MMM, Day 30

Today I sang at church, so I wanted to looks put together and cheerful.  The top is Butterick 4985 (also worn on Day 22) and the skirt is Simplicity 2609 (worn on Day 1).  I actually originally made this as an "outfit", but have since found both skirt and blouse to be quite versatile.  I love that!  Well, just one more day of Me Made May.  I may have to go on a little blog break after that.  All this daily posting is tiring!

MMM, Day 29

Yay for the weekend!  And Mitch is actually off!!  Double yay!!  Today I wore Butterick 5335 on top with my BWOF 02/2009-117 capris (which also made an appearance on Day 19 and Day 24).  I look like we just got home from the beach, but really we had just been running around all day trying to catch up on all of the things we couldn't do during the week.  This top is one of those that sits in the back of my closet.  I'm not in love with it, and so I tend to wear other things that I like better.

MMM, Day 28

Today we're just hanging out at home, but I felt like wearing a skirt.  This is Butterick 4461 worn with BWOF 08/2009-114 (also worn on Day 4).  I really like this print but alas, it is quilting cotton, so I don't really like the way the skirt hangs.  I should have listened to Elaine...

MMM, Day 27

Errands to run today.  I'm wearing BWOF 04/2009-112 on top (same as Day 3) with McCalls 5592 jeans.  You know, I still have some me made things in the closet that I haven't worn yet this month, and yet I am rewearing favorites...  Must clean out the closet.

MMM, Day 26

Today is actually just an at home day, but I decided to dress a bit.  The top is BWOF 02/2009-125 (also worn on Day 5) and the jeans are Jalie 2908, of course.  Ignore the funny face.  I'm rolling my eyes at my photographer.

MMM, Day 25

I can't believe that we only have one week left in May!!  This month has just flown by!  And based on what I'm wearing now, I really need to up my game a little...  The top is the RTW copy I wore on Day 7, and the pants are the rookie Vogue pants from Day 15.  They are both crazy comfortable, and I feel like I'm in PJs, which was the whole idea today...  I promise I'll actually get dressed tomorrow.

MMM, Day 24

Today was a typical Monday, with lots of catch up errands.  I wore Jalie 2794 (the Sweetheart Top) with BWOF 02/2009-117 capris.  These capris are going to get a lot of wear!

MMM, Day 23

Sunday go to meeting, and Mitch was working all day.  I made the mistake of wearing this dress, which is McCall's 6024.  The mistake is that it is a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen, between the bodice that gapes and the front with insufficient wrap to cover the topic.  We made it through most of church before I gave up.  Two uncooperative kids and one uncooperative dress meant that I really wasn't getting anything out of it.  At least I got to sing a hymn and listen to part of a talk.  I'd call that a win under the circumstances.  And hey, I got to drive my fancy car!  I LOVE it!!

MMM, Day 22 and a new purchase!

Today we are headed to Austin, to get a new-to-us minivan!!  A lot of driving (Austin is about an hour away) means I wanted to be comfortable, but still cute.  I am wearing Butterick 4985 on top with my McCall's 5142 jeans.  I made this top before I really had figured out Big 4 sizing (and have any of us REALLY figured this out??), so I cut it a size larger than I would now.  It is a bit big in the shoulders and the neckline gapes just a touch, but the fit isn't bad, and I really like the style.

And here is the pretty new car we came home with!!  A huge thank you to everyone who contributed experience and opinions regarding our big purchase.  It was really helpful.  You all convinced me of quite a few things I might not have even considered, most particularly the leather seats (which we got!).  She is a 2007 Honda Odyssey Touring Ed. and she is easily the most tricked out car I've ever driven (DVD player, GPS, seat heaters - the whole nine yards!).  I love her!  We're calling her "the Limo" since she's so fancy.

