Thursday, March 31, 2011

Me Made March Wrap Up

Well, I made it through Me Made March! My challenge was to wear a minimum of two hand made items every day. I think I blew that out of the water. There were only a few days where I struggled, and most of the time it was because I was tired and cold. I really need some handmade knit in my wardrobe for those lazy days, and I want to make some jeans. I did order some denim and we have jeans thread at the shop, so we'll see...

I have been inspired by Rhinestones and Telephones and her project called Building a Lifetime Wardrobe. I have really started being more deliberate with my sewing. Instead of picking fabric because it's new and exciting and just turning it into yet another skirt... I've been trying to think about what is missing from my wardrobe and what I really wear. So with that in mind I will be making several more pairs of pants, and some PLAIN colored things. For instance, I don't have handmade plain black, cream, brown or white blouses, which are staples for my wardrobe. So my sewing might get boring for awhile for you all, but I'm on a mission to get to 100% handmade clothes. I haven't quite worked myself up to making my own undergarments yet.... and I am definitely not going to be knitting my own socks. But we'll see how far I get. I have had a dream of making my own shoes for years though, so maybe some day I'll take a class on shoe design!

The Silliest Craft Project Ever

The last few months have just had so much going on that I can't even begin to explain the mental exhaustion that I've been experiencing. So I've really been sewing a lot to relax. Making clothes is very gratifying, but even that can be tiring after a while when you've used the same pattern so many times you can't bear to think of making it one more time....

So after the Fabric distributors came last Sunday I had the day off on Monday, and I wanted to do something that would just make me happy. I had the sudden urge to make the silliest craft project I have ever made in my entire life.

Mini clothes.

I was first inspired by this project and then Jennifer made these ornaments.

I ended up with this:


The Mini Me Project


These are tiny replicas of every handmade garment I have made for the last nine years. Well, not every garment exactly... Just the ones I found the scraps for. I still have a pile of felt blanks that I will have to dig through years of fabric scraps to finish up. I forgot to count... There has be be at least 30 little pieces in here, maybe more.


My husband's reaction was "WHAT are you doing???" The reaction at the shop was of course squeals of glee from every girl who saw them! We were fully occupied with building a clothesline for them yesterday and played with rearranging them for the better part of an hour.


The girls enjoyed putting the separates together and demanding that I wear their ensembles. Some of them I might... 


When the clothes are not on the clothesline they sit in the tiny wire laundry basket, waiting for their turn in the spotlight. But the really pretty ones get a special display!


Yes, as if all that isn't silly enough, I put a piece of black felt at the back of an empty frame so we can stick the outfits in the frame. I'm planning to put it on an easel with the laundry basket next to it and let people play with it when they sit in my office.

Too much silliness? I don't think so. It has kept me giggling for four days now. 

Kara's Fabric



I don't know why she hasn't blogged about it, but Kara's fabric made it past the first round of judging on Spoonflower!!!! She's in the top 75! Go here to vote for your favorite Baby Boy fabrics. Congrats Kara!!!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sis Boom Boxers


This is from the Louey Boxer Shorts pattern from Jennifer Paganelli. Ethan had told me months ago that my sewing was no good if I couldn't make pants. I took that as a challenge and learned how to make pants! How many pairs have I made now? ... 4 pairs of pj pants, 2 pairs of slacks, and now Ethan's pj pants. I would say I passed his challenge. Well, anyway, he really wanted pj pants and he picked this fun striped flannel. The boxer short pattern was actually for shorts (duh) so I just extended the leg to make it pants. It worked. The pattern is really good. I will use it again. After today's fabric frenzy there will be lots more flannel coming in to make pj pants out of.

So this is my third post today. If you're looking at posts on my blog page be sure and scroll down so you don't miss anything!

MMM 27

TWO years ago we ordered the Kaufman Imperial Collection in brown and teal. Here's me holding up the border print and imagining what it will become.
We got the fabric in and I made an Amy Butler Liverpool Tunic. But sadly, it didn't fit me. BUT it DID fit my Mom! The deal was she got to take it home if she put on the buttons. (I still hate hand sewing!)
But I didn't have anything out of my beloved Imperial fabric... UNTIL!


