Merry Christmas!! - LBD & Simplicity 1325

Helloooo! I hope that all of you had a Merry Christmas and were able to spend it with the with people that you love and make you happy! I had an amazing day yesterday with my family and friends. The older I get, the less excited I am about holidays but I do appreciate having time off to just BE with my family. And I thank God for Jesus and all of the blessings that came with that gift alone :-D. 

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to make a dress for Christmas but I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of time. My mom and I were recently going through clothes and deciding what we could give away, when I came upon a stretch velvet little black dress that my mom had when she was my age. Just a basic tank dress. I decided to use it as an easy upcycle project and turn the dress from a basic LBD to something a bit more glamorous and appropriate for the season.

This:

To THIS:

My Singer is finally in tune!

You see what I did there? lol

YES! I FINALLY took my vintage Singer to the shop to get it cleaned and tuned up and now it is ready!

To be honest, when it was given to me, I didn't even really explore what was in the box. Not the original box. The box full of dust and cobwebs that was reused to house the sewing machine and it's bits and pieces. I never even plugged it in to see if it works because of all of the dust. I'm a little bougie lol I decided when I found a shop to take it to, they would deal with all of that lol.

Anway, this Singer 5528 was gifted to me by my mother. It has 6 different stitches and 4 more for creating buttonholes. All metal everything, this joint ways like fifty-eleven pounds forreal.

No UFO's going into 2015!

Well not any unselfish ones anyway lol. I have a nice sized pile of of UFO's of projects that I was supposed to complete for other people. Some dating back to April. I know. smh. I have so many things that I want to make for myself but I feel really guilty about making yet ANOTHER selfish project when I have promised these things. I'm not gonna let it go down like that. 

And since it IS the holiday season, this is a time of GIVING. I pledge to finish all of my unselfish UFO's by January 1st. I will sprinkle in some minuscule projects for myself (i.e. lining beanies, xmas dress) but most of my focus will be on others. So what do I have to do?

Puerto Rico 2014!

Not quite sure why it takes me so long to blog about my travels when it's mostly just a photo dump lol Anyhoo, I went to Puerto Rico last month with my friend Macy. I had a five day weekend so we went just because. We stayed in San Juan at her friend Detti's apartment and his roommate Lucia. Puerto Rico was such a beautiful country and is one that I plan to visit again in the future!

Unfortunately, the first day it got there, it rained all day! And I don't mean just regular rain. It was like a torrential downpour lol The people there were even surprised. Lucky for us, it had stopped by the night time and we were able to go out to La Plazita. But before I get ahead of myself, first, we went to Bebo's Cafe in the afternoon to eat.

Another Leopard Vogue - 1314 and N&F Meetup!

Hello friends! It's been a couple of weeks but I finally have something to show for it lol. I've been traveling and moving sewing locations and trying to get a room all set up. I'll talk about that more in another post thought. A week or so ago, I hosted another meetup for the Needles&Fashion facebook group for the people in the DMV area so I HAD to make something to wear. I didn't HAVE to but I HAD to lol

I don't know when the weather decided to just be winter, but it's gotten ridiculous. I knew I wanted a long sleeve dress, knit fabric because I didn't want to have to deal with any darts and stuff, no extra notions, and I wanted it to be long. I was originally going to make McCalls 6886 and lengthen it but I cannot find it for the life of me. I had to find a quick alternative because of course I was making it the night before. This is Vogue 1314, a Tracy Reese design. (it really does pay to have a pattern stash ;-) )

Scandal Challenge & TMS November - McCall's 6209

Welcome back! I've squeezed in the mini available corner of my dining room to actually make something! lol Can't wait to be done with all of our house renovations so I can have some space to sew! lol But enough about my #sewingroomwoes. 

Last month, PrettyGirlsSew decided that October would be The Scandal Challenge *shutter clicks* lol. You had to pick one of five categories to make a garment for.  "9-5 on Capital Hill", "Date Night with Jake", "Inaguration After Party", "Lunch date with the Gladiators" or "Stakeout with Huck". 

