Progress

I stumbled across a website with cute patterns for beginning sewing, and I fell in love with this pattern:

Really Cute Pattern

For $6.00, I thought - heck, I will give it a try.  So I gave it a try.  And I'm sort of proud of it.  I'm afraid that Lucy was not as willing a model as the little girl in the photo.  I asked her to pose for me, and this is what I got:

Apparently asking Lucy to take a photo is a HUGE punishment.  

It turned out amazingly well.  The pattern was so easy to follow - so much better than buying those flimsy tissue paper patterns at JoAnn's.  You know, the one's where you accidentally cut on the wrong line and end up with a really cute skirt that really doesn't fit?  Yeah, those.

I'm not crazy about the pink fabric, but it was the only fabric I had on hand that I had enough of.  I didn't want to buy something until I knew I would end up with a decent finished product.  I love the little ruffle sleeves.

The back is really cute too - no zipper (thank goodness!).  Just some loops and buttons.

It's a little big on her right now, but by summer it should fit great and look cute with little sandals.  I bought some blue fabric that I like so much more today for Round #2.  We will see how that goes!

Sew Tired

I decided to give sewing from a pattern another try - but this time I was determined I would be a good girl and actually do what the pattern told me to do instead of taking short cuts.  Two evenings later, I have completed a skirt.

First, let's recap all of the mistakes I made:

1.  Using chevron stripes.  How the hell are you supposed to match up chevron stripes??  If anyone out there knows how to do this, you are a wizard.

2.  Cutting the fabric in a size that is too small to fit yo' lard ass.  In my defense, I did what was proper - I measured around myself in all the places the pattern told me to.  I looked at the incredibly tiny and confusing chart and determined the correct size.  I pinned all of the pattern pieces to the fabric in the proper way.  And then I started cutting.  The biggest, most visible piece.  The piece that consumed approximately 50% of my fabric.  And I started cutting it a size smaller than I needed.

At that point, I decided I could either start crying or just go with it and hope I measured wrong.  (I didn't measure wrong.)

3.  Zipper installation.  I tried going by the directions in the pattern, but I could not figure out what the heck they were trying to get me to do.  After ripping out a bunch of thread, I decided to go with the technique I use for pillows.  It never looks good on the pillows (and it doesn't look good on my skirt).

4.  Stretching the fabric too much while sewing the waistband.  Yeah, when you do that you end up with too much fabric.  And then you have to figure out what to do with that fabric.  In the above photo, to the left of the zipper, you can see where I just said screw it and sewed over the extra fabric, creating an ugly bubbly mess.


However, I did make my first item with pockets, and it is just adorable with them.  I also made a yoke for the first time, and learned a way to finish my edges without a serger.  I also successfully gathered for the first time.  So the experience wasn't a total loss.

So there you have it.  I am now the proud owner of a decently cute gray and white chevron striped skirt that I am too fat to wear.

Out With The Old

I felt like sewing tonight. I really want to try a jersey knit skirt but I'm too scared of the disaster that will inevitably ensue (apparently sewing stretch fabric is really hard). So I decided to experiment. I had this old blouse that I LOVED once upon a time. But because of my love, the shirt aged pretty quickly.  RIP dear Target blouse.

It was destined for the trash, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I grabbed one of Lulu's tank tops to use as a reference and just started cutting. And pinning. And sewing. And cutting some more. A few hours later, I was done.

Considering the knowledge and equipment that I currently possess, I think it turned out pretty good. No, my ends aren't serged and despite being pinked they will fray.  The hemming around the sleeves is a big mess.  The upper back piece was sewn on the wrong way (luckily it is really hard to tell).  But despite these things, I think it is adorable and will look darling on my Lu.

The true test will be tomorrow morning when I try it on her!  If it fits, I might just be brave enough to try my hand at that knit fabric.

Balancing Act

I'm not willing to accept that I can't do it all - and it really bothers me.  The fact that I can't do it all really bothers me.  Am I the only mother who works full time, has a ridiculously messy house, never fixes her hair or puts on makeup, and has a child who would starve without a microwave?  Probably not.  Definitely not.  But it still really bothers me.

I feel like if just one aspect of my life didn't exist, then I would be able to get everything done.  No job - easy!  No children - easy!  Someone else to clean the house - easy!  Personal chef (or a husband who loved cooking) - easy!  No hobbies or friends - easy! 

But I like my job, worship my child, and would go NUTS without friends and hobbies.  If only I could have a housekeeper and personal chef.  If. Only.

So what is the secret to balancing everything?  I want a beautiful home.  I want to be a good mother.  I want to feed my family healthy meals.  I want to look presentable when I go to work every day.  I want to spend time with my friends and make pretty things.  There has to be a way to get it all done and still retain my sanity.  And to top it all off, I only have ONE child.  Just one wee little toddler (who has the energy and destructive power of a herd of elephants). 

I know that no one's life is perfect.  Life is always tidier from the outside looking in.  I just wish I was better at balancing everything.