Saturday, October 17, 2015

Jocole Fall Blog Tour

I am so excited to be a part of Jocole Patterns Fall Blog Tour! I honestly learned to sew by using Jocole patterns. When I was a brand new seamstress, I didn't really know to be afraid of knits so I bought my first EVER pattern, which was actually three of the mix and match series and started sewing! I still wear that shirt, too, and that was almost 3 years ago.

These patterns are so well written and full of explanations, I cannot recommend them highly enough.


What October blog tour would be complete without a Halloween costume, right? When my daughter came to me and said she wanted to be a CHEETAH for Halloween, I was like omg NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO wtf lol how am i gonna make a CHEETAH costume?

When in doubt, I pull out my  Jocole Patterns! My tried and true. Guaranteed to fit us and look nice and wear well!


 I used the Girls' Peplum Top and the Everyday Ruffle Knit Pants.I love the versatility of these patterns. There is really NOTHING you can't do with Jocole Patterns!


Obviously, this kitty is wildly in love with her costume! And the absolute best part is that it is 2 pieces that can be worn all season long and not JUSt for Halloween!


 The fabric comes from my favorite online shop NR Fabrics. Chosen especially for my little kitty by the shops' owner, Joy Lucio. She also has a Facebook group. If you haven't checked out NR fabrics yet, you should!

 Now we get to the gratuitous pics of my kid looking beautiful in her Jocole Halloween costume ;)


oh look here she is AGAIN!




Tuesday, August 18, 2015

One Thimble Issue 8





 Hi everyone! Here I am again singing the praises of the One Thimble e-zine.  What can I say? I'm a huge fan. I learn something new with every single issue. This time there are TWELVE new patterns to try! Tips on photography, quilting...you name it and it's in there! Plus I just looooooove a good sewing magazine. Who doesn't? 

I tried a brand new to me designer this time.  Birdsong by Sew McCool LLC. It's back to school time here in the American midwest which means lots of hot weather and playground time at recess. It's harder than you might think keeping a 7 year old girl modest on the jungle gym but with the help of the Swing Set Skort, I do believe I have my little princess covered....and I mean that literally lol
I made our skort by measurements and it works out to be exactly the same size as my princess wears in ready to wear.  See for yourself!


I used a swim fabric that I found at NR Fabrics. I had originally ntended to use it to make workout pants for myself but Grace couldn't be swayed from her choice lol so Mom lost out on the fabric.Who could say no to that sweet face?


The skirt portion has 8 panels so there's a definite twirl factor.


I like best that the Swing Set Skort has an elastic waistband. I can rest assured knowing that it's going nowhere. I also learned a new way to insert waist elastic so that was pretty fantastic too. All in all, it's a really good pattern.


  I had a lot of fun making this little outfit and it looks fantastic. It was also VERY quick to make. The directions were easy to follow. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to a beginner. Anyone can make a lovely little skort using this pattern aaaaaaaaaand preserve the modesty of a 7 year old....even against her will lol


Since you read this far, you totally deserve a reward! How about a giveaway?
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you'd like to see more, stop by the other blogs and see what we all sewed up! Tell them I said hey :)

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

EYMM Anniversary Blog Tour!!




Join EYMM and 24 fellow bloggers as we celebrate the first 24 months of our pattern shop with a huge sale and giveaway!  We will be featuring 8 different patterns for women and girls, as well as having a Manic Monday sale and a huge site-wide sale.  There is also a great giveaway at the bottom of this post. Don't wait because you don't see sales like this often from EYMM and it will be over before you know it!




HAPPY 2nd ANNIVERSARY, EYMM!!!


I could not have been more pleased to be chosen for this blog tour. I am a huge fan of EYMM (affiliate link) as well as a fan Kymy Johnson as a person I started sewing about 2 years ago. I am completely self taught and when I was brand spanking new, I found EYMM. Carlie's Dolman was one of the first patterns I tried and it was one of the patterns that gave me the confidence to continue learning to sew. I can remember asking Kymy silly things like "can I topstitch knits?" I am totally positive that I was annoying and Kymy was ALWAYS patient and kind with me and took the time to explain to me whatever random thing I needed clarification on. Of great assistance to me in my learning to sew journey were the EYMM tutorials!


