Black Friday

Every year I spend Black Friday with my girlies.  April goes shopping and they come and hang out at my mom's houe.  This year was very fun, including baking, sewing and lots of snuggly time.

Brin loved my Strawberry Shortcake wig and hat.  She wore it while watching the show that my mom had DVRd.  I think she looked pretty darn cute!

 Lexi sewed a pair of PJ pants!  My mom cut out the pattern with her a few weeks ago and it took us about an hour and a half to sew and Lexi sewed everything except the elastic and closing up the casing.  She did an awesome job.  To complete the outfit, I cut out and sewed a W on the Tshirt.  Now Lexi can rep the Badgers even in her sleep.  She did not want to take off the outfit after she finished it.  Hopefully she continues to love to sew.

 Little Peyton found the wig cap I brought back quite interesting.  She didn't want to take it off and although she didn't let me take a straight on photo, I did catch one. 

Another successful Black Friday with my girlies!  I have a few more things to make now for Christmas and I'm hoping to get quite a bit of it done this weekend.  I also have a goal of cleaning my messy apt, but until I'm done sewing getting too much done is tough.  That is most of my mess!  

An early Christmas Present

I made an early Christmas present for my mom, which I'm giving to her at Thanksgiving (I'm writing this post on 11/7 scheduling for after Thanksgiving to post just in case my mom reads this blog).  This bear is made out of an old flannel shirt that belonged to my Grandfather.  My grandpa passed away over15 years ago and my mom didn't get much when he died (not that she wanted anything, but something sentimental would have been appreciated).  Luckily my aunt had this shirt and sent it to me.  So I made the teddy bear -- which I'm calling Arthur after my Grandpa.  The buttons from the shirt are his eyes.  And the shirt still smells like my grandfather. It's crazy.  I hope she likes it!

Progress!

Last night I was so productive!  I finished so many projects with time to spare!  I guess after a week of working until 7p every night, those extra three hours of leaving at 4 were very helpful!

I finished these Saturday actually, but posting here.  Brin's little PJ set.

I made little Brin a purse with an adjustable strap.

 And suprise!  Dora lining!  That will make her happy!

I made a hat for myself.  It's fleece and it turned out really well.  I cut out another one of a different style as well.  I may attempt some mittens as well.

I made something to hang on my wall.  They are little, 5x7 each.

 I finished Peyton's PJ set as well!  I had to modify the pattern because the pants were supposed to be capris, but I think they turned out ok!

I'm hoping that today I can finish the other hat (the instructinos look really easy so it shouldn't take too long).  I may also make some little PJ shorts for the girls since I have some extra flannel.  I'm hoping that I can finish those before Thanksgiving as well.  My goal (which is well in hand) is to have all of the gifts wrapped and bring them back to Stratford when I head back next week. 

And on another note...tonight is the second show of the opera season!  Silent Night!  I can not wait!!!



Tis the Season

It's time to get back to my Christmas present making ways.  I got a small dose of the creative juices flowing with Halloween fun.

I made some GI Joe Tshirts for some friends.  One with a red star, one with a blue.

I made myself into Strawberry Shortcake for a few nights and man did that wig itch.

 I started Christmas presents.  I painted Peyton's tshirt to go with her pj pants I have yet to make.

I painted Brin's shirt to go with her pj pants I have yet to make.  I'm not as excited about this one as the one for Peyton, but since I free handed both, I'm going to call them success.  And since they are only PJs, I'm good.

My goal is to finish these PJ pants by Thanksgiving.  Then I'll only have a few gifts left to make.  I'm doing a purse for Brin as well that I can't wait to try.  I might make some add'l PJ shorts for the girls since I have some extra fabric.  I love the sets, but they can always use little PJ pants.

Other things I've done recently...made a skirt for tonight's Grease themed party (sans pattern which made me happy) and helped with three other friend's Halloween costumes.   I'm back with the sewing and love it.  I want to get some fabric for a pattern I have to make a dress for Christmas.  I have to finish all my Christmas presents first!

you q?

It's PRIDE! I love this weekend. Hanging out with all my friends...celebrating every one's right to be who they are...having some beers...watching a parade. It wears me out every year, but still love it. So, to support my gay and lesbian friends, I wanted to work a tasteful rainbow into my weekend wardrobe. My friend Ryan and I got together last night to paint some shirts and mine is below! I'm working on another one for Saturday (this one is for Sunday) so if it turns out, I'll post that as well!

I'm very fortunate to have such amazing friends who have included me in this celebration for the last three years. Here's to many more prides to come!

Just give me a staple gun...

