Styled Stitch

Ice Cream Dress

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 01:21:00 +0000

So excited to have made something I've had in mind forever! When I saw the fabric, I immediately knew what I was going to make with it - an ice cream dress, and I managed to crank it out just in time for Easter (so technically an ice cream Easter dress)!

The fabric is a beautiful poplin and is from the Little Lisette line - I loooove the print, the color, the feel, everything. The print also comes in white - I'm going to have to get some! (As a side note, Lisette's parent Oliver + S has a great series called Principles of Fabric Selection that I have found wonderfully helpful in picking prints for apparel - I highly recommend it.)

I followed the tutorial for the Leah Tunic to create the pattern for the dress. It was a bit snug at first, so I had to extend the opening in the back to help make putting it on a little easier.

I cut some extra bodice pieces from a white muslin to line the bodice as well.

Ester girl loved it and showed it by jumping and twirling on the coffee table for a good bit, "I cream! I cream!"

Here she is all styled up for our Easter morning breakfast at the diner - it was pretty chilly and windy so we had to bundle her up a bit, but I think bare legs would be cuter with this dress!

Hurray for ice cream dress! I can't wait to make this pattern again.

Hope everyone had a cozy Easter!

Just a short note...

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:39:00 +0000

To let you know I'm still around! I haven't forgotten you, my darlings. March has been a whirl, with appointments, play dates and getting outside to enjoy SPRING! I haven't been able to sew a lot, and what I have has been mostly odds and ends, a few favors, some tailoring and hemming. Nothing exciting, that's for sure! I am hoping to make Ester an Easter dress (say 5x fast) this week, as well as finish a tutorial I have been trying to put together for you guys (my first evar! Eek!). To the fabric store I must!

Whipped up these quinoa rasin muffins yesterday and just wanted to share, as they were quite delicious and equally as healthy.

So amazingly better smothered with butter - isn't everything, though?

E gobbled them up!

I got the recipe from Hillbilly Hosuewife, you can find the recipe here. Scroll about halfway down the page for a quick recipe. I added raisins, but next time I think I will opt for chocolate chips!

Until next time, keep sewing!

1920s Items Added!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:18:00 +0000

I am obsessed, really, really obsessed with Boardwalk Empire, so when I came across these vintage 1920s objects, I jumped all over them to add to my shop!

How awesome is the art work on the packaging? I wish our products were that awesome these days! I wonder what the woman that these came from was like - how cool to have these little pieces of history!

You can check out all my vintage stuff here!

Hallway Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:12:00 +0000

At the end of our hallway, there was a great, empty spot, perfect for a little frame gallery.

Decorate me!

After months of collecting frames (meaning dusty piles of frames stashed here and there) and spray painting them a bright, glossy white, I finally got around to hanging them!

I started by tracing each frame onto brown paper, which I then cut out and taped on the wall

And arranged...

And rearranged, until I had something I liked.

And then let it sit for a day (or two) to be sure I liked it enough to live with it, and then hammered some nails up, hung the frames, and wah lah!, a simple easy way to display our favorite photos.

We all love to check them out in passing, especially this one:

And now just to find a runner and we are in (hallway) business!

Making Room for New

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:52:00 +0000

I won't deny it - I've been in quite a sewing slump lately. Projects pile up and bury each other, and I can't attempt to finish one without bumping into another one - the guilt and need to do. it. all. now. prevented me from even beginning to work on a lot of things in the first place. There are so many ideas floating around in my head, as well as tons of ideas for my Etsy, but I have a hard time getting started.

I decided a big part of my lack of sewing motivation was my sewing set up - I sew at my dining room table with a large sliding-door armoir right next to it. The armoir stashes all my fabrics, scraps, notions, interfacings, patterns, and the like, as well as shipping supplies, paper crafts, you name it. It was all crammed into those shelves in a very inefficient organization.

Before:

Do you see all those bags of fabric scraps?!

