You know when you meet people who just amaze the crap out of you?!?! I have met a few of them lately. One of them designed her very first PDF pattern and has just knocked my socks off with her talent, her grace, and her determination. Have you met Jennifer? She’s the beautiful, kind Mama behind the Mama Adelyn, the very first women’s pattern from Petite Stitchery!

I could not think of a more perfect dress for the transitional seasons, both fall and spring! With a great flow and drape, it can be cozy and breezy!

I love the pointed hem of this pattern and this is just one of many I have made! Keep an eye out for the dress-length mommy and me I’ll be showing you later this week!

Oh! And there is a baby version of the pattern also!!! Petite Stitchery isn’t leaving anybody out! And you can get all three patterns in a bundle to boot! Partaaaay!!!!

Don’t forget to show Jennifer some love and congratulate her on an amazing first pattern over at the Petite Stitchery Facebook Page!!

Happy Sewing!

<3

-Kelly

 

During testing for the Chelsea Pants, I fell in love with the classic and sassy look, the slight bell…just perfection.

So when the blog tour was announced, I knew I wanted to do something super fun for my turn. I searched and searched for just the right thing and when I came upon some bell bottoms with cut-outs in the bells and I fell in love. So I present to you, my Chelsea Peek-a-Boo Hack:

I was trying to envision something fancy and velvet, but every time I went to plan them out, my California roots just snuck right back up on me and the hippy denim and fringe just spoke to my soul, so I ended up with these instead and I love them so much.

Want a pair for yourself?

Here is how:

Step 1:

Cut out one pair of main fabric and one pair of lining fabric for the legs of your Chelseas and then Cut the waistband according to the Chelsea pattern instructions.

Step 2:

Sew both main and lining along the front seam and top stitch.

Step 3:

Decide how large you want your opening to be and cut a uniform shape (or non uniform shape…hey, go crazy!) from the main Fabric, then use that cut as a guide to do the same to the lining fabric.

Step 4:

Lay your trim out and cut strips for the other leg as well.

Step 5:

Sand which the strin between the lining and the main fabric (not shown) boy flipping the lining fabric from shown position over the clip  and clipping in place and then sewing/serging in place.

Step 6:

Top stitch

Step 7:

Hem the bottom of the pans that is not cut out.

Step 8: Finish pants according to the pattern. 🙂

That’s it! Now you have one groovy pair of bell bottoms!

Don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter giveaway below to win the Chelsea pattern or free fabric from Aurora Designs! And of course, go check out all the other ladies awesome makes on the tour!

Happy Sewing!

<3

-Kelly

 

a Rafflecopter
giveaway

Chelsea Pants Blog Tour

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Way back in yesteryear when I was just a girl of 12, I walked in to Wet Seal during back-to-school shopping searching for a pair of black bell-bottom pants that would actually fit me. I knew it was an impossible mission. I walked out that day and went home to safety-pin my 8-inches too long pair of bell bottoms….AKA tapered leg pants….possibly a boot leg. I wanted them to be bell-bottoms sooooooo badly.

Needless to say, when Greenstyle Creations previewed The Chelsea Pants, I was salivating, thrown back to my 12-year-old self in Wet Seal all over again, except this time I KNEW I was going to leave with exactly the pants I wanted! Heck yes!

I do not think I could love them more. I just do not.

 

Now this pair is a fun and funky mint corduroy. I feel sassy and like nobody can stop me…. except the ground…. and gravity when I was done taking pictures….

Needless to say, when I headed out to photograph this awesome pair in black stretch velvet from Sly Fox Fabrics, I wore FLAT sandals.

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So if you ever wanted a pair of bell-bottoms, flare-leg pants, or just super comfy pants with some sass, check The Chelsea Pants out! Make a pair! Let me know what you think!

Happy Sewing!

<3

-Kelly

So, if you don’t know me, you might not be aware of my infatuation with fall and all things it entails. Welcome to my love affair 😛

Matching Mommy and Me Movie Night Pj’s from Sew a Little Seam? Heck yes! Thanks Kelly Ballou! You rock and please join me everybody in congratulating Kelly in reaching a huge milestone by surpassing 10K members in her SALS Facebook Group! Head over and join to get the code for the women’s Pj’s! You’re gonna want them. They’re SUPER comfy!

There will be some for my other kiddo in the future as well, but I needed something for us, fur just us gals. She started Kindergarten and is growing so fast. She is so raw to the word around her and I so badly want her to just stay little. I know matching PJs won’t stop that, but it’s a bandage on my mommy heart for just a little while

“Shine bright Momma,” she tells me as she bops me on the nose gently with one finger. Oh little girl. How I hope you shine your light for the world to see. She is so vivaciously herself and I encourage that every chance I get. Now she is encouraging me to do the same and I love seeing it come back.

So, head over to Sew a Little Seam, check out the awesome patterns, and don’t forget to shine bright!

