It's back and better than ever!

I started a post titled "What to do when your creative mojo abandons you?" about a month ago and it started like this.....

"It's official, it's gone, I mean really gone, I have utterly and completely lost my creative drive and energy. It left me literally mid-project the proof being the partially constructed dress left still in the hoop and attached to my embroidery machine that now sits dormant on my sewing table. That sewing table, once piled high with so many projects in the works it was difficult to choose which to work on when I got the chance now just sits there vacant except for the embroidery machine, dress still attached. It sits neatly in the corner of my bedroom, the first thing I see when I enter the room, a constant reminder of what is lost."

Well I don't know how or why, but one day it just out of the blue reappeared and I suddenly had a dozen projects I just couldn't wait to dive into. I'm really not one to look a gift horse but I can't help but ponder what it might have been that triggered creative inspiration to return. I have several therories, among them the weather(i sew most in the warmer months especially sundresses for my girls), an email announcing new arrivals at my favorite online fabric store, Farmhouse Fabrics, or maybe it was an overpriced dress I saw that I was convinced I could replicate and make even better by putting my own spin on it. Whatever it  was, I"m grateful.

I have been sewing every free moment I get and I have a newfound confidence to branch out and try things I never would have considered in the past, but more on that a bit later.

The project that got me back in the groove was from a Jackie Clark Pattern that I've had in my stash for quite a while. The pattern makes a cute little sleeveless top and pull on pant for babies and toddlers. Here is the link to the  Jackie Clark Designs website to learn more and find a retailer near you or online.

I think I was inspired to use the pattern because it only goes to size 4T and my youngest turns four in July, I couldn't bear the thought of this adorable pattern going to waste.  I  had also recently bought a sweet floral print fabric that looked amazing paired with some pink gingham I've had forever and never used. 

I have used a couple of Jackie Clark patterns now and I have found them to be incredibly user friendly for sewers of all skill levels and would even be a fantastic pattern for someone brand new to sewing garments. The Britches & Bloomers pattern, shown above, includes the basic pull on pant and easy to follow instructions for several variations and embellishments. Options include patch pockets, a contrast hem or cuff and contrast ruffled hem with or without rick rack. There is also the pattern for a darling (and easy to make!) popover top that is trimmed in contrast bias tape and embellished with a fun little flower pocket, template and instructions for flower pocket included. You can make the top even easier to construct by using premade or packaged bias tape. Last but certainly not least, is a pattern and template for a absolutely adorable little purse featuring a birdie applique. 

I was able to make an entire three piece ensemble in an afternoon, each piece took an hour or less and was fun and easy to assemble. I chose to make the pant with the contrast ruffle trimmed in rick rack. I made my own matching bias trim for the top and rather than the flower pocket I embellished it with a little machine embroidered flower, any excuse to use my new embroidery machine! The little birdie purse was a huge hit with my daughter, she didn't really think much of the top and pant but carried the bag everywhere for a week(in fact I couldn't find it to photograph it for this post). So here are a few photos of my completed outfit.

 I'm sure many of you in the sewing/crafty blogosphere have heard of a great blog called Dana Made It. Quite some time back she shared a tutorial for a cute and easy to make little skirt she named The Market Skirt. Here is her version and the LINK to the tutorial on her blog.

I had been wanting to make this little number but I never could find just the right fabric and after a while it got buried in my vast collection of projects, patterns and tutorials and I forgot all about it. Then on a recent trip to Joann's there it was, the perfect fabric, as soon as I saw it I remembered the Market Skirt tutorial and couldn't wait to rush home and get started. I have to be honest, the fabric on it's own is a bit much and it's what I refer to as "ugly cute" so ugly it's almost cute, no offense to anyone really, just my opinion, but for this skirt......adorable.

The pattern pieces are cut from a chart with measurements for each piece. The tutorial has clear and concise instructions for following along and features lots of photos. I may have misread the directions for the waistband  or miscut my fabric but I had to reduce the size of the waistband piece in order for it to look like the skirt in the photos and to fit my daughter who wears the same size as the skirt in the tutorial but other than that it was a breeze to construct and turned out so so cute! Here is my take on the Dana Made It Market Skirt.

