Finishing Touches on the Christmas Stockings

I finished knitting Christmas stockings for my daughter and her fiancé in July but I still wanted to add their names somehow. I ruled out knitting the name but considered embroidering or sewing something. After mulling it over awhile, I decided to do some sort of hanging name label. I originally pictured oval but ended up with a rectangle. This is what I came up with:



Sewing Details:
I embroidered their names on some white cotton. I basted ribbons, sewed the top to an interfaced white cotton back and turned right side out. After pressing, I basted the opening closed and then I used my Bernina to do a decorative stitch around the edges to simulate hand applique. (Click on the photo to zoom in and see the detail.) To attach to the stocking, I simply pulled the ends of the ribbons through the stocking (back to front) and tied with a bell.

The stockings will be given along with a "First Christmas Together" ornament (stamped copper) that I purchased from an Etsy vendor (Charms of Faith). It hasn't arrived yet (hopefully today!) but the seller sent me the following photo.

My new favorite gadget

I found the most awesome tool for us bloggers! It's called a Gorillapod - it's a mini bendable tripod that can grip almost any surface. I saw the "contraption" (dontcha love that word?!) in photos on Kyle's blog and googled until I figured out what it was called. It's sold by many vendors but I purchased mine for only $14 with free shipping from Amazon. It comes in a lot of colors (red, blue, yellow, green, grey) but I bought the adorable pink one shown above.

I've already used it a few times to take photos of myself and also a few of my fiancé and me when we were on vacation recently. Handy when you don't have a spare body close by to take a photo!

If you like to take photos of yourself modeling your creations, I highly recommend!

Family Cookbook

Fortunately, my family ignores the fact that I have a blog so I can post about family presents and they'll never see!

I mentioned in the previous apron post that I made a family cookbook. I've had the idea to do this for a long, long time but could never decide how to go about it. I considered one of the compilation style cookbooks with the plastic or wire comb binding that many publishers offered but I wanted to include photos and generally speaking, photos aren't an option. I thought a better way to go was with a photobook offered by various vendors (Snapfish, Shutterfly, Picaboo, etc.) Here is what I came up with (I took photos of the cookbook and created a collage with Picasa):


You can click on the photo and enlarge it several times if you want to see details.

If you're interested in the details of how to make one, continue reading! Otherwise, click to the next blog.

The books can get rather pricey - the version I purchased starts at $25 for 20 pages but in July, Snapfish came out with a buy one get TWO free deal. After shipping and tax, the total was $40 for 3 ($13 each). I want to make 9 to give to various family members but the offer was limited to 3. However, lo and behold, they offered the deal again two weeks ago so I bought 3 more! Hopefully, they'll have the deal again before the holidays so I can get the final 3.

It took some time to pull together but part of that was learning Snapfish's editing process. Everything that will be uploaded must be a jpg file. There may be a better way to do it but I started with a Word document for each recipe, printed to pdf and then used an online service to convert from pdf to jpg.

Snapfish has tons of page layouts - anything from one large jpg file per page to 12 or more jpg files. Some layouts have text boxes. So I varied the pages and figured out how to fit approx 25 recipes on the pages along with family photos, food photos plus a cover page and dedication page. Originally, I tried to crop the jpg's to fit the photo box but realized that is not necessary - it works better to do the cropping in Snapfish. Now that the book is a saved project, I can order more from Snapfish whenever I want.

I love all the options available. Different cover styles (I picked my favorite color in a linen cover); different "themes" for the pages (again purple!) and of course all the page layouts, photo sizes, fonts, etc.

It was a fun project and I'm happy with the results. I hope my daughter likes her cooking themed present! I'm finishing up another project for her tonight that I'll post about later in the week.

Shower Gift - Emmeline Apron

I made a cookbook via Snapfish to give to my daughter at her shower next week. I used favorite family recipes and included lots of photos of not just the food but also photos of the family members who like the recipes.

I decided to also make an apron to go with it. Ages ago, I spotted the following apron on a site called Aprons Boutique only it had hot pink/white polka dot trim instead of red. I LOVED the color / pattern combination.


I had always planned on making something similar for myself but other projects always trumped it. I know my daughter will love the color combo so I made the above apron for her instead. (Plus, if she doesn't like it / wear it, I will steal it back from her!) I really wanted to use striped fabric but couldn't find a woven black/white at JoAnns or Hancocks so I opted for the stripe-like print on one side and a black/white paisley on the other. I don't like the bow trim on the neck strap so I am removing that.