...and I'll take over the world. I took my first steps into upholstery the last few weeks. A friend is redoing her apt and wanted to recover some $20 Craigslist chairs. Never one to back down from a challenge, I helped her out. The first chair took about three hours, the second one only about an hour and a half start to finish. Below are the pictures. I'm super excited about how they turned out. It makes me want to scour Craigslist, find old chairs and recover them and re-sell them. However, these were pretty straight forward and pretty easy. I might not be so lucky next time! And hopefully within a week or so I'll have a new project to post. A friend wants to paint tshirts ala I Love Johnny and I'm all for it. If it works out I'll post some pics!

After and Before.

Second chair done! Can't wait to see her whole place come together!

Nice day for a white wedding...

A friend of mine from high school is getting married on June 4th. She has asked me to be one of the personal attendants. Well, what a great excuse to bust out a sewing machine. I do love a deadline. Since I was taking this weekend to not go anywhere of note (and loved every minute of just sticking around the Minne) I thought I better get myself together and get this dress done. It is a Butterick Pattern (B5319). Below are some of my pictures from the progress!

First part of the bodice done. This was how far I made it on Friday night before I got totally (and willingly) side tracked by a trip to Green Mill for Happy Hour.

Saturday night...after horseback riding and making several fabric store trips with Natalia to find home decor fabric...finally bodice done! Although because the top didn't fit that great ( more like didn't cover that great...the pattern isn't made for someone with my..ummm... natural endowment) so I had to add in some add'l panels which I think turned out great. The picture above doesn't have those panels in.

Sunday night...after more shopping and before I headed to the Schmitz house for an awesome little BBQ...skirt on! The lining isn't in on in this picture and the zipper isn't in, but you get the idea of the shape.

And I found shoes! They look almost more tan in this picture, but trust me, they are orange. They match the dress really well. Not what I was even looking for for the shoes, but I love them.

And finally on Monday after an awesome nap, more fabric shopping and some general relazation...done! I know...I know...crappy picture, but I did what I could. The extra panels are in in the picture and everything is done!!! I'm so excited by how it turned out. I won't be embarrassed to wear it on Saturday...in fact, I think I'll be proud to sport my pumpkin colored party dress. Congrats to Bailey and Randy in advance and good luck on your big day!

looking forward to the long weekend

I am looking forward to the long weekend ahead! I have quite a list of projects I want to get through and I'm praying I can get most of them done!

Here is what's on deck (ordered in number of importance)
1. Dress for Bailey's wedding.
2. Facinator for Bailey's wedding (I've got the royal wedding bug, what can I say)
3. Clean bedroom
4. Plaid work skirt
5. Other work skirt
6. Clean apt

Help me please by crossing your fingers and toes that I make some progress. On top of these projects, I'm also going to go shopping with a friend to get fabric for her projects. Eeeek. The dress has to be done by Thursday pm of next week since the Wedding is on Saturday. If it turns out, it's going to be awesome. If it doesn't, I have to rush to find something else to wear. Time to make my list of what I need to finish my projects so tomorrow after work I can get my supplies!!! Need some lining and a zipper for sure, plus my facinator supplies. I don't love weddings as much as I love trying to make something fabulous for them. What can I say, it's my nature!

Nice 'Stache

A friend of mine wanted to buy some mustache glasses for a friend. My response was, of course, just make them! So that's what we didn. last night...six glasses, six unique 'staches. The picture below shows a lot of clutter (we were still in the thick of finishing up) but you get the idea. Staches all around!

Update Update Update

It's been a bit, but I finally have an update! First things first...I finally found a map for my wall! I've been looking for two years and I'm finally confident that I've found what I want! Now I just have to hang it up and thanks to my dad, I have all the supplies. It's my to do by the weekend project.

Lexi sewed a skirt with my assistance. She was pretty proud of it. Don't mind the mis-matched clothing...this was right after it was done.

I also made a skirt for Peyton and Brin. Here is Brin modeling hers! She has to work on her modeling skills a tad, but she is still so darn cute!

Laptop Sleeve

So I got a new laptop on Friday (very much needed). I was pretty stoked to get it since it wasn't supposed to ship until 3/28! It's an HP dm1z and I love the fact that it's very compact (11.1 inches) and light! I can fit it in my purse...although anyone who has ever met me knows that I heart a big purse! I searched out the Internet for a week to find a sleeve that I could put my new purchase in to take it with me and I just didn't find anything that I was liking that wasn't $50. I decided to just make my own. I did some more Internet scouring to find a pattern and found a few things that I borrowed from to come up with what you see below. I used fat quarters to make a lined case with open sides and a button closure. It wasn't exactly what I had originally envisioned, but I like the result. I might make another one that has actual sides, but for now, we're good. I also used two layers of cotton batting to give it some cushion. Pictures are below!

