Recipe Thursday: Granny's Super Sweet Taters

Happy New Year's Eve! I probably won't be posting New Year's Day since the hubster has a gig tonite and we'll be zombies tomorrow. I can't believe this year is at it's end already! It went waaay too fast but I'm glad 'cause 2009 just sucked, am I right?! And now we can start saying twenty-ten, etc. instead of two-thousand and blah-blah. That always bothered me for some reason. I'm crazy, perhaps?

Anyhoo! I got my yellow undies made yesterday and I even did a review for Pattern Review! This is Kwik Sew 2100 and I like the pattern a lot. Their sizing is really off, which you can read about in my review, but these turned out great! I used a Nylon/Lycra and they sort have a slimming effect. Yay! I just realized yesterday that I make way more stuff than I review. I should really do more reviews this next year! It would be cool to have a record of everything I make throughout the year. I've noticed many other sewing bloggers doing a kind of wrap-up of their sewing projects and I honestly haven't got a clue how many items I've made over the last 12 months!

Okay, on to the recipe! You will most definitely need something with slimming action when you eat these sweet potatoes! They are so wonderful and it's the only way I make mine. I got the recipe from my Mother-in-Law several years ago and it's the one I think her mother used. I'm sorry I don't have a picture! I made these for Christmas Eve but totally spaced the picture taking/Recipe Thursday stuff. You'll just have to trust me on this one! We always reserve this dish for special holidays. This would be perfect to serve tomorrow!

Granny's Super Sweet Taters

6-8 Sweet Potatoes or Yams (whichever you use, try to find the smallest ones, they tend to be better)
1 pound Brown Sugar
1 pint Heavy Cream
1/4 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
9"x13" Baking Dish, sprayed with cooking spay or buttered

The night before you make the dish, mix cream and brown sugar in a covered container or big jar, refrigerate. (If you want to use nutmeg you can stir it in with the cream and brown sugar or wait and sprinkle it over the potatoes before baking. It's not part of the original recipe, just something I added on my own so please don't think it's necessary. These are just as delicious without it!) Stir the mixture every so often, maybe each time you get in the fridge. Boil the potatoes in a large pot, skin on, for about 30-45 minutes or until soft. Drain and let cool. This makes peeling the taters super easy! Okay, now you can peel 'em. Cut into quarters and place them in your baking dish, preferably in a single layer. You can do this the day before if you need the time! Right before you want to bake your taters get out your cream mixture and stir well, pour over the potatoes. Heat oven to 350 degrees then pop in the taters. Bake covered (I just use foil) for approx. 1 hour and be sure to spoon the sauce over the potatoes every 20 minutes or so. What comes out is a bubbly, caramel-y treat like no other! No marshmallows needed here!

As always, if you have questions please email me. I'd love to hear if you try the recipe!

Yellow Undies for New Years Eve?

Did you know it's good luck to wear yellow undies on New Years Eve? It's supposed to bring wealth in the new year, too. New ones are best and getting them as a gift is even better. Why yellow you ask? It's the closest color to gold, of course! You're even supposed to throw away all your old panties at the stroke of midnight!

I could really use some good luck and wealth in 2010 so, I'm going to gift myself with a new pair! That counts, right? I have all my supplies ready to go. I'm just trying to decide if I want yellow lace or black. I'm leaning towards the black 'cause it's just sexy!

Let the holiday cleanup commence...

We got back from my mom's Saturday and have pretty much vegged out for the past few days. All that holiday hubbub poops me out! It was so good to see everyone, though. Now, the Christmas mess is driving me nuts and it has to get cleaned up. Believe me, it takes a lot of mess to drive me nuts! I seriously hate cleaning. Also, sorry I forgot to do my Recipe Thursday! I'll get caught up this week!

Now I can show you the Christmas sewing I was working on! Above is the bra and panty set I made my mom. She told me the panties fit but I've yet to hear on the bra. The panty pattern I used is from Coni Crawford. I had to alter it a bit because I don't like the way the back waistline is shaped. The first time I used the pattern was for myself. I used it as is and because of this extra fabric I have a big poof above my butt. Not real cute. I'm sure it would work for other body types. Me and my mom's butts aren't shaped that way, though. LOL! The bra pattern is the Queen Elite from Anne St. Clair that I've talked about before.

Below is the nightie I made for my sister. I quite literally finished it the day before I gave it to her. I used this pattern and it went together like a dream!

My form is set to my daughter's size so it doesn't fill it out as well as my sister will but I love how it turned out. The fabric is from a bundle and is supposedly from Victoria's Secret. It is soooo super soft! The matching panties are my go-to Jalie. These are the low rise view A.

I knitted my Sister-in-Law a scarf but forgot to take a picture of it. I didn't use a pattern or anything. It was just a simple 1x1 rib.

Well, my messy house beckons me.

