The 'Back At It' Bag

Now, on to more complicated things.

Determined not to let my sewing skills be spent solely on patternless burp cloths - as fun as they are to make - I pulled out the mother of all UFOs.  But wait... can it be called a UFO if I've never even started it?

I've had all of the materials to make the Amy Butler Sophia Carry-all for maybe a year and a half now? Maybe even closer to two years?  One of the first things I ever made from a pattern was an Amy Butler bag and I always thought I'd make another.  I picked up this pattern so long ago and had gradually collected all of the materials for it.  However, I lacked the motivation to do it.  I was so frustrated by this that at some point I actually put everything on top of my sewing drawer caddy.  Thinking that would motivate me to complete it.  Yeah, I think it sat on top of that caddy collecting dust for a year.

So, on New Year's Eve, I decided that I was going to do something about it.  

As I began the project I was excited to see that it only had a few pattern pieces.  Then I realized I had to cut each piece a zillion times. I need the main fabric, the lining fabric, a fleece lining, AND interfacing. UGH!  The prep-work on projects is one of my least favorite things and half way through I almost thought about calling it quits and naming this 'the project that would never be.'  But I stuck through it. 

After a few hours I was actually able to start putting the pattern together and that's when I realized it was actually going to be fun.  The bag assembly was really straightforward and pretty neat.  The hardest part was lining up the pieces on the base to attach it - between the cording that was already attached and making sure everything was lined up and tucked away as it should be, I probably spent a good hour on that step.  But once it was done you were left with a complete bag. On the outside.  You then had to repeat almost everything for the inside lining.  But it wasn't so bad - there was no cording to deal with or handles to get in the way.

I only made minor changes to the pattern.  Having made an Amy Butler bag before, I thought the pockets would be way too big.  In my last bag, I would constantly lose things inside because the pockets took over half of the inner bag and would meld together.  With this bag, I decided to only do a pocket on one side and I stitched the pocket down the middle so it wouldn't just be a bottomless pit.  I could actually put a cell phone in there and find it again when I needed it.

Oh, and with my pattern cutting frustrations, there was of course a minor error.  I forgot that the exterior fabric had a pattern printed in one direction so I ended up cutting a piece out upside-down.  Instead of chucking it, I decided to just use it was lining.  That way I wasn't wasting any fabric and no one would know unless they peeked in my purse.  This left more of the lining fabric as scraps which would be an issue as I'm stash busting, but as we learned, I do enjoy making burp cloths and wash cloths.  So I'll be happy to use that scrap fabric for one of those projects instead.  Thrifty, eh?

Oops!

The Facts

Fabric: About 3 yards of fabric. I think they were both Michael Miller? I don't remember the price as I bought them so long ago.  Also interfacing and scrap flannel fabric. Oh and a piece of hard quilters plastic for the base of the bag.

Pattern: Amy Butler Sophia Carry All

Year: Contemporary

Notions: Zipper

Time to complete: 6 hours? The bulk of the time was spent cutting out the pieces.

First used: Haven't used it yet.  May use it as a diaper bag as it's large enough, or just a regular purse.

Total cost: Priceless? Just to be done with it!

So ultimately I got rid of a project that I've had for ages.  About three yards of fabric used up, Interfacing and notions put to good use.  I'm excited to have not only finally completed this project, but to continue on my path of stash-busting.  I have some more little projects coming up, and I need to pick up more terry type material to make more burp cloths and possible changing mats.  A lovely reader told me that 8 burp cloths would definitely not be enough and I only have the changing mats that have come with my diaper bags.  So I'm happy to go through some more of the tons of fabric that I have lying around.  Stay tuned!

Attention Bargain Shoppers

Attention bargain shoppers! While I don't normally do posts advertising sales, I frequently get asked how/where I get my patterns on sale.  Well, a perfect example is online retailer (and former local brick and mortar store) Bobbin's Nest.  During the month of May they are having a sale of 30% off everything in their inventory.  This includes fabric, yarn, and yes, independent designer patterns.  Of the sewing variety they have Colette, Amy Butler, Oliver + S and a few others, so if you've been holding off on purchasing some patterns, this could be the deal you're looking for.  I'm not affiliated with them or the sale in any way (aside from shopping there somewhat frequently), but just thought you might like a deal. Enjoy!

