Sew With Me: Dress 1–(a little late)

 

I am “sew” glad you chose to join me on this sewing tour, and I do apologize for being late with this post. I had to figure out some logistics, but we should be all set from here forward, and the posts will be made on Mondays. Now that being said, lets get started.

I told you we would explore finishing options with this dress as it is the simplest of the 5 we will make. I use to think of this step last, and was often frustrated with the results. I found that just a bit of pre-planning goes a long way. that being said…

If you follow the link for THIS PATTERN, you will see two options. A double folded sewn seam edge and a serge edge. Notice on the charts that a different seam allowance is noted for the cutting length at size 6 (the one we are making).

Other finishing options include French Seams, Zigzag Edges, and the one I will do, Bias Tape/Trim Binding.

Now you can purchase your own or make your own with a fashion fabric, as I chose to do. Here is my quick tutorial on a simple method for making Continuous Bias Binding. Please note, that if you choose to do what I did, you will need to make about 5 yards (15ft/182in).

I will leave you with this for today. Next Monday we will start and finish the dress. Have a beautiful!

Sew with me…

 

Ok so I have been talking it up and feeling you out for long enough ( you know who you are), and now the time is finally here! My dress making sew-along!

I will be making 5 little girl dresses for the Lira School Dress Project who

“is hoping to take 66 dresses to Kindergarten girls in Africa. The trip is in JUNE 2013 so the deadline to receive donated dresses is 1 MAY 2013.”  Sew Like My Mom

I am so excited it is something I always wanted to do, craft to donate. I even considered making my own foundation as it were but ultimately put it on the back burner. So when I ran across this post last year, I knew I had to sew along!

As I stated before, my goal is to make 5 dresses, and to entice you to join me I will be making tutorials available and varying patterns, and techniques.

Dress 1 : The Pillowcase dress provided by Sew Like My Mom

Here I will be going over basic sewing techniques and finishing options

Dress 2 : The Good Deeds Dress provided by Elysium Patterns

Here I will be showing how to use a downloaded/printed pattern

Dress 3 : The Simplicity 7112 Dress

Here I will be going over reading a commercially made pattern AND pattern grading

Dress 4 : The Smocked Dress

Here I will be going over a basic smocking technique for the top of the dress

Dress 5 : The HoneySmith Dress (LOL!)

Here I will be reviewing techniques from the previous dresses to design my own.

So now that you know, come on let’s sew! LOL, I couldn’t resist. Seriously though, If you are interested in doing this project with me, and even just making one dress to donate, let me know. I will be posting starting on Monday, January 29, 2013, and will be posting my progress every Monday till all is done, and I have 5 dresses ready to ship out to the Lira School Dress Project.

Maybe you want to make and donate your own dress. Here is the address where you can send your finished product/s:

Lira School Dress Project
1701 Lytle Trail
Abilene, TX 79602

January 2012

 

You know how “they” say be careful what you wish for?  January had us saying goodbye to my Tashi’s pups (aka the ankle-biters) with the exception of our Tui who we agreed would remain with us. But oh how I wanted to keep another pup. He was so sweet and teeny. I tried my hardest to convince the family they didn’t really want to take him but they did. Wasn’t he too adorable?!

Alas circumstances happened and they were no longer able to care for him, sooooooo back he came, but instead of this little sweet cutie he was a giant fur ball. He is still gentle and sweet though. The boy of the QuatroPods, Benjamin.

Now I know you were expecting images of him, and it is only fair that you do, and I promise to get you at least one sometime soon, when I get around to it. lol!

And this concludes my year of highlights. I hope you are as encouraged to make moments that matter this year as I am, AND to bring your camera’s along for the ride too!

Have a beautiful!

February 2012

 

For the past 2 years, my company has documented and made images of some distinguished gentle men

and this year shall be no different. And here is your chance to get fancy and have a Ball too! Click on the image for more information! A fun time is to be had by all.

March 2012

 

Remember this post?

I was soooo sick, I did not want to get near this baby but we had his 1 year old Portrait Session scheduled so what was I to do? I gamely got in the car, my Fav drove to the appointment location, and HE made these wonderful images of this little cutie!

I must say that this is my absolute favorite image made by LaShunda Smith Photography this year. My Fav is awesome, and his work is most excellent too!

April 2012

 

This month was sooo full of everything! One of the most thrilling moments for me was creating this cave/tomb for my churches Resurrection Sunday Production.

     

I mean, would you guess that this is butcher paper and pvc pipes?  And the “armor” for the soldiers, yep, made from duct tape with a fabulous paint job by CJ!

May 2012

 

May is for mothers, and they kept my schedule hopping! Between Mother’s Day and Maternity Sessions (and proms, babies, and grads…) I had to set some ground rules for myself to keep things in order

“DISCIPLINE IS:

DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE, WHEN IT NEEDS TO BE DONE, THE BEST IT CAN BE DONE, EVERYTIME IT IS DONE!”

This is an awesome quote. Unfortunately I do not recall where I heard it, but it was in my notes for May so I am sharing.

June 2012

 

By now I hope you can see that these posts from 2012 are actually highlighting those things I may not (probably did not) mention in other posts. For whatever reason I didn’t share them before, but I am doing so now so…

In June, the marriage fellowship at my church hosted a skate night, and being that my Fav and I actually met at a skating rink, how could we pass it up?

We really enjoyed the time to just be with each other, with no other obligations at all. Totally wonderful. We generally need to carefully plan and guard our time together, but this was sort of a bonus which made it even more special.

