Miss Crayola Creepy

I love Joan from Mad Men

2012-02-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you how much I adore Joan from Mad Men? I think she's a classy lady, for the most part, and I love her style (who doesn't?). I have a Pinterest board dedicated to her and my husband was kind enough to get me her signature pen necklace, so I can pretend to be more like her than I actually am. Stalker?

An upcoming Sew Weekly challenge is going to be a Mad Men theme. I was very excited because I had bought some fabric that screamed "Joan" to me before knowing about the challenge... but I keep looking at it and second guessing myself. Do you think this is a "Joan" color? I need your opinions!

If you guys approve of this fabric then I am going to use it for a dress. Which dress? I don't know :( I need to figure out which pattern to use and find some time to get this done! I picture myself wearing my Mad Men dress, drinking Old Fashioned cocktails, and watching the new episodes. Man Men party?

Sew Colette - Croquis

2012-02-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

Have all of you been following along with Sarah's blog? She has posted some awesome tutorials that will help you with sewing your muslin for your Pastille dress. She went over making shoulder adjustments, full and small bust adjustments, and making a croquis and dressing/sewing for your body shape. How awesome is she for posting all that?!?!?

I have yet to make my croquis, but it's going to happen. I have this dream of mixing and matching patterns on my croquis and then attaching fabric swatches to the paper. If I do all of this on the same size of paper I could then have it spiral bound into my own personal inspiration book. How cool would it be to have a custom book that you could flip through for ideas?

image found here

Some great tutorials have been popping up online. Personally, I love Lauren's. She guides you step by step through the creation process, so there is no confusion at all. When I make mine I will be referring to her blog :) If you have questions about dressing your croquis then I recommend Mikhaela's video tutorial. She shows you how she draws the dress outline and digitally puts her fabric swatches onto it.

Questions about fitting your muslin? You can always ask Sarah or I. Remember that the Sew Colette Flickr group is a good resource too! If you have already made a croquis please feel free to upload the photos.

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Schedule for sewing the Pastille dress designed by Colette Patterns.
February 2nd: Sewing the muslin - using washers
February 6th-11th: Fitting techniques and making a croquis.
February 16th: Choosing fabric
February 23rd: Sewing the final dress
February 29th: Pastille Parade

Sew Grateful Giveaway

2012-02-06T12:21:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Debi, dreamed up this wonderful week which you can read all about here. I have a LOT to be grateful for when it comes to this amazing online community of sewers. From all of you I get inspired, support when I need it (which is a lot), kind words, and I have made new friends. I am so lucky!!!

To kick off Sew Grateful Week I am hosting a giveaway for a Butterick pattern. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what makes you "Sew Grateful." That's it, easy! The giveaway will run until this Saturday, February 11th, at 6:00 PST and is open to everyone worldwide. One comment per person, please.

The pattern. How cute is the waist area?

Sizes 14, 16, 18, and 20.

Back of the envelope.

Fabric cutting extravaganza

2012-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

made by Bobbi Porter and photo is used with her permission

Do you remember this quilt block from my quilting class? I found the fabric I am going to use for it and I am so excited!

It will be very girly, but I'm making it for a baby girl, so it's perfect.

made by Bobbi Porter and photo is used with her permission

This is the second quilt I am making. Can you believe that she made this from the fabric pictured below???

The pink fabric (above) is what I chose for my project. Now that I look at it, I'm not sure if I am going to give it to Luke's sister, it doesn't have enough purple in it.

Thursday night I had a fabric cutting bonanza. Cutting the fabric for this quilt was a lot harder than others. I had to lay six identical pieces of fabric on top of one another, pin it, and cut precisely using a triangle ruler. Thank god I had a sharp rotary blade!

Since I cut through six identical layers I ended up with six identical pieces. I had some fun laying the pieces on my mat and seeing all the fun variations I could do with the blocks. Not sure if I am excited or stressed when it comes to sewing this up...

New tattoo

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

My tattoo

My husband Luke's good friend moved to Texas several years back and we miss him! Chris tattoos at Oliver Peck's shop, Elm Street Tattoo, in Dallas. When he comes to town he always tattoos Luke, but this time it was my turn! :) I am really happy with how it turned out, Chris is so talented!

Luke's tattoo

Luke has a tattoo for me on his inner left arm, so I got a tattoo for him in the same place.

Sew Colette - Metal washers

2012-02-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! It's time to get started on our muslins but to be honest, I haven't even cut mine out yet :( It was a spur of the moment thing, but I ended up getting tattooed last night, so that means that I wasn't productive sewing wise. I'm ready to write about sewing though!

To those of you that didn't participate in the first part of the sew-along, please make sure you have your correct measurements before getting started. If you need help then see this post.

Source

Before reading the Colette Sewing Handbook I struggled with cutting out my fabric. I would cut out the pattern, pin it to the fabric, and awkwardly cut around it. My cuts weren't as precise as they could have been and it was a struggle going around the paper. In the book Sarai suggested placing metal washers on top of the pattern, tracing around it, removing the pattern, and then cutting the fabric from the lines you had created. I did this with my Meringue skirt and it made cutting a breeze! There were no shaky cuts on my fabric and it was less of a fight between me and my scissors :)

You can get washers at any hardware store. My husband got mine at Miner's (isn't he sweet?) for $0.50 each and he got the biggest ones he could find. I'm sure that you could use other things that are flat and heavy to keep the pattern in place, but I really like using the washers because they can easily be packed away in a little box and stored with my sewing stuff. Have any of you tried using Sarai's technique? What did you think?

Part 2 of Sew Colette - The Pastille

2012-02-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to get started on Part 2 of Sew Colette? I had a blast making the Meringue skirt with all of you. We are all so fortunate to have a group of talented, motivating, and NICE women to sew with. How did we get so lucky?

The Pastille dress is our next project. If you own the book, then you have seen it many times, it's the cute dress from the cover :) This will be our first project in which a proper fit is essential to having a good looking garment, so I will really be relying on Sarah to help us out. I'm not worried, she's a pro!

Below is the schedule for the sew-along. Remember, if you ever want to look at the schedule for the present or past sew-alongs you can bookmark this link or just click on the button for Sew Colette on the side of my blog.

Schedule for sewing the Pastille dress designed by Colette Patterns.
February 2nd: Sewing the muslin
February 6th-11th: Fitting techniques
February 16th: Choosing fabric
February 23rd: Sewing the final dress
February 29th: Pastille Parade

Tomorrow we are getting started on our muslins. I don't think I will have everything cut out by tomorrow, but I will definitely be ready to start working on the fit next Monday! Oh, if you didn't participate in the first sew-along and you have questions about measurements please check out this post for the Meringue sew-along.

Sew Colette - Some talented ladies

2012-01-31T14:41:00.000-08:00

I was so excited to head over to the Sew Colette Flickr group this morning to take a peek at some of your gorgeous skirts! Don't tell my husband/coworker, I looked at all of your photos before I actually did any work. Oops ;) Below I have posted photos of some of you talented ladies.

Abbymomma

I love the green shirt paired with her brown skirt. And I never would have thought about pairing the skirt with boots until a few of you ladies made it look so cute.

Sarah

Doesn't Sarah look like a model? I love how color coordinated she is. The best part about her skirt fabric choice is that it will go with anything.

whatsupcupcake

I know that this doesn't show off the beauty of the whole skirt, but I love the idea of adding a tag. When I was wearing my skirt for the first time I struggled with remembering which side was the front and which side was the back and having a tag will eliminate any confusion. It's one of those "duh" things that I wish I had thought of! :)

Karen972

Karen looks so classy and how fun is her fabric choice?

So said ellie

I know that Ellie wasn't in love with the fit of her skirt, but I think it looks great on her. Her scallops look perfect.

LuckyLucille

Since I am obsessed with red and turquoise together I am also obsessed with Lucille's skirt! I love the modifications she made, including the button. Lucille, I think you have good taste!

That wraps up the first project! Before we all get started on the next pattern I wanted to ask your opinions. Did you enjoy the first chapter of the sew-along? Do you have any advice for me or do you wish I had done things differently? Let me know, so I can change how I do things for the upcoming projects if need be. Thanks so much to all that participated!!!!!

Social Sunday - Lori's baby shower and cocktails

2012-01-31T13:47:00.000-08:00

My friend Lori had her baby shower on Sunday. Lori is one of the most thoughtful, nice, and creative people I know, so I wanted to make something special for her. We went fabric shopping a few weeks ago and she fell in love with a vintage inspired fabric. Of course I had to be sneaky and go back and buy the fabric to make a quilt :)

It is just a simple quilt, I didn't want to do anything to detract from the adorable fabric. I didn't use my machine to quilt it, I just used embroidery thread to tie it. I like the thread, it give the quilt a "kid" look.

The back is a solid panel of this green fabric. It is a 1930's reproduction fabric.

Some of my favorite ladies: Tara, Jackie, Lisa, Samantha, Lori, me, Krista, and Erin. I always have so much fun with them!