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Sewing: A Sneak Peek!

Here's a little sneaky peek at what I've been working on! Can't show the whole thing 'cause I don't want to ruin the surprise. I love how it's turning out and I certainly hope the recipient does too!

All the Christmas gifts to be purchased have been purchased, I have just a few more things to get finished up sewing-wise and then I'll be DONE!!! Yay!

Last Saturday Nite!

Here's the pics I promised. My husband's band rocked the house last Saurday/Sunday. Had a blast as usual. I took a ton of pictures but since MY CAMERA SUCKS, they didn't turn out very well. In this first one I was able to get them all lined up:

That's my man.... mmmmm hmmm!

Recipe Thursday: Brrrrrownies! Ah yeeeah!

Okay, this is a super easy Brownie recipe! So easy it should be illegal 'cause yer gonna want to make it every day. I found this recipe on the web but have adapted it a bit to suit my taste. I also use organic ingredients whenever I possibly can. It makes the brownies healthy that way! I keep telling myself that anyway.

Easy Peasy Brownies

1/2 cup Butter (it's best to use real butter)
3/4 cup Brown Sugar (I use dark brown but I'm sure light will work fine too)
3/4 cup White Sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1 TBSP Vanilla (yes, a tablespoon)
A sprinkleydoo of Cinnamon or about 1/4 tsp (trust me)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare an 8" square baking dish with butter or cooking spray or line the bottom with parchment paper, set aside for now. Melt the butter in a large-ish saucepan. Remove from heat and let it stand for a couple of minutes. Dump everything else in the saucepan and mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan and pop 'em in the oven for about 20 minutes. Test with a toothpick for done-ness. If the toothpick comes out gooey, bake for a few minutes more.

Now, you're supposed to let these cool before you can cut them but who has time for that?! We're dealing with brownies, people! We cut/scoop and eat hot. They aren't pretty but really, who cares.... If you want them to look nice just wait an hour or so.

You can also add chocolate chips, nuts, or whatever suits your fancy! The recipe can easily be doubled if you need more choco-goodness.

Enjoy!

Christmas sewing

I've been working on some Christmas sewing for the past several days. Unfortunately, I can't post much about it since the recipients (a.k.a. Mom and Sis) read my blog! Due to much needed devotion to these projects, I'll be out of pocket here for awhile. Tomorrow is Recipe Thursday and I will have a treat for you then! Well, more like a treat you can make for yourself.....yummmm!

I used a super quick remedy on the Hot Patterns Uptown/Downtown dress (pics later!). I just threaded some elastic thorough the binding and it more or less did the trick. I just don't have the time to rip it out and redo it now. I'll leave it like this and if I make another I'll be sure to make sure my fabric is stretchy enough! I think I'm going to make an infinity scarf to wear with it so that'll cover my, shall we say, indiscretion. I'd really like to get a review done up for Pattern Review, too.

Happy 'Hump' Day!

In Progress: HP Uptown/Downtown Dress

and I need some suggestions!

Okay, the neckline is giving me fits and I'm thinking about just sticking some elastic in there so it'll lay flat! This is one of those patterns where, for the neckband, fabric choice is key. If it ain't stretchy enough it just ain't gonna work right. I *thought* my fabric was stretchy enough but I was sorely mistaken. The neckband on the size 20 is 10" shorter than the neckline and no matter how hard I pulled I just couldn't get it to fit. Well, I just barely made it all the way around and at the end got a tiny pleat. When I put the dress on it look horrid! It was all bunched up and the sleeves looked crazy. I'm sorry I didn't take a pic to show you. The pattern calls for rib knit for the bands and it mentions that you can use self fabric but it better have super elasticity and excellent recovery, that's all I'm sayin'. I did rip out the original neckband (ugh, dark thread on dark fabric!) and made the neckband about 6" longer. While this technically worked it makes the band stick up and I just don't care for it at all. Hence the idea for elastic or do you think it will look like crap? Please, please help! I love this fabric and hate to see it wasted.

sorry no pics today!

I really meant to take pictures of my Hot Patterns Uptown/Downtown dress to show you. Well, I did take a couple but they were really horrid and you could see my messy desk/house in the background. They just weren't fit for posting. I'm a little *meh* about the pattern at the moment anyway. Lets just say my fabric choice wasn't right for the neckband and it looks crappy and I'm trying to figure out how to fix it. Maybe just rip the whole damn thing up...

Tomorrow/Saturday is my obligatory "Roadie Duty" since the hubster and his band are playing. They're going to be rockin' out in Borger, TX at the Main Street Bar (I think it's called) so if you're anywhere near come join us. I'm kinda sore from swimming and doing my water aerobics classes all week so we'll see how I feel after lugging around amps and monitors. And it's supposed to be a little warmer Saturday and Sunday which is a bonus. You haven't lived until you've loaded a truck with musical equipment at 2:30 AM in freezing temperatures, I'm tellin' ya! I'll take pics and share them next week!

