November 25, 2013

Lark e-pattern

There's a new pattern waiting to be introduced...

The Lark e-pattern is a sewing pattern to make a comfortable maxi cardi for all seasons of the year. Choose from two views to make a maxi cardi with a collar or a hood. The pattern also includes instructions for sewing with knit fabrics - making it a beginner friendly sewing pattern. The simplicity of the design lends itself to easily be customized and modified for the more adventurous sewer. This pattern is very easy to make and fast too!  As one of my pattern testers put it, "This one almost made itself."

Photography by Pierre-Olivier as always.

Right now the pattern is available as a pdf downloadable sewing pattern.  Soon it will be available as a hard copy pattern.

Happy creating!

Jamie


April 10, 2013

Hi Lo Raglan and Sol Hoodie hard copy


The Hi Lo Raglan pdf pattern is the newest addition to the pattern family.  I have made sooo many Hi Lo Raglans that it has become a major staple of my wardrobe.  I even made a Christmas sweater with the pattern (I'll blog about it soon).  The nice thing about this pattern is that it can function as a Spring/Summer top too!  Just choose a light weight jersey knit and you're good to go for the warmer weather.  Similarly, you can choose a heavier weight knit for the cooler months and make a comfy winter top.

Besides its style, this pattern is fast and easy to make!  That's probably why I've made so many of them.  The raglan sleeves have a dolman shape which gives it a casual boho style.  The hi lo hem is a favorite of mine and adds to the natural style of the top.  Of course, if you don't care for hi lo hems, simply modify the pattern by cutting a basic hem line.

View B features a hood.


The Hi Lo Raglan pdf pattern is available here!

Continuing with pattern news, the Sol Hoodie is now available as a hard copy pattern.  Here's the link.


 Cheers,

Jamie



January 7, 2013

Sol Hoodie pdf sewing pattern

Happily, I introduce to you the Sol Hoodie pdf pattern!


The Sol Hoodie features cuffs with thumb openings and bands outlining the zipper and hood.  You can use a contrast fabric or ribbon for the bands.



Sizes range from X-Small to XX-Large.  The pattern also includes instructions for how to sew knit fabrics on a home sewing machine.  Plus, there are additional instructions on how to shorten a zipper.  Right now the pattern is available as a pdf pattern and will soon be available as a printed paper pattern.



Here's the link to purchase the Sol Hoodie e-pattern.

*UPDATE: The Sol Hoodie pattern is now available in hard copy!  Here's the link. *

Cheers!

Jamie




October 8, 2012

Pattern news!


Hello!  It's been pretty quiet around here, but with good reason.  I have 2 new sewing patterns coming out soon.  We are shooting the covers this month, which is one of my favorite parts of the process.  The patterns are practical and easy to make - similar to the Mission Maxi.

Continuing with the pattern news, I also wanted to let you all know that Amy Butler has a new online mag coming out any day now called Blossom.


I was pretty excited to see the cover, because they used the Miz Mozelle dress sewing pattern to model Amy's fabric.  When I first started to quilt, Amy Butler was one of the designers who's fabrics I fell in love with and consequently led me into the wonderful world of pattern making.  Pretty neat!

If you'd like to make the Miz Mozelle Dress, then you must click on over to Hart's Fabric. They are hosting a Miz Mozelle Dress sew along.  There is also a contest that accompanies the sew along.  The contest closes on 10/12/2012.  Winner gets 3 Jamie Christina sewing patterns!  Here's the link.  

Lastly, in the spirit of Halloween, I made a peg doll.  This time I wanted to try something different so I made a marionette peg doll.  There is a string in the back, which lifts her bum to help her take a bow.  I may add some strings to her knee joints, but for now she just twirls and bows.



Cheers,

Jamie


July 23, 2012

Bathroom makeover

Goodbye old bathroom and hello new happy bathroom!




The before pics are pretty embarrassing if I may say so myself.  In my defense, the topiaries were painted by the previous owner of our house.  Surprisingly, what sold us originally was the excellent taste throughout the rest of the house. Like us all, the previous owner must of had an off day when deciding to paint topiaries on the walls.  Needless to say, they had to go.  I remember my husband saying that we would deal with them when we moved in, but instead I lived with them for several years before we finally decided on this bathroom makeover.  Let me clarify, by stating that it's a partial bathroom makeover. I state this only because the toilet and shower/tub (not shown in pics, but located to the left) were left untouched and really are up to date.

