I need a fabric diet!

Today I traced off a jacket from Ottobre for my youngest. My plan is to enter it in the Children's Clothing contest on PR. I wanted to make sure I purchased the adequate amount of fabric, because what I want to get is rather spendy and a smidge leftover always feels like such a waste. It's regularly $30/yd, but on sale today at Fabric Depot for $18/yd. Still a little spendy in my book, especially for a child, but I only need 1 yard plus a zipper. And really it's going to be a *cute* winter jacket and I can't buy one at the store for that price.

Once I got the jacket traced off I was looking through my fabric cupboard trying to find some inspiration. I was pulling things down and realized I really need to curb my appetite for fabric. It's hard. They are all so pretty. I want to bring them home to my lovely sewing studio. It's not a crime, right? Well it should be a crime so I will stop buying. Some may laugh at this statement and think there is no such thing as too much fabric. Well for me there is. It makes me get tense and nervous. I don't like clutter and to me this is clutter. Yes I like to be able to pick something I want to make and shop what I already have, however it still makes me uneasy to have as much as I do. So I'm going to give it the ol' college try and refrain from buying. Now stop taking bets, this will surely last longer than a day!

Yesterday I snapped this picture of my "baby" in his new shirt I made him. I used my trusty KS 2894 and love the way the top turned out. Inspiration began with a shirt I saw in the spring/summer Mini Boden catalog. I made the top back in July, but it was too big and too hot to wear it. I lined the hood in knit jersey and the applique is done in orange twill - tires complete with button hubcaps. He is beyond thrilled as you can see by the picture. I will cherish this. My kids loving mommy making something just for them. A one-of-a-kind creation that no one else has. That is why I sew.

Off to shop for the coat fabric. I'm bringing home coat fabric and a zipper, nothing else. You can shop laughing now....

What I've been up to (pretty much a book!)

Wow, it's already September (well almost mid September) and life is just flying by. The kids went back to school on the 2nd and I panicked on Labor Day because the two boys didn't have any new tops to wear on the first day. Yep, I'm one of those moms that want them to have new clothes for their first day back. Ottobre to the rescue and I had two top finished by bed time. The green one shown in the picture below is one and the other was for my older son, but it was a smidge too big so he opted to wear a RTW shirt I had bought him. Here are the kids right before we left for the first day back.

Then we celebrated our daughter turning eleven-teen! I can't believe she's 11 - where did the time go? She really wanted a Hannah Montana cake from the bakery, but after learning it was $25 (yikes), she said it was fine to make a homemade cake with sprinkles on top. What a gem, it looks like she might be coming around to the value of a dollar. Hey a mom can hope!

During the last week of August I worked on pants for the three boys. I got four pairs done total. All from Ottobre, but I have to go dig for the pattern numbers (I should do reviews and maybe when time allows I will). Here is a pair on my youngest. He was very pleased with them and loves the side pockets.

Side view~

Close up of pocket (there is one on each side)~

Here are one pair of my middle son's pants. I lightened the picture since they are black. This is one of the pairs I did the reinforced knee on. You can see it a little in the picture, but it looks way better than holes in the knees!

Back side~
My nice neighbor up the road asked if I wanted some apples and I jumped on the opportunity. I love home made applesauce, so last weekend the birthday girl and I made two batches. Here is a little work in progress. We ended up with 3 quart jars and 11 pints. I still have some apples leftover and plan to make some apple pie filling.

Here is she washing apples~

A box and bag of apples~

On the stove ready to cook~

Running them through the food mill~

And a bonus treat, apple crisp ready to pop in the oven. Boy was it tasty!!!

I finally have a picture of the top I made from BWOF 4-2008-116. As mentioned in my earlier post, I used the leftover fabric from the NL twist dress I made. The top was too big since the smallest size was a 38 and I usually wear a 36, but after taking a drastic 1" alteration on each side seam, it seems to fit. I have worn it a few times already and really like it. When I make it again, I will size the pattern down, that should surely work a lot better. It's a bit plunging too, so I will raise the neckline as well.

