Valentine's Day Top

For Valentine's Day, I decided to make myself a top.  I pinned a similar top on pinterest and used it as my inspiration.  Initially, I was apprehensive about using similar color choices for fear of clashing.  I changed my mind several times at the store, placing the bolts in my cart and then taking them back out, all to return back to the bolts and placing them back in my cart again.  That would have been a moment where I needed my kids with me, because when they go shopping with me, I never have the time to change my mind about fabric.  They've conditioned me to operate within a 12 minute window, whereby I get into the store, pick out the fabric, cut the fabric, and get out of the store and back into the car before someone is very unhappy with me.  Whew! My heart rate goes up just writing about it. 

This time they weren't with me and after several back and forth moments,  I decided to go with my color choices.  I'm happy I did.  

Here's a sleeve view...

Changes I would make...

  ~ The seams have some puckering, which may be because I cut the silky polyester on the lengthwise grain. 

~ The sleeves have a rolled hem finish, which looks wearable to me, but could look better.  Next time, I'll try a sleeve facing and I'll cut the pattern on the crossgrain.

***

Changing topics...Like many of you, I watched the Grammys last night.  I always get anxious to see what the artists will be wearing each year.  Insert record scratching noise HERE...I don't know... is it just me or did it seem like last night's Grammys red carpet walk was the entrance to a Halloween party?  What's with all of the costume themes?  Or am I just getting old?  Insert crickets chirping awkward silence HERE....

I must say that I did like Rihanna's black dress.  She looked amazing in it!  I also liked Paris Hilton's dress, specifically the godets.  I'm a sucker for godets.  So I guess there is fashion hope out there in Grammy land =)

Cheers,

Jamie

Abbey Coat pattern giveaway

A Sewing Journal is giving away 3 Abbey Coat sewing patterns!  The giveaway will close this Sunday (1/8/12), so click on over to enter.  Here is the link.

Cheers,

Jamie

The Abbey Coat lookbook

Here's the Abbey Coat sewing pattern lookbook...

Cheers,

Jamie

The Abbey Coat sewing pattern

It's here!  The Abbey Coat sewing pattern has arrived.

I'm so excited about this coat pattern!  The Abbey Coat is a semi-fitted, fully-lined coat, that can be made with or with out a flounce.  The coat features princess seams, 3/4 sleeves, and a peter pan collar.  The sewing booklet includes instructions with color illustrations for every step.  As always, full size pattern pieces and a glossary of terms accompanies the booklet.  The Abbey Coat can be made in sizes 2 - 18.

The Abbey Coat is now available here and here.

Cheers!

Jamie

Porcelain plate drawing tutorial

I'm very excited to share this tute with you today!  Yes, this is yet another pinterest find of mine - ***Porcelain Painting***  Disclaimer....You don't have to be an artist to make these.  If you know how to trace then you can do this.

The above pictured plates are Christmas gifts for my cousin's family and my brother.  The plate on the left is for my cousin's family and the plate on the right is for my "hard to shop for" brother.

Before I began to make these Christmas gifts, I searched the internet for some info on the process, which lead me to this very helpful tute by Doe-c-doe.  

Here's how I made my plates...

Material list 

(I purchased all of my supplies from Michael's except for the plate, which is from Crate and Barrel)

• Carbon paper or some type of transfer paper
• Porcelain pen (I used Pebeo bullet tip for my cousin's plate and fine tip for my brother's plate) or paint ( I did not like the paint at all! I highly recommend the pen)
• Pencil for tracing
• Porcelain plate
• Tracing paper
• Paper

1.  Trace the shape of the plate onto paper,

2.  Within the circle, draw the picture you want to transfer to the plate.  Or, print a copy of the image you want to transfer. For my brother's plate, I used Duy Huynh's A Chorus from the Brain Forest.  I cut out the key images and taped them in the circle.

3.  Cut out the sketch and tape the sides to the plate.  Leave the bottom and top open for sliding the carbon paper under.  Notice I did not cut out a perfect circle.  Try to cut away any dead space.  This will make it easier to tape to the plate.

4.  Slide the carbon paper under the tracing paper.  The coated side should face the plate. Use a sharp pencil to trace over the image.

5.  As you can see, the image transfers pretty good onto the plate.

6.  Follow the directions on your pen and trace the transferred image.  I found the bullet tip pen flowed very well; where as, the fine tip pen had some issues with it's flow.  However, the bullet tip would have been too thick to have used for my brother's plate.  It's probably a good idea to have both tips on hand.  I did try the paint and it was horrible for what I was trying to accomplish.  The color was more of a blue black and I was unable to produce consistent lines.

7.  According to the instructions on the Pebeo pens, let the the plate dry for 24 hours then bake at 300 degrees for 35 minutes.  If you are using a different brand of porcelain paint be sure to follow the manufacturers directions.

I should also mention that they make ceramic pens for ceramic dishware too.

Cheers,

Jamie

Cupcake half apron

It's been awhile since I've made an apron.  So much so that I actually had to break out my instructions to make sure I made it correctly.  I made the above pictured apron for my son's kindergarten class raffle basket.  The basket's theme was "baking" and I was very excited to contribute an apron to the cause.  One mother suggested that I fulfill the theme by making a Pillsbury themed type of apron...uh...OK.  Anyhoo...I used the half-apron version of the Cupcake apron pattern with the tulle underskirt option.  If you look real close you can see the black tulle peeking out from underneath the apron.  

When I wrote the instructions for the Cupcake apron, I purposely designed the tulle underskirt to require 9" of netting.  The reason for 9" is that it allows you to use birdcage veiling as an option. Birdcage veiling is available in 9" widths, which makes it very convenient to use. Quite some time ago, I made an apron with black birdcage veiling, but my sister snatched it up before I could take any pics of it.  Sisters!  Even as grown ups we still take each other's clothes. What can you do about it :)

Cheers,

Jamie

Brownie Waffle

Another pinterest find - the brownie waffle (link).  We made these the other night and they were delicious!  As you can imagine, it was very easy to make.  Simply heat the waffle iron and add the brownie mix.  We topped it with ice cream, whip cream, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles. 

***Pattern news***

The new sewing pattern will go to print this week.  Hooray!  I can't even begin to express how excited I am about this pattern.  The testers really liked it and felt the pattern was great for an intermediate sewer.  If you like Mad Men and Peterpan collars I think you will fancy this pattern.

Cheers,

Jamie