After the baby shower my husband Luke and I decided that we wanted to get some drinks at the beach seeing as the weather was in the seventies. This was our view from the restaurant, beautiful! Have I mentioned that I love living by the beach???

Luke, wearing a Clippers hat of course. You can't see it, but trust me, it's Clippers.

Our first cocktail was a shrimp and crab cocktail. Yum!

My second cocktail was a more traditional one (meaning it had alcohol and not seafood) and it was amazing. I actually didn't order it, the waiter just gave it to me because he wanted me to try it. What a nice way to spend a Sunday, I love California!

My Meringue skirt is completed

2012-01-30T12:20:00.000-08:00

I finished my Meringue skirt! I sewed the whole thing up on Saturday night because I wanted to wear it to my friends baby shower on Sunday morning. It's definitely not the most flattering picture of me, but it's the only whole body shot I took.

A close up.

I learned a lot from this skirt. Going into it I was nervous about the invisible zipper which I built up to be much worse than it was. Having an invisible zipper foot definitely made things easier. I was literally finished with the skirt (other than the bottom facings) and zipping up the zipper when it BROKE!! So upsetting! There was no way to repair it, so I had to put in a new one and ruined all my hard work that I had done on the top facings. It looks ok, but not as good as it did before :(

Overall I am pleased with the skirt. I like that it sits higher and I love the fabric I chose. The pivot points on the scallops were slightly puckered (any tips on this?), so I was feeling a little self conscious about wearing it. At the baby shower a lot of people said nice things about it and made me feel so much better. Plus, no one even noticed the tiny puckers that seemed to stick out like neon flashing lights to me. Why are sewists so hard on themselves?

Did you learn anything or wish you had done something differently with the Meringue? Please share, your input is helpful to those that haven't yet finished their skirts.

I can't wait to see all of your photos! Please upload them to the Flickr group so we can all take a look. I will be posting pictures of some of my favorites later today or tomorrow.

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Schedule for sewing the Meringue skirt designed by Colette Patterns.

January 12 - Taking measurements and sewing the muslin.

January 19 - Fitting the muslin.
January 26 - Sewing the final garment.
January 31 - Meringue Parade - my finished skirt.

Are you ready?

2012-01-26T11:10:00.000-08:00

Are you ready to sew your skirt this weekend? I am, I'm excited now that my muslin fits well! My next step is cutting out the fabric with my revised pattern pieces, but last night I decided to get a head start and work on the template for the scallops. The book is very clear on how to do this, but I thought I would share how mine turned out.

First I traced a curve from one of the facing pieces and drew vertical lines, so I knew where the curve stopped. I measured 5/8 inch many different times from the curve I traced. This was easily done with my french curve.

Having the 5/8 inch mark was very helpful! I then used the rounded edge of the french curve to connect the marks.

I cut out the shape and ended up with this. Well, to be honest it took several tries to get it right, but I wanted the template to be perfect, so I didn't struggle/get frustrated later on when I was sewing.

I tested the template and the curves matched up, so I now feel more confident about sewing. Invisible zippers are another story though... I will be referring to page 23 in the book/this tutorial if I get lost.

What about you, are you ready to sew this weekend? I can't wait to see the finished skirts on Monday! Be sure to post them in the Flickr group, so we can all see them.

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Schedule for sewing the Meringue skirt designed by Colette Patterns.

January 12 - Taking measurements and sewing the muslin.

January 19 - Fitting the muslin.
January 26 - Sewing the final garment.
January 31 - Meringue Parade - show off your finished garments.

More projects for me

2012-01-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

I started 2012 knowing that it was going to be a busy year, but I have (knowingly) made it busier. At the beginning of the year I decided that I want to make twelve garments from Colette Patterns and cohost a sew-along with Sarah, I want to read at least one book a month, I want to be a contributor for The Sew Weekly (have yet to post anything other than my introduction post, but I am working on something now), I want to learn some basic embroidery, and I want to focus a little more on garment sewing which means cutting back on quilting. What a joke. That last idea lasted twenty two days.

Made by Bobbi Porter and photo posted with her consent.

How amazing is this quilt? When I first saw it my jaw dropped, the main center area (not the borders) is made from one piece of fabric which is cut into pieces/strips (?) and sewn together to get that separate color effect. Bobbi (the quilting instructor for the class I'm in) pulled this off by choosing a fabric that didn't have a lot of dead space. I don't know exactly how she did it, but I'm going to learn :) When I saw this quilt I knew that I HAD to make it.

Made by Bobbi Porter and photo posted with her consent.

The "quick and easy" quilt will be made up of blocks like the ones pictured above. With a few more blocks and a border it will be a perfect crib sized quilt. I'm going to make it for my friend's baby.

Fabric from Quiltin Cousins and photo posted with the owner's consent.

I have been eyeing this fabric from Quiltin Cousins for some time now and it will be perfect for the crib sized quilt. Hopefully there will be some left, I've got my heart set on using it! I am going with my friend Pari and my new quilting friend Stephanie for some fabric shopping this weekend.

My "To Do" list for this year just got a little bigger. How are all of you doing on your New Years Resolutions?

Tea embroidery for a tea towel

2012-01-23T12:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a "Craft Day" for me and some friends. Two girls worked on their sewing machines, one drew, and I embroidered. It is my second embroidery project, so there is room for improvement, but it was a fun, relaxing project to work on.

Ideally my kitchen would be entirely black, white, pink, and mint, but we rent and can't paint :( Plus finding things in mint is hard to do! The upside of being a DIYer is that you can make things to match, like my tea towel!

Giveaway winner and Sew Grateful

2012-01-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

The winner for the prize from Augie and Lola Baby Baby Boutique is:

Congrats, Ellen! Krista will be in contact with you shortly. To those of you who didn't win: I'm doing another giveaway in February for Sew Grateful, so you will have to participate then :) I have the perfect item from my stash in mind...

I've got muslin problems

2012-01-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, the muslin for the Meringue isn't going as well as the one I made for my Sorbetto. After sewing up the sides of the skirt and wiggling into the muslin it was very clear that some adjustments needed to be made. The fabric was a little baggy below my bellybutton. I double checked with my husband (it's nice to have a second set of eyes) and he agreed that it looked like there were "loose horizontal wrinkles."

The horizontal wrinkles are much more pronounced in person.

After studying my Colette Patterns book it seemed that I needed to "eliminate some ease to make the area shorter." I used the technique suggested (pinched out the extra fabric, pinned it, and used a red Sharpie to mark corrections), changed my pattern to work with the new length, and made a new muslin. I'm still having a similar issue, though it is not as severe as the first muslin. My husband thinks I am being picky and that it looks fine. Maybe I am being picky, but I'm the one that is going to wear it!

The second muslin. I should have taken a photo of it on me not the form.

What about you, how did it go with your muslin? Any tips on making adjustments? If you have any detailed questions on fitting be sure to stop by the Sew Colette Flickr page. That's where I'm heading now...

Oh, I also wanted to point out PoppyKettle's great post on doing the scallops at the bottom of the skirt. She even came up with a twist on the Meringue, the Pavlova. So clever!

Be sure to look for Sarah's post tomorrow!

Fabric choices are important

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I read Melizza's post about her Meringue skirt and how she struggled with the facings on her scallops due to her fabric choice. I thought it was something we should all consider as we are choosing fabric to use for this project. I asked her if she would like to share what she learned and she was nice enough to agree. Thanks, Melizza! Your skirt looks great!

"Say No to A Saggy Bottom"

I felt like coloring outside the lines when I chose my fabric for the Meringue skirt muslin. I had just purchased some cute navy polka dot fabric and felt desperate to use it. What's the problem? Well the fabric had a lot of drape, exactly what the pattern does not call for. But I was up for the challenge. The fabric didn't set me back much so if it didn't work, at least I learned a lesson in fabric choice. If it did, I had a cute wearable muslin.

Constructing the skirt wasn't where I experienced my biggest hiccup. It was while I attached the hem facing. The fabric was flimsy so it was hard to keep it taut and straight enough to stitch. It took three tries to get it right! A bit frustrating when you're so close to being done and all you want to do is admire your handy work. The hem facing moved so easily I kept attaching it much too high onto the skirt. The first attempt lead to a saggy bottom, causing the scallops to lose shape. Same happened after my second attempt. After some tugging and calling in some patience I got the hem facing lined and stitched perfectly. So persistence paid off. No saggy bottoms here. Just crisp scallops.

I'm sure someone with more experience could have sailed through this saggy bottom issue but as a beginner it took me longer to figure out the obvious. If I had to do it again I would interface the hem to give it the body that it needed. Or I would just follow directions and use something stiffer, like cotton :)

Treasures purchased this past weekend

2012-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

There was a sale at JoAnn's this weekend. All Butterick patterns were $2.00, so I bought eight. I don't know when I will actually make them, but how could I pass up a sale this good?

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Sorbetto Sunday (plus a Mai Tai)

2012-01-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

I love living by the ocean!

Cheers from Shell Beach, California! The weather has been beautiful the last few days, so I have been out and about enjoying it. I met up with Kirsten yesterday morning and then went to The Cliffs with some girlfriends for cocktails.

