Kid's Clothes Week - my contribution.

So I decided to challenge myself and sign up for the July 2014 Kid's Clothing Week challenge.    As if life hasn't been busy enough -- LOL.  But I love to sew and thought it would be a good excuse to avoid all the other beckoning, mundane tasks on the endless to-do list!  Mama needs a little sewing therapy time too!  

Everything I sewed up is for my youngest Jenelle.  First thing I sewed up was the Oliver + S Seashore Sundress.   It's been on my to-do list well...since forever.   I used a stretch woven that been curing in my stash.  I sewed this up in a size 10 and used  bright pink solid for the facings and the side pocket.

 Here is a close-up of the pink fabric peeking out of the side pocket.  I adore the little pocket...so cute!

The next thing I made was the Citronille Apolline blouse. This is another pattern that I had sitting and hadn't sewn up.  Man, do I regret that!  I absolutely adore this blouse  -- it is perfect in every way!  The red shorts are the Kwik Sew 3498 yoga pants cut into shorts length.   Very comfy and easy to wear.

Here is a back view -- I didn't extend buttons all down the back like the pattern showed.  I used two green snaps that I had on the back yoke. I've had this fabric sitting in my stash for over 10 years.  I had bought it for my first daughter Kristy and haven't had the strength to sew it up. But I know Kristy would want me to use it and you know, it feels good to see it sewn up.  

  

Because I was so happy with the Citronille top I made another one!  Oh my...this top is probably my favorite!  I've been hoarding this blue dainty floral for years.  It's the perfect fabric for this vintage style of blouse.

This time I decided to follow the pattern precisely and have the buttons run fully down the back.  It really makes to the blouse feel even more old fashioned.

I then sewed up a pair of shorts to go with the blouse.  I used the Oliver + S picnic shorts pattern.  Size 10. The have an elastic waist back which I used button-hole elastic.

 These sewed up flawlessly...I mean aren't these the cutest shorts ever!!  Love the style and look...and they go perfectly with the blouse.

Here is the whole outfit on my precious!  

Oh how I love this girl of mine!

So even though I wished I could have sewn up more I'm thrilled with Jenelle's new Summer pieces to add to her wardrobe!

Thanks for stopping by my little sewing corner and until next time......happy sewing!

My kindred spirit friend....Suzanne

This post is not really sewing related...though I end with a sew and show.

This post is a little more personal about me and my friend, Suzanne, who holds a very place in my heart.  

I met Suzanne about 12 years ago.  We didn't meet in person. We met on an online sewing forum.  Her user name was Blueberryfarm.  She had the words..."child of the King" under her username.  I felt an immediate connection to her....the farm part and the God part.   I would respond to her posts and she responded to mine.  We were friends from the get go and emailed privately...sharing our love for sewing with each other and chatting about our day-to-day lives too.

We would often talk about meeting in person...but the distance kept us from meeting since I was Canada and she in California.  Little did I realize that we would meet but under extreme tragedy and loss.

July 6th, 2004 my daughter was taken from this earth to forever be with the Lord.  She was killed in a farm related accident.  My whole world shattered in an instant.  The whole comprehension of loss isn't understood or even realized.  I have very vague memories of the weeks that followed.  But I do remember Suzanne.  She came.  She flew up for the funeral.  She sat with me.  She cried with me.  

In August we took our family on a road trip and drove to California and spent time with Suzanne and her sweet family.  She is such a comfort and joy to me and I am so blessed to have her in my life.  

Over the years, Suz and I fly back and forth to each others homes.  I love our visits.  I love our conversations and I love our crafting time.  

Suz and her daughter came up to my place a couple of weeks ago.  It was pure bliss to spend time together again.  

Suzanne on the left and me on the right

One of the things we did was paint a small little table with milk paint.  Suzanne is such an amazing crafter.  She recently started buying used furniture and painting them and re-selling the them.  All her pieces are amazing works of art!  So she shared her tips and expertise with me.  I'm thrilled with this little table.  It started out just a honey wood stain.  We used Miss Mustard Seed Lucketts Green.  I didn't antique it though...because it was covered in a thick clear lacquer and wouldn't antique well.

I have this little table sitting in my foyer and every time I look at it I think of my friend, Suzanne!

Another thing we did was sew our "sister" skirts.  Simple yoga waistband, A-line, self-drafted skirts.  It was so much fun sewing with Suzanne.

I made a bright orange funky print and Sewzanne a soft floral print.  Awww...this picture makes me all verklempt when I look at it!!  snifff....sniffff..

