I just want to sew and cook and bake and sew!

Hello my lovelies!

Only 5 days left until Christmas!! I am starting to feel the excitement building!

All gifts are wrapped and sitting by the tree

But I don't have my Christmas dress sewn up yet!!

Oh no!!

I started testing a pattern yesterday but realized I didn't like the way it will fit my two fabric options...

So I just picked 2 more patterns and start cut one tonight.

In fact, I picked 7 patterns to hope to get through before school starts again

Oh shoot! I still need to pick fabric to make my graduation dress

so I have 8 items to get through then haha

I only have 4 weeks left of break

=(

This week has gone so fast! Going through all the education at work (because of my promotion to coder) has been exhausting. Thankfully I only have a few classes left.

I snapped some pictures of my sewing plans... Here they are. Wish me luck in time management haha

Simplicity 1797 View C
This is the dress I am now working on for Christmas
(could not figure out why the image would not rotate, sorry)

McCall's M6699

I want this one for Christmas Eve or day if I can finish 2 dresses in the next few days.

I plan on getting some grey for the contrast

McCall's M6534

I have been wanting to make a Hello Kitty dress for a while. I found this fabric in the remnants bin one day but it is only a yard. It will be perfect for this style dress.  I will use the fuschia on the skirt of the dress.

M6407 View A

I think this flannel will make an adorable little jacket. I want to make the collar solid pink.

M6681 View A

I have been wanting to make this cute little hoodie for a while. In fact, it has been cut for months. I hope to make it before it gets hot =P

McCall's3830

I want to make a few flannel skirts. Especially now that I have riding boots =)

New Look A6184 View E

This is the dress I cut and started prepping last night. I will finish it, but it is on the back burner since it is no longer the pattern I want for Christmas.

Also, since I am on break, I will be cooking as much as I can too. I haven't spent real time in the kitchen in a while and I sure do miss it. The other day at Barnes and Noble I found an awesome recipe book and want to use these recipes for any meal or dessert I cook up while on break.
Click here. I added a link to the book.

I have already picked a few recipes to try out. I will share them with you here as I try them. I will also rate them on flavor and simplicity.

Well, off I go to try and keep this momentum.

XOXOXOX

Lily Bean

Winter Berry Faerie

My First Maxi Dress (McCall's M6559 View D) and a Fun Apron (Simpicity Sew Simple A2011)

 

 Hey there guys and dolls.

As you may have noticed, maxi dresses have been in style lately. I have wanted one so, so bad but have always felt like I was too tall standing at 5'1.

Well, after seeing so many of my friends tall and short rocking the maxi look, I decided I could too. I knew with the right dress I wouldn't feel like a child playing in my mom's pajamas hahaha. So when McCall's patterns went on sale I made a point to get a few maxi dresses.

This is the first one I made

McCall's M6559 View D 

I am very proud of how well I matched my stripes on the side seam

I have fallen in love with this pattern and think I will make one more tomorrow (if time permits). It was so easy! I think this is a great dress for someone who is new to sewing with knits (like myself). I managed my side seams perfectly bit I did stretch my hem seams out a bit. Any tips from you seasoned sewers?

This is the first "form fitting" dress I have sewn and I think I did a great job of blending the sizes needed. It helped me gain some confidence with adjusting pattern sizing for my body. Maybe I will be ready to make a form fitting dress in cotton weave soon... maybe haha

 

And a photo shoot would not be complete without a puppy in a picture hahaha. Here is my Theadora exploring my new dress.



I also made a new apron last week.

My first time using a pattern to make one.

I used Simplicity Sew Simple A2011

I chose the unicorns and rainbows as my main fabric and baby pink gingham for the details. I did not have enough matching ric rac in my stash and couldn't decide which shade of pink I liked better... so I used both to line my pockets.

I got a few shots with the apron on as well

 

 I adore it and love the "bib" pocket!

I can't wait for the Fall/Winter days of baking

 

 I am so over the summer right now and ready to get some use out of my new apron!

XOXOXOX

Lily Bean

(p.s. School started last week but I am trying to use every waking moment to sew before things kick into gear for the semester)

Gingham Style (New Look 6457 View B)

Hey there! Forgive the silly pun in the title.. I couldn't resist =P

I have had the New Look 6457 pattern for years!

It is probably one of the first 5 patterns I ever purchased.

I tried making this dress once before I knew how to measure myself and read a pattern:

complete fail!

Now that I have a bit more knowledge and experience I was able to put it together proper.

I am feeling pretty adorable in it!!

 

I decided to try view B and wanted to make it exactly like the gingham sketch. I love gingham and have always wanted a dress made in red gingham. This was my first time using piping. I was worried it wouldn't turn out good but I didn't have any of the trouble I anticipated with the piping...

