Bella's Backpack

Here's a make from months ago that I never showed except on Instagram. Miss Bella needed a backpack for their trip to CA. I was very glad to help out with that. I am happy to say that the result matched the vision in my head. I found the grey polka dot at Joann's. It's a nice lighter weight canvas which has proven to be durable but was not hard to sew with the many layers I had going on.

The pattern is Made by Rae's Toddler Backpack. I've made it, I think, 6 times now and I still love it. It is easy to put your own twist on it because it is such a nicely done pattern. One add on was the front pocket. I was really winging it on this part and though I'd do some things different if I did it again, I love the way it looks.

I lined it and decided that a zippered pocket was a good idea. A welt zipper application kept it from being too cluttered inside when it's loaded up.

The piping is Kona Cotton in Salmon, if I am remembering correctly. Can I say yum?

To give it maximum structure, but still have the ability to sew it with out pulling my hair out,  I used Pellon Decor Bond on all of the main pieces including the lining. I actually use it in most of the bags I make. (Smaller bags only need a single layer. ) 

I wanted the back to be more comfortable for her when she wore it so just before I put it all together, I tacked in pieces of Annie's Soft and Stable. I ended up putting it in the back, front and bottom. It is extremely easy to sew, and gives more structure without much extra weight. Have you used this product? I've done a few things with it and I love it. 

Last but not least, I put a leather bottom on it. I am not sure if it helps much in durability or keeping it clean but I think it looks really cute.

I love seeing pictures of Bella wearing it around. I do wonder what all she has packed into it though....

Skirt

Oh look! I made something for me, had my guy take my picture and I'm actually blogging about it within the same week. Will wonders never cease.

Confession time: I'm not the same person I was a few years ago. I've grown, and I'm not talking about my state of mind..... This fact has been a bit hard to come to terms with and made it hard for me to make things for myself. This skirt started out as a dress and it was tragic. I cried and threw it in a corner for a year. I mean that literally, my room is a mess. Sad part is, the fabric was beautiful.

 I read an article over on Melly Sews and it struck a cord with me. Yes, I have been sewing upwards of forty years, but I learned old school sewing (where each garment was made to last through the generations, whether the new generation wanted them or not), and I still beat myself up when I make mistakes. Funny thing is, when I was teaching, I would always tell my students, there are no mistakes, only opportunities. Why I cannot seem to apply that to myself I don't know. 

Coming across that wad of fabric the other day I knew it was time to do something with it or throw it out. 

Wanting to be done in one afternoon, this was not the time for me to get caught up in making the inside look as good as the outside. There is no lining or hong-kong finish on this skirt. I just needed something to wear and the pile-o-guilt to be gone from my room. 

I choose to try an exposed zipper because I happened to find a cool metal zip in my stash and it's quicker than doing a back seam and applying a invisible zip. Have I done one before? No..... because I have always been afraid of ruining my fabric. Am I happy with the results. Yes! I'll do better next time. Or maybe I'll mess it up.

I really went out on a limb here showing you both shirt tucked in and out. One is way out of my comfort zone...... 

Pattern used for general shape : Simplicity 8664
Fabric: Beautiful wool, bought so long ago from I forgot where

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Olivia's Quilt

When Jessica and I started brainstorming about my niece's quilt, we went back and forth on several ideas. At some point we realized we'd both pinned this quilt and then it was decided. Apologies for the less than quality photos. I need to not wait until it's too late and then just having to make do...

We loved the way our inspiration quilt made the secondary pattern of X's. Jess was in charge of making sure everything was in the right place. I was in charge of sewing and trying not to mess that up. This did cause one issue, in that, to get the desired amount of x's without having to make even smaller HSTs, we had to go bigger. As in the biggest baby blanket ever. Good news, it's so big it will take her straight through her toddler years and then some.

My sis-in-law picked out this duvet from Pottery Barn Kids for the little Miss's room. We stepped up the colors just a notch.... It was so fun gathering this variety of fabrics, picking stuff up here and there and pulling from our stash.

