Prom Dress

My good friend Amy is has a step-daughter who needed a dress a week before Prom.  I know her step-daughter so I really wanted to do it for her.  I got it done in about 3 days but only because it was pretty simple.  I loved this fabric and I love the way it looked on her.  I'm especially excited because we are trading services and she is going to paint me a picture to go above my mantle.  

I used a pattern I already had and altered it a bit.  She wanted the gathered part on the shoulder so I used my *exam table tissue paper to copy the pattern in the size I wanted.  Then I cut it up and to make the gathers.  It was a little tricky.  

It looks much better on the girl then on my dress form.  It's made crepe back satin which has a beautiful drape.  

*The tissue or crepe paper that comes on a roll and is used on exam tables at the doctor's office is my favorite thing to use for copying and creating patterns.  It's heavier than regular tissue paper and lighter than printer paper.  It has just enough see-through.  One roll lasts a really long time.  I had to buy a box of 12 to get it when my old roll ran out.  That will probably last my lifetime.  I have given a few away.  

Kat Dress

Here is the finished product of the Kat dress. It's a dark dress so it's hard to get a good shot on my camera. Every step of the way had to be redone or adjusted but that's what happens when you are making it up as you go.

I stitched the name in the back of the dress because the back and front are almost identical. And I think it looks super cute.
I stitched all the embellishments on by hand. It took well over 10 hours.
In the end unfortunately the client was not able to wear the dress because it was just too poofy because of the stiffness of the fabric she chose. She is thinking about doing another dress with a drapier fabric. I am going to see if she let me have it back for a little while and see if I can make some adjustments to make it wearable. I hate to think of her not being able to wear it and enjoy it. I did warn her in the beginning the fabric was not like the one in the original picture. She liked the color so she wanted to try it. Which I can understand. I think if I can take the skirt off and take out some of the fullness it might work better.

Picture of the dress pattern I am starting with for the Kat Dress

Making a Party Dress

I'm calling it the KAT Dress

I have a new client who has asked me to make a dress from this picture. Exciting and nerve racking for my brain as I always second guess myself a gazillion times. 9.5 times out of 10 things turn out just fine.

I am using McCall's 6199 Pattern for a starter. I have to alter the pattern but it's a good place to start. She chose the fabric and all the embellishments and I started on the pattern work today. As long as I do my pattern work well the dress should go together nicely. I will post as I go.

So far I've had to redraw the top to have the panels that will have the decorative stuff sewn over the top and the gathered skirt sewn to it. The pattern doesn't have gathers so I have to slash the pattern and add width for gathering. Plus in this picture the side seam appears to drop much lower then the hem at the center front of the dress so I think I need to adjust the length of the sides.

The thing that always makes me nervous is that I'm a very particular that I make it look as much like the picture as possible but usually what I focus on and stress over is different than what is important to the client.

Birthday Present

I just finished these for my sister's birthday tomorrow. I am ashamed out how ragged my cutting board looks. It didn't hold up well. I guess it means I use it a lot.

I bought this fabric a long time ago and just love it but haven't found the right project for it. I think this will be good for fall. I hope she likes them. I have a lot more of this fabric and always envisioned it making the cutest apron.

I keep meaning to make these coasters for myself. So I decided each time I make a set for someone else I will make one extra for myself. I kept the lumpiest looking one of this set. I will only have one for now but that will work. I will use it by the side of the sink for my cup so that DH knows to not put it in the dishwasher.

Two towels and four double sided coasters.

I want these, I want these...

You can find these here. They are so pretty and I really want them.

What I have been giving away...

The blue ones I made recently for my friend Anth's birthday. I got this idea from Homemade by Jill. She does a lot of cute things that are really quite simple. So I started looking around for cute little things to go with them to complete the gift. Anth's had a small blue vase which I gave to her on her actual birthday but I had to finish the cloths and coasters later because there were just too many things to do and not enough time. I did pintucks on the blue one which was also an inspiration from Jill. Pintucks are so tailored looking and anyone who can sew straight lines can do pintucks. I love them.

I should have taken better pictures of the coasters. This green one was for my sister Staci's birthday. I found the tea pot at Goodwill and the fabric I had bought a while back just because I liked it. When I sent it I got matching jelly beans to put in the tea pot. It was really fun to put together.

Things I've actually accomplished...

So here is my counter/work space/desk. Usually all my papers and junk are spread out over the entire counter and the pile just grows bigger and bigger until it falls off the counter and I am forced to sort through it and put it away where it goes. Then I find things I should have taken care of a week ago. It's a sad and inaffective system. DH makes fun of it all the time. I have been working on keeping the pile small lately just to say "I love you" to DH (not that he noticed). I have been looking for some type of filing system to get the papers organized. Something simple, not too cutesy and not plastic. I found this at Costco today for $14.95. I would have loved a better price but I just finished my taxes so I'm feeling ritzy. I am so pleased.

