Two in one day???

Crazy, two posts in one day. I know. But I wanted to get some info up about my second Spring Top before voting begins. Not like I hope to win or anything. *cough, cough*

I just made a peasant top... doesn't sound very exciting, I know. But I LOVE the fabric I used. It is sheer (gotta love those Downeast undershirts!) so it is really cool, and it has metallic thread running through it, making it shiny as well. And it is in the blue/green family. Do you know I love blues? Oh, you do? Oh. Anyway, I have elastic in the neck and sleeves, and elastic in the inside-middle (under where the belt is) so if I dont' have a belt on, it still cinches up on my waist and makes the peasant top less flowy. Which has the effect of making me look pregnant, of which I am NOT thankyoumuch.

So, confession. This is even more comfortable to wear than my yellow beauty. I have been wearing it all day. And will wear it out on our date tonight. Cuz I feel totally cute in it.

I bought 3 yards of this fabric for $2.50 a yard, and totally was an idiot and cut right in the middle of the fabric. Don't know how that happened, but it did. So I have really odd sizes of leftovers. I wonder what I will make with those??

***Updated: At the library today, someone totally came up to me and complimented me on my top. It was so fun to answer with "thanks, I made it!"***

Slim Stash: The Resident RN- Old School Style

I scored an older Sesame Street Doctor Set the other day at a thrift store, and my munchkin has been taking everyone's temperature and blood pressure since. I decided it was time for a little addition to the dress-up collection we have going on at our place. And I thought I'd share, although the instructions are... pretty pathetic.

Pieces to cut:
Skirt
Top
Ties
Neck strap
Pocket

I started with a scrap piece of blue cotton fabric. Nothing exciting. I wanted to add some white somewhere so I used a piece of my muslin.

I measured the belly, hip to hip, of my little girl to determine the front "skirt" width. Since I wanted it gathered, I multiplied this by about 2, or in my case, the width of my scrap of fabric. Then I measured how long I wanted it and cut it to that length plus 1" for seam allowances. I also cut a square (8" for my 3-year-old) for the top piece, and a long strip (long enough to go around the belly and tie a bow in back) for the ties and neck strap (I sized mine to my daughter as I was making it). I had to piece fabric together for my ties... :) Cut out your pocket piece (not pictured) to your desired size. I wanted them big to hold lots of toys!

I finished all my edges on my serger (not really necessary, but nice) and did a 1/2" hem on three sides of the skirt and the top pieces and on the pocket piece.

This is a good time to add your pockets and appliques. I decided after it was nearly done that it needed some health insignia on it... anyway, pin your pocket upside down and right-sides together to the skirt piece. Pin where you want to sew, and sew 1/2" from the edge of the pocket, just like the hems.

When this is done, fold the pocket right side up and sew the sides to the skirt. I sewed a seam up the middle to make two pockets. I forgot to take a picture of this step, sorry! I guess look at the top pic for reference.

Then, you will gather the skirt top.

Find the middle of your gathers and mark it with a pin. Find the middle of your top piece and mark it as well. Match centered pins and pin your top piece to your gathered skirt right sides together. Sew using a 1/2" seam allowance.

Fold your tie piece in half and sew together, and turn inside out. Close the ends. Do the same with your neck strap. With your top and skirt piece laying flat, place the tie over the seam that holds the top and skirt together. Pin and sew in place. I ended up sewing the entire length of my tie pieces on both sides for a more consistent look.

Place your neck strap under the top piece about 1/2". Sew one side down. The other side will get velcro in order to be adjustable.

When adding velcro, put the soft side on the strap in a strip. Sew the rough side to the top piece where it will stick to the strap.

As for my embellishment... no wonder-under or anything, I just pinned and sewed. And gave everything a good ironing!

Fill the pockets with necessary nursing items and you are ready to treat any patients with various maladies. Enjoy!

My "nurse" was taking a nap with a high fever (coincidence? Doctoring has been on our mind lately) so Alta got to model for us :) Just pretend it is tied around your little girl's waist!

Spring Top Week Entry

Well, I did it. I got a top done for Spring Top Week. I know, I am a queen in the kingdom of procrastinators, but at least it is done! :) I actually finished two yesterday, but the second one is nothing special (peasant top) and may not be worth submitting. Mebbe.

This is a fun one- and the best part is, Mike is the one who drew the initial designs. He's so speaking my love language. Anyway, this time I started with a muslin mock-up because I wasn't going straight from a pattern for the whole thing.

To get the basic top shape, I used McCalls 5977. The pattern creates darts on the sides of the breast, but I wanted mine in front because of where my empire seam was going to be. So I tinkered around with the muslin until I got it somewhat right and then used the muslin as my pattern piece.

