I Won Something Fabulous

It's true. I can hardly believe it myself. The amazing Sew, Mama, Sew blog held a contest for the creative use of fabric flowers in honor of the incredibly talented designer Jennifer Paganelli new Flower Power Fabric range. I entered my flower pocket skirt. I was certain I wouldn't win (what are the odds, right?)after they featured the skirt during a reminder post for the contest on their blog. Not to mention there were some pretty amazing entries in the flickr pool. Rose Hips crochet flower pillows seriously made me green with envy for her talent (grand prize winner). Go check out the Flickr Flower Power Pool for your daily dose of creative mojo.

Yep, I did a whole bunch of happy dancing and grining and chating with crafty pals. And yes, On the way to me is that lovely 12 fat quarters pictured above (or some other combo possibly). You can get one for yourself (no I am not sharing) here. Woo-hoo!

Jumping through Hoops

Embroidery hoops that is. At my favorite thrift store yesterday I found these wood embroidery hoops (9 hoops for $10). No one needs this many hoops but I was thinking of them as frames. Frames for all the zillions of fabrics that are almost too beautiful to sew with. I have seen this idea floating around the blogs for a bit. So clever! What a wonderful way to create some inexpensive graphic art. And best of all when I get tired of looking at the fabric print on the wall I can take it down and actually sew with it!

After redoing the girls room I have yet to put up art. So I thought I might use some of the hoops for their walls. I am crazy about Etsy artist Elizabeth Hurley's embroidered fabric art. I might try something along these lines with big flowers and vintage chenille. I think they are very charming. She also has some framed in hoops. I had the chance to see one of her pieces in person at Crafty Planet in North Minneapolis and it was very nicely done. Love her fabric choices and color combos.


During the same trip I also found a couple vintage U.S. flags. You are either a flag person or your not. I am. Especially if they are old stained flags. I have this one hanging outside my house this very moment. I just love it.

I picked up this one too. It is HUGE. And absolutely splendid in every way. It measures around 7 long. I hung it from porch swing hooks in my front porch. And as you can see it reaches from the ceiling to about a foot off the floor and is almost as wide as the porch itself. It is way to big to hang anywhere in or on my house but I still had to bring it home with me. If you could see it in person you would understand why. It is stained and discolored to cottony antiquary perfection. God bless America!

Fabric Goodness

I feel like a little kid skipping around and singing "Lucky me, lucky me, lucky me"! I finally had time to go through my haul from the Textile Center Garage sale. Really go through it....and touch it, and play with it and sort it. Kinda like when I was little and would dump out my Halloween treat bag in the middle of the living room floor and spend an hour pondering and organizing my sugary luck.

I didn't walk away with as much fabric as I thought I would. But what I did get I like very much.

This is a vintage screen printed imported heavy weight linen that was $4 for two yards. The colors are crazy vibrant. I love, love love it. Have no idea what it will become. I just like looking at its texture and color so maybe it doesn't have to become anything.

This one was a surprise! I thought it was vintage but when I opened it up it was actually an Ikea Curtain Panel. It could be vintage Ikea. But since we have one here that is about 5 years old I hedge a bet that it isn't. It is super long and the fruit and veggies are in some of my favorite colors. $3

Absolutely obnoxious turquoise and lime green pique border print. 2 yards $2. Have no idea what this will be either but once again the color got me. And two other woman in my group were ready to snatch it from me if I changed my mind.
Heather Bailey Bijouxi Tiled Primrose 2.5 yards for $10. I already have several of the coordinating prints form this line so I was glad to get this.

I also picked up more bags of trim, laces and ribbon than was appropriate. On woman joked that I was a trim whore. I think she may have been right :) Mind you this isn't all of it.....

Wow! Do I love this color. An almost complete roll of turquoise ribbon with polka dots, roses and crochet running the edges. That blue and green one is knit or something.

Lots of the woven white and red trim. It has a Scandinavian feel to it and I can think of many places to use it. Good velvet ribbon always gets my attention and the fact that this one is in my favorite green makes me giddy.

