Breaking of the Pattern Fast

Well, I did it. I broke my self imposed fast of all things sewing related. I couldn't help it. I've been wanting to try this pattern for my boy and with some of the money I got for that very last custom garment I bought it, dang it! It's the Beach Bum Hoodie and Board Shorts from Patterns by Figgy's. I've got it laid out and I'll get it traced today or tomorrow. I have a few appointments this week so I hope I can get it done soon. My daughter is calling it "Teeth Week" since she has a dentist appt. today, me tomorrow, and then her Orthodontist on Thursday. Goodness! I want to get busy on that Butterick pattern mentioned in my last post too.

I also want to thank everyone who left comments about my McCall's blouse! You all are awesome!

Weekend Sewing!

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the mommies out there. I actually got to sew this weekend! I finished this McCall's 5640 this morning and I'm wearing it today. It is quite comfortable if not a little Muu-muu-esque. Seriously, the ease in this puppy is redonkulous. According to my full bust measurement I should have made a 26 but it has, get this, 19" of ease. 19"!! I opted to go the route of using my upper bust measurement and the finished garment measurements to choose my size and with that I made the 18. It fits pretty good but the neckline is still a bit wide. Can you imagine if I had made the 26?! It would have been falling off my shoulders!! Good grief! There is one problem that my 5 year old son so lovingly pointed out while I was bent over in front of him, helping him into his shoes. He said, "Mom, I can see your bra...". Thanks, babe. So, it does gap open when I'm bending over. I may need to think about wearing a cami underneath.

Anyhoo, I made view "C" which is the top. I didn't have enough of this fabric to make the dress and I was really afraid a dress would have looked exactly like a Muu-muu anyway. I used a medium-weight quilting cotton that I bought last year, I think from Hobby Lobby? Maybe...? I dunno. It's a pretty aqua with vine-y swirls in cream and a dark purple/wine color.

The neckband is in a coordinating fabric:

I didn't even use interfacing like it says...'cause I'm out. I think it'll be okay though. The fabric is thick enough (I'm hoping). I'll be doing up a review for Pattern Review since I had the sizing issue and all. I thought it might be helpful to warn others about the insanity.

Up next on the chopping block is Butterick 5195. It's another one that I've read has an insane amount of ease so I'll be doing the same thing I did with this last top. I'm wanting to make view "A" but the drawing on the front is quite misleading. It shows a woman with sleeves that hit her above the elbow but the photo of the woman wearing view "B" (which is the same but lengthened into a dress) shows a more 3/4 length. What's wrong with these crazy illustrators? I'll be making a sort of morph between views "A" and "C". I'm still deciding on what fabric I'm going to use. I have some that I bought at the thrift store but I'm afraid it might look too much like lingerie so I may rethink it! I'll post more soon!

Happy Monday!

The Beginning of My Selfish Seamstress-ness

Yes, I made something for me again! This is my TNT Simplicity 3835 (view C): the Built by Wendy pattern that everybody made and loved a few years ago. This is the 4th time I've made this up and I love it still. It's fast, easy and fits! I wanted to make something yesterday and found myself somewhat paralized by my new freedom. What was I going to sew?! I'm pooped out on bras, panties, and other lingerie and I really need some tops for Summer. I was digging through my plethora of patterns and came across this one and it's about as close to instant gratification sewing as you can get. I found some coral seersucker in my stash and away we went. It's so nice and light and perfect for the warm weather we've been having. I did make adjustments to the pattern the last time I made this in the way of FBA and increasing sleeve width. The first two time I made it straight and added width to the center front and back seam. I like the FBA better though because it gives a better fit. I did pivot the center front hem away from the fold about 1 1/2" to add more room for my tummy. I don't know if that makes sense now that I re-read that....sorry! Oh, I don't sew a back seam like it instructs either. I cut the back on the fold and that extra gives more room for mah booty.

Up next I think I might make this:

This one is McCall's 5640 and it looks comfy. The style is pretty similar so I'm hoping it'll look good on. I'll just need to decide if I want a top or dress!