Another time consuming project I've been up to is redecorating the kids' bathroom. It is actually the main bathroom and is used by guests as well as the kids. It has always been the "ducky" bathroom because it was decorated with rubber ducks. After 7.5 years, I'm was more than sick of it. I decided I was going to find a lovely shower curtain and that would be the base for my new decor. While shopping with birthday girl and my mom last weekend at Kohls, I found *it*! The picture honestly doesn't do it justice. It's WAY more beautiful in person, I promise. So on Sunday, my daughter and I set out to find fabric to make a coordinating window valance and curtain to cover the linen area in the bathroom.

I found the absolute perfect fabric at Joann's, but they only had 1 yard and I needed 3. The guy looked on his computer and said the Vancouver store (about 30 minutes from my home) had 64 yards in stock. Great, I'll go after it once the kids go to school on Monday. Long story short, I went on Monday morning and couldn't find any - the nice cutting counter lady told me because it's remnants they get in from home decor manufacturers and they all have the same SKU number!!!!!! OMGosh, I was so annoyed that I'd drove all that way for nothing. Plus the paint I bought at Home Depot went with that and the shower curtain perfectly. All was not lost tho, I found a solid and went back to my local Joann's and got the 1 yard of stripe and will make a band at the bottom of the linen closet curtain. I am on the fence as to if the valance will be solid, stripe, or both with a band on the bottom.

I did get the painting all done over Monday evening and Tuesday. Now I'm waiting on Mr. Homemaker to help me hang the mirror back up and do some other "handy work" that I need help with. As soon as it's ready for a showing, I'll post pictures.

I guess that is all the news for now. As you can see, I've been busy, just not blogging about it. I've also been doing some fall cleaning trying to weed out clothes and such the kids have outgrown so I can eBay, Craig's List, or Goodwill stuff - ugg I hate clutter, it makes me batty!!!

P.S. I almost forgot to mention Hubby & I celebrated our 12th Anniversary since I posted last too! We actually didn't have a babysitter since it was over Labor Day weekend, so we took the kids bowling instead. It was a lot of fun and really we can go out to dinner any old time. And yes, do the math, our daughter was born three days after our first anniversary. Apparently we didn't know what caused that back then - young and dumb, you know how it goes! ;-) The great news is we will still be so young when the kids are grown and gone. :-)

Goodies

I love good mail days, don't you? You know, those days will your mail box is filled with all sorts of goodies (and no bills to boot!). Well today was my good mail day. It was actually a good mail week so I'm showing off my loot.


It started earlier in the week with my new Vogue Patterns and Burda Easy Fashion magazines. Then yesterday my Threads magazine arrived. I'm on the fence about the BEF mag. I like some of the coats, but I'm not sure if I see myself in anything else. I'll let it marinate for a while and see what I think later on. The new Threads magazine looks like a good one, but I always seem to enjoy the magazine. The Vogue Pattern one seems pretty good too. There is a great article on how build a better coat. I have had a busy week so I honestly haven't had much time to look at the magazines.

Then today, be still my heart, the new Ottobre Woman mag arrived. I haven't even cracked it open. I had some things left to finish up, so that was my incentive to get them done. As soon as I'm done with this entry I'm off to snuggle with it. I liked the preview on line so I'm sure I'll like it even better in person. Plus I love the Ottobre staff and like to support their efforts by subscribing to the magazine.

Also pictured is a booklet of all the new Burda Fall/Winter fashion patterns that were released recently. This was included with the new patterns I got (shown below).

My friend Kim can atest to my waffling while trying to figure out what Jalie patterns to order. Of course I wanted so much more, but at nearly $12 a pop, I decided to limit myself to two new ones. I ended up picked coat pattern #2680 and the adorable criss-cross knit top pattern #2787. Then to get my order to ship free on PR (friends of PR get free shipping at $25), I added NL 6729. I've always liked the top and figured this was a great reason to try it.

This past week while checking out one of my favorite forums (SewingMamas.com), a gal was selling off some of her fabric and I picked up the above gem. It's a yummy knit that is the perfect shade of red for me. I have no clue what I'll make with it, but I just had to have it - it's just so *me*!

Since it's Labor Day weekend, Joann's has 50% off the notions wall. All week long I've been making my list so I could jet in and out and not be wooed by anything else. Success! I got some embroidery stabilizers and adhesive, another magnetic pin cushion, purse handles, and a sleeve roll ~ everything that was on my list, nothing more.

