Too many options.

I purchased the newest edition of Stitch magazine on Friday night.  There are several patterns I'd like to try.  Too bad that the patterns weren't included in the magazine, but rather I had to download them and then print out 27 pages to make this dress.

It so precious, right?  I'll be spending my evening taping my pages together, copying the pattern pieces to my freezer paper, cutting out my pattern, and then FINALLY cutting out the fabric.

Dear Stitch Magazine,


Next time please don't get my hopes up that I'm going to get a new pattern when I buy your magazine.  I was just a little bit annoyed sad when I had to download and print 27 pages to make the sweet wrap dress.


Your Fan,


Elizabeth


After I printed all 27 pages, I started to wonder if I should try to make this dress instead.

I bought this pattern a couple of weeks ago, but I'm slightly intimidated by it.

Dear Oliver + S,


When you say something has a difficulty rating of 3 scissors, what exactly do you mean??


Yours Truly,


Elizabeth


I'm also starting to get anxious about my big holiday coming up.  My kids and I are going to my house in the South to visit my family.  Does Grace need a whole new wardrobe before I leave?  Should I be pulling late nights to make new dresses, skirts, and appliqued shirtts???

Dear Bahama Mama,


Do you want Grace to look darling in all new clothes when I come to see you, or would you prefer I work on a new throw pillow for you this week?


Love Your Daughter,


Liz

Enough with the letter writing.  I need to get to work!!  

Tootles for tonight!

A Rescue Mission

Last week I discovered Centsational Girl.  I live in Northern CA, and so does Kate, the brains behind Centsational Girl, and I'm thinking Kate and I need to be friends.  She's got mad skills at rescuing old furniture.  I was so inspired by her work that before my long run this last Saturday I found a garage sale that I could run by that I thought for sure would have something for me.

And I found this waiting for me.

A lone chair for $7.

I set to work on it Sunday night and tonight I give you my finished product.

Ta da!!

I used this tutorial as my guide.

I bought this fabric in Korea, and I knew it needed to be on display in my house.  it makes me so happy.  I love warm colors, but the blues in this fabric is my new favorite color.  I'd love to share the name of this fabric, but I'm tucked in my bed, and there is no way I'm walking all the way to the laundry room to get a name!!  If you really need to know, please leave a comment.

I love my new chair, but once I finished it last night, I decided it still needed a little something.

So I made a little pillow to go with it.

Project completed!!

I am still alive!!!

Liz has been steering this ship all alone for the past month or so.  Seriously, when was the last time I posted?!

This past week, my kids were gone to camp with their grandparents, my husband had flown back to Korea to close up shop there, once and for all, and I was left alone with a few days all to myself.  Although I imagined my time would be filled with sewing, I'll admit that not having my own sewing "stuff" has stopped me more than once from settling into any of the projects I had at one time imagined doing.

But since I was supposed to meet up with my grandma one evening for dinner, I decided I really wanted a new shirt to wear.  Not finding anything that I really wanted to buy at any stores, I remembered that I had packed something in my suitcase from Korea:

This gorgeous steely grey bow, shirt adornment, all pre-made and pre-attached to a tulle backing, just sitting in it's quintessential Korean cellophane wrapping, waiting for my attention.

I found the shirt magically the day before.  It was a tissue thin, elbow lengthed sleeve shirt at Target, waiting to be purchased for $7.  It was the perfect color grey.

After maybe five minutes of sewing I had a new t-shirt to wear to dinner with my Grandma:

And to seal the deal, I believe I had three total strangers approach me on that day to tell me they liked my shirt.  I liked it too.  But it made me miss Korea.  Just like when I walked into a local quilt store here in Springville, and looked at a bolt of fabric that I hadn't seen before.  As I inspected the bolt to learn more about it, my eyes grabbed hold of the phrase, "Made in South Korea".  I nearly burst into tears.  I wanted to turn to someone and say, "I totally know what this means!  I was just there."  But there was no one there to tell it to.

I miss sewing.  But I miss just about everything about my old life.  Mostly because I haven't settled into my new life yet.  I'm in transition.  A new shirt makes me happier for a day.  But I soon remember that that feeling of forgetting something, or wondering what I'm doing, or thinking I was about to say something, is really all just symptons of the transition.

I'll find my grove again.  Please excuse me for a bit while I'm looking for it. 

My shirt is cute though, isn't it?!

Interim

After gluttonously sewing away my nights last week on fun projects, I had to attend to some business tonight. Let's just say the project I'm working is a little more challenging than I had anticipated.  But, I'm helping a friend out, and I'll profit a bit from it as well.  I have 13 yard of the above fabric along with 12 yards of muslin, and I'm making panel window treatments out of the fabric.  That is some serious yardage.

Okay, I hope to be back in the next day or two to share something a little more creative.  While ironing 12 yards of muslin, I had a great deal of time to ponder what I should make next!  Get so excited!!!

Tootles for now!

I had high hopes of posting this Saturday night, and when that didn't happen I thought for sure I would sew this banner Sunday night.  Nope.  Apparently I was really, really tired and fell asleep both Saturday and Sunday night well before midnight.  What a waste of an evening!!

