I managed to finish this yellow blouse in time for September 1st. It's from Simplicity 9872 (circa 1980) which I found at the thrift store (big surprise!). I used a lovely lightweight cotton-eyelet fabric which was on sale for 70% off earlier this spring. I was originally planning to use it to make a JJ Blouse, but decided that a simpler pattern would show off this pretty fabric much better. 
This was the first time I've ever used French Seams (a method for encasing lightweight fabric safely within a seam so it doesn't fray. This is a good tutorial on how to do them). The selvege at the bottom of the fabric is a very beautiful scalloped edge, so I didn't need to hem the bottom at all. I very narrowly avoided turning this project into a Fail by not paying proper attention when I was cutting out the fabric (sheesh, will I ever learn?!?!?). I accidentally cut two right sleeves and didn't have enough fabric left to cut a left sleeve. Luckily I managed to find the last remaining bit of the fabric in the remnant bin at Fabricland but it was now $5.50 for 0.8m!!!! I had only paid $3/m a few months earlier - argggg!!!! Oh well, hopefully this will teach me a valuable lesson? :-D 
This last photo just cracks me up. My in-laws live on a lake in the Okanagan region of British Columbia and a huge swarm of gnats had just come up from the lake and tried to fly up my nose!
I actually spent a good portion of July and August doing a bit of sewing for our friends' wedding. The bride asked me to do the bridesmaid dress alterations as well as making some sashes for the flower girls' dresses to match the wedding colors. My camera wasn't working the day of the wedding, but here is a photo of my handiwork (all except for the bridesmaid second from the left). The best thing that came out of doing these alterations was the discovery that my 1970s sewing machine does blind-hemming!!! Of course, in typical fashion I didn't discover this until I was nearly finished hand-sewing the hem of the fourth (and final) dress! Oh well... Now I know for future projects, right?
I also did a bit of up-cycling for my hubby. In these tough economic times, his office has decided to save money by not using air-conditioning (which, if you've ever spent any time in the Shuswap during summer you know how hot it gets!). N was lamenting the fact that he had no shorts to wear that were office-appropriate, i.e., not board shorts, so I took him to Value Village and we got a couple pairs of pants that I was able to turn into shorts. These grey plaid shorts are my favourite of the two; they used to be a pair of rather tight, skinny pants that I would imagine some trendy Asian man wearing in Vancouver and looking fab. To accomodate for my non-trendy, tight-pant fearing Interior husband, I had to use some of the extra fabric from the lower portion of the legs (and taking care to match up the plaid) to widen the legs. He says he likes them a lot, and I'm sure of it since he wears them at least 4 days a week! Great success!
I was commissioned by a good friend to make her a skirt, and she is leaving for Switzerland at the end of the month to visit her family there so I only have a bit of time to get things all wrapped up! She wanted an A-line style skirt out of a bluey-green cotton voile so I used this free Twinkle by Wenlan pattern and used white binding tape as an accent. The pattern is okay, but I think that having to print it on 50+ pages is a bit extreme, especially when the pattern could probably utilize folding the fabric at the mid-point. Also, the fit seems a bit small - I made a size 12 for my friend even though her measurements were for a size 10 (normally I find most sewing patterns fit best if you make them a size smaller than what your measurements say you are). Anyhoo, it's nearly done, I just have to finish a few seams, put in a zipper (always a challenge for me) and then hem it. 
The second unfinished project is a purse for my husband's grandmother who is turning 90 (!!!) on September 11th. She was moaning a few months ago about how she would like a small purse and how everything these days is just so big. (She is actually one of the funniest people I have ever been blessed to know and I completely adore her, so keep in mind that I am often sarcastic when describing her!). I personally am a fan of the large duffel-bag sized purse because I tend to haul around all kinds of stuff with me on a daily basis which probably explains some of my back problems, ha ha ha... I used Butterick 6856 which I've had in my pattern stash for ages, and used a heavy black brocade fabric as well as notions which I've "harvested" from an old Gap purse of mine which is actually worn out. If you didn't think purses could get worn out - think again! I've had this baby for over 10 years and it's been on numerous trips including a 3-month backpacking adventure around Europe in 2008 (see our blog for more details - be warned it's rather detailed!). I would say it's about 3/4 of the way finished; thankfully it's a long weekend so I will actually have time to get some work done on it! 
