so cute

Luke is showing off the back of Matthew and I just couldn't resist adding it to the blog. I am just too impatient to figure out how to turn the image so please just turn your head instead. Thanks

Blanket pants!!!

Today I set out to use my blanket fabric again. Emily was telling me this morning she wanted ot make Rev some little pants to I have to chart this one up to her great idea. Here is how it all unfolded...


This is my makeshift pattern with a pare of Matthew's favorite pants.

Then I basically sew 4 times and they are done. I did mess up at first and i made a pair but there wasn't room for his daiper. Go figure... so I remade them this time with plenty of room!
All done, soo cute on him, he loves them and they are so soft and roomy!!
Luke now wants a pair too!

watch out winter!!

So, I have been looking everywhere for a fleece sweatshirt that is white with a really big neck yet fitted. And, I couldn't find it anywhere. So the other day I was at target and decided that for this winter I would make my own and make it cheap. So I bought two queen size fleece blankets. Then I took out of my closet three of my favorite sweaters and layed them down on the fleece , cutting and designing my new sweater around the old ones I like so much. It actually turned out. It is by no means professional but it is definately wearable and warm. The neck is chunky, the middle fitted, and the sleaves long and a little bigger on the bottom than the top. Maybe after this project, I should try making those shoes.... umm no way.

Homemade shoes???

What the heck! I am in DSW buying shoes with Luke yesterday when I came across these. (He told me it was illegal to take pictures of the merchandise and I would be arrested, but I did it anyway) No joke the shoes were made out of a thin wool fabric, seam showing, and had the simpliest clasp. I kept thinking to myself, I could make these.... but then... I didn't want to subject myself to becoming a quaker. Making clothes is one thing, but shoes...?? I know that this sewing thing can go too far and when it comes to making my own shoes I pull in the reins. However, I am tempted to buy them and see if anyone asks if I made them, but imagine how much they would smell, being that they are wool, if they got wet. Yuck!

Bridal Shower

Luke's mom was putting on a bridal shower for a girl at Longhorn, where Luke works, and I volunteered to help. It was really a lot of fun. I started by picking out fabrics that I tought would go with the copper table in the room. Then I magically made two table runners with borders all in about 3 hours. One was 4 feet long and the other for the buffet was two feet long. Joy ironed everthing (saving me from that aweful prep work) and I basically did a bunch of straight plain stitches. I was able to put some borders on them as well which help them tie into one another. The party turned out great the next day and was such a tribute to fall.

Happy Fall!!

Heather Bailey

I think Heather Bailey just might be my hero. She designs the most amazing fabrics for Free Spirit called Freshcut. She has an incredible website and I even used her fabric on the girl's baby bedding I made. Here is her free bity bootie pattern. i think I just might try making a pair for Matthew. (http://www.heatherbaileydesign.com/BittyBooties.pdf) She also has an incredible blog that has many amazing projects on it. It is http://www.heatherbailey.typepad.com/. Her sewing room makes me drool! It is truely a sight to behold and if I had a room liek that I might just have to sit in it and stare at everything all day rather than actually working on anything.I absolutely love the stuff she makes!!

"Findings"

Oh My gosh!! Today I went to a tiny, hole in the wall, fabric store in Carmel called "Findings" and what a find it was. haha. It was incredible. She had the most amazing fabrics and more ribbon than I had ever seen in my whole life. Truely, if you can think of the ribbon you need for a poject, it is there. She even had some ribbon that was imported from France costing $50 a yard! I am not exagerating. I splerged and ended up buying this fabric and these ribbons. With some of the ribbon, I bought the tinest bit just to be able to look at it and maybe even pet it once in a while. The plaid is so soft and I hope to make a really cushy scarf with it one of these days. I'll let you know how it goes.

Nursing cover

I made a cover for nursing the other day when on another business trip with Luke. (Luke claims that I am starting a sweat shop in all of these hotel rooms with the maid staff...I promise I am not hahaha) I absolutely love this fabric and the trim is a lace. I felt that I not only needed another one for nursing purposes but I also wanted a more girly one and this fabric is perfect!! I royally messed up though. While I was sewing along I was going so fast, like always, and ended up sewing together a whole bunch of the fabric without knowing it. After undoing all the stitches and fixing it, I can still see the small holes where the stitches had been. Stink!