Sooooooooooo.....what did I make? Let me SHOW you!


I made Carlie's Dolman! Super easy sew. It took me maybe 30 minutes from printing the pattern to hemming it. It looks fantastic with just about anything you pair it with and I'm thinking it will be a fantastic layering piece for this fall and winter. I wanted the shorts to be EYMM as well and I totally like to get every single bit of use I possibly can from every single pattern I own so I used just the shorts portion of the Calla Lily Skort, which,  btw, comes bundled with a mommy size too! But I digress lol. the only change I made, other than leaving off the skirting, was that I cut the shorts at the longest cut line and they came out the absolute perfect length for a stand alone pair of shorts.


I made a traditional Calla Lily Skort, too! Paired, of course, with Carlie's Dolman! I made some changes to the skort, since my daughter is VERY active and definitely a climber. I used the longest cut line on the shorts and the shortest cut line on the skirting. I didn't make any changes at all to the waist and it fits her very well and she LOVES it! She was swishing all around the house and yard in it and calling it her beauty queen skirt.


Like I said, I love EYMM (affiliate link) designs. They're edgy and right on top of trends and she offers sales pretty frequently. This is a talented designer I like and respect and that I am proud to support.



*NOTE* The links below won't show the tour posts until 11am PST on their day of the tour, BUT you are welcome to click through and check their blogs out at any time.
  Not only is there an AMAZING blog tour going on but 1 lucky winner that leaves a comment below between now and 8.3.15 will win a FREE EYMM pattern of their choice!!!!  Which one would you pick? Then hop on over to EYMM to check out the awesome SALE (affiliate link), and an even bigger celebration giveaway with over $1000 in prizes.  There will be 40 winners in all.




Saturday, June 6, 2015

Canadian Pattern Tour: Jalie



OMG I get to review a Jalie pattern! Can you believe it? I am thrilled to be here today. Especially after I read the interview with Emilie of Jalie Patterns yesterday at Lulu & Celeste. Wow!


The pattern I chose was Sewing Pattern #3023e Tankini / Skirtini.Look how cute! It comes in sizes 2- 13 in girls and 4 to 22 for women. The best part is when you buy the pattern, you get ALL the sizes! That is awesome. Totally a feature.

I also really like the way the pattern comes split into 3 files.  One file for the top, one for the bottom and the instructions are separate. I was really afraid that so many sizes on one pattern would be intimidating but it wasn't at all because of the way the PDF is "packaged" for delivery. The pattern went together very easily and it wasn't at all confusing . I traced because, of course, I want to make one for my daughter and one for myself. 
The instructions were very clear, well written and easy to read. I have to admit that I felt VERYglamorous and cosmopolitan while I worked on this pattern because the instructions come in both English and French. I don't speak French and I certainly don't read French but it SURE did make me feel very.....glamorous. Haha.  It's not hard at all. I mean seriously, I cannot believe how easy it is to make this.


This is the part where I have to be honest with you all. I got sick and I wasn't able to finish our swimsuits on time. It's really, really hard to sew when you can't breathe and the medicine you have to take makes your hands shake.  I don't have any picture of little Bub in our swimsuits to show you. It's an awesome pattern and I absolutely recommend it. Give me about a week to recuperate and you can check back here for bad pics of my daughter and I lol. For now, I offer you the stock photos from the Jalie website and I apologize.



I really like that Jalie offers patterns for everything from menswear to sportswear, to outerwear, even jeans. All the patterns come with all the available sizes and they are available in either PDF or paper format. If you haven't checked them out, now is the perfect time! Because here's a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to visit the other stops on the Canadian Pattern Designer Blog Tour! They are all waaaaay more interesting that I am, I promise ;)





  Sponsored by:


Thursday, June 4, 2015

Mystery Challenge....Accepted




Hi! Welcome to the next stop on the May Mystery Challenge Blog Tour: People and Moments in Time. I got super lucky when Meriel Aho of Create 3.5 chose Amelia Earhart as my topic.

