Summer Sewing Challenge!

Hoorah I finally sat down and made my official color palette for my spring/summer sewing. I've already made three items for this season so I had an idea in my head of where I was going, but I want to share it with you all.

My colors for the season are: Cornflower (just got a new pair of flats in the color), Coral (my Easter dress), Periwinkle (which was the color of my bridesmaid dresses about 10 years ago so I must love that color), Mint (I always love green: every season, every year), and Strawberry Red. Obviously this is a wide range but you know me I like my big colored prints for sewing so I think it will all work together beautifully.

A sneak peak of my Easter dress. Do you love
the vintage necklace and bracelet?

I've already made two tops and am planning one more (this one in blue with a peter pan collar). I have three more dresses planned (I already made and wore my Easter dress). One dress, casual in a very 1950's print for every day, to be worn with a wide red belt. A shirtwaist dress in a blue fabric (I'm sort of drafting/putting two patterns together for this one which is a big step for me) for the 4th of July. And if I have time, a silly 1940's inspired frock with dog pockets and some amusing embroidery. I'll also need a very basic skirt to match the tops and a couple pair of shorts to also match the tops.

I am very excited to get started on these projects and if I accomplish all of them I will have a very full closet and most of it will be hand made! I feel good about it since I've already started and because one of the dress patterns I've used before and is very simple. I also love having the palette because when I do shop for rtw clothes I have an idea of what will go and what I'll need so that every purchase fits with what I'm wearing. I end up with so many more options of things to mix and match!

What about you? Do you have any fun summer wardrobe shopping/sewing ahead of you? What are you looking forward to wearing as the weather gets warmer? This is going to be the summer of the dress for me, I can just feel it.

Spring Bunny Baskets.

Our Easter bunny comes on the first day of spring. Er, I mean he's suppose to but this year he wasn't prepared and the book he ordered came in way late and the kids have no idea when the first day of spring was so it worked out... right?

A while back we checked the book "Squish Rabbit" out of the library and the kids loved it. Then when I started thinking about Spring Bunny Baskets (a scosh too late I might add) I thought it was perfect (b/c it's about a rabbit) and I could make a "squish rabbit" and "squish squirrel" (his friend in the book) softee to go in the basket. 

Here is a closeup of "Squish Rabbit" from the book so you can see the similarities in the softee toy. I used a template that I found on Pinterest for both and just made up a tail and ears for the squirrel version. I drew the eyes on with permanent marker so I could get them just right.

I got the chick buckets at Good Will for $2! And filled them with the softee, a straw cup from Target (my kids love cups) and Lindt chocolate bugs. They were good. The box came with five, an odd number, so I had to eat one. I like that they get candy but not such an obscene amount especially since they'll do an egg hunt on Easter. Also I hate that stupid grass so I just skipped it.

The book was for both of them so that went in the middle, and the spider man masks wouldn't fit in the bucket. 

What a fun surprise. Hooray!

Just thought the cute candy deserved a closeup. 

I love Easter and spring and all of it. This is always a fun little project.

I hope you have a fun and blessed Easter!

Lady Sybil I Presume.

"Oh my! Why no it's me; little ol' Jessie, but I can understand the confusion."

I finished this shirt a little while ago and just hadn't gotten around to getting any good pictures of it. This is another Colette pattern, the Jasmine, and I am really happy with how this shirt turned out! I didn't intend for it to be another "Downton Abbey" inspired piece, but it must have been on my mind because it totally reminds me of something Lady Sybil would wear (including pants!).  I am totally loving this era of clothes, of course, and I just finished season one. I actually think Sybil wears a dress or shirt even more similar to this one (like a more casual one around the mansion maybe, when one of the maids is being interviewed in the library?) but I couldn't find an image of it.

I loved it by the way. So good, and I wasn't expecting too like it so well, but man, I just flew through that first season. If you want to join me in gushing about the show please feel free, but no spoilers I haven't been able to get my hands on season two!

Any way back to the shirt. I made version two but did the contrast on the cuffs as well as the collar. It was pretty easy to sew up and I thought it wasn't going to fit well but it does. I actually think it's quite flattering.  I like that the contrast fabric has little polka dots. Also I know I haven't done a spring palette post yet but I'm really feeling the light lavender so you might be seeing more it this year. I wear the shirt a lot so you know it's also quite comfortable. The pin is vintage and was a gift from my mom. The penny-farthing is perfect for the "Downton Abbey" time period don't you think?

I'm working on my Easter dress right now (you'll never guess where the pattern is from) and I'm hoping that turns out as well as this shirt. Happy sewing every one. And if I don't see you before, have a happy and blessed Easter.

When I'm Not Sewing and Changing Diapers.

It's no big surprise that I enjoy sewing and crafting. But that is not how this blog started. This blog started to share the ups and downs of my life. I have plenty of both! Just in case you were wondering what I do when I'm not: cooking, cleaning, diapering, bathing children, watching Dr. Who, reading Dr. Seuss, sleeping, procrastinating and finally sewing, I thought I would share this with you.

He walked around with this balloon tied to him for an hour. I don't think he ever noticed and I only took it off because my husband made me because he thought it would be mean to walk him around the neighborhood with it floating above him.  I thought it would have been hilarious and given people a reason to talk to us (he thought they would talk "about" us).

I love this dog. He has been with me at my absolute worst and still loves me and snuggles with me. I also love annoying him which says something about me, but you know it's either the dog or Brian. Okay you've got me I like to torture them both!

Space Capes the Final Frontier?

