!

I'd also like to note that there are a lot of similar projects out there, so if this isn't your cup of tea, try one of these fab tutorials:

Or better yet, stop by my blog and check out all my tutorials and patterns, maybe you'll find something else you just HAVE to make! Thanks for having me Cindy!

[fabrics: linen, lizzy house 1001 peeps (blue), tula pink parisville (yellow), greenfield hill denyse schmidt (green)]

ringo pie: christmas block

2011-10-04T10:20:00.001-05:00

Still catching up on my Ringo Pie blocks. Man, this one was hard too. Amber (One Shabby Chick) chose a Christmas theme and I had no idea what to make - maybe just because there were so many ideas that I wanted to try. Other than that, I realized I am not a planner, at least not at this point in my life. I just don't plan that much stuff ahead of time. I know a lot of people who are amazing planners, I however am not one of them. So it was hard too because I don't even really want to think about Christmas at this point, just trying to enjoy fall. But it was fun though, I actually got into the more ideas that popped into my head.

I remember pinning this love block by tula pink and I just was dazzled by it. I mean, how cool is that?!

So I did a Christmas version using the word 'noel'. I hope it fits in with the rest of the blocks Amber!

And just because, here's a shot of all the ringo pie blocks made for me, for my desserts theme, I have yet to make my block. :(

ringo pie: quilt on a line

2011-09-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

Just finished up my Ringo Pie block for Corey of Little Miss Shabby. Check out her amazing pillow she just made, makes me want to make pillows! Corey's theme was quilts on a line, so I tried to think of something different. I drew so many sketches for this block, somehow each one was way too complicated, I'm a simple kind of gal. So of course laying in bed one night after being extremely frustrated, I thought of what I wanted, a quilt at night.

If you're like me at all, I'm pretty crappy at remembering things, so sometimes when I hang stuff out to dry it ends up there overnight. Probably not a good thing, but at least they dry the next day, right?

I think the contrast from the dark sky is so pretty with the bright happy quilt. And I couldn't resist adding Mr. Moon and a twinkly little star.

You can see my previous ringo pie blocks: here, here,here, here, and here, here, and here.

Hope you have a great weekend!

feeling fall - pumpkin cheesecake

2011-09-28T09:27:00.000-05:00

It's very much fall here in Wisconsin, the leaves haven't gotten to the completely awesome point yet, but I hope to get a few pictures of them to share, it's just really beautiful along the Mississippi.

Instead of sewing this past weekend I did tons of baking. I've been seeking out the perfect Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, really, I've been searching high and low. I had gotten the most delicious slice of Pumpkin cheesecake at Starbucks the other day and I just can't get over how good it was. Light and fluffy and so creamy.

[fabric is 1001 peeps by lizzyhouse]

I did my best to combine a couple recipes and after two attempts I think I came up with one that was pretty close to what I wanted. I first spotted this recipe from Sugarcrafter and then combined it with Emeril's Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake recipe.

So here it is if you want to give it a try (and to keep a record of what I did for myself):

Crust:
1 c. crushed gingersnap cookies
1 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 T. brown sugar
6 T butter, melted
1/2 t. cinnamon

Filling:
2, 8oz. packages cream cheese
1 can (15oz.) pumpkin puree, using almost the whole can, or make your own pumpkin puree
3/4 lb. ricotta cheese (I used the whole milk variety - yum)
1/2 c. brown sugar
5 eggs
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice

For the crust mix all together press into a 9" springform pan and then pop it into the freezer.

Beat the cream cheese until it's fluffy, add pumpkin, ricotta and mix well. Add brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time until combined, then add the spices. Pour filling into crust.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then open the oven door, set the temp to 200 degrees, close the door, and bake an additional hour or more until center is just a little wiggly (mine took about an hour and 20 minutes). Not sure if it would work better using emeril's baking instructions, but if I make another one I'll let you know!

And here's a few fall snaps from around my house just for fun....

I've been feeling rather un-sewy lately, I sat down to make a ringo pie block last night and gave up because I was too tired. I'm hoping it's just the change of the seasons! Oh, and thank you for all your most awesome comments on my black dress, makes me feel really happy. ♥

little black dress

2011-09-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to share this with you guys today! I finished it up Friday and meant to post over the weekend, but it was so beautiful out, I just couldn't sit down at the computer (except to read blogs and ooogle at everything on pinterest of course).

Source: anthropologie.com via Anna on Pinterest

A while back I had pinned a pretty little black dress from anthropology meaning to make something similar, had gotten the fabric and everything. What came out was slightly different, although I do think that it'll get lots more use from me than the pinned one might have.

I loved the high neck and pretty trims on the inspiration dress, so that's what I went for. I used my own pattern, just referencing some shirts I had to make the pattern pieces. And of course I did a little adjusting along the way, it felt kind of funny sitting at the sewing machine half dressed trying on the dress now and then. But it works.

[still need to add a hook/eye at the top!]

I even put in an invisible zipper, a first on clothing for me, I usually just have used them for pillows, but the concept is pretty much the same.

I did fully line the dress with just some cheap broadcloth, and the main dress fabric is something synthetic (eek!), but it's pretty and appropriate for the dress, just a simple pattern with a little bit of detail.The silhouette is pretty simple, just a couple bust darts to give it a little shape.

