Self-Stitched Inventory

The Self-Stitched September Challenge starts tomorrow, so I thought I'd do a little recap of what I have to work with. Wow! Seeing it all at once reminds me it has been a busy sewing year. I really just picked the hobby back up last July, so I'm really impressed with what I've cranked out in that time frame. Here is the breakdown:

5 knit tops or tees. This will be interesting, because I tend to live in t-shirts on the weekend. We'll see how many repeats I end up with from this category.

13 Woven tops....wow! This is one area of my wardrobe I recently vowed to beef up, and I think I have been successful. I guess you could say this was the summer of the tops. I'm really pleased with this because this is the area I seem to have the most trouble shopping for in RTW because everything seems so boring or ill-fitting.

6 skirts, and 1 pair of shorts. No pants. I have made pants before, but not recently. I do have several pairs of RTW that will be mixed in with the tops. Not really an area that I felt like I needed to add to, because I already had plenty of pants. The skirts are an improvement, though, as I really like wearing them, but found out last fall that I had very few in my wardrobe.

3 woven dresses, and 6 knit dresses. A good mix I think.

And the oddballs: 1 scarf/wrap/vest thing, 1 sad looking linen jacket, 1 sweater, and 1 romper. Not sure that jacket will get worn without some major work. It was made in my college sewing course, and looked lovely...until I washed it. My bad. Should have pre-washed the fabric, or dry-cleaned the final product. At that time I didn't know any better.

So the total count is.....37 handmade garments!!! That means I have made 32 garments since this time last year. Holy Cow! I really think this blog has encouraged me to keep up with a hobby I love so much, and document my progress. I think this will be a great Self-Stitched September with plenty of variety, and even some fully handmade outfits. The other thing I'm really excited about is that most of these clothes feel more "me" than anything else has in a long time. Now let's hope I can keep up with the daily photos! I think I'll just post those once or twice a week so it doesn't dominate this space too much.

Who else is participating in Self-Stitched September???

My Custom Fabric

Yay!!! I got my Spoonflower fabric swatch!

And I am super-happy I went ahead and ordered a swatch to try it out. For one thing, the silk crepe de chine fabric is exactly what I was hoping for. My print, although I do like it, I think needs to be scaled a little smaller before I order yardage. I also might mute the orange a bit so it doesn't look quite so halloween. Even though it's paired with navy, the dots sort of read as black from a distance. And yes, my high school colors were orange and black, so I try to stray from that combo. I'm thinking something more like Pantone's fall color Emberglow...What do you think?

Have you ever had your own fabric printed???

Cynthia Rowley Tunic

I finished another top, and realized when counting for Self-Stitched Sept. that I have made quite a few this summer. Which is good because if I get desperate for an outfit come September, I can just throw on any of the tops with jeans and call it good.

The pattern is another Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity number 2584. I did contrast fabric for the yoke detail, but it is the same print, just in another color. I like the subtlety of this detail. From a distance you barely notice it, and then up close you can see the difference. It is a batik print in pink for the main part, and brown for the yoke. Here's the close up:

Another fun and simple top that will be great for casual days here these last days of summer, but will work under a cardigan or jacket come fall!

Flashback Fridays: Vintage Accessories

Another installment from the past, this time in the form of vintage accessories. I am a big fan of vintage accessories because I think they have so much more personality than new. Here are a few things I've picked up over the last year!

Vintage glasses frames...still need to get the glass replaced.

Clock necklace...Reminds me of mid-century mod furniture

Owl necklace. I always seem to get compliments when I wear this necklace. I think it's fun and funky.

Turquoise necklace, Valentines gift from the husband.

Green beaded necklace

And a couple of scarves in fun colors!

To see more Flashback Fridays, click HERE.

Back to School Style

Well here is a little back to school style photo :)

It's an Iphone photo, so not perfect, but it will do for now, as I try to get back into the rhythm of the school year. Thanks to my brother for being a kind photographer after I dropped him off at the field! There's not any handmade in this outfit as I'm stockpiling all of those garments for September...sneaky huh?

Top & Belt: Old Navy
Skirt: Vintage from Red Velvet
Shoes: Payless
Owl Necklace: Vintage from New York trip (post coming soon!)

Back to school, back to school...