To make this remodel affordable, we were able to re-purpose our dresser for the vanity.  I had inherited another dresser from my Aunt, which kept our total cost for the remodel around $570.00.  The bulk of the cost came from the faucets and sinks.  Everything was purchased at Home Depot and Lowe's.  Here's a brief explanation of how we remodeled our bathroom.  But first, let me give you a close up of the infamous topiary paintings...


Yowsa!

We got things started with my son's favorite part of the remodel - the demolition phase.  


Next, we painted the bathroom.  At first we painted the walls an ugly greenish yellow color, which looked like urine after you've had your morning vitamins.  I blame my poor color choice on the fact that I'm a sucker for color names.  The name was something like Morning Songbird and I do love them birds!  Anywho, we painted over that color with pure white, which brightened up the dim space.


As the paint dried, we worked on the dresser.  

My husband converted the dresser into a vanity by doing a little re-engineering. First off, he had to take the back off to make room for the piping.

  
Next, by making room for the piping in the back, we had to take away some of the original support structure. Therefore, we added the angle joists to make it structurally sound. 


Access to the piping was another thing we had to figure out. So, we took off the original top row drawer faces and then re-attached them to the dresser frame with hinges. 



To protect the finish of the re-purposed vanity top, we sealed it with a light coat water seal prior to attaching the sinks.

I should mention that before we placed the vanity in the bathroom, we added wainscoting to the walls. I don't have any pics of the wainscoting before we added the vanity, but here's a decent pic showing the wainscoting in the bathroom...



It took us about 3 days to complete the project, because we ran into some plumbing issues.  Also, we had originally purchased white porcelain counter top sinks, but we soon discovered after installing them that the overflow catch function created an small gap in the seal.  My goodness can water find a hole anywhere!...The overflow catch.... something to consider when purchasing a sink.



Cheers!

Jamie

June 7, 2012

Mission Maxi variations

Pattern Review is having a contest titled One Pattern, Many Looks (link).

"The goal of this contest is to take one view of a pattern, and create multiple garments with distinct looks from that view without needing pattern drafting skills.  Remember the focus of this contest is to see how to make the same basic article of clothing with different colors and fabrics, and not to make two different types of garments." - Pattern Review

This is practically the definition of the Mission Maxi sewing pattern - A basic pattern that can be made into a plethora of different looks.  Since I can't make all of the Mission Maxi variations due to time, and the fact that my kids are now on summer break (I now wear the hat of tour guide/event planner), I thought I would share some illustrations of the various looks that can be created with the Mission Maxi.

First up is the color blocked Mission Maxi.  Despite my summer recreation coordinator responsibilities, I will definitely find the time to make this.  



Next, we have the maxi skirt.  Just cut the top off and add a waist band.



Another variation on my list is a Mission Maxi out of lace.  As a matter of fact, I've already purchased the lace... about 4 months ago.



A Mission Maxi Mini!  Say that 5 times.


Here we have a Mission Maxi with a triangle top and spaghetti straps.  There is a little pattern drafting involved here, but nothing major.




Lastly, the high slit Mission Maxi is a must!  And yes... you have to do the pose if you make the maxi in black.


Just be thankful it's not me mimicking the pose.

I almost forgot about the chevron Mission Maxi (link) and the idea of adding an accordion pocket (link) to the hemline of a Mission Maxi.  That would look great with olive green jersey knit.  

Eventually, I'll get around to making a few of these ideas, but in the mean time feel free to do so yourself and enter the contest.

Cheers,

Jamie

June 4, 2012

Giveaway winners and more!

The great Randomizer has chosen the winners and they are...

Melinda C
One Shabby Chick
Sassy T

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway.  I made sure every entrant was accounted for by writing them down as they were entered in the comments section.  I have more giveaways to come, so if you didn't win this one you'll get more opportunities in the near future.

On another note, and at the risk of making myself extremely vulnerable, I'd like to share the news that I'm in the beginning stages of writing a book.  It's so beginning, that I don't even have a publisher yet. However, I've already written the intro and 3 chapters plus illustrations for the designs.  The concept of the book is what really excites me, but it probably wouldn't be too smart of me to share EVERYTHING just yet.  But, I did decide that I would open up about the entire book process since I've benefited so much from other's in our sewing community as they shared insights about their own book publishing journey. 

Anywho, I debated for quite some time as to whether or not I should go straight to a publisher or solicit a literary agent.  After listening to several pod casts on the topic and reading several more posts, I decided to go with the latter of the two and contact a literary agent.  So, that's where I'm at today with the book... waiting to see if my idea has wings.  If nothing comes of it, then I figured I've got a lot of great blog material and a couple of fun new patterns for the upcoming year.



Cheers,

Jamie