All posts tagged: Sewing

Miss Matatabi Noodlehead Divided Basket for the Dogs!

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Okay, okay… I had one last project to complete before jumping into Halloween! You’ve probably heard me mention BDAR on here before (just a time or two…) ;) If not, they are a super great organization I volunteered for back in Wyoming. They take in dogs from shelters all across Wyoming… lots who are “high risk” of being put down including those who either don’t photograph or show well in the shelter (i.e. black dogs or those who stress out too much in the shelter environment) or are just unlucky to be in high kill shelters that fill up too fast. They are pros at adopting out these “less-adoptables”. They also brought this guy into my life, so that’s a win right there :) So anyway… a while back I found this wine while on a wine tasting adventure and thought it absolutely needed to go to BDAR :) Perfect for their annual Bark & Wine fundraising event silent auction, don’t you think!? I made something for the event 2 years ago but missed last year. …

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… …

2-Year Sewiversary + A Tour of My Sewing Space!

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“I’ve learned so much from my mistakes… I’m thinking of making a few more” -Unknown I love that quote. I feel like it describes my sewing perfectly. It’s been a full two years now of learning from my mistakes and I’m still completely hooked. Over the past year, I’ve completed more than 40 projects (see them all here) and accomplished most of my sewing goals from last year… I think. Let’s take a look at those goals, shall we?! 1. Make a structured garment of some kind. Okay so I admit I haven’t ventured too far into wovens yet. Or structured anything. I made a structured basket, does that count? My blazer had a little structure. It seems the majority of the sewing community recommends starting with wovens and venturing into knits. Needless to say I’ve definitely gone the opposite direction. BUT, to be fair, about 98% of my RTW wardrobe is knits, so I like to think that I’m just being realistic and making things I’ll actually wear. 2. Become one with zipper installation. Hmm… let’s …

Shorts Weekend! | Grainline Maritime Shorts & Jalie Board Shorts

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The only pair of shorts I’ve made up till now were cheater shorts… they were a refashion from a pair of pants and they didn’t end up fitting all that well. :/ This past weekend, I finally got around to trying shorts again – times two! First up – Maritime shorts for me! I’m been wanting to try this pattern for a while. It’s such a simple style that fits perfectly into my wardrobe. I went all gung ho believing the fit was going to be great with no alterations and cut out two pairs at once. Probably not the best idea… but apparently I enjoy learning the hard way. I cut one out of a stretch twill and I had just enough to eeek out a second pair from my leftover Ginger Jeans denim. Well, almost enough; I filled in with  some shower curtain fabric (also used here, here, and here) for the back of the waistband and one of the pockets. SO the fit… I cut a straight 6. But, just like when …