... I did however have a HUGE fight with the elastic and casing.

A fight lasting hours

I lost 2 safety pins in the battle

I am not sure what went wrong. I followed the directions and everything seemed great until I started trying to feed the elastic in. I practically ruined the interfacing in some areas and ended up ripping a few seams from the casing so I can manually feed the elastic from outside the dress.

Had I not  had the fight with the elastic, I am positive I could have finished this dress in under 2 hours. The rest of the construction was easy peasy for me.

All in all I am pleased with the dress and have no regrets

However I don't see a round 2 for this one... not in the same view at least

maybe in a halter with no elastic needed.

 

Any tips on getting elastic in?

XOXOXOX

Lily Bean

Jane of the Jungle Dress (McCall's M6027 View A)

 

I was so happy when I finally finished y "Jane of the Jungle" dress.

This is my first dress with princess seams and I was actually pretty nervous about it.

When it was done and I was ready to put on the finished product I was pleasantly surprised: it fits like a glove! I fell in love with princess seams!

 

McCall's M6027 in View A

 

I did have a little bit of trouble with the strap/armhole area. I had to seam rip a time or two. But all in all it was not hard to construct

 

 I love the way everything came together in the end. I had never heard of a gusset prior to this dress. I like the way the black gussets help pop the animal prints of the dress.

 

 

I will enjoy debuting this dress at the roller derby this weekend!! My last hurrah for summer before Fall semester starts on Monday

 

XOXOXOX

Lily Bean

 

 

 

 

 

FINALLY summer break!! New Patterns and Fabric... Time to Sew

Hi everyone!!

Yesterday was my last day of the Spring semester

yahooooooo!!

So far I have seen 2 out of 3 grades:

Coding: A

Speech: A

Clinical Tech: pending grade

 

And officicially I am in the senior class, 3 semesters away from graduation. One year from now I will be in cap and gown....
Wow! Okay, back to reality... one semester at a time.

 

So I have only one week of summer break. so depressing. And to top it off, one of my teachers gave us homework... wth!?!? Why even bother taking a break. Oh well, I suppose we all have to pay our dues.

So I may only have one week until Summer semester starts

and I may need to read 2 chapters in this week

and I may have an assignment and 2 quizzes due first day of school

but, as my Bempa said, at least I don;t have to drive to school for a week

hahahah! sweet old man!

 

Today I went to WalMart for a few things and fell off the wagon buying $20 worth of fabric and 3 new patterns. I know I am not supposed to be buying anything since I have so much to work with... I couldn't help it. I simply went crazy knowing I have some time to sew.

I have grabbed a few other cuts of fabric and patterns since school started.

Here's some pix of my latest additions:

New Look A6000

 

 

New Look A6208

 

 

Simplicity A2884

 

 

New Look A6184

 

New Look 6699

 

Simplicity Sew Simple A1636

 

I will be going through all my patterns to figure which to try out for a grad dress

(maybe tonight since my sister should be dropping by to sew with me)

It may be a year away but I realized I only have like 8 weeks throughout the year where I will actually be out of school and free to sew. That is limited time to decide and perfect my plans... I am definitey starting now. I just can't grow haha

 

Off I go to clean off my sewing table and get to it
Let's see what I can knock out between now and May 28th!! Can't wait to have actual sewing to post about haha!

xoxoxox

Lily Bean

(here with my Bempa <3)
.

I Have Been a Busy Bee (Butterick B5603, Butterick B5557, and McCall's M5094)

Why hello there!

I have been glued to my sewing chair for this last week! Well, not only stuck to my sewing chair haha. When I wasn't sewing I was hanging on the couch watching Season 1 and 2 of Lost Girl, playing catch up before Season 3 premiered last night. I don't know how I missed the first 2 seasons! I am so addicted to the show now! But at least I am caught up and can get back to regular life activities.

School starts next Tuesday and I am not sure how many weeks in before I know my clinicals schedule. It is driving me crazy and I have gone through every possible scenario in my head. But I have no control until I figure out which hospital I will be assigned to and discuss it with the boss. I can't stand not having control  to plan my semester proper. This will be my first semester that clinicals are a part of so we shall wait and see how it all works itself out. I will be an absolute nutcase until I have my schedule settled on my spreadsheet like it should be hahahah.

So I have 3 outfits sewn up since my last post to show you all.

I will start with the FUSCHIA FOXY FLANNEL dress I made in Butterick B5603 view B (same as my Christmas dress) minus the 2 bows.

 

(I love how there is ALWAYS a pup running or jumping around me in my pictures lol)

I love the way this dress came out and since it's flannel it is great for winter

 

 

I wanted to show you the inside seams of my Christmas dress versus my foxy dress.

