Sew Fun…

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday. I sure did! The best part was the extra time I had for sewing and spending time with my family. I was a little disappointed it all ended and I had to head back to work this morning!

Thursday I spent relaxing at home for most of the day. I did not have to cook. That sure was different! At 5 I went to Kerrielee’s house- and dined on a delicious meal. Nothing better than turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and all the trimmings, and sharing it with family! After that I headed home, to prep all my projects for Friday. The day Kerrie and I were getting together for “All Day Sewing” where we “sew sew sew, til we can’t sew no mo…” And we sure did!

So fun… Kerrie finished her tshirt quilt AND a new skirt for herself.

I finished 5 pairs of Jammy Pants and 3 skirts…

I also ordered a “new” vintage pattern from ZipZapKap.com. And oh Happy Day it came today! Along with 2 vintage belt buckles and a set of vintage buttons. I love the little thank you they wrote on the back of an old pic… I will keep it!

I don’t have a plan for the buttons or belt buckles yet but am looking forward to using them. I also received some great new fabric in the mail from Fabric Mart. I was thrilled to get the one on the lower left- a black wool gabardine. Regularly $20 a yrd- There was ONE yard left so I snagged it for a pencil skirt. The best part of it is because there was one yard left they were selling it for $5. What a deal! And it feels oh so beautiful. 🙂

There is also a black lace, 2 pieces of challis, and a cotton voile… Now for the fun part- creating something wonderful!

Hugs! -Laurie

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A Lovely Fiona Dress

Tags

1960's, dress, fabric, retro, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, shantung, Vintage, vintage patterns

Finally! I get to post the lovely retro style vintage party dress I made for Kadi- my eldest daughter. I feel like I have been patiently waiting forever… (Not really!) She wanted to take pictures the perfect day, fix her hair and makeup, and take pictures right… I am ok with that!

I confess I was very excited to get started on this dress. I have collected LOTS of vintage patterns- from the 20’s to the 70’s but had yet to embark on making one. Even more thrilling to me was the fact that when I showed my Auntie Lynda the dress, she informed that she had made a dress from the same pattern when she was younger! Oh, the excitement! You may have already seen the pattern and fabric I was using for the dress if you saw one of my earlier posts. I used a Shantung- shiny side up at my daughter’s request.

I am happy to say the dress is complete and I am pleased! When my daughter Kadi put it on she said she felt like Fiona because of the fab sleeves. (Fiona is the princess in Shrek) She said all she needed was a party to wear it to!

The dress is a marvelous color. I used a Shantung, shiny side up per my daughters request. Everything went pretty well… I hand sewed the hem and facings and the ribbon. For the most part I used French Seams on the inside. The gathered sleeve was a little more difficult and I ended up using a turned and stitched seam on that area.  The sleeves are a bit long- again at her request! But when your daughter feels like a Princess- You feel like you have succeeded in your mission!

I would like to make this pattern again but use a lace and change the sleeves to a bell sleeve and line it with a slip. Maybe a bright lace? I saw in a magazine that colored laces are the new thing… or I could do a black lace… hmmmmm…

Tomorrow is “Sew All Day” day. I just loaded up all my projects, some of them unfinished things I am going to try and complete! Can’t wait to see what I accomplish!

Happy sewing friends! -L

Eureka! A dress for Holly…

Tags

dress, fabric, fashion, patterns, projects, sewing

I wanted to make something simple but sweet for Holly. She is my middle daughter, 17 years old and a senior in High School. She loves theater and plans on making a career of it. She is not afraid to wear anything, does not care what people think, and can usually be found wearing a hat of some sort!  Be yourself and wear what makes you happy. That describes Holly!

Holly- 3 years old and always smiling!

I have been on a tight budget recently, and frankly have spent the last 10 years sewing a whole lot more quilts than I have clothing. A lot of my stash is quilting fabric or flannel- although I have some fashion fabric. I stumbled on the olive green paisley cotton in my garage and searched high and low for a cotton that would contrast nicely. The one I found I think I have been stashing for 10 years! But it looked nice with the green.

I used New Look pattern- # 6096. It was quick and it was easy. I made it a little shorter but other than that I didn’t need to do any other alterations. 🙂

When I first finished it looked like this. I was not really thrilled with it. I mean I liked it, but the belt she grabbed from her closet did not go and I felt like it was unfinished. I decided it needed a belt and remembered way back when I was 17 I had made a dress for my graduation, and added a matching belt I made from a belt kit. But, after searching everywhere, I was informed that belt kits are not sold at the fabric store any longer. (and hadn’t been for a very long time- Don’t you love the jeans I couldn’t get her to take off?)

