Tuesday, December 28, 2010

New Sewing Room!

For Christmas my amazing husband gave me a new sewing room! We had a bedroom in our house that was a study, but never used it. I'm usually in the kitchen or the playroom with the kids all day, so this was a wasted space. He knew that I usually sew at the kitchen table (and the mess drives him crazy) and I hadn't been sewing as much because it takes a long time to gather all the materials, move the sewing machine, bring out the iron and ironing board...etc. So for Christmas he said I could have the study redesigned into my own sewing room!


We had a decorator come and pick out the paint colors, draw the design on paper, pick out the curtain fabric and inspiration board fabric and shop for the baskets and bins. She even came back to put it all together for me. It is probably the best and most thoughtful Christmas gift ever!

For the curtains I found the fabric 50% off at Hancock Fabrics which was quite a bargain. I decided to make the curtains myself and I am so glad I did! It saved me so much money rather than having them custom-made and they are exactly what I wanted. I wanted a print, not a solid. I used the tutorial from this site: http://annasnest.com/article/how-to-make-lined-curtains If you make curtains, make sure to hang the rod first, account for the distance between the rod and the clip rings and then measure your final length. Mine came out a little long because I just measured from where we were going to put the rod! But I love how they puddle on the ground and are poufy.


I also bought a dress form! KOHL's had one, a Singer and it's red, which I love. I found the dress from I wanted, googled "Kohl's coupon codes" and found a 20 percent off coupon! And there was free shipping! We named the dress form Geanette and I like having her around. Now I just need to finish the project I started on her.

We had a pegboard installed above the desk to hold all my tools and thread. What a difference this has made!

I found this cutting table at a furniture store that has 2 leaves that can fold down and it's on wheels so I can move it around if I'm laying something large (like curtain panels) on the ground. It's a great height for me, too.

And on the wall behind the table is an inspiration board. I found a large empty frame, took it to the hardware store, they cut a scrap piece of wood for the inside, used batting and fabric and made a bulletin board. Next to it is going to be a tall mirror but I haven't found one yet.

I find myself in this room so much more often now and when I'm done sewing I just walk out the room and everything stays put. So much easier than hauling it in and out of the storage room!

Thank you, Patrick!!! I love how much you support my craftiness! I love you!










Friday, November 12, 2010

Linky Party #3 and Corduroy Dress


After making the bubble skirt for my little girl I thought about making a bubble dress, but I bought too little of fabric. :( Bummer. So I ended up making a dress for her that had sleeves and a back that closes with elastic over a button. I saw that idea from Carol over at http://naturallycarol.blogspot.com/2010/10/strawberries-jam-drops.html Check out her blog. She makes adorable aprons, dresses, buntings, pillowcases...SEW inspiring!
Here it is on Catherine. I didn't use a pattern, but simply traced around another dress, added a gathered skirt and a black band to coordinate. I still have trouble with sleeves. Why do my sleeves always come out so big? They look big and ruffley but were supposed to be small and dainty. hahaa! Oh well I still like it.



And I always laugh because Catherine is very petite, but in all the pictures she's eating a snack, drinking her juice or has her last snack all over her face! She has her mommy's appetite :)
And how do I get the red eye out of my pictures? Is it a camera setting? Hmmm...must look into this.

Time for the LINKY PARTY #3! We had 33 entries last week...


Here are some favorites:
#1


http://leafytreetopspot.blogspot.com/

She made this amazing coat! Look at that handiwork! She amazes me!




#2

http://sneezerville.wordpress.com/

Check out her blog! She has such a creative eye, very thorough tutorials and loves thrifting.



#3

http://jaynsarah.blogspot.com/

And if you like even more thrifting/upcycling check out this blog. One of her dresses was chosen for the Shabby Apple Dare to Design Contest. Go vote for her!

Now it's YOUR TURN! What have you been making?

LINKY PARTY #3

1. Post anything you have made.

2. Become a follower, Grab a button or post about this linky party

on your blog so more people can join.

3. Leave some linky love comments on what you like!

You've SEWED IT OFF, now SHOW IT OFF!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

We have a winner!!

The WINNER of the Bubble Skirt GIVEAWAY is KATE from http://seekatesew.blogspot.com/
Check out her blog. I'm loving her owls in her ETSY shop and her ruffled clutch she linked up. She's a very talented lady with an adorable baby boy to sew for :) Congratulations, Kate!



Thank you to all who linked up! I'm so inspired by what I've been seeing! I think I'm going to start a list of things I'm going to make because I can't keep up with all the ideas!

Things to Make/Sew:

*flannel pajamas for my little boy and girl
*make a clutch
*sew something from fleece
*make a scarf/wrap
*sew placemats and napkins for the holidays
*corduroy pants for my little boy
*a corduroy bubble skirt for my little girl
*A-line ruffle dress

More posts coming soon! I just finished a corduroy dress that I can't wait to share.
(Here's a sneak peek!)


Please link up this Friday!
Go Sew it Off so you can Show it Off!

~Jenny

Friday, November 5, 2010

Linky Party and Giveaway!

Linky Party #2 and Bubble Skirt Giveaway!
Sew it off and Show it off!
The Bouncy Bubble Skirt

Since I've been in the mood to try new things lately - small sewing challenges to myself - I thought I'd try making something different for my little girl. So I thought - how about a bubble skirt? Do you ever get stuck on making the same things over and over? I had been making my little girl dresses lately and I could dress her in sweet dresses everyday! So...to mix things up a bit she needed this bubble skirt! And I needed a new challenge. :)

I came across this tutorial: http://getyourcrafton.blogspot.com/2009/12/rooty-tute-tuesday-bubble-skirt.html and gave it a try.

This was, I have to say, a quick sewing project which I love! It took about 30 minutes - so I will definitely be making plenty more! I already bought some striped corduroy to make another one.

Here's another tutorial for a reversible bubble skirt: http://sewhipmama.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/the-bubble-skirt-tutorial/

Now it's YOUR TURN! What have you been making?

The linky party rules AND BUBBLE SKIRT GIVEAWAY!

This is my first giveaway! The winner will receive one bubble skirt (size 6month - 2T) made by me. Check back Wednesday, November 10th, to see if it's YOU!

How do you win? The more you do, the more chances you have! You will receive one entry for each:

1. joining the linky party (super easy!) ....Post anything YOU have sewed and want to show off. Link to your specific post.

2.add my button to your sidebar (leave a comment saying you've done this)

3. become a follower -if you already follow just put in the comment section that you already follow and that will be another entry. :)

*Enjoy! Click around on some links and leave comments on things you like! We all know we LOVE comments! :)