Happy Sewing!

<3

Kelly

So I FINALLY, after what felt like forever (even though I called and moved it up) had my appointment with my surgeon….or with his PA anyway.  Protocols SUCK and no matter how many times I asked that nurse at the women’s center she told me I had to wait 🙁

The great news is that the biopsies came back benign!!!! YAY

I still have a ton of testing to go, but with a major hurdle cleared, I kinda feel like this:

Like I’m good, but Imma wear a neck brace just in case 😛

Luckily these doctors and care teams are significantly more thorough and attentive than those I have encountered through the VA and have already scheduled my MRI, my three-month mammogram, and an appointment with a genetic counselor to further explore the connections, risk factors, etc. 

I am very ready for this to not be constantly on my mind….to not be right there to think about….so I am thankful for this peace of mind and the kindness, gentleness, prayers, and love from so many who truly (TRULY) helped me get through this rather unexpected and intense few weeks. I appreciate you all so much!!!

My focus is now on my friends enduring storms, hardships, evacuations, separation, etc. If you have a moment and you’re the praying type, please say a prayer along with me. 

And, as always,

Happy sewing!

<3

Kelly

*** WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!***

If you are my dad, or any other male relative older than me who remembers me as a baby…..you may want to just want to keep on scrolling. You might be more self-actualized that I realize (a girl can dream) and be okay with the pictures I am about to post here, but if you don’t want to see most of my butt, probably just hurry on past. 😛

Okay…now that that is out of the way, on to the fun!

I am seriously excited that I finally get to share these pictures with you because I have been hoarding them for a while, not at all patiently waiting to share….the fabric….duh….obviously 😉

See….fabric!

 

The gorgeous Leoch Plaid cotton lycra fabric from The Fabric Geeks I used to create the top and Scrundies was not only super easy to work with, but was UBER comfy to wear a roll around in on my bed while I was trying to figure out how to do a boudoir shoot of myself 😛

Yes….a boudoir shoot of myself. With a remote and a tripod.

Things I learned while doing this:

-Things you think look good one way tend to look better the opposite way

-You can NEVER arch your back or stick your butt out enough. That just isn’t a thing.

-If “sexy” faces aren’t something you’re used to making….a boudoir shot is probably not the time to try. Smiles are sexy too.

-Take TONS of pictures because editing will be painful and you will be your own worst critic and constantly want to move on….it’s just reality. Keep going, persevere, and get through it. You (and whoever the photos are for) will surely be happy you did!

And now……

The results!!!

 

Happy Sewing!!!

<3

Kelly

Okay, okay, so I have to share with you guys and it TOTALLY isn’t sewing related but I have to get it off my chest (you’ll get that joke in a minute here) so I can get my sewjo back! I have tried to keep a secret, or rather, I just haven’t been entirely transparent. I don’t always share because if I always shared everything, it would get old SO quickly. Plus, in this case, there really wasn’t anything TO share. But now there is….nothing major…just life stuff.

So today I had to to the hospital to have bilateral biopsies. After a DNA test in the spring revealed Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry as well as a mutation of the BRCA2 gene, my PCP offered me an early baseline mammogram. Of course I took her up on it! Of course! I wanted to make sure I stayed WAY ahead of this! 

Ha! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! Ha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Oh come on! You can laugh with me. 

So the basic story is my boobs are pretty sketchy and one or more might be going to the dark side. 

I am now waiting on biopsy results and I have an appointment with a surgeon in September. 

It has been amazing that along the way, over the past almost decade of diagnosis after diagnosis….I really tend to feel stronger every time I’ve been able to come up for air with another weight hanging from my shoulders. It doesn’t feel like a burden, but something I have trained to endure.

So I leave you with these thoughts I jotted down the other night:

You know that moment when you really think you need a break, when you think if you bend any more, you will actually snap? You won’t.

You know when you are at your breaking point and you know there is just nothing more you can take? You are treading water, but you are carrying as much as you can while also keeping yourself afloat? There is no more you can bear while you also continue to breathe? You will continue on breathing and bearing the weight. 

Then life forces you to bear one more burden, you have to carry one more load on your shoulders. There is no choice. You cannot tread water any longer. 

So what do you do? 
You can’t breathe.
You have to learn to be a fish. You have to learn to get your oxygen from the water. You have to learn how to survive in a new way. That load is a weightless burden under the water as the entire ocean carries it for you.
It’s all or nothing.

Ready. Go.

I. HAVE. GILLS.

Just keep swimming friends! 🙂 

One of my favorite things about this adventure in sewing is getting to try new things I would normally NEVER wear…..and finding out I LOVE them!

I love Maxi dresses, and even maxi skirts, but I had never made one in woven.

Enter Rebecca Page and her FABULOUS Arabella Skirt!

