Pretty PJ Pants

Hey, you can never have too many PJ's, right?

And since I already have the KA pattern (see linen pants in previous post) fitted & the construction is so simple...I whipped out a new pair from a soft cotton batiste (pale mint with hot pink dots) to take on my trip. Leaving tomorrow to take 20 students to Little Rock. (Need snazzy jammies just in case I'm doing recon in the hotel hallways in the middle of the night.)

Minor changes to the original pattern...I used lingerie elastic in the waistband instead of a drawstring. I also eliminated the hem by substituting a wide lace trim. First I lay the lace at the bottom of the pant leg and zigzag in place at the top of the lace. I used a fairly wide (4.0) zigzag. You can see I didn't use pins, but feel free to pin it in place for more stability!


When I got all the way around the leg, I overlapped the (folding the cut edge under) and finished the zigzag:


and turned and stitched down the fold to the bottom:


Then I trimmed the fabric from behind the lace. Not too close, since this will be a raw edge (it's just jammies after all). I used pinkers.


You can also turn back your raw fabric edge & press (onto the zigzag) and then re-stitch to reinforce the seam. I use this method when doing heirloom lace application and I've never had lace come apart at a seam!

Voila! New jammies:


Closeup of pretty hem:


I'm in a panic about Easter. I don't know where my head has been, but I've been thinking I have 2 or 3 weeks. NOPE. It's less than 2 weeks away and I haven't even started on Lu's dress. Not to mention I don't have a thing to wear either. Phooey.

I'll be back Saturday (very late). Hopefully I'll whip out something else wonderful Sunday when I get home.

Now Go! Make a new pair of PJ's!

a.

Joy Nash Revolution

Back from trip to Little Rock. One more this weekend and I'm finito on the trips until the BIG ONE in June (aka the place where Mickey lives. Which reminds me...Hey Debbie! I'm staying in St. Pete's for 3 nights at the Don Cesar. You need to come lay on the beach with me :D )

Now for the Revolution
This video has been posted a ton of times...but its good enough to bear repeating!

If you've suffered from low self-esteem from ANY angle (fat/thin/short/tall/AA/DD/etc)...you gotta hear Joy's take on being "fat". She is beautiful, she is outspoken, and she is my hero.


Fat Rant Video

More soon...working on a wrap dress. You know, for a "fat" girl ;)

a.

All together now...

Finished top & pant combo:


Obviously I need a tank under it, which I don't have in the right color. Dang. And I'm leaving in the morning at 9:30 a.m. to go to Little Rock for 3 days, so I better get busy if I'm gonna make one. Otherwise, white tank it will be.

The top was a booger when it came to the elastic insertion at the waist. I ended up forgoing the instructions (who, me?) and just applying the elastic to the waist seam a'la a waistband. (i.e. divide in 1/4's then pin to side seams and front/back. Stretch to fit & zigzag on.) Then I flipped the elastic/seam combo down and topstitched it (from the wrong side. Is that still technically topstitching?)

I'll do a review at PR tonight while its fresh on my mind, but I definitely will make another of these tops! It's pretty cute, in a slouchy, I'm gonna be in a car all day but still need to look semi-presentable when I arrive kind of way.

More later so stay tuned...

Spring Break!

I heart spring break. (Girls Gone Wild behavior notwithstanding.)

So far I altered this pattern for a FBA and cut it out of dk brown crinkle gauze (to go with capri's below, in the shirred shoulder view)...


and made these capri's


I haven't threaded the elastic/drawstring combo in the waist yet. You might notice they're about 2 inches too long for capri's!! I added to the length of this pattern because I have a pair with the leg drawstrings (that I love) but they're about 2 inches shorter than I'd like... and my calves just aren't what they used to be. :P I don't have a clue where I went wrong...but it must have been some sort of error on my part on the original drawstring pair because these definitely DON'T need added length!!! Argh. Now I have to cut them off and try to hem them even. And, as I mentioned to my sewing buddy Shannon, the print will make my a$$ look a mile wide, but I'm not really caring at this point :D They have a comfy pajama pant feel to them, and I'm loving them.

Note the hideous fabric mess in my corner cabinet, LOL. Lu has been searching for JUST THE RIGHT FABRIC for her next outfit. She does pretty good, but I always have veto power (as a good Queen always should). I keep my quilting cottons in this cabinet that once sat in the corner of my grandparents' home and was filled with linens and their medicine. It fell to me after they died, as did a few other pretty pieces, and I store my fabric in it because it has all those "windows". It makes me happy to see it all neatly (usually, that is) lined up by color.