Custom Nightie

I finished up my last custom order today! Yipee! LOL! This was a recreation of a gown that my friend's mom loved but couldn't find a replacement. Her gown is 14 years old and very loved (aka worn out!). Anyhoo, she brought me the gown after much hulabaloo (it was meant to be a surprise but it didn't happen that way, darnnit) and I made a pattern from it. I think, all in all, it turned out pretty well. I hope her mom loves it and wears it for 14 years!

A New Weakness

Have you seen this?

Y'all know my love of lingerie and I'm so weak right now! I can't buy it 'cause I don't have any money anyway...I'm adding this to my wish list though! I just came across this the other day when Mikhaela talked about the lady behind the patterns. She's an illustrator so that bumps her up in my book by about a billion notches. If you're plus sized and love vintage definitely check out her vintage repro pattern line. So cool!

Mornin'!

Good Morning party people!

No, I'm not really a party-er. We were all in bed by 9:30 last night. Whoohoo! We had a busy weekend though. I took my COMPASS test and we had two birthday parties. The big man attended one for our 6 year old neighbor Saturday. Conner and this boy seem to have a love/hate relationship. The Birthday Boy was apparently pushing Conner around/showing off all afternoon. Conner finally had enough and punched him in the face. Um. Yeah. He punched the Birthday Boy in the face. Said boy really can be a mean little jerk to Conner so we didn't really punish Mr. C too harshly. That may sound horrible but I bet he never pushes Conner around again. Or at least that is our hope. Call me a bad mom, it's okay... The other party was a surprise for my MIL's best friend on Sunday. She's turning 90!

My test went pretty good. It's divided up into three parts: Reading, Writing, and Math. I scored a 99 on both the Reading and Writing. The Math was not so good... I got an 88 on the Pre-Algebra portion but a 25 on the College Algebra. Yikes! My adviser said I need to pass up to beginning Algebra to not have to take a math course. I'm really hoping that 88 will be good enough....

I have no pictures today. I haven't been sewing much. My mojo has gone kaput. I have a custom ordered nightgown to finish up before Mother's Day and then I will be done with sewing for others. Honestly, it's a relief! I think I'm going to start adopting some of the Selfish Seamstress' ideals. I'm going to sew for me and my family and that's about it. Screw everyone else! LOL!

Happy Monday!

More Test Sewing and Mabe Some Jeans?

As I mentioned before I'm testing one of the two new Colette patterns coming out soon! My results are due today so i need to get crackin'! Don't worry, I'm really almost done! I also read that Pattern Review is having another Jeans Sew-Along. I'm thinking of joining or at least following along. Believe it or not, I've never made myself a real pair of jeans! I've made capris with a fly opening and made my DD some shorts that have jeans stylings but I've never made myself a pair of jeans! I have plenty of denim so that's not an issue. I have lots of jeans zippers from the thrift store too. I think I have everything I need now I just need to find the guts to do it! LOL!

On a side note: My friend who lost his job found full time work! YAY! So now I'm watching their girl full time on through the summer till I start school. I'll probably be sewing for her a bit more. It is oh-so-much fun making little things!

Fresh Cream Bra For Kim

I finished a bra up for my friend last week and wanted to share it! Following are some super crappy pictures but still...
I used Danglez DB3 and ended up having to take little tucks in the top cup like I did for my pink bra. I really thought it was going to work for her since she's bigger than me. Oh well!

The tucks don't show here 'cause I took this picture before she tried it on. I sewed the tucks and then gave it to her before I could photograph it again. Sorry! I'm lame!

It's not the best sewing job ever and for some reason my machine decided to dick around with me for awhile. I kept having to rip out the zigzag stitches because they were seriously messed up on the bottom/bobbin side. I mean like totally wacked up! I think some little fingers had been messing with the tension or something. I fixed it though (I think). The fit turned out pretty good. The bottom cups fit her well but we couldn't get the wires to sit against her breast bone. I didn't see her in it after I took the tucks so maybe that helped some. She likes it so that's good!

