It’s Baaaaaaaaaaackkkkkkk…

Tags

By Hand London, clothing, daughters, dress, fabric, fabrics, Fall Sewing, Family, projects, quilting, sew exhausted, sewing, vintage pattern

Hey Peeps… Long time, no chat. And long time, little sewing!

I deleted my last post but want to thank EVERYONE for the kind thoughts, advice, and reading material! They were all treasured. Guess every now and then it is nice to see that others DO care! I deleted it mostly because I was interviewing for a new job. I made it through all 4 “cuts” but did not get the job in the end. I was happy I made it that far. (Well I would have been HAPPIER had I gotten the job but…!) Anyway, it was for the Executive Asst position for the ceo of WordPress. And I thought it was better if my last blog post had not been one about the stress of my life and a panic attack! But I DID appreciate all the comments! xoxo So hugs to you all.

That said, I am still stressed and still working on making some changes but I seem to be handling things a bit better at the moment! I am hoping for a good job in Houston OR a higher paying job here in San Diego.

So, what’s back? I think my Sewing Mojo has been rekindling itself. I made a Fall List! I got pretty excited going through my fabric stash and choosing some things to make over the next few months. I am calling it my Fall Sewing List but I doubt we will get much of a Fall Season. Bums me out too because I sure would like to wear some long sleeves and tights! And maybe a scarf now and then. But alas it is 90 degrees as I write this. And on Monday it is supposed to be 103! YECK!

Anyway- here it is. My list in progress. I have more Christmas items to add to the list and who knows what else. But I think this is a pretty good start! By the way- the list is NOT in order. Except the top item happens to be almost ready to go! So, without further ado… My Fall List:

Whenever I think about the Lady Skater pattern by KitschyKoo I start singing “He was a Skater Boy.” Avril Lavigne. Totally not even my era of music but my girlies used to sing it. Well, I am going to have ME a Lady Skater in this realllllly awesome floral medium weight knit from Purple Seamstress Fabrics. Despite the sweet flowers I can feel a little rebellious wearing those skulls. LOVE this fabric! And I think I am going to have enough left over to make a 2nd Burda Sweatshirt. (Up next is going to be my first Burda Sweatshirt!)

I just loved this pattern in the most recent Burda magazine. Sadly it is my last issue. Happily this will be the first thing I have ACTUALLY made from the years worth of issues I have. This knit is a lighter weight slinky knit. I am going to use a similar solid black for the sleeves. If it turns out well I am going to use the leftover floral/ skull knit from above for a 2nd one. YAHOO for lightweight sweatshirts!

Ever since I bought this pattern on Etsy I have been dying to make it. I was just lacking some eyelet fabric! Then at the LA Bloggers Meetup I attended a few months back someone was graciously giving this one away. I snagged it knowing this sweet little 70’s number would finally get to be made up. It is for Holly- because that girl wears EVERYTHING I make her. All the time! Love sewing for someone who WEARS what I make! 😀

I bought this denim in Los Angeles when I was shopping with some fellow Sewists. At $3 a yard it LEAPED into my arms! I already have a lovely jade green lining in my stash AND I bought the zipper quite a while back as well. So this baby is ready to Rock N Roll. I am excited and nervous at the same time. It seems like a BIG project!

I know! I KNOW! It is FALL and I am making a swim suit? This is California, people. And she has been waiting PATIENTLY for a swimsuit all summer long. I NEED to get this made for Holly! (And now that I think about it I better go dig out the orange fabric Juliette got for HER swimsuit!)

I made this pattern already and LOVED it. I have yet to blog it- but will get to that soon. This black and white Aztec print is another knit I picked up from PURPLE SEAMSTRESS FABRICS. (She has GREAT knits- and if you follow her on FB you can be tempted DAILY! LOL) I am actually waffling between this Simplicity pattern and another BHL Anna dress. I have 3 of those already though. But I want ALL the Anna’s… so I may change my mind!

Speaking of BHL– I plan on making the new Holly jumpsuit for my Christmas outfit. Ya, here in California Christmas day is usually a lovely, sunshiny day. Blue skies and upper 70’s. So I thought- jumpsuit? Oh YA! (Watch we get some freakish weather this year and my lovely jumpsuit has to stay in the closet! lol)

Speaking of Christmas– We already have Holly’s dress all picked out. OK OK… I confess… This was supposed to be her dress LAST year but I never got to it. THIS year, IT”S ON! And I have everything I need! Boning- CHECK. Zipper- CHECK. Lining- CHECK. She is going to look darling in this! I have informed Juliette and Kadi that they better pick their dresses out SOON! I want them to be done PRE-DECEMBER. (So unlike me- usually my sewing machine is running the night before holiday dresses are needed!)

