Stitch in My Side

33 Weeks

2012-01-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

Pregnancy is funny to me. It's so oddly... not lonely, that's the wrong word completely... but you're truly going through it alone. People can (and do, most certainly do) sympathize and show concern. They always want to know how you are and if you're feeling OK. "Can I get that for you?" they ask. "No, I've got it," you tell them, but they still look at you like you're going to drop whatever .00000005 pound item you're carrying.

But still, it's almost like you can fold in on yourself, you and the little life growing inside of you. This boy is getting big. I hope not too big. At times I feel what I know is an elbow or a foot and I think how in just over a month I'll touch the skin on that foot. I'll put it in my mouth like I did with my daughter when she was a tiny baby because I'm a totally weird mama like that. My daughter who will be nine in a matter of days. Who was just a baldy bouncing baby just two days ago, wasn't it? Didn't she just start sitting up, watching me try to get back into shape with the Pilates tape I bought? Where she'd laugh and laugh every time I tried to do the walrus or the mermaid or whatever it was because I can't remember. Even though it was just two days ago. And now I see the emerging face of a young woman, peeking out behind the still soft cheeks of a child. She will love you baby boy, know that she will love you.

xoxo,

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Central Park Quilt

2012-01-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

I'm so proud of this quilt!

I used a Central Park charm pack and some Kona for the front (Snow maybe? Or natural?), then some Maybley by Max & Whiskers (you can buy it here - it's so rad that I'm going to use it on another quilt), and the binding is Kaffe Fasset I think with a little of the binding I used on my nephew's quilt.

I got the quilting pattern idea (a really big spiral) from Alissa Haight Carlton. She came to our OCMQG meeting in November and brought a bunch of quilts for a show & tell. Her quilt with the spiral quilting pattern was much larger. This one came in at about 42" x 52" but her's might have been a full sized quilt. When she pulled it out it was literally breathtaking.

The quilting caused a few problems for me because I had to get it done in one evening. I just kept sewing through all these mistakes (of which there's about a dozen), but after washing & drying they weren't too noticeable. This fabric also helps cover a multitude of sins!

I do plan on using this quiling spiral again, and when I do I'll be more diligent about puckers! That being said, Imaking "perfect" items for giftins is not a huge aspiration of mine. I honestly feel that when I am making something for someone the most important thing is to think positive thoughts. I just feel that the piece gets infused with love if I think loving thoughts, and that makes it the best kind of gift I can give.

It's a little cheesy, but it's something I love to do. :)

I hope the new year is jiving for all of you!!

xoxo,

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Winter Baking

2011-12-30T02:00:00.001-08:00

My daughter and I made some of my mom's poppy seed cake. I've eaten this every Christmas for as long as I can remember remembering. It's something I make throughout the year, but I must make at Christmastime. Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it.

Poppy Seed Cake Recipe
2 c sugar
1 ½ c vegetable oil
3 c flour - sifted
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
4 large eggs
4 heaping Tbsp Poppy Seeds
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a very large bowl, combine the sugar and eggs; beat well. Add oil and cream well, about 2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the can of milk to the egg mixture until well combined. Gently fold in poppy seeds and walnuts. Pour into a greased bundt pan & bake 1 hr. For cupcakes, bake 25-30 minutes. For jumbo cupcakes, bake 35-40 minutes.

xoxo,

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Sewing 101 - How to Use Your Auto Threader

2011-12-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

This is for Yolanda. xoxo

Some of you may have an auto threader on your sewing machine. Let me tell you, they are rad. I love mine and never thread my needle myself anymore. How do you know if you have an auto threader? Well, hopefully you've read your manual which will tell you. You can also look on the machine itself. If you've only got this little guy that comes down, you've just got an auto buttonhole maker:

You can tell because of this symbol, which is universal for buttonholes.

If you pull that guy down and you still have another guy to pull down, congratulations, you have an auto threader!

Here's how to use it:

Thread your machine as normal, but don't thread the needle.

Make sure your needle is all the way in its up position and pull this guy down. A little hook will go into your needle's eye.

Wrap the thread around the mechanism like so, and hook the thread on the little hook peeking through the needle's eye:

Release the lever, which will pull your thread through the needle's eye.

Not photographed - pull your thread all the way through, et voila! You are now threaded!

xoxo,

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Chevron Baby Quilt

2011-12-28T02:00:00.000-08:00

Full disclosure, I totally took every single aspect from this quilt (with the exception of colors) from this tutorial via Aesthetic Nest that was featured on UCreate a few weeks ago. She even provides you with info on where to buy your fabric. I used Premier Prints ZigZag Village fabric, which is a duck so it was a little heavier weight than normal quilting fabric.

I loved making this quilt. I really like wholecloth quilts where I don't have to piece anything, and it's rare for me to find one I love so much. It's truly the chevron print that makes this particular quilt because you use them as a stitching guide which gives the chenille back it's fun zigzag (all explained in the tutorial I linked to above).

I used four layers of flannel on my back, and had only washed it once. It'll get fluffier than this apparently. I used a blue & white plaid, a chocolate brown, a white with teensy blue polka dots, and a light blue in that order from bottom layer to top.

The finished measurements are 41" x 49". I know Anneliese's are 45" x 45", but my flannel was 44" wide before sewing, so I couldn't get it that big. The binding is a Kona cotton, but I don't remember the name of the color.

It was a good 6-7 hours for the sewing around the chevrons, and 2-3 for the cutting (which killed my pregnant, arthritic hands), and maybe 2 hours for the binding. Not a ton of time for a quilt so lovely, but one you wouldn't want to whip up in a day. I did it over the course of three weeknights and a weekend and it was very easy to get done in time for Christmas. I cannot recommend this quilt and tutorial enough. Thank you Aesthetic Nest for your lovely tutorial!!

xoxo,

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My Christmas Tablescape

2011-12-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello darlings! I hope you all had a truly lovely and heartwarming Christmas! Ours was wonderful and lovely. The tradition in my husband's family is that we have Thanksgiving at his mom or sister's house, and we have Christmas at our house. I get to cook both meals, which I totally, totally love. I only wish our families were bigger so I could make even more food!! :)

So this was our first Christmas at our new home. Our last place was much smaller than this house, so the decorations all "fit", whereas here we have a few years to go before we have enough Christmas stuff to fill all the common areas. Now I love Christmas and I really, really love decorating for Christmas, but I do not like buying new stuff when I don't have to. I used lots of stuff I had on hand to make my little tablescape here.

Now, as I mentioned on Flickr, I don't feel like I was able to really capture how cute this table was, even with my awesome camera. One thing on my to-do list this year is to get better at taking pictures of compositions.

Because we had seven folks to dinner for a table that really only sits six comfortably, I decided to forgo the placemats. I used a cheap-o silver charger that I had on hand (I saw them for sale this year at the WalMart for $1 a piece) as the base. Then I used my china (Noritake Crestwood Platinum) and a salad plate from my mom's china set that she gave me when she moved to Texas. I got the red napkins from Target and had the rando "silver" napkin rings on hand because I love buying random silver napkin rings.

For the centerpiece, I just got down my two red vases (they're usually on top of one of my bookcases, originally from Target like 10 years ago), got out my "silver" candlesticks and popped in red tapers, and then got a large candle holder, popped in a glass with a votive candle inside, then filled it with cranberries. It was inspired by this wine cork candle holder over at the blog Two Twenty-One which I found via Pitnerest. Because everything bright and beautiful is found via Pinterest. :)

The goblets are Libby brand ($5 for 4 at the WalMart), and the cute coasters I've had forever.

Lastly, I made white chair covers for the chairs which will now be there year round. For all you sewists out there, this was relatively quick and easy. It's not a slip cover, so they don't have to fit perfectly (and they don't), so all you have to do is trace the side of your chair to make two side pieces, then measure the length of the entire front and back for one long piece, sew those puppies together and BLAMMO! New chair covers. I made mine white so I can take them and bleach them when necessary.

How about you guys? Do you do the cooking at Christmas? Do you have any fun ways to decorate your table? I'm always looking for ideas!

xoxo,

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Low Waste Pom Poms

2011-11-30T04:00:00.000-08:00

I love making my own pom poms, but I never know how much yarn I'll need per pom pom, and I always end up wasting a ton of yarn. Until now.

Welcome to the Low Waste Pom Pom!!!!!!!

For each pom pom, you need about 4 yards of yarn for the pom itself, and 10" of yarn for the tie. (Please note that I left the ties long for my pom poms because I'm making this fabulous pillow and need them. In normal case scenarios where you just need a pom pom that doesn't attach to anything, trim the ties as well. This is not photographed in the below tutorial.) Also, I used Sensations Sumptuous acrylic yarn for my pom poms because I need mondo pom poms for my pillow.

Because this yarn is very thick, I'm wrapping it around my scissors. For thinner yarn, you could wrap around a pencil, pen, chopstick; anything small and smooth. Regardless of what you use, just be sure it's smooth so it's easy to slip the yarn off after you're dine wrapping.

1. Cut your yarn (again, 4 yards for the pom pom, 10" for the tie).

2. Take the 10" piece and put it on the back side of your scissors.

Front View

Back View

3. Grab your 4 yard piece of yarn and hold one end down with your thumb...

then wrap around a couple of times to secure the end so that it doesn't come undone.

4. Wrap the entire 4 yards around the scissors (be careful not to get too close so you don't cut yourself on the tips of your scissors!!), taking care to keep the end of the 10" piece free. Pull the yarn taught while you wrap, don't just wrap it loosely around. This makes the pom pom more full when you're done.

5. Holding the end of the 4 yard piece with your thumb, remove the yarn from the scissors.

6. Tie a tight double knot and cut the wrapped yarn.

7. As you will see, your pom pom is already almost perfectly shaped. :) Just smoosh it down and trim the sides to your desired shape.

Side View

Front View

SMOOSH!

Trim

8. All done, and with minimal waste!!

I hope this helps you pom pom lovers out there!! Happy Pomming!!!

xoxo,

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Tutorial: Using Hem Tape

2011-11-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

This is Hem Tape. I found it at a thrift store in a bag of hem tape remnants for 50 cents! Thrift stores are a really great place to find random sewing notions on the cheap.

Using hem tape is really great because it will finish a hem without you having to roll over 1/4". Sometimes this is useful because your fabric is slippery (as it was for me with this dress), and sometimes it's just fun to use because you can add a little secret pop of color to the inside of your clothes. This is how I use hem tape, though to be honest, I can't say if it's the right way to use it. I can't imagine another, so let's just assume I'm right here as I am with everything else.

1. Zig zag the hem of your garment and trim any wayward threads.

Before trimming

After Trimming

2. Pin the hem tape to the right side of your fabric. All hem tape in my experience looks the same. I use the flowers as a guide; they're about an eighth of an inch into the tape.

Front View of Pinned Hem Tape

Back View

3. Sew the hem tape to the hem with a standard straight stitch. Sorry, I used blue thread and you can't actually see my stitching.

4. Fold hem tape over and press. I used a very narrow hem, but you can of course fold as much as needed.

View from Wrong Side of Fabric

View from Right Side of Fabric - So pretty! :)

5. Sew your tape down. You could also do an invisible hem, but I was too lazy with this dress. Plus, I didn't think it would affect the drape of the skirt.

And look. It didn't!!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Happy sewing, lovelies!!!!

xoxo,

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Butterick 4201 with a dash of S2601 and M5927

2011-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

I think this is one of the saddest patterns in all of existence. The envelope styling doesn't help matters either. I mean, I thank Butterick for at least offering one maternity pattern unlike most of the other Big 4 who don't offer any, but I have a hard time believing that all the talent there only produced this one unflattering design.

:( So sad

I took view D and lengthened it into a dress. Then I added two rows of ruffles (pattern piece taken from Simplicity 2601).

