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I have moved! Please check out my newest creativity at www.southshorehandmade.blogspot.com.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

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)!

Monday, August 9, 2010

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!

Friday, August 6, 2010

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.)

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

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. :-)