Completed: Linen Dresses

And here we have four sweet linen dresses. The plain linen is headed for Etsy, the others all have homes already.

The smaller of the two blue dresses is for my niece’s first birthday in June. The larger is for her little friend, Olivia. Olivia’s house was broken a few weeks ago, and Olivia is having a hard time adapting to all the change she’s suddenly experiencing. This little dress is woefully inadequate to make her feel better, but we all enjoy presents when we’re down, so I hope this will help in some small way. Both dresses have matching bucket hats, which are not pictured. (broken = a drunk driver drove through their house going 60 mph – he was going 80 before slamming on the brakes. He drove literally through the house, front to back, in the front, stopped on the deck, also took out a chunk of the second floor.)

The dress in the middle picture is also for my niece’s birthday. I thought the fun crabs were an interesting statement, and I had just enough left over for a pair of matching bloomers.

And, as I said, the plain one is headed for Etsy. These dresses were so fun to make, I couldn’t stop at just three!

PS, I joined the Use What You Have craftalong at Craftster, and this project fits well within that craftalong. All made with stuff I already owned. (I actually kind of had this dress in mind when I bought the crab fabric, though.)

Favorite Craft Blogs

Here are a few of the craft blogs I have in my Bloglines.

SouleMama. I find her work to be very inspirational, perfect for a little crafty pick-me-up. I tend to be not so cutesy as many craft bloggers out there, and find SouleMama’s stuff to be just cute enough, without making me want to vomit. How’s that for an endorsement? “Does not make me want to vomit.” Seriously, though. Amanda uses a lot of linen, vintage fabrics, and repurposed fabric. Love it. And she’s an unschooler, what more could you want?

Old School Acres. A fellow Iowan, Laurie makes mostly stuffed items – adorable pigs, owls, etc. Though this not anything I will ever make or want in my own home, I love the look of her stuff, and enjoy her writing. She uses a lot of wool and tweedy stuff.

Angry Chicken. Another sewer who makes linen goodies for her children. I love it. I love seeing crafters who use a lot of natural fibers. She seems like one of those moms who would be super fun to know, and super fun to have as a mom.

Sew Retro. I’m supposed to be a member of this blog, but it’s beginning to get frustrating to ask repeatedly over and over to please send me an invite so I can actually post only to get no response. However, it is fun to have a theme to work towards, particularly since my vintage wardrobe was feeling a bit stale and consisted of entirely too many items that I simply cannot wear with a nursling. I enjoy seeing what others have created from past patterns, as well.

FutureGirl. Futuregirl makes plushies and crocheted handbags. Again, nothing I would ever do, but I so enjoy seeing her items. She is creative in a fun way. I was going to say “unique,” but that’s really the essence of creativity, isn’t it?

All Buttoned Up. Melissa, like so many of my favorite craft bloggers, sews mainly for her children and her home. Her stuff is so pretty in that coordinating prints way that I can never master. She’s also posted an awesome tutorial for making fabric boxes that I’ve bookmarked but not yet tried.

Updates to WIP bar, right

I’m removing all the projects I’ve completed. I’m also removing a few projects I have not completed. I decided the panel skirt that remains to be sewn is really for winter, and I’m going to hold off until fall to make that.

I have been trying to do some stash-busting recently and am spending this weekend cutting out projects so they’re all ready to sew when I have a minute or two. I’m also cutting for Etsy and Wallypop. Etsy projects will appear in very general terms in the sidebar, and Wallypop projects never appear.

Completed: 40s Pantsuit

I finished this last week, but have had a heckuva time getting pictures taken. I am so pleased with how this turned it, and will be wearing it to Jive Junction tonight.

OK, I swear I don’t normally have a double chin. And normally the pantsuit would be worn with not only vintage shoes but also a more appropriate shirt. Not a logo Tshirt. But the suit is awesome, eh?

The pattern says it is intended to adhere to WPB regulations. The jacket is unlined, the whole thing is very un-wasteful.

This is the pattern.

And this is why I love vintage patterns:

That’s the directions. Most notably, the parts about “make bound buttonholes as marked” or “attach collar and facings.” Seriously. No further direction. Just the assumption that you know how to do these things. My favorite part? “Step by Step, Simply Explained” at the top. Do you know that a similar pattern printed today would include at least four sheets of instructions?

Completed: Felted Bag

The bag is loosely based on this pattern. I made it with Brown Sheep Company chunky yarn (despite the fact that every felted project I’ve ever read about calls for worsted weight, it worked very nicely). Knitted on size 10.5 circular needles. I would have used bigger needles, but, well, I own 10.5 and I don’t have any money, so that’s what I used.

Once I got the felted bag all knitted, I must admit, had a moment of panic at the sheer size of the thing. But it felted up beautifully. As soon as I took it out of the washer, I realized that I had not knitted the handles, but those were pretty quick.

I spent some quality time with the sweater shaver after the bag and handles dried, as well. I think that took about as long as the knitting took!

I do think it’s a little out of perspective. It’s a little too long for its width. But I am still happy with it!

Homemade Playdough

Homemade Playdough, originally uploaded by sarahtar.

Wally and I made some playdough last week. He’s been loving it, and it was super easy to make. Flour, water, oil, cream of tartar, salt. That’s about it, I think…

Skirt Lust

So I’m wanting to branch out in my skirt making. I tend to use the same basic patterns – either store-bought or home-made – over and over and over. And I make very plain skirts. I don’t embellish, I don’t decorate. I sew the skirt together, and I’m done. But here are some skirts I like:

  

1. I like the border at the bottom of the green skirt.  2) I like the two pieces of the floral skirt.   3 and 4) are just cute.  5) looks comfortale – picture a jersey knit waistband with silk or cotton skirt.   All pictures from Anthropologie.

New Themes

Project Spectrum: April and May is Green, Yellow, and Pink

Sew Retro: April and May is a “Thank God Spring is Here” outfit.

Completed: Wally’s Suit

This is Wally’s corduroy suit. It’s for next winter – I actually sewed it now because I thought I might be kind of busy next fall, but as it turns out, I won’t be. But it’s done nonetheless. I didn’t hem the pants or sleeves – we’ll wait and do that when it’s closer to winter so we’re sure they’ll be a good length.

This is the pattern I used. I think I might make him another one for summer, it’s so cute. And it went together really quickly, actually. A few hours, maybe? The lining in the jacket clearly took the most time, and it wasn’t even that bad.

Completed: Panel Skirt #1

Brown corduroy on the sides, green suede with brown embroidery on front and back. It is a smidge tight on the hips – I think it looks OK, but it’s a bit immodest for my personal taste.

I will make the next one with slightly wider panels!