I have many many works in progress that I can't wait to share. I'm excited to be broadening my sewing horizons and trying a lot of new and challenging  projects and techniques. I think what I'm most excited about is that I'm finally making things for myself! Everything from skirts and dresses to bags and even some pretty little chemise style nighties for hot summer nights! 

Thanks for reading and happy sewing!

How sewing saved my life

Last night I stayed awake until after 2am. At around 1:30 my husband, who had fallen asleep downstairs, came up to our room to go to bed and found me sitting on the floor surrounded by piles and piles of patterns feverishly typing away on my computer. "What ARE you doing" he asked. He had a look on his face that said he thought I might have finally just lost my mind completely. "I'm listing" I answered "Listing WHAT, do you know what time it is?" I was irritated, I had already told him I had opened a new shop on etsy, doesn't he ever listen :) What followed was a long conversation about profit margins and a bunch of other business statistics that made my brain go numb and ended with my husband deciding it would never be profitable and wasn't worth the time I would invest in it, why, he asked, would I want to waste my time and energy, especially with everything else I have on my plate?

It was a very legitimate question and one that got me thinking about why my little venture meant so much to me. Very simply, it is MINE, that's why. That might sound silly but to me it's huge.

My life does not belong to me, it hasn't since the moment the stick turned blue 15 years ago. This was fine with me, I accepted and embraced the fact that from that moment forward someone else's needs would always come first. As the years went by it became 4 other someone else's that came first and I kind of forgot what it was like to be anything other than a mom.

I started sewing about 3 years ago and from the very start it was like therapy. It was something I could immerse myself in completely and take a break from all the chaos of the day. Maybe it was the focus and concentration sewing entails, I'm not sure. Sewing became the one thing I did just for me, because I wanted to, because I loved it. It also gave me a sense of accomplishment and pride on days when I felt like I was floundering in other areas of my life.

Over the past few years I've realized how important it is, as a mother, to have something that you are passionate about that is all yours, I remember someone telling me "you gotta have your 'thing'" Something in your life that is a constant, that you love to do, that holds your interest and takes away the stresses of  life, if even for just a bit. I guess most people call that a hobby, to me it's "my thing" and my thing became sewing and vintage design. It beats drinking, right, which I'll be honest. some days is my first instinct.

So to all you moms out there, who give and give and rarely think of taking, who forgo privacy, personal space and time for themselves, I hope you too have or find "your thing". You deserve it!

Sweet Gingham Dress For Bridget

I love this pattern!

I found it on Etsy, ordered it and got started on it the same day it came in the mail. Problem was that when I looked at the bodice pattern piece it looked enormous compared to my little peanut of a daughter. Luckily I had another pattern that was similar and a size smaller. I was able to sort of piece together my own pattern using a combination of the two patterns and their instructions. I am so proud of the way it turned out and I can't wait for my little sweetie to wear it.

Big Dreams Embroidery Banner

I've been having so much fun experimenting with my new embroidery machine! I'm finally able to do things I've wanted to do but couldn't with my old machine. The Brother machine is totally effortless and I'm loving it.

Although I have a huge library of designs I'm often surfing my favorite sites looking for new additions. Right now I'm really into "In The Hoop" designs. If you're not familiar they are mostly freestanding designs made entirely in your hoop then removed at the end of sewing. They usually utilize the back or underside of the hoop as well, in doing this you can make all sorts of things from, pouches and bags(think fold over wallets) to small toys and dolls, even baby booties, all in your hoop! My first "ITH" creations were these monogrammed hair clips for my daughters,

While shopping Etsy for designs, they have THOUSANDS(search Machine Embroidery Designs) I happened upon Big Dreams Embroidery(link is to the Big Dreams website where downloads are instant, you can also find them HERE on Etsy and have purchases emailed to you) My first purchase was the Candy Shop Banner. It was emailed to me within minutes, seriously like 5-10!, along with a very nice note from the owner, Kate. I had several other email interactions with Kate and was so impressed with how professional, helpful and kind she is. The design came in 4 sizes, 4,5,6 and 7 inches and was only $4.95. Next I bought the Olivia Font, Pretty Applique Font and the Love Heart Banner for Valentine's Day.

