Denim Never Dies in the Jungle....

It's February already!! But I've got a score to settle with January... The TMS challenge for January 2015 is/was "Denim Never Dies", which was perfect because I had decided that I needed to make more pants in 2015 and I had JUST bought the Ginger Jeans pattern by Closet Case Files. A little bit after the challenge announcement, they added a bonus challenge to celebrate their pink rebranding! I had some pink denim in my stash so I was just a "Ready Freddy".

Like I said, this is the Ginger Jeans pattern by Closet Case Files. I made View A, the low rise with the stove pipe leg. I cut a straight size 12. This was a wearable muslin for me so I just wanted to see what the pattern would look like made straight up. I made no modifications.  I did take some flat measurements of a pair of jeans I really like to see how they related and the measurements were very very close. 

UFO game on FLEEK! - Simplicity 1364

Well hellllooooooooo, everybody! It's been a few weeks! I was sick for a couple then my mind went into sewing overdrive lol. I've been sewing and cutting patterns and cutting fabric like it's my job! lol Which is obviously a good thing because that means I have things to share!

So, UPDATE: I did finish all 5 unselfish UFO's before I started working on anything for myself! HOLLA! I don't have pics of the jeans for mom or the curtains for the lovely lady but I have pics of the blanket and the shirt and dress I made for my mother!

the baby LOVED the blanket

See&Sew 5203

First time using my walking foot. I think I did pretty good. The pic is taken from the side so some of them seem like they don't match... they do lol

what a nice narrow hem

Self-drafted. The skirt fabric is heavy so the dress gets weighed down on a hanger. Now she can be twinsies with me!!

The dress and shirt got done in January... sue me lol The important things is they got done. And I have been able to be selfishly productive with a clear conscious lol

The first thing I have to share for 2015 is a UFO that I had from AUGUST when I was supposed to be participating in this blogger hop for the Needles&Fashion group....Yea, never happened smh. Fortunately for me, I got a kick in the butt when sewcialists said the theme for January was dots! I think my shirt looks kind of cow-y but I don't actually think it's cow fabric lol. It looks like dots to me. Albeit wonky dots, but dots nonetheless! Just let me be great lol

2015! New Year, Same Goals!

Happy New Year, everyone! It seems like this holiday season snuck up on us and is gone just like that! It's like I was on the phone with 2014 and 2015 walked in the door and I never finished my original conversation lol. As I reflect on 2014, I can truly say that I don't have any regrets. I learned soooo much about sewing and met so many wonderful people as a result of this hobby as well.  I started sewing from patterns this year and started getting really serious about learning proper techniques. As a result, my stash of notions and tools has grown TREMENDOUSLY. My blog turned 1 in 2014 and I got to host my first giveaway! I traveled internationally a bit (Panama, DR, PR) and hosted a couple of meetups (1, 2)!

I made 28 items this year! I'm even amazed at that because it doesn't feel like I did lool

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.