I finished my Sorbetto and I just love it. I used the fabric I bought from Mood last weekend, added a few inches to the shirt length, and added sleeves. It's such a simple pattern to sew up and depending on the fabrics used it can be dressed up or down. The shirt is one that I can wear to work, as well as on the weekends. There will be more shirts to come!

My only issue with the shirt was making the bias tape. I used a bias tape maker and an iron, but had trouble pressing down the fabric where the seams were joined when it was coming out the bias tape maker. Does that make sense? The seams just seemed to flop open. Does anyone have any tips for this?

I love this pool, but why aren't more people swimming?

A very strong Mai Tai.

Seventy degree weekends in mid January?!?! Yes, please!

Giveaway from Augie and Lola Baby Boutique

2012-01-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I am excited to host my first giveaway! My friend Krista makes all of the products on the Augie and Lola Baby Boutique Etsy store and has been nice enough to give away an item to one of you reading this.

How cute is this bib???

I don't have kids, but these shoes would make a great gift for one of my friends that does.

Here's how it works: go to Krista's Etsy store and pick your favorite item. You can choose between a bib (she will make a matching burp cloth to go along with it) or a pair of shoes. If you would prefer a different fabric she will even customize the fabric to your liking! Leave a comment here with your e-mail address and the item you would like to win. That's it! The giveaway is open to participants worldwide, will run through the week, and end on Saturday, January 21st at 6:00 PM (PST).

P.S. You might want to follow her on Facebook too. She posts coupons and other cool things!

Los Angeles = Mood and the LA Clippers

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday my husband Luke and I went to Los Angeles for some shopping, an NBA game, and some fun! Our first stop was Mood. Let me say that my husband is such a good sport when it comes to fabric shopping. He always gives me good feedback when I ask him sewing questions (he doesn't sew, but he humors me), he gets me tall bolts of fabric that I am too short to reach, he is patient, and he doesn't rush me. This time he also entertained himself by picking out buttons for a sewing project that doesn't yet exist. He just wanted the buttons.

Lebron liked my purchases.

Sorry if you don't like cats, but my blog is filled with pictures of my cats.

I bought two fabrics. I know, only two! I am trying not to be a hoarder, so I am only buying what I need. Plus, being in Mood is kind of overwhelming to me because there are so many different choices. The red lawn fabric above is what I am using for my Sorbetto. I love red white and blue!

This sheer silk fabric is a very light pink with black polka dots. I'm nervous to use it, I've never sewn with a texture like that.

Clipper Nation!

In case you are new to my blog, my husband is a huge Los Angeles Clippers fan. We ordered tickets for the game against the Milwaukee Bucks as soon as we could. We got seats in row eleven!! I have never sat so close and now I feel spoiled, like I never want to sit farther back again :)

The only sewing related thing about this photo is that I made myself a Clippers headband. I would like to get more fabric, but can't find it anywhere :( When I eventually find some I plan on making myself a dress for future games. I'm going to look wild, but who cares????

Since we got to the game really early we got to watch warm ups. That's Blake Griffin making a layup.

The game. I can't get over what good seats we had!

Look who we were sitting next to. Hell yeah, I took that photo stalker status.

Sew Colette - Measurements and Muslin for the Meringue skirt

2012-01-12T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to start sewing for the Meringue sew-along, but first we need to get some prep work done before we get out our machines.

Measurements

First off you will need to take your measurements. The best way to do this is in the underwear/bra that you plan on wearing in your outfit. I can speak from experience, correct measurements are important! When I first started sewing I thought that since my bra size was a 34 I would use that number for my bust measurement. WRONG! That number is actually for the under bust. I have made the following images to help out with where you should measure.

Use a flexible measuring tape and measure across the fullest part. This can be tricky to do yourself, so you may have to ask for help.

Sarah posted a helpful video about finding your measurements.

Write down your measurements as soon as you are done. I wrote mine on a post it note and stuck it inside my Colette Patterns book for future reference. We won't need the bust measurement for the skirt (obviously), but I thought it would be good to do all the measuring at one time.

Once you know your measurements you will turn to the back of your book to see what size you are. Ladies, don't get bummed out by sizing and numbers. I used to work in a clothing store and women would come in and complain about sizing. "REAL women couldn't fit into this." "I'm a true size ___ and this doesn't fit." Every clothing company has different standards for sizing and guess what, everyone has different bodies. Don't stress!

Patterns

Some people trace onto a thin paper to preserve their original pattern. This is ideal for people like me that are new to sewing, not 100% certain on sizing, and will need to make sizing adjustments.

Do any of you ever make photocopies of the patterns instead of tracing? I don't know if this is correct sewing etiquette, but I have been curious since I don't hear anything about it.

I have been storing all my cut out pattern pieces for the Meringue in this folder.

Once your size is determined you can cut out your pattern and get ready to make your muslin.

Muslin

I wrote yesterday about how great it was to make a muslin and I was very excited to make one for the Meringue skirt. To those of you that don't know, a muslin is basically a way to test the fit of the pattern. It is important to make one, as you will feel confident on the fit and size before cutting into your nice fabric.

First, I ironed my muslin and folded it in half, selvage to selvage. I put my pattern pieces on top, put weights on the pieces, traced an outline, and then carefully cut out along the lines. I only did this for the skirt front and back and not for the facings.

Red Sharpie shows up well, no question about where I should be cutting!

That's it for today! Please check out Sarah's post for additional information on measurements and muslins. Oh, and have you joined the Flickr group for Sew Colette? You should!

I know that I am not an expert and we all can learn something new, so please do not hesitate to give me some of your tips, tricks, and opinions. That goes for this post and all future posts. There are a lot of talented sewists out there and I would love to hear what you have to say! :)

Two new things for a beginner

2012-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Before reading my favorite sewing book and before reading all of your informative sewing blogs I had no idea that I should be making muslins, the thought never crossed my mind! Isn't that silly? The other night I decided to put my new knowledge to use and make a muslin before starting my Sorbetto top.

As you can see, I went to town with my red Sharpie!

I am so glad that I made the muslin. After trying it on I decided that I wanted to add a few inches to the length. So glad that I didn't realize that after I made the top.

Lebron loves watching me work on sewing projects.

The second new thing I tried was altering the pattern. It was a quick and easy horizontal slash alteration to add extra length. After cutting directly across to split the pattern into two parts I added a new piece of paper that was three inches (the length I wanted to increase) and taped it between the two pieces. So easy!

At the end of the night I learned that muslins are awesome, I will make a muslin each time I use a new pattern, and I should be making pattern alterations whenever I am not happy with the fit. Common sense for some, but new techniques for me to work with! :)

Next up, a muslin for the Meringue skirt.

Announcement - Sew Colette

2012-01-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I am so excited to announce that Sarah from Rhinestones and Telephones and I are going to host a sew-along for the five patterns included in the new Colette Patterns book. When I first got the book I didn't know where to begin, I wanted to make all five patterns. Sarah was in the same boat! We decided to team up for a sew-along and make a project a month starting at the beginning of the book. We would love it if you followed along to one, some, or all of the patterns. Many thanks to Sarah for organizing this and to Sarai for making such an incredible book!

Please don't think that you need to be an advanced sewer to follow along. I am fairly new to garment sewing, I can probably count the number of different patterns I have used on one hand! With Sarah's knowledge, Colette's wonderfully designed patterns, and step by step instructions, I think we can do it! Just think, at the end of May we will have five nice garments to wear :)

Feel free to post either of these buttons to your blog.

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Schedule for sewing the Meringue skirt designed by Colette Patterns.

January 12 - Taking measurements and sewing the muslin.

January 19 - Fitting the muslin.
January 26 - Sewing the final garment.
January 30 - Meringue Parade - my finished skirt.
January 31 - Some of my favorite skirts from the Sew Colette Flickr group.

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If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Ready, set, sew!

New Years Goals part 2

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

I wrote all about my garment sewing goals, but I forgot to post about my other goals. Here they are:

I mentioned to Giggly Mama that I was interested in learning some basic embroidery to embellish my quilts and possibly clothing. She surprised me with this starter kit!!! How sweet is she??? I had been secretly dreaming about the exact kit.

I got to work right away and made this cat for my first project. I used the same stitch the entire time, but I feel like this was a good practice piece for me. Jenny Hart's designs are so cute and I can't wait to make more. Thanks, Shannon!!!

Erin and I decided to start a book club and we are going to start the year with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I was really excited to start this, but then we went to a friends house and his roommate saw the movie and decided to tell everyone ALL about it. Thanks, book ruiner.

Collin and Kelly

2012-01-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Collin just proposed to my sister at Disneyland!!! I couldn't be happier!!!

!!!!!!

The "I love 'Merica" quilt or the last project of 2011

2012-01-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

I truly am a slacker. This quilt was supposed to be for a Christmas gift, but I didn't get it done in time. Since I missed the Christmas deadline I decided that the quilt had to be done before the end of the year. I finished it with six hours to spare!

This is another one of those quilts where I can't say who it is for because the person reads my blog. What I can say is that the person loves the color combination of red, white, and blue (like me!), so hopefully this quilt will be well liked.

The back is a red fabric with very subtle red flowers.

Yes, I quilted this one myself, as usual. I stitched in the ditch for the majority of the quilt, but on the border pieces I used my free form foot and just did whatever I wanted. I made loops around the flowers and leaves. Every time I use that foot I am reminded of how hard quilting is! It is difficult to time how fast the needle is going with the speed you are moving the fabric with your hands. I feel like each time I am getting a little better. Practice makes perfect?

I did a confusing binding technique the first try, all by myself! I was so proud :) It's the technique where the two loose ends of the binding are joined. When you stack the pieces on top of each other it looks bulky and obvious. When the ends are joined at an angle it is so much cleaner looking.

Luke took a photo of the quilt, but I think you see more of our living room than anything else.

Now that the last Christmas gift is out of the way I can get to sewing for myself. Happy New Year!

Some of my fabrics for 2012

2011-12-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

Even before I announced my sewing plans for 2012 I had been fabric shopping in preparation for the year. I now have fabric for the first three patterns in the Colette Patterns book. Some of you may think that I am planning a little too far in advance, but you don't understand the fabric situation where I live! There are TONS of quilting fabrics, but little to no garment fabrics. There is one store that carries some, but I am pretty picky, so I rarely find anything. You can imagine my love for online shopping at Mood!

image from Colette Patterns

The first project (January) in the book is the Meringue skirt. I can't wait to try the scalloped hem, as I have never made anything like it.

This navy twill is what I purchased. It is a little thicker than what I am used to working with, granted I pretty much have only used quilter's cottons, but the book suggested using this type of fabric to keep the scallops crisp. I love the color and plan to wear it as part of one of my favorite color combinations: red, white, and blue.

image from Colette Patterns

The second project (February) is the Pastille dress. It will be the first form fitted dress I have made, but I feel confident that I can make it using the Colette Patterns book as my resource!

The fabric I chose is very similar to the one on the model, but with a little less orange, at least I think so. I purchased this from Mood also. It's a linen fabric and is a little sheer, but my husband reminded me that I can wear a slip with it :)

image from Colette Patterns

The third dress (March) is called the Truffle and it's gorgeous! I was debating which fabric to use when I remembered that I had some fabric from my trip to Mood that would be perfect.

It's pretty wild, but the texture is exactly what I will need. It's really light and slightly sheer, so it looks like I will need a slip for this one too. I have never sewn with anything like it, so things might get interesting...

Is it January 1st yet? I can't wait to get started! What are some of your sewing plans for next year?

My favorite gift I gave

2011-12-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

This year I was especially excited to give Luke his Christmas gifts. Every single gift I gave him was somehow Los Angeles Clippers related. He has been a longtime fan, much longer than all the people who recently started liking the Clippers within the last year and a half when they got Blake Griffin.

Can you tell that he is their biggest fan?? I asked my talented friend, Shannon aka Giggly Mama, if she could embroider an image of Blake Griffin. She did, in under a DAY!

This is so amazing!!! I have shown every single person I have came in contact with over the last few days and first everyone's jaw drops, then they say they can't believe how it looks exactly like Blake Griffin. If you like Shannon's work please add her on her Facebook page or visit her Etsy shop.

Thank you so much, Shannon!! I am so lucky to have such a talented, awesome friend. You made Luke's Christmas very special. Plus, he is very happy to have a custom piece that the band wagon jumpers can't buy ;)

Vintage Photo Friday - Merry Christmas from Ava Gardner

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Wishful Wednesday - Fabric from Mood

2011-12-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

1. Animal Jersey Print
2. Red and White Stripes
3. Pink Charmeuse
4. Yellow Polka Dots
5. Mint Linen
6. Black and Red Plaid (totally dreaming on this one! $80 a yard will never happen!)

Goals for 2012 or The Year of Colette

2011-12-20T15:17:00.000-08:00

Last year I wanted to read twenty four books and I am very happy to say that I accomplished that! I think the reason I was successful was because I had a clear goal, planned to make it happen (two books a month which means one book every two weeks), and stayed on schedule. I decided to do something similar this year with my sewing plans.

My plan this year is to sew at least one item of clothing a month, which means twelve different pieces. I am doing this because I am so inspired by the new Colette Sewing Handbook from Colette Patterns. When it comes to garment sewing I am completely self taught and easily intimidated. After reading through the book so many previously confusing things make much more sense and I want to put my new knowledge to use.

My first five garments are going to be from the included patterns in the book pictured above. The next seven patterns will be purchased from their website. Twelve articles of clothing made from Colette Patterns = 2012: The Year of Colette.

Now, I know that to some twelve pieces is not that many, I mean Veronica and Debi make something every week, but to me twelve is a lot! I don't have a ton of sewing experience, but I feel like I can reach my goal! I hope you enjoy watching my progress.

Social Sunday

2011-12-18T12:16:00.001-08:00

Last night Luke and I went to two Christmas parties. We are so lucky to have such great friends!

Pattern dilema

2011-12-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Debi asked a good question over at The Sew Weekly, "are you a pattern first or fabric first type of sewist?" Well, normally I am the pattern first type, but then I got to thinking about these red shoes.

I bought them for myself last year and haven't even worn them yet. Isn't that terrible? Then I started thinking about why I haven't worn them and it's because I don't have an outfit for them. I imagine myself wearing them with a light pink dress, maybe with some light yellow details...? But I still need a pattern, any recommendations? Does this make me an accessories first type of sewist? :)

Vintage Photo Friday - Mary Pickford

2011-12-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

1940s slip

2011-12-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

I followed a sewalong for this slip and I am happy to say that this was the first sewalong I have successfully completed! It was for the 1940s slip pictured above.

I used a red cotton for the top portion and a blue with red polka dot flannel for the bottom portion. It's really warm! Please forgive me, the nightgown looks crooked in this photo, but I just hung it at a weird angle. Oops.

Along the top of the bodice I attached a red bias tape which I made myself.

The back darts that you can barely see with all the wrinkles.

Tiny straps made easily with my loop turner. What did I ever do before I had one of those things?

The side.

I got the fabric from Jo-Anns, which I rarely do since I like supporting local fabric shops. The red fabric is just a cheapy cotton and the polka dot fabric is a soft flannel. It's pretty warm, but not quite warm enough to wear just yet. On my Jo-Anns trip I bought 5 yards of a key fabric which was my real reason for going in the first place. I am very happy with my purchases.

Now that I have finished this slip/nightgown I am going to make another one, but with nicer fabric. Thank you so much Anna for hosting this sewalong. I can't wait for the next one!

EDIT: I accidentally deleted my original post! Sorry for reposting this if you have already read it! :(

Wishful Wednesday

2011-12-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun cotton fabrics I found online.
1. Retro Bows
2. Retro Sewing
3. Hawaiian
4. Birds on branches
5. Painter's canvas in sage
6. Pineapple

Weekend sewing

2011-12-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Even though I was out and about all weekend I managed to squeeze in some sewing. I finished the quilt top for this quilt. It is going SO much faster than my last quilt. I finished the quilt top in a week which is a record for me.

Last night I drank a couple old fashioned cocktails, decided that I didn't want to make a salad for the potluck for my quilting class, and worked on a nightgown instead for the sewalong at A Few Threads Loose. Now I have to rush home and make the salad before class. My sewing decisions made while drinking aren't always the best!

I had extra fabric so I made a bird ornament for the tree.

Social Sunday

2011-12-11T18:09:00.001-08:00

Another social weekend! We went out for dinner and drinks for my "brother" Brandon's birthday. Brandon isn't really my brother, but one day someone truly thought we were brother and sister and it has made us laugh ever since.

I went out for Thai food with some good friends and ended up making new friends as well.

Happy burstday, Brandon!

Myself, Luke, and Curtis.

Luke didn't want to be in the photo, but Curtis did. When does Curtis not want to be in a photo though?

Hayley and I. We met for the first time a couple of months ago, but last night was the first time we got to talk and I adore her! She is a sweet girl and hopefully I will see more of her, that is if she ever has a free moment! She's in four or five bands (this is one of them), works forty hours a week, AND is starting a local magazine. Busy!!

Snuck in another photo of my handsome husband.

Today we hung out with our friends, Matt and Shawntel, had a nice lunch, and now we are sitting in our nice warm house, with brownies baking in the oven. Another good weekend!

Vintage Photo Friday - Elizabeth Taylor

2011-12-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

Christie's in New York has Elizabeth Taylor's memorabilia, jewels, beautiful clothing pieces and more, on display right now in Rockefeller Center. Tickets are $30 and you can buy them here. If only I lived closer, I'd be there in a heartbeat!

The tropical quilt is completed!!!

