Re-Fashion your T's

I've been going through my closet lately to get rid of stuff I no longer use, but I thought I would save most of the t'shirts I've acquired over the years like this one I won at a raffle at our last Vespa ride along in Santa Barbara. Because most of the t shirts from events are so boxy looking, I'm going to start to feminize them a bit by bringing in the sides, cutting off the collar, & adding some 1/4" elastic thread to the shoulders and side seams. Here's a rather quick & easy way do to this. Enjoy!

Hannah Dress by Yeppar

I had purchased a pattern by Yeppar a while ago, while waiting for the referral of my daughter from China & I really liked the simplicity behind it & how fast it is to sew up!

But I especially love the fact that instead of just seeing the finished product hang in my daughter's closet, I can now see her wearing it!

Here she is wearing one in a teal damask print. My daughter is currently 20 months old and weighs about 28 pounds so I made her a size 2t. I also stitched some ribbon around the waist instead of adding the little strip the pattern called for. 

Here's another one in an orange cotton print and a contrasting color for the little strip.

And I decided to make her a US themed one thinking I'd put it on her for our US Consulate appointment while in China. I added some ribbon at the bottom with pre stitched blue thread on it, so I just stitched right along the middle with a white thread. 

And here she is wearing it on December 3, 2012

I also like that these little dresses can be worn as tunics too with a long sleeve underneath & some leggings. Hoping to make a few more of these for the spring. 

Happy MLK Day!

Made this last year.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

Find the original tutorial here:

A first little coat for Madeline

Made my daughter her first little coat this past weekend. I used a MDK design & I really loved it! I made it in a size 2t, & the pattern was fairly easy to use. & I was able to work on it a few hours here and there while my daughter was either playing with her little kitchen or asleep.

I added this little pocket in the shape of a heart & hand embroidered a special message on there for her. 

Who doesn't love pockets?

In fact, the little side pocket is Madeline's favorite!

I loved making this little coat for her. And I just love my new little girl even more. 

I used a bluish fleece for the outside & lined it with a cozy fleece in a cute butterfly pattern.

And saying the word "Butterfly" seems to be her favorite word right now. 

The backside is just as cute, with a small little pleat . 

And here's the front side. 

Instead of topstitching the edges with the machine, I opted to hand embroider along the edges just to add a little something extra special. 

I just love kids clothes with hand embroidery detail. 

Definitely will be making a few more of these since this was so much fun to make!

My New Daughter & A Kids Floor Cushion to Celebrate the new Year!

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to creating lots of new stitching memories in 2013!

To start off the new year, I made this cute Kids Floor Cushion using the LivingWithPunks tutorial, for my new daughter Madeline, who's a year and a half & just home from China!

We traveled to China on Thanksgiving & got back to the US on December 4rth, so she's been home with us for a little over a month now & doing Fabulous! 

We just adore her to pieces! If you want to read more about our story or follow her progress, you can visit our adoption blog: blessingsformadi.blogspot.com

But on this blog, I will be posting more about my love for stitching or crafting in general. 

And while some people thought that my sewing desire would slow down once my daughter came home....I couldn't disagree more. Now more than ever I have even a greater desire to indulge in my passion....especially if it's something for her. 

The Kids Floor Cushion is super easy to do. 

It takes less than a yard of Home Decorating Fabric, 2 packages of ready made pipping, coordinating thread, and about 24 oz. of Polyfill. 

It measures about 11 inches in height & about 15 inches wide. 

My daughter is only a year and a half & it's not too easy for her to hop on it & stay put...she usually will roll right off & thinks it's the funniest thing!

She Loves to use the little handle on it to lug it around the room, or just roll it around like a wheel. 

And for now, it will go in her room for extra seating, or to set her stuffed toys or books on. 

Here's a closer look of it. I would of preferred to use my favorite color of turquoise for the piping, but all I had on hand was the red. 

Guess I'll just have to make another one!

Cynthia Rowley 2497

I've had a great reason why I haven't posted to my blog for a few months....soon after my last post, I received the referral of my first daughter from China after 6 years of waiting! So I've been busy with more paperwork trying to prepare for travel. After you read this pattern review post, you can read our story at journeytomadi.com. 

