Tutorial: Girl's Gathered Top

Well, here's the tutorial I mentioned. It is to make a simple girl's top.



(picture heavy post)


Click on pictures to enlarge.












For the strap, you can use a ribbon. I used the waistband recycled from the skirt. To create the strap, I borrowed from my other tutorial, that's why the fabric looks different:

Insert the strap through the front casing, and you get a cute little halter top.
However, I have stubborn little girls with "I can do it myself"-itis, so I decided to sew the straps onto the back piece:


Here's another one made, using the fabric and straps from one of my tops:

Lengthen the top, add some ruffles, and you have yourself a cute nightgown:

...click here to read more

Tutorial Sneak Preview

It's the week of Canada Day in Ottawa, and we have visitors from down south!
I don't know how much time I can get on the computer. However, to make up for that, I have a tutorial in the works for you.
Here's a sneak peak!

Garden Harvest Joys

There something satisfying about:

1) picking peas off the vine -
and eating them raw.

2) harvesting fresh spinach-


and enjoying them in a salad.

3) Seeing a beautiful bloom on the rose bush-


and having to bring the poor thing into the home because it was so heavy that it toppled it's branch.

Chop chop Skirt

Cute dress. Her older sister no longer fit into it, but wore it a lot last year.



"Mum, the tag is bothering me"

I cut off the tags

"Mum, the tag is bothering me"

I make sure there is nothing else sticking out.

5 minutes later, "Mum, the tag is bothering me"

I ignored her. I was convinced it was all in her head.

10 minutes later, I have a naked girl streaking my back yard.


That's it!!!! No more dress.

Chop chop. Skirt.

Ugly, or is it beautiful, Fabric.

Sometimes, I walk into a fabric store and stumble over the most interesting fabric.
Take this knit, for instance.
My first impression when I saw it was, "This is absolutely FAB".
Then, when I look at it again, I go, "Hmm, this is absolutely gaudy".
However, I just could not get away from the monstrosity. I had to buy it.

So, this piece of fabric sat on my shelf for the longest time. I will pick it up once in a while to admire the details. Other times, I place pattern pieces on it, trying to figure out how in the world I was going to be able to make anything from the mess of the print on the fabric. So many awkward blocks
More than once, I shudder after picking it off the shelf, because
it. is. so. ugly. pretty? See? - confused.

Last week, I came across Jessica's wonderful Ruffle Tube Top Tutorial.
(If you haven't visited Jessica's crafty blog, do so now. She makes the most awesome stuff. The things she produces, makes me shrivel into a little ball with inferiority. Just kidding, but I really do love all the things she makes)

The top has rectangular pattern pieces? Why, that is absolutely perfect for placement on my ugly fabric.
*gulp*
Am I really going to cut my ugly fabric? And make a tube top, something I would not normally wear?

Why, yes. Yes, I would.


Here's my 'I'm not so sure about this' face, modeling the top for you.
It's actually a very comfortable tube top and it is not at all snug.
Well, it looks as though I have something new to wear to a party this Friday!

PS - I was browsing through patternreview and noticed that they were having a ugly fabric contest. How apropos. I think I'm going to enter.

Pattern Review: McCall's 5795 Flower Girl Dress

So, now that the wedding is over, I get to show you the flower girl dresses that I made for my little girls.

Aww.... so cute. But this mama is very biased.
The girls were absolute angels throughout the entire ceremony, and if you are a mum, you know how unpredictable kids are! So, phew!

By the way, the dresses look really, really shiny in this photo because of the reflection from the flash. The sheen is actually a lot less obvious than that.

Pattern Description:
Lined dresses, below mid-calf have semi-fitted, bodice, flared skirt and back zipper closure, self-fabric or purchased ribbon sash, purchased petticoat

Pattern Sizing:
3-6
I cut size 3 and 4

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

It's a lot longer on my kids, and I left out the sash. Otherwise, it is quite similar.
I left out the sash because my husband thinks that a sash will slip around and I agreed with him. Besides, I wanted to sew flowers at the waist.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, they were simple to follow. I was quite diligent at following the instructions because I wanted to get the dresses right.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
The pattern is simple. Using different fabrics, this dress can get quite fancy

Well, I had trouble with the zipper because of the slippery material I used. I ended up using an invisible zipper.
Invisible zipper is the way to go!

