blog tour – Page 2 – Connected By a Thread

Posted on April 6, 2016April 5, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 15 Comments

EYMM Capsule skirt

We love the Capsule skirt in our house! We made a few when the pattern first came out, but as kids do, she has outgrown them! A blog tour was the perfect excuse to make another!

I let the teenager chose the fabric for this one, and as teenagers do, she went bold and bright!

She loves her new skirt!

A classic, comfortable, and practical knit skirt. This will become a staple in your kiddos wardobe!

Details:

-additional hemline option for the back piece

-an optional low rise front option

-side seam pocket

-Knit yoga waistband

19 sizes for girls from newborn to 18 tween, and 15-18” doll

We had fun taking the pictures for this…until she realized there were bees in the tree next to her..then I got this for every picture….

yeah, pictures outside during spring are always fun with this bee fearing child!

I know we will have a few more of these made up for this summer, especially since she can sew them herself!

Make sure to check out all the other stops on the EYMM Capsule Skirt Tour.
(Note: The links won’t be live until the day they’re scheduled, but feel free to click through and check out other blog posts any time.)

Wednesday, April 6
Connected by a Thread, Sugarplum Cuties, The Wholesome Mama

Thursday, April 7
Sew Far North, Lulu & Celeste, Pattern Revolution

Friday, April 8
SewSophieLynn, Welcome to our Crazy World, EYMM

Saturday, April 9
handcrafted by RED, Pretty and Precious, Capture, Craft, and Cook

Sunday, April 10
create3.5, Sewing the Seasons, HattieLu Handmade

Monday, April 11
Creative Counselor, Rebel & Malice, Blessed x 5

Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the pattern while it’s on sale!
Use coupon code PERFECTSKIRT to save 25% on the Women’s Capsule Skirt, Girl’s Capsule Skirt, or Capsule Skirt Bundle until April 12 at 11:59pm PST.

Posted on March 28, 2016March 27, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 3 Comments

Easter Sewing Tour

We had such a laid back Easter, we stayed in our PJ’s all day! It was nice to have a relaxed holiday, where we didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything on anyone’s schedule but our own! This also meant that didn’t sew anything for my kids this year! I did sew up a dress for my friend’s little girl though! We went fabric shopping back in January, and I let Miss B pick some fancy fabric for a dress. I waited for the right pattern to come to me and was really getting stuck on what dress to make, as I have been using the bateau from Winter Wear Designs, but knew she already had at least 2 of them! Then Jessica from Izzy & Ivy posted about her sew a long for the Emory dress! Perfect!

The pattern is designed for cotton woven, so I had to make a few adjustments like leaving the adorable pockets off the skirt! They are super cute, but wouldnt have looked right with the pattern of the skirt! The second thing I did was line the skirt with the same fabric from the bodice.

I also did a much narrower hem for the bottom of the skirts, this was more of a personal preference as I don’t like a wider hem on this fabric. The sleeves are a super cute gathered band, and in the satin fabric, I love the way the light bounces off of it! For the back, I needed two buttons. I didn’t have any in my stash that would match this dress, so I opted to make my own covered buttons. they came out so sweet and are the perfect touch to finish this dress!

A word of advice if you attempt this type of dress, I would take a few inched off the width of the skirt, and put a heavy duty needle in your machine for attaching the skirt to the bodice, I broke 4 needles before it dawned on me to use a heavy duty one!

I have been told that Miss B loves her new dress and even tried to wear it to some Easter festivities on Sat (mom was saving it for Easter Sunday!). I love sewing for her becasue no matter what I make her, she always wants to wear it!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter! Check out what some of my favorite bloggers sewed up for the holiday!

3/28/16: Larissa from Connected By A Thread
3/28/16: Linda from Sew Happily Ever After
3/28/16: Amy from Wally and Grace
3/29/16: Cindy from Cindy Parrett
3/30/16: Ula from Lulu & Celeste
3/30/16: Fenna from FABulous Home Sewn
3/31/16: Courtney from the WHOLESOME mama
4/1/16: Patricia from Sew Far North
4/1/16: Tibeca from Sewing By Ti

Posted on March 22, 2016March 21, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 19 Comments

It’s a Spring Break Pajama Party!

*Denotes affiliate links

When I saw this tour, I had all these big plans to sew PJ’s for everyone in the house. Then the husband said he wouldn’t be in pictures. So I decided to just sew for the kids.