Here is the cupboard above it. I did do a little decluttering in the cupboard above it so I could give myself even more pats on the back. At the top is the can of paint that is for the kitchen walls. The tub on the top shelf is all the manuals for all the appliances and such that I hardly need but it's nice have them all in one place. The purple tub holds a variety of pens, pencils, erasers, screwdrivers, etc. The basket next to it is my small collection of cake decorating supplies. It doesn't really makes sense to have it in this cupboard but that's where it is for now. My phone charger is next to it. And all my recipe books and Household Organizer notebook. I also have a Christmas Organizer notebook. All these notebooks could use some cleaning out and reorganizing.






Here are pictures of the two dresses I just made for a friend of mine D. D. Her two girls are flower girls in a wedding this weekend. I really didn't have time for these but I am so glad that I did them anyway because it made me do some sewing and I felt good about that. They turned out super cute and she has super cute girls. I couldn't decided which one of these pictures would post better so I just put them both on here. I tried a new zipper method that came with the pattern and I like it so I scanned the instructions in and printed a copy to use as a reference for later. I also tried the rolled hem on my serger which I had never had tried before because I thought it would be too much work to set it up. It was really easy. A woman from church is supposed to come this week and bring me the stuff for two bridesmaid dresses. It's fun to earn a little cash. I am saving up all my sewing money and hiding it but I haven't decided what I am going to use it for yet. I'm sure it won't take long for me to think of something(s).

The next project

Here is my next project. This will be 2 flower girl dresses for a friend. It's in a silver-gray satin with a sheer overlay on the skirt. The neck is round (sweetheart neckline in the picture) and the hem will be straight and floor length. I will post the finished project later this month. I will be lining the skirt with a crinoline petticoat. She wants the skirt to stand out on the bottom. They want to look very princess. I will be using horse hair braid on the hem of the satin layer of the skirt. Pretty easy since I've done a lot of this style before.

I know I was just whining about being stressed then I take on these sewing projects. But I feel like if I don't I will never make time for sewing and that would be really sad for me.

Cozy Baby Quilts

Here are some baby blankets I made recently. This one was using the extra fabric from one of the other one that was jungle animals. I like these quilts that have cotton on one side, batting in the middle and flannel on the other side.























I am experimenting with different kinds of yarn to tie it but I am still not totally happy with the way it turns out. I was the quilts after they are done to see what it does to the yarns and trim them up if they get frayed. These were all for baby boys.

Quilt Block #9 and othe such fun...

I haven't been very good about posting my quilt blocks but here is the one I finished today. Last time Anth and I skipped our class and drove around town instead. I really like this one and it was pretty simple. This weekend is our last class (which means I didn't make any mistakes).I still need to finish block #10 before class on Friday. They will give us our last 3 blocks to finish and we will have 13 blocks total. We had the option to buy the finishing kit to make a Queen size quilt but we are both too cheap for that. I think I will just be making a throw and using 2 blocks to recover my couch cushions that are hideously ugly.

Royal Star

This weekend I made banana mini-muffins. Do you like how they are so golden that the flash reflects off them. They were super yummy and I think I ate most of them. This is my third variety of mini muffins since I bought my mini-muffin tin.

Em enjoying a mini-muffin.

This last week DH took a day off and we tried to sleep in as long as possibly. I thought it was strange that no one was coming in asking for breakfast. When I finally got up I discovered that Cor had layed out the bowls and spoons the same way I do every morning and had served everyone who wanted cereal. He even made sure he gave his Dad the biggest bowl and a big spoon just how he likes it. What a good kid. Now I never have to get up in the morning.
We had a great weekend. Sunday we played Badminton in the back yard and had Anth's family over for dinner. Saturday DH went golfing all morning and in the afternoon his sister watched the kids and we saw Indiana Jones. I loved it and thought it was classic Indi. Plus we got to hold hands and pretend like we were teenagers which we like to do.

Sunday we decided that Mya could go on a road trip with my parents in a couple weeks for my Mom's family reunion in Southern Utah. At first we were too scared to let our baby go but she is 9 years old and all her girl cousins her age will be going. It just makes me worry having her go so far for so many days. I know she will have a great time and it makes me happy that she'll get to have an experience like I had when I was her age.

Wednesday is Anti-Procrastination Day...The Girl's Polkadot Curtains

They are so cute!

Anti-Procrastination Day...2007 Easter Project

Here is a project that I bought all the stuff for last year and was so ambitious that I would get it done but as you can see one year later I am finally doing it (that's actually really good, for me). I got the idea from a Pottery Barn catalog. I like all their stuff but it's grossly overpriced. They had them, customized with names, for $12 which isn't a bad price but I got stuff to make four of them for around the same price as one. But the catch is you actually have to DO the project for it to be a good deal. I had also bought a couple years ago these little crocheted flowers for some project and never used them so they look cute right next to Em's name. So far I only have Em's done and it took a few hours but I am hopeful I will get another one done today and maybe 2 tomorrow. At the bottom I used some of Mya's beads. The rick rack is my favorite because it's so cute and has a cute name. Rick rack, rick rack!
It has this cute little pocket that you can put cards or gifts in. I expect the girls to put their toys and other favorite things in there. I put interfacing on the back side of the egg to help reinforce it. My plan is to make each egg unique. I have green, yellow, and blue fabric for the others. If I had more hand embroidery skills I would have done more stitches. My sewing machine has some fun stitches so I'll try that on the next one.

