Ottobre outfit finished!

I finished up the outfit for the little girl I've been babysitting. I've mentioned before that her daddy lost his job last year so they can't afford to buy her a lot of extras. She's growing like a weed as most little ones tend to do so I thought I'd make her a few things. I forgot how much I love making clothes for little kids! Especially little girl clothes....since my little girl doesn't want me making her clothes anymore. Well, except bras, panties and jammies. I was measuring her for undies recently and she asked why I needed her waist and hip measurement. I said, "It's for the panties. Why? Do you want me to make you something?!" She promptly replied, "NO!!". That "no" had an incredulous tone to it so I figure that I should just be happy making her undies. That ship done sailed, I guess.

Anyhoo, on to the outfit.

The top is Ottobre 1/2010 #2A or the "Kamomilla" T-shirt. Dress is also Ottobre from the 1/2009 issue. It's design #8 called the "Babushka" pinafore. I left off the frill though. The pants are the "Saimi" sweatpants I mentioned in the last post.

I like how it turned out and Miz K just loves it. When we were putting it on my son chimed in that she looked like a zebra, in a good way (This was before we got the dress on). I'm not sure how I like all the stripes either. It's sort of too Prison Chic for me. I may make her some different leggings to go under the dress and a different top to go with the striped pants. I have a red and white polka dot top I made for myself and every time I wear it she always pets it and oooo's and ahhh's over it. I'm sure I have enough leftover to make her a little top!

I did make a couple of stupid mistakes. I swear I can be such a dummy but that's what you get for sewing whilst tired. One of the reasons I picked the top was the sweet little gathering in the front. When I attached the binding do you think I remembered to make the gathers? Hell no! There was no way I was going to rip it all out and it turned out fine. The neckline is not too big, thank goodness! For the pinafore I fussy cut the front piece so the hippy chic, flowers, and bubbles were all nice and centered. It looked good! I assembled everything and got all the top stitching done. Then.... I realized I had attached the back shoulder straps to the front skirt piece and vice versa! DOH! I got very lucky in that the back, even though I haphazardly cut it out, had the girl's face and hair in all it's entirety and the flowers and bubbles filled the rest of the space. At least she'll look cute coming and going! LOL! Like that could be hard, you see those white-blond curls! She's a doll!

If you're curious, the fabric for the pinafore is By Robert Kaufman and it's called "Lucky Girl". I'm not sure if it's discontinued or not. I've had it in my stash for at least a couple of years.

Don't forget to enter the Giveaway! You have until Monday, March 1st and I keep adding extras to the pile! *wink*wink*

A Call to My Sewing Sisters and Brothers!

Okay, I know a lot of you out there are vintage freaks just like me! I acquired this pattern awhile back off Ebay but I haven't been able to find out ANYTHING about Blue-and-White patterns!

As you can see, they are quite literally blue and white:

From the pattern cover I see that it comes from the Woman's Home Companion Magazine that was in production from 1873 to 1957. I was just wanting to maybe date the pattern and see if anyone else knows anything about Blue-and-White patterns. I haven't seen any others before or since.

Up next on the cutting board, so to speak, is an outfit for my friends' daughter. The pants are Ottobre 1/2009 #16 or the "Saimi" sweatpants. The pattern is super easy and I love one piece pants for kids. They fit her really well and she was so excited about them! I feel a stack-and-whack comin' on. For all my fellow Chez Ami fabric lovers out there, I used their black and white stripe jersey and red rib knit! Is their fabric not the best?! The groovy pink fabric is a twill that will be a jumper or pinafore of some kind (I think I bought it on Ebay). I've gotta search my magazines for a pattern to use.

I have to add that I just LOVE reading all of your crowning achievements! It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. I may have to do this more often! Keep 'em comin'!

xoxo,
Heather

First Ever GIVEAWAY!

Okay, y'all! As promised I'm going to have a giveaway to commemorate my 5th Blogiversary and my birthday. The Blogiversary is on Feb 26th and my B-Day is Mar 1st!

What are ye gonna get? Well, everything in the above picture! You know my love of underpinnings by now so of course it has to be lingerie themed. It includes a simple muti-sized pattern for a slip, suitable for a beginner. It's a vintage Sew Lovely and has never even been opened. Cool! I also think that you can size it up easily if you need to. Also, enough peach nylon tricot to make the largest size (There is probably enough that you could even make a matching pair of panties! This stuff is like 100"+ wide!) and a selection of stretch lace to adorn your lovely new garment with. I might even throw something a little extra in there. I love surprises, don't you!


Okie dokie, the details are:

1. You must leave a comment here on the blog or email me privately between now and March 1st, 2010. lil-miss-muffett@sbcglobal.net

2. I want you to tell me your most crowning sewing or crafting achievment! If you don't have one tell me something that you've done or has happened to you that is super cool. Anything goes! You shagged Tom Cruise? I wanna know! LOL!