What a frickin' mess! No wonder I never got anything done. Nothing had a logical place and was jumbled in with everything else.

First I tackled my fabric stash. I weeded out some that I never really loved, but had accepted because they were free - back to Freecycle they go! Knits, minky and felt stacked at the bottom, and then cottons organized by color. I hope by condensing my fabric to fewer shelves, I'll be tricked into thinking I have so much fabric and using what I have instead of buying more!

My scraps were condensed, my Etsy inventory organized, and I also dumped a lot of yarn that I will never get to (sorry, knitting, but you've been replaced!). Do you see that free space? Room...ahhh...to grow!

The other side was a bit more involved - lots of sorting, piling, and things to throw away. I also started a running list of supplies I needed and ideas for better organization involving a trip to a store. Take my thread storage, for instance:

Not the most efficient use of my space! What is even in that box? Once clearing the junk out, I realized how sorely I needed lots and lots of thread, and added that to my list. Another motivation-stealer - not having the right supplies on hand. Earlier this week I broke my last needle and had to run to the store, but of course I put that off for a couple days, at least. While cleaning, I discovered...um, like three packs of needles! Wow.

Whenever I wanted to make a covered button, I never would, because where were all of my pieces? Problem solved, and they are all now jailed in a baby food jar.

And done for now, at least!

A trip to Ikea is definitely in order - have you seen their 'box' department? Awesome! Boxes for interfacing, lace, patterns, paper - boxes! I also definitely need a thread rack in there. Not the most blog-worthy makeover, but my motivation is already kicking back in and it's quite refreshing to actually see what I have to work with. Thanks for peeking!

Tatanne Bag

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:18:00 +0000

I've had the Tatanne Bag pattern saved for years in my sewing bucket list, and the day finally came! My old purse was an ancient threadbare wreck, so it was desperately needed. I already had the materials on hand, so the cost was relatively free, and it felt great to take several hours to make something for myself.

I used a vintage boucle weave menswear for the exterior and a yellow vintage snakeskin print on the inside.

Add a fun vintage brooch for some flare...

For a better idea of bag-to-body ratio:

The bag is big and roomy with two exterior pockets. I can fit diapers, my wallet, library books, and packages all inside, and still have room to grow. One thing I would change next time is the strap - to make it a tad longer, and, although the current strap is interfaced, I can't help but feel leather handles would be much more durable.

I am extremely pleased with how it turned out, although the pattern itself was very difficult. For one, the pattern, tutorial and photos are in three different places - one online, and the other two in separate PDFs. This results in a lot of running around to figure how many of what to cut for each pattern piece, what photo example coordinates with each step, etc. The resulting tutorial is very unorganized, and the directions are random and hard to follow (I ended up with an extra pattern piece at the end?). I would definitely not recommend this for the novice sewer, but there are a lot of online resources for help figuring out the pattern.

Now that I've actually made one, I might give it another shot when summer rolls around, maybe in a light linen with extra pockets added inside? It really is a great bag, despite the headache!

Ester & Duncan's Birthday (A Very, Very Late Post)

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Let's close our eyes and take a trip, shall we? Come on, now, just close your eyes and humor me. Close your eyes and let's travel back to October 2011, and visit two little toddlers on a special, special joint birthday party.

Ester looooves Duncan, and Duncan loves Ester, and with their birthdays one year and five days apart, a joint celebration seemed fitting. We went for a fiesta/cumpleaños theme, and we think it transpired well!

The community room we rented was huge and perfect for kids to run around and burn energy.

My favorite - papel picado! I saved this and we will put it to good use for years of birthdays to come.

Instead of gifts, we asked for books to donate to a local homeless children's shelter. They got some good stuff!

A burro piñata, and a children's Spanish mix as a party favor (you can find the playlist at the bottom - if anyone has any recommendations for uploading a free playlist somehow, I would totally be up to that too!)

And my favorite - sugar skulls! I bought a mold of Etsy, and after a few trial runs, perfected the technique. It was really fun to learn and we will make these in future years as well!

