LAMQG 1st Annual Retreat

SO MUCH SNOW!
I had a total McGuyver moment, of which I might never cease bragging about, when I used the fireplace shovel to shovel the snow away from our door so we could get out of our room!
I don't really have words to describe how incredibly awesome and wonderful and incredible (etc) the weekend was. I managed to get all the machine sewing parts of my Robert Kaufman solids challenge quilt done, so now I just have to finish all the hand sewing bits....
I totally cant WAIT till next year. I just wish it could happen once a month. All the women were so wonderful and inspiring and talented and giving and just so great!
i came home full of warm fuzzies....

Never have I ever...

... Sewn leather before.
But here's my new handbag. Pretty cute, right? Key fob strap, cell phone pocket, and zip pocket in the inside, dark brown leather on the outside. I still have much leather left, so I might break out one of my older (solid metal) machines and see if they like multi-layered leather more than my bernina....

busy girl...

her dress matches her cellphone. of course. It's amazing how much fabric can influence the look of the dress... This dress is the same as THIS DRESS, but the pink one looks way vintage, and I think this one looks super modern, but still childish, which was the goal...
 

this is more fabric from Sew Modern... The bean is starting to ask for PINK everything, so I showed her this peacock print, and she got excited even though it's not pink. I like pink, but she can't JUST have pink. It was great to work with these bright colors. so fun!
 

it's mostly a vintage pattern, Simplicity 1530, but the yoke pieces were missing, and the sleeve was torn, so I had to draft most of it... and the directions were so faded I couldn't read them, so I just looked at a few of the pictures....
I'm pretty psyched about the finished product though....
(oh, and her pants are the sleeves from my old stained shirt!) 

sweet pants (that's not a typo)

Aren't these FUNKY?

they're not lightweight cotton, they're more like almost a canvas weave, but with this awesome frog print.... D saw the fabric at Sew Modern and asked for them, and I figure you can only wear frog pants for so long in your life, ya know?
 

obviously D needed pockets to store his toys, so I used some dark blue scrap twill to make some patch pockets... and then I used some red chambray to whip out a tester pair of pants in an 18m size
 

I think they look so sweet together, I can't wait to take pics of them ON my kiddos. (The Bean isn't an 18m, but she can wear them. she's a 12m waist and a 2t length, so nothing really fits her, which is why I sew)
(not that D's a standard size either. he's a size 8 chest, 10 shirt length, 5 waist, 7 hips, and 6 inseam. WHAT?)
 

Easy Peasey PLAY Pants!

Hey, GUESS WHAT!?!?!

(front view bove, back view below)
on Wednesday, March 2 (like, in a week and a half), from 6-8pm, I'm teaching a pants class at Sew Modern! 

I'm super excited, because pants for babys and little kids are REALLY easy and fast to sew up, and make great gifts for birthdays, etc, as well as being awesome for your own kiddos. My son refuses to wear store bought pants, because they are "itchy" (either from tags, velcro, or, who knows what, but he LOVES all the pants I made for him). These pants will be a great into to sewing for any intrepid seamstress, it's the perfect first project, and for the price of one pair of fancy boutique pants, you can learn to make personalized play pants for all the littles in your life (the techniques learned are also applicable to grown-up lounge pants)
 

call the store if you are interested in taking this fun and easy pants class, and feel free to let me know specific sizes you are interested in, as right now I'm drafting sizes to fit from Newborn all the way to 6, but I can go higher! (I'm also going to provide tips for adjusting the pattern to fit your kiddo's body type/diaper....)
I'm also MADLY in love with this helicopter print, and as soon as I finish making D the froggy pants he's requested, I'm totally buying some helicopter print. or maybe the coordinating car print. ACK, SO MANY AWESOME CHOICES!
 

Spring Dress for Little Chicks!

I'm so excited!
 
Lauren, the owner of the AWESOME new sewing lounge/fabric store, Sew Modern, has invited me to teach a class at her store!

I'm going to do an easy kids pants class on March 2, at night, and I'm also going to offer THIS DRESS as a class in April... 

It'll be a 2 Saturday-session class, and we timed it so your "little chick" can have a new dress in time for Easter/Passover/Spring...  

I've got it sized for little girls 18m-6years old... (that's the Bean in the sized 18m in the back. my kids love the toys and snacks at Sew Modern, and I love the fabric, so it's a love fest, truly.)
woohoo!
 

Happy Valentines Day!

Love is loving your children even when they won't eat the nuggets you made for them from scratch, and allowing them to remain unscathed when they tell you that store-bought ones are WAY BETTER.
We made chicken nuggets from scratch (complete with MASSIVE mess), I finished two more stitchalong motifs, and am almost done with the last one! Yay! Love all around!

Boy Valentines...

here's a sample of what I did for D's school valentines... He loved the saying on the front, so C typed that up, and figured out placement, and then I made D write the rawr! Darren on the back, and I scanned it in, and C again figured out placement, and then we printed them out, 2 to a page, onto pink or red carstock, and then I used an image C found to make a shape for my Silhouette to cut. this was basically the first time I've been thrilled with my silhouette, but now I'm super pumped to do more!
oh, and so, on the back, I taped down the lollipops D and I made (with sprinkle help from the Bean).
YAY!
(oops, I mean: RAWR!

Expedition Dress, tester

 
 
 
 
I'm squealing with delight over here, so thrilled with how this dress turned out.
I made it in a 3T, and used tester fabric, just to make sure all the pieces went together, etc, but then it came out so, so, SO well, that I kept going, and finished it, and added the embroidery, and I AM IN LOVE.
So, I'm starting on the 4T. SOOOOOO excited!

february block

 
 

ugh, I'm having photo publishing problems.
anyway, isn't this a GORGEOUS block? It's from Material Obsession 2, and here's a good tutorial....
unfortunately, it's for a Bee, so I don't get to keep it. i LOVE it.

eau de mer dress

So it turns out my husbands dream store (a local home brew/craft beer supply store) is on the block behind my favorite fabric store (Momen +, in Torrance) or, rather, my old fave, because now my fellow LAMQGer has her own store, Sew Modern, in LA by the Westside Pavilion, and it's AWESOME!...
anyway, so my hubs wanted to go to his store, so of COURSE we also had to go to Momen +, and C saw a cute little long-sleeved peasant dress, and told me he liked it. so I bought the fabric, (it's just a peasant dress, so I don't need a pattern), and whipped this little puppy out last night.
cute, huh?
 
the Bean really likes the kangaroo pocket, I think I need to do more of those. so easy.
 
 
 

it's a little long, but she's been falling and scraping her knees a lot lately (growth spurt?), so I wanted them covered for now...

my little leprechaun

It was boring bright green, so I thought I'd paint on a little rainbow, and then I potato-stamped on some clovers, but it came out looking more home-ec than silk-screened awesomeness, so.... it'll be perfect for playing in the backyard...

ps- is there such a thing as a female leprechaun, or are they all dudes?

another trader joes dress