And I love the tiny crochet trim at the neckline and hem. It's surprisingly comfortable and I think it'll get a lot of use.

Even looks cute with a cardigan. And I really need to make the girls something similar, I just love the look layered with tights, very mod.

color block dress

2011-09-22T10:36:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot to blog about this dress I made for Natalie (last summer even), but I finally got some pictures of her in it, and it's pretty darn cute. So I'm sharing. And don't worry, there's hardly anything I make that doesn't get shared here, sometimes I wish I had so much to share that I couldn't fit it all in. Someday.

It's another Warhol Dress, pattern and tutorial can be found on MADE. I used a clearance old navy shirt that already had this great color blocking, but it could also be pretty easily done by cutting up old t-shirts, too.

So soft and colorful, and maybe we'll be doing some layering so share can wear it into fall and winter.

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

grant pack, grant pack

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-05:00

Grant pack, grant pack, on the backpack loaded up with things and knick knacks too! So sorry for all you non-Dora watchers (and the like), that damn backpack song gets stuck in my head every. single. time. I talk about backpacks. Oh well.

So I made my nephew Grant a backpack as part of his birthday present. I had gotten the cars fabric so long ago (from Superbuzzy) with the intention of making him a backpack, well the time finally came. I had also tucked away Made by Rae's Toddler Backpack pattern and wanted to give it a go, it's so cute with it's little handle and piping details.

I did interface the backpack front and back pieces with canvas, it's pretty sturdy, but nice and lightweight at the same time. The only thing I might have done if I had more time would have been to finished the edges with bias tape instead of just serging them. Next time, right? (and just for fun, it took me just over an hour to finish, I was under the gun!!)

In the car on the way up I managed to embroider his name on a little scrap of linen and then hand sewed it to the inside of the back piece, just in case it ever gets left behind somewhere.

happy birthday Grant!

my go anywhere bag

2011-09-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hopefully you're not too sick of seeing my bags. :) This is my Go Anywhere Bag that I'm keeping. All I can say is that I was more than happy to transfer my belongings into it as soon as I finished sewing it up. And you might wonder if I keep all these bag for myself. I don't. I didn't even keep a 241 tote, one went to my friend Rossie, the other to my mom (whom I've finally decided, has enough bags). I like sharing what I make with people I care about though, so it's always a good feeling to be able to hand something I've made over to a friend.

[lined with linen and handmade linen piping on each pocket]

I had hoarded this echino camera print for too long waiting for just the right project. I really love using this bag, my favorite part has to be the divided front pocket, I haven't yet lost my phone or sunglasses or keys in it yet.

Um, well, I guess I should say that I did 'lose' them in the back pocket for a while, but then I figured it all out. I had a bit of a panic attack at the post office thinking I had lost the mailbox keys. Whew.

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend! We're off to Minneapolis to celebrate my nephew Grant's first birthday.

fabric tray tutorial

2011-09-13T07:30:00.006-05:00

I'm excited to join in again this year for Skip to My Lou's Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along! This project is really fun because you can make it as simple or complex as you'd like and there's really no rules, love that.

Stop over at Skip to My Lou's Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along for the full tutorial!

I'd also like to note that there are a lot of similar projects out there, so if this isn't your cup of tea, try one of these fab tutorials:

finding treasures and a book winner!

2011-09-12T08:44:00.002-05:00

Just thought I'd pop in today to show you a few fun things I found at an estate sale over the weekend:

[vintage arabia enamel bowl]

[something to hang on the awkward space next to the window in the kitchen]

Not at the estate sale, but still really cool, this lovely stack of fabrics, just waiting to be cut into:

[hometown by sweetwater for moda, candy trees by julia rothman for cloud 9 fabrics]

And to announce the Sewing for Boys book winner! I was so thrilled with everyone's response, sounds like this book will be an awesome tool for all you moms (aunts, grandmas, too) with boys (and in some cases lots of boys!). So from the top of the heap:

10. Rebekah said...

I would love this!!

Congrats Rebekah, I sent you an email!

ps stay tuned tomorrow for a tutorial that has spent a long time in the queue. ;) I just love adding little surprises at the end of posts, let's me know who really reads through to the end.

Sewing for Boys Book Review & Giveaway!!! [CLOSED]

2011-09-09T08:46:00.001-05:00

[Thank you to everyone who entered the Sewing for Boys book giveaway.]

I'm so excited today to be included in the Sewing for Boys Book blog tour. If you haven't caught wind of it until now, the owners of Patterns by Figgy's, Shelly and Karen, co-authored a book! And I know you'll be excited to hear that it's all about sewing for boys (of course I've already picked out quite a few projects that will be fun to make for my girls, too).

They did a fantastic job of compiling an awesome collection of 24 projects geared towards sewing for boys, you know, the most neglected gender in the sewing realm. I'm so happy because it falls at no better time than my cute little nephew, Grant's first birthday! I can't imagine being able to resist sewing things for him. It's fun to dig through the 'ol fabric stash and find some goodies and think of how he might look in them, start walking in them, throw food at his parents in them, you get the picture....