Fabric Used:
I think this is a polyester woven with a sheen. Sorry, I'm terrible at remembering fabric types.
The lining is a very sheer cotton.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
As I mentioned before, I left out the sash and used an invisible zipper instead.
Other than that, I kept to the pattern.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I probably won't sew this again, but I would recommend this pattern.

Conclusion:
Great pattern - it's a pretty simple flower girl dress, but if that's what you are looking for, this is the pattern for you.

Thank you, Teachers!

It was my little one's last day at nursery school yesterday. She had been going to a little cooperative school twice a week, where the ratio was 1:4.

1:4, people! It was a wonderful, wonderful little class. All four teachers were amazing, and once again, I was at loss as to how to show our heartfelt thanks.

In the end, I decided to make those wonderful coffee cozies that Erin from house on the hill makes.
Now, you've probably seen them before, but if you haven't, Erin has the most wonderful tutorial on how to make coffee cozies. Click here for the link to the pdf file.

True to her words, these take very little time to make. In about an hour, I managed to whip up these 4 cute little coffee cozies. Of course, I wish I had nicer fabric (like the one Erin uses in her tutorial, for instance), but these were the nicest I had on hand that fit the bill.


Hmm... not very clear. Here's a closeup:



I sent her to school with the cozies and some coffee gift cards. The teachers seem very happy to receive something handmade.

Tutorial: Flower Girl Wreath

I thought I'd share with you how I made the flower girl wreaths for my daughters.
It's fast, easy, and I used stuff I got from the dollar store.
It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but hopefully, I will be getting some great action shots at the wedding this evening!


What you need:

Craft flowers
Grosgrain ribbon - about 2 meters.
Wire - I used rubberized garden wire. People will tell you to use flower wire. I say, use what you have on hand

You will also need:
Opaque Ribbon - to wrap and disguise wire
Craft glue

1) Measure size of the head, and use the wire to create a loop that will fit comfortably on her head
2) Attach flowers on the wire. You can secure with tape, but I did not. Just wind it tightly and you'll be OK.
This is what you'll get:
4) Now wind the opaque ribbon to hide the wire. Use the glue to help secure the ribbon.
5) Leave about 0.7 meters of the grosgrain ribbon hanging off the back end of the wreath, and start winding the ribbon.
6) When you are done winding, tie the ribbon in a pretty bow. That is it!
Wasn't that simple? I like mine simple, but it is easy enough to add ivy and more flowers to taste.

...click here to read more

I'm a Friend, and I'm Kreatif

It has been a long time coming, and I know I'm supposed to spread the love of these awards. However, I find that I never did get around to it, and I don't want to forget to post my thanks. I am very grateful and thankful that I get to blog and share my experiences with such a wonderful community of bloggers.

I want to thank Nenette over at Life Candy for the wonderful Friendship Award. Nenette is a real life and bloggy friend. We haven't seen each other in years (I'm hoping to change that in a couple of months). Reading her blog makes me feel as though we are still working in the same office, and going for martinis after hours. Of course, life is very different nowadays.
Thank you and much love.

Also, thank you to Jeannine for the lovely Kreatif Blog award.
Jeannine has a wonderful blog called Kinder Kouture, where you can drool and ogle at the wonderful kids clothes she sews. I mean, come on! The clothes are To Die For.... just lovely.

Thank you, my friends!

A-Z Meme

Letters by mwookie

I was just at Veronica Darling's blog, and she has this really cute meme.

What you do is to type in the letter on your browser's URL line, and see what website shows up!