Today we had the ladies from R&Z in for our annual fabric frenzy! (which is why I look so tired. you wouldn't think so, but fabric buying is tiring!) I wanted to wear fabric we ordered from them, so I whipped up another School House Tunic last night. I added 1 1/2 inches to the dress length, but it wasn't enough. Next time I'll add A LOT and then figure out how much to hem it. I also sewed the pleats together down 3" in the front and 4" in the back. I like this pattern, but it kind of poufs at the pleats if you use a quilting weight fabric, always making me look pregnant! So by sewing the pleats down a few inches it makes a flat waist and then fans out at the hips. Anyway... I like it a lot. I'll have some pictures up for this year's Fabric Frenzy a little later on. Hopefully tomorrow... we'll see. There might be too much sewing going on to mess with photos! :)

MMM 22-26

I got behind on posting, but I'm still wearing Me Made stuff! In fact, I've been doing really great! My commitment was to wear at least two handmade items, but I've been wearing mostly three, and sometime four or five items. Since I always have my handmade bag and usually remember handmade earrings, it's been a cinch to keep up. Here's the last few days:

MMM 22
Shirt: Butterick 4789
Pants: Vogue 1051
Earrings by All Wound Up

MMM 24
Shirt: McCalls 6120
Jacket: Butterick 5332
Skirt: Self-drafted

Since I already wore the jacket this week I wanted to give you a little peek at the facing fabric. I love putting fun fabrics in the facings. They're a little treat just for me!


MMM 25
Dress: Butterick 4789
Earrings: Kara
Me Made Headband

When I first made this dress it was a lot longer! But I was never really comfortable in it. I always wanted to wear the leggings under it for extra modesty but it was too long. So that morning I whacked 7 inches off of the bottom! I like it so much better now. I can't wear it without the leggings now, but I don't think I would have anyway. 

MMM 26
Dress: Amy Butler Lotus Tunic
Better shot here
Necklace: PearlSwirl

Saturday I was teaching a Sushi class out at RB, so of course I had to wear one of my Asian prints! I also received my Hearts for Japan necklace this week and have been wearing it, whether it matches what I'm wearing or not! There are lots of ways you can donate to help in the relief efforts in Japan, if you can't get over there in person. We went through World Vision because they do relief work/humanitarian work at the same time they are sharing about Jesus. If you want to donate you can do so here.

Monday, March 21, 2011

MMM 21


Top is Butterick 5332 made out of a mustardy corduroy. I didn't quite have enough to do the long sleeve and I cut it wrong, so I ended up with the sleeve from the School House Tunic. I think the fabric is too heavy for the drapey sleeve anyway, and the poofy one is kind of... weird. I used the short sleeve on this shirt, and I really like it. I just wanted this one to have a longer sleeve. Anyway, I like it. What I want to find now is a shirt fabric with the yellow and gray in it to make a long sleeved shirt to go under the jacket.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Art Shopping

The Spring Bazaar was this weekend. For those of you not familiar with this, it's an event on the base where they bring in vendors from all over Europe and you can find all kinds of things from chocolate, cheese and wine to pottery, art and European antiques. Normally I don't do much shopping because I prefer to buy things when I visit the county. But there were a couple of things I've been wanting for several years, so we finally went ahead and got them.

Russian Santa

I've wanted a Russian Santa for about eight years. They are so beautiful! Each one is (as far as I know) hand carved and hand painted. When I went to scope them out I immediately fell in love with this one. When I brought Rob back the next day to look with me he chose the same one. So we knew that was the one! I should have taken a closeup for you too. The detail is so amazing! Some of the lines look like they were painted with a single hair paint brush! So delicate!

