Sew With Me September - The Cargo Duffle Bag

Whew! I finished my bag! The last component of my coordinates for the Sew-A-Long. 

After not having time to work on it Saturday or Sunday, I was starting to get worried that I wouldn't get it completed!

I worked all day yesterday, to get it finished.

The pattern is free from Robert Kaufman Fabrics. (You can get here.) 

I omitted the pocket flaps and next time around, I'm going to make the handles skinnier. It's slightly awkward holding it with them being so wide.

There are a few mistakes...(per usual) but for my first bag I'm super happy! 

I didn't know if the hearts were going too much and a little childish but it turned out okay!

The bag gave me the opportunity to use the walking foot that came with the Singer sewing machine I thrift-ed back in June. 

(I'll share it with ya'll one of these days...) 

All I can say is..."Wow!" Walking feet make a ton of difference! 

Along with the power of the all metal machine and the foot it sewed all the layers of fabric like a dream! 

From the stash:

- Fabric

- Thread

- Zipper

- Interfacing

From the store:

- Quilt Batting

The Run Down of all the pieces...

Week 1: Skirt - Pattern: Butterick 6185

Week 2: Blouse - Pattern: Butterick 6185

Week 3: Pants/Shorts - Pattern: Simplicity 1371

Week 4: Accessory - Pattern: Cargo Duffle Bag

I had a blast doing the Sew-A-Long! It was fun to stretch myself with having to coordinate everything and I'm so happy to have that heart fabric out of the stash! 

If it wasn't for the Sew-A-Long the heart fabric would still be in the stash and I would still be puzzled on what to make with it! 

I also really enjoyed the time frames put on each project as it helped keep me productive!

Speaking of the time frames... I thought my next project would be to keep working on the 1950s dress for a friend. ...TaMera had a different plan! She asked me to make her a fall shirt for an event on Saturday!! *enter freaked out emoji*

Off to frantically start sewing a blouse!

-'- Jewel

Fabric busted on these projects: 2 yards (1.8288 m)

Fabric busted since March 1st, 2015: 57 5/8 yards. (52.6923 m)

See Jewel's pledge and get more information on the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong HERE

We would love to hear from you! Say a quick "hello" in the comments!

Sew With Me September - Shorts {Simplicity 1371}

Yesterday, I finished my shorts for the Sew-A-Long! 

The pattern is Simplicity 1371 a design by Cynthia Rowley. I really wanted to make the pants version but there only would've been enough fabric for one pant leg... That would be a new style!! hahaha 

The fabric is from my Grandmother and it worked well for the shorts. I have no idea what kind of fabric it is so don't ask. haha

Because there wasn't enough fabric for the shorts, it has a fun pop of red hearts throughout! The left pocket as well as the facing!

Next up? The coordinating bag! It's all cut out just waiting to get sewn together!

(Hoping to be showing you that sooner than later!)

-'- Jewel

Fabric busted on these projects: 1 3/8 yards (1.2573 m)

Fabric busted since March 1st, 2015: 55 5/8 yards. (50.8635 m)

See Jewel's pledge and get more information on the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong HERE

We would love to hear from you! Say a quick "hello" in the comments!

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Chambray Skirt {McCall's 6706}

When I saw this fabric in the fabric from Grandmother I knew I wanted it to be McCall's 6706! My favorite, favorite skirt pattern! 

For the waistband, I added a facing instead of folding it in half like the pattern called for because I didn't have enough fabric for the entire width of the waistband.

Obviously, I'm scheming about my next sewing project!

This skirt is going to be like the blue jeans of my dressy side of my wardrobe! It's comfy, I feel great in it and it goes with almost everything!

Working on my "fun poses" like TaMera told me I needed to do! haha

Happy Sewing,

-'- Jewel

Skirt made in August.

Fabric busted on these projects: 1 5/8 yards (1.4859 m)

Fabric busted since March 1st, 2015: 54 1/4 yards. (49.6062 m)

See Jewel's pledge and get more information on the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong HERE

We would love to hear from you! Say a quick "hello" in the comments!

Tattered & Torn ["Fix"ashion]

I found Grandmother's “fix it” pile from the farm, (my Grandmother hasn't lived on the farm for over 20 years.) There were some great quality farm shirts in the storage box.

