Vote For Your Sew-A-Long Pick!

Ok guys, it seems like most of you want to sew something for yourselves.
To be honest, my first thought was no way. I don't sew for me. I'm not sure why.
But, why not?

So, I've browsed around for patterns that I would love to make for myself, and I hope you'll like them too! After all, I don't want to make something I'm not going to wear.
You'll find a poll on the top right sidebar (if you don't see it quite yet, you are reading this just as I've posted and it will be there momentarily).
Please only vote if you think you will participate in the sew-a-long.

This is the Zip Front Hoodie (or it can be made without the hood) from Jalie. This hoodie comes in 27 sizes, from a child's size 2 all the way up to a women's 22! Jalie patterns are a bit pricey, but for this range of sizes I think really worth it. Hoodie jackets like this are a staple in my wardrobe so I would love to do this one.

Ok, don't be scared by the pattern photo! This is the Yoga Pants (also shorts) pattern also by Jalie. This yoga pants pattern looks amazing to me. They have seams down the back of the leg and look really quite like those overpriced yoga pants from Lululemon.
Please tell me I'm not the only mom that wears yoga pants almost everyday. I'm thinking this could be a really great pattern for me. Yoga pants, again a staple. Or, maybe I should say part of my mommy uniform. Again, 27 sizes.

I'm sorry. Another Jalie. For the record I have never made a Jalie pattern before but have only heard rave reviews about them. If I'm going to make something for me I really want to try one! :)
This is Jalie's Women's Pullover. Again, don't let the pattern photo in that weird snakeskin print scare you. I've seen photos of several of these made and I love them. This one can be made with or without the hood as well. You guys, this one might be my personal favorite pick! Again 27 sizes so can be used for kids and for mom!

And, because I LOVE Dear My Kids Easywear, how about this Shawl Wrap Cardigan from Dan.a? I've been meaning to make this all winter but haven't had the right fabric. I know we're heading into spring, but for those of us who live in chilly climates we will still be able to wear this for awhile. And those of us who actually get a spring, can tuck it away until next year.

What do you think? If you would prefer we could maybe make a bag of some sort and I could do these "must makes" on my own. :) I know I could really use a new bag.

Vote if you'd like to take part, and leave a comment if you like. :)
I'll leave the poll open until mid next week, and will probably schedule the sew-a-long for mid April (I know a ways away yet but it takes forever for me to receive things up here and I will need to order patterns and fabric).

I would also like to invite you guys to check out Sugar Cubes and Spice Cake. This is a new cute little sewing blog started by my sewing friend Sandra. She is hosting a girly sew-a-long coming up the end of this week. If you liked the vintage pattern I shared with you last week, I think you'll like the pattern she is sewing up! I'm hoping to sew-a-long. :)

Have a great Monday! I just heard on the radio that there is a moose walking around town. Let's hope I see it!

Tie Dye Diva Giveaway Winners!

Time to announce the winners of the Tie Dye Diva Giveaway! :)

Three winners will each win the pattern of their choice!

Now, for the winners (I have issues uploading photos sometimes on Sundays for some reason, so trust me).
The winners are...

#2, 62 and 75!

           Tania said... 2

I love the Sweet Summer Halter Dress! And I have just the cutest fabric for the dress in my closet :)

           Tanya said... 62

The ruffled diaper covers are so cute!      Shannon H said... 75 I love all her patterns and had a hard time picking :) The Summer Halter dress would be the one I would love to have since I have two girls that LOVE halters!!

Congratulations ladies! I will try to email you momentarily. :)

Head on over and check out Tie Dye Diva's adorable patterns when you get a chance! :)

Warm and Cuddly Blankets

The first thing I ever learned to crochet was a blanket.
Despite that, I have never actually finished a blanket. I get bored easily.

 Well, I started a blanket. And, I may have told my kids that they'd each get one. There's no going back on the plan now. I told them that I will try to get them done by Christmas. Almost a year sounds reasonable, right? This one is for my 6yr old. Her favorite colours are turquoise, purple and green.

I found a great tutorial for this ripple pattern HERE. This pattern is actually really simple, you only need to know two stitches. It is also quick to memorize, so this is an easy blanket to put down and pick up where you left off without using much brain power.

