The finished dress

In desperation to finish the dress in time to wear it walking around downtown Spokane with my parents, I stayed up until midnight the night before our flight only to run out of thread right before the hem.

I took the dress anyway, borrowed my mom's sewing machine armed with more thread from Ben Franklin and finished the task. I didn't have the opportunity to wear it in Spokane, way to cold for something so summer.

I wore it to the gift opening after my sister's wedding. It was a hit! My mom and grandma said that they were very impressed with my zipper skills, what a huge compliment from my seamstress role models.

Here is a photo of the dress with my hubby and dog Regis. It was our 1st Anniversary on Sunday, we celebrated by staying in our p.j.'s until 2 p.m. when we get dressed up to take this photo, changed back into work clothes and both headed to work in the evening.



The craft of making...something bright

I got new yarn

We are in Portland visiting the city and checking it out as a potential new move. So far, we are in LOVE!

There are tons of sewing machine repair shops (compared to the ONE in DC) and plenty of yarn/fabric stores. Yesterday I picked up a skien of bright yellow and grey wool, not sure what I am making with it but the colors looked so cool together. I also picked up a couple remnants of some green/yellow floral cotton that I am going to make a shirt out of.

Is it bad that I want to move here just for the 'making' stores? Does anyone know of a job here to support my hobbies?

The Craft of Making...changes

Fruit Pie

I had a bunch of fruit that was about to go bad, so I made a pie. It is a strawberry-raspberry-blue berry-rhubarb pie. Pretty darn tasty, much better then it looks.



There isn't a recipe for such a concoction in the Betty Crooker, so I made it up. I used part of the recipe for a triple berry pie and part for the rhubarb. As you can see it didn't stand up, but that doesn't matter when you load it with ice cream. My tummy is happy and that is all that matters!

The Craft of Making...baked fruit treats

Step 8

There are a four bullet points under 'Step 8' in the pattern directions. It simply states sew the side panels to the front panel, serge and voila your done. Except it should read: this is the front of the dress, you are going to want it to look perfect, it has a curve for the bust which is tricky and you are going to re-do it several times and this step will take you all night. This is the pattern I am making. 





But it's done and it does look as perfect as I am going to get it. I am pretty sure a 4-H judge would notice the effort and bump the ribbon up just because of the bust. The zipper was a lot easier then the front and I had never sewn a zipper. I hope the rest of the patten goes a little quicker, I would like to wear the dress this weekend. I know I have a cap sleeve and a lining a head of me though.

Here is a close up of the fabric. It is by Michael Miller and I love it! I ordered it from an etsy shop, she even matched a coordinating fabric for me (pictures of that later).



I am off from work today, so I am spending it sipping on coffee and sewing. My idea of a perfect day!

The Craft of Making...timeless dresses.

Yoga Mat Bag

About a month ago, my husband and I planned to go to yoga the next morning when I realized that I did not have a proper zen-like bag to carry my mat. DC is pretty crazy with yoga there is a studio on every block it seems. Therefore many people are carrying this slick thin messenger style bags for their mats. I told myself, I can make that....and I did!

It was simple, I just used a tape measure and plotted out the pattern according to the size of my mat. It was just three pieces of fabric:

• A long thin rectangle that I sewed the hotdog side together to make a tube. I did line my bag with the same fabric. I finished the top with a fancy hem. 
• A circle slightly larger then then the rolled up base of the mat. Just like a shoulder, it took pining and darting to get this perfect. 
• Finally the strap. This took some adjusting, it is a basic strap but I didn't know how long to make it. I first pined it in place, wore it with the mat and made adjustments. 

I struggled with how to close the top. I thought of a draw string too late, so I went with a simple ribbon tacked in the back that can gather and tie the top shut. It works for me!

I am really happy with the way it turned out. I wish I had made a pocket on the inside for keys, etc. If I make a new one, that will be the first thing done! 

The Craft of Making...yoga bags

A Place For Everything

Well here it is, a place for my crafts. A place where I can link to projects I want to create, show others what I have created and ramble about my crafting dreams.

Tonight I was planning on laying out a pattern and getting the fabric cut so I could just sew tomorrow. However, I opened up my computer and three hours later I had created a new blog. Not that I needed another one, but maybe having this will motivate me to create more crafts.

I will post a few projects I have made the past couple weeks. Things are pretty busy around here, not that there is more to do just more on my mind I guess. I should stop thinking so much and just craft.

The Craft of Making...blogs!