We had a wonderful visit...and can't wait to head her way next time.  Love you Suz....my kindred spirited friend.  

A big kid baby sleeper ....aka pajama onsie..

I guess I'm getting old and am totally out of the loop when it comes to current fashion trends.  I honestly had no idea that big kids were wearing big 'ol baby sleepers for pajamas.  Really??

My 12 year old daughter is in grade 7..the final grade in our elementary school.  One of the perks of being in grade 7 is going to camp.  She had asked me to sew her up a  pj onsie to take to camp. Apparently every single tween/teen on the entire planet wears big kid sleepes now....everyone, except her.  LOL

Anyhow, the camp date got pushed up and I was under strict deadline.  I had one afternoon to whip this sucker out.  Luckily Jalie came to the rescue and with all their patterns this was easy to sew and complete in a time crunch.  I even managed to line up my stripes pretty good.  Yeah!!

Pattern:  Jalie 3244   Pajama onsie
Fabric:  80/20 cotton/poly velour from my stash

                                           
                             
Our dog, Sam, has to check out the new sleeper too!

Ally had a great time at camp and her big baby sleeper worked out beautifully!  LOL  

Until next time....Happy Sewing!

A plethora of Shorts

Oh dear....has it been almost 2 months since my last blog post!!???  Eeekkk....

Life has been busy on the farm and on the home front.  Once Easter was finished it then became field work time.  Spring field work is such a busy and hectic time.  It is when we have to take our first grass cutting off and then prepare some of our fields for planting.  I always joke...I become the Grass Widow..as I hardly see my husband.  He works literally 15-18 hour days for about 10 days.  I'm on food duty, along with my Sister-in-Law.  So we are all pretty busy.  I'm thankful though, 'cause everything is planted and growing, my own veggie garden is in and my flower beds/ tubs are looking good!  Yeah! Feels good!

We've been having such wonderful warm weather which meant bringing out the kids' Summer clothes.  Much to my dismay and horror, Jenelle literally had NO shorts to wear!  She is only 6 years old but is very tall and big for her age.  Of all my kids, she has grown the fastest!  It's hard as she's my baby and isn't staying a baby.

Anyhow, because she still is only 6 (but the size of a 9 year old), I still want her to wear age appropriate clothes.  I won't let my girls wear short shorts...just my personal preference.   In RTW, seems all the shorts offered are short-shorts in her size range!   So I got busy and started sewing.

Shorts #1
Pattern:  The Summer Sailors
Designer:  Brownie-Goose Designs
Size: 10
Fabric:  Cotton woven with red bias tape and cute anchor embossed buttons.

This is a super cute pattern, easy to whip together.  I was pleased that I was able to line up my stripes on the waistband and the hem band as they are cut separately.  End result is cute but these shorts are too small on my girl.  They are just too tight and will not be worn.  Wahhh!

Shorts #2
Pattern:  Jalie 3243
Size 10
Fabric:  Stretch woven from eon's ago that's been sitting in my stash for a very, very long time!
   
Love the simple style of these shorts.  Front pockets are awesome with the contrast facing.  End result are they are too tight once again.  <sigh>  I didn't even hem them as when my dd tried them on she was already complaining.

Shorts #3

Pattern:  Sunny Day Shorts (free PDF download)

Designer:  Oliver + S

Size:  10

Fabric:  Chez Ami cotton brushed twill

I also sewed these up in a size 10 and guess what??  They are too big!!  I didn't customize them and make any modifications to the pattern.  At the point I was in, I just wanted to find a basic shorts pattern that fit well and then I would modify and change it up.  The crotch depth is just too much and makes for a lot of excess fabric in the front crotch area.  Jenelle was freaking out.  It's an easy pattern alteration to do though.

Shorts #4

Pattern: KS 3498

Size:  Large

Fabric:  Chez Ami Cotton Lycra

These fit the best and Jenelle likes these a lot.  Simple, comfy and cute.  Finally a successful pair of shorts!! Whew!!  I was getting discouraged and frusturated!

Shorts #5

Pattern:  Modified Ottobre Spring 2012 Design #39

Size:  146

Fabric:  Sweatshirt Fleece

These are my favorite of all!!  I love them!  The fit is perfect and they look great with the cover-stitching on the front pockets and the contrast binding.  I love the eyelets with the drawstring too! But guess what??!!   Jenelle hates them!  Can you believe that!!  (I sound like Bubba off the Forest Gump movie) LOL   She says she hates front pockets and she abhors the fabric!!!  :(  

After all is said and done....I think I'll be making more of the Kwik Sew and the Ottobre shorts (minus the front pockets) and probably the jalie ones but in a bigger size.  My little girl is quite fussy with her clothes so I'll be sure to pick fabrics with her before I sew the next pair!  LOL

Until next time....Happy Sewing!!