Amelia Earhart was an amazing woman in a time when women weren't encouraged to be strong or amazing. Let me set the scene:

 Amelia Earhart, took her first flying lesson on January 3, 1921. She worked as a social worker at Denison House, which was like a community center in Boston that enriched the lives of those who lived there with things like job training and counseling and meals.  Within six months, she managed to save enough money to buy her first plane. She bought a used  Kinner Airster, a two-seat biplane painted bright yellow that she named "The Canary" and used it to set her first women's record by rising to an altitude of 14,000 feet.

On June 27, 1928 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. No small feat considering the 3 women who tried before her had died in the attempt. Amelia was strong and she was determined and she stood for her beliefs. In 1931, Amelia married George Putnam, who would assist her in her endeavors. Intent on retaining her independence, she referred to the marriage as a "partnership" with "dual control."  My kinda chick for sure!


In 1932 Congress awarded her the Distinguished Flying Cross-the first ever given to a woman.
Earhart felt the flight proved that men and women were equal in "jobs requiring intelligence, coordination, speed, coolness, and willpower."

Damn straight!

Amelia set many records in her career, including setting altitude records and being the person to fly solo across the Pacific from Honolulu to Oakland, California, as well as being first to solo from Mexico City to Newark. Notice I say person. Amelia Earhart was a BADASS pilot!

Amelia was determined to become the first woman to fly around the world. Amelia Earhart’s daring round-the-world-flight was cut short when her Lockheed Electra disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on June 2, 1937. Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939. What happened to Amelia Earhart has been a mystery ever since.

According to Time Magazine, that mystery is close to being solved:

Previous prevailing wisdom had supposed that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific. But some evidence, including the 1991 discovery of a 1930s woman’s Oxford shoe of the type Earhart wore, and mysterious signals received by nearby boat traffic in the days after her disappearance, have lent support to the so-called “Gardner Island hypothesis.”

It's very possible that Amelia survived the crash. I hope she did. She was just exactly the kind of woman I hope to raise my little girl to be: strong, determined, fearless.

The real trick is using my craft, sewing, to pay homage to this amazing woman. I couldn't... so I made items evocative of the era.

I started with Mabel by Swoon Sewing Patterns. The pattern is free and available here. Very easy to sew. This was the second purse I ever made. If I can do it, anyone can, I promise.
Buuuuuuut I loved it so much, that I sent it to one of the most amazing ladies I have ever known in my life. She has all the qualities that I admire in Amelia Earhart and it only seemed fitting that she have this bag. It's not perfect, but neither was Amelia and neither am I. Perfection and beauty aren't always the same, are they?

I ended up making Odette by Bluegingerdoll. The designer is a very talented Aussie named Abby Horskins, you can find her blog here. The instructions are brief, which I like, and filled with line drawings. All the Bluegingerdoll patterns are retro styled and I totally recommend them. Muslin first, though, ok? I did and boy oh boy was that muslin UGLY! lol

Without further ado: 


I'd like to give a big shout out to my photographer, who is 7 years old. Thank you Gracie Pooperson for helping mommy blog!

If you'd like to see more of the May Mystery Challenge, check this out!



5/26 │ Create 3.5 - George Sand
6/3│ Mae & K - TeslaPretty Little Blog - Moon LandingKnot Sew Normal - Lutie Eugenia Sterns

Friday, May 22, 2015

Free Spirit Tank & weird high school references. Good times.

*This entire post is about a muslin. No pretty pics here, just the straight shit.

Not too long ago Patterns for Pirates introduced the Free Spirit Tank. It's so cute and I immediately fell in love with it. The way it flows from a close fitting bodice to flowy skirting is just perfect. Kudos to you Judy Hale for being a genius. This shirt is perfect for almost every....body.

The problem is that I am fat. Fat people do not wear tanks. Fat people are supposed to wear tents and HIDE because we're so gross or something (I would really like to thank a couple guys from RHS class of 1987 for ruining any hope I ever had for a positive body image but hey I digress.They know they were assholes and I wasn't the only person they made miserable).

Dudes, I had to add sleeves. Not much but something. Or I wouldn't love my tank the way i want to.