My son Casey has requested a few button down shirts for Christmas. He would like Chargers, Green Bay Packers and a Hawaiian print. I have had this particular fabric in my stash for at least 15 years! (We are talking Quillow days gang!) Anyway, it is going to get USED! Finally! And I should have enough left over for a pillowcase OR a pair of boxers. 🙂

Another item on my list is the McCalls 6966 Maxi skirt. This black and white stripe (again purchased from Purple Seamstress) has 1″ wide stripes. I have been wanting to make one of these for a while now- and it is time. I think I will make a black Sewaholic Renfrew to go with this. WAIT! I HAVE a black Sewaholic Renfrew! Woot Woot! A complete Me Made Outfit!

And finally… I am going to FINISH this Log Cabin Quilt. It was the VERY first quilt I ever made. And it has been languishing unfinished for 18 years or so. This can no longer languish! And it won’t! It is a twin size quilt and I always have batting in my stash so this quilt is going to finally get some snuggling this winter!

I am pretty happy with my list. I have a few hopefuls waiting in the wings. But they do not have fabric yet and the one thing I wanted to do when I created this list was start using up some of my stash. Especially since money is tight right now! But I feel like I have some GREAT pieces and am pleased to finally be making these up.

I also have quite a few unblogged items. A Marvel Comic dress, a Saltspring, a Gabriola skirt, several new tops, an ugly “yellow” dress, a turquoise jacket, a red jacket, a Simplicity Maxi dress… wow. I better stop. I see a long photo shoot in my near future!

Take care friends and Happy Sewing! xoxo

 

 

 

2014 Goals- From Sewing to Beer Drinking… :D

Tags

2014, Goals, quilting, sew exhausted, sewing

I love new books… I love turning that first page knowing I am embarking on a new adventure. A story that will pull me in and make me a part of it. I love the smell and the crisp edges of each page as I turn them. A new year is like a new book. Brand new pages to turn. 🙂

I used to scoff at resolutions. After all we can make commitments to ourselves any time of year. But now I realize there is something about starting the New Year out with 365 clean, fresh pages. Brand new pages that I get to fill! And what better way to start the New Year then with an outline and a fresh set of goals to fill those pages.

My goals are not all sewing related. Some I am carrying on from last year because dang if I did not completely succeed YET. Some are easy. Some will be more difficult. But here they are nonetheless.

LIFE GOALS

1. Do some form of exercise every day- even if it is just one loop around the block or running up and down the stairs 10 times.

2. Eat right MOST of the time

3. Clean out my garage so I can park in it!

4. Read at least 2 books per month. I am already compiling my list! I used to be a huge reader but have not made the time for it in several years. I love to read and am looking forward to enjoying some great books.

5. Once a month disconnect from everything electronic for the evening and just hang out with my girls. My girls are on board with this one- We already tried this once. We didn’t even use electricity! We sat together and played games and talked by candlelight. Fun times!

6. Be a better blogger. I counted 12 projects I never blogged about! One Archer, a red denim jacket, 2 Maxi dresses, a maxi skirt, one tank top, one dolman sleeved top, 3 Sol Hoodies (I am going to blog these in January), my Carnivale costume and a sundress for my middle daughter

6. San Diego now has 82 Craft Breweries. If you didn’t know I am a lover of craft beer. And I plan on having visited ALL 82 by the end of the year. I confess I have a head start. My brother was here last week and we knocked out 11! And I started a blog to document it- http://www.82SanDiegoBreweries.com. Hopefully I can keep up with it!

SEWING GOALS

1. Sew more items I will wear every day- Renfrews, Thurlows, a few maxi skirts, and another batch of undies! I am also thinking I’d like a denim skirt, a Robson, a Saltspring dress, and more!

2. Sew more thoughtfully. What I mean by this is I do not want to just sew to sew. I want to sew the things I have in my head and not “settle.” When I settle for a fabric or get distracted by quickie projects I am never happy. From now on if I buy a pattern and have an image in my head instead of settling for something else I would rather wait until I do find the fabric I need.

3. Properly fit everything I sew. If this means making up 6 mockups of a pattern in my quest for the perfect fit, then so be it. I want my clothes to hang right and fit right.

4. This one is pretty specific but I am making it anyway! I want to make all 3 of my girls a silky, beautiful robe and matching PJ’s this year. Ideally I would have these done for Christmas! Hey, I have 360 days!

