2 projects with the help of Betsy

Well, I've been a busy little sewing bee! With Betsy's help (and really inexpensive fabric I purchased a few weeks ago)... I set off making a dress. Little did I know that it would actually turn out well... or that I would like it so much that I would actually wear it... and wear it as my Easter dress!  It was a challenge, though.  When I purchased the material I really didn't pay attention to the material.  It was $1.50 a yard and I bought what was left on the bolt (which was about 3 yards).  It felt like cotton, and I really didn't notice that it had a bit of a sheen to it.  When I got it home and washed it (so that I could put it away and it would be ready whenever I decided to use it) I noticed that it was definitely not 100% cotton... it was a blend, and a super fray-ee blend!  Oh great!

Anyway last Friday, after all the morning chores had been completed I decided I wanted to sew... what to sew?  A dress... why not?!  I went through all my patterns (I have a handful of dresses I've picked up over the years, but nearly all of them I've never attempted)... so I found one that I thought would be flattering and modest at this point in my life, and started combing through my fabric for the design and enough yardage.  I finally decided on this fabric.  My thought was, hey if this sucks, then I really didn't lose any REAL money and hopefully would have learned something during the sewing process.  I pulled the fabric and interfacing and set to cutting.  I should interject here and say that I rather dislike the cutting stage.  Ughhhhhh, this part takes FOREVER!  Over the years I've come to understand why really nice clothes cost so much... LABOR!  So most of the cutting was done when I realized that you would be able to see through the material... NICE, not really that modest after all :-).  So I was going to need to line it (thankfully that was already part of the pattern for the bodice).  Sadly I had not been super careful on my pattern placement, and I really didn't have enough to line the ENTIRE dress.  Hmmmm, what to do.  So I again went through my fabric stash.  I had NO WHITE laying around ANYWHERE!  Crazy I tell you... but I apparently used it all during Christmas for those sewing projects.  Okay, feed the boys lunch, load everyone up into the car and head to the store... PLEASE LET THEM STILL HAVE THE FABRIC (for that price).  To my horror, it was put away and the clerk was unable to get to it... Plan B, buy a yard of white to finish this project!  Home again, home again... jiggiedy jig... oh how I was hoping to finish the dress that day.  Unfortunately a few errors on my part (read the entire package of directions before you begin so you don't make stupid mistakes, I only read one page... not the last half), so I had to make alterations to how I was going to finish the pattern due to my errors.  By the end of Friday I needed to attach the skirt to the bodice and install the zipper.

Saturday morning, at 6:00am, I was at it again... attached the two halves and installed the zipper... unfortunately there were a few issues with how I installed it... ughhhh, so after my afternoon at Cabbage Rose, I came home (all inspired) and was able to fix my zipper issues!  I slipped it on, and was in love!  Rarely do I put a dress on and it fits where it is supposed to fit!  Thanks to Betsy, I managed to make a dress that with the first full try on it fit perfectly (I did try it on at different stages, but you really don't know until that zipper is installed and functioning if it is just right).  It was the perfect Easter dress for me!  I wore it to Mass, and even later that day for the family gathering (which is rare for me, I usually change into something much more comfortable).

Alright, next up is the skirt.  Now I did these backwards as far as timelines go... the skirt happened 2 weeks ago, and was my first project with the help of Betsy.  Let me say, my experience with Betsy and this pattern taught me some valuable lessons which helped the dress go smoothly in regard to setting her up right for my fit... because this skirt was anything but smooth.  Good grief!  Thankfully my seam ripper is all ergonomic!  Honestly I'm not sure I've ever had to take something apart so many times.  The reason was that the panels were all just slightly different sizes, and each had one side that was straight, and one side with a slight curve... SLIGHT being the key word!  I would swear I matched up the right pieces only to realize two steps after that one panel was wrong or I reversed where they needed to be attached!  It was a struggle, but in the end I prevailed and have a really cute skirt.  I still need to make a few changes to make the fit just a little better... but she too was wearable and ready last Sunday for Mass.  Yeah!

I have a new friend

I would like you all to give a warm welcome to Betsy (I'm pretty sure I've settled on Betsy, but it might be Betty or Lucy... not sure). She arrived today! She's a wonderful birthday gift from my parents. My mom thought I had finally lost my marbles when I told her that I was going to attempt one of the do-it yourself dress forms because the one I really wanted (this one) was WAY TOO expensive! Honestly I wasn't dropping hints to her (no matter what my lovely husband says)... I was just making conversation, well, anyway... here she is!

Isn't she a beaut!  She is LOVELY!  She likes lovely fabric, long walks on the beach, and I think she might have a slight British accent due to spending time across the pond in her youth.  Oh how I look forward to all the projects that she will help me with!  Now, cough and stammer, I think I'm ready to really tackle the world of clothes for myself and alterations for myself.

Still workin', and thinking about my projects for the year

Although I haven't been posting, rest assured I've been sewing and pinning (maybe that has gotten a little out of hand, but hey I can pin from my phone app while laying in bed getting rest!).

