Long time, no see

Has it really been so long since I posted? It seems like so much and so little have happened. I actually did knock out another pair of dresses before KCWC ended :D I don't think I've ever gotten around to photographing them though and my CF card died. Haven't been able to purchase a new one yet.

KCWC Day 4

Pattern: Purl Bee Embroidered Denim Jumper 

Fabric: More Carolina Chambray in Magenta (Somehow I think I'm never making that quilt for my niece. Not out of this fabric, at least.)

Stayed up late to make a second one of these jumpers and to hem and sew the seam allowances down on the side and sleeves. I made the bodice an inch wider and the skirt a half inch longer (27 1/2") than the first one I made. I tried the smaller one on the little girl who will be wearing it. She's tickled pink and it's the length I was hoping it would be on her, which is ankle length.

Each skirt panel on the jumpers was made 24" wide. I did more gathering across the width of the skirt on the second jumper. I also ended up making a french seam in the back and a normal seam in the front of it. I sewed on the wrong side and as late as it was I didn't want to go through the trouble of trying to seam rip the raveling fabric. I sewed two lines of zigzags and then topstitched instead. Instead of handsewing down the seam allowances I stitched it on the sewing machine. Seems to have done well and it was fun maneuvering the fabric to keep the stitching continuous. I almost stitched the skirt into the topstitching but thankfully caught myself in time. Finished at exactly 2::30am when I'd hoped to stop. I still had to give the jumper a last iron but I was able to go to bed with two finished garments.

The sort of flutter sleeve that results from the rectangular bodice is really cute.

Day 3 Sewing

This is what I got done last night. I'm tired but I need to finish and finish making another tonight before I go to bed. Sorry for the horrific photographs. I took them quickly during lunch time.

They are mock-ups for possible uniform jumpers for the Kindergartners I homeschool.  I tried them on the girls today.

The striped bodice is the Child Summer Frock bodice that is free on Burdastyle, and is a size 6T. The fabric is some random shirting I got from fabricmartfabrics last year. I wanted to try it since there's a tutorial for sewing the lined bodice together. I can see what I did wrong with the other bodice I tried to line. It's basted right now, I might sew it up for real at a later date. I made one adjustment, I cut the neckline for the front bodice at the 5T mark on the pattern since I wanted their to be a difference.

The other dress and bodices are from the Purl Bee Embroidered Denim Jumper pattern that I saw on the kcwc community pinboard. It's very simple since it's made up of rectangles and has only one pattern piece for the neck.

The ones I'm making will be quite plain since I'm not very good at embroidery or applique. I'm not going to be handsewing the side seams down or doing the hem by hand either. I need things done a little quicker. It took me a while, two hours? to blanket stitch the first neckhole. The second took me about an hour. The suggestion to wet your fingers to help roll the neck edge really helped.

I'd like to some day make one the way the pattern says to though; it looks lovely. I made a french seam for my waist seams [bulky :( ] since I didn't feel like getting out my serger and I wouldn't trust Caroline Chambray not to ravel even with a zigzag over the edges.

Well, I need to get to sewing so I can get at least a few hours of sleep tonight. I'll be making a properly formatted post when I have both of them done and hemmed.

Got some sewing done tonight. Most of one of these and a Freshly Picked bodice. Going to try them out for fit tomorrow.

KCWC day 2

Yesterday I just took out some fabric and ended up falling asleep. This is the results of today /o\ I'm going to have to sit down with a seam ripper. I think I wasn't in the right mindset. I'd ordered a sample of Nescafe Memento on Nescafe's Facebook a while ago. It came today so I'm going to relax and try one of the packets they sent out. I'll try to sew something else later.

I have a post about car safety for child passengers that I've been working on for a few weeks. Will I get it done this weekend? I don't know.

KCWC is coming up again! As usual, I'm hoping to be more organized. I bought some fabric to use today and I believe I have the patterns I want to use it with. I just have to wash the fabric and cut it out. I should probably sew some seams in too so I just have to finish it, haha.