5. I have a box full of clothes I would like to refashion. I figure if I make a goal of one refashion a month I can probably succeed at this.

6. This was one of my goals from last year. I did not do it in 2013. I managed to buy 3 different sizes of needles and some yarn but I never actually started the project I had picked out. I REALLY want to learn to knit.

7. More quilting in 2014! I used to ALWAYS quilt. I have at least a dozen quilts in use at my house- (HEY- it’s winter!) And I have fabric for at least 6 more hanging out in drawers. Top of the list is my Snow White quilt. I also have a Yoda quilt and by hook or by crook I am going to have a BATMAN quilt to snuggle with by years end.

8. Last but not least- I want to sew something beautiful out of silk. Without ruining it! I know exactly what I want it to be… but I think I will keep it to myself! (The toughest part of this goal is that I need to have enough cash to buy the silk AND I need to find exactly what I have in my head.)

WHEW! I am gonna be busy! But keeping busy is good. I always tell my kids it keeps me outta trouble!

Happy New Year and make it a great 2014!

Laurie xox

May meltdown, but now I’m back at it!

Tags

cleaning, clothing, costumes, dance, daughters, dress, patterns, projects, quilting, sew, sew exhausted

(Kerrielee) Man it’s been awhile! It’s almost like I’ve have dropped off the face of the Earth! I have missed you all so much, reading your blogs, seeing what you have all been up to, BUT I am back!

I have been sewing this month, not as much as I would have liked. The first whole week in May I did not sew a single thing! (GASP, horrible I know) You know sometimes you just don’t feel like it!

But instead of focusing on all the negative this month,(not blogging, totally flaking on me–made-may) I am just going to jump right back in and let you all know what I have going on.

First, for me, how much I can sew really has to do with how I am keeping up on my house. When it’s a mess I have such a hard time focusing on my sewing, probably because of guilt….why should I be sewing when my house is such a mess!? So, at the beginning of the month I said “self, you will clean for at least 2 hours each day!” (Plus just the general pick up you have to do throughout the day and evening, oh and those never ending dishes and laundry!) Now mind you, there are 8 people living in my house, so we can generate a lot of mess, plus I think sewing in itself just makes things look messy, all that thread and fabric scraps laying around! So 2 hours a day really does not get that much done, but it has kept the bathrooms clean, floor clean, living room picked up and vacuumed, my room, and the little boys room cleaned. So the main areas of my house should look nice at anytime if someone drops by. All of those things take 1- 1 1/2 hrs, depending on if I have not quite gotten in the full 2 hours each day (you know life does come up sometimes). On the days that I do have extra time, I pick one of the projects I hate, wiping down the cupboards and walls, windows, dusting, decluttering, cleaning out closets…you know those fun things! All in all, this has been going pretty well and I am sure at any point now the other 7 people in my house are going to catch on 🙂

Now that I have a pretty good handle on that, I think I am ready to get back at hanging out with the blogging world!

Here are a few of the projects I have in the works for the next week or two…..

Shirt for Eleena for one of her dance numbers. This has to be done by Sunday!

Here is another flip flop quilt I am working on in bright colors. I would like to be done by the end of May so it can count as my quilt for the month!

Leggings for a friends daughter. These also must be done by Sunday (picture day at the dance studio!)

The same little girl with the leggings asked me to make her a dress for her 5th grade promotion ceremony. I have till the 6th to get this done!

And then I have a dress for me and skirt for Eleena…just for fun!

           Looks like I have a lot to do. Maybe you all will get to see some finished projects soon!

Happy Sewing

Kerrielee

Two Quilts!

Tags

birthday, challenge, cowboy boot quilt, fabric, flip flop quilt, footwear, friend, gifts, patterns, quilting, sew exhausted, sewing

We did it… We each made a quilt this month. From start to finish! And now we will each blog about our quilts! The funny thing is we both designed our quilts around footwear. 😀

I (Laurie) like to call this quilt my Boot Scootin Quilt. I realized my good friend’s birthday was coming up. She loves cowboys and country music. I admit I have made her other quilts for gifts. She has a Charger quilt (fave football team), a Winnie the Pooh quilt (she LOVES WP), and a daschie quilt. (Yes- she has a dachshund!) I know, I know- I have heard it before- “how many quilts can you have?” Well, I think you can have a lot! I have quite a few and I use them ALL! So, I made her a cowboy boot quilt!