I chose "9-5 on Capitol Hill". Now that I think about it though, this look for many would be a "Lunch date with the Gladiators". But this is actually something that I'd wear to work on any given day. And I work in DC at a "good gubment job" lol

With coffee in hand and my badge around my neck, I can see Olivia walking into the White House about to go fuss at Cyrus about another person he's threatening to kill lol.

This is McCalls 6209 View A. I thought View A looked the most Olivia-Pope-ish lol

Crochet Braids with 100% Kanekalon Hair

It's been over a month since I debuted my newest hairstyle on the blog. This has been a protective style I have been wanting to try since Chinelo opened my eyes to it: Crochet Braids!

at the Panamanian Day Parade in Brooklyn

Once I read that the style she had wasn't her hair, I immediately ran over to Mother Google to find out more about this witchcraftery lol. I went down a black YouTube hole which ultimately led me to discover the 100% Kanekalon Hair version of crochet braids. I rarely use heat and I don't straighten my hair so I though this would be a great alternative. Plus I was getting super frustrated dealing with my hair and I knew I had to put it away for a while.

Not quite New Look 6103 - Lace Pencil Skirt

Hey peoples :-) It's been SUPER rainy and gloomy around here these days so I've been holding this skirt hostage until I got some better weather to take pics. Not real hostage though because I wore it the same day I finished it... 3 weeks ago lol I just haven't been able to get the pics.

My aunt's birthday was on the last weekend of September. I had this elaborate plan of making this linen shift dress with a full lining and and and invisible zipper with some other trims and pattern modifications. As life went on, I only had 2 out of 7 days to start and finish the dress so that did NOT happen. What I knew I'd be able to accomplish, though, was a basic pencil skirt.

Or maybe not so basic. This is New Look 6103.
....Kinda.

So Many Good Days and Why I Sew!

Last week was so interesting for me. Aside from this schizophrenic weather, I was having a considerable amount of good days!

Which one looks the most Olivia Pope-ish to you ??

First: I found out that I had won a giveaway! $25 to shop at The Smuggler's Daughter! And it couldn't have come at a better time because I was debating with myself about how I needed to budget money for fabric to sew things up for fall/winter  or whether or not I should just not buy any fabric for a couple of months just to keep some money in my pocket. Well, I guess you probably know what I did lol I bought way more than my winnings worth of fabric. BUT this time I bought specific fabric for specific projects in mind. I plan on making a nice collection of Nettie bodysuits.

Amnesty MONOsewn - Vogue 1285

I think that I'm going to stop saying ahead of time what I'm going to make because it's a lot of pressure. And I feel like a loser when I don't finish lol I said that I was going to participate in the TMS MONOsewn challenge back in July... then August. It's almost October and I'm just now finishing lol. Lucky for me, September is Amnesty Month for the TMS Collective :-)

End of summer Romping - McCall's 6083

I just don't understand the logic behind rompers. Like, I'm completely opposed to the idea of having to pretty much get naked every time I want to use the bathroom. Sooo awkward and uncomfortable! not to mention if I'm out in public! They can definitely look extra classy and elegant at times but just the idea of stripping down in a dirty public restroom just makes me shutter. You gotta squat, hold your whole outfit up , pull toilet paper, wipe, do an arabesque, pirouette..  like who has time to do gymnastics when they have to go?! I say all that to say...I made a romper.

Two-Piece x Set-acular !

Happy Labor Day weekend!! I'm in Brooklyn right now having a ton of fun with family! Labor Day is one of my favorite holidays because of the way that Brooklyn celebrates. The whole weekend is a celebration of West Indian culture. All weekend, people carry around flags and wear clothes to rep where their from. Flags on car hoods and reggae and soca blasting from every block! I just love it! Tomorrow (Labor Day) is the West Indian day parade on Eastern Parkway and people will have their floats and mass trucks with music to represent their country. I love being West Indian!