I had a question asked in the comments section of my last post, however Blogger doesn't typically give me your email address when readers post a comment so I'll take the opportunity to answer the question here. Anne asked if the knee patches would work if the fabrics weren't fused together. From past experience, yes that seems to work well. The knees stay without holes longer, but once a hole forms you just see the nice new fabric underneath the hole. What I was hoping to accomplish by fusing two fabrics together was a overall sturdier knee. One that was thicker and would be harder to make a hole in. My oldest son is known for being tough on his knees so this is an experiment. I will report my findings once the school year is underway and I can see how the knees are fairing. I've only done the treatment on one pair of pants. The second pair I made had pleated knees (a design element) and I found the fused fabric very hard to manipulate. Thankfully I was able to take the fused fabric off fairly easily. The pair I'm working on right now has double knees already so I didn't do the fusing. I hope this provides some enlightenment as to why I did what I did.

So what are your plans for the holiday weekend? We are just hanging out getting ready for Tuesday (the first day of school). My daughter's 11th birthday is coming up on Wednesday, so after church on Sunday we're taking a family trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop and then going out for dinner (birthday girl says Red Robin). I hope to get a few more pairs of pants done for the boys, but they don't seem to be too in to school clothes like my daughter. I guess a good mom would make sure they have a new shirt to wear, so maybe I'll whip up a few new t-shirts too. Have a safe & fun weekend! :-)

Make your own knee patches

So do you have a kid that wears holes in the knees of his pants in no time flat? I do! I have been working on Back-To-School pants for my boys and nothing breaks my heart more than to put my heart and soul into their clothing just have a rip or stain happen right off the bat. I know, I shouldn't be so attached, but I try my hardest to give them RTW look, but made ever so lovingly by mom. Yep, you won't get dorky clothes from me. I may be a sweatshop of labor during the busy season, but my pay in hugs and kisses make it well worth my efforts.

So today I was sewing up my first pair of pant and thinking how thin the twill felt (a remnant I had, no clue what it was from - can you say free pants???). So I pondered for a second, what if I put another layer in the knee area for double layer protection. I called my trusty friend (thanks Kim!) to get her input. The verdict was that two layers really isn't going to help unless I fuse them together. Well we all know necessity is the mother of invention, so I present to you my "custom made" knees patches!

First, I cut a piece of fabric and a piece of Heat N Bond Lite to the size I needed. Then I fused the two together per the package instructions (see below ~ sorry for the side ways picture, Blogger would not cooperate and rotate it like it needs to be, but you get the idea, right?).

Then I removed the backing and fused my "patch" to the knee area of the pants. The pants I'm making have two pleats in the knee area so it's impossible to see where the patch is from the right side. On the right side of my test sample it was hard to detect where I fused the two together as well, but I imagine if you use thicker fabric it might show slightly. Still, a few lines are WAY better than a hole in the knee days after school starts. Here is what the inside looks like after I fused the patch in place.

So there you have it, custom knee patches and my first tutorial! Ain't I something special today? ;-) I'll make sure to let you all know how it ends up working for my boys, but I don't see why it won't work like a charm. :-)

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.

There is a term for people like me....

it's called Analysis Paralysis. Yep, that is me. I can't make a decision about sewing for the life of me. There are zillions of garments I'd like to sew, but I just can't decide what to do next. Then when I do decide, I trace off my pattern and then worry if I'm making the correct alterations and picking the best fabric from my stash. So what in the heck is up? Why am I stuck all of a sudden? Does anyone else have this happen to them? I just feel like I'm totally over analyzing everything and I just need to relax. And really, what is the worst that is going to happen??? Really the worst case would be throwing something in the trash and that isn't life shattering. lol

So all that to say, not much sewing to report. A few days ago I did make myself another New Look 6802 - view D using some knit jersey from Fabric.com. I'm happy with the outcome, but haven't snapped a picture yet. Other than that, nothing but diaper sewing which isn't too exciting to report about.