In other news, I'm headed to the city tonight for a sewing meet-up with a few lovely bloggers including, Karen from Did You Make That?, Amy from Sew Well, and Beth from Sunny Gal Studio, among others.  A special thanks to Amy for the heads up! I somehow completely missed Karen's original post but was excited to see this was going on at a time when I could attend. I hope to take lots of pictures and will let you know how it goes. I'm super excited!

The 'Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Rain Coat'

I've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I haven't been able to get much sewing done.  I always forget how crazy March is because of St. Patrick's Day.  Extra dance practices with the class and on my own suck up a lot of sewing time.  And work has been crazy busy too.  So I'm trying to keep afloat and get some 'me' time in with my sewing.  Oh, and did I mention one of our cars died?  And the hubby had to have surgery to have his tonsils removed? Buuusssyyy! Luckily the hubby dances too so we spent a lot of time together prepping for the shows.  They were a lot of fun, but as with every year - I'm glad they're over!

Hubby and I at one of our rainy shows.  Taken by my amazing friend Deb.

Now, onto my garment for the week.  Or last two weeks.  Because I've been so busy, this project took a while.  But it also was just a slow garment to sew and took a lot of concentration, so I tried to take my time.  But I was excited to do it and to have it done in time for Pantone week at Sew Weekly.  Luckily this week's theme was pushed out one week due to a impromptu green challenge (I know, I can't believe I sat out of that one, but I just didn't have time!).

A few years ago I worked in product development and thus lived and breathed Pantone.  I was constantly referring to Pantone guides for the household goods I would create, as it's the only way to ensure uniformity in products from multiple manufacturers.  I used to love going to the Chicago Housewares show and checking out Pantone's mega displays of colors and color trends.  Now, I've moved on from that life, but I instantly jumped on this week's Sew Weekly challenge.


Not only was the challenge timely to really use the Spring 2012 color trends, but my garment happened to be right on time too.  You see, I decided to make my second rain coat.  Because apparently working with oil cloth once just wasn't enough.  One of the first garments I made when I started sewing clothing in 2012 was a rain coat.  I used the Amy Butler Rainy Days pattern which is pretty straightforward. But what they don't tell you in sewing 101 (or maybe that do... I never really took sewing 101) is that oil cloth, while fairly easy to work with, definitely comes with it's challenges.  The two main ones:


1. The inability to use pins.  Any holes you make in oil cloth stay there.  So swap out the pins for alligator/binder clips.  When cutting your fabric, tape the pattern pieces with little bits of scotch tape.  It makes it so much easier!
2.  It's sticky. On your machine and metal that is.  So either stick some scotch tape on the bottom of your presser foot or use a plastic presser foot.  My new machine came with the latter so I was eager to try it out.
3. You can't iron your oilcloth... or it'll melt. So once you've sewed a bit, but back your seam allowances and finger press your seams.


Even knowing these two things though, the main thing with oil cloth is you can't be a speed demon.  Because it's tacky you have to slow it down a bit or it'll get lumps and bunches while you're sewing.  Or maybe that's just me?  But really, this project was done in slow motion.  Every time I worked on a bit in cotton you could hear me exclaim 'wooooohoooo!!' and then I'd repeat the process in the oil cloth and a groan would come out from the sewing room.  And gathering in oil cloth?  A whole 'nother story.

So, back to my garment and how it meets this week's requirements.  So I used the Prince Charming Dew Drops laminated cotton fabric from Fabric.com.  The fabric happens to have three of the Spring 2012 pantone colors in it: Sodalite Blue, Solar Power and Cockatoo.  The fabric itself looks more green online, but it is in-fact mostly blue, teals and yellow.

The Facts

Fabric: 3 yards Free Spirit Laminated Fabric $45, 3 yards Kona cotton in Canary $15
Pattern: Amy Butler's Rainy Days, 2nd time making $0
Year: Contemporary
Notions:  6 buttons $3
Time to Complete: Approx. 8 hours
First worn: All week!
Wear again: Oh yeah!
Total Price: $63

I omitted the pockets for now as I don't usually use them too much on my previous rain coat.  I did make them so I might add them at some point, but for now, I liked the solid panels of the rain drop fabric in the front.  Oh and this is one of the first times that I've really worked with a directional print.  That was a learning lesson in itself. Luckily I only had one minor mishap where I cut the under-sleeve panel upside down but I quickly realized that I needed to be more conscious when working with this fabric.


Finishing this project was so satisfying! I love rain coats - they're so convenient! Not having to panic if you forgot an umbrella, or if the weather is just iffy, you can wear it just in case.  And I love the rain drops print with the bright yellow inside. It makes me feel very festive for Winter/Spring.

