Do you remember me?

I'm not sure if I can even remember how to create a post. Yes, I'm a terrible blogger. Okay, beyond terrible, I admit it. But atlas I won't beat myself up. I haven't been sewing a much as I wish, but there is always a time and place for everything.

Over the summer we camped a lot. My in-laws purchased a wonderful travel trailer that they have been so gracious to let us use as much as we want (direct quote from FIL - "I'd rather it be out being used than sitting in the driveway"). Okay, a camping we will go. We had never taken the kids camping (no throwing tomatoes at me please). Honestly, I hated all the work that was with tent camping even tho I adored it as a kid. I know, what a terrible disservice to not suck it up for the kids, but neither my hubby or I could stand the though of dew on a tent, cooking everything on a picnic table, dirt in our sleeping bags, etc. Life in the trailer on the other hand is like living in luxury. I honestly couldn't get enough and so we camped as often as we could until the end of October.

We are also now a homeschooling family. It has been something in the making for a long time. It's going extremely well for us, but it definitely cuts into my sewing time. ;-)

I have made some wonderful things, one being my first wool coat. I need to post a review about it, but I've been too busy wearing it everywhere to even think about posting a review. I did finally post a review about today about another item I finally finished up, so I thought I would share that. Not sure if I have any readers still, but here it is anyway. :-)

New Look 6628

( excuse the wrinkles on the sleeves, I've been wearing it all afternoon)

Pattern Description: Misses separates pattern that includes two styles of cardigan, sleeveless top, skirt, and pants all for knits.

Pattern Sizing: 8-18 ~ I made a size 8 my typical size for tops

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I found this pattern after reading a thread on the message board so it's been in my stash for quite some time now. I really liked the ruffles and the longer length cardigan. My only dislike (and it's not really even a dislike, it's more of an afterthought) is maybe I should have made the flounce go all the way around the neck. It's fine how it hangs, but I think I might like it better if it went all the way around and was one piece. I'm sure that would be a pretty easy fix if I do make this again and decide to go that route.

Fabric Used: grey Vera Wang wool jersey from fabric.com circa fall 2009

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made a 1/2" broad back adjustment and also a small swayback tuck.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes I would. I'm very happy with how it turned out and have already wore in twice since I finished it. If it's the look you're after, then yes I recommend the pattern, tho it's been out of print for years so it might take some digging to find one.

Conclusion: I'm glad I finally finished this cardi. I started it in October, but kept forgetting to get some grey woolly thread for the lettuce edging. I finally remembered a few weeks ago and it took me under and hour to finish this UFO. My hubby said it reminded him of the puffy shirt Jerry wore in an episode of Seinfeld. I'm not sure if that is a compliment or not! ;-)

So any wagers on how long until I post again? Hopefully it won't be terribly long. I really like to sew and have enough fabric and patterns to keep me busy for a long time. I'm looking forward to being a football widow this weekend and hopefully have something to show for it by the time the game is over.

2009 Wrap Up

Well I had planned to put this up yesterday, but had trouble with my computer and then we lost power at 6:15 last night so it had to wait until this morning.

I was inspired by a few graphs I saw so I did a little tally of what I sewed in 2009. I have been keeping track of what I sew for a little over three years in a spiral notebook. It has come in handy so many times and it's also fun to look back and see what I've made.

In 2009, here is a breakdown of "who" I sewed for. As you can see, I wasn't in first place, instead it was all about the kids (go figure). The gifts were things I made for extended family members (ie not my own kiddos), mostly for Christmas gifts but some where birthday gifts and baby gifts too.

Here is the breakdown of pattern brand used. There are repeat patterns on here and KS is dominating because that is my go to PJ pattern. Also the "That Darn Kat" is the undies pattern I use for my youngest ~ you can see which ones in this post.

Another thing I notice is that I need to suck it up with my BWOF and Ottobre - seriously those magazines are expensive and if I'm not using them, then why the heck am I buying them? I have 5 years worth of BWOFs and 10 years worth of Ottobres - I should never be sewing anything else (or buying anything for that matter!). My Ottobre is up for renewal and I'm considering dropping it, but breaking up is so hard to do. I really look forward to getting the magazine, but with 10 years worth, can there really be something different and new making it worth the price each year? I still have a few weeks to ponder it. Have you had this struggle? If so, how did you decide?

Now on to my Christmas sewing. I sewed like crazy for the entire month of December and am so glad that is over. It was fun and a great idea, but it was so time consuming and overwhelming at times. A few of my favorite things I made are pictured below.

This is a pillow I made my sister. Why I like it so much is that she and my BIL acquired a business in 2008 called Acorn Uniforms in the Seattle area so it's rather fitting for them. It's a free pattern at YCMT if you want to make your own.


I also made three of these door hanging pillows to give as gifts. I wanted to make myself one, but ran out of time. I'm sure I'll make more of these, they are super easy and so cute. You can get this pattern free at YCMT too (can you see I have been using this site lately - it's really great!).