Note: I now know what pattern size to use for myself for tops. Thankye'verymuch.

For the sleeves, I used McCalls 5388 as my basic pattern. This pattern makes long, poofy sleeves, so I just chopped a bunch of muslin off and curved the bottom edge a bit before I made it using my yellow fabric. With a bit of elastic, it hugs my muscularly challenged biceps nicely.

Downside: When I'm not jutting my chest out like some peacock, I get ripples in the front of the bust. Also, now the world knows I have really gangly, veiny arms. But that topic is for another blog post entirely!

I only picked the above patterns as my base because, well, they were lying around. And I wanted to save myself some effort, seeing as how my dishes were threatening to take over the kitchen and my kids needed some attention. The bottom part of the top is just my tinkering around. I couldn't have it hug my body too closely because my post-partum... evidence would have been really, really funny looking. So I put in 4 pleats- two in front and two in back- to give it some fullness at the bottom. They are mostly hidden when the tie is tied, but it worked perfectly to stay fitted at the top and more full at the bottom.

I was afraid of not being able to pull it over my head and shoulders, so I cut the back of the bodice in two pieces, and added a button closure. Turns out this was unnecessary, but the little row of buttons is a cute touch. I just hand-sewed them on and made a thread loop to hold them on. The tie wraps around the back and ties in the front in a dainty little bow. So fun.

After taking over 100 pictures in a bunch of different light, we decided to submit the top photo to the flickr group. I am really proud of this top, and I think I'm totally cute in it. Is that too vain to admit on a public website? Oh well. I love it!

Meet Alta

This is Alta.

I named her Alta because that was my great-grandmother's name, and this dress form belonged to her. My great-grandma rocked at sewing. When she was in California, she sewed costumes for Hollywood to earn a living. No joke. But I think I've told you that before. Anyway, when I first inherited this I couldn't figure out how to change the sizing... and my grandma was a petite little thing! And had a figure! So I had a lot to change.

Apparantly, more than I originally thought.

So, even though I am totally comfortable with how my body looks, post-partum gut and all, THIS was totally depressing. Especially because the hips are still too wide, waist too small, and bust too big.

And I really THAT figure-less? I guess this apple did not fall from Alta's tree :)

Oh well! It will still work for the top I am working on for Spring Top Week. Oh, only two days left? No problem!!! {insert nervous chuckle}...

Time for Intervention

The hubs and I watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic" this weekend. When it was over, Mike said, "This is one of my new favorite movies. There is such a great lesson there!" And he looked directly at me.
What?
I don't buy clothes. I still own clothes from High School. What are you talking about?
So, after he stared me down to oblivion he glanced back at my mountain of fabric in the dining room.

And I knew he was right. And I felt sheepish. Baaa.

SO! Friends, it is time again for a "Slim that Stash!" diet. I know that April is stash-busting month, but I didn't think I had a stash to bust. HA HA HA!

He hasn't seen some people's fabric collections. Mine is pathetically tame compared to others. But in a less-than-1000-square-feet-apartment-with-4-people... it is HUGE. Let's gear up for some sewing projects! My rules are that I can't buy new fabric unless I absolutely need it to finish a project, and then I can only buy what I need. When my stash is pretty slimmed down, then I can go back to regular buying habits, which after last year's experiment, I found to be very difficult. Will you support me in my efforts? Offer ideas? I'd appreciate it.

The Tale of a Dresser

I hinted in this post that my dresser was getting a new life with a new purpose. And, my friends, its metamorphosis is nearly complete.

Near enough that I want to share it with you! I can't wait one more day.

Introducing: Barbie's Dreamhouse, Collette Edition.

Let's take a tour, shall we?

First up is the family room on the bottom floor. This is where conversation happens and friendships are made! Nothing is more comforting at the end of a long day than a chocolate suede couch with vibrant pillows and fresh flowers. After the stone fireplace is installed, the winter months will be warm and cozy.

Adjacent to the family room is the kitchen, still awaiting the perfect dining table. With a modern sink and a fully stocked mini-fridge, this is the perfect stop for dinner-making. Barbie plans on having fresh curtains installed over the window for the ultimate window view.

On the upper floor, directly above the kitchen, we find Barbie's bedroom. Adorned with a crystal chandelier, bright bedding and an uber-chic dresser, she is sleeping in style.

Barbie is, of course, always working on her appearance and needs the hygiene to match. With a small tub and modern sink, cleaning is a breeze. Custom sized towels on a crystal towel hook and a blue-edged bath mat tie the bathroom together.