Butterick 3344

Me Made May has really gotten me thinking about the way that I sew, and the fact that while I have a ton of clothes, I don't have a ton of clothes that work together.  As a result, I've been trying to incorporate some basics into the things that I am sewing.  I think this top is a good example of success there!

Basic red top, but not completely boring.  It is made with OOP Butterick 3344, which is a really great basic tee  pattern if you can get your hands on it.  It has five different views and three sleeve variations, which makes for quite the tee wardrobe.  I also think the directions were mostly well written, particularly for a Big 4 knit pattern.  They even included instructions for staying the shoulder seam - color me impressed!  The fabric is an ITY from FFC, and I am so glad I got a ton of it when it was on sale!  It is so soft and drapes beautifully, but sewed up quite nicely.

I chose this view because I really like the shape, the v neck and the ruching at the bust.  Gathers are always a nice way to hide your FBA, and that is what I did here (much like the way that I did the FBA on the burda style top with similar bust gathers).  I did the ruching my own way though.  Butterick would have you gather that section with traditional gathering stitches and then stabilize with stay tape, but I wanted it to retain it's elasticity, so I gathered each side individually with clear elastic just inside the seamline and then sewed CF together while stretching the elastic so that it would still stretch when I was finished.  It seems to have worked well!

The other changes I made was to lengthen the top by 2 inches, which may have been a bit much, but I'm going to wear it around a bit and see if I want to shorten it.  Better too long than too short!!  I also shortened the sleeve by a couple of inches, as I prefer the look of a cap sleeve.  I am pretty happy with how it turned out, although it is a smidge longer than the traditional cap.

I am not entirely happy with the ripples down CF.  Do you think my FBA was too big, or is there something else going on there?  Opinions?

MMM, Day (and night) 21

Today I actually didn't have anything planned, but I finished this top and really wanted to wear it with this skirt!  The top is Butterick 3344, and the skirt is a half circle wrap, refashioned from Butterick 4790.  I've worn it before (on Day 4), but I definitely prefer it with this top!

I've been dreadful about documenting my kiddos as they wear their me made gear.  At least one of them is me made pretty much every day, I just haven't been taking pictures.  Last night they were so cute in their me made PJs, I had to get a shot of them!  Myra is wearing New Look 6638 and Logan is wearing both top and bottom from New Look 6641, which I have used a half dozen times at least!  Myra doesn't always wear me made PJs as she has quite a few hand me downs from Logan, but all of Logan's are made by me!  Mostly from this pattern and Butterick 4222, which I have also made easily a half dozen times.

MMM, Day 20

Today is our last day of school party for Logan's Joy School.  We've really enjoyed both teaching and participating this year.    It's definitely not a formal event, so I went the jeans and tee route.  The top is Jalie's Sweetheart Top (2794) and the jeans are McCall's 5142.

MMM, Day 19

Today we are errand running and generally trying to catch up.  I'm wearing burda style 04/2010-102, which is a bit of a style departure for me, being rather unfitted.  I like it fairly well though, and it is quite comfortable and breezy, which is necessary this time of year no matter what we're doing.  And it goes well with my favorite jeans.  Are y'all tired of seeing these yet?

BWOF 02/2009-117

It's funny, I got this BWOF issue for the boat neck top, but I haven't even traced it yet...  I FINALLY finished the capris that have been on the machine for over a week.  Things have been moving really slowly around here lately.

I've been wanting a pair of jeans style capris this length for some time, but I haven't been sold on the shapes I've seen until I ran across style 117 in this BWOF.  They're far too long, (easy enough to fix!) but they had the close fitting shape I was after and I like the cool not-quite-welt pockets.

Here is a slightly overexposed shot so you can actually see the pocket.  Interesting, eh?  They are in exactly the right spot for my hands to naturally fit in them and the opening is wide enough to actually be useful.  And they look cool.  I'm not sure they are the most flattering though.  The top bit hits me right where my hips are widest and may not be doing much for me there.

