What Inspires You?

What inspires you? Where do you find inspiration for writing, crafting, and self improvement projects?

For me the most obvious answer is Pinterest. I love that site, but it's not the only place I find inspiration.

My children are getting older and starting to develop their own style. Many of my projects are inspired by looking at the things they love.

I am also a sucker for a good challenge. The Project Run and Play challenges and others like it, are to a seamstress what writing prompts are to a writer. In fact this post was inspired by a ProBlogger group writing project.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Fab Finds Friday - Week 13

Today is week 13 of Friday Finds and my first time participating. 

It's always a little bit of a struggle to find inspiration when crafting for boys, but I think this project would work out great with the right color and quote. I'm thinking "Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish" by Steve Jobs on a blue t'shirt.

Source: lilblueboo.com viaJennifer on Pinterest

I love this DIY photo background. Maybe I can bring a bit of spring inside for my photo's since we sure aren't getting any of it outside.

Source: designsponge.com viaJennifer on Pinterest

Theses little chocolate eggs happen to be my favorite candy in the world. Sadly Easter is the only time of year you can get them. You can be sure I will be finding ways to savor these sweet little treats.

Source: Jennifer on Pinterest

All the fun of paper dolls but much more durable (and adorable).

Source: maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com viaAmy Mayen on Pinterest

Southwestern Pottery Inspired Dress

Update: Since I have received so many comments about this fabric I thought I would let you know that I purchased it from Fabric.com . They still have 74 yards left as of today and I am planning to purchase some more myself.

I finally did it! I made my self cut into one of my favorite pieces of fabric. Do you ever do that? Love a fabric so much that your afraid to use it. Luckily an event so big came along that I was able to face my fears and go ahead and cut. This week is the first week of the Project Run and Play sew along linky.

I searched through a bazillion (btw, bazillion is not actually a real number) photo's of famous paintings and loved so many of them, but I got zero (zero is a number in math but in philosophy it is the opposite of infinity and not a number) idea's for a wearable item.

So then I played with the idea of statues. A few things started to take shape in my mind, but I needed some color. Finally I looked at pottery, and there it was my inspiration. The pottery of the Southwest.

Here are a few of my favorite inspiration pieces. 

The fabric is a lightweight cotton sateen with just a tiny bit of stretch to it. I used my ugly vintage pattern as a starting point for the bodice and then lengthened it a few inches and made the neckline just a tiny bit lower. The skirt is self drafted. I left an inch of seam allowance on the top of the skirt and the bottom of the bodice.

To create the elastic casing I began by sewing the skirt and bodice with wrong sides together like you would with a french seam and then I flipped the fabric so that right sides were together and sewed about 3/4 of an inch away from the first seam. Before inserting the elastic I sewed the casing down so it laid flat against the inside of the dress.

My Bella was the lucky recipient of the dress. She can't wait for the snow to go away and the sun to come out so she can wear it some more. I really love the way this dress came out. I am thinking about making another one with pockets. They will make great summer dresses. So are you sewing along this season?

Mixed Fabric Raglan T-Shirt Tutorial

Q: What do you sew for a girl who considers herself a tomboy but still loves the color pink (in moderation) and loves the feel of soft fabrics on her skin? 

A: A mixed fabric Raglan Tee

Do you want to make one for yourself? No problem. Just follow the steps below.

You will need:

• Rib Knit Fabric - You can use any type of knit for the main fabric, but you need rib knit for the collar. The fabric I used is currently out of stock but here is something similar.  Cotton Baby Rib Knit Pale Blue I used about a half a yard with some left over.
• Sleeve fabric - I used a satin fabric with just a tiny bit of stretch for comfort. Again, out of stock but here it is in a darker color. Tahari Stretch Satin Dark Pink You only need about a quarter yard of this
• Thread to match your main fabric
• Paper for Tracing
• Hem Gauge
• A T shirt or tank top that fits well
• Straight edge with a square corner (a sheet of paper will work)

Step 1: Trace your T- shirt or tank top. We will be drawing a new sleeve later so don't worry about that. I chose to use the back collar for a tighter neckline. If you want a lower neckline you can fold the back neckline under and trace the neckline from the front of the tee. Remember we will be adding 3/4 of an inch with the neck binding.

