Gifted Ankara | Named Helga Wrap Playsuit

Greetings to all! I've been away on vacay so I've been trying to get acclimated back into normal life but it's haarrddd. lol I was in beautiful Guam with it's hot temps and beautiful beaches, so to be back in the DMV with bipolar temperatures and city pollution is not the easiest transition.

As I had been planning for my trip, I knew that I didn't want to make anything new. I have PLENTY of outfits and warm weather pieces and I didn't want to stress myself out by trying to rush a last minute garment with my schedule being so packed the weeks leading up to my trip. It was decided: NO VACATION SEWING.

......thennnnn Named Patterns came out with their Spring/Summer '17 patterns: The Playground Collection. I basically dropped everything, including my payment information to buy the Helga Wrap Playsuit. If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you may know by now that anything with a wrap bodice is my cup of tea! That afternoon I had already picked up my copy shop print from Kinkos and was on my way home to whip up a quick muslin to check the fit and see if it would be an easy sew.

Striped Scrap Skirt - Simplicity 1812

Earlier this summer when I was trying to figure out what style of skirt I was going to make my fringe suede remnant into, I went through all of my patterns to search for skirt patterns. I came across Simplicity 1812 as an option but I wasn't sold. So I thought "Well I can just make up a muslin real quick with some scrap fabric". I pulled out what was left from my Ankara shirtdress fabric and cut out the pattern. THEN I decided, "ehhh, I'll just make up my own pattern!" lol So here I had fabric cut out for a skirt pattern that, honestly, I wasn't feeling from the envelope. To a plastic baggy and the UFO basket it went. For MONTHS.

Once I decided I was trying to clean up my space and really get rid of UFOs so I could start new projects guilt-free, I came cross the baggy again. I felt like just scrapping it all to the trash. I really wasn't too fond of the pattern for whatever reason. Most of it being that they had a seam down the center front and the center back was on the fold. A small thing (and an EXTREMELY easy fix lol) but it annoyed me to no end. I am also not a fan of skirts with elastic waists so I try to avoid patterns like that. Finally I decided "ehh.. I'll just make it. It'll be quick". And quick it was.

Shirtdress 2 Ways - McCall's 6124

Hello, Lovely People! I have a couple of posts backlogged but I wanted to get this one in by the deadline. There are a few reasons why I chose to make a Shirtdress for August. The first one is that Ruqayyah started a Facebook group and the first sewalong for the group was a Shirtdress. Second, Michelle contacted me about working together for the TMS challenge this month (Two is the Magic Number). She suggested we make the same pattern or different patterns but the same fabric or any other combination. 

First let me say, I was honored because I'm still surprised that people actually read my blog! Plus Michelle is the winner of the Rippin' Ain't Easy sewing competition run by PrettyGirlsSew as well as one of the judges for the 2nd round of The Super Online Sewing Match run by Sew Mama Sew.

I more than happily accepted and suggested we make Shirtdresses out of African Print fabric. We decided on McCall's 6124, picked a day to meet and set off to make our garments! The deal was done!

25 - Ankara Birthday Skirt

....Orrrr 300 months old. Whichever way you put it, I'm a quarter of a century today!

I'm so excited for this birthday! I feel like I'm a certified adult adult today lol. I've grown ALOT this past year. I made a few new friends and lost a few old ones. I traveled like my money was long and didn't have any regrets. I've progressed at my job and put myself in a position to be doing what I want to be doing with my company. I've spent more time with my family than ever before. I've learned more self-control, patience, and love. Hopefully my 25th year will exceed the past!