Leibster Blog Award

Ashley and Emily from the awesome blog, Frances Suzanne, nominated me for the Leibster Blog Award, which was super nice of them.  And I'm totally embarrassed to admit that it was almost two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to thanking them and responding to the questions!  We've had some sickness, and more sickness and then a little more sickness.  We're finally starting to feel human again, thank goodness!  So I want to apologize to Ashley and Emily for the delay in response and say "Thanks!!" for the award :)
 

 So here's the description of the award:

"The Liebster Blog Award is an award given by bloggers to up and coming bloggers, most of whom have less than 200 followers (or have been blogging for less than 6 months). It is to show newer bloggers that they are appreciated, and to help spread the word about new blogs. It was created to promote appreciation and recognition among the blog world. Liebster translates to “dearest” (or favorite/best) in German. It is also known as the Love Blog Award."

 And here are the rules:
1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.


11 Random Things:

1. I love old sewing machines!  I have a Singer 201 from 1957 that I use nearly every time I sew.  I also have a couple Berninas from the early 1980s that I love dearly.

2. I think winter should end after December (can you tell I've got cabin fever??)!

3. I studied Industrial Design in college and loved it.  I started out interested in designing furniture, which I explored while I was in school, but ended up designing laptops for several years before Miss S was born.

4.  I'm 2nd of eight children in my family and one of four redheads!

5.  I've never had a cavity (due more to good luck than perfect dental hygiene :)

6. I've been sewing for as long as I can remember.  I received an old, metal sewing machine ( I can't remember what kind) for Christmas one year, and I went to town on it!  I remember sewing grass skirts (with real grass!) for my brothers and a grass door for a treehouse we built.

7. I'm a Mormon!

8.  I really love dill pickles.  They've been one of my favorite foods since I was old enough to ask for them.

9.  I don't like to travel much.  I'm kind of a homebody.  I used to have to travel to Asia every month or two for work, and while it was always interesting and sometimes fun, it cured me of the desire to travel :)

10. I'd rather do laundry than cook!

11. I'm kind of a fabricaholic...

 
 And now, here are the questions from Frances Suzanne: 

1. What are your top five ‘must-read’ blogs?  
Ooh, that's a tough one...there are so many great blogs out there...
 Little Betty:  She's got great style and is really good at seeing hidden potential in patterns
skirt as top:  Super talented and super nice
Five and Counting.....:  Nicole is constantly making amazing things for her five kids
No Big Dill:  She's got really creative ideas
craftinessisnotoptional:  Fun ideas and tutorials

 
2. Do you have a phobia? And if so – what is it?
Hmm, maybe rodents?  I'm pretty irrational when it comes to thinks like mice...


 3. What is your favorite fabric? This might be a certain designer’s look, or a particular style / texture you are drawn to....





Hmmm, I love cotton voile, especially the really finely woven, super silky ones.  I've loved the Free Spirit voiles that have come out in the past few years. There wonderful to sew with and the drape is so well suited to garment sewing.

4. What is your most tried and true pattern in your stash?

Actually, I think the best patterns I have in my stash are those taken from items of clothing I've purchased and loved the fit.  I have a tshirt pattern and a jeans pattern that I pulled from existing clothing, and have reproduced several times.  These are probably some of the most-frequently worn items in my wardrobe.

5. What is your dream job?
I kind of feel like I have the dream job right now :)  Life's not perfect, but I love taking care of my little girl and sewing during naptime...I don't think there's anything else I'd rather be doing.  Ask me again when she decides she's done with napping ;)
 
6. Share a tradition that you and your family enjoy.

We love going on long walks on summer evenings.  It's the easiest way for everyone to relax!


7. Name one thing sewing-related that you haven’t tried…but want to learn how to do.

I'm totally intimidated by sewing jackets for women.  They seem so hard to get right, but I'd love to learn from a great tutor.

8. What is your favorite month of the year and why?
I love May, because the weather is usually pleasantly warm, but it's still spring and everything is new.
 
9. If you had the opportunity to do a guest post, what series would you want to participate in….or, on which site would you like to guest post?
 Ooh, this is kind of hard.  I'm a little intimidated by the idea of guest posting, so I don't have a good answer for this question.

