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

Hooray!

Hello Everyone! I don't have any new projects to show you, even though I want to sew! This has been a very busy week for me. Today was my last day of classes. Next week I have finals and then my Freshman year is over!! I have nearly conquered my classes! I can and will keep going until my last final is over. It does not help to look at sewing blogs and see all the wonderful projects people are creating. I  have a whole list  of projects I want to sew, but I just have to be patient.

Today in my Statistics class, we did not learn anything new. My professor just talked about the final exam and what to expect. Then he told us that if we don't remember anything from his class, he wants us to always remember to keep things in perspective. When you look at the big picture what really matters? He said to enjoy the college years because time flies. That is not something you often hear from a professor, but it was great to hear.

Classes are important but I have to remember to take time to relax. This week has been stressful, but now classes are over. I have learned so much this year in and out of my classes. Some have been life lessons. It has been an amazing experience and I can't wait to see next year holds.

I will hopefully have a post about sewing soon! Have an enjoyable weekend!

~Elizabeth

A Bubble Skirt

One quick and easy tutorial + one girl who loves to sew = one ridiculously comfortable knit skirt!

I made a skirt last night. My mom emailed me a tutorial (Thanks Mom!) to an adorable bubble skirt she found! The tutorial was for a size 2T, but it can be made in any size. I adjusted for my measurements, and made it right then and there in my room at college. I am a sewing nerd...so far I have not met anyone else who brought their sewing machine and ALL their fabric with them to college.

The tutorial, which can be found here is so simple and quick! I made it in less than two hours. I think the cutting took the longest, because my knit was super stretchy and did not want to cooperate. It was just some plain black jersey knit that was originally going to be a infinity scarf. The skirt is made with a total of 3 rectangles (waistband, outer skirt and inner skirt).

The only problem I ran into was that when I finished my skirt was shorter than I wanted it to be.  It fell just above my knee. I wanted it just below my knee.When I cut it out I had to straighten it a lot to get it even and I ended up taking off more than I wanted. I should have made my waistband 6 inches instead of 4 inches. I was able to make a fix by sewing a second waistband on top of the original with some green scraps of knit I had. I didn't have enough black. You can't see the green when I'm wearing it anyway. Now it is the perfect length and it is so comfortable!!

I will definitely be making another one of these skirts. I want to make one for my little sister too.


~Elizabeth

Ruffle Clutch Sew-a-Long!

I recently partipated in a sew-a-long! It was put on by Kate from see kate sew, as part of her Ruffles 2012 event. She posted the pattern and tutorial for anyone who wanted to participate. I had never made a clutch, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity! Kate's instructions were well written and easy to follow. I chose some springy fabric and I like how it turned out.

Front

I didn't have any problems until I was finished...the inside pocket was upside down when I opened it. Oops!! Now the front is the back and the back is the front. It's not a big deal; the ruffles are still there and I kind of like it better that way.

Inside

I plan on adding a velcro closure and sewing a button on the front.

Back

There's still time to join the sew-a-long if you would like! I am excited to see what other people came up with.

~Elizabeth

The Tailored Skirt



A few weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon I had the intentions of doing homework. However, some bright springy fabric started calling my name...and a week later I had myself a skirt. The fabric had been bought during the summer, after I received a gift card to my favorite quilt shop. I had also just received a sewing book. What a perfect opportunity to buy fabric for a skirt!

I had just planned on tracing the pattern onto freezer paper, but one thing turned into another. Soon, the pattern was traced, pinned onto the fabric and cut out. By then, I couldn't stop and I started sewing. I traced, cut and sewed in my college dorm room!

Close up of invisible zipper

Me wearing the skirt and trying to take a picture

Close up of one of the pockets

I love how it turned out! It went together really fast, and I will definitely be making another one with the same pattern. I used a pattern from Kay Whitt's book Sew Serendipity. It is a great book, with clear and detailed instructions. The hardest part was the invisible zipper. I have only done two other invisible zippers, but I was impressed with how it turned out!

I will be wearing this skirt on Easter and to my cousin's wedding, which is the week after Easter. I am really excited to wear it!

~Elizabeth

New York, New York

Spring break is over, and I'm back to the reality of school and studying. It was the most amazing spring break I have ever had! New York City blew my mind! We had nineteen people total, and we drove three minivans. It was quite the adventure. I have never been in a car that long with people who are not related to me. I would not trade the adventure for anything. I gained so much on the trip - stronger friendships and lifetime experiences.

I took this as we were driving over the George Washington Bridge...New York City!!!

 

Most of our week was spent doing mission work at a K-8 school in Harlem. We did office work, which included covering books, entering data, and recording audio books. We also played with the kids at recess and we had a 5th grade reading buddy.

On our very first day in New York, we got to tour the city. It was an amazing experience and one I will not forget. We started at the top part of Manhattan and made our way down. We saw Central Park, St. Patrick's Cathedral, FAO Schwarz, Times Square, Chinatown, Little Italy, Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty all in one day! It was a long day, but it was so much fun. I would definitely do it again. Of course, we also got to ride the subway. That was an interesting experience. Most of the time it was fun, but other times it was so jammed packed you couldn't move left, right, forwards or backwards. We all made it safely on and off though, which was good. I sure wouldn't want to get lost in New York City!

Although NYC was amazing, I don't think I could ever live there. It is too big for me! I hope I can go back someday, though!

Here is a song for you to enjoy..."New York, New York" sung by Frank Sinatra! The van I was in listened to it as we were coming into the city and again as we left.





Enjoy!!

~Elizabeth

A new start

My last post was in November 2011. Four months! It is a new year and I am back. This time I hope to be back for good. My blog has a new name...The College Seamstress. What do you think? I am a college student and a seamstress, so I thought it would fit perfectly.

College has been teaching me so many life lessons and not all of them have to do with academics. I thought I'd share some of those lessons with you for my "first" post on this "new" blog.

In no particular order, here they are:

1. Make time for things other than studying. Take time to de-stress! This is so important! My classes are hard, and it seems like I never have enough time in the day, but if I want to do something badly enough, it will happen. For example, last week I sewed a skirt. I have been making time to work out at the fitness center here at college. Both of those things help me when I am stressed.

2. Go on new adventures. I have the opportunity to go on a mission trip with a wonderful group of people over spring break, which starts tomorrow (YAY for spring break!!). We will be driving to the east coast. I have never been to that part of the U.S. before and I am excited to go new places.

3. Family is important. Since coming to college I have realized this more than ever. I talk to my family at least once a day, even if it's only for a few minutes. I didn't realize how close I was to my family until coming here.

4. Your roommate does not have to be your best friend, but communication is key! If I only learned one thing from living with a roommate, it is that communication is key. If you don't communicate with each other, neither of you will know what is going on. Things will go much smoother if you communicate.

5. Have fun! College is important. You should want to do well in your classes, but it doesn't mean you have to study 24-7. Take some time on the weekends to just hang out with friends and not think about classes.

There you have it. This is my start into what I hope will be a successful blogging year! I hope to post about some sewing projects soon after spring break!

~Elizabeth