Cruise clothes....

I made this blouse: Simplicity 2619 I made the blouse out a lightweight gauzy, red gingham check (small so I didn't have to match too much). I am also going to make the capri pants in a white stretch cotton blend.

And this shirt for my husband: McCalls 4399 It is a lovely Haiwiian print - red with yellows, blacks, and tans. But no obnoxious looking flowers.

I am making these cargo shorts right now: Simplicity 3891 They are made from a stretch denim - something he wants to try. I have the front fly done, the front pockets (though I have to go back & fix them so the belt goes through them) and I have made the back pockets. I haven't attached them, but I have made them!

All I have left for the cruise is this dress: Simplicity 3823

I plan on making View E (the red dress). I will wear it over a white t-shirt as to be modest. I am using a white and light blue cotton print.

There are no pictures because husband is out of town this week. He will return on Friday - so maybe some then. I don't think he would like me posting a picture of his shirt on Suzanne, the sewing mannequin!

More A+ certification studying than sewing right now...

which is really sad, because I have 1 pair of shorts and a new shirt to make my husband for our cruise next month. I also have a pair of capris, a new blouse, and a new sundress to make for our cruise too!

However, my A+ certification is quickly approaching and this week with dh at home all week, I have been studying more and repainting my little guys' bedroom.

So - back to more computer technology! Sewing - next week - dh will be out of town and I will be able to sew at night.

Have you tried sewing with little kids around?

And no teenagers around to help? Wow - I didn't realize how much time and effort my older children put in to helping with my younger children at times. I don't ask them to care for them as parents, but rather they play, read, and do puzzles and games, and take them outside to play for me!

As parents, we help them do all the other stuff - chores, getting dressed, helping with laundry, etc. But seriously - I haven't had kjust 3 littles under 9 since my oldest was 5 (and then they were 5, 2, and newborn!). I am seriously out of practice with just having littles around!

So, I have only done 2 things - worked on the secret princess dress for my almost 4 year-old daughter; and I have been working on my mom's new dress. It is almost done - it is sitting beside me, waiting for me to finish hand-stitching the armhole facings and neck facing - I finished the hem earlier.

I also realized how little time I have had to have to study! I have only managed to get in about 1 hour per day - including today! My other teens (17 & 14) who are still here this weekend (my 12 year-old went on 4 day trip with my mom)...have wanted my attention all day! They always have so much to tell me about their week in school - they come home each day, eat snack, do homework, and then have dinner, do more homework and go to bed early - because their first class is at 6:20am! So they have been visiting and talking with me all day.

I enjoy it - but still....

I promise - I do have pictures - of my new blue blouse, my sister's birthday blouse, and my younger daughter's vintage dress and pinafore I have finished. Maybe tomorrow I can upload them????/

Lots of sewing going on. Pictures? Not so much.

And so is several other things - a new blue 1950's blouse for me; a new teal church dress for dd#2; a new chiffon blouse for my mother; a new chiffon blouse for dd#1; a brown/white polka dot dress that I made into a skirt for my mother; a skirt to wear over my swimsuit for our cruise; and a quilt block for a dear friend who husband recently died.

I have pictures of the birthday blouse. I haven't worn the new blouse yet (I will tomorrow though!) and I forgot to get pictures of the things I made my mother.

I will post pictures of my sister's blouse tomorrow, with explainations too! And of my new blue blouse.

Do I sew lots? Yep - all the time. I am either studying for my A+ certifications for IT technician and essentials exams (I am currently finishing my BS in Health Informatics); home-educating my younger 4 children; helping my older 2 children in high school with their homework; or doing typical mom stuff.

I try to sew every day for 1 hour, or more if I can. I seriously have no other hobbies - although I do play piano, read, and serve within our church.

Today I have also been working on birthday invites for dd#3 - who will be turning 4 soon! This is good and bad - bad because she is our baby, but good because each day she becomes more independent!

Blue Flowered swimsuit

I love sewing swimsuits! They are fun, easy and a nice way to practice sewing with stretch fabric!

I made this suit for my daughter #2. Because we live in southern Arizona, our summers start around May and end about late Sept (those there have been years when April is way hot and so is October!).

I tend to buy fabric out of season, and such was the case with this blue floral lycra (I think I picked up 2 yds for $5). I underlined each piece with some lightweight blue lycra due to the fact that the blue floral fabric was see through when wet (that would have been scary, huh?).


This is a Kwik-Sew pattern that I have had around for several years. It takes just under 1 yd for the girl size 10. It also sewed together fairly quickly, with most time spent zig-zagging the elasic in all 5 areas, and they turning each area down and more zig-zag stitching!

It has lasted her all summer - I made this in late May, here it is August, and she is still wearing it - and we swim every other day!

And yes, we are still swimming. Today it was 105°.

Finishing the finale touches on my sister's new blouse

My little sister (well, she isn't too young - she is almost 29!) loves simple clothes. So, for her birthday I am making her a white blouse. Very simple - just white cotton poly broadcloth. Simple buttons. French seams, bust darts, princess darts, etc.

After I finishing handstitching the collar down and sew on the buttons, I will post a picture of it on the mannequin - I think my girls named her Suzanne.

I might make her another cute blouse, too, seeing that her birthday isn't until the end of the month.

Silk blouse for me!

This is my new duponi silk blouse. The color is about right - it is not quite an off-white, but not quite a pale yellow; it's somewhere inbetween the two.

I washed the silk and then air-dried it. This changed the feel and look of the silk - making it softer and much "nubbier"; something I was not expecting, but I really enjoy.

I used this Simplicity 2758 for this blouse. I loved the ease of it - plus the fact that I could choose the bust size to make - meaning I didn't have to make a FBA for it!

I added underarm shields because it is terribly hot here and everyone sweats - no matter what deodrant you wear!

I changed up the buttons and added them in groups of two for interest - something that is noticed everytime I wear this blouse!

Mending, mending, mending...

Well, after finishing my studying last night, I did some much needed mending. Mostly because the mending basket was larger than my to sew basket. Sigh. (with 6 kids, I think my mending basket is always bigger)

So, I mended. And mended more. By the time I went to bed I had finished mending or altering:
3 skirts (new zipper in 1, new hemline in the 2nd, and smaller waistline :) in #3)
1 tankini top and bottom for dd #1 (made smaller in back and neckstrap and adjust belt on bottoms)
1 pair of exercise capris (mine again - made smaller all throughout!:))

And then I remembered I needed to embroider a few things.

So I embroidered (I own a Brother Innovis 900D):
Ariel (dd#1 new shirt)
Jasmine and Aladdin (dd#3 new shirt)
Floral design for a memory quilt for a friend who recently lost her husband (a group of us are making her a quilt with each block made by one of us)

I still have to re-fit dd #1 dress - I took the seams apart to make it larger in the chest (smart mom that I am, she was so small in that area, that I left 1" seams to make it larger later - which I am now doing tomorrow).

This week I plan on starting on a new blouse for my sister's birthday - just a plain white blouse - that's what she likes!

And then I will be cutting out some new dresses for dd#2 and a home decor item for my family room...

and still studying....