Mom & Daughter Sew Camp Project 1 Reveal

Hello everyone!!

My one-on-one sewing camp with my daughter has started out well!  In my last post I showed you the patterns we were sewing, but the view was still a secret.  For an element of fun, I chose my daughter's version, and she chose mine.  So today I am showing you our skirts!

For my daughter, I chose the longer View D with a handkerchief hem:

As you can see, she loved the coral cotton knit with the quatrefoil pattern.  I chose this one because it fits my daughter's personality so well! She's lively, spunky, and full of surprises at every turn.  She laughs hard, and is lovely to be around.  I figured she needed a skirt that represented her vibrancy, and this one does!

To my surprise, my daughter chose a similar style for me!  Simplicity 1201 View C may be a different pattern company, but the pattern pieces and sewing process are the SAME.  My daughter says she chose this skirt because she liked the shape of it.  I found this poly knit in Walmart, of all places!  The colors are so beautful I knew it would make a great skirt.  Even though this style isn't my usual choice,  I do LOVE this skirt.  It sort of reminds me of my baby shower dress I wore a few years ago.  The hemline is the same, and I remember thinking it worked out well and looked like nothing else in my wardrobe already:

Ok, I guess my memory is a little fuzzy...I thought the hemlines were exact, but I see that they both had an asymmetrical vibe going on that I really liked.

Anyhow, back to these skirts.  Since they are so similar, I will review them together.  Though we started our skirts at the same time, I was able to jump ahead and finish mine in one sewing session.  Yes, it's THAT EASY!  If you are a beginner, this skirt is PERFECT.

I am totally ME MADE! Top is NL6735 in a rayon knit

There are only 2 pattern pieces to work with--skirt front/back, and waistband.  The only part that took a bit of time was hemming the skirt.  And that was because you are hemming a rectangle with long sides. Other than that, I felt pretty confident that I didn't need the instructions to help my daughter with her version:

She looked so cute while cutting out her skirt.  She was super attentive, and only vaguely listened to what I was telling her about grainlines and sewing terminology, lol!  She has already sewn quite a few pillows--on machine and by hand.  So it was neat to see how excited she was to create something she would actually wear!

We broke up our sewing sessions into manageable parts so she (and me) would not be overwhelmed, and that worked out well.  For sizing, I made a 16.  I took about 1/4" out of the side seams, but her skirt is a size 7 with no alterations necessary (ah, the days).

Now I am sure you are curious how much of this skirt my daughter sewed.  I would say 95%.  I wanted her to do everything so she could practice different techniques as I guided her.  I did have to help with little things here and there, but she sewed it all with the speed of the sewing machine turned way down.  I am proud of her!!

For our next sewing project, we will be twirling our way into the world of leggings.

I picked this pattern up at Hobby Lobby last week during their 99 cents Simplicity sale.  I mean, what little girl doesn't love to wear leggings?  My daughter has LOADS of them, and I really like a lot of the variations included for this pattern.   

For myself, I will be making S8212.  I have had these in my stash FOREVER.  I picked them up when they were floating around the blogosphere, but never got to them.  I am leaning toward the Mid Rise Capri version (shown in blue on the upper right corner), but haven't totally decided yet.  I love the wide band on these!!!

I look forward to coming back and sharing more with you soon!

Stay sew-filled!

Mommy/Daughter Sew Camp

Hello everyone!

We are almost halfway through June, and our summer has been in full swing!  I get to see these lovely faces every day, and my heart is glad:

My youngest son has been elated to have his brother and sister home each and every day, and has "turned up" to another level of busyness, lol!  It is a lot to manage each day, but I wouldn't have it any other way because I know summer vacation isn't long enough.

So a couple of weeks ago, I got a mailer from Joanns sent to me.  It was super cute, as always, with projects, sales, and coupons inside.  I browsed it, and smiled, thinking I would take the flyer with me the next time I headed to the store.  And then I saw the blurb about their sewing camp for kids.  It immediately caught my attention because there were all of these adorable projects, as well as a list of skills that your child would learn by attending.  I knew my daughter would love to go, but I caught myself saying these words aloud "This would be great, but why would I pay for something I could do myself?"

The wheels began turning, and a few days later, I came up with a perfectly comparable sew camp for my daughter--from our home!  We are going to take about six weeks, do a few projects, and have some one-on-one time together.  My daughter loves fashion and design, so this will be a great place to continue where she last left off with sewing.

Anyhow, we ended up going to Joanns to pick up some patterns and happened upon another mother and daughter duo while perusing the sewing catalogs.  We began some light conversation, and it turned out that this mom and daughter were doing the same exact thing for their summer!!!  Apparently, great sewing minds tend to think alike. This mom had been sewing for a while, learned through Youtube, and wanted to pass along things she had learned to her teen daughter, who had just finished sewing scrunchies.  You all, I love sewists! So here we were in Joanns, sharing our excitement and passion for this wonderful craft of sewing, and the ability to impact the next generation. For every person that thinks sewing is dying out, I have a story that sewing is very much alive!

