Christmas PJ's

Finally, a few minutes to blog after a few busy weeks. I had several sewing projects started which I finished up two days before Christmas. That is cutting it a little too close for me. Every year, since my daughters were very small, I have made them a new pair of pajamas to open and wear on Christmas Eve. I always have trouble finding just the right fabric but this year I think I got it right!

Patternreview link

I went to Hancock's on Black Friday only to discover that all the flannel had juvenile designs on it. Now, I'm not opposed to a cute kitty print but it just can't look like a three year old. I was just about to give up when I spotted a bolt of solid red flannel. I have never made plain, solid PJ's for them before. I got it for about $2 a yard and bought the bolt. I also bought white piping because I had this image in my mind of tailored, monogrammed pajamas. I have used this discontinued Simplicity 5338 many times before so I stuck with what works. I was running out of time and running out of steam so I thought I would just leave off the monograms. Then, one of my daughters said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure they will be monogrammed". So, yep, they were monogrammed.

I purchased the interlocking monogram embroidery font from Herrington Design on Etsy for only $1.50!  I took a risk and embroidered the pockets without testing the design and it came out great.

Now, I know I should be on the lookout for fabric so I can start early on next year's PJ's but I'm sure I'll be writing the same story next year, and the year after, and the year after....

A Royal Visit

I had a delightful visit from Kate Middleton and Prince George today. Kate was sporting a new $3 hat, a $5 jacket from Goodwill, and a $7 dress from Old Navy.

I've decided that adult costumes are as much fun as the kid costumes. My daughter wanted to dress up as Kate Middleton for a Halloween party since she admires Kate's classic style. She found this easy hat tutorial on Youtube which was perfect for her Kate hat. We used navy felt which I interfaced to give it more body. I added the tulle and flower and we're done!

She bought the dress last summer at Old Navy for $7 and the jacket was a recent $5 purchase from Goodwill. The copycat Kate ring was $12 at Kohl's.

She practiced her Kate wave, gathered up Prince George and headed off to the party. I hope she doesn't get spotted by the paparazzi!

Embroidery on Burlap

I've always loved burlap, even before it became a cool fabric for decorating. I always keep a few yards in my stash for covering blah lampshades or cutting a quick table runner with raveled edges. Lately, I have noticed a lot of embroidered burlap pillows items online, at local boutiques, etc.  I have an empty rocking chair on the front porch that needed a little something to perk it up. I already had a 20" pillow form and, of course, burlap in my stash. I hooped the burlap without stabilizer and added Solvy to the top. It might have worked okay without the Solvy but I added it anyway. This is the result. I'm pretty excited about it!

The Painted Turtle Camp

A couple of years ago, the American Sewing Guild chose The Painted Turtle Camp for our national project. ASG members across the U.S. made 4,241 turtle pillows to be given to the seriously ill children who attend the camp. The original post can be found here. A few months ago, a wildfire damaged the camp and it had to be closed for the summer. It is in the process of making repairs and is in need of more turtle pillows. I pulled out my pattern, searched through my fabric stash and got busy sewing more turtle pillows for the campers. I love it when I have exactly what I need. I get to destash and help out a worthwhile cause.

The face is embroidered so that the pillows will be safe for the little campers. The pillows will be stuffed later by the camp as they are needed.

By the way, did you know that September is National Sewing Month? What are you sewing to celebrate?

New Jacket For Me! McCalls 5191

Whew! What a busy summer. I have been sewing but haven't had time to photograph and blog about it. Remember my shopping bag full of fabric that I bought at Goodwill for about 15 cents per yard? I decided to try out a "jean" style jacket pattern with one of the sportswear weight fabrics. I always liked McCall's 5191 but when I finally decided to try it, it had been discontinued. I found it on Ebay for a few dollars and went to work on a new jacket.

Patternreview link

It's pretty simple sewing but with lots of details and topstitching. I made a straight size 8 but would probably shorten the sleeves just a bit next time around. I have them rolled up in these pics.

The jacket is unlined and I decided that I wanted every seam concealed. I made flat-felled seams everywhere that I possibly could and encased the sleeve seams and facings with bias binding.

Inside of front

Here are the links to my other completed Goodwill projects. I still have many yards left to sew!

Pillowcase dresses for charity
Skirt for my daughter
Hannah's first dress

KwikSew 2866

Have you ever noticed that all the ready-to-wear basic summer tops are pretty much the same pattern? They might be rayon, silk, jersey knit and maybe they have lace inserts, different necklines, etc. but the basic silhouette is the same. I got a good deal on this KwikSew pattern on Ebay last year and just put it away and forgot about it. I got the urge to sew up a few quick tops for summer and decided to give it a try. It's great! If I had showed it to my daughter before sewing up a top for her, she would have probably rolled her eyes because the illustrations on the front are so basic.

I used the medium size with view B neckline and added to the length. I also eliminated the back seam and my daughter can still easily slip it over her head.  The fabric is a polyester woven from Hancock Fabrics.

I'm not a big fan of facings on this type of top so I cut a self-fabric bias binding to finish the neckline. I didn't cut off the seamline before adding the binding because she didn't want the neckline to be any larger.

This was definitely a make-it-tonight wear-it-tomorrow project. Sarah loves it! I have already whipped up two more tops in rayon with this pattern which I'll share later.

Kwik Sew 3612

I just wanted to share a fun little bag which my American Sewing Guild Neighborhood Group made a few weeks ago. This bag is made from 8 fat quarters (or 8 pieces 18"x18"). It makes a very roomy tote for carrying sewing or knitting projects, a trip to the beach, or shopping. For my tote, I used my stash of boxer short fabrics.

Next, I plan to finish up a jacket from my Goodwill fabric stash and get it photographed. What have you been sewing this summer? Garments? Accessories? Gifts?