Sew Much Ado: Seafarer Pattern Review

First, administrative information. If you look at the top left of the page, just above the "about me" and my picture, you will see PAGES!  Yippee for me figuring out Blogger.  I have a page for all the pattern reviews thus far plus a page for recipes.  There are many more patterns I've sewn but never posted pictures.  I will slowly start adding all of the beginner patterns I did when I first started sewing.  It's scary when you first start and I had no idea what kind of patterns to buy.  Hopefully I can help some new sewing mamas out.  

Movin' on.

Recently I was introduced to Sew Much Ado's Seafarer pattern. It's a classic pattern and a staple in the closet.  I think this took me 1.5-2 hours to sew up.  Pretty quick.  It's a great fit.  Roomy and forgiving yet still flattering on the figure.  Most importantly, comfortable! If you are in between sizes, I would size down.  That's the most wonderful aspect of knit, sizing down! :)

I don't have much else to say other than I love this shirt and will definitely be making many many more in all the different ways possible.  

Prepare yourself for some ridiculous pictures.

My Boyfriend's Apple Pie

A few weeks ago (maybe a MONTH?), I was a guest blogger on Welcome to the Mouse House.  This is one of my all time favorite blogs.  Hayley is amazing.  Her sewing and crafting skills are out of this world!  You should really check out her blog.  She has a tutorials page that will give you all kinds of ideas and inspiration!  My apple pie recipe is on the tutorials page under recipes, but here it is as well.

Enjoy!

My sophomore year in high school, there was a new boy.  

(I'm sure all of you remember that feeling!) 

And he was SOOO cute!  He started dating a friend of mine.  Every single girl in the school was jealous.  Lucky for me, he was in my Spanish class. Hola, guapo! At the end of the semester he began talking to me a lot and we started hanging out during winter break.  He had broken up with

"the other girl" a few weeks before.  If he told me the reason why, I don't remember.

Who wants to talk about other girls when you have a hottie senor looking you in the eyes?

We officially started dating before school began for the spring semester.  When my friend

found out she was no longer my friend.  She was pretty peeved at me, to put it nicely.  Double lucky for me, she was super tall and skinny and got picked up by a modeling agency and flew

out to Spain for 5 months to model. 

(I heard she did topless pics on the beaches, but I was never able to confirm that.)

At some point, I met his family for the first time.  We had dinner at his house.  His mom had made

an apple pie.  It was love at first sight.

Sis Boom Jamie Dress

There is currently a Sis Boom Jamie Sew-A-Long happening; here's Day 1.  It's only 4 days long, very fast sew.  I wanted to participate because the pattern was on sale for $5!

Sis Boom always has great patterns, easy instruction, and it comes in sizes XS-3X.   If you are a busty gal, there is also a cutting line for extra room in the bodice.  This dress truly is flatting on every single figure.  Just Google for images. It has a full skirt but you can easily change it to A line or just narrow the skirt for less gathering.  The pattern gives you measurements to make the dress any length you desire.  I've seen it as a tunic and maxi dress!  Looks awesome with any cut.

The dress does not originally have pockets.  The sew a long tells you how to add the pockets based on the Sis Boom Angie pattern (which I also bought for $5!).

The sew a long ALSO gives instructions for how to make this dress nursing friendly!   Lot 'o' options!

I'm in love with this dress.  It's so comfortable.  Dress up or down or with a bolero when it's cool.

The only thing I changed was the zipper installation and length.  The pattern calls for a 14" zipper, which would make me cut off one pocket.  I only sewed the zipper to the top of my pocket (which was approximately 10").  I'm a pocket girl, I really didn't want to cut 1/2 of it out.

The shorter zipper works fine, but there is not enough room to get the dress over my hips.  I'm forced to take it off/put it on over my head.  Not a big deal for me.  If I had cut 1" off my pocket and used 11" of the zipper, it would have fit over my hips just fine.  

I took extra care to make sure my side checks would match up.  I did a pretty darn good job.

Paco Bean Dorothy Day Tripper Pattern GIVEAWAY!

Yesterday I blogged about the Paco Bean Dorothy Day Tripper sewing pattern.

Isn't she gorgeous?
You can read that post here.  I also talk about two other Paco Bean patterns.  I'll be 100% honest, you need these bags in your collection.  I get lots of compliments on the Eleanor.  My sister in law has already threatened to steal it from me.  Back off, Nancy!
(no, her name is not Nancy)

Well, now is your chance to get the Dorothy Day Tripper for FREE.  Gratis. Frei. Gratuit. Liber.

I love Swoon Sewing Patterns!

I have recently pattern tested two bag patterns for Swoon Sewing Patterns.  I must say, these patterns are awesome!  Really, really great design.  

As an anti-diaper bag mama, I prefer a larger bag to carry all the kid stuff.  i have fallen madly in love with my Eleanor Slouchy Hobo.  You can see my pictures for it here.  Personally, I like cross body bags because when you pick up kids, put them down, pick up items they have throw out of the grocery cart, I don't want my bag falling off my shoulder and all the contents spilling out on the floor.  You know what I'm talking about; so embarrassing!  Well, the Eleanor's strap is the perfect length for cross body, so it will never fall off that shoulder while shopping.  It's also large enough for diapers, wipes, and sippy cups but not so big you feel like a pack mule.  The Eleanor is so comfortable laying on your hip or along your back for when you must carry your infant and toddler at the same time.  

