Please welcome my sister!

My sister Emily has graciously agreed to join me on this blog! She enjoys her own "crafty hours" and is quite creative. Over the years Emily's done a lot of sewing. She has experience with different textiles, having worked in a drapery shop several years ago, and has also experimented with all kinds of media. Her upcycles are something I particularly love to see. Whether it's altering pants for a custom fit in the waist and hips or a different leg style, or remaking or embellishing an otherwise plain or useless garment, her style always shines. I'm looking forward to seeing some of her work and possibly begging her help with the part of the creative process I have the hardest time with - matching the designs and patterns with the fabric! :p

One of Emily's most beautiful creations is still her own wedding dress, a drapey, silk, retro-inspired gown.

Welcome, Emily! 

Hi. I'm Laura's sister Emily. I've been invited by her to contribute a bit to this blog with some of my own projects, and maybe collaborate a little on some.

This 'Asymmetrical Hacci Top' from Ricki's is what I'm working on this week:

I have it in a really beautiful olive green, and it's super comfy. I'm also pleased that it came from Thriftopia, and therefore was only $2.00. Only that whole triangle thing at the bottom is not working for me. I felt so self-conscious about it the whole time I wore it the other day. So I did this yesterday:

   

Now I'm considering if I should add lace to the bottom. It's still fairly long, but I think it's really quite plain now. I'm trying to choose between the wide options I have in the basket. Any thoughts? Here they are:

Autumn is here! Time for long sleeves

We've been having a gorgeous Indian Summer/Fall here! Often Alberta has an abrupt 2 weeks of autumn between a hot summer and many months of snow, so I'm enjoying this.

Benjamin might not be - he's suddenly shot up, all in the upper body, it seems! Every time he lifts his arms his midriff is quite...chilly. Which means sewing, of course. He's very pleased with his new sweater, hopefully one that will do for Sundays this fall/winter.

I bought a soft Tommy Hilfiger men's XL v-neck sweater for $0.50 at a thrift sale this spring (of course forgot to take a before photo... sorry). The pattern I used is a basic long-sleeve shirt pattern from Ottobre Design magazine: #34 Mr. Bear from Winter 6/2013. I cut size 110 with a length of 122 for my long-torsoed son.

I started by cutting the front on the fold, guessing at where the v-neck should be, as the pattern is a crew neck. From there I cut the back, matching the stripes at the sides. So the only part I had to sew the neck ribbing on was the back neck.

Then I cut the sleeves, trying to line up the stripes to the sleeve openings. Not the best success there because I wanted to re-use the knitted-on cuffs.

I topstitched the ribbing at the back neck edge to keep it lying flat. Looks pretty similar to the front.

So it was pretty simple to put together - the last thing was the hem ribbing, which I sewed back on after I had the right length in the top. He's very pleased with his warm new sweater!

The other shirt I completed last week is a simple raglan style shirt, using the pattern Streamline Tee by Terra's Treasures, size 7. Goes together so fast!

The fabric is a poly-cotton blend french terry I got on clearance for $2.50/m a bit ago, plus a bit of brown cotton interlock for neckline binding. I left off the cuff and just hemmed the sleeves at about 3/4" and it's perfect for him.

So two shirts down and he's very thrilled! I like quick projects like this. :)

Mommy & Me!

I had a chance to test a pattern for my friend Jess (Gracious Threads) - the new Skylark Tank & Tee!

Such a fun little top, with a surprise at the back!

Super pattern! The pattern pieces are computer drawn and print out accurately. The photo tutorial style directions are simple to follow and contain some good tips and techniques for working with stretch fabrics. Since the testing phase, Jess has added some length to a few of the sizes - Abigail's is a tiny bit short on her.

I had a remnant of Patty Young's Heaven & Helsinki pink lattice jersey leftover from another project, and for the trim/back I used part of a ladies' tank top I found at a thrift sale. For 50¢ no less! I was able to cut the binding and back insert out of the shelf bra of the tank, leaving the main body for a shirt for me!

I drafted a pattern for myself based on a t-shirt that fits well, and then cut the top part out of the Patty Young print as a yoke and took in the sides of the original tank a bit. Simple bound neckline and banded cap sleeve edges made it super fast, and then I added a band at the bottom.

Love banded tees! They stay put nicely. Plus I'm tall, so nothing ever seems quite long enough. This one is juuuust barely, but I'm pretty happy with it.

YES! Sunshine after 4 days of rain and cloud! And I think we can safely say our two weeks of spring have arrived. Everything is green and all the trees and blooming. Hot weather coming up soon!