Raining pink and cute

Seriously dying over how super cute this raincoat came out. Still mildly obsessed with the laminated cotton. The girl totally needed the raincoat today with very heavy downpours coming down at bus time! Good timing Mom!

Made the pattern myself and only have 1 change I'd like to make - love the foldover sleeve action, but they are about 1 inch too long - just too bulky - so that's fixed on my pattern and we are ready for another!

The outside is from Amy Butler's Love collection and the lining is super awesome Jennifer Paganelli's line - Matt's Tux. love the color coordinating action between the two.

The was probably completed in a couple hours - it was super simple, lined, a bit of elastic in the hood and a zipper. A bit of topstitching and wa-la. Love it! So does the girl.

Technicalities

I LOVE details. Not like fussy details in clothes and decorating. Like details as in matching patterns at seams, the seams themselves, the stitching that makes up the seams. I can go further but I think you get the picture.

I've been playing around with some new techniques and fabrics. One being Laminated Cotton. It's not oilcloth or some version of , however, truly cotton fabric with a thin layer of vinyl laminated on top. I'd love to get into the factory to see the process, but it's probably pretty much like the laminator I have at my house. Yes, don't judge. Of course I have a laminator at my house. And I use it a lot. See, I love details. Nothing better than a laminated thing. Love it for keepsakes and crafts.

Anyway, Laminated cotton seems like it should be pretty challenging to sew. Pinning and stitching are the top two scary issues. I have a really great Viking Lily machine that it is desperate need of professional attention, but we both have separation anxiety so we'll pretend it's ok, that the tension is perfect, and the throat plate isn't gouged everywhere.

The first project I did was ok to sew and looked cute and fine when it was done. But, on closer inspection, I should not have had to TUG to get the fabric through. All the stitches should be the same length with equal tension on top and bottom. There was also a bit of bubbling where the top and bottom were shifting while being stitched.

UNTIL I did a few things.

1) use a walking foot (an accessory foot you purchase separately for your machine)

-it acts like an upper feed dog so the fabric on top and bottom are feeding at the same time instead of just the bottom fabric feeding through.

2) use a very sharp machine needle. Pierces right through easily and doesn't get stuck in the laminate on it's way out to create the next stitch.

3: ditch your pins. I used Japanese Masking Tape to hold my fabric in place while I sewed. It held in place beautifully and was easy to remove. I pulled it off before the area was sewn much like how I remove pins, but one spot I missed it and even that was easy to remove the tape.

3 easy fixes and now Laminated cotton is a joy to sew! and the project ideas are so fun and varied - it opens up a whole new world!

Fifi the French Girl

Cutie shorts. Pulled these guys together in about an hour. Took a little pajama pant pattern I knew fit well, then...

Chopped off the length, added a band, fashioned a little curved/pointed tab for a tie.

LOVING the Sis Boom fabric. The band is a separate piece from the tabs. I wanted the tabs curved in, think Bow tie shape, so that it wasn't super bulky. They came out really cute. She's already worn them a few times - with leggings and without.

Anyone notice the cute top? It's one of Carla Crim's patterns - super cute and also a little French. Perfect for a girl named Madeline :-)

great day

I am sitting here listening to the rain and reflecting on my wonderful day. Great morning at church for Palm Sunday. then off to visit Make and Mingle and create a couple of quilt squares for a wonderful cause. I know some fantastic ladies - Jen Paganelli, Nancy Geaney, Karen and Natalie (Make and Mingle Mistresses) their sister Linda and a few new friends I just met :-) The quilt squares will be quilted together and sent to Haiti. Awesome.

My little person made a quilt square on her own with just a bit of help on her Hello Kitty sewing machine. LOVE spending this meaningful time with her - I find that I can spend more time focusing on her outside of the house doing projects like this. We need to do more of this. When we are home, I am so distracted with lots of other stuff. Birdie had a seriously fun and rewarding day. She was very proud of herself and I was proud of her! Satisfied and content.

candy bags

These things are so cute I wanna call them "candy bags"!

I just finished making a cute pattern for these little guys. It's amazing how much the old geometry classes come in handy when making the paper pattern up. I started with last weeks' ad for Target, then switched over to white paper. Ok, it was actually white on the back, the front was a coloring page with a Disney Fairy on it. lol. Can't wait to make up more of these babies. The above are oil cloth on the outside, cotton in the inside. Think I'll make a few with oil cloth on the inside for cosmetics and such.

yum

no, not veggies. cupcakes. The best kind of health food for 3rd graders! he he he

Back with fun projects

wahoo - I'm back! Blogger locked me up for awhile and, ahem, I didn't notice for a bit. Then I did and they were sloooooow too respond. In any event - back we are and here are some fun creations I did while I was away.

The Sophia bag by Amy Butler - made with Kokka fabr

ics. Got both and am teaching the class at this hip new s

ewing shop nearby. LOVE! Only complaint, way too much interfacing needed.

This bag needed 4 yards. craziness.

Even got Birdie in on the sewing fun - she made a pillowfor a birthday party gift for a neighbor turning 2. She did ALL of it herself but the setting up and about 1" of slipstitching. She said to me later "thanks for stitching with me, I really liked it Mom!" a mom couldn't feel any more pride and love when you share what you love with another so close to your heart.

I want to eat her sometimes:-)