You're right at the end of my sewing area here too. I'll be painting the paneled walls (old house) this summer, a pale grey/aqua color, with white trim. I can't wait! I'm hoping to save up enough to replace my sewing cabinet/furniture too...just plain white pressboard stuff is fine with me. I actually think office furniture might work just as well as sewing furniture. I just want a nice clear sewing space. I hate my sewing cabinet, although I can't really complain about it since my parents bought it for me for Christmas. It obviously wasn't designed by someone who actually sews, because there's this shelf that hits me right at shin-level under the cabinet (for storing your machine when it's closed up). Only problem is , it actually HITS MY SHIN every time I sit down to sew.

Consequently, my 'nina is currently sitting on the kitchen table, preventing the type of homey, conversation garnering family dinners that Stouffer's is so anxious for all of us to have. You know, so we can video tape it and win a trip to Disney.

I'm lucky in that I have half of a huge room I can dedicate to my sewing "crap" (as the kids so lovingly call it). So I want it to be pretty. I'm looking for artwork and stuff now. Er, I WAS. Until yesterday when I went to check the price of this fabulous stretched canvas print at Hobby Lobby and broke a plate. (Which they didn't make me pay for.) And then walked right into a shelf and knocked off 2 candleholders. At which point, they were looking worriedly at my kids like I was probably a drunk, and who has their cellphone so we can call DHS RIGHT AWAY. The kids & I hightailed it outta there pronto.

Did I mention I love Spring Break?

Ciao!
a.

p.s. Hotpatterns has a line of new easy to sew patterns. With diagrams and detailed instructions. FOR A TUBE TOP. I swear. I can't make this stuff up.

Sunday, Sunday

Ok, this is a tad late, but only because we started softball last night and the time change has me all whacked! Lu & I had a Girl's Day Out on Sunday.

First we had lunch and then shopped for these:

All cute stash fillers, but we're really waiting for the Simplicity sale this weekend at Hancocks!

Next we saw this:
It was SO cute! I can't wait for the dvd to come out. Great, great family movie.
Next we trekked over to Barnes & Noble and picked up these:


(I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan, even though I've never read the Princess Diaries. I even bought one of her "grown up" books...)
and Lu got this (she's a budding gumshoe after her own mama's heart)


and then we perused the magazine section and got this:


which turned out to be a most excellent sewing beginner primer! I hope they have more projects in future issues for those of us "in the know" already, because the format, layout, and writing is just great!

For the ride home from our extra exciting day out, we had one of these... (decaf Creme for Lu)

It was a really great day.

Little Peeks

Created a birthday outfit for a special little girl customer...will be listing it soon as a custom ! It is SO cute. (Can I say that about my own stuff. Oh yea, it's my blog. Of course I can!)


Can't wait to do some fun stuff this weekend. I'm going to get out my linen and other capri-ish fabrics and see if I can whip out a few things this weekend. I'm probably being optimistic, aren't I? Well, we'll see if I can whip out ONE thing.

I'll post pics of the adventure ASAP! Have a great weekend!!

And the party continues...

Why, thanks to all my blogworld friends for the blog birthday shoutouts! And a Hullo to the Lurker-Lu's who are too bashful to post, too.

Crazy, goofy teenagers. Can I just say? Do they EVER think before they open their mouths? Today one asked me if I'd hurry up and get remarried so he could attend my wedding. Oh, ok, I'll get right on that one!?

On a much more serious note, my thoughts & prayers go out to the families of the 6 men from the 82nd Airborne who were killed this week by a roadside bomb. My brother was also a paratrooper in the 82nd until last year, and you know, it all comes down to "there but for the grace of God"...


God bless all of those who are fighting the fight they did not start, perhaps did not want, and wish would end.

a.

Happy Birthday to My Blog

It's really kind of odd that to me that I've been blogging for a year?! How time flies when you're having fun, I guess!

Spring break is coming. Hopefully at that point I'll have something interesting to post...because right now I'm seriously without charm & humor. My apologies.

But happy birthday to me wee little blog, anyway.

In the spirit of the occasiona, here's a printable pink party hat. Then, because a plain pink hat will never do, bling it up with feathers & fluff. Wear in glee & celebration.