Back for New Year's Eve!

Working on a dress for New Year's Eve. It's coming together slowly. So far I only have the basic shape done, but I'm thinking of doing some things with the sleeves, neckline, middle and back.

The fabric is a weird, stretchy, shiny, nylon, lycra stuff. More weird stuff I got from a $5 bolt sale at Wal-Mart in Utah.

Also, I just ordered a yard of this in cotton silk for a scarf request. Very excited to see how it turns out.

Easy Scarf How-To

Whew! What a long break I took from sewing.
Here is a little how-to for the circle scarf/cowl I made a few weeks ago. (Thanks, Shannon! I totally forgot what awesome stuff I had in my stash till I went looking for something to sew up.)

I started with a quarter yard of fabric. This will make a skinny scarf. If you want something thicker, use a wider length.

Fold the scarf in half lengthwise (hotdog fold?), iron and stitch along raw edges.

Turn inside out and press.

Fold insides of one raw edge in and press. If you wanted your scarf shorter and closer around your neck, now is the time to measure and trim off excess from the end with the raw edges.

Tuck raw edges into the end with the folded in edges and stitch shut. Now separate the tube and iron out the crease in the middle to give it some volume.

ta-da! Easy right?

Now that I've gone through my fabric again I realized how many pieces I want to make into shirts. I also realized why I haven't been sewing. I've had a pattern sitting on my desk for about a month now and I really don't want to make it. I might not be all that into following patterns and more into either figuring things out or making simple shirts from wild fabric. It may be because I'm not much of a complicated dresser...Instead of ruffles and zippers, I like combining colors and texture. I also don't want to make anything into a skirt or take time to add buttons to anything...Maybe I'm just a simple sewer.

Anyway. I also had kimchi for the first time tonight and my stomach is not happy.

Two Scarves

I took two pieces of fabric that were pretty soft but not long enough for a top and made two cowl scarves. Or circle scarves. Love them. Took about 5 minutes for each. I'll have go through my fabric now and see what's a bit too small for clothing and make a whole new scarf wardrobe.

Back by Popular Demand

The bearded boyfriend! Hooray! I got a message from a previous customer on Etsy who bought 3 bearded men last year and asked for another one. These guys are always fun to make and cause many giggles.

Also, I went with Jake and our dogs to the Oregon coast (Cannon Beach) for the day yesterday. I have honestly never seen anything quite like it. So much better than the beaches in California. It already has a special place in my heart.

(Note: my new phone takes kick-ass photos!)

Small Projects

Let's address some things.

I haven't been sewing very much. Since moving to Portland and becoming single (yes) I've had more to do and more people to meet. I've actually been able to make friends which is something I wasn't able to do at all in Utah for the whole year I lived there. I've also gotten involved in the design community here which is also something that Utah lacked.

So I've been busy.

Another thing, the camera I used to use to take beautiful pictures never belonged to me. It belonged to my ex. So now I take really shitty photos. BUT I'm getting the iPhone 4s tomorrow in the mail and the camera is supposed to be EXCELLENT. It'll suffice until I have some dough to drop on a camera.

So here's what I've been up to:

A green shirt made from fashion-show-leftover-fabric found at Wal-Mart ($5 for a whole bolt!). It's strange. It's mint. It's sheer. I'm not sure I like it.

AND I altered a pair of my pants into skinny jeans. They were initially supposed to be skinny jeans but when I bought them in 2006, I was not all that sure skinny jeans were going to take off. Or that I'd like them. Or that they are sort of necessary for petite women without curves. So I bought a size up.

Now these bad girls are rock-and-roll ready.

Before: (blurry, yes. left side is old pant leg. right side is new)

After: LEGSSSS!!!!!

Whew..felt good to blog. I have no work today and tomorrow and I'm planning on sewing so stay tuned!

New Samples In!

Spoonflower was WAY fast this time. I ordered last week and got my samples the following week. They must have been able to shorten production time which is great for me because now I'll be more inclined to order and update my shop.

So be prepared for some new wristlets, bags, and POSSIBLY some knit cowls!

Delay

I'm still alive, I promise. I've just had a week of vacation and then this week I'm sick, so I'm just barely alive.

I did sew last week and plan on starting a small project this week as well. Stay tuned!