Picking a pattern for the teen was easy! She fell in love with my Comfy Cozy Pj’s from Laela Jeyne*. You can read more about the pair I sewed myself during the testing in this post. For hers, I chose the shorts and short sleeves since spring is on its way. I have had both flannels in my stash for a while, with the plan to make the toddler a Star Wars rag quilt. She decided she really liked the combo though, so I went with it. She has worn them to bed twice this week already and keeps telling me she loves them and that they are the best PJ’s ever. I only modified them to have snaps rather than buttons since I didn’t have any buttons that would match!

For the toddler, I knew I would make him some sort of cotton pants, but I really wanted to push myself to use one of the (many) patterns I own but have never sewn. I ended up choosing the Tie Dye Diva Snazzy Pants. I should have sewn a size up for him, the 3T was a little short in the rise for him. He is not too fond of his new pants, so trying to get pictures proved near impossible. A few M&M’s and he gives me a little bit of a smile. I paired his pants with a RTW thermal since we took pictures outside. Over all, the pattern was super quick to sew, and it went together really quick!

Of course, they can never take a nice picture together, but they really do love each other!

Hopefully, you are ready to sew up some PJ’s for yourself or your kids! Be sure to comment with what patterns you want to use and enter the giveaways below!

Happy Sewing!
~~Larissa

There are 24 shops sponsoring prizes for this tour!

Along with today’s daily giveaway (see below!) there is also larger giveaway and a link up happening. Go to today’s post over at Create 3.5 to get the full details on how to link up and to enter the giveaway!

We are also lucky to have four fabric shops offering readers discount codes:

Mabel Madison is offering 20% off with the code JAMMIES. Code expires March 31st!

PhatQuarters is offering 10% off OR FREE shipping to US addresses on orders over 40$ US (with an equivalent discount for international shoppers). Use the code PHAT10 for 10% off OR FREE40 for free shipping to US.

Raspberry Creek Fabrics is offering 15% off with the code PJPARTYTOUR. Good through March 26th!

Tangled Blossoms Designs is offering 10% off with the code PJPARTY. Code expires March 25th!

And now for today’s giveaway!

Today’s prize is sponsored by Serger Pepper and Pollywoggles. You could win 1 pattern of your choice from both shops! Visit Serger Pepper and Pollywoggles to see what they have to offer. The giveaway ends March 23rd at 11:59pm EST. See the Rafflecopter on how to enter! You have up to 8 chances to win! The winner will be chosen March 24th and will have 48 hours to respond to the email before a new winner is chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.

Want to win more prizes? Visit Lulu & Celeste tomorrow to see what new prizes will be up for grabs as well as see the previews for tomorrow’s bloggers. You still have time to enter yesterday’s giveaway! Go to Sprouting JubeJube’s post from yesterday to enter the giveaway that ends at 11:59pm EST tonight (March 22nd)!

Missed a stop on the tour? The full schedule is below!

Monday, March 21st

Sew Far North | The Wholesome Mama | From-a-Box | Pattern Revolution
Inspinration | Paisley Roots

Tuesday, March 22nd

Sprouting JubeJube | 5 Out Of 4 | Sew Happily Ever After | Beri Bee Designs
Phat Quarters | Connected by A Thread

Wednesday, March 23rd

Create 3.5 | Handmade Boy | HattieLu Handmade | Made by Melli
The Crafting Fiend | Sweeter Than Cupcakes

Thursday, March 24th

Lulu & Celeste | Sew Starly | Phat Quarters | Pear Berry Lane
Rebel & Malice | Creative Counselor

Friday, March 25th

Made By Jaime | Mae & K | Mabel Madison | SewSophiLynn
Amazing Adventures of Bubba & Bug | MahlicaDesigns

Posted on March 21, 2016March 24, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 7 Comments

A Vision to Remember Houndstooth quilt

Time for another A Vision to Remember Pattern!! This time, we are using the Houndstooth Quilt pattern. I absolutely love this finished quilt!

Whenever I see a houndstooth print or pattern, I think of the old Atari game Space invaders. Something about it makes me think of that game!

Bobbi (the designer) was so kind to send me the fabric for this quilt. I am always up to sew whatever the designer wants to see, so when she asked if black and red were okay to send, I said sure! It is not my usual choice of pastels or neutral colors, but I love the contrast of the red and black!

the red flannel has a bit of a marbled look to it, which was hard to capture in the pictures. My two year old has already tried to lay claim to this blanket, even though it will go in my shop this week!

Even the back looks awesome!

Lets talk pattern details:

Finished quilt: 46″ x 46″ (that is with the optional border added)
Easy to follow step by step directions with pictures and diagrams to help those that are a bit more visual.
a final layout diagram is included to help with placing the pieces in the correct order to achieve the houndtooth print.