Silva Art

I think I first encountered Silva Art about three years ago, and I was hooked! His style is so unique and appealing to me. Well, no surprise really considering how much I love Spain and all art from there! Probably not everyone's style, but definitely the kind of stuff Rob and I enjoy looking at. After staring at them for about thirty minutes and wishing we could buy about five pieces, this was the one we ended up. It's called "Vendedor de Pajaros en Bicicleta." The really neat thing about his watercolors is that the design is pressed down into the paper and then painted. So the paper around the paint is higher. Does that make sense? Guillermo Silva died in 2007 and his son Juan was representing the artwork. Take a minute to check out their website. I have no idea that he had such an influence on art in Spain!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

MMM 19


I managed five handmade articles today!
Shirt: Simplicity 2975
Cardigan: Simplicity 2603
Pants: Vogue 1051
Earrings: All Wound Up
Headband: handmade by me

Friday, March 18, 2011

Tooth Monster

Did you catch Celebrate the Boy Month with Made and Made by Rae? It was awesome! So many fun ideas and tutorials! There was one that was so exciting that I made it right away!


The tooth monster pillow by The Long Thread. What a cuuuute idea! I didn't actually have the pattern in front of me when I made it, so mine doesn't really look much like the original, but I really like it. Ethan has only lost a few teeth so far, so this will get a lot of use. And he LOOOOVES it!!! He was so excited he even showed his drum teacher! How funny! The tooth monster gobbled up its first tooth on the day I made it. But Ethan is now 50/50 for turning in teeth to the tooth fairy. You might remember that he swallowed his first tooth. His fourth tooth is somewhere on the playground on base. Is this how it is with all boys?

Made and Made by Rae just posted some Celebrate the Boy roundups, so go check them out and see what you need for the little men in your life!

MMM 18


My legs are not that skinny! These are amazing pants! Pants are Vogue 1051 and the shirt is from the Knip Mode magazine from Hilco.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Hearts for Japan




There are a lot of Japan relief sites popping up all over the crafting community. Our friend Jenny is selling some very cool handmade necklaces and donating the funds to one of the relief sites. Go check it out!

MMM 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Is that the right greeting? I think St. Patrick's Day is cool. I mean most people just think it's a day to wear green and drink beer, but did you know it's a day to celebrate the guy who brought Christianity to Ireland? That's way cool. He was actually British and ended up in Ireland as a slave. He somehow escaped or got sent back to England, and then as an adult he became a Bishop and went BACK to Ireland to be a missionary. The tradition says that he used the three leaf clover to explain the concept of the trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. So, I enjoy dressing in green, wearing clovers, and remembering a guy that went back to a country he had been a slave in, to teach them about his faith.

This is the second time I've worn this dress, but I didn't manage to get a pic last week.


Dress is simplicity 2975 in the Freebird fabric, and the cardigan is Simplicity 2603.
The little clover hair pin was made by Kara last year, and the necklace was made using the shop's laser engraver! We decoupaged some MDF with Japanese paper then cut out shapes on the laser engraver. Then I put Glossy Accents over the top to make it shiny and seal the paper. If you're interested in making your own, there are more of these pendants for sale in the new Bead Bar at the shop.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

MMM 8-16

I can't believe I lost eight days! This last week was just a blur. There was soooo much going on. One night I actually went to sleep about 6 pm and woke up about 8 the next morning. Which was too bad because that was a day I was wearing something new and didn't get a picture... but no worries, I'll be wearing it tomorrow since it has a lot of green in it!

Last week we had two big events - a Sushi making class, which went great, and the big chili cookoff! The chili cookoff was so much fun! The girls from the shop competed with "Artsy Fartsy" chili, which was delicious, and Morgan was named Miss Chili Pepper for her costume. It was really fun hanging out with everyone.

So since it was a chili cookoff, and I was organizing the whole thing, I thought I should get into the spirit of chili and get back to my Texas roots. Mind you I own no cowboy boots or a cowboy hat... so it wasn't easy.


The skirt is another Anna Marie Horner Study Hall Skirt and the fabric is from the Valori Wells line DelHi. We have two bolts of heavy weight fabric in the shop. It's not quite upholstery weight, but heavier than normal cotton. It made an excellent skirt! The contrast is Kona Eggplant, though you can barely see it. The shirt is handmade from a Knip Mode pattern. I don't know if I've blogged the shirt yet... I'm not really very happy with it, but it's ok. The hat was a prop from one of the chili teams.