Black and White Ikat with Pockets

I was inspired by this tunic on Burdastyle last fall and it's taken until now to finally have my own version. I found the perfect fabric for it this summer and was thinking about the pocket situation for a while - wondering which sort of pocket I prefer. I'm really happy with the result, but not sure how much I like the craziness of the fabric yet...we'll see.

I AM thrilled though about the pockets being red and INSIDE and in the side seams. Quite the accomplishment for me.

Right!?! Pockets for everything from now on!

Layered Lace Top

So here it is. My lace top. I'm happy with it, but I'll have to find out how it fits into my wardrobe. All I had were strips of scalloped edge lace that I overlapped and sewed together so the scallops create a layered look.

I love it with the cardigan.

It was a pain to hem around the arms and neck but worth it. This week was crazy. Expect more sewing next week and disregard my unmade bed in the background!!

Lacey

Inspired by Kendi Everyday's post with a lace top, I'm currently working on piecing together some old lace I got from my mom to make a sheer pull over top similar to Kendi's. We'll see what happens!

Exciting News!

Just a little recap of my OTHER creative exploits - I designed a graphic featured on Mashable.com. I'm getting some awesome traffic from that. I can't wait to get started on the next one.

AND I'm starting to do commission work with a surface design company (textiles, print, home decor). Very exciting for me since it's been a dream of mine since I discovered Anna Maria Horner's designs when I was still just doing web design in 2007. I'm beyond thrilled at the moment.

AND I might be starting some work on a French magazine cover. I'll keep you updated with that.

Things are lookin good! This year's been tough - especially with the recent move to Portland but I think I'm starting to see REALLY that things happen for a reason.

I'm also considering getting a tattoo. This seemed like the best way to break to my parents haha! I'll be waiting for your call, Mom (or Dad).

AMH Crop Top

Well, ladies, I took your advice and went for the wacky crop top. I'm happy with it, but it'll take some getting used to. My wardrobe is slowly going from all black/blue to color insanity. Hooray!

You ever have one of those days (I know you do) that just doesn't seem to be gelling much with you? Today is the 4th time I've had maintenance people out to my apartment to fix the damn furnace and if that doesn't entail waiting all day for them to stop in, it definitely entails having a stranger coming in and out of my house and needing me to go let them in at the front of the building because guess what? The office of the building I live in hasn't set up my intercom yet. So yeah, this morning/early afternoon has been a little bit frustrating.

On top of that, I need to get my car serviced tomorrow and am without a ride. So it's bussy-bus time for me. Not looking forward to doing that all day tomorrow.

Sorry, blogs are not for venting. They're for smiles! haha. Ugh. Life is hard sometimes and I want to punch it! Oh well.

It's a comfy lil number. I'm pleased with it. The side had a nice little curve going into the back but I had to take it in a bit , so the curve is now straight...

Anyway, that's my sewing! Hope you loved it.

Story time

Still going through my stash of fabric. I rescued this awesome 80's pastel puke-fest fabric (keep in mind that I love it despite it's hideous qualities) from some pillow cases I found in Utah. Good old Utah. So great for finding ugly things old ladies gave away.

Observe, my shirt story through crappy laptop photos):

Application

Side detail - fave part is the curved hem. I'm getting better at hemming and caring about hemming.

close up of the nausea that is my shirt. <3 There are dots. within the dots.

Is that a pocket!?!!?! Yes it is, lady. It's a pocket.

Super love this shirt because I finally got the neckline and sleeves the way I want.

Also, I have a yard of this Anna Maria Horner fabric. Not enough for a full shirt but enough for pillowcases. Or a crop top. Please weigh in your opinions. I really want to wear this bright print but i realize not everything can be a wacky shirt. or can it?

Have a great weekend!!

Southwestern Sass

I had this southwestern fabric sitting in my stash for a while, just begging to be used for something cool. So it became a sassy little top for yours truly. Since it's so wacky I just went with a real simple square top, fitted at the hips.

I got the fabric in Utah at a thrift store. I had more than a yard so I think I salvaged it from a bed sheet or something. Not sure.

Either way, it's amazingly awesome.

And yes, there's my bed.

Reusable Bag!