I used the Emmeline Apron pattern that it completely reversible. I used it once before for a Valentine-themed version for my friend Jen but never posted a photo of it. I didn't realize until I was writing this entry that I had used a black/white paisley for that version, too. I guess I like that pattern! Here is the Valentine version:

Wedding Shower Dress - M6243

My daughter's wedding shower is in a couple weeks so I decided to make something new to wear. I picked McCalls 6243, view C and made it from a ponteroma knit from Hancock's (zinnia is the name of the color and I love it!) I added some black piping for zip and love how it turned out. The pattern calls for an exposed zipper in the back. I didn't want that look so I planned on inserting a side zipper instead. Well, after I basted it together for the first fit, I realized I didn't need a zipper at all so I omitted it.



This is one of those pieces of clothing that I love when I look in the mirror but when I see the photo of me, I don't love so much. (Does that happen to anyone else?) I'm choosing to ignore the photo and continue believing this looks good. LOL. Any time I take a photo with an uphill angle, it's bad news.

About the pattern - LOVED it! Couldn't be easier, especially with the zipper omitted! View C without piping trim should probably take less than an hour to sew. The only thing that takes any time is the narrow hems at the sleeves and neck. It took me considerably longer but that's because I kept screwing up the piping - I had to baste three times but I blame the wine I was drinking at the time. :-)

Love, love the ponteroma fabric from Hancocks. Although the bridesmaids are hosting, the shower is at my house and I'm doing the food so this dress will be nice and comfy to wear while I'm scurrying around getting food / drinks ready.

Mother of the Bride "muslin"

My daughter is getting married on 11/11/11. Because I will have nothing else to do, I decided to make the MOB dress (seemed like a good idea six months ago, now.... not so much, but I digress.)

I have always loved the Cynthia Rowley design in Simplicity 2497, View C. Simple but figure flattering and the oversized ruffle is fun and a little different.



Close up of neck ruffle.



I made the muslin from some cheapy poly from JoAnn's. The bodice was too large so I had to take in the shoulders and the side seams a bit. I'm still not 100% comfortable with how the bodice is fitting but I'm going to play around with some more samples to get the perfect fit. I like the fit at hips and waist although I might take in half an inch or so.

Feedback requested: what do you think about the length? I definitely don't want a gown length and I usually prefer a hem that hits just above the knee. Does it look ok for this dress?

My final version will be made from the purple stretch taffeta shown below, purchased at Rainbow Fabrics in Chicago. I will also be trying out a little bolero style jacket to wear over top.

SKIRT-A-PALOOZA!!!

8/2/11 Edited to add that voting is now open for the contest so if you're a PR Member and you like my entry, I'd love to receive your vote!!

Voting is here. My entry is:
Simplicity: 2258 misses skirts and pants
submitted by: Bonnie D [Read Review]
Date: 7/31/11



As I may have ever-so-briefly mentioned in a previous post or two (cough, cough), I got hooked on the idea of the One Pattern, Many Looks contest at Pattern Review. I loved the Simplicity skirt pattern and since skirts are my "go-to" piece of clothing to wear, I thought this would be a perfect idea.

Unfortunately, I didn't find this contest until mid July and it had a contest expiration date of 7/31/11. But heck, skirts are relatively quick, right? I decided to enter but was worried about being able to finish since I was out of town for most of the month.

I took advantage of every morning and evening and eeked out the final skirt this afternoon. I did a review of each one in previous blog posts and at PR so I won't do that again but I had SUCH FUN with this. It appeals to my planning side and it was fun to work within the fabrics I had.

Voting will open in the next few days. In the meantime, here is my review of all four.

Skirt # 4 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

And finally, I present Version 4 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. This is my "Date Night" version as I plan to wear it for an evening out my fiancé.

Fabric is a rayon challis from FabricMart. It is still available for only $2.50 a yard. I lined it to give it a little more substance.

I'll follow this post up with a composite post that shows the four looks together.

Skirt # 3 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

Here is Version 3 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. Version 3 is called "Client Ready" as this skirt is definitely suitable to wear to client meetings.

Fabric is a wool blend purchased from Hancock Fabrics. I added a lining to this one because I can wear it in the autumn with tights and lined skirts are much better over tights. Otherwise, the skirt sticks to the tights when you walk and eventually the skirt inches it's way up your thighs!

For this one, I only basted on the ties as I am contemplating making the ties detachable so I can wear it with tops that are either tucked in or left out. If I tried to leave a shirt untucked over the bow, it would look lumpy!