I've mentioned it before, but I really want to put together my first quilt (full size).  At this point I have no idea when that will happen.  I've done some small scale quilting over the last year, and went to the quilt show in Houston (and was able to pick up tips and tricks) that lead me to believe that I have the skill to pull one off... but it's finding the materials I want to use (and the money to buy them), and the time and space to do it right... those are the challenges at the moment.

In conjunction with quilting (and other projects) I really want to try my hand at free motion quilting, applique work, and thread painting.  Thanks to It's Sew Easy, I'm convinced that I could enjoy it!  They really shouldn't make things look easy or say that ANYONE can do it! :-)  Where these techniques will show up, I have no idea just yet.  I just really want to give it a go!

I REALLY want a dress form.  I've made few pieces of clothing for myself over the years, and it turned out alright... but with the proper form they would turn out so much better.  Unfortunately they cost an arm and a leg (even though they have neither :-), so I'm thinking of giving one the homemade ones a try (naturally I saw it on Pinterest).  The way I figure it, if it works... GREAT!  If not, oh well, I'm only out a few bucks in supplies (and looking silly during the process)... So, I'm going to give it a whirl... and of course share my results with you!

My store, I would really like to expand what I'm selling.  The earbud cases have done well, and I've had some time to restock which is nice.  I recently sold out of the clutches, and I think I want to do more with those since I have several cases on there now.  I would really like to pick up a ruffler foot for my machine, and be able to add ruffled fabric.  At the moment, my attempts at hand ruffling look more like pleats... then I get frustrated and just keep the pleats and walk away :-).

Well, there you have it... where my crafting thoughts have been in the last few weeks!

Pinned again

Storage and display are two things that I both like, and at times am annoyed that I don't have enough of either!  I'm constantly organizing and reorganizing as I go to find the best way to keep my materials, see my materials, and use my materials.  If money were no object I would have a bigger house that had a room dedicated to my sewing... heck, I would have a whole wing of a house dedicated to all my crafting loves... but money is an object, of which we rarely have a ton of extra laying around.

Until money magically starts fallin from the sky right into my pocket, my sewing/crafting is in our master suite.  After much discussion and measuring, and thinking and rethinking, really the best (and only) option was one wall in our room.  Well, part of a wall, our dogs and their beds ended up with about a third of the wall...

Anyway, one of my pin boards is craft room inspiration, and I regularly find neat and new ways to keep things... but with life so busy lately I really haven't been able to implement anything until today!  I needed to run to the craft store for something, and I have a 20% off my entire purchase coupon... so I went browsing to see if I could find those cool curtain hangers... the loops with the little clips!  SCORE!  They are perfect for hanging fabrics from!  Right now I have the fabrics I've been using for the earbud pouches hanging.  It makes it so easy to grab, cut and then rehang!

Pinderific

Yeah, I'm just making up new words that start with Pin... that's how I do's it :-).

This week I managed a few different pins.  Yeah, go ME!  Actually I'm sort of surprised I did because my brain was pretty hyper focused on Thanksgiving and the fact that this was the first time I was hosting, the first time we've ever cooked a turkey, and the all other manner of Thanksgiving day preparation!

Anyhoooooo, the pins that I worked this week were:


An earbud case:

It is loosely based on this pattern!

Then there are the hats! I'm in love with making hats. They are simple, and quick!

And last, but not least a food item. I made bacon wrapped green beans for Thanksgiving.  They were super easy to make, and my crowd loved them!  I highly recommend them!

Week of Nov. 14th - Pins

I was super busy with homeschooling and co-op with the kids that blogging about the pins was WAY down on my list of tasks to actually get accomplished... but working on a pin or two was at the top :-).

So last week I did a food pin: Applesauce Pork Loin

It came out so tender, so tasty, and was oh so easy to make!  I served it with mashed potatoes, which was a nice compliment to the apple flavor.  As per my usual take on things (actually hubby thought of it first), the next time I make this, instead of applesauce make an apple compote.  It will just a different dimension to this already great recipe!

My second pin I used was for crocheting hats.  Do the Math!

I have found a great love for whipping out crochet hats.  I like playing around with stitches and patterns, but with that comes a whole lot of guess work as to how many rows, and stitches for each sizing group.  Thankfully, after a few times of pulling out the entire hat in frustration, I clicked on this pin and have since written it out and it sits on my craft table at a handy reach!  A new must have for me!!!

Just keep pinnin'

I am fulfilling my Pin It - Make It weekly challenge... I'm just not getting the camera + blog about it portion together.  This is the current set of hats/beanies I've made in the last few days.  Each one is from a different pattern I've found thru Pinterest.  I'm trying as many as I get my hooks into to find ones that work the best for me... easy to fit to the heads I'm trying to accommodate... and which works best for alternation (maybe that is what I just have named this blog... something about alteration ;-)

Anywhooooooo, what you are seeing from left to right: a sweet little doll hat, a cute striped hat for an adorable nephew I had the pleasure of seeing over the weekend, and the lovely bright green and the bright green is for my youngest son.  The multi-colored circle is the eye-ball that will go on the front, for a super cute monster hat!  He's very excited.  Now I just need to come up with fun ideas for the other two sons!