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!