Birthday Dresses

I decided to make matching dresses for my nieces for their birthdays and my daughter. I was inspired by a dress a Gymboree earlier this fall. The Gymboree dress was a simple peter pan collared dress with a belt in a polka dot fabric. I loved the simplicity of the design and that it really showed off the fabric. I thought of making the three matching dress in September but it actually took me until late October to make the committment. Only after finding the fabric did I decide to make the dresses.

For my 2 year old niece I used New Look 6842. I was immediately drawn to the plaid dress. This pattern had the cute peter pan collared dress I was looking for. This was actually difficult to find in this size. The complete review is here. If I copied the whole thing here this post would be way too long.
A close up of the bodice. This dress has banded sleeves.

For my 5 year old niece and daughter I used New Look 6309. Essentially it is the same dress except the the shape of the collar in the back and the ruffled sleeve. The review for this pattern is here.

This is my daughter and my 2 year old niece in their dresses.` My other niece doesn't live near us.
In my reviews I tell how I added the belt. I will put this explanation in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

My Black and White World

Time for another completely unsewing related post.

I like to take pictures but I am not that good at it. I tried taking pictures of my kids on Sunday but it didn't work out at all and I was definitely rethinking why I try. Today I decided to take some pictures while my kids were playing outside since that is where the best light is.

Lately, I have been looking around and noticing how black and white the world is especially when we have a lot of snow. Here are some pictures I took (that I actually like) that display my world. Just so you know the pictures are actually in color. I didn't post process them to black and white.





I don't think I will quit taking pictures quite yet.

Oh, here are my kids. They had a ton of fun playing.

Then to make the perfect end to a fun time as were were leaving I somehow dropped the key to my car. We walked to find a phone (mine was in the car of course) to have my husband come pick us up. We ended up getting the car towed to the dealership where it is sitting waiting to be opened and a new fancy key made (we only have one key because they are so expensive) sometime tomorrow. What a day! Although it could have been worse the details worked out fairly smoothly.

Hope your day ends better than mine. :)

Until next time..

A Call for Help from a Bad Pattern Reviewer

I thought that I would start some reveiws for Pattern Review so that I could enter some items into the Holiday Sewing contest. Of course I have done a few reviews before (although I am not so great at it) but was slightly confused with the picture thing among other things.

I noticed today on my review page the little part that has a number and a C by it. As I read the page I realized that that meant the number of comments on my review. I was so astounded and excited that people actually read my reviews and found them helpful. Now some of those reviews were written in April so as you can see I am really taking a long time to understand all the ins and outs of Pattern Review. Quite a few of the reviews said that my pictures would not come up any bigger than thumnail. I would absolutely hate to come across a review, be very interested to see the garment review and then not be able to see anything other than a small thumbnail. If any of you have read my reviews and this has happened to you I am soooooo sorry. I guess I need a bit of help. What is the best way to put pictures on my reviews? Do I need to use another site? Should I just link to my blog? I know that many of you are loyal PR's and throughly understand how to do this so I would really appreciate your help.

Thank you so very much!!!

Until next time...

Baby Shower Gifts and My Cute New Niece

I went to a baby shower the other day and I actually made the gift. I made simple burp cloths out of cloth diapers and some leftover Amy Butler Fabric. I made two plain ones and one that was personalized that turned out quite cute.

These are pretty easy. here I how I made it.

First I cut out the correct size for my fabric strip. For me it was 5"x18".

Next you should interface the fabric at least where the name would go. I didn't do this but I sure wish I did.

Then print out the name large and bold in whatever font you would like. I picked something pretty blocky because I thought it would be easier to satin stitch.

Center the paper template on the fabric. You can either pin or use weights to keep the template from slipping.

Cut out the letters very carefully. I used a very small rotary cutter to do this. I am not sure scissors would work as well as the scissors would lift the fabric.

Now place on the diaper and stitch around the edges. Lastly, satin stitch around all the edges of the name.

Then make another one by satin stitching on the letters directly onto the diaper.

Okay, now to show you my adorable niece Aleya and the ones I made for her.

Spartan Pullover Turned Vest Finally Finished

It has been a few weeks since my last post but I have been very busy. I have quite a few things to post about but haven't had the time to do the actual posting.

I finished this project for my hubby little bit ago. He has actually worn it a couple of times already AND liked it. The pattern had sleeves but as you may remember (from a post quite a while ago) that I ran out of yarn and couldn't finish the sleeves. I had the entire sweater finished-shoulders seamed neck edge completed--when I tried it on my hubby. It was awful! The dropped shoulders just would not work to finish for a vest. So, I had to unseam (Is that a word?) the shoulders and then rip the whole thing out to the armholes. Then, I proceeded to bind off 20 stitches for each armhole and reknit the front and back following the pattern. To Finish I just did garter stitch edge for the neck and armholes.

The final product:And on my hubby:

Someday I'll get it right!

I just cannot settle on a blog style that I like. I would love to have something custom made but that is fairly expensive. Oh well! I guess that I will just change it every so often. Maybe by chance I will come across something that I like one day.

Have a great day!

Until next time...

Back to School U-Neck Vest

Well, I finished and I think that it looks great. I am very pleased with how this turned out. It actually fits. This pattern comes from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel. This was a fun project. It was very easy except for figuring out the basket weave pattern. The pattern is easy up to the armhole split. After the split and some shaping you lose stitches and I had a hard time figuring which to pearl and knit to make the weave. There was a lot of ripping out while trying to get the hang of it. The nice thing is that you really can't see the mistakes so I didn't feel that I had to go back and correct EVERYTHING.