A few completed sugar skulls - we decorated with royal icing (what a mess! probably won't use that again), feathers, beads, gems, etc.

All the food - quesadillas, homemade salsa, chorizo, and this AWESOME Elmo platter I found on Pinterest!

It was a great party and big thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating. And big thanks to you for taking a time journey with me and pretending this is not three months late!

Happy 2012 everyone!

*Fiesta de Duncan & Ester Playlist

Jose Gonzalez & Banda Criolla - Come On In

Topo Gigio - La Fiesta del Gigio

Bomba - Pomodoro

Sarah Lee Guthrie And Family - 'Cuz We're Cousins

Basho - Buenos Dias

Los 50 De Joselito - La Araña Picua

Jose Conde - Cumbamba

Whistlefritz: Jorge Anaya - De Colores

The Mighty Buzzniks - Agree & Disagree

Triocephale - Sur Le Pont d'Avignon

Jorge Anaya & Whistlefritz - Los Numeros

Billy Jonas - Cabeza

Baby Loves - Bailar Rapido

Lewis Franco & The Missing Cats - Stomp, Stomp

Omara Portuondo - Guantanamera

Meow, Meow, Meow (artist unknown!)

Victor Hugo Santos - Arroz Con Leche

Omara Portuondo - Manicero

Guy Davis - I Will Be Your Friend

Jose-Luis Orozco - Las Mañanitas

Feist - 1234 (Sesame Street version)

Basho & Friends - Hello, How Ya Feelin?

Magdalena Para Chicos - Arriba Juan

Red Riding Hooded Cape

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:48:00 +0000

Yet another project from the Oliver + S book - the Red Riding Hood. I envisioned something more cozy for E, something perfect for cooler weather and something to bust through my ever-growing fabric stash, and came up with a plaid, shearling-lined cape!

The shearling was, surprisingly, more of a pain to cut than it was to sew. And, gracias to FreeCycle, all fabric is vintage and was totally free!

I used toggle buttons and added an extra button loop for the closure - when I followed the pattern, the loop was too long and the cape kept falling back and choking Ester! So I cut the loop in half and added a second button to help make it more comfy and secure.

Love how great the lining looks!

And E loves it too, of course! She instantly ran to stand on the coffee table and model her new cape infront of the mirror. I made the smallest size in the book, and it is still a little big - for others making this for smaller kids and toddlers, I would recommend raising the arm holes a couples inches, so their arms can poke through at a more natural height. There is plenty of room to grow, and this will get lots of use over the years to come!

Comfy cozy!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Easy Peasy Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:43:00 +0000

Just a quick post on Halloween before I forget!

Ester is only two, but this year she started to grasp the concept of Halloween. Our favorite video is It's Halloween, and every time we saw pumpkins she would scream, "HowWEEN!" In previous years, I didn't put too much effort into a costume for her, but this year she would be way into dressing up, so I whipped up something cute & easy for her.

A unicorn!

Making the costume was super easy - a white hooded sweatshirt with an assortment of pink sparkly yarn stitched on to form a mane and tail, and a little felt horn - paired with pink jeans and white Minnetonka's - voila!

A grid stitched to sweatshirt hood, to which I stitched the mane yarn.

Unicorn hair!

A warm, cute and cuddly little unicorn, ready for lots of candy!

Hope everyone had a festive and safe Halloween!

A Backpack for E & Something for ME!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Have been staying busy crossing little projects off my list - using my new double needle skills to hem all my yoga/knit pants, repainting our hallway, and not to mention a little Halloween costume (details coming soon!) and school and work! Ah, I'm finding that procrastination is a great sort of motivation to finish other chores you have been putting off! (Social science inquiry, anyone? Bleh!)

Which brought me to finally make a backpack for my most favorite little pumpkin.

The pattern is, of course, from the Oliver + S book, Little Things to Sew. This is my fourth time using the pattern, and it is really the best backpack pattern ever (as raved about here), and it is so satisfying to make something so professional! I really, really love this book!