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!!

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;" ~John 11:25

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Easter is such an awesome celebration in my faith!  Such a reminder of what our Lord endured for us!

In celebration of Easter I made my two girls their Easter dresses for church.

I didn't want to anything too floofy for Jenelle as I wanted her to be able to wear her dress more than once. So I chose the new Oliver + S Garden Party Dress. I used Michael Miller Patty Young Sanctuary Orchid Feng Shui Fabric that has been curing in my stash for far too long! I had a perfect match of solid pink for the contrast! The dress was so simply and fun to put together. I love the gathered bodice and the gathered cap sleeves are darling!

Here are close-ups of the front and back.

Here are a couple of modeled shots.

She was watching a hummingbird drink from our feeder!  LOL

For Allison, I made her a dress from the Ottobre Spring/Summer 2014 issue (design #1)  A simple tank dress.  I wanted simple lines in the dress because I was using ruffle fabric.  I just bound the neckline and the armholes with matching cotton interlock fabric I had in my stash.

Here are some modeled shots of Miss. Ally.

She wore the cardigan to church as it was a bit chilly.

 

All in all I'm happy with their dresses...they're Springy and yet simple enough that they will get worn all Spring/Summer long.  

Thanks for looking.  Til next time...Happy Sewing!

My Sewing Studio

I've been working hard the last few days organizing and straightening up my sewing studio.  I love saying studio...makes it seem so professional.  LOL  Not sure if anyone remembers but going back a few years the TV reality show America's Got Talent had an audition of a woman singing, "I'll be in My Studio"  -- that song became my song when it came to sewing and my sewing space.  Because of my passion and love for sewing I sang that song to my family.  They think I'm crazy....by hey, they know where they'll find me...."I'll be in My Studio, Studio"  LOL

I'm sitting here laughing...now all the kids are singing, "I'll be in My Studio, Studio" -- it's such a catchy tune. 

Anyhow, here is my Studio.  I have a super small nook in our basement.  It's 10.5 feet wide and 7 feet deep.  I've made the space super functional and efficient. I have two over-head lights. Each fixture holds 3 bulbs and I use the daylight bulbs.  I love, love the bright light it gives off!

I bought a heavy-duty  L-shaped office desk (7.5' x 7.5') to set all of my sewing machines one.  The first machine is my stand-alone embroidery machine, then my main sewing machine, next are two sergers, and on the end is my cover-stitch machine.  I love having my machines in line;  my chair is on wheels so I literally wheel from machine to machine.

Inside my nook is a look at my small ironing station.  I have everything I need to press while I sew.  

Here is a view to the right of my studio.  It's the only natural light I have coming in, so good over-head lighting was crucial when we set up my area.  The only problem is....I get constantly reminded of my need to exercise!!  Hmmm....should I sew or exercise????  It's hard to find that balance.

I am a crazy organizer and love organizing things -- especially sewing things.  Here is how I've organized my thread. The tower to the left holds all my sewing machine thread.  Each bin is colour coded for easy selection. To the right are two drawer units that hold my serger threads.  Again, thread is grouped by colour. 

                              

I organize my patterns like this.  All my Ottobre magazines are stored by season in Ikea magazine racks.

I take a copy of the design page of each issue and place them in a 3-ring binder for easy access.  

I store my big three patterns quite similar.  I take a copy of the pattern front and back and place them in plastic paper protector and place the patterns in applicable binder.

I'm very fortunate to be able to store all my fabric on shelves in a walk-in style closet just in front of my sewing studio.  It's a tiny little room (4 1/2 feet x 4 1/2 feet), but its space is utilized to its full potential.  LOL

I organized the fabrics by type and colour.  

Denim, corduroy, sweatshirt fleece, velour and sherpa are on the floor.

Solid knits are on the first shelf organized by colour.

The 2nd shelf is girl knits. The 3rd shelf holds all cotton wovens, flannel, misc. type wovens.  The upper shelf is where I've placed my stash of PRR, Munki-munki, and my much loved Heather Ross collections.  To the left are all my boy knits.

I'm very pleased with how it all fits and looks.  Though I must say, I have more fabric than I know what to do with!!!!  Hmmm....I think I have a problem!!!!  LOL 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the tour of my Studio, Studio.  LOL

Happy Sewing!