Back to sewing... sooo nice.

I haven't taken any pictures, but soon. I missed my sewing machine and while my serger and i have a love-hate-HATE relationship, i think i have her all worked out.

My husband's Halloween costume is ALMOST done :o) He's gonna be super cute! I beyond love love it. We have to get him special socks... but i will share it with you before we get socks. Oh so fun. I do love to sew.

Rut

I'm in a sewing rut.

I guess they happen.

I haven't touched my sewing machine in two weeks.

I've got to get out of it... but i don't really want to.

Here i go... try try try.

Blog Book

I know some of you have probably wondered about how to make your blog into a book. I did forever. And then last year i found this company that did it all for you for an awesome deal (in my opinion). So I made two. Now i just received my blog book for 2010 and i just remember how much i love them!

I don't journal. I'm horrible at it. But i am AWESOME at keeping my personal blog up to date. And it is so nice to have published with words AND pictures. So not only can you read what we did, you can see it too! I love it! I hope to someday turn this blog into a book TOO so that my kids can see what mommy loved to do {while they were sleeping} :)

Drapey Shirt

I made a shirt. With knits. Again. I think i am a glutten for punishment. I am DARN set on figuring out this whole knits thing. I think i need to get seam stabilizers BUT that is beside the point.

I followed a Mccalls pattern and when i was done it was about 2 sizes TOO big. Yikes! It looked terrible. So i started pinning, and sewing and cutting and this is what i came up with.

Still not perfect. A little to big in the neckline which makes the sleeves fall off, but for what i started with? It's amazing! I am pretty happy with it, though i plan to draft a pattern from an existing shirt i own to see if i like it better. Then back to Halloween costumes..... i just had leaving something not perfect. *though i really am not a perfectionist* i just want to figure out this whole "sewing with knits" thing.

So here is my creation. It reminds me of a shirt i saw at Anthro not too long ago. Excuse the pictures, i wanted to take them quick because hubby had a football game and i knew we'd be out past sun down.

Twirly (Waves) Skirt Revisited

So I am officially re-naming the twirly skirt the WAVES skirt. teehee. Get it? WAVES and winks? Much more appropriate.

I finally decided after wearing it for a few hours today that it was too short. Tisk. So i set out to fix it without making it look too "i-made-a-skirt-too-short-and-need-to-fix-it." I'm really happy with it and i feel like i succeeded. I only added about 2" but man oh man what a difference it made!

I really like the lace detail. I i still love the waves. It seriously is one of my favorite skirts! And now i am modest (even when picking up the babies) :o)...

P.S. I had a major flop of a time with the Tee for Two pattern today. I will try again though. I just need a heavier weighted knit!

Sewing books

I bought two new sewing books two days ago... and they arrived today. With having TWO little boys, i just couldn't pass up the Sewing for Boys book and i am super excited to dive into it! I also really love sewing clothes for myself and my ultimate goal is to make really wearable stuff. That look unique, but high-end. 

So i think instead of sewing today, i might soak in the bath and devour these two books with a nice bag of popcorn... mmmm... Have a fabulous day!

Pajama Pants

The other day i was reading Ashley at Make It Love It's post about baby leggings. While she said they are "boy or girl" I couldn't see past the pink and yellow to think of a boy. Until i was sitting with my son, putting on his pajamas, and i realized, these are the exact same pants! So i decided to make some of my own... and just a little differently...since i have a whole bunch of knit laying around that was meant for some other not done project :)

They are perfect for playing outside....

And of course wonderful for going to bed... (or just being boys in bed)....

I added a ribbed knit cuff instead of just sewing heming it. And honestly i didn't read the tutorial. She just inspired me when i realized that they were the same! That is how the boy's pajama's are and i liked it that way. Below is my tutorial for how i did mine. As you notice, I made them fairly large. I hate making things just right and two weeks later realizing they have outgrown them. AND with cloth diaper bums, they need LOTS of extra room! (my two year old still wears a diaper at night).

Soooooooo easy.... i am going to have to make another pair. OOO and i bought the pattern for Dapper Dillingers AND the Tee for Two. So excited! Coming soon... along with Halloween costumes... Oh so much to sew! :)

Lucy VanPelt Costume

Can you guess who i am being for Halloween?.... If the title didn't clue you in....

I'm Lucy VanPelt from the Peanuts gang. I was totally nervous to make the costume, but i think it turned out pretty well (it is only a costume!). I made it in one sitting, and it was done completely free handed without a pattern. Scary!

My darts are too high (only second time with darts... i have learned lots) and it's a little off in places, but i am so happy with it! The fabric is a dreadful polyester poplin i got from fabric.com. Yuck. It smells, it feels weird, and it makes me yearn for cotton or bamboo or rayon. BUT it was less than $4 a yard. So i will take it!