The smaller floral print is vintage, and the larger print is an Erin McMorris print from this spring. The interior is an Echino linen that I "had" to buy and finally put it to good use - I love how all three fabrics came together!

In addition to the fun crocheted flowers, I included a fun little zipper charm (I get mine from ZipIt on Etsy):

I am so happy to have finally have made something for Ester that I have been meaning to for quite awhile - and she totally loves it too!

I was so motivated after finishing such a daunting project, that I attacked another one - a laptop sleeve for my computer. Not quite as exciting, but just as satisfying - to complete a very practical and necessary project! I am always lugging my laptop off to the library to study while hubby stays home with E, and after one too many leaking water bottle accidents in my purse, I decided this really could not wait any longer!

To make the task more exciting, I used my stash of my most favorite Echino linen - I made my first wallet from this same print, but in the gray colorway - I really love how simple and bright it is. The pattern I got from Sew, Mama, Sew! and is very simple and makes a perfect fit, not to mention, it's free!

For the lining I used a soft small scale polka dot flannel. Underneath are (perfectly hidden) ugly fleece remnants I would never use, and since I didn't have any fusible fleece, it was a perfect opportunity to get rid of them.

My laptop is snug as ever, Ester now fashionably carries her own diapers and snacks...two projects crossed off the never-ending list. And, now that Halloween is over, just in time for Christmas!

Lazy, Lazy KCWC

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:54:00 +0000

Despite all my excitement, I only managed to get one project done for KCWC! And I didn't even get it to the flickr board. Boo, me!

Granted, it was a project I'd had in the back of my mind for many moons, so I still feel very accomplished for having crossed one. more. project. off that infinite list! And I tackled my fear of double needles and totally rocked it!

A bunch of old long sleeve tops + double needle showdown =

A bunch of cozy, comfy, FREE leggings for Ester!

See those yoga pants? Used to be a turtleneck!

Getting the hang of the double needling was tricky, but I figured it out after trying some things. For one, the manual to my machine was not clear or even right about threading a double needle! It had me putting both spool and bobbin on the thread bar (I know it's not called that, but KWIM?) and all the thread was getting bunched up in the fabric.

I eventually figured out, after cleaning, oiling, and throwing said fabric on the floor, that I could load the second thread onto where I wind the bobbin...

...and then thread it to the needle!

Success! The thread no longer tangled and resulted in beautiful, professional stitching.

The best part about double needles is that it creates a zig zag underneath as it picks up the bottom bobbin thread, making it perfectly stretchy for knits! A great finish and makes knits a whole lot less scary, if not more fun!

I made the leggings by cutting the arms off the t-shirts and then turning one arm inside out and the second arm inside it, right sides facing together and matching up the seams. I then traced a pair of Ester's existing leggings onto the sleeves, cut it out, and sewed around the "U" to make the crotch. Turned inside out, made an elastic casing and threaded the elastic, and I was done! Literally made all three in under an hour!

You can learn all I learned about double needles at Make It And Love It!

It's that time of year again!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:53:00 +0000

Ester's favorite video ever, resulting in endless hours of, "Pease Hoween?"

Vintage Brother

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0000

One day I hope to do a tour of all the things we've gotten from our amazing local Freecycle, but I am too excited about this to wait until that day!

I recently picked up this beautiful gem, and the best part - it works, and does so beautifully!

Brother Galaxie 230

It's a 1959 Brother Galaxie 230 (in my favorite color too!). A heavy, solid piece, complete in it's own table! I think my mom still has one of these, tucked away under her newer machine. I love how the table folds out and is flush with the needle plate - so great for sewing wallets and large pieces like quilts.

Add caption

I love all the knobs and settings - it makes me feel like I'm stepping into another, forgotten world for a brief moment.

Where are all our sewing shops now, DC? And what happened, Good Housekeeping?

