Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Sweet Ruby Jane

Sweet Ruby Jane is undergoing open heart surgery today. To show our love and support bloggers are being asked to post pictures of hearts all over the internet.

For more information see the Love for Ruby Facebook page,
#/groups/681546075211902/


A Purple Dress and Stupid Mistakes

Do you ever make sewing mistakes that are so stupid, you can’t believe you did it? I do. OFTEN. You’d think I’d learn. But no.  My Fibro brain was going full force when I cheerfully sewed the wrong piece of elastic to the pair of pj pants I was making.  Naturally I thought everything was fine. I attached the elastic to the top of the pants, after carefully measuring and ironing a quarter inch fold over. Then I folded the elastic and fabric down and sewed again. As I was mentally patting myself on the back, I noticed a forlorn piece of elastic glaring at me from beside my sewing machine. I looked at the pants, only to see a waistline fit for an elephant, not a two year old boy. It was four inches too big. That poor pair of pants sat reproachfully on my cutting table for two days, until this evening when I couldn’t avoid them any longer. The elastic had to come out. Forty-five minutes later the offending elastic was gone. Have I mentioned how much I hate unpicking? Especially when it is a pair of navy blue flannelette jammies, with matching thread.   Elastic casings are starting to look better and better.

And another thing. On Sunday evening I wrote a post about the swoon cardi I made for my step-granddaughter. I was being lazy and wrote it up using Blogger, instead of Windows Live Writer like I usually do. Apparently Blogger was having issues and refused to save or post my post. I tried for over an hour to make it work, then finally copied and pasted my post onto WLW. Problem solved, right? Wrong. About an hour later I checked my home page for something, and nearly cried. The post I had worked so hard on, was exactly the same as the post I had written before it. Lesson learned. If you are going to be any length of time between writing posts, check your last post!  In case you are wondering, I deleted the first post. I can make a fool out of myself very easily. I don’t need my blog to make it glaringly obvious to the world thank you very much.

 

Next on the agenda, a purple re-fashioned dress for my step-granddaughter. I love a fast and easy project. Lexi  loves purple. I found this long sleeved tee for $1.00 on clearance at a local store. I knew I wanted to make a dress, but I didn’t really have anything suitable colour wise, and I didn’t really want to use quilting cotton. I found the perfect tie neck top in my closet. It is hard to tell on a monitor, but the purple flowers are exactly the same colour as the tee. It looks like the sleeves are incredibly long in the photos, but they aren’t.

 

PicMonkey isn’t co-operating at the moment, so I haven’t been able to edit my pictures yet.

 

01e73220e42455647cbf490935667735d5dd86cf22

01f721fd742908b76453d95e7dff18b14d3c5326c6

 

The skirt is the bottom of the top, and I used the neck ties for the front waistband and ties in the back.  I thought it looked a little plain, so I made matching yoyos and sewed them to the bodice with a little added bling.

 

0172598704159bcb4899005086a6e90d8a6ad0c3ce

 

I think it turned out cute. Lexi loves and and it fits perfectly. Proof that occasionally I can do something right!

 

Until next time,  Happy Stitching!

 

9C58529A641F204D349E8768ED4FF0D4

Monday, December 16, 2013

Upcycled Christmas Tee

Hello again!  Are you ready for Christmas? I’m not even close. The decorations are up, some of the baking is done, and I’ve sewn a few gifts. By this time every year I am starting to panic, worrying that I’ll never be ready on time. But when Christmas Eve rolls around, I realize many of the things I thought were important aren’t. All that really matters is that we are together as a family. So this year I have decided to enjoy the days leading up to Christmas, and not worry about the little things that don’t get done. They don’t really matter anyway.

While raiding my stash a few days ago I came across the top from an old pair of my Christmas pj’s. It was bright red, with an embroidered tree on the front. It was big enough to cut out a who tee for MacKensie, but I also found some soft white knit that would work perfectly.

 

01d7d1c7be9b4fe5e339690f56dc6cbba30d0d9454

 She was busy watching Santa on t.v, and wasn’t impressed when Nanny wanted her to pose for pictures, hence the grumpy face.

I used the Bimaa Sweater pattern by Lou Bee Clothing on Etsy. I cut the neckline higher and sewed a rib knit collar. I think the shoulder seams look high because it is a heavier weight fabric. I cut around the tree on the old tee and sewed it to the new one with a decorative stitch (little hearts). It’s funny, my machine has several decorative stitches on it but I never think to use them. I think it worked perfectly here. I have made the Bimaa several times, and I know I will use it many more times in the future. I think I had better cut a size larger next time. MacKensie is growing like a weed!

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

 

        9C58529A641F204D349E8768ED4FF0D4

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sewing Swoon

Hello! I bet all two of my readers have been biting their nails, anxiously waiting for me to write a post. Well, wait no longer, here it is! Although I haven't been posting, I have been sewing, and not just for Christmas. Although as usual, I've taken on too much, planning massive sewing sessions with handmade gifts for everyone. But, that's another post.

I recently purchased the Scarf Neck Cardi patterns (women's sizes S - 2XXL and girl's sizes 3/4 up to 9/10) from Swoon Patterns. I have made both a woman's cardi, and one for one of my granddaughters in size 4. The pattern is a quick and easy sew. The front princess seams give the cardi more shape, and the irregular pointed hem is a nice design feature. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the lack of a facing for the shawl collar. On the cardi that I sewed for my granddaughter, I left all of the edges raw. On the woman's version, I hemmed the collar and hems by hand. (which seemed to take forever) It worked well on this version because it was made from a textured sweater knit and the stitches were hidden. I wouldn't hem one made from jersey or tee shirt fabric because it would show and I think look messy. A raw edge looks great on some items, but not others. The next time I make one in a lighter weight fabric, I may cut the front panel/shawl collar twice to make a facing. I know that it will hang a little differently, but I think it will give the cardi a much cleaner finish. The only other thing that I noticed on the women's pattern, is that the arms seem long. Just measure before you cut and you will be fine. Other than sleeve length, the fit seems spot on. All in all, I would recommend this pattern, for a quick satisfying project for beginners and seasoned sewers alike.

In my infinite wisdom, I forgot to photograph the ladies cardi. It is sitting on my work table, waiting patiently for me to hem the sleeves. I'm going to have to finish it up in the next day or so because it is a Christmas gift for my Nan, who lives 2000 miles away.

I made my granddaughter's cardi from a light weight super soft jersey and some faux sequin fabric, both from my stash.

I'm not to thrilled about the cheap faux sequins, but 5 year old Lexi is all about the bling, and she is thrilled. Oh well, I'll just call it a wearable muslin and be happy about it.

Next up is a sweet little upcycled Christmas tee for MacKensie. Until then, Happy Sewing!

Come party with me!

Block Party #16 at Making The World Cuter

Much Ado About Monday at Huckleberry Love