New laptop case

I have been  busy shopping, cutting, and sewing away new laptop and ipad cases to post in my Etsy store.  I'm super excited about some of the men's jackets I've found to use for the covers.  I think they add such a modern, yet funky twist.  I'm using new interfacing and padding and it's been a pickle trying to get everything right.  I just hate having to rip seams out and do everything over, and then rip seams out and do everything over.  Not frustrating at all!  The corner of this one is messed up, for whatever reason I was having a hard time sewing in a straight line.  This one will be my personal case, so I didn't worry to much about it.

I put the pocket on the inside of this case, perfect for pens or cords.

I still need to add a string to wrap around the buttons to keep it closed.  I'm not sure what color to use yet.

What's on my sewing table....

I decided to start making laptop/ipad covers again.  I was inspired after hanging out at Crafty Bastards the other week.  So off to the Goodwill I went and scored some sweet men's blazers and vintage pillow cases.  I'll be posting them on my Etsy side as soon as I get some more made.  I just love the sleekness of the covers.  I'm using new interfacing which is not so much fun to sew, so I need to work on my corners.  Tricky buggers they are.

Need time to sew this....

With my crazy hectic schedule my sewing time is limited.  However I am in love with this Banana Republic dress.  

 So simple and chic from the front and you turn around....

And a sexy deep vee and a metallic zipper.  I love, love, love the blue.  I think it would go great with a camel scarf.  

It would be so much easier to buy the dress,  but what fun would that be?   Onward to find a pattern & fabric! 

Monster Hat

My nephew is 4 1/2 years old and for his birthday and Christmas receives a plethora of electronic toys.  I'm not completly against the blinking lights and sounds, but I think that children need toys where they can use their imagination more.  What happened to kids making their own sounds and moving the toys on their own? So I refuse to purchase anything that requires batteries for him.  Instead he receives dino play mat, alphabet blocks, dragon tails, and now a monster hat!

I used the template over at Running With Scissors.  She has great instructions so  I am not going to bore you with repeating it.    I used green fur, which was a pain in the booty to sew and little pieces of fur got everywhere.  The inside and trims are fleece.  Despite the mess that I am still cleaning in my sewing room, my nephew love it.  This is the best picture I could take of it.  There are navy pom pom ties hanging from the sides, you can't see in this photo.

So much time....

It has been a good while since my last post, for several reasons.  I was a bit lost for a while and stopped sewing, my garden went to hell, and my cooking has been non-creative.  So there really wasn't much to blog about,  I just wasn't in the mood.  I went back to school in Janurary and my spring semester was not that stressful, however this fall semester is kicking my butt, so I am making myself get back to the things I love to have some peace in my life.  And also so I don't go jumping off the 2nd street bridge! Just kidding, I won't jump off a bridge, but I might slap one of my professors.

The other week, I decided to give my blog a new look and work on stuff to post about.  I started refashioning and sewing the other week and took lots of great pictures.  When I went to upload them today I realized there was not a memory card in my camera - WHOOPS!!!  Apparently that means the pictures did not save.  Yeah, me and technology are not that compatible! So I need to take new pictures of only finished garments and not what the clothes looked like beforehand.   I guess worse things could have happened right?

So here is a dress  I actually finished a long time ago. I originally started it to wear to my cousins wedding, and didn't finish it for the wedding.  I haven't worn this dress yet and now the leaves are falling, maybe next year! :)

It's a Cynthia Rowley pattern (Simplicity 2250), I just love Cynthia Rowley!!  Her dresses are adorable! I thought this would be a easy peasy dress to whip out and it's not.  The bodice has so many darts and tucks in it and the trim instructions for sewing are a bit odd.  I just did my own thing to get it attached.  I think it's a cute dress, but I'm not a huge fan of the way it turned out.  After looking at this picture I realize I took this before I hemmed the dress! LOL! It's hemmed now, I promise.

Have you tried this pattern?

Dress in the works

I found this fabric at a thrift shop the other week and had to have it; a great score for only in $2 in my book.  It's a great double knit and I immediately envisioned it as a sheath dress.  I think this will be my last sheath dress for a couple of weeks; I need to move on to making something else! Looking at my closet, I decided I need more shirts. And I picked up a pants pattern I am determined to conquer.  

The goal is to have this sewn by the end of the week.  That needs to happen in between class, parties, and research.  I can do it right?

I will be using New Look pattern 6910, view B.  I will probably leave off the belt as I think the material will be too bulky.

Week of alterations

If I haven't told you, I decided to go back to school this semester after a 3 year hiatus.  I am enrolled in a graduate public history program and although I love it, it's an adjustment finding time for everything which includes sewing.

This week, I have decided to concentrate on that never ending pile of things that need to be taken in.  This pile has grown in the past couple of months as I have somehow lost weight which means my clothes aren't looking hot.  I started with one of my favorite dresses, a sheath dress surprise! I bought this dress from H&M years ago, when H&M still made semi-decent quality clothes.  It used to fit like a glove and I looked pretty hot in it, lately it's looking like a potato sack.  So I just took in the sides.

