New Butterick favorites?

Wow...it's been a while since I sat down to put my thoughts on screen.  How is everyone?  Me, I am getting along.  I just got back from visiting family last week, and I have been too bothered with other things to bother with my own blog.  It's sad, but true.  I usually give my blog priority, but other things have been creeping their way in.

Like Dancing with the Stars for instance.  And then my Tuesday meetings with a friend of mine for socializing and prayer.  Oh, and my Wednesday night couponing class (which will be ending soon).  This Thursday is also my son's spring program/art show, and Friday is bible study night.  Somewhere in all of this, I used to find time during my kids' naps to sew, but lately it has been housework, and more housework.

Are you feeling sorry for me yet??

Ok, I just wanted you all to know that I still treasure my blog, and my blog followers!!  And I am still dedicated to finishing my Tim Gunn sew along.  Maybe you can leave pieces of advice for me to get some inspiration flowing, and motivate me to get back to sewing.

In the meantime, the new Butterick summer patterns are out!  You can check them out here.  I'm just going to pick a few favorites, as I didn't really have that many this time around.

B5638

I really like this dress!  It is a basic sheath dress with princess seaming and an interesting neckline.  The pattern comes with a fabric tie belt, but I like the way the model used her own belt.  Also, Butterick is starting to introduce adjustable cup sizes to ensure a better fit.  Yay!

B5637

Ok, my favorites for this style is the dress located toward the upper right hand corner that is knee length, and the gray tunic top on the bottom right hand corner.  I like the shape of the bodice, and think it is a neat design element repeated in the dress and top.  The pink dress is cute too, however I must mention that I saw a dress just like it--in the toddler section as I was browsing dresses for my daughter!  Do I feel a mother-daughter dress combination coming on??  One day...Oh, and this is another adjustable cup size pattern!

B5644

And this little number is so cute!!  I love the little detail on one shoulder!

B5629

Of course you can't go wrong with infant apparel, right?  It has been so long since I made anything for my kids so I thought this was cute.

B5630

Here is another pattern for children that I found adorable.  I love the dress on the left!  The mix of prints blends well, and is a cute summer dress.

Well, that is all I found interesting with Butterick's new patterns, you may discover some other ones you like.

As far as my sewing plans go, I am still working on New Look 6034.  Maybe it's the thought of the whole outfit that makes me feel overwhelmed, or all the interfacing of the collar, but I am going to try sewing in manageable time slots for the rest of this week.

Also, coming later down the pipe, my bestie is having her first baby (a boy) in July and I am hosting her baby shower in June!  So...I really want to sew something special for her little man, but have not picked anything yet.  In order to have it done by June 4th I need to get on the ball!!  So look forward to seeing what I come up with.  I may be putting New Look 6034 aside if need be, but I'll let you know.

If you have any other advice to help me get back in sewing stride, please share!

Stay sew-filled!

Mccall's summer patterns!

Hello everyone!

I was so excited to see New Look patterns yesterday, so imagine my excitement when I went to Mccall's site and saw new Mccall's summer patterns up!!!  Okay, now most of you know by now that I am a pattern peruser, and am draw to the new collections whenever they come out.  With that said, with the kind of classic style I consider myself to possess, I am more drawn to Mccall's and New Look than a lot of the other pattern companies out there.  I do see things from pattern companies other than these two that strike my fancy, but Mccalls and New Look seem to capture the essence of my style more often than not.  So, that is the reason I was so pleased to see Mccall's patterns today!

Let me start by saying I immediately noticed this pattern:

Mccall's 6354

I think it is cute, and I like the top with the border print accent, as well as the dress.  But what intrigued me even further is that this pattern is from Make by Diana Rupp.  When I read that I kept racking my brain thinking, "Where do I know that name from?"  And then it came to me!  I know that name from my favorite sewing book ever, or should I say one of the first books I ever picked up when I started sewing:

I am not sure if any of you are familiar with this book, but I still think it is one of the best sewing-related books I have ever read!  I love Diana Rupp's writing style, it is very straight to the point, and easy to follow.  So, yes, I want to see more patterns from Ms. Diana Rupp!  There was only one on the website, but I hope she has more to come.

Moving on, what would it be like to sew one dress that you could wear mutiple ways?  Yes, Butterick introduced this version, and now Mccalls has their own:

Mccall's 6353

 The concept is the same, but the design varies in that Mccall's version is a halter top.  Both versions look easy to make, and though I usually don't like wearing things with a learning curve involved, a lot of the looks are promising.