Honestly, the sewing of the pattern was quick. cutting and prepping everything took the longest for me. Of course clipping all the seams takes a while as well. this one has been through the wash once, but once it is washed a few more times, the rag quilt effect will be much better. I am already thinking up the next color combinations for my next houndstooth quilt!

What colors do you want to see? Leave me a comment and I might just make one (or three!)

Be sure to check out all the amazing blankets on tour this week!

Be sure to check out the other amazing bloggers and their quilts on tour this week!

3/21/16

Larissa from Connected by a Thread

3/22/16

Essence from Amazing Adventures of Bubba and Bug

Bethany from Sew Not Perfect

3/23/16

Rebecca from Finn’s Door

3/24/16

Denita from HattieLu Handmade

JaNette from Merri Poppins

3/25/16
Kelly from Handmade Boy

Posted on March 14, 2016March 18, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 3 Comments

Whimsical Fabric Voile Blog tour

I’m so excited to be the first stop on the Whimsical Fabric Voile tour! I have just recently started playing with voile and venturing to use it for garments. I think what held me back so long was I really didn’t know what voile was! It is really hard to tell from a picture and a description what something feels like or what it sews like. a simple search turned up this: Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 100% cotton or cotton blends including linen or polyester.

Doesn’t really tell you much right? Well, let me tell you about it! It is silky soft, perfect for tops that don’t need a knit. I have seen some awesome dresses for little girls, and I bet it would make a wonderful maxi skirt (ohh…might have to use the coupon to get some to try that!). For this project, I picked a beautiful light blue with flowers (found HERE). I also picked Winter Wear Designs Button up as my pattern (found HERE).

This sewed up so nice! I modified the pattern just a little. I used a smaller seam allowance as I was between sizes. I also turned my sleeves under 1/4″ and hemmed than that way rather than using bias tape (personal preference). I haven’t decided if I want to put buttons on this one or leave it this way to wear over my tank tops this summer!

Pattern Details:

Long sleeve with tab
Long sleeve with cuff and placket
3/4 sleeve plain
3/4 sleeve with tab
Short sleeve
Sleeveless
Front pockets with optional pocket flaps
Directions for sewing the shirt with french seams for really sheer fabrics

Ok, back to the voile! This was the 3rd shirt I have sewn in voile for myself, and I are starting to wish all my shirts were this soft! The fabric has a beautiful drape. My first thought was it would make a beautiful infinity scarf, but I never wear scarves! It sews very nice with a universal needle. My last shirt, I forgot that I had a microtex needle in my machine, and it kept snagging and pulling the fabric. If that happens when you start sewing yours, check your needle! I really flew through the machine like butter! If you find your machine wants to eat the fabric, try putting some tissue paper under it.

Things we all want to know:

Fabric width: 54″
100% cotton
Fabric washes beautifully but tends to wrinkle easily. This was the only downside I found, as I never iron things, but with this fabric, I need to iron it before I can wear it!

I also made the Gallery tunic by liesl+Co (found HERE). This is one of my favorites to wear! I will share more about this top on Saturday!

I hope I have inspired you to pick up some voile and give it a try!

Be sure to check out all the posts this week! So many different uses for Voile!

3/14: Larissa from Connected by a Thread
3/15: Denita from Hattielu Handmade
3/16: JaNette from Merri Poppins
3/17: Sharon from Sweet Pea & Pumpkins
3/18: Stacey from From a Box

You can shop voile fabrics on the Whimsical Fabric website and be sure to use VOILE for 10% off your voile order! Coupon expires Thursday, March 24th at midnight CST.

Posted on March 14, 2016March 13, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 3 Comments

EYMM Frestyle Harems

*Denotes Affiliate links

I am so excited to be apart of this EYMM blog tour! I will be honest, when I first saw this tour, I was going to pass. Harems are not my style, nor something my kids would wear often. Then it dawned on me! I have a sweet little nephew on the way! These are prefect for diapered bottoms! So, I decided to sew up the size 0-3 months size.

When I picked fabrics, I didn’t know if baby would be a boy or a girl yet, so I tried to pick gender neutral prints. I chose to go with knits since I sewed such a tiny size! The zoo print and blue dots are from Whimsical fabrics. I bought some a while back when she had it on clearance. The other two, I got in a fabric swap with a friend. The toothless custom knit, both my kids have items from it, and now my nephew will too!

These came together really quick, all 4 pair took me about 2 1/2 hours to cut and sew (with distractions).

