Archive for March 2011

MMM Days 21-27

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Last full week! So part of my goal in this challenge was to wear something different that I made every day and this week I totally failed! Monday I accidentally wore the dress I wore on Day 6! Anyway, I figured once I broke my one rules, I didn't have to stress anymore about coming up with new things to wear anymore. Because of that, I've ended up wearing some of the exact same outfits as earlier in the month so I'm just posting the same pictures as before...

Day 21: Same dress as Day 6, Coffee Date dress from The Selfish Seamstress, made with sheets from Walmart.


Day 22: Dress from Day 7, Simplicity 2406, thinking about making another version of this dress because it's so easy and doesn't use that much fabric...


Day 23: This top is from McCalls 5804, which is out of print. Instead of the neck tie I made a ruffle, which isn't really ruffly enough in my opinion, but I still think it works. Made this a few weeks ago but I hadn't worn it yet. I think it will go well with the white suit I ordered a few days ago. I love this pattern, but I feel like it might be too distinctive looking to have several versions of...


Day 24: Board meeting day, same dress as Day 2. Clearly I haven't done much sewing lately! Must work on that!


Day 25: Top from McCalls 5804, same as Wednesday but sewn according to instructions... (sometimes I follow the rules :)



Day 26: 2 re-makes, purple dress for running around with the family during the day, green dress for a party in Austin, TX to premiere a documentary airing on PBS this summer following the growing olive industry in Texas. Such a fun party! My family apparently has the oldest olive trees in Texas growing on in the backyard of my grandmother's home so we're in the documentary. SO EXCITING! Can't wait for it to air!


Day 27: Dress from Day 6, Simplicity 3835 for dinner with the parents before they leave on their cruise tomorrow. Have fun mom and dad!


As great as this challenge has been though, I'm glad to see it coming to an end in the next few days, not because I don't enjoy wearing the things I've made, but because I miss a lot of my ready to wear pieces! However, this challenge has really caused me to ramp up my sewing and finish projects more quickly, so I'm hoping that sticks!


Have a great week!

MMM Days 16-20

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So slow in posting lately! Here's the rundown from the 16th-20th...

Day 16: Dress made from Butterick 5211 and a satin print from Hancock Fabrics. This is a great example of why this challenge is so good for seamstresses! This is the second dress I ever made and after I finished it I only wore it once, probably because I knew where all the mistakes were. However, a year later, the mistakes don't bother me as much!


Day 17: This dress was a quick re-do for St. Patrick's Day (I'm part Irish so I have to wear green!). As you can see, it was rather large, with longer sleeves and was un-hemmed. I cut it down, hemmed it and re-did the sleeves late Wednesday night so I could wear it to my really hectic Thursday that ended with corned beef and cabbage, Irish beer and shortbread.





Day 18: Dress from Butterick 5319, quilting cotton from JoAnns. Probably the first dress I've made that I felt was really decent and relatively mistake free!


Day 19: A quick Saturday remake that I threw together when I found out there were dinner plans with old friends in 2 hours. The skirt was a size 22, so I pretty much cut it in half, put elastic in the top and threw on a belt. Love! (In the background you can see half of my way too prolific shoe collection...)



Day 20: Sunday running around outfit is a remake from another large dress that I took in, added an elastic waist to and made a fabric belt.


Finally, a picture of my Friday estate sale finds! A little more than I would normally pay for fabric but still cheaper than the fabric store! Also, the whole bag of thread was $5 and has several brand new spools, way cheaper than buying it from JoAnns! All the fabrics are cotton except for the purple, which is jersey. I'm thinking there's a pencil skirt, a couple of button down shirts and a dress or two in there!




MMM Days 14 & 15

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About halfway through the challenge! I have to say, the goal of wearing something different everyday this month is about to start getting difficult. I think I have about 4 more days worth of work clothes and a few more things to wear on the weekend. I'm definitely not going to make it all the way! I'm hoping that this will inspire me to refashion a bunch of items from the pile of thrift store finds I have since that's so much faster than making things from scratch!

I also just realized I have nothing green and handmade to wear on St. Patrick's Day! I think I have a green dress somewhere in the thrift store pile so I'm hoping to find it and work something out by Thursday so I don't get pinched!