Everyone have a lovely weekend!

Thursday is now the Official Recipe Day!

Last Thursday I posted a couple of shampoo recipes and I think I'm going to keep it up! I love to cook and make up my own bath and body stuff so I'll post some sort of recipe every Thursday. It could be brownies or it could be body scrub. You just never know with me!

First things first though, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who gave in to Fabric.com, that evil temptress! Second, I really need to thank the UPS man for bringing all that fabric I ordered from Chez Ami early yesterday! My husband would just die! Now it's all safely hidden in the bins in my garage. Of course he's used to my fabricaholic tendencies after 15+ years. If you sew for children then you really need to head over there. They have some of their fabrics clearanced for $2.50 a yard. You have to buy it in two yard lots but it is sooo worth it. The fabric is excellent quality and washes beautifully. I've made my son several things and they all still look great after several washings. Anyhoo, I'm sort of ashamed to say I bought *gasp* 42 yards. Yes, you read that correctly. I know, awful right? I plan to use it for at least 5 people so it'll go fast. Some good friends of ours have a 2 year old daughter and I want to make her a whole bunch of stuff. Her daddy lost his job a couple months ago and I know they don't have the money to buy her a bunch of Winter clothing. So, I'm arming myself with my Ottobre mags and will get down and dirty as soon as I get some of this fabric washed.

Okay, on to the recipe!

This is another shampoo that we love and is easy to make. It's my daughter's new favorite and really does smell fresh. My little guy and my big guy like it too. Bonus!

Minty Fresh Shampoo

1/4 cup Distilled Water
1/4 cup Liquid Castile Soap (I use the unscented stuff from Dr. Bronner's)
2 tsp Jojoba Oil
1/8 tsp Peppermint Oil
1/8 tsp Tea Tree Oil
Bottle

Pour water and soap into bottle and then add your oils. Swish around to mix. Shake well before use in the shower. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Rinse well.

This is a good one for this time of year with cold and flu season upon us (well, in the Northern Hemisphere anyway). The tea tree has excellent cleaning properties and is an analgesic, decongestant, and expectorant. The peppermint is also good for sinus congestion and is a pain reliever. So the next time you have a cold or a headache, hop in the shower armed with this shampoo!

Tomorrow, I want to unveil my version of the Hot Patterns Uptown/Downtown dress! See you all then.

Dang you Fabric.com and Hot Patterns!

I caved this morning. It's all due to stinkin' Fabric.com, too. They're having this 12 Days of Christmas sale and the first day was 60% off the Vera Lavender Collection. I've been eyeing several of those fabrics for some time so I pretend shopped and filled my cart with a few things knowing I probably wasn't going to buy anything. Then the next day I check my emails and I've got one from Fabric.com. It basically says, "Hey wait, you have stuff in your cart and you forgot to check out! Here, we'll give you and extra 15% off if you come back and buy up this stuff you don't really need!" How the hell do they know I put shit in my cart and didn't check out?! Creepy. So anyways, I go back to Fabric.com and see what all I put in my cart. Some of it is mysteriously gone, btw. Then I see that patterns are on sale today with the frickin' 12 Days thingy and I sink out of my chair and onto the floor (well, not really. I just said that for dramatic effect.) 'cause now I'm doomed. There are several Hot Patterns that I want so I added a few to may cart and used my coupon (which was ABAND2009....can you believe the nerve of these people! They said I abandoned my cart, for cryin' out loud! Oh, poor cartie baby, I'm sorry!). I got this, this, and this. I bought the last two because I loved Debbie Cook's versions. (Okay Debbie, now it's all your fault! heehee). You know I just had to order more than $35 to get the free shipping. So, there goes Christmas for the kids. Just kidding....

Sorry no pictures today. I do want to thank everyone for their super sweet comments about my coat! Sarai liked it too so that was truly icing on the cake!

Have a good one!

Colette Patterns: Lady Grey...in red!

Finally I got some pictures of the pattern I tested for Colette Patterns! It has been gray and dreary so I gave up on sunshine and just went into my kitchen to take the pictures. Alas, they aren't too whippy and you'll have to forgive my mom jeans. The red was hard to photograph and my camera just sucks. I think she's dying, to be honest.

Anyway! This is the Lady Grey pattern and, I must say, I love this coat! It has a gorgeous shape and I think it's very feminine and flattering to my curves. This is a wrap coat with princess seaming and topstitching. It ties with a long belt and also has one button on the outside and one on the inside to secure it. The collar is wide and just waiting for your favorite brooch. The hem is full and it flares out just right over the hip. Just for reference and for all my sewing peeps, I made a straight size 18. No FBA or nuthin'! The only thing I did was trim the sleeve cap down a bit 'cause it was poofing up and not in a good way.