While out on errands today, my daughter and I stopped in to Joann's for some 50% off thread and we peeked at the pattern books. She is very into Hannah Montana and was immediately wooed by two Simplicity patterns so I caved and bought them for her (at $1 each how can I go wrong???). In an earlier post I expressed how she really wanted to shop RTW and not have me sew things for her. Yes this breaks my heart, but I honestly don't want to waste my time sewing things for her she won't wear. She's almost 11 and has her own opinions and ideas - especially about clothes! Instead I decided to give her a little budget for school clothes and she was very picky with what she bought and tried hard to conserve money. I am very proud of her and think she did well. She even has $20 left! The two patterns we ended up getting were:

2878 - jumper


3716 - knit basics


She's really keen on the jumper and she wanted to shop my stash so we didn't bother looking at what they had at Joann's. Unfortunately we didn't find anything to her liking that was suitable for fall. She found several she liked, but they were all too light colored and spring-like. So back to the fabric store we'll go.

Hopefully in my next post I'll be beyond my Analysis Paralysis and have something great to share - keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks!

First off I want to say thanks to Stacy of Stacy Sews for the nomination of the "E" excellent blogger award. It is so humbling to think people want to actually read about my sewing progress. My blog started as a journal of sorts just to document my sewing. My goal has never been readership. Of course I am happy to share what is going on in my sewing life with the world and I truly enjoy the comments that are left for me, I read each one so thank you for taking the time to post a comment. :-) This award has been circulating the blogland for a while now so I'm not quite sure who to pass the torch on to, so if you haven't been nominated, I nominate you! :-)

Also I wanted to share with you a new treat I bought for myself ~ Kai pinking sheers. I love the set of three Kai scissors I purchased back in March at the sewing expo so much that I finally broke down and bought the pinking sheers too. I often wish I had a pair of pinking sheers so on a whim I ordered them. I placed my order on Friday and on Monday they were in my mail box - super fast shipping, but they are in Seattle so it's only a few hours away from me. I tested them out and they are fab.u.lous - I know they will be a great asset to my sewing tool collection!

Sewing this week has been pretty quiet. I've worked on some diapers for my weekly store stocking, but other than that, not much. I'm thinking ahead to school clothes and what I will make the kids (well boys anyway). The girl child is on her own for shopping RTW this year. Yes it breaks my heart, but she's on her way to 5th grade and has ideas and likes of her own so it's high time she shops RTW to see how far the all mighty dollar doesn't go. She'll be getting an "allowance" and it will be a lesson in finance for her to manage that money and see what she can buy. She is partly covered already having new tennis shoes and a new coat, so she'll need to fill in the gaps in her closet with some pants, tops, and skirts or dresses as well as a pair of dress shoes. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. My parents started doing this for me in the 7th grade, but she's been rather fickle with her clothes lately and wants all Hannah Montana clothes from Wally World (yes, she's mildly obsessed!). So off to Walmart we'll go - not my most favorite place to shop, but I imagine she'll get quite a few sweatshop made goodies with her money.

Lastly, there is a little contest on a group I belong to for a free Euro kids sewing pattern. The contest runs through midnight Eastern time on July 30th, so if you sew for children and love using the Euro patterns (especially Farbenmix or StudioTantrum patterns) and aren't part of the European Sewing Patterns for Children group, please join and use my name (Melissa Bauska - must put my name in the application when applying for me to be in the running for the prize). The pattern they are giving away is actually one my daughter likes and even tho I hadn't planned on sewing for her, I bet I can woo her with it. :-) Like most yahoo groups, there is a small application process so please only join if you're interested in the group and sew for kids.

Hope you're all having a fun weekend!!! :-)

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.

Yes I Do Sew...

It might not seem like it because I haven't posted in 2 1/2 weeks, but I really am still here. And yep, we even survived CEC on my son's birthday (thank you all for your well wishes too). It was actually a great time because the place was totally dead! We live in a pretty small community so I think that helped, plus it was in the middle of the week and a pretty nice day out. He had fun and hey that is all that matters, right? Here are pictures to prove fun was had by all (yes, even the adults!).

