Year: 2015

Made Up: Sutton Blouse!

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As I’m sure those of you in the sewing world have seen, the Made Up Initiative from Karen at Did You Make That? is well underway and it’s pretty amazing to see how much has been raised so far (£2,402.90 as I write this… all to benefit the National Literacy Trust)!! Way to be, sewing world. :D My pledge was to finish (okay, start…) :/ the Sutton blouse I’ve been planning for B (my bff since about the 1st grade)… she is turning 30 later this month (aka joining the fun club!) so when she was over a few weeks ago to pupsit I left out a pile of fabrics and had her pick her favorite. She picked this “Watercolor Floral Polyester Chiffon” that I got on sale from Mood back in March. Funny thing is it’s one that I picked out specifically for her back then, but when it came it didn’t end up working for the project I had planned, so it’s been sitting in my stash ever since. By the way… B, if you …

30 before 30 – The Results!

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A little over a year ago, I made a plan. 30 things to do before I turned 30. Well that year came and went in about a day! I always say time flies, but I’m pretty sure it just goes by faster and faster as you get older. Maybe at some point it slows down again? I can wish, right? :) Anywhoo… here ya go! The results are in! 1  |  Grow something edible. My parents had one of those strawberry pots with all the holes in the sides just sitting around, so I acquired it, along with a few baby starter plants. This little guy was the only strawberry that survived before the worms got them and the pot dried out. I wish I’d gotten my dad’s green thumb, but unfortunately I did not. Or have not developed it yet. But nonetheless… I grew a strawberry! One day… 2  |  Learn to cold brew coffee. Darn. Not yet. I really should while the weather is still warm! Here’s a little inspiration, self.     Seems super …

Presidio Purse Pattern Testing!

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So here’s the project that brought about my whole piping hullabaloo! (Side note: I’m not sure if that’s an appropriate use of the word hullabaloo, but I went for it…) :/ Anyway, a little while back I got an email on my lunch break from Seamstress Erin (I’m on her mailing list) about how she was re-releasing her Presidio Purse pattern and was looking for a few testers. Since I’d only gotten the email about an hour before I read it, naturally I jumped at the opportunity. A girl can never have too many purses, can she? Okay, yes… yes, she can. I actually got rid of about 10 earlier this year. We’ll just not think about that right now. So most of the pattern testing was already out of the way from her first round; she just wanted to make sure everything had moved over to her new format correctly and do any necessary updates. I really wanted to use this fabric, but wasn’t sure if I was going to have enough. I bought 1 …

Buying Sewing Notions Online — Good Idea? Or a Recipe for Disaster?

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I’ve learned that I really like to have notions on hand. I don’t live near a fabric or sewing store of any kind (okay… I admit – there’s a quilting shop in town that I haven’t been to yet… but my hopes aren’t very high that they’ll have the things I’m looking for… but I still need to check them out one of these days). So anyway, I’ve taken to online shopping for my notions. The problem with online is they don’t always tell or show you exactly what the things you are purchasing look like. Therefore, you have to be just a little bit smart and, well, you know… read descriptions. And from those descriptions you hopefully have a good idea of what you’re ordering. Crazy idea, right!? Which brings us to today’s story. I recently learned my lesson the hard way. What was the lesson, you ask? Well let’s see. Here’s a nice little picture of some cotton piping cord: Okay, great… that’s what I need. I needed less than a yard but I figured… …