carrie girl

scallops in progress

i'm working on some navy scalloped purses with a pattern lining.  so far so good, but i haven't attached the straps yet so i'm not going to get ahead of myself. i'm worried about adding too much bulk to the sides with the cord strap, but i guess i'll deal with it as i go along. one fun part about starting a new project is that i got to use my labels for the first time!

i'm really liking the shape of this little purse. i bought a bunch of piping last week on a whim, so i might try a plain rounded flap next with a little piping action around the seam.

tonight, though, i have my b team rec league championship volleyball game. there are only 4 mighty teams in the b side of the league, so the competition isn't too stiff. i do, however, like to think we're the cinderella story of the iowa city rec league because we were in last place all season and now we're playing for first (suck it, team beavers!) win or lose we're going across the street after the game for 99 cent margaritas, so i'm pretty sure i'm going to have fun either way.

scallops!

i can't believe spring break is over. it was rainy and snowy and cold most of the time, but i did get to catch up on lots of sleep and visit with friends and family. the sewing didn't really start until saturday, so i didn't get as much accomplished as i wanted. the one project i did start is this scalloped purse.  when i went home to visit my folks, i found an old vera bradley purse my mom bought me in middle school. i love the small size and the skinny strap (that i had tied in a knot because it was too long for me.)  i've been seeing scallops everywhere in fashion lately, so i wanted to incorporate them into my summer purse.

i've got the basic shape and top flap down, and i bought some upholstery cord that i'm going to cover for the strap.  i'll add a pocket to the inside and a magnetic snap for the closure, and hopefully i'll get a few of these finished for the craft fair next month. 

have a great week!

crafting with mom

this little project started out as a small unfinished wood box from joann.  my friend alexis' birthday was yesterday, and since she already has a carrie girl bag and a jewelry wallet, i thought i'd try to make something different. i was in kansas city over the weekend, so my mom helped me stain the box, and when i got back to iowa i mod podged the fabric on the front of the drawers and glued some felt to the bottom of the box (as per my mom's amazing suggestion.)

the fabric is from a vintage napkin that i found at goodwill a couple months ago.  it is a linen blend, so the sides were fraying quite a bit even after ironing on a light interfacing, so i used some fray check and the mod podge will hopefully keep the fabric from unraveling.

it was fun to do a little crafting with my mom--she's a teacher, too, and super creative. i talk to her almost every night on the phone and we always have so much fun together. it's nice to have a mom who is also such an amazing friend, so it was so special getting to spend the first part of my spring break with her. and i know she reads this every day, so, i love you, mom!

sunny fabric

last thursday i made a quick trip to the crowded closet (the mecca of vintage sewing stuff) and found a bunch of great fabric. They have 4 racks of fabric and linens and then there is this big bin of smaller pieces and scraps for 40 cents per pound...i call it the fabric trough because it is always a total disaster, but if you are willing to dig the payoff could be big. on thursday, i dug.

it's a good thing i've been scavenging for fabric because i'm going to be in a craft fair next month in des moines called craft saturday.  i had such a great time at craft and fancy back in december that i thought i'd give another one a go.  i'm excited to work on more bags and come up with some new designs.  i have a lot of work ahead of me, but i have this week off for spring break so i'm going to try and get a head start before the 25th creeps up on me.

mushroom madness

these are all my gorgeous mushrooms from sonya's mushroom swap! from left to right we have denise, alison, kyla nicole, jenny and pam.  it has been so fun to watch the progress over on flickr and read the other posts from bloggers as they receive their swap goodies in the mail.  i love the variety of my mushrooms--all different materials and interpretations...all so lovely. thanks, ladies!

men's shirt refashion

this project started out as an xl men's shirt from goodwill, and i used clevergirl's shirt tutorial to make it into something sort of wearable.

in the tutorial she makes a men's shirt into a dress, but since there isn't a men's shirt out there long enough to be a dress for me (i'm just shy of 6 feet tall) i decided to go with a shirt. i followed the tutorial up to the point where a french curve got involved, and since i don't have one i just sort of eyeballed it and hoped for the best. it didn't turn out too wonky, and it was fun to try different things as i went along. 

i really wanted to make the little sleeves with ruffles, but there wasn't enough fabric from the long sleeves to make that happen.  i think the biggest problem with this shirt was that it was pretty poorly sew together in the first place, and even though that made it easy to take apart, it didn't help much with the collar and overall structure.  i'm excited to try this one again, and see what i can come up with. 

10 songs for a sunny thursday

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

funky fabric

last night i realized i didn't have anything green to wear today, and when you work in an elementary school, not participating in holiday festivities is kind of sacrilege.  i threw together this shamrock brooch in hopes that it would make me just festive enough without going down the "teacher holiday sweater" road.

if you read my blog often enough you know about my obsession with vintage fabric.  my love for it, though, comes to a screeching halt with the stink that sometimes comes along with the vintage goodness. the worst smell is the one that is hidden and doesn't emerge until you touch an iron to it, and then it about knocks you off your feet. a couple weekends ago i stopped into a vintage store and found this fabric--3 yards for $9--and i couldn't pass it up.  the one downside was that it was pretty musty--like too musty to put into my purse without wrapping it a couple times in plastic bags. 

i threw it in the machine for a good old fashion wash and hoped that it would be stink-free or at least bearable when finished.  when i got it out of the washer it was as nasty smelling as it had been in the store.  i did a little online research and found the suggestion to put a cup of distilled white vinegar into the wash. as bad as the fabric smelled, i figured a little vinegar wouldn't hurt so i gave it a go.  when i got the fabric out of the washer, it smelled amazingly funk-free. i couldn't believe it.  i'm probably the last one to know about this trick, but i figured it was worth sharing since it has changed my life...or at least made things a bit more pleasant around the craft room.

vintage sheet dress

this weekend was the best. nothing really exciting happened, but  it was just really relaxing. the weather was nice and ted and i didn't talk about any "what if" scenarios for next year...we just enjoyed the sunshine, ate egg sandwiches on our front porch and listened to music on the record player.  it was just what i needed. 

here is the dress that i've been trying to finish for the last week or so.

     

the pattern was a bit too big for me, and i'm not the best at adjusting them so i did the best i could.  i finished the side, front and back with french seams, so that took it in a bit and made it seem finished. i took the bust in an inch on each side, but it still ended up being too big. luckily the little ties in the back acted like a drawstring, and i was able to tie them to a snug fit.

i used a vintage fitted sheet for the fabric (which is oh so soft) and i used a pre-cut vintage simplicity pattern.  i shortened it quite a bit, and left the pockets off but on my next one i might add those.  i really had no problems with this dress besides trying to adjust the fit--something i'm learning to do as i go. 

     

have a fantastic week!

better than i expected

oh, wow. this week just flew by and, while i was busy at work, i have no real excuse for not doing much on the sewing front.  i did, however, tackle the ever elusive buttonhole and kicked its ass. i'm hoping the zipper experiment follows suit, and i can stop avoiding projects where they're necessary. the above shot is my practice, and thanks to my sewing machine it was all i needed to move on to the real deal.

because the button is on the inside of the dress, you won't actually see it, so the non-matching button doesn't bother me too much.  i did have a couple cute white ones set aside, but they were over an inch and didn't fit in my buttonhole foot. i can deal with that.  it is amazing what a difference my new sewing machine makes. my old one (may she rest in peace in the back of my closet) couldn't sew a buttonhole to save her life...she tried her best though. all i have left to do now is hem the bottom and wait for 80 degree weather and i'm good to go.

have a great weekend!