I found a free boot template. (Link here). I cut 12 boots using 3 different types of fabrics, and then I mixed and matched the boot, heel and the tab. The block is a 10 inch square. I ironed the pieces on with Wonder Under, and then used a zig zag stitch to applique the boots onto the squares.

After the boots were all made I added simple sashing and borders. I used fabric from my stash- even the backing was a pretty green fleece I found while I was digging around. This quilt was simple, quick to make, and made the receiver very happy!

“These boots were made for walkin”… “Boot scootin’ boogie”…”What a great big star I’ll be in a pair of cowboy boots…” I guess you get the point! 😀

——————————–

Here is the quilt I (Kerrielee) made for my moms best friend. She has recently been diagnosed with cancer and I wanted her to have something she could either take to her treatments with her or just to have when she was at home resting on the couch. Laurie had actually made me a larger version of this quilt years ago for Christmas, and when my mom’s friend saw it she was in love with it, so I knew I wanted to make her a version of the flip flop quilt. This is what I came up with

I found the free applique pattern here at Craftsy.com

I used rick rack for the……you know, the part that goes in between your toe and holds the flip flop on your foot  (WHAT is that part called??)! I auditioned some buttons to add on, but didn’t like any enough to take the extra time to put them on (ya, I’m lazy!)!  Then I just added some sashing and a border. I backed it with a soft cuddly fleece.

It is now at it’s new home and I know it will be well loved. Isn’t that the best!? When you make something for someone and you just know that it is SO appreciated!

Laurie and I enjoyed making our quilts so much that we have come up with a new challenge for ourselves (like we don’t have enough challenges already!) We have so much quilting fabric waiting in our stashes that we thought we would challenge ourselves to make from start to finish 1 new quilt each month for the remainder of the year! Dang! that will be 8 new quilts by the end of the year (9 if you count the one we each made this month!)

Happy Sewing ~Kerrielee and Laurie

ONE HUNDRED HOURS

Tags

challenge, clothing, easy sewing projects, fabric, patterns, projects, quilt, quilting, sew exhausted, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, vintage patterns

Halloooo… and YES- you read that correctly.

I have been mulling this over in my mind for the last week or so. And I discussed it with Kerrielee on one of our 4 mile walks… AND, WELL, I am thinking I can do this! I am thinking WE can do it! Kerrielee took a little convincing, but once I broke it down for her, she thought it COULD be doable. And why not give it a shot? If we only make it to 92 hours, well HEY! That is 92 hours of sewing!

Oh the things we could make! And you know we all have PLENTY to make! A never ending list!

So, this month, we are going to sew for 100 hours. 😀 And that is 100 hours each. We will keep a little tally going in the sidebar in case you want to check on our progress.

The nice thing is we already sew 8 plus hours on Saturday together, and about 5 hours on Drink and Sew Thursday… That leaves 22 days in April- each day 2.27 hours. I just made it an even 2 and a half hours a day.

The truth is it will be easier for me. I have older chilluns. I have a full time job but I work 5 AM to 1:30 PM. At 1:30 Kerrielee and I meet for our 4 mile walk and then I pick up 1 child, my youngest, from school. (She is all of 16!) Off to dance classes she goes and I am free. Sometimes until 9 PM at night! What do I normally do with that time? Ummm- well, I confess I have made great friends with my Roku and Netflix account. Do you know how many GREAT series’ there are out there I have never watched? I watched over 100 episodes of ALIAS! Just finished Season 5 of Mad Men… Watched Lost Girl, Criminal Minds, Warehouse 13, and well, the list goes on and on. I think I can easily find 2.5 hours per day!

Kerrielee on the other hand has a 2 year old at home and 4 other kiddos she gets to care for. AND the hubby– lets not forget the husband. And to top it all off she is caring for her mom too. So, it will be much more of a challenge for her- BUT I will cheer her on. 🙂

So- On our marks, get set… and GO! Let the sewing begin!

Laurie and Kerrielee

PS. We do have a lot of March projects to share- we will do a little March roundup in a few days… AND I have completed my Bowie Sew-A-Long project- I just need to take pics! 😀

The Two of Us…

Tags

costumes, crafting, daughters, dress, easy sewing projects, fabric, fabrics, Family, patterns, projects, quilt, quilting, quilts, sew exhausted, sewing

I thought it was high time for a proper introduction… and so here it is!

For those of you that have been reading a while, you may have noted that there are two of us. Cousins… and we love to sew! And we LOVE our families! I, (Laurie), am older and admit it- SIGH… and when Kerrielee was 3, my mother and sister and I moved down to the San Diego area. Kerrielee became like my little sister. 😀 We lived next door practically, and she was always over (I could get her to help me clean my room) and when she was 8, I’d take her on dates with me- YES- my chaperone!

