some gifts

a couple of gifts recently given... a pair of pajama pants from the same pattern i used for these although i'm a little more proud of this pair. i worked more carefully to sew them nicely. i made a small this time, added longer cuffs than the pattern called for (they ended up being about 3 1/2" long?), and added a loop inside the back waistband to hang them/differentiate the back from the front.quick pictures before i promptly sent them off, forgetting the birthday card.

i also made these as a housewarming gift in a record amount of time (for me) - 30 minutes. cutting the patterns all at once and chain-stitching helped.

more yard sale loot up next.

yard sale loot 4.24

yard sales are my favorite three season sport. today was opening day! i did pretty well; everything in this picture cost $14. i also got a 2-person tent for $20, and later in the day i was walking to the community garden where i now have a plot (!!!) and i passed another yard sale. i picked up a cashmere sweater and a red metal bucket for $3.

pictured above: long cashmere cardigan, printed halter dress, bedside table, burlap coffee bag, pompom strands, vintage green suitcase, spice rack, individual ceramic spice canisters.

i'm almost finished taking in the sides of the cashmere sweater and will be taking in the dress and taking up the hem.

not too proud of this one

i made these quickly and poorly. i was really excited to use a vintage sheet of my mom's to make pajama pants from sewing green. i was so excited that i sped through them and the sewing is really pretty terrible. fortunately, no one will really ever see this besides me (ben would never notice) and i am going put a little more care into it from now on.

apparently the quality of the pictures is on par with the quality of the sewing.

however - i like these a lot. i used the edge of the sheet for the cuff/hem, rather than sewing on cuffs, and i added a little length. next time, i'm going to use the smaller pattern size and add another inch or two to the length. the lightweight, broken-in fabric is so comfortable.

crazy coincidence - when i first went to make these pants, i found that the vintage sheet i wanted to use was the exact same one used in the book! then i realized i liked them too much to cut into them and would rather put them on my bed.

overtaking manhattan

here is my second version of taking manhattan from twinkle sews. i love this one even more - the fabric is a funky version of polka dots on linen. modifications i made include adding length, narrowing the a-line, and removing the drawstring from the cowl. hard to see, but i kept the kangaroo pocket. another $6 shirt and i like this one more than the last one. sorry for the crappy pictures, photography is not my strong point, although i want it to be.

old news

i made this bag about six months ago or so. woops. i forgot to post it. actually, i made it with the intention of building an inventory of bags to sell, and then realized i like it too much and wanted to keep it. i really love both fabrics and the combo of the two, and even how the green zippers fits into the mix. otherwise, it's just another bucket bag.

up next... catching up on things i've been meaning to post.

something for me

this is the first article of clothing i've sewn for myself. well, in the last decade. and that is more than a few pieces. and without my mom's help. anyways, i made the "taking manhattan" top from twinkle sews. i like it a lot - i cut a size 4, which ended up fitting me smaller than it is supposed to, but since the top is intended to be oversized, i like how it turned out. this fabric was a nice crisp cotton, and i spent under $6 on it. this is a $6 shirt!

printing and taping together the patterns was sort of a pain but not as bad as i thought, but pinning it to the fabric was SO much easier than tissue paper. overall the pattern was easy but the instructions missed a few steps - i couldn't have made this if i hadn't sewn much before.

up next is another version of this same pattern with some adjustments.... well, it's actually finished except for the hem because i ran out of black thread. like 3 weeks ago.

just a pillow

nothing too exciting, just a pillow with some fabric from ikea. what i like about this pillow is the opening in the back with these funky vintage buttons from what cheer. hopefully you can't see the yellow stain where i forgot and left the iron sitting on the fabric. i have been meaning to get a fire extinguisher.