A Staple Dress

Hello once again!

September has been a crazy month. I had 2 weddings and a 10k to run, all on consecutive weekends. Crazy, right? I can't lie- I'm pretty exhausted from all of it. But do I get to rest this week? No, because I have something booked for myself to do after work every night this week. All fun things, don't worry, but man. I am going to sleeeeep this weekend!

But you came for pretty things, right? Hopefully this qualifies.

Yes, I made another dress! This time of the Staple variety. I picked up this Anna Maria Horner voile aaages ago and just now decided what I was going to make. It was a difficult decision. The fabric is just so pretty and I didn't buy enough to make anything terribly complicated. So this was really the perfect solution.

I know everyone and their mom has made a Staple dress and so you have probably already heard how comfortable they are. Well, they are. Simple, comfortable, easy to wear. And the light voile made this a perfect late summer make. Not that I will have to stop wearing it in fall. Because Tucson.

I kind of love dresses with pockets, but I think this fabric is probably too light to make them very useful. If you put anything in them it drags the dress down in a rather unattractive way. So I don't use them much. Next time I will omit them if I'm using a similarly lightweight fabric.

I'm afraid I haven't finished much else this month, but next time I'll show you what I'm actually working on instead of waiting til the end. I'm not great at remembering to take progress shots, but I will try!

Happy first day of fall!!

I made a hat!

I finished some things! Yes, more than one thing! What a joyous occasion this is! Here's one of the things!

Right, so. I've been knitting tons of winter stuff. Because winters in Tucson are bitterly cold (obviously) and I just won't survive unless I'm covered head to toe in hand knits. Or I'm crazy and belong somewhere with a colder climate. That could be it, too.

Crazy is probably a good description.

The pattern is the Capucine Hat and you may notice if you click through that link that my hat doesn't exactly look like hers. Well, let me tell you what happened.. This hat is written for both bulky and super bulky yarn. My yarn was bulky and I somehow misread the directions, which clearly state that the bulky directions are in [square brackets]. Ahem. So this was knit with the instruction intended for super bulky yarn, which means my hat ended up not so slouchy...

At first I was sad. But then I realized when I put it on that what I had really just done was made myself a PONYTAIL BEANIE. Yes folks, that's right. I can wear my head up all winter and still keep my ears warm! What a revelation! So then I went from disappointed in myself for failing at instructions to EXCITED!

So while the pattern didn't turn out as planned, it is still awesome and nice and toasty. Which may come in handy if I go anywhere cold this winter ;)

Isn't it nice when a mistake turns out to be just fine?

Adelaide Dress

I've been working on my clothes making skills lately. It is long overdue!

Have you heard of Seamwork? It's a sewing e-magazine put out by the people behind Colette patterns. Every month there is a new issue with a bunch of articles from sewing techniques to fashion history to sewing resources online or in a particular city. That part of the magazine is free, but if you want all the patterns, it's $6/month. You can also buy each pattern on it's own for $7.

Anyway, that's where this pattern came from. I like button down dresses a lot and I thought this one would be a good place to start.

The only alterations I made to the pattern was to grade down a size on top, which is something I have to do fairly often. Three cheers for pear shapes! There is a little bagginess along the neckline still, though, so I might take a bit out next time and see if that fixes it. Still, I love how it turned out! I had to wait for my chartreuse snaps to come in (I got them from Cowgirl Snaps on Etsy), but it was so worth it to get something fun instead of just the boring white they sell at Joann...

Bit of an awkward pose. I was trying to listen for the sound of the camera. I can't find my remote so I've been having to use the self timer... :( Not nearly as convenient. Anyway, as you can see the back fits really quite well! The fabric is a chambray I picked up at Imagine Gnats. It wrinkles a bit, but that's expected. I still really like the way this fabric looks and feels.