The other fun thing about the Chili Cookoff was it gave me a chance to use one of my super fun Christmas gifts - the Texas dinner bell! Yes, I have a "triangle" shaped like Texas. Thank you Uncle Bruce and Vicki!! Everyone got a kick out of it when the Garrison Commander rang the bell to start the cooking!


I have lovingly nicknamed my next creation my Frankenstein shirt, because I stitched three different patterns together to make it.

The sleeves are from a simplicity jacket pattern, that I will be revealing later on when I get the actual jacket finished. The yoke is from the Amy Butler Swing Tunic, and the main shirt part is from my favorite simplicity dress/shirt pattern Simplicity 2975. The teal part is from Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow and I want to say the yellow part is from one of those Americana kid collections... but I've forgotten. It's striped.

And the best for last....

My second pair of Vogue 1051 pants. This pair is a cotton/linen blend and they are AWESOME!!!!! I love these pants!!! I love this fabric! I bought a pair of linen slacks a few years ago from an upscale clothing store, and the darn things split at the seams! This pair cost about HALF of what I paid for the other pair, fit better, and I made them myself! I did change the pockets on this pair to side pockets instead of welt pockets on the front. I drafted the pocket from another pair of slacks I own, so it doesn't come with that pocket option. But the front welt pockets are basically worthless, so I like this better. I can fit my phone in my pocket now. 

So tomorrow is St. Patty's day and I will have some green to post about. And hopefully I'll be more interesting for the rest of the month!

Monday, March 7, 2011

MMM 7


I made pants! Vogue 1051. I love pattern! It's supposed to be low waisted, but I have such a short torso that they are still tall on me. Oh, and apparently I'm short enough to cut the pant legs two inches too short (because of a fabric miscalculation) and still have them be long enough for me with a 1 1/2" hem! I don't know if I should feel happy about that or not.... Sorry about the squinty eyes but the sun was really bright today. The fabric is just a cotton canvas. The hardest part about this pattern was the welt pockets. After that they went together like a breeze.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

MMM 5 & 6


This is an old photo. My hair didn't grow that long overnight! But since this is an older shirt and it was the weekend (read: didn't do my hair) I didn't bother to take a new picture. And today was a sewing day, so I was in and out of handmade things all day getting the fits right. This week I will have a few new "reveals" to share.

Friday, March 4, 2011

MMM 4


I started off the day wearing one thing but ended with the skirt above, due to a wardrobe malfunction in my ready to wear (rtw) pants! Mortifying. The best part was my awesome colleagues staring at me and giggling at my predicament and teasing me that I could lock myself in my office with the sewing machine and fix them myself, which I absolutely would have done if it weren't for the GIANT WINDOW in my office. In the end Katelyn suggested I simply change into one of the pieces of clothing I had on display out in the shop. Sometimes it really pays to work in a craft store and have your own clothes hanging as samples!!

Handmade roundup for the day: handmade shirt 1/2 day, handmade skirt 1/2 day, earrings by All Wound Up all day.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

MMM 3


I managed three handmade items today: shirt (McCall's 6120), skirt (my own simple pattern) and earrings by Jenny (sorry they didn't get in the photo).

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

MMM 2


McCall's 6120 with a border print knit. This looked better in my head than in reality. I imagined it with a smaller border that just went around the bottom of the sleeve and hem. The border was way bigger once I cut out the pieces, so now I'm not too sure about it. Earrings from All Wound Up. Adrienne, do you have an Etsy shop?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

MMM 1

Well, Me Made March starts today and sadly I will not be sharing any photos with you. We were finishing up all the inventory paperwork today, and putting the store back in order. So, manual labor + hand-made pretty things = disaster. Therefore my handmade items for today are pjs, which we have already established I will NOT have my photo taken in. But you did see my feet a few days ago.