Speaking of unflattering...  Wow, look at how high the waist is!!!  Mitch laughed at me when he took this picture and said it looked like I was wearing Rocky Mountain jeans.   I guess I know what I'll be wearing to rodeo next year...  Kidding actually, I'm pretty sure I will NEVER be tucking anything in to these.  The fit also isn't great, but to be honest, I did absolutely nothing to make that happen, so fair enough.  I did give myself a tiny bit of extra space on the side seams by sewing a 1/2 inch SA instead of the 5/8 I had marked.

I really enjoyed having two sewing machines for this project.  I set up the Singer to do the construction (and she whizzed through the 10 layers of denim at the side seam like it was no big deal) and Janome did the topstitching.  It was really nice not to have to change the thread every time I needed to topstitch!

MMM, Day 18

Today is playgroup, and it's HOT in Texas, so I'm wearing my new denim capris (BWOF 02/2009-117) with New Look 6785.  This was the first top I ever made an FBA on, and boy what a difference that has made in the way that I sew!!

MMM, Day 17

Today I am wearing Butterick 5284 on top, which I also wore on Day 6.  The skirt is Butterick 5042.  This is such a fun skirt; I'm glad to be able to integrate it a little better in my wardrobe.  I don't generally sew a lot of Butterick patterns, as their designs tend toward the boring, but they are good for basics.

ETA: Jess asked where I was going all dolled up.  Ready for a laugh?  Grocery shopping...  And that was all. That's the exciting life of the SAHM!

MMM, Day 16

Today is Sunday, so I dress for church.  The skirt is McCall's 3830, which I LOVE.  The pattern is great and a black pencil skirt goes with so much.  The top is Jalie 2787.  I also really love this top.  Another pattern that I should revisit...

MMM, Day 15

Another lazy day at home...  The top is another copy of my favorite RTW tee.  The pants have a story.  My sewing machine was a gift from my sweet hubby the second Christmas of our marriage.  I hadn't sewn much of anything in many years, since I didn't have my own machine.  These pants were made soon after I got that machine, and I really think I had forgotten everything I ever knew about sewing when I made these!!  The pattern was Vogue, and I don't have it anymore.  It's so OOP that it isn't even on the Vogue website.  It was a pretty basic pant pattern, drafted for wovens, with a fly front and waistband.  Note that these pants are made of ... slinky knit ...  You can imagine what the fly zipper looked like.  Anyway, they are surprisingly wearable considering all the ridiculous rookie mistakes I made - once I took off the waistband and zip and turned it into an elastic casing.  The hem has completely popped out, since I sewed it with a straight stitch.  And I'm not sure I was aware that there were such a thing as seam allowances.  They make comfy lounge pants though - but I don't wear them out of the house.

MMM, Day 14

Thanks so much to everyone who has weighed in on my car dilemma so far.  You've all given us some great things to consider, many of which we hadn't even thought about yet, so a huge Thank you!! If you haven't shared your opinion, please pop over here and do.  Mitch and I really appreciate all the help.

Today I am wearing McCall's 5522 with the ubiquitous Jalie jeans.  I typically wear these 2-3 times a week, so the fact that you've only seen them three times this month (so far) should attest to the fact that I am attempting to incorporate some other things into what I actually wear.  You can tell by the worn spot on the knee that I wear these all the time.  Time to sew up another pair...

Help! - Not sewing related

So, the time has come to think of a new car.  We're in a financial situation (finally!) to be able to consider heading back into the two car family world, and since our family has grown, we're thinking it is time to get ourselves one of these...

This one is the Honda Odyssey, which we have heard great things about.  Here is the reason I am blogging about this.  We haven't bought a new-to-us car in quite a few years, and so this is an unabashed request for advice.  If you happen to be a minivan owner, what do you have and what do you like/dislike about it?  Even if you aren't driving a big ole family mobile, what features are your must-haves, and what could you live without?
Thanks, and I now return you to your regularly scheduled sewing.  I should have some capris to show you soon!