Close up of the snaps! I picked up a pair of snap/eyelet pliers at an estate sale for like $3- score! I hadn't really used it until now. But it works! It's a little annoying to get all the pieces lined up in the right spot on the fabric, but by the end I was starting to get the hang of it. In the end I only ruined one snap! And it was a backing piece, not a pretty front piece, so it was fine. I would definitely use them again :)

I'm pretty proud of this dress. It fits well and I took my time and followed the directions, no shortcuts. It's also the first dress I used my new serger on! Did I mention I bought a serger? Well, I did. It's very exciting. I'll have to take some pictures for you ;)

Healed and back in action!

Technically, I've been okay since about the last week of July. Technically. But there was so much knitting and sewing to catch up on that I've only just sat down now to tell you about it!

Let's see. First, I finished my blocks for Sarah of Sew What Sherlock. You *may* remember we started a bee a loooong time ago. But life got in the way for several of our members and so things fell by the wayside for a bit. But we're gathering momentum once again that will hopefully see us through to the end!

Sarah's quilt is going to have a bunch of paper pieced arrows (the pattern is her own design and available for purchase) with low volume background blocks with a variety of shapes and patterns.

The whole this is very scrappy. It's going to be so lovely when it's all put together! Above are my background contributions.

 A shot of the arrows in their entirety. Please excuse the feet ;)

And a sort of close up of my favorite block. I just love pinwheels.

I've been working on other stuff, too. Photos to come soooon! :D It feels so good to have 2 working arms again, I can't tell you...

A Finished Quilt!

Yes, you read that right! I finished a quilt!

I made this on commission for a customer through my Etsy store. I don't really sell quilts there anymore- I'd like to focus on knitting/crochet accessories- but this customer bought a quilt from me last year and asked if I would be willing to make another. So of course I said yes!

I really love how this quilt turned out. I drew up the pattern myself, but it's fairly simple. I star in the center with flying geese radiating out from it on a background of low volume squares. It measures about 60" x 60" and I quilted it with an all over meander (for speed, mostly, but I just love the way this quilting pattern crinkles after it's washed!). I love it so much I'm just a little sad it's already sold. Maybe I'll have to make one for myself?

As much as I love this quilt and as much fun that I had making it, I am glad that it's done! I have a couple of plans for more bags and maybe even a needle case and hook case for the shop that I want to get working on. Now I can start focusing on those :)

Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Rediscovering Knitting

First of all, thank you for the encouraging comments! You guys are the best :)

There are a couple of posts around here about things that I knit. Such as this Honey Cowl, this scarf and this sweater (which I actually finished... even though it's a pretty sad/weird sweater). But then I kind of stopped knitting for a while. And crocheting. I was a one trick pony for a period and that trick was sewing.

But now I've picked it up again and I have to wonder.. Why did I ever stop? I have been enjoying it immensely and have been finding myself trying to sneak time in here and there just for one more row or a few more stitches. The result? Well. I finished the ugly sweater mentioned previously. It's ugly mostly because I didn't follow a pattern, had no idea what I was doing, and picked it up after setting it down for months and I couldn't remember anything about it. So, it was a little wonky. The arms are too long and the ribbing on the cuffs and bottom don't really match in tension (I think I must have used different sized needles or something). But it was DONE and I was SO HAPPY.

So then I decided to re-knit some reading mitts. I made one once, not sure if I ever posted about it. But I made the wrong size and had to frog the whole thing. I was so sad! After that, I just shoved the whole thing in a bin in my sewing room and forgot about them. That may have been the moment I gave up on knitting for a while. All that hard work! And for what?? (Never mind that this was all my fault and the heartache could have been avoided had I just measured my hands).

But I decided to give them another shot, this time with the benefit of actually knowing how big my hands are so I could choose the right size (I know, seems like such an obvious thing, right?). And well, now they're done! Both of them! And they fit! And I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OMG. Seriously, guys. The other day while I was sitting in the car with Mario waiting to meet a guy from the internets about trading cars (yes, that's pretty much my life), I was wearing my pretty new mitts (even though it's May in Tucson and woolen mitts are really not necessary) and reading a book about dyeing yarn. I was the picture of yarny contentment.

