Fixing up my grandmother's robe

I have not done many refashions. I am fighting quite the battle in my sewing studio's closet and I have been focusing more on sewing that fabric lump/hump. But since it is cold out, I could really use everything and anything to stay warm. This week, I will give a bonus post and that is this robe!

This is my grandmother's robe. She recently had to move into a group home with supervised care and my family went through her house. I have gotten some fabulous things from her. Soon to be a sewing machine, yeah!! This robe is sooooo old. Very retro and vintage. I have no recollections of her wearing this robe so I am guessing that it is SOOOOOOO old.  Just wow.

It needs some help. But inside it is quilted, which means warm.

Another issue is the lace is stained. And I used all of my restoration tricks to fix and these stains never came out. Interesting. So off goes the lace!

I sewed it all back together b/c the lace was between the robe and the facing. There were some other issues I had to fix- buttons, etc.

Those got all fixed. Now I can wear the robe! It is still groovy and very flower power but I don't care. I feel as if now my grandmother is here with me even though she is thousands of miles away. And taking off the lace changes the feel of the robe.Here's the recap.

Here's to keeping it in the family!
Cheers,
Lauren

Jasper sweatshirt by Paprika patterns

It is cold. Like really cold. Wow. I need to stay warm. Part of my Christmas/birthday present was sweatshirt material. I got several colors at such a great price that I could not pass up. I have red, coral, purple and green. Thought I would change up my sweatshirts since they all tend to be grey and more grey.

I fell for the Jasper pattern a while now and have been wanting to do it. Then one day there was a pattern bundle sale and this was one of them. I grabbed the bundle and could not wait to sew it.


I did not want the dress but the sweater. I also decided to not add fake, non-purpose buttons to the sweatshirt since I just thought it would be a magnet for my long hair and the tangles would suck. I went with my red fabric first.

So the welt pockets, which I have never done before, where like woah... seriously. I was so confused by the instructions. I highly recommend going to the website to see further instruction. I would not have made it through the pockets, which were like step 1 (ok maybe 2 but early in the pattern). I could not have sewn it without those added blog spots. The hood was a bit tricky at one part. So I had a LOT of frustration while sewing this hoodie. Luckily I really like it at the end. But good riddance to you welt pockets! Good riddance!  Here is my hoodie!

The fit is great!

Really happy with the end. And this is really warm too! Something I really need for the winter. Which winter, meh, we are not friends. However, winter you let me sew more!

Cheers,
Lauren

True Bias Hudson Pants

OK I finally got a day with SOME light. Keyword SUM. Wow the weekends have been kind of dark, not a lot of sun and light. It has been rough, yesterday we had some light and we also had some snow! I got a few pictures. It feels like it has been forever since I took photographs. And I just feel goofy. Plain ol' goofy. Sigh.

I did some sewing on my Christmas break. Now finally get some pictures and here come some blog posts! Yay!

First is the True Bias pattern- the hudson pant. They are supposed to be like a pair of sporty, track pants. I purchased it in a pattern parcel, actually pattern parcel #6

This was such a wonderful parcel b/c I have done the Syrah maxi skirt, the bronte top, the Julia cardigan. Today I did the pants and I have actually done the Zsalya dress/top. So 5 out of 6. The only one I have not done is the unlocked bonus dress pattern. Definitely got my money's worth out of this parcel. :)

So I made the pants and I totally messed up on trying to get the pattern to match from the front to back. Oh well. The pattern is for someone who is 5'6" so I added 2 inches to the length. I am glad I did. I screwed up the buttonholes with the ties and I didn't do the tiered sewing of the belt. I left as is. I am overall very happy with the pants. I am really happy I went with black accents to compliment the pattern. The fabric is so soft- I actually purchased it from another person of the Knitfix group.

Without heals..

With heals..

Overall they are great pants. They are comfy and the fit is spot on. Just like the picture. But for some reason I feel like they look like PJ pants. Cute PJs, but PJs. I don't know if I could wear them out yet. The debate is still out. I go back and forth. For right now, I am wearing them chilling in the house being super comfy.

Cheers,
Lauren

Good idea- getting organized with sewing

I have enjoyed my Christmas vacation, the weather has been a little nutty- from warm to cold now. During my few days off, we went through our place and I have been on a purging of things in my life. This recent one was big as we donated 5 very large bags of things to Goodwill. Ahh it felt good and freeing. Besides going through my things, I also reorganized many of my things and essentially reorganizing my life.

As you can notice, the blog was updated. I also finally got all of my pattern that I have sewn on patternreview.com. 59... yes 59! Wow. It took some time but I was focused to get it done. Now, I just need to keep up while I blog. That is doable.