MMM, Day 13

Today we had a class trip to the museum with Logan's preschool, so I wanted to look nice, but still be comfy.  We're still not sleeping...  The top is a copy of RTW and the skirt is self-drafted based on a design of my hubby's.  Bother pieces were a part of my Mini Wardrobe for the last PR contest.

MMM, Day 12

Today was a seriously lazy day.  The kids haven't been sleeping, and the exhaustion is finally starting to get to me, so I needed something easy and comfy to wear today.  I've already worn both pieces, just not together.  The top is burda style 02/2010-122 and the pant is my version of Butterick 3460.  I made A LOT of alterations to get these pants to look like they do, but if you are looking for something similar, Simplicity 2414 view B has all of the elements that I added.  Too bad this wasn't published when I made these pants!!

Kwik Sew Easy Sewing PJ pants

After sewing this Vogue top, and then deciding it was perfectly suited to be a PJ top, I decided I needed some pants.  I ordered some more of that super soft rayon jersey from Sew Sassy and traced off the basic pant pattern from Kwik Sew's Easy Sewing.

Can you tell anything about them from this picture?  OK, you can probably see how drapey and soft this fabric is from the way that it falls into the lower layers.  The color in this photo is accurate.  It's a nice saturated teal.

Since I trimmed the top with picot edge elastic, I did the same to the waistline and used a thinner, gold trimmed elastic for the hems.

Here is how they look together!  Possibly the most comfy PJs ever!  I will say that this pant has the highest waistline EVER.  I have a high waist, and despite having removed 1/2 inch above the crotch line as well as removing the casing allowance (since I used the picot elastic) they still come almost up to the empire line of the top.  Since they are PJs and still comfy, I don't care!!

MMM, Day 11

Hmm, I'm not overjoyed with my Me Made selections today.  I actually love this skirt, which is a self-drafted (with the help of Sew What skirts) drawstring A-line.  It's comfortable and cute.  Usually I wear it with a red RTW tee, but since I am trying to only wear Me Made clothes, I settled for this slightly-too-big blue top.  It's New Look 6704.  I'm not happy with the top or the combo.  I think after I finish the pants I'm working on now, I need to make a red knit top!

MMM, Day 10

Today for Me Made May, I wore another version of New Look 6816 with my McCall's 5592 jeans.  This was my first pair of jeans.  I wanted to start slow, so they are more of a trouser style than a typical jean style and don't have heavy duty topstitching.  That said, I really love them!

Happy Mother's Day!!

My sweetheart got me the perfect present for Mother's Day, and while some women may not understand it's appeal, I knew that all of my wonderful readers would!

It's a Rowenta Focus - 1700 watts of steam pressing power!!  I'd never have spent this much on an iron for myself, but I've wanted a nice one for some time.  Look at all those teeny steam holes!!  Aaah.  Life is good.

MMM, Day 9

For my Me Made Mother's day, I wore my favorite dress, Simplicity 3775.

My sweet princess wore New Look 6575, which was her Easter dress.  The wee prince wore Ottobre 02/2005-25 shirt, which I made him for Easter with Ottobre 04/2004-15 pants which were refashioned from a pair of Mitch's pants.  Mitch was even wearing me made pants!  He wore Burda 7841 with a RTW shirt.

A birthday surprise!

One of Logan's best girlie friends turned 4 and had a party Saturday.  She LOVES to dress up, so I made her a fancy dress up dress perfect for any little princess.

The pattern is the Lace-Up dress by Little Print Patterns.  I added some trim to the bodice, lengthened the skirt and added a double layer of tulle as an overskirt.  I thought about filling the overskirt with petals, but I've only seen that done on short skirts, so I wasn't sure about how it would look on a longer one.  Maybe I'll try that out next time...  It is made out of costume satin and tulle.  Not my favorite fabrics to work with, but not too painful, since the design is fairly simple.  Although I think it is pretty from the front, the real action is in the back!