Here is my potentially embarrassing list:

A - Google Apps. Oh, that is boring.
B - Blogger. Hmm
C - Cute Overload. I do like cute animals
D - Dollar Store Crafts. Cheap and crafty
E - Everything Your Mama Made. - A crafty site, but def not what my mum makes
F - Life Candy - love my friend's blog
G - Gmail
H - Wardrobe Refashion . Well, guess I visit this site really often
I - I Wonder Woman. I like Myrnie' blog
J - Lego Indiana Jones cheats Um, yeah. This is my husband's.
K - Kid's CBC My daughter went here last week
L - Lainey Gossip - a little bit trashy
M- Mountain Goat Yoga -where I teach
N - Wardrobe Refashion - hmm, again
O - Ottawa Public Library
P - One Pretty Thing - links of crafty goodness all over the internet
Q - Feedburner - zzzzz
R - Sew Retro - Group sewing blog. Retro patterns, clothes. Love!
S - Sew, Mama, Sew - Fun sewing blog - lots of tutorials
T - Bubba Bubbles - Aunt Lolo's blog
U - Blogger again.
V - VivelyOnline - well....
W - The Weather Network - what, not wardrobe refashion?
X - Blogger.... again
Y - YogaWithSu - the yoga website I'm working on
Z - Wikipedia - kind of addictive

And.... that's my list. A lot crafty, a little bit techie.

Happy Wednesday!

Refashioning Child's Pants to Capris

I want to share a quick refashion with you.
My friend Steph gave me her son's pants.

It has holes at the knees, but otherwise it is in great shape. Anyway, she thought that I may be able to use the fabric to make some Barbie clothes. Little does she know that my kids' Barbies are pretty much neglected.
Since it is a slightly bigger size than my daughter would wear, I thought I would patch us the knees in a pretty manner and let her wear it. However, just the thought of trying to patch jeans at the knees gives me the willies. There would be too much struggling with machine and jeans!

So, what I did instead, was to cut off the jeans just above the knees, and added some ruffles to the bottom. I used the fabric salvaged from a previous refashion.
I quite like it. It's actually quite sweet!

Here's an action shot. Notice miss daredevil imitating a cat by squeezing herself into a small tub. Sigh.... I was about to say, "No!! Out of there at once!". However, I just looked at her, shook my head and took lots of silly pictures for the record.

Bread Rolls - easy enough, and relatively fast

I haven't done a recipe post in a while, but I have to share this recipe with you.
I don't bake bread, and I know I should. I have been told it is not as hard as I think it is.
It is just that having to set aside some time that stops me from doing so.
It's my favorite bread roll recipe, and I have used it so often that I now know it by heart.

Melt:
2 Tbs butter
3 Tbs sugar

in 1 cup of hot water.

Wait about 5 minutes for the water to cool down a little.

Add 2 and 1/4 tsp of traditional yeast (this is 1 package, I believe)
and mix until yeast is dissolved.

Add 2 and 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour (or replace up to 1 cup with whole wheat flour)
and 1 tsp of salt

Stir until mixed - you don't really have to knead here, just make sure it's kind of together.
Let sit until mixture doubles in size. I usually have to wait about 30 mins . If I'm in a big rush, I turn on the oven for 2 minutes until it is kind of warm in there. And then I stick the dough, covering the bowl with saran wrap. This speeds up the raising of the dough.

Scoop equal amounts into greased muffin tins and bake at 425 Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.

Done!!!

House Cleaning

Photo by lusi

I mean, I'm really going to clean the house today. I'm usually pretty good at keeping the house clean, but once in a while, I like to go through more thoroughly than usual.

Beside the usual stuff like dusting, vacuuming and all that, I find that it is really gratifying to grab 2 big garbage bags and do a house walk-through.
One bag is for Garbage; the stuff that no one in their right mind would want (and why would I have that cluttering up my home?).
The other bag is for Donation. Things that will not be missed, but is still in good condition.

I'm pretty ruthless about it, but I find that this method does keep my home less cluttered. I think it's my favorite "chore".

What do you do to make cleaning your house easier?
Don't tell me to hire a maid. I wish I could. Then again, no. I don't know if I can get used to the idea of someone else cleaning my stuff.

Procrastination Expert

That's me!
I'm really, really good at procrastination, when it comes to something that I have to do. Terrible, I know.
Take the flower girl dresses that I am supposed to make for my daughters. It is supposed to be ready for the wedding on the 18th.