So here's my version of the Easy Linen Shirt. And guess what, it IS easy! Probably the most fun and rewarding project I've made in a long time. It required minimal effort and time to complete, has impeccable instructions, and is so cute!

I loved that they have all sorts of information on finishing seams, great techniques that you'll use over and over again.

I can't wait to sew up a couple pairs of Treasure Pocket Pants like Ashley, or maybe I'll give myself a challenge with The Henry Shirt like Meg did. Definitely go check out the screaming deal on their book over at amazon!

Ready to win a copy of Sewing for Boys for yourself???

Just leave a nice comment! One entry per person. Please leave your email address in your comment. You can leave it in a format like this if you wish: anna [at] gmail [dot] com, it's up to you though, if you have your email listed in your blogger profile, that works too!
One winner will be chosen.
Open to international entries.
Giveaway ends Sunday, September 11th at 10pm (central time).

You can follow the rest of the blog tour with these fantastic bloggers in the upcoming weeks (and go check out the ones in the past too):
September 5 Made by Rae
September 6 Sew, Mama, Sew
September 7 The Southern Institute & Film in the Fridge
September 8 Elsie Marley
September 9 Noodlehead & Oh, Fransson!
September 10 I Heart Linen
September 11 Anna Maria Horner
September 12 Craft Buds, Pink Chalk Fabric , Prudent Baby , Sew Much Ado
September 13 Very Purple Person, Quilt Story & Sew Sara
September 14 The Long Thread
September 15 Susan Beal
September 16 True Up
September 17 All Buttoned Up & Bolt Fabric Boutique
September 18 MADE & Wiley Craft

[fabrics used: inner collar - katie jump rope by denyse schmidt, shirt - echo by lotta jansdotter for windham, vines (available early november)

it's done!

2011-09-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

I finally, finally, finished up my t-shirt quilt over the weekend. Talk about a project! This was the most difficulty I had completing a sewing project ever. I knew I wanted to finish it though, only five years or so after I started it. You can read my other posts about it here and here.

I chose to do random line quilting, nothing very dense, just to keep things together.

So glad it's all done now, my favorite blanket by far. After I got it from the dryer I immediately scooped it up and cuddled under it.

oh and I love the back, I picked two black and white ginghams (one 1/8" the other is a 1")!

pattern testers i love

2011-09-01T08:40:00.003-05:00

It's true, I really love my pattern testers. I love that with each new set of eyes something different and lovely is created, mistakes are caught, and new ideas are brought forward. I wanted to share today a little round up of a few of my friends who I begged to test my pattern, I always feel a little guilty asking anyone for help, but I'm so glad I did. They did amazing and I love how each put their personality to their version of my newest pattern, the Go Anywhere Bag.

Gail of Probably Actually (read her post about it here) I'm always inspired when I see the beautiful pictures of the things she makes.

Leila of Where the Orchids Grow who amazes me with her patchwork and love of Japanese prints.

Jeannie (who is so speedy she made 2 amazing versions! beautiful job Jeannie.)

Nikki of The Girl Who Quilts (amazing girl who sews up amazing things!) read about her bag here, love the Lizzy House 1001 Peeps!

June of June Bug's World, I love June's use of upcycling her mom's curtains for this bag and her eye for detail.

Carolyn of Fake it While You Make It (she seriously knows how to whip out some amazing garments) read about her bag here.

And last, but definitely not least, Lindsey of LR Stitched (couldn't stop seeing what she came up with once I saw her 241 Tote) read more in her post here, absolutely loved how she listed out all the things she could fit in it!

Isn't it fun to see the same bag in all sorts of fabrics?! That's why I love sewing, all the potential to make something uniquely you. Thanks you guys!

And I just have one more post about my new pattern, I did actually make one to keep for myself!!! I had been hoarding a certain fabric for too long - time to put it to use. So stay tuned....

ringo pie: design classics

2011-08-30T09:59:00.003-05:00

This one's a little late, eek, sorry Lynne! Hopefully it's better late than never. It was Lynne of Lily's Quilts month for Ringo Pie. I was pretty stumped at what to make. There were so many ideas, but I kept coming back to the idea of danish furniture: timeless, classic, clean. Of course I just happen to be pretty obsessed with it myself, you can see the dresser I found last fall in this post.

So here's the block. A danish dresser, a mid-century enamel bowl, and a stack of pretty books.

You can see my previous ringo pie blocks: here, here,here, here, and here, and here.

hope you like it Lynne!

sewing with knits mondays: where to shop, patterns, and wrap up

2011-08-29T13:09:00.000-05:00

We're at the final wrap up for Sewing with Knits Mondays, Shannon and I have had such a blast putting fun projects together and feeling a little more confident sewing with knits. I hope you give knits a try, it's really a pretty forgiving fabric if you give it a chance.

In case you missed out on any past Mondays here are the posts:

racerback tank tutorial
flora and fauna shirt tutorial (with Craftiness is Not Optional)
soho maxi dress tutorial (with Sew Much Ado)
quick tee tutorial
t-shirt quilt

And now for some knit fabric fun! You might have found it difficult to find shops online that carry knits, so here's a little list of places I've found (feel free to add your favs in the comments). And there's probably a descent selection at your local hancock fabrics, hobby lobby, or joanns, just check it out, you might be surprised by what you find! And I should mention that at Spoonflower you can design your own knit fabric or shop from independent designers.

