Pink voile skirt

I don't think I've blogged about this skirt, but I wore it last week and snapped a pic. I made it a couple of weeks before leaving Germany.


It's a simple gathered skirt made from cotton voile from Gorgeous Fabrics. It's the simplest skirt ever - no pattern. I cut a strip for the waistband the length of my waist plus a little extra. The skirt part is about 2 times the length of my waist, just gathered to fit the waistband. I put an invisible zipper and hook and eye in for closure. I love simple things like this. :-) Makes me feel clever and productive.


Even after I remembered Self-Stitched September, I've been doing a very poor job remembering to take pics each day. I thought about spending this afternoon putting on the outfits I forgot to photograph last week, but no, that's not going to happen. Oh well. I can start fresh today, and it will be Self-Stitched-Second (half of) September. :-)

I found the pedal for my sewing machine! Nothing hold me back now but me. :-)

Sewing Crisis!

This morning, I decided it's time to set up my sewing machine. I filed papers that had stacked on my sewing table, cleared off various other junk piles that have settled there after the move, and got out my machine.

PROBLEM! I didn't pack my pedal with the machine in the box for some reason, and I haven't come across it yet. I started digging through the boxes we haven't opened yet (only about 10 or so) and haven't found it. Not sure where it is hiding, but I'll find it!!

Herb Pots

Warning! No needlecrafts present in this post. Click away if stenciling doesn't interest you.

I decided I want an herb garden in my new Floridian paradise. Since I know NOTHING about herbs and even less about gardening, I really couldn't tell one herb from another, so I had to label my pots.

I got plain green pots from a JoAnn crafts superstore.

and pretty lettering stencils as well.

I cut up the letters to make them more manageable. I taped the appropriate letters to the pot to help them conform to the curve.

A simple disposable stencil sponge and plain old craft paint.

This was my first stenciling experience, and I did learn you really can't have much paint on your brush at all, or it gets sloppy. Luckily, the letters were easy to scrape off once dry and try again.


(um, pretend that e was a p)

Keep on going, making sure you don't put tape on completed letters (ask me how I figured THAT one out).

All ready to plant...

and sitting pretty on my windowsill!

Self-Stitched September

Hello again from Florida! We have finally gotten our Internet up and running, and my machine is sitting on my sewing table (though still in the box).

So I TOTALLY forgot about Self-Stitched September, which I had signed up to participate in (in which to participate). I really enjoyed the challenge of Me-Made-May, though, so I'm jumping in as of yesterday. The rule for me is the same as May - at least one me-made garment or accessory every day for the rest of September. Fun!

Here's my effort yesterday:






I'm still seeking out the best photo-taking spot in our new house. Um, clearly I haven't found it yet.

I blogged about the silk top here. In all the craziness of moving, I never did go back and do a proper post on it. The pattern is Marfy 9810. It's pretty straightforward. If you are confident without instructions, try a Marfy. They are stylish and well-drafted (no alterations for me, at least), and they seem to have come down in price a bit, if memory serves me.

The pants are my purchased J Crew ones I blogged about at the end of this post.

In COMPLETELY unrelated news, here is my giant boy, ready for his first day of preschool (this year). Yikes, he's a big boy! It wasn't too traumatic for me, but I fear things will not be the same when my baby starts preschool in two years. I'll be a wreck!

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.)