Here's the back. You get a better sense of the hem. You can't really see it but there are two belt loops in the back.

Here's a close up of the front without the belt so you can see the button closure.

And a closeup of the back. There, now you can see the belt loops!

I made this from a wool gauze that I got from Fashion Fabric Club. It was like 5 yards for $35! It's a little bit lighter weight than what is suggested but I love the drape and it's really soft. The lining is a polyester.

All the new Colette Patterns are up for pre-order here! Check 'em out!

My new favorite shampoo!

A little side project that has been ongoing for me is making my own bath and body products. In an effort to reduce the toxic chemicals in our household I've turned to using more natural products. One of my favorite things to make is shampoo and it's super easy to do. You might have to make a trip to your health food store to get some of these ingredients. I don't live in a large area and was able to find all of them locally. Amazon.com is a great source for the liquid castile soap!

I've been playing around with different formulas and I want to share a couple that we really like. The first is one that I use the most and the second is one I make up for the kids. Each recipe makes about 4.5 ounces.

One thing I would like to mention before we get started is, while I am an 'independent student' (since I'm learning on my own from books) of aromatherapy and the different uses of essentials oils, I am by no means an expert! Please use caution when handling these oils as they are very potent! If you're unsure if you can use any of them consult a handbook (or even your doctor). I have a couple of books by Valerie Ann Worwood which I really like!

Okie Dokie! Enough of that business, let's get cookin'!!

Lemon Rosemary Shampoo

1/4 cup Distilled Water

1/4 cup Liquid Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bronner's unscented)

2 TBSP Dried Rosemary

2 tsp Sweet Almond Oil

1/4 tsp Lemon Essential Oil (I prefer using essential oils but you can use fragrance oil too)

5-10 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

Some sort of container (I use a glass bottle that is for oil and vinegar. Got it for $1 at the Dollar Tree and the little spout is the perfect dispenser. I have also reused old shampoo bottles. Just be sure to rinse them well first.)

Boil the water and then sprinkle the Rosemary over top. Let steep for about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the Castile Soap in your bottle. Add the Sweet Almond Oil and your Essential Oils. I find using a funnel is most helpful for all this. Once your Rosemary tea is done you'll strain the leaves and discard. Pour the tea into the bottle and swish it all around to mix. In the shower, be sure to shake before each use since the ingredients will separate. Lather, Rinse, Repeat!

This fragrance is fresh and uplifting and makes my hair shiny and bouncy. It isn't thick like the stuff you get at the store so you will have to pour a little over your head. Otherwise, you just use it like you would normally. The castile soap make lots of fluffy lather and with the essential oils you get the benefit of aromatherapy! This type of shampoo is also gentle so you will probably need to rinse and repeat. The oil in the mix makes conditioner unnecessary! Yay!

The next one is very kid friendly (smell-wise) and the easiest to make. My daughter helped me make up the last batch which was fun. Anyhoo, once all the kids' store-bought shampoo ran out I wanted to make them something they would like. The Lemon Rosemary Shampoo is wonderful but a bit herbaly and more astringent smelling. Let's just say, my 5 year old son wasn't a big fan. This one smells really yummy and makes my hair look and feel really good. My daughter has super duper thick hair and it works great for her, too. It also has the stamp of approval from Mr. Picky.

Creamsicle Shampoo

1/4 cup Liquid Castile Soap

1/4 cup Distilled Water

2 tsp Jojoba Oil

10-15 drops Vanilla Essential Oil

10-15 drops Orange Essential Oil

5-10 drops Tea Tree Oil (optional)

Bottle

Pour all ingredients into your bottle and swish around to mix. Shake before each use. Lather, Rinse, Repeat! See, I told you it was easy!

This is the Creamsicle Shampoo. Oops, looks like I need to make some more!

I'd like to maybe make this a regular feature to my blog. What do you all think? If any of you out there make your own b&b stuff too let me know. I love to try out new recipes!

My official We Love Colors and Sock Dreams review!

Holy crap! Can it really be December already?! So, did everyone out there who celebrates Thanksgiving eat too much? I did! I went to the pool and swam my laps yesterday morning so I feel a whole lot better!

Anyhoo, on with my review! I know Andrea was curious how the We Love Colors tights worked for me. I have to say I'm on the fence about them. I didn't get any pictures because I wore them to a funeral and didn't get a chance. I will try to take a picture of me in them next chance I get!

First the good: The colors are so great and super saturated. Even after putting them on they were pretty much opaque. They fit well in the hips and tummy and were very comfortable.

The bad: They have pretty much zero recovery. They're more like leggings with feet. I wore them with boots and when I took the boots off the fabric was all scrunched at my ankle. And, yes, they were huge in the foot! But this is a plus if you have a very wide foot. The knee didn't seem to bag too much but I couldn't wear these with a shoe because of the ankle issue.