Step 2: Add a 1 inch seam allowance to the bottom for the hem and a quarter inch to the side seam and collar. You don't need to add anything to the shoulder  but I did for a slightly looser sleeve because the fabric did not have much stretch. The easiest way to add the seam allowance is with a hem gauge. 

Step 3: Make the Sleeve. If objects in your house mysteriously disappear and you can't find your ruler grab a piece of paper. Draw a straight line from the point of the armpit to 1 inch from the edge of the collar. Then use the corner of the paper to help draw the rest of the sleeve. 

Step 4: Cut out your pattern. Don't forget to add the seam allowance. Align a piece of paper behind your pattern piece with a quarter inch hanging over the edge. Then, tape in place and trim.

Step 5:  Cut two of your main fabric and two of your sleeve fabric. Then, cut one long strip of your rib knit 1 and a half inches wide and as long as you can make it. We will trim it later.

Step 6:  Pin your sleeve edges to one piece of main fabric and baste. (I know that your eyes just glossed right over the basting part, but if you are using a slippery fabric please don't skip it.)

Step 7: Attach the the back of the shirt to one of the sleeves but not both so it will open up like this. Sew up your seams using your favorite knit sewing method. Press your seams to the main fabric. Remember to set your iron to the setting for the most delicate of the two fabrics. Then flip your shirt and press again. You can also top stitch 1/8 inch from the seam on the main fabric.

Step 8: Now grab that long strip of fabric you cut earlier and fold it in half lengthwise. Press. Line the raw edges up to the raw edges of the neckline on the right side. Now this is the tricky part. In order for the neck binding to maintain the correct shape you have to stretch the binding just a little bit while sewing without stretching the neckline on the shirt. Just take your time and adjust as you go. Trim off the extra.

Step 9: Pin, Baste and Sew your last sleeve edge to the main fabric. Sew all the way to the top including the neck binding with right sides together. 

Step 10: Hem the sleeve edges (I used a narrow hem) and the bottom of the shirt.

Step 10: Sew up your side seams. ( No picture, but its just two straight seems) and try on your shirt!

Some Sketching and Waiting

Almost all of my sewing time has been going to one big project. At least it's big for me. I would love to tell you what it is, but that would ruin the surprise. There are a few other non top secret projects that I am excited about as well, but unfortunately I am still waiting on fabric.

I've tried and tried to organize my huge fabric stash but those stupid laws of physics always get in the way. You can't fit something with a large volume (no matter how you fold it) into a tiny space. 

The most obvious solution would be to sew only from my stash until I cut it down. Yea, I'm not doing that, but I am only buying fabric when I have a plan for it. That means I am doing a lot of planning and then going crazy while I wait for the fabric to get here.

Fabric.com was having a great sale for 20% off any order over $40.00, so I sketched out my plans, picked my favorite and ordered a lot of fabric. All together the total came to $35.00 (after the sale) and I got 7 yards of fabric and a few notions. My planning also includes using up 2 yards of fabric from my stash. 

The raglan shirt below is going to for be for my daughter Ashley. Her style leans slightly in the direction of tomboy. She hates dresses and ruffles and lace, but she does love the color pink.

Update: See the finished mixed fabric raglan t shirt and a tutorial here.

Next up is a project for my son and husband that I am very excited about. We watched Rise of the Guardians as a family and I studied Jack Frost's sweatshirt most of the time. For a cartoon it shows incredible details. You can even see the seam lines. 

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And finally my ugly vintage pattern remixes. I am planning to get two spring dresses out of this pattern. It is the first on the list to be completed and I will give you all of the details when it's done but here is a peek at what's to come. 

Update : The first dress is done. See it Here

Thanks so much for looking. Feel free to share your sewing to do list in the comments.