Saturday, July 8, 2017

More Early Summer Makes! (May-July)


Lately I've been doing so much sewing, and very little writing. Hopefully I can make up for that a bit by sharing other projects I have been working on this late spring/early summer! 

The McCall Pattern Company had a contest for their M7542 shirt and I felt I couldn't resist trying it out! I made the top version in black actually second (of the two versions I made), but this has become a real staple of my wardrobe! I made it very plain and it has become very versatile!


I went for this version when I saw a gorgeous orchid sheer fabric at the store on sale and I knew I needed it! It's such a beautiful color! I was also very inspired by the dress Zooey Deschanel wears in the picture below. 


Don't we all want to dress like a vintage girly princess like Zooey? Well, at least I do!!!



This is not apparel related, but I got so sick of the eye sore of a couch in my front room that I just made up a slip cover for it. I just laid fabric around each part of the couch, safety pinned it, and sewed it together. Is it the most amazing sewing project ever? No. But it does make this room look a billion times better, which is all I care about!



Monika from @rocco.sienna on Instagram and a few of her friends held a "Sewing for the Summer" shirt dress challenge and I had to be apart of it. Long story short, I got this amazing red fabric from Mood during my very lucky trip to NYC. It was a dream to sew with and I love the color so much! I believe the pattern I used was M6696.


I asked for help picking buttons on Instagram and everyone voted for these ones!!! Aren't they just too fun?




Renata from Runningstyle along with a few of her friends had a 4th of July Proud / Flags of the World dress challenge and I also really wanted to be apart of it. I got the lovely Suzon blouse from Republique du Chiffon and then added a dirndl skirt to make it a dress! Man, all those buttons were a labor of love! Yikes! But I love the way they turned out and they were also chosen by people on Instagram! 

Next up I am sewing a dress for my lovely aunt. It's a good thing I love her so much, because I am a very selfish seamstress!!!

Capsule Wardrobe Update July 2017


This project has taken me longer than I had hoped. I keep joining in on random sew-a-longs that pop up and I did pick a wardrobe formula with 12 garments to sew AND I picked challenging patterns and fabrics (for me) to sew with. So, this long wait is completely all my fault. However, as I keep saying, this project has been liberating! Maybe some would find it too confining to limit one's wardrobe to a few colors but it has freed me from wanting to buy everything. I needed that, guilty as charged!

In the last few months I have thankfully been able to sew a few of the garments needed, and they are as follows:


A floral Pussy Bow Blouse from Sew Over It



A floral Everyday Skirt from Liesel + Co.



 A chambray skirt with the same pattern from above (it's great! It has lovely pockets!!!).



 


A re-do of the Maritime Top from Liesel + Co. This time it has a much better fit!

 An Orla blouse from Tilly and the Buttons.

So here is the scorecard on what I have done and what still needs to be accomplished:


With the exception of a few gifts I have to sew and as long as this project doesn't cut too much into my Halloween costume sewing time, I am going to focus on this! At least, I would like it done by fall sometime.


They all do look pretty hanging together in my closet! Hopefully they don't look too homemade, but I'm focusing on progress, not perfection!

Carnegie Hall Dress








Hello again! I'm back, slowly getting to blogging again. It's been a very busy couple of months but I wanted to share some of my latest creations! First one is my Carnegie Hall dress. Why Carnegie Hall? Because I made it to wear to my brother's concert that happened at the real Carnegie Hall in New York City! My brother is a complete rockstar and it was a dream come true to see him do a fantastic job and see the Big Apple!



(Yes, this is me in the actual Carnegie Hall bathroom...where sadly I spent most of my time that evening because my son, who was an angel for most of the trip, lost it that night!)



 The two dresses above were major inspirations for my dress. I love this classic look!


At the time I was still nursing my son, so I wanted a dress that would be cute yet nursing friendly. This would've been the perfect dress for that if I had only placed the zippers an inch or so lower!!!


 I really love this dress though, and I still wear it even though I'm not nursing my baby anymore (bittersweet!!!). The dress shape I feel is very flattering and I love the collar!