So, I need to make three blankets, and I plan to make each one different. Suggestions on the next one? You know, because this one probably won't be done for months and months!

Also...while we're talking yarn...

I bought this yarn a few months ago to make this cowl for myself. The cowl pattern is easy. This yarn however, is not easy to work with.

Tips on working with yarn like this? I find it so hard to see my stitches and get so confused. I have started, and restarted this cowl over and over determined I am not going to let the yarn get the best of me. I think it might be time to switch to different yarn though because so far I've gotten nowhere.

Anybody else working on any crochet or knit projects?

Last day to enter the Tie Dye Diva Pattern Giveaway! If you haven't entered yet, go check it out! :)

A Lettuce Edge With Your Sewing Machine

What is a lettuce edge?
We've all seen cute girly tops and dresses (sometimes even knit pants) with wavy hem or sleeve edges. This is called a lettuce edge, and you can do it with your regular sewing machine. No serger required.

The other night I sewed up this little top for my 6yr old for "pink" day. Yeah she has pink in her closet. For some reason when you have a mom that sews, asking her to sew you a new shirt the night before an event at school seems like a reasonable request (or at least she thinks so).

"But Mom, I don't want to look the same as everyone else."
(You see I had tried to talk her into a plain pink shirt already in the closet).
"You think I should wear a plain shirt?!"
(The audacity)

Ok, I'll make you a new shirt. Geesh.

A lettuce edge is great for when you accidentally cut the hem or sleeves shorter than you meant to (which was the case here). I didn't have the length needed for a traditional hem, so instead of giving this to the 5 yr old and having to make another shirt. Lettuce edge it was! :)

Now, just like shirring, every machine is different. What I do on my machine may not work for you. So, just like shirring, practice on a scrap piece of fabric until you get your settings right. A couple of things you will want to do is set your machine to a zig zag stitch, and set your machine to the narrowest zig zag possible. Just like you would do if you were wanting to produce a blanket stitch on an applique.
Then, you will want to play with your stitch width. I like mine fairly wide and prefer more substantial stitching on my edge.

To create the "lettuce" look to the edge you need to stretch your fabric. You have to use fabric that stretches. If your fabric doesn't have a good amount of stretch to it, forget about a lettuce edge. It isn't going to work. Cotton/lycra is perfect!
Now, you need to stretch from both sides of the fabric. When I say both sides, I mean in front of the presser foot as well as behind. You can't do this with one hand, I'm just using one hand in the photo as I needed my other to take the picture.
I use my left to pull behind the presser foot and my right to pull in front. You want to stretch the fabric as much as you possibly can while sewing and gently guiding the fabric through your machine.

See when you release the fabric after it is sewn, the nice ruffly edge it creates?
If you go around the hem once and find there are gaps between the stitches (which can happen if you aren't patient and are pulling your fabric through your machine), just continue to stretch the fabric and go around a second time over top of your previous stitches to fill in the gaps. Just remember to keep stretching even on the 2nd time around.

Lots of times I use embroidery thread to give the edge a bit of a shiny sheen. Regular thread is fine too though!
I like lettuce edges, they are so cute and girly and easy!

Now, go and clean out your machine! Doing this tends to create a lot of lint in my machine.

On an unrelated note, I purchased a few of these really cute embroidered applique patches from Holland Fabrics. Do any of you know where I could find a large selection of these?
I have an embroidery machine, but these are just so cute and fast to use (I like easy). I would love to find some more cute ones! :)


Pattern is my "go to" T shirt pattern- Farbenmix Antonia

A Little Vintage Goodness

The Sewing Dork, and Brown Paper Packages are reviewing patterns this month. You can find an entire month of pattern reviews on their blogs! From vintage, to PDF's to paper patterns. They've showcased a little bit of everything.
I've had some vintage patterns I've been wanting to try out and when Cynthia asked if I'd like to review one as part of their pattern review month, she didn't have to ask me twice! :)

The only bad thing about reviewing a vintage pattern is that if you are looking for a particular pattern, it may be hard to find. Vintage patterns in themselves though aren't hard to find. just do a quick google search, there are thousands! I can give you a bit of general info though on what you can expect to find in a vintage pattern.