And if you're in the mood to try out some fun knit sewing patterns, here are a few awesome shops with plenty of knit fabric sewing patterns to try!

patterns by figgy's
make it perfect (be sure to check out her newest basic tee pattern)
lil blue boo
v and co
mod kid boutique (patty young)
ottobre design magazine
oliver + s
heidi & finn
scientific seamstress
dans la lune
fishsticks designs
owly baby
dear my kids

Thank you for hanging out with us for Sewing with Knits Mondays! I really hope you give them a try and try something new. And a huge thank you to Shannon for joining me, it was so fun to have a partner in crime. ♥

Go Anywhere Bag Pattern!

2011-08-26T01:15:00.001-05:00

It's the Go Anywhere Bag because, well, it's that simple, I think you can go anywhere with it and look unique, stylish, and pretty darn cool. This is the largest bag pattern I've made so far, not huge, but definitely roomy enough for whatever comes your way.

[generous size back pocket]

[divided front pocket with optional piping detail]

The best part? All the pockets.

Three roomy pockets on the front: great for sunglasses, keys, and your phone
one large pocket on the back
a slip pocket on the inside.

There is definitely a place for everything. I've been loving the front because I keep my phone in one pocket, my sunglasses in the middle pocket and my keys in the other, no more fumbling around for the important stuff because it's right there.

In this pattern you'll find:

Step by step instructions with full color photos for making one Go Anywhere Bag
full size print-at-home pattern pieces
variations for magnetic snap, sew in snap, and velcro closures
instructions for optional interior slip pocket

By purchasing this pattern, I also give you (the purchaser of this pattern) the rights to sell Go Anywhere Bags made using this pattern (on a home based scale). Additional information regarding the license to sell is included in the pattern.

Materials needed:

1/2 yard main bag body exterior (home dec or canvas)*
1/2 yard pockets exterior
1 yard main body lining and exterior pocket linings, interior slip pocket, and straps
magnetic snap (optional) - 14mm snap for back pocket, or velcro could be substituted
hidden sew in magnetic snap (optional)
scraps of medium weight fusible interfacing
thread
water soluble pen

*if all quilting weight cottons are used I suggest using interfacing (details included in pattern)

This is a 20 page PDF pattern with full size print-at-home pattern pieces and includes detailed step-by-step instructions with color photographs.

********************************************************************************
This pattern is a PDF file instant download.. Please be sure to check your email address listed in your Paypal profile, the instant download link will be sent to that email address (a screen with the download link will also pop up after you complete the transaction). If you choose paypal's e-check option, the instant download will take 5-7 days for the e-check to clear and for the instant download link to be sent. Please download the pattern to your computer for future use.

$8

********************************************************************************
Thank you to Windham Fabrics for sending me the Echo prints by Lotta Jansdotter - available October/November of this year. And a special thanks to my beautiful cousins for helping me with their mad modeling skills!

Go Anywhere Bag Pattern Coming Soon!

2011-08-24T10:36:00.001-05:00

I'm so excited to share my newest pattern with you guys soon! I'm seriously in love with this bag and have been carrying mine around for over a week and just love looking at it. That's gotta be a good sign, right?!

It's called the Go Anywhere Bag because, well, it's that simple, I think you can go anywhere with it and look unique, stylish, and pretty darn cool. This is the largest bag pattern I've made so far, not huge, but definitely roomy enough for whatever comes your way.

The best part? All the pockets. Three big pockets on the front, one large pocket on the back, and a nice slip pocket on the inside. There is definitely a place for everything. I've been loving the front because I keep my phone in one pocket, my sunglasses in the middle pocket and my keys in the other, no more fumbling around for the important stuff because it's right there.

I'll hopefully have it up for sale starting Friday (and if not then, it'll be up for sure by Tuesday the 30th)! I cannot wait to show you the other samples I made!

♥

sewing with knits mondays: t-shirt quilt

2011-08-22T09:03:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to another Monday! It's Sewing with Knits Mondays already.

Maybe this isn't an obvious knit fabric project, but it's one that's been waiting for me to finish for at least 3 years (probably longer). You can read more about it in my post here. My mom had cleaned out some of my things from their house a long time ago and I had grabbed my old swim shirts thinking I would someday make them into a t-shirt quilt.

It was so fun revisiting all my fun swim team memories back from when I was 10 years old right up through my senior year of college. Just looking at each shirt makes me think of the countless swim meets, thousands of hours riding in the Y van, and great friends.

And I'm not going to disguise anything here, this was definitely not my favorite project when I started. I was intimidated working with both cottons and knits together and I had cut up my shirts long before I knew what exactly my plan might be. With that said, I wish I would have tried to find a more uniform shape to each shirt, but some were so old and worn, I just couldn't make that happen. Besides, I ended up really liking the top, but not until I saw it all pieced together.

Now I'll be getting it ready for quilting and soon I'll be snuggling under it watching Project Runway.

Any tips on how to quit it? I'd love to hear your input. I was thinking of doing some free motion quilting but with random shaped intersecting boxes. Hmm, could be complicated. :)

I think this would make an awesome Christmas present or a great guy gift, too!