July 2012

 

P4CM! WOOT! We spent an evening vibing to some amazingly talented artists, whose love of God and command of language, use of verse, alliteration, hyperbole, imagery, diction, wooo! The literature major in me screamed! Yes yes! Can’t wait to do it again!. And since photography was strictly prohibited, here is a clip from their YOUTUBE Account! (Not from 2012, but definitely a favorite!)

August 2012

 

August held lots of surprises and firsts for us. If you recall from this post (below) we found Horn Worms in our garden! THAT was creepy lol.

 

But my Fav dealt with them and we were able to rescue a few more tomatoes which we then attempted to preserve. This was the month that we tried to preserve and can our food. While we were not entirely successful, we did manage to perfect some techniques. To be completely honest our lack of success here had more to do with our consuming the products than with technique at all! Yes, I’d whip up batches of fruit leather, and the next day they were gone! And the canned tomatoes made DELICIOUS marinara sauce, and the dried tomatoes went on sandwiches and in stews… All that remains is one lone dehydrated strawberry chip and some ginger… This year, we MUST plant more!

September 2012

 

Our Anniversary month saw us wanting to change, or rather add, to our adjectives. So We booked a Kayaking Tour. Yep two non aquatic I-can-enjoy-sea-life-at-the-aquarium type people got in a kayak and ventured into the ocean. Of course we PRAYED really hard for a calm ocean and I prayed to not see any sea life lol. And you know what? People were AMAZED at the flatness of the waves! So glad we got to enjoy our little adventure in peace, and the sea lions and leopard sharks and garibaldi politely kept their distance too! wohooo!

Here is a quick video of the cavern tour. Please note that most of this video was shot upside down as the camera was hanging around my neck as I paddled, and for that cause, I muted most of the annoying sound of scraping…

We had a blast. Did some shopping (I got a cute hat), went to a ranch (I actually touched a live animal!) and an organic farm where we picked some fruit and veggies and got some advice on gardening.

   

OH! and how can I forget! We got library cards! Yay and yes we checked out books, and returned them before we left! Awesome!

October 2012

 

This month saw us participating in and documenting a couple of dance concerts, which was a bit tricky I must say. I learned that I work with some AMAZING people who know their jobs and love my company just as much as I do. I am forever blessed by their willingness to step in and step up and put up with some “Ova the Shoulda Driving” lol.

 

Here is a sampler of the stylized artwork I made from them, And, as a teeny treat for reading this all the way through, here is a snippet of me dancing. Oh, and I’m not sure if this video will remain or not =-) soooooo….. watch quick!

November 2012

 

So getting on with my year in review, November saw us at the Southern California Handweavers’ Guild Weaving and Fiber Festival. Wow what a mouthful! And it was truly an amazing time. My sister gamely came along with my Fav and me, and ended up spinning roving into yarn better than I did! I will say that all of us had a great and enlightening time, and if you have talked with me since, I know you had an earful about the history of fabric and fashion. Sorry lol.

We had such a great time, and sooooo much information was to be had that we have no images. yep NO images from that day. BUT here is what I have done with what I got…

Roving's and yarns and ply's oh my!

My first yarn, I crocheted single ply into a pattern sample. I so loved the smoothness of it. It is so chunky and hence a small skein that cant be much more. Maybe I will make a pieced blanket with it some time…hmmm who knows?

The green skein is my second and also a single ply and the pink is my first plyed yarn! Yay! It is a 3 ply recycled silk yarn I can hardly wait to use.

As you can see I have gotten better / more consistent with my spinning. I am quite proud of my orange and crème variated wool yarn. This I will also ply.

 

 

And finally, my first and current yarn spun on the DODEC Spindle Wheel my Fav and I made this holiday season. My goal is to fabricate a garment from start to finish this year. We will see how that goes. We are going to try growing cotton again this year following some tips from some of the awesome spinners and weavers from the Guild. I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

A Tribute

 

So this post is a bit hard for me as my highlight comes on the heel of a great sadness. Recently, I was blessed to be encouraged by an awesome man and great photographer, a gentleman I affectionately called Uncle Les.

He stepped into glory to be with God a few days ago, after having celebrated the Doctoral success of his daughter early in December. I was blessed and honored to be the photographer that evening, and yes quite a bit nervous (again lol).

I mean wouldn’t you be if you were working for one of your hero’s? I am so glad that I was able to express our love for him and his whole family.  My heart aches at their loss, as I continually pray for peace and comfort. I know what he meant to me and my husband and to our marriage. Uncle Les was a good natured man, secure enough to be tender, and about his business.

   

During a time when I was most vulnerable, newly committed to Christ, he and his wife silently stepped in and covered me, pushed me into doing what I was unsure I could, and blessed me and my husband when we wed.

I will never forget…

A Holiday Project- December 2012

 

So to kick off the New Year, I have decided to do a 12 post review highlighting each month of 2012. And since this project is still fresh, I will start with December!

My Fav and I spent a lazy Christmas morning constructing a spinning wheel for my Sis. This one here came a couple days later and is mine, and thanks to some help of some really awesome people, is actually working!

  

I have yet to completely decide what color to make it, or whether it would like to be stained, or distressed or want a color wash… I do know that for now, it feels good to have it operational.

I may post some images of my yarns and threads that I have already spun on my drop spindles (and thanks for my new one Jenkins Family! You rock!) at a later date. But if you look closely, you can see some of the recycled silk I am spinning, also a gift from The Jenkins!