The duvet was used for the backing with plenty left over for room accents. We did simple straight line quilting on point. The binding is a deep purple.

The solid fabrics are all Kona Cotton. Aurifil thread was used for both pricing and quilting. The batting is Pellon's Nature Touch that we purchased from Joann.
We had such fun making this and of course it is full of love and good wishes for this little one as she starts her life.

When patterns procreate...

We've been making an obscene amount of Bimma's for the kids thanks to grabbing the pattern on one of Crafterhours friday fivers, and we have been getting just a tad jealous of the awesomeness that the kids are getting to wear.......  Then it hit me that if we combined our favorite Union St Tee pattern and the Bimma's cowl neck, we could have our very own adult size. 

GENIUS people... even if I do say so myself......

The amazing part? The size 12 cowl from the Bimaa fits the small Union St. Tee.

Perfectly.

Jess wants one now and I'll see if the x-small is the same. I just couldn't wait to show this one.

This fabric is from Joann's. It is luscious. Dots on one side, stripes on the other.

If it were to ever get actually cold here, I can cover my face.

Next up? Maybe a hooded version.....

A Quilt for Mom

Another in the long line of things we've done and haven't blogged. I used my Go cutter to make 4 inch squares from my scrap stash. I am not sure why but when ever I go scrappy, I also autopilot into ROYGBIV. Maybe this shows a lack of imagination or maybe I just love rainbows. Either way, I am happy with the results. 

Rounded corners give the quilt a softer look.

I love that I had enough fabrics that each square is different.

Simple straight-line quilting on the diagonal.

The backing is a wool blend I have had for forever. It started out grey and I dyed it this pretty purple. I used it to make this jacket several years ago.  

Thanks for stopping by!

We Are In Fact Alive

Apparently the only thing that motivates us to blog again is a new Hey June Pattern. Adrianna of Crafterhours just released her Union Street Tee. Click on the button to see her shop and the tops she  made.

Jessica and I will be showing off our versions of her fun pattern June 27. 

You will want to get this pattern. 

We promise!

Hey June!

A couple of weeks ago a new pattern by Adrianna of Crafterhours came out. The Lane Raglan was a style Jess and I have been looking for so when it was released, we grabbed it. We had some "free" time two Saturdays ago and I was determined to get one done for the both of us. 

 Because this is a lovely, and fairly simple pattern, we were successful. I had some knits hanging around that happened to have enough yardage. Jess being my classic girl chose the black which was a heavy jersey. I picked this deep blue that was more of a tissue knit. This is a fun example of how different knits react with the same pattern. 

Our shirts are very basic but this pattern gives you a lot of space to express yourself. If you go HERE you can see Adrianna's friends in her gorgeous examples.

 Then, since it was a Hey June kinda weekend, I made another Greenpoint Cardigan for miss Bella out of the leftover fabric from Jessica's shirt. I love this pattern. 

I pretty much love anything with a raglan sleeve..... 

This is my forth cardi in this pattern and I started a fifth this morning!

I found some perfect black flower buttons in my vintage stash and I just realized my only close up of those is on my IG feed.

By the way, if you're on instagram, we'd love to follow you. If you're not, try it, it's fun and that's were Jess and I post more day to day stuff. 

Miss Bella in the middle of our frost ravaged yard. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Skirt Week - Color Block Skirt

We are so happy to be a part of Skirt Week! It gives me an excuse to sew for myself and the  inspiration I gain from seeing what others are sewing is always fun. Thanks so much to Crafterhours for hosting and offering up such fantastic prizes. If you haven't entered yet, go whip up a skirt and do it!

If you were looking in on the Pintrest boards started by Crafterhours, you may have seen my inspiration skirt.  You can see that the skirt isn't anything many of us haven't done already. It is the same process I used last year for my simple maxi skirt only this time I made the silhouette more of an a-line instead of fully gathered. So, this is not so much a tutorial, it's more of a, have you thought of doing this?