I used my rolled hem foot to make hemming these easier. It was and it wasn't. The major flaw with the rolled hem foot is that it's only truly easy to hem a straight cut and the ruffle has a curved edge. I just took it slow and got decent results, but just FYI for those of you thinking of buying a rolled hem foot: they do not make everything easy. :)

I ditched the sleeves from the pattern (too t-shirt like for this dress), and added the cute little cap sleeves from McCalls 5927. Here's what we've got:

The fabric is a slippery poly charmeuse I got on clearance at JoAnn's. I didn't have too much trouble with it except for at the hem, so I used hem tape. I'll do a little mini tute on this next week because I felt like it really helped, but beware that my method doesn't make an invisible hem; there is a stitch line all the way around the hem, which I don't mind but some may.

Overall I'm really super happy with this dress. Maybe I should call Butterick and tell them I'll come be a pattern designer. Do you'd think they'd mind that I have no experience, can't make flat patterns, and can only combine them? No, right? And wouldn't that be kind of a dream job? That and/or getting to be the lady who makes the pieces they photograph for the pattern envelopes. How do I get that job??

xoxo,

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FrankenPattern Dress

2011-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

Often, I will see little details in clothing that I just love, but I never have patterns that incorporate all of the design elements I want. That's where FrankenPatterns come in.

A FrankenPattern is where I take elements from various patterns and patch them together into one garment. For example, I saw this a-mah-zing little top on the Anthropologie website and wanted to incorporate the neckline and sleeves into a maternity dress:

Ruffled Shell top - image via Anthropologie.com

I love the femininity of this top. Anthro always knows how to balance that without making it too froofroo. I think the keyhole neckline gives it that extra little distinction from being just another shell blouse with ruffles on the neckline. So I made this:

I had some green chiffon and took my (out of print) Vogue 2391 and added the keyhole neckline, a ruffle collar, and some little sleeves. I winged it with the keyhole, which resulted in decent, but not great results. I am very happy with the ruffle collar though.

I cut a strip of chiffon, folded it in half, and gathered it. Then I sewed it to the neckline, then trimmed and bound the neckline seam with a strip of bias binding I made from the chiffon. Stitching in the ditch around the neckline allows it to stand up vs. flopping over. I added a hook and eye closure too.

The sleeves were from McCalls 5927 (I took the ones from View C and lengthened them by about 3" in order to have room for gathering).

As you can see, it's much like the other chiffon dress I made using Vogue 2391. Just a little change here and there, and I've got a whole new look. :)

xoxo,

My Mii is F*cking With Me

2011-11-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

We got a Wii last Christmas. You get to make a little avatar called Mii that looks like you (or whatever you want, actually). I try to get my Mii to look as much like the real me as possible because I'm just anal like that. I've used Wii Fit and like it (not as a serious weight loss tool, but it's got its perks as a tool for measurement), but I've noticed a serious flaw.

Here's me before at my normal body weight (I'm the one in the red) - before I got pregnant:

Happy and svelt. That was my Mii.

Unfortunately, you can't tell Wii Fit that you're pregnant, so when I get on the scale to weight myself now it does this:

AND, to add insult to injury, it makes this boing sound, like something a cartoon would show if an elephant was jumping on a trampoline, every time I step on it. I don't appreciate that Wii Fit. I don't appreciate that one bit.

So, to the makers of Wii Fit, from all us pregnant ladies everywhere, I'd like to say heartily that you can kiss my fat pregnant ass.

xoxo,

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This Week

2011-11-21T08:24:00.001-08:00

I am on a staycation this week. I don't know why it is that staying at home in a quiet house all by myself is just pure heaven. I look forward to my quality time with Stuart, who is primed and pumped for our week off. I am finishing two dresses this morning and then diving in to Christmas presents. I finished one already.

I made this bag for my mom. I'm not worried about posting it because she doesn't read my blog. I think if I told her, "Mom, I have a blog. You should check it out." she'd think I was talking about a disease. Although, she does have text speak down pat (seriously, she'll text me things like "C U nxt wk! XOXO Lurvs MA"), so maybe she'd know what I meant after all.

Anyway, it was very quick and only took a fat quarter of fabric (plus lining). We each found gorgeous fat quarters of vintage fabric last Christmastime, and she left hers with me knowing I'd eventually figure something to make with it. I didn't want to just use it to use it, so I never cut it. I'd take it out from time to time to look at it, and then one day it hit me - a cross-body bag! My mom loves little purses, so this will be a good item for her.

I'm going to make one myself from the fat quarter I scored, which is so beautiful. I'll put up a tutorial so you can make one too.

I have a glucose test tomorrow (yep, we're in the 6th month already), and then I plan on doing a little birthday shopping. The pregnancy is going great so far, with only the normal discomforts and aches. More on that later. Off to sew!!!!

xoxo,

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Think Pink Contest Entry

2011-11-16T07:39:00.001-08:00

Totally thought I posted about this, but I didn't... This was my entry for Pattern Review's Think Pink contest (which you should totally check out and vote if you haven't). There are, as always, some totally beautiful creations. Mine is middle of the road for sure, but it was a good excuse to get my booty in gear and make something. Plus, all entrants won a free pattern from Studio Cherie's Etsy shop, and I can't pass up something free. Especially when it's free and awesome, which Studio Cherie totally is! I got this pattern that I've had in my favorites for about two years now.

Anywhoodle, I made this dress.

I like it, but I don't love it. I have to make changes to the hem (it's a little too long in the front to compensate for The Belly and I don't think it'll ever truly lay straight unless I re-hem it). I think I'll also make an empire waist with some elastic thread so that it'll stay in place. The slip I wear underneath makes the garment awfully shifty and I find myself pulling the dress here and there every single time I get up.

I made a FrankenPattern again (I took different pieces from different patterns to make one, new pattern). I do this all the time to get the look I want because I rarely find a simple dress that has all the details I like.

I used the out of print Vogue 2391 for the body of the dress, but took the neckline from Simplicity 2403 (view B) because I love that neckline and why fix it if it ain't broke, amiright??

I then added sleeves because pregnancy gives me backne and apparently upper-arm acne. Jealous? I used the little poofy sleeves from View A (top dress, second from the left).

Easy peasy, George & Weezy. I have plans to get another FrankenPattern dress done this weekend so that I have it for Thanksgiving. I am taking all next week off since it's my birthday week and I need a vacation. Like nobody's business (tune in at the 47 second mark).

xoxo,

My Handmade Holiday

2011-11-14T09:50:00.001-08:00

I don't like the sound ofall those lists he's making - it's like taking too many notes at school; youfeel you've achieved something when you haven't.

-- Dodie Smith

I very much feel this way right now. My brain is abuzz with all of the things I want to sew for Christmas, mainly for my daughter and mom, though I have some fun stuff planned for my new nephew and some friends. My fear, however, is that, as with many years past, my gumption will outweigh the actual constraints of time. I do have a job, the family does need to eat, the house needs cleaning, I have a life to "live", etc., etc., etc. Perhaps making 75 homemade items before Christmas is too much to ask...

Still, I always find solace in my lists. If I can write it down and scratch it off when all is said and done, I feel so much more accomplished, you know? There's even an app for that. Well, there are numerous apps, but that's the one I use and I love it solely because I can make a checklist that allows me to cross items off and doesn't just put a lame checkmark next to the item. I MUST SEE IT CROSSED OFF FOR IT TO COUNT!

I have already begun curating my To Make list of items on my Pinterest board. It keeps getting longer and longer, but I can't help myself. The item I'm most excited about is a messenger bag full of stuff for Veronica. She's almost always the only kid whenever we go anywhere, so I want to make her a bag full of fun stuff that she can do alone. Items for drawing, writing, taking pictures, stuff like that. Sewing was a bust for her, but she's generally pretty happy with a camera in her hands. I do not doubt that the items I put in the bag will mainly go unused, but there is fun in the making of things just for the sake of making them. Plus, she's always appreciative when she knows it was sewn just for her, and right now with the baby coming making something specifically for her and only her carries a lot of weight.

I picked up these personalized pencils which I know she'll love. For one, they're all blue and that's her favorite color. For two, they have her name on them, and that instantly makes everything cool. Those in a fun zipper pencil case, a small journal, sketch book (which I will cover with fun scrapbook paper and spell her name out with stickers), colored pencils and markers in a roll, stickers, stamps and a stamp pad, an Ed Emberley on how to draw with fingerprints (or this kit), a puzzle (thinking of having one made on Winkflash with pictures of me spelling out a message to her), playing cards, a fun activity book with word searches, puzzles, coloring, etc. (which I may make myself if I can't find a good one), and an mp3 player with a camera. Any other suggestions? She's almost nine (My baby daughter is almost NINE!!!!!), so I am looking at you ladies with older kids.

Are you guys working on any handmade holiday stuff on your end? If you're not familiar with the site, Sew Mama Sew is having a stellar Handmade Holidays series. They post a number of links every single day to free tutorials on tons of different items. I remember coming across that site maybe four years ago during their Handmade Holidays series and it knocked my socks off. I don't know how they continue to get better, but this is honestly their best series ever. There are so many wonderful tutorials!

I have actually sewn and will show some cute and simple items I've made. I may even make an apron tutorial that is super quick and easy... fingers crossed that I can do it next week when I'm on vacay!!

xoxo,

One for the Bucket List

2011-11-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Getting to be Fat Elvis for Halloween because being pregnant = far less costume options? Check.

xoxo,

Color Block Skirts for My Daughter

2011-10-25T02:00:00.000-07:00

I have actually been sewing lately, promise. There's more going on here besides kitchen renos. ;)

One of the gals in the OCMQG gave me this fabric because she didn't have a use for it. She figured because of its light weight and vibrant colors, I could use it for some garments. So I made some layered, color blocked skirts for my daughter!

All the pieces she gave me were 45" wide. Super easy to whip up, I just cut one piece 12" x 45", the next 10" x 45", and the next 8" x 45". I used my rolled hem foot to hem these (you could also just do a narrow hem), stitched the sides up, basted them all together along the top, and attached them to some wide elastic. I made her a blue one -- She wore it for picture day! My heart melted! -- and a pink one. Unfortunately, since I made the blue one at night, I didn't get a great picture of it, but you get the idea.

The pink one was made because she had this pink skirt that seriously was not made to stand up to the wear and tear (no pun intended) of a child's abuse.

I reused the shorts and elastic from the destroyed skirt and made this.

I love them both and she actually wears them. Love, love. :)

xoxo,

Kitchen DIY 3 - Chandelier made from Mason Jars

2011-10-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

I knew I had to do this. I just knew it.

My mom always, always had mason jars all over the place when I was growing up. We loved the blue color of the glass. They weren't decorative; we actually put them to use storing tea and rice and all manner of dried goods. She always found them at local thrift stores or swap meets for 50 cents or a dollar. We've always gotten a kick out of the idea that people will spend $20 on one jar. Once, when we went to Olivera Street in Los Angeles, a lady in a store sold us a half dozen of these for $3. That's where three of these came from.

I came across this tutorial at Grace & Greg, but thought our vaulted ceiling would make hanging this a total pain. Then I saw this tutorial at Kara Palsey Designs and knew I had the perfect inspiration.

Both tutorials have great instructions, so I used bits from each depending on what materials I had on hand. I wired all nine of my jars and they all have lightbulbs - some 60 watt chandelier ones (that look like big Christmas lights), and some 40 watt nightlight bulbs (for the little jars). We need the light in our huge kitchen! I used three vintage Ball Mason Jars, three clear Kerr and Ball jars, and three small Kerr and Ball jars.

All in all, since I had the jars on hand already, this cost about $25 for the keyless sockets (I used the ones Kara shows in her tute), the lamp wire (which is sold in bulk so you can specify to the Home Depot how much you want - I bought 30 feet of clear, 18-2 lamp wire), and the lightbulbs. That's all I needed that I didn't already have. We reused the ceiling cap and just drilled a bigger hole.

This was really easy and relatively quick. I'd say it took me three hours total to wire all the jars and for us to hang it to the ceiling. I love it so much more than our terrible old saloon-inspired 1980's nightmare chandelier that came with the house. From gross

to gorgeous!