Images used with permission from Big Dreams Embroidery

I got started on my Candy Shop Banner right away, what a fun Sunday afternoon project it was. I made the first for my oldest daughter because she was so super excited about me hanging it on her wall. I ended up pretty much doing mine exactly like the one Big Dreams shows because the color scheme matched my girls' room so perfectly, I plan on using a bit more originality on my next banner :) I chose the 5 inch design and used the Olivia font for my daughter's name. The design came with wonderful step by step instructions. These in the hoop banners are a great project for both beginners or seasoned embroiderers and are perfect for decorating for everyday or special occasions. 

And now, my finished banner,

Thanks for reading!

Machine Embroidery fun!

  After discovering  that I was having a bit of a crisis over the fact that I'm turning 40 my husband  and mom decided to team up and get me something extra special for my birthday. My husband being the practical guy he is just asked me point blank what to buy. My first reaction was "oh don't get me anything, just take me out" but after some consideration I decided what I'd really like is a new embroidery machine.

  I've had several. I started with a little Brother SE-350, a sewing/embroidery machine that was very reasonably priced and perfect for a beginner. I LOVE that machine, it is a little workhorse, and so so easy to use. I used that machine until I was sure it would die of shear exhaustion. Nearly everything that I made for my Etsy shop was made on that machine. The only bad thing about that model is that the embroidery field is quite small and in order to make anything larger that 4x4 you must rehoop. Wanting a larger field I made the mistake of purchasing a Singer CE-150( i think that is the model, could be wrong) BIG mistake, it is a horrible horrible machine, in my opinion. I have since read customer reviews and so wish I would have done so prior to buying it. I could go on and on about it but I'll leave it at we were not a good fit.

  About a year and a half ago when I knew that sewing was a hobby that was going to stick I invested in a really good machine, a Bernina. I bought the whole package, including the embroidery module. I instantly fell in love with sewing with my Bernina but not so much with the embroidery module, I found the software not the most user friendly and my computer often failed to recognize the module and communicate with it. Overall, not so great. The module itself was about $1000 and I didn't want a thousand dollar piece of equipment that drove me nuts so the sewing shop offered to let me return the module and put it toward something else. I chose a Bernina serger and again fell in love. I never regretted my decision and went back to work on my Brother machine.

  Cut to now and choosing a new machine, my first thought was to get the module for my Bernina again. I was so sad to find out that the shop that sold me all my Bernina  machines had closed, they were great! I tried another local store, that shall remain nameless, and was told that the module is no longer made but they might have a floor model they could sell me, they'd look into it and call me back. They level of customer service that I received when I called this shop was no where near that of  The Sewing Room, where I had been a regular customer. While waiting for them to call me back, they never did, I started thinking of all the trouble I had with that module and got to thinking about my little Brother machine that never did me wrong.

  In the end I went with a Brother machine a few steps up from my little starter model and I am so impressed! I bought the PE-770 from Amazon, a tip from a dear friend, they are an authorized Brother dealer. The price was amazing and I got it super fast! It was up and running in no time, here she is and a sample applique, the first I tried right out of the box.

  I love that all the thread spools are hidden under the blue cover and it is so simple to use. The quality of the stitching is just incredible. I highly recommend this machine and if you've not tried machine embroidery you really should :) Especially if you're sewing for children, my kids love things personalized and I love adding sweet little embellishments to things I've sewn, once you try it it's easy to get hooked. 

  I wanted to share a few of my favorite sites for boutique-y type embroidery designs, they all have instant downloads of designs.

Planet Applique- Super cute appliques for children and great applique alphas here's a favorite right now

Applique Cafe- Great basics and specialty appliques. Good prices too! A sample design,

The Embroidery Boutique- The first site I found with great designs for kids items. I used this for a onesie for my youngest daughter and put a B in the center.

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

A little of this, a little of that.....

