Stash Game sewing

Look at me being all productive and stuff! I have sewn 3 days in a row, maybe 4, but I can't think back to last Friday.....

Anyway, I have been sewing in colors, some in brown, gray and now I am on to black. Next will be purple. In the brown category I made myself a shirt and Nin a pair of pants.

Yes the shirt has ruffles on the sleeves and no I don't wear a bowl full of chiquita bananas on my head thank you very much.

Pattern:
Ottobre Design 2/2010



A close up of the sleeve, albeit in bad lighting, but a close up none the less.



A pair of desperately needed pants for Nin. Just plain old cords with knee seaming.

Pattern:
Farbenmix Dortje size 134



Can you see the knees?



In the gray category we have a wrap and a skirt for me! I love wraps in the winter. I wear them as scarves and as shawls. My kids also like to use them to tie to the bannister and play jump rope. Multi functional clothing is where it's at! And I tend to stick to flowy skirts unless I am wearing a Spanx. I have never made myself a fitted skirt before so I gave it a whirl.

Pattern:
Wrap-Ottobre Design 5/2010 #17 in very luxe bamboo knit. I want to sleep in this thing its so soft.
Skirt- Ottobre Design 2/2010 without the pockets.

P.S. I didn't make these to wear with the brown shirt, I was just to lazy to run inside and change shirts.



Hot pink zipper! You can't see it but I know it's there! Well I guess you know now too.



And on to the black category. Tunic and leggings for KK. These are a staple for all pre teen/tween/teen girls right now. I just spent $52 at Justice on a tunic and leggings. Here is my version for about $5.

Pattern:
Tunic- Farbenmix Roxy
Leggings- Ottobre Design 4/2004



I have a black shirt for myself to finish tonight and then onto the purples.

Thoughts from the top of the hill

I am no longer a Stash Game failure!!! Since last night I have finished a shirt for myself, started a skirt for myself and finished up a pair of cords for Nin! Pictures coming soon.

Some random thoughts from our hilltop home.

1. Today is my 11th wedding anniversary. To celebrate, I am taking the hubby to see an NFL game tomorrow. What I won't do in the name of love.

2. One year ago today, my 10th wedding anniversary, I was sick with H1N1. I felt like crap, but I stayed awake long enough to eat dinner!

3. There is nothing more heavenly than cheesy olive bread. Go to www.thepioneerwoman.com and search her website for the recipe. You will thank me later. I want to live in a world where the USDA decides to redo the food pyramid and they make olives, cheese and bread the 3 major food groups.

4. Today the girls had to complete their chores before I would take them to Target to spend their gift gards. I gave them their allowance of $2. Nin said " I worked hard doing all that work and this is all I get." So like the warm, kind, loving mother I am I replied "get used to it kid, this is the way it works in the real world." She immediately started crying.

5. I think zhu zhu pets are a waste of money.

6. Against my better judgement, KK talked me into going to Justice to spend her gift gard. That place is a racket I tell ya. We spent an hour in there and I had to take out a second mortgage to buy her one outfit.

7. I also bought a the girls a swimsuit off the clearance rack for $4.19. Go me!

8. I have made it the whole month of September so far without buying any fabric!!! Which makes it at least 7 weeks since I bought fabric at all. See I told you I could quit when I wanted to.

9. I find it fascinating that I can order a Steve Young jersey from Texas on Thursday night at 930pm and have it delivered to my house on Saturday by 1030am.

10. Nin really believes that there are witches in the Pledge of Allegiance. ....and to the Republic for witches stands.... She really thinks those are the words!

Flashback Friday

Since I am such a failure, we have more Flashback Friday pictures!!

Elvis raincoats. We just wore these last night!!



Twirly skirt for Nin. I didn't make the shirt. Girls love this skirt pattern so I have made at least 20 of these.



I only have ice for you!



So I didn't sew this, but I still made it! KK needed a robot made out of recycled materials for an Earth Day project in 1st grade. Check out his fuzzy eyebrows! Made from a ponytail holder.



A dress for my Nin. Since she is a July 5th baby she gets red/white/blue combos a lot. I have also made a load of these dresses. Nin still wears this dress but as a tunic with leggings. The patttern is convertible so that you can wear it as a dress, then a tunic and then cut off the straps and make a waistband to turn it into a skirt. She calls this her party dress and still wears it to all parties she goes to so some of you may seen it before!! Nancy Langdon, the designer of this pattern is a genius!!

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Stash Game Failure

There, I said it, I am a huge stash game failure. I haven't even sewn since Friday. 5 days ago. I have been cutting out lots of projects, which are sitting on my table, but not a lick of sewing has happened. Here is what I accomplished last Friday.

I finished KK's dress for her birthday. This is the huge ruffley, swirly, twirly, fabric eating dress that she wanted me to make for Sunny's wedding. This dress took every bit of 3 1/2 yards to make. I originally was only going to use the all white portion of the this border print linen, but I ran out, so I had to incorporate the border somewhere. She loves it very much so I am glad I made it. This was a one time project!!

Pattern:
Ottobre Design 3/2007
#32, I think. In size 128

All that was left of 3 1/2 yards....