Anyway! lol I went up to Central Park this afternoon to go take pics of my new 2 piece set for Two-piece Set-acular. I made a 3 quarter sleeve crop top and a knit pencil skirt for my set. Wasn't the ideal weather for it lol but I still got some nice, not sweaty, shots lol.

Fixed Crotch and Future Plans

Happy Sunday! It definitely is for ME because (as I'm writing this) I am comfortably sitting in my skort that I made for Oonapalooza!! yay!.. When I posted about how it was literally a pain to sit in these, Val (who's down with Stitch Once, Rip Twice) hit me up to let me know about a tutorial she so happened to be putting out like the next day lol. It was about adjusting the rise in crotch in pants and shorts. Lucky me! So I put her tutorial to the test.

reshaping the rise

lowering the rise

Wallah! Magic! I am very happy to say that it worked great! Now what I need to do is figure out how to come up with a block so that i can adjust the crotch areas BEFORE I sew up a pair of pants.  I swear there is ALWAYS something new to learn.

Now that that is out of the way, I can move on to the other 5 projects that I have cut out. Well, I have the patterns cut out. I need to cut out the fabric for four of them. These are my future plans for August:

OOna PalOOza! - Simplicity 1370

It's Oonapalooza!!

Here I go skimming the deadlines again lol

Once I saw that #sewcialists were dedicating the month of July to Oona Balloona I knew I HAD to get on the action. 

I got hip to Oona's blog not too long before she participated in Project Sewn and the competition sealed the deal on my love for her and her creativity!

This skort is inspired by HER!

This is Simplicity 1370.

It is very similar to the Zara skort that all the fashion bloggers have been rocking.

Birthday Recap! - DR 2014

Sooo my birthday was almost 3 weeks ago and I spent it in the Dominican Republic with 4 of my cousins and one of my best friends!

I turned 24 :-)

None of us had ever been to the Dominican Republic so it was a new experience for all of us.

We stayed at Majestic Colonial, an all-inclusive resort.

It was so much fun! I love interacting with people at all-inclusives!

As soon as they know you speak the language they immediately treat you like your their best friend lol!

Before I do this photo/video dump, I just want to thank everyone that wished me "Happy Birthday", bought me a gift, a card or helped celebrate!

I love y'all man! *sheds single tear*

Okay, on to the trip!

Leopard Color Block!! - Kwik Sew 3633

Well hellloooooo there!

I feel like I've been gone for a while but it's only been a week lol

Last week I was celebrating my Birthday so I was too excited to sit down and write posts lol smh

I went to the Dominican Republic for my birthday and I will be sharing that experience in due time :-)

If you want a sneak peek, you can check out my instagram!

Anywhoooo!

This is Kwik Sew 3633 View B

I cut a medium.

Happy Independence Day! - Vogue 1247

The Fourth of July is coming!!

I hope everyone (in the States) has a wonderful Independence Day!
I will be enjoying plenty of cookout food and illegal fireworks!
sike sike lol maybe lol

And this is what I'll be sporting for the festivities...

This is Vogue 1247
I know it looks a little different lol

My Birthday Wishlist

My birthday is in 10 days so I just wanted to put my desires into the atmosphere lol

After reading so many blogs and resources and learning more and more about sewing, there are some tools and resources that I believe would be great investments into my sewing!

And I'm putting it out there just in case some of you haven't seen these things and find that they may be beneficial :-)

This is my birthday wishlist!

3 Years Post Relaxer! & Future Hair Goals

I almost always miss my anniversary.

My natural hair anniversary!

Today marks 3 years since I've had a relaxer in my hair.

(which also means my birthday is in exactly 2 weeks... but that's neither here nor there lol)

Having natural hair brings SO many emotions.