On a side note, I cannot figure out how to photograph these while it's sunny. When I turn on the lights, it makes all of the background dark. Does anyone know what I need to do to photograph these without making the rest of the room go black?

xoxo,

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Kitchen DIY 2 - Plate Installation

2011-10-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this Anthropologie display I saw on Pinterest:

I did this:

Actually, Christian needs to get credit too. He hung all the plates. I was not climbing up 13 feet to hang anything.

I laid them out before hanging, and it helped a bit. The installation ended up being not quite as balanced as I wanted, so we'll add a few more plates on the right to finish it off. But I still really, really love it.

I bought 30 plates in various sizes, spray painted most of them a soft yellow to kinda match our cabinets, and left a spattering unpainted. I love the blue ones, but definitely want to paint the plate hangers so they're more hidden.

I had a few on hand, but made most of the other plate hangers with floral wire and clothing hangers. It was easy, but my hands have just barely stopped hurting from all of the squeezing I had to do with the wire cutters. It was worth it though. Plate hangers are usually about $3 a piece, so if you make your own you can save a whole lotta moolah! Since my plates are so high up, I figured it wouldn't matter what they looked like, and I was right. For plates closer to eye level, you'd probably want to make them prettier.

xoxo,

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Kitchen DIY - Tin Pan Alley

2011-10-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. Love it, love it.

image via PollyEltes.com

It feels homey and antique, but not in a heavy-handed kind of a way. It just seems organic. I dunno. I think I'm using fancy words to say that I think it's just swell.

I figured I could do the same for not a lot of money, so I hit up my local thrift stores. $15 later, and I have this:

My kitchen has a huge vaulted ceiling. At its height I think it reaches 13 feet, so I have a ton of wall space. This will come in handy in a few years when we redo the kitchen, but I wanted it to be used now so it wouldn't feel like a huge, sad cave. This Tin Pan Alley really added some charm. :)

Here are some other angles, but you'll have to excuse the Halloween decor and horrible 1980's era saloon/brothel inspired chandelier (which was also replaced with another fun DIY I'll tell you about later this week).

This coffee pot, which I love, but need to photograph on its own so you can see it in all its glory, was the most expensive item at a whopping $4. I think there's some Swedish writing on the bottom, but don't know for sure. I'd love to translate it!

All the rest were items I had on hand, or cost a dollar or less. I love the little clock on this shelf below. The blue and green of the glass items beside it are picked up here and there in the rest of the kitchen, and will be moreso as I finish decorating. I am so in love with those colors right now!

I just hammered the tin items into the wall. I had laid them out on the kitchen floor to get a layout that I liked and just went to town. No measuring or anything. Super fun project for not a lot of time or money. :)

xoxo,

20 Weeks and the Big Reveal

2011-10-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

I am half way through my pregnancy. That would be something except that there's still five months to go. I had my doctor's appointment this morning and got weighed. I gained 9 pounds last month. I had gained 12 pounds the month before. My doctor lovingly did the math and said, "You've gained 21 pounds in the last two months." He showed me my chart which detailed his mathematics. "You have to watch your weight," he said.

"Sure," I said, "we'll watch it go up."

"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Ask me that again when I fart in your face during my well-woman exam."

We've been taking week by week pictures so we can flip through them at the end of the pregnancy and see a quick animation for the whole 2nd and 3rd trimester (Mama could not get motivated for photographs during the 1st trimester). Here they are. You can see my belly really starting to pooch, which I love. :)

17 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

We had our ultrasound last week (which, can I say how much clearer everything is now compared to when I was pregnant with my daughter almost 10 years ago? It's so much different!) and we found out gender!

Say hello to my son, Christian Jr. :)

Off to go gain 9 more pounds!

xoxo,

Pinterespiration

2011-10-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

You know Pinterest, right? Of course you do. I've found all kinds of lovely inspiration for my home from there, and have housed it on my boards. My nesting is in high gear, so I've been doing all kinds of DIY projects. I have to say I'm super pleased with all of them, and for the most part they are high-impact with low-cost!! :) I have three other posts to show this week alone, all for stuff I did to my kitchen!

The most basic DIY was this swag curtain over Veronica's bed. All we did was take three of those Alvine Spetz net curtains from Ikea (two packages), sewed them end to end, and hung them on three 1" dowels we screwed into the walls. So lovely and I think this rang it at about $25. Plus we still have one random curtain left over that we can use for whatever.

I've got more plans for her room too. I want to paint this bookcase with this product (also found via Pinterest).

And I want to hang some floating shelves to house her Collection.

She speaks of her Collection very reverently, so I feel that the capitalization is appropriate. :) My mom got her all of those figurines, and Veronica just loves getting them in the mail (mom lives in Texas - boo).

I made this little chore chart. It's in a frame, and she checks off the items every day. We use a dry erase marker and wipe it off after she's filled it in completely. When it's all full she gets her allowance - $5 every two weeks.

I love this mirror, but I'm not sure if I want to paint it. I kinda like the gold though...

Oh, and we have a chandelier to hang. I'll show more progress as we go along. :)

xoxo,

Oh, and for those of you wondering, the neighbor was a total lovely man. He actually was sick of the dog too and had been contemplating getting rid of it. He said I helped him make up his mind and now he's getting rid of the dog. I swear, if I thought I wouldn't freak him out, I would have planted a huge kiss on his face.

I know murder is wrong, but what if it's a dog?

2011-10-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I have neighbors behind me. They moved in a couple of months after we bought the house. They have a little yippy dog, which I've never seen, but I imagine looks like this:

To say I hate this animal would be an understatement. Actually, no, I guess who I really hate is the neighbors. Who let their stupid yippy dog yip, yip, yip ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

It's yipping now, as a matter of fact, and has been yipping incessantly since I made my daughter's breakfast over half an hour ago. I guess that wouldn't be so bad if that were the first I'd heard the dog barking today, but no -- it rang in midnight with 15 minutes of non-stop barking. I get to go confront the neighbor today. (Jealous?) I'm telling you this because you always run the risk of being chopped up and murdered by neighbors you've never met. I go dark for a few days, send in the cavalry!

xoxo,

McCalls 5248 - New robe from a vintage sheet

2011-10-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

I bought a vintage sheet a couple of months ago from my new favorite city area - Thrift Shop Row. Yes, literally six thrift stores in one mini mall! Mecca!

This was a full or queen sized sheet. I can't remember. Either way it was $2.50. I figured it was destined to become jammies, but after looking at my sad, ratty robe that I've had since I was pregnant with my daughter -- nine years ago! -- I figured it was high time I put my sewing skills to use and make myself a new one.

All in all, this was a good, easy pattern. There's the slightest bit of hand sewing (you have to tack down the neckline facing), but it was relatively painless nonetheless. There were a couple of steps that were worded in a very odd way, though. Step 14, which is when you sew the two pieces of facings together to make one piece of facing, read: Stitch center back seam in upper collar (which is one with front facing). Huh? It was that parenthetical that threw me. I don't know why, but it took me a good couple of minutes just to figure out what they were saying, even with the little picture. In the end it worked out though.

I made a couple of minor changes. I added one pocket and may add a second. I have it cut and ready to put on, I just lost my gumption last night when I was finishing this up. You know me and my love of pockets; robes are no exception! :)

Side note: When I sew on outside pockets, I like to sew the tops like so (click pictures to enlarge):

I find it keeps them on a lot longer, which is especially helpful with children's clothing.

The only other change I made was to tack the belt to the center back of the robe (which I think you can see if you click & enlarge the picture below). I do this because I go bananas when the belt gets caught in one loop instead of being laced evenly through both and then you have to reach around like a dog chasing its tail trying to get it back through both loops. Also, when you wash the robe, the belt inevitably gets lost. I'm convinced it's used by the wayward convict socks that make a break for it in every wash cycle. If it's stitched to the back you're in the clear! :)

I think I'll have to make myself another one of these. This fabric is rather lightweight for the cooler weather that's heading our way -- I like something longer and more snuggly for winter. If you're looking for a quick robe, this one may do you just fine. :)

xoxo,

Fun Jeans and Three Skirts

2011-09-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

I simply cannot make a whole new wardrobe for my pregnancy, so I've been hitting up thrift stores and finding items to repurpose.

I got these white Gloria Vanderbilt jeans (which, can I just say that I am loving the fact that these are GV's? Makes me feel so Dynasty!) and just added a pregnancy panel. I didn't do anything special, just cut out enough room for The Belly and added about 1/3 yard of some nude jersey, and then cased some elastic on the top. I also cropped them and made them more like cigarette pants because I figured I may as well go for it with these white jeans. I'm already breaking rules wearing white after Labor Day! I think they're so much cuter at this length.

I also did a basic pregnancy panel on these three pencil skirts, purchased for $1 a piece at a local thrift shop.

I didn't follow any tutorials for these panels, I just winged it. Basically, as long as you sew the jersey under your belly and add some elastic to the top to hold the garment in place, you're pretty good to go. I'd also use a stretchier jersey (sorry, I don't know many technical terms with jersey) as you'll grooooooooooooow.

I did find out today that JoAnns has pregnancy panels, which I never knew, so that may help out too. I have no idea what they look like, the guy at the cutting table just told me about them. I'm sure I'll be repurposing some more pants & skirts soon, so I can do a tutorial if anyone's interested.

xoxo,

McCalls 6447 - Little Swing Coat

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Image via mccalls.com

I fell in love with this pattern the second I saw it. The styling (I mean, just look at that little tweed coat!)! The welted arm holes! The pockets! The sweet pleat in the back! Swoon!

Unfortunately, this is McCalls 6446, which was all sold out when patterns were on super sale a couple of weeks ago. I instead settled for 6447, the sad, less loved step-child of 6446.

Image via mccalls.com

Now, it's not bad, don't get me wrong. It'll more than do what I want it to, it's just not the pattern I fell in love with. I think I'll add some welted pockets just to sass it up a bit. Either way, I'd only wear either of these patterns while pregnant. I like my coats to be more tailored and fitted under normal circumstances.

I scored this basic beige twill for $3.50 a yard on clearance. I also really, really want another one out of a navy blue wool-esque fabric (because let's be honest, ain't no way I'm popping full price for wool that'll only be worn for one winter). I'm trying to decide if the basic wooden buttons I have in my stash will work for this coat so I don't have to spend any more money on it...

I'm thinking this should be an easy pattern to knock out. I just hope it's not fug. Fingers crossed!

xoxo,

Vogue 2391

2011-09-26T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have had this pattern since I was pregnant with Veronica -- 9 years (side note - What the french toast happened to all the maternity patterns, Big Four? What, are women not getting pregnant anymore?). It's a bit dated, but the dress is a good basic sloper and I'll be able to gussy it up with some fun accents to make it more current fashion-wise. I was super stoked when I got pregnant because I figured I'd get to use it again.

Until I realized that it's a 6-8-10 pattern.

Let me be clear. I have never, never in my adult life been a 6, 8, or 10 in pattern sizing. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought this pattern. Actually, no, I can tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking that I was an 8 in life so I should be an 8 in a pattern. Plus, when I was in college, one of the costume designers had told me that my measurements fit one of their size 8 patterns perfectly and they didn't have to grade my sizes at all. Of course, I never thought that different pattern companies used different measurements to size their patterns. I can guarantee that our costume department wasn't using some random Big Four pattern for whatever musical we were doing that semester.

Anywhoodle, at least I found that, in addition to every pattern piece being cut (Oh 22 year-old self, what were you thinking? You were never going to sew those pants or that jacket!), I actually did myself a solid and cut a size 10. That's still six sizes too small, but the finished pieces have quite a bit of ease, so I'm thinking that a slightly larger cut and a 1/2" seam allowance may give me all the wiggle room I need. I'm still too lazy to make a muslin.

Finished bust line measures in at 40.5" thank goodness!

