Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Moving Day!
Ok! It's been decided! My blog has moved over to Wordpress! You can find me at anestinthemaking.wordpress.com so please update your reader with my new site and/or re-follow the new blog! In a few weeks, I will be deleting this blog, so the only way to view my old posts (and of course my exciting new ones) is to make the switch with me! Can't wait to see you there!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Moving
I think I may be moving to WordPress. I've been having a lot of trouble with Blogger lately. My plan is to mess around with Word Press for a while, see what I know. If I like it, I'll switch for good. Don't worry! I'll let y'all know if/when any changes are coming!
Thanks so much for your patience!
Thanks so much for your patience!
Simple Apron! I love her!
HELP! I save pictures facing the right direction, and when I upload them to Blogger, they're either upside down or turned 90 degrees! Any ideas what's going on?! This is driving me crazy!!!!
I wanted to take a second to show you the pretty apron I made this past weekend! I love her! I think I should name her... would that be too weird?
I haven't been sewing a lot lately. Can I be completely honest here? I haven't been sewing because I *have* to watch 6 seasons of Grey's Anatomy this month. I *have* to, becasue I haev a free trial to hulu + and if I don't finish it by the 28th of this month, I'll have to pay to watch it. Dave Ramsey says no. So... I am watching a lot of TV on my computer. And not doing a lot of sewing. This past Sunday, I decided that needed to change. I miss sewing. (And yes, I know that if I want to sew I can. It's just that I really want to catch up on Grey's and really don't want to pay for it. So, it's a choice that I made... and any complaints are really just kidding because if my biggest problem is that I have to chose between sewing and watching TV any given night, my life is pretty good.)
I found this pattern for a simple apron. I think I had found the original pattern a while back, but then I lost it. When I saw it on another blog, I decided it was time to make one! (I wish I could remember who it was who recently made one of these, if it was you - and you talked about how great it was for wiping snotty noses - let me know and I'll link to you too!) In the stash of fabric I got from my Grandma there was this country checker print with farm animals. I thought it was super cute but not at all my decor style. Perfect for my first apron attempt!
All in all, the pattern is pretty simple and straight forward. I will warn you that, for a newbie sewer <cross out> sewist (seriously y'all, what is the word?!), taking a few weeks off of sewing kills you. What is a straight line? How do you sew it? How do you pin bias tape again? How do you fold fabric over 1/4 inch and press? It was like I'd never made anything before! I mean, I'm no professional, but I do have a couple shirts, skirts and a bag I love and managed to make! If you were to look closely at my bias tape, you would think a 5 year old sewed it on. But it holds, it is machine washable, and the thread and trim are both black so you can't tell anyway. so there!
My apron looks great (although how can you tell with this upside down picture? *sigh*)! It's a little dark in these pictures - no natural light when you sew after bedtime - but I really like the colors. The pattern is great too because it hides anything I wipe on it. I'm not a messy cook, so I don't really *need* a full-cover-everything apron. This one is just perfect for me to wipe my hands on as I move around the kitchen.
A big thanks to Prudent Baby for the patternt!
Oh! And go MAVS!
I'll be linking up here:
Monday, June 6, 2011
Exciting Things
No... I don't have a big post for y'all today... I made an apron last night! I used a tutorial I found online and I LOVE it! I'll show you later this week. The other exciting thing going on in my life is a work weight-loss program that starts next week. We are doing the 10,000 step [a day] challenge! I got my pedometer today and I am so excited! I think it's because I'm so competative. It's not a competition... in fact NOBODY is competing with me. But I feel like I must make a huge number so that I win. Even if I don't know anyone else's number! Is that strange? *lol* Well either way I'm excited! 189 steps since 3:45 this afternoon (12 minutes ago)!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Where'd You Go?
I miss you so! Seems like it's been forever...
Oh wait... I got lost in a Fort Minor moment.
Anyway, I'm here! I'm busy but I'm here. There hasn't been much sewing going on in my world lately. I've been working more on getting my life "on track" - whatever that means. I felt for a while like I was pulled in so many directions. I guess I fell like that a lot. There's so much I WANT to do. But right now I'm confusing on what I need to do.
