Starting to decorate

So... be prepared for some posts about decorating. We're moving into our new house this weekend (YIPPEE!!) so I went crazy at Bed, Bath, and Beyond today. I got the wall cabinet above for the boys' bathroom. I'm going for a jungle theme in there, planning to stencil monkeys on the wall.

I got this comforter/sheet set for the guest room. My parents are coming a week after we move in, so I have to be prepared, right? I looooove mostly white bedding. Not sure why. I guess it's the illusion of cleanliness. :-) Anyway, this is way too girly to pass the husband test for our bed, but it's perfect for a cheery guest room/sewing room.



Here's a little BB&B tip - if you go on their website and join their email list, they'll email you a coupon right away for 20% off one item - very handy when buying that bed-in-a-bag.

So, does this decorating stuff interest you? It will evolve to include wall painting and such pretty soon. :-) Sewing will also return in the next couple of weeks, along with my NEW SEWING MACHINE (still to-be-purchased)!

Braid Trim Tank

So my sister has this really cute dress from Target I wanted to replicate (it's a bit sad when I'm knocking off Target fashion). But without a pattern, I ended up making it way too big and unflattering, so I started over and cut out a simple tank top and trimmed it with the edging I made for the dress.



I didn't use a pattern for the top - just started with two rectangles and fit from there. The braid trim is made with 4 pieces (instead of 3 like a regular braid) to make it wider and replicate the Target dress. I attached the trim to the top with a regular machine straight stitch near the edge of the trim. That's how the Target dress was made. I would prefer the look of hand-stitched, but this looks fine and was so much faster.



I actually made this while staying at my parents' house a few weeks ago. No sewing going on here for a few more weeks until we're settled in our new house. For now, I'm still doing quite a lot of knitting and should have a sweater to show for it in a week or two!

Fall sewing desires

I'm no fashion or style blogger. I have no new take on style. Every time I try to define my own style, my brain has a meltdown. It's some type of classic/boho-lite/boring/whatever-caught-my-eye-last-week mishmash. Having let out that disclaimer, let me say I really like J.Crew. Never does a season pass when I don't covet at least 50% of their new arrivals. So, their new fall pieces are up, and here's what I'm really wanting to make (or break down and buy):

Oh my. Why do I love this so much? I want to wear this with jeans every weekend this winter. I guess this is the logical next step after last year's plaid shirts. It's a little more modern than a plain plaid flannel shirt, and it looks even more cozy in the half-button tunic shape. And it would be so easy to create this pattern from a basic buttondown shirt pattern. Must. Make. This.


I want to make more woven blouses this fall, both casual cotton and dressier silk. I really like the lace details on this one. I'd be limited to white, though, to match the lace to cotton, or I could do a dying experiment, I suppose!


I'm really loving this henley with tuxedo-shirt-type pleats instead of the recently ubiquitous ruffles.


I know that embellished tees and tanks are hardly anything new this year, but I really like how light and deliberate this one looks. Since it's on sale for $20, though, is it really worth making? I guess it'd still be $20 less to make something similar, though, given my stash of knits.


I always love the look of a nice jacket, but wear one maybe once a season. Seriously. I think I'd wear this one, though! It's a knit. It says it's felted wool jersey, but I think it could work with a sweatshirt-type fabric. Or, if I find an inexpensive wool jersey, I know what I'll be doing with it.


How can pants look so comfy and yet so polished? They're 4-way stretch, and I wonder if they would turn out a wrinkly mess on me. I bought a pair of these "minnie" style pants at an outlet and really love how they look. I'll have to post a pic. I don't know how I could possibly find or alter a pattern that would fit as well as these do. (don't think I'll be buying or making these in red, though. I've owned red pants, but I think this skin-tight variety is best kept to black, charcoal, or brown for me.)

Life marches on.

Nothing going on here on the sewing front. A bit of knitting, still. We're buying a house here in Florida (found out our offer was accepted this weekend), so this is a very exciting time, even though there is no sewing machine around yet. :-)