Through marriage and kids we have remained tight. Both of us started sewing as teens and we have kept it up. But only in the last 10 years did we start sewing together… and boy has it been fun! Anyway, here is a little about US…

Here I am with my kiddos… I have four. A son, who when he was little I would make button down shirts for, and three daughters. When I was pregnant with my eldest daughter I started sewing her clothes. She had a FULL closet before she was even born! I’d make matching bloomers for her dresses to cover the ugly diapers and because it was the 90’s she even had lots of matching hats. My youngest daughter had 3 times as many clothes because she got the hand-me-downs and new ones! Those were some well dressed girls! I still sew for them… and I sew for me too!

Here we all are- Casey, Kadi, Holly and Juliette. (And me)

Kerrielee has five children. Four son’s and one daughter. They are all much younger than mine and so she is kept a “little” bit busier in the “mama” department!

OKAY! Getting 5 kids to all smile at the same time can be a chore! But here they are- looking mighty adorable if you ask me! Kerrielee makes super quilts and even has designed a few. I keep telling her we need to turn those in to patterns and SHARE! But we seem to always be busy doing other things. You just wait though- one of these days!

Kerrielee and I sew together twice a week- Thursdays which we have affectionately dubbed Drink and Sew Thursday… and Saturday. From 11 AM and on until we can’t sew any more! If we have something hanging over our heads we may add an evening or 2!

We like quilting… and sewing clothes. We love reading all your crafty/ sewing/ quilting/ cooking blogs… We are on Facebook and Twitter… and you can follow us Via BlogLovin. OH! And Pinterest too- We can spend WAY too much time on Pinterest!

Most of the posts will be written by me- I have a little more time on my hands. But Kerrielee finds great tutorials and helps keep the FB page up. And every now and then I will nag her in to writing a post! 😀

And that is US- In a nutshell pretty much.

He he he…

Laurie and Kerrielee

Kerrielee: Gee, Laurie, what do you want to do tonight?

Laurie: The same thing we do every night, Kerrielee – try to take over the world!…

Laurie: Umm.. I mean SEW!

Nothin like waiting till the last minute…Jungle January #3

Tags

baby, baby quilt, challenge, fabric, fabrics, jungle january, jungle quilt, quilting, quilts, sewing, wwe

Yes! that’s me…the procrastinator! I like to blame it mostly on the kids, you all know I have 5 right!?

For the last week we have all known that January will be ending here shortly, so Laurie has been gently nudging me each day to finish my Jungle January project. I would respond, “I don’t need to have it done until the 30th right!?”. “Yes, Kerrielee, but it would be nice if you could be done and we could blog about it before then.” (You  can go check more Jungle January madness over at Anne’s blog)

So last night my husband took the boys to see WWE Smackdown. My 10 year old’s fav, but the other boys like it as well. Here they are having a great time. My eldest Erik is in the middle, Ethaniel (10 year old) is to the left  and his BFF Max, to the right. Who knows where the other kid is!

SO…since he had 3 boys, Eleena was at dance until 9, I only had the baby( Emmett, he is almost 2, so I guess not really quite a baby anymore, but the baby in our house) and no excuses not to work on my project.

After rummaging through my fabric stash a few weeks ago, I found a few animal prints along with an all over jungle animal print, all in flannels. I figured I could either make pj’s or a quilt. Since I had yet to make a quilt for Emmett, I decided that was what I was going to do. I had started it all a few weeks ago, so last night I just needed to baste it all together, quilt it and binding. Between a little couch cuddling and dinner I had it all done by 10pm! Not too shabby.

I still feel like it needs something, maybe a few appliqued circles in the bright colors from the polka dot fabric? We will see, it will probably stay as is! I do love the “braided” border and his name appliqued on the quilt, and I think once I get it washed and it softens up he will spend much time cuddling with it on the couch!

Well I am done and now excited to get going on our next challenges. We are doing DaGMT 2013 with Quilting Hottie and Polka dot Frock Fest, but don’t expect to see any progress from me until the end of February!

Until next time Happy Sewing! ~K

Here I am blogging world, and I have brought with me a challenge…….

Tags

challenge, fabric, fabrics, projects, quilt, quilting, quilts, sewing, UFO's

Here I am! I have been making you all wait and wait to get to know me and now is finally the time!