But I have been sewing here and there including a few things for my daughter & some easy travel dresses for myself using jersey fabric ( love knit jersey ). But since I don't have photos ready on those yet, I thought I'd pull up some photos from a dress I made almost 2 years ago using pattern #2497 from Cynthia Rowley. 

No, this isn't me. It's actress Amy Adams, ....and she's wearing a dress by Lela Rose, a pretty expensive one I'm sure, ranging anywhere form $800-$1200. I remember seeing it a few years ago & thought I'd love to make a similar one for our annual Christmas card. Even though I do not ( & have never ) owned a single item in Red, I thought I would try wearing this very intimidating color for at least our Christmas  photo shoot. Although it's a beautiful & powerful color & I love seeing it on others, there is something about this color that I can't seem to wear...I just don't feel comfortable stepping outside of my house with, truthfully. But anyways, here's my dress....

The pattern I used is by Cynthia Rowley # 2497 and the fabric choice was a Silk Shantung. The neck ruffle may look complicated to make, but it's actually quite simple if you are an experienced beginner to intermediate sewist & you follow the instructions. 

The skirt is also pretty easy to make & it's attached to a casing at the waist. 

There's no zipper on the back, which is nice for looks, instead -the zipper is on the side, which was probably the trickiest to do. I didn't take any photos unfortunately...but the zipper was inserted between the side casing & the pocket. Yes, this pattern has pockets which is also a really nice feature to have. What's also nice about this dress is that I didn't have to line it.This pattern calls for arm facings to finish the arm holes, pretty easy to do. Overall, I really enjoyed making it, if only to wear for our Christmas Card. 

Here it is on our 2010 Christmas Card. I really do love the way it looks in the photo & I did receive many compliments. But, the truth is I have never worn this dress anywhere, despite the fact we go to quite a few holiday parties. There is something about the color red that just makes me feel uncomfortable, and I can't explain it. So if I put it on for a few minutes, I'll walk around inside the house & then decide to change.....to my favorite color Turquoise.

Now that color I can wear everyday no problem. 

p.s.: the total cost to make my version of the dress including pattern ( on sale ) plus the fabric ( also on sale ) was under $30!

Maybe I can dye the fabric to turquoise & wear it for this year's card?

Bargain Priced Home Decor Fabric!

I had to drive to San Bernardino, California today, downtown area. Not the best area unfortunately specifically because there seems to be a lot of individuals asking for money on the streets these days, which always makes me a bit cautious. 

 But on the way back I'm glad I decided to take Foothill blvd. through Rialto because I had to make a quick U-turn after noticing this place. I can't believe I used to visit this place ( under a different name ) almost 25 years ago. It was one of the very first fabric stores I used to visit to get my fabric for my Home-Economics class in Jr. High School, paying only 2 bucks per yard. Back then they had an assortment of fabric blends, and today it seems they offer mostly 54" home decor. But guess what? This place is still packed with some pretty awesome choices at only $2 or $3 per yard!  

So....I couldn't help but shop for some pretty home-decor fabrics which are perfect for making handbags, or zipper pouches, or pillows, or magazine totes, or duffle bags.......or whatever you can think of that calls for a heavier fabric. 

See! Only $2 per yard!

But of course the $3 per yard section had a ton of pretty selections too! You'll be sure to find something that appeals to your style, you just have to go through the isles.

And there was also a ton of different trim available for $1.50 -$3 per yard. And 9" zippers for only .50¢!

I couldn't pass up this pretty tropical print in a cotton/polyester blend, which will be perfect for my spring & summer table cloths in the back yard. 

Here's a glimpse of some of the fabric I ended up purchasing at a bargain of a price!  But I also ended up grabbing a few yards of some pretty gold taffeta & a sheer off white fabric ( not pictured ) to make my parents some new drapes for their living room. But now that my mother saw it, she's so excited about it that she can't stop harassing me to start on them asap. So I will probably get to them either tonight or tomorrow just so I can move on to my own projects and be able to sew in peace!