Random note: I fused lightweight interfacing to each piece of t-shirt before squaring them up.

Be sure to jump on over and say hi to Shannon today over at Luvinthemommyhood for some more knit goodness. :)

birthday hats

2011-08-20T05:00:00.001-05:00

It wouldn't be a party without some paper hats!

some paper hat fabric inspiration here, and here

[natalie's dress]

Just thought you'd like another animated gif, photoshop how-to here, I hosted the file with photobucket because blogger doesn't seem to like to take the file directly. :)

Have a great weekend! Emily had a great party!

a little blue

2011-08-18T05:00:00.005-05:00

We had fun yesterday getting ready for a certain soon-to-be 3 year old's party, blue is the theme since it's her favorite color.

We had cut the few remaining hydrangeas and put out an Irish linen that my aunt had given me.

Some tissue paper flowers were a blast to make, and a little Swarovski crystal heart necklace I made will hopefully make her smile.

...and you bet there will be blue moon ice cream cake for dessert!

sewing with knits mondays: quick tee tutorial

2011-08-15T09:14:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Shannon and I are back today with another Sewing with Knits Mondays, we're just having too much fun.

Today I'd like to show you a simple quick tee! I've seen them in every store, it's a simple knit tee that uses a single pattern piece. You can draft it super easily from a t-shirt you already own and in about 45 minutes you'll have a cute and simple tee that you can wear alone or layer.

You'll need:
approx 1 yard knit fabric, depending on your size
a twin needle
polyester thread

Make your pattern:
Lay down a well fitting t-shirt on the fold. Trace a simple shape that includes just a curve at the armpit area. It'll look like your shirt has sleeves, but with less work!

Make note of the scoop of the neckline in the front and back. Cut out your pattern piece. You'll cut 2 pieces on the fold, a front and back, then take the front piece and cut the neckline a little lower.

Sew (or serge) one shoulder seam together, RIGHT sides facing.

Press over the neckline about 3/8" and hem using your twin needle.

You can use Make It and Love It's suggestion like I did and wind two bobbins and load one in your bobbin case and one with your thread spool, who has two spools of the same thread anyway? right?

front using twin needle

back using twin needle

Sew (or serge) remaining shoulder seam.

Hem both sleeves the same as how you did the neckline.

Place shirt RIGHT sides facing. Sew (or serge) down each side seam.

Hem bottom if desired.

That's it! There are tons of variations on this same style. It would be super cute to add some rows of shirring at the bottom too! If you've sewn anything using knits go ahead and add it to our flickr pool!

Don't forget to stop over at Luvinthemommyhood to see what hot stuff is happening there. Thanks for reading. ♥

a little intro

2011-08-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to quick introduce noodlehead to facebook. Hello there, how do you do? Very fine, thank you.

Now that they're properly introduced I wanted to tell ya that you can hop on over and check out the noodlehead facebook page. I just think it'll be a great opportunity to have some fun chats and another way to connect with all my sewing friends. Maybe you'll find out how much of a dork I really am.....eeek!

But for real, I love flickr, I love love pinterest, so really, why not facebook too? Let's just see how much we can have on the table, right?!

one of those projects...

2011-08-10T05:00:00.001-05:00

Yeah, you know the kind. You're excited about it, just thought up a great idea that you have to try. You go out and buy all the essential materials you need to make it, and then....nothing. Yep, it's sits and waits at the bottom of the work in progress pile for months.

Sometimes just dreaming up a project and selecting the perfect fabrics is enough for me. I don't even actually have to sew it, just thinking of how cool it is and would be is enough. Weird, I know.

Anyway, I cleaned out the work in progress box (don't worry, there's still a work in progress pile - or two, laying around) and found this project. Now I admit, I was just going to stuff these plain white lingerie bags [purchased at target for about $1 each] down in the laundry room and forget all about them. But I didn't.

[just used ribbon to make a hanger and zipper pull tabs]

Instead I finished what I had planned which was to personalize each bag so the girls could throw in their dirty socks and undies and I would just be able to whip them in the washer and the 'infamous lost sock' would no longer rear it's ugly head.

Here's to hoping it works!

sewing with knits mondays: with guest Abby of Sew Much Ado

2011-08-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Sewing with Knits Mondays. I'm so excited to welcome Abby of Sew Much Ado here today! I just want to start out by saying how genuine of a person Abby is, she has been a really great friend to me and definitely someone who I turn to for advice or an opinion. I'm really thankful to know her. And of course she has a beautiful blog filled with tons of inspiration. She has tutorials and patterns to make just about anything you'd ever want to make and she's not afraid of using knits!

I love that she sews anything from quilts to clothes and everything in between. Plus, just look at her - someone sign her up for a modeling contract! And of course she runs a great linky party every Wednesday called We Did It Wednesdays! So you'll have to join her this week. Please help me welcome Abby!

Hi, Noodleheads! Anna is one of my very favorite blogging friends, and I'm thrilled that she asked me to be a part of her Sewing With Knits Mondays series. Anna's pretty much fantastic in every way - sincere, beautiful, creative, and I'm so happy that I can call her my friend! I hope you've been following along each Monday on Anna's blog and also Shannon from Luv In The Mommyhood's blog - they have both shared some great tips and had some super guests joining in. No reason to be afraid of knits anymore, ladies!

