Cute As A Button

Burda July 2009

2009-07-03T10:49:00.004-04:00

What a great issue!! I was disappointed in the last couple (there wasn't much for my body type or style) but this time Burda hit it out of the park! It made me want to race out and find some jersey and hit the sewing machine. Was this as inspiriational for you as well? Alas, I have too many projects ahead of these great outfits, so I will have to pick and choose carefully, but I will dream on:

A super cute and sexy top! Could be a good summer going into fall choice.

Definately a good choice for going into fall. And it looks pretty simple to make too.

I love a pair of classic pants, and I like that this time Burda went with a flat front (I look terrible in pleats). If I can get the fit right I could see this being a TNT.

Another super easy, super cute top. And it looks so comfortable. And I shouldn't have to much issue with fit, with all the elastic!

This top just screams summer! Although I could see it pair with a cute jacket to make it into the fall as well...

I need shorts. I pulled out my summer clothes this fall and realized that I only have 4 pairs, and only 3 really fit well. I think this is a must do for me. I am actually pretty good at pants, so I could do these up fairly quickly! I might make multiples and change some of the details-like omitting the cuffs.

To conclude the dreaming portion of this post...I will never be seen (at least in public!) in a bikini! 4 babies at 8+ lbs each + rather non-elastic skin=no bikini for me. I will spare you all!! Since I love my kids I wouldn't trade any of the stretch marks (like visible proof of motherhood-as if the kids didn't give that away!)

Anyhow-I made a bra this past week, but the fit was close but not perfect and I would like to make a few more with the appropriate modifications. I also have a stack of cute "tutti-fruiti" fabric from Jo-Ann's that I need to whip up into some sun dresses for DD. I have the design in my head so I need to get it on paper and get at it! I recently did some PJ bottoms for my older 2 boys and DH. I let them pick out 3 fabrics, which is I think their favorite part. Being boys there isn't much to make for them as they don't wear dresses, and that is one of my favorite things to make! So they get excited about PJ bottoms! I will try to get a photo of them if I can remember!

I also need to start on the 1st communion dresses for next season. I am trying to get inspired to design a couple of new ones. The problem is that the designs that come into my head are too adult for young girls to wear. I think I need to simplify the ideas and that would make it a little more age appropriate. My goal is to come up with something that is asymmetrical, but still appropriate. That would be one heck of a design!

Happy sewing!

Zipper Insertion with Overlay Skirt

2009-05-27T12:43:00.003-04:00

I design all my first communion dresses that I sell on my website (www.brokenbreadrosaries.com) and on Etsy. I designed a dress with a satin, princess seamed bodice and an A-line skirt with an organza overlay. It has a zipper closure in the back. I faced a problem when I needed to insert the invisible zipper. I wanted the overlay to meet at the zipper, but I didn't want the overlay to be in the same center back seam as the rest of the satin skirt. (I hope that make sense.) I wanted it that way so that the overlay would move on its own and almost float (which it does;) )
First, I attached the placed the overlay over the satin skirt and lined up the finished edges of the center back of the overlay skirt to the unfinished edges of the satin skirt, leaving the satin skirt edges overhanging the overlay edges by 7/8", and machine-basted them together along the bodice seam. Then I attached the bodice. Next I inserted the zipper per the zipper instructions, making sure that the bodice/skirt seam matched up. (to do that, install one side, zip the zipper and pin the seam to the zipper mark its place, unzip the zipper and install the second side as usual.)

This is a photo of the zipper installed-truly invisible!! The seam doesn't look like it matches, but does, it just isn't ironed yet and the organza is very float-y.

Here is the whole backside of the dress, with the zipper installed. That is part of sewing that I enjoy the most, seeing a design in my head translating it to reality and solving the problems/opportunities for growth that each garment presents!

Happy Sewing!

Arlene

Etsy!!!

2009-01-24T09:46:00.003-05:00

I've started a new direction in my sewing! I am doing it professionally! I started a shop on etsy: http://lizsewcute.etsy.com/ and added the same dresses on my own website: http://www.brokenbreadrosaries.com/. I am so excited to create designs and see them actually take form. I love to make formal gowns, but have nowhere to wear them to. Making these dresses satisfies my cravings to make pretty formal things!!! Here is one of the dresses and matching veils.