I hate slipstitching... loathe it! despise it!

But finally followed the rules and slipstitched the seam here where the bodice meets the skirt and wow!

I mean

WOWWIE!!

Sure, I totally see the difference now.

And as much as my fingers hated, loathed, and despised me for it I love how much cleaner it looks and figure a callus will be in order soon and I will be over the pain.

I know nobody really sees the inside but I can be much more proud if it looks closer to professional than beginner.

 

 

Next in line is my blue cheetah outfit in Butterick B5557 View A
It is made to be worn as an outfit but I kind of like it as separates. In this cheetah print at least. I have put it on as an outfit but it would have to be the right occasion for me to bust out in full cheetah mode hahaha.
So here is the skirt which is worn at the true waist (again... takes some getting used to for little-miss-hiphugger). It zips on the side and is fully lined.

  And here I am in the skirt dressed down with a black tshirt and can be worn this way with some chucks (or in my cheap case, airwalk kicks from payless haha)

I am holding the side because I still need to sew on the hook and eye for the waistband to sit right. 

 

 

Here I am in the blouse, dressed down with some clam digging jeans.

I adore the look of it but have to admit, the kimono sleeves will take some getting used to... I am  not accustomed to "webbed" armpits hahaha.

It is fully lined and zips in the lower back.

 

 

 I loved the way it hugs my waistline and think the square neckline is pretty cool.

About the square neckline... the instructions confused me so i put it on in my own way. Looks good though, right? Remind me to take a picture of how it looks inside hahaha

I will have to put the outfit on skirt and shirt together and take a pic of that for you as well.

I wish I had a hat that matched in color and style!

 

 

And last, but not least, I made this adorable watermelon dress in McCall's M5094 view F

  

I can almost taste summer when I wear it! I did not need to sew on the bottom band of contrast fabric because I am too short and was fine without it.

In fact, I think it would have been too much with it and I am more than happy with how it turned out.

 

 

The bodice and midriff are lined and it zips in the back.

 

 

When I made the watermelon dress I was planning on using i to test the pattern so I can make a flannel dress out of  my hot rod fabric. Seemed like a great idea until i realized my hot rods only run in one direction and I only have 2 yards... I guess it will have to be used for a skirt or top alone.

So I decided to try out Simplicity 2343 view C to see the fit with this spiderweb material. 

 

 

If I like the fit I will more than likely make a hot rod skirt from the same pattern but view F.

 

I finally sent out one of my Christmas gifts to a friend. I knit her this round scarf with my small circle loom. She received it today and now I can share it here...

Hey! It's is still winter and plenty cold so I'm not too late

 

 

That about wraps up my recent craftings. I missed blogging but could not tear myself from sewing and Lost Girl. I should be winding down now that school is around the corner. We will see what I can accomplish in these next 6 days until my first class next Tuesday.

Hopefully my 57 Chevy tattoo will be worked into one of those days.

 

XOXOXO!

Lily Bean

Pink Zebra - Simplicity A1738 Sew Simple Jacket

Howdy!

I woke up feeling so blah today. I had a sore throat and sinus congestion... Too much snow time? Maybe... If so, it was worth it. I took a very long nap and yet here I am still sleepy. I guess my body needs rest. I have been popping Vit C like it's candy. Thankfully I feel better, just not 100% yet.

I wanted to show you the fleece jacket I mentioned a few posts ago. I finished it over the weekend.

The pattern is Simplicity A1738, sew simple jacket.

I bought it on a whim when I passed it in WalMart the other day. I figured since the pattern cost 99cents and it was simple I shouldn't have any trouble. Plus it would be good practice for tops. I was suprised how confused I was with some of the "simple" steps. It could have been that I always work on things late so maybe my mind was mush when I was struggling. Or it could just have been not "sew simple". Anyone else tried this pattern before?

It came out fine in the end and when I make it again I won't have any struggles, I'm sure. I guess I just expected it to be a super fast and easy project and it took a bit more thinking than I planned.

I love the jacket. I had the pink zebra fleece in my stash from a bargain bin some time ago. I bought some black fleece and really like how it all came together.

I want to add a few large buttons or snaps to be able to cozy it up a bit more on the days when it's too cold to just throw it on. I am holding it closed in the bottom right picture to show how I want that to happen. We will see if and when I actually get to doing that...

I did stash inventory last night and was sure to snap pics to share here for two reasons: 1) so you can call TLC and tell them to send over the production crew from hoarders along with a therapist and 2) so i can refer to the post when I want to make something and can't remember what I actually have in my fabric closet hahaha. I was suprised at how much I had forgotten I had and how much I didn't realize I had so much of.

 

It's off to be now for me! Hoping to rest up and wake up feeling tip top.

XOXOXOX

Lily Bean