I turned the dress inside out, tried it on and marked a couple of places with pins on where it needed to be adjusted.  Then laid it on the iron board, make sure everything was even stitched.  I did have to undo the hem at the bottom before taking it in. I didn't want a bulky hem, so once the sides were adjusted I re-hemmed it.  

This Ann Taylor Loft dress I bought at my favorite thrift store for only $5 a couple of weeks ago.  It fit perfect except it was a little long, so I took off 1 1/2" and perfect! I love the waist detailing. 

New Look Shirt

When getting ready for a party last week I realized that I had absolutely no shirts that fit.  I have gone down a size and I now look like I am swimming in all of my clothes.  The simple solution would be to take everything in, and there is a pile of stuff to tailor. I am not a simple kinda gal though. So I decided to make some new shirts and I found just the pattern!

New Look 0137 is a cute button down that can be altered several different ways and this polka dot fabric would be just perfect in it! I think the shirt has a vintage 1940s feel.  Super easy to sew and I will be making some more of these bad boys in the coming weeks.

This was the first time I made loop button holes and thanks to the tutorial I found the other day they were super easy to make.

Making spaghetti straps or button loops

There are a lot of things I enjoy about sewing, but button holes & button loops are not one of them.  I tend to stay away from sewing something that requires buttons.  Zippers, I can handle no problemo! I decided to tackle this fear and picked up a shirt patter which requires button loops - YIKES!

After trying to follow the patters directions which including somehow inserting a needles and thread to turn the loop out, I hit the web to see if anyone had a better solution.  I think that whoever thought of the needle and thread idea, never actually tried it.  I came across this tutorial over at Handmade Things and she is just genius!

Start by cutting your fabric, the length & width you need it.  Make sure you cut it wide enough so there is enough room to sew.  Fold in in half right side of fabric together and press.  This is actually my loops I am making for my shirt.

On one end, about 1/4" down make a small cut. 

 

And this is where the genius comes in...insert a bobby pin!!!  Insert the bottom straight edge through the loop and the top wavy edge into that little cut you just make.  One the pin is in, just weave it through - it will slide through like butter.  

And it will come out the other side - and you have a perfect strap or loop!  

Give it another press and cut to your desired length! I told you she was genius!  

Sheath dress number....umm.....

Today I churned out a new sheath dress from Simplicity 2648.  I love this pattern because it is so easy to put together and it's super easy to customize.

Several weeks ago, or maybe months..anyway, I was in Banana Republic and saw this dress and just loved the waist detailing.  So I decided the next sheath dress I make, I would include similar detailing, I wasn't assuming I could replicate the Banana.  I couldn't get a closer image of the waist detailing, I am having a struggle bus kinda day when it comes to editing pictures.

I used a khaki light weight wool blend suiting fabric and black ribbon.  I like a lower neckline on my dresses, so I dropped the neckline a couple of inches.  Adding the ribbon was a pain in the butt, it took what seemed like forever folding and pinning the ribbon, then ironing it, then sewing it.  The detailing on the Banana dress is slightly different than mine, but after almost an hour working on the belt, I was done.  I am not sure if I like the puff sleeves, they might have to grow on me, but overall I like the dress! 

New Dino Play Mat

For Christmas I made a couple of messenger bag play mats for my nephew and my friend's daughter.  Well, my friend love her daughter's play mat so much, she asked me to make one for her nephew.  I decided to do another dino play mat just because it's less tedious than the car mat; not that I didn't have fun making the car mat.  I decided to make some felt dinosaurs to go with this mat.

I searched the web for some sort of template to print and trace to get the baby dino shapes, I am not an artist so I knew that drawing a T-rex would not turn out so cute.  It took forever trying to find templates, maybe I wasn't using the right search terms.  I finally found some and had to re-size them in word; I totally saved that file in case I have to make these again.

2011 Ornament Swap

In 2010, I participated in an ornament swap with a friend of mine.  Five of us hand crafted ornaments and mailed them to each other in time to enjoy for the holiday season. I loved doing this because it's a great way to increase your ornament collection with pieces that 50,000 others have.  I love seeing what other people create and it's interesting to see everyone's crafty comfort level.  It also ties into my philosophy of supporting local businesses and having a more handmade lifestyle. 

In 2011, I participated again and am really late in sharing the ornaments I received, sorry!!   I decided to make felt sugar skulls.  They turned out kinda quirky cute.

I received a felt gingerbread house, yarn lion, paper ornaments, and a button wreath.

Handmade laptop case

Last month I purchased a new laptop and I needed a new laptop case to go with the new laptop right?  I searched some stores and did not find one I liked, so I decided to whip one up.  If you haven't sewn a laptop case before they are super easy. I did not use a template, but if you are one who needs a tutorial, then you can google laptop cases and tons will show up.

I decided to wing it and wrapped fabric around my laptop to see how much I wanted then cut, sewn, see if it fits. I used a 1/4" padding because I am rough on my laptop when I travel and I wanted to make sure it was nice and cozy.  If you plan on using padding make sure you add extra fabric to account for the added thickness. For the anal sewer this might seem like maddness, but that's how I roll sometimes.  After two hours here  is the end result and I love it!!