Month: February 2016

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Whimsical Fabric Wacky Wednesday

If you haven’t figured it out, I love bag making! I also love Whimsical Fabric! Every other Wednesday, Danielle puts a bundle of fabrics on sale in her group for a special price. I have been purchasing mine ahead of time. We have had a blast picking out patterns and brainstorming what can be done with these bundles.
Today’s bundle is Art Gallery Fabrics Geometric Bliss in the Turquoise Angle colorway. It’s by Jenni Baker of In Color Order.

Isn’t it just gorgeous??

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For this bundle, I decided to make a Donna from Swoon. I love her construction and the ease of using her patterns. Of course Danielle challenged me to make a matching pearl to go with it. I accepted and killed it!

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Both these patterns were easy to put together. Let’s talk about pearl for a moment.

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this is one of those patterns that you see and think, “there is no way I can sew a wallet!” Let me tell you, the hardest part of it was folding the card slots the right way!” Once that was done, it sewed up pretty quick! I love the entire thing! It has a removable bifold, a zipper pocket for change, and is thin enough to slip into a purse easily!

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Donna was a pretty straight forward bag, a slip pocket on the outside, a zipper pocket on the inside and a drop in lining. I still struggle with the drop on linings, but I am slowly getting better! I love the front pocket with the piping detail!

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We posted a sneak peek yesterday in the Whimsical Fabric group, and it has sparked a lot of questions about my logo and my labels. My logo was designed by a friend from an idea in my head, but my labels I bought from a company on Etsy called Mountain Street Arts. Pam was wonderful to work with, and the turnaround was super fast! If you message her, be sure to let her know you came over from the CBAT blog!

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I love the mint green on the inside!

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card slots..probably the toughest part of the wallet!

Just a reminder, the Wacky Wednesday Deal starts at 12 pm CST (10 am PST) and is good only until it sells out (and I know this one will!) so be sure to head over there and snag yous quick!

And a little side note..Miss Danielle doesn’t know this yet, but she loves this set so much, it is being sent to her today 😉

Happy Sewing!

Larissa

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Whimsical Winter Wear Dress

If you follow me at all, you know I love Whimsical Fabric. I have been buying my fabric from her for a while now. Twice a month, she has “Wacky Wednesday”. On these days, she has a set of fabrics from a line, usually 1 main print and 2-4 coordinates, that she posts in her group for a great deal. The catch? You must buy the bundle, no picking and choosing what fabrics you want from it. Today is a Wacky Wednesday and I LOVE the fabric she chose for today! I had the chance to purchase my bundle earlier and sew it up to share.

Late last year, I started sewing up samples of these bundles, hoping to give people some inspiration and show the fabrics in use.

Here are the ones I have done so far:

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Jocole Skirts- 2 size 14 girls skirts out of a 1 yard bundle!
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Sig Creations Delaney and Birdie ruffle pants- Size 3 with fabric left over from a 1 yard bundle!
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And this awesome Swoon Vivian and Straight Stitch Have it All Wallet- this set used all of the main print, most of the grey (its the lining of the purse as well), and then pieces of the floral- this left me 2 full yards that I chose not to add in from the bundle.

Lets get to today’s bundle!

Today’s fabric is Milk, Sugar, & Flower by Penny Rose Fabric. Isn’t it just adorable?

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As soon as I saw it, I knew it was destined to be a dress for a little girl. The problem? I dont have a little girl anymore! So I put out some feelers for models, and got a couple hits but none that would fit the bill and timeline! I realized I was going to have to send this out to someone, and time was running out! So, I started looking at my sewing friends and who would fit the bill of what I was looking for. All the sudden, I came across a picture Suzanne posted of her little girl and I knew I had found the girl for this fabric! Suzanne is the owner of Winter Wear Designs, and also works on Pattern Revolution. She is also an amazing photographer! I quickly sent her a message asking if she would be interested. Thankfully, she was as excited as I was! We tossed around dress ideas, and settled on the girls Bateau dress from Suzanne’s pattern line.

Isn’t she perfect in this fabric and dress??

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This is just perfect on her! I’m so glad I had that light bulb moment and sent that message!
This was my first time sewing the girls version! I tested the ladies version and made many muslins to get the perfect fit on my teenager! So sewing this was pretty quick, since I didnt have to run back and forth between my computer and my sewing machine! To get from printing to the zipper installation probably took me 1 1 /2 hours. I then put it down for 2 days, and finished it in another hour or so before sending it out! Not bad for a dress with 4 double box pleats!

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Details of the Dress pattern:

Sizes: 1-14 (Size 1 is equivalent to a size 18 months)
Side zipper – great directions on how to put it in and have it turn out well!
Boat neck
Options of a scoop back or cross strap back,
Tunic, vintage, or regular lengths
Pleated rectangle skirt or pleated circle skirt
The optional petti-skirt allows you to add additional ‘poof’ under either skirt version.

This version is a size 7 width and size 6 length with the scoop back and pleated rectangle skirt. I think I want this in my size now! (there is a Ladies Bateau dress available!)

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I added on the Bateau bolero to round out the outfit, and it just works so well with this style of dress!

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Details of the Bolero pattern:

Sizes: 1-14
Basic bolero
This can be basic and casual in knit or quilting cotton, or over-the-top in fur or sequins.
The front is designed to close with ribbons tied in a bow, but I love it with no closure!