I found these two jewel colored chiffons at JoAnn's. They were clearance at $2 a yard each. Score! I also found this black charmeuse print on clearance for $2.50 a yard, but I'm a little nervous since it's so shiny. I'm going to make a dress with each fabric. I'll definitely be adding sleeves, and will change up the necklines so I've got some variety. Exciting!!!

xoxo,

V1127 – From a Blouse to a Dress

2011-09-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

I made the blouse from this pattern a couple of years ago and love it. I still wear it, and it's quite lovely. It's rather voluminous, though, so if you make it you may want to cut the sides of the bodice in. Anyway, because the blouse is soo big & loose, I figured it would have the volume to fit The Belly.

Bellies in picture are larger than they appear.

I bought this fabric months ago with the specific goal of taking this blouse pattern, adding 15” or so to the bottom, and making it into a dress. I had no intention of making it a maternity dress, but I already had it cut (for about five months!), and decided to make it work.

I know it doesn't look that way, but Tim totally agrees with me - it works!

I figured I could make it empire waisted and it would be perfect. It’s good so far, but I don’t know that this puppy will last much longer. The Belly is pushing maximum capacity on the side seams already!

Besides the lengthening, I made a couple of other changes. I omitted the ties on the neck, added a couple of inches to the keyhole opening in the back (I have always had issues getting the blouse I made over my apparently ginormous noggin), and I made the arm holes bigger. Arm holes on a lot of patterns are tight on me, which I find odd. Do I have droopy pits or something? Weird. Not pictured (it's covered by the belt), I made an empire waist by zig zagging some elastic onto the fabric. For a garment like this, meaning one that's really loose & that I will definitely be wearing with a belt, I always like to have my gathers "held" in place by something like elastic or elastic thread. I just think it makes the garment look better when it's on because the gathers are spaced evenly. You also don't have to worry about adjusting the way the garment lays on you or worry about it going all wonky under your belt as the day goes on.

I made this with a poly-chiffon (you know how I lurvs making anything from chiffon), and really, I cannot emphasize enough that starching the fabric is key to making it easier to work with. You don’t have to do anything drastic, just a light spraying of starch & a quick pressing on any of the pieces you need to work (binding, anything you have to fold before sewing like the collar on this dress, etc.) will make it so much easier to handle. Of course, you have to wash before wearing (something I don’t always do), but that’s no biggie.

Anywhoodle, now that I have the mojo back I'm going to get to sewing some more stuff that can ::ahem:: grow with me. I'm rather excited for this top. It'll work for the pregnancy and well after, and it's a free tutorial/pattern. Go scope it out. It feels very chic and holiday party-esque, and that time will spring upon us before you know it!!

I hope you're all doing great. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for your super sweet well wishes!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - September 20, 2011

2011-09-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

A writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view, a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.
-- Junot Diaz

I have some stuff to show you guys (tomorrow I hope). The sewing mojo is BACK!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - September 6, 2011

2011-09-06T17:09:00.000-07:00

I woke last night to the sound of thunder
How far off I sat and wondered
Started humming a song from 1962
Ain't it funny how the night moves
When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
Strange how the night moves
With autumn closing in
Night Moves by Bob Seger

Gads do I love that song. Love, love. Something about it (and his Hollywood Nights) always reminds me of being a kid and going back to school, that balmy feeling of nighttime in the summer slowly fading to the dry heat and winds of fall. I feel it in my skin, even to this day, even though I don't notice things like that anymore. Probably because I'm not driving around at midnight trying to find secluded places to kiss my boyfriend. Ahhhh the memories!

Hi everyone! Hi, hi hi!!! I know it's been a while, I've just been so lazy lately. Well, maybe lazy isn't the right word, but it's certainly how I've felt when I've been laying around these past couple of months. Perhaps I should say that I've felt lazy, and haven't been lazy. I'm growing a new human after all. Yes, just about 15 weeks along and I finally feel like I'm not going to vom every time I smell anything. Hooray!!

I hope to be making something soon. There has been very, very limited sewing with the move and early pregnancy, but I'm hoping to get back on the wagon this week. I have to sew some clothes! Nothing fits anymore!

For those of you in the Orange, CA area, I am teaching a Sewing 101 class through the city. Click here to register.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - August 9, 2011

2011-08-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

In case some of you missed the pattern sale this past weekend, JoAnn's now has Butterick patterns on sale from the 11th - 13th for $1.99 a pop. I'm getting this pattern:

Butterick 5196

Finally. :)

xoxo,

No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.
-- Agnes de Mille

Sale at JoAnn's This Weekend

2011-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

JoAnn's is having their Founder's Sale this weekend. McCall's Patterns are $1.99 and Vogue are $3.99. They also have a promo available where you'll get a $10 Super Saver card to use from August 8-13 with each $50 pre-tax purchase you make during the sale this weekend. Just a heads up in case any of you are thinking you need some fabric. :)

Oh, and one of the members of my quilt guild told me that JoAnn's also has a 10% off VIP card for folks in quilting guilds. While each store manager has to agree to honor the card and it's discount, she said she had no issues with it. All she had to do was sign up here and bring her new VIP card, her membership card from the OCMQG, and an ID. It's an additional 10% off everything, even sale items. Hollah!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - August 2, 2011

2011-08-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

What you will do matters. All you need is to do it.
-- Judy Grahn

I am alive! I have news! I will post again soon and I hope you are all doing well!!!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - July 12, 2011

2011-07-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.
-- Alan Alda

xoxo,

Get a Little Comfort Where You Can

2011-07-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

So, for a while I've tooled around with the idea of putting up a post any time I find something I consider a good buy or a cool drug store find. I wanted to call the feature "Drug Store, Oh Boy!". I got very excited about this prospect. Like, very. Very excited.

I always love it when people recommend stuff because I agonize (Agonize!) over purchasing face lotion, hair dye, compacts, lip gloss, etc. You know, the important stuff. I think it's because I've had so many experiences where I've bought something I thought I'd love and it totally sucked. You know how that goes. You also know that you can't take used makeup back anymore. Why did that stop? Why??!?!?!?!?!

Anyway, I thought about it, but any time I think about posting something that isn't a garment I've made or a tutorial on how to make something, I get serious performance anxiety. I always think, "Oh god, will they think I'm trying to tell them that I'm totally awesome and they should listen to me? And they should buy this! Trust me I know because I'm awesome! Like I'm Oprah or something?" And then I calmed down and figured that if I was really in the business of writing stuff that was awesome for awesome's sake I'd probably write about other stuff besides myself, you know? And after watching this fascinating, if not mildly horrifying, video here, I figure maybe some of you gals were like me, pouring over review after review before buying something as insignificant (yet mildly costly - $8 is $8, right?) as lip gloss, and a little friendly recommendation may not be a bad thing. After all, I bought this lipstick because The Pioneer Woman talked about it, and it's awesome! She was right!

Ahem, sooooooooo, I just wanted to point you to some wonderful lip gloss that I bought. It's Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soother. I love it because it has no glitter. I'm 32. I don't need glitter on my lips anymore Maybelline and Loreal and Almay and everyone else because seriously this is the only lip gloss I found anywhere by any brand without glitter in it gah!

I also love it because it's nice and thick, like Mac's clear Lip Glass. It's got a just a little kick of sheer color, so it's perfect for summertime when you have that more invisible makeup look going on. And the kicker is that it's got a cooling sensation that hits your lips and refreshes you ever so slightly. Hence the title of this post.

I got #20 (Glisten) and #40 (Gleam). My local drug store had a buy one, get one 50% off so I scored both for $12. I love #20 because it's a slight orangey hue which in very big right now, but it's not orange orange. It's just a hint of tint. Truth be told, my favorite color gloss is a light blue because it gives my lips a mauve color, but there is no blue gloss without glitter (I'm lookin at you Lip Smackers!).

So anyway, if you're in the mood for a new lipgloss, give that a shot. It's awesome!

xoxo,

The Saltwater Taffy Dress - Simplicity 2444

2011-07-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hello lovelies! I am back with Tales From Unpacking! So much has happened, but none of it is really all that exciting. We took down wallpaper, put up paint, and unpacked lots and lots of boxes. Let's get to something you actually want to see...

My Saltwater Taffy Dress. I love this dress. In fact, I'm going to wear it today. :)

I love the pleats on the skirt and the darts on the bodice. Like I wrote on Pattern Review, I feel that the darts give the bodice shape, but don't make it tight - a must have in Summer, amiright? And boy has it been balls hot here in Southern California. Ugh!

I put in an invisible zipper that promptly popped on me at my Sister-In-Law's baby shower. Luckily it zipped back up, but I had to replace it this weekend because it closed all wonky after the pop.

I also cheated and did a simple rolled hem because I didn't think it would matter too much. I find that some skirts really do get an altered shape if you roll the hem, mostly because the fabric stretches as you sew thereby giving you an almost lettuce edge, but I just took it slow, pressed pressed pressed, and it came out fine.

In-seam pockets are always awesome.

I've sewn so many dresses with in-seam pockets now that I always reach for them even when they're not there. It drives me bananas when a dress doesn't have pockets.

So that's all for now. I actually sewed this dress months ago, but am just getting around to posting about it. I've got more to show you in the coming days, and I'm finally getting my sewing mojo back. :)

Also, for those of you in Southern California, Jenny's & M&L Fabrics have a 20% sale going on right now through this weekend (I think - it may be longer).Go hit them up since their prices have gone up in the last year or so.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - July 5, 2011

2011-07-05T13:26:00.000-07:00

Never regret something that once made you smile.
-- Amber Deckers

Something about this quote is very savoire faire to me, you know? Something almost amusingly stubborn and cheeky. A much nicer way to say, "The hell with it!"

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - June 28, 2011

2011-06-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
-- Confucius

Slowly, slowly we are working our way through a forest of boxes. I've been thinking about blogging the process as I've seen other sites do. I always find a satisfaction in reading the mundane, which isn't a put down in any way, I just think reading the everyday is so intriguing. There's something about the minutiae of life that's just as interesting to me as the big stuff, you know? Of course, I get all these ideas in my head and I simply run out of gas by the time I have a moment to write anything. Ah well. C'est la vie, non?

On another, far more random note, I am so super excited that Google has added the Gmail option to it's homepage. There used to just be web, images, maps, etc., but they've added a few more options now. Something about saving those two extra clicks just makes me smile. :)

Have a lovely day!

xoxo,

2011-06-21T12:39:00.000-07:00

Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot.
-- D. H. Lawrence

I'm alive! Things have been just bananas on the homefront and at work. All good things, but bananas nonetheless. No sewing has been done for weeks, which may be a record for me. Both Martha ans Stuart are practically rusting with lack of use. Champagne problems, I tell ya.

I hope you're all well! Tell me what you're working on. I feel so out of the loop! Today's the first day of summer. Any fun plans, sewing or otherwise? What do you put on your summer fun to-do list? I'm looking for ideas for my family to do, so stuff that appeals to kids (she's eight) and adults.

xoxo,

2011-06-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes.
-- Harold B. Lee

xoxo,

Checking In

2011-06-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Whew, I've been busy! The new house had wallpaper in almost every room, so we've been taking it down and painting. It's a slow, but fun and eerily satisfying process. (Use DIF and a garden sprayer if you ever have to remove wallpaper. It's great! Though I feel we lucked out and had to remove what I would call good quality wallpaper. We got huge strips at a time!)

Anyway, June 1st came and went, and I totally forgot to remind you guys that I have a new blog address - http://www.stitchinmyside.blogspot.com/. I'll post on both sites for now, but it would be so super awesome if you guys could switch your readers over. Thank you guys so much!!

I'll post pics about the dresses I've sewn in a couple of days (I hope!), but for now here are a couple of quilt blocks for the OCMQG!

What have you guys been up to?

xoxo,

Faux Piped Binding Tutorial

2011-05-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

I love faux piping on quilt binding. It gives such a subtle and elegant touch to the finishing of a quilt, but it's rather simple. If you can miter your quilt's binding, you can totally do this. Plus, you can machine stitch both sides of your binding -- a real plus for me! My hand sewing always falls out.