This entry is kind of a weird one for me. I am not much of a self promoter or one to toot my own horn so to speak, but a local friend (who also reads my blog - hi Kim!) said I must share this little tidbit with you, so here I am sharing. :-)

What you probably don't know about me is I have a website Posh Punkins. It all started in April 2003 when I decided I wanted to offer cloth diapers I was sewing to other families (don't worry these aren't the big white rectangles your mom or grandma used, instead they are cute, fitted cloth diapers). You see, I had been using cloth diapers for several months and decided I loved them so much I wanted to share them with the world. My hubby was very supportive of my plan, so it was then that Posh Punkins was born.

In the summer of 2005 I decided I wanted to explore some other avenues and spend more time with my family so I stepped away from offering cloth diapers. Fast forward to present day; recently a friend had contacted me about me reentering the cloth diaper marketplace. At first I told her I wasn't really interested, but after thinking about it for a while I decided some extra money would be great so I decided to jump back in. I had this *great* plan like I always do, I'd sew diapers one day a week and then I'd have the other six left to do whatever sewing I wanted to do. In theory this is great, but reality and theory never seem to be the same. I only stock the diapers at The CuddleBuns Boutique on Monday at 1pm Eastern, so really there is no reason this shouldn't work, but I will blame it on summer break and having the kids home.

So really, I *have* been sewing, just not too much for me lately. I'm having a hard time getting a rhythm down, but I know that all takes time. I am really craving sewing for me, so this week's stocking only has four diapers available for sale. In a perfect world, I'd have 6-10, but hey it's not a perfect world so four will just have to do. And since I'm self promoting, if you need any personalized baby gifts, you should check out my website too - I have cute baby bloomers that you can have a name or initials embroidered on, embroidered burp cloths, & chenille birthday bibs. So there, I did it, now you all know I have a business. :-)

Even tho the "non-business" sewing has been low, I did actually make a cute dress for me a week or so ago and a bathrobe for my daughter. Hopefully in the next day or so I can post the reviews of those two items.

I am a little bummed tho because my hubby was out of town for 3 days on business and I got no sewing done at all. I had such high hopes of making several things for me, but this time nothing got done. Oh well, there is always tomorrow, right? Besides the kids and I did have a fun time. The highlight of our weekend was our trek to the river to enjoyed some glorious sunshine. And really, family time is is what is important in the scheme of things, not how much sewing I get done. There will be plenty of time for sewing once they are grown and gone, but for now I need to embrace that they are young and still enjoy spending time with me. I will fully admit tho, I'm *VERY* happy my hubby is back home and am so glad he doesn't travel for work very often. Plus I sleep terrible when he's away.

Happy Birthday Mr. Baby!

It's so hard for me to believe my "baby" is four today. Why does the time go by so fast? I hate it. Hate it! I am not ready for my children to be getting so big. Amazingly enough, they just aren't listening me to either and just keep growing as fast as weeds.

Here are a few pictures of the proud birthday boy this morning. He got to open a gift early that Auntie left for him. He was beyond elated about his new heavy hauler and that today he's finally *four* (he's been talking about his birthday for months and how he'd be four on June 25th).

Tonight we're celebrating his big day at none other than Chuck E. Cheese. Dad and I are the heroes of the day as we *never* go to CEC (if you've been there, you know why!). Happy Birthday Andy, I love you more than words can say.

Some new garments!

Happy First Day of Summer!!! Today is summer-like weather here in SW Washington (finally), tho tomorrow is bringing cooler weather and the possibility of rain - rats!

I've been so darn busy lately, but managed to squeeze in two things for me in the past week - yippee! First I made a new top for me last weekend from BWOF 02-2008-122. I decided to use a knit instead of a woven fabric (what the pattern suggested) and am pretty happy with the results. The top was super easy to make and because I used a knit I omitted the back zipper so it was even quicker. I did have some issues with the front gaping open, however I did neglect to interface the upper front and back pieces. As you know too, I'm not too well endowed, so that could have been part of the problem of it being too big in the upper chest. I fixed the issue by sewing some clear elastic on the seam line which I gently pulled to make a gather. Viola, all fixed! I forgot to take a picture of this fix during the construction process and now it's all enclosed, sorry! Also I brought up the back neckline as I knew I'd wear it more if I was more covered up and took 5" off the length. All in all, I'm pleased with how it turned out. Here is the review if you'd like to read more.