I started with my four colors and decided how wide I wanted each stripe. I added an inch for the seam allowances, with a bit extra on my hem and waist pieces.  I cut two strips from each color. When I sewed the strips together, I decided I wanted to make the seam lines a bit more. So after sewing them together, I finished each seam with a flat felled finish. It's the one you see on jeans. I figured with everyone loving embroidery the way we do, why not be a bit more decorative with my seams!

You can see here, I didn't try to blend the stitching, just coordinate it. I want to try this again and maybe go a bit crazier.

When I had my strips sewn, I layered my new pieces of fabric right sides together. I laid my pattern piece on top. You can see my very simple pattern in this picture, I measured my waist where I wanted the skirt to sit and added 6 inches for ease, and my hips plus 10 inches of ease. Then I divided that in half and decided on my length. If this does not make sense please do a search for drafting your own a-line skirt, there are so many awesome tutorials out there.

Next time I try this I want to cut it out on the bias. That could be really fun!

I marked on one side where I wanted my pattern to hit on the seam lines, then transferred those markings to the other side, pinning at each so my stripes would be even.

I sewed up the side seams and decided to do a clean finish on them. The waist is a wide elastic, I finished the waistline edge of the skirt and zig-zagged it to the elastic. If you've been following along and making this skirt, now is the time to try your skirt on and mark where you want your hem. I made my hem with a simple double fold 3/8 inches wide. It makes all the seaming cohesive within the skirt.

The fun part about this is, if I ever dress in the dark, I'm not sure anyone will notice if it's wrong side out! 

We've been having a little rain in these parts, it makes picture taking a bit more challenging. 

And maybe a bit more fun.

Jess told me to jump.

 This is what she got. 

She wasn't impressed.

  Not sure who I was channeling here but I figured you could use a chuckle. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! We can't wait to see everyone's skirts in the Flickr pools. If you've been inspired here, let us know, we'd love to hear from you.

&

The One Where I Thought "Uh Oh" and Did It Anyway

Aka, Butterick 5639, why did you have to be difficult?

Have you seen this dress? I pinned it 33 weeks ago. It's been sitting in my "clothes to make" board. The link goes to her Flickr site but there are only three pictures of her version, none of which is her wearing it. I did a search and she seemed to be the only one who'd made and shown it. I never thought to look on Pattern Review......

Gorgeous, isn't it?

I purchased the pattern about four months ago. When I got it home and really looked at it, I thought... Uh Oh. 

The pattern front as they show it is kinda meh, but obviously from the picture above can be very cute with the right fabric. I wanted to make the same view, down there, on the left. For some reason, I thought the back view would be similar to the front. 

Then I turned it over. Moo, straps. I so did not want straps. I know, I live in the land of heat and sunshine, but strappy dresses will never be work appropriate for me. You may think that's silly and that's ok. 

So, I said all of that to say, it took me until two weeks ago to try and make this pattern how I wanted it to be. It's made with a linen look fabric from Joann's. I used the same basic pieces from the front bodice for the back. 

I think it turned out pretty well. It did take a bit  a lot a whole lot of tweaking and it is not perfect by any means.

After I finished this today, in preparation for blogging it, I did another search for this dress. That's when I found the link to the reviews on Pattern Review. The beautiful dress I showed you for my inspiration? She says the back was so bad that it was not salvageable. As in train wreck and wadder pile, her words not mine. It was only then that I read the fabric suggestions. Linen or even a linen look like mine was not recommended. Hmmm, I am even happier with my choice to alter the back and how it turned out after reading that. 

 I made my guy take me to the beach this evening for a sunset photo shoot. I guess the next few pictures are as much about me having fun as they are about the dress. It is utilitarian yet feminine. The princess line fit and flare are flattering to my, ahem, shape. The pockets are amazingly usable. Seriously. 

All in all I think it is a pretty and comfortable dress to wear. Appropriate for both beach and office.

Evenings like this make me wonder why I don't go jump in the water more often. 

Oh and no, I do not mind being the crazy person jumping in the water while people walk by wondering why is the crazy woman jumping around in the water in a dress....