S2504 Part 1

It's been so cold here all I can think about is ways to stay warm. Luckily I've been on vacation since right before Christmas so I had more options but it got me to thinking about finishing up some those outerwear patterns I have. First up is this leopard fleece little casual jacket as I pretty much wear one of my jean jackets or no jacket most of the time. I thought this would shake that up a bit.

I'll probably will work on this this weekend after I cut out a few more things.

Christmas PJ's

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas most of my time was spent with these little ones and sewing matching Christmas PJ's for the entire family because the kids wanted us to stay in pajamas the whole day.

B5679 - Sneak Peek

I woke up yesterday morning feeling cold. I always feel like I don't have anything to wear so I decided to work on this sweater/tunic a bit before work.

Front

Don't mind the dress, it's another Mimi G T-shirt maxi that I wasn't able to finish before the weather turned cold and wet.  I will definitely finish it and wear it Spring/Summer 2013.

Back

I love this fabric. It's warm and stretchy and sparkly.  Those little sparkly bits were killing my machine.  I have some sewing/craft deadlines to meet so I probably won't get back to this until this weekend but I should definitely be able to finish it since I only have to put the sleeves, collar and hem in. 

B5789

My daughter is here to spend Thanksgiving with us. Since she used her employee flight benefits she flew standby which from my perspective is not always all it's cracked up to be. Since she was supposed to come in on last Friday we hung close to the house waiting for her to tell us what flight she'd be on and planned to run a few errands while she was in the air and the boys were in school.  But since she couldn't make it on a flight, I had to run last minute errands for my 2 year old's birthday party and do some Thanksgiving grocery shopping with my three little ones in tow while my husband drove the 80 miles round trip to get her from the airport. Oh what fun.  So because I didn't have enough to keep me busy, I decided to make this sweater to wear to dress things up while braving the weather and crowds.

I've wanted to make one of these cascade front jackets for awhile but hadn't gotten around to it. I'm really trying to beef up my Fall/Winter wardrobe with versatile pieces so this really fit the bill.

Pattern Description: MISSES' VEST AND JACKET: Vest and jacket (wrong side shows) have neckline and length variations. A and B: front extends into back collar, front and back cut-in-one, no side seams, cut on crosswise fold of fabric. C and D: collar. D: button closure. A, B, C and D: draped front, narrow hem. E: front, sleeve and hem bands, topstitching.

Pattern Sizing: Combinations: Y(XSmall-Small-Medium), ZZ(Large-XLarge-XXLarge)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Super easy. I only looked at them to see how the collar was gathered.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love that this pattern will allow me to add many light to mid-weight outerwear options to my wardrobe. This pattern runs kind of big and since I have sloping shoulders, that's not good but thankfully, because of the unstructured nature of the garment, it still works.

Fabric Used: This was sold as a ponte knit but it is really more of a french terry.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I definitely plan to.

Conclusion: I've had this pattern for awhile, I'm glad I finally got around to sewing it. A nice entry into outerwear for beginners.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone is having a lovely day with good food, good family and good friends.

Hooray its my Birthday! and V8815

I always get so excited for my birthday.  It's actually on the 13th but since I'm still up on the 14th it's still my birthday in my book (like the logic).  I'm just happy to have made it through another year healthy and sane.  2012 has been a trying one but I feel there has been tremendous growth, I've made some amazing new friendships and strengthened existing ones.  As I approach this next year I want to continue to live life to the fullest with no regrets and loving those around me to the fullest capacity of my heart.  Thank you all for always supporting and encouraging me.  It is truly appreciated.

I wanted to make something new to wear on my birthday and since I worked today and baby it's (California) cold outside, I wanted to be comfortable and warm. I actually chose this version because I needed to finish fast and there is no zipper.

I'm definitely late to the peplum party but I needed to figure out in my head how I was going to do my pattern adjustments with the two piece front bodice. I ended up using the pivot method for my FBA pivoting the bottom of the upper bodice piece out about 1" then pivoted the top of the front bottom to match easing the pattern piece back to the center fold at the bottom of the peplum. This worked perfectly and I should have taken pictures but I definitely will on my next one.

Pattern Description: MISSES' TOP: Fitted top has raised waist/hemline variations and narrow hem. A and B: back zipper. C: pullover, wrong side shows (back hemline), back neck slit with hook/eye closing. B and C: stitched hems on sleeves. Purchase bias tape to finish necklines and armholes A.

Pattern Sizing: B5(8-10-12-14-16), F5(16-18-20-22-24)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? I think so.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions are super easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the different options in one envelope. I plan to get a lot of use from this pattern.

Fabric Used: A ponte knit I scored about two years ago for $1.99 a yard from denverfabrics.com

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did a FBA and added two inches to the front upper bodice length.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I definitely plan to sew some view of this pattern again soon.

Conclusion: Easy and on-trend. Definitely a wardwrobe staple.

Faye's Carnival of Skirts - My Plan

I am participating in Faye's Carnival of Skirts sew-a-long. I am definitely late to the party but I wanted to post my sewing plan. I hope to complete at least three skirts by the deadline on Wednesday.

2 using Mimi G's Pencil skirt tutorial, one of which is already done; and

1 using B5466 below

If I'm really productive, I'll also try to knock out one of these B5566 skirts

I have joined just about every sew-a-long of Faye's and have yet to finish anything before deadline so I'm just happy I did it.  I'll post pictures soon.