Happy sewing!

Not Sewing, but been on my mind...

2009-01-21T08:26:00.004-05:00

Editted by author--Ok, I vented. This is probibly not the place for it so I eliminated it. I don't want to hurt any feelings-my goal is to share my sewing and crafts, and encourage the same in others!

Happy sewing everyone!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-01T19:35:00.002-05:00

I don't ususally do resolutions, but what the heck! If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Or something like that.

1. Lose a little weight. It is hard for me to exercise in the winter, because I hate the cold, so I need to work that out.

2. Look better in the "fashion" department. My closet is almost empty, if you don't count the clothes that I am only keeping for sentimental attachement. I have about 2 pair of slacks, 2-3 skirts, which I don't wear much-even to church, about 4 blouses, and a few sweaters that aren't hidious. I only own a couple of dresses because it is so hard to find something that fits my body style, RTW or handmade. Mostly I wear mom jeans and sweatshirts, and I can do better than that! I will make more clothes for myself, instead of making them for everyone else.

3. I need to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I really didn't have a career prior to being a stay-at-home mom so there is nothing to fall back on there. But is also a chance to grow and explore something new. My youngest Elizabeth is 1 1/2 years old and will be starting Kindergarden in 3 1/2 years, and my oldest is in the 4th grade and will be starting high school in 4 1/2 years. We send our kids to Catholic schools which costs $2000 for elementary and roughly $8000 for high school. I figure it will cost about $190,000 and we are only about $12,000 so far. And then there is college. So I need a job. It would help if it payed well.

4. With my husband's help (as well as a few professionals..), I need to figure out some of Isaac's issues. He has been diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, but that isn't addressing the whole picture. Certainly he does have ADHD, but there is something else. He has a possible diagnosis of PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developemental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified), but we need a second opinion. I wonder if he does meet the criteria for Asperger's. So we need to get a plan for him so that we can get the rest of the family back to normal or at least routine :).

I think that is enough for a year. God bless you throughout the New Year. Happy sewing!

Wool Bag Tutorial

2009-01-01T17:00:00.002-05:00

I finished a wool bag for a Christmas exchange (and got a great bag in return).

I did remember to photograph the process, so I can write my first tutorial (My mom would be proud-I looked up how to spell tutorial!) Here it goes:

First I started with a piece of wool that I felted and fulled (I'm not describing that process here, there are lots of tutorials-I'm getting my money's worth for looking that up!-out there.) I cut pieces of fabric for lining and some batting for stability. My lining fabric is a home dec fabric so it is a bit heavier weight, but the wool didn't full much, so I needed a bit there. You may not need to add the batting, so in that case skip the instructions pertaining to that. You can choose to make this in any size you want; squar-ish, rectangular-tall or wide, big or small.

Next, mark where you want the handles to go. Place the lining fabric right side down and place the batting on top. Trim 1/4 inch off of the batting on the parts that will be the top. Pin/baste the batting to the lining. Turn over so the lining is right side up. Cut out the hole for the handle. Quilt the batting and lining together. (for the non-quilters, either free-motion sew or sew lines back and forth across the fabric to join them together). Zig-zag stitch around the handles to prevent them from unraveling (we will add a decorative finish later.)

Fold the lining in half and sew the sides together. Fold the bag so that one side seam lines up with bottom fold of the base of the bag, creating a triangle on the corner. Measure how wide you want the base to be and mark, pin and sew the seam to create the triangle "flaps". You can either trim the triangles off or fold them into the bottom of the bag. If there is too much bulk, you can lay the lining triangles down on the base and point the triangles of the bag up along the side of the bag.

Repeat the process from the beginning for the bag. (I created the bag before I fulled (washed) it to decrease the unraveling and create more uniformity.)

My bag needed a little more stiffness in the base, so I cut a piece of Timtex or Peltex to fit the size of the base. (Use the measurement of the last "triangle seam" for the width, and measure between the "triangle seams" for the length.) Have the right side of the bag facing out, and the right side of the lining facing itself. Place the timtex (if you are using it) inside the bag at the base and adjust to get it into the corners. If you didn't trim the triangles, make sure the are laying flat. Slide the lining into the bag and make sure that the points in the base, the side seams, and the holes in the handle line up. Fold the top of the lining down over the top of the batting and pin to the wrong side of the bag.