It has been so cool out the last few weeks that I'm having a hard time believing summer really is coming. I decided to make myself a new fleece hoodie to wear around the house. I used Kwik Sew 2993 and it was super easy! The best part is I used up some fleece that has been in my stash for eons (actually I used all of it because I had to recut some pieces due to the fleece being too lofty and the front pockets looking terrible - must faster to recut than rip stitches out). Because of the trouble I had with the pockets looking terrible, I decided I'd just omit them. When I tried my jacket on during construction, I decided that I really did need some pockets, so I opted for an inseam pocket. I felt so clever thinking of this solution on my own! lol I used a pattern piece from another pattern in my stash and it worked great! Here is the jacket review on PR.

And a close up of the inseam pocket.

And last, but no least, I finally wrote a review of a top I made for my daughter a few months ago. She seems to really like the top so that is good since she's creeping up on 11 and those 11 year olds can be so fickle! It's a Ottobre 04-2007-31 ~ my review.

Well I'm going to go enjoy some of that glorious sunshine we have. Hopefully I won't be so long between blog entries, but now that the kids are home, who knows how much sewing for myself I'm actually going to get done. Have a great weekend!

Everything In Black & White

I admit, I was a little worried I wouldn't get my mini wardrobe completed by the deadline for the contest sponsored by Pattern Review. I didn't publicly proclaim I was going to participate in the contest, instead I quietly worked on my set and kept my fingers crossed time would allow me to get it done in time. Yes it was only four pieces, but sometimes I can be very productive and other times I am not. This time I pulled it off with little time to spare - miracles never cease!

I made a story board for a visual of what my set entailed.

Here are the three combinations I came up with. The pieces are very versatile for me and are a great base in my closet.
This is a close up of the tank top I made. It's from Ottobre Woman 2-2007 and I love it! It's super simple to sew up and will definitely be making more of these for my closet. It has the perfect coverage too - no peek-a-boo bra straps! Here is my review on PR if you'd like to read more ~ review.

If you're interested in learning more about my storyboard and the patterns I used, you can see my contest entry review here.

If you haven't already checked out all the fabulous entries in the contest, you must do so right away! You can also vote for your favorite (that is if you can choose a favorite - there are so many great ones, it's hard!). Here is a direct link to the contest page.

Tag, I'm It!

I've been tagged for a "get to know you better" blog questionnaire by Claire of http://sewingislikechocolate.blogspot.com/! :-)

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Gosh 10 years ago I had just became a mommy to my first born! I quit my job the day she was born and have been at home with the kids ever since. I am so blessed to be able to stay home with them. I cherish that I've been able to watch them each grow from a helpless little creature into fine young people. God is good ~ children really are such a wonderful blessing!

2.) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

These are actually for tomorrow since the day is almost over.

a) Get the kids up and off to school.
b) Go to Portland to pick up some bulldozer parts for my hubby (he may leave work early so e can go together).
c) Laundry and dishes (a day never goes by without those jobs since there are 6 of us in the house).
d) Embroider 6 pairs of bloomers for a customer (my side business - PoshPunkins)
e) Take the kids to their last swimming lesson until fall - they have all come so far in 5 months, I'm one proud mama!

3) Snacks I enjoy:

Well chocolate of course! I also really like ice cream (strawberry is my fav) and popcorn too, just depends if I'm in a sweet or salty mood.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I honestly don't think we'd change our lifestyle much. I'm not really much of a glitzy-glam gal, but I'd definitely have hubby quit his job right away! We'd pay off our house (and maybe even get a new one, but I do like our house rather well), build our deck, expand our kitchen & laundry room, take a Disney Cruise with the kids and then spend 2 weeks at Disney World (I'd fly Vonnevo & her hubby out to go with us because I know how much they love all things Disney!), and get a housekeeper (maybe Alice Nelson from the Brady Bunch would move in???). I'm sure there are other things I'd do too, but that is right off the top of my head.

