2 Skirts and a Shirt

As promised, here are some pictures of my foray into garment making. This first shirt is not my creation, before you get excited. I bought this at a wonderful consignment shop I've been shopping at since I was little called "Mom's Hand-me-downs." The selection there can be fantastic on certain days, and the last time I visited I grabbed this little beauty:

My sister and husband were not digging the rick-rack, though I was of two minds about it. I finally decided to take it off and use it for something else later. The white floral fabric certainly holds it's own without the extra trim. My hubby actually put together this outfit:


The puff skirt is a super cute and super easy pattern I got from childhood flames - that girl has some serious style! Lastly, here is the first shirt I've ever made (paired with a cut-off skirt I made out of my husband's old jeans he wore in high school):

The fabric is very slinky and hard to work with - it was the only knit fabric I had in my stash, which came from my mum-in-law. The finished result is light, fits rather well, and is wearable in public. Not a bad start! I got the pattern from burdastyle, which was a fun process from start to finish. I'm very impressed with the quality of the patterns from that site. I highly recommend them. Next time I will choose a fabric that doesn't show off my little rounded tummy quite so well :)

Wedding Fun

I just got back (at 2:00am this morning!) from a great Hispanic wedding. The bride is a co-worker who really put together an awesome party! The ceremony was in Spanish, which I've never witnessed before - such a cool experience. Even the reception, which was the most luxuriously festive I've ever seen, was almost entirely Spanish language music and all of the toasts were in Spanish. Luckily I had a private translator since my husband is fluent. I couldn't get enough of the music - I was even dancing in my chair while eating dinner :)


Just LOOK at this beautiful table setting! Have you ever seen anything so fabulous?!? The waiters even wore white gloves. The whole thing was so much fun.

All I could think of is throwing a bash like this for my wedding anniversary, or my hubby's and my birthdays. I can't wait for that opportunity - such fun! And I totally plan to use my co-worker's DJ.

Bags Galore

Howdy! I finally have gotten the old butt in gear enough to show you two bags I made over the last couple of months. This first one was for my grandma (g'ma) to carry her Bible to church. I used the tote pattern from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts, and just sized it down a bit. I kinda sorta expected the embroidered flowers on the bottom half to go, er, the other way. heh. But I think it still looks good.



G'ma loves pink, so I had to figure out how to incorporate some pink in the midst of all the brown, black and white. Enter the embroidered flowers. I got this vintage embroidery pattern from Thimble. I'm pretty new to embroidery, but I think I'm getting the knack of it.


Here is the other bag I made recently. It's the pretty pleated tote from Angry Chicken's book, Bend the Rules Sewing. I liked this pattern, but not as much as the little ribbon purse from the same book. This turned out much bigger than I thought. I also thought the fabrics I picked would "pop" a little more than they did. I am proud to say this is made of entirely pre-loved materials! The pink satin is from a pair of pajamas I got for Christmas which looked terrible on. They have come in handy on several projects, however :) The brown floral is from a thrifted pillow case, and the floral appliques I added to make the whole thing more interesting (I hope it worked) are also from a thrifted pillow case. I used some leftover canvas from my painting supplies for the interior. I think I'll try this project again some time, only size it down considerably, and perhaps had some kind of closure at the top. I do like that I figured out how to do pleats. Definitely worth it.

My next entry will be all about handmade clothes - I have a skirt and a shirt to show you. Oh yeah, and I never got that pattern I ordered :( It got lost in the mail. How sad. I'll have to keep looking for something that cool.

Hip Sisters

I wanted to share this awesome video of the Andrews Sisters from youtube with you. And I also wanted to figure out how to post videos. I think I am now tech savvy in this department :)

They had the most amazing level of performance - true razamataz showmanship! Just check out how they're in nearly perfect sync when they dance, and they make it look so easy. Wow. I really am a huge fan of polished performance like this. When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be in showbiz like this - broadway style, big smiles, sequins and tap dancing. My mom used to call me Bojangles when I tap danced :) I really was interested to do it all professionally until I realized all of this showmanship is pretty much in the past. There seems to be a bit of a showbiz revival with movies like Chicago and Moulin Rouge...I hope that means there is more to come! No one could replace the Andrews Sisters though. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

Birthday Pedicure and Fishing

My sister is in school learning how to do manicures/pedicures (and she's set to finish next week - congrats pookie!). During my trip to SC I was more than happy to be her guinea pig, and here is the result:


Isn't that just ducky? Also, my dear hubby got to go fishing with my sister's hubby and caught my birthday dinner :)


What a beautiful brim! My hubby scaled his catch, and my sister's hubby skinned his...

Mom-in-law and I were eager to get cookin'...

That is the most amazing electric fry pan...we battered the fillets with egg and flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, then fried them in extra virgin olive oil until they were a gorgeous golden brown. You might be surprised to hear that they were deeeeeeeeeelicious! And I mean lip-smackin' good. There was nothing left after the four of us dug in. Nothing but bones and the tail of course. YUM!

I'll post more pictures soon...

Back from Vacation - and Energized!

After a long and much needed break, I have returned to New York refreshed, energized and in spring cleaning mode. Not only did I unpack last night, I managed to scrub down the bathroom, rearrange my linen closet and several clothes drawers. I tend to get neat-freaky after staying in my mother's super clean, super organized house. I LOVE going home. This particular trip was full of excitement...including rollerskating! It was a blast, and I even took a tumble with a bruise to prove it. My sister and I also had a good old-fashioned birthday party with streamers, balloons, tablecloth, etc. What fun! Like a total dolt I forgot to take pictures of the presents I made for her. I will ask her to send me some pictures. Also, my camera is dead at the moment, so instead of current pictures of birthdays, rollerskating and newly completed projects, here are some pictures of a couple of ceramic bowls I made for my boss and her friend (another former boss).

One of my sister's birthday presents to me was a trip to her ceramics class in SC. What fun! I made a large handle-less mug (I didn't have time to do the handle in one class, so I'm leaving it for her to finish), and a honey pot. I LOVE ceramics. I am so thrilled - she gave me her very first wheel-thrown bowl! I love love love it and will soon post pictures once I get my spring cleaning butt into gear. She also gave me a pair of handmade earrings! I imagine you will soon see her gorgious creations online. I'm encouraging her to share her jewelry making prowess with the online world.

So, if you are hankering for some crafty pictures, stay tuned. I have lots to share.