I always make the kids special pjs for Christmas Eve and really liked the prior year's matching snowman pjs. When I looked for matching fabric online this year, I didn't find anything that jumped out at me plus a lot of the Christmas knits were too girly. I really wanted to use fabric I had stashed and then it came to me - M&M pjs! My MIL collects all things M&M and all the kids have their "own" color so I decided to make them pjs in their M&M color! They were a hit and looked so cute IMO. I used this freezer paper stencil technique for the M's.

Up for 2010, not sure. I am not really a resolutions girl. I don't like making goals that I don't know if I'll keep. Heck, I have "to do" lists in my head each morning and most of the time I don't even get those all the way completed. I do know I really want to make myself a nice coat. I purchased some gorgeous wool coatings from Fabric.com in the fall so I have the supplies. I also want to make a trench with the Burberry fabric I purchased at PRW. Another pair or two of Jalie jeans are in order too. Lots of "wants" so I'll just keep plugging away and do my best while still enjoying my hobby. Oh and definitely using those BWOF (it will always be BWOF to me by the way) and Ottobre mags!

Wishing all my readers a healthy and happy 2010!

The Dress

I had my daughter snap a picture of me in my new New Look dress on Saturday before we headed out into the 100 degree heat to a BBQ. What a classy, yet comfy dress - I LOVE IT!!! Just wanted to share it with you. It's really a great pattern, so if you love twist tops like me, you'll surely love this dress. It's NL 6802 - you can click the picture to make it bigger if you'd like to see the the details a little better).

Thank you all for the comments you posted to my last post. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who suffers from Analysis Paralysis. :-) I did trudge forward and made a top from BWOF 4-2008-116 (a dress - line drawing below).

The only problem is I didn't realize the smallest size was 38 until I finished tracing it off. I wear a 36, sometimes 34 in the top depending on the ease. I decided since it was a top and I was just using a remnant, I'd just go forth and see what happened. I did a SBA and had my fingers crossed it would fit. Well no such luck. I had to take almost a full inch out of each side it was that huge. I still need to hem it, but have tossed it aside for now because it's stormy and cold out for the next few days (I made it sleeveless).

Well yay me, I made a step forward. No AP is going to defeat me. ;-P

Up next, I think some misc school clothes. I need to thumb through my Ottobre magazines and see what grabs my interest. I'm so thankful the boys like pretty much anything still.

A little less talk, a lot more action.

I'm a country girl (yes I really live in the country) and love country music. Last weekend while my hubby was away on business, the kids were up late listening to a Toby Keith CD while playing Legos. On a whim I thought it sure would be fun to see him in concert (I've only been to two concerts at the fair and then one when I was little with my dad which I don't really remember) so I decided to hop online and see what his tour schedule was. Low and behold he was coming to the local Amphitheatre in a week. So I decided to look and see if I could find tickets so I could surprise my hubby with a special date night. Lucky me, I ended up getting tickets in the center section 14 rows from the front!!! I was so pumped and kept it a secret until yesterday afternoon divulging clues to him via email. Once he guessed the "who" I told him what we were doing - needless to say, he was very impressed with the surprise and my creativity (can you say "awesome wife" points for me??? lol).

So with an upcoming date night upon us, I had to make something new to wear (of course!). Flipping through my BWOF mags this past week I found the perfect little top to wear to the concert. It is from the June 2008 issue - #123. It was actually super simple to make thanks to some tutorials that have been posted. I ended up following the one posted by Christina of Assorted Notions, but both Dawn of Two On, Two Off and Angie of Quality Time both had helpful info on their blogs too. Thanks ladies, I'm so appreciative of you taking the time to share how to do something, especially when the directions are pretty murky! I posted a full review Pattern Review if you'd like to know more about the top. The verdict: DH loved the top and we had a B.L.A.S.T. at the concert last night. I think that was actually more fun than I've had in a very long time. The group Montgomery Gentry opened for Toby Keith and they were wonderful to see live as well - it was just a night of pure fun!!!

Next up is a dress I made a few weeks ago - New Look 6802. I love this dress. I loved it the minute I saw it in the pattern catalog, but I'm a sucker for twist tops and wrap tops/dresses. Well I was not at all disappointed by this little number and have already worn it twice. I have another one cut and ready to sew up. I highly recommend this pattern, the instructions were super easy and the results are fabulous! Review on PR

This last top is one I whipped up because I realized I really needed more solid colored pieces in my wardrobe. It's from Ottobre Woman 2-2007 #4. Super easy and a TNT (tried and true) pattern for me. I also made four tank tops from the same issue this week too, pattern #1. I love the tank top pattern as well and it's very quick to make since I use my coverstitch machine and binding attachment. I don't have a picture of the tank tops, but I made one in turquoise, hot pink, plum, and red.

Currently I'm working on a jacket in turquoise linen. It's the Project Runway Simplicity 3538. I'm not sure if I'm in love with it or if it's looks too Becky HomeEc-y. It's almost done, so I think I will put it away for a week or two and bring it back out and see if I'm liking it a little better. I hate it when I'm not in love with something right away. I'm a jacket novice so I'm sure there is lots of room for improvement. DH doesn't know if he likes it either, so maybe that is swaying my feelings right now. He said he's not sure about the color and the color is definitely what I love so I don't know.