Giving My Machine a Workout!

Well for Christmas Adrian purchased a new sewing machine for me, but of course those of us on computers know that with new technology comes new headaches. My machine has the ability to embroider but unfortunately it seems that whenever I am doing a project on clothing something seems to go sour. And yesterday was no exception.

I have a short sleeve denim jacket that I purchased from K-mart for 5.00$ on clearance. And I thought this would be a great wardrobe piece to embellish. All went well with the back design.



But my plans for the front was to place a small flower like the ones on the back and that is when I ran into problems. The machine while embroidering the small flower seemed to lose its calibration and started embroidering in the wrong place. And unfortunately the stitches are so tight and small it is impossible to get them out. So I thought ok I will just embroider a larger flower over the small one...but again the machine started acting screwy and I ended up having to hand embroider the bottom petal as well as take out a ton of tiny stitches.



I have not decided yet what I want to do about the front flower. Maybe I could go for counseling about my problems with perfectionism lol!! and then I could just wear the jacket! Or maybe I will appliqué a flower over it........We shall just have to see what the future holds for this embroidered jean jacket and my issues with details LOL!

Philippians 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

New Purse & left over Japanese Linen ....

I had some left over Japanese Linen from the circle skirt that I made and I decided to turn it into a purse. What girl doesn't appreciate a new purse. This Linen that Adrian brought me home from Japan is just fabulous. It has the most amazing texture to it. And if you look at it right it almost glistens as if it was woven with gold.

Homemade or Handmade...

Anna made some pretty wrapping paper to wrap up her friends birthday present. I always keep a big roll of white paper I find it comes in handy for so many things.
We like to be resourceful around here as well and if you can make something, well then we definitely will make it. And wrapping paper is no exception. I like the added bonus of keeping Anna seated and occupied for a little while too!

New Dress

I made Anna a new dress for the church BBQ in bright red gingham knit. I was horrified the other day when I realised that in the last 4 weeks she has grown so much she jumped a whole clothing size and some of the dresses I had sewn for her a few weeks ago are almost now above her knee. When do children grow? And how come we never see it? I was happy that the pattern I made for Anna's everyday dress is so easy to lengthen. I took the pattern and drafted it out again with a few extra inches and it turned out great! We paired it with a pair of Red Hanna Andersson Capri's and she looked lovely and modest. I even sewed a little dress for Anna's cabbage patch doll in the same fabric she looked cute too!

Sewing Lesson

Anna had her first sewing lesson on the machine. She did really well and is so excited to be sewing like I do. She absolutely loved it and can't wait to sew again.

New Blouse Part 2

Well I was really frustrated the other day with how the blouse that I had sewed turned out. I chose not to give up and went back and read the instructions and I realized I did miss a few steps. So I took a gamble and tried it again on my good fabric I guess I am a risk taker lol! But the risk paid off I was very happy with how it turned out. The only part I am not totally pleased with are the pleats in the front make it look a little maternity like to me. But I think once I wash it the fabric will sit a little better. This pattern is New Look 6851.I have to remember to write a review for this one. My favorite part about this blouse is that it is long and I like that it makes it very modest. This is very easy to sew as well. The fabrics is from SewZannes I got it on sale, I love this fabric feels almost like linen. I have been really happy with all the fabric I have purchased from them. I do get allot of fabric from Walmart and Joanns but the quality is no where near the fabric you can get from Sewzannes. I also used the french seam in this top on the shoulders and I was happy I did that. It gives the garment such a polished look when you don't have it all frayed on the inside. I keep remembering what Lady M mentioned on her blog the other day about how the inside of your garments look when you sew them. It was really good advice I have found that it has made me slow down and take a little extra time with what I am sewing and I make sure that I am not rushing to finish and then end up with a messy result.

Ottobre Deer Pinafore

I made the ottobre deer pinafore. I attempted to resize it to fit Anna but I was still a little off and it is to short. So I will have to pass it on to one of my friends little girls. I sewed the french seam and really liked how nice and clean the inside of the garment looked I will definitly use this seam again in the future