My latest Fail (yes, it gets a capital F) was when I tried to create my own version of American Apparel's Le Sac dress. It looked like, well, a sack. (Please excuse the bad hair and lack of makeup - it was early morning but the light was nice).
I had all sorts of visions of a stylish dress that could be worn in oh so many different ways - perfect for when I go on backpacking trips for weeks/months at a time. However, reality doesn't always equal your plans... This was the first thing I ever sewed out of jersey fabric, so I didn't realize that I should use a stretch stitch on my machine. Also, the fit was waaaaay too big and super un-flattering. Luckily I was able to salvage the fabric out of it to make a romper (more about that later). 
Back in April I made this top using Simplicity 3964 (another Built By Wendy design - gosh I just love her stuff!). I 
didn't have any problems with the yoke, but the top is too balloon-y for me... I still need to take it in several inches on either side - hopefully will get to that soon. I also added a tie bottom just in case I wanted to cinch it up rather than just wearing it loose. I might also keep the volume in the top as we are thinking about starting our family soon-ish and it would make a great maternity top... hmmm...
I made some comfy, stretchy straight-leg brown pants from the 
Built By Wendy: Sew U book. These were actually a muslin for my False Religion jeans, but I ended up finishing the jeans first because I wanted to wear them on a trip to Saskatoon. They were a great learning experience and I will definitely wear them, but the belt loops need a bit of fixing and the crotch kind of looks weird I think... I definitely prefer the jeans.
somewhat, although I think I will be giving al
l the new pants with front pleats a miss... 
As a child growing up in the 90's I committed some horrendous crimes of fashion involving front pleats and I still can't move past it, so I'm not about to try THAT trend... However, a fun 80's trend that I'm loving for spring/summer is all the rompers featured in the latest fashion magazines. I made this romper for myself out of some jade green jersey that was rescued from a sewing fail. I found the pattern at the thrift store for $0.25 and altered it to make it a bit longer in the crotch as I am quite long in the body. I totally love it! I wore it as a bathing suit cover-up when I went boating with my in-laws the other day - it was perfect!
My best friend is expecting her first child in just over a month, so I figured I better get cracking on the handmade portion of her gift (I found some adorable outfits at the thrift store already that are going into the gift package). I used some leftover cotton blend fabric from a dress I made for myself to create this ridiculously adorable jumper for the little guy. I used Simplicity 6948 (circa 1975), which actually looks a lot like this Oliver+S pattern... Seeing how I paid only $0.25 for my pattern at the thrift store, I'm fine with any differences between my finished garment and the lovely Oliver+S playsuit! Since Gavin will be arriving in late July, I figured size 6 months wouldn't be big enough (since he would be 6 months old in late January and Newfoundland winters are anything but mild), so I had to size it up a bit. I'm not sure if I was too zoned out watching the World Cup game while I was cutting out fabric, but I forgot to increase the size on the back and front facing pieces - oops! So I had to insert a small piece of extra fabric to make the facings fit with the main part of the suit... le sigh... Oh well, it was worth it. I love soccer (or football, heheh).
My sister-in-law is visiting from the UK for a 
few weeks and she made me some iron-transfer labels for my finished garments. She is an amazingly talented artist, you can check out her stuff here. So I used a large one in Gavin's playsuit and a very small (hardly noticeable) one in the lingerie bag I made for my friend's shower gift. I think they look nice and add an extra personal touch to my creations. 
muslin to test the fit of the Jane pattern). The top was actually an upcycle from an old, old nightie I received for Christmas nearly 20 years ago. I should try to find a photo from Christmas 1993 just so you can see the nightie in it's shining glory (plus it would be a good laugh I think!), but here is a photo of it in its well-worn status pre-upcycle.
I'm totally obsessed with the vintage sewing patterns for children that I picked up at the thrift store for $0.25 a pop. I used the Simplicity #6866 (circa 1975) to create this adorable little dress and bloomers combo.
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