Cupcake Skirt Cuteness

Cupcake skirt cuteness!

I am learning so much in Mimi G's Sew It Academy. And having fun! This skirt was in our Introduction to Garment sewing, along with the shirt I shared previously.

Shopping for fabric can be so overwhelming! I've shopped at JoAnn's Fabrics before, but never for fabric. When searching for the fabric for this skirt, I went down each aisle, touching the fabric, pulling out bolt after bolt and couldn't decide. I saw this cupcake print and thought, how cute and put the bolt back. I searched some more, but kept coming back to the cupcakes, so decided cupcakes it is! I figured it would make a cute, playful skirt.

Mimi taught us how to take our measurements, draft our own pattern, cut and sew. I knew I wanted to add pockets to my skirt, so I found a tutorial by Dana of Made Everyday, and it was pretty easy. I chose a dark pink/white polka dot pattern for my pockets. I hate that I forgot to take a picture of the pockets. You can see a glimpse of a pocket in the 2nd picture to last.

So here are things I learned with this project...

~ When measuring the elastic, we were told to take your waist measurement, then cut about an inch or so off. Either I measured my waist wrong, or I needed to take more off, because the skirt was kind of big. I thought about cutting more, but didn't want it to end up too tight, so stuck with what I had.

~ When making pockets, make sure you take into account your waistband when placing your pockets, and watch the opening. I had to work to fit my hand into one of the pockets. I had sewn the opening a little, so it was a tight fit. Also, I placed my pockets 3 inches from the top, but didn't take into consideration my waistband. Another thing I noticed, when I had my hands in the pockets, it pulled the skirt down. I guess that's from it being a little big. So I need to remember that also.

~ My sewing has gotten straighter, my cutting....not so much! I really need to work on that.

All in all, I am happy with my skirt. It was a fun, playful project. Next in our class, Mimi has us working with knits, making leggings, t-shirt and t-shirt dress. I really have no desire to make leggings or t-shirts, but I will probably make the dress. I've been watching tutorials online on how to read patterns, because that's what I really want to do next. Tackle the patterns I bought below. I have a bunch of vintage patterns for dresses, pajamas, and pants, some Mimi G patterns, a skirt pattern and even a granny chic pattern for a frock (the first one in the bottom row) Hey, I am a granny, so why not! I think the first one I'm going to try are the vintage pjs. Fall is right around the corner, and there is nothing better than lounging in pj's, knitting. Yes, I'm still knitting, Knitting is my first love and I will always knit. I'm still working on my chunky cable blanket, I just need to take some pictures to share. Sewing kind of took over for a bit :)



Participating in Frontier Dreams Keep Calm, Craft On.

Cooking Rut!

I am in a cooking rut ya'll! I think it's this weather. The heat has been unbearable! High 90's with heat index over 100! Just too dang hot! My cooking lately, if you want to call it that has consisted of grilled chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers, with a little fish thrown in. And pizza. Lots and lots of pizza! Some nights we skip dinner all together and drink fruit smoothies.

I got a couple of new cookbooks and have been going through them for something different to cook. I love cookbooks. I have a small collection, but am always looking for more. One of my favorites right now is Cravings by Chrissy Teigen. She has recipes with ingredients I love cooking with, are easy to find and personal stories. She even has a chapter dedicated to her Thai roots. Funny thing is I never really liked Chrissy until I got her cookbook. She's actually pretty funny. I've made a few things from her book and will share on another post.

Fall is right around the corner, so I'm sure I'll get back to cooking more, but until then what are your favorite cookbooks? Meals? I need something new and yummy to get out of this rut!

Sewing Journey - My First Sewn Garment

I did it! My first sewn garment! An off the shoulder top!

When I tell you, this shirt and I were NOT getting along. It literally took me all day to make this! But this is a few things I learned.

~ it's not as easy as you would think to cut out a pattern. I had the hardest time cutting a straight line!
~ the seam ripper is your friend. I can't tell you how many times I had to rip out what I'd sewn
~ sewing is messy! I had thread and fabric everywhere!
~ make your item longer than you want it. My shirt was shorter than I planned.
~ never give up! I wanted to quit and say forget it, so many times. But I pushed myself and I'm so glad I did. I'm proud of the shirt I made and am looking forward to my next project.
~ Do not take pictures in almost 100 degree weather! I was so sweaty!
~ And last, but not least, do not wear heels, even chunky ones, on railroad tracks! I almost broke my ankle walking on the rocks on the tracks. Luckily Ezekiel caught me or I would have had skinned up knees and dirty white shorts! That's why I was laughing so hard in that one picture. The boys were saying it looked like I was doing the stanky leg. It was not my finest model moment!

Sister Beach Day

back home a shade darker and sandy

Karen and I decided we needed a sister beach day, so this past weekend we made it happen! We packed my truck with blankets, badminton, beach umbrella, and a cooler filled with fruit, cheese, crackers and water. We took a selfie and hit the road a little after 9am.