Happy Friday!

Recipe Thursday: Spring Fling Cake!

This is the best cake. Ever. Seriously. It's light, moist, easy, and oh-so-delish. I just made this for Easter Dinner but made another for dinner tonight since my husband's aunt is going to be in town. When I realized it was Thursday I thought I would post it for my most neglected Recipe Thursday. Sorry about that y'all!

Spring Fling Cake

Cake

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix

4 Eggs

1 11oz. can Mandarin Oranges (don't drain)

1/2 Cup Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Prepare 3 round cake pans by greasing well. Beat all ingredients on Medium-High for 2 minutes. It's kinda cool because the oranges get beat to hell and you hardly even know they are in there after it's baked! Pour batter into pans and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure they are done with a toothoick. Transfer cakes to a coolong rack and cool completely.

Icing

3oz. Package Vanilla Instant Pudding

20oz. Can Crushed Pinapple (do not drain)

9oz. Container Cool Whip

Mix the Pudding and Pineapple well and then fold in Cool Whip. Place one cake on a plate and spread with about 1/4 of the Icing. Place another cake on top and ice. Repeat with the last cake. Use the remaining Icing to cover the sides. Be sure to keep this refridgerated!

For the cake I made today I used a 9"x13" baking dish instead of my round cake pans. To do this I just buttered and floured my pan and baked it for 30 minutes. I turned it out on to a cooling rack and then once it was cool transferred it to one of those rectangular Tupperware covered cake thingies. I had plenty of Icing to frost the top and sides. I also used a 20oz. can of madarin oranges instead and counted out 8 for the decoration. I poured the rest into the cake batter. Yummy!

Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

Here comes the Easter Bunny!

For those of you who don't celebrate Easter I wish you a very Happy Spring!!

Quickie!

Alright, get your minds out of the gutter!

Okay, two things:

1. Going to meet with the Nursing Program Director tomorrow morning.

2. More pattern testing for Colette Patterns! Oh, you're all gonna luuuv it! Mwuhahahaaaa....

SQUEEEE!!!

UPDATE: Meeting went really well. I think it's going to take me a little longer to get through it all than I had originally planned but that's okay. it's just the way the program works and I just don't want to be a full time student right now with Conner being so young. It'll all work out in the end!

Thank you guys so much for all your supportive comments!! Y'all are the best!!

Getting Organized...

...and then getting sidetracked! Ahhh...the story of my life! Well, anyhoo, last weekend I decided it was high time I get my shit together and start organizing my fabric and pattern stash. I have a shelf with some (okay, who are we kidding here? I have shelves!) of my fabrics and it always looks a mess. No matter how many times I fold and refold and try to be carefull getting stuff out it all just falls into a damn mess. Awhile back a blog featured a free download to print out your very own fabric wraps. I cannot for the life of me remember where they came from so if you know PLEASE tell me! Ack! That drives me nuts.... So anyway, I got through the messiest shelves. They being the messiest because they contained most of my smaller pieces of fabric from when I was making purses and totes. There was some seriously cute fabric in there that I totally forgot I had! I'm now using those shelves for the awesome pattern boxes my Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas.

Here's where I am so far. And, YES, all of those pattern boxes are FULL!

I have an illness. Leave me alone.

Nice, neat little bundles!

This is next! Eeeek!

Geesh, that is seriously messy! I'm almost too embarrased to post those pics. Egads!

