Christmas Dress

I finished the Bug's Christmas dress.

Oh yes I did.

One and a half months early. Not that I'm counting. Or bragging.

But, it's not even Thanksgiving yet. . . (patting self on back)

O.k.. . . well. . . truth:  I sort of finished the Bug's Christmas dress.  This wasn't technically even supposed to work out to be something wearable. I had this free fabric that was mis-sent by fabric.com a while back and I thought, what the heck, I'm going to test this new pattern I bought.

My "muslin" so to speak.

So I did.

And I'm kind of smitten with it.

I didn't love the fabric when it came. I kind of thought it was horrible. Stiff and gaudy and just pure yuckiness.

But in a shiny, sparkley holiday dress I think it's sort of perfect.

What ISN'T perfect is the neck.

Even when the bow is untied it does not fit over the Bugs head.

I'm pretty sure this is my fault and not the fault of the pattern. And it's an easy enough fix, pick off the bow and let out some neck gathers, I just haven't done it yet.

I lined the whole deal with this crazy red polyester old lady fabric (grandma's fabric, the gift that keeps on giving) and I think that pop of Christmas red in there is my very favorite part.  The pattern didn't call for any lining but this silver fabric was so stiff and uncomfortable I knew the Bug wouldn't ever wear it without a soft lining added.

This is such a sweet pattern and a quick sew that I'm going to give it another go in some fabric that's a bit nicer and in a color (purple) that I'm pretty much garunteed the Bug will wear.  Stay tuned!

~Lindsay

Thank you!!

Chalk this post up as Looong over due!

Blame it on me being sick to varying degrees for the majority of the first half of this month.

But. . .

We WON the label contest!

I know, it was ages ago and it's a bit anti climatic at this point, eh? 

Do you even remember?

My high hopes were to have finished something and sewn one of these lovelies into it to show you.

But my sinuses had other plans.

So here you are, a picture of these lovely labels.

It's true, I want to hold them and pet them and make them my best friend.

I might be exhibiting a bit of hoarding behavior.

I'm finding it hard to find a garment worthy of sewing one into.

I did send a yard of them to my sister.

That was nice, right???

See, I'm not a hoarder.

Really though, I am so thankful to all who voted.

And very, very thankful to Crafterhours for hosting the competition and to the Twill Tape Guy for putting out such an awesome product.

I have to say, I was impressed with how easy he was to work with AND how speedy!!

Seriously, I have patience issues when it comes to this sort of thing and I didn't even get a chance to get antsy about them before they showed up.

So thanks again to everyone!

You ROCK

And sorry for the extended blogging absence.  I have a few small projects to show you when I get a chance and I know Michelle has some things in the works too!

~Lindsay

Fall Bag

I've had this fabric sitting on my sewing room floor with the intent to make a new purse for over a month.

It finally happened last night.

I pinned the inspiration bag 8 weeks ago. . . so maybe the fabric has been on my floor for (gasp!) two months.

The lovely mustard colored wool is from my Grandma. This photo doesn't do the depth of the color justice. It really is so pretty.

I was just telling some friends how I am trying to be more intentional about taking quality pictures and now today I give you this. . . cell phone pictures taken from at my desk at work.

The green carpet and grey file cabinet really sets it off, right?  Right??

O.k., no, I know. . . but I was excited to show you.

The lace is lovely. From a bunch I bought while thrifting. I adore it. I am so NOT a lace girl but for some reason I am drawn to this. And I think the wide brown stripe down the front breaks up the "frill" a bit and brings a little modern to a whole lot of vintage.

I kind of like the new shape of this bag. It's a bit taller than it is wide.  A new design for me. . . I sort of just cut it out and let it happen with no real plan.

It's how I roll. . . at least in the sewing room.

I'm still debating if I would have liked it better with one more pleat at the top. I don't know, I'm kind of a "do things in odd numbers" kind of a girl.

What do you think? Is the negative space above the pleats interesting or awkward?

And I love, love, love the lining fabric. Alexander Henry Dagmar Plaid, scored for $5 a yard at Lolly's in Shipshewana.  The pockets are a coordinating print I bought at the same time but the name escapes me.

You'll notice I still need to press and top stitch around the top of the purse. I had to watch Survivor last night (priorities, right?? How about that Cochran folks?? Wow.) and just ran out of time. But I'll get to it eventually.

And yes, I am giving you a glimpse into my messy purse. Keeping it real folks.  

You know I love my pens. And my Tide pen.  And I've got to have my phone charger.  And yes, there's fruit snacks and a Tootsie Roll in there, I am such a mom.

And of course, there is a small zipper pocket in turquoise. . . love that unexpected pop of color. No one else may ever see it but it makes me smile.

Can you believe how disorganized my new purse already is? I know, it's terrible. The papers there are things I need to keep tabs on though. . . the most recent JoAnn's flier, which I've yet to clip the coupons from, and my jury summons. . . yeah, you know you're jealous.

So there you have it. . .

My Pinterest inspired Fall purse and a quick glimpse into the mess that resides therein.

~Lindsay

Happy Halloween!