Back to the drawing board. I knew I was going to make something, just didn’t know how I was going to do it yet. Then, EUREKA! I had this idea of making a “Bow Belt” from 1″ wide elastic and a bow with the bodice fabric. It uses a snap to close in the front. It was simple and didn’t take too long. As a final touch I added the lace on the bottom from a roll I have probably stored since my album crafting days. (I am thinking the mid 90’s- YIKES!)

Here is the belt… As you can see it is simple but works perfectly. I used a large snap at the bow so it can be taken on and off. I think it is the perfect touch! Please excuse the pictures- I promise I will get better at the picture taking part!
Holly LOVES her dress. She plans on wearing it tomorrow while she feasts on Thanksgiving Dinner. Speaking of which- Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

The finished dress in all it’s glory!

Me and my girlies…

Tags

Christmas, daughters, fabric, Family, projects, sewing, sewing vintage clothing

Me and the girlies!

Me and the girls- I have to say it is really great to be able to sew for all of us. For one, they are all different and like different styles, which lets me be creative in a lot of different ways! Of course, making 4 dresses for a holiday keeps me darn busy! But I love that I get to do different styles. I also love that I have a more adventurous daughter and for her I can make ANYTHING and she will wear it! 🙂

Below is a pic of my son and daughters in their Christmas finery. I let them choose the style. And I mixed up the holiday colors. When they were little I often made them matching dresses. But alas, they have outgrown that and I need to be more creative! I am fine with it though! Sewing 3 different dresses is a lot more exciting than sewing one dress 3 times!

I have various projects I am jumping around to and from. I am feeling a little ADD in the sewing department right now! You should see my cutting table! But, I will be sewing on Thanksgiving Day and hope to get a thing or 2 actually finished. And Friday- we are having an all day sewing day. (My cousin Kerrielee and Sew Exhausted partner- and her mama) That is when we make a few crock pot meals, a few pots of coffee, and sew sew sew til we can’t sew no mo. 😀

Tomorrow I will posting Holly’s finished dress. I have HOPEFULLY a brilliant idea for a belt. I was just so not happy with the dress- and I have discovered fabric stores no longer sell belt making kits. And the buckle choices were cruddy. So, after much thought I THINK I have a plan! So… I will see you tomorrow! Tune in for pics of BOTH completed dresses this week. Happy sewing! xoxox -L

Casey, Kadi, Juliette and Holly all decked out for Christmas

Upcoming Projects!

Tags

Burda, clothing, cooking, fabric, fabrics, patterns, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, Simplicity

I have been quite busy this week. Not as busy sewing as I would have liked to have been. Sadly I have to work every day during the week! Sighhhhh… Ah well. Despite the time I have to spend on working, cooking, cleaning and playing chauffeur to my youngest I did find some time to get a few things done! But first, here is what I had for dinner last night.

 

This was DELISH! The fresh garlic and basil and mint… The tomatoes, white wine and feta. It was so good I am going to make it again tomorrow at my cousins house for our Football game get together… (GO CHARGERS!) It is called Garides Tourkolimano or Greek Shrimp and you can get the recipe here. Very simple and quick (other than cleaning the shrimp) and highly recommended. 🙂

I wanted to share some of what I have going on. First off- I am ALMOST finished with Kadi’s retro 1960’s dress. Even more exciting for me was when I showed my Auntie Lynda the pattern she informed me that she had made that same dress back when she was younger! Made it that much more special to me- BUT more later on that. Hopefully I get the hem finished today – I am hand stitching it up. Tomorrow if all goes well will be picture day so I can share!

I am finishing up this little dress for Holly.  I have decided to add a wide belt in the same fabric I used for the bodice. I was just not liking anything she had in her closet! The little white tiger print skirt below is my CHEATING skirt! It was sold JUST like that – all I have to do is seam up the back. My youngest- Juliette picked it because her school’s mascot is the White Tigers. Super simple, but hey! Why not? On the right is another skirt for Holly. She chose a bunch of patterns the other day and this was one. I found the grey fabric and thought it was sweet! I am going to buy a red cotton I think and make a pretty little button down blouse to go with it. A black belt and black boots and she will be looking good!

I have a few more things in the works… some cool hip hop pants for Kadi, a few tops for me, AND I really would like to make some coats. Nice coats! And more dresses! And some blouses! And a few skirts! Haha- guess I will be busy!