What I Watched: 
More Scrubs! Finished Season 1, now onto Season 2

The 'California Winter' Tunic

The Facts

Fabric: 2 yards cotton print. This has been in my stash for ages and I honestly can't even think of when I purchased it or how much I paid for it. Oops!

Pattern: Amy Butler Anna Tunic ~$12 (on sale)

Year: 2010?

Notions: 4 green shank buttons $3

Time to Complete: 3 1/2 hours

First worn: February 2012

Wear again: Yes

Total Price: $15 and stash fabric

While I've named this tunic my 'California Winter' tunic, I don't necessarily think it will get much use this winter.  I just tend to do a lot of off-season sewing, especially when I'm stash busting.

While waiting for my fabric to come in for my next round of Sew Weekly sewing, I had some time to squeeze in a couple of non-challenge projects.  I was stumped.  I literally paced around my sewing room grabbing bolts of stash fabric and any patterns that I may have associated with them.  I resisted the urge to go out shopping for new projects... I seriously have so many that I could do just from my stash alone!  Though I have to say that I've made really good progress on my stash busting so far...

I finally settled on this garment because I knew it would be quick, and I have been avoiding making eye contact with this bolt whenever I saw it on my shelf.  I only had two yards of fabric, I already had the pattern - wham, bam, thank you maa'm, I can do this!

I love the buttons on the back of the tunic.  I was originally on the hunt for an orange button, but found these instead.  I'm a sucker for green so it wasn't too much of a sacrifice.  

So really, a fast project.  I'm glad I finally did it.  I think it's pretty cute and I don't really have anything like it in my closet.  The weather has been incredible in California, so it's tricking me into thinking I can start wearing Spring clothes already.

Have you started thinking about your Spring crafts yet?  

What I Watched:

Kicking and Screaming (2005)

What Dreams May Come (1998)

Fireworks Cami

These are more dandelions than fireworks, but since the radio won't stop playing the song, I instantly think I'm looking at fireworks when I see this blouse.

The front of the blouse. Oh, and I got a haircut. :)

I think this is the most well-constructed garment I've put together.  It was so fun to work with and though the thought of so many buttons was terrifying to me, in the end, I enjoyed putting them together. I think I'm almost ready for the Ceylon dress by Colette.

In regards to the buttons, I was going to do all black but my local shop only had 4 available.  I ended up alternating red and black buttons along the back. I like the whimsical feel of it and have received a lot of compliments about that aspect especially.

This was at the end of a long day of work so it's a bit wrinkled in back

A great project for a little over a yard of fabric.  I'll be making this one again in some additional fun prints in the future.  You can find my original, start post for this blouse, the Lotus Cami by Amy Butler, here.

Do you have any favorite, low-yardage patterns?

I leave you with some pictures of 'winter' in California.  I'm spoiled, I know.

Wallace playing in the backyard

My favorite flower

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays * Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * I Made This * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * Look What I Made * The Trendy Treehouse * Tatertots & Jello * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge Friday

Fabric distractions

While I've been waiting for the fabric to come in to begin the easier parts of my Spring palette wardrobe challenge, I'm wrapping up a few other projects I had lined up.  This includes:

1. The Marie Skirt: I'm happy to say that it is now complete! I just need to put together an outfit and take some pictures to show it off
2. Finishing up my knit cowl: So close! Maybe this weekend if I get some heavy tv watching in.
3. Busting through my stash!  This, my friends, is what I worked on tonight.

I had some extra fabric set aside that I had used as lining in my Rooibos dress.  I had just enough to reuse an Amy Butler pattern.  I had previously made the Lotus dress, but the pattern also came with the option to do a tunic and cami.  I had just enough fabric to whip together the Lotus cami.  I thought it would also be good practice in button construction as I will have quite a few to add in my Spring wardrobe.

The pattern has been flying along with the only hiccup coming in the installation of my last buttonhole.  Somehow I jammed my machine and am stuck seam ripping out the hole for the second time.  I don't mind (too much) as I still need to pick up buttons for the tunic, so I wasn't really in a hurry to finish it.

The buttonholes that didn't give me grief

I think I'll be able to pick up some buttons by the end of this week, and have this top all ready to wear after the weekend.  Additional good news: my fabrics have shipped! Fingers crossed that I get those before the weekend too, but I have enough projects to keep me busy if they don't.