I haven't really put down the yarn since then. Right now I'm working on a sweater for Mario and am eyeballing shawl patterns. I'm thinking something easy and free for my first every shawl. Like maybe Zilver? I'll keep you posted!

Welcome to 2015

Hey there, long time no seeeeee. I know, but December is always a crazy month, isn't it?

First: some good news. After 2 surgeries, Charlie the white husky's lab results came back CLEAN and we will not have to look at other possible treatment options. My poor little Charles. He is really pathetic after surgery. See below for doped up post-surgery Charlie face:

There were illnesses and awfulness in December, but I still somehow managed to make a lot of Christmas presents, some of which I didn't actually photograph before gifting. Please forgive me. Some of them were still in progress on Christmas Eve! It was totally down to the wire...

I made two of these sweet little felt hearts, stuffed them, and added a hanging ribbon to make them ornaments.

This is probably my favorite ornament. I made it for my sister, who love T-Rex in all his awkward glory.

Mario got me a screen printing kit as a Christmas present, which I opened early and used to make more Christmas presents! This is the first one we made. Mario has a vinyl cutter, so we cut out stencils on that and then printed this on felt. It was so fun! We printed all sorts of things for Christmas. If I can find pictures of the other little things, I'll post them later. I'm missing pictures of 3 really cute ornaments! Tragedy :( This one was for my aunt, a boston terrier lover.

This is what the screen looked like after printing. Note the super high-tech newspaper we used to block out the back!

This silly sheep design is one I plan on printing on some totes and drawstring knitting bags for my shop. I'll post a picture of the finished product soon!

This is a t-shirt we made for a Star Trek loving friend. I love how this one turned out!

And for a Metal Gear Solid fan :)

All in all, 2014 was a pretty damn good year. I made a lot of stuff, opened an Etsy store (that has been sadly neglected these past couple of months), bought a house, got engaged, got a promotion, and somehow still managed to read some books! 

My goals for 2015 include:

1. Get married. Which includes surviving the wedding planning phase of things. UGH.
2. Spend more time on my Etsy shop
3. Screen print ALL THE THINGS.
4. Finish all my sad, neglected unfinished quilt tops
5. Make more of my own clothes
6. Blog at least once a week!

Sounds doable, right? RIGHT? I am looking forward to this year. I think it's going to be fantastic. And I will be making an active effort to spend more time in this space, interacting with the rest of you lovelies out in blog land. 

What are your goals for the year?? I will leave you with this wonderful picture of it SNOWING in TUCSON, ARIZONA just before midnight on New Year's Eve. Pictured is my friend Kate, who is from Phoenix and had never before stood in falling snow. Magical, right?

Burn Out

Yes, again, it has been two weeks. And you know what? I haven't sewed a stitch. I have been feeling completely burnt out these last couple of weeks and in my spare time I have been binge watching Gilmore Girls, crocheting, and playing Wind Waker. Even the thought of stepping into my sewing room was enough to induce a small panic attack. I know I have a lot of stuff I need to do, need to work on. And that's exactly why I have been avoiding it. It's just too much!

So I took a couple of weeks away from sewing. It has been kind of fun, really. Rediscovering how much I love knitting and crochet, for example. Allowing myself to *just* watch TV. That's right, not TV while I sew or TV while I knit. Just TV for the sake of itself. I don't remember the last time I did that. And that seems kind of insane, doesn't it?

Here is the last thing I sewed. Isn't it cute?

I think part of it is that I have just reached the end of my rope with this nonsense schedule Mario and I are one. We only really see each other 1 day a week and I can't stand it. Not only do I just miss him all the time, but that means we never get anything done on the weekends because we don't want to waste our precious time together doing something lame like pulling weeds or repainting the pergola.

