Elemental Stitches

Almost Finished

I promised myself that I would finish this skirt today for the Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew Along.  But, I ran out of pink thread.  I should have saved it for the top stitching and used a different color for the parts that would be hidden.

I have been putting this project off.  I was a bit intimidated.  All those layers, all the fabric... 

I think the reason I love knitting is that if I screw up I can easily frog it and start over.  With sewing, if you cut wrong or sew wrong you might have to go buy new fabric.  I am always trying to get over my fear of screwing up.  Sometimes I would rather not start at all, then fail.  It is so wrong to think this way!

If I don't try then I will not learn.  And learning is so important to me. 

I am sooooooooo happy with my skirt so far.  It was much easier then I thought it would be.  You basically make three skirts, gather and sew them together.  Make a band for the waist (the yoke) and sew that on, then finish with hook and eye clasps and a tie.  It took much less time then I expected.

There is only a few more days to enter in your skirts.  Happy Sewing!

Edited to add:  The yoke is not marked on the pattern sheet but you can find it near the hat.  It looks like a rectangle.  For more tips check out the Flickr group.  Lots of thanks to Tanya for finding the yoke!

Delay Delay

Hi Everyone!  Sorry I have been MIA.  My computer was hit by a sneaky virus and it's been at the Dr ever since.  I am hoping to be up and running by tomorrow evening, assuming no more hassles. 

Overview of the past two weeks...

I finished a few knitting projects

I learned to knit mittens

I planted watermelon and cantaloupe

Taught a friend to knit in the round

Relearned classic children's crafts with my own little budding artist

Taught my daughter to sew a stuffed block

Began writing up new knitting designs to share :)

And worked on my project for our sew a long!  I need more time and I am not quite sure when I will be fully operational so...

YOU HAVE AND EXTRA MONTH TO SEW YOUR SKIRTS AND BAGS! YEA!

I will be back soon!  Wish me luck!

Conclusion of Month 2, Winners Too

Hi everyone!  I finally finished my dress for this month. 

I like this pattern.  I think I will add a band around the waist with a tie in the back.  This dress is a little big on her and a tie in the back would solve that problem.  I have to admit I scrambled to find fabric for this pattern and after I finished the dress I couldn't figure out how to add anything to it.  I am thinking of adding some beads around the collar or something.  Any ideas?

I cant wait to make the other dress.  I originally planned on making that one but didn't have enough fabric for it.  I am going to have to go shopping for our next project.

So here is the project for Month 3.  I have been wanting to make this skirt for a while!

The optional project is the bag.  I actually might do this one first.

And finally the winner!

Adrianna from Crafter Hours!  Brae loved your dress!  She raved all about the ruffled sleeves the polka dot top and the lace and trim skirt.  It was a big hit!

Finally,  the prize for this month is...

Bend the Rules with Fabric by Amy Karol

Have fun!

Giveaway!! Four Sewing Books from Shambhala Publications

I was thrilled when I opened up my email box a couple weeks ago and saw an email from Shambhala Publications, the publisher behind the books Carefree Clothes for Girls, Patchwork Style, Linen Wool Cotton, and Felting For Baby.  

They have generously offered to give four books away to my wonderful and deserving readers!

So here is how to enter.  Leave the answer to the following question in the comments section of this post.

What was the very first sewing project you did and how did it turn out?

I will randomly pick 4 winners from the comments and the winners will be able to pick which book they would like. 

This is a great opportunity to win Carefree Clothes for Girls and join the Sew Along!  

Also be sure to check out their website!  There is more information about each book and free patterns to try out!

You must enter by APRIL 27th at 10pm Pacific time to win!

Winner!!

The winner is Tanya!  Yea!  Brae said she liked your blouse the best because it looked like My Meeba's dandelions.  She tells me that Meeba's is a game and they have glowing dot dandelions that she likes.  She likes the pink too.

I happen to love this one too.  I adore the fabric and the doily collar is adorable!  The little seed beads you added are the perfect touch for the collar and I LOVE that you used blueberry juice to dye the bias binding.  I tried that a while ago with cherry juice and loved the results.

Please check out Tanya's blog Washington State Apples to read about her project and see more great pictures.  Tanya I will be contacting you for your contact info tomorrow!

Thank you all again for making this so fun!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves this morning!  I wanted to have your winner announcement ready for you, but you are going to have to wait until tomorrow. 

Other then being busy with festivities, I have been having trouble deciding how to pick a winner.  I finally decided that the best way is to have my daughter do it!  She loves trying on clothes and loves drawing dresses for herself, plus these are little girl clothes.  She would make the perfect judge.  So today we are going to sit down and look at the pictures and I am going to have her pick her favorite.  Then I will announce the winner!