So today was the first day back to school. I intended to show my outfit on my body, but the picture didn't get taken before work, and after, I was too worn out, and my hair looked like a frizz-ball from the swampy conditions in my building. So I will spare you...haha. Here is the dress I wore:

It's Anthropologie, and was a birthday gift from my mom at the beginning of the summer. Thanks mom! It's nice and comfy, but looks nice, so it's great for work.

So what does back to school mean for around here? Well, fewer posts. My goal is to still post 3 times a week, including the Flashback Friday posts. We'll see how that goes. Right now, I really just blog for me, so if you're sticking around reading, I do appreciate you but you might expect a little less frequent posting. I'm not going to stress myself out about it, but I do enjoy it, so I'm going to try to keep it going somewhat.

It also means content might change a touch. Maybe more style-centered posts, definitely come September. I know I'll have less time to sew, so we'll see what is blog-worthy since there will be fewer projects. I hope you will stay tuned to see! I also hope things are going smooth if you are also transitioning back to school as a student, teacher, or mom sending kids off. Happy Back to School Season!

Flashback Fridays: Junior Prom

My junior year prom was really exciting for me, because the junior class gets to plan the prom. We picked the theme, the venue, the decor, invites, everything. Here's a pic of me with some of my friends:

L to R: Carrie, me, Amanda, Amanda, Trisha

So I of course wanted something unique to wear. I made my dress out of a slinky fabric with glitter flowers on it. It was a two piece dress that showed a tiny sliver of midriff, and had beaded fringe hanging from the top. In the back it criss-crossed, and laced up. I was in love with this dress. We took plenty of pictures before. The one below was taken in a neighbors yard, which happens to be the house my brother bought last year. Cool, huh?

Here's a closer one, although the quality isn't great. I would have worn that dress probably everyday if I could have. The girls in the picture above had me wear it for a birthday outing to a tea room as a joke, but I don't think they had much trouble talking me into it. Even though it is totally dated, it's easily still one of my favorite handmade things ever.

For more Flashback Friday Posts, click HERE.

Custom Fabric

Have you guys heard of Spoonflower?

It is a site where you can upload your own custom fabric design and have it printed. Basically a designer or sewer's dream! Very Project Runway...I have wanted to try it out for quite a while, but was chicken to spend the money without knowing how it would turn out. Well I went to check it out again this week, and stumbled upon Free Swatch Day....yes! It just happens to start today at noon :)

I had the idea to do a funky polka dot pattern for my first one, so I made this pattern up in Photoshop. Not groundbreaking, I know lol.

{Image copyright SashaMakes}

When I uploaded it to the site, I wasn't a fan of how the repeat turned out. I'm not sure how I would need to do the edges to make it seamless, so I went back in and modified it for more of a random look:

{Image copyright SashaMakes}

I'm happy how this one turned out, so I think I'm going to order a swatch and see how it looks printed :)

Inspiration Wall

We are coming up on one year of living in our new (to us) house. It's hard to believe I have now had my very own creative space for that whole time. What a blessing and joy that has been! I eventually want to paint it and decorate it cute, but for the time being, it consists of blank walls. That is except for my inspiration wall:

I knew I wanted to have some sort of area to gather inspirational images and keep them where I can see them. It's constantly changing, but honestly these images have stayed up for I think longer than any other set. It is almost time for the season to change, and therefore fitting for the inspiration to change as well. I just wanted to capture it as it is now, before it's gone.....just like the summer.

And so.....

The dress became a top.
After a quick try-on at mom's house, it was clear the proportions weren't going to be right on anybody.

And they all lived happily ever after. Except the skirt, which didn't survive this transaction. Maybe someday it will find happiness as a throw pillow...hmmmm

Anthro Inspired Tee

As you know by now, I love Anthropologie. I don't have one that close to where I live, though, so usually I check it out on vacation or via catalog/online. I saw this t-shirt on their site a while back:

(Image: Anthropologie)

I love the look of it, but the price was pretty steep for a t-shirt, and I was thinking I could make it myself out of some green jersey knit that I had lingering in my stash. I cut out the shirt with the same pattern I used on the striped Tee in this post. I knew I wanted it slightly slouchy, and simple in shape to show off the embellishment. It hung out in my unfinished pile until this weekend where I sit down to embellish and then sew it up.