Anyway, here's Monday's outfit. The top is made from New Look 6705, view E, and the fabric is from Walmart. This fabric is definitely an example of the old adage "you get what you pay for". I think I paid $1 a yard and the fabric is already picking like crazy! The shirt overall is cute but it's kind of a tent so a belt is required and a cardigan for the March breezes. Because of this it's hard to see what the shirt actually looks like! Sorry! Suffice to say, it has a round yoke neckline and is sleeveless.

Looking at this picture I wish I would jump on the "make your own trousers" train that everyone in the sewing blog world seems to be on lately. I love these jeans from Forever 21, but it would be fun to make my own! Maybe after March I'll make an attempt...


Today's outfit is inspired by another one of my favorite shows, How I Met Your Mother, from the episode where Ted takes Stella on the two minute date. I made this skirt really early in my sewing "career" but didn't wear it that often. When I saw the episode, a new outfit was born and now it's one of my favorites for work!



The skirt is made from Butterick 5249 and a vintage glen plaid I stole from one of my aunt's fabric stashes. The skirt fits really well and I love the ruffle on the bottom. I really need to make another one of these!
Anyway, off to the mall to try on shoes since today was pay day! Hope you're having a great week!

MMM Days 10-13

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Life has been crazy, so here's a quick run-down of the last four days!


Thursday: This dress is a refashion from an estate sale. It was huge, and floor length originally, with weird, drawstring-like things hanging from the collar. I shortened it, took it in, removed the strings and made a belt. It turned out pretty well for an easy work dress...




Friday: This top is also from an estate sale, I took it in, shortened the sleeves and added elastic to them so they would puff out a little. (not that you can tell from this picture)








Saturday: This top I made from Simplicity 3835 from the Built by You line (the same pattern from my 60's mini dress). It's a little tight in the sleeves but it's an easy top to throw on, which is really what I want from all my clothes, the ability to throw on and go... My sister took this picture before we made the trek to Luminaria, a really cool arts festival downtown in our city. There were beautiful art installations everywhere and food booths from famous local restaurants. It was a little chilly but all-in-all, pretty fabulous! Definitely on my list for next year!


This art installation was hanging from the entry gate to the park. So pretty!


Sunday: To be honest, I only wore this outfit for about 20 minutes to run to the grocery store for dinner. The rest of the day was spent entirely in sweats (hence the lack of makeup and the wacky hair in the pic!) I almost felt like taking a break from the challenge today since I only went out of the house for a minute but I figured I could throw on this shirt and still rock the challenge. PS The shirt is from a thrift store and I pretty much just took it in. Not much of a refashion but oh well...

Hope everyone had a great weekend!



MMM Day 8 & 9

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2 days of easy dresses, due to the fact that, as of yesterday afternoon, I have 8 grants due by next Friday! Every day for the past few days, we've found out about another grant that we filled application for and were approved for a full app. It's exciting to have all these opportunities but all these grants have such a short turn-around! I'm pretty much moving into my office, sleeping bag and all, in order to get this all done!




Tuesday's dress is from Butterick 5555 (the cat wanted to be involved in the picture). I love the fabric and the pattern separately, but I don't know if I love them together... The fabric is too busy to highlight the bib on the front of the dress. Also I put the collar in wonky. Funny how we always point out the flaws first!




Today's dress is from Burda 7517. I actually love this dress, no complaints. The pattern is easy to sew and I love the ribbons that wrap the body. These two dresses are perfect examples of why I wear dresses most days. I can just throw it on with a pair of heels and go! Great for when I wake up 20 minutes before I have to be at work!

In other news, on Sunday after church I ran by JoAnns to pick up some of the new Simplicity patterns. I bought 2209, 2211, 2212, 2220, 2245 and 2246. I love the Project Runway pattern and think the ruffle dress of the Suede pattern is super fun! I'm definitely making versions of both for summer! I also like the jacket on the "Passport" Lisette pattern (2209) and the long shirt dress on the "Traveler" pattern (2246). The other two patterns are maybe not things I would normally buy but I have this thing about having to buy the complete set... The 2246 shirt dress will be on the list soon!