And what I love the most are the extras - complete manuals and a little wooden box full of attachments and feet! How cool!

I don't even know what all these feet are for.

How cool is this?

A welcome addition to my little sewing world - a beautiful, strong (not to mention turquoise) machine that has stood the test of time.

KCWC!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:57:00 +0000

I'm doing it! Yay, so excited for my first Kids Clothes Week Challenge ever! I plan on making a plaid hooded cape lined in a soft faux fur and, if there's time, flannel pajama pants for Ester - I figure those will be simple and fast enough, and definitely much needed. I also have a denim dress for Ester that I cut out but never assembled - because I didn't buy enough fabric! Hopefully I can find a match and get it finished.

Anyone else signing up?

Earthquake

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:31:00 +0000

We are fine, but it was still quite the scary experience - I had never been in one before! E's first earthquake as well - thank God for husband who knew right away. Nothing broke, but lots of shaking and lots of adrenaline - the combination is quite disorienting!

We spent the afternoon cuddling on the sofa and I let E watch all her favorite movies (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) - poor thing was pretty freaked out. And I, of course, had a bag packed by the door with water, bananas, and diapers.

Hope that's the last time!

E's New Bedding!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:42:00 +0000

Whew! Thanks for waiting through that brief pause with me - my card reader wasn't working and I had no way to upload photos from my camera. Panic! But I stayed busy with some projects and we are back in action!

We painted an accent wall in E's room in our new apartment a beautiful, peaceful light aqua. Her old elephant green crib bedding, in combination with the blue walls and nature theme we have going on, suddenly felt to 'boy'. I am all for defying gender stereotypes, but I wanted a touch more girly for her bed.

Tada!

I went with a red and pink butterfly print by Michael Miller for the crib skirt, and I really love how it turned out! I only sewed three sides to save on fabric, and am thinking of making her a big girl pillow with the leftover fabric.

Close up of the adorable butterfly fabric!

And I made my first quilt! I am so excited for it and I am really really happy with how it turned out. I followed the Disappearing Nine Patch tutorial on Distant Pickles - the directions were so helpful and thorough, with tons of information on different sizes, binding techniques, etc. And I used the Riley Blake Sweet Divinity fat quarter pack that I won this summer from True Up - the first blog giveaway I ever won! I am in love with this quilt!

I used about 20 different fabrics, and I really love how crazy it looks! I used the scraps from cutting the squares to make a fun binding, and quilted with the tying method (since my machine doesn't do free motion quilting) - it reminds me of blankets by my grandmother, and DD likes them too!

Close up of tying

Riley Blake Sweet Divinity fabrics

And for the back, I pieced together a few yards of bright flannel. I used Robert Kaufman in aqua and berry, which turned out more red than I was hoping - I was thinking more pink when I ordered it, and was kind of freaking out as I was putting it all together. But it works and I'm now happy with it - it picks up the red in the quilt and the crib skirt.

I even embroidered a special corner for her.

E loves it, and there is plenty of room for it to grow with her - from snuggling to building forts to playing peekaboo to staying at grandma's. This was a labor of love for my one and only!

Too cute for Words!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Some people might use "adorbs" or "ca-uuuute", but I feel these serve no justice for what you are about to see.

Presenting, the Apron Top!

Ok, it wasn't my idea, but I saw it linked on another blog to the original tutorial by Everyday Chaos here, and knew I had to do it immediately. Forget the pile of "ideas" gathering dust on my ironing board, or fabrics strewn in the corner, or E's one curtain that has yet to be finished and hung, this was top priority! Also I forced myself to finish a project I had been avoiding (more on that later), so I wanted to *treat* myself with something "adorbs", haha.

I reworked a dress I had made for E earlier this summer, posted here. It was a good idea in my head, but I never really loved it once I finished it, and she only wore it once. I followed the Prudent Baby snappy top tutorial, which is great, but I had problems with the neck and feel it would be better with a corduroy or something heavy as a jumper. It wasn't summer enough for me. Fortunately, there was enough fabric in the dress to salvage and rework it into this!