We sang to country music (a whole lot of Kenny Rogers, to Karen's dismay) talked about life and I tried to keep my speed under 90 mph. A little under 2 hours later and we were on the beach! We struggled a little pulling our cooler on the sand, but once we got settled it was all good. Well, until it started to rain! It was just a quick summer shower, and even though Karen wanted to leave, I told her were sitting through it! We had an umbrella.....all was good. The dark clouds stayed around for most of the day, but the weather was perfect! Not too hot, and salty breezes blowing. We couldn't have asked for a better day.

I finished my zigzag blanket a few weeks ago, and was able to get pictures of it on the beach. When I started it a few years ago, I pictured the bright colors on the beach. I'm so glad to finally be done with it!

After hanging out on the beach for a few hours, the sky got darker, along with low rumbles of thunder, so we decided to pack it up and head to dinner. Dinner was at a restaurant on the waterfront. We were full of sand, sunburned, and windblown hair, but we didn't care. The food was good! That crab dip in the picture was yummy! We both wanted to lick the bowl! Dinner was also good. I had coconut shrimp and Karen had a steak. As we nearing the end of our meal, we had a little drama. A couple came in, the man clearly intoxicated. They sat at a table to my back. He asked us if one of the yachts were ours, and then said, "you know I'm from Roberson County, right" Uh no....we didn't know that, but thanks for telling us. We didn't say that, but I wanted to. Not even 10 minutes after they sat down, the couple started arguing quietly at their table. All of sudden, the guy grabbed the glass salt shaker and smashed it on the table. He cut his hand and blood was everywhere. His back was to my back, and he pushed back in his chair hard and pinned me to the table. All I could think was this man was going nuts and I was pinned in my seat! He walked out the restaurant with blood trailing everywhere. It looked like a crime scene! The managers came out and asked the lady if she was alright. She said they were leaving and she was calling the cops. She left the restaurant. Behind me, the table was full of glass, salt and blood. The managers and our waitress kept apologizing for the scene. Our waitress was shaking as she handed us our checks. As we were leaving, there was a trail of blood to the parking lot, and the guy was out there, talking to the manager of the restaurant, trying to get on his motorcycle to leave! The girl was no where to be seen. Hopefully, the manager called the cops and wouldn't let him drive drunk, but we didn't hang around to find out!

All in all, it was a good day. Yeah, we had a little rain, a little drama, and a table next to us that looked like a crime scene, but still a good day.

Also, we both decided we need to stay away from people from Roberson County, wherever that is, because they may be a little crazy!

Sewing Journey

Well, I had a whole post about my sewing journey, but I accidentally deleted it, so here is my short version.

I LOVE vintage dresses. I wanted to learn to sew so I can make my own vintage dresses. Hubby got me a sewing machine for Christmas 2 years ago, and it sat nice and pretty collecting dust until about a month ago. A month ago, I entered the sewing world of Mimi G and decided I was finally going to learn to sew. I am taking her online course called Sew It Academy. She teaches you step by step how to sew, starting with taking your machine out the box. I'm working my way through the course and finished my first project - sunglasses case! They are not perfect, but I'm so proud of myself for making them. Soon I will be on my way to making the vintage dresses I love!

Baby steps ya'll, baby steps.

Lately

How is it August already! This summer has flown by. This is what's been up lately.

My current knit is a chunky blanket. I'm LOVING it so far. This was my test knit for a Christmas present, but it's taking me longer than I thought. Didn't help that I broke the cable on my interchangeable needle and had to wait for another to come in the mail. Boo! I was hoping to get this one done for myself and knit up two more for Christmas gifts. Ummm....not sure that is going to happen now. While I waited for my needles, I started on a bright yellow hat from yarn I got at our local farmers market. I was so excited to see a local dyer at the market. I was at the market for Girl Scouts Day at the market. We were having a fund raiser for one of our local shelters. We had headbands and bows made by the girls. We raised over half our specified amount, with plans for more fund raising. The other leaders and myself had a meeting to plan out our Girl Scout year. I'm so excited with all we have planned this year! Girls Scouts ROCK!

My pumpkin plants are steadily growing! How long does it take for little pumpkins to show up? I need to look that up. I check everyday hoping to see a little green pumpkin....do they start off green and turn orange? I have no clue. Oh well...it's a waiting game. I'll just continue to wait.

We've been doing a lot of grilling. That's what you do during the summer right. We've also been eating lots of fresh fruit. This galette is one of my favorite things right now. I've made two so far, with more peaches and strawberries ready for a third. Will probably make it tomorrow.

Oh...that tasty looking sandwich up there. I got it at one of our local food trucks, American Meltdown. They make gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. This was the Fig and Pig. It has black mission figs (I've never had figs before), speck ( I had not clue what this was. I had to ask. It's like prosciutto), local goat cheese and drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar on sourdough bread. Goodness...was it yummy!

I've also started a new hobby! Sewing! I love vintage dresses, so this has been my motivation in learning to sew. I've had my sewing machine for about 2 years, so it's about time I learn to use it. I'll post more about my sewing adventures in my next post.

So that's it, in a nutshell. Until next time!