Hello! I did not drop off the face of the planet (thank goodness that would be rather frightening) but I have been keeping rather busy. I had birthday gifts and spring bunny baskets to sew for and then I was sick and then I had to get ready for family to come visit! All fun things (except being sick) Oh and I totally had to watch the entire first season of Downton Abbey, which did not disappoint and was very good (except now I have to wait for season two to come to to NetFlix blurg).

So my dear daddy turned 50! To save you from trying to do any type of math in your head I will just tell you; yes he's very young.  He and my mom beat all the odds and were and are amazing parents and very much in love.

For his birthday he requested a super hero cape because that is what all mature adults want for their birthdays.  I decided to go ahead and make matching ones for the boys because together they form a formidable Crime Fighting Team!! I used Alicia Paulson's book "Stitched in Time" which I just love.

"SP" for Super Poppie.

Training!

The front and backside of the cape.

I've always been a sucker for any kind of space/spaceship/alien fabric. Even before the good Doctor came into my life.

Hope your having a super filled day!

A Winter Wrap Up.

This fall I did two big things in my wardrobe. The first thing I did was take a pledge not to buy myself any new clothes. If I wanted or needed anything I had to get it second hand or make it. The second thing I did was to embark on a color palette challenge which was suppose to guide my choices in what to make and wear.

This was the palette:

Both things are over though the way I shop and sew has forever been changed and for the better. I won't get on my soap box since I've gone on about it before but I definitely have a better wardrobe and a way more defined style then ever before. I have such nicer brands of RTW clothing and my sewing skills are about three times better then when I started, as is my confidence.

After the kids were born I really went through a frumpy frump stage. I felt like the things I could afford would always just look blah on me. But now I see that there are so many options!!!! Not to mention all the cool second hand boutiques and Indie sewing companies I've discovered along the way.

Okay, keep in mind my camera's not great and keep in mind my palette as you take a tour of my fall "closet".

Here you see the items I made. A dress, bolero (jacket), shirt, more casual skirt, and scarf with matching fingerless gloves. I think I did well with the colors. But wait until you see everything together!

I couldn't get a good photo of everything so here is one of the shirt paired with a handed down jacket. Also a black Anne Taylor cardigan (oh how I love cardigans) and it doesn't show up but an absolutely fabulous pair of Chico jeans.

A London Fogg dress, A super elegant vintage slip, A beautiful Talbots blouse (it would have looked great with my unfinished skir0t. And a Limited sweater paired with the skirt.

Here is a close up of the slip because it is truly the prettiest thing I own. I think I got it for $12 at an antiques shop in MD, and wasn't sure if it would fit. It does it fits! I feel so amazingly pretty in that thing you can't imagine.

Tada! The pink cardigan was also a Limited brand from this fall. It's my most versatile piece, surprisingly. You can see it will transition right into spring nicely.

Having made such thoughtful pieces with my own hands and having discovered so many great upscale pieces makes me feel good. This is the most put together my wardrobe has ever been. And this isn't including all my amazing accessories and things given to me as gifts.

There are a lot of people who helped to encourage me along the way but I want to give a special thanks to My husband for letting me use our money and all the sewing time and taking lots and lots of outfit pics. I want to thank my friend Beki for suggesting we take the "no new clothes" challenge together. And, to my sister Heather for not only being the most encouraging about my wardrobe endeavors but also for showing me that you can get away with a lot as long as you wear it with confidence.

My UFO.

Isn't this pretty? If I ever finish mine
it will be done in grey wool.

First let me start by explaining that a UFO is an unfinished project not a space craft, though, when I was six my cousin and I were convinced we had seen one of those too. Anyway, I have one. A big one and it's basically the reason I haven't done one of those fall/winter roundup posts about all the things I've made to wear. Because for some reason I keep thinking I'll finish it.

Yea, I'm not going to finish it, not this season anyway. I mean I've already moved on to my spring/summer wardrobe (yes we have snow on the ground, and no I won't let that deter me).

What happened was that I bought this really expensive wool fabric for the skirt. So expensive that even with a 50% off coupon it was still more then I normally spend. Because it was so expensive I measured myself just to make sure that I was the size I normally am for that particular companies patterns. That is when I discovered what I wish I had never known; my waist is about three sizes bigger then my hips and bust. Oh the agony!!!! Because the skirt was more form fitting then anything I've ever made I would need to draft the pattern and make a muslin. Yea, I don't really know what those things mean either. Let's be real people I don't have time to make a fake garment to see if it fits right before I make the real one. I barely have time to make the real garment.

One of the wisest friends I have told me that she wouldn't have measured and would have just made the skirt in the size she thought she was. There is a verse in scripture about following Godly advice and I wish that I had done so. And here's another thing about pattern sizes. They are totally WACK! I'm sorry to get all belligerent but they are not even close to the same as ready-to-wear garments. I don't care if simplicity patterns are on sale for $3 I won't buy it if it says I'm a size 100! (Slight exaggeration here but not much) It's one of the reasons (among many) that I love Colette Patterns because their measurements are closer to a regular size. I can admit I'm a size 12 but I will never be able to admit that I'm a size 100!

I felt like I learned a foreign language when I finally
learned how to read the back of pattern envelopes.

Where was I anyway? Oh yea my skirt. So I've decided to put it away until next fall. I have added to my daily walks, yoga three times a week and an abs workout I found on pinterest (we all know if it's on pinterest then it can't fail). I've also added to my diet, cookies and donuts but that's another story and surely won't interfere with project "flatter stomach". This makes more frugal sense to me too because surely by next fall I will have lost all the weight I will ever want to loose so I will be able to wear this skirt indefinitely. Please note that last line was meant to be read with just a touch of sarcasm.