Vote for your favorite!

Haven has become quite the songwriter. She's been taking guitar lessons for about six months and I'm super impressed with her progress. She has been writing music and poetry since she was little, and now she can write the music to go with it. The older she gets the more her songs start to sound "real" and not written by a child. She and Rob are in the process of recording some of her music so she can have her first album. I have no abilities at all on the writing or recording front, but I can take pictures! So Haven and I went out yesterday and drove around the area and took some photos. I messed around with a few from each location to get the "album cover" look. These are just rough drafts, but they are pretty fun. So let us know what you think would make a good album cover! She has her teen friends voting on facebook too, so I'm curious to see what the adults will think compared to the teens.

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Sewing

Summer Picnic Blouse/Dress

This pattern has a major malfunction. I had to work really hard to make it work! The problem is that right bodice piece. It's funky! I had to alter the pattern piece a lot to make it work. If enough people are having trouble making this fit I can do a little step by step or something. I think for thin people it probably looks just fine. Second problem is the front skirt piece has a curve on the top which turns into a poof which would be PERFECT for someone with a little baby bump under there. But since I do not have that, nor do I want to look as if I do... I will have to alter that if I make it again. Ok... well, even though I had problems and had to do a bunch to fix it, I get tons of compliments when I wear it!

Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt

Purl Soho Tie

As opposed to the picnic dress, these patterns are AWESOME!!!! The Oliver + S patterns are just great! The way the yoke is constructed is GENIUS! The collar construction is pretty cool too, though I think I prefer a traditional collar stand.

The ties are addictive!! In the last couple of weeks I made four ties for Ethan and two for Mary's son Nikolas. The pattern and tutorial can be found here. I have to admit that I did not really use the instructions. If you know me at all you know I still hate hand sewing. And this pattern is completely hand sewn! Yuck! So I just did it my own way and they worked out fine. Not heirloom or anything, but good enough for a little boy!

I am so happy with these shirts and ties! He is absolutely adorable in them!!

Spring Top Sew Along

Made by Rae is hosting a Spring Top Sew Along. You can click the graphic above to see all the rules and see if you want to participate. These are the two tops I've submitted. I may get one more submitted... we'll see.

First up is the second "Frankie" shirt. I'm still perfecting it, but I really like it. This one is made out of voile from the Anna Maria Horner "Innocent Crush" line. Her voiles are soooo nice. The yoke and sleeves are red chambray.

The next top is called "JJ Redrafted" on Burda Style. The designer is Ana Jan. I found her during Me Made March and her stuff is AMAZING. The pattern she uploaded was only in size 38 (about a US size 8) so I had to enlarge it several sizes. I actually made a muslin and a wearable muslin before cutting into this fabric. Fabric is from the Basic Grey collection "Origins."

I shirred the sleeves to make the bell cuff instead of using a tie. I was just too lazy to make the tie.

I have some more sewing to share and some Easter pics, so I'll try to get caught up on blogging! After Me Made March I think I went into blogging hibernation!

so so happy teen

Normally I don't really get jazzed by the "interesting" characters from Hot Topic, but the "so so happy" line did catch my eye. Who couldn't love a monster with reverse Tourette's syndrome who randomly shouts out compliments and who's catch phrase is "hug it out" !!! Irresistible. In addition to the horns on the hoodie, it has scales down the back, which I would have photographed if my camera didn't die at that exact moment....

Personal Note

Some of you know, and some of you don't know, that our family has been going through some very surprising, very stressful events since January. I have now received three anonymous comments on my blog asking me questions about what's going on. My email address is at the top of this blog site and in our church directory. I am also on Facebook. If you know me enough to ask me questions about our situation, please don't do it anonymously. Please email me so I can answer your questions and know who I'm talking to. Thank you for your concerns and please keep our family in your prayers.

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.