April Showers... but I have FLOWERS!

Happy Thursday folks! A number of weeks ago, I was trying to help my friend out with a hair photoshoot he was doing and he needed some pics that would stand out in some way. So I thought, what a better way to make natural hair more interesting than to add some bold accessory?? I got together with a friend of mine to make some flower crowns and they came out better than I could have imagined.

I thought I'd share a little about how we made them and then show you all a couple of pics from the shoot.

OMG... I sewed clothes for a baby O_O

In my last post I talked about my fabric shopping trip in Atlanta. Let me talk about my original reason for going down to ATL to begin with. My goddaughter, Brooklyn,  was born on March 8, 2015. She was turning 1 year old and I had to make sure that she had a birthday that she would never remember. Get it? 'Cause she's ONE lol. But that didn't stop me. When she gets older and looks back at pics, she'll know she was loved and she'll appreciate the effort we put into making her day awesome.

The theme was Minnie Mouse per request from her grandmother so I knew immediately that I would be making her an outfit. I asked her mom "dress or skirt?" and she replied "skirt". I went to JoAnn to find some red fabric with white polk dots that I knew I would find in the quilting cotton section. Later, I was perusing Michael's to find crafting materials for other party favors and I came across some cute golden frilled elastic on clearance and I scooped it up. I looked up a few different resources to see what the general measurements were for 12 mo and then I found a quick no seam circle skirt tutorial. These are the results:

Below are the other crafts that we put together:

7. Share the Love | #sew16in2016

You may have thought I forgot about the Sew '16 Challenge... alas, I did not. This installment is titled "Share the Love" and we are supposed to sew for someone that we never have before. Who better to pick than little humans that have just been (or will be) welcomed into the world! I made some baby blankets and I think they have become my favorite gift to give. They can be personalized so much. I had 2 girls and 2 boys on the bill. So far, 3 of them are here and one is soon to come.

If I buy another piece of fabric....

..............My mom might kick me out of the house.

I'm joking. I'm joking.... maybe.

I don't know what got into these last few months but I have been buying fabric like I don't have any sense. I think NOT buying much fabric last year left a suppressed desire in me that just exploded when the new year hit lol. My imagination has definitely been controlling my wallet but you may have noticed that the output (garment posts) has not been reflected in what I'm describing.

I'm going to share my last "few" fabric purchases and then I'll share how I feel. I know collecting fabric was a discussion the last couple of weeks and I'd like to share my opinion as well :-)

But before that! Let's talk about my most recent purchase from Fabric Mart. I really do love them. So many affordable fabrics and there's always a sale going on. I have not regretted one purchase from them in the past. This last box came as a result of a 50% all Cotton Fabrics sale. Since I would like to focus more on fit this year, I figured cottons are the right place to start (Weak justification, I know lol).

I bought 2 border print cottons. Both cotton sateen if I'm not mistaken. I have been wanting a border print fabric since my first year of sewing but couldn't find any for a long time. I noticed that Fabric Mart has been selling a bit more of them so I was happy to get my hands on some. I want to make dresses out of them and I already have some Vogue patterns in mind for the job.

These are the other fabrics I picked out with that order. From top to bottom:

Bone China Silk (buy the piece)

Red rayon fabric that I have the matching black fabric to (buy the piece)

Looks lavender in the pic but is Grey cotton shirting

Tan water-repellant cotton

Knit-backed Faux fur

My yellow embroidered eyelet was in this box but I used it already here.

These fabrics I didn't choose but I got in a 6yd mystery bundle. They are all knit fabrics. The royal blue on the bottom is either a neoprene or scuba. I wish the mystery bundles came with labels like the other fabrics. They feel really nice though. I also got a 10yd mystery bundle of linings but don't have a pic of those.

I would have stopped there but a few weeks before I had already made plans to go fabric shopping with LeJanaro when I came to Atlanta for my goddaughter's birthday. I couldn't CANCEL on her lol She took me to Fine Fabrics and when I tell you I almost walked out with NOTHING LOL and not because I didn't want anything but because I wanted EVERYTHING. I walked around the warehouse for about an hour going back and forth to the same sections and then different sections. I was so overwhelmed. I did end up making some decisions though and I am proud of them. First a small look inside:

Interviewed by Faye's Sewing Adventures!

So honored to have been chosen as one of the interviews for the Sewing Blogger Series that Faye is doing over at her blog, Faye's Sewing Adventures!


Check out my interview to learn more about me and then go back and check out the interviews of all of the other bloggers. They have definitely been interesting reads!


Thanks so much,, Faye, for including me!

Like the Rising Sun - McCall's 6887

Hello everyone! It's been quiet around here this month but it's only because I've been busy making and crafting and enjoying it! :-D That also means that I have quite a few posts coming in the next couple of weeks ;-) (also, this post is pic heavy but it also has some fit questions :-))


Today I have a dress that I made by force of the one that gave birth to me lol I had a different project in mind at the time with completely different fabric but after I let her in to what was in my recent fabric purchase, she "insisted" that the yellow fabric in the box would be what I was making next. Why you ask? Because SHE had a yellow dress that she was planning to wear and of course I needed to properly coordinate. I love her.

After submitting to her suggestion (lol) I set off to find a pattern that would go with the Thred&Needles challenge for March which was Michelle Obama inspired fashion. I went through a long google search of the FLOTUS in yellow dresses and I found one that I thought I could pull off. Usher in McCall's 6887. I made View C which is better know as "business in the front and party in the back" LOL. The front had all of the design elements that I wanted to pull off the imitation dress (scoop neck, princess seams in bodice and skirt, sleeveless, straight skirt... ). I cut a combination of the size 12 and 14. I cut a 12 D in the bodice. On both center skirt pieces (front and back) I cut a 12, on accident really. I was supposed to grade out to a 14 in the skirt so I just cut a 14 in the side skirt pieces (front and back) and added the SA back to the side bodice pieces that would make them match up with the skirt. I cut a 12 at the top of the bodice back and graded out the a 14 at the skirt join. Are you still with me?

New "Challenges" Page!

I've been slowly cleaning up my blog and decided I'd clean up my sidebar. I put all of the blog buttons of challenges I've participated in over the years on their own page. When you click on it, you will see the challenges separated by year. All you have to do is click on the picture of the button and you will be directed to my blog post or the label of that particular challenge. I think it'll make it easier to keep up with now and as the years go by.

:-)

xoxo, Tasha