I finally finished my Plaid Collection. I plan to try to take some pictures of the bags this weekend and get them ready to post and list on Etsy. I hope I can get enough light through my bedroom window with all the clouds and rain. I will give you all an exclusive sneak peak!
I ended up falling in love with the wool plaid and used a lot of it to make myself a maxi dress and a mini skirt. :) I was nice enough to save some for my customers. I made my classic messenger bag, a new messenger bag design, a little coin purse, and my new product - head phone ear bud holder with a key ring attachment. I also picked out two new fabrics to work with for my next collection of bags. I will share the fabrics I picked and what I have envisioned for them.
Here they are: Grey wool suiting and pink floral cotton.
I have a bunch of this grey wool suiting with pink pin stripes. I originally bought this to make an Easter dress for my daughter last year. I love how it came out. Too bad she hasn't worn it since ... the curse of the tomboy.
I had to purchase the wool suiting on line and it was on sale, so I bought quite a bit of yardage. I don't have as much of the pink floral fabric, so there will only be so many that have that print as a lining. I haven't dug through my stash to see what other pinks I have to match. I have a lot of patterns that I haven't used yet and my goal, along with depleting my fabric supply, is to try to use every pattern I have in the process. I think the wool suiting and pink floral would make a super cute diaper bag. I, personally, always hated carrying around traditional diaper bags. In fact, that is exactly what got me started making my messenger bags! Just because I am a mom, doesn't mean I have to look like one all the time. Here is the pattern I plan on using:
I think it will have a nice grown up, professional woman look to it with the grey suiting on the outside and the pink floral pop on the inside. I might even add a few pink accents on the front. Who knows! I just hope to get the fabric, interfacing, and fleece cut this weekend, so I can work on fusing it and assembling it throughout the week.
And because I am selfish and greedy with my fabric and sewing skills, I have to use some of that suiting for myself. I grow very attached to the fabric I buy and it's hard for me to let it all go. Especially my vintage fabric. No one gets any of that ;). (MINE ALL MINE ~ HAHAHAHA~maniacal laughter!). I am hoping to learn to make shorts this summer. I am not too great at pants yet, so I am sure shorts will be equally as challenging, but the pattern says "Easy", so here's to hoping! I think the wool suiting would make a super cute pair of shorts. I think I will try the bottom pair first. Nice and simple - I hope.
I'm headed Joann Fabrics this weekend to pick up some novelty fabric for a custom order I received. I don't take many of those on anymore, but this is for a very special and loyal customer and friend, so I am happy to do it. It's been awhile since I've been to Joann Fabrics and I am actually looking forward to it, although I hope I don't buy any fabric other than what I go in for. It's always so tempting. Plus I just bought three new dress patterns, so I will have to pull myself away from all the broadcloth and linen. Although, after my trip to Mood Designer Fabrics, I think my days of shopping at Joann for dress fabrics are numbered. I do plan on looking for one more dress pattern (as if I need it, right?!). I am in love with this dress I found on Modcloth ...
It is so summery and fun. I think it would look a little cuter with a similar beachy/sailboat fabric, rather than the Japanese kites. I love the style and the cute piping they used on the bust. The straps are perfect, because lets face it ... after two kids, I need a bra! I saw this picture below from a scene of Pan Am on another blog. The girls dress on the right looks like the same pattern. It is super cute in floral, novelty, and I bet in plain, too. I am going to dig around and see if I can't find a pattern to match, so I can make my own.
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This one from Simplicity looks pretty close. The only differences I can see are the top of the bust and the center stash. I think a few minor tweaks to the pattern and it will work. If not, it will do as is. Sorry the photo is blurry, but I couldn't drag anything other than the thumbnail onto the desktop, but here is the link:
As I mentioned, I bought three new patterns from Vogue. I have never used a Vogue pattern before, so I am excited to try it out. They had a sale recently on their Vintage Vogue patterns and I had to snag these adorable dress patterns up while they were only $4 each. Here is what I got ...
The top two are Vintage Vogue and the one below is Easy Vogue. I don't know when I will get around to making these, but I had to grab the patterns while they were so cheap.
And if that isn't enough ... I also need to pick up some Rit Dye. I went thrift store shopping the other day and I found a couple cute things. I got this nice sweater like red dress with long sleeves. Perfect for the cold weather.
I need to find a cute black elastic belt for that (and some of my other dresses) while at the mall. I also got super cute long skirt that will look great with a tank top in the summer. So many colors to choose from to match with.
I got this thermal shirt on the left (which I may dye also???)
and a beautiful knit sweater jacket (not sure what to call it).
****And side note ... If you look under the white knit sweater you will see that I finally got an adjustable dress form!!! I've been wanting one forever, but they cost too much. I am now a size smaller than my old one (on the left), so I really needed one. This weekend the apartment complex next door was having a garage sale and the dress form instantly caught my eye. Only $5 and ten feet from my door ... SCORE!!!****
Anyway, I love this knit sweater. It is simple and fits perfect. Great for the spring and summer. I need to move the button around a bit because it didn't line up or work well, but otherwise it was in great condition ........ until I bought it.
White and I do not get along. Apparently, I don't even need to wear it to ruin it. Now I know better than what I am about to tell you, but times are tough and money is tight and I spend most of my "fortune" at the laundry mat. I have already been to the dang laundry mat three times this week. Once for regular wash, another time because there was an accident in one of the kids beds (I shall name no names), and then this morning the dog barfed all over my bed. Can you say EXPENSIVE?! It costs $2.00 for a regular washer and $3.75 for the big front loader ones. The dryer is 8 minutes for a quarter and most of my stuff needs 40 minutes spread out over a few dryers. Long story short .... after already spending $20 at the thrift store (is it just L.A. or are thrift stores getting way to pricey these days?) and at least $50 on laundry this week, I threw all of my new finds into one $2.00 washer and put it on cold, the whole while praying (and checking constantly) that the red dress would not bleed onto the white knit sweater. I was hopeful that the red dress had been washed enough times that it wouldn't bleed. I pretty much mix all my colors and whites at this point to save money and I never have any issues with my regular day to day clothes. Unfortunately, I think it bled out a little bit onto the sweater. It's hard to see, but I see it ... do you?
I kept trying to convince myself that I was crazy, but it is even more clear in this picture that I am not completely insane (yet) and it does appear to be red. Either way, I think it's best I just dye it a different color, because I already know it won't make it much farther without me adding an array of colorful stains all over it. Now I just have to decide on what color to dye it. Any suggestions? Here is the Rit Dye Color Chart:
I already own a nice black jacket. I have a tan knit sweater and a grey knit sweater, in a similar style as this white one. I am leaning toward the aquamarine, because it is my favorite color. I was also considering navy because I have been wanting a navy knit sweater, but then I recently bought a navy jacket (from the boys section at Target ... lol. I loved my son's so much I bought one a size up from his!). Aside from aquamarine (and navy) I was considering yellow, or kelly green, or maybe even evening blue .... or sunshine orange, but I'm not sure how much wear that would get. Red is an option, too, but the last time I dyed, I used red and I think I'd like to try something different. Red is always so disappointing to me because it always ends up looking more pink than true red.
So what do you all think? What color should I dye my sweater?
HELP!
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