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!

Colette Beignet

I finally got my review up on Pattern Review for my Beignet skirt. I still haven't made the belt but, oh well! I thought I'd post my review here, too. And can I just say that I never realize just how big my rack is until I see pictures of myself! I mean, good grief.... Okay, sorry, TMI.

Pattern Description:

From website:

High waisted straight skirt provides a very flattering shape with paneled styling: not too loose or too tight around the hips, with a very fitted waist. Buttons up the front, has side seam pockets, and includes a self tie belt, which can be swapped out for your own narrow belts. Skirt has a faced waist, button placket and full lining.

Pattern Sizing:

0-18. Sizes run similar to RTW.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?


I think it looked pretty close considering I'm a bit more on the ample side! LOL!



Were the instructions easy to follow?


Oh, the instuctions are great! Seriously, I think that a beginner could easily follow along. Plus, Sarai has a glossary in the back with some of the sewing terms she uses throughout. The diagrams are wonderful, too!



What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?


This pattern is so well written and beginner friendly! It has quite a few pattern pieces including all the lining pieces but I really found it to go together quickly. The subtle shaping at the waist and hip just skims over the body and it fits so nicely!
Back.
Another front view.
It also comes in an adorable little booklet format and it's binding is, fittingly, stitched! CUTE!



Fabric & Notions Used:


I used a peach-y/coral-y cotton twill I found at the thrift shop last summer. The lining is just some white nylon tricot. The buttons are some big ol' fat buttons that came in one of those big button grab bag kinda things you can buy at Hobby Lobby and the like. I couldn't believe I had twelve of the exact same button. They are a bit too thick though and are more intended for a coat or something. Next time I'll use a smaller button. Do be sure to read through the pattern to see what all you'll need. I noticed the supply list on the back has a few errors. I'm sure it will be fixed in the next printing but just thought I'd put that out there for ya!



Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:


This pattern goes up to an 18 and my measurements would put me at a 20 if the sizes had continued on. Each size increases by about 1/4" so I just added that much to each piece where the sizes graduated up and not to every seam. Does that make sense?? One thing I should mention, too, is that although the pattern calls for 2 1/2 yards of fabric I used maybe 1 1/2 yds or just a tad more. The extra length printed on the pattern is due to the length of the self tie belt. If you piece the belt instead of cut it as one long piece you should be good to go with less fabric. (I still need to make the belt, btw. I just haven't gotten around to it.)I was also able to squish the pattern pieces closer together using even less fabric.



Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?


Oh yes, I'd really like to make this again. This was more or less a test garment to see if I'd like this shape on me. I don't normally wear skirts this short but I think it looks okay on me! I do recommend it as well! I think this style will look great on lots of different body shapes.



Conclusion:


This is an awesome new independant pattern line and the designer, Sarai, is super sweet! I love all her designs and have most of them so far. Go out and support our independant designers!!!

Ugly skirt finished!

Whew! I got my entry posted right under the wire! Today's the last day to enter. I know I won't win since there are some really great entries so far and far better than mine. It was fun though and a great way to use up some fabric that's been sittin' around.

The colors are a bit more geared towards Fall but it's cute enought with sandals. I look forward to wearing it this Fall/Winter with tights and boots!

Ugly fabric...?

I've joined the Ugly Fabric Contest over at Pattern Review and here is my ugly fabric:

It's dated 1971 and I purchased it from my local thrift store some time ago. I'm thinkin' like a year or so. As I mentioned over on PR, I always gravitate towards the funky fabrics. If it's wild and crazy it must be mine! This here has a light canvas-y feel and I think it will be perfect for an A-line skirt. The contest ends June 30th so I need to get busy. I can probably whip it up in a day so I should be okay. I have a TNT A-line skirt pattern already so I should be good to go.

Tomorrow is our Goodbye/Happy Trip to France party for my sister and her family at my mom's. They won't be moving until August but this will be last time they come to Kansas for a long while. We'll throw a little Happy Father's Day love around too since tomorrow is Father's Day and all and there will be 3 or more daddy-os there.

I hope all the Daddies out there have a wonderful day tomorrow!

I'm Home!

And completely exhausted! The drive home seemed to take a lot longer and was much more tiring than the drive to Ohio. Isn't that always how it is though? We had a good time going to Akron Zoo and a really cool park in Medina. I got to go to JoAnn's one day while my mom stayed at home with the kids, bless her. The rest of the time was spent hangin' around the house. It got a little wild at times what with 5 kids under 12 and a very large puppy but that's okay.

My trip to JoAnn's proved fruitful. I purchased a few fabrics to make some summer dresses. I'd like to get them done before we leave for Colorado but I'm not sure if that's happenin'. They had a sale going on so that was good. I'll post some pictures later after I've more time to decompress.

I must say I'm glad to be home! ;-)

Off to Ohio!

Well, I'm off to Ohio with a pit stop in Pratt, KS to pick up my mom. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll return alive if not insane. Wish me luck with my two wild and cranky kids in a truck for like 16 hours. At least we're stopping in Indiana for a night.

I'm planning on being a good girl with my eating and exercising. I've lost 8 lbs so far! ROCK ON!!! I'm finally starting to see results in how my clothes fit. That always seems to be the biggest boost for me. I'd like to continue swimming while I'm gone and I think my sister said they have a YMCA or something. If not, I want to at least go for walks. I reeeally want to stay away from fast food, too. I haven't eaten it in so long that I don't crave it anymore and the thought of it kinda turns my stomach. This is a good thing, though. I used to scarf McDonald's a lot. NOT a good thing!

I'm not planning on being a good girl when it comes to fabric buying though! teehee! I want to find some fabric to make a maxi dress....or two.

Well, I better get going. Gotta finish up my packing and laundry.

See y'all in about two weeks!