I'm going to work. Eating. Sleeping. Spending time with my family. And reading the bible for 30 minutes each night before going to bed (at a REASONABLE hour).
So that's why there haven't been any projects lately. I'm off work tomorrow and Friday, but I'm not sure I'll make anything. If I do, you'll be the first to hear about it. But I may just relax and enjoy my son and enjoy my life.
Life is good, you know that? I think sometimes we just need to sit back and enjoy it.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
I've Been Featured!
Y'all will never believe what happened to me this weekend!! I got an e-mail from Jane over at The Borrowed Abode, and an invite to do a guest post! That's right folks, I've been featured! Oh my goodness I'm so excited!
Head on over and visit Jane and give her some love for me!
Head on over and visit Jane and give her some love for me!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Second Skirt Tutorial
I made another skirt! I made another skirt! I made another skirt! Hey hey hey!
Ok but seriously y'all! I LOVE this skirt! Isn't it darling?! And it was soooooo easy!
Firt thing I did was measure from where I want the skirt to sit on my hips, to where I want the bottom of the skirt to be. Did I mention that Heidi Klum volunteered to be my model for this? No? Oh well she did - sorta! And if anyone actually knows her will you thank her for being my model?
And I got distracted again! Ok, first measurement (A) is for the elastic. Measurement (B) is for the width of the skirt at the bottom. I made this a little wider than the widest part of my hips. * Make sure not to measure around your legs and use that exact measurement, this may be obvious but your hips are bigger and if you ever want to be able to pull this skirt up in the ladie's room and/or walk you're going to want to have it at least as wide as your hips! Measurement (C) is the distance between (A) and (B). I added an inch to each measurement for seam allowance and sew-the-elastic-into-a-loop space.
Next, I made my pattern. I guess I'd call it a pattern. I didn't actually draw it to scale. Here is a picture:
Yep! Sticky note! But writing it out helped me make sure I got everything right. This is basically what the sketch looks like.
Next I laid out my fabric. I use a seersucker for this. I found it in my big box of fabric from the Benevolance Center. It was super cute, but since I'd never seen seersucker before, I thought it might have been a tablecloth. A quick conversation with one of the Fashion Retail Merchandising professors at work confirmed that it is called "seersucker." Of course, I had already made the skirt and was wearing it at the time. How funny would it have been if she was like "Kristi, that's a tablecloth!"
Anyway, I folded the fabric over because I wasn't sure how see-through the skirt would be. So you can brag that the skirt is lined if you'd like, but really, you just folded it over and got to cross "hem skirt" off of your to-do list. The fabric I cut ended up being a huge rectangle. I thought about bringing it in a little bit at the top, but I figured the elastic would work just as well. It ended up having a great (small) gather at the top so I'm really happy with how it turned out. If your (B) is much higher than your (A) though, you may want to taper your pattern in a little bit.
Anyway, I cut out my fabric and ironed it so that there would bea good crease for the bottom of the skirt. Next, I turned it inside out and hemmed the top with a small seam allowance (1/4 or 1/8 maybe?). This made me one long tube of fabric. I flipped it back, right-side-out and ironed again (I had a hard time making the bottom crease stay). Next, I sewed a straight-stitch line an inch lower than my top seam. This is where the elastic will be threaded in, so do that now.
Finally, I sewed up the back to make it a skirt. I don't have a fancy measurement for this. I pretty much sewed the elastic into a loop, put the skirt on, safety pinned it where I liked it, and then stitched it shut. The top was a little tricky. Any experienecs seemstress will tell me I did this in the wrong order, but I'm honestly not sure how I could've done it correctly. I guess some trial-and-error is in my future.
To close the top where the elastic is, I simply folded the fabric under until the edges met and it looked "clean." Then I stitched over it about a thousand times back and forth to hold it in place. Again, not correct or fancy, but at the end of the day it looks fine.