I thought a *celebrate* banner for myself was in order after all the sewing I did last week.  I'm sure this week won't be nearly as productive, but I still have a couple projects mulling around in my brain.  


Now I'm going to celebrate that I finished my sewing before midnight, and I have a sitter coming tomorrow.  Hurray for summer vacation and baby-sitters!!  

Almost.

The Italian came home a day early from his trip to LA, so I made plans to do a long run with a friend early in tomorrow morning (my body must be out of my house BY 6 a.m.).  That means I'm NOT going to be able to stay up until 2 a.m. to continue my sewing To Do list.  I'd call this week a success as far as my sewing challenge goes, but I'm slightly disappointed I didn't get this simple project completed tonight.  Why must life be about choices!?!?

I hope to get this banner sewn tomorrow.  
Stay tuned!!   

New to Knits

Tonight I decided was the night to work with knit.  I've seen several tutorials that I'm interested in trying that use knit, but they all intimidated me until now.  One of the reasons I enjoy sewing is because it is challenging, and I was up for the challenge tonight.

I think it paid off.  I used 2 lime green t-shirts.  I cut 1/2 inch to 1 inch strips out of one of the shirts.  I took each of those strips and did a basting stitch down the middle and then pulled the bobbin thread to ruffle them.  (Sorry I have no pictures of my process!!)

I made circles out of my ruffled strips and pinned them to my shirt.  Then I dropped the feed dogs on my sewing machine, switched my presser foot to my embroidery foot and used a free motion quilting stitch to get the ruffled strips to stay put.

Knit is really frail, so I had to go slow.  I definitely need work with my knit sewing skills, but tonight was a great start.  I'll definitely be searching the Old Navy sales table for more $3 t-shirts!!

Here's a sneak peek of what it looks like one.  The problem with sewing at night is that one one is up to take a picture of you!!

I also made a little tote bag for Grace tonight.  She liked the skirt I made her last night, but she was "feeling just a little bit sad" that she didn't get a new bag like George got.  In order to make her dreams come true, I sacrificed a little sleep.  I'm sure it will be well worth it in the morning!!!

Good night!!

Something for both of them.

Tonight's projects were all for my babes.

George carried around this huge box today with his prized possessions inside it.  He has a backpack, but he can't put it on his back by himself.  That's a problem when all you want in life is to do things by yourself which is the stage of life George is at.  So, I made him a basic tote tonight.  It's not too large, but I'm hoping it's big enough for the essential trains and cars that must come with us wherever we go.

My next project that got started at 10:30 p.m. was my favorite of the night.  I'm crossing my fingers Grace thinks its as smashing as I do.  I used the basic Lazy Day Skirt Pattern, but I embellished it with ruffles.  Lots of ruffles.  Who doesn't love ruffles?!?!  

Any guesses on what I'll be making next???

Two on Tuesday

Two table runners that is!  Today's project was to spruce up my bare table.  I used the table runner link from our sidebar.  I made two patchwork table runner tops, and sewed them together.  This way I now have a reversible table runner.

One side is a brightly colored one which feels like my signature color combination.

And the other is a more neutral colored one with a splash of a bold yellow, because what is this world without bold and bright color?!?

Now I just need a cute centerpiece....

Til' tomorrow friends!!

One a Day

I decided that since I was such a slacker last week in sewing and posting to MOM that I'd try to make up for it this week.  I'm going to TRY to sew a project a day and post the finished results.  Now I sew at night which means that you probably saw the Gracie dress on Monday, but really that was my Sunday project.

So for Monday's project....

First, I had to have a photo shoot this morning with my Grace in her Gracie dress.  I knew it would look cuter on Grace than on my kitchen floor.  The bodice and yoke are a little bigger than I'd like them to be, but there is NO WAY I'm doing anything about it other than waiting for Grace to grow into it.  My favorite feature of the dress is how full it is because of all the gathered material.  I had Grace twirl for me so you could see its fullness.

Then tonight I quilted 2 quilts for the NICU at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.  I recruited lots of friends to help me sew blankets for the babies that have to spend time in the hospital.  I've been there with my little George, so I know how the quilts George were like a hugs from a stranger.  I have to thank Annee's Quilting Club in Osan, South Korea for piecing and sewing the top of the quilts.  I can take no credit for that.  All I did tonight was bind the edges to the back and quilt the tops.  Doesn't sound like much, but I didn't get started until 10, so here it is 1 in the morning!!!

Good night!

Done!

This past week wasn't my most productive week ever.  I'm going to be okay with that.  For some reason Sandi Henderson's Gracie dress gave me sewing block.  I love the look of this dress, but I've now made it two times, and I'm still not loving the bodice and yoke.  I'd elaborate, but at 1:30 a.m. I'm in no condition to put words together.  They will just end up not making sense.  I'm also questioning my fabric choices as I look at this picture, but I'm hoping the dress will spring to life when I put it on my Grace E.  I'll do a post-edit when my model wakes up in like 6 hours!!!

P.S. - Sorry for such a lame, boring photo.  It's late.  Please forgive me.