When Anna contacted me, I knew instantly what project I'd be sharing. I've been wanting to make a maxi dress tutorial for months now, but just didn't have the right motivation I needed to get it done. So thanks for the inspiration once again, Anna!

With a simple ruffle detail at the top...

The SoHo Maxi Dress is perfect for even a beginner sewer. No better way to build your confidence with knits than to jump right in! You can make this!

Come visit me at Sew Much Ado and see the full tutorial!

Thanks, Anna for letting me be a part of such a fantastic series!

It's just beautiful Abby and I can't wait to try it myself. Thanks for sharing. And don't forget to check out what Shannon has going on today over at Luvinthemommyhood.

vintage sheet patchwork pillow

2011-08-06T08:09:00.000-05:00

Firstly, thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my baby curlicue quilt. I really feel so happy to be involved in such a supportive community.

I couldn't resist using some leftover squares from the curlicue quilt to make a coordinating pillow. There's just something about a little matching set of goodness to send to a new baby that I can't stop myself.

It really came together quick and I was surprised that it actually fits a travel sized pillow form.

I love trying to wrap everything up pretty. I just used some leftover binding material, ripped it across the grain and you've got yourself a pretty little bow. If there's anything I'd like to improve on it would definitely would be my wrapping/packaging skills. I think for whatever reason I just fizzle out at the end creatively. Here's to trying new things!

Have a great weekend! See you Monday for Sewing with Knits. I'm off to an estate sale, wish me luck. ♥

Lil Blue Boo Pattern Giveaway Winners!

2011-08-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks everyone who entered the LBB pattern giveaway. Sounds like a lot of you are starting on your first projects using knits, so I hope you have fun and enjoy the process!

One other quick note, Shannon and I have set up a flickr group for Sewing with Knits, so please pop on over and join. It will be so fun to see all that you make!

On with the winners:

#71: Deanna said...

Would love the hoodie pattern!

#86: Anonymous said...

would love to try knits, and have been thinking about getting a serger!

#336: Anonymous said...
Love LBB. Would love a chance to win.
Sarah

I've emailed you all and hope you enjoy picking your pattern. Wish I could send you all LBB patterns, but definitely check out her shop and give one a try. I promise you'll like them. :)

curlicue baby quilt

2011-08-03T16:05:00.001-05:00

This little number is going out to a very special baby girl - one who fought for her life the very first few weeks (and won!). Babies are always so inspiring and this one is no exception.

Sorry for the lack of words in this post, but I would like to say although this quilt might seem complicated with it's curved pieces, it's actually quite forgiving.

Curlicue Crush Quilt Pattern (here's her list of stockists as well) by Bec from Chasing Cottons (thank Bec!)
vintage linens purchased from Jeni of In Color Order and In Color Order on etsy (she's got her shop on vacation now, but she'll be re-opening soon!)
backing is Riley Blake, Sew Cherry by Lori Holt, the whole collection at Hawthorne Threads

I have a little extra project I made to go along with it, but it'll have to wait for another post, we're off to play! And to make you laugh, here's a little outtake, I think a bug must have ran into my face.

sewing with knits mondays: lil blue boo pattern giveaway [closed]

2011-08-01T09:20:00.001-05:00

[this giveaway is officially closed, thank you to all who entered!]

I'm sure you know Lil Blue Boo as the queen of knits. Really, Ashley's got her own clothing company. Her shop is filled with tons of cute clothing. Not to mention Lil Blue Boo is an awesome blog, she's always got something creative to share, whether it be sewing, painting, or crafting.

And of course you probably already know she also sells some amazing patterns, most of which involve knit fabrics. Perfect!

the perfect short (on my to-do list, gotta love comfy shorts!)

the maliboo romper

the pieced tunic/dress

recycled t-shirt hoodie

And don't worry there's tons more at her pattern shop, so be sure to stop by and check them all out if you haven't already!

I really do recommend her patterns, Ashley makes it very easy to sew with knits and always includes great tips for sewing with a regular machine as well as a serger. You can check out the things I've made using her patterns (my girls have loved each knit fabric piece of clothing I've made them):

leggings

hoodies

Ready for a chance to win? Today Lil Blue Boo has been generous enough to offer up 3 patterns to 3 winners! Now if that won't get you started I don't know what will. Go find some t-shirts to upcycle or even nab some knit yardage at Joanns, just do it!

To enter:

One entry per person. Please leave your email address in your comment. You can leave it in a format like this if you wish: anna [at] gmail [dot] com
There will be 3 winners chosen, each winner will get to pick their choice of 1 Lil Blue Boo pattern.
Open to international entries.
Giveaway ends Wednesday, August 3rd at 10pm (central time).

Oh and don't forget to stop in at Luvinthemommyhood for Shannon's Sewing with Knits Mondays post!!!!

progress

2011-07-30T09:03:00.000-05:00

Just a few random Saturday kind of shots.

We've been circling the block riding these every chance we get. Emily got a helmet finally (slacker mom), so now she's having a blast speeding around on her bike. Still need to figure out how to use the breaks. Watch out!