Here is what it would look like without the ties:

Skirt # 2 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

I finished Version 2 of Simplicity 2258 for the PR One Pattern, Many Looks contest. This is my "Saturday Morning Farmers Market" version. This will be a perfect outfit to wear on those hot mornings when I'm out running errands.

Only change between this one and my earlier "Business Casual" version is I did not shorten the ties on this one because I wanted a bow with the ties. Oh and I made it 1/2"-1" shorter. Fabric is a beefy cotton interlock that I bought from Gorgeous Fabrics (more here). Perfect weight for this skirt and I plan to make a pair of shorts out of the remaining fabric.

I can also wear it to my office although not with just a cami on top - we dress very casually in our office but not THAT casually! (Although honestly, I work with all guys and I swear I could show up in my pajamas and no one would notice.)



Versions 3 & 4 are both half done and I expect to finish them tonight.

Ho Ho Ho, Christmas in July!

My oldest daughter is getting married in November and I made this set of stockings for her and her fiancé. I plan to gift them at her wedding shower. The pattern is from a Knit Simple magazine (Holiday 2009). It's a simple pattern but I LOVE the finished look. Thinking ahead to when they have kids, a blue/white or pink/white stripe might be fun!

Knitting details can be found on my Ravelry page.

Bella Mittens - Finally finished!

I finally finished the second Bella mitten yesterday. I started these cute mittens back in December. Got one finished quickly but I moved on to something else before I could get the second one done (this is why I'm not a sock knitter!) This pattern was designed to replicate the mittens worn by Kristin Stewart as Bella in the first Twilight movie:




I used some yarn I've had in my stash forever. I think I purchased it at a Fiberge sale when they were still in Terrace Park. It's a super bulky called Blizzard, made by Reynolds (65% Alpaca,

35% Acrylic). The yarn was simply too fat to force into this pattern. In addition to being so bulky, the yarn splits quite a bit so when it came time to do a "knit 3 tog", it was a physical challenge! But the finished mittens are comfy and pretty so I'm glad I persevered. More details at Ravelry. Although the original Bellas have a long cuff, halfway up the arm, I decided to go with the shorter cuff after reading reviews in which people mentioned it was difficult to get the long cuff ones on with a coat.

Here's my artsy Twilight shot. Hee hee.

Skirt # 1 in the PR Contest (Simplicity 2258)

I finished the above skirt about a week ago for what (hopefully) will be one of the skirts included in my entry for the PR contest - One Pattern, Many Looks. To summarize the rules, you must use the same view of a pattern to create multiple looks. I'm using this CUTE skirt pattern from Simplicity (2258, View C).


The skirt above is made from a black on white, toile-ish looking twill with a touch of stretch. I purchased it in Chicago (I think from Rainbow Fabrics but not positive.) I really love how it turned out. The only change I made was to lengthen it by about 3" and I added a little corded piping (purchased from Rainbow) to the pockets. I shortened the ties by an inch or so because I don't intend to tie a bow on this one.

I wore the above outfit to a conference I attended earlier this week (casual dress code for this conference.) In fact, I'm going to call this one my "Business Casual" version.

I've been away for the last week at the conference and then to our home in Bonita Springs for a "working" vacation (so happy to be able to work from anywhere for my job). Since the contest closes in a week, I brought fabrics with me and cut the other versions out yesterday so I can hit the sewing machine as soon as I get home tomorrow night. I am not going to have much sewing time but the skirt didn't take much more than an hour to sew so I hope to eek out enough time this week to sew the other three.


From left to right, the fabrics are a heather gray beefy interlock, a black/fuschia rayon challis, and a wool blend with a subtle herringbone stripe. I plan to line the 2nd and 3rd options. In my mind, these four skirts will be appropriate for just about any occasion, from running errands to date night to work meeting.

Summer skirt - M4783

I just love red and black together. I was browsing Gorgeous Fabric a week or 2 ago and several red/black prints kept calling my name. How cute are the swatches below (linked to GF if you click on them):



There was one more that looked like the one below but it wasn't a burnout:


I decided I liked that last one best and put 2 yards in my shopping cart. While I was pulling together the rest of my order, I was also messaging with Eve on Facebook. And wouldn't ya know it... while I was chatting, some other sewer purchased the fabric I wanted, leaving only 1 yard left. Phooey!! I wanted to make a flowy skirt and knew a yard wasn't enough but I decided to purchase it anyway and figured I would just make a fitted, pencil skirt instead.