I'm pretty much going to just chalk these up as a great pop of color when I wear skirts with boots. So, not bad but not perfect either. I guess I would grade them a C+. Next time I might try the Nylon/Lycra as I'm sure they will have a better fit. They are also $6 more per pair! Yikes!

Okay, now for the Sock Dreams!

Seriously, I love these socks! They're both great! First up is the Wavy Lace Over-the-Knee sock:

Above is a picture of the sock pulled up as far as it can go. On my right leg you can see it does in fact come up over knee and not terribly uncomfortably, either. It cuts in a little as you can tell. The left leg is scrunched slightly and pulled to just under my knee. This is where I have been wearing them and they truly stay put! The foot is loose but not too much. They are just really comfortable! Below you can see them really scrunched which is a cute look too. These are just above mid-leg on me here. If you have a narrower calf the scrunch would be all the way up like the photo on the website.

Here are the Ribbed M Stockings:

Oh boy, these are nice and toasty! I've been wearing these around the house in the morning when I'm still in my jammies and robe and they are perfect! These have a really heavy rib and the foot is thick and soft and slighty loose like the Wavy Lace. These do come sort of thigh high on me. On the right leg you can see it's wanting to roll a bit. I don't have these pulled as high as they will go but rather how I normally wear them, just over the knee. This way they're a little slouchy.

I like that this brand will fit a wide variety of sizes and their website has so many styles! Everything from fun, funky, everyday socks to fetish worthy stockings. I'm thinking Christmas gifts here, too. My grade for the Sock Dreams is definitely an A!

Well, now that I'm obsessed about cute socks, I'd love to hear if you all have a favorite!

Busy weekend!

Well, as my previous post stated, I finished up my Colette Patterns test sewing! Yay! But before that, on Friday, a milestone was reached for someone very dear to me....

My little man turned 5!!!

I can hardly believe it! Love you sweetie!

Next, I want to (finally) show you all the lingerie set I made for my daughter a couple of weeks ago!

I used a vintage Kwik Sew pattern and this is the fabric and stretch lace from Elingeria.de. It's a super cute cotton knit screen printed with hearts and 'love', etc. I love how it turned out! She just adores it and wants to wear it all the time. This feels pretty good to me since most of the stuff I make her these days doesn't get worn. She's at that stage.... *sigh* It's all about skinny jeans (gasp) and Converse! I didn't sew for her very much when she was little and now I'm wishing for those days again. She is in desperate need of undies so I can always do that. I also realized over the weekend that she needs some lounge wear! Of all things! That should be easy to throw together. I have some great Jalie patterns that will work perfectly.

Lastly, I want to give you that sneak peek I promised....

Have you all been good...hmmmmm?

Oh well, even if you haven't here it is!

Alright, that's all yer gettin! But don't fret! The new patterns are available for purchase this Friday! Yipee! So be sure to keep your eyes on the Colette blog. I wanted to point out how well my seams matched up. See how pretty? This is always a source of joy and satifaction for me. I just love when that happens!

Next up for me is the HP Uptown/Downtown dress. The pattern is all laid out on my big table waiting to be traced! I keep seeing everyone's amazing creations and I just can't wait to have one of my own!

P.S. Today I'm wearing my fuschia We Love Colors tights. I'll give a review on them (hopefully tomorrow) and the socks from Sock Dreams. I've worn both of those and, let's just say.... well, you'll have to come back and find out!

Hugs & Stitches!

Colette, my love...

Just a quickie update. I finished the test pattern for Colette Patterns today and got all my feedback sent to Sarai like a good little girl. I'm tellin' ya...I love this li'l coat! That's all I'm sayin'. It's late but if you're all good I may give you a sneaky peek tomorrow!

Is the curiosity eating you away.....

Teehee!

Oooo, Friday the 13th...

Mwuaa ha haaaaa....

I didn't even realize it was Friday the 13th until I saw it on another blog..... Usually, I'm the one telling my husband "Ooooo, It's Friday the 13th...mwuaa haa haaaa" first thing. Well, that just confirms that I'm a dork. Now I need to go call him a make sure he knows what today is. Tee hee.

Anyhoo, on to other stuff...

Who else, besides me, is loving the super bright tights everyone is wearing?! I just think it's sooo cool lookin'! Well, I get an email from the Lingerie Post everyday and one mentioned these snuggly thigh high socks to wear with your nighties and such. I really liked the M Stocking from Sock Dreams that they highlighted so I headed over their and picked up a black pair and also some gorgeous wavy lace, over the knee socks.