KCWC Day 5

Pattern: Toddler Swing Tank by True Bias

Fabric: Dress: Carolina Chambray in Magenta, Store bought bias tape.
            Button: Covered by a Michael Miller fabric. I forget which one.

I'm a night sewer so I sewed this up last night. I topstitched at 3/8" since I knew I wasn't going to be able to catch the edge of the bias tape at a 1/4". I also used a bigger button. I made it a few years ago and thought it would go nicely with this fabric. I thought about putting an applique on it but I'm not sure what shape I'd use.

I really need a 2 year old to try this on. I tried it on my 4 month old niece and it was just a little big on her. I love the pattern though. It's nice and simple. Carolina Chambray has a lot of body. I used it since I bought a few yards to make my niece's quilt and if I messed up I'd still have fabric. If I make this again and want a crossweave fabric I think I'd use Kaffe Fassett's shot cotton since it's a lot lighter.

Does anyone want a $20 credit to Tiny Prints? They recently sent it to me but I don't think I currently need anything from there. It's valid until 05/03/12. I bought my niece's birth announcements from there. They were so pretty.

Plum District has a coupon out for 25% off your order. The code is MOM25 and it's valid until the 30th of this month. I seriously love this site and have bought vouchers from them several times. It's always a good deal. I even got a subscription to Family Fun for free when they had a $10 coupon out last year. I don't have kids but it's an enjoyable magazine.

I just finished a Toddler Swing Tank. I saw it on Pinterest when it first came out and knew I wanted to make it. I was a bit unsure though since there were no photos of it on a child. I Googled the pattern again today and saw that someone had made it for KCWC here. I loved the fabric she chose, so cute!

 It's after 1am here so I'll take photos tomorrow. My camera and I do much better in natural light. I was going to try a new pants pattern but I think I'll just cut out the pieces and see the pants tomorrow. I'm making a muslin before I cut into the fabric I actually want to use.

I'm really happy I was able to sit down and sew something today. Hopefully this will get me in gear so that I can start my niece's quilt. She's 4 months and I haven't even started it yet even though I bought the batting before she was born. Who's a procrastinator? Me! I made a quilt for my youngest nephew, also more than a few months after his birth, and since it had a ton of blocks and I didn't have basting spray or enough of the safety pins I'm a bit traumatized. I had to use some straight pins that were stabbing my thighs, plus I found trying to do the line quilting a bit difficult with all that turning and getting stabbed in the process. Hoping this one will go better because I really do like quilts.

The snail in the sewing race

This new way to post is interesting. I like that it's so easy to position pictures in.

I got something made on the 23rd so I haven't forgotten KCWC. I meant to make something yesterday but that didn't happen. I think I'll try for every other day. Yesterday I photographed the dress I made and tried it on a little girl. She's 4 and this is supposed to be a 2T. I really need to work on cutting things to pattern size and not giving myself a little extra for mistakes.. I think the armholes would need to be slightly bigger for longevity and I probably won't be giving it to her but she loved it. She wanted to wear it when we went to the library together. I think I'll try to make her something since she loves it so much when I do. Such a sweet girl.

I was hoping to sew some clothes for my cousin's daughter but she hasn't gotten around to sending me measurements or clothes for sizing yet.

I had one of those $10 gift cards Kohl's sends out so I went there on Sunday. I'd been procrastinating for the last two weeks about ordering some knits and voile so I kind of went crazy and picked up 5 cotton/spandex tees that were on sale (2 XXL Mens, and 3 XL Womens). They were nice colors, stretchy, and so, so soft. It might not have been the most economical and I probably won't do it again unless a shirt is like $2 but I have some fabric to use that I like the color and feel of, so I'm happy. I'll probably still buy some yardage though. I don't know.