Sweet Linley Jo

Matthew's very good friend Linley Jo was in need of a new special baby bedding. I was so excited to find this out. I ran out with Elly, Linley's mommy and found some great fabric. I made this bedding with pillows all in one day. I had a blast and this is another example being sad when the project was over! The inside is so soft and the fabric goes perfectly with her big sister Maggie's bed (Those cute feet are hers). The bows on the pillows I made the girls come undone so they can practice tying their shoes. I love the butterflies and plaid ribbon on this bedding. I have the butterflies flying up on one side of the bumper and down on the other side. oops! There are so many little moving parts to keep track of and I think I was distracted by Mr. Matthew crying... he is such a great excuse to my many mistakes!

A baby girl...

After making the baby bedding I was totally impressed with how it actually turned out and truely thought that the only thing I could make was baby beddings. I know that this may seem wierd but I loved the process so much that I thought my new life calling was to make baby beds. I wanted to make another one to see if I could do it again and thought I would make one for our "some day" little girl. Basically I was trying to justify making another one. So, I designed it around my baby blanket that I had when I was little and it has been on my bed ever since. The bedding turned out really sweet and goes really well with my baby blanket. In the end it was great practice and it really got me though my last few months of being pregnant and miserable. Thank God for sewing! I used fabrics from Bessie Mary for the bumpers, ribbon, and dupioni silk for the cording and skirt.

Matthew's baby bedding

No joke, the next project I embarked on was Matthew's baby bedding. I knew I wanted it to be custom made and honestly didn't want to spend money to have it done. So I just made it up. Luke and i went for a week to Houston for his work, and I spent the entire week making a baby bedding from measurements of the crib that I took before I left, and no pattern to speak of. Just a huge imagination for what I wanted it to look like. I love how it turned out. A little modern, a little cowboy, and a lot of boy! I used a minky for the inside, a strip for the outside, leather for the skirt and cording, and finally a cowboy print for the sheet. Lets just say, don't look too closely !!

The worst part about it all was that I used stick on velcro and when I tried sewing the velcro onto the leather attachments I nearly broke my machine. It was horrible! My needle did eventually break and I replaced it with one that didn't stick to the fabric. Note: don't try to sew anything that is sticky!

1st things 1st

For Christmas last year I got a sewing machine. My parents just thought I needed something to do since I was a "stay at home" pregnant lady and was bored out of my mind. I had always wanted to sew but never thought I could learn. I have an aunt who has sewn her whole life and is amazing. She has made so many adorable clothes and taught sewing and cooking to high school students for 35 years. WOW! Although I only see her once a year since she lives in Wisconsin I have always been intrigued with her abilities. So, christmas last year, we got together and she showed me all her sewing stuff and how to work the machine. I loved learning about it but she was nervous that she had given away the secret that I was getting a sewing machine for christmas. I however had no idea.

So christmas comes and I immediately begin. First I made a key. A key that had all the different stitches so I could see the different capabilities. I came home and bought fabric and my very first project was making these curtains. They were so simple. They have two straight stitches. The worst part was pre-washing the fabric and ironing it. Impatience and excitement just don't go together. All I wanted to do was start and begin creating, however, I had to do pre-work and do that carefully before beginning or it would never turn out. I still hate this to this day but I have learned some patience. The detail I pay attention to before I start will always show in the end. I know there is some important life lesson to this, I am just not sure I want to know it yet. I think the lesson in regards to fabric is overwhelming enough.

In the begining...

I am a mama, I love to sew, and both are simply incredible! I have decided to embark on the journey of blogging as a way to share both loves. Thanks to many friends who blog as well, I admit, I have been sucked in. And yes, I will now say, I am one of "them". I am not sure yet where this will take me or take those who read this but I know God does mighty things through many forms of communication and I can not wait to see all that He will do through this process.

In terms of my baby boy, I love absolutely everything. He smiles all day, he is now laughing and sucking on his hand until he has hickeys all over it, and my heart melts to see him with his precious father. There is nothing better in life than seeing your baby boy with the man you love and adore. God is beyond gracious to allow me to see His love through them.

As for sewing, I love fabric! The smell, the colors, the textures, I love it all. Sewing has brought me so much joy to be able to retreat, create, and combine in an artistic manner. I work quickly and I am always bumbed when the project is over. I got a sewing machine last christmas and I had never touched one before that. So, in many ways I am sharing with you what I learn as well as all that I don't know yet. I make many mistakes but hopefully I never make the same one twice.

This is my journey of learning how to sew, and learning how to be a mama.