When I asked Ballerina if she like them she said it looked "wonderful." If I am really good I will make one for Me and DH. But I that's not likely to happen...this year.

Yay for me. I got well enough to go to Bunco and I won! I won the kids Caribou game and everyone suggested that I give it to the kids for Easter and I am considering it. It will help keep everyone entertained during Spring Break next week.

Quilt Block 4 JT's Star

Here's Anth telling me how good I did on my latest quilt block. We decided we aren't in love with this one but it was very easy. We like blocks 2 and 3 the best and we think they would make a beautiful quilt with the same pattern repeated throughout. So we found another reason for liking this class because we get to see which patterns we like and don't like. I have to apologize for the poor quality pictures my camera takes but it'll have to do for now.

Quilt Square 3 Spinning Star

Well I just couldn't wait till I finished quilt square 4 to show off 3. I made a few mistakes on this one because I was focusing on correcting my mistakes from the last two. The finished square is supposed to be 12 1/2 inches but 1 and 2 were closer to 12 inches. I was making my seams a full 1/4 inch which I should have been making them a scant 1/4 inch to leave fabric that is lost when the seam is pressed flat. I was so focused on that I didn't always make my points match. So I will try to remember both. My pressing skills are obviously wanting but that is something I will need to work on later. Plus I think my stitches are pulling a little which I am sure only a very trained eye would notice. I really like my stitches to be perfect and the seams to press flat without puckers. In a perfect world that would always happen. But for that you need the correct needle, correct tension, and quality thread. Or if I had tons of money I would have a sewing machine that automatically corrects that but I am not even sure they make a machine like that.

Christmas Quilt Block 1 and 2

This is the Christmas Quilt Block #1 that I am making out of some Christmas fabric I got for projects in 2008. This one turned out a little too busy for me but I think I just need to get some more solid colors of red and green.

The blocks get easier to make once you get going. Blocks 3 and 4 are going to be the same methods we used before but a different patern. So Anth and I are really excited to see how they turn out.

Christmas Quilt Block #2. I really like how this one turned out. I haven't decided if I will make a whole quilt out of this or just a table runner. I could make a pretty tree skirt too. We'll see.

Quilt Squares 1 and 2

Here is Block #1 and it is called a Shadow Star. Anth and I signed up for a block a month class at the local quilt shop. Actually I signed Anth up and told her she had to come with me. We found out it's a 2 block a month class that goes from Jan. to June. Which I think I prefer. Anth and I have similar colors but I have the cream and she has the white background. My Aunt is also taking the class and she is the one who kept telling me I should sign up. She told me a great idea would be to make another quilt at the same time by using my own fabric colors. I started a Christmas one and I'll add those pictures as soon as I finish block #2.

Here is quilt block #2 it's called Solitaire Star. I don't know where they come up with these names but it makes it more interesting anyway. When we went to the first class to pick up our packets ladies were showing all their other projects. They were showing everyone another class where you could make a quilted jacket. Everyone was oohing and aahing over it and Anth and I were trying not to giggle. I guess that's just not our thing. I am excited about these colors because they will look nice in my living room and I will likely use it as a lap quilt because it definitely won't work in my bedroom. My aunt said it's nice to use flannel as the backing if I make it into a lap quilt. I thought that was a good idea. I also need to decide if I am going to tie it, hand quilt it, or pay to have it quilted. I am cheap so it will probably be one of the first two choices.

Brittany's bridal gown

Here is the picture of my youngest Brother Kirk's wedding to his wife in the white dress SIL Brittany. The wedding was in May but I am including it today because I thought I should keep a post of what sewing projects I am working on. Mostly so I can feel good that I am accomplishing something tangible. (Oh ya that guy on the right is my younger Brother Calvin who is married to Brenda.

Today my SIL Brenda called and she was at the bridal shop that Brittany picked the style from, helping her friend with her wedding dress and she said she saw the dress that I copied and she was so amazed at how well it turned out. She always makes me feel so good about myself. I love her.

I know this is not a good picture of the dress and I will try to get a better one from Brittany. This was one of the only projects I did in 2007. It was difficult. I only had pictures to go by and there were some design details that I just made up as I went along. The dress was probably a little tight but that's a mistake I couldn't foresee. The original dress was sleeveless and strapless. She needed something that would be modest for the temple. She had tried this dress on and asked if I could copy it. I told her I would try and that I would make no promises but I would get it as close as possible. She said she would be happy with whatever I could do. And she meant it. She was very easy to work with.

The only problem I had was with bustling the train. I hadn't really done that too many times before. I followed the instructions in my handy sewing guide but the loops kept breaking. Tomorrow Brenda is bringing over her friend's dress and we are going to bustle it. I will see what I can figure out.

My current project is alterating my Grandma's temple dress. It's nearly done but I fitted her one more time today before I completely finish and it looks great. I am glad. It's always stressful when I start cutting things up and hope I get them put back together correctly and cut correctly. I just have to trust my judgement. I have made mistakes but luckily not any huge ones.