Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s a Garden Party!

20140414-211142.jpg Finally, I sewed up the Garden Party Dress! I’ve had this dress cut out for what seems like ever, but I finally got it finished. I started working on it during KCW and wasn’t able to finish it with in the week. 20140414-211550.jpg I used a fun black and white print fabric called Minimalista for the main part of the dress. For the front yoke and waistband I used this fabric from Cotton Couture by Michael Miller. 20140414-211122.jpg 20140414-211253.jpg 20140414-211234.jpg Seriously, I loved making this dress though. I just love Oliver + S patterns, they have such a cult following and for GOOD reason! After a few rough sewing sessions on other projects, it was almost therapeutic sewing this dress. Loved it.

 

 

Holographic Sequin Front Shorts

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Quick check in! I spent my day three of KCW making these Badminton shorts. Really fun, cute sew! The pattern is Oliver + S Badminton Skort. These shorts are the shorts that go under the skirt in the Skort. I used a holographic sequin performance fabric from Joann for the front and a regular denim fabric for the back and layered under the sequin. To hem the shorts I actually rolled the hem up instead of under so the sequins wouldn’t scratch Ava’s legs. Other then that everything was pretty basic.

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The Anywhere Dress

I’m still chuggin’ along on the Kids Clothes Week train!

For day two, I whipped up this little beaut.
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The pattern is the Anywhere Dress. I stumbled upon it the other day and knew I’d like it. I sewed it up in a size 4t no mods besides adding a twill tape bow for accent.
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It came together pretty seamlessly, I don’t really have anything to complain about.
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I found this knit fabric at a warehouse-ish fabric store, I loved it, it totally reminded me of a Diane Von Furstenburg print so I had to have it!
Not much else to report today, see you back here soon to report on the rest of my KCW musings!

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Scalloped Sequins

There’s a lot going on this week in the online sewing community! Monday was the start of the spring KCW annnnd the start of the third week of Project run and Play.

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So, I spent my first day of KCW creating my look for the Design your own fabric theme for Project Run and Play. I decided somehow that I wanted to make a scalloped pattern out of sequin trim!

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I had no clue how I was going to execute symmetrical scallops for a repeating pattern. What I ended up doing was tracing half of a round candle multiple times in a row on to some freezer paper. I then cut it out and traced it on my pattern piece. Speaking of pattern, I used the flashback skinny tee in a size 5 for my big girl! After I traced the pattern onto my pattern piece I took fabric glue and glued the sequin trim on the lines I created! It was super easy and fun. You could either interpret it as Great Gatspy-esque or mermaid-esque, I can’t put my finger on it myself! Anyway, I used a light pink organic french terry with raw hems and grey ribbing for the neck binding.


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As usual I’m feeling pretty ambitious with my KCW plans, not sure how much I’ll get done but I’m excited nonetheless!!

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Poolside Resort Fun


We’re now in week two of Project Run and Play. I’m having a lot of fun seeing how everyone interprets the challenges, really creative stuff! This week the theme is Spring Break Inspired. I decided to go with a poolside resort look, because what’s more chic than that?!

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I started off with a fun flowy Kimono! I used Oliver + S’ Hide and Seek tunic as a general starting point. Whenever I think of vacation or poolside fashion, I think of flowy kimono or kaftan cover ups. I used a gorgeous silky ikatish print fabric from Joann, which I was really nervous to  use. It actually wasn’t bad at all! I really love the way it turned out and so does Ava…thankfully.

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Secondly, I wanted to create something light and bohemian looking. I found this really gorgeous off white embroidered tulle that just screamed bohemian tunic! So I used the Pinwheel dress pattern to create a tunic/blouse. I wanted to play with adding an extra little something to really upgrade just a plain spaghetti strap blouse, so I added an overlay that I’ve had floating around in my head for a while, and I’m pretty happy with it. To complete the look I added some white leggings we had lying around, and of course her pink sparkly jelly sandals!