I also like this technique because it's a way to add a pop of color, or it can be a way to include something special when you don't have a lot of fabric to use. For this crib sized quilt, I just used the back of this shirt and MacGyver'd up this tutorial. I hope it's helpful. :)

This quilt is for my friend's baby, and this is the shirt her husband was wearing when they met. Can you believe that? I think it's just amazing that she held onto it for so long, and that she remembers what he was wearing when they met! I barely remember anything about the day my husband and I first met, but he remembers he & I quoting The Princess Bride at the same time. We're a match made in heaven, what can I say?

Anyway, she wanted the shirt incorporated into her quilt somehow, but I didn't quite know what to do with it. It's an old shirt, so I was worried that if I made patchwork with it, it would just fall apart eventually. Out of the blue, the idea just occurred to me - faux piping! Here's how you can do it too! Remember that you can click any picture to enlarge, or you can go to flickr to see this set.

For starters, I cut off the back of the shirt and prepped it the same way I would prep continuous bias binding (see here for a PDF of directions on how to do that courtesy of the Dread Pirate Rodgers).

My strip was 1" wide. After sewing and cutting, I folded the strip in half and pressed it. My faux piping looked like this:

Then I cut 2"wide bias binding from my Fandango Seville Spain fabric using the same technique and prepped it by folding it in half and pressing it, and then folding/pressing one side up 1/4". It looked like this:

I sewed the faux piping to the folded side of my 2" wide binding using a 1/4" seam -- I sewed along the fold line for an easy guide. I pressed it open like so:

I sewed the unfolded side of the binding to the quilt using a 3/8" seam.

I then folded it over & pinned the faux piping to the other side. Because the binding was folded/pressed in half already, this makes the side with the faux piping lay just a little lower than the side without it. That means when I sew it down, my stitch line won't show.

I pinned and pinned and pinned that binding down. Then I stitched in the ditch.

And you're all done! See how you can kinda see the stitch line on the faux piping, but not on the binding on the back?

Let me know if you have any questions! Another technique for this same thing is here at my friend/co-member of the Orange County Modern Quilting Guild's blog. Her way may even be a little faster thank mine. :)

I'm probably going to be MIA for a couple of days. We're set to start moving into our new house tonight, so I'll have my hands full, full, full with stripping wallpaper, painting, and all other manner of DIY deliciousness. Wish me luck!!

xoxo,

Pin It

Baby Girl Quilt with Fandango Fabric

2011-05-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend Courtney is expecting her first baby any day now. She embroidered the whole front of this quilt (she's the same gal who made this embroidery piece) and asked me to add sashing, a back, and some binding. She lurved Fandango by Kate Spain, so we went with that.

And really, what's not to love about this line? It's such lovely fabric with wonderful feminine colors, but it isn't overwhelmed with cotton candy pink. Too bad it's old or else you could find it everywhere. I'm totally new to the whole "designer quilting fabric" thing, and wouldn't even have known about this line if not for my friend Yolanda, a fellow member of the Orange County Modern Quilting Guild. She gave me a charm pack because she's a doll.

For those of you new to quilting too, a charm pack is a bundle of about 40 pre-cut 5"x5" fabric squares. It usually has all the colorways from a fabric line, and you can use the pack in a plethora of ways.

(Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has *no idea* what it means to have a plethora. -- Name that movie!!)

Courtney and I both love Sunbonnet Sue!

Anyway, there are tons of tutorials out there on things to do with charm packs, my favorite site being Moda Bake Shop. I didn't use them for this project because I wanted to keep the design really simple. In part it's because I'm still intimidated by quilts and the need for accuracy in cutting, but also because I wanted to showcase the fabric as much as possible. Simplicity always feels like the best way to do that, you know?

This kind of reminds me of a brick path pattern, only it's not offset and it also has sashing in between the rows of "bricks". So maybe it's nothing like a brick path pattern. I'm calling it the pattern Running Brick though, because I'm a rebel and don't hold myself down by rules like that. I also brush my teeth before eating breakfast even though my daughter says I'm wrong to do it that way. Yeah, suck it Crest!

I cut each square in half, then sewed them end to end. I had seven strips of 12 bricks. I don't remember how wide I cut the sashing or how big the quilt ended up being, but it wasn't too big. Maybe a touch larger than a normal crib size. The sashing is a Kona Natural.

Click here for my flickr photostream to see these up close.

I got all of my free motion quilting ideas from Leah Day. I used Curvy Key, River Path, Sixes Swirl (kind of), and Mesh Curtain (again, kind of - it's more like I used it for inspiration, but ended up doing it completely differently). Mesh Curtain gives such a lovely texture, almost like a tree bark. I see myself using that as my go-to quilting design. It reminds me of this, one of my favorite BH&G covers in a while (February 2011):

I also added piping to the binding. It's made from the shirt Courtney's husband was wearing when they met. Isn't that super romantic??????? I'll be showing you how I did that in a very high-level tutorial probably tomorrow. I won't be going as in depth as I like to, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

Oh, and I've quit smoking.

xoxo,

Giveaway Day Winner!!

2011-05-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so very, very much for entering my little giveaway! I really appreciate all of you taking the time, especially since I am sure it took forever to get to the bottom of the comments, let alone post one. You know how technology is! But some of those comments were just hilarious. You peeps are funny!

Anywhoodle, without further adieu, the winner via Random Number Generator was commenter #76 - Jenna (jmhamlin826). Thanks for entering and I will email you ASAP.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week. Welcome all new Lovely Lovelies! I hope you like this wacky little place of mine. :)

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - May 24, 2011

2011-05-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

It doesn't matter if people are interested. It's about you taking your stuff and shouting out into the void.
-- Jadelr and Cristina Cordova

Don't forget to enter my giveaway as part of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. Just leave a comment for your chance at a $20 gift certificate to SMS! :)

xoxo,

Giveaway Day

2011-05-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Welcome to my Giveaway Day!! Hooray, you've survived the rapture!! In celebration, I'm giving one lucky winner anywhere in this great green world of ours a $20 gift certificate to Sew Mama Sew!

All you have to do to win is become one of my followers, "like" me on Facebook, follow my Twitter feed, buy something from my store, and become my neighbor in Cafe World. Or you can just leave a comment. :)

I know sometimes Disqus is a little of a pain. If you find you can't leave a comment, just shoot me an email saying "enter me!" or something along those lines. I'm at StitchInMySide (at) gmail (dot) com. Disqus emails me at that address every time I get a comment, so I'll choose the winner in the order of emails received. I'll select the winner via random number generator. I'll email you and announce the winner here on my blog.

One entry per person please. The giveaway is open until midnight Pacific time on May 25th. Please leave your email address in your comment so I know how to contact you. :)

Note: For realsies, you don't have to do anything to win besides leave a comment, I promise! Peace out and good luck!!!! :)

Here are the links back to Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day pages:
    Handcrafted Item(s) & Supplies/Materials
    Sewing & Knitting Supplies/Materials
    Handcrafted Item

xoxo,

Moving

2011-05-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

Oh, I have such news to share with you guys! I've had it for a couple of weeks now, but I needed to wait until everything got the green light before I could tell you because I hate backpedaling. Christian and I are buying our first house and will be moving in June! We are so excited and my head is bursting with ideas. I've pinned a bunch of stuff over at Pinterest (my boards are here so follow me and I will follow you!!!) and I can't wait to get my DIY on!! I hope the house doesn't end up being one of these. Or these.

Home sweet home. Almost!

We have major vaulted ceilings. :)

An electric stove :( in a very yellow kitchen. Faux brick backsplash that I may just coat with paint for now.

A den with wood vaulted ceilings. We call this The Lodge.

Also, my blog is moving June 1st as well! Nowhere far, just over to stitchinmyside.blogspot instead of stitchinmysideregan.blogspot. I've been waiting for the plain Stitch in My Side web address to be available since I started my blog, and Blogger finally released it. What's weird is that there was never a blog actually up on that web address, but the address was still unavailable. Anywhoodle, I'll keep this one up and I'll blog on both for the first couple of weeks in June, but I'll transfer all of this content over to the new address as well. I'll be sure to remind you guys so I'd really love it if you'd update your browsers when I do move. :) I can't promise the new place will be more awesome or anything (as though it could be!), but I've played around with the layout and stuff and it's just really purty. It's not done yet, though, so if you do venture over there please don't point and laugh at the posts that end abruptly mid-sentence.

I hope you're having a great hump day!! I personally cannot wait for this week to be over.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - May 17, 2011

2011-05-17T18:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it seems like we're all living in some kind of prison, and the crime is how much we hate ourselves. It's good to get really dressed up once in a while, and admit the truth -- that when you really look closely, people are so strange and so complicated that they're actually...beautiful. Possibly even me.
--Angela Chase, My So Called Life

Have you guys ever seen that show My So Called Life? I've been watching it on Netflix Instant lately (well, until the stupid PlayStation Network took a dump and will be out until the end of MAY are you serious thisis2011forchrissake?!!?!!!?!?!?!!111 Grmph!!!! ::brain explosion::)

I love that show.Love, love, love. It was on and I was the same age as the characters, and I was Angela Chase to the n-th degree. Right down to the flannels. Watching that show, reading that quote, it just reminds me of such a specific time in my life. That angst-ridden, hyper-emotional, flannel-clad time in my life. I don't feel that way about myself now, but oh god did I feel that way at 15. I remember talking to my nephew last summer (he was 14 at the time) and I remember telling him about how I felt as a teenager. I told him that I wish I had just felt I was beautiful, but maybe it's best I didn't. Nothing worse than some snot nosed teenage girl who knows she's pretty (I'm looking at you 16 and Pregnant and all that other swill on MTV).

xoxo,

Striped With Sunshine Tunic - S2594

2011-05-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

My lack of posting lately has not been indicative of my production. I've made this top, a dress, and a baby quilt in the last two weeks and I'm so happy! I have four more dresses cut and ready to sew, and I'm really excited about those as well. I've also not shown you my Easter dress, which is quite cute, so I'll do that soon too.

I loved making this top. It's super quick (I made it in about an hour and a half) though I must say that the yoke instructions left a lot to be desired. I figured them out but that's only because I've sewn for so long. While I think this is a simple pattern, I can see how a beginner could have serious, swear-filled problems with Simplicity's explanation of the yoke and it's facing. Still, the little pleats on the front and the gathering at the back are just such sweet details.

Also, it's really comfy. I made view B, the long tunic. I didn't make the tie, but that's just because I had a belt to use. Tucking it in worked well too. This top is good for work or as part of a cute, casual outfit.

There are downsides to this top, but I can still see myself making it again because it's so comfy, lightweight, and cute. However, in the interest of full disclosure, here are my gripes in no particular order:

The cowl neck gapes big time, so I wore a nude tank for modesty. I still felt like I was flashing my goodies though, I won't lie.
It's big. Next time I make this I think I'll make a 12, maybe even a 10.
Again, the instructions on the back yoke are confusing. I don't think they're impossible, but it may help to just ditch them and trust your instincts on sewing this. You'll probably do it right.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - May 10, 2011

2011-05-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Feet, why do I need them if I have wings to fly?
-- Frida Kahlo
xoxo,

Mother's Day Present for My Mama

2011-05-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

My mom loves buttons. Loves. Buttons. I saw this idea over on Pinterest (which the original source saw over at the American Crafts blog) and knew I had to make it for her.

She loved it!

It's super easy and is such a fun way to use up the treasure trove of buttons that I have. I see a very large R for Rothery coming up for home!

All I did was use WordArt in Microsoft Word to create this. Just open word, select WordArt, and choose the outline shape.

Then use a good, bold font. I used AR Julian. Stretch it to fit the size you want. My frame was 8"x10", so I made my letter 7" tall. ::Note: the below example is not 7" tall, but you get the idea::

Then I just traced the letter onto a piece of fabric (Kona Natural, I think?), and stitched the buttons on with a gold thread. If you've got a cache of random buttons you have no idea how to use, I highly recommend this. They don't have to match, and it's such a lovely and charming gift for that button-lover in your life. :)

xoxo,

Little White Dress Tutorial Part 3

2011-05-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here's the final step for the Little White Dress Tute. Part one is here, and part two is here.