Again, you know what I'm talking about!

The Dottie is a great bag when you are out and about when you don't have to carry items for 4.  You can see my pictures here.  It's also a great bag for a little girl to carry around her necessities.  And by necessities I mean Barbies, stickers, and princess hair ties.  

Yes, I am getting to the point now.  After these two bags, I decided I absolutely positively MUST have the Dorothy Day Tripper bag pattern. 

So here she is, my Dorothy. I really love it!  Great should strap length, nice and roomy interior without being bulky.  This would be the best carry-on bag for a flight.  You could fit a knitting project in this thing!  

I've been keeping a secret!

I happen to 'know' someone out there in sewing land who works for The Scientific Seamstress.  My friend pretty much has the best job in the world.  She blogs for SS, does sew-a-longs, maintains Facebook page, etc.  All from home. Yep, she gets paid to sew.  Dream job. 

Well, because of her, I was invited to test a new SS children's dress.  The Scientific Seamstress likes to keep her new patterns secret until released, which is was today! Here's where you can buy.  The Bebop tunic/dress is on sale today only!

Without further ado...

It's a full "doll like" Bishop dress. I have since jazzed it up with ric rac!

New Sewing Table!

Saturday afternoon I went online to our local buy/sell website (like Craigslist but for Camp Pendleton) and on the home page there was a listing for a FREE corner sewing table!

FREE!  No time wasted, I called the number and said I would be there in 30 minutes.  I pulled Ali out of bed, got the girls into the car and drove over to the house knowing the table would not fit into my SUV without the back seats folded down.  However, I HAD to stake my claim before another sewing ho stole it from me. 

Arrived at the house.  The lady told me she took a bar table and cut it apart to create the corner and chopped the legs down.  She also cut out one sewing machine hole but never attached an under mount piece.  The table is uglier than sin.  It's PERFECT, though! Exact size to hold two machines and when the hubby gets back from deployment, I'll have him fix the under mount for me.  

 I was wondering with who I could pawn the girls on so I could go back to pick up the table.  Instead, I gave the lady $15 so her husband would deliver it to the house.  Totally worth $15, don't you think?

 This thing is BIG and won't fit through a regular door.  Thank goodness my sewing room is the sun room and we have large sliding glass doors to carry it into the backyard and around to the side of the house and back into the sun room  Also, it's a good that I've been working out.  It takes guns to carry this beast by oneself.  Or it takes a man, which mine is not home at this moment in time.

Swoon Dottie Bag

Swoon Patterns will be releasing the beautiful Dottie pattern soon!

I was able to pattern test for Swoon again and really love this bag!

I chose Michael Miller Candy Shop cotton to sew it up.  I took Wonder Under, applied it to the top of my cotton fabric, then ironed on a thin vinyl on top to create a custom laminated cotton look.  

I wanted a vintage-y, plastic appeal to my bag and I think I accomplished just that!

The interior as a zipper pocket and I added a phone slip in pocket as well. 

Victory's Lola

My third selfish sewing adventure (no, I have not blogged about #2 yet) was Victory's Lola.

This has to be one of the fastest clothing items I've ever sewn.  3 hours flat from cut to finish.  No issues, no problems, no ripping seams.  FAST.

I used a light weight sweat shirt fabric I bought on super sale from www.fabric.com.  Even though it's fairly light weight knit, it's still too warm for this summer weather.  It will be perfect for fall and with leggings during winter.  

Action shots.

Candy Castle Gumdrop Bubble tunic/dress

I was lucky to test Candy Castle's Gumdrop Bubble tunic/dress pattern.  

This pattern is FAST!  2.5 hours from cut to finish for each dress.

Super cute for summer and into fall.  

Great fit, easy to follow instructions, and pattern pieces that fit together perfectly!

I decided to make matching dress for my two girls.

Get a load of this cuteness!

Deer and Doe Datura Blouse

Venturing into the realm of selfish sewing!

It really makes more sense to sew for myself.  Kids grow out of clothes so fast!  By the time I finish making the girls a wardrobe, it's the next season and they need a bigger size.  I know I'll be the same size and I can wear it year after year.  

I started with Deer and Doe's Datura Blouse.

This is take 1.  There will be many, many more of these in the near future.  It sewed up super quick and fits so well.  Perfect for summer.

I'll be completely honest. I made the peter pan collar and then forgot to sew it on the front yoke.  I finished making the bodice and realized I didn't attach the collar.  I opted to not rip everything apart to put it on.  I'll save the collar for the next Datura!

The yoke is Karl's old dress shirt that had a rip in the sleeve.  The bottom is a sheer, flowy shirting fabric. There are so many ways to jazz this blouse up.  Hopefully I will have a few more sewn together in a week or two.

Forgive the sans make up and 80's side ponytail.

Sis Boom Tommy Boxers

I sewed up Scientific Seamstress's (Sis Boom, actually) Tommy Boxers yesterday.

These are roomy and comfortable!  Perfect for being lazy at home, working at home, playing at home, or even over the swimsuit shorts.

Very quick sew and comes with the bum lettering too!

I used a sewing fabric which has buttons, thimbles, and spools of thread.  Madeleine loved pointing at all the notions and saying "iisss?"

Of course, I had to add "CRAFTY" to the bum.

Don't hate on these sexy pictures!