I am very excited to share my “partner in crime,” I mean “my partner in SEWING’s” upcoming projects. I have been NAGGING her to send me pics. (Soon we will be sewing again together but we haven’t been able to work that out yet. She has been taking care of her 5 kids, her hubby and her mom right now. BUT she is still finding some time to sew. 🙂 Back in the day we used to get together every single Saturday and sew from dawn til dark. (Well, not DAWN – but early in the day!)

Here is what Kerrielee has going on right now!

Kerrielee just finished this adorable little skirt for her daughter Eleena. She already wore it to school!

Here is a dress she will be making for herself- notice the fabric matches Eleenas skirt! 🙂 I love this dress pattern… I really want to know which view she is doing but alas, I guess I will have to wait!

Check out those hip hop pants below she will be making for Eleena… Eleena thinks if she has some cool pants it will help her get in to character when she dances. 🙂

And here is cool looking skirt Kerrie will be whipping up for hereself.. I like the bright colors! I tend to go for lots of black- but am trying to wean myself away from that! (Although I did pick up a great black cotton lace piece of fabric I am going to make myself a top out of! 😉 )

So friends! That is what’s on OUR tables… what’s on yours?

Hugs! Laurie and Kerrielee…

Sweet sixteen

Tags

birthday, fabric, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, vintage dress, vintage pattern

It has been a few days since my last post, but rest assured I HAVE gotten some sewing done. Not as much as I would have liked though. Mostly because My Baby… My Youngest… turned 16! I cannot believe it. Well, I guess I can as I have lived with her for exactly 16 years, but WOW… It seems like only yesterday she was … small and sweet! (She is on the left with her older sister Holly)

Oh, she is still sweet- BUT she is almost as tall as me! Here she is in the middle- with her older sisters- BUT she is taller than them!

My, how they have all grown! Anyway- I pulled off a wonderful surprise birthday party for Juliette. The nice thing is it was actually a surprise! We did it. She did not have an inkling. 🙂

Back to sewing- WELL- I am ALMOST finished with Kadi’s dress. I have been doing quite a bit of hand sewing- the sleeve hems, the front facings, etc. I JUST put the zipper in. And about all I have left is the hem and – oh wow- I only have the hem and the attaching of the brown ribbon! Of course I need my daughter for that and she is off at the moment. Pinning those girls down for fittings is a chore and a half!

I am thrilled with the beautiful Juliet sleeves… and the french seams I did on the inside.

I made a few tiny changes but for the most part this pattern fit almost exactly! I can’t wait to finish it up and have Kadi model it. Then I will be moving on to a dress for Holly. So much sewing! So little time!

Take care and Happy Sewing friends!

L

UFO’s

Tags

Log Cabin Quilt, patterns, projects, quilting, sewing

The last few days I have been cleaning out my garage in between bouts of sewing, working, and parenting. And as I am cleaning I am organizing my sewing stuff- after all, an organized sewer doesn’t have to run out and buy a 12″ zipper if she can dig through her zipper stash and come up with one. (I have LOTS of zippers… and thread… and buttons GALORE!)

As I am organizing things (OK YES, I confess, I have not ALWAYS been organized- but am changing all of that now!) I am coming across UFO’s- or Un Finished Objects. So far, I have found 3 pairs of jammy pants that just need elastic.

A Saint Patricks themed Irish Chain quilt- just the blocks…

A quilt that frankly I don’t remember WHAT the plan was- but it has squares of Asian print fabrics- (maybe I was going to put fans on the blocks?) It is just a top of squares right now…

And one other project that I am slightly appalled I never finished. My VERY first quilt. It is a quilt top made with the Log Cabin Pattern! Now, I have made MANY quilts- rag quilts, baby quilts, Charger and Packers team quilts, wine quilts, quilts for my kids and friends, but I never completed my FIRST quilt?

Not the BEST image – it HAS been folded up and stuffed in to a sewing machine traveling case I was storing fabric in. Sigh… BUT I have to say it was like greeting an old friend. I made it 16 years ago. It is a twin size and I have VOWED to have it finished by the end of this year. 🙂 I will need to go out and get a backing for it. But I promise you Dear Readers, I WILL finish that quilt!

Do you have any unfinished projects you should be finishing? If so, maybe you should jump on the bandwagon and decide to complete a few of them before 2012 is over!

Take care! and Happy Sewing!

-L

An Award!