It even has a zippy pocket! This was such a fun little bag :) 

I need to find a better balance. I have developed a habit of having to be constantly productive. I always have to be making something, reading something, doing something. I haven't been giving myself any time to just sit back, relax, and do what I actually want to do instead of what I feel like I have to do.

So in case you've been wondering, that's where I have been these past couple of weeks. Reassessing my priorities and trying to teach myself how to relax again. I'll keep you posted with how that goes. And maybe show you some of the non-sewing things I've been working on in my time away :)

A Chiffon Staple Dress

For my next adventure in clothes making I give you a chiffon Staple Dress!

Yes, my head is cut off. Yes, this is the same photo shoot as the last one. My camera is a little too heavy for the little tripod I have and it was getting tired...

There we go. I made this out of a polyester chiffon I got at a local discount fabric store. It went surprisingly well for my first experience with chiffon! I did a straight size small and opted for the drop hem version. I had a little bit of trouble on the sleeves... my machine decided to try to eat one of them while I was hemming :( So I rolled them again and added extra stitching over the slightly mangled area. Then I added a line of shirring to hide the mangled-ness. Because of course that couldn't happen down near the armpit. Had to be where everyone would seeee. But I kind of like how they look all scrunched up! I might do this again in the future. In case you haven't heard, this was a lovely, easy pattern to follow. I made it up in an afternoon, mangled sleeve rescue and all. Definitely recommend for beginners!

I wasn't sure I would like this pattern on me, but I was pleasantly surprised! It's comfy and flattering and light, which is wonderful. I wish it wasn't almost winter so I could make all the summer dresses... Although, I could just wear leggings under EVERYTHING. Hmmm.

Yes, this part of the shoot is lacking in photos. Because the dogs were getting sick of me and doing this:

I know you can't see my face, but trust me. It was not amused. 

OH. One last thing. In case you don't follow me on Instagram, I kinda got engaged this weekend! Well, officially engaged. Mario and I have really been planning our wedding for quite a long time but we wanted to do things like finish school and buy a house before bothering with a wedding. But we've done that and now we're bothering! Look how sparkly! 

Mario does have the best taste :) 

More clothes! Sorbetto and Sew Simple Leggings

I know, I expected this post to come sooner, too. My only excuse is that I ran out of time to have a photo shoot over the weekend! And by ran out of time... I mean totally forgot I needed to do that until the sun was gone. Inside pictures at night don't look good. Trust me.

But anyway... Lately I have decided I want to make more clothes for myself. It's fun and challenging and results in some awesome stuff for me to wear. But where to begin? I have sewn a few clothing items in the past, but I am definitely still a beginner. So I started with some beginner things: Leggings and the Sorbetto top.

Now, I don't wear these together out in the world. I prefer to wear leggings with long tunics or dresses in the winter. But for the sake of ease in my photo shoot, I am wearing them together!

Okay. You see how my dog is smelling me? Yeah, that was going on pretty much the entire time. But I couldn't lock them inside because they'd whine and wake up my boyfriend, who works nights so he sleeps really late. Dilemma! SO I guess you guys get some ridiculous pictures of me modeling with my dogs being like "Mom! What are you doing? What's on your legs? What making that beeping sound (the camera)?" WEEE!

Charlie found the leggings fascinating. I found them to be incredibly easy to sew. The ones I'm wearing here were my first pair. I read somewhere that lowering the rise would probably be a good idea if I don't like leggings to go all the way up to my natural waist (which I don't) so I took off 3 inches right from the start. That's the only alteration I made to this pair and they fit great! They ended up just slightly long (because I'm short) so in the next 2 pairs I made (yes, I made 3), I took out an inch from the bottom. I don't have any pictures of those because they're in the dirty laundry basket ;)

This is my "Resigned to my Fate" face

The top is the second Sorbetto I've made. The first one I found to be a little too short, so I added an inch in length. I also decided not to do the pleat all the way down the front. I saw a few like this around the internet and really liked it, so I decided to copy the inverted pleat look. I think this would be great lengthened into a dress with a belt around the waist! Maybe someday I'll do that.