Fun, light, perfect for summer!

Halter neck ties, but I may cross them and attach to the back to make a more comfortable fit.

The bodice is an Echino cotton linen blend that I really love, but I used up my last bits making this!

If she was about one year younger and I had more of either fabrics, I would totally make matching bloomers to go with it, but I think it looks great with leggings...and could maybe stretch into early fall layered with a sweater.

Did I just say the "f" word?

No Green Thumb

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:03:00 +0000

I tried, and sadly, I failed.

RIP basil, lavender, thyme and cilantro.

But I tried my best, goddam it!

Happiest Birthday Backpack

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 22:23:00 +0000

As some of you may know, I am obsessed with Japanese fabrics. Love them, the prints are perfectly gorgeous! When I came across Horaguchi it was love! The details are amazing, the pattern so fresh and perfect for kids. In conjunction with my recent acquisition of the Oliver + S book, my birthday gift of the year was born - birthday backpacks!

This is the second I have made, this time for little Sophia's fourth.

Oliver + S backpack in Horaguchi Selling Flowers in White

I love the pattern, the finish is so professional and I even learned how to do a blind hem stitch!

Vintage paisley silk!

I made her a coloring wallet to match, pattern by JCasa.

Homegirl is a natural model!

Cutest birthday gift! I love it so much - can you believe I haven't made on for E yet? I'm waiting for the perfect fabric to come along...

Until then, keep stitching!

Back to Reality....

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Sorry for the hiatus! I started this blog with full intentions of posting every day, but blogging is really a lot of work! We have been caught up in summer, swimming, parks, cooking, and sewing - I have tons to share, but nothing is quite finished yet.

I also recently got a job and returned to work. Six hour shifts, four days a week. We need the extra cash flow, and the availability fits our schedule perfectly. Unfortunately, I have to be in bed by 10pm to wake up at 5am, which significantly cuts into my sewing time. I am so sad about it, but that just means I have to manage my free time even better. Like get off the computer, now, Joy!

More sewing soon to come, plus a little something we just finished for E!

How It Began

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:18:00 +0000

Like most sewers, I first learned from my mother. My mother used to have her own shop selling handmade toys and she would sew frequently for us – clothes, Halloween costumes, as well as clothes for herself.

When I was a teenager I started to appreciate it more. My mom showed me her machine – I was terrified of threading it and remained so until my Singer with numbers right on the machine! – and I dabbled here and there. As a family of 10, we didn’t have lots of money to spend on clothes. I would find clothes at the thrift store and upgrade them to my liking – nowadays known as “upcycling.”

When I moved out on my own, I bought a simple Singer at Target with a birthday gift card. I jumped right into sewing curtains, shower curtains and pillows for my new apartment. It wasn’t until I became pregnant with my daughter that I discovered the amazing world of online tutorials, and then I really took off! With every tutorial I learned basic construction and finishing techniques, and the possibilities grew. I started making simple baby clothes, toys (blocks, tag balls) and learned the correct way to make pillows and curtains – oh man, did I cringe when I saw my previous home décor! As my bookmarks menu grew and grew, I would try to catch up by night.

Which brings me here. I mostly began sewing again to save money – it’s much easier to get something custom and to your liking by making it yourself than buying it. This is not always the case – my love of sewing has also led to a love of designer fabrics – but there’s definitely a huge satisfaction and sense of pride in seeing something in a store and immediately thinking, “I could make that, and make it better.”

I try to encourage anyone I can, I can’t help but be passionate about it! I wish I had more sewing friends, but I d belong to an online sewing forum, where we share completed projects and can turn to for help when we get stuck. Love those ladies!

Enough about me, I’d love to hear how you guys started sewing!

Finally, a Romper!

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Well, friends, I told you I was working on a romper for E, therefor I had to get to it and finish it.

