Me Made Made - Week 4

It's the end of week and the last of my Me Made's for this year.  Here's what this week looked like in clothing terms...

Monday, May 23rd was a little on the cool side. This is New Look 6224.  Previously blogged about here....

Tuesday, May 24th I was sporting a Jamie Christina pattern.  The Miz Mozelle Dress.  Not previously blogged about.

Wednesday, May 25th was another dress not previously blogged.  Vogue 7669.  An OOP pattern that I still love.  This fabric is an easy wash and wear poly of some sort.  I've had this dress for years and it looks as good as the day I first made it.  It has a cute dress form print with polka dots on it.

Thursday, May 26th is a brand new outfit not yet blogged about!  Stay tuned for more info on these pieces.  The blouse is Simplicity 1716 view E.  Skirt is Anna Maria Horner's Study Hall Skirt.

Friday was a casual day with McCall's 5882 blouse.  Again - not previously blogged about.  This blouse will be going in the donate pile as I can now tell why I don't wear it very often.  It's made from a quilting cotton and it's just one of those fussy blouses that rides up all day long.

Anyways, this week concludes my commitment to the Me Made Challenge this year.  I hope everyone has enjoyed seeing all of the different garments on the Pinterest page.  I know there are some very talented sewers out there!  An extra special thank you to my walking peeps at work for taking photos of me each day.  I'm sure they are glad the month is over!!

Happy Sewing Everyone!
Star

Renewing our vows...renewing my dress. I need your ideas!

I need your ideas.  This post is a bit sentimental so get out the tissue in advance if you need it!  

Later this year, my husband and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.  I can't believe we've been married that long, but it's true.

My husband is from England.  We met on St. Patrick's Day, in Dublin Ireland.  I was going to school in London and ventured to Ireland with my flatmates to see what happens on St. Patrick's Day.  Well - I happened to meet my future husband there who was touring with a rugby team from the UK.  

After dating for a few weeks in the UK, I had to fly back home to California.  The future husband came over to visit a few months later for 3 weeks holiday and proposed marriage the last day he was here (how cheeky was that!).  Anyways, after him flying back home to the UK and dealing with various obstacles to make the international move, my Mom and I planned the entire wedding in California for later that same year.   

The wedding itself was a rather large affair with lots of guests, a horse and carriage and the whole lot. I'm getting to the point here of where your ideas are needed.   

A few months ago I mentioned to the DH that our 25th anniversary was coming up and we should do something to celebrate it.  I suggested a vow renewal in England this year to celebrate this occasion and believe it or not, he actually liked the idea!

So - here's where your ideas are needed  - finally!!

Below is a picture from our wedding.  Ahh - don't we look so young!  

For the renewal, it will be just the two of us in a small church.  No attendees, no choir, no attendants, just the two of us and the reverend to perform the ceremony.

I'd like to use my original wedding gown, which you can see above, to make something to wear for the vow renewal.  And here's where your ideas are needed.

I'm seeking ideas on how I can turn my original wedding gown into something else, but I have a few conditions:

1.  When we travel, we only take a small carry-on suitcase per person, so it must be able to fit in that suitcase, along with the rest of my travel clothes. I don't want to travel with a separate case of some sort to house the "renewal garment".
2.  I'm looking for something simple yet appropriate for the occasion.  As you can see, I have alot of yardage to work with here, so I'm game for any ideas you have!

I have a few ideas of my own, but I'd like to see what my lovely readers have before I cut into the original gown.

Thanks everyone!
I look forward to your input and ideas!

Star

Me Made May - Week 3

The third week of May brought us crazy weather in Nor Cal with temperatures all over the place.

Monday started out fairly warm so a maxi skirt with a RTW top was in order.  Here is McCall's 6966, previously blogged about here....

Getting warmer on Tuesday.  Here is Anna Maria Horner's Study Hall skirt paired with Simplicity 1808 top.  Previously blogged about (with the matching necklace) here....

Wednesday was the hottest day of the week with a high of 97 degrees - definitely a linen kinda day.  Here is Vogue 8979 top, previously blogged about here....

Cooling down a little bit on Thursday - only a high of 83 today.  Here is another version of Butterick 5353 - previously blogged about here....

I was off on Friday and believe it or not - it was cold and rainy this day!  After running a few errands, I changed into my favorite type of garment for the rest of the day at home - pajamas!  The pants are McCall's 3017 with a RTW top and my favorite pair of Birkenstocks.  Pants previously blogged about here....

That's it for today.  I hope everyone is enjoying the Me Made's this year.

Happy Sewing everyone!
Star

Me Made May - Week 2

Second week of Me Made May and here's the line-up.

Starting with Saturday - May 7th.  The weather here in California has been all over the thermometer lately.  Cool and wet this day so it called for a longer sleeve top while out shopping.  This is an old, old turtleneck pattern from Cloth World (who sadly isn't in business anymore).  Not previously blogged about - it's one of my go-to shirts for comfort factor and fun factor with the print!