Get your straps and sandwich them in the top strip. I pinned my strips to the back of the dress and then put on the dress & pinned them in the front to make sure I covered my bra strap.

Now, get your trim for the front and sandwich it in the 3" space you left open on the straps.

Sew close to the folded edge

and when you get to this point, pivot your sewing to sew the strap closed.

Then turn your needle around and sew back along your stitching line. ::Sorry, I forgot to take a picture doing this on the left strap (the one in the pics above), so just pretend this is me sewing the same strap::

Now your straps are on and the top strip is sewn closed, so all we need to do is add the elastic waistband!

Measure yourself from your knees to your waistline. My length is 20". Get your Frixion pen (they don't pay me to say that [though I'll take an endorsement!], but it's really the most awesome marking tool I've ever used), and mark the dress at 20".

Cut a piece of 1/4" elastic the same size as your waistline measurement and sew it closed.

Then, to make sure the dress is evenly gathered, mark the dress and elastic like so. Lay out your dress like the below picture. The back seam is equidistant front middle of the dress.

Mark the front middle.

Now lay your dress, lining up your new middle marking with the back seam so that the dress sides are equidistant from each other.

Mark the sides.

And then you have four markings.

Do the same with the elastic. I pin it when I mark the sides because elastic is wily!

Now line up the elastic seam with the back seam of your dress.

And line up all the other markings.

Then, using your widest zig zag setting, sew the elastic to the dress, stretching as you go.

And you're all done!

As always, please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions. I hope you guys like this and use this tutorial. I think this would be just adorable in any number of fabric combos, but I love it in white muslin because it's A) cheap, and B) so easy breezy and cool. Perfect for summer!!

xoxo,

Little White Dress Tutorial Part 2

2011-05-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

Today we'll get through the top strip of the dress

and some steps of the straps construction (say that five times fast), and then we'll finish up with part three maybe Saturday? Part one of this tutorial is here (EDIT: part three is here).

For the top strip (very technical term, mind you), you get your high bust measurement (mine is 37") and use the snip and rip technique from step one. Snip in 2" intervals on your muslin, and snip two strips that are your high bust measurement + 1". My top strip pieces are 38" long. ::Not shown - also cut a piece of trim this long.::

Fold over 1/2" on one side of each of the strips. Press. You only do this to one side, not both.

Now take those strips and sew the ends together to make two separate circles. Open out the fold you just created and line up the crease caused by the fold. See how my pin lines up the creases from the front and back?

Sew them together. You can chain piece them as I did here to save time. :)

Now take your dress that you made in step one and baste stitch along the top so that we can gather it a little bit.

Gather it until it's the same width as your top strip.

Spread your gathering evenly.

Lining up the back seam on your dress and the seam on the top strips, sandwich your dress between the two strips making sure the pressed edges of the strips are facing down.

Sew all the way around.

When you're done it will look like this.

Then you just press the strips open. See how now you have an edge that's "finished"? The folded edges will make it easier to sew and enclose the raw edges when it's time for us to finish the dress.

Now for the straps. It's the same thing as the top strip, except you cut four 2" strips instead of two 2" strips. I suggest cutting these 15" long. ::Not shown - also cut two pieces of trim this length.::

Now sandwich your trim between two strap pieces. (I hope these pictures aren't as blown out on your computer as they are on mine. They didn't look this bad when I was editing them, and now I look at them today and it looks like one big white strip and that's all.)

Sew at 1/2" seam allowance.

Press.

Sew the folded edge, stopping 3" from the end of the strap.

And that's all for today. :) We will finish up in our next step.

xoxo,

Little White Dress Tutorial

2011-05-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Yay! So here's part 1 (EDIT: part two is here, and part three is here) of my tutorial on how to make this sweet little white dress. I was going to make this one long post, but I have 87 pictures and I don't feel like crashing any servers. :) I'm breaking this puppy up into a few Illiad-length posts vs. one biblical-length post. Either way, get your comfy pants on.

Anywhoodle, I think this is a great project for beginners so I hope you guys like the tutorial. As always, click on any picture to enlarge and email me or leave a comment if you have any questions on anything. Remember, there are no silly questions! Ask away!

Supplies needed for this dress:

1 yard of 90" wide white muslin (I highly recommend getting the 90" wide white muslin that way you only need a yard. If you go with 45" wide that's OK too, but you'll need at least 1 1/4 yard, possibly more depending on your size.)
4 yards flat eyelet trim
1/4" wide elastic
White thread, 70/10 sewing needle, scissors
Hem Gauge
Measuring Tape

Let's sew!

Measure your high bust and write that number down. For length, I took the tape and measured from my high bust to right above my knees like so:

Croquis via Threads.com

Then I added 1" for the top and bottom seam allowance, and added 2" so that the bodice would have a little poofy bodice. My total length was 32.5". Measure that length (again, 32.5 on my dress) along the selvage edge (the edge that they didn't cut when you bought your fabric), snip your fabric, and then just tear it. Being a woven fabric, muslin will just rip right down giving you a straight line. :)

Snip & rip. Gotta love it!

Now for the width you do the same basic thing. Take your widest measurement (for this dress it was my hips) and add 4" for ease and 1" for your seam allowance. My measurement ended up being 46". Measure, snip, and rip.

Now you have the body of your dress. Mine was 32.5" long by 46" wide.

Get your iron and hem gauge (the slide ruler thingy), and make a narrow hem along the bottom of your dress (the 46" wide part). Measure 1/2"

and press until you go all the way across the length of your dress.

Now take the raw edge and fold it in so that it's enclosed

and rub side to side to finger press it

then press with the iron.

That's your narrow hem!

Now for the pin tucks, get your hem gauge and set the slider at 1/4". Place your hem at the 1" mark on the ruler and fold your pin tuck over to meet the 1/4" guide.

Using your sweet new finger pressing expertise, finger press the 1/4" pin tuck all the way across.

Press with the iron.

Pin tuck #1 is done!

For pin tuck #2, do the same exact thing, only now you measure 1 1/2" from the hem.

Let's sew these guys down.

Sew your hem.

Then sew on your lace.

Now to sew your pin tucks. Sew along the lines illustrated so that the pin tucks keep their shape.

And here we are all sewn up!

Now let's sew up the back seam. Right sides together, pin the edges & try to line up the hem and pin tucks as much as possible.

I apologize for my blurry-ness

They may not line up perfectly but no one will notice!

Zig zag the edge to finish.

And that's enough for today. Parts 2 & 3 are coming this week. :)

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - May 3, 2011

2011-05-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

To resist the frigidity of old age one must combine the body, the mind and the heart - and to keep them in parallel vigor one must exercise, study and love.

-- Karl von Bonstetten

LWD tutorial coming tomorrow! I have all the stuff, I just need to sit down and write the post. I meant to do that yesterday, but I just realized that it's May and Mother's Day is here on Sunday ::Side note: It's MAY!?!?! And Mother's Day is this Sunday?!?!?!?!?! ACK!!:: I had to sit myself down and make my Mama her gift. I'm sure you understand. :)

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - April 26, 2011

2011-04-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

One thing is clear to me. You can't know everything you'd like to know. You can't do everything you'd like to do. You can't read everything you'd like to read. You must hold onto some things and let go of others. Learning to make that choice is one of the big lessons of this life.

-- Real Live Preacher, Real Live Preacher.com weblog

I have had such insomnia lately. The hubby has The Sick, so he has to go to bed early, which of course makes me just want to Stay Awake. Like, majorly awake. I've been sitting there in the dark until well past 1:00 am, just thinking. Sometimes I think my brain is like a squirrel. It just scampers around here and there and just will not settle.

On another random side note, the other day I was watching Super Hot Celebrity Beach Bodies You Will Never Have But We're Showing Them to You Anyway to Reinforce the Idea That Celebrities Are Better Than You Are And Could Ever Possibly Hope to Be or some such drivel on E, and of course crazy Matt ~~McConahey~~ ::Google search:: McConaughey was on there. Unfortunately there was no nudity or bongos (lame!), but one of the commenters did say something about MMc's workout philosophy that I found interesting. He feels that if he can just sweat every single day, no matter what it's from, then that's his workout. I thought that was interesting. I'm trying to incorporate that into my life too. Did you sweat today?

xoxo,

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

2011-04-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

And the winner of her very own Little White Dress is.... Commenter #1 -- Heather!!! Awooooooooooooooooo!! Congrats Heather! I will email you to get some info and we'll get this tutorial up probably late next week.

Thank you all so, so much for entering! I have so much stuff to show you, but it's been really chilly here lately. I can't put on all the cute spring clothing I have -- I have a lot of easy, peasy ideas that I'd like to share with you all. I see many tutorials coming your way!!!!!

I can't wait to get this tute up! :)

xoxo,

Little White Dress Giveaway Ends Tonight!

2011-04-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter if you haven't yet. Giveaway ends tonight at midnight Pacific Standard Time.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - April 19, 2011

2011-04-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Never say never, for if you live long enough, chances are you will not be able to abide by its restrictions. Never is a long, undependable time, and life is too full of rich possibilities to have restrictions placed upon it.
-- Gloria Swanson

xoxo,

Little White Dress Giveaway (Tutorial also coming soon!)

2011-04-14T16:48:00.000-07:00

***This giveaway is now closed.***

We've all got the little black dress - perfect for everything from a dinner date to a power lunch with the boss. Well, I now give you the Little White Dress - perfect for sitting under a tree and enjoying your favorite romance novel, to a day of bicycle riding and farmer's markets. Ahhh, the dreams of warm spring days!

I will be doing a tutorial on how to make this sweet and dainty dress. All you need is muslin, 1/4" elastic, and flat eyelet lace (I got mine from The Trimming on Etsy, who I had never purchased from before).

She included the little butterfly as an added "thank you" for my purchase. Isn't that sweet? She was also very quick, so I recommend her shop. The trim I purchased is still available here.

Supplies list:

1 yard of 60" wide white muslin or 1 1/4 yard of 44" wide. For a fancier version, you could also use chambray or voile, but I like to keep things less expensive especially when it's a white garment. You guys know how messy I am!
About 3 yards of flat white eyelet lace trim - 1 1/4" wide or more, but probably no more than 2" wide - a quick search on Etsy will give you lots of options
1/4" elastic - just buy a package of it, chances are you'll need about a yard

This dress is a breeze to make! Easy to cut (just one big rectangle, two straps, and a strap for the top), easy to sew, and comes out just beautifully.

I will be showing you how to make your very own version of this dress in the coming weeks, and one lucky gal will win the one I make in the tutorial! Yes, I will make you your very own Little White Dress to keep or to give to a special lady in your life!!

To enter, just leave a comment with your email address. I will send this anywhere in the whole widest world!! If you have any issues with Disqus not letting you leave a comment, just email me at StitchInMySide (at) gmail (dot) com.

Please only one entry per person. Contest is open until Wednesday, April 20th at midnight PDT. Winner will be chosen via random number generator and announced on Thursday, April 21st. The tutorial will be posted at the end of April/beginning of May, so the dress will be sent out after that via standard mail. Good luck!!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - April 12, 2011

2011-04-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
-- William James

xoxo,

Ditch That Facing! Volume 2

2011-04-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well, only about eight months later here I am with the other technique I like to use to avoid using facings (technique #1 is here, where I also explain what facings are and why I don't like them). This technique allows you to fully line the bodice, but I only recommend it for things that have a zipper in the back (super important! it won't work otherwise) and do not have any gathering along the neckline. For those types of garments, I would use technique #1.

I am scaling this down to a doll size because I don't have enough fabric to make myself another dress. The beneficiary of my weensy garment is Sunny here.

