Believe it or not, today marks the first day both kids are on summer vacation! This usually means my sewing output is a bit slower than usual, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t take in a bit of shopping! Yesterday I hit up a garage sale of a former fabric store owner – just look at the fabulous haul I picked up: 3 yards of a Denyse Schmidt print, several spools of ‘basic’ thread colors, needles, elastic (I thought that these might work for the Tommy Boxers, but I’m thinking they might not have as much stretch as sport elastic), and even a pattern. I’m sad to see one of my local shops close, but I understand she still has some new fabrics coming in soon – maybe I can just shop from her basement!

Whew! The sample sewing for a very large project is ‘in the can’! Even though I still have the tutorial write up left to work on, at least I can resume all my ‘regularly scheduled’ sewing plans. First up? A second Jalie zippered V-neck and matching skort.

FYI: I also did a search for Transfer Artist Paper locally and came up empty handed. While my brick-and-mortar stores didn’t carry the product, I did find that Joann’s had a 5 pack on sale for $3.89 (70% off!) so I snagged up 2 packs – even with shipping this was a great price! Looking for fun ways to use this paper? Then be sure to check out this recent article at WeAllSew.

They say that even though we’re not still in school, that it’s important you learn something new every day. I can say that this definitely happened over the weekend. In fact, it’s a valuable lesson on what not to do (and I’ll never forget it): Don’t use a hot iron on (or near) glow-in-the-dark thread…. it melts (it still glows, it’s just melted, smudged, and ruined!).

This poses a bit of a dilemma if you intend on using any sort of interfacing on your fabric after you have stitched out the design. My suggestion? Cut your fabric, interface it, then embroider (or stitch out your design) – that way you don’t have to get a hot tool anywhere near your finished work.

I really had expected that by this time this week I would have a sneak peek of a project for you. Instead I have found myself doing lots and lots of cutting for this design. While the photo on the right doesn’t look like much, I can assure you that there are many of pieces piled up in there (the worst part? I still have a few more to go!). For me, cutting is the ‘worst part’ of a project – not just because it can be so tedious, but it feels like I’m not really accomplishing much even though it’s an essential part of sewing.

This weekend I am also in search of some Transfer Artist Paper – I have a Mother’s Day project that I’m dying to make this year. What is everyone else whipping up for next weekend?

I spent a good chunk of my day yesterday ‘playing’ around with some fun threads on my embroidery machine. My favorite? Glow-in-the-dark! I started out by using this jumbo Halloween Tree & moon design from OESD and used the glow thread for the “Happy Halloween” saying only. How well did it work? See for yourself:

The top photo is the finished design in the light (please ignore all the jump threads) and the bottom is what it looks like when they are turned off – it’s actually quite bright! What I love most is all the possibilities: pajamas, (slumber) party wear, pillowcases, and even fun (or naughty) bridal shower gifts! I definitely think I’ll be using this more in the future, but next I’m going to have to give solar-reactive thread a go.

Even though I have a ton on my plate at the moment, I couldn’t resist sneaking in one quick project. Mimi G posted a tutorial for an easy, adorable maxi dress the other day and I knew I had to sew it up. I searched my stash and pulled out a fun brown and turquoise print that I bought several(?) years ago from Gorgeous Fabrics. Overall, this dress went together super-fast (under 2 hours – it probably would have gone together faster if I didn’t have to head to the store for elastic) and is extremely easy to stitch up. Best of all, it looks great on – I highly recommend giving it a try! Here’s a quick run-down of the project costs for this dress:

Materials & Cost:
Pattern……..free
Fabric………$17.00
Notions……..$3.26
Total……….$20.26

My daughter offered up my sewing services to her friend who was in need of some dress alterations for their upcoming musical production. While I don’t mind making a dress from scratch, I really don’t like making alterations to ready-to-wear clothing…. I even dread having to sew buttons back on! Instead of having to make some substantial changes to the bodice, I came up with an easy solution: straps. Not only did this pull up the bodice so it wasn’t sliding down, but it solved her having to find a cardigan to cover up the strapless design (they wanted 1″ or larger straps to all dresses for this number). Fortunately she had a matching sash to the dress that was the perfect width for straps, plus there was plenty left over for a pretty ribbon rosette (you can find instructions for making your own here). Now I’m wondering, what’s Taylor going to have me do for her costume?

I’ve seen a lot of kids wearing personalized shirts for their birthday lately. Since Monday is Easton’s, I thought it might be fun to make my own version for him. I used an Applique Collegiate Number from Embroidery Library and 8 Claws and a Paw’s Charm font for the name to create the embellishment for this (purchased) T.

Overall, it turned out o.k. Somehow I misjudged where I wanted the “4″ placed and wound up centering it much lower than what I anticipated. I also learned that when working with Embroidery Library appliques you have to cut VERY, VERY close. I thought I had trimmed the excess material down pretty far, but discovered that several spots had excess material hanging over the satin stitching after I was all done. The font, while it looks nice, did give me some trouble – for some reason it caused my machine to register a bobbin error… several times on every letter. I’m guessing it’s got to do with the company that made the design because I’ve never experienced anything like this – I may think twice about using more of their designs in the future.

After a week of softball games, a very sick toddler, tornadoes, doctor appointments and a spouse traveling, I was happy not only to receive my (recent) pattern purchases (and Burda) in the mail, but also to engage in some ‘retail therapy’. Included in this lot are a new-to-me line of patterns called Imagewear. This is a Neatherland company that puts out a pattern magazine (I have never found it here in the US) and that has now branched out to paper patterns. I decided to try out a dress with ruching on the side and a fun neckline – stay tuned for the results in the next month or so. Also in the mail? HotPattern’s Weekender Boyfriend Jean and the Simple Boxy Bowling Bag (by the way, if you’re interested in these, all HotPatterns are on sale until the end of the month). It was a toss up as to which one I would start first, but I managed to find a fun silver crocodile print while shopping yesterday and now I am determined to work on the bag first! In addition to several McCall patterns (now on sale for .99 at Joann’s) I also picked up Famous Frocks: Patterns and Instructions for Recreating Fabulous Iconic Dresses, I looked through it briefly last night, but will put up a full review later on in the week.

WHEW! You would think that this would tide me over, but I intend on visiting two local, independent fabric stores today. I was sad to learn that one is closing it’s doors at the end of the month and I’d like to visit one last time before they are gone. How about everyone else? How was your week, what did you sew, and did anyone else go crazy shopping?