January Sew-Along Final Update

Here's the final update for the January Sew-Along! The big reveal if you like :D IF you want to see the first few posts check out the sidebar and look for the Label Sew-Along.

What I Wore:

Shirt: Made By Me (from this pattern)

Cardi: Smart Set

Jeans: Zellers

Belt: Reitmans

Boots: Chocolate Craving Boot from Modcloth

I wore the finished product on my day trip to the States that I took over the weekend with some friends from work. I am really pleased with how the shirt turned out. Sometimes patterns don't fit very well and you have to do some tweaking to make it work. Luckily that wasn't the case with this one. I would definitely recommend this pattern to anyone, even someone who considers themselves a novice sewer should find it relatively straight forward. It fits great and it's cute too!

Last time I left off with having the facings sewn on the front all ready for the button holes. For the last few steps you can see what I did in this picture. 

12. Once the facings were sewn in place I took out the button hole placement guide and marked off where to put the buttonholes. Then I attached the buttonhole foot to my machine and sewed them. I had sewed the buttons onto the other facing piece. I also sewed a snap at the very top (on the inside) to ensure that the bow wouldn't flop forward.

13. The last step was to add the bow! Fist I wad to sew on the knot part. First I sewed the piece into a tube (inside out) and then turned it to the right side. The piece was now a square and I sewed the top and bottom sections onto the top of the right facing. Next I did the same with the bow pattern piece as I did with the knot. I made it into a tube and the turned it right side out. I "crushed" it and slipped it through the knot opening. The last step was to slip stitch the bow to the knot so that it would stay in place. 

Ta-Da! The shirt is now all finished. I hope that you enjoyed following my work on this project. Here is a sneak peak of next month's project.

I am going to do Simplicity pattern 1777. Here is a link to the pattern online if you want to take a closer look. I have already started working on it since I will be away next week, but I will have an update ready to post next Thursday. If anyone is thinking of working along with me on this one I would love to hear about it!

Photo An Hour: January

As part of my 2013 goals I wanted to do a "photo an hour" post every month. I had planned to do the pictures a couple weekends ago, but it didn't work out as I kept forgetting to take pictures every hour. Luckily, last weekend I went on a shopping trip to Amherst, NY with some friends from work so I decided to depict that day instead. So here are the pictures from the trip, better late than never I always say! There are a couple half hour ones, and a few gaps since we were shopping, but I stuck to the goal better than during the first attempt. 

7:00 am Wake up to a grey and icky day.

7:30 am Had my clothes all picked out and ready to take a shower.

8:00 am Eating my breakfast, I love Banana Nut Muslix!

9:00 am In the car at my friends (she lives across the street!) and ready for the drive across the border.

10:00 am Crossing the Rainbow Bridge to Niagara Falls. 

10:30 am We got a bit lost and had to stop to plug in the GPS. This place was a book outlet and archery range for some reason...

11:00 am - 1:00 pm We arrived at Jo Ann's and were ready to shop for some fabric. We spent two hours here and I didn't think to take a picture inside so we lost a picture, sorry :(

1:00 pm We arrived at the Olive Garden for some fine Italian cuisine. If any one has seen Clone High you know what I am talking about.

1:30 pm Me just goofing around while waiting for food. Plus a sneak peak of my finished January Sew-Along shirt!

2:00 pm My delicious repast. 

3:00pm (ish) We arrived at Target for some more shopping. We thought we better check it out before it comes to Canada, haha. 

4:00 pm We got some slushies after we were done our shopping for the drive home.

5:00 - 6:00 pm Crossing the bridge back to Niagara Falls.

6:00 - 7:00 pm Still waiting to cross the border. It took way longer on the way home than it did on the way there.

7:30 - 8:00 pm Finally made it home and took some time to peruse my purchases and put them away. This is the fabric I got at Jo Ann's. You did not see it incorrectly, there is some comic book print, a man with some penny farthings (big wheel bikes) print and a scissor print. They have some great stuff in that store! 

And some of the stuff from Target.

Overall I had a really great day. I am glad I decided to go on the trip. I was a little hesitant at first because we are going to Florida next week. but my mother assured me we will not be going anywhere near a fabric store during the trip (because both my parents hate them), so in the end I couldn't pass it up. I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into a day in my life! 

Peter Pan and Polka Dots

What I Wore:

Shirt: Thriftex (Talize)

Cardi: Walmart

Skirt: Thrifted (Talize)

Tights: Ardene

Shoes: Blowfish

I picked up this cute  peter pan collar shirt and double kick-pleat skirt the weekend before last when I was shopping with my sister. I liked the idea of pairing this shirt with this cardi because the collar on the cardigan emphasizes the perter pan collar on the shirt. It was also a step outside the box for me since both items have prints on them, which you can't really see in the picture because the print on the shirt is small, but trust me it is there. I don't own a lot of clothing items with peter pan collars, but they are really starting to grow on me. I saw this shirt at the store and thought it was really cute, and the peter pan collar was an added bonus. I definitely want to get more in wardrobe which is why some of the dresses I am planning on making will include a peter pan collar. I really liked the skirt too because it has a double kick-pleat instead of just one like you normally see. 