Look! It's my butt! And you can see Charlie's pretty eyes. Aren't they pretty? Ahem. Right. I really like this version of the Sobetto and am planning on making another when I find some suitable fabric. This floral fabric is rayon and it's super soft and light and wonderful while still being opaque enough that I don't have to wear an undershirt. A really good summer shirt! I know it's October now... But it's still getting up to the 90s here. So I will still get some wear out of it.

Me having a very stern talk with Charlie while scratching his head. I don't think he got it...

As I said, I made 3 pairs of these leggings! I definitely recommend the pattern. I know there are awesome tutorials online on how to measure yourself and make a custom leggings pattern... but I'm lazy. And this was $3. So worth it. And they're so quick to make! These take less than 2 hours a piece from start to finish. Awesome! I want to make like 5 more!

What have you been working on? I will have more clothes to share next week! Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

ALSO! Just a note- I have had a couple of requests for a tutorial or at least cutting directions for my Wedding/Star in star quilt. I am at least going to get the cutting directions written up for you guys and posted next week :)

The Bridesmaid Dresses

At long last! Pictures!

So I made some bridesmaid dresses for my best friend's wedding. They were super simple infinity dresses. Took about 2 hours each to make. But I love how they turned out! We all got so many compliments. If you would like to make one of your own, I used this tutorial.

Here we are with the lovely bride. This was a very handmade wedding. Bride's dress? Handmade by the bride. Her beautiful crown of flowers? Handmade by her sister (standing to the Bride's right if you couldn't tell from their amazing resemblance!). There were handmade decorations, our bouquets were also put together by her sister. It was pretty damn fantastic.

We all styled our dresses differently, which was really fun. They were light and comfy, too. The fabric I used was a rayon/lycra blend I bought at fabric.com. Perfect for an outdoor, late summer wedding. I think my favorite compliment of the day was from someone who didn't know all our dresses were handmade who said how amazing it was to have dresses that looked awesome that we will actually wear again. So true! These can be dressed up or dressed down pretty easily- I hope the other bridesmaids wear theirs again!

Here's the whole bridal party. Aren't we cute?? It was a very special wedding. I've known the bride and groom separately for years and it was me who introduced them! Isn't that awesome? Plus, Sofia (the bride) is also my future sister in law! I know, my life is like an awesome fairytale. I am going to have a best friend/sister in law. And I'm super excited about it!

Next week I'll have more clothes to share, so stay tuned! I wanted to share more this week, but it was cloudy every single day, so no good pictures were taken. Next week I am counting on the desert to produce some sunshine!

What have you all been working in?

The Wedding Quilt

Okay, guys, I finally have something awesome to show you. Are you ready? Let's pretend I took really awesome pictures and wasn't totally rushing 10 minutes before I had to get ready to leave, okay??

BAM. Star in a star in a star, self-drafted pattern. Then I added the fun border to make it a little bigger. It finished at about 85x85.

Look, a slightly different angle! I couldn't stand back far enough to get a straight on shot of the whole thing without the sun glaring off the camera lens... *sigh*

See the glare?? And I was standing pretty close! I don't know if you can see it, but I quilted it with an all-over FMQ stipple. I need to start getting braver with my FMQ, man. I'm getting a little tired of the stipple!

This quilt was for my future sister-in-law's wedding, so it was very special! She also happens to be one of my best friends who I have know almost 10 years. I introduced her to her now husband, who I had known for several years, just about two and a half years ago. They're such a great couple! Their wedding was lovely and fun and everything a wedding is supposed to be :) And the quilt was well received!

Here are some progress shots of the quilt, just for funsies:

I also made the bridesmaid dresses- I will post pictures of those AND the awesome bathing suit I made for our little vacation following the wedding next week! August was a super busy sewing month, even though I didn't blog almost at all. But now I have plenty of fodder to keep this space busy for a couple of weeks! Stay tuned!

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!