Photo Friday (two days late)

I had this blog post queued up and completely forgot to schedule it....until now.  Two days late is better than never right?  

I'm trying to get back on the Projectlife365 band wagon.  I was much better this past week, so look forward to a fuller photo Friday in a couple days.  This particular week however I only got two of the prompts completed.  

Quality over Quantity right? 

# Tick_Tock

#My_Love

Challenge: Week 5

Ombre is a trend I have been completely taken with. I absolutely love, it seems, all things ombre. Maybe I've even painted my nails ombre.

I've thought about painting my sewing desk ombre...

via Pinterest

Dreamed about painting my houses' staircase ombre...

via Pinterest

And bought the supplies to make dip dyed ombre curtains out of some bland blackout curtains we already owned (bought the supplies almost a year ago but havent done yet). 

via Pinterest

Despite this love of ombre I didnt even think of it when brainstorming for my categories. Thank God Manda did!

Per usual, I was kinda torn about what i wanted to do for the challenge. I thought initially that I would make a whitedress and   then dip dye it.  During a conversation with Manda, I realized this was probably a bad idea. I told her my plan to dye my fabric and her exact words were "Ain't nobody got time for that shit". True words. I had ombre fabric in my stash. I used that. 

I made Simplicity 1662 view B.

Super easy until I was putting on the waistband. I have no idea what happened, but i had way more fabric then I needed, and it wasn't   supposed to be gathered. Not wanting to take any of the stitches i had already put in out, I just took a couple tucks. LAZY.

I really like how it turned out, but i think I'm  gonna have to secure the front "flap".  It's windy in New England and I'm afraid that if I don't things are gonna get indecent. 

Photo Friday (on Monday): Week 24, 25, 26

I've been biting it pretty hard on ProjectLife365 lately. I completely skipped weeks 27 & 28 , and posted very sparingly for 24, 25 and 26. I've  been downloading the prompts, but not getting any of the pictures taken or uploaded....oops.

But, I know Photo Friday is a fan favorite for my reader(s), (Andrea I'm talking to you), so I didn't want to go another week without posting.  So, here's everything that I have posted, since the last update:

Week 24:

#new

Week 25:

#Sweet

Week 26:

#Turquoise

#curves

#edible

Birthday Dress

I have a problem; actually it’s more like a condition, where I wait till the last minute for EVERYTHING. Not only am I a procrastinator, but I’m also a perfectionist.  This is NOT a good combo.  Waiting till the very last minute and then needing everything to be perfect is a recipe for disaster.  In an internal effort to better my worst character flaws (and this is definitely one) I've been trying to be better about doing things before they are “absolutely due”.

This year when April rolled around, I started thinking about Liv’s birthday.  I had plans to make it a very cutesy, looks like I’m a stay at home mom and have tons of time, event.  She needed to be dressed as adorably as all the decorations, that I had yet to make, would be.  Not wanting to wait until the last minute I looked online and ordered her a dress from Nordstrom (my absolutely favorite department store of all time). 

When I ordered the dress I had thought it was made out of knit, but when it came in it was clearly cotton.  I tried it on Liv, and it was really cute…..and really WHITE.  WHAT WAS I THINKING??  She was going to ruin that dress in 3.5 seconds….and I had paid WAY too much for it ($38….seriously…what was I thinking).  I decided to make her a birthday dress instead, but kept the dress just in case I ran out of time.

I had basically married myself to the idea of making Liv her birthday dress, but did I leave myself enough time?  Of course not!  I finished Liv’s birthday dress at 1pm the day before her birthday.  It was intense, but I was really happy with how it turned out.

I used Simplicity 1624 for a pattern.  I LOVED view A with the ruffles.  It just looked classic little girl cute to me.  What I didn't think about when I started sewing this dress was how damn annoying those ruffles would be to attach.  They nearly killed me.

I had THE MOST PERFECT material in my stash for the dress.  I basically buy anything with weenie dogs on it as an ode to Guinness.  This print I got at Joann’s and it KILLED me.  Weenie dogs and rain boots…could it get any cuter?  NO.  The answer is no.

The dress turned out adorable.  The only thing that I didn't like about the pattern is that the waist seam was exposed inside the dress.  I like, especially in kids clothes, when this is covered.  I feel like when it isn’t, it bothers their little bellies.  So, next time (if there’s a next time), I would sew a bodice lining or put a ribbon over the seam.