And I am very pleased with my efforts! not only did I not butcher this beautiful fabric, but it fits E perfectly with room to grow!

I even threw together a matching headband - simple and perfect for her wild curls.

With spaghetti straps that cross at the back...

...and a ruffle at the neck...

and perfectly accessorized with ladybug stickers!

I created the pattern using an existing romper she has - just traced each piece onto craft paper and cut my fabric out.

Who wants to see a tutorial?

Spring (now summer) Clothes

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:58:00 +0000

I won’t bore you guys with the details of my Etsy – I want this blog to expand to other topics of sewing – but you can see all that here (if you want to).

I have been working on spring clothes for daughter for a few months now – hence one of my reasons for this blog – I need a little motivation sometimes! Granted, we have our reasons.. I love making spring & summer clothes because they are a great reason for beautiful lightweight cotton lawn fabrics and shirring!

Shirring (sewing with elastic thread) is tons of fun, easy once you get the hang of it, and makes quite the dramatic impact! Some helpful pointers – cut your fabric at least twice as wide as what you want the final size to be. If you trace a favorite t-shirt and shirr that, it would only fit an infant! I’ve ruined some awesome vintage items by trying to upcycle them with shirring and cutting them too small. Boo.

Before this turns into a how-to-shirr post, let’s get back to daughter’s spring wardrobe. Pink Chalk Fabrics had a great sale a bit ago, so I stocked up on lots of great fabrics for E’s wardrobe. Lots of bright prints and fun patterns, lots of shirring, lots of cute!

A yellow romper:

Erin McMorris Weekends Dots And Loops

A shirred top and shorts (second round - the first time the tension of the bobbin was too tight, resulting in too-tight shirring. Picking out shirring is NO joke!)

Darling Clementine Flower Grid

Butterfly dress, which I may or may not add ruffles to around the neck:

Alexander Henry Eton Butterfly

And that’s all I’ve gotten done so far!

In the works are a floral romper in this great print (LOVE Erin McMorris!)

Erin McMorris Weekends Lilyrose Lime

And I have some delicious floral Lecien lawn floating around (for the life of me, I cannot find a photo of this! Just imagine its greatness!), but feel like mommy deserves a little something too?

I was considering a dress for E, inspired by this Mini Boden number:

I think it's so adorable and wouldn't be too difficult to replicate (and a lot cheaper!).

It’s only a yard, so a skirt or dress for mama is not an option. Any ideas for something cute and simple for a mama top, but not in-your-face-floral-overload?

Fortunately, husband does not have many sewing requests for me (if ever), so I’m only resigned to sew for me, daughter and home at the moment.

And a quick preview of something BIG to come!

Thanks for letting me share!

hot heat

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Tue, 31 May 2011 04:47:00 +0000

There’s something about summer I can’t resist.

Hot, hot, hotter – I’ll take it. Sitting poolside, soaking in the rays, trying to get that tan I was too distracted for last year. Rolling down the highway with the windows rolled down, E’s curls blowing in an open window, getting blonder every minute, skin browner. Sandwiches and coleslaw, swatting gnats away under a tree. Getting on a unicycle, even though it’s the last place you’d imagine you’d be.

More, please.

Picnic in the Park

noreply@blogger.com (joy) — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:56:00 +0000

Something about the smell of the car AC blasting in your face, finally giving in and turning AC on at home, buying new bathing suits in anticipation of pools opening and craving cherry popsicles...it's all so wholesome, innocent, and nostalgic.

We decided to take a journey out into the heat to welcome summer with a picnic in the park.

We sat under luscious thick leaves, in the deliciously cool shade.

Next to a playground.

With homemade calzone rolls and marinara sauce for lunch.

They make the same munchin’ face.

And lots of fun, just lying on a blanket, outside, in the middle of the day.

And who can resist chunky baby thighs?

Hurray, summer!

Nothing quite like glimpsing this in the rear view mirror on your way home:

Happy summer! What is everyone else doing in anticipation of the hot, hot months to come?