The Good, the bad, and the ugly

Today was a very productive craft day in my house but only some of it was good. Some of it was bad. And some of it was downright ugly.

Sigh.

The good is that I was able to figure out how to thread my Janome serger myself after my two year old pulled all the threads out. This machine is new to me and I have only been shown how to thread it once so I felt great about managing to get it back in working order all by myself. Thankfully, the manual is very well written and comes with helpful photographs. I have a Janome 1110DX and I love it!

The bad is that I killed my iron. I was ironing mending patches on some of our old clothing, hoping to extend their life a bit, and I accidentally touched the wrong side of one to the iron. Then, I forgot I had done that and touched the iron to the belt of hubby's shorts. The glue stuck to the woven belt of hubby's shorts and then turned black. So, my iron now has a big black glue spot on it, including inside the vents. This is what comes of trying to work with two sick kids at home. I was distracted. My husband thinks I should clean it and keep it. I think I shall, but only for craft projects like this. I am going shopping tomorrow for a nicer iron for me. Target and Costco, here I come!

Finally, the ugly. Oh, how I wanted this to work. I wanted to make my almost 7 year old these Neat Beat pants from Ottobre Issue 6 from 2009. I thought that the stretch denim I found at Joann Fabric would work great but it was really too thick. It does not fall well. They look terrible. So, they are being tossed and I will find a better use for the denim later. Perhaps a book bag? In the words of a friend of mine, le sigh.

Polyvoring

When I am bored, I loved to Polyvore! Do you know this site? Well, if you don't, check it out!

Find me on Polyvore
Fun Stuff!

Buttons, buttons, buttons

To make the Rosalind T-shirt form Ottobre Summer 2009, I need 13 cute buttons to put around the neckline. So, of course, I have to spend HOURS online looking for them last night. They had to please me, fit the pattern's needs, and make my daughter happy. Finally, I found these and I think they are going to be perfect. They are from Overspill's shop on Etsy, which has many lovely vintage trimmings, haberdashery, and sewing supplies. I got 6 of each button so I can make the same shirt for my younger daughter, too.

SWAP - Sewing With A Purpose

On the wonderful Ottobre English Sewing Group, I learned about making a plan for sewing called SWAP - Sewing With A Purpose. They did it as a formal project last year, with everyone making a specific group of items for themselves. But I am doing it for myself to make a plan for sewing for my children. I have spent the better part of the last month working on this project. So, that is why I have not blogged in a while. I have been busy looking at patterns and ordering material!

I was able to take advantage of two wonderful fabric sales, one

at Chez Ami and the other at Treasure Bay on Etsy. My stash runneth over with lovely fabrics but I still could not look at it and figure out what to make or where to start. I knew I wanted to sew from my Ottobre magazines but I was not sure where to start. And, I want to create a min

i wardrobe for my two girls, ages 2 and 6, so I needed to make a plan to keep myself organized. So, here it is!

First up. my oldest daughter is charmed by this top from the cover of Ottobre Summer 2009 (issue 3). It is called the Rosalind T-shirt. I decided to make it from this lovely Chez Ami turquoise interlock. I have enough material to make a top for each girl and I found lovely turquoise and green buttons to use.

Next up, I am going to make my first grader a pair of pull on stretch denim capris. I found some nice Sew Crazy stretch denim at Joann Fabrics. I am going to take the Ottobre 6/09 Neat Beat pants pattern and shorten it to mid-calf. The denim is a mid-blue color so it will look cute with spring tops. This looks like a nice pattern. These pants are pull on with a nice flat front and an elastic back waist.

To match the pants above, I want to make a pattern from the new Ottobre, spring 2010. It has not arrived at my house yet so I do not know what it is called but here is a picture of the top from the Ottobre website. And here is the Chez Ami fabric I am going to use, the peony multi daisy print jersey.

After than, I want to make some faux Hanna Andersson play dresses for my soon-to-be 3 year old daughter. I have to prints from Chez Ami to use.

And I found a cropped leggings pattern in new, soon-to-arrive Spring Ottobre 2010 that will look adorable under these dresses. Here are the cotton lycra Chez Ami fabrics I plan to use. Aren't they adorable! And the turquoise top from above will go nicely with the red dot leggings, too!

At this point, it will hopefully be close to summer and I plan to make each girl this lovely Ottobre Sleeveless dress with frills from the 3/2006 edition.

I have such lovely fabrics to use, I am beside myself with glee. Treasure Bay fabrics, on Etsy, had a great sale last fall and I was able to snag all these lovely items.

For my oldest daughter, this lovely coral, turquoise and yellow collection with turquoise ribbon. I still need to find one more fabric!

For my youngest, this collection of pink and turquoise and pink ribbon.