I will be more of the silent blogger, but you might get to see some pictures of my work in Laurie’s post. I am the one with the 5 kids, husband, and puppy. That is a lot of work in itself, but in my free time I love to quilt, and thanks to Laurie, I am getting back in to sewing garments. I wont bother you with all of my info today…we can get to more of that in other posts (see! I have just committed to join you all again!)

The reason I have decided to join you today is because I have come across one of the challenges we are going to commit to for the month of February. I have been following EvaPaige Quilt Designs Facebook page and today when I clicked on her blog I see that she is having a UFO challenge for the month of February! All she asks is that we make a commitment of sewing time each day in the month of February to our UFO’s (and she has prizes!). So here is our commitment for DaGMT 2013-

We, Laurie and Kerrielee, are joining in Quilting Hottie Haven’s second annual DaGMT event. We both pledge to quilt for at least 45 minutes each day in the month of February 2013, giving up doing dishes, laundry, and making dinner for the sake of our sewing commitment. In doing so we hope to finish as many UFO’s as humanly possible for 2 women with 9 kids, a husband, a puppy, and a fish! Lastly, we think Beth Helfter is brilliant for coming up with this concept and inspiring us to join.

Here are a few of the UFO’s you WILL be seeing completed by the end of February-

Mine-

Laurie’s-

Head on over to Quilting Hottie Haven’s Blog to see all the rules, there are only a couple, and let’s all get started on finishing some of the many UFO’s cluttering up our sewing spaces!

I am so happy to have met all of you today and look forward to getting to know all of you more. Until next time….Happy Sewing! ~K

Wordless Wednesday… Taking it Back Old School

Tags

Christmas, Family, quilting, sewing vintage clothing, Vintage, wordless wednesday

1966

1985

What’s in Store for 2013?

Tags

2013, blogging, clothing, daughters, dress, fabric, Family, fashion, Goals, quilting, sewing, sewing vintage clothing, Vintage, vintage patterns

Hello friends and Happy New Year! First I’d like to thank everyone who has stopped by to visit. As a new blogger it has been very exciting to see the views accumulate and read the comments you make. I have also enjoyed getting to know a few of you and found so many great blogs, lots of good advice, and have appreciated the cheers along the way.

2012 was not the best year for me. I think every area of my life was hit in some way negatively- But… along the way I rediscovered my joy of sewing and have returned in a big way. I dusted off my machines and started going through my “stash.” Years ago I had switched to quilting, but after reading about the junky clothes polluting our world I really wanted to get back to sewing clothing. (Not that quilting is out of the picture- I have several I want to make this year! including a Beatles quilt!)

That was 8 weeks ago. I have not accomplished a lot- BUT I did make 4 new dresses, 3 skirts, a bunch of makeup brush holders, and finished a bunch of UFO’s like 5 pairs of pajama bottoms! And, I started blogging again! I have “met” some wonderful new people and my horizons have opened up. I feel so inspired and challenged at the same time! I want to be like these intelligent, creative, fun sewing bloggers! (not a bad goal right?)

So, here I am – entering the year 2013. I am so happy to say goodbye to 2012. I have 365 blank pages I get to discover! Bring it on!

Here are some of my goals. My main personal goal is to be who I want to be- Not who everyone else wants me to be. Yeah- it has taken me a LONG time to realize the importance of this. If you don’t like me- oh well. I like me! Yes! I can admit to that long time crush on Rick Springfield, that I have a love for Bubble Gum music, the fact that my bed is not made (horrors), and that I need to lose 30 pounds! (Oh, I AM going to lose 30 pounds this year!)

And I am going to sew up a storm! I have 2 vintage dresses on the horizon. I want to make a coat this year (shall it be the Minoru from Sewaholic or the Lady Gray from Collete?) I am going to make MYSELF some clothes. I am going to dust off my knitting needles and knit a pair of socks. I am also going to study fitting (so I can make properly fitted clothing) and I just bought a wonderful book on couture. I really want to challenge myself and grow as a seamstress!

Where do I start? Well, it IS January and I will be sewing up a a few items featuring animal print thanks to a challenge issued over at  Pretty Grievances. I am actually going to be REALLY ambitious (why not start the new year right!) and make something animal print for me and each of my girls! We will all be sporting jungle wear. I am purring with excitement already!!! (Oh, CAN I PURR with excitement? Is that possible?)

I hope you all have a blessed and happy 2013. I am looking forward to getting to know more of you and sharing with you in the upcoming year.

Take care! xoxoxo

PS. I just went and made my bed! 😉