Pirates can quit whenever they want to quit!

Hey everybody how's it going? So I actually bought the zipper today--and inserted it into the dress/muslin/curtain( ;) ) just now. I read the instructions and watched a youtube video twice. It is functional-but not pretty at all. I don't know what came over me choosing such slippery fabric for my first -albeit practice- dress. Anyway, I also inserted one of the sleeves and decided that I'd had enough and am not "finishing" my practice dress. It wouldn't have been wearable anyway to be honest. Meh- it's okay, I'm happy with what I learned, and it fits! So that's encouraging. I am going to make it properly over again with a navy blue cotton with little strawberries all over it. I got that fabric (all five yards of it) from a yardsale for about fifty cents last summer. I'm pretty excited about it actually. It will be a great spring a summer dress in cotton to have once completed. So yeah, I'll keep you guys posted on that.
I decided not to take more photos of the practice dress because it's still basically the same as it was, just with one sleeve and a zipper in the back. hahaha Not very impressive to look at.
Besides that, I had a very busy day playing pirates with Billy. I even haphazardly sewed us eye patches so we could look legit. Let me tell you, that child is terrifying when you steal his gold. So watch out. Arr matey.

Tomorrow we have a fun filled day-- St. Patrick's Day parade and Chuck E. Cheese's after, so I doubt I'll accomplish any real sewing but I could always surprise myself.
Have a happy weekend!

Want It Wednesday!

 Hey guys! Welcome to my second Want It Wednesday post..are you ready for it? I know I am =)

1. One of these awesome camera bags (cute and functional= awesome) After recently having purchased a Nikon D3100, I would be thrilled to have one  of these bags. My friend Chelsea just ordered one and I can't wait for her to get it so I can stare at it lovingly. haha. These bags can be found here.

 

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2. A little bit random..but.. I would love a set of Russian nesting dolls or Matryoshka doll. Go here to learn some more about them. I just think they are so cool. And cute. And I find it amazing that traditionally they are hand carved to fit inside one another. It's hard for me to imagine being that accurate with a medium like that that I'm not familiar with. 

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3. A new set of rollers for my Kelsey Excelsior printing press that was so thoughtfully rescued by almost hubby for me from a local fire company. It was in imminent danger of being tossed away into the dumpster-and I had been wanting a printing press for awhile and yeah! Good story. Anyway, right. New rollers. The press could use a good cleaning, and the rollers on it are definitely in need of replacement in order to make a functional press. The rollers can be purchased here so I have a source I just need to allocate the funds that way. If you are at all interested in letterpress, or would like to stare at some beautiful letterpress work and drool, check out these websites:

Boxcar Press

Beast Pieces 

Briar Press 

Na Graphics

Oh So Beautiful Paper
  The last website does not strictly feature letterpress, however it frequently does, and  always has beautiful inspiration.
Anyway, check out some photos of my press from the day I got it:

Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait until it's all the way functional again so I can experiment. I know this is more of a sewing blog but when I do make any prints I will definitely show you guys.

No zipper today, got an ear infection instead

Well I didn't manage to pick up a zipper today. Apparently I have an ear infection that decided to very painfully flare up last night. I didn't get hardly any sleep sadly. Boo. (I find it a little ridiculous how often I have gotten sick this year, I should probably keep working on taking better care of myself)
I don't want to lose momentum on this dress though, so maybe tomorrow? Meh, we shall see.
Oh, so I did get the other fabric I ordered in a moment of weakness. Check it out:

Princess and the Pea, Heather Ross, Far Far Away

Roses, Heather Ross, Far Far Away Chapter 2

Owl and Cat, Heather Ross, Far Far Away Chapter 2

I love them. They are so cute!

I took the leap!