The shoulder straps are supposed to sit on the very edges of the shoulder, like a really wide boatneck.



the border...



A pair of shorts for myself. I wanted some shorts to lounge around the house in. I don't wear shorts in public except for ones that reach my knees. Oprah says women over 40 should not wear shorts or capris so I guess I am getting a head start. This fabric is a very lovely double weight knit. I put in a yoga waistband instead of adding a casing and putting in elastic. OMG, so comfortable I want to wear them all the time.

Pattern:
Ottobre Design 2/2008
#6, pattern is capri's, but I hacked them off into short length



Baby clothes for some baby gifts. Since I needed 2 presents for little boys, I made them the exact same. I hope they don't wear them on the same day. How embarassing!!

Pattern:
Ottobre Design
#2 for the pants and #5 for the top. All are in size 62, which is about a size 3 month.

Flashback Friday

So I missed a couple Fridays! It's been raining the last 2 days so I can't get any pics of the new items I have made, so we are continuing the Flashback Friday tradition. If you have only done something twice, can you call it a tradition?


I was a tester for this pattern before it was released... Olabelhe's Annika dress on Kinsie sometime in early 2009. She wouldn't ever wear it out of the house because she hated the sleeves. So it's in my for sale pile.



Made this for a friend's daughter.

It's an old Simplicity pattern I think. At any rate, it's no longer in print. But it is so cute!! 2008



Coats for the girls. These are also Simplicity patterns from 9/08.



An outfit I made for my nephew in February. This isn't that old, but it was so cute. I almost just wanted to keep it. :)



A Farbemix Celina for baby Addison. This was probably December 2009, but don't quote me.



My coupon holder! Feb 2010.

Whoa Nelly!!

Stash Game has helped me kick into high gear. I have been spending hours in front of the sewing machine the last week. It helped that I was off work for a whole week. All I thought about yesterday was that I had to go back to work. Boo. Here we go!

A birthday gift for my nephew. I turned an adult size XL superman shirt into a baby shirt!

Pattern:
Farbenmix Antonia
size 86/92- since he is a wee one, I based it on this size but made it a bit smaller all the way around. I also straightened the sleeves and made the waist less tapered, since it is a girl pattern. Ssshhh don't tell my nephew!





KK's dress from the wedding. We finally compromised on a more reasonable choice!

Pattern:
Olabelhe's Amelia, just like her sister's dress



pink sparkly...



A top for myself since I am in dire need of shirts that don't feature food stains across the chest.

Pattern:
Ottobre Design 2/2008 #9

Love this shirt. Love it. It looks good, makes my waist look small, didn't take too long to sew and I didn't have any issues sewing. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Photography by my 6yo.



A second shirt for myself. Not so in love with this one. A lot of it is the fabric I used, but I also feel like it's too tight across the chest.



Up next a bunch of shirts for my girls and friend's girls. All are the same Farbenmix Antonia pattern from above. I tried out some designs I downloaded and then used transfer paper to transfer them to the front of the shirts.









And, this cute little one has sleeves I took from another shirt!!





A tunic and leggings for Nin. Not so pleased with this shirt. The neckline is big and the tunic is boxy. Won't be making this one again. The leggings are great though. Nin loves them!!!

Stash Game

I belong to a sewing forum called Sewing Mamas. A couple times a year they have a game called Stash Game. Basically, the goal is to sew as many things as possible in one month using nothing but the material in your stash at home. You get points for every yard used but you also lose points for every yard you buy. It's a way to keep your self in check when fabric buying gets out of control!! I barely purchased any fabric in August anyway, in fact I sold some in an online auction, so going the whole month of September without buying any may be a challenge for me!

I participated in February of this year and I made about 27 items, sewed 15 out of 28 days, used about 40 or so yards of fabric, bought under a yard the whole month and earned several hundred points. I didn't come close to winning. Not anywhere near close. Like a thousand points and hundreds of yards of fabric away. But I had fun and I got a bunch of stuff sewn. Including those amazing Elvis raincoats I made the girls.

I made up a list of things I want to accomplish this month. Most of my to do list is stuff for me. I usually come home from work and start cooking dinner right away and as a result I have lots of little stains on my work clothes. I went through all my clothes and pitched the ones that have stains that just will not come out. You know those shirts that no matter how many times you Shout and wash the stain is still there.... So I didn't really trash them, I put them in a "re-work" pile. Depending on where the stain is I may be able to cut off pockets, collars, appliques, buttons, etc to use on a different project.

My to do list:

Me:
cords
work pants
6 shirts
skirt or dress
hoodie/jacket
coat- I have some great unclipped cord that I have been hoarding for awhile for this.

Nin:
3 pairs of pants- poor girl has grown several inches and only has high waters now. :)
shirtdress
3 long sleeve shirts
tunic and leggings set
pj's

KK: this girl has more clothes than anyone in the family because she is so darn easy to sew for. She isn't too picky and will usually wear any color. So her list is much smaller.
cords
shirtdress
pj's

After all that, I am not sure what I will do. Who knows, I may not make my way through all of it. I do have to go to the fair in Hutch for work later this month!