Because this is a doll's dress, there are no darts in the bodice. I am making her a little version of the Coffee Date dress from Burda, so just pretend I've got darts, OK? :) Also, the seam allowances should be 5/8", but mine are smaller because, again, doll's dress. We all square? Great! Let's get sewing.

So, what you want to do is cut all the pieces of your bodice from both your fabric and your lining. You do not need to cut the facings, and I never use interfacing when I use this technique. I'm using muslin as my lining here as I did for my version of the Coffee Date dress. Sew the darts (not pictured because they don't exist) on both the fabric and the lining, and do any other sewing you need for your bodice (I had to add the ruffle to this bodice, for example). Then sew both the fabric and the lining at the shoulder seams.

Press the seams open.

Now, lay those, right sides together and sew around the neckline and arm holes.

I like to pin down my seams so that they don't flap open as the presser foot goes over them.

Now trim your seams down to about 1/4".

Clip your curves.

For the arm holes, I usually clip about 10 times. I've highlighted them in orange so you can see easier. :)

Clip your neck hole too.

The reason you trim your seams and clip your curves is to help the garment lay flat. The bulkiness of 5/8" seams around something as curved as a neckline really show. If you don't clip your curves, the curves will be really restricted and won't lay right, so please don't skip these steps. They make a big difference in the way your piece looks, I promise!

Now, you need to pull the bodice back through the shoulder holes like this:

Now we understitch the seam allowances to the lining (the circled stuff to the white fabric). We do this because it also helps the garment lay flat, and will keep the lining from peeking out over the neckline.

Because of the way this is constructed, you won't be able to understitch all the way around. Just go as far as you can and don't try to force yourself to sew further than you can sew easily. You don't want to sew the bodice together, not that I've ever done that! :)

(Not pictured) Press the seam allowances towards the lining. Stitch, making sure your stitches catch the seam allowances. Sew both arm holes and the neckline.

See how the stitches don't go all the way around the neckline and arm holes?

Press your garment.

Almost done!

Now we just need to sew up the sides. Open up the lining and fabric and pin them together - bodice front to bodice back, and lining front to lining back.

Just like with the shoulder seams, pin down the arm hole seam allowances so that it doesn't flop around when you sew.

Press so both seam allowances face the same way.

Now press the lining under 5/8".

And sew the bodice to the skirt, leaving the lining free.

Clip the seam allowance. (Not pictured) Add your back closure (zipper, buttons, etc.). Then hand sew the lining down. I used my sewing machine because 1) this is a doll's dress and 2) I'm lazy.

Now you're all done!!

I hope you guys use this. I love it myself and find it appropriate for most garments. Let me know if you have any questions!! :)

xoxo,

Daffodil Days at JoAnn's April 10-16

2011-04-08T12:23:00.000-07:00

Big sale next week at JoAnns. Most notable for me are the McCall's patterns for 99 cents, Vogue patterns for $3.99, all notions are 50% off, all red tag fabric is 50% off, and all pillow forms are 50% off. To check out their flyer, click here where you can also sign up for email alerts (they always include 50% off coupons!).

M6308 via McCallPattern.com

M5388 via McCallPattern.com

V8741 via voguepattern.mccall.com

I love when they have sales like this because I can go and get a bunch of notions (mainly Schmetz sewing needles, straight pins, elastic, and random closures like snaps or hooks & eyes or velcro) at a price I don't mind paying. When I go on sale days like this, I head straight to the back of the store where I hit the notions section, the Clearance Clarence fabric, and the pattern drawers. I don't even look at the rest of the store. Well, OK I do, but I try not to buy anything unless I 1) have a coupon or 2) it's on sale. I never, ever buy anything at JoAnns at full price.

By the way, if these JoAnn posts are a little too much just let me know. I love to let folks know about a sale, but I don't want to seem like I'm only about JoAnn Fabrics. That is not the case, and they certainly don't pay me or anything for being a mouthpiece. It's just super important to me personally to let people know that you can save money when you sew for yourself so that's why I do it. But you guys let me know, OK?? I loves ya!!

My second tutorial on ditching facing is coming this weekend. I'm not showing anything new or super amazing, just something I've discovered along the way. If you've sewn for little girls, you have undoubtedly done this before so don't expect that it's something crazy new. :) Also, I'll post the dresses soon as well. It's been cold and cloudy here lately so I haven't been able to get good pics.

xoxo,

St. Joseph

2011-04-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

This is my sweet, glow in the dark St. Joseph statue. I didn't buy him because he glows in the dark... that was just a plus. :)

No, no, no. I bought him because he's going to help me with my house hunting! Duh!

I picked him up after work yesterday. When I spoke to Christian that evening, our conversation went like this:
Him: "Hi baby. How was your day?"
Me: "Great! Hey, I gotta keep this brief because I'm going to the Catholic book store right now so I can get a St. Joseph statue to bury in our yard. It'll help us get the house we want!!"
Him: "........"

Some days it must be really odd to be married to me.

Anyway, I remember my mom telling me that if you want to sell a house you bury him right side up in your back yard, and if you want to buy a house you bury him upside down in your front yard. Technically, you're only supposed to bury him in the ground when you want to sell your house; you're SOL if you want to buy one. Super technically, you only bury him when you want to sell your house, and you have to bury him upside down and facing away from your house, and you say some special novenas every day for a week. I decided to throw caution to the wind and buried him upside down in our front yard. Maybe St. Joseph will appreciate my free thinking.

Honestly, I do it more for the kitsch factor than anything, but superstition certainly has its claws in me with some things. I won't put my purse on the floor because my mom always says it'll make you spend money faster if you do. Any time I have my purse, I put it on my lap or on a chair. I never unintentionally set my purse on the floor.

Anyway, even though I'm buying an house instead of selling one, I've still gone and buried ol' St. Joe and I've let him know my request to get the house on Lincoln. We submitted the offer today, and should hear back in about a week. If we get the house, I'm supposed to put the statue in a place of honor in our new home. I may mount him to my sewing machine as that is as high an honor as this little chica can bestow.

xoxo,

*More info on the St. Joseph statue here.

No One Really Knows Who Alma Really Is - House Hunting in the OC

2011-04-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

I'll let the picture speak for itself.

There was stuff like this all over the walls. And this room.... this room was like a shanty in the garage. They took two of the existing walls from the garage and just built two additional walls, popped in a door, and bang. Alma's room was there. I'd like to meet Alma, but something tells me I'd never know who she truly is. Oh that teen angst! ;)

The quilter in me loves the back of this garage door. It's kind of charming to see patchwork where you least expect it...

This swingin' jacuzzi is included in the sale. Very charitable, no?

That's the front door. And yes, that's a toilet. The bathroom is literally one step inside the front door.

House hunting has been fun so far. We've found some really lovely places whose photos aren't included (obviously), but I have to say that my favorite place is kind of a mess. A mother loves best an ugly child, what can I say? The house is a solid five on a scale of one to ten, and even then I feel like I'm being generous. But the yard... the yard is so amazing! It's HUGE! I know those of you who live places with land, land, land don't understand the excitement, but it's a rarity here in Southern California. Especially somewhere as built up as Orange County. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and will be burying my St. Joseph tomorrow (I'll post on that so you guys know what I'm talking about), but it's not going to be an easy, breezy, beautiful process. Here's to hoping!!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - April 5, 2011

2011-04-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Christian and I are house hunting right now. I'm going to be posting some pictures of the more, ahem, colorful and unique properties. We've just started looking so it's still quite fun, but I can see this getting very, very stressful if we don't find something soon.

On the other hand, we found the place we're renting right now literally four days before we had to move. We've lived here quite happily for over four years, so I'll just have to put my faith out there that we'll land in the perfect place again. :)

On a separate note, I've gotten two casual dresses sewn, one of which I am going to make into a tutorial and I think giveaway? I'm thinking that I'll show you the dress I made, then have a giveaway to make one of you that same dress, then sew that dress in the tutorial. Do I make any sense? I hope so, and I really hope you guys like it. I love it, and it's super sweet and pretty - a perfect summer dress! It is also super, duper easy and cheap. All you need is muslin (just 1 yard of the really wide stuff - 60" or more; you could also use chambray) and 3 yards of eyelet lace trim (I'd check Etsy, it's where I got mine). Pics will be up later this week and I'll hold the giveaway shortly thereafter. I'd like to get the tutorial up the week of the 18th. This dress is based on the Canopy Lookout dress from Anthropologie, retail $128.

Image via Anthropologie.com

xoxo,

Simplicity Pattern Sale - March 31 - April 2

2011-03-31T09:49:00.000-07:00

Simplicity patterns are on sale for 99 cents a pop at your local JoAnn Fabric stores today (Thursday) through Saturday. Oh, and they've got an adorable collaboration with Suede from PR season 5 (I think?) who I remember liking. The name of the collection, by the by, isn't just "Suede Says" but instead is "SUEDE Says!. Looooove it! It's like SWINTON. I think this is a pretty sweet little dress. Reminds me of this Tracy Reese pattern from Vogue, only it looks a bit easier. I'm thinking I'll use the Tracy Reese one for a chiffon and the SUEDE one for a sweet cotton. One for work, one for play. Oui? Oui!

I also cannot recommend S2593 enough. I've used the pattern is to make a couple of tops and they've turned out really great. I also find this pattern to be a really good block to use whenever I want to make something with a gathered neck and waist, but don't want to try to make the pattern myself (read: never). I used it as the block for the body of this dress and this top based on the Winding Indus top from Anthropologie.

Really, all I did was lengthen it and add sleeves and wham! Totally new garment! And yes, that's the same fabric. I love blue chiffon, what can I say? ;)

Also on sale is Gutterman thread (40% off), so go in and get yourself some! :)

xoxo,

Sweet New Laptop

2011-03-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

OK, so I don't want to brag, especially when it comes to material things (I prefer to only brag about my general awesomeness. I'm a lady.), but I just have to show off my sweet new laptop. It was totally customized for me and my needs.

Sorry, I meant Travel Computer

Qwerty keyboard? Who needs it!

This 10-key will take some getting used to. Especially since it's on the left side.

Sweet mouse.

Why, I sound very pretty and cool? Thank you.

Always set at Match.com. It's "romantic". Also, it's where Christian and I met according to Veronica (it's not where we met). You're getting a glimpse of our first chat session.

If any of you want your own custom laptop, I may be able to finagle the manufacturer. I think it goes without saying that the portability of this ~~laptop~~ travel computer is pretty much unparalleled.

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - March 29, 2011

2011-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

No risk it, no biscuit!
-- the fun, spunky, and just plain lovely Catherine over at Original Stitch

With the weather expected to shoot up to almost 90 degrees this week, my head is buzzing with lovely Spring/Summer fashions. I am thinking this may be a season for muslin as the base fabric for my garments as all I want is white, lace, and embroidery. I know muslin is not tres chic, but I actually love working with it when I want something crisp and white.

xoxo,

Butterick Pattern Sale Starts Tomorrow at JoAnn Fabrics

2011-03-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Hello my dears! JoAnn's is having one of their fabulous pattern sales this weekend. All Butterick patterns are $1.99 each (limit 10)!

I'm wanting to make some tops with sleeves (for once), so I've got my eye on B5300 (view A. I need to do research to see if this has a collar stand... I need to try one of those again), B5365 (either view -- love those pin tucks on the shoulder seam), B5464 (this is a definite purchase -- all the views are so lovely), and I also really like B5497 (view B - the others are a little too Boobs McCleavage).

I may even get B3030 (view A) even though it got no favors from the pattern envelope. I figure a simple raglan sleeve is something I've never actually sewn, so it would be good to have a basic shell top in my stash. Just imagine this top with a slightly longer bodice and made from a lovely silk chiffon. Le sigh! Still, knowing my cheap ass, I'll probably find a Simplicity pattern that's similar and just buy that one instead because it'll be $0.99 and not $1.99. :)

xoxo,

Ikea Twofer Dress

2011-03-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

As some of you darling lovelies may remember (if you've been here that long), last year I decided to make myself a funky little ironing board cover. All those little pieces did end up leaving marks on my clothing, so I unfortunately had to retire it. It still sits in my closet, waiting to be made into something else - I'm thinking yoga mat bag...