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Ava’s Hummingbird

I’m sewing along this season of Project Run and Play! The challenge for week one is Put me in the Zoo. Really fun!

I decided to search for a list of Zoo animals to be inspired by and I gave this one a try! I ended up coming across Anna’s Hummingbird. I decided to do a subsequent Google image search to see what popped up and I came across this picture:

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Soo gorgeous right?!
My mom’s name is Anna and we get frequent visits from these gorgeous birds in our backyard so I knew it’d be perfect!

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To start off I used Oliver + S’s Apple picking dress as a basis. I lengthened everything to turn it into a blouse. It gets really really hot here in Phoenix in the summer so I made the blouse sleeveless. I decided to go with a classic black shirting fabric for the bodice and a really cool ombré black to grey fabric for the ties. I think it really captures the essence of the body of the bird in the photo!

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To capture the essence of this birds amazing head feathers I decided to use this pink and purple Michael Miller fabric. I drafted a high waisted paper bag skirt that really showcases the print of the fabric. I added some cute black bow buttons to the blouse for good measure and called it a day!

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I’m really pleased with the way this look turned out, and to top it all off Ava and I had quite the adventure during our photo shoot! We were walking through the neighborhood in front of a property that has gorgeous horses. I decided to take a few photos in front of their fence so we could see the horses grazing in the background. Meanwhile, the owner happened to drive by at the same exact time and invited us in to pet the horses. They even let Ava sit on one. Made our day!

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A Floral Fairy Tale

Ava’s Birthday has come and gone. I now have a 4 year old…scary! Here’s a fun fact for you all, Ava was born on Valentines day!

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Every year I like to throw her a fun backyard birthday party. This year the theme was floral. I just knew I had to pull out all the stops and make her a fun birthday dress that went along with the theme. Enter: Oliver + S’s Fairy Tale Dress pattern. I decided to go with a fusion of view A and B, tulip Sleeves, no collar and a huge bow sash.

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I really wanted to take my time with this one. More often then not I like to finish a garment in one sitting, which i feel like always ends up leading to sleep deprivation! Knowing that this has a 3 out of 4 difficulty rating, I wanted to make sure i didnt sacrifice quality for a sewing marathon.

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I really enjoyed the process though and even added a double layer of crinolin between the lining and the outer skirt for extra fullness. The fabric is a pastel floral from Philip Jacobs. I decided to make the bow sash in a graphic black and white stripe, definitely a risk but I LOVED the way it brought a fun juxtaposition to it all!

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A fun challenging sew that was worth the extra effort. The perfect party dress pattern, fit for a princess!

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Ready or Not Here I Come!

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I was SO excited to see that the new Oliver + S Spring/Summer patterns were released this last week! I could not wait to make one of them, any of them.

So first up is the Hide and Seek Dress/Tunic pattern. I decide to make the tunic version. I used a really fun purple quilting cotton by Julia Horner for the bodice inlay and a black linen for everything else. I also chose some really cute purple buttons that are a different shade of the purple in the blouse, I think it adds a little dimension!

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I really love this pattern and all the possible ways it can be customized!I sewed it up in a 4t and went with a pretty minimal version, but I think it’s just enough! The loose drape of it is really fun, it gives me a laid back bohemian vibe.

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I really had a great time sewing this top. The pattern is as always impeccably written. I didn’t run into any issues, which is always a plus! I would expect no less from Oliver + S! Great Collection Liesl!

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Apple Picking Dress

How fun is this?! Much more fun then just posting on my Flickr Page! First up a new dress!

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This is my first go at the Apple Picking Dress and I have to say its a new fav. It came together very nicely!I used an Ikat quilting cotton from Joann for the bodice and tie, and grey sweatshirt fleece for the fun double layer skirt, and I found the cutest grey buttons to match.
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While I normally go with a size 3t in Oliver + S patterns, I went with a 4t this time and I’m so glad I did. Ava’s getting taller by the minute!

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Thankfully, I didn’t run into any problems while sewing up this beauty. I highly recommend!

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