After I've cut my pieces and folded them over. New sewing yet.

Done and closed up!!!

A view from the top.

Side view. Each side has two sewn in tabs so nothing slides out the side.

My new laptop peeking out.

I do kind of wish I would have purchased an extra few fat quarters to make a little accessories bag, but no big. I have lots of random fabric that I can make something out of.

Yay for accomplishing a project over the weekend! I just found the most adorable pattern ever to make a little bubble dress using a tshirt/onesie and some fabric and I'm thinking that since I have some onesies and extra fabric I might attempt it for a certain friend expecting a little girl at the end of June. Seems like a great shower gift!

Update!

Finally an update! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much of a chance to post, so here is a picture heavy (yay!) update on the projects I've done lately.

I made matching scarves for Lexi and me and Jocelyn and Peyton. J and P's are the pink ones, L and me went yellow. The idea came from another blog and they're made out of jersey. Super simple and very cute!

I made bachelorette invites for my sister's friend's wedding...
and shower invites.

I made Benson and Andy some pot holders to thank them for putting up with me for a long weekend in Chicago.

I made fresh spring rolls for the first time. Yummo!

I made brownie covered oreos. Google the recipe. It will change your life.

I made walnut baklava. Not as difficult as I would have thought and much more delicious than I could have hoped for. I will be making it again for an upcoming brunch.

I made a color book for little miss Brin to celebrate her 2nd birthday. It's kind of hard to see everything on here, but I'm posting regardless!

And Last but not least, some talent from the rest of the fam. My sister made Brin's birthday cake. It was as yummy as it looks.

And my dad made me this box with my initial on the top. The lock even works! So cool! What a talented family I have. My mom also made Brin a blanket for her birthday. Lucky little girl!

Busy busy busy

I have been so busy lately. I have actually finished quite a few projects, but I've just been to busy to tell anyone on here!

I've made a grand total of 18 pot holders!! 15, 16, 17 and 18 are headed with me to Chicago this weekend as a "thanks-for-letting-me-invade-your-life-for-96-hours" gift for Benson and Andy who I'm going to visit. Can not wait to see them!!!!

I've also made some birthday scarves for my girlies (picture to follow on an upcoming post).

And even though I know there is more...I can't think of it! I'll post pictures soon!

Meet 7 and 8

Dear Readers -
Please meet 7 and 8. They are the latest Pot Holders I have finished. Do not judge them because their quilting is not even, but by the fact that they are far superior to their predecessors. Their binding is neatly sewn, 8s corners match up perfectly in the center, and they are roughly the same size.

I thought I'd have a lot more done by next weekend, and I still fully intend on having at least a dozen for ppl to chose from when I visit my home town, but 7 and 8 will surely go fast. After all they are thus far the best of the bunch!

New Projects!

So I'm working on a dress and it's not going well, so I'm putting it aside. Can't be frustrated and work on things and expect success.

I've decided to move onto a new project. I want to make this and this. A trip to SR Harris is in my future. Saturday AM if the weather is good I'm going to get the supplies for both of these and try to make them this weekend. I'd like to have the wrap done by Chicago time (end of the month...so excited to see Benson and Andy!!!) since it will be cold and windy and probably snowy (just guessing...Jan in Chicago). The scarf would be great to have by then as well and I'm assuming it will only take an afternoon to whip together since the tutorial is really straight forward. Hopefully Monday I'll have another post about how awesome these tutorials are and my finished projects!

It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year!!!!

I saw a bumper sticker today that said "You are not only measured by what you create but also by what you choose not to destroy." For some reason that inspired me. Of course, now I'm at work, so my inspiration is limited to software implementations, but I might have to take out my sketch pad and jot a few ideas down!

This weekend was pretty productive. I made my NYE dress and it was a success. I also made 6 pot holders! I even patch worked to the top of two! I think I finally figured out the binding. The first 6 aren't all that great, but they are functional pot holders, so they can be used. I'm hoping that by next weekend when I go to see my girlies for Lexi and Peyton's birthdays I'll have about 3 times the amount I have now. The four blockers are turning out better and better. It just takes practice and figuring out some of the little tips myself. I'm no where near being ready to make a full quilt, but maybe a doll quilt is in my future?

So what's up next? I started working on a new dress, but I already hate the fabric, so I'll probably be scrapping the project. I also, as stated above, want to do some more pot holders. So that's my plan.