  10. Where do you get your sewing inspiration (be specific – for example: a particular pinterest board, blog, children’s retail, etc.)? 
 I'm generally inspired by fabrics.  It's usually in looking at my fabric stash or browsing a fabric store that I am inspired.



11. What has been your greatest “sewing find” to date?
 Maybe Oliver + S patterns...they're practically no-fail!  The styles, the fit, the instructions are all so good.


Now, there are a few more rules:

3. Create 11 questions for the people you nominate.
4. Choose 11 new blogs you love and link them in your post.
5. Please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to your Liebster post so I can learn more about you!

....but I'm going to break them.  I don't think I know of 11 new blogs that haven't already received the Leibster award.  I hope that's okay.

Thanks again to Ashley and Emily from Frances Suzanne for the award!  It's been fun trying to think of random things and answering all their questions! 

Lace Christmas Dress: Oliver + S Bubble Dress

 I was in Joann Fabrics a couple weeks ago and saw this lace in their special occasion fabric section.  It was actually pretty gorgeous, and I thought it would make a fun Christmas dress for Miss S.  I  decided to use the Bubble Dress pattern again, since it was a fun, quick dress to sew.  I also decided to add actual sleeves again, rather than just the extended, cut-on sleeve as directed in the pattern.  I've got a picture of my pattern pieces below, in case you're interested in how I modified the sleeve.

 

Rather than make a gathered sleeve with binding, like I did last time, I made a little bubble sleeve, using a lining and the same method as is in the pattern instructions for making the bubble skirt (essentially sewing a piece of elastic in between the outer fabric and the lining fabric).  You can see a peek of my lining in this photo of the sleeve.  I liked the effect the bubble sleeve produced, of a slightly more formal looking sleeve finish than the bias bound sleeve.

The green velvet ribbon is my favorite color in the world.  I found it at this great little shop near my house that has a really fun selection of trims and ribbons.  I bought some felt and begged my younger sister to make some little flowers to put on the ribbon.

The fabric is actually a really nice quality lace.  It is a cotton/nylon blend and has a subtle gold foiling  It's got really nice texture in person.  I underlined the lace with a cream colored lining fabric, then treated the two fabrics basted together as one in constructing the dress.  I lined the entire dress in a white cotton voile.

Here's a picture I snapped of my modified pattern pieces.  I used the sleeve and armscye from the Jumprope Dress pattern, since it's just a basic straight sleeve.  I just shortened it to a cap sleeve.  I kind of guessed on how long the shoulder seam should be and where the sleeve should start.  You can see that it wasn't a really scientific process, but more trial and error.  Then, to make the puffed sleeve at the top and bottom, I slashed and spread the sleeve apart.  I estimated how much I should spread it by measuring a puffed sleeve from a top that Miss S already had and then roughly matching that.  Unfortunately, I don't have the sleeve showing the slashes and spreads, I only have this cleaned up copy that I used for cutting the fabric.  You can probably google "slash and spread gathered sleeve" or something like that and get some examples if you're interested.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  Unfortunately, during the winter it will have to be worn with a sweater most of the time, since it's pretty cold, but at the rate Miss S is growing, she'll still fit it when the weather warms up.

A few projects...

I'm still in the process of getting together a cold weather wardrobe for Miss S.  It all of a sudden got really cold (for November) and snowed about 10 inches here.  I wasn't quite prepared, so I got to work sewing up a bunch of long sleeved tee shirts.  They aren't too interesting; they're just very basic long sleeved tees.  I used a pattern that I've used for myself a lot: Jalie 2805.  It is really a pretty great basic tee pattern.  It goes from size 2T up to like a size 22 in women's.  These are five of the nine I made (the others are either being worn or in the wash).  They went together so, so quickly.  It think I spent maybe a total of 5 hours over a few days.  They're going to get some good use this winter :)

I also finally made the Apple Picking dress that I've had cut out for about a month and a half.  I made this dress last year in a cotton flannel and it was a really great winter dress, so I made it again in a cotton flannel, but a different color.  This fabric was left over from the lining of a Minoru jacket that I made for myself, but haven't blogged about yet.

I wasn't sure if it was a good fabric choice, because it's a bit subdued.  When I finally got it sewn up and tried it on Miss S, I decided it was actually really, really cute.