Squeaked in a little sewing time here and there. I thought I might totally flop on this one, but it seems to be turning around.

And because I need an ever flowing stream of goodness in my mailbox, I like to order myself more fabric that what I can use up at the moment. Surely I can't be the only one who does that? Getting mail makes me feel special.

Have a great weekend! And don't forgot to stop in on Monday for Sewing with Knits Mondays! I've got something special lined up.

sundresses

2011-07-27T11:05:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to eek out a few more clothes for the girls while I:
a) still feel inspired to make things for them and
b) before summer slips away and it's fall before I know it

Almost every morning it's a struggle to get them dressed and it's so weird, but Natalie almost always picks something that matches what Emily is wearing that day. Dress and dress, skirt and skirt, you get the picture. I guess Emily's a born leader, I'll have to let you know how that pans out.

So obviously a dress for each of them in the same style was completely necessary. I'm sure they would have loved me to make something exactly the same (never would have thought that!), but I just can't bring myself to do it. So I won't - probably ever.

I used Lil Blue Boo's Sundress Tutorial. It's so sweet and simple, and I knew the girls would love to twirl in them.

Love me a pretty summer dress. ♥

Fabrics: red dress is a mystery print by Bernatex and Hugs and Kisses in Pink and Lime by Anna Maria Horner - Loulouthi.
Blue dress: Loulouthi Buoyancy in Deep by Anna Maria Horner, Kona cotton in coal.

sewing with knits mondays: with guest Jess from Craftiness is Not Optional

2011-07-25T07:30:00.000-05:00

You know Jess' blog right?

Well, if you're in the mood to sew up just about anything (especially little girl's dresses) you have to check it out. Tutorials galore! Plus she's got a ton of sew-a-longs you can follow along with (Rachel Wrap, Sadie Shirt, Lucky Dress, Leah Tunic, Charlotte Dress, Anna Dress.) Whew, I can hardly keep up already! :)

Jess is full of energy (hence the massive amount of things she can get done in a single day - even with two little girls in tow), she's funny, and I just love how kind and caring she is.

She's even started to do more sewing for herself. Yay for that!

And of course I had to ask her to help with out with Sewing with Knits Mondays, she's got sewing with knits down pat. And I knew she'd come up with something ultra cute. Let's hear it from Jess!

I'm so excited to be participating in Anna and Shannon's Sewing with Knits series!

Both Anna and Shannon are both such fabulous and talented gals, not to mention so sweet. :) Anna is a long-time blogging pal of mine and she never ceases to amaze me with her awesome projects.

Soo...It took me forever to settle on a knit project to do-I had just come off of an obsession of my own with knits, so I was kind of out of knit ideas for the time being, lol. Pinterest to the rescue!

I quickly found (thanks to my best pal), and was enamored with the simple style of this top from Garnet Hill:

via pinterest.

So I set out to figure out how to make it myself. I used my raglan tee pattern and tutorial for most of the construction, so I'll refer you to that tute a few times.

It has a cute keyhole neckline, with elastic casing around the neck and button closure (though not that necessary because of the elastic, mostly there for the cuteness factor), and 3/4 sleeves with a bias tape trim. I used a jersey knit sheet set (Target clearance-$6), so I used the finished edge for my hem.

I think Sadie looks like a little woodland nymph or something. Grass nymph? What's a nymph, anyways? I'm pretty sure it's like a fairy. I hope. Am I thinking of a sprite? Anyways...that's neither here nor there. Get on with the program, Jess!

One more pic, cause the sleeves are too cute! Ok, ok.
Come on over to see the full tutorial today, on Craftiness is Not Optional!

...and be sure to say hi to Jess for me and let her know how cool she is...
Thanks Jess, you ALWAYS amaze me!

And don't forget to stop by Luvinthemommyhood today to check out what knit goodness she's got going on today!

for the nieces

2011-07-23T00:01:00.003-05:00

I was recently recruited by two of my nieces to make a few zippy wallets. My one niece is in college (I know, I don't seem old enough to have a niece in college, but I do). :) My other niece is in high school.

They've both worn through their first zippy wallets from two years ago, so I'm sending in the replacements. I wish I would have made them sooner, but I really had fun thinking about what each of them would like.

At least I had their color choices to go off of, Hannah's favorite color is green, and Ellie's are yellow and orange, it made it a whole lot easier to decide.

I added a little keychain loop on each (similar to the loop in my little cutie pouch tutorial). I know they'll enjoy them and put them to use right away since I've been holding out on them forever, thanks for being patient girls!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and see you Monday for the second installment of Sewing with Knits Mondays and my special guest. Yay!

Fabrics: Green wallet: Denyse Schmidt, Greenfield Hill, Etsuko Furuya, Echino

Yellow wallet: Heather Ross, Far Far Away II, Denyse Schmidt, Katie Jump Rope, the plaid is by Moda, Happy Campers?

Maybe no one reads this far, but do you like it when I add in fabric designers and prints I used?

drawings

2011-07-20T09:28:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I get caught up in showing you only stuff I make. Sometimes I forget that you might be interested in seeing some of the other things we've got going on around here. Am I right? {insert chirping crickets} Ooookay, moving on...