Somewhere there is a box full of fabulous sewing notions. Pretty ribbon trims, lovely vintage buttons, zippers, hooks and eyes, oh and I can't forget the collection of Gingher scissors and shears. Basically everything you really need to sew with the exception of a pattern and  fabric. Since we've moved I've been unable to find this box, the price I pay for not packing and moving these things myself I suppose. After yet another fruitless search I decided if I was going to sew I was going to have to replace some of my missing notions, starting with closures. 

For the last couple of years I've bought many of my sewing/crafting supplies on Etsy. Since I had shops on the site I wanted to support the Etsy community, plus both the selection and prices are incredible. I found everything I could ever need and more! I could have spent hours looking at vintage buttons alone, there were thousands upon thousands of options. I decided to pick some basics to start with, white, ivory, navy, pink and red. I got this lot of 180 ivory and white vintage buttons for $10 from Vintage Closet by LR. 

I found many similar lots, over 100 buttons for under $10. This lot of red vintage buttons was just $4.50

 For small buttons, perfect for children's clothes there is Mariiam.  There I got small lots, 8-12 buttons, for $2-3. Here are some of the many many styles they have,

Zipit, another great Etsy shop, has every size and color YKK zipper you could ever need and I've never seen better prices. I really like their mix and match packages. You choose the size and  then pick whatever color or colors you want. The price for the ten zipper package ranges from $4-$5 depending on size. Here are the color choices

While shopping on I came across a really cute and simple PDF dress pattern for my youngest daughter. It looked like something that could be versatile and easily embellished with trim, like ric rac, or maybe some embroidery. The pattern is by Pink Poodle Bows

The pattern was quickly emailed to me, this is greatly appreciated by this sewer, as I get so excited about a new pdf pattern purchase and sometimes waiting for the pattern to be emailed can be frustrating. I choose a vintage inspired Michael Miller print for the main fabric and a red and white tiny gingham for the small yoke piece. The pattern includes wonderful instructions for making your own bias binding for the armholes and straps as well as directions for putting the bias over or under the chest piece. I cheated on this one and used some bias tape I already had and I chose to put it over the chest fabric rather than under. I really liked the pattern. It included easy to assemble pattern pieces and very clear instructions for making the dress. If I had one complaint it would be that I think the armholes on my finished product are too big, or my daughter is too small, lol. She is very thin and has a tiny frame so I think I should have opted for the smaller armhole cutout even though I was making the 3T because she is probably a 2T or smaller across her chest and waist. Overall I love the end result and can see me making several of these cute little babydoll dresses with my own embellishments here and there. Here's mine!

Fabrics- Back to basics

I go through definite phases in regards to sewing. I get really into something and do that and only that until I'm over it then I move on. Sometimes it a certain type of garment, or patterns or maybe a fabric line or designer  but vintage and heirloom sewing have always been an obsession.

At the moment I'm back into vintage patterns for children. In my opinion vintage reproductions work best when done in an understated way so they're classic and modern and don't seen dated or "period piece". I think the best way to do this is with your choice of fabrics. You can't go wrong with high quality basics and for me that means sticking to solids and two timeless patterns, plaids/checks and stripes, ( a beautiful floral being the exception) in classic colors like white, navy, and pink. I love basic pastels in the spring and summer. The quality and feel of the fabric is the first thing I consider, it could be a great color or pattern but if it doesn't have the right drape and hand I'm not interested.

There are several types of fabrics I think work best for vintage and children's clothing in general.

• Pima cotton broadcloth
• Cotton sateen
• Pique
• Fine cotton shirtings
• Seersucker

You will find that all of these fabrics come in a range of qualities, and shopping online can be difficult when you can't touch and feel the fabric. It's always a good idea to look for and read reviews of sites when considering purchasing a fabric from a manufacturer you are not familiar with.