Tags

award, blogging, crafting, mending, patterns, quilting, sewing, Vintage

Hallo again,

I have to say I am getting the hang of this blogging thing… and REALLY enjoying it. In the last few days I have discovered so many wonderful people who craft and sew and collect, viewed their beautiful and unique creations, and even won an award!!! Yes, we at Sew Exhausted have won an award!

Up until recently the only blogs I read regularly were my brother’s blog (All about Beer and Running) and a friends witty cooking blog called The White Trash Gourmet. I have enjoyed them both. But now a WHOLE NEW WORLD has been opened up to me- sewing, vintage ideas, quilting, knitting… and dare I say it? SEW ALONGS! I am so very excited! New friends that share the same interests as me! And if you consider it- I NEVER have to sew alone again! I can share with all of you! My triumphs! My failures! And my so so attempts at creating something. I must say I am thrilled to be a part of the blogging world. (I will attempt to cease with the exclamation points- but I truly AM excited!- OOOPS)

And now… an AWARD… to moi! Just for posting a comment on someone else’s blog. 🙂 To quote from Sew Busy Lizzy,  “The Premio Primavera blog award is a Thank You for giving support and encouragement through comments. This award you pass onto the last nine commenters on your blog, they then pass it on and so on – it’s a major rolling thank you festival! What a nice idea!”

Thank you! Thank you! I can’t wait to go out and comment on more blogs! I am also going to have to wait to present such a prestigious award because as of now we only have FIVE total comments on ours- of course we are the new kids on the block so I know before long I will have plenty of interaction! (There I go with those darn exclamation points again!)

Today I plan on mending… sigh. Yes, you heard me right. The girls have asked me if I am EVER going to fix their missing buttons, too long straps, shorten the skirt length etc etc. I have to say, mending is oh so boring… but I know I will feel so accomplished when I am finished. So a-mending I will go. Do you think my dislike of mending is like the landscaper who has a messy yard? 😀

Off to mend… And I encourage you all to get out there and mingle with the blogging community! They (I mean WE) are so much fun!

Take care and happy sewing,

L

New Project!

Tags

crafts, dress, easy sewing projects, gifts, makeup brush holder, project, quilting, sew exhausted, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, Vintage

Hi Ladies and Gents, (Ok- possibly no gents will ever read this blog but I thought I would say hello just in case!)

I DID it! This weekend I whipped up 9 make-up brush “rolls.” I have 2 more I want to make but need to find some purple thread. (Which I know I have but I have not always been the most organized person when it comes to putting everything in it’s proper place!) When I get that purple thread I will finish up the last 2! Anyway, here they are and I am including directions so you can make your own! They are QUICK and EASY!

Applause accepted! 😉

I ended up making up my own pattern because I was using supplies from my stash and leftovers. And as you can see I have various sizes. The small one is a “travel” one my eldest daughter suggested for her shorter brush set. The size I like the best is the one I will give measurements for.

Here is what you will need to make your own Make-Up Brush Roll up case:

• 2 pc of 9×17 fabric
• 2 pc of 5×17 contrast fabric
• 1 pc iron on interfacing 8×16
• 1 pc iron on interfacing 4×16
• 1 pc ribbon 29″
• thread

Iron on your interfacing. Attach the ribbon to the interfaced side- I drew a line halfway, 1 inch from the short edge, 6 inches long. Then I left 12″ on the side I was attaching it to for my bow tie.

Sew the top edge of the 5×17 inch piece right sides together. Turn and press. Then place the right sides of your 17×9 inch pieces together, with the 5×17 inch piece sandwiched between.

From here I sewed the 2 sides and bottom section together using a 4/8″ seam line. Be careful not to catch the ribbon! Clip corners and turn. Mark your sewing lines for the brush separations. Mine ended up with 10 spaces with several 2″ ones for larger brushes all the way down to 1″ spaces for smaller brushes. I marked my lines and then sewed them through all layers.

And last but not least (didn’t that go FAST?!!) you can iron the top inward and stitch along the top to close everything and finish it up.

You now have a lovely, finished place to put all your makeup brushes. 🙂

What’s next up for the Sew Exhausted Duo? Well, Kerrielee is currently finishing up a t-shirt quilt for a friend… and I am excited to begin a fantastic 60 eras vintage dress for my eldest daughter. She chose a dusky pink with brown ribbon trim and View 3 which boasts those fab Juliet sleeves.

See ya soon friends! And happy sewing!

-Laurie