So, for the first project, we are working on skirts.  Here are the chosen patterns:

M7345 has lots of cute versions!  To add an element of fun, we decided that she will choose my skirt, and I will choose hers.  So, you will have to see the reveal to find out which skirt I thought would be perfect for her.  They are all so cute I had a hard time choosing.

Here is the pattern she picked out for me (from my stash):

Again, I am not spilling the beans on the one she chose for me, but you can always guess!!!

I pulled some fabric from my stash to go with the patterns we picked out:

This could go either way!  Both fabrics are vibrant and colorful!  The one on the left is a cotton spandex while the one on the right is a poly knit.  Let the summer fun begin!

As an aside, if you have been keeping up with me on Instagram, you already know that I started my S8056 denim shorts.  I have them mostly assembled, and am in the process of fitting them now.  Whew!  Everytime I get to fitting, the real work begins!

This was just before I basted the side seams to begin the work of fitting them.  I pulled out some topstitching thread and used it for the first time.  I REALLY like the way the results came out!  I usually use regular thread to topstitch, but the topstitching thread looked much more professional.  I can't wait to add more colors to my collection.  Oh, and next time I will match the garment so I can get a little better at this skill first, lol! It still looks good, though.

Here is the installed fly zipper!  This is only my second time doing this.  Years ago I made a pair of pants for my son where I installed a fly zipper, and I THINK I did it right.  This time I know I did it right! I have been using a sewalong class on Creativebug to help me construct these shorts, and I don't know how on earth I would have completed this part without some hand-holding.  I HIGHLY recommend this class (or any class) with instructor Deborah Kreiling.

Here is a look at the shorts on me.  I always seem to have the same front issue--too much fabric!  Particularly around the inner leg seam, though I can't remove too much or it becomes too tight for my hip and thighs.

You can see the gaping in the center back.  I decided to remove 1", and that part fits nicely now:

I am definitely impressed at this Amazing Fit pattern.  According to the process they walk you through in determining your size, it fits pretty good.  I just need a few more tweaks and then I can finish these.  I will be using a RTW pair of shorts as a guide for those tweaks.  The denim I used has little to no stretch in it, so I am keeping that in mind also.  I hope to finish these shorts soon.

I hope your summer is going WELL!  

Stay sew-filled!

Me Made May Day 28-31 and June Plans

Hello everyone!

Welcome to June!

Before I get into my plans for this month, I wanted to re-cap the final days of Me Made May:

Day 28 started out with a re-occurring theme for these last couple of days (you will see exactly what I mean).  This is the Seamwork Aurora tank I made last summer, and decided to accent with a bit of lace.  It is made of a rayon jersey, and continues to wash and wear beautifully!  I was concerned that the lace might start to come apart, but it still looks as good as when I first made it.

Day 29 was awesome because I got to celebrate my daughter's 9th birthday!  My only daughter is the one who brings our family delight! She is always looking to brighten someone's day with a poem, song, or word of encouragement.  I love her sense of humor, and only God knows the good plans He has for her life.

I wore the  NL6735 top and my new red Jalie cocoon cardigan on her special day.  In wearing the cardigan, I realized just how much I loved having a topper that adds a pop of color.  Much like my beloved kimonos, it just adds the right amount of "umph" to what you have on.  I don't think I will get much wear out of it, since our weather here is growing increasingly warmer, but even so, they will make great transition pieces once Fall comes around again.

Day 30 was the return of the Aurora tank top.  This time I used some leftover scraps from a gorgeous knit I bought from Girl Charlee.  I rarely make multiple pieces from one cut of fabric, but I absolutely love how this turned out!  And I will definitely wear this again, and again!

Day 31, the final day, finished with another version of the Aurora tank top.  This time I used a generous 3 yard cut of fabric from Fine Fabrics, and some contrasting white ponte knit for the yoke.  In fact, you may see this fabric again too!

Overall, I had such a blast with my first year of Me Made May!!! Thank you for all your encouraging comments and supportive words on my blog and Instagram.  I admit I was initially nervous to post daily IG posts and really put myself out there in that way.  However, the love and support I have received has been amazing.  From here, I look forward to learning and growing in the craft of sewing.

That brings me to the plans I have for June!!!!!

Though I am a little exhausted from the madness of Me Made May, and the start of my kids' summer vacation, I still plan to get some sewing time in for June.  I usually drop off the sewing grid for the summer months, but since my youngest has started to have a more steady day/nighttime routine, I am hoping that will mean this summer will be different.

So here are some of the things I have planned:

Finish two items from my Spring sewing list...

Closet Case Kalle Tunic
Closet Case Ginger Jeans

Some possible "wild cards" that I would love to sew are...

Simplicity 8056 Denim Shorts

I have these cut out already! I only hope they fit when I sew them, lol! 

Seamwork Amber Dress

I have the pattern assembled for this peasant-style dress, and even chose a fabric for it. Since the fabric is lightweight, I will also have to line it.  It has been a while since I have done a lining, so I am hesitating a bit.  I remember it wasn't hard to do once I jumped in, so maybe I can find the motivation to get started.

Stay sew-filled!