This WONDERfilled Life...

Why do I sew? I'll give you my extensive list of reasons below...make sure to take notes: 1. I can make anything I want. 2. I can alter anything to make it into something better. Did you catch all that? LOL! Short, sweet and true! I can make anything I can think of and I can usually alter anything to make it better.  I did both of these things this week.   So last week I was trying out a new (to me) pattern that wasn't love at first site but I ended up falling in like with it pretty hard core.  I really like the drape and I do love how it feels on.  This week I used my two yard cut of red, bamboo lycra to make the same shirt with a few alterations.  I thought the original white one was too snug on my fluffy parts so I took a 1/4" seam allowance instead of the indicated 3/8".  I also added 3/4 sleeves and split the difference in the length I had taken out from the previous week.  The result was...well not my favorite! (see below) I wore it for our

Ah, where to start about this week?  Well, I'm tired so I will just cut to the chase...I need a new RED blouse/shirt/top... stat!  Next week my horn ensemble, the Chicago Horn Consort , is performing here in Chicago and the following week presenting at the International Horn Society 's 50th Annual Symposium . To go with our theme of fire we decided on red, solid color tops and the traditional black pants.  I have one 2+ yard cut of bamboo lycra in my studio and a very short amount of time to get this done.  The thing is I am stuck on what to make for this top...as in what pattern to use.  My first thought was to make another flutter sleeve LDT like I did in WEEK 24 .  But I am not sure about wearing such a flowy top with my dress pants that are somewhat wide legged..I feel like two WIDE things, on a WIDE body = meh.  Since there will be photos taken (maybe even video) I'd like to look, or give the illusion of, being slimmer, HA!  I am also not a fan of the flutter LDT

Calgon take me away...that's the kind of day it's been.  And wouldn't you know that I showed you all a sneak peak at a BONUS project earlier tonight and of course we had a failure at the very end so I can't show you it and even worse we can't use it yet...and we REALLY need to be able to use this with the four year old like ASAP.  Hopefully next week... I did manage to make my main challenge project this week and it turned out awesome but not without its own set of problems...I had the seam ripper out more than I care to admit but it was so worth it in the end.  So for week 28 I give you Patterns for Pirates Set Sail Hat !!! This is a FREE pattern and comes in sizes for the kiddos all the way up thru adults and has several different brim sizes.  I did the largest brim size at 7".  I have wanted to learn how to make hats, like haberdashery hats, for years.  This  made me feel all sorts of leveling up... after this project I am on the lookout for an opportunity

We did it! It's done and it looks great!!! It was a great reminder to take my time when creating things, no matter the medium.  What am I talking about? If I were sewing something and the seams didn't match up I would most likely take it apart and trim what I needed to and re-sew it.  The end pieces on the window box are too wide...and therefore there are a few gaps in the bottom of the box near the ends.  I should have taken the time to trim them when I noticed the discrepancy as we were dry fitting them.  Lesson learned.  I thought it wouldn't bother me but the 2 hours I spent painting the box I couldn't stop obsessing over it...oh well. If you missed last week when we built the box you can jump to that post HERE . Phase two started with drilling 1/4" drainage holes in the bottom of the box and then sanding to get ready for primer and paint.  I used our orbital sander and some 60 grit paper to start with, then some 100 grit to finish.  If this were going t