jacket!

And here's the khaki blazer I've been working on. It looks super cute with my tie skirt, and it's got a little stretch, so it's really comfy. But it's not quite right, yet. There's something funny going on with the liner that keeps it from laying right. Back to the drawing board! (Or seam ripper, Whatever.)

curtains!

Finally, I've finished the curtains for my sewing room. Here's one side (doesn't Gladys look nice?)...

Both sides (I know, the lamp is ugly...but it is loved)...

And open! Isn't this fabric just plain awesome?! I don't really like sewing drapes, but at least they turned out well.

Christmas 2009!

Finally, I can display the GREAT fun I've had over the last month or so, cranking out Christmas presents.

The first four I completed were the ones I needed to ship out my to sister Andrea and her family in Tacoma. Here are the beauties, tagged and ready to box. From the left: a zip-front vest for Doug, bamboo knit lounge pants (delicious!) for Andrea, a corduroy backpack for Avery, and a hat and mittens set for Kellen.

And here are the boys, modeling their new couture on Christmas day.

I also made a vest for my dad, out of wind resistant fleece with a water resistant overlay, for motorcycle rides. I was pretty happy with the zippered pockets.

Check the sweet brocade shirt I made for my sister Kelly. Gladys didn't want to take it off, so I let her keep it on until the last possible minute.

And I took a break from the sewing to crochet my mom a rug...out of old t-shirts. It was a ton of fun, even if I'm not the most perfect crochet-er ever. That's thirteen 100% cotton large adult Ts. Yeah.

Merry Christmas!

repurposed haberdashery

My friend Lizzie appears with a box of neckties. I smell some mischief! What to do with all these neckties? Hmm. First, we'll choose our victims. Then we'll get our ties laid out in a pleasing palette. I chose (big surprise) brown/blue coordinates. Note the SWEET paisley tie fourth from the right.
Lizzie chose oh-so-stunning black and red.

Next, we'll get them washed, rip open the back seam, and cut off the skinny, useless part.

Then, we'll hijack one of my favorite skirt patterns. The result? Fabulousness!

patterns galore

You know what I really need? I really need a better way to store my patterns.

I have a lot. A lot, a lot.

Ok, maybe I'm a pattern junkie.

But I paid full price for NONE of them. I swear. I probably paid ten cents or a quarter for about half of them. Thift stores! There's not much better than vintage patterns. And  I got quite a few for free. If I do succumb in the store, I only buy when they're less than two dollars.

Because who knows when I'll need a pattern for a halter dress from 1947?! Maybe tomorrow! Remember the red print dress I just made this fall? Rummage sale pattern! Ten cents. Booyah. And the pattern on the left--yep. Made that one too. It swings like a mad cat.

Still, I've got two desk drawers full of patterns, and they're hard to keep organized. Of course, I like looking through them so it's no hardship, but there must be a better way. Some sort of binder system? Patterns can be kind of thick, though, and it would be best if I could easily see the front and back of each envelope.

All six dozen of them. No--maybe it's more like fifty. Well...ok, I'm not sure. Less than a hundred.

I need help. Does anyone have any ideas? (Help with organizing patterns. Geez, you guys!)

into the realm of reupholstery

Well, we were going to use this fabric to slipcover this chair, but decided playing with a staple gun sounded much more fun. Look how awesome this turned out!

Action footage!

more dots!

We interrupt this sewing blog to bring you a tad bit of reupholstering mayhem.