I now know why the original costs so much. It took me probably 4 hours to apply the applique and beads. Maybe 10 minutes to stitch up the shirt. 4 hours is a long time, and it's not perfect, but I do love how it turned out. I applied fusible knit interfacing to the back to support the weight of the decorations, and then I hand stitched bias knit strips in a similar pattern. Here's a close-up shot!

I think it's a keeper! I'm super excited to mix it in during Self-Stitched September, because I've been needing more comfy tops with a little something extra to them!

Summer Mini-Book: Part 2

Here is my second update on my Summer Mini-Book. You can see the first update here. Again, the book is by Elise Blaha, and I'm a wee bit excited because she's launching her fall books on Monday. This one should get me through the next couple of weeks, but essentially, for me fall starts the second school does. I'm loving this project, and how it is making me document the little things!

A DIY Blog Planner

Warning: Photo heavy post!!!

So blogging is something that I love doing, but (like lots of things) I have trouble staying on top of it and organizing my thoughts. I came across Mollie's printable over at Wild Olive that she collaborated on with Sew Tara. This was the solution I have been looking for! Thank you to these two ladies for coming up with this! I loved Tara's version, and considered having one bound professionally, but I really wanted to test drive it with a little less expensive of an option, and came up with this diy. This tutorial was made using the printable you can get from clicking here. It would also be great to use for handmade journals to give as gifts. So here's what you do:

Print out the planner pages on front and back. I printed 20 plus one single sided for my first and last page. My plan is for this book to get me to the end of 2011, and that many pages worked perfectly.

Find a thicker paper to use as your cover. I used watercolor paper, because it's what I had, and I knew I wanted to do a watercolor design on the outside. Fold it in half, and go over the crease with a bone folder.

Sketch out a design for the cover in pencil.

Color it in with watercolor or whatever medium you are using.

While it's drying, go back to working on your printed pages, and folding them in half.

Go over these creases with a bone folder as well. The bone folder helps reduce the bulk of the fold, and makes it easier to create the spine.

Open out the pages and stack them so the center folds are lined up. Then make sure all edges are even, also.

Mark where the you will be making holes on the fold to bind the book. You need 5 holes, one on each end about 1 inch from the edge, one in the middle, and 2 between the end and middle holes as shown below. You will use an awl or another sharp object to create the holes. At this step, I went ahead and made preliminary holes. (Notice this is on a self healing mat. Be careful that you don't poke yourself, or the surface you're working on because these things are sharp!)

Go ahead and take a break until your cover dries, and go make yourself a half-batch of chocolate chip cookies. Or don't. Suit yourself.

Once the cover is dry, add any other embellishments you want. I used a Sharpie pen (LOVE these things!) to outline, and add some little extras. It's not fine art, but it's fun!

Next, you lay the pages on top of the inside of the cover. I used paperclips to hold all my layers steady during this part. Then I made sure to poke the holes all the way through the layers and cover.

Being careful not to poke myself, I flipped the cover back to make sure the tip of the awl went all the way through to the outside cover on each hole.

At this point, you should be able to see all your awl punches from the outside.

Then, I threaded a needle with some embroidery floss. I used a yarn darning needle, but didn't necessarily need a sharp one since I pre-drilled the holes.

To bind the book, start from the inside, and put your needle and thread through the middle hole.

Leave about 4 inches or so of a tail on the inside.

From the outside, go back through in the next hole up.

This is what your first stitch looks like:

Now your needle will be back on the inside. Go back through the top hole to the outside cover.

Now it looks like this.

Next, you'll go back through the second hole down towards the inside.

Half of your binding is done.

This time, you're going to skip the middle hole, and go to the fourth one down, and go through to the outside.

This will leave a longer stitch skipping over the middle on the inside.

On the outside again, go back inward through the bottom hole.

Almost finished.

On the inside, go back out through the fourth hole down.

Then, for the last stitch, you come back in through the center hole.

This is what the outside will look like if you have done it correctly so far.

Gently tighten the loose ends to make sure your book will not be too floppy. Remember that long stitch in the middle, and the extra we left at the beginning? Use the needle end and that first leftover strand, and tie a knot around the long stitch.

Then trim the excess and you're ready to go!

Remove the paperclips and fold it back in half and you've got your book!

Here's what the finished binding looks like.

And here's the inside. I am using a swirly paperclip to keep mine on the current week.

I think this is going to be a great tool for planning, and I'm excited to use it in the upcoming months. Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you use it, please leave me a comment, and link to your own post if you have one!