Tuesday, February 14, 2012

I received an award, and here are my own picks

Oh my gosh, I feel so darn special! My blogging/crafty/online friend Kat shared a sepcial 'award' for myself and another. I met Kat through her blog {Zakka Inspired}last year, then she started a Facebook fan page and now ~ well, I adore her blog! Many a Japanese craft, many lovely fabrics, tutorials and she was even in a sewing book out on amazon.com!


Here is the description of the Liebster Blog award! {below was shamelessly borrowed from Kat's post to describe this fun award}
Libster is German, it means 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favorite'. The idea of the Liebster award is to bring attention to blogs with less then 200 followers in the hopes it will bring many new friends/followers. So with that I will be passing this on to another blogger whom I think deserves it!

A) Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
B) Reveal your picks for the award and let them know.
C) Bask in the love and support of fellow bloggers/friends
D) But most of, all have fun and spread the love!

Here are my picks ~


Flat Boonie & friends! A crafter who has an adorable collection of bunnies for sale in her Etsy shop. Frequently makes donations to rabbit animal shelters & groups. Her blog shows the travels of the bunnies she sells!

Mairuru has a fun, delightful, fresh little zakka blog. She lives in Japan and has a small Etsy shop. Her blog shares her adventures of life, sewing by hand and many new projects for the Western sewer to try. 

Monday, February 13, 2012

Lisette dress ~ the first of many

Let me say from the start - I've been sewing since I was a little kid. I grew up with it, I've learned from many family members. So I do have experience in trying to sew clothing and zippers and such. But these patterns are by far the best ones for a novice! They have clear instructions, pointers and are really well put together. My downfall is often the arm holes of a top or dress - but not with this pattern. So before I share the finished dress, I have some pointers on sewing clothes ~ I hope they are of help!

Lisette pattern 2245 ~ Dress B ~ dusty rose fabric and ivory with tree branches

~ Always wash the fabric you intend to use, because it can shrink or the colors could even bleed (just follow suggested washing instructions)

~ I'd suggest reviewing the instructions a few times. If you have questions about a step many patterns have a webpage now with an Q's page.

~ Not sure about what size pattern for your measurements? Ask an associate at the fabric store, consult with a friend or even try the patterns webpage for assistance.

~ Don't forget to buy your notions! Notions are thread, buttons, zippers, interfacing - almost all patterns will say on the back "notions" that are needed.

~ Have a fun, it's a project! I take a long time to do my patterns now so I don't mess up as much. Plus, I greatly enjoy a new seamstress challenge.

~ Be creative in solving problems that might arise. For this pattern {after I had it all washed} I learned my fabric hadn't been cut to the right length. I had to improvise so the middle was 2 pieces instead of 1.

Ok already, to the reveal! I made dress B from Lisette pattern 2245. It ended up being much shorter then dress A {which surprised me, but I'm also 5' 7" in height}.
Me and my dress (winterized!) 

So this finished dress I will probably wear leggings or tights under it when its not cold outside. And I did have one problem arise - the guy that cut my fabric didn't measure it correctly! I thought something was off with my ticket, which I told an associate. They had to go back and redo it twice to get it correct. Even then it wasn't until I got home, washed it and laid it out to cut - it was too short! I improvised and made the middle piece (meant to be one) into two pieces (sewn in the middle).

 I purchased these other Lisette by Simplicity patterns

And these are a few of my fabrics I have picked for my future Lisette clothes. 

I adore these patterns, I'm in love with them. Here is the Lisette website which also has a great little blog to follow! I hope to dive into that adorable yellow top on their homepage next. The above picture, the pink fabric (has rosebuds on it) is going to be that top. I'm just a little too excited to sew clothing that fits me *and looks good too!* 

------- Side note -------- Thank you for stopping by, visiting my wee Etsy shop {please, buy my "out with the old stuff" seriously, it needs to go!} and sharing comments and your page links. I'm not a big blogger {as you can surely tell} and I don't blog often. I have few followers, even on my Facebook page few people ever respond to me. But it's all in good fun and it's enjoyable. I'm an at-home seamstress/crafter/artisan. I tend to our pets, our home, sometimes volunteer and hubby works full time for us. I don't work outside the home because I have something called Fibromyalgia {Fibro for short}. It's annoying, bugs me all the time and can make it very difficult to commit to or even have a social life at times. So thanks for allowing me a fun little outlet online, for making new friends and having fellow crafters to chit-chat with (✿◠‿◠)