In the Future?

As I said the other day, I wrote a list of projects that I'd like to sew. A few of them have semi been started, but most of them are just hopes.

McCall's 5388 - This is the shirt that my students are making at work in the Apparel class. I'm making one along with them. I've started this one, but it's going slow because I'm trying to stay at the class' pace. I'm learning a lot by allowing the certified teacher to tell me how to do it.

Simplicity 9505 - This is a special proect at the request of a friend. I'll add more details about it later. I should be starting on this very soon. I bought the fabric this evening.

S.E.W. Boxers - I plan on making my Fiance a few pairs of boxers using the pattern from Diana Rupp's Sew Everything Workshop. I already have fabric for this project; bandanna print.

McCall's 9407 - I really want to make one of the jumpers from this pattern for my new favorite baby boy in the world, but I bought stretchy thermal material, and I can't seem to get it straight enough on my table to pin the patterns. I can't imagine trying to sew such a stretching material...

A Funky Stocking - My mom has asked me to make a cute Christmas stocking for my 5 year old niece. I'm still researching the best way to do that. I plan on making my own pattern. It seems silly to buy a pattern for a sock shape.

A Quilted Wallet - This looks SO neat. I recently bought a rotary cutter, so when I have the chance, I want to try making one of these super cool wallets!

S.E.W. Cardigan - There is a super simple cardigan in Diana Rupp's book. I'm thinking that I'll buy some sweatshirt fleece soon, while it's on sale at JoAnn's this week, to use for this project. Hopefully, I'll have time to sew one up while it's still cold :)

S.E.W. Knickers - Again, Diana Rupp's fantastic book. I don't know that these would look great on me, but...who doesn't want to say they can sew knickers?

McCall's 5599 - (View A) This is a tote for my future mother-in-law. I bought the fabric for it MONTHS ago. I haven't even opened the pattern. I hope to finish this for Christmas...maybe.


I think I have my work cut out for me. Good thing that I like being busy! I'm off to make an Excel sheet of all of the patterns I own. This may take a while...

My blossoming Collection

I took a picture of my fabric collection. Some of it is at Mom's house, but a lot of it, which is shown, has been purchased recently.

From left to right, there's:
Blue Thermal, Muslin, Red and White Checkers, Light Purple Decorative Diamond, Deep Red and Orange Decorative Diamond, Blue Bandanna Flannel, Green Dots, Red Bandanna Flannel, Brown and Pink Corduroy, Camo Cordura, Camo Cotton, Baby Animals Flannel, Blue Paisley, Music Note Cotton, Train Flannel.
I also have a light cream with small flowers that I've been using to make a shirt in the Apparel class at work. I hope it turns out okay; I love that fabric.

I love the variety that I find at my usual stores. JoAnn's is having their Veteran's Day sale. I think I'll stop by tomorrow and check out the fabrics on sale.

I made a list today of all of the projects that I have in mind. When it stops raining and I can get it from the car, I'll type it up and post it.


A side note. I think I've been frequenting my craft stores too often. I was able to predict that a few things at Hobby Lobby would be on sale this week. Bad sign? Nope. I don't think so :)

Disaster!

Tomorrow is Rigo's birthday. For those of you who don't know, Rigo is my fiance, so I wanted to do something special for him. The only request that he had for his birthday cake was that it be confetti cake. Yes. Confetti Cake...

I thought it would be a good idea to make him a cool Xbox cake. Well...the controller turned out cool. I made that out of Rice Krispies Treats. The cake? Not so good. It baked up beautifully but carving it and trying to ice it was too much for it to handle. It crumbled. It was a DISASTER! So. My mom and I made the best of it. We set the table up, wrapped presents and put he cake in the middle of the table. We called him to come over for an early birthday party and enjoyed laughing at my wrecked cake. We even got pictures of his face when he saw it.

Nope. Won't be posting pictures of this one...

My Sanctuary

Some people go to yoga or take hot showers to relax and be calm.

I don't.

I go to the fabric store.

Seriously. I had an awful day at work. Absolutely terrible. So what did I do? I dropped my Fiance off at home, jumped in the driver's seat and took off for JoAnn Fabric.

At the store, I used a 50% coupon to get a rotary cutting set, bought fabric for a project from my aforementioned new favorite book (boxer shorts!) and for a student in class tomorrow, and got quite a few hot deals on remnant fabric. By the time I was in the car heading home, I was all smiles and jammin' to Katy Perry's Hot n' Cold.

Who needs yoga?

Sew Everything Workshop

I love this book.

Why?

Diana Rupp.

That's why.

She doesn't assume that there is any prior knowledge of sewing and breaks EVERYTHING down into simple terms. I am very much a beginner seamstress and her book makes sense to me!

Last night, during one of my regular trips to Barnes and Noble, I sat and read nearly half of this book. Needless to say, I purchased the book. The introduction is wonderfully written with stories of her childhood, her mother and grandmother, and how she came to be what she is. It captured my interest right away. For less than $25, thanks to my Barnes and Noble membership, I've been able to carry around, and read about, 25 awesome projects, like knickers and boxers, and learn a LOT about things like inserting a zipper and sewing in lining. I would totally recommend this treasure to any beginner to sewing.

I Have a Problem

Hello. My name is Courtney, and I have a craft store addiction.

((Hi, Courtney...)) Good. Now that we're introduced, my story....

For the past few months, new crafts and hobbies have captured my imagination leaving my head full of ideas, and my wallet nearly empty. I've always been creative; loving drawing, digital photography, graphic design, calligraphy, and anything else that helps keep me busy.


In addition, I've picked up cake decorating and sewing. Those two are my primary focus at the moment, in addition to my wedding planning (yay!) and work.


Baking and Cake Decorating
I thoroughly enjoy being the Go-To girl for baking and decorating cakes for my friends and family. Each cake seems to be better than the previous. So far, my major cakes have been:

The Yellow Submarine Cake for my younger sister's 17th birthday. Tie-Dyed Yellow cake. Butter cream Icing. Hand piped submarine.

The ETA of David Pippin for my best friend's baby shower. Chocolate cake with a peanut butter cookie as the center. Covered in blue Satin Ice fondant. Rice Krispies Treat Airplane.

I also did mini cheesecakes found here for my mom's birthday last month. I'm not sure where the pictures of those went...

Sewing
I was given my first sewing machine this past summer by my future Grandmother-in-Law. It's a Kenmore and I love it. Most of things I've sewn recently will be gifts, so I can't post pictures of them, yet.

At the high school where I work as a teacher's assistant, I was surprisingly asked to help in the Sewing and Apparel class. Exciting? I THINK SO! The woman teaching the class, Mrs. Sheila Anderson, is amazing! She has a degree in Home Economics and I swear she can do anything with a sewing machine! I've been learning a ton. I watch her demonstrations, help my students, and after work I am able to work on a similar project using what I learned!


I'm sure that by reading this blog, you'll come to realize that I have quite the addiction to my hobbies. Thanks for stopping by!