3. The giveaway is open to my international readers too!

That's it! Pretty simple. I'll use one of those random generator thingies to choose the winner and I'll announce it on Tuesday, March 2nd.

Let the games begin!

Stay Tuned....

I've been thinking about doing a giveaway! Yes, a GIVEAWAY! I love it when people do that. I just got a pattern from Pattern Junkie and that was pretty cool. I'm coming up on my, believe it or not, 5th Blogiversary *!* and it's also my birthday next week! I really can't believe I've been blogging, on and off, for FIVE freakin' years! So, to commemorate this outstanding achievement of mine I want to give some crap away! Well, it's not crap... I'm thinking something along the lines of a vintage pattern or two. Maybe something else thrown in there? I dunno yet. Details to follow shortly!!!

I am going to start listing some patterns on Etsy soon like I mentioned in my last post. I'll probably try to do a few at a time. Start savin' yer money now girls and boys...

Bustin' Some Stash!

I just read about Zoe's stash busting over at the Colette Patterns Blog and thought it sounded like a grand idea! I have absolutely NO extra cash for buying new fabrics and certainly not any extra space so I think I'm going to join along with my other sewing sisters who are also diving in! I have so much fabric it shouldn't be a problem! I've posted the little graphic in my side bar over there. I'm also thinking about going through my pattern stash and selling some of them off. I have quite a few vintage patterns that I will never use and it would be nice for them to have a new home where they can see the light of day. Keep your eyes peeled for that. I'll be listing them on my etsy shop!

In sewing news, I did NOT finish my bra and panty set for the Lingerie Contest at Pattern Review. I've just had too much going on. They are both cut out and hopefully I can get it finished this week! I'm babysitting again so I probably won't get anything done today. Here's a little sneaky peek:

Recipe to come later

Well, if you're at all interested in the recipes I've been posting it'll be just a bit before I can get another posted. I spent the majority of yesterday with my elderly Mother-in-Law and today I'm babysitting for some friends. I hear the kids (aged 5 and 2 1/2) talking about jumping on beds so I better go investigate!

Bra sewing again!

I've finally carved out a little time to make myself some new bras! All of mine are getting worn out and after having several conversations about bra making with Kristin, my juices got flowing to make some. Also, Pattern Review is holding a Lingerie Contest. It ends Feb. 14th and I thought I should get busy! LOL! The bra above is a mock up of one of my custom drafted Danglez patterns. If you look closely you can get a glimpse of the fabric I'm using for the contest piece. It's a really fun animal print with swirls and little silver paillette thingies. This bra has a diagonal seam cup and I just love how it fits! The details are more visible here on my dress form:

I wore it all day yesterday and didn't have to tug or adjust and I just love that! The contest bra is proving to be a little bit more difficult than the trial bra. It just sort of sewed itself. The print fabric is really stretchy and lightweight, almost to the point of being a mesh. Needless to say, it has to be fully lined and that makes things fussy. I'll cut a panty or two to go with it. Hopefully, I can get it all done before the weekend!

Some sewing, believe it or not!

Yes, I do sew! Imagine that!

Here are some before and after photos of Ottobre 5/2007 Design #12A. The fabric I used was some Bamboo/Cotton/Lycra and it is extremely soft and has a lot of drape. Unfortunately, it shows every bump that lies underneath it. Not so good when you're a big girl. Anyhoo, I think that with the fabric containing Lycra and being so drapey it really stretches when wearing. The top came out much longer than I had intended and it just looked plain sloppy!

I trimmed it up quite a bit so it rested about mid hip and then added the ruching as described in the instructions for this pattern.

It's a little more flattering now and in the last photo you can see the ruching. I think that helps add a little shaping to the sides.

On a most exciting note: I fixed my serger! All. by. myself. Well, I had an assistant who ran and got me screwdrivers and compressed air and got in my way a bit (I'm not, ahem, talking about kids here either....) but for the most part I did it myself! I was having a problem with the fabric not feeding through and could feel/see that the back feed dogs were really loose. It was just a matter of tightening two little screws but the getting to those screws proved rather difficult. It only took about 30 minutes and now I'm back in business. Plus, it saved me quite a bit of money. Yay!

Have a lovely week!

Recipe Thursday: Face and Body Sugar Scrub

Er...I guess I should say Recipe Friday. Oh well, better late than never! Although, I believe this is about 3 WEEKS late!! Maybe more, I quit counting.

Anyhoo, this is a wonderful scrub that you can even use on your face! It's really simple to make and leave the skin silky soft. You can make this using organic or regular sugar, whatever you have on hand. I'm using regular for this batch since I just didn't have the cash for the "good" stuff! :-D

Face and Body Sugar Scrub

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Cup White Sugar

Sweet Almond Oil (or any other light vegetable oil. Olive oil is particularly wonderful for moisturizing the skin and grapeseed is excellent.)