So there you have it folks, my first attempt at elastic and second attempt at a skirt. I wore it to work the next day and got a lot of compliments. I threw it in the wash that night (because I got salsa on it at work) and it survived no problem! Don't laugh but this was a serious concern of mine! I grabbed it this morning and put it on to run errands AND I'm wearing it right now! Yes, I love it that much! I see more fun/simple spring skirts in my future!
Thanks for reading! And as always, if you make a skirt like mine, e-mail me and let me know! I'd love to see it! anestinthemaking {at} gmail {dot} com
And in case you haven't smiled yet today...
Ok but seriously y'all! I LOVE this skirt! Isn't it darling?! And it was soooooo easy!
Firt thing I did was measure from where I want the skirt to sit on my hips, to where I want the bottom of the skirt to be. Did I mention that Heidi Klum volunteered to be my model for this? No? Oh well she did - sorta! And if anyone actually knows her will you thank her for being my model?
And I got distracted again! Ok, first measurement (A) is for the elastic. Measurement (B) is for the width of the skirt at the bottom. I made this a little wider than the widest part of my hips. * Make sure not to measure around your legs and use that exact measurement, this may be obvious but your hips are bigger and if you ever want to be able to pull this skirt up in the ladie's room and/or walk you're going to want to have it at least as wide as your hips! Measurement (C) is the distance between (A) and (B). I added an inch to each measurement for seam allowance and sew-the-elastic-into-a-loop space.
Next, I made my pattern. I guess I'd call it a pattern. I didn't actually draw it to scale. Here is a picture:
Yep! Sticky note! But writing it out helped me make sure I got everything right. This is basically what the sketch looks like.
Next I laid out my fabric. I use a seersucker for this. I found it in my big box of fabric from the Benevolance Center. It was super cute, but since I'd never seen seersucker before, I thought it might have been a tablecloth. A quick conversation with one of the Fashion Retail Merchandising professors at work confirmed that it is called "seersucker." Of course, I had already made the skirt and was wearing it at the time. How funny would it have been if she was like "Kristi, that's a tablecloth!"
Anyway, I folded the fabric over because I wasn't sure how see-through the skirt would be. So you can brag that the skirt is lined if you'd like, but really, you just folded it over and got to cross "hem skirt" off of your to-do list. The fabric I cut ended up being a huge rectangle. I thought about bringing it in a little bit at the top, but I figured the elastic would work just as well. It ended up having a great (small) gather at the top so I'm really happy with how it turned out. If your (B) is much higher than your (A) though, you may want to taper your pattern in a little bit.
Anyway, I cut out my fabric and ironed it so that there would bea good crease for the bottom of the skirt. Next, I turned it inside out and hemmed the top with a small seam allowance (1/4 or 1/8 maybe?). This made me one long tube of fabric. I flipped it back, right-side-out and ironed again (I had a hard time making the bottom crease stay). Next, I sewed a straight-stitch line an inch lower than my top seam. This is where the elastic will be threaded in, so do that now.
Finally, I sewed up the back to make it a skirt. I don't have a fancy measurement for this. I pretty much sewed the elastic into a loop, put the skirt on, safety pinned it where I liked it, and then stitched it shut. The top was a little tricky. Any experienecs seemstress will tell me I did this in the wrong order, but I'm honestly not sure how I could've done it correctly. I guess some trial-and-error is in my future.
To close the top where the elastic is, I simply folded the fabric under until the edges met and it looked "clean." Then I stitched over it about a thousand times back and forth to hold it in place. Again, not correct or fancy, but at the end of the day it looks fine.
So there you have it folks, my first attempt at elastic and second attempt at a skirt. I wore it to work the next day and got a lot of compliments. I threw it in the wash that night (because I got salsa on it at work) and it survived no problem! Don't laugh but this was a serious concern of mine! I grabbed it this morning and put it on to run errands AND I'm wearing it right now! Yes, I love it that much! I see more fun/simple spring skirts in my future!
Thanks for reading! And as always, if you make a skirt like mine, e-mail me and let me know! I'd love to see it! anestinthemaking {at} gmail {dot} com
And in case you haven't smiled yet today...
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