Jodi Baird of Jocole Patterns is like the designer version of every woman. She always helps and offers free modifications to her patterns because she understands what it's like to BE us. So I started my research at the Jocole blog. Lo and behold, I found directions on how to add sleeves to the Crossover Tunic or Dress , which is a lovely pattern in it's own right and I totally recommend you try it if you haven't. (I think i saw in my email this morning that she's having a 25% off sale this weekend to celebrate Memorial Day). 

Great! Now I had instructions on how to add sleeves! Woohoo! I simply followed the directions and re-drew the shoulders and armscyes so that I could add cute little cap sleeves.
that may or may not be cherry scented marker, you dunno

And here is how the muslin turned out:

I guess the point of this post is that you can't be afraid to try new things. I loved the look of that tank but I knew it wasn't right for me because of my body so I took a few minutes and I made the pattern right for me. You can too.

Monday, May 18, 2015

One Thimble Issue 7!!!!!



 How excited am I to be here today to talk to you about One Thimble Issue 7?! If you haven't heard, One Thimble is an e-zine that offers tips, tricks, PATTERNS and just so much more. Let me give you a little peek: 



I know right! It's good stuff! I was asked to review this Issue and I am so happy to say it was wonderful. For the first time in my life, someone has explained and shown me EXACTLY how to install a magnetic snap! Valuable information! Thank you, One Thimble!

Obviously, I  REALLY dig the fact that this issue is packed with 10 patterns and they include something for girls, boys AND women. Even a little something for Barbie!

There are even articles on how to market your page or shop; how to best use Pinterest. I don't want to give too much away but I definitely enjoyed this issue very much and I am totally hooked on this e-zine. I even learned all about working with wool felt, which I never actually considered before....I wonder if they have that at my local fabric shop.....

I was asked to sew 2 of the patterns in this issue:

 Lil Red Capelet & Furry Friends Hood by The Toffee Tree. Oh it's so CUTE! I would dearly love to show you the ones I made ....but ...I am no longer allowed to play with the 11.5" fashion dolls. There was an...incident. Apparently the furry friends are NOT allowed to take over Barbie village and enslave the other dolls in the enchanted ....bedroom floor.... There is apparently no world domination by furry friends allowed. Who knew?

NO REGRETS! hehe

I also got to sew the Tahlia Maxi Skirt by Little Moo Designs. Isn;t it so cute? Now I am not normally a maxi skirt kind of girl. In fact, this was the first maxi skirt I ever sewed and the second one too! The instructions are sooooooooooooooo easy to understand that I, literally, made 2 of these skirts in one night. The very best part is that it's completely based on your measurements so it's a perfect fit! I loved it. In fact, I wore one of my Tahlia maxi skirts today :) It's fast and easy and fun to wear. Can't ask for much more than that, huh?



 This is the first Maxi Skirt I ever made! I love, love, love it. It's made with some real soft, slinky polyester knit fabric that feels real good swishing around my legs lol. I love this skirt, i even like this pic because it gives you a good idea of who I am. In fact, this maxi is what I wore today. Thanks, One Thimble and Little Moo.


This is my second because one of these skirts simply wasn't enough. This time I used an Art Gallery knit that I picked up at Whimsical Fabric. It's really soft and I love it a lot. It's part of the Petal and Plume line.




I have had so much fun on this blog tour. I hope you'll join us for the rest of the tour :)




Are you looking forward to seeing more of the range of patterns from One Thimble's Issue 7? Follow the blog tour using the links below;

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Summer Wardrobe Capsule Sewalong Fat Girl Style hehe

Hi, everybody out there in blogville! *waves excitedly

This summer, I have decided is the summer of me. I want to feel better about myself and what better way to go about it than to completely make myself over into the person I feel like inside? I felt overwhelmed by this project almost as soon as I made the decision lol. Luckily for me, I saw this blog post.  Becca Duval of Free Notion made it her mission to help women everywhere understand the capsule wardrobe idea and make it less overwhelming. Hats off to Becca, everybody! yay! Thanks, Becca!

