Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Newlook 6525 PJ's for Sam

So I bought the material and the pattern for this PJ when Tyler was born and never did it. The material is a cute dark blue pattern with footballs on it. Now I am adventurous to actually do it!

I have chosen pattern "A" to try first. I am not doing it in a fleece but in a cotton. 


Today I cut out my pattern, ironed the material and the pattern and laid it out and pinned it in place. Tomorrow I will double check my work before cutting, and cut it out. Maybe I will start to sew tomorrow.

Day 2

I cut out all the pieces and transfered my markings to them

Day 3

I assembled the pieces and started to sew. I am on step 2 and confused. I am not sure I put the pieces together properly. Ughhhh....

I think I did it wrong. I am not sure how the pieces fit together. I may have to abandon this project as it may be too advanced for me at this time. 

Ok, deap breath. I think piece #3 was placed just above the fold line and it should not have been cut on the fold line directly, leaving me with 2 mirrored pieces and not just one. The diagram is so confusing that I will call New Look tomorrow.

November 10th

I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!! I added the non slip grippers for his feet and lined it with the same material as the PJ's. I used the Large so I will try it on Sam after Breakfast and see if it is too big. If it is I will make the next in Medium.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

What happened to my favorite pastime?

Ok, so we L-O-V-E camping. We did not go last year as I was SUPER pregnant with major complications. We went this year for the 1st time. My Mom, the SUPERMOM, took the boys for 24 hours so we could set up and enjoy a night of camping alone.
So, here is how it started:
-Simon's car battery died, had to buy boosters
-We get there, starts to thunder. Severe and extreme thunderstorms
-I get the Gastro, standing in said thunderstorms sick as a dog
-The 2nd night I take baby and sleep at mom's, too sick
-3rd night we go back home as Simon now has the gastro
-We are booked until Sunday, we are heading back...Maybe.
Ssam has yet to sleep in a tent :(
-Oh, did I forget to mention the water in Oka is contaminated? There is a boil water advisory. Ugh...

What happened?????

So, besides the nasty stuff.. When it is not raining it is nice and cool, great camping weather, we saw deer walking in the parking lot and Simon had a fire.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

McCalls 5825 Apron sewing project

So I started today to sew McCalls's 5825 Apron, D.

I first washed and dried my fabric. I chose a 100% pink and white polka dot fabric. Good thing I washed it first as it dried all funny. It took a long time for me to line up the fabric properly! This is my first solo project, so I want to go slowly and do it properly!
There are some pieces that need to be cut twice. What I did was I traced the pattern onto paper and cut out a second piece. I did not feel confident that I could line up the pieces properly on my fabric otherwise. All the pieces were FINALLY lined up properly with the grain and pinned in place. Then.... I CUT!
That concludes my day 1 project.

Day 2

Bias tape is not easy! I had to Google videos of how to install bias tape. I will head out to Fabricville at noon to buy wider bias tape. That might make it easier to work with. One video says that I should iron it to stay in place on the curves. I hope it works.
I SWORE on my first attempt! I was pretty discouraged as this was step one on my instructions. The videos make it look so easy to install the tape, but my fingers don't work as well. We will see if wider tape is easier to work with for newbies! Wish me luck!

So I went to Fabricville and bought extra wide double bias tape. I had regular double bias tape and the pattern calls for wide. No wonder I had trouble. I chose extra wide because I was having trouble manipulating the regular size tape and extra wide would ensure I could sew it on!
I watched a YouTube video that showed how to install the bias tape. This made it easier to understand what I was doing and why. You can check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUVCeYBUQ64.
I was able to do the 2 pockets in under 30 minutes (I think, I was not looking at the time). 
 The pockets are not EXCELLENT, but hey, it's my first attempt. The only problem is I looked at my pattern and I need more bias tape. The tape has to go all the way around my apron. OOPS. Looks like another trip to Fabricville is needed.

Once I figured out how to use the bias tape, ZOOM! I finished my apron today. I had a bit of trouble with the bias tape on the top. I figured it out and the next time I use bias I will do a much better job. The tie strings were WAY too long for me. I had used size Medium for the pattern and chose SMALL for the tie strings around my neck. I had to make a second hole even smaller. I am only 5'2 so all my clothes are made petite.
I used the button hole maker on my sewing machine for the first time. I tried it out on a scrap piece first. It was super easy! Here is a picture of my finished apron. Don't mind the circles under my eyes as Sam has been waking up in the middle of the night from teething and it is 10:30 pm!

Sewing project


I just finished my first sewing class at Fabricville. I made 2 skirts. I am very proud of myself for finishing not one but 2 skirts. The first one was during the class, and the second one I made the same skirt on my own at home!
We used pattern Simplicity 2286. I chose view B, with pockets. I made it from cotton. This was part of a 3 week, 6 class sewing course.