MMM '13 Days 8 - 15

Last year I did fairly thorough picture taking and blogging, posting a picture to flickr everyday with details of my outfit.  This year, I'm still enjoying it and definitely enjoying looking through the other participants' photos, but I'm not whole hog into it... and it shows.
So here's what 'cha get.

on left: Chambray wide-leg pant with eyelet trim.

middle: (cheater pic because I didn't get a picture that day) Simplicity 1805 in grey knit

right: Molly Blossom Mermaid Fizz pattern in Paganelli Fabrics

on left: Old Navy pants with Lisette Traveler Dress cut off to shirt length in chambray

right: Old Navy pants with Grainline Scout Tee in voile

on left: same wide leg pant as above, but in Amy Butler quilting cotton for pj's

top right: Simplicity 2892 in a teal floral rayon blend

bottom right: Sewaholic Renfrew in a waffle knit

MMM '13 Days 1-7

We are all moved in to our rental in Atlanta, Georgia and I am sooooo glad to be home.  We ate at Panera with family and snapped this photo on the patio of me in my sewn knit cardigan.  This is actually taken on the 2nd, but I make up for my lack of a picture on the first with some extra outfits... you'll see.

I have these Old Navy pants in 5 colors and this orange happened to be a perfect compliment to the cardi.

Baby girl (who's not a baby any more) wanted to be in the picture because she was particularly fond of her hat.

The 3rd found us traveling to DC for a vacation/conference.  My husband is a Radiologist and has been to this conference for the past four years.  I kinda hope he keeps going because I like DC. :)

I wore my Sewaholic Renfrew pieced together with Spoonflower knits.

Day 4.  After walking quite a ways to get to G Street Fabrics to do some shopping, I was glad to be back at the hotel and in bare feet.  There was a HUUUGE mirror and equally huge painting in our room, so this ends up being a nicer-than-usual mirror shot.

The skirt is the me-made.  It began it's life as a maxi dress I made last Summer.  I never wore it as much as I expected too so I cut it apart and decided to try it out as a skirt instead.

 The evening of the 4th, we went to a reception at the conference and used the heavy hors d'oeurves as dinner, then went to Georgetown to get some cupcakes from this awesome place called Baked and Wired.

I wore my Vogue 1224 dress backwards so the neckline was lower in the back.  I kinda liked it better that way.

Here's me just inside the store window of the cupcake shop.  You can see the cupcakes and other desserts under glass globes on the long counter behind me.

The next night, the 5th, we went out to dinner with friends and I wore this black slip dress that I've had since college under my chevron knit McCalls 6078.

(Picture taken in our room... again.)

We are going to be so spoiled after this trip because we went out to dinner with friends AGAIN on the 6th.  We ate at Filomena which happened to be celebrating 30 years of business.  The Pasta Mama stands right in the front window there, making the pasta from scratch.

I wore my zebra print McCalls leggings (terrible for workouts, which I tried last year, but great for warmth on a chilly evening) and carried my Amy Butler Birdie Sling.

Day 7 is a somewhat lame selfie of me in the lobby enjoying the free wine our hotel offers from 5-6 every day.  I wore the pale pink version of those same Old Navy pants as the first day, along with my grumpy cloud tank and a favorite Target cardi.

Learning How To "Farbenmix It"

A sewing friend of mine and I are both crazy for Farbenmix...  and Euro patterns in general.  I wrote about my new love of Farbenmix here, set the idea aside for a while and now have come back around.
My friend and I, we are crazy for the Euro style, as in, we ogle the gorgeous creations of others and sigh and talk about how we want to sew that way too.
I, for one, have no idea really where to even start... except with a Farbenmix pattern.  That's a good place to start, eh?  But you can't really get the full Farbenmix effect without embellishments and that's the part I'm not really confident in yet.
I have 4 Farbenmix patterns: Amelie, Kim, Yelena and Isabelle
I have made Amelie three times with no embellishment.
I have Kim cut out, but not sewn.
I have made Isabelle with a bit of crochet trim on the hem of the pants. (impressive, right?)
I am working up the courage to try Yelena.

But guess what?  I used a McCall's pattern and Farbenmixed it!
This is McCall's 6643, which is actually a pj pattern, but I liked the swingy knit top.
I took out the gathers on the front and back and put a couple pleats in the sleeve a la Cynthia Rowley's design in a now out-of-print Simplicity pattern.
The Huups embroidery really helps, but even the ribbons on the sleeves, the buttons and bows and the velvet ric rac are important elements.

And, of course, I think the Lillestoff fabrics probably don't hurt.
I could have added more embroidery and more trim, but I'm happy with this... and so is the little girl wearing it.

I want to get more and more adventurous in the very near future with embroidery and trims because I think there is a limited number of years that my girls will be able to pull it off.  No time like the present!


FYI, the friend I mention at the top of this post is beginning a sew-along for the Yelena pants!  You'd better believe I'll be joining in!  Get all the deets HERE.

Lots of Sewing, Not as much Blogging

I've been sewing away!  ...just haven't been writing about it.  I gathered some previously un-posted pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 pouch pattern from Michelle Patterns.

Pixie Tote - my own pattern.

A dress using the free Junebug pattern...

  

and a blouse using a vintage pattern.

I was able to pull an old favorite (Anna Maria Horner's Socialite Dress pattern) out of the closet for myself to coordinate with my girls on Easter morning.

I am in the midst of putting the finishing touches on the Mermaid Fizz ladies' pattern to send it out to testers in a couple days.  

We have begun packing because we are moving to Atlanta in 3 weeks!!  I have set aside a large pile of fabric to pack, but I still have projects I want to work on/finish between now and when we move.  Am I crazy!?