Now on to the reason for my sidetrackedive-ness (yes, that's a word). My li'l guy is growing. He is growing out of his clothes... and his undies! Those size 4 Spongebob's just aren't cuttin' it anymore. Whilst straightening book shelves I came across the undies pattern from That Darn Cat that I bought forever ago and never used. I needed a break from organizing so I thought I'd make up a pair. See what's what. Seriously, this is A Darn Cute Pattern. It's awesome. You can use small bits of fabric and no elastic is involved. The first pair I made promptly went on Little Mister's behind. He loved 'em. In his own words, "I really like my new underwear pants!" When asked if mommy should make him more he exclaimed, "Ooh yeah, you can make me lots!!" Alright, that may sound a bit more dramatic than what really went down but still it's pretty much word for word what he said. Cute! And it made me feel good knowing one of my children still appreciates my sewing capabilities. So seven pairs later.... 

he's all stocked up for now. I'm going to make a few more and that should be good. There are only 5 showing as he's wearing one and the other is in the laundry. You can see on the second pair from the right where I messed up the fly. I used my coverstitch machine to attach the binding, which worked ever-so-awesomely, and I fed the fabric through the wrong way. DOH! He hasn't figured out how to use the fly yet so it's not a big deal. Now I'll need to start in on some for the girl. She walked in while I was finishing up a pair and was like, "Gosh, how many pairs are you making him! Where's mine!" Mehmehmeh, whinewhinewhine... Little brat. So....I'll be working on hers later this week. LOL! Yeah, I'm kinda soft.

In other news, I've decided to go back to school this Fall! Yes, my 34 year old ass is going to be a student again. I'm super excited and totally nervous. Ultimately, I want to go through the Nursing Program our community college offers and it's a really good one from what I understand. Since Conner starts Kindergarten this Fall I'm just going to take the Gen. Ed. classes needed like Human Anatomy and English Comp. to get those out of the way. Then I'll apply to the program next year. The program takes 2 years and then you can call me Nurse Heather!

I'm not planning on getting all wacked out on drugs, tho. ;-D

Something For ME

with really bad pictures because I didn't feel like setting up my "tripod" (which is in fact a chair with books, boxes and whatever else to get it the right height).

This is the Ottobre 2/2007 #2. I've made this before and I really like the fit.

Coverstitch Porn! Mmmmmm... 

On the last top I made I didn't do the sleeve as instructed and just did a straight hem. This time I did but I'm not really sure if I did it right. The instructions kinda confused me (not so hard these days!). I think it looks okay even though it's not lined up perfectly. Ah well..... at least it's another piece of clothing for my steadily dwindling wardrobe! Oh, I used Chez Ami fabric...again.

Another Otto outfit....

and a top for me (in the works)!

I finished this up last week for Miz K. I used the same Kamomilla T-shirt and Saimi Sweatpants patterns. I didn't add the cuff to the pants since they were so long anyway and, stupid me, I forgot to gather the front on that damn neckline! Grr! I did make short sleeves for this one and used clear elastic to make the gathers. I then applied the binding over it all. Can I just say here how much I stinkin' love my coverstitch machine? The binder attachment is so frickin' awesome, too! Anyhoo, the little bow is not attached to the top but is a hair bow I made using scraps. All fabric is from Chez Ami!

The top I'm making myself is from Ottobre Woman and is from the famous 2/2007 issue. I think it's design #2, the 3/4 sleeve Tee. I'm using Chez Ami fabric. Shocking, I know. I've made it once before and I wear that top so often it's really worn out now. I may make a few of these with different sleeve variations since I need tops so badly. It's really pitiful when you reach in your closet and realize your husband has more clothing that you do! In defense of that, I did go through my stuff the other day and I took out everything that was faded or stained, which was most of my wardrobe. I really need to make up a SWAP storyboard!

And the winner is....

Well, before I announce the winner I just wanted to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! for all the birthday wishes. It warmed my heart and made my day!

I'd like to mention that I didn't use the Random.org generator because you have to PAY to use it! Sheesh! (I'm broke, remember?) So, anyway, I decided to make up my own random generator and here it is:

Yes, my random generator is still in his jammies (handmade by his grandma!) and being a bit cheesy....

Randomly generating....

The WINNER!

Congratulations Kim!!! Her proud moment was winning First Prize for a pair of pants she made her niece. Awesome! Just email me with your address and I'll get it out to you pronto, my dear!

Hopefully, this week will be full of more sewing and maybe I can finally get some patterns up on Etsy! Going through all of them and making sure all the pieces are there is kind of a bitch!