This woven skirt sits at the natural waist, has three lengths, a flat front waist, optional front tie, AND elastic back. NO ZIP. Let me say that again. NO ZIP. So this gorgeoups woven maxi skirt has zero zipper and just slips right on! I know, right?!?!

There’s more too….seriously. Hold on to your underpants.

The pattern comes in women’s, girl’s, AND dolly patterns!!!

I didn’t have time to do the girl’s and doll versions, but have no doubt they will happen in this house seeing how amazingly perfect this pattern is for my kiddo as school approaches!

Back to the Women’s version, though, because I’m MADLY in love and it has taken nearly everything I have to wait to share until now.

My tall waistband maxi version is made from some seriously gorgeous Rayon Challis from the always amazing Darcey over at Sincerely Rylee.

So if you ever need to look effortlessly beautiful while also feeling totally comfortable, PLEASE (!!!!!) go pick up this pattern and make it ASAP!

Happy Sewing!

<3

-Kelly

Today I bring you an amazing hack inspired by an amazing Mermaid!

Inspiration:                                  My version:

I saw this posted last night on the Made for Mermaids Facebook page by somebody looking for suggestions on how to get it done. I knew immediately I needed to make it…and ASAP.  So you know that is exactly what I did. And of course, I’m here to share just how I did it so you can too.

Step 1:

Get the Mama Claire pattern and pick a nice roomy crossover hood pattern. I chose the Crossover hood from the New Horizons Designs Tami Revolution Hoodie.

Step 2:

Lay your hood out, using the front of the Claire bodice as a guide for tapering and length. This part really and truly is not an exact science. I lined the top of the bodice piece (shoulder) with where I was PRETTY SURE it would fall on the hood (it helps if you have used the hood previously so you are familiar with it. I chose one I was familiar with). Then I cut around the hood, down the legnth of the Mama Claire crossover, up an inch to a half inch (again….personal preference is at play here….)and tapered back up in a TOTALLY imprecise manner to where the front of the hood picks back up.

To make this quicker with your lining fabric, you can use this cut as your pattern piece for your lining. The pieces will match up better that way as well. 😉

Step 3:

Cut out the remainder of the Mama Claire pattern according to directions minus the bands for the neckline because we will not be needing those. Also cut a lining (same as the regular bodice).

Step 4:

Sew the main hood and hood lining together, then attach the main and lining pieces along the top (not neckline) of the hood pieces.

Step 5:

Sew the shoulder seams of the main and lining bodice pieces together. DO NO SEW THE SIDE SEAMS!!!! I have mine clipped because then they don’t get all flappy and give me attitude.

Step 6:

Hmm….I’m trying to remember. I should write this down as I go from now on, huh? Step six….step six…..if I say enough, it’ll come to me?

Ok, step 6 is attaching the hood! yay!!! You can start with the main or lining, but do one side at a time. Line the hood up int he middle of the back bodice and clip or pin the hood all the way down, ensuring you are clipping ONLY the main hood to main bodice and lining hood to lining bodice. Repeat on the other side.

Here is what it will look like when you are ready to sew:

Step 7:

SLEEVES!!!! Yay! I chose not to line my sleeves. I usually prefer them unlined. You can totally line yours if you want! So attaching the sleeves here works exactly like it does in the pattern. Easy peasy 🙂

Step 8:

Time to finish those side seams. You might want to apologize to whatever machine you will be using to finish these seems before you go forward with this. maybe use a fresh needle too. Layers galore! This step is also done exactly as in the pattern instructions….just a few more layers….and changes int he number of layers along the way. Just go slow, pin or clip to your comfort level, and make sure you keep the layers lined up as you go. 🙂

Step 9:

Throw the thing in a heap on your table and take a nap with your dog. If you don’t have a dog, no naps for you, skip to step 10.

Step 10:

Attach the waist band as instructed in pattern instructions. You can choose to hem your sleeves if you’d like as well. I drafted my own cuffs based off of the sleeve measurement and I am not going to give you the measurement because I wish they were bigger 😛 Live and learn 😛

Step 11:

Rock your awesome new crossover hoodie you didn’t pay $100 for! Heck yes!

 

Happy Sewing!

 

<3

Kelly

 

 

So I already blogged about the Duchess skirt from The Do It Better Yourself Club, but I absolutely needed to do it again when I made this one because this double layered skirt with a mesh-overlay is To. Die. For.

I used a killer stretch mesh I found a year or so ago at Fabric.com. I didn’t realize it would be so sheer when I purchased, so it has taken me forever to figure out what to do with this. Then this black modal came in from Sincerely Rylee Fabric and it just needed to be together.

I used the most dramatic curve for the black under layer and then used the conservative back for the mesh layer and I am so in love with how it came out!

So if you haven’t yet, head over to DIBY Club and pick up your TOTALLY FREE copy of this awesome pattern and make yourself some killer skirts!

Happy Sewing!

<3

Kelly