5) Places I have lived:

Just Washington

6.) Jobs I have had:

I haven't had too many jobs. My first actual job was a junior volunteer (aka Candy Striper) at the local hospital. I started when I was in 8th grade and worked until the end of my junior year in high school. I loved that position and can see myself going back there once the kids are older. I volunteered more than 400 hours and it was always an enjoyable time for me. My first paying job was at Burger King when I was 15 1/2. It was short lived because they only wanted me to come in and smash trash on Sunday during lunch time. Then I got a job at Papa Murphy's Pizza. I worked there for about a year until I got a job through my high school at a local engineering office as a clerical assistant. I held that job from the end of my junior year though my third year in college (only work on summer break and Christmas holiday while in college). Then I moved on to First Interstate Bank as a teller (where I met DH - he was my customer), I worked there for one summer break and one Christmas holiday. My last job was at a local bank and I worked there for a little over a year until I had my daughter.

7.) 6 peeps I wanna know more about (and in no particular order):

a) Amy at http://www.alittlebusy.com/myblog/

b) Jeannine at http://sewpink.wordpress.com/

c) Stacy at http://www.stacysews.com/

d) Dawn at http://twoontwooff.blogspot.com/

e) Karen at http://lifewithellabella.wordpress.com/

f) Lilia at http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs

The fruits of my labor in black & white

Who doesn't love black & white? Well I sure love the combination! I purchased a wonderful black & white cotton/lycra woven fabric at Mike's in LA during the PR weekend. I knew I was going to make a skirt with it, but which one was to be determined. When we had a hot streak a few weeks ago, I wore one of my favorite skirts I got at JCPenney a few years ago. It's a very mild A-line skirt, nothing too exaggerated. Since I love that skirt so much (I actually have two), I decided that was the perfect skirt shape for this fabric. Low and behold, the March BWOF came to my rescue (#122). The shape is nearly identical to my JCP one and I couldn't be more pleased with the end result. Including the cost of the fabric ($2) plus my lining and zipper from Joann's, my skirt was under $5 to make! Without further ado, here is my final result! And yes I know it's May, so you probably are wondering what is up with the boots. Well it was raining outside and we were on our way to church when DH took my picture - hopefully summer with come soon.

The shirt I'm wearing with it is also something I made this past weekend. It's another Ottobre Woman gathered from t-shirt (2-2007-5). I used a black cotton knit from my stash. I have no clue what the exact content of the fabric is, but it's so darn soft and yummy! I do know I got it at Fabric Depot in Portland, so next time I go, I'll have to see if they have more of that and in other colors.

Here is a close up of the skirt so you can see the general shape without my shirt covering up the top. I'm really pleased with the outcome and will definitely make more. The changes I made to the pattern were some minor tweaking to fit my body and I did decide to put the zipper in the back like my other skirts. Here is my review on PR if you're dying to know more. ;-)

I got so little sewing done this past weekend. I had high ambitions going into the weekend, but hey that is how it goes. Three things done (a black tank top I neglected to mention was also finished), so that isn't too shabby.

Another Jalie Sweetheart Top

I made this a few weeks ago, but never got around to take a picture of me wearing it. It the Jalie Sweetheart sans the center elastic gathering. I think I actually like it better without the gathering and will definitely be making more!

So what are you doing this holiday weekend? Me, I have no idea. I will be finishing up a skirt from the 3/08 BWOF - it's #122 and I'm using some fabric from my LA PR trip. It's looking very fabulous if I do say so myself. Whatever you do, have a fun time and be safe!

Sewing Success!

By golly, I finally had some sewing success, tho it did come at a price (more on that later). I feel like I've been sewing a slew of wadders lately. I even made a few muslins in which I wasn't too happy with either - at least not enough to tweak and get a nice fitting garment. I know we all have spells like that, but it was really start to zap my sewing mojo and I was finding I'd rather be folding laundry and cleaning toilets than sewing - pretty sad huh?

So last week I decided to switch my closet around moving the spring/summer clothes to the front. Doing so made me realize I really don't have that many short sleeve or sleeveless tops and particularly only a few things in solid colors. I pulled out my trusty Ottobre Woman t-shirts pattern and went to town cutting out several t-shirts. In an effort to cut down on switching thread in my machines, I made two short sleeve white t-shirts (one was the gathered front style), one white elbow length gathered front t-shirt, and white tank top (which I'm totally in love with and will review soon, it's in the laundry tho). I still have the black t-shirt and tank top to make as well as ones in turquoise too.