Patterns

Dress: The Playdate Dress by Craftiness is not Optional

Flower: Peony Flower by Creature Comforts

Fabric/Supplies

Dress: Two cotton/spandex tees from Kohls

Flower: Lining fabric from Jo-ann Fabric | DMC embroidery thread

I started this dress around 5 and finished it around 1am, hence the title of this post :/ It's ridiculous but I'm such a slow, cautious sewer. That time includes making the skirt pattern, using a seam ripper to remove the ribbing I used at the neck from another tee, finding out that I don't have enough fabric to cut out the back bodice in one piece even though I checked, forgetting to flip the pattern piece when I cut out the 2nd half and so having to use a different fabric for half of the back, somehow not cutting out the swoop on the skirt pieces (I had a curve instead O_o When I re-cut the curve I think I made it too deep) and sewing the back skirt to the bodice on the wrong side. Whoo. That was a long run-on sentence. I am ashamed :)

 I wasn't able to gather my sleeves at all but it does look good on. Next time I think I'll triple-check everything.

I contemplated doing some embroidery on the back to bring the sides together but I think it's fine as it is. I'm kind of scared to embroider on knits as well. I got some cutaway stabilizer and the mesh to put on the back to keep stitches from itching but I'm still a bit scared. I think I'll start with a woven.

 I'm thankful that even though I was making mistakes left and right, the fabric sewed like a dream. The sewing machine and my serger didn't try to eat it or anything. I don't know how much of that was due to the ballpoint pins and stretch needles I bought on Sunday. I think it was just a cooperative fabric. I think the finished garment might need a bit more steaming just to set it as right as it can be though. I would like to try to make this dress again.

I made the flower a few weeks ago. It was my first try and I'd like to do a better job next time but it looks nice on the dress. I glued the flower on a pin back and made it a broach. I now know that I should put the pin a little higher up next time so the flower doesn't sag.

I'm ready for sewing with wovens again although I've got a crush on knits. This kimono dress is going to be my inspiration for today or tomorrow. I have a pattern with wider sleeves that doesn't open all the way down the front but I really like the petite ruffles. It's something I'd been thinking about trying for a while and I've made the pattern before. I made ties in the side seams instead of the obi last time and will probably do the same this time..

Umm, was it really almost a month ago that I last posted? Time really does fly. Maybe I need to make a chart and have myself post at least 2 times a week. I'm currently sorting my crafting supplies. I bought some plastic containers to store stuff in. It's not the best but it'll have to do for now. I couldn't stand seeing my fabric all jumbled up in a huge garbage bag in my closet anymore.

I just found out KCWC is coming again. I'm excited. I plan to participate and get myself ready beforehand this time. Last time I was a bit unprepared and didn't get everything I wanted to do done

I've been wanting to make fabric flowers for a while and have been collecting supplies as I can. I made a two from a tutorial I pinned last weekend. They aren't gorgeous but I think I'll get better with practice.

Sorry I've been neglecting this blog. I've been gone forever but haven't actually abandoned it. I hope anyone who might still read this is doing well.

My niece was born in December. She turned 3 months today :)

I went shopping and ended up picking up some more Little Lisette fabric since it was in the Red Tag section. I loved the gingham so much that I bought the 50" that were left on the bolt and I've been lusting after the flowers so I bought some of those before they disappeared from my store. I bought some silk dupioni for rolled flowers too. I already bought some in blue last month but wanted more than one color to play with before I got started.

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I don't know what my obsession with little girl dresses is but it struck again. I bought McCall's M6388 in sizes 2-8. They were on sale at JoAnn Fabric for$1.99. I liked the yoke and wanted to try something new. I hope I didn't make a mistake. I need to make a jumper for the kindergartener I homeschool. She sometimes needs something to cover the gap between her shirt and pants when she leans over to do her work.

It's been unseasonably warm lately. I still bought a pair of winter boots that were on sale at DSW though. I've been on the look out for a pair for the last two winters. This winter was warm but the next one might not be and I'd like to be prepared.

A Home Goods store recently opened up nearby. My mother and I went in to check it out and ended up buying a few things. I got a small Le Creuset pan for cheap and some child-sized hangers. I plan on making small portions of apple crisp or macaroni and cheese.