Be sure to grab your bundle today! It will be on sale HERE at Noon CST! ***Fabric SOLD out*** Be sure to check out her website for more awesome fabric!

 

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Jocole Love Tour

If you have been sewing a while, you are probably familiar with Jocole. I love her patterns! The Derby Jacket was the first pattern I bought (a couple years ago!), during her weekly sale. That was the beginning of the end! I was hooked! Now, I own every pattern of hers, and have made numerous over the years! Now, I get to share some of my favorite bloggers with you this week, and they are sharing some of their favorite Jocole patterns!

Whether you are looking for ladies patterns or girls, there is something for you! I love the Endless dress and add-ons!

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I used lace on the hem of this one!

I used this dress for a tutorial over on Pattern Revolution to replace the buttons with a zipper!

The Yoga A-Line Skirt is a staple for me for summer (I have 4 in my closet right now and plans for more this summer!

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I used scraps to sew the 6 Panel skirt– Twice! Once in Cotton wovens and once with knits!

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I have a pair of skinny’s ready to be sewn this week (maybe I’ll share them at the beginning of next week?)

For now, let me share some previews of the patterns coming up this week!

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Be sure to check out all of the blogs on this tour! Which pattern is your favorite so far?

Feb 8- Larissa from Connected By a Thread

Feb 9- Tibeca from Sewing by Ti

Feb 10- Robin from My Little Lady & Gentleman

Feb 11- Patricia from Sew Far North

Feb 12- Linda from Sew Happily Ever After

Feb 15- Larissa from Connected by a Thread and Essence from Amazing Adventures of Bubba and Bug

Feb 16- Amy from Wally and Grace

Feb 17- Melissa fron Rebel & Malice and Sharon from Sweetpea & Pumpkins

Feb 18- Ula from Lulu & Celeste

Feb 19- Teronia from Crazy Crafty Haute Mama and Cindy from Cindy Parrett.com

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Winter Wear Designs: The V Neck Vest

When I really got back into sewing and discovered PDF patterns, I quickly caught the testing bug! I love testing patterns and helping designers work out all the kinks! As life became busier and I started working for designers, I stopped testing, I just couldn’t make the time commitment and I really don’t like turning stuff in late! Lately, I have been getting back into testing groups, and Winter Wear Designs is one of my favorite designers to test for. I love her approach to testing and how she actually listens to what the testers say and suggest. I also LOVE that she is working on getting more BOY patterns out into pattern land! you can see more of the items I have made from this designer here.

The test we just finished up is for the boys V Neck Vest. It is on sale through Tuesday 2/2/16 for only $4!! Be sure to pick yours up! Of course, it will also look super cute on all those girls as well!

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Isn’t he just so cute??

 

Details:

Size: 1-14 (a size 1 is equivalent to 18 months)

V neck
banded arm holes
banded hem or a regular turned hem

Fabric choices:

upcycling
raw yardage of sweater knits
thick knit fabrics

This is definitely a nap time project! A few of the testers times ourselves and the average was ~33 min from start to finish!

My toddler loves his and keeps asking for his “soft shirt”

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Details about mine- The blue is a size 2 width with a 4 length and banded bottom. This was my first run of the pattern, and even though he fit in the 2 measurements, it was a little snug, so if you are in between measurements, I would size up. The red, is a straight size 3 with banded bottom. the fit was spot on! I can see is having a few more of these in the coming weeks! and defintely something cute for Easter!

Don’t forget to pick up your copy while it is on sale!

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Addy Mae wrap up

Last week, I shared pics of the Addy Mae blankets from the A Vision to Remember blog tour with you. I hope you enjoyed the blankets and the posts all week. Each one was unique in its own way. I love that about sewing- even when you are all using the same pattern, they all come out different!

While everyone else was busy sharing their blankets with you, I was busy at the machine sewing up my own blanket! I am in love with this one! I don’t know if I will list it for sale, gift it as a baby gift, or keep it for myself!

*The fabric and pattern for this quilt were provided to me by Bobbi, the designer behind A Vision to Remember, the opinions and fabric placement are all mine though*

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I love that these blankets are quick to come together! One of the reasons I don’t quilt is that I know that once I got the top made, it would sit there waiting forever for batting and a backing , then the quilting and binding! These, I am sewing them all together at once!

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The downside? my washer and dryer didn’t do a very good job of gathering the lint from the ragging! I think I am going to designate an old towel and some wool dryer balls just for rag quilts!  This one will take another spin this week to get the rag quilt look to come out a bit more!

This pattern has 2 different size blankets, but you can add more rows or columns to it to make any size blanket you want! It also includes measurements and directions on how to make it a car seat blanket/cover.

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Hopefully this past week inspired you to make your own project with this pattern, and this is easily a 2 nap project- cutting takes a while, then making the “cakes” and laying out your pattern. Sewing is quick once you have it together!

Here are the quilts from the tour along with mine:

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Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments and I will pick a random comment to win a free pattern from A Vision to Remember!!

If you want to go back and read the posts from the week, check them out below.

A Vision to Remember Addy Mae is the perfect gift for all those little babies this winter! Be sure to check out the different blankets this week!

Jan 26- Larissa from Connected by a thread

Jan 27- JaNette from Merri Poppins

Jan 28- Patricia from Sew Far North

Jan 29- Essence from Adventures with Bubba and Bug

Jan 30- Jona from Stitches & Spills