Here are a few pics of the dress in action at the party.  We had it at my in laws cause they have a nice deck and in-closed backyard.  It was a small affair with a couple dozen delicious cupcakes from my favorite local cupcake bakery.  Yup, all that decoration planning was thrown out the window, and decorations were bought at Iparty.  It was a good day.

Maybe next year I'll spend less time pinning decorations and more time ACTUALLY making them.  Maybe.

Starting a Project

I’ve been having a hard time completing my challenges on time…..not sure if you’ve noticed. 

I’m quick to blame Olivia for my tardiness (actually more like my inability to finish at all), but honestly, it’s more than just her.   

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I hate the process of actually starting a sewing project. I love buying patterns and love picking out the fabric, but after that I start stalling.

I don’t really mind washing the fabric…..but it slows everything down so much.  Then it has to be ironed, and that’s a pain.  Have you ever noticed how hard it is to iron really large yardages?  Ugh.   Once it’s ironed it’s time to place and cut out the pattern.  This is where everything really falls to pieces.  

I absolutely DREAD marking and cutting the pattern.  I’m not sure that the way I get my pieces cut out is the best method.  I’ve done a lot of research on the matter, and am just not sure if there is any NON-annoying to mark and cut out pattern pieces. 

When my mom taught me how to sew, she also taught me her method of marking out the pattern.  She pins the pattern down on the material, and then carefully traces her size all the way around.  When they are all marked she cuts out.   I’ve used this method for years, and it’s a real time (and back) killer.  Plus, if the fabric is dark, or shiny then marking it is just another issue entirely.  Another issue with marking I have is that I’ve never found the “holy grail” of marking tools.  Pencil works great on lighter colored cottons, but what do you use if you have a silky or dark colored fabric?  Lately, (and I feel like this is awful), I’ve been using Liv’s little Crayola markers.  They are bright, and are washable….right?   However, if I’m using Mumma Ouellette’s marking method the marker kinda gets everywhere……

The other method that I’ve been trying out lately is to trace the pattern onto freezer paper and  then trace it onto the fabric using pattern weights.  I like this method, but the tracing takes a while….and it makes me start to wonder if it’s really worth it.  I tell myself that it is, because if I want to make the item again then I don’t need to retrace everything.  But…..I haven’t made anything a second time yet……

Once the pattern is traced and ready to cut out, I’m basically in the clear.  I like the sewing part, and it goes pretty fast from there……as long as I don’t sit down on the couch before I start.  Once I’m on the couch it’s so hard trying to get myself off.

Is this a part of the sewing process that you hate.....or am I just a  terribly lazy person :) 

Photo Friday: Week 23

Week 23 of ProjectLife 365......here are the prompts......

I only missed one this week (I don't always get them all. It's actually kinda rare when I do) #creature.

Enjoy!

#unforgettable

#masterpiece

#action

#cement

#bliss

#too_much

 

Challenge - Week 3 & 4

Here I am, late AGAIN with my sewing challenge entry. ….lol. I was completely ready last night to sit down with the ipad and type out my entry. I even have a sweet app on the ipad for blogging (Blogsy…and I paid for it too!).

But, while I was rocking Liv, I got a text from my sister in law asking if she could borrow the car so that she could go out with her friends. I told her I didn’t care (I really don’t) and she said she would be by with her friends to get it in a little bit.

After Liv went to sleep and I tip toed (and I mean tip toed, this kid is the lightest sleeper ever), down the stairs I realized that the sink was full. Not wanting the friends to see the squalor I live in, I mustered up all my housekeeping strength and did the dishes. But, the trick was on me….they never even came in.

So the dishes were done for nothing, except cleanliness. What a waste! Somehow we have been living in our house for over a year and it still looks like we just moved in. Can I just keep blaming the toddler? Please? pLease?

Alright, It’s probably time for the actual topic of this post now. Since I was a delinquent last week with the challenge post, I am going to do #2 and #3 here.

Challenge #2 - Polka Dots

I GREATLY, GREATLY underestimated how long this dress was going to take me to make. It honestly looked so simple to me, and even seemed simple the first time I read through the instruction. I was wrong.