The lacy socks are sooo soft and feel really good on. The ribbed are super thick and should keep me nice and toasty! They're both made from recycled cotton and have minimal packaging. From what I could tell, most of their products are made from recycled cotton. Cool! All those groovy socks got me to thinking about the bright tights that I've been seeing, and loving. I remembered finding a link to We Love Colors some time ago so I mosied on over to their website. The great thing about them is they also carry plus sizes in a lot of their styles. Yay! Seriously, they sell rainbows! I mean, I think they offer like, 50 different colors or something! I picked up Scarlet, Purple, Fuschia in the solids. The 'Splash' colors are #7001 & #2312

Unfortunately, the colors are really washed out in the picture above. They're actually quite rich and vibrant. They feel soft and stretchy and the only thing I found was the foot is really huge! There is no shaping or tapering and it's basically straight all the way down. Even though I'm a curvy girl with 17" calves, I have smaller feet with a tapered ankle and narrow-ish heel. I can even wear some narrow shoes so we'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to give you all my thoughts on both brands.

Everyone have a lovely weekend and don't get into any mischief today. Watch out for black kitties and don't walk under any ladders, etc.

Oh, and what do you think of my mermaids? Aren't they pretty? I love mermaids....

I finally caved....

Yes, in a moment of weakness, I have fallen to that temptress Hot Patterns. When I opened my email from Patternreview.com this morning I had absolutely no plans to dump over $40 into new patterns that I really don't need. But when I saw Michelle's cute version I just plum gave in. I watched Trudy's vids on this a couple of weeks ago and it almost sent me over the edge but when I saw it made up and on a real person I just had to have it. I think it'll be so cute with boots and a little jacket for this fall. I've also had my eye on this one forever:

I figured, "what the hell?!" I'm already going broke... Ha! So, I think today I'm going to dig through my stash and find some fabrics that will work for both of these so I can get at 'em when they arrive in a few days.


I did have a productive weekend of sewing! I made my sweet daughter a bra and panty set from a vintage Kwik Sew pattern. She made me wash it last night so she could wear it today so I have no pictures yet. It turned out so cute and really fit her perfectly! Best part is she loves it! I used some fabric and lace I got in a grab bag from Elingeria.de some time ago. When I pulled the fabric out of the package I knew it was destined to be made into something for her. The piece was kind of small but that's the great thing about sewing lingerie for little people, it doesn't take much! ;-D

Awesome Thrift Score, Awesome Pin-Up, and Awesome News

Can things get any more awesome?! Teehee! Well, it is Friday after all.....

I wanted to share a bit of awesomeness that has come my way in recent days. First off, I went to the thrift store yesterday to see if I could find some fabric for a coat I'm making (more on that in a bit). Instead I come across a shoe box of mugs that I thought looked terribly familiar. See, I used to work at a gift shop as their Bridal Consultant, which basically means I just registered brides for all the stuff they wanted people to buy them for their big day. Anyhoo, these mugs looked familiar because they are made by a brand that the shop carried. Okay, are you ready....They're Denby Greenwich! DENBY!!! Hello?! I only paid $2.75 for 10 of them!!! The lowest price I could find online was over $20. EACH! Honestly, I felt kinda guilty because they had no idea what they had. But, here I sit, sippin' my coffee, in my new mug, and it's feelin' pretty good! ;~D hehehe

I also found some clogs that were brand new for $4. The brand is Indigo by CLARKS! For Heaven's sake!

Next up is the "new girl" I drew for my hubby's band logo. I think she turned out pretty awesome:

Lastly, you may or may not know how much I love Colette Patterns. Well, the other day Sarai had a call on her blog for test sewers for her new line of patterns coming out soon. I thought "what the hey" and contacted her asking for a slot. Lo and behold, she emailed me back and said I'm in! Awesome!!! Without giving too much away, I signed up to make a short wrap coat. The line drawing is great and her sample is just gorgeous. I ordered fabric and it's on it's way. I chose a wool gauze in a lovely, deep red and a dark purple for the lining. I just got the email this morning that it had finally shipped. 'Bout damn time! I was getting a little panic-y about not having it here in time hence, the thrift shop run.

Well, that's my awesomeness for the week. Do you all have any awesomeness to share?

Oh yes, the word for today is awesome. See how many times you can use it!

Go ask Alice...

Ta daaaa....

I had a wonderful time last night! My husband's band rocked the house and my feet and legs are killing me from dancing all night. The four inch heels probably didn't help matters either! I got lots of compliments on my costume and was a runner up in the "Most Original Costume" contest.

Right now I'm exhausted and will probably go take a nap soon! Hope everyone had an enjoyable evening as well!

