So a little bit of what I have been doing...

in between work, catching the flu (which was pretty awful) and hanging out with my little man.

 My to-do list has grown, it's about 1 1/2 spiral notebook pages so far with more things being added to it daily. I have only managed to cross off a few things so far. One of the big things that I was working on was a new swimsuit for me. here's the bottoms so far:

My sewing machine and I are having a few issues but I am hoping to get this finished up in the next day or two... I also have a pair of shorts half-way done (meaning the front of them so far):

Maybe one day they will be finished up-lol! So far this morning, I have been working on a small quilt and am just trying to get something, anything off this to-do list! Alright, back to work I go hopefully with a few finishes to show you in the next few days. :)

In the studio...

I broke down and started another quilt. This time I cut into my stack of little apples that I picked up at quilt market. So far this is going to be one really quick quilt if I can stick with it and not get sucked into any other projects. Of course this means I am still behind on my Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, but I am just going to work at my own rather slow pace on that one! 

Oh and my best pal found this awesome dress while thrifting:

I think I will dress it up with a wide leather belt and I can't decided but I might shorten the hem a bit! I simple love it and can't wait to wear it.

Boston Lounge Pants

I finally managed to get a few more sizes of the Boston Lounge Pants finished up, along with a new instruction sheet. (these were formally known as Xavier's Holiday Pants and were only available in sizes 2T-6) I taught these fun pants at the Quilt Barn. Even though these are really basic pants, there are plenty of ways to dress them up by adding pockets, ribbon trim, or almost anything you could think of adding. My son loves these pants and I also make them into shorts for the summer, it has become one of his wardrobe staples. Enjoy!

Basic Size Chart

Boston Lounge Pants Instruction Sheet

Boston Lounge Pants Children's 7-14

Boston Lounge Pants Misses 0-14

Boston Lounge Pants Women's 16-26

Please keep in mind that these patterns are for your own personal use, thanks!

A few of my favorites...

from the photo shoot I did last week with one of my best friends (okay, we are more like sisters!), Nicole. I am in the process of updating my portfolio (slowly but surely anyways) by re-shooting some of my older pieces. First is this wedding dress:

Dress:  Kaysie Schreiner

I created this dress for my senior project while in fashion school and had never gotten around to taking photos of it on a real person only a dress form. I still have a few more photos to edit, but for now these are my favs!

One of the fashion shows I was in, included a short navy velvet vest with a gold lame backing. Really one of my favorite pieces from that show.

 Vest: Kaysie Schreiner

Tank Top: Jockey

Jeans: Silver

Boots: Fioni

Styling was kept to a minimum since we were short on time. We also got some shots of things for the future pattern releases. I had a great time taking these shots and a getting a couple of things crossed off my list, but the best part was spending time with Nicole (she was visiting from the east coast). Growing up, we were always creating things and loved to do mini photo shoots all around the house. She also managed to get some photos of X and me (I will try and post a few when I get copies). The whole time we spent together was a blast (not to mention a huge boost to my current creative flow) and it was fun to re-live those kind of creative adventures.

Updates

I think I finally got my little blog redo to a great spot and I added a tutorials page. Here you can find all the free tutorials (sorted by categories), I am hoping that this makes it easier to find them and I also updated all the links to a new site for downloading the pdf files. By the way a huge thanks to Craft Gossip for featuring my bookmark tutorial on Tuesday.

In other news, I have been busy sewing a ton of new things. Here is my giant to sew list:

One of the my many sewing to-do lists is filled with nothing but personal projects a.k.a the list of projects that I really wish would get done but always get pushed to the back burner. As a goal, I try to spend at least 2 or 3 days a month working on projects of that list. Mainly, so I can add more to it. They are not in any particular order (I tend to start/stop and jump around the whole list) but these are the things that are currently in progress (*note the x's are for my son's name Xavier, its just easier to write x):

X Blazer- I have an idea for this (its based on a vintage blazer that x loves but he already outgrew it) and already picked up the materials

Rocket Quilt- The top is pretty much finished (its a wall hanging, but I can't decide what I am doing for the backing)

X Underwear- since he is in the potty training phase and I really dislike the boys underwear choices (plus the cost) that are out there on the market- I made my own pattern. I have 15 pairs in progress they just need some topstitching and elastic on the waist. They are made out of old t-shirts so the only cost I have in them is the elastic. *sorry that the picture is sideways blogger is doing something weird to it

Study Hall Skirt- the Anna Maria Horner pattern, it is cut out and ready to sew and I finally picked up some ivory thread for it, but now it just sits in the to be done pile.