I used blue buttons to pick up a little bit of blue in the flannel, as well as to add a little more color.  It went together great, as always with an Oliver + S pattern :)  I'm pretty happy with it

I also made the Penguin Backpack from the Little Things to Sew book.  I've wanted to make this backpack ever since I saw it.  I thought it was adorable, but was a little intimidated by the thought of sewing a backpack.  We're going to visit my husband's family for Thanksgiving, and I wanted to make a little pack so Miss S could carry toys and snacks by herself for the plane.

True to Oliver + S form, the instructions were excellent.  I used a denim for the body, then some quilting cottons I had in my stash for the beak, feet and belly pocket.  I ordered the slider hardware on the back from Pacific Trimmings.  They were reasonably priced and shipped quickly.

I used some vintage blue glass buttons for the eyes and lined it with a blue printed cotton.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and it was actually quicker and easier to sew than I expected.

I've got a School Photo dress in the works, and another Fairy Tale dress in the planning stages.  We'll see if I can get them finished soon!

A Girly Field Trip Tee

I was excited when I saw the Oliver + S Field Trip Tee and Pants pattern released, but mostly excited in anticipation of using it if I ever had a little boy.  Then I decided I'd give it a go as a girl pattern.  I had two coordinating knits in my stash that I got from Girl Charlee (I love this site for knits), that I had already used for other projects for Miss S. 

I loved the little floral and figured it would make a pretty girly looking tee shirt, in spite of the more boyish styled tee.  I actually love the raglan sleeve style shirts, and I love it on girls.  I was pretty happy with how this turned out.

It was a really fast, really easy sew.  It literally went together in about an hour, start to finish.  My pocket topstitching is not perfect, but oh well, right?  The knit is also a little off grain, which makes the pocket look a little crooked, but I'm pretty okay with that.  I've got at least another version in mind, and maybe more, since it is SUCH a quick, easy and fun sew.

Figgy's Nituna Jacket as a Winter Coat

Well, being totally on top of things like I am (insert sarcasm here), I'm getting around to blogging about the fall Kids Clothing Week Challenge (KCWC) that I participated in.  I worked on a couple different projects, and here's one of them.

I loved the Figgy's Nituna Jacket pattern as soon as I saw it.  I thought it would make a really cute little winter coat, and I have had a piece of magenta wool in my stash for some time that I thought would work perfectly.  When I finally got around to digging it out, it was a little lighter weight than I had remembered it being.  It wouldn't have made a very warm winter coat, but the color was really great.  So I decided to interline it with flannel, as well as lining it with flannel, so I would get a double layer of flannel warmth.

To interline it, I just cut a piece out of the outer wool fabric, then an additional piece out of a piece of plaid flannel I had in my stash, then placed the wool (right side out) on top of the flannel.  I then pinned them together and basted them on my sewing machine, using my walking foot so the layers didn't shift.  You could also hand baste the pieces together.  I then sewed the jacket, treating the basted-together pieces as one.  The light blue patterned flannel you see in the photos is the lining, which is another layer.  The flannel interlining isn't visible in the photos.

The sizing of this pattern starts at 18 months, and even though Miss S is 22 months, she is a little small.  I looked at the measurements on the pattern envelope and decided that the 18 month size would be too big, so I graded down a size.  I think that was the right choice, because this size seems plenty big.

I chose to do the lined version of the jacket, not the reversible version, but used the patch pockets rather than the welt pockets.  It is actually really a simple pattern to sew.  There's nothing tricky about it.  You essentially sew two simple shells (lining and outer fabric), then sew them together using the bagged method described in the instructions.  The instructions are good and result in a well-finished product.

I also chose to topstitch around the hood and outside edges and hem at 1/2", rather than edgestitching as the pattern instructed.  The pattern includes a Figgy's "Made with Love" label, which is a cute touch.  I also used covered buttons on this, same as I used on the Sunday Brunch jacket.  I just kind of love the look of covered buttons.  It gives such a nice finish.

I would have loved to include some model photos, but I have a rather stubborn little model who wouldn't have anything to do with this coat.  I'm hoping she gets past that, because I'd really prefer that she actually wear the clothes I sew for her...is that too much to ask?  Anyway, we'll see how things go :)

I've got a couple other things I finished for KCWC that I'll post soon...I know, I'm totally on top of things ;)

Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress: Dorothy Version!