Literally not more than 24 hrs after posting about Dorothy I had two wonderfully artsy friends e-mail me edited yellow brick road photos!

So cool.

The Bug's eyes got so wide when she saw these.

She is fully convinced that she is Dorothy when she wears that dress, and no wonder.

I am always so amazed at my talented friends! 

Speaking of which. . . Little Red Riding Hood's momma, a photographer, took some photos in the woods and they are amazing.  Just like a vintage storybook.

Prepare for photo overload.

Aren't they just the cutest, sweetest things?

I hope these two get to trick or treat a bit tonight. They live out East and are currently without power.

I think Little Red and her sweet wolf of a big brother would still be cute in snow boots!

Thanks to Catherine, Ally and Staci for your awesomeness in sharing your amazing talent with me!

~Lindsay

Our little princess. . . well, maybe not this year

For MONTHS the Bug has been telling me she wanted to be Princess Ariel for Trick or Treat.

Which is great because she already has a Princess Ariel dress. . . no last minute costume making stress this year!! Woo hoo!!

Until last weekend, when she informed me she was going to be Dorothy.

Sigh. . .

And she knows me so well that she knows I will almost never turn down a sewing challenge.

Had I a clue about PhotoShop I would have made that road yellow.

You'll just have to use your imagination.

Perhaps a yellow brick wall will do??

I'm not sure what's up with the pose. I think maybe she's calling Glenda or something.

I used the Elizabeth Claire pattern from Little Lizard King as my starting point for the dress since it's a quick, easy sew.

I added the rectangular apron top and straps on my own.  I also added the bias cut band around the waist as a cute little accent.  Just 'cause I was getting cocky with my pattern ad libbing self.

This dress is super roomy and should be a good addition to the dress up bin for years to come.

It's nice, too, because we can add a long sleeved shirt underneath for warmth.

And please note the bias cut band around the hem. It's all in the little details.

I think she likes it.

Hopefully, she likes it enough to actually go door to door this year.

Time will tell if we get the shy Bug or the outgoing Bug Monday night.

And if you've been around a while, you might notice. . . Dorothy is actually a repeat costume for the Bug.

Aunt Michelle made her this supremely adorable dress when she was two.

Hello squishy baby cheeks!! I love you!

That year, she followed the yellow leaf road.

Too cute for words really. 

I love it. And I"m a tiny bit glad our little princess opted out of a princess dress this year because their was no way I was going to top Cinderella.

~Lindsay

Chair upgrade

 Fabric is not the only thing I inherited from my grandma.

Grandma and Grandpa were collectors of "stuff".  This kitchen stool is one such item.

I have memories of my little sister sitting on this for Sunday lunch when she was yet to small for a regular chair.  

Such fond memories. . .

She's a bit worse for the wear, yes?

Years on a farm will do that.

But I loved her enough to save her.

I didn't love her grimy upholstery or chipped paint.  It wasn't the good sort of chippy, you know?

So I grabbed a couple cans of chrome spray paint and went at it.

I am too impatient to dig out a tarp.

Our grass will probably be silver there until next spring. I don't imagine there is much growing and mowing left for this season.

Before spraying, I removed the upholstered seat and seat back and the rubber pads from the steps.

I also rubbed the whole thing down with steel wool to take care of as much of the rust as I could.

I pulled the nasty plastic fabric and rotting foam off of the base of the seat and back and cut quilt batting and this cute laminated cotton to size.

Hello Lindsay's foot!  

You cannot deny my photography skills are impeccable.

Or not.

The fabric is Amy Butler, purchased at fabric.com when they were having one of their super daily sales.

I wrapped it tightly and used my glue gun to secure it to the metal seat base. Both the seat and back fasten onto the chair pretty securely so the glue was really only needed to hold things temporarily until I could screw it all back together.

And here she is finished!

I bought a foot of rubber matting from the hardware store and cut new skids for the steps. Who knew they sold that kind of stuff? It was a very precise measurement too. The kid had my husband hold his shoe up to the roll in order to measure off a foot.

I wish I was kidding.

But it worked well enough and I have more mat should I ever need it for anything.

I absolutely love this chair now. It is the bright spot in my very bland (for now) kitchen. And I love that it has a history and such wonderful memories along with it.

I don't tackle non-sewing projects very often but this one was fun and I can already feel myself developing a spray paint addiction.

Good thing I don't have more free time to go thrifting, I'd have to invest in cases of spray paint. . . although a rainbow colored lawn could be pretty come the first snow melt, right?

Right??

O.k., o.k.. . I'll dig out the tarp.

~Lindsay

If you could. . .

Follow this link and "like" either or both of the 402 logos to help us win a contest for custom printed sewing labels!  The competition is really close and we'd be thankful for your help! Voting wraps up this Friday.

For those who don't know our story, 402 Center Street is the address of our childhood home and is were Michelle and I learned to sew.  The branch in the logo is a magnolia branch because there is a beautiful magnolia tree in the front yard.  The logo was designed by my wonderful husband who dropped everything to help me out!  Isn't he amazing?

Thanks so much for your vote!

~Lindsay