I wanted to chronicle my journey from baggy ass men's undershirts and  blue jean cutoff shorts to .... however I end up looking. Vague is good, right? lol No, vague is NOT good when it comes to dressing right for our bodies and coloring. After 45 years, I am done hiding my body. This is the year I get to wear pretty clothes that fit!

The first thing we did as part of the capsule wardrobe process was to purge our closets and select 3 items that we kept and list WHY we kept those items. I kept...you guessed it... my white men's undershirts, Walmart skinny jeans and really old, paint spattered blue jean cutoffs lol.Why? Because I can hide behind them! They gotta go.
Notice the whole where the back pocket connects lol keepin it classy 

Obviously I need to make some radical changes. How do i go about it? How will I know what will look good on me? Free Notion helped again! we did a wardrobe analysis. It sounds fancy but all I really did was decide what holes I needed to fill in my "wardrobe" (all of them!!). Then I needed more information about MYSELF....dun dun dun....the great unknown. 

Step 1 was to determine my body type. This is the Body Shape Calculator that I used. I'm an apple or oval shaped person. No big shocker there. It's pretty obvious to see that I carry my weight in my midsection. Some of the characteristics of an apple body shape are:

  • Rounded shoulders
  • hehe flat booty
  • Nice legs
  • Full belly
  • Average to big ole boooobies (sorry, i am NOT mature).
Yep! That's me, alright!

Step 2 was determining a color palette!  haha It was really hard because you want to choose colors that you like to look at instead of colors that are likely to look good on you. THESE are the colors I have chosen. I think they'll transition well into fall. I've also added lime green because I think i might love it.

Now, dear readers, you are all caught up with me on my summer capsule wardrobe sewing odyssey. Next time, I will come back with a list of patterns that I've chosen for my capsule and you can hold my hand while I try to look attractive and put together! 



Monday, May 4, 2015

Women's BundleUp Blog Tour

OMG OMG can you believe they picked me for the Women's BundleUP Blog Tour? hehe They surely did and boy oh boy do i have some awesomeness to show you!! I tried FOUR of the patterns in the bundle! Fluffy girls gotta represent, am I right?



This bundle has so much to offer for every shape. The first design that I tried was the Jocole Ladies A Line Shift Dress. It's fitted with darts at the bust and a zipper in the back. It flatters my body shape in the most joyous way imaginable. Since it's a Jocole pattern, it uses her standard 3/8" seam allowance, the pattern is beautifully drafted with long illustrated instructions that include both photos and line drawings as well as a quick guide for those who prefer brevity in the instructions or for impatient people like myself.
I feel very much like a lady when i wear this. Very Jackie O! I even made myself a little purse to go with it.

I also tried Filles à Maman Clemence Shorts and the EYMM Essentials, both a pretty bold move for a fluffy lady but I'm a fashion pioneer so I went for it. Allow me to just take a moment to GUSH about the EYMM Essentials. I made the cami with the extra support band. It's pretty AND I don't have to wear a bra! I did change the pattern a bit because of my size and...well....because I knew I'd be making this blog post lol. 


I made the skirt portion just a little gathered to try and hide my mid-section. I think it worked pretty well. I didn't expect to fall in love with this pattern but I did. It's great. There is, literally,  an option for every body....even mine.

These are my Clemence shorts. I chose to leave the scallop off because i felt that it would draw attention to my midsection. With that being said, my shorts fit really well and I cannot believe I made these snazzy shorts! I added lace at the hem. It was my first Filles à Maman pattern and I am terribly impressed. 


My Clemence shorts in all their glory

EYMM Essentials Cami


I love these pieces and I can't wait to wear them all summer long!










Last, but certainly not least, I made the Bluezette dress by Love Notions! I chose the wrong fabric and the wrong style for my body and somehow... IT STILL LOOKS AWESOME! Here, judge for yourself:

I am a huge Love Notions fan. The pattern was well written and super easy to follow with so many fantastic options. Next time, I'm going for the tulip skirt with the blousey bodice or no...the circle skirt with the fitted bodice. There's just so many different things you can do with this dress!

Every one of these patterns was fun to sew and make me feel beautiful when I wear them!  If you don't believe me, check out the rest of the blog tour: