A Shirt Using Anna Maria Horner's Voile

I tackled another sewing project today. I had been itching to get my hands on some of Anna Maria Horner's voile. I ordered some a couple of weeks ago and it came in on Thursday. It feels amazing! It is also not too sheer and has a wonderful drape. I would recommend sewing it with a needle for finer fabrics. Anyway, I bought Simplicity pattern 2594.

I sewed a muslin mock up first. It was HUGE. I looked at the pattern and saw that it gave SEVEN inches of ease. No wonder! I cut it down significantly, but I also cut off my seam allowances. I don't know what I was thinking. Despite the seemingly major mistake, it came out alright.

I had to give it more ease in the hips so I added slits on the sides, but I think the top looks fine.

The pattern seems to either have crappy directions so that it can fall into the "easy" category, or there are mistakes (particularly step #17). I'm glad that I have tried other patterns before because these directions were poor. I think one could mostly surmise what needs to happen with the pattern pieces and do a better job without following the directions. I think it would be fun to try this one again and include my seam allowances this time!

Cynthia Rowley Dress Simplicity Pattern 2497

I have been wanting to sew a dress for myself for a while, but couldn't decide on anything. I found several Cynthia Rowley patterns on Simplicity's website that I really liked and I kept coming back to them. On Saturday, I finally took the plunge and bought my pattern.

I started with a muslin mock up so that I could get the fit right. I'm really glad I did. It looked like a balloon-y sack when I finished it. I brought the waist band up by shortening the bodice and I took in the side seems a few inches (on the bodice only). I also took 2 inches off the largest part of the of the width of the ruffle. As much as I loved the pockets, I didn't want to add bulk to my hips so sadly, I omitted them.

I'm really happy with this dress and its fit. I really enjoyed sewing it, especially because of my new machine. It just makes everything better. I'm also pleased with the finishing details that I used on this dress like french seams. I also conquered my zipper fear and put my first invisible zipper into this dress. I found a great tutorial online that made it so much easier. Now I just need to conquer my fear of sewing with knits. I think this pattern was easy to follow and I would really recommend it to anyone, with the suggestion to sew a mock up first to check for fit.

jcaroline creative

I'm sorry to see that this economy has taken down another retailer. jcaronline creative has always had great tutorials that I've really appreciated. When I went to their site today, I noticed that they were liquidating their stock. They said this weekend is their final weekend. I'm sure some good deals will be available. Just thought I'd pass this info along.

Jack 9 Months!

Happy 9 months, Jack!

Jack has gotten 4 teeth in the last month for a total of 6. He is working on 2 more and I expect those 2 to pop through any day now. Jack is constantly chewing his fingers because of this.

Jack is super curious and is exploring everything. He is crawling and pulling up and cruising. He is really tall which mean he can reach far. We all have to find higher ground, much to the chagrin of Rita and Jed.

He loves everything that Ryan has and only likes some of his toys. He prefers whatever Ryan is playing with at the moment, which drives Ryan nuts! He loves his older brother and lights up whenever he sees him. Ryan can make him laugh more than anyone.

This is his favorite baby toy. It can occupy him for long periods of time.

He is so proud of himself when he closes all the doors on all the boxes, then realizes his game is over. Ryan comes the rescue and opens the doors again.

Jack tends to suck on his fingers whenever he is in a new place or is unsure about something. He likes to feel my sleeve while he sucks for comfort. He is a little bit of a momma's boy when he's uncertain.

He is starting to eat more table foods. He loves chunks of bananas, puffs, and little pieces of string cheese. He is really picky when we give him a new food and will spit it out and refuse the first few times we give it to him, especially if there is any sort of texture to it. After he tries it a few times, then he typically will eat it. He still is not much of a fan of his formula. He prefers juice and water from a sippy cup or from a straw.

He can babble the sounds, "mama," "dada," "baba," and "nana." He seems to associate "mama" with me, but "mama" can also be for many other things.

We are really enjoying our little guy. I still can't get over how fast this first year is flying by.

Blogging Lull

I've had a lull in my blogging lately. I guess I've had a little bit of writers block as well. A lot has been going on, but I haven't had much to say about it. I've also been searching for a new project, but I haven't been completely inspired by anything yet so I haven't had anything to say about that either. If you have a sewing project idea for me, please pass it my way. Easter vacation is coming soon and I need something to work on.

Anyway, here's what I've been up to these last few weeks, in no particular order. A teacher friend of mine is having a baby boy sometime in April and she is doing the nursery in vintage baseball stuff. I sewed the booties and blankie for her shower gift.

Tonight at dinner, Ryan was drawing on his place mat when suddenly he said, "Hey, I drew my name!" I had to take a picture because I was so proud.

My grandma's condo in Morro Bay suffered some pretty serious water damage due to a water heater that sprung a leak. Anyway, my mom and I went over to meet with some contractors to get some work done on it. Her are some pictures of the sad state of affairs. I hope it can be repaired soon so we can have a weekend getaway.

I think Rita thinks she is a princess and was sleeping on this stack of pillows, trying to feel the "pea" under all of it. She's so cute.

I used up the last of my delicious Dinuba peaches last week on this lovely pie. I'm going to toot my own horn and tell you that it was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to get some more of these lovely pieces of fruit this summer.

I also sewed a Roman shade for the boys' room. I had to fiddle with it a little, but I'm happy with it. It is made out of red burlap with a black out lining. I was really worried about sewing with these materials, but my new machine tackled it with no problems.

Hopefully, I will find some more blogging inspiration in the next few weeks. Jack turns 9 months on Monday so I will try and get a post together for that.