Use a blanket stitch along the top the lining and bag to attach the lining to the bag. Blanket stitch around the handles as well. You may want to tack the lining to the bag at the base, in the corner points.

Enjoy your new bag!!

Back in my right mind

2008-12-16T11:37:00.002-05:00

Sorry about the crazy post yesterday. It seems that some people get the easiest kids; the ones that sleep through the night when they are brought home from the hospital, the ones that are easy-going and come-what-may, the ones have no problem occupying themselves whenever and instinctively know how to sit still. This is not what the good Lord blessed me with. Mine are all strong willed, high energy, and seem to know exactly the moment when I am not looking to start to cause problems. With 4 kids, there is always 4 things going on at the same time, plus my own. Then of course the phone rings, the dryer or oven beeps, or some other something happens! Life gets even more complicated when I add in my oldest who has a combination of ADHD, Oppositional/Defient Disorder, and (now we are finding out) Asperger's Syndrome. He really changes the atmosphere of the group. He increases the tensions and energy, and is often the center of many fights and arguments. We are only just beginning to figure out what is going on with him as far as the Asperger's diagnosis and how to fix all the craziness that it brings into our home. I will say that is it something that we long suspected, but it does help to get the reassurance from medical professionals.
My kids truly are blessings, and I won't trade their personalities for anything. Their stong wills will be perservance later; their high energy will move mountains. They are all quite smart (even taking into account a bit of subjectivity!) I take my job of training, molding, and caring for these precious little ones very seriously. Sometimes so seriously that I feel like I am going to lose my mind-but I guess that I why God also blessed me with my great hubby who comes from his long hard day of work and picks up the pieces.

So enough of all of this stuff, and back to the good stuff next time. I have a tutorial on making a wool hand bag that I have photographed, but will put up when I have time. Right now, I need to get the littlest munchkin down for a nap.

Thanks for listening!!

Stress levels reaching max, patience reaching all time low....

2008-12-15T18:46:00.002-05:00

Right now, I have a screaming headache. I could have something to do with my 3 year old running around making Jedi noises at the top of his lungs. The 1 year old has a love affair with the silverware drawer and has discovered how to get herself completely, and I do mean completely undressed, which she likes to do with a dirty diaper. My 7 year old is yelling about the Wii when he should be reading his book. My 9 year old has lost my guitar tuner, which he is blaming on anyone else, is refusing to practice his guitar and when he finally is coerced into playing, he is playing the wrong chords so as to make everyone who is within earshot cringe. My husband had a late meeting at work (although thank God he has one!) so his dinner is sitting out on the table and the little two are trying to eat it (and have managed to polish off all the cheese). I haven't gotten to the ol' list of presents that need to be made, so I have a bit of stored-up frustration there too. And if Hubby doesn't get home soon, I'm going to be late to church for choir practice-better hit Confession first!!! Let's hope the Motrin kicks in soon..... Tomorrow will be a better day!! (Or else!)

Life gets in the way of blogging

2008-11-19T18:22:00.006-05:00

So, I've been busy the last couple of weeks. I've been getting ready for holiday craft bazaars. I've always sold rosaries, but this year I've decided to add first communion dresses. My sewing machine has been busily humming away the last few weeks making my two samples, and I still need to make a couple more. I have about 10-15 people interested, so I might be busy this winter and spring.

All of this business resulted in 2 consequences: A veritable mountain of laundry (This is some of it folded!):

I also realized that in order to make all these dresses, I would need more space than the folding table in the family room! So I cleaned out a room in the basement and now I have my own sewing kingdom!

Hallowee'n Costumes

2008-10-24T13:41:00.007-04:00

The way I do DD's hair, everyone thinks she looks so much like Cindy Lou Who for the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I didn't have to think that hard to come up with a costume idea for her.

DD#3 chose to be his hero and alter-ego: Super Why for the PBS show.

I have finished the front and back sections of the felted purse. I still need to do the side/bottom strip and the handles. Slow, but steady progress! Happy sewing!