2011-12-08T10:38:00.001-08:00

I finally finished my quilt! This morning I had my husband Luke hold it for a quilt photo shoot :)

This is the quilt front. I wish I could tell you EVERYTHING about the quilt, but I can't :( I am giving the quilt away to someone very special to me and I don't want to risk writing the person's name in case the person stumbles across my blog. Here's what I can say: the quilt is a "mystery quilt" which I started in July and finished this month. My quilting instructor told us to buy dark, medium dark, medium, and light fabric is specific quantities. Each week she would give us another step, but we had no idea what the end product would look like. I am so happy with my color choices!

The back fabric looks like the ocean!

I quilted it myself primarily by stiching in the ditch.

Here is an up close shot of one of the quilt blocks.

I have put the most time and effort into this quilt, much more than any other item I have made and I am so proud of it!! I must say, it's hard to give this away, but it is going to someone that deserves it and will appreciate it. This is my second quilt and there will be many more to come.

It's getting close to Christmas

2011-12-07T09:53:00.001-08:00

Last night we got our tree, put on the Frank Sinatra Christmas album, and decorated.

Making a quilt with cat distractions.

2011-12-06T12:08:00.001-08:00

I imagine that someday IF I ever have a child I will prepared to deal with distractions while I am sewing. I base this on the fact that my cat Lebron seems to need a lot of attention whenever I am working on a project. He wants to be my number one priority whenever he sees that I am busy and I have to stop everything to pet him or cuddle him... or else he gets destructive!

On Sunday when my friend Jessi was over I sewed strips of fabric together for my quilt. Last night I cut the strips into blocks and tried to arrange them on the carpet. Lebron did not like that one bit. You will notice in the above photo that he was prancing around trying to get my attention.

Next he decided to fall down in the center on the blocks.

"Pay attention to me!!!"

Before Lebron totally destroyed the layout I quickly gathered the columns in order and numbered them with a post it and sharpie. The smell of the sharpie offended Lebron and he left, of course as soon as I was done.

A very social weekend

2011-12-05T11:20:00.001-08:00

Our good friends Chad and Cali had their baby on Friday, December 2nd. Luke and I went to their house to meet little Dailey on Saturday night and she is sooo cute!

I love my "goddaughter." Funny story about that, Luke and Chad have been best friends since childhood and when Luke found out that Cali and Chad were having a baby he decided that he was going to be the godfather. I told him that he can't just decide to be the godfather, he needs to be asked. Luckily Chad and Cali have a good sense of humor and they laugh about it.

Unfortunately, I missed the baby shower a few months back due to a trade show for work, so I didn't give Cali her gift. The plus side is that I got to give Dailey the gift in person! I made her a little baby blanket with the black and white fabric on one side and red minky fabric on the back. Sewing with the minky scared me because the salesclerk put fear in my head, but it turned out being easier than anticipated.

Oh, another plus is that now I have a cute baby girl to sew clothes for! :)

This isn't going to be a huge deal for most of you bloggers out there in the world wide web, but it is exciting for me: I had my first sew day with a friend! It seems like there are a lot of people out there that get together with their girlfriends and sew. I don't know many people that sew, so getting together with Jessi was a first for me. I started on a new quilt (I will post my progress tomorrow) and Jessi mended a stack of clothing. She LOVES vintage clothing and had a few pieces that were needing some fixing. I had so much fun talking and gossiping with her. Hopefully this will be the first of many times we will get together :)

Christmas tree skirt

2011-12-03T11:49:00.001-08:00

I wanted to get in the holiday spirit, so I bought some Christmas fabric from Quiltin Cousins in Pismo Beach. When I told Shaun (the owner) that I wanted to make a tree skirt she had the best idea that saved me a LOT of time. She suggested that I fold the fabric into a triangle like I was making a paper snowflake. You know, the ones that you would make as a kid.

After folding this is what the fabric looked like.

I folded the fabric back to see where the shortest piece was.

Alright. After measuring I knew that I should cut at 21 inches or less.

I folded the fabric back to the correct position and from the tip I measured 21 inches several times on the top piece. I connected the dots and drew a line across. I cut across that line which was hard to do because I was cutting through several layers of fabric.

Next, I did the same thing, but only measured 4 inches in. It left me with what you see in the above photo.

When it's unfolded it comes out as a perfect circle! Lebron was very suspicious of it and carefully crawled up to take a peek. Do you see the crease almost exactly across from Lebron's nose? I cut along it, folded the edges under 1/4 in and sewed them.

Next I made bias tape to go around the edges of the small inner circle and the outside of the big circle. I used this tutorial (my favorite) to make it. It's a bit time consuming in comparison to how quickly everything else came together, but the end effect is well worth it.

I sewed the bias tape along all the raw edges.

The finished skirt. Easy, easy, easy. My only complaint is that I used 1 1/2 yards of fabric, I wish I had gotten 2 yards. Do you see the line on the right side? That is where I cut, folded under, and sewed the raw edges. It makes it easier to put under the tree and you don't have to struggle with trying to get the tree through the center circle.

Please send me a photo if any of you decide to make one! :)

Capelet for my sister

2011-11-30T11:43:00.001-08:00

I know, I'm not very exciting because I made the same capelet twice this month. The first version was for myself, but when my sister saw it she requested one of her own. We went to a fabric store, battled some terrible customer service (don't get me started), and she ended up choosing this lightweight canvas for the lining. It's pretty cool, I've never seen anything like it.

I found this black somewhat stretchy fabric for the outside of the cape at a local store. It was my first time sewing something so stretchy that just cutting it was a challenge. When I sewed it I used tons of pins which seemed to make life easier.

As I mentioned in my last post, the "hood" is definitely more fashion than function, it is not going to fit over her head.

I tried it on to show all of you :) I can't wait to give it to my sister!

New glasses.

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

I never posted a photo of the glasses I got a couple of weeks ago. Well, here they are. They are a light lavender color and they have rhinestones across the top. So icy!

Quilt binding drama

2011-11-29T13:57:00.001-08:00

I am almost done with my quilt! Last week I thought to myself, "all I need to do is attach the binding to the quilt which should be easy." Famous last words, attaching the two loose ends of the binding is a lot more complicated than I remembered. As this is my second quilt, I have only done a binding one other time, so I am far from being an expert. Last night I brought my unfinished binding to class and the instructor showed me how to attach the two loose pieces (the starting and ending points) together flawlessly which was tricky, but she made it seem so easy. I took notes, so hopefully the next time around things will be a bit easier.

Are any of you working on any exciting Christmas gifts?

Vintage Photo Friday - Elvis

2011-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

This Vintage Photo Friday is dedicated to my Grandma Linda. She is a HUGE Elvis fan.

A list of things I am thankful for

2011-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for Luke, the love of my life.

I am thankful for Stella, the cuddliest cat I have ever met.

I am thankful for Lebron for always making me laugh.

I am thankful for Kelly and Collin for being my best friends.

I am thankful for my mom for always being there.

I am thankful for my other best friend, my sewing machine!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Japanese cooking class

2011-11-23T11:09:00.003-08:00

I like to go on adventures to meet new people and do fun things that I don't normally do. Saturday I went to the Buddhist church in San Luis Obispo. My husband has done work for them and he always tells me how beautiful it is on the property. It did not disappoint!

Beautiful landscaping.

I sat in the sun for a while and took in all the beautiful plants. The church location is somewhat secluded, so it is very quiet and peaceful.

Three women who were originally from Japan taught the class. They spoke very little English and chose to talk amongst themselves in Japanese. At one point I could see them looking at me while they were talking. One of them asked me if I was part Japanese. They were so happy when I told them I was.

We made a huge amount of chirashi. The photo above doesn't even show the half of it!

This is made up of rice, seasoned vinegar, shiitake mushrooms, fresh bamboo, gobo, eggs, green peas, carrots, and things like soy sauce, sugar, Mirin, and Dashi-no-moto.

Lunch was delicious! I am so glad that I went even though I didn't know what to expect going in. It can be so easy to stay in a bubble and not get out and experience new things. Do any of you try to make an effort to put yourself out of your comfort zone? I think it's going to officially be on my New Years Resolution list.

Binding

2011-11-22T15:16:00.001-08:00

So, I brought my sewing stuff to work (not my machine) and got a little prep work done between customers. Does that mean that I am a sewing nerd????

I've been sewing, I promise.

2011-11-21T13:14:00.001-08:00

The reason that I have not posted photos of my sewing projects is because I haven't finished any. The quilt I am working on has a deadline that is approaching quickly and I am in the middle of quilting it. It is consuming my life! Yes, I am quilting it myself because I want to improve my skills (I have only quilted one other quilt) and because I don't want to pay someone else to do it :)

Actual quilting involves sewing together the top (all the colorful stuff you see in the photo), the batting (the white layer to the right of the my colorful border), and the back (the little strip of baby blue that you see peeking out from the batting). For the majority of the quilt I chose to stitch in the ditch, which in my case means sewing along the straight lines where the blocks and pieces are connected.

For the thick border area I chose to outline the blue areas using a free motion piece for my machine. Yes, my technique is FAR from perfect (it's hard following the lines!), but I have improved so much from my last quilt. My stitch size is more consistent and the stitches look nice on both sides. It takes a lot of patience, so I give props to people who do this for a living!

After reading Colette Patterns book I got pumped and felt like I could tackle any project. I started the Rooibos sewalong months ago, but never got farther than cutting out the pieces. To be honest, I was overwhelmed by the project. After finishing the book so many things made sense to me and I finished the top portion of the dress in a night. I probably won't get to work on this until after Christmas because I have so many holiday projects to finish, but I can't wait!

Vintage Photo Friday - Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood

2011-11-18T12:15:00.001-08:00

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood.

On the Today show this morning I saw that detectives are reopening the case of Natalie Wood's death in 1981. The story is here. Now, thirty years later, the boat captain admits he had lied in the past about what happened that night and believes that Robert Wagner is responsible for Natalie Wood's death. I'm sure we will be hearing more on this story in the upcoming weeks.

Random stuff

2011-11-16T11:20:00.001-08:00

I had all this for breakfast. We still love juicing! Coming up with different combos everyday is fun and something to look forward to. It's amazing the way fresh juice smells and tastes, so different from the store. The mango wasn't as sweet and flavorful as I had hoped though :( My favorite combination so far is cucumber, apple, and a little bit of lemon. Very refreshing.

Lebron was sleeping in this patch of sun this morning. He is so cute. The morning is his favorite time of day. I know this because when he is happy he falls down a lot, literally he body slams himself on his side. In the morning he does this nonstop.

Luke and I this past Sunday. Can you tell that he likes his neck warmer?

I'm not a "beader," but I still like jewelry.

2011-11-15T12:33:00.001-08:00

One of the cool things about Carl is the fact that she is very creative. She is very into beads and I am not, but that didn't stop us from hitting up some bead shops this weekend!

We went to a bead store on Sunday morning and I fell in love with these rose beads. I bought two sets of beads, clip on earring pieces, and some special glue.

I made myself some clip on earrings! The colors of the actual earrings are closest to the bottom photo. I LOVE the green ones, but I am not into the coral ones. Let me take that back, I just don't like the size of the coral roses. The clip on backing is much too large and shows more than I would like. That's ok though, I should just give them away to a younger girl that doesn't have pierced ears.

Old fashioned cocktails. Don Draper would be proud.

2011-11-14T10:52:00.001-08:00

This weekend my friend Carly came to stay with us. On Saturday we thought it would be a good idea to watch the movie Tree of Life. That was a mistake, the movie wasn't very good (in our opinion). It was made more bearable by the fact that we made some awesome cocktails from this website.

Mister Luke playing bartender.

Old Fashioned Cocktails

2 oz blended whiskey
1 sugar cube
1 dash bitters
1 slice lemon
1 cherry
1 slice orange

Combine the sugar cube, bitters, and 1 tsp. water in an old-fashioned glass. Muddle well, add blended whiskey, and stir. Add a twist of lemon peel and ice cubes. Add slices of orange and lemon and top with the cherry. Serve with a swizzle stick.

Vintage Photo Friday - Humphrey Bogart

2011-11-11T10:29:00.001-08:00

Lavender neck bag. Is that what it's called?

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

I ran into my friend Finney at the San Luis Obispo farmers market. He and his wife make the most amazing lavender products ever! I mentioned that I was going to make some Christmas gifts using lavender and he was nice enough to give me this huge jar to share with the ladies in my quilting class. Thanks, Finney!!!

I made this quarter moon looking bag filled with rice. I like it much more than ones I have made in the past because the shape is perfect for putting around my neck and I used an extra layer of fabric, so it feels more sturdy. It's filled 3/4 of the way with rice and three tablespoons of lavender. When I heated it in the microwave for two minutes and put it around my neck it felt and smelled amazing!

Technically I made the neck bag for Luke, but once Luke put it down Lebron decided that it was his and sat right on top of it.

Scrap bag

2011-11-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I made a little scrap bag. Don't you hate it when you are sewing and you cut off little pieces of thread, but there isn't a trash can near you, so you throw the thread on the ground?... I'm guilty! I knew that I needed to make this project in order to keep my house clean.

I used one fat quarter and from that cut a rectangle shape and two circles. From the cardboard I cut two circles. Only one circle was needed for the batting.

This is it! It stands up by itself and is next to me when I sew. The top is a 4 in embroidery hoop.

When it is twisted and folded up it looks like this.

I found this recipe on Pinterest

2011-11-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

To me, cool weather means crock pot cooking. Thanks to Pinterest, one of my favorite inspirational websites, I found a recipe for Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken. Now, I am not really a meat eater, but I don't mind cooking for my husband or picking out meat so I can eat too. I do not want to be high maintenance.

The recipe turned out great and the leftovers were even better the second day. I poured the (watery) curry over rice and now we have dinner for a few nights.

It's here!!!!!!!!!!

2011-11-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

It's here, it's here, it's here!!!!!! You guys, this is better than Christmas for me!!! The postman probably thought I was a freak for being so excited! Now, I'm off to read.

Fabric for an Americana quilt

2011-11-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about fabric and look at pictures of fabric because that's what I like to do! I am very excited to make another quilt for a Christmas present. I won't say for who because it's a surprise :)

The quilt will be very Americana, so red, white (cream), and blue. The fabric pictured above will be for the main blocks inside the quilt.

The gold star fabric will be a thin 1.5 inch border and the plaid fabric will be a 3 inch border. At least those are my plans for now.

This fabric will make up the main 6 or 7 inch border at the edge of the quilt.

I met up with my mom for lunch at Fig in Atascadero (melted brie, greens, and fig chutney sandwich on fresh foccacia bread = amazing lunch) after my fabric purchases and she couldn't really envision how my quilt would all come together. I think that a lot of people think the same when it comes to the color choices I use for my quilts, but maybe that's how it is for everyones quilts...?

There was an end of bolt sale, so I bought up the rest of the Michael Miller poodle fabric. There ended up being close to 2 yards. What to make, what to make...

Lebron likes the fabric too.

I got a couple of cool things to make my sewing life easier. The item on the left is used to turn long, narrow pieces of fabric to the opposite side. For example, this is used for skinny straps on dresses or tiny loops for buttons. I was cursing myself when I didn't have this to make ties on my cape.

The second purchase is used to keep my bobbins organized. As you can see, I don't have many bobbins to keep track of, but it is nice not to have them rolling around in my sewing box!

Flowers from farmers market

2011-11-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

I got the best tuberose flowers from the farmers market in San Luis Obispo. I couldn't find a vase, so I emptied out the little bit of cheap cooking wine I had, peeled off the label, and now I have a pretty flower arrangement and a house that smells lovely.

Vintage Photo Friday - Ziegfeld Follies

2011-11-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched Ziegfeld Follies, a movie with the best talent from the time it was made. I was mesmerized by the dancing, singing, swimming, and acting. Esther Williams' scene was probably my favorite. She looked like a mermaid!

The dancing scene with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire was great. It's amazing to see how long each take was, so you know they are truly talented dancers! I didn't know much about Fred until I read Robert Wagner's book, but now I adore him.

Judy! You can't go wrong with Judy Garland.

The capelet is completed.

2011-11-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the capelet I was working on. Thank goodness because I was starting to get bummed that I hadn't made a completed project in a while.

I used the pattern by Meg Allan Cole from this book to make the Rockin' Retro Capelet. The second I saw the pattern I had to buy the book immediately!

I like the pattern, it was easy to sew for someone new to sewing like me, and there were only a few pieces. I used the fabric that I bought from my trip to Mood and I feel like it was the perfect choice! I bought the pink lining fabric locally. The pattern actually didn't require a lining, but I like the color combination and feel, so I am glad I included it.

A back view. Oh, don't you just love the ambiance in these photos? Hahaha.

So, I feel like this "hood" is definitely more fashion than function, it won't fit over my head. Then again, I do have a HUGE head. That's ok though, I'd rather showcase the pretty pink lining.

Juicing and quilting, an interesting combination

2011-11-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Last night Luke and I juiced for the first time. We went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruits (see above) and veggies (in my refrigerator) to make recipes from the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead website.

Last nights recipe consisted of two pears, one apple, and a piece of ginger. So good! There was enough to fill a wine glass. I had to make the juice twice because Luke wanted his own without the ginger which was fine with me because I don't like to share! :)

This morning I threw a handful of spinach, two beets, three carrots, and an apple into the juicer. It made a LOT of juice! The photo of the mug above is actually after I had drank a bit, so this recipe produced a lot more juice than the first. I started out using the same size wine glass as last night, but it became very clear that it wasn't going to fit. This juice wasn't as amazing as the first one I had made, but still very enjoyable.

I have to post this photo as proof to show you guys that I am still sewing! I have sandwiched the mystery quilt for the mystery person. What that means is I put a quilt backing on the floor, taped it down, sprayed an adhesive on it, and spread out the batting over it. I repeated this process with the quilt top.

Next I will do the actual quilting and add a binding. Eeee I can't wait to give this gift away!

Happy Anniversary! - 10/30/11

2011-10-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to Luke and I!