 

I chose this sweet McCalls pattern from 1968. Adorable, don't you think?
One thing to keep in mind if buying a vintage pattern is that many of them don't come in an array of sizes. This pattern for instance is a size 6X. It shows a range of sizes on the back of the pattern, but this is only to show the sizes it could be purchased in.
This is nice because you don't need to trace. It's a bit of a bummer too though if you'd like more than one size. I would have loved to have had this pattern in a size 5.

This pattern also had additional instructions on how to change the fit for larger girls. This gave me a bit of a chuckle. You would never find this sort of terminology on a pattern today!

 This is the face of a little girl who doesn't want her picture taken.

Unlike some other current day McCalls patterns I've used, I felt this dress turned out perfectly. The pattern pieces were well drafted, and the finished result was true to the pattern photo. Unlike many patterns of the 60's and 70's that usually run short, this pattern was quite long and I didn't have to lengthen it. It was big everywhere else too though and needed to be taken in.

A promise of candy. Now she perks up!

I love the sweet little collar and puff sleeves. Such a cute, simple, classic dress for play. This dress was really easy to sew as the front is just a faux placket.

This is a great dress for showcasing great buttons. One thing about a faux placket though, is there has to be a zip down the back.

The only hang up I had on this dress was I had taken the collar off at one point to take in the dress a little to make it smaller for my 5 yr old. I yanked a little too hard, instead of picking my stitches as much as I should have, and made a rip in the back. So, see those two little back pleats at the top? Not supposed to be there...
I had to find a way to fix the rip without having to start over!

I really like this dress and will make it again. Next time I think I'll make one of the more grown up views for my almost 7 yr old.

What do you think?

I have to say I've become a bit addicted to seeking out vintage patterns as of late. You can really get lost on ebay browsing them. Give it a try, I think you'll love them too!

Tie Dye Diva Giveaway!

I have another fun giveaway for you guys this Monday morning! :)

I'm pleased to introduce you all to Tie Dye Diva! Tie Dye Diva is a cute little shop on Etsy full of cute and fun sewing patterns for little ones. The owner's name is Jen and she has a passion for sewing! All of her patterns included color photos, are computer drawn, and have (most importantly) been tested. Here is a taste of what you can find in the shop.

I love this cute little reversible swing top. Perfect for summer! Are any of you doing any summer sewing yet? I have to admit that I am done with the winter sewing. Not because we are close to winter being over (because we are certainly not), but because I'm sick of it. :)

This Pat A Cake Dress is one of Jen's newest patterns. Look at that adorable little model!

Easter is on it's way, and for those of us who will still be in chilly climates, this fleece hat is perfect!

I have to admit, this is my favorite pattern!

For the Giveaway!

Head on over to Tie Dye Diva and check out all of the cute patterns. Come back and leave me a comment letting me know your favorite.

Three winners will each win their favorite pattern!


One comment per person please.
Please leave a way for me to contact you if you don't have an email in your blogger profile.
Giveaway closes Friday February 25th 7PM PST

You can also check out Tye Die Diva on their facebook page as well as their blog, where Jen also holds giveaways as well as shares tutorials. :) 

For those that find something they love and just can't wait, if you purchase a Tie Dye Diva pattern this week and end up being a winner, Jen will gladly refund your money on the purchase price of the pattern you bought if you choose not to receive another pattern. 

Good luck everyone!

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner!

First of all, thank you for all of your well wishes! I've tried to take it easy this past week and I think I may be on a combination of meds that are going to keep the asthma in control until we can figure out why it isn't going away. It has been frustrating to say the least!
I'll need to see a specialist soon, which means a trip to the big city 8 hrs away. Truthfully I'm thinking less about the specialist and more about the fabric stores I'll be able to visit! :)

Now, on to what I know you've been waiting for, the winner of the Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Kristi said... 93 id pick the tuxedo dress...but love them all

The Tuxedo Dress is the one on the left.

Congratulations Kristi, and enjoy your beautiful new dress! :)

For those of you that haven't hopped over to Shabby Apple yet, what are you waiting for? Such a fabulous store to pick up a treat for yourself. Although, they do have things for the little girl and even boy in your life.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a fun Monday morning giveaway, and then some other fun stuff this week! I'm back!

