March Recap and April plans

Hello everyone!

I hope your week is going well!  My kids were home on Spring Break last week, and I did not get as much done as I would liked, lol!  Sometimes the balance of life and family is hard.  I mean, one part of me wants to get a hundred sewing projects done, but another part wants to embrace the days with my kids that I know I will long for later.  

So, while I have a plentiful recap to share with you today, I am making this a "light" planning month because I have a project I am working on at the same time, and I don't think it will leave enough room to squeeze in other things.  I hope to share more about this soon...

Here are all of the garments I completed for March:

I still have to blog the Mccalls skirt, but here is a Sneak Peek as to how it turned out!

I must say that March was fairly productive for me.  I cannot attribute that to anything except being able to find small pockets of time to sew.  My son remarked that I am sewing things more quickly, and he was proud of the quality of my work.  To be honest, I hadn't even thought of that.  I do think I have been working on things that don't require me to second guess the pattern instructions, but I have also enjoyed making patterns that have a video sew along.  Sometimes I just pop on a video because I am too lazy to open up the instructions and actually read them (long days, busy life, tired mind, lol).  But, hey, it has been working!

Out of all the garments I made, I have worn the Mimi G tops the most.  The weather here has still been so unpredictable that I haven't gotten a chance to wear my dresses, but I will! We are finally experiencing temps in the 70s, and I fully plan to enjoy the weather. I think that overall, the Mccalls skirt is my favorite.  It has been so long since I made or even wore a skirt, lol!  To make one that fits so well--who misses RTW???  Not me!

This month I will probably forgo sewing a pattern of my choice.  However, I do plan on attending Project Sew Atlanta this weekend, and if I can get the pieces cut out, I will work on this.  If not, I have a few cardigan patterns already cut out and ready to sew, and I will take those along instead.  I guess you will have to stay tuned to see what I end up doing, lol.

This month the Sew Your View sew along is an Indie choice--the Erin Dress by Style Sew Me. This will be my first time sewing one of her patterns.

I will definitely make the dress version, and I am nervous!!!  It is such a stylish pattern, but not my style, and I am not sure if I will pull off the "look."  But then again, this is the place where creativity reigns!  I do LOVE the ties at the hem...LOVE!  I am working on making this my own, and must say that Crystal's version (@Crystalsewsandstuff) is awesome!!!!  I only hope to make a version as fabulous as hers!

While on Spring break last week I did get a chance to look at my quarterly goals.  This is something new I wanted to do this year to help me stay on track for the year.  Well, I put together a small graph to represent what my January, February, and March looked like:

I made a total of 10 pieces!  That means I am 4 garments past my goal of 2 garments a month.  I am excited to see that, but more than anything, I do believe I have learned so many wonderful things this year already.  

For starters, I am starting to like wovens.  While I lean toward jersey and knit fabric, the world of wovens is really opening up to me.  I love the opportunity to finish off seams beautifully, and the construction details are really nice a lot of times.  I still am apprehensive about fitting wovens, but I usually try on what I am sewing A LOT.  That seems to help a great deal.  So, yeah...wovens!!! Who knew?

Also, the variety of things I am sewing is changing.  I tend to lean heavy on tops and dresses, but as you can see, I got a vest and jacket in there!  For the second quarter, I plan to throw in some pants/shorts/capris in order to add to this mixture.

Overall, I am happy about where I am headed this year!  Everything has assimilated well into my current wardrobe, and I have made pieces I will wear again and again.

I hope your Spring sewing is coming along well, and you are off to a great start too!  I will be back soon with a review of Mccalls 7906.

Stay sew filled!

Pattern Pickups from Joanns

Hello everyone!

By the time you are reading this, it will be April!    I have been squeaking in some last minute sewing for the Sew Your View Mccalls 7960 skirt (I'm late I know) and want to get that done before I move into housekeeping items. After that, I plan on posting a recap with all of my finished projects soon.

For today, I wanted to show you some patterns I picked up at Joann's last pattern sale!!  They had Simplicity for 1.99 and Burda for 2.49, though I think there is also a current sale on Butterick if you are interested.

I usually pay attention to sales on Burda patterns because they do not make it into the circular too often.  I have a love-hate relationship with the pattern instructions, but I am always drawn to their styles so that seems to override my hesitations, lol! 

For the first Burda pattern I had to go to two different stores to find it!  I am not sure if that means it will be popular, or that the first store just didn't have much stock for Burda.  Nevertheless, when I saw this pattern mentioned on the Curvy Sewing Collection a few months ago, I knew this would be a purchase for me:

I love both variations of this top! !  I am always trying to find an interesting play on a basic top, and I would definitely make a ton of these to beef up my spring/summer wardrobe!  Also, I love the cross ties at the neckline of the top on the right.  

My second Burda pattern is the result of a conversation with my husband on the way to Joanns.  I was talking to him about a cargo style pants that I wanted to sew, and asked him what he thought about this pattern:

Yep! He loved it!!  His favorite is version B, which are pants that convert to shorts by the addition of a zipper.  He said it just looked neat, and had a lot of great details.  So, sometime this summer I would love to make us coordinating pants.  The funny thing is, while I need a full butt adjustment...my husband needs a flat butt adjustment, lol!!  I am eager to see how well I could get a pair of pants to fit for him.  

When it comes to Simplicity patterns, I usually end up with a LONG list of faves.  I am learning to cull my choices to ones I will really use, and work with what I have.  So, my first choice was a NECESSARY ONE:

Yes Mimi G!  This jacket is everything to me!  I think I have mentioned it on the blog before, but I cannot wait to sew this one this year!

My next choice just looks like a lot of fun:

The neckline is so pretty, and I love the detailing of the different views.  The sleeveless version is probably my favorite, but I also like the view pictured on the model.  

Lastly, there is one that got away...

I only "wish" I would have gotten this one, so I will have to wait for the next pattern sale, or other versions to pop up online:

These pants had me at the pockets!! I think I ended up leaving it because it reminded me of an out-of-print Simplicity pattern in my stash that was not a pull-on version.  I was trying to be good and make up the other pattern first, but I may end up buying this one too.

Well, there goes my latest pattern haul!  If you got a chance to catch the sale, I would love to know which patterns you chose, or even ones on your radar.  

Stay sew-filled!