Summer Blouse- again its all cut out (the pattern is from the Weekend Sewing book by Heather Ross) and is sitting on my table

X Shorts and Pants- I have 3 pairs of pants that just need to be hemmed and elastic added to the waist, 1 pair that just needs the elastic finished up. (the pattern is the lounge pant from my tutorials)

Slippers- from the Handmade Beginnings book by Anna Maria Horner my goal is to get these made before fall really sets in since my other slippers fell apart in the spring- I have all the materials just need to make them.

Skirt Redo- I finished this skirt by doing an online sew along (that part was the fun part) but I don't like the way the skirt looks on me so I want to make it in to a dress by sewing it to a tank top

*The giant pile of in progress projects and this photo is uploading sideways the wrong way too...

X Tops- I have 4 of the kai's shirt cut out from the Weekend Sewing By Heather Ross book, 1 is actually almost finished up

Wonky Star Quilt- I recieved all of my blocks from the  Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild Wonky Star Swap and now I need to make the quilt top. 

Houndstooth Cape- I have the fabric and the pattern cut out to make a cape for fall- yeah that was last fall so hopefully this year I will get it finished up.

X chair- I found a pattern for one of those small plush chairs for toddlers and have most of the pieces cut out   

Do you have a crazy list of projects that you want to make? And if you made it through reading that giant list of projects- here is a little photo of a flower on my computer:

X has really been into picking and surprising me with flowers, that was the latest one! 

Already the Weekend!?

I can't believe it is already Saturday. This week has really gone by way too quickly. I am so close to being finished with my studio reorganization process (I am so glad that I have really focused on getting it all sorted, purged, cleaned, etc. usually when I am in the process of cleaning, I find lost/forgotten about projects and start working on them instead finishing the task at hand. This time I have not started any new projects or finished up any while trying to do the cleanout, so that in itself is a huge deal for me. Next week, I will share the whole new & improved studio!) 

Now, I have been doing a few other things when I can't be in the studio like pattern writing, backing up my computer, planning out a few blog projects, working on my schedule, working out and other various things. Last night, however, was the Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild's monthly sewing night (at the Quilt Barn), I spent a little time trying to think of what I would take with me since: a) I didn't feel like packing up a lot of sewing stuff, b) I didn't really want to start any new projects, c) I have a giant list of things that I need to get done, but haven't quite got started on (things like clothes and underwear for x, some shirts for me, etc.). Going through my fabric stash, I decided to grab all the that I wanted to make clothes from for X. Sewing night for me was spent doing the prep-work (and chatting, laughing, and eating some yummy Fiesta Ole) for x to have some new clothes. Here's what I got cut out:

3 pairs of pants, 1 pair of shorts, 4 shirts (all the Kai's shirt from Weekend Sewing, you can see the first and second one in those previous posts) and I cut 1 shirt out (another summer blouse) for me. Next week, I am going to try and get at least the shorts and a shirt done for X in between all of my other projects, along with cutting out some knit t-shirts, shorts, and underwear for the little guy. I can't wait to see his little wardrobe come together. 

Summer Blouse

One of the many projects on my want to sew list is from the book Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. This book has been in "my sewing library" since it came out and so far I have only made 2 that's right only 2 projects from it (one was a couple of lingerie bags and the other was a shirt for x). One of my goals before I turn 27 is to make more clothes for myself, since a) I have my degree in fashion b) I hardly have anything to wear and c) I have a lot of fabric that needs to be turned into something. I am also really trying to utilize the books that I have in "my sewing library" instead of just looking at them every couple of months and then just throw them back on the shelf to collect some dust. Now, sometimes I feel in the mood to spend the time drafting my own patterns, while that is generally fun and relaxing, there are times I just need to get something completed without spending too much time or thought on it. This is where the summer blouse comes in:

