guest posting at oliver + s

October 16, 2012October 16, 201217 Comments

i don’t think it’s any secret that i love oliver + s patterns. i showed a partial stack of my patterns and explained that love in this guest post. since then, my pattern repertoire has grown by two (i now own and have sewn the school photo dress and the field trip raglan)!

though my mom can sew anything, i didn’t have much of an interest in sewing myself until i got fed up spending more than i wanted to on the simplest cotton toddler skirts and asked for a sewing machine in 2009. at that point, i was married with a daughter of my own and no longer lived at my folks’ house to learn from my mom directly (bummer!). i started sewing in our basement during Em’s 4 hour monster naps, when i was stuck at home but couldn’t make much noise. i credit oliver + s patterns and the online sewing community with teaching me how to sew, building my confidence and skill, and making me fall in love with handmade. i think it was always in my blood, i just hadn’t discovered my passion for it yet.

here’s my first sewing/oliver + s project! Em was just 15 months old.

today i’m guest posting on the oliver + s blog, and i’m over the moon about it! when i took two hours to sew that first little lazy days skirt three years ago, there was no way i imagined it leading to something like this – that the designer of the pattern would notice my work and comment, that she’d notice and link to other things i’ve made with her patterns over the past couple years, and now that she’d approach me to write a post for the company’s blog. i still can’t really believe it, frankly.

check out my post for the oliver + s blog here!

i rounded up some of my own projects and mixed them up with a bunch of lovely autumnal inspiration from the ever-bustling flickr group, to show how even the more summery oliver + s patterns can be easily adapted to fall sewing.

thanks for reading, guys.

PS – for even more fall sewing inspiration, caila has a really wonderful series going on this week with some of my favorite bloggers sharing their favorite fall patterns – you can find that right here!

sewwwwww yummy!

October 5, 2012October 5, 201213 Comments

i’m over at craftstorming today for laura’s sew yummy series, where she has deftly combined her two passions, baking and sewing, into a series that’s so inspiring!

she has her lovely guests either baking sweet treats inspired by sewing, or sewing fun projects inspired by baking. i sewed a pleated pillow and there’s a tutorial for you!

do you remember O’s birthday cake? i’ve always loved the bundt pan that i made it with, and it was a pretty easy choice for my inspiration.

head on over to check out my tutorial to make this pillow over at craftstorming! while you’re there, don’t miss laura’s great sewing projects – her urban duck hoodie and stripey jim jams that first grabbed my attention during KCWC this spring, and her AWESOME SAUCE tour de france yellow jersey tutorial that every mini cyclist needs!

have a happy friday!

sew ready to play, and playing along…

September 26, 2012September 26, 201214 Comments

wow what an awesome response to film petit yesterday! thanks so much you guys, those little outfits were a major labor of love and i was so excited to share them.

today i’m over at i’m feelin’ crafty as part of her super fun “sew ready to play” series! it’s all about sewing inspired by games – board games, video games, card games, whatever you like! as a child of the ’80s, i really had no choice but to sew something super mario bros. related, right? i was inspired by the previews cherie sent me of her FMF charlie dress and had fun appliquéing a mario scene onto a flashback skinny tee!

check out my guest post and mini-tutorial HERE.

now for a fun little thing…shannon from luvinthemommyhood, pretty much one of the sweetest bloggers out there, put up a mad libs type fill in the blank on her blog today and encouraged people to play along. the idea is to fill in the bold words with your own answers, so we can all get to know each other a little better. here’s hers. i don’t play along with these types of things very often, but i thought it’d be fun to share a bit of my creative process and stuff with you today. here goes:

i’m longing to make “another washi dress and a sidekick tote“ right now.
i want to try “sewing” with some “metal zippers!”
i wish i could sew with “polka dot nani iro flannel“ fabric.
i dream of making “cozy quilts for both kids and a lap quilt for movie watching.”
i keep track of my ideas and inspiration by “sketching them in notebooks and pinning them on pinterest.”
i’m inspired by “so many creative women in blogland!”
i would love to meet “all my bloggy friends” in person. (can’t argue with shannon’s answer here!)
my favorite fiber is “linen.”
i like to sew with “good quality cotton.”
i hate to sew with “minky and satin.“ (this one’s my own addition, hehe)
my favorite color is “blue – all tones – the colors of the ocean.”
i rock at “pairing colors.”
i would like to learn how to “knit and crochet.”
i bring my “iPhone” everywhere.
my favorite thing to “sew” is “kid’s clothes.” (can’t argue with shannon here, either!)
my crafting space “was once compared to a mad scientist’s laboratory.”
if i had my dream crafting room it would be “filled with natural light, wood floors, and lots of room for organization.”
i sew with “a Brother CS6000i…but i’m almost ready for an upgrade.”
i like to draw “little dresses, geometric shapes, and glasgow roses.”
i can never get enough “time to sew…or sleep.”
i adore “seeing my kids starting to play together and having funny conversations.”
i also enjoy “getting sneak previews of my friends’ upcoming projects!”
i like to fill my shelves with “fabric and sewing patterns.”
i create the best when i’m “on a deadline.”
i am currently excited for “elsie marley’s fall kid’s clothes week challenge.”
right now i am working on “organizing my fabric stash and cleaning up my space.”
i love to watch “nothing, but i always listen to music” while creating.
my guilty pleasure when it comes to creating is “filling my stash with pretty fabric from bolt“
my current favorite music crush to listen to while creating is “billie holliday.“