The shoulder straps lace down the back corset style and end in a big bow at the waist.  How fancy is that??  I think the birthday girl will like it.  It isn't particularly modest though, so I made a tee for her to wear under it.

And it gave me an excuse to try out the Jalie Sweetheart Top in the kids size range.  Fun!!  And since I know Sister wants to know, I actually watched the clock as I made this one.  From tracing the pattern to sewing the hem took slightly under 2 hours.  I did have some machine trouble in the middle there and almost had to recut a sleeve that Janome nearly ate, so with smooth sailing I probably could have done it in a little less time, but not much.

MMM, Day 8

Today I had lots of errands to run, so I wanted to be comfy, but still cute.  I wore New Look 6816 with my Jalie 2908 jeans.  This sweater may be my single favorite thing that I have made.  It is comfortable, flattering and so soft!  I love it!  I'm not loving the hair though.  I just didn't have the energy to do anything with it, but I think it is a bit severe for my face and is making me look older than I am.

MMM, Day 7

Today was just a hanging around the house day, so I wore one of my favorite comfy outfits.  The top is from the pre-blog days, and is a copy of one of my favorite RTW tees, made of a yummy soft cotton/lycra jersey.  It was a lone bolt at Hancock over a year ago.  I wish I could find some more of this stuff!!  It is the perfect weight and stretch for tee shirts.  The pants are based loosely on Butterick 3460.
It's been sweltering these last few days, so we started the morning in the water.  I haven't made the kids swimsuits, per se, but we found some things that are working just fine.

Logan helped fill the pool in New Look 6641 that I jazzed up with a freezer paper stencil paint job.  The jam on his face is homemade too, but made by my sister.

Myra is wearing an outfit that was originally designed as a dress and bloomers, but I think works great as a swim outfit.  I think I'll make a set in actual swim fabric for her.  It's so cute!

Butterick 5284

I know it looks like I made this top in a day, but I totally didn't!!  I'd been working on it for a week, but waited to set in the sleeve, since I used it to demonstrate at my last sewing group.

The pattern is Butterick 5284.  I almost passed on this pattern, but decided to get it after seeing Erica B's version.  It really is a great basic, but with some nice details.  I think once I get my fit issues ironed out, this will be a fun one to play around with the different ruffles and sleeve styles.  The alterations I made this time around were an FBA, enlarging the waist dart and removing 1/2 inch of ease from the sleeve cap.  I'm not happy with my dart position, but size-wise the fit is great.  Even with 1/2 inch gone, the sleeve cap still had too much ease.  Grr.  The fabric is a cheap-o cotton poly shirting from Hancock, but I really like the pinstripe.  You can't tell all that well in the photos, but it is a cornflower blue.

Here is the back.  I've been going back and forth about a swayback adjustment, and I'm not sure I really would need it on this blouse.  I wonder if altering the angle of the contour darts slightly would work instead?  I hate to add a CB seam if I don't have to!

I managed to match the pinstripes across the shoulder seam, from cuff to sleeve and across the bust dart, which makes me happy.

Inside, I did french seams and bound the armscye.  In fact, there is not a single exposed seam anywhere in this blouse.  Yay!

This is the first piece in my Summer 6PAC.  Next in the plan is a pair of denim capris, which are all cut out and ready to go!

MMM, Day 6

Today's outfit is a new top, Butterick 5284, with McCall's 5142 jeans.  I made the jeans as part of a wardrobe contest at PR.  They were my third pair of jeans, and so I had a little fun with them.  I'm hoping that this top can also be a good neutral with some of my printed skirts, but I definitely love it with jeans.

The kiddos played along, as well.  Myra is wearing her Smocky Top and shorts.

And Logan is yet again wearing his favorite tee shirt, this time with New Look 6641 shorts.