Getting into the sew-ing of things

I may have mentioned this before, but I have a tendency to become hooked on a project or idea, throwing all others before that aside.  While it can be fun and I am able to try many creative things, it can get pricey and leave me left with a bunch of clutter of unfinished projects.  During the holiday rush, my sewing went this way as I frantically went back to needlecrafts for a lot of my gifts.  That being said, I’ve been resisting getting back into sewing.

I decided to start with something easy, but as soon as the machine started up, I was back in sewing mode.  I am putting together a new duvet cover and bedding set to replace our old, worn, Pottery Barn covers.  I was originally debating between doing a quilt, but decided that the duvet would be easier to maintain.  Since I’ve started, I think I’ll actually have enough leftover fabric to at least make a lap quilt.

I was originally going to work off of an Amy Butler pattern, but once I started working on the fabric, I just decided to go with my own design.  It’s coming together really fast, so hopefully I’ll have the finished product to share by the end of the week.

Kiss the cook

I have a thing for aprons... but that's another post.  In my hunt for cute apron patterns I came across the Sew Liberated Emmeline.  It's a reversible apron with a ruched top.  I love having options so having a double sided apron seemed to offer more bang for the buck.

This was another project that came together really fast.  It would be great to put together for a holiday gift.  I picked out two Amy Butler fabrics; one of which is actually the same one I used for the Frenchy bag.  I wanted to make sure that the fabrics I used had a corresponding color to tie everything together with the accent ties and top.

Amy Butler Frenchy Bag

This bag was a fun and easy accessory piece.  I used Amy Butler’s Frenchy Bag pattern and one of her floral prints for the exterior fabric.  The interior fabric was a coordinating green pattern that I found at my local fabric store.

I followed the pattern exactly for the shoulder sling length.  The only thing I would change would be the interior pockets.  They’re pretty large so once something goes in the bag, it’s pretty easy to get lost in there.

I love the snap closure and the bag is the perfect size.  I was able to complete it in one night with a few hours of sewing.

She wore an itsy bitsy, teenie weenie...

Well, it’s not a bikini, but it is a polka dot dress!  I was inspired by a dress on display at my local craft shop.  I loved the fabric and had actually intended it for another project, when I remembered that I had an Amy Butler dress that I’d been wanting to complete.  

The pattern was incredibly easy! It was so fast to put together, with the only problem I encountered being that I didn’t realize it was supposed to have lining.  Somehow I missed that part when purchasing the fabric, cutting the patterns, and reading the directions.  Luckily the fabric I used was a nice cotton that wasn’t too thin.  I had my heart set on completing the dress so I decided to omit the lining.  I think the seams would have been nicer with it, but the brown thread complemented the design.  

I’m also not a huge fan of fitted short sleeves so I tried it on without the bias edge... and really liked the look.  So I left them out.  

Overall I’m extremely pleased with this dress and pattern.  I can definitely see myself using the pattern again with some other fun combinations, or even in a solid.  I love the vintage, classic look of the dress.  

Lovely image of the trash can behind me.  Apparently it was too early to notice such details.  Oh, and it definitely needs to be pressed.

The finishing touch? A green flower pin that I've had sitting in my jewelry box for years.  I bring it out occasionally but I think it's found a new home on this dress.

Rainy days heat wave!

I have been determined to finish my Rainy Days coat this week and of course, a random heat wave hits the Bay Area.  Regardless, I finally decided how to proceed with my jacket and the plan of attack!  I was torn between buttons, a zipper, or just a tie closure.  I haven’t tackled buttons before and by the time I had started thinking about the closure, I realized I had already sealed the ‘button’ area and would have to do a bit of backtracking to put them in.  I like the ease of zippers, especially on a rainy day, so that route won the closure contest.

Pre-pocket.

Putting in the zipper was easy, but it was definitely the point where I needed to tape my presser foot.  The oil cloth was too sticky alone, but just a small piece of invisible tape on the presser foot worked wonders. 

I had also decided to do the pleated pocket. It comes with a top flap, but I actually liked the look without it.  I don’t know if it’s because that part of the pattern was hard to match up but I thought it looked fine without the top.  I did make it and put it to the side in case I decide that the functionality will be more important... I never really use pockets on my rain coats though I do like to have them.  I also made the sash but didn't think the coat needed it with the zipper.  Again, may change my mind, but for now decided to do with out.

So now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some rain.  Even a light drizzle would be nice; anything that would give me an excuse to go out in my new rain coat!