Happy, frustrated, tired, free, beautiful, annoyed, and the list goes on lol

One of the main reasons I wanted to go natural was because I saw so many women whose hair grew to lengths I'd never seen before on the majority of colored women.

And here I am today having reached another milestone!

I have finally reached bra-strap-length (BSL) hair :-D

I know last year at this time I was only a few inches away but then I got a haircut with a salon I won't name lol and I thought that I wouldn't make it by my 3 yr ann. but I did!

Leaping Leopard! - Vogue 1395

It's finally summer! My FAVORITE season of the year!!

Endless cookouts, warm mornings AND evenings, and MY BIRTHDAY!

I have this theory that I draw my energy from the sun so summer makes me super happy :-D

The one thing I don't like about summer is that it rains so randomly.

Hence why I am wearing boots in 80 degree weather lol

This is Vogue 1395

I cut a 12 in the bodice and a 10 in the skirt.

I cut a 12 at the top of the overlay and graded down to a 10 near the bottom.

The Color Purple - McCall's 6752

"All the other colors are just colors, but purple seems to have a soul..."
- Uniek Swain

This week I'm guest blogging over at Vintage Zest while Diane takes a small school break!

All the details about the dress will be there so head on over and read about it!

This dress is McCall's 6752 View B

Needles & Fashion Meetup!! & McCall's 6744

This weekend I met up with some ladies from the Facebook Group "Needles and Fashion"!
We met for brunch at Beacon Bar & Grill in the District of Columbia.

designed by Christina Carter

And now that I'm writing this post, I realize how "new" of a blogger I am because I have no pics of the restaurant, or the setup of the table with the gifts lol
I didn't even start taking pictures until we were done eating SMH

Experience is the best teacher right? lol anyway.

The food was GREAT: Brunch buffet with unlimited mimosas and Tequila sunrises.

But the company was even BETTER!
It ended up being nine of us ladies.

Panama Carnavales 2014

Que Sopa?!

Okay, so I know this post is SUPER late because I went to Panama in March and it's now June lol

My maternal family is Panamanian so I've pretty much been raised in the culture.

I actually lived in Panama for a brief time and went to school there as well.

I found my old school registration card

So Panama holds a huge place in my heart.

I went to Carnaval this year with a large amount of family and had and AMAZING time.
Weather in the 90's, awesome food, music everywhere, sandy beaches, nonstop dancing!
So far one of the greatest times I've had this year.

These are some of the highlights of my trip.
disclaimer: I don't have THAT many pics because I was too busy having fun and forgot lol sorry.

The Telltale Tasha turns ONE! & a GIVEAWAY

The Telltale Tasha turns ONE today!!

 

This has been one amazing year!

I want to first thank any and everyone who has read a post, commented, shared a link or just browsed through.

I appreciate it more than you know to have people I know and don't know have a positive reaction to my ideas and creativity.

 

When I first started this blog last year, I did not know that there was such a HUGE sewing community online & around the world!

I have learned SO much from you all and appreciate all of the knowledge you share.

To think that this time last year I had no idea how to thread my machine and now I'm making entire outfits with serious techniques is absolutely overwhelming.

 

I was looking back to my first post and I am excited to say that I have not strayed too far away from my blog's original intent.

For the future, I will be adding more reconstructions though.

I have 3 trash bags full of clothes that don't fit that my mom keeps threatening to throw out lol I need to do something with them ASAP.

 

Also for the future, i plan to practice more photograpy skills and will be posting my progress here.

 

 

Thank you again for sticking around and supporting me :-)

 

And to express my gratitude I will be giving away a $25 gift card to amazon!

I wanted to give away something applicable for the sewers AND non-sewers

sn: you don't have to "register" for the giveaway. Your email is needed so that you can be contacted if you win! There are multiple chances to enter! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's okay if you already follow me on bloglovin' and on instagram. Just enter yourself in that entry!

 

Here's to many more years! *clinks glass*

 

xoxo, Tasha

CPIK - Christina Carter

Remember last year when I started this "Cool People I Know" Series?

