3 Loved Ones, 2 Cats and a Birdbrain

It feels a bit like cheating...

But I'm counting it anyway.  I was at the fabric store with my daughter on Sunday afternoon and she spied some pre-smocked yardage that she liked.  She's been wearing dresses over jeans lately, and thought that it would make the perfect dress.  So we bought some, and after sewing three seams and a hem:

Project 18: Instant dress

Seriously feels like cheating calling it a project, but I'm taking it.  She wore it to school today over a tank top and jeans, with a hoodie over top (her school doesn't allow bare shoulders - one way to keep junior high aged girls from showing everything).  She looked totally cute.  And I got credit for the call!

Speaking of cheating, here's another one:

MM May 7 - Dress made a couple of years ago when a friend threw a garden party to celebrate spring and (wait for it) never worn again until today.  Seriously.  It had two problems - due to insufficient yardage (doesn't that sound official) it is a titch too short for me to feel comfortable with.  I think the last button is too high on the placket.  Anyway, I put it on this morning, and remembered why it was bothering me, went downstairs and whipped up a little elastic waist skirt to wear under it - width of the fabric and elastic at the waist.  That's the band of colour at the bottom.   Easy peasy, and also another layer of warmth.  While I was on a roll, I thought I would whip up a shrug to go with.  Also the width of the fabric, just sewn the other way so the selvages are the sleeve hems.  Two garments before I was finished my coffee!  If only the rest of my day had been so simple! 

Just to top things off, I also received a package in the mail:

A kit to make Megan Neilson's Darling Ranges Dress.  I have been wanting it for awhile, and when I heard that she was going to be moving back to Australia, I decided that now was the time to order it.  She had this lovely kit available (I'm a total sucker for a kit!).  The colour of the fabric is a little more nude than I thought, so I'll use it to give the pattern a go for the first try, and then if I like it I may try to over-dye it so I'll be able to wear it for more than the few days a year that I have a tan. 

So that's been my day - pretty fun actually.  A little teen angst kept me humble...hope yours was good too!

That makes me sad...

The title of this post - what my daughter just said when she looked out the window this morning and saw this:

It's snowing.  Anyone curious about why Canadians talk about the weather all the time?  This is why.  It's been snowing for a couple of hours, and it's supposed to continue all day I think.  But it won't stick around.  It's just a little jarring. 

So, Me-Made-May details:

Sweater: Cadence from Knitty

I knitted this last year, and I can't remember much about it, other than it was super quick.  The colours are nice for this time of year, particularly when it's snowing!!

Jeans: Vogue 1204 

I started these last year at the end of March and didn't finish them until a couple of months ago.  I like the fit, but next time I think I will turn the slash pockets into standard jean pockets.  I'll take a better picture of them another time, when the weather isn't quite so weird. 

Today is a working day for me - a bridesmaid's dress is on the docket, along with some alterations to a wedding dress - so I had better get at it. 

Stay warm and dry today!

Pincushions everywhere...

Have you heard about this?

There's a Pin Cushion Swap afoot!  Have you joined yet?  No?  Well just head on over here and sign up already! 

I have never really given pin cushions a second thought, but holy cow!  There are a ton of patterns around.  Kyra and I thought it would be fantastic to make a voodoo doll pin cushion!  There are loads of pretty things about.  The only rule is that the ingredients have to come from your stash.  I can see a great deal of small crafting in my future....

MMMay 3

I've been working on some dart manipulation today, so forgive my mushy brain.  Or don't.  It's up to you, really. 

Top - New Look from around this time last year.  This one is actually in pretty good shape considering how much it's been worn.

Skirt - self drafted.  That makes it sound all official and complicated, but it really isn't.  The idea has been floating around in my head for awhile, and it only took about an hour from start to finish yesterday before I started work.  I folded a piece of fabric that was the length that I wanted the skirt to be in half (selvages together) and then in half again.  Then I made a mark at the top 9" away from the fold (1/4 of my waist measurement) and cut from the folded edge to the mark, arcing my cut upward slightly to make the waist higher on the sides that it is in the middle.  I did the same at the bottom, using the whole width of the folded fabric.  Then I cut down from the waist, angling out toward the hemline.  I sewed up the side seams, then made a waistband out of a rectangle of fabric that was a couple of inches smaller than my waist, and about 8" tall.  I folded it in half and sewed it to the top of the skirt, ran the serger around the bottom so it wouldn't roll so much, and was done!

Considering how little time this took, I'm really happy with it.  It is quite butt-enhancing.  I tried to get a photo of it, but this was the best I could do:

It's wonderfully floaty when I walk, and super comfy.  I guess that's why the world is wearing maxi dresses and skirts right now!

Have a good one. 

MMMay 2 - I need to do some laundry!