I have only made one. That gives me one week to make another. I had about 6 weeks to make 2 little dresses, but I leave it to the last week to make the remaining one.
Meanwhile, I find all sorts of other things to do.

Like what?
Why, remember this toile I made from Butterick 6062?
Well, I did. It is to make sure that I can make a dress out of the knit fabric that I am so fond of. If the fabric is familiar, it is because I had used it before to make this top. I noticed that the fabric went on sale a few weeks after making that top, and I could not help myself. I just had to add it to my fabric stash.
Well, here is is!


You can probably tell that I love it!

Sewing Machine Meme

I've decided to join the big sewing machine meme project over at Sew, Mama, Sew. I have an old Kenmore. It is not very exciting, but it serves me really, really well. I was not going to submit my meme at first, but I thought that perhaps my cheap little Kenmore should still be submitted, despite there being many more expensive and better machines.

My machine, she doesn't have a spot. One day, she will have her own spot on a sewing table. Until that day, she just lands wherever I want her to be.


What brand and model do you have?
Kenmore 81502

How long have you had it?
11 years

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?
C$100

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?
Clothing, bags, curtains, pillowcases

How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get?
I sew about at least once a week. There were periods of time, when I was working a lot, or just after I gave birth to my daughters, when I did not touch my sewing machine for months.
I have not had to repair it yet, but I notice that the tension is quite loose nowadays. Perhaps I will need to get it serviced.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?
I love my machine, but she has not been named

What features does your machine have that work well for you?
Straight stitch, zig-zag and button holes

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?
No. My machine and I are good friends nowadays, although it took me a while to understand the tension settings when I was a beginner. That all came with time and practice.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!
Well, not really a great story. It's just why I appreciate my sewing machine.
I know that my machine is very simple, but I was used to using my mum's manual sewing machine as a child. That machine just did straight stitches and it gave me strong calves as a child. Using an electric machine is a dream

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?
Well, yes. I don't think you need a fancy machine for home-sewing. This one is cheap, and I've used it many, many times to churn out great projects.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?
Well, IF I were to be looking for a new machine, it would be for the same features. Straight stitch, zig-zag, button holes, needle up/down. And I don't think I would be spending very much money on it, since I only sew as a hobby.

Do you have a dream machine?
No, I'm pretty satisfied with what I have.

Bees need Love too, Honey

My husband is not fond of bees. I think he has a slight phobia of them, not that he will ever admit to it. If one cute little bumblebee gets close to him, he freezes and focuses on the little creature until it flies off on it's merry way.
Well, I don't know if I can say that I Love Bees, but I am certainly very pleased when I have bee visitors in my garden.
Last night, I was browsing through my National Geographic magazine, and an advertisement caught my eye. Well, I'm usually pretty good at skipping over ads, but this one by Häagen-Dazs really drew me in. It was about honey bees, and how the honey bee population is depleting, and how we can do our part to save them (http://www.helpthehoneybees.com)

One of the simplest things that we can do is to plant flowers in the garden. The more diverse your flower garden is, the more attractive it is to bees (and beautiful butterflies!!).
So, that was a great segwey to show you the flowers in my garden.
Picture heavy post.....



My favourite, Iris. They do really well in my garden. One small Iris planted 8 years ago has been divided and spread throughout my garden many, many times:

The lovely daisy-like annual that loves my sunny garden patch:

Pretty, unassuming white flowers that bloom year after year from a small clump of low-lying grass like patch:
The showy Asiatic Lilies that I delight in:Bright orange lilies from my wonderful neighbour, Angie. I hope the plant comes back next year:

Naturalized violas that some people view as weeds, I let bloom freely as ground cover. The bees and butterflies love them:What do we have here? A little smiley face (from the homemade clay project)hidden in the garden?
My giant (Giant!!) bush of pretty pinkish-purple flowers that brings such beauty to my backyard year after year. I wish I know what your name is:


The hibiscus plant that was given to me as a gift. I am told it will come back next year. I did not know that some hibiscus plants are perennials...And finally, here's my basketful of pansies......



I hope you enjoyed the tour of my flowers.

Plant more flowers in you garden. You know you'll love it! And the bees will thank you for it.

...click here to read more