Hey everybody! Happy Monday =).
Guys! Guess what?  I finally did it. By "it" I mean I finally cut into one of my patterns for a dress-then cut into some of my fabric..then started piecing it all together. Yay, I am making a dress. As some of you guys might remember, I really have been wanting to sew clothing for awhile, so I finally decided to try it and give up on being scared. So far it's been pretty easy, I even put pockets in. But, I have to buy a zipper and put that in and do sleeves and all that jazz, which (like everything) I have never done before but it will be fine, hopefully.
I'm using this pattern:

Simplicity 2444

And I"m actually using fabric I already had, so kindly donated to the "Kayla's learning to sew" stash by Geri, my partner at work and friend. I think they were curtains but that's okay. I wanted to use fabric I already had and that was free because I don't know what I'm doing, and was unsure about the sizing anyway. So if it turns out nice it can hopefully be a wearable muslin.

Don't you love my professional pattern weights? =)

And here's what I was able to get done this evening:

So the dress is mostly together

That's the fabric. I'm proud of my darts haha. Is it too obvious that it's curtain fabric?

Hopefully I can get the zipper tomorrow and figure that mess out. And then I can finish the dress. What do you guys think? Did I do alright so far?

Super Easy Menu Planner

Hey everybody! SO I literally just made a super easy (and I think cute!) menu planner for our kitchen. It literally took me not even twenty minutes. Now all I need is a thin tip expo marker and I'll be good to go. (I also need to hang it up on the wall but let's not get ahead of ourselves here ;-). )
*Let me mention that this was not my idea--I saw something similar recently out here in blogland but cannot for the life of me remember the source. Sorry! If you know who posted something similar recently or if it was your idea let me know and I will happily give credit where it is deserved!*
Okay, well anyway, yes a menu planner. We need this. We try, but are so disorganized when it comes to meals it's sincerely pathetic. We are obviously better when we have little man but..yeah. We ask each other "what's for dinner?" and both are like deer in headlights.. haha. So this is my attempt to get us..cough cough..me motivated to plan meals ahead of time.

See? Cute right? The letters are just glittery chipboard stickers from Michaels, 8.5x11" polka dot textured paper, and same size frame. So easy. Then you just take an expo marker and write the meals for each week. YAY!
Also, for your enjoyment....pictures of Billy after he first got his quilt. Seriously, I did not make him pose. I set the camera to sports mode and just took pictures of him running around like a super hero.

I'm so happy he loves it.

INTRODUCING: Want It Wednesday!

Hey all, I forgot to say this yesterday, but Happy March! I'm going to be trying something new, I'm introducing a little mini series for this blog: Want It Wednesday! Here I will showcase anything I want.. not necessarily sewing related, but always pretty, or fun, or interesting..hey, who knows, maybe even weird. =). Can we handle this? Of course we can!

Want It Wednesday!

1. Rob Ryan Ceramic vase found at Bodie and Fou

sourceIsn't it just so sweet? I love his work. So sentimental, so beautiful. Sigh.

2.These lacy view wedges from Anthropologie. I don't think I can justify this one. Especially since I just bought these sandals and these shoes very recently. BUT.. aren't they just so pretty?

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3. And last but not least, something sewing related....
   A Dress Form =) like this one especially or this one.

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Useful and awesome. I should probably sew some clothing before I invest though huh? Good excuse to get my butt in gear for sure. =)

So, that's it for my first Want It Wednesday! post. Let me know what you think..love it or hate it, I'd like to know!

Little Mans Quilt DONE!

Wow so I actually stayed on schedule for a project! That in itself is amazing. =). But it's also nice that little man's quilt is finished, and I actually really like how it turned out. Take a look:

I did all of the quilting in orange thread, just so it would pop against the white and some of the darker blues. It is bound in fabric that looks like firefighter ladders, and backed with a hot wheels flannel that little man picked out. He actually did a great job picking a fabric that coordinated color wise to the rest of the quilt. I don't think that color was his main concern, but I got lucky. =). Also, in case you didn't see, I used this free pattern so generously offered by the fabulous Made by Rae. Who, incidentally, is currently having "Celebrate the Boy 2011", which definitely fits with this very boy-ish quilt. Thank you for the great pattern!