I usually do laundry on Sunday.  I like to do it all in one day because otherwise I forget things in the washing machine and they get all smelly.  Just saying.  But I got derailed this weekend when my daughter cleaned up some of the stuff on the floor of her room, and I ended up doing 5 loads of laundry just for her.  Oy.  I had planned to wear something completely different today, but everything was in the washer or dryer, so I ended up with this, which I'm quite pleased with. 

Bolero - knitted a couple of years ago.  Pattern is the Yogini Bolero from Knit and Tonic.  I didn't like the ties in the front, so I made it more like a bolero. 

Top - Lotus - made last year about this time.  This one has a ton of issues, but I'm wearing it anyway.  It dates from before my whole FBA revelation, so I want to try it again knowing what I know now. 

Pants - from an OOP Vogue pattern.  This is the bottom half of a suit that I made to wear to a dinner when my dad got an award a few years ago.  I haven't worn them much, but I really like them in this outfit. 

So that's that for today.  All in all, not a bad look considering everything I was going to wear was dirty, damp or drying.  When I was looking in my closet today, I realized that my wardrobe has once again ventured into the theoretical.  What I mean is that the wardrobe that is in my head, that I have purchased all that fabric for, doesn't actually exist other than in my head.  Hard to get dressed in a theoretical wardrobe.  Thankfully, it's not like I've been out buying other things, but I had better get cracking if I'm not going to be naked by the end of the month!

Have a good one. 

MMMay Day 1

Off we go!  One of my self-imposed rules for this month is that I have to document everything that I'm wearing that I haven't blogged about yet!  Which is getting to be quite a bit.  So let's get started with today:

Top: Sewaholic's Renfrew

Fabric: from Fabricland last week - too spring-y to pass up. 

I just whipped this up yesterday, and I'm loving it today.  The fabric is sooo soft that it feels like I'm wearing a pajama top.  It's not going to stay this lovely for long, because I suck at laundry sorting, and most things end up looking pretty grey pretty quickly, but I'm going to try to make sure it lasts a little while at least. 

Lots of people have complained that the Renfew has too much ease, but it has the right amount for me.  I don't like things to be tight, particularly around the middle, and this one feels just right.  There will be more of these to come!!

Skirt: Burda 10/2008 - style 126

Fabric: Denim from the stash

I was going to do some whinging about how I can never find the patterns that I use on the Burda website, then I went down to the hidey-hole and found that this pattern is four years old.  So I shall be quiet about that.  I like this skirt though.  My favorite denim skirt fell apart this spring, so a new one was in order.  This one is pretty good.  I am between a size 42 and 44 right now, so can fit into both plus size and regular sized patterns.  This one is a plus size that I have made easily alterable (no topstitching on the side seams and sewed the facings on before I sewed the sideseams) as my shape changes ( I usually go down a size over the summer). 

So that's the first day of MMMay.  I also have a little sewing porn for you all.  While I was out yesterday, I picked up this lovely zipper and fabric for a swingy tank top.  I love polka dots at the moment!

Can you believe that zipper? 

My work here is done. 

Alright Then - I'm In!

At the last possible moment, I have decided to jump in with both feet to Me-Made-May 2012:

" I, Mary of 3 Loved Ones, 2 Cats and A Birdbrain, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to only wear me-made items (with the exception of underwear, socks and running clothes) for the duration of May 2012. "

Well, that's that then.  Actually, I futzed around for the whole month trying to decide whether or not to partake this year.  It's been a very long, hard winter, and when I asked my daughter what she thought, she said that she thought there was enough going on.  And she's right.  There is a lot going on.  These are the busiest months of my year, work-wise.  I am usually working 6-7 days a week.  And my son is still a PIA teenaged boy.  And my dad just had a fall and broke his arm (in nine places!!).  But all of those things are about my supporting everyone else.  And this is about supporting me! 

So bring it on!  It's also a good way to photograph all the sewing I have been doing behind the scenes here.  Funny how you just fall out of the habit of taking pictures sometimes.  Makes the blogging really boring.  As if you didn't already know that!

Tomorrow, we ride!!!

You know you're having a bad day when...


 
you sew your finger to your latest project!

My plan today was to post some pictures of the new acquisitions that the last couple of days have brought. It's been a little busy here - the husband is away and the teenaged boy is being...well...a teenaged boy. I don't sleep well alone anymore, so it's been a couple of days since I slept well, and I was doing a little shopping at the thrift store today (Wednesday is apparently Senior's Day) when the lovely young woman said:

"Do you qualify for the senior's discount?"

Crap! For the record, you have to be 60 (!!) to qualify, and I'm 41. It seems like just yesterday that I was being carded to buy booze!

Speaking of which, I think a drink and bed is in order!

Apparently a little rest and slightly better presentation is in order....

Heard in a fabric store yesterday while I was buying more fabric to herald spring:
"I realized this morning that you don't become a better stitcher by just buying the stuff to stitch with! You actually have to make the stuff too!"

Too funny. I still bought the fabric though...