See the blue floral bias tape in the middle. If I had purchased nothing else at the sale I would have been happy. It is vintage but I can't say for sure from when. It is folded bias and it is beautiful. The top tiny floral is another lucky me. It is double fold bias from the 50's I think. There is just enough for a small project.

Lots more wovens. So fun.

Vintage lace. The very delicate barely there kind. Several feel like linen. All of them are something natural except the big one on the end.

more.

That black and white lace is very fun.

More lace in pretty colors.

Vintage Bias will buy it every time. Especially if I can find it in pretty colors.

Packs of hem lace tape.

I have never seen this Clara Cow Spool Friend before. She had bias trim wrapped around her. Really thin fine good cotton stuff. Anyway, you cut her out and attach her to an empty spool of thread. Copyright 1935. Click the picture to enlarge it!

Lastly another cardboard insert from bias tape with an apron pattern printed on it. So sweet. Click the picture to read the directions!

I could go on with more pictures. On and on but I think everyone will get the idea. Trim whore.

The Textile Center Garage Sale

Attending the preview night of the Textiles Center's annual fundraising garage sale was the highlight of my weekend. Maybe my month. I have never been to The Textile Center in Saint Paul prior to this so I had no idea what the event would be like. A couple gal pals were wrangled into going with me. There is always power in numbers especially at this type of event. When we arrived at the Textile Center we found a block-long line of women waiting in line clutching carryalls. I had a brief moment of panic realizing that I didn't have the forethought to bring a bag for the treasure I was bound to score. Excitement quickly replaced the panic as the line swiftly moved into the building and throngs of woman spilled into the garage sale room after turning over a $25 fee. I seriously let out a squeal when I saw all the fabric stacked head high on the tables. Not only fabric, but bolts of fabric, trims, unfinished projects, patterns and every imaginable sewing supply one could ever dream up. Total overload! I just started stuffing anything with possibilities into my one paper grocery sack. Then proceeded to fill my arms as well.

After I was so laden with fabric that I could no longer look through the stacks or catch the occasional fabric avalanche off the tables I made a pile against a small open wall. The benefit of going with friends is that while they are searching they score stuff for you and hand it off as they pass. At the 10 minute warning call the gals and I sat on the floor by our piles and quickly sorted through our load trying to thin it out, doing some swapping and congratulating each other on a pretty fantastic girls night out and the many tresures each of us found. I have an urge to do one of those priceless commercials now.

Admission fee to charity event ~ $25

Beautiful fabric and copious amounts of trimmings ~ $43

Sitting on the floor with friends going through your score ~ Priceless

Afterwords we hit a local pizza joint to celebrate our crafty windfall over a slice and a beer. Just perfect!

The Round About Pocket Tutorial

I have been toying with a circle pocket design (mostly in my head) after seeing a picture of a dress that designer Heather Bailey had sewed. The dress featured a flower pocket complete with petals where the center of the flower was the pocket opening. So stinking cute! I went right to work sewing Soren a skirt featuring this type of pocket. I had no idea how to construct such a thing but pushed forward determined to make one similar. I turned out a wearable skirt but wasn't completely satisfied with the function of the pocket. Many months later I was still dreaming about this pocket and went on the search for a better method. After speaking to a professional seamstress friend I was pointed in the direction of vintage sewing books. Apparently circle pockets were once a popular look in athletic wear in the 60's. Go figure. I eventually hit pay dirt and found a description of how to create this type of pocket. Which I will now share with you. I am no pattern maker but may attempt a PDF if people are interested and can't follow my written directions here! ; )

The first step is to decide how large you want the hole to be. I made my circle 3.5 inches across. You can use a compass or find something to trace around. To make the pattern piece draw your circle on a piece of paper. Then draw a half circle 1 inch larger on the tops and sides of the circle. Draw straight lines down to create the overall pocket size size you desire (make sure it won't hang out the bottom of your garment). I think this picture will give most people the idea.


You will use this piece as the pocket lining (back). Cut one out of your pocket fabric.