Thank you for joining us for Barbie's Dreamhouse: Collette Edition home tour! Please come again!

But, as you can see, some things still need finishing. I need to add scrapbook paper to the bathroom sink pedestal and the kitchen cabinet, I have a frame for the mirror over the fireplace mantel, and I have little stones to glue on to make a fireplace. I also want to find more wall art. I'm thinking I'll look at scrapbook paper again and figure out some way to frame it. The ottoman is going to be upholstered, and a flag banner will probably hang in Barbie's bedroom. I have probably spent... oh, $10 on this thing. Not too shabby, wouldn't you say?

It will be so. totally. awesome.

So far, the munchkin just has her barbies sleeping all over the house. She has a mini barbie who sleeps in the bathtub. They sleep on the couch, dresser, kitchen cupboards... everywhere. The bed too, don't worry. :) But her favorite thing in the whole house is the picture of Neuschwanstein I have hanging over the couch. I figured a castle was appropriate art. Now the munchkin begs to go there every day. Tell me about it sister, I'd love to take you.

And if I wasn't excited enough about the dreamhouse, the fact that I am being featured today at Sew It To Me just puts me at the top of cloud nine. You can see the feature here. Leave them some comment love! I've found lots of new sewing blogs thanks to these gals!

Hope your Monday is as happy as mine.

Spring Top Week Flop

Dear McCalls 5388 View D,
I know we had something. Something special. I knew the silky polka-dot fabric I chose for you would be a winner, and that people would come to know and appreciate you for all you are worth.

And then you went and... and..

it is too difficult to speak about.

I know my body has changed some since my last pregnancy.

Ok, I know it changed a LOT.

But that is no reason for your duping me into choosing a size that was probably 4 sizes to big so that once I had half the shirt done, it was more like a gigantic spotted art smock instead of an elegant blouse.

I'll be the first to say a muslin prototype would have been a good idea. But I wanted the best for you right away!

So, until we can settle our differences and I get over the emotional anguish of having NO IDEA what clothing size I am, we need to take a break. Step back. Review our goals and decide if they are in line with each other.

Thanks.

Make Life Square Baby Quilt Top Tut

You may recall my BFF Kirsten posting on my blog a few months (?) back about the basics of quilting. A lot of you commented that you had never done a quilt, but would like to! Well, as I was finishing up my Make Life baby quilt top, I thought to myself, "This is a great quilt for a beginner. It is simple, colorful, and can be easily quilted with a regular sewing machine foot. Why not show how I did it for those thinking about dipping their toes into the world of quilting?" So I took some pictures :).

Begin with your basic quilting materials: A Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter, Ruler, and... fabric! I had already used up my first charm pack I won from Sew Dang Cute, so pictured is the second pack. You will also need 3/4 yards white sashing fabric... or whatever color you want. I am a big fan of white. For the picture, I had already cut my white sashing fabric into the necessary 1 1/2" strips. Leave 10 strips untouched, and the remaining strips cut into 5" pieces.


Arrange your charm pack pieces into 7 rows x 7 columns. Place the 5" sashing pieces between the charm pack pieces in each of the 7 rows.


Sew the charm pack pieces to the sashing pieces. Iron seams toward the charm pack.


Now that a row is done, add a long sashing piece to the charm row. Make sure you either cut off the selvedge of your sashing first, or start sewing a few inches down the sashing piece, like I did. See? Bottom left?


Now keep going! Sew the charm row to the sashing row, then to the charm row, then the sashing row, etc. In order to keep your sashing nice and even, carefully line it up with the piece above. I place my pieces right sides together as if I were about to sew it, and then fold it back a little to peek and see if the seams are lining up ok. Then I pin it to make sure it doesn't wiggle around! Always make sure your charms on the edges line up nicely too, that way the quilt will stay nice and square.

When all the rows are nicely sewn together, Iron all the seams towards the charm pieces. You can press the seams open to avoid too much fabric in one spot, but I'll be honest, pressing seams open with a 1/4" seam allowance is soooo frustrating for me.

Now add sashing to the top and bottom of the quilt, iron those seams, and add sashing to the sides. Iron your seams, and you are done!

The next step would be to iron it all nice and flat, make a quilt sandwich, quilt, and then bind... but we're just working on the quilt top today :).

So, you newbies... which I can probably classify myself as a newbie, but oh well... do you think you can do it? Go ahead, try it! The best part is, charm packs are easy to find on places like etsy, and often on sale. It ends up being a pretty inexpensive quilt! Let me know if you try it!

**Updated: I figured someone might want to see this thing all finished!  Here it is!

You can find printable, less picture-friendly but still brightly colored instructions for this quilt top here.