My list includes, a knit shirt from Simplicity 1805 for myself, several pairs of knit shorts for the girls, a quilt/blanket/coverlet thingy for Eden's new room (Sarah Jane Out to Sea!) and I also have some sewing to do for a custom order and for a friend's two daughters.

When we get to Atlanta, I'll need to start the muslin for my party dress that I'm planning to wear to my husband's big graduation reception to finish off his residency.

Hopefully I'll have some time to share with y'all as I go, but I may very well disappear for a bit.  

Mermaid Fizz (for the grown-ups)

The Molly Blossom Mermaid Fizz Maxi Dress  pattern has been in the shop for a while and this dress is still my daughter's most requested.

The time has come for me to make a mommy version.  Very soon, the Mermaid Fizz will be available in ladies' sizes (bust sizes 32 to 45).  Get excited!

I am taking the opportunity on our beach trip to focus some brain power on writing out the instructions for both views.  There will be two different strap options, one thicker for bra-wearing comfort.  

You're welcome.  I know, I'm awesome.

And there will be an optional ruffle at the top of the third tier.

I also took the opportunity to convince my husband to take some pictures... since the beach is just the most perfect place to take pictures of a maxi dress, right?

Man, it's so nice not to have to set the camera up on a tripod (or stack of pillows when I'm at home) and then try to hide the remote for every shot!

The fabric on both dresses above is all from the amazing designer, Jennifer Paganelli.  I adore the vibrant colors and this dress is really a great way to showcase a fabric you love.

I'll be updating the progress on the pattern at my Facebook page, Molly Blossom Design.  Follow me there and on my business blog for all the latest!

UpCycles Are Fun!

Way, way back on January 10th, I showed you somethings that were Coming Down The Line and the very last thing I mentioned was that I might be willing to try some upcycles even though it's not really been something I gravitate toward.
I've done two now and I kinda like it more than I thought I would.  I think the right pattern had to come along to inspire me and that pattern happens to be the Rachel Knit Dress from Funktional Threads.
The worst thing about this pattern is all the pages you have to print out and tape together.  The best thing about this pattern is the design flexibility you have.

Here are the two things I've made so far.

The first is made from an 18 month t-shirt on clearance from Old Navy, some leftover scraps from two fat quarters I bought from Spoonflower back in October and a teal knit of unknown origin.

This one got me in a bit of trouble because I didn't realize that you really aren't supposed to use the small flutter sleeve layer by itself, but if you don't look closely at the arm pit area, it looks ok.
She told everyone about her Bambi shirt the whole day.  I love it when the girls love the clothes I make.

For my second go at this pattern, I really strayed.  I opted out of the side panels, used the curved bottom of the bodice to guide me in cutting the bottom of the shirt off, kept the sleeve that was already on the shirt (cutting it short) and used what I cut from the bottom of the shirt to make some ruffles for the sleeves.

I used the skirt pattern, but since my shirt wasn't as wide as the bodice piece (because of no side panels), I cut three separate skirt pieces instead of folding the fabric like the pattern suggests to make a full circle skirt.  So my skirt was 1/4 less wide and it just worked out.

I have five more shirts now, waiting for some kind of similar treatment.  Just what I need, a new addiction.

Sisters All Set For Summer

I've been using some new patterns lately and it was time to get out another I've had for a while.  I had a hankering to sew a romper with a ruffle butt and grabbed the Tie Dye Diva's Ruffled Sunsuit Romper pattern. I was afraid I might have passed the age/size limit with my youngest since many romper patterns that are this cute seem to be geared toward baby sizes.  I was pleased to discover the pattern I bought started at a 2 and went up to size 6. (There is a 0-24mo option in a separate listing.)
I cut out a three for my short three-year-old.  The pattern has a size guide and some tips to help you decide what size to make.
This mermaid fabric was something that I would have never found and probably would have passed by if I had found it.  It's just not what I gravitate toward.  I like florals, geometrics and woodsy critters and don't tend to buy cartoon-looking prints.  Seeing this print already made into a dress made me fall in love with it and I went right to Hancock Fabrics and bought one yard.

I changed some things... partly from preference and partly from not bothering to read the instructions.  I felt like I didn't need them because I had made this once before... like, a year ago.  I know, I know, it's pretty ridiculous that I couldn't just set the laptop on my sewing table like I usually do with the pattern pulled up on my screen.  Nooooooo.  I had to make it difficult on myself.
Two things I changed on purpose - I moved the straps in because I didn't like that it gaped in the front the last time I made it.  I also sewed the ruffles right down their middles because I had seen that look recently and wanted to recreate it.
I probably should have made each ruffle an inch lower.  She ended up with more of a ruffled back instead of ruffled butt.

After cutting out the romper from my yard of mermaids, I didn't have enough left for a full garment for my older daughter, so I mixed it with another fabric and just used it for sleeves.

Yet another new addition to my ever-growing pattern stash, I pulled out the Leighanna Peasant top/tunic/dress by Sis Boom.

I've had pink pom trim living with my ribbons for months, just waiting for whenever I finally caved and bought this darling pattern.  Out it came to add some fun to the mermaid sleeves.

This pattern gives you so many options and it spells out the sleeve length and top/dress length inch by inch and tells you where it will fall on the child.  There are options for gathers and ruffles and pom trim so each Leighanna could look quite different from another.

I wanted to make a swingy, breezy top to take the place of a t-shirt in the Summer and it looks so cute!

This pattern goes up to 13/14 years... wonder if it would be big enough to make myself one?  hmmmmmm.