Cut a second piece out of your pocket fabric with the center circle removed for the pocket facing.





Now use the pattern piece with the center circle removed to find the right placement on your skirt . Trace around the circle on your fabric.







Cut the circle you just traced out leaving a big scary hole in your beautiful fabric!





If you are going to add petals around your hole do it now.
Put your pocket facing on top of the hole in your fabric with right sides of fabrics facing each other. Sew all around your hole.




Turn the pocket facing to the inside of the garment and press.






Top stich around the circle close to the edge.






Flip your garment over and place the pocket back over the hole alining it's edges with the pocket facing.





Sew pocket facing to the lining. I used my serger.









Pocket Complete!!!







You can use bias tape around the hole instead of facing the pocket from the front. If that makes any sense at all! Here is a picture. Just assemble the pocket and join the pocket to the back of your garment edging the raw circles with bias tape.

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

Love the Heather Ross weekend sewing book. The pictures are wonderful and I have enjoyed reading it. I actually didn't know anything about this designer outside of her lovely fabric. But took the plunge on the book because like my Japanese pattern books I thought the projects would be easy to customize.

The apparel patterns are way off on sizing in this book so I spent the better part of a day drafting the pattern to fit me, cutting and then sewing the dress. After all that I still needed to alter the finished dress a bit more to get it wearable. I am so happy I made a pattern so that I can make another one....maybe. But if I had to start all over again I would skip it. I am a size 4 and I think the summer blouse pattern in a size small is more like a size 8-10.
I took lots of pictures as I drafted the pattern, marked my changes and made the dress. But frankly it would be of no use to anybody because the changes were so extreme. So I am going to skip it. If I do make another dress I am going to change the placement of the bust darts. And make the skirt portion more straight instead of the a-line shape it has now.

I dropped the camera and broke the lens to bitsright after taking the dress photos!!! So sad because I finished a darling dress for Soren this morning that I was dying to take pictures of. A truly blissful sewing project using a vintage sheet with charming results. I hope that I will get to share soon.

Happy Easter

We had the usual Easter sugary goodness and surprise this morning. I did manage to get all three to eat some scrambled eggs and cream cheese before they hit the crystalline sweetness. The best part of every Easter is hunting for the eggs. The children love this! This year they were all lined up at the door like thoroughbreds before a big race. Chomping at the bit and tense with excitement. Jon and I could barely get our shoes on and grab a camera before they shot out the door. We love watching their delight repeated over and over with each egg they find. This is such a simple pleasure that I think I will hide the eggs in the yard during the summer just for fun. Nothing in them. Just for the joy of finding them.

On a totally personal level I am going to confess that one of things I enjoy about Easter is the chance to assemble baskets that I know each one of them is going to enjoy. I love picking out special little things for them with out feeling guilty for buying them stuff they don't need. They are still young enough so that there is no competition between them. No comparing the baskets contents or who collected the most eggs and thus the most candy or money. So lovely. They are in the moment and just excited for their own individual windfall. They also have joy for their siblings happiness too. They congratulate each other upon the finding of an egg or for a discovery made in the basket. What a nice morning filled with very happy children and sunshine to boot. I Couldn't ask for much more.

Sewing New Spring Nightgowns

Soren is a nightgown girl. She loves them and will wear nothing else to sleep without a pout to go along with it. So about three times a year I batch sew nightgowns. I love how sweet she looks in them. I especially love sisters in matching nightgowns but Ella will only wear one occasionally. Hopefully that will change over the summer :).

For this batch of spring nightgowns I am using cotton fabric and the Claire Portabellopixie Pattern by Sandi Henderson available here. I love this pattern because it sews up quickly and the sizing is perfect. I have sewn sizes 3, 4 & 6 and each fit just as it should with a bit of growing room. The only modifications I make to this pattern for nightgowns is the length (Soren likes them to hit her foot but not the ground) and I make the skirt less full. I have been using the entire width of the fabric for the skirt on all the sizes and have found that to be a practical nightgown fullness. The added benefit is there is no fabric waste which I LOVE!