When the Fairy Tale dress came out as part of the new fall pattern release from Oliver + S, it immediately went on my list.  It's classic shape and adorable details caught my eye.

Since Miss S doesn't know much about Halloween yet, I can still decide what she'll be, rather than hoping she'll go along with her mother's suggestions.  I've been planning to dress her as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  I figured this pattern, with it's classic details would perfect for a Wizard of Oz dress.

Since it's a quite involved project, being a fully lined dress with crinoline, I didn't want the dress to be just a Halloween costume.  I wanted her to get some additional wear out of it, too.  I plan on adding a little ruffly white pinafore or apron, along with a basket and little dog to finish the costume out.

I don't know if I'm getting away with doing double duty, but she did wear it to church on Sunday and only one person mentioned that it looked like a Dorothy dress...so maybe I'm not getting away with it.  Oh, well, I'm going to pretend that Dorothy wasn't the only one who ever wore a blue and white gingham dress and  keep dressing her it anyway.

What do I have to say about this pattern...well, it's a little time consuming, but the end result is so adorable I think it's worth it.  It almost kills me with cuteness :)  It seems simple, but is so well designed.  The proportions and shape of the collar, the fullness of the skirt, the wide hem, the tulip sleeves, the built-in crinoline, the trim and bow at the waist all add up to a really special dress.

The pattern says it is a fitted bodice and recommends making a muslin, but I didn't (I'm a risk taker ;)  I made a size 12-18 months, even though Miss S is 21 months, she fits into the 12-18 month measurements better.  I actually ended up cutting about an inch off the bodice length.  I'm happy with the fit of the bodice, but I wouldn't call it fitted.  In fact, I'll bet Miss S will be able to wear it next spring as well.  So if you're unsure or if you do want a fitted bodice, I'd definitely recommend making a muslin.

I used a lightweight cotton voile for the lining and a light blue tulle for the built-in crinoline, which you can see in the picture below.  It adds some nice fullness, but is not overly exaggerated for everyday wear.  It reminds me of a classic little girl's dress from the 50s or 60s. I think I'll definitely make it again, sometime, because the result is just so darn cute!

Gray Velveteen Sunday Brunch Jacket

The Sunday Brunch Jacket and Skirt pattern was one of the first patterns that caught my eye from Oliver + S.  This was before I had any kids, and was not interested the least in sewing for kids (oh, how times have changed :).  I saw this pattern, and the Jumprope Dress, though, and couldn't help but notice how adorable they were.

So it's been on my list to make for a long time.  I was a little intimidated by it, but I shouldn't have been.  It's just as well drafted and has just as excellent instructions as the rest of the Oliver + S patterns, so even though it appeared trickier, it went together beautifully.  I used a charcoal gray pima cotton velveteen that I purchased from Fashion Fabrics Club.  This velveteen is absolutely gorgeous!  When it arrived, it was a little stiff, but after a trip through the wash, it came out incredibly soft and plush.

It has the added bonus of having a beautiful print on the back side, which worked out perfectly for an unlined jacket like this.  It's got a little burgundy, mustard and cream rose print, which I think adds a nice detail.  I know no one will see it, but I still really love it.

The plush velveteen will also make it a lot warmer to wear, even though it's not lined or insulated with anything else.

Because of the reversible print, I went to the extra work of binding all the seams.  It wasn't difficult, but definitely took longer than if I had just serged the seams.  I do love the extra touch it adds, though.  I bound all the seams with a warm yellow polka dot quilting cotton I had in my stash.  The instructions for the bound seams are great and result in a very professional finish.

I really debated what to do with the buttons.  I knew I wanted fabric covered buttons, but had a hard time deciding between covering them with the velveteen side of the fabric, covering them with the reverse printed side, or covering them with the yellow polka dot.  In the end, I decided on covering them with the velveteen body fabric, because it just looked so luxurious.  I think I made the right choice, but I may end up making a little flower pin for the outside just to add a fun touch.

I'm really pleased with the final product.  I think it will be a great fall jacket and, being a neutral, will go with a lot of different outfits.  It will also be practical for an almost-two-year-old, since it's cotton and can just be thrown in the wash.  I kind of wish I had one myself :)