Anyway, not wanting some fugly ironing board cover, I went to Ikea and found a cute one for $5. It unfortunately didn't fit my board. :( Still, I held on to the fabric because it was so pretty and I figured I could make a skirt out of it. So I did!

Actually, I made a dress. :)

Ahhhh, it's so Springtime, isn't it? Unfortunately, it's not warm enough to wear on its own just yet, but some tights and a little cardigan make it perfect! The top is made from the same jersey as this epic fail. It's a very, very bright yellow cotton jersey. In fact, this is the wrong side of the fabric if that gives you an idea of just how briiiiiiiiight the fabric actually is!

I just made a basic tank top and stitched it to the wide elastic. I found this explanation from PresserFoot to be very helpful. Actually, that whole tutorial is just wonderful and sooooo cute. I love those gals!

The ruffles are made from black hem tape and flat lace that I scored at a thrift store (there has to be at least 10 yards and I got it all for 50 cents!). I just gathered them and sewed them down.

Here's a closeup of the skirt/ironing board fabric (click picture to enlarge).

I'm not 100% happy with my raw edge binding. I figured it would look cleaner than it does, but it just looks a little too "casual" (read: sloppy-pants!). I think a happy medium for my laziness would be to enclose the raw edge of the binding to the outside of the tank top so that it's all pretty, but leave the edge raw on the inside. Hooray lazy!

Lastly, I just have to show you guys this last picture. It's an outtake because my triceps muscle is so bulging! At least to me.... I've had weensy little arms my whole life so to have any muscles at all is totally new to me. :)

xoxo,

Pin It

Lovin' Tuesday - March 22, 2011

2011-03-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

The time to stop talking is when the other person nods his head affirmatively but says nothing.
-- Henry S. Haskins
I love this quote. I feel like it's profound, but it's also kinda funny. We've all been there, right? You're just going on and on, and that person you're talking to who's "listening" is just nodding while their eyes have a 1,000 yard stare. Priceless!

On a small side note, my blog celebrated its three year anniversary earlier in the month and I completely forgot. I'm in the process of changing things up a bit as blogger finally released the web address stitchinmyside.blogspot.com, which I have been waiting for for the last three years. I want to change the layout & design, while also going through the old posts and re-reading them for spelling errors etc. It's proving to be a far more daunting task than I expected! :)

xoxo,

Necklaces

2011-03-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

I saw this gorgeous necklace at Anthropologie last year and have been mesmerized by it even since. It's no longer for sale (I think), but it was maybe $130?? It's called the Field Nap necklace.

Image via Anthropologie.com

Something about it is so sunny and cheerful. I look at it and it just makes me feel happy. Those flowers... adorable!! There were other ones for sale as well, made in the same style with briolette flowers and flowers made from petal-shaped beads. I scoured the interwebs for a tutorial on how to make one just like theirs, but came away rather empty handed. I've fiddled around here and there, and found a technique that I think is pretty good for the flowers. My only issue has been how to attach them to the necklace itself, and that's proving to be a bit more difficult. Still, my little attempt is holding up pretty well, and I think I'm almost at a point where this little guys is good enough to sell.

Le sigh! I just love it when a plan comes out, especially when it's not really a plan per se, it's just you with a boatload of petal-shaped beads, your tools, and that Christian Bale movie with the dragons. You're sitting there wrapping and beading, just making one flower after another with no real plan in place. Then you get a bunch made, and they're just laying there on your carpet in no particular order when you realize that they look quite smashing that way. You do your damndest to keep them just so as you attach, attach, attach, et voila! A necklace!

The other necklace I made was not so difficult. I've made one just like this for myself and always get so many complements when I wear it. My girlfriend Tami was one of those folks who really liked mine, so I made her one out of a light blue 10mm faceted beads. She recently had a birthday, so this was my little gift to her.

These beads remind me of water, which always reminds me of my Tami.

You know how some people are just like that? You see a certain color, or smell a flower or eat something and boom, there they are. I saw these in the horrible overhead incandescent lighting of the Michael's I was at, and even then I knew: this color was her if I could make her into a color. I hope she likes it. More than that, I hope it doesn't fall apart!

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - March 15, 2010

2011-03-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.

-- Phillips Brooks
Sorry I've been MIA lately. I'll have some stuff to share later this week!

If you're looking for a way to help our friends in Japan, I suggest Doctors Without Borders or The Red Cross. I know how silly it can feel to have no money and feel as though the $5 you can afford to give won't help for squat. Trust me when I say that it will. Every little bit does help! If everyone gave $5, think of the floods of money that would be rolling in! Like Helen Keller said, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do."

That's two quotes in one day! :)

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - March 8, 2011

2011-03-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

There is no law of progress. Our future is in our own hands, to make or to mar. It will be an uphill fight to the end, and would we have it otherwise? Let no one suppose that evolution will ever exempt us from struggles. "You forget," said the Devil, with a chuckle, "that I have been evolving too."
-- William Ralph Inge

xoxo,

Lovin' Tuesday - March 1, 2011

2011-03-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

I have two Frosts for you today. I remember finding the article (Time Magazine, July 4, 1960, Late Frost: Witty, Wise & Young) that these quotes came from when I was looking through microfiche in college doing research about the era of a play I was reading. Ah, the world before Google.

I always write with the hope that I shall come on something like a woman's last word.

It is a coarse brutal world, unendurably coarse and brutal, for anyone who hasn't the least dash of coarseness or brutality in his own nature to enjoy it with.
--Robert Frost
I'm getting The Sick. I am not pleased with this. Please leave the family medicine miracle cure suggestions in the comments. I am getting on a red eye to New York tomorrow and will be damned if the flu is taking me down!

xoxo,

Vogue 1051. Again.

2011-02-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't had plain black slacks in at least four years. Yep, one of the most basic career-girl wardrobe staples and I haven't had a pair since GW was in office. Hlafway through his second term. I bought this fabric last fall. I finally cut these some time in October. Then I finally sewed them up last week. I heart procrastination, what can I say?

For anyone keeping score, this makes these slacks my forth version of Vogue 1051. And with the exception of the waistband closure being just a touch too low & causing a pucker (something very easily remedied by simply moving the hook down), I think this is the best version yet!

I love, love this pattern. Every version I've seen on Pattern Review looks great on all body types, so if you're out searching for a great pants pattern: This. Is. The. One.

The Changes
I switched out the pockets again using my tutorial here. I was smart and used the pockets from this dress as the template so that I wouldn't cut them too small again. :) Worked like a charm!

I've found that size 14 is just right on the waistline but a little big in the legs and hips. Still, I forget to grade the pattern down every single time I cut this pattern. Much sewing, trying on, and sewing again happened in the course of these legs. Worth it!

I kept both back pockets unlike my grey version, and I must say that both versions work equally well. I decided to toss out the button closure on this version, and bar tacked the sides of the welted pockets down (see the picture of the pocket lining to get a better idea).

I did this for two reasons: 1) I have found that putting buttons on the butt of anything is a surefire way to lose buttons - I've replaced the buttons on my denim version of these slacks at least three times; and 2) I lined these slacks with the seersucker from my coffee date dress and didn't want it to peek out of the back pockets, thereby giving me two white lines across my butt at all times. This does and does not work. I'll take that though, since the welts came out so well! My best welts ever, and the secret is in the clipping. Cut every thread down to the corner of your staystitching!

I lowered the waistband by 1 1/2" (I think) and now they're perfect. I felt that the waistband was a little high before.

I know that seems like a lot of changes, but it really isn't. While these pants are not too difficult, I would say it's more of an intermediate pattern. Don't go from jammie pants to these slacks - you will become stabby! Though if anyone thinks they might be helped with a sew along, I could easily be persuaded. We'd be making these changes though! These pants are now perfect and I will sew them with this way forever and ever, amen. Does that mean I could repackage this pattern and sell it as my own creation? Muhahahaha!!

Oh, and speaking of sew alongs, Bhoomika, one of you sweet commenters, suggested the JJ blouse from Burda (an adorable [and FREE!] little blouse pattern that I've been eyeing since early last year). Any objections? It's probably an intermediate level as well, but we'll go through it all together. I will not make any changes, though I may lengthen the top a little (I like my blouses long so they don't come untucked when I sit down). Would that be OK for everyone? We wouldn't start for a bit - maybe by the end of March, but probably April at the earliest.

I've got so many other things to show you, but work has been crazy busy. I've had no time to photograph anything, and even if I did, I have no desire to hop back on to a computer after a full day in front of one. But ooooh, the necklace I made this weekend... I must show you that! And my little dress! I hope you're all well. I go to New York this week to visit one of my very best friends, so I hope I get some stuff posted before I'm M.I.A. yet again. I do miss you so!

xoxo,

Hooray, Hooray for President's Day

2011-02-21T12:34:00.000-08:00

I got today off, but Christian didn't. This sucks because three day weekends with him are wonderfully lazy and fun, but it's great because a day alone means I get to sew to my heart's content. Veronica's with her dad, which means I have the whole house to myself for a full day which hasn't happened since I don't know when. I decided to get to work.

My mom bought this gorgeous embroidered piece from an antique mall in Orange when she was here over the holidays.

She wanted it made into an apron, so I made her this.

I love this lady. What's amazing is that much of the outline is a stem stitch, with (what looks like) all six strands of embroidery floss.

When I make a stem stitch it's never this tight. I mean, just look at the back - how it almost looks like a back stitch.

I am thinking that a tighter stem stitch is what makes this look so beautiful. I'll need to remember that the next time I embroider.

I bound the edges with binding tape I made from some great green material since it's her favorite color. I also made a round neck, which I think is more vintage than the kind of neck I normally put on an apron. I used the neck back from Butterick 5353 and neck side from Simplicity 2925 as guides with a little changing here and there. I don't think you need a pattern to do that, but I just prefer one since I'm far more comfortable that way. Plus, something that's already drafted means you don't waste time and/or fabric fidgeting with measurements. :)

I also added a wee pocket. She's now in the Itty Bitty Pocket Committee.

Now I'm off to PetSmart to replace the four fish I killed this last week (don't ask) and I'm going to finish my black slacks that I've had cut for months. If I have time, I'll also finish my Feelin Stitchy February Stitch Along dish towel and this little number.

Yes, that was an Ikea ironing board cover. Why do you ask? :)

xoxo,

Stitch in My Side Featured at WeAllSew.com

2011-02-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

I've been so stoked to tell you guys about this, but wanted to wait until I actually had something to show you.... I'm being featured on Bernina's Favorite Sewing Blogs at their We All Sew website this week! Squee! I honestly cannot believe it!!

For all you new folks coming over here from We All Sew, Hi! How are you! Come and stay a while! Tell me what you think of the place. FYI, I do swear, so I just wanna warn you before you go poking around only to get surprised by an f-bomb. Actually, they're mostly s-bombs, a lot of h-bombs, and some d-bombs sprinkled in there too for good measure.

Anyway, hopefully I didn't scare anyone off. Happy Friday! :)

xoxo,

Marie Skirt Sew Along: The Downtown Version

2011-02-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

Hello lovelies! I finally got some pics of the Downtown version of my Marie Skirt. It's not my favorite skirt ever sewn, I'll admit that. But all in all it was really fun to do the sew along.

I am so, so excited that so many folks actually sewed along like Linda

and Lisa P

and the folks who are still in progress like Sarah (who blogged about her skirt here)

and Bridget.

I hope you all had a great time! I was thinking about doing the Kasia skirt next. Another free Burda pattern is always nice, but does anyone have any preference for the type of garment? Do you want to do pants or a shirt? Maybe a pattern from another company? I'm not opposed to another pattern company, I just love that Burda has great stuff for free.

I promise not to make any wacky pattern changes this time, too! Let me know your thoughts and we'll look at doing something starting mid-March, which sounds ages away but is less than a month out. EEK!

xoxo,