You might have noticed in these pictures that this cardigan is kind of an odd length. The arms were kind of short when I tried on the L at the store so I ended up buying an XL instead. But then the body was super long. It doesn't look too bad with this shirt, but it does look kind of odd with other things. To make a long story short I ended up putting it in the dryer after I wore it with this outfit, hoping that it would shrink a little bit. I forgot that I had done so until I was folding my laundry earlier today and noticed that the sleeves looked a little short. In fact the whole sweater had shrunk quite a bit. The body is a regular size, but the sleeves are more like 3/4 now than full length. Luckily I am okay with that since I end up pushing up most of my long sleeve shirts/cardis anyway. I was mostly just surprised by how much it shrunk! I have never had anything shrink that much in the dryer before, it was kid of crazy. I'll have to do some before and after pictures next time I wear it so you can see the difference.   

P.S. I apologize if this post is rambling or doesn't make sense, I am typing it up a bit later at night than usual and I am tired. Our internet was down for a few hours, there was a huge outage in our area, and I didn't get a chance to write it up at a reasonable hour. 

Electric Moment

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Quo: Electric Youth

Quo: Cinderella Moment

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

Starry Starry Night

What I Wore:

Sweatshirt: Winners

Shirt: Zellers

Skirt: Smart Set

Tights: Old Navy

Boots: Sears (Hot Paws)

I am pretty mad for this sweatshirt. I am not normally one for sweatshirts, but I saw this at Winners when I was shopping with my sister last weekend and it had to be mine. I like to call it the "crazy" sweater because it does look a little crazy and it isn't what I normally go for. This story sounds a little bit like my last post, but it was just coincidence that I wore two of those "must own" items in a row. This find was particularly lucky because it was the only one in my size and in that colour (there were a couple a size up with gold sequins, but I like the silver way more). I was a little worried it wouldn't fit because it looked a bit small on the hanger, but I tried it on and it fit perfectly! It was exciting as that doesn't often happen to me, it was meant to be. I really like the pairing of the blue tights, grey skirt, and black/silver sweater. Plus the silver in the boots just kind of ties it all together. These are actually my heavy duty winter boots (it was snowing and cold that day) but I liked them with the rest of the outfit.

 As of Friday morning I wasn't sure if I would be able to do my super special secret post during the week that I was away because there wasn't any snow. But as luck would have it, it snowed most of Friday afternoon and evening and I was able to get some great outdoor shots! I have edited them (they look great) and I am working on writing up the post to go with the pictures, and I am really excited to share that with you the first week of February. Are you excited yet?

P.S. This was supposed to be up at 9am but I scheduled it for Tuesday by accident, whoops. I didn't realise it but this is my 100th post, so happy 100 blog posts!!!!

Vintage Button Collage

What I Wore:
Dress: Thrifted (Talize)
Cardi: Thrifted (Value Village)
Leggings: Suzy Shier
Socks: Spring
Boots: Payless (ageeeeesss ago)

The minute I spotted this dress I knew it had to be mine! Do you ever just see something in the store and know that you have to own it? It was definitely love at first sight. I loved the cut of it (there is a keyhole cut out of the back which you can't see here, but I will show another time), the fact that it was made in Canada, and the awesome button details that the previous owner obviously added. The buttons are my favourite part for sure. They are all really unique, and the one with the school bus is actually a pin. If I had to choose a favourite though I think it would be the floral one, it is very retro and kind of grandma-y. It looks like it should be a wallpaper print in someone's kitchen in the 1950s. I love it.

I have some exciting news to announce that I have been withholding for a few weeks now. The first week of February my family and I are going on a trip to Florida to Universal Studios and Harry Potter World!!!! I am soooooooooooo excited, I can't even express how much really. I absolutely love Harry Potter and I cannot wait to tour around that section of the park. We are also going to visit my Aunt, do some shopping (of course), and possibly go to New Orleans which is also really exciting. I was waiting until it got closer to the date to announce this, and now seems like the perfect time. What does this mean for the blog you might ask? Well, I am going to type up some posts in advance and schedule them so that there will still be content that week. I have been trying to work on a special post, but I kind of need snow (or would prefer to have snow) for it to be really awesome so I will have to wait and see on that one. But yeah, that's my news and I really can't wait to go! I am amazed that I kept it a secret for so long. Has anyone else been there before? Is it as awesome as I am hoping it will be?

January Sew-Along Update II

Last week I left off with having the shirt sewn together at the shoulders. Here are the next few steps in the construction process.