Mccall's 6351

Now I really love the M6351!  The orange dress with the close-fitting bodice and trim outline is my favorite part of the dress.  Well, wait, no, the back is also my favorite!  It has a very summer feel.  The pink dress is also nice, especially the bow detail on the back.  However, I just don't like the pouf factor.

Mccall's 6352

Now M6352 is one that I find fascinating because of all the detailing on the skirt.  It looks like it is hard to do, especially the back, but this pattern is labeled "easy."  I want to try this one just to see what I would come up with!


As far as tops go, M6356 stuck out to me:

Mccall's 6356

I am a fan of the flower accent on the blue top (of course).

Mccall's 6359

I also like the variation of tops for M6359.  I particularly like the gray/black combo, and orange one in the middle.  The far right one is cute, I am just not sure about how the wings of fabric will look on my body type.  Honestly, sometimes all I want is a simple top with some appeal that I can sew as a wardrobe staple.  This is a good one for that.

So, in all, there are a lot of good summer patterns for Mccalls.  If you are interested in taking a look at their whole collection, see here.  Or, if you want to view their lookbook online, see here.

 

Stay sew-filled!

New Look summer patterns!

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter weekend!  I had a great weekend myself!  The hubby and I ended up watching Tyler Perry's newest movie, and it was funny.  Of course, Madea can make almost anyone laugh, so we both figured we would be doing a lot of laughing.  I do miss a lot of the heartfelt messages Tyler usually puts in his movies, though.  This one seemed to gloss over those issues, and focus more on humor.  But, in all, if you want to laugh and have a good time, this movie is a good one to watch.

Ok, now on to the good stuff.  I am on Facebook, and I "like" most all of the pattern companies.  So a few days ago I posted on the New Look wall, asking when we could expect to see the New Look summer patterns.  A day later they responded that the summer catalog had shipped.  I thought to myself "So when will I be able to check out the newest looks online?"  Well, today is the day!!

I checked out Simplicity's website, and all the new patterns were up!

Here are some of my faves:

This is such a pretty dress!  And this is also a new line in the New Look patterns.  I tried to find some information about these new "Workroom" patterns from Project Runway, but did not come up with anything.  This particular pattern has only two views, and I prefer A because it does not have a ruffle, though I do think the ruffle would look good, I'm just not a ruffle person.  I also like how View B's straps wrap around the neck.

I really like how this tunic flows, though I would definitely have to wear something this length with a pair of leggings underneath.  If you look at the dressform, the garment looks pretty bad, but I think it looks much better on the model!

 If you like basics for your wardrobe, this is a basic.  It's a mini dress (A) and tunic (B).  There is nothing special in the design here, but the fabric shines!

And yes, they have the NL Workroom for children also.  This one is adorable!  There are only slight variations to each view, but it is so cute!  I especially love the button detail on the front, because I am a sucker for button detailing on kid's clothing!

I thought this one was nice because you can mix and match the pattern pieces to create your own look.  I kind of do that anyway when I sew, if it's an easy adaptation such as removing the pockets or creating different sleeves, but I would be interested in buying something like this for harder-to-do variations.  Also, I like the maxi dress on here.  Since maxi dresses are starting to resurface, this looks like a good pattern to try.

When I do get back to sewing for my little one again, this is one I'd like to try!  I really like the addition of the star to the dress top and bottom for continuity, and it is just so darn cute!

This last one is a child's dress.  They always get me with the headbands!  I love cute little accessories like that!  My favorite part of this dress is the wrap bodice.  If you look at View C, you can even see a ruffle detail added.

Well, that wraps it up!  I really like New Look patterns and my overall feel for this summer collection is some hits and some misses.  You can view the rest of the collection here.  Let me know what you all think!

Stay sew-filled!

Quick Update

Well I finally dusted off my sewing machine last night and started sewing New Look 6034.  I worked on it for about 30 min. then decided I would put it away for another time.  It doesn't seem that complicated so far.  I'm a little nervous about the fit of the garment because it seems a little too roomy, but I will continue to adjust it as I sew.

Actually, I was going to sew all night tonight, kind of a Friday night sew-in, but my hubby surprised me and wants to go out on a date night!  YAY!  We are really trying to make those a priority.  We will be going to watch Tyler Perry's new Madea movie, but I am mostly looking forward to alone time with my honey!  Grandma will be watching the kids, and they are so excited about it, so it's a win-win situation.

In honor of Easter weekend, I would like to share a beautiful worship song with you that puts into words what this Sunday is truly about.  Please enjoy this video, and enjoy the holiday!  I will be back soon with my progress on New Look 6034.