I went through some fabric and cleaned up my room (aka my studio). I cut several patterns and even sewed. I have done 2 sweatshirts, 1 mens shirt, track pants, a tunic, 2 refashions, and another top. A total of 8 things! Yeah! And I have a cape, pjs, and 2 tops cut and just to be sewn. I will work on that as I go. So finally productive- it felt so good to sew. So good.

I have begun to steer away from commercial patterns and gone towards independent pattern makers. Many of them have patterns that are digital. And I forget what I have. Just forget- it is embarrassing. And I don't like it when things go to waste. So I had a great idea to pull it all together- I needed some sort of pattern library. But I don't want anything fancy just functional- her comes microsoft powerpoint. I created a powerpoint presentation that I could print out and also view while on my computer. I printed them out and put them in a cute (pink) sparkly thin binder. I will not loose this binder, because seriously it is pink and full of glitter. Here is what it all looks like!

I have begun to write some notes on them as well. This has been so hopeful because sometimes at the end of the day I am tired and my brain hurts,  I just like to look at the patterns. It brings me some sort of happiness. I think of all the fabric I have and what I can create.

Now for a second I thought, oh I should do this for my paper patterns. and then reality hit and I was like um no. A big fat no. So I won't be that ambitious. I should probably get rid of some but some are vintage and I just can't do it. The struggle is real.

Even though I have sewn a bunch, I need to take after photos. And edit and write. On the last few days of my vacation, I have really dedicated myself to not be in front of a computer, I mean once work starts up I'm in front of a computer. I needed a digital break. But expect some more consistent posts coming up soon. I will stick to one post a week. Bonus will be something like a recipe or something like that. I always try to get a leg up b/c something in life takes my time and I can't sew (like this past November/December writing a review!). But yay for sewing. Boo for reality this morning!

Cheers,
Lauren

2016 New Years Resolutions

Well Happy New Year and howdy to 2016. I am excited to what you will bring! Hopefully it will be good!

Sometimes I wonder why I write down resolutions and put them out there on the web. I really do. What is the purpose? Why do I feel the need to do so? I don't know but I think it makes me want to complete them more. At least that is what I have said in the past. Again, I aim high and if I high 1/3 of my goals, I will be happy b/c I do have work goals as well as personal goals. You only see my personal goals. You will see some repeats again in the list.

So if you have not noticed, but I did give the blog a face lift. I love peacocks and one day at the National Zoo I got some fabulous photos of the peacocks there. They were walking around and I think a feather fight was going on, and we could walk right in the middle of it. It was beautiful and scary at the same time. But I got some fabulous pictures, and hence they have made their way to my blog. And the pink is gone, I just want simple. That is all I want lately, simple, no bells-and-whistles. I have been meaning to update this blog for over a year and one night I got my act together. :) So hello peacocks!

1. Try something new. What- I don't know but I always want to challenge myself and try something new.

2. Complete a craft kit (bonus points if I do more than 1).

3. 200 things for charity! Hey let's see the bar high!

4. 12 Refashions. That is just 1 per month. Seems reasonable.

5. Buy no more fabric. Unless it has peacock feathers on it. Ok that seems like a silly excuse. LOL Or it is for a specific project like a Halloween costume or a special event. I think special occasion is fine. I just really need to get this stash tamed. Like really bad.

6. Finish the beta of T25 and start CIZE beach body workout plan.

7. Finish all of my bellydance DVDs (I know I am laughing to myself).

8. Get rid of more of my things and use up everything I have. What I mean by this is something probably many of us girls experience, we tend to get things on sale and stock up. Well at least I do, I like getting things on sale. What then happens is everything piles up. There are cabinets and drawers full of lotions, creams, body washes, etc, because it takes longer to use things then what my brain thinks. I mean do I really need that much eyeshadow? Especially when it doesn't stay on my face? So I want to spend the beginning portion of this year using up everything and only buy when I am about out. Also, I want to get rid of things I just don't use. Let's see how long it takes!

9. Read more books. Science or not science. Most likely they will be science related because I tend to be drawn to things where I can learn something and apply it to my work. I can't stand romance books, I get so bored and I feel the female leads are weak. It just is not my cup of tea. But I would like to read more! Goal is 5. I got some cool books for Christmas from my boyfriend.

10. Use up all the stuffing and fusible fleece I just purchased. Thinking I would have more time to sew this year I wanted to sew more for charity with making stuffed animals and bibs. That didn't really happen and I have a bag and a huge box (like 10 lbs of stuffing, the box is huge!!!). Sew (ha pun totally intended!) if I sew things for charity I should use these things right up!

11. Take a trip and go somewhere. I feel as if I don't take enough trips. I should try and go somewhere. 

I know many of these things seem pretty similar to what I set the previous years. But my life also revolves around work and sewing. :) We also don't have any kids.

Here's to needing less, giving more, using up what I have, sewing, and getting my sewing stash under control!

Here's to 2016!

Cheers,
Lauren