Self-designed skirt & Sil 500

I love skirts in summer.  They are just so cool, and practical when moving around with kids.  So when I had a very small piece of this Liberty of London craft cotton given to me by my mum...I fell in love. 

I love Liberty fabric prints, but can't really afford them (new ones are $40+/yd) so this was a find of a lifetime.  It took me a really long time to figure out what to make in order to showcase the fabric. 

So I decided on a gently gathered skirt with inverted pleats in the front and back (so as not to look too voluminous).  It has a gently elasticized waist.  Every inch of the fabric was used.  I even had to face the waist with something else.



I've worn it a few times and I may take out the fullness a bit.  After loosing weight, I don't really want to look wider than I am!



Summer Tank & Skirt | Sil 500 & M4783

With my journey of getting back my old body, comes changing shape (thankfully).  So I busted out some Silhouette patterns to get a simple but essential tank top.  It's out of a cotton-Lycra knit that I found in the basement (meaning it's old stash...or well aged like a good wine!).

This is the muslin or mock up I did.  Very happy with it.  I made the front neck a bit lower and on the next version took out some back length and there was a horizontal excess fabric at CB.  You can see how nice the armholes fit -- an issue with full-busted ladies like me.  Perfect.

These are great patterns as they are already drafted for D-cup sizes and use flattering french darts. But the envelopes haven't changed since they were designed -- the designer started to update them but her clients kept buying the same patterns again as the photo was different!  Found that funny.  Great marketing to sell more patterns. 

Just feast your eyes on the 80's below on the pattern cover!

 

Thankfully I had this skirt I made last year that goes perfectly.  The skirt is falling off a bit, but the new top and belt (from Tonic) hold it up!  The skirt is from a embroidered cotton gauze/voile type fabric from Fabricland...and I made it the month I bought the fabric *bonus*!

 

Oh and I must mention the shoes.  A best-of-season find at the Naturalizer outlet at Cross Iron Mills when visiting my family this last winter.  Perfect with this outfit.

A friendly skirt | S2258

In order to make the grad girl's gift, I had to fit it without her knowing...so that's where her mum came in.  Thankfully they are the same size.

 

Actually, I was going through some of the fabrics my mum gave me thinking what they could 'grow up to be'.  When I saw this print, I immediately thought of the last issue of People Style magazine where they featured floral print on black in short shorts and skirts.  Yes that's what this fabric will grow up to be! 

I then remembered Sherrie having a blue top that would look smashing with this print.  That's my weird and wonderful mind working for me.

While it is the same skirt as Monique's, it looks very different in this print.  You can barely see the tie...but it's there.  I made it separate, rather than attached so it can be worn several ways as the pocket style mean you are probably going to be tucking in your top.

Of course, it's personalized! I just love doing this. It's so much fun and I love the end result of it looking polished with an arts & crafts funky style to the label.

Here's a photo of the pattern - you can see the detail of the skirt better here with it's scooped out pockets and the tie.

Birthday Gift - Lexi

Lexi is Alistair's best bud from Open Door Daycare.  I used to work with her mum at CTV. As we won't be here for her birthday party, we gave her the gift this past weekend when she came over for a play date that included the spray-park.

Imogen picked out the fabric (yes from my mums gifted stash) of a few fat quarters mixed with a small cut of fabric.   It's usually a good pick for a little girl if it's either pink and/or purple.  In this case Lexi loves both.

I used up some hem tape - it was purple - for the drawstring on the bag.  I'm trying to use up everything!  I refuse to 'save' aluminum foil but I do reuse ziplock bags.  So I'm trying to cleverly repurpose all sewing lefto overs.  Was really happy with this one - yummy.

 

Birthday Gift - Alec

These 'bed in a bag' birthday gifts for the boys in our lives, were super fun to make and give.  My kids selected the fabric from my stash. Alistair was particularly excited about it...but I warned him they weren't for him. Surprisingly he was okay with that. Guess he's growing up!

This gift was for Alec, Alistair's friend who is only a few weeks older.

Loved putting in the custom tags, including the smiley face on the top.

Using two patterns - one for bottoms (woven) and top (knit).

 

Grad Gift - Monique

Can't believe, but am so happy, Monique is graduation school and starting Uni next year. 

Fortunately her mum and her are the same size.  So I fitted the skirt to Sherrie and brought a few pieces of fabric over under the disguise that it was all for Sherrie.  Asked Monique which was her favorite...and so here it is.

I used S2254 but lengthened the tie and didn't stitch it onto the skirt.  Instead I added belt loops (so a different belt could be worn too) and made the belt separately.

Made a matching gift bag to her mum's.  It was a fat-quarter from the Prairie Chicks store in Hague, SK.

Birthdays Abroad - The Littles

So it's always fun trying to find Canadian items to send overseas to my girlfriend's family in Bath, England.  I met Michelle in London where we were flatmates - been friends since.

Throughout the year I see things and stash them till it's birthday time.  I did that with Michelle's gift, but the others were creations of love.  In this case I sent over three gifts.

First was for the birthday boy, Thomas, turning 4 - bedtime in a bag.  I thought this would be perfect for those damp cold evenings that do happen in the UK.  My kids selected the fabric from my stash.  Alistair was particularly excited about it...but I warned him they weren't for him.  Surprisingly he was okay with that.  Guess he's growing up! 

This included the great Pirate book that includes a CD with a song.  Alistair loves this book and we read it weekly.  It's a Barefoot Book I purchased from my friend Jennifer.  Highly recommend for the under 6 crowd.

I also sent Michelle her birthday gift.  This is a photo of the bag prior to me adding the label.  Used a really cool fat-quarter that had light swirls on it.  Sadly they didn't come out in the photo.  Inside is some jewelry from another friend who makes stunning pieces.  Sadly I mailed the package before I realized I didn't take a photo of the jewelry!

Of course, if I'm sending two gifts over, I couldn't neglect Charlie.  So I did up a 'storm' bag for him and included a book.  His birthday is near Christmas, so I think it must be fun to get something when you least expect it.