Drawing. We've been drawing up a storm. It's been so fun to watch how Natalie's and Emily's drawing skills have changed. You remember those little people up there on the top of my blog? Yep, Natalie drew those when she was 3. I was SO PROUD. I think it was her first time actually drawing something recognizable. You can read more about the story of that drawing in this post. Definitely one I'm glad I wrote down and saved.

Well, it's been a few years and about 1 billion sheets of paper later, I thought it would be fun to round up a few of our new favorites:

a little updated family pic

Natalie's self portrait

Natalie's alphabet

mermaid

Pepper (our dog): this one's pretty cute because Pepper has a hurt back right now and Natalie drew this picture of her walking up the stairs

abstract landscape

last but not least is Emily's person

Hope you have a great day!

racerback tank tutorial: sewing with knits mondays

2011-07-18T11:18:00.001-05:00

Hi everybody! Hope you had a lovely weekend. Several months ago Shannon from Luvinthemommyhood and I got chatting about sewing with knits. We were both on a little kick and wanting to sew more with knits and just learn a few more tricks.

Who doesn't love a comfy knit t-shirt or top? I think almost everything I own (besides some of the things I've made for myself) is made with knit fabric. It's soft, stretchy, and downright comfy!

So we're putting together a few weeks worth of information on sewing with knits:

Sewing with Knits Mondays

Each Monday for the next month or so we'll feature either a new tutorial or technique on both blogs. Hope you'll join us and maybe conquer that fear of sewing up something cute and comfy.

Grab a little button if you'd like and join along, the code is over on my right sidebar!

And be sure to stop over at Luvinthemommyhood to check out Shannon's super cute Poppy Top!

For the first week I wanted to share something nice and cool for these hot and humid summer months: a basic racerback tank. You might have remembered I made one similar using regular woven fabric cut on the bias, this is a little variation on that same idea.

Materials:
1 yard knit fabric, something with stretch to it
ball point needle
thread (polyester or polyester blend is best)
walking foot (optional)
twin needle (optional)

I love this project because I scored a nice lightweight stretchy knit for $1 a yard at my local Hancock fabrics (you'd be able to find something similar at joanns, etc). It took me about an hour to make. So it's a one dollar, one hour project, pretty cool right?!

Making the pattern:
Grab a regular t-shirt that fits you well.

Fold it in half. You don't really have to be too precise here, just make a similar shape as to what I show in this picture. I like layering my tanks so I wanted somewhat loose fitting and long. Like a higher neckline? You can do that! just move up the curve of the neckline. It's amazing what you can do when you make your own clothes. Oh, and if you wanted to try this with a woven cut on the bias, you can add a little dart right under the arm on the front piece.

Now fold the t-shirt in half the other way, this will be the back. Again, just make the basic shape, nothing too scientific about it. Just make sure the bottom of the arm opening matches that of you existing t-shirt or slightly higher. Cut out your 2 pattern pieces being sure to mark where to place the pattern on the fold.

Next, cut 2" wide strips across the grain of the fabric (side to side the stretchy way). This will be the binding for the neck and arm holes.

Sew one shoulder seam together. You could use a walking foot and a stitch that looks something like this might be an option on your machine:

Don't worry if your machine just has a basic stitch, just use that and lengthen your stitch length or do a narrow and long zig zag stitch.

[I do want to stop and point out that Omi Creates does a really nice job of explaining this same binding technique that I'm using here with a baby onesie, so I'd definitely recommend at least reading through her tutorial for some great tips about sewing with knits!]

Next grab one of the 2" binding strips and cut it to be about 75% of the total length you need to go around the neck opening and around the back part of the neck opening. You might want to stretch your binding a bit and see if it will stretch enough to fit the whole length since you'll be stretching the binding slightly as you sew it on to the tank. Place it RIGHT sides together with the tank, aligning raw edges. I sewed it using a 3/8" seam allowance.

Stretch the binding strip slightly as you sew (in the direction of the red arrow, towards you), but just let the front and back of the tank pieces get pulled along by the feed dogs on your machine.

Press with seam facing upwards toward the neck opening. Next you'll flip the binding around the the back (WRONG) side of the fabric like this:

You'll want to sew on the top side though since the stitching will be very visible.

Set your machine to a medium width, medium length zig zag stitch and sew all along the binding, trying to keep the binding about the same width. You could pin it all in place, but I found that it was pretty easy just to fold it over and sew as I went. Sewing on top of the binding is where you could alternately use a twin needle instead of a zig zag stitch.

Trim excess binding from back:

Sew the remaining shoulder seam together.

Then sew both side seams (no pic of this but, just put them RIGHT sides facing and sew). Press.

Sewing the armhole binding is similar to the neck binding.

Again, cut the binding strips to about 75% of the total length you'll need.

But this time, you'll fold in in a loop and sew the seam along the short side of the binding strips, making a circle. Attach the binding the same way as the neck seam. That's it! You could hem the bottom, but I really like the raw edge look, so I just left mine. Now put on your tank and get some relief of the heat.

Fabric sources:

Purple knit: Hancock fabrics

Pale blue knit: Fabricworm robert kaufman panda knit