8. The first step was to sew the side seams together. Then I hemmed the bottom of the shirt. They allowed for a 5/8" (1.5 cm hem) so I measured that out, folded it, pressed it and sewed it. This was a relatively easy and quick process.

9. Next I worked on the collar pieces. I sewed the front two pieces to the back one. I had to do this twice because there is the outer collar that is visible in this picture, and the inner collar (called a facing). After the pieces were together and the seams had been pressed I attached the outer collar to the neck edge. This was probably the worst part of constructing this shirt. Because of the curve of the neck it was fussy to pin and the collar didn't want to sit right. It took some patience (and possibly some swearing on my part), but I finally got it in. Once the outer collar was attached, I pinned the facing to it at the top edge. I sewed them together,  turned the facing in and then stitched it down from the outside. 

10. Once to collar was attached I hemmed the armholes. I used the same method here as I did for the hem at the bottom of the shirt. You were supposed to use bias tape, but I liked the idea of the arms looking like the hem, I thought it would balance it out.

11. Next I worked on attaching the front facings (where the buttons are going to go). There are two facings so I had to do the next few steps twice. First I took one facing and folded it right sides together, folded one edge up 3/8" (0.8cm) and pressed it. Then I sewed the top and bottom edges shut,turned it right side out and pressed it. This was repeated for the other facing piece. Then I pinned the non folded edge to the front of the shirt and sewed it. Last but not least I pinned the inside of the facing down from the outside (like with the collar) and sewed it down from the outside. 

I didn't take as many pictures this time because it seemed like I took way too many last time. Now I realise that I probably should have taken some of attaching the facings because the instructions seem a bit confusing just reading them out. But hey, that;s partially why I am doing this project. It is a learning experience for me and you :)    

Overall this piece was relatively simple to construct. I am actually all done the project now, I finished it up yesterday, and I will do the big reveal next week!

Fabric Pile

What I Wore:

Shirt: Reitmans

Tank: Suzy Shier

Blazer: Thrifted

Pants: Zellers

Shoes: Ardene

Necklace: Xcetera (I think) 

I wore this outfit during a shopping outing with my sister and then to a work dinner afterwards. I totally intended to do my photo an hour for January that day, but that didn't work out. I found it really hard to remember to stop what I was doing to take a picture every hour. I only ended up taking about five pictures, it was an epic fail. I did get a lot of great stuff during our trip though, some of which I will be showing off next week. I bought one thing at Winners, some great stuff at Talize (including shoes which is crazy since I never find good used pairs), and a lot of fabric because there was a 50% off sale at Fabricland. I am going to be kept busy sewing for a good long while. I bought about 21 meters of fabric at the sale, plus I have about 6 more meters that are designated to projects already. That's just fabric I have ideas for (mostly draping projects), I have three groups of fabric that I already have patterns for too. I think I might have a problem. You guys are going to be treated with some hand made stuff in the future.

My work dinner was really good. It was our Christmas dinner, which apparently they always have the third week in January. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called Binh Minh. I had never been there before and I must say that the food was absolutely delicious. The portions were ginormous and were decently priced. I also got a honeydew bubble tea (if they serve it I usually order one) and it was very tasty. If anyone has a chance to check them out (there are two locations in Hamilton) I would highly recommend it.  

Purple Triangles

Supplies Used:

Sally Hansen: Thicken-Up!

Revlon: Impulsive 240

Quo: Instant Artist (Black)

Revlon: Extra Life No Chip Top Coat

*Sorry for the poor quality image, I hadn't quite got the hang of taking nail shots when I took this one

Mad(e) for Cardigans

What I Wore: 

Shirt: Zellers

Cardi: Thrifted

Skirt: Smart Set

Leggings: Suzy Shier

Socks: Ardene

Belt: Reitmans

Boots: Payless (ages and ages ago)

I must say I am really enjoying taking my outfit pictures in advance. Not only does it mean I have some ready in advance, and I can schedule posts (particularly great if I am sick), but it also means that I can appreciate my outfits a little more. It gives me a new perspective, looking back at what I wore a few days ago while I am typing up the post. I guess it could also be a bad thing if I decide that I don't really like what I wore (it has happened before) but luckily that was not the case with this outfit. Looking at these pictures I have realised again how much I love this sweater. I bought it a few years ago while on a thrifting trip with some friends. I wasn't really into cardigans then as much as I am now, but I think this one kind of set of a new thought process along the lines of "hey, you should buy more cardigans since they are awesome." I think I ended up buying another one later that day at the mall, and I haven't looked back since. Just in case you needed confirmation that I am a little crazy, I am pretty sure I just confirmed it.

Luna was staring at me while I was taking these pictures, that obviously meant that she wanted me to pick her up and take some pictures with her, right? Totally. So enjoy some gratuitous pictures of a cute rabbit, hopefully they will brighten your day a bit  :)