So I really loved the simplicity (it only took a few hours to whip out) and look of the pattern. Risking a little fabric (its from Joanns and was on sale, I think the total for this blouse came in under $3.00), I choose not to make a muslin and instead jumped right in with the project. Lucky for me, it worked out perfectly (Sorry, I am not actually wearing it for the photo. I did manage to wear it to the Quilt Show on Saturday and totally forgot to take a picture of me in it. Today was just a little to hot and a very busy day, so I only mustered up the energy to put it on the dress form.) The few alterations that I made were to leave off the sleeves and just roll the seam allowance on the armholes 1/4" twice and edge stitched to finish. I also chose to use a pre-made white double folded bias tape instead of making my own. This left me with a little stiffer neckline then if I had made my own since the fabric is very light and lovely. Overall, the pattern was easy to follow and worked out fairly well. It turns out that my favorite detail of the entire garment is the front placket. I love that the neckline is easily adjusted to any depth. The blouse was really comfortable to wear around on my adventure, was light and airy and I just unbuttoned it when it was really hot out. One of the Amy Butler fabrics I just picked up is destined to become summer blouse as well, but with a contrasting placket this time. I can't wait to get it started probably later this week once I get a few more things off my to-do list!  

A little sewing...

A picnic and a new dress...

Yesterday, my mom, Xavier and I went on a little adventure to the park for a picnic. When we got there is was also the Art in the Park event making the park a pretty busy place. The weather was perfect and after being sick it was great just to sit outside and get some sun along with fresh air. It also turned out to be the perfect opportunity to wear another version of this dress (found here and here). This time I used a light weight cotton instead of a knit and added facing along with an invisible zipper. 

The fabric is Zinnia from the Good Folks collection by Anna Maria Horner. There are few changes that will need to be made: 1) I feel like the armholes turned out a little bit to high, not enough to bug me just I feel like they should be a little lower. This is not an issue with the knit version. 2) The shoulder is a little wide, it gathered more with the knit, but again it isn't a real big deal. 3) I would make it a little smaller. I have been losing quite a lot of weight so it is actually fairly big on me. All in all, it will still be something that I wear quite often since it is pretty comfy and I will probably add a belt at the waist to dress it up a little. Slowly but surely I am making progress in added some new clothes to my wardrobe. Alright, off to eat some breakfast and get some sewing done, have a fun rest of the weekend! 

Friday

Right now I am loving the warmer weather. My productivity level has certainly increased these last couple of days. Last night's quilt guild meeting was a blast (I always have fun anyways!) I finished up my dress also known as prototype number 1. 

I wore it last night to the guild meeting, you know giving it a trial run, so I can change up the pattern if necessary.(By the way don't you just love self-timer photos--wink.) I made it out of a 2 way knit and left the bottom hem raw. So far it is super comfy and next week I am planning on making it out of cotton print, plus a few optional accessories to go with it. 

I have been busy sewing some other little projects, such as these wonky stars:

I also signed up for the swap that our guild is doing, so be prepared to see more of these around here on the blog. As for this one, I am turning it into a large (the block is 12" x 12") trivet for the kitchen. 

  Over the weekend, I plan on finishing up a few more UFO's, so I can get started on some new projects. Also, I am hoping to have the free summer shorts tutorial for boys & girls up next week. 

  

A Busy Thursday

Tonight is the third meeting of the Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild. I am really excited, I think tonight will be a great meeting and full of interesting discussions. I have really been quite productive this week in the sewing area. I have been working on a new patterns, some tutorials that will be appearing here on the blog soon, finishing up some mini quilts, doing some sketching, and catching up on some reading. Tomorrow, I will have a full post of some quilting after I share them with the quilt guild tonight. 

Here is a peak at a new top pattern I am in the middle of working on:

This top is in the infant stages of development (it is only draped and pinned so far), but I like where it is headed.

I also picked up some new fabric from The Quilt Barn. 

 

I am hoping to have these sewn into some summer clothing by the end of next week. Hopefully, anyways. 

Alright, I am off to make a dessert for quilt guild tonight...