Big Ol’ Catch-up Post

Of the several languages I studied, Latin was not one of them. But when I think about all the things that keep me away from my sewing room, I call them craftus interruptum. Almost definitely not accurate Latin, but a very precise picture of what happens sometimes in my life.

Then there is blogus interruptum. Things that keep me from blogging. Usually the same things that keep me from sewing.

All that to say…this is gonna be one of those great big catch-up posts, so get comfy and grab whatever you drink and here we go!

Jo-Ann’s had a big sale this past weekend and the weekend before. I was able to use several of the 50% off coupons floating around plus grabbed some stuff that was on sale. Here is some of my haul:

Some fun quilting cottons across the top and more muslin and interfacing on the far right. Several cuts of snuggle flannel to make a gift for my neighbor’s new baby (since the crocheted blanket is going so very slowly). A pattern for maternity tops and thread, a tube turner and some fat quarters that caught my eye.

What’s not in this picture is the new 6×24 cutting ruler I had to buy three days ago when mine jumped off my cutting table, hit the leg of my rolling stool and broke into 3 pieces. Thankfully, I had one more 50% coupon.

Before all that shopping, I did finish some sewing. First up, the custom Mix It Up Apron using MM Ginger Blossom:

Very pretty, eh? I really love how these fabrics look together. I’m planning to make a couple more of these for my stores after my break (more on that in a bit).

Next up, I finished the skirt and dresses for my patient friend Bekah.

Strawberry circle skirt. Being the picky sewist that I am, I wanted the strawberries to be upright all around the skirt. Plus the fabric was not quite wide enough for a full circle skirt. So, I cut four panels instead and sewed them together, making a circle. I think it looks great and it has lots of twirl potential.

Two dresses from the same pattern. The left is AH Apples & Pears with MM Dumb Dots in pink for accents. The right is AH Kleo floral and bangle dots in sage. Very cute dresses, both fully lined and the hems are double sided…I don’t know the technical sewing term for it…but it gives the skirt a little extra weight and a nice clean look…no worry about the hem flipping up.

So, for this week, I’m working on the custom Aviary bag (we hammered out the details last week) and hopefully an apron or two for tomorrow night’s stocking at Beautiful Enchantments. We’ve had our store redesigned with lovely new colors and moved our stocking time to 9:30 pm EST on Wednesdays.
Please come check us out!

This will be my last stocking for a month. I’m taking the month of July off from business and custom sewing, to focus on family sewing and to spend time with my blessings, work in my garden and enjoy our summer weather. I’ll be stocking again in early August. But I will be posting here during the month! Showing off the lovely creations my children have been begging for. Maybe even a pic or two of the bounty of our garden. And if the littlest one is cooperative, we’ll soon be able to share if our newest blessing will be a boy or a girl.

Hope you enjoyed the big ol’ catch-up post!

WIP Wednesday

Just thought I would share what’s in the working pile on my sewing table.  In no particular order:

This is a baby blanket I’m crocheting for my neighbor, who was due today, but had her baby boy a couple of days ago.  She doesn’t know I’m making it, so that buys me a little time.  I’ll be working on it while watching So You Think You Can Dance tonight.  The pattern is the Tiramisu Baby Blanket, I found it here.  The pattern calls for single crochet, but I wasn’t paying attention and started doing half-double crochet.  I decided to just keep going, because I’m not the fastest crocheter and doing it in hdc will just get it done that much sooner.

Next up:

This is the fabric and a half-drafted pattern for a diaper bag.  My midwife has asked if I would make up a couple things, a bag and maybe a changing pad and some bibs, and she will display them in her rooms.  Why I am drafting a new pattern when there are tons of bag patterns out there???  I’m not sure, but I’m doing it anyway.  My next appointment is in about 3 weeks, so I’ve got some time to work on this.

This next pile belongs to a VERY patient friend of mine.

The top two piles are the cut out pieces for dresses…simple tank dresses with full gathered skirts.  The bottom is a circle skirt that needs a hem and a waistband.  I really feel bad that these have been sitting on my table for about a month, so I’m going to finish them THIS WEEKEND, I promise, Bekah.

Two customs in the works:

Left is going to be a Mix It Up Apron, I just need to cut it out and sew it up now that I’ve finalized the layout.  The right is the Aviary bag.  The customer and I are having a blast discussing the details (like I sent her an email about some ideas, but didn’t attach the pics that showed what I was talking about, duh!).  I think we are really close to finalizing those details and then I’ll get started.

A diversion:

 

Last, but not least, being the sucker for new bag patterns that I am, when I saw this Kwik Sew (3612) pattern on a blog (jenjerpeach) I ordered it within minutes.  It came today and I dropped everything to start the big tote bag (view B) with the AH Kleo on the outside, the yellow floral for the inner.  I’ve only spent about 20 minutes on it sew far and I’m halfway done, so I think it’s going to be a quick thing.  The bag is huge and will make a great tote for the park or beach or pool.  When I have time, I’m going to try the pattern in a smaller size, see how it turns out. 

Retro Femme stocks this week.  We are doing a wonderful surprise auction box.  It’s a box filled with goodies from most of the vendors.  The surprise is you don’t know what’s in there.  The only clues are the name “one size fits all” and a small, very close up pic on the listing. 

For my listings, I’ll be putting up the bag in the bottom pic, plus an apron…I haven’t picked exactly which one yet.

Well, that’s all for now.  Thanks for visiting!

Feb 20th ~ Midweek Project Update

I’m moving along at a pretty good clip on my sewing to-do list for the week.  Of course, this means that my housework is sliding, but that’s a small price to pay for feeling so productive!

I’ve finished both the zippered lined pouch (tutorial below!) and the apron.  Here is the apron, made from Alexander Henry’s Kleo fabrics.  I really like this fabric, it has a very nice hand.

And I’m a little past half-way done with the Coming & Going bag.  I need to decide which fabric to use for the handle…either the blue denim (it’s a nice, soft non-stretch denim) or the red home decor weight.  I’m leaning towards the red…

Notice the very nice free motion quilting on that top piece?  Yes, it is nice, thank you very much.   Both these items, plus the pouch below, are listed at Retro Femme.

My toddler is awake, now, so it’s the housework’s turn for my attention. I’ll finish these tonight.