Upgrade!!!

I have been sewing for about 13 years now. During this time I have been using my mom's old sewing machine. It's been great. It does what I need it to do and I really haven't had any problems with it. I found out the other day that it is 25+ years old. Now that I have become a more serious sewer and have grand plans for the future it's time to upgrade.

Say goodbye to old faithful...



and HELLO to my new machine!


I was talking to my dad the other day about wanting to open an etsy shop and try to make some money doing what I love to do. He said if I was going to do that I need to be able to compete with the rest of the people selling and need a really good machine. So he bought me this one. It has over 70 different stiches, 8 different button holes, it threads itself, has an LCD touch screen, is computerized, and it does embroidery!!! I am going to be able to do SOOOO much more with this machine. I can't wait to get started! If any of you would like to buy the old machine or know someone who would let me know, it would be a great starter machine.

I am off to play with my new sewing machine.

My First Order & Cute Dresses

I got my first order! Well, kind of. Kendyl is getting married in May and has asked me to make some things for her wedding and for the bridesmaids. So this last week I have been working on stuff for her. When I finish each project I will post some pictures. It will be a fun change from only making clothes.

I found some extra fabric in my stash the other day and decided to take a break from making stuff for Kendyl and try making a "pillowcase dress". Apparently these are big in the south. They are adorable. So I made 2 from scratch today and I think they turned out so cute. What is great about them is that the little girls can wear them as a dress one year and then as they grow they can wear it as a top with leggings or jeans the next year. And you can wear them by themselves in the summer or layer a longsleeved shirt and leggings with them in the winter. The ribbons are adjustable. It took about 30 minutes for each dress. That included cutting the fabric, ironing, and sewing. And all it took was about 3/4 yd of fabric and some ribbon. The pictures below aren't that great, but I wanted to show them. Austin wouldn't let me try them on him and get a picutre so I can't show you how cute they are on. =)

Current Projects

Right now I have a lot of projects I am working on. I need to get these done so that I can start on some new things that I have in mind. Hopefully I can get down to business and finish these soon! When I am working on a project I will show pictures of it on the dress form, but when I have completed a project I will model it or have the person I made it for model it so you can get a better idea of what it looks like on. For the next post I will show a dress I recently finished, a robe I made for Austin, and better pictures of my mom in her jacket. And I am hoping Kendyl will take some pics of her jacket and PJ pants I made her so I can show everyone.

Project #1
This is a knit jersey fabric. I have never worked with this fabric before so it is a new experience for me. So far it is going well, but I haven't done much sewing yet to see if it is going to be difficult. It's going to have double straps that criss-cross in the back. It should be really cute once I finish it.

Project #2
This is a pink satin fabric with a little bit of a gold shimmer. This is more of a "going out" kind of shirt so I probably won't get much use out of it, but it will be cute and I like to try to make a lot of different things.

Project #3
It is a little difficult to see how this shirt will be when it is finished. It will have a little hole in the front and have a rhinestone broach to hold the two sides together in the middle. I think it is going to be a really cute top when it is done.

Project #4
This is a skirt I am working on for my mom. It's a nice flowy satin material. This material is difficult to work with! But it's really pretty so it is worth it. I just need to put the zipper in and finish the hem and then she can model it. =)

Project #5
I have been working on this dress for a long time. It's a soft flannel material. I really like the pattern. The front has the ruffle detail and also on the front and on the sleeves is a pretty sparkly band.
A close up of the ruffle and sparkle detail...the sparkle detail is just pinned on for now.

There is one more project that I am working on, but I cannot show it yet because it is a surprise for Kendyl. I told her I wanted to make her something to wear for the dress rehearsal for her wedding. I want her to be surprised when she opens it. So once she has it I will post the finished project on her for all to see.