Back to the grindstone! I feel like I'm being crushed under the weight of my workload this week, but I ordered a new bag and a new suit which should be coming in tomorrow and I just discovered two shirts in my closet that I forgot I refashioned, so two new items to wear this month! Rays of light in the midst of the craziness!


Hope everyone is having a calmer week than me!

MMM Day 7: Mondays are for meetings...

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Love this dress! (This picture is also terrible...) It's the second time I've made Simplicity 2406 from Cynthia Rowley. Both times I've made it I've had problems with the back closure. It's made to be open back with facings down the back seam, so a zipper is hard to insert. The last time I left the dress open-backed with a hook and eye at the top because it was more evening. This time I tried to insert a zipper but I couldn't make it look right so I closed it with 4 hook and eyes. However, those kept coming undone, so now I have 4 buttons and loops. This seems to be holding alright but the buttons are kinda uncomfortable to lean back on in a chair. At this point, I might just close the back up entirely because I'm pretty sure I can just pull it over my head... Ugh. If only clothes could magically appear on my body so I didn't have to deal with closures!

On another note, I love this fabric from JoAnns! (Clearly where I buy almost all my fabric...) It was on clearance and there was only 1 3/4 yards left. This was the only dress pattern I had that used such little fabric and I didn't want to try to fiddle with some other pattern to make it work. I think it turned out pretty well, which I'm judging by the fact that the cashier at La Madeline today said it was cute and asked where I got it!

Have a great week!

MMM Day 5 & 6: Weekends are never long enough!

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Disclaimer: These photos are HORRIBLE! But I'm working on it...


Weekends are definitely never long enough, but I did have a good weekend seeing The Adjustment Bureau (pretty good movie), laying on the couch and watching endless Criminal Minds episodes, sewing and eating yummy food!

I managed to wear something I made both days this weekend! A miracle! Although, the sweater I wore on Saturday morning is sort of a disaster. I made it from Butterick 5394 with a flannel from JoAnns. I intended it to be a cute, warm, plaid, long cardi to wear to the movies and it turned out looking like an old man's bathrobe (not that you can really tell from the picture but that's why my expression looks depressed :). It's too big and has a floppy collar and cuffs that don't help the situation. I've gone back and forth with the idea of fixing it because it would require removing pockets in order to take it in, which might be more work than I want to do. I had pretty much resigned myself to the idea that it would be fine for wearing around the house and maybe walking to the local taco place for breakfast on Saturdays, but now I'm feeling like it deserves more of a life than that. But since I live in Texas and we probably only have a week or two of below 80degree weather left, it might go in the "you need to fix this" basket until the fall when it gets cool again.



I finally finished the Coffee Date dress from Selfish Seamstress and got to wear it to church on Sunday for the first time. I started to make this dress last spring to wear to a work fundraising event but I had problems putting in the zipper (in part from trying to match up the waistband and in part because I didn't have as much sewing experience). I put it aside to finish later and never got around to it, so I decided, since I have to come up with something handmade to wear every day this month, that I should finish up a few UFOs to add to the mix. Part of what I love about this dress is that it's made from a sheet from Walmart. The fabric was great to sew with and since a twin size sheet is $4.95 and is plenty of fabric, it's a crazy good deal! I'm thinking I might start making muslins with Walmart sheets, since I usually don't believe in spending money on fabric for something I'm not planning on wearing, but the sheets are so cheap! I hemmed the skirt with my rolled hem foot which, let me just say, is the greatest invention ever (next to my invisible zipper and blind hem feet)! I bought a lot of 14 presser feet off Ebay a few weeks ago and it's literally changing my sewing life! Before I just had a buttonhole, zipper and standard foot, but everything is so much easier with specialized feet! LOVE IT!

Finally, I made this dress this weekend from Simplicity 3835 from the Built by You line. I've made a shirt from this pattern before, which I liked but the sleeves were a little awkward. I had the same problem this time, the sleeves are super tight! I read a few reviews on on Pattern Review and no one else seemed to have the same problem so maybe I just have fat arms? Anyway, I'm ignoring it right now but I know I'll have to take them out and re-do them eventually. Also, I did think that, despite the name "mini-dress", it might be long enough to wear to work. Clearly not. Especially since I work at a Christian non-profit. I might bend over and show everyone the good china... Overall I like it though. It has a cute 60's vibe and at the very least it was fun to wear to dinner Sunday night and tonight with dad and the sister...
 In the meantime I've had an online shopping spree. I bought a great new bag and a suit from The Limited, which is having an incredible suit sale! Waiting for all the stuff to come in the mail and avoiding my credit card bill!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

MMM Day 4: TGIF!