care to join in? i’d love to see your answers! link up in the comments here and over at luvinthemommyhood!

have a great day!

talkin’ ’bout my best friend (over at sew together)

September 8, 2012October 15, 20128 Comments

i’m always curious how people learned to sew. after my mom got me started, i credit the majority of my sewing education to oliver + s patterns!

the lovely and talented maryanne and caroline of sew together invited me to participate in their “best friend” series, where lots of great bloggers have been sharing their best friends in the sewing world. it’s been a fun series to follow along with and today, i’m up!

for my guest post i ended up writing a 3 year retrospective (with lots of PRE-BLOG FLICKR ONLY projects included)! it was fun making photo collages of pretty much every oliver + s garment i’ve ever sewn – and believe me, there are quite a few!

head on over to sew together to check out my post!

side note: i discovered sew together during season 4 of project run & play; they make gorgeously crafted, classic clothing and i was always so impressed with their work during the season (especially their blue twirly dress and intricately color blocked pinky promise dresses). they got fourth place, the same place i finished season 3, which is really hard – you get SO CLOSE to the finale, but fall just short. i hold a special place in my heart for every fourth place finisher now.

hope you’re having a great weekend!

PS – if you caught my blog post title reference, you win the day.

PPS – season 5 of project run & play starts this week! are you sewing along?

shorts and a top on the line, and another thing

July 13, 2012July 18, 201227 Comments

today i’m over at small + friendly guest posting for shorts on the line! what a fun summer series this has been so far, and they’ve still got another week to go! head over to read my pattern review and see how i altered the clever charlotte finch shorts from a bloomer to a full, culotte style. shorts that look like a skirt? sign Em up! my post is here.

but wait! i couldn’t just make the finch shorts! i’ve had the finch top on my “want to make” list forever, really ever since katy made it, and knew this was the perfect opportunity to sew that up too.

i made the top in a size 2T, with a 3T length (as i mention in my shorts post, clever charlotte patterns tend to run a bit large). it fits great. i eliminated the bow and added a button closure, finishing the bottom by folding the main fabric under to the wrong side by 1/2,” the lining under by a little more, pinning them together, and topstitching. it was a quick and easy way to finish the top without bias tape.

after sifting through my stash for the perfect fabric to add some pop to the linen shorts, i chose this glorious washi tape by rashida coleman-hale. ooooh man, i’m such a washi fan now. what a fun fabric. i love how the bright tape jumps off the charcoal background. it’s one of those fabrics that looks good on the bolt, but truly comes alive on a garment. i lined the top with an ikea sheet that i typically use for muslins (lots of yardage for just a little money).

and check out my fun button!!! as a thank you for co-hosting vintage may with her, jess sent me the cutest package of fabrics and notions, including these little buttons! it’s handmade by incomparable buttons, and it adds the perfect touch to finish this little top. i almost always sew with cheap plastic buttons, so this was a real treat! thanks again, jess! can’t wait to use more of the gift pack in my sewing, it’s super great stuff.

i’m so happy with this finchfit, it’s a great addition to Em’s lilac tree-climbing summer wardrobe. i love making clothes she can move so freely in. thanks again to clever charlotte for providing this pattern for my review, it was great.

clever charlotte finch shorts and top

okay, one more thing. i started a facebook page for the blog. this week, i took a fantastic class through alt channel taught by liz stanley and got all motivated, so here we go! click like on the skirt as top facebook page to be notified of posts and whatever else i might want to talk about in between.

if you blog, i highly recommend the alt classes. it’s so much easier to learn how to sew than how to blog sometimes, i swear! these classes help you skip the trial and error and learn from those that have already figured things out. through the end of july, there are even ways for you to take classes for free! (#thanksbing)

that’s it! if you haven’t yet, go see my acrobatic little gal in her new shorts, and have a wonderful weekend!