Books, books, books!

2011-10-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

I ordered this book because my friend Libbi and I are doing a book club and this is our first book we are reading together. Well, technically we are not reading it together since I am a slacker and she is almost done with it :(

Luke and I watched the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" which was a real eye opener on the type of food we are putting into our bodies. Within fifteen minutes of watching the movie I had ordered the two juicing books pictured above. Yesterday we purchased the Jack Lalanne juicer at Costco. It's about to get real guys, we're going to start juicing. Does anyone else juice?

And to counteract the juicing I'm going to make desserts from this book, ha! I pre-ordered it months ago and it came in on Saturday. There are a few recipes that seem somewhat healthier than the "original" versions. I will post some photos after I make something.

I seriously think about this book everyday and can't wait for it to be released. Good news, it's getting released a few weeks earlier than originally stated. Cool! Amazon told me that I could have it by Friday at the earliest! This has to be my most wanted book of 2011.

I got this book at Costco yesterday.

Hmmm, maybe I will settle down on the book buying for a bit. I am pretty well stocked up, for now at least.

Vintage Photo Friday - It's almost Halloween!

2011-10-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Veronica Lake.

Clara Bow.

SLO Quilters

2011-10-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

I recently did some graphic design work for the SLO Quilters opportunity quilt. These tickets are for a quilt that will be raffled off in April 2012. The quilt is beautiful, made of cotton batiks, has a beachy feel to it, and will fit a king size bed. It's huge! Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. Let me know if you would like to buy some!

I need your opinion

2011-10-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

I am torn. This is the fabric I picked up from my trip to Mood for the cape I want to make. The left side of the photo is the fabric's "good" side and to the right is the back of the fabric. Sorry for the dark picture.

What I am torn on is whether I should do a lining for the cape. Normally, I would want to, but the back side of this fabric is actually really pretty and I wouldn't mind if it was showing. If I were to line the cape I would use a pale pink fabric for the inside. Or should I just use a baby pink bias tape on the edges and forget the lining? Decisions, decisions. What do you think?

Vintage Photo Friday - Frank Sinatra

2011-10-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

A special Vintage Photo Friday request from my husband, Luke.

I got the image from here. There are a bunch of cool photos of Frank Sinatra looking stylin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2011-10-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!

I think this photo was taken on her birthday in 1981.

Patterns

2011-10-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of owning my own business is that between customers coming in I can cut out patterns and tape them together and not get in trouble! It's great being able to do what I want instead of trying to find something to do when it's slow. Today I brought in a project and did a little hand sewing for a gift I am working on. Hopefully, I will have something to show you tomorrow.

I love it!

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

2011-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

I downloaded the new Tony Bennett duets cd and I love it! My favorite song is the one with him and Lady Gaga. Wow, I didn't realize how talented she is. I am impressed!

Mom, he also does a song with John Mayer that I think you would like.

Curtis and Jessi's wedding aka "The Wedding of the Century"

2011-10-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

The reason I am calling it "The Wedding of the Century" is because I accidentally told Curtis that his wedding was going to be "The Wedding of the Year," but he quickly informed me that it was going to be "The Wedding of the Century." Oops, my bad. Anyways, Curtis and Jessi got married at the Fremont Theater this past Saturday. They had posters made up and put on display out front.

They got married on stage. Instead of playing a movie they had an image at the top of the screen to look like a silent movie.

Mr. and Mrs. Campbell!! I took this photo at the reception site, The Monday Club. Immediately after the ceremony certain friends and family, like Luke and I (!), were invited to have lunch catered by Alphy's, one of my favorite lunch spots. Everyone else showed up for the reception at 3:00.

One thing that Chris and Luke liked was the candy bar. Each guest got a bag to fill with candy.

I met this girl Nicole at the reception and I just love her, she is great! Luke is good friends with her boyfriend and she invited Luke and I to go stay with them in Oakland.

Luke and our good friend Brandon.

Curtis wanted to make sure I got a photo of him with that bone in his pocket.

Jessie, Julia, and myself. As you can see the guests were asked to wear black, white, and gray. The ones that didn't stood out like a sore thumb!

I wish Curtis and Jessi all the best! They are an amazing couple and so perfect together. Everyone says that they are perfect together and it's so true!

Sewing and Soprano Sunday

2011-10-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I feel like all of my posts have been about me and my friends hanging out. I can't say that today will be the last of it, but after tomorrow I will try and settle down.

Sorry, but this is the only picture that I have of the black pencil skirt I made. You see, I had the bright idea that I needed to wear a new skirt for a wedding on Saturday. Unfortunately, I had this idea on Thursday night, eep! It's funny though, I have been procrastinating on this since last DECEMBER when I bought the fabric and it was so quick and easy to make. This skirt pattern was the first piece of clothing I made when I started sewing and it took me sooo long to do and it only took me a few hours the other night. Clearly, my sewing skills have improved too, as the craftsmanship is much better than past attempts.

Cross that off my list:
~~Black pencil skirt.~~

Over the past several months Luke and I have been watching The Sopranos on Netflix. Last night we watched the final episode and it was so sad! I always feel bummed when we finish tv series. What should we watch next, any recommendations?

In honor of our Soprano Sunday I made carbonara (I picked out the meat of course), drank wine, and ate canolis. Tony Soprano, we miss you already!

Vintage Photo Friday - Myrna Loy and Clark Gable

2011-10-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Myrna Loy and Clark Gable.

A new outlook for now and Coconut-Lemon Meltaways

2011-10-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I posted a very hateful post because of the heat, so today I will try and be a little more positive.

Last night it was very hot, so the last thing I wanted to do was cook or turn on the oven, but I have a sweet tooth and really wanted a dessert. My favorite food blog, Addicted to Veggies, posted a recipe for Coconut-Lemon Meltaways and I have been dying to try them. The best part is that there is no oven required, hurray! After making them I just popped them into the fridge for an hour and they were ready.

Yum! It was so easy to make and luckily I had all the ingredients at home because many of the same ingredients were used for the Lime in the Coconut Cream Pies I made a while back. Thanks for the recipe, Sarahfae! Luke loved them too!

Speaking of Luke, he got tattooed the other day. His good friend Chris started the tattoo over seven years ago and it has yet to be finished. Tuesday night they made a little progress.

Chris lives in Dallas, so we don't get to see him very often. We want Chris to move home!

Wishful Wednesday - I hate this weather

2011-10-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

NO NO NO!!! I hate this weather!!! It is supposed to be close to 100 degrees today and tomorrow. It never gets that hot here and it's October.

Dave Hovde at KSBY put this up and I do not like it one bit! I just want to stay cool, not sweat in an old building without AC.

Mood, I think I love you!

2011-10-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

The highlight of our weekend trip was going to Mood. I fell in love with the store, the fabric, and the little dog that ran around.

SUCH a touristy thing to do, but I HAD to have Luke take my picture.

So many fabrics to choose from! The fabric is stacked so high, but luckily Luke is tall and can grab things for me :)

I got this button. It's one of those things that is so disgusting that it's kind of cute.

This fabric is for a dress I want to make. I had planned to use it for a pattern I had in mind, but I think I might save it for a Hawaiian inspired dress. The fabric is cotton and a little sheer. It looks funny in the photo because it is not laying flat.

This is the first piece of really nice fabric I have purchased. At $35 a yard I could only afford to buy a yard and a quarter. Oh, but I have plans for this fabric!!! I am going to bring it to my quilting class so the instructor can supervise while I am cutting, I'm not taking any chances!

I HAD to buy this shirt that says, "Thank you Mood." I didn't have anyone to take a photo for me yesterday, so I had to take one of those awkward bathroom mirror photos.

The owner/manager(?) of the store gave me this bag! Awesome! "Thank you Mood."

Weekend Adventures

2011-10-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

You guys, I had the best weekend ever! Luke and I left town on Friday night and went to my sister's house in Hollywood and stayed the night. We woke up early on Saturday and went to a convention for work to look at a new machine we want to buy.

Ok, the boring stuff is over. Everything else was fun! We ate lunch at ESPN Zone aka heaven for Luke, went to a store I have been dying to go to for years (a separate post to come), and went to the Beverly Center.

I got to eat Pinkberry, my favorite yogurt. My sister always laughs at me because I get so excited to get yogurt when I am in LA. The one above is peanut butter yogurt topped with bread crumbs and jelly, a PB&J.

Luke loves Ben Sherman. He's so stylish.

Me and my sister getting ready for dinner. We ate at Firefly, a dining establishment with lights so dim you can barely see, snotty customers, and small portion sized food. Quality over quantity I guess, but the food was very good. Oh, and we were NOT grouped in with the snotty customers, thank you very much.

All weekend my sister's cat Udon was begging for belly rubs.

On Sunday morning my sister had to work, but her boyfriend Collin was free! The three of us went to Aroma Cafe and it was delicious! The photo above is of Collin and Luke. Let me say here that I LOVE Collin and really hope that my sister and him get married. I think they are so perfect together. Luke and Collin are perfect together too hahaha. They like the same things, I swear they are almost twins and they get along so well together. I want him to be my brother in law!!!!!!!

