ruffle pants

I just finished these for Princess Lydia -- I think this pattern is so cute. I used some Moda Fabric from American Jane -- I bought it almost a year ago because I knew I wanted to put it in some clothes for Lydia -- specifically as ruffles.

i finally did it

Well, I finally cut into the degrade (sorry: I don't know what the accent grave key combo is; so it looks like I am writing the English verb "to degrade", rather than the French adjective). I serged the side-seams on the skirt and I am going to sew the tube and insert the elastic tonight after the kids are asleep. Then I think I have to hand sew the skirt to the t-shirt top, but I may be able to figure a way to machine stitch it. Open to suggestions on this one -- if you get em to me before I do something too drastic...

sew sorry....

.... but I just couldn't help it. I had to post this even though it has nothing to do with sewing. (Well, I could have called it "Sew crabby")

sew random (random stuff)

OK -- just because I haven't been posting, NEVER means I haven't been sewing -- of course. It usually means I have been sewing more so that I can have something interesting to take a picture of and post about. I am trying to figure out how to finish a dress I planned out like 6 months ago. I saw this Marc Jacobs dress which was jersey tee on the top (empire waist) and cream colored charmeuse for the skirt. I thought -- $950 for that? I'll make it. But now I am too chicken to attach this amazing charmeuse (it is a purple blue and cream degrade) to my $8 H&M black t-shirt....

But I think I am just going to do it -- and if I end up wishing the top had been different, I'll just make another one. I am only using 1.5 yards of the charmeuse anyway -- and obviously I can afford to get another top.

Also, now that my one quilt is off at the longarm place (yay!), I had to get to work on the other one. Lydia picked out these 1930s repro fabrics in jellyrolls, and said she wanted her bed quilt out of them. They are fabrics I literally would never have chosen in a thousand years -- BUT -- that has made it very nice to work with them. I wanted something that wouldn't require a lot of extra work, and that would let her examine all the different prints as often as she liked. I chose this pattern from purlbee, and just added more strips (since I was using 2.5 in strips). Instead of white fabric (I really hate solids -- I need to deal with that), I chose this:

So, now I have pieced all the strips, and I am sewing them up and watching it all come together! Here's a sample of what I have so far:

In the end, Tulip seemed pleased with the result.

a valentine for Tulip

Lydia -- our resident designer -- designed this "Valentimes Bag" for Miss Tulip.

Since I am merely the humble seamstress, and must obey my mistress, my only part in this was to piece the item precisely as directed (and to withstand all sorts of bossiness and underhanded insults directed at my abilities and my person).

the longarm of the law...

OK -- bad pun. BUT: I am going to get this quilt longarm quilted -- which will be the first time I have ever allowed someone else to "help" with the completion of a quilt. I was sort of nervous, but I am just excited now (especially since now I don't have to quilt a freakin' 88 x 93 surface by hand/machine!)

I picked this design. It reminds me of a tattoo sleeve I saw on this girl who used to cut my hair in London. But, I left the final say up to the woman who is doing the quilting, since she probably knows better than I do how it will come out.

Here it is! It's finished. :D

sew stripped

Almost finished with my strippy quilt top. This is going to go -- ostensibly -- on my own bed. Can you believe it? A quilt that I will actually use? That will be weird. But that's what I always fantasize about: someone seeing my bedspread and saying "That is so cool! Where did you get it?" And then I can casually say "Oh, I made it." But that never really happens. Like I made these awesome pants out of some amazing fabric that I have never seen the likes of before in just this same vein of hope -- and NO ONE has ever asked me where I got them (or even complimented me on them) when I have worn them. Maybe they're actually ugly and I just don't know it. Ha!

This is the skirt I made Princess Lydia for Christmas this year. I cheated and used a Park Slope charm square roll -- but I did all the trims myself.

sew busted

Seeeeeewwww, here's what my little devils have been up to for the last 2 days. And Saul (my 15-month-old) is the ringleader (leading a 5-year-old). I am trying really hard to care, but having trouble summoning up some parental outrage. Life is too short ...

sew sweet

Here are the sweet little valentine's day coasters I just finished for our awesome neighbors. They always look after us and send little presents to our delinquent children. So I made them some cute little felt coasters to tell them that they are "sew freakin' awesome."

2 minutes later...

Ok so we just changed the name to one that uses way more awesomeness.

Sewwwww grossed out

Just spent an hour with Neal and Robbie arguing over the name of this blog. jury is really still out. "you old sew and sew" and also "say it ain't sew" were good contenders.