 

The pattern that I used was the Oliver & S Birthday dress. This was the first time I had ever used a pattern from an independent pattern maker. I have basically always made Simplicity or McCall’s, with a few Butterick mixed in (but they aren’t really my style for the most part). I thought this garment came out absolutely beautiful, but I felt like I had a really hard time visualizing what they were telling me to do in the directions. I had to read through them a bunch of times to actually understand what I was supposed to do.

 

Attaching the Hem facing nearly killed me. I just COULD not understand how I was supposed to do it. It seemed from the picture in the instructions that you were supposed to unfold the overhang on each side, and line it up to the edge…. But then it was just way too short. I sewed, and unpicked, and sewed and unpicked and sewed and unpicked. Finally, I actually thought that I may have cut out the wrong pattern size. I pulled out all of my freezer paper patterns (I’ve been doing this lately, and am not quite sure how I feel about it yet), and the actual patterns. Turns out I did make a size Three….I was absolutely stumped.

 

Out of sheer desperation I decided to Google, “Oliver and S birthday Dress Hem facing”. Turns out they have a user community on their website!! YAY!! I was able to find a forum post about the dress, and FINALLY understood what to do!!

Also, I had a hard time with the pleats. I never mark lines on the right side of the fabric when I’m supposed to. I’m okay with how they came out….but I wouldn’t say I’m in love with them.

I am excited to try my other Oliver & S patterns. I thought that the dress looked so finished and professional looking. Mass produced patterns just don’t take the same care to make sure that the inside looks nice.

Finally, the more clothing I sew the more I feel like I need a serger………….

Challenge #2 – Zip me Up!

I know you are all going to think it….so I’ll just say it….I called it in on this challenge. I KNEW that I wasn’t going to be able to finish a project from scratch this week, since I was working on the polka dot project until Wednesday. Zip it up was more of a refashioning project for me….

I was shopping in the clearance section of Target (baby free…one of life’s great pleasures) and saw this cute high low tank top. I thought to myself, “This would be just adorable with an exposed zipper”. Eight dollars and an hour later and TA DA!! Sewing challenge #3 is done!

 

I think it looks really cute. Thanks to Hubs for taking the pictures, and to Olivia for just having to be in them.

Next week’s challenge is Swim Cover-up. I’m pumped. Already have my fabric and pattern picked out. My fresh husband actually said to me, when I told him I was stopping at the fabric store on the way home from work yesterday to get the fabric, “Wait, you aren’t just going to sew zippers onto already made clothes from now on?”. Freshy ……..fresh………….. fresh.

Don’t forget to head over to my sister’s blog and look at her projects (she’s way more on the ball than me)!! I want her polka dot project by the way………

 

Sneak Peek

So......I'm two days.....almost three on my sewing challenge post/project this week. 

Oops!

Lots of factors have gone into this delinquency. To start things off I GREATLY under estimated how long it would take me to sew the garment I chose.

 Also, I greatly OVER estimated how easily I would be able to get Olivia into Minnie bed at night. This girl has been acting like the typical two year old for the last week. I used to be able to get her to sleep really easily if I wore her out during the day or she skipped her nap. Lately, this has only made her more cranky and harder to get to sleep. 

Finally, I chose an Oliver & S pattern as my inspiration this week. I'd never used an Oliver&S pattern before, or anyindependent  pattern maker for that matter. I found some of theinstructions difficult  to understand. 

That all being said, its coming out beautifully! 

Here's a little sneak peek...full post with   pictures soon

Photo a Day - Project Life 365

I love taking pictures. For a short while during my senior year of high school I thought about going to Photography school. But, I thought about doing a lot of things....

For my VERY first Mother's Day (2011 - Liv was one day old!) Hubs got me a DSLR camera. Basically, that gift solidified my obsession. 

This past January I decided to take part in ProjectLife365. What's that you ask? WELL, its a SUPER fun photo a day project. Each week we are given seven hashtags for inspiration. I share my photos (labeled with the hashtag of the day) on Instagram, but you can share on Twitter and Facebook too. 

I have missed a few hashtags along the way but I have REALLY enjoyed playing along. 

I plan on updating the blog weekly with my ProjectLife Pictures. Ill probably do it on Friday because my friend Andrea (who may be my only reader) misses my photo Friday posts :)

Until then, here are a few of my favorites. 

  #daily_life

#lucky

#upside_down

#satisfying

#9_to_5

#skyline

#type