Back to work on Monday and slightly warmer temps today.  This is Vogue 8817 - a tunic pattern that I lengthened into a dress.  Previously blogged about here.....

Getting warmer on Tuesday so onto a sleeveless dress.  This is actually a mashup of two different patterns.  Simplicity 1607 - a Cynthia Rowley design on the top, paired with New Look 6224 on the bottom.  Previously blogged about here....

Onto Wednesday with warmer temps still.  This is my newest creation - Vogue 8553 and it could be my new favorite dress pattern.  Only just blogged about here....

Thursday brought the warmest temps of the week so a picture in the shade today. This is Butterick 5353 on top with New Look 6224 on the bottom.  You can tell I'm a fan of fuller rather than straight skirts.  This dress was previously blogged about here....

Friday was just a gorgeous day and comfort factor was key.  This is the Sally Shirtdress by Serendipity Studios.  I originally made this as an actual dress, previously blogged about here, but recently shortened it to just a blouse.  I think it's much more functional for me as a blouse.

Saturday I was at an all-day sewing event with guest speaker Sandra Betzina.  This is Vogue 9108 - a Marcy Tilton jumper dress and t-shirt, previously blogged about here.  The circle print mesh fabric in the dress below is now featured on the cover of one of Sandra Betzina's newest patterns and she used it for one of her examples of sewing with mesh.  I thought it was quite funny and pointed out the fabric match to the other sewers sitting at my table at the time.

Here is the Sandra Betzina pattern sewn from the same fabric - Vogue 1355.  I have enough of the fabric left over to make this too - maybe I should give it a go!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Me Made's this year.  A special thanks to my colleagues at work who have been putting up with my daily pictures - Thank you!

Happy Sewing everyone!
Star

Vogue 8553 - Possibly my new favorite dress pattern

This could possibly be my new favorite dress pattern.  This is Very Easy Vogue 8553.




This dress was made out of a retro looking knit fabric purchased at the Sewing Garage Sale last year. The fabric was crying out to be made up and this pattern fits it perfectly.

The pattern has pleats in the front and the back skirt pieces along with a gathered section on the bodice back that is very comfortable.

The front bodice has two pieces that create the V in the front.  I found the V to be a bit low so I ended up hand stitching about 1.25 inches of it closed after construction and it works much better now.

I opted to use bias tape to finish off the armhole edges rather than just turning down twice as the pattern recommends.

Back view again.  Isn't it cute!!

And I'm happy to say that I recently purchased a coverstitch machine and it is fabulous!!  Just look at that perfect hem with 3 rows of stitching on the outside - all sewn in one pass!!

This counts as a stashbustin' garment too and my yardage numbers are racking up quickly for this year!!
Total yardage for this dress = 2.875
Total stashbustin' yardage sewn YTD = 44.875

Just a quick post today.  Happy sewing everyone!
Star

May MAGAM Challenge Determined

The theme for the May Make a Garment A Month Challenge is Mad, Mad May.  Here's my starting picture....

This might be a truly mad undertaking.  It's Marcy Tilton's Vogue 9112.  After having a glass or two of wine on a Saturday night and a an hour in the sewing room pulling fabrics out of the stash with wreckless abandon, I've come up with this combination.

Fabric details:

• The main fabric will be the purple plaid on the left.  This is a wonderful cotton I purchased at the Robert Talbot outlet in Carmel Valley, CA a few years ago.  It's a cotton shirting that I'm not sure will have enough drape to tackle the dress, but we'll give it a go.  
• Green linen remnant - not alot here, but it would just be an accent anyways.
• Blue and green polka dot cotton - again, accent somehow.
• Another Robert Talbot fabric, but this is silk - again accent somehow.
• The strong orange fabric on the right (that was actually a cut-off from a prom dress when I used to alter prom dresses alot - not sure of the fabric content, but is some sort of silky fabric).  This might be some sort of piping or trim - not sure yet. 

They don't look like they match in this picture, but they all actually pull from each other in proper lighting (although the DH will disagree with me here).

Wish me luck with this venture!  I think it's going to be a long haul to make it work!

Happy sewing everyone and good luck with your May projects!

Star

Me Made May - Week 1

Me Made May has started and here are my first week's worth of Me Made's:

Monday starts off the week with an Anne Klein dress from Vogue.  Previously blogged about here....

Next up - a Marcy Tilton top, paired with a Kathryn Brenne pant - previously blogged about here....

Wednesday was my love/hate relationship with this Ralph Rucci dress.  Previously blogged about here.... and here....

A favorite top here for Thursday.  A Katherine Tilton pattern, previously blogged about here....

And last but not least, my favorite thing to wear - pajamas!  Friday was a day off so I spent it in my comfy pajamas, enjoying the showers outside and sewing and blogging inside!!  Pajamas previously blogged about here....

I hope everyone is enjoying the Me Made's on Pinterest.  I am liking a lot of what I'm seeing and there are some very creative and talented people out there!!

Until next time....
Happy Sewing everyone!