This is a shirt that any normal person would have thrown away. ...But, I'm not normal so of course I kept it.

• The sleeves had been removed leaving fraying armholes. 
• The side seams were coming apart. 
• The pocket flaps were hanging on by a thread. 
• The worst part? All the yoke seams were coming out. If you held it up with two fingers it looked beyond repair.

One thing that was holding on amazingly was the collar! 

How could I let that amazing collar go to waste?? 

The answer is, I couldn't. 

• The first step was getting the yoke under control. I did my best to follow what looked like the old stitching line.
• Next was re-sewing the side seams.
• Then rolling the armholes. 

When inspecting the shirt in the mirror I noticed the armholes were big. Annoyingly, big. 

How I made the armholes smaller is hard to explain...so I won't. But, it did make it look like a pleat which was totally unexpected!

These are TaMera awesome cat earrings she let me wear!

The shirt came out like I imagined! The first time a “fix”ashion or refashion has!

-'- Jewel

Sew With Me September SewAlong - Blouse {Butterick 6185}

My blouse for this week is the same pattern as my skirt last week, Butterick 6185. I wanted the combo to look more like a dress when worn together. (Don't worry my shorts aren't going to be entirely red with white hearts. Haha)

The blouse is the same pattern as Red & Blue Moons in a White Sky Blouse I made back in May. This time I didn't omit the collar.

This blouse and skirt pattern will be made again! I really like them as separates and as a whole. The construction is straight forward and easy.

For some reason, I am in love with this outfit. (Haha See what I did there?) It's super comfortable and I just do!

Samantha (my oldest sister) asked "What's the deal with the hearts?" and it occurred to me that you might be wondering the same thing.

The reason is simple...it was in the stash. I chose to use it for the sew along because I figured I'd wear it more as a shirt and skirt rather then a dress. 

I have the shorts all cut out for next week! I've only made one other pair of shorts so we'll see how it goes! :)

Make sure to check the post out on the skirt HERE!

-'- Jewel

Fabric busted on these projects: 4 5/8 yards (4.2291 m)

Fabric busted since March 1st, 2015: 54 1/4 yards. (49.6062 m)

See Jewel's pledge and get more information on the 2015 Stashbusting Sewalong HERE

We would love to hear from you! Say a quick "hello" in the comments!

An Announcement Plus Our Labor Day Sale Finds!!

Sew With Me September SewAlong - Skirt {Butterick 6185}

I'm apart of a SewAlong group on FaceBook and this month we are doing Sew With Me September "roughly each week sewing a simple coordinate that can be completed" creating two outfits for mixing and matching! The schedule is: week one a skirt, week two a blouse, week three pants and week four an accessory.

The skirt I chose is Butterick 6185 which is a Lifestyle Wardrobe pattern. 

While in the midst of sewing it...I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. What I realize now, is I didn't know what it was going to look like on me since I had't made a skirt like this before. Thankfully it look great and feels great!

Before I go...I'll let you in on a little secret. When we take photos in front of the wood pile it means there is a strong south wind! The wood works as a great windbreaker! :)

Smiles!

-'- Jewel

Pattern: Butterick 6185 - Fabric: Stash - Shirt: Big Red Shop - Headband: Shopko Hometown

August Stashbusting Overview

August was a "sew" "sew" month for stashbust-ing.

I sewed a lot from the stash and Grandma also gave me some more fabric... I'm afraid that adding still out weighed the using. 

I'm okay with that because I seem to be back into the sewing groove! Yes!

Fabric stash busted:

4 7/8 yards - Step Aside Strawberry Shortcake (Dress) 

1 5/8 yards - A Brother-In-Law "Approved" Skirt

2 yards - A Blouse for Mom

9 5/8 yards - Mid-century Sheets Into Simplicity 1099

1 5/8 yards - Chambray Skirt

3 1/8 yards - Dottie Angel Frock (Post coming soon)

2 yards - Facing my Fears with Chevron Shorts

23 7/8 yards busted this month!!!

I have no idea how September is going to come out but August has made me excited!

Smiles!

-'- Jewel