Broadcloth-

Broadcloth is a basic fabric made of a plain tightly woven cotton or cotton blend. I  stick with 100% cotton and prefer broadcloth made from pima cotton,  they look and feel best. I tend to look for broadcloths that are intended for apparel rather than quilting..You can find the best selection of high quality broadcloth at children's heirloom sewing stores. Farmhouse Fabrics has amazing high end pima broadcloth but not always the best color selection. Martha Pullen has a great selection of colors in a nice 100% cotton for $12 per yard, here are all the colors they offer,

Cotton Sateen-

Cotton sateens are lovely for dresses, they have a soft smooth hand and a slightly glossy finish and are a very nice weight, not too heavy not to light or sheer. There are stretch sateens that have a small amount of lycra, they are nice(not too stretchy) and wash and wear nicely but I prefer those that are 100%.  Navy, pink, red and white are my favorites for sateen. 

Good 100% sateens can be a little tricky to find, believe it nor not I bought a wonderful navy sateen online from Hancock Fabrics online for only $6.99 a yard I liked it so much I quickly ordered more. I recently discovered an online fabric store called Fashion Fabrics Club, they have an amazing selection of apparel fabric at unbelievable prices, like $5.00!!!! I just placed an order for several fabrics because I had to find out if the prices were too good to be true, we will see. Here is a pattern I plan on making with navy sateen, 

Pique-

Pique is a medium weight textured fabric made from cotton or a cotton blend. There are several different weaves or textures including birdseye, or princess birdseye, swiss babywale, and waffle pique. 

Princess Birdseye Pique

Waffle Pique 

Swiss Babywale Pique

I love using pique and choose it often when sewing for my girls, it's so versatile and the weight works for almost all the basics. I have used it for everything from jumpers to skirts to baby bubbles and few things are as sweet as a little white pique sundress in the summer. Swiss babywale is what I have used most often although the princess birdseye is my favorite for white garments and dressier occasions. Babywale pique has a very similar texture as babywale cord but smoother and silkier. The best I've found for swisswale is made by Fabric Finders, they are known for their high quality fabrics for children and make many of the fabrics I use.  Again, heirloom sewing stores are the best source for quality pique and most carry Fabric Finders as it is the go to brand for heirloom sewing for children. My current project is a little dress made from a vintage pattern using Fabric Finders red baby swisswale pique. Here it is, still in progress, and the pattern.

                            

Fine Cotton Shirtings-

Shirting is a tightly woven fabric with soft lustrous fabric usually made from cotton or a blend, the finest are are in Egyptian or Pima cotton and have a high thread count. They have a great drape for dresses with s full skirt, especially vintage sundresses or shirtdresses. My favorites are usually plaid or gingham. Once again Farmhouse Fabrics is where I go first for the best quality and selection.  Here are some shirtings I either have or have my eye on. 

These patterns are just perfect  for shirting.

Seersucker-

Seersucker is a fabric with a woven pucker made of cotton or a cotton blend. Seersucker is my favorite fabric for children during the summer months, I love it! There is something so sweet and refined about a little seersucker sundress and seersucker bubbles might just be my favorite thing for baby to wear when it's hot outside . It is ideal for both vintage and heirloom pieces and comes in a variety of weights and patterns as well as solids, mostly pastels. I usually choose the classic stripe that is most associated with seersucker or a check but you can find just about every color or pattern imaginable.

Nashville Cotton Seersucker in baby pink and white.

 In my opinion the Nashville Cotton produces the best looking and highest quality seersucker and offer an amazing selection of both solids and patterns, I recently heard they have or are going out of business which made me promptly order a stash of my favorites. While doing this I discovered Farmhouse had many of their Nashville Cotton fabrics on clearence(although not the classic pastel solid, stripe and check). I stepped out of the box and chose this brightly colored plaid, 

It was an unbelievable $3.51 a yard! Fabric Finders and Spechler-vogel, which is owned by Fabric Finders also offer quality seersucker in a wide range of prints and solids. Below are two of my favorite heirloom patterns for seersucker fabrics. I've made them both several times and I'm sure I'll be breaking them out again this year.

I also recently purchased these vintage patterns I plan on making for this summer in seersucker.

Now that I have my little space set up I'm so excited to be sewing again. I've celebrated by buying some new patterns and fabrics to keep me inspired. I have so many projects planned it's hard to decide which to do next after the little red dress but I'm sure I'll be blogging about it!

Thanks for reading!