A Bra for Amy

When my friend Amy found out I was making my own bras she asked if I could do the same for her. Of course I said "heck YES!!!" After a few failed fitting attempts I had her try on a bra I had just made myself using the Queen Elite from Needle Nook (see side bar for link). The band was too big but the cups fit fairly well, being a smidge too big for her, and the wire size was perfect. Using this information I traced off the next smaller cup than what I used. I used the same pattern piece for the underwire and shortened the back to basically make it a size 32 band. I made an ivory colored trial bra and I think it fit her really well. I gave it to her so she could wear it and see how it really fit. She said it was a winner so I made her a "real" bra in black. The fabrics and notions are also from Needle Nook. The stretch lace was some I got in a bundle off Ebay. Here you can see it on my dress form:


The cups look all wonky because the bra doesn't fit my "model". It kinda gives you a better idea of what it looks like than if it was just laying on my cutting table. Trust me, I tried this....

Something else I added was a power bar. This is a little something new. I've read about it in my bra making books but hadn't tried it yet. Power bars are used kind of as an inner sling to provide uplift. This is especially important to us curvy gals. I really like how it turned out and will do this to my own next time. You can see it here:



Okay, sorry for all the technical sewing gobbledygook. I know a lot of you sew bras too so you'll get me. ;-D This is also an attest to how perserverance pays off. I just want to make sure all you budding bra-makers out there (Andrea, I'm talkin' to you!) don't give up! It can get frustrating for sure but the hard work really pays off. I learned a lot by fitting someone else, too. I really enjoyed the process and hope I can do it again. Hey, maybe this is the start of a lucrative career for me. That would be awesome! Spending all day sewing....and playing with pretty fabric and lace... hell YEAH!

It is Alice!

Voting is closed! Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote. I think this will be a fun costume and definitely something different for me. I usually gravitate more towards the witch/vampire genre for Halloween. I have a few custom items to finish up sewing and then I'll get started. I'll be sure to post a picture or two when I'm finished!

Thanks again!
Heather

Looks like it's Alice!

Just 6 more days to vote! From the way it looks here and over on Facebook we're leaning towards Alice, though. I think she'll need to be a little bit naughty and a little bit nice....kinda like me! ;-D I found the cutest shoes, too:

Women's Queen of Hearts Heel

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Halloween Help!

I'm having a bit of a dilemma over here. My husband's band has a gig on Halloween night and of course it's also a costume party. I'm having the hardest time trying to figure out what I want to go as. I was thinking of going with Alice in Wonderland and then hubby said why not the Mad Hatter. Grrr.... SO, I'm gonna ask y'all for some help! I put a little poll over in side bar so be sure to vote! It will end October 7th at 12:01 AM Central. I figure that'll give me plenty of time to sew it up. I have this pattern to use:

I'll be lengthening the skirt so it hits at the knee. I want it a little sexy but mid-thigh is a bit much for me. Another option for me is Simpilcity 2547. We have a Wizard of Oz museum here in town so that always works. If you have any other ideas for costumes be sure to leave them in the comments. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!
Thanks in advance y'all!!!

I know, I'm sorry....

I haven't updated this baby in a super long time! Ugh! I've just been totally bogged down lately with a big custom order and a sick child. She's pretty much well now but was home from school for almost 2 weeks with bronchitis and a throat and sinus infection. Yuck, poor baby! It *almost* turned into pneumonia and thank goodness it did not.

I'm almost finished with the custom order but I ran out of the ribbon so I'm waiting on more of that. I did make some progress on the bra I'm making for my friend Amy (Hi Amy!). The last fitting went really well, I think. We're getting closer to a good fit.

I finished my black and red Danglez bra and a nude Queen Elite some time ago. I think I've finally got a good fit with the QE. The red and black fits good but I think I need to tweek the cups just a tad. There's just something not quite right yet. I might stop sewing bras for myself for just a bit since I've upped my exercise routine and will hopefully start losing weight again. I joined an aqua aerobics class and I still swim in the morning with DH. I love this class though! It's really fun and everyone is sooo nice. It's at our local community college and I was so worried it was going to be full of cute-n-tiny college girls. Well, I'm the youngest by at least 20 years and there are all sizes. Yay!

I have no pictures of the new bras as my camera is sorta jacked up at the moment. It's dying and just needs to be replaced. I can borrow DD's so I can at least post some pics here and at PR.

Well, I better go and get busy. I rearranged my living room yesterday and just have a few more books to put away and need to vacuum under the couch.

*Oh* I have to tell you all that hubby and I just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on Sept. 1st! I cannot believe it has been that long, it's gone by so fast. I've been with him since I was 16! How does he put up with me?!

Have a great weekend!

Sports bra prototype

Well, I already posted this over at PR and on the lingerie sew-along I belong to but I thought I might share it over here too. I think my mom reads this sometimes so she can get a sneaky peak! (Hi Mom!)