Craft Show Craziness

2008-10-21T08:45:00.010-04:00

I've had a craft show this past weekend with rather short notice so I've been rushing around trying to get many rosaries made for the show. The show was for breast cancer patients in the parish that hosted the show and it felt wonderful to donate a good percentage of the sales to that cause. I have 2 more shows on Nov. 1 and Nov. 8.

I have been thinking about adding a "line" of First Communion dresses and maybe Baptism gowns as well. So I bought some fabric to make a prototype or two and show it at the craft shows to see what peoples reaction to them will be. That should be an indicator for whether or not to proceed with this crazy idea. Of course, I got some fabric for clothes for myself (I need some tops). I also got some fabric for a halloween custom for DD#1 and some patterns that didn't make the photo.

Last weekend, we went apple picking and pumpkin hunting at our local fruit farm. We had a great time. DD works well in the backpack carrier, otherwise she would eat the rotten apples on the ground and generally run off in any direction. This way she is happy to sit up there, take in the view, and taste test the apples. She prefers one in each hand.

DS#3 picked about 10 pumpkins; I think this is the one he went home with! DS#1 took the longest to find his, he needs to make everything dramatic-he even needed to go to the farthest reaches of the patch just to make sure he had the "best one". DS#2 picked his, was happy-so much like his dad!
Happy Sewing!

Curtains and Robe

2008-10-07T11:49:00.008-04:00

As promised, a photo of all the finished robes, and DD decided to hope into the photo, too. She loves the camera.

I also photographed the bedroom curtains I finished a couple of weeks ago. They have a goblet pleat on top. I wanted something interesting and a bit formal since the curtains are heavy. I will post instructions when I can figure out how to get the scanner to work with the laptop.

The colors of the close-up picture are a little more true to life than the full length photo. Now I just need to paint....

Finished Projects

2008-09-29T13:46:00.006-04:00

This is DS#2's version of his robe (simplicity 3575). He picked the pattern and the Indian's fleece. Baseball is his favorite thing. DS#3 and DD needed to be in the photo as well, and for some reason DS#3 new way of being photographed is to pose like that.

I have a photo of DS#2 and The Banker in their robes together, but it must still be in the camera, so I'll post it later.

I am trying to figure out how to knit a lacy design (all I have done so far is straight knit and purl), so I practiced by doing this washcloth for DS#3.

I am working on a felted/fulled wool purse, but it is huge and taking forever. I like long projects, but my old purse is falling apart, so I hope it holds together until I get the new one finished. When it gets finished, I will post instructions for how to make one.

I knitted this sweater for DS#3, but it took too long for me to do, so now it is for DD. To make it more feminine I added pink butterfly buttons. It is my second knitting project (the first was a scarf-imagine that!) Everything was fine until I added the button band, and then it got all stretched and woobly. I'll have to figure out that bit before I do that again!

First Post

2008-09-28T18:13:00.002-04:00

Here it is, my first post on my first sewing/knitting/craft (with some parenting "humor" on the side) blog. I am a SAHM with 4 kids, 3 boys ages 9, 7, and 3 and a girl age 17 months on Wednesday. In fact I have the name "Lizsewcute" for her - my little Elizabeth and I call her my "button" hence the "Cute as a Button". I know it is used elsewhere and I hope it doesn't cause confusion, but it sums me up-I'm into my kids, I sew a lot for them, especially now that I can make cute, little, pink dresses!! I am also married to a wonderful man, The Banker. He hasn't cared too much for the stuff I've made for him, but there could be a reason for that: it's a bit too cutesy. I made him some pajama pants with Darth Vader that I thought he really would like since he likes Star Wars but didn't like it so much. I made him and DS#2 a pair of pajama pants with a doggie print that DS#2 selected, but The Banker didn't like those either, but DS did and got a thrill out of wearing the same pajamas as Dad. Lastly, I made The Banker a Cleveland Indians robe with Cleveland Browns pockets and belt. I also made a matching one for DS#2 who loves his, but The Banker just rolled his eyes. I'm not sure why concidering he said he wanted a warm robe, like mine. Who knows?!!! (the Browns fabric on it does look kinda goofy, but not enough to not like the whole thing...)