Luke and I at Aroma Cafe.

A much needed new purse.

2011-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

I'm the kind of person that never changes purses. I will use the same purse for months straight, if not a year straight! I made this purse back in March and have used it every day since. As you can image, it was getting pretty worn.

Since Luke and I are going on a weekend adventure I decided last minute that I needed a new purse. Last night I cursed at my machine for a few hours and wound up with a finished product that I could use. Hurray!

This is the same pattern I used back in March, but with a shorter strap, bigger pockets, and a new embellishment for the front.

I use one pocket for keys (see above) and the other pocket for my iPhone. I like knowing exactly where these things are, so the pockets keep me very organized. I mentioned it a few posts back, but I LOVE mixing stripes and flowers! :) Now I get to cross this project off my to do list!

~~Make a new purse. My old one is falling apart.~~

Vintage Photo Friday - Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward

2011-10-07T09:35:00.000-07:00

After reading this blog I fell in love with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Look alikes?

2011-10-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

The other day an acquaintance said I looked like someone from the TV show Mad Men. That is one of my all time favorite compliments to receive and I always get so happy when I hear it. Cool! Now if only I looked like Joan...

An older gentleman recently told me that I looked like Jill St. John... I don't see it.

Good stuff

2011-10-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

Movie I saw.

Movie I want to see.

Fabric I want to own.

Little Lola

2011-10-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Cute little Lola enjoying the blanket I made for her. She is adorable!

Sewing tips and tricks

2011-10-02T15:39:00.000-07:00

Being the new sewer that I am, I can use all the tips and tricks anyone wants to throw my way! I am so lucky to be surrounded by such skilled women who have been sewing for years and who are willing to give me advice.

I have always wanted to buy a big spool of thread like the one pictured above, but have held back because I wasn't sure how it would work with my machine. The spool is so big that it wouldn't fit correctly on my machine.

Shaun at Quiltin Cousins helped me out with that. She gave me a little piece of foam from a hair roller to put inside the spool. Now the thread fits perfectly with my machine. Thanks, Shaun!

My quilting instructor, Bobbi, also gave me some advice about the maintenance of my sewing machine. I had not oiled the machine because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to. Bobbi told me that when she takes her machine in for a tuneup the gentleman that works on it always puts a drop of oil in the place where the bobbin sits. It makes perfect sense seeing as the bobbin sits in the case and is constantly moving.

With my new spool of thread and my machine running smoothly I decided to do an instant gratification project and made two burp cloths. I LOVE the combination of stripes and flowers, especially with Civil War reproduction fabric. One of my good friends is having a baby in December, so these will be given to her.

Folded up.

Green tea creme brûlée

2011-10-01T15:48:00.001-07:00

I think I can now die happy.

Vintage Photo Friday - Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

2011-09-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wishful Wednesday - 9/28/11

2011-09-28T16:33:00.000-07:00

Please note: I am only wishing for rain if I can have homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese.

Ongoing projects!

2011-09-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to bombard you with all my sewing projects, so I thought I would split everything up into two posts :)

Sunday I spent the majority of the day texting Ari, author of my new favorite blog (go follow her blog now!), and working on sewing projects. I had a lot of fabric to cut so I followed two very important cutting rules: don't use a rotary cutter while on the phone and don't cut fabric while drinking multiple glasses of wine.

I drank this instead, it's my new favorite soda!

Some of the squares I was cutting were huge, so I had to get creative with my rulers.

The squares were then cut down into triangles. The fabric pictured above is called batik fabric. I have never been crazy about it, but I think this one will look good with my quilt.

Then I made my own piping for the dress I have been claiming to work on, but haven't really been working on. What I did was cut strips of fabric on the bias (when cut at this angle the fabric is a little more stretchy) and sew the pieces together to form one long continuous strip. I then placed a 5/8 cord along the strip of fabric on the wrong side, pinned it closed, and sewed as close to the cord as possible. Ta-duh, custom piping that will match my dress perfectly!

Weekend fun and productivity

2011-09-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I walked the Heart Walk this past Saturday and raised $304.00! My team raised close to $4,000.00! I saw cute corgi dogs there too. One jumped all over me and got my hoodie dirty, but I got over it. My sister thinks that corgis look like sleeping bags. I want to get one and name it Frank.

After that I met with my friend Smitty to catch up and go over some design work I am doing for her. She is one of those people that I think I could talk to forever. I wish I had more friends that quilted and sewed.

My friend Samantha recently inspired me with the amazing headboard she made herself. I had been thinking about making one for our bedroom, but have held back because I am so indecisive about the color. You see, I have been wanting to make a 1930's inspired quilt for my bed and I wanted the headboard to work with the quilt color wise. I just got over it and decided to buy what I wanted and worry about the quilt later.

This is the fabric I chose. I bought two yards at $10.00 each, but had a 50% off coupon. Cool!

The finished product and pillowcases are completed by my cat Stella trying to model. Nothing on my bed really matches, so the headboard doesn't look as amazing as it should. Once I have my quilt finished, and it's looking like I won't start on that until 2012, I will post a photo of my "new" room.

Oh, if any of you are considering following Samantha's tutorial I highly recommend getting someone to help with the staple gun and holding the fabric. Or maybe I am just not skilled with that type of thing.

I love good deals.

2011-09-24T20:32:00.001-07:00

I had been dying to buy the retro Butterick sewing patterns, but have held off because of the prices. Yesterday I went to JoAnn's and they were on sale for $1.00 each. Hell yeah, I bought all four.

Vintage Photo Friday - Cark Gable

2011-09-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

This is my all time favorite picture of Clark Gable. It seems fitting that since I posted a photo of Carole Lombard with dogs that Clark needed his own dog post too!

If you are interested in learning more about Carole Lombard and her life, please check out this site. It is the most informative blog I have came across regarding Carole.

An official quilt block

2011-09-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have thirteen of these blocks at home! Surprisingly (again) I managed to have most of the pieces line up correctly, although it's hard to tell because I didn't press before taking the photo. Next I need to do some more cutting. Ugh. At least I have a new blade for my rotary cutter. Next up is cutting a bunch of large triangles and border pieces. Finally it feels like progress is being made!

My current entertainments

2011-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

TV's fall lineup is here and I am especially excited about several new television shows. It's sick that I'm so excited, but honestly after a long day of work sometimes there is nothing better than curling up on the couch and watching TV with Luke and the cats.

PAN AM

I am very excited about Pan Am starting. I love the era and I love Christina Ricci. It can't disappoint, it won't.

THE PLAYBOY CLUB
This aired on Monday night, but I got around to watching it last night with Luke. The critics have been saying that it reminds them of a cross between Mad Men and the Godfather. Since I am the only person in the world that has not seen the Godfather, I would have to say that it reminds me of a mix between Mad Men and The Sopranos. And that's a good thing.

THE RINGER

I LOVE Sarah Michelle Gellar. I own every single season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and have watched each episode multiple times. When I heard that Sarah was going to be in a new show I was ecstatic. I have watched the first episode and it's looking pretty good so far. Tonight I will be drinking some wine and watching episode two.

UNBROKEN
This is not a TV show, it's the new book I'm starting today. It has amazing reviews and I have heard nothing but good things from the people I know that have read it. When I worked at the bank there was an 87 year old gentleman that was constantly reading. He told me that this book was one of his favorite all time books. He knows his books, so I was sold on reading it as soon as he told me.

Gifts and one less item on my to do list

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

What's the best way to make a quick gift for someone and cross something off my to do list? Why, it's making makeup bags out of oilcloth! I used the extra oilcloth I had from this project to make myself and my friend Cali a makeup bag. My husband Luke and I were going to her house for dinner and I wanted to bring a gift for her. Since I am obsessed with that oilcloth and I thought she would like it, I made this before we went to her house:

Here is what I love: I love making things for people that actually appreciate them, and Cali fits into that category. She was so grateful and I could tell that she genuinely appreciated the time, effort, thoughtfulness, and energy that went into making the makeup bag. She even wrote on my Facebook wall to let me know that she loved it. Do any of you ever come across people that aren't very thankful when you make them a gift?

Now Cali and I are twins with our matching makeup bags.

~~I need to make a makeup bag. I hate mine.~~ Doesn't it feel good to cross things off your to do lists?

Jessi's Bridal Shower

2011-09-19T13:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday my "AG mom", Vanessa, threw her future daughter in law, Jessi, a bridal shower. Jessi is getting married to Curtis (my hair stylist and good friend) in a few weeks and I couldn't be more excited. Curtis and Jessi are amazing together and compliment each other perfectly. I have been friends with Curtis for over seven years now and I can honestly say that I have never seen him this happy or in love!

Jessi is classy, courteous, and an all around good person. I am so excited for the wedding and their new life together. Oh, and of course I will post some pictures from their wedding, the wedding of the year! :)

Vintage Photo Friday - Anita Page

2011-09-16T11:05:00.001-07:00