Most women can attest that as soon as they find the perfect RTW bra it becomes discontinued by the manufacturer shortly thereafter. Well, this happened to Mom recently. So frustrating, isn't it?! Anyhoo, I had her give me one of her older, worn out bras to see if I could replicate it for her. This is the prototype I came up with:

The original is a sports bra with molded cups. I used the method suggested in Beverly Johnson's book about laying pieces out on a foam board and then using pins to "trace" around all the parts. I folded the cups in half until they laid flat and made a 2 piece cup from that. Here are the pattern pieces I came up with:

This was the first time I attempted copying a RTW bra and it went quite well. Faster than I expected. It sewed up extremely fast too which is fantastic! If it fits her I can whip her up a drawer full in a day! Cool! You can get a better idea of the style here on the form:

The original also has a power bar which I traced off but did not add to this bra. If everything fits I will add it next time. This here is just one layer of a heavyweight Victoria's Secret Satin that I got from Kathy's Lace & Elastic Outlet (see side bar for link). She get's fabric from them every once in awhile and I was lucky enough to snag this.

I'm currently working on a bra for me! I really need some more and this one is going to be red and black. Va va vavoom! I have quite a bit of red 50 denier tricot I bought from Needle Nook so that's what I'm using for the cups. Well, the top cups are going to be from black and red lace I got from Elingeria in a grab bag. It should be cute and maybe a little sassy....

Well, I'm off to get laundry started and load the dishwasher. Gotta get this joint cleaned up a bit!

Have a great Monday!

Oh, on an end note... Here is another hightlight from Colorado!

The dinosaur museum in Woodland Park was actually the first thing we did after checking in to our room. I had forgotten! My son LOVES the dinos so it was a highlight. Here's a funny tidbit: another little boy came up to Conner and told him not to touch the bones and that there was a sign that said "Do Not Touch" (I'm guessing he had heard this a few times himself). Well, Conner didn't like that too much so after the boy walked away he promptly turned to his daddy and said: "The dinosaur bones come alive and eat that boy!!" How stinkin' cute is that!? Somewhat violent....but funny, and a good story to tell!

Home!

Well, we're back. We actually got home late Thursday. And can I just say, I feel like shit! I caught some kind of cough while we were there and it really sucks! I'm feeling a little better today though so that's good. We had the best time and I really didn't want to come home. You know, back to the real world of laundry and dishes. We crammed so much into the 5 days we were there. It rained on us 4 out 5 of those days but it was cool 'cause we got everything done in the morning and the rain didn't come till the late afternoon. Well, except on Saturday. We got to our motel pretty early and decided to go check out the Garden of the Gods. The picture above is from there. It is just gorgeous there and we went walking around and hiking on the little trails. The sky started rumbling over the mountains and we saw lighting far off. We decided to make our way back to our car and, of course, it starts sprinkling. Then comes the downpour! So, everyone in the park runs screaming towards the rocks to find shelter. We were completely soaked through! It was fun though. Probably when I caught this damn cold.

More highlights to come!

In vacation mode!

Tomorrow we are off to Colorado for 6 days! Whoohoo! I haven't been in several years and I can't wait to get back. My little family has never seen the mountains so it should be exciting for them, too. We're going to be in the Colorado Springs area and see all there is to see (well, a lot of it anyway). Plus, it's hopefully a lot cooler there. It's supposed to be like 109 here or some such bulls@#t. Man, I hate hot weather!

I'll see y'all on the flip side!!!

It was time....

My son's hair has been long for the past few years. Ranging in length from just below his ears to past his shoulders. We had a new family move in next door recently and they have a little boy who is just a teensy bit older than our li'l guy. Well, they hit it off, of course, and soon Conner was saying he wanted short hair like his new friend's. Oh, uuummmmm.....okay. Well, this went on for a few weeks and we kept asking him if he really wanted to get his hair cut short. He continued to answer in the same way: "Yes!" I think we were asking ourselves if we wanted him to have short hair, really. My husband and I love his long hair! So, a few days ago I gave him a trim and cut about 2 inches off his hair (I've been his barber since birth) to just below his ears. Well, that just wasn't enough for him! He wanted it short like his friend's. Oooookay.... we made the decision to take him to a real barber, the same barber that gave my husband his first haircut and subsequent haircuts as a child and adult (now he just shaves it all off), partly because I'm not a trained hairstylist and because I didn't want to start crying in the middle of cutting his hair and really screw it up. I made my husband take him. I just couldn't. My daughter and I went the the grocery store and the boys went to the barber. Gene took the camer along to document this most monumental occasion.

SO, here he is at the barber's smiling big. That's Jerry the Barber in the background.

Whoa...here goes!

Sorta Emo now.

Making the spikies. Conner calls it 'making his hair sharp'.

Ta Daaa!

When we got home from the store they were already back and he came running to the car. Meghan and I both squealed (literally) "OMG, He's soooo CUTE!!!" The neighbor across the street was outside watering his flowers and he probably thought we were half crazed! He looks so different, though. I was nervous but I really love it!

Love ya big guy!