Thursday, January 30, 2014

My January Sew Crazy Monthly Challenge

Proud Mama moment here so I'm going to start with a brag. My oldest daughter Madeline is 6 and is obsessed with sewing and all things crafty. She saw me setting up for the Sew Crazy Monthly Challenge  over at Crazy Little Projects Blog and asked if she could sew too. She's almost 7 so I thought why not. Here she is with her finished Pintuck Zippered Pouch. All I helped with was the ironing and I pinned the zipper for her. The rest is all Maddie. 

She started off ironing until the steam came out and made her jump them she decided it was to scary for her. 

Here she is hard at work. Don't mind the mess in the background. I'm in the process of rearranging my craft space.
Here's the up close shot of her pouch. It may not be perfectly straight and the lining may be short but this mama is bursting with pride. 

She chose purple (her favorite color) for the inside of hers. 

Here's mine. Now I know it's not as awesome as Maddie's but I tried ;)
I let her choose the inside of mine and she decided blue polka dots is the way to go. 

Shortly after we finished my youngest decided this one was hers so I guess I better make myself another one here soon because I kinda love how quick and easy this project is.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Deployment Dolls in Action Far, Far Away #1


We are enjoying a lazy day around here today. The girls are off school due to the crazy winter and ridiculously cold temps so I'm just hopping on to share she of the pictures daddy sent of Mad and Abs adventures far far away. Enjoy. 

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Seamingly Smitten Pattern Review - Leslie Flutter Top

So, I don't sew for myself much. Not unless you count bags and household items. I'm a hard enough fit in store bought clothes that sewing for myself is usually too intimidating and stressful to bother. That is until I made the resolution this year to stop being such a baby and sew for myself. 

Jenny from Seamingly Smitten posted a tester call for the Leslie Flutter Top and I thought, I can do that. It's flowy and knit and has to be forgiving, right? 

Based on my measurements I was between sizes so I went with the bigger size and just tapered the sides in to fit. The pattern gives great instructions about how to personalize the fit of the top as well as different cutting lines for a petite, regular or tall fit. 
I don't often show pictures of myself on my blog. I'm nowhere near as cute to look at as my girls are. But I figure I can't give a true review without all the angles covered. Be kind. This is new for me. :)
If you are looking for a new, easy and cute top to sew for yourself  you should definitely give this one a try. It is newly released today.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Titchy Threads pattern review - Small Fry Skinny Jeans

So I finally made one of my girls a pair of pants that wasn't meant for lounge wear and I feel so awesome about them. Even better, by anti-pants 6 year old LOVES them. 

The pants I am referring to are the newest pattern by Laura from Titchy Threads who blogs over at Craft Storming called the Small Fry Skinny Jeans. I recently had the opportunity to test these out and I couldn't be happier with the results.

The pattern is beautifully written and the resulting pants look store bought inside and out. I chose a stretch denim for these that have a gold shimmer to them. My daughter calls them her 'rock star' pants. lol

I tested the full length half fly, button only version without topstitching but there are so many other options to this pattern. This is a unisex pattern that has pieces for both short and pants length as well as a full zippered fly or the half faux fly version. The look can be completely changed my fabric alone or with the addition of topstitiching or pocket details. It comes with instructions for an adjustable waistband as well. I will definitely be making more of these. 

Sorry for the cruddy pics. The wind chill was about -50* and there was no way we were going outside. My daughter is tall for her age and usually wears a 10 in RTW pants. Based on the measurement chart I decided to go with the 12 with the rise and the length of a 10 since my Maddie can't stand pants that actually fit.

I could definitely have gotten away with about a 10 with an 8 in the length, but at least she has some growing room. The denim has a lot of stretch as well.

Since I have always had a random phobia about making "real" pants, these were a huge step for me. Thankfully they were successful and I can now move on to tackle my many other sewing phobias. 

You all get those too right? :)