I also want to say thank you for joining me in this sew a long.  It means a lot that you have participated.  We are going to be awesome little sewers when this is over.  Thank you!

Carefree Clothes Sew Along Month 2 Project

Hi Everyone!  I am so excited to do this next project!  I am going to announce the winner of last month project tomorrow to give everyone who completed enough time to submit their link.  If you haven't submitted you link for march you can do it here.

We are moving into April and its getting warmer bit by bit.  Our little girls are going to need some new summer dresses for frolicking through Spring's wildflowers.  This month choose either the 

Dress with a Lace Doily

Or

the White Cotton & Flower Print Sundress

As the optional project we have the Black Linen Hat.  So adorable!  And who says it has to be black?  How about a white linen hat or a flower print hat to match your dress for this month?

REMEMBER

- You must make some sort of additional embellishment on your creation!  Add embroidery, tie dye, fabric printing, applique, quilting, patchwork, beads or something else that makes it truly unique.  Don't be afraid to change the pattern too!  Leave off the sleeves, make it longer or shorter, add another tier on the skirt, anything!

- to blog about your project AND/OR post photos in the flickr group.  If you blog add a button or a link to this post so your readers know how to join in.

- to leave me a link to your project in the comments section of this post so I can enter you into the contest for the month.

And the prize for this month is...

This book was just released recently and I cant wait to get it myself.  I love her other books and I am looking forward to making my own dresses this summer.  Happy Sewing!

Carefree Clothes for Girls Blouse - Sew Along Month 1

Month One is over and I just finished my shirt in the nick of time.  I was stuck on how to finish it.  I decided that the frayed bottom did not look very good with the linen I chose.  The linen was too formal for frayed edges. 

With that decision made, I hemmed the bottom and left off the frayed sleeves.  I didn't have a doily on hand so I embroidered a collar around the neckline.

This pattern was a breeze to sew.  If I used store bought bias binding I could whip one of these out in under an hour!

I wish I had a chance to do the pants for this month's optional pattern, but they will have to wait a bit.

I will have the next pattern ready to announce tomorrow  along with this month's winner!

Carefree Clothes for Girls Pattern for Month 1

I am so excited to start this sew a long.  It is a lot more fun and motivating to sew projects with other people! 

This month's patterns are:

Main pattern: Blouse with Doily Trim

Optional Pattern:  Pants with Lace Trim

Remember to change up your project a bit.  You must add some sort of embellishment that is not in the original pattern!  For this pattern you could use something other then a doily, make your own knitted trim, leave the trim off and embroider a border, use patchwork, applique or fabric printing to decorate the fabric.  Anything!  Use your creativity!  That is what I love most about this book.  It leaves so much room for creativity and alteration! 

Don't forget to read the rules and join the flickr group.

Also, don't forget to post a direct link to your flickr project photo or blog post in the comments section of this post so you are entered to win this month's contest!

This month's prize:

This book is the prize for the best project this month!  It has some great reviews!  I cant wait to see your projects! 

Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew Along Begins March 1st!

I am so excited to start this Sew A Long!  We are going to start March 1st to give everyone time to order their books.  If you want to help me out you can buy your copy through my Amazon Bookshop.  Starting in March should give you plenty of time to get your books!

You could also try finding it at your library, but its a new book so they may not have it yet.  Or if you can buy an extra to donate to your local library so other crafter's in your area have this great resource!

Rules and Guidelines

-I will announce the patterns on or around the 1st of every month.  We will have two patterns for most months.  One is the main pattern for that month and the other is an optional smaller project from the book for those with extra time and energy!  Some months that have a difficult or time consuming project only have the one.

-You need to join the Carefree Clothes for Girls Sew A Long Group on Flickr.

-You must make some sort of additional embellishment on your creation!  Add embroidery, tie dye, fabric printing, applique, quilting, patchwork, beads or something else that makes it truly unique.

-When you finish take some pictures and post them to your blog or flickr page.  Be sure to tell us about what you did and how you embellished the pattern.  Be sure to link back to this post and include one of these buttons somewhere in your blog post (and elsewhere on your blog too!).

                 

 

-Submit your photos to the flickr group Carefree Clothes For Girls Sew Along.  Give them the tag "CarefreeClothesSewAlong" and add a link to your blog post in the photo description so we know where to find more about your project.

-IMPORTANT!  Submit a link in the comments section of the pattern post for that month's pattern so you are entered in the contest for that month.  If you don't post your link you will not be entered in the contest.   

Well, that's it!  I will announce the project for March soon so you can have a little extra time for the first project. 

Have a fabulous weekend!