Essential Oil of your choice (I'm using orange and vanilla essential oils this time. Other good choices are lavender, lemon, lemongrass, ginger, rosemary, geranium, jasmine, rose, etc. Pretty much whatever you like and can use.)

Gather your ingredients.

Mix up the sugars in a large bowl and start adding the oil slowly, stirring every so often until the mixture becomes kind of think and paste-y.

It should end up looking like this.

Now, you begin adding your essential oils. Just a little at a time until you get the fragrance you want. I found that about 1/2 teaspoon each of the vanilla and orange was plenty.

It's always nice to have a test sniffer handy!

When everything is just right, you can start loading up your container. I'm recycling a container here but you can use canning jars or even baby food jars, whatever. That could make a really cute little gift! I'm thinking bridal and baby showers, gift baskets, etc. This makes a pretty good amount and my jar is not big enough to hold it all so you might be sure to have an extra container on hand just in case.

Ta Da! Now you have some lovely scrubby goodness.

To use: Scoop up a palm full and rub all over skin. Use a little more on dry areas like feet, hand elbows. If you use on face rub gently. Rinse well. Also, be careful in the shower, it can make the floor slick! You may notice the oil separates, just shake your container well before opening and using.

Enjoy!

Thrown for a loop!

I have had so much crap happen in the past few weeks I can't even believe it! It really threw me for a loop and completely off track. I was doing so good with posting here. I have a recipe lined up for Thursday believe it or not. I really want to get back to that since I've missed the past two. This one will be another yummy bath and body recipe! Speaking of, has anyone tried any of the recipes I've posted? B&B or food? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Anyhoo, I have a custom panty order (3 pairs! YAY!) to get working on and a friend wants me to make her a lingerie set for Valentine's Day. That should be fun! Have you ever had a friend that you know is wearing the wrong bra size and you just want to shake her and say so? Yes, well, she's my friend like that so I'm kinda excited about getting her tricked out properly and telling her what her true bra size is. I know she's gonna freak 'cause I'm thinkin' her boobs are bigger than mine, which is really saying something, and she seems a bit in denial about this. The other day she came over wearing no bra because all of hers were in the wash. I would never-ever-ever-ever go anywhere without a bra. Maybe if I was a 34B but since I'm a 38J, no way sistah! I'd put an eye out.



Alright, clearly I'm rambling today. I need to get to work anyway!

Have a good one!

Oh! And as a parting shot, I came across this Elvgren Pin-up the other day and thought it was so pretty I just wanted to share! He is one of my most favorite pin-up artists ever!

Back Online!

We finally got our new computer last night! I have felt so very out of touch this past week. It's our only source of information since we don't have cable or satellite TV. I just found about Haiti yesterday! To top it all off, my Mother-in-Law suddenly fell quite ill and we were rushing to Doctor and then hospital. All is well with her now, thank heavens! All I can say is, what else is next! I'm beginning to think this is all some sort of cosmic joke and I've just about had enough. Hopefully, I can get caught up on housework in the next few days and get back to sewing! I've missed being near my sewing machine something terrible. The new semester for my aqua aerobics class started Monday and I haven't even been once so I'm feeling kinda bad about that too. I need to get my booty shakin' and get some work done.

I hope you all are doing much better than me!
Take it easy!
Heather

Crashed!

My computer at home crashed so I'm on my husband's 'puter at his office. Won't get a recipe up today. Sorry! Hopefully, we can find a new computer tomorrow. I'm already jonesing! How does one become so addicted to a stupid computer?! Anyhoo, I'll catch you all on the flip-side!

xoxo,
Heather

Crafting Cleanse

I have to sell some stuff. That seems like it might suck but it's really not so bad. Taxes this year are going to eat our lunch so the hubster and I are putting a bunch of our goods up for sale. It kinda sucks. Then again, it's cleansing. I have a pottery wheel and kiln that haven't been touched in FOREVER! I still love to make pottery, don't get me wrong, but whenever I go out into the garage and see that stuff setting there I feel guilty for not loving it properly (for example, USING IT!!!). So out it goes to a new home where it will be loved properly. I have lots of books I'll never use and yarn I'll never knit up, etc. It will feel good to purge all the clutter and make more room for my sewing. It's what I'm most obsessed with and always have been since I was a kid. Hopefully, it will clear a lot of the clutter in my brain as well. I want to do so many things but don't have the time, so I get all overwhelmed and don't do any of it!

I'm also trying to get organized! Ha! I've subscribed to the Fly Lady in hopes she'll get me whipped into shape. I love her ideas so far. It is so very hard to make new routines, though! The first step is "Shining Your Sink" and I can't even get past that yet! LOL! As you all know, I hate cleaning so this is a real challenge for me.

Alright! No more sob story! I'm off to get busy....

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!