Jeans...How They're Made

True Up has posted a fascinating video about how jeans are made. If you love to sew clothing or are simply interested in how they are made, check it out.

New Vogue

I love this dress!:

I'm all about easy style and this screams my name. It'll be my first foray back into sewing clothing for myself. When I went through all my stuff while moving into my new sewing room I found a jacket I had started to sew back in 1999. It was the last thing I was working on before I packed everything up when we moved to the country. I've never considered myself a gifted sewist (and still don't!), but when I looked at this jacket, I thought, "Hey, this isn't half bad!" Its horribly wrinkled even though I gave the body a light steaming (its been in a box for 10 years!). Those wrinkles aren't coming out! lol! Here's a photo...it isn't a great photo; my camera's flash wouldn't go off for some reason.

I hate bad photos because it makes the subject look awful, but what the heck. I'm not going to finish the jacket, so who cares if its a bad photo. Oy. In case anyone is wondering, no, my dress form doesn't have a name. I call her "my b**ch". Crude and obnoxious, I know.

I also love these patterns:

I love the femininity of this dress.

And the last one I bought:

I don't know that I love this one. I do really like it, but don't know that I'd wear it because its kind of short. Maybe I can make it shorter, like a tunic, and wear it with capris?? I don't know. I'll have to think about it.

My goal is to make each one of these for Spring. I have to find fabric and hopefully start them at the end of February. For now, I have quilts to finish!

Crocheted Hoodie

I finished this up this weekend:



Its a little big on Elle, but that's a good thing because I want it to fit her this spring. It was really easy, but it sat in my UFO pile for quite some time. It feels good to have finished it!

I almost have another pair of wristwarmers finished. They are very much like the pair I made last month, but are longer and have a different texture. I like them a lot so far. I'm also ready to start quilting my "greenery" quilt (finally!!). I made another quilt top so I'm going to quilt them both assembly line style. I thought I'd have more time this weekend to sew and quilt, but there must be something in the water because my kids have been awful. Crying, screaming, fighting...I don't know how the human race has survived this long. lol! Luckily the temperature isn't below zero today so we can go outside for a little bit. I'll let them freeze a little and then they'll feel good about spending so much time indoors. Ha! And if you believe that one I've got a few more for you.

The First Step To Recovery...

is admitting you have a problem. I have a stash problem.



Lots of fabrics. Too many trips to Joann's, the thrift store, and I've been too quick to click the "submit order" button online late at night.

To solve this problem I've joined two contests at Pattern Review. One is a stash contest and the other is a repurposing/recycling contest. The only problem with both is that one only lasts another 2 weeks and the other is over soon, too (I think in February). Luckily, I've got a decent sewing area now so I can get to sewing. Speaking of sewing areas....
I have my own sewing room now! How thrilling is that? Last weekend I went through this place like a woman on a mission and threw away 2 trash bags full of crap and gave another 4 trash bags full of stuff to the Salvation Army. That emptied our entire "storage room"...which is now a bedroom. That freed up a room for me. A sewing room for me. Yay! Its still a bit cluttered because I have so many fabrics and yarn (it truly shocked me! I could totally become a hoarder!) but, I'm going to seriously use up the fabrics I have before buying more. Many quilts are in my future.

My trusty Singer 301A


Diamonds are a girl's best friend...Designer Diamonds, that is...


Do you think I have enough knitting needles? This doesn't even include my circulars...


And Elvis PEZley, keeper of the spools...


Off to put the girls down for a nap and then...SEWING! Happy days, indeed!

Baby Its Cold Outside

And that's why I'm trying to take a photo of my fingerless mitts while remaining indoors.

The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. These are a really quick and easy knit and they are comfy and warm and gorgeous. I like how they feel on my hand. A word of caution...BIND OFF LOOSELY or use a stretchy bind off. The first one I made I bound off too tightly and had to rip it back and re-do it. Not a big deal at all, but still. I used Malabrigo silky merino in Machu Pichu and size 7 dpn's. Click on the photo if you want to see the pattern. Its a very nice texture.

I also made this scarf:

I didn't block it (blocking would make it look a lot better) because I think I'm going to frog it. Its a really nice scarf and the pattern is simple, but I don't like the scarf for me and I decided last minute not to give it to the person it was intended for. SO.....maybe I'll make another pair of fingerless mitts with it.

Off to work on another quilt. I haven't quilted my greenery quilt yet...that is planned for this friday night with a glass of wine. A nice Greek red called St. George. Most Greek wines are god awful, but St. George is very nice. Another good Greek red is Monemvasia. Monemvasia is my favorite. When my husband and I were in Greece in 2006 we went to Monemvasia, but I couldn't drink the wine because I was pregnant with my twins at the time. That won't be the case this year, however!!

Happy Thursday!

Here's a joke for you...

Q: Two cannibals are eating a clown. What does one say to the other?

A: Does this taste funny to you?



hahahaha.....

Looking Forward To 2009

According to my horoscope I'm supposed to have a very creative year. How wonderful! This year I plan to find a way to make money as a WAHM (which will take LOTS of creativity), make more time for sewing, quilting, knitting and crochet, follow the orthodox fasting calendar, lose my gut (which is kinda hard when you've had 2 c-sections), and sleep more. I'm an insomniac...and its not my fault (I swear!). My husband snores LOUDLY and it makes me absolutely insane, so I'm blaming my insomnia on him. I'm such a meanie. What makes me mad is that I used to have ice cold feet every winter so I'd put them on his thighs to make him stop snoring. And it worked! But for some reason my feet have not been cold at all this winter. Why!!??? How could my feet let me down?!! Maybe its because I'm not a bean pole anymore. I weigh almost 10 pounds more than I did before I had the twins, so maybe the extra weight makes my feet stay warm? I don't know, but it looks like I'm going to have to drop an ice cube in his boxers in lieu of cold feet on his thighs. Ok, where am I going with this?

In March we will find out if Luke got into the school we applied to. So, that's when we'll decide if we are going to stay in the city or move to the burbs or out to the country. It looks to be a big year for us. What does your year look like? Any big plans or resolutions?

The "Greenery" Quilt

I finished the quilt top this morning. Finally!

Actually, I'm not completely done with the top...

The backing is going to be solid green and I want to bind it with a print. Since the print would be lost on the top side I'm going to put a 2" solid green border around it. That will let the binding stand out on both the front and the back. So, I'm off to finish this one up. Its currently 70"X70". After the border is put on it'll be 74" X 74".

I really like this quilt. Its almost completely from stash and includes a shirt I got from a thrift store! The white w/floral stripe fabric is cut from the thrift store shirt. The shirt was nice, but I really liked it for the fabric. It fits this quilt perfectly and for a buck, it was worth it.


I also made my huzband a knit-a-roni hat, but it turned out....um....pretty funny looking. The knitting itself is good, but I made it with a bright orange yarn (the Huz hunts) and when he put it on we both started laughing because he looks like the guy from the cartoon Fat Albert. He wouldn't model it for a picture (wimp!) so here I am wearing it.

It cracks me up.

Have a great weekend!!

What A Great Gift!

My sister-in-law thought an easel would make a great gift...


NOT!!

Happy New Year to all!!