I wanted the first thing I sewed after setting up my new sewing area to use a particularly fun piece of fabric, because it featured champagne! What better way to celebrate a new space than literally celebratory fabric? Not that I reserve champagne for celebrations, because I do not. I am totally on board with drinking sparkling wines any day of the week. But I digress. This is another version of Butterick B5748, a ... Read more »
Blistering orange capris
There's a lot of really ugly things going on in the world right now. It's been an especially crazy whirlwind of a few weeks in politics, with some truly dark happenings (mixed in with a couple of good and important ones). I haven't felt much like blogging, but in an effort to do something normal with myself, I remembered Mel had helped me take photos of a few things I've made and I hadn't looked at any of the photos yet ... Read more »
Creating my dream cutting table for sewing
Hello! I'm back from a relaxing vacation in the Southwest, where it was so relaxing, in fact, that we spent more time enjoying ourselves than bothering to take photos! But I may be able to cobble together a post from phone photos, so possibly stay tuned for that in the future. Now I'm continuing my basement makeover posts! When last I left things, you got to see the planning and build-out phases. And today *drumroll ... Read more »
Basement studio makeover: planning and “build-out”
I thought I'd continue my basement studio makeover posts (catch up with the first one here) with the planning and the "build-out" phase where we actually assembled and moved everything around, both of which took ages! Not necessarily the most glamorous topics, either. But I feel like many people just do "before and after" shots and you don't actually get to learn much about the nitty gritty along the way, and how they ... Read more »
Clowning around in the park
Remember how I said it went from marginal spring to summer in about 10 seconds flat? Right. One week I was wearing wool sweaters and the next shorts, scrambling to rotate my closet before I blinked and it was fall again and I'd be back to wool. (I mean, I'm already getting "pre-fall" promotional emails. Really?!) When I wore these shorts it was the first time I got to bare my thighs this year! They were sent to ... Read more »
Basement studio makeover: dirty little “before” photos!
Hello, everyone! Boy, have I been busy these last several weeks! We've been knee deep in giving our basement studio spaces a BIG makeover. And suddenly the weather went from marginal spring (great to seclude yourself in the basement) to summer (oops, would rather be out doing fun things) in about 10 seconds flat, and I feel like I'm behind on literally everything. With a vacation coming in mid-June I suspect I'm going ... Read more »
A little Friday giveaway treat
Happy Friday! As promised, I have a little treat for you. Hopefully you've checked out my guest post for Mood Fabrics, and yesterday's post here on my blog with more details about my jeans. I'm so pleased with that outfit and now I get to share my joy with one lucky reader! So here's the fun part for you: Mood has given me a $50.00 give certificate to give to one of you. Hot damn, fabric shopping time, right?! ... Read more »
Retro take on Ginger jeans, a year later
Today I have three things to tell you about: a guest post, some jeans, and a giveaway (that's coming up tomorrow). But, back story first! Over a year ago, I sewed a pair of Ginger jeans from Closet Case Files. I loved them and wanted to immediately make another pair with a higher rise and even more of a retro look. And I didn't do it, as is so often the case when you get excited about something but then forget to make ... Read more »
Sweetheart cowgirl birthday dress
Happy birthday to meeeee!! In keeping with the tradition that I started for myself three years ago, I've sewn a dress for my birthday. It's my birthday cowgirl dress, featuring a Western novelty print and a sweetheart neckline, modeled in our Southwestern themed den! The pattern is Butterick B5748, a reproduction of their vintage pattern from 1960: I've had this pattern for ages but only got the impetus ... Read more »
Cropped Ten of Hearts cardigan
Last week, you got a look at the cardigan I'm sharing with you today. Aaand here it is again! I actually finished this two months ago, but had to wait to share it until I finished and photographed the dress I sewed to wear with it! This is actually the second time I've knit that cardigan pattern. The pattern is called Ten of Hearts, and is a vintage pattern from the 1950s that you can buy from Bex's Etsy shop. (My ... Read more »
For the love of checks
Aloha! I have a new dress to show off today! And technically a new cardigan too, but I'll save that for another post as I plan to yammer on a bit about this dress. ;) This dress has two things that make it special to me: first, some super dedicated pattern matching that I'm proud of, and second, a muslin that led me to a fantastic "aha!" fitting moment that will forever change how I approach a certain fitting issue ... Read more »
Bring on spring dress
Want a bright and floral dress that screams "Bring on spring!" at the top of its lungs? Well I've got one for you! I'm back with way more about the dress I sewed from Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book. (And psst, two days left for the giveaway.) As I explained in my review, the bodice of this dress is from the book. It's been so much fun reading everyone's excitement in the entry comments, and suffice it to say the majority ... Read more »
Review + giveaway: Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book (and a peek at the dress I made from the book)
Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book to review on my blog, along with a giveaway at the end of this post! This is Gretchen Hirsch's third book, which was just released last week. You may also be familiar with the "Gertie" name from her blog, her line of patterns with Butterick, or fabric with JoAnn Fabric (man, sooo many cute prints in her spring line). Anyway, ... Read more »
Sewing with Doctor Who
Today's outfit is just full of fun separates! I love trying out new patterns, and sewing things that are more in the 'on occasion' variety. For example right now I'm finishing up a collared vintage dress, and it's coming out great, I had an extremely crucial fitting "aha" moment in the muslin, but I don't wear dresses with collars that often, even though this has a great one, and the back of the neck collar was ... Read more »
Setting myself up for success
Recently, I bought something and then returned it: a coverstitch machine. I don't feel like writing up a long blog post about why I returned it... so instead I'm writing a long blog post about something tangentially related to it, ha ha. The short story is that I felt mine was probably a lemon. It was a Janome 900CPX and lots of people love theirs... and many people (experienced sewers) think they have duds, or they ... Read more »
Lady Agnes
Friends, sometimes you make something, and you've seen others make it too, and it's an easy enough project, and you're fairly confident it'll look pretty cute once you're done. This was not one of those times. Oh no, because I didn't make the above. I mean yeah, I eventually did. But what I actually made first was this. I think the faces sum it up. That white thing was my initial attempt at the Tilly ... Read more »