Still trying to get everything white sewn before changing threads, I decided to make the "Rose" top from Ottobre Woman 2/07 #5. It had cute puffed sleeves with contrasting "V" neckband and sleeve cuffs. I instantly thought that black and white would be so awesome, so I traced the pattern and set off to make this great little shirt. To make a long story short, after fiddling for what seemed like forever to get the gathers on the puffed sleeves perfect and then fitting the arm bands on, I decided I didn't like the top with puffy sleeves on me. Knowing what I know now, it would have been easier to cut my losses and start over, but no instead I decided to rip out the side seams and sleeves and insert flat sleeves (same issue, just the sleeves from the regular t-shirt I make #3). So here is the finished product and I like it a lot!

For more details, you can read my review on PR if you're so inclined, but it was honestly a very straightforward pattern, even with the puff sleeves. And the "V" neck went together perfectly. Ottobre Woman has excellent written instructions for a professional finish, I'm very happy with the end result plus the neckline it lays perfectly flat!

Hopefully now that I have a few good things under my belt, my sewing mojo will pick back up - fingers crossed!

P.S. Thank you for your nice comments on my cupcakes - I will definitely use ideas from the Hello Cupcake book again and again, they are all just so dang cute and even the more advanced ideas really look pretty easy to make.

Livin' The *Sweet* Life

Spring brings birthdays galore in my family. Last week we celebrated my son Jack turning 8! He had his birthday spread out over several days, lucky guy. After making the Hamburger Cake for his brother, I knew I had to make something equally as fun for Jack. I found inspiration on the Today Show of all places. A few weeks ago they had the author of Hello Cupcake on showing how to make spaghetti and meatball cupcakes. I thought it was a fun play on foods, so decided to make them for Jack's birthday party.


On Friday night, we had his "friend" party and so I made another food treat, "corn on the cob" (inspiration from the same book). I don't think the kids thought they were that cool, but the parents I showed them to thought they were pretty cool. Oh well, kids are happy with sprinkles and I should know better.

And then last, but surely not least, I got the best *treat* in the mail from Stacy yesterday. It's so darn adorable and perfect in every way - thank you Stacy!!!!!

With all that has been going on, I haven't had time to do any sewing. Last week I cut out a few Ottobre t-shirts for myself, but got no further. Hopefully today I can get one of the shirts finished. I really am sick of all this busyness, but tis life with kids.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a touching Mother's day email I received the other day~

Somebody said that a child is carried in its mother's womb for nine months.
Somebody does not know that a child is carried in its mother's heart forever.

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby.
Somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, normal is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct.
Somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring.
Somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a 'good' mother, your child will 'turn out good.'
Somebody mistakenly thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said 'good' mothers never raise their voices.
Somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother.
Somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can't love the fifth child as much as you love the first.
Somebody doesn't have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books.
Somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery.
Somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.
Somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married.
Somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home.
Somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her.
Somebody isn't a mother.

~Author Unknown~

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there - enjoy your special day!

Bad bad blogger

Well the title says it all, I've been a bag blogger. Last Wednesday I was diagnosed with yet another case of strep throat. I'm guessing it was a relapse of the original one, but nonetheless, I was feeling pretty crummy. I'm much better now and hopefully it's gone for good.

Then last weekend, my family went to my sister's house to celebrate my nephew's 4th birthday! It was a fun time, but went by too quick since it was just overnight. Too bad she lives so far (well not that far, but 2 1/2 hours one way is just far enough that it's a long "day" trip).

I'm starting to get a little sewing mojo back - I've just felt uninspired for the past little bit. Thankfully Pattern Review had a new contest start yesterday (May 1) that is perfect to kick start me, the Mini Wardrobe contest. I've always wanted to participate in the big wardrobe (aka SWAP - sewing with a plan) contest they have, but it pretty much makes me feel overwhelmed. This mini wardrobe contest consists of only four garments that mix & match and runs 1 month - I *think* I can handle that. Plus it would be a good starting point to get me motivated to enter the big wardrobe contest next time it runs.

So what are you working on this weekend - anyone have any plans? Tell tell, do tell - please help motivate me! :-)