Little Blog Vacation

I haven't forgotten the wet bag tutorial and I haven't forgotten about the next sew-a-long discussion. I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but I'm taking a little break from the blog this week.

I haven't mentioned it on the blog, but I've been a bit under the weather as of late. Some of you may remember me mentioning that I had pneumonia in November. Well, I haven't been the same since. It seems it irritated my asthma and at the moment it is quite uncontrolled, and has been for the past three months. I'm having a particularly difficult week and am going to lay low for a few days.

I'm ok though and will be back soon when I can take a deep breath! :)

If you haven't already, make sure you enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway! It's a really good one!

Shabby Apple Giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day! How many of you have big plans for the holiday?
Not much going on in my house, but I do have a really exciting giveaway to share with all of you today. The winner of this giveaway is going to be one happy lady! :)

First, let me introduce you to Shabby Apple. Have you ever heard of them? Until recently I hadn't. I'm not sure where I've been. Shabby Apple is an online boutique specializing in dresses. Not any dresses, but dresses for women of all body types (you can actually shop by body type- so cool!).
Here are some of the beautiful things you can find at Shabby Apple.

 Shabby Apple has both Vintage Inspired, and Boutique Collections, or you can browse all of their dresses by catagories (looking for a little black dress?). They even carry maternity (really cute maternity too)!

Although Shabby Apple specializes in dresses for women, they also carry a selection of children's dresses.

This cute little dress is my favorite, and made in some of my favorite fabric!

I have to tell you this too...

They also carry really fabulous shoes and accessories!

For the Giveaway!

One lucky winner will win the dress of their choice out of these three stunning dresses

 To be eligible to win, click on over to Shabby Apple.
Come back and let me know which dress you would choose. Will it be the Tuxedo Dress, the Cortez Dress or the Nine To Five Dress?

One comment per person please
Please leave a way for me to contact you if your email isn't in your blogger profile
Giveaway closes Friday February 18th 7:00PM PST

See something you love?
Until Friday, receive 10% off your order!  
Use fromanigloo10off at checkout.

Good luck everyone!

A Little Valentine This and That

This is the poster child for the word mischievous. What is it about middle children? I never believed the hype, until I actually had a middle child. Trouble is this girl's middle name. She has tested me like my other kids just haven't. She has taught me patience....or, she is teaching me patience. When I was looking through the photos I took, it is like she was caught red handed in this one. She is plotting her next endeavour.

Back to the topic at hand.
I have another little Valentine dress to show, that you can easily make with any T shirt pattern you have on hand. Comfy knit dresses are the best. Easy to live and play in.

For my T pattern I used the Farbenmix Antonia (my go-to T shirt pattern). This dress has a basic A line shape. Check out the Little Ruffle Dress Tutorial to show you how you can easily lengthen your T to dress length.

The only other variation I made to the T pattern was to shorten the sleeves and add a little ruffle. You do this the exact same way that you would for adding a ruffle to the bottom of a dress. I made my ruffle twice the circumference of the bottom of the sleeves. Cute way to dress up a basic T shirt dress, don't you think?

Now, I need your help. So far my sweet girls dress is plain, plain, plain. I didn't want her dress to be like her sisters dress. Should I add some type of heart applique? Middle of the chest, or along the bottom? Will that make the dress too Valentiney to wear after Monday? We don't want that!

Now, on to other news...
I am pretty scattered this week, as you can probably tell from this post. I thought I'd add these in here in case you are looking for an easy last minute Valentine treat. From start to finish you can do a bunch of these in about 10 mins tops!

Have any of you been around long enough to remember these Easter Bunny Suckers? You can make these heart shaped ones in just the same way.

 Actually you can make any chocolate lollipop just like this. No need to ever buy chocolate molds! You can easily smooth the top of your lollipops with a small spatula if you would prefer them more polished looking. These were just for my kids and their play date friends so I didn't bother.

 Have a great Thursday everyone!

If you haven't had a chance to comment on yesterdays post, please click over and give me your opinion!