So here it is. My bag. It has two front/back panels, two side panels and one bottom panel. It's huge and a bit floppy but I think it'll work fine. We'll see though.

And yes, sorry for the terrible pictures lately. I'm without an awesome camera.

^ the curtain I made it from.

I'm working on a ton of easy shirts from my fabric stash so be ready for that!

Happy Birthday!

My little man, Max, turned 1 yesterday and to celebrate I cooked a breakfast for dinner for him, me, Jake and Jake's dog, Fernando. We also had mimosas (Max and 'Nando don't drink) and got a little silly.

Yeah..I've been in a room all alone all week with my dog.

I also sewed him a sweet red bow tie to wear on his special day. He hated it, of course, but I got a good laugh out of it.

Hehe...I'm getting stranger every day. And you all get to watch my slow decline!!!! *$*(&@#$^saihfes;fkjeoslsel

I'm back!!!

Here's my new sewing station! I ended up moving into an apartment sooner than I expected (last Friday) and finally got all my unpacking done. That means that the sewing begins NOW! My next project is going to be making reusable grocery bags out of a shower curtain I won't be needing (or using - I'm so over navy blue). We'll see how it goes...

So far, Portland has been great. Beautiful, even. Yesterday I played tennis in the most GORGEOUS park ever. I've already met some people I like and Jake and I have explored various neighborhoods. I think I'll be here a while :)

Let me mention though, that I (not thinking about it) put a picture of me with long hair on meetup.com on a tennis meetup group page and instantly got 3 men saying they would be more than happy to meet up and play tennis. And if you think I'm overreacting, I met up with one yesterday and he happened to be a lot older than me (his profile has no picture) and mentioned almost right away:

Oldster: You look different than your profile picture.


Me: Well, my hair is short.


Oldster: Yeah, I think that's the only thing.

You think?! UGH! I won't even go into how awkward the rest of the time was. So I came home and had some wine and changed my profile to "I'M NOT LOOKING FOR BOYFRIENDS AND NO I WON'T CHANGE MY MIND, TRUST ME. I JUST WANT TO PLAY TENNIS"

And immediately got a message from "heidi" who said "is all caps necessary? seems like you might be speaking directly to someone"

Only if that someone has a penis, heidi. Thanks for your input. I changed it to "Just looking for tennis partners - no dates :) Thanks!!" this morning anyway. I hope she sees that smiley face and knows that I'm being sarcastic in her direction.

Sorry about the rant. Had to do it.

On to sewing!

We've Arrived

Well we really got here a week ago, but it's been a busy week full of loading/unloading packing/unpacking things.

I have to say, I am in love with Portland already. We've visited downtown, ridden the train, driven over all of the bridges. It's been a great week.

I won't be sewing for another couple of weeks since I still need to find a space for all that. But here are some snapshots I took with my phone of our various activities.

That's the stove I've been using to cook my breakfast...so awesome.

And We're Off!

On Monday we'll be loading our things into some shipping containers and driving to Portland!

This week has included a lot of packing and visiting some of our favorite places for the last time. Jake also took to me to see the Great Salt Lake before we go.

We got up to the shoreline and also drove up into the surrounding mountains to get a better view. Such a great way to spend one of our last days here.

So, I won't be posting for a while or sewing for probably a bit longer. But I'll be back!

Pattern Preview

Just a lil preview of some new designs that I'll be printing in the next couple months.

Stripes Stripes!

I have such an obsession (along with everyone else) with stripes these days. MUST HAVE THEM. So I bought this size large shirt from the thrift store because it was in good condition and the knit fabric feels soooo nice. Obviously, though, it's a bit of a mess for a petite girl. So I took it in on the sides and made it less batwing and more tunic.

After: (this is when Jake told me to look at the camera as if I am a tiger)

See? Ferocious. And not at all looking like a boy...sorry...that slipped out. If anything, I think I look like a mom. But definitely not a boy. Although, I'd definitely choose boy over mom. No offense, moms.

Just thought I'd show you the arms in the first pic and the drapeyness which I find flattering in the second pic.

Anyway, jokes aside, what do I do with this H&M piece of dump? (see below) It's a cowl neck dress. I'm thinking of just cutting off the skirt and creating a waistband similar to the top above.

Ideas?

Otherwise, have a great weekend!!!