I'm super super excited about it and i can't wait to break into the boys fabric for their costumes!!!! YAY!

*i used to HATE Halloween and now i am obsessed. I don't like the scary stuff, but i LOVE the happy stuff! It's so fun with kids! This year will be our FIRST year TRICK-OR-TREATING! I can't wait!

Delivery

This arrived on my doorstep today! About 11 yards of beautiful fabric.

Oh and a bamboo/rayon knit. Feels amazing!

So i am excited. Too bad my kids JUST woke up :)

Leaves Are Falling Skirt

I made a new skirt! I am finally making a good dent in the fabric my mom gave to me for Christmas this last year. I loved this fabric and originally it was supposed to be a dress, but i thought the print was a bit too much for a dress. But i love the skirt.

It's just a big flowy Maxi skirt. I love wearing it. It is super comfy. I made a lining for it also, and an elastic waist so it really is just like a pajama skirt! It was my first time ever really working with knits, so i have a HUGE learning curve. My machine doesn't like them much, but my serger was a miracle worker! :o)

....and tomorrow is my birthday! woohoo! i'm *almost* 25 years old. A quarter of a century....

Rough Week

It has been a rough week {to say the least}. My creative energies are being sapped by the plethora of problems that seem to be arising in life. So today instead of sewing, i must nap. What a novel idea :) Maybe i'll whip out my machine tonight...

But i am super excited about what came in the mail yesterday! I won a giveaway at See Kate Sew and got a new ruffle foot! I think i am going to use it on part of my Halloween costume! I am excited! And it came so nicely wrapped up AND in a super cute bag! Thank you Kate!

Playtime: Playdough

Happy Labor Day! To me, Labor day means the pool is closing AND I get an extra day with my husband. Oh... and it generally means my birthday is a few days away! 

So today we decided was the perfect day for a play day... with playdough. Is it bad to admit that my kids have never played with playdough before? well, they  haven't. But today, was our first day! Our one year old was pretty apathetic, but my two year old LOVED it. We had a blast. So here is the recipe:

Playdough:

1 cup Flour

1 cup Water

2 teas Cream of Tartar

1/2 cup Salt

1 TB Oil

food coloring

It's really easy and it stores really easily in a plastic bag in the freezer! I will definitely be making more!

Applique T-shirts

Our little Eldon has a lot of hand-me-down shirts from his brother. Well, actually, most of his clothes are hand-me-downs from his brother. And being such, a good few have quite a few stains. Not horrible ones (those mostly get thrown out) but ones that make it so it's not a "public approved" shirt.

So I decided to experiment. When Hayden was younger, as my first sewing project EVER my mom taught me how to applique a onesie with fabric and just a running embroidery stitch. I love love love doing it. So i decided to try to cover some of the stains with fabric and embroidery.

Since it is football season (and my husband is raving mad about BYU) I knew a football shirt was necessary, and then the blue shirt just called out to me for fish. I traced *and slightly modified* the images from the computer by placing a blank peace of paper against my screen. BEST WAY EVER to trace and image. If you need to make it larger, simply save the image and zoom in. Make sense? If you have any questions i can take pictures to help it make sense. After I just cut out my fabric, applied Heat-n-Bond to the back, and embroidered around them. I did figure out a trick though! *yay!* I always seem to get Heat-n-Bond onto my ironing board or my iron which is so not a good idea! Soooo... i have a solution!

I just love love love love love love the way they turned out! Now two NEVER worn shirts will become regulars in the rotation! I have a few more shirt i might just have to experiment with! Just a fun and EASY project!! Now it's your turn!

Quiet Book

Today has been quite a day. And not in a good way. We are having SERIOUS issues with our landlords for no reason. I mean it's just insane. I guess everyone in life doesn't like you. I don't get it. People can be so mean. 

So my sewing machines remained in their closet and didn't see the light of day. So sad. I really like my sewing machines. And today is "unbreakable date night." I'll have to sew some tomorrow. I sure hope your day was better than mine!

For now here are some pictures of my quiet book i made last year. It's definitely based off of Homemade by Jill's quiet book. I need to make some more "preschool" pages not to  mention my two year old LOVES the hand puppets so more of those are on the way too!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 sticks Butter (2 cups)

2 cups Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup White Sugar

3 Eggs

2 Tbs. Vanilla

1 1/2 teas Salt

1 1/2 teas Baking Soda

6 cups Flour

1 bag Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350*.
Soften butter in large bowl. Add brown sugar. Add white sugar. Mix well.
Add Eggs. Mix Well.
Add Vanilla. Mix Well.
Add Salt and Baking Soda.
Add flour stirring after every two cups.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Roll into balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
Place in oven.
Cook 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and serve with a nice big glass of milk!