Fall Sewing Plans

Although it is still summer for a little more than a week (I'm a firm believer in not rushing the seasons!) I am ready to start thinking about fall sewing.

Fall is my favorite time of the year - cooler temperatures, changing colors, boots, fun scarves, soups, and pumpkin flavored everything.

I have never made a sewing plan for myself, but I am really trying to focus on creating a wardrobe of quality, well fitting pieces that I will actually wear. I am also on a budget for fabric, so I'm hoping to sew mostly from my stash.

First up, a long sleeve Marigold Dress. I've made the peplum top  already, so I'm excited to make the dress. There is a sew along happening in the Blank Slate Pattern facebook group right now, so I'm hoping to use that as motivation to sew my dress.

This will be the fabric for my Marigold. 

Next, a Gabriola Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns. This pattern was on my pattern wishlist and I received it for my birthday back in July! I have the pattern printed, taped together and traced. Now I just need to find the perfect fabric. I had the perfect lighter weight wool for it, unfortunately it was not enough yardage.

Last, a button down plaid shirt. I have no button down shirts in my wardrobe, so this will be the perfect excuse for making one! I want to make it out of flannel, so this will be one exception for buying fabric because I don't have flannel in my stash. I don't have a pattern yet either, but I have been admiring the Archer for awhile. There is also a pattern I tested recently that I'm hoping will be out soon - it would be perfect.

I really like these from fabric.com. Joann's is also having a sale this week, so I might go a see what is available there. Any suggestions on where to buy flannel fabric?

I'm not limiting myself to only sewing three items, but this gives me a plan and will hopefully keep me motivated to sew. I have a full time job now, so it has been hard to find time to sew.

What is on your fall sewing list? Are you excited for fall?

~Elizabeth

Updates and a Question

Hello, dear neglected blog!! I have missed you! Between working at summer camp, going on vacation to SD, and visiting family and friends, my summer has been really busy! I'm home now until school starts, so I have been doing a lot of sewing. Hopefully I will be able to share some of my projects with you soon!

Spring Easter Skirts

 

 

Over spring break, I decided that my sisters needed some new skirts. Then, when I had extra fabric left, I decided I needed a matching skirt too. I used the Simple Spring Skirts tutorial from Simple Simon and Company and some fabric from my stash. They are so easy to make! You only need two measurements - waist and length - and the tutorial is only 8 steps long! They don't take much time either - I made all three skirts in one afternoon.
 

The main fabric has Easter eggs on it! My mom and I bought it seven years ago when our local Ben Franklin store was having a huge going-out-of-business sale. I was just starting to sew and we thought it was so cute! It just took me seven years to finally use it.
 

 

The pink, contrast fabric is from fabric.com. I bought it two years ago, planning to use it in a skirt, but never got around to it. That's a good thing too, because it's the perfect contrast for the Easter egg fabric!

 

Spring hasn't made up its mind if it wants to come to Minnesota yet or not (it snowed in my hometown today!), but we braved the cold and went outside to take pictures. My 10 year old sister was being a goofball:

 

 This is one of the few good pictures of her from our photoshoot.

 

This is about the best one I have of the three of us.

 

Mostly, she just wanted to be silly!

 

 What's the longest you've kept fabric in your stash before using it?  

 

~Elizabeth

I will be linking to some of the link parties listed here.



Sew Grateful Week Giveaway {Closed}

EDIT: Thank you to everyone for participating! The winner has been chosen and it is Jill!

 

 

 

When I heard about Sew Grateful Week, I thought it sounded like a wonderful idea, so I decided to participate. Debi, of My Happy Sewing Place started this event in 2011 and it's an opportunity to give back and express gratitude to the online sewing community. I have been blogging for almost a year and I am always amazed at the response I get from the sewing/blogging community. Everyone is so encouraging and kind! It's so great being able to connect with others who share my love of sewing even though we're hundreds of miles apart!

 

Today's activity for Sew Grateful week is a giveaway! A giveaway is a great way to start a week of gratitude off! I decided to give fabric away.

 

Here's what's up for grabs:

 

One winner will get both pieces of fabric. I don't know the exact amount but they are both at least 1.5 yards. The one on the left is probably even 2 yards. The one on the right does have a piece cut out of it, but there is still a lot there.

To enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment telling me what you are sew grateful for.
• For an extra entry, follow my blog and comment saying you did so.
• Giveaway is open until February 10th at 7pm CST. 
• Open Worldwide 
• Also, make sure there's a way for me to contact you if you win.

~Elizabeth

Thrift Store Finds

What a stressful week this has been! I finished my last final and I can officially say I am done with my first year of college!!

I love thrifting! I went to Salvation Army the other day and left with so many treasures. I was looking for suspenders because I read about using them for colored elastic here. It is such a unique and clever idea! I found one pair of navy blue suspenders for $1.

I didn't want to leave with just the suspenders, so I did some browsing around the store. As I was looking around the back of the store by the sheets and bedding I turned and I saw.....FABRIC!!! People were walking by ignoring it, but it drew me in. There were three small containers full of rolled up fabric. Some of it was ugly, but I kept searching and found several things I liked:

My finds 

My favorite - a cotton floral

A brown floral knit

A sheer fabric - maybe silk?

It is hard to know what the type of fabric is. I think most of them are cotton or cotton blends. Most are a yard or more. I spent a total of $14! I foresee many great projects!

What have you found at the thrift store lately?


~Elizabeth