.... of course you don't, it was forever ago lol

So you can imagine how overdue this post is.

If you want to know what it's all about you can check out my first post about it here.

Anyway, people are always telling me how cute they think my blog header is.

Well let me introduce you to the designer, Christina Carter.

Christina is a full-time graphic designer.

She works for a credit union (designing) as well as does free-lance.

She went to school for it. Believe me, I know, because we were roommates lol

Not only did Christina make my blog header, but she also designed my "networking cards"

As well as the tags I now put in/on the things that I make :-D

Now that I'm wanting to expand my skills in photography, she also designed my watermark!

I didn't take this pic but just an example

So let me stop blabbing and go ahead and let her tell you about herself!

I'm a Golden Princess! - New Look 6480 & Simplicity 1427

What's the number for Disney so they can sign me?

This weekend was my grandmother's 80th birthday BASH so I wanted to wear something special.

TMS April: "Sew Double" - McCall's 6839

Well aren't I just the "Tardy Tasha"?

This is my entry for the TMS APRIL "Sew Double" sewalong.

Yes, you read that right, April lol

It's not that I didn't have it sewn.. I just didn't want to hem it.

And I didn't have anywhere to where it lol

The way I interpreted "Sew Double" was that I was going to take a pattern that I've previously sewn but instead, sew a different view.

I thought the McCalls 6839 would be the best pattern to use because the front is the same on all of the views, it's just the backs that get fancy lol

Let Me See Your Heart - McCall's 6745

" 'Cause with my family we know where home is. So instead of sendin' flowers, we the roses."

This isn't the easiest post I've ever written.

I dedicate this dress to my uncle, Richard Thompson, Sr., who we lost on May 7, 2014.

I lost my sewing mojo for a while after that day but once I started getting it back, I knew that this dress would be for him.

Project Sewn "Floral Frenzy" - Kwik Sew 3807

Project Sewn's challenge theme for week two is "Floral Frenzy"

And it just so happened that I whipped up these pants in like, a night lol

PS "Leading Ladies" & TMS "Sew Stretchy" - Vogue 8825

This is my entry for

Project Sewn's "Leading Ladies" sew-a-long
as well as
The Monthly Stitch's May sew-a-long:"Sew Stretchy"

10 Friday Feelings

Sooo, I have lots of feelings lol

These are them:

 

Sexy Sew-A-Long Challenge Reveal - Kwik Sew 3608

o0o0o0h la la

This is my entry for the Sew Sexy Sew Along.

I'm a day late but I still got my dollar! 

(LOL do you get it?! *slaps knee*)

Wrap Me Up - McCall's 6884

....Or nah.

For the record, I made this like 3 weeks ago... before ya'll try to say i'm late lol
**and i apologize for the incorrect underthings that keep trying to peek out

This is McCall's 6884 Faux Wrap Dress

Mad Men Dress Challenge 3 - NL6243

*wipes sweat*

I made it!

I thought I was going to miss it!

This is my entry into the Mad Men Dress Challenge Numero Tres :-)

I was inspired by Peggy's smize paired with this fancy number:



Miss Bossy Pants!

What a labor of love!

This is the first time that I have ever gotten seriously discouraged with anything that I've made.

(not that I've made a whole closet full of garments lol)

For The Monthly Stitch Sew-a-long, March's theme was "Miss Bossy Patterns"

We had to give the opportunity to the public to choose what we were going to make from a selection of different patterns and fabrics.

Bibs & Bowties

Went to the baby shower and it was beautiful :-)

The theme of the shower was "Bibs & Bowties"

They had little bib cookies with bowties on them and bowtie shaped napkins and what not!
It was so cute!!

I had decided I was going to make a snuggle blanket, a nursing cover, and some mittens.

I only ended up making the blanket and nursing cover because I cut the mittens out wrong and they would have sewn up really awkward/wrong.