When it came time to take pictures, I started laying them out and my toddler asked what I was doing. I told him I was making baby pants and asked if I could borrow Kevin (his doll) to model them for me. He let me borrow him, but he was right on the edge of the blanket to make sure nothing happened to his baby (like any good daddy would do!)

He had to make sure his arm was okay when “Kevin is trying to crawl”

I guess I need to make Kevin some new pants! He is a 20″ lots o love doll, and I think the newborn size will fit him perfect!

Side note, before you ask, yes, I knit the blanket in the background!

The children’s pattern offers:
3 length options
2 front waistbands
3 hem options
19 children’s sizes, newborn-18 tween.

*BONUS* includes doll pattern that fits most 18″ dolls and can be shortened for 15″ dolls.

The women’s Pattern offers:
2 length options
2 front waistbands
3 hem options
10 women’s sizes, XS-5X

I hope you find someone (or yourself!) to sew some harems for!

Make sure to check out the rest of the Freestyle Harems Blog Tour during the next week. (Note: The links below won’t be live until their scheduled date.)

March 9 – Joelle at EYMM

March 10 – Patricia from Sew Far North

March 11 – Tami from Sew Sophie Lynn

March12 – Kelly from Analog Bytes

March 13 – Lore from Blessed x Five

March 14 – Larissa from Connected by a Thread

March 15 – Aimee from Capture, Craft, and Cook

During the blog tour, you can get the Freestyle Harem Pants on sale! Use code FREESTYLE to save 25% on the women’s* or youth* sizing or on the bundle*, expires at 11:59pm PST on 3/15/2016.

Posted on March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 2 Comments

A Vision To Remember Apron

Before I found A Vision to Remember, I thought that rag quilts were the only option for that sewing. I also thought it could only be done with flannel! Boy was I wrong! I have made a purse and now an apron! I am already thinking about other things I can make..a pillow? towels? doll blankets? Really, the possibilities!

Bobbie asked if she could send me fabric for this project, and she picked a gorgeous line! I love this so much! It was perfect for Valentines day! We had originally planned this tour in February but once we started sewing them, decided the pattern needed some updating. Bobbi was great and quickly took the advice of the bloggers and made the changes needed to bring the pattern up to date. Now we get to share it with you!

Isn’t this fabric so pretty??? Something about pink and black together! Once cut, this pattern is so quick to come together! The front is all quilting cottons and the back is a lovely cream flannel.

The pattern has a line drawing at the end, and I used it to label my fabrics/pieces before hand to ensure I would get the look I was going for!

I’m going to be wrapping this up for a gift, so I opted to only do flat shots and not wash it (in case the recipient has sensitivities or allergies!)

I will be making more of these and playing with this pattern some more! I want to make the toddler an art smock and the teen one for art/science/messy projects!

I can only imagine how lovely this will look once it is washed!

Be sure to hit all the stops this week!

3/1: Larissa from Connected by a Thread

3/2: JaNette from Merri Poppins

3/2: Patricia from Sew Far North

3/3: Melissa from Rebel & Malice

3/3: Ula from Lulu & Celeste

3/4: Denita from HattieLu Handmade

3/4: Essence from Amazing Adventures of Bubba and Bug

Posted on February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 11 Comments

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!

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!

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

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!

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

Posted on February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 6 Comments

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*

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!

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.

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:

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

Posted on January 26, 2016January 25, 2016 by larissaegibbs — 2 Comments

A Vision to Remember Addy Mae Blog Tour

Switching it up this week 🙂 I love everything about A Vision to Remember patterns! I love the simplicity of them, I love the look of her finished items, and I love the designer behind it all!

This week, we are sharing the Addy Mae Quilt pattern/car seat cover. Here are a few from the designers website (I don’t have any little ones in carriers anymore!)

I love her color combinations

Below, are some teaser from the posts coming this week, and at the end of the week, I will be posting one I am sewing up myself!

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 & Larissa from Connected By a Thread

Tag: blog tour

EYMM Capsule skirt

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Easter Sewing Tour

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It’s a Spring Break Pajama Party!

And now for today’s giveaway!

Missed a stop on the tour? The full schedule is below!

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A Vision to Remember Houndstooth quilt

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Whimsical Fabric Voile Blog tour

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EYMM Frestyle Harems

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A Vision To Remember Apron

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Jocole Love Tour

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Addy Mae wrap up

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A Vision to Remember Addy Mae Blog Tour

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And now for today’s giveaway!

Missed a stop on the tour? The full schedule is below!

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