The next day, I was thinking about it some more and you know how the shopping psyche works... Even if you're not madly in love with something you're considering purchasing, once someone else tries to buy it, that item is YOURS and YOURS ALONE and you have to have it! So I emailed Ann at GF and said, if by chance there is more than 1 yard left, I'll take all you have. And when my order arrived a few days later, there was almost TWO yards of the fabric. Woo hoo! Thanks, Ann!

So I made this over the weekend (note the squinty eyes = rough Monday morning):


The pattern is McCalls 4783 (oop). I first made this pattern (shown below) back in 2006 when I first returned to sewing.


[Side note: Lori, I cracked up when I saw your version on PR this morning. Even before we "knew" each other, we were twin sewing!!]

Sundress - V8574

I started this dress a few weeks ago but put it aside to work on a few other things. I finished the hand sewing on the way in to work today and I'm really pleased with the results! I'm heading to Florida in a couple weeks and it will be a nice dress to wear out for dinner.

As I mentioned in this post, the fabric is a lightweight rayon and was purchased from Vogue Fabrics in Chicago during PR Weekend. Lee (Elaray) found it first and I bought some when she was done.

The pattern is Vogue 8574 and I highly recommend it! The fit was perfect. I didn't need to tweak anything which is unusual for me.


I snuck some photos in my office but I haven't pressed the hem nor cleaned up some of the loose threads. And forgive the bra straps. Obviously, I would wear a different bra but I was anxious to take a picture. LOL

More details as PR, if interested.

Halter Maxi - Simplicity 3503

Lots of chatter in sewing land recently about knit maxi dresses. Several of my FB friends have finished versions or are discussing versions but then I saw this beautiful version and decided I needed one for myself. Besides, I'm still in poison ivy-recovery mode and my legs look pretty disgusting (bruised and scabbed and full of welts) so I wanted a little more coverage. I purchased this black/hot pink border print from Fabric.com a few months ago and paired it with Simplicity 3503 (a Best Pattern of 2009 at PR). I only had 2 yards, which was not quite enough for the whole dress due to the positioning of the fabric but even if I had enough, I think I still would have incorporated the solid black to break up the busy print.

I have to agree with everyone that this is terrific pattern. Very nice details including the back elastic. Other reviewers commented that the pattern runs large. I found it ran just a teeny big larger than what I'm used to in knits.

New recipe on Food blog

I just finished the remaining leftovers from a meal I made last week and it was so good, I wanted to write down what I did - I always forget to do that and then usually what happens is about a month after making, Mark will say something like, "Hey, can you make that chicken dish again?" and will be met with a blank stare.

Anyhoo, it is based on a Dr. Oz recipe I found online but honestly, I think my version is better than his. :o)

My recipe here.
His recipe here.

YOU be the judge!

M6356 - another miss

I am not brave enough to sport the one-shoulder look so I was happy to see McCalls 6356,


View D,

which is a modified one-shoulder look that sort of conveys the same image with less skin showing.

This was a tricky one to sew for me. (More sewing details at Pattern Review.) I'm not crazy with the results. This is a little bit out of my style zone (if I have such a thing.) My daughter said it looks good but I feel like a big red pear in it! My oldest daughter said to try it with skinny jeans. My fiancé said it looks frumpy because he likes fitted tops on me. I'll probably try wearing it out and see if I'm comfortable wearing it.

M6069 - Hmmmm....

M6069 is a ROCK STAR at Pattern Review. I don't think there is a bad review amongst the 29 posted. And I am a knit dress LOVER. But I finished this one about a month ago and I'm lukewarm. Admittedly, I got a little carried away after realizing I had cut the skirt too wide. And sewed the skirt seams tighter than I should have. But aside from the snugness at the hips, it doesn't seem to hang the same way at the neckline as everyone else's. I added sleeves but I wouldn't have thought that would impact how the cowl hangs. I also admitted the elastic casing at the waist. I threw on a skinny belt that I happened to have laying in the sewing room but I think I will wear this with a wide black belt.

(Forgive the open outlet. Just finished painting the room.)

I purchased this lightweight (but substantial enough) ITY border print from Fabric.com.

Bottom line... I guess I'll move it from my sewing room to my closet and I'll wear it but it won't be my fave.

Christmas Stocking

My daughter is getting married in November so I decided to knit Christmas stockings for her fiancé and her for their first married Christmas together. Here is the first one:


The next one will be the same design and same colors but I'll make the top, heel and toe red and the stripes green and white. Details on Ravelry.

Question for my knitting buddies.... Do I need to block this? It doesn't look like it needs it.