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Note to self: I really need to figure out this whole posing thing... In other news, so glad it's Friday! this week has been crazy and definitely calls for margaritas tonight and then a whole Saturday of sewing and Netflix!

The outfit today seems like a bit of a cop-out because only the shirt is made by me. However, I've had to fix the skirt so many times (resewing seams, replacing zippers, etc) that it almost seems made by me. The shirt is from McCalls 5884 and is made from a some silky synthetic from JoAnns. I'm using this pattern again this weekend but I'll hopefully be able to figure out the modification of making the tie a ruffle. Wish me luck and HAPPY FRIDAY!

MMM Day 3: Full of Glee!

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I must be feeling sassy today, and full of glee because it's nearly Friday! Although the name of this post actually refers to the inspiration for my skirt, my fave from Glee, Emma Pillsbury! I loved her skirt in the Touch Me number from the Rocky Horror episode last October and although this isn't an exact replica, it's definitely inspired by that look...



I made it from McCalls 5631, with a crepe backed satin from JoAnns. Now I wish I would have made it a little shorter and maybe underlined it with a stiffer fabric so it stood out a little more. However, two of my Board members complimented me on it today so I guess it still works...

Was looking forward to casual Friday at the office tomorrow but then I remembered I have to speak at a Rotary Club luncheon. Guess it's another day in heels...



Happy Thursday!

Daddy Long Legs

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Something about grey, cloudy days make me want to take the day off work, curl up on my couch and watch old movies. Today is one of those days where I would much rather be home watching my favorite, Daddy Long Legs, than at my desk preparing for a Board meeting...



If you haven't seen it, Daddy Long Legs is a 1955 movie with Leslie Caron and the fabulous Fred Astaire. It's the story of an 18 year old French orphan (Leslie Caron) who is discovered by a rich American playboy (Fred Astaire) while he's touring the French countryside. His car breaks down on the side of the road and he catches a ride to the orphanage in hopes that the maintenance man can fix his car. He sees her out the window, teaching the younger children how to spell and is enchanted by her, so he secretly pays her way to come to America and go to college. She never knows who he his, but calls him her "Daddy Long Legs" because she sees his shadow on a building and the shadow has really long legs... Anyway, they eventually meet, fall in love and have lots of incredible dance scenes. Of course, being set in the 1950's, the clothes are gorgeous, but my favorite scene is when Leslie Caron first arrives at school and is surprised by trunks of gorgeous clothes appearing in her dorm room. This needs to be my life... Except for the orphan part of course!



Hope everyone's having a great Thursday!

Me-Made-March Day 2

5:07 PM 2 Comments A+ a-



Pardon the weird pose, I'm too busy admiring my fave new shoes to look at the camera! One of the perks of my job is access to plenty of clothes to refashion. The nonprofit I work for has a clothing pantry for homeless and poverty stricken individuals and families so we receive tons of clothing donations from people in the community. Sometimes, when we have donations that stay on the rack for months, we pull them and take them to charity thrift stores like Goodwill, that is, unless I get to them first! This dress came from work and in its original state I understand why it got passed over! But after taking it in and cutting the sleeves off, it became one of my favorite work dresses!



Planning on doing a lot of sewing tonight since tomorrow I have a Strategic Planning meeting with our Board of Directors and a funding workshop with the United Way, both of which will cause me to collapse on the couch after work and not move for the rest of the night...

Happy Wednesday!

Me-Made-March Day 1

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1 day down! I was hoping to wear something pretty and springy but unfortunately, due to crazy Texas weather, it was around 40 degrees when I left for work this morning. However, perhaps it's appropriate to start with this dress because it's the first thing I ever made when I started sewing! It's Butterick 5247, made with a purple jersey from Hancock. The first project I made was with jersey and the second was a slippery satin. Starting with such difficult fabrics it's a wonder I kept at it!
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