Yarn: Lana D'Oro Paints by Cascade Yarns

Color: Blue/Green/Purple--I was hesitant about using a variegated yarn at first because I usually do not like them. I was assured that this variegated yarn was very subtle. I LOVE it. The color variation is beautiful.

Fiber content: 50% alpaca 50% wool

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch on size 7 needles

This picture of the back shows a bit of the rib and basket weave texture.


Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...

Ottobre Kaiku Cross Front Tunic

My first attempt at an Ottobre pattern was this tunic. It is from the Fall 2008 issue (4/2008). Tracing out the pattern was not as crazy as I thought it would be. The lines were fairly easy to follow. The instructions were good too. I picked this because I thought it would be fairly simple to put together and didn't have too many pieces. Remembering to add seam allowance was a little challenging and I had to catch myself a couple of times. But all in all it was a great project and I am excited to try another pattern. I have so many planned.

My review:

Pattern Description: Long sleeve cross front tunic for girls with contrast neckline binding, waistband and cuffs.

Pattern Sizing: 116cm-152cm: My daughter is tall and thin so her measurements were not even close to fitting into one size. I made the size 122 width with size 134 body length and size 140 sleeve length. The finished garment fit her perfectly. Their pattern sizing seems to be very accurate.

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. I picked this to be my 1st ottobre pattern because I thought it would be fairly straightforward. The directions were clear and easy to follow. I liked the detailed directions when to use a sewing machine straight stitch and when to use the surger. I might not have done it their way originally but I am glad that I followed their directions because I liked the finished product.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the clear instructions and the method of gathering with the elastic at the edges of the bodice.

Fabric Used: A very slippery knit that I purchased in a remnant box so I do not know the fiber content. The black binding was a cotton poly blend from Joanns that did not have as much stretch as the main fabric. Due to the different stretch fabrics I had some challenges.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None yet. I think that I will stitch the front piece to the back piece of the bodice from where they cross to the side seam. This seems to sag a bit on my daughter.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Definitely. My daughter loves the shirt even though is is a bit wonky.

Conclusion: Next time I make this I will make sure that I have two fabrics that have similar amount of stretch or if not I will add length to the neckline binding, and waistline. On this shirt the contrast had to be stretched to fit too much. This caused a bit of puckering. It works but not as nicely as it could it the fabrics were more similar.

Oh yes, a picture. My daughter is being a goof and so the shirt does not look its best but oh well, you get the idea.
I love this fabric. It is so fun but it was a huge challenge for me to work with. I have never sewn with something so slippery. My surger had quite a time keeping it under the presser foot. I used my coverstitch machine for the hem and boy did I have trouble keeping it straight. In fact, the hem is quite hilarious. You can't really tell because it is such a drapey fabric.

I bought this in LA from Michael Levine's remnant store across the street from the regular store. Shopping there was quite an experience. I only had a few fabric shopping hours in the LA garment district so I want to make sure that I spent time in good ones (Christina blogged about the fabric stores they went to after the LA PR weekend which gave me good direction). My mouth dropped as I walked in the door to the upstairs store. It was a large room and the floor was covered with large boxes FILLED with fabric remnants. The was barely room to walk between the rows of boxes. I was like a kid in a candy store. It was all $2/lb. It took me a bit to get over my shock of all that fabric. After about a half hour of casual digging I really got into it. I found quite a few fabrics (some great knits which was what I really wanted to find) and only paid $25. I wanted to go back so bad later in the trip but unfortunately I ran out of time. I will be back though. I don't know when but I WILL BE BACK!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a great day!!

Until next time...

My First Cable

I finally attempted a cable swatch. It was a lot of fun. My goal is to make a Dickinson Pullover that was featured in Interweave Knits Fall 2007.
























I would like to make it with Cascade 220. I was unsure of the gauge and didn't want to make a big purchase with out knowing if it would work. The gauge in the pattern is give in the cable pattern. At my LYS it was suggested to me to try this yarn out if I already had some. Well, lucky me I do have some at home. My husbands sweater is out of Cascade 220. So I sat down one evening and tried my hand at cables. It was tons of fun. Following the chart was easier than I thought it would be. I am very encouraged. I think that I will be able to make this once I can afford the yarn. :)

Here is a picture of my cable swatch.



I am thinking of making this sweater in a soft lavender.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Until next time...

Frog Short Fiasco

Well, we are back from our trip to California. I made a few things before we left and have been crafting since we came back. I thought that I would show you some of the things I have made in the last few months over the next few posts. Some are simple, some are not but I have fun making all of them.

The first garment I will share is certainly not one of the most complicated but it has a long history. I bought some frog cotton fabric at Joann's years ago. My youngest son has been begging me to make him something with this fabric (has been stashed since before he was born) for quite some time. I kept telling him I would. It was going to be a cute Ottobre shirt but a shirt this fabric did not turn out to be. One day before our trip I spotted a really cute frog shirt that I knew was perfect for the frog fabric. My son was very excited about his new frog shirt and soon to be made frog shorts.

Fast forward: We are on our trip and he will not wear the shorts he has been begging for. According to him, they are too long. I am not happy. Finally on my birthday I made him wear the shorts. Here is a picture of him in them while we spent a few hours climbing around Joshua Tree National Park.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day.

Until next time...